ABTI Alterola Biotech Inc (PK)

RISK FACTORS

An investment in our securities involves a high degree of risk. In addition to the other information contained in this prospectus, prospective investors should carefully consider the following risks before investing in our securities. If any of the following risks actually occur, as well as other risks not currently known to us or that we currently consider immaterial, our business, operating results and financial condition could be materially adversely affected. As a result, the trading price of our common stock could decline, and you may lose all or part of your investment in our common stock. The risks discussed below also include forward-looking statements, and our actual results may differ substantially from those discussed in these forward-looking statements. See “Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” in this prospectus. In assessing the risks below, you should also refer to the other information contained in this prospectus, including the financial statements and the related notes, before deciding to purchase any of our securities.

Risk Related to Covid 19

Our business and future operations may be adversely affected by epidemics and pandemics, such as the recent COVID-19 outbreak.

We may face risks related to health epidemics and pandemics or other outbreaks of communicable diseases, which could result in a widespread health crisis that could adversely affect general commercial activity and the economies and financial markets of the world as a whole. For example, the outbreak of COVID-19, which began in China, has been declared by the World Health Organization to be a “pandemic,” has spread across the globe, including the United States of America. A health epidemic or pandemic or other outbreak of communicable diseases, such as the current COVID-19 pandemic, poses the risk that we, or potential business partners may be disrupted or prevented from conducting business activities for certain periods of time, the durations of which are uncertain, and may otherwise experience significant impairments of business activities, including due to, among other things, operational shutdowns or suspensions that may be requested or mandated by national or local governmental authorities or self-imposed by us, our users or other business partners. For example, due to COVID-19, we have been unable to travel across the relevant jurisdictions pertaining to our business and foresee this as an ongoing issue. While it is not possible at this time to estimate the full impact that COVID-19 could have on our business, potential users or other potential business partners, the continued spread of COVID-19, the measures taken by the local and federal government, actions taken to protect employees, and the impact of the pandemic on various business activities could adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition. 

 Risks Relating to Our Financial Condition

There are doubts about our ability to continue as a going concern.

We have generated no revenue, and have an accumulated deficit of $1,649,936 through June 30, 2021. These factors raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern.

There can be no assurance that sufficient funds required during the next year or thereafter will be generated from operations or that funds will be available from external sources, such as debt or equity financings or other potential sources. The lack of additional capital resulting from the inability to generate cash flow from operations, or to raise capital from external sources would force us to substantially curtail or cease operations and would, therefore, have a material adverse effect on its business. Furthermore, there can be no assurance that any such required funds, if available, will be available on attractive terms or that they will not have a significant dilutive effect on our existing stockholders.

We seek to overcome the circumstances that impact our ability to remain a going concern through a combination of the growth of revenues, with interim cash flow deficiencies being addressed through additional equity and debt financing. We anticipate raising additional funds through public or private financing, strategic relationships or other arrangements in the near future to support its business operations; however, we may not have commitments from third parties for a sufficient amount of additional capital. We cannot be certain that any such financing will be available on acceptable terms, or at all, and our failure to raise capital when needed could limit our ability to continue operations. Our ability to obtain additional funding will determine its ability to continue as a going concern. Failure to secure additional financing in a timely manner and on favorable terms would have a material adverse effect on our financial performance, results of operations and stock price and require us to curtail or cease operations, sell off our assets, seek protection from our creditors through bankruptcy proceedings, or otherwise. Furthermore, additional equity financing may be dilutive to the holders of our common stock, and debt financing, if available, may involve restrictive covenants, and strategic relationships, if necessary, to raise additional funds, and may require that we relinquish valuable rights. 

Because we have a limited operating history, you may not be able to accurately evaluate our operations.

We have had limited operations to date. Therefore, we have a limited operating history upon which to evaluate the merits of investing in our company. Potential investors should be aware of the difficulties normally encountered by new companies and the high rate of failure of such enterprises. The likelihood of success must be considered in light of the problems, expenses, difficulties, complications and delays encountered in connection with the operations that we plan to undertake. These potential problems include, but are not limited to, unanticipated problems relating to the ability to generate sufficient cash flow to operate our business, and additional costs and expenses that may exceed current estimates. We expect to continue to incur significant losses into the foreseeable future. We recognize that if the effectiveness of our business plan is not forthcoming, we will not be able to continue business operations. There is no history upon which to base any assumption as to the likelihood that we will prove successful, and it is doubtful that we will generate any operating revenues or ever achieve profitable operations. If we are unsuccessful in addressing these risks, our business will most likely fail.

We are dependent on outside financing for continuation of our operations.

Because we have generated no revenues and currently operate at a loss, we are completely dependent on the continued availability of financing in order to continue our business operations. There can be no assurance that financing sufficient to enable us to continue our operations will be available to us in the future.

We will need additional funds to complete further development of our business plan to achieve a sustainable level where ongoing operations can be funded out of revenues. We anticipate that we must raise $25,000,000 for our operations for the next 12 months, and $81,000,000 for our initial clinical development program for each of the molecules and therapeutic indications. We will require further funding to fully implement our business plan to its fullest potential and achieve our growth plans. There is no assurance that any additional financing will be available or if available, on terms that will be acceptable to us.

Our failure to obtain future financing or to produce levels of revenue to meet our financial needs could result in our inability to continue as a going concern and, as a result, our investors could lose their entire investment. 

Our operating results may fluctuate, which could have a negative impact on our ability to grow our client base, establish sustainable revenues and succeed overall.

Our results of operations may fluctuate as a result of a number of factors, some of which are beyond our control including but not limited to:

As a result of these factors, we may not succeed in our business and we could go out of business.

As a growing company, we have yet to achieve a profit and may not achieve a profit in the near future, if at all.

We have not yet produced any revenues or profit and may not in the near future, if at all. We cannot be certain that we will be able to realize sufficient revenue to achieve profitability. Further, many of our competitors have a significantly larger industry presence and revenue stream but have yet to achieve profitability. Our ability to continue as a going concern is dependent upon raising capital from financing transactions, increasing revenue and keeping operating expenses below our revenue levels in order to achieve positive cash flows, none of which can be assured.

Risks Related with Management and Control Persons

We are dependent on the continued services of our Chairman and Chief Operating Officer and if we fail to keep them or fail to attract and retain qualified senior executive and key technical personnel, our business will not be able to expand.

We are dependent on the continued availability of Dominic Schiller and Hunter Land, and the availability of new employees to implement our business plans. The market for skilled employees is highly competitive, especially for employees in our industry. Although we expect that our planned compensation programs will be intended to attract and retain the employees required for us to be successful, there can be no assurance that we will be able to retain the services of all our key employees or a sufficient number to execute our plans, nor can there be any assurance we will be able to continue to attract new employees as required.

Our lack of adequate D&O insurance may also make it difficult for us to retain and attract talented and skilled directors and officers.

In the future we may be subject to additional litigation, including potential class action and stockholder derivative actions. Risks associated with legal liability are difficult to assess and quantify, and their existence and magnitude can remain unknown for significant periods of time. To date, we have not obtained directors and officers liability (“D&O”) insurance. Without adequate D&O insurance, the amounts we would pay to indemnify our officers and directors should they be subject to legal action based on their service to the Company could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations and liquidity. Furthermore, our lack of adequate D&O insurance may make it difficult for us to retain and attract talented and skilled directors and officers, which could adversely affect our business. 

Our personnel may voluntarily terminate their relationship with us at any time, and competition for qualified personnel is intense. The process of locating additional personnel with the combination of skills and attributes required to carry out our strategy could be lengthy, costly and disruptive.

If we lose the services of key personnel or fail to replace the services of key personnel who depart, we could experience a severe negative effect on our financial results and stock price. The loss of the services of any key personnel, marketing or other personnel or our failure to attract, integrate, motivate and retain additional key employees could have a material adverse effect on our business, operating and financial results and stock price

Our officers and directors have substantial control over us and our policies and will be able to influence corporate matters.

Our officers and directors presently beneficially own 60% of our common stock. They are able to exercise significant influence over all matters requiring approval by our stockholders, including the election of directors, the approval of significant corporate transactions, and any change of control of our company. They could prevent transactions, which would be in the best interests of the other shareholders. Our officers and directors’ interests may not necessarily be in the best interests of the shareholders in general.

The elimination of monetary liability against our directors, officers and employees under our Articles of Incorporation and the existence of indemnification rights to our directors, officers and employees may result in substantial expenditures by our Company and may discourage lawsuits against our directors, officers and employees.

Our Articles of Incorporation contain provisions that eliminate the liability of our directors for monetary damages to our Company and shareholders. Our bylaws also require us to indemnify our officers and directors. We may also have contractual indemnification obligations under our agreements with our directors, officers and employees. The foregoing indemnification obligations could result in our company incurring substantial expenditures to cover the cost of settlement or damage awards against directors, officers and employees that we may be unable to recoup. These provisions and resulting costs may also discourage our company from bringing a lawsuit against directors, officers and employees for breaches of their fiduciary duties, and may similarly discourage the filing of derivative litigation by our shareholders against our directors, officers and employees even though such actions, if successful, might otherwise benefit our Company and shareholders.

Our officers and directors have limited experience managing a public company.

Our officers and directors have limited managing a public company. Consequently, we may not be able to raise any funds or run our public company successfully. Our executive’s officer’s and director’s lack of experience of managing a public company could cause you to lose some or all of your investment.

Risks Relating to our Common Stock and Offering

We will likely conduct further offerings of our equity securities in the future, in which case your proportionate interest may become diluted.

We will likely be required to conduct equity offerings in the future to finance our current projects or to finance subsequent projects that we decide to undertake. If our common stock shares are issued in return for additional funds, the price per share could be lower than that paid by our current shareholders. We anticipate continuing to rely on equity sales of our common stock shares in order to fund our business operations. If we issue additional common stock shares or securities convertible into shares of our common stock, your percentage interest in us could become diluted.

Our common stock price may be volatile and could fluctuate widely in price, which could result in substantial losses for investors.

Our common stock is quoted on the OTCPink under the symbol, “ABTI.” The market price of our common stock is likely to be highly volatile and could fluctuate widely in price in response to various factors, many of which are beyond our control, including:

Because we have no revenues to date, you should consider any one of these factors to be material. Our stock price may fluctuate widely as a result of any of the above.

In addition, the securities markets have from time to time experienced significant price and volume fluctuations that are unrelated to the operating performance of particular companies. These market fluctuations may also materially and adversely affect the market price of our common stock.

Our existing stockholders may experience significant dilution from the sale of our common stock pursuant to the EMC2 Purchase Agreement.

The sale of our common stock to EMC2 in accordance with the Purchase Agreement may have a dilutive impact on our shareholders. As a result, the market price of our common stock could decline. In addition, the lower our stock price is at the time we exercise our put options, the more shares of our common stock we will have to issue to EMC2 in order to exercise a put under the Purchase Agreement. If our stock price decreases, then our existing shareholders would experience greater dilution for any given dollar amount raised through the offering.

The perceived risk of dilution may cause our stockholders to sell their shares, which may cause a decline in the price of our common stock. Moreover, the perceived risk of dilution and the resulting downward pressure on our stock price could encourage investors to engage in short sales of our common stock. By increasing the number of shares offered for sale, material amounts of short selling could further contribute to progressive price declines in our common stock.

The issuance of shares pursuant to the EMC2 Purchase Agreement may have significant dilutive effect.

Depending on the number of shares we issue pursuant to the EMC2 Purchase Agreement, it could have a significant dilutive effect upon our existing shareholders. Although the number of shares that we may issue pursuant to the Purchase Agreement will vary based on our stock price (the higher our stock price, the less shares we have to issue), there may be a potential dilutive effect to our shareholders, based on different potential future stock prices, if the full amount of the Purchase Agreement is realized. Dilution is based upon common stock put to EMC2 and the stock price discounted to 91% of the lowest sales price on the purchase date.

EMC2 will pay less than the then-prevailing market price of our common stock which could cause the price of our common stock to decline.

Our common stock to be issued under the EMC2 Purchase Agreement will be purchased at 91% of the lowest sales price on the purchase date. EMC2 has a financial incentive to sell our shares immediately upon receiving them to realize the profit between the discounted price and the market price. If EMC2 sells our shares, the price of our common stock may decrease. If our stock price decreases, EMC2 may have further incentive to sell such shares. Accordingly, the discounted sales price in the Purchase Agreement may cause the price of our common stock to decline.

We may not have access to the full amount under the Purchase Agreement.

At an assumed purchase price under the Purchase Agreement of $ 0.312 (equal to 91% of the lowest sales price on October 18, 2021, we will be able to receive up to $ 17,160,000 in gross proceeds, assuming the sale of the entire 55,000,000 purchase notice shares being registered hereunder pursuant to the Purchase Agreement. At an assumed purchase price of $0.312 under the Purchase Agreement, we would be required to register 345,641,026 additional shares of our common stock to obtain the balance of $ 107,840,000 of the total $125,000,000 under the Purchase Agreement. Due to the floating offering price, we are not able to determine the exact number of shares that we will issue under the Purchase Agreement.

Our ability to draw down funds and sell shares under the Purchase Agreement with EMC2 requires that the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part to be declared effective and continue to be effective. The registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part registers the resale of 55,000,000 shares issuable under the Purchase Agreement with EMC2, and our ability to sell any remaining shares issuable under the investment with EMC2 is subject to our ability to prepare and file one or more additional registration statements registering the resale of these shares. These registration statements may be subject to review and comment by the staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission and will require the consent of our independent registered public accounting firm. Therefore, the timing of effectiveness of these registration statements cannot be assured. The effectiveness of these registration statements is a condition precedent to our ability to sell all of the shares of our common stock to EMC2 under the Purchase Agreement. Even if we are successful in causing one or more registration statements registering the resale of some or all of the shares issuable under the purchase agreement with EMC2 to be declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission in a timely manner, we may not be able to sell the shares unless certain other conditions are met. For example, we might have to increase the number of our authorized shares in order to issue the shares to EMC2. Increasing the number of our authorized shares will require board and stockholder approval. Accordingly, because our ability to draw down any amounts under the Purchase Agreement with EMC2 is subject to a number of conditions, there is no guarantee that we will be able to draw down any portion or all of the proceeds of $125,000,000 under the investment with EMC2.

We have never declared or paid any cash dividends or distributions on our capital stock. And we do not anticipate paying any cash dividends on our common stock in the foreseeable future.

We have never declared or paid any cash dividends or distributions on our capital stock. We currently intend to retain our future earnings, if any, to support operations and to finance expansion and therefore we do not anticipate paying any cash dividends on our common stock in the foreseeable future.

The declaration, payment and amount of any future dividends will be made at the discretion of the board of directors, and will depend upon, among other things, the results of our operations, cash flows and financial condition, operating and capital requirements, and other factors as the board of directors considers relevant. There is no assurance that future dividends will be paid, and, if dividends are paid, there is no assurance with respect to the amount of any such dividend.

We may become involved in securities class action litigation that could divert management’s attention and harm our business.

The stock market in general, and the shares of early-stage companies in particular, have experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations. These fluctuations have often been unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of the companies involved. If these fluctuations occur in the future, the market price of our shares could fall regardless of our operating performance. In the past, following periods of volatility in the market price of a particular company’s securities, securities class action litigation has often been brought against that company. If the market price or volume of our shares suffers extreme fluctuations, then we may become involved in this type of litigation, which would be expensive and divert management’s attention and resources from managing our business.

As a public company, we may also from time to time make forward-looking statements about future operating results and provide some financial guidance to the public markets. Projections may not be made timely or set at expected performance levels and could materially affect the price of our shares. Any failure to meet published forward-looking statements that adversely affect the stock price could result in losses to investors, stockholder lawsuits or other litigation, sanctions or restrictions issued by the SEC.

Our common stock is currently deemed a “penny stock,” which makes it more difficult for our investors to sell their shares.

Our common stock is currently deemed a “penny stock,” which makes it more difficult for our investors to sell their shares. The SEC has adopted rule 3a51-1 which establishes the definition of a “penny stock,” for the purposes relevant to us, as any equity security that has a market price of less than $5.00 per share or with an exercise price of less than $5.00 per share, subject to certain exceptions. For any transaction involving a penny stock, unless exempt, Rule 15g-9 requires:

•       that a broker or dealer approve a person’s account for transactions in penny stocks, and

•       the broker or dealer receive from the investor a written agreement to the transaction, setting forth the identity and quantity of the penny stock to be purchased.

In order to approve a person’s account for transactions in penny stocks, the broker or dealer must:

•       obtain financial information and investment experience objectives of the person, and

•       make a reasonable determination that the transactions in penny stocks are suitable for that person and the person has sufficient knowledge and experience in financial matters to be capable of evaluating the risks of transactions in penny stocks.

The broker or dealer must also deliver, prior to any transaction in a penny stock, a disclosure schedule prescribed by the SEC relating to the penny stock market, which, in highlight form:

•       sets forth the basis on which the broker or dealer made the suitability determination and

•       that the broker or dealer received a signed, written agreement from the investor prior to the transaction.

Generally, brokers may be less willing to execute transactions in securities subject to the “penny stock” rules. This may make it more difficult for investors to dispose of our common stock and cause a decline in the market value of our stock. 

Risks Relating to Our Company and Industry

Our future success will largely depend on the success of our drug candidates, which development will require significant capital resources and years of clinical development effort.

We currently have no drug products on the market, and none of our drug development projects / pipeline drug candidates has reached preclinical study or clinical trial status. Our business depends almost entirely on the successful clinical development, regulatory approval and commercialization of our pipeline drug candidates. Investors need to be aware that substantial additional investments including preclinical and clinical development and regulatory approval efforts will be required before we are permitted to market and commercialize our pipeline drug candidates, if ever. It may be several years before we can commence clinical trials, if ever. Any clinical trial will be subject to extensive and rigorous review and regulation by numerous government authorities in the United States, the European Union, and other jurisdictions where we intend, if approved, to market our pipeline drug candidates. Before obtaining regulatory approvals for any of our pipeline drug candidates, we must demonstrate through preclinical testing and clinical trials that the pipeline drug candidate is safe and effective for its specific application. This process can take many years and may include post- marketing studies and surveillance, which would require the expenditure of substantial resources. Of the large number of drugs in development for approval in the United States, European Union (and the rest of the world), only a small percentage will successfully complete the FDA regulatory approval process or be granted authorization to be marketed in the European Commission or the other competent authorities in the European Union (“EU”) Member States, or the rest of the world. Accordingly, even if we obtain the sufficient financing to fund our planned research, development and clinical programs, we cannot assure you that any of our pipeline drug candidates will be successfully developed or commercialized.

We may be unable to formulate or scale-up any or all of our pipeline drug candidates. There is no guarantee that any of the pipeline drug candidates will be or are able to be manufactured or produced in a manner to meet the FDA’s criteria for product stability, content uniformity and all other criteria necessary for product approval in the United States and other markets. Any of our pipeline drug candidates may fail to achieve their specified endpoints in clinical trials.

Furthermore, pipeline drug candidates may not be approved even if they achieve their specified endpoints in clinical trials. The FDA may disagree with our trial design and our interpretation of data from clinical trials, or may change the requirements for approval even after it has reviewed and commented on the design for our clinical trials. The FDA may also approve a drug for fewer or more limited indications than we request, or may grant approval contingent on the performance of costly post-approval clinical trials (i.e., Phase IV trials). In addition, the FDA may not approve the labeling claims that we believe are necessary or desirable for the successful commercialization of our pipeline drug candidates.

If we are unable to expand our pipeline and obtain regulatory approval for our pipeline drug candidates within the timelines we anticipate, we will not be able to execute our business strategy effectively and our ability to substantially grow our revenues will be limited, which would have a material adverse impact on our long-term business, results of operations, financial condition, and prospects.

Our drug development projects, if approved, may be unable to achieve the expected market acceptance and, consequently, limit our ability to generate revenue

Even when drug development is successful and regulatory approval has been obtained, our ability to generate significant revenue depends on the acceptance of our (then) approved medicines by physicians, prescribers and patients. We cannot assure you that any of our pipeline drug candidates will achieve the expected market acceptance and revenue, if and when we obtain the regulatory approvals. The market acceptance of any drug depends on a number of factors, including the indication statement and warnings approved by regulatory authorities for the drug label, continued demonstration of efficacy and safety in commercial use, physicians’ / prescribers willingness to prescribe the drug, reimbursement from third-party payers such as government health care systems and insurance companies, the price of the drug, the nature of any post-approval risk management plans mandated by regulatory authorities, competition, and marketing and distribution support. Any factors preventing or limiting the market acceptance of our drugs could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Results of preclinical studies and earlier clinical trials are not necessarily predictive indicators of future results.

Any positive results from future preclinical testing of our pipeline drug candidates and potential future clinical trials may not necessarily be predictive of the results from Phase 1, Phase 2 or Phase 3 clinical trials. In addition, our interpretation of results derived from clinical data or our conclusions based on our preclinical data may prove inaccurate. Frequently, pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies have suffered significant setbacks in clinical trials after achieving positive results in preclinical testing and early phase clinical trials, and we cannot be certain that we will not face similar setbacks. These setbacks may be caused by the fact that preclinical and clinical data can be susceptible to varying interpretations and analyses. Furthermore, certain pipeline drug candidates may perform satisfactorily in preclinical studies and clinical trials, but nonetheless fail to obtain FDA approval, a marketing authorization granted by the European Commission, or appropriate approvals by the appropriate medicines regulatory authorities in other countries. If we fail to produce positive results in our clinical trials for our pipeline drug candidates, the development timeline and regulatory approval and commercialization prospects for them and as a result our business and financial prospects, would be materially adversely affected.

The regulatory approval processes with the FDA, the EMA and other comparable foreign regulatory authorities is lengthy and inherently unpredictable.

We are not permitted to market our drug candidates as medicines in the United States or the European Union or other countries until we receive approval of a New Drug Application (“NDA”) from the FDA or a Marketing Authorization Application (“MAA”) from the European Commission, respectively, or in any foreign countries until we receive the approval from the regulatory authorities of such countries. Prior to submitting an NDA to the FDA or an MAA to the EMA for approval of our drug candidates we will need to have completed our preclinical studies and clinical trials. Successfully completing any clinical program and obtaining approval of an NDA or MAA is a complex, lengthy, expensive and uncertain process, and the FDA or EMA (or other country medicines regulatory body) may delay, limit or deny approval of pipeline drug candidates for many reasons, including, among others, because:

Any of these factors, many of which are beyond our control, could increase development time and / or costs or jeopardize our ability to obtain regulatory approval for our drug candidates.

We may apply for orphan drug status granted by the FDA and / or EMA for some of our drug candidates for the treatment of rare diseases.

Regulatory authorities in some jurisdictions, including the United States and the European Union, may designate drugs for relatively small patient populations as orphan drugs. The FDA may grant orphan drug designation to drugs intended to treat a rare disease or condition that affects fewer than 200,000 individuals annually in the United States. In the European Union, the EMA’s Committee for Orphan Medicinal Products grants orphan drug designation to promote the development of drugs that are intended for the diagnosis, prevention or treatment of life-threatening or chronically debilitating conditions affecting not more than 5 in 10,000 persons in the European Union. Additionally, such designation is granted for drugs intended for the diagnosis, prevention or treatment of a life-threatening, seriously debilitating or serious and chronic condition and when, without incentives, it is unlikely that sales of the drug in the European Union would be sufficient to justify the necessary investment in developing the drug.

In the USA, orphan drug designation entitles a party to financial incentives, such as opportunities for grant funding towards clinical trial costs, tax credits for certain research and user fee waivers under certain circumstances. In addition, if a drug receives the first FDA approval for the drug and indication for which it has orphan drug designation, the drug is entitled to seven years of market exclusivity, which means the FDA may not approve any other application for the same drug for the same indication for a period of seven years, except in limited circumstances, such as a showing of clinical superiority over the drug with orphan drug exclusivity. Orphan drug exclusivity does not prevent the FDA from approving a different drug for the same disease or condition, or the same drug for a different disease or condition.

In the European Union, orphan drug designation also entitles a party to financial incentives such as reduction of fees or fee waivers and ten years of market exclusivity following drug approval. This period may be reduced to six years if the orphan drug designation criteria are no longer met, including where it is shown that the drug is sufficiently profitable so that market exclusivity is no longer justified.

Whilst the company may wish to apply for ODDs for some or all of its pipeline drug candidates, there is no guarantee that FDA or EMA (or any other international regulatory body) will grant an ODD for any of the company’s pipeline drug candidates.

Our drug candidates may become subject to controlled substance laws and regulations in the U.S.

While cannabis and some cannabinoids are controlled substances under the CSA in the United States, we plan to initially focus our drug development projects using cannabinoids and other molecules that are produced from a variety of sources: (1) produced via chemical synthesis and / or (2) produced biosynthetically and / or (3) produced via botanical means.

A number of cannabinoid-containing medicines, such as Marinol^® or Syndros^® (containing dronabinol), or Epidiolex (containing botanically-derived cannabidiol) or Cesamet^® (containing nabilone) have been approved by the FDA for variousindications.

In the USA, while plant-derived cannabinoids – during development - are categorized as Schedule I substances under the CSA, the scheduling changes once a medicine has been approved by the FDA.

Marinol^®, a capsule formulation which contains synthetic tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC when formulated is a Schedule III medicine. Syndros^® (which also contains synthetic THC, dronabinol) is a liquid formulation as is classified as Schedule II.

Epidiolex^® was initially a Schedule V medicine when it was introduced in 2018, but was descheduled by the DEA in 2020.

It is our intention to produce pipeline drug candidates via synthetic, and / or biosynthetic and / or botanical means, which may produce complex extracts or purified drug substance as API.

Depending upon the content of our selected API(s), and their subsequent controlled drug status in the USA, and if the company conducts preclinical studies or clinical trials in the United States, we will become subject to the CSA laws and regulation in addition to FDA regulations. If the Company decides to proceed with APIs which are controlled drugs, it will evaluate where it is best to conduct its research and preclinical and clinical trials. This may or may not be the USA.

Nevertheless, our finished drug products may contain controlled substances as defined in the CSA. Pipeline drug candidates which contain controlled substances are subject to a high degree of regulation under the CSA, which establishes, among other things, certain registration, manufacturing quotas, security, recordkeeping, reporting, import, export and other requirements administered by the DEA. The DEA classifies controlled substances into five schedules: Schedule I, II, III, IV or V substances. Schedule I substances, by definition, have a high potential for abuse, have no currently “accepted medical use” in the United States, lack accepted safety for use under medical supervision, and may not be prescribed, marketed or sold in the United States. Pharmaceutical products approved for use in the United States may be listed as Schedule II, III, IV or V, with Schedule II substances considered to present the highest potential for abuse or dependence and Schedule V substances the lowest relative risk of abuse among such substances. Schedule I and II drugs are subject to the strictest controls under the CSA, including manufacturing and procurement quotas, security requirements and criteria for importation. In addition, dispensing of Schedule II drugs is further restricted. For example, they may not be refilled without a new prescription.

While cannabis and certain of its derivatives and certain cannabinoids are Schedule I controlled substances, drugs approved for medical use in the United States that contain cannabis, cannabis extracts or certain cannabinoids must be placed in Schedules II - V, since approval by the FDA satisfies the “accepted medical use” requirement. If, and when any of our pipeline drug candidates receive FDA approval, for those that are considered controlled substances under the CSA, the DEA will make a scheduling determination and place it in a schedule other than Schedule I for it to be prescribed for patients in the United States. If approved by the FDA, depending upon the products potential for abuse amongst other factors, we expect the finished dosage forms of any of our pipeline drug candidates to be listed by the DEA as a Schedule II-V controlled substance. Consequently, their manufacture, importation, exportation, domestic distribution, storage, sale and legitimate use will be subject to a significant degree of regulation by the DEA (in the USA) and the corresponding competent authorities around

the world.

The scheduling process may take one or more years beyond FDA approval in the USA, thereby significantly delaying the launch of our drugs / medicines. However, the DEA must issue a temporary order scheduling the drug within 90 days after the FDA approves the drug and the DEA receives a scientific and medical evaluation and scheduling recommendation from the Department of Health and Human Services. Furthermore, if the FDA, DEA or any foreign regulatory authority determines that any of our drugs may have potential for abuse, it may require us to generate more clinical data than that which is currently anticipated, which could increase the cost and/or delay the launch of our drugs / medicines or APIs (or food or cosmetic ingredients outside of the USA).

Clinical trials of cannabinoid-based drug candidates are novel with very limited or non-existing history; we face a significant risk that the trials will not result in commercially viable drugs and treatments.

At present, there is only a very limited documented clinical trial history from which we can derive any scientific conclusions for our drug pipeline candidates, or prove that our present assumptions for the current and planned research are scientifically compelling. The API content of the Investigational Medicinal Products (IMPs) can vary from one IMP to another – hence it is not necessarily possible to extrapolate results from studies with one product and predict efficacy of safety with another product containing a similar API a different source. Whilst the principal cannabinoid component may be similar, the APIs may differ in terms of minor cannabinoid content, impurity profiles or degradant profiles. While we are encouraged by the results of clinical trials by others (where they exist), there can be no assurance that any preclinical study or clinical trial will result in producing results which will lead to commercially viable drugs or treatments.

Clinical trials are expensive, time consuming and difficult to design and implement. We, as well as the regulatory authorities may suspend, delay or terminate our clinical trials at any time, may require us, for various reasons, to conduct additional clinical trials, or may require a particular clinical trial to continue for a longer duration than originally planned, including, among others:

Any of the foregoing could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

The FDA has not approved any complex botanically-derived cannabinoid drug as a safe and effective drug for any indication.

To date, the FDA has not approved any complex botanical cannabinoid medicine as safe and effective for any indication. It has however approved a cannabinoid medicine containing a highly purified cannabinoid (CBD) medicine (Epidiolex^®) for a limited number of indications. However, the FDA is aware that there is considerable interest in the use of complex botanical medicines (e.g. Sativex^® - which is not approved in the USA, but is approved in some other countries) or purified cannabinoids (e.g. Epidiolex®) or synthesized cannabinoid medicines (e.g. Marinol) to attempt to treat a number of medical conditions.

Before conducting testing in humans of a drug that has not been approved by the FDA, we will need to submit an investigational new drug (“IND”) application to the FDA (or a Clinical Trial Authorisation (CTA) to the EMA). Failure to comply with applicable U.S. requirements may subject a company to a variety of administrative or judicial sanctions, such as the FDA’s refusal to approve pending NDAs, warning letters, product recalls, product seizures, total or partial suspension of production or distribution, injunctions, fines, civil penalties and criminal prosecution. Failure to comply with similarly applicable regulatory requirements in other countries may also subject a company to a variety of administrative or judicial sanctions within their country.

We face a potentially highly competitive market.

Demand for cannabinoid-containing or cannabis-based medicines will likely be dependent on a number of social, political and economic factors that are beyond our control. While we believe that there will be a demand for such drugs, and that the demand will grow, there is no assurance that such demand will happen, that we will benefit from any demand or that our business, in fact, will ever generate revenues from our drug development programs or become profitable.

The emerging markets for cannabinoid-containing or cannabis-derived medicines and medical research and development is and will likely remain competitive. The development and commercialization of drugs / medicines is highly competitive. We compete with a variety of multinational pharmaceutical companies and specialized biotechnology companies, as well as products and processes being developed by universities and other research institutions. Many of our competitors have developed, are developing, or will develop drugs and processes which may be competitive with our drug candidates. Competitive therapeutic treatments include those that have already been approved by medicines regulators and accepted by the medical community and any new treatments that may enter the market. For some of our drug development programs / areas of therapeutic interest, other treatment options are currently available, under development, and may become commercially available in the future. If any of our pipeline drug candidates is approved for the diseases and conditions we are currently pursuing, they may compete with a range of medicines / therapeutic treatments that are either in development, will be developed in the future or currently marketed.

We are aware of many companies that are engaged in cannabinoid-derived drug development activities. In addition, other U.S.-based and foreign-based companies are in early stage discovery and preclinical development utilizing the cannabinoids CBD and/or THC.

Established companies may have a competitive advantage over us due to their size and experiences, financial resources, and institutional networks. Many of our competitors may have significantly greater financial, technical and human resources than we do. Due to these factors, our competitors may have an advantage in marketing their approved drugs and may obtain regulatory approval of their drug candidates before we are able to, which may limit our ability to develop or commercialize our drug candidates. Our competitors may also develop drugs / medicines that are safer, more effective, more widely used and less expensive than ours. These advantages could materially impact our ability to develop and, if approved, commercialize our pipeline drug candidates successfully. Furthermore, some of these competitors may make acquisitions or establish collaborative relationships among themselves or with third parties to increase their ability to rapidly gain market share.

Our pipeline drug candidates may compete with other cannabinoid or cannabis-based drugs, in addition to competing with state-licensed medical and recreational marijuana, in markets where the recreational and/or medical use of marijuana is legal. There is continuing support in the USA for further state legalization of marijuana. In markets where recreational and/or medical marijuana is not legal, our pipeline drug candidates, once approved by regulators, may compete with marijuana or marijuana-based products purchased in the illegal drug market. This may or may not affect the commercial price that we may be able to achieve for our cannabinoid-containing or other non-cannabinoid-containing regulatory-approved medicines, should they be approved by the FDA.

Moreover, as generic versions of drug products enter the market, the price for such medicines may be expected to decline rapidly and substantially. Even if we are the first to obtain FDA approval of one of our pipeline drug candidates, the future potential approval of generics could adversely affect the price we are able to charge and the profitability of our product(s) will likely decline.

Mergers and acquisitions in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries may result in more resources being concentrated among a smaller number of our competitors. Smaller and other early-stage companies may also prove to be significant competitors, particularly through collaborative arrangements with large and established companies.

These companies may compete with us in recruiting and retaining qualified scientific, management and commercial personnel, utilizing contract manufacturing facilities or contract research organizations (CROs), or establishing clinical trial sites and subject registration for clinical trials, as well as in acquiring technologies complementary to our research projects.

Our failure to comply with existing and potential future laws and regulations relating to drug development could harm our plan of operations.

Our business is, and will be, subject to wide-ranging existing federal and state laws and regulations and other governmental bodies in each of the countries we may develop and/or market our pipeline drug candidates. We must comply with all regulatory requirements if we expect to be successful.

If any of our cannabinoid-containing or cannabis-based pipeline drug candidates are controlled substances and are approved in the United States, they will be subject to ongoing regulatory requirements including federal and state requirements. As a result, we and our collaborators and/or joint venture partners must continue to expend time, money and effort in all areas of regulatory compliance, including, if applicable, manufacturing, production, quality control and assurance, preclinical research and development and, of upmost importance, clinical trials. We will also be required to report certain adverse reactions and production problems, if any and applicable, to the FDA, and to comply with advertising and promotion requirements for our cannabinoid-containing drug candidates.

Any failure to comply with ongoing regulatory or controlled drug requirements may significantly and adversely affect our ability to conduct clinical trials which are prerequisites to our ability to commercialize our cannabinoid-based drugs and related treatments. If regulatory sanctions are applied or if regulatory approval, once obtained, is for any reason suspended or withdrawn, the value of our business and our operating results could be materially adversely affected.

Our failure to be able to out-licence some or all of our pipeline drug candidates could harm our plan of operations.

The cost of drug development is high and the attrition rate of new drug pipeline candidates is also high during the drug development process. In order to help fund the development of some of our pipeline drug candidates, the company may wish / need to out-licence some of its assets to other (big) pharmaceutical or biotechnology companies. The aim of such out-licensing would be generate funds for the company which may take the form of up-front payments and / or milestone payments and / or royalties. Such decisions will be taken on a case-by-case basis, as the opportunity arises or is required.

There is no guarantee that the company will generate pipeline drug candidates which are suitable for out-licensing. In addition, even if the company does produce pipeline drug candidates that are suitable for out-licensing there is no guarantee that the company will be successful in being able to identify potential licencees and successfully negotiate such out-licensing agreements, on agreeable terms if and when required. Any failure to secure such out-licensing agreements may materially affect our ability to finance or develop and / or commercialize one or more of our pipeline drug candidates. Any such failure may materially adversely affect our business.

Our failure to be able to enter Research and Development (R & D) Collaboration Agreements or Joint Venture (JV) Agreements for some or all of our pipeline drug candidates could harm our plan of operations

As mentioned above, the cost of drug development is high. In order to help fund the development of some of our pipeline drug candidates, the company may wish to enter into Research and Development Collaboration Agreements or Joint Venture Agreements with other (big) pharmaceutical or biotechnology companies to help research and develop some of its assets and for those companies pay for some or all of the associated R & D costs. The aim of such Collaboration or JV agreements would be to offset some of the company’s R & D costs. Depending upon the outcome of such R & D or JV Agreements, it may lead to the opportunity to outlicence one or more of the assets investigated under the Collaboration Agreement to the same other (big) pharmaceutical or biotechnology company who may be our R &D Collaboration / JV partner. If successful, this may generate funds for the company which may take the form of up-front payments and / or milestone payments and / or royalties. Such decisions will be taken on a case-by-case basis, as the opportunity arises or is required.

There is no guarantee that the company will generate pipeline drug candidates which are suitable for R & D Collaborations or JV Agreements. In addition, even if the company does produce pipeline drug candidates that are suitable for such collaborations or JVs, there is no guarantee that the company will be successful in being able to identify potential R & D collaboration partners or JV partners and successfully negotiate such collaboration or JV agreements, on agreeable terms if and when required. Depending upon the financial status of the company, any failure to secure such collaboration or JV agreements agreements may materially affect our ability to finance or develop and / or commercialize one or more of our pipeline drug candidates. Any such failure may materially adversely affect our business.

The introduction of new businesses, products, services, and technologies, our activities in certain jurisdictions, or other actions we take may subject us to additional laws and regulations. The costs of compliance with these laws and regulations are high and are likely to increase in the future. Any failure on our part to comply with laws and regulations can result in negative publicity and diversion of management time and effort and may subject us to significant liabilities and other penalties.

We could be subject to litigation, allegations or other legal claims.

Our assets or our business activities may be subject to disputes that may result in litigation or other legal claims. We may be subject to allegations through press, social media, the courts or other mediums that may or may not be founded. We may be required to respond to or defend against these claims and/or allegations, which will divert resources away from our principal business. There can be no assurance that our defense of such claims and/or allegations would be successful, and we may be required to make material settlements. This could have a material adverse effect on our business prospects, results of operations, cash flows, financial condition and corporate reputation.