RISK FACTORS

Investing in our common stock involves a high degree of risk. You should carefully consider the following risk factors and all other information contained in this prospectus in evaluating our common stock. If any of the following events were to occur, our business, financial condition or results of operations could be materially and adversely affected. In these circumstances, the market price of our common stock could decline, and you could lose your entire investment.

Risks Related to our Financial Position and Need to Raise Additional Capital

We may not be able to continue as a going concern if we do not obtain additional financing by June 30, 2017.

Since our inception, we have funded our operations through the sale of our securities. Our cash and cash equivalents balance at September 30, 2016 was $0.3 million. Although we raised approximately $850,000 in gross proceeds pursuant to our December 2016 private placement, based on our current expected level of operating expenditures, we expect to only be able to fund our operations through June 30, 2017, at which time we will need additional capital. Our ability to continue as a going concern is wholly dependent upon obtaining sufficient capital to fund our operations. We have no committed sources of additional capital and our access to capital funding is always uncertain. Accordingly, despite our ability to secure capital in the past, we cannot assure you that we will be able to secure additional capital through financing transactions, including issuance of debt, or through other means such as the licensing of our technology or grants. In the event that we are not able to secure additional funding, we may be forced to curtail operations, delay or stop ongoing clinical trials, cease operations altogether or file for bankruptcy.

Our auditors have expressed substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern.

Our auditors’ report contained in our December 31, 2015 financial statements expressed an opinion that our capital resources as of the date of their audit report were not sufficient to sustain operations or complete our planned activities for the upcoming year unless we raised additional funds. Our current cash level raises substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going past June 30, 2017. If we do not obtain additional funds by such time, we may no longer be able to continue as a going concern and will cease operation which means that our shareholders will lose their entire investment.

Risks Relating to Our Stage of Development and Business

If we are unable to successfully retain and integrate a new management team, our business could be harmed.

On March 16, 2016, our former President, Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer and founder provided us his notice of termination thereby ceasing his employment. On August 2, 2016, we appointed Christopher Lowe as our new chief executive officer, president and principal accounting officer. On August 8, 2016, we appointed Ronald Shazer, MD, as our chief medical officer and senior vice president. We also commenced a search for additional senior management personnel. Our success depends largely on the development and execution of our business strategy by our senior management team. The recent transitions in our executive team may be disruptive to our business, and if we are unable to manage an orderly transition, our business may be adversely affected. Additionally, since our management team consists of a limited number of individuals, the loss of these members of our senior management team or key personnel would likely harm our ability to implement our business strategy and respond to the rapidly changing market conditions in which we operate. There may be a limited number of persons with the requisite skills to serve in these positions, and we cannot assure you that we would be able to identify or employ such qualified personnel on acceptable terms, if at all. We cannot assure you that management will succeed in working together as a team. In the event we are unsuccessful, our business and prospects could be harmed.

We are an early-stage company, have no product revenues, are not profitable and may never be profitable.

From inception through September 30, 2016, and not including our recent financing in December 2016 whereby we received gross proceeds of $850,000, we have raised approximately $34.9 million through the sale of our securities and exercise of outstanding warrants. During this same period, we have recorded an accumulated deficit of approximately $47.5 million. Our net losses for the two most recent fiscal years ended December 31, 2015 and 2014 were $5.9 million and $7.0 million, respectively. Our net loss for the nine months ended September 30, 2016, was approximately $2.2 million. None of our products in development have received approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration or FDA, or other regulatory authorities; we have no sales and have never generated revenues nor do we expect to for the foreseeable future. Currently, our only product candidate in clinical development is mipsagargin, which: (i) has completed an open label single arm Phase II clinical trial in refractory liver cancer, and (ii) is being tested in investigator lead open label single arm Phase II clinical trials in patients with glioblastoma prostate and clear cell renal cancer. We expect to incur significant operating losses for the foreseeable future as we continue the research, pre-clinical and clinical development of our product candidates as well as the possible in-licensing of additional clinical and pre-clinical assets. Accordingly, we will need additional capital to fund our continuing operations and any expansion plans. Since we do not generate any revenue, the most likely sources of such additional capital include the sale of our securities, a strategic licensing collaboration transaction or joint venture involving the rights to one or more of our product candidates, or from grants. To the extent that we raise additional capital by issuing equity securities, our stockholders are likely to experience dilution with regard to their percentage ownership of the company, which may be significant. If we raise additional funds through collaborations or licensing arrangements, we may be required to relinquish some or all the rights to our technologies, product candidates, or grant licenses on terms that are not favorable to us. If we raise additional capital by incurring debt, we could incur significant interest expense and become subject to covenants that could affect the manner in which we conduct our business, including securing such debt obligations with our assets.

Our product candidates are at various stages of early development and significant financial resources are required to develop commercially viable products and obtain regulatory approval to market and sell such products. To date, we have dedicated substantially all of our efforts and financial resources to the development of mipsagargin and depend heavily on its success. We will need to devote significantly more research and development efforts, financial resources and personnel to develop commercially viable products and obtain regulatory approvals. We may encounter hurdles and unexpected issues as we proceed in the development of mipsagargin and our other product candidates. While initial data from our completed clinical trials appear promising, the outcome of the current trials is uncertain and these trials or future trials may ultimately be unsuccessful. If we fail to develop and successfully commercialize our product candidates, our business may be materially harmed and could fail.

We have a limited operating history as a company, and may not be able to effectively operate our business.

Our limited staff and operating history means that there is a high degree of uncertainty regarding our ability to:

No assurances can be given as to exactly when, if at all, we will be able to fully develop, and take the necessary steps to derive any revenues from our proposed product candidates.

Raising capital may be difficult as a result of our history of losses and limited operating history in our current stage of development.

When making investment decisions, investors typically look at a company’s management, earnings and historical performance in evaluating the risks and operations of the business and the business’s future prospects. Our history of losses, new senior management team and relatively limited operating history in our current stage of development makes such evaluation, as well as any estimation of our future performance, substantially more difficult. As a result, investors may be unwilling to invest in us or on terms or conditions which are acceptable. If we are unable to secure additional financing, we may need to materially scale back our business plan and/or operations or cease operations altogether.

Risks Related to Commercialization

The market for our proposed products is rapidly changing and competitive.

The pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries are subject to rapid and substantial technological change and innovation. Developments by others may render our proposed products noncompetitive or obsolete, or we may be unable to keep pace with technological developments and other market factors. Competition from pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, universities, governmental entities and others diversifying into the field is intense and is expected to increase.

As a pre-revenue company, our resources are limited and we may experience challenges inherent in the early development of novel therapeutics. Competitors have developed or are in the process of developing technologies that are, or in the future may be, the basis for competition. Some of these technologies may have an entirely different approach or means of accomplishing similar therapeutic efforts compared to our proposed products. Our competitors may develop therapies that are safer, more effective and less costly than our proposed products and therefore, present a serious competitive threat to us.

The acceptance of therapies that are alternatives to ours may limit market acceptance of our proposed products, even if commercialized. Many of our targeted diseases and conditions can also be treated by other medications and treatments. These treatments may be widely accepted in medical communities and have a longer history of use. The established use of other competing therapies may limit the potential for our proposed products, even if commercialized.

Our proposed products may not be accepted by the healthcare community.

Our proposed products, if approved for marketing, may not achieve market acceptance by the healthcare community since hospitals, physicians, patients or the medical community in general may decide not to utilize them. We are attempting to develop products that are likely to be first approved for marketing as a treatment for late stage cancer where there is no truly effective standard of care. If approved for use in late stage cancer, our proposed products might then be evaluated in earlier stages where they could represent a substantial departure from established treatment methods and would most likely compete with a number of more conventional drugs and therapies which are manufactured and marketed by major pharmaceutical companies. It is too early in the development cycle of our proposed products for us to predict our major competitors. The degree of market acceptance of our products, if developed, will depend on a number of factors, including but not limited to:

If the healthcare community does not accept our products, our business could be materially harmed.

Our potential competitors in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries have significantly greater resources than we have.

We compete against numerous companies, many of which have substantially greater resources than we have. Several such competitors have research programs and/or efforts to treat the same diseases we target. Companies such as Roche, Novartis, Celgene, Merck & Co., Inc., Johnson & Johnson, and Sanofi S.A., as well as others, have substantially greater financial, research, manufacturing and marketing resources than we do. As a result, such competitors may find it easier to compete in our industry and bring competing products to market.

Risks Related to the Development and Manufacturing of Our Product Candidates

We intend to rely exclusively upon third-party FDA-regulated manufacturers and suppliers for our proposed products.

We currently have no internal manufacturing capability, and intend to rely exclusively on FDA-approved licensees, strategic partners or third party contract manufacturers or suppliers for the foreseeable future. Because manufacturing facilities are subject to regulatory oversight and inspection, the failure of any of our third-party FDA regulated manufactures or suppliers to comply with regulatory requirements could result in material manufacturing delays and product shortages, which could delay or otherwise negatively impact our clinical trials and product development plans. Should we be forced to manufacture our proposed products, we cannot give any assurance that we would be able to develop internal manufacturing capabilities or secure third party suppliers for raw materials. In the event we seek third party suppliers or alternative manufacturers, they may require us to purchase a minimum amount of materials or could require other unfavorable terms. Any such event could materially impact our business prospects and could delay the development of our proposed products. Moreover, we cannot give any assurance that the contract manufacturers or suppliers that we select will be able to supply our products in a timely or cost effective manner or in accordance with applicable regulatory requirements or our own specifications.

We may not be able to establish or maintain the third-party relationships that are necessary to develop or potentially commercialize our product candidates.

Our business plan relies heavily on third party collaborators, partners, licensees, clinical research organizations, clinical investigators, vendors or other third parties to support our research and development efforts and to conduct clinical trials for our product candidates. We cannot guarantee that we will be able to successfully negotiate agreements for, or maintain relationships with, these third parties on a commercially reasonable basis, if at all. Additionally, to commercialize our proposed products, we intend to rely on third party licensees or the outright sale of our proposed products to pharmaceutical partner(s). If we fail to establish or maintain such third-party relationships as anticipated, our business could be adversely effected.

We are dependent upon third parties to develop our product candidates, and such parties are, to some extent, outside of our control.

We depend upon independent contract research organizations, investigators and collaborators, such as universities and medical institutions, to conduct our pre-clinical and clinical studies. These individuals and/or entities are not our employees and we cannot control the amount or timing of resources that they devote to our programs. These third parties may not assign as great a priority to our programs or pursue them as diligently as we would if we were undertaking such programs ourselves. If these third parties fail to devote sufficient time and resources to our programs, or if their performance is substandard, the development of our drug candidates and corresponding FDA approval could be delayed or fail entirely.

Our business is dependent upon securing and importing sufficient quantities of seeds from the Thapsia garganica plant, which plant grows in very specific locations outside of the United States.

The therapeutic component of mipsagargin is derived from the seeds of the Thapsia garganica plant, which grows along the coastal regions of the Mediterranean Sea. We currently secure the seeds from Thapsibiza, SL, a third-party supplier. There can be no assurances that Thapsia garganica will continue to grow in sufficient quantities to produce a commercial supply or that the countries from which we can secure Thapsia garganica will continue to allow the collect and/or export of such seeds. The process of importing Thapsia garganica seeds is subject to U.S. import and export laws and controls. Our supply agreement with Thapsibiza, SL (our sole supplier) expires on April 6, 2017 or April 6, 2022 if extended. In the event we are no longer able to obtain these seeds, we may not be able to produce our proposed drug and our business will be adversely affected.

We may be required to expend significant capital to locate, secure and finance land for the cultivation and harvesting of Thapsia garganica.

We believe that we can satisfy our needs for the clinical development of mipsagargin, through completion of Phase III clinical studies and early commercialization from Thapsia garganica that grows naturally in the wild. In the event mipsagargin is approved for commercial marketing and is widely adopted by the medical community, our current supply of Thapsia garganica may not be sufficient. In order to secure sufficient quantities of Thapsia garganica , we would need to secure adequate acreage of land to cultivate and grow Thapsia garganica . We have not yet fully assessed the amount of land or other costs that would be associated with a full-scale farming operation. There can be no assurances that we will be able to secure sufficient acres of land, or the capital to purchase or lease such land, to grow sufficient quantities of Thapsia garganica to manufacture mipsagargin on a commercial scale. Our inability to secure adequate seeds could adversely impact our business.

The synthesis of our therapeutic compounds must be conducted in special facilities, which limits the locations where it may be manufactured.

We are required to manufacture our therapeutic compounds that are to be used in our clinical trials in FDA approved facilities. There are a limited number of manufacturing facilities qualified to handle and manufacture toxic therapeutic agents and compounds. This limits the number of potential manufacturing sites for our therapeutic compounds derived from Thapsia garganica . No assurances can be provided that these facilities will be available for the manufacture of our therapeutic compounds under our time schedules or within the parameters of our manufacturing budget. In the event facilities are not available for the manufacturing of our therapeutic compounds, we may not be able to complete our clinical trials and our business and future prospects would be adversely affected.

Our therapeutic compounds may not be able to be manufactured profitably on a large enough scale to support commercialization.

To date, our therapeutic compounds have only been manufactured at a scale which is adequate to supply our research activities and early-stage clinical trials. There can be no assurance that the procedures currently used to manufacture our therapeutic compounds will work at a scale which is adequate for commercial needs. In the event our therapeutic compounds cannot be manufactured in sufficient quantities for commercialization, our future prospects could be significantly impacted and our financial prospects would be materially harmed.

Risks Relating to our Intellectual Property

Our competitive position is dependent on our intellectual property and we may not be able to withstand challenges to our intellectual property rights.

We rely on our intellectual property, including our issued and applied for U.S. and foreign patents as well as our licenses, as the foundation of our business. If our intellectual property rights are challenged, no assurances can be given that our patents or licenses would survive claims alleging invalidity or infringement on other patents and/or licenses. In addition, disputes may arise regarding inventorship of our intellectual property. It is possible that our intellectual property may be infringing upon existing patents that we are not currently unaware of. As the number of participants in the marketplace grows, the possibility of patent infringement claims against us increases. It is difficult, if not impossible, to determine how such disputes would be resolved. Furthermore, because of the substantial amount of discovery required in connection with patent litigation, there is a risk that some of our confidential information could be required to be publicly disclosed. Any litigation claims against us may cause us to incur substantial costs and could place a significant strain upon our financial resources, divert the attention of management or restrict our core business or result in the public disclosure of confidential information.

We may incur substantial costs as a result of litigation or other proceedings relating to patent and other intellectual property rights and we may be unable to protect our rights to, or use of, our technology.

Some or all of our patent applications may not issue as patents, or the claims of any issued patents may not afford meaningful protection for our technologies or products. In addition, patents issued to us or our licensors, if any, may be challenged and subsequently narrowed, invalidated or circumvented. Patent litigation is widespread in the biotechnology industry and could harm our business. Litigation might be necessary to protect our patent position or to determine the scope and validity of third-party proprietary rights. If we choose to go to court to stop someone else from using the inventions claimed in our patents, that individual or company would have the right to ask the court to rule that such patents are invalid and/or should not be enforced against that third party. These lawsuits are expensive and we may not have the required resources to pursue such litigation or to protect our patent rights. In addition, there is a risk that the court might decide that these patents are not valid and that we do not have the right to stop the other party from using the inventions. There is also the risk that, even if the validity of these patents is upheld, the court could refuse to stop the other party on the ground that such other party’s activities do not infringe on our rights contained in these patents.

Furthermore, a third party may claim that we are using inventions covered by their patent rights and may go to court to stop us from engaging in our normal operations and activities, including making or selling our product candidates. These lawsuits are costly and could materially increase our operating expenses and divert the attention of managerial and technical personnel. There is a risk that a court would decide that we are infringing the third party’s patents and would order us to stop the activities covered by the patents. In addition, there is a risk that a court would order us to pay the other party damages for having violated the other party’s patents. The biotechnology industry has produced a proliferation of patents, and it is not always clear to industry participants, including us, which patents cover various types of products or methods of use. The coverage of patents is subject to interpretation by the courts, and the interpretation is not always uniform.  

Because some patent applications in the United States may be maintained in secrecy until the patents are issued, patent applications in the United States and many foreign jurisdictions are typically not published until eighteen months after filing, and publications in the scientific literature often lag behind actual discoveries, we cannot be certain that others have not filed patent applications for technology covered by our issued patents or our pending applications or that we were the first to invent the technology. Our competitors may have filed, and may in the future file, patent applications covering technology similar to ours. Any such patent application may have priority over our patent applications and could further require us to obtain rights to issued patents covering such technologies.

If another party has filed a United States patent application on inventions similar to ours, we may have to participate in an interference or other proceeding in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, or the PTO, or a court to determine priority of invention in the United States. The costs of these proceedings could be substantial, and it is possible that such efforts would be unsuccessful, resulting in a loss of our United States patent position with respect to such inventions.

Some of our competitors may be able to sustain the costs of complex patent litigation more effectively than we can because they have substantially greater resources. In addition, any uncertainties resulting from the initiation and continuation of any litigation could have a material adverse effect on our ability to raise the capital necessary to continue our operations.

Obtaining and maintaining our patent protection depends upon compliance with various procedural, documentary, fee payment and other requirements imposed by governmental patent agencies, and our patent protection could be reduced or eliminated for non-compliance with these requirements.

The PTO and various foreign governmental patent agencies require compliance with a number of procedural, documentary, fee payment and other provisions during the patent process. There are situations in which noncompliance can result in abandonment or lapse of a patent or patent application, resulting in partial or complete loss of patent rights in the relevant jurisdiction. In such an event, competitors might be able to enter the market earlier than would otherwise have been the case.

We may not be able to adequately protect our intellectual property.

We rely in part on trade secret protection in order to protect our proprietary trade secrets and unpatented know-how. However, trade secrets are difficult to protect, and we cannot be certain that others do not develop the same or similar technologies on their own. Additionally, research with regard to our technologies has been performed in countries outside of the United States, and we also anticipate conducting joint ventures, collaborations and future clinical trials outside the US. The laws in some of these countries may not provide protection for our trade secrets and intellectual property. We have taken steps, including entering into confidentiality agreements with our employees, consultants, service providers, and potential strategic partners to protect our trade secrets and unpatented know-how. These agreements generally require that the other party keep confidential and not disclose to third parties all confidential information developed by the party or made known to the party by us during the course of the party’s relationship with us. We also typically obtain agreements from these parties which provide that inventions conceived by the party in the course of rendering services to us are our property. However, these agreements may not be honored, including in foreign countries in which we conduct research, and may not effectively assign intellectual property rights to us. Enforcing a claim that a party illegally obtained and is using our trade secrets or know-how is difficult, expensive and time consuming, and the outcome is unpredictable. In addition, courts outside the United States may be less willing to protect trade secrets or know-how. The failure to obtain or maintain trade secret protection could adversely affect our competitive position.  

We may be subject to claims that our employees or consultants have wrongfully used or disclosed alleged trade secrets of their former employers.

As is common in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries, we employ and hire individuals and/or entities who were previously employed at other biotechnology or pharmaceutical companies, including our competitors or potential competitors. Although no claims against us are currently pending, we may be subject to claims that these individuals, entities or that we have inadvertently or otherwise used or disclosed trade secrets or other proprietary information of their former employers. Litigation may be necessary to defend against these claims. Even if we are successful in defending against these claims, litigation could result in substantial costs and be a distraction to management.

Risks Relating to Marketing Approval and Government Regulations

Thapsia garganica is highly toxic and we may be liable for any contamination or injury we may cause or any environmental and safety law we may violate.

The therapeutic component of our proposed products, including our lead product mipsagargin, is highly toxic. As a consequence, we are subject to numerous environmental and safety laws and regulations, including those governing laboratory procedures and the handling of toxic materials. We may be required to incur significant costs to comply with current or future environmental laws and regulations and may be adversely affected by the cost of compliance with these laws and regulations. Although we believe that our safety procedures for using, handling, storing and disposing of hazardous materials comply with the standards prescribed by state and federal regulations, the risk of accidental contamination or injury from these materials cannot be eliminated. In the event of such an accident, state or federal authorities could curtail our use of these materials and we could be liable for any civil damages that result, the cost of which could be substantial. Further, any failure by us to control the use, disposal, removal or storage, or to adequately restrict the discharge, or assist in the clean-up of toxic substances could subject us to significant liabilities, including joint and several liabilities under certain statutes. Although we feel this risk may be minimized through our use of third parties, it is possible that the employees of such contractors could suffer medical issues related to the handling of these toxic agents and subsequently seek compensation from us via, for example, litigation. Any such liability could exceed our resources and could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. No assurances can be given, despite our contractual relationship with the third-party contractor, that we would not be the subject of litigation. Additional federal, state and local laws and regulations affecting us may be adopted in the future. We may incur substantial costs to comply with these laws and regulations and substantial fines or penalties if we violate any of these laws or regulations, which would adversely affect our business.

Data obtained from clinical trials are susceptible to varying interpretations and may not be sufficient to support approval of our proposed products by the FDA.

The design of our clinical trials is based on many assumptions about the expected effect of our product candidate and if those assumptions are incorrect, our clinical trials may not produce statistically significant results. Preliminary results may not be confirmed on full analysis of the detailed results of early clinical trials. Data already obtained, or in the future obtained, from pre-clinical studies and clinical trials do not necessarily predict the results that may be obtained from later trials. Moreover, pre-clinical and clinical data are susceptible to varying interpretations, which could delay, limit or prevent regulatory approval. A number of companies in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries have suffered significant setbacks in advanced clinical trials, even after promising results in earlier trials. The failure to adequately demonstrate the safety and effectiveness of a proposed formulation or product under development could delay or prevent regulatory clearance of the potential drug. Our products may not prove to be safe and effective in clinical trials and may not meet all regulatory requirements needed to receive regulatory approval. While data from our completed trials appear promising, the outcome of the current trials is uncertain and these trials or future trials may ultimately be unsuccessful. Our clinical trials may among other things, not demonstrate sufficient levels of safety and efficacy necessary to obtain the requisite regulatory approvals for our drugs, and thus our proposed drugs may not be approved for marketing.

Our proposed products may not receive FDA or other regulatory approvals.

The FDA and comparable government agencies in foreign countries impose substantial regulations on the manufacture and marketing of pharmaceutical products through expensive, lengthy and detailed laboratory, pre-clinical and clinical testing procedures, sampling activities and other costly and time-consuming procedures. Satisfaction of these regulations typically takes several years or more and varies substantially based upon the type, complexity and novelty of the proposed product. Our proposed products are subject to extensive regulation and/or acceptance by numerous governmental authorities in the United States, including the FDA, and authorities in other countries. Most of our proposed products will require governmental approval before they can be commercialized. Our failure to receive the regulatory approvals in the United States or foreign countries will materially impact our business.

Our proposed products may not have favorable results in clinical trials or receive regulatory approval.

Encouraging results from pre-clinical and our clinical studies to date should not be relied upon as evidence that our clinical trials will ultimately be successful or our product approved for marketing. Even though the results of our pre-clinical and completed clinical studies to date seem promising, we will be required to demonstrate through further clinical trials that our product candidates are safe and effective for use in a diverse population before we can seek regulatory approvals for their commercial sale. There is typically an extremely high rate of attrition from the failure of product candidates as they proceed through clinical trials. If any product candidate fails to demonstrate sufficient safety and efficacy in any clinical trial, then we could experience potentially significant delays in, or be required to abandon, development of that product candidate. While initial data from our completed trials appear promising, the outcome of the current trials is uncertain and these trials or future trials may ultimately be unsuccessful.

We may be unable to complete our planned clinical trials of mipsagargin if we do not have adequate enrollment or capital to finance the studies.

We are conducting Phase II clinical trials in patients with glioblastoma, prostate cancer and clear cell renal cancer, and we anticipate commencing additional clinical trials in the future. The initiation, continuation and/or completion of these trials are dependent on a number of factors, including adequate capital to fund the clinical trials and patient enrollment at the trial sites. At present, we have limited capital resources and require significant additional capital to complete any ongoing or future clinical trials that we may initiate. Our failure to enroll sufficient patients or to finance our clinical trials could materially harm our business.

If users of our proposed products are unable to obtain adequate reimbursement from third-party payors, market acceptance of our proposed products may be limited and we may not achieve revenues or profits.

The continuing efforts of governments, insurance companies, health maintenance organizations and other payers of healthcare costs to contain or reduce costs of health care may affect our future revenues and profitability as well as the future revenues and profitability of our potential customers, suppliers and collaborative partners in addition to the availability of capital. In other words, our ability to commercialize our proposed products depends in large part on the extent to which appropriate reimbursement levels for the cost of our proposed formulations, products and related treatments are obtained by the health care providers of these products and treatments. At this time, we cannot predict the precise impact that recently adopted or future laws will have on these reimbursement levels.

We may be unable to comply with our reporting and other requirements under federal securities laws.

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, as well as related new rules and regulations implemented by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, require changes in the corporate governance practices and financial reporting standards for public companies. These laws, rules and regulations, including compliance with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 relating to internal control over financial reporting, would be expected to materially increase the Company’s legal and financial compliance costs and make some activities more time-consuming and more burdensome. Presently we qualify as a non-accelerated filer. Accordingly, we are exempt from the requirements of Section 404(b) and our independent registered public accounting firm is not required to audit the design and operating effectiveness of our internal controls and management’s assessment of the design and the operating effectiveness of such internal controls. In the event we become an accelerated filer, we will be required to expend substantial capital in connection with compliance.

We do not have effective internal controls over our financial reporting.

Because of our limited resources, management has concluded that our internal control over financial reporting may not be effective in providing reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles. Effective internal controls over financial reporting and disclosure controls and procedures are necessary for us to provide reliable financial and other reports and effectively prevent fraud. If we cannot provide reliable financial or SEC reports or prevent fraud, investors may lose confidence in our SEC reports, our operating results and the trading price of our common stock could suffer materially and we may become subject to litigation.

Compliance with changing regulation of corporate governance and public disclosure may result in additional expenses and will divert time and attention away from revenue generating activities.

Changing laws, regulations and standards relating to corporate governance and public disclosure, including the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and related SEC regulations, have created uncertainty for public companies and significantly increased the costs and risks associated with accessing the public markets and public reporting. Our management team invests significant time and financial resources to comply with both existing and evolving standards for public companies, which will lead to increased general and administrative expenses and a diversion of management time and attention from developing our business to compliance activities which could have an adverse effect on our business.

Risks Relating to our Securities

Our common stock price may be particularly volatile because of our stage of development and business.

The market prices for the securities of biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies in general, and early-stage drug development companies in particular, such as ours, have been highly volatile and may continue to be highly volatile in the future. The following may have a significant impact on the market price of our common stock:

Broad market fluctuations may cause the market price of our common stock to decline substantially. Additionally, fluctuations in the trading price or liquidity of our common stock may materially and adversely affect, among other things, the interest of investors to purchase our common stock on the open market and, generally, our ability to raise capital.

Our board of directors has broad discretion to issue additional securities.

We are authorized under our certificate of incorporation to issue up to 150,000,000 shares of common stock and 30,000,000 "blank check" shares of preferred stock. Shares of our blank check preferred stock provide the board of directors with broad authority to determine voting, dividend, conversion, and other rights. As of December 31, 2016, we have issued and outstanding 1,397,705 shares of common stock and 12,194,826 shares of common stock reserved for future grants under our equity compensation plans and for issuances upon the exercise or conversion of currently outstanding shares of preferred stock, options, warrants and other convertible securities. As of December 31, 2016, we have issued 1,853 shares of Series A 0% Convertible Preferred Stock, of which 1828 are outstanding and 1,000 shares of Series B 0% Convertible Preferred Stock that are all outstanding. Accordingly, we are entitled to issue up to 136,407,469 additional shares of common stock, and 29,997,147 additional shares of "blank check" preferred stock. Our board may generally issue those common and preferred shares, or convertible securities to purchase those shares, without further approval by our shareholders. Any additional preferred shares we may issue could have such rights, preferences, privileges, and restrictions as may be designated from time-to-time by our board, including preferential dividend rights, voting rights, conversion rights, redemption rights and liquidation provisions.

It is likely that we will issue a large amount of additional securities to raise capital in order to further our business plans. It is also likely that we will issue a large amount of additional securities to directors, officers, employees and consultants as compensatory grants in connection with their services, both in the form of stand-alone grants or under our various stock plans. Any issuances could be made at a price that reflects a discount to, or a premium from, the then-current market price of our common stock. These issuances would dilute the percentage ownership interest of our current shareholders, which would have the effect of reducing your influence on matters on which our stockholders vote, and might dilute the net tangible book value per share of our common stock.

Future sales of our common stock could cause our stock price to fall.

Transactions that result in a large amount of newly issued shares become readily tradable, or other events that cause current stockholders to sell shares, could place downward pressure on the trading price of our common stock. In addition, the lack of a robust trading market may require a stockholder who desires to sell a large number of shares of common stock to sell the shares in increments over time to mitigate any adverse impact of the sales on the market price of our stock. If our stockholders sell, or the market perceives that our stockholders intend to sell for various reasons, substantial amounts of our common stock in the public market, including shares issued upon the exercise of outstanding options or warrants, the market price of our common stock could fall. Sales of a substantial number of shares of our common stock may make it more difficult for us to sell equity or equity-related securities in the future at a time and price that we deem reasonable or appropriate. We may become involved in securities class action litigation that could divert management’s attention and harm our business.

As of December 31, 2016, we had 1,397,705 shares of common stock and 1,853 shares of Series A 0% Convertible Preferred Stock issued and 1828 Series A 0% Convertible Preferred Stock outstanding and 1,000 shares of Series B 0% Convertible Preferred Stock issued and outstanding. Substantially all of the common shares and common shares underlying the Series A 0% Convertible Preferred shares are available for public sale, subject in some cases to volume and other limitations or delivery of a prospectus. The common shares underlying the Series B 0% Convertible Preferred shares are being registered hereunder. As of December 31, 2016, we had reserved for issuance (i) 3,168,750 shares of our common stock issuable upon the conversion of 1,828 shares of Series A 0% Convertible Preferred Stock including an additional number of common shares we are contractually obligated to reserve pursuant to our December 2015 Offering; (ii) 1,733,333 shares of our common stock issuable upon the conversion of 1,000 shares of Series B 0% Convertible Preferred Stock including an additional number of common shares we are contractually obligated to reserve pursuant to our December 2016 Offering; (iii) 6,598,411 shares of our common stock issuable upon exercise of outstanding warrants at a weighted average exercise price of $4.56 per share, including an additional number of common shares we are contractually obligated to reserve pursuant to our December 2015 Offering and December 2016 Offering; and (iv) 267,210 shares of our common stock issuable upon exercise of outstanding stock options under our equity compensation plans at a weighted average exercise price of $23.75 per share. Subject to applicable vesting requirements and holding periods, upon conversion or exercise of the outstanding convertible notes, warrants and options, the underlying shares may be resold into the public market. We cannot predict if future issuances or sales of our common stock, or the availability of our common stock for sale, would harm the market price of our common stock or our ability to raise capital.

The market for our common stock has been illiquid and our investors may be unable to sell their shares.

Our common stock trades with limited volume on the OTCQB tier of the OTC Markets Group Inc. Accordingly, although a limited public market for our common stock exists, it is still relatively illiquid compared to that of a seasoned issuer. Prior to making an investment in our securities, you should consider the limited market for our common stock. No assurances can be given that the trading volume of our common stock will increase or that a liquid public market for our securities will ever materialize.

We have not paid cash dividends in the past and do not expect to pay cash dividends in the foreseeable future.

We have never paid cash dividends on our common stock and do not anticipate paying cash dividends on our common stock in the foreseeable future. If we do not pay dividends, our common stock may be less valuable because a return on your investment will only occur if the market price of our common stock appreciates.

Provisions of Delaware law and executive employment agreements may prevent or delay a change of control, which could depress the trading price of our common stock.

We are subject to the Delaware anti-takeover laws regulating corporate takeovers. These anti-takeover laws prevent Delaware corporations from engaging in a merger or sale of more than 10% of its assets with any stockholder, including all affiliates and associates of the stockholder, who owns 15% or more of the corporation’s outstanding voting stock, for three years following the date that the stockholder acquired 15% or more of the corporation’s assets unless:

A Delaware corporation may opt out of the Delaware anti-takeover laws if its certificate of incorporation or bylaws so provides. We have not opted out of the provisions of the anti-takeover laws. As such, these laws could prohibit or delay mergers or other takeover or change of control transactions and may discourage attempts by other companies to acquire us.

In addition, employment agreements with certain executive officers provide for the payment of severance and accelerated vesting of options and restricted stock in the event of termination following a change of control. These provisions could have the effect of discouraging potential takeover attempts even if it would be beneficial to shareholders.

Our certificate of incorporation and bylaws contain provisions that could discourage a third-party from acquiring us.

Our certificate of incorporation and bylaws, as applicable, among other things (i) provide our board with the ability to alter the bylaws without stockholder approval and (ii) provide that vacancies on our board of directors may be filled by a majority of directors in office. These provisions, while designed to reduce vulnerability to an unsolicited acquisition proposal, and to discourage certain tactics used in proxy fights, may negatively impact a third-party’s decision to acquire us even if it would be beneficial to shareholders.

If securities or industry analysts do not publish research or reports or if they publish unfavorable research or reports, an active market for our common stock may not develop and the price of our common stock could decline.

We are a small company which is relatively unknown to stock analysts, stock brokers, institutional investors and others in the investment community that generate or influence sales volume. Even if we come to the attention of such persons, they may be reluctant to follow or recommend an unproven company such as ours until such time as we became more seasoned and viable. Generally, the trading market for a company’s securities depends in part on the research and reports that securities or industry analysts publish. We currently have limited research coverage by securities and industry analysts. As a consequence, there may be periods of time when trading activity in our shares is minimal or non-existent, as compared to a seasoned issuer with significant research coverage. We cannot give you any assurance that a broader or more active public trading market for our common stock will develop or if developed, will be sustained, or that current trading levels could be sustained or not diminish. In addition, in the event any analysts downgrades our securities, the price of our shares would likely decline. If one or more of these analysts ceases to cover us or fails to publish regular reports on us, interest in the purchase of our securities could decrease, which could cause the price of our common stock and its trading volume, if any, to decline.

Our common stock may be considered a “penny stock,” and may be subject to additional sale and trading regulations that may make it more difficult to sell.

Our common stock may be considered a “penny stock.” The principal result or effect of being designated a penny stock is that securities broker-dealers participating in sales of our common stock may be subject to the penny stock regulations set forth in Rules 15g-2 through 15g-9 promulgated under the Exchange Act. For example, Rule 15g-2 requires broker-dealers dealing in penny stocks to provide potential investors with a document disclosing the risks of penny stocks and to obtain a manually signed and dated written receipt of the document at least two business days before effecting any transaction in a penny stock for the investor’s account. Moreover, Rule 15g-9 requires broker-dealers in penny stocks to approve the account of any investor for transactions in such stocks before selling any penny stock to that investor. This procedure requires the broker-dealer to (i) obtain from the investor information concerning his or her financial situation, investment experience and investment objectives; (ii) reasonably determine, based on that information, that transactions in penny stocks are suitable for the investor and that the investor has sufficient knowledge and experience as to be reasonably capable of evaluating the risks of penny stock transactions; (iii) provide the investor with a written statement setting forth the basis on which the broker-dealer made the determination in (ii) above; and (iv) receive a signed and dated copy of such statement from the investor, confirming that it accurately reflects the investor’s financial situation, investment experience and investment objectives. Compliance with these requirements may make it more difficult and time consuming for holders of our common stock to resell their shares to third parties or to otherwise dispose of them in the market or otherwise.

Risks Related to Our Reverse Stock Split

On November 17, 2016, we completed a 1:30 reverse stock split and as a result, the liquidity of our common stock may be affected.

On November 17, 2016, we completed a 1:30 reverse stock split and as a result, the liquidity of the shares of our common stock may be affected adversely by the reverse stock split given the reduced number of shares that will be outstanding following the reverse stock split. In addition, the reverse stock split may increase the number of stockholders who own odd lots (less than 100 shares) of our common stock, creating the potential for such stockholders to experience an increase in the cost of selling their shares and greater difficulty effecting such sales.

The market price of our common stock may further decline.

Historically, after a reverse stock split, the market price of a company’s shares declines. On November 17, 2016 we completed a 1:30 reverse stock split. Immediately after the reverse stock split, the price of our common shares was $2.75. As of December 19, 2016, the price of our common stock had decreased to $0.78. There can be no assurance that the price of our common stock does not continue to decline.

Other Risks

We received a notice of termination from Dr. Craig Dionne, our former chief executive officer demanding certain payments pursuant to the termination of his employment agreement.

On March 16, 2016, Dr. Craig Dionne provided us his notice of termination as the company’s Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer. Dr. Dionne’s notice of termination alleges that such termination was for “Good Reason” as a result of a purported material change in his authority, functions, duties and responsibilities as chief executive officer. On April 11, 2016, we received a letter from Dr. Dionne demanding approximately $2.3 million as a result of the foregoing. The Company disputes such claims, and does not believe Dr. Dionne had “Good Reason” to terminate his employment. However, in the event of litigation, the outcome of such litigation, as well as the costs associated therewith, could have a material adverse effect on our operations. For a further discussion of this matter, please see the section of this prospectus entitled “Legal Proceedings.” 

We may be required to make significant payments to our sole employee in the event his employment with us is terminated or if we experience a change of control.

We are a party to employment agreements with our sole employee. In the event we terminate his employment, we experience a change in control or, in certain cases, if such executive terminates his employment with us, such executive will be entitled to receive certain severance and related payments. Additionally, in such instance, certain securities held by such employee will become immediately vested and exercisable. Upon the occurrence of any such event, our obligation to make such payments could significantly impact our working capital and, accordingly, our ability to execute our business plan which could have a materially adverse effect to our business. Also, these provisions may discourage potential takeover attempts that could be beneficial to our stockholders.

If our management team is not effective or if we fail to attract, hire or retain qualified personnel, we may not be able to design, develop or commercialize our products successfully or manage our business.

Our anticipated growth and expansion may require the addition of new personnel and the development of additional expertise by existing management. There is intense competition for qualified personnel in such areas. Accordingly, there can be no assurances that we would be able to attract and retain the qualified personnel necessary for the successful development of our business.