Public companies are required to disclose risks that can affect the business and impact the stock. These disclosures are known as “Risk Factors”. Companies disclose these risks in their yearly (Form 10-K), quarterly earnings (Form 10-Q), or “foreign private issuer” reports (Form 20-F). Risk factors show the challenges a company faces. Investors can consider the worst-case scenarios before making an investment. TipRanks’ Risk Analysis categorizes risks based on proprietary classification algorithms and machine learning.
Lucy Scientific Discovery Inc disclosed 85 risk factors in its most recent earnings report. Lucy Scientific Discovery Inc reported the most risks in the “Finance & Corporate” category.
Risk Overview Q4, 2023
Risk Distribution
34% Finance & Corporate
22% Legal & Regulatory
19% Tech & Innovation
11% Ability to Sell
9% Production
5% Macro & Political
Finance & Corporate - Financial and accounting risks. Risks related to the execution of corporate activity and strategy
This chart displays the stock's most recent risk distribution according to category. TipRanks has identified 6 major categories: Finance & corporate, legal & regulatory, macro & political, production, tech & innovation, and ability to sell.
Risk Change Over Time
S&P500 Average
Sector Average
Risks removed
Risks added
Risks changed
Lucy Scientific Discovery Inc Risk Factors
New Risk (0)
Risk Changed (0)
Risk Removed (0)
No changes from previous report
The chart shows the number of risks a company has disclosed. You can compare this to the sector average or S&P 500 average.
The quarters shown in the chart are according to the calendar year (January to December). Businesses set their own financial calendar, known as a fiscal year. For example, Walmart ends their financial year at the end of January to accommodate the holiday season.
Risk Highlights Q4, 2023
Main Risk Category
Finance & Corporate
With 29 Risks
Finance & Corporate
With 29 Risks
Number of Disclosed Risks
85
+6
From last report
S&P 500 Average: 31
85
+6
From last report
S&P 500 Average: 31
Recent Changes
6Risks added
0Risks removed
44Risks changed
Since Dec 2023
6Risks added
0Risks removed
44Risks changed
Since Dec 2023
Number of Risk Changed
44
+44
From last report
S&P 500 Average: 3
44
+44
From last report
S&P 500 Average: 3
See the risk highlights of Lucy Scientific Discovery Inc in the last period.
Risk Word Cloud
The most common phrases about risk factors from the most recent report. Larger texts indicate more widely used phrases.
Risk Factors Full Breakdown - Total Risks 85
Finance & Corporate
Total Risks: 29/85 (34%)Above Sector Average
Share Price & Shareholder Rights16 | 18.8%
Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 1
Changed
We may experience extreme stock price volatility unrelated to our actual or expected operating performance, financial condition or prospects, making it difficult for prospective investors to assess the rapidly changing value of our ordinary shares.
Recently, there have been instances of extreme stock price run-ups followed by rapid price declines and strong stock price volatility with a number of recent initial public offerings, especially among companies with relatively smaller public floats. As a relatively small-capitalization company with relatively small public float, we may experience greater stock price volatility, extreme price run-ups, lower trading volume and less liquidity than large-capitalization companies. In particular, our common shares may be subject to rapid and substantial price volatility, low volumes of trades and large spreads in bid and ask prices. Such volatility, including any stock-run up, may be unrelated to our actual or expected operating performance, financial condition or prospects, making it difficult for prospective investors to assess the rapidly changing value of our common shares.
In addition, if the trading volumes of our common shares are low, persons buying or selling in relatively small quantities may easily influence prices of our common shares. This low volume of trades could also cause the price of our common shares to fluctuate greatly, with large percentage changes in price occurring in any trading day session. Holders of our common shares may also not be able to readily liquidate their investment or may be forced to sell at depressed prices due to low volume trading. Broad market fluctuations and general economic and political conditions may also adversely affect the market price of our common shares. As a result of this volatility, investors may experience losses on their investment in our common shares. A decline in the market price of our common shares also could adversely affect our ability to issue additional shares of common shares or other securities and our ability to obtain additional financing in the future. No assurance can be given that an active market in our common shares will develop or be sustained. If an active market does not develop, holders of our common shares may be unable to readily sell the shares they hold or may not be able to sell their shares at all.
Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 2
Changed
The market price of our common shares may be volatile or may decline regardless of our operating performance.
The market price of our common shares may fluctuate significantly in response to numerous factors, many of which are beyond our control, including:
- actual or anticipated fluctuations in our revenue and other operating results;- the financial projections we may provide to the public, any changes in these projections or our failure to meet these projections;- actions of securities analysts who initiate or maintain coverage of us, changes in financial estimates by any securities analysts who follow our company, or our failure to meet these estimates or the expectations of investors;- announcements by us or our competitors of significant services or features, technical innovations, acquisitions, strategic partnerships, joint ventures, or capital commitments;- price and volume fluctuations in the overall stock market, including as a result of trends in the economy as a whole;- lawsuits threatened or filed against us; and - other events or factors, including those resulting from war or incidents of terrorism, or responses to these events.
In addition, the stock markets have experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations that have affected and continue to affect the market prices of equity securities of many companies. Stock prices of many companies have fluctuated in a manner unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of those companies. In the past, shareholders have filed securities class action litigation following periods of market volatility. If we were to become involved in securities litigation, it could subject us to substantial costs, divert resources and the attention of management from our business, and adversely affect our business.
Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 3
Changed
The prices at which the common shares will trade cannot be predicted.
Securities will not necessarily trade at values determined by reference to the underlying value of our business. The market price of the common shares could be subject to significant fluctuations in response to a variety of factors, including the following: actual or anticipated fluctuations in our quarterly results of operations; recommendations by securities research analysts; changes in the economic performance or market valuations of companies in the industry in which we operate; additions or departures by our executive officers and other key personnel; significant acquisitions or business combinations, strategic partnerships, joint ventures or capital commitments by or involving our business or our competitors; operating and share price performance of other companies that investors deem comparable to us; fluctuations caused by COVID-19; and news reports relating to trends, concerns, technological or competitive developments, regulatory changes and other related issues in our industry or target markets.
The securities markets have experienced significant price and volume fluctuations from time to time in recent years that often have been unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of particular issuers. These broad fluctuations may adversely affect the market price of the common shares. In addition, the market prices for securities of biopharmaceutical companies, in particular, have historically been volatile. Factors such as industry related developments, the results of product development and commercialization, changes in government regulations, developments concerning proprietary rights, the timing of costs for manufacturing, pre-clinical studies and clinical trials, the reporting of adverse safety events involving our products and public rumors about such events and changes in the market prices of the securities of our competitors may further influence the volatility in the trading price of the common shares.
Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 4
Changed
The issuance of securities could result in significant dilution in the equity interest of existing shareholders and adversely affect the marketplace of the securities.
The issuance of common shares or other securities convertible into common shares could result in significant dilution in the equity interest of existing shareholders and adversely affect the market price of the common shares. In addition, in the future, we may issue additional common shares or securities convertible into common shares, which may dilute existing shareholders. Our Articles of Incorporation ("Articles") permit the issuance of an unlimited number of common shares and shareholders will have no pre-emptive rights in connection with such further issuances.
The market price of the common shares could decline as a result of future issuances, including issuance of shares issued in connection with strategic alliances, or sales by our existing holders of common shares, or the perception that these sales could occur. Sales by shareholders might also make it more difficult for us to sell equity securities at a time and price that it deems appropriate, which could reduce our ability to raise capital and have an adverse effect on our business.
Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 5
Changed
Our U.S. shareholders may suffer adverse tax consequences if we are characterized as a PFIC.
The rules governing passive foreign investment companies, or PFICs, can have adverse effects on U.S. Holders (as defined under "Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations for U.S. Holders") for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Generally, if, for any taxable year, at least 75% of our gross income is passive income (such as interest income), or at least 50% of the gross value of our assets (determined on the basis of a weighted quarterly average) is attributable to assets that produce passive income or are held for the production of passive income (including cash), we would be characterized as a PFIC for U.S. federal income tax purposes. The determination of whether we are a PFIC, which must be made annually after the close of each taxable year, depends on the particular facts and circumstances and may also be affected by the application of the PFIC rules, which are subject to differing interpretations. Our status as a PFIC will depend on the composition of our income and the composition and value of our assets (including goodwill and other intangible assets), which will be affected by how, and how quickly, we spend any cash that is raised in any financing transaction. Moreover, our ability to earn specific types of income that will be treated as non-passive for purposes of the PFIC rules is uncertain with respect to future years. Based upon the current and expected composition of our income and assets, we believe that we were a PFIC for the taxable year ended June 30, 2022 and could be treated as a PFIC for the current taxable year. The determination of whether we are a PFIC is a fact-intensive determination made on an annual basis applying principles and methodologies that in some circumstances are unclear and subject to varying interpretation. Accordingly, we cannot provide any assurances regarding our PFIC status for any current or future taxable years.
If we are a PFIC, a U.S. Holder would be subject to adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences, such as ineligibility for certain preferred tax rates on capital gains or on actual or deemed dividends, interest charges on certain taxes treated as deferred, and additional reporting requirements under U.S. federal income tax laws and regulations. A U.S. Holder may in certain circumstances mitigate adverse tax consequences of the PFIC rules by filing an election to treat the PFIC as a qualified electing fund, or QEF, or, if shares of the PFIC are "marketable stock" for purposes of the PFIC rules, by making a mark-to-market election with respect to the shares of the PFIC. However, U.S. Holders should be aware that there can be no assurance that we will satisfy the record keeping requirements that apply to a QEF, or that we will supply U.S. Holders with information that such U.S. Holders require to report under the QEF election rules, in the event that we are a PFIC and a U.S. Holder wishes to make a QEF election. Thus, U.S. Holders may not be able to make a QEF election with respect to their common shares. For more information, see the discussion below under "Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations for U.S. Holders - PFIC Rules." You are urged to consult your tax advisors regarding the potential consequences to you if we were or were to become a PFIC, including the availability, and advisability, of, and procedure for making, any elections which may in certain circumstances mitigate the adverse tax consequences of the PFIC rules.
Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 6
Changed
Future sales and issuances of our common shares or rights to purchase common shares, including pursuant to our 2021 Equity Incentive Plan, or our 2021 Plan, could result in additional dilution of the percentage ownership of our shareholders and could cause our share price to fall.
We expect that significant additional capital will be needed in the future to continue our planned operations, including expanded research and development activities, and costs associated with operating as a public company. To raise capital, we may sell common shares, convertible securities or other equity securities in one or more transactions at prices and in a manner we determine from time to time. If we sell common shares, convertible securities or other equity securities, investors may be materially diluted by subsequent sales. Such sales may also result in material dilution to our existing shareholders, and new investors could gain rights, preferences, and privileges senior to the holders of our common shares.
Pursuant to the 2021 Plan our management is authorized to grant share purchase options, restricted stock units or stock appreciation rights to our employees, directors and consultants up to an amount of 1,642,861 common shares.
Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 7
Changed
Our principal shareholders and management own a significant percentage of our shares and will be able to exert significant influence over matters subject to shareholder approval.
Based on the number of shares outstanding as of February 13, 2024, our executive officers, directors and director nominees, and 5% shareholders beneficially own approximately 21.89% of our common shares. Therefore, these shareholders will have the ability to influence us through this ownership position. These shareholders may be able to determine all matters requiring shareholder approval. For example, these shareholders may be able to control elections of directors, amendments of our organizational documents or approval of any merger, sale of assets or other major corporate transaction. This may prevent or discourage unsolicited acquisition proposals or offers for our common shares that you may feel are in your best interest as one of our shareholders.
Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 8
Changed
We are an emerging growth company and a smaller reporting company, and we cannot be certain if the reduced reporting requirements applicable to emerging growth companies and smaller reporting companies will make our common shares less attractive to investors.
We are an emerging growth company, as defined in the JOBS Act. For as long as we continue to be an emerging growth company, we may take advantage of exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies, including not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, exemptions from the requirements of holding nonbinding advisory votes on executive compensation and shareholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved, and an exemption from compliance with the requirement of the Public Accounting Oversight Board regarding the communication of critical audit matters in the auditor's report on the financial statements. We could be an emerging growth company for up to five years following the year in which we complete our initial public offering, although circumstances could cause us to lose that status earlier. We will remain an emerging growth company until the earlier of (1) the last day of the fiscal year (a) following the fifth anniversary of the date of the closing of our initial public offering, (b) in which we have total annual gross revenue of at least $1.235 billion or (c) in which we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer, which requires the market value of our common shares that are held by non-affiliates to exceed $700.0 million as of the prior June 30th, and (2) the date on which we have issued more than $1.0 billion in non-convertible debt during the prior three-year period.
Further, even after we no longer qualify as an emerging growth company, we may still qualify as a "smaller reporting company," which would allow us to take advantage of many of the same exemptions from disclosure requirements, including reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements. In addition, if we are a smaller reporting company with less than $100.0 million in annual revenue, we would not be required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, or Section 404.
We cannot predict if investors will find our common shares less attractive because we may rely on these exemptions. If some investors find our common shares less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our common shares and our share price may be more volatile.
Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 9
Changed
Sales of a substantial number of our common shares by our existing shareholders in the public market could cause our share price to fall.
The lock-up agreements pertaining to the IPO expired in August. If our existing shareholders sell, or indicate an intention to sell, substantial amounts of our common shares in the public market, the trading price of our common shares could decline.
Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 10
Changed
If securities or industry analysts do not publish research or publish inaccurate or unfavorable research about our business, our share price and trading volume could decline.
The trading market for our common shares will depend in part on the research and reports that securities or industry analysts publish about us or our business. Securities and industry analysts do not currently, and may never, publish research on our company. If no securities or industry analysts commence coverage of our company, the trading price for our common shares would likely be negatively impacted. In the event securities or industry analysts initiate coverage, if one or more of the analysts who cover us downgrades our common shares or publishes inaccurate or unfavorable research about our business, our share price may decline. If one or more of these analysts ceases coverage of our company or fails to publish reports on us regularly, demand for our shares could decrease, which might cause our share price and trading volume to decline.
Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 11
Changed
We are governed by the corporate laws of Canada which in some cases have a different effect on shareholders than the corporate laws of the United States.
We are governed by the Business Corporations Act (British Columbia), or BCBCA, and other relevant federal and municipal laws, which may affect the rights of shareholders differently than those of a company governed by the laws of a U.S. jurisdiction, and may, together with our charter documents, have the effect of delaying, deferring or discouraging another party from acquiring control of our company by means of a tender offer, a proxy contest or otherwise, or may affect the price an acquiring party would be willing to offer in such an instance. The material differences between the BCBCA and Delaware General Corporation Law, or DGCL, that may have the greatest such effect include, but are not limited to, the following: (i) for certain corporate transactions (such as mergers and amalgamations or amendments to our Articles) the BCBCA generally requires the voting threshold to be a special resolution approved by 66 2/3% of shareholders, or as set out in the Articles, as applicable, whereas DGCL generally only requires a majority vote; and (ii) under the BCBCA a holder of 5% or more of our common shares can requisition a special meeting of shareholders, whereas such right does not exist under the DGCL. We cannot predict whether investors will find our company and our common shares less attractive because we are governed by foreign laws.
Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 12
Changed
Our Articles designate specific courts in Canada and the United States as the exclusive forum for certain litigation that may be initiated by our shareholders, which could limit our shareholders' ability to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with us.
Pursuant to our Articles, unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the courts of the Province of British Columbia and the appellate courts therefrom shall, to the fullest extent permitted by law, be the sole and exclusive forum for: (a) any derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf; (b) any action or proceeding asserting a claim of breach of fiduciary duty owed by any director, officer or other employee of ours to us; (c) any action or proceeding asserting a claim arising out of any provision of the BCBCA or our Articles (as either may be amended from time to time); or (d) any action or proceeding asserting a claim or otherwise related to our affairs, or the Canadian Forum Provision. The Canadian Forum Provision will not apply to any causes of action arising under the Securities Act or the Exchange Act. In addition, our Articles provide that unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the United States District Court for the District of Delaware shall be the sole and exclusive forum for resolving any complaint filed in the United States asserting a cause of action arising under the Securities Act, or the U.S. Federal Forum Provision. In addition, our Articles provide that any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring any interest in our common shares is deemed to have notice of and consented to the Canadian Forum Provision and the U.S. Federal Forum Provision; provided, however, that shareholders cannot and will not be deemed to have waived our compliance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder.
The Canadian Forum Provision and the U.S. Federal Forum Provision in our Articles may impose additional litigation costs on shareholders in pursuing any such claims. Additionally, the forum selection clauses in our amended Articles may limit our shareholders' ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that they find favorable for disputes with us or our directors, officers or employees, which may discourage the filing of lawsuits against us and our directors, officers and employees, even though an action, if successful, might benefit our shareholders. In addition, while the Delaware Supreme Court ruled in March 2020 that federal forum selection provisions purporting to require claims under the Securities Act be brought in federal court are "facially valid" under Delaware law, there is uncertainty as to whether other courts, including courts in Canada and other courts within the United States, will enforce our U.S. Federal Forum Provision. If the U.S. Federal Forum Provision is found to be unenforceable, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such matters. The U.S. Federal Forum Provision may also impose additional litigation costs on shareholders who assert that the provision is not enforceable or invalid. The courts of the Province of British Columbia and the United States District Court for the District of Delaware may also reach different judgments or results than would other courts, including courts where a shareholder considering an action may be located or would otherwise choose to bring the action, and such judgments may be more or less favorable to us than our shareholders.
Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 13
Added
Completion of one or both of the acquisitions will dilute our existing stockholders' ownership.
If we are able to complete the acquisition of Bluesky and acquisition of the intellectual property of Hightimes, we will issue the number of Common Shares to the sellers in each transaction that represents 19.9% of the total issued and outstanding shares of the Company at the closing of each transaction. These issuances will cause our existing stockholders' percentage ownership to decrease, and these stockholders to experience substantial dilution.
Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 14
Added
Future capital raises may dilute our existing stockholders' ownership and/or have other adverse effects on our operations.
If we raise additional capital by issuing equity securities, our existing stockholders' percentage ownership may decrease, and these stockholders may experience substantial dilution. If we raise additional funds by issuing debt instruments, these debt instruments could impose significant restrictions on our operations, including liens on our assets. If we raise additional funds through collaborations and licensing arrangements, we may be required to relinquish some rights to our technologies or products, or to grant licenses on terms that are not favorable to us or could diminish the rights of our stockholders.
Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 15
Added
In the event that our Common Shares are delisted from Nasdaq, U.S. broker-dealers may be discouraged from effecting transactions in our Common Shares because they may be considered penny stocks and thus be subject to the penny stock rules.
The SEC has adopted a number of rules to regulate "penny stock" that restricts transactions involving stock which is deemed to be penny stock. These rules may have the effect of reducing the liquidity of penny stocks. "Penny stocks" generally are equity securities with a price of less than $5.00 per share (other than securities registered on certain national securities exchanges or quoted on Nasdaq if current price and volume information with respect to transactions in such securities is provided by the exchange or system). Our Common Shares constitute "penny stock" within the meaning of the rules. The additional sales practice and disclosure requirements imposed upon U.S. broker-dealers may discourage such broker-dealers from effecting transactions in our Common Shares, which could severely limit the market liquidity of such Common Shares and impede their sale in the secondary market.
A U.S. broker-dealer selling penny stock to anyone other than an established customer or "accredited investor" (generally, an individual with a net worth in excess of $1,000,000 or an annual income exceeding $200,000, or $300,000 together with his or her spouse) must make a special suitability determination for the purchaser and must receive the purchaser's written consent to the transaction prior to sale, unless the broker-dealer or the transaction is otherwise exempt. In addition, the "penny stock" regulations require the U.S. broker-dealer to deliver, prior to any transaction involving a "penny stock," a disclosure schedule prepared in accordance with SEC standards relating to the "penny stock" market, unless the broker-dealer or the transaction is otherwise exempt. A U.S. broker-dealer is also required to disclose commissions payable to the U.S. broker-dealer and the registered representative and current quotations for the securities. Finally, a U.S. broker-dealer is required to submit monthly statements disclosing recent price information with respect to the "penny stock" held in a customer's account and information with respect to the limited market in "penny stocks."
Stockholders should be aware that, according to the SEC, the market for "penny stocks" has suffered in recent years from patterns of fraud and abuse. Such patterns include (i) control of the market for the security by one or a few broker-dealers that are often related to the promoter or issuer; (ii) manipulation of prices through prearranged matching of purchases and sales and false and misleading press releases; (iii) "boiler room" practices involving high-pressure sales tactics and unrealistic price projections by inexperienced sales persons; (iv) excessive and undisclosed bid-ask differentials and markups by selling broker-dealers; and (v) the wholesale dumping of the same securities by promoters and broker-dealers after prices have been manipulated to a desired level, resulting in investor losses. Our management is aware of the abuses that have occurred historically in the penny stock market. Although we do not expect to be in a position to dictate the behavior of the market or of broker-dealers who participate in the market, management will strive within the confines of practical limitations to prevent the described patterns from being established with respect to our securities.
Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 16
Added
If we are unable to maintain compliance with all applicable continued listing requirements and standards of Nasdaq, our Common Shares could be delisted from Nasdaq.
Our Common Shares are listed on Nasdaq under the symbol "LSDI." In order to maintain that listing, we must satisfy minimum financial and other continued listing requirements and standards, including those regarding director independence and independent committee requirements, minimum stockholders' equity, minimum share price, and certain corporate governance requirements. There can be no assurances that we will be able to remain in compliance with Nasdaq's listing standards (including the Minimum Bid Requirement for which we need to regain compliance by March 19, 2024 subject to further possible extensions) or if we do later fail to comply and subsequently regain compliance with Nasdaq's listing standards, that we will be able to continue to comply with the applicable listing standards. If we are unable to maintain compliance with these Nasdaq requirements, our Common Shares will be delisted from Nasdaq.
In the event that our Common Shares are delisted from Nasdaq due to our failure to continue to comply with any requirement for continued listing on Nasdaq, and is not eligible for quotation on another market or exchange, trading of our Common Shares could be conducted in the over-the-counter market or on an electronic bulletin board established for unlisted securities such as the OTC Pink or the OTCQB tiers of the OTC marketplace. In such event, it could become more difficult to dispose of, or obtain accurate price quotations for, our Common Shares, and it would likely be more difficult to obtain coverage by securities analysts and the news media, which could cause the price of our Common Shares to decline further. Also, it may be difficult for us to raise additional capital if we are not listed on a national exchange.
Accounting & Financial Operations7 | 8.2%
Accounting & Financial Operations - Risk 1
Changed
If our estimates or judgments relating to our critical accounting policies prove to be incorrect or financial reporting standards or interpretations change, our results of operations could be adversely affected.
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States, or U.S. GAAP, requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in the consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes. We base our estimates on historical experience, known trends and events, and various other factors that we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances, as provided in "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations - Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates." The results of these estimates form the basis for making judgments about the carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. Significant assumptions and estimates used in preparing our consolidated financial statements include share-based payments, provision for income taxes and useful lives of property, plant and equipment and intangibles. Our results of operations may be adversely affected if our assumptions change or if actual circumstances differ from those in our assumptions, which could cause our results of operations to fall below the expectations of securities analysts and investors, resulting in a decline in the trading price of our common shares.
Additionally, we regularly monitor our compliance with applicable financial reporting standards and review new pronouncements and drafts thereof that are relevant to us. As a result of new standards, changes to existing standards and changes in their interpretation, we might be required to change our accounting policies, alter our operational policies, and implement new or enhance existing systems so that they reflect new or amended financial reporting standards, or we may be required to restate our published financial statements. Such changes to existing standards or changes in their interpretation may have an adverse effect on our reputation, business, financial position, and profit.
Accounting & Financial Operations - Risk 2
Changed
Our disclosure controls and procedures may not prevent or detect all errors or acts of fraud.
Our disclosure controls and procedures are designed to reasonably assure that information required to be disclosed by us in reports we file or submit under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to management, recorded, processed, summarized, and reported within the time periods specified in the rules and forms of the SEC. We believe that any disclosure controls and procedures or internal controls and procedures, no matter how well conceived and operated, can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the objectives of the control system are met. These inherent limitations include the realities that judgments in decision-making can be faulty, and that breakdowns can occur because of simple error or mistake. Additionally, controls can be circumvented by the individual acts of some persons, by collusion of two or more people or by an unauthorized override of the controls. Accordingly, because of the inherent limitations in our control system, misstatements or insufficient disclosures due to error or fraud may occur and not be detected.
Accounting & Financial Operations - Risk 3
Changed
We do not intend to pay dividends on our common shares, so any returns will be limited to the value of our common shares.
We currently anticipate that we will retain future earnings for the development, operation, expansion and continued investment into our business and do not anticipate declaring or paying any cash dividends for the foreseeable future. In addition, we may enter into agreements that prohibit us from paying cash dividends without prior written consent from our contracting parties, or which other terms prohibiting or limiting the amount of dividends that may be declared or paid on our common shares. Any return to shareholders will therefore be limited to the appreciation of their common shares, which may never occur.
Accounting & Financial Operations - Risk 4
Changed
We have a material weakness in our internal control over financing reporting. If we fail to establish and maintain proper and effective internal control over financial reporting, our operating results and our ability to operate our business could be harmed.
Ensuring that we have adequate internal financial and accounting controls and procedures in place so that we can produce accurate financial statements on a timely basis is a costly and time-consuming effort that needs to be re-evaluated frequently. Our internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. Due to accounting resource constraints, we currently have a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting. Our control environment is currently oriented primarily towards business risks, rather than financial reporting risks. We have not formally implemented risk assessment or monitoring controls, and information and communication controls and certain review controls are not considered to be operating effectively. Resource constraints have also resulted in insufficient segregation of duties in certain areas.
Implementing any appropriate changes to our internal controls may distract our officers and employees, entail substantial costs to modify our existing processes, and take significant time to complete. These changes may not, however, be effective in maintaining the adequacy of our internal controls, and any failure to maintain that adequacy, or consequent inability to produce accurate financial statements on a timely basis, could increase our operating costs and harm our business. In our efforts to maintain proper and effective internal control over financial reporting, we may discover additional significant deficiencies or material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting, which we may not successfully remediate on a timely basis or at all. Any failure to remediate any significant deficiencies or material weaknesses identified by us or to implement required new or improved controls, or difficulties encountered in their implementation, could cause us to fail to meet our reporting obligations or result in material misstatements in our financial statements. If we identify one or more material weaknesses in the future, it could result in an adverse reaction in the financial markets due to a loss of confidence in the reliability of our financial statements, which may harm the market price of our shares.
Accounting & Financial Operations - Risk 5
Changed
We have incurred operating losses since inception and anticipate that we may continue to incur operating losses. We may not achieve or maintain profitability in the foreseeable future.
We have experienced operating losses and cash outflows from operations since incorporation and will require ongoing financing to continue our research and development and production activities. Our success is dependent upon our ability to finance our cash requirements to continue our activities. There may be a risk of default on these liabilities and other liabilities of our business if we cannot raise additional funds through the issuance of additional equity securities, through loan financing, or other means. Our comprehensive loss for the six months ended December 31, 2023 was $4.7 million. As of December 31, 2023, we had an accumulated deficit of $49.0 million. We may incur operating losses for the next several years, and we may not achieve or sustain profitability in the foreseeable future.
We anticipate that our expenses will increase if, and as, we:
- market and sell our products to academic researchers, biopharmaceutical companies and other eligible partners;- seek to identify and develop or in-license additional products or technologies;- maintain, expand and protect our intellectual property portfolio; and - add operational, financial and management information systems personnel to support our operations as a public company.
To become and remain profitable, we must succeed in successfully cultivating, synthesizing, extracting and purifying our products and eventually commercializing our products in order to generate significant revenue. This will require us to be successful in a range of challenging activities, including manufacturing our products at commercial scale, obtaining and maintaining compliance with all required regulatory permitting, and establishing brand recognition in the industry. Our ability to become profitable will be dependent upon, in part and among other things, the size of the market for our products, the number of competitors in such markets, the degree of market acceptance we achieve and the ability of our clients to develop, obtain regulatory approval for and successfully commercialize psychedelics-based therapies.
Even if we do achieve profitability, we may not be able to sustain or increase profitability on a quarterly or annual basis. Our failure to become and remain profitable may decrease the value of our company and may impair our ability to raise capital, maintain our manufacturing operations, proceed with our planned research and development efforts or expand our business. A decline in the value of our company may cause you to lose all or part of your investment.
Accounting & Financial Operations - Risk 6
Changed
Our limited operating history may make it difficult to evaluate our business to date and assess our future viability.
We have no meaningful operations upon which to evaluate our business and predictions about our future success or viability may not be as accurate as they could be if we had a longer operating history or a history of successfully developing and commercializing active pharmaceutical ingredients based on psychedelics. Accordingly, we are subject to many of the risks common to early-stage enterprises, including under-capitalization, cash shortages, limitations with respect to personnel, financial and other resources and lack of revenue. The limited operating history may also make it difficult for investors to evaluate our prospects for success. There is no assurance that we will be successful, and our likelihood of success must be considered in light of our early stage of operations.
We may not be able to achieve or maintain profitability and may incur losses in the future. In addition, we are expected to increase our capital investments as we implement initiatives to grow our business. If our revenues do not increase to offset these expected increases, we may not generate positive cash flow. There is no assurance that future revenues will be sufficient to generate the funds required to continue operations without external funding. We may encounter unforeseen expenses, difficulties, complications, delays and other known or unknown factors in achieving our business objectives, including with respect to our technology and products. We will eventually need to transition from a company with a development focus to a company capable of supporting commercial activities. We may not be successful in such a transition. Our limited operating history makes it more difficult for us to assess and plan for such unforeseen events.
We expect our financial condition and operating results to continue to fluctuate significantly from quarter to quarter and year to year due to a variety of factors, many of which are beyond our control. Accordingly, you should not rely upon the results of any quarterly or annual periods as indications of future operating performance.
Accounting & Financial Operations - Risk 7
The sizes of the markets and forecasts of market growth for the demand of our products and services and for psychedelics-based medicines generally are based on a number of complex assumptions and estimates, and may be inaccurate.
We estimate annual total addressable markets and forecasts of market growth for our products and services and for the psychedelics-based therapies that our clients may develop. These estimates and forecasts are based on a number of complex assumptions, internal and third party estimates and other business data, including assumptions and estimates relating to our ability to establish our business as a critical supplier of manufacturing of medical-grade raw materials, API and finished drug products and pre-clinical research services within the psychedelics-based medicines space; regulatory developments surrounding the use of psychedelics for research and therapeutic purposes; and the public's acceptance of such therapies, if approved; and our clients' ability to develop, obtain regulatory approval for and successfully commercialize their product candidates. While we believe our assumptions and the data underlying our estimates and key performance indicators are reasonable, there are inherent challenges in measuring or forecasting such information. As a result, these assumptions and estimates may not be correct and the conditions supporting our assumptions or estimates may change at any time, thereby reducing the predictive accuracy of these underlying factors and indicators. As a result, our estimates of the annual total addressable market and our forecasts of market growth and future revenue from technology access fees, discovery research fees, milestone payments or royalties may prove to be incorrect, and our key business metrics may not reflect our actual performance. For example, if the annual total addressable market or the potential market growth for our psychedelics-based products is smaller than we have estimated or if regulatory developments are adverse to this category of therapies generally, it may impair our sales growth and have an adverse impact on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
Debt & Financing2 | 2.4%
Debt & Financing - Risk 1
Changed
We may require substantial additional funding to finance our operations, and a failure to obtain this necessary funding when needed on acceptable terms, or at all, could force us to delay, limit, reduce or terminate our manufacturing and commercialization efforts or other operations.
As of December 31, 2023, we had cash and cash equivalents of approximately $0.2 million. We may need to raise additional capital, which cannot be assured. Moreover, our operating plans may change as a result of many factors currently unknown to us, and we may need to seek additional funds sooner than planned. In addition, we may seek additional capital due to favourable market conditions or strategic considerations even if we believe we have sufficient funds for our current or future operating plans.
Our future capital requirements depend on many factors, including, but not limited to:
- the scope, progress, results and costs of researching and developing our products;- the effect of developments with respect to the regulatory and competitive landscapes for psychedelics- and other psychotropics-based products and medicines;- the number and scope of products or technologies we decide to pursue;- the cost of commercialization activities, including marketing, sales and distribution costs;- our ability to achieve revenue growth;- our ability to establish and maintain strategic collaborations, licensing or other arrangements and the financial terms of any such agreements that we may enter into;- whether we determine to acquire or invest in complementary businesses or assets;- the expenses needed to attract and retain skilled personnel;- our need to implement additional internal systems and infrastructure, including financial and reporting systems associated with becoming a public company in the United States;- the costs involved in preparing, filing, prosecuting, maintaining, defending and enforcing our intellectual property portfolio; and - the continued impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on global social, political and economic conditions.
Until we can generate sufficient revenue to finance our cash requirements, which we may never do, we expect to finance our future cash needs through a combination of equity offerings, debt offerings or financings, collaborations, strategic alliances or marketing, distribution or licensing arrangements with third parties. The various ways we could raise additional capital carry potential risks. To the extent that we raise additional capital by issuing equity securities, our existing stockholders may experience substantial dilution. Any preferred equity securities issued also would likely provide for rights, preferences or privileges senior to those of holders of our Common Shares. If we raise funds by issuing debt securities, those debt securities would have rights, preferences and privileges senior to those of holders of our Common Shares. Debt financing and preferred equity financing, if available, may also involve agreements that include covenants restricting our ability to take specific actions, such as incurring additional debt, selling or licensing our assets, making product acquisitions, making capital expenditures, or declaring dividends. If we raise additional funds through collaborations, strategic alliances or marketing, distribution or licensing arrangements with third parties, we may have to relinquish valuable rights to our technologies, future revenue streams, research programs or product candidates, or grant licenses on terms that may not be favourable to us.
Our ability to raise additional funds will depend on financial, economic and market conditions and other factors, over which we may have no or limited control. Adequate additional funds may not be available when we need them, on terms that are acceptable to us, or at all. In addition, heightened regulatory scrutiny could have a negative impact on our ability to raise capital. If adequate funds are not available to us on a timely basis or on attractive terms, we may be required to reduce our workforce, delay, limit, reduce or terminate our research and development activities and commercialization efforts, or grant rights to develop and market products or technologies that we would otherwise develop and market ourselves. In addition, attempting to secure additional financing may divert the time and attention of our management from daily activities and distract from our research and development efforts.
Debt & Financing - Risk 2
Changed
We have issued promissory notes or other debt securities, and otherwise incurred substantial debt, which may adversely affect our financial condition and thus negatively impact the value of our shareholders' investment in us.
The Company had entered into a credit facility pursuant to which we could borrow up to $5.0 million. The credit facility matured on November 5, 2023 and was not renewed. No amounts had been borrowed under the credit facility.
Our outstanding indebtedness and any future indebtedness we may incur will result in increased fixed payment obligations. It could also result in certain restrictive covenants, such as limitations on our ability to incur additional debt, limitations on our ability to acquire or license intellectual property rights and other operating restrictions that could adversely impact our ability to conduct our business and may result in liens being placed on our assets and intellectual property. If we were to default on such indebtedness, we could lose such assets and intellectual property. The incurrence of debt could have a variety of other negative effects, including:
- default and foreclosure on our assets if our operating revenues are insufficient to repay our debt obligations;- acceleration of our obligations to repay the indebtedness even if we make all principal and interest payments when due if we breach certain covenants that require the maintenance of certain financial ratios or reserves without a waiver or renegotiation of that covenant;- our immediate payment of all principal and accrued interest, if any, if the debt security is payable on demand;- our inability to obtain necessary additional financing if the debt security contains covenants restricting our ability to obtain such financing while the debt security is outstanding;- our inability to pay dividends on our Common Shares;- using a substantial portion of our cash flow to pay principal and interest on our debt, which will reduce the funds available for dividends on our ordinary shares if declared, expenses, capital expenditures, acquisitions and other general corporate purposes;- limitations on our flexibility in planning for and reacting to changes in our business and industry;- increased vulnerability to adverse changes in general economic, industry and competitive conditions and adverse changes in government regulation; and - limitations on our ability to borrow additional amounts for expenses, capital expenditures, acquisitions, debt service requirements, execution of our strategy and other purposes and other disadvantages compared to our competitors who have less debt.
In order to satisfy our current and future debt service obligations, we will be required to raise funds from external sources. We may be unable to arrange for additional financing to pay the amounts due under our existing debt. Funds from external sources may not be available on acceptable terms, if at all. Our failure to satisfy our current and future debt obligations could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Corporate Activity and Growth4 | 4.7%
Corporate Activity and Growth - Risk 1
Changed
We may expand our business through the acquisition of companies or businesses or by entering into collaborations, each of which could disrupt our business and harm our financial condition
We may in the future seek to expand our capabilities by acquiring one or more companies or businesses or entering into collaborations. Acquisitions and collaborations involve numerous risks, including, but not limited to: substantial cash expenditures; technology development risks; potentially dilutive issuances of equity securities; incurrence of debt and contingent liabilities, some of which may be difficult or impossible to identify at the time of acquisition; difficulties in assimilating the operations of the acquired companies; potential disputes regarding contingent consideration; diverting our management's attention away from other business concerns; entering markets in which we have limited or no direct experience; and potential loss of our key employees or key employees of the acquired companies or businesses.
Our management has experience in making acquisitions and entering collaborations; however, we cannot provide assurance that any acquisition or collaboration will result in short-term or long-term benefits to us. We may incorrectly judge the value or worth of an acquired company or business. In addition, our future success would depend in part on our ability to manage the rapid growth associated with some of these acquisitions and collaborations. We cannot provide assurance that we would be able to successfully combine our business with that of acquired businesses or manage a collaboration. Furthermore, the development or expansion of our business may require a substantial capital investment by us.
Corporate Activity and Growth - Risk 2
Changed
We may be subject to growth-related risks including pressure on our internal systems and controls.
Our ability to manage our growth effectively will require us to continue to implement and improve our operational and financial systems and to expand, train and manage our employee base. Our inability to deal with this growth could have a material adverse impact on our business, operations and prospects. We may experience growth in the number of our employees and the scope of our operating and financial systems, resulting in increased responsibilities for our personnel, the hiring of additional personnel and, in general, higher levels of operating expenses. In order to manage our future growth effectively, we will also need to continue to implement and improve our operational, financial and management information systems and to hire, train, motivate, manage and retain our employees. There can be no assurance that we will be able to manage such growth effectively, that our management, personnel or systems will be adequate to support our operations or that we will be able to achieve the increased levels of revenue commensurate with the increased levels of operating expenses associated with this growth.
Corporate Activity and Growth - Risk 3
Added
The growth of our business depends, in part, on our ability to complete the acquisition of Bluesky and the acquisition of the intellectual property of Hightimes.
We expect to realize significant growth in our business if we are able to complete the acquisition of Bluesky and acquisition of the intellectual property of Hightimes. These acquisitions are subject to the approval of Nasdaq and we cannot predict when, or if, we will complete these acquisitions. The failure to complete one or both of these acquisitions could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Corporate Activity and Growth - Risk 4
Changed
We will incur increased costs as a result of operating as a public company, and our management will be required to devote substantial time to new compliance initiatives and corporate governance practices.
As a public company will incur significant legal, accounting, and other expenses that we did not incur as a private company. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, or Sarbanes-Oxley, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform, and Consumer Protection Act, the listing requirements of Nasdaq, and other applicable securities rules and regulations impose various requirements on public companies, including establishment and maintenance of effective disclosure and financial controls and corporate governance practices. We will have to hire additional accounting, finance, and other personnel in connection with our efforts to comply with the requirements of being a public company and our management and other personnel devote a substantial amount of time towards maintaining compliance with these requirements. These requirements will increase our legal and financial compliance costs and make some activities more time-consuming and costly. These rules and regulations are often subject to varying interpretations, in many cases due to their lack of specificity, and, as a result, their application in practice may evolve over time as new guidance is provided by regulatory and governing bodies. This could result in continuing uncertainty regarding compliance matters and higher costs necessitated by ongoing revisions to disclosure and governance practices.
In addition, Sarbanes-Oxley, as well as rules subsequently adopted by the SEC and Nasdaq to implement provisions of Sarbanes-Oxley, impose significant requirements on public companies, including requiring establishment and maintenance of effective disclosure and financial controls and changes in corporate governance practices. Further, pursuant to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010, the SEC has adopted additional rules and regulations in these areas, such as mandatory "say on pay" voting requirements that are applicable to us. Stockholder activism, the current political environment, and the current high level of government intervention and regulatory reform may lead to substantial new regulations and disclosure obligations, which may lead to additional compliance costs and impact the manner in which we operate our business in ways we cannot currently anticipate.
If these requirements divert the attention of our management and personnel from other business concerns, they could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations. The increased costs could impact our results of operations and may require us to reduce costs in other areas of our business or increase the prices of our products or services. For example, these rules and regulations make it more difficult and more expensive for us to obtain director and officer liability insurance. We cannot predict or estimate the amount or timing of additional costs we may incur to respond to these requirements. The impact of these requirements could also make it more difficult for us to attract and retain qualified persons to serve on our Board of Directors, our board committees, or as executive officers.
Legal & Regulatory
Total Risks: 19/85 (22%)Above Sector Average
Regulation11 | 12.9%
Regulation - Risk 1
Changed
Our Articles and certain Canadian legislation contain provisions that may have the effect of delaying, preventing or making undesirable an acquisition of all or a significant portion of our shares or assets or preventing a change in control.
Certain provisions of our Articles and certain provisions under the BCBCA, together or separately, could discourage, delay or prevent a merger, acquisition or other change in control of us that shareholders may consider favorable, including transactions in which they might otherwise receive a premium for their common shares. These provisions include the establishment of a staggered board of directors, which divides the board into three groups, with directors in each group serving a three-year term. The existence of a staggered board can make it more difficult for shareholders to replace or remove incumbent members of our board of directors. As such, these provisions could also limit the price that investors might be willing to pay in the future for our common shares, thereby depressing the market price of our common shares. In addition, because our board of directors is responsible for appointing the members of our management team, these provisions may frustrate or prevent any attempts by our shareholders to replace or remove our current management by making it more difficult for shareholders to replace members of our board of directors. Among other things, these provisions include the following:
- shareholders cannot amend our Articles unless such amendment is approved by shareholders holding at least 66 2/3% of the shares entitled to vote on such approval;- our board of directors may, without shareholder approval, issue preferred shares in one or more series having any terms, conditions, rights, preferences and privileges as the board of directors may determine; and - shareholders must give advance notice to nominate directors or to submit proposals for consideration at shareholders' meetings.
A non-Canadian must file an application for review with the Minister responsible for the Investment Canada Act and obtain approval of the Minister prior to acquiring control of a "Canadian business" within the meaning of the Investment Canada Act, where prescribed financial thresholds are exceeded. A reviewable acquisition may not proceed unless the Minister is satisfied that the investment is likely to be of net benefit to Canada. If the applicable financial thresholds were exceeded such that a net benefit to Canada review would be required, this could prevent or delay a change of control and may eliminate or limit strategic opportunities for shareholders to sell their common shares. Furthermore, limitations on the ability to acquire and hold our common shares may be imposed by the Competition Act (Canada). This legislation has a pre-merger notification regime and mandatory waiting period that applies to certain types of transactions that meet specified financial thresholds, and permits the Commissioner of Competition to review any acquisition or establishment, directly or indirectly, including through the acquisition of shares, of control over or of a significant interest in us.
Regulation - Risk 2
Our potential clients in the United States must register with the DEA in order to import, conduct research and develop new drugs using Schedule I or II controlled substances.
The cultivation, manufacture, distribution and possession of U.S. Schedule I or II controlled substances violates federal law in the United States unless a U.S. federal agency, such as the DEA, grants a registration for a specific use, such as import and/or research, of a specific controlled substance. Significant regulatory disclosure, oversight, and reporting are required to possess these substances, both to test and conduct preclinical and clinical trials and to develop and sell products whose active ingredients contain a controlled substance. U.S. manufacturers of Schedule I or II controlled substances must apply for the issuance of procurement quotas in order to convert bulk substances on Schedule I or II into finished dosage forms or other substances. The procurement quota establishes the maximum amount of a Schedule I or II substance that a facility may procure in a given year, and that quota cannot be exceeded without an amendment to the quota from the DEA. Accordingly, any U.S. manufacturers to which we sell our psychedelics-based raw materials or API, and who wish to convert these into finished dosage form or other substances, must obtain and remain in compliance with these registration and quota requirements. These requirements may sharply limit the available market in the United States for our products. If the U.S. market is smaller than we anticipate, or if U.S. regulators determine to grant fewer registrations, impose more stringent requirements on existing registrants, or limit procurement quotas for the controlled substances we manufacture, these events could have a material and adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Regulation - Risk 3
Our operations require that we receive and maintain licensing from Health Canada.
To legally possess and conduct anticipated activities with controlled substances in Canada, entities must first obtain a controlled substances Dealer's Licence. A Dealer's Licence authorizes the holder to possess controlled substances and to conduct activities specified by the licence, such as production, packaging, sale, sending, transportation, delivery, laboratory analysis, research and development, clinical studies, import/export or distribution. Licence holders are responsible for compliance with licence specification, the CDSA and its regulations, as well as compliance with other applicable federal, provincial, and territorial legislation and municipal by-laws. The issued licence dictates activities, conditions, and restrictions for the licence holder depending on licence permissions, and the licence holder must strictly adhere to these parameters.
A party can apply for a Dealer's Licence under the Food and Drug Regulations (Part J). In order to qualify as a licenced dealer, a party must meet all regulatory requirements mandated by the regulations including having compliant facilities and security requirements, compliant materials and staff that meet the qualifications under the regulations of a senior person in charge and a qualified person in charge. Assuming compliance with all relevant laws (e.g., the CDSA, Food and Drug Regulations) and subject to any restrictions placed on the licence by Health Canada, an entity with a Dealer's Licence may produce, assemble, sell, provide, transport, send, deliver, import or export a restricted drug (as listed in Part J in the Food and Drug Regulations), including, for example, psilocybin and psilocin.
There may be further changes and amendments to the CDSA and the regulations regarding the issuance of Dealer Licences and the current regulatory landscape may be subject to change at any time. We can provide no assurance that we will maintain a Dealer's Licence, that it will permit us to undertake all of the activities necessary to sell our products and become profitable, or that it will not be revoked.
Licensing programs relating to controlled substances are strict and penalties for contravention of these laws could result in significant fines, penalties, administrative sanctions, convictions or settlements arising from civil proceedings initiated by either government entities in the jurisdictions in which we operate, or private citizens or criminal charges. The loss of these necessary licenses and permits would have a materially adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Regulation - Risk 4
Even if therapies containing psychedelics substances receive scheduling determinations that allow them to be approved and commercialized, our raw materials and APIs and the finished products into which they are incorporated will remain subject to extensive regulation as controlled substances.
Controlled substances are subject to Health Canada and DEA regulations relating to manufacturing, storage, distribution and physician prescription procedures, which regulations may be applicable to us or our clients. Moreover, even if the finished dosage form of a psychedelics-based medicine developed by one of our clients is approved by the FDA, and if such product is listed by the DEA as a Schedule II, III, or IV controlled substance, its manufacture, importation, exportation, domestic distribution, storage, sale and legitimate use will continue to be subject to a significant degree of regulation by the DEA. The regulations that are relevant to our and our clients' efforts to research, develop, obtain approval for an commercialize psychedelics-based therapies in the United States include the following:
- DEA registration and inspection of facilities. Facilities conducting research, manufacturing, distributing, importing or exporting, or dispensing controlled substances must be registered (licenced) to perform these activities and have the security, control, recordkeeping, reporting and inventory mechanisms required by the DEA to prevent drug loss and diversion. All these facilities must renew their registrations annually, except dispensing facilities, which must be renewed every three years. The registration process involves a written application and a field inspection by the DEA. The DEA conducts periodic inspections of certain registered establishments that handle controlled substances. Our and our client's obtaining and maintaining the necessary registrations may result in delay of the importation, manufacturing or distribution of the applicable raw materials, API or finished drug product. Furthermore, failure to maintain compliance with the CSA, particularly noncompliance resulting in loss or diversion by us or our clients, can result in regulatory action that could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. The DEA may seek civil penalties, refuse to renew necessary registrations, or initiate proceedings to restrict, suspend or revoke those registrations. In certain circumstances, violations could lead to criminal proceedings.
- State-controlled substances laws. Individual U.S. states have also established controlled substance laws and regulations. Though state-controlled substances laws often mirror federal law, because the states are separate jurisdictions, they may separately schedule a controlled substance or product containing a controlled substance. While some states automatically schedule a drug based on federal action, other states schedule drugs through rule making or a legislative action. State scheduling may delay commercial sale of any product for which we obtain federal regulatory approval and adverse scheduling could have a material adverse effect on the commercial attractiveness of such product. We or our clients must also obtain separate state registrations, permits or licences in order to be able to obtain, handle, and distribute controlled substances for clinical trials or commercial sale, and failure to meet applicable regulatory requirements could lead to enforcement and sanctions by the states in addition to those from the DEA or otherwise arising under federal law.
- Clinical trials. To the extent an investigational therapy contains a controlled substance, to conduct clinical trials in the United States prior to approval, each of our clients' research sites must submit a research protocol to the DEA and obtain and maintain a DEA researcher registration that will allow those sites to handle and dispense the controlled substance and to obtain the product from us. The DEA submits research protocols to the FDA for review and approval. The FDA may ask a research registrant to modify its research protocols in order to obtain registration. If the DEA delays or denies the grant of a researcher registration to one or more research sites, or if the FDA delays, denies or requests modifications to the research protocol, the clinical trial could be significantly delayed, and our clients could lose clinical trial sites.
- Importation. The DEA requires authorized registrants to obtain an import permit in order to import any substances on Schedules I and II for analytic, research, or commercial purposes. The failure by our clients to obtain the necessary import authority, including specific quantities, could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. In addition, an application for a Schedule I or II importer registration must be published in the Federal Register, and there is a waiting period for third-party comments to be submitted. It is possible that adverse comments may delay the grant of an importer registration. Our clients will not be allowed to import the drug for commercial purposes unless the DEA determines that there is inadequate domestic competition among domestic manufacturers for the substance as defined by the DEA. Moreover, the DEA has never permitted Schedule I controlled substances, including psilocybin and psilocin, to be imported for commercial purposes, only for scientific and research needs. If, by the time a drug that incorporates psychedelic substances is approved for commercial marketing in the United States, sufficient domestic manufacturers for the raw material exist, our clients may not be authorized to import our APIs for conversion into therapeutic products for commercial purposes.
- Manufacture in the United States. If, because of a Schedule II-V classification or voluntarily, we were to conduct manufacturing or repackaging/relabelling in the United States, we would be subject to the DEA's annual manufacturing and procurement quota requirements. Manufacturers that seek to manufacture Schedule I or II controlled substances in bulk, and manufacturers that wish to convert bulk Schedule I or II controlled substances into dosage form or other substances are required to comply with individually-allotted manufacturing and procurement quotas. Additionally, regardless of the scheduling of a finished, approved therapeutic product, if the API used in the final dosage form is a Schedule I or II controlled substance, it would be subject to such quotas as the API could remain listed on Schedule I or II. Although the DEA increased the United States' overall annual production quotas for certain psychedelic substances in 2022 and has proposed increased national quotas for 2023, annual quotas allocated for our clients for the API in a particular therapeutic product may not be sufficient to complete clinical trials or meet commercial demand. Consequently, any delay or refusal by the DEA in establishing or increasing our clients' procurement and/or production quotas for controlled substances could delay or stop our client's clinical trials or product launches, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial position and results of operations.
- Distribution in the United States. If a particular approved therapy is scheduled as Schedule II, III, IV or V, our clients would also need to identify wholesale distributors with the appropriate DEA registrations and authority to distribute the approved therapy. These distributors would need to obtain Schedule II, III, IV or V distribution registrations. This limitation in the ability to distribute an approved therapy more broadly may limit commercial uptake and could negatively impact our client's prospects. The failure to obtain, or delay in obtaining, or the loss of any of those registrations could result in increased costs to us. In addition, if an approved therapy is determined to have a high potential for abuse, it could be required to be administered at clinical trial sites, which could limit commercial uptake. Furthermore, state and federal enforcement actions, regulatory requirements, and legislation intended to reduce prescription drug abuse, such as the requirement that physicians consult a state prescription drug monitoring program, may make physicians less willing to prescribe, and pharmacies to dispense, Schedule II-V products.
Violations of any federal, state or foreign laws and regulations could result in significant fines, penalties, administrative sanctions, convictions or settlements arising from civil proceedings conducted by either the federal government or private citizens, or criminal charges and penalties, including, but not limited to, disgorgement of profits, cessation of business activities, divestiture, or prison time. This could have a material adverse effect on us, including by impacting our or our clients' reputation and ability to conduct business. Any such impact could in turn adversely affect our financial position, operating results, profitability or liquidity or the market price of our common shares. In addition, it is difficult for us to estimate the time or resources that would be needed for the investigation or defense of any such matters or our final resolution because, in part, the time and resources that may be needed are dependent on the nature and extent of any information requested by the applicable authorities involved, and such time or resources could be substantial. It is also illegal to aid or abet such activities or to conspire or attempt to engage in such activities. An investor's contribution to and involvement in such activities may result in federal civil and/or criminal prosecution, including, but not limited to, forfeiture of his, her or its entire investment, fines and/or imprisonment.
Regulation - Risk 5
Our products and services, and the product candidates and approved products developed and marketed by our clients, will be subject to controlled substance laws and regulations in the territories in which the product or service will be manufactured, developed, tested and marketed, and failure to comply with these laws and regulations, or the cost of compliance with these laws and regulations, may adversely affect the results of our business operations, both during clinical development and post approval, and our financial condition.
In Canada, certain psychotropic drugs, including lysergic acid diethylamide, or LSD, MDMA, DMT and psilocybin, are regulated under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, or CDSA. The CDSA classifies regulated drug substances into five schedules, with Schedule I containing the highest risk substances. Certain psychedelic substances, including psilocybin, psilocin, mescaline and DMT, are classified as Schedule III drugs. The CDSA prohibits the possession of a Schedule III drug absent authorization under the CDSA or a related regulation (either via a license or an authorized exemption). Health Canada has not approved psilocybin as a drug for any indication and it is illegal to possess Schedule III substances without a prescription. Under Section 56(1) of the CDSA, the Minister of Health has the ability to grant exemptions to these restrictions if the Minister deems them necessary for a medical or scientific purpose, or otherwise in the public interest. It is not clear exactly how and when the Section 56(1) exemption may be granted for psychedelics. To date, a limited number of Section 56 exemptions for psilocybin access or research have been granted in Canada. Further, a Dealer's Licence for psychedelic drugs can be obtained from Health Canada under Part J of the Food and Drug Regulations allowing for the possession, processing, sending, sale, transportation and delivery of products containing a controlled substance such as psilocybin. Only a very limited number of Dealer's Licences for psychedelics have been granted in Canada.
In the United States, these substances are classified under the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. § 811), or the CSA, and the Controlled Substances Import and Export Act, or the CSIEA, and as such, medical and recreational use is illegal under the U.S. federal laws. Under the CSA, the Drug Enforcement Agency, or DEA, regulates chemical compounds with a potential for abuse as Schedule I, II, III, IV or V substances. Schedule I substances by definition have a high potential for abuse, have no currently "accepted medical use" in the United States, lack accepted safety for use under medical supervision, and may not be prescribed, marketed or sold in the United States. Pharmaceutical products approved for use in the United States may be listed as Schedule II, III, IV or V, with Schedule II substances considered to present the highest potential for abuse or dependence and Schedule V substances the lowest relative risk of abuse among such substances. Schedule I and II drugs are subject to the strictest controls under the CSA, including manufacturing and procurement quotas, security requirements and criteria for importation. In addition, dispensing of Schedule II drugs is further restricted. For example, they may not be refilled without a new prescription and may have a black box warning. Most, if not all, state laws in the United States classify psilocybin, LSD, MDMA and DMT and as Schedule I controlled substances. For any product containing any of these substances to be available for commercial marketing in the United States, the applicable substance must be rescheduled, or the product itself must be scheduled, by the DEA to Schedule II, III, IV or V. Commercial marketing in the United States will also require scheduling-related legislative or administrative action.
Scheduling determinations by the DEA are dependent on FDA approval of a substance or a specific formulation of a substance for medical use. Therefore, while psilocybin and the other psychedelic substances we may cultivate and manufacture are Schedule I controlled substances, products developed by our clients that are approved by the FDA for medical use in the United States that contain psilocybin or another such substance must be placed in Schedules II-V prior to commercialization, since approval by the FDA satisfies the "accepted medical use" requirement. If and when a product candidate developed by one of our clients receives FDA approval, the DEA will make a scheduling determination and place it in a schedule other than Schedule I in order for it to be prescribed to patients in the United States. This scheduling determination will be dependent on FDA approval and the FDA's recommendation as to the appropriate schedule. During the review process, and prior to approval, the FDA may determine that it requires additional data, either from non-clinical or clinical studies, including with respect to whether, or to what extent, the substance has abuse potential. This may introduce a delay into the approval and any potential rescheduling process. This scheduling determination will require the DEA to conduct notice and comment rule making including issuing an interim final rule. Such action will be subject to public comment and requests for hearing which could affect the scheduling of these substances. There can be no assurance that the DEA will make a favorable scheduling decision. Even assuming categorization as a Schedule II or lower controlled substance (i.e., Schedule III, IV or V), at the federal level, such substances would also require scheduling determinations under state laws and regulations. Even assuming that the applicable therapeutic candidate approved and scheduled by regulatory authorities to allow their commercial marketing, the APIs in such therapeutic candidates would likely continue to be Schedule I, or the state or foreign equivalent.
The laws and regulations generally applicable to controlled substances may change in ways currently unforeseen. Any amendment to or replacement of existing laws or regulations, including the classification or re-classification of the substances we are developing or working with, which are matters beyond our control, may cause our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects to be adversely affected or may cause us to incur significant costs in complying with such changes or it may be unable to comply therewith.
Regulation - Risk 6
The business to be conducted by us and our clients will be subject to extensive governmental regulation, and our or our clients' inability to comply with these regulations, which are complex and relate to various jurisdictions and areas of law, would result in significant adverse consequences to our business.
Various Canadian and U.S. federal, state, provincial and local laws govern our business in the jurisdictions in which we operate or currently plan to operate, and to which we export or currently plan to export our products, including laws relating to health and safety, the conduct of our operations, and the production, storage, sale and distribution of our products. Complying with these laws requires that we and our clients comply concurrently with complex federal, state, foreign, provincial and/or local laws. These laws change frequently and may be difficult to interpret and apply. To ensure our compliance with these laws, we will need to invest significant financial and managerial resources. It is impossible for us to predict the cost of such laws or the effect they may have on our future operations. A failure to comply with these laws could negatively affect our business and harm our reputation. Changes to these laws could negatively affect our competitive position and the markets in which we operate, and there is no assurance that various levels of government in the jurisdictions in which we operate will not pass legislation or regulation that adversely impacts our business.
In addition, even if we or third parties were to conduct activities in compliance with Canadian laws, U.S. federal, state or local laws or the laws of other countries and regions in which we conduct activities, certain violations of those laws may lead to enforcement proceedings that could involve significant restrictions or criminal or civil penalties being imposed upon us or third parties, while diverting the attention of key executives. Such proceedings could have a material adverse effect on our business, revenue, operating results and financial condition as well as on our reputation and prospects, even if such proceedings conclude successfully in our favour. In the extreme case, such proceedings could ultimately involve the criminal prosecution of our key executives, the seizure of corporate assets, and consequently, our inability to continue business operations. Any such proceedings brought against us may adversely affect our operations and financial performance.
The psychedelic drug industry is a fairly new industry and we cannot predict the impact of the ever-evolving compliance regime in respect of this industry. Similarly, we cannot predict the time required to secure all appropriate regulatory approvals for future products, or the extent of testing and documentation that may, from time to time, be required by governmental authorities. The impact of compliance regimes, any delays in obtaining, or failure to obtain regulatory approvals as needed may significantly delay or impact the development of markets, its business and products, and sales initiatives and could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Regulation - Risk 7
We may become subject to U.S. federal and state forfeiture laws which could negatively impact our business operations.
Violations of any U.S. federal laws and regulations could result in significant fines, penalties, administrative sanctions, convictions or settlements arising from civil proceedings conducted by either the federal government or private citizens, or criminal charges, including, but not limited to, seizure of assets, disgorgement of profits, cessation of business activities or divestiture. As an entity that conducts business involving psilocybin and psilocin, we are potentially subject to federal and state forfeiture laws (criminal and civil) that permit the government to seize the proceeds of criminal activity. Civil forfeiture laws could provide an alternative for the federal government or any state (or local police force) that wants to discourage residents from conducting transactions with psilocybin- and psilocin-related businesses but believes criminal liability is too difficult to prove beyond a reasonable doubt. Also, an individual can be required to forfeit property considered to be the proceeds of a crime even if the individual is not convicted of the crime, and the standard of proof in a civil forfeiture matter is lower than the standard in a criminal matter. Depending on the applicable law, whether federal or state, rather than having to establish liability beyond a reasonable doubt, the federal government or the state, as applicable, may be required to prove that the money or property at issue is proceeds of a crime only by either clear and convincing evidence or a mere preponderance of the evidence.
If our products are diverted into criminal channels of commerce, investors located in jurisdictions where psychedelic substances remain illegal may be at risk of prosecution under conspiracy, aiding and abetting, and money laundering statutes, and be at further risk of losing their investments or proceeds under forfeiture statutes. Many jurisdictions remain fully able to take action to prevent the proceeds of psychedelics businesses from entering their state. Our investors and prospective investors should be aware of these potentially relevant laws in considering whether to invest in us.
Regulation - Risk 8
Even if therapeutic product candidates obtain regulatory approval, our clients will be subject to ongoing obligations and continued regulatory review, which may result in significant additional expense to them and may decrease the quantity of our products and services that they purchase. Additionally, any such therapeutic candidates, if approved, could be subject to labelling and other restrictions and market withdrawal, which would also decrease the quantity of our products and services that our clients purchase.
If Health Canada, the FDA or another equivalent regulatory authority approves a client's psychedelics-based therapeutic candidate, the manufacturing processes, labelling, packaging, distribution, adverse event reporting, storage, advertising, promotion and recordkeeping for the therapy and underlying therapeutic substance will be subject to extensive and ongoing regulatory requirements. These requirements include submissions of safety and other post-marketing information and reports, registration, as well as continued compliance with cGMPs and with good clinical practices, or GCPs, for any clinical trials that our clients conduct post-approval, all of which may result in significant expense to them and limit their ability to commercialize such therapies. Any such limits on their ability to commercialize approved therapies may cause them to purchase fewer of our products and services, which will adversely impact our business, financial condition and results of operations. Additionally, a company may not promote "off-label" uses for its drug products. An off-label use is the use of a product for an indication that is not described in the product's FDA-approved label in the United States or for uses in other jurisdictions that differ from those approved by the applicable regulatory agencies. Physicians, on the other hand, may prescribe products for off-label uses. Although the FDA and other regulatory agencies do not regulate a physician's choice of drug treatment made in the physician's independent medical judgment, they do restrict promotional communications from companies or their sales force with respect to off-label uses of products for which marketing clearance has not been issued.
Later discovery of previously unknown problems with any approved therapeutic product candidate, including adverse events of unanticipated severity or frequency, or with respect to a CMO's manufacturing processes, or failure to comply with regulatory requirements, may result in, among other things:
- restrictions on the labelling, distribution, marketing or manufacturing of an approved therapy or any of our client's future therapeutic candidates, withdrawal of the product from the market, or product recalls; - untitled and warning letters, or holds on clinical trials;- refusal by Health Canada, the FDA or other equivalent foreign regulatory authorities to approve pending applications or supplements to approved applications our clients filed or suspension or revocation of license approvals; - requirements to conduct post-marketing studies or clinical trials; - restrictions on coverage by third-party payors; - fines, restitution or disgorgement of profits or revenue; - suspension or withdrawal of marketing approvals; - product seizure or detention, or refusal to permit the import or export of the product; and - injunctions or the imposition of civil or criminal penalties.
Any such outcomes would diminish our client's ability to successfully commercialize the applicable therapeutic products, which in turn would cause them to purchase fewer of our products and services.
In addition, any regulatory approvals that our clients receive for a therapeutic product candidate may also be subject to limitations on the approved indicated uses for which the therapy may be marketed or to the conditions of approval, or contain requirements for potentially costly post-marketing testing, including Phase IV clinical trials, and surveillance to monitor the safety and efficacy of such therapeutic product candidates.
If there are changes in the application of legislation, regulations or regulatory policies, or if problems are discovered with a client's investigational therapy or our manufacture of an underlying therapeutic substance, or if we, our client or one of their distributors, licensees or co-marketers fails to comply with regulatory requirements, the regulators could take various actions. These include imposing fines on our client or on us, if applicable, imposing restrictions on the therapeutic or its manufacture and requiring our client to recall or remove the therapeutic from the market. The regulators could also suspend or withdraw marketing authorizations, requiring our client to conduct additional clinical trials, change the therapeutic labelling or submit additional applications for marketing authorization. If any of these events occurs, our client's ability to sell the applicable therapeutic product may be impaired, and they may incur substantial additional expense to comply with regulatory requirements. This could cause our client to purchase fewer of our products and services, which could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Regulation - Risk 9
We have to comply with current Good Manufacturing Practices regulations applicable to our psychedelics-based products manufacturing operations.
Health Canada and the FDA and other equivalent regulatory bodies in other jurisdictions ensure the quality of drug products by carefully monitoring drug manufacturers' compliance with cGMP regulations. These regulations govern manufacturing processes and procedures (including record keeping) and the implementation and operation of quality systems to control and assure the quality of investigational products and products approved for sale, and they are enforced through Health Canada's and the FDA's inspection programs. If Health Canada or the FDA determines that we are not in compliance with applicable laws and regulations, including those governing cGMPs, Health Canada or the FDA may not approve new drug applications or submissions, or NDAs or NDSs, submitted by our clients and containing products manufactured by us until the deficiencies are corrected. Correcting any such deficiencies may be costly and time-consuming, and it may harm our client relationships and status in the marketplace. Moreover, our failure to comply with regulations application to our manufacturing facilities could result in sanctions being imposed on us or our clients, including clinical holds, fines, injunctions, civil penalties, seizures or recalls of product candidates or products, operating restrictions and criminal prosecutions, any of which could significantly and adversely affect the demand for our or our clients' products. In addition, approved products and the facilities at which they are manufactured are required to maintain ongoing compliance with extensive FDA requirements and the requirements of other similar agencies, including ensuring that quality control and manufacturing procedures conform to cGMP requirements. As such, we are subject to continual review and periodic inspections to assess compliance with cGMPs.
Regulation - Risk 10
Changes in the regulatory status of psychedelic substances will present additional risks to our business and will create additional regulatory costs and challenges.
Any changes in applicable laws and regulations could have an adverse effect on our operations. The psychedelic drug industry is a fairly new industry and we cannot predict the impact of the ever-evolving compliance regime in respect of this industry. Similarly, we cannot predict the time required to secure all appropriate regulatory approvals for future products and services, or the extent of testing and documentation that may, from time to time, be required by governmental authorities. The impact of compliance regimes, any delays in obtaining, or failure to obtain regulatory approvals may significantly delay or impact the development of markets, our business and products, and sales initiatives and could have a material adverse effect on the business, financial condition and operating results of our business.
For example, if psilocybin and/or psilocin is rescheduled under the CSA as a Schedule II or lower controlled substance (i.e., Schedule III, IV or V), the ability to conduct research on psilocybin and psilocin would most likely be improved. However, rescheduling psilocybin and psilocin may materially alter enforcement policies across many federal agencies, primarily the FDA and DEA. The FDA is responsible for ensuring public health and safety through regulation of food, drugs, supplements, and cosmetics, among other products, through its enforcement authority pursuant to the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, or the FDCA. The FDA's responsibilities include regulating the ingredients as well as the marketing and labelling of drugs sold in interstate commerce. Because it is currently illegal under federal law to produce and sell psilocybin and psilocin, and because there are no federally recognized medical uses, the FDA has historically deferred enforcement related to psilocybin and psilocin to the DEA. If psilocybin and psilocin were to be rescheduled to a federally controlled, yet legal, substance, the FDA would likely play a more active regulatory role. The DEA would continue to be active in regulating manufacturing, distribution and dispensing of such substances. The potential for multi-agency enforcement post-rescheduling could threaten or have a materially adverse effect on our business.
Despite the current status of psilocybin and psilocin as Schedule I controlled substances in the United States, there may be changes in the status of psilocybin or psilocin under the laws of certain U.S. cities or states. For instance, the city and county of Denver voted in 2019 to make the enforcement of any laws imposing criminal penalties for the personal use and personal possession of psilocybin mushrooms the lowest law enforcement priority in the city and county of Denver, and in Oregon, Measure 109 was passed in November 2020 directing the Oregon Health Authority, or OHA, after a two-year development period, to license and regulate the manufacturing, transportation, delivery, sale and purchase of psilocybin products and the provision of psilocybin services. Other jurisdictions in Canada and the United States may proceed to authorize decriminalization to varying extents and employing varying regulatory frameworks. The decriminalization of psilocybin or psilocin, or other psychedelic substances, without regulatory oversight, or with inadequate or ineffective regulatory oversight, may lead to the setup of clinics without proper therapeutic infrastructure or adequate clinical research, which could put patients at risk and bring reputational and regulatory risk to the entire industry, making it harder for us to successfully operate our business. Furthermore, the legalization of psilocybin or psilocin could also impact our commercial sales if our clients receive regulatory approval as it would reduce the barrier to entry and could increase their competition.
The success of our business is dependent on our activities being permissible under applicable laws and any reform of controlled substances laws or other laws may have a material impact on our business and success. There is no assurance that activities of our business will continue to be legally permissible.
Regulation - Risk 11
Our business plan depends on the occurrence of regulatory changes that may benefit the psychotropics-based medicines market and on determinations by U.S. and Canadian regulators that are favorable to our company, and there can be no assurance that such changes or determinations will occur.
The strict regulatory environment that governs our business activity has potential to severely limit our market opportunities both in Canada and the United States. Because the APIs and other products we plan to produce are restricted drugs on the Schedule to Part J of the Canadian Food and Drug Regulations, their sale in Canada will be authorized only for the purposes of clinical testing in an "institution" for the purpose of determining the hazards and efficacy of the drug, and for laboratory research in the institution by qualified investigators. Sale of our APIs in Canada for commercial purposes will be prohibited unless and until the substances we produce are removed from Part J of the Food and Drug Regulations. This regulatory change may never happen, or it may not happen in time for our business to benefit from the change. Under the Food and Drug Regulations, "institution" is defined as any institution engaged in research on drugs and includes a hospital, a university in Canada or a department or agency of the Canadian government. While we believe that Health Canada is likely to interpret this definition broadly to allow sales to private biopharmaceutical companies conducting research in this space, there remains a risk that Health Canada may take a more restrictive view of which facilities qualify as "institutions" under the law. A restrictive interpretation would limit our potential customers in Canada, even for clinical testing and laboratory research purposes. In the United States, where most of the substances we intend to produce are currently listed on Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act, the DEA will only approve an import permit for our potential U.S. clients if U.S. domestic supply of the substance is found to be inadequate for scientific studies, or if competition among domestic manufacturers of the substance is inadequate for medical or scientific needs and will not be rendered adequate by the registration of additional U.S. domestic manufacturers. If U.S. manufacturers begin to produce the same APIs we produce, and the DEA determines that U.S. domestic supply or competition is adequate, we may not be able to export to U.S. customers at all. Our ability to sell our products on a commercial scale in the United States also depends on the substances being rescheduled to a schedule that permits their use for commercial manufacture, as Schedule I substances can only be used for research purposes. Even if the substances we produce are rescheduled to Schedule II, however, their use will still entail significant restrictions that may severely limit our market potential in the United States. In order to sell our products in the United States, it is possible that we will have to establish a U.S. manufacturing facility, which would be costly and time-consuming. All of the above are unknown variables and contingencies that affect our ability to commercialize our products in Canada and the United States.
Litigation & Legal Liabilities3 | 3.5%
Litigation & Legal Liabilities - Risk 1
Added
Our independent auditors concurred with our management's assessment that raises concern as to our ability to continue as a going concern.
On a consolidated basis, we have incurred significant operating losses since inception. Our financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty. As of December 31, 2023, we have an accumulated deficit of $49.0 million.
Because we do not expect that existing operational cash flow will be sufficient to fund presently anticipated operations, this raises substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern. Therefore, we will need to raise additional funds and are currently exploring alternative sources of financing. Historically, our operations have been financed primarily by the sale and issuance of our common shares, from the issuance of convertible and non-convertible promissory notes, and our IPO. We will continue to be dependent upon equity and debt financings or collaborations or other forms of capital at least until we are able to generate positive cash flows from product sales, if ever.
If we are unable to obtain sufficient funding, our business, prospects, financial condition and results of operations will be materially and adversely affected, and we may be unable to continue as a going concern.
Litigation & Legal Liabilities - Risk 2
Our business could expose us to potential product liability and other liability risks.
While we do carry product liability insurance in Canada, we do not currently carry any product liability insurance coverage in the United States. Our business could expose us to potential product liability, recalls and other liability risks that are inherent in the sale of pharmaceutical materials and finished products. We can provide no assurance that such potential claims will not be asserted against us. A successful liability claim or series of claims brought against us could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. If we decide to obtain product liability insurance, we cannot provide any assurances that we will be able to obtain or maintain adequate product liability insurance of on acceptable terms, if at all, or that such insurance will provide adequate coverage against potential liabilities. Claims or losses in excess of any product liability cover that may be obtained by us could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
In addition, manufacturers and distributors of pharmaceutical products are sometimes subject to the recall or return of their products for a variety of reasons, including product defects, such as contamination, unintended harmful side effects or interactions with other substances, packaging safety and inadequate or inaccurate labelling disclosure. If any of our products are recalled due to an alleged product defect or for any other reason, we could be required to incur the unexpected expense of the recall and any legal proceedings that might arise in connection with the recall. We may lose a significant amount of sales and may not be able to replace those sales at an acceptable margin or at all. In addition, product recall may require significant management attention. Although we will implement detailed procedures for testing our products, there can be no assurance that any quality, potency or contamination problems will be detected in time to avoid unforeseen product recalls, regulatory action or lawsuits. A recall for any of the foregoing reasons could lead to decreased demand for our products and could have a material adverse effect on the results of operations and financial condition of our business. Additionally, product recalls may lead to increased scrutiny of our operations by regulatory agencies, requiring further management attention and potential legal fees and other expenses.
Litigation & Legal Liabilities - Risk 3
Changed
Because we are a Canadian company, it may be difficult to serve legal process or enforce judgments against us.
We are incorporated and maintain operations in Canada. In addition, while certain of our directors and officers reside in the United States, many of them reside outside of the United States. Accordingly, service of process upon us may be difficult to obtain within the United States. Furthermore, because substantially all of our assets are located outside the United States, any judgment obtained in the United States against us, including one predicated on the civil liability provisions of the U.S. federal securities laws, may not be collectible within the United States. Therefore, it may not be possible to enforce those actions against us.
In addition, it may be difficult to assert U.S. securities law claims in original actions instituted in Canada. Canadian courts may refuse to hear a claim based on an alleged violation of U.S. securities laws against us or these persons on the grounds that Canada is not the most appropriate forum in which to bring such a claim. Even if a Canadian court agrees to hear a claim, it may determine that Canadian law and not U.S. law is applicable to the claim. If U.S. law is found to be applicable, the content of applicable U.S. law must be proved as a fact, which can be a time-consuming and costly process. Certain matters of procedure will also be governed by Canadian law. Furthermore, it may not be possible to subject foreign persons or entities to the jurisdiction of the courts in Canada. Similarly, to the extent that our assets are located in Canada, investors may have difficulty collecting from us any judgments obtained in the U.S. courts and predicated on the civil liability provisions of U.S. securities provisions.
Taxation & Government Incentives4 | 4.7%
Taxation & Government Incentives - Risk 1
Changed
Tax authorities may disagree with our positions and conclusions regarding certain tax positions, resulting in unanticipated costs, taxes or non-realization of expected benefits.
A tax authority may disagree with tax positions that we have taken, which could result in increased tax liabilities. For example, the Canadian tax authority, the IRS or another tax authority could challenge our allocation of income by tax jurisdiction and the amounts paid between our affiliated companies pursuant to an intercompany arrangement or a transfer pricing policy, including amounts paid with respect to our intellectual property development. Similarly, a tax authority could assert that we are subject to tax in a jurisdiction where we believe we have not established a taxable connection, often referred to as a "permanent establishment" under international tax treaties, and such an assertion, if successful, could increase our expected tax liability in one or more jurisdictions. A tax authority may take the position that material income tax liabilities, interest and penalties are payable by us, in which case, we expect that we might contest such assessment. Contesting such an assessment may be lengthy and costly and if we were unsuccessful in disputing the assessment, the implications could increase our anticipated effective tax rate, where applicable.
Taxation & Government Incentives - Risk 2
Changed
We are subject to certain tax risks and treatments that could negatively impact our results of operations.
We may operate in the United States or through a U.S. subsidiary. If we or our subsidiaries are subject to U.S. corporate income tax, Section 280E of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, or the Code, generally prohibits taxpayers from deducting or claiming tax credits with respect to expenses paid or incurred in carrying on any trade or business if such trade or business (or the activities which comprise such trade or business) consists of trafficking in controlled substances (within the meaning of Schedule I and II of the CSA) which is prohibited by U.S. federal law or the law of any state in which such trade or business is conducted. The application of Code section 280E generally causes such businesses to pay higher effective U.S. federal tax rates than similar businesses in other industries. Although the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, or IRS, issued a clarification allowing the deduction of certain expenses, the scope of such items is interpreted very narrowly and the bulk of operating costs and general administrative costs are not permitted to be deducted. There is no guarantee that any federal court will issue an interpretation of Section 280E favorable to psilocybin and psilocin businesses.
Taxation & Government Incentives - Risk 3
Changed
Changes in tax laws could have a material adverse effect on our business.
There can be no assurance that the Canadian and U.S. federal income tax treatment of our business or an investment in us will not be modified, prospectively or retroactively, by legislative, judicial or administrative action, in a manner adverse to us or holders of common shares.
Taxation & Government Incentives - Risk 4
Changed
If we or one of our non-U.S. subsidiaries is a CFC, there could be materially adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences to certain U.S. Holders of our common shares.
Each "Ten Percent Shareholder" (as defined below) in a non-U.S. corporation that is classified as a controlled foreign corporation, or a CFC, for U.S. federal income tax purposes generally may be required to include in income for U.S. federal tax purposes some or all of such Ten Percent Shareholder's pro rata share of the CFC's income even if the CFC has made no distributions to its shareholders. In addition, a Ten Percent Shareholder that realizes gain from the sale or exchange of shares in a CFC may be required to classify a portion of such gain as dividend income rather than capital gain. A Ten Percent Shareholder in a CFC also has reporting obligations with respect to the ownership of the stock in the CFC. Failure to comply with these reporting obligations may subject a Ten Percent Shareholder to significant monetary penalties and may prevent the statute of limitations with respect to such Ten Percent Shareholder's U.S. federal income tax return for the year for which reporting was due from starting.
A non-U.S. corporation generally will be classified as a CFC for U.S. federal income tax purposes if Ten Percent Shareholders own, directly or indirectly, more than 50% of either the total combined voting power of all classes of stock of such corporation entitled to vote or of the total value of the stock of such corporation. A "Ten Percent Shareholder" is a United States person (as defined by the Code) who owns or is considered to own 10% or more of the total combined voting power of all classes of stock entitled to vote or 10% or more of the total value of all classes of stock of such corporation.
The determination of CFC status is complex and includes attribution rules, the application of which is not entirely certain. We cannot provide any assurances that we will assist holders of our common shares in determining whether we or any of our non-U.S. subsidiaries are treated as a CFC or whether any holder of the common shares is treated as a Ten Percent Shareholder with respect to any such CFC or furnish to any Ten Percent Shareholders information that may be necessary to comply with the aforementioned reporting and tax payment obligations.
U.S. Holders should consult their tax advisors with respect to the potential adverse U.S. tax consequences of becoming a Ten Percent Shareholder in a CFC.
Environmental / Social1 | 1.2%
Environmental / Social - Risk 1
Changed
We use biological and hazardous materials that require considerable expertise and expense for handling, storage and disposal and may result in claims against us.
We work with materials, including chemicals, biological agents and compounds that could be hazardous to human health and safety or the environment. Our operations also produce hazardous and biological waste products. Federal, provincial, state and local laws and regulations govern the use, generation, manufacture, storage, handling and disposal of these materials and wastes. We are subject to periodic inspections by Canadian provincial and federal authorities to ensure compliance with applicable laws. Compliance with applicable environmental laws and regulations is expensive, and current or future environmental laws and regulations may restrict our operations. If we do not comply with applicable regulations, we may be subject to fines and penalties.
In addition, we cannot eliminate the risk of accidental injury or contamination from these materials or wastes, which could cause an interruption of our commercialization efforts, research and development programs and business operations, as well as environmental damage resulting in costly clean-up and liabilities under applicable laws and regulations. In the event of contamination or injury, we could be liable for damages or penalized with fines in an amount exceeding our resources and our operations could be suspended or otherwise adversely affected. Furthermore, environmental laws and regulations are complex, change frequently and have tended to become more stringent. We cannot predict the impact of such changes and cannot be certain of our future compliance.
Tech & Innovation
Total Risks: 16/85 (19%)Below Sector Average
Innovation / R&D7 | 8.2%
Innovation / R&D - Risk 1
Our psychedelics-based products and services may not meet the expectations of our prospective clients, which means our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects could suffer.
Our success depends on, among other things, the market's confidence that our manufacturing operations are capable of producing high-end materials, APIs and finished drug products in a cost-efficient manner and that our contract research services will facilitate improved pharmaceutical and biotechnology product development in the psychedelics-based medicines space. To date, we have not yet cultivated significant quantities of psychedelic mushrooms or produced a refined API or finished drug product, much less had a client's product candidate using our materials receive regulatory approval. We have also not yet undertaken a significant contract research project for a client. Accordingly, in order to successfully commercialize our products and services we will need to build confidence in the market that we have the facility, equipment and expertise to provide premium contract manufacturing and research services in the psychedelics space. There can be no guarantee that our product and service offerings will meet the expectations of research institutions and of pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. If we are unable to effectively build client relationships and their confidence in our operations, our ability to commercialize or products and services will be materially and adversely impacted.
Innovation / R&D - Risk 2
We may choose not to continue developing or commercializing any of our product candidates at any time during development or after commercialization, which would reduce or eliminate our potential return on investment for those product candidates.
At any time, we may decide to discontinue the development or commercialization of any of our products or product candidates for a variety of reasons, including the appearance of new technologies that render our product obsolete, competition from a competing product or changes in or inability to comply with applicable regulatory requirements. If we terminate a program in which we have invested significant resources, we will not receive any return on our investment and we will have missed the opportunity to allocate those resources to potentially more productive uses.
Innovation / R&D - Risk 3
We may expend our limited resources to pursue a particular product and fail to capitalize on products that may be more profitable or for which there is a greater likelihood of success.
Because we have limited financial and managerial resources, we will be compelled to focus our initial cultivation, research and development efforts on a limited number of psychedelics-based products and research projects for our clients who are developing psychedelics-based medicines. As a result, we may forego or delay pursuit of opportunities with other products or contract research offerings that later prove to have greater commercial potential. Our resource allocation decisions may cause us to fail to capitalize on viable commercial products or services or profitable market opportunities. Our spending on current and future manufacturing and contract research efforts may not yield any commercially viable products or services. If we do not accurately evaluate the commercial potential or target market for a particular product or service offering, we may relinquish valuable rights to related technology or intellectual property through collaboration, licensing or other royalty arrangements in cases in which it would have been more advantageous for us to retain sole rights to such product or service. Failure to allocate resources or capitalize on strategies in a successful manner will have an adverse impact on our business.
Innovation / R&D - Risk 4
Biopharmaceutical drug development is inherently uncertain. Even if we are able to sell our products and services to clients for research and development purposes, it is possible that our clients will not be successful in developing and obtaining regulatory approval for psychedelics-based medicines. If they are unable to do so, the market for our products and services will be limited.
We intend to cultivate, extract and purify medical-grade psilocybin and other psychedelics-based products and to offer them to appropriately licensed research institutions, biopharmaceutical companies and other parties who are engaged in discovery and development with respect to psychedelics-based medicines. These clients may include universities, large cap pharmaceutical companies, biotechnology companies of all sizes and non-profit and government organizations, and they may purchase our products in order to develop, obtain regulatory approval for and commercialize therapies for a range of conditions, including but not limited to major depressive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, substance addiction, and other conditions. While we believe that we will be able to obtain significant revenues from the sale of our products for research and development purposes, we estimate that the vast majority of the economic value of the relationships we aim to establish with these potential clients is in the downstream revenues that may result if they are successful in obtaining regulatory approval for and commercializing psychedelics-based medicines. As a result, our future growth is dependent on the ability of our potential clients to successfully develop and commercialize these therapies. Due to our reliance on the success of our client's development and commercialization efforts, the risks relating to product development, regulatory clearance, authorization or approval and commercialization apply to us derivatively through the activities of our clients. We are making significant investments in our manufacturing capabilities and developing our extraction and purification techniques because we believe in the vast potential of psychedelics-based medicines to treat a range of conditions. However, there can be no assurance that our clients will successfully develop, secure marketing approvals for and commercialize any drug candidates based on psychedelics. As a result, we may not realize the intended benefits of our investments in our business and may not be able to sell sufficient quantities of our products to achieve and maintain profitability. To date, we have not yet sold any products and only a limited number of psychedelics-based medicines have been approved by Health Canada and the FDA.
Due to the uncertain, time-consuming and costly clinical development and regulatory approval process, our clients may not successfully develop any drug candidates with the psychedelics-based materials or API that we provide, or our clients may choose to discontinue the development of these drug candidates for a variety of reasons. Our clients' ability to successfully develop psychedelics-based medicines will depend on many factors, including:
- their ability to raise required capital on acceptable terms, or at all;- timely completion of their preclinical studies and clinical trials, which may be significantly slower or cost more than they anticipate;- their ability to enroll subject to their clinical studies, particularly given the untested nature of the product space, or their ability to retain subjects who have enrolled in a clinical study;- delays in developing and testing, or inability to develop and test, any clinical outcome assessments to the extent necessary for the FDA and equivalent foreign regulatory authorities to agree to their use as endpoints utilized in a clinical trial to support labelling claims;- the prevalence, duration and severity of potential side effects or other safety issues experienced with their psychedelics-based product candidates, if any, or experienced by competitors who are developing psychedelics-based medicines or who are targeting the same indications in the mental health, addiction or central nervous system disease spaces;- determinations by regulators regarding the potential for abuse of psychedelics-based medicines or products they contain;- clinical trials of their product candidates may produce negative or inconclusive results, and they may decide, or regulators may require them, to conduct additional clinical trials or abandon drug development programs;- our clients' ability to demonstrate to the satisfaction of Health Canada, the FDA or an equivalent regulatory authority that their psychedelics-based product candidates are safe and effective for the requested indications;- the timely receipt of necessary marketing approvals from the FDA and equivalent foreign regulatory authorities;- their ability to successfully develop an effective commercial strategy in the psychedelics-based medicines and thereafter commercialize our product candidates in the United States and internationally, if approved for marketing, reimbursement, sale and distribution in such countries and territories;- acceptance by physicians, payors and patients of the benefits, safety and efficacy of their psychedelics-based product candidates, if approved;- obtainment and maintenance of coverage, adequate pricing and adequate reimbursement from third-party payors, including government payors;- their ability to establish and enforce intellectual property rights in and to their product candidates;- any adverse impacts to the U.S. and global market for pharmaceutical products as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic; and - business interruptions resulting from geo-political actions, including war and terrorism, natural disasters including earthquakes, typhoons, floods and fires, pandemics, or failures or significant downtime of our information technology systems resulting from cyber-attacks on such systems or otherwise.
The risk of failure for our clients' psychedelics-based product candidates is high. The risk of failure is substantial with respect to any biopharmaceutical development efforts, but risk may be exacerbated by the novel area in which we and our clients will work. Clinical development failure can occur at any stage of testing, and there are any number of events that could delay or prevent our clients' ability to receive regulatory approval for their product candidates utilizing our psychedelics-based raw materials, APIs or finished drug products. If our clients' products entail serious side effects, they could limit the dosing of such products, limit their frequency of use, limit the targeted patient population or abandon the development of such products altogether. Regulatory authorities could also require additional warnings in the product labelling. We and our clients could be sued and held liable for harm caused to clinical trial subjects or patients.
Even if our clients eventually complete clinical testing and receive approval from Health Canada, the FDA or other equivalent agencies for psychedelics-based medicines that utilize our products, the applicable regulatory agency may grant approval or other marketing authorization contingent on the performance of costly additional clinical trials, including post-market clinical trials. The applicable regulatory authority may also approve the psychedelics-based product for a more limited indication or a narrower patient population than our client originally requested. Any such determinations by the applicable regulatory authority would delay or limit our ability to sell commercial-scale quantities of our products. Additionally, even if approved, clients will be subject to post-approval regulations, and any failure to remain in compliance with these regulations may impair their ability to commercialize the applicable product candidate, which will in turn materially diminish the market for our medical-grade psychedelics materials and APIs.
We and our clients are also subject to industry-wide regulatory risk. The number of new drug applications, or NDAs, and biologics licence applications, or BLAs, approved by Health Canada, the FDA and other equivalent agencies varies significantly over time and if there were to be an extended reduction in the number of NDAs and BLAs approved, the industry would contract and our business would be materially harmed. These regulatory agencies could also take an adverse position to the use of psychedelics-based therapies as a category, in which case our clients' regulatory pathway could narrow and our ability to commercialize our psychedelics-based raw materials, APIs and finished drug products could decline.
Our client's failure to effectively advance, market and sell suitable drug candidates with the psychedelics-based raw materials, APIs and finished drug products we provide could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects, and cause the market price of our common shares to decline.
Innovation / R&D - Risk 5
We face multiple risks in establishing and growing our contract research services offerings and we may not be successful in achieving profitability with respect to this aspect of our business.
We intend to offer contract-based drug discovery and research services to academic institutions and biopharmaceutical companies in the psychedelics space. We believe that our management team and employees have the background and expertise necessary to engage in innovative research and collaborations with key players to bring new psychedelics-based solutions into development and use. However, as an organization, we have no experience in conducting research and development activities with respect to psychedelics-based products and we may be unsuccessful in our efforts to do so. We face multiple risks in our efforts to establish and grow this aspect of our business. The economic factors and industry trends that affect biopharmaceutical companies will also affect our contract research services business. Biopharmaceutical companies continue to seek long-term strategic collaborations with global clinical research organizations with favorable pricing terms. Competition for these collaborations is intense and we may decide to forego an opportunity or we may not be selected, in which case a competitor may enter into the collaboration and our business with the client, if any, may be limited. In addition, if the biopharmaceutical industry reduces its contract research services activities or reduces its outsourcing of research and development projects or such outsourcing fails to grow at projected rates, our operations and financial condition could be materially and adversely affected. We may also be negatively impacted by consolidation and other factors in the biopharmaceutical industry, which may slow decision making by our clients or result in the delay or cancellation of research and development activities. Our commercial services may be affected by reductions in new drug launches and increases in the number of drugs losing patent protection. All of these events could adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.
We expect that most of the contracts we enter into with clients for our research services will be terminable by our clients upon a specified number of days' notice. Our clients may delay, terminate or reduce the scope of our contracts for a variety of reasons beyond our control, including but not limited to: lack of available financing, budgetary limits or changing priorities; actions by regulatory authorities; unexpected or undesired clinical results for products; shift of business to a competitor or internal resources; and product withdrawal following market launch. We also expect that most of our contacts will be either fee for service contracts or fixed-fee contracts. Our future financial results may be adversely impacted if we initially under-price our contracts or otherwise overrun our cost estimates and are unable to successfully negotiate a change order. Change orders typically occur when the scope of work we perform needs to be modified from that originally contemplated by our contract with the client. Modifications can occur, for example, when there is a change in a key assumption or parameter related to the research project or a significant change in timing. Where we are not successful in converting out-of-scope work into change orders under our current contracts, we bear the cost of the additional work. Such under-pricing, significant cost overruns or delay in documentation of change orders could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Innovation / R&D - Risk 6
The expansion of the use of psychedelics and other psychotropics in the medical industry may require new clinical research into effective medical therapies.
Research regarding the potential medical benefits, viability, safety, efficacy, addictiveness, dosing and social acceptance of psychedelic and other psychotropic products remains in early stages. There have been relatively few clinical trials on the benefits of such products. Although we believe that the currently available studies support our beliefs regarding the medical benefits, viability, safety, efficacy, dosing and social acceptance of psychedelic and other psychotropic products, future research and clinical trials may prove such statements to be incorrect, or could raise concerns regarding, and perceptions relating to, psychedelics-based raw material precursors and APIs. Given these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, potential investors should understand that the breadth of application of psychedelics-based medicines may not be as expansive as the existing research suggests. Future research studies and clinical trials may draw opposing conclusions to those stated in this Annual Report or reach negative conclusions regarding the potential medical benefits, viability, safety, efficacy, dosing, social acceptance or other facts and perceptions related to psychedelic and other psychotropic products, which could have a material adverse effect on the demand for our products with the potential to lead to a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Innovation / R&D - Risk 7
Our commercial success depends on our technical abilities to cultivate, extract or synthetically derive high quality psychotropic products, as well as on the acceptance of these products by clients in our targeted markets.
We utilize advanced plant and fungi cultivation technology along with various biotechnology and direct chemical synthesis, isolation, and purification systems to produce high-quality, medical-grade psychotropic compounds to sale to appropriately licenced research institutions, biopharmaceutical companies and other clients. Our clients, in turn, utilize our products for further research, development and potential commercialization as therapies for a range of conditions. As a result, the quality and sophistication of our manufacturing processes and extraction and purification techniques is critical to our ability to grow revenue, expand our operations and become profitable. In particular, our business depends, among other things, on:
- our ability to manufacture products at commercial scale and on the desired timeframes that are set out by our clients;- our ability to execute on our strategy to enter into new arrangements with targeted clients and establish a robust sales pipeline for our products;- our ability to increase awareness in the market of our manufacturing capabilities and the benefits of our products;- the rate of adoption of our products by academic institutions, biopharmaceutical companies and others;- if competitors develop a manufacturing capacity or techniques that enable commercialization at a higher rate than us;- the timing and scope of approvals by Health Canada or the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, or any other regulatory body for drugs that are developed by our clients using products supplied by us;- negative publicity regarding the psychedelics industry or psychedelics-based medicines; and - our ability to further validate our manufacturing capabilities and technology through research and accompanying publications.
There can be no assurance that we will successfully address any of these or other factors that may affect the market acceptance of our products and techniques. If we are unsuccessful in achieving and maintaining market acceptance of our platform, our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects could be adversely affected.
Trade Secrets8 | 9.4%
Trade Secrets - Risk 1
Changed
Failure to obtain or register intellectual property rights used or proposed to be used in our business could result in a material adverse impact on our business.
If we are unable to register or, if registered, maintain effective patent rights for certain of our psychedelics-based products and proprietary cultivation and refinement methods, we may not be able to effectively compete in the market. If we are not able to protect our proprietary information and know-how, such proprietary information may be used by others to compete against us. We may not be able to identify infringements of our patents (if and when granted), and, accordingly, the enforcement of our intellectual property rights may be difficult. Once such infringements are identified, enforcement could be costly and time consuming. Third party claims of intellectual property infringement, whether or not reasonable, may prevent or delay our development and commercialization efforts.
Our success will depend in part upon our ability to protect our intellectual property and proprietary technologies and upon the nature and scope of the intellectual property protection we receive. The ability to compete effectively and to achieve partnerships will depend on our ability to develop and maintain proprietary aspects of our products and methods and to operate without infringing on the proprietary rights of others. The presence of such proprietary rights of others could severely limit our ability to develop and commercialize our products and methods and to conduct our existing research into psychedelics cultivation, extraction and purification, and could require financial resources to defend litigation, which may be in excess of our ability to raise such funds. There is no assurance that our patent applications submitted, if any, or those that we intend to acquire will be approved in a form that will be sufficient to protect our proprietary products and technology and gain or keep any competitive advantage that we may have or, once approved, will be upheld in any post-grant proceedings brought by any third parties.
The patent positions of biotechnology companies can be highly uncertain and involve complex legal, scientific and factual questions for which important legal principles remain unresolved. Patents that may be issued to us may be challenged, invalidated or circumvented. To the extent our intellectual property offers inadequate protection, or is found to be invalid or unenforceable, we will be exposed to a greater risk of direct competition. If our intellectual property does not provide adequate protection against our competitors, our competitive position could be adversely affected, as could our business, financial condition and results of operations. Both the patent application process and the process of managing patent disputes can be time consuming and expensive, and the laws of some foreign countries may not protect our intellectual property rights to the same extent as do the laws of Canada and the United States. We will be able to protect our intellectual property from unauthorized use by third parties only to the extent that our proprietary technologies, key products, and any future products are covered by valid and enforceable intellectual property rights, including patents, or are effectively maintained as trade secrets, and provided we have the funds to enforce our rights, if necessary.
Trade Secrets - Risk 2
Changed
Changes in patent law and its interpretation could diminish the value of potential patents in general, thereby impairing our ability to protect our product candidates.
We may become dependent on intellectual property rights. Obtaining and enforcing patents in our industry involves technological and legal complexity, and obtaining and enforcing these potential patents is costly, time consuming and inherently uncertain. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled on several patent cases in recent years, either narrowing the scope of patent protection available in certain circumstances or weakening the rights of patent owners in certain situations. In addition to increasing uncertainty with regard to our ability to obtain patents in the future, this combination of events has created uncertainty with respect to the value of patents, once obtained. Depending on decisions by the U.S. Congress, the federal courts, and the United States Patent and Trademark Office the laws and regulations governing patents could change in unpredictable ways that could weaken our ability to obtain new patents or to enforce existing patents.
Trade Secrets - Risk 3
Changed
Litigation regarding patents, patent applications, and other proprietary rights may be expensive, time consuming and cause delays in the development of our proprietary products and methods.
To protect our competitive position, we may from time to time need to resort to litigation in order to enforce or defend any patents or other intellectual property rights owned by or licensed to us, or to determine or challenge the scope or validity of patents or other intellectual property rights of third parties. Enforcement of intellectual property rights is difficult, unpredictable and expensive, and many of our adversaries in these proceedings may have the ability to dedicate substantially greater resources to prosecuting these legal actions than we can. We may fail in enforcing our rights, in which case our competitors and other third parties may be permitted to use our proprietary products and methods without payment to us.
In addition, litigation involving our patents carries the risk that one or more of our patents will be subject to an adverse court ruling. Such an adverse court ruling could allow third parties to commercialize our proprietary products and methods, and then compete directly with us, without payment to us. Proceedings involving our patents or patent applications or those of others could result in adverse decisions regarding:
- the patentability of our inventions relating to our products and methods; and - the enforceability, validity, or scope of protection offered by our patents relating to our products and methods.
If we were to initiate legal proceedings against a third party to enforce a patent covering one of our investigational therapies, the defendant could counterclaim that our patent is invalid or unenforceable. In patent litigation in the United States or in Europe, defendant counterclaims alleging invalidity or unenforceability are commonplace. A claim for a validity challenge may be based on failure to meet any of several statutory requirements, for example, lack of novelty, obviousness or non-enablement. A claim for unenforceability assertion could be an allegation that someone connected with prosecution of the patent withheld relevant information from the USPTO or made a misleading statement, during prosecution. Third parties may also raise challenges to the validity of our patent claims before administrative bodies in the United States or abroad, even outside the context of litigation. Such mechanisms include re-examination, post-grant review, inter partes review, interference proceedings, derivation proceedings, and equivalent proceedings in foreign jurisdictions (i.e., opposition proceedings). Such proceedings could result in the revocation of, cancellation of, or amendment to our patents in such a way that they no longer cover our proprietary products or methods. The outcome following legal assertions of invalidity and unenforceability during patent litigation or other proceedings is unpredictable. With respect to the validity question, for example, we cannot be certain that there is no invalidating prior art, of which we and the patent examiner were unaware during prosecution. If a defendant or third party were to prevail on a legal assertion of invalidity or unenforceability, we would lose at least part, and perhaps all, of the patent protection on our products or methods. Such a loss of patent protection could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
If we are unable to avoid infringing the patent rights of others, we may be required to seek a license, defend an infringement action, or challenge the validity of the patents in court. Regardless of the outcome, patent litigation is costly and time consuming. In some cases, we may not have sufficient resources to bring these actions to a successful conclusion. In addition, if we do not obtain a license, develop or obtain non-infringing technology, fail to defend an infringement action successfully or have infringed patents declared invalid, we may:
- incur substantial monetary damages;- encounter significant delays in bringing our key products and services to market; and - be precluded from participating in the manufacture, use or sale of our key products or methods requiring licenses.
Even if we are successful in these proceedings, we may incur substantial costs and divert management time and attention in pursuing these proceedings, which could have a material adverse effect on our business.
Trade Secrets - Risk 4
Changed
Obtaining and maintaining our patent protection depends on compliance with various procedural, document submission, fee payment and other requirements imposed by governmental patent agencies, and our patent protection could be reduced or eliminated for non-compliance with these requirements.
Periodic maintenance and annuity fees on any issued patent are due to be paid to the USPTO and foreign patent agencies in several stages over the lifetime of the patent. The USPTO and various foreign governmental patent agencies also require compliance with a number of procedural, documentary, fee payment and other similar provisions during the patent application process. While an inadvertent lapse can in many cases be cured by payment of a late fee or by other means in accordance with the applicable rules, there are situations in which noncompliance can result in abandonment or lapse of the patent or patent application, resulting in partial or complete loss of patent rights in the relevant jurisdiction. Non-compliance events that could result in abandonment or lapse of a patent or patent application include failure to respond to official actions within prescribed time limits, non-payment of fees and failure to properly legalize and submit formal documents. If we fail to maintain the patents and patent applications covering our proprietary products and methods, third parties, including our competitors might be able to enter the market with similar or identical products or methods, which would have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
Trade Secrets - Risk 5
Changed
We may be subject to claims by third parties asserting that our employees or we have misappropriated their intellectual property, or claiming ownership of what we regard as our own intellectual property.
Many of our consultants, advisors and employees, including our senior management, were previously employed at other biotechnology or pharmaceutical companies, including our competitors and potential competitors. Some of these individuals executed proprietary rights, non-disclosure and non-competition agreements in connection with such previous employment. Although we intend that our consultants, advisors and employees do not use proprietary information or know-how of their former employers while working for us, we may be subject to claims that we or these individuals have used or disclosed confidential information or intellectual property, including trade secrets or other proprietary information, of any such individual's former employer. Litigation may be necessary to defend against these claims.
If we fail in prosecuting or defending any such claims, in addition to paying monetary damages, we may lose valuable intellectual property rights or personnel or sustain damages. Such intellectual property rights could be awarded to a third party, and we could be required to obtain a license from such third party to commercialize our therapies. Such a license may not be available on commercially reasonable terms or at all. Even if we successfully prosecute or defend against such claims, litigation could result in substantial costs and distract our management from its day-to-day activities.
In addition, while it is our policy to require our employees and contractors who may be involved in the conception or development of intellectual property to execute agreements assigning such intellectual property to us, we may be unsuccessful in executing such an agreement with each party who, in fact, conceives or develops intellectual property that we regard as our own. The assignment of intellectual property rights may not be self-executing, or the assignment agreements may be breached, and we may be forced to bring claims against third parties, or defend claims that they may bring against us, to determine the ownership of what we regard as our intellectual property. Such claims could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Trade Secrets - Risk 6
Changed
Confidentiality agreements with employees and others may not adequately prevent disclosure of trade secrets and protect other proprietary information.
We consider proprietary trade secrets, confidential know-how and unpatented know-how to be important to our business. We rely on trade secrets or confidential know-how to protect our technology, especially where patent protection is believed to be of limited value. However, trade secrets and confidential know-how are difficult to maintain as confidential.
To protect this type of information against disclosure or appropriation by third parties and our competitors, our policy is to require our employees, consultants, contractors and advisors to enter into confidentiality agreements with us. However, we cannot guarantee that we have entered into such agreements with each party that may have or have had access to our trade secrets or confidential know-how. Also, current or former employees, consultants, contractors and advisers may unintentionally or wilfully disclose our trade secrets and confidential know-how to our competitors and other third parties or breach such agreements, and we may not be able to obtain an adequate remedy for such breaches. Enforcing a claim that a third party obtained illegally and is using trade secrets or confidential know-how is difficult, expensive, time-consuming and unpredictable. The enforceability of confidentiality agreements may vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Furthermore, if a competitor or other third party lawfully obtained or independently developed any of our trade secrets or confidential know-how, we would have no right to prevent such competitor or other third party from using that technology or information to compete with us, which could harm our competitive position. Additionally, if the steps taken to maintain our trade secrets are deemed inadequate, we may have insufficient recourse against third parties for misappropriating the trade secret. If any of our trade secrets were to be disclosed to or independently developed by a competitor or other third party, our competitive position would be materially and adversely harmed.
Failure to obtain or maintain trade secrets or confidential know-how trade protection could adversely affect our competitive position. Moreover, our competitors may independently develop substantially equivalent proprietary information and may even apply for patent protection in respect of the same. If successful in obtaining such patent protection, our competitors could limit our use of our trade secrets or confidential know-how.
Trade Secrets - Risk 7
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If our trademarks and trade names are not adequately protected, then we may not be able to build name recognition in our markets of interest and our business may be adversely affected.
Our registered or unregistered trademarks or trade names may be challenged, infringed, circumvented or declared generic or determined to be infringing on other marks. We may not be able to protect our rights to these trademarks and trade names, which we need to build name recognition by potential partners or clients in our markets of interest. If we are unable to establish name recognition based on our trademarks and trade names, then we may not be able to compete effectively and our business may be adversely affected. If other entities use trademarks similar to ours in different jurisdictions, or have senior rights to ours, it could interfere with our use of our current trademarks throughout the world.
Trade Secrets - Risk 8
Changed
Our reliance on third parties requires us to share our trade secrets, which increases the possibility that a competitor will discover them.
Because we rely on third parties, we may share trade secrets with them. We seek to protect our proprietary technology in part by entering into confidentiality agreements and other similar agreements prior to disclosing proprietary information. These agreements typically restrict the ability to publish data potentially relating to our trade secrets. Our academic and clinical collaborators typically have rights to publish data, provided that we are notified in advance and may delay publication for a specified time in order to secure intellectual property rights arising from the collaboration. In other cases, publication rights are controlled exclusively by us, although in some cases we may share these rights with other parties. We may also conduct joint research and development programs which may require us to share trade secrets under the terms of research and development collaborations or similar agreements. Despite our efforts to protect our trade secrets, our competitors may discover our trade secrets, either through breach of these agreements, independent development or publication of information including our trade secrets in cases where we do not have proprietary or otherwise protected rights at the time of publication. A competitor's discovery of our trade secrets may impair its competitive position and could have a material adverse effect on our business and financial condition.
Cyber Security1 | 1.2%
Cyber Security - Risk 1
Changed
Security breaches, loss of data and other disruptions could compromise sensitive information related to our business or prevent us from accessing critical information and expose us to liability, which could adversely affect our business and our reputation.
In the ordinary course of our business, we generate and store sensitive data, including research data, intellectual property and proprietary business information owned or controlled by ourselves or our employees, partners and other parties. We manage and maintain our applications and data utilizing a combination of on-site systems and cloud-based data centers. We utilize external security and infrastructure vendors to manage parts of our data centers. These applications and data encompass a wide variety of business-critical information, including research and development information, commercial information and business and financial information. We face a number of risks relative to protecting this critical information, including loss of access risk, inappropriate use or disclosure, accidental exposure, unauthorized access, inappropriate modification and the risk of our being unable to adequately monitor and audit and modify our controls over our critical information. This risk extends to the third-party vendors and subcontractors we use to manage this sensitive data or otherwise process it on our behalf. Further, to the extent our employees are working at home during the COVID-19 pandemic, additional risks may arise as a result of depending on the networking and security put into place by the employees. The secure processing, storage, maintenance and transmission of this critical information are vital to our operations and business strategy, and we devote significant resources to protecting such information. Although we take reasonable measures to protect sensitive data from unauthorized access, use or disclosure, no security measures can be perfect and our information technology and infrastructure may be vulnerable to attacks by hackers or infections by viruses or other malware or breached due to employee erroneous actions or inactions by our employees or contractors, malfeasance or other malicious or inadvertent disruptions. Any such breach or interruption could compromise our networks and the information stored there could be accessed by unauthorized parties, publicly disclosed, lost or stolen. Any such access, breach, or other loss of information could result in legal claims or proceedings. Unauthorized access, loss or dissemination could also disrupt our operations and damage our reputation, any of which could adversely affect our business.
Additionally, we do not currently maintain cybersecurity insurance coverage. Even if we were to obtain such coverage, we cannot be certain that such coverage will be adequate for data security liabilities actually incurred, will cover any indemnification claims against us relating to any incident, will continue to be available to us on economically reasonable terms, or at all, or that any insurer will not deny coverage as to any future claim. The successful assertion of one or more large claims against us that exceed available insurance coverage, or the occurrence of changes in our insurance policies, including premium increases or the imposition of large deductible or co-insurance requirements, could adversely affect our reputation, business, financial condition and results of operations.
Ability to Sell
Total Risks: 9/85 (11%)Above Sector Average
Competition2 | 2.4%
Competition - Risk 1
We face competition from unlicensed, unregulated participants.
Despite Canadian federal and state-level legalization of psychedelics for research purposes and the potential distribution of psychedelics through programs such as the SSPs and SAP, illicit or "black-market" operations remain abundant and may present substantial competition to us and our clients. In particular, illicit operations, despite being largely clandestine, are not required to comply with the extensive regulations that we and our clients must comply with to conduct business, and accordingly may have significantly lower costs of operation. As a result, we and our clients face competition from black market sources of psychedelics and psychedelics-based products, which are unlicensed and unregulated, and which may sell products that are deemed more desirable than ours or our clients' by certain consumers, including products with higher concentrations of active ingredients or using delivery methods that we and our clients are not permitted to use. Any inability or unwillingness of law enforcement authorities to enforce existing laws prohibiting the unlicensed cultivation and sale of psychedelics and psychedelics-based products could result in the perpetuation of the black market for psychedelics and/or have a material, adverse effect on the perception of psychedelics use. Any or all these events could have a material, adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Competition - Risk 2
We face substantial competition, which may result in others commercializing psychedelics-based products and services before or more successfully than we do, thus rendering our products and services non-competitive, obsolete or reducing the size of our market. Our customers will also face significant competition from other developers of psychedelics-based medicines and from companies pursing alternative treatments for the same indications.
The psychedelics-based product manufacturing and contract research business is an emerging industry with increasing levels of competition. We believe that due to the urgent need for new and innovative treatments for mental health conditions and the evidence-based studies showing the impact of psychedelics as a treatment for mental health conditions, there is significant potential that psychedelics as a treatment for these conditions will become more accepted in the medical community. As such, we expect to compete with other similar businesses who will are or will begin to supply medical-grade psychedelic raw materials, APIs and finished drug products and/or contract research services to clients such as universities and biopharmaceutical companies to formulate a wide range of products. We expect to face intense competition from new or existing market participants, some of which may have greater financial resources. Increased competition by larger and better financed competitors could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We are aware of a number of companies actively pursuing the development and contract manufacturing of psychedelics-based products and the provision of contract research services in the psychedelics space. For example, Numinus Wellness Inc. is a Canada-based health care company focused on creating wellness solutions centered on psychedelic therapies. Numinus is licenced in Canada to test, possess, buy and sell methylenedioxymethamphetamine, or MDMA, psilocybin, psilocin, dimethyltryptamine, or DMT, and mescaline. Additionally, HAVN Life Sciences Inc. is a Canadian biotechnology company pursuing standardized extraction of psychoactive compounds, the development of natural health care products and mental-health treatments. These companies have greater experience than we do in the psychedelics manufacturing and research services industries and as organizations they are more advanced in establishing and growing their businesses than we are. There can be no assurance that our competitors are not currently developing, or will not in the future develop, products that are equally or more economically attractive as our products. The emergence and licensing of additional U.S.-domiciled manufacturers of psychedelics-based raw ingredients or APIs may decrease our clients' ability to obtain import permits to import our raw ingredients or APIs. The success of our competitors and their products and technologies relative to our technological capabilities and competitiveness, and the increase in the U.S. domestic supply of psychedelics-based raw materials or APIs, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Many other companies are developing or commercializing therapies to treat the same diseases or indications for which our products may be useful. As a result, our clients will face significant competition in their efforts to develop, obtain regulatory approval for and commercialize psychedelics-based therapies. This competition will take the form of other companies pursuing similar psychedelics-based therapies, as well as from other biopharmaceutical companies pursuing therapies for the same indications using alternative, more established approaches. For example, we believe that psychedelics-based medicines may be effective in treating major depressive disorders. There are a number of companies that currently market and sell products or therapies, or are pursuing the development of products or therapies, for the treatment of depression, including antidepressants such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and serotonergic norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors, antipsychotics, cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT, repeat transcranial magnetic stimulation, or rTMS, electroconvulsive therapy, or ECT, vagus nerve stimulation, or VNS, and deep brain stimulation, or DBS, among others. Many of these pharmaceutical, biopharmaceutical and biotechnology competitors have established markets for their therapies and have substantially greater financial, technical, human and other resources than our clients do and may be better equipped than our clients to develop, manufacture and market superior products or therapies. In addition, many of these competitors have significantly greater experience than our clients may have in undertaking preclinical studies and human clinical trials of new therapeutic substances and in obtaining regulatory approvals of human therapeutic products. Accordingly, competitors to our clients may develop therapies that are more effective, more convenient, more widely used and less costly or have a better safety profile than our clients' therapies and these competitors may also be more successful than our clients are in marketing their therapies.
The biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries are intensely competitive and subject to rapid and significant technological change. We expect that our and our client's competitors will include large, well-established pharmaceutical companies, natural health products companies, biotechnology companies, and academic and research institutions. Many of these competitors may have greater name recognition and more extensive collaborative relationships than we or our clients have. Smaller and earlier-stage companies may also prove to be significant competitors to us and/or our clients, particularly through collaborative arrangements with large, established companies. Our competitors also compete with us in recruiting and retaining qualified scientific, management and commercial personnel. If we are unable to compete effectively in the contract manufacturing and services space against other companies providing such psychedelics-based products and services, or if our clients are unable to complete effectively against other companies pursuing psychedelics-based medicines or other approaches to the treatment of the same indications as our clients, then such failures would be likely to have a material impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Demand4 | 4.7%
Demand - Risk 1
Demand in the market for naturally derived psychedelics products may not materialize.
Initially, we intend to cultivate, extract and purify our psychedelics products, and our psilocybin API in particular, from naturally derived sources. We believe that this approach, which facilitates the potential "entourage effect" provided by the synergistic interaction of the various compounds within hallucinogenic plants, represents an advantage over the existing market for the manufacture of psychedelics-derived materials, which relies predominantly on the synthetic manufacture of these materials and refinement into isolated single molecules (e.g., psilocybin). However, we cannot provide assurances that the market for naturally derived psychedelics products will develop or that it will be as large as we anticipate. There are multiple risks involved with this market strategy, including: our competitor's synthetic manufacturing processes may prove more cost-effective and efficient or may produce more consistent yields; key market participants we might otherwise target as clients may already be more familiar and comfortable working with synthetically manufactured psychedelics products; regulatory developments may favour synthetically derived psychedelics products; and psychedelics-based medicines developed with naturally derived API or other materials may not provide the therapeutic benefits we anticipate. In the event that naturally derived psychedelics products do not achieve the traction in the research and development market that we anticipate, such developments may have an adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Demand - Risk 2
Even if our clients are successful in developing and obtaining regulatory approval for their product candidates, they may not be as successful as we anticipate in commercializing psychedelics-based medicines. If market acceptance of this class of products is limited, our business, financial results and operations may be adversely affected.
In addition, even if these product candidates receive regulatory approval in the United States, our clients may never obtain approval or commercialize such drugs outside of the United States, which would limit their full market potential and therefore our ability to realize their potential downstream value. Furthermore, approved drugs may not achieve broad market acceptance among physicians, patients, the medical community and third-party payors, in which case revenue generated from their sales would be limited. Likewise, our clients have to make decisions about which clinical stage and pre-clinical product candidates to develop and advance, and our clients may not have the resources to invest in all of the product candidates that contain antibodies discovered using our platform, or clinical data and other development considerations may not support the advancement of one or more drug candidates. Decision-making about which product candidates to prioritize involves inherent uncertainty, and our clients' development program decision-making and resource prioritization decisions, which are outside of our control, may adversely affect the potential value of those client relationships. Additionally, if one more of our clients is involved in a business combination, the client might deemphasize or terminate the development or commercialization of any product candidate that utilizes an antibody that we have discovered. If one of our clients terminates its agreement with us, we may find it more difficult to attract new clients.
Demand - Risk 3
If we are unable to support anticipated growth in demand for our contract manufacturing and research services, including ensuring that we have adequate teams and facilities to meet increased demand, or if we are unable to successfully manage our anticipated growth, our business could suffer.
We have only recently begun initiating the development of our contract manufacturing and research services, and accordingly our personnel resources are currently very limited. We anticipate significant growth in the number of programs under contract for which we are conducting manufacturing or research discovery activities. As we secure additional programs under contract, our operational capacity to execute such manufacturing and research activities may become strained. As a result, our strategy requires us to successfully scale our teams and facilities to meet future demand for our solutions. Our ability to grow our capacity will depend on our ability to expand our workforce and our facilities, and increase efficiency through automation and software solutions. We may also need to purchase additional equipment, some of which can take several months or more to procure and set up. There is no assurance that any of these increases in scale, expansion of personnel, equipment, software and computing capacities or process enhancements will be successfully implemented and in a timely manner. As limited facilities with appropriate capabilities are available in British Columbia, such facilities require purpose-built buildings often with rezoning requirements. Such projects are typically long in duration and subject to delays. Failure to manage this growth could result in delays, higher costs, declining quality, and slower responses to competitive challenges. A failure in any one of these areas could make it difficult for us to meet market expectations for our psychedelics-based products and services and could damage our reputation and the prospects for our business.
Demand - Risk 4
The psychedelics industry and market are relatively new and the industry may not succeed in the long term.
We operate our business in a relatively new industry and market. We believe that both regulators and the public have an increasing awareness and acceptance of this field. Nevertheless, psychedelics remain a controlled substance in Canada, the United States and most other jurisdictions and their use for research and therapeutic purposes remains highly regulated and narrow in scope. There is no assurance that the industry and market will continue to grow as currently estimated or anticipated or function and evolve in the manner consistent with management's expectations and assumptions. Any event or circumstance that adversely affects the psychedelic manufacturing and medicines industry and market could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. We have committed and expect to continue committing significant resources and capital to develop our psychedelics manufacturing facilities, refine our product offerings and establish our contract research services program. As a category of products and services, medical-grade psychedelics, raw materials and psychedelics-derived active pharmaceutical ingredients, or API, and research into such substances represent relatively untested offerings in the marketplace, and we cannot provide assurance that psychedelics as a category, or that our products and services in particular, will achieve market acceptance. Moreover, as a relatively new industry, there are not many established players in the psychedelic-based medicines industry whose business model we can emulate. Similarly, there is little information about comparable companies available for potential investors to review in making a decision about whether to invest in our common shares.
Sales & Marketing1 | 1.2%
Sales & Marketing - Risk 1
If we are unable to build a sales and marketing team to reach our potential clients, our business may be adversely affected.
We do not currently have a dedicated sales and marketing team. Our initial efforts to build brand and product awareness are expected to focus primarily on scientific writing and publications. Subject to the easing of restrictions related to COVID-19, we may complement this strategy with research and development staff attending a variety of scientific conferences in an effort bolster our business development pipeline. However, we may need to expand our commercial organization in order to effectively market our products and services to new clients. Competition for employees capable of negotiating and entering into contract manufacturing and supply agreements with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies is intense. We may not be able to attract and retain personnel or be able to build an efficient and effective sales organization, which could negatively impact sales and market acceptance of our products and services and limit our revenue growth and potential profitability. In addition, the time and cost of establishing a specialized sales, marketing and service force for a particular product or service may be difficult to justify in light of the revenue generated or projected. Our expected future growth will impose significant added responsibilities on members of management, including the need to identify, recruit, maintain and integrate additional employees. Our future financial performance and our ability to successfully sell our programs and to compete effectively will depend, in part, on our ability to manage this potential future growth effectively, without compromising quality.
Brand / Reputation2 | 2.4%
Brand / Reputation - Risk 1
Changed
In certain circumstances, our reputation could be damaged.
Damage to our reputation can be the result of the actual or perceived occurrence of any number of events, and could include any negative publicity, whether true or not. The increased usage of social media and other web-based tools used to generate, publish and discuss user-generated content and to connect with other users has made it increasingly easier for individuals and groups to communicate and share opinions and views regarding us and our activities, whether true or not. Although we believe that we operate in a manner that is respectful to all stakeholders and that we take care in protecting our image and reputation, we do not ultimately have direct control over how we are perceived by others. Reputation loss may result in decreased investor confidence, increased challenges in developing and maintaining community relations and an impediment to our overall ability to advance our projects, thereby having a material adverse impact on financial performance, financial condition, cash flows and growth prospects.
Brand / Reputation - Risk 2
Unfavourable publicity or consumer perception of psychedelic-based medicine may have an adverse impact on our client base, which in turn would have an adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Overcoming unfavourable publicity or consumer perception may entail extensive marketing efforts.
Our ability to establish and grow our business is substantially dependent on the success of the emerging market for psychedelics-based medicines, which will depend upon, among other matters, pronounced and rapidly changing public preferences, factors which are difficult to predict and over which we have little, if any, control. We and our clients will be highly dependent upon consumer perception of psychedelic-based therapies and other products.
Therapies containing controlled substances may generate public controversy. The public may associate such therapies and other products with illegal recreational drugs, which are prohibited or controlled substances that could be associated with risks to health, safety and are potentially addictive. Political and social pressures and adverse publicity could lead to delays in approval of, and increased expenses for, the therapeutic candidates our clients may develop. Opponents of these therapies may seek restrictions on marketing and withdrawal of any regulatory approvals. In addition, these opponents may seek to generate negative publicity in an effort to persuade the medical community to reject these therapies. Anti-psychedelic protests have historically occurred and may occur in the future and generate media coverage. Political pressures and adverse publicity could lead to delays in, and increased expenses for, and limit or restrict the introduction and marketing of, psychedelics-based therapeutic candidates.
It will likely require significant scientific evidence (including and possibly beyond that which our clients will have to produce in order to achieve regulatory approval) to change public perception and consumers' view that psychedelic-based therapies and other products are not harmful to physical or social health or are not addictive. Even if our products conform to international safety and quality standards, sales could be adversely affected if the public loses confidence in the safety, efficacy, and quality of psychedelics-based products, due to adverse events reported in clinical trials or otherwise. Negative public perceptions could cause the market for such products to shrink and may compel regulators to impose stringent requirements on the development of any such products. If such events were to occur, fewer academic institutions and biopharmaceutical companies may seek to conduct research, develop and commercialize such products.
The psychedelics market will face specific marketing challenges given the products' status as a controlled substance, which resulted in past and current public perception that the products have negative health and lifestyle effects and have the potential to cause physical and social harm due to psychoactive and potentially addictive effects. Any marketing efforts we or our clients may undertake would need to overcome this perception to build consumer confidence, brand recognition and goodwill. Consumer perception can be significantly influenced by scientific research or findings regarding the consumption of psychedelic inspired products. There can be no assurance that such research or findings will be favorable towards psychedelics-based products, or even if favorable, that such research or findings will be effective in convincing a sufficient portion of the population that psychedelics-based therapies are safe and effective. Conversely, adverse publicity about psychedelics-based therapies that we or our clients sell may discourage consumers from buying the therapies and other products that our clients may develop.
Production
Total Risks: 8/85 (9%)Below Sector Average
Manufacturing2 | 2.4%
Manufacturing - Risk 1
The manufacture of our psychotropics-based products is complex. We may encounter various difficulties in production, which could delay or entirely halt our ability to supply raw materials or API for research or clinical trials or finished drug products for commercial sale.
The process of manufacturing API based on psychotropics materials is complex, highly regulated, and subject to multiple risks. As an organization, we have no experience in cultivating and refining psychedelics-based products, we have not yet manufactured any such products and we may be unsuccessful in our efforts to do so. We can make no assurances that our efforts will result in commercially viable products. Our manufacturing operations will be susceptible to product loss due to contamination, equipment failure, improper installation or operation of equipment, vendor or operator error, inconsistency in yields, variability in product characteristics and difficulties in scaling the production process. Even minor deviations from normal manufacturing processes could result in reduced production yields, product defects, other supply disruptions and higher costs. For example, if microbial, viral or other contaminations are discovered in our products or in the manufacturing facilities in which our products are cultivated, extracted and purified, our manufacturing facilities may need to be closed for an extended period of time to investigate and remedy the contamination.
In the event that one of our clients begins preparation for later-stage clinical trials and potential commercialization, we will need to take steps to increase the scale of production of our products. We have not yet scaled up the manufacturing process for any of our products. There are risks associated with process development and large-scale manufacturing for clinical trials or commercial scale including, among others, cost overruns, potential problems with process scale-up, process reproducibility, stability issues, compliance with current Good Manufacturing Practices, or cGMP, requirements, lot consistency and timely availability of raw materials. The manufacturing of commercial quality drug product has long lead times, is very expensive and requires significant efforts including, but not limited to, scale-up of production to anticipated commercial scale, process characterization and validation, analytical method validation, identification of critical process parameters and product quality attributes, and multiple process performance and validation runs. We may be unable to successfully increase the manufacturing capacity for any of our products in a timely or cost-effective manner, or at all. In addition, quality issues may arise during scale-up or commercial activities, including, for example, contaminations and crop failure.
Any performance failure on our part could delay our client's clinical development or receipt of marketing approval. If we cannot perform as agreed with our clients, our clients may be compelled to terminate our relationship. The loss of client relationships or harm to our reputation from such performance failures would have an adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Manufacturing - Risk 2
If our operating facility becomes damaged or inoperable or we are required to vacate our facility, our ability to conduct and pursue our research and development efforts may be jeopardized.
We expect to derive the majority of our revenue based upon production of psychedelics-based compounds, formulations and raw precursor materials, scientific and engineering research and development and testing conducted at a single facility located outside of Victoria, British Columbia. Our facility and equipment could be harmed or rendered inoperable or inaccessible by natural or man-made disasters or other circumstances beyond our control, including fire, earthquake, power loss, communications failure, war or terrorism, or another catastrophic event, such as a pandemic or similar outbreak or public health crisis, which may render it difficult or impossible for us to support our clients and conduct our manufacturing operations for some period of time. The inability to address system issues could develop if our facility is inoperable or suffers a loss of utilization for even a short period of time, may result in the loss of clients or harm to our reputation, and we may be unable to regain those clients or repair our reputation in the future. Furthermore, our facility and the equipment we use to perform our cultivation, research and development work could be unavailable or costly and time-consuming to repair or replace. It would be difficult, time-consuming and expensive to rebuild our facility, to locate and qualify a new facility or license or transfer our proprietary technology to a third party. Even in the event we are able to find a third party to assist in cultivation, research and development efforts, we may be unable to negotiate commercially reasonable terms to engage with the third party. We carry insurance for damage to our property and the disruption of our business, but this insurance may not cover all of the risks associated with damage or disruption to our business, may not provide coverage in amounts sufficient to cover our potential losses and may not continue to be available to us on acceptable terms, if at all.
Employment / Personnel2 | 2.4%
Employment / Personnel - Risk 1
Our employees, independent contractors and consultants may engage in misconduct or other improper activities, including noncompliance with regulatory standards and requirements, which could have a material adverse effect on our business.
We are exposed to the risk that our employees, independent contractors and consultants may engage in fraudulent or other illegal activity or misconduct. Misconduct by these parties could include intentional, reckless and/or negligent conduct or disclosure of unauthorized activities that violate, among other things: (i) the terms and conditions of our Dealer's Licence issued under Part J of the Food and Drug Regulations; (ii) other government regulations; (iii) manufacturing standards; (iv) federal and provincial healthcare laws and regulations; or (v) laws that require the true, complete and accurate reporting of financial information or data. In particular, sales, marketing and business arrangements in the healthcare industry are subject to extensive laws and regulations intended to prevent fraud, kickbacks, self-dealing, and other abusive practices. Employee misconduct could also involve the improper use of information obtained in the course of our business, which could result in regulatory sanctions and serious harm to our reputation. 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 substantial impact on our business and results of operations, including the imposition of substantial fines or other sanctions. We believe that the risk of employee misconduct is heightened given that our operations will involve the cultivation or manufacture of psychedelics substantives, including initially the cultivation of psychedelic mushrooms and products derived therefrom.
It is not always possible for us to identify and deter misconduct by our employees and other associated persons, and the precautions taken by us 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. Additionally, we are subject to the risk that a person could allege fraud or other misconduct by our employees and other associated persons, even if none occurred. If actions by regulatory authorities are instituted against us with respect to fraud, kickbacks or other illegal practices, and we are not successful in defending ourselves or asserting our rights, those actions could have a significant impact on our business, including loss our of Dealer's Licence, the imposition of civil, criminal and administrative penalties, damages, monetary fines, contractual damages, reputational harm, diminished profits and future earnings, and curtailment of our operations, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Employment / Personnel - Risk 2
Changed
Our future growth and ability to compete effectively depends on retaining our key personnel and recruiting additional qualified personnel, and on the key personnel employed by our collaborative partners.
Our success depends upon the continued contributions of our key management, scientific and technical personnel, many of whom have been instrumental for us and have substantial experience with our therapies and related technologies. These key management individuals include the members of our board of directors and certain executive officers. We do not currently maintain any key person insurance.
The loss of key managers and senior scientists could delay our research and development activities. In addition, our ability to compete in the highly competitive biotechnology industry depends upon our ability to attract and retain highly qualified management, scientific and medical personnel. Many other companies and academic institutions that we compete against for qualified personnel have greater financial and other resources, different risk profiles and a longer history in the industry than we do. Therefore, we might not be able to attract or retain these key persons on conditions that are economically acceptable. Moreover, some qualified prospective employees may choose not to work for us due to negative perceptions regarding the therapeutic use of psychedelic substances or other objections to the therapeutic use of a controlled substance. Furthermore, we will need to recruit new managers and qualified scientific personnel to develop our business if we expand into fields that will require additional skills. Our inability to attract and retain these key persons could prevent us from achieving our objectives and implementing our business strategy, which could have a material adverse effect on our business and prospects.
We expect to experience significant growth in the number of our employees and the scope of our operations, particularly in the area of research and development. To manage our anticipated future growth, we must continue to implement and improve our managerial, operational and financial systems, expand our facilities and continue to recruit and train additional qualified personnel. Due to our limited financial resources, we may not be able to effectively manage the expansion of our operations or recruit and train additional qualified personnel. The expansion of our operations may lead to significant costs and may divert our management and business development resources. Any inability to manage growth could delay the execution of our business plans or disrupt our operations.
Supply Chain4 | 4.7%
Supply Chain - Risk 1
We believe that Canadian "safer supply programs" and Special Access Program will expand the market for our products within Canada. Such programs, however, may not be used for psychedelics products, may not provide the benefits we anticipate and may be terminated altogether.
The government of Canada has established two programs which we believe may expand the market for our psychedelics-based products and those of our clients. The Canadian government has created "safer supply programs," or SSPs, pursuant to which a regulated supply of certain drugs will be made available in order to combat the illegal drug supply and attendant risks of overdose and death. Additionally, Health Canada's Special Access Program for drugs, or SAP, enables drugs that are not marketed in Canada to be requested by practitioners for the treatment, diagnosis, or prevention of serious or life-threatening conditions when conventional therapies have failed, are unsuitable, or unavailable. Special access by Canadian health practitioners to unauthorized drugs is for serious or life-threatening conditions where conventional therapies have failed, are unsuitable, or are unavailable either as marketed products, or through enrolment in clinical trials. We believe that we or our clients may be able to utilize these programs to provide psychedelics-based therapies to consumers who might otherwise face the risk of harm from the illegal drug supply or who would otherwise be unable to access potentially life-saving non-approved psychedelics-based therapies.
However, there can be no assurance that these programs continue or that they will provide the benefits that we anticipate. The SSPs are limited in scope and to date have focused on providing a safer supply of opioids and other drugs that present a severe risk of overdose and death. To our knowledge, the SSPs have not been used to prescribe medicinal psychedelics to consumers and may never be used for this purpose. With respect to the SAP, the regulatory authority supporting the program is discretionary. In addition, access to restricted drugs, such as psychedelics, through the SAP is prohibited. However, in December 2020, Health Canada, the body that administers the SAP, published its intention to reverse the regulatory prohibition that prevents special access for restricted drugs. If and when that prohibition is removed the authorities may still choose not to authorize psychedelics-based medicines through the program. A decision to authorize or deny a request is made on a case-by-case basis by taking into consideration the nature of the applicable medical emergency, the availability of marketed alternatives and the information provided in support of the request regarding the use, safety and efficacy of the drug. The SAP is not intended to be a mechanism for circumventing drug clinical development or the regulatory review of a submission for marketing. Access to any drug through the SAP is intended to be limited in duration and quantity to meet emergency needs only. In the event that a drug submission is under regulatory review, access will be limited until that review is complete and the drug is marketed. Accordingly, psychedelics-based medicines may not be authorized under the SAP, and even if they are, their availability under the program may be very limited, both in terms of the breadth and duration of access. Moreover, our clients will be under no obligation to sell an unauthorized drug through the SAP and Health Canada cannot compel a manufacturer to do so.
Additionally, the use of the programs described above entails risks. Drugs accessed through the SAP do not undergo the scrutiny of a benefit-risk assessment that is part of the regulatory framework for a new drug submission or a clinical trial application. These drugs are exempt from the Canadian Food and Drugs Act and its regulations. The decisions to authorize a drug through the SAP are based on a practitioner's rationale about the use of the drug for the medical emergency and how it would benefit their patient based on the patient's clinical history. Accordingly, an authorization through the SAP does not constitute an opinion that a drug is safe, efficacious or of high quality. To the extent that our clients have not completed the clinical development progress and they make drugs using our raw materials or API available through the SAP, we may directly or indirectly face a greater than average risk of product liability exposure.
To the extent that the SSPs or SAP do not provide the benefits to our business that we expect, such outcome may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Supply Chain - Risk 2
Changed
We face significant risks related to key third-party relationships.
We plan to enter into agreements with third parties with respect to our operations. Such relationships could present unforeseen obstacles or costs and may involve risks that could adversely affect us, including significant amounts of management time that may be diverted from operations in order to pursue and maintain such relationships. There can be no assurance that such third parties will achieve the expected benefits or that we will be able to consummate any future relationships on satisfactory terms, or at all. Any of the foregoing could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Any violation of any applicable laws and regulations, such as the CDSA and CSA, or of similar legislation in the jurisdictions in which it operates, could result in such third parties to suspend or withdraw their services. The termination or cancellation of any such agreements or the failure of our business and/or the other parties to these arrangements to fulfill their obligations could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, disagreements between us and any of third parties could lead to delays or time consuming and expensive legal proceedings, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Supply Chain - Risk 3
Drug manufacturers who obtain FDA approval for their new drugs must prove that domestic supplies are inadequate in order to import a foreign API on Schedule I or II to be used in commercial drug manufacturing.
If a U.S. drug manufacturer wishes to use our product as the API in an FDA-approved drug for commercial manufacture, it will need to obtain DEA approval for the importation of our product. DEA will not approve an import permit request unless it is shown that the import is necessary to provide for the US's medical needs and competition among domestic manufacturers of the substance is inadequate. Depending on the existence, at that time, of domestic registered manufacturers with the capability of producing the same APIs as us, DEA may not agree that domestic manufacture is inadequate and may refuse our customers' requests for import permits. In such cases, we may not be able to supply the drug manufacturer APIs unless we were to open a U.S. manufacturing facility. Such an undertaking would require considerable additional time and resources and may not materialize at all.
Supply Chain - Risk 4
The registration of additional United States-based manufacturers of the raw materials or APIs we create may hinder our ability to sell into the United States.
The United States has a policy of prioritizing U.S. domestically-manufactured scheduled substances over foreign ones. The DEA establishes an aggregate production quota for Schedule I or II controlled substances based on the amount of Schedule I or II controlled substances necessary to be manufactured in or imported into the United States in a given year to provide for the estimated medical, scientific, research and industrial needs of the United States, for lawful export requirements, and for the establishment and maintenance of reserve stocks. Individual manufacturing quotas are issued to registered manufacturers who wish to manufacture a quantity of specific Schedule I or II controlled substances. Import permits are only granted if the DEA finds that the United States' domestic supply of any controlled substance is inadequate for scientific studies or finds that competition among domestic manufacturers of the controlled substance is inadequate and will not be rendered adequate by the registration of additional manufacturers. The aggregate U.S. production quotas for psilocybin, psilocin, MDMA, and DMT among other psychedelics, were increased significantly in 2022. The DEA's final aggregate production quotas for 2023 may be even higher. As a result of the increased quotas, DEA may register additional U.S. domestic manufacturers of the raw materials or APIs we manufacture, or increase individual manufacturing quotas for those raw materials or APIs. If DEA does increase U.S. domestic supply of the APIs we manufacture, our market share in the United States may be significantly decreased or eliminated, which would have a material and adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Macro & Political
Total Risks: 4/85 (5%)Below Sector Average
Economy & Political Environment1 | 1.2%
Economy & Political Environment - Risk 1
Changed
We may be negatively impacted by challenging global economic conditions.
Our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flow may be negatively impacted by challenging global economic conditions.
A global economic slowdown would cause disruptions and extreme volatility in global financial markets, increased rates of default and bankruptcy and declining consumer and business confidence, which can lead to decreased levels of consumer spending. These macroeconomic developments could negatively impact our business, which depends on the general economic environment. As a result, we may not be able to maintain our existing clients or attract new clients, or we may be forced to reduce the price of our products. We are unable to predict the likelihood of the occurrence, duration or severity of such disruptions in the credit and financial markets or adverse global economic conditions. Any general or market-specific economic downturn could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Additionally, the United States has imposed and may impose additional quotas, duties, tariffs, retaliatory or trade protection measures or other restrictions or regulations and may adversely adjust prevailing quota, duty or tariff levels, which can affect both the materials that we use to package our products and the sale of finished products. Measures to reduce the impact of tariff increases or trade restrictions, including geographical diversification of our sources of supply, adjustments in packaging design and fabrication or increased prices, could increase our costs, delay our time to market and/or decrease sales. Other governmental action related to tariffs or international trade agreements has the potential to adversely impact demand for our products and our costs, customers, suppliers and global economic conditions and cause higher volatility in financial markets. While we actively review existing and proposed measures to seek to assess the impact of them on our business, changes in tariff rates, import duties and other new or augmented trade restrictions could have a number of negative impacts on our business, including higher prices and reduced demand for our products and higher input costs.
International Operations1 | 1.2%
International Operations - Risk 1
The import of our products into the United States relies on the compliance of our clients abroad and the authorization of their governing jurisdictions.
Because we intend to manufacture APIs for sale to clients conducting research and product development in jurisdictions foreign to Canada, we must rely on those foreign clients to obtain the necessary approvals from their respective governing bodies in order to import our products to their facilities. For instance, in the United States, only certain DEA registrants may apply for import permits related to Schedule I substances. Those import permits may be subject to procurement quotas, which DEA has the full discretion to issue or increase. U.S. registrants must coordinate with applicable ports of entry to notify border agents of incoming shipments of Schedule I substances and must also provide for the secure transport of shipments of our products to their facilities. The DEA must approve our client's security plans, including their provisions related to secure transport. If a shipment is rejected by U.S. Customs for any reason, our U.S. client will have to re-apply for an import permit for that shipment, possibly significantly delaying shipping times. Our clients' inability to secure DEA authorization to import our APIs, could have a material and adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Delays in transport of our products to their destinations may have a significant adverse impact on research protocols or clinical trials, potentially damaging relationships with our customers, and having a material and adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Natural and Human Disruptions1 | 1.2%
Natural and Human Disruptions - Risk 1
We and our clients may face risks due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
In December 2019, a novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, causing a respiratory disease known as COVID-19, emerged in Wuhan, China. On January 30, 2020, the World Health Organization declared the outbreak a global health emergency, and on March 11, 2020, the spread of COVID-19 was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization. The pandemic has caused companies and various international jurisdictions to impose restrictions such as quarantines, business closures and travel restrictions. While these effects are expected to be temporary and the administration of effective vaccines has shown progress in some areas in significantly lowering the number of active infections, the duration of the business disruptions internationally and related financial impact cannot be reasonably estimated at this time. Governments and central banks have reacted with significant monetary and fiscal interventions designed to stabilize economic conditions. The duration of the COVID-19 outbreak is unknown at this time, as is the efficacy of the government and central bank interventions. It is not possible to reliably estimate the length and severity of these developments and the impact on the financial results and condition of our business. However, depending on the length and severity of the pandemic, COVID-19 could impact our operations, could cause delays in our efforts to scale up our contract manufacturing and research offerings, could postpone certain marketing activities, and could impair our ability to raise funds.
We have requested that most of our employees, including all of our administrative employees, work remotely and have restricted on-site staff to only those personnel who must perform essential on-site activities such as activities in our cultivation areas and research and development laboratories. Our increased reliance on employees working from home may negatively impact productivity, or disrupt, delay, or otherwise adversely impact our business. In addition, this could increase our cybersecurity risk, create data accessibility concerns, and make us more susceptible to communication disruptions, any of which could adversely impact our business operations or delay necessary interactions with local and federal regulators, ethics committees and other important agencies and contractors.
Our clients may face disruptions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic that could adversely impact their business and operations, including, among other things, their ability to initiate and complete preclinical studies or clinical trials; their ability to procure items that are essential for their research and development activities, such as, for example, laboratory supplies for their preclinical studies and planned clinical trials, or animals that are used for preclinical testing; availability of clinical trial study personnel and site access; and their ability to successfully commercialize our product candidates, if approved. With respect to our clients' clinical trial activities, the COVID-19 pandemic may result in the interruption or modification of clinical trial subject visits and study procedures, as well as confounding of efficacy assessments or missing data as a result of direct patient infection, which may impact the integrity or acceptance by the Health Canada, the FDA or other regulatory authorities of subject data, clinical study endpoints, and overall study interpretability. Any such disruptions faced by our clients would be likely to have an adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We cannot be certain what the overall impact of the COVID-19 pandemic will be on our business, and it has the potential to materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects. To the extent the COVID-19 pandemic adversely affects our business, financial condition and results of operations, it may also have the effect of heightening many of the other risks described in this "Risk Factors" section.
Capital Markets1 | 1.2%
Capital Markets - Risk 1
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We may be adversely affected by fluctuations in the U.S. dollar relative to the Canadian dollar.
Our revenues and expenses are expected to be primarily denominated in U.S. dollars, and therefore may be exposed to significant currency exchange fluctuations. The Canadian dollar relative to the U.S. dollar or other foreign currencies is subject to fluctuations. Fluctuations in the exchange rate between the U.S. dollar and the Canadian dollar may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations. We may, in the future, establish a program to hedge a portion of our foreign currency exposure with the objective of minimizing the impact of adverse foreign currency exchange movements. However, even if we develop a hedging program, there can be no assurance that it will effectively mitigate currency risks. Failure to adequately manage foreign exchange risk could therefore have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.
See a full breakdown of risk according to category and subcategory. The list starts with the category with the most risk. Click on subcategories to read relevant extracts from the most recent report.
FAQ
What are “Risk Factors”?
Risk factors are any situations or occurrences that could make investing in a company risky.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) requires that publicly traded companies disclose their most significant risk factors. This is so that potential investors can consider any risks before they make an investment.
They also offer companies protection, as a company can use risk factors as liability protection. This could happen if a company underperforms and investors take legal action as a result.
It is worth noting that smaller companies, that is those with a public float of under $75 million on the last business day, do not have to include risk factors in their 10-K and 10-Q forms, although some may choose to do so.
How do companies disclose their risk factors?
Publicly traded companies initially disclose their risk factors to the SEC through their S-1 filings as part of the IPO process.
Additionally, companies must provide a complete list of risk factors in their Annual Reports (Form 10-K) or (Form 20-F) for “foreign private issuers”.
Quarterly Reports also include a section on risk factors (Form 10-Q) where companies are only required to update any changes since the previous report.
According to the SEC, risk factors should be reported concisely, logically and in “plain English” so investors can understand them.
How can I use TipRanks risk factors in my stock research?
Use the Risk Factors tab to get data about the risk factors of any company in which you are considering investing.
You can easily see the most significant risks a company is facing. Additionally, you can find out which risk factors a company has added, removed or adjusted since its previous disclosure. You can also see how a company’s risk factors compare to others in its sector.
Without reading company reports or participating in conference calls, you would most likely not have access to this sort of information, which is usually not included in press releases or other public announcements.
A simplified analysis of risk factors is unique to TipRanks.
What are all the risk factor categories?
TipRanks has identified 6 major categories of risk factors and a number of subcategories for each. You can see how these categories are broken down in the list below.
1. Financial & Corporate
Accounting & Financial Operations - risks related to accounting loss, value of intangible assets, financial statements, value of intangible assets, financial reporting, estimates, guidance, company profitability, dividends, fluctuating results.
Share Price & Shareholder Rights – risks related to things that impact share prices and the rights of shareholders, including analyst ratings, major shareholder activity, trade volatility, liquidity of shares, anti-takeover provisions, international listing, dual listing.
Debt & Financing – risks related to debt, funding, financing and interest rates, financial investments.
Corporate Activity and Growth – risks related to restructuring, M&As, joint ventures, execution of corporate strategy, strategic alliances.
2. Legal & Regulatory
Litigation and Legal Liabilities – risks related to litigation/ lawsuits against the company.
Regulation – risks related to compliance, GDPR, and new legislation.
Environmental / Social – risks related to environmental regulation and to data privacy.
Taxation & Government Incentives – risks related to taxation and changes in government incentives.
3. Production
Costs – risks related to costs of production including commodity prices, future contracts, inventory.
Supply Chain – risks related to the company’s suppliers.
Manufacturing – risks related to the company’s manufacturing process including product quality and product recalls.
Human Capital – risks related to recruitment, training and retention of key employees, employee relationships & unions labor disputes, pension, and post retirement benefits, medical, health and welfare benefits, employee misconduct, employee litigation.
4. Technology & Innovation
Innovation / R&D – risks related to innovation and new product development.
Technology – risks related to the company’s reliance on technology.
Cyber Security – risks related to securing the company’s digital assets and from cyber attacks.
Trade Secrets & Patents – risks related to the company’s ability to protect its intellectual property and to infringement claims against the company as well as piracy and unlicensed copying.
5. Ability to Sell
Demand – risks related to the demand of the company’s goods and services including seasonality, reliance on key customers.
Competition – risks related to the company’s competition including substitutes.
Sales & Marketing – risks related to sales, marketing, and distribution channels, pricing, and market penetration.
Brand & Reputation – risks related to the company’s brand and reputation.
6. Macro & Political
Economy & Political Environment – risks related to changes in economic and political conditions.
Natural and Human Disruptions – risks related to catastrophes, floods, storms, terror, earthquakes, coronavirus pandemic/COVID-19.
International Operations – risks related to the global nature of the company.
Capital Markets – risks related to exchange rates and trade, cryptocurrency.