UNITED
STATES
SECURITIES
AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington,
DC 20549
FORM
10-K
(Mark
One)
☒
ANNUAL
REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For
the fiscal year ended December 31 , 2024
OR
☐
TRANSITION
REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For
the transition period from ______ to ______
Commission
File Number: 001-37685
PAVMED
INC.
(Exact
Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)
Delaware
47-1214177
(State
or Other Jurisdiction of
(IRS
Employer
Incorporation
or Organization)
Identification
No.)
360
Madison Avenue
25th
Floor
New
York , NY
10017
(Address
of Principal Executive Offices)
(Zip
Code)
(917)
813-1828
(Registrant’s
Telephone Number, Including Area Code)
Securities
registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Exchange Act:
Title
of each Class
Trading
Symbol(s)
Name
of each Exchange on which Registered
Common
Stock, $0.001 par value per share
PAVM
The
NASDAQ Stock Market LLC
Series
Z Warrants, each to purchase 1/15th of one share of Common Stock
PAVMZ
The
NASDAQ Stock Market LLC
Securities
registered under Section 12(g) of the Exchange Act:
None.
Indicate
by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes ☐ No
☒
Indicate
by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act. Yes ☐
No ☒
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange
Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2)
has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes ☒ No ☐
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405
of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was
required to submit such files). Yes ☒ No ☐
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting
company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of ”large accelerated filer”, “accelerated filer”
, “smaller reporting company” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
Large
Accelerated filer
☐
Accelerated
filed
☐
Non-accelerated
filer
☒
Smaller
reporting company
☒
Emerging
growth company
☐
If
an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying
with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to section 13(c) of the Exchange Act ☐
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness
of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C.7262(b)) by the registered
public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. ☐
If
securities are registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act, indicate by check mark whether the financial statements of the registrant
included in the filing reflect the correction of an error to previously issued financial statements. ☐
Indicate
by check mark whether any of those error corrections are restatements that required a recovery analysis of incentive-based compensation
received by any of the registrant’s executive officers during the relevant recovery period pursuant to §240.10D-1(b). ☐
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes ☐ No ☒
As
of June 30, 2024, the last business day of the registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter, the aggregate market
value of the registrant’s voting stock held by non-affiliates was approximately $ 7.0 million, based on 8,630,652 shares of
common stock held by non-affiliates and a last reported sales price per share of the registrant’s common stock of $0.815 on
such date.
As
of December 31, 2024 and March 20, 2025, there were 11,523,408 and 16,787,173 shares, respectively, of the registrant’s Common
Stock, par value $ 0.001 per share, issued and outstanding (with such number of shares inclusive of shares of common stock underlying
unvested restricted stock awards granted under the PAVmed Inc. 2014 Long-Term Incentive Equity Plan as of such date).
DOCUMENTS
INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE
Portions
of the registrant’s definitive proxy statement for its 2025 annual meeting of stockholders are incorporated by reference into Part
III of this Form 10-K where indicated. Such definitive proxy statement will be filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
within 120 days after the year ended December 31, 2024.
TABLE
OF CONTENTS
PART I
Item
1.
Business
1
Item
1A
Risk Factors
20
Item
1B.
Unresolved Staff Comments
39
Item
1C.
Cybersecurity
40
Item
2.
Property
40
Item
3.
Legal Proceedings
40
Item
4.
Mine Safety Disclosures
40
PART II
Item
5.
Market for Registrants Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities
41
Item
6.
[Reserved]
42
Item
7.
Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
42
Item
7A.
Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosure About Market Risk
55
Item
8.
Financial Statements and Supplementary Data
55
Item
9.
Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure
55
Item
9A.
Controls and Procedures
55
Item
9B.
Other Information
55
Item
9C.
Disclosure Regarding Foreign Jurisdictions that Prevent Inspections
55
PART III
Item
10.
Directors, Executive Officers, and Corporate Governance
56
Item
11.
Executive Compensation
56
Item
12.
Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters
56
Item
13.
Certain Relationships and Related Transactions and Director Independence
56
Item
14.
Principal Accountant Fees and Services
56
PART IV
Item
15.
Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules
57
Item
16.
Form 10-K Summary
58
i
FORWARD-LOOKING
STATEMENTS
This
Annual Report on Form 10-K (this “Form 10-K”), including the discussion and analysis of our consolidated financial condition
and results of operations set forth under Item 7 of this Form 10-K, contains forward-looking statements that involve substantial risks
and uncertainties. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, contained in this Form 10-K, including statements regarding
our future results of operations and financial position, business strategy and plans and objectives of management for future operations,
are forward-looking statements. The words “may,” “will,” “should,” “expects,” “plans,”
“anticipates,” “could,” “intends,” “target,” “projects,” “contemplates,”
“believes,” “estimates,” “predicts,” “potential” or “continue” or the negative
of these terms or other similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements
contain these identifying words. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and the Company’s actual results
may differ significantly from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements. Factors that might cause such differences
include, but are not limited to, those discussed in Item 1A of Part I of the Form 10-K under the heading “Risk Factors.”
Important
factors that may affect our actual results include:
●
our
limited operating history;
●
our
financial performance, including our ability to generate revenue;
●
our
ability to obtain regulatory approval for the commercialization of our products;
●
the
risk that the FDA will cease to exercise enforcement discretion with respect to LDTs, like EsoGuard;
●
the
ability of our products to achieve market acceptance;
●
our
success in retaining or recruiting, or changes required in, our officers, key employees or directors;
●
our
potential ability to obtain additional financing when and if needed;
●
our
ability to protect our intellectual property;
●
our
ability to complete strategic acquisitions;
●
our
ability to manage growth and integrate acquired operations;
●
the
potential liquidity and trading of our securities;
●
our
regulatory and operational risks;
●
cybersecurity
risks;
●
risks
related to the COVID-19 pandemic and other health-related emergencies; and
●
our
estimates regarding expenses, future revenue, capital requirements and needs for additional financing.
In
addition, our forward-looking statements do not reflect the potential impact of any future financings, acquisitions, mergers, dispositions,
joint ventures or investments we may make.
We
may not actually achieve the results, plans, and/or objectives disclosed in our forward-looking statements, and the intended or expected
developments and/or other events disclosed in our forward-looking statements may not actually occur, and accordingly you should not place
undue reliance on our forward-looking statements. You should read this Annual Report on Form 10-K and the documents we have filed as
exhibits to this Form 10-K completely and with the understanding our actual future results may be materially different from what we expect.
We do not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise,
except as required by applicable law.
ii
Part
I
Item
1. Business
Unless the context otherwise requires, “we”,
“us”, and “our”, the “Company” and “PAVmed” refer to PAVmed Inc. and its subsidiaries,
including its subsidiary Lucid Diagnostics Inc. (Nasdaq:LUCD) (“Lucid Diagnostics” or “Lucid”) and its majority-owned
subsidiary Veris Health Inc. (“Veris Health” or “Veris”).
Background
and Overview
PAVmed
is structured to be a multi-product life sciences company organized to advance a pipeline of innovative healthcare technologies. Led
by a team of highly skilled personnel with a track record of bringing innovative products to market, PAVmed is focused on innovating,
developing, acquiring, and commercializing novel products that target unmet medical needs with large addressable market opportunities.
Leveraging our corporate structure—a parent company that will establish distinct subsidiaries for each financed asset—we
have the flexibility to raise capital at the PAVmed level to fund product development, or to structure financing directly into each subsidiary
in a manner tailored to the applicable product.
Our
current focus is multi-fold. We continue to support the commercial expansion and execution of EsoGuard, which is the flagship
product of our subsidiary Lucid Diagnostics, of which we remain the shareholder with the largest voting interest. In addition,
through a separate majority-owned subsidiary, Veris Health, we offer the Veris Cancer Care Platform. We are focused in the immediate
term on entering into strategic partnership opportunities with leading academic oncology systems to expand access to the Veris
Cancer Care Platform, while concurrently developing an implantable physiological monitor, designed to be implanted alongside a
chemotherapy port, which will interface with the Veris Cancer Care Platform. In terms of other existing products and technologies,
we have adopted an incubator-type platform where we are looking to obtain financing on a product-by-product basis as necessary to
advance each asset to a meaningful inflection point along its path to commercialization. Finally, as resources permit, we will
continue to explore external innovations that fulfill our project selection criteria without limiting ourselves to any target
sector, specialty or condition.
Lucid
Diagnostics
We
believe that Lucid’s flagship product, the EsoGuard Esophageal DNA Test, performed on samples collected with the EsoCheck Esophageal
Cell Collection Device, constitutes the first and only commercially available diagnostic test capable of serving as a widespread testing
tool with the goal of preventing esophageal adenocarcinoma (“EAC”) deaths, through early detection of esophageal precancer
in at-risk gastroesophageal reflux disease (“GERD,” also commonly known as chronic heartburn, acid reflux or simply reflux)
patients.
EsoGuard
is a bisulfite-converted next-generation sequencing (NGS) DNA assay performed on surface esophageal cells collected with EsoCheck. It
quantifies methylation at 31 sites on two genes, Vimentin (VIM) and Cyclin A1 (CCNA1). The assay was evaluated in a 408-patient multicenter
case-control study published in Science Translational Medicine and showed greater than 90% sensitivity and specificity at detecting esophageal
precancer and all conditions along the BE-EAC spectrum, including on samples collected with EsoCheck (Moinova, et al. Sci Transl Med.
2018 Jan 17;10(424): eaao5848). EsoGuard is commercially available in the U.S. as a Laboratory Developed Test (LDT) performed at our
CLIA-certified laboratory. Cell samples, including those collected with EsoCheck, as discussed below, are sent to our laboratory for
testing and analyses using our proprietary EsoGuard NGS DNA assay.
EsoCheck
is an FDA 510(k) and CE Mark cleared noninvasive swallowable balloon capsule catheter device capable of sampling surface esophageal cells
in a less than five-minute office procedure. It consists of a vitamin pill-sized rigid plastic capsule tethered to a thin silicone catheter
from which a soft silicone balloon with textured ridges emerges to gently swab surface esophageal cells. When vacuum suction is applied,
the balloon and sampled cells are pulled into the capsule, protecting them from contamination and dilution by cells outside of the targeted
region during device withdrawal. We believe this proprietary Collect+Protect™ technology makes EsoCheck the only noninvasive esophageal
cell collection device capable of such anatomically targeted and protected sampling.
EsoGuard
and EsoCheck are based on patented technology licensed by Lucid from Case Western Reserve University (“CWRU”). EsoGuard and
EsoCheck have been developed to provide accurate, non-invasive, patient-friendly testing for the early detection of EAC and Barrett’s
Esophagus (“BE”), including dysplastic BE and related pre-cursors to EAC in patients with chronic GERD.
Market
Opportunity
In
2024, approximately 22,000 U.S. GERD patients are projected to be diagnosed with EAC and approximately 16,000 will die from it. Over
80% of EAC patients will die within five years of diagnosis, making it the second most lethal cancer in the U.S. The U.S. incidence of
EAC has increased 500% over the past four decades, while the incidences of other common cancers have declined or remained flat. In nearly
all cases, EAC silently progresses until it manifests itself with new symptoms of advanced disease. EAC is nearly always invasive at
diagnosis, and, unlike other common cancers, mortality rates are high even in its earlier stages.
As
discussed below under the heading “Clinical Guidelines for At-Risk Population”, in July 2022, the American Gastroenterology
Association (“AGA”) significantly expanded the target population for esophageal precancer screening, recommending screening
in at-risk patients without symptoms of GERD. Based on this revision, we believe the cohort recommended for screening consists of an
estimated 30 million U.S. individuals with at least 3 established risk factors for BE. Accordingly, we believe EsoGuard’s total
addressable U.S. market opportunity approximates $60 billion based on an effective Medicare payment of $1,938 and the estimated 30 million
U.S. patients recommended for screening by clinical practice guidelines. (In December 2019, Lucid secured “gapfill” determination
for EsoGuard’s PLA code 0114U through the CMS CLFS process. This allowed Lucid to engage directly with Medicare contractor Palmetto
GBA and its MolDx Program on CMS payment and coverage. As discussed below under the heading “Reimbursement and Market Access”,
in October 2020, CMS granted EsoGuard final Medicare payment determination of $1,938.01, effective January 1, 2021.)
1
Unfortunately,
for a variety of reasons, less than 10% of at-risk patients who are recommended for screening undergo traditional invasive upper gastrointestinal
endoscopy (EGD). We believe that the profound tragedy of an EAC diagnosis is that likely death could have been prevented if the at-risk
patient had been screened and then undergone surveillance and curative endoscopic esophageal ablation of dysplastic BE.
Since
mortality rates are high even in early stage EAC, preventing EAC deaths requires detection and intervention at the precancer stage. Most
of the necessary elements for such an early detection program are already well established—an at-risk population (at-risk GERD
patients), a precancer (BE), and an intervention which can halt progression to EAC (endoscopic esophageal ablation). Until recently,
the only missing element for such an early detection program is a widespread screening tool that can detect BE prior to EAC.
We
believe EsoGuard, used with EsoCheck, constitutes that missing element—the first and only commercially available diagnostic test
capable of serving as a widespread testing tool with the goal of preventing EAC deaths through early detection of esophageal precancer
and cancer in patients with 3 or more risk factors.
Clinical
Guidelines for At-Risk Population
The
subgroup of long-standing or severe GERD patients at-risk for BE and progression to EAC is well defined in clinical practice guidelines,
including the American College of Gastroenterology (“ACG”) BE Guidelines. In its Recommendation 5, the ACG suggests a single
screening endoscopy in patients with chronic GERD symptoms and 3 or more additional risk factors for BE, including male sex, age greater
than 50 years, White race, tobacco smoking, obesity, and family history of BE or EAC in a first-degree relative.
An
ACG clinical guideline entitled “ Diagnosis and Management of Barrett’s Esophagus: An Updated ACG Guideline ,”
the first such update since 2016, was published online in April 2022 in the American Journal of Gastroenterology. The clinical guideline
reiterates the ACG’s long-standing recommendation for esophageal precancer screening in at-risk patients with GERD. For the first
time, however, the clinical guideline also endorses non-endoscopic biomarker screening as an acceptable alternative to costly and invasive
endoscopy stating that “a swallowable non-endoscopic capsule device combined with a biomarker is an acceptable alternative to endoscopy
for BE.” The clinical guideline specifically mentions EsoCheck, as such swallowable, non-endoscopic esophageal cell collection
devices, as well as methylated DNA biomarkers such as EsoGuard. The summary of evidence for this recommendation includes a reference
to the seminal NIH-funded, multicenter, case-control study published in 2018 in Science Translational Medicine , which demonstrated
that EsoGuard is highly accurate at detecting esophageal precancer and cancer, including on samples collected with EsoCheck.
In
July 2022, the AGA published in their “Clinical Practice Update on New Technology
and Innovation for Surveillance and Screening in Barrett’s Esophagus” updated clinical guidance that mirrors the same furnished
by the ACG as described above, endorsing the use of non-endoscopic cell collection tools to screen for BE like our EsoCheck Cell Collection
Device, which is cited in the update, as an acceptable alternative to endoscopy to directly address the need for noninvasive screening
tools that are easy to administer, patient friendly, and cost-effective for the detection of BE. The clinical practice update by the
AGA also significantly expands the target population for esophageal precancer screening, including for EsoGuard and EsoCheck, by recommending,
for the first time, screening in at-risk patients without symptoms of GERD. The AGA does so by adding a history of chronic GERD as merely
an additional, seventh risk factor to the six risk factors for BE and EAC that have traditionally identified at-risk symptomatic patients
recommended for screening.
In March 2025, Lucid announced that a recent update to the National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN) Clinical
Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN Guidelines®) focused on Esophageal and Esophagogastric Junction Cancers (Version 1.2025) has
added a new section on BE screening. The NCCN Guidelines® now reference professional society guidelines on BE screening, including
the most recent ACG clinical guideline discussed above, which recommends non-endoscopic biomarker testing, such as EsoGuard performed
on samples collected with EsoCheck, as an acceptable alternative to invasive upper endoscopy to detect esophageal precancer.
Commercialization
Lucid’s
EsoGuard commercialization efforts span multiple channels including targeting primary care and GI physicians, who have generally embraced
our message that EsoGuard has the potential to expand the funnel of BE-EAC patients who will need long term EGD surveillance and, potentially,
treatment with endoscopic esophageal ablation.
To
assure sufficient testing capacity and geographic coverage, Lucid has undertaken multiple ways for patients to have access to its test.
Initially, Lucid built a limited network of its own physical Lucid Test Centers, staffed by Lucid-employed clinical personnel, where
patients can undergo the EsoCheck procedure and have the sample sent for EsoGuard testing at Lucid’s CLIA-certified laboratory.
Our current test center network currently includes locations in metropolitan areas in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia,
Idaho, Michigan, Nevada, Texas and Utah.
In
addition to our own test center locations, Lucid has broadened patient access to its test by establishing a satellite test center program,
whereby it is making its personnel available to perform cell collection services inside physician offices or in certain geographies,
closely nearby physician offices (in Florida, for the time being) by way of our Lucid Mobile Testing Unit.
Also,
in January 2023, Lucid completed its first #CheckYourFoodTube Precancer Testing Event, with the San Antonio Fire Department (the “SAFD”)
during Firefighter Cancer Awareness Month as designated by the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF). A total of 391 members
who were deemed to be at-risk for esophageal precancer, underwent a brief, on-site, noninvasive cell collection procedure, performed
by Lucid’s clinical personnel using EsoCheck. Since then, additional testing events have been hosted with the SAFD, and many similar
events have been held with fire departments throughout the country. These events are ongoing and are an extension of Lucid’s satellite
test center program, which brings Lucid’s precancer testing directly to patients—at their physician’s office and now
at testing day events.
2
In
March 2023, Lucid launched a direct contracting strategic initiative to engage directly with large Administrative Services Only (“ASO”)
self-insured employers, unions and other entities, seeking to replicate the successes of other cancer screening diagnostic companies
that have deployed similar strategies.
In
January 2025, Lucid expanded on its direct contracting initiative by launching a cash-pay program targeting concierge medicine, as an
important component of its strategic efforts to expand its contractually-guaranteed revenue. Lucid has already contracted with several
concierge medicine practices under this initiative.
Lucid
has also established an EsoGuard Telemedicine Program, in partnership with UpScript, LLC, an independent third-party telemedicine provider,
that accommodates EsoGuard self-referrals from direct-to-consumer marketing.
Reimbursement
and Market Access
As
noted above, in December 2019, Lucid secured “gapfill” determination for EsoGuard’s PLA code 0114U through the CMS
CLFS process. This allowed Lucid to engage directly with Medicare contractor Palmetto GBA and its MolDx Program on CMS payment and coverage.
In October 2020, CMS granted EsoGuard final Medicare payment determination of $1,938.01, effective January 1, 2021.
A
final Local Coverage Determination (“LCD”) L39256, entitled “ Molecular Testing for Detection of Upper Gastrointestinal
Metaplasia, Dysplasia, and Neoplasia ” became effective in May 2023 on the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”)
website by MAC Palmetto GBA. (A substantially identical LCD was published by Noridian Healthcare Solutions, the MAC whose geographic
jurisdiction covers our CLIA laboratory in Lake Forest, CA.) The LCD outlines criteria for future coverage that MolDX expects upper gastrointestinal
precancer and cancer molecular diagnostic tests to meet. These criteria include active GERD with at least two risk factors, as well as
evidence of analytic validity, clinical validity, and clinical utility. Although the LCD indicated that it found that no currently existing
test has fulfilled all these criteria, it indicated that it will “monitor the evidence and may revise this determination based
on the pertinent literature and society recommendations.” In November 2024, Lucid submitted to MolDx its complete clinical evidence
package in support of a request for reconsideration of the non-coverage language in the LCD to secure Medicare coverage for EsoGuard.
In
parallel with our request for reconsideration of the LCD, Lucid is aggressively pursuing EsoGuard commercial insurer coverage and payment.
Although the claim adjudication cycle can be prolonged during the early commercialization of a new test, Lucid has received and continues
to receive out-of-network commercial insurance payments for the EsoGuard test, which accounts for the vast majority of our revenue to
date.
Additionally,
the legislatures in a number of states have passed laws mandating coverage of comprehensive biomarker testing over the past several years.
Lucid believes that EsoGuard falls within the definition of a biomarker test and thus Lucid is reviewing how to leverage legislation
in those states to expand access to and reimbursement of EsoGuard.
Clinical
Utility and Clinical Trials
Demonstrating
EsoGuard’s clinical utility, which requires providing evidence that the test has a meaningful impact on clinical practice, is very
important for a variety of purposes, including, importantly, for Medicare and private payor payment and coverage. It has been established
that one of the most important factors to private payors in deciding whether to grant payment and coverage will be demonstration that
the EsoGuard test, when ordered by physicians, provides information that can be used to identify or exclude patients who would benefit
from additional management and/or treatment. Clinical utility studies are also important for general EsoGuard commercialization by facilitating
physician understanding of test indications and potential benefit to the patients.
Lucid
continues to expand the EsoGuard and EsoCheck evidence portfolio with additional clinical utility and clinical validity data from a range
of ongoing studies and those that will be completed in the upcoming year. These efforts include completion of the ESOGUARD-BE2 study,
a large multi-center case control study recruiting patients from large academic institutions in the Netherlands and across the U.S.,
in the first half of the year and submission for peer review of a publication of the results in the second half of 2025. This data will
further supplement what has previously been published from the four earlier clinical validation studies from Moinova et. al. (2018),
Moinova et. al. (2024), Greer et. al., (2024), and Shaheen et. al. (2024). A large, nearly 12,000 patient real-world experience of EsoCheck
and EsoGuard from 18 months of commercial data is expected to be submitted for peer review publication in the first half of the year.
Finally, data accrual from the PREVENT and PREVENT-FF registries remains ongoing. Both registries capture information on the diagnostic
and/or therapeutic journey of subjects following EsoGuard testing, and in addition to provider decision impact, will contribute differing
levels of clinical outcomes data to the Lucid evidence portfolio.
3
Manufacturing
EsoCheck
is currently manufactured for Lucid by Coastline International (“Coastline”), a high-volume device manufacturer, and Sage
Product Development. Lucid’s current line at Coastline can produce up to 25,000 units per year. With Coastline’s improvement
and expansion, there is capacity to scale exponentially. Lucid’s EsoGuard specimen kits are currently manufactured by Path-Tec.
Path-Tec also manages warehousing, logistics, fulfillment and customer support of Lucid’s products.
License
Agreement
Under
the terms of Lucid’s license agreement with CWRU (as amended to date, the “Amended CWRU License Agreement”), Lucid
acquired an exclusive worldwide right to use the intellectual property rights to the EsoGuard and EsoCheck technology for the detection
of changes in the esophagus and on sample preservation. Lucid is required to pay CWRU royalties on net sales of licensed products as
follows: 5% of net sales of less than $100 million per year; and 8% of net sales greater than $100 million per year. Lucid is also required
to pay CWRU minimum annual royalty payments as follows: $50,000 per year, beginning January 1 following the first anniversary of a commercial
sale of a licensed product; $150,000 per year, if net sales of a licensed product exceed $25 million in a year; $300,000 per year, if
net sales of a licensed product exceed $50 million in a year; and $600,000 per year, if net sales of a licensed product exceed $100 million
in a year. Minimum yearly royalty amounts are subject to increase based on the percentage change in the CPI-W Consumer Price Index and
are credited against the royalties otherwise due. The license agreement was subject to four regulatory and commercialization milestones,
of which one remains unachieved and unpaid. The remaining milestone is the FDA PMA submission of a licensed product, upon the achievement
of which we will pay CWRU a milestone payment of $200,000. The license agreement terminates upon the expiration of the last-to-expire
licensed patent, or on May 12, 2038, in countries where no such patents exist, or upon expiration of any exclusive marketing rights for
a licensed product that have been granted by FDA or other U.S. government agency, whichever comes later.
Regulatory
In
June 2019, Lucid received FDA 510(k) clearance to market EsoCheck in the U.S. as a device indicated for use in the collection and retrieval
of surface cells of the esophagus in adults followed by FDA 510(k) clearance in 2022, expanding the use of EsoCheck in adults and pediatric
populations in the U.S. In December 2019, Lucid’s CLIA-certified then-laboratory partner, completed documentation of EsoGuard analytical
validity allowing Lucid to commercialize it as a LDT.
In
February 2020, Lucid received FDA “Breakthrough Device Designation” for EsoGuard as an in-vitro diagnostic (“IVD”)
medical device. The FDA Breakthrough Device Program was created to offer patients more timely access to breakthrough technologies which
provide for more effective treatment or diagnosis of life-threatening or irreversibly debilitating human disease or conditions by expediting
their development, assessment and review through enhanced communications and more efficient and flexible clinical study design, including
more favorable pre/post market data collection balance.
In
May 2021, Lucid received CE Mark certification for EsoCheck (under the Medical Devices Directive 93/42/EEC), and in June 2021, Lucid
completed CE Mark self-certification for EsoGuard (under the European In-Vitro Diagnostic Devices Directive (IVDD 98/79/EC)), indicating
both may be marketed in CE Mark European countries.
In
October 2023, FDA proposed a policy under which FDA intends to phase out its general enforcement discretion approach for LDTs so that
IVDs manufactured by a laboratory would generally fall under the same enforcement approach as other IVDs. On May 6, 2024, the FDA issued
a final rule aimed at helping to ensure the safety and effectiveness of LDTs. The rule amends the FDA’s regulations to make explicit
that IVDs are devices under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (“FDCA”), including when the manufacturer of the IVD
is a laboratory. Along with this amendment, the FDA is finalizing a policy under which the FDA will provide greater oversight of IVDs
offered as LDTs through a phaseout of its general enforcement discretion approach for LDTs over the course of four years, as well as
targeted enforcement discretion policies for certain categories of IVDs manufactured by laboratories.
The
phaseout policy contains the following five stages:
●
Stage
1: Beginning on May 6, 2025, which is one year after the publication date of the final LDT rule, FDA will expect compliance with
medical device reporting (MDR) requirements, correction and removal reporting requirements, and quality system (QS) requirements
regarding complaint files.
●
Stage
2: Beginning on May 6, 2026, which is 2 years after the publication date of the final LDT rule, FDA will expect compliance with requirements
not covered during other stages of the phaseout policy, including registration and listing requirements, labeling requirements, and
investigational use requirements.
●
Stage
3: Beginning on May 6, 2027, which is 3 years after the publication date of the final LDT rule, FDA will expect compliance with QS
requirements (other than requirements regarding complaint files which are already addressed in stage 1).
●
Stage
4: Beginning on November 6, 2027, which is 3½ years after the publication date of the final LDT rule, FDA will expect compliance
with premarket review requirements for high-risk IVDs offered as LDTs (IVDs that may be classified into class III or that are subject
to licensure under section 351 of the Public Health Service Act), unless a premarket submission has been received by the beginning
of this stage in which case FDA intends to continue to exercise enforcement discretion for the pendency of its review.
●
Stage
5: Beginning on May 6, 2028, which is 4 years after the publication date of the final LDT rule, FDA will expect compliance with premarket
review requirements for moderate-risk and low-risk IVDs offered as LDTs (that require premarket submissions), unless a premarket
submission has been received by the beginning of this stage in which case FDA intends to continue to exercise enforcement discretion
for the pendency of its review.
4
The
FDA also intends to exercise enforcement discretion and generally not enforce some or all applicable requirements for certain categories
of IVDs manufactured by a laboratory. The categories of enforcement discretion that are applicable to EsoGuard are summarized in the
table below.
Category
of IVD
Stage
1
Stage
2
Stage
3
Stages
4 & 5 (Premarket Review)
Currently
marketed IVDs offered as LDTs first marketed prior to rule publication date and not modified beyond scope described in preamble Section
V.B.3 of preamble
Compliance
generally expected beginning May 6, 2025
Compliance
generally expected beginning May 6, 2026
Compliance
with 21 CFR 820.180-820.186 generally expected beginning May 6, 2027;
Compliance
generally not expected with other QS requirements (except for complaint files)
Compliance
generally not expected
LDTs
approved by NYS CLEP Section V.B.2 of preamble
Compliance
generally expected beginning May 6, 2025
Compliance
generally expected beginning May 6, 2026
Compliance
generally expected beginning May 6, 2027
Compliance
generally not expected
As
EsoGuard was marketed prior to rule publication and is also NYS CLEP approved, hence, enforcement discretion is applicable for
compliance with Stages 4 and 5. We will be implementing compliance with MDR requirements, correction and removal reporting
requirements, and quality system (QS) requirements regarding complaint files by March 31, 2025, well before the deadline of May 6,
2025. Gap analysis has been completed and we are expecting our compliance activities to be completed for Stages 2 and 3 before the FDA’s expected timeframes in 2026 and 2027, respectively. We are
confident that the proposed final rule will not have a commercial impact as the Company already has a robust QS management platform
for medical devices and EsoGuard will be able to easily transition to the platform to fulfill the QS requirements, as required by
the FDA.
Our
longer-term strategy is to secure a specific indication, based on published guidelines, for BE testing in certain at-risk populations
using EsoGuard on samples collected with EsoCheck. This use of EsoGuard together with EsoCheck as a testing system must be cleared or
approved by the FDA as an IVD device.
Laboratory
Operations
On
February 25, 2022, a newly-formed wholly owned subsidiary of Lucid, LucidDx Labs Inc. (“LucidDx Labs”), acquired from ResearchDx
Inc. (“RDx”), certain licenses and other related assets necessary for LucidDx Labs to operate its own new
CLIA-certified, CAP-accredited clinical laboratory located in Lake Forest, CA. Since March 2022, Lucid has conducted EsoGuard
testing at its own laboratory.
In
November 2023, LucidDx Labs launched EsoGuard 2.0, which uses multiplexing thereby allowing both genes to be interrogated on a single
DNA sample. The next-generation assay underwent rigorous analytical and clinical validation studies, including head-to-head comparisons
of multiplexed triplicate consensus versus singleplex techniques, consistent with CLIA standards. Clinical validation analysis demonstrated
improved sensitivity and specificity for the detection of esophageal precancer, having demonstrated enhanced assay performance and lower
costs in extensive validation studies.
Competition
The
U.S. market for esophageal cancer (i.e., EAC) and pre-cancer (i.e., BE, with or without dysplasia) testing is large, consisting of more
than 30 million at-risk individuals over the age of 50. Given the large market for pre-cancer testing, Lucid likely will face numerous
competitors, some of which possess significantly greater financial and other resources and development capabilities than Lucid. The EsoGuard
test faces competition from procedure-based detection technologies such as upper endoscopy, and other testing technologies such as multi-cancer
early detection products. The EsoCheck device faces competition from other manufacturers with devices designed to collect cell samples
from targeted regions of the esophagus. For example, EndoSign, commercialized by Cyted, and much like Cytosponge, is a small mesh sponge
within a soluble gelatin capsule that needs to reside in the stomach and then is pulled thru the targeted region brushing the lining
of the esophagus and then later retrieved, although, unlike EsoCheck, it is unprotected from sample contamination as the brush later
passes regions of the upper esophagus and mouth. Lucid’s competitors may also be developing additional methods of detecting esophageal
cancer and pre-cancer that have not yet been announced.
Most
of Lucid’s existing and potential competitors have substantially greater financial, marketing, sales, distribution, manufacturing
and technological resources. Lucid may be unable to compete effectively against our competitors either because their products and services
are superior or more cost efficient, or because they have access to greater resources than Lucid. These competitors may have greater
name recognition than Lucid does. Many of these competitors have obtained all desirable FDA or other regulatory approvals, and superior
patent protection, for their products. Certain of Lucid’s competitors have already commercialized their products, and others may
commercialize their products in advance of Lucid’s products. In addition, Lucid’s competitors may make technical advances
that render Lucid’s products obsolete. Lucid may be unable to respond to such technical advances.
Veris
Health
Overview
In
May 2021, we formed Veris Health, a majority-owned subsidiary, focused on digital health technology. In connection with its formation,
Veris Health acquired Oncodisc, a digital health company with groundbreaking tools to improve personalized cancer care through remote
patient monitoring. Oncodisc’s core technologies include designs and patents that would be the foundation for the first intelligent
implantable vascular access port with biologic sensors and wireless communication, combined with an oncologist-designed remote digital
healthcare platform that provides patients and physicians with new tools to improve outcomes and optimize the delivery of cost-effective
care through remote monitoring and data analytics.
5
Veris
Health’s lead product, the Veris Cancer Care Platform, is a comprehensive digital cancer care platform with remote physiological
data collection, symptom reporting, telehealth capability and electronic health record (“EHR”) integration. The platform offers enhanced
personalized cancer care through the early detection of complications, reduced unplanned hospitalizations, the provision of longitudinal
trends of physiological and clinical data, data-driven risk management tools, and increased patient and provider satisfaction. Cancer
patients enrolled on the platform receive a VerisBox™ of Veris-branded connected health care devices which transmit physiologic
data to the cloud-based clinician portal via embedded cellular connections. A complementary patient portal enables patients to report
symptoms, as well as general health and quality of life parameters, to their cancer care team through the Veris patient smartphone app.
The app also allows caretakers and family members to follow along on the patient’s cancer care journey. Veris is developing an
implantable physiological monitor, designed to be implanted alongside a vascular access port, which will interface with the Veris Cancer
Care Platform. The implantable monitor will further enhance the clinical and commercial value of the platform by providing remote physiologic
data independent of patient compliance.
Market
Opportunity
In
2024, approximately 2.0 million people in the U.S. were newly diagnosed with cancer, and cancer incidence in the U.S. is expected to
continue to increase. Cancer patients face high rates of complications during the courses of their treatment which drive poor patient
outcomes and healthcare costs. One driver of these issues is avoidable hospitalizations. We believe Veris Health’s offerings can
help drive costs down and improve outcomes through providing care teams with better, more continuous data.
Based
on the aforementioned cancer prevalence in the U.S. and our current business model, we believe Veris Health’s total addressable
U.S. market opportunity exceeds $2 billion. In the future, we believe this will only expand through the implantable physiologic monitor,
as well as other opportunities or enhancements Veris may pursue as resources permit, such as data commercialization, incorporating additional
AI-based features and the expansion into other markets aside from oncology.
Commercialization/Sales
We
are currently pursuing strategic partnerships with leading academic oncology systems, whereby we would become the exclusive digital health
solution for these institutions’ oncology departments. To this end, Veris and The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center
- The James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute (OSUCCC – The James), a National Cancer Institute-Designated Comprehensive
Cancer Center, executed a memorandum of understanding to implement a pilot program where cancer patients would be enrolled on the Veris
Cancer Care Platform™. The pilot program was launched in June 2024, and has been extended through the end of March 2025. This collaboration
represents a significant step forward in Veris Health’s commercialization strategy, allowing the company to demonstrate the value
of its platform and gather data on its effectiveness in improving personalized cancer care.
Veris
is continuing to pursue similar partnerships with other leading institutions. Veris has a software-as-a-service recurring-revenue business
model, where it seeks to generate recurring revenue through oncology practice and hospital-based subscriptions. These entities pay monthly
fees for each patient on the platform, through which they are able to derive revenues from remote physiologic monitoring (and, in the
future, device implantation) under existing CPT codes. Veris also plans to build a commercialization model around the oncology data it
is collecting, as resources permit. We have identified multiple potential use cases across a number of verticals, including clinical
trials, commercial use cases, and as a means to improve patient care.
Manufacturing
The
components comprising the Veris Cancer Care Platform are currently supplied to us by our partners TransTek and their U.S.-based
subsidiary, Mio Labs. Each has passed a SOC-2 audit by an outside auditor. The final packaging of the overall box and order
fulfillment is managed by PAVmed at its Foxborough, MA location. Customer support is currently managed internally, while partnering
with Zendesk for customer service management.
Regulatory
The
Veris Cancer Care Platform qualifies as a Non-Device Clinical Decision Software (“CDS”) that is excluded from the
definition of a medical device under the FDCA, as amended by the 21st Century Cures Act, and therefore is not subject to the
FDA’s regulatory requirements for devices, as confirmed in the FDA’s Clinical Decision Support Software
Guidance.
Veris
Health is also developing an implantable cardiac monitor and is currently interacting with the FDA via pre-submission process, seeking
agreement on regulatory strategy and required testing to seek clearance of the monitor. We plan to make our 510(k) submission for the
implantable monitor, which could happen as early as late 2025, if and to the extent resources permit us to do so.
Competition
The
U.S. market for cancer patient care is large. There are many existing competitors in the remote physiological monitoring space, some
of which possess significantly greater financial and other resources and development capabilities than us. Our Veris Cancer Care
Platform faces competition from other digital care platforms providing many of the same features, including EHR integration and
remote patient monitoring capabilities. While we are not aware of other implantable physiologic monitors containing biologic
sensors, our competitors may also be developing similar devices that have not yet been announced.
6
Incubator
Program
On
March 21, 2024, PAVmed announced that it had launched a wholly owned incubator, PMX, to complete development and commercialization
of existing portfolio technologies, including PortIO, EsoCure and CarpX. Although PMX may seek to expand its portfolio with internal
or externally sourced technologies in the future, its initial assets will include the following products:
PortIO
Our
PortIO implantable intraosseous vascular access device is being developed as a means for infusing fluids, medications and other substances
directly into the bone marrow cavity and from there into the central venous circulation. The intraosseous route provides a means for
infusing fluids, medications and other substances directly into the bone marrow cavity which communicates with the central venous circulation
via nutrient and emissary veins. This route is well established, having been used for decades in a variety of settings including trauma,
especially military trauma, and pediatric emergencies. It has been shown to be bioequivalent to the intravenous route. Complication rates
are low and there are few contraindications. Currently available intraosseous devices pass through the skin into the bone and are therefore
limited to short term use. PortIO is a novel, implantable intraosseous vascular access device which does not require accessing the central
venous system and does not have an indwelling intravascular component. It is designed to be highly resistant to occlusion and, we believe,
may not require regular flushing. It features simplified, near-percutaneous insertion and removal, without the need for surgical dissection
or radiographic confirmation.
Esocure
In
connection with our efforts to expand our presence in the EAC diagnostic market, we were developing the EsoCure Esophageal Ablation Device,
with the intent to allow a clinician to treat dysplastic BE before it can progress to EAC, a highly lethal esophageal cancer, and to
do so without the need for complex and expensive capital equipment. We have successfully completed a pre-clinical feasibility animal
study of EsoCure demonstrating excellent, controlled circumferential ablation of the esophageal mucosal lining. An acute and survival
animal study of EsoCure Esophageal Ablation Device has also been completed, demonstrating successful direct thermal balloon catheter
ablation of esophageal lining through the working channel of a standard endoscope. When resources permit, we plan to conduct additional
development work and animal testing of EsoCure to support a future FDA 510(k) submission.
CarpX
CarpX
is a patented, single-use, disposable, minimally invasive surgical device for use in the treatment of carpal tunnel syndrome. CarpX
is designed to allow the physician to relieve the compression on the median nerve without an open incision or the need for
endoscopic or other imaging equipment, and therefore we believe it will be significantly less invasive than existing treatments. To
use CarpX, the operator first advances a guidewire through the carpal tunnel under the ligament, and then advanced over the wire and
positioned in the carpal tunnel under ultrasonic and/or fluoroscopic guidance. When the CarpX balloon is inflated it creates tension
in the ligament positioning the cutting electrodes underneath it and creates space within the tunnel, providing anatomic separation
between the target ligament and critical structures such as the median nerve. Radiofrequency energy is briefly delivered to the
electrodes, rapidly cutting the ligament, and relieving the pressure on the nerve. We believe CarpX will be significantly less
invasive than existing treatments.
CarpX
received FDA 510(k) marketing clearance in April 2020, with the first commercial procedure successfully performed in December 2020. In
May 2021 European CE Mark Certification was received for CarpX. Our limited-release commercialization efforts through 2022 were focused
on engaging key opinion hand surgeons designed to solicit input for ergonomic improvements to the device, procedure development and surgical-time
optimization, and ease of use. As a result of this clinical input, we have initiated a product development project to incorporate intraluminal
ultrasound into the device to include real time imaging of the ligament to be cut together with critical anatomic structures, and will
continue to pursue that project, as resources permit.
7
Recent
Developments
Business
EsoGuard
Medicare Coverage
In
November 2024, Lucid submitted to MolDx its complete clinical evidence package in support of a request for reconsideration of the non-coverage
language in the LCD to secure Medicare coverage for EsoGuard. The EsoGuard clinical evidence package included six new peer-reviewed publications:
three clinical validation studies (two in the intended use population, one case control), two clinical utility studies, and one analytical
validation study. The current LCD provides clear coverage criteria consistent with the ACG guidelines
for esophageal precancer testing. The package was submitted as part of a request for reconsideration of the non-coverage language in
the LCD to secure Medicare coverage for EsoGuard.
NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines Update
In March 2025, Lucid announced that
a recent update to the National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN) Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN Guidelines®)
focused on Esophageal and Esophagogastric Junction Cancers (Version 1.2025) has added a new section on BE screening. The NCCN Guidelines®
now reference professional society guidelines on BE screening, including the most recent ACG clinical guideline discussed above, which
recommends non-endoscopic biomarker testing, such as EsoGuard performed on samples collected with EsoCheck, as an acceptable alternative
to invasive upper endoscopy to detect esophageal precancer.
Clinical Study Publications
On March 18, 2025, Lucid announced
that its ENVET-BE clinical utility study has been accepted for publication in Gastroenterology & Hepatology—the fifth peer-reviewed
publication of clinical utility data for Lucid’s EsoGuard® Esophageal DNA Test, and the second to present findings from a real-world
screening population. The manuscript, entitled “Enhancing the Diagnostic Yield of EGD for Diagnosis of Barrett’s Esophagus Through
Methylated DNA Biomarker Triage,” demonstrates that confirmatory upper endoscopy (EGD) performed in EsoGuard-positive patients had
a substantially higher diagnostic yield for detecting esophageal precancer (Barrett’s Esophagus or BE) than the expected yield of screening
EGD alone in at-risk patients. The ENVET-BE study reviewed real-world data from a cohort of 199 EsoGuard-positive patients who completed
confirmatory EGD. The overall positive diagnostic yield for BE was 2.4-fold higher than the expected yield of screening EGD alone, based
on disease prevalence within an at-risk population. The yield was nearly three-fold higher in patients meeting American College of Gastroenterology
(ACG) screening criteria.
On November 7, 2024, Lucid announced that its
manuscript for its multi-center ESOGUARD BE-1 study has been accepted for publication in The American Journal of Gastroenterology,
the official journal of the American College of Gastroenterology (ACG). This is the fourth publication presenting clinical
validation data for Lucid’s EsoGuard® Esophageal DNA Test, and the second to demonstrate its performance in an
intended-use screening population. Consistent with previous studies, EsoGuard showed high sensitivity and negative predictive value
in detecting esophageal precancer (Barrett’s Esophagus or BE). The prospective, multi-center study presented data from a cohort of
patients who met ACG guideline criteria for esophageal precancer screening and underwent non-endoscopic EsoGuard testing followed by
traditional upper endoscopy. EsoGuard sensitivity and negative predictive value for detecting BE were approximately 88% and 99%,
respectively. Specificity and positive predictive value were approximately 81% and 30%, respectively. No serious adverse events were
reported.
Highmark
Reimbursement Approval
On
March 13, 2025, Lucid announced that Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield, an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association,
has issued a positive coverage policy for non-invasive screening of esophageal precancer and cancer in New York state. The new policy
will cover EsoGuard in patients who meet established criteria for esophageal precancer testing consistent with professional society guidelines.
CWRU
NIH Grant Related to EsoGuard and EsoCheck
On February 27, 2025, Lucid announced that principal investigators from CWRU and University Hospitals (“UH”),
were awarded an $8 million National Institutes of Health (“NIH”) R01 grant to conduct a five-year clinical study designed
to evaluate esophageal precancer detection using EsoCheck and EsoGuard among at-risk individuals without symptoms of chronic GERD. The
study, “ A Clinical Trial of Cancer Prevention by Biomarker Based Detections of Barrett’s Esophagus and Its Progression ,”
aims to evaluate the effectiveness of EsoCheck and EsoGuard in detecting esophageal precancer (Barrett’s Esophagus or BE) to prevent
esophageal cancer (EAC) within a non-GERD at-risk population. To accomplish this aim, 800 patients without GERD symptoms who meet the
AGA risk criteria for screening will be recruited across five participating research centers: University Hospitals, University of Colorado,
Johns Hopkins University, University of North Carolina, and Cleveland Clinic.
Veris
NIH Grant
On
October 10, 2024, PAVmed announced that Veris has been awarded a $1.8 million grant from the National Institute on Minority Health and
Health Disparities (NIMHD), an institute of NIH. The two-year grant will fund research to optimize
and validate the Veris Cancer Care Platform for the needs of medically underserved cancer patients, in partnership with an academic cancer
center. The research project, “Bridging the Gap: Enhancing Cancer Care for Underserved Populations with the Veris Health Cancer
Care Platform,” will focus on patients facing language barriers, limited access to technology, and socioeconomic disparities.
Changes
to Board Composition
Effective
as of September 10, 2024, James L. Cox, M.D., and Joan B. Harvey resigned from the Company’s board of directors. Neither Dr. Cox’s
nor Ms. Harvey’s resignation was due to any disagreement with the Company on any matter relating to its operations, policies or
practices.
Also
effective as of September 10, 2024, the Company’s board of directors appointed Sundeep Agrawal, M.D. as a Class B director. Prior
to being appointed to the Company’s board of directors, Dr. Agrawal had entered into a strategic advisory agreement with the Company
to provide certain M&A advisory services. Such agreement remains in effect. Pursuant to the
agreement, Dr. Agrawal will receive a monthly consulting fee of $3,333. The agreement is terminable by the Company on 10 days’
written notice. Except for the foregoing, Dr. Agrawal has not engaged in any transactions with the Company that are required to be reported
pursuant to Item 404(a) of Regulation S-K.
Intercompany
Agreements with Lucid
On
August 6, 2024, the Company and Lucid entered into a ninth amendment to the management services agreement between them (“MSA”)
to increase the monthly fee thereunder from $0.83 million per month to $1.05 million per month, effective as of July 1, 2024. In addition,
under the terms of our convertible debt (as amended as of January 17, 2025), we are required to elect that these payments be made in cash.
Veris
Cancer Care Platform
On
June 13, 2024, we announced that Veris and a National Cancer Institute-Designated Comprehensive Cancer Center launched a pilot program
and has enrolled the first patients from such center in such program on the Veris Cancer Care Platform.
8
Financing
PAVmed/Veris
Common Stock Offering
On
February 18, 2025, the Company and Veris entered into subscription agreements (each, a “Subscription Agreement”) with certain
accredited investors (collectively, the “Investors”), pursuant to which the Company agreed to sell and the Investors agreed
to purchase (the “Offering”) 2,574,350 shares of the Company’s common stock and pre-funded warrants to purchase 756,734
shares of the Company’s common stock (the “Pre-Funded Warrants”), at a purchase price of $0.7115 per share or warrant
share (as applicable). In addition, Veris agreed to issue to each Investor approximately 0.2033 shares of Veris’ common stock for
each share or warrant share (as applicable) purchased by such Investor, for an aggregate of 677,143 shares of Veris’ common stock.
On February 21, 2025, the Company consummated the Offering, generating gross proceeds to the Company of $2.37 million. The proceeds of
the offering will be used to resume development activities related to Veris’ implantable physiological monitor and for general
working capital purposes.
The
Subscription Agreement contains customary representations, warranties, covenants and indemnities of the Company and the Investors,
as well as a covenant by the Company to provide the Investors with protection against subsequent equity raises by the Company or
Veris at a lower purchase price (solely to the extent the Investors continue to hold the shares issued in the Offering), with such
protection to be effected through the issuance of additional shares of Veris’ common stock. In addition, the Company (i)
agreed to solicit the affirmative vote of its stockholders by no later than its next meeting of stockholders, which will be held no
later than June 30, 2025, for approval, for the purposes of the rules of The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC (“Nasdaq”), of the issuance of all of the
shares underlying the Pre-Funded Warrants, and to hold additional meetings quarterly thereafter to the extent such approval is not
obtained, (ii) granted the Investors a 100% participation right in future offerings of equity securities of the Company or its
majority-owned subsidiaries, subject to existing participation rights of the Company’s debt holder, and (iii) agreed not to
incur, and not to permit its majority-owned subsidiaries to incur, any indebtedness until August 18, 2026, subject to certain
exceptions. In accordance with the Subscription Agreement, the Company also entered into a registration rights agreement (the
“Registration Rights Agreement”) with the Investors, pursuant to which the Company agreed to file a registration
statement covering the resale of the shares of the Company’s common stock issued in the Offering, including the shares
underlying the Pre-Funded Warrants.
The
Pre-Funded Warrants become exercisable upon the receipt of the stockholder approval described above, expire on February 18, 2030, and
have an exercise price of $0.001 per share, subject to adjustment as described below. The Pre-Funded Warrants may be exercised for cash,
or on a cashless basis. In the event the Pre-Funded Warrants are exercised on a cashless basis, the holder will be entitled to receive
a number of shares of the Company’s common stock equal to (x) the excess of the market value of the Company’s common stock
over the exercise price, multiplied by (y) the number of shares as to which the Pre-Funded Warrant is being exercised, divided by (z)
the market value of the Company’s common stock. The exercise price and number and type of securities or other property issuable
on exercise of the Pre-Funded Warrants may be adjusted in certain circumstances, including in the event of a stock split or combination,
stock dividend, or a recapitalization, reorganization, merger or similar transaction. In addition, a holder of the Pre-Funded Warrants
will be entitled to participate in rights offerings or pro rata distributions by the Company. However, there will be no adjustment for
issuances of shares of common stock at a price below the exercise price.
The
lead investor in the Offering also agreed with the Company that it would, with respect to the election of the Company’s directors,
vote its shares of the Company’s common stock (including those exercisable in respect of their Pre-Funded Warrants) in
accordance with the Company’s board’s recommendations.
Nasdaq Compliance with Stockholders’ Equity
Continued Listing Standard
On February 14, 2025, the Company
received a notification letter from the Nasdaq Listing Qualifications Department, stating that the Company had regained compliance with
the Nasdaq continued listing standard under Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(b)(1), which requires, among other things, that the Company maintain
at least $2.5 million in stockholders’ equity.
As previously disclosed, on March
7, 2024, the Company received a notice from the Nasdaq Listing Qualifications Department stating that, for the prior 30 consecutive business
days (through March 6, 2024), the market value of the Company’s listed securities had been below the minimum of $35 million required
for continued inclusion on the Nasdaq Capital Market under Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(b)(2). The Company did not regain compliance with
the rule during the time period originally allotted under Nasdaq rules. Accordingly, the Company timely requested a hearing before a Nasdaq
Hearings Panel (the “Panel”), which took place on October 29, 2024. On November 8, 2024, the Panel granted the Company an
extension, until January 31, 2025, to regain compliance with the Nasdaq continued listing standards under Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(b)(1),
in lieu of Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(b)(2).
The Company achieved compliance through (1) the exchange of secured convertible notes with a principal amount outstanding
of $22.3 million for shares of Series C convertible preferred stock, par value $0.001 (the “Series C Preferred Stock”), which
was consummated on January 17, 2025, (2) the issuance of additional shares of Series C Preferred Stock for an aggregate purchase price
of $2.653 million, which was consummated on January 24, 2025, and (3) a reduction in operating expenses as a result of the Company’s
completed deconsolidation of Lucid from its balance sheet, each of which transactions was previously disclosed and is outlined in more
detail below. As a result, the Company met the terms of the Panel’s decision.
Series
C Preferred Stock Debt Exchange ; Amendments to September 2022 Convertible Note. Under a Securities Purchase Agreement
dated March 31, 2022, the Company issued a Senior Secured Convertible Note dated April 4, 2022, referred to herein as the “April
2022 Senior Convertible Note”, and a Senior Secured Convertible Note dated September 8, 2022, referred to herein as the “September
2022 Senior Convertible Note”.
On
November 15, 2024, the Company entered into an Exchange Agreement (the “Debt Exchange Agreement”) with the holder (the “Holder”)
of the April 2022 Senior Convertible Note and the September 2022 Senior Convertible Note. The Debt Exchange Agreement provided for the
exchange of $22.3 million in principal amount of the April 2022 Senior Convertible Note and the September 2022 Senior Convertible Note
and interest thereon for 22,347 shares of Series C Preferred Stock.
On
January 17, 2025, after satisfaction of all conditions to closing the Exchange, the parties consummated the Exchange. Following
consummation of the Exchange, the April 2022 Senior Convertible Note was satisfied in full, and the outstanding principal balance of
the remaining September 2022 Senior Convertible Note was approximately $6.6 million.
9
Under
the Debt Exchange Agreement discussed above, effective as of consummation on the Exchange as of January 17, 2025, the Company also
agreed to certain amendments and modifications to the September 2022 Convertible Note, including, without limitation, that the
conversion price thereunder was reset to $1.068; that the maturity date was extended to December 31, 2025; that any change of
control or disposition by the Company of its shares of Lucid common stock would require the prior written consent of the Required
Holders (as defined in the September 2022 Convertible Note); certain other terms and conditions regarding payments under the MSA and
the application of the same (including that all MSA payments from Lucid must be made in cash); that the Company waives its right to redeem the September 2022 Convertible Note so long as any shares
of Series C Preferred Stock are outstanding; that the Holder waives, until December 31, 2025, the financial covenants under the
September 2022 Convertible Note requiring that (i) the amount of the Company’s available cash equal or exceed $8.0 million at
all times, (ii) the ratio of (a) the outstanding principal amount of the September 2022 Convertible Note, accrued and unpaid
interest thereon and accrued and unpaid late charges to (b) the Company’s average market capitalization over the prior ten
trading days, not exceed 30%, and (iii) that the Company’s market capitalization shall at no time be less than $75 million;
and that so long as any shares of Series C Preferred Stock remain outstanding, the Holder will be entitled to exchange all, or any
portion, of the September 2022 Convertible Note (including any interest that would accrue thereon through the maturity date thereof)
into shares of Lucid common stock held by the Company, at an exchange price per share of Lucid common stock equal to $0.85 per share
(as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, stock combinations, recapitalizations and similar events), subject to certain
beneficial ownership limitations.
The key terms of the Series C Preferred Stock can be found on Exhibit 4.1 to this Form 10-K.
Series
C Preferred Stock Security Purchase Agreement. On November 20, 2024, the Company entered into a Securities Purchase
Agreement (the “Series C Securities Purchase Agreement”) with the Holder. The Series C Securities Purchase Agreement
provides for the purchase of 2,653 shares of Series C Preferred Stock at a price of $1,000 per share, with the purchase price to be
satisfied through the cancellation of $2.6 million of certain unsecured debt obligations owed by the Company to the Holder (the
“Purchase”).
On
January 24, 2025, after satisfaction of all conditions to closing the Purchase, the parties consummated the Purchase.
Lucid Deconsolidation. On September 10,
2024, the Company determined that Lucid and its subsidiaries will be deconsolidated from the Company’s financial statements as of
September 10, 2024, as a result of the changes in the composition of the Company’s board of directors discussed above, in combination
with the Company ceasing to have control over a majority of the voting power of Lucid. As a result of these events, the Company is considered
to cease to have control over Lucid for the purposes of U.S. generally accepted accounting principles, even though it continues to own,
and has not disposed any of its, 31,302,444 shares of common stock of Lucid.
Nasdaq Notice of Noncompliance
with the Minimum Bid Price Requirement
On
January 23, 2025, the Company received a notice from the Listing Qualifications Department of Nasdaq stating that, for the prior 30
consecutive business days (through January 22, 2025), the closing bid price of the Company’s common stock had been below the
minimum of $1 per share required for continued listing on the Nasdaq Capital Market under Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(a)(2). The
notification letter stated that the Company would be afforded 180 calendar days (until July 22, 2025) to regain compliance. In order
to regain compliance, the closing bid price of the Company’s common stock must be at least $1 for a minimum of ten consecutive
business days. The notification letter also stated that, in the event the Company does not regain compliance within the initial
180-day period, the Company may be eligible for an additional 180-day period. If the Company is not eligible for the additional
180-day period, or if it appears to the Nasdaq staff that the Company will not be able to cure the deficiency, the Nasdaq Listing
Qualifications Department will provide notice after the end of the initial 180-day period that the Company’s securities will
be subject to delisting. The Nasdaq notification has no effect at this time on the listing of the Company’s common stock or
Series Z warrants, and the common stock and Series Z warrants will continue to trade uninterrupted under the symbol
“PAVM” and “PAVMZ,” respectively.
2014
Long-Term Incentive Plan
In
January 2025, the Company accepted from employees the voluntary forfeiture of approximately 494,202 of previously granted Company stock
options, each with an exercise price greater than $4.00 per share and collectively with a weighted average exercise price of $23.38 per
share. None of the forfeitures were from Section 16 officers or board members.
Authorized
Share Increase
On
January 15, 2025, the Company received shareholder approval to amend its certificate of incorporation, as amended, to increase the total
number of shares of common stock the Company is authorized to issue by 200 million shares from 50 million shares to 250 million shares.
An amendment effecting such change was filed with the Secretary of State of Delaware on January 15, 2025.
10
Lucid
Diagnostics — Registered Direct Offering
On
March 5, 2025, Lucid closed on the sale of 13,939,331 shares of its common stock, pursuant to its previously announced offering of shares
of common stock at a price of $1.10 per share (the “Lucid Offering”).
The
net proceeds of the Lucid Offering, after deducting the estimated placement agent’s fees and other expenses of the Lucid Offering,
was approximately $14.5 million. Lucid intends to use the net proceeds from the Lucid Offering for working capital and other general
corporate purposes.
In
connection with the Lucid Offering, Lucid suspended its “at the market offering” program. In November 2022, Lucid
entered into a Controlled Equity Offering℠ Sales Agreement (the “Lucid Sales Agreement”) with Cantor Fitzgerald
& Co. (“Cantor”). Pursuant to the Sales Agreement, from time to time, Lucid may offer and sell shares of its common
stock to or through Cantor, acting as sales agent or principal. Sales of Lucid’s common stock by Cantor, if any, under the
Sales Agreement may be made by any method permitted by law and deemed to be an “at the market offering” as defined in
Rule 415(a)(4) promulgated under the Securities Act (the “Lucid ATM Offering”). Lucid filed a prospectus supplement
dated December 6, 2022 (the “Lucid ATM Prospectus Supplement”), for the offer and sale of shares of its common stock
having an aggregate offering price of up to $6,500,000 in the Lucid ATM Offering. Effective as of March 4, 2025, Lucid terminated
the Lucid ATM Prospectus Supplement. Lucid will not make any sales of common stock in the Lucid ATM Offering unless and until a new
prospectus or prospectus supplement is filed. Other than the termination of the Lucid ATM Prospectus Supplement, the Lucid Sales
Agreement remains in full force and effect.
Lucid
Diagnostics — Debt Refinancing
On
November 22, 2024, Lucid closed on the sale of $21.975 million in principal amount of 12.0% Senior Secured Convertible Notes due 2029
(collectively, the “Lucid 2024 Convertible Notes”), in a private placement, to certain accredited investors (the “Lucid
2024 Note Investors”). The sale of the Lucid 2024 Convertible Notes was completed pursuant to the terms of the previously disclosed
Securities Purchase Agreement, dated as of November 12, 2024 (the “Lucid 2024 SPA”), between Lucid and the Lucid 2024 Note
Investors. Lucid realized gross proceeds of $21.95 million and, after giving effect to the repayment in full of the Lucid 2023 Convertible
Note (as defined below), net proceeds of $18.3 million from the sale of the Lucid 2024 Convertible Notes.
Lucid
used a portion of the proceeds from the sale of the Lucid 2024 Convertible Notes to repay the Senior Convertible Note (the “Lucid
2023 Convertible Note”) issued pursuant to that certain Securities Purchase Agreement, dated as of March 13, 2023. Pursuant to
the terms of the Lucid 2023 Convertible Note, on November 22, 2024, Lucid redeemed the Lucid 2023 Convertible Note by paying the contractual
redemption price of approximately $3.7 million.
11
PAVmed
Inc. ATM Facility
In
December 2021, we entered into an “at-the-market offering” for up to $50 million of our common stock that may be offered
and sold under a Controlled Equity Offering Agreement between us and Cantor. In March 2023, the “at-the-market offering”
became subject to General Instruction I.B.6 of Form S-3, which limits sales of our securities under this instruction in any 12-month
period to one-third of the aggregate market value of our public float (unless our public float rises to $75 million or more, in which
case the instruction will cease to apply). As a result of this limitation and our then-current public float, in May 2023, we amended
our “at-the-market offering” to cover up to an additional $18 million of our common stock. In the year ended December 31,
2024, the Company sold 1,032,298 shares through its at-the-market equity facility for net proceeds of approximately $1.3 million, after
payment of 3% commissions. Subsequent to December 31, 2024, as of March 20, 2025, the Company sold 1,210,704 shares through
their at-market equity facility for net proceeds of approximately $0.8 million, after payment of 3% commissions.
Intellectual
Property
Our
business will depend on proprietary medical device and diagnostic technologies to commercialize. We own or have the right to use
intellectual property rights, such as patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets and know-how, pertaining to our EsoCheck and
EsoGuard technology, our Veris technology and our EsoCure, CarpX and PortIO products, among other technologies and
products.
We
intend to vigorously protect our proprietary technologies’ intellectual property rights in patents, trademarks and copyrights,
as available through registration in the United States and internationally. Patent protection and other proprietary rights are thus essential
to our business. We currently have applied for, license or own 55 domestic and foreign patents across 11 families of products, including
patents protecting our EsoCheck, EsoGuard and Veris technology. Each of the technologies noted below is protected by multiple families.
The date the patents protecting certain of our owned and licensed technology will first begin to expire is as set forth in the table
below (although currently pending patent applications, both foreign and domestic, provide protection beyond such date in each instance).
For EsoGuard, additional patents have been issued that offer protection until at least 2037.
Technology
Year
EsoCheck
May
2034
EsoGuard
August
2024
Veris
Health
November
2038
EsoCure
March
2036
CarpX
November
2037
PortIO
November
2035
Our
policy is to aggressively file patent applications to protect our proprietary technologies including inventions and improvements to inventions.
We seek patent protection, as appropriate, on:
●
the
product itself including all embodiments with future commercial potential;
●
the
methods of using the product; and
●
the
methods of manufacturing the product.
In
addition to filing and prosecuting patent applications in the United States, we intend to file counterpart patent applications in other
countries worldwide where there is a value in doing so. Foreign filings can be cumbersome and expensive, and we will pursue such filings
when we believe they are warranted as we try to balance our international commercialization plans with our desire to protect the global
value of the technology.
The
term of individual patents depends upon the legal term of the patents in the countries in which they are obtained. In most countries
in which we file, the patent term is 20 years from the earliest date of filing a non-provisional patent application. In the United States,
a patent’s term may be shortened if a patent is terminally disclaimed over another patent or as a result of delays in patent prosecution
by the patentee, and a patent’s term may be lengthened by patent term adjustment (PTA), which compensates a patentee for administrative
delays by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) in granting a patent, or patent term extension, which restores time
lost due to regulatory delays.
We
intend to continuously reassess and fine-tune our intellectual property strategy in order to fortify our position in the United States
and internationally. Prior to acquiring or licensing a technology from a third party, we will evaluate the existing proprietary rights,
our ability to adequately obtain and protect these rights and the likelihood or possibility of infringement upon competing rights of
others.
12
We
also rely upon trade secrets, know-how, continuing technological innovation, and upon licensing opportunities, to develop and maintain
our competitive position. We intend to protect our proprietary rights through a variety of methods, including confidentiality agreements
and/or proprietary information agreements with suppliers, employees, consultants, independent contractors and other entities who may
have access to proprietary information. We will generally require employees to assign patents and other intellectual property to us as
a condition of employment with us. All of our consulting agreements will pre-emptively assign to us all new and improved intellectual
property that arise during the term of the agreement.
PAVmed
also has (directly or through its subsidiaries) proprietary rights to a range of trademarks, including, among others, PAVmed™,
Lucid Diagnostics™, LUCID™, VERIS™, Oncodisc™, CarpX®, EsoCheck®, EsoGuard®, EsoCheck Cell Collection
Device®, Collect + Protect®, EsoCure Esophageal Ablation Device™, and PortIO™. (Solely as a matter of convenience,
trademarks and trade names referred to herein may or may not be accompanied with the requisite marks of “™” or “®”.
However, the absence of such marks is not intended to indicate, in any way, PAVmed Inc. or its subsidiaries will not assert, to the fullest
extent possible under applicable law, their respective rights to such trademarks and trade names.)
Health
Insurance Coverage and Reimbursement
Our
ability to successfully commercialize our products will depend in part on the extent to which governmental authorities, private health
insurers and other third-party payors provide coverage for and establish adequate reimbursement levels for the procedures during which
our products are used.
In
the United States, third-party payors continue to implement initiatives that restrict the use of certain technologies to those that meet
certain clinical evidentiary requirements. In addition to uncertainties surrounding coverage policies, there are periodic changes to
reimbursement. Third-party payors regularly update reimbursement amounts and also from time to time revise the methodologies used to
determine reimbursement amounts. This includes annual updates to payments to physicians, hospitals and ambulatory surgery centers for
procedures during which our products are used. An example of payment updates is the Medicare program’s updates to hospital and
physician payments, which are done on an annual basis using a prescribed statutory formula. In the past, when the application of the
formula resulted in lower payment, Congress has passed interim legislation to prevent the reductions.
A
product’s reimbursement profile, both in the U.S. and internationally, is an important component of the product’s commercial
opportunity. We prefer projects with existing reimbursement codes, the opportunity to seek reimbursement under higher-value surgical
procedure codes or the potential to seek reimbursement under narrow, product-specific codes as opposed to bundled procedure codes. For
those products that have high strategic value, but with less defined reimbursement, we have engaged reimbursement experts and support
from industry associations to accelerate the acquisition of satisfactory reimbursement levels.
See
“ EsoGuard and EsoCheck—Reimbursement and Market Access ” above for a fuller discussion of the reimbursement status
for EsoCheck and EsoGuard.
Competition
for New Medical Device Innovation
Developing
and commercializing new products is highly competitive. The market is characterized by extensive research and clinical efforts and rapid
technological change. We face intense competition worldwide from medical device, biomedical technology and medical products and combination
products companies, including major medical products companies. We may be unable to respond to technological advances through the development
and introduction of new products. Most of our existing and potential competitors have substantially greater financial, marketing, sales,
distribution, manufacturing and technological resources. These competitors may also be in the process of seeking FDA or other regulatory
approvals, or patent protection, for new products. Our competitors may commercialize new products in advance of our products. Our products
also face competition from numerous existing products and procedures, some of which currently are considered part of the standard of
care. We believe the principal competitive factors in our markets are:
●
the
quality of outcomes for medical conditions;
●
acceptance
by surgeons and the medical device market generally;
●
ease
of use and reliability;
●
technical
leadership and superiority;
●
effective
marketing and distribution;
●
speed
to market; and
●
product
price and qualification for coverage and reimbursement.
We
will also compete in the marketplace to recruit and retain qualified scientific, management and sales personnel, as well as in acquiring
technologies and licenses complementary to our products or advantageous to our business. We are aware of several companies that compete
or are developing technologies in our current and future products areas. In order to compete effectively, our products will have to achieve
market acceptance, receive adequate insurance coverage and reimbursement, be cost effective and be simultaneously safe and effective.
See
“ EsoGuard and EsoCheck—Competition ” and “ Veris Cancer Care Platform—Competition ” above
for a fuller discussion of the competitive environment for our key products, EsoCheck, EsoGuard and the Veris Cancer Care Platform.
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Government
Regulation
Key
U.S. Regulation
FDA
Regulation
Before
and after approval or clearance in the United States, our products are subject to extensive regulation by the FDA under the FDCA and/or
the Public Health Service Act, as well as by other regulatory bodies. FDA regulations govern, among other things, the development, testing,
manufacturing, labeling, safety, storage, recordkeeping, market clearance or approval, advertising and promotion, import and export,
marketing and sales, and distribution of medical devices and products.
In
the United States, medical devices are subject to varying degrees of regulatory control and are classified in one of three classes depending
on the extent of controls the FDA determines are necessary to reasonably ensure their safety and efficacy:
●
Class
I: general controls, such as labeling and adherence to quality system regulations;
●
Class
II: special controls, pre-market notification (often referred to as a 510(k) application), specific controls such as performance
standards, patient registries, post-market surveillance, additional controls such as labeling and adherence to quality system regulations;
and
●
Class
III: special controls and approval of a de novo request or PMA application, likely with clinical data requirements.
In
general, the higher the classification, the greater the time and cost to obtain approval to market. There are no “standardized”
requirements for approval, even within each class. For example, FDA could grant 510(k) status, but require a human clinical trial, a
typical requirement of a PMA. They could also initially assign a device Class III status but end up clearing a device as a 510(k) device
or under a de novo classification pathway if certain requirements are met. The range of the number and expense of the various requirements
is significant. The quickest and least expensive pathway would be 510(k) clearance with a review of existing bench and animal data. A
de novo classification pathway would have a similar cost to seeking 510(k) clearance, but with a slightly longer review timeline. The
longest and most expensive path would be a PMA with extensive randomized human clinical trials. We cannot predict fully how FDA will
classify our products, nor predict what requirements will be placed upon us to obtain market clearance or approve our products at all.
To
request marketing authorization by means of a 510(k) clearance, we must submit a pre-market notification demonstrating the proposed
device is substantially equivalent to another currently legally marketed medical device, has the same intended use, and is as safe
and effective as a currently legally marketed device and does not raise different questions of safety and effectiveness than does a
currently legally marketed device. 510(k) submissions generally include, among other things, a description of the device and its
manufacturing, device labeling, medical devices to which the device is substantially equivalent, safety and biocompatibility
information, and the results of performance testing. In some cases, a 510(k) submission must include data from human clinical
studies. Marketing may commence only when the FDA issues a clearance letter finding substantial equivalence. After a device receives
510(k) clearance, any product modification that could significantly affect the safety or effectiveness of the product, or would
constitute a significant change in intended use, requires a new 510(k) clearance or, if the device would no longer be substantially
equivalent, would require PMA, or possibly, a de novo pathway under section 513(f)(2) of the FDCA. In addition, any additional
claims the Company wished to make at a later date may require a PMA. If the FDA determines the product does not qualify for 510(k)
clearance, they will issue a Not Substantially Equivalent (“NSE”) letter, at which point the Company must submit and the
FDA must approve a PMA or issue premarket clearance using the de novo before marketing can begin.
In
1997, the Food and Drug Administration Modernization Act (“FDAMA”) added the de novo classification pathway under section 513(f)(2) of
the FDCA, establishing an alternate pathway to classify new devices into Class I or II that had automatically been placed in Class III
after receiving an NSE determination in response to a 510(k) submission. In this process, a sponsor who
receives an NSE determination may, within 30 days of receiving notice of the NSE determination, request FDA to make a risk-based classification
of the device under section 513(a)(1) of the Act.
In
2012, section 513(f)(2) of the FDCA was amended by section 607 of the Food and Drug Administration Safety and Innovation Act (“FDASIA”),
to provide a second option for de novo classification. In this second pathway, a sponsor who determines there is no legally marketed
device upon which to base a determination of substantial equivalence may request FDA to make a risk-based classification of the device
under section 513(a)(1) of the Act without first submitting a 510(k).
During
the review of a 510(k) submission, the FDA may request more information or additional studies and may decide the indications for which
we seek approval or clearance should be limited. In addition, laws and regulations and the interpretation of those laws and regulations
by the FDA may change in the future. We cannot foresee what effect, if any, such changes may have on us.
Clinical
Trials of Medical Technology
One
or more clinical trials may be necessary to support an FDA submission. Clinical studies of unapproved or uncleared medical devices
or devices being studied for uses for which they are not approved or cleared (investigational devices) must be conducted in
compliance with FDA requirements. If an investigational device could pose a significant risk to patients, the sponsor company must
submit an Investigational Device Exemption (“IDE”) application to the FDA prior to initiation of the clinical study. An IDE application
must be supported by appropriate data, such as animal and laboratory test results, showing it is safe to test the device on humans
and the testing protocol is scientifically sound. The IDE will automatically become effective 30 days after receipt by the FDA
unless the FDA notifies the company the investigation may not begin. Clinical studies of investigational devices may not begin until
an institutional review board (“IRB”) has approved the study.
14
During
any study, the sponsor must comply with the FDA’s IDE requirements. These requirements include investigator selection, trial monitoring,
adverse event reporting, and record keeping. The investigators must obtain patient informed consent, rigorously follow the investigational
plan and study protocol, control the disposition of investigational devices, and comply with reporting and record keeping requirements.
We, the FDA, or the IRB at each institution at which a clinical trial is being conducted may suspend a clinical trial at any time for
various reasons, including a belief the subjects are being exposed to an unacceptable risk. During the approval or clearance process,
the FDA typically inspects the records relating to the conduct of one or more investigational sites participating in the study supporting
the application.
Post-Approval
Regulation of Medical Devices and Diagnostic Tests
After
a device is cleared or approved for marketing, numerous regulatory requirements continue to apply. These include:
●
the
FDA Quality Systems Regulation (QSR), which governs, among other things, how manufacturers design, test manufacture, exercise quality
control over, and document manufacturing of their products;
●
labeling
and claims regulations, which prohibit the promotion of products for unapproved or “off-label” uses and impose other
restrictions on labeling; and,
●
the
Medical Device Reporting regulation, which requires reporting to FDA of certain adverse experience associated with use of the product.
We
will continue to be subject to inspection by FDA to determine our compliance with regulatory requirements.
Manufacturing
cGMP Requirements
Manufacturers
of medical devices are required to comply with FDA manufacturing requirements contained in the FDA’s current Good Manufacturing
Practices (“cGMP”) set forth in the quality system regulations promulgated under section 520 of the FDCA. cGMP regulations require, among
other things, quality control and quality assurance as well as the corresponding maintenance of records and documentation. Failure to
comply with statutory and regulatory requirements subjects a manufacturer to possible legal or regulatory action, including the seizure
or recall of products, injunctions, consent decrees placing significant restrictions on or suspending manufacturing operations, and civil
and criminal penalties. Adverse experiences with the product must be reported to the FDA and could result in the imposition of marketing
restrictions through labeling changes or in product withdrawal. Product approvals may be withdrawn if compliance with regulatory requirements
is not maintained or if problems concerning safety or efficacy of the product occur following the approval. We expect to use contract
manufacturers to manufacture our products for the foreseeable future we will therefore be dependent on their compliance with these requirements
to market our products. We work closely with our contract manufacturers to assure our products are in strict compliance with these regulations.
Laboratory
Certification, Accreditation and Licensing
Lucid’s
CLIA-certified laboratory is subject to U.S. and state laws and regulations regarding the operation of clinical laboratories. CLIA requirements
and laws of certain states, including those of California, New York, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Florida, impose certification
requirements for clinical laboratories, and establish standards for quality assurance and quality control, among other things. CLIA provides
that a state may adopt different or more stringent regulations than federal law and permits states to apply for exemption from CLIA if
the state’s laboratory laws are equivalent to, or more stringent than, CLIA. For example, the State of New York’s clinical
laboratory regulations, which have received an exemption from CLIA, contain provisions that are in certain respects more stringent than
federal law. Therefore, as long as New York maintains a licensure program that is CLIA-exempt, Lucid will need to comply with New York’s
clinical laboratory regulations in order to offer Lucid clinical laboratory products and services in New York.
Lucid
has current certificates to perform clinical laboratory testing. Clinical laboratories are subject to inspection by regulators and to
sanctions for failing to comply with applicable requirements. Sanctions available under CLIA and certain state laws include prohibiting
a laboratory from running tests, requiring a laboratory to implement a corrective plan, and imposing civil monetary penalties. If Lucid’s
CLIA-certified laboratory fails to meet any applicable requirements of CLIA or state law, that failure could adversely affect any future
CMS consideration of its technologies, prevent their approval entirely, and/or interrupt the commercial sale of any products and services
and otherwise cause Lucid to incur significant expense.
15
Other
U.S. Healthcare Regulation
In
addition to FDA restrictions on marketing and promotion of drugs and devices, other federal and state laws restrict our business practices.
These laws include, without limitation, anti-kickback and false claims laws, data privacy and security laws, as well as transparency
laws regarding payments or other items of value provided to healthcare providers.
Because
of the breadth of these laws and the narrowness of the statutory exceptions and safe harbors available under such laws, it is possible
that some of our business activities, including certain sales and marketing practices and the provision of certain items and services
to our customers, could be subject to challenge under one or more of such laws. If our operations are found to be in violation of any
of the health regulatory laws described above or any other laws that apply to us, we may be subject to penalties, including potentially
significant criminal and civil and administrative penalties, damages, fines, disgorgement, imprisonment, exclusion from participation
in government healthcare programs, contractual damages, reputational harm, administrative burdens, diminished profits and future earnings,
and the curtailment or restructuring of our operations, any of which could adversely affect our ability to operate our business and our
results of operations. To the extent that any of our products are sold in a foreign country, we may be subject to similar foreign laws,
which may include, for instance, applicable post-marketing requirements, including safety surveillance, anti-fraud and abuse laws and
implementation of corporate compliance programs and reporting of payments or transfers of value to healthcare professionals.
In
any event, we have established a substantial regulatory and compliance infrastructure that is designed to ensure compliance with these
regulations.
Physician
Payment Sunshine Act
On
February 8, 2013, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, or CMS, released its final rule implementing section 6002 of the
Affordable Care Act known as the Physician Payment Sunshine Act that imposes annual reporting requirements on device manufacturers for
payments and other transfers of value provided by them, directly or indirectly, to physicians and teaching hospitals, as well as ownership
and investment interests held by physicians and their family members. A manufacturer’s failure to submit timely, accurately and
completely the required information for all payments, transfers of value or ownership or investment interests may result in civil monetary
penalties of up to an aggregate of $150,000 per year, and up to an aggregate of $1 million per year for “knowing failures.”
Manufacturers that produce at least one product reimbursed by Medicare, Medicaid, or Children’s Health Insurance Program and (i)
if the product is a drug or biological, and it requires a prescription (or physician’s authorization) to administer; or (ii) if
the product is a device or medical supply, and it requires premarket approval or premarket notification by the FDA are required to comply
with the Open Payments (commonly referred to as the Sunshine Act) filing requirements under CMS. We currently do not have any products
covered by Medicare, Medicaid, or Children’s Health Insurance Program as none of our products have premarket approval or clearance
notification. We expect once our products receive regulatory clearance, we will be required to comply with the Sunshine Act provisions.
Certain
states, also mandate implementation of commercial compliance programs, and other states impose restrictions on device manufacturer marketing
practices and require tracking and reporting of gifts, compensation and other remuneration to healthcare professionals and entities.
The shifting commercial compliance environment and the need to build and maintain robust and expandable systems to comply with different
compliance or reporting requirements in multiple jurisdictions increase the possibility a healthcare company may fail to comply fully
with one or more of these requirements.
Federal
Anti-Kickback Statute
The
Federal Anti-Kickback Statute prohibits, among other things, knowingly and willfully offering, paying, soliciting or receiving any remuneration
(including any kickback, bribe or rebate), directly or indirectly, overtly or covertly, to induce or in return for purchasing, leasing,
ordering or arranging for or recommending the purchase, lease or order of any good, facility, item or service reimbursable, in whole
or in part, under Medicare, Medicaid or other federal healthcare programs. The term “remuneration” has been broadly interpreted
to include anything of value. Although there are a number of statutory exceptions and regulatory safe harbors protecting some common
activities from prosecution, the exceptions and safe harbors are drawn narrowly. Practices that involve remuneration that may be alleged
to be intended to induce prescribing, purchases or recommendations may be subject to scrutiny if they do not qualify for an exception
or safe harbor. Failure to meet all of the requirements of a particular applicable statutory exception or regulatory safe harbor does
not make the conduct per se illegal under the Anti-Kickback Statute. Instead, the legality of the arrangement will be evaluated on a
case-by-case basis based on a cumulative review of all its facts and circumstances. Several courts have interpreted the statute’s
intent requirement to mean that if any one purpose of an arrangement involving remuneration is to induce referrals of federal healthcare
covered business, the Anti-Kickback Statute has been violated.
Additionally,
the intent standard under the Anti-Kickback Statute was amended by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, as amended
by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, collectively the Affordable Care Act, to a stricter standard such that a
person or entity no longer needs to have actual knowledge of the statute or specific intent to violate it in order to have committed
a violation. In addition, the Affordable Care Act codified case law 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 federal civil False Claims Act.
16
Federal
False Claims Act
The
False Claims Act prohibits, among other things, any person or entity from knowingly presenting, or causing to be presented, a false or
fraudulent claim for payment or approval to the federal government or knowingly making, using or causing to be made or used a false record
or statement material to a false or fraudulent claim to the federal government. A claim includes “any request or demand”
for money or property presented to the U.S. government. The False Claims Act also applies to false submissions that cause the government
to be paid less than the amount to which it is entitled, such as a rebate. Intent to deceive is not required to establish liability under
the False Claims Act. Several pharmaceutical, device and other healthcare companies have been prosecuted under these laws for, among
other things, allegedly providing free product to customers with the expectation that the customers would bill federal programs for the
product. Other companies have been prosecuted for causing false claims to be submitted because of the companies’ marketing of products
for unapproved, and thus noncovered uses.
The
government may further prosecute, as a crime, conduct constituting a false claim under the False Claims Act. The False Claims Act prohibits
the making or presenting of a claim to the government knowing such claim to be false, fictitious, or fraudulent and, unlike civil claims
under the False Claims Act, requires proof of intent to submit a false claim.
The
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act
The
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, or the FCPA, prohibits any U.S. individual or business from paying, offering, or authorizing payment or
offering of anything of value, directly or indirectly, to any foreign official, political party or candidate for the purpose of influencing
any act or decision of the foreign entity in order to assist the individual or business in obtaining or retaining business. The FCPA
also obligates companies whose securities are listed in the United States to comply with accounting provisions requiring the company
to maintain books and records that accurately and fairly reflect all transactions of the corporation, including international subsidiaries,
and to devise and maintain an adequate system of internal accounting controls for international operations. Activities that violate the
FCPA, even if they occur wholly outside the United States, can result in criminal and civil fines, imprisonment, disgorgement, oversight,
and debarment from government contracts.
Healthcare
Reform
Current
and future legislative proposals to further reform healthcare or reduce healthcare costs may result in lower reimbursement for our products,
or for the procedures associated with the use of our products, or limit coverage of our products. The cost containment measures that
payors and providers are instituting and the effect of any healthcare reform initiative implemented in the future could significantly
reduce our revenues from the sale of our products. Alternatively, the shift away from fee-for-service agreements to capitated payment
models may support the value of our products which can be shown to decrease resource utilization and lead to cost savings for both payors
and providers.
HIPAA
and Other Privacy Laws
The
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, as amended by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical
Health Act (“HIPAA”) established comprehensive protection for the privacy and security of health information. The HIPAA standards
apply to three types of organizations, or “Covered Entities”: health plans, healthcare clearinghouses, and healthcare providers
that conduct certain healthcare transactions electronically. Covered Entities and their business associates must have in place administrative,
physical, and technical standards to guard against the misuse of individually identifiable health information. Some of our activities,
including at our Lucid Test Centers and within our clinical trials, involve interactions with patients and their health information which
implicate HIPAA. Our activities also involve us entering into specific kinds of relationships with Covered Entities and business associates
of Covered Entities, which also implicate HIPAA. Penalties for violations of HIPAA include civil money and criminal penalties.
Our
activities must also comply with other applicable privacy laws, which impose restrictions on the access, use and disclosure of personal
information. More state and international privacy laws are being adopted. Many state laws are not preempted by HIPAA because they are
more stringent or are broader in scope than HIPAA. Since 2020 we have also had to comply with the California Consumer Privacy Act of
2018, which protects personal information other than health information covered by HIPAA. In the E.U., the General Data Protection Regulation
(“GDPR”) took effect in May 2018 and imposes increasingly stringent data protection and privacy rules. All of these laws
may impact our business and may change periodically, which could have an effect on our business operations if compliance becomes substantially
costlier than under current requirements. Our failure to comply with these privacy laws or significant changes in the laws restricting
our ability to obtain patient samples and associated patient information could significantly impact our business
and our future business plans.
Self-Referral
Law
The
federal “self-referral” law, commonly referred to as the “Stark” law, provides that physicians who, personally
or through a family member, have ownership interests in or compensation arrangements with a laboratory are prohibited from making a referral
to that laboratory for laboratory tests reimbursable by Medicare, and also prohibits laboratories from submitting a claim for Medicare
payments for laboratory tests referred by physicians who, personally or through a family member, have ownership interests in or compensation
arrangements with the testing laboratory. The Stark law contains a number of specific exceptions which, if met, permit physicians who
have ownership or compensation arrangements with a testing laboratory to make referrals to that laboratory and permit the laboratory
to submit claims for Medicare payments for laboratory tests performed pursuant to such referrals. We are subject to comparable state
laws, some of which apply to all payors regardless of source of payment, and do not contain identical exceptions to the Stark law.
17
International
Regulation
In
order to market any of our products outside of the United States, we would need to comply with numerous and varying regulatory requirements
of other countries and jurisdictions regarding quality, safety and efficacy and governing, among other things, clinical trials, marketing
authorization, commercial sales and distribution of our products. We may be subject to regulations and product registration requirements
in the areas of product standards, packaging requirements, labeling requirements, import and export restrictions and tariff regulations,
duties and tax requirements. Whether or not we obtain FDA approval for a product, we would need to obtain the necessary approvals by
the comparable foreign regulatory authorities before we can commence clinical trials or marketing of the product in foreign countries
and jurisdictions. The time required to obtain clearance required by foreign countries may be longer or shorter than that required for
FDA clearance, and requirements for licensing a product in a foreign country may differ significantly from FDA requirements.
European
Union
The
European Union (“EU”) will require a CE mark certification or approval in order to market our products in the various countries
of the European Union or other countries outside the United States. To obtain CE mark certification of our products, we will be required
to work with an accredited European notified body organization to determine the appropriate documents required to support certification
in accordance with existing medical device directive. The predictability of the length of time and cost associated with such a CE mark
may vary or may include lengthy clinical trials to support such a marking. Once the CE mark is obtained, we may market our product in
the countries of the EU.
European
Good Manufacturing Practices
In
the European Union, the manufacture of medical devices is subject to good manufacturing practice (“GMP”), as set forth in
the relevant laws and guidelines of the European Union and its member states. Compliance with GMP is generally assessed by the competent
regulatory authorities. Typically, quality system evaluation is performed by a Notified Body, which also recommends to the relevant competent
authority for the European Community CE Marking of a device. The Competent Authority may conduct inspections of relevant facilities,
and review manufacturing procedures, operating systems and personnel qualifications. In addition to obtaining approval for each product,
in many cases each device manufacturing facility must be audited on a periodic basis by the Notified Body. Further inspections may occur
over the life of the product.
Other
Laws
Occupational
Safety and Health
In
addition to its comprehensive regulation of health and safety in the workplace in general, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration
has established extensive requirements aimed specifically at laboratories and other healthcare-related facilities. In addition, because
Lucid’s operations may require employees to use certain hazardous chemicals, Lucid also must comply with regulations on hazard
communication and hazardous chemicals in laboratories. These regulations require Lucid, among other things, to develop written programs
and plans, which must address methods for preventing and mitigating employee exposure, the use of personal protective equipment, and
training.
Specimen
Transportation
Our
commercialization activities for EsoGuard subject Lucid to regulations of the Department of Transportation, the United States Postal
Service, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that apply to the surface and air transportation of clinical laboratory specimens.
Environmental
The
cost of compliance with federal, state and local provisions related to the protection of the environment has had no material effect on
our business. There were no material capital expenditures for environmental control facilities in the years ended December 31, 2024 and
2023.
Employees
As
of March 20, 2025 we had 39 employees (all of whom were full-time employees), inclusive of our executive officers — our
Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”), our President and Chief Financial Officer (“CFO”),
our Chief Operating Officer (“COO”), and our General Counsel and Secretary (“General Counsel”). No employees
are covered by a collective bargaining agreement. We consider our relationship with our employees to be good.
18
Corporate
Information
We
were incorporated in Delaware on June 26, 2014. Our corporate headquarters address is 360 Madison Avenue, 25th Floor, New York, NY 10017,
and our main telephone number is (917) 813-1828.
Available
Information
We
make available free of charge through our website (www.pavmed.com) our periodic reports and registration statements filed with the United
States Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), including our Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q,
Current Reports on Form 8-K, and amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Sections 13(a) and 15(d) of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the “Exchange Act.” We make these reports available through our website as soon as reasonably
practicable after we electronically file such reports with, or furnish such reports to the SEC.
We
also make available, free of charge on our website, the reports filed with the SEC by our named executive officers, directors, and 10%
stockholders pursuant to Section 16 under the Exchange Act as soon as reasonably practicable after those filings are provided to us by
those persons. The public also may read and copy any materials we file with the SEC at the SEC’s Public Reference Room at 100 F
Street, NE., Washington, DC 20549, on official business days during the hours of 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The public may obtain information
on the operation of the Public Reference Room by calling the Commission at 1-800-SEC-0330. The SEC also maintains an Internet site (http://www.sec.gov)
that contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding us that we file electronically with the SEC.
Our
website address is www.pavmed.com. The content of our website is not incorporated by reference into this Annual Report on Form 10-K,
nor in any other report or document we file or furnish with and /or submit to the SEC, and any reference to our website are intended
to be inactive textual references only.
19
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.
Risk
Factor Summary
Our
business is subject to numerous risks and uncertainties that you should consider before investing in our common stock. These risks are
described more fully below and include, but are not limited to, risks relating to the following:
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 concluded there is substantial doubt of our ability to continue as a going concern and our independent registered
public accounting firm’s report on our financial statements contains an explanatory paragraph describing our ability to continue as a
going concern.
●
We
have faced significant challenges raising capital under the current market conditions, and therefore are highly dependent on the
ability of each of our subsidiaries to raise capital to fund its own and our operations.
●
There
can be no assurance that our common stock will continue to trade on the Nasdaq Capital Market or another national securities exchange.
●
Our subsidiary Lucid may issue shares of its common and/or preferred stock
in the future, and the holder of our convertible debt may exchange such debt for our shares of Lucid common stock. These events could
reduce the percentage equity interest of PAVmed in Lucid. and thereby reduce its influence over matters subject to a shareholder vote
and otherwise adversely affect your investment in PAVmed.
●
Servicing
our indebtedness may require a significant amount of cash, and the restrictive covenants contained in the documents that govern our
indebtedness and preferred stock could adversely affect our business plan, liquidity, financial condition, and results of operations.
●
The
accounting method for convertible debt securities that may be settled in cash, such as the September 2022 Senior Convertible Note,
could have a material effect on our reported financial results.
Risks
Associated with Our Business
●
We
will 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.
●
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
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.
●
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.
●
Our
products may never achieve market acceptance.
●
Recommendations,
guidelines and quality metrics issued by various organizations may significantly affect payors’ willingness to cover, and healthcare
providers’ willingness to prescribe, our products.
●
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.
●
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
may make investments in products we have not yet developed, and those investments may not be realized.
●
We
may not obtain the expected benefits of the incubator financing structure and may incur additional costs.
●
Our
products and services may become subject to unfavorable pricing regulations, third-party reimbursement practices or healthcare reform
initiatives, thereby harming our business.
●
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.
●
Product
liability lawsuits against us could cause us to incur substantial liabilities and to limit commercialization of any products that
we may develop.
●
We
may not be able to protect or enforce our intellectual property rights, which could impair our competitive position.
●
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.
●
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.
●
Our
business may suffer if we are unable to manage our growth.
●
Our
ability to be successful will be totally dependent upon the efforts of our key personnel.
●
Our
officers and directors 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.
●
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.
●
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.
●
We
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.
20
Risks
Associated with Healthcare Regulation, Billing and Reimbursement, and Product Safety and Effectiveness
●
If
private or governmental third-party payors do not maintain reimbursement for our products at adequate reimbursement rates, we may
be unable to successfully commercialize our products which would limit or slow our revenue generation and likely have a material
adverse effect on our business.
●
FDA
has proposed a policy under which it would phase out its general enforcement discretion approach for LDTs so that IVDs manufactured
at a laboratory would generally fall under the same enforcement approach as other IVDs. While we are confident that the proposed
policy will not have a material impact on our business, there can be no assurance that will be the case.
●
Any
future products or services we may develop may not be approved for sale in the U.S. or in any other country. In order to obtain approval,
we may need to conduct 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.
●
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 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.
●
Healthcare
reform measures, including those targeting Medicare or Medicaid, could hinder or prevent our products’ commercial success.
●
If
we fail to comply with healthcare regulations, we could face substantial penalties and our business, operations and financial condition
could be adversely affected.
●
The
Company’s medical products may in the future be subject to product recalls that could harm its reputation, business and financial
results.
●
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.
●
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.
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.
●
The
holder of our convertible debt and the holder of our Series C Preferred Stock have certain rights with respect to the shares in Lucid
Diagnostics that we own, which may have a material impact on the return on any investment in shares of our common stock.
●
Our
management and their affiliates control a substantial interest in us and thus may influence certain actions requiring a stockholder
vote.
●
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.
●
Our
stock price may be volatile, and purchasers of our securities could incur substantial losses.
●
Our
outstanding warrants and other convertible securities may have an adverse effect on the market price of our common stock and the
value of your investment in us.
●
We
do not intend to pay any cash dividends on our common stock at this time.
●
We
have made distributions of shares of Lucid common stock to our shareholders in the past, but there is no assurance we will do so
in the future.
●
We
are subject to evolving corporate governance and public disclosure expectations and regulations that impact compliance costs and
risks of noncompliance.
●
We
incur significant costs as a result of our and Lucid Diagnostics operating as a public company, and our management will be required
to devote substantial time to compliance initiatives.
●
If
we experience material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting in the future, our business may be harmed.
●
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.
●
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.
21
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 (by us or by our subsidiaries)
of common stock, preferred stock, warrants, and debt, in both private placements and 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. While we have taken steps to reduce operating expenses, we expect
to continue to incur operating expenses in excess of our revenues as we continue to maintain our commercial infrastructure, develop,
enhance and commercialize 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.
We have concluded there is substantial doubt
of our ability to continue as a going concern and our independent registered public accounting firm’s report on our financial statements
contains an explanatory paragraph describing our ability to continue as a going concern.
In our December 31, 2024 consolidated financial statements, we have concluded and stated that our recurring losses
from operations, recurring cash flows used in operations and the requirement that we will need to raise additional capital in order to
fund our ongoing operations beyond March 2026 raise substantial doubt regarding our ability to continue as a going concern. Additionally,
our independent registered public accounting firm’s report on our consolidated financial statements includes an explanatory paragraph
expressing substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern. Our plans to address this going concern risk include pursuing
further financings at PAVmed in addition to the recently completed Series C Preferred Stock Debt Exchange and the PAVmed and Veris Common
Stock Offering (we recently raised over $2.4 million in such offering) and pursuing additional offerings of debt and/or equity securities.
The consolidated financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from our inability to consummate such offerings
or our ability to continue as a going concern. Moreover, there is no assurance if we consummate additional offerings, we will raise sufficient
proceeds in such offerings to pay our financial obligations as they become due. These factors raise substantial doubt about our ability
to continue as a going concern.
We
have faced significant challenges raising capital under the current market conditions, and therefore are highly dependent on the ability
of each of our subsidiaries to raise capital to fund its own and our operations.
Due
to challenging market conditions, we have found it difficult to raise capital directly into PAVmed (notwithstanding our recent $2.37
million capital raise at PAVmed). As a result, we have become highly dependent on the ability of each of our subsidiaries to raise capital
to fund their own operations. There is no assurance that our subsidiaries will be able to raise capital as needed to fund its operations,
or that any of them will be able to do so on commercially reasonable terms. Accordingly, the failure of any of our subsidiaries to raise
the capital it needs to fund its operations, could have a material adverse effect on the portion of our business related to such subsidiary.
In
addition, because of the challenges PAVmed has faced in terms of raising capital, we are highly dependent on our subsidiaries, including
Lucid Diagnostics, as resources for funding our operations (notably, PAVmed may elect that Lucid Diagnostics satisfy its obligations
under our management services agreement through cash payment and, under the terms of our outstanding convertible debt, we are required
to elect to receive such payments in cash). In addition, under the terms of our outstanding convertible debt, if the price per share
of our common stock is less than the $1.068 conversion price of our Series C Preferred Stock, we are required to reserve 50% of all management
services agreement fees we receive, unless the holder of our debt waives such requirement (which it has through March 31, 2025). If Lucid
Diagnostics is unable to continue to make any such cash payments we elect to receive, or if we are so required to reserve 50% of the
management services agreement fees we receive, or if Lucid Diagnostics determines to terminate the management services agreement (i.e.,
because it retains its own management team to oversee its operations), and PAVmed is unable to raise sufficient capital itself, it may
not have sufficient capital to fund its operations, which in turn could have a material adverse effect on our business.
If
we are successful in raising capital through our subsidiaries, such transaction would dilute PAVmed’s (and accordingly, our shareholders’)
interest in such subsidiaries, which in turn could reduce the proceeds available to PAVmed (and its shareholders) upon any disposition
or liquidation of such subsidiaries. In addition, the terms of any such investment into our subsidiaries could contain covenants and
other restrictions that impair PAVmed’s control over such subsidiaries or the manner in which such subsidiaries operate.
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.
The
Company currently is (and from time to time in the recent past, the Company has been) out of compliance with the standards and requirements
for continued listing on Nasdaq.
Most recently,
on January 23, 2025, the Company received a notice from the Listing Qualifications Department of Nasdaq stating that, for the prior 30
consecutive business days (through January 22, 2025), the closing bid price of the Company’s common stock had been below the minimum
of $1 per share required for continued listing on the Nasdaq Capital Market under Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(a)(2). The notification letter
stated that the Company would be afforded 180 calendar days (until July 22, 2025) to regain compliance. In order to regain compliance,
the closing bid price of the Company’s common stock must be at least $1 for a minimum of ten consecutive business days. The notification
letter also stated that, in the event the Company does not regain compliance within the initial 180-day period, the Company may be eligible
for an additional 180-day period. If the Company is not eligible for the additional 180-day period, or if it appears to the Nasdaq staff
that the Company will not be able to cure the deficiency, the Nasdaq Listing Qualifications Department will provide notice after the
end of the initial 180-day period that the Company’s securities will be subject to delisting. In any event, there can be no assurance
that the Company will be able to regain compliance by the current or any extended deadline, in which case, the Company’s stock
would be delisted.
22
If
we were delisted, that could have a material adverse effect on your investment in the Company, including without limitation by substantially
reducing the liquidity of our common stock, and by further limiting our access to capital markets for fundraising.
Our subsidiary Lucid may issue shares of its common and/or preferred stock
in the future, and the holder of our convertible debt may exchange such debt for our shares of Lucid common stock. These events could
reduce the percentage equity interest of PAVmed in Lucid. and thereby reduce its influence over matters subject to a shareholder vote
and otherwise adversely affect your investment in PAVmed.
As
of the date hereof, if the maximum amount of common stock underlying Lucid’s outstanding convertible securities were issued
(including shares of Lucid common stock issued as a dividend thereon), the percentage of shares of Lucid common stock held by PAVmed
would be reduced from approximately 34% to approximately 18%. This reduced percentage would be further diluted in the
event of future convertible debt or stock issuances by Lucid or by issuances under Lucid’s long-term incentive plan and
employee stock purchase plan. While PAVmed still has a significant ownership interest in Lucid in such event, the more its interest
in Lucid is diluted, the less influence it will have on matters requiring shareholder approval, including the election of
Lucid’s board of directors.
In addition, so long as any shares
of our Series C Preferred Stock remain outstanding, the holder of the September 2022 Senior Convertible Note may elect to exchange any
or all of such debt for the shares of Lucid Diagnostics we own at an exchange price of $0.85 per share, as of the date hereof, which would further reduce our ownership from the 18% to 13% (and as of March 20, 2025, the
closing bid price of a share of Lucid Diagnostics’ common stock was $1.57).
If PAVmed’s ownership interest
in Lucid declines, PAVmed may no longer be deemed to primarily control Lucid for the purposes of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as
amended (the “Investment Company Act”). In such event, the securities of Lucid held by PAVmed would no longer be excluded
under certain tests used to determine whether PAVmed is deemed to be an investment company under the Investment Company Act. PAVmed still
could claim that it otherwise does not meet the definition of an investment company, or that it qualifies for an exemption therefrom,
but there can be no assurance that any such claim would be tenable or any such exemption would be available.
If PAVmed was deemed to be an investment company, it could seek to rely on the temporary exemption for transient
investment companies. If it was not able to rely on such exemption, or the period for relief under such exemption expired and PAVmed was
still deemed to be an investment company, PAVmed could be forced to register as an investment company and comply with substantive requirements
under the Investment Company Act, including limitations on its ability to borrow, limitations on its capital structure, restrictions on
acquisitions of interests in associated companies, prohibitions on transactions with affiliates, restrictions on specific investments,
and compliance with reporting, record keeping, voting, proxy disclosure and other rules and regulations. If PAVmed were forced to comply
with the Investment Company Act, its operations would significantly change, and it would be prevented from successfully executing its
business strategy. If PAVmed was forced to sell assets to avoid regulation under the Investment Company Act, it also could be prevented
from successfully executing its business strategy.
Servicing
our indebtedness may require a significant amount of cash, and the restrictive covenants contained in the documents that govern our indebtedness
and preferred stock could adversely affect our business plan, liquidity, financial condition, and results of operations.
We
and our subsidiaries may be required to repay or redeem, or to pay interest on, the September 2022 Senior Convertible Note or any future
permitted indebtedness incurred by us or our subsidiaries, in cash. Despite our right to pay the interest and principal balance of the
September 2022 Senior Convertible Note by issuing shares of our common stock, we may be required to repay such indebtedness in cash,
if we do not meet certain customary equity conditions (including minimum price and volume thresholds) or in certain other circumstances.
For example, we may be required to repay the outstanding principal balance and accrued but unpaid interest, along with a premium, upon
the occurrence of certain changes of control or an event of default.
Our
ability to make payments of the principal of, to pay interest on, or to redeem our indebtedness in cash, depends on our future performance,
which is subject to economic, financial, competitive and other factors beyond our control. We have not generated material revenue from
operations to date, and our business may not generate cash flow from operations in the future sufficient to service our indebtedness
and make necessary capital expenditures. In addition, the September 2022 Senior Convertible Note contains, and any future indebtedness
may contain, restrictive covenants, including financial covenants. These payment obligations and covenants could have important consequences
on our business. In particular, they could:
●
require
us to dedicate a substantial portion of our cash flow from operations to payments on our indebtedness;
●
limit,
among other things, our ability to borrow additional funds and otherwise raise additional capital, and our ability to conduct acquisitions,
joint ventures or similar arrangements, as a result of our obligations to make such payments and comply with the restrictive covenants
in the indebtedness;
●
limit
our flexibility in planning for, or reacting to, changes in our businesses and the industries in which we operate;
●
increase
our vulnerability to general adverse economic and industry conditions; and
●
place
us at a competitive disadvantage compared to our competitors that have lower fixed costs.
The
debt service requirements of any other permitted indebtedness we incur or issue in the future, as well as the restrictive covenants
contained in the governing documents for any such indebtedness, could intensify these risks. For example, from time to time since
the date of issuance of the September 2022 Convertible Note, the Company was not in compliance with certain financial covenants
thereunder. The holders of such notes agreed to waive any such non-compliance through December 31, 2025. There is also no assurance
that the holders will be willing to waive any future non-compliance with this or any other provision under the September 2022 Senior
Convertible Note, or if they are willing to do so, if the terms on which they are so willing will be acceptable to us.
If
we are unable to make the required cash payments, there could be a default under one or more of the instruments governing our indebtedness.
Any such default or acceleration may further result in an event of default and acceleration of our other indebtedness. In such event,
or if a default otherwise occurs under our indebtedness, including as a result of our failure to comply with the financial or other covenants
contained therein, the holders of our indebtedness could require us to immediately repay the outstanding principal and interest on such
indebtedness in cash, in some cases subject to a premium. Furthermore, the holders of our secured indebtedness could foreclose on their
security interests in our assets.
If
we are required to make payments under our indebtedness in cash and are unable to generate sufficient cash flow from operations, we may
be required to sell assets, or we may seek to refinance the remaining balance, by either refinancing with the holder of the indebtedness,
by raising sufficient funds through a sale of equity or debt securities or by obtaining a credit facility. No assurances can be given
that we will be successful in making the required payments under our indebtedness, or in refinancing our obligations on favorable terms,
or at all. Our ability to refinance our indebtedness will depend on the capital markets and our financial condition at such time. A failure
to refinance could have a material adverse effect on our liquidity, financial position, and results of operations. Should we refinance,
it could be dilutive to shareholders or impose onerous terms on us.
The
terms of our Series C Preferred Stock also include covenants substantially similar to those in the documentation that governs our
outstanding indebtedness, and accordingly, those covenants (and our failure to be in compliance with the same) could have the same
important consequences on our business.
In
addition, Lucid may be required to repay or redeem at maturity in 2029 (or sooner, upon the occurrence of certain changes
of control or an event of default), or to pay interest on, the November 2024 Senior Convertible Notes or any future permitted indebtedness
incurred by it or its subsidiaries, in cash. Such payment obligations could have the same important consequences on its business, and
these debt service requirements or any debt service requirements in respect of any other permitted indebtedness Lucid may
incur or issue in the future, as well as the restrictive covenants contained in the governing documents for any such indebtedness, could
intensify these risks.
23
The
accounting method for convertible debt securities that may be settled in cash, such as the September 2022 Senior Convertible Note, could
have a material effect on our reported financial results.
In
May 2008, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued FASB Staff Position No. APB 14-1, Accounting for Convertible
Debt Instruments That May Be Settled in Cash Upon Conversion (Including Partial Cash Settlement), which has subsequently been codified
as Accounting Standards Codification 470-20, Debt with Conversion and Other Options, or “ASC 470-20.” Under ASC 470-20, an
entity must separately account for the liability and equity components of the convertible debt instruments (such as the September 2022
Senior Convertible Note) that may be settled entirely or partially in cash in a manner that reflects the issuer’s economic interest
cost. The effect of ASC 470-20 on the accounting for the September 2022 Senior Convertible Note is that the equity component is required
to be included in the additional paid-in capital section of stockholders’ equity on our consolidated balance sheet and the value
of the equity component would be treated as original issue discount for purposes of accounting for the debt component of the September
2022 Senior Convertible Note. As a result, we will be required to record a greater amount of non-cash interest expense in current periods
presented as a result of the amortization of the discounted carrying value of the September 2022 Senior Convertible Note to their face
amount over the term of the September 2022 Senior Convertible Note. We will report lower net income in our financial results because
ASC 470-20 will require interest to include both the current period’s amortization of the debt discount and the instrument’s
coupon interest, which could adversely affect our reported or future financial results, and the market price of our common stock.
In
addition, under certain circumstances, convertible debt instruments (such as the September 2022 Senior Convertible Note) that may be
settled entirely or partially in cash are currently accounted for utilizing the treasury stock method, the effect of which is that the
shares issuable upon conversion of the September 2022 Senior Convertible Note are not included in the calculation of diluted earnings
per share except to the extent that the conversion value of the September 2022 Senior Convertible Note exceeds their principal amount.
Under the treasury stock method, for diluted earnings per share purposes, the transaction is accounted for as if the number of shares
of our common stock that would be necessary to settle such excess, if we elected to settle such excess in shares, are issued. We cannot
be sure that the accounting standards in the future will continue to permit the use of the treasury stock method. If we are unable to
use the treasury stock method in accounting for the shares issuable upon conversion of the September 2022 Senior Convertible Note, then
our diluted earnings per share would be adversely affected.
Risks
Associated with Our Business
We
will 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.
Notwithstanding
that we were recently able to raise capital directly into PAVmed and that we believe we have sufficient access to capital (including
under our management services agreement with Lucid Diagnostics) to maintain our current level of business activity, we intend to raise
additional capital, likely through each of our subsidiaries, to support any business growth. Because we have not generated substantial
revenue or cash flow to date, unless we are able to generate substantial revenue in the near-term (which we do not anticipate being able
to do), 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; and
●
Invest
in businesses, products and technologies, although we currently have no commitments or agreements relating to do so.
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.
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.
24
We
expect competition in the markets in which we participate to continue to increase as existing competitors improve or expand their product
offerings.
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.
The
only two products, EsoGuard and the Veris Cancer Care Platform, that we are actively seeking to commercialize have not generated substantial
revenue from product sales to date. Accordingly, we will need to find other sources of capital to fund their activities, and there can
be no assurance that we will be able to do so. We may also encounter difficulties retaining and managing the specialized workforce our
activities require. We may seek to partner with others to assist us with any or all of these functions, although we may be unable to
find appropriate third parties with whom to enter into these arrangements.
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 the Veris Cancer Care Platform, as well as any products we commercialize 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 test
and the Veris Cancer Care Platform or any future tests or other products. Establishing and maintaining these capabilities may require
our raising additional capital, which we may be unable to do.
Our
products may never achieve market acceptance.
To
date, we have not generated significant 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 relatively recently began to market our two products and services for sale, we have no basis to predict whether our current products
and services (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 payors’ 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 payor engagement strategies. These guidelines, recommendations and quality metrics may shape payors’ coverage decisions and
healthcare providers’ cancer screening procedures. There can be no assurance that we will be able to secure such recommendations
or inclusion in healthcare guidelines and inclusion in quality measures. Any such failures could have a material impact on our ability
to commercialize our products.
25
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.
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 sales 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.
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.
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.
Lucid
currently has adequate capacity to process EsoGuard tests, based on current test volumes. If demand for the EsoGuard test outstrips
this capacity, and we fail to add additional equipment and staff, or complete, or timely complete, an expansion of Lucid’s
available laboratory facilities, it may significantly delay EsoGuard processing times and limit the volume of EsoGuard tests Lucid 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.
We
may make investments in products we have not yet developed, and those investments may not be realized.
We
may expend considerable funds and other resources on the development of new and existing 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.
26
We
may not obtain the expected benefits of the incubator financing structure and may incur additional costs.
We
believe that the incubator financing structure will provide us with future benefits. These expected benefits are not guaranteed and may
not be obtained if market conditions or other circumstances prevent us from taking advantage of the investment, financing and structuring
flexibility we expect to gain as a result of the incubator financing structure (to date, we have been unsuccessful in our efforts to
raise capital through this structure). If we fail to achieve some or all of the expected benefits of our incubator financing structure,
it could have a material adverse effect on our competitive position, business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
The implementation of our incubator financing structure also may result in substantial direct costs, which are expected to consist primarily
of attorneys’ fees and accountants’ fees, as well as loss of certain efficiencies. Moreover, the incubator financing structure
may not fully insulate the liabilities of our subsidiaries from each other or from PAVmed, especially if we do not observe the requisite
corporate formalities or adequately capitalize PAVmed or its subsidiaries.
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.
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.
27
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.
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 (the “PTO”), or the applicable authorized in other countries in which we may seek to protect our intellectual property
rights, 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, or foreign patent offices. 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.
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.
28
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.
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. Any unanticipated rapid growth
of our business may place a strain on our management, operations and financial systems. We need to ensure our existing systems and controls
are adequate to support our business and its anticipated growth.
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. We are limited
in shares available for issuance under our long-term incentive plan, which could limit our ability to attract and retain key personnel,
until such amount is increased. An inability to attract and retain key personnel may impact our ability to continue and grow our operations.
29
Our
officers and directors 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 and directors have fiduciary obligations to other companies engaged in medical device business activities. 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 board or 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.
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:
●
varying
practices of the regulatory, tax, judicial and administrative bodies in the U.S. and other jurisdictions where we operate;
●
potentially
burdensome taxation and changes in domestic and foreign tariffs;
●
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 COVID-19 pandemic, 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; and
●
the
threat that our operations or property could be subject to nationalization and expropriation.
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.
30
We
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
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.
Risks
Associated with Healthcare Regulation, Billing and Reimbursement, and Product Safety and Effectiveness
If
private or governmental third-party payors do not maintain reimbursement for our products at adequate reimbursement rates, we may be
unable to successfully commercialize our products which would limit or slow our revenue generation and likely have a material adverse
effect on our business.
Despite
our initiative to establish a robust cash pay program, successful commercialization of Lucid’s EsoGuard test and EsoCheck device,
and of any other product or service we develop, license or acquire depends, in large part, on the availability of adequate reimbursement
from private or governmental third-party payors.
EsoGuard’s
PLA code 0114U has been granted “gapfill” determination through the CMS CLFS process, allowing us to engage directly with
Medicare Administrative Contractor (“MAC”) Palmetto GBA, whose Molecular Diagnostics Program (“MolDx”) performs
technical assessment of molecular diagnostic tests on behalf of itself and other MACs. Although CMS granted EsoGuard final Medicare payment
determination of $1,938.01, effective January 1, 2021, we have not received a final Medicare local coverage determination from MolDx.
Most recently, in May 2023, a final Local Coverage Determination (“LCD”) L39256, entitled “ Molecular Testing for
Detection of Upper Gastrointestinal Metaplasia, Dysplasia, and Neoplasia ” became effective on the CMS website by MAC Palmetto
GBA. (A substantially identical LCD was published by Noridian Healthcare Solutions, the MAC whose geographic jurisdiction covers our
CLIA laboratory in Lake Forest, CA.) The LCD outlines criteria for future coverage that MolDX expects upper gastrointestinal precancer
and cancer molecular diagnostic tests to meet. These criteria include active GERD with at least two risk factors, as well as evidence
of analytic validity, clinical validity, and clinical utility. Although the LCD indicated that it found that no currently existing test
has fulfilled all these criteria, it indicated that it will “monitor the evidence and may revise this determination based on the
pertinent literature and society recommendations.” In November 2024, we announced that we submitted to MolDx our complete clinical
evidence package in support of a request for reconsideration of the non-coverage language in the LCD to secure Medicare coverage for
EsoGuard. However, there can be no assurance that MolDx will determine that EsoGuard meets the criteria for coverage as specified in
the LCD. If Lucid is not granted coverage, or if a determination is substantially delayed, that could have a material adverse effect
on Lucid’s ability to commercialize EsoGuard.
Commercial
third-party payors often rely upon Medicare coverage policy and payment limitations in setting their own reimbursement policies. Third-party
payors are increasingly attempting to contain healthcare costs by limiting both coverage and the level of reimbursement for new healthcare
products. As a result, there is uncertainty surrounding whether EsoGuard or EsoCheck, or any other product or service we develop, will
be eligible for coverage by third-party payors or, if eligible for coverage, what the reimbursement rates will be. For example, with
respect to EsoGuard and EsoCheck, reimbursement of esophageal precancer and cancer screening by a third-party payor may depend on a number
of factors, including a payor’s determination that tests using these technologies are sufficiently sensitive and specific for esophageal
cancer and precancer; not experimental or investigational; approved or recommended by the major guidelines organizations; reliable, safe
and effective; medically necessary; appropriate for the specific patient; and cost-effective.
Coverage
determinations and reimbursement rates are also subject to the effects of federal and state coverage mandates and other healthcare regulations
and reform initiatives as described below. As noted below, federal and state coverage mandates may be deemed not to apply to EsoGuard
and EsoCheck (or any other product or service we develop), may be interpreted in a manner unfavorable to us, may be difficult to enforce
and are subject to repeal or modification.
In
addition to the risk of adverse reimbursement decisions, we also may experience material delays in obtaining such reimbursement decisions
and payment that are beyond our control. Further, there can be no assurance that CMS and other third-party payors who initially decide
to cover our products will continue to do so. Coverage determinations and reimbursement rates are subject to change, including as a result
of reimbursement rate adjustments under the Protecting Access to Medicare Act of 2014, (“PAMA”) as described below, and we
cannot guarantee that even if we initially achieve coverage and adequate reimbursement rates, they will continue to be applicable to
our products in the future. Furthermore, it is possible that Medicare or other federal payors that provide reimbursement for our tests
may suspend, revoke or discontinue coverage at any time, may require co-payments from patients, or may reduce the reimbursement rates
payable to us.
If
we are unable to obtain favorable decisions from third-party payors, including CMS and managed care organizations, approving reimbursement
at adequate levels for our EsoGuard test and EsoCheck device, and any other product or service we may develop, or if coverage is later
revoked or reimbursement levels are reduced, our commercial success will be compromised, our ability to raise capital may be restricted
and our revenues would be significantly limited. Healthcare providers may be reluctant to prescribe our products if they believe that
reimbursement for the test will not be available for a significant number of their patients.
31
Even
where a third-party payor agrees to cover EsoGuard and EsoCheck or any other product or service we develop at an adequate reimbursement
rate, other factors may have a significant impact on the actual reimbursement we receive from that payor. For example, if we do not have
a contract with a given payor, we may be deemed an “out-of-network” provider by that payor, which could result in the payor
allocating a portion of the cost of the product or service to the patient, notwithstanding any applicable coverage mandate. We may be
unsuccessful in our efforts to enter into, or maintain, a network contract with a given payor, and we expect that our network status
with a given payor may change from time to time for a variety of reasons, many of which may be outside our control. To the extent a product
or service is out of network for a given payor, physicians may be less likely to prescribe such product or service for their patients
and their patients may be less likely to comply with those prescriptions that are written. Also, some payors may require that they give
prior authorization for a product or service before they are willing to pay for it or review claims post-service to ensure the service
was medically appropriate for specific patients. Prior authorization and other medical management practices may require that we, patients
or physicians provide the payor with extensive medical records and other information. Prior authorization and other medical management
practices impose a significant additional cost on us, may be difficult to comply with given our position as a laboratory that generally
does not have direct access to patient medical records, may make physicians less likely to prescribe our product or service for their
patients, and may make patients less likely to comply with physician orders for the same, all or any of which may have an adverse effect
on our revenues. Payment rates also 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.
FDA
has proposed a policy under which it would phase out its general enforcement discretion approach for LDTs so that IVDs manufactured at
a laboratory would generally fall under the same enforcement approach as other IVDs. While we are confident that the proposed policy
will not have a material impact on our business, there can be no assurance that will be the case.
On
May 6, 2024, the FDA issued a final rule aimed at helping to ensure the safety and effectiveness of LDTs. The rule amends the FDA’s
regulations to make explicit that IVDs are devices under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act) including when the manufacturer
of the IVD is a laboratory. Along with this amendment, the FDA is finalizing a policy under which the FDA will provide greater oversight
of IVDs offered as LDTs through a phaseout of its general enforcement discretion approach for LDTs over the course of four years, as
well as targeted enforcement discretion policies for certain categories of IVDs manufactured by laboratories.
The
phaseout policy contains the following five stages:
●
Stage
1: Beginning on May 6, 2025, which is one year after the publication date of the final LDT rule, FDA will expect compliance with
medical device reporting (MDR) requirements, correction and removal reporting requirements, and quality system (QS) requirements
regarding complaint files.
●
Stage
2: Beginning on May 6, 2026, which is 2 years after the publication date of the final LDT rule, FDA will expect compliance with requirements
not covered during other stages of the phaseout policy, including registration and listing requirements, labeling requirements, and
investigational use requirements.
●
Stage
3: Beginning on May 6, 2027, which is 3 years after the publication date of the final LDT rule, FDA will expect compliance with QS
requirements (other than requirements regarding complaint files which are already addressed in stage 1).
●
Stage
4: Beginning on November 6, 2027, which is 3½ years after the publication date of the final LDT rule, FDA will expect compliance
with premarket review requirements for high-risk IVDs offered as LDTs (IVDs that may be classified into class III or that are subject
to licensure under section 351 of the Public Health Service Act), unless a premarket submission has been received by the beginning
of this stage in which case FDA intends to continue to exercise enforcement discretion for the pendency of its review.
●
Stage
5: Beginning on May 6, 2028, which is 4 years after the publication date of the final LDT rule, FDA will expect compliance with premarket
review requirements for moderate-risk and low-risk IVDs offered as LDTs (that require premarket submissions), unless a premarket
submission has been received by the beginning of this stage in which case FDA intends to continue to exercise enforcement discretion
for the pendency of its review.
The
FDA also intends to exercise enforcement discretion and generally not enforce some or all applicable requirements for certain categories
of IVDs manufactured by a laboratory. The categories of enforcement discretion that are applicable to EsoGuard are summarized in the
table below.
Category
of IVD
Stage
1
Stage
2
Stage
3
Stages
4 & 5
(Premarket
Review)
Currently
marketed IVDs offered as LDTs first marketed prior to rule publication date and not modified beyond scope described in preamble Section
V.B.3 of preamble
Compliance
generally expected beginning May 6, 2025
Compliance
generally expected beginning May 6, 2026
Compliance
with 21 CFR 820.180-820.186 generally expected beginning May 6, 2027;
Compliance
generally not expected with other QS requirements (except for complaint files)
Compliance
generally not expected
LDTs
approved by NYS CLEP Section V.B.2 of preamble
Compliance
generally expected beginning May 6, 2025
Compliance
generally expected beginning May 6, 2026
Compliance
generally expected beginning May 6, 2027
Compliance
generally not expected
32
As
EsoGuard was marketed prior to rule publication and is also NYS CLEP approved, hence, enforcement discretion is applicable for
compliance with Stages 4 and 5. We will be implementing compliance with MDR requirements, correction and removal reporting
requirements, and quality system (QS) requirements regarding complaint files by March 31, 2025, well before the deadline of May 6,
2025. Gap analysis has been completed and we are expecting our compliance activities to be completed for Stages 2 and 3 before the FDA’s expected timeframes in 2026 and 2027, respectively. We are
confident that the proposed final rule will not have a commercial impact as the Company already has a robust QS management platform
for medical devices and EsoGuard will be able to easily transition to the platform to fulfill the QS requirements, as required by
the FDA. However, there can be no assurance that Lucid will be able to successfully transition the platform to fulfill the QS
requirements, as required by FDA, and its failure to do so could have a material impact on Lucid’s ability to commercialize
EsoGuard and on our business as a whole.
Any
future products or services we may develop may not be approved for sale in the U.S. or in any other country. In order to obtain approval,
we may need to conduct 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.
Our
only products 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, where applicable, 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. Failure to obtain
regulatory approvals in foreign jurisdictions will prevent us from marketing our products internationally.
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.
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. 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. 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.
As
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 or otherwise influence medical decisions in the manner we need to show
to evidence the clinical utility of our product candidates, which could cause us to abandon a product candidate and may delay development
of others. In addition, if clinical data does not support our product candidate claims, 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. Any delay or termination of our clinical trials will delay the filing
of any related product submissions and, ultimately, our ability to commercialize our product candidates and generate revenues (in particular
where evidence of clinical utility is a critical factor to payor’s decisions around reimbursement). 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.
Our
principal ongoing clinical trials are those that relate to EsoGuard. For a summary of the status and certain information concerning the
results of those trials, please see above under “ Background and Overview—EsoGuard and EsoCheck—Clinical Utility
and Clinical Trials ”.
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.
33
Healthcare
reform measures, including those targeting Medicare or Medicaid, could hinder or prevent our products’ commercial success.
There
likely will be legislative and regulatory proposals at the federal and state levels directed at containing or lowering the cost of health
care, including those targeting Medicare or Medicaid. 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.
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.
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.
34
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 that we are seeking to commercialize 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 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.
35
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 250,000,000 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.
The
holder of our convertible debt and the holder of our Series C Preferred Stock have certain rights with respect to the shares in Lucid
Diagnostics that we own, which may have a material impact on the return on any investment in shares of our common stock.
Under
the terms of the September 2022 Senior Convertible Note and the Series C Preferred Stock, the holders thereof have certain rights that
may impact the extent to which our shareholders would participate in any disposition of our shares of Lucid Diagnostics. For example,
any change of control of Lucid Diagnostics or any other disposition by us of our shares of Lucid Diagnostics requires the consent of
such holders. In addition, so long as any shares of our Series C Preferred Stock remain outstanding, the holder of the September 2022
Senior Convertible Note may elect to exchange any or all of such debt for the shares of Lucid Diagnostics we own at an exchange price
of $0.85 per share (and as of March 20, 2025, the closing bid price of a share of Lucid Diagnostics’ common stock was $1.57).
Further, upon any change of control of Lucid Diagnostics or any other transaction involving the disposition of our shares in Lucid Diagnostics,
we are obligated to use the proceeds thereof to redeem the September 2022 Senior Convertible Note (plus any interest through maturity)
at a premium of 132.5%, and, moreover, we may elect to use a portion of the proceeds of such transaction to redeem our outstanding Series
C Preferred Stock (i.e., in lieu of allowing such holder to exchange the debt for our Lucid shares or to convert the Series C Preferred
Stock into shares of our common stock, in each case at a more favorable price), which in turn would substantially reduce the proceeds
available to holders of our common stock as a result of such transaction. Any or all of these events could have a material impact on
the return on any investment in shares of 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, 2024, our management and their affiliates collectively owned approximately 8% 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.
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.
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;
36
●
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.
Our
outstanding warrants and other convertible securities may have an adverse effect on the market price of our common stock and the value
of your investment in us.
As
of December 31, 2024, there were 11,198,977 shares of our common stock issued and outstanding, and, as of such date, we also had issued
and outstanding:
(i) stock
options to purchase 1,065,319 shares of our common stock at a weighted average exercise price of $25.50 per share, with such total number
inclusive of both stock options granted under the PAVmed Inc. 2014 Long-Term Incentive Equity Plan (“PAVmed 2014 Equity Plan”);
247,109 shares of our common stock reserved for issuance, but not subject to outstanding stock-based equity awards under the PAVmed 2014
Equity Plan; and 139,863 shares of our common stock reserved for issuance under the PAVmed Inc. Employee Stock Purchase Plan (“PAVmed
ESPP”)
(ii) 11,937,450
Series Z Warrants, representing the right to purchase 795,830 shares of the Company’s common stock at an exercise price of $23.48
per whole share; and
(iii) 1,412,865
shares of Series B Convertible Preferred Stock, convertible into 94,191 shares of our common stock.
(iv) 25,000
shares of Series C Preferred Stock, convertible into 23,408,240 of our common stock (assuming the shares of Series C Preferred Stock
were converted in full on such date at the fixed conversion price of $1.068 per share).
In
addition, the September 2022 Senior Convertible Note has an outstanding principal amount, as of March 20, 2025, of $6.6 million,
which is convertible into 6,160,664 shares of our common stock (assuming the September 2022 Senior Convertible Note was
converted in full on such date at the fixed conversion price of $1.068 per share). The number of shares of common stock to be issued
under the September 2022 Senior Convertible Note may be substantially greater than the estimate set forth in this paragraph, if we
pay the interest and the installments of principal in shares of our common stock, because in such cases (and in certain other cases
as described elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K) the number of shares issued will be determined based on the then current
market price (but in any event not more than fixed conversion price per share or less than a floor price specified in the notes), or
if we agree to voluntarily reduce the conversion price under the note (for example, in consideration of any waiver or consent we
might need). We cannot predict the market price of our common stock at any future date, and therefore, we are unable to accurately
forecast or predict the total amount of shares that ultimately may be issued under these notes. In addition, the number of shares
issued under this note may be substantially greater if we voluntarily lower the conversion price, which we are permitted to do
pursuant to the terms thereof.
Similarly,
the number of shares of common stock to be issued upon conversion of the shares of Series C Preferred Stock may be substantially
greater than the estimate set forth in clause (iv) above, if a “triggering event” occurs, because in such event, the
number of shares issued will be determined based on the then current market price (but in any event not more than the fixed
conversion price per share or less than a floor price specified in the certificate of designations for the Series C Preferred
Stock), or if we agree to voluntarily reduce the conversion price for the Series C Preferred Stock (for example, in consideration of
any waiver or consent we might need).
The
issuance of these shares will dilute our other equity holders, which could cause the price of our common stock to decline. These convertible
securities will also reduce the proceeds distributable to our shareholders, including any distributions of the proceeds of any sale
of the shares of Lucid Diagnostics held by us or any other transaction involved a disposition of one of our subsidiaries.
37
We
do not intend to pay any cash 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.
We
have made distributions of shares of Lucid common stock to our shareholders in the past, but there is no assurance we will do so in the
future.
On
February 15, 2024, the Company distributed by special dividend to the Company stockholders 3,331,747 shares of Lucid Diagnostics common
stock held by the Company. On such date, each PAVmed shareholder as of the January 15, 2024 record date received a stock dividend of
approximately 38 shares of Lucid common stock for every 100 shares of PAVmed common stock they held as of such date. However, our Board
of Directors has no intention to make any further distributions of shares of Lucid common stock or other assets at this time.
We
are subject to evolving corporate governance and public disclosure expectations and regulations that impact compliance costs and risks
of noncompliance.
We
are subject to changing rules and regulations promulgated by a number of governmental and self-regulatory organizations, including the
SEC and Nasdaq, as well as evolving investor expectations around corporate governance and environmental and social practices and disclosures.
These rules and regulations continue to evolve in scope and complexity, and many new requirements have been created in response to laws
enacted by the U.S. and foreign governments, making compliance more difficult and uncertain. The increase in costs to comply with such
evolving expectations, rules and regulations, as well as any risk of noncompliance, could adversely impact us.
We
incur significant costs as a result of our and Lucid Diagnostics operating as a public company, and our management will be required to
devote substantial time to compliance initiatives.
As
a public company, with a majority-owned subsidiary that is also 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 a smaller reporting 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.
Under
our management services agreement with Lucid Diagnostics, many of our personnel and other resources are devoted to ensuring Lucid Diagnostics
complies with the above requirements applicable to public companies. This further exhausts management and other personnel resources that
could be used for other revenue-generating activities.
38
If
we experience material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting 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.
Although
our management determined that our internal control over financial reporting was effective as of December 31, 2024, we may experience
material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting in the future. Any necessary remediation efforts would place a significant
burden on management and add increased pressure to our financial resources and processes. If we were are unable to successfully remediate
any 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.
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.
Item
1B. Unresolved Staff Comments
Not
applicable.
39
Item
1C. Cybersecurity
Governance
Our
board administers its cybersecurity risk oversight function directly through our audit committee. Our audit committee has primary responsibility
for overseeing our risk assessment and risk management policies (including with respect to cybersecurity matters). Our audit committee
regularly discusses with management, counsel, and auditors the Company’s major risk exposures. This includes potential financial
impact on the Company and the steps taken to monitor and control those risks. Additionally, our board is informed regarding the risks
facing the Company and coordinates with management and our cybersecurity team to ensure our board receives regular risk assessment updates
from management.
We
retain Techneto, Inc. d/b/a CyberTeam (“CyberTeam”), a third party vendor that reports directly to our Chief Operating Officer,
to be responsible for identifying, assessing and managing the Company’s risks from cybersecurity threats. CyberTeam has been with
the Company since the Company’s inception and has over 25 years of experience in cybersecurity.
CyberTeam
provides our board and executive leadership team with periodic updates about our cybersecurity program and material risks. This includes
updates on cybersecurity practices, programs, and the status of projects designed to strengthen internal cybersecurity and data protection.
Risk
Management and Strategy
Processes
for identifying and assessing cybersecurity risks
Senior
management, with the support of CyberTeam, monitors current events and trends related to cybersecurity and assesses any potential impact
on current systems and operations. Third-party partners who are in possession of our confidential information are generally required
to notify us in the event of a cybersecurity incident within their systems that have, or are reasonably likely to, compromise the security
of such information. When appropriate, we enlist CyberTeam to perform a risk and security assessment of the cybersecurity protocols and
procedures of critical third-party partners.
Processes
for managing cybersecurity risks
CyberTeam
tracks risks and incidents related to cybersecurity until the risk is mitigated to an acceptable level or fully remediated. When risks
are identified, CyberTeam oversees mitigation plans with the risk owner which are communicated to necessary teams and remediation steps
are taken.
Processes
for incorporating cybersecurity risks into the overall risk management process
Our
process for identifying, assessing, and managing risks related to cybersecurity generally involves CyberTeam regularly meeting with our
executive leadership team, and when appropriate, our board and/or audit committee to discuss cybersecurity related risks identified and
the potential likelihood and severity of each risk.
Currently,
we are not aware of any risks from cybersecurity threats, or from previous cybersecurity incidents, that have materially affected or
are reasonably likely to materially affect the Company.
Item
2. Property
Our
corporate offices are located at 360 Madison Avenue, 25th Floor, New York, NY 10017. The lease for this space is for seven years and
eight months, starting on February 1, 2023, and may not be terminated prior to expiration of its stated term, except in limited circumstances
due to misconduct by our landlord. The Company or its subsidiaries also have entered into leases for a research and development facility
in Massachusetts with 7,375 square feet, which has a remaining term expiring April 30, 2027 and an office space in Pennsylvania with
4,300 square feet, which has a remaining term expiring October 31, 2027. At this time, we consider our facility space to be commensurate
with our current operations. Notwithstanding, we may obtain additional space in the future, as warranted by our business operations.
Item
3. Legal Proceedings
In
the ordinary course of the Company’s business, particularly as it begins commercialization of its products, the Company may be
subject to legal actions and claims, including product liability, consumer, commercial, tax and governmental matters, which may
arise from time to time. The Company is not aware of any such pending legal or other proceedings that are reasonably likely to have
a material impact on the Company. Notwithstanding, legal proceedings are subject to inherent uncertainties, and an unfavorable
outcome could include monetary damages, and excessive verdicts can result from litigation, and as such, could result in a material
adverse impact on the Company’s business, financial position, results of operations, and /or cash flows. Additionally,
although the Company has specific insurance for certain potential risks, the Company may in the future incur judgments or enter into
settlements of claims which may have a material adverse impact on the Company’s business, financial position, results of
operations, and /or cash flows.
Item
4. Mine Safety Disclosures
Not
applicable.
40
Part
II
Item
5. Market for Registrants Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities
Market
for Common Equity
Our
common stock is traded on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol “PAVM” and our Series Z Warrants are traded on the
Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol “PAVMZ.” On January 23, 2025, the Company received a notice from the Listing
Qualifications Department of Nasdaq stating that, for the prior 30 consecutive business days (through January 22, 2025), the closing
bid price of the Company’s common stock had been below the minimum of $1 per share required for continued listing on the
Nasdaq Capital Market under Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(a)(2). The notification letter stated that the Company would be afforded 180
calendar days (until July 22, 2025) to regain compliance. The Series Z Warrants expire by their terms on April 30, 2025. See
“ Recent Developments—Business—Nasdaq Notice ” in Item 7 below for more information.
Holders
As
of March 20, 2025, there were 16,787,173 shares of our common stock outstanding. Our shares of common stock are held by an estimated
227 holders of record and we believe our shares of common stock are held by significantly more beneficial owners.
Dividends
Common
Stock
We
have not paid any cash dividends on our common stock to date. Any future decisions regarding cash dividends will be made by our board
of directors. We do not anticipate paying cash dividends in the foreseeable future but expect to retain earnings to finance the growth
of our business. Subject to the restrictions described below and applicable law, our board of directors has complete discretion on whether
to pay cash dividends. Even if our board of directors decides to pay cash dividends, the form, frequency and amount will depend upon
our future operations and earnings, capital requirements and surplus, general financial condition, contractual restrictions, amongst
and other factors deemed relevant.
As
long as the Series C Convertible Preferred Stock or the September 2022 Senior Convertible Note (see “ Liquidity and
Capital Resources ” in Item 7 below) is outstanding, we may not, directly or indirectly, redeem, or declare or pay any cash
dividend or cash distribution on, any of our securities without the prior express written consent of the holders thereof (other than
as required by the Series B Convertible Preferred Stock). Furthermore, our common stock is junior to the Series B Convertible Preferred
Stock and the Series C Convertible Preferred Stock with respect to dividends.
We
have paid one in-kind dividend on our common stock to date. On February 15, 2024, we distributed by special dividend to our stockholders
3,331,747 shares of Lucid common stock held by us. On such date, each of our stockholders as of the January 15, 2024 record date received
a stock dividend of approximately 38 shares of Lucid common stock for every 100 shares of PAVmed common stock they held as of such date.
Our board of directors has no present intention to pay any further in-kind dividends.
Series
B Convertible Preferred Stock
The
Series B Convertible Preferred Stock has a par value of $0.001 per share, no voting rights, a stated value of $3.00 per share, and at
the holders’ election, every fifteen shares of Series B Convertible Preferred Stock is convertible into one whole share of our
common stock.
The
Series B Convertible Preferred Stock accrues dividends at a rate of 8% per annum based on the $3.00 per share stated value. Dividends
are payable in arrears on January 1, April 1, July 1, and October 1, 2023. Dividends accrue and cumulate whether or not declared by our
board of directors. All accumulated and unpaid dividends compound quarterly at the rate of 8% of the stated value per annum. Dividends
are payable at our election in any combination of shares of Series B Convertible Preferred Stock, cash or shares of our common stock.
During
the year ended December 31, 2024, the Company’s board of directors declared an aggregate of approximately $323,000 of Series B Convertible
Preferred Stock dividends, earned as of December 31, 2023; March 31, 2024; June 30, 2024; and September 30, 2024, which have been settled
by the issue of an additional aggregate 107,652 shares of Series B Convertible Preferred Stock.
During
the year ended December 31, 2023, the Company’s board of directors declared an aggregate of approximately $298,000 of Series B Convertible
Preferred Stock dividends, earned as of December 31, 2022; March 31, 2023; June 30, 2023; and September 30, 2023, which have been settled
by the issue of an additional aggregate 99,454 shares of Series B Convertible Preferred Stock.
Subsequent
to December 31, 2024, the Company’s board of directors declared a Series B Convertible Preferred Stock dividend, earned as of December
31, 2024, of $85,000, to be settled by the issue of 28,270 additional shares of Series B Convertible Preferred Stock.
41
Series
C Convertible Preferred Stock
Subsequent
to December 31, 2024, on January 17, 2025, the Company issued 25,000 of Series C Convertible Preferred Stock. Each share of Series C
Preferred Stock has a stated value of $1,000, and entitles the holder thereof to a preferred dividend at a rate of 7.875% per annum,
payable quarterly in arrears. Dividends on each share of Series C Convertible Preferred Stock may be settled in shares of the Company’s
common stock (subject to satisfaction of certain equity-related conditions) or by capitalizing the dividend by increasing the stated
value of such share.
Recent
Sales of Unregistered Securities
Except
as previously disclosed in our current reports on Form 8-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q or as described under the heading
“ Recent Developments—Financing ” in Item 7 below, we did not sell any unregistered securities or repurchase
any of our equity securities registered under Section 12 of the Exchange Act during the fiscal year ended December 31,
2024.
Item
6. [Reserved]
Item
7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
The
following discussion and analysis of our consolidated financial condition and results of operations should be read together with our
consolidated financial statements and related notes appearing elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K (the “Financial Statements”).
Some of the information contained in this discussion and analysis or set forth elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, including
information with respect to our plans and strategy for our business and related financing, includes forward-looking statements involving
risks and uncertainties and should be read together with the “Forward-Looking Statements” and “Risk Factors”
sections of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for a discussion of important factors which could cause actual results to differ materially
from the results described in or implied by the forward-looking statements contained in the following discussion and analysis.
Unless
the context otherwise requires, (i) “we”, “us”, and “our”, and the “Company” and “PAVmed”
refer to PAVmed Inc. and its subsidiaries, including its subsidiary Lucid Diagnostics Inc. (“Lucid Diagnostics” or “Lucid”)
and its majority-owned subsidiary Veris Health Inc. (“Veris Health” or “Veris”), (ii) “FDA” refers
to the Food and Drug Administration, (iii) “510(k)” refers to a premarket notification, submitted to the FDA by a manufacturer
pursuant to § 510(k) of the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act and 21 CFR § 807 subpart E, (iv) “CLIA” refers to the Clinical
Laboratory Improvement Amendments of 1988 and associated regulations set forth in 42 CFR § 493, and (v) “LDT” refers
to a diagnostic test, defined by the FDA as “an IVD that is intended for clinical use and designed, manufactured and used within
a single laboratory,” which is generally subject only to self-certification of analytical validity under the CMS CLIA program.
42
Overview
PAVmed
is a multi-product life sciences company organized to advance a pipeline of innovative healthcare technologies. Led by a team of highly
skilled personnel with a track record of bringing innovative products to market, PAVmed is focused on innovating, developing, acquiring,
and commercializing novel products that target unmet needs with large addressable market opportunities. Leveraging our corporate structure—a
parent company that will establish distinct subsidiaries for each financed asset—we have the flexibility to raise capital at the
PAVmed level to fund product development, or to structure financing directly into each subsidiary in a manner tailored to the applicable
product, the latter of which is our current strategy given prevailing market conditions.
Our current focus is multi-fold. We continue to support commercial expansion
and execution of EsoGuard, which is the flagship product of our subsidiary, Lucid Diagnostics, of which we remain the shareholder with
the largest voting interest. In addition, through a separate majority-owned subsidiary, Veris Health, we offer the Veris Cancer Care Platform.
We are focused in the immediate term on entering into strategic partnership opportunities with leading academic oncology systems to expand
access to the Veris Cancer Care Platform, while concurrently developing an implantable physiological monitor, designed to be implanted
alongside a chemotherapy port, which will interface with the Veris Cancer Care Platform. In terms of other existing products and technologies,
we have adopted an incubator-type platform where we are looking to obtain financing on a product-by-product basis as necessary to advance
each asset to a meaningful inflection point along its path to commercialization. Finally, as resources permit, we will continue to explore
external innovations that fulfill our project selection criteria without limiting ourselves to any target sector, specialty or condition.
See Part I, Item 1, Business above for a more detailed summary of the medical device, diagnostics, and digital
health sectors and our key products, including in particular EsoGuard and the Veris Cancer Care Platform, which are currently our two leading products.
Recent
Developments
Business
EsoGuard
Medicare Coverage
In
November 2024, Lucid submitted to MolDx its complete clinical evidence package in support of a request for reconsideration of the non-coverage
language in the LCD to secure Medicare coverage for EsoGuard. The EsoGuard clinical evidence package included six new peer-reviewed publications:
three clinical validation studies (two in the intended use population, one case control), two clinical utility studies, and one analytical
validation study. The current LCD provides clear coverage criteria consistent with the American College of Gastroenterology (ACG) guidelines
for esophageal precancer testing. The package was submitted as part of a request for reconsideration of the non-coverage language in
the LCD to secure Medicare coverage for EsoGuard.
NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines Update
In March 2025, Lucid announced that a recent update to the National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN) Clinical
Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN Guidelines®) focused on Esophageal and Esophagogastric Junction Cancers (Version 1.2025) has
added a new section on BE screening. The NCCN Guidelines® now reference professional society guidelines on BE screening, including
the most recent ACG clinical guideline discussed above, which recommends non-endoscopic biomarker testing, such as EsoGuard performed
on samples collected with EsoCheck, as an acceptable alternative to invasive upper endoscopy to detect esophageal precancer.
Clinical Study Publications
On March 18, 2025, Lucid announced that its ENVET-BE clinical utility study has been accepted for publication in
Gastroenterology & Hepatology—the fifth peer-reviewed publication of clinical utility data for Lucid’s EsoGuard® Esophageal
DNA Test, and the second to present findings from a real-world screening population. The manuscript, entitled “Enhancing the Diagnostic
Yield of EGD for Diagnosis of Barrett’s Esophagus Through Methylated DNA Biomarker Triage,” demonstrates that confirmatory upper
endoscopy (EGD) performed in EsoGuard-positive patients had a substantially higher diagnostic yield for detecting esophageal precancer
(Barrett’s Esophagus or BE) than the expected yield of screening EGD alone in at-risk patients. The ENVET-BE study reviewed real-world
data from a cohort of 199 EsoGuard-positive patients who completed confirmatory EGD. The overall positive diagnostic yield for BE was
2.4-fold higher than the expected yield of screening EGD alone, based on disease prevalence within an at-risk population. The yield was
nearly three-fold higher in patients meeting American College of Gastroenterology (ACG) screening criteria.
On November 7, 2024, Lucid announced that its manuscript for its multi-center ESOGUARD BE-1 study has been accepted
for publication in The American Journal of Gastroenterology, the official journal of the American College of Gastroenterology (ACG). This
is the fourth publication presenting clinical validation data for Lucid’s EsoGuard® Esophageal DNA Test, and the second to demonstrate
its performance in an intended-use screening population. Consistent with previous studies, EsoGuard showed high sensitivity and negative
predictive value in detecting esophageal precancer (Barrett’s Esophagus or BE). The prospective, multi-center study presented data from
a cohort of patients who met ACG guideline criteria for esophageal precancer screening and underwent non-endoscopic EsoGuard testing followed
by traditional upper endoscopy. EsoGuard sensitivity and negative predictive value for detecting BE were approximately 88% and 99%, respectively.
Specificity and positive predictive value were approximately 81% and 30%, respectively. No serious adverse events were reported.
Highmark
Reimbursement Approval
On
March 13, 2025, Lucid announced that Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield, an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association,
has issued a positive coverage policy for non-invasive screening of esophageal precancer and cancer in New York state. The new policy
will cover EsoGuard in patients who meet established criteria for esophageal precancer testing consistent with professional society guidelines.
CWRU
NIH Grant Related to EsoGuard and EsoCheck
On
February 27, 2025, Lucid announced that principal investigators from CWRU and University Hospitals (“UH”), were awarded an
$8 million National Institutes of Health (NIH) R01 grant to conduct a five-year clinical study designed to evaluate esophageal precancer
detection using EsoCheck and EsoGuard among at-risk individuals without symptoms of chronic gastroesophageal reflux disease (“GERD”).
The study, “A Clinical Trial of Cancer Prevention by Biomarker Based Detections of Barrett’s Esophagus and Its Progression,”
aims to evaluate the effectiveness of EsoCheck and EsoGuard in detecting esophageal precancer (Barrett’s Esophagus or BE) to prevent
esophageal cancer (EAC) within a non-GERD at-risk population. To accomplish this aim, 800 patients without GERD symptoms who meet the
American Gastroenterological Association’s (AGA) risk criteria for screening will be recruited across five participating research
centers: University Hospitals, University of Colorado, Johns Hopkins University, University of North Carolina, and Cleveland Clinic.
43
Recent Developments - continued
Business - continued
Veris
NIH Grant
On
October 10, 2024, PAVmed announced that Veris has been awarded a $1.8 million grant from the National Institute on Minority Health and
Health Disparities (NIMHD), an institute of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The two-year grant will fund research to optimize
and validate the Veris Cancer Care Platform for the needs of medically underserved cancer patients, in partnership with an academic cancer
center. The research project, “Bridging the Gap: Enhancing Cancer Care for Underserved Populations with the Veris Health Cancer
Care Platform,” will focus on patients facing language barriers, limited access to technology, and socioeconomic disparities.
Changes
to Board Composition
Effective
as of September 10, 2024, James L. Cox, M.D., and Joan B. Harvey resigned from the Company’s board of directors. Neither Dr. Cox’s
nor Ms. Harvey’s resignation was due to any disagreement with the Company on any matter relating to its operations, policies or
practices.
Also
effective as of September 10, 2024, the Company’s board of directors appointed Sundeep Agrawal, M.D. as a Class B director. Prior
to being appointed to the Company’s board of directors, Dr. Agrawal had entered into a strategic advisory agreement with the Company
to provide certain M&A advisory services. Such agreement will remains in effect. Pursuant to the
agreement, Dr. Agrawal will receive a monthly consulting fee of $3 thousand. The agreement is terminable by the Company on 10 days’
written notice. Except for the foregoing, Dr. Agrawal has not engaged in any transactions with the Company that are required to be reported
pursuant to Item 404(a) of Regulation S-K.
Intercompany
Agreements with Lucid
On
August 6, 2024, the Company and Lucid entered into a ninth amendment to the management services agreement between them (“MSA”)
to increase the monthly fee thereunder from $0.83 million per month to $1.05 million per month, effective as of July 1, 2024. In addition,
under the terms of our convertible debt (as amended as of January 17, 2025), we are required to elect that these payments be made in cash.
Veris
Cancer Care Platform
On
June 13, 2024, we announced that Veris and a National Cancer Institute-Designated Comprehensive Cancer Center launched a pilot program
and has enrolled the first patients from such center in such program on the Veris Cancer Care Platform.
Financing
PAVmed/Veris
Common Stock Offering
On
February 18, 2025, the Company and Veris entered into subscription agreements (each, a “Subscription Agreement”) with certain
accredited investors (collectively, the “Investors”), pursuant to which the Company agreed to sell and the Investors agreed
to purchase (the “Offering”) 2,574,350 shares of the Company’s common stock and pre-funded warrants to purchase 756,734
shares of the Company’s common stock (the “Pre-Funded Warrants”), at a purchase price of $0.7115 per share or warrant
share (as applicable). In addition, Veris agreed to issue to each Investor approximately 0.2033 shares of Veris’ common stock for
each share or warrant share (as applicable) purchased by such Investor, for an aggregate of 677,143 shares of Veris’ common stock.
On February 21, 2025, the Company consummated the Offering, generating gross proceeds to the Company of $2.37 million. The proceeds of
the offering will be used to resume development activities related to Veris’ implantable physiological monitor and for general
working capital purposes.
The
Subscription Agreement contains customary representations, warranties, covenants and indemnities of the Company and the Investors,
as well as a covenant by the Company to provide the Investors with protection against subsequent equity raises by the Company or
Veris at a lower purchase price (solely to the extent the Investors continue to hold the shares issued in the Offering), with such
protection to be effected through the issuance of additional shares of Veris’ common stock. In addition, the Company (i)
agreed to solicit the affirmative vote of its stockholders by no later than its next meeting of stockholders, which will be held no
later than June 30, 2025, for approval, for the purposes of the rules of The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC (“Nasdaq”), of the issuance of all of the
shares underlying the Pre-Funded Warrants, and to hold additional meetings quarterly thereafter to the extent such approval is not
obtained, (ii) granted the Investors a 100% participation right in future offerings of equity securities of the Company or its
majority-owned subsidiaries, subject to existing participation rights of the Company’s debt holder, and (iii) agreed not to
incur, and not to permit its majority-owned subsidiaries to incur, any indebtedness until August 18, 2026, subject to certain
exceptions. In accordance with the Subscription Agreement, the Company also entered into a registration rights agreement (the
“Registration Rights Agreement”) with the Investors, pursuant to which the Company agreed to file a registration
statement covering the resale of the shares of the Company’s common stock issued in the Offering, including the shares
underlying the Pre-Funded Warrants.
The
Pre-Funded Warrants become exercisable upon the receipt of the stockholder approval described above, expire on February 18, 2030, and
have an exercise price of $0.001 per share, subject to adjustment as described below. The Pre-Funded Warrants may be exercised for cash,
or on a cashless basis. In the event the Pre-Funded Warrants are exercised on a cashless basis, the holder will be entitled to receive
a number of shares of the Company’s common stock equal to (x) the excess of the market value of the Company’s common stock
over the exercise price, multiplied by (y) the number of shares as to which the Pre-Funded Warrant is being exercised, divided by (z)
the market value of the Company’s common stock. The exercise price and number and type of securities or other property issuable
on exercise of the Pre-Funded Warrants may be adjusted in certain circumstances, including in the event of a stock split or combination,
stock dividend, or a recapitalization, reorganization, merger or similar transaction. In addition, a holder of the Pre-Funded Warrants
will be entitled to participate in rights offerings or pro rata distributions by the Company. However, there will be no adjustment for
issuances of shares of common stock at a price below the exercise price.
44
Recent Developments - continued
Financing - continued
The
lead investor in the Offering also agreed with the Company that it would, with respect to the election of the Company’s directors, vote
its shares of the Company’s common stock (including those exercisable in respect of their Pre-Funded Warrants) in accordance with
the Company’s board’s recommendations.
Nasdaq Compliance with Stockholders’
Equity Continued Listing Standard
On February 14, 2025, the Company
received a notification letter from the Nasdaq Listing Qualifications Department, stating that the Company had regained compliance with
the Nasdaq continued listing standard under Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(b)(1), which requires, among other things, that the Company maintain
at least $2.5 million in stockholders’ equity.
As previously disclosed, on March
7, 2024, the Company received a notice from the Nasdaq Listing Qualifications Department stating that, for the prior 30 consecutive business
days (through March 6, 2024), the market value of the Company’s listed securities had been below the minimum of $35 million required
for continued inclusion on the Nasdaq Capital Market under Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(b)(2). The Company did not regain compliance with
the rule during the time period originally allotted under Nasdaq rules. Accordingly, the Company timely requested a hearing before a Nasdaq
Hearings Panel (the “Panel”), which took place on October 29, 2024. On November 8, 2024, the Panel granted the Company an
extension, until January 31, 2025, to regain compliance with the Nasdaq continued listing standards under Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(b)(1),
in lieu of Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(b)(2).
The Company achieved compliance through (1) the exchange of secured convertible notes with a principal amount outstanding
of $22.3 million for shares of Series C convertible preferred stock, par value $0.001 (the “Series C Preferred Stock”), which
was consummated on January 17, 2025, (2) the issuance of additional shares of Series C Preferred Stock for an aggregate purchase price
of $2.653 million, which was consummated on January 24, 2025, and (3) a reduction in operating expenses as a result of the Company’s
completed deconsolidation of Lucid from its balance sheet, each of which transactions was previously disclosed and is outlined in more
detail below. As a result, the Company met the terms of the Panel’s decision.
Series
C Preferred Stock Debt Exchange ; Amendments to September 2022 Convertible Note. Under a Securities Purchase Agreement
dated March 31, 2022, the Company issued a Senior Secured Convertible Note dated April 4, 2022, referred to herein as the “April
2022 Senior Convertible Note”, and a Senior Secured Convertible Note dated September 8, 2022, referred to herein as the “September
2022 Senior Convertible Note”.
On
November 15, 2024, the Company entered into an Exchange Agreement (the “Debt Exchange Agreement”) with the holder (the “Holder”)
of the April 2022 Senior Convertible Note and the September 2022 Senior Convertible Note. The Debt Exchange Agreement provided for the
exchange of $22.3 million in principal amount of the April 2022 Senior Convertible Note and the September 2022 Senior Convertible Note
and interest thereon for 22,347 shares of Series C Preferred Stock.
On
January 17, 2025, after satisfaction of all conditions to closing the Exchange, the parties consummated the Exchange. Following consummation of the Exchange, the April 2022 Senior Convertible Note was satisfied in full, and the outstanding
principal balance of the remaining September 2022 Senior Convertible Note was approximately $6.6 million.
Under
the Debt Exchange Agreement discussed above, effective as of consummation on the Exchange as of January 17, 2025, the Company also
agreed to certain amendments and modifications to the September 2022 Convertible Note, including, without limitation, that the
conversion price thereunder was reset to $1.068; that the maturity date was extended to December 31, 2025; that any change of
control or disposition by the Company of its shares of Lucid common stock would require the prior written consent of the Required
Holders (as defined in the September 2022 Convertible Note); certain other terms and conditions regarding payments under the MSA and
the application of the same (including that all MSA payments from Lucid must be made in cash); that the Company waives its right to redeem the September 2022 Convertible Note so long as any shares
of Series C Preferred Stock are outstanding; that the Holder waives, until December 31, 2025, the financial covenants under the
September 2022 Convertible Note requiring that (i) the amount of the Company’s available cash equal or exceed $8.0 million at
all times, (ii) the ratio of (a) the outstanding principal amount of the September 2022 Convertible Note, accrued and unpaid
interest thereon and accrued and unpaid late charges to (b) the Company’s average market capitalization over the prior ten
trading days, not exceed 30%, and (iii) that the Company’s market capitalization shall at no time be less than $75 million;
and that so long as any shares of Series C Preferred Stock remain outstanding, the Holder will be entitled to exchange all, or any
portion, of the September 2022 Convertible Note (including any interest that would accrue thereon through the maturity date thereof)
into shares of Lucid common stock held by the Company, at an exchange price per share of Lucid common stock equal to $0.85 per share
(as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, stock combinations, recapitalizations and similar events), subject to certain
beneficial ownership limitations.
The key terms of the Series C Preferred Stock can be found on Exhibit 4.1 to this Form 10-K.
Series
C Preferred Stock Security Purchase Agreement. On November 20, 2024, the Company entered into a Securities Purchase
Agreement (the “Series C Securities Purchase Agreement”) with the Holder. The Series C Securities Purchase Agreement
provides for the purchase of 2,653 shares of Series C Preferred Stock at a price of $1,000 per share, with the purchase price to be
satisfied through the cancellation of $2.6 million of certain unsecured debt obligations owed by the Company to the Holder (the
“Purchase”).
On
January 24, 2025, after satisfaction of all conditions to closing the Purchase, the parties consummated the Purchase.
45
Recent Developments - continued
Financing - continued
Lucid Deconsolidation.
On September 10, 2024, the Company determined that Lucid and
its subsidiaries will be deconsolidated from the Company’s financial statements as of September 10, 2024, as a result of the changes
in the composition of the Company’s board of directors discussed above, in combination with the Company ceasing to have control
over a majority of the voting power of Lucid. As a result of these events, the Company is considered to cease to have control over Lucid
for the purposes of U.S. generally accepted accounting principles, even though it continues to own, and has not disposed any of its,
31,302,444 shares of common stock of Lucid.
Nasdaq Notice
of Noncompliance with the Minimum Bid Price Requirement
On January 23, 2025, the Company received a notice from the Listing Qualifications Department of Nasdaq stating that, for the prior 30
consecutive business days (through January 22, 2025), the closing bid price of the Company’s common stock had been below the minimum
of $1 per share required for continued listing on the Nasdaq Capital Market under Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(a)(2). The notification letter
stated that the Company would be afforded 180 calendar days (until July 22, 2025) to regain compliance. In order to regain compliance,
the closing bid price of the Company’s common stock must be at least $1 for a minimum of ten consecutive business days. The notification
letter also stated that, in the event the Company does not regain compliance within the initial 180-day period, the Company may be eligible
for an additional 180-day period. If the Company is not eligible for the additional 180-day period, or if it appears to the Nasdaq staff
that the Company will not be able to cure the deficiency, the Nasdaq Listing Qualifications Department will provide notice after the
end of the initial 180-day period that the Company’s securities will be subject to delisting. The Nasdaq notification has no effect
at this time on the listing of the Company’s common stock or Series Z warrants, and the common stock and Series Z warrants will
continue to trade uninterrupted under the symbol “PAVM” and “PAVMZ,” respectively.
2014
Long-Term Incentive Plan
In
January 2025, the Company accepted from employees the voluntary forfeiture of approximately 494,202 of previously granted Company stock
options, each with an exercise price greater than $4.00 per share and collectively with a weighted average exercise price of $23.38 per
share. None of the forfeitures were from officers or board members.
Authorized
Share Increase
On
January 15, 2025, the Company received shareholder approval to amend its certificate of incorporation, as amended, to increase the total
number of shares of common stock the Company is authorized to issue by 200 million shares from 50 million shares to 250 million shares.
An amendment effecting such change was filed with the Secretary of State of Delaware on January 15, 2025.
Lucid
Diagnostics — Registered Direct Offering
On
March 5, 2025, Lucid closed on the sale of 13,939,331 shares of its common stock, pursuant to its previously announced offering of shares
of common stock at a price of $1.10 per share (the “Lucid Offering”).
The
net proceeds of the Lucid Offering, after deducting the estimated placement agent’s fees and other expenses of the Lucid Offering,
was approximately $14.5 million. Lucid intends to use the net proceeds from the Lucid Offering for working capital and other general
corporate purposes.
In
connection with the Lucid Offering, Lucid suspended its “at the market offering” program. In November 2022, Lucid
entered into a Controlled Equity Offering℠ Sales Agreement (the “Lucid Sales Agreement”) with Cantor Fitzgerald
& Co. (“Cantor”). Pursuant to the Sales Agreement, from time to time, Lucid may offer and sell shares of its common
stock to or through Cantor, acting as sales agent or principal. Sales of Lucid’s common stock by Cantor, if any, under the
Sales Agreement may be made by any method permitted by law and deemed to be an “at the market offering” as defined in
Rule 415(a)(4) promulgated under the Securities Act (the “Lucid ATM Offering”). Lucid filed a prospectus supplement
dated December 6, 2022 (the “Lucid ATM Prospectus Supplement”), for the offer and sale of shares of its common stock
having an aggregate offering price of up to $6.5 million in the Lucid ATM Offering. Effective as of March 4, 2025, Lucid terminated
the Lucid ATM Prospectus Supplement. Lucid will not make any sales of common stock in the Lucid ATM Offering unless and until a new
prospectus or prospectus supplement is filed. Other than the termination of the Lucid ATM Prospectus Supplement, the Lucid Sales
Agreement remains in full force and effect.
Lucid
Diagnostics — Debt Refinancing
On
November 22, 2024, Lucid closed on the sale of $21.975 million in principal amount of 12.0% Senior Secured Convertible Notes due 2029
(collectively, the “Lucid 2024 Convertible Notes”), in a private placement, to certain accredited investors (the “Lucid
2024 Note Investors”). The sale of the Lucid 2024 Convertible Notes was completed pursuant to the terms of the previously disclosed
Securities Purchase Agreement, dated as of November 12, 2024 (the “Lucid 2024 SPA”), between Lucid and the Lucid 2024 Note
Investors. Lucid realized gross proceeds of $21.95 million and, after giving effect to the repayment in full of the Lucid 2023 Convertible
Note (as defined below), net proceeds of $18.3 million from the sale of the Lucid 2024 Convertible Notes.
Lucid
used a portion of the proceeds from the sale of the Lucid 2024 Convertible Notes to repay the Senior Convertible Note (the “Lucid
2023 Convertible Note”) issued pursuant to that certain Securities Purchase Agreement, dated as of March 13, 2023. Pursuant to
the terms of the Lucid 2023 Convertible Note, on November 22, 2024, Lucid redeemed the Lucid 2023 Convertible Note by paying the contractual
redemption price of approximately $3.6 million.
PAVmed
Inc. ATM Facility
In
December 2021, we entered into an “at-the-market offering” for up to $50 million of our common stock that may be offered
and sold under a Controlled Equity Offering Agreement between us and Cantor. In March 2023, the “at-the-market offering”
became subject to General Instruction I.B.6 of Form S-3, which limits sales of our securities under this instruction in any 12-month
period to one-third of the aggregate market value of our public float (unless our public float rises to $75 million or more, in which
case the instruction will cease to apply). As a result of this limitation and our then-current public float, in May 2023, we amended
our “at-the-market offering” to cover up to an additional $18 million of our common stock. In the year ended December 31,
2024, the Company sold 1,032,298 shares through its at-the-market equity facility for net proceeds of approximately $1.3 million, after
payment of 3% commissions. Subsequent to December 31, 2024, as of March 20, 2025, the Company sold 1,210,704 shares through
their at-market equity facility for net proceeds of approximately $0.8 million, after payment of 3% commissions.
46
Results
of Operations
Overview
Revenue
The
Company recognized revenue primarily resulting from the delivery of patient EsoGuard test results when the Company considered the collection
of such consideration to be probable to the extent that it is unconstrained.
Cost
of revenue
Cost
of revenues recognized primarily from the delivery of patient EsoGuard test results includes costs related to EsoCheck device usage,
shipment of test collection kits, royalties and the cost of services to process tests and provide results to physicians. We have incurred
expenses for tests in the period in which the activities occur, therefore, gross margin as a percentage of revenue has varied from quarter
to quarter due to costs being incurred in one period that relate to revenues recognized in a later period.
We
expect that gross margin for our services will fluctuate based on the commercialization efforts of our subsidiaries.
Sales
and marketing expenses
Sales
and marketing expenses consist primarily of salaries and related costs for employees engaged in sales, sales support and marketing activities,
as well as advertising and promotion expenses. We anticipate our sales and marketing expenses to decrease in the future compared to historical
periods due to the deconsolidation of Lucid, as the sales and marketing operations for the Lucid EsoGuard test is no longer recorded
within the Company’s operating results.
General
and administrative expenses
General
and administrative expenses consist primarily of salaries and related costs for personnel, travel expenses, facility-related costs, professional
fees for accounting, tax, audit and legal services, salaries and related costs for employees involved in third-party payor reimbursement
contract negotiations and consulting fees and other expenses associated with obtaining and maintaining patents within our intellectual
property portfolio.
We
anticipate our general and administrative expenses will decrease in the future compared to historical periods due to the deconsolidation
of Lucid as the general and administrative expenses, including third-party payor reimbursement costs, incurred by Lucid will no longer
be recorded within the Company’s operating results. In the future, general and administrative expenses will include those expenses
related to being a public company, including fees and expenses for audit, legal, regulatory, tax-related services, insurance premiums
and investor relations costs associated with maintaining compliance as a public company for PAVmed and its majority-owned subsidiaries.
Research
and development expenses
Research
and development expenses are recognized in the period they are incurred and consist principally of internal and external expenses incurred
for the development of our products, including:
● consulting
costs for engineering design and development;
● salary
and benefit costs associated with our medical research personnel and engineering personnel;
● costs
associated with submission of regulatory filings;
● cost
of laboratory supplies and acquiring, developing, and manufacturing preclinical prototypes; and
● product
design engineering studies.
The
reported research and development activities, including our clinical trials, were focused principally on the acceleration of EsoGuard
and Veris Cancer Care Platform commercialization. In the future, the research and development activities will focus on the Veris Cancer
Care Platform, the PMX incubator program and other products in our pipeline as well as applicable new technologies, as resources permit.
Other
Income and Expense, net
Other
income and expense, net, consists principally of changes in fair value of our convertible notes and losses on extinguishment of debt
upon repayment of such convertible notes.
Presentation
of Dollar Amounts
All
dollar amounts in this Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations are presented as dollars
in millions, except for share and per share amounts.
47
Results
of Operations - continued
The
year ended December 31, 2024 as compared to year ended December 31, 2023
Revenue
In
the year ended December 31, 2024, revenue was $3.0 million as compared to $2.5 million for the corresponding period in the prior year.
The $0.5 million increase principally relates to the revenue for our EsoGuard Esophageal DNA Test performed in our own CLIA laboratory
for the period and the consideration received for the performance of the EsoGuard Esophageal DNA Tests.
Cost
of revenue
In
the year ended December 31, 2024, cost of revenue was $4.8 million as compared $6.4 million for the corresponding period in the
prior year. The net decrease of $1.6 million was principally related to Lucid’s results only being included in the
Company’s operating results through September 10, 2024 in the year ended December 31, 2024, as compared to the prior year, during which all twelve months of Lucid’s
operating results were so included.
Sales
and marketing expenses
In
the year ended December 31, 2024, sales and marketing costs were approximately $11.6 million as compared to $17.6 million for the corresponding
period in the prior year. The net decrease of $6.0 million was principally related to:
● approximately
$5.1 million decrease related to Lucid’s results only being including in the
Company’s operating results through September 10, 2024 in the year ended December 31, 2024, as compared to the prior year, during which
all twelve months of Lucid’s operating results were so included;
● approximately
$0.7 million decrease in compensation related costs, including stock-based compensation;
and
● approximately
$0.2 million decrease in third party sales and marketing costs.
General
and administrative expenses
In
the year ended December 31, 2024, general and administrative costs were approximately $24.5 million as compared to $30.9 million for
the corresponding period in the prior year. The net decrease of $6.4 million was principally related to:
● approximately
$4.3 million decrease related to Lucid’s results only being including in the
Company’s operating results through September 10, 2024 in the year ended December 31, 2024, as compared to the prior year, during which
all twelve months of Lucid’s operating results were so included;
● approximately
$3.1 million decrease in stock-based compensation, related to decreases at both PAVmed and
Lucid; and
● approximately
$1.0 million increase in third-party professional fees, including expenses related to investor
relations.
Research
and development expenses
In
the year ended December 31, 2024, research and development costs were approximately $5.9 million as compared to $14.3 million for the
corresponding period in the prior year. The net decrease of $8.4 million was principally related to:
● approximately
$5.3 million decrease in development costs, particularly in clinical trials activities and
outside professional and consulting fees;
● approximately
$1.8 million decrease related to Lucid’s results only being including in the Company’s operating results through
September 10, 2024 in the year ended December 31, 2024, as compared to the prior year, during which all twelve months of
Lucid’s operating results were so included; and
● approximately
$1.3 million decrease in compensation related costs and stock-based compensation.
Amortization
of Acquired Intangible Assets
The
amortization of acquired intangible assets was approximately $0.6 million in the year ended December 31, 2024, as compared to $2.0 million
for the corresponding period in the prior year. The decrease of $1.4 million in the current period was due to certain acquired intangible
assets being fully amortized in February 2024.
Other
Income and Expense
Change
in fair value of convertible debt
In
the years ended December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, the change in the fair value of our convertible notes was approximately
$0.5 million of income and $6.0 million of expense, respectively, related to the April 2022 Senior Convertible Note, the September 2022 Senior Convertible Note, and the
Lucid March 2023 Senior Convertible Note. The April 2022 Senior Convertible Note, the September 2022 Senior Convertible Note, and
the Lucid March 2023 Senior Convertible Note were initially measured at their issue-date estimated fair value and subsequently
remeasured at estimated fair value as of each reporting period date. The Company initially recognized an aggregate of $4.3 million
of fair value non-cash expense on the issue dates.
48
Results
of Operations - continued
The
year ended December 31, 2024 as compared to year ended December 31, 2023 - continued
Other
Income and Expense - continued
Loss
on Issue and Offering Costs - Senior Secured Convertible Note
In
the year ended December 31, 2023, in connection with the issue of the Lucid March 2023 Senior Convertible Note, we recognized a total
of approximately $1.2 million of lender fees and offering costs. The Company did not incur lender fees and offering costs in the year
ended December 31, 2024.
Loss
on Debt Extinguishment
In
the year ended December 31, 2024, a debt extinguishment loss in the aggregate of approximately $2.5 million was recognized in connection
with our April 2022 Senior Convertible Note and September 2022 Senior Convertible Note as discussed below.
● In
the year ended December 31, 2024, approximately $1.4 million of principal repayments along
with $0.1 million of interest expense thereon, were settled through the issuance of 1,084,366
shares of common stock of the Company, with such shares having a fair value of approximately
$2.0 million (with such fair value measured as the quoted closing price of the common stock
of the Company on the respective conversion date). In addition, the Company agreed to pay
$1.1 million in cash related to acceleration floor payments on these notes related to the
conversion price being below the conversion floor price specified in the notes, recorded
as debt extinguishment loss. The conversions and cash paid resulted in a debt extinguishment
loss of $1.5 million in the year ended December 31, 2024.
● During
the period of January 1, 2024 through September 10, 2024, the date of PAVmed’s deconsolidation
of Lucid, approximately $2.0 million of principal repayments along with approximately $0.8
million of interest expense thereon, were settled through the issuance of 4,172,002 shares
of Lucid common stock, with such shares having a fair value of approximately $3.8 million
(with such fair value measured as the quoted closing price of the common stock of Lucid on
the respective conversion date). The conversions resulted in a debt extinguishment loss of
$1.0 million in the period of January 1, 2024 through September 10, 2024.
In
comparison, in the year ended December 31, 2023, a debt extinguishment loss in the aggregate of approximately $3.8 million was recognized
in connection with our April 2022 Senior Convertible Note and the September 2022 Senior Convertible Note as discussed below.
● In
the year ended December 31, 2023, approximately $6.1 million of principal repayments along
with $0.4 million of interest expense thereon, were settled through the issuance of 1,745,824
shares of common stock of the Company, with such shares having a fair value of approximately
$10.0 million (with such fair value measured as the quoted closing price of the common stock
of the Company on the respective conversion date). In addition, the Company agreed to pay
$0.2 million in cash related to acceleration floor payments on these notes related to the
conversion price being below the conversion floor price specified in the notes, recorded
as debt extinguishment loss. The conversions and cash paid resulted in a debt extinguishment
loss of $3.8 million in the year ended December 31, 2023.
See
Note 13 , Debt , to the Financial Statements, for additional information with respect to the April 2022 Senior Convertible Note,
the September 2022 Senior Convertible Note, and the Lucid March 2023 Senior Convertible Note.
Gain
on Deconsolidation of Lucid
As
of December 31, 2024, there were 63,071,950 shares of common stock of Lucid Diagnostics issued and outstanding, of which, the Company
held 31,302,444 shares. On September 10, 2024, as a result of changes in the composition of the Company’s board of directors described
above, in combination with the Company ceasing to have control over a majority of the voting power of Lucid, the Company was considered
to cease to have control over Lucid for the purposes of U.S. GAAP, even though it continues to own, and has not disposed any of its,
31,302,444 shares of common stock of Lucid. However, PAVmed retained the ability to exercise significant influence over Lucid. As a result,
the Company deconsolidated Lucid. Upon deconsolidation, the Company’s ownership of 31,302,444 shares of Lucid Diagnostics common
stock was valued at $25.1 million, which resulted in a gain on deconsolidation of $72.3 million in the accompanying consolidated statements
of operations for the year ended December 31, 2024.
Change
in fair value of Equity Method Investment
At
September 10, 2024 and December 31, 2024, the fair value of the Company’s investment in Lucid was $25.1 million and $25.6 million,
respectively, with the company recognizing an unrealized gain on its investment in Lucid of $0.5 million in the accompanying consolidated
statements of operations for the year ended December 31, 2024. The fair value of common shares held by the Company was determined using
the closing price of Lucid’s common stock per share on September 10, 2024 and December 31, 2024 of $0.802 and $0.819, respectively.
49
Results
of Operations - continued
The
year ended December 31, 2024 as compared to year ended December 31, 2023 - continued
Other
Income and Expense - continued
Deemed
Dividend on Series A and Series A-1 Convertible Preferred Stock Exchange Offer
The
fair value of the consideration given in the form of the issue of 31,790 shares of Lucid Series B Preferred Stock, with such fair value
recognized as the carrying value of such issued shares of Lucid Series B Preferred Stock, as compared to the carrying value of the extinguished
Lucid Series A and Series A-1 Preferred Stock (carrying value of $24.3 million), resulting in an excess of fair value of $7.5 million
recognized as a deemed dividend charged to accumulated deficit in the consolidated balance sheet on March 13, 2024, with such deemed
dividend included as a component of net loss attributable to common stockholders, summarized as follows:
Series B Convertible Preferred Stock Issuance and Series A/A-1 Exchange Offer
March 13, 2024
Fair Value - 31,790 shares of Lucid Series B Preferred Stock issued in exchange for Lucid Series A and Lucid Series A-1 Preferred Stock
$ 31,790
Less: Carrying value related to Series A and Series A-1 Preferred Stock Exchanged for Series B Preferred Stock (of 24,295 shares)
(24,294 )
Deemed Dividend Charged to Accumulated Deficit
$ 7,496
Liquidity
and Capital Resources
Our
current financing strategy is to obtain capital directly into Lucid, Veris and other subsidiaries to fund any product development or
other related activities, although we retain the flexibility to raise capital at the PAVmed level. There are no assurances, however,
we will be able to obtain an adequate level of financial resources required for the short-term or long-term commercialization and development
of our products and services.
We
have financed our operations principally through the public and private issuances of our common stock, preferred stock, common stock
purchase warrants, and debt, both at the PAVmed level and, in the case of Lucid, at the subsidiary level. We are subject to all of the
risks and uncertainties typically faced by medical device and diagnostic and medical device companies that devote substantially all of
their efforts to the commercialization of their initial product and services and ongoing R&D and clinical trials. We experienced
net income before noncontrolling interests of approximately $28.4 million and used approximately $33.6 million of cash in operations
for the year ended December 31, 2024. Financing activities provided $31.3 million of cash during the year ended December 31, 2024. We
ended the year with cash on-hand of $1.2 million as of December 31, 2024. We expect to continue to experience recurring losses and negative
cash flows from operations, and will continue to fund our operations with debt and/or equity financing transactions, including current
obligations on the Company’s existing convertible debt which in accordance with management’s plans may include conversions
to equity and refinancing our existing debt obligations to extend the maturity date. The Company’s ability to continue operations
12 months beyond the issuance of the financial statements, will depend upon its ability to control its operating costs within the limits
of the amounts collected from its management service contracts with its non-consolidated subsidiaries, to substantially increase its
revenues from the Veris Cancer Care platform, and to raise additional capital through various potential sources including equity or debt
financings or refinancing or restructuring existing debt obligations. These factors raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern within one
year after the date the accompanying consolidated financial statements are issued.
Issue
of Shares of Our Common Stock
During
the year ended December 31, 2024
● We
issued 34,332 shares of our common stock for proceeds of approximately $0.1 million under
the PAVmed Employee Stock Purchase Plan (“ESPP”). For more information about
the ESPP, see Note 14, Stock-Based Compensation, to the Financial Statements.
● We
issued 1,032,298 shares of our common stock for net proceeds of approximately $1.3 million,
after payment of 3% commissions, through our at-the-market equity facility with Cantor. See
below for more information.
● We
issued 1,084,366 shares of our common stock in satisfaction of approximately $1.4 million
of principal repayments along with $0.1 million of interest expense thereon under the April
2022 Senior Convertible Note and September 2022 Senior Convertible Note.
● We
issued 333,380 shares of our common stock to vendors in exchange for $0.35 million of agreed
upon services, which is included in general and administrative operating expenses on the
Company’s consolidated statement of operations.
Subsequent to December 31, 2024, the Company and its subsidiaries completed a number of financing-related transactions.
See Part II, Item 7, Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Recent Developments—Financing
above for more details on these transactions.
Securities
Purchase Agreement - March 31, 2022 - Senior Secured Convertible Notes - April 4, 2022 and September 8, 2022
Effective
as of March 31, 2022, we entered into a Securities Purchase Agreement (the “SPA”) with an accredited investor, pursuant to
which we agreed to sell, and the investor agreed to purchase an aggregate of $50.0 million face value principal of Senior Secured Convertible
Notes. On April 4, 2022, we completed an initial closing under the SPA, in which we sold to the investor a Senior Secured Convertible
Note with a face value principal of $27.5 million (the “April 2022 Senior Convertible Note”). The April 2022 Senior Secured
Convertible Note had an initial contractual maturity date of April 4, 2024, which maturity date the investor agreed to extend by one
year, to April 4, 2025. The April 2022 Senior Convertible Note may be converted into or otherwise paid in shares of our common stock
as described in Note 13, Debt .
On
September 8, 2022, we completed an additional closing under the SPA, in which we sold to the investor an additional Senior Secured Convertible
Note with a face value principal of $11.25 million (the “September 2022 Senior Convertible Note”). The September 2022 Senior
Secured Convertible Note had an initial contractual maturity date of September 6, 2024, which maturity date has been now extended to
December 31, 2025. The September 2022 Senior Convertible Note may be converted into or otherwise paid in shares of our common stock as
described in Note 13, Debt .
50
Liquidity and Capital Resources - continued
Under
the April 2022 Senior Convertible Note (until it was satisfied in full on January 17, 2025 upon consummation of the Exchange), the September
2022 Senior Convertible Note and the SPA, we are subject to certain customary affirmative and negative covenants regarding the incurrence
of indebtedness, the existence of liens, the repayment of indebtedness and the making of investments, the payment of cash in respect
of dividends, distributions or redemptions, the transfer of assets, the maturity of other indebtedness, and transactions with affiliates,
among other customary matters. We also are subject to financial covenants requiring that (i) the amount of our available cash equal or
exceed $8.0 million at all times, (ii) the ratio of (a) the outstanding principal amount of the notes issued under the SPA, accrued and
unpaid interest thereon and accrued and unpaid late charges to (b) our average market capitalization over the prior ten trading days,
not exceed 30% (the “Debt to Market Cap Ratio Test”), and (iii) that our market capitalization shall at no time be less than
$75 million (the “Market Cap Test” and, together with the Debt to Market Cap Ratio Test, the “Financial Tests”).
From time to time from and after September 1, 2024 through November 11, 2024, the Company was not in compliance with the Financial Tests.
As of November 11, 2024, the investor agreed to waive any such non-compliance during such time period and thereafter through December
31, 2024. Based on the waiver, as of December 31, 2024, the Company was in compliance with the Financial Tests. In addition, based on
a separate waiver granted effective as of the consummation of the Exchange that extended the waiver period to continue through December
31, 2025, the Company presently is in compliance with the Financial Tests.
See
Note 13 , Debt , to the Financial Statements for additional information about the SPA, the April 2022 Senior Convertible Note, and
the September 2022 Senior Convertible Note.
Lucid
Diagnostics - Preferred Stock Offerings
On
March 13, 2024, Lucid entered into Lucid Series B Subscription Agreements and Lucid Series B Exchange Agreements with the Lucid Series
B Investors, which agreements provided for (i) the sale to the Lucid Series B Investors of 12,495 shares of newly designated Lucid Series
B Preferred Stock, at a purchase price of $1,000 per share, and (ii) the exchange by the Lucid Series B Investors of 13,625 shares of
Lucid Series A Preferred Stock, and 10,670 shares of Lucid Series A-1 Preferred Stock held by them for 31,790 shares of Lucid Series
B Preferred Stock. Prior to the execution of the Lucid Series B Subscription Agreements and the Lucid Series B Exchange Agreements, Lucid
entered into subscription agreements with certain of the Lucid Series B Investors providing for the sale to such investors of 5,670 shares
of Lucid Series A-1 Preferred Stock, at a purchase price of $1,000 per share, which shares the investors immediately agreed to exchange
for shares of Lucid Series B Preferred Stock pursuant to the Lucid Series B Exchange Agreements (and are included in the 10,670 shares
of Lucid Series A-1 Preferred Stock set forth above). Each share of the Lucid Series B Preferred Stock has a stated value of $1,000 and
a conversion price of $1.2444. The terms of the Lucid Series B Preferred Stock also include a one times preference on liquidation and
a right to receive dividends equal to 20% of the number of shares of Lucid common stock into which such Lucid Series B Preferred Stock
is convertible, payable on the one-year and two-year anniversary of the issuance date. The holders of the Lucid Series B Preferred Stock
also will be entitled to dividends equal, on an as-if-converted to shares of Lucid common stock basis, to and in the same form as dividends
actually paid on shares of the Lucid common stock when, as, and if such dividends are paid on shares of the Lucid common stock. The Lucid
Series B Preferred Stock is a voting security. The aggregate gross proceeds to Lucid of these transactions was $18.16 million (inclusive
of $5.67 million of aggregate gross proceeds from the sale of the Lucid Series A-1 Preferred Stock that was immediately exchanged for
Lucid Series B Preferred Stock in the transactions).
As
a result of 100% of the then-outstanding shares of Lucid Series A Preferred Stock and Lucid Series A-1 Preferred Stock being exchanged
for shares of Lucid Series B Preferred Stock in the Lucid Series B Offering and Exchange, no shares of Lucid Series A Preferred Stock
or Lucid Series A-1 Preferred Stock remain outstanding.
On
May 6, 2024, Lucid issued approximately 11,634 shares of newly designated Lucid Series B-1 Preferred Stock. The terms of the Lucid Series
B-1 Preferred Stock are substantially identical to the terms of the Lucid Series B Preferred Stock, except that the Lucid Series B-1
Preferred Stock has a conversion price of $0.7228. The aggregate gross proceeds from the sale of shares in such offering were $11.6 million.
Lucid
Diagnostics - Securities Purchase Agreement - March 13, 2023 - Senior Secured Convertible Note - March 21, 2023
Effective
as of March 13, 2023, Lucid Diagnostics entered into a Securities Purchase Agreement (the “Lucid SPA”) with an accredited
institutional investor, pursuant to which Lucid Diagnostics agreed to sell, and the investor agreed to purchase a Senior Convertible
Note (the “Lucid March 2023 Senior Convertible Note”) with a face value principal of $11.1 million. Lucid Diagnostics issued
the Lucid March 2023 Senior Convertible Note on March 21, 2023 pursuant to the Lucid SPA.
Under
the Lucid March 2023 Senior Convertible Note, Lucid Diagnostics is subject to certain customary affirmative and negative covenants regarding
the incurrence of indebtedness, the existence of liens, the repayment of indebtedness and the making of investments, the payment of cash
in respect of dividends, distributions or redemptions, the transfer of assets, the maturity of other indebtedness, and transactions with
affiliates, among other customary matters. Under the Lucid March 2023 Senior Convertible Note, Lucid Diagnostics is also subject to financial
covenants requiring that (i) the amount of its available cash equal or exceed $5.0 million at all times, (ii) the ratio of (a) the outstanding
principal amount of the notes issued under the Lucid SPA, accrued and unpaid interest thereon and accrued and unpaid late charges, as
of the last day of any fiscal quarter commencing with September 30, 2023, to (b) Lucid Diagnostics’ average market capitalization
over the prior ten trading days, not exceed 30%, and (iii) that Lucid Diagnostics’ market capitalization shall at no time be less
than $30 million (the “Lucid Financial Tests”). As of December 31, 2024, Lucid Diagnostics was in compliance with the Lucid
Financial Tests. In addition, Lucid Diagnostics presently is in compliance with the Lucid Financial Tests.
51
Liquidity
and Capital Resources - continued
On November 8, 2024, Lucid gave notice to the holder of the Lucid March
2023 Senior Convertible Note that it was exercising its right pursuant to such note to redeem the same for the Optional Redemption Price
specified in such note. To finance the payment of the Optional Redemption Price, Lucid entered into a securities purchase agreement with
the 2024 Note Investors. Under the agreement, Lucid issued, and the 2024 Note Investors purchased the November 2024 Senior Convertible
Notes, which are 12.0% senior secured convertible notes due 2029. Lucid realized gross proceeds of $21.95 million, a portion of which
were used for the repayment in full of the Lucid March 2023 Senior Convertible Note on November 22, 2024.
PAVmed
Inc. ATM Facility
In
December 2021, we entered into an “at-the-market offering” for up to $50 million of our common stock that may be offered
and sold under a Controlled Equity Offering Agreement between us and Cantor. In the year ended December 31, 2024, the Company sold
1,032,298 shares through its at-the-market equity facility for net proceeds of approximately $1.3 million, after payment of 3%
commissions. Subsequent to December 31, 2024, as of March 20, 2025, the Company sold 1,210,704 shares through its at-market equity
facility for net proceeds of approximately $837, after payment of 3% commissions.
Lucid
Diagnostics Inc. - Committed Equity Facility and ATM Facility
In
March 2022, Lucid Diagnostics entered into a committed equity facility with a Cantor affiliate. Cumulatively, a total of 680,263 shares
of Lucid Diagnostics’ common stock were issued for net proceeds of approximately $1.8 million, after a 4% discount, as of December
31, 2024.
In
November 2022, Lucid Diagnostics also entered into an “at-the-market offering” for up to $6.5 million of its common stock
that may be offered and sold under a Controlled Equity Offering Agreement between Lucid Diagnostics and Cantor. Cumulatively, a total
of 230,068 shares of Lucid Diagnostics’ common stock were issued through its at-the-market equity facility for net proceeds of
approximately $0.3 million, after payment of 3% commissions, as of December 31, 2024.
Critical
Accounting Estimates
The
discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations is based on our consolidated financial statements, which
have been prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America, or U.S. GAAP. The preparation
of these consolidated financial statements requires us to make estimates and assumptions affecting the reported amounts of assets, liabilities,
and equity, along with the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the consolidated financial statements and the
reported amounts of expenses during the corresponding periods. In accordance with U.S. GAAP, we base our estimates on historical experience
and on various other assumptions we believe are reasonable under the circumstances. Actual results may differ from these estimates under
different assumptions or conditions. While our significant accounting policies are described in more detail in our consolidated financial
notes, we believe the following accounting estimates to be critical to the judgments and estimates used in the preparation of our consolidated
financial statements.
52
Fair
Value Option (“FVO”) Election
Under
a Securities Purchase Agreement dated March 31, 2022, the Company issued a Senior Secured Convertible Note dated April 4, 2022, referred
to herein as the “April 2022 Senior Convertible Note”, and a Senior Secured Convertible Note dated September 8, 2022, referred
to herein as the “September 2022 Senior Convertible Note”, which are accounted under the “fair value option election”
as discussed below.
Under
a Securities Purchase Agreement dated March 13, 2023, Lucid Diagnostics issued a Senior Secured Convertible Note dated March 21, 2023,
referred to herein as the “Lucid March 2023 Senior Convertible Note”, which is accounted under the “fair value option
election”, through September 10, 2024, the date of Lucid’s deconsolidation from PAVmed’s results of operations, as
discussed below.
Under
Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 815, Derivative
and Hedging , (“ASC 815”), a financial instrument containing embedded features and /or options may be required to be bifurcated
from the financial instrument host and recognized as separate derivative asset or liability, with the bifurcated derivative asset or
liability initially measured at estimated fair value as of the transaction issue date and then subsequently remeasured at estimated fair
value as of each reporting period balance sheet date.
Alternatively,
FASB ASC Topic 825, Financial Instruments , (“ASC 825”) provides for the “fair value option” (“FVO”)
election. In this regard, ASC 825-10-15-4 provides for the FVO election (to the extent not otherwise prohibited by ASC 825-10-15-5) to
be afforded to financial instruments, wherein the financial instrument is initially measured at estimated fair value as of the transaction
issue date and then subsequently remeasured at estimated fair value as of each reporting period balance sheet date, with changes in the
estimated fair value recognized as other income (expense) in the statement of operations. The estimated fair value adjustment of the
April 2022 Senior Convertible Note, the September 2022 Senior Convertible Note and (through September 10, 2024, Lucid’s deconsolidation
date) the Lucid March 2023 Senior Convertible Note are presented in a single line item within other income (expense) in the accompanying
consolidated statement of operations (as provided for by ASC 825-10-50-30(b)). Further, as required by ASC 825-10-45-5, to the extent
a portion of the fair value adjustment is attributed to a change in the instrument-specific credit risk, such portion would be recognized
as a component of other comprehensive income (“OCI”) (for which there was no such adjustment with respect to the April 2022
Senior Convertible Note, the September 2022 Senior Convertible Note or (through September 10, 2024, Lucid’s deconsolidation date)
the Lucid March 2023 Senior Convertible Note).
The
estimated fair values recognized utilized PAVmed and Lucid’s common stock prices, along with certain Level 3 inputs, in the development
of Monte Carlo simulation models, discounted cash flow analyses, and /or Black-Scholes valuation models. The estimated fair values are
subjective and are affected by changes in inputs to the valuation models and analyses, including the respective common stock prices,
the dividend yields, the risk-free rates based on U.S. Treasury security yields, and certain other Level-3 inputs including, assumptions
regarding the estimated volatility in the value of the respective common stock prices. Changes in these assumptions can materially affect
the recognized estimated fair values.
See
Note 12, Financial Instruments Fair Value Measurements , with respect to the FVO election; and Note 13, Debt , for a discussion
of the April 2022 Senior Convertible Note, the September 2022 Senior Convertible Note and the Lucid March 2023 Senior Convertible Note.
53
Recent
Accounting Standards Updates Adopted
In
November 2023, the FASB issued ASU No. 2023-07, Segment Reporting (Topic 280)—Improvements to Reportable Segment Disclosures (“ASU
2023-07”), which require public companies disclose significant segment expenses and other segment items on an annual and interim
basis and to provide in interim periods all disclosures about a reportable segment’s profit or loss and assets that are currently
required annually. The guidance is effective for public entities for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2023, and interim periods
within fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2024. Early adoption is permitted. The guidance was adopted by the Company on January
1, 2024. The adoption of the ASU did not change the way that the Company identifies its reportable
segments and, as a result, did not have a material impact on the Company’s segment-related disclosures. Refer to Note 20,
Segment Information for further information on the Company’s reportable segment.
Recent
Accounting Standards Updates Not Yet Adopted
In November 2024, the FASB issued ASU No. 2024-03, Income Statement – Reporting Comprehensive Income –
Expense Disaggregation Disclosures (Subtopic 220-40): Disaggregation of Income Statement Expenses. This update enhances financial statement
disclosures by requiring public business entities to disclose specified information about certain costs and expenses including the amounts
of (a) purchases of inventory, (b) employee compensation, (c) depreciation, and (d) intangible asset amortization included in each relevant
expense caption. The update also requires disclosure of certain amounts that are already required to be disclosed under current GAAP,
disclosure of a qualitative description of the amounts remaining in relevant expense captions that are not separately disaggregated quantitatively,
and disclosure of the total amount of selling expenses and, in annual reporting periods, an entity’s definition of selling expenses.
The amendments in this update may be applied either prospectively or retrospectively and are effective for annual reporting periods beginning
after December 15, 2026, and interim reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2027. Early adoption is permitted. The Company is
currently evaluating the potential impact of this guidance on its consolidated financial statements.
In
December 2023, the FASB issued ASU No. 2023-09, Income Taxes (Topic 740)—Improvements to Income Tax Disclosures (“ASU 2023-09”),
which is intended to enhance the transparency and decision usefulness of income tax disclosures. The amendments in ASU 2023-09 provide
for enhanced income tax information primarily through changes to the rate reconciliation and income taxes paid information. ASU 2023-09
is effective for the Company prospectively to all annual periods beginning after December 15, 2024. Early adoption is permitted. The
Company does not expect the standard to have a significant impact on its consolidated financial statements.
In
October 2023, the FASB issued ASU No. 2023-06, Disclosure Improvements: Codification Amendments in Response to the SEC’s Disclosure
Update and Simplification Initiative. This update modifies the disclosure or presentation requirements of a variety of topics in the
Accounting Standards Codification to conform with certain SEC amendments in Release No. 33-10532, Disclosure Update and Simplification.
The amendments in this update should be applied prospectively, and the effective date for each amendment will be the date on which the
SEC’s removal of that related disclosure from Regulation S-X or S-K becomes effective. However, if the SEC has not removed the
related disclosure from its regulations by June 30, 2027, the amendments will be removed from the Codification and not become effective.
Early adoption is prohibited. We are currently evaluating the potential impact of this guidance on its consolidated financial statements.
54
Off-Balance
sheet arrangements
We
do not have any off-balance sheet arrangements.
Item
7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosure About Market Risk
Not
applicable.
Item
8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data
Our
consolidated financial statements, together with the report of our independent registered public accounting firm, appear herein commencing
on page F-1 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K and are incorporated herein by reference.
Item
9. Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure
None.
Item
9A. Controls and Procedures
Evaluation
of Disclosure Controls and Procedures
Our
management, with the participation of our principal executive officer and our principal financial officer, evaluated the effectiveness
of our disclosure controls and procedures as of December 31, 2024. Based on such evaluation, our principal executive officer and principal
financial officer concluded our disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) under the Exchange Act)
were effective as of such date to provide reasonable assurance the information required to be disclosed by us in the reports we file
or submit under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s
rules and forms. Disclosure controls and procedures include, without limitation, controls and procedures designed to ensure information
required to be disclosed by us in the reports we file or submit under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to our management,
including our principal executive officer and principal financial officer, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required
disclosure.
Management’s
Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
Our
management is responsible for establishing and maintaining an adequate system of internal control over financial reporting, as such term
is defined in Exchange Act Rules 13(a)-15(f). Our system of internal control over financial reporting is designed to provide reasonable
assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance
with accounting principles generally accepted in the U.S.
Our
internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that:
● pertain
to the maintenance of records, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect our transactions
and dispositions of our assets;
● provide
reasonable assurance our transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of
our financial statements in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the
U.S., and our receipts and expenditures are being made only in accordance with authorizations
of our management and our directors; and;
● provide
reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition,
use, or disposition of our assets could have a material effect on the financial statements.
Due
to its inherent limitations, a system of internal control over financial reporting can provide only reasonable assurance and may not
prevent or detect all misstatements. Further, because of changes in conditions, effectiveness of internal controls over financial reporting
may vary over time. Our system contains self-monitoring mechanisms, so actions will be taken to correct deficiencies as they are identified.
Our
management conducted an evaluation of the effectiveness of the system of internal control over financial reporting based on the framework
in Internal Control-Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission. Based
on this evaluation, our management concluded our system of internal control over financial reporting was effective as of December 31,
2024.
This
Form 10-K does not include an attestation report of our independent registered public accounting firm regarding internal control over
financial reporting. Management’s report was not subject to attestation by our registered public accounting firm pursuant to the
rules of the SEC to permit us to provide only management’s report in this Form 10-K.
Changes
to Internal Controls Over Financial Reporting
There
has been no change in our internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) under the Exchange
Act) that occurred during the quarter ended December 31, 2024 that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect,
our internal controls over financial reporting.
Item
9B. Other Information
During
the fiscal quarter ended December 31, 2024, none of our directors or officers (as defined in Rule 16a-1 under the Exchange Act) adopted
or terminated a “Rule 10b5-1 trading arrangement” or “non-Rule 10b5-1 trading arrangement” (as those terms are
defined in Item 408 of Regulation S-K).
In March 2025, the Company and the lead investor in the February 2025 financing completed by the Company
and Veris entered into an agreement, pursuant to which the lead investor agreed that it would, with respect to the election of the Company’s directors, vote its shares of the Company’s common stock (including those exercisable in respect of their pre-funded warrants) in
accordance with the recommendations of the Company’s board of directors.
Item
9C. Disclosure Regarding Foreign Jurisdictions that Prevent Inspections
Not
applicable.
55
PART
III
Item
10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance
The
information required by this Item 10 is incorporated by reference to our Proxy Statement for the 2025 Annual Meeting of Stockholders
to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission within 120 days of the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024.
Item
11. Executive Compensation
The
information required by this Item 11 is incorporated by reference to our Proxy Statement for the 2025 Annual Meeting of Stockholders
to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission within 120 days of the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024.
Item
12. Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters
The
information required by this Item 12 is incorporated by reference to our Proxy Statement for the 2025 Annual Meeting of Stockholders
to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission within 120 days of the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024.
Item
13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence
The
information required by this Item 13 is incorporated by reference to our Proxy Statement for the 2025 Annual Meeting of Stockholders
to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission within 120 days of the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024.
Item
14. Principal Accounting Fees and Services
The
information required by this Item 14 is incorporated by reference to our Proxy Statement for the 2025 Annual Meeting of Stockholders
to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission within 120 days of the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024.
56
PART
IV
Item
15. Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules
(a)
The
following documents filed as a part of the report:
(1)
The
following financial statements:
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm (PCAOB ID#688)
Consolidated Balance Sheets
Consolidated Statements of Operations
Consolidated Statements of Changes in Stockholders’ Equity (Deficit)
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
(2)
The
financial statement schedules:
Schedules
other than those listed above are omitted for the reason they are not required or are not applicable, or the required information
is shown in the financial statements or notes thereto. Columns omitted from schedules filed have been omitted because the information
is not applicable.
(3)
The
following exhibits:
Incorporation
by Reference
Exhibit
No.
Description
Form
Exhibit
No.
Date
2.1
Asset Purchase Agreement, dated as of February 25, 2022, by and among LucidDx Labs Inc., Lucid Diagnostics Inc. and ResearchDx, Inc.
8-K
(LUCD)
2.1
3/3/22
3.1.1
Certificate of Incorporation
S-1
3.1
4/22/15
3.1.2
Certificate of Amendment to Certificate of Incorporation
S-1
3.2
4/22/15
3.1.3
Certificate of Amendment to Certificate of Incorporation, dated October 1, 2018
8-K
3.1
10/2/18
3.1.4
Certificate of Amendment to Certificate of Incorporation, dated June 26, 2019
8-K
3.1
6/27/19
3.1.5
Certificate of Amendment to Certificate of Incorporation, dated July 24, 2020
8-K
3.1
7/27/20
3.1.6
Certificate of Amendment to Certificate of Incorporation, dated June 21, 2022
8-K
3.1
6/22/22
3.1.7
Certificate of Amendment to Certificate of Incorporation, dated January 15, 2025
8-K
3.1
1/15/25
3.1.8
Form of Certificate of Designation of Preferences, Rights and Limitations of Series B Convertible Preferred Stock
8-K/A
3.1
4/20/18
3.1.9
Form of Certificate of Designation of Preferences, Rights and Limitations of Series C Convertible Preferred Stock
8-K
4.1
1/21/25
3.2
Amended and Restated Bylaws
8-K
3.1
1/15/21
4.1
Description of Registrant’s Securities
*
4.2
Specimen Common Stock Certificate
S-1/A
4.2
9/29/15
4.6
Specimen Series Z Warrant Certificate
8-K
4.1
4/5/18
4.7
Amended and Restated Series Z Warrant Agreement, dated as of June 8, 2018, by and between PAVmed Inc. and Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as Warrant Agent
8-K
10.1
6/8/18
4.8
Form of PAVmed Senior Secured Convertible Note
8-K
4.1
4/4/22
4.9
Form of Lucid Diagnostics 2024 Convertible Note
8-K
(LUCD)
4.1
11/29/24
10.1
Patent Option Agreement
S-1
10.1
4/22/15
10.2.1
Form of Letter Agreement with HCFP Capital Partners III LLC
S-1
10.4.1
4/22/15
10.2.2
Form of Letter Agreement with Pavilion Venture Partners LLC
S-1
10.4.2
4/22/15
10.3.1
Letter agreement regarding corporate opportunities executed by Lishan Aklog, M.D.
S-1
10.5.1
4/22/15
10.3.2
Letter agreement regarding corporate opportunities executed by Michael Glennon
S-1
10.5.2
4/22/15
10.4#
Amended and Restated Employment Agreement between PAVmed Inc. and Lishan Aklog, M.D.
8-K
10.1
3/20/19
10.5#
Amended and Restated Employment Agreement between PAVmed Inc. and Dennis M. McGrath
8-K
10.2
3/20/19
10.6#
PAVmed Inc. Fifth Amended and Restated 2014 Long-Term Incentive Equity Plan
DEF
14A
Annex
A
4/30/21
10.7#
PAVmed Inc. Employee Stock Purchase Plan
DEF
14A
Annex
B
4/30/21
10.8#
Employment Agreement between PAVmed Inc. and Michael A. Gordon
10-K
10.9
3/14/23
10.9#
Employment Agreement between PAVmed Inc. and Shaun M. O’Neil
8-K
10.1
2/24/22
57
Incorporation by Reference
Exhibit
No.
Description
Form
Exhibit
No.
Date
10.10.1
Amended and Restated License Agreement, dated as of August 23, 2021, by and between Case Western Reserve University and Lucid Diagnostics Inc.
S-1/A
(LUCD)
10.2
10/1/21
10.10.2†
First Amendment to Amended and Restated License Agreement, dated as of February 15, 2024, by and between Case Western
Reserve University and Lucid Diagnostics Inc.
10-K (LUCD)
10.2.2
3/24/25
10.10.3†
Second Amendment to Amended and Restated License Agreement, dated as of November 7, 2024, by and between Case Western
Reserve University and Lucid Diagnostics Inc.
10-K (LUCD)
10.2.3
3/24/25
10.11
Form of Stock Option Agreement
10-K
10.12
3/14/23
10.12
Form of Indemnification Agreement
10-K
10.13
3/14/23
10.13
Controlled Equity Offering SM , dated as of December 21, 2021, by and between Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. and PAVmed Inc.
S-3
1.2
12/21/21
10.14.1
Form
of Securities Purchase Agreement (Senior Secured Convertible Note)
8-K
10.1
4/4/22
10.14.2
Form
of Security Agreement (Senior Secured Convertible Note)
8-K
10.2
4/4/22
10.15.1
Form of Exchange Agreement (Series C Exchange)
8-K
10.1
11/21/24
10.15.2
Form of Securities Purchase Agreement (Series C Exchange)
8-K
10.2
11/21/24
10.16.1
Common Stock Purchase Agreement, dated as of March 28, 2022, by and between CF Principal Investments LLC and Lucid Diagnostics Inc.
8-K
(LUCD)
10.1
4/1/22
10.16.2
Registration Rights Agreement, dated as of March 28, 2022, by and between CF Principal Investments LLC and Lucid Diagnostics Inc.
8-K
(LUCD)
10.2
4/1/22
10.17
Controlled Equity Offering SM , dated as of November 23, 2022, by and between Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. and Lucid Diagnostics Inc.
8-K
(LUCD)
1.2
11/25/22
10.18.1‡
Form of Securities Purchase Agreement (Lucid 2024 Convertible Notes)
8-K
(LUCD)
10.1
11/29/24
10.18.2
Form of Registration Rights Agreement (Lucid 2024 Convertible Notes)
8-K (LUCD)
10.2
11/29/24
10.18.3
Form of Guaranty (Lucid 2024 Convertible Notes)
8-K
(LUCD)
10.3
11/29/24
10.8.4‡
Form of Security Agreement (Lucid 2024 Convertible Notes)
8-K
(LUCD)
10.4
11/29/24
10.19.1
Management Services Agreement, dated as of May 12, 2018, by and between PAVmed Inc. and Lucid Diagnostics Inc.
S-1/A
(LUCD)
10.4.1
10/7/21
10.9.2
Eighth Amendment to Management Services Agreement, dated as of March 22, 2024, by and between PAVmed Inc. and Lucid Diagnostics Inc.
10-K
(LUCD)
10.4.9
3/25/24
10.9.3
Ninth Amendment to Management Services Agreement, dated as of August 6, 2024, by and between PAVmed Inc. and Lucid Diagnostics Inc.
10-Q (LUCD)
10.2
8/12/24
14.1
Form of Code of Ethics
10-K
14.1
3/14/23
19.1
Insider Trading Policy
*
21.1
List of Subsidiaries
*
23.1
Consent of Marcum LLP
*
31.1
Certification of Principal Executive Officer pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
*
31.2
Certification of Principal Financial and Accounting Officer pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
*
32.1
Certification of Principal Executive Officer pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
*
32.2
Certification of Principal Financial and Accounting Officer pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
*
97.1
Form of Compensation Clawback Policy
10-K
97.1
3/25/24
101.INS
XBRL
Instance Document
*
101.SCH
XBRL
Taxonomy Extension Schema
*
101.CAL
XBRL
Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase
*
101.DEF
XBRL
Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase
*
101.LAB
XBRL
Taxonomy Extension Label Linkbase
*
101.PRE
XBRL
Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase
*
*
Filed herewith
#
Management contract or compensatory plan or arrangement.
†
Certain confidential portions of this exhibit were omitted by means of marking such portions with asterisks because the identified confidential portions (i) are not material and (ii) would be competitively harmful if publicly disclosed.
‡
Certain exhibits and schedules have been omitted pursuant to Item 601(b)(10) of Regulation S-K. The registrant hereby
undertakes to furnish a copy of any omitted exhibit or schedule upon request by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
LUCD
Lucid Diagnostics Inc.
Item
16. Form 10-K Summary
None
58
SIGNATURES
Pursuant
to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by
the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.
PAVmed
Inc.
March
24, 2025
By:
/s/
Dennis M. McGrath
Dennis
M. McGrath
President
and Chief Financial Officer
(Principal
Financial and Accounting Officer)
Pursuant
to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, the report has been signed by the following persons on behalf
of the Registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated. Each person whose signature appears below hereby authorizes both
Lishan Aklog, M.D. and Dennis M. McGrath or either of them acting in the absence of the others, as his or her true and lawful attorney-in-fact
and agent, with full power of substitution and re-substitution for him or her and in his or her name, place and stead, in any and all
capacities to sign any and all amendments to this report, and to file the same, with all exhibits thereto and other documents in connection
therewith, with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.
Signature
Title
Date
/s/
Lishan Aklog, M.D.
Chairman
of the Board of Directors
March
24, 2025
Lishan
Aklog, M.D.
Chief
Executive Officer
(Principal
Executive Officer)
/s/
Dennis M. McGrath
President
March
24, 2025
Dennis
M. McGrath
Chief
Financial Officer
(Principal
Financial and Accounting Officer)
/s/
Michael J. Glennon
Vice
Chairman
March
24, 2025
Michael
J. Glennon
Director
/s/
Debra J. White
Director
March
24, 2025
Debra
J. White
/s/
Ronald M. Sparks
Director
March
24, 2025
Ronald
M. Sparks
/s/
Timothy Baxter
Director
March
24, 2025
Timothy
Baxter
/s/
Sundeep Agrawal
Director
March
24, 2025
Sundeep
Agrawal
59
PAVMED
INC.
and
SUBSIDIARIES
INDEX
TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Consolidated
Financial Statements
Page
Report
of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm (PCAOB ID
688 )
F-2
Consolidated Balance Sheets as of December 31, 2024 and 2023
F-4
Consolidated Statements of Operations for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023
F-5
Consolidated Statement of Changes in Stockholders’ Equity (Deficit) for the year ended December 31, 2024
F-6
Consolidated Statement of Changes in Stockholders’ Equity (Deficit) for the year ended December 31, 2023
F-7
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023
F-8
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
F-9
F- 1
REPORT
OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
To
the Stockholders and Board of Directors of
PAVmed
Inc.
Opinion
on the Financial Statements
We
have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of PAVmed Inc. and Subsidiaries (the “Company”) as of December
31, 2024 and 2023, the related consolidated statements of operations, changes in stockholders’ equity (deficit) and cash flows
for each of the two years in the period ended December 31, 2024, and the related notes (collectively referred to as the “financial
statements”). In our opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the
Company as of December 31, 2024 and 2023, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the two years in the period
ended December 31, 2024, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.
Explanatory
Paragraph – Going Concern
The
accompanying financial statements have been prepared assuming that the Company will continue as a going concern. As more fully
described in Note 2, the Company has a significant working capital deficiency, has incurred significant operating losses and needs
to raise additional funds to meet its obligations and sustain its operations. These conditions raise substantial doubt about the
Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. Management’s plans in regard to these matters are also described in
Note 2. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this
uncertainty.
Basis
for Opinion
These
financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s
financial statements based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board
(United States) (“PCAOB”) and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal
securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.
We
conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audits to obtain
reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. The Company
is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its internal control over financial reporting. As part of our audits
we are required to obtain an understanding of internal control over financial reporting but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion
on the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion.
Our
audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error
or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding
the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant
estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that our audits
provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.
Critical
Audit Matter
The
critical audit matter communicated below is a matter arising from the current period audit of the financial statements that was communicated
or required to be communicated to the audit committee and that: (1) relates to accounts or disclosures that are material to the financial
statements and (2) involved our especially challenging, subjective, or complex judgments. The communication of critical audit matters
does not alter in any way our opinion on the financial statements, taken as a whole, and we are not, by communicating the critical audit
matter below, providing a separate opinion on the critical audit matter or on the accounts or disclosures to which it relates.
F- 2
REPORT
OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
(continued)
Valuation
of Convertible Notes
Critical
Audit Matter Description
As
described in Notes 12 and 13 to the consolidated financial statements, the Company’s aggregate principal balance of the Senior
Secured Convertible Notes amounted to $25.2 million as of December 31, 2024. The Senior Secured Convertible Notes contain conversion
and redemption features. The Company elected to account for the Senior Secured Convertible Notes under the fair value option in accordance
with ASC 825. The fair value of the Senior Secured Convertible Notes was $29.1 million as of December 31, 2024. The Senior Secured Convertible Note of the Company’s subsidiary, Lucid
Diagnostics Inc., was $10.3 million as of September 10, 2024, the date of deconsolidation.
We
identified the valuation of convertible notes as a critical audit matter as auditing the Company’s fair value of the Senior Secured
Convertible Notes was complex and involved a high degree of subjectivity because the Company used a complex valuation methodology that
incorporated significant management assumptions including discount rate, expected volatility, installment payment conversion price, and probability weighting of the company optional redemption
and hold to maturity scenarios. Also, this matter caused us to use increased
effort including involvement of professionals with specialized skill and knowledge.
How
the Critical Audit Matter Was Addressed in the Audit
Our
audit procedures related to the valuation of convertible notes included the following, among others:
● We
obtained an understanding of the design of the Company’s controls over the valuation
of the convertible notes, including controls over management’s review of the valuation
model and the significant assumptions used in determining the fair value of the convertible
notes.
● With
assistance of our valuation specialists, we audited the fair value of the Senior Secured
Convertible Notes, valuation methodology and key assumptions used in determining the fair
value of the Senior Secured Convertible Notes by:
a. Evaluating
the appropriateness of the valuation model and techniques used in determining the fair value;
b. Assessing
whether significant valuation assumption inputs, including discount rate and expected volatility
are consistent with those that would be used by market participants through the testing of
source information, checking the mathematical accuracy of the calculation, and developing
independent estimates for certain inputs and comparing to those selected by management, where applicable; assessing the reasonableness of the installment payment conversion price and probability weighting of the company
optional redemption and hold to maturity scenarios by assessing the historical practice and reviewing subsequent events; and
c. Recalculating fair value of the convertible notes for reasonableness.
● We
tested the completeness and accuracy of the underlying data supporting the significant assumptions
and estimates.
/s/
Marcum LLP
Marcum
LLP
We
have served as the Company’s auditor since 2019.
New
York, NY
March
24, 2025
F- 3
PAVMED
INC.
and
SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED
BALANCE SHEETS
(in
thousands except number of shares and per share data)
December 31, 2024
December 31, 2023
Assets:
Current assets:
Cash
$ 1,185
$ 19,639
Accounts receivable
18
61
Inventory
—
278
Prepaid expenses, deposits, and other current assets
961
4,520
Total current assets
2,164
24,498
Fixed assets, net
151
1,783
Operating lease right-of-use assets
2,500
4,267
Intangible assets, net
—
1,424
Equity method investment - at fair value
25,637
—
Other assets
208
1,147
Total assets
$ 30,660
$ 33,119
Liabilities, Preferred Stock and Stockholders’ Equity
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable
$ 657
$ 1,786
Accrued expenses and other current liabilities
5,176
6,626
Operating lease liabilities, current portion
513
1,565
Senior Secured Convertible Notes - at fair value
29,100
44,200
Total current liabilities
35,446
54,177
Operating lease liabilities, less current portion
2,247
2,960
Total liabilities
37,693
57,137
Commitments and contingencies (Note 11)
-
-
Stockholders’ Equity:
Preferred stock, $ 0.001 par value. Authorized, 20,000,000 shares; Series B Convertible Preferred Stock, par value $ 0.001 , issued and outstanding 1,412,865 at December 31, 2024 and 1,305,213 shares at December 31, 2023
3,316
2,993
Common stock, $ 0.001
par value. Authorized, 250,000,000
shares (Note 16); 11,198,977
and 8,578,505
shares outstanding as of December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, respectively
11
9
Additional paid-in capital
249,143
237,600
Accumulated deficit
( 254,965 )
( 294,433 )
Total PAVmed Inc. Stockholders’ Equity (Deficit)
( 2,495 )
( 53,831 )
Noncontrolling interests
( 4,538 )
29,813
Total Stockholders’ Equity (Deficit)
( 7,033 )
( 24,018 )
Total Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity (Deficit)
$ 30,660
$ 33,119
See
accompanying notes to the consolidated financial statements.
F- 4
PAVMED
INC.
and
SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED
STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
(in
thousands except number of shares and per share data)
2024
2023
Years Ended
December 31,
2024
2023
Revenue
$ 2,995
$ 2,452
Operating expenses:
Cost of revenue
4,840
6,420
Sales and marketing
11,627
17,583
General and administrative
24,524
30,947
Amortization of acquired intangible assets
559
2,021
Research and development
5,932
14,276
Total operating expenses
47,482
71,247
Operating loss
( 44,487 )
( 68,795 )
Other income (expense):
Interest income
254
505
Interest expense
( 45 )
( 589 )
Gain on deconsolidation of subsidiary
72,287
—
Change in fair value - equity method investment
532
—
Change in fair value - Senior Secured Convertible Notes
462
( 6,026 )
Loss on issue and offering costs - Senior Secured Convertible Note
—
( 1,186 )
Debt extinguishments loss - Senior Secured Convertible Notes
( 2,535 )
( 3,782 )
Debt modification expense
( 2,000 )
—
Change in fair value - derivative liability
—
( 390 )
Management fee income
3,850
—
Grant income
109
—
Gain on sale of intellectual property
—
1,000
Other income (expense), net
72,914
( 10,468 )
Income (loss) before provision for income tax
28,427
( 79,263 )
Provision for income taxes
—
—
Net income (loss) before noncontrolling interests
28,427
( 79,263 )
Net loss attributable to the noncontrolling interests
11,364
15,088
Net income (loss) attributable to PAVmed Inc.
39,791
( 64,175 )
Less: Deemed dividend on Series Z warrant modification
—
( 1,791 )
Less: Series B Convertible Preferred Stock dividends earned
( 329 )
( 304 )
Less: Deemed dividend on Subsidiary Preferred Stock attributable to the noncontrolling interests
( 7,496 )
—
Net income (loss) attributable to PAVmed Inc. common stockholders
$ 31,966
$ ( 66,270 )
Per share information:
Net income (loss) per share attributable to PAVmed Inc. common stockholders – basic
$ 3.30
$ ( 9.16 )
Net income (loss) per share attributable to PAVmed Inc. common stockholders – diluted
$ 0.50
$ ( 9.16 )
Weighted average common shares outstanding, basic
9,672,199
7,231,546
Weighted average common shares outstanding, diluted
65,291,623
7,231,546
See
accompanying notes to the consolidated financial statements.
F- 5
PAVMED
INC.
and
SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED
STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY (DEFICIT)
for
the YEAR ENDED December 31, 2024
(in
thousands, except number of shares and per share data)
Shares
Amount
Shares
Amount
Capital
Deficit
Interest
Total
PAVmed
Inc. Stockholders’ Equity (Deficit)
Series B
Convertible
Preferred Stock
Common
Stock
Additional
Paid-In
Accumulated
Non
controlling
Shares
Amount
Shares
Amount
Capital
Deficit
Interest
Total
Balance
- December 31, 2023
1,305,213
$ 2,993
8,578,505
$ 9
$ 237,600
$ ( 294,433 ) -
$ 29,813
$ ( 24,018 )
Dividends
declared - Series B Convertible Preferred Stock
107,652
323
—
—
—
( 323 ) -
—
—
Issue
common stock - PAVM ATM Facility
—
—
1,032,298
1
1,307
— -
—
1,308
Vest
- restricted stock awards
—
—
136,096
—
—
— -
—
—
Conversions
- Senior Secured Convertible Note
—
—
1,084,366
1
2,019
— -
—
2,020
Conversions
- subsidiary common stock - Senior Secured Convertible Note
—
—
—
—
—
— -
3,801
3,801
Exercise
- stock options of subsidiary
—
—
—
—
—
— -
4
4
Purchase
- Employee Stock Purchase Plan
—
—
34,332
—
62
— -
—
62
Purchase
- subsidiary common stock - Employee Stock Purchase Plan
—
—
—
—
—
— -
353
353
Impact
of subsidiary equity transactions
—
—
—
—
4,414
— -
( 4,414 )
—
Issuance
- vendor service agreement
—
—
333,380
—
350
— -
401
751
Issuance
- subsidiary preferred stock (Series A-1)
—
—
—
—
—
— -
5,670
5,670
Exchange
- subsidiary preferred stock (Series A and Series A-1)
—
—
—
—
—
— -
( 24,294 )
( 24,294 )
Issuance
through exchange - subsidiary preferred stock (Series B and Series B-1)
—
—
—
—
—
— -
31,790
31,790
Issuance
through sale - subsidiary preferred stock (Series B and Series B-1)
—
—
—
—
—
— -
24,129
24,129
Subsidiary
deemed dividends on preferred stock attributable to noncontrolling interests
—
—
—
—
—
— -
( 7,496 )
( 7,496 )
Stock-based
compensation - PAVmed Inc.
—
—
—
—
2,681
— -
—
2,681
Stock-based
compensation - subsidiaries
—
—
—
—
360
— -
3,408
3,768
Transfer
of intellectual property to Lucid Diagnostics Inc
—
—
—
—
350
— -
—
350
Deconsolidation
of subsidiary
—
—
—
—
—
— -
( 56,339 )
( 56,339 )
Net
income (loss)
—
—
—
—
—
39,791 -
( 11,364 )
28,427
Balance
- December 31, 2024
1,412,865
$ 3,316
11,198,977
$ 11
$ 249,143
$ ( 254,965 ) -
$ ( 4,538 )
$ ( 7,033 )
See
accompanying notes to the consolidated financial statements.
F- 6
PAVMED
INC.
and
SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED
STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY (DEFICIT)
for
the YEAR ENDED December 31, 2023
(in
thousands, except number of shares and per share data)
Shares
Amount
Shares
Amount
Capital
Deficit
Stock
Interest
Total
PAVmed
Inc. Stockholders’ Equity (Deficit)
Series
B
Convertible
Preferred Stock
Common
Stock
Additional
Paid-In
Accumulated
Treasury
Non
controlling
Shares
Amount
Shares
Amount
Capital
Deficit
Stock
Interest
Total
Balance
- December 31, 2022
1,205,759
$ 2,695
6,300,703
$ 6
$ 216,195
$ ( 228,169 )
$ ( 408 )
$ 20,615
$ 10,934
Balance
1,205,759
$ 2,695
6,300,703
$ 6
$ 216,195
$ ( 228,169 )
$ ( 408 )
$ 20,615
$ 10,934
Dividends
declared - Series B Convertible Preferred Stock
99,454
298
—
—
—
( 298 )
—
—
—
Issue
common stock - PAVM ATM Facility
—
—
321,288
1
1,823
—
—
—
1,824
Vest
- restricted stock awards
—
—
6,666
—
—
—
—
—
—
Conversions
- Senior Secured Convertible Note
—
—
1,745,824
2
10,000
—
—
—
10,002
Conversions
- subsidiary common stock - Senior Secured Convertible Note
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
167
167
Purchase
- Employee Stock Purchase Plan
—
—
45,893
—
198
—
60
—
258
Purchase
- subsidiary common stock - Employee Stock Purchase Plan
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
551
551
Issuance
- subsidiary common stock - Committed Equity Facility, net of financing charges
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
284
284
Impact
of subsidiary equity transactions
—
—
—
—
1,983
—
—
( 1,983 )
—
Issuance
- subsidiary common stock - Settlement APA-RDx - Installment Payment
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
713
713
Issuance
- vendor service agreement
—
—
100,000
—
601
—
—
147
748
Issuance
- subsidiary preferred stock (Series A)
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
18,625
18,625
Issuance
of shares related to reverse stock split
—
—
45,541
—
—
—
—
—
—
Incremental
value from Z Warrant modification
—
—
—
—
1,791
( 1,791 )
—
—
—
Stock-based
compensation - PAVmed Inc.
—
—
—
—
4,255
—
—
—
4,255
Stock-based
compensation - subsidiaries
—
—
—
—
1,102
—
—
5,782
6,884
Treasury
stock
—
—
12,590
—
( 348 )
—
348
—
—
Net
Loss
—
—
—
—
—
( 64,175 )
—
( 15,088 )
( 79,263 )
Net
income (loss)
—
—
—
—
—
( 64,175 )
—
( 15,088 )
( 79,263 )
Balance
- December 31, 2023
1,305,213
$ 2,993
8,578,505
$ 9
$ 237,600
$ ( 294,433 )
$ —
$ 29,813
$ ( 24,018 )
Balance
1,305,213
$ 2,993
8,578,505
$ 9
$ 237,600
$ ( 294,433 )
$ —
$ 29,813
$ ( 24,018 )
See
accompanying notes to the consolidated financial statements.
F- 7
PAVMED
INC.
and
SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED
STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
(in
thousands, except number of shares and per share data)
2024
2023
Years Ended December 31,
2024
2023
Cash flows from operating activities
Net income (loss) - before noncontrolling interest (“NCI”)
$ 28,427
$ ( 79,263 )
Adjustments to reconcile net income (loss) - before NCI to net cash used in operating activities
Depreciation and amortization expense
1,198
2,932
Stock-based compensation
6,449
11,139
Gain on sale of intellectual property
—
( 1,000 )
Gain on deconsolidation of subsidiary
( 72,287 )
—
Change in fair value - equity method investment
( 532 )
—
APA-RDx: Issue common stock of subsidiary - termination payment
—
713
Amortization of common stock payment for vendor service agreement
598
625
Change in fair value - Senior Secured Convertible Notes
( 462 )
6,026
Loss on issue - Senior Secured Convertible Note
—
1,111
Debt extinguishment loss - Senior Secured Convertible Note
2,535
3,782
Non-cash lease expense
8
308
Changes in operating assets and liabilities:
Accounts receivable
43
( 44 )
Prepaid expenses, deposits and current and other assets
832
( 246 )
Accounts payable
( 59 )
( 918 )
Accrued expenses and other current liabilities
( 304 )
2,799
Net cash flows used in operating activities
( 33,554 )
( 52,036 )
Cash flows from investing activities
Purchase of equipment
( 55 )
( 242 )
Decrease in cash due to deconsolidation of subsidiary
( 16,479 )
—
Proceeds from sale of intellectual property to Lucid Diagnostics Inc.
350
—
Proceeds from sale of intellectual property
—
1,000
Net cash flows provided by (used in) investing activities
( 16,184 )
758
Cash flows from financing activities
Proceeds – issue of preferred stock - subsidiary
29,798
18,625
Proceeds – issue of Senior Secured Convertible Note
—
10,000
Payment – Senior Secured Convertible Note – acceleration floor payments
( 531 )
( 79 )
Proceeds – issue of common stock - At-The-Market Facility
1,598
1,533
Proceeds – subsidiary common stock - Committed Equity Facility and At-The-Market Facility
—
284
Proceeds – issue common stock – Employee Stock Purchase Plan
62
259
Proceeds – subsidiary common stock – Employee Stock Purchase Plan
353
551
Proceeds – exercise of stock options issued under equity plan of subsidiary
4
—
Net cash flows provided by financing activities
31,284
31,173
Net increase (decrease) in cash
( 18,454 )
( 20,105 )
Cash, beginning of period
19,639
39,744
Cash, end of period
$ 1,185
$ 19,639
See
accompanying notes to the consolidated financial statements.
F- 8
PAVMED
INC.
and
SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES
TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(amounts
in these accompanying notes are presented in thousands, except number of shares and per-share amounts.)
Note
1 — The Company
Description
of the Business
PAVmed
Inc. (“PAVmed” or the “Company”) is structured to be a multi-product life sciences company organized to
advance a pipeline of innovative healthcare technologies. Led by a team of highly skilled personnel with a track record of bringing
innovative products to market, PAVmed is focused on innovating, developing, acquiring, and commercializing novel products that
target unmet medical needs with large addressable market opportunities. Leveraging our corporate structure—a parent company
that will establish distinct subsidiaries for each financed asset—we have the flexibility to raise capital at the PAVmed level
to fund product development, or to structure financing directly into each subsidiary in a manner tailored to the applicable product,
the latter of which is our current strategy given prevailing market conditions.
Our
current focus is multi-fold. We continue to support the commercial expansion and execution of EsoGuard, which is the flagship
product of our subsidiary Lucid Diagnostics Inc. (Nasdaq: LUCD) (“Lucid” or “Lucid Diagnostics”), of which
we remain the shareholder with the largest voting interest. In addition, through a separate majority-owned subsidiary, Veris Health
(“Veris” or “Veris Health”), we are focused in the immediate term on entering into strategic partnership
opportunities with leading academic oncology systems to expand access to the Veris Cancer Care Platform, while concurrently
developing an implantable physiological monitor, designed to be implanted alongside a chemotherapy port, which will interface with
the Veris Cancer Care Platform. In terms of other existing products and technologies, we have adopted an incubator-type platform
where we are looking to obtain financing on a product-by-product basis as necessary to advance each asset to a meaningful inflection
point along its path to commercialization. Finally, as resources permit, we will continue to explore external innovations that
fulfill our project selection criteria without limiting ourselves to any target sector, specialty or condition.
Note
2 — Liquidity and Going Concern
The
Company’s management is required to assess the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern for the one year period following
the date of the financial statements being issued. In each reporting period, including interim periods, an entity is required to assess
conditions known and reasonably knowable as of the financial statement issuance date to determine whether it is probable an entity will
not meet its financial obligations within one year from the financial statement issuance date. Substantial doubt about an entity’s
ability to continue as a going concern exists when conditions and events, considered in the aggregate, indicate it is probable the entity
will be unable to meet its financial obligations as they become due within one year after the date the financial statements are issued.
The
Company has financed its operations principally through public and private issuances of its common stock, preferred stock, common stock
purchase warrants, and debt. The Company is subject to all of the risks and uncertainties typically faced by medical device and diagnostic
companies that devote substantially all of their efforts to the commercialization of their initial product and services and ongoing research
and development activities and conducting clinical trials. The Company generated $ 3.0 million of revenue for the year ended December
31, 2024, however the Company expects to continue to experience recurring losses and to generate negative cash flows from operating activities
in the near future.
The
Company incurred a net income attributable to PAVmed Inc. common stockholders of approximately $ 32.0 million and had net cash flows used
in operating activities of approximately $ 33.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2024. As of December 31, 2024, the Company had
negative working capital of approximately $ 33.3 million, with such working capital inclusive of the Senior Secured Convertible Notes
classified as a current liability of an aggregate of approximately $ 29.1 million and approximately $ 1.2 million of cash.
The
Company’s ability to continue operations 12 months beyond the issuance of the financial statements, will depend upon its ability
to control its operating costs within the limits of the amounts collected from its management service contracts with its non-consolidated
subsidiaries, to substantially increase its revenues from the Veris Cancer Care platform, and to raise additional capital through various
potential sources including equity or debt financings or refinancing or restructuring existing debt obligations. These factors raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern within one
year after the date the accompanying consolidated financial statements are issued.
F- 9
Note
3 — Summary of Significant Accounting Policies
Significant
Accounting Policies
Basis
of Presentation
The
accompanying consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the
United States of America (“U.S. GAAP”), and applicable rules and regulations of the United States Securities and Exchange
Commission (“SEC”), and include the accounts of the Company and its wholly-owned and majority-owned subsidiaries. All significant
intercompany transactions and balances have been eliminated in consolidation. The Company has a controlling financial interest in Veris
Health Inc., with the corresponding noncontrolling interest included as a separate component of consolidated stockholders’ equity
(deficit), including the recognition in the consolidated statement of operations of a net loss attributable to the noncontrolling interest
based on the respective minority-interest equity ownership of each subsidiary. As of September 10, 2024, PAVmed ceased to have a controlling
financial interest in Lucid Diagnostics and therefore PAVmed’s consolidated results of operations include Lucid Diagnostics’
results of operations only through that date. The deconsolidation of Lucid Diagnostics has resulted in a gain recognized in PAVmed’s
statement of operations for the period ended December 31, 2024. From September 10, 2024, PAVmed has elected the fair value option to
account for its equity method investment in Lucid Diagnostics. See below and Note 4, Equity Method Investment for a discussion
on the impact of the deconsolidation of Lucid Diagnostics. See Note 17, Noncontrolling Interest , for a discussion of each of the
subsidiaries noted above. The Company manages its operations as a single operating segment for the purposes of assessing performance
and making operating decisions.
All
amounts in the accompanying consolidated financial statements and these notes thereto are presented in thousands of dollars, if not otherwise
noted as being presented in millions of dollars, except for shares and per share amounts.
Reverse
Stock Split
In
February 2023, the Company distributed a proxy statement for a special meeting of shareholders that was held on March 31, 2023 (the
“Special Meeting”), at which the Company sought approval of an amendment to the Company’s Certificate of
Incorporation, to effect, (i) a reverse split of the Company’s outstanding shares of common stock at a specific ratio, ranging
from 1-for-5
to 1-for-15 ,
to be determined by the board of directors of the Company in its sole discretion, and (ii) an associated reduction in the number of
shares of common stock the Company is authorized to issue, from 250,000,000
shares to 50,000,000
shares. On March 31, 2023, the shareholders approved the above proposal to amend the Company’s Certificate of Incorporation,
to effect, at any time prior to the one-year anniversary date of the Special Meeting. On November 28, 2023 the Company’s board
of directors, unanimously authorized management to effect the reverse split at the ratio of 1-for-15 .
The reverse stock split became effective on December 7, 2023. At the effective date, every 15 shares of the Company’s common stock that were issued and outstanding were automatically combined into one issued and outstanding share, without any change in par value of such shares . No fractional shares were issued in connection with the reverse stock split. Instead, each fractional share remaining after completion of the reverse stock split that was less than a whole share
was rounded up to one whole share. The reverse stock split also correspondingly affected all outstanding PAVmed equity awards and
outstanding convertible securities.
All
authorized, issued and outstanding stock and per share amounts contained in the accompanying consolidated financial statements have been
adjusted to reflect this reverse stock split for all prior periods presented.
Use
of Estimates
In
preparing the consolidated financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP, management is required to make estimates and assumptions
that affect the reported amounts of assets and the determination of corresponding carrying value reserve, if any, and liabilities and
the disclosure of contingent losses, as of the date of the consolidated financial statements, as well as the reported amounts of revenue
and expenses during the reporting period. Significant estimates in these consolidated financial statements include those related to the
estimated fair value of debt obligations, stock-based equity awards, intangible assets, and common stock purchase warrants. Other significant
estimates include the estimated incremental borrowing rate, the provision or benefit for income taxes and the corresponding valuation
allowance on deferred tax assets. Additionally, management’s assessment of the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern
involves the estimation of the amount and timing of future cash inflows and outflows. On an ongoing basis, the Company evaluates its
estimates and assumptions. The Company bases its estimates on historical experience and on various other assumptions believed to be reasonable.
Due to inherent uncertainty involved in making estimates, actual results reported in future periods may be affected by changes in these
estimates.
Cash
The
Company maintains its cash at a major financial institution with high credit quality. At times, the balance of its cash deposits may
exceed federally insured limits. The Company has not experienced losses on deposits with commercial banks and financial institutions
which exceed federally insured limits.
Included
in the Company’s cash as of December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023 is $ 299 related to a restricted deposit account for a standby
letter of credit associated with our corporate headquarters which has a lease maturity date in 2030.
F- 10
Note
3 — Summary of Significant Accounting Policies - continued
Offering
Costs
Offering
costs consist of certain legal, accounting, and other advisory fees incurred related to the Company’s efforts to raise debt and
equity capital. Offering costs in connection with equity financing are recognized as either an offset against the financing proceeds
to extent the underlying security is equity classified or a current period expense to extent the underlying security is liability classified
or for which the fair value option is elected. Offering costs, lender fees, and warrants issued in connection with debt financing, to
the extent the fair value option is not elected, are recognized as debt discount, which reduces the reported carrying value of the debt,
with the debt discount amortized as interest expense, generally over the contractual term of the debt agreement, to result in a constant
rate of interest. Offering costs associated with in-process capital financing are accounted for as deferred offering costs.
Revenue
Recognition
Revenues
are recognized when the satisfaction of the performance obligation occurs, in an amount that reflects the consideration the Company expects
to collect in exchange for those services. The Company’s revenue through the date of Lucid’s deconsolidation from
PAVmed’s results of operations as of September 10, 2024, was primarily generated by Lucid’s
laboratory testing services utilizing its EsoGuard Esophageal DNA tests. (As a result of the deconsolidation, however, such revenue will
no longer be included in the Company’s consolidated revenue.) The services are completed upon release of a patient’s test
result to the ordering healthcare provider. Revenue recognized is inclusive of both variable consideration in connection with an individual
patient’s third-party insurance coverage policy and fixed consideration in connection with a contracted services arrangement with
an unrelated third party legal entity. To determine revenue recognition for the arrangements that the Company determines are within the
scope of ASC 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers , the Company performs the following five steps: (1) identify the contract(s)
with a customer, (2) identify the performance obligations in the contract, (3) determine the transaction price, (4) allocate the transaction
price to the performance obligations in the contract and (5) recognize revenue when (or as) the entity satisfies a performance obligation.
The
key aspects considered by the Company in determining recognized revenue during the period covered by the financial statements herein
(during which revenue generated by Lucid during the pre-deconsolidation period that met this criteria is included in our results of operations)
include the following:
Contracts —The
Company’s customer is primarily the patient, but the Company does not enter into a formal reimbursement contract with a patient.
The Company establishes a contract with a patient in accordance with other customary business practices, which is the point in time an
order is received from a provider and a patient specimen has been returned to the laboratory for testing. Payment terms are a function
of a patient’s existing insurance benefits, including the impact of coverage decisions with Center for Medicare & Medicaid
Services (“CMS”) and applicable reimbursement contracts established between the Company and payers. However, when a patient
is considered self-pay, the Company requires payment from the patient prior to the commencement of the Company’s performance obligations.
The Company’s consideration can be deemed variable or fixed depending on the structure of specific payer contracts, and the Company
considers collection of such consideration to be probable to the extent that it is unconstrained.
Performance
obligations —A performance obligation is a promise in a contract to transfer a distinct good or service (or a bundle of goods
or services) to the customer. The Company’s contracts have a single performance obligation, which is satisfied upon rendering of
services, which culminates in the release of a patient’s test result to the ordering healthcare provider. The Company elects the
practical expedient related to the disclosure of unsatisfied performance obligations, as the duration of time between providing testing
supplies, the receipt of a sample, and the release of a test result to the ordering healthcare provider is far less than one year.
Transaction
price —The transaction price is the amount of consideration that the Company expects to collect in exchange for transferring
promised goods or services to a customer, excluding amounts collected on behalf of third parties (for example, some sales taxes). The
consideration expected to be collected from a contract with a customer may include fixed amounts, variable amounts, or both.
If
the consideration derived from the contracts is deemed to be variable, the Company estimates the amount of consideration to which it
will be entitled in exchange for the promised goods or services. The Company limits the amount of variable consideration included in
the transaction price to the unconstrained portion of such consideration. In other words, the Company recognizes revenue up to the amount
of variable consideration that is not subject to a significant reversal until additional information is obtained or the uncertainty associated
with the additional payments or refunds is subsequently resolved.
When
the Company does not have significant historical experience or that experience has limited predictive value, the constraint over estimates
of variable consideration may result in no revenue being recognized upon delivery of patient EsoGuard test results to the ordering healthcare
provider. As such, the Company recognizes revenue up to the amount of variable consideration not subject to a significant reversal until
additional information is obtained or the uncertainty associated with additional payments or refunds, if any, is subsequently resolved.
Differences between original estimates and subsequent revisions, including final settlements, represent changes in estimated expected
variable consideration, with the change in estimate recognized in the period of such revised estimate. With respect to a contracted service
arrangement, the fixed consideration revenue is recognized on an as-billed basis upon delivery of the laboratory test report with realization
of such fixed consideration deemed probable based upon actual historical experience.
Allocate
transaction price —The transaction price is allocated entirely to the performance obligation contained within the contract with
a customer on the basis of the relative standalone selling prices of each distinct good or service.
Practical
Expedients —The Company does not adjust the transaction price for the effects of a significant financing component, as at contract
inception, the Company expects the collection cycle to be one year or less.
F- 11
Note
3 — Summary of Significant Accounting Policies - continued
Inventory
The
Company carries test supply inventories to support our laboratory activities. The inventories are carried at the lower of weighted average
cost and net realizable value and expensed through cost of sales as the supplies are used.
Fixed
Assets
Fixed
assets are stated at cost and depreciated using the straight-line method over the assets’ estimated useful lives. Additions and
improvements are capitalized, including direct and indirect costs incurred to validate equipment and bring to working conditions. The
costs for maintenance and repairs are expensed as incurred.
Leases
The
Company adopted FASB ASC Topic 842, Leases , (“ASC 842”) effective December 31, 2021. All significant lease agreements
and contractual agreements with embedded lease agreements are accounted for under the provisions of ASC 842, wherein, if the contractual
arrangement: involves the use of a distinct identified asset; provides for the right to substantially all the economic benefits from
the use of the asset throughout the contractual period; and provides for the right to direct the use of the asset. A lease agreement
is accounted for as either a finance lease or an operating lease. Under both a finance lease and an operating lease, the Company recognizes
as of the lease commencement date a lease right-of-use (“ROU”) asset and a corresponding lease payment liability.
A
lease ROU asset represents the Company’s right to use an underlying asset for the lease term, and the lease liability represents
its contractual obligation to make lease payments. The lease ROU asset is measured at the lease commencement date as the present value
of the future lease payments plus initial direct costs incurred. The Company recognizes lease expense of the amortization of the lease
ROU asset for an operating lease on a straight-line basis over the lease term; and for financing leases on a straight-line basis unless
another basis is more representative of the pattern of economic benefit. The operating ROU asset also includes any lease incentives received
for improvements to leased property, when the improvements are lessee-owned. For improvements to leased property that are lessor-owned,
the Company includes amounts the Company incurred for the improvements as ROU assets which are amortized on a straight-line basis over
the life of the lease.
The
lease liability is measured at the lease commencement date with the discount rate generally based on the Company’s incremental
borrowing rate (to the extent the lease implicit rate is not known nor determinable), with interest expense recognized using the interest
method for financing leases.
Certain
leases may include options to extend or terminate the agreement. The Company does not assume renewals in determination of the lease term
unless the renewals are deemed to be reasonably certain at lease commencement. As well, an option to terminate is considered unless it
is reasonably certain the Company will not exercise the option. The Company elected the practical expedient to not recognize a lease
ROU asset and lease payment liability for leases with a term of twelve months or less (“short-term leases”), resulting in
the aggregate lease payments being recognized on a straight line basis over the lease term. The Company’s leases with a commencement
date prior to January 1, 2022 were short-term leases and therefore did not require recording a ROU asset or lease liability at December
31, 2021. Additionally, the Company elected the practical expedient to not separate lease and non-lease components.
Intangible
Assets
Purchased
intangible assets are recorded at cost and depreciated using the straight-line method over the assets’ estimated useful life. See
Note 9, Intangible Assets, net , for further information with respect to purchased intangible assets.
Impairment
- Long Lived Assets
The
Company reviews its long-lived assets, including intangible assets with finite lives, for recoverability whenever events or changes in
circumstances indicate the carrying amount of the assets may not be fully recoverable. The Company evaluates assets for potential impairment
by comparing estimated future undiscounted net cash flows to the carrying amount of the asset. If the carrying amount of the assets exceeds
the estimated future undiscounted cash flows, impairment is measured based on the difference between the carrying amount of the assets
and fair value which is generally an expected present value cash flow technique. The assessment and determination of the existence of
an impairment indicator comprises measurable operating performance criteria as well as qualitative factors deemed relevant and appropriate
to such evaluation.
F- 12
Note
3 — Summary of Significant Accounting Policies - continued
Stock-Based
Compensation
Stock-based
awards are made to members of the board of directors of the Company, the Company’s employees and nonemployees, under each of the
PAVmed 2014 Equity Plan and the Lucid Diagnostics 2018 Equity Plan. The Company accounts for stock-based compensation in accordance with
the provisions of FASB ASC Topic 718, Stock Compensation (“ASC 718”).
The
grant date estimated fair value of the stock-based award is recognized on a straight-line basis over the requisite service period, which
is generally the vesting period of the respective stock-based award, with such straight-line recognition adjusted, as applicable, so
the cumulative expense recognized is at least equal to or greater than the estimated fair value of the vested portion of the respective
stock-based award as of the reporting date.
The
Company uses the Black-Scholes valuation model to estimate the fair value of stock options granted under both the PAVmed 2014 Equity
Plan and the Lucid Diagnostics 2018 Equity Plan, which requires the Company to make certain weighted average valuation estimates and
assumptions for stock-based awards, principally as follows:
● With
respect to the PAVmed 2014 Equity Plan, the expected stock price volatility is based on the
historical stock price volatility of PAVmed Inc. common stock over the period commensurate
with the expected term with respect to stock options granted to the board of directors and
employees in the years ended December 3
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