Filed Pursuant to Rule 424(b)(3)
File No. 333-145989
PROSPECTUS
CALLISTO PHARMACEUTICALS, INC.
49,853,668 Shares of Common Stock
This prospectus relates
to 49,853,668 shares of our common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, for
resale from time to time by the selling stockholders identified in this
prospectus.
We will not receive any
proceeds from the sale of shares of our common stock by the selling
stockholders. We will bear all expenses in connection with the
registration of the shares, other than underwriting discounts and selling
commissions.
Our common stock
currently trades on the American Stock Exchange under the symbol KAL. On
September 7, 2007, the last reported sale price for our common stock on the
American Stock Exchange was $0.52 per share.
The
securities offered in this prospectus involve a high degree of risk. See Risk
Factors beginning on page 6 of this prospectus to read about factors you
should consider before buying shares of our common stock.
The selling stockholders
are offering these shares of common stock. The selling stockholders may sell
all or a portion of these shares from time to time in market transactions
through any market on which our common stock is then traded, in negotiated
transactions or otherwise, and at prices and on terms that will be determined
by the then prevailing market price or at negotiated prices directly or through
a broker or brokers, who may act as agent or as principal or by a combination
of such methods of sale. The selling stockholders will receive all proceeds
from the sale of the common stock. For additional information on the methods of
sale, you should refer to the section entitled Plan of Distribution.
Neither the Securities
and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or
disapproved of these securities or determined whether this prospectus is
truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
The date of this
Prospectus is September 26, 2007
2
TABLE
OF CONTENTS
You may only rely on the information contained in this
prospectus or that we have referred you to. We have not authorized anyone to
provide you with different information. This prospectus does not constitute an
offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities other than
the common stock offered by this prospectus. This prospectus does not
constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any common
stock in any circumstances in which such offer or solicitation is unlawful.
Neither the delivery of this prospectus nor any sale made in connection with
this prospectus shall, under any circumstances, create any implication that
there has been no change in our affairs since the date of this prospectus or
that the information contained by reference to this prospectus is correct as of
any time after its date.
3
WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION
This prospectus is part of a registration statement
that we filed on Form S-3 with the Securities and Exchange Commission or SEC.
This prospectus does not contain all of the information in the registration
statement and the exhibits and schedules that were filed with the registration
statement. You should refer to the registration statement for additional
information about us and the common stock being offered in this prospectus.
Statements made in this prospectus regarding the contents of any contract,
agreement or other document that is filed as an exhibit to the registration
statement or any document incorporated by reference into the registration
statement are not necessarily complete, and you should review the referenced
document itself for a complete understanding of its terms.
We file annual, quarterly and special reports, proxy
statements and other information with the SEC. You may read and copy any document
that we file at the SECs public reference facilities located at 100 F Street,
N.E., Washington, DC 20549. Copies of all or any part of the registration
statement may be obtained from the SEC upon payment of the prescribed fee.
Information regarding the operation of the public reference rooms may be
obtained by calling the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330. Our SEC filings are also
available to you free of charge at the SECs web site at http://www.sec.gov.
INCORPORATION OF DOCUMENTS BY REFERENCE
The SEC allows us to incorporate by reference the
information into this prospectus. This means that we can disclose important
information to you by referring you to another document filed separately with
the SEC. The information that we incorporate by reference is considered to be
part of this prospectus. Because we are incorporating by reference our future
filings with the SEC, this prospectus is continually updated and those future
filings may modify or supersede some or all of the information included or
incorporated in this prospectus. This means that you must look at all of the
SEC filings that we incorporate by reference to determine if any of the
statements in this prospectus or in any document previously incorporated by
reference have been modified or superseded. This prospectus incorporates by
reference the documents listed below and any future filings we will make with
the SEC under Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act
of 1934 until the selling stockholders sell all of our common stock registered
under this prospectus.
Callisto Filings (File No. 001-32325)
·
our annual report on Form 10-K for
the fiscal year ended December 31, 2006 filed with the SEC on April 17, 2007;
·
our quarterly report on Form 10-Q
for the fiscal quarter ended June 30, 2007 filed with the SEC on August 14,
2007;
·
our quarterly report on Form 10-Q
for the quarter ended March 31, 2007 filed with the SEC on May 21, 2007;
·
our current reports on Form 8-K
filed on January 4, 2007, a Form 8-K filed on January 17, 2007, a
Form 8-K filed on January 26, 2007, a Form 8-K/A filed on
January 30, 2007, a Form 8-K filed on February 20, 2007, a Form 8-K
filed on June 4, 2007, a Form 8-K filed on June 8, 2007, a Form 8-K filed on
June 22, 2007, a Form 8-K filed on August 7, 2007, a Form 8-K filed on
August 21, 2007 and a Form 8-K filed on August 30, 2007; and
·
the description of our common
stock contained in Item 1 of our Registration Statement on Form 8-A, filed with
the SEC on October 22, 2004.
The information about us contained in this prospectus
should be read together with the information in the documents incorporated by
reference. You may request a copy of any or all of these filings, at no cost,
by writing or telephoning us at Callisto Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 420 Lexington Avenue,
Suite 1609, New York, New York 10170, Telephone: (212) 297-0010.
SUMMARY
This summary highlights information contained
elsewhere in this prospectus. You should read the entire prospectus carefully,
including, the section entitled Risk Factors before deciding to invest in our
common stock. Callisto Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is referred to throughout this
prospectus as Callisto, we or us.
We are a biopharmaceutical company focused primarily
on the development of drugs to treat neuroendocrine cancer (including advanced
carcinoid cancer), acute leukemia and gastrointestinal disorders and
diseases. Our lead drug candidate in the
clinic, Atiprimod, is an orally administered drug with antiproliferative and
antiangiogenic activity. On November 7, 2006, we announced the initiation
of a multi-center open-label Phase II clinical trial of Atiprimod in
low- to intermediate-grade neuroendocrine cancers, primarily advanced carcinoid
cancer patients. This trial is based on earlier encouraging clinical results
from a Phase I trial of Atiprimod in advanced cancer patients that showed
stable disease and disease-related symptom relief in patients with advanced
carcinoid cancer. We are presently enrolling patients in the Phase II clinical
trial at seven clinical sites in the U.S. We also have underway a Phase I
clinical trial of Atiprimod in relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma at
clinical sites in the U.S.
Our second drug candidate, L-Annamycin, earlier
completed an initial Phase I/IIa clinical trial in relapsed or refractory
leukemia patients with a prior sponsor. L-Annamycin is a novel compound from
the anthracycline family of proven anti-cancer drugs, which has a novel
therapeutic profile, including activity against drug resistant tumors and
significantly reduced cardiotoxicity, or damage to the heart. L-Annamycin was
in-licensed by Callisto in October 2004 and is presently in two clinical
trials: 1) a Phase I/IIa clinical trial in adult relapsed or refractory
acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) patients at three clinical sites in the U.S.;
and 2) a Phase I clinical trial in children and young adults with relapsed or
refractory ALL or AML.
4
We also have implemented a plan to develop Guanilib,
our guanylyl cyclase C receptor agonist, to treat gastrointestinal disorders such
as chronic constipation and irritable bowel syndrome. We plan to file an
Investigational New Drug application with the Food and Drug Administration or
FDA, in early 2008, and evaluate its potential initially in the clinic in
gastrointestinal disorders.
Our plan of operations for the next twelve months is
to focus primarily on the clinical development of Atiprimod and L-Annamycin to
treat advanced late-stage cancers, and on the pre-clinical and clinical
development of Guanilib to treat gastrointestinal disorders.
HISTORY
In March 2002, Callisto Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Old
Callisto) purchased 99.7% of the outstanding common shares of Webtronics,
Inc., (Webtronics) a public company for $400,000. Webtronics was incorporated
in Florida on February 2, 2001 and had limited operations at December 31, 2002.
On April 30, 2003, pursuant to an Agreement and Plan
of Merger dated March 10, 2003, as amended April 4, 2003, Synergy Acquisition
Corp., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Webtronics merged into Synergy Pharmaceuticals
Inc. (Synergy) and Callisto Acquisition Corp., a wholly-owned subsidiary of
Webtronics merged into Old Callisto (collectively, the Merger). As a result
of the Merger, Old Callisto and Synergy became wholly-owned subsidiaries of
Webtronics. In the Merger Webtronics issued 17,318,994 shares of its common
stock in exchange for outstanding Old Callisto common stock and an additional
4,395,684 shares in exchange for outstanding Synergy common stock. Old Callisto
changed its name to Callisto Research Labs, LLC (Callisto Research) and
Webtronics changed its name to Callisto Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and changed its
state of incorporation from Florida to Delaware. Subsequently, 171,818 shares
of common stock issued to former Synergy shareholders were returned to us under
the terms of certain indemnification agreements.
Our principal executive office is located at 420
Lexington Avenue, Suite 1609, New York, New York 10170.
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS
In August 2007, we placed 1,147,050 shares of Series B
Convertible Preferred Stock and 22,941,000 warrants to certain investors for
aggregate gross proceeds of $11,470,500. The shares of Series B
Convertible Preferred Stock are convertible into shares of common stock at a
conversion price of $0.50 per share. The investors also are parties to a
Registration Rights Agreement, dated as of August 2, 2007 pursuant to which we
agreed to file, within 45 days of closing, a registration statement covering
the resale of the shares of common stock underlying the Series B Convertible
Preferred Stock and the warrants issued to the investors. The warrants are
immediately exercisable at $0.70 per share, will expire three years from the
date of issuance, and have certain antidilution rights for the twelve month
period beginning on the effective date of the registration statement
registering the shares of common stock underlying the warrants.
As
part of the private placement, certain lead investors were granted a put option
in exchange for their funding commitment which gives them the right to require
us to redeem their Series B Convertible Preferred Stock and 80% of the
associated warrants for the stated value of the Series B Convertible Preferred
Stock on 10 days notice in the event, on or before September 30, 2007:
(i)
our
shareholders shall not have approved the potential issuance of more than 20% of
the outstanding common stock upon the conversion of the Series B Convertible
Preferred Stock and warrants;
(ii)
the
American Stock Exchange has not approved the listing on notice of issuance of the
shares of our common stock issuable upon the conversion of the Series B
Convertible Preferred Stock and the exercise of the warrants; or
(iii)
our common stock has
been de-listed by the American Stock Exchange.
If (i), or (ii) are not satisfied (or (iii) occurs) on
or before September 30, 2007, we shall immediately provide the lead investors
with written notice that the put is exercisable. The put shall expire shall
expire upon the earlier of: (A) our obtaining the approvals described in
clauses (i) and (ii) or (B) the lead investors have not exercised the put right
within thirty (30) days of notice. In
order to protect the put rights granted to the lead investors, $8,480,000 of
the proceeds from the sale of the Series B Convertible Preferred Stock and
warrants have been placed in escrow and will be held until the put right
expires (in which case the funds will be released to us) or the put rights are
exercised (in which case the funds will be released to the lead investor(s)
exercising such right).
5
RISK FACTORS
AN INVESTMENT IN OUR SHARES INVOLVES
A HIGH DEGREE OF RISK. BEFORE MAKING AN INVESTMENT DECISION, YOU SHOULD
CAREFULLY CONSIDER ALL OF THE RISKS DESCRIBED IN THIS PROSPECTUS. IF ANY OF THE
RISKS DISCUSSED IN THIS PROSPECTUS ACTUALLY OCCUR, OUR BUSINESS, FINANCIAL
CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS COULD BE MATERIALLY AND
ADVERSELY
AFFECTED.
IF THIS WERE TO HAPPEN, THE PRICE OF OUR SHARES COULD DECLINE SIGNIFICANTLY AND
YOU MAY LOSE ALL OR A PART OF YOUR INVESTMENT. OUR FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
IN THIS PROSPECTUS ARE SUBJECT TO THE FOLLOWING RISKS AND UNCERTAINTIES. OUR
ACTUAL RESULTS COULD DIFFER MATERIALLY FROM THOSE ANTICIPATED BY OUR
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS AS A RESULT OF THE RISK FACTORS BELOW. SEE FORWARD-LOOKING
STATEMENTS.
RISKS RELATED TO OUR BUSINESS
WE
ARE AT AN EARLY STAGE OF DEVELOPMENT AS A COMPANY,
CURRENTLY HAVE NO SOURCE OF REVENUE AND MAY NEVER BECOME PROFITABLE.
We are a development stage biopharmaceutical company.
Currently, we have no products approved for commercial sale and, to date, we
have not generated any revenue. Our ability to generate revenue depends heavily
on:
·
demonstration
in Phase I/IIa and Phase IIb clinical trials that our two product candidates,
Atiprimod for the treatment of relapsed multiple myeloma and advanced carcinoid
cancer and L-Annamycin for the treatment of relapsed acute leukemia,
respectively, are safe and effective;
·
the
successful development of our other product candidates;
·
our
ability to seek and obtain regulatory approvals, including with respect to the
indications we are seeking;
·
the
successful commercialization of our product candidates; and
·
market
acceptance of our products.
All of our existing product candidates will require
extensive additional clinical evaluation, regulatory review, significant
marketing efforts and substantial investment before they could provide us with
any revenue. For example, Atiprimod for the treatment of multiple myeloma
entered Phase I/IIa clinical trials in May 2004 and L-Annamycin for the
treatment of acute leukemia entered clinical trials in December 2005. Our other
product candidates are in preclinical development. As a result, if we do not
successfully develop and commercialize Atiprimod or L-Annamycin, we will be
unable to generate any revenue for many years, if at all. We do not anticipate
that we will generate revenue for several years, at the earliest, or that we
will achieve profitability for at least several years after generating material
revenue, if at all. If we are unable to generate revenue, we will not become
profitable, and we may be unable to continue our operations.
WE HAVE INCURRED SIGNIFICANT LOSSES
SINCE INCEPTION AND ANTICIPATE THAT WE WILL INCUR CONTINUED LOSSES FOR THE
FORESEEABLE FUTURE.
As of December 31, 2006 and 2005, we had an
accumulated deficit of $60,444,368 and $45,140,654, respectively. We have
incurred losses in each year since our inception in 1996. We incurred a net
loss of $12,919,229, $11,779,457 and $7,543,467 for the twelve months ended
December 31, 2006, 2005 and 2004, respectively. These losses, among other
things, have had and will continue to have an adverse effect on our
stockholders equity and working capital. We expect to incur significant and
increasing operating losses for the next several years as we expand our
research and development, continue our clinical trials of Atiprimod for the
treatment of multiple myeloma and advanced carcinoid cancer, continue our
clinical trials of L-Annamycin for the treatment of acute leukemias, acquire or
license technologies, advance our other product candidates into clinical
development, seek regulatory approval and, if we receive FDA approval,
commercialize our products. Because of the numerous risks and uncertainties
associated with our product development efforts, we are unable to predict the
extent of any future losses or when we will become profitable, if at all. If we
are unable to achieve and then maintain profitability, the market value of our
common stock will likely decline.
OUR
INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM HAS
EXPRESSED DOUBT ABOUT OUR ABILITY TO CONTINUE AS A GOING CONCERN, WHICH MAY
HINDER OUR ABILITY TO OBTAIN FUTURE FINANCING
Our consolidated financial statements as of December
31, 2006 have been prepared under the assumption that we will continue as a
going concern for the year ending December 31, 2007. Our independent registered
public accounting firm has issued a report dated April 13, 2007 that included
an explanatory paragraph referring to our recurring losses from operations and
net capital deficiency and expressing substantial doubt in our ability to
continue as a going concern without additional capital becoming available. Our
ability to continue as a going concern is dependent upon our ability to
obtain additional equity or debt financing, attain further operating
efficiencies, reduce expenditures, and, ultimately, to generate revenue. The
financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the
outcome of this uncertainty.
6
WE WILL NEED TO RAISE SUBSTANTIAL
ADDITIONAL CAPITAL TO FUND OUR OPERATIONS, AND OUR FAILURE TO OBTAIN FUNDING
WHEN NEEDED MAY FORCE US TO DELAY, REDUCE OR ELIMINATE OUR PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
PROGRAMS OR COLLABORATION EFFORTS.
Our operations have consumed substantial amounts of
cash since inception. We expect to continue to spend substantial amounts to:
·
complete
the clinical development of our two lead product candidates, Atiprimod for the
treatment of multiple myeloma and advanced carcinoid cancer and L-Annamycin for
the treatment of acute leukemia;
·
continue
the development of our other product candidates;
·
finance
our general and administrative expenses;
·
prepare
regulatory approval applications and seek approvals for Atiprimod and
L-Annamycin and our other product candidates;
·
license
or acquire additional technologies;
·
launch
and commercialize our product candidates, if any such product candidates
receive regulatory approval; and
·
develop
and implement sales, marketing and distribution capabilities.
We expect that our cash used in operating
activities will increase significantly for the next several years. For the
years ended December 31, 2006, 2005 and 2004 we used approximately $8.3
million, $8.7 million and $4.7 million in operating activities, respectively.
We will be required to raise additional capital within
the next 18 months to complete the development and commercialization of our
current product candidates and to continue to fund operations at the current
cash expenditure levels. Our future funding requirements will depend on many
factors, including, but not limited to:
·
the rate of progress and cost of
our clinical trials and other development activities;
·
any future decisions we may make
about the scope and prioritization of the programs we pursue;
·
the costs of filing, prosecuting,
defending and enforcing any patent claims and other intellectual property
rights;
·
the costs and timing of regulatory
approval;
·
the costs of establishing sales,
marketing and distribution capabilities;
·
the effect of competing technological
and market developments;
·
the terms and timing of any
collaborative, licensing and other arrangements that we may establish; and
·
general
market conditions for offerings from biopharmaceutical companies.
To date, our sources of cash have been primarily
limited to the sale of our equity securities. Net cash provided by financing
activities for the twelve months ended December 31, 2006, 2005 and 2004 was
approximately $10.8 million, $4.8 million and $6.1 million, respectively. We
cannot be certain that additional funding will be available on acceptable
terms, or at all. To the extent that we raise additional funds by issuing
equity securities, our stockholders may experience significant dilution. Any
debt financing, if available, may involve restrictive covenants that impact our
ability to conduct our business. If we are unable to raise additional capital
when required or on acceptable terms, we may have to significantly delay, scale
back or discontinue the development and/or commercialization of one or more of
our product candidates. We also may be required to:
·
seek
collaborators for our product candidates at an earlier stage than otherwise
would be desirable and on terms that are less favorable than might otherwise be
available; and
·
relinquish
license or otherwise dispose of rights to technologies, product candidates or
products that we would otherwise seek to develop or commercialize ourselves on
unfavorable terms.
IF OUR AGREEMENTS WITH ANORMED INC.
OR THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS M.D. ANDERSON CANCER CENTER TERMINATE, OUR BUSINESS
WOULD BE ADVERSELY AFFECTED.
Our business is dependent on rights we have licensed
from AnorMED Inc. and The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.
Under the terms of the AnorMED license agreement, we are obligated to make a
maintenance fee payment of $200,000 on January 1 of each year for the term of
the license agreement. Pursuant to the license agreement, failure to pay the
maintenance fee is a material breach of the agreement. We do not anticipate
failing to pay the maintenance fee, however in the event we cannot pay the
maintenance fee, AnorMED may terminate the license agreement and we would not
be able to further develop and commercialize Atiprimod which would have an
adverse effect on our business. At any time after 5 years from August 12, 2004,
The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center has the right to terminate
the license if we fail to provide evidence within 90 days of written notice
that we have commercialized or we are actively and effectively attempting to
commercialize L-Annamycin. If we fail to fulfill these obligations or other
material obligations, The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center
license agreement may be terminated and our business would be adversely
affected.
7
CLINICAL TRIALS INVOLVE A LENGTHY AND
EXPENSIVE PROCESS WITH AN UNCERTAIN OUTCOME, AND RESULTS OF EARLIER STUDIES AND
TRIALS MAY NOT BE PREDICTIVE OF FUTURE TRIAL RESULTS.
In order to receive regulatory approval for the
commercialization of our product candidates, we must conduct, at our own
expense, extensive clinical trials to demonstrate safety and efficacy of these
product candidates. Clinical testing is expensive, can take many years to
complete and its outcome is uncertain. Failure can occur at any time during the
clinical trial process.
The results of preclinical studies and early clinical
trials of our product candidates do not necessarily predict the results of
later-stage clinical trials. Product candidates in later stages of clinical
trials may fail to show the desired safety and efficacy traits despite having
progressed through initial clinical testing. The data collected from clinical
trials of our product candidates may not be sufficient to support the
submission of a new drug application or to obtain regulatory approval in the
United States or elsewhere. Because of the uncertainties associated with drug
development and regulatory approval, we cannot determine if or when we will
have an approved product for commercialization or achieve sales or profits.
DELAYS IN CLINICAL TESTING COULD
RESULT IN INCREASED COSTS TO US AND DELAY OUR ABILITY TO GENERATE REVENUE.
While to date there has been no delays in our clinical
trials, enrollment in our Atiprimod Phase I/IIa trial in multiple myeloma was
slower than anticipated due to limited availability of relapsed multiple
myeloma patients. In the future, we may experience delays in clinical testing
of our product candidates. We do not know whether planned clinical trials will
begin on time, will need to be redesigned or will be completed on schedule, if
at all. Clinical trials can be delayed for a variety of reasons, including
delays in obtaining regulatory approval to commence a trial, in reaching
agreement on acceptable clinical trial terms with prospective sites, in
obtaining institutional review board approval to conduct a trial at a
prospective site, in recruiting patients to participate in a trial or in
obtaining sufficient supplies of clinical trial materials. Many factors affect
patient enrollment, including the size of the patient population, the proximity
of patients to clinical sites, the eligibility criteria for the trial,
competing clinical trials and new drugs approved for the conditions we are
investigating. Prescribing physicians will also have to decide to use our
product candidates over existing drugs that have established safety and
efficacy profiles. Any delays in completing our clinical trials will increase
our costs, slow down our product development and approval process and delay our
ability to generate revenue.
WE MAY BE REQUIRED TO SUSPEND OR
DISCONTINUE CLINICAL TRIALS DUE TO UNEXPECTED SIDE EFFECTS OR OTHER SAFETY
RISKS THAT COULD PRECLUDE APPROVAL OF OUR PRODUCT CANDIDATES.
Our clinical trials may be suspended at any time for a
number of reasons. For example, we may voluntarily suspend or terminate our
clinical trials if at any time we believe that they present an unacceptable
risk to the clinical trial patients. In addition, regulatory agencies may order
the temporary or permanent discontinuation of our clinical trials at any time
if they believe that the clinical trials are not being conducted in accordance
with applicable regulatory requirements or that they present an unacceptable
safety risk to the clinical trial patients.
Administering any product candidates to humans may
produce undesirable side effects. These side effects could interrupt, delay or
halt clinical trials 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 as a result of participating in
our clinical trials.
IF WE ARE UNABLE TO SATISFY
REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS, WE MAY NOT BE ABLE TO COMMERCIALIZE OUR PRODUCT
CANDIDATES.
We need FDA approval prior to marketing our product candidates
in the United States of America. If we fail to obtain FDA approval to market
our product candidates, we will be unable to sell our product candidates in the
United States of America and we will not generate any revenue.
This regulatory review and approval process, which
includes evaluation of preclinical studies and clinical trials of a product
candidate as well as the evaluation of our manufacturing process and our
contract manufacturers facilities, is lengthy, expensive and uncertain. To
receive approval, we must, among other things, demonstrate with substantial
evidence from well-controlled clinical trials that the product candidate is
both safe and effective for each indication where approval is sought.
Satisfaction of these requirements typically takes several years and the time
needed to satisfy them may vary substantially, based on the type, complexity
and novelty of the pharmaceutical product. We cannot predict if or when we
might submit for regulatory review any of our product candidates currently
under development. Any approvals we may obtain may not cover all of the
clinical indications for which we are seeking approval. Also, an approval might
contain significant limitations in the form of narrow indications, warnings,
precautions, or contra-indications with respect to conditions of use.
The FDA has substantial discretion in the approval
process and may either refuse to file our application for substantive review or
may form the opinion after review of our data that our application is insufficient
to allow approval of our product candidates. If the FDA does not file or
approve our application, it may require that we conduct additional clinical,
preclinical or manufacturing validation studies and submit that data before it
will reconsider our application. Depending on the extent of these or any other
studies, approval of any applications that we submit
8
may be delayed by several years, or may require us to
expend more resources than we have available. It is also possible that
additional studies, if performed and completed, may not be considered
sufficient by the FDA to make our applications approvable. If any of these
outcomes occur, we may be forced to abandon our applications for approval,
which might cause us to cease operations.
We will also be subject to a wide variety of foreign
regulations governing the development, manufacture and marketing of our
products. Whether or not FDA approval has been obtained, approval of a product
by the comparable regulatory authorities of foreign countries must still be
obtained prior to manufacturing or marketing the product in those countries.
The approval process varies from country to country and the time needed to
secure approval may be longer or shorter than that required for FDA approval.
We cannot assure you that clinical trials conducted in one country will be
accepted by other countries or that approval in one country will result in
approval in any other country.
IF OUR PRODUCT CANDIDATES ARE UNABLE
TO COMPETE EFFECTIVELY WITH MARKETED CANCER DRUGS TARGETING SIMILAR INDICATIONS
AS OUR PRODUCT CANDIDATES, OUR COMMERCIAL OPPORTUNITY WILL BE REDUCED OR
ELIMINATED.
We face competition from established pharmaceutical
and biotechnology companies, as well as from academic institutions, government
agencies and private and public research institutions. Many of our competitors
have significantly greater financial resources and expertise in research and
development, manufacturing, preclinical testing, conducting clinical trials,
obtaining regulatory approvals and marketing approved products than we do.
Smaller or early-stage companies may also prove to be significant competitors,
particularly through collaborative arrangements with large, established
companies. Our commercial opportunity will be reduced or eliminated if our
competitors develop and commercialize cancer drugs that are safer, more
effective, have fewer side effects or are less expensive than our product
candidates. These third parties compete with us in recruiting and retaining
qualified scientific and management personnel, establishing clinical trial
sites and patient registration for clinical trials, as well as in acquiring
technologies and technology licenses complementary to our programs or
advantageous to our business.
We expect that our ability to compete effectively will
depend upon our ability to:
·
successfully
and rapidly complete clinical trials and submit for and obtain all requisite
regulatory approvals in a cost- effective
manner;
·
maintain
a proprietary position for our products and manufacturing processes and other
related product technology;
·
attract
and retain key personnel;
·
develop
relationships with physicians prescribing these products; and
·
build
an adequate sales and marketing infrastructure for our product candidates.
Because we will be competing against significantly
larger companies with established track records, we will have to demonstrate to
physicians that, based on experience, clinical data, side-effect profiles and
other factors, our products are preferable to existing cancer drugs. If we are
unable to compete effectively in the cancer drug market and differentiate our
products from currently marketed cancer drugs, we may never generate meaningful
revenue.
Numerous pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies
have developed anthracycline drugs used to treat acute leukemias similar to our
compound, L-Annamycin. These compounds include Adriamycin® and Ellence® which
are marketed by Pfizer and Cerubidine® which is marketed by Boehringer
Ingelheim. These drugs have been approved by the FDA and are currently being
marketed as opposed to L-Annamycin which is in clinical development. Atiprimod,
our drug candidate for relapsed multiple myeloma, works through a different
mechanism of action than Velcade which is currently marketed by Millenium
Pharmaceuticals and other drugs in development, such as Celgene Corporations
Revlimid.
WE CURRENTLY HAVE NO SALES AND
MARKETING ORGANIZATION. IF WE ARE UNABLE TO ESTABLISH A DIRECT SALES FORCE IN
THE UNITED STATES TO PROMOTE OUR PRODUCTS, THE COMMERCIAL OPPORTUNITY FOR OUR
PRODUCTS MAY BE DIMINISHED.
We currently have no sales and marketing organization.
If any of our product candidates are approved by the FDA, we intend to market
that product directly to hospitals in the United States of America through our
own sales force. We will incur significant additional expenses and commit
significant additional management resources to establish this sales force. We
may not be able to establish these capabilities despite these additional
expenditures. We will also have to compete with other pharmaceutical and
biotechnology companies to recruit, hire and train sales and marketing
personnel. If we elect to rely on third parties to sell our product candidates
in the United States, we may receive less revenue than if we sold our products
directly. In addition, we may have little or no control over the sales efforts
of those third parties. In the event we are unable to develop our own sales
force or collaborate with a third party to sell our product candidates, we may
not be able to commercialize our product candidates which would negatively
impact our ability to generate revenue.
9
WE MAY NEED OTHERS TO MARKET AND
COMMERCIALIZE OUR PRODUCT CANDIDATES IN INTERNATIONAL MARKETS.
In the future, if appropriate regulatory approvals are
obtained, we intend to commercialize our product candidates in international
markets. However, we have not decided how to commercialize our product
candidates in those markets. We may decide to build our own sales force or sell
our products through third parties. Currently, we do not have any plans to
enter international markets. If we decide to sell our product candidates in
international markets through a third party, we may not be able to enter into
any marketing arrangements on favorable terms or at all. In addition, these
arrangements could result in lower levels of income to us than if we marketed
our product candidates entirely on our own. If we are unable to enter into a
marketing arrangement for our product candidates in international markets, we
may not be able to develop an effective international sales force to
successfully commercialize those products in international markets. If we fail
to enter into marketing arrangements for our products and are unable to develop
an effective international sales force, our ability to generate revenue would
be limited.
IF OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH OUR CONTRACT
MANUFACTURER FOR L-ANNAMYCIN TERMINATES, OR THEIR FACILITIES ARE DAMAGED OR
DESTROYED, WE MAY BE UNABLE TO DEVELOP OR COMMERCIALIZE L-ANNAMYCIN.
Currently, Antibioticos S.p.A. is our sole supplier of
Annamycin (drug substance that is the active component of the final formulated
L-Annamycin drug product). If our relationship with this contract manufacturer,
or any other contract manufacturer we might use, terminates or if any of their
facilities are damaged for any reason, including fire, flood, earthquake or other
similar event, we may be unable to obtain supply of Annamycin. If any of these
events were to occur, we may need to find alternative manufacturers or
manufacturing facilities. The number of contract manufacturers with the
expertise, required regulatory approvals and facilities to manufacture
Annamycin on a commercial scale is extremely limited, and it would take a
significant amount of time to arrange for alternative manufacturers. If we need
to change to other commercial manufacturers, the FDA and comparable foreign
regulators must approve these manufacturers facilities and processes prior to
our use, which would require new testing and compliance inspections. In
addition, we may not have the intellectual property rights, or may have to
share intellectual property rights, to any improvements in the current
manufacturing processes or any new manufacturing processes for Annamycin. Any
of these factors could cause us to delay or suspend clinical trials, regulatory
submissions, required approvals or commercialization of L-Annamycin, entail
higher costs, and could result in our being unable to commercialize L-Annamycin
successfully. Furthermore, if our contract manufacturers fail to deliver the
required commercial quantities of bulk drug substance or finished product on a
timely basis and at commercially reasonable prices, and we were unable to find
one or more replacement manufacturers capable of production at a substantially
equivalent cost, in substantially equivalent volumes and quality, and on a
timely basis, we would likely be unable to meet demand for L-Annamycin and we
would lose potential revenue.
IF THE FDA DOES NOT APPROVE OUR
CONTRACT MANUFACTURERS FACILITIES, WE MAY BE UNABLE TO DEVELOP OR
COMMERCIALIZE OUR PRODUCT CANDIDATES.
We rely on third-party contract manufacturers to
manufacture our product candidates, and currently have no plans to develop our
own manufacturing facility. The facilities used by our contract manufacturers
to manufacture our product candidates must be approved by the FDA. If the FDA
does not approve these facilities for the manufacture of our product, we may
need to fund additional modifications to our manufacturing process, conduct
additional validation studies, or find alternative manufacturing facilities,
any of which would result in significant cost to us as well as a delay of up to
several years in obtaining approval for and manufacturing of our product
candidates. In addition, our contract manufacturers will be subject to ongoing
periodic unannounced inspection by the FDA and corresponding state agencies for
compliance with good manufacturing practices regulations, or cGMPs, and similar
foreign standards. These regulations cover all aspects of the manufacturing,
testing, quality control and record keeping relating to our product candidates.
We do not have control over our contract manufacturers compliance with these
regulations and standards. Failure by our contract manufacturers to comply with
applicable regulations could result in sanctions being imposed on us, including
fines, injunctions, civil penalties, failure of the government to grant market
approval of drugs, delays, suspension or withdrawals of approvals, operating
restrictions and criminal prosecutions, any of which could significantly and
adversely affect our business. In addition, we have no control over our
contract manufacturers ability to maintain adequate quality control, quality
assurance and qualified personnel. Failure by our contract manufacturers to
comply with or maintain any of these standards could adversely affect the
development of our product candidates and our business.
IF PRODUCT LIABILITY LAWSUITS ARE
SUCCESSFULLY BROUGHT AGAINST US, WE MAY INCUR SUBSTANTIAL LIABILITIES AND MAY
BE REQUIRED TO LIMIT COMMERCIALIZATION OF OUR PRODUCT CANDIDATES.
We face an inherent risk of product liability lawsuits
related to the testing of our product candidates, and will face an even greater
risk if we sell our product candidates commercially. Currently, we are not
aware of any anticipated product liability claims with respect to our product
candidates. In the future, an individual may bring a liability claim against us
if one of our product candidates causes, or merely appears to have caused, an
injury. If we cannot successfully defend ourselves against the product
liability claim, we may incur substantial liabilities. Regardless of merit or
eventual outcome, liability claims may result in:
·
decreased
demand for our product candidates;
10
·
injury
to our reputation;
·
withdrawal
of clinical trial participants;
·
costs
of related litigation;
·
substantial
monetary awards to patients;
·
product
recalls;
·
loss
of revenue; and
·
the
inability to commercialize our product candidates.
We have human clinical trial liability insurance with
a $3,000,000 annual aggregate and per occurrence limit for up to 40 patients
participating at the same time in our Atiprimod and L-Annamycin clinical
trials. We intend to expand our insurance coverage to include the sale of
commercial products if marketing approval is obtained for our product
candidates. Our current insurance coverage may prove insufficient to cover any
liability claims brought against us. In addition, because of the increasing
costs of insurance coverage, we may not be able to maintain insurance coverage
at a reasonable cost or obtain insurance coverage that will be adequate to
satisfy any liability that may arise.
EVEN IF WE RECEIVE REGULATORY
APPROVAL FOR OUR PRODUCT CANDIDATES, WE WILL BE SUBJECT TO ONGOING SIGNIFICANT
REGULATORY OBLIGATIONS AND OVERSIGHT.
If we receive regulatory approval to sell our product
candidates, the FDA and foreign regulatory authorities may, nevertheless,
impose significant restrictions on the indicated uses or marketing of such
products, or impose ongoing requirements for post-approval studies. Following
any regulatory approval of our product candidates, we will be subject to
continuing regulatory obligations, such as safety reporting requirements, and
additional post-marketing obligations, including regulatory oversight of the
promotion and marketing of our products. If we become aware of previously
unknown problems with any of our product candidates here or overseas or our
contract manufacturers facilities, a regulatory agency may impose restrictions
on our products, our contract manufacturers or on us, including requiring us to
reformulate our products, conduct additional clinical trials, make changes in
the labeling of our products, implement changes to or obtain re-approvals of
our contract manufacturers facilities or withdraw the product from the market.
In addition, we may experience a significant drop in the sales of the affected
products, our reputation in the marketplace may suffer and we may become the
target of lawsuits, including class action suits. Moreover, if we fail to
comply with applicable regulatory requirements, we may be subject to fines,
suspension or withdrawal of regulatory approvals, product recalls, seizure of
products, operating restrictions and criminal prosecution. Any of these events
could harm or prevent sales of the affected products or could substantially
increase the costs and expenses of commercializing and marketing these
products.
WE RELY ON THIRD PARTIES TO CONDUCT
OUR CLINICAL TRIALS. IF THESE THIRD PARTIES DO NOT SUCCESSFULLY CARRY OUT THEIR
CONTRACTUAL DUTIES OR MEET EXPECTED DEADLINES, WE MAY NOT BE ABLE TO SEEK OR
OBTAIN REGULATORY APPROVAL FOR OR COMMERCIALIZE OUR PRODUCT CANDIDATES.
We have agreements with third-party contract research
organizations, or CROs, to provide monitors and to manage data for our clinical
programs. We and our CROs are required to comply with current Good Clinical
Practices, or GCPs, regulations and guidelines enforced by the FDA for all of
our products in clinical development. The FDA enforces GCPs through periodic
inspections of trial sponsors, principal investigators and trial sites. In the
future, if we or our CROs fail to comply with applicable GCPs, the clinical
data generated in our clinical trials may be deemed unreliable and the FDA may
require us to perform additional clinical trials before approving our marketing
applications. We cannot assure you that, upon inspection, the FDA will
determine that any of our clinical trials for products in clinical development
comply with GCPs. In addition, our clinical trials must be conducted with
product produced under cGMP regulations, and will require a large number of
test subjects. Our failure to comply with these regulations may require us to
repeat clinical trials, which would delay the regulatory approval process.
If any of our relationships with these third-party
CROs terminate, we may not be able to enter into arrangements with alternative
CROs. If CROs do not successfully carry out their contractual duties or
obligations or meet expected deadlines, if they need to be replaced, or if the
quality or accuracy of the clinical data they obtain is compromised due to the
failure to adhere to our clinical protocols, regulatory requirements or for
other reasons, our clinical trials may be extended, delayed or terminated, and
we may not be able to obtain regulatory approval for or successfully
commercialize our product candidates. As a result, our financial results and
the commercial prospects for our product candidates would be harmed, our costs
could increase, and our ability to generate revenue could be delayed.
IF WE FAIL TO ATTRACT AND KEEP SENIOR
MANAGEMENT AND KEY SCIENTIFIC PERSONNEL, WE MAY BE UNABLE TO SUCCESSFULLY
DEVELOP OUR PRODUCT CANDIDATES, CONDUCT OUR CLINICAL TRIALS AND COMMERCIALIZE
OUR PRODUCT CANDIDATES.
Our success depends in part on our continued ability
to attract, retain and motivate highly qualified management, clinical and
scientific personnel and on our ability to develop and maintain important
relationships with leading academic institutions, clinicians and scientists. We
are highly dependent upon our senior management and scientific staff,
particularly Gary S. Jacob, our Chief Executive Officer. The loss of services
of Dr. Jacob or one or more of our other members of senior management could
delay or prevent the successful completion of our planned clinical trials or
the commercialization of our product candidates.
11
The competition for qualified personnel in the
biotechnology and pharmaceuticals field is intense. We will need to hire
additional personnel as we expand our clinical development and commercial
activities. We may not be able to attract and retain quality personnel on
acceptable terms given the competition for such personnel among biotechnology,
pharmaceutical and other companies. We do not carry key person insurance
covering any members of our senior management, other than Dr. Jacob.
IF WE FAIL TO ACQUIRE AND DEVELOP
OTHER PRODUCTS OR PRODUCT CANDIDATES, WE MAY BE UNABLE TO GROW OUR BUSINESS.
To date, we have in-licensed or acquired the rights to
each of our product candidates. As part of our growth strategy, in addition to
developing our current product candidates, we intend to license or acquire
additional products and product candidates for development and
commercialization. Because we have limited internal research capabilities, we
are dependent upon pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies and other
researchers to sell or license products to us. The success of this strategy
depends upon our ability to identify, select and acquire the right pharmaceutical
product candidates and products. We currently do not have any intentions to
acquire another company.
Any product candidate we license or acquire may
require additional development efforts prior to commercial sale, including
extensive clinical testing and approval by the FDA and applicable foreign
regulatory authorities. All product candidates are prone to the risks of
failure inherent in pharmaceutical product development, including the
possibility that the product candidate will not be shown to be sufficiently
safe and effective for approval by regulatory authorities. In addition, we
cannot assure you that any products that we license or acquire that are
approved will be manufactured or produced economically, successfully
commercialized or widely accepted in the marketplace.
Proposing, negotiating and implementing an
economically viable product acquisition or license is a lengthy and complex
process. Other companies, including those with substantially greater financial,
marketing and sales resources, may compete with us for the acquisition or
license of product candidates and approved products. We may not be able to
acquire or license the rights to additional product candidates and approved
products on terms that we find acceptable, or at all.
WE MAY UNDERTAKE ACQUISITIONS IN THE
FUTURE, AND ANY DIFFICULTIES FROM INTEGRATING THESE ACQUISITIONS COULD DAMAGE
OUR ABILITY TO ATTAIN OR MAINTAIN PROFITABILITY.
We may acquire additional businesses, products or
product candidates that complement or augment our existing business.
Integrating any newly acquired business or product could be expensive and
time-consuming. We may not be able to integrate any acquired business or
product successfully or operate any acquired business profitably. Moreover, we
many need to raise additional funds through public or private debt or equity
financing to make acquisitions, which may result in dilution to stockholders
and the incurrence of indebtedness that may include restrictive covenants.
WE WILL NEED TO INCREASE THE SIZE OF
OUR ORGANIZATION, AND WE MAY EXPERIENCE DIFFICULTIES IN MANAGING GROWTH.
We are a small company with 8 full-time and 3
part-time employees as of August 31, 2007. To continue our clinical trials and
commercialize our product candidates, we will need to expand our employee base
for managerial, operational, financial and other resources. Future growth will
impose significant added responsibilities on members of management, including
the need to identify, recruit, maintain and integrate additional employees. Over
the next 12 months depending on the progress of our planned clinical trials, we
plan to add additional employees to assist us with our clinical programs. Our
future financial performance and our ability to commercialize our product
candidates and to compete effectively will depend, in part, on our ability to
manage any future growth effectively. To that end, we must be able to:
·
manage
our development efforts effectively;
·
manage
our clinical trials effectively;
·
integrate
additional management, administrative, manufacturing and sales and marketing
personnel;
·
maintain
sufficient administrative, accounting and management information systems and
controls; and
·
hire
and train additional qualified personnel.
We may not be able to accomplish these tasks, and our
failure to accomplish any of them could harm our financial results.
REIMBURSEMENT MAY NOT BE AVAILABLE
FOR OUR PRODUCT CANDIDATES, WHICH COULD DIMINISH OUR SALES.
Market acceptance and sales of our product candidates
may depend on reimbursement policies and health care reform measures. The
levels at which government authorities and third-party payors, such as private
health insurers and health maintenance organizations, reimburse patients for
the price they pay for our products could affect whether we are able to
commercialize these products. We cannot be sure that reimbursement will be
available for any of these products. Also, we cannot be sure that reimbursement
amounts will not reduce the demand for, or the price of, our products. We have
not commenced efforts to have our product candidates reimbursed by government
or third party payors. If reimbursement is not available or is available only
to limited levels, we may not be able to commercialize our products.
12
In recent years, officials have made numerous
proposals to change the health care system in the United States. These
proposals include measures that would limit or prohibit payments for certain
medical treatments or subject the pricing of drugs to government control. In
addition, in many foreign countries, particularly the countries of the European
Union, the pricing of prescription drugs is subject to government control. If
our products are or become subject to government regulation that limits or
prohibits payment for our products, or that subject the price of our products
to governmental control, we may not be able to generate revenue, attain
profitability or commercialize our products.
As a result of legislative proposals and the trend
towards managed health care in the United States, third-party payers are
increasingly attempting to contain health care costs by limiting both coverage
and the level of reimbursement of new drugs. They may also refuse to provide
any coverage of uses of approved products for medical indications other than
those for which the FDA has granted market approvals. As a result, significant
uncertainty exists as to whether and how much third-party payers will reimburse
patients for their use of newly-approved drugs, which in turn will put pressure
on the pricing of drugs.
LEGISLATIVE OR REGULATORY REFORM OF
THE HEALTHCARE SYSTEM MAY AFFECT OUR ABILITY TO SELL OUR PRODUCTS PROFITABLY.
In both the United States and certain foreign
jurisdictions, there have been a number of legislative and regulatory proposals
to change the healthcare system in ways that could impact upon our ability to
sell our products profitably. In recent years, new legislation has been
proposed in the United States at the federal and state levels that would effect
major changes in the healthcare system, either nationally or at the state
level.
These proposals have included prescription drug
benefit proposals for Medicare beneficiaries introduced in Congress.
Legislation creating a prescription drug benefit and making certain changes in
Medicaid reimbursement has recently been enacted by Congress and signed by the
President. Given this legislations recent enactment, it is still too early to
determine its impact on the pharmaceutical industry and our business. Further
federal and state proposals are likely. The potential for adoption of these
proposals affects or will affect our ability to raise capital, obtain
additional collaborators and market our products. We expect to experience
pricing pressures in connection with the sale of our products due to the trend
toward managed health care, the increasing influence of health maintenance
organizations and additional legislative proposals. Our results of operations
could be adversely affected by future healthcare reforms.
RISKS RELATED TO OUR INTELLECTUAL
PROPERTY
IT IS DIFFICULT AND COSTLY TO PROTECT
OUR PROPRIETARY RIGHTS, AND WE MAY NOT BE ABLE TO ENSURE THEIR PROTECTION.
Our commercial success will depend in part on
obtaining and maintaining patent protection and trade secret protection of our
product candidates, and the methods used to manufacture them, as well as
successfully defending these patents against third-party challenges. We will
only be able to protect our product candidates from unauthorized making, using,
selling, offering to sell or importation by third parties to the extent that we
have rights under valid and enforceable patents or trade secrets that cover
these activities.
As of August 31, 2007, we own and/or have licensed
rights to 15 issued United States patents and 7 United States patent applications.
We have approximately 150 issued and/or pending foreign patent applications. We
may file additional patent applications and extensions. Our issued United
States patents we own and license primarily are composition-of-matter, use and
formulation patents related to Atiprimod and L-Annamycin. Our composition of
matter patents for L-Annamycin and Atiprimod expire in 2010 and 2009,
respectively. Our formulation patents for L-Annamycin and Atiprimod dimaleate
(preferred salt form) both expire in 2016.
We also have an issued patent on
Guanilib that issued in May 2006 that covers both composition-of-matter and use
and expires in 2022.
The patent positions of pharmaceutical and
biotechnology companies can be highly uncertain and involve complex legal and factual
questions for which important legal principles remain unresolved. No consistent
policy regarding the breadth of claims allowed in biotechnology patents has
emerged to date in the United States. The biotechnology patent situation
outside the United States is even more uncertain. Changes in either the patent
laws or in interpretations of patent laws in the United States and other
countries may diminish the value of our intellectual property. Accordingly, we
cannot predict the breadth of claims that may be allowed or enforced in our
licensed patents or in third-party patents.
The degree of future protection for our proprietary
rights is uncertain because legal means afford only limited protection and may
not adequately protect our rights or permit us to gain or keep our competitive
advantage. For example:
·
others
may be able to make compounds that are competitive with our product candidates
but that are not covered by the claims of our licensed patents, or for which we
are not licensed under our license agreements;
·
we
or our licensors might not have been the first to make the inventions covered
by our pending patent application or the pending patent applications and issued
patents of our licensors;
·
we
or our licensors might not have been the first to file patent applications for
these inventions;
·
others
may independently develop similar or alternative technologies or duplicate any
of our technologies;
·
it
is possible that our pending patent application or one or more of the pending
patent applications of our licensors will not result in issued patents;
13
·
the
issued patents of our licensors may not provide us with any competitive
advantages, or may be held invalid or unenforceable as a result of legal
challenges by third parties;
·
we
may not develop additional proprietary technologies that are patentable; or
·
the
patents of others may have an adverse effect on our business.
We also may rely on trade secrets to protect our
technology, especially where we do not believe patent protection is appropriate
or obtainable. However, trade secrets are difficult to protect. While we use
reasonable efforts to protect our trade secrets, our employees, consultants,
contractors, outside scientific collaborators and other advisors may
unintentionally or willfully disclose our information to competitors. Enforcing
a claim that a third party illegally obtained and is using our trade secrets is
expensive and time consuming, and the outcome is unpredictable. In addition,
courts outside the United States are sometimes less willing to protect trade
secrets. Moreover, our competitors may independently develop equivalent
knowledge, methods and know-how.
WE MAY INCUR SUBSTANTIAL COSTS AS A
RESULT OF LITIGATION OR OTHER PROCEEDINGS RELATING TO PATENT AND OTHER
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS AND WE MAY BE UNABLE TO PROTECT OUR RIGHTS TO, OR
USE, OUR TECHNOLOGY.
If we choose to go to court to stop someone else from
using the inventions claimed in our licensed patents, that individual or
company has the right to ask the court to rule that these patents are invalid
and/or should not be enforced against that third party. These lawsuits are
expensive and would consume time and other resources even if we were successful
in stopping the infringement of these patents. In addition, there is a risk
that the court will decide that these patents are not valid and that we do not
have the right to stop the other party from using the inventions. There is also
the risk that, even if the validity of these patents is upheld, the court will
refuse to stop the other party on the ground that such other partys activities
do not infringe our rights to these patents.
Furthermore, a third party may claim that we are using
inventions covered by the third partys patent rights and may go to court to
stop us from engaging in our normal operations and activities, including making
or selling our product candidates. These lawsuits are costly and could affect
our results of operations and divert the attention of managerial and technical
personnel. There is a risk that a court would decide that we are infringing the
third partys patents and would order us to stop the activities covered by the
patents. In addition, there is a risk that a court will order us to pay the
other party damages for having violated the other partys patents. The
biotechnology industry has produced a proliferation of patents, and it is not
always clear to industry participants, including us, which patents cover
various types of products or methods of use. The coverage of patents is subject
to interpretation by the courts, and the interpretation is not always uniform.
If we are sued for patent infringement, we would need to demonstrate that our
products or methods of use either do not infringe the patent claims of the
relevant patent and/or that the patent claims are invalid, and we may not be
able to do this. Proving invalidity, in particular, is difficult since it
requires a showing of clear and convincing evidence to overcome the presumption
of validity enjoyed by issued patents.
Because some patent applications in the United States
of America may be maintained in secrecy until the patents are issued, because
patent applications in the United States of America and many foreign
jurisdictions are typically not published until eighteen months after filing,
and because publications in the scientific literature often lag behind actual
discoveries, we cannot be certain that others have not filed patent
applications for technology covered by our licensors issued patents or our
pending applications or our licensors pending applications or that we or our
licensors were the first to invent the technology. Our competitors may have
filed, and may in the future file, patent applications covering technology
similar to ours. Any such patent application may have priority over our or our
licensors patent applications and could further require us to obtain rights to
issued patents covering such technologies. If another party has filed a United
States patent application on inventions similar to ours, we may have to
participate in an interference proceeding declared by the United States Patent
and Trademark Office to determine priority of invention in the United States.
The costs of these proceedings could be substantial, and it is possible that
such efforts would be unsuccessful, resulting in a loss of our United States
patent position with respect to such inventions.
Some of our competitors may be able to sustain the
costs of complex patent litigation more effectively than we can because they
have substantially greater resources. In addition, any uncertainties resulting
from the initiation and continuation of any litigation could have a material
adverse effect on our ability to raise the funds necessary to continue our
operations.
RISKS RELATED TO OUR COMMON STOCK
MARKET VOLATILITY MAY AFFECT OUR
STOCK PRICE AND THE VALUE OF YOUR INVESTMENT.
The market prices for securities of biopharmaceutical
companies in general have been highly volatile and may continue to be highly
volatile in the future. The following factors, in addition to other risk
factors described in this section, may have a significant impact on the market
price of our common stock:
·
announcements
of technological innovations or new products by us or our competitors;
·
announcement
of FDA approval or non-approval of our product candidates or delays in the FDA
review process;
·
actions
taken by regulatory agencies with respect to our product candidates, clinical
trials, manufacturing process or sales and marketing activities;
14
·
regulatory
developments in the United States of America and foreign countries;
·
the
success of our development efforts and clinical trials;
·
the
success of our efforts to acquire or in-license additional products or product
candidates;
·
any
intellectual property infringement action, or any other litigation, involving
us;
·
announcements
concerning our competitors, or the biotechnology or biopharmaceutical
industries in general;
·
actual
or anticipated fluctuations in our operating results;
·
changes
in financial estimates or recommendations by securities analysts;
·
our
ability to maintain listing requirements on the American Stock Exchange;
·
sales
of large blocks of our common stock;
·
sales
of our common stock by our executive officers, directors and significant
stockholders; and
·
the
loss of any of our key scientific or management personnel.
The occurrence of one or more of these factors may
cause our stock price to decline, and investors may not be able to resell their
shares at or above the price that they paid for the shares. In addition, the
stock markets in general, and the markets for biotechnology and
biopharmaceutical stocks in particular, have experienced extreme volatility
that has often been unrelated to the operating performance of particular
companies. These broad market fluctuations may adversely affect the trading
price of our common stock.
THE LIQUIDITY OF YOUR STOCK DEPENDS
IN PART ON CONTINUED LISTING OF OUR SHARES OF COMMON STOCK ON THE AMERICAN
STOCK EXCHANGE.
On October 3, 2006, we received notice from the staff
of the American Stock Exchange indicating that we are not in compliance with
Section 1003(a)(i) of the Company Guide with shareholders equity of less
than $2,000,000 and losses from continuing operations and/or net losses in two
of our three most recent fiscal years and Section 1003(a)(iv) of the
Company Guide in that we have sustained losses which are so substantial in
relation to our overall operations or our existing financial resources, or our
financial condition has become so impaired that it appears questionable, in the
opinion of the Exchange, as to whether we will be able to continue operations
and/or meet our obligations as they mature.
On November 2, 2006 we submitted a plan advising the
American Stock Exchange of the actions we have taken, or will take, that would
bring us into compliance with Section 1003(a)(iv) of the Company Guide by
April 3, 2007 and with Section 1003(a)(i) of the Company Guide by
April 3, 2008. The plan was approved
on January 24, 2007. We will continue to maintain our listing during the plan
period of up to 18 months, during which time we will be subject to periodic
review to determine if we are making progress consistent with the plan. If we
are not in compliance with the continued listing standards at the end of the plan
period, or we do not make progress consistent with the plan during the plan
period, the American Stock Exchange staff may initiate delisting proceedings.
On June 18, 2007, we received notice from the staff of
the American Stock Exchange indicating that we are not in compliance with
Section 1003(a)(ii) of the Company Guide with shareholders equity of less than
$4,000,000 and losses from continuing operations and/or net losses in three of
our four most recent fiscal years.
We submitted a plan on July 18, 2007, advising the
American Stock Exchange of the actions we have taken, or plan to take, that
would bring it into compliance with Section 1003(a)(ii) of the Company Guide by
April 3, 2008. On August 27, 2007, the American
Stock Exchange notified us that they have accepted our plan. There is no guarantee that we will be able to
make progress consistent with the plan.
While the plan is under periodic review by the
American Stock Exchange, we expect that our common stock will continue to trade
without interruption on the American Stock Exchange. If we are delisted by the
American Stock Exchange you may experience difficulty in trading your shares of
our common stock.
WE HAVE IDENTIFIED MATERIAL
WEAKNESSES IN OUR DISCLOSURE CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES. IN ADDITION, WE MAY
EXPERIENCE ADDITIONAL MATERIAL WEAKNESSES IN THE FUTURE. ANY MATERIAL
WEAKNESSES IN OUR DISCLOSURE CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES OR OUR FAILURE TO
REMEDIATE SUCH MATERIAL WEAKNESSES COULD RESULT IN A MATERIAL MISSTATEMENT IN
OUR FINANCIAL STATEMENTS NOT BEING PREVENTED OR DETECTED AND COULD AFFECT
INVESTOR CONFIDENCE IN THE ACCURACY AND COMPLETENESS OF OUR FINANCIAL
STATEMENTS, AS WELL AS OUR STOCK PRICE.
We have identified material weaknesses in our
disclosure controls and procedures relating to our lack of sufficient internal
accounting personnel and segregation of duties necessary to ensure that
adequate review of our financial statements and notes thereto is performed.
These material weaknesses and our remediation plans are described further in ITEM
9A CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year
ended December 31, 2006. Material
weaknesses in our disclosure controls and procedures could result in material
misstatements in our financial statements not being prevented or detected. We
may experience difficulties or delays in completing remediation or may not be
able to successfully remediate material weaknesses at all. Any material
weakness or unsuccessful remediation could affect
15
investor confidence in the accuracy and completeness
of our financial statements, which in turn could harm our business and have an
adverse effect on our stock price and our ability to raise additional funds.
WE ARE AT RISK OF SECURITIES CLASS
ACTION LITIGATION.
In the past, securities class action litigation has
often been brought against a company following a decline in the market price of
its securities. This risk is especially relevant for us because biotechnology
and biopharmaceutical companies have experienced significant stock price volatility
in recent years. If we faced such litigation, it could result in substantial
costs and a diversion of managements attention and resources, which could harm
our business.
WE HAVE NOT PAID CASH DIVIDENDS IN
THE PAST AND DO NOT EXPECT TO PAY CASH DIVIDENDS IN THE FUTURE. ANY RETURN ON
INVESTMENT MAY BE LIMITED TO THE VALUE OF OUR STOCK.
We have never paid cash dividends on our stock and do
not anticipate paying cash dividends on our stock in the foreseeable future.
The payment of cash dividends on our stock will depend on our earnings,
financial condition and other business and economic factors affecting us at
such time as the board of directors may consider relevant. If we do not pay
cash dividends, our stock may be less valuable because a return on your investment
will only occur if our stock price appreciates.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995
(the Act) provides a safe harbor for forward-looking statements made by us or
on our behalf. We and our representatives may from time to time make written or
oral statements that are forward-looking, including statements contained in
this prospectus and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission,
reports to our stockholders and news releases. All statements that express
expectations, estimates, forecasts or projections are forward-looking
statements within the meaning of the Act. In addition, other written or oral
statements which constitute forward-looking statements may be made by us or on
our behalf. Words such as expects, anticipates, intends, plans, believes,
seeks, estimates, projects, forecasts, may, should, variations of
such words and similar expressions are intended to identify such
forward-looking statements. These statements are not guarantees of future
performance and involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions which are
difficult to predict. Therefore, actual outcomes and results may differ
materially from what is expressed or forecasted in or suggested by such forward-looking
statements. Among the important factors on which such statements are
based are assumptions concerning our ability to complete ongoing clinical
trials, results of our clinical trials, the timing of approval of our products
by the United States Food and Drug Administration, our ability to obtain
additional financing, our ability to attract and retain key employees, our
ability to protect intellectual property, and our ability to adapt to economic,
political and regulatory conditions affecting the healthcare industry.
USE OF PROCEEDS
We will not receive any of the proceeds from the
resale of the shares of common stock.
SELLING STOCKHOLDERS
Below is information with respect to the number of
shares of our common stock owned by the selling stockholders as of September 7,
2007. Except as described below, the selling stockholders do not have, or have
had, any position, office or other material relationship with us or any of our
affiliates beyond their investment in, or receipt of, our securities. See Plan
of Distribution for additional information about the selling stockholders and
the manner in which the selling stockholders may dispose of their shares.
Beneficial ownership has been determined in accordance with the rules of the
SEC, and includes voting or investment power with respect to the shares. Unless
otherwise indicated in the table below, to our knowledge, the selling
stockholders named in the table below have sole voting and investment power
with respect to their shares of common stock. Our registration of these shares
does not necessarily mean that the selling stockholders will sell any or all of
the shares covered by this prospectus.
We are registering 49,853,668 shares of our common
stock, par value $0.0001 per share, for resale from time to time by the selling
stockholders identified in this prospectus. Such amount consists of
(i) 3,838,334 additional shares of common stock issuable pursuant to the
anti-dilution provisions of our outstanding Series A Convertible Preferred
Stock, (ii) 22,941,000 shares of common issuable upon conversion of Series B
Convertible Preferred Stock and 22,941,000 shares of common stock issuable upon
exercise of warrants issued by us in connection with a private placement in
August 2007 and (iii) 66,667 shares of common stock issuable upon conversion of
Series A Convertible Preferred Stock and 66,667 shares of common stock issuable
upon exercise of warrants issued by us in connection with a private placement
in October 2006- January 2007.
The number of shares of common stock that may actually
be purchased by the selling stockholder under the warrants and options and the
number of shares of common stock that may actually be sold by the selling
stockholder will be determined by the selling stockholder. Because the selling
stockholder may purchase all, some or none of the shares of common stock which
can be purchased under the warrants and options and the selling stockholder may
sell all, some or none of the shares of common stock which it holds, and because
the offering contemplated by
16
this prospectus is not currently being underwritten,
no estimate can be given as to the number of shares of common stock that will
be held by the selling stockholder upon termination of the offering. The
information set forth in the following table regarding the beneficial ownership
after resale of shares is based on the premise that the selling stockholder
will purchase the maximum number of shares of common stock provided for by the
warrants and options and will sell all of the shares of common stock owned by
that selling stockholder and covered by this prospectus.
We have filed with the SEC a registration statement,
of which this prospectus forms a part, with respect to the resale of the shares
of our common stock from time to time, under Rule 415 under the Securities Act,
on the American Stock Exchange, in privately negotiated transactions, in
underwritten offerings or by a combination of these methods for sale.
For the table set forth
below, the following persons have investment and voting control over the shares
owned by the respective entities:
Entity
|
|
Control Person
|
RAB American
Opportunities Fund Ltd. (1)
|
|
Arilde Eide
|
Mayflower
Medical Ventures Ltd.
|
|
Thomas Lane
|
Beaufort
International Associates Limited
|
|
Tanvier Malik
|
Crescent
International Ltd.
|
|
Maxi Brezzi and Bachir Taleb-Ilordimi
|
Babington
Microcap Management Ltd.
|
|
Stephen John Kelly
|
New England
Partners Capital, L.P.
|
|
John F. Rousseau, Jr., Edwin Snape, Robert J. Hanks
and David Dullum
|
Fimi S.p.A.
|
|
Wolf Chitis
|
SLED S.p.A.
|
|
Wolf Chitis
|
Ajax Partners
|
|
Richard B. Stone
|
Clubhouse
Partners
|
|
Michael Stone
|
Ashton Partners,
LLC
|
|
Jeff Blank
|
Societe Bancaire
Privee SA
|
|
Arturo Barone
|
Union Bancaire
Privee
|
|
Olivier Constantin
|
Early Bird
BioInvestments Ltd.
|
|
Andrew Moray Stuart
|
Credit des Alpes
Ltd.
|
|
Gianni Cammarata
|
RAB Special
Situations (Master) Fund Limited (1)
|
|
William Phillip Seymour Richards
|
Absolute Octane
Master Fund Limited
|
|
Florian Homm
|
Fortuna Realty
Group, LLC
|
|
Morris Moinian
|
(1)
Credit
Suisse Client Nominees (UK) Limited is acting as nominee for the beneficial
holders, RAB American Opportunities Fund Ltd. and RAB Special Situations
(Master) Fund Limited.
|
|
|
|
|
|
After the Offering
|
|
Selling Stockholder
|
|
Number of Shares
Beneficially Owned
Prior to the Offering
|
|
Number of
Shares
Being Offered
|
|
Number of
Shares
Beneficially
Owned (1)
|
|
Percent of
Shares
Beneficially
Owned (2)
|
|
Crescent
International Ltd.
|
|
1,359,352
|
|
200,000
|
(3)
|
1,159,352
|
|
2.6
|
|
Hillel
Weinberger
|
|
868,066
|
|
133,333
|
(3)
|
734,733
|
|
1.7
|
|
Isaac Dweck
|
|
868,066
|
|
133,333
|
(3)
|
734,733
|
|
1.7
|
|
David
Jaroslawicz
|
|
482,233
|
|
79,167
|
(3)
|
403,066
|
|
*
|
|
Phil Lifschitz
(5)
|
|
308,067
|
|
33,333
|
(3)
|
274,734
|
|
*
|
|
New England
Partners Capital, L.P.
|
|
2,581,068
|
|
333,333
|
(3)
|
2,129,842
|
(11)
|
4.9
|
|
Reed Rubin
|
|
166,667
|
|
33,333
|
(3)
|
133,334
|
|
*
|
|
Mylo Beyda
|
|
166,667
|
|
33,333
|
(3)
|
133,334
|
|
*
|
|
Nathan Dweck
|
|
166,667
|
|
33,333
|
(3)
|
133,334
|
|
*
|
|
Morris Dweck
|
|
166,666
|
|
33,333
|
(3)
|
133,333
|
|
*
|
|
Ralph Dweck
|
|
166,666
|
|
33,333
|
(3)
|
133,333
|
|
*
|
|
Sandra Lifschitz
(6)
|
|
100,000
|
|
20,000
|
(3)
|
80,000
|
|
*
|
|
Fimi S.p.A.
|
|
666,667
|
|
133,334
|
(3)(4)
|
533,333
|
|
1.2
|
|
SLED S.p.A.
|
|
822,000
|
|
822,000
|
(3)
|
|
|
|
|
Joshua and
Eileen Schein
|
|
1,281,854
|
(7)
|
92,834
|
(3)
|
1,189,020
|
|
2.7
|
|
Ajax Partners
(8)
|
|
1,500,000
|
|
300,000
|
(3)
|
1,200,000
|
|
2.7
|
|
Clubhouse
Partners
|
|
155,000
|
|
15,000
|
(3)
|
140,000
|
|
*
|
|
Ashton Partners,
LLC
|
|
250,000
|
|
50,000
|
(3)
|
200,000
|
|
*
|
|
Jerry Heymann
|
|
250,000
|
|
50,000
|
(3)
|
200,000
|
|
*
|
|
17
Judson Cooper
|
|
1,706,671
|
(7)
|
262,834
|
(3)
|
1,443,837
|
|
3.3
|
|
Early Bird
BioInvestment Ltd.
|
|
3,253,334
|
|
650,667
|
(3)
|
2,129,842
|
(11)
|
4.9
|
|
Maria Clelia
Acocella
|
|
125,000
|
|
25,000
|
(3)
|
100,000
|
|
*
|
|
Philippe
Hennessy
|
|
266,667
|
|
53,334
|
(3)
|
213,333
|
|
*
|
|
Stephen Milstein
|
|
133,333
|
|
26,667
|
(3)
|
106,666
|
|
*
|
|
Joel Stone
|
|
666,667
|
|
133,333
|
(3)
|
533,334
|
|
1.2
|
|
Howard Freedberg
|
|
166,667
|
|
33,333
|
(3)
|
133,334
|
|
*
|
|
Union Bancaire
Privee
|
|
333,333
|
|
66,667
|
(3)
|
266,666
|
|
*
|
|
Societe Bancaire
Privee SA
|
|
3,233,333
|
|
1,366,667
|
(3)(4)
|
1,866,666
|
|
4.1
|
|
Richard Stone
(8)
|
|
130,833
|
|
26,167
|
(3)
|
104,666
|
|
*
|
|
Nicola Granato
|
|
933,333
|
|
186,667
|
(3)
|
746,666
|
|
1.7
|
|
Credit des Alpes
Ltd.
|
|
400,000
|
|
400,000
|
(4)
|
|
|
|
|
Mike Wilkins
|
|
290,700
|
|
200,000
|
(4)
|
90,700
|
|
*
|
|
Andrea Rossi
|
|
160,000
|
|
160,000
|
(4)
|
|
|
|
|
Credit Suisse
Client Nominees (UK) Limited (9)
|
|
21,347,778
|
|
20,133,333
|
(3)(4)
|
1,214,445
|
|
2.8
|
|
Absolute Octane
Master Fund Limited
|
|
20,000,000
|
|
20,000,000
|
(4)
|
|
|
|
|
Gambari Rino
Mario
|
|
400,000
|
|
400,000
|
(4)
|
|
|
|
|
Andrea de Megni
|
|
400,000
|
|
400,000
|
(4)
|
|
|
|
|
Thomas Silverman
|
|
2,000,000
|
|
2,000,000
|
(4)
|
|
|
|
|
Fortuna Realty
Group, LLC
|
|
600,000
|
|
600,000
|
(4)
|
|
|
|
|
Paul Kessler
|
|
166,667
|
|
166,667
|
(10)
|
|
|
|
|
*
|
|
less than 1%
|
|
|
|
(1)
|
|
Assuming that all shares offered here are sold but
no other securities held by the selling stockholder are sold.
|
|
|
|
(2)
|
|
Based upon 43,466,161 shares of common stock
outstanding as of September 7, 2007.
|
|
|
|
(3)
|
|
Consists of additional shares of common stock
issuable pursuant to the anti-dilution provisions of the Series A Convertible
Preferred Stock owned by such selling stockholder.
|
|
|
|
(4)
|
|
Consists of shares of common stock issuable upon
conversion of Series B Preferred Stock and shares of common stock
issuable upon the exercise of warrants held by the selling stockholder which
were issued in connection with our August 2007 private placement.
|
|
|
|
(5)
|
|
Mr. Lifschitz is affiliated with Oppenheimer &
Co., a NASD member broker-dealer. We do not have any arrangement with
Oppenheimer &Co. for it to act as a broker-dealer for the sale of the
shares included herein for the selling stockholders. This selling stockholder
may be deemed to be an underwriter with respect to his sales of shares to be
offered by him in this prospectus. This selling security holder has
represented to us that he acquired the shares in the ordinary course of
business and that, at the time of such acquisition, he did not have any
agreements or understandings, directly or indirectly, with any person to
distribute the shares.
|
|
|
|
(6)
|
|
Mrs. Lifschitz is the wife of Phil Lifshitz who is
affiliated with Oppenheimer & Co., a NASD member broker-dealer.
|
|
|
|
(7)
|
|
Includes 147,188 shares of common stock issuable
upon exercise of a warrant held by Prism Ventures, LLC which is jointly owned
by Judson Cooper and Joshua Schein.
|
|
|
|
(8)
|
|
Richard B. Stone is the managing partner of Ajax
Partners and is a registered representative with Sunrise Securities Corp., a
NASD member broker-dealer. We do not have any arrangement with Sunrise
Securities Corp. for it to act as a broker-dealer for the sale of the shares
included herein for the selling stockholders. This selling stockholder
may be deemed to be an underwriter with respect to its sales of shares to be
offered by it in this prospectus. This selling security holder has
represented to us that it acquired the shares in the ordinary course of
business and that, at the time of such acquisition, it did not have any
agreements or understandings, directly or indirectly, with any person to
distribute the shares.
|
|
|
|
(9)
|
|
Credit Suisse Client Nominees (UK) Limited is acting
as nominee for the beneficial holders, RAB American Opportunities Fund Ltd.
and RAB Special Situations (Master) Fund Limited with respect to 133,333 and
20,000,000 shares of common stock, respectively, being offered hereby.
|
|
|
|
(10)
|
|
Consists of shares of common stock issuable upon
conversion of Series A Preferred Stock and shares of common stock
issuable upon the exercise of warrants held by the selling stockholder which
were issued in connection with our October 2006- January 2007 private
placement.
|
18
(11)
|
|
Such selling stockholders have contractually agreed
to restrict their ability to convert their Series A Convertible Preferred
Stock or exercise certain of their warrants and receive shares of our common
stock such that the number of shares of common stock held by them in the
aggregate and their affiliates after such conversion or exercise does not
exceed 4.99% of the then issued and outstanding shares of common stock as
determined in accordance with Section 13(d) of the Exchange Act. In that
regard, the beneficial ownership of the common stock by the selling
stockholder set forth in the table is not determined in accordance with Rule
13d-3 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.
|
PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION
The selling stockholders, or their pledgees, donees,
transferees, or any of their successors in interest selling shares received
from a named selling stockholder as a gift, partnership distribution or other
non-sale-related transfer after the date of this prospectus (all of whom may be
selling stockholders) may sell the common stock offered by this prospectus from
time to time on any stock exchange or automated interdealer quotation system on
which the common stock is listed or quoted at the time of sale, in the
over-the-counter market, in privately negotiated transactions or otherwise, at
fixed prices that may be changed, at market prices prevailing at the time of
sale, at prices related to prevailing market prices or at prices otherwise
negotiated. The selling stockholders may sell the common stock by one or more
of the following methods, without limitation:
·
Block
trades in which the broker or dealer so engaged will attempt to sell the common
stock as agent but may position and resell a portion of the block as principal
to facilitate the transaction;
·
An
exchange distribution in accordance with the rules of any stock exchange on
which the common stock is listed;
·
Ordinary
brokerage transactions and transactions in which the broker solicits purchases;
·
Privately
negotiated transactions;
·
In
connection with short sales of company shares;
·
Through
the distribution of common stock by any selling stockholder to its partners,
members or stockholders;
·
By
pledge to secure debts of other obligations;
·
In
connection with the writing of non-traded and exchange-traded call options, in
hedge transactions and in settlement of other transactions in standardized or
over-the-counter options;
·
Purchases
by a broker-dealer as principal and resale by the broker-dealer for its
account; or
·
In
a combination of any of the above.
These transactions may include crosses, which are
transactions in which the same broker acts as an agent on both sides of the
trade. The selling stockholders may also transfer the common stock by gift. We
do not know of any arrangements by the selling stockholders for the sale of any
of the common stock.
The selling stockholders may engage brokers and
dealers, and any brokers or dealers may arrange for other brokers or dealers to
participate in effecting sales of the common stock. These brokers or dealers
may act as principals, or as an agent of a selling stockholder. Broker-dealers
may agree with a selling stockholder to sell a specified number of the stocks
at a stipulated price per share. If the broker-dealer is unable to sell common
stock acting as agent for a selling stockholder, it may purchase as principal
any unsold shares at the stipulated price. Broker-dealers who acquire common
stock as principals may thereafter resell the shares from time to time in
transactions in any stock exchange or automated interdealer quotation system on
which the common stock is then listed, at prices and on terms then prevailing
at the time of sale, at prices related to the then-current market price or in
negotiated transactions. Broker-dealers may use block transactions and sales to
and through broker-dealers, including transactions of the nature described
above. The selling stockholders may also sell the common stock in accordance
with Rule 144 or Rule 144A under the Securities Act, rather than pursuant to
this prospectus. In order to comply with the securities laws of some states, if
applicable, the shares of common stock may be sold in these jurisdictions only
through registered or licensed brokers or dealers.
Broker-dealers may receive commissions or discounts
from the selling stockholders (or, if any broker-dealer acts as agent for the
purchaser of shares, from the purchaser) in amounts to be negotiated, but,
except as set forth in a supplement to this prospectus, in the case of an
agency transaction not in excess of a customary brokerage commission in
compliance with NASDR Rule 2440; and in the case of a principal transaction a
markup or markdown in compliance with NASDR IM-2440.
From time to time, the selling stockholders may
pledge, hypothecate or grant a security interest in some or all of the shares
owned by them. The pledgees, secured parties or person to whom the shares have
been hypothecated will, upon foreclosure in the event of default, be deemed to
be
19
selling stockholders. The number of a selling
stockholders shares offered under this prospectus will decrease as and when it
takes such actions. The plan of distribution for that selling stockholders
shares will otherwise remain unchanged. In addition, a selling stockholder may,
from time to time, sell the shares short, and, in those instances, this
prospectus may be delivered in connection with the short sales and the shares
offered under this prospectus may be used to cover short sales.
To the extent required under the Securities Act, the
aggregate amount of selling stockholders shares being offered and the terms of
the offering, the names of any agents, brokers, dealers or underwriters, any
applicable commission and other material facts with respect to a particular
offer will be set forth in an accompanying prospectus supplement or a
post-effective amendment to the registration statement of which this prospectus
is a part, as appropriate. Any underwriters, dealers, brokers or agents
participating in the distribution of the common stock may receive compensation
in the form of underwriting discounts, concessions, commissions or fees from a
selling stockholder and/or purchasers of selling stockholders shares, for whom
they may act (which compensation as to a particular broker-dealer might be less
than or in excess of customary commissions). Neither we nor the selling
stockholders can presently estimate the amount of any such compensation.
The selling stockholders and any underwriters,
brokers, dealers or agents that participate in the distribution of the common
stock may be deemed to be underwriters within the meaning of the Securities
Act, and any discounts, concessions, commissions or fees received by them and
any profit on the resale of the securities sold by them may be deemed to be
underwriting discounts and commissions. If a selling stockholder is deemed to
be an underwriter, the selling stockholder may be subject to certain statutory
liabilities including, but not limited to Sections 11, 12 and 17 of the
Securities Act and Rule 10b-5 under the Exchange Act. Selling stockholders who
are deemed underwriters within the meaning of the Securities Act will be
subject to the prospectus delivery requirements of the Securities Act. The SEC
staff is of a view that selling stockholders who are registered broker-dealers
or affiliates of registered broker-dealers may be underwriters under the
Securities Act. We will not pay any compensation or give any discounts or
commissions to any underwriter in connection with the securities being offered
by this prospectus.
A selling stockholder may enter into hedging
transactions with broker-dealers and the broker-dealers may engage in short
sales of the common stock in the course of hedging the positions they assume
with that selling stockholder, including, without limitation, in connection with
distributions of the common stock by those broker-dealers. A selling
stockholder may enter into option or other transactions with broker-dealers,
who may then resell or otherwise transfer those common stock. A selling
stockholder may also loan or pledge the common stock offered hereby to a
broker-dealer and the broker-dealer may sell the common stock offered by this
prospectus so loaned or upon a default may sell or otherwise transfer the
pledged common stock offered by this prospectus.
The selling stockholders and other persons
participating in the sale or distribution of the common stock will be subject
to applicable provisions of the Exchange Act, and the rules and regulations
under the Exchange Act, including Regulation M. This regulation may limit the
timing of purchases and sales of any of the common stock by the selling
stockholders and any other person. The anti-manipulation rules under the
Exchange Act may apply to sales of common stock in the market and to the
activities of the selling stockholders and their respective affiliates.
Regulation M may restrict the ability of any person engaged in the distribution
of the common stock to engage in market-making activities with respect to the
particular common stock being distributed for a period of up to five business
days before the distribution. These restrictions may affect the marketability
of the common stock and the ability of any person or entity to engage in
market-making activities with respect to the common stock.
We have agreed to indemnify the selling stockholders
and any brokers, dealers and agents who may be deemed to be underwriters, if
any, of the common stock offered by this prospectus, against specified
liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. The selling
stockholders have agreed to indemnify us against specified liabilities.
We have agreed with the selling stockholders to keep
this registration statement effective until the earliest date on which (i) all
of the shares of common stock have been disposed of pursuant to the prospectus
and (ii) all of the shares of common stock are eligible for resale under Rule
144 under the Securities Act without restrictions as to volume.
We cannot assure you that the selling stockholders
will sell all or any portion of the common stock offered by this prospectus. In
addition, we cannot assure you that the selling stockholders will not transfer
the shares of our common stock by other means not described in this prospectus.
LEGAL MATTERS
The validity of the common stock will be passed upon
by Sichenzia Ross Friedman Ference LLP, New York, New York. Sichenzia Ross
Friedman Ference LLP owns an aggregate of 12,000 shares of our common stock.
EXPERTS
The financial statements incorporated by reference in
this prospectus have been audited by BDO Seidman, LLP, an independent
registered public accounting firm, to the extent and for the periods set forth
in their report which contains an explanatory paragraph regarding our ability
to continue as a going concern, is incorporated herein by reference, and are
incorporated herein in reliance upon such report given upon the authority of
said firm as experts in auditing and accounting.
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