BioSig Technologies Inc
For the period ended Dec 31, 2023. Filed Apr 16, 2024.
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FY2023 · Filed Apr 16, 2024
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Item 1. Business
Corporate Structure
We were formed as BioSig Technologies, Inc., a Nevada corporation, in February 2009 and in April 2011 we merged with our wholly owned subsidiary, BioSig Technologies, Inc., a Delaware corporation, with the Delaware corporation continuing as the surviving entity. BioSig is principally devoted to improving the standard of care in electrophysiology, or EP, with our PURE EP™ System’s enhanced signal acquisition, digital signal processing, and analysis during catheter ablation of cardiac arrhythmias. The Company has generated minimal revenue to date and consequently its operations are subject to all risks inherent in business enterprise in early commercialization stage.
On November 7, 2018, we formed a subsidiary under the laws of the State of Delaware, originally under the name of NeuroClear Technologies, Inc., for the purpose of pursuing additional applications of the PURE EP™ signal processing technology outside of the field of cardiac electrophysiology. In March 2020, it was renamed ViralClear Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (“ViralClear”). As of April 16, 2024, the Company retains 69.08% ownership of ViralClear. ViralClear’s Business Overview can be found on page 15.
On July 2, 2020, the Company formed an additional subsidiary, NeuroClear Technologies, Inc., a Delaware corporation, which was renamed to BioSig AI Sciences, Inc. (“BioSig AI”) on May 31, 2023. The subsidiary was established to pursue clinical needs of cardiac and neurological disorders through recordings and analyses of action potentials. BioSig AI aims to contribute to the advancements of AI-based diagnoses and therapies. In June and July 2023, BioSig AI sold an aggregate of 2,205,000 shares of its common stock for net proceeds of $1,971,277 to fund initial operations. At April 15, 2024, the Company had a majority interest in BioSig AI of 84.5%.
Business Overview
BioSig Technologies is a medical device company with an advanced digital signal processing technology platform to deliver insights to the treatment of cardiovascular arrhythmias. Through collaboration with physicians, experts, and healthcare leaders across the field of electrophysiology (EP), we are committed to addressing healthcare’s biggest priorities — saving time, saving costs, and saving lives.
Our first product, the PURE EP™ System, is an FDA 510(k) cleared non-invasive class II device consisting of a unique combination of hardware and software designed to provide unprecedented signal clarity and precision for real-time visualization of intracardiac signals paving the way for personalized patient care. Integrating with existing systems in the EP lab, PURE EP™ is designed to accurately pinpoint even the most complex signals to maximize procedural success and efficiency.
By capturing critical cardiac signals—even the most complex, the PURE EP™ System is designed to enhance clinical decision-making and improve clinical workflow for all types of arrhythmias - even the most challenging procedures for cardiac arrhythmias, like ventricular tachycardia (VT) and atrial fibrillation (AF).
Our owned patent portfolio now includes 36 (issued/allowed) issued utility patents (24 utility patents where BioSig is at least one of the applicants). Twenty five additional U.S. and foreign utility patent applications are pending covering various aspects of our PURE EP System for recording, measuring, calculating and displaying of electrocardiograms during cardiac ablation procedures (25 U.S. and foreign utility patent applications where either BioSig, Mayo, or both is at least one of the applicants). We also have one U.S. patent and one U.S. Pending application directed to artificial intelligence (AI). We also have 30 issued worldwide design patents, which cover various features of our display screens and graphical user interface for enhanced visualization of biomedical signals (30 design patents where BioSig is at least one of the applicants). Finally, we have licenses to 12 (issued/allowed) patents and 9 additional worldwide utility patent applications from Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research that are pending (12 issued/allowed patents and 9 applications where only Mayo is the applicant). These patents and applications are generally directed to electroporation and stimulation.
Recent Developments
PURE EP™ Software Version 7 in late 2023 was launched by the Company’s commercial and operations team and represents the most advanced iteration of the Company’s digital signal processing technology. Despite having a field team of 15 persons, PURE EP sales, leasing and/or subscriptions to the software were mostly limited to our research partners at Mayo Clinic, Texas Cardiac Arrhythmia Institute, Cleveland Clinic, and Kansas City Heart Rhythm Institute.
Given the very challenging hospital market post-COVID where capital budgets and purchasing has been restricted due to budget shortfalls, the Company began to seek partners already in the EP field that have an established field force to increase the penetration of PURE EP into the hospital systems. This approach would also increase the efficiency in the lab given that established companies already have clinical support within the lab during the procedure and we feel that adding PURE EP would drive the partner’s sales at no additional support cost.
Reverse stock split
On December 18, 2023, the Company held its 2023 annual meeting of stockholders, at which meeting the Company’s stockholders approved an amendment (the “Reverse Stock Split Amendment”) to the Company’s Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation (the “Certificate of Incorporation”) to effect a reverse stock split of all of the issued and outstanding shares of the Company’s common stock, at a ratio in the range of 1-for-2 to 1-for-10, with the exact exchange ratio and timing to be determined by the Company’s board of directors in its discretion and included in a public announcement (the “Reverse Stock Split”). Following the annual meeting, the Board determined to effect the Reverse Stock Split at a ratio of 1-for-10 and approved the corresponding final form of the Reverse Stock Split Amendment. On January 31, 2024, the Company filed the Reverse Stock Split Amendment with the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware to effect the Reverse Stock Split, effective as of 4:05 p.m. (New York time) on February 1, 2024.
As a result of the Reverse Stock Split, every ten (10) shares of issued and outstanding Common Stock was automatically combined into one (1) issued and outstanding share of Common Stock, without any change in the par value per share. No fractional shares will be issued as a result of the Reverse Stock Split. Any fractional shares that would otherwise have resulted from the Reverse Stock Split will be rounded up to the next whole number. The Reverse Stock Split will reduce the number of shares of Common Stock outstanding from 93,344,435 shares to approximately 9,378,513 shares, subject to adjustment for the rounding up of fractional shares. The number of authorized shares of Common Stock under the Certificate of Incorporation will not change as a result of the Reverse Stock Split.
Proportionate adjustments was made to the per share exercise price and the number of shares of common stock that may be purchased upon exercise of outstanding stock options, restricted stock units, and warrants granted by the Company, the per share conversion price and the number of shares of common stock that may be issued upon conversion of outstanding shares of convertible preferred stock issued by the Company and the number of shares of Common Stock reserved for future issuance under the Company’s 2023 Long-Term Incentive Plan.
The Common Stock began trading on a Reverse Stock Split-adjusted basis on The Nasdaq Capital Market on February 2, 2024. The trading symbol for the Common Stock will remain “BSGM.” The new CUSIP number for the Common Stock following the Reverse Stock Split is 09073N300.
On March 5, 2024, the Company received a letter from the Listing Qualifications Department of Nasdaq (the “Staff”) stating that the Company has not regained compliance with Listing Rule 5550(a)(2) because the Company’s common stock did not meet the minimum bid price of $1.00 per share required for continued listing on The Nasdaq Capital Market, and the Company is not eligible for a second 180 day cure period under Rule 5810(c)(3)(A)(2) because the Company does not comply with the $5,000,000 minimum stockholders’ equity initial listing requirement for The Nasdaq Capital Market, and that accordingly, Nasdaq would delist the Company’s common stock unless the Company requested an appeal of this determination. On March 11, 2024, the Company submitted a request for a hearing before the Nasdaq Hearings Panel to appeal the Staff’s delisting determination.
On March 12, 2024, the Company received a letter from the Staff stating that based upon the Staff’s review of the Company and pursuant to Listing Rule 5101, the Staff believes that the Company no longer has an operating business and is a “public shell,” and that the continued listing of its securities is no longer warranted, in view of work force reductions and resignations of members of the board of directors and officers (see below).
The letter further stated that the Company no longer meets the requirement of Rule 5550(b)(2) to maintain a minimum Market Value of Listed Securities of $35 million, if none of the other standards set forth in Rule 5550(b) is met.
The Staff stated that the foregoing matters serve as an additional basis for delisting the Company’s common stock from The Nasdaq Stock Market, and that the Hearings Panel will consider this matter in rendering a determination regarding the Company’s continued listing on The Nasdaq Capital Market.
On January 28, 2024 and February 20, 2024, management of the Company commenced a workforce reduction intended to reduce significantly the annual cash burn which was completed as of February 20, 2024. The workforce reduction consisted of the departure of sixteen employees, effective as of January 31, 2024 and included the departure of John Sieckhaus, the Company’s Chief Operating Officer, and Gray Fleming, the Company’s Chief Commercial Officer and twenty six employees effective February 20, 2024. The effect of the workforce reductions had significantly reduce operations in the short-term.
On February 27, 2024, the company re-appointed Frederick D. Hrkac as a director and the president and principal executive officer. Additionally, on February 27, 2024, Kenneth L. Londoner resigned from his positions as director, executive chairman and chief executive officer of the Company and from any and all committees, offices, appointments, designations, responsibilities or other capacities related to the Company or any of its subsidiaries, effective as of the same date.
Currently, the Company has 4 employees and 4 key consultants. Dependent upon funding, Mr. Hrkac would plan on hiring a team of 4-6 persons to execute the business development strategy of finding partners for the commercialization of PURE EP, develop new products in the field of Pulse Field Ablation and to continue to integrate PURE EP into today’s lab equipment.
Pending Legal Proceedings
On December 4, 2023, the Company received a threat of litigation for the termination of employment with the Company alleging the termination of employment was in retaliation for bringing to the attention of the Company’s board of directors and executives a series of wrongful and questionable practices by members of the Company’s board of directors, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer. The claimant sought compensation of in the amount of $775,782. After an investigation with the parties threatened conducted by the Board and guidance of legal counsel, it was concluded that the claim was without merit.
On February 22, 2024, the Company received a threat of litigation seeking restitution for losses resulting from unlawful actions taken by the Company’s board of directors. The claimant contends that he and others have sustained losses totaling $1,440,000. On March 22, 2024, the claimant sent another letter to the Company referencing the previous letter and requesting several documents. The Company believes that these claims are without merit.
On March 22, 2024, plaintiff, Michael Gray Fleming (the “Plaintiff”), filed a lawsuit in Hennepin County, Minnesota District Court naming the Company, its former Chief Executive Officer and former Chief Financial Officer as defendants. The Plaintiff contends that the Company failed to meet its obligations in issuing the Plaintiff stock certificates at the end of the restricted period under the terms of a restricted stock award agreement, and is seeking $144,000 in damages and compensation for damages reasonably believed to exceed $50,000. The Company believes that these claims are without merit. The Company’s intent is to contest the allegations vigorously and, as of the date of this report, is unable to provide an evaluation of the outcome of the litigation within the probate or remote range or to provide an estimate of the amount of or a range of potential loss that might be incurred by the Company.
Private Placements
On January 12, 2024, the Company entered into a securities purchase agreement with certain accredited and institutional investors, pursuant to which the Company sold to the investors an aggregate of 260,720 shares of the Company’s common stock and warrants to purchase up to 130,363 shares of common stock, at a purchase price of $3.989 per share and a warrant to purchase one-half of a share. The warrants have an exercise price of $3.364 per share, will become exercisable six months after the date of issuance and will expire five and one-half years following the date of issuance. The gross proceeds from this offering were $1,040,000.
In 2023, the Company entered into multiple Securities Purchase Agreements with certain institutional and accredited investors, pursuant to which the Company sold to the investors an aggregate of 1,613,906 shares of common stock at an average purchase price of $8.7571 per share, and warrants to purchase up to an aggregate of 806,981 shares of common stock at an average exercise price of $8.1324 per share, that will become exercisable six months after the date of issuance and will expire five and one-half years following the date of issuance, in exchange for aggregate consideration of $13,140,441, net of transactional expenses of $727,333.44 (the “2023 PIPEs”).
Pursuant to certain engagement agreements, dated October 11, 2022, February 24, 2023 and July 26, 2023, the Company had entered into with Laidlaw & Company (UK) Ltd. (“Laidlaw”), the Company issued to Laidlaw in connection with the 2023 PIPEs, warrants to purchase an aggregate of 77,405 shares of common stock at an average exercise price of $7.85 per share. The Laidlaw warrants become exercisable six months after the date of issuance and will expire five and one-half years following the date of issuance.
On November 8, 2023, the Company entered into a Securities Purchase Agreement with an institutional investor, pursuant to which the Company sold in a registered direct offering (the “Offering”), (i) 699,693 shares (the “Shares”) of the Company’s common stock, $0.001 par value per share (the “Common Stock”), (ii) Series A warrants (the “Series A Warrants”) to purchase up to 699,693 shares of Common Stock, and (iii) Series B Warrants (the “Series B Warrants”, and together with the Series A Warrants, the “Series Warrants”) to purchase up to 699,693 shares of Common Stock, at a purchase price of $3.573 per Share and associated Series Warrants. The Series Warrants have an exercise price of $3.573 per share and will become exercisable on the effective date of stockholder approval for the issuance of the shares upon exercise of the Series Warrants (or, if permitted by the applicable rules and regulations of the Nasdaq Stock Market, upon payment by the holder of $1.25 per share in addition to the applicable exercise price). The Series A Warrants will expire five years from the date of issuance and the Series B Warrants will expire eighteen months from the date of issuance.
H.C. Wainwright & Co., LLC (the “Placement Agent”) acted as the Company’s exclusive placement agent in the Offering. In connection with the Offering, the Company paid the Placement Agent a cash fee equal to seven percent (7.0%) of the aggregate gross proceeds raised in the Offering and a management fee equal to one percent (1.0%) of the aggregate gross proceeds raised in the Offering. The Company had also paid the Placement Agent $50,000 for non-accountable expenses and $15,950 for clearing fees. In addition, the Company issued the Placement Agent or its designees, warrants to purchase up to 48,979 shares of Common Stock (equal to 7.0% of the aggregate number of Shares sold in the Offering), which warrants have the same terms and conditions as the Series A Warrants, except that such warrants have an exercise price of $4.466 per share, which represents 125% of the offering price per Share and accompanying Series Warrants (the “Placement Agent Warrants”, and together with Series Warrants, the “Warrants”).
The Shares and the Warrants (and shares issuable upon exercise of the Warrants) were offered and sold by the Company pursuant to a shelf registration statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-251859) (the “Shelf Registration Statement”), previously filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on December 31, 2020, and declared effective by the SEC on January 12, 2021, and the base prospectus included therein. A final prospectus supplement relating to the Offering, dated November 8, 2023, and the accompanying prospectus, has been filed with the SEC. The closing of the Offering occurred on November 13, 2023. The net proceeds to the Company from the Offering, after deducting fees and expenses, were approximately $2.2 million.
On March 7, 2024, the Company issued a promissory note to an investor and related party (10% plus shareholder) for $500,000. The Company designated its 12% note due 2026, in accordance with exemptions from registration under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”).
The note is due March 7, 2026. The Company promises to pay interest in cash on the unpaid principal amount of this note at a rate per annum equal to twelve percent (12%), commencing to accrue on the date hereof and payable on the maturity date or earlier prepayment as provided therein. The Note contains customary events of default.
On August 18, 2023, the Company entered into a Controlled Equity Offering℠ Sales Agreement (the “Cantor Sales Agreement”) with Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. to act as the Company’s sales agent or principal (“Cantor”), with respect to the issuance and sale of up to $30.0 million of the Company’s shares of common stock, from time to time in an at-the-market public offering.
The Company agreed to pay Cantor a commission of equal to 3.0% of the gross proceeds from the sale of the shares of common stock pursuant to the Cantor Sales Agreement.
From August 22, 2023 through September 6, 2023, the Company sold 21,881 shares of its common stock through the Cantor Sales Agreement for net deficit of $(899), after transactional costs of $120,430.
The Company terminated the Cantor Sales Agreement with Cantor, effective as of September 15, 2023.
On September 15, 2023, the Company entered into an At-The-Market Issuance Sales Agreement (the “Ascendiant Sales Agreement”) with Ascendiant Capital Markets, LLC, to act as the Company’s sales agent or principal (“Ascendiant”), with respect to the issuance and sale of up to $30.0 million of the Company’s shares of common stock, from time to time in an at-the-market public offering.
The Company agreed to pay Ascendiant a commission of equal to 3.0% of the gross proceeds from the sale of the shares of common stock pursuant to the Ascendiant Sales Agreement.
From September 21, 2023 through September 25, 2023, the Company sold 28,911 shares of its common stock through the Ascendiant Sales Agreement for $60,876, after transactional costs of $70,806.
The Company terminated the Ascendiant Sales Agreement with Ascendiant, effective as of November 6, 2023.
BioSig AI Sciences, Inc.:
In June and July 2023, BioSig AI sold an aggregate of 2,205,000 shares of its common stock for net proceeds of $1,971,277 ($1.00 per share). Prior to such sale, BioSig AI was a wholly owned subsidiary. At December 31, 2023, BioSig had a majority interest in BioSig AI of 84.5%.
Pursuant to an engagement agreement, dated June 13, 2023, as amended on July 19, 2023, BioSig AI entered into with Laidlaw, BioSig AI issued to Laidlaw warrants to purchase an aggregate of 130,500 shares of its common stock at an exercise price of $1.00 per share. The Laidlaw warrants become exercisable immediately and will expire five years following the date of issuance.
Our Industry
Pharmacological, or medicine-based, therapies have traditionally been used as initial treatments for cardiac arrhythmias, but they often fail to adequately control the arrhythmia and may have significant side effects. Catheter ablation is now often recommended for an arrhythmia that medicine cannot control. Catheter ablation involves advancing several flexible catheters into the patient’s blood vessels, usually either in the femoral vein, internal jugular vein or subclavian vein. The catheters are then advanced towards the heart. Electrical impulses are then used to induce the arrhythmia and local heating or freezing is used to ablate (destroy) the abnormal tissue that is causing it. Catheter ablation for most of arrhythmias has a high success rate. For patients with complex arrhythmias like AF and VT, it is often necessary to perform multiple procedures to achieve success.
Catheter ablation is performed by an electrophysiologist (a specially trained cardiologist) in a specialized room in an EP lab. According to Health Research International, it is estimated that there are 7,340 global EP labs performing catheter ablations. According to experts, the global electrophysiology market value is worth over $8 billion in 2023 predicted to be worth $16 billion by 2028, a CAGR of 15 percent.
Catheter Ablation of AF and VT
Accurate recording of electrograms is critical to efficient mapping and ablation of complex arrhythmias. We believe that the clearer recordings and the very small amplitude of intracardiac signals—high frequency, small amplitude components in midst of large physiologic signals; signals important to characterize critical substrate, such as fractionated atrial and ventricular electrograms; and high-frequency, low-amplitude signals such as the Purkinje potentials—provided by the PURE EP™ System may improve outcomes during EP studies and ablation procedures for a variety of arrhythmias.
For patients who are candidates for ablation, an EP study is necessary to define the targeted sites for the ablation procedure. Two common, yet complex, conditions for which ablation procedures are performed are AF and VT. Most cardiac arrhythmias are well understood, and ablation simply requires destroying a small area of heart tissue possessing electrical abnormality. In contrast, complex arrhythmias, such as AF and VT, have complex pathophysiology and, because knowledge of their origins and mechanisms are incomplete, ablation treatments for these arrhythmias are largely empirical. Furthermore, the length of these procedures, which typically last from 2-4 hours, exposes the physician and staff to extensive radiation, requiring them to wear heavy lead vests. Consequently, ablating AF and VT has been regarded as being difficult.
AF is the most common heart rhythm disorder in the world and increases the risk for stroke 5-fold. In 2017, there were a reported 37.57 million prevalent cases and 3.05 million incident cases of AF globally, contributing to over 287,000 deaths worldwide (Global, regional, and national prevalence, incidence, mortality, and risk factors for atrial fibrillation, 1990–2017: results from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017). In 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stated that it is estimated that 12.1 million people in the United States will have AF in 2030, more than 454,000 patients hospitalized annually as the primary diagnosis, and AF contributes to an estimated 158,000 deaths each year. An increasing proportion of diagnosed AF cases are now being treated via ablation, as both physician confidence and the devices used in these procedures improve. A growing amount of positive clinical data has demonstrated the efficacy of AF ablation when compared to the traditional first-line treatment of anti-arrhythmic drugs.
The AF Ablation Long Term Registry is an international registry of 3,630 patients who underwent AF ablation between 2012 and 2015 – the study reported a 41% rate of repeat ablation at 3 years post ablation. At 12-month follow-up, the outcome was judged to have been successful in 74% of patients. However, almost 50% of the patients were still taking an antiarrhythmic drug. AF recurrences were less common in patients with paroxysmal (31%) than with persistent (40%) or long-standing persistent (44%) AF.
EP Lab Environment and EP Recording Systems
The electrophysiology (EP) laboratory consists of sophisticated equipment that requires an electrophysiologist to mentally integrate information from a number of sources during procedures. There are numerous monitors in an EP lab that provide and display this variety of information. An electrophysiologist needs to evaluate the acquired cardiac signals and the patient’s responses to any induced arrhythmias during the procedure. However, it can be difficult for an electrophysiologist to synthesize the disparate information produced by the numerous monitors in the lab and calculate the real-time, three-dimensional orientation of the anatomy and the location of the recording and ablation catheters. As the number of EP procedures increase, a variety of diagnostic, therapeutic and highly specialized ablation catheters are widely available and continue to be developed. In addition, remote robotic and magnetic navigation systems have been developed to address limitations of dexterity in controlling the catheter tip, especially during complex arrhythmia ablation procedures. We believe that, considering the improvements being made with respect to other equipment used in the EP lab and the continual increase of ablation procedures, the EP recorders currently available on the market are not sufficiently advanced with respect to the quality of their recordings to deliver adequate results. We believe that the PURE EP™ System will be able to deliver superior quality of recordings that will allow it to successfully integrate with the other advanced equipment found in the EP lab.
Generally, some current electrophysiology recording systems can effectively support the treatment of arrhythmias such as atrial flutter and supraventricular tachycardia, which show up as large-amplitude, low-frequency signals. However, more complex and prevalent arrhythmias, such as AF and VT, which are characterized by low-amplitude, high-frequency signals, have not found an effective evaluation of all relevant signals. This signal detection, acquisition, and isolation can be further complicated by equipment line noise and pacing signals. Current EP recorders use low-pass, high-pass, and notch filters to remove noise and artifacts from the various electrical signal information. Unfortunately, conventional filtering techniques can alter signals and make it difficult or impossible to see low-amplitude, high-frequency signals that can be inherent in cardiac monitoring, the visualization of which signals could help treat atrial fibrillation and ventricular tachycardia. It has been recently recognized that the assurance of waveform integrity, such as for the noise-free acquisition of intracardiac and ECG signals in an EP environment, had not been previously accomplished due to contamination of various signals by artifacts and noise.
The requirement for optimal signal integrity is amplified during ablation treatments of AF and VT. One of the main objectives of the AF ablation procedure is to precisely identify, ablate and eliminate pulmonary vein potentials and one of the main objectives of the VT procedure is to map the arrhythmia substrate and precisely identify, ablate and eliminate small abnormal potentials. The information provided by recorders is essential for an electrophysiologist to determine ablation strategy during termination of both pulmonary vein potentials and VT. Therefore, it is important that the recording system’s noise removal technique does not alter the appearance and fidelity of these potentials. As a result, it is necessary that any new signal processing technology preserves signal fidelity as much as possible during EP recordings; otherwise, the signals that are needed to guide the ablation procedures will be difficult to distinguish due to noise interference.
Our Product
The patented PURE EP™ System is designed to address long-standing limitations that slow and disrupt cardiac catheter ablation procedures, such as environmental lab noise from other equipment, signal saturation, slow signal recovery, and inaccurate display of fractionated potentials. PURE EP™ is a signal processing platform that combines advanced hardware and software to address known challenges associated to signal acquisition, to enable electrophysiologists to see more signals and analyze them in real-time. The device aims to minimize noise and artifacts from cardiac recordings and acquire high-fidelity cardiac signals. Improving fidelity of acquired cardiac signals may potentially increase the diagnostic value of these signals, thereby possibly improving accuracy and efficiency of the EP studies and ablation procedures.
Cardiac catheter ablation is a procedure that involves delivery of energy through the tip of a catheter that scars or destroys heart tissue to correct heart rhythm disturbances. In August 2018, we received 510(k) clearance from the FDA to market our PURE EP™ System.
Our PURE EP™ System can record raw (unaltered) cardiac signals with multiple display options, low noise, and a large input signal dynamic range. This is achieved using a low-noise amplifier topology with minimal filtering to band-limit the signal and a high-resolution A/D converter. In addition, the PURE EP™ System can provide large-signal (e.g., from a defibrillator) input protection and radio frequency (RF) signal (e.g., from ablation) noise suppression. There is no need for gain switching in this architecture, and the full range of input signals is digitized with high resolution.
We are focused on improving intracardiac signal acquisition and enhancing diagnostic information for catheter ablation procedures for all arrhythmias, especially complex types like ventricular tachycardia, VT and atrial fibrillation, AF. VT is a fast, abnormal heart rate in the heart’s lower chambers. VT does not give your heart enough time to fill with blood before it contracts again. This can affect blood flow to the rest of your body and is potentially life-threatening. AF is the most common cardiac arrhythmia associated with a fivefold risk of stroke. AF occurs when the upper chambers of the heartbeat irregularly, and do not pump all of the blood to the lower chambers, causing some blood to pool and potentially form clots. If a clot breaks loose, it can travel through the bloodstream to the brain and lead to a stroke. Strokes related to AF are often more severe compared to strokes with other underlying causes.
We believe that the PURE EP™ System and its advanced signal processing tools may contribute to improvements in patient outcomes in connection with catheter ablation due to the following advantages over currently available devices on the market:
| ● | Less noise: PURE EP™’s low-noise proprietary architecture was engineered to enable acquisition of high-fidelity signals in the original, unfiltered format. PURE EP’s Main System Unit (MSU) topology incorporates advanced shielding and very low noise front-end components. |
| ● | Wider range: An expanded dynamic range retains cardiac signal details and reduces saturation. PURE EP™ combines a low-noise signal architecture with a fixed range up to 500mV, so signals are rarely clipped or limited by quantization noise. |
| ● | Higher definition: PURE EP™ supports a large frequency bandwidth and linear signal acquisition to accurately display complex fractionated signals, even at lower amplitudes and higher frequencies. |
| ● | Unipolar signals: PURE EP™ incorporates an innovative WCT+™ design for acquiring unipolar signals, relying on a common front-end circuitry similar to how bipolar intracardiac signals are acquired. |
| ● | Customizable software and filters: PURE EP™ offers software modules and specialty digital filters, so electrophysiologists can customize their interface and optimize signals for mapping, signal interpretation and during therapy delivery. |
| ● | Seamless integration: PURE EP™ integrates with existing EP labs and workflows. It is compatible and complementary with EP recording systems, mapping systems, robotic equipment, and multi-display panels. |
We believe that PURE EP™’s features may allow physicians to better determine precise ablation targets, strategy, and end point of procedures with the objective of reducing the need for patients to undergo multiple procedures, and to allow for less experienced EP physicians to perform more complex procedures. The PURE EP™ System is intended to operate in conjunction with the existing EP lab equipment.
Initial Analysis
According to S. J. Asirvatham, MD, et. al. (“Signals and Signal Processing for the Electrophysiologist,”Circ Arrhythm Electrophysiol. (2011) 4:965-973), recording environments in a typical electrophysiology laboratory presents challenging situations. S. J. Asirvatham, MD, et. al., state, “Successful mapping and ablation in the electrophysiology laboratory is critically dependent on acquiring multiple, low-amplitude, intracardiac signals in the presence of numerous sources of electric noise and interference and displaying these signals in an uncomplicated and clinically relevant fashion, with minimal artifacts. This represents a significant engineering challenge and, in real-life electrophysiology laboratory, is not always successful.”
Proof of Concept Testing
In the second and third quarters of 2013, we performed and finalized testing of our proof of concept unit by initially using an electrocardiogram/intracardiac simulator at our lab, and subsequently by obtaining pre-clinical recordings from the lab at the University of California at Los Angeles. We believe that our proof of concept unit performed well as compared to GE’s CardioLab recording system, in that the electrocardiogram and intracardiac signals displayed on our proof of concept unit showed less baseline wander, noise and artifacts compared to signals displayed on GE’s CardioLab recording system. Subsequently, we determined the final design of the PURE EP System prototype to use for end-user preference studies, additional pre-clinical studies and research studies.
Prototype Testing
After conducting research of peer-reviewed EP publications (seeInitial Analysisin Our Products section above), we contacted Samuel J. Asirvatham. M.D. (who we believed to be an expert in the field of signal-based catheter ablation), at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. Since the end of 2014, we have collaborated with Dr. Asirvatham and other physicians affiliated with Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota and Jacksonville, Florida. We have performed pre-clinical studies at Mayo Clinic since 2015 to validate technology within the PURE EP System prototype. These studies have been designed to determine clinical effectiveness for features within the PURE EP System. Since March 2016, we have published nine manuscripts in collaboration with the physicians from Mayo Clinic evidencing our pre-clinical findings. To date, we have conducted a total of twenty-four pre-clinical studies with the PURE EP System, twenty-one of which were conducted at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. We also conducted a pre-clinical study at the Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, NY with emphasis on the VT model; and two pre-clinical studies at the University of Pennsylvania in preparation for clinical studies to be conducted there.
Clinical Evaluations
In February 2019, we conducted the first clinical cases with our PURE EP™ System. The observational patient cases were performed by Andrea Natale, M.D., F.A.C.C., F.H.R.S., F.E.S.C., Executive Medical Director, Texas Cardiac Arrhythmia Institute at St. David’s Medical Center in Austin, Texas. In April 2019, we announced the completion of our second set of observational patient cases, which were performed at Prisma Health at Greenville Health System in South Carolina by Andrew Brenyo, MD, FHRS. Dr. Brenyo used the PURE EP™ System during procedures on patients with ischemic ventricular tachycardias, AF, PVC, and atypical flutters.
In May 2019, we announced the completion of our third set of observational patient cases at Indiana University under the leadership of Prof. John M. Miller, M.D., and Dr. Mithilesh K. Das, MBBS. Drs. Miller and Das used the PURE EP™ System during procedures on patients with atypical flutter, atrioventricular nodal reentry tachycardia (AVNRT), AF, supraventricular tachycardia, premature ventricular contractions, and a rare case of dual septal pathway. In August 2019, observational patient cases at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital in California were performed by Brett Andrew Gidney, M.D. The initial experience across these early evaluation centers showed the PURE EP™ System functions as designed with positive feedback from EP users about the improved signal detection and fidelity.
In November 2019, we commenced our first clinical study for the PURE EP™ System titled, “Novel Cardiac Signal Processing System for Electrophysiology Procedures (PURE EP 2.0 Study).” The PURE EP 2.0 Study was conducted at three U.S. hospitals: Texas Cardiac Arrhythmia Institute at St. David’s Medical Center in Austin, Texas, Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida and Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts.
In April 2021, we announced the completion of the enrollment in the PURE EP 2.0 Study. Intracardiac signal data of clinical interest were collected during 51 cardiac ablation procedures using the PURE EP™ System, the signal recording system, and the 3D mapping system at the same time stamps. The samples were randomized and subjected to blinded, head-to-head evaluation by three independent electrophysiologists to determine the overall quality and clinical utility of PURE EP™ signals when compared to conventional sources. Each reviewer responded to the same 235 signal comparisons using a 10-point rating scale.
Results showed 93% consensus across the blinded reviewers with a 75% overall improvement in intracardiac signal quality and confidence in interpreting PURE EP signals over the signals from conventional sources. Further analysis of the responses from the blinded reviewers showed an 83% (p-value <0.001) improved confidence when interpreting complex multi-component signals, leading to a better understanding of the catheter position in relation to the ablation target. Additionally, there was a 73% (p-value <0.001) improved visualization of small, fractionated potentials increasing the proper analysis of scar and abnormal conduction tissue characteristics.
Over 3,000 procedures have been performed using the PURE EP™ System with more than 80 physicians at 21 hospitals across the United States.
Technology and Development Plan
Our technology team consists of engineers and consultants with expertise in digital signal processing, low power analog and digital circuit design, software development, embedded system development, electromechanical design, testing and system integration, and the regulatory requirements for medical devices. We have also entered into collaboration agreements with advisors and medical institutions in the fields of cardiology and electrophysiology, including Mayo Clinic, Cleveland Clinic, and the Texas Cardiac Arrhythmia Institute in Austin, Texas. Currently, we are contract manufacturing the complete PURE EP™ System with Plexus Corp.
We intend to continue additional research studies with our technology at Mayo Clinic, Texas Cardiac Arrhythmia Institute and Cleveland Clinic. On November 20, 2019, we entered into licensing agreements with Mayo Clinic to establish a new product pipeline to complement the PURE EP System and develop solutions for novel ways to treat autonomic nervous system disease. The research and development pipeline contemplated pursuant to these agreements includes hardware, software, and algorithmic solutions to be integrated into the PURE EP platform technology. We entered into a research agreement with Cleveland Clinic Foundation to investigate expanded clinical applications for the intracardiac signals acquired by PURE EP™ System. Under the terms of the research agreement, Cleveland Clinic will conduct physician initiated scientific research investigating PURE EP™’s potential to address common limitations of signal processing and signal use expansion during but not limited to electrophysiology ablation procedures. Results from this research could elucidate new clinical workflow methods impacting the ablation process for numerous arrhythmia types.
In January 2021, we entered into a research agreement with Mayo Clinic regarding an AI research Program for our Novel Signal Recording System. The program is a strategic collaboration with Mayo to develop a next-generation AI- and machine learning-powered software for our PURE EP™ System. The collaboration includes an R&D program that will expand our proprietary hardware and software with advanced signal processing capabilities and aim to develop novel technological solutions by combining the electrophysiological signals delivered by PURE EP™ and other data sources. The development program is under the leadership of Samuel J. Asirvatham, M.D., Mayo Clinic’s Vice-Chair of Innovation and Medical Director, Electrophysiology Laboratory. We entered into a 10-year collaboration agreement with Mayo Clinic in March 2017 and in November 2019, we signed a patent and know-how license agreement with Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research in which such terms apply to this program. On April 9, 2021, and October 22, 2021, we conducted first pre-clinical data collection studies under our AI program at Mayo Clinic.
Customers
In December 2020, we announced that three PURE EP™ Systems were contracted for purchase by St. David’s Healthcare in Austin, Texas and were subsequently sold in February 2021. These units were our first commercial sales. We also sold three PURE EP™ Systems to Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research in 2021 and leased two PURE EP™ Systems in 2022, one in July 2022 to Overland Park Regional Medical Center and one in October 2022 to Methodist Hospital in San Antonio.
Suppliers
The PURE EP™ System contains proprietary hardware and software modules that are assembled into the system. Hardware boards contain components that are available from different distributors. The parts used to manufacture analog and digital boards are readily available from several distributors or manufacturers. Plexus Corp is our manufacturing partner for the complete PURE EP System.
Competition
We are marketing the PURE EP™ System as an additional information system for the EP lab. In general, the EP market is characterized by intense competition. There are currently four large companies that share the majority of the EP recording market share in the US. They produce the following electrophysiology recording systems, with an average selling price of approximately $160,000 (source: DRG Medtech 360 Millennium report on EP Devices, issued in June 2019):
| ● | GE Healthcare’s family of CardioLab Recording Systems were initially developed in the early 1990s by Prucka Engineering, which was acquired by General Electric Company in 1999. |
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| ● | The LabSystem PRO EP Recording System was originally designed in the late 1980s by C.R. Bard. C.R. Bard’s electrophysiology business was acquired by Boston Scientific Corporation in 2013. |
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| ● | HeNan HuaNan Medical Science and Technology Co., LTD. offers the GY-6000 multi-channel physiological recorder (not FDA approved). |
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| ● | St. Jude Medical, Inc.’s EP-WorkMate Recording System was acquired from EP MedSystems, Inc. in 2008, which had received clearance for the product from the FDA in 2003. In January 2017, Abbott Laboratories acquired St Jude Medical, Inc. |
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| ● | CathVision is developing an EP recording system, ECGenius System™ and recently obtained FDA 510(k) clearance in May 2022. |
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Based upon our analysis of data taken from patent applications filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) and 510(k) approval applications filed with the FDA, and various publications, we believe that the above recording systems are built on relatively old technologies and all use similar approach in applying hardware and digital filters to remove noise and artifacts. We reasonably believe that such an approach sacrifices cardiac signal fidelity, and in the case of ablation, has a direct impact on the ablation strategy of an electrophysiologist. The method to remove noise and artifacts used by the conventional recorders could be a contributing factor to the multiple (or repeated) ablation procedures that are frequently required in order to completely cure patients from complex arrhythmias. We are not currently aware of any other companies that are developing similar signal processing technologies for electrophysiology laboratories.
Suppliers
The PURE EP™ System contains proprietary hardware and software modules that are assembled into the system. Hardware boards contain components that are available from different distributors. The parts used to manufacture analog and digital boards are readily available from several distributors or manufacturers. Plexus Corp is our manufacturing partner for the complete PURE EP System.
Research and Development Expenses
Research and development expenses for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2023, and 2022 were $5,092,376 and $5,821,460, respectively.
ViralClear Business Overview
ViralClear Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
ViralClear Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (“ViralClear”) is a majority-owned subsidiary of the Company originally known as NeuroClear Technologies, Inc. The subsidiary was established November 2018 to pursue additional applications of the PURE EP™ signal processing technology outside of EP. In March 2020, it was renamed ViralClear in connection with its prior objective to develop merimepodib, a broad-spectrum anti-viral agent that showed potential to treat COVID-19. We had ceased the development of merimepodib in late 2020 and realigned ViralClear with its original objective of pursuing additional applications of the PURE EP™ signal processing technology outside of cardiac electrophysiology with an initial emphasis on developing a novel nerve recording system. As of April 16, 2024, the Company retains 69.08% ownership of ViralClear. Currently, ViralClear’s business objectives are being evaluated considering both the pharmaceutical and medical device. The following overview describes the initial focus of the company which is on hold due to lack of resources.
ViralClear is an early stage medical device company that had been developing N-SENSE™, a novel sensing technology platform for high-speed electroneurogram (ENG) recordings. The specifications for this new product were based on the core competencies of the PURE EP™ signal processing technology, such as broad dynamic range of recorded signals and low signal-to-noise ratio and adapted to address disorders of the autonomic nervous systems through recordings and analysis of action potentials, the impulses along the membrane of a muscle cell or a nerve cell. These impulses are considered to carry valuable clinical information but may be difficult to detect through conventional recording platforms.
ViralClear aimed to address what we believe to be the two main challenges of bioelectronic medicine devices: achieving accurate and targeted stimulation of specific nerves in a nerve bundle and implementing an effective feedback loop that can self-adjust for the optimal amount and timing of stimulation. We believe that advancements in overcoming these challenges will improve the safety and efficacy of current treatments and contribute to the developments of new therapy lines.
On December 18, 2020, we signed a research agreement with the University of Minnesota launching a program to develop novel therapies to treat sympathetic nervous system disease. The program studies are expected to form a foundation for developing a new platform technology to address disorders of the autonomic nervous system. We intend to develop new intellectual properties and products, including new hardware, software, and algorithmic solutions, with the support of Plexus, a tier 1 US-based manufacturing partner and take it through FDA approval, manufacturing, and commercialization. The R&D program is led by Richard W. Bianco, Ph.D., Professor, Director of Experimental Surgical Services (ESS), Department of Surgery in the University of Minnesota Medical School, John W. Osborn, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Surgery and Director of the Minnesota Consortium for Autonomic Neuromodulation (MCAN) in the University of Minnesota Medical School.
In February 2021, we conducted our first preclinical experiment at the University of Minnesota. Further studies to record and evaluate relevant nerve activity were conducted in April and November 2021.
We had partnered with Plexus to design, develop, and manufacture N-SENSE™, a novel sensing and stimulation platform technology.
Our product pipeline would focus on improving therapies through clearer ENG recordings – methods used to visualize directly recorded electrical activities of neurons in the central nervous system (brain, spinal cord) and/or the peripheral nervous system (nerves, ganglions). ENGs are usually obtained by placing an electrode directly in the neural tissue. ENGs consist of small, high frequency, low amplitude signals, which have been proven hard to detect with conventional signal recording systems.
Our business strategy was to utilize our core signal processing technology to develop superior ENG recording and processing systems and includes the following:
Develop N-SENSE™, a novel nerve sensing and stimulation platform technology to be used in product candidates which qualify for a nerve mapping and stimulation treatments including, but not limited to, renal denervation, deep brain stimulation and vagus nerve stimulation.
Pursue licensing opportunities and partnerships to leverage our expertise in high-fidelity signal processing for feedback loop systems for development of products for commercial success.
We believe that the following clinical areas may benefit the most through the advancements in achieving accurate and targeted stimulation and implementation of an effective self-adjusting feedback loop:
Renal denervation (“RDN”): RDN has been shown to reduce blood pressure and can be an effective treatment for resistant hypertension sufferers who have failed drug therapy. The technique has proven to be effective, but clinical endpoints are still suboptimal. RDN device market is expected to reach $7B by 2027 (CAGR 23.7%).1
| ○ | Potential Application: A device that can measure sympathetic nerve activity will inform the need and potential benefit for performing a procedure. Additionally, a device that can stimulate and elicit a sympathetic response, such as blood pressure, will aid in the assessment of nerve denervation success, and help determine if additional ablation is necessary. Therefore, a device that can perform stimulation on a number of channels, and record nerve activity is needed. |
Deep Brain Stimulation (“DBS”): DBS is a treatment that involves implanting electrodes (leads) within certain areas of the brain to deliver electrical pulses, which has demonstrated improvements in the treatment of movement disorders, such as the Parkinson’s disease, tremors and dystonia.
| ○ | Potential Application: a new high-speed board-based platform for improved accuracy in lead implantation. Precise positioning of the electrodes during the surgical procedure is important in the success of lead implantation, and highly accurate signal readers can aid in the prediction of the activation of axons surrounding the implanted lead. |
1Source: iHealthcareAnalyst, Inc. Feb. 2020
| ○ | We believe that DBS may also be applicable to a substantial number of neurological and psychiatric disorders correlated with dysfunctional circuitry; comparable to a heart pacemaker that uses electric pulses to ultimately regulate brain activity. |
| ○ | Other applications under our investigation include chronic pain management, ADHD, eating disorders, Alzheimer’s, addiction, epilepsy. Alzheimer’s as an application for DBS is currently undergoing clinical trials at several national and international institutions that target the hippocampal outflow pathways by increasing ACh availability, influencing the limbic system, and improving lead placements. |
We may seek additional research collaborations with other academic centers active in one or more fields of clinical interests described above.
Industry and Market Overview
The global neurostimulation devices market is predicted to grow at 15.23% CAGR during the forecast period with the market size reaching $18.667 billion by 2025 from $7.974 billion in 2019. North America is dominating the neurostimulation devices market with highest market share due to robust healthcare infrastructure, growing R&D activity and presence of major healthcare players. The neurostimulation market is primarily driven by deep brain and spinal cord stimulation. The overall neurostimulation market is expected to grow due to societal factors such as an increase in the geriatric population, as well as the associated increase in the prevalence of chronic diseases.
The segment of the neurostimulation market for central nervous system (CNS), which include nVNS and DBS, is projected to exceed $14.5 billion in 2029 from a market value of $5 billion in 2019.2
Non-invasive Vagus Nerve Stimulation
We believe there is a significant opportunity for nVNS based on the potential market size for the treatments for the diseases that nVNS may be applicable. Currently, approximately 1,500 million people worldwide suffer from chronic pain while 1,100 million people worldwide suffer from migraines.
Most of the currently available VNS products have achieved limited commercial success to date. LivaNova currently sells VNS devices that operate in 3 modes, including a non-rechargeable implantable pulse generator (IPG), SenTiva, which uses a limited closed-loop technology and comes with a wrist-worn magnet and a wireless programming wand. Cerbomed has commercialized a transcutaneous auricular VNS device, NEMOS, which consists of a handheld stimulation unit and an ear electrode worn as an earphone. Cerbomed received the European clearance (CE mark) for the VNS treatment of epilepsies and depression in 2010 and for the treatment of pain in 2012. NEMOS has been commercially available in Germany and Austria since 2013 and has expanded to Great Britain, France, and Spain.
The VNS patent domain is currently dominated by U.S. companies such as Medtronic, LivaNova, and Boston Scientific. Medtronic holds certain patents in closed-loop DBS technology, Medtronic currently markets IPGs such as RestoreSensor SureScan MRI, which is indicted for spinal cord stimulation as an aid in the management of chronic, intractable pain of the trunk and/or limbs and which automatically adjusts stimulation based on the patient’s needs and preferences in different body positions, and Activa PC, which is a deep brain stimulator, for investigational loop.
We believe that digital health wearable markets present potential opportunities for our technology. We plan to develop technology that can provide a signaling feedback loop designed to deliver appropriate stimulation to the vagus nerve through audio and to seek licensing opportunities with consumer electronic market players.
2Source:Bioelectronic Medicine 2019–2029. IDTechEx report, Dr. Nadia Tsao.
Deep Brain Stimulation:
Deep brain stimulator market is one of the fastest growing sectors in the neurostimulation market worldwide, growing at 9.3% annually and expected to reach $2.3 billion in worldwide market size by 2028. According to the World Health Organization, globally, 264 million people suffer from depression while 50 million people suffer from epilepsy. Parkinson’s disease and essential tremor are FDA-approved indications for DBS, and the deep brain stimulator market is largely dominated by Medtronic, Abbott, and Boston Scientific. These companies have been working on innovations in their electrodes to avoid stimulation of adjacent structures (electric field shaping) which are the root cause of unwanted side effects of DBS. The industry is working on decreasing the size of the implant of the DBS device, which may lead to a skull-mounted implant. Medtronic’s Activa systems consist of dual-channel or single channel IPGs. Abbott sells two devices known as the Infinity DBS IPG and Brio Rechargeable IPG. The Infinity DBS IPG is designated to manage movement disorders including Parkinson’s disease, essential tremor, and dystonia. It utilizes the Bluetooth technology to communicate with a controller and can receive updates through an application. The system allows for currents to be steered towards target areas while avoiding peripheral stimulation. The Brio Rechargeable IPG delivers constant currents to maintain the desired stimulation level. It has shown clinical efficacy in Parkinson’s disease and dystonia. Boston Scientific offers the Vercise directional lead in unison with their Neural Navigator systems ranging from 8 to 16 electrode leads and a directional system. Medtronic’s Percept PC Deep Brain Stimulation (“DBS”) system includes their BrainSense technology making it the first and only DBS neurostimulation system that has the ability to chronically capture and record brain signals while providing therapy to patients with neurologic disorders associated with Parkinson’s Disease (“PD”), among others.
According to the National Institute of Health, future technical innovation in deep brain stimulators will focus on improving the practicability the device, including extension of battery life, reduced size of the devices and development of a device for delivering more tailored and adaptive stimulation and the integration of wireless technology. Clinically, the main challenge will be meeting the needs of an ageing population worldwide and expanding indications for DBS to circuitopathies other than Parkinson’s disease, including depression and Alzheimer disease. Even within established indications such as Parkinson’s disease, key questions remain unanswered because biomarkers that predict clinical responses and aid in patient selection and stimulation parameter settings are still largely lacking.
We believe that our technology may help advance clinical response to DBS due to more precise stimulation and improve overall safety of the DBS procedures.
On March 5, 2021, we announced that the U.S. Patent Office had allowed a utility patent which has been exclusively licensed from the Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research. The patent application number 16/805,017 entitled,*“Systems and Methods for Electroporation”*was filed on February 28, 2020. The patent describes and claims methods and materials for improving the treatment of hypertension via electroporation of nerves in the renal area. Electroporation is an emerging technique that has demonstrated efficacy in treatments for several critical conditions and is currently being evaluated for the treatments of autonomic nervous disorders, including hyper- and hypotension / syncope.
BioSig AI Sciences Overview
BioSig AI Sciences, Inc.
On July 2, 2020, the Company formed NeuroClear Technologies, Inc., a Delaware corporation, which was renamed to BioSig AI Sciences, Inc. (“BioSig AI”) on May 31, 2023. The subsidiary was established to pursue clinical needs of cardiac and neurological disorders through recordings and analyses of action potentials. BioSig AI aims to contribute to the advancements of AI-based diagnoses and therapies. In June and July 2023, BioSig AI sold an aggregate of 2,205,000 shares of its common stock for net proceeds of $1,971,277 to fund initial operations. At April 16, 2024, the Company had a majority interest in BioSig AI of 84.5%.
BioSig AI is a medical technology company that was developing AI solutions for the hospital marketplace utilizing structured, semi-structured, and unstructured data. BioSig AI’s business operations have currently been placed on hold due to lack of resources. The Company’s former established technology team with external partners and collaborators were joined to advance the research and development of an artificial intelligence (“AI”) medical device platform.
On July 20, 2023, BioSig AI was included in Nvidia’s Inception partnership program which aimed to provide our team access to engineering and technology support. In less than a month after closing the initial funding, the team had identified opportunities to bring a proprietary AI platform to market. In addition, BioSig AI had signed a collaboration agreement with a global technology organization who started to build important data infrastructure to enable scaling of the platform in high-volume, data intensive hospital centers. This collaboration effort was discontinued, however, is currently being re-evaluated with the new team forming since March 2024.
According to Data Bridge Market Research, the market for AI in healthcare, estimated at $9.6 billion in 2022, is expected to reach $272.9 billion by 2030, at a CAGR of 51.9% during the forecast period.1
1 Data Bridge Market Research. Global Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare Market – Industry Trends and Forecast to 2030. January 2023.
Intellectual Property
Patents
Our success depends in large part on our ability to establish and maintain the proprietary nature of our technology. In November 2017, we engaged 3LP Advisors LLC, now Sherpa Technology Group LLC as our intellectual property advisor. We have also retained Sterne Kessler Goldstein & Fox P.L.L.C., a patent firm based in Washington DC, to help develop and execute a strategy for the development of our patent portfolio.
Our owned patent portfolio now includes 36 (issued/allowed) issued utility patents (24 utility patents where BioSig is at least one of the applicants). Twenty five additional U.S. and foreign utility patent applications are pending covering various aspects of our PURE EP System for recording, measuring, calculating and displaying of electrocardiograms during cardiac ablation procedures (25 U.S. and foreign utility patent applications where either BioSig, Mayo, or both is at least one of the applicants). We also have one U.S. patent and one U.S. Pending application directed to artificial intelligence (AI). We also have 30 issued worldwide design patents, which cover various features of our display screens and graphical user interface for enhanced visualization of biomedical signals (30 design patents where BioSig is at least one of the applicants). Finally, we have licenses to 12 (issued/allowed) patents and 9 additional worldwide utility patent applications from Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research that are pending (12 issued/allowed patents and 9 applications where only Mayo is the applicant). These patents and applications are generally directed to electroporation and stimulation.
BioSig and ViralClear signed three patent and know-how license agreements with Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research in November 2019. Under the terms of such agreements, BioSig exclusively licensed additional patents and applications of the Mayo Clinic related to novel ways for ablation therapy and to treat autonomic nervous system disease including hardware, software and algorithmic solutions to be integrated into the PURE EP platform technology. BioSig intends to take the licensed intellectual properties and products, which have been developed by Mayo Clinic over the last decade, through FDA approval, manufacturing, and commercialization. The development program is run under the leadership of Dr. Asirvatham. On March 5, 2021, we announced that the U.S. Patent Office had allowed a utility patent that ViralClear has exclusively licensed from the Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research. The patent application number 16/805,017 entitled,“Systems and Methods for Electroporation” was filed on February 28, 2020. The patent describes and claims methods and materials for improving the treatment of hypertension via electroporation of nerves in the renal area. Electroporation is an emerging technique that has demonstrated efficacy in treatments for several critical conditions and is currently being evaluated for the treatments of autonomic nervous disorders, including hyper- and hypotension / syncope.
Trademarks
Our trademark for “BIOSIG TECHNOLOGIES” was registered on April 25, 2017.
Our trademark for “PURE EP” was registered on January 26, 2016.
Our trademark for the standard mark, “BIOSIG” was registered March 19, 2019.
Our trademark for “SEE MORE, CLEARLY” was registered on April 4, 2023.
Our trademark for “WCT+” was registered on February 20, 2024.
On November 5, 2018, we filed a standard mark trademark application for “NEUROCLEAR” and on January 29, 2019, NeuroClear filed a stylized/design trademark application for the NeuroClear logo; extensions for statements of use have been filed.
Our trademark for “ALLIANCE FOR ADVANCING BIOELECTRONIC MEDICINE” was registered on October 24, 2024.
In July 2021, we received EU certificates of registration for the following trademarks: “ACCUVIZ”, “WCT+”, and “COMBIO”.
In July 2021, we received UK certificates of registration for the following trademarks: “SMARTFINDER”, “ACCUVIZ”, “WCT+”, and “COMBIO”.
Government Regulation
The U.S. government regulates healthcare and related products through various agencies, including but not limited to the following: (i) the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which enforces the federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FDCA) and related laws; (ii) the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), which administers the Medicare and Medicaid programs; (iii) the Office of Inspector General (OIG), which enforces various laws aimed at curtailing fraudulent or abusive practices, including by way of example, the Anti-Kickback Statute, the Physician Self-Referral Law, commonly referred to as the Stark law, the Civil Monetary Penalty Law (including the beneficiary inducement prohibition) (CMP), and the laws that authorize the OIG to exclude healthcare providers and others from participating in federal healthcare programs; and (iv) the Office of Civil Rights (OCR), which administers the privacy aspects of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). All of the aforementioned are agencies within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Healthcare is also provided or regulated, as the case may be, by the Department of Defense through its TRICARE program, the Department of Veterans Affairs, especially through the Veterans Health Care Act of 1992, the Public Health Service within HHS under Public Health Service Act § 340B (42 U.S.C. § 256b), the Department of Justice through the Federal False Claims Act and various criminal statutes, and state governments under the Medicaid and other state sponsored or funded programs. Various states also have state laws equivalent to certain healthcare fraud and abuse laws, including but not limited to state equivalents of the Anti-Kickback Statute and the Stark law, as well as more general state laws regulating all healthcare activities and certain healthcare products, including medical devices.
In addition to being regulated by the FDA, advertising and promotion of certain types of medical devices in the United States is also regulated by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and by state regulatory and enforcement authorities. Recently, promotional activities for FDA-regulated products of other companies have been the subject of enforcement action brought under healthcare laws and consumer protection statutes. Further, competitors can initiate litigation relating to advertising claims under the federal Lanham Act and similar state laws.
FDA Regulation
Our solutions include software and hardware which will be used for patient diagnosis and, accordingly, are subject to regulation by the FDA and other regulatory agencies. FDA regulations govern, among other things, the following activities that we perform and will continue to perform in connection with:
| ● | Product design and development; |
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| ● | Product testing; |
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| ● | Product manufacturing; |
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| ● | Product labeling and packaging; |
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| ● | Product handling, storage, and installation; |
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| ● | Pre-market clearance or approval; |
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| ● | Advertising and promotion; and |
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| ● | Product sales, distribution, and servicing. |
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FDA Pre-market Clearance and Approval Processes
The FDA classifies all medical devices into one of three classes based on the risks associated with the medical device and the controls deemed necessary to reasonably ensure the device’s safety and effectiveness. Those three classes are:
| ● | Class I devices present a low risk and are not life-sustaining or life-supporting. The majority of Class I devices are subject only to “general controls” (e.g., prohibition against adulteration and misbranding, registration and listing, good manufacturing practices, labeling, and adverse event reporting. General controls are baseline requirements that apply to all classes of medical devices.) |
| ● | Class II devices present a moderate risk and are devices for which general controls alone are not sufficient to provide a reasonable assurance of safety and effectiveness. Devices in Class II are subject to both general controls and “special controls” (e.g., special labeling, compliance with performance standards, and post market surveillance. Unless exempted, Class II devices typically require FDA clearance before marketing, through the premarket notification (510(k)) process). |
| ● | Class III devices present the highest risk. These devices generally are implantable, life-sustaining, life-supporting, or for a use that is of substantial importance in preventing impairment of human health, and/or they present a potential unreasonable risk of illness or injury. Class III devices are devices for which general controls, by themselves, are insufficient and for which there is insufficient information to determine that application of special controls would provide a reasonable assurance of safety and effectiveness. Class III devices are subject to general controls and typically require FDA approval of a premarket approval (“PMA”) application before marketing. |
Unless it is exempt from premarket review requirements, a medical device must receive marketing authorization from the FDA prior to being commercially marketed, distributed, or sold in interstate commerce in the United States. The most common pathways for obtaining marketing authorizations are 510(k) and PMA. With the enactment of the Food and Drug Administration Safety and Innovation Act (FDASIA), thede novo pathway was made available for certain low-to-moderate risk devices that do not qualify for 510(k) clearance due to the absence of a predicate device.
510(k) Clearance Process
The 510(k) review process compares a new device to an existing legally marketed device (or, “predicate device”). “Substantial equivalence” means that the proposed new device: (i) has the same intended use as the predicate device; (ii) has the same or similar technological characteristics as the predicate device; (iii) is as safe and effective as the predicate device, as shown by the supporting information submitted within the 510(k); and (iv) does not raise different questions of safety and effectiveness than the predicate device.
To obtain 510(k) clearance, one must submit a 510(k) containing sufficient information and data to demonstrate that the proposed device is substantially equivalent to a legally marketed predicate device. This data generally includes non-clinical performance testing (e.g., software validation, bench testing electrical safety testing), but may also include clinical data. Typically, it takes approximately three-to-six months for the FDA to complete its review of a 510(k) submission; however, it can take significantly longer and not all 510(k) submissions are accepted by the FDA for review, and not all are cleared following FDA review. During its review of a 510(k), the FDA may request additional information, including clinical data, which may significantly prolong the review process. After completing its review of a 510(k), the FDA may issue an order, in the form of a letter (i) finding the proposed device to be substantially equivalent to the predicate device and stating that the device can be marketed in the U.S., or (ii) finding the proposed device not substantially equivalent to the predicate device and stating that device cannot be marketed in the U.S. We received 510(k) clearance for the PURE EP™ System on August 8, 2018.
After a device receives 510(k) clearance, any modification that could significantly affect its safety or effectiveness, or that would constitute a major change in its intended use, will require a new 510(k) clearance or could require a pre-market approval, which requires more data and is generally a significantly longer process than the 510(k) clearance process. The FDA requires each manufacturer to make this determination initially, but the FDA can review any such decision and can disagree with a manufacturer’s determination. If the FDA disagrees with a manufacturer’s determination, it can require the manufacturer to cease marketing and/or recall the modified device until 510(k) clearance or a pre-market approval is obtained.
A device that reaches market through the 510(k) process is not considered to be “approved” by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. They are generally referred to as “cleared” or “510(k) cleared” devices. Nevertheless, it can be marketed and sold in the U.S.
The Premarket Approval Pathway
The PMA process is the most stringent type of device marketing application required by the FDA. Whether PMA is granted is based on a determination by the FDA that the PMA application contains sufficient valid scientific evidence to ensure that the device is safe and effective for its intended use(s). A PMA application generally includes extensive information about the device including the results of clinical testing conducted on the device and a detailed description of the manufacturing process.
After a PMA application is accepted for review, the FDA begins an in-depth review of the submitted information. FDA regulations provide 180 days to review the PMA application and make a determination; however, in practice, the review time is typically longer (e.g., 1-3 years). During this review period, the FDA may request additional information or clarification of information already provided. Also, during the review period, an advisory panel of experts from outside the FDA may be convened to review and evaluate the data supporting the application and provide recommendations as to whether the data provide a reasonable assurance that the device is safe and effective for its intended use. In addition, the FDA generally will conduct a preapproval inspection of the manufacturing facility to ensure compliance with the quality system regulation (QSR), which imposes comprehensive development, testing, control, documentation and other quality assurance requirements for the design and manufacturing of a medical device.
Based on its review, the FDA may (i) issue an order approving the PMA, (ii) issue a letter stating the PMA is “approvable” (e.g., minor additional information is needed), (iii) issue a letter stating the PMA is “not approvable,” or (iv) issue an order denying PMA. A company may not market a device subject to PMA review until the FDA issues an order approving the PMA application. As a condition to approval, the FDA may impose post-approval requirements intended to ensure the continued safety and effectiveness of the device including, among other things, restrictions on labeling, promotion, sale and distribution, and requiring the collection of additional clinical data. Failure to comply with the conditions of approval can result in materially adverse enforcement action, including withdrawal of the approval.
Most modifications to a PMA approved device, including changes to the design, labeling, or manufacturing process, require prior approval before being implemented. Prior approval is obtained through submission of a PMA supplement. The type of information required to support a PMA supplement and the FDA’s time for review of a PMA supplement vary depending on the nature of the modification.
We obtained FDA clearance related to the PURE EP System via the 510(k) process in 2018 and we do not anticipate a PMA for it or other devices at this time.
Pervasive and continuing FDA regulation
After a medical device is placed on the market, numerous FDA regulatory requirements apply, including, but not limited to, the following:
| ● | Quality System Regulation (QSR), which requires manufacturers to follow design, testing, control, documentation and other quality assurance procedures during the manufacturing process; |
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| ● | Establishment Registration, which requires establishments involved in the production and distribution of medical devices intended for commercial distribution in the U.S. to register with the FDA; |
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| ● | Medical Device Listing, which requires manufacturers to list the devices they have in commercial distribution with the FDA; |
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| ● | Labeling regulations, which prohibit “misbranded” devices from entering the market, as well as mandate the inclusion of certain content in device labels and labeling and prohibit the promotion of products for unapproved or “off-label” uses and impose other restrictions on labeling; and |
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| ● | Medical Device Reporting regulations, which require that manufacturers report to the FDA if their device may have caused or contributed to a death or serious injury or malfunctioned in a way that would likely cause or contribute to a death or serious injury if it were to recur. |
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Failure to comply with applicable regulatory requirements can result in enforcement action by the FDA, which may include one or more of the following sanctions:
| ● | Fines, injunctions, and civil penalties; |
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| ● | Mandatory recall or seizure of our products; |
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| ● | Administrative detention or banning of our products; |
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| ● | Operating restrictions, partial suspension or total shutdown of production; |
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| ● | Refusing our request for 510(k) clearance or pre-market approval of new product versions; |
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| ● | Revocation of 510(k) clearance or pre-market approvals previously granted; and |
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| ● | Criminal penalties. |
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We are subject to unannounced device inspections by the FDA, as well as other regulatory agencies overseeing the implementation of, and compliance with, applicable state public health regulations. These inspections may include our suppliers’ facilities.
U.S. Healthcare Laws and Regulations
In the United States, there are various healthcare fraud and abuse laws that apply to medical device manufacturers, such as us, with respect to our financial relationships with hospitals, physicians, patients, marketers and sales agents, and other potential purchasers or acquirers of our products or those who are in a position to refer or recommend our products. Federal and state anti-kickback laws prohibit the payment or receipt of kickbacks, bribes or other remuneration intended to induce the purchase or recommendation of healthcare products and services. The U.S. government has published regulations that identify exemptions or “safe harbors,” which describe various payment and business practices that, although they potentially implicate the federal Anti-Kickback Statute, are not treated as offenses under the statute, and thereby, protected from enforcement actions under the federal Anti-Kickback Statute. To qualify, the activity must fit squarely within the safe harbor. Arrangements that do not meet a safe harbor are not necessarily illegal but will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis, and the federal safe harbors may not apply to state anti-kickback laws. Other provisions of state and federal law impose civil and criminal penalties for presenting, or causing to be presented, to third-party payors (including the government) for reimbursement claims that are false or fraudulent, or for items or services that were not provided as claimed. False claims allegations under federal, and some state, laws may be brought on behalf of the government by private persons, or “whistleblowers,” who could then receive a share of any recovery. In addition, the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) imposes criminal and civil liability for executing a scheme to defraud any healthcare benefit program, or knowingly and willfully falsifying, concealing or covering up a material fact or making any materially false statement in connection with the delivery of or payment for healthcare benefits, items or services. The Physician Self-Referral Law, commonly referred to as the Stark law, is a strict liability statute that prohibits physicians from referring patients to receive certain services defined as “designated health services” payable by Medicare or Medicaid from entities with which the physician or an immediate family member has a financial relationship, unless a specific exception applies. Violations of these laws can lead to civil and criminal penalties, including but not limited to punitive sanctions, damage assessments, money penalties, imprisonment, denial of payment, exclusion from participation in federal healthcare programs, or some combination thereof.
International Regulation
International sales of medical devices are subject to foreign government regulations, which vary substantially from country to country. The time required to obtain approval by a foreign country may be longer or shorter than that required for FDA approval, and the requirements may differ significantly.
The European Union has adopted legislation, in the form of directives to be implemented in each member state, concerning the regulation of medical devices within the European Union. The directives include, among others, the Medical Device Directive that establishes standards for regulating the design, manufacture, clinical trials, labeling, and vigilance reporting for medical devices. Our PURE EP system may be affected by this legislation. Under the European Union Medical Device Directive, medical devices are classified into four classes, I, IIa, IIb, and III, with class I being the lowest risk and class III being the highest risk. Under the Medical Device Directive, a competent authority is nominated by the government of each member state to monitor and ensure compliance with the Medical Device Directive. The competent authority of each member state then designates a notified body to oversee the conformity assessment procedures set forth in the Medical Device Directive, whereby manufacturers demonstrate that their devices comply with the requirements of the Medical Device Directive and are entitled to bear the CE mark. CE is an abbreviation for Conformité Européenne (or European Conformity) and the CE mark, when placed on a product, indicates compliance with the requirements of the applicable directive. Medical devices properly bearing the CE mark may be commercially distributed throughout the European Union. Failure to obtain the CE mark will preclude us from selling the PURE EP System and related products in the European Union.
| ● | Administrative detention or banning of our products; |
|---|
| ● | Operating restrictions, partial suspension or total shutdown of production; |
|---|
| ● | Refusing our request for 510(k) clearance or pre-market approval of new product versions; |
|---|
| ● | Revocation of 510(k) clearance or pre-market approvals previously granted; and |
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| ● | Criminal penalties. |
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We are subject to unannounced device inspections by the FDA, as well as other regulatory agencies overseeing the implementation of, and compliance with, applicable state public health regulations. These inspections may include our suppliers’ facilities.
U.S. Healthcare Laws and Regulations
In the United States, there are various healthcare fraud and abuse laws that apply to medical device manufacturers, such as us, with respect to our financial relationships with hospitals, physicians, patients, marketers and sales agents, and other potential purchasers or acquirers of our products or those who are in a position to refer or recommend our products. Federal and state anti-kickback laws prohibit the payment or receipt of kickbacks, bribes or other remuneration intended to induce the purchase or recommendation of healthcare products and services. The U.S. government has published regulations that identify exemptions or “safe harbors,” which describe various payment and business practices that, although they potentially implicate the federal Anti-Kickback Statute, are not treated as offenses under the statute, and thereby, protected from enforcement actions under the federal Anti-Kickback Statute. To qualify, the activity must fit squarely within the safe harbor. Arrangements that do not meet a safe harbor are not necessarily illegal but will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis, and the federal safe harbors may not apply to state anti-kickback laws. Other provisions of state and federal law impose civil and criminal penalties for presenting, or causing to be presented, to third-party payors (including the government) for reimbursement claims that are false or fraudulent, or for items or services that were not provided as claimed. False claims allegations under federal, and some state, laws may be brought on behalf of the government by private persons, or “whistleblowers,” who could then receive a share of any recovery. In addition, the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) imposes criminal and civil liability for executing a scheme to defraud any healthcare benefit program, or knowingly and willfully falsifying, concealing or covering up a material fact or making any materially false statement in connection with the delivery of or payment for healthcare benefits, items or services. The Physician Self-Referral Law, commonly referred to as the Stark law, is a strict liability statute that prohibits physicians from referring patients to receive certain services defined as “designated health services” payable by Medicare or Medicaid from entities with which the physician or an immediate family member has a financial relationship, unless a specific exception applies. Violations of these laws can lead to civil and criminal penalties, including but not limited to punitive sanctions, damage assessments, money penalties, imprisonment, denial of payment, exclusion from participation in federal healthcare programs, or some combination thereof.
International Regulation
International sales of medical devices are subject to foreign government regulations, which vary substantially from country to country. The time required to obtain approval by a foreign country may be longer or shorter than that required for FDA approval, and the requirements may differ significantly.
The European Union has adopted legislation, in the form of directives to be implemented in each member state, concerning the regulation of medical devices within the European Union. The directives include, among others, the Medical Device Directive that establishes standards for regulating the design, manufacture, clinical trials, labeling, and vigilance reporting for medical devices. Our PURE EP system may be affected by this legislation. Under the European Union Medical Device Directive, medical devices are classified into four classes, I, IIa, IIb, and III, with class I being the lowest risk and class III being the highest risk. Under the Medical Device Directive, a competent authority is nominated by the government of each member state to monitor and ensure compliance with the Medical Device Directive. The competent authority of each member state then designates a notified body to oversee the conformity assessment procedures set forth in the Medical Device Directive, whereby manufacturers demonstrate that their devices comply with the requirements of the Medical Device Directive and are entitled to bear the CE mark. CE is an abbreviation for Conformité Européenne (or European Conformity) and the CE mark, when placed on a product, indicates compliance with the requirements of the applicable directive. Medical devices properly bearing the CE mark may be commercially distributed throughout the European Union. Failure to obtain the CE mark will preclude us from selling the PURE EP System and related products in the European Union.
Employees
As of April 15, 2024, we had 4 full-time employees. Additionally, we use consultants as needed to perform various specialized services. None of our employees are represented under a collective bargaining agreement.
Corporate and Other Information
We were incorporated in Nevada in February 2009 and in April 2011 we merged with our wholly owned subsidiary, BioSig Technologies, Inc., a Delaware corporation, with the Delaware corporation continuing as the surviving entity. Our principal executive offices are located at 55 Greens Farms Road 1 st Floor Westport, Connecticut 06880 and our telephone number is (203) 409-5444. Our website address is www.biosig.com. Information contained on or accessible through our website is not a part of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, and the inclusion of our website address in this Annual Report on Form 10-K is an inactive textual reference only.
We file or furnish electronically with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) our annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K, proxy statements and other information. Our SEC filings are available to the public over the Internet at the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov. We make available on our website at www.biosig.com, under “Investors,” free of charge, copies of these reports as soon as reasonably practicable after filing or furnishing these reports with the SEC.
The text of this filing, as the company filed it with the SEC, without its images or exhibits. This is not investment advice.