Unassociated Document
UNITED
STATES
SECURITIES
AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON,
D.C. 20549
________________________________
FORM
10-QSB
(MARK
ONE)
x
QUARTERLY REPORT UNDER
SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE
ACT OF 1934
For
the
quarterly period ended June 30, 2006
o
TRANSITION REPORT UNDER
SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE EXCHANGE
ACT
For
the
transition period from ___________ to __________
Commission
file number: 000-32603
------------------------
ARBIOS
SYSTEMS, INC.
(Exact
name of small business issuer as specified in its charter)
Delaware
|
91-1955323
|
(State
or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)
|
(IRS
Employer Identification No.)
|
8797
Beverly Blvd., #304, Los Angeles, California
|
90048
|
(Address
of principal executive offices)
|
(Zip
Code)
|
(310)
657-4898
(Issuer's
telephone number)
Check
whether the issuer (1) filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13
or
15(d) of the Exchange Act during the past 12 months (or for such shorter period
that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject
to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes x
No
o.
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule
12b-2 of the Exchange Act) Yes o No x
On
August
11, 2006, there were 17,460,181 shares of common stock, $.001 par value per
share, issued and outstanding.
Transitional
Small Business Disclosure Format (Check one): Yes o No x
ARBIOS
SYSTEMS, INC.
FORM
10-QSB
|
|
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|
PAGE
NO.
|
PART I. FINANCIAL
INFORMATION |
|
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Item 1. |
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Financial Statements: |
|
|
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|
|
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Condensed Balance Sheets as of June
30, 2006
(unaudited) and December
31, 2005 (audited) |
|
3 |
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|
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Condensed Statements of Operations for
the
three months and six months ended June
30, 2006 and 2005 and from inception to June 30, 2006
(unaudited) |
|
4 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
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Condensed Statements of Cash Flows for
the
six months ended June
30, 2006 and 2005 and from inception to June 30, 2006
(unaudited) |
|
5 |
|
|
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|
|
|
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Notes to Financial Statements |
|
6 |
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Item 2. |
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Management's
Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and
Results of Operations
|
|
10 |
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Item 3. |
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Controls
and Procedures
|
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23 |
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PART
II. OTHER INFORMATION
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Item 1. |
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Legal Proceedings |
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23 |
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Item 2. |
|
Unregistered Sale of Equity Securities
and
Use of Proceeds |
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23 |
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Item 3. |
|
Defaults Upon Senior
Securities |
|
23 |
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Item 4. |
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Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security
Holders |
|
24 |
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Item 5. |
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Other Information |
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24 |
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Item 6. |
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Exhibits |
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24 |
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SIGNATURES |
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25 |
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PART
I - FINANCIAL INFORMATION
ITEM
1. Financial Statements
ARBIOS
SYSTEMS, INC.
|
(A
development stage company)
|
CONDENSED
BALANCE SHEETS
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
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|
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ASSETS
|
|
June
30, 2006
|
|
December
31, 2005
|
|
|
|
(Unaudited)
|
|
(Audited)
|
|
Current
assets
|
|
|
|
|
|
Cash
and cash equivalents
|
|
$
|
775,327
|
|
$
|
2,379,738
|
|
Short
term investments
|
|
|
2,977,200
|
|
$
|
1,996,000
|
|
Prepaid
expenses
|
|
|
118,963
|
|
|
195,841
|
|
Total
current assets
|
|
|
3,871,490
|
|
|
4,571,579
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
property and equipment
|
|
|
90,010
|
|
|
101,629
|
|
Patent
rights, net of accumulated amortization of $103,655 and $93,418,
respectively
|
|
|
163,012
|
|
|
173,249
|
|
Other
assets
|
|
|
45,786
|
|
|
55,773
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total
assets
|
|
$
|
4,170,298
|
|
$
|
4,902,230
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
LIABILITIES
AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Current
liabilities
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Accounts
payable
|
|
$
|
51,817
|
|
$
|
160,649
|
|
Accrued
expenses
|
|
|
82,848
|
|
|
152,362
|
|
Total
current liabilities
|
|
|
134,665
|
|
|
313,011
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Accrued
warrant liability
|
|
|
407,717
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
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Stockholders'
equity
|
|
|
|
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Preferred
stock, $.001 par value; 5,000,000 shares authorized:
|
|
|
|
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|
|
|
none
issued and outstanding
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Common
stock, $.001 par value; 60,000,000 shares authorized; 17,460,181
and
16,232,909
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
shares
issued and outstanding at June 30, 2006 and December 31, 2005
respectively
|
|
|
17,460
|
|
|
16,233
|
|
Additional
paid-in capital
|
|
|
14,296,357
|
|
|
13,352,217
|
|
Deficit
accumulated during the development stage
|
|
|
(10,685,901
|
)
|
|
(8,779,231
|
)
|
Total
stockholders' equity
|
|
|
3,627,916
|
|
|
4,589,219
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total
liabilities and stockholders' equity
|
|
$
|
4,170,298
|
|
$
|
4,902,230
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The
accompanying notes are an integral part of these condensed financial
statements.
|
ARBIOS
SYSTEMS, INC.
|
|
(A
development stage company)
|
|
CONDENSED
STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
|
|
(Unaudited)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
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For
the three months ended June 30,
|
|
For
the six months ended June 30,
|
|
Inception
to
|
|
|
|
2006
|
|
2005
|
|
2006
|
|
2005
|
|
June
30, 2006
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
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Revenues
|
|
$
|
-
|
|
$
|
-
|
|
$
|
-
|
|
$
|
-
|
|
$
|
320,966
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Operating
expenses:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
General
and administrative
|
|
|
712,350
|
|
|
465,583
|
|
|
1,456,414
|
|
|
1,340,047
|
|
|
6,463,329
|
|
Research
and development
|
|
|
445,363
|
|
|
360,700
|
|
|
811,553
|
|
|
619,195
|
|
|
4,802,115
|
|
Total
operating expenses
|
|
|
1,157,713
|
|
|
826,283
|
|
|
2,267,967
|
|
|
1,959,242
|
|
|
11,265,444
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Loss
before other income (expense)
|
|
|
(1,157,713
|
)
|
|
(826,283
|
)
|
|
(2,267,967
|
)
|
|
(1,959,242
|
)
|
|
(10,944,478
|
)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Other
income (expense):
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Change
in fair value of warrant liability
|
|
|
273,124
|
|
|
|
|
|
273,124
|
|
|
|
|
|
273,124
|
|
Interest
income
|
|
|
47,387
|
|
|
28,858
|
|
|
88,173
|
|
|
39,417
|
|
|
229,591
|
|
Interest
expense
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
(43
|
)
|
|
-
|
|
|
(129
|
)
|
|
(244,138
|
)
|
Total
other income (expense)
|
|
|
320,511
|
|
|
28,815
|
|
|
361,297
|
|
|
39,288
|
|
|
258,577
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
loss
|
|
$
|
(837,202
|
)
|
$
|
(797,468
|
)
|
$
|
(1,906,670
|
)
|
$
|
(1,919,954
|
)
|
$
|
(10,685,901
|
)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
loss per share:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Basic
and diluted
|
|
$
|
(0.05
|
)
|
$
|
(0.05
|
)
|
$
|
(0.11
|
)
|
$
|
(0.12
|
)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Weighted-average
shares:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Basic
and diluted
|
|
|
17,460,181
|
|
|
16,232,909
|
|
|
17,026,228
|
|
|
16,040,865
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The
accompanying notes are an integral part of these condensed financial
statements.
|
ARBIOS
SYSTEMS, INC.
|
(A
development stage company)
|
CONDENSED
STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
|
(Unaudited)
|
|
|
For
the six months ended June 30,
|
|
Inception
to
|
|
|
|
2006
|
|
2005
|
|
June
30, 2006
|
|
Cash
flows from operating activities:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
loss
|
|
$
|
(1,906,670
|
)
|
$
|
(1,919,954
|
)
|
$
|
(10,685,901
|
)
|
Adjustments
to reconcile net loss to net cash
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
used
in operating activities:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Amortization
of debt discount
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
244,795
|
|
Depreciation
and amortization
|
|
|
25,304
|
|
|
29,388
|
|
|
225,081
|
|
Change
in fair value of warrant liability
|
|
|
(273,124
|
)
|
|
|
|
|
(273,124
|
)
|
Patent
rights impairment
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
91,694
|
|
Interest
earned on discounted short term investments
|
|
|
(2,568
|
)
|
|
(20,348
|
)
|
|
(11,220
|
)
|
Issuance
of common stock, options & warrants for compensation
|
|
|
366,139
|
|
|
474,231
|
|
|
1,979,270
|
|
Settlement
of accrued expense
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
54,401
|
|
Deferred
compensation costs
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
319,553
|
|
Changes
in operating assets and liabilities:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Prepaid
expenses
|
|
|
76,878
|
|
|
17,186
|
|
|
(118,965
|
)
|
Other
assets
|
|
|
9,987
|
|
|
(3,275
|
)
|
|
(45,786
|
)
|
Accounts
payable and accrued expenses
|
|
|
(178,346
|
)
|
|
(18,832
|
)
|
|
41,163
|
|
Other
liabilities
|
|
|
|
|
|
64,656
|
|
|
64,695
|
|
Contract
obligation
|
|
|
|
|
|
(250,000
|
)
|
|
-
|
|
Net
cash used in operating activities
|
|
|
(1,882,400
|
)
|
|
(1,626,948
|
)
|
|
(8,114,344
|
)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Cash
flows from investing activities:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Additions
of property and equipment
|
|
|
(3,447
|
)
|
|
(7,715
|
)
|
|
(144,796
|
)
|
Purchase
of short term investments
|
|
|
(8,920,633
|
)
|
|
(4,997,303
|
)
|
|
(17,898,347
|
)
|
Maturities
of short term investments
|
|
|
7,942,000
|
|
|
|
|
|
14,932,366
|
|
Net
cash used in investing activities
|
|
|
(982,080
|
)
|
|
(5,005,018
|
)
|
|
(3,110,777
|
)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Cash
flows from financing activities:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Proceeds
from issuance of convertible debt
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
400,000
|
|
Proceeds
from common stock option/warrant exercise
|
|
|
|
|
|
62,500
|
|
|
65,200
|
|
Net
proceeds from issuance of common stock and warrants
|
|
|
1,260,069
|
|
|
6,227,594
|
|
|
11,318,331
|
|
Net
proceeds from issuance of preferred stock
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
238,732
|
|
Payments
on capital lease obligation, net
|
|
|
|
|
|
(4,565
|
)
|
|
(21,815
|
)
|
Net
cash provided by financing activities
|
|
|
1,260,069
|
|
|
6,285,529
|
|
|
12,000,448
|
|
Net
(decrease) increase in cash
|
|
|
(1,604,411
|
)
|
|
(346,437
|
)
|
|
775,327
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Cash
at beginning of period
|
|
|
2,379,738
|
|
|
1,501,905
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Cash
at end of period
|
|
$
|
775,327
|
|
$
|
1,155,468
|
|
$
|
775,327
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Supplemental
disclosures of non-cash financing activity
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Issuance
of securities for obligation related to finder's fees
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
$
|
47,500
|
|
Accrued
warrant liability
|
|
$
|
407,717
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The
accompanying notes are an integral part of these condensed financial
statements.
|
Arbios
Systems, Inc. (A Development Stage Company)
Notes
to Financial Statements (Unaudited)
Six
Months Ended June 30, 2006
(1)
Basis of Presentation:
Arbios
Systems, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), seeks to develop,
manufacture and market liver assist devices to meet the urgent need for therapy
of liver failure. On July 25, 2005, Arbios Systems, Inc. changed its state
of
incorporation from Nevada to Delaware. On July 26, 2005, Arbios Technologies,
Inc., the wholly-owned subsidiary of Arbios Systems, Inc., merged with and
into
Arbios Systems, Inc. Unless the context indicates otherwise, references herein
to the “Company” during periods prior to July 26, 2005 include both Arbios
Systems, Inc., a Nevada corporation and Arbios Technologies, Inc.
On
October 30, 2003, Historical Autographs U.S.A., Inc. and Arbios Technologies,
Inc. consummated a reverse merger, in which Arbios Technologies, Inc. became
the
wholly owned subsidiary of Historical Autographs U.S.A., Inc. Concurrently
with
the merger, Historical Autographs U.S.A., Inc. changed its named to Arbios
Systems, Inc. and is herein referred to as ”Arbios Systems”. The stockholders of
Arbios Technologies, Inc. transferred ownership of one hundred percent of all
the issued and outstanding shares of their capital stock of Arbios Technologies,
Inc. in exchange for 11,930,598 newly issued shares, or approximately 91%,
of
the common stock, $.001 par value, of Arbios Systems. At that time, the former
management of Arbios Systems resigned and was replaced by the same persons
who
served as officers and directors of Arbios Technologies, Inc. The former owners
of Arbios Technologies, Inc. controlled the combined entity after the merger,
and the combination was accounted for as a purchase by Arbios Technologies,
Inc.
as the acquirer, for accounting purposes in accordance with Statement of
Financial Accounting Standards No. 141 using reverse merger accounting, and
no
adjustments to the carrying values of the assets or liabilities of the acquired
entity were required. Pro forma operating results, as if the acquisition had
taken place at the beginning of the period, have not been presented as the
operations of the acquiree were negligible. The financial position and results
of operations of Arbios Systems is included in the condensed statements of
the
Company from the date of acquisition.
The
unaudited condensed financial statements and notes are presented as permitted
by
Form 10-QSB. These unaudited condensed financial statements have been prepared
by the Company pursuant to the rules and regulations of the Securities and
Exchange Commission (the "SEC"). Certain information and footnote
disclosures,
normally included in financial statements prepared in accordance with generally
accepted accounting principles, have been omitted pursuant to such SEC rules
and
regulations. In the opinion of the management of the Company, the accompanying
unaudited condensed financial statements include all adjustments, including
those that are normal and recurring considered necessary to present fairly
the
financial position as of June 30, 2006, and the results of operations for the
period presented. These condensed financial statements should be read in
conjunction with the Company's audited financial statements and the accompanying
notes included in the Company's Form 10-KSB for the year ended December 31,
2005
filed with the SEC. The Company’s operating results will fluctuate for the
foreseeable future. Therefore, period-to-period comparisons should not be relied
upon as predictive of the results in future periods. The results of operations
for the period ended June 30, 2006 are not necessarily indicative of the results
to be expected for any subsequent periods or for the entire fiscal year.
(2)
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
In
July
2006, the FASB issued FASB Interpretation Number 48, Accounting
for Uncertainty in Income Taxes, an Interpretation of FASB Statement
No. 109,
(“FIN48”). FIN 48 prescribes a recognition threshold and measurement attribute
for the financial statement recognition and measurement of a tax position taken
in a tax return. The Company must determine whether it is “more-likely-than-not”
that a tax position will be sustained upon examination, including resolution
of
any related appeals or litigation processes, based on the technical merits
of
the position. Once it is determined that a position meets the
more-likely-than-not recognition threshold, the position is measured to
determine the amount of benefit to recognize in the financial statements. FIN
48
applies to all tax positions related to income taxes subject to FASB Statement
No. 109, Accounting
for Income Taxes. The
interpretation clearly scopes out income tax positions related to FASB Statement
No. 5, Accounting
for Contingencies.
We are
currently evaluating the impact of adopting FIN 48 on our financial statements.
We do not anticipate that the adoption of this statement will have a material
effect on our financial position or results of operations.
(3)
Short Term Investments
Short-term
investments generally mature between three and twelve months. Short term
investments consist of U.S. Government Agency Notes purchased at a discount
with
interest accruing to the notes full value at maturity. All of the
Company’s short-term investments are classified as available-for-sale and are
carried at fair market value which approximates cost plus accrued interest.
(4)
Stock-Based Compensation:
In
2001,
Arbios Systems, Inc. adopted the 2001 Stock Option Plan (the “2001 Plan”) for
the purpose of granting incentive stock options and/or non-statutory stock
options to employees, consultants, directors and others. Under the 2001 Plan,
the Company is authorized to grant options to purchase up to 1,000,000 shares.
The 2001 Plan is administered by the Board of Directors of the Company or by
a
committee of the Board. However, in connection with the reorganization
transaction between Arbios Systems and Arbios Technologies, Inc. in October
2003, Arbios Systems assumed all of the 314,000 outstanding options granted
by
Arbios Technologies, Inc. under its existing stock option plan and the options
previously issued under the Arbios Technologies, Inc. plan were cancelled.
None
of the terms of the assumed options were changed. The options assumed under
the
Company Plan are identical to the options that were previously granted under
the
Arbios Technologies, Inc. Plan.
In
2005,
Arbios Systems, Inc. adopted the 2005 Stock Incentive Plan (the “2005 Plan”) for
the purpose of granting incentive stock options and/or non-statutory stock
options to employees, consultants, directors and others. Under the 2005 Plan,
the Company is authorized to grant options to purchase up to 3,000,000 shares.
The Company Plan is administered by the Board of Directors of the Company or
by
a committee of the Board.
Commencing
January 1, 2006 the Company adopted Statement of Financial Accounting Standard
(“SFAS”) No. 123R, “Share Based Payment (“SFAS 123R”), which requires all
share-based payments, including grants of stock options, to be recognized in
the
income statement as an operating expense, based on fair values.
Prior
to
adopting SFAS 123R, the Company accounted for stock-based employee compensation
under Accounting Principles Board Opinion No. 25, “Accounting for Stock Issued
to Employees,” as allowed by SFAS No. 123, “Accounting for Stock-Based
Compensation” (“SFAS 123”). The Company has applied the modified prospective
method in adopting SFAS 123R. Accordingly, periods prior to adoption have not
been restated.
The
following table illustrates the effect on net income and earnings per share
if
the fair value method had been applied to the prior period.
|
|
Three
months
ended
|
|
Six
months
ended
|
|
|
|
June
30, 2005
|
|
June
30, 2005
|
|
Net
loss as reported
|
|
$
|
(797,468
|
)
|
$
|
(1,919,954
|
)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Compensation
recognized under:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
APB
25
|
|
|
4,375
|
|
|
4,375
|
|
SFAS
123
|
|
|
(273,112
|
)
|
|
(503,773
|
)
|
Pro
forma net loss
|
|
$
|
(1,066,205
|
)
|
$
|
(2,419,352
|
)
|
Basic
and diluted loss per common share:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
As
reported
|
|
$
|
(0.05
|
)
|
$
|
(0.12
|
)
|
Pro
forma
|
|
$
|
(0.07
|
)
|
$
|
(0.15
|
)
|
Under
SFAS 123R, forfeitures are estimated at the time of valuation and reduce expense
ratably over the vesting period. This estimate is adjusted periodically based
on
the extent to which actual forfeitures differ, or are expected to differ, from
the previous estimate. The Company utilized a 5% forfeiture rate based upon
historical forfeitures. Under SFAS 123 and APB 25, the Company elected to
account for forfeitures when awards were actually forfeited, at which time
all
previous pro forma expense was reversed to a reduced pro forma expense for
the
period in which the forfeiture occurred.
As
of
June 30, 2006, there was $482,000 of total unrecognized compensation cost
related to nonvested share-based compensation arrangements granted under
existing stock option plans. This cost is expected to be recognized over a
weighted average period of 1.1 years. The total measurement fair value of shares
vested and unvested during the six months ended June 30, 2006 was $366,000,
of
which $330,000 is attributed to employee options.
The
fair
value of options granted to employees was estimated using the Black Scholes
option-pricing model. These same assumptions are also used in applying the
Black
Scholes option-pricing model for any stock based option and warrant compensation
paid to non-employees. The fair value of options at the date of grant and the
assumptions utilized are indicated in the following table:
|
Six
Months Ended
June
30 ,
|
|
2006
|
2005
|
Weighted
average of fair value at date of grant for
options
granted during the period
|
$1.15
|
$1.44
|
|
|
|
Risk-free
interest rates
|
4.35%
- 5.07%
|
3.71%
- 4.17%
|
Expected
option life in years
|
7
|
5-7
|
Expected
stock price volatility
|
.71
- .72
|
.81
- .83
|
Expected
dividend yield
|
-
|
-
|
The
following summarizes the activity of the Company’s stock options for the six
months ended June 30, 2006.
|
|
Shares
|
|
Weighted
Average
Exercise
Price
|
|
Weighted
Average
Remaining
Contractual
Term
|
|
Aggregate
Intrinsic
Value
|
|
Outstanding
at December 31, 2005
|
|
|
1,887,000
|
|
$
|
1.93
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Granted
|
|
|
210,000
|
|
|
1.65 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Exercised
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Canceled
or expired
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Outstanding
at June 30, 2006
|
|
|
2,097,000
|
|
$
|
1.90
|
|
|
4.56
|
|
$
|
40,500
|
|
Exercisable
at June 30, 2006
|
|
|
1,482,000
|
|
$
|
1.93
|
|
|
4.52
|
|
$
|
40,500
|
|
The
following summarizes the activity of the Company’s non-vested stock options for
the six months ended June 30, 2006.
|
|
Shares
|
|
Weighted
Average
Fair
Value
|
|
Non
vested at December 31, 2005
|
|
|
668,000
|
|
$
|
1.89
|
|
|
Granted
|
|
|
210,000
|
|
|
1.65 |
|
|
Vested
|
|
|
(263,000 |
) |
|
1.88 |
|
|
Non
vested at June 30, 2006
|
|
|
615,000
|
|
$
|
1.81
|
|
|
(5)
Accrued Warrant
Liability
In
accordance with “EITF 00-19: Accounting for Derivative Financial Instruments
Indexed to, and Potentially Settled in, a Company’s Own Stock” (“EITF 00-19”)
and other authoritative literature, it was determined that the warrants issued
in the January 2005 and March 2006 private placements and the related
registration rights agreements, discussed below, are free standing derivative
financial instruments as defined in EITF 00-19. In accordance with EITF 00-19,
the value and balance sheet classification of the warrants are reviewed each
reporting period and, while the warrants are classified as a liability, any
changes in the value of the warrants on a re-measurement date will be recorded
in the statement of operations.
On
March
6, 2006, the Company completed a $1,350,000 private equity financing to a group
of institutional investors and an accredited investor. In the offering, the
Company sold 1,227,272 shares of its common stock at a price of $1.10 per share
to the investors and issued to them warrants to purchase an additional 613,634
shares of its common stock at an exercise price of $1.50 per share. The Company
also entered into a Registration Rights Agreement with the investors in the
March 2006 private placement pursuant to which the Company agreed to register
and to maintain an effective registration statement for the shares of common
stock issued in the private placement and for the common stock to be issued
upon
the exercise of warrants issued in the transaction. The Registration Rights
Agreement provides for liquidated damages of 1.5% of the aggregate purchase
price for each 30 day period, with a maximum of eight 30 day periods (12%
maximum liquidating damages), if the Company fails to maintain the effectiveness
of such registration statement. As of the date the warrants were issued and
as
of June 30, 2006, the Company determined that settlement in unregistered shares
was an economic settlement alternative to delivering unregistered shares and
consequently recorded the fair value of the warrants as equity.
In
January 2005, the Company completed a $6,611,905 private equity financing to
a
group of institutional investors and accredited investors. In the offering,
2,991,812 shares of the Company’s common stock were sold, at a price of $2.21
per share and the investors also received 5-year warrants to purchase an
additional 1,495,906 shares of our common stock at an exercise price of $2.90
per share. The placement agent received 5-year warrants to purchase 114,404
shares of the Company’s common stock in addition to cash compensation of
$253,000 plus expenses. As a result of the Company’s March 6, 2006 private
equity financing discussed below, an anti-dilution provision from the January
2005 private equity financing was triggered which resulted in an additional
94,033 warrant shares being issuable to warrant holders from the January 2005
private equity financing. Additionally, the exercise price was adjusted to
$2.74
per share. The warrants are exercisable for five years from the date of issuance
and can be redeemed by the Company after January 11, 2007 if the average trading
price of the Company’s common stock for 20 consecutive trading days is equal to
or greater than $5.80 and the average trading volume of the common stock is
at
least 100,000 shares during those 20 days.
The
registration rights agreement associated with the
January
2005 private placement mentioned provides for liquidated damages of 1.5% of
the
aggregate purchase price for each 30 day period for a maximum of eight 30 day
periods, capped at 12%, if the Company failed to register such shares, or fails
to warrant shares or maintain the effectiveness of such registration. As of
the
date the warrants were issued and for each subsequent reporting period through
December 31, 2005, the Company determined that settlement in unregistered shares
was an economic settlement alternative to delivering unregistered shares and
consequently recorded the fair value of the warrants as equity. However, as
of
March 31, 2006, due primarily to a reduction in the fair market value of the
Company’s common stock share price, the potential liquidated damages exceeded
the fair value of the warrants thereby making the settlement alternative
uneconomic, and the warrants were reclassified from equity to accrued warrant
liability, based on the fair value of the warrants on March 31, 2006. The
warrants were valued using the Black Scholes option-pricing model utilizing
the
same assumptions used to value the Company’s common stock options outstanding.
As of June 30, 2006, the potential liquidated damages continues to exceed a
reasonable discount between the fair value of the registered and unregistered
shares, thereby making net share settlement an uneconomic alternative. Due
to a
decline in the market value of the Company’s common stock, the accrued warrant
liability has been reduced by $273,124 based on the change in the fair value
of
the warrant liability.
(6)
Contract Commitment
None.
ITEM
2. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results
of
Operations
SAFE
HARBOR STATEMENT
In
addition to historical information, the information included in this Form 10-QSB
contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the
Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the ''Securities Act''), and Section 21E
of
the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the ''Exchange Act''), such
as
those pertaining to our capital resources, our ability to complete the research
and development of our products, and our ability to obtain regulatory approval
for our products. Forward-looking statements involve numerous risks and
uncertainties and should not be relied upon as predictions of future events.
Certain such forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of
forward-looking terminology such as ''believes,'' ''expects,'' ''may,''
''will,'' ''should,'' ''seeks,'' ''approximately,” ''intends,'' ''plans,'' ''pro
forma,'' ''estimates,'' or ''anticipates'' or other variations thereof or
comparable terminology, or by discussions of strategy, plans or intentions.
Such
forward-looking statements are necessarily dependent on assumptions, data or
methods that may be incorrect or imprecise and may be incapable of being
realized. The following factors, among others, could cause actual results and
future events to differ materially from those set forth or contemplated in
the
forward-looking statements: need for a significant amount of additional capital,
lack of revenue, uncertainty of product development, ability to obtain
regulatory approvals in the United States and other countries, and competition.
Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements,
which reflect our management's analysis only. We assume no obligation to update
forward-looking statements.
Overview
To
date,
we have been principally engaged in research and development of our products,
management of clinical trials, raising capital, and recruitment of additional
scientific and management personnel and advisors. We have not marketed or sold
any products and have not generated any revenues from commercial activities;
however, from inception we have recorded revenues of approximately $321,000
of
Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grants that have been awarded by
the
United States Small Business Administration.
Our
current plan of operations for the next 12 months primarily involves research
and development activities, including clinical trials for the SEPET™ liver
assist device, and the preparation and submission of applications to the FDA.
We
submitted an investigational device exemption, or IDE, application for SEPET™ in
March 2005 and commenced clinical studies for SEPET™ in the third quarter of
2005. We also intend to reactivate work on the HepatAssistTM
cell-based liver support system by modifying the FDA-reviewed Phase III IND
protocol. Because the anticipated cost of conducting clinical studies for the
HepatAssist™ cell-based liver support system exceeds our current financial
resources, we will not, however, be able to commence clinical studies for the
HepatAssist™ cell-based liver support system until we raise additional capital.
The actual amounts we may expend on research and development and related
activities during the next 12 months may vary significantly depending on
numerous factors, including the results of our clinical studies and the timing
and cost of regulatory submissions. However, based on our current estimates,
we
believe that we have sufficient financial resources to conduct our planned
operations for at least the next 12-month period following the date of this
Quarterly Report. We will, however, have to obtain significant additional funds
during that period. We do not expect to make any significant purchases or sales
of plant or equipment during the next twelve months, nor do we expect to hire
a
significant number of employees during that period unless additional funds
are
raised.
Our
research offices and laboratories are located at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center,
Los Angeles, California. In April 2005, we leased an additional 1,680 square
foot facility in Woodstock, Connecticut to be used for swine housing and tissue
procurement. We maintain our administrative offices in Los Angeles, California
and Waltham, Massachusetts.
Critical
Accounting Policies
Management’s
discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations
are
based on our unaudited condensed financial statements, which have been prepared
in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United
States. The preparation of these condensed financial statements requires
management to make estimates and judgments that affect the reported amounts
of
assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses, and related disclosure of contingent
assets and liabilities. On an ongoing basis, management evaluates its estimates,
including those related to revenue recognition, impairment of long-lived assets
and their useful lives, including finite lived intangible costs, accrued
liabilities and certain expenses. We base our estimates on historical experience
and on various other assumptions that we believe to be reasonable under the
circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about
the carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent
from
other sources. Actual results may differ materially from these estimates under
different assumptions or conditions.
Our
significant accounting policies are summarized in Note 1 to our audited
condensed financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2005. We believe
the following critical accounting policies affect our more significant judgments
and estimates used in the preparation of our unaudited condensed financial
statements:
Development
Stage Enterprise
We
are a
development stage enterprise as defined by the Financial Accounting Standards
Board's ("FASB") SFAS No. 7, "Accounting and Reporting by Development Stage
Enterprises." We are devoting substantially all of our present efforts to
research and development. All losses accumulated since inception have been
considered as part of our development stage activities.
Short
Term Investments
Short-term
investments generally mature between three and twelve months. Short term
investments consist of U.S. government agency notes purchased at a discount
with
interest accruing to the notes full value at maturity. All of our
short-term investments are classified as available-for-sale and are carried
at
fair market value which approximates cost plus accrued interest.
Patents
In
accordance with FASB No. 2, the costs of intangibles that are purchased from
others for use in research and development activities and that have alternative
future uses are capitalized and amortized. We capitalize certain patent rights
that are believed to have future economic benefit. The licensed capitalized
patents costs were recorded based on the estimated value of the equity security
issued by us to the licensor. The value ascribed to the equity security took
into account, among other factors, our stage of development and the value of
other companies developing extracorporeal bioartificial liver assist devices.
These patent rights are amortized using the straight-line method over the
remaining life of the patent. Certain patent rights received in conjunction
with
purchased research and development costs have been expensed. Legal costs
incurred in obtaining, recording and defending patents are expensed as
incurred.
Stock-Based
Compensation
Commencing
January 1, 2006 we adopted Statement of Financial Accounting Standard No. 123R,
“Share Based Payment (“SFAS 123R”), which requires all share based payments,
including grants of stock options, to be recognized in the income statement
as
an operating expense, based on fair values.
Prior
to
adopting SFAS 123R, we accounted for stock-based employee compensation under
Accounting Principles Board Opinion No. 25, “Accounting for Stock Issued to
Employees,” as allowed by SFAS No. 123, “Accounting for Stock-Based
Compensation.” We have applied the modified prospective method in adopting SFAS
123R. Accordingly, periods prior to adoption have not been
restated.
Results
of Operations
Since
we
are still developing our products and do not have any products available for
sale, we have not yet generated any revenue from sales. Inception to date
revenue represents revenue recognized from a government research
grant.
General
and administrative expenses of $712,000 and $466,000 were incurred for the
three
months ended June 30, 2006 and 2005, respectively. General and administrative
expenses of $1,456,000 and $1,340,000 were incurred for the six months ended
June 30, 2006 and 2005, respectively. General and administrative expenses for
the three months ended June 30, 2006 increased by $246,000 over the prior year
level. The increase is primarily attributed to a $133,000 increase in non-cash
option and warrant charges, and increases in payroll expenses and various
administrative expenses, including investor relations, board of director fees,
employee travel, patent costs, consultant expenses, rent, insurance and other
administrative costs. General and administrative expenses for the six months
ended June 30, 2006 increased by $116,000 over the prior year level. The
increase is primarily attributed to increases in payroll costs, board of
director fees, travel costs, investor relations fees, insurance and other
administrative expense increases offset, in part, by a decline in non-cash
option and warrant charges. The increases in payroll costs and other
administrative expenses are a result of the increasing number of employees
that
were employed.
Research
and development expenses of $445,000 and $361,000 were incurred for the three
months ended June 30, 2006 and 2005, respectively. Research and development
expenses of $812,000 and $619,000 were incurred for the six months ended June
30, 2006 and 2005, respectively. The research and development expenses for
the
three months ended June 30, 2006 increased by $84,000 over the comparable prior
year’s levels primarily as a result of increased payroll costs, costs related to
the SEPET™ clinical trial costs, and consultant fees. These costs are offset in
part by a decline in non-recurring employee loan-out costs of $70,000 from
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. The staffing increases include hiring a Vice
President of Operations and increased staff which replaced employee loan-out
costs from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. Consulting costs include outside
services for manufacturing, regulatory, and clinical trial coordinators.
The
change in fair value of warrant liability of $273,000 reflects the decline
in
the warrant liability based upon the Black Scholes valuation model. The decline
is primarily due to a decline in the value of the Company’s common
stock.
Interest
income of $47,000 and $29,000 was earned for the three months ended June 30,
2006 and 2005, respectively. Interest income of $88,000 and $39,000 was earned
for the six months ended June 30, 2006 and 2005, respectively. The increase
in
interest income primarily reflects increase in short term interest rates over
prior year levels and the investment of available funds in short term
investments.
Our
net
loss was $837,000 and $797,000 for the three months ended June 30, 2006 and
2005, respectively. Our net loss was $1,907,000 and $1,920,000 for the six
months ended June 30, 2006 and 2005, respectively. The decrease in net loss
for
the three and six month periods ended June 30, 2006 compared to the comparable
period in 2005 is attributable to increases in both general and administrative
expenses and research and development expenses, offset by the non-cash change
in
fair value of warrant liability and the increase in interest income.
Liquidity
and Capital Resources
As
of
June 30, 2006, we had cash of $775,000, short term investments of $2,977,000
and
$135,000 of total liabilities. We do not have any bank credit lines. To date,
we
have funded our operations primarily from the sale of debt and equity securities
and to a lesser extent, SBIR government grants.
On
March
6, 2006, we completed a $1,350,000 private equity financing to a group of
institutional investors and an accredited investor. In the offering, we sold
1,227,272 shares of our common stock at a price of $1.10 per share to the
investors and issued to them 5-year warrants to purchase an additional 613,634
shares of our common stock at an exercise price of $1.50 per share.
Based
on
our current plan of operations and the funds raised from the private placement
in March 2006, we believe that our current cash balances will be sufficient
to
fund our operations for the next twelve months from the date of this
report.
We
do not
currently anticipate that we will derive any revenue from either product sales
or from governmental research grants during the next twelve months. The cost
of
completing the development of our products and of obtaining all required
regulatory approvals to market our products is substantially greater than the
amount of funds we currently have available and substantially greater than
the
amount we could possibly receive under any governmental grant program. As a
result, we will have to obtain significant additional funds after the date
of
this report. We currently expect to attempt to obtain additional financing
through the sale of additional equity and possibly through strategic alliances
with larger pharmaceutical or biomedical companies. We cannot be sure that
we
will be able to obtain additional funding from either of these sources, or
that
the terms under which we obtain such funding will be beneficial to this
Company.
The
following is a summary of our contractual cash obligations for the following
fiscal years:
|
Contractual
Obligations
|
|
Total
|
|
2006
|
|
2007
|
|
2008
and thereafter
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Long-Term
Leases
|
|
$257,000
|
|
$148,000
|
|
$109,000
|
|
$
-
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
We
do not
believe that inflation has had a material impact on our business or
operations.
We
do not
engage in trading activities involving non-exchange traded contracts. In
addition, we have no financial guarantees, debt or lease agreements or other
arrangements that could trigger a requirement for an early payment or that
could
change the value of our assets.
Off-
Balance Sheet Arrangements
We
are
not a party to any off-balance sheet arrangements.
Factors
That May Affect Our Business And Our Future Results
We
face a
number of substantial risks. Our business, financial condition, results of
operations and stock price could be harmed by any of these risks. The following
factors should be considered in connection with the other information contained
in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-QSB.
RISKS
RELATED TO OUR BUSINESS
We
are an early-stage company subject to all of the risks and uncertainties of
a
new business, including the risk that we may never market any products or
generate revenues.
We
are an
early-stage company that has not generated any operating revenues to date (our
only revenues were from two government research grants). Accordingly, while
we
have been in existence for over five years, we should be evaluated as an
early-stage company, subject to all of the risks and uncertainties normally
associated with an early-stage company. As an early-stage company, we expect
to
incur significant operating losses for the foreseeable future, and there can
be
no assurance that we will be able to validate and market products in the future
that will generate revenues or that any revenues generated will be sufficient
for us to become profitable or thereafter maintain profitability.
We
have had no product sales to date, and we can give no assurance that there
will
ever be any sales in the future.
All
of
our products are still in research or development, and no revenues have been
generated to date from product sales. There is no guarantee that we will ever
develop commercially viable products. To become profitable, we will have to
successfully develop, obtain regulatory approval for, produce, market and sell
our products. There can be no assurance that our product development efforts
will be successfully completed, that we will be able to obtain all required
regulatory approvals, that we will be able to manufacture our products at an
acceptable cost and with acceptable quality, or that our products can be
successfully marketed in the future. We currently do not expect to receive
revenues from the sale of any of our products for at least two to three years.
Before
we can market any of our products, we must obtain governmental approval for
each
of our products, the application and receipt of which is time-consuming, costly
and uncertain.
The
development, production and marketing of our products are subject to extensive
regulation by government authorities in the United States and other countries.
In the United States, SEPET™ and our bioartificial liver systems will require
approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) prior to
clinical testing and commercialization. The process for obtaining FDA approval
to both conduct the required trials and to market therapeutic products is both
time-consuming and costly, with no certainty of a successful outcome. This
process includes the conduct of extensive pre-clinical and clinical testing,
which may take longer or cost more than we currently anticipate due to numerous
factors, including without limitation, difficulty in securing centers to conduct
trials, difficulty in enrolling patients in conformity with required protocols
and/or projected timelines, unexpected adverse reactions by patients in the
trials to our liver assist systems, temporary suspension and/or complete ban
on
trials of our products due to the risk of transmitting pathogens from the
xenogeneic biologic component, and changes in the FDA’s requirements for our
testing during the course of that testing. For example, last year, the FDA
granted us permission to commence a feasibility clinical trial for the SEPET™
liver assist device for 15 patients at two sites. In March 2006, the FDA allowed
us to expand the number of clinical testing sites from two sites to up to four
sites, and expand the patient enrollment of up to 20 patients for the
SEPETTM
feasibility clinical trial. Based on our estimates of the time it would take
to
obtain all required approvals at the three medical centers at which the Phase
I
feasibility clinical trial is being conducted, and based on the estimated time
it would take to enroll patients in the trial, we had hoped to finish the study
by the end of the current year. However, obtaining all medical center approvals
took longer than anticipated, and patient accrual into this study has been
slower than anticipated. Accordingly, while we still expect to complete the
SEPETTM
feasibility
clinical trial in the near future, we no longer are certain that the study
will
be concluded by the end of the year. Assuming that the feasibility clinical
trial is successful, we may still have to obtain the FDA’s approval to conduct a
pivotal trial. We have not yet established with the FDA the nature and number
of
these additional clinical trials that the FDA will require in connection with
its review and approval of either the SEPET™ liver assist device or our
HepatAssistTM
cell-based liver support system, and these requirements may be more costly
or
time-consuming than we currently anticipate.
Each
of
our products in development is novel both in terms of its composition and
function. Thus, we may encounter unexpected safety, efficacy or manufacturing
issues as we seek to obtain marketing approval for products from the FDA, and
there can be no assurance that we will be able to obtain approval from the
FDA
or any foreign governmental agencies for marketing of any of our products.
The
failure to receive, or any significant delay in receiving, FDA approval, or
the
imposition of significant limitations on the indicated uses of our products,
would have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results and
financial condition. The health regulatory authorities of certain countries,
including those of Japan, France and the United Kingdom, have previously
objected, and other countries’ regulatory authorities could potentially object
to the marketing of any therapy that uses pig liver cells (which our
HepatAssistTM
cell-based liver support system is designed to utilize) due to safety concerns
that pig cells may transmit viruses or diseases to humans. If the health
regulatory agencies of other countries impose a ban on the use of therapies
that
incorporate pig cells, such as our HepatAssistTM
cell-based liver support system, we would be prevented from marketing our
products in those countries. If we are unable to obtain the approval of the
health regulatory authorities in Japan, France, the United Kingdom or other
countries, the potential market for our products will be reduced.
Because
our products are at an early stage of development and have never been marketed,
we do not know if any of our products will ever be approved for marketing,
and
any such approval will take several years to obtain.
Before
obtaining regulatory approvals for the commercial sale of our products,
significant and potentially very costly preclinical and clinical work will
be
necessary. There can be no assurance that we will be able to successfully
complete all required testing of the SEPET™ liver assist device or our
HepatAssistTM
cell-based liver support system. While the time periods for testing our products
and obtaining the FDA’s approval are dependent upon many future variable and
unpredictable events, we estimate that it could take between two to three years
to obtain approval for the SEPET™ liver assist device and three to four years
for the HepatAssist™ cell-based liver support system. We have not independently
confirmed any of the third-party claims made with respect to patents, licenses
or technologies we have acquired concerning the potential safety or efficacy
of
these products and technologies. Before we can begin clinical testing of our
HepatAssist™ cell-based liver support system, we will need to amend our active
Phase III IND to resume clinical testing, which application will have to be
cleared by the FDA. The FDA may require significant revisions to our clinical
testing plans or require us to demonstrate efficacy endpoints that are more
time-consuming or difficult to achieve than what we currently anticipate.
Because of the early stage of development of each of our products, we do not
know if we will be able to generate clinical data that will support the filing
of the FDA applications for these products or the FDA’s approval of any product
marketing approval application or IND that we do file.
The
cost of conducting pivotal clinical studies for the SEPET™
liver
assist device and HepatAssist™ cell-based liver support system exceeds our
current financial resources. Accordingly, we will not be able to conduct such
studies until we obtain additional funding.
If
the
feasibility clinical trial for the SEPETTM
liver
assist device is successful, we may still have to obtain the FDA’s approval to
conduct a pivotal trial. We have not yet established with the FDA the nature
and
number of additional clinical trials that the FDA may require in connection
with
its review and approval of the SEPET™ liver assist device. Based on our internal
projections of our operating costs and the costs normally associated with
pivotal trials, we do not believe that we currently have sufficient funds to
conduct any such pivotal trial(s) nor have we identified any sources for
obtaining the required funds.
We
are
currently considering requesting FDA approval to commence a Phase III clinical
trial of the HepatAssist™ cell-based liver support system. Such a request will
require that we supplement and/or amend the existing Phase III IND that was
approved by the FDA for the original HepatAssist system. The preparation of
a
modified or supplemented Phase III IND will be expensive and difficult to
prepare. Although the cost of completing the Phase III clinical trial in the
manner that we currently contemplate is uncertain and could vary significantly,
if that Phase III clinical trial is authorized by the FDA, we currently estimate
that the cost of conducting that study would approximately be between $10
million and $15 million, excluding the manufacturing infrastructure. We
currently do not have sufficient funds to conduct this study and have not
identified any sources for obtaining the required funds. In addition, no
assurance can be given that the FDA will accept our proposed changes to the
previously approved Phase III IND. The clinical tests that we would conduct
under any FDA-approved protocol are very expensive and will cost much more
than
our current financial resources. Accordingly, even if the FDA approves the
modified Phase III IND that we submit for HepatAssist™ cell-based liver support
system, we will not be able to conduct any clinical trials until we raise
substantial amounts of additional financing.
Our
cell based liver support system utilizes a biological component obtained from
pigs that could prevent or restrict the release and use of those
products.
Use
of
liver cells harvested from pig livers carries a risk of transmitting viruses
harmless to pigs but potentially deadly to humans. For instance, all pig cells
carry genetic material of the porcine endogenous retrovirus (“PERV”), but its
ability to infect people is unknown. Repeated testing, including a 1999 study
of
160 xenotransplantion (transplantation from animals to humans) patients and
the
Phase II/III testing of the HepatAssistTM
cell-based liver support system by Circe Biomedical, Inc., has produced no
sign
of the transmission of PERV to humans. Still, no one can prove that PERV or
another virus would not infect bioartificial liver-treated patients and cause
potentially serious disease. This may result in the FDA or other health
regulatory agencies not approving our HepatAssistTM
cell-based liver support system or subsequently banning any further use of
our
product should health concerns arise after the product has been approved. At
this time, it is unclear whether we will be able to obtain clinical and product
liability insurance that covers the PERV risk.
In
addition to the potential health risks associated with the use of pig liver
cells, our use of xenotransplantation technologies may be opposed by individuals
or organizations on health, religious or ethical grounds. Certain animal rights
groups and other organizations are known to protest animal research and
development programs or to boycott products resulting from such programs.
Previously, some groups have objected to the use of pig liver cells by other
companies, including Circe Biomedical, Inc., that were developing bioartificial
liver support systems, and it is possible that such groups could object to
our
bioartificial liver system. Litigation instituted by any of these organizations,
and negative publicity regarding our use of pig liver cells in a bioartificial
liver device, could have a material adverse effect on our business, operating
results and financial condition.
Because
our products represent new approaches to treatment of liver disease, there
are
many uncertainties regarding the development, the market acceptance and the
commercial potential of our products.
Our
products will represent new therapeutic approaches for disease conditions.
We
may, as a result, encounter delays as compared to other products under
development in reaching agreements with the FDA or other applicable governmental
agencies as to the development plans and data that will be required to obtain
marketing approvals from these agencies. There can be no assurance that these
approaches will gain acceptance among doctors or patients or that governmental
or third party medical reimbursement payers will be willing to provide
reimbursement coverage for our products. Moreover, we do not have the marketing
data resources possessed by the major pharmaceutical companies, and we have
not
independently verified the potential size of the commercial markets for any
of
our products. Since our products will represent new approaches to treating
liver
diseases, it may be difficult, in any event, to accurately estimate the
potential revenues from our products, as there currently are no directly
comparable products being marketed.
Despite
our recent $1.35 million private equity financing and current cash on hand,
we
still need to obtain significant additional capital to complete the development
of our liver assist devices, which additional funding may dilute our existing
stockholders.
Based
on
our current proposed plans and assumptions, we anticipate that our existing
funds will be sufficient to fund our operations and capital requirements for
at
least the 12-month period following the date of this Quarterly Report. However,
the clinical development expenses of our products will be very substantial.
Based on our current assumptions, we estimate that the clinical cost of
developing the SEPET™ liver assist device will be approximately $5 million to
$10 million, and the clinical cost of developing the HepatAssist™ cell-based
liver support system will be between $10 million and $15 million, in excess
of
the cost of basic operations of the Company. These amounts, which could vary
substantially if our assumptions are not correct, are well in excess of the
amount of cash that we currently have available to us. Accordingly, we will
be
required to (i) obtain additional debt or equity financing in order to fund
the further development of our products and working capital needs, and/or
(ii) enter into a strategic alliance with a larger pharmaceutical or
biomedical company to provide its required funding. The amount of funding needed
to complete the development of one or both of our products will be very
substantial and may be in excess of our ability to raise capital.
We
have
not identified the sources for the additional financing that we will require,
and we do not have commitments from any third parties to provide this financing.
There can be no assurance that sufficient funding will be available to us at
acceptable terms or at all. If we are unable to obtain sufficient financing
on a
timely basis, the development of our products could be delayed and we could
be
forced to reduce the scope of our pre-clinical and clinical trials or otherwise
limit or terminate our operations altogether. Any equity additional funding
that
we obtain will reduce the percentage ownership held by our existing security
holders.
As
a new small company that will be competing against numerous large, established
companies that have substantially greater financial, technical, manufacturing,
marketing, distribution and other resources than us, we will be at a competitive
disadvantage.
The
pharmaceutical, biopharmaceutical and biotechnology industry is characterized
by
intense competition and rapid and significant technological advancements. Many
companies, research institutions and universities are working in a number of
areas similar to our primary fields of interest to develop new products, some
of
which may be similar and/or competitive to our products. Furthermore, many
companies are engaged in the development of medical devices or products that
are
or will be competitive with our proposed products. Most of the companies with
which we compete have substantially greater financial, technical, manufacturing,
marketing, distribution and other resources than us.
We
will need to outsource and rely on third parties for the clinical development
and manufacture and marketing of our products.
Our
business model calls for the outsourcing of the clinical development,
manufacturing and marketing of our products in order to reduce our capital
and
infrastructure costs as a means of potentially improving the profitability
of
these products for us. We have not yet entered into any strategic alliances
or
other licensing or contract manufacturing arrangements (except for the
contractual manufacturing of LIVERAID™ modules by Spectrum Laboratories which we
have indefinitely placed on hold) and there can be no assurance that we will
be
able to enter into satisfactory arrangements for these services or the
manufacture or marketing of our products. We will be required to expend
substantial amounts to retain and continue to utilize the services of one or
more clinical research management organizations without any assurance that
the
products covered by the clinical trials conducted under their management
ultimately will generate any revenues for the SEPET™ liver assist device and/or
our HepatAssistTM
cell-based liver support system. Consistent with our business model, we will
seek to enter into strategic alliances with other larger companies to market
and
sell our products. In addition, we may need to utilize contract manufacturers
to
manufacture our products or even our commercial supplies, and we may contract
with independent sales and marketing firms to use their pharmaceutical sales
force on a contract basis.
To
the
extent that we rely on other companies or institutions to manage the conduct
of
our clinical trials and to manufacture or market our products, we will be
dependent on the timeliness and effectiveness of their efforts. If the clinical
research management organization that we utilize is unable to allocate
sufficient qualified personnel to our studies or if the work performed by them
does not fully satisfy the rigorous requirement of the FDA, we may encounter
substantial delays and increased costs in completing our clinical trials. If
the
manufacturers of the raw material and finished product for our clinical trials
are unable to meet our time schedules or cost parameters, the timing of our
clinical trials and development of our products may be adversely affected.
Any
manufacturer that we select may encounter difficulties in scaling-up the
manufacture of new products in commercial quantities, including problems
involving product yields, product stability or shelf life, quality control,
adequacy of control procedures and policies, compliance with FDA regulations
and
the need for further FDA approval of any new manufacturing processes and
facilities. Should our manufacturing or marketing company encounter regulatory
problems with the FDA, FDA approval of our products could be delayed or the
marketing of our products could be suspended or otherwise adversely
affected.
Because
we are currently dependent on Spectrum Laboratories, Inc. as the manufacturer
of
our SEPET™ cartridges, any failure or delay by Spectrum Laboratories to
manufacture the cartridges will negatively affect our future
operations.
We
have
an exclusive manufacturing arrangement with Spectrum Laboratories for our
fiber-within-fiber LIVERAID™ cartridges, the development of which we have placed
on indefinite hold. Although we have no agreement with Spectrum Laboratories
for
the manufacture of the SEPET™ cartridges, Spectrum Laboratories has also been
providing us with cartridges for prototypes of the SEPET™ liver assist device
and has expressed an interest in manufacturing the HepatAssist™ cartridge.
Although Spectrum Laboratories has agreed to transfer all of the know-how
related to these products to any other manufacturer of our products if Spectrum
Laboratories is unable to meet its contractual obligations to us, we may have
difficulty in finding a replacement manufacturer if we are unable to effectively
transfer the Spectrum Laboratories know-how to another manufacturer. We have
no
control over Spectrum Laboratories or its suppliers, and if Spectrum
Laboratories is unable to produce SEPETTM
cartridges on a timely basis, our business may be adversely
affected.
We
currently do not have a manufacturing arrangement for the cartridges used in
the
HepatAssist™ cell-based liver support system. While we believe there are several
potential contract manufacturers who can produce these cartridges, there can
be
no assurance that we will be able to enter into such an arrangement on
commercially favorable terms, or at all.
Because
we are dependent on Medtronic, Inc. for the perfusion platform used in our
HepatAssist™
cell-based liver support system, any failure or delay by Medtronic to make
the
perfusion platform commercially available will negatively affect our future
operations.
We
currently expect that a perfusion system known as the PERFORMER will become
the
platform for our HepatAssist™ cell-based liver support system. The PERFORMER has
been equipped with proprietary software and our tubing in order to enable the
machine to work with our HepatAssistTM
cell-based liver support system. A limited number of the PERFORMER units have
been manufactured to date. The PERFORMER is being manufactured by RanD, S.r.l.
(Italy) and marketed by Medtronic, Inc. We currently do not have an agreement
to
purchase the PERFORMER from Medtronic or any other source. In the event that
RanD and Medtronic are either unable or unwilling to manufacture the number
of
PERFORMERS needed to ensure that the HepatAssistTM
cell-based liver support system is commercially viable, we would not have an
alternate platform immediately available for use, and the development and sales
of such a system would cease until an alternate platform is developed or found.
We may have difficulty in finding a replacement platform and may be required
to
develop a new platform in collaboration with a third party contract
manufacturer. While we believe there are several potential contract
manufacturers who can develop and manufacture perfusion platforms meeting the
HepatAssist™ cell-based liver support system functional and operational
characteristics, there can be no assurance that we will be able to enter into
such an arrangement on commercially favorable terms, or at all. In addition,
we
may encounter substantial delays and increased costs in completing our clinical
trials if we have difficulty in finding a replacement platform or if we are
required to develop a new platform for bioartificial liver use.
We
may not have sufficient legal protection of our proprietary rights, which could
result in the use of our intellectual properties by our
competitors.
Our
ability to compete successfully will depend, in part, on our ability to defend
patents that have issued, obtain new patents, protect trade secrets and operate
without infringing the proprietary rights of others. We currently own seven
U.S. and four foreign patents on our liver support products, have one patent
application pending, and are the licensee of four additional liver support
patents. We have relied substantially on the patent legal work that was
performed for our assignors and licensors with respect to all of these patents,
application and licenses, and have not independently verified the validity
or
any other aspects of the patents or patent applications covering our products
with our own patent counsel.
Even
when
we have obtained patent protection for our products, there is no guarantee
that
the coverage of these patents will be sufficiently broad to protect us from
competitors or that we will be able to enforce our patents against potential
infringers. Patent litigation is expensive, and we may not be able to afford
the
costs. Third parties could also assert that our products infringe patents or
other proprietary rights held by them.
We
will
attempt to protect our proprietary information as trade secrets through
nondisclosure agreements with each of our employees, licensing partners,
consultants, agents and other organizations to which we disclose our proprietary
information. There can be no assurance, however, that these agreements will
provide effective protection for our proprietary information in the event of
unauthorized use of disclosure of such information.
The
development of our products is dependent upon Dr. Rozga and certain other
persons, and the loss of one or more of these key persons would materially
and
adversely affect our business and prospects.
We
are
highly dependent on Jacek Rozga, MD, PhD, our Chief Scientific Officer. To
a
lesser extent, we also depend upon the medical and scientific advisory services
that we receive from the members of our Board of Directors, all of whom have
extensive backgrounds in the biomedical industry. However, each of these
individuals, except Dr. Rozga, works for us only on a part-time, very
limited basis. In addition, we are dependent on the services of our Chief
Executive Officer, Walter C. Ogier, to provide investor relations contacts,
establish strategic relationships, and oversee the raising of capital for the
Company. We do not have a long-term employment contract with Dr. Rozga or Mr.
Ogier, and the loss of the services of any of the foregoing persons would have
a
material adverse effect on our business, operations and on the development
of
our products. We do not carry key man life insurance on any of these
individuals.
As
we
expand the scope of our operations by preparing FDA submissions, conducting
multiple clinical trials, and potentially acquiring related technologies, we
will need to obtain the full-time services of additional senior scientific
and
management personnel. Competition for these personnel is intense, and there
can
be no assurance that we will be able to attract or retain qualified senior
personnel. As we retain full-time senior personnel, our overhead expenses for
salaries and related items will increase substantially from current
levels.
The
market success of our products will be dependent in part upon third-party
reimbursement policies that have not yet been established.
Our
ability to successfully penetrate the market for our products may depend
significantly on the availability of reimbursement for our products from
third-party payers, such as governmental programs, private insurance and private
health plans. We have not yet established with Medicare or any third-party
payers what level of reimbursement, if any, will be available for our products,
and we cannot predict whether levels of reimbursement for our products, if
any,
will be high enough to allow us to charge a reasonable profit margin. Even
with
FDA approval, third-party payers may deny reimbursement if the payer determines
that our particular new products are unnecessary, inappropriate or not cost
effective. If patients are not entitled to receive reimbursement similar to
reimbursement for competing products, they may be unwilling to use our products
since they will have to pay for the unreimbursed amounts, which may well be
substantial. The reimbursement status of newly approved health care products
is
highly uncertain. If levels of reimbursement are decreased in the future, the
demand for our products could diminish or our ability to sell our products
on a
profitable basis could be adversely affected.
We
may be subject to product liability claims that could have a material negative
effect on our operations and on our financial condition.
The
development, manufacture and sale of medical products expose us to the risk
of
significant damages from product liability claims. We have obtained clinical
trial insurance for our SEPET™ trials. We plan to obtain and maintain product
liability insurance for coverage of our clinical trial activities. However,
there can be no assurance that we will be able to continue to secure such
insurance for clinical trials for either of our two current products under
development. We intend to obtain coverage for our products when they enter
the
marketplace (as well as requiring the manufacturers of our products to maintain
insurance). We do not know if it will be available to us at acceptable costs.
We
may encounter difficulty in obtaining clinical trial or commercial product
liability insurance for our bioartificial liver device that we develop since
this therapy includes the use of pig liver cells and we are not aware of any
therapy using these cells that has sought or obtained such insurance. If the
cost of insurance is too high or insurance is unavailable to us, we will have
to
self-insure. A successful claim in excess of product liability coverage could
have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results
of operations. The costs for many forms of liability insurance have risen
substantially during the past year, and such costs may continue to increase
in
the future, which could materially impact our costs for clinical or product
liability insurance.
If
we are not able to implement the requirements of Section 404 of the
Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 in a timely manner or with adequate compliance,
we
may be unable to provide the required financial information in a timely and
reliable manner and may be subject to sanction to regulatory
authorities.
We
cannot
be certain at this time that we will have the expertise and resources to be
able
to comply with all of our reporting obligations and successfully complete the
procedures, certification and attestation requirements of Section 404 of the
Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 202 by the time that we are required to do so. If we
fail
to comply with the requirements of Section 404, or if we or our independent
registered public accounting firm identifies any material weaknesses, the
accuracy and timeliness of the filing of our annual and quarterly reports may
be
negatively affected and could cause investors to lose confidence in our
financial statements, impair our ability to obtain financing or result in
regulatory sanctions. Remediating any material weakness could require additional
management attention and increased compliance costs.
Changes in
stock option accounting rules may adversely affect our reported operating
results, our stock price, and our ability to attract and retain
employees.
In
December 2004, the Financial Accounting Standards Board published new rules
that
will require companies to record all stock-based employee compensation as an
expense. Small business issuers such as this Company have to apply the new
rules
in their first reporting period beginning after December 15, 2005. The new
rules
apply to stock options grants, as well as a wide range of other share-based
compensation arrangements including restricted share plans, performance-based
awards, share appreciation rights, and employee share purchase plans. As a
small
company with limited financial resources, we have depended upon compensating
our
officers, directors, employees and consultants with such stock based
compensation awards in the past in order to limit our cash expenditures and
to
attract and retain officers, directors, employees and consultants. Accordingly,
if we continue to grant stock options or other stock based compensation awards
to our officers, directors, employees, and consultants after the new rules
apply
to us, our future earnings, if any, will be reduced (or our future losses will
be increased) by the expenses recorded for those grants. These compensation
expenses may be larger than the compensation expense that we would be required
to record were we able to compensate these persons with cash in lieu of
securities. Since we are a small company, the expenses we may have to record
as
a result of future options grants may be significant and may materially
negatively affect our reported financial results. The adverse effects that
the
new accounting rules may have on our future financial statements should we
continue to rely heavily on stock-based compensation may reduce our stock price
and make it more difficult for us to attract new investors. In addition,
reducing our use of stock plans to reward and incentivize our officers,
directors and employees, could result in a competitive disadvantage to us in
the
employee marketplace.
If
we make any further acquisitions, we will incur a variety of costs and might
never successfully integrate the acquired product or business into ours.
Following
our acquisition of the HepatAssistTM
cell-based liver support system from Circe Biomedical, Inc., we might attempt
to
acquire products or businesses that we believe are a strategic complement to
our
business model. We might encounter operating difficulties and expenditures
relating to integrating the HepatAssistTM
cell-based liver support system or any other acquired product or business.
These
acquisitions might require significant management attention that would otherwise
be available for ongoing development of our business. In addition, we might
never realize the anticipated benefits of any acquisition. We might also make
dilutive issuances of equity securities, incur debt or experience a decrease
in
cash available for our operations, incur contingent liabilities and/or
amortization expenses relating to goodwill and other intangible assets, or
incur
employee dissatisfaction in connection with future acquisitions.
If
we are unable to comply with the terms of registration rights agreements to
which we are a party, we may be obligated to pay liquidated damages to some
of
our stockholders and recharacterize outstanding warrants as
debt.
We
are a
party to registration rights agreements with some of our stockholders. The
registration rights agreements provide, among other things, that we register
shares of our common stock held by those stockholders within a specified period
of time and that we keep the registration statement associated with those shares
continuously effective. If we are unable to comply with these provisions
of the registration rights agreements, we may be obligated to pay those
stockholders liquidated damages. Because of the potential operation of
these provisions of our registration rights agreements, we have re-characterized
some of our outstanding warrants from equity to debt, and this is reflected
in
our financial statements. These penalty provisions may also force us to
re-characterize some of our other outstanding warrants from equity to debt.
If
we have to make this re-characterization, our liabilities would increase and
our
financial statements would be negatively impacted.
RISKS
RELATED TO OUR COMMON STOCK
Our
stock is thinly traded, so you may be unable to sell at or near ask prices
or at
all if you need to sell your shares to raise money or otherwise desire to
liquidate your shares.
The
shares of our common stock are thinly-traded on the OTC Bulletin Board, meaning
that the number of persons interested in purchasing our common shares at or
near
ask prices at any given time may be relatively small or non-existent. This
situation is attributable to a number of factors, including the fact that we
are
a small company which is relatively unknown to stock analysts, stock brokers,
institutional investors and others in the investment community that generate
or
influence sales volume, and that even if we came to the attention of such
persons, they tend to be risk-averse and would be reluctant to follow an
unproven, early stage company such as ours or purchase or recommend the purchase
of our shares until such time as we became more seasoned and viable. As a
consequence, there may be periods of several days or more when trading activity
in our shares is minimal or non-existent, as compared to a seasoned issuer
which
has a large and steady volume of trading activity that will generally support
continuous sales without an adverse effect on share price. We cannot give you
any assurance that a broader or more active public trading market for our common
shares will develop or be sustained, or that current trading levels will be
sustained. Due to these conditions, we can give you no assurance that you will
be able to sell your shares at or near ask prices or at all if you need money
or
otherwise desire to liquidate your shares.
If
securities or independent industry analysts do not publish research reports
about our business, our stock price and trading volume could
decline.
Small,
relatively unknown companies can achieve visibility in the trading market
through research and reports that industry or securities analysts publish.
However, to our knowledge, no independent analysts cover our company. The lack
of published reports by independent securities analysts could limit the interest
in our stock and negatively affect our stock price. We do not have any control
over research and reports these analysts publish or whether they will be
published at all. If any analyst who does cover us downgrades our stock, our
stock price would likely decline. If any independent analyst ceases coverage
of
our company or fails to regularly publish reports on us, we could lose
visibility in the financial markets, which in turn could cause our stock price
or trading volume to decline.
You
may have difficulty selling our shares because they are deemed “penny
stocks.”
Since
our
common stock is not listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market, if the trading price
of
our common stock is below $5.00 per share, trading in our common stock will
be
subject to the requirements of certain rules promulgated under the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), which require additional
disclosure by broker-dealers in connection with any trades involving a stock
defined as a penny stock (generally, any non-Nasdaq equity security that has
a
market price of less than $5.00 per share, subject to certain exceptions) and
a
two business day "cooling off period" before brokers and dealers can effect
transactions in penny stocks. Such rules impose various sales practice
requirements on broker-dealers who sell penny stocks to persons other than
established customers and accredited investors (generally defined as an investor
with a net worth in excess of $1,000,000 or annual income exceeding $200,000
individually or $300,000 together with a spouse). For these types of
transactions, the broker-dealer must make a special suitability determination
for the purchaser and have received the purchaser’s written consent to the
transaction prior to the sale. The broker-dealer also must disclose the
commissions payable to the broker-dealer, current bid and offer quotations
for
the penny stock and, if the broker-dealer is the sole market-maker, the
broker-dealer must disclose this fact and the broker-dealer’s presumed control
over the market. Such information must be provided to the customer orally or
in
writing before or with the written confirmation of trade sent to the customer.
Monthly statements must be sent disclosing recent price information for the
penny stock held in the account and information on the limited market in penny
stocks. The additional burdens imposed upon broker-dealers by such requirements
could discourage broker-dealers from effecting transactions in our common stock,
which could severely limit the market liquidity of the common stock and the
ability of holders of the common stock to sell their shares.
Anti-takeover
provisions in our certificate of incorporation could affect the value of our
stock
Our
certificate of incorporation contains certain provisions that could be an
impediment to a non-negotiated change in control. In particular, without
stockholder approval we can issue up to 5,000,000 shares of preferred stock
with
rights and preferences determined by the board of directors. These provisions
could make a hostile takeover or other non-negotiated change in control
difficult, so that stockholders would not be able to receive a premium for
their
common stock.
Potential
issuance of additional common and preferred stock could dilute existing
stockholders
We
are
authorized to issue up to 60,000,000 shares of common stock. To the extent
of
such authorization, our board of directors has the ability, without seeking
stockholder approval, to issue additional shares of common stock in the future
for such consideration as the board of directors may consider sufficient. The
issuance of additional common stock in the future will reduce the proportionate
ownership and voting power of the common stock offered hereby. We are also
authorized to issue up to 5,000,000 shares of preferred stock, the rights and
preferences of which may be designated in series by the board of directors.
Such
designation of new series of preferred stock may be made without stockholder
approval, and could create additional securities which would have dividend
and
liquidation preferences over the common stock offered hereby. Preferred
stockholders could adversely affect the rights of holders of common stock
by:
o |
exercising
voting, redemption and conversion rights to the detriment of the
holders
of common stock;
|
o |
receiving
preferences over the holders of common stock regarding or surplus
funds in
the event of our dissolution or
liquidation;
|
o |
delaying,
deferring or preventing a change in control of our company;
and
|
o |
discouraging
bids for our common stock.
|
Additionally,
some of our outstanding warrants to purchase common stock have anti-dilution
protection. This means that if we issue securities for a price less than the
price at which the warrants are exercisable for shares of common stock, the
warrants will become eligible to purchase more shares of common stock at a
lower
price, which will dilute the ownership of our common stockholders.
Substantial
number of shares of common stock may be released onto the market at any time,
and the sales of such additional shares of common stock could cause stock price
to fall.
As
of
August 11, 2006, we had outstanding 17,460,181 shares of common stock. However,
in the past year, the average daily trading volume of our shares has only been
a
few thousand shares, and there have been many days in which no shares were
traded at all. In October 2004 and in February 2005, we registered a total
of
7,207,810 shares of our common stock issuable upon the exercise of outstanding
warrants. Of these shares, 25,000 have been issued upon the exercise of a
warrant and a warrant for 75,000 of the shares has been cancelled without being
registered. The remaining 7,107,810 shares underlying warrants have not yet
been
issued and will not be issued until the warrants are exercised. Since the shares
underlying these warrants have been registered, they can be sold immediately
following the exercise. Accordingly, 7,107,810 additional shares could be
released onto the trading market at any time. Because of the limited trading
volume, the sudden release of 7,107,810 additional freely trading shares onto
the market, or the perception that such shares will come onto the market, could
have an adverse affect on the trading price of the stock. In addition, there
are
currently 5,972,272 shares of unregistered, restricted stock that are currently
eligible for public resale under Rule 144 promulgated under the Securities
Act,
some of which shares also may be offered and sold on the market from time to
time. No prediction can be made as to the effect, if any, that sales of the
7,107,810 registered warrant shares, or the sale of any of the 5,972,272 shares
subject to Rule 144 sales will have on the market prices prevailing from time
to
time. Nevertheless, the possibility that substantial amounts of common stock
may
be sold in the public market may adversely affect prevailing market prices
for
our common stock and could impair our ability to raise capital through the
sale
of our equity securities.
The
market price of our stock may be adversely affected by market
volatility.
The
market price of our common stock is likely to be volatile and could fluctuate
widely in response to many factors, including:
|
· |
announcements
of the results of clinical trials by us or our
competitors,
|
|
· |
developments
with respect to patents or proprietary
rights,
|
|
· |
announcements
of technological innovations by us or our
competitors,
|
|
· |
announcements
of new products or new contracts by us or our
competitors,
|
|
· |
actual
or anticipated variations in our operating results due to the level
of
development expenses and other
factors,
|
|
· |
changes
in financial estimates by securities analysts and whether our earnings
meet or exceed such estimates,
|
|
· |
conditions
and trends in the pharmaceutical and other
industries,
|
|
· |
new
accounting standards,
|
|
· |
general
economic, political and market conditions and other factors, and
the
occurrence of any of the risks described in this Quarterly
Report.
|
ITEM
3. Controls and Procedures
Our
Chief
Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer have concluded, based on their
evaluation as of the end of the period covered by this report, that our
disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in the Securities Exchange Act
of
1934 Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) are effective to ensure that information
required to be disclosed in the reports that we file or submit under the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 is recorded, processed, summarized and reported
within the time periods specified in the Securities and Exchange Commission’s
rules and forms, and that such information is accumulated and communicated
to
our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial
Officer, as appropriate, to allow timely decisions regarding required
disclosures. There was no change in our internal control over financial
reporting that occurred during the quarter ended June 30, 2006 that has
materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal
control over financial reporting. However as this Company continues to expand
its operations, we have implemented, and will continue to implement, additional
disclosure and procedure controls, which encompass internal controls over
financial reporting, that are appropriate for the Company’s size and stage of
development.
PART
II. OTHER INFORMATION
ITEM
1. Legal Proceedings
None.
ITEM
2. Unregistered Sale of Equity Securities and Use of
Proceeds
None.
ITEM
3. Defaults Upon Senior Securities
None.
ITEM
4. Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders
The
Annual Meeting of Stockholders of the Company (the “Meeting”) was held on July
31, 2006. The following matters were voted upon at the Meeting: (i) the election
of directors of the Company to serve until the 2007 Annual Meeting of
Stockholders, and (ii) the ratification of the appointment of Stonefield
Josephson, Inc. as independent public accountants for the fiscal year ending
December 31, 2006.
(i) The
following table sets forth the names of the nominees who were elected to serve
as directors and the number of votes cast for or withheld from the election
of
such nominee:
Name
|
Votes
For
|
Votes
Against/Withheld
|
Abstentions/Broker
Non-Votes
|
|
|
|
|
Walter
C. Ogier
|
11,617,463
|
101,000
|
-
|
Dennis
Kogod
|
11,617,463
|
101,000
|
-
|
Thomas.
C. Seoh
|
11,617,463
|
101,000
|
-
|
Jack
E. Stover
|
11,617,463
|
101,000
|
-
|
Thomas
M. Tully
|
11,617,463
|
101,000
|
-
|
John
M. Vierling, M.D.
|
11,617,463
|
101,000
|
-
|
(ii) The
number of votes cast for, against and abstaining from the ratification of the
appointment of Stonefield Josephson, Inc. as our independent registered public
accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2006, were as
follows:
Votes
For
|
Votes
Against/Withheld
|
Abstentions/Broker
Non-Votes
|
|
|
|
11,617,463
|
101,000
|
-
|
Following
the distribution of the Company's Proxy Statement on Form 14A for the 2006
Annual Meeting, Dr. Demetriou, a nominee for election on the Board of Directors
of the Company, informed the Company that, for personal reasons, he was
removing himself from the nomination and election process and would be unable
to
join the Board of Directors for the upcoming year.
ITEM
5. Other Information
None
ITEM
6. Exhibits
|
31.1 |
Certification
of Principal Executive Officer Pursuant to Section 302 of the
Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
|
|
31.2 |
Certification
of Principal Financial Officer Pursuant to Section 302 of the
Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
|
|
32.1 |
Certification
of Principal Executive Officer Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section
1350
|
|
32.2 |
Certification
of Principal Financial Officer Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section
1350
|
SIGNATURES
In
accordance with the requirements of the Exchange Act, the registrant caused
this
report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
|
|
|
|
ARBIOS
SYSTEMS, INC.
|
|
|
|
DATE:
August 11, 2006 |
|
By: /s/ Walter
C. Ogier |
|
|
|
Walter
C. Ogier
Chief Executive Officer (Principal Executive
Officer)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
DATE:
August 11, 2006 |
|
By:
/s/ Scott Hayashi |
|
|
|
Scott
Hayashi
Chief Financial Officer (Principal Financial
Officer)
|
25