Item 1A. Risk Factors

Summary of Risk Factors

An investment in our common stock involves a high degree of risk. In determining whether to purchase our common stock, an investor should carefully consider all of the material risks described below, together with the other information contained in this report before making a decision to purchase our securities. An investor should only purchase our securities if he or she can afford to suffer the loss of his or her entire investment.

Risks Related to Our Business

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

As discussed in Note 1 to the consolidated financial statements for the year ended June 30, 2021, our consolidated financial statements for the year ended June 30, 2021, include an explanatory paragraph that such financial statements were prepared assuming that we will continue as a going concern. A going concern basis assumes that we will continue our operations for the foreseeable future and contemplates the realization of assets and the settlement of liabilities in the normal course of business.

For the year ended June 30, 2021, we reported a loss of approximately $38.3 million and a negative cash flow from operations of approximately $18.9 million. We had an accumulated deficit of approximately $111.2 million and had cash and cash equivalents of

33

approximately $10.5 million as of June 30, 2021. We are in the clinical stage and have not generated any revenues to-date. We do not have the prospect of achieving revenues until such time that our product candidates are commercialized, or partnered, which may not ever occur. In the near future, we will require additional funding to maintain our clinical studies, research and development projects, and for general operations. These circumstances indicate substantial doubt exists about our ability to continue as a going concern within one year from the date of filing of the consolidated financial statements.

Despite the completion of a registered direct financing subsequent to June 30, 2021 for net proceeds of approximately $13.6 million, we will need additional financing to complete all of our planned operations.  Consequently, management is pursuing various financing alternatives to fund our operations so we can continue as a going concern. However, the coronavirus (“COVID-19”) pandemic has created significant economic uncertainty and volatility in the credit and capital markets. Management plans to secure the necessary financing through the issue of new equity and/or the entering into of strategic partnership arrangements but the ultimate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our ability to raise additional capital is unknown and will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted with confidence, including the duration of the COVID-19 outbreak and any new information which may emerge concerning the severity of the COVID-19 pandemic. We may not be able to raise sufficient additional capital and may tailor our drug candidates development programs based on the amount of funding we are able to raise in the future. Nevertheless, there is no assurance that these initiatives will be successful.

The financial statements do not give effect to any adjustments to the amounts and classification of assets and liabilities that may be necessary should we be unable to continue as a going concern. Such adjustments could be material.

We are a clinical stage company, have a history of operating losses, and expect to incur significant additional operating losses.

We are a clinical stage company with a history of operating losses.  For the fiscal years ended June 30, 2021 and 2020, we had net losses of approximately $38.3 million and $9.1 million, respectively and an accumulated deficit of approximately $111 million at June 30, 2021. Our prospects must be considered in light of the uncertainties, risks, expenses, and difficulties frequently encountered by companies in similar stages of operations. We expect to incur substantial additional net expenses and losses over the next several years as our research, development, clinical studies, and commercial activities increase.

The amount of future losses and when, if ever, we will achieve profitability are uncertain. Our ability to generate revenue and achieve profitability will depend on, among other things, successful completion of the preclinical and clinical development of our product candidates; obtaining necessary regulatory approvals from the FDA and international regulatory agencies; successful manufacturing, sales and marketing arrangements; and raising sufficient funds to finance our activities. If we are unsuccessful at some or all of these undertakings, our business, prospects and results of operations may be materially adversely affected.

We will need to raise additional capital, which may cause dilution to our stockholders, restrict our operations or require us to relinquish rights to technologies or product candidates.

Until such time, if ever, as we can generate substantial product revenues, we expect to finance our cash needs through a combination of public or private equity offerings, debt financings and/or license and development agreements with collaboration partners. As of June 30, 2021, we had cash and cash equivalents of approximately $10.5 million.  We expect the cash available at June 30, 2021, and the cash received from a registered direct financing of approximately $13.6 million in net proceeds received subsequent to June 30, 2021, to fund our planned operations through stage 1 of our GBM AGILE study which could result in graduation to the final confirmatory stage, the potentially NDA enabling portion of the study. We will need to raise additional capital to fund our planned operations. We do not have any committed external source of funds. To the extent that we raise additional capital through the sale of equity or convertible debt securities, then-existing stockholders’ interests may be materially diluted, and the terms of such securities could include liquidation or other preferences that adversely affect their rights as common stockholders. Debt financing and preferred equity financing, if available, may involve agreements that include restrictive covenants that limit our ability to take specified actions, such as incurring additional debt, making capital expenditures or declaring dividends. In addition, debt financing would result in fixed payment obligations.

If we raise funds through collaborations, strategic partnerships or marketing, distribution or licensing arrangements with third parties, we may have to relinquish valuable rights to our technologies, future revenue streams, research programs or product candidates or grant licenses on terms that may not be favorable to us. If we are unable to raise additional funds through equity or debt financings when needed, we may be required to delay, limit, reduce or terminate our product development or future commercialization efforts or grant rights to develop and market product candidates that we would otherwise prefer to develop and market ourselves

34

Our inability to obtain additional financing could adversely affect our ability to meet our obligations under our planned clinical studies and could negatively impact the timing of our clinical results.

Our ability to meet our obligations and continue the research and development of our product candidates is dependent on our ability to continue to raise adequate financing. We may not be successful in obtaining such additional financing in the amount required at any time, or for any period, or, if available, that it can be obtained on terms satisfactory to us. In the event that we are unable to obtain such additional financing, we may be unable to meet our obligations under our planned clinical studies and we may have to tailor the drug development programs for our drug candidates based on the amount of funding we raise which could negatively impact the timing of our clinical results. In addition, we could be required to cease our operations.

We face significant risks related to the COVID-19 pandemic, or the widespread outbreak of any other communicable disease, which could have material and adverse impacts on our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations.

We face risks related to health epidemics or outbreaks of communicable diseases, including the recent outbreak around the world of the highly transmissible and pathogenic coronavirus, COVID-19. The outbreak of such communicable diseases could result in a widespread health crisis that could adversely affect general commercial activity and the economies and financial markets of many countries.

In December 2019, a novel strain of coronavirus, COVID-19, was reported to have surfaced in Wuhan, China and on March 11, 2020, was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization. The ultimate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our operations is unknown and will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted with confidence, including the duration of the COVID-19 outbreak, new information which may emerge concerning the severity of the COVID-19 pandemic, and any additional preventative and protective actions that governments, or we, may determine are needed.

To date, the COVID-19 pandemic has not caused significant disruption to our GBM AGILE or our Phase 2 clinical studies. Each of our Phase 2 clinical studies is now complete.  They were conducted at single sites which reduced the risk of disruption. Patient visits took place on schedule at the MD Anderson Cancer Center and Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center during the respective studies. Any disruptions to patient treatments were within allowances under each study protocol. Access to the sites during the Phase 2 studies by our clinical monitors was limited during the COVID-19 pandemic but the recording of study data and patient treatments at both study sites was conducted per protocol. With respect to the REM-001 drug supply, we are currently experiencing some delays in contract manufacturing schedules and supplies which we attribute to COVID-19.  The current delays could have an impact on our REM-001 program timeline.

Changes in circumstances surrounding COVID-19, such as additional travel limitations imposed by governmental authorities could result in new patients being unable to be enrolled in our studies, or existing patients being unable to continue to receive treatment, could impact the cost of our studies as we may have to enroll additional patients in order to obtain the data necessary to be able to conclude our studies. We cannot predict whether any of our clinical testing sites will withdraw from participation in any of our studies temporarily, or permanently. In addition, even if we are able to fully enroll and treat all patients in our studies, obtaining full data could be impacted by an inability to ship and analyze samples, or otherwise complete data assessment. Further, if the patients enrolled in our clinical studies become infected with COVID-19, we may have more adverse events and deaths in our clinical studies as a result. We may also face difficulties enrolling patients in our clinical studies if the patient populations that are eligible for our clinical studies are impacted by the coronavirus disease. Vulnerable patients, such as the cancer patients enrolled in our clinical studies, may be at a higher risk of contracting COVID-19 and may experience more severe symptoms from the disease, adversely affecting our chances for regulatory approval, or requiring further clinical studies. The continued spread of COVID-19 globally, and the resulting travel restrictions in place by governments to help stop the spread of COVID-19, could adversely impact our clinical study operations, including the ability of our principal investigators and site staff to travel to our clinical study sites, and our ability to recruit and retain principal investigators and site staff who, as healthcare providers, may have heightened exposure to COVID-19 if an outbreak occurs in their geography.

In addition, the continued impact resulting from the COVID-19 outbreak in areas where we have manufacturing operations for our clinical drug supply, or where our suppliers or distributors operate, or if the COVID-19 outbreak in these areas were to increase in severity, and the measures taken by the governments of countries affected, could adversely affect our business, financial condition, or results of operations by limiting our ability to manufacture or ship materials, or by forcing temporary closure of facilities that it relies upon.

The spread of COVID-19, which has caused a broad impact globally, may materially affect us economically. While the potential economic impact brought by, and the duration of, COVID-19 may be difficult to assess or predict, a widespread pandemic could result in significant disruption of global financial markets, reducing our ability to access capital, which could in the future negatively affect our liquidity. In addition, a recession or market correction resulting from the spread of COVID-19 could materially affect our business and the value of our Common Stock.

35

While our common stock is expected to continue listing on The Nasdaq Capital Market, there is no guarantee as to how long such listing will be maintained.

Our common stock is listed for trading on The Nasdaq Capital Market (“Nasdaq”). We must satisfy Nasdaq’s continued listing requirements, including, among other things, a minimum closing bid price requirement of $1.00 per share for 30 consecutive business days. If a company’s common stock trades for 30 consecutive business days below the $1.00 minimum closing bid price requirement, Nasdaq will send a deficiency notice, advising that such company has been afforded a “compliance period” of 180 calendar days to regain compliance with the applicable requirements. Thereafter, if such a company does not regain compliance with the bid price requirement, a second 180-day compliance period may be available, provided (i) it meets the continued listing requirement for market value of publicly held shares and all other applicable requirements for initial listing on Nasdaq, including stockholder equity requirements, which we may be unable to satisfy (except for the bid price requirement), and (ii) it provides written notice to Nasdaq of its intention to cure this deficiency during the second compliance period by effecting a reverse stock split, if necessary. In the event the company does not regain compliance with Rule 5550(a)(2) prior to the expiration of the initial 180 calendar day period, and if it appears to the Staff of the Listing Qualifications Department of The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC (the “Nasdaq Staff”) that the company will not be able to cure the deficiency, or if the company is not otherwise eligible, the Nasdaq Staff will provide the company with written notification that its securities are subject to delisting from Nasdaq. At that time, the company may appeal the delisting determination to a Hearings Panel.

If we fail to meet any of the other continued listing requirements, including stockholder equity requirements, our securities may be delisted from Nasdaq and trade on the OTC Markets Group Inc. or other small trading markets, which could reduce the liquidity of our common stock materially and result in a corresponding material reduction in the price of our common stock. In addition, delisting could harm our ability to raise capital through alternative financing sources on terms acceptable to us, or at all, and may result in the potential loss of confidence by investors, employees and business development opportunities. Such a delisting likely would impair your ability to sell or purchase our common stock when you wish to do so. Further, if we were to be delisted from Nasdaq, our common stock may no longer be recognized as a “covered security” and we would be subject to regulation in each state in which it offers securities. Thus, delisting from Nasdaq could adversely affect our ability to raise additional financing through the public or private sale of equity securities, would significantly impact the ability of investors to trade our securities and would negatively impact the value and liquidity of our common stock.

The Series C Preferred Stock has rights, preferences and privileges that will not be held by, and will be preferential to, the rights of holders of our common stock, which could adversely affect the liquidity and financial condition of the Company, and may result in the interests of the holders of Series C Preferred Stock differing from those of the holders of our common stock.

The Series C Preferred Stock ranks on parity with the shares of our Series A Preferred Stock with respect to liquidation preferences. Upon any dissolution, liquidation or winding up, whether voluntary or involuntary, holders of Series C Preferred Stock will be entitled to receive distributions out of our assets in an amount per share equal to $1,000 plus all accrued and unpaid dividends, whether capital or surplus before any distributions shall be made on any shares of our common stock.

In addition, holders of Series C Preferred Stock will be entitled to dividends, payable in shares of our common stock at a rate of 10%, 15%, 20% and 25% of the number of shares of common stock issuable upon conversion of the Series C Preferred Stock, on the 12^th, 24^th, 36^th and 48^th month, anniversary of the initial closing of the Private Placement, which occurred on August 19, 2020. Dividends will be payable in shares of our common stock and will only be payable to those holders that continue to hold Series C Preferred Stock on the respective anniversary dates of August 19, 2020.

These dividend obligations to the holders of Series C Preferred Stock could limit our ability to obtain additional financing, which could have an adverse effect on our financial condition. The preferential rights described above could also result in divergent interests between the holders of shares of Series C Preferred Stock and the holders of our common stock.

Any issuance of our common stock upon conversion of the Series C Preferred Stock will cause dilution to our then existing stockholders and may depress the market price of our common stock.

The Series C Preferred Stock accrues dividends in shares of our common stock at an initial rate of 10% per annum and following the forty-eight-month anniversary of the initial closing of the Private Placement which occurred on August 19, 2020, such dividend rate will increase to 25% per annum. Each class of Series C Preferred Stock has a Conversion Price that will be equal to the lesser of (i) the closing price of our common stock on Nasdaq on the date immediately preceding the signing of the applicable binding agreements for the applicable closing date of the Private Placement for which the Series C Preferred Stock is issued or (ii) the average closing price of the our common stock on Nasdaq for the five trading days immediately preceding the signing of the applicable binding agreements for the applicable closing date of the Private Placement for which the Series C Preferred Stock is issued, subject to

36

adjustment. The Conversion Prices for the Series C-1 Preferred Stock, Series C-2 Preferred Stock and Series C-3 Preferred Stock are $1.16, $1.214 and $1.15, respectively.

The issuance of our common stock upon conversion of the Series C Preferred Stock and as payment of dividends on the Series C Preferred Stock will result in immediate and substantial dilution to the interests of holders of our common stock, and such dilution will increase over time in connection with the accrual of dividends on the Series C Preferred Stock.

We may incur future indebtedness that will rank senior to the Series C Preferred Stock or issue additional series of preferred stock that rank on a parity with, or senior to, the Series C Preferred Stock as to dividend payments and liquidation preference.

We may incur substantial amounts of additional debt and other obligations that will rank senior to the Series C Preferred Stock, and the terms of the Series C Preferred Stock do not limit the amount of such debt or other obligations that we may incur. The terms of the Series C Preferred Stock will not prohibit us from issuing additional series of preferred stock that would rank on parity with the Series C Preferred Stock. The Articles allow for the board of directors to create new series of preferred stock without further approval by its stockholders, which could adversely affect the rights of the holders of the Series C Preferred Stock and common stock. The issuances of other series of preferred stock could have the effect of reducing the amounts available to the Series C Preferred Stock in the event of liquidation. If we issue preferred stock with voting rights that dilute the voting power of our common stock, the market price of our common stock could decrease, adversely affecting the value of the Series C Preferred Stock. Additional issuances and sales of preferred stock, or the perception that such issuances and sales could occur, may cause prevailing market prices for our common stock to decline and may adversely affect our ability to raise additional capital in the financial markets at times and prices favorable to it.

If we are unable to effectively maintain a system of internal control over financial reporting, we may not be able to accurately or timely report our financial results and our stock price could be adversely affected.

Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and related regulations require us to evaluate the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of the end of each fiscal year, and to include a management report assessing the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for that fiscal year. Any failure to implement new or improved controls, or difficulties encountered in the implementation or operation of these controls, could harm our operations, decrease the reliability of our financial reporting, and cause us to fail to meet our financial reporting obligations, which could adversely affect our business and reduce our stock price.

We are subject to state laws in California that require gender and diversity quotas for boards of directors of public companies headquartered in California.

 In September 2018, California enacted SB 826, requiring public companies headquartered in California to maintain minimum female representation on their boards of directors as follows: by December 31, 2019, public company boards must have a minimum of one female director; by December 31, 2021, public company boards with five members will be required to have at least two female directors, and public company boards with six or more members will be required to have at least three female directors.

Additionally, on September 30, 2020, California enacted AB 979, requiring public companies with principal executive offices in California to each have at least one director from an underrepresented community based on ethnicity and sexual orientation by December 31, 2021. By December 31, 2022, each of these companies will be required to have at least two directors from such underrepresented communities if such company has more than four but fewer than nine directors, or at least three directors from underrepresented communities if the company has nine or more directors.

We cannot assure that we can recruit, attract and/or retain qualified members of the board and continue to meet gender and diversity quotas as required by California law (provided that such laws are not repealed before the compliance deadlines), which may cause certain investors to divert their holdings in our securities and expose us to financial penalties and/or reputational harm.

We are a clinical stage company and may never achieve commercialization of our product candidates or profitability.

37

We are a clinical stage of development and commercialization of our technologies and product candidates. We have not yet begun to market any products and, accordingly, have not begun or generate revenues from the commercialization of our products. Our products will require significant additional clinical testing and investment prior to commercialization. A commitment of substantial resources by us and, potentially, our partners to conduct time-consuming research and clinical studies will be required if we are to complete the development of our product candidates. There can be no assurance that our product candidates will meet applicable regulatory standards, obtain required regulatory approvals, be capable of being produced in commercial quantities at reasonable costs or be successfully marketed. Our product candidates are not expected to be commercially available for several years, if at all.

We are currently focused on the development of two product candidates.

Our product development efforts are currently focused on two product candidates: VAL-083 for GBM and REM-001 for CMBC. If either VAL-083 or REM-001 fail to achieve clinical endpoints or exhibit unanticipated toxicity or if a superior product is developed by a competitor, our prospects for obtaining regulatory approval and commercialization for either candidate may be negatively impacted. In the long-term, we hope to establish a pipeline of multiple product candidates. However, at this time we do not have any formal agreements granting us any rights to such additional product candidates.

Even if we are able to commercialize any product candidate that we develop, the product may become subject to unfavorable pricing regulations, third-party payor reimbursement practices or healthcare reform initiatives that could harm our business.

The commercial success of our current or future product candidates will depend substantially, both domestically and abroad, on the extent to which the costs of our product candidates will be paid by health maintenance, managed care, pharmacy benefit and similar healthcare management organizations, or reimbursed by government health administration authorities (such as Medicare and Medicaid), private health coverage insurers and other third-party payors. If reimbursement is not available, or is available only to limited levels, we may not be able to successfully commercialize our products. Even if coverage is provided, the approved reimbursement amount may not be high enough to allow us to establish and maintain pricing sufficient to realize a meaningful return on our investment.

There is significant uncertainty related to third-party payor coverage and reimbursement of newly approved drugs. Marketing approvals, pricing and reimbursement for new drug products vary widely from country to country. Some countries require approval of the sale price of a drug before it can be marketed. In many countries, the pricing review period begins after marketing or product licensing approval is granted. In some non-U.S. markets, prescription pharmaceutical pricing remains subject to continuing governmental control even after initial approval is granted. As a result, we might obtain marketing approval for a product in a particular country, but then be subject to price regulations that delay commercial launch of the product, possibly for lengthy time periods, which may negatively impact the revenues 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 product candidates, even if our product candidates obtain marketing approval.

Our ability to commercialize VAL-083, REM-001, or any other product candidates will depend in part on the extent to which coverage and reimbursement for these products and related treatments will be 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 medications they will cover and establish reimbursement levels. The healthcare industry is acutely focused on cost containment, both in the United States and elsewhere. Government authorities and third-party payors have attempted to control costs by limiting coverage and the amount of reimbursement for particular medications, which could affect our ability to sell our product candidates profitably. These payors may not view our products, if any, as cost-effective, and coverage and reimbursement may not be available to our customers, or may not be sufficient to allow our products, if any, to be marketed on a competitive basis. Cost-control initiatives could cause us to decrease the price we might establish for products, which could result in lower than anticipated product revenues. If the prices for our products, if any, decrease or if governmental and other third-party payors do not provide adequate coverage or reimbursement, our prospects for revenue and profitability will suffer.

There may also be delays in obtaining coverage and reimbursement for newly approved drugs, and coverage may be more limited than the indications for which the drug is approved by the FDA or comparable non- U.S. regulatory authorities. Moreover, eligibility for reimbursement does not imply that any drug will be paid for in all cases or at a rate that covers our costs, including research, development, manufacture, sale and distribution. Reimbursement rates may vary, by way of example, according to the use of the drug and the clinical setting in which it is used. Reimbursement rates may also be based on reimbursement levels already set for lower cost drugs or may be incorporated into existing payments for other services.

38

In addition, increasingly, third-party payors are requiring higher levels of evidence of the benefits and clinical outcomes of new technologies and are challenging the prices charged. We cannot be sure that coverage will be available for any product candidate that we, or third-parties, commercialize and, if available, that the reimbursement rates will be adequate. Further, the net reimbursement for drug products may be subject to additional reductions if there are changes to laws that presently restrict imports of drugs from countries where they may be sold at lower prices than in the United States. An inability to promptly obtain coverage and adequate payment rates from both government-funded and private payors for any of our product candidates for which we obtain marketing approval could have a material adverse effect on our operating results, our ability to raise capital needed to commercialize products and our overall financial condition.

Pursuant to the terms of our converted Series B Preferred Stock, the Valent Technologies, LLC (“Valent”) Patent Assignment Agreement, and the St. Cloud Agreement we may be required to pay royalties.

Pursuant to the terms of the Valent Patent Assignment Agreement and our Series B Preferred Stock Certificate of Designation and the related Series B Preferred Royalty Agreement, we will be required to pay royalties if we receive revenue or milestone payments from product sales, or the partnering of VAL-083. If we obtain FDA or EMA approval of VAL-083, and/or if we generate sales of such products, or we receive any proceeds from the licensing or other disposition of VAL-083, we are required to pay to the holders of our common stock received upon conversion of our Series B Preferred Stock, a single-digit royalty. In addition, we are also required to pay a future royalty on all revenues derived from the development and commercialization of VAL-083 to Valent. The royalty payment rights will expire when the patents covering the applicable product expire.

In addition, under our St. Cloud agreement, we must pay to St. Cloud and Steven Rychnovsky, PhD, in the aggregate, a royalty fee of six percent (6%) of net sales during the royalty term on a country-by-country and product-by-product basis with St. Cloud receiving a royalty rate of four and eight tenths percent (4.8%) and Steven Rychnovsky, PhD, receiving a royalty of one and two tenths percent (1.2%). The royalty term for a product commences on the first commercial sale of the product, such as REM-001 Therapy, in any country, and the royalty fee must be paid within 30 days of each calendar quarter during which revenue is collected. The royalty term terminates on the later of (i) the invalidation, revocation, lapse or expiration of the last to expire valid claim on any patent acquired in the St. Cloud Agreement that would be infringed by the sale of the product in the country where the commercial sale takes place or (ii) the expiration of the period for which we hold exclusive marketing rights of the product in the country, if we are granted those rights under the St. Cloud Agreement.

We are dependent on obtaining certain patents and protecting our proprietary rights.

Our success will depend, in part, on our ability to obtain patents, maintain trade secret protection and operate without infringing on the proprietary rights of third parties or having third parties circumvent our rights. We have filed and are actively pursuing patent applications for our products. The patent positions of biotechnology, biopharmaceutical and pharmaceutical companies can be highly uncertain and involve complex legal and factual questions. Thus, there can be no assurance that any of our patent applications will result in the issuance of patents, that we will develop additional proprietary products that are patentable, that any patents issued to us or those that already have been issued will provide us with any competitive advantages or will not be challenged by any third parties, that the patents of others will not impede our ability to do business or that third parties will not be able to circumvent our patents. Furthermore, there can be no assurance that others will not independently develop similar products, duplicate any of our products not under patent protection, or, if patents are issued to us, design around the patented products we developed or will develop.

We may be required to obtain licenses from third parties to avoid infringing patents or other proprietary rights. No assurance can be given that any licenses required under any such patents or proprietary rights would be made available, if at all, on terms we find acceptable. If we do not obtain such licenses, we could encounter delays in the introduction of products or could find that the development, manufacture or sale of products requiring such licenses could be prohibited.

A number of pharmaceutical, biopharmaceutical and biotechnology companies and research and academic institutions have developed technologies, filed patent applications or received patents on various technologies that may be related to or affect our business. Some of these technologies, applications or patents may conflict with our technologies or patent applications. Such conflict could limit the scope of the patents, if any, that we may be able to obtain or result in the denial of our patent applications. In addition, if patents that cover our activities are issued to other companies, there can be no assurance that we would be able to obtain licenses to these patents at a reasonable cost or be able to develop or obtain alternative technology. If we do not obtain such licenses, we could encounter delays in the introduction of products, or could find that the development, manufacture or sale of products requiring such licenses could be prohibited. In addition, we could incur substantial costs in defending ourselves in suits brought against us on patents it might infringe or in filing suits against others to have such patents declared invalid.

39

Patent applications in the U.S. are maintained in secrecy and not published if either: (i) the application is a provisional application or (ii) the application is filed and we request no publication, and certify that the invention disclosed “has not and will not” be the subject of a published foreign application. Otherwise, U.S. applications or foreign counterparts, if any, publish 18 months after the priority application has been filed. Since publication of discoveries in the scientific or patent literature often lag behind actual discoveries, we cannot be certain that we or any licensor were the first creator of inventions covered by pending patent applications or that we or such licensor was the first to file patent applications for such inventions. Moreover, we might have to participate in interference proceedings declared by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (the “USPTO”) to determine priority of invention, which could result in substantial cost to us, even if the eventual outcome were favorable to us. There can be no assurance that our patents, if issued, would be held valid or enforceable by a court or that a competitor’s technology or product would be found to infringe such patents.

Moreover, we may be subject to third-party preissuance submissions of prior art to the USPTO, or become involved in opposition, derivation, reexamination, inter partes review, post-grant review or interference proceedings challenging our patent rights or the patent rights of others. An adverse determination in any such submission, proceeding or litigation could reduce the scope of, or invalidate, our patent rights, allow third parties to commercialize our technology or products and compete directly with us, without payment to us, or result in our inability to manufacture or commercialize products without infringing third-party patent rights.

Even if our patent applications issue as patents, they may not issue in a form that will provide us with any meaningful protection, prevent competitors from competing with us, or otherwise provide us with any competitive advantage. Our competitors may be able to circumvent our patents by developing similar or alternative technologies or products in a non-infringing manner.

The issuance of a patent is not conclusive as to its inventorship, scope, validity or enforceability, and our patents may be challenged in courts or patent offices in the United States and abroad. Such challenges may result in loss of exclusivity or freedom to operate, or in patent claims being narrowed, invalidated or held unenforceable, in whole or in part, which could limit our ability to stop others from using or commercializing similar or identical technology and products, or limit the duration of the patent protection of our technology and products. Given the amount of time required for the development, testing and regulatory review of new product candidates, patents protecting such candidates might expire before or shortly after such candidates are commercialized. As a result, our owned and licensed patent portfolio may not provide us with sufficient rights to exclude others from commercializing products similar or identical to ours.

In addition, the protection of intellectual property rights in China (where one of our clinical product candidates, VAL-083, is manufactured pursuant to a collaboration agreement with the only manufacturer presently licensed by the CFDA to manufacture VAL-083 for the China market, and where VAL-083 is approved for the treatment of CML and lung cancer) is relatively weak compared to the United States, which may negatively affect our ability to generate royalty revenue from sales of VAL-083 in China.

Much of our know-how and technology may not be patentable. To protect our rights, we require employees, consultants, advisors and collaborators to enter into confidentiality agreements. There can be no assurance, however, that these agreements will provide meaningful protection for our trade secrets, know-how or other proprietary information in the event of any unauthorized use or disclosure. Further, our business may be adversely affected by competitors who independently develop competing technologies, especially if we obtain no, or only narrow, patent protection.

We do not hold any patents covering our laser light source or light delivery device for REM-001.

Our laser light source and light delivery device are not currently covered by any patents; We do not have any patents pending, and do not currently intend to seek patent protection for these devices. As a result, competitors may be able to offer and sell products or drug delivery technology, as the case may be, using the same technology as our laser light source and/or light delivery devices, so long as these competitors do not infringe any other valid patents that it or third-parties hold.

While we plan to protect our proprietary information related to our laser light source and light delivery device as trade secrets through certain agreements with our employees, consultants, agents and other organizations to which we have disclosed our proprietary information, we cannot give any assurance that these agreements will provide effective protection for our proprietary information in the event of unauthorized use or disclosure of such information. If other laser light sources or light delivery devices are approved and marketed, we will be unable to prevent them from competing with REM-001 Therapy in the marketplace using a different drug molecule that is not encompassed by any of our owned or licensed patents. We expect that the presence of one or more competing products would reduce our market share and could negatively impact price levels and third-party reimbursement policies for REM-001 Therapy, any of which would materially affect our business.

40

We may be unable to protect our patents and proprietary rights.

Our future success will depend to a significant extent on our ability to:

We can provide no assurance that our patent rights will afford any competitive advantages and these rights may be challenged or circumvented by third parties. Further, patents may not be issued on any of our pending patent applications in the U.S. or abroad. Because of the extensive time required for development, testing and regulatory review of a product candidate, it is possible that before a product candidate can be commercialized, any related patent may expire, or remain in existence for only a short period following commercialization, reducing or eliminating any advantage of the patent.

If we sue others for infringing on our patents, a court may determine that such patents are invalid or unenforceable. Even if the validity of our patent rights is upheld by a court, a court may not prevent the alleged infringement of our patent rights on the grounds that such activity is not covered by our patent claims.

In addition, third parties may sue us for infringing on their patents. In the event of a successful claim of infringement against us, we may be required to:

If required, we can provide no assurance that we will be able to obtain such licenses on acceptable terms, or at all. If we are sued for infringement, we could encounter substantial delays in development, manufacture and commercialization of our product candidates. Any litigation, whether to enforce our patent rights or to defend against allegations that we infringed third-party rights, will be costly, time consuming, and may distract management from other important tasks.

As is commonplace in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry, we employ individuals who were previously employed at other biotechnology or pharmaceutical companies, including our competitors or potential competitors. To the extent our employees are involved in research areas which are similar to those areas in which they were involved at their former employers, we may be subject to claims that such employees and/or we have inadvertently or otherwise used or disclosed the alleged trade secrets or other proprietary information of the former employers. Litigation may be necessary to defend against such claims, which could result in substantial costs and be a distraction to management and which may have a material adverse effect on us, even if we are successful in defending such claims.

We are subject to various government regulations.

The manufacture and sale of human therapeutic and diagnostic products in the U.S., Canada and foreign jurisdictions are governed by a variety of statutes and regulations. These laws require approval of manufacturing facilities, controlled research and testing of products and government review and approval of a submission containing manufacturing, preclinical and clinical data in order to obtain marketing approval based on establishing the safety and efficacy of the product for each use sought, including adherence to current cGMP during production and storage, and control of marketing activities, including advertising and labeling.

VAL-083, REM-001 and any other products we may develop will require significant development, preclinical and clinical testing and investment of substantial funds prior to its commercialization. The process of obtaining required approvals can be costly and time-consuming, and there can be no assurance that we will successfully develop any future products that will prove to be safe and effective in clinical studies or receive applicable regulatory approvals. Markets other than the U.S. and Canada have similar restrictions. Potential investors and shareholders should be aware of the risks, problems, delays, expenses and difficulties which we may encounter in view of the extensive regulatory environment which controls our business.

41

We may request priority review for our product candidates in the future. The FDA may not grant priority review for our product candidates. Moreover, even if the FDA designated such product for priority review, that designation may not lead to a faster regulatory review or approval process and, in any event, would not assure FDA approval.

We may be eligible for priority review designation for our product candidates if the FDA determines such product candidate offers major advances in treatment or provides a treatment where no adequate therapy exists. A priority review designation means that the goal for the FDA to review an application is six months, rather than the standard review period of ten months. The FDA has broad discretion with respect to whether or not to grant priority review status to a product candidate, so even if we believe a particular product candidate is eligible for such designation or status, the FDA may decide not to grant it. Thus, while the FDA has granted priority review to other oncology disease products, our product candidates, should we determine to seek priority review, may not receive similar designation. Moreover, even if our product candidate is designated for priority review, such a designation does not necessarily mean a faster regulatory review process or necessarily confer any advantage with respect to approval compared to conventional FDA procedures. Receiving priority review from the FDA does not guarantee approval within an accelerated timeline or thereafter.  

We believe we may in some instances be able to secure approval from the FDA or comparable non-U.S. regulatory authorities to use accelerated development pathways. If we are unable to obtain such approval, we may be required to conduct additional preclinical studies or clinical studies beyond those that it contemplates, which could increase the expense of obtaining, and delay the receipt of, necessary marketing approvals.

We anticipate that we may seek an accelerated approval pathway for our product candidates. Under the accelerated approval provisions in the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (“FDCA”), and the FDA’s implementing regulations, the FDA may grant accelerated approval to a product designed to treat a serious or life-threatening condition that provides meaningful therapeutic benefit over available therapies upon a determination that the product has an effect on a surrogate endpoint or intermediate clinical endpoint that is reasonably likely to predict clinical benefit. The FDA considers a clinical benefit to be a positive therapeutic effect that is clinically meaningful in the context of a given disease, such as irreversible morbidity or mortality. For the purposes of accelerated approval, a surrogate endpoint is a marker, such as a laboratory measurement, radiographic image, physical sign, or other measure that is thought to predict clinical benefit, but is not itself a measure of clinical benefit. An intermediate clinical endpoint is a clinical endpoint that can be measured earlier than an effect on irreversible morbidity or mortality that is reasonably likely to predict an effect on irreversible morbidity or mortality or other clinical benefit. The accelerated approval pathway may be used in cases in which the advantage of a new drug over available therapy may not be a direct therapeutic advantage, but is a clinically important improvement from a patient and public health perspective. If granted, accelerated approval is usually contingent on the sponsor’s agreement to conduct, in a diligent manner, additional post-approval confirmatory studies to verify and describe the drug’s clinical benefit. If such post-approval studies fail to confirm the drug’s clinical benefit, the FDA may withdraw its approval of the drug.

Prior to seeking such accelerated approval, we will seek feedback from the FDA and will otherwise evaluate our ability to seek and receive such accelerated approval. There can also be no assurance that after our evaluation of the feedback and other factors we will decide to pursue or submit a New Drug Application (“NDA”), for accelerated approval or any other form of expedited development, review or approval. Similarly, there can be no assurance that after subsequent FDA feedback that we will continue to pursue or apply for accelerated approval or any other form of expedited development, review or approval, even if we initially decide to do so. Furthermore, if we decide to submit an application for accelerated approval or under another expedited regulatory designation (e.g., breakthrough therapy designation), there can be no assurance that such submission or application will be accepted or that any expedited development, review or approval will be granted on a timely basis, or at all. The FDA or other non-U.S. authorities could also require us to conduct further studies prior to considering our application or granting approval of any type. A failure to obtain accelerated approval or any other form of expedited development, review or approval for any of our product candidates that we decide to seek accelerated approval for would result in a longer time period to commercialization of such product candidate, could increase the cost of development of such product candidate and could harm our competitive position in the marketplace.

We have conducted, and may in the future conduct, clinical studies for certain of our product candidates at sites outside the United States, and the FDA may not accept data from studies conducted in such locations.

We have conducted and may in the future choose to conduct one or more of our clinical studies outside the United States. Although the FDA may accept data from clinical studies conducted outside the United States, acceptance of this data is subject to certain conditions imposed by the FDA. For example, the clinical study must be well designed and conducted and performed by qualified investigators in accordance with ethical principles. The study population must also adequately represent the U.S. population, and the data must be applicable to the U.S. population and U.S. medical practice in ways that the FDA deems clinically meaningful. Generally, the patient population for any clinical studies conducted outside of the United States must be representative of the population for whom we intend to seek approval in the United States. In addition, while these clinical studies are subject to the applicable local laws, FDA acceptance of the data will be dependent upon its determination that the studies also complied with all

42

applicable U.S. laws and regulations. There can be no assurance that the FDA will accept data from studies conducted outside of the United States. If the FDA does not accept the data from any of our clinical studies that we determine to conduct outside the United States, it would likely result in the need for additional studies, which would be costly and time-consuming and delay or permanently halt our development of the product candidate.

In addition, the conduct of clinical studies outside the United States could have a significant impact on us.  The risks inherent in conducting international clinical studies include:

If our clinical studies fail to demonstrate safety and efficacy to the satisfaction of the FDA and comparable non-U.S. regulators, we may incur additional costs or experience delays in completing, or ultimately be unable to complete, the development and commercialization of our product candidates.

We are not permitted to commercialize, market, promote or sell any product candidate in the United States without obtaining marketing approval from the FDA. Comparable non-U.S. regulatory authorities, such as the EMA, impose similar restrictions. We may never receive such approvals. We must complete extensive preclinical development and clinical studies to demonstrate the safety and efficacy of our product candidates in humans before we will be able to obtain these approvals.

Clinical testing is expensive, difficult to design and implement, can take many years to complete and is inherently uncertain as to outcome. We have not previously submitted an NDA to the FDA or similar drug approval filings to comparable non-U.S. regulatory authorities for any product candidate.

Any inability to successfully complete preclinical and clinical development could result in additional costs to us and impair our ability to generate revenues from product sales, regulatory and commercialization milestones and royalties. In addition, if (1) we are required to conduct additional clinical studies or other testing of our product candidates beyond the studies and testing that we contemplate, (2) we are unable to successfully complete clinical studies of our product candidates or other testing, (3) the results of these studies or tests are unfavorable, uncertain or are only modestly favorable, or (4) there are unacceptable safety concerns associated with our product candidate, we, in addition to incurring additional costs, may:

If we experience any of a number of possible unforeseen events in connection with clinical studies of our product candidates, potential marketing approval or commercialization of our product candidates could be delayed or prevented.

We may experience numerous unforeseen events during, or as a result of, clinical studies that could delay or prevent marketing approval of our product candidates, including:

43

Product development costs for us will increase if we experience delays in testing or pursuing marketing approvals and we may be required to obtain additional funds to complete clinical studies and prepare for possible commercialization of our product candidates. We do not know whether any preclinical tests or clinical studies will begin as planned, will need to be restructured or will be completed on schedule, or at all. Significant preclinical or clinical study delays also could shorten any periods during which we may have the exclusive right to commercialize our product candidates or allow our competitors to bring products to market before we do and impair our ability to successfully commercialize our product candidates and may harm our business and results of operations. In addition, many of the factors that cause, or lead to, clinical study delays may ultimately lead to the denial of marketing approval of our product candidates.

44

If we experience delays or difficulties in the enrollment of patients in clinical studies, our product candidates may not achieve clinical development on our anticipated timeline, or at all, and our receipt of necessary regulatory approvals could be delayed or prevented.

We may not be able to initiate or continue clinical studies for VAL-083, REM-001 or any other product candidate if we are unable to locate and enroll a sufficient number of eligible patients to participate in clinical studies. Patient enrollment is a significant factor in the timing of clinical studies, and is affected by many factors, including:

Our inability to enroll a sufficient number of patients for our clinical studies could result in significant delays or may require us to abandon one or more clinical studies altogether. Enrollment delays in our clinical studies may result in increased development costs for our product candidates, delay or halt the development of and approval processes for our product candidates and jeopardize our ability to achieve our clinical development timeline and goals, including the dates by which we will commence, complete and receive results from clinical studies. Enrollment delays may also delay or jeopardize our ability to commence sales and generate revenues from our product candidates. Any of the foregoing could cause our value to decline and limit our ability to obtain additional financing, if needed.

Positive results in previous clinical studies of VAL-083 and REM-001 may not be replicated in future clinical studies, which could result in development delays or a failure to obtain marketing approval.

Positive results in previous clinical studies of VAL-083 and REM-001 may not be predictive of similar results in future clinical studies. Also, interim results during a clinical study do not necessarily predict final results. A number of companies in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries have suffered significant setbacks in late-stage clinical studies even after achieving promising results in early-stage development. Accordingly, the results from the completed preclinical studies and clinical studies for VAL-083 and REM-001 may not be predictive of the results we may obtain in later stage studies. Our clinical studies may produce negative or inconclusive results, and we may decide, or regulators may require us, to conduct additional clinical studies. Moreover, clinical data are often susceptible to varying interpretations and analyses, and many companies that believed their product candidates performed satisfactorily in preclinical studies and clinical studies have nonetheless failed to obtain FDA or EMA, or other regulatory agency, approval for their products.

If we are required by the FDA to obtain approval of a companion diagnostic test in connection with approval of VAL-083, and we do not obtain, or face delays in obtaining such FDA approval, we may not be able to commercialize VAL-083 and our ability to generate revenue will be materially impaired.

If the FDA determines that a companion diagnostic device is necessary to the safe and effective use of a novel therapeutic product, the FDA will require that the companion diagnostic be approved or cleared for that indication along with that therapeutic product. Companion diagnostics are developed in conjunction with clinical programs for the associated therapeutic product candidate and are subject to regulation as medical devices by the FDA.

If the FDA requires a companion diagnostic for the safe and effective use of VAL-083 in the MGMT unmethylated GBM population and a satisfactory companion diagnostic is not approved and commercially available, we may be required to create or obtain one that would be subject to regulatory approval requirements. The process of obtaining or creating such diagnostic is time consuming and costly. Any delay or failure to develop or obtain regulatory approval or clearance of a companion diagnostic could delay or prevent approval or continued marketing of such drug product candidate.

45

FDA approval of VAL-083, REM-001, or future product candidates may be denied.

There can be no assurance that the FDA will ultimately approve our NDAs. The FDA may deny approval of VAL-083 or REM-001 for many reasons, including:

If VAL-083 or REM-001 fail to receive FDA approval, our business and prospects will be materially adversely impacted.

We expect to rely on orphan drug status to develop and commercialize our product candidates, but our orphan drug designations may not confer marketing exclusivity or other expected commercial benefits as anticipated.

Market exclusivity afforded by orphan drug designation is generally offered as an incentive to drug developers to invest in developing and commercializing products for unique diseases that impact a limited number of patients. The FDA may grant orphan drug designation to drugs intended to treat a rare disease or condition, which is generally a disease or condition that affects fewer than 200,000 individuals in the United States. Qualification to maintain orphan drug status is generally monitored by the regulatory authorities during the orphan drug exclusivity period, currently seven years from the date of approval in the United States.

For VAL-083, we have been granted orphan drug designation in the United States for GBM, ovarian cancer, and medulloblastoma, and in Europe for GBM. In addition, for REM-001 the FDA granted our request that tin ethyl etiopurpurin (the active pharmaceutical ingredient in REM-001) be designated as an orphan drug for treatment of BCCNS. We also hold an orphan drug designation that was initially awarded to Miravant for tin ethyl etiopurpurin for the prevention of access graft disease in hemodialysis patients.

We expect to rely on orphan drug exclusivity for our product candidates. It is possible that the incidence and prevalence numbers for GBM, CMBC, and access graft disease could change. Should the incidence and prevalence of these diseases materially increase, it is possible that the orphan drug designation, and related market exclusivity, in the United States could be lost. Further, while we have been granted these orphan designations, the FDA can still approve different drugs for use in treating the same indication or disease, which would create a more competitive market for us and our revenues, if any, will be diminished.

Further, it is possible that another company also holding orphan drug designation for the same product candidate will receive marketing approval for the same indication before we do. If that were to happen, our applications for that indication may not be approved until the competing company’s period of exclusivity expires. Even if we are the first to obtain marketing authorization for an orphan drug indication, there are circumstances under which a competing product may be approved for the same indication during the seven-year period of marketing exclusivity, such as if the later product is shown to be clinically superior to the orphan product, or if the later product is deemed a different product than ours. Further, the seven-year marketing exclusivity would not prevent competitors from obtaining approval of the same product candidate as ours for indications other than those in which we have been granted orphan drug designation, or for the use of other types of products in the same indications as our orphan products.

If the market opportunities for our product candidates are smaller than we believe they are, our future revenues may be adversely affected and our business may suffer. Because the target patient populations of our product candidates are small, we must be able to successfully identify patients and capture a significant market share to achieve and maintain profitability.

We focus our research and product development on treatments for orphan cancer indications. Our projections of both the number of people who have failed other therapies or have limited medical options, are based on estimates. These estimates may prove to be incorrect and new studies may change the estimated incidence or prevalence. The number of patients in the United States, Europe and elsewhere may turn out to be lower than expected or may not be otherwise amenable to treatment with our products, or new patients may become increasingly difficult to identify or gain access to, all of which would adversely affect our results of operations and our business. Additionally, because our target patient populations are small, we will be required to capture a significant market share to achieve and maintain profitability.

46

We may be required to suspend or discontinue clinical studies due to unexpected side effects or other safety risks that could preclude approval of our products.

Our clinical studies may be suspended at any time for a number of reasons. For example, we may voluntarily suspend or terminate our clinical studies if at any time we believe that they present an unacceptable risk to the clinical study patients. In addition, the FDA or other regulatory agencies may order the temporary or permanent discontinuation of our clinical studies at any time if they believe that the clinical studies are not being conducted in accordance with applicable regulatory requirements or that they present an unacceptable safety risk to the clinical study patients.

Administering any product candidate to humans may produce undesirable side effects. These side effects could interrupt, delay or halt clinical studies of our product candidates and could result in the FDA or other regulatory authorities denying further development or approval of our product candidates for any or all targeted indications. Ultimately, some or all of our product candidates may prove to be unsafe for human use. Moreover, we could be subject to significant liability if any volunteer or patient suffers, or appears to suffer, adverse health effects or even death as a result of participating in our clinical studies.

Our product candidates may cause undesirable adverse events or have other properties that could delay or prevent their regulatory approval, limit the commercial profile of an approved label, and/or result in significant negative consequences following regulatory approval, if any, including withdrawal from the market.

The REM-001 Therapy may exhibit undesirable and unintended side effects that may prevent or limit its commercial adoption and use. Even upon receiving approval by the FDA and other regulatory authorities, our products may later exhibit adverse side effects that prevent widespread use or necessitate withdrawal from the market. The manifestation of such side effects could cause its business to suffer.

Undesirable adverse events caused by our product candidates could cause us or regulatory authorities to interrupt, delay or halt clinical studies and may result in a more restrictive label, a delay or denial of regulatory approval by the FDA or other comparable regulatory authorities, or a significant change in our clinical protocol or even our development plan. For example, in the four clinical studies of REM-001 therapy conducted by Miravant, there were a total of 17 serious adverse events, a large portion of which were related to necrosis of treated lesions. One adverse event that has been seen with REM-001 Therapy is a period of photosensitivity after receiving REM-001 Therapy. This period of photosensitivity is generally dose dependent and typically declines over time. A second such adverse event is pain that arises or results from the treatment. Treatment-related pain has been experienced by some patients and it is often treated with analgesics but in some cases more aggressive treatment can be required.

If clinical studies of our product candidates reveal a high and unacceptable severity or prevalence of certain adverse events, our studies could be suspended or terminated and the FDA and/or other comparable regulatory authorities could order us to cease further development of, or deny approval of, our product candidates for any or all targeted indications. Adverse events related to our candidates also may affect patient recruitment or the ability of enrolled subjects to complete the study and could result in potential liability claims. Any of these occurrences may significantly harm our reputation, business, financial condition and prospects.

Additionally, adverse events associated with our future approved products candidates may lead to potentially significant negative consequences, which include, but are not limited to, the following:

47

Any of these events could prevent us from achieving or maintaining market acceptance of any particular product candidate that is approved and could significantly harm our business, results of operations and prospects.

Our plan to achieve marketing approval of REM-001 Therapy depends partly on the accuracy of its preliminary efficacy analysis of REM-001 Therapy CMBC study data. While we believe the results of our preliminary efficacy analysis accurately reflect the actual clinical study results, a detailed analysis overseen by regulatory experts may yield different results.

We plan to utilize existing REM-001 Therapy clinical study data as supportive data when seeking marketing approval of REM-001 Therapy for the treatment of CMBC. Between February 1996 and January 1999, Miravant, with support from certain corporate partners, conducted four clinical studies for the treatment of CMBC using REM-001 Therapy. As part of our review of REM-001 Therapy’s data package, we noted that while Miravant’s investigators had done a safety analysis of all treated patients, these reports indicated an efficacy analysis was only performed on two of their four clinical studies. Notably, there had been no efficacy analysis on the other two studies which constituted approximately half of the CMBC patients who were treated with REM-001 Therapy. We originally performed a preliminary efficacy analysis on the data from all four CMBC studies, including the two that had not previously been analyzed. We then engaged regulatory experts who were either former FDA employees with directly related experience in reviewing similar oncology treatments who were then acting as independent consultants or individuals who have provided senior regulatory guidance to major pharmaceutical or medical device companies in situations that led to regulatory approval. These individuals guided us in conducting a second more in-depth analysis that yielded results consistent with our original analysis. Following that, we compiled a briefing document and submitted questions to FDA. While we believe the results of our preliminary efficacy analysis, and subsequent analysis conducted under the guidance of these experts which was consistent with its original preliminary analysis, accurately reflect the actual clinical study results and that the age of the underlying data from the clinical studies is not material, a more in-depth review may yield different conclusions. Such differing results may negatively impact our ability to pursue or achieve, or result in delays to obtain, marketing approval of REM-001 Therapy. There can be no certainty that results from our analyses done to date or results from future analyses that we may undertake will be sufficiently complete to satisfy FDA requests or that any results will be favorable to us.

We intend to use laser light devices that the FDA finds to be functionally equivalent to the Miravant devices in our planned clinical studies. If we are unable to demonstrate functional equivalence between the Miravant device and our intended laser light device or if the FDA refuses to allow the use of our intended laser light device, we will be unable to complete clinical studies for REM-001 Therapy and our business will be materially impaired.

Our REM-001 Therapy product consists of three parts, the DD series laser light source (or equivalent), the ML2-0400 light delivery device (or equivalent) and the drug REM-001. Pursuant to the Miravant oncology IND, the FDA previously approved all three components to be used together in certain Miravant CMBC Studies. Our plan is to use new lasers that are functionally equivalent to the Miravant DD2, the laser used in certain prior Miravant clinical studies, for CMBC. The light delivery devices we plan to use in our CMBC program are the same basic design developed and used previously by Miravant in its clinical studies. Our plan is to have clinical light delivery devices built by a contract medical device manufacturer using the basic Miravant design and tested to the same performance specifications as used previously. If the FDA finds that our intended laser light device is not functionally equivalent to the Miravant devices, the FDA may not approve any marketing application for REM-001.

Our REM-001 Therapy clinical study data may not be deemed acceptable by the FDA to support our new drug applications.

In seeking regulatory approval for REM-001, we intend to rely at least in part upon data gathered by Miravant Medical Technologies in its initial Phase 1 studies and in four later Phase 2/3 clinical studies that were conducted approximately 20 years ago. Based on our initial interactions with the FDA, we believe the agency will accept these results as supportive data but we cannot ultimately be certain that the FDA will accept data that old to support our new drug applications. Also based on our initial interactions with the FDA, we believe our plans for manufacturing investigational test materials will lead to investigational test materials that FDA will recognize as being sufficiently comparable to Miravant’s materials and also suitable for further investigational studies but FDA may later raise questions about the similarity of Miravant’s investigational testing material versus its manufactured investigational testing material, or may raise questions about the processes and methods under which this old data was collected or may raise additional concerns regarding the elapsed time period. If the FDA does not accept this data, we will have to incur significant costs which may require additional capital to redo some or all of the Miravant studies or supplement these studies with additional studies.

We may not receive regulatory approvals for our product candidates or there may be a delay in obtaining such approvals.

Our products and our ongoing development activities are subject to regulation by regulatory authorities in the countries in which we or our collaborators and distributors wish to test, manufacture or market our products. For instance, the FDA will regulate the product in the U.S. and equivalent authorities, such as the EMA, will regulate in Europe. Regulatory approval by these authorities will be subject to the evaluation of data relating to the quality, efficacy and safety of the product for its proposed use, and there can be no

48

assurance that the regulatory authorities will find our data sufficient to support product approval of VAL-083 or any future product candidates.

The time required to obtain regulatory approval varies between countries. The FDA is required to facilitate the development and expedite the review of drugs and biologics that are intended for the treatment of a serious or life-threatening disease or condition and which demonstrate the potential to address unmet medical needs for the condition. Filling an unmet medical need is defined as providing a therapy where none exists or providing a therapy that may be potentially better than available therapy. Under the fast track program, the sponsor of a new drug or biologic candidate may request the FDA to designate the product for a specific indication as a fast track product concurrent with or after the filing of the IND for the product candidate. The FDA must determine if the product candidate qualifies for fast track designation within 60 days after receipt of the sponsor’s request. In the U.S., for products without “Fast Track” status, it can take over eighteen (18) months after submission of an application for product approval to receive the FDA’s decision. Even with Fast Track status, FDA review and decision can take over twelve (12) months.

In December 2017, the FDA granted Fast Track designation for VAL-083 in patients with recurrent GBM.

Different regulators may impose their own requirements and may refuse to grant, or may require additional data before granting, an approval, notwithstanding that regulatory approval may have been granted by other regulators. Regulatory approval may be delayed, limited or denied for a number of reasons, including insufficient clinical data, the product not meeting safety or efficacy requirements or any relevant manufacturing processes or facilities not meeting applicable requirements as well as case load at the regulatory agency at the time.

We may fail to comply with regulatory requirements.

Our success will be dependent upon our ability, and our collaborative partners’ abilities, to maintain compliance with regulatory requirements, including cGMP, and safety reporting obligations. The failure to comply with applicable regulatory requirements can result in, among other things, fines, injunctions, civil penalties, total or partial suspension of regulatory approvals, refusal to approve pending applications, recalls or seizures of products, operating and production restrictions and criminal prosecutions.

Even if one of our product candidates receives marketing approval, it may fail to achieve the degree of market acceptance by physicians, patients, third-party payors and others in the medical community necessary for commercial success and the market opportunity for the product candidate may be smaller than our estimates.

We have never commercialized a product. Even if VAL-083, REM-001, or any other product candidates is approved by the appropriate regulatory authorities for marketing and sale, it may nonetheless fail to gain sufficient market acceptance by physicians, patients, third-party payors and others in the medical community. For example, physicians are often reluctant to switch their patients from existing therapies even when new and potentially more effective or convenient treatments enter the market. Further, patients often acclimate to the therapy that they are currently taking and do not want to switch unless their physicians recommend switching products or they are required to switch therapies due to lack of reimbursement for existing therapies.

Efforts to educate the medical community and third-party payors on the benefits of our product candidates may require significant resources and may not be successful. If our product candidates are approved but do not achieve an adequate level of market acceptance, we may not generate significant revenues and we may not become profitable. The degree of market acceptance of VAL-083, REM-001, or any other product candidate, if approved for commercial sale, will depend on a number of factors, including:

49

The potential market opportunities for our product candidates are difficult to estimate precisely. Our estimates of the potential market opportunities are predicated on many assumptions, including industry knowledge and publications, third-party research reports and other surveys. While we believe that our internal assumptions are reasonable, these assumptions involve the exercise of significant judgment on the part of our management, are inherently uncertain and the reasonableness of these assumptions has not been assessed by an independent source. If any of the assumptions proves to be inaccurate, the actual markets for our product candidate could be smaller than our estimates of the potential market opportunities.

If one of our product candidates receives marketing approval and we, or others, later discover that the drug is less effective than previously believed or causes undesirable side effects that were not previously identified, our ability to market the drug could be compromised.

Clinical studies of our product candidates are conducted in carefully defined subsets of patients who have agreed to enter into clinical studies. Consequently, it is possible that our clinical studies may indicate an apparent positive effect of a product candidate that is greater than the actual positive effect, if any, or alternatively fail to identify undesirable side effects. If, following approval of one of our product candidates, we, or others, discover that the drug is less effective than previously believed or causes undesirable side effects that were not previously identified, any of the following adverse events could occur:

Any of these events could have a material and adverse effect on our operations and business and could adversely impact our stock price.

Any product candidate for which we obtain marketing approval, along with the manufacturing processes, qualification testing, post-approval clinical data, labeling and promotional activities for such product, will be subject to continual and additional requirements of the FDA and other regulatory authorities.

These requirements include submissions of safety and other post-marketing information, reports, registration and listing requirements, good manufacturing practices, or GMP requirements relating to quality control, quality assurance and corresponding maintenance of records and documents, and recordkeeping. Even if marketing approval of any of our product candidates is granted, the approval may be subject to limitations on the indicated uses for which the product may be marketed or to conditions of approval, or contain requirements for costly post-marketing testing and surveillance to monitor the safety or efficacy of the product. The FDA closely regulates the post-approval marketing and promotion of pharmaceutical products to ensure such products are marketed only for the approved indications and in accordance with the provisions of the approved labeling.

50

In addition, later discovery of previously unknown problems with our products, manufacturing processes, or failure to comply with regulatory requirements, may lead to various adverse results, including:

If we are unable to establish sales, marketing and distribution capabilities or enter into acceptable sales, marketing and distribution arrangements with third parties, we may not be successful in commercializing any product candidates that we develop, if and when those product candidates are approved.

We do not have a sales, marketing or distribution infrastructure and have limited experience in the sale, marketing or distribution of pharmaceutical products. To achieve commercial success for any approved product, we must either develop a sales and marketing organization, outsource these functions to third parties, or license our product candidates to others. If approved, we may seek to license VAL-083 or REM-001 to a large pharmaceutical company with greater resources and experience than us. We may not be able to license VAL-083 or REM-001 on reasonable terms, if at all. The development of sales, marketing and distribution capabilities will require substantial resources, will be time-consuming and could delay any product launch. We expect that we will commence the development of these capabilities prior to receiving approval of our product candidates. If the commercial launch of a product candidate for which we recruit a sales force and establish marketing and distribution capabilities is delayed or does not occur for any reason, we could have prematurely or unnecessarily incurred these commercialization costs. Such a delay may be costly, and our investment could be lost if we cannot retain or reposition our sales and marketing personnel. In addition, we may not be able to hire or retain a sales force in the United States that is sufficient in size or has adequate expertise in the medical markets that we plan to target. If we are unable to establish or retain a sales force and marketing and distribution capabilities, our operating results may be adversely affected. If a potential partner has development or commercialization expertise that we believe is particularly relevant to our product candidates, then we may seek to collaborate with that potential partner even if we believe we could otherwise develop and commercialize the product independently.

We expect to seek one or more strategic partners for commercialization of our product candidates outside the United States. As a result of entering into arrangements with third parties to perform sales, marketing and distribution services, our product revenues or the profitability of these product revenues may be lower, perhaps substantially lower, than if we were to directly market and sell products in those markets. Furthermore, we may be unsuccessful in entering into the necessary arrangements with third parties or may be unable to do so on terms that are favorable to us. In addition, we may have little or no control over such third parties, and any of them may fail to devote the necessary resources and attention to sell and market our products effectively.

If we do not establish sales and marketing capabilities, either on our own or in collaboration with third parties, we will not be successful in commercializing our product candidates.

We face substantial competition from other pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies and our operating results may suffer if we fail to compete effectively.

The development and commercialization of new drug products is highly competitive. We expect that we will face significant competition from major pharmaceutical companies, specialty pharmaceutical companies and biotechnology companies worldwide with respect to VAL-083, REM-001, and any other product candidates that we may seek to develop or commercialize in the future. Specifically, due to the large unmet medical need, global demographics and relatively attractive reimbursement dynamics, the oncology market is fiercely competitive and there are a number of large pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies that currently

51

market and sell products or are pursuing the development of product candidates for the treatment of cancer. Our competitors may succeed in developing, acquiring or licensing technologies and drug products that are more effective, have fewer or more tolerable side effects or are less costly than any product candidates that we are currently developing or that we may develop, which could render our product candidates obsolete and noncompetitive. All of the top ten global pharmaceutical companies and many of the mid-size pharmaceutical companies have a strong research and development and commercial presence in oncology. Several companies are marketing and developing oncology immunotherapy products.

Our commercial opportunity could be reduced or eliminated if our competitors develop and commercialize products that are safer, more effective, have fewer or less severe side effects, are more convenient or are less expensive than any products that we may develop. Our competitors also may obtain FDA or other marketing approval for their products before we are able to obtain approval for ours, which could result in our competitors establishing a strong market position before we are able to enter the market.

Many of our existing and potential future competitors have significantly greater financial resources and expertise in research and development, manufacturing, preclinical testing, conducting clinical studies, obtaining marketing approvals and marketing approved products than our does. Mergers and acquisitions in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries may result in even more resources being concentrated among a smaller number of our competitors. Smaller or early stage companies may also prove to be significant competitors, particularly through collaborative arrangements with large and established companies. These competitors also compete with us in recruiting and retaining qualified scientific and management personnel and establishing clinical study sites and patient registration for clinical studies, as well as in acquiring technologies complementary to, or necessary for, our programs.

If we are unable to obtain, or are delayed in obtaining, state regulatory licenses for the distribution of our products, we would not be able to sell our product candidates.

The majority of states require manufacturer and/or wholesaler licenses for the sale and distribution of drugs into that state. The application process is complicated, time consuming and requires dedicated personnel or a third-party to oversee and manage. If we are delayed in obtaining these state licenses, or denied the licenses, even with FDA approval, we would not be able to sell or ship product into that state which would adversely affect our sales and revenues.

We rely on key personnel and members of management and, if we are unable to retain or motivate key personnel or management, or hire qualified personnel, we may not be able to grow effectively.

We are dependent on certain members of our management, scientific and drug development staff and consultants, the loss of services of one or more of whom could materially adversely affect us.

We currently have four full-time employees, and retain the services of approximately 20 persons on an independent contractor/consultant and contract-employment basis. Our ability to manage growth effectively will require us to continue to implement and improve our management systems and to recruit and train new employees. Although we have done so in the past and expect to do so in the future, there can be no assurance that we will be able to successfully attract and retain skilled and experienced personnel.

Our success depends in large part upon our ability to attract and retain highly qualified personnel. We compete in our hiring efforts with other pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, as well as universities and nonprofit research organizations, and we may have to pay higher salaries to attract and retain personnel, which would be very costly.

We may be subject to foreign exchange fluctuation.

Our functional and reporting currency is the United States dollar. We maintain bank accounts in United States and Canadian dollars. A portion of our expenditures are in foreign currencies, most notably in Canadian dollars, and therefore we are subject to foreign currency fluctuations, which may, from time to time, impact our financial position and results. We may enter into hedging arrangements under specific circumstances, typically through the use of forward or futures currency contracts, to minimize the impact of increases in the value of the Canadian dollar. In order to minimize our exposure to foreign exchange fluctuations we may hold sufficient Canadian dollars to cover our expected Canadian dollar expenditures.

Product liability lawsuits against us could divert our resources, cause us to incur substantial liabilities and limit commercialization of any products that we may develop.

We face an inherent risk of product liability claims as a result of the clinical testing of our product candidates despite obtaining appropriate informed consents from our clinical study participants. We will face an even greater risk if we commercially sell any product that we may develop. For example, we may be sued if any product we develop allegedly causes injury or is found to be

52

otherwise unsuitable during clinical testing, manufacturing, marketing or sale. Any such product liability claims may include allegations of defects in manufacturing, defects in design, a failure to warn of dangers inherent in the product, negligence, strict liability or a breach of warranties. Claims could also be asserted under state consumer protection acts. If we cannot successfully defend ourselves against product liability claims, we may incur substantial liabilities or be required to limit commercialization of our product candidates. Regardless of the merits or eventual outcome, liability claims may result in:

Although we maintain general liability insurance, this insurance may not fully cover potential liabilities that we may incur. The cost of any product liability litigation or other proceeding, even if resolved in our favor, could be substantial. We will need to increase our insurance coverage if and when we begin selling any product candidate that receives marketing approval. In addition, insurance coverage is becoming increasingly expensive. If we are unable to obtain or maintain sufficient insurance coverage at an acceptable cost or to otherwise protect against potential product liability claims, it could prevent or inhibit the development and commercial production and sale of our product candidates, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.  

Risks Related to Our Dependence on Third Parties 

We rely on third parties to conduct clinical studies for our product candidate. Any failure by a third-party to meet our obligations with respect to the clinical development of our product candidate may delay or impair our ability to obtain regulatory approval for our product candidate. 

We rely on academic institutions and private oncology centers to conduct our clinical studies. Our reliance on third parties to conduct clinical studies could, depending on the actions of such third parties, jeopardize the validity of the clinical data generated and adversely affect our ability to obtain marketing approval from the FDA or other applicable regulatory authorities.

Such clinical study arrangements provide us with information rights with respect to the clinical data, including access to and the ability to use and reference the data, including for our own regulatory filings, resulting from the clinical studies. If investigators or institutions breach their obligations with respect to the clinical studies of our product candidate, or if the data proves to be inadequate, then our ability to design and conduct any future clinical studies may be adversely affected. 

We rely, and expect to continue to rely, on third parties to conduct our clinical studies, and those third parties may not perform satisfactorily, including failing to meet deadlines for the completion of such studies. 

We currently rely on third-party clinical research organizations, or CROs, to conduct our clinical studies. We expect to continue to rely on third parties, such as CROs, clinical data management organizations, medical institutions and clinical investigators, to conduct our clinical studies. Our agreements with these third parties generally allow the third-party to terminate the agreement at any time. If we are required to enter into alternative arrangements because of any such termination the introduction of our product candidates to market could be delayed. 

Our reliance on these third parties for research and development activities will reduce our control over these activities but will not relieve us of our responsibilities. For example, we design our clinical studies and will remain responsible for ensuring that each of our clinical studies are conducted in accordance with the general investigational plan and protocols for the study. Moreover, the FDA requires us to comply with standards, commonly referred to as good clinical practices, or GCPs, for conducting, recording and reporting the results of clinical studies to assure that data and reported results are credible and accurate and that the rights, integrity and confidentiality of study participants are protected. Our reliance on third parties that we do not control does not relieve us of these responsibilities and requirements. We also are required to register ongoing clinical studies and post the results of completed clinical studies on a government-sponsored database, Clinicaltrials.gov, within specified timeframes. Failure to do so can result in fines, adverse publicity and civil and criminal sanctions. 

53

Furthermore, these third parties may also have relationships with other entities, some of which may be our competitors. If these third parties do not successfully carry out their contractual duties, meet expected deadlines or conduct our clinical studies in accordance with regulatory requirements or our stated protocols, we will not be able to obtain, or may be delayed in obtaining, marketing approvals for our product candidates and will not be able to, or may be delayed in our efforts to, successfully commercialize our product candidates. 

We also expect to rely on other third parties to store and distribute drug supplies for our clinical studies. Any performance failure on the part of our distributors could delay clinical development or marketing approval of our product candidate or commercialization of our products, producing additional losses and depriving us of potential product revenue. 

We may seek to enter into collaborations with third parties for the development and commercialization of our product candidates. If we fail to enter into such collaborations, or such collaborations are not successful, we may not be able to capitalize on the market potential of our product candidates. 

We may seek third-party collaborators for development and commercialization of our product candidates. Our likely collaborators for any marketing, distribution, development, licensing or broader collaboration arrangements include large and mid-size pharmaceutical companies, regional and national pharmaceutical companies, non-profit organizations, government agencies, and biotechnology companies. We are currently party to a limited number of such arrangements and have limited control over the amount and timing of resources that our collaborators dedicate to the development or commercialization of our product candidate. Our ability to generate revenues from these arrangements will depend on our collaborators’ abilities to successfully perform the functions assigned to them in these arrangements. 

Collaborations involving our product candidates currently pose, and will continue to pose, the following risks to us: 

Collaboration agreements may not lead to development or commercialization of our product candidates in the most efficient manner or at all. If a collaborator of ours were to be involved in a business combination, the continued pursuit and emphasis on our product development or commercialization program could be delayed, diminished or terminated.

54

If we are not able to establish collaborations, we may have to alter our development and commercialization plans. 

Our drug development programs and the potential commercialization of our product candidates will require substantial additional cash to fund expenses. We may decide to collaborate with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies for the development and potential commercialization of our product candidates. 

We face significant competition in seeking appropriate collaborators. Whether we reach a definitive agreement for a collaboration will depend, among other things, upon our assessment of the collaborator’s resources and expertise, the terms and conditions of the proposed collaboration and the proposed collaborator’s evaluation of a number of factors. Those factors may include the design or results of preclinical studies or clinical studies, the likelihood of approval by the FDA or similar regulatory authorities outside the United States, the potential market for the subject product candidate, the costs and complexities of manufacturing and delivering such product candidate to patients, the potential of competing products, the existence of uncertainty with respect to our ownership of technology, which can exist if there is a challenge to such ownership without regard to the merits of the challenge and industry and market conditions generally. The collaborator may also consider alternative product candidates or technologies for similar indications that may be available to collaborate on and whether such a collaboration could be more attractive than the one with us for our product candidate. We may also be restricted under future license agreements from entering into agreements on certain terms with potential collaborators. Collaborations are complex and time-consuming to negotiate and document. In addition, there have been a significant number of recent business combinations among large pharmaceutical companies that have resulted in a reduced number of potential future collaborators. 

We may not be able to negotiate collaborations on a timely basis, on acceptable terms, or at all. If we are unable to do so, we may have to curtail the development of our product candidates, reduce or delay our development program, delay our potential commercialization or reduce the scope of any sales or marketing activities, or increase our expenditures and undertake development or commercialization activities at our own expense. If we elect to increase our expenditures to fund development or commercialization activities on our own, we may need to obtain additional capital, which may not be available to us on acceptable terms or at all. If we do not have sufficient funds, we may not be able to further develop our product candidate or bring it to market and generate product revenue. 

We currently manufacture VAL-083 at a single location. Any disruption at this facility could adversely affect our business and results of operations. 

We have engaged a single manufacturer to produce VAL-083 GMP active pharmaceutical ingredient and a single manufacturer to produce VAL-083 drug product for our clinical studies. In addition, we previously have relied on our manufacturing partner, Guangxi Wuzhou Pharmaceutical Company, for the manufacture of clinical supply of VAL-083 for our preclinical studies as well as our now-completed Phase 2 clinical study conducted in China. If our manufacturer’s facility were damaged or destroyed, or otherwise subject to disruption, it would require substantial lead-time to replace our clinical supply. In such event, we would be forced to rely entirely on other third-party contract manufacturers for an indefinite period of time. We do not currently have established relationships with any back-up manufacturers. At this time no drug product has been manufactured by a third-party back-up manufacturer. Any disruptions or delays by our third-party manufacturers or Guangxi Wuzhou Pharmaceutical Company or their failure to meet regulatory compliance could impair our ability to develop VAL-083, which would adversely affect our business and results of operations. 

We rely on these third-party manufacturers to provide drug product supply for all of our clinical studies for VAL-083. There is no assurance that such a supplier will be able to meet our needs from a technical, timing, or cost-effective manner. Our failure to execute appropriate agreements with such a third-party manufacturer would delay, or halt, our clinical studies. 

We do not have a clinical supply of REM-001 and we do not have our own manufacturing facilities. If a third-party manufacturer fails to meet applicable regulatory requirements or to supply us for any reason, we will be unable to complete clinical studies for REM-001 Therapy and our business will be materially impaired.

We have engaged manufacturers to produce REM-001 GMP pharmaceutical ingredient for our planned clinical studies. Our plan calls for the use third-party manufacturers to produce the product for us. If and when approved, we intend to have a third-party manufacture commercial supplies of the product as well. We have not yet completed the transfer of the technology or manufactured the product at these facilities and our failure to timely do so will delay the commencement of our clinical studies and may also impact the timing for the submission of our NDA for REM-001 Therapy.

We rely on these third-party manufacturers to provide drug product supply for all of our planned clinical studies for REM-001. There is no assurance that such suppliers will be able to meet our needs from a technical, timing, or cost-effective manner. Our failure to execute appropriate agreements with such a third-party manufacturer would delay, or halt, our clinical studies. 

55

We do not have a clinical supply of light delivery devices for use with REM-001 Therapy. Moreover, we do not have our own manufacturing facilities nor have we contracted a third-party to manufacture these devices for us. If a third-party manufacturer fails to meet applicable regulatory requirements or to supply us for any reason, we will be unable to complete clinical studies for REM-001 Therapy and our business will be materially impaired.

We do not have a clinical supply of REM-001 Therapy light delivery devices. Our plan calls for the use of a third-party manufacturer to produce these devices for us.  The failure of a third-party manufacturer to supply such devices in a timely and cost-effective manner will delay the commencement of our clinical studies and may also impact the timing for the submission of our NDA for REM-001 Therapy.

We are planning to use laser light devices that the FDA finds to be functionally equivalent to the Miravant devices in our planned clinical studies. We do not have our own manufacturing facilities for conducting these activities nor have we contracted a third-party to manufacture these devices for us. If we are unable to contract a third-party manufacturer, or if a third-party manufacturer fails to meet applicable regulatory requirements or to supply it for any reason, we will be unable to complete clinical studies for REM-001 Therapy and our business will be materially impaired.

Our plan relies on using laser light devices that the FDA finds to be functionally equivalent to the Miravant devices. Our plan calls for the use of a third-party manufacturer to produce new laser devices for us. The failure of a third-party manufacturer to supply such devices in a timely and cost-effective manner will delay the commencement of our clinical studies and may also impact the timing for the submission of our NDA for REM-001 Therapy.

We may become subject to liabilities related to risks inherent in working with hazardous materials. 

Our discovery and development processes involve the controlled use of hazardous and radioactive materials. We are subject to federal, provincial and local laws and regulations governing the use, manufacture, storage, handling and disposal of such materials and certain waste products. Although we believe that our safety procedures for handling and disposing of such materials comply with the standards prescribed by such laws and regulations, the risk of accidental contamination or injury from these materials cannot be completely eliminated. In the event of such an accident, we could be held liable for any damages that result and any such liability could exceed our resources. We are not specifically insured with respect to this liability. Although we believe that we are in compliance in all material respects with applicable environmental laws and regulations and currently do not expect to make material capital expenditures for environmental control facilities in the near-term, there can be no assurance that we will not be required to incur significant costs to comply with environmental laws and regulations in the future, or that our operations, business or assets will not be materially adversely affected by current or future environmental laws or regulations.

Risks Related to Our Common Stock 

The market price of our common stock is, and is likely to continue to be, highly volatile and subject to wide fluctuations. 

The market price of our common stock is highly volatile and could be subject to wide fluctuations in response to a number of factors that are beyond our control, including: 

Our Articles allow for our board of directors to create new series of preferred stock without further approval by our stockholders, which could adversely affect the rights of the holders of our Common Stock.

Our board of directors has the authority to fix and determine the relative rights and preferences of preferred stock. Our board of directors has the authority to issue up to 5,000,000 shares of our preferred stock (of which 278,530 shares have been designated Series A Preferred Stock and are issued and outstanding as of June 30, 2021 and 1,000,000 shares have been designated as Series B Preferred Stock of which none are issued and outstanding as of June 30, 2021) without further stockholder approval. In addition, 28,400 have been designated as Series C (22,000 as Series C-1, 2,700 as Series C-2, and 3,700 as Series C-3) of which 20,092 are issued and outstanding as of June 30, 2021.  As a result, our board of directors could authorize the issuance of additional series of preferred stock that would grant to holders the preferred right to our assets upon liquidation, the right to receive dividend payments before dividends

56

are distributed to the holders of common stock and the right to the redemption of the shares, together with a premium, prior to the redemption of our Common Stock. In addition, our board of directors could authorize the issuance of a series of preferred stock that has greater voting power than our Common Stock or that is convertible into our Common Stock, which could decrease the relative voting power of our Common Stock or result in dilution to our existing stockholders. Although we have no present intention to issue any additional shares of preferred stock or to create any additional series of preferred stock, we may issue such shares in the future.

Issuance of our Common Stock upon exercise of warrants or options, or conversion of the Series C Preferred Stock may depress the price of our Common Stock.

As of September 28, 2021, we had 43,174,989 shares of common stock issued and outstanding, outstanding warrants to purchase 23,951,752 shares of common stock, warrants to purchase 2,443 shares of our Series C Preferred Stock that upon exercise are convertible into 2,100,302 shares of common stock, outstanding stock options to purchase 6,809,125 shares of common stock, 18,382 outstanding shares of Series C Preferred Stock that are convertible into 15,827,521 shares of common stock.  All common stock warrants and stock options are convertible, or exercisable into, one share of common stock. The Series C Preferred Stock (issued in three series) is convertible into shares of common stock at $1.16 per share (Series C-1), $1.214 per share (Series C-2) or $1.15 per share (Series C-3), respectively. The Series C Preferred stock purchase warrants are convertible into Series C Preferred Stock at $1,000 per share for either Series C-1, Series C-2, or Series C-3 Preferred Stock, as applicable.

The issuance of shares of our common stock upon the exercise of outstanding warrants or options, or the conversion of our Series C-1, C-2, and C-3 Series Preferred Stock, could result in substantial dilution to our stockholders, which may have a negative effect on the price of our common stock.

We do not intend to pay cash dividends on our common stock for the foreseeable future. 

We have paid no cash dividends on our common stock to date and we do not anticipate paying any dividends to holders of our common stock in the foreseeable future. While our future dividend policy will be based on the operating results and capital needs of the business, we currently anticipate that any earnings will be retained to finance our future expansion and for the implementation of our business plan. Investors should take note of the fact that a lack of a dividend can further affect the market value of our common stock, and could significantly affect the value of any investment in us.

57

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This annual report on Form 10-K contains forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 under Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Forward-looking statements include statements with respect to our beliefs, plans, objectives, goals, expectations, anticipations, assumptions, estimates, intentions and future performance, and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may be beyond our control, and which may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. All statements other than statements of historical fact are statements that could be forward-looking statements. You can identify these forward-looking statements through our use of words such as “may,” “can,” “anticipate,” “assume,” “should,” “indicate,” “would,” “believe,” “contemplate,” “expect,” “seek,” “estimate,” “continue,” “plan,” “point to,” “project,” “predict,” “could,” “intend,” “target,” “potential” and other similar words and expressions of the future.

There are a number of important factors that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statement made by us. These factors include, but are not limited to:

The foregoing does not represent an exhaustive list of matters that may be covered by the forward-looking statements contained herein or risk factors that we are faced with that may cause our actual results to differ from those anticipated in our forward-looking statements. Please see “Risk factors” in this Annual Report on Form 10-K under Part I, Item 1A, for additional risks which could adversely impact our business and financial performance.

All forward-looking statements are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary notice. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this report or the date of the document incorporated by reference into this report. We have no obligation, and expressly disclaim any obligation, to update, revise or correct any of the forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. We have expressed our expectations, beliefs and projections in good faith and we believe they have a reasonable basis. However, we cannot assure you that our expectations, beliefs or projections will result or be achieved or accomplished.