Estrella Immunopharma Inc

Note 1 — Organization and Business Operation

Description of business

Estrella Immunopharma, Inc., a Delaware corporation, is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing T-cell therapies with the capacity to cure patients with blood cancers and solid tumors.

As further discussed below and in Note 3, on September 29, 2023 (the “Closing Date”), Estrella Biopharma, Inc. (“Estrella”) and TradeUP Acquisition Corp. (“UPTD”) consummated the business combination (the “Business Combination”) pursuant to the terms of the Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated as of September 30, 2022 (the “Merger Agreement”), by and among UPTD, Tradeup Merger Sub Inc., a Delaware corporation and wholly-owned subsidiary of UPTD (“Merger Sub”), and the Company. Pursuant to the terms of the Merger Agreement, Merger Sub merged with and into Estrella, with Estrella surviving as a wholly-owned subsidiary of UPTD. Upon closing of the Business Combination (the “Closing”), UPTD changed its corporate name to Estrella Immunopharma, Inc. (“New Estrella” or the “Company”).

Estrella was incorporated in the State of Delaware on March 30, 2022 by Eureka Therapeutics, Inc. (“Eureka”), which was incorporated in California in February 2006 and reincorporated in Delaware in March 2018 and is the predecessor of Estrella. Estrella’s fiscal year end is June 30, and the Company’s fiscal year end changed from December 31 to June 30 effective as of the Closing Date.

On June 28, 2022, pursuant to a Contribution Agreement between Estrella and Eureka (the “Contribution Agreement”), Eureka contributed certain assets (the “Assets”) related to T-cell therapies targeting CD19 and CD22, proteins expressed on the surface of almost all B-cell leukemias and lymphomas, in exchange for 105,000,000 shares of Estrella’s Series AA Preferred Stock (the “Separation”).

As part of the Separation, Estrella entered into a License Agreement (the “License Agreement”) with Eureka and Eureka Therapeutics (Cayman) Ltd. (“Eureka Cayman”), an affiliate of Eureka, and a Services Agreement (the “Services Agreement”) with Eureka, and Eureka contributed and assigned the Collaboration Agreement between Eureka and Imugene Limited (“Imugene”) (the “Collaboration Agreement”) to Estrella. The License Agreement grants the Company an exclusive license to develop CD19 and CD22 targeted T-cell therapies using Eureka’s ARTEMIS® platform. Under the Services Agreement, Eureka has agreed to perform certain services for the Company in connection with the development of the Company’s product candidates, EB103 and EB104. EB103, which is a T-cell therapy also called “CD19-Redirected ARTEMIS® T-Cell Therapy,” utilizes Eureka’s ARTEMIS® technology to target CD19. The Company is also developing EB104, a T-cell therapy also called “CD19/22 Dual-Targeting ARTEMIS® T-Cell Therapy.” Like EB103, EB104 utilizes Eureka’s ARTEMIS® technology to target not only CD19, but also CD22. The Collaboration Agreement establishes the partnership between the Company and Imugene related to development of solid tumor treatments using Imugene’s product candidate (“CF33-CD19t”) in conjunction with EB103.

On March 2, 2023, the FDA cleared Estrella’s IND application for EB103, allowing Estrella to proceed with the Phase I/II STARLIGHT-1 Clinical Trial “STARLIGHT-1”. On March 4, 2024, the Company, Estrella and Eureka executed Statement of Work #001 relating to clinical trial services to be performed by Eureka in connection with the STARLIGHT-1 clinical trial (see Note 9). On May 13, 2024, the Company and Eureka entered into Amendment No. 1 to the Statement of Work, effective as of March 4, 2024 (see Note 9). As of June 30, 2024, the Company has begun enrolling patients into the STARLIGHT-1 clinical trial in the U.S.

Merger and reverse recapitalization

As described above and further discussed in Note 3, the Business Combination was consummated on September 29, 2023.

The Business Combination was accounted for as a “reverse recapitalization.” Under this method of accounting, UPTD was treated as the “acquired” company for financial reporting purposes. Accordingly, the Business Combination was treated as the equivalent of Estrella issuing shares for the net assets of UPTD, accompanied by a recapitalization. The net assets of UPTD are stated at historical costs. No goodwill or other intangible assets are recorded.

On June 26, 2024, the Company filed a Certificate of Ownership and Merger with the Delaware Secretary of State to effect a merger (the “Merger 1”) with its wholly-owned subsidiary, Estrella BioPharma Inc, pursuant to Section 253 of the Delaware General Corporation Law. The Merger 1 was approved by resolutions duly adopted by the unanimous written consent of the Company’s board of directors. The Merger 1 became effective at 11:59 PM Eastern Time on June 30, 2024, at which time the separate existence of Estrella ceased, and the Company became the surviving corporation.

Liquidity and Going Concern

The accompanying financial statements have been prepared on a basis which contemplates the realization of assets and the satisfaction of liabilities in the normal course of business. As of June 30, 2024, the Company had cash of approximately $4.2 million, and accumulated deficit of approximately $19.5 million. For the year ended June 30, 2024, loss from operations was approximately $7.3 million. The Company’s ability to fund its operations is dependent on the amount of cash on hand and its ability to raise debt or additional equity financing. The Company has expended substantial funds on its research and development business, has experienced losses and negative cash flows from operations since its inception and expects losses and negative cash flows from operations to continue until its technology receives regulatory approval and the Company generates sufficient revenue and positive cash flow from operations, if ever.

On September 29, 2023, the Business Combination and several concurrent financing transactions were consummated, with the Company receiving net proceeds of approximately $20.1 million, after deducting $5.1 million payable to redeem 467,122 shares of UPTD Common Stock at $10.86 per share in connection with the special meeting of UPTD stockholders related to the Business Combination held on July 31, 2023, $1.6 million for UPTD’s transaction expenses and $0.7 million for repayment of working capital loans, consisting of: (i) $9.75 million from the issuance of shares of the Company’s Operating Series A Preferred Stock immediately prior to the closing of the Business Combination ($0.7 million of which was comprised of funds in the trust account delivered to the Company at the closing of the Business Combination that would have otherwise been paid to US Tiger Securities, Inc. as a deferred underwriting fee in connection with UPTD’s IPO); (ii) $0.3 million from the issuance of an unsecured promissory note by us to a third party investor; (iii) $0.7 million from the funds held in UPTD’s trust account; and (iv) $10 million from the PIPE investors pursuant to the Subscription Agreements.

On April 20, 2023, UPTD entered into the Common Stock Purchase Agreement and the White Lion RRA with White Lion. Subsequently, on April 26, 2023, UPTD and White Lion entered into an amendment to the Common Stock Purchase Agreement. Pursuant to the Common Stock Purchase Agreement, following the Closing, New Estrella will have the right, but not the obligation, to require White Lion to purchase, from time to time up to $50,000,000 in aggregate gross purchase price of newly issued shares of Common Stock (the “Equity Line Shares”), subject to certain limitations and conditions set forth in the Common Stock Purchase Agreement as further described in Note 8.

On October 10, 2023, the Company used a portion of the net proceeds from the Business Combination to pay $8.3 million due to Eureka under the Services Agreement and approximately $0.9 million aggregate amount due to Eureka under the License Agreement, comprised of the outstanding portion of the upfront fee as well as a milestone payment in connection with the submission of the IND application for EB103. The Company intends to devote the remaining net proceeds from the Business Combination to the preclinical and clinical development of the Company’s product candidates and the public company compliance costs.

On March 4, 2024, Estrella and Eureka entered into Statement of Work No. 001 (“SOW”) relating to the clinical trial services to be performed by Eureka in connection with STARLIGHT-1, the Phase I/II clinical trial of Estrella’s product candidate, EB103, a T-cell therapy targeting CD19 using ARTEMIS® T cell technology licensed by Estrella from Eureka. Pursuant to the SOW, Estrella agrees to pay Eureka non-refundable net fees in connection with the achievement of certain milestones set forth in the SOW, with total fees of $33,000,000 for achievement of all milestones. As of June 30, 2024, Estrella has paid $3,500,000 to Eureka for covering the fees associated with the milestones that have been achieved.

On May 13, 2024, the Company and Eureka entered into Amendment No. 1 to the Statement of Work, effective as of March 4, 2024, to clarify that in the event that Estrella exercises its right to terminate or suspend the engagement with Eureka by providing written notice to Eureka in accordance with the SOW, Estrella will only be obligated to compensate Eureka for (i) services provided by Eureka pursuant to the SOW (“Services”) in connection with milestones that were achieved prior to the date and time of such written notice, (ii) reasonable and documented pass-through costs incurred by Eureka on behalf of Estrella prior to the date and time of such written notice in connection with providing the Services and (iii) amounts payable to third parties pursuant to commitments reasonably entered into by Eureka on behalf of Estrella prior to the date and time of such written notice in connection with providing the Services, provided that Eureka shall make commercially reasonable efforts to cancel or reduce any such amounts.

The Company’s future operations are highly dependent on a combination of factors, including but not necessarily limited to (1) the success of our research and development programs; (2) the timely and successful completion of any additional financing; (3) the development of competitive therapies by other biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies; (4) our ability to manage growth of the organization; (5) our ability to protect our technology and products; and, ultimately (6) regulatory approval and successful commercialization and market acceptance of our product candidates.

However, management believes that the Company has sufficient funds on hand and ability to raise funds in the future through the issuance and sale of Equity Line Shares to White Lion in order to meet its working capital requirements and debt obligations, for at least the next 12 months from the filing date of these financial statements.

Note 2 — Significant accounting policies

Basis of Presentation

The accompanying financial statements are presented in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“U.S. GAAP”) and pursuant to the rules and regulations of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”).

Emerging Growth Company Status

The Company is an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, (the “Securities Act”), as modified by the Jumpstart The Company’s Business Startups Act of 2012, (the “JOBS Act”), and it may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in its periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved.

Further, Section 102(b)(1) of the JOBS Act exempts emerging growth companies from being required to comply with new or revised financial accounting standards until private companies are required to comply with the new or revised financial accounting standards. The JOBS Act provides that a company can elect to opt out of the extended transition period and comply with the requirements that apply to non-emerging growth companies but any such an election to opt out is irrevocable. The Company has elected not to opt out of such extended transition period which means that when a standard is issued or revised and it has different application dates for public or private companies, the Company, as an emerging growth company, can adopt the new or revised standard at the time private companies adopt the new or revised standard. This may make comparison of the Company’s financial statements with another public company difficult because of the potential differences in accounting standards used.

Use of Estimates

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting periods.

Making estimates requires management to exercise significant judgment. It is at least reasonably possible that the estimate of the effect of a condition, situation or set of circumstances that existed at the date of the financial statements, which management considered in formulating its estimate, could change in the near term due to one or more future confirming events. Accordingly, the actual results could differ significantly from those estimates. Significant items subject to such estimates and assumptions include stock-based compensation, and deferred income tax asset valuation and allowances.

Cash and cash equivalent

The Company maintains its operating accounts in a single financial institution. The balance is insured by the United States Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) but only up to specified limits. The Company’s cash is maintained in a checking and a saving account and Certificates of Deposits. Cash equivalents consist of funds held at the third-party broker’s account for stock repurchase purpose, and the fund are unrestricted and immediately available for withdrawal and use. The balance held at the third-party broker’s account is insured by the United States Securities Investor Protection Corporation (“SIPC”) but only up to specified limits.

Basic and Diluted Loss per Common Stock

Basic net loss per Common Stock is calculated by dividing the net loss by the weighted–average number of Common Stock outstanding for the period. Diluted net loss per share is computed by dividing the net loss by the weighted–average number of Common Stock and dilutive share equivalents outstanding for the period, determined using the treasury stock and if–converted methods. Since the Company has had net losses for all periods presented, all potentially dilutive securities are anti–dilutive.

As of June 30, 2024 and 2023, the Company had the following potential Common Stock outstanding which were not included in the calculation of diluted net loss per Common Stock because inclusion thereof would be anti-dilutive:

Stock-Based Compensation

The Company recognizes compensation costs resulting from the issuance of stock-based awards to employees, non-employees and directors as an expense in the consolidated statements of operations over the requisite service period based on a measurement of fair value for each stock-based award. The fair value of each option granted is estimated as of the date of grant using the Black-Scholes-Merton option-pricing model, net of actual forfeitures. The fair value is amortized as compensation cost on a straight-line basis over the requisite service period of the awards, which is generally the vesting period. The Black-Scholes-Merton option-pricing model includes various assumptions, including the fair market value of the Common Stock of the Company, expected life of stock options, the expected volatility and the expected risk-free interest rate, among others. These assumptions reflect the Company’s best estimates, but they involve inherent uncertainties based on market conditions generally outside the control of the Company.

As a result, if other assumptions had been used, stock-based compensation expense, as determined in accordance with authoritative guidance, could have been materially impacted. Furthermore, if the Company uses different assumptions on future grants, stock-based compensation expense could be materially affected in future periods.

Mezzanine Equity

Mezzanine equity represents the Series A Preferred Stock and Series AA Preferred Stock (collectively known as “Preferred Stock”) issued by the Company. The shares of Preferred Stock were mandatorily redeemable upon the occurrence of Deemed Liquidation Events outside of the Company’s control. Therefore, the Company classifies the Preferred Stock as mezzanine equity. Refer to Note 11.

Warrants

The Company accounts for warrants as either equity-classified or liability-classified instruments based on an assessment of the warrant’s specific terms and applicable authoritative guidance in Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) ASC 480, Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity (“ASC 480”) and ASC 815, Derivatives and Hedging (“ASC 815”). The assessment considers whether the warrants are freestanding financial instruments pursuant to ASC 480, meet the definition of a liability pursuant to ASC 480, and whether the warrants meet all of the requirements for equity classification under ASC 815, including whether the warrants are indexed to the Company’s own ordinary shares and whether the warrant holders could potentially require “net cash settlement” in a circumstance outside of the Company’s control, among other conditions for equity classification. This assessment, which requires the use of professional judgment, is conducted at the time of warrant issuance and as of each subsequent quarterly period end date while the warrants are outstanding.

For issued or modified warrants that meet all of the criteria for equity classification, the warrants are required to be recorded as a component of equity at the time of issuance. The Company determined that upon further review of the warrant agreements, the Company concluded that its warrants qualify for equity accounting treatment.

Upon completion of the business combination, all of UPTD’s public warrants that remained outstanding were replaced by the Company’s public warrants. The Company treated such warrants replacement as a warrant modification and no incremental fair value was recognized.

Concentration of Credit Risk

Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to concentration of credit risk consist of two cash accounts in a financial institution located in the United States. The Company has not experienced losses on these accounts, and management believes the Company is not exposed to significant risks. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) provides standard insurance coverage of $250,000 per insured bank for each account ownership category. As of June 30, 2024, and 2023, the Company had not experienced losses on these accounts. As of June 30, 2024, and 2023, the Company had deposited $4,019,813 and $2,479,146, respectively, with financial institutions in the United States. Of these balances, $3,758,670 and $2,229,146, respectively, were not covered by deposit insurance. While management believes that these financial institutions are of high credit quality, it also continually monitors their creditworthiness.

The Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC) provides standard insurance coverage of $500,000 per brokerage account, which includes $250,000 for cash balances. As of June 30, 2024, and 2023, the Company maintained $145,615 and $0, respectively, in its brokerage account, with the entire balance covered by SIPC insurance.

Risks and Uncertainties

Management continues to evaluate the impact of inflation rates, the continuing military action in Ukraine, and Israel’s war against Hamas on the industry and has concluded that these factors could have a negative effect on the Company’s financial position and/or results of its operations. The specific impact of these factors is not readily determinable as of the date of these financial statements. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of these uncertainties.

The Company’s future success depends on the Company and Eureka’s ability to retain key employees, directors, and advisors and to attract, retain and motivate qualified personnel. The Company relies on Eureka to provide certain technical assistance to facilitate the Company’s exploitation of the intellectual property licensed by Eureka, and Eureka will be solely responsible for the manufacture and supply of clinical quantities of the licensed products and final filled and finished (including packaged) drug product form of the licensed products. Pursuant to the Services Agreement, Eureka currently performs or supports the Company’s important research and development activities. The Statement of Work (see Note 9) may be terminated by mutual agreement at any time. Following the termination of, or the expiration of the term of, the Statement of Work, the Company may not be able to replace the research and development-related services that Eureka provides or enter into appropriate third-party arrangements on terms and conditions, including cost, comparable to those that the Company will receive from Eureka. Additionally, after the Statement of Work terminates, the Company may be unable to sustain the research and development-related services at the same levels or obtain the same benefits as when the Company was receiving such services and benefits from Eureka. If the Company is required to operate these research and development functions separately in the future, or are unable to obtain them from other providers, the Company may not be able to operate the Company’s business effectively and could result in a material adverse effect.

Fair Value of Financial Instruments

The fair value of the Company’s assets and liabilities, which qualify as financial instruments under ASC Topic 820, “Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures,” approximates the carrying amounts represented in the accompanying balance sheet, primarily due to their short-term nature. The Company measures the fair value of certain of its financial assets and liabilities on a recurring basis. A fair value hierarchy is used to rank the quality and reliability of the information used to determine fair values. Financial assets and liabilities carried at fair value which is not equivalent to cost will be classified and disclosed in one of the following three categories:

Level 1 — Quoted prices (unadjusted) in active markets for identical assets and liabilities.

Level 2 — Inputs other than Level 1 that are observable, either directly or indirectly, such as unadjusted quoted prices for similar assets and liabilities, unadjusted quoted prices in the markets that are not active, or other inputs that are observable or can be corroborated by observable market data for substantially the full term of the assets or liabilities.

Level 3 — Unobservable inputs that are supported by little or no market activity and that are significant to the fair value of the assets or liabilities.

Income Taxes

The Company recognizes deferred tax assets and liabilities for both the expected impact of differences between the financial statement and tax basis of assets and liabilities and for the expected future tax benefit to be derived from tax loss and tax credit carry forwards and establishes a valuation allowance when it is more likely than not that all or a portion of deferred tax assets will not be realized.

Accounting for uncertainty in income taxes is recognized based on a recognition threshold and measurement process for the financial statement recognition and measurement of a tax position taken or expected to be taken in a tax return. For those benefits to be recognized, a tax position must be more-likely-than-not to be sustained upon examination by taxing authorities. There were no unrecognized tax benefits and no amounts accrued for interest and penalties as of June 30, 2024 and 2023. The Company is currently not aware of any issues under review that could result in significant payments, accruals or material deviation from its position. The Company may be subject to potential examination by federal and state taxing authorities in the areas of income taxes. These potential examinations may include questioning the timing and amount of deductions, the nexus of income among various tax jurisdictions and compliance with federal and state tax laws. The Company’s management does not expect that the total amount of unrecognized tax benefits will materially change over the next twelve months.

The Company is incorporated in the State of Delaware and is required to pay franchise taxes to the State of Delaware on an annual basis.

Research and Development Expenses

The Company charges research and development costs to operations as incurred. The Company accrues for costs incurred by external service providers, including contract research organizations and clinical investigators, based on its estimates of service performed and costs incurred. These estimates include the level of services performed by third parties, patient enrollment in clinical trials when applicable, administrative costs incurred by third parties, and other indicators of the services completed. Based on the timing of amounts invoiced by service providers, the Company may also record payments made to those providers as prepaid expenses that will be recognized as expense in future periods as the related services are rendered. Research and development expenses for the years ended June 30, 2024 and 2023 primarily consisted of personnel costs for the design and development of clinical trials, legal and professional fees and, facilities related fees. Refer to Note 9 for the terms of the License Agreement, the Service Agreement, and the Statement of Work.

Deferred transaction costs

Deferred transaction costs consist primarily of expenses paid to attorneys, consultants, underwriters, and others related to the Merger, which were charged to shareholders’ equity upon the completion of the Merger. The Company completed the Merger on September 29, 2023.

Lease

Effective July 1, 2022, the Company adopted ASU 2016-02, “Leases” (Topic 842), and elected the practical expedients that does not require us to reassess: (1) whether any expired or existing contracts are, or contain, leases, (2) lease classification for any expired or existing leases and (3) initial direct costs for any expired or existing leases. For lease terms of twelve months or fewer, a lessee is permitted to make an accounting policy election not to recognize lease assets and liabilities.

If any of the following criteria are met, the Company classifies the lease as a finance lease:

Leases that do not meet any of the above criteria are accounted for as operating leases.

The Company combines lease and non-lease components in its contracts under Topic 842, when permissible.

Operating lease right-of-use (“ROU”) asset and lease liability were recognized at the adoption date of July 1, 2022, based on the present value of lease payments over the lease term. Since the implicit rate for the Company’s leases is not readily determinable, the Company uses its incremental borrowing rate based on the information available at the commencement date in determining the present value of lease payments. The incremental borrowing rate is the rate of interest that the Company would have to pay to borrow, on a collateralized basis, an amount equal to the lease payments, in a similar economic environment and over a similar term.

In the event of lease modification, the Company followed ASC 842-10-25 through 25-12, “lessee accounting for a modification that is not accounted for as a separate contract,” to remeasure and reallocate the remaining consideration in the lease agreement and reassess the classification of the lease at the effective date of the modification.

The Company reviews the impairment of its ROU asset consistent with the approach applied for its other long-lived assets. The Company reviews the recoverability of its long-lived assets when events or changes in circumstances occur that indicate that the carrying value of the asset may not be recoverable. The assessment of possible impairment is based on its ability to recover the carrying value of the asset from the expected undiscounted future pre-tax cash flows of the related operations. The Company has elected to include the carrying amount of operating lease liability in any tested asset group and includes the associated operating lease payments in the undiscounted future pre-tax cash flows.

Segment reporting

The Company accounted for segment reporting in accordance with ASC 280, “Segment Reporting”. Based on qualitative and quantitative criteria established by ASC 280, the Company considers itself to be operating within one reportable segment.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

The Company considers the applicability and impact of all accounting standards updates (“ASUs”). Management periodically reviews new accounting standards that are issued. Under the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012, as amended (the “JOBS Act”), the Company meets the definition of an emerging growth company and has elected the extended transition period for complying with new or revised accounting standards, which delays the adoption of these accounting standards until they would apply to private companies.

In October 2023, the FASB issued ASU 2023-06, Disclosure Improvements — codification amendments in response to SEC’s disclosure Update and Simplification initiative which amend the disclosure or presentation requirements of codification subtopic 230-10 Statement of Cash Flows—Overall, 250-10 Accounting Changes and Error Corrections— Overall, 260-10 Earnings Per Share— Overall, 270-10 Interim Reporting— Overall, 440-10 Commitments—Overall, 470-10 Debt—Overall, 505-10 Equity—Overall, 815-10 Derivatives and Hedging—Overall, 860-30 Transfers and Servicing—Secured Borrowing and Collateral, 932-235 Extractive Activities— Oil and Gas—Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, 946-20 Financial Services— Investment Companies— Investment Company Activities, and 974-10 Real Estate—Real Estate Investment Trusts—Overall. The amendments represent changes to clarify or improve disclosure and presentation requirements of above subtopics. Many of the amendments allow users to more easily compare entities subject to the SEC’s existing disclosures with those entities that were not previously subject to the SEC’s requirements. Also, the amendments align the requirements in the Codification with the SEC’s regulations. For entities subject to existing SEC disclosure requirements or those that must provide financial statements to the SEC for securities purposes without contractual transfer restrictions, the effective date aligns with the date when the SEC removes the related disclosure from Regulation S-X or Regulation S-K. Early adoption is not allowed. For all other entities, the amendments will be effective two years later from the date of the SEC’s removal. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of the update on the Company’s consolidated financial statements and related disclosures.

In December 2023, the FASB issued ASU 2023-09, which is an update to Topic 740, Income Taxes. The amendment in this update enhances the transparency and decision usefulness of income tax disclosures. ASU 2023-09 will be effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2024. Early adoption is permitted for annual financial statements that have not yet been issued or made available for issuance. The amendments in this Update should be applied on a prospective basis. Retrospective application is permitted. The Company is currently evaluating the impact the adoption of ASU 2023-07 will have on its annual and interim disclosures.** **

The Company does not believe recently issued but not yet effective accounting standards, if currently adopted, would have a material effect on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.

Note 3 — Reverse recapitalization

Upon the consummation of the Business Combination, the following transactions (collectively, the “Transactions”) were completed, based on the Company’s capitalization as of September 29, 2023:

The following table presents the number of the Company’s Common Stock issued and outstanding immediately following the Reverse Recapitalization:

Estrella was determined to be the accounting acquirer given that Estrella effectively controlled the Company upon consummation of the Business Combination. The transaction is accounted for as a reverse recapitalization, which is equivalent to the issuance of Common Stock by Estrella for the net monetary assets of UPTD, accompanied by a recapitalization. Estrella was determined as the accounting acquirer and the historical financial statements of Estrella became the Company’s historical financial statements, with retrospective adjustments to give effect of the reverse recapitalization. The net assets of UPTD were recognized as of the Closing Date at historical cost, with no goodwill or other intangible assets recorded. Operations prior to the Closing Date are those of Estrella and Estrella’s operations are the only ongoing operations of the Company.

In connection with the Reverse Recapitalization, the Company raised approximately $726,339 of proceeds, presented as cash flows from financing activities, which included the contribution of $8,138,230 of funds held in UPTD’s trust account, $9,782 of cash held in UPTD’s operating cash account, net of $5,072,945 payable to UPTD’s public stockholders to redeem 467,122 public shares of UPTD’s Common Stock, $1,640,128 in transaction costs incurred by UPTD, and $708,600 prepayment of working capital loans issued to UPTD’s related parties.

The following table reconcile the elements of the Reverse Recapitalization to the statements of cash flows and the changes in shareholders’ equity (deficit):

The shares and corresponding capital amounts and all per share data related to the Company’s outstanding Common Stock prior to the Reverse Recapitalization have been retroactively adjusted using the Exchange Ratio of 0.2407.

Note 4 — Cash Held in Trust Account

The Company had cash held in a trust account, carried over from UPTD upon the consummation of the Business Combination. Such balance held in trust account was designated to pay UPTD’s shareholders who redeemed public shares of UPTD’s Common Stock before the consummation of the business combination. On October 3, 2023, the remaining balance of cash held in trust account was disbursed to the UPTD’s shareholder as mentioned above.

Note 5 — Extension Note Receivable

Pursuant to Merger Agreement, Estrella agreed to, upon request by UPTD, deposit the agreed reasonable amount to UPTD’s trust account in order to effectuate extension of UPTD’s deadline to consummate a business combination. Pursuant to the Merger Agreement, as of June 30, 2023, a total of $273,066 of six-monthly extension payments, each in the principal amount of $45,511, would be deposited into the Trust Account of UPTD, all of which were sourced by loans from Estrella (the “Extension Notes”). The Extension Notes bore no interest and were settled between Estrella and UPTD upon the consummation of the Business Combination on September 29, 2023.

Note 6 — Other payables and accrued liabilities

Note 7 — Stock redemption payable

Stock redemption payable represents the balance payable to UPTD’s shareholders related to the redemption of public shares of UPTD’s Common Stock before the consummation of the business combination. On October 3, 2023, such balance was paid in full through the Company’s investment held in trust account. (see Note 4).

Note 8 — Commitments and contingencies

Manufacturing Commitment

On June 28, 2022, Eureka and the Company entered into the License Agreement under which Eureka granted to the Company a license under certain intellectual property controlled by Eureka for exploitation by the Company in the Company’s territory under the License Agreement (the “Licensed Territory”). Eureka will be solely responsible for the manufacture and supply of clinical quantities of the licensed products and final filled and finished (including packaged) drug product form of the licensed products for development and commercialization purposes in the field both in the Licensed Territory and elsewhere. Refer to Note 9.

Equity Financing Commitment

On April 20, 2023, UPTD entered into a Common Stock purchase agreement (as amended on April 26, 2023 and from time to time, the “Common Stock Purchase Agreement”) and a related registration rights agreement (the “White Lion RRA”) with White Lion. Pursuant to the Common Stock Purchase Agreement, following the Closing, the Company has the right, but not the obligation to require White Lion to purchase, from time to time, up to $50,000,000 in aggregate gross purchase price of newly issued shares of Common Stock of the Company, subject to certain limitations and conditions set forth in the Common Stock Purchase Agreement, including, among others, the initial and any subsequent registration statement for the Equity Line Shares being declared effective by the SEC and remaining effective during the term of the Common Stock Purchase Agreement. In addition, under Nasdaq listing rules, the Company is not permitted to issue any Equity Line Shares under the Common Stock Purchase Agreement if such issuance would equal 20% or more of the Company’s outstanding common stock without obtaining majority approval by our stockholders, which had not been obtained as of the date hereof. On December 28, 2023, the Company’s registration statement on Form S-1 related to the Equity Line Shares was declared effective by the SEC. As of the date hereof, no Equity Line Shares have been issued to White Lion pursuant to the Common Stock Purchase Agreement.

Registration Rights

The holders of 312,200 shares of Common Stock that were issued to the initial stockholders of UPTD (the “Founder Shares”) and of 1,107,500 shares of Common Stock issued to certain investors in a private placement in connection with UPTD’s initial public offering (the “Private Shares”) are entitled to registration rights pursuant to a Registration Rights Agreement, dated July 14, 2021, among UPTD, TradeUP Acquisition Sponsor LLC and certain security holders named therein. The Company assumed the obligations of UPTD under such agreement upon consummation of the Business Combination. The holders of the majority of these securities are entitled to make up to three demands, excluding short form demands, that the Company registers such securities. In addition, the holders have certain “piggy-back” registration rights with respect to registration statements filed subsequent to the completion of the initial Business Combination and rights to require the Company to register for resale such securities pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act. The Company is also obligated to file a registration statement for the (i) Equity Line Shares that we may issue to White Lion pursuant to the Common Stock Purchase Agreement and White Lion RRA, (ii) up to 2,225,000 shares of Common Stock issuable upon exercise of the Warrants and (iii) the shares issued or that will be issued pursuant to the Subscription Agreements. The Company will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.

Contingencies

From time to time, the Company is or may be party to certain legal proceedings, as well as certain asserted and un-asserted claims. Amounts accrued, as well as the total amount of reasonably possible losses with respect to such matters, individually and in the aggregate, are not deemed to be material to the financial statements.

In some instances, the Company may be required to indemnify its licensors for the costs associated with any such adversarial proceedings or litigation. Third parties may assert infringement claims against the Company, its licensors or its strategic collaborators based on existing patents or patents that may be granted in the future, regardless of their merit. There is a risk that third parties may choose to engage in litigation or other adversarial proceedings with the Company, its licensors or its strategic collaborators to enforce or otherwise assert their patent rights.

Collaboration Agreement

On October 29, 2021, Eureka, entered into a Collaboration Agreement with Imugene Ltd, a clinical stage immune-oncology company to evaluate Imugene’s CF33-CD19t, its oncolytic virus onCARlytics technology in combination with Eureka’s CD19 ARTEMIS® T-cell therapy for the treatment of solid tumors.

On June 28, 2022, as part of the Separation, Eureka contributed and assigned the Collaboration Agreement to Estrella. Pursuant to the Collaboration Agreement, Estrella and Imugene have each granted to the other a royalty free, non-exclusive, worldwide license, with the right to grant and authorize sublicenses, to their respective technologies to conduct the research activities each is responsible for performing under the research plan set forth in the Collaboration Agreement. The research plan is required to be reviewed no less frequently than every six to eight months by a joint steering committee comprised of participants from each of Estrella and Imugene.

Allocation of Costs, unless otherwise agreed by the Parties in connection with a given Research Plan and associated Research Budget:

The research plan under the Collaboration Agreement was completed as of August 30, 2023. The Company and Eureka recorded the costs associated with the Collaboration Agreement as research and development expenses in the amount of $0 and $24,186, For the years ended June 30, 2024 and 2023, respectively.

On May 15, 2023, Estrella assigned a cost reimbursement receivable of $27,169 from Imugene under the Collaboration Agreement to Eureka. There was no impact on Estrella’s statements of operations.

Note 9 — Related Party Transactions

License Agreement

On June 28, 2022, in connection with the Contribution Agreement, Eureka, Eureka Cayman and Estrella entered a License Agreement under which Eureka and Eureka Cayman granted to Estrella a license under certain intellectual property controlled by Eureka for exploitation by Estrella in the Licensed Territory, which primarily includes the United States and the rest of the world, excluding China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

Pursuant to the License Agreement, (1) Eureka will be solely responsible for the manufacture and supply of clinical quantities of the licensed products and final filled and finished (including packaged) drug product form of the licensed products (“Drug Product”) for development and commercialization purposes in the field both in the Licensed Territory and elsewhere, and (2) during the term of the License Agreement, Eureka will manufacture and supply, either itself or through an affiliate or a third party contract manufacturer, all of Estrella’s and its related parties’ clinical quantities requirements of Drug Product for Estrella’s and its related parties’ development activities with respect to the licensed products in the field in the Territory conducted in accordance with this agreement. Eureka and Estrella will use good faith efforts to negotiate and enter into a clinical supply agreement on reasonable and customary terms for the supply of Drug Product by Eureka to Estrella at a price equal to the fully burdened cost (the “Clinical Supply Agreement”), and a related quality agreement, which agreements will govern the terms and conditions of the manufacturing and clinical supply of Drug Product to Estrella. Furthermore, Eureka and Estrella’s collaboration will be overseen by a JSC. Eureka and Estrella will initially appoint one representative to the JSC, with each representative having knowledge and expertise in the development and commercialization of products similar to the licensed products and having sufficient seniority within the applicable party to provide meaningful input and make decisions arising within the scope of the JSC’s responsibility.

The License Agreement requires Estrella to make certain payments, including (a) an “upfront” payment of $1,000,000, payable in 12 equal monthly installments, (b) “milestone” payments upon the occurrence of certain events related to development and sales, with potential aggregate multi-million dollar payments upon FDA approval, and (c) royalty payments of a single digit percentage on net sales.

As of June 30, 2024 and 2023, Estrella had remaining balance of account payable - related party amounted to $0 and $833,333, respectively, related to License Agreement’s upfront payment. As of June 30, 2024, one development milestone payment in the amount of $50,000 related to the submission of EB103 to the FDA was earned by Eureka under the Agreement. Such amount was accrued by Estrella and outstanding as of June 30, 2023 and payment was made on October 10, 2023 with $0 outstanding as of June 30, 2024.

Services Agreement

On June 28, 2022, Estrella entered a Services Agreement with Eureka. Pursuant to the Services Agreement, Eureka will perform certain services for Estrella related the transfer of certain technology and the provision of certain technical assistance to facilitate Estrella’s exploitation of the intellectual property licensed by Eureka to Estrella under the License Agreement, and Eureka will perform such services for Estrella (the “Services”). Under the Services Agreement, Estrella shall pay Eureka (1) $10,000,000 in connection with the Services payable in 12 equal monthly installments with the first payment to be made no later than five days after the Effective date and (2) reimburse Eureka on a monthly basis for reasonable pass-through costs incurred or paid to providers by Eureka in providing the Services. In addition, Estrella will be charged for other services performed by Eureka outside the scope of the Services per the Service Agreement, at a flat rate, by time or materials or as mutually agreed upon the parties in writing.

Eureka’s service covered a period of 12 months and the service commenced on June 28, 2022. As of June 30, 2024 and June 30, 2023, Estrella had account payable balance - related party of $0 and $8,333,331 related to Service Agreement with Eureka, respectively.

As of June 30, 2024 and 2023, Estrella accrued $0 and $116,482 for pass-through costs related to clinical trials incurred by Eureka in account payable-related party, respectively.

For the years ended June 30, 2024 and 2023, Estrella incurred $54,957 and $116,482 pass-through costs related to clinical trials, respectively.

After the closing of the business combination on September 29, 2023, on October 10, 2023 Estrella remitted $9,334,475 to Eureka.

Statement of Work

On March 4, 2024, the Company, Estrella and Eureka entered into Statement of Work No. 001 (“SOW”) relating to the clinical trial services to be performed by Eureka in connection with STARLIGHT-1, the Phase I/II clinical trial of Estrella’s product candidate, EB103, a T-cell therapy targeting CD19 using ARTEMIS® T cell technology licensed by Estrella from Eureka. The trial is designed to assess the safety, tolerability, recommended Phase II dose, and preliminary anti-cancer activity of EB103 for the treatment of relapsed or refractory (R/R) B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) patients.

The SOW is governed by the terms of the Services Agreement, dated June 28, 2022, between Estrella and Eureka (as amended by Amendment No. 1, effective as of October 1, 2022, and Amendment No. 2, effective as of March 1, 2023), and incorporates all the terms of the Services Agreement by reference. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the terms and conditions of the SOW govern in the event of any conflict with the terms and conditions of the Services Agreement.

The scope of work set forth in the SOW includes study start-up, patient dosing and related activities, study close-out, and reporting. Additionally, the SOW sets forth the various services Eureka will provide in connection with the clinical trial, including regulatory document development, site activation, patient enrollment and consent management, data collection, and pharmacovigilance.

Pursuant to the SOW, Estrella agrees to pay Eureka non-refundable net fees in connection with the achievement of certain milestones set forth in the SOW, with total fees of $33,000,000 for achievement of all milestones, excluding additional pass-through costs and expenses incurred by Eureka and payable by Estrella as further described below. Such amount assumes 20 patients to be dosed and one clinical site is activated. An additional $500,000 will become payable to Eureka if a second site is activated following mutual agreement of Estrella and Eureka. In addition to the milestone payments, Eureka will invoice Estrella quarterly for additional pass-through costs and expenses incurred in connection with its services under the SOW. Estrella is required to settle invoices within 30 days, with Eureka reserving the right to impose monthly interest charges of 1.5% for undisputed amounts unpaid after 30 days. Estrella will also be responsible for payment of any taxes, fees, duties or charges imposed by any governmental authority in connection with the services provided by Eureka under the SOW, other than any taxes on Eureka’s income.

The first invoice payable to Eureka issuable upon execution of the SOW is for $3.5 million, covering the fees associated with the initiation of the study, the preparation and activation of the first study site, and the First Patient First Visit (FPFV) milestones. Prior to the commencement of the patient dosing phase, a deposit of $1.5 million is required to be delivered to Eureka to ensure the readiness for patient treatment expenses and will be applied against the final invoice, and any unused portion will be returned to Estrella following collection of all outstanding fees and costs payable to Eureka under the SOW. Additional invoices will be issued in connection with the patient dosing milestone, amounting to $1,375,000 per patient and a total cost $27,500,000 for 20 patients, excluding any pass-through costs and additional expenses. The SOW provides an estimated dosing timeline of 6 patients by the end of 2024 and an additional 14 patients by the end of 2025. Lastly, a $2,000,000 milestone fee will become due in connection with the study close-out phase, estimated to be completed by the end of 2025. Services provided in connection with this milestone include finalizing patient data, trial data cleaning, statistical analysis, and preparing and submitting the final study report.

As of June 30, 2024, Estrella has paid $3,500,000 to Eureka for covering the fees associated with milestones achieved.

On May 13, 2024, the Company and Eureka entered into Amendment No. 1 to the SOW, effective as of March 4, 2024, to clarify that in the event that Estrella exercises its right to terminate or suspend the engagement with Eureka by providing written notice to Eureka in accordance with the SOW, Estrella will only be obligated to compensate Eureka for (i) services provided by Eureka pursuant to the SOW (“Services”) in connection with milestones that were achieved prior to the date and time of such written notice, (ii) reasonable and documented pass-through costs incurred by Eureka on behalf of Estrella prior to the date and time of such written notice in connection with providing the Services and (iii) amounts payable to third parties pursuant to commitments reasonably entered into by Eureka on behalf of Estrella prior to the date and time of such written notice in connection with providing the Services, provided that Eureka shall make commercially reasonable efforts to cancel or reduce any such amounts.

Series AA Preferred Stock

On June 28, 2022, Estrella and Eureka entered into the Contribution Agreement pursuant to which Eureka agreed to contribute and assign to Estrella all rights, title and interest in and to the Assets in exchange for 105,000,000 shares of Estrella’s Series AA Preferred Stock (refer to Note 11). As of June 30, 2024 and 2023, Eureka collectively owned 69.7% and 92.1% of Estrella on a fully diluted basis, respectively.

Lease

On July 6, 2022, Estrella entered into an office lease contract with Eureka, to lease a 428 square feet office with a $2,000 payment. Under the original lease contract, the sublease agreement commenced on August 1, 2022 and expired on September 30, 2023. In November 2022, the sublease’s expiration date was amended to July 31, 2023. Therefore, such lease contained a lease term for 12 months and less after amendment. Estrella elected not to apply the ROU and lease liability recognition requirements to above mentioned short-term lease as the modified lease term was less than twelve months. As a result of the lease amendment, Estrella then reduced the corresponding ROU and lease liability to $0 and continued to recognize the lease monthly payments in profit or loss on a straight-line basis over the remaining lease term period.

On October 1, 2023 Estrella entered into an office lease contract with Eureka, to lease 180 square feet of office space with $2,000 monthly lease payments for nine months without any renewal option.

For the years ended June 30, 2024 and 2023, the Company incurred $20,000 and $22,000 rent expense from Eureka. Refer to Note 14.

As of June 30, 2024 and 2023, the outstanding balance of lease payments of $4,000 and $22,000 was recorded as accrued liability - related party on the Company’s consolidated balance sheets, respectively.

Note 10 — Promissory note

On September 29, 2023, Estrella issued an unsecured promissory note to Hongbing Zhang, in the aggregate principal amount of $300,000 (the “Unsecured Note”). Interest shall begin accruing on September 29, 2023 at a rate of 12% per annum until the outstanding amount has been paid in full. The Unsecured Note matures on October 30, 2023 and was paid in full on October 27, 2023.

Note 11 — Preferred Stock

Series AA Preferred Stock

On June 28, 2022, Estrella and Eureka entered into the Contribution Agreement pursuant to which Eureka contributed and assigned to Estrella all right, title and interest in and to the Assets in exchange for 105,000,000 shares of Estrella’s Series AA Preferred Stock. In accordance with ASC 805 “Common control transactions.” The transfer of the Assets was accounted for by Estrella at historical carrying values.

Series A Preferred Stock

On June 28, 2022, Estrella entered into a Series A Preferred Stock Purchase Agreement with an accredited third-party investor to raise gross proceeds of $5,000,000 by issuing 5,000,000 shares of its Series A Preferred Stock. The shares of Series A Preferred Stock were sold for $1.00 per share.

On each of July 31, 2023 and September 18, 2023, an aggregate of six third party investors executed joinders to Estrella’s Series A Preferred Stock Purchase Agreement. Pursuant to the joinders, such investors agreed to purchase an aggregate of 9,250,000 shares of Estrella’s Series A Preferred Stock for $9,250,000 immediately prior to the effective time of Estrella’s merger with UPTD. Subsequently and immediately prior to the effective time of the merger with UPTD, such shares of Estrella’s Series A Preferred Stock converted into Estrella Common Stock and then into Merger Consideration Shares based on an exchange ratio of 0.2407 determined by the total number of shares of Estrella Common Stock outstanding immediately prior to the Effective Time in accordance with the Merger Agreement. In addition, immediately prior to the Effective Time,500,000 shares of Estrella’s Series A Preferred Stock were issued to White Lion for $500,000 and 250,000 shares of Estrella’s Series A Preferred Stock were issued to White Lion in consideration for its commitments under the Common Stock Purchase Agreement pursuant to the Joinder to the Series A Preferred Stock Purchase Agreement between Estrella and White Lion, dated April 20, 2023, as further described in Note 8 above.

The significant terms of the Series A, Series AA Preferred Stocks issued by Estrella are as follows:

Dividend Rights

Each holder of Preferred Stock shall be entitled to receive only when, as and if declared by the board of directors, out of any funds and assets legally available therefor, dividends on a pari passu basis at the rate of 8% of the original issue price of $1.00 per share. The dividend shall be non-cumulative and non-compounding.

Liquidation Rights

Series A Preferred Stock– In the event of any voluntary or involuntary liquidation, dissolution or winding up of Estrella, the holders of shares of Series A Preferred Stock then outstanding shall be entitled to be paid out of the assets of Estrella available for distribution to its stockholders or, in the case of a Deemed Liquidation Event (as defined below), out of the consideration payable to stockholders in such Deemed Liquidation Event or the Available Proceeds, before any payment shall be made to the holders of Series AA Preferred Stock or Common Stock by reason of their ownership thereof, and amount per share equal to the applicable Original Issue Price, plus any dividends declared but unpaid thereon.

*Series AA Preferred Stock –*After payment of the full liquidation preference of the Series A Preferred Stock, then in the event of any voluntary or involuntary liquidation, dissolution or winding up of Estrella, the holders of shares of Series AA Preferred Stock then outstanding shall be entitled to be paid out of the assets of Estrella available for distribution to its stockholders or, in the case of a Deemed Liquidation Event, out of the consideration payable to stockholders in such Deemed Liquidation Event or the Available Proceeds. Before any payment shall be made to the holders of Common Stock by reason of their ownership, an amount per share equal to the applicable Original Issue Price, plus any dividends declare but unpaid thereon.

*Distribution of Remaining Assets –*If there are any remaining assets of the Estrella, such assets shall be distributed among the holders of the shares of Series A Preferred Stock and Common Stock, prorated based on the number of shares held by each such holder, treating for this purpose all such securities as if they had been converted to Common Stock.

Voting Rights

Each holder of outstanding shares of Series A Preferred Stock shall be entitled to casttwo (2) votes for each share of Series A Preferred Stock held by such holder and each holder of outstanding shares of Series AA Preferred Stock shall be entitled to castone (1) vote for each share of Series AA Preferred Stock held by such holder. Except as provided by law or by the other provisions of the amended and restated certificate of incorporation, holders of Preferred Stock shall vote together with holders of Common Stock as a single class.

Conversion Rights

Each share of Preferred Stock shall be convertible, at the option of the holder at any time and from time to time, and without the payment of additional consideration by the holder into such number of fully paid and non – assessable shares of Common Stock as is determined by dividing the Original Issue Price by the Conversion Price in effect at the time of conversion. The Series A Conversion Price applicable to the Series A Preferred Stock shall initially be equal to $1.00. The Series AA Conversion Price applicable to the Series AA Preferred Stock shall initially be equal to $1.00. The Series A Conversion Price and the Series AA Conversion Price are referred to as “Conversion Price.” The initial Conversion Prices and the rate at which shares of applicable Preferred Stock may be converted into shares of Common Stock, shall be subject to adjustment in connection with certain dilutive issuances, share split, combinations, dividends, distributions, recapitalizations, mergers, consolidations, reclassifications, exchanges, and substitutions.

Pursuant to the Estrella’s amended and restated certificate of incorporation, holders of the Estrella’s Preferred Stock have the following methods of conversion: Automatic conversion upon either (a) the closing of the sale of shares of Common Stock to the public at a price of at least $1.00 per share (subject to appropriate adjustment in the event of any stock dividend, stock splits, combination or other similar recapitalization with respect to the Common Stock), in a firm-commitment underwritten public offering pursuant to an effective registration statement under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, resulting in at least $50,000,000 of gross proceeds to Estrella and in connection with such offering the Common Stock is listed for trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market’s National Market, the New York Stock Exchange or another exchange or marketplace approved by the board of directors or (b) the date and time, or the occurrence of an event, specified by vote or written consent of (i) the holders of at least a majority of the outstanding shares of Series A Preferred Stock and (ii) the holders of at least a majority of the outstanding shares of Series AA Preferred Stock, voting separately, then (x) all outstanding shares of Preferred Stock shall automatically be converted into shares of Common Stock, at the then effective conversion rate (y) such shares may not be reissued by Estrella.

Redemption Rights

Both Series A Preferred Stock and Series AA Preferred Stock were mandatorily redeemable upon the occurrence of a “Deemed Liquidation Event” which includes the following: (1) a merger or consolidation in which (a) Estrella is a constituent party or (b) a subsidiary of Estrella is a constituent party and Estrella issues shares of its capital stock pursuant to such merger or consolidation, except any such merger or consolidation involving the Corporation or a subsidiary in which the shares of capital stock of Estrella outstanding immediately prior to such merger or consolidation continue to represent, or are converted into or exchanged for shares of capital stock that represent, immediately following such merger or consolidation, at least a majority, by voting power, of the capital stock of (i) the surviving or resulting corporation; or (ii) if the surviving or resulting corporation is a wholly owned subsidiary of another corporation immediately following such merger or consolidation, the parent corporation of such surviving or resulting corporation; or (2) (a) the sale, lease, transfer, exclusive license or other disposition, in a single transaction or series of related transactions, by Estrella or any subsidiary of Estrella of all or substantially all the assets of Estrella and its subsidiaries taken as a whole, or (b) the sale or disposition (whether by merger, consolidation or otherwise, and whether in a single transaction or a series of related transactions) of one or more subsidiaries of Estrella if substantially all of the assets of Estrella and its subsidiaries taken as a whole are held by such subsidiary or subsidiaries, except where such sale, lease, transfer, exclusive license or other disposition is to a wholly owned subsidiary of Estrella.

Estrella shall use the consideration received by Estrella for such Deemed Liquidation Events mentioned above (net of any retained liabilities associated with the assets sold or technology licensed, as determined in good faith by the board of directors of Estrella)**,**together with any other assets of Estrella available for distribution to its stockholders, all to the extent permitted by Delaware law governing distributions to stockholders (the “Available Proceeds”), to redeem all outstanding shares of Preferred Stock at a price per share equal to the applicable liquidation amount, which is equal to the original issue price of the Preferred Stock plus any declared but unpaid dividends. The Series A Preferred Stock must receive its liquidation amount prior to the Series AA Preferred Stock receives any payment.

The Series A Preferred Stock and the Series AA Preferred Stock were accounted for under Section 480-10-S99 — Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity (FASB Accounting Standards Codification 480) as amended by ASU 2009-04 — for Redeemable Equity Instruments (“ASU 2009-04”). Under ASU 2009-04, a redeemable equity security is to be classified as temporary equity if it is conditionally redeemable upon the occurrence of an event that is not solely within the control of the issuer. Therefore, the Company classified the Series A Preferred Stock and Series AA Preferred Stock as temporary equity in the consolidated balance sheet as of June 30, 2023.

Immediately prior to the consummation of the business combination on September 29, 2023, all shares of Estrella Series A and Series AA Preferred Stock were converted into Estrella Common Stock and each share of Estrella Common Stock was exchanged for shares of Common Stock at an exchange ratio of 0.2407.

Note 12 — Stockholders’ Equity (Deficit)

Before reverse recapitalization

Given the consideration of retroactive adjustments, upon incorporation on March 20, 2022, the Company’s authorized shares were 145,000,000 shares of Common Stock with a par value of $0.0001 per share.

After reverse recapitalization

Upon consummation of the business combination on September 29, 2023, each share of Estrella’s Common Stock was converted into 0.2407 shares of the Company’s Common Stock.

The Company’s authorized shares of Common Stock is 250,000,000 with a par value of $0.0001 per share (the “Common Stock”). Given the retroactive effect of the reverse recapitalization, as of June 30, 2023, there were 978,243 shares of Common Stock issued and outstanding.

Issuance of Common Stock upon the reverse recapitalization (see Note 3)

On September 29, 2023, upon the consummation of the Business Combination, the Company issued an aggregate total of 1,701,232 Common Stock to UPTD’s shareholders.

The following table presents the number of the Company’s ordinary shares issued upon the Reverse Recapitalization:

Conversion of Series A Preferred Stock and the Series AA Preferred Stock

Immediately prior to the consummation of the business combination on September 29, 2023, all shares of Estrella Series A and Series AA Preferred Stock were converted into Estrella Common Stock and then into Merger Consideration Shares which is amounted to 28,888,675 shares of Common Stock based on an exchange ratio of 0.2407 determined by the total number of shares of Estrella Common Stock outstanding at the Effective Time in accordance with the Merger Agreement.

PIPE investment shares

In connection with the Merger, on September 14, 2023, UPTD entered into subscription agreements (the “Subscription Agreements”) with each of Plentiful Limited, a Samoan limited company (“Plentiful Limited”) and Lianhe World Limited (“Lianhe World,” together with Plentiful Limited, collectively, the “PIPE Investors”). Concurrently with the closing of the Business Combination, the Company issued 500,000 shares of Common Stock to each of Plentiful Limited and Lianhe World, respectively, for aggregate proceeds of $10,000,000.

Within thirty days following the date of the Closing, each PIPE Investor will also be entitled to receive 704,819 shares of Common Stock. Within five days following the date that is 24 months following the Closing (the “24-Month Date”), if the VWAP of Common Stock for thefifteen trading days prior to the 24-Month Date (the “24-Month Date VWAP”) is less than $8.30, then each of them will be entitled to a number of shares of Common Stock equal to (i) (A) 8.30 minus (B) the 24-Month Date VWAP multiplied by (ii) (A) the number of Shares held by the Investor on the 24-Month Date minus (B) the number of Shares acquired by the Investor following the Closing divided by 10.00.

On January 22, 2024, the Company completed the issuance of an additional 704,819 shares of Common Stock to each of the two PIPE Investors. The shares were issued as part of the consideration that each PIPE Investor was entitled to receive thirty days following the date of the closing of the Business Combination.

Warrants

In connection with the reverse recapitalization, the Company has assumed 2,214,993 Public Warrants outstanding. Public Warrants met the criteria for equity classification.

Each whole Warrant entitles the registered holder to purchaseone whole share of the Company’s Common Stock at a price of $11.50 per share. Pursuant to the warrant agreement, a warrant holder may exercise its Warrants only for a whole number of shares of Common Stock. This means that only a whole Warrant may be exercised at any given time by a warrant holder. No fractional Warrants will be issued upon separation of the Units and only whole Warrants will trade. The Warrants will expire five years after the completion of the Company’s initial Business Combination, at 5:00 p.m., New York City time, or earlier upon redemption or liquidation.

The Company has agreed that as soon as practicable, but in no event later than 30 business days, after the closing of the initial Business Combination, it will use its reasonable commercially reasonable efforts to file, and within 60 business days following its initial Business Combination to have declared effective, a registration statement for the registration, under the Securities Act, of the shares of Common Stock issuable upon exercise of the Warrants. The Company will use its commercially reasonable efforts to maintain the effectiveness of such registration statement, and a current prospectus relating thereto, until the expiration of the Warrants in accordance with the provisions of the warrant agreement. No Warrants will be exercisable for cash unless the Company has an effective and current registration statement covering the Common Stock issuable upon exercise of the Warrants and a current prospectus relating to such shares of Common Stock. Notwithstanding the above, if the Company’s Common Stock is at the time of any exercise of a Warrant not listed on a national securities exchange such that it satisfies the definition of a “covered security” under Section 18(b)(1) of the Securities Act, the Company may, at its option, require holders of Warrants who exercise their Warrants to do so on a “cashless basis” in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act and, in the event it so elect, it will not be required to file or maintain in effect a registration statement, but it will be required to use its commercially reasonable efforts to register or qualify the shares under applicable blue sky laws to the extent an exemption is not available.

Once the Warrants become exercisable, the Company may call the Warrants for redemption:

The Company accounted for the 2,214,993 public Warrants assumed from the merger as equity instruments in accordance with ASC 480, “Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity” and ASC 815-40, “Derivatives and Hedging: Contracts in Entity’s Own Equity”.

Stock Repurchase Program

On January 30, 2024, the Company issued a press release announcing that its board of directors has authorized share repurchases of up to $1 million of its common stock. The authorization does not constitute a formal or binding commitment to make any share repurchases and the timing, amount and method of any share repurchases made pursuant to the authorization will be determined at a future date depending on market conditions and other factors. As of June 30, 2024, $645,560 remained available for repurchases.

For the year ended June 30, 2024, the Company repurchased 321,794 shares of its Common stock in open market transactions for $354,440 at a weighted average price per share of $1.10. The Company did not repurchase any shares of its Common stock during the same period in 2023.

Note 13 — Stock Based Compensation

At the special meeting of UPTD stockholders related to the Business Combination held on July 31, 2023, UPTD’s shareholders approved the adoption of the Company’s 2023 Omnibus Incentive Plan (the “2023 Plan”), which became effective on the Closing Date. Upon the closing of the Business Combination,3,520,123 shares of Common Stock became authorized for issuance under the 2023 Plan. As of the date hereof, no shares of Common Stock have been issued under the Incentive Plan.

On May 27, 2022, Estrella’s board of directors approved its 2022 Equity Incentive Plan (the “2022 Plan”). The 2022 Plan provides for the grant of (i) options, (ii) share appreciation rights, (iii) restricted share awards, (iv) restricted share unit awards, and (v) other share awards. The aggregate number of shares of Common Stock that may be issued pursuant to the 2022 Plan will not exceed 15,000,000 shares of Common Stock. On May 27, 2022, the Company granted options under the 2022 Plan to purchase 15,000,000 shares of its Common Stock to its employees, board of directors, and other consultants. The total fair value of these stock options was approximately $1,638,381.

The stock-based compensation expense recorded in the Company’s results of operations. For the years ended June 30, 2024 and 2023 were $1,194,653 and $409,595, respectively.

The breakdown of stock-based compensation by categories for the years ended June 30, 2024 and 2023 are summarized below:

The intrinsic value of the granted options was approximately $1.6 million. Upon completion of the business combination on September 29, 2023, the unvested options were vested upon consummation of the merger, under which the Company recognized the remaining unrecognized fair value as expense.

The Company estimated the fair value of the stock options using the Black-Scholes option pricing model. The fair value of employee stock options issued was estimated using the following assumptions:

The risk-free interest rate was obtained from U.S. Treasury rates for the applicable periods. The Company’s expected volatility was based upon the implied volatility of a portfolio of comparable companies. The expected life of the Company’s options was determined using the actual remaining life of the stock option. The fair value of the Common Stock input was determined by the board of directors based on a variety of factors, including valuation prepared by a third party, the Company’s financial position, the status of development efforts within the Company, the current climate in the marketplace and the prospects of a liquidity event, among others.

For the year ended June 30, 2024, no additional stock options were granted.

On May 27, 2022, all employees, the board of directors, and other consultants elected to exercise the stock options granted by the Company early. The total proceeds received by the Company amounted to $15,000 and was recorded as other liability due to the terms of the early exercised shares, which are subject to repurchase until such shares are vested and are required to be returned to the Company if the vesting conditions are not satisfied. Such other liability account should be cleared at the time the exercised shares are vested or repurchased. As of June 30, 2024 and June 30, 2023, the unamortized balance of the above mentioned other liability amounted to $0 and $12,725, respectively, based on the vesting period.

A summary of early-exercised stock option’s vesting activity for the years ended June 30, 2024 and 2023, are as follows:

Note 14 — Income Taxes

The Company has no income tax expense except state minimum taxes, due to operating losses incurred for the years ended June 30, 2024 and 2023. Loss before income taxes were $7,310,098, and $11,114,402 for the year ended June 30, 2024 and 2023, respectively.

The provision for income taxes for the years ended June 30, 2024 and 2023 consisted of the following:

The effective tax rate of the Company’s provision (benefit) for income taxes differs from the federal statutory rate as follows as of June 30, 2024 and 2023

The Company’s net deferred tax assets were as follows as of June 30, 2024 and 2023

As of June 30, 2024 and 2023, the Company had gross federal income tax net operating loss (“NOL”) carry forwards of approximately $6.6 million and $1.7 million, respectively. As of June 30, 2024 and 2023, the Company had gross state income tax net operating loss (“NOL”) carry forwards of approximately $6.5 million and $6.5 million, respectively. The federal net operating losses are carried forward indefinitely. The state net operating losses will begin to expire in 2042.

Under the Code, the NOL can be carried forward indefinitely and can be used to offset up to 80% of taxable income for losses arising in tax years beginning after June 30, 2022. In assessing the realization of deferred tax assets, management considers whether it is more likely than not that some portion or all of the deferred tax asset will be realized. The ultimate realization of deferred tax assets is dependent upon the Company attaining future taxable income during periods in which those temporary differences become deductible.

Due to the uncertainty surrounding the realization of the benefits of its deferred assets, including NOL carry forwards, stock-based compensation, research and development expense capitalization and federal research tax credit, the Company has provided a 100% valuation allowance on its deferred tax assets at June 30, 2024 and 2023. The valuation allowance increased from $2.6 million to $4.5 million in 2023. In terms of research and development expense capitalization attributed to deferred tax assets, the Company capitalized research and development expense of approximately $3.7 million and $10.3 million for the year end June 30, 2024 and 2023, respectively. The research and development expense capitalization were mainly derived from Eureka’s license, service agreement and SOW would be amortized over 5 years for income tax purposes.

The Company accounts for uncertain tax positions in accordance with the provisions of ASC 740, Income Taxes. When uncertain tax positions exist, the Company recognizes the tax benefit of tax positions to the extent that the benefit will more likely than not be realized. The determination as to whether the tax benefit will more likely than not be realized is based upon the technical merits of the tax position as well as consideration of the available facts and circumstances. As of June 30, 2024 and 2023, the Company had no uncertain tax positions, and no interest or penalties have been charged to the Company. If incurred, the Company will classify any interest and penalties as a component of interest expense and operating expense, respectively

The Company’s ability to utilize the net operating loss and tax credit carryforwards in the future may be subject to substantial restrictions in the event of past or future ownership changes as defined in Section 382 of the Internal Revenue Code and similar state tax laws. In the event the Company should experience an ownership change, as defined under Section 382, utilization of the Company’s net operating loss carryforward and tax credit could be limited.

The Company files corporation tax returns in the United States, California and other States. The Company has been in an overall net operating loss position since inception. Due to the significant federal and state tax attribute carryovers, the Company is subject to examination by taxing authorities for all tax years since inception.

Note 15 — Leases

On July 6, 2022, the Company entered into an office lease contract with Eureka, a related party (“Lease 1”). Under the original lease contract, the sublease agreement commenced on August 1, 2022 and expires on September 30, 2023. In November 2022, the sublease’s expiration date was amended to July 31, 2023.

On October 1, 2023 Estrella entered into an office lease contract with Eureka, a related party (“Lease 2”) for nine months without any renewal option.

The Company’s office lease was classified as an operating lease. The Company’s lease agreement does not contain any material residual value guarantees or material restrictive covenants.

The Company elected not to apply the ROU and lease liability recognition requirements to above mentioned short-term lease in accordance with ASC 842-20-25-2. As a result of the lease amendment, the Company then reduced the corresponding ROU and lease liability to $0 from Lease 1 and continued to recognize the lease monthly payments in profit or loss on a straight–line basis over the remaining lease term period.

Rent expense for the years ended June 30, 2024 and 2023 was $20,000 and $22,000, respectively.

Note 16 — Subsequent Events

The Company evaluated subsequent events and transactions that occurred after the balance sheet date through the issuance date. Except as described below, there were no material subsequent events that required recognition or disclosure in the financial statements.

Stock Repurchase

From July 01, 2024 to September 20, 2024, the Company repurchased 98,180 shares of its Common Stock in open market transactions for $137,078 at a weighted average price per share of $1.40.

Office Sublease Agreement

On July 1, 2024, the Company entered into an office sublease agreement (“Sublease Agreement”) with Eureka, a related party. Pursuant to the Sublease Agreement, the sublease commenced on July 1, 2024 and expires on December 31, 2024 with $2,000 sublease fee per month.

Consulting Agreement with One Nine

On July 3, 2024, the Company entered into a consulting agreement (“Consulting Agreement”) with One Nine Limited (the “Consultant”) with the Consultant to provide financing advice and service in connection with the sale of equity interests in the Company of no less than $30,000,000 on terms acceptable to the Company.

Development Milestones and Payments under the Licensing Agreement and Statement of Work #001

With the dosing of the first patient in July 2024 in the STARLIGHT-1 clinical trial, the development milestone pursuant to Section 8.2.1 (First Patient Dosed in the First Clinical Trial of a Licensed Product) in the Licensing Agreement with Eureka was met. As a result, Estrella made a payment of $50,000 to Eureka for this milestone. As of September 2024, two patients have been dosed in the STARLIGHT-1 clinical trial.

Appointment of Hong Zhang

In August 2024, Ms. Hong Zhang was appointed as a director and chairperson by the Board of Directors.

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, the Registrant has duly caused this Report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized**.**

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, this Report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the Registrant in the capacities and on the dates indicated.