Ocean Biomedical, Inc 10-Q for FY2025 Q1
Ocean Biomedical, Inc. (OCEA)
About this 10-Q
Ocean Biomedical, Inc filed this 10-Q on May 15, 2025, covering the quarter ended March 31, 2025 (FY2025 Q1).
Headline figures
Quarter ended March 31, 2025, as reported in this filing, compared with the same period a year earlier where the filing states it.
- Net loss
- $8.24M
- compared with net income of $13M a year earlier
- Diluted EPS
- -$0.09
- compared with $0.48 a year earlier
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549
FORM
(Mark One)
| QUARTERLY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 |
For the quarterly period ended
OR
| TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 |
For the transition period from _______ to _______
Commission File Number:
(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in its Charter)
Registrant’s telephone number, including area
code:
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
| Title of each class | Trading Symbol(s) | Name of each exchange on which registered | ||
| The Stock Market LLC | ||||
| The Stock Market LLC |
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1)
has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months
(or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements
for the past 90 days.
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has
submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of
this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files).
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
| Large accelerated filer | ☐ | Accelerated filer | ☐ |
| ☒ | Smaller reporting company | ||
| Emerging growth company |
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark
if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards
provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act.
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a
shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes ☐
No
As of March 31, 2025, the registrant had 166,010,805 shares of common stock outstanding and as of May 15, 2025, there are shares of common stock outstanding.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (this “Report”), including the section entitled “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 under Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), and such statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions contained therein. These forward-looking statements relate to current expectations and strategies, future operations, future financial positioning, future revenue, projected costs, prospects, current plans, current objectives of management and expected market growth, and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from expectations, estimates, and projections expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements and, consequently, you should not rely on these forward-looking statements as a guarantee, an assurance, a prediction, or a definitive statement of fact or probability of future events. All statements contained in this Report, other than statements of historical fact, including statements regarding our future operating results and financial position, our business strategy and plans and our objectives for future operations, are forward-looking statements. The words “may,” “should,” “could,” “predict,” “potential,” “plan,” “seeks,” “believe,” “will likely result,” “expect,” “continue,” “will continue,” “will,” “will be,” “anticipate,” “seek,” “estimate,” “intend,” “plan,” “projection,” “would,” “outlook,” and similar expressions that convey uncertainty of future events or outcomes, or the negative version of those words or phrases or other comparable words or phrases of a future or forward-looking nature, are intended to identify forward-looking statements. The absence of such words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking.
You should not rely on forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. We have based the forward-looking statements contained in this Report primarily on our current expectations and projections about future events and trends that we believe may affect our business, financial condition and operating results. The outcome of the events described in these forward-looking statements is subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors including those below in this Report under the caption “Risk Factors” and in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024, under the captions “Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” and “Risk Factors.” These factors and the other risk factors described in our periodic and current reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) from time to time, however, are not necessarily all of the important factors that could cause our actual results, performance, or achievements to differ materially from those expressed in or implied by any of our forward-looking statements.
Moreover, we operate in a very competitive and rapidly changing environment. New risks and uncertainties emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for us to predict all risks and uncertainties that could have an impact on the forward-looking statements contained in this Report. The results, events and circumstances reflected in the forward-looking statements may not be achieved or occur, and actual results, events or circumstances could differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements.
In addition, statements that “we believe” and similar statements reflect our beliefs and opinions on the relevant subject. These statements are based on information available to us as of the date of this Report. And, while we believe that information provides a reasonable basis for these statements, that information may be limited or incomplete. Our statements should not be read to indicate that we have conducted an exhaustive inquiry into, or review of, all relevant information. These statements are inherently uncertain, and investors are cautioned not to unduly rely on these statements.
The forward-looking statements made in this Report relate only to events as of the date on which the statements are made. We undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements made in this Report to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this Report or to reflect new information or the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as required by law. We may not actually achieve the plans, intentions or expectations disclosed in our forward-looking statements, and you should not place undue reliance on our forward-looking statements. Our forward-looking statements do not reflect the potential impact of any future acquisitions, mergers, dispositions, joint ventures or investments.
Unless the context otherwise requires, the terms “Ocean Biomedical, Inc.,” “the Company,” “we,” “our,” “us,” or similar references in this Report refer to Ocean Biomedical, Inc. and its subsidiaries.
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PART I-FINANCIAL INFORMATION
Item 1. Financial Statements
OCEAN BIOMEDICAL, INC.
Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets
(in thousands, except share and per share data)
(unaudited)
March 31, 2025 | December 31, 2024 | |||||||
| ASSETS | ||||||||
| CURRENT ASSETS: | ||||||||
| Cash | $ | $ | ||||||
| Restricted cash | ||||||||
| Prepaid expenses | ||||||||
| Total current assets | ||||||||
| Investment in Virion | ||||||||
| TOTAL ASSETS | $ | $ | ||||||
| LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ DEFICIT | ||||||||
| CURRENT LIABILITIES: | ||||||||
| Accounts payable and accrued expenses | $ | $ | ||||||
| Accrued expenses – related party | ||||||||
| Short-term loans, net of issuance costs | ||||||||
| SPA Warrant | ||||||||
| Total current liabilities | ||||||||
| NONCURRENT LIABILITIES | ||||||||
| Fixed maturity consideration | ||||||||
| Backstop put option liability | ||||||||
| Total liabilities | ||||||||
| STOCKHOLDERS’ DEFICIT: | ||||||||
| Common stock, $ par value; shares authorized as of March 31, 2025, and December 31, 2024, respectively, and shares issued and outstanding as of March 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024, respectively. | ||||||||
| Additional paid-in capital | ||||||||
| Accumulated deficit | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||
| Total stockholders’ deficit | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||
| TOTAL LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ DEFICIT | $ | $ | ||||||
See accompanying notes to the unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements
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OCEAN BIOMEDICAL, INC.
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations
(in thousands, except per share data)
(unaudited)
| 2024 | 2023 | |||||||
| Three Months Ended | ||||||||
| March 31, | ||||||||
| 2025 | 2024 | |||||||
| OPERATING EXPENSES: | ||||||||
| Research and development | $ | $ | ||||||
| General and administrative | ||||||||
| Total operating expenses | ||||||||
| OPERATING LOSS | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||
| OTHER INCOME (EXPENSE) | ||||||||
| Change in fair value of 2023 Convertible Note, SPA Warrant and Ayrton Note Purchase Option | ( | ) | ||||||
| Gain (loss) in connection with Backstop Put Option Liability and Fixed Maturity Consideration | ( | ) | ||||||
| Change in fair value of stock obligations | ( | ) | ||||||
| Transaction costs | ( | ) | ||||||
| Loss on issuance of shares | ( | ) | ||||||
| Interest expense, including amortization of debt issuance costs | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||
| Net loss attributable to equity interest in Virion | ( | ) | ||||||
| Change in fair value of Virion Contribution Liability | ||||||||
| Redemption premium on debt conversion | ( | ) | ||||||
| Total other (expense) income | ( | ) | ||||||
| NET (LOSS) INCOME | $ | ( | ) | $ | ||||
| Weighted average shares outstanding, basic and diluted | ||||||||
| Net (loss) income per share, basic and diluted | $ | ) | $ | |||||
See accompanying notes to the unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements
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OCEAN BIOMEDICAL, INC.
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Stockholders’ Deficit
(in thousands)
(unaudited)
For the Three Months Ended March 31, 2025
| Shares | Amount | Capital | Deficit | Deficit | ||||||||||||||||
| Additional | Total | |||||||||||||||||||
| Common | Paid-In | Accumulated | Stockholders’ | |||||||||||||||||
| Shares | Amount | Capital | Deficit | Deficit | ||||||||||||||||
| Balances at December 31, 2024 | $ | $ | $ | ( | ) | $ | ( | ) | ||||||||||||
| Net loss | - | ( | ) | ( | ) | |||||||||||||||
| Stock-based compensation | - | |||||||||||||||||||
| Issuance of common stock related to amended and restated convertible note | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Issuance of common stock for conversion of convertible debt | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Issuance of common stock for exercise of warrants | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Balances at March 31, 2025 | $ | $ | $ | ( | ) | $ | ( | ) | ||||||||||||
For the Three Months Ended March 31, 2024
| Additional | Total | |||||||||||||||||||
| Common | Paid-In | Accumulated | Stockholders’ | |||||||||||||||||
| Shares | Amount | Capital | Deficit | Deficit | ||||||||||||||||
| Balances at December 31, 2023 | $ | $ | $ | ( | ) | $ | ( | ) | ||||||||||||
| Balances | $ | $ | $ | ( | ) | $ | ( | ) | ||||||||||||
| Net loss | - | |||||||||||||||||||
| Stock-based compensation | - | |||||||||||||||||||
| Issuance of common stock | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Balances at March 31, 2024 | $ | $ | $ | ( | ) | $ | ( | ) | ||||||||||||
| Balances | $ | $ | $ | ( | ) | $ | ( | ) | ||||||||||||
See accompanying notes to the unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements
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OCEAN BIOMEDICAL, INC.
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
(in thousands)
(unaudited)
| 2025 | 2024 | |||||||
| Three Months Ended March 31, | ||||||||
| 2025 | 2024 | |||||||
| CASH FLOWS FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES | ||||||||
| Net (loss) income | $ | ( | ) | $ | ||||
| Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash used in operating activities: | ||||||||
| Non-cash debt issuance costs | ||||||||
| Redemption premium on conversion of notes | ||||||||
| Stock-based compensation | ||||||||
| Loss on issuance of shares | ||||||||
| Change in fair value of stock obligations | ||||||||
| Loss in connection with Backstop Put Option Liability and Fixed Maturity Consideration | ( | ) | ||||||
| Net loss attributable to equity interest in Virion | ||||||||
| Change in fair value of Virion Contribution Liability | ( | ) | ||||||
| Change in fair value of 2023 Convertible Note, SPA Warrant, and the Ayrton Note Purchase Option | ( | ) | ||||||
| Changes in assets and liabilities: | ||||||||
| Prepaid expenses | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||
| Accounts payable and accrued expenses | ||||||||
| Accrued expenses - related party | ( | ) | ||||||
| Net cash used in operating activities | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||
| CASH FLOWS FROM FINANCING ACTIVITIES | ||||||||
| Proceeds from short-term loans, net of issuance costs | ||||||||
| Net cash provided by financing activities | ||||||||
| Total change in cash and restricted cash | ( | ) | ||||||
| Cash and restricted cash at beginning of period | ||||||||
| Cash and restricted cash at end of period | $ | $ | ||||||
| Supplemental disclosure of non-cash financing activities: | ||||||||
| Offering costs not yet paid | $ | $ | ||||||
| Non-cash stock issuances | $ | $ | ||||||
| Common stock issued in consideration for extension of loans | $ | $ | ||||||
See accompanying notes to the unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements
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OCEAN BIOMEDICAL, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Notes to Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements
1. Description of Business and Going Concern Considerations
Description of Business
The Company is a biopharmaceutical company that is focused on discovering and developing therapeutic products in oncology, fibrosis, and infectious diseases.
Business Combination
On February 14, 2023, Aesther Healthcare Acquisition Corp. (“AHAC”) completed the acquisition of Ocean Biomedical Holdings, Inc. (“Legacy Ocean”) pursuant to a definitive agreement, as amended (the “Business Combination Agreement”). Upon closing this agreement, AHAC changed its name from “Aesther Healthcare Acquisition Corp.” to “Ocean Biomedical, Inc.” and is referred to herein as “the Company.” Unless context otherwise requires, the reference to “AHAC” refers to the Company prior to Closing.
The Business Combination was accounted for as a reverse recapitalization in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“U.S. GAAP”). Under this method of accounting, AHAC, which is the legal acquirer, is treated as the “acquired” company for financial reporting purposes and Legacy Ocean is treated as the accounting acquirer. The net assets of AHAC are stated at historical cost, with no goodwill or other intangible assets recorded. All historical financial information presented in the consolidated financial statements represents Legacy Ocean and its wholly owned subsidiaries as Legacy Ocean is the predecessor to the Company. The wholly owned subsidiaries include: (i) Ocean ChitofibroRx Inc., (ii) Ocean ChitoRx Inc., (iii) Ocean Sihoma Inc., and (iv) Ocean Promise, Inc. The Business Combination is accounted for as the equivalent of a capital transaction in which the Company has issued stock for the net assets of AHAC.
Going Concern Considerations
The accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements are prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP applicable to a going concern, which contemplates the realization of assets and the satisfaction of liabilities in the normal course of business.
The Company had
no cash inflows from operating activities for the three months ended March 31, 2025. As of March 31, 2025, the Company had cash,
restricted cash of $
The Company will need to raise additional funds in order to advance its research and development programs, operate its business, and meet its current and future obligations as they come due. Based on the Company’s current operational plans and assumptions, which may not be realized, the Company expects to use the net proceeds from the Backstop Agreement (as defined in Note 3, Business Combination and Backstop Agreement) and future debt and equity financings, including possibly under the SPA entered into in May 2023 (as defined in Note 7, Senior Secured Convertible Notes), as well as further deferrals of certain of its accrued expenses and contingency payments due upon the closing of future financings to fund operations. However, the Company’s ability to utilize certain of its in-place financing arrangements, such as the Backstop Agreement, or execute on new sources of liquidity are dependent on various factors outside of the Company’s control, including market conditions and the performance of the Company’s common stock.
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There is no assurance that the Company will be successful in obtaining additional financing on terms acceptable to the Company, if at all, and the Company may not be able to enter into collaborations or other arrangements. If the Company is unable to obtain funding, the Company could be forced to delay, reduce, or eliminate its research and development programs, which could adversely affect its business prospects and its ability to continue operations.
The accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements do not include any adjustments relating to the recoverability and classification of recorded asset amounts or the amounts and classification of liabilities that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.
Impacts of Market Conditions on Our Business
Disruption of global financial markets and a recession or market correction, including the ongoing military conflict between Russia and Ukraine and the related sanctions imposed against Russia, the effects of Hamas’ attack of Israel and the ensuing war, and other global macroeconomic factors such as inflation and rising interest rates, could reduce the Company’s ability to access capital, which could in the future negatively affect the Company’s liquidity and could materially adversely affect the Company’s business and the value of its common stock.
2. Basis of Presentation and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies
Basis of Presentation
The accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared in conformity with U.S. GAAP and stated in U.S. dollars. Any reference in these notes to applicable guidance is meant to refer to the authoritative U.S. GAAP as found in the Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) and Accounting Standards Updates (“ASU”) of the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”). Certain information and note disclosures normally included in annual financial statements prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP have been condensed or omitted pursuant to those rules and regulations. In the opinion of management, the unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements reflect all adjustments, which include only normal recurring adjustments, necessary for the fair statement of the balances and results for the periods presented. A description of the Company’s significant accounting policies is included in the Company’s audited consolidated financial statements as of December 31, 2024. These unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and related notes in the Company’s 2024 Annual Report on Form 10-K, filed with the SEC on April 8, 2025.
The accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and its wholly-owned subsidiaries after elimination of all intercompany accounts and transactions. The subsidiaries were formed to organize the Company’s therapeutic programs in order to optimize multiple commercialization options and to maximize each program’s value.
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Use of Estimates
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires the Company to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosures of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of these financial statements and reported amounts of expenses during the reporting periods. Actual results could differ from those estimates. On an ongoing basis, the Company evaluates its estimates, as applicable, including those related to the fair values of the Company’s common stock and related stock-based compensation and the valuation of (i) the Backstop Put Option Liability and Fixed Maturity Consideration (both as defined below) and (ii) the 2024 Convertible Note, SPA Warrant, and Ayrton Note Purchase Option (each as defined in Note 7, Senior Secured Convertible Notes). The Company bases its estimates using Company forecasts and future plans, current economic conditions, and information from third-party professionals that management believes to be reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying value of assets and liabilities and recorded amounts of expenses that are not readily apparent from other sources and adjusts those estimates and assumptions when facts and circumstances dictate.
The Company’s results can also be affected by economic, political, legislative, regulatory or legal actions. Economic conditions, such as recessionary trends, inflation, interest rates, changes in regulatory laws and monetary exchange rates, and government fiscal policies, can have a significant effect on operations. The Company could also be affected by civil, criminal, regulatory or administrative actions, claims, or proceedings.
Cash and Cash Equivalents
The Company considers all highly liquid investments with original maturities at the date of purchase of three months or less to be cash equivalents. Cash and cash equivalents are stated at fair value and may include money market funds, U.S. Treasury and U.S. government-sponsored agency securities, corporate debt, commercial paper, and certificates of deposit. The Company had cash or cash equivalents as of March 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024.
Restricted Cash
The Company’s restricted
cash is comprised of cash that is restricted as to withdrawal or use. Restricted cash as of March 31, 2025 and December 31,2024 was $
Concentrations of Credit Risk, Off-balance Sheet Risk and Other Risks
The Company has held minimal cash since its inception and certain of its expenses have been primarily paid for by the proceeds from the issuance of common stock and debt.
The Company has no significant off-balance sheet arrangements, as defined in the rules and regulations of the SEC. The Company’s future results of operations involve several other risks and uncertainties. Factors that affect the Company’s future operating results and cause actual results to vary materially from expectations could include, but are not limited to, uncertainty of results of clinical trials and reaching milestones, uncertainty of regulatory approval of the Company’s product candidates, uncertainty of market acceptance of the Company’s product candidates, competition from other products, securing and protecting intellectual property, strategic relationships and dependence on key employees and research partners. The Company’s product candidates require Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) and other non-U.S. regulatory agencies approval prior to commercial sales. There can be no assurance that any product candidates will receive the necessary approvals. If the Company were denied approval, if approval were delayed, or if approval were unable to be maintained, it could have a materially adverse impact on the Company.
Revenue
The Company has not generated any revenue from any sources since its inception, including from product sales. The Company does not expect to generate any revenue from the sale of products in the foreseeable future. If the Company’s development efforts for its product candidates are successful and result in regulatory approval, or license agreements with third parties, the Company may generate revenue in the future from product sales. However, there can be no assurance as to when revenue will be generated, if at all.
Research and Development Expenses
Research and development expenses consist primarily of costs incurred for research activities, including the development of product candidates. Research and development costs are expensed as incurred. For the three months ended March 31, 2025 and 2024, research and development expenses consist of expenses incurred for initial license fees, annual maintenance license fees, and services agreements. Payments associated with licensing agreements to acquire exclusive licenses to develop, use, manufacture and commercialize products that have not reached technological feasibility and do not have alternate commercial use are expensed as incurred.
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Income Taxes and Tax Credits
Income taxes are recorded in
accordance with ASC 740, Income Taxes (“ASC 740”), which provides for deferred taxes
using an asset and liability approach. The Company recognizes deferred tax assets and liabilities for the expected future tax consequences
of events that have been included in the financial statements or tax returns. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are determined based
on the difference between the financial statement and tax basis of assets and liabilities using enacted tax rates in effect for the year
in which the differences are expected to reverse, and net operating loss (“NOL”) carryforwards and research and development
tax credit (“R&D Credit”) carryforwards. Valuation allowances are provided, if based upon the weight of available evidence,
it is more likely than not that some or all of its deferred tax assets will not be realized. The Company has recorded a full valuation
allowance to reduce its net deferred income tax assets to zero. There is no provision for income taxes because the Company has incurred
operating losses and capitalized certain items for income tax purposes since its inception and maintains a full valuation allowance against
its net deferred tax assets. In the event the Company were to determine that it would be able to realize some or all its deferred income
tax assets in the future, an adjustment to the deferred income tax asset valuation allowance would increase income in the period such
determination was made. The Company accounts for uncertain tax positions in accordance with the provisions of ASC 740. When uncertain
tax positions exist, the Company recognizes the tax benefit of tax positions to the extent that the benefit would more likely than not
be realized assuming examination by the taxing authority. The determination as to whether the tax benefit will more likely than not be
realized is based upon the technical merits of the tax position as well as consideration of the available facts and circumstances. As
of March 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024, the Company had
Net (loss) income per share is computed by dividing net (loss) income attributed to common stockholders by the weighted-average number of shares of common stock outstanding during the period, less shares subject to repurchase, and, if dilutive, the weighted-average number of potential shares of common stock. For the purposes of the diluted net loss per share calculation, common stock warrants, common stock options outstanding, and contingently issuable Earnout Shares (as defined in Note 3, Business Combination and Backstop Agreement) are considered to be potentially anti-dilutive securities for all periods presented, and as a result, diluted net loss per share is the same as basic net loss per share for those periods.
Fair Value Measurements
Certain instruments of the Company are carried at fair value under U.S. GAAP. Fair value is defined as the exchange price that would be received for an asset or paid to transfer a liability (an exit price) in the principal or most advantageous market for the asset or liability in an orderly transaction between market participants on the measurement date. Valuation techniques used to measure fair value must maximize the use of observable inputs and minimize the use of unobservable inputs. Financial assets and liabilities carried at fair value are to be classified and disclosed in one of the following three levels of the fair value hierarchy, of which the first two are considered observable and the last is considered unobservable:
| ● | Level 1—Quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities. | |
| ● | Level 2—Observable inputs (other than Level 1 quoted prices), such as quoted prices in active markets for similar assets or liabilities, quoted prices in markets that are not active for identical or similar assets or liabilities, or other inputs that are observable or can be corroborated by observable market data. | |
| ● | Level 3—Unobservable inputs that are supported by little or no market activity that are significant to determining the fair value of the assets or liabilities, including pricing models, discounted cash flow methodologies and similar techniques. |
The Company’s Backstop Put Option Liability and Fixed Maturity Consideration (both as defined below), 2024 Convertible Note, SPA Warrant, and Ayrton Note Purchase Option, (each as defined and discussed in Note 7, Senior Secured Convertible Notes), are carried at fair value, determined according to Level 3 inputs in the fair value hierarchy described above (see Note 4, Fair Value Measurements). The carrying values of restricted cash, accounts payable, accrued expenses, and short-term loans approximate their fair values due to the short-term nature of these liabilities.
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Backstop Put Option Liability and Fixed Maturity Consideration
Backstop Agreement
In connection with the execution of the Business Combination, AHAC and Legacy Ocean entered into an OTC Equity Prepaid Forward Transaction (as amended, the “Backstop Agreement”) with the Backstop Parties (as defined in Note 3, Business Combination and Backstop Agreement). The Backstop Agreement grants the Backstop Parties the right to purchase up to a maximum of shares of the Company’s common stock on the open market for $ per share (the “Redemption Price”). The Company agreed to purchase the unsold portion of the Backstop Shares from the Backstop Parties on a forward basis upon the “Maturity Date” (as amended, the third anniversary of the closing of the Business Combination, subject to certain acceleration provisions). The purchase price payable by the Company includes a prepayment in the amount of the Redemption Price per share (the “Prepayment”) from the proceeds released from the trust account related to those shares. Among the acceleration provisions is the Backstop Parties’ right to accelerate the Maturity Date if the Company’s stock price trades below a stipulated price per share for any 30 trading days during a 45 day consecutive trading-day period (in October 2023, this acceleration provision was amended with one Backstop Party providing it the right to accelerate the Maturity Date if the Company’s stock price trades below a stipulated price per share for any 20 trading days during a 30 day consecutive trading-day period). On any date following the closing of the Business Combination, the Backstop Parties also have the option to early terminate the arrangement in whole or in part by providing an optional early termination date notice to the Company (the “Optional Early Termination”). For those shares that are early terminated (the “Terminated Shares”), the Backstop Parties will owe the Company an amount equal to the product of (x) the number of Terminated Shares and (y) the Redemption Price, which may be reduced in the case of certain dilutive events (the “Reset Price”).
Upon the Maturity Date, the Company is obligated to pay the Backstop Parties an amount equal to the product of (i) the maximum number of shares of less the number of Terminated Shares by (ii) $ (the “Maturity Consideration”). The Company can pay the Maturity Consideration in cash or shares of the Company’s common stock if certain conditions are met.
The Backstop Parties have purchased a fixed total of of the Company’s common stock, referred to herein as the “Backstop Shares.” The Backstop Parties’ Optional Early Termination economically results in the Backstop Agreement operating in substance to grant the Backstop Parties’ a put option with the right to sell all or a portion of the Backstop Shares. Over the three-year maturity period, the Company is entitled to either a return of the Prepayment, the underlying shares, or a combination thereof, at the sole discretion of the Backstop Parties.
For further information regarding the Backstop Agreement, refer to Note 3, Business Combination and Backstop Agreement.
Backstop Put Option Liability and Fixed Maturity Consideration
The Backstop Agreement consists of two financial instruments that are accounted for as follows:
| (i) | The in-substance written put option which is recorded in the Company’s condensed consolidated financial statements as the “Backstop Put Option Liability” and treated as a derivative liability recorded at fair value with changes in fair value recognized in net (loss) income. The Company measures the fair value of the Backstop Put Option Liability on a recurring basis, with any fair value adjustment recorded within other income (expense) in the condensed consolidated statements of operations. Refer to Note 4, Fair Value Measurements, for further detail. | |
| (ii) | The “Fixed Maturity Consideration” representing the in maximum shares less the Backstop Shares multiplied by $. The Company has elected to measure the Fixed Maturity Consideration using the Fair Value Option (“FVO”) under ASC 825, Financial Instruments. The Company measures the fair value of the Fixed Maturity Consideration on a recurring basis, with any fair value adjustment recorded within other income (expense) in the condensed consolidated statements of operations. Refer to Note 4, Fair Value Measurements, for further detail. |
The Prepayment is accounted for as a reduction to equity to reflect the substance of the overall arrangement as a net purchase of the Backstop Shares and sales of shares to the Backstop Parties.
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Emerging Growth Company and Smaller Reporting Company Status
We qualify as an “emerging growth company” within the meaning of the Section 2(a)(19) of the Securities Act, as modified by the Jumpstart Our Business Startup Act (“JOBS Act”) of 2012. The JOBS Act permits an “emerging growth company” to take advantage of an extended transition period to comply with new or revised accounting standards applicable to public companies until those standards would otherwise apply to private companies. The Company has elected not to “opt out” of this provision and, as a result, the Company will adopt new or revised accounting standards at the time private companies adopt the new or revised accounting standard and will do so until such time that the Company either (i) irrevocably elects to “opt out” of such extended transition period or (ii) no longer qualifies as an emerging growth company.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
In November 2023, the FASB issued ASU No. 2023-07, Segment Reporting (Topic 280): Improvements to Reportable Segment Disclosures (“ASU 2023-07”). ASU 2023-07 expands public entities’ segment disclosures by requiring disclosure of significant segment expenses that are regularly provided to the chief operating decision maker and included within each reported measure of segment profit or loss, an amount and description of its composition for other segment items, and interim disclosures of a reportable segment’s profit or loss and assets. All disclosure requirements under ASU 2023-07 are also required for public entities with a single reportable segment. ASU 2023-07 is effective for public business entities with fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2023, and interim periods within fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2024. The Company has concluded that the impact of adopting ASU 2023-07 is not material to its consolidated financial statements and related disclosures.
In December 2023, the FASB issued ASU No. 2023-09, Income Taxes (Topic 740): Improvements to Income Tax Disclosures to enhance the transparency and decision usefulness of income tax disclosures. This standard is effective for the Company for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2024, and can be applied on a prospective or retrospective basis. The Company is currently evaluating the effect that the adoption of this ASU may have on its consolidated financial statements.
3. Business Combination and Backstop Agreement
Business Combination
On February 14, 2023, the Company consummated its Business Combination pursuant to the terms of the Business Combination Agreement.
| 13 |
Earnout Shares
In addition, pursuant to Business
Combination Agreement, Legacy Ocean’s stockholders prior to the Closing (the “Legacy Ocean Stockholders”) are entitled
to receive from the Company, in the aggregate, up to an additional shares of the Company’s common stock (the “Earnout
Shares”) as follows:
The Company has concluded that the Earnout Shares represent a freestanding equity-linked financial instrument as the arrangement (i) can be indexed to the Company’s stock and (ii) meets all of the criteria for equity classification within ASC 815-40. The Company performed the two-step analysis described within ASC 815-40-15 to determine indexation and noted that while the arrangement does contain contingencies, these contingencies are based on the market for the Company’s stock and do not preclude indexation.
Upon Closing, the fair value of the Earnout Shares was accounted for as a deemed dividend as of the Closing date. Since the entries to recognize the fair value of the Earnout Shares offset within additional paid-in capital, there is no inherent impact to the condensed consolidated financial statements. Since the Earnout Shares are contingent on the Company’s stock price, there will be no impact to outstanding shares and will not represent participating securities until the time at which the contingencies have been met.
| 14 |
Backstop Agreement
As discussed in Note 2, Basis
of Presentation and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies, on August 31, 2022, AHAC and Legacy Ocean entered into the Backstop
Agreement with Vellar in connection with the execution of the Business Combination Agreement. Pursuant to the terms of the Backstop Agreement
and its subsequent amendments, Vellar agreed to purchase up to shares of AHAC’s Class A common stock in the open market
in exchange for up to $
On February 13, 2023, AHAC, Vellar and Legacy Ocean entered into an assignment and novation agreement with Meteora Special Opportunity Fund I, LP, Meteora Select Trading Opportunities Master, LP and Meteora Capital Partners, LP (collectively “Meteora”) (the “Meteora Agreement”), pursuant to which Vellar assigned its obligation to purchase shares of the Company’s common stock under the Backstop Agreement to Meteora. In addition, on February 13, 2023, AHAC, Vellar and Legacy Ocean entered into an assignment and novation agreement with Polar Multi-Strategy Master Fund (“Polar” and, collectively with Vellar and Meteora, the “Backstop Parties”) (the “Polar Agreement”), as amended on October 2, 2023, pursuant to which Vellar assigned its obligations to shares of common stock of the Company to be purchased under the Backstop Agreement to Polar.
Further, the Backstop Agreement grants the Backstop Parties the right to purchase additional shares from the Company (the “Additional Shares” and, together with the Recycled Shares (defined below), the “Backstop Shares”) up to an amount equal to the difference between the number of Recycled Shares and the maximum number of shares of .
As further discussed in Note 2, Basis of Presentation and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies, the Company agreed to purchase the unsold portion of the Backstop Shares from the Backstop Parties on a forward basis upon the Maturity Date. The purchase price payable by the Company includes a Prepayment from the proceeds released from the trust account related to those shares. Upon the Maturity Date, the Company is obligated to pay the Backstop Parties an amount equal to the product of (i) the maximum number of shares of less the number of Terminated Shares by (ii) $, defined as the Maturity Consideration in the Backstop Agreement. The Company can pay the Maturity Consideration in cash or shares of the Company’s common stock if certain conditions are met.
On February 14, 2023, (i) pursuant to the Backstop Agreement, the Backstop Parties purchased shares of AHAC’s Class A common stock for $ per share (the “Recycled Shares”) and (ii) pursuant to Polar’s exercise of its right to purchase Additional Shares, AHAC, Legacy Ocean and Polar entered into a subscription agreement pursuant to which Polar purchased newly issued shares of the Company’s common stock at a per share purchase price of approximately $ (the “Polar Subscription”). Under the Backstop Agreement, the Additional Shares are subject to the same terms as the Recycled Shares, including with regard to repayment and repurchase.
Subsequent to Closing, the Prepayment
amount was equal to $
The Backstop Agreement consists of two financial instruments that are accounted for as follows:
| (i) | The in-substance written put option which is recorded in the Company’s condensed consolidated financial statements as the “Backstop Put Option Liability” and treated as a derivative liability recorded at fair value with changes in fair value recognized in net loss. The Company measures the fair value of the Backstop Put Option Liability on a recurring basis, with any fair value adjustment recorded within other income/(expense) in the condensed consolidated statements of operations. Refer to Note 4, Fair Value Measurements, for further detail. | |
| (ii) | The “Fixed Maturity Consideration” representing the in maximum shares less the Backstop Shares multiplied by $. The Company has elected to measure the Fixed Maturity Consideration using the Fair Value Option (“FVO”) under ASC 825, Financial Instruments. The Company measures the fair value of the Fixed Maturity Consideration on a recurring basis, with any fair value adjustment recorded within other income/(expense) in the condensed consolidated statements of operations. Refer to Note 4, Fair Value Measurements, for further detail. |
The Prepayment is accounted for as a reduction to equity to reflect the substance of the overall arrangement as a net purchase of the Backstop Shares and sales of shares to the Backstop Parties.
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On May 23, 2023 the Company received
an Equity Prepaid Forward Transaction - Valuation Date Notice (“Notice”) from Vellar stating that due to the Company’s
alleged failure to timely register the shares held by Vellar, Vellar had the right to terminate the Backstop Agreement as to their portion
of the shares and Vellar claimed that it is entitled to receive Maturity Consideration (as defined in the Backstop Agreement) equal to
$
On October 2, 2023,
the Company entered into a Side Letter Agreement (the “Side Letter”) with Polar. The Side Letter amended certain terms of
the Polar Agreement, as discussed in Note 3, Business Combination and Backstop Agreement. The Side Letter amended the definitions
of “Seller VWAP Trigger Event” and “Reset Price” as used in the Backstop Agreement as it relates to Polar and
the Polar Agreement. Per the amended definitions, the (i) “Seller VWAP Trigger Event” is an event that occurs if the VWAP
price is below $ per share for any 20 trading days during
a 30 consecutive trading day-period thereafter and (ii) the “Reset Price” is defined as $
The “Seller VWAP Trigger Event” for Polar occurred in October 2023 and the other Backstop Parties in November 2023. The Company received written notice from Polar on November 6, 2023, acknowledging its right to designate any date as the Maturity Date from the date of the notice to, and including, the third anniversary of the Business Combination. As of the date of this filing, one of the Backstop Parties, Polar had not designated a Maturity Date. Refer to above in this footnote for further detail around the purported Maturity Date for Vellar.
| 16 |
Deferred Underwriting Commissions
At Closing, the underwriters
for AHAC’s initial public offering (“IPO”) agreed to defer payment of $
On March 4, 2024, the Company
converted the convertible portion of the Underwriter Promissory Note into restricted shares of its common stock at the conversion
price of $
On November 13, 2024, the Company
received a notice of default with regard to its 2023 promissory note with EF Hutton, which alleges that $
4. Fair Value Measurements
Financial liabilities measured at fair value during the year on a recurring basis consisted of the following as of March 31, 2025:
Schedule of Fair Value of Assets and Liabilities
| (in thousands) | Level 1 | Level 2 | Level 3 | Total | ||||||||||||
| Fair Value Hierarchy | ||||||||||||||||
| (in thousands) | Level 1 | Level 2 | Level 3 | Total | ||||||||||||
| Financial liabilities: | ||||||||||||||||
| Backstop Put Option Liability | $ | $ | $ | ( | ) | $ | ( | ) | ||||||||
| Fixed Maturity Consideration | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||||||||||
| 2024 Convertible Note (1) | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||||||||||
| SPA Warrant | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||||||||||
| Ayrton Note Purchase Option | ||||||||||||||||
| Total financial liabilities | $ | $ | $ | ( | ) | $ | ( | ) | ||||||||
| (1) |
Financial liabilities measured at fair value during the year on a recurring basis consisted of the following as of December 31, 2024:
| (in thousands) | Level 1 | Level 2 | Level 3 | Total | ||||||||||||
| Fair Value Hierarchy | ||||||||||||||||
| (in thousands) | Level 1 | Level 2 | Level 3 | Total | ||||||||||||
| Financial liabilities: | ||||||||||||||||
| Backstop Put Option Liability | $ | $ | $ | ( | ) | $ | ( | ) | ||||||||
| Fixed Maturity Consideration | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||||||||||
| 2024 Convertible Note (1) | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||||||||||
| Convertible Note (1) | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||||||||||
| SPA Warrant | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||||||||||
| Ayrton Note Purchase Option | ||||||||||||||||
| Total financial liabilities | $ | $ | $ | ( | ) | $ | ( | ) | ||||||||
| (1) |
During the three months ended March 31, 2025 and 2024, there were no transfers between Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3.
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Valuation of Backstop Put Option Liability and Fixed Maturity Consideration
The Company utilized a Monte-Carlo
simulation to value the Backstop Put Option Liability and Fixed Maturity Consideration. The key inputs and assumptions used in the Monte-Carlo
simulation, including volatility, expected term, expected future stock price, and various simulated paths, were utilized to estimate the
fair value of the associated derivative liabilities.
Summary of Significant Inputs and Assumptions Used in Black-Scholes Merton Model
| Backstop Put Option Liability and Fixed Maturity Consideration |
Estimated volatility |
Expected future stock price | Risk-free rate | |||||||||
| March 31, 2025 | % | $ - | % | |||||||||
| March 31, 2024 | % | $ – $ | % | |||||||||
Valuation of the 2024Convertible Note and SPA Warrant
The Company utilized a Monte-Carlo
simulation at inception to value the 2023 Convertible Note and SPA Warrant. The Monte-Carlo simulation is calculated as the average present
value over all simulated paths. The key inputs and assumptions used in the Monte-Carlo simulation, including volatility, estimated market
yield, risk-free rate, the probability of various scenarios, including subsequent placement and change in control, and various simulated
paths, were utilized to estimate the fair value of the associated liabilities.
The following table summarizes some of the significant inputs and assumptions used in the Monte-Carlo simulation:
Summary of Significant Inputs and Assumptions Used in Black-Scholes Merton Model
| Estimated volatility | Range of probabilities |
Risk-free rate | ||||||||||
| 2023 Convertible Note | % | % | % | |||||||||
| SPA Warrant | % | % | % | |||||||||
Valuation of the Ayrton Note Purchase Option
The Company utilized the Black-Scholes Merton model to value the Ayrton Note Purchase Option. The key inputs and assumptions used in the Black-Scholes Merton model, including volatility and risk-free rate, were utilized to estimate the fair value of the associated liability. The Company will continue to measure the fair value at each reporting period, with subsequent fair values to be recorded within other income (expense) in the Company’s condensed consolidated statements of operations.
The following table summarizes some of the significant inputs and assumptions used in the Black-Scholes Merton model:
Summary of Significant Inputs and Assumptions Used in Black-Scholes Merton Model
| Estimated volatility | Risk-free rate | |||||||
| Ayrton Note Purchase Option | % | % | ||||||
The following table provides a roll forward of the aggregate fair values of the Company’s Fixed Maturity Consideration, Backstop Put Option Liability, the 2023 Convertible Note, SPA Warrant, and Ayrton Note Purchase Option for which fair value is determined using Level 3 inputs:
Schedule of Fair Value Backstop Forward Purchase Agreement Asset
| Level 3 Rollforward (in thousands) | Backstop Put Option Liability | Fixed Maturity Consideration | 2023 Convertible Note | SPA Warrant | Ayrton Note Purchase Option | |||||||||||||||
| Balance as of December 31, 2023 | $ | ( | ) | $ | ( | ) | $ | ( | ) | $ | ( | ) | $ | |||||||
| Additional Notes issued | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Conversion to common stock | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Changes in fair value | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||||||||||||||
| Balance as of March 31, 2024 | $ | ( | ) | $ | ( | ) | $ | ( | ) | $ | ( | ) | $ | |||||||
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| Level 3 Rollforward (in thousands) | Backstop Put Option Liability | Fixed Maturity Consideration | 2023/2024 Convertible Notes | SPA Warrant | Ayrton Note Purchase Option | |||||||||||||||
| Balances as of December 31, 2024 | $ | ( | ) | $ | ( | ) | $ | ( | ) | $ | ( | ) | $ | |||||||
| Beginning balance | $ | ( | ) | $ | ( | ) | $ | ( | ) | $ | ( | ) | $ | |||||||
| Additional Notes issued | ( | ) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Conversion to common stock | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Changes in fair value | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||||||||||||||
| Balance as of March 31, 2025 | $ | ( | ) | $ | ( | ) | $ | ( | ) | $ | ( | ) | $ | |||||||
| Ending balance | ( | ) | ( | ) | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||||||||||
5. Accounts Payable and Accrued Expenses
Accounts payable and accrued expenses consisted of the following:
| (in thousands) | March 31, 2025 | December 31, 2024 | ||||||
| Accounts payable and accrued expenses: | ||||||||
| Accounting and legal fees | $ | $ | ||||||
| Vendor fees | ||||||||
| Research and development | ||||||||
| Other | ||||||||
| Total accounts payable and accrued expenses | $ | $ | ||||||
6. Loan Agreements
Short-term Loan Agreements
As of March 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024, the Company had the following short-term loan balances:
Schedule of Short-term Loan Balances
| (in thousands) | March 31, 2025 | December 31, 2024 | ||||||
| Short-term loans: | ||||||||
| Second Street Loan | $ | $ | ||||||
| Second Street Loan 2 | ||||||||
| March Second Street Loan | ||||||||
| McKra Loan | ||||||||
| Underwriter Promissory Note | ||||||||
| 2023 Convertible Note | ||||||||
| Poseidon Demand Note | ||||||||
| Short-term loans, net of issuance costs | $ | $ | ||||||
Second Street Capital Loans
Second Street Loan
In February 2022, the Company
entered into a loan agreement (the “Second Street Loan”) with Second Street Capital, pursuant to which the Company borrowed
$
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Second Street Loan 2
In April 2022, the Company entered
into a second loan agreement with Second Street Capital (the “Second Street Loan 2”) to borrow $
March Second Street Loan
In March 2023, the Company entered
into a new loan agreement with Second Street Capital (the “March Second Street Loan” and together with the Second Street Loan
and Second Street Loan 2, the “Second Street Loans”) pursuant to which the Company could borrow up to $
Second Street Capital Loan Amendments
In connection with amendments
to the Second Street Loans, an additional
The most recent amendment, effective as of May 2023, included the following terms, with no conditions present as of March 31, 2024:
| (i) | Upon execution of the amendment, the Company paid the remainder of outstanding fees due. | |
| (ii) | Within 5 business days of the receipt of the first Additional Closing (as defined within the Securities Purchase Agreement, discussed in Note 7, Senior Secured Convertible Notes), the Company is required to pay $ | |
| (iii) | Within 5 business days of the second Additional Closing (as defined within the Securities Purchase Agreement), the Company is required to pay $ | |
| (iv) | In the event the Company raises additional equity through financing arrangements of at least $ | |
| (v) | In exchange for the amendment, the Company issued shares of its common stock to Second Street Capital. The fair value of the shares issued are recorded in the Company’s condensed consolidated statements of operations as a loss on debt extinguishment. |
Second Street Capital Loans – Interest Expense
During each of the three months
ended March 31, 2025 and 2024, the Company recognized $
McKra Loan
In March 2023, the Company entered
into a Loan Agreement with McKra Investments III (“McKra”) pursuant to which the Company borrowed $
| 20 |
The McKra Loan was amended, effective as of May 2023, including the following terms:
| (i) | Upon execution of the amendment, the Company paid the remainder of outstanding fees due. | |
| (ii) | Within 5 business days of the receipt of the first Additional Closing (as defined within the Securities Purchase Agreement, discussed in Note 7, Senior Secured Convertible Notes), the Company is required to pay $ | |
| (iii) | Within 5 business days of the second Additional Closing (as defined in Note 7, Senior Secured Convertible Notes), the Company is required to pay $ | |
| (iv) | In the event the Company raises additional equity through financing arrangements of at least $ | |
| (vi) | As consideration for entering into the amendment, the Company issued shares of its common stock to McKra. The fair value of the shares issued are recorded in the Company’s condensed consolidated statements of operations as a loss on debt extinguishment. |
During each of the three months
ended March 31, 2025, and 2024, the Company recognized $
Poseidon Demand Note
On October 2,
2023, the Company issued a demand promissory note to its largest stockholder and related party, Poseidon Bio, LLC (“Poseidon”) for $
Underwriter Promissory Note
For a discussion of an outstanding note due to the underwriters in AHAC’s IPO, see Note 3, Business Combination and Backstop Agreement.
7. Senior Secured Convertible Notes
Senior Secured Convertible Notes
In May 2023, the Company entered
into a Securities Purchase Agreement (the “SPA”) with an accredited investor (the “Investor”) for the sale of
up to three Senior Secured Convertible Notes (each, a “Note” and collectively, the “Notes”), which Notes are convertible
into shares of the Company’s common stock, in an aggregate principal amount of up to $
The interest rate applicable
to each Note is, as of any date of determination, the lesser of
| 21 |
All or any portion of the principal
amount of each Note, plus accrued and unpaid interest is convertible at any time, in whole or in part, at the noteholder’s option,
into shares of the Company’s common stock at an initial fixed conversion price of $
The Notes provide for certain events of default, including, among other things, any breach of the covenants described in the SPA and any failure of Dr. Chirinjeev Kathuria to be the chairman of the Company’s Board of Directors. In connection with an event of default, the noteholders may require the Company to redeem all or any portion of the Notes, at a premium set forth in the SPA.
The Company is subject to certain
customary affirmative and negative covenants regarding the rank of the Notes, the incurrence of indebtedness, the existence of liens,
the repayment of indebtedness and the making of investments, the payment of cash in respect of dividends, distributions or redemptions,
the transfer of assets, the maturity of other indebtedness, and transactions with affiliates, among other customary matters. The Company
is also subject to financial covenants requiring that (i) the amount of the Company’s available cash equals or exceeds $
The Company has elected to account for the Notes at fair value under the fair value option, under which the Notes were initially measured at fair value and subsequently re-measured during each reporting period. Changes in fair value were reflected within other income (expense) in the condensed consolidated financial statements, except for the portions, if any, related to the instrument specific credit risk which would be recorded in other comprehensive income.
Further, the Company concluded that the right to acquire additional Notes is separately exercisable from the 2023 Convertible Note and the SPA Warrant. If and when the additional Notes are issued, the Company will evaluate whether to account for such additional Notes at (a) fair value under the fair value option or (b) an amortized cost.
In addition,
the Company determined that the SPA Warrant was (i) freestanding from the 2023 Convertible Note and (ii) classified as a derivative
liability. Accordingly, upon issuance the SPA Warrant was measured at fair value with an offset to cash proceeds from the 2023
Convertible Note, with the remainder of $
In addition to the liabilities
recorded for the 2023 Convertible Note and the SPA Warrant, the Company also recorded a liability for the purchase option within the SPA
in favor of the investor (the “Ayrton Note Purchase Option”), which gives the investor, at its option through 2025, the right
to purchase from the Company additional Notes (up to the sum of the aggregate principal amount) at one or more additional closings. The
initial recognition of this liability was measured at fair value utilizing the Black-Scholes Merton model and the fair value of $
The Company issued shares
of its common stock to the Investor during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023, as interest payments. A total of $
Effective July 23, 2024, the
Company entered into an amendment and exchange agreement, whereby the 2023 Convertible Notes were exchanged for new notes and also included
further arrangements to fund up to $
All prior defaults under the existing transaction documents have been deemed cured. The current Notes had an extension of the maturity date until December 15, 2024 and the investor has further agreed to extend the maturity to April 2025. No payments have been made.
In accordance with the July 2024
amendment, in January 2025, the Company issued restricted shares of its common stock to the investor in settlement of all past
defaults and penalty shares to be issued in conjunction therewith, subject to a leak out of 15% of daily trading value unless the sales
price of such shares is above $ per share. The Company also issued the investor
The principal amount of the initial
2024 Convertible Notes, which were issued in exchange for the 2023 Convertible Notes was $
As part of the agreement, Chirinjeev Kathuria, the Company’s Chairman, and Poseidon Bio, LLC, an entity controlled by Dr. Kathuria, also agreed to grant a proxy on all of their shares of the Company’s common stock to an independent third party, to vote them as that party sees fit, until such time as the Notes are paid in full.
During the three months ended
March 31, 2025, the investor converted approximately $
| 22 |
8. Commitments and Contingencies
Litigation
From time to time, the Company may be subject to various legal proceedings and claims that arise in the ordinary course of its business activities, including the significant matters described below that could have a material impact on our results of operations and cash flows. In many proceedings, including the specific matters described below, it is inherently difficult to determine whether any loss is probable or even reasonably possible or to estimate the size or range of the possible loss, and accruals for legal matters are not recorded until a loss for a particular matter is considered probable and reasonably estimable. Given the nature of legal matters and the complexities involved, it is often difficult to predict and determine a meaningful estimate of loss or range of loss until we know, among other factors, the particular claims involved, the likelihood of success of our defenses to those claims, the damages or other relief sought, how discovery or other procedural considerations will affect the outcome, the settlement posture of other parties, and other factors that may have a material effect on the outcome. For such matters, unless otherwise specified, we do not believe it is possible to provide a meaningful estimate of loss at this time. Moreover, it is not uncommon for legal matters to be resolved over many years, during which time relevant developments and new information must be continuously evaluated.
Heller v. Ocean Biomedical, Inc. et al.:
On May 23, 2023, Jonathan Heller
(“Heller”) filed a civil action against the Company, Poseidon Bio LLC, Dr. Chirinjeev Kathuria and Elizabeth Ng (collectively,
the “Defendants”) in the District Court of Rhode Island. Heller has asserted claims alleging that he is entitled to earned
salary and various other payments following his resignation from the Company. On July 27, 2023, Defendants filed their Answer and Affirmative
Defenses. On September 3, 2024, Defendants filed a Motion to Dismiss numerous counts included in the claims on the grounds that the counts
fail to state a claim upon which relief may be granted. If successful, this Motion would remove Dr. Kathuria and Ms. Ng as named defendants
and will reduce the number of claims against the Company to three. The Court has not provided a hearing date for this Motion. The Company
has concluded that a loss is probable and has recorded a liability of $
IPFS Corporation v. Ocean Biomedical, Inc
On January 4, 2024, IPFS Corporation
(“IPFS”) filed an action against the Company in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware. IPFS claims amounts
owed relating to financing provided to Aesther Healthcare Acquistion Corp for commercial insurance premiums in 2022, after the August
31, 2022, Merger Agreement but prior to closing of the Business Combination. IPFS filed a motion for a default judgment on February 16,
2024. Two default judgments have been entered in favor of IPFS; one entered April 19, 2024, related to the principal amount of $
Entoro Securities LLC v. Ocean Biomedical, Inc.
In June 2024, Entoro Securities
LLC (“Entoro”) filed an action against the Company in the Superior Court of Delaware. Entoro claims that its subcontractor
introduced the Company to Aesther Healthcare Acquisition Corp. and claims that the Company is obligated to pay Entoro a finder’s
fee as a result of the Business Combination. Entoro seeks a finder’s fee in the amount of $
Meteora Special Opportunity Fund I, LP, et al. v. Ocean Biomedical, Inc.
On May 22, 2024,
Meteora Special Opportunity Fund I, LP, et al. (comprised of Meteora Special Opportunity Fund I, LP; Meteora Capital Partners, LP; and
Meteora Select Trading Opportunities Master, LP, together “the Plaintiffs”), filed an action against the Company in the Supreme
Court of the State of New York, New York County. The Plaintiffs claim that the Seller VWAP Triggering Event related to the Backstop Agreement
as described in Note 2, Basis of Presentation and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies and Note 3, Business Combination
and Backstop Agreement, occurred on November 3, 2023, when the Company’s stock price traded below $per share for 30 of the preceding 45 trading days. The Plaintiffs set a Maturity Date for February 2024, at which time the Plaintiffs
allege the entire Maturity Consideration became due and owed to the Plaintiffs in the amount of $
License Fees
The Company has entered into license agreements with its academic research institution partners. Under these license agreements, the Company is required to make annual fixed license maintenance fee payments. The Company is also required to make payments upon successful completion and achievement of certain milestones as well as royalty payments upon sales of products covered by such licenses. The payment obligations under the license and collaboration agreements are contingent upon future events such as achievement of specified development, clinical, regulatory, and commercial milestones. As the timing of these future milestone payments are not known, the Company has not included these fees in the consolidated balance sheets as of March 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024.
For further discussion on license fees recorded during the period, refer to Note 12, License and Manufacturing Agreements.
| 23 |
Contingent Compensation and Other Contingent Payments
Under the management employment
agreements, we have salaries and bonuses that are contingently payable upon financing, collectively called contingent compensation, that
are contingently payable based only upon our first cumulative capital raise of at least $
We also have $
These amounts will not be paid if the contingencies do not occur. Since the payment of obligations under these agreements are contingent upon these future events, which are not considered probable as such future events are deemed outside of our control, we have not included these amounts in our condensed consolidated financial statements. There have not been any contingent compensation payments for the three months ended March 31, 2024 or 2025.
9. Equity
Common Stock
The holders of common stock of the Company are entitled to dividends when and if declared by the Company’s Board of Directors. The holders of common stock are entitled to one vote per share on all matters to be voted upon by the stockholders. As of March 31, 2025, and December 31, 2023, the Company had authorized shares of common stock with a par value of $ per share.
On April 1, 2024, Ocean Biomedical, Inc. (the “Company”) filed a Notification of Late Filing on Form 12b-25 with the SEC, indicating that the filing of its Annual Report on Form 10- K for the period ended December 31, 2023 (the “Form 10-K”) would be delayed, after determining that it was unable, without unreasonable effort or expense, to file the Form 10-K by the due date of April 1, 2024.
The Company received a notice (the “Notice”) on April 18, 2024, from the Nasdaq Listing Qualifications Department (“Nasdaq”) indicating that the Company remains in non-compliance with the timely filing requirement for continued listing under Nasdaq Listing Rule 5250(c)(1), which requires listed companies to timely file all required periodic reports with the SEC. On May 22, 2024, and August 19, 2024, the Company received similar notices with regard to its Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the periods ended March 31, 2024 and June 30, 2024, respectively.
The Notices will have no immediate effect on the listing or trading of the Company’s common stock, although there can be no assurances that further delays in the filing of the Form 10-K will not have an impact on the listing or trading of the Company’s common stock. Nasdaq indicated that the Company must: (i) submit a revised plan to regain compliance with respect to the filing requirement; and (ii) on or before October 14, 2024, file the delinquent Form 10-K. The Company filed the delinquent Form 10-K on November 25, 2024, Forms 10-Q for the first two quarters of 2024 were filed on December 23, 2024 and Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2024 was filed on January 13, 2025.
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Stock Options
2022 Stock Option and Incentive Plan
The Company’s Board of Directors (“the Board”) approved and adopted the 2022 Stock Option and Incentive Plan and Form of Non-Qualified Stock Option Agreement for Non-Employee Directors (the “Incentive Plan”) prior to the Closing of the Business Combination.
The maximum number of shares of common stock that may be initially issued or transferred pursuant to awards under the Incentive Plan equals shares (the “Share Limit”). The Share Limit will automatically increase on the first trading day in January of each calendar year during the term of the Incentive Plan, with the first such increase to occur in January 2024, by an amount equal to the lesser of (i) three percent (3%) of the total number of shares of common stock issued and outstanding on December 31 of the immediately preceding calendar year or (ii) such number of shares of common stock as may be established by the Board.
The Incentive Plan authorizes stock options, stock appreciation rights, and other forms of awards granted or denominated in the Company’s common stock or units of the Company’s common stock, as well as cash bonus awards. The Incentive Plan retains flexibility to offer competitive incentives and to tailor benefits to specific needs and circumstances. Any award may be structured to be paid or settled in cash. Any awards under the Incentive Plan (including awards of stock options and stock appreciation rights) may be fully vested at grant or may be subject to time- and/or performance-based vesting requirements.
The Incentive Plan does not limit the authority of the Board or any committee to grant awards or authorize any other compensation, with or without reference to the Company’s common stock, under any other plan or authority. The Board may amend or terminate the Incentive Plan at any time and in any manner. Stockholder approval for an amendment will be required only to the extent then required by applicable law or deemed necessary or advisable by the Board. Unless terminated earlier by the Board and subject to any extension that may be approved by stockholders, the authority to grant new awards under the Incentive Plan will terminate on the tenth anniversary of its establishment.
Stock Options to Non-Employee Directors
Under the Non-employee Director Compensation Policy, upon initial election or appointment to the Board, each new non-employee director will be granted under the Incentive Plan a one-time grant of a non-statutory stock option to purchase shares of its common stock on the date of such director’s election or appointment to the Board, issuable under the incentive plan. These will vest in substantially equal monthly installments over three years, subject to the director’s continued service as a member of the Board through each applicable vesting date.
On February 15, 2023,
options were granted to each of the non-employee directors at a strike price of $
The estimated fair value of a non-statutory stock option to purchase common stock on the grant date was $ per share and was determined using the Black-Scholes Merton model. The valuation used the following assumptions:
Expected volatility:
Expected term: years
Risk-Free Interest Rate:
Dividend Yield: The Company has not declared or paid dividends to date and does not anticipate declaring dividends. As such, the dividend yield has been estimated to be zero.
The stock-based compensation expense recorded for each of the three months ended March 31, 2025 and 2024, was $ million and was recorded within general and administrative expense in the Company’s condensed consolidated statements of operations, as discussed below.
Schedule of Stock Option Activity
| (in thousands) | Stock Options | Weighted Average Exercise Price | Weighted Average Remaining Contractual Life (in years) | Aggregate Intrinsic Value (in thousands) | ||||||||||||
| Outstanding at January 1, 2024 | $ | |||||||||||||||
| Options granted | — | |||||||||||||||
| Options cancelled or forfeited | — | |||||||||||||||
| Outstanding at March 31, 2024 | $ | |||||||||||||||
The aggregate intrinsic value
in the above table is calculated as the difference between the fair value of the Company’s common stock as of March 31, 2024 and
the exercise price of the stock options. As of March 31, 2024, the total unrecognized compensation related to unvested stock option awards
granted was $ million, which the Company expects to recognize over a weighted-average period of approximately years.
| (in thousands) | Stock Options | Weighted Average Exercise Price | Weighted Average Remaining Contractual Life (in years) | Aggregate Intrinsic Value (in thousands) | ||||||||||||
| Outstanding at January 1, 2025 | $ | |||||||||||||||
| Options granted | — | |||||||||||||||
| Options cancelled or forfeited | — | |||||||||||||||
| Outstanding at March 31, 2025 | $ | |||||||||||||||
The aggregate intrinsic value
in the above table is calculated as the difference between the fair value of the Company’s common stock as of March 31, 2025 and
the exercise price of the stock options. As of March 31, 2025, the total unrecognized compensation related to unvested stock option awards
granted was $ million, which the Company expects to recognize over a weighted-average period of approximately years.
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2022 Employee Stock Purchase Plan
The Board approved and adopted the 2022 Employee Stock Purchase Plan (the “ESPP”) prior to the Closing of the Business Combination.
Subject to adjustment, shares of common stock are available for purchase pursuant to the exercise of options under the ESPP. Shares to be delivered upon exercise of options under the ESPP may be authorized but unissued stock, treasury stock, or stock acquired in an open-market transaction. Subject to certain requirements and exceptions, all individuals classified as employees on the payroll records of the Company, or its subsidiaries are eligible to participate in any one or more of the offerings under the ESPP.
The ESPP allows eligible employees
to purchase shares of common stock during specified offering periods, with such offering periods not to exceed 27 months. During each
offering period, eligible employees will be granted an option to purchase shares of common stock on the last business day of the offering
period. The purchase price of each share of common stock issued pursuant to the exercise of an option under the ESPP on an exercise date
will be
The Board has discretion to amend the ESPP to any extent and in any manner, it may deem advisable, provided that any amendment that would be treated as the adoption of a new plan for purposes of Section 423 of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”) will require stockholder approval. The Board may suspend or terminate the ESPP at any time. No purchases were made as of March 31, 2025 or 2024.
Profit Interests in Poseidon
Legacy Ocean’s founder and then sole stockholder was issued shares of Legacy Ocean’s common stock (“Founders Shares”) upon the formation of Legacy Ocean on January 2, 2019. After inception and prior to the Business Combination, the majority of the Founders Shares were contributed to Poseidon Bio, LLC (“Poseidon”), with Poseidon subsequently granting Class A and Class B profit interests to Legacy Ocean’s founder and other certain executives and employees, respectively, and resulting in Legacy Ocean’s founder holding of the voting power of Poseidon. Further, after inception and prior to the Business Combination, Legacy Ocean implemented reverse stock splits which are appropriately reflected as applicable to the condensed consolidated financial statements.
These profit interests grants in the Company’s controlling shareholder were deemed to be transactions incurred by the shareholder and within the scope of ASC 718, Stock Compensation. As a result, the related transactions by the shareholder were pushed down into the Company’s condensed consolidated financial statements. As of March 31, 2025 and 2024, Legacy Ocean’s founder held % of the voting power and % of the equity interests in Poseidon.
Stock-Based Compensation
The Company recognizes stock-based compensation costs for equity-based compensation awards granted to employees, nonemployees, and directors in accordance with U.S. GAAP. The Company estimates the fair value and the resulting amounts using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model. The fair value is recognized on a straight-line basis over the requisite service periods but accelerated to the extent that grants vest sooner than on a straight-line basis. Forfeitures are accounted for as they occur and requires management to make a number of other assumptions, including the volatility of the underlying shares, the risk-free interest rate, and expected dividends. Expected volatility is based on the historical share volatility of a set of comparable publicly traded companies over a period of time equal to the expected term of the grant or option.
Stock-based compensation for the three months ended March 31, 2025 and 2024, consisted of costs related to (i) stock options granted to non-employee directors in the first quarter of 2023 and (ii) warrants issued to advisors and consultants, as discussed below. The following table summarizes the allocation of stock-based compensation for the stock options, warrants, and Class B profit interests for the three months ended March 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively:
| (in thousands) | 2025 | 2024 | ||||||
| For the Three Months Ended March 31, | ||||||||
| (in thousands) | 2025 | 2024 | ||||||
| Stock-based compensation: | ||||||||
| Research and development | $ | |||||||
| General and administrative | ||||||||
| Total stock-based compensation | $ | |||||||
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10. Warrants
As of March 31, 2025, and December 31, 2024, the following warrants to purchase common stock were outstanding:
Schedule of Warrants
| March 31, 2025 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Issuance Date | Number of Shares Issuable | Exercise Price | Classification | Expiration | ||||||||||||||
| Lender/Name | ||||||||||||||||||
| $ | (2) | |||||||||||||||||
| $ | ||||||||||||||||||
| $ | ||||||||||||||||||
| $ | ||||||||||||||||||
| $ | ||||||||||||||||||
| $ | ||||||||||||||||||
| $ | ||||||||||||||||||
| $ | ||||||||||||||||||
| (4) | $ | |||||||||||||||||
| (4) | $ | |||||||||||||||||
| $ | ||||||||||||||||||
| December 31, 2024 | ||||||||||||||
| Issuance Date | Number of Shares Issuable | Exercise Price | Classification | Expiration | ||||||||||
| Lender/Name | ||||||||||||||
| $ | (2) | |||||||||||||
| $ | ||||||||||||||
| $ | ||||||||||||||
| $ | ||||||||||||||
| $ | ||||||||||||||
| $ | ||||||||||||||
| $ | ||||||||||||||
| $ | ||||||||||||||
| (4) | $ | |||||||||||||
| (4) | $ | |||||||||||||
| $ | ||||||||||||||
| $ | ||||||||||||||
| (1) | ||
| (2) | ||
| (3) | ||
| (4) |
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In 2022 and 2023, the Company entered into certain agreements with Second Street Capital, Special Forces F9, LLC (“Special Forces”), and McKra for which it issued warrants exercisable to purchase the Company’s common stock. For each of the warrants issued, the Company utilized the guidance within ASC 480, Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity¸ to determine whether the instruments should be recorded as liabilities or as equity. For warrants that are fully vested upon issuance with a fixed life term, the instrument is classified as equity and the Company recognizes the estimated fair value of the warrant within equity on the date of grant, with the offset be recorded within (i) other income/(expense) for those issued in conjunction with loans and (ii) stock-based compensation within operating expenses for those issued to advisors and consultants. Further, for any warrants that are issued in connection with a loan and are not fully vested upon issuance, the fair value of the debt issuance is amortized over the set term. The estimated fair value for the equity-classified warrants is determined utilizing the Black-Scholes Merton model, as described below. For the warrant with a put option, the Company recorded a corresponding liability in its condensed consolidated balance sheets as discussed above.
In addition, the Company has Public Warrants and Private Warrants that were assumed in connection with the closing of the Business Combination. They are treated as equity-classified instruments, as discussed below.
The use of the Black-Scholes Merton model requires management to make the following assumptions:
Expected volatility: The Company estimates volatility for warrants issued by evaluating the average historical volatility of a peer group of companies for a period of time equal to the expected term of the warrants.
Expected term: Derived from the life of the warrants issued and is based on the simplified method which is essentially the weighted average of the vesting period and contractual term.
Risk-Free Interest Rate: The risk-free interest rate is based on the implied yield currently available on U.S. Treasury zero-coupon issues, with a term that is equal to the warrants’ expected term at the grant date.
Dividend Yield: The Company has not declared or paid dividends to date and does not anticipate declaring dividends. As such, the dividend yield has been estimated to be zero.
The fair value is recognized on a straight-line basis over the requisite service periods but accelerated to the extent that grants vest sooner than on a straight-line basis. Forfeitures are accounted for as they occur and requires management to make a number of other assumptions, including the volatility of the underlying shares, the risk-free interest rate, and expected dividends. Expected volatility is based on the historical share volatility of a set of comparable publicly traded companies over a period of time equal to the expected term of the grant.
Prior to the Business Combination, Legacy Ocean estimated the fair value of its common stock considering, among other things, contemporaneous valuations for its common stock prepared by third-party valuation firms and prices set forth in Legacy Ocean’s previous filings with the SEC for a proposed IPO of its common stock that was not pursued by Legacy Ocean. Upon execution of the Business Combination Agreement in September 2022, the value of the Second Street Warrants was based on the closing price of AHAC’s Class A common stock as reported on the Nasdaq Global Select Market on the grant date.
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Following the Closing of the Business Combination, the value of warrants issued by the Company was based on the closing price of its common stock as reported on the Nasdaq Capital Market on the grant date. The Company estimates the fair value, based upon these values, using the Black-Scholes Merton model, which is affected principally by the life of the warrant, the volatility of the underlying shares, the risk-free interest rate, and expected dividends. Expected volatility is based on the historical share volatility of a set of comparable publicly traded companies over a period of time equal to the expected term of the warrants. The risk-free interest rate is determined by reference to the U.S. Treasury yield curve in effect at the time of grant of the warrant for time periods approximately equal to the expected term of the warrant. Expected dividend yield is zero based on the fact that the Company has never paid cash dividends and does not expect to pay any cash dividends in the foreseeable future. The Company expenses the amount for warrants and stock-based awards within other income (expense) and stock-based compensation within operating expenses, as applicable, in its condensed consolidated statements of operations.
Second Street Warrants
In connection with the Second
Street Loans discussed in Note 6, Short-Term Loan Agreements, the Company issued a total of eight warrants exercisable to purchase
an aggregate of
The warrant issued in connection
with the March Second Street Loan, exercisable for
McKra Investments III Warrant
In connection with the
McKra Loan, discussed in Note 6, Short-Term Loan Agreements, the Company issued a warrant exercisable to purchase
Special Forces F9 Warrant
In connection with a strategic
advisory agreement, dated March 19, 2023 between the Company and Special Forces, the Company issued to Special Forces a warrant to purchase
In the first quarter of 2023,
the full amount of the $
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SPA Warrant
In connection with the amendment
and restatement of the Ayrton Convertible Note Financing in July 2024, the Company issued to an accredited investor a warrant A exercisable
for
Public and Private Warrants
The Company has a total of
Each whole IPO Warrant entitles the registered holder to purchase one share of common stock at a price of $ per share, subject to adjustment as discussed within the underlying agreements, at any time commencing 30 days after the completion of the Business Combination. However, the IPO Warrants are not exercisable for cash unless the Company has an effective and current registration statement covering the shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of the IPO Warrants.
The Company may call the IPO Warrants for redemption, in whole and not in part, at a price of $ per warrant:
| ● | at any time after the warrants become exercisable; | |
| ● | upon not less than 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption to each warrant holder; | |
| ● | if, and only if, the reported last sale price of the shares of common stock equals or exceeds $ per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations and recapitalizations), for any 20 trading days within a 30-trading-day period commencing after the warrants become exercisable and ending on the third business day prior to the notice of redemption to warrant holders; and | |
| ● | if, and only if, there is a current registration statement in effect with respect to the shares of common stock underlying such warrants. |
The right to exercise will be forfeited unless the IPO Warrants are exercised prior to the date specified in the notice of redemption. On and after the redemption date, a record holder of an IPO Warrant will have no further rights except to receive the redemption price for such holder’s warrant upon surrender of such warrant. If the Company calls the IPO Warrants for redemption as described above, its management will have the option to require all holders that wish to exercise warrants to do so on a “cashless basis.” In such event, each holder would pay the exercise price by surrendering the warrants for that number of shares of the Company’s common stock equal to the quotient obtained by dividing (x) the product of the number of shares of common stock underlying the warrants, multiplied by the difference between the exercise price of the warrants and the “fair market value” (defined below) by (y) the fair market value. The “fair market value” for this purpose shall mean the average reported last sale price of the shares of common stock for the five trading days ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which the notice of redemption is sent to the holders of warrants.
For accounting purposes, the Company accounts for the IPO Warrants (i) in accordance with the guidance contained in ASC 480-10-25-8 and ASC 815-40 and (ii) classified as an equity instrument. The fair values of the IPO Warrants were accounted for as deemed dividends. Since the entries to recognize the fair value of the IPO Warrants offset within additional paid-in capital, there is no inherent impact to the condensed consolidated financial statements.
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The Company computes basic loss per share using net income (loss) attributable to stockholders and the weighted-average number of the Company’s common stock shares outstanding during each period, less shares subject to repurchase under the Backstop Agreement. Diluted earnings per share include shares issuable upon exercise of outstanding stock options and stock-based awards where the conversion of such instruments would be dilutive. The Company’s potentially dilutive securities, which include stock options, earnout shares, and warrants to purchase shares of common stock, have been excluded from the computation of diluted net income (loss) per share as the effect would be to reduce the net loss per share. Therefore, the weighted average number of common shares outstanding used to calculate both basic and diluted income (loss) per share attributable to the Company’s stockholders’ is the same.
Schedule of Earnings Per Share, Basic and Diluted
| 2025 | 2024 | |||||||
Three Months Ended March 31, | ||||||||
| 2025 | 2024 | |||||||
| Numerator: | ||||||||
| Net (loss) income | $ | ( | ) | $ | ||||
| Denominator: | ||||||||
| Weighted-average shares of common stock outstanding, basic and diluted | ||||||||
| Net (loss) income per common share, basic and diluted | $ | ) | $ | |||||
Schedule of Securities Excluded from Computation of Diluted Loss Per Share
| 2025 | 2024 | |||||||
Three Months Ended March 31, | ||||||||
| 2025 | 2024 | |||||||
| Stock options | ||||||||
| Warrants to purchase common stock | ||||||||
| Anti dilutive securities | ||||||||
As discussed in Note 3, Business Combination and Backstop Agreement, Legacy Ocean is also entitled to receive up to an additional shares of the Company’s common stock, referred to herein as the Earnout Shares. These Earnout Shares are subject to certain performance conditions that expire on the 36-month anniversary of Closing. None of these conditions have been met as of March 31, 2025.
12. License and Manufacturing Agreements
Elkurt/Brown License Agreements
In 2020, the Company entered into four separate Exclusive License Agreements (the “Initial Brown License Agreements”) with Elkurt, Inc.(“Elkurt”), a licensee of Brown University, which were subsequently amended in 2021 and 2022. Elkurt is a company formed by the Company’s scientific co-founders and members of our Board, Jack A. Elias, M.D., former Dean of Medicine and current Special Advisor for Health Affairs to Brown University, and Jonathan Kurtis, M.D., PhD, Chair of the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at Brown University. Under the Initial Brown License Agreements, Elkurt grants the Company exclusive, royalty-bearing licenses to patent rights and nonexclusive, royalty-bearing licenses to know-how, solely to make, have made, market, offer for sale, use, and sell licensed products for use in certain fields.
The latest amendment, executed on November 13, 2023, (i) extended the date after which Elkurt can terminate the license agreements if the Company has not raised at least $10.0 million in equity financing by May 1, 2024, and (ii) extended the dates of the commercialization plan of the license agreement to an additional three years.
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For each of the Initial
Brown License Agreements, as amended,
The Company will also pay Elkurt
developmental and commercialization milestone payments for each of the Initial Brown License Agreements ranging from $
The contract term for each of the Initial Brown License Agreements, as amended, continues until the later of (i) the date on which the last valid claim expires or (ii) ten years. Either party may terminate each of the Initial Brown License Agreements in certain situations, including Elkurt being able to terminate the Initial Brown License Agreements at any time and for any reason after May 1, 2024, as discussed above. For the oncology programs, three of the license agreements have been sublicensed to the Company’s subsidiary, Ocean ChitoRx Inc, and for the fibrosis program, one license agreement has been sublicensed to the Company’s subsidiary, Ocean ChitofibroRx Inc.
Brown Anti-PfGARP Small Molecules License Agreement
On September 13, 2022, the Company entered into an additional Exclusive License Agreement (the “Brown Anti-PfGARP Small Molecules License Agreement”) with Elkurt. Under the Brown Anti-PfGARP Small Molecules License Agreement, Elkurt grants the Company an exclusive, royalty-bearing license to patent rights and a nonexclusive, royalty-bearing license to know-how, solely to make, have made, market, offer for sale, use, and sell licensed products for use in the field of malaria research.
For the Brown Anti-PfGARP Small
Molecules License Agreement,
The Company is also required
to pay Elkurt developmental and commercialization milestone payments pursuant to the Brown Anti-PfGARP Small Molecules License Agreement
ranging from $
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Refer to Note 13, Related Party Transactions, for further detail on the Company’s relationship to Elkurt.
Rhode Island License Agreement
In January 2021, the Company entered into an Exclusive License Agreement (the “Rhode Island License Agreement”) with Elkurt, a licensee of Rhode Island Hospital, as subsequently amended throughout that year. Under the Rhode Island License Agreement, as amended, Elkurt grants the Company an exclusive, royalty-bearing license to patent rights and a nonexclusive, royalty-bearing license to know-how, solely to make, have made, market, offer for sale, use, and sell licensed products for use in a certain field.
For the Rhode Island License
Agreement,
Upon successful
commercialization, under the terms of the agreement,
The contract term for the Rhode Island License Agreement began February 1, 2020, and will continue until the later of (i) the date on which the last valid claim expires or (ii) fifteen years. Either party may terminate the Rhode Island License Agreement in certain situations, and as discussed above, the next steps for the licensing agreements are still being negotiated. The Rhode Island License Agreement has been sublicensed to the Company’s subsidiary, Ocean Sihoma Inc.
Refer to Note 13, Related Party Transactions, for further detail on the Company’s relationship to Elkurt.
Development and Manufacturing Services Agreement
In December 2020, the Company
entered into a Development and Manufacturing Services Agreement with Lonza AG and affiliate Lonza Sales AG (“Lonza”). The
Company engaged Lonza pursuant to the development and manufacture of certain products and services along with the assistance in developing
the product OCX-253. The agreement outlines the pricing for services and raw materials as incurred and payment terms. For the three-month
period ended March 31, 2025, the Company did not incur expenses under this agreement. For the three-month period ended March 31, 2024,
the Company incurred expenses under this agreement of $
The Development and Manufacturing Services Agreement will terminate on December 31, 2025. Either party may terminate the agreement within 60 days after it becomes apparent to either party that it will not be possible to complete the services for a scientific or technical reason after a good faith effort is made to resolve such problems. The agreement may be terminated by either party, immediately for any uncured material breach, insolvency, or liquidation. In the event of termination, the Company will pay Lonza all costs incurred through the termination date.
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13. Related Party Transactions
License Agreements with Elkurt, Inc.
Elkurt/Brown & Rhode Island Hospital Licenses
The Company is party to the License Agreements between Elkurt and Brown and the License Agreements between Elkurt and Rhode Island Hospital (see Note 12 Licensing and Manufacturing Agreements above). Elkurt is a company formed by the Company’s scientific co-founders Jack A. Elias, M.D., former Dean of Medicine and current Special Advisor for Health Affairs to Brown University, and Jonathan Kurtis, M.D., PhD, Chair of the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at Brown University. Dr. Elias and Dr. Kurtis are members of the Company’s Board.
Transactions with Legacy Ocean’s Founder and Executive Chairman
The Legacy Ocean founder and
executive chairman had paid certain expenses on behalf of the Company. He is reimbursed when the Company has sufficient working capital
to do so. As of March 31, 2025 and 2024, the amount due for these expenses was $
Transactions with Chief Accounting Officer
The Company’s Chief
Accounting Officer previously provided consulting services to Legacy Ocean through RJS Consulting, LLC, his wholly owned limited
liability company, through June 15, 2021, before becoming the Company’s Chief Accounting Officer. As of March 31, 2025, and
December 31, 2024, the amount due for these expenses was $
14. Segment Reporting
We operate and manage the business as one reportable and operating segment, which is the business of discovering and developing therapeutic products in oncology, fibrosis, infectious diseases and inflammation. Our chief executive officer, who is the chief operating decision maker, or CODM, reviews financial information on an aggregate basis for allocating and evaluating financial performance.
15. Subsequent Events
The Company has evaluated subsequent events to determine if events or transactions occurring through the filing date of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q require adjustments to or disclosures in the Company’s condensed consolidated financial statements. Aside from the items discussed below, the Company did not have any subsequent events that required recognition or disclosure in the condensed consolidated financial statements for the three months ended March 31, 2025.
On April 22, 2025, Ocean Biomedical, Inc. received a letter from Nasdaq determining that OCEA’s common stock will be delisted from Nasdaq and that trading in its securities will be suspended effective upon the open of business on April 24, 2025. The letter also stated that Nasdaq intends to complete delisting by filing a Form 25 Notification of Delisting with the SEC after applicable appeal periods have lapsed.
Pursuant to Nasdaq listing rules, the Company has the right to appeal Nasdaq’s delisting determination within 15 days of the date of the letter. The Company filed its appeal and paid the filing fee. The Company will continue to vigorously pursue this appeal and seek to pursue its business plan as disclosed in its press release issued on April 22, 2025. The Company filed its initial appeals memorandum on May 12, 2025 and continues to vigorously defend its appeals position. It has taken its first steps towards implementation of its expanded business plan with the entry into a binding letter of intent for the development of up to a 20 MW power asset in Alberta, Canada. There are no assurances that the Company will be successful in the appeal and an adverse decision would lead to a full delisting.
During
the period from April 2025 thru the first week of May 2025, the investor converted $
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Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
You should read the following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations together with Ocean Biomedical, Inc.’s (the “Company,” “Ocean Biomedical,” “we,” “us” and “our”) condensed consolidated financial statements and related notes included elsewhere in this Report and the audited consolidated financial statements and related notes thereto included in our Form 10-K filed with the SEC on April 8, 2025. The information contained in this discussion and other parts of this Report include forward-looking statements that involve risks, uncertainties, and assumptions in our business plans, strategy, and related financing. Our actual results could differ materially from the results discussed in or implied by these forward-looking statements. Factors that could contribute or cause such differences include, but are not limited to, the information below and the information discussed in the section titled “Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-looking Statements.”
Overview
We are a biopharmaceutical company that seeks to bridge the “bench-to-bedside” gap between medical research discoveries and patient solutions. We do this by leveraging our strong relationships with research universities and medical centers to license their inventions and technologies with the goal of developing them into products that address diseases with significant unmet medical needs. We believe that our differentiated business model positions us to capture inventions created at these institutions that might otherwise fail to be commercialized to benefit patients. Our team of accomplished scientists, business professionals and entrepreneurs bring together the interdisciplinary expertise and resources required to develop and commercialize a diverse portfolio of assets. We are organized around a licensing and subsidiary structure that we believe will enable us to create mutual value both for us and potential licensing partners. We believe this structure, combined with the professional networks of our leadership team members, allows us to opportunistically build a continuous pipeline of promising product innovations through our existing and potential future relationships with research institutions.
Our goal is to optimize value creation for each of our product candidates, and we intend to continuously assess the best pathway for each as it progresses through the preclinical and clinical development process—including through internal advancement, partnerships with established companies and spinouts or other strategic transactions—in order to benefit patients through the commercialization of these products. Our current active assets are licensed from Brown University and Rhode Island Hospital. Our scientific co-founders and members of our Board of Directors (“Board”), Dr. Jack A. Elias and Dr. Jonathan Kurtis, are both affiliated with Brown University and with Rhode Island Hospital. Our strategy is to accelerate the flow of the academic discoveries, and the required clinical development required for these product candidates and advance them commercially. The number of potential opportunities at research universities and medical centers is large, but only a small fraction of these opportunities is currently tapped in the market. The gap remains wide, and we believe this presents an attractive opportunity for us to become an industry leader by addressing a need to accelerate the advancement of therapeutics that can address significant unmet medical needs. The core elements that we believe differentiate our business model include:
| ● | Harnessing inventions and technologies from research universities and medical centers. We are experienced at identifying and sourcing breakthrough discoveries at academic and research institutions, including our current partnerships with Brown University and Rhode Island Hospital. |
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| ● | Developing new drug therapies through an operationally efficient, evidence-based and milestone-driven approach. Once we select an asset for development, we pursue what we believe are appropriate development strategies that we aim to execute efficiently by leveraging contract research organizations (“CROs”) and contract manufacturing organizations (“CMOs”), and other drug development experts and consultants. |
| ● | Building a diverse portfolio of product candidates. We are evidence-based and program agnostic, meaning that our resources are driven strictly by program progress and milestone achievements. Our approach is to develop multiple diverse programs in parallel which mitigates business risk. |
| ● | Providing attractive economic upside to our partners at research universities and medical centers. We have a structure wherein our parent company houses each program in a subsidiary. We believe this structure is optimal to provide attractive economic incentives to the discovering institution and its researchers. |
| ● | Employing a multi-disciplinary approach to drug discovery and development across our programs. Our business model is based on bringing together the appropriate disciplines and expertise needed for each of our programs and leveraging learnings across programs and disease areas. |
| ● | Exploiting multiple commercialization options to maximize each program’s value. Throughout the development of our product candidates, we plan to continually assess that program’s potential paths to market, and we will endeavor to identify and maximize commercial value through various options, including internal advancement, partnerships with established companies, and spin-outs or other strategic transactions. |
| ● | Leadership team comprised of academic, scientific and business innovators. We have assembled an industry-leading, multi-disciplinary team consisting of physicians, scientists and business leaders with significant experience in progressing product candidates from early-stage research through clinical trials, regulatory approval and ultimately to commercialization. Although our company has not yet developed or commercialized any biopharmaceutical products, key members of our management team have experience doing so in previous endeavors. |
We believe our differentiated business model will enable us to commercialize our products, if approved, and will allow us to replicate our licensing partnerships through aligned incentive structures with research universities and medical centers.
Our pipeline consists of clinical-stage programs. We anticipate moving certain preclinical product candidates in our oncology, fibrosis and/or infectious disease programs into the clinic in the next 12 to 24 months.
Since Legacy Ocean’s inception in 2019, we have devoted substantially all of our efforts to organizing, research and development activities, business planning, building our intellectual property positions and providing general and administrative support for these operations. We have not generated any revenue from product sales.
We have incurred significant operating losses since inception. Our ability to generate product revenues sufficient to achieve profitability will depend heavily upon the successful development and eventual commercialization of one or more of our current products or any future products. Our net losses were $8.2 million for the three months ended March 31, 2025. We reflected net income of $13.0 million for the three months ended March 31, 2024, primarily due to a gain recognized in connection with the Backstop Put Option Liability and Fixed Maturity Consideration. As of March 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024, we had a stockholders’ deficit of $92.4 million and $97.6 million, respectively. Our current liabilities are $26.6 million and $33.9 million as of March 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024, respectively. Our current liabilities consisted of accrued expenses including transaction costs, accounting and legal fees, accrued research and development costs, and short-term loans. We expect that our expense and capital requirements will increase substantially in connection with ongoing activities to commercialize our products in the future.
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We expect to continue to generate operating losses for the foreseeable future. Our future viability is dependent on the success of our research and development and our ability to access additional capital to fund our operations. There can be no assurance that our current operating plan will be achieved or that additional funding will be available on terms acceptable to us, or at all.
We are subject to risks and uncertainties common to early-stage companies in the biotechnology industry including, but not limited to, new technological innovations, protection of proprietary technology, dependence on key personnel, compliance with government regulations, and the ability to obtain additional capital to fund operations. Our therapeutic products will require significant additional research and development efforts, including preclinical and clinical testing and regulatory approval prior to commercialization. These efforts require additional capital, adequate personnel and extensive compliance reporting capabilities. There can be no assurance that our research and development will be successfully completed, that adequate protection for our intellectual property will be obtained, that any products developed will obtain necessary government regulatory approval, or that any approved products will be commercially viable.
Basis of Presentation
The Company’s condensed consolidated financial statements were prepared in accordance with US GAAP. See Note 2, Basis of Presentation and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies, to our condensed consolidated financial statements for a full description of our basis of presentation.
Impacts Market Conditions on Our Business
Disruption of global financial markets and a recession or market correction, the ongoing military conflict between Russia and Ukraine and the related sanctions imposed against Russia, and other global macroeconomic factors such as inflation, could reduce the Company’s ability to access capital, which could in the future negatively affect our liquidity and could materially affect our business and the value of its common stock.
Components of Our Results of Operations
Revenue
To date, we have not generated any revenue from any sources, including from product sales, and we do not expect to generate any revenue from the sale of products in the foreseeable future. If our development efforts for our product candidates are successful and result in regulatory approval, or license agreements with third parties, we may generate revenue in the future from product sales. However, there can be no assurance as to when we will generate such revenue, if at all.
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Operating Expenses
Research and Development Expenses
To date, research and development expenses consist, or will consist, primarily of costs incurred for our research activities, including the development of our product candidates, as well as stock-based compensation. We expense research and development costs as incurred, which we expect will primarily include:
| ● | expenses incurred under our licenses and services agreements; |
| ● | employee-related expenses, including salaries and benefits for personnel engaged in research and development functions; and |
| ● | expenses incurred for outside services with our CMO relating to the development of certain of our preclinical assets. |
We recognize external development costs based on an evaluation of the progress to completion of specific milestones using information provided to us by our service providers. This process involves reviewing open contracts and purchase orders, communicating with our personnel to identify services that have been performed on our behalf and estimating the level of service performed and the associated cost incurred for the service when we have not yet been invoiced or otherwise notified of actual costs. Such amounts are expensed as the related goods are delivered or the related services are performed, or until it is no longer expected that the goods will be delivered, or the services rendered.
Our direct external research and development expenses consist of (or are expected to consist) primarily of external costs, such as fees paid to outside consultants, CROs, CMOs and research laboratories in connection with our preclinical development, process development, manufacturing and clinical development activities. Our direct research and development expenses also include fees incurred under license agreements. We have not allocated and do not expect to allocate employee costs, costs associated with our discovery efforts, laboratory supplies, and facilities, including depreciation or other indirect costs, to specific programs because these costs are or will be deployed across multiple programs and, as such, are not separately classified. We use internal resources primarily to conduct our research and discovery as well as for managing our preclinical development, process development, manufacturing and clinical development activities. These employees work across multiple programs and, therefore, we do not track their costs by program.
Research and development activities are key to our business model. Product candidates in later stages of clinical development generally have higher development costs than those in earlier stages of clinical development, primarily due to the increased size and duration of later stage clinical trials. As a result, we expect that our research and development expenses will increase substantially over the next several years, which will include:
| ● | expenses incurred under our licenses and services agreements to conduct the necessary preclinical studies and clinical trials required to obtain regulatory approval; |
| ● | expenses incurred under agreements with CROs, that are primarily engaged in the oversight and conduct of our drug discovery efforts and preclinical studies, clinical trials and CMOs, that are primarily engaged to provide preclinical and clinical product for our research and development candidates; |
| ● | other costs related to acquiring and manufacturing materials in connection with our drug discovery efforts and preclinical studies and clinical trial materials, including manufacturing validation batches, as well as investigative sites and consultants that conduct our clinical trials, preclinical studies and other scientific development services; |
| ● | employee-related expenses, including salaries and benefits, and stock-based compensation expense for employees engaged in research and development functions; and |
| ● | costs related to compliance with regulatory requirements. |
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At this time, we cannot reasonably estimate or know the nature, timing and costs of the efforts that will be necessary to complete the preclinical and clinical development of any of our product candidates or when, if ever, material net cash inflows may commence from any of our product candidates. The successful development and commercialization of our product candidates is highly uncertain. This uncertainty is due to the numerous risks and uncertainties associated with product development and commercialization, including the following:
| ● | scope, progress, outcome and costs of our preclinical development activities, clinical trials and other research and development activities; |
| ● | ability to successfully in-license attractive product candidates from our partners; |
| ● | establishing an appropriate safety and efficacy profile with Investigational New Drug, or IND, enabling studies; |
| ● | successful patient enrollment in and the initiation and completion of clinical trials; |
| ● | the timing, receipt and terms of approvals from applicable regulatory authorities including the FDA and other non-U.S. regulators; |
| ● | the extent of any required post-marketing approval commitments to applicable regulatory authorities; |
| ● | establishing clinical and commercial manufacturing capabilities with third-party manufacturers in order to ensure that we or our third-party manufacturers are able to produce product successfully; |
| ● | development and timely delivery of clinical-grade and commercial-grade drug formulations that can be used in our clinical trials and for commercial launch; |
| ● | launching commercial sales of our product candidates, if and when approved, whether alone or in collaboration with others; |
| ● | maintaining a continued acceptable safety protocol of our product candidates following any approval; and |
| ● | significant and potential changing government regulations. |
Any changes in the outcome of any of these variables with respect to the development of our product candidates in preclinical and clinical development could mean a significant change in the costs and timing associated with the development of these product candidates, such as if the FDA or another regulatory authority were to delay our planned start of clinical trials or require us to conduct other clinical trials or testing beyond those that we currently expect or if significant delays in enrollment in any of our planned clinical trials occurred. Such delays or changes may require us to expend significant additional financial resources and time on the completion of clinical development of that product candidate.
General and Administrative Expenses
General and administrative expenses consist, or will consist, primarily of salaries and benefits, travel and stock-based compensation expense for personnel in executive, business development, finance, legal, human resources, information technology, pre-commercial and support personnel functions. General and administrative expenses also include direct and allocated facility-related costs, insurance costs, stock-based compensation, and professional fees for internal and external accounting services, legal, patent, consulting, investor and public relations.
We anticipate that our general and administrative expenses will increase in the future as we increase our headcount to support our continued research activities and development of our product candidates and prepare for potential commercialization activities. We also incur significantly increased accounting, audit, legal, regulatory, tax, compliance with Nasdaq and SEC requirements, and director and officer insurance costs as well as investor and public relations expenses associated with operating as a public company. If and when we believe a regulatory approval of a product candidate appears likely, we anticipate an increase in payroll and other employee-related expenses as a result of our preparation for commercial operations as it relates to the sales and marketing of that product candidate.
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Income Taxes
Income taxes are recorded in accordance with FASB ASC 740, Income Taxes, which provides for deferred taxes using an asset and liability approach. We recognize deferred tax assets and liabilities for the expected future tax consequences of events that have been included in the financial statements or tax returns. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are determined based on the difference between the financial statement and tax bases of assets and liabilities using enacted tax rates in effect for the year in which the differences are expected to reverse, and net operating loss, or NOL, carryforwards and research and development tax credit carryforwards. Valuation allowances are provided, if based upon the weight of available evidence, it is more likely than not that some or all of the deferred tax assets will not be realized. We have recorded a full valuation allowance to reduce our net deferred income tax assets to zero. In the event we were to determine that we would be able to realize some or all of our deferred income tax assets in the future, an adjustment to the deferred income tax asset valuation allowance would increase income in the period such determination was made. As a consequence, we have recorded no income tax expense nor benefit for all years presented.
Comparison of the Three months Ended March 31, 2025 and 2024
| Three months ended March 31, | ||||||||||||
| in thousands | 2025 | 2024 | $ Change | |||||||||
| Revenue | $ | - | $ | - | $ | - | ||||||
| Operating Expenses: | ||||||||||||
| Research and development | 18 | 26 | (8 | ) | ||||||||
| General and administrative | 940 | 569 | 371 | |||||||||
| Total operating expenses | 958 | 595 | 363 | |||||||||
| Operating loss | (958 | ) | (595 | ) | (363 | ) | ||||||
| Other (loss) income | (7,282 | ) | 13,594 | (20,876 | ) | |||||||
| Net (loss) income | (8,240 | ) | 12,999 | (21,239 | ) | |||||||
Operating Expenses
Research and development
Research and development expense for the three months ended March 31, 2025 were basically unchanged, as compared to the three months ended March 31, 2024.
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General and administrative
General and administrative expense for the three months ended March 31, 2025 increased by $0.4 million, as compared to the three months ended March 31, 2024. The $0.4 million increase was primarily driven by increases in the costs associated with our year-end audit and the filing of our Form 10-K, since those services were not completed in the prior year period.
Other Income (Expense)
Other expense for the three months ended March 31, 2025 increased by $20.9 million, as compared to the three months ended March 31, 2024. The increase of $20.9 million was primarily driven by (i) a $18.1 million decrease in the changes in fair values of the Fixed Maturity Consideration and Backstop Put Option Liability; (ii) $2.7 million increase in transaction costs; and (iii) $1.7 million of redemption premium on debt conversions, partially offset by a $1.3 million change in fair value of the 2024 Convertible Notes and SPA warrants.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
Overview
Since our inception, we have incurred significant operating losses. We have not yet commercialized any products and we do not expect to generate revenue from sales of products for several years, if at all. We had no cash inflows from operating activities for the three months ended March 31, 2025. Further, as of March 31, 2025, we had no cash and a working capital deficiency of $23.1 million.
To date, we have funded our operations from the proceeds from the issuance of common stock and debt, proceeds from the Backstop Agreement and through self-funding by our founder and have limited current cash on hand to fund our operations. Based on our current operational plans and assumptions, we expect that the net proceeds from the Backstop Agreement, the Ayrton Convertible Note Financing and future debt and equity financings, as well as further deferrals of certain of our accrued expenses and contingency payments due upon the closing of future financings, are required to fund operations into the third quarter of 2025. As of March 31, 2025, we received $1.4 million in cumulative proceeds from the Backstop Agreement.
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We borrowed $3.7 million in the second half of 2024 and $1.0 million in the first quarter of 2025 from additional tranches under the Ayrton Convertible Note Financing, the proceeds of which were used to fund working capital requirements. As of March 31, 2025, the principal of our remaining short-term loans outstanding was $10.1 million.
As an emerging growth company, we are dependent on outside capital in order to advance our research and development programs, operate our business, and meet our future obligations as they come due. Our current operating plan indicates that we will incur losses from operations and generate negative cash flows from operating activities, given anticipated expenditures related to research and development activities we lack revenue generating ability at this point in our lifecycle. These events and conditions raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern.
We will seek additional funding through private equity financings, debt financings, collaborations, strategic alliances, marketing, distribution, or licensing arrangements. There is no assurance that we will be successful in obtaining additional financing on terms acceptable to us, if at all, and we may not be able to enter into collaborations or other arrangements. If we are unable to obtain funding, we could be forced to delay, reduce, or eliminate our research and development programs, which could adversely affect our business prospects and our ability to continue operations.
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Funding Requirements
We expect our expenses to increase substantially in connection with our ongoing activities, particularly as we advance the preclinical activities and clinical trials of our product candidates. In addition, we will incur additional ongoing costs associated with operating as a public company, including significant legal, accounting, compliance, investor relations and other expenses that we did not incur as a private company. The timing and amount of our operating expenditures will depend on our ability to:
| ● | advance preclinical development of our early-stage programs; |
| ● | manufacture, or have manufactured on our behalf, our preclinical and clinical drug material and develop processes for late state and commercial manufacturing; |
| ● | Obtain regulatory approvals for any product candidates that successfully complete clinical trials; |
| ● | establish a sales, marketing and distribution infrastructure to commercialize our product candidates for which we may obtain marketing approval and intend to commercialize on our own; |
| ● | hire additional clinical, quality control and scientific personnel; |
| ● | expand our operational, financial and management systems and increase personnel, including personnel to support our research and clinical development, manufacturing and commercialization efforts and our operations as a public company; and | |
| ● | obtain, maintain, expand and protect our intellectual property portfolio. |
We will require additional capital as we seek regulatory approval of our product candidates and if we choose to pursue in-licenses or acquisitions of other product candidates. If we receive regulatory approval for our product candidates, we expect to incur significant commercialization expenses related to product manufacturing, sales, marketing and distribution, depending on where we choose to commercialize. Because of the numerous risks and uncertainties associated with research, development and commercialization of biologic product candidates, we are unable to estimate the exact amount of our working capital needs.
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Ayrton Convertible Note Financing
Refer to Note 7, Senior Secured Convertible Notes, in Part I, Item 1. “Financial Statements” for additional detail about our convertible notes and the warrants issued in conjunction with these loans.
Short-Term Loans
Refer to Note 6, Short-Term Loans, in Part I, Item 1. “Financial Statements” for additional detail about our short-term loans and the warrants issued in conjunction with these loans.
Other Commitments
License Fees
Our contractual obligations are expected to have an effect on our liquidity and cash flows in future periods. Under our license agreements with our academic research institution partners, fixed license maintenance fees of $0.3 million are due within 15 days of financing of at least $10.0 million and $0.1 million are due within 30 days of financing of at least $10.0 million. In addition, under these license agreements, we are also required to make payments upon successful completion and achievement of certain milestones as well as royalty payments upon sales of products covered by such licenses. The payment obligations under the license fees are recorded in accounts payable. The payment obligations under the collaboration agreements are contingent upon future events such as our achievement of specified development, clinical, regulatory, and commercial milestones. As the timing of these future milestone payments are not known, we have not included these fees in our condensed consolidated balance sheets as of March 31, 2025. None of these were paid as of March 31, 2025.
Refer to Note 12, License and Manufacturing Agreements, in Part I, Item 1. “Financial Statements” for further detail around timing of license fees due.
Contingent Compensation and Other Contingent Payments
Under the management employment agreements, we have salaries and bonuses that are contingently payable upon financing, collectively called contingent compensation, that are contingently payable based only upon our first cumulative capital raise of at least $50.0 million. As of March 31, 2025, we have contingent compensation and bonuses in the amount of $16.9 million to certain members of senior management as well as $1.0 million in contingent vendor payments. These amounts will not be paid if the contingencies do not occur. Since the payment of obligations under the employment agreements are contingent upon these future events, which are not considered probable as such future events are deemed outside of our control, we have not included these amounts in our condensed consolidated financial statements. None of these were paid as of March 31, 2025.
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Development and Manufacturing Services Agreement
We have entered and anticipate we will continue to enter into contracts in the normal course of business with external organizations such as CMOs, CROs and other third parties for the manufacture of our product candidates and to support clinical trials and preclinical research studies and testing. We expect that these contracts will be generally cancelable by us, and we anticipate that payments due upon cancellation will consist only of payments for services provided or expenses incurred, including noncancelable obligations of our service providers, up to the date of cancellation.
Cash Flows
To date, we have not generated any revenue. Cash flows to date have resulted from financing activities, including payments made on behalf of the Company by related parties and net proceeds from issuance of shares of common stock consisting of friends and family of our employees and short-term borrowings, including the initial Note from the Ayrton Convertible Note Financing. As of March 31, 2025, our restricted cash balance of $0.8 million is held in an escrow account. We do not have any cash equivalents. Cash used in operating activities was primarily used to pay legal and accounting fees. Our outstanding accounts payable and accrued expenses of $17.0 million as of March 31, 2025, are expected to be paid off utilizing future proceeds from current and future financings, including proceeds from future debt and equity financings.
Critical Accounting Estimates
Our consolidated financial statements are prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America, or U.S. GAAP. The preparation of our consolidated financial statements and related disclosures requires us to make estimates and judgments that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, costs and expenses. We base our estimates on historical experience, known trends and events, and various other factors that we believe are reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. We evaluate our estimates and assumptions on an ongoing basis. Our actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions. While our significant accounting policies are described in more detail in Note 2, Summary of Significant Accounting Policies, to our condensed consolidated financial statements appearing elsewhere in this Report, we believe that the following accounting policies are those most critical to the judgments and estimates used in the preparation of our consolidated financial statements.
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Valuation Methodologies
Valuation of Backstop Put Option Liability and Fixed Maturity Consideration
We utilized a Monte-Carlo simulation to value the Backstop Put Option Liability and Fixed Maturity Consideration. The key inputs and assumptions used in the Monte-Carlo Simulation, including volatility, expected term, expected future stock price, and various simulated paths, were utilized to estimate the fair value of the associated derivative liabilities. The value of the Backstop Put Option Liability and Fixed Maturity were calculated as the average present value over 50,000 simulated paths. We measure the fair value at each reporting period, with subsequent of fair values recorded within other income (expense) in our condensed consolidated statements of operations.
Valuation of 2024 Convertible Note and SPA Warrants
We utilized a Monte-Carlo simulation at inception to value the 2025 Convertible Note and SPA Warrants. The Monte-Carlo simulation is calculated as the average present value over all simulated paths. The key inputs and assumptions used in the Monte-Carlo Simulation, including volatility, estimated market yield, the probability of various scenarios, including subsequent placement and change in control, and various simulated paths, were utilized to estimate the fair value of the associated liabilities. We will continue to measure the fair value at each reporting period, with subsequent fair values recorded within other income (expense) in our condensed consolidated statements of operations.
Valuation of the Ayrton Note Purchase Option
We utilized the Black-Scholes Merton model to value the Ayrton Note Purchase Option. The key inputs and assumptions used in the Black-Scholes Merton model, including volatility and risk-free rate, were utilized to estimate the fair value of the associated liability. We will continue to measure the fair value at each reporting period, with subsequent changes in fair values to be recorded within other income (expense) in our condensed consolidated statements of operations.
Fair Values Accounting for Equity-Classified Warrants and Stock-Based Awards
We measure and record the expense related to warrants and stock-based awards based upon the fair value at the date of grant. We estimate the grant date fair value of each common stock option using the Black-Scholes Merton model, which requires the input of highly subjective assumptions and management’s best estimates. These estimates involve inherent uncertainties and management’s judgement. If factors change and different assumptions are used, our expense recognition could be materially different in the future.
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Recent Accounting Pronouncements
In November 2023, the FASB issued ASU No. 2023-07, Segment Reporting (Topic 280): Improvements to Reportable Segment Disclosures (“ASU 2023-07”). ASU 2023-07 expands public entities’ segment disclosures by requiring disclosure of significant segment expenses that are regularly provided to the chief operating decision maker and included within each reported measure of segment profit or loss, an amount and description of its composition for other segment items, and interim disclosures of a reportable segment’s profit or loss and assets. All disclosure requirements under ASU 2023-07 are also required for public entities with a single reportable segment. ASU 2023-07 is effective for public business entities with fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2023, and interim periods within fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2024. The Company has concluded that the impact of adopting ASU 2023-07 is not material to its condensed consolidated financial statements and related disclosures.
In December 2023, the FASB issued ASU No. 2023-09, Income Taxes (Topic 740): Improvements to Income Tax Disclosures to enhance the transparency and decision usefulness of income tax disclosures. This standard is effective for the Company for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2024 and can be applied on a prospective or retrospective basis. The Company has concluded that the impact of adopting ASU 2023-09 is not material to its condensed consolidated financial statements and related disclosures.
Emerging Growth Company and Smaller Reporting Company Status
The Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012 permits an “emerging growth company” such as us to take advantage of an extended transition period to comply with new or revised accounting standards applicable to public companies until those standards would otherwise apply to private companies. We have elected to not “opt out” of this provision and, as a result, we will adopt new or revised accounting standards at the time private companies adopt the new or revised accounting standard and will do so until such time that we either (i) irrevocably elect to “opt out” of such extended transition period or (ii) no longer qualify as an emerging growth company.
We are also a “smaller reporting company” meaning that the market value of our stock held by non-affiliates is expected to be less than $700 million and our annual revenue was less than $100 million during the most recently completed fiscal year. We may continue to be a smaller reporting company if either (i) the market value of our stock held by non-affiliates is less than $250 million or (ii) our annual revenue was less than $100 million during the most recently completed fiscal year and the market value of our stock held by non-affiliates is less than $700 million. If we are a smaller reporting company at the time that we cease to be an emerging growth company, we may continue to rely on exemptions from certain disclosure requirements that are available to smaller reporting companies. Specifically, as a smaller reporting company, we may choose to present only the two most recent fiscal years of audited financial statements in our Annual Report on Form 10-K and, similar to emerging growth companies, smaller reporting companies have reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation.
Item 3. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk.
As a smaller reporting company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act), we are not required to provide disclosure under this Item 3.
Item 4. Controls and Procedures.
Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures
Under the supervision and with the participation of our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and our Chief Financial Officer (our principal executive officer and principal accounting/financial officer), we conducted an evaluation of the effectiveness of the design and operation of our disclosure controls and procedures, as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Exchange Act, as of the end of the period covered by this Report. Our disclosure controls and procedures are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed in the reports we file or submit under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms, and that such information is accumulated and communicated to our management, including the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosures. Based on this evaluation, our Chief Executive Officer and our Chief Financial Officer concluded that as of March 31, 2025, the design and operation of our disclosure controls and procedures were not effective.
In designing and evaluating the disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting, management recognizes that any controls and procedures, no matter how well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable assurance of achieving the desired control objectives. In addition, the design of disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting must reflect the fact that there are resource constraints and that management is required to apply judgment in evaluating the benefits of possible controls and procedures relative to their costs.
Notwithstanding the conclusion by our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer that our disclosure controls and procedures as of March 31, 2025 were not effective, and notwithstanding the identified material weaknesses, management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, believes the financial statements included in this Report fairly represent in all material respects our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows at and for the periods presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP.
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Previously Identified Material Weakness
In connection with our preparation and the audits of our financial statements as of December 31, 2024, 2023, 2022, and 2021, we identified material weaknesses as defined under the Exchange Act, and by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) in our internal control over financial reporting. A material weakness is a deficiency, or a combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting, such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of the Company’s financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis. Specifically, our material weaknesses are:
| · | Management does not have adequate staffing in its accounting department and has not yet designed and implemented the appropriate processes and internal controls to support accurate and timely financial reporting. | |
| · | During the audit process for December 31, 2024, management identified a material weakness in the design of the Company’s internal controls related to our review of third-party valuation deliverables regarding our convertible debt and warrant liability. |
Management is working to implement remediation steps to improve our disclosure controls and procedures and our internal control over financial reporting, including hiring additional accounting personnel, such as Jolie Kahn as our Chief Financial Officer, and engaging consultants to assist management. Additionally, management plans to further develop and implement formal policies, processes and documentation procedures relating to financial reporting.
Management’s Plan to Remediate the Material Weaknesses
We have begun taking measures, and plan to continue to take measures, to remediate the material weaknesses. These measures include hiring or engaging additional accounting personnel with familiarity with reporting under U.S. GAAP, including hiring of Jolie Kahn as our Chief Financial Officer, engaging consultants to assist management, and implementing and adopting additional controls and formal policies, processes and documentation procedures relating to financial reporting. We plan to undertake recruitment efforts to identify additional accounting personnel, including possible use of third-party service providers. Remediation costs consist primarily of additional personnel expenses. We may identify additional material weaknesses in the future or otherwise fail to maintain proper and effective internal controls, which may impair our ability to produce accurate financial statements on a timely basis.
However, the implementation of these measures may not be sufficient to remediate the control deficiencies that may lead to a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting or to prevent or avoid potential future material weaknesses. Moreover, our current controls and any new controls that we develop may become inadequate in the future because of changes in conditions in our business. Furthermore, we may not have identified all material weaknesses and weaknesses in our disclosure controls and internal control over financial reporting may be discovered in the future. If we are unable to successfully remediate our existing or any future material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting, or if we identify any additional material weaknesses, the accuracy and timing of our financial reporting may be adversely affected, we may be unable to maintain compliance with securities law requirements regarding timely filing of periodic reports in addition to applicable stock exchange listing requirements, investors may lose confidence in our financial reporting, and our share price may decline as a result.
We also could become subject to investigations by Nasdaq, the SEC, or other regulatory authorities. Any failure to develop or maintain effective controls or any difficulties encountered in its implementation or improvement could negatively impact our operating results or cause us to fail to meet its reporting obligations and may result in a restatement of our financial statements for prior periods, which could cause the price of our common stock and warrants to decline.
Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting
There were no changes in our internal control over financial reporting during the three months ended March 31, 2025, that materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.
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PART II-OTHER INFORMATION
Item 1. Legal Proceedings
From time to time, we may become involved in legal proceedings arising in the ordinary course of our business. As of the date of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, we were not a party to any material legal matters or claims except as set forth in our audited financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2024, in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December, 31, 2024.
In the future, we may become party to legal matters and claims in the ordinary course of business, the resolution of which we do not anticipate would have a material adverse impact on our financial position, results of operations or cash flows except as set forth in our audited financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2024, in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December, 31, 2024.
Item 1A. Risk Factors
In addition to those the risk factors set forth in Part I “Item 1A: Risk Factors” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024, and other reports we filed with the SEC, below are certain risk factors related to the Company and its operations.
Our level of indebtedness and significant debt service obligations could adversely affect our financial condition or our ability to fulfill our obligations, including the note issued in May 2023, and make it more difficult for us to fund our operations.
As of March 31, 2025, we had $10.5 million in principal of indebtedness outstanding, including $5.2 million in principal amount of a convertible promissory note issued in 2024 and the first quarter of 2025. We have very limited cash resources from which to repay any obligations that a lender requires to be paid in cash. Our level of indebtedness could have important negative consequences to you and us, including:
| ● | we may have difficulty satisfying our obligations with respect to our outstanding notes and debt obligations; | |
| ● | we may have difficulty obtaining financing in the future for working capital, capital expenditures, acquisitions or other purposes; | |
| ● | we will need to use a substantial portion of our available cash flow to pay interest and principal on our debt (including our currently outstanding notes and the additional notes offered hereby), which will reduce the amount of money available to finance our operations and other business activities; | |
| ● | our debt level increases our vulnerability to general economic downturns and adverse industry conditions; | |
| ● | our debt level could limit our flexibility in planning for, or reacting to, changes in our business and in our industry in general; | |
| ● | certain of our debt obligations are secured by Company assets, and upon a default, of which there are several in existence as a result of the restatements discussed elsewhere in this Form 10-Q and failure to timely file this Form 10-Q, a lender may be able to seek to seize, control or otherwise monetize those assets to satisfy our debt obligations; | |
| ● | our leverage could place us at a competitive disadvantage compared to our competitors that have less debt; and | |
| ● | our failure to comply with the financial and other restrictive covenants in our debt instruments which, among other things, may require us to maintain specified financial ratios and will limit our ability to incur debt and sell assets, could result in an event of default that, if not cured or waived, could have a material adverse effect on our business or prospects. |
Our ability to meet our payment obligations under our debt instruments depends on our ability to generate significant cash flows or obtain external financing in the future. And, in certain cases our debt obligations may be satisfied by way of a conversion into our common stock, and therefore, our ability to satisfy certain debt obligations is dependent, in part, on the performance of our common stock. In each case, to some extent this is subject to market, economic, financial, competitive, legislative, and regulatory factors as well as other factors that are beyond our control. There can be no assurance that our business will generate cash flow from operations, or that additional capital will be available to us, in amounts sufficient to enable us to meet our debt payment obligations and to fund other liquidity needs. Additionally, events and circumstances may occur which would cause us to not be able to satisfy applicable draw-down conditions and utilize additional funds under the securities purchase agreement entered into in May 2023 and amended and restated in July 2024. If we are unable to generate sufficient cash flows, or the value of our common stock is insufficient to facilitate conversions of debt obligations as may be necessary to service our debt payment obligations, we may need to refinance or restructure our debt, sell assets, reduce or delay capital investments, or seek to raise additional capital. If we are unable to implement one or more of these alternatives, we may be unable to meet our debt payment obligations, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, or financial condition.
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Despite our existing level of indebtedness, we may incur more indebtedness. This could further exacerbate the risks described above, including our ability to service our existing indebtedness.
We may be able to incur substantial additional indebtedness in the future. Although certain of our debt arrangements contain restrictions on the incurrence of additional indebtedness, such restrictions are subject to a number of qualifications and exceptions, and under certain circumstances indebtedness incurred in compliance with such restrictions could be substantial. To the extent new debt is added to our current debt levels, the risks described above would increase.
To service our indebtedness, we will require a significant amount of cash. Our ability to generate cash depends on many factors beyond our control.
Our ability to make payments on and to refinance our indebtedness, including our outstanding notes, and to fund intended research and development efforts will depend on our ability to generate cash in the future. This, to a certain extent, is subject to general economic, financial, competitive, legislative, regulatory and other factors that are beyond our control. We cannot assure you that our business when or if our operations will ultimately generate sufficient cash flow from operations, that currently anticipated cost savings and operating improvements will be realized on schedule or that future borrowings or another source of liquidity will be available to us u in an amount sufficient to enable us to pay our obligations, or to fund our other liquidity needs. If our cash flows and capital resources are insufficient to fund our debt service obligations, or we are unable to identify and execute on another source of outside liquidity, we may be forced to reduce or delay capital expenditures, sell material assets or operations, attempt to obtain additional equity capital or refinance all or a portion of our indebtedness, including the 2023 Convertible Note, on or before maturity. In the absence of such operating results and resources, we could face substantial cash flow problems and might be required to sell material assets or operations to meet our debt service and other obligations. We cannot assure you as to the timing of such asset sales or the proceeds which we could realize from such sales and we cannot assure you that we will be able to refinance any of our indebtedness, including amounts owed under the securities purchase agreement entered into in May 2023 and amended and restated in July 2024, on commercially reasonable terms or at all.
Because there are outstanding notes, obligations and warrants convertible into a significant number of shares of our common stock, holders of our common stock could be subject to significant dilution.
We have funded various of our operations through convertible debt obligations. From time to time we have also issued a number of shares and warrants to acquire services and assets from third parties. To the extent that our debt obligations are satisfied by way of conversions, and we issue additional shares of our common stock to satisfy obligations or in consideration for assets or services these issuances would have a dilutive effect on our existing stockholders.
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Item 2. Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds
Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities
Set forth below is information regarding equity securities issued by us during the period covered by this Report that were not registered under the Securities Act. No underwriters were involved in the sales and the certificates (or book entry notations) representing the securities sold and issued contain legends restricting transfer of the securities without registration under the Securities Act or an applicable exemption from registration.
Issuances of Capital Stock
In connection with the amendment and restatement of the Ayrton Convertible Note Financing, dated July 15, 2024, in January 2025, we issued to the Investor 3,844,466 shares of our common stock. This transaction was affected without registration under the Securities Act in reliance on the exemption from registration provided under Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act.
In January 2025, we issued to the Investor 1,332,806 shares of our common stock in connection with the exercise of the warrant B. This transaction was affected without registration under the Securities Act in reliance on the exemption from registration provided under Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act.
During the first quarter of 2025, we issued to the Investor 125,964,905 shares of our common stock in connection with conversion notices received in accordance with the terms of the 2024 Convertible Notes. These transaction were affected without registration under the Securities Act in reliance on the exemption from registration provided under Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act.
During the period of April 2025 and the first week of May 2025, we issued to the Investor an additional 66,354,338 shares of our common stock in connection with conversion notices received in accordance with the terms of the 2024 Convertible Notes. These transactions were affected without registration under the Securities Act in reliance on the exemption from registration provided under Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act.
Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities
We did not purchase any shares of our common stock during the quarter ended March 31, 2025.
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Item 6. Exhibits.
| * | Filed herewith. |
| ** | Furnished herewith. |
The certifications furnished in Exhibits 32.1 and 32.2 are deemed to accompany this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and are not deemed “filed” for purposes of Section 18 of the Exchange Act, or otherwise subject to the liability of that section, nor shall they be deemed incorporated by reference into any filing under the Securities Act or the Exchange Act, irrespective of any general incorporation language contained in such filing.
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SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized.
| Ocean Biomedical, Inc. | ||
| Date: May 15, 2025 | By: | /s/ Chirinjeev Kathuria |
| Chirinjeev Kathuria | ||
| Chairman | ||
| (Principal Executive Officer) | ||
| Date: May 15, 2025 | By: | /s/ Jolie Kahn |
| Jolie Kahn | ||
| Chief Financial Officer | ||
| (Principal Financial Officer) | ||
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Exhibit 31.1
Certification of Chief Executive Officer
I, Chirinjeev Kathuria, certify that:
| 1. | I have reviewed this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q of Ocean Biomedical, Inc. (the “registrant”); |
| 2. | Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this report; |
| 3. | Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information included in this report, fairly present in all material respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this report; |
| 4. | The registrant’s other certifying officer and I are responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) and internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f)) for the registrant and have: |
| a) | Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those entities, particularly during the period in which this report is being prepared; | |
| b) | Designed such internal control over financial reporting, or caused such internal control over financial reporting to be designed under our supervision, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles; | |
| c) | Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures and presented in this report our conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of the end of the period covered by this report based on such evaluation; and | |
| d) | Disclosed in this report any change in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the registrant’s most recent fiscal quarter (the registrant’s fourth fiscal quarter in the case of an annual report) that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting; and |
| 5. | The registrant’s other certifying officer and I have disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation of internal control over financial reporting, to the registrant’s auditors and the audit committee of the registrant’s Board of Directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions): |
| a) | All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal control over financial reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant’s ability to record, process, summarize and report financial information; and | |
| b) | Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting. |
| Date: May 15, 2025 | |
| /s/ Chirinjeev Kathuria | |
| Chirinjeev Kathuria | |
| Chairman (Principal Executive Officer) |
Exhibit 31.2
Certification of Chief Financial Officer
I, Jolie Kahn, certify that:
| 1. | I have reviewed this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q of Ocean Biomedical, Inc. (the “registrant”); |
| 2. | Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this report; |
| 3. | Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information included in this report, fairly present in all material respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this report; |
| 4. | The registrant’s other certifying officer and I are responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) and internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f)) for the registrant and have: |
| a) | Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those entities, particularly during the period in which this report is being prepared; | |
| b) | Designed such internal control over financial reporting, or caused such internal control over financial reporting to be designed under our supervision, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles; | |
| c) | Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures and presented in this report our conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of the end of the period covered by this report based on such evaluation; and | |
| d) | Disclosed in this report any change in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the registrant’s most recent fiscal quarter (the registrant’s fourth fiscal quarter in the case of an annual report) that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting; and |
| 5. | The registrant’s other certifying officer and I have disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation of internal control over financial reporting, to the registrant’s auditors and the audit committee of the registrant’s Board of Directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions): |
| a) | All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal control over financial reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant’s ability to record, process, summarize and report financial information; and | |
| b) | Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting. |
| Date: May 15, 2025 | |
| /s/ Jolie Kahn | |
| Jolie Kahn | |
| Chief Financial Officer (Principal Financial Officer) |
Exhibit 32.1
Certification of Chief Executive Officer
Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, As Adopted Pursuant to Section 906 of The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
I, Chirinjeev Kathuria, Chairman of Ocean Biomedical, Inc. (the “Company”), certify, pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, that:
| (i) | The Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q of Ocean Biomedical, Inc. for the period ended March 31, 2025 (the “Report”) fully complies with the requirements of Section 13(a) or Section 15(d), as applicable, of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and | |
| (ii) | The information contained in the Report fairly presents, in all material respects, the financial condition and results of operations of the Company at the dates and for the periods indicated. |
| Dated: May 15, 2025 | |
| /s/ Chirinjeev Kathuria | |
| Chirinjeev Kathuria | |
| Chairman | |
| (Principal Executive Officer) |
Exhibit 32.2
Certification of Chief Financial Officer
Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, As Adopted Pursuant to Section 906 of The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
I, Jolie Kahn, Chief Financial Officer of Ocean Biomedical, Inc. (the “Company”), certify, pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, that:
| (i) | The Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q of Ocean Biomedical, Inc. for the period ended March 31, 2025 (the “Report”) fully complies with the requirements of Section 13(a) or Section 15(d), as applicable, of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and | |
| (ii) | The information contained in the Report fairly presents, in all material respects, the financial condition and results of operations of the Company at the dates and for the periods indicated. |
| Dated: May 15, 2025 | |
| /s/ Jolie Kahn | |
| Jolie Kahn | |
| Chief Financial Officer | |
| (Principal Financial Officer) |