RenovoRx (RNXT) Risk Factors

Our certificate of incorporation requires that, unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware will, to the fullest extent permitted by law, be the sole and exclusive forum for each of the following: - any derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf;         - any action asserting a claim for breach of any fiduciary duty owed by any director, officer or other employee of ours to the Company or our stockholders, creditors, or other constituents;         - any action asserting a claim against us or any director or officer of ours arising pursuant to, or a claim against us or any of our directors or officers, with respect to the interpretation or application of any provision of, the DGCL, our certificate of incorporation, or bylaws; or         - any action asserting a claim governed by the internal affairs doctrine;provided that if and only if the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware dismisses any of the foregoing actions for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, any such action or actions may be brought in another state court sitting in the State of Delaware. The exclusive forum provision is limited to the extent permitted by law, and it will not apply to claims arising under the Exchange Act or for any other federal securities laws which provide for exclusive federal jurisdiction. Furthermore, Section 22 of the Securities Act creates concurrent jurisdiction for federal and state courts over all such Securities Act actions. Accordingly, both state and federal courts have jurisdiction to entertain such claims. To prevent having to litigate claims in multiple jurisdictions and the threat of inconsistent or contrary rulings by different courts, among other considerations, our second amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that the federal district courts of the United States of America will be the exclusive forum for resolving any complaint asserting a cause of action arising under the Securities Act. While the Delaware courts have determined that such choice of forum provisions are facially valid, a stockholder may nevertheless seek to bring such a claim arising under the Securities Act against us, our directors, officers, or other employees in a venue other than in the federal district courts of the United States of America. In such instance, we would expect to vigorously assert the validity and enforceability of the exclusive forum provisions of our second amended and restated certificate of incorporation. Although we believe this provision benefits us by providing increased consistency in the application of Delaware law in the types of lawsuits to which it applies, this provision may limit or discourage a stockholder's ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for disputes with us or our directors, officers or other employees, which may discourage such lawsuits against us and our directors, officers and other employees. Alternatively, if a court were to find the choice of forum provision contained in our certificate of incorporation to be inapplicable or unenforceable in an action, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such action in other jurisdictions, which could adversely affect our business and financial condition. We note that there is uncertainty as to whether a court would enforce the provision and that investors cannot waive compliance with the federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder. Although we believe this provision benefits us by providing increased consistency in the application of Delaware law in the types of lawsuits to which it applies, the provision may have the effect of discouraging lawsuits against our directors and officers.

The following is a summary of principal factors and uncertainties that make investing in shares of our common stock risky and impact our ability to execute on our business strategy include risks regarding the following. This summary is not exhaustive, and readers are therefore encouraged to review the "Risk Factors" section and the "Risk Factors" section in our 2023 Annual Report in their entirety: - We are a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, have a limited operating history and have no drug/device combination products approved for commercial sale, which makes it difficult to evaluate our current business and predict our future success and viability.         - We have incurred significant net losses in each period since inception, and we expect to continue to incur net losses for the foreseeable future.         - We will need to raise substantial additional capital to develop and fully commercialize RenovoGem and/or RenovoCath, and our failure to obtain funding when needed may force us to delay, reduce or eliminate our product development programs or collaboration efforts. As a result, there is substantial doubt about our ability to operate as a going concern.         - We may consider strategic alternatives in order to maximize stockholder value, including financing, strategic alliances, and licensing arrangements, particularly in connection with our proposal commercialization of RenovoCath should we utilize a commercial collaboration. We may not be able to identify or consummate any suitable strategic alternatives and any consummated strategic alternatives may not be successful.         - Our product candidates' commercial viability remains subject to current and future preclinical studies, clinical trials, regulatory approvals, and the risks generally inherent in the development of a pharmaceutical product candidate. If we are unable to successfully advance or develop our product candidates, our business will be materially harmed.         - If we do not achieve our projected development goals in the timeframes we announce and expect, our stock price may decline.         - Our product candidates may exhibit undesirable side effects when used alone or in combination with other approved pharmaceutical products or investigational new drugs, which may delay or preclude further development or regulatory approval or limit their use if approved.         - If the results of preclinical studies or clinical trials for our product candidates are negative, we could be delayed or precluded from the further development or commercialization of our product candidates, which could materially harm our business.         - If we are unable to satisfy any applicable regulatory requirements, we may not be able to commercialize our product candidates.         - If our product candidates are unable to compete effectively with marketed drugs targeting similar indications as our product candidates, our commercial opportunity will be reduced or eliminated.         - We may delay or terminate the development of our product candidates at any time if we believe the perceived market or commercial opportunity does not justify further investment, which could materially harm our business.         - Our future success depends on our ability to retain our key personnel and to attract, retain, and motivate qualified personnel, especially in light of an acute workforce shortage and hyper-competitive compensation environment.         - If we are unable to protect our intellectual property effectively, we may be unable to prevent third parties from using our technologies, which would impair our competitive advantage.         - The patents issued to us may not be broad enough to provide any meaningful protection, one or more of our competitors may develop more effective technologies, designs, or methods without infringing our intellectual property rights and one or more of our competitors may design around our proprietary technologies.         - The market price of our common stock may be volatile and fluctuate substantially, which could result in substantial losses for our investors.         - We issued a large number of shares of common stock and warrants to purchase common stock in connection with our 2024 financing activities. Substantial future sales of such shares of our common stock could cause the market price of our common stock to decline or have other adverse effects on our company.

As of December 31, 2023, we had cash and cash equivalents of $1.2 million. Due to our recurring operating losses and the expectation that we will continue to incur net losses in the future, we will be required to raise additional capital to complete the development and commercialization of our product candidates. We have historically financed our operations primarily through private sales of our equity, debt financing and the sale of common stock and warrants in our initial public offering ("IPO"). To raise additional capital, we may seek to sell additional equity and/or debt securities, obtain a credit facility or other loan or enter into collaborations, licenses or other similar arrangements, which we may not be able to do on favorable terms, or at all. For example, we have filed an omnibus shelf registration statement on Form S-3 that provides for aggregate offerings of up to $50 million of our securities subject to various limitations, including limited sales in any twelve-month period while we are subject to the "baby-shelf" rules. On April 3, 2023, we completed the Registered Direct Offering under our shelf registration statement on Form S-3 for the purchase and sale of 1,557,632 shares of our common stock (or pre-funded common stock warrants) at a purchase price of $3.21 per share of common stock (or pre-funded common stock warrants) to a certain institutional investor. Additionally, in a concurrent private placement, we issued to the investor unregistered warrants to purchase up to 1,947,040 shares of our common stock. The aggregate gross proceeds from the March 2023 Offering were approximately $5 million before deducting placement fees and other offering expenses. We also have filed a registration statement on Form S-1 to register the cash exercise of our outstanding warrants, with such cash exercise only expected to occur when the trading price of our common stock is in excess of the $10.80 per share exercise price of our outstanding warrants. On January 26, 2024, we completed a private placement to 92 accredited investors with gross proceeds of $6.1 million. The private placement included issuing 6,133,414 shares of our common stock including 6,133,414 million common stock warrants, expiring five years from the date, January 26, 2024, to purchase additional common shares. In connection with the private placement, we entered into a placement agent agreement, as additional compensation to the placement agent, and issued 511,940 common stock warrants expiring five years from the settlement date. Our ability to obtain additional financing will be subject to a number of factors, including market conditions, fluctuations in interest rates, our operating performance and investor sentiment. If we are unable to raise additional capital when required or on acceptable terms, we may have to significantly delay, scale back or discontinue the development and/or commercialization of our product candidates, restrict or cease our operations or obtain funds by entering into agreements on unfavorable terms. Failure to obtain additional capital on acceptable terms, or at all, would result in a material and adverse impact on our operations. As a result, there is substantial doubt about our ability to operate as a going concern and we estimate that our current capital resources will be sufficient to fund our operating expenses and capital expenditure requirements through the fourth quarter of 2024. Our financial statements as of December 31, 2023 have been prepared on a going concern basis and do not include any adjustments that may result from the outcome of this uncertainty. If we fail to raise additional working capital, or do so on commercially unfavorable terms, it would materially and adversely affect our business, prospects, financial condition and results of operations, and we may be unable to continue as a going concern. As a result, there is substantial doubt about our ability to operate as a going concern. If we seek additional financing to fund our business activities in the future and there remains substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern, investors or other financing sources may be unwilling to provide additional funding to us on commercially reasonable terms, if at all. If we are unable to continue as a going concern, we might have to liquidate our assets and the value we receive for our assets in liquidation or dissolution could be significantly lower than the values reflected in our financial statements, and our shareholders may lose their entire investment in our common stock.

We are a small company with less than 10 employees. The future growth of our company will impose significant additional responsibilities on members of management, including the need to identify, attract, retain, motivate and integrate highly skilled personnel. We may increase the number of employees in the future depending on the progress of our development and commercialization of our product candidates. Our future financial performance and our ability to commercialize our product candidates and to compete effectively will depend, in part, on our ability to manage any future growth effectively. To that end, we must be able to: - manage our clinical studies effectively;         - integrate additional and future management, administrative, manufacturing, sales and marketing, and regulatory personnel;         - maintain sufficient administrative, accounting and management information systems and controls; and         - hire and train additional qualified personnel. There is no guarantee that we will be able to accomplish these tasks, and our failure to accomplish any of them could materially adversely affect our business, prospects, and financial condition.

Existing regulatory policies may change, and additional government regulations may be enacted that could prevent, limit or delay regulatory approval of our product candidates. We cannot predict the likelihood, nature or extent of government regulation that may arise from future legislation or administrative action, either in the United States or abroad. If we are slow or unable to adapt to changes in existing requirements or the adoption of new requirements or policies, or if we are not able to maintain regulatory compliance, we may lose any marketing approval that we may have obtained and we may not achieve or sustain profitability. In the United States and foreign jurisdictions, there have been, and continue to be, a number of legislative and regulatory changes and proposed changes to the healthcare system that could affect our future results of operations. In particular, there have been and continue to be a number of initiatives at the federal and state levels in the United States that seek to reduce healthcare costs. In 2010, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (the "PPACA") was enacted, which includes measures to significantly change the way healthcare is financed by both governmental and private insurers. Among the provisions of the PPACA of greatest importance to the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry are the following: - an annual, nondeductible fee on any entity that manufactures or imports certain branded prescription drugs and biologic agents, apportioned among these entities according to their market share in certain government healthcare programs;- implementation of the federal physician payment transparency requirements, sometimes referred to as the "Physician Payments Sunshine Act";         - a licensure framework for follow-on biologic products;         - a new Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute to oversee, identify priorities in, and conduct comparative clinical effectiveness research, along with funding for such research;         - establishment of a Center for Medicare Innovation at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to test innovative payment and service delivery models to lower Medicare and Medicaid spending, potentially including prescription drug spending;         - an increase in the statutory minimum rebates a manufacturer must pay under the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program, to 23.1% and 13% of the average manufacturer price for most branded and generic drugs, respectively and capped the total rebate amount for innovator drugs at 100% of the AMP;         - a new methodology by which rebates owed by manufacturers under the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program are calculated for certain drugs and biologics, including our product candidates, that are inhaled, infused, instilled, implanted or injected;- extension of manufacturers' Medicaid rebate liability to covered drugs dispensed to individuals who are enrolled in Medicaid managed care organizations;         - expansion of eligibility criteria for Medicaid programs by, among other things, allowing states to offer Medicaid coverage to additional individuals and by adding new mandatory eligibility categories for individuals with income at or below 133% of the federal poverty level, thereby potentially increasing manufacturers' Medicaid rebate liability;         - a new Medicare Part D coverage gap discount program, in which manufacturers must agree to offer 50% point-of-sale discounts off negotiated prices of applicable brand drugs to eligible beneficiaries during their coverage gap period, as a condition for the manufacturer's outpatient drugs to be covered under Medicare Part D; and         - expansion of the entities eligible for discounts under the Public Health program. Since its enactment, there remain judicial and Congressional challenges to certain aspects of the PPACA. For example, in June 2021 the U.S. Supreme Court held that Texas and other challengers had no legal standing to challenge the PPACA, dismissing the case on procedural grounds without specifically ruling on the constitutionality of the PPACA. Thus, the PPACA will remain in effect in its current form. In addition, other legislative changes have been proposed and adopted since the PPACA was enacted. These changes include aggregate reductions to Medicare payments to providers of up to 2% per fiscal year pursuant to the Budget Control Act of 2011, which began in 2013 due to subsequent legislative amendments will remain in effect through 2032, with the exception of a temporary suspension implemented under various COVID-19 relief legislation. Moreover, there has recently been heightened governmental scrutiny over the manner in which drug manufacturers set prices for their marketed products, which has resulted in several Congressional inquiries and proposed and enacted federal and state legislation designed to, among other things, bring more transparency to product pricing, review the relationship between pricing and manufacturer patient programs, and reform government program reimbursement methodologies for drug products. For example, under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, effective January 1, 2024, the statutory cap on Medicaid Drug Rebate Program rebates that manufacturers pay to state Medicaid programs will be eliminated. Elimination of this cap may require pharmaceutical manufacturers to pay more in rebates than it receives on the sale of products, which could have a material impact on our business. In August 2022, Congress passed the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, which includes prescription drug provisions that have significant implications for the pharmaceutical industry and Medicare beneficiaries, including allowing the federal government to negotiate a maximum fair price for certain high-priced single source Medicare drugs, imposing penalties and excise tax for manufacturers that fail to comply with the drug price negotiation requirements, requiring inflation rebates for all Medicare Part B and Part D drugs, with limited exceptions, if their drug prices increase faster than inflation, and redesigning Medicare Part D to reduce out-of-pocket prescription drug costs for beneficiaries, among other changes. Various industry stakeholders, including certain pharmaceutical companies and industry interest groups, have initiated lawsuits against the federal government asserting that the price negotiation provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act are unconstitutional. The impact of these judicial challenges and future legislative, executive, and administrative actions and any agency rules on us and the pharmaceutical industry as a whole is unclear. The implementation of cost containment measures or other healthcare reforms may prevent us from being able to generate revenue, attain profitability, or commercialize our product candidates if approved. Complying with any new legislation and regulatory changes could be time-intensive and expensive, resulting in a material adverse effect on our business. Individual states have become increasingly aggressive in passing legislation and implementing regulations designed to control pharmaceutical product pricing, including price or patient reimbursement constraints, discounts, restrictions on certain product access, and marketing cost disclosure and transparency measures, and to encourage importation from other countries and bulk purchasing. Legally mandated price controls on payment amounts by third-party payors or other restrictions could harm our business, results of operations, financial condition and prospects. In addition, regional healthcare authorities and individual hospitals are increasingly using bidding procedures to determine what pharmaceutical products and which suppliers will be included in their prescription drug and other healthcare programs. This could reduce the ultimate demand for our products or put pressure on our product pricing, which could negatively affect our business, results of operations, financial condition and prospects. In addition, given recent federal and state government initiatives directed at lowering the total cost of healthcare, Congress and state legislatures will likely continue to focus on healthcare reform, the cost of prescription drugs and biologics and the reform of the Medicare and Medicaid programs. While we cannot predict the full outcome of any such legislation, it may result in decreased reimbursement for drugs and biologics, which may further exacerbate industry-wide pressure to reduce prescription drug prices. This could harm our ability to generate revenue. Further, a number of states are considering or have recently enacted state drug price transparency and reporting laws that could substantially increase our compliance burdens and expose us to greater liability under such state laws once we begin commercialization. Increases in importation or re-importation of pharmaceutical products from foreign countries into the United States could put competitive pressure on our ability to profitably price our products, which, in turn, could adversely affect our business, results of operations, financial condition and prospects. We might elect not to seek approval for or market our products in foreign jurisdictions in order to minimize the risk of re-importation, which could also reduce the revenue we generate from product sales. It is also possible that other legislative proposals having similar effects will be adopted. Furthermore, regulatory authorities' assessment of the data and results required to demonstrate safety and efficacy can change over time and can be affected by many factors, such as the emergence of new information, including on other products, changing policies and agency funding, staffing and leadership. We cannot be sure whether future changes to the regulatory environment will be favorable or unfavorable to our business prospects. For example, average review times at the FDA for marketing approval applications can be affected by a variety of factors, including budget and funding levels and statutory, regulatory and policy changes.

The use of any of our existing or future product candidates in clinical trials and the sale of any approved pharmaceutical products may expose us to significant product liability claims. We have product liability insurance coverage for our proposed clinical trials; however, such insurance coverage may be inadequate and may not protect us against any or all of the product liability claims that may be brought against us now or in the future. We may not be able to acquire or maintain adequate product liability insurance coverage at a commercially reasonable cost or in sufficient amounts or scope to protect us against potential losses. In the event a product liability claim is brought against us, we may be required to pay legal and other expenses to defend the claim, as well as uncovered damage awards resulting from a claim brought successfully against us. In the event that any of our product candidates are approved for sale by the FDA and commercialized, we may need to substantially increase the amount of our product liability coverage. Defending any product liability claim or claims could require us to expend significant financial and managerial resources, which could have a material adverse effect on our business.

Due to regulatory restrictions inherent in an IND or NDA, or for economic reasons, various steps in the manufacture of any of our product candidates may need to be sole-sourced. We currently obtain our RenovoCath delivery system, subject to requirements under the QSR, from a single supplier. In accordance with cGMP regulations and QSR, changing manufacturers may require the re-validation of manufacturing processes and procedures, and may require further preclinical studies or clinical trials to show comparability between the materials produced by different manufacturers, and further regulatory review and approval. Changing our current or future contract manufacturers may be difficult for us and could be costly, which could result in our inability to manufacture our product candidate for an extended period of time and therefore a delay in the development of any of our product candidates. While we intend to find alternative suppliers to mitigate the risk, our efforts may not be successful. Further, to maintain our development timelines in the event of a change in our third-party contract manufacturer, we may incur significantly higher costs to manufacture any of our product candidates.

Our estimates of the potential market opportunity for RenovoGem and our other product candidates include several key assumptions based on our industry knowledge, industry publications, third-party research reports and other surveys, including surveys commissioned by us. These assumptions include the size of our target populations, the prevalence and incidence of each of our target indications, the number of patients receiving current treatment, the percentage of patients unsatisfied with the current treatments, the number of diagnosed but untreated patients, the compliance and adherence of patients in our target populations, the number of treatment centers and prescribing physicians and the percentage of payer acceptance. While we believe that our internal assumptions are reasonable, if any of these assumptions proves to be inaccurate, then the actual market for our product candidates could be smaller than our estimates of our potential market opportunity. If the actual market for any of our product candidates is smaller than we expect, our product revenue may be limited, and it may be more difficult for us to achieve or maintain profitability.

If our product candidates are approved for commercial sale by the FDA or other regulatory authorities, the degree of market acceptance of any approved product by physicians, healthcare professionals and third-party payors and our profitability and growth will depend on a number of factors, including: - demonstration of safety and efficacy;         - perceived advantages of our product candidates over alternative treatments;         - the indications for which the product candidates are approved and the labeling approved by regulatory authorities for use with the product candidates, including any warnings, limitations or contraindications contained in a product's approved labeling;         - approval of other new therapies for the same indications;         - acceptance by physicians and patients of the product candidate as a safe and effective treatment;         - the cost, safety and efficacy of treatment in relation to alternative treatments, including generic versions of the product candidates;         - the extent to which our product candidates are included on formularies of hospitals and managed care organizations;         - changes in the practice guidelines and the standard of care for the targeted indication;         - relative convenience and ease of administration;         - the prevalence and severity of any adverse side effects;         - budget impact of adoption of our product on relevant drug formularies and the availability, cost, and potential advantages of alternative treatments, including less expensive generic drugs;         - pricing, reimbursement, and cost effectiveness, which may be subject to regulatory control;         - effectiveness of our or any of our partners' sales and marketing strategies;         - the product labeling or product insert required by the FDA or regulatory authority in other countries; and         - the availability of adequate third-party insurance coverage or reimbursement. If any product candidate that we develop does not provide a treatment regimen that is as beneficial as, or is perceived as being as beneficial as, the current standard of care or otherwise does not provide patient benefit, that product candidate, if approved for commercial sale by the FDA or other regulatory authorities, likely will not achieve market acceptance. Our ability to effectively promote and sell any approved products will also depend on pricing and cost-effectiveness, including our ability to produce a product at a competitive price and our ability to obtain sufficient third-party coverage or reimbursement. If any product candidate is approved but does not achieve an adequate level of acceptance by physicians, patients and third-party payors, our ability to generate revenues from that product would be substantially reduced. In addition, our efforts to educate the medical community and third-party payors on the benefits of our product candidates may require significant resources, may be constrained by FDA rules and policies on product promotion, and may never be successful.

The United States has recently experienced historically high levels of inflation. If the inflation rate continues to increase, for example due to increases in the costs of labor and supplies, it will affect our expenses, such as employee compensation and research and development charges. Additionally, the United States is experiencing an acute workforce shortage, which in turn, has created a very competitive wage environment that may increase the Company's operating costs. To the extent inflation results in rising interest rates and has other adverse effects on the market, it may adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.

A significant natural disaster, such as an earthquake, fire, flood, hurricane, or significant power outages, water shortages and the risks associated with climate change could have an adverse impact on our business, results of operations, and financial condition. Our employees and executive officers are located in the San Francisco Bay Area, a region known for seismic activity, drought, and wildfires, and the resultant air quality impacts and power outages associated with such wildfires. In addition, acts of terrorism, public health emergencies, protests, riots, and the increasing frequency and impact of extreme weather events on critical infrastructure in the U.S. and elsewhere have the potential to disrupt our business and the business of our third-party suppliers, and may cause us to experience higher attrition, losses, and additional costs to maintain or resume operations. All of the aforementioned risks may be further increased if our course of action in response to catastrophic events proves to be inadequate. For example, if a catastrophic event occurred that prevented us from using all or a significant portion of our facility, that damaged critical infrastructure, such as the manufacturing facilities of our third-party contract manufacturers, or that otherwise disrupted operations, it may be difficult or, in certain cases, impossible for us to continue our business for a substantial period of time. Any disaster recovery and business continuity plan we have in place may prove inadequate in the event of a serious disaster or similar event and we may incur substantial expenses as a result of the limited nature of these plans, which could have a material adverse effect on our business. In February 2022, armed conflict escalated between Russia and Ukraine which led to various sanctions by the U.S. and other countries against Russia. Furthermore, ongoing war and instability in Israel and the surrounding region that commenced in October 2023 have added to global geopolitical unrest. It is not possible to predict the broader consequences of these conflicts, which could include further sanctions, embargoes, regional instability, prolonged periods of higher inflation, geopolitical shifts, and adverse effects on macroeconomic conditions, currency exchange rates, and financial markets, all of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.