ProKidney (PROK) Risk Factors

As of December 31, 2023, we had approximately 163 full-time employees. As our clinical development and commercialization plans and strategies develop, and as we transition into operating as a public company, we will need to expand our managerial, clinical, regulatory, manufacturing, sales, marketing, financial, development and legal capabilities or contract with third parties to provide these capabilities for us. As our operations expand, we expect that we will need to manage additional relationships with various strategic collaborators, suppliers and other third parties. Our future growth would impose significant added responsibilities on members of management, including: - identifying, recruiting, integrating, maintaining and motivating additional employees;- managing our development and commercialization efforts effectively, including the clinical and FDA review process for REACT and any other product candidates, while complying with our contractual obligations to contractors and other third parties; and - improving our operational, financial and management controls, reporting systems and procedures. Our ability to continue to develop and, if approved, commercialize REACT will depend, in part, on our ability to effectively manage any future growth. Our management may also have to divert a disproportionate amount of its attention away from day-to-day activities in order to devote a substantial amount of time to managing these growth activities. We currently rely, and for the foreseeable future will continue to rely, in substantial part on certain independent organizations, advisors and consultants to provide certain services. There can be no assurance that the services of independent organizations, advisors and consultants will continue to be available to us on a timely basis when needed, or that we can find qualified replacements. In addition, if we are unable to effectively manage our outsourced activities or if the quality, accuracy or quantity of the services provided is compromised for any reason, our clinical trials may be extended, delayed or terminated, and we may not be able to obtain, or may be substantially delayed in obtaining, regulatory approval of REACT or any of our future product candidates or otherwise advance our business. There can be no assurance that we will be able to manage our existing consultants or find other competent outside contractors and consultants on economically reasonable terms, or at all. If we are not able to effectively expand our organization by hiring new employees and expanding our groups of consultants and contractors, we may not be able to successfully implement the tasks necessary to further develop and commercialize REACT or any other product candidates and, accordingly, may not achieve our research, development and commercialization goals.

Our research programs may initially show promise in identifying potential product candidates, yet fail to yield product candidates for clinical development for a number of reasons, including: - our inability to design such product candidates with the pharmacological properties that we desire or attractive pharmacokinetics;- our inability to design and develop a suitable manufacturing process; or - potential product candidates may, on further study, be shown to have harmful side effects or other characteristics that indicate that they are unlikely to be medicines that will receive marketing approval and achieve market acceptance. Research programs to identify new product candidates require substantial technical, financial and human resources. If we are unable to identify suitable compounds for clinical development, we will not be able to obtain product revenue in future periods, which likely would result in significant harm to our financial position.

We have conducted additional clinical trials for REACT in the Asia-Pacific region, European Union, and Latin America, and may in the future continue to conduct clinical trials outside the United States, including in South America, Australia, New Zealand, or other foreign jurisdictions. The acceptance of data from clinical trials conducted outside the United States by the FDA may be subject to certain conditions or may be rejected. In cases where data from clinical trials conducted outside the United States are intended to serve as the sole basis for marketing approval in the United States, the FDA will generally not approve the application on the basis of foreign data alone unless: (i) the data are applicable to the United States population and United States medical practice; (ii) the trials were performed in compliance with GCP by clinical investigators of recognized competence; and (iii) the data may be considered valid without the need for an on-site inspection by the FDA or, if the FDA considers such an inspection to be necessary, the FDA is able to validate the data through an on-site inspection or other appropriate means. Additionally, the FDA's clinical trial requirements, including sufficient size of patient populations and statistical powering, must be met. Many foreign regulatory bodies have similar approval requirements. In addition, such foreign clinical trials would be subject to the applicable local laws of the foreign jurisdictions where the trials are conducted. There can be no assurance that the FDA or any similar foreign regulatory authority will accept data from clinical trials conducted outside of the United States or the applicable jurisdiction. If the FDA or any similar foreign regulatory authority does not accept such data, it would result in the need for additional clinical trials, which would be costly and time-consuming and delay aspects of our business plan, and which may result in REACT not receiving approval or clearance for commercialization in the applicable jurisdiction.

Because we have limited financial and management resources, we must focus on development programs and product candidates that we identify for specific indications. As such, we are only focused on the development of REACT for the treatment of CKD and CAKUT. As a result, we may forego or delay pursuit of opportunities with other product candidates or for other indications for these product candidates that later prove to have greater commercial potential. Our resource allocation decisions may cause us to fail to capitalize on viable commercial products or profitable market opportunities. Our spending on current and future development programs and product candidates for specific indications may not yield any commercially viable products. If we do not accurately evaluate the commercial potential or target market for a particular product candidate, we may relinquish valuable rights to that product candidate through collaboration, licensing or other royalty arrangements in cases in which it would have been more advantageous for us to retain sole development and commercialization rights to such product candidate.

We intend to evaluate regulatory strategies that could enable us to take advantage of expedited development pathways for REACT, including the RMAT designation that we have already received, although we cannot be certain that REACT will qualify for any additional expedited development pathways or that regulatory authorities will grant, or allow us to maintain, the relevant designations. RMAT designation is intended to expedite the development and review of product candidates that are designed to treat serious or life-threatening diseases and unmet need when "preliminary clinical evidence indicates that a product candidate may demonstrate substantial improvement over existing therapies on one or more clinically significant endpoints, such as substantial treatment effects observed early in clinical development." The designation of REACT with expedited designation provides potential benefits that include: more frequent meetings with FDA to discuss the development plan for the product candidate and ensure collection of appropriate data needed to support approval; more frequent written correspondence from FDA about such things as the design of the proposed clinical trials and use of biomarkers; intensive guidance on an efficient cell therapy program, beginning as early as Phase 1; organizational commitment involving senior managers; and eligibility for rolling review and priority review if supported by clinical data at the time of the submission of the BLA. Cell and gene therapies, therapeutic tissue engineered products, human cell and tissue products, and combination products using any such therapies or products that are intended to treat, modify, reverse, or cure a serious or life-threatening disease or condition are eligible for designation by the FDA as RMATs. The RMAT designation is intended to facilitate efficient development and expedite review of regenerative medicine therapies by offering eligibility for priority review or accelerated approval, as well as early interactions with FDA to discuss any potential surrogate or intermediate endpoint to be used to support accelerated approval. We applied for RMAT designation for REACT, which was granted by the FDA on October 28, 2021. As contemplated by the RMAT designation and as directed by the FDA, we requested a comprehensive, multidisciplinary Type B meeting with the FDA to review the status of preclinical and clinical development and manufacturing of REACT, and to discuss the planned clinical program intended to support approval of the product candidate. The FDA provided detailed written responses to our questions included in the meeting request, and the Type B meeting was held in March 2022. As a result of that meeting, we will continue to advance the clinical development program for REACT in the United States with the benefit of enhanced clarity as to the FDA's expectations and requirements for a registrational program, including the design of the trials needed for approval, manufacturing assays, and comparability studies. The FDA's input is more fully set forth under the heading "Phase 3 Clinical Development (REGEN-006 and REGEN-016)" in the section titled "Part I-Item 1, Business." Even though we obtained RMAT designation in October 2021, such a designation does not change the standards for product approval, and there is no assurance that this designation will result in expedited review or approval or that the approved indication will not be narrower than the indication covered by RMAT designation. Thus, even though RMAT designation was granted for REACT, we may not experience a faster development process, review or marketing approval compared to conventional FDA procedures. The FDA may withdraw RMAT designation if it believes that the product no longer meets the qualifying criteria. It is also possible that the FDA could provide further input on our trial design, in which case our timelines to completion of the clinical development of REACT could be delayed. Our business may be harmed if we are unable to avail ourselves of these or any other expedited development and regulatory pathways.

Administration of autologous cell therapies is patient-specific and personalized medicine. The process requires careful handling of patient-specific products and fail-safe tracking to ensure that the tracking process is without error and that patient samples are tracked from patient collection, through manufacturing and re-administration to the same patient. While such mechanisms are in place, should the tracking process fail, whether at our own facility, a third-party facility or at any point in the manufacturing process and supply chain, a patient could receive another patient's SRC, resulting in significant toxicity and potentially patient fatality. We will need to invest in enhanced systems, such as bar coding and electronic chain of identity and chain of custody systems to further ensure fail-safe tracking. There is always a risk of a failure in any such system. Inability to develop or adopt an acceptable fail-safe tracking methodology and handling regime may delay or prevent us from receiving regulatory approval and/or result in significant toxicity and potentially patient fatality if a patient receives another patient's SRC. This risk may be increased where autologous cell therapies are used in clinical trials that we do not control or sponsor and, should an error be made in the administration of our autologous cell therapies in such clinical trials, this could affect the steps required in our own clinical trials and manufacturing process requiring the addition of further tracking mechanisms to ensure fail-safe tracking. The tracking systems required to further ensure safe patient administration may also require enhanced procedures and administration to satisfy other regulatory requirements, for example, data protection requirements in Europe. The need to ensure tracking systems are adequate and to comply with these additional regulatory requirements may result in delay to the start of clinical trials or the need to obtain additional regulatory licenses or consents prior to starting such trials.

From time to time, we may estimate the timing of the accomplishment of various scientific, clinical, regulatory, manufacturing and other product development goals, which we sometimes refer to as milestones. These milestones may include the commencement or completion of clinical trials and the submission of regulatory filings, including IND submissions. From time to time, we may publicly announce the expected timing of some of these milestones. All of these milestones are, and will be, based on a variety of assumptions. The actual timing of these milestones can vary significantly compared to our estimates, in some cases for reasons beyond our control. We may experience numerous unforeseen events during, or as a result of, any future clinical trials that we conduct that could delay or prevent our ability to receive marketing approval or commercialize REACT or any of our future product candidates.

Successful and timely completion of clinical trials will require that we enroll a sufficient number of patients. Patient enrollment, a significant factor in the timing of clinical trials, is affected by many factors, including the size and nature of the patient population and competition for patients eligible for our clinical trials with competitors which may have ongoing clinical trials for product candidates that are under development to treat the same indications as one or more of our product candidates, or approved products for the conditions for which we are developing our product candidates. Clinical trials may be subject to delays as a result of patient enrollment taking longer than anticipated or greater than anticipated subject withdrawal. We may not be able to initiate or continue clinical trials for REACT or our future product candidates if we are unable to locate and enroll a sufficient number of eligible patients to participate in these trials as required by the FDA or foreign regulatory authorities. We cannot predict how successful we will be at enrolling subjects in future clinical trials. The enrollment of patients depends on many factors, including: - the patient eligibility and exclusion criteria defined in the protocol;- the size and demographics of the patient population required for analysis of the clinical trial's primary endpoints and the process for identifying patients;- the proximity of subjects to clinical trial sites;- the design of the trial;- our ability to recruit clinical trial investigators with the appropriate competencies and experience;- clinicians' and patients' perceptions as to the potential advantages and risks of the product candidate being studied in relation to other available therapies, including any new products that may be approved for the indications we are investigating;- the availability of competing commercially available therapies and other competing product candidates' clinical trials;- our ability to obtain and maintain clinical trial subject informed consents; and - the risk that subjects enrolled in clinical trials will drop out of the trials before completion. For example, we are initially developing REACT for the treatment of CKD due to diabetes or congenital anomalies of the kidney and urinary tract. In the United States, CKD is estimated to affect over 38 million adults. We have and may continue to encounter difficulties enrolling subjects in our clinical trials of REACT due, in part, to the stringent inclusion criteria for subjects, the novelty of the treatment modality and the fact that it involves a physically invasive procedure. In addition, our clinical trials compete with other clinical trials for product candidates that are in the same therapeutic areas as REACT, and this competition has and may continue to 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. Since the number of qualified clinical investigators is limited, we expect to conduct some of our clinical trials at the same clinical trial sites that some of our competitors use, which may reduce the number of patients who are available for our clinical trials in such clinical trial site. Our inability to enroll a sufficient number of patients for clinical trials would result in significant delays and could require us to abandon one or more clinical trials altogether. Delays in patient enrollment have and may continue to result in increased costs and have and may continue to affect the timing or outcome of our future clinical trials, which could prevent completion of these trials and adversely affect our ability to advance the development of REACT or any of our future product candidates. Furthermore, we expect to rely on CROs and clinical trial sites to ensure the proper and timely conduct of our clinical trials and we will have limited influence over their performance. Furthermore, due to the follow-up period and maximum study duration of five years (60 months) and the requirement for on-site visits, subjects may drop out of our clinical trials at a higher rate than we anticipate or may elect to participate in alternative clinical trials sponsored by our competitors with product candidates that treat the same indications as REACT and any future product candidates. Even if we are able to enroll a sufficient number of subjects for our clinical trials, we may have difficulty maintaining enrollment of such subjects in our clinical trials. In addition, Congress recently amended the FDCA to require sponsors of a Phase 3 clinical trial, or other "pivotal study" of a new drug or biologic to support marketing authorization, to design and submit a diversity action plan for such clinical trial. The action plan must describe appropriate diversity goals for enrollment, as well as a rationale for the goals and a description of how the sponsor will meet them. Our Phase 3 REGEN-006 and REGEN-016 were initiated before this requirement became effective, but for any future Phase 3 trials we plan to conduct, we must submit a diversity action plan to the FDA by the time we submit plans for such Phase 3, or pivotal study, protocol to the agency for review as part of an IND, unless we are able to obtain a waiver for some or all of the requirements for a diversity action plan. It is unknown at this time how the diversity action plan may affect the planning and timing of any future Phase 3 trial for our product candidates or what specific information FDA will expect in such plans. However, initiation of such trials may be delayed if the FDA objects to our proposed diversity action plans for any future Phase 3 trial for our product candidates, and we may experience difficulties recruiting a diverse population of subjects in attempting to fulfill the requirements of any approved diversity action plan.

The conduct of a Phase 3 clinical trial is a complicated process. Although members of our management team have conducted Phase 3 clinical trials in the past while employed at other companies, we as a company are currently conducting our first Phase 3 development program, and as a result may require more time and incur greater costs than we anticipate. Failure to include the correct treatment regimen, complete, or delays in, our Phase 3 clinical trials could prevent us from or delay us in commencing future clinical trials for REACT, obtaining regulatory approval of and commercializing REACT, which would adversely impact our financial performance. In addition, some of our competitors are currently conducting clinical trials for product candidates that treat the same indications as REACT, and patients who are otherwise eligible for our clinical trials may instead enroll in clinical trials of our competitors' product candidates.

We have disclosed interim analyses of certain ongoing clinical trials and may continue to disclose publicly interim or topline data from its nonclinical studies and clinical trials in the future. These interim updates will be based on a preliminary analysis of then-available data, and the results and related findings and conclusions will be subject to change following a more comprehensive review of the data related to the particular study or trial. We will be required to make assumptions, estimations, calculations and conclusions as part of our analyses of data, and we may not have received or had the opportunity to fully and carefully evaluate all data. As a result, the interim or topline results that we may report might differ from future results of the same studies or trials, or different conclusions or considerations may qualify such results, once additional data have been received and fully evaluated. Interim and topline data will remain subject to audit and verification procedures that may result in the final data being materially different from the data we previously published. As a result, any interim or topline data should be viewed with caution until the final data are available. Interim data from clinical trials that we may complete will be subject to the risk that one or more of the clinical outcomes may materially change as patient enrollment continues and more patient data becomes available. 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 and us in general. In addition, the information we choose to publicly disclose regarding a particular study or clinical trial is based on what is typically extensive information, investors or others may not agree with what we determine is 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 product candidate or our business. If the interim or 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 candidate may be harmed, which could harm our business, operating results, prospects or financial condition.

Our product candidate, REACT, is in clinical development, and its risk of failure is high. The clinical trials, manufacturing and marketing of REACT or any of our future product candidates, if approved, are and will continue to be subject to extensive and rigorous review and regulation by numerous government authorities in the United States and in other countries where we intend to test and market REACT and any of our future product candidates. Before obtaining regulatory approvals for the commercial sale of REACT or any of our future product candidates, we must demonstrate through lengthy, complex and expensive testing and clinical trials that our product candidates are both safe and effective for use in each target indication. In particular, because REACT is subject to regulation as a biological product, we will need to demonstrate that it is safe, pure and potent for use in its target indication and lacks latent untoward cell effects. REACT and any other product candidate we may develop must demonstrate an adequate risk versus benefit profile in its intended patient population and for its intended use. The process of administration of REACT involves taking a small biopsy of tissue from the kidney. The risks associated with a biopsy include bleeding, pain, hematoma, or bruising, scarring, and infarcts, or loss of blood supply resulting in loss of function. Clinical testing is expensive and can take many years to complete, and its outcome is inherently uncertain. In particular, the general approach for FDA approval of a new therapeutic modality can include dispositive data from two adequate well-controlled clinical trials of the relevant product in the relevant patient population. Our Phase 3 development program may involve one to two thousand patients, have significant costs and take years to complete. A product candidate can fail at any stage of testing, even after observing promising signals of activity in earlier nonclinical studies or clinical trials. The outcome of nonclinical studies and early clinical trials of REACT and our future product candidates may not be predictive of the success of the Phase 3 registrational development program, and interim results of a clinical trial do not necessarily predict final results. In addition, initial success in clinical trials may not be indicative of results obtained when such trials are completed. There is typically an extremely high rate of attrition from the failure of product candidates proceeding through clinical trials. Product candidates in later stages of clinical trials may fail to show the desired safety and efficacy profile despite having progressed through nonclinical studies and initial clinical trials. A number of companies in the biopharmaceutical industry have suffered significant setbacks in advanced clinical trials due to lack of efficacy or unacceptable safety issues, notwithstanding promising results in earlier trials. Most product candidates that commence clinical trials are never approved as therapeutic products and there can be no assurance that any of our future clinical trials will ultimately be successful or support further clinical development of REACT or any of our future product candidates. Product candidates and delivery methods for cellular therapeutics and tissue engineered products that appear promising in the early phases of development may fail to reach the market for several reasons, including: - nonclinical or preclinical studies or clinical trials may show the product candidates to be less effective than expected (e.g., a clinical trial could fail to meet its primary endpoint(s)) or to have unacceptable side effects or toxicities associated with the product or delivery method;- failure to establish clinical endpoints that applicable regulatory authorities would consider clinically meaningful and relevant;- failure to receive the necessary regulatory approvals;- manufacturing costs, formulation issues, pricing or reimbursement issues, mechanism of action, logistical constraints or other factors that make a product candidate uneconomical; and - the proprietary rights of others and their competing products and technologies that may prevent one of our product candidates from being commercialized. In addition, differences in trial design between early-stage clinical trials and later-stage clinical trials make it difficult to extrapolate the results of earlier clinical trials to later clinical trials. Moreover, clinical data are often susceptible to varying interpretations and analyses, and many companies that have believed their product candidates performed satisfactorily in clinical trials have nonetheless failed to obtain marketing approval of their products. Additionally, our earlier stage trials are open-label studies, where both the subject and investigator know whether the subject is receiving REACT or standard of care therapy. Most typically, open-label clinical trials test only the investigational product candidate and sometimes do so at different dose levels. Open-label clinical trials are subject to various limitations and biases that may exaggerate any therapeutic effect as subjects in open-label clinical trials are aware when they are receiving treatment. In addition, open-label clinical trials may be subject to an "investigator bias" where those assessing and reviewing the physiological outcomes of the clinical trials are aware of which subjects have received treatment and may interpret the information of the treated group more favorably given this knowledge. Given that our earlier stage trials include an open-label dosing design, while we believe our trials utilize objective assessment measures for measuring our endpoints and therefore are unlikely to be influenced in any manner by subject or investigator bias, it is unknown whether the open-label design may not be predictive of future clinical trial results with this or other product candidates for which we conduct an open-label clinical trial when studied in a controlled environment or with only objective endpoints. Furthermore, the standards that the FDA and comparable foreign regulatory authorities use when regulating REACT require judgment and may change over time, which makes it difficult to predict with certainty how they will be applied. Any analysis we perform of data from nonclinical and clinical activities is subject to validation and interpretation by regulatory authorities, which could delay, limit or prevent regulatory approval. We may also encounter unexpected delays or increased costs due to new government regulations. Examples of such regulations include future legislation or administrative action, or changes in FDA policy during the period of product development and FDA regulatory review. Specifically, some countries, such as China, have enacted or are considering enacting restrictions on the import and export of human genetic materials, cells and tissues. Such laws and regulations could impair our ability to import and export human cells and cell-based therapies, which could have a material adverse impact on our business. We cannot predict whether legislative changes will be enacted, whether FDA or foreign regulations, guidance or interpretations will be changed, or what the impact of such changes, if any, may be. The FDA may also require a panel of experts, referred to as an Advisory Committee, to deliberate on the adequacy of the safety and efficacy data to support approval. The opinion of the Advisory Committee, although not binding, may have a significant impact on our ability to obtain approval of any product candidates that we develop. To date, we have not completed any pivotal trials required for the approval of REACT. We may experience delays in conducting any clinical trials, need to be redesigned, recruit and enroll subjects on time or be completed on schedule, or at all. Clinical trials can be delayed suspended or terminated for a variety of reasons, including in connection with: - delays in sufficiently developing, characterizing, standardizing or controlling a manufacturing process and quality criteria suitable for advanced clinical trials;- delays in developing suitable assays for screening patients for eligibility for trials with respect to certain product candidates;- delays in reaching agreement with the FDA, EMA or other regulatory authorities as to the design or implementation of our clinical trials;- obtaining additional regulatory authorizations to conduct future clinical trials;- reaching agreements on acceptable terms with additional/future clinical trial sites or prospective CROs, the terms of which can be subject to extensive negotiation and may vary significantly among different clinical trial sites;- obtaining IRB or Ethics Committee approval at each additional/future trial site;- recruiting suitable patients to participate in a clinical trial;- having subjects complete a clinical trial or return for post-treatment follow-up;- inspections of clinical trial sites or operations by applicable regulatory authorities, or the imposition of a clinical hold;- clinical sites, CROs or other third parties deviating from trial protocol or dropping out of a trial;- failure to perform in accordance with the applicable regulatory requirements, including FDA's GCP requirements, or applicable regulatory requirements in other countries;- addressing patient safety concerns that arise during the course of a trial, including occurrence of adverse events associated with the product candidate or the delivery procedure that are viewed to outweigh its potential benefits;- adding a sufficient number of clinical trial sites;- manufacturing sufficient quantities of a product candidate for use in clinical trials;- disruptions in our supply chain, which could result in improper storage, transport or development conditions for our product components, whose treatment is time-sensitive and temperature-sensitive and which are patient-specific; or - interruption of our manufacturing processes, which could lead to our inability to properly administer treatment. We may experience numerous unforeseen events during, or as a result of, clinical trials that could delay or prevent our ability to receive marketing approval or commercialize REACT or any of our future product candidates or significantly increase the cost of such trials, including: - changes in regulatory requirements or guidance, or receive feedback from regulatory authorities that requires us to modify the design of our clinical trials;- clinical trials of REACT or our future product candidates may produce negative or inconclusive results, and we may decide, or regulators may require us, to conduct additional clinical trials or abandon development programs;- the number of subjects required for clinical trials of REACT or our future product candidates may be larger than we anticipate, enrollment in these clinical trials may be slower than we anticipate or subjects may drop out of these clinical trials at a higher rate than we anticipate;- our third-party contractors may fail to comply with regulatory requirements or meet their contractual obligations to us in a timely manner, or at all;- we or our investigators might have to suspend or terminate clinical trials of REACT or our future product candidates for various reasons, including non-compliance with regulatory requirements, a finding that REACT or our future product candidates have undesirable side effects or other unexpected characteristics, or a finding that the subjects are being exposed to unacceptable health risks;- the cost of clinical trials of REACT or our future product candidates may be greater than we anticipate and we may not have funds to cover the costs;- the supply or quality of REACT or our future product candidates or other materials necessary to conduct clinical trials of our product candidates may be insufficient or inadequate;- regulators may revise the requirements for approving REACT or our future product candidates, or such requirements may not be as we anticipate; and - any future collaborators that conduct clinical trials may face any of the above issues, and may conduct clinical trials in ways they view as advantageous to them but that are suboptimal for us. If we are required to conduct additional clinical trials or other testing of REACT or any of our future product candidates beyond those that we currently contemplate, if we are unable to successfully complete clinical trials of REACT or our future 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: - incur unplanned costs;- be delayed in obtaining marketing approval for REACT or any of our future product candidates or not obtain marketing approval at all;- obtain marketing approval in some countries and not in others;- obtain marketing approval for indications or patient populations that are not as broad as intended or desired;- obtain marketing approval with labeling that includes significant use or distribution restrictions or safety warnings, including boxed warnings or REMS;- be subject to additional post-marketing testing requirements;- be subject to changes in the way the product is administered; or - have regulatory authorities withdraw or suspend their approval of the product or to impose restrictions on its distribution after obtaining marketing approval. We could encounter delays if a clinical trial is suspended or terminated by us, by the IRBs of the institutions in which such trials are being conducted, by the DSMB for such trial or by the FDA or other regulatory authorities. Such authorities may impose such a suspension or termination 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 REACT or one of our future product candidates, changes in governmental regulations or administrative actions or lack of adequate funding to continue the clinical trial. REACT, our lead product candidate, will require extensive clinical testing before we are prepared to submit a BLA or MAA for regulatory approval. We cannot predict with any certainty if or when we might complete the clinical development for REACT and submit a BLA or MAA for regulatory approval of REACT or whether any such BLA or MAA will be approved. We may also seek feedback from the FDA, EMA or other regulatory authorities on our clinical development program, and the FDA, EMA or such regulatory authorities may not provide such feedback on a timely basis, or such feedback may not be favorable, which could further delay our development programs. We are currently conducting clinical trials in foreign countries, as well as in the United States. If we continue to seek to conduct clinical trials in foreign countries or pursue marketing approvals in foreign jurisdictions, we must comply with numerous foreign regulatory requirements governing, among other things, the conduct of clinical trials, manufacturing and marketing authorization, pricing and third-party reimbursement. The foreign regulatory approval process varies among countries and may include all of the risks associated with FDA approval described above as well as risks attributable to the satisfaction of local regulations in foreign jurisdictions. Moreover, the time required to obtain approval from foreign regulatory agencies may differ from that required to obtain FDA approval. Approval by the FDA does not ensure approval by regulatory authorities outside the United States and vice versa. Successful completion of clinical trials is a prerequisite to submitting a marketing application to the FDA and similar marketing applications to comparable foreign regulatory authorities, for each product candidate and, consequently, the ultimate approval and commercial marketing of any product candidates. We may experience negative or inconclusive results, which may result in our deciding, or our being required by regulators, to conduct additional clinical studies or trials or abandon some or all of our product development programs, which could have a material adverse effect on our business.

The clinical trial requirements of the FDA, the EMA, and other regulatory authorities and the criteria these regulators use to determine the safety and efficacy of a product candidate vary substantially according to the type, complexity, novelty, and intended use and market of the potential products. The regulatory approval process for product candidates such as ours can be more expensive and take longer than for other, better known, or more extensively studied pharmaceutical or other product candidates. Regulatory requirements in the United States and in other countries governing cell therapy products are evolving and the FDA or other regulatory bodies may change the requirements, or identify different regulatory pathways, for approval for REACT or any of our future product candidates. For example, the FDA has established the Office of Tissues and Advanced Therapies within the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research ("CBER") to consolidate the review of cell therapy and related products, and has established the Cellular, Tissue and Gene Therapies Advisory Committee to advise CBER in its review when called upon. It is possible that over time new or different divisions may be established or be granted the responsibility for regulating cell therapy products, including regenerative cell-based products, such as ours. Further, additional regulatory involvement from FDA advisory bodies, including the Cardio-Renal Advisory Committee, may delay review or make additional recommendations requiring further investigation. As a result, we may be required to change our regulatory strategy or to modify our applications for regulatory approval, which could delay and impair our ability to complete the non-clinical and clinical development and manufacture of, and obtain regulatory approval for, REACT or any future product candidates. Changes in regulatory authorities and advisory groups, or any new requirements or guidelines they promulgate, may lengthen the regulatory review process, require us to perform additional studies, increase our development and manufacturing costs, lead to changes in regulatory pathways, positions and interpretations, delay or prevent approval and commercialization of REACT or any future product candidates or lead to significant post-approval limitations or restrictions. We have concentrated our research and development efforts on utilizing regenerative renal cell-based therapies. To date, the FDA has approved a relatively small number of cell-based therapies for commercialization, and no regenerative renal-based cell therapy has been approved for commercial use by any regulatory authority. The processes and requirements imposed by the FDA or other applicable regulatory authorities may cause delays and additional costs in obtaining approvals for marketing authorization for REACT or any future product candidates. Because our platform is novel, and cell-based therapies are relatively new, regulatory agencies may lack experience in evaluating product candidates like REACT. This novelty may lengthen the regulatory review process, including the time it takes for the FDA to review our IND applications if and when submitted, increase our development costs and delay or prevent commercialization of REACT. Additionally, advancing novel CKD therapies creates significant challenges for us, including: - educating medical personnel regarding the potential side-effect profile of REACT and, as the clinical development program progresses, on observed side effects with REACT;- training medical personnel on the proper use and delivery of REACT;- enrolling sufficient numbers of subjects in clinical trials; and - continuing to develop a manufacturing process to support the clinical development of REACT. We must be able to overcome these challenges in order for us to develop, commercialize and manufacture REACT. As we advance REACT, we will be required to consult with the FDA and other regulatory authorities, and REACT will likely be reviewed by an FDA advisory committee. We also must comply with applicable requirements, and if we fail to do so, we may be required to delay or discontinue development of REACT. Delays or unexpected costs in obtaining, or the failure to obtain, the regulatory approval necessary to bring a potential product to market could impair our ability to generate sufficient product revenues to maintain our business. In addition, adverse developments in preclinical studies or clinical trials conducted by others in the field of cell therapy products may cause the FDA, the EMA, and other regulatory bodies to revise the requirements for approval of any product candidates we may develop, and may otherwise negatively affect our ability to develop and commercialize REACT or future product candidates. Similarly, the European Commission may issue new guidelines concerning the development and marketing authorization for cell therapies and require that we comply with these new guidelines, which could require additional studies or clinical trials to support the marketing approval of REACT or any product candidates we may develop in the future or which could make our product candidates unable to successfully obtain approval. The regulatory review committees and advisory groups described above and the new guidelines they promulgate may lengthen the regulatory review process, require us to perform additional studies or clinical trials, increase our development costs, lead to changes in regulatory positions and interpretations, delay or prevent approval and commercialization of these treatment candidates, or lead to significant post-approval limitations or restrictions. As we advance our research programs and develop future product candidates, we will be required to consult with these regulatory and advisory groups and to comply with applicable guidelines. If we fail to do so, we may be required to delay or discontinue development of any product candidates we identify and develop.

We currently have no products that are approved for commercial sale and may never be able to develop marketable products. REACT, our lead product candidate, is in Phase 3 clinical development. We cannot offer any assurances or predict with any certainty that such Phase 3 clinical development will be successfully completed, that positive clinical data will be obtained from such Phase 3 clinical development efforts or that regulatory authorities will grant marketing approval for REACT, in any such case on the expected timelines. Furthermore, regulatory approvals for REACT, even if obtained, may limit the type of patients in which REACT may be used for CKD or otherwise require specific warning or labeling language, each of which may reduce the commercial potential of REACT. Even if approved, we might not be successful in commercializing REACT. Should we fail to obtain regulatory approvals for REACT or fail to successfully commercialize REACT upon such regulatory approvals, our business and financial condition could be materially harmed and we may be more heavily dependent on the success of our other therapeutic programs. As an organization, we have not previously conducted any later stage or pivotal clinical trials, have limited experience in preparing, submitting and pursuing regulatory filings and have not previously submitted a BLA for any product candidate. Before we can generate any revenue from sales of our lead product candidate, REACT, or any of our future product candidates, we must complete clinical development, regulatory review and approval in one or more jurisdictions. We also need to obtain substantial additional funding to support our continuing operations and pursue our growth strategy. In addition, if REACT or any of our future product candidates is approved, we must ensure access to sufficient commercial manufacturing capacity and conduct significant marketing efforts in connection with any commercial launch. These efforts will require substantial investment, and we may not have the financial resources to continue development of REACT or any of our future product candidates. We may experience setbacks that could delay or prevent regulatory approval of, or our ability to commercialize, REACT and any of our future product candidates, including: - negative or inconclusive results from our clinical trials or positive results from the clinical trials of others for product candidates similar to ours leading to their approval, leading to a decision or requirement to conduct additional preclinical testing or clinical trials or to abandon a program;- product-related side effects or adverse events experienced by patients or subjects in our clinical trials or by individuals using medicines or therapeutics that we, the FDA, other regulators or others view as relevant to the development of REACT or any of our future product candidates;- delays in submitting INDs or comparable foreign applications or delays or failure in obtaining the necessary approvals from regulators to commence a clinical trial, or a suspension or termination of a clinical trial once commenced;- conditions imposed by the FDA or comparable foreign authorities regarding the scope or design of our clinical trials, including our clinical endpoints, and any requirement for additional confirmatory trials;- delays in enrolling subjects in clinical trials and completion of clinical trials, including under the FDA's GCPs, the guidelines from International Conference on Harmonization ("ICH Guidelines"), GLP, and cGTPs;- inability to maintain compliance with regulatory requirements, including cGMPs, and complying effectively with other procedures;- high drop-out rates of subjects from clinical trials;- inadequate supply or quality of REACT or our future product candidates or other materials necessary for the conduct of our clinical trials;- greater than anticipated clinical trial costs;- inability to compete with other therapies;- poor efficacy of REACT or our future product candidates during clinical trials;- trial results taking longer than anticipated;- trials being subjected to fraud or data capture failure or other technical mishaps leading to the invalidation of our trial results;- the results of our trials not supporting application for conditional approval in the European Union, the Asia-Pacific region, and Latin America;- unfavorable FDA or other regulatory agency inspection and review of a clinical trial site;- failure of our third-party contractors or investigators to comply with regulatory requirements or otherwise meet their contractual obligations in a timely manner, or at all;- delays and changes in regulatory requirements, policy and guidelines, including the imposition of additional regulatory oversight around clinical development generally or with respect to our technology in particular;- varying interpretations of data by the FDA and similar foreign regulatory agencies;- the completion of Health Technology Assessment ("HTA") procedures with governmental authorities;- any policy level review of REACT by CMS;- the financing on our other ongoing or future programs;- evolving scientific discovery and technology of cell-based therapies and bioprocessing; or - obsolescence of manufacturing automation which could require a re-design of parts or equipment to ensure quality replacement component, the delays of which could cause significant delays in manufacturing and loss of sales. We do not have complete control over many of these factors, including certain aspects of clinical development and the regulatory submission process, potential threats to our intellectual property rights and our manufacturing, marketing, distribution and sales efforts or that of any future collaborator.