Serina Therapeutics, Inc.
For the period ended Dec 31, 2024. Filed Mar 24, 2025.
View on SEC.govAbout this filing
A company's yearly report to the SEC, with audited financial statements. It is the fullest account a company gives of its business, its finances and the risks it sees.
FY2024 · Filed Mar 24, 2025
What changed in Risk Factors?
Read the current filingPrevious report: 10-K
Period ended 2023-12-31; filed 2024-03-22.
0001493152-24-011022
Item 1A. Risk FactorsCurrent report: 10-K
Period ended 2024-12-31; filed 2025-03-24.
0001708599-25-000027
Item 1A. Risk FactorsThe baseline is this issuer’s latest earlier reporting period of the same form that was filed before the current report. A previous 10-Q is a different quarter, not a year-over-year comparison. Amendments are excluded.
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Tables are not compared: 27 previous and 32 current tables excluded. Dates, whitespace, punctuation and numbering changes are ignored; changes to financial figures remain significant.
A changed paragraph is not evidence that risk increased or decreased. An unchanged paragraph does not establish that risk stayed the same.
Added paragraphs (192)
Current report
Investing in our securities involves risks. You should consider carefully the risks and uncertainties described below, together with all of the other information in this Report, including the section titled “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and our consolidated financial statements and related notes, before deciding whether to purchase any of our securities. Our business, results of operations, financial condition, and prospects could also be harmed by risks and uncertainties that are not presently known to us or that we currently believe are not material. If any of these risks actually occur, our business, results of operations, financial condition, and prospects could be materially and adversely affected. Unless otherwise indicated, references in these risk factors to our business being harmed will include harm to our business, reputation, brand, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects. In such event, the market price of our securities could decline, and you could lose all or part of your investment.
Current report
Investing in our securities involves risks. You should consider carefully the risks and uncertainties described below, together with all of the other information in this Report, including the section titled “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and our consolidated financial statements and related notes, before deciding whether to purchase any of our securities. Our business, results of operations, financial condition, and prospects could also be harmed by risks and uncertainties that are not presently known to us or that we currently believe are not material. If any of these risks actually occur, our business, results of operations, financial condition, and prospects could be materially and adversely affected. Unless otherwise indicated, references in these risk factors to our business being harmed will include harm to our business, reputation, brand, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects. In such event, the market price of our securities could decline, and you could lose all or part of your investment.
Current report
Risks Related to Our Operating History, Financial Position and Capital Requirements
Current report
We have a history of operating losses that are expected to continue for the foreseeable future, and we are unable to predict the extent of future losses, or whether we will generate significant revenues or achieve or sustain profitability.
Current report
We have focused on research and product development and have not generated any revenues to date from product sales. Additionally, we expect to continue to incur operating losses for the foreseeable future. These operating losses have adversely affected, and are likely to continue to adversely affect, our working capital, total assets, and stockholders’ deficit.
Current report
Because we are an early-stage company, our prospects must be considered in light of the uncertainties, risks, expenses, and difficulties frequently encountered by companies in their early stages of operations.
Current report
We expect to make substantial expenditures and incur increasing operating costs in the future and our accumulated deficit will increase significantly as we expand development and clinical trial activities for our product candidates. Because of the risks and uncertainties associated with product development, we are unable to predict the extent of any future losses, whether we will ever generate significant revenues or if we will ever achieve or sustain profitability.
Current report
We are dependent on obtaining, and will continue to pursue, necessary funding from outside sources, including obtaining additional funding from the issuance of securities in order to continue our operations. Without adequate funding, we may not be able to meet our financial obligations.
Current report
We have not demonstrated an ability to perform the functions necessary for the successful commercialization of any products. The successful commercialization of any of our products will require us to perform a variety of functions, including:
Current report
We have a limited operating history and expect a number of factors to cause our operating results to fluctuate on a quarterly and annual basis, which may make it difficult to predict our future performance.
Current report
Our operations to date have been primarily limited to organizing and staffing our company, developing and securing our proprietary technology and preclinical and clinical development of our product candidates. We have not yet successfully completed all clinical trial phases for any of our product candidates, manufactured our product candidates at commercial scale or conducted sales and marketing activities that will be necessary to successfully commercialize our product candidates, if approved.
Current report
Our financial condition has varied significantly in the past and will continue to fluctuate from quarter to quarter or year to year due to a variety of factors, many of which are beyond our control. Factors relating to our business that may contribute to these fluctuations include other factors described elsewhere in this prospectus and also include, among other things:
Current report
Our ability to generate product sales and achieve profitability depends on our ability, alone or with collaborative partners, to successfully complete the development of, and obtain the regulatory approvals necessary to commercialize, our current and future product candidates. We do not anticipate generating product sales for the next several years, if ever.
Current report
Our product candidates will require additional clinical, manufacturing, and non-clinical development, regulatory approval, commercial manufacturing arrangements, establishment of a commercial organization, significant marketing efforts, and further investment before we generate any product sales. We cannot guarantee that we will meet our timelines for our development programs, which may be delayed or not completed for a number of reasons. Our ability to generate future revenues from product sales depends heavily on our, or our collaborators’, ability to successfully:
Current report
Even if one or more of our current and future product candidates are approved for commercial sale, we anticipate incurring significant costs associated with commercializing any approved product candidate. Our expenses could increase beyond our expectations if we are required by the FDA or other regulatory authorities to perform clinical and other studies in addition to those that we currently anticipate. If we are required to conduct additional clinical trials or other testing of our product candidates that we develop beyond those that we currently expect, if we are unable to successfully complete clinical trials of our product candidates or other testing, if the results of these trials or tests are not positive or are only modestly positive, or if there are safety concerns, we may be delayed in obtaining marketing approval for our product candidates, not obtain marketing approval at all, or obtain more limited approvals. Even if we are able to generate revenues from the sale of any approved product candidates, we may not become profitable and may need to obtain additional funding to continue operations.
Current report
Our product candidates are at an early stage of development and may not be successfully developed or commercialized.
Current report
All of our current product candidates are in preclinical development and will require substantial further capital expenditures, development, testing, and regulatory approval prior to commercialization. We have limited experience designing clinical trials and have not yet filed or supported a marketing application. We may be unable to design and execute a clinical trial that ultimately supports marketing approval.
Current report
The time required to obtain approval from the FDA and comparable foreign authorities is unpredictable but typically takes many years following the commencement of clinical trials and depends upon numerous factors, including the substantial discretion of regulatory authorities. The outcome of studies is also inherently uncertain. Of the large number of drugs in development, only a small percentage successfully complete the regulatory approval process and are commercialized. The results of nonclinical studies, interim or top line studies, and early clinical trials of our product candidates may not be predictive of the results of later stage clinical trials. Failure can occur at any time during the clinical trial process. Product candidates in later stages of clinical trials may fail to show the desired safety, purity, and potency traits despite having progressed through nonclinical studies and initial clinical trials. Nonclinical and early clinical studies may also reveal unfavorable product candidate characteristics, including safety concerns. A number of companies have suffered significant setbacks in advanced clinical trials, notwithstanding promising results in earlier trials. In some instances, there can be significant variability in results between different clinical trials of the same product candidate due to numerous factors, including changes in trial procedures set forth in protocols, differences in the size and type of the patient populations, changes in and adherence to the clinical trial protocols, and the rate of dropout among clinical trial participants.
Current report
Accordingly, even if we are able to obtain the requisite financing to fund our development programs, we cannot assure you that our product candidates will be successfully developed or commercialized. Our failure to develop, manufacture or receive regulatory approval for, or successfully commercialize any of, our product candidates could result in the failure of our business and a loss of all of our stockholders’ investment.
Current report
Our product candidates may fail at any stage of preclinical or clinical development, and may also reveal unfavorable product candidate characteristics, including safety concerns or the failure to demonstrate efficacy in initial clinical trials. Further, our product candidates may not receive regulatory approval even if they are successful in clinical trials. Although we anticipate completing the preclinical development, including toxicology testing and clinical supply manufacturing development, necessary to file an investigational new drug application (“IND”) for SER 252 and additional INDs for other product candidates in the future, we may experience numerous unforeseen events before, during, or as a result of clinical trials that could delay or prevent our ability to commence or complete development, commence or complete clinical trials, receive marketing approval or commercialize our product candidates, including:
Current report
Furthermore, we expect to rely on CROs and clinical trial sites to ensure the proper and timely conduct of our clinical trials and, while we expect to enter into agreements governing their committed activities, we have limited influence over their actual performance.
Current report
A clinical trial may be suspended or terminated by us, our partners, the IRBs of the institutions in which such trials are being conducted, the Data and Safety Monitoring Board for such trial or by the FDA or other regulatory authorities due to a number of factors, including failure to conduct the clinical trial in accordance with regulatory requirements or our clinical protocols, inspection of the clinical trial operations or trial site by the FDA or other regulatory authorities resulting in the imposition of a clinical hold, unforeseen safety issues or adverse side effects, failure to demonstrate a benefit from using a drug or therapeutic biologic, changes in governmental regulations or administrative actions or lack of adequate funding to continue the clinical trial. If we experience delays in the completion of, or termination of, any clinical trial of any of our potential future product candidates, the commercial prospects of such product candidate will be harmed, and our ability to generate product revenue from such product candidates will be delayed. In addition, any delays in completing our clinical trials will increase our costs, slow our product development and approval process, and jeopardize our ability to commence product sales and generate revenue, and we may not have the financial resources to continue development of the product candidate that is affected or any of our other product candidates. We may also lose, or be unable to enter into, collaborative arrangements for the affected product candidate and for other product candidates that we are developing. Any of these occurrences may materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects. In addition, many of the factors that cause, or lead to, a delay in the commencement or completion of clinical trials may also ultimately lead to the denial of regulatory approval of our potential future product candidates.
Current report
Preliminary results from our nonclinical studies and clinical trials that we announce or publish from time to time may change as more patient data becomes available and as the data undergoes audit and verification procedures.
Current report
From time to time, we may publish interim, topline, or preliminary results from our nonclinical studies and clinical trials. Preliminary and interim results from our clinical trials are not necessarily predictive of final results and are subject to the risk that one or more of the clinical outcomes may materially change as patient enrollment continues and more patient data become available. Preliminary, interim, and topline data also remain subject to audit and verification procedures that may result in the final data being materially different from the preliminary data previously published. As a result, preliminary, interim, and topline data should be viewed with caution until the final data are available. Material adverse changes in the final data compared to the preliminary, interim, or topline data could significantly harm our business prospects.
Current report
Further, others, including regulatory agencies, may not accept or agree with our assumptions, estimates, calculations, conclusions or analyses or may interpret or weigh the importance of data differently, which could impact the value of the particular program, the approvability or commercialization of the particular product candidate or therapeutic product, if any, and us in general. In addition, the information we choose to publicly disclose regarding a particular nonclinical study or clinical trial is based on what is typically extensive information, and you or others may not agree with what we determine is the material or otherwise appropriate information to include in our disclosure, and any information we determine not to disclose may ultimately be deemed significant with respect to future decisions, conclusions, views, activities or otherwise regarding a particular therapeutic product, if any, product candidate or our business. If the preliminary, interim, and topline data that we report differ from actual results, or if others, including regulatory authorities, disagree with the conclusions reached, our ability to obtain approval for, and commercialize, our product candidates may be harmed, which could harm our business, operating results, prospects, or financial condition.
Current report
The FDA standard for approval of a drug or biologic generally requires two adequate, well-controlled clinical trials, each convincingly demonstrating the product candidate’s safety and effectiveness, or one large and robust, well-controlled trial providing substantial evidence that the product candidate is safe and effective for proposed indication. Phase III clinical trials typically involve hundreds of patients, have significant costs and take years to complete. Product candidates studied for their safety and effectiveness in treating serious or life-threatening illnesses and that provide meaningful therapeutic benefit over existing treatments may be eligible for accelerated approval and may be approved on the basis of adequate and well-controlled clinical trials establishing that the product candidate has an effect on a surrogate endpoint that is reasonably likely to predict clinical benefit, or on a clinical endpoint that can be measured earlier than irreversible morbidity or mortality (“IMM”), that is reasonably likely to predict an effect on IMM or other clinical benefit, taking into account the severity, rarity or prevalence of the condition and the availability or lack of alternative treatments. As a condition of accelerated approval, the FDA usually requires a sponsor of a drug or biologic receiving accelerated approval to perform post-marketing studies to verify and describe the predicted effect on IMM or other clinical endpoint, and the drug or biologic may be subject to withdrawal procedures by the FDA that are more accelerated than those available for regular approvals.
Current report
Failure of our technology would significantly harm our business, results of operations, and prospects.
Current report
We may not be successful in our efforts to use and expand our discovery engine to build a pipeline of product candidates.
Current report
A key element of our strategy is to use and expand our POZ Platform drug delivery technology to build a pipeline of product candidates and progress these product candidates through preclinical and clinical development for the treatment of various diseases. Although our research efforts to date suggest that the POZ Platform technology can deliver payloads including small molecules, proteins, and nucleic acids, this hypothesis may prove incorrect, or we may not be able to identify a product candidate that is safe or effective as a treatment for various diseases. Further, the scientific evidence to support the feasibility of developing viable product candidates based on our platform has not been established.
Current report
Even if we are successful in building our pipeline of product candidates, the potential product candidates that we identify may not be suitable for clinical development or generate acceptable clinical data, including as a result of being shown to have unacceptable toxicity or other characteristics that indicate that they are unlikely to be products that will receive marketing approval from the FDA or other regulatory authorities or achieve market acceptance. Investment in biopharmaceutical product development involves significant risk that any potential product candidate will fail to demonstrate adequate efficacy or an acceptable safety profile, gain regulatory approval, and become commercially viable. We cannot provide any assurance that we will be able to successfully advance any of these additional product candidates through the development process. Our research programs may initially show promise in identifying potential product candidates, yet fail to yield product candidates for clinical development or commercialization for many reasons, including the following:
Current report
If any of these events occur, we may be forced to abandon our development efforts for a program or programs, or we may not be able to identify, discover, develop, or commercialize additional product candidates, which would have a material adverse effect on our business and could potentially cause it to cease operations. Even if we receive FDA approval to market additional product candidates, we cannot assure you that any such product candidates will be successfully commercialized, widely accepted in the marketplace or more effective than other commercially available alternatives.
Current report
We may seek designations under FDA programs designed to facilitate and potentially expedite product candidate development, such as fast track or breakthrough therapy designation. Our product candidates may not receive any such designations or if they do receive such designations they may not lead to faster development or regulatory review or approval and it does not increase the likelihood that our product candidates will receive marketing approval.
Current report
We may seek designations under the FDA’s expedited programs for serious conditions, such as fast track or breakthrough therapy designation, which are intended to facilitate and expedite the development or regulatory review or approval process for product candidates.
Current report
The granting of fast track or breakthrough therapy designation to an investigational product is entirely within the FDA’s discretion. Accordingly, even if we believe one of our product candidates meets the criteria for a designation, the FDA may disagree and instead determine not to grant such designation. In any event, the receipt of a fast track or breakthrough therapy designation for a product candidate may not result in a faster development process, review or approval compared to product candidates considered for approval under conventional FDA procedures and does not assure ultimate marketing approval by the FDA. In addition, the FDA may later decide that the product candidate no longer meets the designation conditions, in which case any granted designations may be revoked, or the agency may decide that the time period for review or approval of the product candidate will not be shortened.
Current report
If we are unable to obtain approval via the accelerated approval pathway, we may be required to conduct additional nonclinical studies or clinical trials. Even if we receive accelerated approval from the FDA, the FDA may seek to withdraw accelerated approval.
Current report
We may seek an accelerated approval development pathway for our product candidates.
Current report
If we choose to pursue accelerated approval, we intend to seek feedback from the FDA or will otherwise evaluate our ability to seek and receive such accelerated approval. After our evaluation of the feedback from the FDA or other factors, we may decide not to pursue or submit an NDA for accelerated approval or any other form of expedited development, review, or approval. Furthermore, if we submit an application for accelerated approval, there can be no assurance that such application will be accepted or that approval will be granted on a timely basis, or at all. The FDA also could require us to conduct further studies or trials prior to considering our application or granting approval of any type and may require it to have a confirmatory trial to verify the clinical benefit of the product underway and partially or fully enrolled before granting approval. We might not be able to fulfill the FDA’s requirements in a timely manner, which would cause delays, or approval might not be granted because our submission is deemed incomplete by the FDA.
Current report
Even if we receive accelerated approval from the FDA, we will be subject to rigorous post marketing requirements, including the completion of confirmatory post market clinical trials, submission to the FDA of periodic progress reports on confirmatory trials, and submission to the FDA of all promotional materials prior to their dissemination. The FDA could seek to withdraw accelerated approval for multiple reasons, including if we fail to conduct any required post market study with due diligence; a post market study does not confirm the predicted clinical benefit; other evidence shows that the product is not safe or effective under the conditions of use; or if we disseminate promotional materials that are found by the FDA to be false and misleading. Under the Consolidated Appropriations Act for 2023 (the “CAA”), the FDA may use expedited procedures to withdraw any product for which we receive accelerated approval if our confirmatory trials fail to verify the purported clinical benefits.
Current report
A failure to obtain accelerated approval or any other form of expedited development, review or approval for a product candidate that we may choose to develop would delay our commercialization of such product candidate, could increase the cost of development of such product candidate and could harm our competitive position in the marketplace.
Current report
If we apply for orphan drug designation from the FDA, there is no guarantee that we will be able to obtain or maintain this designation, receive this designation for any of our other product candidates, or receive or maintain any corresponding benefits, including periods of exclusivity.
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Removed paragraphs (210)
Previous report
Our business is subject to various risks, including those described below. You should consider the following risk factors, together with all of the other information included in this Report, which could materially adversely affect our proposed operations, our business prospects, and financial condition, and the value of an investment in our business. There may be other factors that are not mentioned here or of which we are not presently aware that could also affect our business operations and prospects.
Previous report
The relative proportion of the Combined Company that AgeX stockholders will own immediately following the closing of the Merger is not adjustable based on the market price of AgeX common stock unless the “Actual Closing Price” of AgeX common stock (determined in accordance with the Merger Agreement) is less than $12.00 per share. If the Actual Closing Price of AgeX common stock is less than $12.00 per share, AgeX has the option to issue additional AgeX common stock to Serina stockholders in the amount necessary to equal the Target Merger Consideration Minimum (as defined in the Merger Agreement), which, in such circumstances, could proportionally decrease the amount of the Combined Company that AgeX stockholders would own immediately following the closing of the Merger. Accordingly, the Merger consideration at the closing of the Merger may have a greater or lesser value than at the time the Merger Agreement was signed.
Previous report
The relative proportion of the Combined Company that AgeX stockholders will own immediately following the closing of the Merger is based on the relative valuations of AgeX and Serina as negotiated by the parties and as specified in the Merger Agreement. At the effective time of the Merger, outstanding shares of Serina common stock will be converted into shares of AgeX common stock. Immediately following the Merger, equity holders of Serina immediately prior to the closing of the Merger are expected to own approximately 75% of the outstanding shares of the common stock of the Combined Company, and equity holders of AgeX immediately prior to the closing of the Merger are expected to own approximately 25% of the outstanding shares of common stock of the Combined Company, in each case, on a pro forma fully diluted basis, subject to certain assumptions and exclusions. It is a closing condition of the Merger that the Actual Closing Price of a share of AgeX common stock is not less than $12.00 per share. However, if the Actual Closing Price of a share of AgeX common stock is less than $12.00 per share, AgeX has the option to satisfy such closing condition by issuing additional AgeX common stock to Serina stockholders in the amount necessary to equal the Target Merger Consideration Minimum (as defined below), which is equal to $12.00 multiplied by the anticipated aggregate number of shares of AgeX common stock to be issued (approximately 7,500,000 shares prior to any such adjustment), and, in such circumstances, AgeX stockholders immediately prior to the closing of the Merger could own a smaller percentage, and Serina stockholders immediately prior to the closing of the Merger could own a larger percentage, of the Combined Company following the closing of the Merger. The exercise of this option would also affect the exchange ratio.
Previous report
In addition, changes in the market price of AgeX common stock before the completion of the Merger may not affect the number of shares Serina stockholders will be entitled to receive pursuant to the Merger Agreement so long as the Actual Closing Price of AgeX common stock is equal to or greater than $12.00 per share. If before the completion of the Merger, the market price of AgeX common stock increases to be greater than $12.00 per share, then Serina stockholders could receive merger consideration with substantially more value for their shares of Serina capital stock than the parties had negotiated when they established the relative ownership proportions of the Combined Company immediately following the closing of the Merger and the exchange ratio.
Previous report
Assessing the value of AgeX and Serina through a relative valuation as opposed to an absolute valuation carries potential risk.
Previous report
The AgeX Board of Directors did not use a dollar or absolute value in determining the relative ownership of AgeX and Serina in the Combined Company. The relative valuations calculated for AgeX and Serina were established based on, among other factors, AgeX’s market capitalization and Serina’s most recent valuation in connection with a capital raise prior to the Merger, AgeX’s and Serina’s operations prior to the Merger, AgeX’s debt accumulated prior to the Merger and consideration of general market conditions for early-stage life sciences companies. Assessing the value of AgeX and Serina through a relative valuation as opposed to an absolute valuation (i.e., a valuation expressed in currency) carries potential risk. If the public markets determine that the relative valuation ascribed to AgeX or Serina is too high or too low, the price of the Combined Company’s common stock may decline following the Merger.
Previous report
Failure to complete the Merger may result in AgeX or Serina paying a termination fee or reimbursement of expenses to the other party and could harm the common stock price of AgeX and AgeX’s future business and operations.
Previous report
If the Merger is not completed, each of AgeX is subject to the following risks:
Previous report
In addition, if the Merger Agreement is terminated and AgeX determines to seek another business combination, there can be no assurance that AgeX will be able to find a partner willing to provide equivalent or more attractive consideration than the consideration to be provided by Serina in the Merger, or any partner at all.
Previous report
If the conditions to the closing of the Merger are not satisfied or waived, the Merger may not occur or the closing of the Merger could be delayed.
Previous report
Even though AgeX and Serina have obtained the approvals of their respective stockholders required for the Merger and the related transactions, specified conditions set forth in the Merger Agreement must be satisfied or, to the extent permitted by applicable law, waived to complete the Merger. There is no assurance that all of the conditions will be satisfied or waived. One of the conditions is that at the time of the Merger AgeX must have on hand $500,000 of immediately spendable nonrestricted cash, net of all payables and other “Liabilities” as defined in the Merger Agreement. In order to meet that condition, AgeX will need to obtain additional cash through a loan or other financing the availability and terms of which cannot be assured. If the conditions are not satisfied or waived, the Merger may not occur or could be delayed, and AgeX may lose some or all of the intended benefits of the Merger.
Previous report
The Merger may be completed even though material adverse changes may result from the announcement of the Merger, industry-wide changes and/or other causes.
Previous report
In general, either AgeX or Serina can refuse to complete the Merger if there is a material adverse effect affecting the other party between August 29, 2023, the date of the Merger Agreement, and the closing of the Merger. However, certain types of effects are excluded from the concept of a “material adverse effect” and do not permit the parties to refuse to complete the Merger, even if such change could be said to have a material adverse effect on AgeX or Serina. Such exclusions included, but are not limited to:
Previous report
If adverse changes occur and AgeX and Serina still complete the Merger, the stock price of the Combined Company following the closing of the Merger may suffer. This in turn may reduce the value of the Merger to the stockholders of AgeX.
Previous report
Some executive officers and directors of AgeX and Serina have interests in the Merger that are different from the respective stockholders of AgeX and Serina and that may influence them to support or approve the Merger without regard to the interests of the respective stockholders of AgeX and Serina.
Previous report
Directors and executive officers of AgeX and Serina may have interests in the Merger that are different from, or in addition to, the interests of other stockholders of AgeX and Serina, respectively. These interests with respect to AgeX’s directors and executive officers include, but are not limited to, the expected continued service of one of the directors of AgeX as a director of the Combined Company following the closing of the Merger, the expected continued employment of one of the executive officers of AgeX as an executive officer of the Combined Company following the closing of the Merger, severance benefits if employment is terminated in a qualifying termination in connection with the Merger and rights to continued indemnification, expense advancement and insurance coverage. These interests with respect to Serina’s directors and executive officers include, but are not limited to, the expected continued service of two of the directors of Serina as directors of the Combined Company following the closing of the Merger, the expected continued employment of three of the executive officers of Serina as executive officers of the Combined Company following the closing of the Merger and rights to continued indemnification and expense advancement.
Previous report
The AgeX Board and Serina Board were aware of and considered such interests, among other matters, in reaching their decisions to approve and adopt the Merger Agreement, approve the Merger and recommend the approval of the Merger Agreement to AgeX and Serina stockholders. These interests, among other factors, may have influenced the directors and executive officers of AgeX and Serina to support or approve the Merger.
Previous report
AgeX stockholders may not realize a benefit from the Merger commensurate with the ownership interest dilution they will experience in connection with the Merger.
Previous report
If the Combined Company is unable to realize the full strategic and financial benefits currently anticipated from the Merger, AgeX stockholders will have experienced substantial dilution of their ownership interests without receiving any commensurate benefit, or only receiving part of the commensurate benefit to the extent the Combined Company is able to realize only part of the strategic and financial benefits currently anticipated from the Merger.
Previous report
If the Merger is not completed, the market price of AgeX common stock may decline significantly.
Previous report
The market price of AgeX common stock is subject to significant fluctuations. Market prices for securities of pharmaceutical, biotechnology and other life science companies have historically been particularly volatile. In addition, the market price of AgeX common stock will likely be volatile based on whether stockholders and other investors believe that AgeX can complete the Merger. The volatility of the market price of AgeX common stock has been and may be exacerbated by low trading volume. Additional factors that may cause the market price of AgeX common stock to fluctuate include, but are not limited to:
Previous report
Moreover, the stock markets in general have experienced substantial volatility that has often been unrelated to the operating performance of individual companies. These broad market fluctuations may also adversely affect the trading price of AgeX common stock. In the past, following periods of volatility in the market price of a company’s securities, stockholders have often instituted class action securities litigation against such companies.
Previous report
The market price of the Combined Company’s common stock following the Merger may decline as a result of the Merger.
Previous report
The market price of the Combined Company’s common stock may decline as a result of the Merger for a number of reasons, including if:
Previous report
AgeX stockholders will have a reduced ownership and voting interest in, and will exercise less influence over the management of, the Combined Company following the closing of the Merger as compared to their current ownership and voting interest in AgeX.
Previous report
Immediately following the closing of the Merger, equity holders of Serina immediately prior to the closing of the Merger are expected to own approximately 75% of the outstanding shares of common stock of the Combined Company, and equity holders of AgeX immediately prior to the closing of the Merger are expected to own, excluding the impact of the exercise of any post-merger warrant or incentive warrant, approximately 25% of the outstanding shares of common stock of the Combined Company, in each case, on a pro forma fully diluted basis, subject to certain assumptions. The exchange ratio formula is based upon a fixed percentage of the post-Merger outstanding shares of the Combined Company common stock, expressed on a fully-diluted and as-converted basis, subject to certain adjustments and exclusions.
Previous report
In addition, the seven-member board of directors of the Combined Company will initially be comprised of (a) Remy Gross, designated by both AgeX and Serina, (b) J. Milton Harris and Steve Ledger, each as a Serina designee, (c) Gregory H. Bailey and Richard Marshall, each as an AgeX designee, and (d) Steven Mintz, as an independent director, until their respective successors are duly elected or appointed and qualified or their earlier death, resignation or removal. The remaining vacancy on the Combined Company Board will be filled by an individual that qualifies as an independent director at a later date. The Chief Financial Officer, the Chief Executive Officer and the Chief Operating Officer of Serina will serve as the Interim Chief Executive Officer, Chief Scientific Officer and Chief Operating Officer and Secretary of the Combined Company, respectively, following the closing of the Merger. The Chief Financial Officer of AgeX will serve as the Interim Chief Financial Officer and Chief Accounting Officer of the Combined Company following the closing of the Merger.
Previous report
Consequently, following the closing of the Merger, the pre-Merger equity holders of AgeX will own a smaller percentage of the Combined Company than their ownership of AgeX prior to the Merger and will be able to exercise less influence over the management and policies of the Combined Company than they currently exercise over the management and policies of AgeX.
Previous report
During the pendency of the Merger Agreement, AgeX may be limited in its ability to enter into a business combination with another party on more favorable terms because of restrictions in the Merger Agreement, which could adversely affect AgeX’s business prospects.
Previous report
Covenants in the Merger Agreement impede the ability of AgeX and Serina to make acquisitions during the pendency of the Merger, subject to specified exceptions. As a result, if the Merger is not completed, AgeX as well as Serina may be at a disadvantage to their competitors during that period. In addition, while the Merger Agreement is in effect, each party is generally prohibited from soliciting, initiating or knowingly encouraging, inducing or facilitating the communication, making, submission or announcement of any acquisition proposal or acquisition inquiry or taking any action that could reasonably be expected to lead to an acquisition proposal or acquisition inquiry regarding transactions involving a third party, including a merger, sale of assets or other business combination, subject to specified exceptions. Any such transactions could be favorable to such party’s stockholders, but the parties may be unable to pursue them.
Previous report
The terms of the Merger Agreement prohibit each of AgeX and Serina from soliciting competing proposals or cooperating with persons making unsolicited takeover proposals, except in limited circumstances. In addition, if AgeX or Serina terminate the Merger Agreement under specified circumstances, AgeX may be required to pay Serina a termination fee of $1,000,000 or up to $1,000,000 in expense reimbursements or Serina may be required to pay AgeX a termination fee of $1,000,000 or up to $1,000,000 in expense reimbursements; provided that neither party will be responsible for payment of more than $1,000,000 in the aggregate. The termination fee or expense reimbursements may discourage third parties from submitting competing proposals to AgeX or AgeX stockholders and may cause the AgeX Board to be less inclined to recommend a competing proposal.
Previous report
Because the lack of a public market for Serina’s capital stock makes it difficult to evaluate the fair market value of Serina’s capital stock, the value of the AgeX common stock to be issued to Serina stockholders may be more or less than the fair market value of Serina common stock.
Previous report
The outstanding capital stock of Serina is privately held and is not traded in any public market. The lack of a public market makes it difficult to determine the fair market value of Serina’s capital stock. Because the percentage of AgeX equity to be issued to Serina stockholders was determined based on negotiations between the parties, it is possible that the value of the AgeX common stock to be received by Serina stockholders will be more or less than the fair market value of Serina’s capital stock.
Previous report
Litigation has been filed but dismissed but and additional litigation could in the future arise in connection with the Merger, against AgeX, the AgeX Board, Serina or the Serina Board, which could be costly, prevent the consummation of the Merger, divert management’s attention and otherwise materially harm AgeX’s, Serina’s or the Combined Company’s business.
Previous report
In the past, securities class action or shareholder derivative litigation has often followed certain significant business transactions, such as the sale of a company or announcement of a merger or any other strategic transaction. AgeX and the AgeX Board has been, and Serina, the Serina Board or the Combined Company may be exposed to such litigation in connection with the Merger and may in the future be exposed to additional litigation even if no wrongdoing occurred. Litigation is usually expensive and diverts management’s attention and resources, which could adversely affect the business and cash resources or either party and the ability of either party to consummate the Merger or the ultimate value the AgeX stockholders receive in from the Merger.
Previous report
If the Merger is not consummated for any reason, litigation could be filed in connection with the failure to consummate the Merger. Any litigation related to the Merger may result in negative publicity or an unfavorable impression of AgeX, which could adversely affect the price of AgeX common stock, impair the ability of AgeX to recruit or retain employees, damage relationships with customers, suppliers, and other business partners, or otherwise materially harm of AgeX’s operations and financial performance.
Previous report
While it is expected that the reduction in the number of outstanding shares of common stock as a result of the Reverse Stock Split will proportionally increase the market price of AgeX common stock, it cannot be assured that the Reverse Stock Split will increase the market price of AgeX common stock by a multiple of the Reverse Stock Split ratio or result in any other permanent or sustained increase in the market price of the Combined Company’s common stock, which is dependent upon many factors, including the Combined Company’s business and financial performance, general market conditions and prospects for future success. Thus, it cannot be assured that the Reverse Stock Split will accomplish any increase in the per-share market price of the Combined Company’s common stock for any meaningful period of time.
Previous report
The Reverse Stock Split may decrease the liquidity of AgeX common stock or the Combined Company’s common stock.
Previous report
Although the AgeX Board believes that the anticipated increase in the market price of the Combined Company’s common stock resulting from the proposed Reverse Stock Split could encourage interest in its common stock and possibly promote greater liquidity for its stockholders, such liquidity could also be adversely affected by the reduced number of shares outstanding after the Reverse Stock Split. The reduction in the number of outstanding shares may lead to reduced trading in and a smaller number of market makers for the Combined Company’s common stock.
Showing the first 40 of 210 passages. Open the source sections for the rest.
Reworded paragraphs (28)
Previous wording
As required under Accounting Standards Update 2014-15, Presentation of Financial Statements-Going Concern (ASC 205-40), we have the responsibility to evaluate whether conditions and/or events raise substantial doubt about our ability to meet our future financial obligations as they become due within one year after the date the financial statements are issued. Based on our most recent projected cash flows, we believe that our cash and cash equivalents and the amount of credit remaining available from Juvenescence under an Amended and Restated Secured Convertible Promissory Note, dated February 14, 2022, as amended on February 9, 2023, November 9, 2023 and February 9, 2024 (the 2022 Secured Note), would not be sufficient to satisfy our anticipated operating and other funding requirements for the next twelve months from the date of filing of this Report. These factors raise substantial doubt regarding our ability to continue as a going concern and the report of our independent registered public accountants accompanying our audited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Report contains a qualification to such effect.
Current wording
As required under Accounting Standards Update 2014-15, Presentation of Financial Statements-Going Concern (ASC 205-40), we have the responsibility to evaluate whether conditions and/or events raise substantial doubt about our ability to meet our future financial obligations as they become due within one year after the date the financial statements are issued. Based on our most recent projected cash flows, we believe that our cash and cash equivalents would not be sufficient to satisfy our anticipated operating and other funding requirements for the next twelve months from December 31, 2024. These factors raise substantial doubt regarding our ability to continue as a going concern. In addition, the report of our independent registered public accountant accompanying our audited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus contains a qualification to such effect.
Previous wording
We have incurred operating losses and negative cash flows since inception and had an accumulated deficit of $131.0 million as of December 31, 2023. We expect to continue to incur operating losses and negative cash flows. Because we will continue to experience operating losses, our ability to continue as a going concern is subject to our ability to obtain necessary capital from outside sources, including obtaining additional capital from the sale of AgeX common stock or other equity securities or assets, obtaining additional loans from financial institutions or investors, and entering into collaborative research and development arrangements or licensing some or all of our patents and know-how to third parties while retaining a royalty and other contingent payment rights related to the development and commercialization of products covered by the licenses. Our continued operating losses, the amount of our debt obligations to Juvenescence and the provisions of our indebtedness agreements with them, including restrictions on the use of loan funds and the security interest they hold in our assets and assets of certain of our subsidiaries, Juvenescence’s ownership of shares of AgeX Preferred Stock, the risks associated with the development of our product candidates and technologies, and our deferral of in-house development of our product candidates and technologies in connection with our reductions in staffing and the closing of our research laboratory facilities, will increase the difficulty in obtaining such capital, and there can be no assurances that we will be able to obtain such capital on favorable terms or at all. If we are unable to raise capital when needed, we may be forced to delay, reduce or eliminate our research and development activities, or ultimately not be able to continue as a going concern.
Current wording
We have incurred operating losses and negative cash flows since inception and had an accumulated deficit of approximately $44.3 million as of December 31, 2024. We expect to continue to incur operating losses and negative cash flows. Our operations have consumed substantial amounts of cash. We will require substantial additional funds to support our continued research and development activities, including the anticipated costs of nonclinical studies and clinical trials, regulatory approvals, and potential commercialization. Additionally, our estimates on future financial needs may be based on assumptions that prove to be wrong, and we may spend our available financial resources much faster than we expect. Because we expect to continue to experience operating losses, our ability to continue as a going concern is subject to our ability to obtain necessary capital from outside sources, including obtaining additional capital from the sale of our capital stock or other equity securities or assets, obtaining additional loans from financial institutions or investors, and entering into collaborative research and development arrangements or licensing some or all of our patents and know-how to third parties while retaining a royalty and other contingent payment rights related to the development and commercialization of products covered by the licenses. Our continued operating losses and the risks associated with the development of our product candidates and technologies have increased the difficulty in obtaining such capital, and there can be no assurances that we will be able to obtain such capital on favorable terms or at all. Furthermore, geopolitical instability, including the ongoing military conflicts between Russia and Ukraine and Israel and Hamas, as well as the impact of inflationary pressures and resulting rise in interest rates, on global financial markets could make the terms of any available financing less attractive to us and more dilutive to our existing stockholders. If we are unable to raise additional capital, we will have to delay, curtail, or eliminate one or more of our research and development programs or ultimately not be able to continue as a going concern. Additionally, raising additional capital may cause dilution to our stockholders.
Current wording
Risks Related to the Development of Our Products
Previous wording
Approval of our product candidates may be delayed or refused for many reasons, including the following:
Current wording
Our clinical trial results may not support either accelerated or regular approval. The results of nonclinical studies and clinical trials may not be predictive of the results of later-stage clinical trials, and product candidates in later stages of clinical trials may fail to show the desired safety and efficacy despite having progressed through nonclinical studies and initial clinical trials. In addition, our product candidates could fail to receive regulatory approval for many reasons, including the following:
Previous wording
Of the large number of potential products in development, only a small percentage successfully complete the FDA or foreign regulatory approval processes and are commercialized. The lengthy approval process as well as the unpredictability of future clinical trial results may result in our failing to obtain regulatory approval to market our product candidates, which would significantly harm our business, results of operations and prospects.
Current wording
Failure to obtain regulatory approval to market any of our product candidates would significantly harm our business, results of operations, and prospects.
Previous wording
The timely completion of clinical trials in accordance with their protocols depends, among other things, on our ability to enroll a sufficient number of patients who remain in the study until its conclusion. We may encounter delays in enrolling, or be unable to enroll, a sufficient number of patients to complete any of clinical trials of our product candidates, and even once enrolled we may be unable to retain a sufficient number of patients to complete the trials. The enrollment of patients depends on many factors, including:
Current wording
We may experience difficulties in patient enrollment in our clinical trials for a variety of reasons. The timely completion of clinical trials in accordance with their protocols depends, among other things, on our ability to enroll a sufficient number of subjects who remain in the trial until its conclusion. We may not be able to initiate or continue conducting clinical trials for our product candidates if we are unable to locate and enroll a sufficient number of eligible subjects to participate in these trials. The enrollment of patients depends on many factors, including:
Previous wording
In addition, clinical trials of our product candidates will compete with other clinical trials for product candidates of other companies that are in the same therapeutic areas as our product candidates, and this competition will reduce the number and types of patients available to us, because some patients who might have opted to enroll in trials of our product candidates may instead opt to enroll in a trial being conducted by one of our competitors. Since the number of qualified clinical investigators is limited, we expect that clinical trials or our product candidates may be conducted at the same clinical trial sites that some of our competitors use, which will reduce the number of patients who are available for our clinical trials in such clinical trial site.
Current wording
In addition, our clinical trials will compete with other clinical trials for product candidates that are in the same therapeutic areas as our product candidates, and this competition will reduce the number and types of patients available to us, because some patients who might have opted to enroll in our trials may instead opt to enroll in a trial being conducted by one of our competitors. Because the number of qualified clinical investigators is limited, we may conduct some of our clinical trials at the same clinical trial sites that some of our competitors use, which will reduce the number of patients who are available for our clinical trials at such clinical trial sites. Moreover, because our product candidates represent a departure from more commonly used methods for disease treatment, potential patients and their doctors may be inclined to use conventional therapies, rather than enroll patients in any future clinical trial.
Previous wording
Serious adverse events or undesirable side effects caused by our product candidates could cause an interruption, delay or halt of clinical trials and could result in a more restrictive label or the delay or denial of regulatory approval by the FDA or other comparable foreign authorities. Results of clinical trials could reveal a high and unacceptable severity and prevalence of side effects, toxicities or unexpected characteristics, including death.
Current wording
As with most new drugs, use of our product candidates could be associated with side effects or adverse events, which can vary in severity from minor reactions to death and in frequency from infrequent to prevalent. Undesirable side effects caused by any potential future product candidate could cause regulatory authorities to interrupt, delay or halt clinical trials and could result in a more restrictive label or the delay or denial of regulatory approval by the FDA or other regulatory authorities. We have not yet completed all clinical trial phases for any of our current product candidates, and it is possible that there will be side effects associated with their use. Results of our clinical trials could reveal a high and unacceptable severity and prevalence of these side effects. In such an event, our trials could be suspended or terminated, and the FDA or other regulatory authorities could order it to cease further development of, or deny approval of, a product candidate for any or all targeted indications. Such side effects could also affect patient recruitment or the ability of enrolled patients to complete the trial or result in potential product liability claims. Any of these occurrences may materially and adversely affect our business and financial condition and impair our ability to generate revenues.
Previous wording
If any of our product candidates receives marketing approval, and we or others later identify undesirable side effects caused by any such product, including during any long-term follow-up observation period recommended or required for patients who receive treatment using our products, a number of potentially significant negative consequences could result, including:
Current wording
If one or more of our product candidates receives marketing approval, and we or others later identify undesirable side effects caused by such products, including during any long term follow up observation period recommended or required for patients who receive treatment using our products, a number of potentially significant negative consequences could result, including:
Previous wording
The regulatory authorities also may, at any time following approval of a product for sale, audit our manufacturing facilities or those of our third-party contractors. If any such inspection or audit identifies a failure to comply with applicable regulations or if a violation of our product specifications or applicable regulations occurs independent of such an inspection or audit, we or the relevant regulatory authority may require remedial measures that may be costly and/or time-consuming for us or a third party to implement and that may include the temporary or permanent suspension of a clinical study or commercial sales or the temporary or permanent closure of a facility. Any such remedial measures imposed upon us or third parties with whom we contract could materially harm our business.
Current wording
Deviations from manufacturing requirements may also require reporting and remedial measures that may be costly and/or time consuming for us or a third party to implement and that may include the temporary or permanent suspension of a clinical trial or commercial sales, if any of our product candidates receives regulatory approval, or the temporary or permanent closure of a facility. Any such remedial measure could materially harm our business. Any delay in obtaining products or product candidates that comply with the applicable regulatory requirements may result in delays to nonclinical studies and clinical trials, or potential product approvals or commercialization. Any such delay may also require that we conduct additional studies.
Previous wording
We do not have the ability to independently conduct clinical trials required to obtain regulatory approvals for our product candidates and intend to rely on third parties to conduct, supervise and monitor our clinical trials.
Current wording
We do not have the ability to conduct all aspects of our clinical trials ourselves and do not currently plan to independently conduct clinical trials. We use third parties, such as CROs, to conduct, supervise, and monitor the clinical trials and will rely upon such CROs, as well as medical institutions, investigators, and consultants, to conduct any future clinical trials that we may conduct in accordance with our protocols and applicable laws and regulations. In addition, we occasionally use third parties to conduct our nonclinical studies. Our CROs, investigators and other service providers play a significant role in the conduct of clinical trials and the subsequent collection and analysis of data from such trials.
Previous wording
Our third-party contractors will not be our employees, and we will not control whether or not they devote sufficient time and resources to our future clinical and nonclinical programs. These third-party contractors may also have relationships with other commercial entities, including our competitors, for whom they may also be conducting clinical trials, or other product development activities which could harm our competitive position. We face the risk of potential unauthorized disclosure or misappropriation of our intellectual property by third-party contractors, which may reduce our trade secret protection and allow our potential competitors to access and exploit our proprietary technology. If our third-party contractors do not successfully carry out their contractual duties or obligations, fail to meet expected deadlines, or if the quality or accuracy of the clinical data they obtain is compromised due to the failure to adhere to our clinical protocols or regulatory requirements or for any other reasons, our clinical trials may be extended, delayed or terminated, and we may not be able to obtain regulatory approval for, or successfully commercialize any product candidate that we develop. As a result, our financial results and the commercial prospects for any product candidate that we develop would be harmed, our costs could increase, and our ability to generate revenues could be delayed.
Current wording
Our service providers are not our employees and, except for remedies available to us under our agreements with such third parties, as a result we will have less control over the timing, quality and other aspects of such nonclinical studies and clinical trials than we would have if we were to conduct them on our own. If these third parties do not successfully carry out their contractual duties to us, meet our expected timelines or conduct our nonclinical studies or clinical trials in accordance with regulatory requirements or our stated protocols, if they need to be replaced or if the quality or accuracy of the data they obtain is compromised due to their failure to adhere to our protocols or applicable regulatory requirements or for other reasons, our trials may need to be repeated, extended, delayed, or terminated. Further, we may not be able to obtain, or may be delayed in obtaining, marketing approvals for our product candidates, we may fail or be delayed in our efforts to successfully commercialize our product candidates, if approved. Such failures may also subject us or our third-party service providers to regulatory enforcement actions. As a result, our results of operations and the commercial prospects for our product candidates could be harmed, our costs could increase and our ability to generate revenues could be delayed. To the extent we are unable to successfully identify and manage the performance of service providers in the future, our business may be materially and adversely affected. Our third-party service providers may also have relationships with other entities, some of which may be our competitors, for whom they may also be conducting trials or other therapeutic development activities that could harm our competitive position.
Previous wording
If our relationship with any third-party contractors terminates, we may not be able to enter into arrangements with alternative third-party contractors or do so on commercially reasonable terms. Switching or adding additional third-party contractors involves substantial cost and requires management time and focus. In addition, there is a natural transition period when a new third party commences work. As a result, delays occur, which can materially impact our ability to meet our desired clinical development timelines. Though we intend to carefully manage our relationships with our third-party contractors, there can be no assurance that we will not encounter challenges or delays in the future or that these delays or challenges will not have an adverse impact on our business, financial condition and prospects.
Current wording
Agreements with third parties conducting or otherwise assisting with our nonclinical studies or clinical trials might terminate for a variety of reasons, including a failure to perform by such parties. If any of our relationships with these third parties terminate, we may not be able to enter into arrangements with suitable alternative providers or do so on commercially reasonable terms. Switching or adding third parties involves additional cost and requires management time and focus. There is also a natural transition period when a new third party commences work. As a result, if we need to enter into alternative arrangements, it could delay our product development activities and adversely affect our business. Although we carefully manage our relationships with our third parties, there can be no assurance that we will not encounter challenges or delays in the future or that these delays or challenges will not have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and prospects, and results of operations.
Previous wording
If we outsource clinical trials, we may be unable to directly control the timing, conduct and expense of our clinical trials. However, we will remain responsible for ensuring that each of our studies is conducted in accordance with the applicable protocol, legal, regulatory and scientific standards and our reliance on the CROs does not relieve us of our regulatory responsibilities.
Current wording
Our reliance on third parties for development activities will reduce our control over these activities. Nevertheless, we are responsible for ensuring that each of our studies is conducted in accordance with the applicable protocol, legal, regulatory, and scientific standards, and our reliance on third parties does not relieve us of our oversight and regulatory responsibilities. For example, we will remain responsible for ensuring that each of our trials is conducted in accordance with the general investigational plan and protocols for that trial. We must also ensure that our nonclinical studies are conducted in accordance with good laboratory practice (“GLP”) requirements, as appropriate. Moreover, the FDA and comparable foreign regulatory authorities require us to comply with established good clinical practice (“GCP”) standards for conducting, recording, and reporting the results of clinical trials to assure that data and reported results are credible and accurate and that the rights, integrity, and confidentiality of trial participants are protected. In addition, our clinical trials must be conducted with product candidates that were produced under cGMP conditions. Regulatory authorities enforce these requirements through periodic inspections of trial sponsors, clinical and nonclinical investigators, manufacturers, and trial sites. If we or any of our third-party service providers fail to comply with applicable regulatory requirements, we or they may be subject to enforcement or other legal actions, the data generated in our trials may be deemed unreliable and the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities may require us to perform additional studies, which may significantly delay our clinical development plans and the regulatory approval process. We cannot assure you that upon inspection by a given regulatory authority, such regulatory authority will determine that we, our third-party service providers, or clinical trial sites are in substantial compliance with the applicable regulatory requirements.
Previous wording
We may also face competition from large and specialty pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, academic research institutions, government agencies and public and private research institutions. Many of our current or potential competitors, either alone or with their collaboration partners, have significantly greater financial resources and expertise in research and development, manufacturing, preclinical testing, conducting clinical trials, obtaining regulatory approvals, and marketing approved products than we do. Mergers and acquisitions in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and gene therapy industries may result in even more resources being concentrated among a smaller number of our competitors. Smaller or early-stage companies may also prove to be significant competitors, particularly through collaborative arrangements with large and established companies. These competitors also compete with us in recruiting and retaining qualified scientific and management personnel and establishing clinical trial sites and patient registration for clinical trials, as well as in acquiring technologies complementary to, or necessary for, our programs. Our commercial opportunity could be reduced or eliminated if our competitors develop and commercialize products that are safer, more effective, have fewer or less severe side effects, are more convenient, or are less expensive than any products that we may develop or that would render any products that we may develop obsolete or non-competitive. Our competitors also may obtain FDA or other regulatory approval for their products more rapidly than we may obtain approval for ours, which could result in our competitors establishing a strong market position before we are able to enter the market. In particular, the Ministry of Labor Health and Welfare in Japan may grant SAKIGAKE designation to a competing product candidate, which is designed to provide for faster review and approval for any such product candidate as compared to the conventional process. If any competing product candidate receives SAKIGAKE designation in Japan, it may be commercialized more quickly in Japan than any of our product candidates. Additionally, technologies developed by our competitors may render our potential product candidates uneconomic or obsolete, and we may not be successful in marketing any product candidates we may develop against competitors.
Current wording
Many of our current or potential competitors, either alone or with their collaboration partners, may have significantly greater financial resources and expertise in research and development, manufacturing, nonclinical testing, conducting clinical trials, obtaining regulatory approvals, and marketing approved products than we do. Mergers and acquisitions in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries may result in even more resources being concentrated among a smaller number of our competitors. Smaller or early-stage companies may also prove to be significant competitors, particularly through collaborative arrangements with large and established companies. These competitors also compete with us in recruiting and retaining qualified scientific and management personnel and establishing clinical trial sites and patient registration for clinical trials, as well as in acquiring technologies complementary to, or necessary for, our programs. Our commercial opportunity could be reduced or eliminated if our competitors develop and commercialize product candidates that are safer, more effective, have fewer or less severe side effects, are more convenient, or are less expensive than the product candidates we may develop or that would render any of our product candidates obsolete or non-competitive. Our competitors also may obtain FDA or other regulatory approval for their product candidates more rapidly than we may obtain approval for our product candidates, which could result in our competitors establishing a strong market position before we are able to enter the market.
Previous wording
Even if a product candidate receives regulatory approval, we will be subject to ongoing regulatory obligations and continued regulatory review, which may result in significant additional expense, and we may be subject to penalties if we fail to comply with regulatory requirements or experience unanticipated problems with our product candidates.
Current wording
Even if we receive regulatory approval of our product candidates, we will be subject to ongoing regulatory obligations and continued regulatory review, which may result in significant additional expense, and we may be subject to penalties if we fail to comply with regulatory requirements.
Previous wording
Enacted and future healthcare legislation, including the ACA, may increase the difficulty and cost of obtaining marketing approval and commercializing our product candidates and may affect the prices we may set.
Current wording
Health care and other reform legislation may increase the difficulty and cost for us and any collaborators we may have to obtain marketing approval of and commercialize our product candidates and affect the prices we, or they, may obtain.
Previous wording
The costs of prescription pharmaceuticals in the United States have also been the subject of considerable debate, and new legislative and administrative measures could be implemented to address such costs. To date, there have been several recent U.S. congressional inquiries and proposed state and federal legislation designed to, among other things, improve transparency in drug pricing, review the relationship between pricing and manufacturer patient programs, reduce the costs of drugs under Medicare, and reform government program reimbursement methodologies for drug products. Under recent legislation, starting in 2023 a manufacturer of a drug or biological product covered by Medicare Parts B or D must pay a rebate to the federal government if the product’s price increases faster than the rate of inflation. This calculation is made on a drug product by drug product basis and the amount of the rebate owed to the federal government is directly dependent on the volume of a drug product that is paid for by Medicare Parts B or D. Additionally, starting in payment year 2026, CMS will negotiate drug prices annually for a select number of single source Part D drugs without generic or biosimilar competition. CMS will also negotiate drug prices for a select number of Part B drugs starting for payment year 2028. If a drug product is selected by CMS for negotiation, it is expected that the revenue generated from such drug will decrease. The pricing of prescription pharmaceuticals is also subject to governmental control outside the United States. In these other countries, pricing negotiations with governmental authorities can take considerable time after the receipt of marketing approval for a product. To obtain reimbursement or pricing approval in some countries, we may be required to conduct a clinical trial that compares the cost effectiveness of our product candidates to other available therapies. If reimbursement of our products is unavailable or limited in scope or amount, or if pricing is set at unsatisfactory levels, our ability to generate revenues and become profitable could be impaired.
Current wording
In August 2022, President Biden signed into the law the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (the “IRA”). Among other things, the IRA has multiple provisions that may impact the prices of drug products that are both sold into the Medicare program and throughout the United States. Starting in 2023, a manufacturer of a drug or biological product covered by Medicare Parts B or D must pay a rebate to the federal government if the product’s price increases faster than the rate of inflation. This calculation is made on a drug product by drug product basis and the amount of the rebate owed to the federal government is directly dependent on the volume of a drug product that is paid for by Medicare Parts B or D. Additionally, starting in payment year 2026, CMS will negotiate drug prices annually for a select number of single source Part D drugs without generic or biosimilar competition. CMS will also negotiate drug prices for a select number of Part B drugs starting for payment year 2028. If a drug product is selected by CMS for negotiation, it is expected that the revenue generated from such drug will decrease.
Previous wording
Misconduct by our employees and independent contractors, including principal investigators, contract research organizations, or CROs, consultants, vendors, and any third parties we may engage in connection with development and commercialization, could include intentional, reckless or negligent conduct or unauthorized activities that violate: (i) the laws and regulations of the FDA, European Medical Agency (EMA) rules and regulations and other similar regulatory requirements, including those laws that require the reporting of true, complete and accurate information to such authorities; (ii) manufacturing standards; (iii) data privacy, security, fraud and abuse and other healthcare laws and regulations; or (iv) laws that require the reporting of true, complete and accurate financial information and data. Specifically, sales, marketing and business arrangements in the healthcare industry are subject to extensive laws and regulations intended to prevent fraud, misconduct, kickbacks, self-dealing and other abusive practices. These laws and regulations may restrict or prohibit a wide range of pricing, discounting, marketing and promotion, sales commission, customer incentive programs and other business arrangements. Activities subject to these laws could also involve the improper use or misrepresentation of information obtained in the course of clinical trials, creation of fraudulent data in preclinical studies or clinical trials or illegal misappropriation of drug product, which could result in regulatory sanctions and cause serious harm to our reputation. It is not always possible to identify and deter misconduct by employees and other third parties, and the precautions we take to detect and prevent this activity may not be effective in controlling unknown or unmanaged risks or losses or in protecting us from governmental investigations or other actions or lawsuits stemming from a failure to comply with such laws or regulations. Additionally, we are subject to the risk that a person or government could allege such fraud or other misconduct, even if none occurred. If any such actions are instituted against us, and we are not successful in defending ourselves or asserting our rights, those actions could have a significant impact on our business and results of operations, including the imposition of significant civil, criminal and administrative penalties, damages, monetary fines, disgorgements, possible exclusion from participation in Medicare, Medicaid, other U.S. federal healthcare programs or healthcare programs in other jurisdictions, individual imprisonment, other sanctions, contractual damages, reputational harm, diminished profits and future earnings, and curtailment of our operations.
Current wording
We are exposed to the risk of fraud or other misconduct by our employees, consultants, and commercial partners, and our principal investigators. Misconduct by these parties could include intentional failures to comply with FDA regulations or the regulations applicable in the European Union and other jurisdictions, provide accurate information to the FDA or other regulatory authorities, comply with health care fraud and abuse laws and regulations in the United States and abroad, report financial information or data accurately, or disclose unauthorized activities to us. In particular, sales, marketing, and business arrangements in the health care industry are subject to extensive laws and regulations intended to prevent fraud, misconduct, kickbacks, self-dealing and other abusive practices. These laws and regulations restrict or prohibit a wide range of pricing, discounting, marketing and promotion, sales commissions, customer incentive programs, and other business arrangements. Such misconduct also could involve the improper use of information obtained in the course of clinical trials or interactions with the FDA or other regulatory authorities, which could result in regulatory sanctions and cause serious harm to our reputation. It is not always possible to identify and deter employee misconduct, and the precautions we take to detect and prevent this activity may not be effective in controlling unknown or unmanaged risks or losses or in protecting us from government investigations or other actions or lawsuits stemming from a failure to comply with these laws or regulations. If any such actions are instituted against us, and we are not successful in defending ourselves or asserting our rights, those actions could have a significant impact on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects, including the imposition of significant fines or other sanctions.
Previous wording
Anti-bribery laws prohibit us, our employees, and some of our agents or representatives from offering or providing any personal benefit to covered government officials to influence their performance of their duties or induce them to serve interests other than the missions of the public organizations in which they serve. Certain commercial bribery rules also prohibit offering or providing any personal benefit to employees and representatives of commercial companies to influence their performance of their duties or induce them to serve interests other than their employers. The FCPA also obligates companies whose securities are listed in the U.S. to comply with certain accounting provisions requiring us to maintain books and records that accurately and fairly reflect all transactions of the corporation, including international subsidiaries, and devise and maintain an adequate system of internal accounting controls for international operations. The anti-bribery provisions of the FCPA are enforced primarily by the United States Department of Justice. The SEC is involved with enforcement of the books and records provisions of the FCPA.
Current wording
The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 (the “FCPA”) prohibits any U.S. individual or business from paying, offering, authorizing payment, or offering of anything of value, directly or indirectly, to any foreign official, political party, or candidate for the purpose of influencing any act or decision of the foreign entity in order to assist the individual or business in obtaining or retaining business. The FCPA also obligates companies whose securities are listed in the United States to comply with certain accounting provisions requiring the company to maintain books and records that accurately and fairly reflect all transactions of the corporation, including international subsidiaries, and to devise and maintain an adequate system of internal accounting controls for international operations. The anti-bribery provisions of the FCPA are enforced primarily by the U.S. Department of Justice. The SEC is involved with enforcement of the books and records provisions of the FCPA.
Previous wording
If we lose one or more of our executive officers or key employees, our ability to implement the Merger and the other transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement or, if the Merger is not completed, our current business strategies successfully could be seriously harmed. Furthermore, replacing executive officers and key employees may be difficult, in particular during the pendency of the Merger, and may take an extended period of time because of the uncertainty about such persons roles following the Merger and the limited number of individuals in our industry with the breadth of skills and experience required to develop, gain regulatory approval of and commercialize product candidates successfully. Competition to hire from this limited pool is intense, and we may be unable to hire, train, retain or motivate these additional key personnel on acceptable terms given the competition among numerous pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies for similar personnel. We also will experience competition for the hiring of scientific and clinical personnel from universities and research institutions. In addition, we will rely on consultants and advisors, including scientific and clinical advisors, to assist us in formulating our research and development and commercialization strategy. Our consultants and advisors may be engaged by entities other than us and may have commitments under consulting or advisory contracts with other entities that may limit their availability to us. If we are unable to continue to attract and retain high quality personnel, our ability to implement the Merger and the other transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement or, if the Merger is not completed, to continue to execute on our current business strategies while seeking out and evaluating potential strategic alternatives with respect to our assets and development programs will be limited.
Current wording
Recruiting and retaining qualified scientific, clinical, manufacturing, business development, general and administrative and sales and marketing personnel will also be critical to our success. We may not be able to attract and retain these personnel on acceptable terms given the competition among numerous pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies for similar personnel. We also experience competition for the hiring of scientific and clinical personnel from universities and research institutions. In addition, we rely on consultants and advisors, including scientific and clinical advisors, to assist us in formulating our research and development and commercialization strategy. Our consultants and advisors may be employed by employers other than us and may have commitments under consulting or advisory contracts with other entities that may limit their availability to us. In addition, inflation has had, and we expect that it will continue to have, an impact on the costs that we incur to attract and retain qualified personnel and may make it more difficult for us to attract and retain such personnel. The inability to recruit, or loss of services of certain executives, key employees, consultants, or advisors, may impede the progress of our research, development, and commercialization objectives and have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects.
Previous wording
Future growth would impose significant additional responsibilities on our management, including the need to identify, recruit, maintain, motivate and integrate additional employees, consultants and contractors. Also, our management may need to divert a disproportionate amount of its attention away from our day-to-day activities and devote a substantial amount of time to managing these growth activities. We may not be able to effectively manage the expansion of our operations, which may result in weaknesses in our infrastructure, give rise to operational mistakes, loss of business opportunities, loss of employees and reduced productivity among remaining employees. Any growth of administrative resources could require significant capital expenditures and may divert financial resources from other projects, such as the development of product candidates. If our management is unable to effectively manage our growth, our expenses may increase more than expected, our ability to generate and/or grow revenues could be reduced, and we may not be able to implement our business strategy. Our future financial performance and our ability to commercialize our product candidates and compete effectively will depend, in part, on our ability to effectively manage any future growth.
Current wording
As a growing biotechnology company, we are actively pursuing new product candidates in many therapeutic areas and across a wide range of diseases. Successfully developing product candidates for and fully understanding the regulatory and manufacturing pathways to all of these therapeutic areas and disease states requires a significant depth of talent, resources, and corporate processes in order to allow simultaneous execution across multiple areas. Due to our limited resources, we may not be able to effectively manage this simultaneous execution and the expansion of our operations or recruit and train additional qualified personnel. This may result in weaknesses in our infrastructure, give rise to operational mistakes, legal or regulatory compliance failures, loss of business opportunities, loss of employees and reduced productivity among remaining employees. The physical expansion of our operations may lead to significant costs and may divert financial resources from other projects, such as the development of our product candidates. If our management is unable to effectively manage our expected development and expansion, our expenses may increase more than expected, our ability to generate or increase our revenue could be reduced, and we may not be able to implement our business strategy. Our future financial performance and our ability to compete effectively and commercialize our product candidates, if approved, will depend in part on our ability to effectively manage the future development and expansion of our company.
Current wording
While we seek to protect our information technology systems from system failure, accident, and security breach, if such an event were to occur and cause interruptions in our operations, it could result in a disruption of our development programs and our business operations, whether due to a loss of our trade secrets or other proprietary information or other disruptions. For example, the loss of clinical trial data from future clinical trials could result in delays in our regulatory approval efforts and significantly increase our costs to recover or reproduce the data. If we were to experience a significant cybersecurity breach of our information systems or data, the costs associated with the investigation, remediation, and potential notification of the breach to counterparties and data subjects could be material. In addition, our remediation efforts may not be successful. If we do not allocate and effectively manage the resources necessary to build and sustain the proper technology and cybersecurity infrastructure, we could suffer significant business disruption, including transaction errors, supply chain or manufacturing interruptions, processing inefficiencies, data loss or the loss of or damage to intellectual property or other proprietary information. In addition, in response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, some of our workforce began to work remotely. This has continued and is now considered normal business. This could increase our cyber security risk, create data accessibility concerns, and make us more susceptible to communication disruption.
Previous wording
Provisions in AgeX’s Certificate of Incorporation (the “AgeX Charter”) and AgeX’s Bylaws and under Delaware law could make an acquisition of our company, which may be beneficial to our stockholders, more difficult and may prevent attempts by our stockholders to replace or remove our current management.
Current wording
Anti-takeover provisions in our governance documents and under Delaware law could make an acquisition of Serina more difficult and may prevent attempts by our stockholders to replace or remove our management.
Previous wording
Failure of our internal control over financial reporting could harm our business and financial results.
Current wording
We are subject to the reporting requirements of the Exchange Act, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the rules and regulations of the NYSE American. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires, among other things, that we maintain effective disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting. We must perform system and process evaluation and testing of our internal control over financial reporting to allow management to report on the effectiveness of our internal controls over financial reporting in our Annual Report on Form 10-K filing for that year, as required by Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. As a private company, Legacy Serina was never required to test its internal controls within a specified period. This will require that we incur substantial professional fees and internal costs to expand our accounting and finance functions and that we expend significant management efforts. We may experience difficulty in meeting these reporting requirements in a timely manner.
Previous wording
Conflicts of interest may arise from our relationship with Juvenescence, which owns a significant percentage of AgeX common stock and is a significant creditor and will be able to substantially influence us and exert control over matters subject to stockholder approval.
Current wording
Conflicts of interest may arise from our relationship with Juvenescence, which will own a significant percentage of our common stock as well as warrants to purchase additional shares of our common stock and will be able to substantially influence the Company and exert control over matters subject to stockholder approval.
Previous wording
As of March 5, 2024, Juvenescence beneficially owned approximately 81.1% of the outstanding shares of AgeX common stock, as Juvenescence indicated in its amendment of the Schedule 13D filed with the SEC on March 7, 2024, include both outstanding shares owned and shares that may be acquired upon the exercise of certain warrants and conversion of convertible debt. A member of the AgeX Board is also the Executive Chairman and Co-Founder of Juvenescence, and based on Juvenescence’s ownership of shares of AgeX common stock, if the Merger is not consummated, Juvenescence will continue to substantially influence us and exert control over matters subject to stockholder approval, the elections of directors, approval of our equity incentive plans, amendments to our organizational documents, or approval of any merger, amalgamation, sale of assets or other major corporate transaction. Furthermore, because Juvenescence holds more than 50% of the outstanding AgeX common stock, AgeX qualifies as a “controlled company” as defined by the NYSE American Company Guide. Being a “controlled company” entitles AgeX to exempt itself from the requirement that a majority of its directors be “independent” directors as defined in the NYSE American Company Guide, and that the Compensation Committee and the Nominating & Corporate Governance Committee be comprised entirely of independent directors.
Current wording
One member of our Board is the Executive Chairman and Co-Founder of Juvenescence and another member of our Board is the Chief Executive Officer of Juvenescence. Based on Juvenescence’s ownership of shares of our common stock, Juvenescence will be able to substantially influence us and exert control over matters subject to stockholder approval, the elections of directors, approval of our equity incentive plans, amendments to our organizational documents, or approval of any merger, amalgamation, sale of assets or other major corporate transaction.
Previous wording
Juvenescence’s interests may not always coincide with our corporate interests or the interests of other stockholders, and it may exercise its voting and other rights, including rights as a creditor, in a manner with which other stockholders may not agree or that may not be in the best interests of AgeX or stockholders other than Juvenescence. So long as Juvenescence continues to own a significant amount of our equity and remains a significant creditor, it will continue to be able to strongly influence and effectively control our decisions. While the directors elected by Juvenescence will be obligated to act in accordance with their fiduciary duty, they may have equity or other interests in Juvenescence and, accordingly, their interests may be aligned with Juvenescence’s interests, which may not always coincide with our corporate interests or the interests of our other stockholders.
Current wording
Juvenescence’s interests may not always coincide with our corporate interests or the interests of our other stockholders, and we may exercise our voting and other rights in a manner with which other stockholders may not agree or that may not be in our best interests or the best interests of our stockholders other than Juvenescence. So long as Juvenescence owns a significant amount of our equity, it will be able to strongly influence our decisions. While the directors affiliated with Juvenescence will be obligated to act in accordance with their fiduciary duty, they may have equity or other interests in Juvenescence and, accordingly, their interests may be aligned with Juvenescence’s interests, which may not always coincide with our corporate interests or the interests of our other stockholders.
Rearranged previous paragraphs (3)
Previous report — wording carried elsewhere
Risks Related to Our Relationship with Juvenescence
Previous report — wording carried elsewhere
It is not always possible to identify and deter violations, and the precautions we take to detect and prevent this activity may not be effective in controlling unknown or unmanaged risks or losses or in protecting us from governmental investigations or other actions or lawsuits stemming from a failure to be in compliance with such laws or regulations.
Previous report — wording carried elsewhere
Success in selling any pharmaceutical and cell-based products and medical devices that we may develop may depend in part on the extent to which health insurance companies, health maintenance organizations (HMOs), and government health administration authorities such as Medicare and Medicaid will pay for the cost of the products and related treatment. Until a new product is introduced into the medical marketplace, we will not know with certainty whether adequate health insurance, HMO, and government coverage will be available to permit the product to be sold at a price high enough for us to generate a profit. In some foreign countries, pricing or profitability of health care products is subject to government control, which may result in low prices for our products. Provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 may impact the prices of drug products that are sold in the United States, particularly through Medicare programs. Starting in 2023, a manufacturer of a drug or biological product covered by Medicare Parts B or D must pay a rebate to the federal government if the product’s price increases faster than the rate of inflation. This calculation is made on a drug product by drug product basis and the amount of the rebate owed to the federal government is directly dependent on the volume of a drug product that is paid for by Medicare Parts B or D. Additionally, starting in payment year 2026, CMS will negotiate drug prices annually for a select number of single source Part D drugs without generic or biosimilar competition. CMS will also negotiate drug prices for a select number of Part B drugs starting for payment year 2028. If a drug product is selected by CMS for negotiation, it is expected that the revenue generated from such drug will decrease. There have been a number of other federal and state proposals to implement similar government controls, and new proposals are likely to be made in the future. We cannot be sure that coverage and reimbursement in the United States, the EU or elsewhere will be available for our product candidates or any product that we may develop, and any reimbursement that may become available may be decreased or eliminated in the future.