ELTP Elite Pharmaceuticals Inc (QB)

ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS

An investment in the Company’s securities involves a high degree of risk. You should carefully consider the risks described below as well as other information provided to you in this report, including information in the section of this document entitled “Forward Looking Statements.” The risks and uncertainties described below are not the only ones facing us. Additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to us or that we currently believe are immaterial may also impair our business operations. If any of the following risks actually occur, our business, financial condition or results of operations could be materially adversely affected, the value of our Common Stock could decline, and you may lose all or part of your investment.

In addition to the other information contained in this report, the following risk factors should be considered carefully in evaluating an investment in us and in analyzing our forward-looking statements.

Risk Factor Summary

The following is a summary of the risk factors contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K that could adversely affect our business, ability to operate, financial condition, results of operation, equity and cash flows. This summary does not address all of the risks that we face and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the more detailed descriptions included below. In addition to this summary, we strongly encourage you to carefully review the full risk factors in their entirety.

Business Related Risks

Financial and Liquidity Related Risks

Legal and Regulatory Risks

Litigation and Liability Related Risks

Structural and Organizational Risks

Intellectual Property Related Risks

Risks Related to our Common Shares

Business Related Risks

The pharmaceutical industry is highly competitive.

The pharmaceutical industry is highly competitive and subject to rapid and significant technological change, and we may be unable to compete effectively, which could impair our ability to implement our business model. Competitive factors faced include, without limitation, product development, safety, efficacy, commercialization, marketing, promotion, product quality, cost-effectiveness, reputation, service, patient convenience, access to scientific and technical information, and ability to manage operations in an economic environment that is severely impacted by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, the pharmaceutical industry is undergoing rapid and significant technological change, and we expect competition to intensify as technical advances in each field are made and become more widely known. An increasing number of pharmaceutical companies have been or are becoming interested in the development and commercialization of products incorporating advanced or novel drug delivery systems. We expect that competition in the field of drug delivery will increase in the future as other specialized research and development companies begin to concentrate on this aspect of the business. Some of the major pharmaceutical companies have invested and are continuing to invest significant resources in the development of their own drug delivery systems and technologies and some have invested funds in specialized drug delivery companies. Many of our competitors have longer operating histories and, they, and future competitors, may have greater financial, research and development, marketing, and other resources than we do. Furthermore, recent trends in this industry include market consolidation, which may further concentrate financial, technical, market and other strengths and resources with the result being a further increase competitive pressures existent in this industry. Such companies may develop new formulations and products, or may improve existing ones, more efficiently than we can. Our success, if any, will depend in part on our ability to keep pace with the changing technology in the fields in which we operate.

As we expand our presence in the generic pharmaceuticals market our product candidates may face intense competition from brand-name companies that have taken aggressive steps to thwart competition from generic companies. In particular, brand-name companies continue to sell or license their products directly or through licensing arrangements or strategic alliances with generic pharmaceutical companies (so-called “authorized generics”). No significant regulatory approvals are required for a brand-name company to sell directly or through a third party to the generic market, and brand-name companies do not face any other significant barriers to entry into such market. In addition, such companies continually seek to delay generic introductions and to decrease the impact of generic competition, using tactics which include, without limitation:

These strategies may increase the costs and risks associated with our efforts to introduce our generic products under development and may delay or prevent such introduction altogether.

In addition, sales of our products may be adversely affected by the continuing consolidation within the retail and wholesale pharmaceutical markets. Our products, whether sold directly by the Company or through third parties that are licensed to market and distribute our products are sold in large part to a market that is comprised of a relatively few retail drug chains, wholesalers, and managed care organizations, with such entities continuing to undergo consolidation. Such consolidation may provide these customers or our products with additional purchasing leverage, and consequently, may increase the pricing pressures faced by us. Additionally, the emergence of large buying groups representing independent retail pharmacies, and the prevalence and influence of managed care organizations and similar institutions, enable those groups to extract price discounts on our products and our revenues and quarterly results comparisons may also be affected by fluctuations in the buying patterns of retail chains, major distributors, and other trade buyers.

Furthermore, policies regarding returns, rebates, allowances and chargebacks, and marketing programs adopted by wholesalers may reduce our revenues in future fiscal periods. Based on industry practice, generic drug manufacturers have liberal return policies and have been willing to give customers post-sale inventory allowances. Such industry practices apply to the current sales of our products by our marketing partners, which in turn effect profit splits and license fees received, and they will also affect prospective future sales made directly by Company.

Under these arrangements, from time to time, customers are given credits on our generic products that are held by them in inventory after there is a decrease in the market prices of the same generic products due to competitive pricing. Therefore, if new competitors enter the marketplace and significantly lower the prices of any of their competing products, the price of our products would also likely be reduced. As a result, we, or are marketing partners, would be obligated to provide credits to our customers who are then holding inventories of such products, which could reduce sales revenue, profit splits, license fees and gross margin for the period the credit is provided. Like most competitors in this market, our marketing partners, or us in the case of prospective direct sales made by the Company, also give credits for chargebacks to wholesalers that have contracts with our marketing partners, or us, prospectively, for their sales to hospitals, group purchasing organizations, pharmacies, or other customers. A chargeback is the difference between the price the wholesaler pays and the price that the wholesaler’s end-customer pays for a product. Although, our marketing partners establish, and prospectively we would also establish reserves based on prior experience and best estimates of the impact that these policies may have in subsequent periods, we cannot ensure that such reserves established are adequate or that actual product returns, rebates, allowances, and chargebacks will not exceed estimates. Differences between established reserves and actual amounts of such credits and charges, could result in a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flow and stock price.

The existence and occurrence of any of the above could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flow, ability to operate and stock price.

Global pandemic and natural disasters, including the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Widespread health problems, including the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, natural disasters or other unexpected events could materially and adversely affect our business.

In response to these public health directives and orders, we have implemented alternative working practices and work-from-home capabilities for appropriate employees, installed improved air flow and filtration at the Northvale Facility, as well as social distancing, modified schedules, shift rotation, daily temperature checks, multiple hand sanitation stations and other similar policies at our manufacturing facilities. We have also suspended international and domestic travel on behalf of the Company.

The effects of COVID-19, including the resultant supply chain issues and inflation, have had an impact on our business and may in the future materially disrupt our business, including our manufacturing and supply chain operations by significantly reducing our output, negatively impact our productivity and delay our product development programs. The global pandemic may have significant impacts on third-party arrangements, including those with our manufacturing, supply chain and distribution partners, information technology and other vendors and other service providers and business partners. For example, there may be significant disruptions in the ability of any or all of these third-party providers to meet their obligations to us on a timely basis, or at all, which may be caused by their own financial or operational difficulties, including any closures of their facilities pursuant to a governmental order or otherwise. While we attempt, when possible, to mitigate our raw material supply risks through stock management and alternative sourcing strategies, some raw materials are only available from one source. Any of these disruptions could harm our ability to meet consumer demand, including any increase in demand for any of our products used during a pandemic.

Furthermore, we are unable to predict the impact that COVID-19 may have going forward on the business, results of operations or financial position of any of our major customers, which could impact each customer to varying degrees and at different times and could ultimately impact our own financial performance. Certain or many of our competitors may also be better equipped to weather the impact of COVID-19 domestically and may be better equipped to address changes in customer demand. Additionally, our product development programs may be adversely affected by the global pandemic and the prioritization of production during this pandemic. The public health directives in response to COVID-19 requiring social distancing and restricting non-essential business operations have in certain cases caused and may continue to cause delays, increased costs and additional challenges in our product development programs, including obtaining adequate patient enrolment and successfully bringing product candidates to market. In addition, we may face additional challenges receiving regulatory approvals as previously scheduled dates or anticipated deadlines for action by the FDA on our applications and products in development, could be subject to delays beyond our control as regulators such as the FDA focus on COVID-19.

To the extent our operating cash flows, together with our cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash and restricted cash equivalents, become insufficient to cover our liquidity and capital requirements, including funds for any future acquisitions and other corporate transactions, we may be required to seek third-party financing, and/or engage in one or more capital markets transactions. The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in significant disruptions to and volatility in the local, national and global financial markets and, there can be no assurance that we would be able to obtain any required financing on a timely basis or at all. Further, lenders and other financial institutions could require us to agree to more restrictive covenants, grant liens on our assets as collateral (resulting in an increase in our total outstanding secured indebtedness) and/or accept other terms that are not commercially beneficial to us in order to obtain financing, as a result of the actual or perceived impact that financial institutions believe the pandemic will have on our business. Such terms could further restrict our operations and exacerbate any impact on our results of operations and liquidity that may result from COVID-19.

Furthermore, the occurrence of one or more unexpected events, including fires, tornadoes, tsunamis, hurricanes, earthquakes, floods, and other forms of severe hazards in the United States or in other countries in which we or our suppliers operate or are located could adversely affect our operations and financial performance. We have lost power or had to shut down operations as a result of extreme weather, natural disasters, most notably Superstorm Sandy. These types of unexpected events could result in physical damage to and complete or partial closure of one or more of distribution centers or manufacturing facilities, or the temporary or long-term disruption in the supply of products, and/or disruption of our ability to deliver products to customers. Further, the long-term effects of climate change on general economic conditions and the pharmaceutical manufacturing and distribution industry in particular are unclear, and changes in the supply, demand or available sources of energy and the regulatory and other costs associated with energy production and delivery may affect the availability or cost of goods and services, including natural resources, necessary to run our businesses. Existing insurance arrangements may not provide protection for the costs that may arise from such events, particularly if such events are catastrophic in nature or occur in combination. Any long-term disruption in our ability to service our customers from one or more distribution centers or outsourcing facilities could have a material adverse effect on our operations, our business, results of operations and stock price.

Interruptions in operations at our sole facility could have a material adverse effect on our business.

If our manufacturing facility or the facilities of any of our suppliers fail to comply with regulatory requirements or encounter other manufacturing difficulties, it could adversely affect our ability to manufacture and supply products. All facilities and manufacturing processes used for the manufacture of pharmaceutical products are subject to inspection by regulatory agencies at any time and must be operated in conformity with current good manufacturing practice (“cGMP”) and, in the case of controlled substances, DEA regulations. Compliance with the FDA’s cGMP and DEA requirements applies to both drug products seeking regulatory approval and to approved drug products. In complying with cGMP requirements, pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities must continually expend significant time, money and effort in production, recordkeeping, quality assurance and quality control so that their products meet applicable specifications and other requirements for product safety, efficacy and quality. Failure to comply with applicable legal requirements subjects us, our manufacturing facilities and the facilities of our third-party suppliers to possible legal or regulatory action, including, without limitation, shutdown, which may adversely affect our ability to supply the product. Additionally, our manufacturing facilities, and those of our third party suppliers may face other significant disruptions due to labor strikes, failure to reach acceptable agreement with labor unions, infringement of intellectual property rights, vandalism, natural disaster, storm or other environmental damage, civil or political unrest, export or import restrictions or other events. Were we not able to manufacture products at our manufacturing facilities or were our third party suppliers unable to manufacture products at their facilities because of regulatory, business or any other reasons, the manufacture and marketing of these products would be interrupted. This could have a material adverse impact on our business, results of operation, financial condition, cash flows, competitive position and ability to operate.

Furthermore, all of our manufacturing operations are conducted at the Northvale Facility and any delays or unanticipated expenses in connection with the operation at the Northvale Facility, resulting in a significant disruption at this facility, even on a short-term basis, whether due to, without limitation, an adverse quality or compliance observation, including a total or partial suspension of production and/or distribution by regulatory authorities, an act of God, civil or political unrest, force majeure situation or other events could impair our ability to produce and ship products on a timely basis, and could, among other consequences, subject us to exposure to claims from customers. Any of these events could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition, and cash flows.

We are dependent on a small number of customers, suppliers and other third parties for core business aspects.

We are dependent on a small number of suppliers for our raw materials and any delay or unavailability of raw materials can materially adversely affect our ability to produce products. The FDA requires identification of raw material suppliers in applications for approval of drug products. If raw materials were unavailable from a specified supplier, FDA approval of a new supplier could delay the manufacture of the drug involved.

In addition, some materials used in our products are currently available from only one supplier or a limited number of suppliers and there is a risk of a sole approved supplier significantly raising prices. Please note that such an occurrence has taken place recently, wherein significant price increases from a sole supplier greatly reduced profit margins, sales, and delayed product launches. These occurrences were ultimately resolved by the successful FDA approval of an alternate supplier, with such approval process being lengthy and costly.

Further, a significant portion of our raw materials may be available only from foreign sources. Foreign sources can be subject to the special risks of doing business abroad, including, without limitation:

In addition, patent laws in certain foreign jurisdictions (primarily, but not necessarily, in Europe) may make it increasingly difficult to obtain raw materials for research and development prior to expiration of applicable United States or foreign patents. Any delay or inability to obtain raw materials on a timely basis, or any significant price increases that cannot be passed on to customers, can materially adversely affect our ability to produce products. This can materially adversely affect our business and operations.

We also depend on a limited number of customers and any reduction, delay or cancellation of an order from these customers or the loss of any of these customers could cause our revenue to decline. Each year we have had one or a few customers that have accounted for a large percentage of our limited revenues therefore the termination of a contract with a customer may result in the loss of substantially all of our revenues. We are constantly working to develop new relationships with existing or new customers, but despite these efforts we may not, at the time that any of our current contracts expire, have other contracts in place generating similar or material revenue. We have agreements with Lannett Company, Prasco, LLC, Epic Pharma, LLC, and TAGI Pharma, LLC for the sales and distribution of products that we manufacture. We receive revenues to manufacture these products and also receive a profit split or royalties based on in-market sales of the products.

Since a significant portion of our revenues is derived from a relatively few customers, any financial difficulties experienced by any one of these customers, or any delay in receiving payments from any one of these customers, could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition, and cash flows.

We rely on third parties to supply raw material used in our products. In addition, we rely on third party suppliers, distributors and other third party service providers to provide services for certain core aspects of our business, including, without limitation, manufacturing, warehousing, freight and distribution, medical affairs services, regulatory compliance activities, sales and marketing, clinical studies, lab services and other technical and financial services. Many such third-party suppliers and contractors are subject to requirements proscribed by FDA, DEA or both. Our business and financial viability are dependent on the continued supply of goods, materials and services, by these third parties, their regulatory compliance and on the strength, validity and terms of our various contracts and arrangements with these third parties. Any interruption or failure by our third party suppliers, distributors and other third party service providers to meet their obligations pursuant to the various agreements with us on schedule or in accordance terms and/or expectations, or any termination by these third parties of their arrangements with us, which in each case, could be the result of one or more factors outside of our control, could delay or prevent the development, approval, commercialization or manufacture of our products, result in non-compliance with applicable laws and/or regulations, cause us to incur failure to supply penalties, disrupt our operations, increase the cost of our operations or cause harm to our reputation in the industry, any or all of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows and stock price. We may also be unsuccessful in resolving any underlying issues with such suppliers, distributors or other third-party service providers or in replacing them within a reasonable time frame on commercially reasonable terms.

When conducting clinical trials, we rely on third parties to conduct the trials and testing for our product candidates, and if they do not properly and successfully perform their legal and regulatory obligations, as well as their contractual obligations to us, we may not be able to obtain regulatory approvals for our product candidates. We do not control these third parties and, as a result, delays may occur as a result of the priorities and operations of these third parties differing from those which we may feel would be most optimal to the completion of such activities in the most efficient manner possible.

Although we rely on third parties when conducting clinical trials and related activities, we are responsible for confirming that each of our clinical trials is conducted in accordance with our general investigational plan and protocol. Moreover, the FDA and other relevant regulatory agencies require us to comply with regulations and standards, commonly referred to as good clinical practices and good laboratory practices, for conducting, recording, and reporting the results of clinical trials to ensure that the data and results are credible and accurate and that the trial participants are adequately protected. Our reliance on third parties does not relieve us of these responsibilities and requirements. The FDA enforces good clinical practices and good laboratory practices through periodic inspections of trial sponsors, principal investigators, and trial sites. If we, our contract research organizations, or our study sites fail to comply with applicable good clinical practices and good laboratory practices, the clinical data generated in our clinical trials may be deemed unreliable and the FDA may require us to perform additional clinical trials before approving our marketing applications. We cannot assure you that, upon inspection, the FDA will determine that any of our clinical trials comply with good clinical practices and good laboratory practices. In addition, our clinical trials must be conducted with product manufactured under the FDA’s current Good Manufacturing Practices, or cGMP, regulations. Our failure or the failure of our contract manufacturers if any are involved in the process, to comply with these regulations may require us to repeat clinical trials, which would delay the regulatory approval process.

If third parties do not successfully carry out their duties under their agreements with us, if the quality or accuracy of the data they obtain is compromised due to failure to adhere to our clinical protocols or regulatory requirements, or if they otherwise fail to comply with clinical trial protocols or meet expected deadlines, our clinical trials may not meet regulatory requirements. If our clinical trials do not meet regulatory requirements or if these third parties need to be replaced, our clinical trials may be extended, delayed, suspended, or terminated. If any of these events occur, we may not be able to obtain regulatory approval of our product candidates, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

We may sell, withdraw or discontinue manufacture of certain products.

We may discontinue the manufacture and distribution of certain existing products, which may adversely affect our business, results of operations, financial condition, and cash flows. As part of regular evaluations of product performance, we may determine that it is in our best interest to discontinue the manufacture and distribution of certain of our products. We cannot guarantee that we have correctly forecasted, or will correctly forecast in the future, the appropriate products to discontinue or that a decision to discontinue various products is prudent if market conditions change. In addition, there can be no assurances that the discontinuance of products will reduce operating expense or not cause the incurrence of material charges associated with such a decision. Furthermore, the discontinuance of existing products, entails various risks, including, without limitation, the ability to find a purchaser for such products, if there is a decision to sell the product, as well as the risk that the purchase price obtained will not be equal to at least the book value of the net assets relating to such products. Other risks associated with a product discontinuance, include, without limitation, managing the expectations of and maintaining good relations with our customers who previously purchased a discontinued product from us, and the effects such would have on future sales to these customers. We may also incur significant liabilities and costs associated with our product discontinuance.

In addition, we may, from time to time, sell and/or withdraw approved ANDAs if we determine that the costs of maintaining such ANDAs is excessive when compared to their actual current value and their perceived value and place in our strategic plans. For example, and without limitation, during the twelve months ended March 31, 2020, we received new product approvals that would have resulted in us owning a number of ANDAs that would have required us to self-identify as a large size ANDA holder, on the measurement date, as per the FDA’s Generic Drug User Fee Amendment (“GDUFA”) program fee structure, as opposed to the medium size ANDA classification in effect prior to these new ANDA approvals. Based on the GDUFA program fees in effect for the period October 1, 2020 through September 30, 2021, the annual fee for large sized ANDA holders was approximately $0.9 million greater than the fee for medium sized ANDA holders. After conducting a study of ANDAs held, with the GDUFA program fee levels being one of several relevant factors considered, we identified and sold ANDAs relating to Methadone Tablets, Second Phendimetrazine Product, Hydromorphone Tablets, Oxycodone and Acetaminophen Tablets and Hydrocodone and Acetaminophen Tablets.

Although our expectations are to engage only in the sale or withdrawal of ANDAs if they advance or otherwise support our overall strategy, any such ANDA sale by definition reduces the size and scope of our business, with a direct correlation to opportunities with respect to certain markets, products or therapeutic categories.

All of the foregoing could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition, cash flows and ability to operate.

We may fail to successfully identify, develop and commercialize new products.

Elite’s product pipeline, including the paused development of its abuse deterrent opioid products, are in various stages of development. Prior to commercialization, product development must be completed that could include scale-up, clinical studies, regulatory filing, regulatory review, approval by the FDA, and/or other development steps. Development is subject to risks. We cannot assure you that development will be successful, or that during development unexpected delays might occur or additional costs might be incurred.

In order to obtain FDA approval to market a new drug product, we must demonstrate proof of safety and effectiveness in humans. To meet these requirements, we must conduct extensive preclinical testing and “adequate and well-controlled” clinical trials. Conducting clinical trials is a lengthy, time-consuming, and expensive process. Completion of necessary clinical trials may take several years or more. Delays associated with products for which we are directly conducting preclinical or clinical trials may cause us to incur additional operating expenses. The commencement and rate of completion of clinical trials may be delayed by many factors, including, without limitation, for example:

Even if we achieve positive interim results in clinical trials, these results do not necessarily predict final results, and positive results in early trials may not be indicative of success in later trials. A number of companies in the pharmaceutical industry have suffered significant setbacks in advanced clinical trials, even after achieving promising results in earlier trials. Negative or inconclusive results or adverse medical events during a clinical trial could cause us to repeat or terminate a clinical trial or require us to conduct additional trials. We do not know whether our existing or any future clinical trials will demonstrate safety and efficacy sufficiently to result in marketable products. Our clinical trials may be suspended at any time for a variety of reasons, including if the FDA or we believe the patients participating in our trials are exposed to unacceptable health risks or if the FDA finds deficiencies in the conduct of these trials.

Failures or perceived failures in our clinical trials will directly delay our product development and regulatory approval process, damage our business prospects, make it difficult for us to establish collaboration and partnership relationships, and negatively affect our reputation and competitive position in the pharmaceutical community.

Our ability to sustain current operations, engender business growth, achieve current and future revenues and profitability, significantly depends on our ability to successfully identify, develop, obtain regulatory approval, commercialize and market new pharmaceutical products, including, without limitation, our own products as well as those that may be developed in partnership with other entities, such as those that were previously developed with Praxgen pursuant to a now terminated product development agreement. As a result, we must continually develop, test and manufacture new products, which must meet regulatory standards to receive requisite marketing authorizations.

The process of developing and obtaining regulatory approvals for new products is time-consuming, costly and inherently unpredictable. There are direct, indirect, known and unknown risks inherent in the development of pharmaceuticals, including, without limitation, products which initially show promise in preliminary pharmacological or marketing studies, but fail to yield the positive results consistent with initial indications. Products we may develop may not receive the marketing authorizations necessary for us to market them and, if approved, we may be unable to successfully commercialize them on a timely basis or at all, or if commercialized, revenues and profits achieved from the sale of such products might not reach levels that provide sufficient return on those costs incurred during the commercialization process.

The successful commercialization of a product is subject to a number of factors, including:

In addition, there are many risks associated with developing, commercializing and marketing new products that are beyond our control. For example, without limitation, our collaboration partner(s) may decide to make substantial changes to a product’s formulation or design, may experience financial difficulties or may have limited financial resources. Any of the foregoing may delay the development, commercialization and/or marketing of new products. In addition, if a codeveloper on a new product terminates our collaboration agreement or does not perform under the agreement, we may experience delays and additional costs in developing and marketing that product, with no assurances of us having the resources that may be required to overcome such delays or additional costs that were beyond our control.

We conduct research and development to enable us to manufacture and market pharmaceutical products in accordance with specific government regulations. Our drug development efforts relating to SequestOx™, which are currently paused, and certain generics are focused on technically difficult-to-formulate products and/or products that require advanced manufacturing technology. Typically, expenses related to research, development, and regulatory approval of compounds for SequestOx™, which is a branded pharmaceutical product, the development of which is currently paused, are significantly greater than those expenses associated with generic products. Expanded research and development efforts are required, resulting in increased research expenses. Because of the inherent risk associated with research and development efforts in the healthcare industry, particularly with respect to new drugs, our research and development expenditures may not result in the successful regulatory approval and introduction of new pharmaceutical products and failure in the development of any new product can occur at any point in the process, including late in the process after substantial investment. Also, after we submit a regulatory application, the relevant governmental health authority may require that we conduct additional studies, including, for example, studies to assess the product’s interaction with alcohol. As a result, we may be unable to reasonably predict the total research and development costs to develop a particular product and there is a significant risk that the funds we invest in research and development will not generate financial returns. In addition, our operating results and financial condition may fluctuate as the amount we spend to research and develop, commercialize, acquire or license new products, technologies and businesses changes. Much of the preceding occurred with the development of SequestOx™, which has not received marketing approval from the FDA, for which continued development has been paused and with material adverse effects on our business, results of operations, financial condition, cash flows and ability to operate resulting in the past, as well as the risk remaining for the future.

Because of these risks, our research and development efforts may not result in any commercially viable products. Any delay in, or termination of, preclinical or clinical trials will delay the filing of our drug applications with the FDA and, ultimately, our ability to commercialize product candidates and generate product revenues. If a significant portion of these development efforts are not successfully completed, required regulatory approvals are not obtained, or any approved products are not commercially successful, our business, financial condition, and results of operations may be materially harmed.

Our operations could be disrupted by failure of our information systems or cyber-attacks.

Our operations could be disrupted if our information systems fail, if we are unsuccessful in implementing necessary upgrades or if we are subject to cyber-attacks. Our business depends on the efficient and uninterrupted operation of our computer and communications systems and networks, hardware and software systems and our other information technology. We collect and maintain information, which includes confidential and proprietary information as well as personal information regarding our customers and employees, in digital form. Data maintained in digital form is subject to risk of cyber-attacks, which are increasing in frequency and sophistication. Cyber-attacks could include the deployment of harmful malware, viruses, worms, and other means to affect service reliability and threaten data confidentiality, integrity and availability. Despite our efforts to monitor and safeguard our systems to prevent data compromise, the possibility of a future data compromise cannot be eliminated entirely, and risks associated with intrusion, tampering, and theft remain. In addition, we do not have insurance coverage with respect to system failures or cyber- attacks. A failure of our systems, or an inability to successfully expand the capacity of these systems, or an inability to successfully integrate new technologies into our existing systems could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition, and cash flows.

We also have outsourced significant elements of our information technology infrastructure to third parties, some of which may be outside the U.S. Accordingly, significant elements of our information technology infrastructure, require our management of multiple independent vendor relationships with third parties who may or could have access to our confidential information. The size and complexity of our information technology systems, and those of our third-party vendors with whom we contract, make such systems potentially vulnerable to service interruptions. The size and complexity of our and our vendors’ systems and the large amounts of confidential information that is present on them also makes them potentially vulnerable to security breaches from inadvertent or intentional actions by our employees, partners, or vendors, or from attacks by malicious third parties.

The Company and its vendors’ sophisticated information technology operations are spread across multiple, sometimes inconsistent, platforms, which pose difficulties in maintaining data integrity across systems. The ever-increasing use and evolution of technology, including cloud-based computing, creates opportunities for the unintentional or improper dissemination or destruction of confidential information stored in the Company’s systems.

Any breach of our security measures or the accidental loss, inadvertent disclosure, unapproved dissemination, misappropriation or misuse of trade secrets, proprietary information or other confidential information, whether as a result of theft, hacking, fraud, trickery or other forms of deception, or for any other cause, could enable others to produce competing products, use our proprietary technology or information and/or adversely affect our business position. Further, any such interruption, security breach, loss or disclosure of confidential information could result in financial, legal, business and reputational harm to our company and could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows and stock price.

Delays in generic product development may result in failure to achieve adequate return on investment.

The time necessary to develop generic drugs may adversely affect whether, and the extent to which, we receive a return on our capital. The development process for generic products, including, without limitation, drug formulation, testing, and FDA review and approval, often takes three or more years. We must also successfully address any challenges brought by the owner of the listed patent. This process requires that we expend considerable capital to pursue activities that do not yield an immediate or near-term return. Also, because of the significant time necessary to develop a product, the actual market for a product at the time it is available for sale may be significantly less than the originally projected market for the product. If this were to occur, our potential return on our investment in developing the product, if approved for marketing by the FDA, would be adversely affected and we may never receive a return on our investment in the product. It is also possible for the manufacturer of the brand-name product for which we are developing a generic drug to obtain approvals from the FDA to switch the brand-name drug from the prescription market to the OTC market. If this were to occur, we would be prohibited from marketing our product other than as an OTC drug, in which case revenues could be substantially less than we anticipated.

Our business is dependent on market perceptions, social and political pressures, including public concern over the abuse of opioids.

Market acceptance of our products among physicians, patients, health care payors and the medical community, is a key component of commercial success and if such is not achieved, our business will be adversely affected. The degree of market acceptance of any of our approved products among physicians, patients, health care payors and the medical community will depend on a number of factors, including, without limitation:

If we are unable to achieve market acceptance for our products, then such products will not be commercially successful, and our business will be adversely affected.

Some of these factors are not within our control, and our products may not achieve expected levels of market acceptance. Additionally, continuing and increasingly sophisticated studies of the proper utilization, safety and efficacy of pharmaceutical products are being conducted by the industry, government agencies and others which can call into question the utilization, safety, and efficacy of previously marketed products. In some cases, studies have resulted, and may in the future result, in the discontinuance of product marketing or other risk management programs such as the need for a patient registry. We may also experience downward pressure on the price of our products due to social or political pressure to lower the cost of drugs, which would reduce our revenue and future profitability

Public concern over the abuse of opioid medications, including increased legal and regulatory action, could also negatively affect our business. While Elite has de-emphasized its programs with respect to opioids and will continue to focus on products other than opioids, certain governmental and regulatory agencies, as well as state and local jurisdictions, are focused on the abuse of opioid medications in the United States. State and local governmental agencies may investigate us as a manufacturer and/or distributor of medicines containing opioids or in conjunction with their investigation of other pharmaceutical wholesale distributors, and others in the supply chain that have a direct or indirect connection to our operations in relation to the distribution of opioid medications. In addition, multiple lawsuits have been filed against other pharmaceutical manufacturers and distributors alleging, among other claims, that they failed to provide effective controls and procedures to guard against the diversion of controlled substances, acted negligently by distributing controlled substances to pharmacies that serve individuals who abuse controlled substances, and failed to report suspicious orders of controlled substances in accordance with regulations. Additional governmental entities have indicated an intent to sue these other manufacturers and distributors. While no such actions have been taken against us, the immediate effect on the Company has been an inability to commercialize and market three opioid products approved during fiscal years prior to the twelve months ended March 31, 2021. We continue to hold one approved ANDA for an opioid product that, while approved by the FDA, has not been launched commercially. Further, defense against any such opioid related lawsuits could be cost-prohibitive resulting in an adverse material effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows and stock price. Similar allegations made against us, even without litigation, could also negatively affect our business in various ways, including through increased costs and harm to our reputation. In addition, an adverse resolution of any lawsuit or investigation could also have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, cash flows and stock price.

Market perceptions of our business are important to us, especially market perceptions of the safety and quality of our products. If any of our products or similar products that other companies distribute are subject to market withdrawal, recall, or are proven to be, or are claimed to be, harmful to consumers, then this could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition, and cash flows. Furthermore, due to the importance of market perceptions, negative publicity associated with product quality, illness or other adverse effects resulting from, or perceived to be resulting from, our products, or similar products made by other companies, could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition, and cash flows.

Any or all of the above could result in a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flow, ability to operate and stock price.

Unstable economic conditions may adversely affect our business.

The global economy has undergone a period of significant volatility, especially during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which has led to diminished credit availability, declines in consumer confidence, and increases in unemployment rates. There remains caution about the stability of the U.S. economy, and we cannot assure that further deterioration in the financial markets will not occur. These economic conditions have resulted in, and could lead to further, reduced consumer spending related to healthcare in general and pharmaceutical products in particular.

In addition, we have exposure to many different industries and counterparties, including our partners under our alliance and collaboration agreements, suppliers of raw chemical materials, drug wholesalers and other customers that may be affected by an unstable economic environment. Any economic instability may affect these parties’ ability to fulfil their respective contractual obligations to us, cause them to limit or place burdensome conditions upon future transactions with us or drive us and our competitors to decrease prices, each of which could materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition, cash flows and stock price.

We depend on qualified scientific and technical personnel and our ability to attract and retain such personnel.

Because of the specialized scientific nature of our business, we are highly dependent upon our ability to continue to attract and retain qualified scientific and technical personnel. We are not aware of any pending, significant losses of scientific or technical personnel. Loss of the services of, or failure to recruit, key scientific and technical personnel, however, would be significantly detrimental to our product-development programs. As a result of our small size and limited financial and other resources, it may be difficult for us to attract and retain qualified officers and qualified scientific and technical personnel.

In addition, marketing of our branded product, SequestOx™, if approved, will require much greater use of a direct sales force compared to marketing of our generic products, should we reinstate development and successfully commercialize this product. Our ability to realize significant revenues from marketing and sales activities depends on our ability or the ability of our partners to attract and retain qualified sales personnel. Competition for qualified sales personnel is intense. Any failure to attract or retain qualified sales personnel could negatively impact our sales revenue and have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition, cash flows and stock price.

We have entered into employment agreements with our executive officers and certain other key employees. We do not maintain “Key Man” life insurance on any executives.

Unsuccessful collaboration or licensing arrangements could limit revenues and product development.

We have entered into several collaborations and licensing arrangements for the development of products. However, there can be no assurance that any of these agreements will result in FDA approvals, or that we will be able to market any such products, if approved, at a profit. Collaboration and licensing arrangements pose the following risks:

Any or all of the above could result in a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flow, ability to operate and stock price.

Financial and Liquidity Risks

We have a relatively limited operating history and our operating results could fluctuate significantly.

Our revenues and operating results may vary significantly from year-to-year and quarter-to-quarter as well as in comparison to the corresponding quarter of the preceding year. Variations may result from one or more factors, including, without limitation:

A negative variation in one, many or all of the above factors could, may or will have a material adverse effect on Elite’s business, results of operations, financial condition, and cash flow and ability to operate in the future, depending on the nature and magnitude of the variation(s).

In addition, although we have been in operation since 1990, we have a relatively short operating history, have only achieved profitability for the first time during the fiscal year ended March 31, 2021 and limited financial data upon which you may evaluate our business and prospects. There can be no assurances of our ability to sustain current profitability. Additionally, in certain years prior to the year ended March 31, 2021, the auditor’s opinion on our financials was qualified with respect to there being substantial doubt as to the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern due to continued losses not being sufficiently offset by operating revenues. A failure to generate sufficient revenues to offset related costs of operations will have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition, cash flow and ability to operate.

Furthermore, our business model is likely to continue to evolve as we attempt to expand our product offerings and our presence in the generic pharmaceutical market. As a result, our potential for future profitability must be considered in view of the risks, uncertainties, expenses, and difficulties frequently encountered by companies that are attempting to move into new markets and continuing to innovate with new and unproven technologies. Some of these risks relate to our potential inability to:

If we do not effectively address the risks we face, our business model may become unworkable and we may not achieve or sustain profitability or successfully develop any products, resulting in a material adverse effect on Elite’s business, results of operations, financial condition, and cash flow and ability to operate in the future.

Our ability to fund operations is uncertain and we may require additional financing to meet objectives.

Our ability to fund our operations, maintain liquidity and meet our financing obligations is reliant on our operations, which are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. We rely on cash generated by operations as well as access to financial markets, such as the equity line with Lincoln Park and equipment financings, to fund our commercial, product development and other operations, maintain liquidity and meet our financial obligations. Amounts available under the equity line with Lincoln Park have a strong and direct correlation to the Company’s publicly traded price per share and volumes. There can be no assurances of our traded price per share and volumes being at sufficient levels to provide adequate funding from the equity line with Lincoln Park. In addition, there can be no assurances of our ability to secure equipment financing, resulting in an increased risk of our inability to achieve critical or necessary facility upgrades.

Our operations are also subject to many significant risks and uncertainties, as described, without limitation, in this “Risk Factors” section, including, without limitation, those risks related to the effects of a global pandemic such as or similar to the COVID-19 pandemic, competition in the markets in which we operate, litigation risks, government investigations, including those related to our sale, marketing and/or distribution of prescription opioid medications in prior periods, and others. Any negative development or outcome in connection with any or all of these risks and uncertainties could result in significant consequences, including, without limitation, one or more of the following:

The occurrence or possibility of one or more of these or similar events may cause us to pursue one or more significant corporate transactions as well as other remedial measures, including refinancing all or part of our then-existing indebtedness, selling assets, reducing, delaying or eliminating capital expenditures, seeking to raise additional capital or pursuing internal reorganizations, restructuring activities, strategic alliances, or cost-saving initiatives. Any refinancing of our substantial indebtedness could be at significantly higher interest rates, which will depend on both the conditions of the market as well as the Company’s finances at such time and may also require our compliance with covenants that could be more onerous than current, which in turn could result in the further restriction of our business operations. Any refinancing may also increase the amount of our secured indebtedness. In addition, the terms of existing or future debt agreements may restrict us from adopting any of the alternatives. Internal reorganizations, restructuring activities, asset sales and cost saving initiatives may also be complex and could entail significant costs and charges or could otherwise negatively impact shareholder value. There can also be no assurance that we will be able to accomplish any of these alternatives on terms acceptable to us, or at all, or that even if accomplished, that the intended results and benefits would be realized.

We most likely will require additional financing to meet our business objectives.

We most likely will need additional funding to accomplish our plans to conduct the clinical development and commercialization of a range of multiple abuse deterrent opioids or initiate, continue or complete the development of additional generic products already identified for development or currently in development.

As of March 31, 2022, we had cash on hand of approximately $8.5 million and a working capital surplus of $12.2 million, and, for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2022, we generated income from operations totaling $5.1 million, net other income totaling $1.2 million and net income of $8.9 million.

On July 8, 2020, we entered into another purchase agreement (the “2020 LPC Purchase Agreement”), together with a registration rights agreement (the “2020 LPC Registration Rights Agreement”), with Lincoln Park. Under the terms and subject to the conditions of the 2020 LPC Purchase Agreement, we have the right to sell to and Lincoln Park is obligated to purchase up to $25 million in shares of our common stock, subject to certain limitations, from time to time, over the 36-month period commencing on July 27, 2020 and expiring on August 1, 2023.

While growth in our current generic product line, consisting of Phentermine Tablets, Phentermine Capsules, Phendimetrazine Tablets, Naltrexone Tablets, Isradipine Capsules, Trimipramine Capsules, Oxy IR, Amphetamine IR Tablets, Amphetamine ER Capsules and Dantrolene Capsules, combined with manufacturing, profit split and royalty revenues earned pursuant to the Lannett Alliance, the Epic Alliance, the Prasco Alliance, the TAGI License Agreement, and successful commercialization of other products in our product development pipeline, may lead to eventual profitability, there can be no assurances of Elite becoming profitable. Furthermore, there can be no assurances of the continuation revenues being earned from the current generic product line, no assurances of Elite’s successful commercialization of other products in our development pipeline, and no assurances of Elite’s ability to continue as a going concern. In addition, there can be no assurances of Elite being able to raise additional funds in a timely manner, on acceptable terms, if needed to support commercial operations resulting in a material detrimental effect on Elite’s ability to become profitable and accordingly being a material factor to the detriment of Elite’s ability to continue as a going concern as well as having a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition, and cash flow and ability to operate in the future.

To sustain operations and meet our business objectives we must be able to commercialize our products and other products or pipeline opportunities. If we are unable to timely obtain additional financing, if necessary, and/or we are unable to timely generate greater revenues from our operations, we will be required to reduce and, possibly, cease operations and liquidate our assets. No assurance can be given that we will be able to commercialize the new opportunities or consummate such other financing or strategic alternative in the time necessary to avoid the cessation of our operations and liquidation of our assets.

Furthermore, the capital and credit markets have experienced extreme volatility. Disruptions in the credit markets make it harder and more expensive to obtain funding. In the event current resources do not satisfy our needs, we may have to seek additional financing. The availability of additional financing will depend on a variety of factors such as market conditions and the general availability of credit. Future debt financing may not be available to us when required or may not be available on acceptable terms, and as a result we may be unable to grow our business, take advantage of business opportunities, or respond to competitive pressures.

Please also see the risk factor titled “Global pandemic and natural disasters”.

We have substantial indebtedness which may adversely affect our financial condition.

We currently have substantial indebtedness. Total liabilities as of March 31, 2022, were $9.9 million, with such amount including, without limitation, $2.9 million in various loans, leases and bonds payable, $0.9 million in derivative liabilities, and $6.1 million in current payables and accruals. The consequences of this substantial indebtedness could include:

In addition, a notice of default was issued by the New Jersey Economic Development Authority in relation to prior obligations of our tax-exempt bonds. Although we are current in our payments under these bonds, if the principal balances due under these bonds are accelerated pursuant to the notice of default, our ability to operate in the future will be materially and adversely affected.

For more information on the NJEDA Bonds, see Part II, Item 7 “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations; Liquidity and Capital Resources; NJEDA Bonds”.

There is a risk of impairment of significant intangible assets on our balance sheet.

We have significant intangible assets on our balance sheet. Consequently, potential impairment of intangible assets may have an adverse material effect on our profitability.

Intangible assets represent a significant portion of our assets. As of March 31, 2022, intangible assets were approximately $6.6 million, or approximately 20% of our assets.

Generally accepted accounting principles in the United States (“GAAP”) requires that intangible assets be subject to regular impairment analysis to determine if changes in circumstances indicate that the value of the asset as recorded may not be recoverable. Such events or changes in circumstances are an inherent risk in the pharmaceutical industry and often cannot be predicted. However, should a change in circumstance occur, requiring the impairment of an intangible asset, the result of such an impairment may have an adverse material effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows and stock price.

GAAP requires estimates, judgements and assumptions which inherently contain uncertainties.

There are inherent uncertainties involved in estimates, judgments and assumptions used in the preparation of financial statements in accordance with GAAP. Any future changes in estimates, judgments and assumptions used or necessary revisions to prior estimates, judgments or assumptions could lead to a restatement of our results.

The consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K are prepared in accordance with GAAP. This involves making estimates, judgments and assumptions that affect reported amounts of assets (including intangible assets), liabilities, mezzanine equity, stockholders’ equity, operating revenues, costs of sales, operating expenses, other income, and other expenses. Estimates, judgments, and assumptions are inherently subject to change in the future and any necessary revisions to prior estimates, judgments or assumptions could lead to a restatement. Any such changes could result in corresponding changes to the amounts of assets (including goodwill and other intangible assets), liabilities, mezzanine equity, stockholders’ equity, operating revenues, costs of sales, operating expenses, other income and other expenses.

Legal and Regulatory Risks

The pharmaceutical industry is heavily regulated which creates uncertainty and substantial compliance costs.

The pharmaceutical industry is heavily regulated, which creates uncertainty about our ability to bring new products to market and imposes substantial compliance costs on our business in relation to product development as well as commercial operations.

Governmental authorities such as the FDA impose substantial requirements on the development, manufacture, holding, labeling, marketing, advertising, promotion, distribution and sale of therapeutic pharmaceutical products through lengthy and detailed laboratory and clinical testing and other costly and time-consuming procedures. In addition, before obtaining regulatory approvals for certain generic products, we must conduct limited bioequivalence studies and other research to show comparability to the branded products. A failure to obtain satisfactory results in required pre-marketing trials may prevent us from obtaining required regulatory approvals. The FDA may also require companies to conduct post-approval studies and companies are subject to post-approval surveillance regarding their drug products and to report adverse events. The FDA also can require companies to formulate approved Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategies (REMS) to help ensure that a drug’s benefits outweigh its risks.

We may seek FDA approval for certain product candidates through the 505(b)(2) regulatory pathway. Even if we receive approval for an NDA under Section 505(b)(2), the FDA may not take timely enforcement action against companies marketing unapproved versions of the drug; therefore, we cannot be sure that that we will receive the benefit of any de facto exclusive marketing period or that we will fully recoup the expenses incurred to obtain an approval. In addition, certain competitors and others have objected to the FDA’s interpretation of Section 505(b)(2). If the FDA’s interpretation of Section 505(b)(2) is successfully challenged, this could delay or even prevent the FDA from approving any NDA that we submit under Section 505(b)(2).

Moreover, even if our product candidates are approved under Section 505(b)(2), the approval may be subject to limitations on the indicated uses for which the products may be marketed or to other conditions of approval or may contain requirements for costly post-marketing testing and surveillance to monitor the safety or efficacy of the products.

The ANDA approval process for a new product varies in time, is difficult to estimate and can vary significantly, from as little as 10 months from the date of application, to several years or more. Furthermore, ANDA approvals, if granted, may not include all indications for which the Company may seek to market each product.

Further, once a product is approved or cleared for marketing, failure to comply with applicable regulatory requirements can result in, among other things, suspensions or withdrawals of approvals or clearances, seizures or recalls of products, injunctions against the manufacture, holding, distribution, marketing and sale of a product, and civil and criminal sanctions. Furthermore, changes in existing regulations or the adoption of new regulations could prevent us from obtaining, or affect the timing of, future regulatory approvals or clearances. Meeting regulatory requirements and evolving government standards may delay marketing of our new products for a considerable period of time, impose costly procedures upon our activities and result in a competitive advantage to larger companies that compete against us.

Even if regulatory approval is obtained for a particular product candidate, the FDA and foreign regulatory authorities may, nevertheless, impose significant restrictions on the indicated uses or marketing of such products, or impose ongoing requirements for post-approval studies. Following any regulatory approval of our product candidates, we will be subject to continuing regulatory obligations, such as safety reporting requirements, and additional post-marketing obligations, including regulatory oversight of the promotion and marketing of our products. If we become aware of previously unknown problems with any of our product candidates here or overseas or at our contract manufacturers’ facilities, a regulatory agency may impose restrictions on our products, our contract manufacturers or on us, including requiring us to reformulate our products, conduct additional clinical trials, make changes in the labelling of our products, implement changes to or obtain re-approvals of our contract manufacturers’ facilities or withdraw the product from the market. In addition, we may experience a significant drop in the sales of the affected products, our reputation in the marketplace may suffer and we may become the target of lawsuits, including class action suits. Moreover, if we fail to comply with applicable regulatory requirements, we may be subject to fines, suspension or withdrawal of regulatory approvals, product recalls, seizure of products, operating restrictions, and criminal prosecution. Any of these events could harm or prevent sales of the affected products or could substantially increase the costs and expenses of commercializing and marketing these products.

Compliance with federal and state and local law regulations, including compliance with any newly enacted regulations, requires substantial expenditures of time, money, and effort to ensure full compliance. Failure to comply with the FDA, DEA, EPA and other governmental regulations can result in fines, disgorgement, unanticipated compliance expenditures, recall or seizure of products, exposure to product liability claims, total or partial suspension of production or distribution, suspension of the FDA’s review of NDAs or ANDAs, enforcement actions, injunctions and civil or criminal prosecution, any of which could have a material and adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Our business may be adversely affected by legislation or healthcare regulatory reform and initiatives.

Our business and financial condition may be adversely affected by legislation or regulatory reform of the healthcare system in the United States. We cannot predict with any certainty how existing laws may be applied or how laws or legal standards may change in the future. Current or future legislation, whether state or federal, or in any of the non-U.S. jurisdictions with authority over our suppliers, customers or operations, may have a material effect on our business, ability to operate, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

Employers may seek to reduce costs by reducing or eliminating employer group healthcare plans or by transferring a greater portion of their healthcare costs to their employees. Job losses, or other economic hardships, especially, but not limited to those hardships resulting from the effects of the COVID-19 global pandemic, may also result in reduced levels of coverage for some individuals, potentially resulting in lower healthcare coverage for themselves or their families. Furthermore, increased instability in the insurance marketplace or an increase in uninsured Americans or others living and working in the USA may result from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 elimination of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA)’s requirement that individuals maintain health insurance or incur a financial penalty and other steps taken by various governmental and other organizations to limit or end subsidies to such individuals at comparatively lower income levels. These economic conditions may affect an individual’s ability to afford healthcare as a result of increased premiums, co-pay or deductible obligations, greater cost sensitivity to existing co-pay or deductible obligations, lost healthcare coverage or for other reasons. It is possible that such conditions could lead to changes in patient behavior and spending patterns that could negatively affect prescription and usage of certain or all of our products, including, without limitation, delaying of treatment, rationing of prescription medications, non-filling of prescriptions, reduction in the frequency of visits to healthcare facilities, utilizing alternative therapies or foregoing healthcare insurance coverage altogether. Such changes may result in the reduced demand for any or all of our products, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition, cash flows and ability to operate as a going concern.

Furthermore, our ability to commercialize and generate revenues and profit splits relating to the sale of our products depends, in part, on the extent to which reimbursement for the costs of these products is available from third-party payors, including government healthcare programs, such as Medicaid and Medicare, private health insurers and other payors. We cannot be certain that, over time, third party reimbursements for our products will be adequate for us to maintain price levels sufficient for realization of an appropriate return on our investment. Government payers, private insurers and other third party payers are increasingly attempting to contain healthcare costs by: (i) limiting both coverage and the level of reimbursement (including adjusting co-pays) for drugs, (ii) refusing, in some cases, to provide any coverage for certain uses for drugs and (iii) requiring or encouraging, through more favorable reimbursement levels or otherwise, the substitution of generic alternatives to branded drugs. For example, government agencies or third-party payers could attempt to reduce reimbursement for physician administered products through their interpretation of complex government price reporting obligations and payment and reimbursement coding rules, and could attempt to reduce reimbursement for separate physician administered products that share an active ingredient by requiring the blending of sales and pricing information in the same payment and reimbursement code.

The unavailability of, or reduction in, the reimbursement of our products could have a material adverse effect on our business, ability to operate as a going concern, financial condition, results of operations and cash flow.

Use of generics may be limited through legislative, regulatory or efforts of pharmaceutical companies.

Many pharmaceutical companies increasingly have used state and federal legislative and regulatory means to delay generic competition, which, if successful, could limit the use of generic pharmaceuticals. These efforts have included:

If pharmaceutical companies or other third parties are successful in limiting the use of generic products through these or other means, our sales of generic products and our growth prospects may decline. A material decline in generic product sales will have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition, cash flows and our ability to operate.

New tariffs and evolving trade policy between the US and other countries may adversely affect our business.

New tariffs and evolving trade policy between the United States and other countries, including China and Mexico, may have an adverse effect on our sourcing of critical raw materials from suppliers located outside of the United States and corresponding adverse effects on our business and results of operations.

Some of our suppliers, including those of critical active pharmaceutical ingredients are located outside of the United States. There is uncertainty about the future relationship between the U.S. and various other countries, including China, with respect to trade policies, treaties, government regulations and tariffs.

Changes could potentially disrupt our existing supply chains and impose additional costs on our business, including costs with respect to raw materials upon which our business depends. Furthermore, if tariffs, trade restrictions or trade barriers are placed on products such as ours by foreign governments, it could cause us to raise prices for our products, which may result in the loss of customers. If we are unable to pass along increased costs to our customers, our margins could be adversely affected. Additionally, it is possible that further tariffs may be imposed that could affect imports of APIs and other materials used in our products, or our business may be adversely impacted by retaliatory trade measures taken by other countries, including restricted access to APIs or other materials used in our products, causing us to raise prices or make changes to our products. Further, the continued threats of tariffs, trade restrictions and trade barriers could have a generally disruptive impact on the global economy and, therefore, negatively impact our sales. Given the volatility and uncertainty regarding the scope and duration of these tariffs and other aspects of U.S. international trade policy, the impact on our operations and results is uncertain and could be significant. Further governmental action related to tariffs, additional taxes, regulatory changes or other retaliatory trade measures could occur in the future. Any of these factors could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

The DEA could limit the availability of active ingredients used in many of our products.

The DEA limits the availability of the active ingredients used in many of our current products and products in development, as well as the production and distribution of these products, and, as a result, our procurement, production, and distribution quotas may not be sufficient to meet commercial demand or complete clinical trials.

The DEA regulates chemical compounds as Schedule I, II, III, IV or V substances, with Schedule I substances considered to present the highest risk of substance abuse and Schedule V substances the lowest risk. The active ingredients in some of our current products and products in development, including, without limitation, hydromorphone, methadone, phentermine, phendimetrazine and oxycodone, are listed by the DEA as Scheduled substances under the Controlled Substances Act of 1970. Consequently, their manufacture, shipment, storage, sale, and use are subject to a high degree of regulation. Furthermore, the DEA limits the availability of the active ingredients used in many of our current products and products in development and we and/or our contract customers and suppliers, must annually apply to the DEA for procurement quotas in order to obtain and distribute these substances. As a result, our procurement and production quotas may not be sufficient to meet commercial demand or to complete any clinical trials we may conduct. Moreover, the DEA may adjust these quotas from time to time during the year, although the DEA has substantial discretion in whether or not to make such adjustments. Any delay or refusal by the DEA in establishing our quotas, or modification of our quotas, for controlled substances could delay or result in the stoppage of our clinical trials or product launches or could cause trade inventory disruptions for those products that already been launched, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial position, cash flows and stock price.

We received a CRL from the FDA indicating that the SequestOx™ NDA is not ready for approval.

We received a Complete Response Letter from the FDA that indicated that our SequestOx™ NDA is not ready for approval in its present form. We have paused further development of this product and we cannot assure that development will restart. If we are unable to obtain approval for SequestOx™ or if we incur significant costs or delays in obtaining such approval, our return on investment in SequestOx™ will be materially adversely affected.

In July 2016, the FDA issued a Complete Response Letter, or CRL, regarding the NDA. The CRL stated that the review cycle for the SequestOx™ NDA is complete and the application is not ready for approval in its present form. On December 21, 2016, we met with the FDA for an end-of-review meeting to discuss steps that we could take to obtain approval of SequestOx™. Based on the FDA response, we believe there is a path forward to address the issues cited in the CRL, with such path forward including modification of the SequestOx™ formulation, and the successful completion of in vitro and in vivo studies. If we are unable to modify the formulation or if we are unable to successfully complete the required studies, we will not meet the requirements specified by the FDA for resubmission of the NDA. Furthermore, there can be no assurances given that the FDA will eventually approve our NDA. If we are unable to obtain approval for SequestOx™, we will be unable to commercialize the product. Furthermore, in the event that the Company does receive marketing approval for SequestOx™, there can be no assurances of the Company realizing future revenues or profits related to this product, or that any such future revenues and profits would be in amounts that provide adequate return on the significant investments made to secure this marketing authorization. The Company has currently paused further development of SequestOx™ due to the prohibitive cost of such and attendant risks related thereto.

Regulatory factors may cause us to be unable to manufacture products or face interruptions in our manufacturing process.

Our manufacturing operations as well as our suppliers’ manufacturing operations are subject to establishment registration by the FDA and periodic inspections by the FDA to assure compliance regarding the manufacturing of our products. If we or our suppliers do not maintain the current registrations or if we or our partners receive notices of manufacturing and quality-related observations following inspections by the FDA, our operating results would be materially negatively impacted.

Our facilities, as well as those of applicable suppliers, rely on maintaining current FDA, and DEA if applicable, registration and other license to produce and develop generic drugs and raw materials used in such operations. If we, or one of our suppliers does not successfully renew and maintain current FDA, DEA and other required licenses, our operations and financial results would be negatively impacted. We and our suppliers are subject to periodic inspection by the FDA, DEA and other regulatory agencies, as applicable, to assure regulatory compliance regarding the manufacture and distribution of pharmaceutical products and raw materials. These regulatory bodies impose stringent mandatory requirements on the manufacture and distribution of pharmaceutical products to ensure their safety and efficacy. If we or any of our third party suppliers receive notices of manufacturing and quality-related observations and are unable to satisfactorily resolve the issues and observations identified in a timely fashion, there could be a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flow and stock price.

Agreements between branded pharmaceutical companies and generic pharmaceutical companies are facing increased government scrutiny in the United States and Internationally.

There are numerous and continuing litigation in which generic companies challenge the validity or enforceability of an innovator products patents and/or the applicability of such patents to a generic applicant’s products. Settlement of such litigation is a common outcome, with review of such agreements by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (the “FTC”) and the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice (the “DOJ”) being required by law. The FTC has stated publicly its view that some of these settlement agreements violate antitrust laws and has commenced actions against the branded and generic companies that are parties to these agreements. Accordingly, in the event of the Company being party to a settlement agreement, either as the branded, innovator product owner, or as the generic applicant, we may receive formal or informal requests from the FTC or DOJ for information about a settlement agreement and there is a risk of the FTC or DOJ alleging a violation of antitrust laws and commencing an action against us.

Any such action could have an adverse effect on the Company’s business operations and financial condition.

Litigation and Liability Related Risks

We may not be able to obtain or maintain adequate insurance coverages.

The cost of insurance, including directors and officer insurance, workers compensation, product liability, truck and general liability insurance have increase significantly in recent years and may continue to increase in the future. We have increased deductibles and/or decreased coverages to mitigate some of these costs. These insurance premium increases, as well as our increased risk due to reduced coverage and increased deductibles could have an adverse material effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows and stock price.

We may not have and may be unable to obtain or maintain in the future insurance, on acceptable terms, that provide adequate coverage against potential liabilities or other losses, such as the cost of a recall or defense against claims, if any claim is brought against us, for any reason, regardless of the merits, success or failure of such claim. In the past year, as a result of product liability and securities litigation in the general marketplace, and a threatened claim of action against us in relation to the shareholder vote conducted in December 2019, our insurance premiums have increased significantly, while also providing no greater, and in most cases, lower levels of coverage. The significant premium increases experienced were prior to, and accordingly did not consider, the impact of the COVID-19 global pandemic on the legal and litigation environment in which we and all other companies operate.

The amount of our insurance coverage is accordingly limited by our financial resources and greatly impacted by the significant premium increases of the past year and reasonably expected further increases in the near to mid-term due to the global pandemic. Furthermore, even where claims are submitted to insurance carriers for defenses and indemnity that are within coverage limits, there can be no assurance that such claims will be fully covered by insurance or that the indemnitors or insurers will remain financially viable to provide reimbursement consistent with coverage maintained.

Any failure by us, to obtain sufficient insurance coverage, with reimbursement of claims being provided and generate sufficient cash flow, if needed, above insurance coverage, to pay amounts due in relation to potential claims, will have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flow and ability to operate as a going concern.

Litigation, product liability claims, product recalls, government investigations and other significant legal proceedings are common in the pharmaceutical industry.

Litigation, product liability claims, other significant legal proceedings, government investigations and product recalls are common in the pharmaceutical industry and can be protracted and expensive and could delay and/or prevent entry of our products into the market, which, in turn, could have a material adverse effect on our business.

As a business that operates in the pharmaceutical industry, we are inherently exposed to significant potential risks from lawsuits, product liability claims, patent and proprietary rights claims, other significant proceedings, government investigations or product recalls, including, without limitation, such matters associated with the testing, manufacturing, marketing and sale of our products. While no such judgements have been made against us to date, some plaintiffs have received substantial damage awards or settlements against other healthcare companies based upon various legal theories, including, without limitation, claims for injuries allegedly caused by use of their products. Our business continues to be inherently exposed to the risk of being subject to product liability cases, as well as other significant legal proceedings and government investigations.

For example, we have been a manufacturer of prescription opioid medications in the past, and while we have not been subject to lawsuits, other manufacturers of such products, as well as distributors and other sellers of such medications, have been subjects of subject of lawsuits and have received subpoenas and other requests for information from various federal, state and local government agencies regarding the sale, marketing and/or distribution of prescription opioid medications. Numerous claims against opioid manufacturers, have been and may continue to be filed by or on behalf of states, counties, cities, Native American tribes, other government-related persons or entities, hospitals, health systems, unions, health and welfare funds, other third-party payers and/or individuals. In these cases, plaintiffs seek various remedies, including without limitation declaratory and/or injunctive relief; compensatory, punitive and/or treble damages; restitution, disgorgement, civil penalties, abatement, attorneys’ fees, costs and/or other relief. Settlement demands may seek significant monetary and other remedies, or otherwise be on terms that would result in material adverse effects on our business and ability to operate as a going concern. The precedent of awards against and settlements by our competitors could also incentivize parties to bring additional claims against us. In addition to the risks of direct expenditures for defense costs, settlements and/or judgments in connection with these claims, proceedings and investigations, there is a possibility of loss of revenues, injunctions and disruption of business. Furthermore, we and other manufacturers of prescription opioid medications have been, and will likely continue to be, subject to negative publicity and press, which could harm our brand and the demand for our products. In addition, current or future regulatory and legislative proposals could impact us and other manufacturers of prescription opioid medications. See the risk factor “Our business and financial condition may be adversely affected by legislation” for more information.

In addition, our current and former products may cause or appear to cause serious adverse side effects or potentially dangerous drug interactions if misused or improperly prescribed or as a result of faulty surgical technique. Any failure to effectively identify, analyze, report and protect adverse event data and/or to fully comply with relevant laws, rules and regulations around adverse event reporting could expose the Company to legal proceedings, penalties, fines and/or reputational damage.

Also, through the use of social media, plaintiff’s attorneys have a wide variety of tools to advertise their services and solicit new clients for litigation, including using judgments and settlements obtained in litigation against us or other pharmaceutical companies as an advertising tool. For these or other reasons, any significant product liability or mass tort litigation in which we are a defendant could have a larger number of plaintiffs than such actions have seen historically and we could also see an increase in the number of cases filed against us because of the increasing use of widespread and media-varied advertising. Furthermore, a ruling against other pharmaceutical companies in product liability or mass tort litigation in which we are not a defendant could have a negative impact on pending litigation where we are a defendant.

In addition, in certain circumstances, such as in the case of products that do not meet approved specifications or for which subsequent data demonstrate such products may be unsafe, ineffective or misused, it may be necessary for us to initiate voluntary or mandatory recalls or withdraw such products from the market. Any such recall or withdrawal could result in adverse publicity, costs connected to the recall and loss of revenue. Adverse publicity could also result in an increased number of additional product liability claims, whether or not these claims have a basis in scientific fact. See the risk factor “Public concern over abuse of opioids could negatively affect our business” for more information.

We are also inherently exposed to litigation concerning patents and proprietary rights which can be protracted and expensive. Companies routinely bring litigation against applicants and allege patent infringement or other violations of intellectual property rights as the basis for filing suit against an applicant. Elite develops, owns, and/or manufactures generic and branded pharmaceutical products and such drug products may be subject to such litigation. Litigation often involves significant expense and can delay or prevent introduction or sale of our products.

There may also be situations where we use our business judgment and decide to market and sell products, notwithstanding the fact that allegations of patent infringement(s) have not been finally resolved by the courts. The risk involved in doing so can be substantial because the remedies available to the owner of a patent for infringement include, among other things, damages measured by the profits lost by the patent owner and not by the profits earned by the infringer. In the case of a willful infringement, the definition of which is subjective, such damages may be trebled. Moreover, because of the discount pricing typically involved with bioequivalent products, patented brand products generally realize a substantially higher profit margin than bioequivalent products. An adverse decision in a case such as this or in other similar litigation could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial position and results of operations and could cause the market value of our Common Stock to decline.

If we are found liable in any lawsuits, including patent infringement, violation of proprietary rights, product liability claims or actions related to our manufacture, sales, marketing or pricing practices or the sale, marketing and/or distribution of prescription opioid medications, or if we are subject to government investigations or product recalls, it could result in the imposition of damages, including punitive damages, fines, reputational harm, civil lawsuits, criminal penalties, interruptions of business, modification of business practices, equitable remedies and other sanctions against us or our personnel as well as significant legal and other costs. We may also voluntarily settle cases even if we believe that we have meritorious defenses because of the significant legal and other costs that may be required to defend such actions. Any judgments, claims, settlements and related costs could be well in excess of any applicable insurance. As a result, we may experience significant negative impacts on our operations. To satisfy judgments or settlements, we also may need to seek financing, which may not be available on terms acceptable to us, or at all, when required. Judgments also could cause defaults under our debt agreements and/or restrictions on our product use and we could incur losses as a result. Any of the risks above could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows and ability to operate as a going concern.

The occurrence or possibility of any such result may cause us to pursue one or more significant corporate transactions as well as other remedial measures, including internal reorganizations, restructuring activities, strategic corporate alignments, cost saving initiatives or asset sales. See the risk factor “Our ability to fund our operations, maintain liquidity and meet our financing obligations is reliant on our operations, which are subject to significant risks and uncertainties” for more information. Likewise, any internal reorganizations, restructuring activities, strategic corporate alignments, cost-saving initiatives or asset sales may be complex, could entail significant costs and charges or could otherwise negatively impact shareholder value and there can be no assurance that we will be able to accomplish any of these alternatives on terms acceptable to us, or at all, or that they will result in their intended benefits.

We also may incur significant liability if it is determined that we are promoting or have in the past promoted the “off-label” use of drugs. In jurisdictions including, without limitation, the United States, a company is not permitted to promote drugs for uses that are not described in the product’s labelling and that differ from those that were approved or cleared by the FDA. Such users are commonly referred to as “off-label uses”. Under what is known as the “practice of medicine”, physicians and other healthcare practitioners may prescribe drug products for off-label or unapproved uses. While the FDA does not regulate a physician’s choice of medications, treatments, or product uses, the FFDCA and FDA regulations significantly restrict permissible communications on the subject of off-label uses of drug products by pharmaceutical companies. The FDA, FTC, the Office of the Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”), the DOJ and various state Attorneys General actively enforce laws and regulations that prohibit the promotion of off-label uses. A company that is found to have improperly promoted off-label uses may be subject to significant liability, including civil fines, criminal fines and penalties, civil damages, exclusion from federal funded healthcare programs and potential liability under the federal False Claims Act and any applicable state false claims act. Conduct giving rise to such liability could also form the basis for private civil litigation by third-party payers or other persons claiming to be harmed by such conduct.

Notwithstanding the regulatory restrictions on off-label promotion, the FDA’s regulations and judicial case law allows companies to engage in some forms of truthful, non-misleading and non-promotional speech concerning the off-label use of products. Elite believes it and its marketing partners comply with these restrictions.

Nonetheless, the FDA, HHS, DOJ, and/or state Attorneys General, and qui tam relators may take the position that the Company is not in compliance with such requirements, and if such non-compliance is proven, the consequences of such may have an adverse material effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows and stock price.

We are subject to various fraud and abuse laws which could expose us to criminal sanctions, civil penalties, contractual damages, reputational harm and diminished profits.

Our activities are subject to various federal and state fraud and abuse laws, including, without limitation, the federal Anti-Kickback Statute, the federal civil False Claims Act, and laws and regulations pertaining to limitations on and reporting of healthcare provider payments (physician sunshine laws). These laws and regulations are interpreted and enforced by various federal, state and local authorities including CMS, the Office of Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the U.S. Department of Justice, individual U.S. Attorney offices within the Department of Justice, and state and local governments. These laws include:

Violations of any of these laws or any other governmental regulations that may apply to us, may subject us to significant civil, criminal and administrative sanctions including penalties, damages, fines, imprisonment, and exclusion from government funded healthcare programs, such as Medicare and Medicaid, and/or adverse publicity. Moreover, government entities and private litigants have asserted claims under state consumer protection statutes against pharmaceutical companies for alleged false or misleading statements in connection with the marketing, promotion and/or sale of pharmaceutical products, including state investigations and litigation by certain government entities regarding the marketing of opioid products.

Our products contain controlled substances which may subject us to increased litigation risk and regulation.

Some of our current products and products under development contain controlled substances. Misuse or abuse of such drugs can lead to physical or other hard. The FDA and/or the DEA may impose new regulations concerning the manufacture, storage, transportation, distribution, and sale of prescription narcotics. Such regulations may include new labelling requirements, the development and implementation of a formal REMS, restrictions on prescription and sale of such products and mandatory reformulation in order to make abuse of such products more difficult. In 2007, Congress passed legislation authorizing the FDA to require companies to undertake post-approval studies in order to assess known or signaled potential serious safety risks and to make any labelling changes necessary to address safety risks. Congress also empowered the FDA to require companies to formulate REMS to confirm a drug’s benefits exceed its risks. In 2011, the FDA issued letters to manufacturers of long-acting and extended-release opioids requiring them to develop and submit to the FDA a post-market REMS plan to require that training be provided to prescribers of these products and that information is provided to prescribers that they can use in counselling patients on the risks and benefits of opioid drug use. Elite does not currently own a product that requires a REMS plan, but some of the products in our pipeline may require a REMS plan. The federal government has also released a comprehensive action plan to reduce prescription drug abuse, which may include proposed legislation to amended existing controlled substances laws to require healthcare practitioners who request DEA registration to prescribe controlled substances to receive training on opioid prescribing practices as a condition of registration. In addition, state health departments and boards of pharmacy have authority to regulate distribution and may modify their regulations with respect to prescription narcotics in an attempt to curb abuse.

Mandatory REMS programs could increase the cost, burden and liability associated with the commercialization of certain products.

The FDA has imposed a class-wide REMS on all IR, ER and long acting (“LA”) opioid drug products (known as the Opioid Analgesic REMS). The FDA continually evaluates whether the REMS program is meeting its goal of ensuring that the benefit of these drugs continue to outweigh their risks, and whether the goals or elements of the program should be modified. If the FDA determines that additional measures are necessary, the modification of the Opioid Analgesic REMS to impose additional or more burdensome requirements could increase the costs associated with marketing opioid products and/or reduce the willingness of healthcare providers to prescribe those products, both which would have a material adverse effect on the ability to successfully commercializing, or to generate sufficient revenue from, such products.

Illegal distribution and third party sale of counterfeit versions of our products could have a detrimental effect on our reputation and business.

Third parties could illegally distribute and sell counterfeit versions of our products, which do not meet the rigorous manufacturing and testing standards that our products undergo. Counterfeit products are frequently unsafe or ineffective and can be life-threatening. Counterfeit medicines may contain harmful substances, the wrong dose of the active pharmaceutical ingredient or no active pharmaceutical ingredients at all. However, to distributors and users, counterfeit products may be visually indistinguishable from the authentic version.

Reports of adverse reactions to counterfeit drugs or increased levels of counterfeiting could materially affect patient confidence in the authentic product. It is possible that adverse events caused by unsafe counterfeit products will mistakenly be attributed to the authentic product. In addition, thefts of inventory at warehouses, plants or while in-transit, which are not properly stored, and which are sold through unauthorized channels could adversely impact patient safety, our reputation, and our business.

Public loss of confidence in the integrity of pharmaceutical products as a result of counterfeiting or theft could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Structural and Organizational Risks

Provisions of our Articles of Incorporation could deter a change of management and discourage offers to acquire us.

Provisions of our Articles of Incorporation and By-Laws law may make it more difficult for someone to acquire control of us or for our shareholders to remove existing management and might discourage a third party from offering to acquire us, even if a change in control or in Management would be beneficial to our shareholders. For example, as discussed above, our Articles of Incorporation allows us to issue shares of preferred stock without any vote or further action by our shareholders. Our Board of Directors has the authority to fix and determine the relative rights and preferences of preferred stock. Our Board of Directors also has the authority to issue preferred stock without further shareholder approval. As a result, our Board of Directors could authorize the issuance of a series of preferred stock that would grant to holders the preferred right to our assets upon liquidation, the right to receive dividend payments before dividends are distributed to the holders of common stock and the right to the redemption of the shares, together with a premium, prior to the redemption of our common stock. In this regard, on November 15, 2013, we entered into a Shareholder Rights Plan and, under the Rights Plan, our Board of Directors declared a dividend distribution of one Right for each outstanding share of our common stock and one right for each share of Common Stock into which any of our outstanding Preferred Stock is convertible, to shareholders of record at the close of business on that date. Each Right entitles the registered holder to purchase from us one “Unit” consisting of one one-millionth (1/1,000,000) of a share of Series H Junior Participating preferred stock, at a purchase price of $2.10 per Unit, subject to adjustment, and may be redeemed prior to November 15, 2023, the expiration date, at $0.000001 per Right, unless earlier redeemed by the Company. The Rights generally are not transferable apart from the common stock and will not be exercisable unless and until a person or group acquires or commences a tender or exchange offer to acquire, beneficial ownership of 15% or more of our common stock. However, for Mr. Hakim, our Chief Executive Officer, the Rights Plan’s the 15% threshold excludes shares beneficially owned by him as of November 15, 2013 and all shares issuable to him pursuant to his employment agreement and the Mikah Note. Our By-Laws provide for the classification of our Board of Directors into three classes.

Intellectual Property Related Risks

Our ability to protect intellectual property rights and successfully defend third party allegations of intellectual property infringement is vital to our business and uncertain.

Our success depends on our ability to protect our current and future products and to defend our intellectual property rights. If we fail to protect our intellectual property adequately, competitors may manufacture and market products similar to ours.

We currently hold six patents. We intend to file further patent applications in the future. We cannot be certain that our pending patent applications will result in the issuance of patents. If patents are issued, third parties may sue us to challenge our patent protection, and although we know of no reason why they should prevail, it is possible that they could. In addition to modification or revocation of patents in legal proceedings, issued patents may later be modified or revoked by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office or by analogous foreign offices. It is likewise possible that our patent rights may not prevent or limit our present and future competitors from developing, using or commercializing products that are similar or functionally equivalent to our products.

In addition, we may be required to obtain licenses to patents, or other proprietary rights of third parties, in connection with the development and use of our products and technologies as they relate to other persons’ technologies. At such time as we discover a need to obtain any such license, we will need to establish whether we will be able to obtain such a license on favorable terms, if at all. The failure to obtain the necessary licenses or other rights could preclude the sale, manufacture or distribution of our products.

We rely particularly on trade secrets, unpatented proprietary expertise and continuing innovation that we seek to protect, in part, by entering into confidentiality agreements with licensees, suppliers, employees, and consultants. We cannot provide assurance that these agreements will not be breached or circumvented. We also cannot be certain that there will be adequate remedies in the event of a breach. Disputes may arise concerning the ownership of intellectual property or the applicability of confidentiality agreements. We cannot be sure that our trade secrets and proprietary technology will not otherwise be obtained by other entities, such as government or regulatory authorities, or become known, obtained, or independently developed by our competitors or by other entities through means beyond our control. We also cannot be sure that, if patents are not issued with respect to products arising from research, we will be able to maintain the confidentiality of information relating to these products. In addition, efforts to ensure our intellectual property rights can be costly, time-consuming, and/or ultimately unsuccessful.

Furthermore, companies that produce branded pharmaceutical products routinely bring litigation against ANDA or similar applicants that seek regulatory approval to manufacture and market generic forms of branded products, alleging patent infringement or other violations of intellectual property rights. Patent holders may also bring patent infringement suits against companies that are currently marketing and selling approved generic products. Litigation often involves significant expense. Additionally, if the patents of others are held valid, enforceable and infringed by our current products or future product candidates, we would, unless we could obtain a license from the patent holder, need to delay selling our corresponding generic product and, if we are already selling our product, cease selling and potentially destroy existing product stock. Additionally, we could be required to pay monetary damages or royalties to license proprietary rights from third parties and we may not be able to obtain such licenses on commercially reasonable terms or at all.

There may be situations in which we may make business and legal judgments to market and sell products that are subject to claims of alleged patent infringement prior to final resolution of those claims by the courts based upon our belief that such patents are invalid, unenforceable or are not infringed by our marketing and sale of such products. This is commonly referred to in the pharmaceutical industry as an “at-risk” launch. The risk involved in an at-risk launch can be substantial because, if a patent holder ultimately prevails against us, the remedies available to such holder may include, among other things, damages calculated based on the profits lost by the patent holder, which can be significantly higher than the profits we make from selling the generic version of the product. Moreover, if a court determines that such infringement is willful, the damages could be subject to trebling. We could face substantial damages from adverse court decisions in such matters. We could also be at risk for the value of such inventory that we are unable to market or sell.

The occurrence of any of the above could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flow and stock price.

Risks Related to our Common Shares

Dilution from issuance of shares to Lincoln Park, Directors, Employees, Consultants or upon exercise of warrants and options or the perception that dilution may occur could cause the price per share of common stock to fall.

On July 8, 2020, we entered into the Purchase Agreement with Lincoln Park, pursuant to which Lincoln Park has committed to purchase up to $25,000,000 of our common stock. Concurrently with the execution of the Purchase Agreement, we issued 5,975,857 shares of our common stock to Lincoln Park as an initial fee for its commitment to purchase shares of our common stock under the Purchase Agreement. Furthermore, for each additional purchase by Lincoln Park, additional commitment shares in commensurate amounts up to a total of 5,975,857 shares will be issued based upon the relative proportion of the aggregate amount of $25,000,000 purchased by Lincoln Park. The purchase shares that may be sold pursuant to the Purchase Agreement may be sold by us to Lincoln Park at our discretion from time to time over a 36-month period commencing after July 27, 2020 and expiring on August 1, 2023. The purchase price for the shares that we may sell to Lincoln Park under the Purchase Agreement will fluctuate based on the price of our common stock. Depending on market liquidity at the time, sales of such shares may cause the trading price of our common stock to fall.

We generally have the right to control the timing and amount of any sales of our shares to Lincoln Park. Additional sales of our common stock, if any, to Lincoln Park will depend upon market conditions and other factors to be determined by us. Lincoln Park may ultimately purchase all, some, or none of the shares of our common stock that may be sold pursuant to the Purchase Agreement and, after it has acquired shares, Lincoln Park may sell all, some or none of those shares.

In addition, as of March 31, 2022, there were outstanding warrants to purchase an aggregate of approximately 79 million shares of Common Stock at a cash exercise price of $0.1521 per share, vested options to purchase an aggregate of approximately 5.2 million shares at a weighted average cash exercise price of $0.13. Additional shares of Common Stock may be issuable as a result of anti-dilution provisions in the outstanding warrants, with such provisions excluding any shares issued to Lincoln Park from consideration .

As a result of the above discussed potential issuance of securities, such issuances by us could result in substantial dilution to the interests of other holders of our common stock. Additionally, the sale of a substantial number of shares of our common stock to Lincoln Park or pursuant to the conversion or exercise of outstanding shares of warrants, or the anticipation of such issuances, could make it more difficult for us to sell equity or equity-related securities in the future at a time and at a price that we might otherwise wish to effect sales.

Furthermore, pursuant to the Company’s policies relating to the compensation of Directors, 2/3 of all director fees are paid via the issuance of shares of Common Stock, with such shares being valued at the simple average of the closing price of the Company’s Common Stock for each day in the period for which the director fees were incurred. In addition, members of the Company’s management, certain employees and consultants receive a portion of their salaries or compensation via the issuance of shares Common Stock, with such shares being valued by the same method as that used for the shares issued in payment of director fees.

The issuance of these shares is dilutive to holders of our Common Stock, and the subsequent sale of these shares, or the perception that the sale of these shares may occur, could cause the price of our common stock to fall.

Our common stock is a penny stock, quoted on the OTC bulletin board, with rules in place that could limit trading and liquidity of our shares, increased transaction costs that could adversely affect our price per share.

Our common stock is a “low-priced” security or “penny stock” under rules promulgated under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). In accordance with these rules, broker-dealers participating in transactions in low-priced securities must first deliver a risk disclosure document which describes the risks associated with such stocks, the broker-dealer’s duties in selling the stock, the customer’s rights and remedies and certain market and other information. Furthermore, the broker-dealer must make a suitability determination approving the customer for low-priced stock transactions based on the customer’s financial situation, investment experience and objectives. Broker-dealers must also disclose these restrictions in writing to the customer, obtain specific written consent from the customer, and provide monthly account statements to the customer. The effect of these restrictions will likely decrease the willingness of broker-dealers to make a market in our Common Stock, will decrease liquidity of our Common Stock and will increase transaction costs for sales and purchases of our Common Stock as compared to other securities.

In addition, our Common stock is quoted on the Over-the-Counter Bulletin Board (the “OTCBB”) which is a regulated quotation service that displays real-time quotes, last sale prices and volume limitations in over-the-counter securities. Because trades and quotations on the OTCBB involve a manual process, the market information for such securities cannot be guaranteed. In addition, quote information, or even firm quotes, may not be available. The manual execution process may delay order processing and intervening price fluctuations may result in the failure of a limit order to execute or the execution of a market order at a significantly different price. Execution of trades, execution reporting and the delivery of legal trade confirmations may be delayed significantly. Consequently, one may not be able to sell shares of our Common Stock at the optimum trading prices.

When fewer shares of a security are being traded on the OTCBB, volatility of prices may increase, and price movement may outpace the ability to deliver accurate quote information. Lower trading volumes in a security may result in a lower likelihood of an individual’s orders being executed, and current prices may differ significantly from the price one was quoted by the OTCBB at the time of the order entry. Orders for OTCBB securities may be cancelled or edited like orders for other securities. All requests to change or cancel an order must be submitted to, received, and processed by the OTCBB. Due to the manual order processing involved in handling OTCBB trades, order processing and reporting may be delayed, and an individual may not be able to cancel or edit his order. Consequently, one may not be able to sell shares of Common Stock at the optimum trading prices.

The dealer’s spread (the difference between the bid and ask prices) may be large and may result in substantial losses to the seller of securities on the OTCBB if the Common Stock or other security must be sold immediately. Further, purchasers of securities may incur an immediate “paper” loss due to the price spread. Moreover, dealers trading on the OTCBB may not have a bid price for securities bought and sold through the OTCBB. Due to the foregoing, demand for securities that are traded through the OTCBB may be decreased or eliminated.

Shareholder activism could negatively affect us.

In recent years, shareholder activism involving corporate governance, fiduciary duties of Directors and Officers, strategic direction and operations has become increasingly prevalent. If we become the subject of such shareholder activism, their demands may disrupt our business and divert the attention of our management, Board and employees. Also, we may incur substantial costs, including legal fees and other expenses, related to such activist shareholder matters. Perceived uncertainties resulting from such activist shareholder matters may result in loss of potential business opportunities with our current and potential customers and business partners, be exploited by our competitors and make attracting and retaining qualified personnel more difficult. In addition, such shareholder activism may cause significant fluctuations in our share price based on temporary or speculative market perceptions, uncertainties or other factors that do not necessarily reflect the underlying fundamentals and prospects of our business.

The effects of shareholder activism pursued against the Company could have an adverse material effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows and stock price.

Our stock price has been volatile.

The market price for the publicly traded stock of pharmaceutical companies is generally characterized by high volatility. There has been significant volatility in the market prices for our Common Stock. For the twelve months ended March 31, 2022, the closing sale price on the OTC Bulletin Board (“OTCBB”) of our Common Stock fluctuated from a high of $0.06 per share to a low of $0.03 per share. The price per share of our Common Stock may not exceed or even remain at current levels in the future. The market price of our Common Stock may be affected by a number of factors, including, without limitation:

Capital raises through sales of securities may cause substantial dilution to existing shareholders.

Any additional financing that involves the further sale of our securities could cause existing holders of our Common Stock to experience substantial dilution. On the other hand, if we incurred debt, we would be subject to risks associated with indebtedness, including the risk that interest rates might fluctuate, and cash flow would be insufficient to pay principal and interest on such indebtedness.

Issuance of shares of common or preferred stock could make achieving a change of control more difficult.

The issuance of additional shares of our Common Stock, including those shares issued pursuant to conversion of convertible preferred shares, or the issuance of shares of an additional series of preferred stock could be used to make a change of control of us more difficult and expensive. Under certain circumstances, such shares could be used to create impediments to, or frustrate persons seeking to cause, a takeover or to gain control of us. Such shares could be sold to purchasers who might side with our Board of Directors in opposing a takeover bid that the Board of Directors determines not to be in the best interests of our shareholders. It might also have the effect of discouraging an attempt by another person or entity through the acquisition of a substantial number of shares of our Common Stock to acquire control of us with a view to consummating a merger, sale of all or part of our assets, or a similar transaction, since the issuance of new shares could be used to dilute the stock ownership of such person or entity.

We have no plans to pay regular dividends or conduct share purchases.

We do not intend to pay any cash dividends either currently or in the foreseeable future on our common shares. Additionally, we do not intend to conduct share repurchases either currently or in the foreseeable future.