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Medicus Pharma Ltd.

For the period ended Dec 31, 2025. Filed Mar 25, 2026.

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About this filing

A company's yearly report to the SEC, with audited financial statements. It is the fullest account a company gives of its business, its finances and the risks it sees.

FY2025 · Filed Mar 25, 2026

MDCX$1.89+0.8%Stored close · as of Nov 9, 2026

Extracted filing text, with the paragraph anchors used by the comparison.

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Contents

Item 1A. Risk Factors

  • the willingness of healthcare providers to purchase our products if coverage, reimbursement and pricing from third party payors for procedures using our products significantly declines;

  • our ability to adequately protect our intellectual property and operate our business without infringing upon the intellectual property rights of others;

  • the fact that product quality issues or product defects may harm our business, any product liability claims; and

  • the regulatory, legal and certain operating risks that our operations subject us to.

An investment in our securities involves a high degree of risk. You should consider carefully all of the risks described below, together with all other information contained in this annual report, including the financial statements, before making an investment decision. If any of the following risks actually occur, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected. In that event, the trading price of our securities could decline, and you may lose part or all of your investment. This annual report also contains forward-looking information that involves risks and uncertainties. Our actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of many factors, including the risks described below and elsewhere in this annual report.

Risks Relating to Our Business

We have a limited operating history, which may make it difficult to evaluation our current business and predict our future performance.

We have a limited operating history and, in particular, no history of earnings; we have not paid any dividends and we are unlikely to pay any dividends in the immediate or foreseeable future. Our success will depend to a large extent on the expertise, ability, judgement, discretion, integrity and good faith of our management.

As we are at an early stage of product development, we have not generated revenues to date. We expect to spend a significant amount of capital to fund research and development and clinical trials. As a result, we expect that our operating expenses will increase significantly and, consequently, we will need to generate significant revenues to become profitable. We cannot predict when, if ever, we will be profitable. Even if we do become profitable, we may not be able to sustain or increase profitability on a quarterly or annual basis. There can be no assurances that our products will be capable of being produced in commercial quantities at reasonable costs, or be successfully marketed.

We have a novel technology with uncertain market acceptance.

The Products are at an early stage of development, with uncertain market acceptance. Product approval, should this be achieved, does not infer that the Products will garner a good market price or be reimbursed by public or private insurers. Further, there are no guarantees that the Products will be positively received by the target patient population. The acceptability of the Products to regulators, payors and patients will depend on the relative risk versus benefit of the Products as proven in clinical trials, the acceptability of the price, and the relative attractiveness as compared to other treatments.

We could also suffer the consequences of non-compliance or breaches by licensors in connection with any license agreements we may enter into in the future. Such non-compliance or breaches by such third parties could in turn result in breaches or defaults under any agreements with other collaboration partners, and we could be found liable for damages or lose certain rights, including rights to develop and/or commercialize the Products. Loss of our rights to any license granted to us in the future, or the exclusivity rights provided therein, could harm our financial condition and operating results.

The University of Pittsburgh may terminate our license agreement in certain circumstances.

The License Agreement is our main asset and the basis for the development of SkinJect TM. The University of Pittsburgh of the Commonwealth System of Higher Education (the "University of Pittsburgh") has the right to terminate the License Agreement if breaches are not cured within 30 days of our receipt of notice thereof from the University of Pittsburgh or in certain insolvency-related situations or if we cease to carry out our business. There can be no assurance that we will be able to comply with the License Agreement going forward or that the University of Pittsburgh will grant any necessary waivers if we are unable to do so. The obligations under the License Agreement principally require the trial of SkinJect TM on specified timelines. If the University of Pittsburgh were to terminate the License Agreement our assets would essentially be rendered worthless and it would have a material adverse effect on our ability to pursue our business objective.

We may not successfully integrate Antev into our business and operations or successfully develop Teverelix.

On August 29, 2025, we completed the Antev Transaction and acquired 98.6% of the issued and outstanding shares of Antev. We may not be able to successfully integrate Antev's business into our business and operations or develop its assets acquired pursuant to the Antev Transaction, including Teverelix, and may not otherwise realize the expected benefits of the transaction. Difficulties in integrating Antev's rights into our operations may result in the Company performing differently than expected, in operation challenges or in the failure to realize anticipated benefits in the time frame or at all. Difficulties in developing Teverelix, including challenges associated with clinical trials, product approvals, bringing Teverelix to market (and receiving positive reception or obtaining favorable pricing if Teverelix is brought to market), may have an material adverse effect on our results of operations.

The integration of Antev and the development of Teverelix may result in material challenges, including the diversion of management's attention from ongoing business concerns, including the development of SkinJect TM; retaining key employees; the possibility of faulty assumptions underlying expectations regarding the integration process and associated expenses; consolidating corporate and administrative infrastructures and eliminating duplicative operations; retaining existing research, business and operational relationships; coordinating geographically separate organizations; difficulties in the assimilation of employees and corporate cultures; unanticipated issues in integrating information technology, communications and other systems; and unforeseen expenses related to the integration. If we are not successful in integrating Antev, the benefits currently anticipated from the acquisition of Antev, our results of operations, cash flows and financial condition may be materially adversely affected.

Certain of our intellectual property is held under third-party licenses.

Certain of our intellectual property is held under a third-party license and we may require additional third-party licenses to effectively develop and manufacture our key products or future technologies. There can be no assurance as to the availability or cost of such additional licenses. A substantial number of patents have already been issued to other biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies. To the extent that valid third-party patent rights cover our products or services, we or our strategic collaborators would be required to seek licenses from the holders of these patents in order to manufacture, use or sell these products and services, and payments under them would reduce our profits from these products and services. It is not possible to predict the extent to which we may wish or be required to acquire rights under such patents, the availability and cost of acquiring such rights, and whether a license to such patents will be available on acceptable terms or at all. There may be patents in the United States or in foreign countries or patents issued in the future that are unavailable to license on acceptable terms. Our inability to obtain such licenses may hinder or eliminate an ability to manufacture and market products.

If we breach any of the agreements under which we license rights to intellectual property, we could lose license rights that are important to our business. Our current license agreement may not provide an adequate remedy for any breach by the licensor.

For information on the License Agreement, see "Item 1. Business - Patents and Proprietary Information."

Our technology may not be successful for its intended use.

Although the SkinJect Phase 1 study indicated that the patch is well-tolerated, there is no guarantee that the Phase 2 study will produce similar results or that SkinJect TM will ultimately be brought to market or, if it does, that it will be positively received or obtain favorable pricing, which would have a material adverse effect on our results of operations. In addition, there is no guarantee that the open and planned Phase 2b studies involving Teverelix will be successfully or that Teverelix will ultimately be brought to market, or, if it does, that it will be positively received or obtain favorable pricing, which would have a material adverse effect on our business plans and results of operations.

Substantial doubt exists about the Company's ability to continue as a going concern and if the Company is unable to obtain additional financing from outside sources and/or eventually generate enough revenues, it may be forced to curtail or discontinue its operations.

The Company's current auditor has indicated in its report accompanying the Company's audited annual financial statements that substantial doubt exists about the Company's ability to continue as a going concern. The Company is in the preliminary stages of its planned operations and has not yet determined whether its processes and business plans are economically viable. The continued operations of the Company and the recoverability of amounts shown for certain operational expenses in the Company's audited annual financial statements are dependent upon the ability of the Company to obtain sufficient financing to commercialize its product and to become profitable, all of which are uncertain. Importantly, the inclusion in the Company's financial statements of a going concern opinion may negatively impact the Company's ability to raise future financing and achieve future revenue. If the Company is unable to obtain additional financing from outside sources and/or eventually generate enough revenues, the Company may be forced to cut costs, by among other things, curtailing or discontinuing its operations. These measures could cause significant delays or entirely prevent the Company's continued efforts to commercialize its current or future products, which are critical to the realization of its business plan and the future operations of the Company. If any of these events happens, the Company's investors could lose all or part of their investments. In addition, the Company's financial statements do not include any adjustments that may be necessary should the Company be unable to continue as a going concern.

Future technology will require regulatory approval, which is costly and we may not be able to obtain it and we may fail to obtain regulatory approvals or only obtain approvals for limited uses or indications.

Market authorization of the Products falls under the regulatory purview of the FDA and other equivalent regulatory bodies worldwide. There can be no assurance that these regulatory bodies will approve the Products in the manner or time frame suggested. Although we intend to work with regulatory consultants and third parties knowledgeable in the area, we cannot ensure that the Products will obtain market authorization in a timely manner, or at all. Market authorization may also be contingent on a less competitive product label, which would negatively impact revenue.

Changes in methods of manufacturing or formulation may result in additional costs or delay.

As the Products are developed through further clinical trials towards approval and commercialization, it is common that various aspects of the development program, such as manufacturing methods and formulation, are altered along the way in an effort to optimize processes and results. Such changes carry the risk that they will not achieve these intended objectives. Any of these changes could cause the Products to perform differently and affect the results of future clinical trials conducted with the altered materials. This could delay completion of clinical trials, require the conduct of bridging clinical trials or the repetition of one or more clinical trials, increase clinical trial costs, delay approval of the Products and jeopardize our ability, or our strategic partners' ability, to commence product sales and generate revenue.

The manufacture of the Products is complex. We or our third-party manufacturers may encounter difficulties in production. If we encounter any such difficulties, our ability to supply the Products for clinical trials or, if approved, for commercial sale could be delayed or halted entirely.

The manufacture of biopharmaceutical products is complex and requires significant expertise and capital investment, including the development of advanced manufacturing techniques and process controls. The processes of manufacturing the Products are susceptible to product loss due to contamination, equipment failure or improper installation or operation of equipment, vendor or operator error, contamination and inconsistency in yields, variability in product characteristics and difficulties in scaling the production process. Even minor deviations from normal manufacturing processes could result in reduced production yields, product defects and other supply disruptions. If microbial, viral or other contaminations are discovered in the Products or in the manufacturing facilities in which the Products are made, such manufacturing facilities may need to be closed for an extended period of time to investigate and remedy the contamination. Any adverse developments affecting manufacturing operations for the Products, if any are approved, may result in shipment delays, inventory shortages, lot failures, product withdrawals or recalls, or other interruptions in the supply of our products. We may also have to take inventory write-offs and incur other charges and expenses for products that fail to meet specifications, undertake costly remediation efforts or seek more costly manufacturing alternatives.

We rely on external contract research organizations to provide clinical and nonclinical research services and agreements with these organizations of which one agreement is currently in place.

The outsourcing of functions to contract research organizations involves the risk that third party providers may not perform to our standards, may not produce results in a timely manner or may fail to perform at all. If any contract research organization fails to comply with applicable regulatory requirements, the research and data generated may be deemed unreliable to regulatory authorities. Additional pre-clinical and clinical trials may be required before approval of marketing applications will be given. We cannot provide assurance that all third-party providers will meet the regulatory requirements for research and pre-clinical trials. Failure of third-party providers to meet regulatory requirements could result in repeat pre-clinical and clinical trials, which would delay the regulatory approval process or result in termination of pre-clinical and clinical trials. Any of the foregoing could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, results of operations and financial condition.

If we are unable to establish sales and marketing capabilities or enter into agreements with third parties to market and sell the Products, if approved, we may be unable to generate any product revenue.

To successfully commercialize the Products, we will need to build out sales and marketing capabilities, either on our own or with others. The establishment and development of our own commercial team or the establishment of a contract field force to market the Products will be expensive and time-consuming and could delay launch. Moreover, we cannot be certain that we will be able to successfully develop this capability. We may seek to enter into collaborations with other entities to use their established marketing and distribution capabilities, but we may be unable to enter into such agreements on favorable terms, if at all. If any current or future collaborators do not commit sufficient resources to commercialize the Products, or we are unable to develop the necessary capabilities on our own, we may be unable to generate sufficient revenue to sustain our business. We may compete with many companies that currently have extensive, experienced and well-funded marketing and sales operations to recruit, hire, train and retain marketing and sales personnel. Without an internal team or the support of a third party to perform marketing and sales functions, we may be unable to compete successfully against these more established companies.

We rely on key personnel.

Our success depends in large measure on certain key personnel, including our chairman & chief executive officer, Dr. Raza Bokhari. The loss of the services of such key personnel could have a material adverse effect on us. The contributions of these individuals to our operations have been, and are expected to continue to be, of central importance. In addition, the competition for qualified personnel in the biotech industry is intense and there can be no assurance that we will be able to continue to attract and retain all personnel necessary for the development and operation of our business. Investors must rely upon the ability, expertise, judgment, discretion, integrity and good faith of our management. Other biotechnology companies with which we compete for qualified personnel have greater financial and other resources, different risk profiles and a longer history in the industry than we do. They also may provide more diverse opportunities and better chances for career advancement. Some of these characteristics may be more appealing to high-quality candidates than those that we have to offer. If we are unable to continue to attract and retain high-quality personnel, the rate of and success with which we can develop and commercialize the Products would be limited.

As a technology-driven company, intellectual input from key management and personnel is critical to achieve our business objectives. Consequently, our ability to retain these individuals and attract other qualified individuals is critical to our success. The loss of the services of key individuals might significantly delay or prevent achievement of our business objectives. In addition, because of a relative scarcity of individuals with the high degree of education and scientific achievement required for our business, competition among biotech companies for qualified employees is intense and, as a result, we may not be able to attract and retain such individuals on acceptable terms, or at all.

SkinJect also has or may have relationships with scientific collaborators at academic and other institutions, some of whom conduct research at SkinJect's request or assist SkinJect in formulating the SkinJect's research and development strategies. These scientific collaborators are not SkinJect employees and may have commitments to, or consulting or advisory contracts with, other entities that may limit their availability to us. In addition, even though SkinJect's collaborators are required to sign confidentiality agreements prior to working, they may have arrangements with other companies to assist such other companies in developing technologies that may prove competitive to us.

Incentive provisions for our key executives include base salary and the granting of stock options that vest over time, designed to encourage such individuals to stay with us. However, a low share price could render such agreements of little value to our key executives. In such event, our key executives could be susceptible to being hired away by our competitors who could offer a better compensation package. If we are unable to attract and retain key personnel our business, financial conditions and results of operations may be adversely affected.

We may not be able to successfully execute our business strategy.

The execution of our business strategy poses many challenges and is based on a number of assumptions. If we experience significant regulatory delays, supply chain disruptions, cost overruns on our programs, or if our business plan is more costly than we anticipate, certain research and development activities may be delayed or eliminated, resulting in changes or delays to our commercialization plans, or we may be compelled to secure additional funding (which may or may not be available) to execute our business strategy. We cannot predict with certainty future revenues or results from operations. If the assumptions on which our revenue or expenditure forecasts are based change, the benefits of our business strategy may change as well.

We will require additional financing in the future, which may not be available on favorable terms or at all.

The development of our business is expected to require additional financing. Failure to obtain sufficient financing may result in the delay or indefinite postponement of our business plans. The initial primary source of funding available to us consists of equity financing. There can be no assurance that additional capital or other types of financing will be available if needed or that, if available, the terms of such financing will be favorable to us.

The ongoing volatility in global capital markets has generally made the raising of capital by equity or debt financing more difficult. Access to financing has been negatively impacted by ongoing global economic risks and increased inflation. We will require substantial additional funds for further research and development, and the marketing and sale of our technology. We may attempt to raise additional funds for these purposes through public or private equity or debt financing, collaborations with other therapeutic companies, government grants or other sources. There can be no assurance that additional funding or partnerships will be available on terms acceptable to us and which would foster the successful commercialization of the Products. If additional funds are raised through further issuances of equity or convertible debt securities, existing shareholders could suffer significant dilution, and any new equity securities issued could have rights, preferences and privileges superior to those of the common shares or terms superior to those of the existing warrants. Any debt financing secured in the future could involve restrictive covenants relating to capital raising activities and other financial and operational matters, which may make it more difficult for us to obtain additional capital or to pursue business opportunities, including potential acquisitions. If adequate funds are not obtained, we may be required to reduce, curtail or discontinue operations.

We have had negative operating cash flows since inception and expect to incur losses for the foreseeable future.

We have had negative cash flow from operating activities and have incurred operating losses since its inception. We anticipate that we will continue to incur losses for the foreseeable future, and we expect these losses to increase as we continue our research and development of, and seek regulatory approvals for, our product candidates, prepare for and begin to commercialize any approved product candidates and add infrastructure and personnel to support our product development efforts and operations as a public company. The net losses and negative cash flows incurred to date, together with expected future losses, have had, and likely will continue to have, an adverse effect on our shareholders' deficit and working capital. As of December 31, 2025, we had an accumulated deficit of approximately $64.3 million, which was comprised of approximately $12.4 million of accumulated deficit of SkinJect as of September 30, 2023, the day after it became a subsidiary of the Company, and approximately $51.9 million of deficit accumulated by the Company on a consolidated basis). The amount of future net losses will depend, in part, on the rate of future growth of our expenses and our ability to generate revenue.

To the extent that we have negative operating cash flow in future periods, we may need to allocate a portion of our cash reserves to fund such negative cash flow. We may also be required to raise additional funds through the issuance of equity or debt securities. There can be no assurance that we will be able to generate positive cash flow from our operations or that additional capital or other types of financing will be available when needed or on terms favorable to us.

We are in a highly competitive industry which is continuously evolving with technological changes.

We are engaged in an industry that is highly competitive, evolving and characterized by technological change. As a result, it is difficult for us to predict whether, when and by whom new competing technologies or new competitors may enter the market. We face competition from companies with strong positions in certain markets we are currently targeting, and in new markets and regions we may enter. Some of these companies have significantly greater financial, technical, human, research and development, and marketing resources than us. We cannot assure that we will be able to compete effectively against current and future competitors who may discover and develop products in advance of us that are more effective than those developed by us. As a consequence, our current and future technologies may become obsolete or uncompetitive, resulting in adverse effects on revenue, margins and profitability. In addition, competition or other competitive pressures may result in price reductions, reduced margins or loss of market share, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations. To the extent that new or improved pharmaceutical drug treatments are introduced that demonstrate better long-term efficacy and safety, patients and physicians may further delay the introduction of patches, such as SkinJect TM, if approved, in the non-melanoma skin cancer treatment continuum or delay the use of Teverelix for the treatment of for the treatment of cardiovascular high-risk prostate cancer patients and patients with first AUR episodes due to an enlarged prostate. SkinJect TM could also face competition from other formulations or devices that deliver chemotherapeutic agents on an extended basis.

Many of our competitors have substantially greater financial, technical and other resources, such as larger research and development staffs and experienced commercial and manufacturing organizations. Mergers and acquisitions in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries may result in even more resources being concentrated in competitors. As a result, these companies may obtain regulatory approval more rapidly than we are able and may be more effective in selling and marketing their products as well. Smaller or early-stage companies may also prove to be significant competitors, particularly through collaborative arrangements with large, established companies. Competition may increase further as a result of advances in the commercial applicability of technologies and greater availability of capital for investment in these industries. Our competitors may succeed in developing, acquiring or licensing on an exclusive basis drug products or drug delivery technologies that are more effective or less costly than the Products.

  • the usefulness, ease of use, performance and reliability of our technology compared to our competitors;

  • the activity and tolerability of the Products, including relative to marketed products and product candidates in development by third parties;

  • the ability to distinguish safety and efficacy from existing, alternative therapies;

  • the timing for the Products to complete clinical development and receive market approval;

  • acceptance of the Products by patients, physicians and other health providers;

  • our ability to monetize our technology;

  • the selection of licensing partners for our technology with the necessary skills and resources to drive uptake;

  • our marketing and selling efforts;

  • our financial condition and results of operations;

  • the ability to maintain a good relationship with regulatory authorities;

  • the price of our future products, including in comparison to branded or generic competitors;

  • acquisitions or consolidations within our industry, which may result in more formidable competitors;

  • our ability to cost-effectively manage and grow our operations; and

  • our reputation and brand strength relative to that of our competitors.

Our future success will depend on our ability to continually enhance and develop the Products.

There is a broad pipeline of potential new therapies that may compete with the Products. The market is characterized by rapid technological change and the possibility of frequent new product introductions. Accordingly, our future success depends upon our ability to enhance the Products and to develop, introduce and sell the most accurate products at competitive prices. The development of new technologies and products involves time, substantial costs and risks. Our ability to successfully develop new technologies depends in large measure on our ability to maintain a technically skilled research and development staff and to adapt to technological changes and advances in the industry.

The success of new product introductions depends on a number of factors including the efficacy and safety as demonstrated in clinical trials, the ability to demonstrate the impact of real world evidence, timely and successful product development, the timing and market introduction of competitive products, market acceptance, the effective management of purchase commitments and inventory levels in line with anticipated product demand, the availability of pharmaceutical components in appropriate quantities and costs to meet anticipated demand, the risk that new products may have quality or other defects in the early stages of introduction and our ability to manage distribution and production issues related to new product introductions, the clinical indications for which the product is approved, acceptance by physicians, the medical community and patients of the product as a safe and effective treatment, the ability to distinguish safety and efficacy from existing, less expensive alternative therapies, the convenience of prescribing, administrating and initiating patients on the product, the potential and perceived advantages and/or value of the product over alternative treatments, the cost of treatment in relation to alternative treatments, including any similar generic treatments, the availability of coverage and adequate reimbursement by third-party payors and government authorities to support the product's pricing, the prevalence and severity of adverse side effects and the effectiveness of sales and marketing efforts.

If we are unable, for any reason, to enhance, develop, introduce and sell new products in a timely manner, or at all, in response to changing market conditions or customer requirements or otherwise, our business would be harmed.

If we are unable to differentiate SkinJectTM from existing therapies for treatment of skin cancer or Teverelix from therapies for high cardiovascular risk advanced prostate cancer patients or from treatment of recurrent AUR ("AURr") episodes, or if the FDA or other applicable regulatory authorities approve generic products that compete with the Products, the ability to successfully commercialize the Products would be adversely affected.

It is possible that we will receive data from additional clinical trials in respect of either or both of SkinJect TM and Teverelix, or in a post marketing setting from physician and patient experiences with the commercial products, that does not continue to support such interpretations. It is also possible that the FDA, physicians and healthcare payers will not agree with our interpretation of existing and future clinical trial data. If we are unable to demonstrate the value of the Products based on clinical data, patient experience, as well as real world evidence, the opportunity for the Products to maintain premium pricing and be commercialized successfully would be adversely affected.

Additionally, the FDA or other applicable regulatory authorities may approve other generic products that could compete with the Products if we cannot adequately protect it with our patent portfolio. For example, in the United States, once an NDA is approved, the product covered thereby becomes a "listed drug" which can, in turn, be cited by potential competitors in support of approval of an abbreviated new drug application ("ANDA"). The Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (the "FDCA"), FDA regulations and other applicable regulations and policies provide incentives to manufacturers to create modified, non-infringing versions of a drug to facilitate the approval of an ANDA or other application for generic substitutes. These manufacturers might only be required to conduct a relatively inexpensive study to show that their product has the same active ingredient(s), dosage form, strength, route of administration, conditions of use, or labeling as our product candidate and that the generic product is bioequivalent to us, meaning it is absorbed in the body at the same rate and to the same extent as the Products. These generic equivalents, which must meet the same quality standards as branded pharmaceuticals, would be significantly less costly than ours to bring to market and companies that produce generic equivalents are generally able to offer their products at lower prices. Thus, after the introduction of a generic competitor, a significant percentage of the sales of any branded product is typically lost to the generic product. Accordingly, competition from generic equivalents to our products would materially adversely impact our ability to successfully commercialize the Products.

A variety of risks associated with potential international business relationships could materially adversely affect our business.

We may enter into agreements with third parties for the development and commercialization of the Products in international markets. If we do so, we would be subject to additional risks related to entering into international business relationships, including:

  • differing regulatory requirements in other countries including, among others, marketing approval, pricing, reimbursement and sales and marketing practices;

  • potentially reduced protection for intellectual property rights;

  • potential for so-called parallel importing, which is when a local seller, faced with higher local prices, opts to import goods from a foreign market with lower prices, rather than buying them locally;

  • unexpected changes in tariffs, trade barriers and regulatory requirements, including the imposition of new tariffs by the U.S. government on imports to the U.S. and/or the imposition of retaliatory tariffs by foreign countries;

  • compliance with tax, employment, immigration and labor laws for employees traveling and working abroad;

  • foreign taxes;

  • foreign currency fluctuations, which could result in increased operating expenses and reduced revenues, and other risks incident to doing business in another country;

  • workforce uncertainty in countries where labor unrest is more common than the United States;

  • production shortages resulting from any events affecting raw material supply or manufacturing capabilities abroad or supply chain disruptions; and

  • business interruptions resulting from geo-political actions, including war and terrorism, or natural disasters, including earthquakes, volcanoes, typhoons, floods, tsunamis, hurricanes and fires.

These and other risks may materially adversely affect our ability to develop and commercialize products in international markets and may harm our business.

Collaboration arrangements we may enter into in the future may not be successful.

We may seek future partnerships, collaborations and other strategic transactions to maximize the commercial potential of the Products. We may enter into such arrangements on a selective basis depending on the merits of retaining commercialization rights for ourself as compared to entering into selective collaboration arrangements with leading pharmaceutical or biotechnology companies, both in the United States and internationally. We face competition in seeking appropriate collaborators. Moreover, collaboration arrangements are complex and time consuming to negotiate, document and implement. We may not be successful in our efforts to establish and implement collaborations or other alternative arrangements should we choose to enter into such arrangements. The terms of any collaborations or other arrangements that we may establish may not be favorable to us.

Any future collaborations that we enter into may not be successful. The success of our collaboration arrangements will depend heavily on the efforts and activities of our collaborators.

Disagreements between parties to a collaboration arrangement regarding clinical development and commercialization matters could lead to delays in the development process or commercialization of our product candidate and, in some cases, termination of the collaboration arrangement. These disagreements can be difficult to resolve if neither of the parties has final decision-making authority.

Collaborations with pharmaceutical or biotechnology companies and other third parties often are terminated or allowed to expire by the other party. Any such termination or expiration could adversely affect us financially and could harm our business reputation.

We have and may in the future acquire businesses or products, or form strategic alliances in the future, and we may not realize the benefits of such acquisitions or alliances.

We have, and in the future may, acquire additional businesses or products, form strategic alliances or create joint ventures with third parties that we believe will complement or augment our existing business. If we acquire businesses with promising markets or technologies, we may not be able to realize the benefit of acquiring such businesses if we are unable to successfully integrate them with our existing operations and company culture. We may encounter numerous difficulties in developing, manufacturing and marketing any new products resulting from a strategic alliance or acquisition that delay or prevent us from realizing their expected benefits or enhancing our business. We cannot assure you that, following any such acquisition, we will achieve the expected synergies to justify the transaction. In addition, we may require significant additional funds to either acquire such businesses or products or to commercialize them, which may result in significant dilution to shareholders or the incurrence of significant indebtedness by us.

We do not have any customer commitments.

We may negotiate clinical and/or commercial supply agreements for the Products or product sub-components. At the time of this annual report, there are no commitments from customers for the Products. Because we do not have any contracts for the Products, management may not accurately predict future revenue streams and there may be no assurance that customers would continue to use our products, or that we would be able to replace departing potential customers with new potential customers that provide us with comparable revenue.

Our business and operations would suffer in the event of computer system failures, cyberattacks, or a deficiency in our cyber security.

Despite the implementation of security measures, our internal computer systems, and those of the third parties on which we rely, are vulnerable to damage from computer viruses, unauthorized access, natural disasters, terrorism, war and telecommunication and electrical failures. If such an event were to occur and cause interruptions in our operations, it could result in a material disruption of our commercialization or further development of our technology. To the extent that any disruption or security breach were to result in a loss of or damage to our data or applications, or inappropriate disclosure of confidential or proprietary information, we could incur liability and the further development or the commercialization of our products could be delayed or disrupted.

We may fail to manage growth successfully which may adversely impact operating results.

Our failure to manage our growth successfully may adversely impact our operating results. Our ability to manage growth will require us to continue to build our operational, financial and management controls, contracting relationships, marketing and business development plans and controls and reporting systems and procedures. Our ability to manage our growth will also depend in large part upon a number of factors, including the ability for us to rapidly:

  • expand our internal and operational and financial controls significantly so that we can maintain control over operations;

  • attract and retain qualified technical personnel in order to continue to develop reliable and flexible products and provide services that respond to evolving customer needs;

  • build a sales team to keep customers and channel partners informed regarding the technical features issues and key selling points of our products and services;

  • develop support capacity for customers as sales increase; and

  • build a channel network to create an expanding presence in the evolving marketplace for our products and services.

An inability to achieve any of these objectives could harm our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Any products we develop will be subject to extensive, lengthy and uncertain regulatory requirements, which could adversely affect the ability to obtain regulatory approval in a timely manner, or at all.

It is understood that pharmacologic therapies are subject to an extensive, lengthy and unpredictable regulatory approval process by the FDA and equivalent regulatory bodies in other countries. This entails significant investment in time and resources, with no guarantee on the outcome or timeframe. We may encounter significant delays or excessive costs in our efforts to secure necessary market authorizations. Even if approved, the different regulatory bodies have numerous regulations governing the manufacturing, labeling, distributing, marketing, promotion and advertising after product approval. The regulatory requirements governing new technologies might be subject to change, and the products themselves may be subject to substantial review by the FDA and/or other governmental regulatory authorities that could prevent or delay approval of these products. Regulatory constraints ultimately imposed on our products, if approved, could limit our ability to commercialize, thus impacting on our financial condition and results.

Manufacture and marketing of the Products is subject to government regulation. In most countries, we will be required to complete extensive non-clinical studies and clinical trials to demonstrate the safety and efficacy of the Products in order to apply for regulatory approval to market the product. Prior to marketing approval in the United States, required steps include non-clinical (animal and laboratory) testing; performance of adequate and well-controlled human clinical trials to establish the safety and efficacy of the Products in the intended target population; performance of a consistent and reproducible manufacturing process intended for commercial use; and successful filing and approval of an NDA. These processes are costly and the timeframe and success are uncertain and may be out of our control. We also have no control over the extent of approval, which can be restricted to specific jurisdictions and/or conditions on the product label and limit our revenues.

Once approved, we will be subjected to continuing regulatory review, including adverse event reporting requirements and the FDA's general prohibition against promoting products for unapproved uses. We may also have other forms of post approval commitments, such as clinical trials or enhanced safety reporting and commitments. Failure to comply with any post-approval requirements can have consequences including warning letters, product seizures, recalls, substantial fines, injunctions, withdrawal of approvals, operating restrictions and criminal prosecutions. Any of these enforcement actions, any unanticipated changes in existing regulatory requirements or the adoption of new requirements, or any safety issues that arise with any approved products, could negatively impact on our ability to market products and generate revenues and thus our ability to continue our operations.

We also may be restricted or prohibited from marketing or manufacturing a product, even after obtaining product approval, if previously unknown problems with the product or our manufacturer are subsequently discovered. Moreover, we cannot provide assurance that newly discovered or developed safety issues will not arise following any regulatory approval. If our product is used by a large patient population, serious adverse events may occur from time to time that initially may seem unconnected to the treatment, and only when it repeatedly occurs over a period of time does the treatment become suspect as having a causal relationship to the adverse event. Any safety issues could cause us to suspend or cease marketing of our approved products, possibly subject us to substantial liabilities, and adversely affect our ability to generate revenues.

We may not be able to obtain marketing approval.

Even if we complete the necessary non-clinical studies and clinical trials, the marketing approval process is expensive, time-consuming, and uncertain and may prevent us from obtaining approvals for the commercialization of the Products. If we are not able to obtain, or if there are delays in obtaining, required regulatory approvals, we will not be able to commercialize, or will be delayed in commercializing, the Products, and our ability to generate revenue will be materially impaired.

We rely on the protection of intellectual property rights.

Our commercial success depends to a significant degree upon our ability to develop new or improved technologies, instruments and products, and to obtain patents or other intellectual property rights or statutory protection for these technologies and products in Canada, the United States and other countries, such as the countries in the European Union and Asia. We intend to patent concepts, components, processes, industrial designs and methods, and other inventions and technologies that we consider having commercial value or that will likely give us a competitive advantage. Despite devoting resources to the research and development of proprietary technology, we may not be able to develop new technology that is patentable or protectable. Further, patents issued to us, if any, could be challenged, held invalid or unenforceable, or be circumvented and may not provide us with necessary or sufficient protection or a competitive advantage.

In addition, despite our efforts to protect and maintain our patents competitors and other third parties may be able to design around our patents, if so awarded, or develop products similar to our products that are not within the scope of such patents. Finally, patents provide certain statutory protection only for a limited period of time that varies depending on the jurisdiction and type of patent. The statutory protection term of our licensed SkinJect TM patents expire between 2030 and 2035 and the statutory term of Antev's issued U.S. patents expire in 2039 (between 2044 and 2045 with respect to certain pending patent applications that have yet to issue) and, thereafter, the underlying technology of such patents will be allowed to be used by any third party, including our competitors. Moreover, the inventions covered by patents may be free to be used in countries for which there is no patent protection. A number of our competitors and other third parties have been issued patents, or may have filed patent applications, or may obtain additional patents or other intellectual property rights for technologies similar to those that we have developed, used or commercialized, or may develop, use or commercialize, in the future. As certain patent applications in the United States and other countries are maintained in secrecy for a period of time after filing, and as publication or public awareness of new technologies often lags behind actual discoveries, we cannot be certain that we have been the first to develop the technology covered by our pending patent applications. In addition, the disclosure in our patent applications, including in respect of the utility of our claimed inventions, may not be sufficient to meet the statutory requirements for patentability in all cases. As a result, we can provide no assurance that our patent applications will result in valid or enforceable patents.

Prosecution and protection of the rights sought in patent applications and patents can be costly and uncertain, often involve complex legal and factual issues and consume significant time and resources. In addition, the breadth of claims allowed in our future patents, their enforceability and our ability to protect and maintain them cannot be predicted with any certainty. The laws of certain countries may not protect intellectual property rights to the same extent as the laws of Canada or the United States Even if our patents are held to be valid and enforceable in a certain jurisdiction, any legal proceedings that we may initiate against third parties to enforce such patents will likely be expensive, take significant time and divert management's attention from other business matters. We can provide no assurance that any of our pending patent applications will provide any protectable, maintainable or enforceable rights or competitive advantages to it.

  • others may be able to make product that is similar to product candidates we intend to commercialize that is not covered by the patents that we own;

  • we, or any collaborators might not have been the first to make or reduce to practice the inventions covered by the issued patents or pending patent applications that we own;

  • we or any collaborators might not have been the first to file patent applications covering certain of our inventions;

Should any of these events occur, they could significantly harm our business and results of operations. We can provide no assurance that we will be successful in protecting, maintaining or enforcing our intellectual property rights. If we are not successful in protecting, maintaining or enforcing our intellectual property rights, then our business, operating results and financial condition could be materially adversely affected.

The laws of some foreign countries do not protect intellectual property rights to the same extent as the laws of Canada and the United States. Many companies have encountered significant problems in protecting and defending intellectual property rights in certain foreign jurisdictions. The legal systems of some countries, particularly developing countries, do not favor the enforcement of patents and other intellectual property protection, especially those relating to life sciences.

To the extent that we have obtained or are able to obtain patents or other intellectual property rights in any foreign jurisdictions, it may be difficult for us to stop the infringement of our patents or the misappropriation of other intellectual property rights. For example, some foreign countries have compulsory licensing laws under which a patent owner must grant licenses to third parties. In addition, many countries limit the availability of certain types of patent rights and enforceability of patents against third parties, including government agencies or government contractors. In these countries, patents may provide limited or no benefit.

Proceedings to enforce our patent rights in foreign jurisdictions could result in substantial costs and divert our efforts and attention from other aspects of our business. Accordingly, our efforts to protect our intellectual property rights in such countries may be inadequate.

Guidelines and recommendations published by various organizations can reduce the use of products that we may commercialize.

Government agencies promulgate regulations and guidelines directly applicable to us and our products. In addition, professional societies, practice management groups, private health and science foundations and organizations involved in various diseases from time to time may also publish guidelines or recommendations to the healthcare and patient communities with respect to specific products. Recommendations of government agencies or these other groups or organizations may relate to such matters as usage, dosage, route of administration and use of concomitant therapies. Recommendations or guidelines that do not recognize our future products, suggest limitations or inadequacies of our future products, or suggest the use of competitive or alternative products as the standard of care to be followed by patients and healthcare providers, could result in decreased use or adoption of our future products.

Changes in patent law in the United States and other jurisdictions could diminish the value of patents in general, thereby impairing our ability to protect our technology and products..

As is the case with other biopharmaceutical companies, our success is heavily dependent on intellectual property, particularly patents. Obtaining, defending, maintaining and enforcing patents in the biopharmaceutical industry involves both technological and legal complexity and is therefore costly, time-consuming and inherently uncertain. Changes in either the patent laws or interpretation of the patent laws in the United States could increase the uncertainties and costs surrounding the prosecution of patent applications and the enforcement or defense of issued patents, and may diminish our ability to protect our inventions, obtain, maintain, enforce and protect our intellectual property rights and, more generally, could affect the value of our intellectual property or narrow the scope of our future owned and licensed patents. Patent reform legislation in the United States and other countries, including the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (the "AIA"), could increase those uncertainties and costs surrounding the prosecution of our patent applications and the enforcement or defense of our future issued patents. On September 16, 2011, the AIA was signed into law. The AIA includes a number of significant changes to U.S. patent law. These include provisions that affect the way patent applications will be prosecuted and may also affect patent litigation. In particular, under the AIA, the United States transitioned in March 2013 to a "first to file" system in which the first inventor to file a patent application will be entitled to the patent. The AIA also includes a number of significant changes to U.S. patent law. These include provisions that affect the way patent applications are prosecuted, re-define prior art and provide more efficient and cost-effective avenues for competitors to challenge the validity of patents. These include allowing third-party submission of prior art to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office ("USPTO") during patent prosecution and additional procedures to attack the validity of a patent by USPTO administered post-grant proceedings, PGR, IPR and derivation proceedings.

In addition, the patent positions of companies in the development and commercialization of pharmaceuticals are particularly uncertain. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled on several patent cases in recent years, either narrowing the scope of patent protection available in certain circumstances or weakening the rights of patent owners in certain situations. Depending on future actions by the U.S. Congress, the U.S. courts, the USPTO and the relevant law-making bodies in other countries, the laws and regulations governing patents could change in unpredictable ways that would weaken our or our licensors' ability to obtain new patents and patents that we or our licensors might obtain in the future. We cannot predict how future decisions by the courts, the U.S. Congress or the USPTO may impact the value of our patents. Any similar adverse change in the patent laws of other jurisdictions could also adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

Further, the AIA also includes significant changes in the way patent applications will be prosecuted and may also affect patent litigation. These include allowing third parties to submit prior art during patent prosecution by the USPTO, and additional procedures to attack the validity of a patent in post-grant proceedings including opposition, derivation, re-examination, inter partes review or interference proceedings challenging our patent rights or the patent rights of others. An adverse determination in any such submission, proceeding or litigation could reduce the scope or enforceability of, or invalidate, our patent rights, which could adversely affect our competitive position.

Patent reform legislation in the United States, including the AIA, could increase those uncertainties and costs surrounding the prosecution of our patent applications and the enforcement or defense of our issued patents. The AIA was signed into law on September 16, 2011, and includes a number of significant changes to U.S. patent law. These include provisions that affect the way patent applications are prosecuted, redefine prior art and provide more efficient and cost-effective avenues for competitors to challenge the validity of patents. These include allowing third -party submission of prior art to the USPTO during patent prosecution and additional procedures to attack the validity of a patent by USPTO administered post-grant proceedings, including post-grant review, inter partes review, and derivation proceedings. After March 15, 2013, under the AIA, the United States transitioned to a first inventor to file system in which, assuming that the other statutory requirements are met, the first inventor to file a patent application will be entitled to the patent on an invention regardless of whether a third party was the first to invent the claimed invention. The AIA and its implementation could increase the uncertainties and costs surrounding the prosecution of our patent applications, our ability to obtain future patents, and the enforcement or defense of our issued patents, all of which could harm our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

Moreover, we may be subject to a third-party pre-issuance submission of prior art to the USPTO or become involved in opposition, derivation, reexamination, inter partes review, post-grant review or interference proceedings challenging our owned patent rights. An adverse determination in any such submission, proceeding or litigation could reduce the scope of, or invalidate, our patent rights, allow third parties to commercialize our technology or products and compete directly with us, without payment to us, or result in our inability to manufacture or commercialize products without infringing third-party patent rights. In addition, if the breadth or strength of protection provided by our patents and patent applications is threatened, it could dissuade companies from collaborating with us to license, develop or commercialize current or future product candidates.

The issuance of a patent is not conclusive as to its inventorship, scope, validity or enforceability, and our patents may be challenged in the courts or patent offices in the United States and abroad. Such challenges may result in loss of exclusivity or in patent claims being narrowed, invalidated or held unenforceable, in whole or in part, which could limit our ability to stop others from using or commercializing similar or identical technology and products, or limit the duration of the patent protection of our technology and products. Moreover, patents have a limited lifespan. In the United States, the natural expiration of a patent is generally 20 years after it is filed. The statutory protection term of patents of our licensed SkinJect TM patents expire between 2030 and 2035 and the statutory term of Antev's issued U.S. patents expire in 2039 (between 2044 and 2045 with respect to certain pending patent applications that have yet to issue) and, thereafter, the underlying technology of such patents will be allowed to be used by any third party, including our competitors. Various extensions may be available; however, the life of a patent, and the protection it affords, is limited. Without patent protection for our current or future product candidates, we may be open to competition from generic versions of such products. Given the amount of time required for the development, testing and regulatory review of new product candidates, patents protecting such candidates might expire before or shortly after such candidates are commercialized. As a result, our patent portfolio may not provide us with sufficient rights to exclude others from commercializing products similar or identical to ours.

Our commercial success will largely depend on our ability to obtain market exclusivity in the United States and other countries with respect to our drug candidates and their target indications. Depending upon the timing, duration and specifics of FDA marketing approval of our drug candidates, certain of our product candidates may be eligible for marketing exclusivity. The FDCA provides three years of marketing exclusivity for an NDA, or supplement to an existing NDA if new clinical investigations, other than bioavailability studies, that were conducted or sponsored by the applicant are deemed by the FDA to be essential to the approval of the application, for example new indications, dosages, dosage forms or strengths of an existing drug. This three-year exclusivity covers only the conditions associated with the new clinical investigations and prohibits the FDA from approving an ANDA, or a 505(b)(2) NDA submitted by another company with overlapping conditions associated with the new clinical investigations for the three-year period. Clinical investigation exclusivity does not prohibit the FDA from approving ANDAs for drugs containing the original active agent. The three-year exclusivity will not delay the submission or approval of an NDA for the same drug. However, an applicant submitting an NDA would be required to conduct or obtain a right of reference to all of the preclinical studies and adequate and well-controlled clinical trials necessary to demonstrate safety and effectiveness.

If we are unable to obtain such marketing exclusivity for our product candidates, our competitors may be able to take advantage of our investment in development and clinical trials by referencing our clinical and preclinical data to obtain approval of competing products and launch their product earlier than might otherwise be the case.

Risk of reduced or eliminated patent protection from non-compliance with regulatory requirements.

Periodic maintenance fees on any issued patent are due to be paid to the USPTO and foreign patent agencies in several stages over the lifetime of the patent. The USPTO and various foreign governmental patent agencies require compliance with a number of procedurals, documentary, fee payment and other similar provisions during the patent application process. While an inadvertent lapse can in many cases be cured by payment of a late fee or by other means in accordance with the applicable rules, there are situations in which non-compliance can result in unenforceability, invalidity, abandonment or lapse of the patent or patent application, resulting in partial or complete loss of patent rights in the relevant jurisdiction. Non-compliance events that could result in unenforceability, invalidity, abandonment or lapse of a patent or patent application include, but are not limited to, failure to respond to official actions within prescribed time limits, non-payment of fees and failure to properly legalize and submit formal documents. If we or any future licensors fail to maintain the patents and patent applications covering the Products, our competitive position would be adversely affected.

We may infringe the intellectual property rights of others.

Our commercial success depends, in part, upon it not infringing or violating intellectual property rights owned by others. The industry in which we compete has participants that own, or claim to own, intellectual property. We cannot determine with certainty whether any existing third-party patents, or the issuance of any new third-party patents, would require us to alter our technologies or products, obtain licenses or cease certain activities, including the sale of certain products.

We may in the future receive claims from third parties asserting infringement and other related claims. Litigation may be necessary to determine the scope, enforceability and validity of third-party intellectual property rights or to protect, maintain and enforce our intellectual property rights. Some of our competitors have, or are affiliated with companies having, substantially greater resources than we have, and these competitors may be able to sustain the costs of complex intellectual property litigation to a greater degree and for longer periods of time than we can. Regardless of whether claims that it is infringing or violating patents or other intellectual property rights have any merit, those claims could:

  • adversely affect our relationships with current or future distributors and dealers of our products;

  • adversely affect our reputation with customers;

  • be time-consuming and expensive to evaluate and defend;

  • cause product shipment delays or stoppages; divert management's attention and resources;

  • subject us to significant liabilities and damages;

  • require us to enter into royalty or licensing agreements; or

  • require us to cease certain activities, including the sale of products.

If it is determined that we have infringed, violated or is infringing or violating a patent or the intellectual property right of any other person or if we are found liable in respect of any other related claim, then, in addition to being liable for potentially substantial damages, we may be prohibited from developing, using, distributing, selling or commercializing certain of our technologies and products unless we obtain a license from the holder of the patent or other intellectual property right. We can provide no assurance that we will be able to obtain any such license on a timely basis or on commercially favorable terms, or that any such licenses will be available, or that workarounds will be feasible and cost-efficient. If we do not obtain such a license or find a cost-efficient workaround, our business, operating results and financial condition could be materially adversely affected and we could be required to cease related business operations in some markets and restructure our business to focus on our continuing operations in other markets.

Our general liability insurance expires in October 2026. There can be no assurance that we will be able to renew our liability insurance on favorable terms or at all.

We may not identify relevant third-party patents or may incorrectly interpret the relevance, scope or expiration of a third-party patent, which might harm our ability to develop and market our products.

The scope of a patent claim is determined by an interpretation of the law, the written disclosure in a patent and the patent's prosecution history. Our interpretation of the relevance or the scope of a patent or a pending application may be incorrect, which may negatively impact our ability to market our products. We may incorrectly determine that our products are not covered by a third-party patent or may incorrectly predict whether a third party's pending application will issue with claims of relevant scope. Our determination of the expiration date of any patent in the United States or abroad that we consider relevant may be incorrect, and our failure to identify and correctly interpret relevant patents may negatively impact our ability to develop and market our products.

We may become involved in lawsuits to protect or enforce our patents or our other intellectual property rights, which could be expensive, time consuming and unsuccessful.

Competitors may infringe or otherwise violate our patents or our other intellectual property rights. To counter infringement or unauthorized use, we may be required to file legal claims, which can be expensive and time-consuming. In addition, in an infringement proceeding, a court may decide that a patent of ours is not valid or is unenforceable or may refuse to stop the other party from using the technology at issue on the grounds that our patents do not cover the technology in question. As a result, we cannot predict with certainty how much protection, if any, will be given to our patents if we attempt to enforce them and they are challenged in court. Further, even if we prevail against an infringer in U.S. district court, there is always the risk that the infringer will file an appeal and the district court judgment will be overturned at the appeals court and/or that an adverse decision will be issued by the appeals court relating to the validity or enforceability of our patents. An adverse result in any litigation or defense proceedings could put one or more of our patents at risk of being invalidated or interpreted narrowly and could put our patent applications at risk of not issuing. The initiation of a claim against a third party may also cause the third party to bring counter claims against us such as claims asserting that our patents are invalid or unenforceable. In patent litigation in the United States, defendant counterclaims alleging invalidity or unenforceability are commonplace. Grounds for a validity challenge could be an alleged failure to meet any of several statutory requirements, including lack of novelty, obviousness, non-enablement or lack of written description or statutory subject matter. Grounds for an unenforceability assertion could be an allegation that someone connected with prosecution of the patent withheld relevant material information from the USPTO, or made a materially misleading statement, during prosecution. Third parties may also raise similar validity claims before the USPTO in post-grant proceedings such asex parte reexaminations,inter partes review, or post-grant review, or oppositions or similar proceedings outside the United States, in parallel with litigation or even outside the context of litigation. The outcome following legal assertions of invalidity and unenforceability is unpredictable. We cannot be certain that there is no invalidating prior art, of which we and the patent examiner were unaware during prosecution. If a defendant were to prevail on a legal assertion of invalidity or unenforceability, we would lose at least part, and perhaps all, of any future patent protection on our current or future product candidates.

Even if we establish infringement, the court may decide not to grant an injunction against further infringing activity and instead award only monetary damages, which may or may not be an adequate remedy. Furthermore, because of the substantial amount of discovery required in connection with intellectual property litigation, there is a risk that some of our confidential information could be compromised by disclosure during this type of litigation. There could also be public announcements of the results of hearings, motions or other interim proceedings or developments. If securities analysts or investors perceive these results to be negative, it could harm the price of our securities.

Even if resolved in our favor, litigation or other legal proceedings relating to intellectual property claims may cause us to incur significant expenses and could distract our technical and management personnel from their normal responsibilities. In addition, there could be public announcements of the results of hearings, motions or other interim proceedings or developments, and if securities analysts or investors perceive these results to be negative, it could adversely impact the price of our securities. Such litigation or proceedings could substantially increase our operating losses and reduce the resources available for development activities or any future sales, marketing or distribution activities. We may not have sufficient financial or other resources to conduct such litigation or proceedings adequately. Some of our competitors may be able to sustain the costs of such litigation or proceedings more effectively than we can because of their greater financial resources. Accordingly, despite our efforts, we may not be able to prevent third parties from infringing upon or misappropriating our intellectual property. In addition, the uncertainties associated with litigation could compromise our ability to raise the funds necessary to continue our clinical trials and internal research programs. Uncertainties resulting from the initiation and continuation of patent litigation or other proceedings could compromise our ability to compete in the marketplace, including compromising our ability to raise the funds necessary to continue our clinical trials, continue our research programs, license necessary technology from third parties, or enter into development collaborations that would help us commercialize our product candidates, if approved.

The issuance of a patent does not give us the right to practice the patented invention. A third party may hold intellectual property, including patent rights, that are important or necessary to the development of our product candidates. Third parties may also have blocking patents that could prevent us from marketing our products or practicing our own patented technology. It may be necessary for us to use the patented or proprietary technology of third parties to commercialize our drug candidates, in which case we would be required to obtain a license from these third parties on commercially reasonable terms. Such a license may not be available, or it may not be available on commercially reasonable terms, in which case our business would be harmed.

The risks described elsewhere pertaining to our intellectual property rights also apply to any intellectual property rights that we may in-license, and any failure by us or our potential licensors to obtain, maintain, defend and enforce these rights could harm our business. In some cases we may not have control over the prosecution, maintenance or enforcement of the patents that we may license, and may not have sufficient ability to provide input into the patent prosecution, maintenance and defense process with respect to such patents, and our potential licensors may fail to take the steps that we believe are necessary or desirable in order to obtain, maintain, defend and enforce the licensed patents.

We may be subject to claims arising from consultants or contractors misappropriating intellectual property.

Many of our consultants and contractors were previously or are concurrently employed at or engaged by biotechnology companies, and/or other pharmaceutical companies, including our competitors or potential competitors, or academic research institutions. Some of these consultants and contractors, including each member of our senior management or our other employees, may have executed proprietary rights, nondisclosure and non-competition agreements in connection with such previous or concurrent employment. We may be subject to claims that we or our consultants and contractors have used or disclosed the intellectual property and other proprietary information or know-how or trade secrets of others in their work for us. Litigation may be necessary to defend against these claims. We are not aware of any threatened or pending claims related to these matters or concerning agreements with our senior management, or other of our employees, consultants and contractors, but litigation may be necessary in the future to defend against such claims. If we fail in defending any such claims, in addition to paying monetary damages, we may lose valuable intellectual property rights, or personnel or access to consultants and contractors. Even if we are successful in defending against such claims, litigation could result in substantial costs and be a distraction to management.

Because we expect to rely on third parties to manufacture our product candidates, and we expect to continue to collaborate with third parties on the development of our product candidates, we must, at times, share trade secrets with them. We seek to protect our proprietary technology in part by entering into confidentiality agreements and, if applicable, material transfer agreements, consulting agreements or other similar agreements with our advisors, employees, third-party contractors and consultants prior to beginning research or disclosing proprietary information. These agreements typically limit the rights of the third parties to use or disclose our confidential information, including our trade secrets. Despite the contractual provisions employed when working with third parties, the need to share trade secrets and other confidential information increases the risk that such trade secrets become known by our competitors, are inadvertently incorporated into the technology of others, or are disclosed or used in violation of these agreements. Any disclosure, either intentional or unintentional, by our employees, the employees of third parties with whom we share our facilities or third-party consultants and vendors that we engage to perform research, clinical trials or manufacturing activities, or misappropriation by third parties (such as through a cybersecurity breach) of our trade secrets or proprietary information could enable competitors to duplicate or surpass our technological achievements, thus eroding our competitive position in our market. Further, adequate remedies may not exist in the event of unauthorized use or disclosure. Given that our proprietary position is based, in part, on our know-how and trade secrets, a competitor's discovery of our trade secrets or other unauthorized use or disclosure would impair our competitive position and may harm our business and results of operations.

In addition, these agreements typically restrict the ability of our advisors, employees, third-party contractors and consultants to publish data potentially relating to our trade secrets, although our agreements may contain certain limited publication rights. Policing unauthorized use of our intellectual property is difficult, expensive and time-consuming, and we may be unable to determine the extent of any unauthorized use. Moreover, enforcing a claim that a party illegally disclosed or misappropriated a trade secret is difficult, expensive and time-consuming, and the outcome is unpredictable. In addition, some courts inside and outside the United States are less willing or unwilling to protect trade secrets. Despite our efforts to protect our trade secrets, our competitors may discover our trade secrets, either through breach of our agreements with third parties, independent development or publication of information by any of our third-party collaborators. A competitor's discovery of our trade secrets would impair our competitive position and have an adverse impact on our business.

In addition to seeking patents for our product candidates, we also rely on trade secrets, including unpatented know-how, technology and other proprietary information, to maintain our competitive position. Trade secrets are difficult to protect, and we have limited control over the protection of trade secrets used by our collaborators and suppliers. We seek to protect our trade secrets, in part, by entering into non-disclosure and confidentiality agreements with parties who have access to them, such as our employees, corporate collaborators, outside scientific collaborators, contract manufacturers, consultants, advisors and other third parties. We also enter into confidentiality and invention or patent assignment agreements with our employees and consultants. Despite these efforts, any of these parties may unintentionally or willfully breach the agreements and disclose our proprietary information, including our trade secrets, and we may not be able to obtain adequate remedies for such breaches. Monitoring unauthorized uses and disclosures of our intellectual property is difficult, and we do not know whether the steps we have taken to protect our intellectual property will be effective. In addition, we may not be able to obtain adequate remedies for any such breaches. Enforcing a claim that a party illegally disclosed or misappropriated a trade secret is difficult, expensive and time-consuming, and the outcome is unpredictable. We would expect any trade secret dispute to be governed by federal law, and the Defend Trade Secrets Act ("DTSA") of 2016. However, in the event we are not able to utilize the DTSA, we would then be limited to resolving such a dispute in state court. State trade secret laws in the United States vary, and state courts are sometimes less willing to protect trade secrets. In addition, some courts inside and outside the United States are less willing or unwilling to protect trade secrets. If any of our trade secrets were to be lawfully obtained or independently developed by a competitor, we would have no right to prevent them, or those to whom they communicate it, from using that technology or information to compete with us. If any of our trade secrets were to be disclosed to or independently developed by a competitor, our competitive position would be harmed.

The increasing use of artificial intelligence ("AI") and machine learning in drug discovery and development introduces new and evolving risks that could harm our business and competitive position.

The increasing use of AI and machine learning in drug discovery and development introduces new and evolving risks related to ownership, inventorship, and protection of intellectual property generated by or with the assistance of AI technologies. Regulatory and legal frameworks governing AI-generated inventions are still developing and may create uncertainty regarding our ability to secure and enforce rights in such inventions.

We use hazardous chemicals and biological materials in their business. Any claims relating to improper handling, storage or disposal of these materials could be time consuming and costly.

Our product manufacturing, research and development, and testing activities involve the controlled use of hazardous materials, including chemicals and biological materials. We cannot eliminate the risks of accidental contamination or the accidental discharge of these materials, or any resulting injury from such an event. We may be subjected to litigation for any injury that results from our use or the use by third parties of these materials, and our liability may exceed our insurance coverage and our total assets. Our use, manufacture, storage, handling and disposal of these hazardous materials and specified waste products, as well as the discharge of pollutants into the environment and human health and safety matters, are governed by federal, state, provincial and local legislation. We are also subject to various laws and regulations relating to safe working conditions, laboratory and manufacturing practices. Our operations may require that environmental permits and approvals be issued by applicable government agencies, which can be costly and time-consuming to attain. These regulations and legislation can change, or new ones come into place, due to future legislative or administrative actions. These events could cause us to incur additional expense or restrict our operations. Compliance with environmental laws and regulations, current or future, may be expensive and prohibitive for our research, development or production efforts. Failure to comply could incur substantial costs and liabilities, including civil or criminal fines and penalties, clean-up costs or capital expenditures to achieve and maintain compliance.

If product liability lawsuits are brought against us then we may incur substantial liabilities and may be required to limit commercialization of the Products, if approved, and any other future products.

We face a potential risk of product liability as a result of distribution of our product candidate for testing and commercialization of the Products. For example, we may face claims if use of the Products allegedly cause injury or are found to be otherwise unsuitable during product testing, manufacturing, marketing or sale. Any such product liability claims may include allegations of defects in manufacturing, defects in product quality, a failure to warn of dangers inherent in the product, negligence, strict liability and a breach of warranties. Claims could also be asserted under state consumer protection acts. If we cannot successfully defend ourself against product liability claims, we may incur substantial liabilities or be required to limit commercialization of the product subject to such claims. Even successful defense would require significant financial and management resources. Regardless of the merits or eventual outcome, liability claims may result in:

  • decreased demand for current and future products;

  • injury to our reputation;

  • costs to defend any related litigation;

  • diversion of management's time and our resources;

  • loss of revenue;

  • inability to commercialize the Products and other products, if approved;

  • decline in our share price; and

  • exposure to adverse publicity.

Although we currently have general liability insurance in place, we do not know whether the limits of the insurance will be sufficient to satisfy any claims should they arise. We may not have sufficient resources to pay for any liabilities resulting from a claim excluded from or beyond the limits of, our insurance coverage. If we cannot successfully defend ourselves against a product liability claim, we may incur substantial liabilities.

Our employees, independent contractors, principal investigators, consultants, commercial partners and vendors may engage in misconduct or other improper activities, including non-compliance with regulatory standards and requirements and insider trading, which could significantly harm our business.

We are exposed to the risk that employees, independent contractors, principal investigators, consultants, commercial partners and vendors may engage in fraudulent or other illegal activity, fraud or other misconduct. Misconduct by these parties could include intentional, reckless or negligent conduct or disclosure of unauthorized activities to us that violates: (i) the law and regulations of the FDA and non-U.S. regulators, including those laws that require the reporting of true, complete and accurate information to the FDA and non-U.S. regulators, (ii) healthcare fraud and abuse laws and regulations in the United States and elsewhere and (iii) laws that require the true, complete and accurate reporting of financial information or data. In particular, sales, marketing and business arrangements in the healthcare industry are subject to extensive laws and regulations intended to prevent fraud, misconduct, kickbacks, self-dealing and other abusive practices. These laws and regulations may restrict or prohibit a wide range of pricing, discounting, marketing and promotion, sales commission, customer incentive programs and other business arrangements. Misconduct in violation of these laws may also involve the improper use of information obtained in the course of clinical trials, which could result in regulatory sanctions and serious harm to our reputation. It is not always possible to identify and deter misconduct by our executives, employees, consultants and other third parties, and any precautions we take to detect and prevent this activity may not be effective in controlling unknown or unmanaged risks or losses or in protecting us from governmental investigations or other actions or lawsuits stemming from a failure to comply with these laws or regulations. If any such actions are instituted against us, and we are not successful in defending ourself or asserting our rights, those actions could have a significant impact on our business, including the imposition of significant civil, criminal and administrative penalties, damages, monetary fines, possible exclusion from participation in national healthcare programs, contractual damages, reputational harm, diminished profits and future earnings and curtailment of our operations, any of which could adversely affect our ability to operate our business and our results of operations.

We rely on trade secrets to protect our proprietary technological advances and know-how, especially where we do not believe patent protection is appropriate or obtainable. However, trade secrets are difficult to protect. We rely in part on confidentiality agreements with our consultants, contractors, outside scientific collaborators, sponsored researchers and other advisors, including the third parties we rely on to manufacture the product, to protect our trade secrets and other proprietary information. However, any party with whom we have executed such an agreement may breach that agreement and disclose our proprietary information, including our trade secrets.

Accordingly, these agreements may not effectively prevent disclosure of confidential information and may not provide an adequate remedy in the event of unauthorized disclosure of confidential information. Costly and time-consuming litigation could be necessary to enforce and determine the scope of our proprietary rights. In addition, others may independently discover our trade secrets and proprietary information. Failure to obtain or maintain trade secret protection could enable competitors to use our proprietary information to develop products that compete with our products or cause additional, material adverse effects upon our competitive business position and financial results.

Lawsuits relating to intellectual property infringement will be costly and time consuming.

We may be required to initiate litigation to enforce or defend our intellectual property rights. These lawsuits can be very time consuming and costly. There is a substantial amount of litigation involving patent and other intellectual property rights in the pharmaceutical industry generally. Such litigation or proceedings could substantially increase our operating expenses and reduce the resources available for development activities or any future sales, marketing or distribution activities.

In infringement litigation, any award of monetary damages we receive may not be commercially valuable. Furthermore, because of the substantial amount of discovery required in connection with intellectual property litigation, there is a risk that some of our confidential information and trade secrets could be compromised by disclosure during litigation. Moreover, there can be no assurance that we will have sufficient financial or other resources to file and pursue such infringement claims, which typically last for years before they are resolved. Further, any claims we assert against a perceived infringer could provoke these parties to assert counterclaims against us alleging that we have infringed their patents. Some of our competitors may be able to sustain the costs of such litigation or proceedings more effectively than we can because of their greater financial resources. Uncertainties resulting from the initiation and continuation of patent litigation or other proceedings could have a material adverse effect on our ability to compete in the marketplace.

In addition, our patents and patent applications could face other challenges, such as interference proceedings, opposition proceedings, reissue,inter partes review, re-examination proceedings, third-party submissions of prior art, and other forms of post-grant review. Any of these challenges, if successful, could result in the invalidation of, or in a narrowing of the scope or preventing the issuance of, any of our patents and patent applications subject to challenge. Any of these challenges, regardless of their success, would likely be time consuming and expensive to defend and resolve and would divert our management and scientific personnel's time and attention.

In addition, there could be public announcements of the results of hearings, motions or other interim proceedings or developments, and if securities analysts or investors perceive these results to be negative, it could have a material adverse effect on the market price of our securities.

Intellectual property disputes could distract our personnel from their normal responsibilities.

Even if resolved in our favor, litigation or other legal proceedings relating to intellectual property claims may cause us to incur significant expenses and could distract our technical and management personnel from their normal responsibilities. In addition, there could be public announcements of the results of hearings, motions or other interim proceedings or developments and if securities analysts or investors perceive these results to be negative, it could have a substantial adverse effect on the market price of our securities. Such litigation or proceedings could substantially increase our operating losses and reduce the resources available for development activities or any future sales, marketing or distribution activities. We may not have sufficient financial or other resources to adequately conduct such litigation or proceedings.

Our directors may serve as directors of other biotech companies and may have conflicts of interest.

Certain of our directors and executive officers may, from time to time, be employed by or affiliated with organizations which have entered into agreements or will enter into agreements with us. As disputes may arise between these organizations and us, or certain of these organizations may undertake or have undertaken research with our competitors, there exists the possibility for such persons to be in a position of conflict. We cannot assure that any decision or recommendation made by these persons involving us will be made in accordance with his or her duties and obligations to deal fairly and in good faith with us and such other organizations.

Our business is affected by macroeconomic conditions.

Various macroeconomic factors could adversely affect our business and the results of our operations and financial condition, including changes in inflation, interest rates and foreign currency exchange rates, tariffs and trade sanctions on goods, and overall economic conditions and uncertainties, including those resulting from political instability and the current and future conditions in the global financial markets. For instance, if inflation or other factors were to significantly increase our business costs, it may not be feasible to pass through price increases to patients. Interest rates, the liquidity of the credit markets and the volatility of the capital markets could also affect the value of our investments and our ability to liquidate our investments in order to fund our operations, if necessary.

Interest rates and the ability to access credit markets could also adversely affect the ability of payors and distributors to purchase, pay for and effectively distribute our products if and when approved. Similarly, these macroeconomic factors could affect the ability of our current or potential future contract manufacturers, sole-source or single-source suppliers, or licensees to remain in business or otherwise manufacture or supply our products. Failure by any of them to remain in business could affect our ability to manufacture our products.

We may be responsible for corruption and anti-bribery law violations.

Our business activities are subject to the to the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (the "FCPA") and other anti-bribery and anti-corruption laws of the United States and other countries in which we operate, as well as U.S. and certain foreign export controls and trade sanctions which generally prohibit companies and company employees from engaging in bribery or other prohibited payments to foreign officials for the purpose of obtaining or retaining business.

Our employees or other agents may, without our knowledge and despite our efforts, engage in prohibited conduct under our policies and procedures and the FCPA or other anti-bribery laws for which we may be held responsible. If our employees or other agents are found to have engaged in such practices, we could suffer severe penalties and other consequences that may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We are subject to foreign exchange risks.

As we grow and do business in foreign markets, including the United States and Europe, it is quite possible that transactions will take place in foreign currencies. At this point we do not participate in hedging activities. Although we cannot predict the effect of possible foreign exchange losses in the future, if such losses occurred, they could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operation, and financial condition. In addition, fluctuations in exchange rates could affect the pricing of our products and negatively influence customer demand.

We are subject to taxation risks and changing rules by different tax authorities or challenges to our tax positions.

We are subject to taxation in the United States, Canada and other jurisdictions in which we operate. Our future income tax obligations could be affected by changes in, or interpretations of, tax laws in the United States, Canada or in other jurisdictions. Changes in tax laws or regulations may be enacted that could significantly affect our overall tax liabilities and our effective tax rate. In addition, tax authorities could interpret or issue guidance on how provisions of certain tax laws and regulations will be applied or otherwise administered that is different from our interpretation, and we may be required to make adjustments to amounts that we have recorded that may adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition. Our tax reporting positions may be challenged by relevant tax authorities, and we might incur significant expense in our efforts to defend those challenges, and we might be unsuccessful in those efforts. Developments in examinations and challenges might materially change our provision for taxes in the affected periods and might differ materially from our historical tax accruals. Any of these risks might have a materially adverse impact on our business operations, our cash flows, and our financial position or results of operations.

We believe that we will be treated as a U.S. corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes.

We believe that, pursuant to Section 7874 of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the "Code"), even though we are organized as a corporation under the laws of Ontario, Canada, the Company will be treated as a U.S. domestic corporation for all purposes of the Code. The Company will therefore be taxed as a U.S. domestic corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes. As a result, the Company will be subject to U.S. federal income tax on its worldwide income. The Company is also subject to tax in Canada. It is unclear how the foreign tax credit rules under the Code will operate in certain circumstances, given our treatment as a U.S. domestic corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes and the taxation of the Company in Canada. Accordingly, it is possible that we will be subject to double taxation with respect to all or part of our taxable income.

In addition, if the Company pays dividends to a non-U.S. shareholder, it will be required to withhold U.S. income tax at the rate of 30%, or such lower rate as may be provided in an applicable income tax treaty. Each investor is urged to consult its own tax adviser regarding the U.S. federal income tax position of the Company and the tax consequences of holding our securities.

Our ability to use our net operating losses and certain other attributes may be subject to certain limitations.

Under Section 382 and Section 383 of the Code, if a corporation undergoes an "ownership change," the corporation's ability to use its pre-change net operating losses ("NOLs") and other tax attributes, including research and development tax credits, to offset its post-change income or taxes may be limited. In general, an "ownership change" will occur if there is a cumulative change in our ownership by "5% shareholders" that exceeds 50 percentage points over a rolling three-year period. Similar rules may apply under state tax laws. If we have undergone previous ownership changes, or if we undergo an ownership change in the future, including as a result of this offering, our ability to use NOLs and other tax attributes to reduce future taxable income may be subject to substantial restrictions.

We are subject to a number of risks and hazards, of which not all of them may be sufficiently insured for.

Our business will be subject to a number of risks and hazards generally, including general liability. Such occurrences could result in damage to property, inventory, facilities, personal injury or death to end-customers or operators, damage to our properties or the properties of others, monetary losses and possible legal liability. Although we maintain insurance to protect against certain risks in such amounts as we consider to be reasonable, our insurance will not cover all the potential risks associated with our operations. We may also be unable to maintain insurance to cover these risks at economically feasible premiums. Insurance coverage may not continue to be available or may not be adequate to cover any resulting liability. We might also become subject to liability which may not be insured against or which we may elect not to insure against because of premium costs or other reasons. Losses from these events may cause us to incur significant costs that could have a material adverse effect upon our financial performance and results of operations.

Risks related to health epidemics and pandemics.

Unfavorable global conditions, including as a result of health and safety concerns related to global pandemics, could adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations. Our operations could be adversely affected by general conditions in the global economy, including conditions that are outside of our control, such as the impact of health and safety concerns from global pandemics like the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. The most recent global financial crisis caused by the coronavirus outbreak has resulted in extreme volatility and disruptions in the capital and credit markets. A weak or declining economy could also strain our supply channels.

Risks Related to Marketing, Reimbursement, Healthcare Regulations and Ongoing Regulatory Compliance

Coverage and reimbursement may be limited or unavailable in certain market segments for the Products, which could make it difficult for us to sell the Products profitably.

The success of the Products, if approved, depends on the availability of adequate coverage and reimbursement from third-party payors, including government agencies. There is significant uncertainty related to the insurance coverage and reimbursement of newly approved products. Coverage may be more limited than the purposes for which a therapeutic is approved by the FDA or comparable regulatory authorities in other jurisdictions.

In the United States and some other jurisdictions, patients who are provided medical treatment for their conditions generally rely on third-party payors to reimburse all or part of the costs associated with their treatment. Adequate coverage and reimbursement from governmental healthcare programs, such as Medicare and Medicaid in the United States and commercial payors are critical to new product acceptance.

Government authorities and other third-party payors, such as private health insurers and health maintenance organizations, decide which drugs and treatments they will cover and the amount of reimbursement. In the United States, the principal decisions about reimbursement for new medicines are typically made by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services ("CMS"), an agency within the United States

Department of Health and Human Services. CMS decides whether and to what extent a new medicine will be covered and reimbursed under Medicare, and private payors often follow CMS' coverage decisions. Other jurisdictions have agencies, such as the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence in the United Kingdom, that evaluate the use and cost effectiveness of therapies, which impact the utilization and price of the medicine in such jurisdiction.

In the United States, no uniform policy of coverage and reimbursement for products exists among third-party payors. As a result, obtaining coverage and reimbursement approval of a product from a government or other third-party payor is a time consuming and costly process that could require Medicus to provide to each payor supporting scientific, clinical and cost effectiveness data for the use of products on a payor-by-payor basis, with no assurance that coverage and adequate reimbursement will be obtained. Even if Medicus obtains coverage for a given product, the resulting reimbursement payment rates might not be adequate for Medicus to maintain pricing sufficient to achieve or sustain profitability or may require copayments that patients find unacceptably high.

Medicus intends to seek approval to market the Products in different jurisdictions, which could include Canada and other selected foreign jurisdictions in addition to the United States. If Medicus obtains approval in any of these jurisdictions for the Products, Medicus will be subject to rules and regulations in those jurisdictions. Market acceptance and sales of the Products will depend significantly on the availability of adequate coverage and reimbursement from third party payors for the Products and may be affected by existing and future health care reform measures.

Healthcare providers, physicians and third-party payors in the United States, Canada, and elsewhere play a primary role in the recommendation and prescription of any product candidates for which we obtain marketing approval. If we obtain FDA approval for any product candidates and begin commercializing those products in the United States, our current and future arrangements with healthcare providers, third-party payors, customers, and others may expose us to broadly applicable fraud and abuse and other healthcare laws and regulations. In particular, the research of product candidates, as well as the promotion, sales and marketing of healthcare items and services, as well as certain business arrangements in the healthcare industry, are subject to extensive laws designed to prevent fraud, kickbacks, self-dealing and other abusive practices. These laws and regulations may restrict or prohibit a wide range of pricing, discounting, marketing and promotion, structuring and commission(s), certain customer incentive programs and other business or financial arrangements.

The applicable U.S. federal, state and other healthcare laws and regulations laws that may affect our ability to operate include, but are not limited to:

  • the federal Anti-Kickback Statute, which prohibits, among other things, persons and entities from knowingly and willfully soliciting, receiving, offering or paying any remuneration (including any kickback, bribe, or rebate), directly or indirectly, overtly or covertly, in cash or in kind, to induce or reward, or in return for, either the referral of an individual, or the purchase, lease, order, arrangement, or recommendation of any good, facility, item or service for which payment may be made, in whole or in part, under a federal healthcare program, such as the Medicare and Medicaid programs. A person or entity can be found guilty of violating the statute without actual knowledge of the statute or specific intent to violate it. The term remuneration has been interpreted broadly to include anything of value. Further, courts have found that if "one purpose" of renumeration is to induce referrals, the federal Anti-Kickback statute is violated. Violations are subject to significant civil and criminal fines and penalties for each violation, plus up to three times the remuneration involved, imprisonment, and exclusion from government healthcare programs. In addition, a claim submitted for payment to any federal healthcare program that includes items or services that were made as a result of a violation of the federal Anti-Kickback Statute constitutes a false or fraudulent claim for purposes of the federal False Claims Act, or FCA. The Anti-Kickback Statute has been interpreted to apply to arrangements between pharmaceutical manufacturers on the one hand and prescribers, purchasers, and formulary managers, among others, on the other. There are a number of statutory exceptions and regulatory safe harbors protecting some common activities from prosecution;

  • the federal civil and criminal false claims laws, including the FCA, and civil monetary penalty laws which prohibit, among other things, individuals or entities from knowingly presenting, or causing to be presented, false, fictitious or fraudulent claims for payment to, or approval by Medicare, Medicaid, or other federal healthcare programs; knowingly making, using, or causing to be made or used, a false record or statement material to a false, fictitious or fraudulent claim or an obligation to pay or transmit money or property to the federal government; or knowingly concealing or knowingly and improperly avoiding, decreasing or concealing an obligation to pay money to the federal government. A claim that includes items or services resulting from a violation of the federal Anti-Kickback Statute constitutes a false or fraudulent claim under the FCA. Manufacturers can be held liable under the FCA even when they do not submit claims directly to government payors if they are deemed to "cause" the submission of false or fraudulent claims. The FCA also permits a private individual acting as a "whistleblower" to bring qui tam actions on behalf of the federal government alleging violations of the FCA and to share in any monetary recovery or settlement. When an entity is determined to have violated the FCA, the government may impose civil fines and penalties for each false claim, plus treble damages, and exclude the entity from participation in Medicare, Medicaid and other federal healthcare programs;

  • HIPAA, as amended by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act of 2009, or HITECH, and their respective implementing regulations, which impose, among other things, certain requirements relating to the privacy, security and transmission of individually identifiable health information on certain covered healthcare providers, health plans, and healthcare clearinghouses, known as covered entities, as well as their respective "business associates," those independent contractors or agents of covered entities that create, receive, maintain, transmit or obtain protected health information in connection with providing a service on behalf of a covered entity. HITECH also created new tiers of civil monetary penalties, amended HIPAA to make civil and criminal penalties directly applicable to business associates, and gave state attorneys general new authority to file civil actions for damages or injunctions in federal courts to enforce the federal HIPAA laws and seek attorneys' fees and costs associated with pursuing federal civil actions. In addition, there are additional federal, state and non-U.S. laws which govern the privacy and security of health and other personal information in certain circumstances, many of which differ from each other in significant ways and may not have the same effect, thus complicating compliance efforts;

  • the federal Physician Payments Sunshine Act, created under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, as amended by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, or, collectively, the Affordable Care Act, and its implementing regulations, which require manufacturers of drugs, devices, biologics and medical supplies for which payment is available under Medicare, Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Program (with certain exceptions) to report annually to CMS information related to direct or indirect payments and other transfers of value made to physicians (defined to include doctors, dentists, optometrists, podiatrists and chiropractors) and teaching hospitals, as well as ownership and investment interests held by the physicians and their immediate family members. Effective January 1, 2022, these reporting obligations will extend to include transfers of value made in the previous year to certain non-physician providers such as physician assistants and nurse practitioners;

  • analogous U.S. state, local and foreign laws and regulations, such as state anti-kickback and false claims laws, which may apply to sales or marketing arrangements and claims involving healthcare items or services reimbursed by any third-party payor, including private insurers and may be broader in scope than their federal equivalents; state and foreign laws that require pharmaceutical companies to comply with the pharmaceutical industry's voluntary compliance guidelines and other relevant compliance guidance promulgated by the federal government or otherwise restrict payments that may be made to healthcare providers and other potential referral sources; state and foreign laws that require drug manufacturers to report information related to payments and other transfers of value to physicians and other healthcare providers, marketing expenditures or drug pricing; state and local laws that require the registration of pharmaceutical sales representatives; and state and foreign laws governing the privacy and security of health information, some of which may be more stringent than those in the United States (such as the European Union, which adopted the General Data Protection Regulation, which became effective in May 2018) in certain circumstances, and may differ from each other in significant ways and often are not preempted by HIPAA, thus complicating compliance efforts.

The scope and enforcement of each of these laws is uncertain and subject to rapid change in the current environment of healthcare reform, especially in light of the lack of applicable precedent and regulations. Ensuring business arrangements comply with applicable healthcare laws, as well as responding to possible investigations by government authorities, can be time-and resource-consuming, costly, and can divert a company's attention from the business.

It is possible that governmental and enforcement authorities will conclude that our business practices, including our arrangements with physicians and other healthcare providers, may not comply with current or future statutes, regulations or case law interpreting applicable fraud and abuse or other healthcare laws and regulations. If our operations are found to be in violation of any of the laws described above or any other government regulations that apply to us, we may be subject to significant sanctions, including civil, criminal and administrative penalties, damages, fines, disgorgement, imprisonment, reputational harm, exclusion from participation in federal and state funded healthcare programs, contractual damages and the curtailment or restricting of our operations, as well as additional reporting obligations and oversight if we become subject to a corporate integrity agreement or other agreement to resolve allegations of non-compliance with these laws. Further, if any of the physicians or other healthcare providers or entities with whom we expect to do business are found to be not in compliance with applicable laws, they may be subject to similar penalties. Any action for violation of these laws, even if successfully defended, could cause a pharmaceutical manufacturer to incur significant legal expenses and divert management's attention from the operation of the business. In addition, the approval and commercialization of any product candidate in other countries will also likely subject us to foreign equivalents of the healthcare laws mentioned above, among other foreign laws. All of these could harm our ability to operate our business and our financial results.

In the United States and in some foreign jurisdictions, there have been, and likely will continue to be, a number of legislative initiatives and regulatory changes regarding the healthcare system directed at broadening the availability of healthcare, improving the quality of healthcare, and containing or lowering the cost of healthcare. For example, in March 2010, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, as amended by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act, (collectively, the "ACA") was enacted, which substantially changed the way health care is financed by both governmental and private insurers, and significantly impacted the U.S. pharmaceutical industry. The ACA, among other things, subjects biological products to potential competition by lower-cost biosimilars, expands the types of entities eligible for the 340B drug discount program; introduced a new methodology by which rebates owed by manufacturers under the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program are calculated for drugs that are inhaled, infused, instilled, implanted or injected; increased the minimum Medicaid rebates owed by manufacturers under the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program and extended the rebate program to individuals enrolled in Medicaid managed care organizations; established annual fees and taxes on manufacturers of certain branded prescription drugs; and created a new Medicare Part D coverage gap discount program, in which manufacturers must agree to offer 50% (increased to 70% pursuant to the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018, or BBA, effective as of January 2019) point-of-sale discounts off negotiated prices of applicable brand drugs to eligible beneficiaries during their coverage gap period, as a condition for the manufacturer's outpatient drugs to be covered under Medicare Part D.

Since its enactment, there have been numerous judicial, administrative, executive, and legislative challenges to certain aspects of the ACA, and our expects there will be additional challenges and amendments to the ACA in the future. For example, various portions of the ACA are currently undergoing legal and constitutional challenges in the U.S. Supreme Court. Additionally, the Trump Administration has issued various Executive Orders which eliminated cost sharing subsidies and various provisions that would impose a fiscal burden on states or a cost, fee, tax, penalty or regulatory burden on individuals, healthcare providers, health insurers, or manufacturers of pharmaceuticals or medical devices and Congress has introduced several pieces of legislation aimed at significantly revising or repealing the ACA. We cannot predict what affect further changes to the ACA would have on our business.

In addition, other legislative changes have been proposed and adopted in the United States since the ACA was enacted. For example, on August 2, 2011, the Budget Control Act, among other things, created measures for spending reductions by Congress. A Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, tasked with recommending a targeted deficit reduction of at least $1.2 trillion for the years 2013 through 2021, was unable to reach required goals, thereby triggering the legislation's automatic reduction to several government programs, including aggregate reductions of Medicare payments to providers of up to 2% per fiscal year. These reductions went into effect on April 1, 2013 and, due to subsequent legislative amendments to the statute, will remain in effect through 2030, unless additional Congressional action is taken. However, pursuant to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, or CARES Act, and subsequent legislation, these Medicare sequester reductions are suspended from May 1, 2020 through March 31, 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On January 2, 2013, the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 was signed into law, which, among other things, further reduced Medicare payments to several types of providers, including hospitals and cancer treatment centers, and increased the statute of limitations period for the government to recover overpayments to providers from three to five years. Additionally, the BBA, among other things, amended the ACA, effective January 1, 2019, by increasing the point-of-sale discount (from 50% under the ACA to 70%) that is owed by pharmaceutical manufacturers who participate in Medicare Part D and closing the coverage gap in most Medicare drug plans, commonly referred to as the "donut hole."

Moreover, payment methodologies may be subject to changes in healthcare legislation and regulatory initiatives. For example, CMS may develop new payment and delivery models, such as bundled payment models. Recently, there has been heightened governmental scrutiny over the manner in which manufacturers set prices for their products. Such scrutiny has resulted in several recent U.S. Congressional inquiries and proposed and enacted federal and state legislation designed to, among other things, bring more transparency to drug pricing, reduce the cost of prescription drugs under Medicare, review the relationship between pricing and manufacturer patient programs, and reform government program reimbursement methodologies for drugs. For example, at the federal level, the Trump administration's budget proposal for fiscal year 2021 includes a $135 billion allowance to support legislative proposals seeking to reduce drug prices, increase competition, lower out-of-pocket drug costs for patients, and increase patient access to lower-cost generic and biosimilar drugs. On March 10, 2020, the Trump administration sent "principles" for drug pricing to Congress, calling for legislation that would, among other things, cap Medicare Part D beneficiary out of pocket pharmacy expenses, provide an option to cap Medicare Part D beneficiary monthly out-of-pocket expenses, and place limits on pharmaceutical price increases. HHS has solicited feedback on some of these measures and has implemented others under its existing authority. For example, in May 2019, CMS issued a final rule that would allow Medicare Advantage Plans the option of using step therapy, a type of prior authorization, for Part B drugs beginning January 1, 2020. This final rule codified CMS' policy change that was effective January 1, 2019. While there had been some questions about the Trump Administration's position on the program for negotiating Medicare drug prices, CMS issued a public statement on January 29, 2025, declaring that lowering the cost of prescription drugs is a top priority of the new administration and CMS is committed to considering opportunities to bring greater transparency in the negotiation program. The effects of the IRA on our business is not yet known.

Several regulations have also been proposed partly in response to several executive orders issued by President Trump related to prescription drug pricing that seek to implement several of the administration's proposals. For example, on November 20, 2020 CMS issued an Interim Final Rule implementing the Most Favored Nation, or MFN, Model under which Medicare Part B reimbursement rates will be calculated for certain drugs and biologicals based on the lowest price drug manufacturers receive in Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development countries with a similar gross domestic product per capita. The MFN Model regulations mandate participation by identified Part B providers and will apply in all U.S. states and territories for a seven-year period beginning January 1, 2021, and ending December 31, 2027. The Interim Final Rule has not been finalized and is subject to revision and challenge. Additionally, on November 20, 2020, HHS finalized a regulation removing the safe harbor protection for price reductions from pharmaceutical manufacturers to plan sponsors under Part D, either directly or through pharmacy benefit managers, unless the price reduction is required by law. The rule also creates a new safe harbor for price reductions reflected at the point-of-sale, as well as a safe harbor for certain fixed fee arrangements between pharmacy benefit managers and manufacturers. Government actions to impose most-favored-nation drug pricing could materially reduce our product revenues and profit margins and subject us to significant regulatory uncertainty. On May 12, 2025, President Trump signed an Executive Order titled "Delivering Most-Favored-Nation Prescription Drug Pricing to American Patients" (the "MFN EO"). The MFN EO directs multiple federal agencies, including the HHS, to take specific actions aimed at compelling drug manufacturers to lower drug prices in the United States in a manner comparable with other developed nations. The MFN EO states that the United States has less than five percent of the world's population yet funds approximately three quarters of global pharmaceutical profits. The Trump administration asserts that drug manufacturers deeply discount their products to access foreign markets while subsidizing those discounts through higher prices charged in the United States. The MFN EO declares that Americans should not be forced to subsidize low-cost prescription drugs in other developed countries and must have access to the "most-favored-nation price" for pharmaceutical products. Federal agencies are also developing and proposing new drug pricing and payment pilot programs based on international pricing metrics under Medicare Parts B and D as well as Medicaid. If we are required to reduce prices to MFN levels, whether through voluntary agreement, regulatory mandate, or other government action, our product revenues and profit margins could be materially and adversely affected, particularly with respect to our single-source products that do not currently face generic or biosimilar competition. Compliance with direct-to-consumer distribution requirements, such as participation in TrumpRx.gov, a website sponsored by the federal government that is anticipated to offer pharmaceuticals direct-to-consumer channels may also require significant operational changes and investments. We cannot predict the ultimate scope, timing, or impact of the MFN EO or related government actions, and such actions could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations. While some of these and other measures may require additional authorization to become effective, and the Trump administration may reverse or otherwise change these measures, Congress has indicated that it will continue to seek new legislative and/or administrative measures to control drug costs.

At the state level, legislatures are increasingly passing legislation and implementing regulations designed to control pharmaceutical and biologic product pricing, including price or patient reimbursement constraints, discounts, restrictions on certain product access and marketing cost disclosure and transparency measures, and, in some cases, designed to encourage importation from other countries and bulk purchasing. Legally mandated price controls on payment amounts by third-party payors or other restrictions on coverage or access could harm our business, results of operations, financial condition and prospects. In January 2024, the FDA authorized Florida's Agency for Health Care Administration's drug importation program, which is the first step toward Florida facilitating importation of certain prescription drugs from Canada. Authorization of other state programs may follow as other states have submitted importation program proposals. Legally mandated price controls on payment amounts by third-party payors or other restrictions could harm our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects. In addition, regional healthcare authorities and individual hospitals are increasingly using bidding procedures to determine what pharmaceutical products and which suppliers will be included in their prescription drug and other healthcare programs. This could reduce the ultimate demand for our drugs or put pressure on our drug pricing, which could negatively affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects. In addition, regional healthcare authorities and individual hospitals are increasingly using bidding procedures to determine what pharmaceutical products and which suppliers will be included in their prescription drug and other healthcare programs. This could reduce the ultimate demand for the Products or put pressure on product pricing.

It is expected that additional state and federal healthcare reform measures will be adopted in the future, any of which could limit the extent to which state and federal governments cover particular healthcare products and services and could limit the amounts that the federal and state governments will pay for healthcare products and services. This could result in reduced demand for the Products or could result in additional pricing pressures.

Other government regulations, including general budget control measures, actions may affect prices or payments for prescription drugs. For example, new or increased tariffs implemented under the Trump administration, including the implementation of a recently announced tariff on branded or patented drugs for manufacturers that do not invest in manufacturing plants in the United States or reach a drug pricing agreement with the Trump administration, could adversely affect the ability of pharmaceutical companies to realize an adequate return on sales of products imported from abroad or manufactured using materials or products imported from abroad. The timeline for implementing such tariff on branded or patented drugs has not been finalized. As another example, the Budget Control Act resulted in the imposition of reductions in Medicare (but not Medicaid) payments to providers in 2013 and will remain in effect into 2032 unless additional Congressional action is taken.

The current Trump administration is pursuing policies to reduce regulations and expenditures across government including at HHS, the FDA, CMS, and related agencies. These actions, presently directed by executive orders or memoranda from the Office of Management and Budget, may propose policy changes that create additional uncertainty for our business. Further, in June 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court reversed its longstanding approach under the Chevron doctrine, which provided for judicial deference to regulatory agencies' interpretation of statutes that are silent or ambiguous, including the FDA and CMS. As a result of this decision, we cannot be sure whether there will be increased challenges to existing agency regulations or how lower courts will apply the decision in the context of other regulatory schemes without more specific guidance from the U.S. Supreme Court. For example, this decision may result in more companies bringing lawsuits against the regulatory agencies to challenge current regulations and longstanding decisions and policies of the FDA or CMS, which could lead to uncertainties in the industry. We cannot predict the full impact of this decision, future judicial challenges brought against the FDA, CMS, or other regulatory agencies, or the nature or extent of government regulation that may arise from future legislation or administrative action.

We cannot predict the likelihood, nature or extent of government regulation that may arise from future legislation or administrative action in the United States. If we or any third parties we may engage are slow or unable to adapt to changes in existing requirements or the adoption of new requirements or policies, or if we or such third parties are not able to maintain regulatory compliance, the Products may lose any regulatory approval that may have been obtained and we may not achieve or sustain profitability.

We are currently operating in a period of global economic uncertainty and capital markets disruption, which has been significantly impacted by geopolitical instability. Changes and instability in global economic conditions and geopolitical matters could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of**operations.

The United States and global markets are experiencing and may in the future experience volatility and disruption, including diminished liquidity and credit availability, declines in consumer confidence, declines in economic growth, high inflation and interest rates, increases in unemployment rates and uncertainty about economic stability. The financial markets and the global economy may also be adversely affected by the current or anticipated impact of geopolitical conflicts, including in Russia and Ukraine, the Middle East and other areas, terrorism or other events. Sanctions and enhanced export controls imposed by the United States and other countries focusing on national security-related technologies, including biotechnology, may also adversely impact the financial markets and the global economy, and any economic countermeasures by the affected countries or others could exacerbate market and economic instability.

Changes in regulations and policies in the United States and the resulting political and economic uncertainty in the United States may also impact us, the financial markets and the global economy. The U.S. has imposed increased tariffs on certain countries, focusing on those with which it has the largest trade deficits. Other countries have responded, and may continue to respond, by announcing retaliatory tariffs on U.S. imports. The tariff have disrupted, and may continue to, disrupt the global markets and escalate tensions between the U.S. and other countries. The extent of the impact that such tariffs, trade policies, or new legislation or regulations will have on our business specifically, or on the U.S. market and global economy generally, are uncertain and in the long term, unpredictable, and could adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations. In addition, the increased tariffs could impact our ability to commercialize future drug candidates for the U.S. market, which is relevant to our ability to generate future revenues from these activities. As a result, the continued impact of these tariffs may impair our plans for further product development in the U.S. market as well as our ability to generate revenues.

The United States may also enact other regulations or policies that affect trade with China or otherwise impact the pharmaceutical industry by restricting U.S. pharmaceutical companies from contracting with certain countries for the development, research or manufacturing of pharmaceutical products. In April 2025, the U.S. Department of Commerce initiated national security investigations into the importation of pharmaceuticals and pharmaceutical ingredients pursuant to Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, which could result in the imposition of new tariffs on imports within the pharmaceutical industry. Further, executive orders were signed to implement Most Favored Nation drug pricing policies designed to align certain prescription drug prices in the U.S. to lower prices available in other countries. Investigations are being conducted to examine price differentials and consider policy approaches for implementation, including through administrative action. If such Most Favored Nation policies are implemented, changes to drug pricing are expected to affect the profitability of pharmaceutical and biotech companies in the U.S. as well as in other countries, as a price constrained market. The details of the proposed policies are unclear, and the final terms and impact remain uncertain, and may pose long-term risks to our business.

Any executive order, legislative action or potential sanctions on certain countries could materially impact our current manufacturing partners. In addition, natural and man-made disasters and global health emergencies, including pandemics and epidemics, may also adversely affect the financial markets and the global economy and result in significant business disruption.

The volatile business environment or continued unpredictable and unstable market conditions may result in further deterioration of the equity and credit markets, significant volatility in commodity prices, as well as supply chain interruptions and result in an economic downturn, which would make any equity or debt financing more difficult, costly and dilutive. Failure to secure any necessary financing in a timely manner and on favorable terms could have a material adverse effect on our growth strategy, financial performance and stock price and could require us to delay, limit, reduce, or terminate our product development or future commercialization efforts.

Although our business has not been materially impacted by the tariffs adopted to date or adverse effects of geopolitical events, natural or man-made disasters or other business disruptions to date, such matters may affect our business in the future and it is impossible to predict the extent to which our operations, or those of our suppliers and manufacturers, will be impacted in the short and long term, or the ways in which such matters may impact our business. The extent and duration of such adverse geopolitical events, natural or man-made disasters or other business disruptions and actual or perceived political or economic instability and resulting market disruptions are impossible to predict but could be substantial. Any such disruptions may also magnify the impact of other risks described herein.

Risks Relating to Our Securities

We may experience fluctuations in market value.

The market price of publicly-traded securities is affected by many variables not directly related to our corporate performance, including the markets in which we are traded, the strength of the economy generally, the global economic situation and outlook, the availability and attractiveness of alternative investments, and the breadth of the public market for the securities. The effect of these and other factors on the market price of our securities in the future cannot be predicted.

Our securities could be subject to large price and volume volatility.

Market prices for the securities of biotechnology companies have historically been highly volatile. Our securities have and may continue to experience extreme price and volume volatility that may result in losses to shareholders. Accordingly, the trading price of our securities could be subject to wide fluctuations in response to a variety of factors including announcement of material events such as changes relating to new or improved technology, drug safety concerns and other general and industry-specific economic conditions.

Additionally, the securities markets in the United States have recently experienced a high level of price and volume volatility. It is expected that such fluctuations in volume and price will continue to occur which may make it difficult for a shareholder to sell our securities at a price equal to or above the price at which they were purchased.

Due to the relatively small size of our public float, our securities may experience extreme price volatility unrelated to our actual or expected operating performance, financial condition, or prospects, making it difficult for prospective investors to assess the rapidly changing value of our securities.

In addition to the risks described elsewhere in this annual report, we may be subject to extreme volatility that is unrelated to the underlying performance of our business. We have a relatively small public float due to the ownership percentage of our executive officers, directors and significant shareholders. As a relatively small-capitalization company with a relatively small public float, we may experience greater share price volatility, extreme price run-ups, lower trading volume, and less liquidity than large-capitalization companies. In particular, our securities may be subject to rapid and substantial price volatility, low volumes of trades, and large spreads in bid and ask prices. For example, since our initial public offering in November 2024 and as of March 17, 2026, our common shares have traded at a range with a high price of $8.94 on May 20, 2025 and a low price of $0.37 on March 6, 2026. Such volatility, including any stock run-up, may be unrelated to our actual or expected operating performance, financial condition, or prospects, making it difficult for prospective investors to assess the rapidly changing value of our securities.

In addition, if the trading volumes of our securities are low, persons buying or selling in relatively small quantities may easily influence prices of our securities. This low volume of trades could also cause the price of our securities to fluctuate greatly, with large percentage changes in price occurring in any trading day session. Holders of our securities may also not be able to readily liquidate their investment or may be forced to sell at depressed prices due to low volume trading. Broad market fluctuations and general economic and political conditions may also adversely affect the market price of our securities. As a result of this volatility, investors may experience losses on their investment in our securities. A decline in the market price of our securities also could adversely affect our ability to issue additional securities and our ability to obtain additional financing in the future. No assurance can be given that an active market in our securities will be sustained. If an active market in our securities is not sustained, holders of our securities may be unable to readily sell the securities they hold or may not be able to sell their securities at all.

Sales of a significant number of our common shares in the public markets, or the perception that such sales could occur, could depress the market price of our common shares.

Pursuant to a standby equity purchase agreement dated February 10, 2025 (the "SEPA") with YA II PN, Ltd. ("Yorkville"), Yorkville may sell up to $15 million of our common shares. In addition, our at-the-market offering ("ATM") provides that we may sell up to $15.3 million of our common shares and we also have registration statement filed for the resale of approximately 4.0 common shares underlying the private warrants (the "Private Warrants"). Further, subject to compliance with applicable securities laws, our officers, directors and significant shareholders may sell some or all of their common shares in the future. Sales of a substantial number of our common shares in the public markets, or the perception that such sales may occur, could depress the market price of our common shares and impair our ability to raise capital through the sale of additional equity securities. We cannot predict the effect that future sales of our common shares would have on the market price of our common shares.

We will need to raise additional financing in the future and our shareholders may experience substantial dilution in the value of their investment if we issue additional common shares.

To raise additional capital, we may in the future sell additional common shares or other securities convertible into or exchangeable for our common shares at prices that are lower than the prices paid by existing shareholders, and investors purchasing shares or other securities in the future could have rights superior to existing shareholders, which could result in substantial dilution to the interests of existing shareholders. In addition, to the extent that outstanding warrants or options are exercised, new options or other equity awards are issued under our equity incentive plan, or we issue additional shares in the future, including pursuant to our SEPA and our ATM, shareholders may experience further dilution.

We have in the past, and may in the future, issue debt and equity securities or securities convertible into equity securities, any of which may be senior to our common shares as to distributions and in liquidation, which could negatively affect the value of our common shares.

We have in the past, and may in the future as well, attempt to increase our capital resources by entering into debt or debt-like financing that is unsecured or secured by up to all of our assets, or by issuing additional debt or equity securities, which could include issuances of secured or unsecured commercial paper, medium-term notes, senior notes, subordinated notes, guarantees, preferred shares, hybrid securities, or securities convertible into or exchangeable for equity securities. In the event of our liquidation, our lenders and holders of our debt and preferred securities would receive distributions of our available assets before distributions to the holders of our common shares. Because our decision to incur debt and issue securities in future offerings may be influenced by market conditions and other factors beyond our control, we cannot predict or estimate the amount, timing or nature of our future offerings or debt financings. Further, market conditions could require us to accept less favorable terms for the issuance of our securities in the future.

If our common shares are delisted, market liquidity for our common shares could be severely affected and our shareholders' ability to sell their our common shares could be limited. A delisting of our common shares from Nasdaq would negatively affect the value of our common shares. A delisting of our common shares could also adversely affect our ability to obtain financing for our operations and could result in the loss of confidence in our Company.

We have no history of paying, and do not intend to pay, dividends on our common shares, so any returns will be substantially limited to the value of our common shares.

To date, we have not paid any dividends on our outstanding common shares. We currently intend to retain future earnings to finance the operation, development and expansion of our business. We do not anticipate paying cash dividends on our common shares in the foreseeable future. Any decision to pay dividends on our shares will be made at the discretion of our board of directors and will depend on our earnings, financial requirements and other conditions existing at such time. In addition, our ability to pay dividends is, and may in the future be, limited by our indebtedness and by covenants of any current or future indebtedness we incur. As a result, you may not receive any return on an investment in our common shares unless you sell our common shares for a price greater than that which you paid for it. See "Item 5. Dividends."

We may issue, without shareholder approval, preferred shares that have rights and preferences potentially superior to those of our common shares.

Our articles permit the issuance of an unlimited number of preferred shares (the "Medicus Preferred Shares") in one or more series. Medicus Preferred Shares are entitled to priority over our common shares with respect to the distribution of our assets in the event of any liquidation, dissolution or winding up of our affairs, whether voluntary or involuntary. Subject to any applicable regulatory approvals, our board of directors may set the rights and preferences of any series of Medicus Preferred Shares in its sole discretion without shareholder approval. The rights and preferences of those Medicus Preferred Shares may be superior to those of our common shares. Accordingly, the issuance of Medicus Preferred Shares may adversely affect the rights of holders of our common shares.

If equity research analysts do not publish research or reports about our business or if they issue unfavorable commentary or downgrade our common shares, the price of our securities could decline.

The trading market for our securities could be influenced by research and reports that industry and/or securities analysts may publish about us, our business, the market or our competitors. We do not have any control over these analysts and cannot assure that such analysts will cover us or provide favorable coverage. If any of the analysts who may cover our business change their recommendation regarding our common shares adversely, or provide more favorable relative recommendations about our competitors, the share price would likely decline. If any analysts who may cover our business were to cease coverage or fail to regularly publish reports on us, we could lose visibility in the financial markets, which in turn could cause the share price or trading volume to decline.

Risks Related to Being a Public Company

As a result of recently becoming a public company in the United States, we are subject to additional regulatory compliance requirements, including Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, and if we fail to maintain an effective system of internal controls, we may not be able to accurately report our financial results or prevent fraud.

Our management team may not continue to successfully or effectively manage our recent transition to a U.S. public company that is subject to significant regulatory oversight and reporting obligations under U.S. and Canadian securities laws. Our limited experience in dealing with the increasingly complex laws pertaining to U.S. and Canadian public companies could be a significant disadvantage in that it is likely that an increasing amount of their time may be devoted to these activities which will result in less time being devoted to the management and growth of the post-combination company. We may not have adequate personnel with the appropriate level of knowledge, experience and training in the accounting policies, practices or internal control over financial reporting required of public companies in the United States and Canada.

As a public company listed on Nasdaq, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires, among other things that we assess the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting at the end of each fiscal year. We have started and continue the process of designing, implementing and testing our internal control over financial reporting required to comply with Section 404(a) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. This process is time-consuming, costly and complicated. Our management may not be able to effectively and timely implement controls and procedures that adequately respond to the increased regulatory compliance and reporting requirements that are applicable to us as a public company listed on Nasdaq. If we fail to maintain internal control over financial reporting adequate to meet the demands that will be placed upon us as a public company listed in the United States, our business and reputation may be harmed, the accuracy and timeliness of our financial reporting may be adversely affected, and the price of our shares may decline.

In addition, unless we still qualify as a non-accelerated filer, our independent registered public accounting firm will be required to attest to the effectiveness of our internal controls over financial reporting beginning with our annual report following the date on which we are no longer an "emerging growth company," which may be up to five fiscal years following the date of our initial public offering in the United States.

If we are unable for any reason to meet the continued listing requirements of Nasdaq, such action or inaction could result in a delisting of our common shares and our Public Warrants, as applicable.

If we fail to satisfy the continued listing requirements of Nasdaq (for example, Nasdaq corporate governance requirements or the minimum closing bid price requirement), such exchanges may take steps to delist our common shares and our Public Warrants, as applicable. Such a delisting would likely have a negative effect on the price of our common shares and our Public Warrants and would impair your ability to sell or purchase our common shares and our Public Warrants, as applicable, when you wish to do so. In the event of a delisting, we can provide no assurance that any action taken by us to restore compliance with listing requirements would allow our common shares and our Public Warrants, as applicable, to become listed again, stabilize the market price or improve the liquidity of our common shares and our Public Warrants, as applicable, prevent such securities from dropping below any minimum bid price requirement or prevent future non-compliance with Nasdaq's listing requirements.

There is a risk that we will fail to maintain an effective system of internal controls and our ability to produce timely and accurate financial statements or comply with applicable regulations could be adversely affected.

As a U.S. public company, we operate in an increasingly demanding regulatory environment, which requires us to comply with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the regulations of Nasdaq, the rules and regulations of the SEC and Canadian securities regulators, expanded disclosure requirements, accelerated reporting requirements and more complex accounting rules. Company responsibilities required by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act include establishing corporate oversight and adequate internal control over financial reporting and disclosure controls and procedures. Effective internal controls are necessary for us to produce reliable financial reports and are important to help prevent financial fraud. Prior to the closing of our initial public offering in the United States, we have never been required to test our internal controls within a specified period and, as a result, we may experience difficulty in meeting these reporting requirements in a timely manner.

We anticipate that the process of building our accounting and financial functions and infrastructure may require significant additional professional fees, internal costs and management efforts. We may need to enhance and/or implement a new internal system to combine and streamline the management of our financial, accounting, human resources and other functions. However, the enhancement and/or implementation of a system may result in substantial costs. Any disruptions or difficulties in implementing or using such a system could adversely affect our controls and harm our business. Moreover, such disruption or difficulties could result in unanticipated costs and diversion of management's attention. In addition, we may discover additional weaknesses in our system of internal financial and accounting controls and procedures that could result in a material misstatement of our financial statements. Our internal control over financial reporting will not prevent or detect all errors and all fraud. A control system, no matter how well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the control system's objectives will be met. Because of the inherent limitations in all control systems, no evaluation of controls can provide absolute assurance that misstatements due to error or fraud will not occur or that all control issues and instances of fraud will be detected.

If we do not able to comply with the requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in a timely manner, or if we are unable to maintain proper and effective internal controls, we may not be able to produce timely and accurate financial statements. If we cannot provide reliable financial reports or prevent fraud, our business and results of operations could be harmed, investors could lose confidence in our reported financial information and we could be subject to sanctions or investigations by Nasdaq, the SEC, Canadian securities regulators or other regulatory authorities.

We have identified material weaknesses in our internal controls over financial reporting in the past. Although all previously identified material weaknesses have been remediated, if we identify future material weaknesses in our internal controls and if any material weaknesses identified are not adequately remediated, our failure to establish and maintain effective internal control over financial reporting could result in material misstatements in our financial statements and a failure to meet our reporting and financial obligations, each of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and the trading price of our securities. In addition, investors' perceptions that our internal control over financial reporting is inadequate or that we are unable to produce accurate financial statements may materially adversely affect the price of our securities, which in turn could make it more difficult for us to obtain financing on favorable terms or at all.

We have and will continue to incur increased costs as a result of our operation as a dual U.S.-Canadian reporting company, and our management will be required to devote substantial time and resources to employing new compliance initiatives in order to comport with the regulatory requirements applicable to public companies.

In connection with becoming a public company in the United States in November 2024 , we have and will continue to incur significant legal, accounting and other expenses that we did not previously incur. As a U.S. public company, domiciled in Ontario, Canada, we are subject to the reporting requirements of the Exchange Act, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, as well as rules adopted, and to be adopted, by the SEC, Canadian securities regulators and Nasdaq. Our management and other personnel will need to devote a substantial amount of time to these compliance initiatives. Moreover, we expect these rules and regulations to substantially increase our legal and financial compliance costs and to make some activities more time-consuming and costly. For example, we expect these rules and regulations to make it more difficult and more expensive for us to obtain director and officer liability insurance and we may be forced to accept reduced policy limits or incur substantially higher costs to maintain the same or similar coverage. We cannot predict or estimate the amount or timing of additional costs we may incur to respond to these requirements. The impact of these requirements could also make it more difficult for us to attract and retain qualified persons to serve on our board of directors, our board committees or as executive officers.

The market price of our securities may be volatile, and in the past companies that have experienced volatility in the market price of their shares have been subject to securities class action litigation. We may be the target of this type of litigation in the future. Litigation of this type could result in substantial costs and diversion of management's attention and resources, which could adversely impact our business. Any adverse determination in litigation could also subject us to significant liabilities.

As we are organized under the laws of a Canadian province and certain of our directors and officers reside in Canada or the provinces thereof, it may be difficult for U.S. shareholders to effect service on us to realize on judgments obtained in the United States. Similarly, it may be difficult for Canadian investors to enforce civil liabilities against our directors and officers residing outside of Canada.

We are governed by theBusiness Corporations Act(Ontario), as now enacted or as the same may from time to time be amended, re-enacted or replaced ("OBCA"), certain of our directors and officers reside or are organized outside of the United States and a portion of our assets or the assets of these persons may be located outside the United States. Consequently, it may be difficult for investors who reside in the United States to effect service of process in the United States upon us or upon such persons who are not residents of the United States, or to realize upon judgments of courts of the United States predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the U.S. federal securities laws. A judgment of a U.S. court predicated solely upon such civil liabilities may be enforceable in Canada by a Canadian court if the U.S. court in which the judgment was obtained had jurisdiction, as determined by the Canadian court, in the matter. Investors should not assume that Canadian courts: (i) would enforce judgments of U.S. courts obtained in actions against us or such persons predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the U.S. federal securities laws or the securities or blue sky laws of any state within the United States, or (ii) would enforce, in original actions, liabilities against us or such persons predicated upon the U.S. federal securities laws or any such state securities or blue sky laws. Similarly, some of our directors and officers are residents of countries other than Canada and all or a substantial portion of the assets of such persons are located outside Canada. As a result, it may be difficult for Canadian investors to initiate a lawsuit within Canada against these persons. In addition, it may not be possible for Canadian investors to collect from these persons judgments obtained in courts in Canada predicated on the civil liability provisions of securities legislation of certain of the provinces and territories of Canada. It may also be difficult for Canadian investors to succeed in a lawsuit in the United States based solely on violations of Canadian securities laws.

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