Minerva Neurosciences Inc

We operate in a rapidly changing environment that involves a number of risks which could materially affect our business, financial condition or future results, some of which are beyond our control. In addition to the other information set forth in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, the risks and uncertainties that we believe are most important for you to consider are discussed in Part I-Item 1A under the heading “Risk Factors” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) on February 25, 2025. The risk factors set forth below are risk factors containing changes, which may be material, from the risk factors previously disclosed in Item 1A of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024, as filed with the SEC.

We have incurred significant losses since our inception. We expect to continue to incur losses over the next several years and may never achieve or maintain profitability.

We are a clinical development-stage biopharmaceutical company. In November 2013, we merged with Sonkei Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (“Sonkei”), and, in February 2014, we acquired Mind-NRG Sarl (“Mind-NRG”), which were also clinical development-stage biopharmaceutical companies. Investment in biopharmaceutical product development is highly speculative because it entails substantial upfront capital expenditures and significant risk that any potential product candidate will fail to demonstrate adequate effect or an acceptable safety profile, gain regulatory approval or become commercially viable. We have no products approved for commercial sale and have not generated any revenue from product sales to date, and we may never generate product revenue or achieve profitability. As of March 31, 2025, we had an accumulated deficit of approximately $399.1 million.

In August 2022, we submitted a New Drug Application (“NDA”) with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) for our lead product candidate, roluperidone, for the treatment of negative symptoms in schizophrenia. The FDA subsequently notified us that they would not accept the file for review, issuing a refusal to file letter (“RTF”) in October 2022. In December 2022, following a Type A meeting held on November 30, 2022, the FDA confirmed the RTF remained in effect with respect to our NDA for roluperidone. On May 1, 2023, we announced that the FDA filed our NDA for roluperidone on April 27, 2023. The decision to file the NDA followed our request for formal dispute resolution and appeal of the October 2022 RTF. On May 8, 2023, we received confirmation from the FDA that the NDA for roluperidone has been assigned a standard review classification, and that the FDA has assigned a Prescription Drug User Fee Act (“PDUFA”) goal date of February 26, 2024. The FDA advised that it identified potential review issues that had been previously cited in the RTF decision letter, which included those discussed at the Type C meeting in March 2022.

On February 26, 2024, the FDA issued a Complete Response Letter (the “CRL”) to our NDA for roluperidone for the treatment of negative symptoms in schizophrenia. The CRL provided that the FDA had completed its review of the NDA and had determined that it could not approve the NDA in its present form. Specifically, the FDA cited the following clinical deficiencies: (i) although one study (MIN-101C03) demonstrated statistical significance on the primary efficacy endpoint, it is insufficient on its own to establish substantial evidence of effectiveness; (ii) the NDA submission lacks data on concomitant antipsychotic administration; (iii) the NDA submission lacks data needed to establish that the change in negative symptoms of schizophrenia with roluperidone treatment was clinically meaningful; and (iv) the submitted safety database included an inadequate number of subjects exposed to roluperidone at the proposed dose (64 mg) for at least 12 months. To address these deficiencies, the FDA stated that we must submit at least one additional positive, adequate, and well-controlled study to support the safety and effectiveness of roluperidone for the treatment of negative symptoms. We must also provide additional data to demonstrate the safety and efficacy of roluperidone co-administered with antipsychotic medications, to support that observed effect on negative symptoms with roluperidone treatment corresponds to a clinically meaningful change, and to demonstrate the long-term safety of the proposed dose. See the section titled “Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Clinical and Regulatory Updates—Complete Response Letter” for more information. While we have continued to have interactions with the FDA since receiving the CRL, with the goal of addressing questions raised in the CRL, there can be no assurances that we will obtain approval for roluperidone in a timely manner, on favorable terms, or at all. As a result, the regulatory approval process for roluperidone in the United States is highly uncertain. If we do not obtain approval of roluperidone in the United States, or if the approval is delayed, it would have a material adverse impact on our business. Even if we are able to obtain approval, the expense and time to do so could adversely impact our ability to successfully commercialize roluperidone or conduct our other business operations and our financial condition could be materially harmed.

We expect to continue to incur significant losses for the foreseeable future, and we expect these losses to increase as we continue our research and development of, and/or seek regulatory approvals for, roluperidone and other potential product candidates. If any of our product candidates fail in clinical trials or do not obtain regulatory approval, or if any of our product candidates, if approved, fail to achieve market acceptance, we may never generate revenue or become profitable. Even if we achieve profitability in the future, we may not be able to sustain profitability in subsequent periods. Failure to become and remain profitable may adversely affect the market price of shares of our common stock and our ability to raise capital and continue operations. We may encounter unforeseen expenses, difficulties, complications, delays and other unknown factors that may adversely affect our business. The size of our future net losses will depend, in part, on the rate of future growth of our expenses and our ability to generate revenues. Our prior losses and expected future losses have had and will continue to have an adverse effect on our results of operations, financial position and working capital.

We will require additional capital to finance our operations, which may not be available to us on acceptable terms, or at all. Failure to obtain this necessary capital when needed may force us to delay, limit or terminate our product development efforts or other operations.

Our operations and the historic operations of Sonkei and Mind-NRG have consumed substantial amounts of cash since inception. As of March 31, 2025, we had cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash of $17.4 million. We believe that our existing cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash will be sufficient to meet our cash commitments for at least the next 12 months after the date that our interim condensed financial statements are issued. The process of drug development can be costly, and the timing and outcomes of clinical trials are uncertain. The assumptions upon which we have based our estimates are routinely evaluated and may be subject to change. The actual amount of our expenditures will vary depending upon a number of factors, including, but not limited to, the design, timing and duration of future clinical trials, the progress of our research and development programs, the infrastructure to support a commercial enterprise, the cost of a commercial product launch, and the level of financial resources available.

We will require additional capital in the short-term to continue advancing the development and regulatory approval process of roluperidone. We will also require additional capital in the long-term to advance the development, regulatory approval process and potential commercialization of roluperidone and other potential product candidates that we may develop in the future. Because the length of time and activities associated with successful development of product candidates are highly uncertain, we are unable to estimate with certainty the actual funds we will require for development and any approved marketing and commercialization activities. Additional capital may not be available in sufficient amounts, on the requisite timing or on reasonable terms, if at all, and our ability to raise additional capital may be adversely impacted by global economic conditions, geopolitical conflicts, such as the war in Ukraine and hostilities in the Middle East, and other factors. Our future funding requirements, both short and long-term, will depend on many factors, including:

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the initiation, progress, timing, costs and results of pre-clinical studies and clinical trials for our product candidates and future product candidates we may develop;

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the outcome, timing and cost of seeking and obtaining regulatory approvals from the European Commission, FDA, and comparable foreign regulatory authorities, including the potential for such authorities to require that we perform more studies than those that we currently expect;

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the cost to establish, maintain, expand and defend the scope of our intellectual property portfolio, including the amount and timing of any payments we may be required to make, or that we may receive, in connection with licensing, preparing, filing, prosecution, defense and enforcement of any patents or other intellectual property rights;

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market acceptance of any approved product candidates;

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the costs of acquiring, licensing or investing in additional businesses, products, product candidates and technologies; and

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the cost of establishing sales, marketing and distribution capabilities for our product candidates for which we may receive regulatory approval and that we determine to commercialize ourselves or in collaboration with our partners.

If we are unable to raise additional capital in sufficient amounts or on terms acceptable to us, we may have to delay, limit or terminate the development or commercialization of one or more of our product candidates or other operations, including exploring strategic alternatives and partnership opportunities and potentially discontinue operations altogether. In addition, when we need to secure additional financing, such additional fundraising efforts may divert our management from our day-to-day activities, which may adversely affect our ability to develop and commercialize our product candidates. Any of these events could significantly harm our business, financial condition and prospects, and our stockholders could lose all or part of their investment in our company.

The trading price of our common stock is likely to be highly volatile and subject to wide fluctuations in response to various factors, some of which we cannot control. As a result of this volatility, investors may not be able to sell their securities at a profit. The market price of our securities could be subject to wide fluctuations in response to a variety of factors, including but not limited to:

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the success of competitive products or technologies;

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adverse results or delays in our preclinical or clinical trials or those of our competitors;

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regulatory actions, including adverse regulatory decision, with respect to our products or our competitors’ products;

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failure to successfully develop or commercialize any of our product candidates;

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the perception of limited market sizes or pricing for any of our product candidates;

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failure to maintain our existing strategic collaborations or enter into new collaborations;

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the recruitment or departure of key personnel;

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announcement or expectation of additional financing efforts, or any inability to obtain additional funding;

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changes in laws or regulations applicable to our products, including changes in the structure of healthcare payment systems, including coverage and reimbursement;

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significant lawsuits, including stockholder litigation and litigation filed by us or filed against us pertaining to patent infringement or other violations of intellectual property rights;

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general economic, industry and market conditions; and

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In addition, the stock markets have experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations that have affected and continue to affect the market prices of equity securities of many companies, including in connection with the war in Ukraine, which has resulted in decreased stock prices for many companies notwithstanding the lack of a fundamental change in their underlying business models or prospects. Biopharmaceutical companies in particular have experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations that have often been unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of these companies. Broad market and industry factors, including potentially worsening economic conditions, increased inflation, international trade relations and tariffs, and other adverse effects or developments, including political, regulatory and other market conditions, may negatively affect the market price of shares of our common stock, regardless of our actual operating performance. The market price of shares of our common stock may decline, and you may lose some or all of your investment.

Our common stock may be delisted from The Nasdaq Capital Market which could negatively impact the price of our common stock, liquidity and our ability to access the capital markets.

Our common stock is currently listed on The Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol “NERV.” The listing standards of The Nasdaq Capital Market provide that a company, in order to qualify for continued listing, must maintain a minimum stock price of $1.00 and satisfy standards relative to minimum stockholders’ equity, minimum market value of publicly held shares and various additional requirements. If Nasdaq delists our securities from trading on its exchange for failure to meet the listing standards, we and our stockholders could face significant negative consequences including:

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a determination that the common stock is a “penny stock” which would require brokers trading in the common stock to adhere to more stringent rules, possibly resulting in a reduced level of trading activity in the secondary trading market for shares of common stock;

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a limited amount of analyst coverage, if any; and

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Delisting from The Nasdaq Capital Market could also result in other negative consequences, including the potential loss of confidence by suppliers, customers and employees, the loss of institutional investor interest, fewer business development opportunities and potential liabilities arising from stockholder litigation or other disputes.

On March 17, 2025, we were formally notified that the Nasdaq Hearings Panel (the “Panel”) of the Nasdaq Stock Market LLC (“Nasdaq”) determined that we regained compliance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(b)(3) (the “Net Income Rule”), which requires listed companies to maintain a minimum of $500,000 of net income from continuing operations. Pursuant to Nasdaq Listing Rule 5815(d)(4)(A), we will be subject to a discretionary panel monitor for a period of one year from March 17, 2025. If, within that one-year monitoring period, we fail to maintain compliance with any Nasdaq continued listing requirement, the Listing Qualifications Staff (the “Staff”) of Nasdaq will issue a Delist Determination Letter, and we will have an opportunity to request a new hearing with the initial Panel or a newly convened Hearings Panel if the initial Panel is unavailable. Notwithstanding Nasdaq Listing Rule 5810(c)(2), we will not be permitted to provide the Staff with a plan of compliance with respect to any deficiency that arises during the one-year monitoring period, and the Staff will not be permitted to grant additional time for us to regain compliance with respect to any deficiency.

As previously disclosed, on April 10, 2024, we received written notice from Nasdaq notifying us that for the last 31 consecutive business days, our minimum Market Value of Listed Securities was below the minimum of $35 million required for continued listing on The Nasdaq Capital Market pursuant to Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(b)(2). In addition, on January 10, 2025, we received a notice from Nasdaq indicating that following our hearing before the Panel on December 10, 2024, the Panel granted our request for continued listing on Nasdaq through March 31, 2025, subject to our compliance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(b)(1) (the “Equity Rule”), among other conditions. While we had initially planned to regain compliance with the Equity Rule, upon review of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024, the Staff confirmed that we demonstrated compliance with the Net Income Rule. Accordingly, the Panel determined to continue the listing of our securities on Nasdaq and closed the matter.

In particular, our share price may continue to decline for a number of reasons, including many that are beyond our control. See the risk factor captioned “The market price of our stock may be volatile, and you could lose all or part of your investment,” described elsewhere in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q.

There can be no assurance that we will be able to maintain compliance with Nasdaq’s listing standards or that we will be able to continue our listing on Nasdaq. If we fail to comply with the continued listing standards of The Nasdaq Capital Market, we may seek to list our common stock on the NYSE American or on a regional stock exchange or, if one or more broker-dealer market makers comply with applicable requirements, the over-the-counter (“OTC”) market. Listing on such other market or exchange could reduce the liquidity of our common stock. If our common stock were to trade in the OTC market, an investor would find it more difficult to dispose of, or to obtain accurate quotations for the price of, the common stock. Delisting of the common stock could depress our stock price, substantially limit liquidity of our common stock and materially adversely affect our ability to raise capital on terms acceptable to us, or at all. Further, delisting of the common stock would likely result in the common stock becoming a “penny stock” under the Exchange Act.