Overview
Venus Concept Inc. (referred to herein, together with its subsidiaries unless the context otherwise denotes, as the “Company,” “Venus Concept,” “us” or “we”) is an innovative global medical technology company that develops, commercializes, and delivers minimally invasive and non-invasive medical aesthetic and hair restoration technologies. Our aesthetic systems have been designed on a cost-effective, proprietary and flexible platform that enables us to expand beyond the aesthetic industry’s traditional markets of dermatology and plastic surgery, and into non-traditional markets, including family and general practitioners and aesthetic medical spas. In the years ended December 31, 2020 and in 2019, a substantial majority of our systems delivered in North America were in non-traditional markets.
In November 2019, we completed our business combination with Venus Concept Ltd. and the business of Venus Concept Ltd. became the primary business of the company. The merger significantly expanded our presence and capability in the hair restoration market with the addition of the ARTAS® System, a robotic hair restoration device, to our device portfolio. The ARTAS® iX Robotic Hair Restoration System was launched in July 2018, which we believe is the first and only robotic intelligent solution to offer precise, minimally invasive, repeatable harvesting and implantation functionality in one platform. Through our NeoGraft® device, which we acquired in 2018, we offer an automated hair restoration system that facilitates the harvesting of follicles during a follicular unit extraction (“FUE”) process, improving the accuracy and speed over commonly used manual extraction instruments. Our hair restoration systems are sold primarily to plastic surgeons and dermatologists, although many of our customer come from other specialties in medicine. In the U.S., we offer doctors using an ARTAS® or NeoGraft® system the services of our VeroGrafters™, a group of approximately 40 independently contracted technicians available to assist the physician during an ARTAS® or NeoGraft® hair restoration procedure. The ARTAS® iX System complements our NeoGraft® hair restoration system and allows us to penetrate a broader segment of the hair restoration market.
In addition to our hair restoration systems, we have developed and commercialized nine aesthetic technology platforms. Our product portfolio consists of the Venus Versa™, Venus Legacy®, Venus Velocity™, Venus Fiore™, Venus Viva® and Venus Viva® MD, Venus Freeze Plus™, Venus Glow™, Venus Bliss™, and Venus Epileve™. We have received clearances from the FDA, for our aesthetic and hair devices classified as Class II or greater by the FDA as described in greater detail in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Outside the U.S., we market our technologies in over 60 countries across Europe, Asia-Pacific and Latin America. Because each country has its own regulatory scheme and clearance process, not every device is cleared or authorized for the same indications in each market in which a particular system is marketed.
To address the financial barriers faced by physicians and aesthetic service providers, we focus our medical aesthetic product sale strategy on a subscription-based business model in North America and in our well-established direct global markets. Traditional energy-based aesthetic devices can require substantial financial commitments, where next generation products often launch within 18 to 24 months of purchase, making it financially difficult for aesthetic service providers to access the market’s newest technologies, and for providers in non-traditional markets to justify the significant investment. Our subscription-based model is designed to provide a lower initial barrier to ownership and includes an up-front fee, and a monthly payment schedule, typically over a period of 36 months. Our subscription-based business model can provide customers with greater flexibility than traditional equipment leases secured through finance companies. This significantly reduces upfront financial commitment, without onerous credit and disclosure requirements, make this business model increasingly appealing and affordable to non-traditional physicians and medical aesthetic spas. If the economic circumstances are appropriate, we provide customers in good standing with the opportunity to upgrade to our newest available or alternative technology throughout the subscription period. To ensure that each monthly product payment is made on time and that the customers’ systems are serviced in accordance with the terms of the warranty, every product purchased under a subscription agreement requires a monthly activation code, which we provide to the customer upon receipt of the monthly payment.
To support the growth initiatives of our customers, we have developed a practice enhancement program that provides the support and tools necessary for our customers to effectively launch, promote, and grow their businesses, while also supporting the sale of our products and ancillary services. These interactions help in further building our customer relationships.
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As of December 31, 2020, we operated directly in 20 international markets through our 16 direct offices in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Argentina, Colombia, Spain, France, Germany, Australia, China, Hong Kong, Israel, and South Africa.
Subscription-based Business Model
We generate recurring monthly revenue under our subscription-based business model. We commenced a subscription-based model in North America in 2011 and, for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, approximately 46% and 51%, respectively, of aesthetic systems we delivered were sold under the subscription-based model. For the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, approximately 54% and 67% respectively, of our total system revenues were derived from the subscription-based model. We have also launched our subscription-based model in targeted international markets in which we operate directly. We currently do not offer the ARTAS® iX System under the subscription-based model.
Our subscription-based model includes an up-front fee and a monthly payment schedule, typically over a period of 36 months, with approximately 40% of total contract payments collected in the first year. For accounting purposes, these arrangements are considered to be sales-type finance leases, where the present value of all cash flows to be received under the subscription agreement is recognized as revenue upon shipment to the customer and achievement of the required revenue recognition criteria.
Market Overview
Aesthetic Procedures
The market for aesthetic procedures is large, growing, global in scale, and comprised of both surgical and non-surgical procedures. The International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (“ISAPS”) reported approximately 25 million cosmetic procedures worldwide in 2019. Total cosmetic procedures worldwide in 2019 was comprised of approximately 11.4 million surgical cosmetic procedures and approximately 13.6 million non-surgical cosmetic procedures. Total non-surgical procedures worldwide in 2019 included approximately 10.6 million injectable procedures – primarily neurotoxin and hyaluronic acid fillers – with the remaining 3.0 million non-surgical, non-injectable procedures worldwide in 2019 representing annual addressable procedure opportunity for our minimally invasive and non-invasive medical aesthetic technologies.
Based on data from Medical Insights reports published in 2019, we estimate the global energy-based aesthetic device market totaled approximately $3.4 billion in 2018. We also estimate this market will increase at a 9.7% compound annual growth rate, or CAGR, to more than $5.3 billion by the end of 2023. This projected growth CAGR is based on a weighted-average of expected growth CAGRs per Medical Insights of 6.1% for “Energy-Based Aesthetic Devices”, 12.7% for “Energy-Based Body Shaping & Skin Tightening” and 15.0% for “Energy-Based Feminine Rejuvenation”, respectively.
Hair Restoration
According to the “2020 Practice Census Results Report” from the International Society of Hair Restoration (“ISHRS”), an estimated 735,312 patients worldwide had a surgical hair restoration procedure in 2019, compared to an estimated 635,189 patients in 2016. The ISHRS estimated the global market for surgical hair restoration treatments totaled $4.6 billion in 2019, compared to $4.1 billion in 2016, representing approximately a 10% increase over the period.
We believe several factors are contributing to the growth in the aesthetic and hair restoration markets, including:
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Continuing focus on body image and appearance. Both women and men continue to be concerned with their body image and appearance. Additionally, the population and wealth of the aging “baby boomer” demographic segment and its desire to retain a youthful appearance have driven the growth in aesthetic and hair restoration procedures.
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Wide acceptance of aesthetic procedures. According to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (“ASAPS”), in 2019, people in the U.S. spent more than $8.2 billion on combined surgical and non-surgical aesthetic procedures. Non-surgical procedures have increased, growing 13.3% from 2015 to 2019, and the number of surgical procedures growing 6.2% over the same period.
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Broader availability of minimally and non-invasive procedures. Technological developments have resulted in the introduction of a broader range of safe, effective, easy-to-use, and low-cost minimally invasive and non-invasive aesthetic procedures, with fewer side effects. This has resulted in wider adoption of aesthetic procedures by practitioners. According to the ASAPS, nonsurgical procedures were performed more often in 2019 than surgical procedures. There has also been a market shift to less invasive hair restoration procedures such as FUE which, according to ISHRS, have increased from less than 10% of hair restoration procedures performed in 2004 to about 66% in 2019.
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Increased physician focus and changing practitioner economics. Managed care and government payor reimbursement restrictions in the United States, and similar payment-related constraints outside of the United States, are motivating practitioners to establish or expand their elective aesthetic practices with procedures that are paid for directly by patients. As a result, in addition to traditional aesthetic providers, non-traditional providers have begun to perform these procedures.
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Increasingly affordable treatment solutions. New, lower cost technologies combined with procedure pricing pressures will broaden the patient population for minimally invasive and non-invasive aesthetic procedures, which we believe will continue to contribute to increased market demand.
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Aesthetic Solutions
Traditional Aesthetic Treatment Options and Their Limitations
We believe that several limitations have restricted the growth of traditional aesthetic technologies and that patients who do not require significant skin tightening, cellulite reduction, circumferential reduction or body contouring will explore non-invasive alternatives to minimize the pain, expense, downtime, and surgical risks associated with current invasive procedures. Most existing non-invasive procedures are based on various forms of directed energy treatments, such as Radiofrequency (“RF”), Intense Pulsed Light (“IPL”), lasers using various wavelengths, shockwave therapy or ultrasound.
Most traditional aesthetic technologies present the following limitations:
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Surgical risks. Traditional aesthetic procedures can carry surgical risks associated with the safety of the patient and generally require administering general or local anesthesia, which can carry additional risks.
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Surgical recovery. Traditional aesthetic procedures can often cause pain and require post-surgical recovery. As a result, patients may need to spend time away from work and take prescribed pain medications during post-surgery recovery.
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Pain and discomfort. Many existing non-invasive procedures involving various laser wavelengths, RF, IPL and shockwave can cause pain during the procedure, which we believe may affect the operator’s ability to deliver a full therapeutic treatment without creating patient discomfort.
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Potentially undesired results. Traditional invasive procedures can cause non-uniform fat reduction, dimpling, lumpiness, numbness, scarring, discoloration or sagging skin in the treated area. Minimally invasive and non-invasive procedures can cause skin or tissue damage if the physician does not carefully control the heat or ultrasound energy delivered in the treatment area.
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Operator skill and technique dependent. The aesthetic results achieved through most invasive and minimally invasive procedures are dependent upon the operator’s skill and training. In addition, these procedures often require a significant amount of direct physician or highly trained personnel time to perform the procedure. Poor technique may lead to reduced efficacy, inconsistent aesthetic results and adverse events.
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High cost. Invasive procedures can be significantly more expensive for patients than minimally invasive or non-invasive aesthetic procedures.
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Our Aesthetic Technology Solutions
We have designed a suite of medical aesthetic systems that use our proprietary (MP)2 technology to address the limitations of existing medical aesthetic technologies and procedures. Our systems have the following characteristics:
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Non-invasive. Our systems use technologies that are primarily non-invasive. Our core (MP)2 technology combines multipolar RF and magnetic pulse synthesizers to homogenously raise temperature over the entire treatment area and multiple skin layers. Controlled, targeted, uniform heat distribution and the ability to maintain clinically acceptable therapeutic temperature for the entire treatment results in no heat spikes (thermal surges) and eliminates the need for topical cooling agents.
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Easy-to-use and delegable technology. We believe that the effective use of our aesthetic systems is not technique-dependent and requires limited training and skills to obtain successful aesthetic results. This allows physicians to leverage their own time and increase throughput since procedures can be performed by non-physician operators, subject to local regulations. We design our systems to be easy to operate with this benefit in mind.
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Results for broad range of skin types. Our (MP)2 technology uses proprietary algorithms that harness the benefits of both RF and Pulsed Electromagnetic Field Therapy (“PEMF”) therapy. This resulting energy matrix penetrates multiple layers of skin, raising temperature homogenously and effectively. We believe this type of skin penetration improves treated conditions and provides visible results for a broad range of skin types.
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Technology enables products to be designed for affordability. Our technology enables us to focus on designing and manufacturing products at an affordable cost. We offer our products at competitive prices without sacrificing quality, while maintaining our margin objectives. Our competitive prices and subscription model also allow our customers the ability to offer more affordable treatment options to patients.
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Our Competitive Advantages for the Aesthetic Market
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Expands potential market. Our subscription-based model enables us to sell to both traditional and non-traditional customers without the involvement of third-party lenders, which allows us to reach many customers who choose not to purchase competitors’ aesthetic products because of the barriers associated with equipment financing.
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Mitigates credit risk. Our 30-day activation code technology helps to mitigate the risk that our customers will default on their payments by disallowing use of the system until we receive the monthly payment.
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Maintains strong customer relationships. Our subscription-based model requires us to maintain awareness of customer views and expectations, which allows us to provide high-quality services and maintain an on-going relationship with customers on a month-to-month basis. Our “high-touch” customer philosophy leads to continuous interactions with our customers and enables us to cultivate strong and long-term relationships.
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Controls secondary market resales. Our 30-day activation code technology also reduces the risk that our products will be resold in the secondary market without authorization. This allows us to control the various distribution channels for our products and maximize the value of our products after purchase.
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Opportunities for access to the newest available Venus Concept’s technology and revenue enhancement. Our customers have the opportunity throughout the subscription period to upgrade into our newest available or alternative technology. A subscription agreement also allows customers to participate in the most current marketing and branding activities we offer. Our quarterly educational webinars, online promotions events, and periodic remote consultations lead to continuing client interaction and the ability to expand the client’s business and service offerings.
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Competitive Advantages For Our Customers in the Aesthetic Market
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Return on investment. By spreading payments over a 36-month period, our subscription-based model option is designed to facilitate our customers achieving positive cash-flow from their investment in our systems, thus reducing a portion of implementation risk and concerns associated with large initial capital outlays.
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Expansion of services. Our aesthetic systems allow customers to expand the services offered within their practices. A majority of our systems can be used to treat more than one clinical indication, and some products can be purchased as a modular platform that can be modified to match the needs of a growing aesthetic business. To the extent we are successful in receiving FDA and other clearances for additional clinical indications, the value of our modular platform technologies to customer practices may be further enhanced.
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Leverage physician time and clinic infrastructure. Subject to the laws of each state in the United States and in other jurisdictions, our physician customers may delegate these non-invasive procedures to nurse practitioners, technicians, and other non-physicians as long as the systems are operated under the physicians’ supervision. We believe that this creates leverage to save physician time and requires the use of less practice infrastructure.
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Less onerous credit and disclosure requirements for physicians and clinics. Our subscription-based model allows our customers to purchase our products without the involvement of third-party lenders or leasing companies that require borrowers to undergo burdensome application, review and fee requirements.
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Opportunity to upgrade. Our customers in good standing have the opportunity under the subscription-based model to “upgrade” into our newest available or alternative technology, which allows these customers to employ our latest technologies in their practices.
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Practice enhancement program. Our practice enhancement program offers marketing, clinical and technical support to subscription customers. These services focus on improving practice or clinic revenue performance, as well as the customers’ overall financial and business metrics. In addition, we provide remote educational programs that focus on driving best practices and increasing clinical and economic performance of our customers.
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Hair Restoration Solutions
Traditional Hair Loss Treatment Options and Their Limitations
The treatments for hair loss can broadly be divided between non-surgical options and surgical procedures.
Non-Surgical Options
Traditional non-surgical options for hair loss include prescription therapeutics and non-prescription remedies. In the United States, the FDA has authorized two prescription therapeutics for hair loss: Rogaine which is applied topically, and Propecia which is ingested in pill form. Both Rogaine and Propecia have several drawbacks, including limited efficacy in some individuals, potential side effects and the need for strict patient compliance for the treatment to have meaningful effect.
Surgical Procedures
Surgical procedures to address hair loss, specifically follicular unit transplantation (“FUT Strip Surgery”) and FUE, continue to evolve and become more popular. FUE is significantly less invasive than FUT Strip Surgery. In this procedure, the physician or technician removes individual hair follicles from the patient’s scalp without removing a strip of tissue. FUE can be performed with manual hand-held punches, automated hand-held devices (e.g. NeoGraft®) or robotically with the ARTAS® System.
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FUT Strip Surgery
In a FUT Strip Surgery procedure, the physician uses a sharp scalpel to surgically remove a large strip of the patient’s scalp, approximately eight inches in length, and one-half inch in width and depth, from the donor area. The subsequent wound is sutured or stapled closed. Hair follicles are then removed from the strip of scalp, and individual hair follicles are then implanted into the patient’s scalp. FUT Strip Surgery results in a linear scar which may enlarge over time creating a poor aesthetic outcome in the donor area. As a result, strip surgery patients are generally unable to wear their hair short without revealing the scar.
Follicular Unit Extraction Using Hand-Held Devices
In a FUE procedure, rather than surgically removing a portion of the patient’s scalp, each hair graft is individually dissected from the scalp for transplantation. Because a strip of the patient’s scalp is not removed, a FUE procedure avoids a long linear scar and reduces the post-operative pain and numbness associated with strip surgery. Following the dissection of the individual hair follicles, the physician uses a hand-held device to remove the hair follicles. After harvesting, the individual hair follicles are implanted in the same way as in a strip surgery procedure.
Limitation of Traditional Hair Loss Treatment Options
Drawbacks of FUT Strip Surgery and FUE Surgery Using Hand-Held Devices
While FUT Strip Surgery and FUE surgery using a hand-held device (“Manual FUE”), can provide significant, long-term results in restoring hair, there are several limitations associated with these procedures.
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Technician training. FUT Strip Surgery and Manual FUE procedures require dexterity, demanding hand-eye coordination, and attention to detail by all members of the transplant team. For strip surgeries in particular, a physician or technician must undergo significant training to dissect grafts under a microscope and it can take a significant period of time for a technician to become proficient.
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Labor intensive. Both FUT Strip Surgery and Manual FUE procedures require a team of technicians to perform the procedure. The labor intensiveness, tedious and time-consuming nature of these techniques limits the number of procedures physicians can perform.
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Long learning curve. Both FUT Strip Surgery and manual FUE procedures require a major investment of time on the part of physicians and technicians to learn the technique. A physician must commit a substantial amount of time to learn the Manual FUE harvesting technique and they often report that the technique is technically and ergonomically challenging. For FUT Strip Surgeries, there is a significant time investment made to train each technician to dissect grafts under a microscope, handle the delicate grafts with instrumentation and to place the grafts into the site incisions during implantation.
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Surgical planning and recipient site making. In making the recipient sites into which hair follicles are transplanted, the ability of the physician and the technician to visualize and avoid injuring existing hair is limited to what they can achieve with magnified lenses. As a result, this limited visualization may compromise the aesthetic outcome.
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Inconsistency in performance. Both FUT Strip Surgery and Manual FUE procedures require either physicians or technicians to perform the repetitive and tedious tasks of dissecting grafts over a long period of time. In a FUT Strip Surgery, the technicians are required to dissect the individual follicles from the harvested strip of the patient’s scalp, whereas in a Manual FUE procedure the physician and technicians are required to harvest each individual follicle directly from the patient’s scalp. As a result of this lengthy and tedious process, the physician or technician may begin to fatigue and his or her ability to maintain the concentration necessary to consistently extract high-quality grafts without causing follicle damage may diminish.
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The ARTAS® Solution
We believe the ARTAS® System addresses many of the shortcomings of other hair restoration procedures. The ARTAS® System is capable of robotically assisting a physician through many of the most challenging steps of the hair restoration process, including the dissection of hair follicles, site planning and recipient site making. We believe, with this assistance, the ARTAS® System can help shorten the often-long learning curve for both physicians and technicians to become proficient in performing hair restoration procedures. In addition, we believe that by assisting the physician and technicians with many of the repetitive and tedious tasks associated with the hair restoration procedure, the ARTAS® System can make hair restoration procedures less labor intensive and can reduce inconsistent results. Further, we believe the ARTAS® System’s Site Making functionality, which includes an enhanced imaging system and sophisticated algorithms, helps physicians avoid damaging existing follicles and enables them to create a more natural, aesthetically pleasing outcome for the patient. In March 2018, we received 510(k) clearance from the FDA to expand the ARTAS® technology to include implantation of harvested hair follicles. In December 2018, we completed the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) audit and are compliant with CE Mark requirements for the sale of the ARTAS® iX System with implantation functionality in Europe.
We strategically market the ARTAS® System to hair restoration surgeons, dermatologists, plastic surgeons and aesthetic physicians. We believe we can reach our target physician customers effectively through focused marketing efforts. These efforts include participation in trade shows, scientific meetings, educational symposiums, webinars, online advertising and other activities. For physicians who purchase the ARTAS® System, we provide comprehensive clinical training, practice-based marketing support, as well as patient leads. For example, we believe we help our physician customers increase the number of procedures performed by assigning a practice development manager, or PDM, to aid in building the physician-customer’s hair restoration practice. Support from a PDM includes providing assistance with recruitment, consultation, and conversion of patients. Additionally, PDMs deploy patient marketing materials, assist with social media and digital marketing strategies, and provide other marketing and sales support.
Advantages of the ARTAS® Procedure
Patient Value. We believe the ARTAS® System significantly improves the patient experience and outcome in hair transplantation procedures in the following ways:
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The ARTAS® procedure provides patients with a minimally invasive, less painful alternative to FUT Strip Surgery. The ARTAS® System has a faster recovery time and avoids the long linear scar at the back of the patient’s head.
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Through the ARTAS® System, the dissection of grafts is performed in a manner that leaves only small pinpoint scars that heal faster and are less detectable than the larger post-operative linear scar that would be produced from FUT Strip Surgery. As a result, an ARTAS® procedure can, in many cases, offer a shorter recovery time and can enable patients to resume their daily lifestyle faster than with strip surgery. In addition, the ARTAS® procedure allows patients to wear their hair short without a noticeable scar.
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The ARTAS® Site Making functionality translates the physician-patient site design onto the patient’s recipient area. The ARTAS® System’s enhanced imaging system and sophisticated algorithms enable the ARTAS® System to rapidly create recipient sites at precise depths, replicate pre-existing hair angles, avoid damaging the healthy pre-existing hair and adjust the distribution of the recipient sites to optimally fill in the transplantation area. We believe these elements can contribute to a superior aesthetic outcome.
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Physician Value. We believe the ARTAS® System provides physicians compelling economic benefits and enables physicians to achieve consistent reproducible results. As a result, we believe the ARTAS® procedure also offers an attractive addition to existing dermatology, plastic surgery or aesthetics practices whether they do or do not provide hair restoration procedures.
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In addition to the advantages afforded to patients, we believe the ARTAS® System and ARTAS® 3D pre-operative planning software application provide compelling benefits for physicians. The ARTAS® System’s image-guided robotic capabilities allow physicians to perform procedures with fewer staff than what might be required for a traditional FUT Strip Surgery or a Manual FUE procedures. With the robotic assistance provided by the ARTAS® System, we believe physicians and technicians will be able to perform the complicated, repetitive and tedious task of dissecting hair grafts with less fatigue and greater productivity than would be possible in a manual FUE procedure.
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Hair restoration procedures are generally paid for by the patient and do not involve the complexity of securing reimbursement from third-party payors.
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We believe the ARTAS® System’s image-guided robotic capabilities allow physicians to perform hair restoration procedures with fewer staff required than a traditional FUT Strip Surgery or a Manual FUE procedure. Procedures can also be performed with less physician and technician fatigue.
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Because we provide high quality training for physicians and their clinical teams on the use of the ARTAS® System and because the robotic system and its intelligent algorithms assist these teams in performing hair restoration procedures, we believe we can significantly shorten the learning curve necessary for hair transplantation procedures using the ARTAS® System. This shorter learning curve can reduce barriers to entry for a new hair restoration practice. It can also ease the adoption of a new technology into existing practices.
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Clinically-Established Results. Four peer-reviewed clinical publications have demonstrated the quality and consistency of grafts produced by the ARTAS® System. One published study indicated average damage rates for the hair follicles, or transection rates, with the ARTAS® System were as low as 6.6%, with a second study documenting average transection rates as low as 4.9% in a separate population of patients. The third study documented that the ARTAS® System can be programmed by the physician to select follicular units with larger groupings of hairs while skipping single hair grafts, which allows physicians to choose particular follicular units depending on the hair density they are trying to achieve, providing a clinical benefit as measured by the increase in hairs per harvest of 17% and as measured by the increase in hairs per graft of 11.4%. Results were statistically significant with a p-value less than 0.01. This study also demonstrates the ability of robotic follicular unit graft selection to increase the amount of hairs a physician can extract for each incision made in the donor area. The fourth study demonstrated that FUE cases larger than 2,500 grafts, or mega-sessions, are possible using the ARTAS® System. These peer-reviewed publications demonstrate the reproducibility and consistency of dissection results from the ARTAS® System in a diverse group of patients, even as the system is used by different clinicians. To our knowledge, there are no other peer-reviewed clinical publications that demonstrate the reproducibility of results utilizing other products in FUE or strip surgery procedures. We intend to encourage scientific research in the study of hair restoration to improve our technology, solutions, enhance understanding of our industry and educate physicians on the capabilities of the ARTAS® System.
Advantages of the NeoGraft® Solution
We believe that NeoGraft® offers a technology solution that complements our robotic hair restoration system and provides an alternative to FUT Strip Surgery and fully manual FUE procedures for our customers and their patients.
Patient Value
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Unlike traditional FUT Strip Surgery procedures, the NeoGraft® system is minimally invasive. In a FUE procedure using NeoGraft®, rather than surgically removing a portion of the patient’s scalp, each hair graft is individually dissected from the scalp for transplantation. Because a strip of the patient’s scalp is not removed, a FUE procedure avoids a long linear scar and reduces the post-operative pain and healing process, reducing the risk of potential infection and pain.
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The ARTAS® iX is currently FDA-cleared for men diagnosed with androgenetic alopecia (male pattern hair loss) with black or brown straight hair. The NeoGraft® may also be used for women and people with curly or light-colored hair.
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NeoGraft® can be used for fine tuning of small, specific areas of the scalp, temples and temporal peaks.
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Physician Value
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The highly ergonomic mechanical NeoGraft® system works as a natural extension of the surgeons’ hand, allowing for faster and more accurate harvesting of hair follicles. NeoGraft® patients may reach their goal with less time in the procedure room or fewer FUE procedures.
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Doctors performing procedures with our NeoGraft® system can choose to use our VeroGrafterTM technician services to free up their time to focus on other areas of their practice.
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Our NeoGraft® system is priced at a much lower price point than our ARTAS® robotic system making it a feasible alternative for physicians who do not perform a large volume of hair restoration surgeries.
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Our Strategy
Our goal is to become a leading global provider of minimally invasive and non-invasive medical aesthetic technologies, hair restoration technologies and their complimentary products. To achieve this goal, we intend to:
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Broaden our portfolio of product offering. We continue to invest in and leverage the extensive energy-based technology developed by our experienced research and development team in Israel, and we believe that collaboration with the experienced robotic research and development team in San Jose will bring new and innovative technology solutions to the hair restoration and non-invasive and minimally invasive categories of aesthetic medicine.
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Apply robotic technologies to new applications. Our research and development teams in Israel and the United States continue to collaborate on the development of new and innovative technology solutions to the non-invasive and minimally invasive categories of aesthetic medicine. We are working on robotically assisted minimally invasive solutions for aesthetic procedures that currently can only be treated by surgical intervention. Our RoboCor™ device, which we estimate will begin clinical trials in the second quarter of 2021, is being designed to directionally tighten skin through dermal micro-coring, which we believe can result in directional skin tightening without scarring. RoboCor’s intended initial indications are for non-surgical face lift, upper arm lift, necklift, and stretchmarks. We also believe that robotics, machine vision and artificial intelligence can provide significant improvements in the delivery of neurotoxins and volumizers. We are currently investigating the application of our robotic technology to the safe and precise delivery of injectable treatments.
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Hair restoration market. We continue to focus on providing a complete set of products and services to service the hair restoration market. With ARTAS® and NeoGraft®, we believe that our hair restoration product offering serves a broad segment of the market.
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Expand FDA (and other regulatory agencies) cleared indications for our products. We intend to seek additional regulatory clearances from the FDA, the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA, previously CFDA), Health Canada and other national regulatory bodies and to extend the scope of our existing FDA clearance and CE Mark certifications. Additionally, we intend to expand the scope of marketable indications for our technologies in other markets.
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Leverage our subscription-based model to new market channels. Our subscription-based model offers our customers an alternative to using third-party lenders and reduces their initial capital expenditure obligations. We believe that with ever increasing restrictions on government reimbursement for medical procedures, there is a large, predominantly untapped market of physicians and physician-owned clinics that are seeking new “pay out-of-pocket” revenue streams. Limited availability of cost-effective capital financing to many non-traditional customers makes it more difficult for these types of providers to build new revenue streams. Our technology and subscription-based model are designed to specifically target, support and address these issues, enabling us to expand into previously untapped markets.
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Expand into non-traditional markets. We intend to market our systems to current and potential providers of aesthetic services in the large and under-penetrated non-traditional aesthetic market. The ease of use of our technologies makes our systems suitable for adoption by physicians and other providers in non-traditional markets, including general and family practitioners and aesthetic medical spas.
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Increase our international presence. We have built a direct sales force through wholly-owned subsidiaries in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Argentina, Colombia, Spain, France, Germany, Israel, and Australia, with majority-owned subsidiaries in China, Hong Kong, and South Africa, and a strong and growing network of international distributors. We have implemented a strategy to expand our sales and marketing capabilities to establish the Company as a primary participant in the aesthetic device and hair restoration market internationally and believe we are well positioned to continue to grow our revenue from customers located outside North America.
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Increase consumer awareness and demand for our products. We intend to continue to employ targeted and strategic media to engage consumers through social and digital media marketing programs in order to generate awareness of and demand for our technologies, with an emphasis on targeting the non-traditional physician market.
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Our Technologies
We use a variety of technologies that allow us to expand into non-traditional physician markets. One differentiating technology is our proprietary multipolar pulsed technology, or (MP)2, which synergizes PEMF and a multipolar RF matrix. Our (MP)2 technology is applicable to a wide range of non-invasive skin tightening, wrinkle reduction, body contouring, cellulite, and fat reduction, which have been cleared in the United States., Canada, and Europe, and we have commenced our entrance into the rapidly growing non-invasive feminine health market in various geographic regions. We also currently have solutions based on other technologies such as fractional ablative RF, IPL and laser technologies, affording a broader set of solution options to address key markets for hair removal, and vascular pigmented lesions, circumference reduction and fat reduction (lipolysis). As part of our strategy, our Venus Freeze Plus® and Venus Fiore® systems come with integrated Automatic Temperature Control (“ATC”) and our Venus Velocity™, Venus Viva®, Venus Fiore™, Venus Freeze Plus™, Venus Bliss™, Venus Epileve™, ARTAS® and NeoGraft® systems come with integrated internet of things (“IOT”) capabilities.
Background on Energy-Based Aesthetic Technologies
RF, a technique that has been employed for several decades for medical purposes, uses an oscillating current of electricity to generate energy in the form of heat. This heat can be used to stimulate, coagulate and/or ablate targeted tissue within the body. RF energy is most commonly used in aesthetic dermatology as a noninvasive method of skin tightening, wrinkle removal, and facial rejuvenation. RF devices that use fractional ablative/coagulative technology have been shown to improve the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles in the dermis, while maintaining low risk of adverse side effects in patients of most skin types. This fractional technology uses electrodes to deliver the RF energy to the targeted tissue and has been used for treating a variety of dermatological conditions such as improving facial brightness and improving the appearance of skin tightness and skin pigmentation. RF has been recognized as a solution by various researchers and companies for aesthetic use due to its safety profile on many skin types, limited downtime and results for tissue tightening.
PEMF has demonstrated benefits for soft tissue repair (in cases of various sports related injuries), while exhibiting few side effects. It has been suggested that tissue exposed to PEMF has a modulated production of growth factors leading to elevated production of collagen and other proteins, and improved skin vitality and appearance. PEMF triggers a cascade of biological processes at a cellular level that facilitates the creation of new blood vessels (called angiogenesis).
IPL relies on selective photothermolysis to damage pigmented targets within cells or tissues, causing demarcated thermal injury to the target while sparing surrounding tissue. Light pulses are generated by bursts of electrical current passing through a xenon gas-filled lamp. Individual light pulses have a specific duration, intensity, and fluence, and spectral distribution that allows for a controlled and confined energy delivery into tissue. The effective use of IPL relies on the phenomena that certain targets (chromophores) are capable of absorbing energy from this broad spectrum of light wavelength (absorptive band) without exclusively being targeted by their highest absorption peak. The three main chromophores (hemoglobin, water, and melanin) in human skin all have broad absorption peaks of light energy, allowing them to be targeted by a range of light wavelengths and not requiring that any single specific wavelength of light (monochromatic light) is used. The broad wavelength range discharged from an IPL device leads to the simultaneous emission of different wavelengths that can be further filtered to narrower bands, allowing the various chromophores to be targeted simultaneously but specifically.
Our (MP)2 Proprietary Technology
Our proprietary (MP)2 technology employs both PEMF and multipolar RF energy in a synergistic manner. (MP)2 is noninvasive and because (MP)2 disperses heat equally across the treatment area, it does not produce potentially painful localized heat spikes, and unlike other devices employing RF, (MP)2 does not require local cooling during treatment.
PEMFs energy is created by running short pulses of electrical current through metal coils, which results in the formation of electromagnetic fields. Electromagnetic fields, in turn, influence the behavior of charged particles, including various biomolecules, within the range of the electromagnetic field to cause one or more desired effects at the cellular level. The non-thermal impact of PEMF therapy is used for aesthetic application requiring enhanced collagen synthesis, for treatment of wounds, and in the management of postsurgical pain and edema.
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RF energy, on the other hand, delivers radiofrequency energy that manifests itself as heat within various layers of the skin. The heat generated in the tissue by application of RF energy directly affects fibroblasts, extra cellular matrix (“ECM”) and fat cells, thereby triggering natural wound healing processes of the skin and resulting in synthesis of new collagen and elastin fibers. In addition, under predetermined conditions, the heat causes contraction of collagen fibers and lipolysis. In our (MP)2 technology, we employ a multipolar matrix of RF circuits to produce heat. Our multipolar RF matrix distributes the RF currents evenly across the treatment area and volume in a proprietary pattern, which results in the quick and uniform heating of the skin layers without overheating any particular area of the skin.
Elements of (MP)2 Technology
Benefits of (MP)² Technology
Our proprietary (MP)2 technology enables medical and aesthetic practitioners to offer a wide range of non-invasive skin tightening and body contouring solutions.
The main benefits of using (MP)2 technology in non-invasive aesthetic treatments are the following:
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Cleared for various indications by the FDA, Health Canada and the European Union (CE Mark).
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Technology that delivers RF energy uniformly. The volumetric homogeneous distribution of heat reduces localized temperature spikes and eliminates the requirement to use a cooling aid, resulting in comfortable treatments.
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Ergonomic handpieces designed to increase comfort and reduce operator fatigue. A user-friendly interface designed to facilitate intuitive operation, and in most cases does not require an extensive training process.
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Our Additional Key Technologies
In addition to our core (MP)² technology, we have technologies that use fractional RF (delivery of ablation and coagulation to pre-determined fractions of the skin), IPL and laser technologies that allow us to address key markets for skin resurfacing, wrinkle reduction, body contouring, noninvasive lipolysis and circumference reduction, hair removal, acne treatment and treatment of vascular and pigmented lesions. In offering these solutions in the markets where we have marketing clearances or approvals, our goal is to provide improved technologies that are safe and effective for their intended uses and economically viable for our customers.
Fractional Ablative RF
Fractional ablative/coagulative techniques improve the appearance of skin surfaces by micro-injuring the skin in a fractional manner to trigger a healing response in the treated area. This both tightens the skin and elicits collagen formation, thus rejuvenating the skin surface. Because our fractional RF technology does not use lasers or other light technologies, which are skin color dependent, fractional RF can be used on patients of all skin tones. Fractional RF technology has been incorporated into our Venus Viva® applicator, supported by our Venus Viva® , Venus Viva®
MD and Venus Versa® systems.
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Intense Pulsed Light
Our IPL devices employ non-laser high intensity light sources as part of a high-output flash lamp to produce a broad wavelength of non-coherent light, usually in the 400 to 1200 nm range, that may be further filtered to narrower bands per specific absorption coefficients of predetermined chromophore targets and may be applied to remove unwanted hair as well as vascular and pigmented lesions.
We have incorporated IPL technology into our Venus Versa® system to expand that treatment offering and to build a modular, upgradable platform that affords a comprehensive solution for common aesthetic treatments. Specifically, the IPL capability permits users of the Venus Versa® systems to offer their patients the service options of removing unwanted hair, treating acne vulgaris, and treating vascular and pigmented dermal lesions. The Venus Versa® uses a square pulse technology in which continuous pulses of the combination of certain wavelengths create a signal that alternates between a constant fixed intensity for a period of time and then changes to a state of no energy for an amount of time. This allows treatment of an area of the patient without having the tissue exposed to the undesirable lower wavelengths that would be present in a signal with a declining, sinusoidal or other varying pattern of energy. A cooling mechanism is also used, cumulatively allowing for an effective impact using less energy per area in a given time period. This enables efficient treatment while significantly reducing and sparing the patient from the undesired side effects that are sometimes associated with IPL treatments.
Diode Lasers
Diode laser technology is a recognized technology for hair removal and lipolysis. The Venus Velocity™ and Venus Epileve™ systems achieve hair removal, permanent hair reduction and treatment of ingrown hair using the diode laser. Both devices employ the laser energy to skin via a chilled sapphire light guide that conductively cools the skin surface simultaneously with the delivery of laser energy that is absorbed in the hair follicle pigment,, thereby maintaining low temperature in the epidermis to enhance the comfort of the procedure and avoid potential epidermal damage while destroying the hair for hair removal. The Venus Velocity™ and the Venus Epileve™ systems allow us to expand our offering in the hair reduction market, which is one of the most popular non-invasive energy based aesthetic procedures in the United States.
Our laser technology is also incorporated into another non-invasive diode laser device, the Venus Bliss™. The diode laser system is intended for non-invasive lipolysis of the abdomen and flanks in individuals with a Body Mass Index of 30 or less.
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Our Products
Our product portfolio includes nine energy-based systems that provide solutions for various non-invasive aesthetic applications using Venus Concept’s (MP)² technology, as well as the VariPulse™, and/or fractional ablative RF, IPL, or laser technologies. We offer two hair restoration solutions, NeoGraft® and ARTAS®, and a series of topical serums to be used with our Venus Glow™ system.
Product name
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Technology
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Regulatory Clearance
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Venus Legacy®
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Venus Legacy® combines (MP)2 and VariPulse™ technologies with real-time thermal feedback to act as a workstation, providing homogeneous heating to multiple tissue depths while allowing for adjustable pulsed suction.
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FDA
• The Venus Legacy® BX is a noninvasive device intended for use in dermatological and general surgical procedures for females for the noninvasive treatment of moderate to severe facial wrinkles and rhytides in Fitzpatrick Skin Types I-IV.
• The Venus Legacy® CX using the LB2 and LF2 applicators is intended for the treatment of the following medical conditions for delivery of non-thermal RF combined with massage and magnetic field pulses: relief of minor muscle aches and pain; relief of muscle spasm; temporary improvement of local blood circulation; and temporary reduction in the appearance of cellulite.
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Canada
Temporary increase of skin tightening, temporary circumferential reduction, temporary cellulite reduction, temporary and wrinkle reduction.
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EU (CE Mark)
Increase of skin tightening, temporary circumferential reduction, cellulite reduction and wrinkle reduction.
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Product Name
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Technology
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Regulatory Clearance
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Venus Versa™
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Venus Versa® is a versatile system based on a multi-application approach. It is a modular and upgradable platform that offers the most in-demand aesthetic treatments by supporting 10 optional applicators which utilize Venus Concept’s (MP)2, and IPL and NanoFractional RF technologies. Designed as an open platform, the Venus Versa® can be configured to best suit a practice’s needs with the ability to add additional applications as the practice grows or changes. Depending on the applicator, or the applicator’s sequence of use, the platform can provide multiple aesthetic solutions.
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FDA
The Venus Versa® system is a multi-application device intended to be used in aesthetic and cosmetic procedures.
The SR515 and SR580 IPL applicators are indicated for the following:
• Treatment of benign pigmented epidermal and cutaneous lesions including, hyperpigmentation, melasma, ephelides (freckles), lentigines, nevi, and cafe-au-lait macules.
• Treatment of benign cutaneous vascular lesions including port wine stains, hemangiomas, facial, truncal and leg telangiectasias, rosacea, angiomas and spider angiomas, poikiloderma of civatte, leg veins and venous malformations.
• The HR650, HR690, HR650XL and HR690XL IPL applicators are indicated for the removal of unwanted hair and to effect stable long-term or permanent hair reduction for Skin Types I-IV. Permanent hair reduction is defined as the long-term stable reduction in the number of hairs re-growing when measured at 6, 9, and 12 months after the completion of a treatment regimen.
• The ACDUAL applicator is intended to be used for the treatment of acne vulgaris.
• The Viva applicator is intended for dermatological procedures requiring ablation and resurfacing of the skin.
• The Diamondpolar and Octipolar applicators are noninvasive devices intended for use in dermatologic and general surgery procedures for females for the noninvasive treatment of moderate to severe facial wrinkles and rhytides in Fitzpatrick skin types I-IV.
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Product Name
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Technology
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Regulatory Clearance
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Canada
• The SR515 and SR580 IPL applicators are indicated for the following:
• Treatment of benign pigmented epidermal and cutaneous lesions including hyperpigmentation; melasma; ephelides (freckles); lentigines; nevi; and cafe-au-lait macules; and
• Treatment of benign cutaneous vascular lesions including port wine stains; hemangiomas; facial, truncal and leg telangiectasias; rosacea; angiomas and spider angiomas; poikiloderma of civatte; leg veins and venous malformations.
• The HR650, HR690, HR650XL and HR690XL IPL applicators are indicated for the removal of unwanted hair and to effect stable long-term or permanent hair reduction for Skin Types I-IV.
• The ACDUAL applicator is intended to be used for the treatment of acne vulgaris.
• The Viva applicator is intended for dermatological procedures requiring ablation and resurfacing of the skin.
• The Diamondpolar applicator is a noninvasive device intended for use in dermatologic and general surgery procedures for females for the noninvasive treatment of moderate to severe facial wrinkles and rhytides in Fitzpatrick skin types I-IV.
The Venus Versa® system, using the Octipolar™ applicator, is designed for use in temporary body contouring via skin tightening, circumferential reduction, and cellulite reduction.
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Product Name
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Technology
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Regulatory Clearance
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EU
• The Venus Versa® system, using the Diamondpolar™ applicator, is designed for use in dermatological procedures requiring treatment of moderate to severe facial wrinkles and rhytides in Fitzpatrick skin types I-IV.
• The Venus Versa® system, using the Octipolar™ applicator, is designed for use in body contouring via skin tightening, circumferential reduction, and cellulite reduction.
• The Venus Versa® system, using the Venus Viva® applicator, is designed for use in dermatological procedures requiring ablation and resurfacing of the skin.
• The SR515 and the SR580 IPL applicators are indicated for the treatment of benign pigmented epidermal and cutaneous lesions including: melasma, ephelides (freckles) and lentigines.
• The SR515 and SR580 applicators are also indicated for the treatment of benign cutaneous vascular lesions including port wine stains, hemangiomas, facial, truncal and leg telangiectasias, rosacea, erythema of rosacea, angiomas and spider angiomas, and poikiloderma of civatte.
• The HR650, HR690, HR 650XL and HR690XL IPL applicators are indicated for the removal of unwanted hair and to effect stable long-term or permanent hair reduction.
• The ACDUAL IPL applicator is indicated for the treatment of acne vulgaris.
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Product Name
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Technology
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Regulatory Clearance
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Venus Viva® and Venus Viva® MD
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Venus Viva® is an advanced, portable, fractional RF system for dermatological procedures requiring ablation and resurfacing of the skin. Venus Viva® uses (Nano)Fractional RF and Smart Scan technologies. The combination of technologies allows ablation/coagulation heated zone density control and pattern generation via a proprietary tip. The energy is delivered through 160 (Viva) or 80 (Viva MD) pins per tip into the treated skin and maintains the surrounding tissue intact and healthy to support the healing process.
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FDA
The Venus Viva® SR is intended for dermatological procedures requiring ablation and resurfacing of the skin.
Canada
Dermatologic and general surgical procedures requiring ablation and resurfacing of the skin, using the Firm FX applicator, and treatment of moderate to severe wrinkles and rhytides in Fitzpatrick skin types I-IV, using the Diamondpolar applicator.
EU
Using the Diamondpolar™ applicator, Venus Viva® is designed for use in dermatological procedures requiring treatment of moderate to severe facial wrinkles and rhytides in Fitzpatrick skin types I-IV. The Venus Viva® system, using the Viva applicator, is designed for use in dermatological procedures requiring ablation and resurfacing of the skin.
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Venus Freeze™
(MP)² and Venus Freeze Plus™
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Venus Freeze Plus® is the second generation of Venus Concept’s (MP)2 family of products. The Venus Freeze Plus® uses Venus Concept’s (MP)2 technology. ATC is a new feature that Venus Concept added to the Venus Freeze Plus™, which allows the operator to choose a target temperature within the therapeutic range and have the system adjust the output power accordingly, to automatically maintain the desired temperature. This feature allows a more intuitive user experience, and results in less variable treatment outcomes usually attributable to the differences in operator’s techniques.
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FDA
The Venus Freeze® (MP)2 system is a noninvasive device intended for use in dermatologic and general surgical procedures for females for the noninvasive treatment of moderate to severe facial wrinkles and rhytides in Fitzpatrick Skin Types I-IV, using the Diamondpolar and Octipolar applicators.
Canada
Temporary reduction of cellulite, temporary skin tightening, temporary reduction in the appearance of stretch marks at the abdomen and flanks using the Diamondpolar and Octipolar applicators.
EU
Venus Freeze Plus system, using the Diamondpolar applicator, is intended for dermatological procedures requiring treatment of moderate to severe facial wrinkles and rhytides. The Venus Freeze Plus system, using the Octipolar applicator is intended for:
• Increase of skin tightening;
• Temporary circumferential reduction;
• Cellulite reduction; and
• Wrinkle reduction.
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Product Name
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Technology
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Regulatory Clearance
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Venus Velocity™
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The Venus Velocity™ system uses pulsed laser energy of 800 mm that is absorbed by a chromophore or pigmented target (e.g., melanin in hair follicles) that has high optical absorption at the selected laser wavelength than the surrounding tissue. Different chromophores are targeted for different clinical indications. The selective absorption of different wavelengths leads to localized heating and thermal denaturation and destruction of the anatomic hair follicle target with minimal effect on surrounding tissues. The chilled sapphire light guide conductively cools the skin simultaneously with the delivery of laser energy, thereby maintaining low temperature in the epidermis to enhance the comfort of the procedure and avoid potential epidermal damage.
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FDA
The Venus Velocity™ is intended for all Fitzpatrick skin types, including tanned skin, for use in dermatology, general and plastic surgery applications for:
• Hair removal;
• Permanent hair reduction (defined as the long-term stable reduction in the number of hairs regrowing when measured at 6, 9, and 12 months after the completion of a treatment regimen); and
• Treatment of pseudofolliculitis barbae.
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Canada
The Venus Velocity™ is intended for all Fitzpatrick skin types, including tanned skin, for use in dermatology, general and plastic surgery applications for:
• Hair removal;
• Permanent hair reduction (defined as the long-term stable reduction in the number of hairs re-growing when measured at 6, 9, and 12 months after the completion of a treatment regimen); and
• Treatment of pseudofolliculitis barbae.
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EU
The Venus Velocity™ is intended for treatment of hirsutism (hair removal), permanent hair reduction, and the treatment for pseudofolliculitis barbae (PFB). Permanent hair reduction is defined as the long-term, stable reduction in the number of hairs re-growing when measured at 6, 9, and 12 months after the completion of a treatment regime. The Venus Velocity™ is intended for use on all skin types (Fitzpatrick skin types I -VI), including tanned skin.
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Product Name
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Technology
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Regulatory Clearance
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Venus Fiore®
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Venus Fiore® incorporates Venus Concept’s (MP)2 technology, supporting three different applicators. Venus Fiore® has a desktop configuration and is portable and compact. It incorporates ATC technology, allowing the operator to choose a target temperature within the therapeutic range and have the system adjust the output power accordingly, to automatically maintain the desired temperature. The vaginal applicator incorporates three pairs of electrodes, each pair of electrodes accompanied by a temperature sensor, allowing the operator to control the temperature in the distal, middle and proximal thirds of the vaginal canal independently. Venus Fiore® has received clearance in the EU and Israel, but is not yet licensed in the United States or Canada.
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EU
The Venus Fiore® is intended for vaginal canal treatment and skin tightening. The applicators are intended as follows: (i) VG applicator is intended for improvement of symptoms of vaginal laxity and vaginal atrophy, (ii) the MP applicator for dermatological procedures requiring increasing of skin tightening and improvement in skin laxity of the Mons Pubis (MP) area and (iii) the LA applicator is intended for dermatological procedures requiring increasing of skin tightening and improvement in skin laxity of the Labia Majora area.
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Israel
Aesthetic and functional treatment of the vagina, labia and mons pubis.
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Product Name
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Technology
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Regulatory Clearance
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Venus Bliss™
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The Venus Bliss™ device consists of a console (main unit), one RF applicator and four diode laser applicators. The system, via its different applicator types, delivers laser and/or bipolar RF energies, vacuum pressure, and pulsed magnetic fields to the skin and the underlying tissues of the treatment area. Venus Bliss™ delivers laser energy to the subcutaneous tissue layers via the four diode laser applicators connected to the console. The console utilizes diode laser modules as sources of optical energy and the optical output is fiber-coupled through the applicator to the treatment area so to increase the temperature of the fat resulting in fat breakdown (lipolysis). In addition, the Venus Bliss™ device through the (MP)2 applicator provides RF treatments combined with emitted magnetic fields and vacuum massaging. The RF heating effect, together with the non-thermal magnetic fields and vacuum, leads to the temporary reduction in the appearance of cellulite, temporary relief of muscle pain and spasm, and improvement of local blood circulation in the subdermal layers.
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FDA
Using the diode laser system, the Venus Bliss™ device is intended for non-invasive lipolysis of the abdomen and flanks in individuals with a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 30 or less.
Using the (MP)² applicator for delivery of RF energy combined with massage and magnetic field pulses, the Venus Bliss™ device is intended for the treatment of the following medical conditions:
• Relief of minor muscle aches and pain, relief of muscle spasm
• Temporary improvement of local blood circulation
• Temporary reduction in the appearance of cellulite.
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Canada
Application submitted for non-invasive lipolysis of the abdomen and flanks in individuals with a BMI of 40 or less, using the body laser applicator and for the temporary increase of skin tightening, temporary circumferential reduction, temporary cellulite reduction and temporary wrinkle reduction using the (MP)² applicator.
EU
Application submitted for the increase of skin tightening, temporary circumferential reduction, cellulite reduction, and wrinkle reduction using the diode laser applicators and (MP)² applicator.
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Product Name
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Technology
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Regulatory Clearance
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Venus Glow™
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Venus Glow™ consists of a console and applicator. It is used to improve skin appearance using powerful tri-modality treatment combining a rotating tip, a vacuum modality and a jet. Venus Glow™ deep-cleans pores by removing impurities such as daily dirt and debris, dry or dead skin cells, and excess sebum.
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FDA (listed as a Class I device)
Motorized dermabrasion device.
Canada (listed as a Class I device)
EU
Not a medical device.
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NeoGraft®
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Venus Concept’s NeoGraft® device is an advanced hair restoration technology with an automated FUE and implantation system. The procedure leaves no linear scar and is minimally invasive.
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FDA (listed as a Class I device)
Surgical instrument motors and accessories that are intended for use during surgical procedures to provide power to operate various accessories or attachments to cut hard tissue or bone and soft tissue.
Canada (listed as Class I without indication)
EU
Hair Transplant device
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Venus Epileve™
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The Venus Epileve™ system uses pulsed laser energy of 800 mm that is absorbed by a chromophore or pigmented target (e.g., melanin in hair follicles) while skin surface is being chilled, for different indications of hair removal and permanent hair reduction. Venus Epileve™ is intended to provide an entry level, affordable solution for non-traditional markets for hair removal of all skin types.
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Canada
The Venus Epileve™ is intended for all Fitzpatrick skin types, including tanned skin, for use in dermatology, general and plastic surgery applications for:
•Hair removal;
•Permanent hair reduction (defined as the long-term stable reduction in the number of hairs re-growing when measured at 6, 9, and 12 months after the completion of a treatment regimen); and
• Treatment of pseudofolliculitis barbae.
EU
The Venus Epileve™ is intended for treatment of hirsutism (hair removal), permanent hair reduction, and the treatment for pseudofolliculitis barbae (PFB). Permanent hair reduction is defined as the long-term, stable reduction in the number of hairs re-growing when measured at 6, 9, and 12 months after the completion of a treatment regime. The Venus Epileve™ is intended for use on all skin types (Fitzpatrick skin types I -VI), including tanned skin.
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Product Name
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Technology
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Regulatory Clearance
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ARTAS® iX
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The ARTAS® System is comprised of the cart, which includes the robotic arm, integrated vision system, artificial intelligence algorithms and a series of proprietary end effectors employed in an automatic manner. The accessories at the distal end of the robotic arm, such as the automated needle and punch, that interact with the patient’s scalp and hair follicles and perform various clinical functions including hair follicle harvesting and implantation.
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FDA
Harvesting hair follicles from the scalp in men diagnosed with androgenic alopecia who have black or brown straight hair. The ARTAS® system is intended to assist physicians in identifying and extracting hair follicles units from the scalp during hair transplantation, creating recipient sites and implanting the harvested hair follicles.
Canada
Harvesting hair follicles from the scalp in men diagnosed with androgenic alopecia who have black or brown straight hair. The ARTAS® system is intended to assist physicians in identifying and extracting hair follicles units from the scalp during hair transplantation, creating recipient sites and implanting the harvested hair follicles.
EU
Computer assisted hair follicle harvesting, incision making and implantation system.
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The ARTAS® and ARTAS® iX Systems and Procedure
We believe the ARTAS® and ARTAS® iX Systems have improved multiple phases of the hair transplantation procedure, which include harvesting, recipient site making and implantation.
Harvesting
During the harvesting phase of the hair restoration procedure, the robotic arm and integrated vision system work in tandem to identify the optimal hair follicles to be used in the procedure. The ARTAS vision system uses proprietary algorithms to identify individual hair follicles, growth angle, density, thickness, length and follicle grouping and to determine which grafts to dissect and the optimal order in which they should be dissected. The algorithms recalculate 60 times per second, accommodating patient movement, to provide the physician with accurate up-to-date information during the course of the procedure. We believe these assessments directly correlate to the quality of the outcome and the state of the donor area. This is important because we believe it affects how the donor area will appear following the procedure, and the potential viability for subsequent harvesting for future transplantation procedures.
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The ARTAS® System harvesting user interface provides the physician with enhanced control during the procedure. An example of the harvesting user interface appears as follows:
Following the vision system’s identification of the optimal hair follicles for transplant, the ARTAS® System dissects these follicles using a sharp needle to score the epidermis and a punch, coaxial with the needle, to separate the graft from the surrounding tissue. In the final step of the harvesting phase, the grafts are removed manually with forceps by the physician or the technician. The grafts are then cleaned, inspected and prepared for implantation.
During the procedure, the physician can customize the dissection incisions by choosing a needle and punch that will produce 0.8mm, 0.9mm or 1.0mm incisions. The image below illustrates a typical ARTAS® System punch and needle:
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The needle travels at speeds such that, when it contacts the skin, it provides targeted precision and a cleanly scored incision. The punch then spins between 3,000 and 5,000 rpm and loosens the grafts from the surrounding tissue. In a clinical setting, we have observed that the dissection cycle takes between one to two seconds per graft, depending on the length of the graft. In a clinical setting, the ARTAS® System has been shown to move from graft to graft at a rate of approximately one to three seconds, thereby enabling the ARTAS® System to dissect a graft every two to five seconds, or approximately 720 to over 1,800 grafts per hour. The ARTAS® System enables the physicians to adjust dissection parameters to accommodate for different types of skin and manipulate graft selection algorithms based on patient needs. The ARTAS® System can be programmed to dissect as many grafts as appropriate thus maximizing the use of the donor area. It can also be programmed to dissect grafts with more than two hairs each, thereby increasing the hair yield or the number of hairs per graft.
During the harvesting phase of the hair transplantation procedure, the patient may be lightly sedated, and the integrated vision system can track patient movement and pause if excessive movement is detected.
Recipient Site Making
Sites, or incisions, are created to receive the harvested grafts. This task is generally performed by the physician. Prior to the ARTAS® System, site making was performed manually using a hand-held tool or needle to create hundreds to thousands of tiny incisions in the scalp. This is a critical step as it creates the hair pattern in which the harvested grafts will grow. From communications with physicians we have found that, typically, a physician can manually create approximately 1,500 sites per hour. Precision and consistency, however, can be affected by experience, hand-eye coordination and fatigue.
The ARTAS® System Site Making functionality incorporates artificial intelligence and robotics precision to strategically make surgical incision sites for implanting hair follicles, while also identifying and avoiding injuring healthy follicles in proximity of the implantation sites. This allows the patient’s hair to look more natural and prevents damaging existing healthy hair in the transplant area which we believe would result in patients with more hair than if the sites were made manually.
Robotic recipient Site Making is performed by the physician, who develops the ARTAS® System treatment plan, or map, identifying where to make the incisions on the patient. The treatment plan is prepared using three-dimension modeling software that takes one picture of the patient’s recipient area and generates a three-dimensional map that is utilized by the ARTAS® System. With entry angle accuracy, consistency and precise depth control, the ARTAS® System creates the recipient sites using a small solid core needle or a blade at a rate of approximately 2,500 to 3,000 sites per hour, which is significantly faster than the approximately 1,500 sites per hour achieved manually.
Implantation
Following the site making phase of the hair transplantation procedure, the physician and/or technicians utilizing an ARTAS® System without the implantation functionality will manually implant the grafts in the robotically created sites made by the ARTAS® System. Physicians and technicians utilizing an ARTAS® iX System can utilize the robotic functionality of the system to assist in implanting the dissected follicles. We believe this robotic implantation functionality will help further shorten the learning curve, improve the consistency and reproducibility of results by protecting permanent hair and reducing inconsistencies associated with manual implantation, and could potentially reduce the amount of time each graft spends outside of the scalp and decrease the overall time required for implantation.
ARTAS® Kits for Harvesting and Site Making
The ARTAS® System utilizes a set of disposable and reusable kits for our Harvesting and Site Making functionality. Each system comes with a set of reusable items. The disposable kits are included with the purchase of procedures.
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Products in Development
On an ongoing basis, we work to bring new and innovative products to market. We are developing the following products and technologies:
Directional Skin Tightening (DT) Technology
DT is intended as a non-surgical alternative to lift and tighten skin for procedures typically requiring surgical intervention. It uses mechanical vision, artificial intelligence and robotics to achieve the intended outcomes. The punches DT utilizes for coring are designed not to leave scars on tissue. The skin will be contracted after coring by applying a flexible patch to the area which will allow healing of the skin with predefined directional effect.
Electrical/Magnetic Muscle Stimulation Technology
Electrical/Magnetic Muscle Stimulation (“EMS/MMS”) is muscle stimulation which assists body contouring and is intended to be complimentary to our Venus Bliss™ device. Muscle stimulation technology is used to stimulate muscle volume in predefined areas of the body by utilizing magnetic fields to create controlled muscle contractions. The EMS/MMS module will be operated with two applicators for use on symmetrical pairs of the muscles and will use smart algorithms to determine the strength and sequences of muscle contraction and relaxation.
Venus Legacy 2.0
We are working on the next generation of the well-established Venus Legacy® product line. This device is intended to extend the capabilities of the original Venus Legacy® system product line by combining (MP)² and VariPulse™ technologies with real-time thermal feedback and ATC to provide homogeneous heating to multiple tissue depths while allowing for adjustable pulsed suction to further support deep energy penetration. This will result in enhanced lymphatic drainage and improved circulation stimulation. The device will come with both hand-held and hands-free applicators.
VeroGrafter Services
In the United States, we offer the services of a group of independently contracted technicians who are certified to assist physicians during a hair restoration procedure. These technicians, who we market as “VeroGrafters”, must successfully complete a yearly certification process to remain active. VeroGrafters™ service is offered for NeoGraft® and ARTAS® procedures.
Practice Enhancement Program
To support the growth initiatives of our customers, we have built a practice enhancement offering that provides our customers with start-up services intended to help integrate marketing support along with business and marketing tools to grow their practices, improve their financial and business performance, and maximize their return on investment, while also supporting our sale of products and ancillary services. Complimentary practice enhancement services are included with the purchase of a system under our subscription model.
Vero Hair Practice Development Services
To support the growth initiatives of our hair restoration customers, we have built a specialized practice development team. This team offers support in all areas of marketing and clinic support. Some of the key services include clinic staff training, marketing of the procedure and device online and off-line. The practice development services help drive utilization of the ARTAS® system and procedure kits and consumables.
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Clinical Developments
We continue to invest in research and development to support our technology, marketing and post-marketing surveillance. We also have a portfolio of 20 peer-reviewed publications and more than 20 white papers, many of which pertain to indications cleared outside of the United States to educate users in other countries and to study expanded indications in the United States. Authors for several of these publications hold stock options in Venus Concept or were paid consultants for us.
Research has shown that (MP)2 technology improves aspects of body contouring. The fractional RF has been shown to improve skin structure, including wrinkles and scars. IPL technology used in Venus Versa® has shown to be versatile and effective for treating vascular and pigmented lesions, acne and rosacea. Our diode laser technology has been shown to be effective for lipolysis and reduction of fat layer thickness. Additionally, the Venus Fiore® device has demonstrated ability to improve symptoms related to vaginal atrophy.
We have a number of ongoing clinical trials covering both new technologies and the development of expanded indications for existing technology. Clinical trials are conducted frequently to develop new technologies and support existing technologies and their respective enhancements and upgrades.
Sales and Marketing
We market and sell our products and services to the traditional medical aesthetic market including plastic surgeons and dermatologists. We also sell in certain markets to a broad base of non-traditional physician markets, including general and family practitioners and aesthetic medical spas.
Through our wholly-owned and majority-owned subsidiaries, we sell our products and services both through a traditional sales model as well as through our subscription model. In select markets, we enter into distribution agreements with local distributors.
Direct Sales
We currently provide our subscription model and traditional sales model, as well as the associated marketing support programs through our wholly-owned subsidiaries in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Argentina, Colombia, Spain, France, Germany, Israel and Australia, as well as through Venus Concept’s majority-owned subsidiaries in China, Hong Kong, and South Africa.
Direct sales force. In the United States and select international markets, we use our direct sales force to sell our systems and other products and services. Our direct sales force also works directly with our customers to facilitate comprehensive education and training on the use of our systems. As of December 31, 2020, we had a direct sales and marketing team of approximately 142 employees, managed by four Vice Presidents of Sales for various international markets and one Vice President of Global Marketing. We plan to continue to expand our direct sales organization in the United States and other international markets of focus to help facilitate further adoption among a broad market.
Distributors. In countries where we do not operate directly, we sell through distributors. As of December 31, 2020, we had distribution agreements in over 65 countries. We enter into both exclusive and non-exclusive distribution agreements, which generally provide the distributor with a right to distribute certain of our products within a designated territory. Each agreement sets forth the minimum quarterly purchase commitments and if the distributor fails to meet one of its minimum purchase commitments, we have the ability to either convert any exclusive distribution rights to non-exclusive rights during the then-remaining term or terminate the agreement. To provide more comprehensive customer support, these agreements require our distributors to provide after sales service to customers, such as training and technical support, and various marketing activities, such as preparing and executing marketing plans and working with key market leaders in the designated territory to promote the product.
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Marketing and Branding Programs
We are focused on, and invest heavily in, direct-to-consumer marketing initiatives to increase awareness of our products and services. We believe our marketing activities are both cost effective and critical in supporting the continued growth and development of our business. As of December 31, 2020, we had a Vice President of Global Marketing, with regional Marketing Managers in Asia Pacific (“APAC”),Europe, Middle East and Africa (“EMEA”), and Latin America (“LATAM”). We have an internal team of digital, graphics, brand and events specialists that support North America and our regional Marketing Managers.
We implemented business to business and business to customer public relations outreach strategies that incorporates both digital media and top national media channels in the fashion and beauty industries and have a presence on the most popular social media channels, such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest, LinkedIn and Instagram. We also attend major medical and scientific meetings, as well as trade shows. Since some countries require customized marketing programs, we have hired country-specific marketing managers to ensure that marketing programs are executed successfully in those jurisdictions.
Customer Support
We provide our customers and authorized distributors with customer support through our fully integrated marketing program and strong clinical and technical support teams.
Practice Enhancement Program
To support the growth initiatives of our customers, we have built a practice enhancement strategy that provides customers with a fully integrated marketing support program with business and marketing tools to grow their practices, improve their financial and business performance, and maximize their return on investment while also supporting our sale of products and ancillary services. Our practice enhancement program includes the following features:
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Inclusion in an advanced clinic directory that is promoted online and offline to consumers. The full-page listing includes the clinic’s contact information, social media profiles and a full list of available Venus Concept device treatments.
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A comprehensive device launch plan, guidance on effective pricing and bundling strategies and involved in short and long-term business goal reviews and tracking.
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Online courses and private remote workshops related to business strategies and clinic efficiency including customer retention and conversion strategies, effective patient consultation, credentialing, Venus Concept devices sales talking points, telephone skills, cross-selling and up-selling techniques, and photography best practices.
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New Customer Success Kits comprised of a starter package with marketing materials necessary to introduce and promote new Venus Concept products with a heavy emphasis on a digital and social media strategy.
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Analysis of business practices with instruction on effective patient consultation and conversion strategies.
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Analysis of current social media and online marketing efforts and guidance on how to attract and convert potential consumers more efficiently.
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For hair restoration customers, access to specialized VeroHair 12 Step Program designed to assist ARTAS® and NeoGraft® customers with building a successful hair restoration practice.
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Technical and Clinical Support
We provide a warranty for the majority of our products against defects in materials and workmanship under normal use and service for a period of one year, with certain other products carrying a different warranty correlating to the number of uses the product undergoes or based upon the perishability of the product. Once the warranty expires, our customers have the option of purchasing a service contract, which is typically for a term of one to three years.
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We maintain a technical and clinical support team to field inquiries, troubleshoot product issues, facilitate sales activities and support the commercial activities of our direct offices and its international distributors. We provide immediate response technical support to our physician customers and distributors year-round. In the event that an issue arises, our technical support personnel will work with our customers to determine if a technical issue may be resolved over the telephone or requires a service visit. In markets where we do not have our own service engineers, we service and support our products through arrangements handled by our independent distributors. In order to maximize customer “up time,” we proactively deploy replacement systems, modules, and components to strategic hubs worldwide.
Manufacturing and Quality Assurance
We have our own research and development center in Yokneam, Israel and use three ISO-certified contract manufacturers in Karmiel, Israel; Mazet, France and Weston, Florida where it manufactures the Venus Legacy system as a virtual manufacturer in an FDA-registered facility. We assemble the ARTAS® iX System in San Jose, California, while reusable and disposable kits are assembled exclusively for us by NPI Solutions, Inc. (“NPI”) based in Morgan Hill, California.
We work closely with our manufacturers and perform final quality control testing using our own employees stationed in the manufacturing facilities. Having over 85% of the production of our systems in close proximity to our research and development and operations facilities enables us to control the entire process from product development through manufacturing and final testing, which enables us to provide advanced, high-quality systems as well as the flexibility to create customized solutions for our customers. Also, using multiple manufacturers allows us a greater degree of flexibility in adjusting production levels to meet fast changing market demand. We do not have any long-term supply agreements for components.
Manufacturing facilities that produce medical devices intended for distribution in the United States and internationally are subject to regulation and periodic unannounced inspection by the FDA and other domestic and international regulatory agencies. In the United States, we are required to manufacture our products in compliance with the FDA’s Quality System Regulations (“QSR”), which covers the methods and documentation of the design, testing, control, manufacturing, labeling, quality assurance, packaging, storage, and shipping of our products. In international markets, we are required to obtain and maintain various quality assurance and quality management certifications. We conform with and are in full compliance with ISO:13485:2016, CE (MDD→ MDR) and MDSAP.
We maintain a quality system designed to be compliant with quality system management and QSR and have procedures in place designed to ensure that all products and materials we purchase conform to our specifications, including evaluation of suppliers, and where required, qualification of the components supplied. Our current facilities are adequate to support our operations.
Research and Development
Our ongoing research and development activities are primarily focused on improving and enhancing our current technologies, products, and services, as well as expanding our current product offering with the introduction of new products for different aesthetic, medical and hair restoration applications. Our research and development efforts related to our technologies currently include research to expand indications, broaden our offering of system applicators, advance our proprietary (MP)2 technology, add new technologies and indications (e.g., EMS), refine our harvesting and site making functions, as well as the implantation functionality for the ARTAS® iX System, develop design improvements and new products, and implement a technology platform to record and collect information on each treatment procedure. For the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, we incurred research and development expenses of $7.8 million and $8.0 million, respectively. We expect our research and development expense to vary as different development projects are initiated and completed, as we invest in research, clinical studies, regulatory affairs and development activities over time, and as we continue to expand our business.
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Intellectual Property
Portfolio
We rely on a combination of patent, copyright, trademark and trade secret laws, and confidentiality and invention assignment agreements to protect our intellectual property rights. As of December 31, 2020, our patent portfolio is comprised of 10 issued U.S. patents which cover our (MP)2 technology that are associated with two different patent families (the earliest of which will expire in 2022), 97 issued U.S. patents primarily covering the ARTAS System and methods of use (the earliest of which expire in 2021), 11 pending U.S. patent applications, 111 issued foreign counterpart patents, and 27 pending foreign counterpart patent applications.
As of December 31, 2020, our trademark portfolio included the following trademark registrations, pending trademark applications or common law trademark rights, among others: Venus, Venus Concept®, Venus Fiore® , Venus Freeze® , Venus Freeze Plus® , Venus Glow™, Venus Heal™, Venus Legacy®, Venus Velocity™ , Venus Viva®, Venus Versa®, Venus Bliss™, Restoration Robotics®, ARTAS®, ARTAS® iX, Venus Concept delivering the promise, NeoGraft® and (MP)2. We continue to file new trademark applications in many countries to protect our current and future products and related slogans.
License Agreement with HSC Development LLC and James A. Harris, MD
In July 2006, we entered into a license agreement, or the HSC license agreement, with HSC Development LLC, or HSC, and James A. Harris, M.D., as amended, pursuant to which we received an exclusive, worldwide license to develop, manufacture and commercialize products covered by any of the licensed patent rights or that incorporate the licensed technology in the field of performance of hair removal and implantation, including transplantation, procedures using a computer controlled system in which a needle or other device carried on a mechanized arm is oriented to a follicular unit for extraction of same, or to an implant site for implantation of a follicular unit, or some combination thereof. Under the HSC license agreement, we are developing the ARTAS® System to be utilized as a robotic system to assist a physician in performing hair restoration procedures. In consideration for the license, we issued to HSC 25,000 shares of our common stock, prior to the Company’s 1-for-10 reverse stock split, and paid HSC a one-time payment of $25,000. The license grant is perpetual, and the license agreement does not provide a right for HSC or Dr. Harris to terminate the HSC license agreement. The licensed patents cover, in general, a method and device for the extraction of follicular units from a donor area on a patient. The method includes scoring the outer skin layers with a sharp punch, and then inserting a blunt punch into the incision to separate the hair follicle from the surrounding tissue and fatty layer. The method and device significantly decrease the amount of follicular transection and increase the rate at which follicular units can be extracted. There are other embodiments not herein disclosed. The licensed patents will expire from 2025 through 2030.
Competition
The medical technology and aesthetic product markets are highly competitive and dynamic and are characterized by rapid and substantial technological development and product innovation. Demand for our systems is impacted by the products and procedures offered by our competitors. Certain of our systems also compete against conventional non-energy-based treatments, such as neurotoxins and dermal fillers, chemical peels, and microdermabrasion. In the United States, we compete against companies that have developed minimally invasive and non-invasive medical aesthetic procedures. Outside of the United States, likely due to less stringent regulatory requirements, there are more aesthetic products and procedures available in international markets than are cleared for use in the United States. Sometimes, there are also fewer limitations on the claims our competitors in international markets can make about the effectiveness of their products and the manner in which they can market them. As a result, we may face a greater number of competitors in markets outside of the United States. We also compete generally with medical technology and aesthetic companies, including those offering products and services unrelated to skin treatment. Recently, there has been consolidation in the aesthetic industry leading to companies combining their resources, which increases competition and could result in increased downward pressure on our system prices.
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In the surgical hair restoration market, we consider our direct competition to be FUT Strip Surgeries and Manual FUE procedures. Many of our surgical device and equipment competitors have greater capital resources, sales and marketing operations and service infrastructures than we do, as well as longer commercial histories and more extensive relationships with physicians. FUT Strip Surgery and some manual FUE procedures have a greater penetration into the hair restoration market, due in part to having a longer history in the market. Our indirect competition in the hair restoration market also includes non-surgical treatments for hair loss, such as prescription therapeutics, including Propecia, and non-prescription remedies, such as wigs, hair pieces and spray-on applications.
We believe that our competitors’ systems compete largely based on the following factors:
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company and product brand recognition;
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effective marketing and education;
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sales force experience and access;
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product support and service;
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technological innovation, product enhancements and speed of innovation;
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pricing and revenue strategies;
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product reliability, safety and durability;
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consistency, predictability and durability of aesthetic results; and
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procedure costs to patients.
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Government Regulation
The design, development, manufacture, testing and sale of our products are subject to regulation by numerous governmental authorities, including the FDA, and corresponding state and foreign regulatory agencies.
Regulation by the FDA
In the United States, the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (“FDCA”), the FDA regulations and other federal and state statutes and regulations govern, among other things, medical device design and development, preclinical and clinical testing, premarket clearance or approval, registration and listing, manufacturing, labeling, storage, advertising and promotion, sales and distribution, export and import, and post-market surveillance. The FDA enforces the FDCA, and the regulations promulgated pursuant to the FDCA.
Each medical device that we wish to distribute commercially in the United States requires marketing authorization from the FDA prior to distribution unless an exemption applies. The two primary types of FDA marketing authorizations applicable to a device are premarket notification, also called 510(k) clearance, and premarket approval (“PMA”). The type of marketing authorization is generally linked to the classification of the device. The FDA classifies medical devices into one of three classes (Class I, II, or III) based on the degree of risk the FDA determines to be associated with a device and the level of regulatory control deemed necessary to ensure the device’s safety and effectiveness for its intended use(s). Devices requiring fewer controls because they are deemed to pose lower risk are placed in Class I or II. Class III devices are those for which insufficient information exists to assure safety and effectiveness solely through general or special controls and include life-sustaining, life-supporting or implantable devices, devices of substantial importance in preventing impairment of human health, or which present a potential, unreasonable risk of illness or injury.
Most Class I devices and some Class II devices are exempted by regulation from the 510(k) clearance requirement and can be marketed without prior authorization from the FDA. By contrast, devices placed in Class III generally require PMA approval or approval of a de novo reclassification petition prior to commercial marketing. The FDA’s 510(k) clearance process usually takes from three to nine months but can take longer. For products requiring PMA approval, the regulatory process generally takes from one to three years or more, from the time the application is filed with the FDA and involves substantially greater risks and commitment of resources than either the 510(k) clearance or de novo processes.
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510(k) Clearance
To obtain 510(k) clearance for a medical device, an applicant must submit a premarket notification to the FDA demonstrating that the device is “substantially equivalent” to a previously cleared 510(k) device or a device that was in commercial distribution before May 28, 1976 for which the FDA has not yet called for PMA approval, commonly known as the “predicate device.” A device is substantially equivalent if, with respect to the predicate device, it has the same intended use and has either (i) the same technological characteristics or (ii) different technological characteristics and the information submitted demonstrates that the device is as safe and effective as a legally marketed device and does not raise different questions of safety or effectiveness. After a device receives 510(k) marketing clearance, any modification that could significantly affect its safety or effectiveness, or that would constitute a major change or modification in its intended use, will require a new 510(k) marketing clearance or, depending on the modification, a de novo classification or PMA approval.
We have made modifications to our products in the past and have determined based on our review of the applicable FDA regulations and guidance that in certain instances new 510(k) clearances or PMA approvals were not required.
PMA Approval
A PMA application must be submitted if the device cannot be cleared through the 510(k) process and is found ineligible for de novo reclassification. PMA applications must be supported by valid scientific evidence, which typically requires extensive data, including technical, preclinical, clinical, and manufacturing data, to demonstrate to the FDA’s satisfaction the safety and effectiveness of the device. A PMA application must also include, among other things: a complete description of the device and its components; a detailed description of the methods, facilities and controls used to manufacture the device; and proposed labeling. Approval of FDA review of an initial PMA application may require several years to complete.
Clinical Trials
Clinical trials are almost always required to support the FDA’s approval of a premarket approval application and are sometimes required for 510(k) clearances. If a device presents a “significant risk,” as defined by the FDA, to human health, the device sponsor may need to file an investigational device exemption (“IDE”) application with the FDA and obtain an IDE approval prior to commencing the human clinical trials. The IDE application must be supported by appropriate data, such as animal and laboratory testing results, showing that it is safe to test the device in humans and that the testing protocol is scientifically sound. The IDE application must be approved in advance by the FDA for a specified number of patients, unless the product is deemed a “non-significant risk” device and eligible for more abbreviated IDE requirements. Clinical trials for a significant risk device may begin once the IDE application is approved by the FDA and the appropriate institutional review boards (“IRB”). Clinical trials are subject to extensive monitoring, recordkeeping and reporting requirements.
Similarly, in Europe a clinical study must be approved by the local ethics committee and in some cases, including studies of high-risk devices, by the ministry of health in the applicable country. In the EU, physico-chemical tests carried out on the medical device may be necessary in order to obtain the CE mark. These tests must be performed by accredited laboratories for Class II b and III medical devices. The reports and tests are required to be filed in a technical file submitted to the notified body for validation of and obtaining the CE mark. Regulation 2017/745 (MDR) applicable as of May 2021 in the EU will significantly strengthen the requirements for clinical evaluation (EC). The clinical evaluation for class II b and class III medical devices will be based on a critical evaluation of relevant scientific publications, the results of all available clinical investigations as well as the consideration of other medical devices with the same purpose. Regulation 2017/745 notably requires the manufacturer to carry out a post-marketing safety monitoring plan, which includes post-marketing clinical follow-ups (SCAC) in order to update information about the devices marketed throughout its life cycle, and notably any adverse effects.
Post-market Regulation
Any devices that are manufactured or distributed pursuant to clearance or approval by the FDA are subject to pervasive and continuing regulation by the FDA and certain state agencies. After a device is placed on the market, numerous regulatory requirements continue to apply. These include establishment registration and device listing with the FDA, QSR requirements, labeling and marketing regulations, clearance or approval of product modifications, medical device reporting regulations, correction, removal and recall reporting regulations, Unique Device Identifiers (UDI) compliance, the FDA’s recall authority, and post-market surveillance activities and regulations.
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We may be subject to similar foreign laws that may include applicable post-marketing requirements such as safety surveillance. Our manufacturing processes are required to comply with the applicable portions of the QSR, which cover the methods and the facilities and controls for the design, manufacture, testing, production, processes, controls, quality assurance, labeling, packaging, distribution, installation and servicing of finished devices intended for human use. The QSR also requires, among other things, maintenance of a device master file, device history file, and complaint files. As a manufacturer, we are subject to periodic scheduled or unscheduled inspections by the FDA. A failure to maintain compliance with the QSR requirements could result in the shut-down of, or restrictions on, our manufacturing operations and the recall or seizure of products. The FDA has broad regulatory compliance and enforcement powers. If the FDA determines that we failed to comply with applicable regulatory requirements, it can take a variety of compliance or enforcement actions, which may result in any of the following sanctions:
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warning letters, untitled letters, fines, injunctions, consent decrees and civil penalties;
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recalls, withdrawals, or administrative detention or seizure of our products;
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operating restrictions or partial suspension or total shutdown of production;
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refusing or delaying requests for 510(k) marketing clearance or PMA approvals of new products or modified products;
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withdrawing 510(k) clearances or PMA approvals that have already been granted;
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refusal to grant export or import approvals for our products;
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criminal prosecution; or
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debarment or disqualification.
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Labeling and promotional activities are also subject to scrutiny by the FDA and, in certain circumstances, by the Federal Trade Commission. Medical devices approved or cleared by the FDA may not be promoted for unapproved or uncleared uses, otherwise known as “off-label” promotion. Medical devices requiring clearance or approval, but for which such clearance/approval has not been obtained, also must not be marketed. The FDA and other agencies actively enforce the laws and regulations prohibiting the promotion of off-label uses, and a company that is found to have improperly promoted off-label uses may be subject to significant liability, including substantial monetary penalties and criminal prosecution.
We received an inquiry from the FDA in August 2018 regarding apparent off-label or unapproved uses of Venus Fiore™. However, we never marketed or promoted Venus Fiore® in the United States and we explained this to the agency. We subsequently added as a precaution a geoblocker functionality to our website, to portray accurately what devices we are marketing in the United States. This matter has been closed by the FDA.
Export of Our Products
Export of products subject to the 510(k) notification requirements, but not yet cleared to market, is permitted with the FDA authorization provided certain requirements are met. Unapproved or uncleared products subject to the PMA requirements may be exported if the exporting company and the device meet certain criteria, including, among other things, that the device complies with the laws of the receiving country, has valid marketing authorization from the appropriate authority and the company submits a “Simple Notification” to the FDA when it begins to export. Importantly, however, export of such products may be limited to certain countries designated by statutory provisions, and petitions may need to be submitted to the FDA to enable export to countries other than those designated in the statutory provisions. The petitioning process can be difficult, and the FDA may not authorize unapproved or uncleared products to be exported to countries to which a manufacturer wishes to export. Devices that are adulterated, devices whose label and labeling does not comply with requirements of the country receiving the product, and devices that are not promoted in accordance with the law of the receiving country, among others, cannot be exported.
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Fraud and Abuse Regulations
Federal and state governmental agencies subject the healthcare industry to intense regulatory scrutiny, including heightened civil and criminal enforcement efforts. These laws constrain the sales, marketing and other promotional activities of medical device manufacturers by limiting the kinds of financial arrangements they may have with physicians and other potential purchasers of their products. There exist numerous federal and state health care anti-fraud laws, including the federal anti-kickback statute which prohibits, among other things, persons from knowingly and willfully soliciting, receiving, offering or paying remuneration, directly or indirectly, in cash or in kind, to induce or reward either the referral of an individual for, or the purchase, order or recommendation of, items or services for which payment may be made, in whole or in part, under federal healthcare programs. Violations may result in substantial civil penalties, including treble damages, and criminal penalties, including imprisonment, fines and exclusion from participation in federal health care programs. The Federal False Claims Act also contains “whistleblower” or “qui tam” provisions that allow private individuals to bring actions on behalf of the government alleging that the defendant has defrauded the government.
Venus Concept’s products are not reimbursable by Medicare, Medicaid or other federal health care programs. As a result, the federal anti-kickback statute and many federal false claims provisions do not apply to Venus Concept. However, we may be subject to similar state anti-kickback laws that apply regardless of the payor. In addition, various states have enacted laws modeled after the Federal False Claims Act, including “qui tam” or whistleblower provisions, and some of these laws apply to claims filed with commercial insurers.
Compliance with applicable United States and foreign laws and regulations, such as import and export requirements, anti-corruption laws such as the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”) and similar worldwide anti-bribery laws, tax laws, foreign exchange controls and cash repatriation restrictions, data privacy requirements, environmental laws, labor laws and anti-competition regulations, increases the costs of doing business in foreign jurisdictions. In some cases, compliance with the laws and regulations of one country could violate the laws and regulations of another country.
Many foreign countries have similar laws relating to healthcare fraud and abuse. Foreign laws and regulations may vary greatly from country to country. Violations of these laws, or allegations of such violations, could result in fines, penalties, or prosecution and have a negative impact on our business, results of operations and reputation.
There has been a recent trend of increased foreign, federal, and state regulation of payments and transfers of value provided to healthcare professionals, such as physicians, and entities. As noted, our products are not reimbursed by Medicare, Medicaid, or federal health care programs, so the U.S. federal reporting laws (such as the federal Sunshine Act) do not apply to Venus Concept. However, certain foreign countries and U.S. states also mandate implementation of commercial compliance programs, impose restrictions on device manufacturer marketing practices and require tracking and reporting of gifts, compensation and other remuneration to healthcare professionals and entities. Violations of these laws, or allegations of such violations, could result in fines, penalties, or prosecution and have a negative impact on our business, results of operations and reputation.
Foreign Government Regulation
The regulatory review process for medical devices varies from country to country, and many countries also impose product standards, packaging requirements, environmental requirements, labeling requirements and import restrictions on devices. Each country has its own tariff regulations, duties, and tax requirements. Failure to comply with applicable foreign regulatory requirements may subject a company to fines, suspension or withdrawal of regulatory approvals, product recalls, seizure of products, operating restrictions, criminal prosecution, or other consequences.
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European Economic Area
In the European Economic Area (“EEA”), our devices are required to comply with the Essential Requirements set forth in Annex I to the Council Directive 93/42/EEC concerning medical devices, commonly referred to as the Medical Devices Directive. Compliance with these requirements entitles a manufacturer to affix the CE mark to its medical devices, without which they cannot be commercialized in the EEA. To demonstrate compliance with the Essential Requirements and to obtain the right to affix the CE mark to medical devices, they must undergo a conformity assessment procedure, which varies according to the type of medical device and its classification. Except for low risk medical devices (Class I with no measuring function and which are not sterile), where the manufacturer can issue an EC Declaration of Conformity based on a self-assessment of the conformity of its products with the Essential Requirements, a conformity assessment procedure requires the intervention of a notified body, which is an organization designated by the competent authorities of an EEA country to conduct conformity assessments. The notified body typically audits and examines products’ Technical File and the quality system for the manufacture, design and final inspection of our devices before issuing a CE Certificate of Conformity demonstrating compliance with the relevant Essential Requirements. Following the issuance of this a CE Certificate of Conformity, Venus Concept can draw up an EC Declaration of Conformity and affix the CE mark to the products covered by this CE Certificate of Conformity and the EC Declaration of Conformity. We have successfully completed several notified body audits since our original certification in December 2009. Following these audits, our notified body issued ISO 13485:2016 Certificate and CE Certificates of Conformity allowing it to draw up an EC Declaration of Conformity and affix the CE mark to certain of our devices since 2019 MDSAP Certificate.
After the product has been CE marked and placed on the market in the EEA, a manufacturer must comply with a number of regulatory requirements relating to:
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registration of medical devices in individual EEA countries;
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pricing and reimbursement of medical devices;
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establishment of post-marketing surveillance and adverse event reporting procedures;
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field safety corrective actions, including product recalls and withdrawals; and
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interactions with physicians.
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In 2017, the European Parliament passed the Medical Devices Regulation, which repeals and replaces the EU Medical Devices Directive. Unlike directives, which must be implemented into the national laws of the EEA member States, the regulations would be directly applicable, i.e., without the need for adoption of EEA member State laws implementing them, in all EEA member States and are intended to eliminate current differences in the regulation of medical devices among EEA member States. The Medical Devices Regulation, among other things, is intended to establish a uniform, transparent, predictable and sustainable regulatory framework across the EEA for medical devices and in vitro diagnostic devices and ensure a high level of safety and health while supporting innovation.
The Medical Devices Regulation will however only become applicable three years after publication. Once applicable, the new regulations will among other things:
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strengthen the rules on placing devices on the market and reinforce surveillance once they are available;
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establish explicit provisions on manufacturers’ responsibilities for the follow-up of the quality, performance and safety of devices placed on the market;
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improve the traceability of medical devices throughout the supply chain to the end-user or patient through a unique identification number;
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set up a central database to provide patients, healthcare professionals and the public with comprehensive information on products available in the EU; and
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strengthen rules for the assessment of certain high-risk devices, such as implants, which may have to undergo an additional check by experts before they are placed on the market.
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To the extent that our products have already been certified under the existing regulatory framework, the MDR allows us to market them provided that the requirements of the transitional provisions are fulfilled. In particular, the certificate in question must still be valid. Under article 120(2) MDR, certificates issued by notified bodies before May 25, 2017 will remain valid until their indicated expiry dates. By contrast, certificates issued after May 25, 2017 will be void at the latest by May 27, 2024. Accordingly, before that date, we will need to obtain new CE Certificates of Conformity. Furthermore, the regulation introduces UDI, i.e. a bar code that must be placed on the label of the device or on its packaging, and manufacturers will be obligated to file adverse effects reports via the Eudamed platform in case there is an increase in the frequency or severity of incidents related to the medical device.
Environmental Regulation
We are subject to numerous foreign, federal, state, and local environmental, health and safety laws and regulations relating to, among other matters, safe working conditions, product stewardship and environmental protection, including those governing the generation, storage, handling, use, transportation and disposal of hazardous or potentially hazardous materials. Some of these laws and regulations require us to obtain licenses or permits to conduct our operations. Environmental laws and regulations are complex, change frequently and have tended to become more stringent over time. Although the costs to comply with applicable laws and regulations have not been material, we cannot predict the impact on our business of new or amended laws or regulations or any changes in the way existing and future laws and regulations are interpreted or enforced, nor can we ensure we will be able to obtain or maintain any required licenses or permits.
Data Privacy and Security
We are subject to diverse laws and regulations relating to data privacy and security, both in the United States and internationally. New global privacy rules are being enacted and existing ones are being updated and strengthened. Complying with these numerous, complex and often changing regulations is expensive and difficult, and failure to comply with any privacy laws or data security laws or any security incident or breach involving the misappropriation, loss or other unauthorized use or disclosure of sensitive or confidential patient or consumer information, whether by us, one of our business associates or another third-party, could have a material adverse effect on our business, reputation, financial condition and results of operations, including but not limited to: material fines and penalties; damages; litigation; consent orders; and injunctive relief. For additional information on the risks we face with regard to data privacy and security, please see Part I, Item 1A “Risk Factors” included elsewhere in this report.
We are also subject to evolving European laws on data export and electronic marketing. The rules on data export will apply when we transfer personal data to group companies or third parties outside of the EEA. For example, in 2015, the Court of Justice of the EU ruled that the U.S.-EU Safe Harbor framework, one compliance method by which companies could transfer personal data regarding citizens of the EU to the United States, was invalid and could no longer be relied upon. The U.S.-EU Safe Harbor framework was replaced with the U.S.-EU Privacy Shield framework, which is now under review and there is currently litigation challenging another EU mechanism for adequate data transfers and the standard contractual clauses. It is uncertain whether the U.S.-EU Privacy Shield framework and/or the standard contractual clauses will be similarly invalidated by the European courts. These changes may require us to find alternative bases for the compliant transfer of personal data from the EEA to the United States and we are monitoring developments in this area. The EU is also in the process of replacing the e-Privacy Directive with a new set of rules taking the form of a regulation, which will be directly implemented in the laws of each European member state, without the need for further enactment. The current draft of the e-Privacy Regulation retains strict opt-in for electronic marketing and the penalties for contravention have significantly increased with fining powers to the same levels as the EU General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament (“GDPR”) (i.e., the greater of 20.0 million Euros or 4% of total global annual revenue).
Employees
As of December 31, 2020 we had 384 full-time employees, 107 based in the United States, 77 based in Canada, 62 based in Israel, and 138 in the rest of the world. Of the total number of full-time employees, approximately 142 are direct sales representatives, including sales management.
In addition, as of December 31, 2020, we engaged the services of approximately 40 contract technicians as part of our VeroGrafters program.
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Corporate Information
We were founded on November 22, 2002 as a Delaware corporation. Our principal executive offices are located at 235 Yorkland Blvd., Suite 900, Toronto, Ontario M2J 4Y8 Canada and our telephone number is (877) 848-8430. You may find on our website at https://www.venusconcept.com/en-us/ electronic copies of our annual report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K, and amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Such filings are placed on our website as soon as reasonably practicable after they are filed with the SEC. Our most recent charter for our audit, compensation, and nominating and corporate governance committees and our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics and our Anti-Corruption Policy are available on our website as well. Any waiver of our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics may be made only by our board of directors. Any waiver of our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics for any of our directors or executive officers must be disclosed on a Current Report on Form 8-K within four business days, or such shorter period as may be required under applicable regulation. Information contained on, or that can be accessed through, our website is not incorporated by reference into this Annual Report on Form 10-K, and you should not consider information on our website to be part of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. We have included our website address as an inactive textual reference only.
Available Information
We file Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K and other information with the SEC. Our filings with the SEC are available free of charge on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov and on our website under the “Investor Relations” tab as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file such material with, or furnish it to, the SEC.
Item 1A. Risk Factors.
Our operations and financial results are subject to various risks and uncertainties, including those described below, any of which could adversely affect our business, results of operations, financial condition and prospects. In such an event, the market price of our Common Stock could decline, and you may lose all or part of your investment. Additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to us or that we currently deem immaterial may also adversely affect our business operations. You should carefully consider the risks described below and the other information in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, including our audited consolidated financial statements and the related notes thereto, and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.”
Risks Related to Our Business
Our product sale strategy is focused primarily on a subscription-based business model, and the success of this sales strategy depends on the continued adoption and use of our subscription-based products and services.
Our success depends on growing market adoption by traditional and non-traditional providers and use of our subscription-based business model. Our subscription-based model may not be adopted by customers and potential customers at the rate we anticipate. Our ability to increase the number of customers who purchase our products and services or participate in our subscription-based programs and make our products a significant part of their practices, depends in part on the success of our direct sales and marketing programs. Before potential customers make a subscription-based purchase, they may need to recoup the cost of products that they have already purchased from competitors, and therefore they may decide to delay participating in our subscription-based programs or decide not to participate at all. If we are unable to increase market adoption and use of our products and services through our subscription-based model, the number of systems we sell may be lower than anticipated.
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Our subscription-based model exposes us to the credit risk of our customers over the life of the subscription agreement. In the event that our customers fail to make the monthly payments under their subscription agreements, our financial results may be adversely affected.
For the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, approximately 54% and 67%, respectively, of our system revenues were derived from our subscription-based model. Although the ARTAS® System is not available under our subscription-based model, we expect that our subscription-based business model to continue to represent the majority of our revenue for the foreseeable future. We collect an up-front fee, combined with a monthly payment schedule typically over a period of 36 months, with approximately 40% of total contract payments collected in the first year. For accounting purposes, these arrangements are considered to be sales-type finance leases, where the present value of all cash flows to be received under the subscription agreement is recognized as revenue upon shipment of the system to the customer. As part of our sales and marketing effort, we do not generally require our customers to undergo a formal credit check as is typically required with third-party equipment lease financing. Instead, to ensure that each monthly product payment is made on time and that the customer’s systems are serviced in accordance with the terms of the warranty, every product requires a monthly activation code, which we provide to the customer upon receiving each monthly payment. If a customer does not pay a monthly installment in a timely manner, the customer will not receive an activation code and will be unable to use the system. While this process does not protect us from the economic impact of a customer’s failure to make its monthly payments, we do maintain a purchase money security interest over the devices sold and therefore enjoy priority as a secured creditor, allowing us certain rights to recovery of the device in the event of a customer default or bankruptcy. We cannot provide any assurance that the financial position of customers purchasing products and services under a subscription agreement will not change adversely before we receive all of the monthly installment payments due under the contract. As a result of the global economic turmoil that has resulted from COVID-19, many of our customers are experiencing difficulty in making timely payments or payments at all during this pandemic under their subscription agreements which has resulted in higher than anticipated bad debt expense over the course of the 2020 fiscal year. In our largest subscription markets we collected approximately 60% of our billings in March 2020, 30% in April 2020, 35% in May 2020, 60% in June 2020, 104% in July 2020, 97% in August 2020, 98% in September 2020, 86% in October 2020, 86% in November 2020, and 87% in December 2020. We cannot assure you that our customers will resume payments under their agreements or that we will not experience customer defaults even after local economies reopen for business. In the event that there is a default by any of the customers to whom we have sold systems under the subscription-based model, we may recognize bad debt expenses in our general and administrative expenses. If this bad debt expense is material, it could negatively affect our results of operations and operating cash flows.
We offer credit terms to some qualified customers and distributors. In the event that any of these customers default on the amounts payable to us, our financial results may be adversely affected.
In addition to our subscription-based model, we generally offer credit terms of 30 to 60 days to qualified customers and distributors. In the event that there is a default by any of the customers or distributors to whom we have provided credit terms, we may recognize bad debt expenses in our general and administrative expenses. If this bad debt expense is material, it could negatively affect our future results of operations and cash flows. Additionally, in the event of deterioration of general business conditions, we may be subject to increased risk of non-payment of our accounts receivables. We may also be adversely affected by bankruptcies or other business failures of our customers, distributors, and potential customers. A significant delay in the collection of accounts receivable or a reduction of accounts receivables collected may impact our liquidity or result in bad debt expenses.
Our competitors may emulate our subscription-based model and erode our competitive advantage.
Our subscription-based model allows us to penetrate new markets and access a broader customer base because it offers an alternative to traditional equipment lease financing. However, to the extent we continue to be successful in growing the market adoption of our products through our subscription-based model, competitors may seek to emulate this model. Although we believe that our products compete effectively with the products offered by our competitors, our customers may be more willing to purchase the products of our competitors if they were offered through a subscription-based model. If customers decide to use the products of our competitors instead of our systems, our financial performance will be adversely affected.
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Our recurring losses from operations and negative cash flows raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern.
We have had recurring net operating losses and negative cash flows from operations, and until we generate revenue at a level to support our cost structure, we expect to continue to incur substantial operating losses and net cash outflows. As of December 31, 2020 and 2019, we had an accumulated deficit of $157.4 million and $75.7 million, respectively. Our recurring losses from operations and negative cash flows raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern, meaning that we may be unable to continue operations for the foreseeable future or realize assets and discharge liabilities in the ordinary course of operations. In order to continue our operations, we must achieve profitable operations and/or obtain additional equity or debt financing. However, given the COVID-19 pandemic, we cannot anticipate the extent to which the current economic turmoil and financial market conditions, will continue to adversely impact our business and our ability to raise additional capital to fund our future operations and to access the capital markets sooner than we planned. There can be no assurance that we will be successful in raising additional capital or that such capital, if available, will be on terms that are acceptable to us. If we are unable to raise sufficient additional capital, we may be compelled to reduce the scope of our operations and planned capital or research and development expenditures or sell certain assets, including intellectual property assets. The perception of our ability to continue as a going concern may make it more difficult for us to obtain financing for the continuation of our operations and could result in the loss of confidence by investors, suppliers and employees. Our consolidated financial statements do not include any adjustments that may result from the outcome of this uncertainty.
Business or economic disruptions or global health concerns could have an adverse effect on our business, operating results or financial condition.
Global business or economic disruptions could adversely affect our business. In December 2019, an outbreak of COVID-19 originated in Wuhan, China developed into a global pandemic and has resulted in multiple extended shutdowns of businesses in North and South America, Europe and Asia Pacific and gradual re-openings of economies. Global health concerns, such as the coronavirus pandemic, could also result in social, economic, and labor instability in the countries in which we, or the third parties with whom we engage, operate. We cannot presently predict the scope and ultimate severity or duration of the coronavirus pandemic and related business and economic disruptions. While we experienced some recovery and positive sales trends throughout the second half of fiscal year 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting economic and commercial shutdowns to date have materially and negatively impacted our ability to conduct business in the manner planned. Disruptions to our business include restrictions on the ability of our sales and marketing personnel and distributors to travel and sell our systems, disruptions of our global supply chain, disruptions in manufacturing, reduced demand and/or suspension of operations by our customers which has impacted their ability to make monthly subscription payments, and the deferral of aesthetic or hair restoration procedures. Our customers’ patients are also affected by the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Elective aesthetic procedures are less of a priority than other items for those patients who have lost their jobs, are furloughed, have reduced work hours or have to allocate their cash to other priorities. While we are encouraged by sales trends and economic recoveries we are seeing in international markets where COVID-19 vaccinations rates are high, we expect COVID-19 will continue to negatively affect customer demand throughout the first half of 2021. While we expect continued recovery in many markets in the first half of the year, recoveries have been gradual and the impact of COVID-19 on our sales could still be significant, especially if there is a resurgence of the virus in major markets. We do not yet know the full extent of the impact of COVID-19 on our business, financial condition and results of operations. The extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic may impact our business, operating results, financial condition, or liquidity in the future will depend on future developments which are evolving and highly uncertain including the duration of the outbreak, the severity of resurgences of the virus, travel restrictions, business and workforce disruptions, the timing of and extent of reopening the economic regions in which we do business and the effectiveness of actions taken to contain and treat the disease. The outbreak of contagious diseases or the fear of such an outbreak could adversely affect the economies and financial markets of many countries, resulting in an economic downturn that could affect the demand for our systems. Any of these events could negatively impact our business, operating results or financial condition.
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Our loan and security agreements contain restrictions that may limit our flexibility to effectively operate our business.
CNB Loan Agreement
On August 29, 2018, Venus Concept Ltd. entered into an Amended and Restated Loan Agreement as a guarantor with City National Bank of Florida (“CNB”), as amended on March 20, 2020 and December 9, 2020 (the “CNB Loan Agreement”), pursuant to which CNB agreed to make certain loans and other financial accommodations to certain of Venus Concept Ltd.’s subsidiaries. In connection with the CNB Loan Agreement, Venus Concept Ltd. also entered into a Guaranty Agreement with CNB dated as of August 29, 2018, as amended on March 20, 2020 and December 9, 2020 (the “CNB Guaranty”), pursuant to which Venus Concept Ltd. agreed to guaranty the obligations of its subsidiaries under the CNB Loan Agreement. On March 20, 2020, we also entered into a Security Agreement with CNB (the “CNB Security Agreement”), as amended on December 9, 2020, pursuant to which we agreed to grant CNB a security interest in substantially all of our assets to secure the obligations under the CNB Loan Agreement. For additional details of the CNB Loan Agreement, see Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations and Note 12 “Credit Facility” to the consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this report.
Among other things, the CNB Loan Agreement contains various covenants that limit our ability to engage in specified types of transactions and requires that a minimum of $23.0 million in cash be held in a deposit account maintained with CNB for one year following the closing of the CNB Loan Agreement. The Madryn Noteholders (defined below) have agreed to hold $20.0 million in cash in an escrow account at CNB, and pursuant to an escrow agreement, such cash will be released back to the Madryn Noteholders on the first anniversary of the CNB Loan Agreement. We are required to maintain $3.0 million in cash in a deposit account maintained with CNB at all times during the term of the CNB Loan Agreement. After the first anniversary of the CNB Loan Agreement, a minimum of $3.0 million in cash must be held in a deposit account maintained with CNB.
The CNB Loan Agreement is secured by substantially all of our assets and the assets of certain of our subsidiaries and requires us to maintain either a minimum cash balance in deposit accounts or a maximum total liability to tangible net worth ratio and a minimum debt service coverage ratio. An event of default under the CNB Loan Agreement would cause a default under the Notes and the MSLP Loan Agreement, each as described below, provided that a waiver of each default by CNB will also result in the termination of the corresponding default in the Notes.
Upon the occurrence, and during the continuance of, an event of default under the CNB Loan Agreement, if we are unable to repay all outstanding amounts, CNB may foreclose on the collateral granted to it to collateralize the indebtedness, which includes the enforcement of the CNB Security Agreement, which would significantly affect our ability to operate our business.
Main Street Priority Lending Program Term Loan
On December 8, 2020, Venus USA, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company, executed a Loan and Security Agreement (the “MSLP Loan Agreement”), a Promissory Note (the “MSLP Note”), and related documents for a loan in the aggregate amount of $50.0 million for which CNB will serve as lender pursuant to the Main Street Priority Loan Facility as established by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System Section 13(3) of the Federal Reserve Act (the “MSLP Loan”). Venus USA’s obligations under the MSLP Loan will be secured pursuant to a Guaranty of Payment and Performance dated as of December 8, 2020 (the “Guaranty Agreement”), by and between the Company and CNB. On December 9, 2020, we were advised that the MSLP Loan had been funded and the transaction closed. For additional details of the MSLP Loan Agreement, see Note 10 “Main Street Term Loan” to our consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this report.
The MSLP Note provides for customary events of default, including, among others, those relating to a failure to make payment, bankruptcy, breaches of representations and covenants, and the occurrence of certain events. In addition, the MSLP Loan Agreement and MSLP Note contain various covenants that limit our ability to engage in specified types of transactions. Subject to limited exceptions, these covenants limit our ability, without CNB’s consent, to, among other things, sell, lease, transfer, exclusively license or dispose of our assets, incur, create or permit to exist additional indebtedness, or liens, to make dividends and other restricted payments, and to make certain changes to our ownership structure.
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Madryn Credit Agreement and Exchange Agreement
On October 11, 2016, Venus Concept Ltd. entered into a credit agreement as a guarantor with Madryn Health Partners, LP, as administrative agent, and certain of its affiliates as lenders (collectively, “Madryn”), as amended (the “Madryn Credit Agreement”), pursuant to which Madryn agreed to make certain loans to certain of Venus Concept’s subsidiaries.
Contemporaneously with the MSLP Loan Agreement, the Company, Venus USA, Venus Concept Canada Corp., Venus Concept Ltd., and the Madryn Noteholders (as defined below), entered into a Securities Exchange Agreement (the “Exchange Agreement”) dated as of December 8, 2020, pursuant to which the Company (i) repaid on December 9, 2020, $42.5 million aggregate principal amount owed under the Madryn Credit Agreement, and (ii) issued, on December 9, 2020, to the Madryn Health Partners (Cayman Master), LP and Madryn Health Partners, LP (the “Madryn Noteholders”) secured subordinated convertible notes in the aggregate principal amount of $26.7 million (the “Notes”). The Madryn Credit Agreement was terminated effective December 9, 2020 upon the funding and closing of the MSLP Loan and the issuance of the Notes. For additional information regarding the Madryn Credit Agreement, the Exchange Agreement and the Notes, see Note 11 “Madryn Long-Term Debt and Convertible Notes” to our consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this report.
Pursuant to the Madryn Security Agreement, upon the occurrence and during the continuance of an event of default under the Madryn Notes, if we are unable to repay all outstanding amounts, the Madryn Noteholders may, subject to the terms of the CNB Subordination Agreement, foreclose on the collateral granted to it to collateralize the indebtedness, including the enforcement of the Madryn Security Agreement, which will significantly affect our ability to operate our business. Additionally, the Madryn Security Agreement contains various covenants that limit our ability to engage in specified types of transactions. Subject to limited exceptions, these covenants limit our ability, without the Madryn Noteholders’ consent, to, among other things, incur, create or permit to exist additional indebtedness, or liens, and to make certain changes to our ownership structure. The Madryn Security Agreement also contains a covenant which requires that if we or any of our subsidiaries that has guaranteed the Notes consummates a disposition of material assets the result of which is that less than 50% of the consolidated net tangible assets of such entities secure the Notes then, within 90 days thereafter, we and our subsidiaries party to the Madryn Security Agreement must provide certain additional collateral so that more than 50% of the consolidated net tangible assets of the Company and its subsidiaries which have guaranteed the Notes will be collateral securing the Notes.
If an Event of Default occurs, then, the Madryn Noteholders may, subject to the terms of the CNB Subordination Agreement, (i) declare the outstanding principal amount of Notes, all accrued and unpaid interest and all other amounts owing under the Notes and other transaction documents entered into in connection therewith to be immediately become due and payable without any further action or notice by any person and (ii) exercise all rights and remedies available to it under the Notes, the Madryn Security Agreement and any other document entered into in connection with the foregoing.
If we default on our loans secured under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, we may default on our CNB Loan Agreement and/or MSLP Loan.
We and one of our subsidiaries received an aggregate of $4.1 million in funding in connection with two “Small Business Loans” under the federal Paycheck Protection Program provided in Section 7(a) of the Small Business Act of 1953, as amended by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, as amended from time to time. We and our subsidiary, Venus Concept USA, entered into U.S. Small Business Administration Notes pursuant to which we borrowed $1.7 million original principal amount (the “Venus Concept PPP Loan”) and Venus Concept USA borrowed $2.4 million original principal amount (the “Venus USA PPP Loan” and together with the Venus Concept PPP Loan, individually each a “PPP Loan” and collectively, the “PPP Loans”). For additional details of the PPP Loans, see Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations included elsewhere in this report.
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The PPP Loans contain certain covenants which, among other things, restrict our use of the proceeds of the respective PPP Loan to the payment of payroll costs, interest on mortgage obligations, rent obligations and utility expenses, require compliance with all other loans or other agreements with any creditor of us or Venus Concept USA, to the extent that a default under any loan or other agreement would materially affect our or Venus Concept USA’s ability to repay its respective PPP Loan and limit our ability to make certain changes to our ownership structure.
If we and/or Venus Concept USA defaults on our or its respective PPP Loan (i) events of default will occur under the CNB Loan Agreement and MSLP Loan, and (ii) we and/or Venus Concept USA may be required to immediately repay their respective PPP Loan.
Also, the SBA has decided, in consultation with the Department of the Treasury, that it will request additional information from the borrower on all loans in excess of $2.0 million following the lender’s submission of the borrower’s loan forgiveness application. To the extent that the SBA’s review of the additional information determines that Venus Concept USA’s self-certification of the PPP loan was not appropriate, the loan may not be forgiven, an event of default would occur under the CNB Loan Agreement and MSLP Loan and Venus Concept USA could be subject to civil and criminal penalties.
We will require additional financing to achieve our goals, and a failure to obtain this necessary capital when needed on acceptable terms, or at all, could force us to delay, limit, reduce or terminate our product development, commercialization and other operations or efforts.
Since our inception, we have invested a significant portion of our efforts and financial resources in research and development and sales and marketing activities. Research and development, clinical trials, product engineering, ongoing product upgrades and other enhancements and seeking regulatory clearances and approvals to market future products will require substantial funds to complete. As of December 31, 2020, we had capital resources consisting of cash and cash equivalents of approximately $34.4 million. We believe that we will continue to expend substantial resources for the foreseeable future in connection with the ongoing commercializing of our systems, increasing our sales and marketing efforts, and continuing research and development and product enhancements activities.
While we believe that the net proceeds from our December 2020 public offering, our March 2020 private placement, the proceeds from sales of our common stock to Lincoln Park and the proceeds from the PPP Loans and other government assistance programs, together with our existing cash and cash equivalents, the savings from our Merger-related cost savings initiatives and our new restructuring program, will enable us to fund our operating expenses and capital expenditure requirements for at least the next 12 months. The impact of COVID-19 on our business has been significant and we cannot predict the extent to which COVID-19 will continue to adversely impact our business. Also, we may need to raise additional capital through public or private equity or debt financings or other sources, such as strategic collaborations sooner than expected or otherwise implement additional cost-saving initiatives. The COVID-19 pandemic and the economic turmoil it has caused has negatively affected the global financial markets which may make it difficult to access the public markets. Any such financing may result in dilution to stockholders, the issuance of securities that may have rights, preferences, or privileges senior to those of holders of our common stock, the imposition of more burdensome debt covenants and repayment obligations, the licensing of rights to our technology or other restrictions that may affect our business. In addition, we may seek additional capital if favorable market conditions exist or given other strategic considerations even if we believe we have sufficient capital to fund our current or future operating plans.
Additional funds may not be available when we need them, on terms that are acceptable to us, or at all. If adequate funds are not available to us on a timely basis, we may be required to:
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delay or curtail our efforts to develop system product enhancements or new products, including any clinical trials that may be required to market such enhancements;
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delay or curtail our plans to increase and expand our sales and marketing efforts; or
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delay or curtail our plans to enhance our customer support and marketing activities.
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We are restricted by covenants in the Madryn Security Agreement, CNB Loan Agreement, the PPP Loans and other government assistance programs. These covenants restrict, among other things, our ability to incur additional indebtedness, which may limit our ability to obtain additional debt financing.
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We will need to continue to incur significant expenses to grow our business, which could negatively affect our future profitability.
In order to grow our business and increase revenues, we will need to introduce and commercialize new products, grow our sales and marketing force, implement new software systems, as well as identify and penetrate new markets. Such endeavors have in the past increased, and may continue in the future to increase, our expenses, including sales and marketing and research and development. We will have to continue to increase our revenues while effectively managing our expenses in order to achieve profitability and to sustain it. Our failure to control expenses could make it difficult to achieve profitability or to sustain profitability in the future. Moreover, we cannot assure you that our expenditures will result in the successful development and introduction of new products in a cost-effective and timely manner or that any such new products will achieve market acceptance and generate revenues for our business.
We may not be able to correctly estimate or control our future operating expenses, which could lead to cash shortfalls.
Our operating expenses may fluctuate significantly in the future because of a variety of factors, many of which are outside of our control. These factors include:
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the cost of growing our ongoing commercialization and sales and marketing activities;
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the costs of manufacturing and maintaining enough inventories of our systems and consumables to meet anticipated demand and inventory write-offs related to obsolete products or components;
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the costs of enhancing the existing functionality and development of new functionalities for our systems;
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the costs of preparing, filing, prosecuting, defending, and enforcing patent claims and other patent related costs, including litigation costs and the results of such litigation;
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any product liability or other lawsuits and the costs associated with defending them or the results of such lawsuits;
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the costs associated with conducting business and maintaining subsidiaries and other entities in foreign jurisdictions;
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customers in jurisdictions where our systems are not approved delaying their purchase, and not purchasing our systems, until they are approved or cleared for use in their market;
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the costs to attract and retain personnel with the skills required for effective operations; and
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the costs associated with being a public company.
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Our budgeted expense levels are based in part on our expectations concerning future revenue from systems sales, product sales and servicing and procedure-based fees. We may be unable to reduce our expenditures in a timely manner to compensate for any unexpected shortfalls in revenue. Accordingly, a significant shortfall in market acceptance or demand for our systems and procedures could have a material adverse impact on our business and financial condition.
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Because we incur a substantial portion of our expenses in currencies other than the U.S. dollar, our financial condition and results of operations may be adversely affected by currency fluctuations and inflation.
In the year ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, 53% and 47%, respectively, of our global revenues were denominated in U.S. dollars and our reporting currency was the U.S. dollar. We pay a meaningful portion of our expenses in NIS, CAD, and other foreign currencies. Expenses in NIS and CAD accounted for 17% and 9%, respectively, of our expenses for the year ended December 31, 2020, and 21% and 14%, respectively, of our expenses for the year ended December 31, 2019. Salaries paid to our employees, general and administrative expenses and general sales and related expenses are paid in many different currencies. As a result, we are exposed to the currency fluctuation risks relating to the denomination of its future revenues in U.S. dollars. More specifically, if the U.S. dollar devalues against the CAD or the NIS, our CAD and NIS denominated expenses will be greater than anticipated when reported in U.S. dollars. Inflation in Israel compounds the adverse impact of such devaluation by further increasing the amount of our Israeli expenses. Israeli inflation may also in the future outweigh the positive effect of any appreciation of the U.S. dollar relative to the CAD and the NIS, if, and to the extent that, it outpaces such appreciation or precedes such appreciation. We generally do not engage in currency hedging to protect the Company from fluctuations in the exchange rates of the CAD, NIS, and other foreign currencies in relation to the U.S. dollar (and/or from inflation of such foreign currencies), and we may be exposed to material adverse effects from such movements. We cannot predict any future trends in the rate of inflation in Israel or the rate of devaluation (if any) of the U.S. dollar or any other currency against the NIS or CAD.
Downturns in the economy or economic uncertainty may reduce patient and customer demand for our systems and services, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.
Our results of operations could be adversely affected by general conditions in the global economy and in the global financial markets. Furthermore, the aesthetic industry in which we operate is particularly vulnerable to unfavorable economic trends. Treatments using our systems involves elective procedures, the cost of which must be borne by patients, and is not reimbursable through government or private health insurance. Economic uncertainty may reduce patient demand for the procedures performed using our systems; if there is not sufficient patient demand for the procedures for which our systems are used, practitioner demand for these systems could drop, negatively impacting operating results. The decision to undergo a procedure using our systems is driven by consumer demand. In times of economic uncertainty or recession, individuals generally reduce the amount of money that they spend on discretionary items, including aesthetic procedures. If our customers’ patients face economic hardships, our business would be negatively impacted, and our financial performance would be materially harmed in the event that any of the above factors discourage patients from seeking the procedures for which our systems are used. A weak or declining economy could also strain our manufacturers or suppliers, possibly resulting in supply disruption, or cause our customers to delay or stop making payments for our systems or services. As a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the economic turmoil that has resulted, we expect that some of our customers will continue to experience difficulty in making timely payments or payments at all under their subscription agreements. Any of the foregoing could harm our business and we cannot anticipate all of the ways in which the economic climate and financial market conditions, including the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic, could adversely impact our business. The impact of economic uncertainty on our industry may vary from region to region.
It is difficult to forecast our future performance and our financial results may fluctuate unpredictably.
The rapid evolution of the markets for medical technologies and aesthetic products makes it difficult for us to predict our future performance. Several factors, many of which are outside of our control, may contribute to fluctuations in our financial results, such as:
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variations in market demand for our systems and services from quarter to quarter;
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delays in purchasing decisions in jurisdictions where our systems are not approved, and decisions not to purchase our systems until they are approved or cleared for use in a particular market;
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the inability of our customers to obtain the necessary financing to purchase our products which may not be available under our subscription-based model;
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customers operating under our subscription-based program may slow down or stop paying their monthly contractual obligations;
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performance of new functionalities and system updates;
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performance of our international distributors or local partners;
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positive or negative media coverage of our systems, positive or negative patient experiences, the procedures or products of our competitors, or our industry generally;
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our ability to maintain our current, or obtain further, regulatory clearances, approvals or CE Certificates of Conformity;
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delays in, or failure of, product and component deliveries by our third-party manufacturers or suppliers;
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seasonal or other variations in patient demand for aesthetic procedures;
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introduction of new medical aesthetic procedures or products and services that compete with our products and services;
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changes in accounting rules that may cause restatement of our consolidated financial statements or have other adverse effects; and
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adverse changes in the economy that reduce patient demand for elective aesthetic procedures.
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The historic seasonality of our industry and other factors may contribute to fluctuations in our operating results and stock price and make it difficult to compare our results of operations to prior periods and predict future financial results.
We believe that our business is affected by seasonal and other trends. Specifically, we believe our business is affected by seasonal trends during the summer months in the United States and Europe due to vacations taken by physician customers and their patients, as well as fluctuations in operating results due to uneven timing of distributor and corporate account orders and marketing into new geographic regions. In addition, there is typically a substantial increase in sales in the last two months of the year, which translates to a strong fourth quarter followed by some weakness in the following first quarter of the next fiscal year. It is difficult for us to evaluate the degree to which these factors may make our revenue unpredictable in the future, and these seasonal and other trends may continue to lead to fluctuations in quarterly operating results. As a result of these factors, future fluctuations in quarterly results could cause our revenue and cash flows to be below analyst and investor expectations, which could cause decline in our stock price. Due to future fluctuations in revenue and costs, as well as other potential fluctuations, you should not rely upon our operating results in any period as an indication of future performance.
Our ability to grow revenue partially depends on growing physician adoption and use of our systems and adoption by physicians in non-traditional specialty areas.
Aesthetic and hair restoration procedures are performed primarily by physicians who practice dermatology or plastic surgery. Our success depends on the growth of aesthetic and hair restoration procedures performed by physicians other than dermatologists and plastic surgeons, and aesthetic procedures performed by general and family practitioners and aesthetic medical spas. Our ability to increase the number of physicians willing to make a significant capital expenditure to purchase our systems or participate in our subscription program and make them a significant part of their practices, depends on the success of our sales and marketing programs. We must be able to demonstrate that the cost of our systems and the revenue that a physician can derive from performing procedures are compelling when compared to the costs and revenue associated with alternative aesthetic treatments the physician can offer and persuade physicians to purchase our systems instead of those of our competitors, many of whom already have existing relationships with our target physicians. In addition, we believe our marketing programs, including clinical support, will be critical to increasing utilization and awareness of our systems, particularly the ARTAS® and ARTAS® iX Systems, but these programs require physician commitment and involvement to succeed. We must also be successful in persuading physicians in non-traditional specialties to introduce procedures performed with our systems into their practices. If we are unable to increase adoption and use of our systems by physicians in other non-traditional specialties, our growth and prospects may be adversely affected.
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Our success depends upon patient satisfaction with our procedures. If there is not sufficient patient demand for our procedures, our financial results and future prospects will be negatively impacted.
Our procedures are elective aesthetic procedures, the cost of which must be borne by the patient and is not covered by or reimbursable through government or private health insurance. In order to generate repeat and referral business, patients must be satisfied with the effectiveness of the procedures conducted using our systems. The decision to undergo one of our procedures is thus driven by patient demand, which may be influenced by a number of factors, such as:
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the success of our sales and marketing programs;
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the extent to which our physician customers recommend our procedures to their patients;
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the extent to which our procedures satisfy patient expectations;
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our ability to properly train our physician customers in the use of our systems so that their patients do not experience excessive discomfort during treatment or adverse side effects;
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the cost, safety, and effectiveness of our systems versus other aesthetic treatments;
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consumer sentiment about the benefits and risks of aesthetic procedures generally and our systems in particular;
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the success of any direct-to-consumer marketing efforts we may initiate; and
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general consumer confidence, which may be impacted by economic and political conditions outside of our control.
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Our financial performance will be negatively impacted in the event we cannot generate significant patient demand for procedures performed with our systems.
We compete against companies that offer alternative solutions to our systems, or have greater resources, a larger installed base of customers and broader product offerings than we have. If we are not able to effectively compete with these companies and alternative solutions, our business may not continue to grow.
The medical technology and aesthetic product markets are highly competitive and dynamic and are characterized by rapid and substantial technological development and product innovation. Demand for our systems is impacted by the products and procedures offered by our competitors. Certain of our systems also compete against conventional non-energy-based treatments, such as Botox and collagen injections, chemical peels, and microdermabrasion. In the United States, we compete against companies that have developed minimally invasive and non-invasive medical aesthetic procedures. Outside of the United States, likely due to less stringent regulatory requirements, there are more aesthetic products and procedures available in international markets than are cleared for use in the United States. Sometimes, there are also fewer limitations on the claims our competitors in international markets can make about the effectiveness of their products and the manner in which they can market them. As a result, we may face a greater number of competitors in markets outside of the United States.
We also compete generally with medical technology and aesthetic companies, including those offering products and products unrelated to skin treatment. Aesthetic industry consolidations have created combined entities with greater financial resources, deeper sales channels, and greater pricing flexibility than ours. Rumored or actual consolidation of our competitors could cause uncertainty and disruption to our business. In the surgical hair restoration market, we consider our direct competition to be FUT Strip Surgeries and Manual FUE procedures. Many of our surgical device and equipment competitors have greater capital resources, sales and marketing operations and service infrastructures than we do, as well as longer commercial histories and more extensive relationships with physicians. Our indirect competition in the hair restoration market also includes non-surgical treatments for hair loss, such as prescription therapeutics, including Propecia, and non-prescription remedies, such as wigs, hair pieces and spray-on applications. Some of these companies have greater resources than we do, a broad range of product offerings, large direct sales forces, and long-term customer relationships with the physicians we target, which could make our market penetration efforts more difficult. Competition in the medical technology and aesthetic hair restoration markets could result in price-cutting, reduced profit margins, and limited market share, any of which would harm our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
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We may not be able to establish or strengthen our brand.
We believe that establishing and strengthening our brand is critical to achieving widespread acceptance of our systems, particularly because of the highly competitive nature of the market for aesthetic treatments and procedures. Promoting and positioning our brand will depend largely on the success of our marketing efforts and our ability to provide physicians with reliable systems and services. Given the established nature of our competitors, it is likely that our future marketing efforts will require us to incur significant expenses. These brand promotion activities may not yield increased sales and, even if they do, any sales increases may not offset the expenses we incur to promote our brand. If we fail to successfully promote and maintain our brand, or if we incur substantial expenses in an unsuccessful attempt to promote and maintain our brand, systems may not achieve adequate acceptance by physicians, which would adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
The aesthetic equipment market is characterized by rapid innovation. Our inability to develop and/or acquire new products and services, obtain regulatory clearance and maintain regulatory compliance, market new products successfully, and identify new markets for our technology may cause us to fail to compete effectively.
The aesthetic energy-based treatment equipment and hair restoration markets are subject to continuous technological development and product innovation. If we do not continue to innovate and develop new products, services and applications, our competitive position will likely deteriorate as other companies successfully design and commercialize new products, applications and services or enhancements to current products. To continue to grow in the future, we must continue to develop and/or acquire new and innovative aesthetic and medical products, services and applications, identify new markets, and successfully launch any newly developed or acquired product offerings.
To successfully expand our product and service offerings, we must, among other things:
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develop or otherwise acquire new products that either add to, or significantly improve, our current product offerings;
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obtain regulatory clearance for and adhere to regulatory requirements relating to new products;
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convince existing and prospective customers that our product offerings are an attractive revenue-generating addition to their practice;
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sell our product offerings to a broad customer base;
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identify new markets and alternative applications for our technology;
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protect existing and future products with defensible intellectual property; and
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satisfy and maintain all regulatory requirements for commercialization.
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Historically, product introductions have been a significant component of our financial performance. To be successful in the medical aesthetics industry, we believe we need to continue to innovate. Our business strategy is based, in part, on our expectation that we will continue to increase or enhance our product offerings. We need to continue to devote substantial research and development resources to introduce new products, which can be costly and time-consuming to our organization.
We also believe that, to increase revenue from sales of new products, we need to continue to develop our clinical support, further expand and nurture relationships with industry thought leaders, and increase market awareness of the benefits of our new products. However, even with a significant investment in research and development, we may be unable to continue to develop, acquire or effectively launch and market new products and technologies regularly, or at all. If we fail to successfully innovate and commercialize new products or enhancements, our business may be harmed.
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We may be unsuccessful in penetrating certain international markets through majority-owned subsidiary arrangements with local partners.
We have established several majority-owned subsidiaries in international markets as part of our international growth strategy. Although we select our local partners based on demonstrated experience and expertise in the local aesthetic market, the nature of our arrangements with local partners requires us to share control with unaffiliated third parties. We may not be able to identify local partners with the requisite experience and expertise in their local markets or successfully negotiate an agreement with such local partners. Moreover, the ability of these subsidiaries to execute their business plans depends on the local partners fulfillment of their obligations. If local partners fail to fulfill their obligations to our satisfaction, our financial results could be adversely affected, and we may be required to either increase our level of commitment to the subsidiary and dedicate additional resources or divest our interest in the subsidiary. Although our agreements with our local partners generally allow us control over business operations, differences in views could also result in delayed execution of the subsidiary’s business plan. If these differences cause a subsidiary to deviate from our business plan, our results of operations could be adversely affected.
We may be unsuccessful in expanding and managing our direct sales and marketing forces effectively.
We rely on our own direct sales force and in-house marketing department to sell our systems and services in North America and in international markets. In order to meet our anticipated sales objectives, we expect to continue to grow our global sales and marketing organization over the next several years. There are significant risks involved in building and managing a sales and marketing organization, including risks related to our ability to:
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hire qualified individuals as needed;
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generate sufficient leads within our target customer group for our sales force;
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provide adequate training for the effective sale and marketing of our systems and services;
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retain and motivate our direct sales and marketing professionals;
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effectively oversee geographically dispersed sales and marketing teams; and
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work successfully with local partners of our majority-owned subsidiaries.
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Our failure to adequately address these risks could have a material adverse effect on our ability to increase sales and use of our systems and services, which would cause our revenues to be lower than expected and harm our results of operations.
We depend on third-party distributors to market and sell our systems in certain markets.
In addition to a direct sales and marketing forces, we currently depend on third-party distributors to sell, market, and service our systems in certain markets outside of North America and to train our customers in these markets. For the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, we generated 7% and 6%, respectively, of our systems revenues from sales made through third-party distributors. Our agreements with third-party distributors set forth minimum quarterly purchase commitments required for each distributor and provide the distributor the right to distribute its systems within a designated territory. As we continue to expand into new markets outside of North America, we will need to engage additional third-party distributors which exposes us to a number of risks, including:
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the lack of day-to-day control over the activities of third-party distributors;
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third-party distributors may not commit the necessary resources to market, sell, train, support and service our systems to the level of our expectations;
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third-party distributors may emphasize the sale of third-party products over our products;
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third-party distributors may not be as selective as we would be in choosing customers to purchase our systems or as effective in training physicians in marketing and patient selection;
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third-party distributors may violate applicable laws and regulations, which may limit our ability to sell products in certain markets; and
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disagreements with our distributors that could require or result in costly and time-consuming litigation or arbitration, which we could be required to conduct in jurisdictions in which we are not familiar with the governing law.
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Our expanded use of social media platforms presents new risks and challenges, which, if not managed properly, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We have implemented a robust business to business and business to customer public relations outreach strategy that incorporates both digital media and top national publications. In addition, as part of our practice enhancing services, we provide customers with post sale marketing and practice management support to assist the growth of their practices. Negative posts or comments about us or any of our brands on any social networking website could seriously damage our reputation. In addition, the inappropriate use of certain media vehicles could cause brand damage or information leakage or could lead to legal implications from the improper collection and/or dissemination of personally identifiable information.
Economic and other risks associated with international sales and operations could adversely affect our business.
Sales in markets outside of the United States accounted for approximately 56% of our revenue for the year ended December 31, 2020 and 57% of our revenue for the year ended December 31, 2019. In addition, the majority of our research and development activities and the manufacture of our systems are located outside of the United States. As a result of our international business, we are subject to a number of risks, including:
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difficulties in staffing and managing our international operations;
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increased competition as a result of more products and procedures receiving regulatory approval or otherwise free to market in international markets;
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longer accounts receivable payment cycles and difficulties in collecting accounts receivable;
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reduced or varied protection for intellectual property rights in some countries;
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import and export restrictions, trade regulations, and non-U.S. tax laws;
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fluctuations in currency exchange rates;
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foreign certification and regulatory clearance or approval requirements;
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customs clearance and shipping delays;
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political, social, and economic instability abroad, terrorist attacks, and security concerns in general and uncertainties related to the coronavirus;
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preference for locally manufactured products;
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potentially adverse tax consequences, including the complexities of foreign value-added tax systems, tax inefficiencies related to our corporate structure, and restrictions on the repatriation of earnings;
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the burdens of complying with a wide variety of foreign laws and different legal standards; and
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increased financial accounting and reporting burdens and complexities.
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If one or more of these risks were realized, it could require us to dedicate significant financial and management resources, and our results of operations and financial condition could be adversely affected.
The success of our hair restoration business depends upon the success of the ARTAS® System and ARTAS® iX System, which has a limited commercial history. If we are unsuccessful in developing the market for robotic hair restoration or the market acceptance for the ARTAS® System and ARTAS® iX System fails to grow significantly, our business and future prospects will be negatively impacted.
We commenced commercial sales of the ARTAS® System for hair follicle dissection in the United States in 2011. Consequently, we lack the breadth of published long-term clinical data supporting the safety and efficacy of the ARTAS® System and the benefits it offers that might have been generated in connection with other hair restoration techniques. As a result, physicians may be slow to adopt the ARTAS® System, we may not have comparative data that our competitors have or are generating, and we may be subject to greater regulatory and product liability risks. If we choose to, or are required to, conduct additional studies, such studies or experience could slow the market adoption of the ARTAS® System by physicians and significantly reduce our ability to achieve expected revenue from this system.
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Our success in the hair restoration market depends on the acceptance among physicians and patients of the ARTAS® and ARTAS® iX Systems as the preferred system for performing hair restoration surgery. Acceptance of the ARTAS® and ARTAS® iX Systems by physicians is significantly dependent on our ability to convince physicians of the benefits of the ARTAS® and ARTAS® iX Systems to their practices and, accordingly, develop the market for robotic-assisted hair restoration surgery. Acceptance of the ARTAS® procedure by patients is equally important as patient demand will influence physicians to offer the ARTAS® procedure, and the degree of market acceptance of the ARTAS® and ARTAS® iX Systems by physicians and patients is unproven. We believe that market acceptance of the ARTAS® and ARTAS® iX Systems will depend on many factors, including:
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the perceived advantages or disadvantages of the ARTAS® and ARTAS® iX Systems relative to other hair restoration products and treatments;
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the safety and efficacy of the ARTAS® and ARTAS® iX Systems relative to other hair restoration products and treatments;
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the price of the ARTAS® and ARTAS® iX Systems relative to other hair restoration products and treatments;
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our success in expanding and integrating our hair restoration sales and marketing organization;
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the effectiveness of our marketing, advertising, and commercialization initiatives;
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our success in adding new functionalities to the ARTAS® and ARTAS® iX Systems and enhancing existing functions; and
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our ability to obtain regulatory clearance to market the ARTAS® and ARTAS® iX Systems for additional treatment indications in the United States.
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Further, the ARTAS® iX System, which was launched in July 2018, includes our recently cleared robotic implantation functionality. As this functionality is relatively new, it is possible that it could include defaults, “bugs” or present other technical issues which could prompt potential physician customers to delay their purchase of the ARTAS® iX System or could prompt physicians that have purchased the ARTAS® iX System to either return or not utilize the system.
We cannot assure you that the ARTAS® System or ARTAS® iX System will achieve broad market acceptance among physicians and patients. As we expect to derive a significant portion of our revenue in the hair restoration market from ARTAS® and ARTAS® iX Systems sales, servicing and procedure-based fees, any failure of this product to satisfy physician or patient demand or to achieve meaningful market acceptance will harm our business and future prospects.
Our inability to effectively compete with competitive hair restoration treatments or procedures may prevent us from achieving significant market penetration in the hair restoration market or improving our operating results.
We designed the ARTAS® System to assist physicians in performing follicular unit extraction surgery. Demand for the ARTAS® Systems and ARTAS® procedures could be limited by other products and technologies. Competition to address hair loss comes from various sources, including:
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therapeutic options including Rogaine, which is applied topically, and Propecia, which is ingested, both of which have been approved by the FDA;
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non-surgical options, such as wigs, hair-loss concealer sprays and similar products; and
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other surgical alternatives, including hair transplantation surgery using the strip surgery method or using manual hand-held devices.
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Surgical alternatives to the ARTAS® and ARTAS® iX Systems may be able to compete more effectively than the ARTAS® procedure in established practices with trained staff and workflows built around performing these surgical alternatives. Practices experienced in offering FUT Strip Surgery or manual FUE using hand-held devices may be reluctant to incorporate or convert their practices to offer ARTAS® procedures due to the effort involved to make such changes.
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These alternative options may be able to provide satisfactory results for male hair loss, generally at a lower cost to the patient than the ARTAS® and ARTAS® iX Systems. As a result, if patients choose these competitive alternatives, our results of operation could be adversely affected.
We are the subject of purported class action lawsuits, and additional litigation may be brought against us in the future.
Between May 23, 2018 and June 11, 2019, four putative shareholder class actions complaints were filed against us, certain of our former officers and directors, certain of our venture capital investors, and the underwriters of our IPO. Two of these complaints, Wong v. Restoration Robotics, Inc., et al., No. 18CIV02609, and Li v. Restoration Robotics, Inc., et al., No. 19CIV08173 (together, the “State Actions”), were filed in the Superior Court of the State of California, County of San Mateo, and assert claims under Sections 11, 12(a)(2) and 15 of the Securities Act of 1933, or the Securities Act. The other two complaints, Guerrini v. Restoration Robotics, Inc., et al., No. 5:18-cv-03712-EJD and Yzeiraj v. Restoration Robotics, Inc., et al., No. 5:18-cv-03883-BLF (together, the “Federal Actions”), were filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California and assert claims under Sections 11 and 15 of the Securities Act. The complaints all allege, among other things, that our Registration Statement filed with the SEC on September 1, 2017 and the Prospectus filed with the SEC on October 13, 2017 in connection with our IPO were inaccurate and misleading, contained untrue statements of material facts, omitted to state other facts necessary to make the statements made not misleading and omitted to state material facts required to be stated therein. The complaints seek unspecified monetary damages, other equitable relief and attorneys’ fees and costs.
In addition to the State and Federal Actions, on July 11, 2019, a verified shareholder derivative complaint was filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, captioned Mason v. Rhodes, No. 5:19-cv-03997-NC. The complaint alleges that certain of our former officers and directors breached their fiduciary duties, have been unjustly enriched and violated Section 14(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, or the Exchange Act, in connection with our IPO and our 2018 proxy statement. The complaint seeks unspecified damages, declaratory relief, other equitable relief and attorneys’ fees and costs. On August 21, 2019, the District Court granted the parties’ joint stipulation to stay the Mason action during the pendency of the Federal Actions. On December 15, 2020, the District Court granted the parties’ further stipulation to stay the Mason action during the pendency of the Federal Action, and the case remains stayed.
While we believe these claims to be without merit, we cannot assure you that additional claims alleging the same or similar facts will not be filed. Any litigation could result in substantial costs and a diversion of management’s attention and resources. For additional details of the legal proceedings currently affecting the Company, please see Note 9 “Commitments and Contingencies” to our consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this report.
We rely on a limited number of third-party contract manufacturers for the production of our systems and only have contracts with certain suppliers for the components used in our systems. The failure of these third parties to perform could adversely affect our ability to meet demand for our systems in a timely and cost effective manner.
We rely on third-party contract manufacturers in Karmiel, Israel, Mazet, France, Weston, Florida and San Jose, California for the manufacture of the majority of our systems. Other than with respect to the ARTAS® iX System and diode stacks for certain of our devices, the majority of the components used in our systems are available off the shelf and we do not rely on any single supplier, and as a result we do not have any long-term supply agreements for these components. Our reliance on third-party contract manufacturers and suppliers involves a number of risks, including, among other things:
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contract manufacturers or suppliers may fail to comply with regulatory requirements or make errors in manufacturing that could negatively affect the efficacy or safety of our systems or cause delays in shipments of our systems;
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we or our contract manufacturers or suppliers may not be able to respond to unanticipated changes in customer orders, and if orders do not match forecasts, we or our contract manufactures may have excess or inadequate inventory of materials and components;
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we or our contract manufacturers and suppliers may be subject to price fluctuations due to a lack of long-term supply arrangements for key components;
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we or our contract manufacturers and suppliers may lose access to critical services and components, resulting in an interruption in the manufacture, assembly and shipment of our systems;
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we may experience delays in delivery by our contract manufacturers and suppliers due to changes in demand from us or their other customers;
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fluctuations in demand for systems that our contract manufacturers and suppliers manufacture for others may affect their ability or willingness to deliver components to us in a timely manner;
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our suppliers or those of our contract manufacturers may wish to discontinue supplying components or services to us for risk management reasons;
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we may not be able to find new or alternative components or reconfigure our system and manufacturing processes in a timely manner if the necessary components become unavailable; and
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our contract manufacturers and suppliers may encounter financial hardships unrelated to our demand, which could inhibit their ability to fulfill its orders and meet our requirements.
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If any of these risks materialize, they could significantly increase our costs and effect our ability to meet demand for our systems. If we are unable to satisfy commercial demand for our systems in a timely manner, our ability to generate revenue would be impaired, market acceptance of our systems and our reputation could be adversely affected, and customers may instead purchase or use our competitors’ products. In addition, we could be forced to secure new or alternative contract manufacturers or suppliers. Securing a replacement contract manufacturer or supplier could be difficult. The introduction of new or alternative manufacturers or suppliers also may require design changes to our medical device products that are subject to the FDA and other regulatory clearances or approvals, or a new or revised CE Certificate of Conformity. We may also be required to assess the new manufacturer’s compliance with all applicable regulations and guidelines, which could further impede our ability to manufacture our systems in a timely manner. As a result, we could incur increased production costs, experience delays in deliveries of our systems, suffer damage to our reputation, and experience an adverse effect on our business and financial results.
We rely on a single third-party manufacturer for the manufacturing of the reusable procedure kits, disposable procedure kits and spare procedures kits used with the ARTAS® System and the ARTAS® iX System.
NPI produces reusable procedure kits, disposable procedure kits and spare kits used with the ARTAS® System and ARTAS® iX System. If the operations of NPI are interrupted or if it is unable or unwilling to meet our delivery requirements due to capacity limitations or other constraints, we may be limited in our ability to fulfill new customer kit orders required for use with the existing ARTAS® System and ARTAS® iX System. Any change to another contract manufacturer would likely entail significant delay, require us to devote substantial time and resources, and could involve a period in which our products could not be produced in a timely or consistently high-quality manner, any of which could harm our reputation and results of operations.
We have a manufacturing agreement for consumables with NPI for the supply of consumable products, including reusable procedure kits, disposable procedure kits and spare procedure kits used with the ARTAS® System and ARTAS® iX System, pursuant to which we make purchases on a purchase order basis. The agreement is effective for an initial term of two years and will continue to automatically renew for additional twelve-month periods, subject to either party’s right to terminate the agreement upon 180 days advance notice during the initial term if our quarterly forecasted demand falls below 75% of our historical forecasted demand for the same period in the previous year or upon 120 days’ advance notice after the initial term.
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In addition, our reliance on NPI involves a number of other risks, including, among other things, that:
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our various procedure kits may not be manufactured in accordance with agreed upon specifications or in compliance with regulatory requirements, or its manufacturing facilities may not be able to maintain compliance with regulatory requirements, which could negatively affect the safety or efficacy of our procedure kits, cause delays in shipments of our procedure kits, or require us to recall procedure kits previously delivered to customers or subject us to enforcement actions by regulatory agencies;
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we may not be able to respond in a timely manner to unanticipated changes in customer orders, and if orders do not match forecasts, we may have excess or inadequate inventory of materials and components;
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we may be subject to price fluctuations when a supply contract is renegotiated or if our existing contract is not renewed;
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NPI may wish to discontinue manufacturing and supplying products to us for risk management reasons; and
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NPI may encounter financial or other hardships unrelated to our demand for products, which could inhibit its ability to fulfill our orders and meet our requirements.
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If any of these risks materialize, it could significantly increase our costs, our ability to generate net sales would be impaired, market acceptance of our products could be adversely affected, and customers may instead purchase or use our competitors’ products, which could have a materially adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Furthermore, if we are required to change the manufacturing of our various procedure kits, we will be required to verify that the new manufacturer maintains facilities, procedures and operations that comply with our quality and applicable regulatory requirements, which could further impede our ability to manufacture the procedure kits in a timely manner. Transitioning to a new supplier could be time-consuming and expensive, may result in interruptions in our operations and product delivery. The occurrence of these events could harm our ability to meet the demand for our products in a timely or cost-effective manner. We cannot assure you that we will be able to secure alternative equipment and materials and utilize such equipment and materials without experiencing interruptions in our workflow. If we should encounter delays or difficulties in securing, reconfiguring or revalidating the equipment and components we require for the ARTAS® System and ARTAS® iX System, including the related consumables, our reputation, business, financial condition and results of operations could be negatively affected.
Pursuant to the Order of the Health Officer of the County of Santa Clara directing all individuals to shelter-in-place, which was issued on March 16, 2020, in response to impact of COVID-19 pandemic (as updated, the “Order”), we were unable to access our facility in San Jose or NPI’s facility until June 1, 2020. As a result, we were unable to manufacture sufficient ARTAS® procedure kits during this period and were limited to shipping procedure kits from existing inventory. While we currently have access to our San Jose facility and NPI’s facility has re-opened and we are able to manufacture ARTAS® procedure kits, we cannot predict whether these facilities will be closed again by the Order of the Health Officer of the County of Santa Clara, or California State public health orders in response to the future COVID-19 developments in the County or State.
If we are unable to manufacture our next generation ARTAS® System, called the ARTAS® iX System in high-quality commercial quantities successfully and consistently to meet demand, our penetration of the hair restoration market will be limited, and our reputation could be harmed.
To manufacture our ARTAS® iX System in the quantities that we believe will be required to meet anticipated market demand, we will need to develop and maintain sufficient manufacturing capacity, which will involve significant challenges. Historically, we have not manufactured any of our other ARTAS® System products in-house or without the contract manufacturer involvement. We have been manufacturing the ARTAS® iX System without a third-party contract manufacturer’s involvement for over 18 months. The continuous development of commercial-scale manufacturing capabilities will require us (or our contract manufacturer for ARTAS® iX System, if we decide to utilize one on a long-term basis) to invest substantial additional funds and hire and retain the technical personnel who have the necessary manufacturing experience. We also may become subject to additional, onerous regulatory requirements from the U.S. regulatory agencies as well as foreign regulatory agencies. Neither we nor a third-party manufacturer, if one is utilized, may successfully complete any required increase to existing manufacturing processes in a timely manner, or at all.
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If we or a contract manufacturer, if one is utilized, are unable to produce the ARTAS® iX System in sufficient quantities to meet anticipated customer demand, our revenue, business, financial prospects, and reputation would be harmed. The limited experience we have, or a third-party manufacturer may have, if one is utilized, in producing the ARTAS® iX System may also result in quality issues, and possibly result in product recalls. Manufacturing delays related to quality control could harm our reputation and decrease our revenue. Any recall could be expensive and generate negative publicity, which could impair our ability to market the ARTAS® iX System and procedures and further affect our results of operations.
Both our manufacturing of certain of our systems and NPI’s manufacturing of the ARTAS® procedure kits are dependent upon third-party suppliers and, in some cases, sole suppliers, for the majority of our components, subassemblies and materials, making us vulnerable to supply shortages and price fluctuations, which could harm our business.
We and NPI, as the case may be, rely on several sole source suppliers, including Kuka Robotics, Inc., FLIR Integrated Imaging Solutions Inc. and 3D-CAM International Corporation, for certain components of the ARTAS® iX System, reusable procedure kits, disposable procedure kits and spare procedure kits. We also rely on other suppliers for some of the components used to manufacture our other devices. These suppliers may be unwilling or unable to supply components of these systems to us or NPI reliably and at the levels we anticipate or require meeting demand for our products. For us to be successful, our suppliers must be able to provide products and components in substantial quantities, in compliance with regulatory requirements, in accordance with agreed upon specifications, at acceptable costs and on a timely basis. An interruption in our commercial operations could occur if we encounter delays or difficulties in securing these components, and if we cannot then obtain an acceptable substitute. We source a number of components used in the manufacture of our systems from China; the potential re-emergence of the coronavirus could make access to our existing supply chain difficult or impossible and could materially impact our business, and any disruption in the chain of supply may result in manufacturing delays and inventory shortages. If we are required to transition to new third-party suppliers for certain components of our systems or our ARTAS® procedure kits, we believe that there are only a few such suppliers that can supply the necessary components. A supply interruption, price fluctuation or an increase in demand beyond our current suppliers’ capabilities could harm our ability to manufacture our systems and NPI’s ability to manufacture our ARTAS® procedure kits until new sources of supply are identified and qualified. In addition, the use of components or materials furnished by these alternative suppliers could require us to alter our operations.
Our reliance on these suppliers subjects us to a number of risks that could harm our reputation, business, and financial condition, including, among other things:
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interruption of supply resulting from modifications to or discontinuation of a supplier’s operations;
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delays in product shipments resulting from uncorrected defects, reliability issues, or a supplier’s variation in a component;
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a lack of long-term supply arrangements for key components with our suppliers;
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inability to obtain adequate supply in a timely manner, or to obtain adequate supply on commercially reasonable terms;
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difficulty and cost associated with locating and qualifying alternative suppliers for our components in a timely manner;
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production delays related to the evaluation and testing of products from alternative suppliers, and corresponding regulatory qualifications;
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delay in delivery due to our suppliers prioritizing other customer orders over ours;
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damage to our reputation caused by defective components produced by our suppliers;
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increased cost of our warranty program due to product repair or replacement based upon defects in components produced by our suppliers; and
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fluctuations in delivery by our suppliers due to changes in demand from us or their other customers.
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Where practicable, we are seeking, or intending to seek, second-source manufacturers for certain of our components. However, we cannot provide assurance that we will be successful in establishing second-source manufacturers or that the second-source manufacturers will be able to satisfy commercial demand for our systems.
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If any of these risks materialize, costs could significantly increase and our ability to meet demand for our products could be impacted. If we are unable to satisfy commercial demand for our systems in a timely manner, our ability to generate revenue from these systems would be impaired.
We forecast sales to determine requirements for components and materials used in our systems and if our forecasts are incorrect, we may experience delays in shipments or increased inventory costs.
We keep limited materials, components and finished products on hand. To manage our operations, with third-party contract manufacturers and suppliers, we forecast anticipated system orders and material requirements to predict our inventory needs and enter into purchase orders on the basis of these requirements. Several components of our systems require significant order lead time. As our business continues to expand and if our needs for components and materials increases beyond our estimates, our manufacturers and suppliers may be unable to meet our demand. In addition, if we underestimate our component and material requirements, we may have inadequate inventory, which could interrupt, delay, or prevent delivery of our systems. In contrast, if we overestimate our requirements, we may have excess inventory, which would increase use of our working capital. Any of these occurrences would negatively affect our financial condition and the level of satisfaction our customers have with our business.
Although we actively train our customers on the use of our systems and post-treatment care, misuse by the operator of our systems may result in adverse results and may subject us to liability or otherwise harm our reputation and our business.
We and our independent distributors market and sell our systems to physicians and other customers. In the United States and certain international markets, subject to local regulations, physician customers can generally allow nurse practitioners, technicians and other non-physicians to perform aesthetic procedures using our systems under their direct supervision. Although we and our distributors provide training on the use of our systems as well as the proper post-treatment care, we do not supervise the procedures performed with our systems, nor can we be certain that physicians are directly supervising procedures according to our recommendations. The potential misuse of our systems or failing to adhere to operating guidelines can cause skin damage and underlying tissue damage, which could harm the reputation of our systems and expose us to costly product liability litigation. In addition, patients may not comply with post-treatment guidelines, which could also lead to adverse results and subject us to claims by patients.
Product liability suits could be brought against us for defective design, labeling, material, workmanship, or software or misuse of our systems, and could result in expensive and time-consuming litigation, payment of substantial damages, an increase in our insurance rates and substantial harm to our reputation.
If our systems are defectively designed, manufactured, or labeled, contain defective components or software, or are misused, we may become subject to substantial and costly litigation by our customers or their patients. For example, if a patient is injured or suffers unanticipated adverse events after undergoing a procedure using one of our systems, or if system operating guidelines are found to be inadequate, we may be subject to product liability claims. Claims could also be asserted under state consumer protection acts. If we cannot successfully defend ourselves against product liability claims, we may incur substantial liabilities. Even successful defense would require significant financial and management resources. Regardless of the merits or eventual outcome, product liability claims may result in:
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decreased demand for our systems, or any future systems or services;
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damage to our reputation;
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withdrawal of clinical trial participants;
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costs to defend the related litigation;
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a diversion of management’s time and our resources;
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substantial monetary awards to customers, patients or clinical trial participants;
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regulatory investigations, product recalls, withdrawals or labeling, marketing or promotional restrictions;
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the inability to commercialize future products.
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We currently have product liability insurance, but any claim that may be brought against us could result in a court judgment or settlement in an amount that is not covered, in whole or in part, by our insurance or that is in excess of the limits of our insurance coverage. Our insurance policies also have various exclusions and deductibles, and we may be subject to a product liability claim for which we have no coverage. We will have to pay any amounts awarded by a court or negotiated in a settlement that exceed our coverage limitations or that are not covered by our insurance, and we may not have, or be able to obtain, sufficient funds to pay such amounts. Moreover, in the future, we may not be able to maintain insurance coverage at a reasonable cost or in sufficient amounts to protect us against losses.
Third parties may attempt to reverse engineer or produce counterfeit versions of our systems which may negatively affect our reputation, or harm patients and subject us to product liability claims.
Third parties have sought in the past, and in the future may seek, to reverse engineer or develop counterfeit products that are substantially similar or compatible with our systems and available to practitioners at lower prices than our own. Practitioners may be able to make unauthorized use of our systems’ technology. In addition, if copies of products that have been reverse engineered or counterfeit products are used with or in place of our own, we could be subject to product liability claims resulting from the use of damaged or defective goods and suffer damage to our reputation.
Security breaches and other disruptions could compromise our information and expose us to liability.
In the ordinary course of our business and to the extent necessary, we rely on software to control the ongoing use of our systems, collect, and aggregate diagnostic data, and collect and store sensitive data, including intellectual property and proprietary business information, and certain personally identifiable information of customers, distributors, consultants and employees in our data centers and on our networks. The secure processing, maintenance, and transmission of this information is important to our operations and business strategy. We have established physical, electronic, and policy measures to secure our systems in an attempt to prevent a system breach and the theft of data we collect, and we rely on commercially available systems, software, tools, and monitoring in our effort to provide security for our information technology systems and the digital information we collect, process, transmit and store. Despite our security measures, our information technology systems and related infrastructure, and those of our current and any future collaborators, contractors, and consultants and other third parties on which we rely, may be vulnerable to attacks by computer viruses, malware, hackers, or breaches due to malfeasance, employee or contractor error, telecommunication or electrical failures, terrorism or other created or natural disasters. The costs to us to mitigate network security problems, bugs, viruses, worms, malicious software programs and security vulnerabilities could be significant, and while we have implemented security measures to protect our data security and information technology systems, our efforts to address these problems may not be successful, and these problems could result in unexpected interruptions, delays, cessation of service and other harm to our business and our competitive position. Moreover, if a computer security breach affects our systems or results in the unauthorized release of personally identifiable information, our reputation could be materially damaged. In addition, such a breach may require notification to governmental agencies, the media, or individuals pursuant to various federal and state privacy and security laws, if applicable. We could also be exposed to a risk of loss or litigation and potential liability, which could materially adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
The clinical trial process required to obtain regulatory clearances or approvals is lengthy and expensive with uncertain outcomes and could result in delays in new product introductions.
In order to obtain 510(k) clearance for certain of our systems, we were required to conduct clinical trials, and we expect to conduct clinical trials in support of marketing authorization for future products and product enhancements. Conducting clinical trials is a complex and expensive process, can take many years, and outcomes are inherently uncertain. We may suffer significant setbacks in clinical trials, even after earlier clinical trials showed promising results, and failure can occur at any time during the clinical trial process. Any of our products may malfunction or may produce undesirable adverse effects that could cause us or regulatory authorities to interrupt, delay or halt clinical trials. We, the FDA, or another regulatory authority may suspend or terminate clinical trials at any time to avoid exposing trial participants to unacceptable health risks.
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Successful results of pre-clinical studies are not necessarily indicative of future clinical trial results, and predecessor clinical trial results may not be replicated in subsequent clinical trials. Additionally, the FDA may disagree with our interpretation of the data from our pre-clinical studies and clinical trials, or may find the clinical trial design, conduct or results inadequate to prove safety or efficacy, and may require us to pursue additional pre-clinical studies or clinical trials, which could further delay the clearance or approval of our products. The data we collect from our pre-clinical studies and clinical trials may not be sufficient to support the FDA clearance or approval, and if we are unable to demonstrate the safety and efficacy of our future products in our clinical trials, we will be unable to obtain regulatory clearance or approval to market our products.
In addition, we may estimate and publicly announce the anticipated timing of the accomplishment of various clinical, regulatory and other product development goals, which are often referred to as milestones. These milestones could include the obtainment of the right to affix the CE Mark in the European Union; the submission to the FDA of an investigational device exemption, or IDE, application to commence a pivotal clinical trial for a new product; the enrollment of patients in clinical trials; the release of data from clinical trials; and other clinical and regulatory events. The actual timing of these milestones could vary dramatically compared to our estimates, in some cases for reasons beyond our control. We cannot assure you that we will meet our projected milestones and if we do not meet these milestones as publicly announced, the commercialization of our products may be delayed and, as a result, our stock price may decline.
Delays in the commencement or completion of clinical testing could significantly affect our product development costs. We do not know whether planned clinical trials will begin on time, need to be redesigned, enroll an adequate number of patients in a timely manner or be completed on schedule, if at all. The commencement and completion of clinical trials can be delayed or terminated for a number of reasons, including delays or failures related to:
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the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities disagreeing as to the design or implementation of our clinical studies;
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obtaining regulatory approval to commence a clinical trial;
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reaching agreement on acceptable terms with prospective clinical research organizations, or CROs, and trial sites, the terms of which can be subject to extensive negotiation and may vary significantly among different CROs and trial sites;
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manufacturing sufficient quantities of a product for use in clinical trials;
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obtaining institutional review board, or IRB, or ethics committees’ approval to conduct a clinical trial at each prospective site;
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recruiting and enrolling patients and maintaining their participation in clinical trials;
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having clinical sites observe trial protocol or continue to participate in a trial;
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addressing any patient safety concerns that arise during the course of a clinical trial;
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addressing any conflicts with new or existing laws or regulations; and
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adding a sufficient number of clinical trial sites.
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Patient enrollment in clinical trials and completion of patient follow-up depend on many factors, including the size of the patient population, the nature of the trial protocol, the proximity of patients to clinical sites, the eligibility criteria for the clinical trial, patient compliance, competing clinical trials and clinicians’ and patients’ perceptions as to the potential advantages of the product being studied in relation to other available therapies, including any new treatments that may be cleared or approved for the indications we are investigating. For example, patients may be discouraged from enrolling in our clinical trials if the trial protocol requires them to undergo extensive post-treatment procedures or follow-up to assess the safety and efficacy of a product, or they may be persuaded to participate in contemporaneous clinical trials of a competitor’s product. In addition, patients participating in our clinical trials may drop out before completion of the trial or suffer adverse medical events unrelated to our products. Delays in patient enrollment or failure of patients to continue to participate in a clinical trial may delay commencement or completion of the clinical trial, cause an increase in the costs of the clinical trial and delays, or result in the failure of the clinical trial.
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We could also encounter delays if the FDA concluded that our financial relationships with our principal investigators resulted in a perceived or actual conflict of interest that may have affected the interpretation of a study, the integrity of the data generated at the applicable clinical trial site or the utility of the clinical trial itself. Principal investigators for our clinical trials may serve as scientific advisors or consultants to us from time to time and receive cash compensation and/or stock options in connection with such services. If these relationships and any related compensation to or ownership interest by the clinical investigator carrying out the study result in perceived or actual conflicts of interest, or the FDA concludes that the financial relationship may have affected interpretation of the study, the integrity of the data generated at the applicable clinical trial site may be questioned and the utility of the clinical trial itself may be jeopardized, which could result in the delay or rejection of our marketing application by the FDA. Any such delay or rejection could prevent us from commercializing any of our products in development.
Furthermore, clinical trials may also be delayed because of ambiguous or negative interim results. In addition, a clinical trial may be suspended or terminated by us, the FDA, the IRB overseeing the clinical trial at issue, the Data Safety Monitoring Board for such trial, any of our clinical trial sites with respect to that site, or other regulatory authorities due to several factors, including:
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failure to conduct the clinical trial in accordance with applicable regulatory requirements or our clinical protocols;
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inspection of the clinical trial operations or trial sites by the FDA or other regulatory authorities resulting in the imposition of a clinical hold;
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inability of a clinical investigator or clinical trial site to continue to participate in the clinical trial;
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unforeseen safety issues or adverse side effects;
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failure to demonstrate a benefit from using the product; and
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lack of adequate funding to continue the clinical trial.
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Additionally, changes in regulatory requirements and guidance may occur and we may need to amend clinical trial protocols to reflect these changes. Amendments may require us to resubmit our clinical trial protocols to IRBs for reexamination, which may impact the costs, timing or successful completion of a clinical trial. If we experience delays in completion of, or if we terminate, any of our clinical trials, the commercial prospects for our products may be harmed and our ability to generate product revenue from these products will be delayed or not realized at all. In addition, any delays in completing our clinical trials will increase our costs, slow down our product development and approval process and jeopardize our ability to commence product sales and generate revenue. Any of these occurrences may significantly harm our business, financial condition and prospects significantly. In addition, many of the factors that cause, or lead to, a delay in the commencement or completion of a clinical trial may also ultimately lead to the denial of regulatory approval of the subject product.
We have increased the size of our company significantly over a short period, and difficulties managing our continued growth could adversely affect our business, operating results, and financial condition.
We have increased our head count from a few employees in 2009 to 384 full-time employees as of December 31, 2020. Our ability to manage our operations and growth requires the continued improvement of our operational, financial and management controls and reporting systems and procedures. If we are unable to manage our growth effectively or if we are unable to attract, incentivize and integrate additional highly qualified personnel, our business, operating results, and financial condition may be harmed.
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We depend on skilled and experienced personnel to operate our business effectively. If we are unable to recruit, hire, and retain these employees, our ability to manage and expand our business will be hampered, which could negatively affect our future revenue and profitability.
We are highly dependent on the skills, experience, and efforts of our executive officers and other key employees. Our success depends in part on our continued ability to attract, retain and motivate highly qualified management, sales and marketing, product development and other personnel. The loss of services of any of these individuals could delay or prevent enhancement of the execution of our business and the development of future products and services. Although we have entered into employment agreements with certain members of our senior management team, these agreements do not provide for a fixed term of service.
Competition for qualified personnel in the medical device field is intense due to the limited number of individuals who possess the skills and experience required by the industry. Our ability to retain skilled employees and our success in attracting and hiring new skilled employees will be a critical factor in determining whether we will be successful in the future. We will face significant challenges and risks in hiring, training, managing, and retaining sales and marketing, product development, financial reporting, and regulatory compliance employees, many of whom may be geographically dispersed. In addition, to the extent we hire personnel from competitors, we may be subject to allegations that they have divulged proprietary or other confidential information, or that their former employers own their research output. The failure to attract and retain personnel, particularly sales and marketing and product development personnel, could materially harm our ability to compete effectively and grow our business.
We have identified a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting in the past and if we fail to maintain proper and effective internal controls, our ability to produce accurate and timely financial statements could be impaired, which could harm our operating results, our ability to operate our business and investors’ views of the Company.
Prior to the Merger, Venus Concept Ltd. was a private company. The Merger, as more fully described under Note 1 “Nature of Operations” in the notes to our consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this report, has been accounted for as a reverse acquisition with Venus Concept Ltd. as the acquiring company for accounting purposes, and the Company as the legal acquirer. As a result, upon consummation of the Merger, the historical financial statements of Venus Concept Ltd. became the historical financial statements of the combined organization. As a private company, Venus Concept Ltd. has not historically prepared public company level financial statements. In connection with our preparation and the audit of our consolidated financial statements as of December 31, 2018 and 2017, and for the years then ended, we identified a material weakness related to lack of centralized procedures or a technology solution that would ensure appropriate lessor accounting processes and enable the accurate and timely preparation of financial statements. A material weakness is a deficiency, or a combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting, such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of the company’s annual or interim consolidated financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis.
As of December 31, 2020, we have reviewed the key business processes related to collection and evaluation of information relevant to the Company’s subscription contracts for all of its subsidiaries. We also developed a streamlined, centralized process where all subscription contracts are reviewed consistently in order to identify any collection risks and ensured that the allowance for doubtful accounts for such contracts as of December 31, 2020 was accurate and complete. These measures enabled the accurate and timely preparation of consolidated financial statements. As a result, we concluded that the material weakness associated with lessor accounting process was fully remediated as of December 31, 2020.
Implementing any appropriate changes to our internal controls and continuing to update and maintain internal controls may distract our officers and employees, entail substantial costs to implement new processes and modify our existing processes and take significant time to complete. If we fail to enhance our internal control over financial reporting to meet the demands that are placed upon us as a public company, including the requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, we may be unable to report our financial results accurately, which could increase operating costs and harm our business, including investors’ perception of our business.
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We or the third parties upon whom we depend on may be adversely affected by earthquakes or other natural disasters and our business continuity and disaster recovery plans may not adequately protect us from a serious disaster.
Some of our facilities are located in San Jose, California, which in the past has experienced both severe earthquakes and floods. We do not carry earthquake or flood insurance. Earthquakes or other natural disasters could severely disrupt our operations, and have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and prospects.
If a natural disaster, power outage or other event occurred that prevented us from using all or a significant portion of these facilities, that damaged critical infrastructure, such as our manufacturing resource planning for the ARTAS® System and enterprise quality systems, or that otherwise disrupted operations, it may be difficult for us to achieve our growth strategy for our hair restoration business. The disaster recovery and business continuity plan we have in place are limited and are unlikely to prove adequate in the event of a serious disaster or similar event. We may incur substantial expenses because of the limited nature of our disaster recovery and business continuity plans, which, particularly when taken together with our lack of earthquake or flood insurance, could have a material adverse effect on our business.
Risks Related to Intellectual Property
If we are unable to obtain, maintain, retain and enforce adequate intellectual property rights covering our products and any future products we develop, others may be able to make, use, or sell products that are substantially the same as ours, which could adversely affect our ability to compete in the market.
Our commercial success is dependent in part on obtaining, maintaining, retaining and enforcing our intellectual property rights, including our patents and the patents we exclusively license. If we are unable to obtain, maintain, retain and enforce sufficiently broad intellectual property protection covering our products and any other products we develop, others may be able to make, use, or sell products that are substantially the same as our products without incurring the sizeable development and licensing costs that we have incurred, which would adversely affect our ability to compete effectively in the market.
We have obtained and maintained our existing patents, seek to diligently prosecute our existing patent applications, and seek to file patent applications and obtain additional patents and other intellectual property rights to restrict the ability of others to market products that compete with our current and future products. As of December 31, 2020, the Company’s patent portfolio was comprised of 107 issued U.S. patents, 11 pending U.S. patent applications, 111 issued foreign counterpart patents, and 27 pending foreign counterpart patent applications. However, patents may not be issued on any pending or future patent applications we file, the claims that issue may provide limited or no coverage of its products and technologies, and, moreover, issued patents owned or licensed to us now or in the future may be found by a court to be invalid or otherwise unenforceable at any time. We may choose to not apply for patent protection or may fail to apply for patent protection on important technologies or product candidates in a timely fashion. In addition, we may be unable to obtain patents necessary to protect our technology or products due to prior uses of or claims to similar processes or systems by third parties, or to blocking intellectual property owned by third parties. Even though we have issued patents, and even if additional patents are issued to us in the future, they may be challenged, narrowed, invalidated, held to be unenforceable or circumvented, which could limit our ability to prevent competitors from using similar technology or marketing similar products, or limit the length of time our technologies and products have patent protection. Also, even if our existing and future patents are determined to be valid and enforceable, they may not be drafted or interpreted broadly enough to prevent others from marketing products and services similar to ours, by easily designing products around our patents or otherwise developing competing products or technologies. In addition, the ownership or inventorship of one or more of our patents and patent applications may be challenged by one or more parties in one or more jurisdictions, including in a patent interference or a derivation proceeding in the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”), or a similar foreign governmental agency or during the course of a litigation. If a competitor were able to successfully design around our patents, we may not be able to block such competition, and furthermore the competitor’s products may be more effective or commercially successful than its products. In addition, our current patents will eventually expire, or they may otherwise cease to provide meaningful competitive advantage, and we may be unable to adequately develop new technologies and obtain future patent protection to preserve our competitive advantage or avoid other adverse effects on our business.
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We have a number of foreign patent applications, and while we generally try to pursue patent protection in the jurisdictions in which we do or intend to do significant business, the filing, prosecuting, maintaining and defending patents relating to our current or future products in all countries throughout the world would be prohibitively expensive. Furthermore, the laws of some foreign jurisdictions do not protect intellectual property rights to the same extent as laws in the U.S., and many companies have encountered significant difficulties in obtaining, protecting, and defending such rights in foreign jurisdictions. As a result, our intellectual property may not provide us with sufficient rights to exclude others from commercializing products similar or identical to its products in various jurisdictions. Competitors may use our technologies in jurisdictions where we have not obtained patent protection to develop their own products, and we may be unable to prevent such competitors from importing those infringing products into territories where we do not have patent protection or into territories where we do have patent protection but there is no prohibition against such importation, or even if such prohibitions exist, the law or related enforcement is not as strong as in the United States. These products may compete with our systems and our patents and our other intellectual property rights may not be effective or sufficient to prevent competitors from competing in those jurisdictions. If we encounter such difficulties or are otherwise precluded from effectively protecting and enforcing our intellectual property rights in foreign jurisdictions, our business prospects could be substantially harmed.
Third-party patent applications and patents could significantly reduce the scope of protection of patents owned by or licensed to us and limit our ability to obtain a meaningful scope of patent protection or market and sell our products or develop, market, and sell future products. In the United States, other parties may attack the validity of our patents after they issue, in a court proceeding, or in an ex-parte reexamination proceeding or one or more post-grant procedures that were authorized under the America Invents Act of 2011, that were available commencing on March 16, 2013 such as post-grant review, covered business method review or inter partes review, in front of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board of the USPTO. The costs of these proceedings could be substantial.
At any given time, we may be involved as either a plaintiff or a defendant in a number of patent infringement actions, the outcomes of which may not be known for prolonged periods of time. The large number of patents, the rapid rate of new patent applications and issuances, the complexities of the technologies involved, and the uncertainty of litigation significantly increase the risks related to any patent litigation. Any potential intellectual property litigation may (i) force us to withdraw existing products from the market or may be unable to commercialize one or more of our products, (ii) cause us to incur substantial costs, and (iii) could place a significant strain on our financial resources, divert the attention of management from our core business and harm our reputation.
Even if resolved in our favor, litigation or other legal proceedings relating to intellectual property claims may cause us to incur significant expenses and could distract our technical and management personnel from their normal responsibilities. In addition, there could be public announcements of the results of hearings, motions or other interim proceedings or developments, and if securities analysts or investors perceive these results to be negative, it could have a material adverse effect on the price of our common stock. Finally, any uncertainties resulting from the initiation and continuation of any litigation could have a material adverse effect on our ability to raise the funds necessary to continue our operations.
In addition, we may indemnify our customers, suppliers and international distributors against claims relating to the infringement of the intellectual property rights of third parties relating to our products, methods, and/or manufacturing processes. Third parties may assert infringement claims against our customers, suppliers, or distributors. These claims may require us to initiate or defend protracted and costly litigation on behalf of our customers, suppliers, or distributors, regardless of the merits of these claims. If any of these claims succeed, we may be forced to pay damages on behalf of our customers, suppliers, or distributors or may be required to obtain licenses for the products they use. If we cannot obtain all necessary licenses on commercially reasonable terms, our customers may be forced to stop using our products, or our suppliers may be forced to stop providing us with products.
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The legal determinations relating to patent rights afforded to companies in the medical technology and aesthetic product fields can be uncertain and involve complex legal, factual, and scientific questions, sometimes involving important legal principles which remain uncertain or unresolved, and such uncertainty could affect the outcome or intellectual property related legal determinations in which we are involved.
Both the U.S. Supreme Court and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit have made, and will likely continue to make, changes in how the patent laws of the United States are interpreted. Similarly, foreign courts have made, and will likely continue to make, changes in how the patent laws in their respective jurisdictions are interpreted. In addition, the U.S. Congress is currently considering legislation that would change certain provisions of U.S. federal patent law. We cannot predict future changes which U.S. and foreign courts may make in the interpretation of patent laws or changes to patent laws which might be enacted into law by U.S. and foreign legislative bodies. Those changes may materially affect our patent rights, and our ability to obtain patents in the future.
Prosecution of patent applications, post-grant opposition proceedings, and litigation to establish the validity, enforceability, and scope of patents, assert patent infringement claims against others or defend against patent infringement claims by others are expensive and time-consuming. There can be no assurance that, in the event that claims of any of our patents are challenged by one or more third parties, any court or patent authority ruling on such challenge will determine that such patent claims are valid and enforceable. An adverse outcome in such litigation or post grant proceeding could cause us to lose associated patent rights and may have a material adverse effect on our business.
We may not be able to adequately protect our intellectual property rights throughout the world.
Filing, prosecuting and defending patents on our products in all countries throughout the world would be prohibitively expensive. The requirements for patentability may differ in certain countries, particularly developing countries, and the breadth of patent claims which are allowed can be inconsistent. In addition, the laws of some foreign countries may not protect our intellectual property rights to the same extent as laws in the United States. Consequently, we may not be able to prevent third parties from practicing our inventions in all countries outside the United States. Competitors may use our technologies in jurisdictions where we have not obtained patent protection to develop their own products and, furthermore, may export otherwise infringing products to territories in which we have patent protection that may not be sufficient to terminate infringing activities.
We do not have patent rights in certain foreign countries in which a market may exist. Moreover, in foreign jurisdictions where we do have patent rights, proceedings to enforce such rights could result in substantial costs and divert our efforts and attention from other aspects of our business, could put our patents at risk of being invalidated or interpreted narrowly, and our patent applications at risk of not issuing. Additionally, such proceedings could provoke third parties to assert claims against us. We may not prevail in lawsuits that we initiate, and the damages or other remedies awarded, if any, may not be commercially meaningful. Thus, we may not be able to stop a competitor from marketing and selling in foreign countries products that are the same as or similar to our products, and our competitive position in the international market would be harmed.
Unauthorized use of our intellectual property may have occurred or may occur in the future. Any reverse engineered or counterfeit products that purport to be our systems that are currently in the market or that may be introduced in the future may harm our reputation and our sale of products. Moreover, if we commence litigation to stop or prevent any unauthorized use of our technology that occurs from reverse engineering or counterfeiting of our products, or if we have to defend allegations of such unauthorized use of a third party’s technology, such litigation would be time-consuming, force us to incur significant costs and divert our attention and the efforts of its management and other employees.
We depend on certain technologies that are licensed to us. We do not control these technologies and any loss of our rights to them could prevent us from selling our products.
Our rights to use the technology we license are subject to compliance with the terms of those licenses. In some cases, we do not control the prosecution, maintenance, or filing of the patents to which we hold licenses, or the enforcement of these patents against third parties. These patents and patent applications are not written by us or our advisors, and we did not have control over the drafting and prosecution. We cannot be certain that drafting and/or prosecution of the licensed patents and patent applications by the licensors have been or will be conducted in compliance with applicable laws and regulations or will result in valid and enforceable patents and other intellectual property rights.
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Our intellectual property agreements with third parties may be subject to disagreements over contract interpretation, which could narrow the scope of our rights to the relevant intellectual property or technology or increase our financial or other obligations to our licensors.
Certain provisions in our intellectual property agreements may be susceptible to multiple interpretations. The resolution of any contract interpretation disagreement that may arise could affect the scope of our rights to the relevant intellectual property or technology or affect financial or other obligations under the relevant agreement, either of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
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. Our assignment agreements may not be self-executing or may be breached, and we may be forced to bring claims against third parties, or defend claims they may bring against us, to determine the ownership of what we regard as our intellectual property.
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.
We have trademark registrations and applications in the United States and also in certain foreign countries. Actions taken by us to establish and protect our trademarks might not prevent imitation of our products or services, infringement of our trademark rights by unauthorized parties or other challenges to our ownership or validity of our trademarks. If we are unable to register our trademarks, enforce our trademarks, or bar a third-party from registering or using a trademark, our ability to establish name recognition based on our trademarks and compete effectively in our markets of interest may be adversely affected. In addition, our enforcement against third-party infringers or violators may be expensive and time-consuming, and the outcome is unpredictable and may not provide an adequate remedy.
We may become subject to claims for remuneration for service invention rights by our employees, which could result in litigation and adversely affect our business.
A significant portion of our intellectual property has been developed by our employees based in Israel in the course of their employment for Venus Concept Ltd. Under the Israeli Patent Law, 5727-1967 (the “Patent Law”), inventions conceived by employees during and within the scope of employment with an employer are regarded as “service inventions,” which belong to the employer, absent a specific agreement between the employee and employer giving the employee service invention rights. The Patent Law also provides that if there is no agreement between an employer and an employee with respect to the employee’s right to receive compensation for such “service inventions,” the Israeli Compensation and Royalties Committee, a body constituted under the Patent Law, shall determine whether the employee is entitled to remuneration for his or her service inventions and the scope and conditions for remuneration. While our employees have generally explicitly waived their right to any additional compensation for their contribution to service invention rights, certain current or former employees may not have signed such waivers, and we may face claims from current or former employees demanding remuneration in consideration for their contribution to service invention rights, which may lead to future litigation, which could be costly and could divert management’s attention and we could be required to pay such remuneration.
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Risks Related to Government Regulation
Our devices and our operations are subject to extensive government regulation and oversight both in the United States and abroad, and our failure to comply with applicable requirements could harm our business.
Certain of our systems are regulated as medical devices subject to extensive regulation in the United States and elsewhere, including by the FDA and its foreign counterparts. The FDA and foreign regulatory agencies regulate, among other things, with respect to medical devices:
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design, development and manufacturing;
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testing, labeling, content and language of instructions for use and storage;
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marketing, sales and distribution;
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premarket clearance and approval;
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record keeping procedures;
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advertising and promotion;
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recalls and field safety corrective actions;
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post-market surveillance, including reporting of deaths or serious injuries and malfunctions that, if they were to recur, could lead to death or serious injury;
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post-market approval studies; and
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product import and export.
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The regulations to which we are subject are complex and have tended to become more stringent over time. Regulatory changes could result in restrictions on our ability to carry on or expand our operations, higher than anticipated costs or lower than anticipated sales.
In the United States, before we can market a new medical device, or a new use of, new claim for or significant modification to an existing product, we must first receive either clearance under Section 510(k) of the FDCA or approval of a PMA application from the FDA, unless an exemption applies. We consider our Venus Glow™ and NeoGraft® systems exempt from the FDA’s 510(k) clearance requirement. We have obtained 510(k) clearance from the FDA for Venus Concept’s Freeze® and Venus Freeze Plus®, Venus Viva® SR, Venus Legacy® BX and Legacy CX, Venus Versa®, Venus Velocity™, Venus Bliss™, Venus Viva® MD, Venus Epileve™, ARTAS® and ARTAS® iX Systems.
In the 510(k) clearance process, before a device may be marketed, the FDA must determine that a proposed device is “substantially equivalent” to a legally-marketed “predicate” device, which includes a device that has been previously cleared through the 510(k) process, a device that was legally marketed prior to May 28, 1976 (pre-amendments device), a device that was originally on the United States. market pursuant to a PMA application and later down-classified, or a 510(k)-exempt device. If a product is not eligible for 510(k) clearance it may require approval of a de novo reclassification petition or a PMA. Both the PMA approval and the 510(k) clearance process can be expensive, lengthy and uncertain. The FDA’s 510(k) clearance process usually takes from three to 12 months but can take longer. For products subject to PMA, the regulatory process generally takes from one to three years or even longer, from the time the application is filed with the FDA and involves substantially greater risks and commitment of resources than either the 510(k) clearance or de novo processes. We may not be able to obtain necessary regulatory approvals or clearances on a timely basis, if at all, for any of our products under development, and delays in receipt of, or failure to receive such approvals or clearances could have a material adverse effect on our business.
The FDA’s and other regulatory authorities’ policies may change, and additional government regulations may be enacted that could prevent, limit or delay regulatory approval of our products. If we are slow or unable to adapt to changes in existing requirements or the adoption of new requirements or policies, or if we are not able to maintain regulatory compliance, we may fail to obtain any marketing clearances or approvals, lose any marketing clearance or approval that we may have obtained, and we may not achieve or sustain profitability.
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We also cannot predict the likelihood, nature or extent of government regulation that may arise from future legislation or administrative action, either in the United States or abroad.
Even after we have obtained the proper regulatory clearance or approval to market a product, we have ongoing responsibilities under the FDA regulations. The failure to comply with applicable regulations could jeopardize our ability to sell our systems and result in enforcement actions such as:
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termination of distribution;
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recalls or seizures of products;
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delays in the introduction of products into the market;
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total or partial suspension of production;
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refusal to grant future clearances or approvals;
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withdrawals or suspensions of current clearances or approvals, resulting in prohibitions on sales of our product or products; and
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in the most serious cases, criminal penalties.
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Any of these sanctions could result in higher than anticipated costs or lower than anticipated sales and harm our reputation, business, financial condition and results of operations.
We are subject to extensive governmental regulation in foreign jurisdictions, such as Europe, and our failure to comply with applicable requirements could cause our business to suffer.
We must maintain regulatory approval in foreign jurisdictions in which we plan to market and sell our systems. In the EEA, manufacturers of medical devices need to comply with the Essential Requirements laid down in Annex II to the EU Medical Devices Directive (Council Directive 93/42/EEC). Compliance with these requirements is a prerequisite to be able to affix the CE mark to medical devices, without which they cannot be marketed or sold in the EEA. With respect to active implantable medical devices or Class III devices, the manufacturer must conduct clinical studies to obtain the required clinical data, unless reliance on existing clinical data from equivalent devices can be justified. The conduct of clinical studies in the EEA is governed by detailed regulatory obligations. These may include the requirement of prior authorization by the competent authorities of the country in which the study takes place and the requirement to obtain a positive opinion from a competent Ethics Committee. This process can be expensive and time-consuming.
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We are subject to governmental regulation and other legal obligations, particularly related to privacy, data protection and information security, which are complex and rapidly changing. Our actual or perceived failure to comply with such obligations could harm our business.
We are subject to diverse laws and regulations relating to data privacy and security, both in the United States and internationally. New global privacy rules are being enacted and existing ones are being updated and strengthened. Complying with these numerous, complex and often changing regulations is expensive and difficult, and failure to comply with any privacy laws or data security laws or any security incident or breach involving the misappropriation, loss or other unauthorized use or disclosure of sensitive or confidential patient or consumer information, whether by us, one of our business associates or another third-party, could have a material adverse effect on our business, reputation, financial condition and results of operations, including but not limited to: material fines and penalties; damages; litigation; consent orders; and injunctive relief.
The regulation of data privacy and security, and the protection of the confidentiality of personal information, is increasing and continues to evolve. For example, the GDPR came into effect in May 2018 reforming the European regime. The GDPR implements more stringent operational requirements than its predecessor legislation. For example, the GDPR requires us to make more detailed disclosures to data subjects, requires disclosure of the legal basis on which we can process personal data, makes it harder for us to obtain valid consent for processing, provides more robust rights for data subjects, introduces mandatory data breach notification through the EU, imposes additional obligations on us when contracting with service providers and requires us to adopt appropriate privacy governance including policies, procedures, training and data audit. If we do not comply with our obligations under the GDPR, we could be exposed to fines of up to the higher of 20.0 million Euros or up to 4% of our total worldwide annual turnover in the event of a significant breach. In addition, we may be the subject of litigation and/or adverse publicity, which could have a material adverse effect on our reputation and business.
Modifications to our products may require new regulatory clearances or approvals or expansion of the scope of our CE Certificates of Conformity with our notified body.
Modifications to our products may require new regulatory clearances or approvals from the FDA or other regulatory authorities or expansion of the scope of our CE Certificates of Conformity with our notified body. Even after achieving the initial market clearance, or approval from the FDA or other regulatory authorities or having affixed the CE marked to a product, modifications to our systems during their life cycles may require new regulatory approvals or clearances, including 510(k) clearances, premarket approvals, the conduct of a new conformity assessment with our notified body, or foreign regulatory approvals. Obtaining a new 510(k), other regulatory clearances and approvals, or a revised or new CE Certificate of Conformity can be a time-consuming process, and we may not be able to obtain such clearances or approvals in a timely manner, or at all.
We are subject to restrictions on the indications for which we are permitted to market our products, and any violation of those restrictions, or marketing of systems for off-label uses, could subject us to enforcement action.
Our promotional materials and training methods must comply with FDA and other applicable laws and regulations, including the prohibition of the promotion of off-label use in both the United States and in foreign countries. The use of one of our systems for indications other than those cleared by the FDA or approved by any foreign regulatory body may not effectively treat such conditions, which could harm our reputation in the marketplace among physicians and patients.
If the FDA or any foreign regulatory body determines that our promotional materials or training constitute promotion of an off-label use, it could request that we modify our training or promotional materials or subject us to regulatory or enforcement actions, including, among other things, the issuance or imposition of an untitled letter, a warning letter, injunction, seizure, refusal to issue new 510(k)s or PMAs, withdrawal of existing 510(k)s or PMAs, refusal to grant export approvals, and civil fines or criminal penalties.
The FDA regulates the labeling of 510(k)-cleared devices to make sure that the labeling complies with the cleared indications for use and no off-label indication or claim is being promoted by the manufacturer. The FDA also engages in market surveys to identify any devices whose intended uses include unapproved uses of the products. Devices are considered adulterated or misbranded when advertising or labeling creates a new intended use, indications for use or even a new claim.
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We previously received an inquiry from the FDA regarding apparent off-label or unapproved uses of the Venus Fiore® on August 1, 2018. Venus Fiore® is not cleared or approved in the United States or in jurisdictions outside of the United States, other than Israel and certain EMEA jurisdictions. Venus Fiore® is marketed in Israel and certain EMEA jurisdictions for aesthetic and functional treatment of the vagina, labia and mons pubis. However, we have not marketed or promoted Venus Fiore® in the United States and explained this to the agency. We added geoblocker functionality to our website, to portray accurately what devices it is marketing in the United States. This matter has been closed by the FDA.
Our systems may cause or contribute to adverse medical events that we are required to report to the FDA, and if we fail to do so, we would be subject to sanctions that could harm our reputation, business, financial condition and results of operations.
The FDA’s medical device reporting regulations require us to report to the FDA when we receive or become aware of information that reasonably suggests that one of our systems may have caused or contributed to a death or serious injury or malfunctioned in a way that, if the malfunction were to recur, it could cause or contribute to a death or serious injury. If we fail to comply with our reporting obligations, the FDA could act, including warning letters, untitled letters, administrative actions, criminal prosecution, imposition of civil monetary penalties, revocation of our device clearance, seizure of our products or delay in clearance of future products.
The FDA, state regulating agencies at times, and foreign regulatory bodies have the authority to require the recall of commercialized products in the event of material deficiencies or defects in design or manufacture of a product or if a product poses an unacceptable risk to health. The FDA’s authority to require a recall must be based on a finding that there is reasonable probability that the device could cause serious injury or death. We may also choose to voluntarily recall a product if any material deficiency is found. A government-mandated or voluntary recall by us could occur because of an unacceptable risk to health, component failures, malfunctions, manufacturing defects, labeling or design deficiencies, packaging defects or other deficiencies or failures to comply with applicable regulations. We cannot assure you that product defects or other errors will not occur in the future. Recalls involving any of our systems could be particularly harmful to our business, financial condition, and results of operations because it is our only product.
Prior to the Merger, we received a letter from the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health (“CDRH”) requesting our assistance to complete an evaluation of a potential post-market safety concern regarding devices used for hair restoration surgery. The letter stated that the potential safety concern is related to adverse events and possible allergic reaction after hair restoration surgery. We cooperated with the FDA in its evaluation. This matter has since been resolved and has been closed by the FDA.
If we or our distributors do not obtain and maintain international regulatory registrations or approvals for our systems, our ability to market and sell our systems outside of the United States will be diminished.
Sale of our systems, outside the United States are subject to foreign regulatory requirements that vary widely from country to country. In addition, the FDA regulates exports of medical devices from the United States. While the regulations of some countries may not impose barriers to marketing and selling certain of our systems or only require notification, others require that we or our distributors obtain the approval of a specified regulatory body. Complying with foreign regulatory requirements, including obtaining registrations or approvals, can be expensive and time-consuming, and we cannot be certain that we or our distributors will receive regulatory approvals in each country in which we plan to market a particular system or that we will be able to do so on a timely basis. The time required to obtain registrations or approvals, if required by other countries, may be longer than that required for the FDA clearance, and requirements for such registrations, clearances, or approvals may significantly differ from FDA requirements. If we modify our systems, we or our distributors may need to apply for additional regulatory approvals or other authorizations before we are permitted to sell the modified product. In addition, we may not continue to meet the quality and safety standards required to maintain the authorizations that we or our distributors have received. If we or our distributors are unable to maintain our authorizations in a particular country, we will no longer be able to sell the applicable product in that country, which could harm our business.
Regulatory clearance or approval by the FDA does not ensure clearance or approval by regulatory authorities in other countries, and clearance or approval by one or more foreign regulatory authorities does not ensure clearance or approval by regulatory authorities in other foreign countries or by the FDA. However, a failure or delay in obtaining regulatory clearance or approval in one country may have a negative effect on the regulatory process in others.
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Our ability to continue manufacturing and supplying our products depends on our continued adherence to ongoing FDA and other foreign regulatory authority manufacturing requirements.
Our manufacturing processes and facilities are required to comply with the quality management system regulations of its target markets (i.e., the FDA’s Quality System Regulations, or QSR, ISO 13485:2016, and the MDSAP). Adherence to quality management system regulations and the effectiveness of our quality management control systems are periodically assessed through internal audits and inspections of manufacturing facilities by regulatory authorities. Failure to comply with applicable quality management system requirements, or later discovery of previously unknown problems with our products or manufacturing processes, including our failure or the failure of our third-party manufacturer to take satisfactory corrective action in response to an adverse quality system inspection, can result in enforcement action, which could have an adverse effect on our business. Our manufacturing process and facilities are audited annually for compliance with the last editions of QSR, ISO13485 and MDSAP requirements. The FDA inspected our San Jose facility in January 2020, which audit resulted in two observations. We responded to the FDA in February 2020 and the effectiveness of our actions will be determined during our next inspection. Regulating agencies, including the FDA, foreign regulatory authorities, and our notified body can institute a wide variety of enforcement actions, ranging from inspectional observations to more severe sanctions such as:
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untitled letters or warning letters;
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administrative or judicially-imposed sanctions;
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injunctions, fines, consent decrees, or the imposition of civil penalties;
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customer notifications for repair, replacement, or refunds;
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recall, detention, or seizure of products;
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operating restrictions, or total or partial suspension of production or distribution;
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refusal by the FDA, a foreign regulatory authority or the notified body to grant pending future clearance or pre-market approval, or to issue CE Certificates of Conformity for our devices;
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debarment of us or our employees;
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withdrawal or suspension of marketing clearances, approvals, and CE Certificates of Conformity;
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refusal to permit the import or export of our products; and
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criminal prosecution of us or our employees.
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If any of these actions were to occur, it would harm our reputation and cause our system sales and profitability to suffer and may prevent us from generating revenue. Furthermore, our key component suppliers may not currently be or may not continue to be in compliance with all applicable regulatory requirements, which could result in the failure to produce our devices on a timely basis and in the required quantities, if at all.
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We may be affected by healthcare policy changes and evolving regulations.
Our global regulatory environment is becoming increasingly stringent and unpredictable, which could increase the time, cost and complexity of obtaining regulatory approvals for our products, as well as the clinical and regulatory costs of supporting those approvals. Our management must also devote significant time to monitoring developments and changes to ensure our compliance with the various applicable regulations and required approvals. For example, several countries that did not have regulatory requirements for medical devices have established such requirements in recent years and other countries have expanded on existing regulations. Certain regulators are exhibiting less flexibility and are requiring local preclinical and clinical data in addition to global data. While harmonization of global regulations has been pursued, requirements continue to differ significantly among countries. We expect this global regulatory environment will continue to evolve, which could impact our ability to obtain future approvals for our products or could increase the cost and time to obtain such approvals in the future.
Recent U.S. tax legislation and future changes to applicable United States or foreign tax laws and regulations may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We are subject to income and other taxes in the United States and foreign jurisdictions. Changes in laws and policy relating to taxes or trade may have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Generally, future changes in applicable United States or foreign tax laws and regulations, or their interpretation and application could have an adverse effect on our business, financial conditions and results of operations.
Risks Related to Our Operations in Israel
We conduct a significant portion of our operations in Israel and therefore our business, financial condition and results of operations may be adversely affected by political, economic and military conditions in Israel.
Our research and development facilities and key third-party suppliers are located in northern Israel, and some of our key employees are residents of Israel. Accordingly, political, economic and military conditions in Israel may directly affect our business.
Any hostilities, armed conflicts, terrorist activities or political instability involving Israel or the interruption or curtailment of trade within Israel or between Israel and its trading partners could adversely affect business conditions and have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations and could make it more difficult for us to raise capital. In addition, hostilities, armed conflicts, terrorist activities or political instability involving Israel could have a material adverse effect on our facilities including our corporate administrative office or on the facilities of our local suppliers, in which event all or a portion of our inventory may be damaged and our ability to deliver products to customers could be significantly delayed.
Several countries, principally in the Middle East, restrict doing business with Israel and Israeli companies, and additional countries may impose restrictions on doing business with Israel and Israeli companies whether as a result of hostilities in the region or otherwise. Similarly, Israeli companies are limited in conducting business with entities from several countries. While these restrictions are loosening and countries previously barred from doing business with Israel are eliminating these restrictions, to the extent they still exist, these restrictions may limit our revenues.
Our commercial insurance does not cover losses that may occur as a result of events associated with the security situation in the Middle East, such as damages to our facilities resulting in disruption of our operations. Any losses or damages incurred by us could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Any armed conflicts or political instability in the region would likely negatively affect business conditions and could harm our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Our operations may be affected by negative labor conditions in Israel.
Strikes and work-stoppages occur relatively frequently in Israel. If Israeli trade unions threaten additional strikes or work-stoppages and such strikes or work-stoppages occur, those may, if prolonged, have a material adverse effect on the Israeli economy and on our business, including our ability to deliver products to our customers and to receive raw materials from our suppliers in a timely manner.
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Risks Related to Our Common Stock
The market price of our stock price may be volatile, and you may not be able to resell shares of our common stock at or above the price you paid.
The market price of our common stock following the Merger could be subject to significant fluctuations. Some of the factors that may cause the market price of the Company’s common stock to fluctuate include:
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introduction of new products, services or technologies, significant contracts, commercial relationships or capital commitments by competitors;
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failure to meet or exceed financial and development projections the Company may provide to the public;
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failure to meet or exceed the financial and development projections of the investment community;
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announcements of significant acquisitions, strategic collaborations, joint ventures or capital commitments by the Company or its competitors;
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disputes or other developments relating to proprietary rights, including patents, litigation matters, and our ability to obtain patent protection for our technologies;
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additions or departures of key personnel;
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significant lawsuits or government investigations, including patent or stockholder litigation;
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if securities or industry analysts do not publish research or reports about the Company’s business, or if they issue adverse or misleading opinions regarding our business and stock;
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changes in the market valuations of similar companies;
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general market or macroeconomic conditions;
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adverse publicity relating to hair restoration or other minimally invasive or non-invasive medical aesthetic procedures generally, including with respect to other products in such markets;
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the introduction of technological innovations that compete with the products and services of the Company; and
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period-to-period fluctuations in the Company’s financial results.
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In addition, the stock markets in general, and the markets for medical device and aesthetic stocks in particular, have experienced extreme volatility that may have been unrelated to the operating performance of the issuer. These broad market fluctuations may adversely affect the market price or liquidity of our common stock.
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We are an emerging growth company and a smaller reporting company within the meaning of the Securities Act and we have taken advantage of certain exemptions from disclosure requirements available to emerging growth companies and smaller reporting companies; this could make our securities less attractive to investors and may make it more difficult to compare our performance with other public companies.
We qualify as, an “emerging growth company” within the meaning of the Securities Act, as modified by the JOBS Act. We have taken advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies or smaller reporting companies including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on certain executive compensation matters and reduced reporting periods. As a result, stockholders may not have access to certain information they may deem important. We cannot predict whether investors will find our securities less attractive because we rely on these exemptions. If some investors find the securities less attractive as a result of reliance on these exemptions, the trading prices of our securities may be lower than they otherwise would be, there may be a less active trading market for our securities and the trading prices of our securities may be more volatile.
Further, Section 102(b)(1) of the JOBS Act exempts emerging growth companies from complying with new or revised financial accounting standards until private companies (that is, those that have not had a Securities Act registration statement declared effective or do not have a class of securities registered under the Exchange Act) are required to comply with the new or revised financial accounting standards. The JOBS Act provides that an emerging growth company can elect to opt out of the extended transition period and comply with the requirements that apply to non-emerging growth companies but any such an election to opt out is irrevocable. We have elected not to opt out of such extended transition period. Accordingly, when a standard is issued or revised and it has different application dates for public or private companies, we, as an emerging growth company, could adopt the new or revised standard at the time private companies adopt the new or revised standard, unless early adoption is permitted by the standard. We intend to continue to use private company adoption dates for ASC 842, Leases. This may make comparison of us with another public company which is neither an emerging growth company nor an emerging growth company which has opted out of using the extended transition period difficult or impossible because of the potential differences in accounting standards used.
Because the Merger resulted in an ownership change under Section 382 of the Code for Restoration Robotics, Restoration Robotics’ pre-merger net operating loss carryforwards and certain other tax attributes will be subject to limitation or elimination. The net operating loss carryforwards and certain other tax attributes of Venus Concept Ltd. and of the combined company may also be subject to limitations as a result of ownership changes.
Restoration Robotics incurred substantial losses during its history and carried forward significant net operating losses (“NOL”s) to offset future taxable income, if any, until such unused losses expire. To the extent that we continue to generate taxable losses, unused losses will carry forward to offset future taxable income, if any, until such unused losses expire. If a corporation undergoes an “ownership change” within the meaning of Section 382 of the Code, the corporation’s net operating loss carryforwards and certain other tax attributes arising before the ownership change are subject to limitations on use after the ownership change. In general, an ownership change occurs if there is a cumulative change in the corporation’s equity ownership by certain stockholders that exceeds 50 percentage points by value over a rolling three-year period. Similar rules may apply under applicable state income tax laws. The Merger resulted in an ownership change for Restoration Robotics and, accordingly, Restoration Robotics’ net operating loss carryforwards and certain other tax attributes will be subject to limitation and possibly elimination after the Merger. The Merger may limit our net operating loss carryforwards and certain other tax attributes. Additional ownership changes in the future could result in additional limitations on our net operating loss carryforwards and certain other tax attributes. Consequently, even if the combined company achieves profitability, it may not be able to utilize a material portion of the predecessor companies’ or the combined company’s net operating loss carryforwards and certain other tax attributes, which could have a material adverse effect on cash flow and results of operations.
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We do not intend to pay dividends on our common stock, and, consequently, our stockholders’ ability to achieve a return on their investment will depend on appreciation in the price of our common stock.
We do not intend to pay any cash dividends on our common stock for the foreseeable future. We intend to invest our future earnings, if any, to fund our growth. Payment of future cash dividends, if any, will be at the discretion of the board of directors, subject to applicable law and will depend on various factors, including our financial condition, operating results, current and anticipated cash needs, the requirements of current or then-existing debt instruments and other factors the board of directors deems relevant. Therefore, our stockholders are not likely to receive any dividends on their common stock for the foreseeable future. Since we do not intend to pay dividends, our stockholders’ ability to receive a return on their investment will depend on any future appreciation in the market value of our common stock. There is no guarantee that our common stock will appreciate or even maintain the price at which our stockholders have purchased it. The terms of our credit facilities limit our ability to pay dividends.
Provisions in our charter documents and under Delaware law could make an acquisition more difficult and may discourage any takeover attempts our stockholders may consider favorable, and may lead to entrenchment of management.
Provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws could delay or prevent changes in control or changes in management without the consent of the board of directors. These provisions will include the following:
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a classified board of directors with three-year staggered terms, which may delay the ability of stockholders to change the membership of a majority of the board of directors;
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no cumulative voting in the election of directors, which limits the ability of minority stockholders to elect director candidates;
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the exclusive right of the board of directors to elect a director to fill a vacancy created by the expansion of the board of directors or the resignation, death or removal of a director, which prevents stockholders from being able to fill vacancies on the board of directors;
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the ability of the board of directors to authorize the issuance of shares of preferred stock and to determine the price and other terms of those shares, including preferences and voting rights, without stockholder approval, which could be used to significantly dilute the ownership of a hostile acquirer;
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the ability of the board of directors to alter its bylaws without obtaining stockholder approval;
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the required approval of at least 662⁄3% of the shares entitled to vote at an election of directors to adopt, amend or repeal its bylaws or repeal the provisions of the amended and restated certificate of incorporation regarding the election and removal of directors;
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a prohibition on stockholder action by written consent, which forces stockholder action to be taken at an annual or special meeting of the stockholders;
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the requirement that a special meeting of stockholders may be called only by the chairman of the board of directors, the chief executive officer, the president or the board of directors, which may delay the ability of the stockholders to force consideration of a proposal or to act, including the removal of directors; and
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advance notice procedures that stockholders must comply with in order to nominate candidates to the board of directors or to propose matters to be acted upon at a stockholders’ meeting, which may discourage or deter a potential acquirer from conducting a solicitation of proxies to elect the acquirer’s own slate of directors or otherwise attempting to obtain control of the Company.
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These provisions would apply even we were to receive an offer that some stockholders may consider beneficial.
We are also subject to the anti-takeover provisions contained in Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law (“Section 203”). Under Section 203, a corporation may not, in general, engage in a business combination with any holder of 15% or more of its capital stock unless the holder has held the stock for three years or, among other exceptions, the board of directors has approved the transaction.
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Our executive officers, directors and certain of our shareholders who are affiliated with our directors will have the ability to control or significantly influence all matters submitted to our stockholders for approval.
As of December 31, 2020, our executive officers, directors and certain of our shareholders who are affiliated with our directors, in the aggregate, beneficially own approximately 36.3% of our outstanding shares of common stock. As a result, if these stockholders were to choose to act together, they would be able to control or significantly influence all matters submitted to our stockholders for approval, as well as our management and affairs. For example, if they choose to act together, these persons would control or significantly influence the election of directors and approval of any merger, consolidation or sale of all or substantially all of our assets. This concentration of voting power could delay or prevent an acquisition of the Company on terms that other stockholders may desire.
General Risk Factors
We incur significant costs because of operating as a public company, and our management devotes substantial time to new compliance initiatives.
We incur significant legal, accounting and other expenses as a public company, including costs resulting from public company reporting obligations under the Exchange Act and regulations regarding corporate governance practices. The listing requirements of the Nasdaq Global Market and the rules of the SEC, require that we satisfy certain corporate governance requirements relating to director independence, filing annual and interim reports, stockholder meetings, approvals and voting, soliciting proxies, conflicts of interest and a code of conduct. Our management and other personnel devote a substantial amount of time to ensure that we comply with all of these requirements. Moreover, the reporting requirements, rules and regulations will continue to increase our legal and financial compliance costs and will make some activities more time-consuming and costlier. Any changes we make to comply with these obligations may not be sufficient to allow us to satisfy our obligations as a public company on a timely basis, or at all. These reporting requirements, rules and regulations, coupled with the increase in potential litigation exposure associated with being a public company, could also make it more difficult for us to attract and retain qualified persons to serve on our board of directors or board committees or to serve as executive officers, or to obtain certain types of insurance, including directors’ and officers’ insurance, on acceptable terms.
Our employees and independent contractors, including consultants, manufacturers, distributors, commercial collaborators, service providers and other vendors may engage in misconduct or other improper activities, including noncompliance with regulatory standards and requirements, which could have an adverse effect on our results of operations.
We are exposed to the risk that our employees and independent contractors, including consultants, manufacturers, distributors, commercial collaborators, service providers and other vendors may engage in misconduct or other illegal activity. Misconduct by these parties could include intentional, reckless and/or negligent conduct or other unauthorized activities that violate the laws and regulations of the FDA and other similar regulatory bodies, including those laws that require the reporting of true, complete and accurate information to such regulatory bodies; manufacturing standards; U.S. federal and state healthcare fraud and abuse, data privacy laws and other similar non-U.S. laws; or laws that require the true, complete and accurate reporting of financial information or data. Activities subject to these laws also involve the improper use or misrepresentation of information obtained in the course of clinical trials, the creation of fraudulent data in our nonclinical studies or clinical trials, or illegal misappropriation of product, which could result in regulatory sanctions and cause serious harm to our reputation. It is not always possible to identify and deter misconduct by employees and other third-parties, and the precautions we take to detect and prevent this activity may not be effective in controlling unknown or unmanaged risks or losses or in protecting us from governmental investigations or other actions or lawsuits stemming from a failure to be in compliance with such laws or regulations. In addition, we are subject to the risk that a person or government could allege such fraud or other misconduct, even if none occurred. If any such actions are instituted against us, and we are not successful in defending ourselves or asserting our rights, those actions could have a significant impact on our business and financial results, including, without limitation, the imposition of significant civil, criminal and administrative penalties, damages, monetary fines, disgorgements, individual imprisonment, other sanctions, contractual damages, reputational harm, diminished profits and future earnings and curtailment of our operations, any of which could adversely affect our ability to operate our business and our results of operations.
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We may seek to acquire companies or technologies, which could disrupt our ongoing business, divert the attention of our management and employees and adversely affect our results of operations.
We may, from time to time, evaluate potential strategic acquisitions of other complementary businesses, products or technologies, as well as consider joint ventures and other collaborative projects. We may not be able to identify suitable future acquisition candidates, consummate acquisitions on favorable terms or complete otherwise favorable acquisitions because of antitrust or other regulatory concerns. We cannot be certain that the acquisition of the NeoGraft® business we completed in 2018 or our business combination with Venus Concept Ltd., which closed on November 7, 2019, or any future acquisitions that we may make, will enhance our business or strengthen our competitive position. In particular, we may encounter difficulties assimilating or integrating the acquired businesses, technologies, products, personnel or operations of the acquired companies, and in retaining and motivating key personnel from these businesses. The integration of these businesses may not result in the realization of the full benefits of synergies, cost savings, innovation and operational efficiencies that may be possible from this integration and these benefits may not be achieved within a reasonable period of time.
If we are unable to protect the confidentiality of our proprietary information and know-how, the value of our technology and products could be adversely affected.
We rely on trade secret protection to protect our interests in proprietary know-how and processes for which, for example, patents are difficult or impossible to obtain or enforce, or which we believe would be best protected by means that do not result in public disclosure. We may not be able to protect our trade secrets adequately. We have limited control over the protection of trade secrets used by our third-party manufacturers and suppliers and could lose future trade secret protection if any unauthorized disclosure of such information occurs. Although we use reasonable efforts to protect our trade secrets, our employees, consultants, contractors and outside scientific advisors may unintentionally or willfully disclose our proprietary information to competitors. Litigating a claim that a third-party illegally obtained and is using any of our trade secrets is expensive and time-consuming, and the outcome is unpredictable. In addition, courts outside the United States are sometimes less willing to protect trade secrets. We rely, in part, on non-disclosure and confidentiality agreements with our employees, consultants and other parties to protect our trade secrets and other proprietary technology. These agreements generally require that all confidential information developed by the individual or made known to the individual by us during the course of the individual’s relationship with us be kept confidential and not be disclosed to third parties. However, we may fail to enter into the necessary agreements, and even if entered into, these agreements may be of limited duration or may be breached and we may not have adequate remedies for any unauthorized use or disclosure of our confidential information. Moreover, others may independently and legitimately develop equivalent trade secrets or other proprietary information. In addition, if third parties are able to establish that we are using their proprietary information without their permission, we may be required to obtain a license to that information, or if such a license is not available, re-design our products to avoid any such unauthorized use or permanently stop manufacturing and selling the related products.
We also rely on physical and electronic security measures to protect our proprietary information, but these security measures may be breached or may not provide adequate protection for our property. There is a risk that third parties may obtain and improperly utilize our proprietary trade secrets or other proprietary information to our competitive disadvantage. We may not be able to detect or prevent the unauthorized access or use of such information or take appropriate and timely steps to enforce our intellectual property rights.
An active market for our Common Stock may not be maintained.
Our stock began trading on the Nasdaq Global Market in July 2017, but we can provide no assurance that we will be able to maintain an active trading market on the Nasdaq Global Market or any other exchange in the future. If an active market for our common stock does not develop or is not maintained, it may be difficult for our stockholders to sell shares without depressing the market price for the shares or at all. An inactive trading market may also impair our ability to raise capital by selling shares and may impair our ability to acquire other businesses, applications, or technologies using our shares as consideration.
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If equity research analysts do not publish research or reports, or publish unfavorable research or reports, about the Company, our business or our market, the Company’s stock price and trading volume could decline.
The trading market for the Company’s common stock will be influenced by the research and reports that equity research analysts publish about us and our business. Equity research analysts may elect not to provide research coverage of our common stock, and such lack of research coverage may adversely affect the market price of our common stock. In the event that equity research analysts initiate coverage, we will not have any control over the analysts, or the content and opinions included in their reports. The price of our common stock could decline if one or more equity research analysts downgrade our stock or issue other unfavorable commentary or research. If one or more equity research analysts ceases coverage of us or fails to publish reports on us regularly, demand for our common stock could decrease, which in turn could cause our stock price or trading volume to decline.
If we sell shares of our Common Stock in future financings, stockholders may experience immediate dilution and, as a result, our stock price may decline.
We may from time to time issue additional shares of common stock at a discount from the current market price of our common stock. As a result, our stockholders would experience immediate dilution upon the purchase of any shares of our common stock sold at such discount. In addition, as opportunities present themselves, we may enter into financing or similar arrangements in the future, including the issuance of debt securities, preferred stock or common stock. If we issue Common Stock or securities convertible into common stock, our common stockholders would experience additional dilution and, as a result, our stock price may decline.