EXPLANATORY NOTE
This Schedule 13D is filed (i) by OPKO Health Inc. (
OPKO
) and (ii) to amend and restate the Schedule 13D (the
Original 13D
) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the
SEC
) by Phillip Frost, M.D., and Frost Gamma Investments Trust (
FGIT
) on August 29, 2005, and amended on
November 9, 2006, May 12, 2008, February 10, 2009, March 7, 2012, January 11, 2019 and April 24, 2019.
On
September 7, 2018, the SEC filed a civil complaint in the Southern District of New York (the
Complaint
), against a number of individuals and entities, including OPKO and its CEO and Chairman, Dr. Frost.
In December 2018, OPKO, Dr. Frost and FGIT entered into settlements with the SEC, which, upon approval by the court in January 2019,
resolved the claims against OPKO, Dr. Frost and FGIT. Pursuant to the settlement between OPKO and the SEC, and without admitting or denying any of the allegations of the Complaint, OPKO agreed to be enjoined from future violations of
Section 13(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the
Exchange Act
), a claim that requires no showing of scienter, and to pay a civil monetary penalty, which has been paid. OPKO also agreed, within certain stipulated time
periods, to: (i) establish a Management Investment Committee (
MIC
) that will make recommendations to an Independent Investment Committee (
IIC
) of OPKOs board of directors in connection with existing
and future strategic minority investments; and (ii) retain an Independent Compliance Consultant (
ICC
) on a time-limited basis to, among other things, advise OPKO on whether filings pursuant to Section 13(d) of the
Exchange Act for previous strategic minority investments made at the suggestion of or in tandem with Dr. Frost and his related persons or entities should be made or amended to reflect group membership with Dr. Frost.
Under the terms of the settlement between the SEC, Dr. Frost and FGIT, and without admitting or denying any of the allegations in the
Complaint, Dr. Frost agreed to injunctions from violations of Sections 5(a) and (c) and 17(a)(2) of the Securities Act of 1933, claims which may be satisfied by strict liability and negligence, respectively, and Section 13(d) of the
Exchange Act, also a strict liability claim; to pay a civil monetary penalty, disgorgement and
pre-judgment
interest, which have been paid; and to be prohibited, with certain exceptions, from trading in penny
stocks.
The ICC has concluded his work. The ICC determined that certain prior investments by OPKO and Dr. Frost with respect to
other issuers should have been grouped under Section 13(d) of the Exchange Act and that amended filings under Section 13(d) of the Exchange Act should be made. OPKO and Dr. Frost made the recommended filings on May 9, 2019. The
ICC did not recommend any additional filings in connection with the Issuer. However, because of the relationship between Dr. Frost and OPKO, the Reporting Persons have elected to make such filings with respect to certain additional issuers,
including the Issuer.
OPKO has now established the MIC and IIC, and following the establishment of these committees, any group between
OPKO and Dr. Frost with respect to investments in the Issuer has ceased to exist.