XTLB 20-F
Xtl Biopharmaceuticals Ltd (XTLB)
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549
FORM
(Mark One)
OR
For the fiscal year ended
OR
OR
For the transition period from ____________to ___________.
Commission file number:
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
N/A
(Translation of Registrant’s Name into English)
(Jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)
(Address of principal executive offices)
Chief Executive Officer
Tel:
Fax:
(Name, Telephone, E-mail and/or Facsimile number and Address of Company Contact Person)
Securities registered or to be registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
| | The | |||
| (Title of Class) | Trading Symbol | (Name of each exchange on which registered) |
Securities registered or to be registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None.
Securities for which there is a reporting obligation pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Act: None.
Indicate the number of outstanding shares of each of the issuer’s classes of capital or common stock as of the close of the period covered by the annual report.
At December 31, 2023, 2,923,276 American Depositary Shares and
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.
Yes ☐
If this report is an annual or transition report, indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
Yes ☐
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 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files.)
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or an emerging growth company. See definition of “large accelerated filer”, “accelerated filer”, and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
Large accelerated filer ☐ Accelerated
filer ☐
If an emerging growth company that prepares its financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP, 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. ☐
| † | The term “new or revised financial accounting standard” refers to any update issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board to its Accounting Standards Codification after April 5, 2012. |
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant
has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial
reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C.7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or
issued its audit report.
If securities are registered pursuant to Section
12(b) of the Act, indicate by check mark whether the financial statements of the registrant included in the filing reflect the correction
of an error to previously issued financial statements.
Indicate by check mark whether any of those error corrections are restatements that required a recovery analysis of incentive-based compensation received by any of the registrant’s executive officers during the relevant recovery period pursuant to §240.10D-1(b). ☐
Indicate by check mark which basis of accounting the registrant has used to prepare the financial statements included in this filing:
| US GAAP | ☐ | ☒ | Other ☐ |
If “Other” has been check in response to the previous question, indicate by check mark which financial statement item the registrant has elected to follow.
Item 17 ☐ Item 18 ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).
Yes ☐ No
XTL BIOPHARMACEUTICALS LTD.
ANNUAL REPORT ON FORM 20-F
TABLE OF CONTENTS
i
SPECIAL CAUTIONARY NOTICE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
Certain matters discussed in this report, including matters discussed under the caption “Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects,” may constitute forward-looking statements for purposes of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act, and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act, and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from the future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. In some instances, you can identify these forward-looking statements by words such as “anticipates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “expects,” “intends,” “may,” “plan,” “potential,” “will,” “should,” “would,” or similar expressions, including their negatives. These forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements relating to our expectations and beliefs regarding:
| ● | fluctuations in the market price of our securities; |
| ● | the possibility that our securities could be delisted from Nasdaq or the Tel-Aviv Stock Exchange (“TASE”); |
| ● | potential dilution to the holders of our securities as a result of future issuances of our securities; |
| ● | fluctuations in our results of operations; |
| ● | the accuracy of our financial forecasts in our drug development activity and the uncertainty regarding the adequacy of our liquidity to pursue our complete business objectives; |
| ● | the timing and cost of the in-licensing, partnering and acquisition of new product opportunities; |
| ● |
the timing of expenses associated with product development and manufacturing of the proprietary drug candidates that we have acquired - hCDR1 for the treatment of SLE and SS, and those that may be in-licensed, partnered or acquired; | |
| ● | the Company’s offices are located in Israel and, therefore, the business, financial condition and results of operation may be adversely affected by political, economic and military instability in Israel and in the Middle East; |
| ● | the costs involved in prosecuting and enforcing patent claims and other intellectual property rights; and |
| ● | other risks and uncertainties described in this report. |
Our actual results may differ materially from the results anticipated in these forward-looking statements due to a variety of factors, including, without limitation, those discussed under “Item 3. Key Information-Risk Factors,” “Item 4. Information on the Company,” “Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects,” and elsewhere in this report, as well as factors which may be identified from time to time in our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC, or in the documents where such forward-looking statements appear. All written or oral forward-looking statements attributable to us are expressly qualified in their entirety by these cautionary statements.
Forward-looking statements contained in this report reflect our views and assumptions only as of the date this report is filed. Therefore, you should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statement as a prediction of future results. Forward-looking statements made in this report and the documents incorporated by reference are made as of the date of the respective documents, and we undertake no obligation to update them in light of new information or future results. Except as required by law, we assume no responsibility for updating any forward-looking statements.
ii
PART I
Unless the context requires otherwise, references in this report to “XTL,” the “Company,” “we,” “us” and “our” refer to XTL Biopharmaceuticals Ltd, an Israeli company and our consolidated subsidiary. We have prepared our consolidated financial statements in United States, or US, dollars and in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards, or IFRS. All references herein to “dollars” or “$” are to US dollars, and all references to “Shekels” or “NIS” are to New Israeli Shekels.
ITEM 1. IDENTITY OF DIRECTORS, SENIOR MANAGEMENT AND ADVISERS
Not applicable
ITEM 2. OFFER STATISTICS AND EXPECTED TIMETABLE
Not applicable
ITEM 3. KEY INFORMATION
A. Selected Financial Data
Reserved.
B. Capitalization And Indebtedness
Not applicable.
C. Reasons For Offer And Use Of Proceeds
Not applicable.
D. Risk Factors
Before you invest in our ordinary shares or American Depositary Shares, you should understand the high degree of risk involved. You should carefully consider the risks described below and other information in this report, including our consolidated financial statements and related notes included elsewhere in this report, before you decide to purchase our ordinary shares or American Depositary Shares (“ADSs”). If any of the following risks actually occur, our business, financial condition and operating results could be adversely affected. As a result, the trading price of our ordinary shares or ADSs could decline and you could lose part or all of your investment.
Risk factor Summary
| ● | We have incurred substantial operating losses since our inception. We expect to continue to incur losses in the future in our drug development activity and may never become profitable. |
| ● | Raising additional capital may cause dilution to our existing stockholders, restrict our operations or require us to relinquish rights to our technologies or product candidates. |
| ● | We have not yet commercialized any products or technologies, and we may never become profitable. |
| ● | If we are unable to successfully complete our clinical trial programs for our drug candidates, or if such clinical trials take longer to complete than we project, our ability to execute our current business strategy will be adversely affected. |
| ● | We have limited experience in conducting and managing clinical trials necessary to obtain regulatory approvals. If our drug candidates and technologies do not receive the necessary regulatory approvals, we will be unable to commercialize our products. |
| ● | If third parties on which we will have to rely for clinical trials do not perform as contractually required or as we expect, we may not be able to obtain regulatory approval for or commercialize our products. |
| ● | Our international clinical trials may be delayed or otherwise adversely impacted by social, political and economic factors affecting the particular foreign country. |
| ● | If the clinical data related to our drug candidates and technologies do not confirm positive early clinical data or preclinical data, our corporate strategy and financial results will be adversely impacted. |
| ● | If we do not establish or maintain drug development and marketing arrangements with third parties, we may be unable to commercialize our drug candidates and technologies into products. |
| ● | Even if we or our collaborative/strategic partners or potential collaborative/strategic partners receive approval to market our drug candidates, if our products fail to achieve market acceptance, we will never record meaningful revenues. |
1
| ● | If the third parties upon whom we rely to manufacture our products do not successfully manufacture our products, our business will be harmed. |
| ● | If our competitors develop and market products that are less expensive, more effective or safer than our products, our revenues and results may be harmed and our commercial opportunities may be reduced or eliminated. |
| ● | If we lose our key personnel or are unable to attract and retain additional personnel, our business could be harmed. |
| ● | Our Chief Financial Officer is not required to work exclusively for us, which could materially and adversely affect us and our business. |
| ● | We face product liability risks and may not be able to obtain adequate insurance. |
| ● | Because all of our proprietary drug candidates and technologies are licensed to us by third parties, termination of these license agreements could prevent us from developing our drug candidates. |
| ● | If we are unable to adequately protect our intellectual property, third parties may be able to use our technology, which could adversely affect our ability to compete in the market. |
| ● | Litigation or third-party claims of intellectual property infringement could require us to spend substantial time, money and other resources defending such claims and adversely affect our ability to develop and commercialize our products. |
| ● | The ADSs are traded in small volumes, limiting ability to sell ADSs that represent ordinary shares at a desirable price, if at all. |
| ● | Our stock price can be volatile, which increases the risk of litigation and may result in a significant decline in the value of your investment. |
| ● | Concentration of ownership of our ordinary shares among our principal stockholders may prevent new investors from influencing significant corporate decisions. |
| ● | Our ordinary shares and ADSs trade on two different markets, and this may result in price variations and regulatory compliance issues. |
| ● | Holders of our ordinary shares or ADSs who are U.S. citizens or residents may be required to pay additional income taxes. |
| ● | As a foreign private issuer, we are permitted to follow certain home country corporate governance practices instead of applicable SEC and Nasdaq requirements, which may result in less protection than is accorded to investors under rules applicable to domestic issuers. |
| ● | ADS holders are not shareholders and do not have shareholder rights. |
| ● | There are circumstances where it may be unlawful or impractical to make distributions to the holders of the ADSs. |
| ● | We may fail to remain in compliance with the continued listing standards of the Nasdaq Capital Market and a delisting of our ADSs could make it more difficult for investors to sell their shares | |
| ● | The Company’s offices are located in Israel and, therefore, the business, financial condition and results of operation may be adversely affected by political, economic and military instability in Israel and in the Middle East. |
| ● | In the event of failure to complete the Transaction with the Social Proxy, we may incur in significant legal and other expenses and we may fail to comply with certain with the continued listing standards of the Nasdaq Capital Market. |
| ● | Our results of operations may be adversely affected by inflation and foreign currency fluctuations. |
| ● | Provisions of Israeli law may delay, prevent or otherwise impede a merger with, or an acquisition of, our company, which could prevent a change of control, even when the terms of such a transaction are favorable to us and our shareholders. |
| ● | It may be difficult to enforce a U.S. judgment against us, our officers or our directors or to assert U.S. securities law claims in Israel. |
| ● | Under applicable U.S. and Israeli law, we may not be able to enforce covenants not to compete and therefore may be unable to prevent our competitors from benefiting from the expertise of some of our former employees. |
| ● | Your rights and responsibilities as a shareholder will be governed by Israeli law which may differ in some respects from the rights and responsibilities of shareholders of U.S. companies. |
2
Risks Related to Our Financial Position and Capital Requirements
We have incurred substantial operating losses since our inception. We expect to continue to incur losses in the future in our drug development activity and may never become profitable.
You should consider our prospects in light of the risks and difficulties frequently encountered by development stage companies. We have incurred operating losses since our inception and expect to continue to incur operating losses for the foreseeable future. We have not yet commercialized any of our drug candidates or technologies and cannot be sure we will ever be able to do so. Even if we commercialize one or more of our drug candidates or technologies, we may not become profitable. Our ability to achieve profitability depends on a number of factors, including our ability to complete our development efforts, consummate out-licensing agreements, obtain regulatory approval for our drug candidates and technologies and successfully commercialize them.
We expect to continue to incur losses for the foreseeable future, and these losses will likely increase as we:
| ● | initiate and manage pre-clinical development and clinical trials for our current and new product candidates; |
| ● | seek regulatory approvals for our product candidates; |
| ● | implement internal systems and infrastructures; |
| ● | seek to license additional technologies to develop; |
| ● | hire management and other personnel; and |
| ● | progress product candidates towards commercialization. |
If our product candidates fail in clinical trials or do not gain regulatory clearance or approval, or if our product candidates do not achieve market acceptance, we may never become profitable. Even if we do achieve profitability, we may not be able to sustain or increase profitability on a quarterly or annual basis. Our inability to achieve and then maintain profitability would negatively affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows. Moreover, our prospects must be considered in light of the risks and uncertainties encountered by an early-stage company and in highly regulated and competitive markets, such as the biopharmaceutical market, where regulatory approval and market acceptance of our products are uncertain. There can be no assurance that our efforts will ultimately be successful or result in revenues or profits.
We will require substantial additional financing to achieve our goals, and a failure to obtain this necessary capital when needed could force us to delay, limit, reduce or terminate our product development or commercialization efforts.
As of December 31, 2023, we had approximately $1,401 thousand in cash and cash equivalents, working capital of approximately $1,840 thousand and an accumulated deficit of approximately $158,246 thousand. We have incurred continuing losses and depend on outside financing resources to continue future activities. Based on existing business plans, we estimate that our outstanding cash and cash equivalent balances will allow us to finance our activities for an additional period of at least 12 months from the date of this Report. In order to perform clinical trials aimed at developing our product until obtaining its marketing approval, we will need to raise additional financing by issuing securities. Should we fail to raise additional capital under terms acceptable to us, we will be required to reduce our development activities or sell or grant a sublicense to third parties to use all or part of our technologies.
We have expended and believe that, subject to receiving adequate financing and/or entering into a collaboration agreement, we will continue to expend significant operating and capital expenditures for the foreseeable future developing our product candidates. These expenditures will include, but are not limited to, costs associated with research and development, manufacturing, conducting preclinical experiments and clinical trials, contracting with contract manufacturing organizations and contract research organizations, hiring additional management and other personnel and obtaining regulatory approvals, as well as commercializing any products approved for sale. Because the outcome of our planned and anticipated clinical trials is highly uncertain, we cannot reasonably estimate the actual amounts necessary to successfully complete the development and commercialization of our product candidates and any other future product. In addition, other unanticipated costs may arise. As a result of these and other factors currently unknown to us, we will require additional funds, through public or private equity or debt financings or other sources, such as strategic partnerships and alliances and licensing arrangements. In addition, we may seek additional capital due to favorable market conditions or strategic considerations even if we believe we have sufficient funds for our current or future operating plans. A failure to fund these activities may harm our growth strategy, competitive position, quality compliance, and financial condition.
3
Our future capital requirements depend on many factors, including:
| ● | the number and characteristics of products we develop; |
| ● | the scope, progress, results and costs of researching and developing our product candidates and conducting preclinical and clinical trials; |
| ● | the timing of, and the costs involved in, obtaining regulatory approvals; |
| ● | the cost of commercialization activities if any are approved for sale, including marketing, sales and distribution costs; |
| ● | the cost of manufacturing any product candidate we successfully commercialize; |
| ● | our ability to establish and maintain strategic partnerships, licensing, supply or other arrangements and the financial terms of such agreements; |
| ● | the costs involved in preparing, filing, prosecuting, maintaining, defending and enforcing patent claims, including litigation costs and the outcome of such litigation; |
| ● | the costs of in-licensing further patents and technologies. |
| ● | the cost of development of in-licensed technologies |
| ● | the timing, receipt and amount of sales of, or royalties on, any future products; |
| ● | the expenses needed to attract and retain skilled personnel; and |
| ● | any product liability or other lawsuits related to existing and/or any future products. |
Additional funds may not be available when we need them, on terms that are acceptable to us, or at all. If adequate funds are not available to us on a timely basis, we may be required to delay, limit, reduce or terminate preclinical studies, clinical trials or other research and development activities for our product candidates or delay, limit, reduce or terminate our establishment of sales and marketing capabilities or other activities that may be necessary to commercialize our product candidates or any future products.
Raising additional capital may cause dilution to our existing stockholders, restrict our operations or require us to relinquish rights to our technologies or product candidates.
We may seek additional capital through a combination of private and public equity offerings, debt financings, strategic partnerships and alliances, and licensing arrangements. To the extent that we raise additional capital through the sale of equity or convertible debt securities, the ownership interests of existing shareholders will be diluted, and the terms may include liquidation or other preferences that adversely affect shareholder rights. Debt financing, if available, may involve agreements that include covenants limiting or restricting our ability to take certain actions, such as incurring debt, making capital expenditures or declaring dividends. If we raise additional funds through strategic partnerships and alliances and licensing arrangements with third parties, we may have to relinquish valuable rights to our technologies or product candidates, or grant licenses on terms that are not favorable to us. If we are unable to raise additional funds through equity or debt financing when needed, we may be required to delay, limit, reduce or terminate our product development or commercialization efforts or grant rights to develop and market product candidates that we would otherwise prefer to develop and market ourselves.
4
Risks Related to our Drug Development Business
We have not yet commercialized any products or technologies, and we may never become profitable.
We have not yet commercialized any products or technologies, and we may never be able to do so. We do not know when or if we will complete any of our product development efforts, obtain regulatory approval for any product candidates incorporating our technologies or successfully commercialize any approved products. Even if we are successful in developing products that are approved for marketing, we will not be successful unless these products gain market acceptance for appropriate indications at favorable reimbursement rates. The degree of market acceptance of these products will depend on a number of factors, including:
| ● | the timing of regulatory approvals in the countries, and for the uses, we seek; |
| ● | the competitive environment; |
| ● | the establishment and demonstration in the medical community of the safety and clinical efficacy of our products and their potential advantages over existing therapeutic products; |
| ● | our ability to enter into strategic agreements with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies with strong marketing and sales capabilities; |
| ● | the adequacy and success of distribution, sales and marketing efforts; and |
| ● | the pricing and reimbursement policies of government and third-party payors, such as insurance companies, health maintenance organizations and other plan administrators. |
Physicians, patients, third-party payors or the medical community in general may be unwilling to accept, utilize or recommend, and in the case of third-party payors, cover any of our products or products incorporating our technologies. As a result, we are unable to predict the extent of future losses or the time required to achieve profitability, if at all. Even if we successfully develop one or more products that incorporate our technologies, we may not become profitable.
If we are unable to successfully complete our clinical trial programs for our drug candidates, or if such clinical trials take longer to complete than we project, our ability to execute our current business strategy will be adversely affected.
Whether or not and how quickly we complete clinical trials depends in part upon the rate at which we are able to engage clinical trial sites and, thereafter, the rate of enrollment of patients, and the rate at which we are able to collect, clean, lock and analyze the clinical trial database. Patient enrollment is a function of many factors, including the size of the patient population, the proximity of patients to clinical sites, the eligibility criteria for the study, the existence of competitive clinical trials, and whether existing or new drugs are approved for the indication we are studying. We are aware that other companies are planning clinical trials that will seek to enroll patients with the same diseases and stages as we are studying. If we experience delays in identifying and contracting with sites and/or in patient enrollment in our clinical trial programs, we may incur additional costs and delays in our development programs, and may not be able to complete our clinical trials on a cost-effective or timely basis.
We have limited experience in conducting and managing clinical trials necessary to obtain regulatory approvals. If our drug candidates and technologies do not receive the necessary regulatory approvals, we will be unable to commercialize our products.
We have not received, and may never receive, regulatory approval for commercial sale for hCDR1. We currently do not have any drug candidates pending approval with the Food and Drug Administration, or FDA or with regulatory authorities of other countries. We will need to conduct significant additional research and human testing before we can apply for product approval with the FDA or with regulatory authorities of other countries. In order to obtain FDA approval to market a new drug product, we or our potential partners must demonstrate proof of safety and efficacy in humans. To meet these requirements, we and/or our potential partners will have to conduct “adequate and well-controlled” clinical trials.
5
Clinical development is a long, expensive and uncertain process. Clinical trials are very difficult to design and implement, in part because they are subject to rigorous regulatory requirements. Satisfaction of regulatory requirements typically depends on the nature, complexity and novelty of the product and requires the expenditure of substantial resources. The commencement and rate of completion of clinical trials may be delayed by many factors, including:
| ● | obtaining regulatory approvals to commence a clinical trial; |
| ● | reaching agreement on acceptable terms with prospective CROs, and trial sites, the terms of which can be subject to extensive negotiation and may vary significantly among different CROs and trial sites; |
| ● | slower than expected rates of patient recruitment due to narrow screening requirements and competing clinical studies; |
| ● | the inability of patients to meet protocol requirements imposed by the FDA or other regulatory authorities; |
| ● | the need or desire to modify our manufacturing process; |
| ● | delays, suspension, or termination of the clinical trials due to the institutional review board responsible for overseeing the study at a particular study site; and |
| ● | governmental or regulatory delays or “clinical holds” requiring suspension or termination of the trials. |
Following the completion of a clinical trial, regulators may not interpret data obtained from pre-clinical and clinical tests of our drug candidates and technologies the same way that we do, which could delay, limit or prevent our receipt of regulatory approval. In addition, the designs of any clinical trials may not be reviewed or approved by the FDA prior to their commencement, and consequently the FDA could determine that the parameters of any studies are insufficient to demonstrate proof of safety and efficacy in humans. Failure to approve a completed study could also result from several other factors, including unforeseen safety issues, the determination of dosing, low rates of patient recruitment, the inability to monitor patients adequately during or after treatment, the inability or unwillingness of medical investigators to follow our clinical protocols, and the lack of effectiveness of the trials.
Additionally, the regulators could determine that the studies indicate the drugs may have serious side effects. In the U.S., this is called a black box warning, which is a type of warning that appears on the package insert for prescription drugs indicating that they may cause serious adverse effects. A black box warning means that medical studies indicate that the drug carries a significant risk of serious or even life-threatening adverse effects.
If the clinical trials fail to satisfy the criteria required, the FDA and/or other regulatory agencies/authorities may request additional information, including additional clinical data, before approval of marketing a product. Negative or inconclusive results or medical events during a clinical trial could also cause us to delay or terminate our development efforts. If we experience delays in the testing or approval process, or if we need to perform more or larger clinical trials than originally planned, our financial results and the commercial prospects for our drug candidates and technologies may be materially impaired.
Clinical trials have a high risk of failure. A number of companies in the pharmaceutical industry, including biotechnology companies, have suffered significant setbacks in clinical trials, even after achieving promising results in earlier trials. It may take us many years to complete the testing of our drug candidates and technologies, and failure can occur at any stage of this process.
Even if regulatory approval is obtained, our products and their manufacture will be subject to continual review, and there can be no assurance that such approval will not be subsequently withdrawn or restricted. Changes in applicable legislation or regulatory policies, or discovery of problems with the products or their manufacture, may result in the imposition of regulatory restrictions, including withdrawal of the product from the market, or result in increased costs to us.
If third parties on which we will have to rely for clinical trials do not perform as contractually required or as we expect, we may not be able to obtain regulatory approval for or commercialize our products.
We will have to depend on independent clinical investigators, and other third-party service providers to conduct the clinical trials of our drug candidates and technologies. We also may, from time to time, engage a clinical research organization for the execution of our clinical trials. We will rely heavily on these parties for successful execution of our clinical trials, but we will not control many aspects of their activities. Nonetheless, we are responsible for confirming that each of our clinical trials is conducted in accordance with the general investigational plan and protocol. Our reliance on these third parties that we do not control does not relieve us of our responsibility to comply with the regulations and standards of the FDA and/or other foreign regulatory agencies/authorities relating to good clinical practices. Third parties may not complete activities on schedule or may not conduct our clinical trials in accordance with regulatory requirements or the applicable trial’s plans and protocols. The failure of these third parties to carry out their obligations could delay or prevent the development, approval and commercialization of our products, or could result in enforcement action against us.
6
Our international clinical trials may be delayed or otherwise adversely impacted by social, political and economic factors affecting the particular foreign country.
We may conduct clinical trials in different geographical locations. Our ability to successfully initiate, enroll and complete a clinical trial in any of these countries, or in any future foreign country in which we may initiate a clinical trial, are subject to numerous risks unique to conducting business in foreign countries, including:
| ● | difficulty in establishing or managing relationships with clinical research organizations and physicians; |
| ● | different standards for the conduct of clinical trials and/or health care reimbursement; |
| ● | our inability to locate qualified local consultants, physicians, and partners; |
| ● | the potential burden of complying with a variety of foreign laws, medical standards and regulatory requirements, including the regulation of pharmaceutical products and treatment; and |
| ● | general geopolitical risks, such as political and economic instability, and changes in diplomatic and trade relations. |
Any disruption to our international clinical trial program could significantly delay our product development efforts.
If the clinical data related to our drug candidates and technologies do not confirm positive early clinical data or preclinical data, our corporate strategy and financial results will be adversely impacted.
Our drug candidates and technologies are in clinical stages. Specifically, our product candidate, hCDR1 is planned for and/or ready for advanced clinical studies. In order for our candidates to proceed to later stage clinical testing or marketing approval, they must show positive clinical results.
Preliminary results of pre-clinical, clinical observations or clinical tests do not necessarily predict the final results, and promising results in pre-clinical, clinical observations or early clinical testing might not be obtained in later clinical trials. Drug candidates in the later stages of clinical development may fail to show the desired safety and efficacy traits despite having progressed through initial clinical testing. Any negative results from future tests may prevent us from proceeding to later stage clinical testing or marketing approval, which would materially impact our corporate strategy, and our financial results may be adversely impacted.
If we do not establish or maintain drug development and marketing arrangements with third parties, we may be unable to commercialize our drug candidates and technologies into products.
We do not possess all of the capabilities to fully commercialize our drug candidates and technologies on our own. From time to time, we may need to contract with third parties to:
| ● | assist us in developing, testing and obtaining regulatory approval for some of our compounds and technologies; |
| ● | manufacture our drug candidates; and |
| ● | market and distribute our products. |
We can provide no assurance that we will be able to successfully enter into agreements with such third-parties on terms that are acceptable to us. If we are unable to successfully contract with third parties for these services when needed, or if existing arrangements for these services are terminated, whether or not through our actions, or if such third parties do not fully perform under these arrangements, we may have to delay, scale back or end one or more of our drug development programs or seek to develop or commercialize our drug candidates and technologies independently, which could result in delays. Further, such failure could result in the termination of license rights to one or more of our drug candidates and technologies. Moreover, if these development or marketing agreements take the form of a partnership or strategic alliance, such arrangements may provide our collaborators with significant discretion in determining the efforts and resources that they will apply to the development and commercialization of our products. Accordingly, to the extent that we rely on third parties to research, develop or commercialize our products, we may be unable to control whether such products will be scientifically or commercially successful.
7
Even if we or our collaborative/strategic partners or potential collaborative/strategic partners receive approval to market our drug candidates, if our products fail to achieve market acceptance, we will never record meaningful revenues.
Even if our products are approved for sale, they may not be commercially successful in the marketplace. Market acceptance of our product candidates will depend on a number of factors, including:
| ● | perceptions by members of the health care community, including physicians, of the safety and efficacy of our products; |
| ● | the rates of adoption of our products by medical practitioners and the target populations for our products; |
| ● | the potential advantages that our products offer over existing treatment methods or other products that may be developed; |
| ● | the cost-effectiveness of our products relative to competing products including potential generic competition; |
| ● | the availability of government or third-party pay or reimbursement for our products; |
| ● | the side effects of our products which may lead to unfavorable publicity concerning our products or similar products; and |
| ● | the effectiveness of our and/or our partners’ sales, marketing and distribution efforts. |
Specifically, hCDR1, if successfully developed and commercially launched for the treatment of systemic lupus erythematosus, or SLE, and Sjogren’s syndrome, or SS, on the one hand, will compete with both currently marketed and new products marketed by other companies. Health care providers may not accept or utilize any of our product candidates. Physicians and other prescribers may not be inclined to prescribe our products unless our products bring clear and demonstrable advantages over other products currently marketed for the same indications. Because we expect sales of our products to generate substantially all of our revenues in the long-term, the failure of our products to find market acceptance would harm our business and could require us to seek additional financing or other sources of revenue.
If the third parties upon whom we rely to manufacture our products do not successfully manufacture our products, our business will be harmed.
We do not currently have the ability to manufacture the compounds that we need to conduct our clinical trials and, therefore, rely upon, and intend to continue to rely upon, certain manufacturers to produce and supply our drug candidates for use in clinical trials and for future sales. In order to commercialize our products, such products will need to be manufactured in commercial quantities while adhering to all regulatory and other local requirements, all at an acceptable cost. We may not be able to enter into future third-party contract manufacturing agreements on acceptable terms, if at all.
If our contract manufacturers or other third parties fail to deliver our product candidates for clinical use on a timely basis, with sufficient quality, and at commercially reasonable prices, and we fail to find replacement manufacturers or sources, we may be required to delay or suspend clinical trials or otherwise discontinue development and production of our drug candidates.
Our contract manufacturers will be required to produce our clinical drug candidates under strict compliance with current Good Manufacturing Practices, or cGMP, in order to meet acceptable regulatory standards for our clinical trials. If such standards change, the ability of contract manufacturers to produce our drug candidates on the schedule we require for our clinical trials may be affected. In addition, contract manufacturers may not perform their obligations under their agreements with us or may discontinue their business before the time required by us to successfully produce and market our drug candidates. Any difficulties or delays in our contractors’ manufacturing and supply of drug candidates could increase our costs, cause us to lose revenue or make us postpone or cancel clinical trials.
In addition, our contract manufacturers will be subject to ongoing periodic, unannounced inspections by the FDA and corresponding foreign or local governmental agencies to ensure strict compliance with, among other things, cGMP, in addition to other governmental regulations and corresponding foreign standards. We will not have control over, other than by contract, third-party manufacturers’ compliance with these regulations and standards. No assurance can be given that our third-party manufacturers will comply with these regulations or other regulatory requirements now or in the future.
In the event that we are unable to obtain or retain third-party manufacturers, we will not be able to commercialize our products as planned. If third-party manufacturers fail to deliver the required quantities of our products on a timely basis and at commercially reasonable prices, our ability to develop and deliver products on a timely and competitive basis may be adversely impacted and our business, financial condition or results of operations will be materially harmed.
8
If our competitors develop and market products that are less expensive, more effective or safer than our products, our revenues and results may be harmed and our commercial opportunities may be reduced or eliminated.
The pharmaceutical industry is highly competitive. Our commercial opportunities may be reduced or eliminated if our competitors develop and market products that are less expensive, more effective or safer than our products. Other companies have drug candidates in various stages of pre-clinical or clinical development to treat diseases for which we are also seeking to discover and develop drug candidates. Some of these potential competing drugs are already commercialized or are further advanced in development than our drug candidates and may be commercialized earlier. Even if we are successful in developing safe, effective drugs, our products may not compete successfully with products produced by our competitors, who may be able to market their drugs more effectively.
Our competitors include pharmaceutical companies and biotechnology companies, as well as universities and public and private research institutions. In addition, companies that are active in different but related fields present substantial competition for us. Many of our competitors have significantly greater capital resources, larger research and development staffs and facilities and greater experience in drug development, regulation, manufacturing and marketing than we do. These organizations also compete with us to recruit qualified personnel, attract partners for joint ventures or other collaborations, and license technologies that are competitive with ours. As a result, our competitors may be able to more easily develop products that could render our technologies or our drug candidates obsolete or noncompetitive. Development of new drugs, medical technologies and competitive medical devices may damage the demand for our products without any certainty that we will successfully and effectively contend with those competitors.
If we lose our key personnel or are unable to attract and retain additional personnel, our business could be harmed.
As of April 30, 2024, we have no employees, we have only four part-time service providers. To successfully develop our drug candidates and technologies, we must cooperate with third parties or to be able to attract and retain highly skilled personnel, including consultants and employees. The retention of their services cannot be guaranteed. Our failure to retain and/or recruit such professionals might impair our performance and materially affect our technological and product development capabilities and our product marketing ability.
Our Chief Financial Officer is not required to work exclusively for us, which could materially and adversely affect us and our business.
Itay Weinstein, our Chief Financial Officer, is not required to work exclusively for us and does not devote all of his time to our operations. Since serving as our Chief Financial Officer, he has devoted approximately 6 hours a week of his time to the operation of our business. He also serves as a Partner of the accounting firm Shimony C.P.A. It is possible that his pursuit of other activities may slow our operations and impact our ability to timely complete our financial statements.
Any acquisitions or in-licensing transactions we make may dilute your equity or require a significant amount of our available cash and may not be scientifically or commercially successful.
As part of our business strategy, we may effect acquisitions or in-licensing transactions to obtain additional businesses, products, technologies, capabilities and personnel. If we complete one or more such transactions in which the consideration includes our ordinary shares or other securities, your equity may be significantly diluted. If we complete one or more such transactions in which the consideration includes cash, we may be required to use a substantial portion of our available cash.
9
Acquisitions and in-licensing transactions also involve a number of operational risks, including:
| ● | difficulty and expense of assimilating the operations, technology or personnel of the business; |
| ● | our inability to attract and retain management and key personnel necessary to conduct the business; |
| ● | our inability to maintain relationships with key third parties, such as alliance partners, associated with the business; |
| ● | exposure to legal claims for activities of the business prior to the acquisition; |
| ● | the diversion of our management’s attention from our other drug development businesses; and |
| ● | the potential impairment of goodwill and write-off of in-process research and development costs, adversely affecting our reported results of operations. |
In addition, the basis for completing the acquisition or in-licensing could prove to be unsuccessful as the drugs or processes involved could fail to be scientifically or commercially viable. We may also be required to pay third parties substantial transaction fees, in the form of cash or ordinary shares, in connection with such transactions.
If any of these risks occur, it could have an adverse effect on both the business we acquire or in-license and our existing operations.
A material breach in security relating to the Company’s information systems and regulation related to such breaches, cyber-attacks, or other disruptions could adversely affect the Company, expose us to liability and affect our business and reputation.
Information security risks have generally increased in recent years, in part because of the proliferation of new technologies and the use of the Internet, and the increased sophistication and activity of organized crime, hackers, terrorists, activists, cybercriminals and other external parties, some of which may be linked to terrorist organizations or hostile foreign governments. Cybersecurity attacks are becoming more sophisticated and include malicious software, ransomware, attempts to gain unauthorized access to data and other electronic security breaches that could lead to disruptions in critical systems, unauthorized release of confidential or otherwise protected information and corruption of data, substantially damaging the Company’s reputation. Any person who circumvents the security measures could steal proprietary or confidential customer information or cause interruptions in the Company’s operations.
We are increasingly dependent on our information technology systems and infrastructure for our business. We, our collaborators and our service providers collect, store, and transmit sensitive information including intellectual property, proprietary business information, and personal information in connection with our business operations. The secure maintenance of this information is critical to our operations and business strategy. Some of this information could be an attractive target of criminal attack by third parties with a wide range of motives and expertise, including organized criminal groups, “hacktivists,” disgruntled former employees, nation-state and nation-state supported actors, and others. Cyber-attacks are of ever-increasing levels of sophistication, and despite our security measures, our information technology and infrastructure may be vulnerable to such attacks or may be breached, including due to employee error or malfeasance.
We have implemented information security measures to protect our systems, proprietary information, and sensitive data against the risk of inappropriate and unauthorized external use and disclosure and other types of compromise. However, despite these measures, and due to the ever-changing information cyber-threat landscape, we cannot guarantee that these measures will be adequate to detect, prevent or mitigate security breaches and other incidents and we may be subject to data breaches through cyber-attacks, malicious code (such as viruses and worms), phishing attacks, social engineering schemes, and insider theft or misuse. Any such breach could compromise our networks and the information stored there could be accessed, modified, destroyed, publicly disclosed, lost or stolen. If our systems become compromised, we may not promptly discover the intrusion.
Any security breach or other incident, whether real or perceived, could cause us to suffer reputational damage. Such incidents could result in costs to respond to, investigate and remedy such incidents, notification obligations to affected individuals, government agencies, credit reporting agencies and other third parties, legal claims or proceedings, and liability under our contracts with other parties and federal and state laws that protect the privacy and security of personal information. The Company’s failure to prevent security breaches, or well-publicized security breaches affecting the Internet in general, could significantly harm the Company’s reputation and business and financial results.
10
We face product liability risks and may not be able to obtain adequate insurance.
The use of our drug candidates and technologies in clinical trials, and the sale of any approved products, exposes us to liability claims. If we cannot successfully defend ourselves against product liability claims, we may incur substantial liabilities or be required to cease clinical trials of our drug candidates and technologies or limit commercialization of any approved products.
We believe that we will be able to obtain sufficient product liability insurance coverage for our planned clinical trials. We intend to expand our insurance coverage to include the commercial sale of any approved products if marketing approval is obtained; however, insurance coverage is becoming increasingly expensive. We may not be able to maintain insurance coverage at a reasonable cost. We may not be able to obtain additional insurance coverage that will be adequate to cover product liability risks that may arise. Regardless of merit or eventual outcome, product liability claims may result in:
| ● | decreased demand for a product; |
| ● | damage to our reputation; |
| ● | inability to continue to develop a drug candidate or technology; |
| ● | withdrawal of clinical trial volunteers; and |
| ● | loss of revenues. |
Consequently, a product liability claim or product recall may result in material losses.
We are currently operating in a period of economic uncertainty and capital markets disruption, which has been significantly impacted by geopolitical instability due to the ongoing military conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Our business, financial condition and results of operations may be materially adversely affected by any negative impact on the global economy and capital markets resulting from the conflict in Ukraine or any other geopolitical tensions.
U.S. and global markets are experiencing volatility and disruption following the escalation of geopolitical tensions and the start of the military conflict between Russia and Ukraine. On February 24, 2022, a full-scale military invasion of Ukraine by Russian troops was reported. Although the length and impact of the ongoing military conflict is highly unpredictable, the conflict in Ukraine could lead to market disruptions, including significant volatility in credit and capital markets.
Additionally, Russia’s prior annexation of Crimea, recent recognition of two separatist republics in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine and subsequent military interventions in Ukraine have led to sanctions and other penalties being levied by the United States, European Union and other countries against Russia, Belarus, the Crimea Region of Ukraine, the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic, and the so-called Luhansk People’s Republic, including agreement to remove certain Russian financial institutions from the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, or SWIFT, payment system. Additional potential sanctions and penalties have also been proposed and/or threatened. Russian military actions and the resulting sanctions could adversely affect the global economy and financial markets.
Any of the abovementioned factors could affect our business, prospects, financial condition, and operating results. The extent and duration of the military action, sanctions and resulting market disruptions are impossible to predict, but could be substantial. Any such disruptions may also magnify the impact of other risks described in this prospectus.
11
Risks Related to Our Intellectual Property
Because all of our proprietary drug candidates and technologies are licensed to us by third parties, termination of these license agreements could prevent us from developing our drug candidates.
We do not own any of our drug candidates and technologies. We have licensed the rights, patent or otherwise, to our drug candidates from third parties. We have licensed hCDR1 from Yeda Research and Development Company Ltd., or Yeda. We licensed a use patent for the use of rHuEPO from Yeda and Mor Research Applications Ltd., or Mor which we acquired from Bio-Gal Limited, or Bio-Gal.
These license agreements require us to meet development or financing milestones and impose development and commercialization due diligence requirements on us. In addition, under these agreements, we must pay royalties on sales of products resulting from licensed drugs and technologies and pay the patent filing, prosecution and maintenance costs related to the licenses. While we have the right to defend patent rights related to our licensed drug candidates and technologies, we are not obligated to do so. In the event that we decide to defend our licensed patent rights, we will be obligated to cover all of the expenses associated with that effort. If we do not meet our obligations in a timely manner, or if we otherwise breach the terms of our agreements, our licensors could terminate the agreements, and we would lose the rights to our drug candidates and technologies.
Specifically, our license agreement with Yeda imposes certain obligations on us, including obligations to use diligent efforts to meet development thresholds, funding requirements, payment obligations and commercialization. If we are unable to meet our obligations, some or all of our rights under the agreement may be restricted or terminated. The license agreement may be terminated by Yeda upon 45 days prior written notice if either we fail to meet certain development milestones or commercial sales shall have commenced and there shall be a period of 6 months of no sales, subject to certain exceptions. Yeda shall also be entitled to terminate the license agreement if we were to commence legal action against Yeda challenging the validity of any of the licensed patents, and we were unsuccessful in such challenge, in which event we would be required to pay to Yeda liquidated damages of $8 million. Either party may also terminate the license agreement in the case of a material breach that remains uncured or certain bankruptcy events.
The Company has decided not to conduct Phase 2 under the license agreement by itself, and instead is seeking a strategic partner for the conduct of Phase 2. As a result, the second milestone under the license agreement (commencement of Phase 2) has not been met yet. Accordingly, the license agreement may be terminated by Yeda upon 45 days prior written notice. To date, while the Company and Yeda have held discussions regarding further amendment to the payment scheme under the license agreement, they have not reached an agreement regarding such amendment.
If the license agreement were to be terminated by Yeda, we would lose our rights to HCDR1 and thus would not be able to develop hCDR1, which would have a material adverse effect on our business.
From time to time, in the ordinary course of business, we may have disagreements with our licensors or collaborators regarding the terms of our agreements or ownership of proprietary rights, which could lead to delays in the research, development, collaboration and commercialization of our drug candidates, or could require or result in litigation or arbitration, which could be time-consuming and expensive.
If we are unable to adequately protect our intellectual property, third parties may be able to use our technology, which could adversely affect our ability to compete in the market.
Our commercial success will depend in part on our ability and the ability of our licensors to obtain and maintain patent protection on our drug products and technologies and successfully defend these patents and technologies against third-party challenges. As part of our business strategy, our policy is to actively file patent applications in the U.S. and internationally to cover methods of use, new chemical compounds, pharmaceutical compositions and dosing of the compounds and composition and improvements in each of these. Because of the extensive time required for development, testing and regulatory review of a potential product, it is possible that before we commercialize any of our products, any related patent may expire or remain in force for only a short period following commercialization, thus reducing any advantage of the patent.
12
The patent positions of pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies can be highly uncertain and involve complex legal and factual questions. No consistent policy regarding the breadth of claims allowed in biotechnology patents has emerged to date. Accordingly, the patents we use may not be sufficiently broad to prevent others from practicing our technologies or from developing competing products. Furthermore, others may independently develop similar or alternative technologies or design around our patented technologies. The patents we use may be challenged or invalidated or may fail to provide us with any competitive advantage.
Generally, patent applications in the U.S. are maintained in secrecy for a period of at least 18 months. Since publication of discoveries in the scientific or patent literature often lag behind actual discoveries, we are not certain that we were the first to make the inventions covered by each of our pending patent applications or that we were the first to file those patent applications. We cannot predict the breadth of claims allowed in biotechnology and pharmaceutical patents, or their enforceability. Third parties or competitors may challenge or circumvent our patents or patent applications, if issued. If our competitors prepare and file patent applications in the U.S. that claim compounds or technology also claimed by us, we may be required to challenge competing patent rights, which could result in substantial cost, even if the eventual outcome is favorable to us. While we have the right to defend patent rights related to the licensed drug candidates and technologies, we are not obligated to do so. In the event that we decide to defend our licensed patent rights, we will be obligated to cover all of the expenses associated with that effort.
We also rely on trade secrets to protect technology where we believe patent protection is not appropriate or obtainable. Trade secrets are difficult to protect. While we require our collaborators and consultants to enter into confidentiality agreements, this may not be sufficient to protect our trade secrets or other proprietary information adequately. In addition, we share ownership and publication rights to data relating to some of our drug candidates and technologies with our research collaborators and scientific advisors. If we cannot maintain the confidentiality of this information, our ability to protect our proprietary information will be at risk.
Litigation or third-party claims of intellectual property infringement could require us to spend substantial time, money and other resources defending such claims and adversely affect our ability to develop and commercialize our products.
Third parties may assert that we are using their proprietary technology without authorization. In addition, third parties may have or obtain patents in the future and claim that our products infringe their patents. If we are required to defend against patent suits brought by third parties, or if we sue third parties to protect our patent rights, we may be required to pay substantial litigation costs, and our management’s attention may be diverted from operating our business. In addition, any legal action against our licensors or us that seeks damages or an injunction of our commercial activities relating to the affected products could subject us to monetary liability and require our licensors or us to obtain a license to continue to use the affected technologies. We cannot predict whether our licensors or we would prevail in any of these types of actions or that any required license would be made available on commercially acceptable terms, if at all. In addition, any legal action against us that seeks damages or an injunction relating to the affected activities could subject us to monetary liability and/or require us to discontinue the affected technologies or obtain a license to continue use thereof.
In addition, there can be no assurance that our patents or patent applications or those licensed to us will not become involved in opposition or revocation proceedings instituted by third parties. If such proceedings were initiated against one or more of our patents, or those licensed to us, the defense of such rights could involve substantial costs and the outcome could not be predicted.
Competitors or potential competitors may have filed applications for, may have been granted patents for, or may obtain additional patents and proprietary rights that may relate to compounds or technologies competitive with ours. If patents are granted to other parties that contain claims having a scope that is interpreted to cover any of our products (including the manufacture thereof), there can be no assurance that we will be able to obtain licenses to such patents at reasonable cost, if at all, or be able to develop or obtain alternative technology.
Risks Related to our ADSs
We will need additional capital in the future. If additional capital is not available, we may not be able to continue to operate our business pursuant to our business plan or we may have to discontinue our operations entirely.
Our net cash used in operating activities for the year ended December 31, 2023 was $707 thousand. If we continue to use cash at this rate we will need significant additional financing, which we may seek to raise through, among other things, public and private equity offerings and debt financing. Any equity financings will likely be dilutive to existing stockholders, and any debt financings will likely involve covenants restricting our business activities. Additional financing may not be available on acceptable terms, or at all.
13
The ADSs are traded in small volumes, limiting ability to sell ADSs that represent ordinary shares at a desirable price, if at all.
The trading volume of the ADSs has historically been low. Even if the trading volume of the ADSs increases, we can give no assurance that it will be maintained or will result in a desirable stock price. As a result of this low trading volume, it may be difficult to identify buyers to whom shareholders can sell ADSs in desirable volume and shareholders may be unable to sell your ADSs at an established market price, at a price that is favorable, or at all. A low volume market also limits shareholders’ ability to sell large blocks of the ADSs at a desirable or stable price at any one time. Shareholders should be prepared to own the ADSs indefinitely.
Our stock price can be volatile, which increases the risk of litigation and may result in a significant decline in the value of your investment.
The trading price of the ADSs representing our ordinary shares is likely to be highly volatile and subject to wide fluctuations in price in response to various factors, many of which are beyond our control. These factors include:
| ● | developments concerning our drug candidates; |
| ● | announcements of technological innovations by us or our competitors; |
| ● | introductions or announcements of new products by us or our competitors; |
| ● | developments in the markets of the field of activities and changes in customer attributes; |
| ● | announcements by us of significant acquisitions, in/out license transactions, strategic partnerships, joint ventures or capital commitments; |
| ● | changes in financial estimates by securities analysts; |
| ● | actual or anticipated variations in interim operating results and near-term working capital as well as failure to raise required funds for the continued development and operations of the company; |
| ● | expiration or termination of licenses, patents, research contracts or other collaboration agreements; |
| ● | conditions or trends in the regulatory climate and the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries; |
| ● | failure to obtain orphan drug designation status for the relevant drug candidates in the relevant regions; |
| ● | increase in costs and lengthy timing of the clinical trials according to regulatory requirements; |
| ● | failure to increase awareness of our products; |
| ● | changes in reimbursement policy by governments or insurers in markets we operate or may operate in the future; |
| ● | any changes in the regulatory environment relating to our drug candidates; |
| ● |
changes in the market valuations of similar companies;
| |
| ● | geopolitical instabilities, including the war between Russia and Ukraine; and | |
| ● | additions or departures of key personnel. |
14
In addition, equity markets in general, and the market for biotechnology and life sciences companies in particular, have experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations that have often been unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of companies traded in those markets. These broad market and industry factors may materially affect the market price of the ADSs, regardless of our development and operating performance. In the past, following periods of volatility in the market price of a company’s securities, securities class-action litigation has often been instituted against that company. Such litigation, if instituted against us, could cause us to incur substantial costs to defend such claims and divert management’s attention and resources even if we prevail in the litigation, all of which could seriously harm our business.
Future issuances or sales of the ADSs could depress the market for the ADSs.
Future issuances of a substantial number of the ADSs, or the perception by the market that those issuances could occur, could cause the market price of our ordinary shares or ADSs to decline or could make it more difficult for us to raise funds through the sale of equity in the future. Also, if we make one or more significant acquisitions in which the consideration includes ordinary shares or other securities, your portion of shareholders’ equity in us may be significantly diluted.
Concentration of ownership of our ordinary shares among our principal stockholders may prevent new investors from influencing significant corporate decisions.
There is one shareholder (Mr. Alexander Rabinovitch, a director), who in the aggregate beneficially holds approximately 23.54% of our ordinary shares, as of April 30, 2024). As a result, this person, may have the ability to significantly influence the outcome of all matters submitted to our shareholders for approval, including the election and removal of directors and any merger, consolidation or sale of all or substantially all of our assets. In addition, such persons, acting alone or together, may have the ability to effectively control our management and affairs. Accordingly, this concentration of ownership may depress the market price of our ordinary shares or ADSs.
Our ordinary shares and ADSs trade on two different markets, and this may result in price variations and regulatory compliance issues.
ADSs representing our ordinary shares are listed for trading on the Nasdaq Capital Market, or Nasdaq, and our ordinary shares are traded on the TASE. Trading in our securities on these markets is made in different currencies and at different times, including as a result of different time zones, different trading days and different public holidays in the U.S. and Israel. Consequently, the effective trading prices of our securities on these two markets may differ. Any decrease in the trading price of our securities on one of these markets could cause a decrease in the trading price of our securities on the other market.
Holders of our ordinary shares or ADSs who are U.S. citizens or residents may be required to pay additional income taxes.
There is a risk that we will be classified as a passive foreign investment company, or PFIC, for certain tax years. If we are classified as a PFIC, a U.S. holder of our ordinary shares or ADSs representing our ordinary shares will be subject to special federal income tax rules that determine the amount of federal income tax imposed on income derived with respect to the PFIC shares. We will be a PFIC if either 75% or more of our gross income in a tax year is passive income or the average percentage of our assets (by value) that produce or are held for the production of passive income in a tax year is at least 50%. The risk that we will be classified as a PFIC arises because cash balances, even if held as working capital, are considered to be assets that produce passive income. Therefore, any determination of PFIC status will depend upon the sources of our income and the relative values of passive and non-passive assets, including goodwill. A determination as to a corporation’s status as a PFIC must be made annually. We believe we may be a PFIC during 2023 and although we have not determined whether we will be a PFIC in 2024, or in any subsequent year, our operating results for any such years may cause us to be a PFIC. Although we may not be a PFIC in any one year, the PFIC taint remains with respect to those years in which we were or are a PFIC and the special PFIC taxation regime will continue to apply.
In view of the complexity of the issues regarding our treatment as a PFIC, U.S. shareholders are urged to consult their own tax advisors for guidance as to our status as a PFIC.
15
As a foreign private issuer, we are permitted to follow certain home country corporate governance practices instead of applicable SEC and Nasdaq requirements, which may result in less protection than is accorded to investors under rules applicable to domestic issuers.
As a foreign private issuer, we are permitted to follow certain home country corporate governance practices instead of those otherwise required under Nasdaq for domestic issuers. For instance, we may follow home country practice in Israel with regard to, among other things, composition and function of the audit committee and other committees of our Board of Directors and certain general corporate governance matters. In addition, in certain instances we will follow our home country law, instead of the Nasdaq, which requires that we obtain shareholder approval for certain dilutive events, such as an issuance that will result in a change of control of the company, certain transactions other than a public offering involving issuances of a 20% or more interest in the company and certain acquisitions of the stock or assets of another company. We comply with the director independence requirements of the Nasdaq, including the requirement that a majority of the Board of Directors be independent. Following our home country governance practices as opposed to the requirements that would otherwise apply to a United States company listed on Nasdaq may provide less protection than is accorded to investors under Nasdaq applicable to domestic issuers.
In addition, as a foreign private issuer, we are exempt from the rules and regulations under the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act, related to the furnishing and content of proxy statements, and our officers, directors and principal shareholders are exempt from the reporting and short-swing profit recovery provisions contained in Section 16 of the Exchange Act. In addition, we are not required under the Exchange Act to file annual, quarterly and current reports and financial statements with the SEC as frequently or as promptly as domestic companies whose securities are registered under the Exchange Act.
ADS holders are not shareholders and do not have shareholder rights.
The Bank of New York Mellon, as depositary, executes and delivers the ADSs on our behalf. Each ADS is a certificate evidencing a specific number of ADSs. The ADS holders will not be treated as shareholders and do not have the rights of shareholders. The depositary will be the holder of the shares underlying the ADSs. Holders of the ADSs will have ADS holder rights. A deposit agreement among us, the depositary and the ADS holders, and the beneficial owners of ADSs, sets out ADS holder rights as well as the rights and obligations of the depositary. New York law governs the deposit agreement and the ADSs. Our shareholders have shareholder rights prescribed by Israeli law. Israeli law and our Articles of Association, or Articles, govern such shareholder rights. The ADS holders do not have the same voting rights as our shareholders. Shareholders are entitled to our notices of general meetings and to attend and vote at our general meetings of shareholders. At a general meeting, every shareholder present (in person or by proxy, attorney or representative) and entitled to vote has one vote on a show of hands. Every shareholder present (in person or by proxy, attorney or representative) and entitled to vote has one vote per fully paid ordinary share on a poll. This is subject to any other rights or restrictions which may be attached to any shares. The ADS holders may instruct the depositary to vote the ordinary shares underlying their ADSs, but only if we ask the depositary to ask for their instructions. If we do not ask the depositary to ask for their instructions, the ADS holders are not entitled to receive our notices of general meeting or instruct the depositary how to vote. The ADS holders will not be entitled to attend and vote at a general meeting unless they withdraw the ordinary shares from the depository. However, the ADS holders may not know about the meeting far enough in advance to withdraw the ordinary shares. If we ask for the ADS holders’ instructions, the depositary will notify the ADS holders of the upcoming vote and arrange to deliver our voting materials and form of notice to them. The depositary will try, as far as is practical, subject to the provisions of the deposit agreement, to vote the shares as the ADS holders instruct. The depositary will not vote or attempt to exercise the right to vote other than in accordance with the instructions of the ADS holders. We cannot assure the ADS holders that they will receive the voting materials in time to ensure that they can instruct the depositary to vote their shares. In addition, there may be other circumstances in which the ADS holders may not be able to exercise voting rights.
The ADS holders do not have the same rights to receive dividends or other distributions as our shareholders. Subject to any special rights or restrictions attached to a share, the directors may determine that a dividend will be payable on a share and fix the amount, the time for payment and the method for payment (although we have never declared or paid any cash dividends on our ordinary stock and we do not anticipate paying any cash dividends in the foreseeable future). Dividends and other distributions payable to our shareholders with respect to our ordinary shares generally will be payable directly to them. Any dividends or distributions payable with respect to ordinary shares will be paid to the depositary, which has agreed to pay to the ADS holders the cash dividends or other distributions it or the custodian receives on shares or other deposited securities, after deducting its fees and expenses. The ADS holders will receive these distributions in proportion to the number of shares their ADSs represent. In addition, there may be certain circumstances in which the depositary may not pay to the ADS holders amounts distributed by us as a dividend or distribution.
16
There are circumstances where it may be unlawful or impractical to make distributions to the holders of the ADSs.
The deposit agreement with the depositary allows the depositary to distribute foreign currency only to those ADS holders to whom it is possible to do so. If a distribution is payable by us in New Israeli Shekels, the depositary will hold the foreign currency it cannot convert for the account of the ADS holders who have not been paid. It will not invest the foreign currency and it will not be liable for any interest. If the exchange rates fluctuate during a time when the depositary cannot convert the foreign currency, the ADS holders may lose some of the value of the distribution.
The depositary is not responsible if it decides that it is unlawful or impractical to make a distribution available to any ADS holders. This means that the ADS holders may not receive the distributions we make on our shares or any value for them if it is illegal or impractical for the depository to make such distributions available to them.
Shareholders’ percentage ownership in us may be diluted by future issuances of share capital, which could reduce their influence over matters on which shareholders vote.
Issuances of additional shares would reduce shareholders’ influence over matters on which our shareholders vote.
We may fail to remain in compliance with the continued listing standards of the Nasdaq Capital Market and a delisting of our ADSs could make it more difficult for investors to sell their shares
Our ADSs were approved for listing on the Nasdaq Capital Market in July 2013 where they continue to be listed. We are required to meet certain qualitative and financial tests (including having stockholders’ equity of at least $2.5 million, a market value of listed securities of $35 million or $500,000 of net income from continuing operations for the most recently completed fiscal year or two of the most recently completed fiscal years, to maintain the listing of our ADSs on the Nasdaq Capital Market as set forth in Nasdaq listing rule 5550(b)(1) the (“Stockholders’ Equity Requirement” or “Rule 5550(b)(1)”).
On October 18, 2023, the Company received a written notification (the “Notice”) from the Nasdaq Stock Market LLC (“Nasdaq”), notifying the Company that it was not in compliance with the minimum bid price requirement set forth in the Nasdaq Rules for continued listing on the Nasdaq.
Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(a)(2) (the “Listing Rule”) requires listed securities to maintain a minimum bid price of US$1.00 per share, and Nasdaq Listing Rule 5810(c)(3)(A) provides that a failure to meet the minimum bid price requirement exists if the deficiency continues for a period of 30 consecutive business days. Based on the closing bid price of the Company’s ADSs for the 30 consecutive business days from September 6, 2023, to October 17, 2023, the Company failed to meet the minimum bid price requirement. In accordance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5810(c)(3)(A), the Company had 180 calendar days, or until April 15, 2024, to regain compliance.
On April 2, 2024, the Company received formal notice from Nasdaq stating that the Company regained compliance with the minimum bid price requirement set forth in the Listing Rule. To regain compliance with the Listing Rule, the Company’s ADSs were required to maintain a minimum closing bid price of $1.00 or more for at least 10 consecutive business days, which was achieved from March 18, 2024 through April 1, 2024. Nasdaq has stated that this matter is now closed.
If we do not maintain compliance with the continued listing requirements for Nasdaq within specified periods and subject to permitted extensions, our ADSs may be recommended for delisting (subject to any appeal we would file). If our ADSs were delisted, it could be more difficult to buy or sell our ADSs and to obtain accurate quotations, and the price of our stock could suffer a material decline. Delisting would also impair our ability to raise capital.
If we fail to maintain compliance with Nasdaq’s continued listing standards, we may be delisted and our ADSs will trade, if at all, only on the over-the-counter market, such as the OTC Bulletin Board or OTCQX market, and then only if one or more registered broker-dealer market makers comply with quotation requirements. In addition, delisting of our ADSs could depress the price of our ADSs, substantially limit liquidity of our ADSs and materially adversely affect our ability to raise capital on terms acceptable to us, or at all.
Finally, delisting of our ADSs would likely result in our ADSs becoming a “penny stock” under the Securities Exchange Act. The principal result or effect of being designated a “penny stock” is that securities broker-dealers cannot recommend the shares but must trade it on an unsolicited basis. Penny stock rules require a broker-dealer, prior to a transaction in a penny stock not otherwise exempt from those rules, to deliver a standardized risk disclosure document prepared by the SEC, which specifies information about penny stocks and the nature and significance of risks of the penny stock market. A broker-dealer must also provide the customer with bid and offer quotations for the penny stock, the compensation of the broker-dealer and sales person in the transaction, and monthly account statements indicating the market value of each penny stock held in the customer’s account. In addition, the penny stock rules require that, prior to a transaction in a penny stock not otherwise exempt from those rules; the broker-dealer must make a special written determination that the penny stock is a suitable investment for the purchaser and receive the purchaser’s written agreement to the transaction. These disclosure requirements may have the effect of reducing the trading activity in the secondary market for shares that become subject to those penny stock rules. Under such circumstances, shareholders may find it more difficult to sell, or to obtain accurate quotations, for our ADSs, and our ADSs would become substantially less attractive to certain purchasers such as financial institutions, hedge funds and other similar investors.
17
Risks Relating to Operations in Israel
We conduct our operations in Israel and therefore our results may be adversely affected by political, economic and military instability in Israel and its region.
Our headquarters, are located in Israel and we conduct operations in Israel. Accordingly, political, economic and military conditions in the Middle East may affect our business directly. Since the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, a number of armed conflicts have taken place between Israel and its neighboring countries, as well as terrorist acts committed within Israel by hostile elements.
In particular, in October 2023, Hamas terrorists infiltrated Israel’s southern border from the Gaza Strip and conducted a series of attacks on civilian and military targets. Hamas also launched extensive rocket attacks on the Israeli population and industrial centers located along Israel’s border with the Gaza Strip and in other areas within the State of Israel. These attacks resulted in thousands of deaths and injuries, and Hamas additionally kidnapped many Israeli civilians and soldiers. Following the attack, Israel’s security cabinet declared war against Hamas and commenced a military campaign against Hamas and these terrorist organizations in parallel continued rocket and terror attacks. As a result of the events of October 7, 2023 whereby Hamas terrorists invaded southern Israel and launched thousands of rockets in a widespread terrorist attack on Israel, the Israeli government declared that the country was at war and the Israeli military began to call-up reservists for active duty. Military service call ups that result in absences of personnel from us for an extended period of time may materially and adversely affect our business, prospects, financial condition and results of operations. As of the date hereof, we have no employees, and our management which provide services through a consultant agreement weren’t called for duty.
In addition, since the commencement of these events, there have been continued hostilities along Israel’s northern border with Lebanon (with the Hezbollah terror organization) and southern border (with the Houthi movement in Yemen). It is possible that hostilities with Hezbollah in Lebanon will escalate, and that other terrorist organizations, including Palestinian military organizations in the West Bank as well as other hostile countries, such as Iran, will join the hostilities. Such clashes may escalate in the future into a greater regional conflict. Further, in April 2024, Iran launched a direct attack on Israel involving hundreds of drones, ballistic missiles and cruise missiles and may attack again. In addition, Iran is widely believed to be developing nuclear weapons. Iran is also believed to have a strong influence among extremist groups in the region, such as Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthi movement in Yemen and various rebel militia groups in Syria and Iraq. These situations may potentially escalate in the future to more violent events which may affect Israel and us. Any hostilities, armed conflicts, terrorist activities involving Israel or the interruption or curtailment of trade between Israel and its trading partners, or any political instability in the region could adversely affect business conditions and our results of operations and could make it more difficult for us to raise capital and could adversely affect the market price of our ordinary share. An escalation of tensions or violence might result in a significant downturn in the economic or financial condition of Israel, which could have a material adverse effect on our operations in Israel and our business. Parties with whom we do business have sometimes declined to travel to Israel during periods of heightened unrest or tension, forcing us to make alternative arrangements when necessary in order to meet our business partners face to face. In addition, the political and security situation in Israel may result in parties with whom we have agreements involving performance in Israel claiming that they are not obligated to perform their commitments under those agreements pursuant to force majeure provisions in such agreements.
Since the war broke out on October 7, 2023, our operations have not been adversely affected by this situation, and we have not experienced disruptions to our operations. the intensity and duration of Israel’s current war against Hamas is difficult to predict at this stage, as are such war’s economic implications on the Company’s business and operations and on Israel’s economy in general. if the war extends for a long period of time or expands to other fronts, such as Lebanon, Syria and the West Bank, our operations may be adversely affected.
Our commercial insurance does not cover losses that may occur as a result of events associated with the security situation in the Middle East. Although the Israeli government currently covers the reinstatement value of direct damages that are caused by terrorist attacks or acts of war, we cannot assure you that this government coverage will be maintained. Any losses or damages incurred by us could have a material adverse effect on our business. Any armed conflicts or political instability in the region would likely negatively affect business conditions and could harm our results of operations.
Further, the State of Israel and Israeli companies have been subjected to an economic boycott. Several countries still restrict business with the State of Israel and with Israeli companies. These restrictive laws and policies may have an adverse impact on our operating results, financial condition or the expansion of our business.
Finally, political conditions within Israel may affect our operations. Israel has held five general elections between 2019 and 2022, and prior to October 2023, the Israeli government pursued extensive changes to Israel’s judicial system, which sparked extensive political debate and unrest. To date, these initiatives have been substantially put on hold. Actual or perceived political instability in Israel or any negative changes in the political environment, may individually or in the aggregate adversely affect the Israeli economy and, in turn, our business, financial condition, results of operations and growth prospects.
18
Our results of operations may be adversely affected by inflation and foreign currency fluctuations.
We hold most of our cash, cash equivalents and bank deposits in U.S. dollars. As we are located in Israel, a significant portion of our expenses are in New Israeli Shekels, or NIS, mainly due to payment to Israeli service providers and suppliers. Our investment in the shares of InterCure Ltd. is also in NIS. As a result, we could be exposed to the risk that the U.S. dollar will be devalued against the NIS or other currencies, and consequentially our financial results could be harmed. To protect against currency fluctuations, we may decide to hold a significant portion of our cash, cash equivalents, bank deposits and marketable securities in NIS, as well as to enter into currency hedging transactions. These measures, however, may not adequately protect us from the adverse effects of inflation in Israel. In addition, we are exposed to the risk that the rate of inflation in Israel will exceed the rate of devaluation of the New Israeli Shekel in relation to the U.S. dollar or that the timing of any devaluation may lag behind inflation in Israel.
Provisions of Israeli law may delay, prevent or otherwise impede a merger with, or an acquisition of, our company, which could prevent a change of control, even when the terms of such a transaction are favorable to us and our shareholders.
As a company incorporated under the laws of the State of Israel, we are subject to Israeli corporate law regulates mergers, requires tender offers for acquisitions of shares above specified thresholds, requires special approvals for transactions involving directors, officers or significant shareholders and regulates other matters that may be relevant to these types of transactions. For example, a merger may not be consummated unless at least 50 days have passed from the date that a merger proposal was filed by each merging company with the Israel Registrar of Companies and at least 30 days from the date that the shareholders of both merging companies approved the merger. In addition, the holder of a majority of each class of securities of the target company must approve a merger. Moreover, a full tender offer can only be completed if the acquirer receives at least 95% of the issued share capital (provided that a majority of the offerees that do not have a personal interest in such tender offer shall have approved the tender offer, except that if the total votes to reject the tender offer represent less than 2% of the company’s issued and outstanding share capital, in the aggregate, approval by a majority of the offerees that do not have a personal interest in such tender offer is not required to complete the tender offer), and the shareholders, including those who indicated their acceptance of the tender offer, may, at any time within six months following the completion of the tender offer, petition the court to alter the consideration for the acquisition (unless the acquirer stipulated in the tender offer that a shareholder that accepts the offer may not seek appraisal rights).
Furthermore, Israeli tax considerations may make potential transactions unappealing to us or to those of our shareholders whose country of residence does not have a tax treaty with Israel exempting such shareholders from Israeli tax. For example, Israeli tax law does not recognize tax-free share exchanges to the same extent as U.S. tax law. With respect to mergers, Israeli tax law allows for tax deferral in certain circumstances but makes the deferral contingent on the fulfillment of numerous conditions, including a holding period of two years from the date of the transaction during which sales and dispositions of shares of the participating companies are restricted. Moreover, with respect to certain share swap transactions, the tax deferral is limited in time, and when such time expires, the tax becomes payable even if no actual disposition of the shares has occurred.
These and other similar provisions could delay, prevent or impede an acquisition of us or our merger with another company, even if such an acquisition or merger would be beneficial to us or to our shareholders.
It may be difficult to enforce a U.S. judgment against us, our officers or our directors or to assert U.S. securities law claims in Israel.
Service of process upon us, since we are incorporated in Israel, and upon our directors and officers, who reside outside the U.S., may be difficult to obtain within the U.S. In addition, because substantially all of our assets and most of our directors and officers are located outside the U.S., any judgment obtained in the U.S. against us or any of our directors and officers may not be collectible within the U.S. There is a doubt as to the enforceability of civil liabilities under the Securities Act or the Exchange Act pursuant to original actions instituted in Israel. Subject to particular time limitations and provided certain conditions are met, executory judgments of a U.S. court for monetary damages in civil matters may be enforced by an Israeli court.
19
Under applicable U.S. and Israeli law, we may not be able to enforce covenants not to compete and therefore may be unable to prevent our competitors from benefiting from the expertise of some of our former employees. In addition, employees may be entitled to seek compensation for their inventions irrespective of their agreements with us, which in turn could impact our future profitability.
We generally enter into non-competition agreements with our key consultants. These agreements prohibit our key consultants, if they cease working for us, from competing directly with us or working for our competitors or clients for a limited period of time. We may be unable to enforce these agreements under the laws of the jurisdictions in which our key consultants work and it may be difficult for us to restrict our competitors from benefitting from the expertise our former employees or consultants developed while working for us. For example, Israeli courts have required employers seeking to enforce non-compete undertakings of a former employee to demonstrate that the competitive activities of the former employee will harm one of a limited number of material interests of the employer which have been recognized by the courts, such as the secrecy of a company’s confidential commercial information or the protection of its intellectual property. If we cannot demonstrate that such interests will be harmed, we may be unable to prevent our competitors from benefiting from the expertise of our former employees or consultants and our ability to remain competitive may be diminished.
In addition, Chapter 8 to the Israeli Patents Law, 5727-1967, or the Patents Law, deals with inventions made in the course of an employee’s service and during his or her term of employment, whether or not the invention is patentable, or service inventions. Section 134 of the Patents Law, sets forth that if there is no agreement which explicitly determines whether the employee is entitled to compensation for the service inventions and the extent and terms of such compensation, such determination will be made by the Compensation and Rewards Committee, a statutory committee of the Israeli Patents Office. As a result, it is unclear if, and to what extent, our research and development employees may be able to claim compensation with respect to our future revenue. As a result, we may receive less revenue from future products if such claims are successful, which in turn could impact our future profitability.
Your rights and responsibilities as a shareholder will be governed by Israeli law which may differ in some respects from the rights and responsibilities of shareholders of U.S. companies.
We are incorporated under Israeli law. The rights and responsibilities of the holders of our ordinary shares and ADSs are governed by our Articles of Association and Israeli law. These rights and responsibilities differ in some respects from the rights and responsibilities of shareholders in typical U.S.-based corporations. In particular, a shareholder of an Israeli company has a duty to act in good faith toward the company and other shareholders and to refrain from abusing its power in the company, including, among other things, in voting at the general meeting of shareholders on matters such as amendments to a company’s articles of association, increases in a company’s authorized share capital, mergers and acquisitions and interested party transactions requiring shareholder approval. In addition, a shareholder who knows that it possesses the power to determine the outcome of a shareholder vote or to appoint or prevent the appointment of a director or executive officer in the company has a duty of fairness toward the company. There is limited case law available to assist us in understanding the implications of these provisions that govern shareholders’ actions. These provisions may be interpreted to impose additional obligations and liabilities on holders of our ordinary shares and ADSs that are not typically imposed on shareholders of U.S. corporations.
Risks Relating to Weaknesses in Internal Accounting Control
Our management previously identified a deficiency that was concluded to represent a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting related to our improper classification of the Company’s warrants as equity (and not as a non-current liability). The SEC defines the term “material weakness” as “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 our annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis.”
To remediate the material weakness, we developed a new quarterly control to review the proper classification of warrant instruments. This control includes the participation of the CFO, Controller and outside legal counsel to ensure that the accounting and financial reporting impacts are appropriately analyzed.
While we have remediated the previously identified material weakness, we may discover future deficiencies in our internal controls over financial reporting, including those identified through testing conducted by us or subsequent testing by our independent registered public accounting firm. Any failure to maintain or implement required new or improved controls, or any difficulties we encounter in their implementation, could result in additional material weaknesses or significant deficiencies and cause us to fail to meet our reporting obligations or result in material misstatements in our financial statements. Furthermore, any failure in the effectiveness of our system of internal control over financial reporting could have a material adverse impact on our ability to report our financial results in an accurate and timely manner.
20
A. ITEM 4. INFORMATION ON THE COMPANY
A. History and Development of XTL
We are a biopharmaceutical company engaged in the acquisition and development of pharmaceutical drugs for the treatment of autoimmune diseases. Our current IP portfolio is surrounding hCDR1 for the treatment of Lupus disease (SLE) and Sjögren’s Syndrom (SS).
Company Information and History
Our legal and commercial name is XTL Biopharmaceuticals Ltd. We were established as a private company limited by shares under the laws of the State of Israel on March 9, 1993, under the name Xenograft Technologies Ltd. We re-registered as a public company on June 7, 1993, in Israel, and changed our name to XTL Biopharmaceuticals Ltd. on July 3, 1995.
We commenced operations to use and commercialize technology developed at the Weizmann Institute, in Rehovot, Israel. Since 1993, we have pursued therapeutic and pharmaceutical development programs for the treatment of a variety of indications including hepatitis B, hepatitis C, diabetic neuropathic pain, schizophrenia, SLE, and multiple myeloma, most of which have terminated. We are looking at additional assets both in the field of drug development as well as other fields.
We currently have one subsidiary, Xtepo Ltd., a private company limited by shares under the laws of the State of Israel which holds a license for the exclusive use of rHuEPO for the treatment of multiple myeloma. As of December 31, 2023, we hold approximately 1.04% of the issued and outstanding share capital of InterCure Ltd., a related party and former subsidiary of ours (subsidiary between mid-2012 and the beginning of 2015).
The ADSs are listed for trading on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol “XTLB.” Our ordinary shares are traded on the TASE under the symbol “XTLB.” We operate under the laws of the State of Israel under the Israeli Companies Law, and in the U.S., the Securities Act and the Exchange Act.
Our principal offices are located at 26 Ben-Gurion St., Ramat Gan 5112001, Israel, and our telephone number is (972) 3-6116600. Our primary internet address is www.xtlbio.com. None of the information on our website is incorporated by reference herein.
B. Business Overview
Introduction
We are a biopharmaceutical company, the current core business of which is the acquisition and development of pharmaceutical drugs for the treatment of autoimmune diseases. Our current drug, hCDR1, is a potential treatment for (1) systemic lupus erythematosus, or SLE and (2) Sjogren’s syndrome, or SS.
Our sole drug candidate is hCDR1, a Phase II-ready asset for the treatment of SLE, the most prominent type of lupus. There is currently no known cure for SLE. Lupus is a chronic autoimmune disease involving many systems in the human body, including joints, kidneys, the central nervous system, heart, the hematological system and others. The biologic basis of the disease is a dysfunction of the immune (defense) system, leading to production of self (auto) antibodies, attacking healthy organs and causing damage that can be irreversible. According to research estimates of the Lupus Foundation of America, at least 1.5 million Americans have the disease (more than 5 million worldwide) with more than 16,000 new cases diagnosed each year in the United States.
hCDR1 is a peptide (short protein) that is administered subcutaneously and acts as a disease-specific treatment to modify the SLE-related autoimmune process. It postulated to do so by specific upstream immunomodulation through the generation of regulatory T cells, reducing inflammation and resuming immune balance. More than 40 peer-reviewed papers have been published on hCDR1. Two placebo-controlled Phase I trials and a placebo controlled Phase 2 trial, or the PRELUDE trial, were conducted on patients with SLE by Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, Ltd., or Teva, which had previously in-licensed hCDR1 from Yeda Research and Development, or Yeda. The studies consisted of over 400 patients and demonstrated that hCDR1 is well tolerated by patients and has a favorable safety profile. The PRELUDE trial did not achieve its primary efficacy endpoint based on the SLE Disease Activity Index, or SLEDAI scale, resulting in Teva returning the asset to Yeda. However, the PRELUDE trial showed encouraging results in its secondary clinical endpoint, the British Isles Lupus Activity Group index, or BILAG index, and, in fact, the 0.5 mg weekly dose showed a substantial effect. Multiple post-hoc analyses also showed impressive results for this dose using the BILAG index. Such dose will be the focus of the clinical development plan moving forward. Subsequent to Teva’s return of the program to Yeda, the FDA directed that the primary endpoint in future trials for Lupus therapies, including those for hCDR1, should be based on either the BILAG index or the SLE Responder Index (“SRI”). The FDA has provided the Company with written guidance confirming the acceptability of BILAG as the primary endpoint in our planned study. The Company has decided to reduce its research and development expenditures in connection with the execution of clinical trials relating to hCDR1 until full funding for the trials or cooperation with a strategic partner is secured.
21
hCDR1is also Phase II-ready for the treatment of SS. SS is also a chronic autoimmune disorder affecting lacrimal and salivary gland function (glandular) but may also affect other organs and systems (extraglandular) such as the kidneys, gastrointestinal system, blood vessels, lungs, liver, pancreas, and the nervous system. There is currently no known cure for SS. The only specific treatments available, such as Salagen and Evoxac, are symptomatic, aiming to alleviate dry eyes and dry mouth. A number of immunomodulatory agents including corticosteroids, hydroxychloroquine, cyclosporine, and other immunosuppressive agents are used to treat SS. The biologic basis of the disease is a dysfunction of the immune system, leading to production of antibodies that attack healthy organs causing damage that may be irreversible. Disease prevalence estimations vary from 2.5 million patients (Global Data Research 2016) to 4 million patients (Sjogren’s Syndrome Foundation) in the US alone, with a worldwide estimate of up to an aggregate of 7.7 million in in the United States, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, United Kingdom, and Japan by the year 2024 (Global Data Research).
In preclinical studies, blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) obtained from blood samples of patients with primary SS (pSS) were incubated in vitro in the presence of hCDR1 and a control peptide. Following 48 hours of incubation, cells were collected and mRNA was prepared from all samples. The expression of various genes was determined using real-time -PCR. The results obtained to date indicate that in vitro incubation of PBMCs of pSS patients with hCDR1 resulted in a significant reduction of gene expression of four pathogenic cytokines known to be involved in SS and lupus (including B-lymphocyte stimulator or BLyS), as well as upregulation of two immunosuppressive genes, one of which is a marker for activity of regulatory T cells. The majority of such effects were previously seen in similar studies involving lupus patients. Because amelioration of SLE manifestations in murine models as well as in SLE patients was associated with down-regulation of pathogenic cytokines, we believe it is likely that hCDR1 is capable of beneficially affecting SS patients. In addition, based on hCDR1’s favorable safety profile in over 400 SLE patients (as noted above), as well as the same route of administration as in SLE and similar doses, we believe we believe in hCDR1 potential to be of benefit for SLE patients as well .
The Company is exploring the expansion of its IP portfolio surrounding hCDR1 and at the same time has decided to reduce its research and development expenditures in connection with execution of its clinical trials. In parallel, the Company searches to identify additional assets to add to XTL’s portfolio.
Our Strategy
Our objective is to be a leading biopharmaceutical company engaged in the acquisition and development of pharmaceutical products for the treatment of autoimmune diseases. We are currently looking for new opportunities in order to expand our business by acquiring new activities.
The Company is expanding its IP portfolio surrounding hCDR1 and has decided a few years ago to reduce its research and development expenditures in connection with execution of its clinical trials until full funding for the trials or cooperation with a strategic partner is secured. In parallel, the Company will look to identify additional assets to add to XTL’s portfolio.
Recent Developments
On March 17, 2024 the Company’s board of directors approved the grant of 148,500 options exercisable into 148,500 ADSs of the Company, out of which 138,500 are subject to shareholders meeting to be held on April 30, 2024 (which was approved on April 30, 2024 by Company’s shareholders meeting) to certain officers and directors of the Company. 100,000 options will be fully vested on date of grant and 48,500 options will vest according to Company’s 2011 share option plan.
On March 20, 2024, the Company announced that it entered into a binding term sheet with THE SOCIAL PROXY Ltd. (the “Social Proxy”) an artificial intelligence web data company, developing and powering a unique ethical, intellectual property based, proxy and data extraction platform for artificial intelligence and BI applications at scale (the “Term Sheet”). The proposed Transaction is part of the Company’s strategy to expand its assets portfolio with high potential assets.
Pursuant to the Term Sheet, the Company will acquire all of the issued and outstanding share capital of The Social Proxy on a fully diluted basis (the “Transaction”) in exchange for the issuance by the Company to the shareholders of the Social Proxy, such number of ordinary shares of the Company, representing immediately after such issuance, 44.6% of the issued and outstanding share capital of the Company and the payment of $430,000 to the shareholders of the Social Proxy. In addition, as part of the Transaction, the shareholders of Social Proxy will be issued additional warrants or ordinary shares, which may only be exercised or granted upon reaching certain financial measured milestones within a period of up to three years from the closing of the Transaction. The securities to be issued to the owners of the Social Proxy will be issued pursuant to an exemption from registration provided by Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act of 1933 (the “Securities Act”), as amended, for transactions not involving a public offering. The Transaction is conditioned upon certain closing conditions which are fully described in the Term Sheet. Social Proxy will operate as fully owned subsidiary of the Company and its shareholders will be entitled to appoint two representatives to the Company’s board of directors out of a total of up to seven directors. Consequently, the Company approved to extend the resigning directors options exercise period for an additional 9 months period and up to an aggregate 12 months period following such termination date, which is subject to shareholders approval (which was approved on April 30, 2024 by Company’s shareholders meeting).
22
In order to support the Company’s financial needs and in order to complete the Transaction, the Company has secured a commitment of an investment of an amount of $1,500,000 through a private placement to be consummated upon and subject to the closing of the Transaction (the “Private Placement”). In exchange for the investment in the Private Placement, the investors will be issued 1,500,000 units (reflecting a price per each unit of US$1.00) consisting of one ADS and one warrant, such warrant may be exercised during a period of five years from its issuance into one ADS at an exercise price of $1.20 per warrant. Consummation of the Private Placement is conditioned upon customary closing conditions and obtaining shareholders’ approval as Alexander Rabinovich, a 23.5% shareholder and a director of the Company, is one of the investors in this Private Placement.
The completion of the Transaction is subject to negotiation of definitive agreements, containing representations, warranties and covenants as well as the satisfaction of various conditions required prior to closing, all as are customary for transactions of this nature, including, without limitation, the satisfaction of the Company, in its sole discretion, of a due diligence into Social Proxy, the approval of the Transaction by the Company’s shareholders and receipt of necessary government or third-party approvals, if required.
On March 27, 2024 we entered into a loan agreement with the Social Proxy. According to the loan agreement, On March 27, 2024, we provided a $150 thousands loan. The loan bears an annual interest of 8%. The loan and accrued interest will be repaid at the earlier of (1) 120 days following March 27, 2024 or (2) the date upon which the parties decide to abandon attempts for Transaction. Upon repayment date, Social Proxy may repay the outstanding loan and accrued interest in 18 equal monthly installments. Social Proxy provided a first priority floating charge over all of it assets as a security to ensure repayment of the loan and accrued interest.
Products Under Development
hCDR1 for the Treatment of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus
Market Opportunity
hCDR1 (edratide) is a Phase 2-ready asset for the treatment of SLE, the most prominent type of lupus. SLE is a heterogenous, chronic, debilitating inflammatory autoimmune disease characterized by the production of an array of autoantibodies, including antibodies to double-stranded DNA, to other nuclear antigens, and to ribonucleoproteins. Although SLE can affect any part of the body, most patients experience systemic symptoms including fever, fatigue and malaise along with symptoms in one or only a few organs. The most common signs and symptoms are arthralgia, arthritis, fatigue, fever, skin rashes, including a characteristic butterfly-shaped rash across the cheeks and nose, anemia and pleurisy. The clinical course of SLE may also include periods in which few, if any, symptoms are evident and other times when the disease becomes more active.
According to research estimates of the Lupus Foundation of America, at least 1.5 million Americans have the disease (more than 5 million worldwide) with more than 16,000 new cases diagnosed each year in the United States. The Lupus Foundation of America reports that lupus affects mostly women of childbearing age (15-44). SLE is one of the most common forms of lupus, affecting over 70% of lupus patients.
SLE treatment is highly individualized and is based on a patient’s disease severity, organ involvement and previous response. Mild forms of SLE may be treated with antimalarial medications, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, and topical and/or low-dose glucocorticoids, although treatment with methotrexate may be needed. In addition, low-dose oral steroids or intramuscular injections of depot steroid preparations can be used for mild disease. More severe cases of SLE may be treated with high-dose glucocorticoids and immunosuppressive or cytotoxic drugs to suppress the immune system. GlaxoSmithKline’s Benlysta (belimumab), a monoclonal antibody, is a newer medication that is FDA-approved for patients with mild to moderate SLE currently taking standard therapy who have not yet experienced an adequate response. Benlysta is the first product to gain marketing approval for patients with SLE in more than 50 years, paving the way for the introduction of new disease-modifying therapies and reigniting the interest of pharmaceutical developers in this therapy area. GlaxoSmithKline reported that its 2020 sales of Benlysta were up 17% AER (annual equivalent rate), 19% CER (coupon equivalent rate) to £719 million (approximately USD 982 million), including sales of the sub-cutaneous formulation of £354 (approximately USD 483 million) million up 32% AER, 33% CER.
23
hCDR1: General & Mechanism of Action
hCDR1 is a synthetic peptide composed of 19 amino-acid residues. It was developed by Teva in collaboration with Prof. Edna Mozes of the Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel. The sequence of the peptide is based on the complementarity determining region 1 (CDR1) of a pathogenic human anti-dsDNA mAb that bears the 16/6 idiotype. The idiotype was found to have clinical relevance in SLE patients.
Accumulating data from in vivo and in vitro studies demonstrate that hCDR1 functions by inducing regulatory T cell function through multiple pathways. Administration of hCDR1 to mice has been shown to induce CD4 + CD25 + cells using regulatory and suppressor characteristics such as CD45RB LOW, TGF-, CTLA-4 and Foxp3. This induction suppresses autoreactive CD4 + cell activation, indicated by the reduced expression of CD69 and Fas ligand; ultimately, resulting in reduced rates of activation-induced apoptosis. Inhibition by hCDR1-induced CD4 + CD25 + cells is mediated through the immunosuppressive cytokine TGF-. TGF- secretion is up regulated and activated autoreactive cells are decreased; both are associated with a decrease of pathogenic cytokines such as interferon gamma (IFN-), interleukin-10 (IL-10), interleukin-1 beta (IL-1), and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-). Effects on TGF- and Foxp3 have been shown to correlate with a significant decrease in SLEDAI-2K and BILAG scores in patients treated with hCDR1 in comparison with patients treated with placebo. Another subset of T cells (CD8 + CD28 -) expresses Foxp3 and has been shown to be essential for the induction and the optimal suppressive function of CD4 + CD25 + cells. The function of hCDR1-induced subsets of regulatory T cells result in the effective suppression, ultimately leading to the modulation of the underlying aberrancy of the immune system, which we believe culminates in the diminished activity of the disease.
hCDR1 was extensively investigated for its ability to down-regulate the autoimmune response elicited by the pathogenic antibodies and autoreactive T cells in SLE and up-regulate the expression of gene markers, such as TGF-β and FoxP3. Therefore hCDR1 may attenuate the general SLE-associated autoimmune process and provide effective treatment for many clinical manifestations of SLE. The clinical development plan is thus designed to demonstrate the efficacy of hCDR1 in the systemic disease.
Clinical Trial History
Prior to being licensed to us by Yeda, hCDR1 was licensed to Teva which performed two placebo controlled Phase I trials and a placebo controlled Phase 2 trial, or the PRELUDE trial. The Phase I and Phase 2 studies consisted of over 400 patients, demonstrating that hCDR1 is well tolerated by patients and has a favorable safety profile.
The PRELUDE trial was a 26-week study conducted at 48 centers in 12 countries: Canada, France, Germany, Holland, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Mexico, Russia, Spain, UK and U.S. enrolling 340 patients with mild to moderate SLE. The PRELUDE trial did not achieve its primary efficacy endpoint based on the SLEDAI scale, resulting in Teva returning the asset to Yeda in 2009. However, the PRELUDE trial showed encouraging results in its secondary clinical endpoint, the BILAG index, and, in fact, the 0.5 mg weekly dose showed a substantial effect. Multiple post-hoc analyses also showed impressive results for this dose using the BILAG index. Such dose will be the focus of clinical development moving forward. Subsequent to Teva’s return of the program to Yeda, in 2010 the FDA directed that the primary endpoint in future trials for lupus therapies, including those for hCDR1, should be based on either the BILAG index or the Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Responder Index. The FDA has provided the Company with written guidance confirming the acceptability of BILAG as the primary endpoint in our planned study, subject to receipt of adequate financing.
24
Planned Clinical Trial
The Company submitted a pre-Investigational New Drug (“IND”) meeting package, including a draft protocol for our planned clinical trial, to the FDA in December 2015. In January 2016, the Company received a written response to its pre-IND meeting package in which the FDA provided guidance on several key aspects of its proposed clinical trial including: acceptance of the primary efficacy endpoint to be based on the BILAG index, a measure of lupus disease activity which was the secondary efficacy endpoint in the PRELUDE trial and confirmation of the appropriate patient population and total number of patients required to prove safety for a new drug application (NDA) for marketing approval. The FDA recommended that the trial be a Phase 2 study and also provided additional guidance on other aspects of the trial design including doses and study duration. The Company has decided to reduce its research and development expenditures in connection with the execution of clinical trials relating to hCDR1 until full funding for the trials or cooperation with a strategic partner is secured. Subject to receipt of such funding or cooperation with a strategic partner, based on the FDA’s response, XTL could file its IND, and initiate a global clinical trial for hCDR1 in the treatment of SLE.
hCDR1 for the Treatment of Sjogren’s Syndrome
Market Opportunity
hCDR1 (Edratide) is a Phase 2-ready asset for the treatment of SS. SS is a chronic systemic autoimmune disease characterized by lymphocytic infiltration of exocrine glands. Sjogren’s syndrome may be an isolated disease, termed primary Sjogren syndrome (pSS) or may accompany another autoimmune disease, thus termed secondary Sjogren’s syndrome. Clinical presentation varies from mild symptoms such as classic sicca symptoms of dry eyes (xerophthalmia), dry mouth (xerostomia) and parotid gland enlargements to severe systemic symptoms involving multiple organ systems such as arthritis, arthralgia, myalgia, pulmonary disease, gastrointestinal disease, neuropathy and lymphoma.
Similar to SLE, SS is a heterogenous, chronic, inflammatory autoimmune disease. Some of the autoantibodies characteristic of pSS occur in SLE as well, including antinuclear antibody (ANA), anti-Ro (also termed anti SSA), anti-La (also termed anti SSB) as well as rheumatoid factor (RF). Hypergammaglobulinemia is common as well. pSS affects the salivary and lacrimal glands with chronic inflammation leading to the most common symptoms seen in SS including dry eyes and dry mouth. In addition, SS may affect multiple systems with clinical manifestations similar to those seen in SLE including fever, fatigue and malaise along with symptoms in one or only a few organs including arthralgia, arthritis, fatigue, vasculitic rashes, interstitial lung disease, kidney disease as well as neurologic manifestations.
Disease prevalence estimations vary from 2.5 million (Global Data Research 2016) to 4 million patients (Sjogren’s Syndrome Fopundation) in the US alone, with a worldwide estimate of up to 7.7 million in the 7 Major Markets (US, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the UK and Japan) by the year 2024 (Global Data Research). pSS affects mostly middle aged women (40-50 years of age) with a female to male prevalence ratio of 9:1 (some estimates even go as far as 20:1). pSS patients have an increased risk of developing non-Hodgkin’s B cell lymphoma (relative risk of 13.76.)
pSS treatment is highly individualized and is based on a patient’s disease severity, organ involvement and previous response. Mild forms of pSS may be treated symptomatically with artificial tears and salivary flow stimulation. Fatigue and arthralgia may respond to antimalarial medications. More severe, systemic manifestations may be treated with high-dose glucocorticoids and immunosuppressive or cytotoxic drugs to suppress the immune system.
Global Data estimates the drug sales for SS in 2014 were approximately $990 million in the US and $1.1 billion across the markets covered in its forecast. By the end of the forecast period of 2024, sales are estimated to grow to $1.9 billion in the US and $2.2 billion across the markets covered in its forecast with a Compound Annual Growth Rate of 7.2%. The market size estimate in 2014 includes Salagen (pilocarpine) and Evoxac (cevimeline), the two FDA approved agents for SS, and the common use of off-label agents, such as biologics approved for other autoimmune diseases, and systemic and topical immunosuppressants and corticosteroids.
25
hCDR1: General & Mechanism of Action
See above discussion regarding the Mechanism of Action of hCDR1 for SLE.
Since SS is an autoimmune disease similar to SLE with some autoantibodies and clinical manifestations identical with those detected in SLE, and since there is no specific treatment for Sjogren’s syndrome, the experiments were undertaken on the Company’s behalf by Professor Edna Mozes of the Weizmann Institute in Israel to determine the ability of hCDR1 to beneficially affect autoimmune responses related to this disease. To this end, PBMCs obtained from blood samples of pSS patients were incubated in vitro in the presence of hCDR1 and a control peptide. Following 48 hours of incubation, cells were collected and mRNA was prepared from all samples. The expression of various genes was determined using real-time PCR. The results obtained to date indicate that in vitro incubation of PBMCs of pSS patients with hCDR1 resulted in a significant reduction of gene expression of four pathogenic cytokines known to be involved in SS and lupus (including B-lymphocyte stimulator or BLyS), as well as upregulation of two immunosuppressive genes, one of which is a marker for activity of regulatory T cells. The vast majority of such effects were previously seen in similar studies involving lupus patients.
Clinical Trial History
No clinical trials with hCDR1 in SS have been performed to date.
Planned Clinical Trial
As noted above, hCDR1 has been tested in greater than 400 SLE patients to date. Given its clean safety profile, shown in three different clinical studies, subject to receipt of adequate financing and/or entry into a collaboration agreement, we will consider whether to test hCDR1 in a small Phase 2 clinical trial in pSS. The objectives of the study will be to test the safety & efficacy of different doses of hCDR1 in pSS patients in addition to a control arm. Such study is not being actively considered due to financial constraints and, therefore, we do not have accurate forecasts regarding the size and duration of such study.
rHuEPO for the Treatment of Multiple Myeloma
As our focus has changed, we do not anticipate conducting material research and development activities for rHuEPO.
Intellectual Property
Patents
General
Patents and other proprietary rights are very important to the development of our business. We will be able to protect our proprietary technologies from unauthorized use by third parties only to the extent that our proprietary rights are covered by valid and enforceable patents or are effectively maintained as trade secrets. We intend to seek and maintain patent and trade secret protection for our drug candidates and our proprietary technologies. As part of our business strategy, our policy is to file patent applications in the U.S. and internationally to cover methods of use, new chemical compounds, pharmaceutical compositions and dosing of the compounds and compositions and improvements in each of these. We also rely on trade secret information, technical know-how, innovation and agreements with third parties to continuously expand and protect our competitive position. Because of the extensive time required for development, testing and regulatory review of a potential product, it is possible that before we commercialize any of our products, any related patent may expire or remain in existence for only a short period following commercialization, thus reducing any commercial advantage or financial value attributable to the patent.
26
Generally, patent applications in the U.S. are maintained in secrecy for a period of at least 18 months. Since publication of discoveries in the scientific or patent literature often lag behind actual discoveries, we are not certain that we were the first to make the inventions covered by each of our pending patent applications or that we were the first to file those patent applications. The patent positions of biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies are highly uncertain and involve complex legal and factual questions. Therefore, we cannot predict the breadth of claims allowed in biotechnology and pharmaceutical patents, or their enforceability. To date, there has been no consistent policy regarding the breadth of claims allowed in biotechnology patents. Third parties or competitors may challenge or circumvent our patents or patent applications, if issued. Granted patents can be challenged and ruled invalid at any time, therefore the grant of a patent is not of itself sufficient to demonstrate our entitlement to a proprietary right. The disallowance of a claim or invalidation of a patent in any one territory can have adverse commercial consequences in other territories.
If our competitors prepare and file patent applications in the U.S. that claim technology also claimed by us, we may choose to challenge competing patent rights, which could result in substantial cost, even if the eventual outcome is favorable to us. While we have the right to defend patent rights related to our licensed drug candidates and technologies, we are not obligated to do so. In the event that we decide to defend our licensed patent rights, we will be obligated to cover all of the expenses associated with that effort.
If a patent is issued to a third party containing one or more preclusive or conflicting claims, and those claims are ultimately determined to be valid and enforceable, we may be required to obtain a license under such patent or to develop or obtain alternative technology. In the event of a litigation involving a third party claim, an adverse outcome in the litigation could subject us to significant liabilities to such third party, require us to seek a license for the disputed rights from such third party, and/or require us to cease use of the technology. Further, our breach of an existing license or failure to obtain a license to technology required to commercialize our products may seriously harm our business. We also may need to commence litigation to enforce any patents issued to us or to determine the scope, validity and/or enforceability of third-party proprietary rights. Litigation would involve substantial costs.
hCDR1 for the Treatment of SLE and SS
We have exclusively licensed from Yeda, three families of patents relating to hCDR1.
| ● | A basic patent family entitled “Synthetic Human Peptides and Pharmaceutical Compositions Comprising Them” for the Treatment of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus” that covers the active pharmaceutical agent, the Edratide peptide. The patent has been granted in a large number of jurisdictions: U.S., Europe (Austria, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, The Netherlands and the UK), Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, India, Israel, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Norway, Hungary and Russia. The patent expired on February 26, 2022 except in the case of the U.S., which expired on September 22, 2022. Even once the patent expired the company is still protected by data exclusivity for 7-10 years in Europe and in the U.S. |
| ● | A patent family for the formulation entitled “Parenteral Formulations of Peptides for the Treatment of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus” that covers a very specific pharmaceutical composition comprising Edratide. It has been granted in the U.S., Europe (Switzerland, Germany, Denmark, Spain, Finland, France, Great Britain, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands and Sweden), China, India, Israel, Japan, Mexico, and Canada. The patent expired on January 14, 2024. Even once the patent expired the company is still protected by data exclusivity for 7-10 years in Europe and in the U.S. | |
| ● | A patent family for treatment of Sjögren’s syndrome with Edratide and similar peptides was filed on January 4, 2018. A patent was Issued in UAS and the application was allowed in Japan and a patent is expected to be granted shortly. A patent application is pending in Europe, Australia, Canada, China, Hong Kong, and Israel. |
Other Intellectual Property Rights
We depend upon trademarks, trade secrets, know-how and continuing technological advances to develop and maintain our competitive position. To maintain the confidentiality of trade secrets and proprietary information, we require our scientific advisors, consultants and collaborators, upon commencement of a relationship with us, to execute confidentiality agreements and, in the case of parties other than our research and development collaborators, to agree to assign their inventions to us. These agreements are designed to protect our proprietary information and to grant us ownership of technologies that are developed in connection with their relationship with us. These agreements may not, however, provide protection for our trade secrets in the event of unauthorized disclosure of such information.
27
Licensing Agreements and Collaborations
hCDR1
On January 7, 2014, we entered into a license agreement with Yeda, as amended on September 6, 2015, which grants us the exclusive worldwide right to research, develop, and commercialize hCDR1 for all indications. Yeda is the commercial arm of the Weizmann Institute of Science.
In consideration, we are responsible for a patent expense reimbursement to Yeda in six installments totaling $382,989. On May 14, 2014, we issued 222,605 of our ordinary shares to Yeda, as the first of six installments, representing a value of approximately $38,000. On January 21, 2015, we issued a further 802,912 of our ordinary shares to Yeda as the second of six installments, representing a value of approximately $84,000. The remaining installments of approximately $64,000 each, payable in cash, are due every six months commencing on July 1, 2015, with the final payment due on January 1, 2017. In July 2016, the Company and Yeda signed a second amendment to the license agreement whereby, the final two payments due under the Agreement were to made on April 7, 2017, provided that if we receive funding of at least $5,000,000 then we shall be required to promptly pay Yeda any unpaid patent expense reimbursement in one lump-sum cash payment. To this date the patent expenses were incurred but not yet paid and the Company and Yeda have held discussions regarding further amendment to the payment scheme under the license agreement.
Under the license agreement, we are required to make milestone payments of up to $2.2 million: $200,000 upon starting a Phase 3 clinical trial, $1 million upon FDA approval to market in the U.S., and $250,000 for marketing approval in each of China and three of the European Union’s Group of Five. In addition, we are required to pay 2-3% royalties of annual net sales and sublicense fees of 15-20% of whatever we receive from any sub-licensee. Under the license agreement, we are also required to meet certain development milestones including the delivery of a trial protocol to Yeda by January 1, 2016 (which we delivered), receipt of investment of at least $5 million by August 1, 2016 (of which $4 million was received in April 2015) and commencement of a Phase II clinical trial by January 1, 2017. In subsequent amendments signed between the Company and Yeda, the parties agreed to postpone the last two installments of the patent expense reimbursement until April 7, 2017, receipt of the remainder of the required $5 million investment by May 1, 2017 and commencement of a Phase 2 clinical trial in respect of hCDR1 by October 1, 2017. The Company decided not to conduct the phase 2 by itself and to look for a strategic partner. As a result, the second milestone (commencement of Phase 2) was not met yet. To this date the Company and Yeda have held discussions regarding further amendment to the payment scheme under the license agreement.
The term of the license agreement is the later of the date of expiry of the last of the licensed patents or the expiry of a continuous period of 11 years after first commercial sale in any country during which there shall not have been a first commercial sale in the U.S., EU, Japan, China or any OECD member. The license agreement may be terminated by us without cause upon 60 days prior written notice. The license agreement may also be terminated by Yeda upon 45 days prior written notice if either we fail to meet certain development milestones or commercial sale shall have commenced and there shall be a period of 6 months of no sales, subject to certain exceptions. Yeda shall also be entitled to terminate the license agreement if we were to commence legal action against Yeda challenging the validity of any of the licensed patents, and we were unsuccessful in such challenge, in which event we would be required to pay to Yeda liquidated damages of $8 million. Either party may also terminate the license agreement in the case of a material breach that remains uncured or certain bankruptcy events.
Competition
Competition in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries is intense. Our competitors include pharmaceutical companies and biotechnology companies, as well as universities and public and private research institutions. In addition, companies that are active in different but related fields represent substantial competition for us. Many of our competitors have significantly greater capital resources, larger research and development staffs and facilities and greater experience in drug development, regulation, manufacturing and marketing than we do. These organizations also compete with us to recruit qualified personnel, attract partners for joint ventures or other collaborations, and license technologies that are competitive with ours. To compete successfully in this industry we must identify novel and unique drugs or methods of treatment and then complete the development of those drugs as treatments in advance of our competitors.
The drugs that we are attempting to develop will have to compete with existing therapies. In addition, a large number of companies are pursuing the development of pharmaceuticals that target the same diseases and conditions that we are targeting. Other companies have products or drug candidates in various stages of pre-clinical or clinical development to treat diseases for which we are also seeking to discover and develop drug candidates. Some of these potential competing drugs are further advanced in development than our drug candidates and may be commercialized earlier.
28
Competing Products for Treatment of SLE
Very few drugs have been approved for Lupus in the last 50 years, including GlaxoSmithKline’s Benlysta (belimumab) and Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Voclosporin for lupus nephritis. Other commonly used therapies include non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, corticosteroids, anti-malarials and immunosuppressants. Corticosteroids and immunosuppressants lead to broad, non-selective immunosuppression often associated with significant adverse events. In addition these therapies are not effective in all SLE patients.
Despite initial enthusiasm following approval of Benlysta as the first drug approved for SLE with a selective target, it has been approved to date only in patients with mild to moderate disease, without active renal or CNS disease, its onset of action is slow and sales have been lower than expected. Additional drugs are in advanced clinical development to treat SLE.
Competing Products for Treatment of pSS
No specific drug has been approved for the cure of pSS. A variety of drugs are used for the symptomatic relief of signs and symptoms including the use of cholinergic agonists e.g. Salagen (pilocarpine) and Evoxac (cevilemine). Immunomodulatory treatments, usually for extra-glandular disease, which may be used include cyclosporine (ocular inflammation), hydroxychloroquine (mild inflammatory symptoms of joints, muscles& skin), corticosteroids (rare but serious symptoms: vasculitic rash, interstitial lung disease, interstitial nephritis, glomerulonephritis), immunosuppressive agents e.g. methotrexate, azathioprine, cyclophosphamide (used to treat serious internal organ manifestations) and biologic agents e.g. rituximab. Corticosteroids lead to broad, non-selective immunosuppression often associated with significant adverse events.
Seasonality
Our business and operations are generally not affected by seasonal fluctuations or factors.
Raw Materials and Suppliers
We believe that the raw materials that we require to manufacture hCDR1 and rHuEPO are widely available from numerous suppliers and are generally considered to be generic industrial chemical supplies. We do not rely on a single or unique supplier for the current production of any therapeutic small molecule in our pipeline.
Manufacturing
We currently have no manufacturing capabilities and do not intend to establish any such capabilities.
With respect to our drug candidate, hCDR1, we believe that we will be able to outsource production to a contract manufacturer in order to obtain sufficient inventory to satisfy the clinical supply needs for our future development for the treatment of SLE and SS. With respect to our drug candidate rHuEPO, we believe that we will either be able to purchase rHuEPO from existing pharmaceutical companies or to enter into collaborative agreements with contract manufacturers or other third-parties.
At the time of commercial sale, to the extent that it is possible and commercially practicable, we plan to engage a back-up supplier for each of our product candidates. Until such time, we expect that we will rely on a single contract manufacturer to produce each of our product candidates under cGMP regulations. Our third-party manufacturers have a limited number of facilities in which our product candidates can be produced and will have limited experience in manufacturing our product candidates in quantities sufficient for conducting clinical trials or for commercialization. Our third-party manufacturers will have other clients and may have other priorities that could affect our contractor’s ability to perform the work satisfactorily and/or on a timely basis. Both of these occurrences would be beyond our control. We anticipate that we will similarly rely on contract manufacturers for our future proprietary product candidates.
29
We expect to similarly rely on contract manufacturing relationships for any products that we may in-license or acquire in the future. However, there can be no assurance that we will be able to successfully contract with such manufacturers on terms acceptable to us, or at all.
Contract manufacturers are subject to ongoing periodic inspections by the FDA, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency and corresponding state and local agencies to ensure strict compliance with cGMP and other state and federal regulations. We do not have control over third-party manufacturers’ compliance with these regulations and standards, other than through contractual obligations.
If we need to change manufacturers, the FDA and corresponding foreign regulatory agencies must approve these new manufacturers in advance, which will involve testing and additional inspections to ensure compliance with FDA regulations and standards and may require significant lead times and delay. Furthermore, switching manufacturers may be difficult because the number of potential manufacturers is limited. It may be difficult or impossible for us to find a replacement manufacturer quickly or on terms acceptable to us, or at all.
Environmental Matters
We may from time to time be subject to various environmental, health and safety laws and regulations, including those governing air emissions, water and wastewater discharges, noise emissions, the use, management and disposal of hazardous, radioactive and biological materials and wastes and the cleanup of contaminated sites. We believe that our business, operations and facilities are being operated in compliance in all material respects with applicable environmental and health and safety laws and regulations. Based on information currently available to us, we do not expect environmental costs and contingencies to have a material adverse effect on us. The operation of our testing facilities, however, entails risks in these areas. Significant expenditures could be required in the future if these facilities are required to comply with new or more stringent environmental or health and safety laws, regulations or requirements.
Government and Industry Regulation
Numerous governmental authorities, principally the FDA and corresponding state and foreign regulatory agencies, impose substantial regulations upon the clinical development, manufacture and marketing of our drug candidates and technologies, as well as our ongoing research and development activities. None of our drug candidates have been approved for sale in any market in which we have marketing rights. Before marketing in the U.S., any drug that we develop must undergo rigorous pre-clinical testing and clinical trials and an extensive regulatory approval process implemented by the FDA, under the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act of 1938, as amended. The FDA regulates, among other things, the pre-clinical and clinical testing, safety, efficacy, approval, manufacturing, record keeping, adverse event reporting, packaging, labeling, storage, advertising, promotion, export, sale and distribution of biopharmaceutical products.
The regulatory review and approval process is lengthy, expensive and uncertain. We are required to submit extensive pre-clinical and clinical data and supporting information to the FDA for each indication or use to establish a drug candidate’s safety and efficacy before we can secure FDA approval. The approval process takes many years, requires the expenditure of substantial resources and may involve ongoing requirements for post-marketing studies or surveillance. According to the FDA, before commencing clinical trials in humans, we must submit an IND to the FDA containing, among other things, pre-clinical data, chemistry, manufacturing and control information, and an investigative plan. Our submission of an IND may not result in FDA authorization to commence a clinical trial.
We were granted an Orphan-drug designation from the FDA in May 2011, for rHuEPO. In the U.S., Orphan-drug designation is granted by the FDA Office of Orphan Drug Products to novel drugs or biologics that treat a rare disease or condition affecting fewer than 200,000 patients in the U.S. The designation provides the drug developer with a seven-year period of U.S. marketing exclusivity if the drug is the first of its type approved for the specified indication or if it demonstrates superior safety, efficacy, or a major contribution to patient care versus another drug of its type previously granted the designation for the same indication, as well as with tax credits for clinical research costs, the ability to apply for annual grant funding, clinical research trial design assistance and waiver of Prescription Drug User Fee Act filing fees.
30
We may apply to the European Medicines Agency in order to obtain Orphan-drug designation for its Recombinant Erythropoietin in Europe. Orphan designation is granted by the European Medicines Agency, following a positive opinion from the Committee for Orphan Medicinal Products, to a medicinal product that is intended for the diagnosis, prevention or treatment of a life-threatening or a chronically debilitating condition affecting not more than five in 10,000 persons in the European Community when the application for designation is submitted. Orphan drug designation provides the sponsor with access to the Centralized Procedure for the application for marketing authorization, protocol assistance, up to a 100% reduction in fees related to a marketing authorization application, pre-authorization inspection and post-authorization activities, and could provide ten years of market exclusivity in the EU, once approved for the treatment of Multiple Myeloma.
The FDA may permit expedited development, evaluation, and marketing of new therapies intended to treat persons with serious or life-threatening conditions for which there is an unmet medical need under its fast track drug development programs. A sponsor can apply for fast track designation at the time of submission of an IND, or at any time prior to receiving marketing approval of the NDA. To receive fast track designation, an applicant must demonstrate that the drug:
| ● | is intended to treat a serious or life-threatening condition; |
| ● | is intended to treat a serious aspect of the condition; and |
| ● | has the potential to address unmet medical needs, and this potential is being evaluated in the planned drug development program. |
Clinical testing must meet requirements for institutional review board oversight, informed consent and good clinical practices, and must be conducted pursuant to an IND, unless exempted.
For purposes of NDA approval, clinical trials are typically conducted in the following sequential phases:
| ● | Phase 1: The drug is administered to a small group of humans, either healthy volunteers or patients, to test for safety, dosage tolerance, absorption, metabolism, excretion, and clinical pharmacology. |
| ● | Phase 2: Studies are conducted on a larger number of patients to assess the efficacy of the product, to ascertain dose tolerance and the optimal dose range, and to gather additional data relating to safety and potential adverse events. |
| ● | Phase 3: Studies establish safety and efficacy in an expanded patient population. |
| ● | Phase 4: The FDA may require Phase 4 post-marketing studies to find out more about the drug’s long-term risks, benefits, and optimal use, or to test the drug in different populations, such as children. |
31
The length of time necessary to complete clinical trials varies significantly and may be difficult to predict. Clinical results are frequently susceptible to varying interpretations that may delay, limit or prevent regulatory approvals. Additional factors that can cause delay or termination of our clinical trials, or that may increase the costs of these trials, include:
| ● | slow patient enrollment due to the nature of the clinical trial plan, the proximity of patients to clinical sites, the eligibility criteria for participation in the study or other factors, and the number of sites participating in the trial; |
| ● | inadequately trained or insufficient personnel at the study site to assist in overseeing and monitoring clinical trials or delays in approvals from a study site’s review board; |
| ● | longer treatment time required to demonstrate efficacy or determine the appropriate product dose; |
| ● | insufficient supply of the drug candidates; |
| ● | adverse medical events or side effects in treated patients; and |
| ● | ineffectiveness of the drug candidates. |
In addition, the FDA may place a clinical trial on hold or terminate it if it concludes that subjects are being exposed to an unacceptable health risk. Any drug is likely to produce some toxicity or undesirable side effects when administered at sufficiently high doses and/or for a sufficiently long period of time. Unacceptable toxicity or side effects may occur at any dose level at any time in the course of studies designed to identify unacceptable effects of a drug candidate, known as toxicological studies, or clinical trials of drug candidates. The appearance of any unacceptable toxicity or side effect could bring us or regulatory authorities to interrupt, limit, delay, or abort the development of any of our drug candidates and could ultimately prevent approval by the FDA or foreign regulatory authorities for any or all targeted indications.
Before receiving FDA approval to market a product, we must demonstrate that the product is safe and effective for its intended use by submitting to the FDA an NDA containing the pre-clinical and clinical data that have been accumulated, together with chemistry and manufacturing and controls specifications and information, and proposed labeling, among other things. The FDA may refuse to accept an NDA for filing if certain content criteria are not met and, even after accepting an NDA, the FDA may often require additional information, including clinical data, before approval of marketing a product.
As part of the approval process, the FDA must inspect and approve each manufacturing facility. Among the conditions of approval is the requirement that a manufacturer’s quality control and manufacturing procedures conform to cGMP. Manufacturers must expend time, money and effort to ensure compliance with cGMP, and the FDA conducts periodic inspections to certify compliance. It may be difficult for our manufacturers or us to comply with the applicable cGMP and other FDA regulatory requirements. If we or our contract manufacturers fail to comply, then the FDA will not allow us to market products that have been affected by the failure.
If the FDA grants approval, the approval will be limited to those disease states, conditions and patient populations for which the product is safe and effective, as demonstrated through clinical studies. Further, a product may be marketed only in those dosage forms and for those indications approved in the NDA. Certain changes to an approved NDA, including, with certain exceptions, any changes to labeling, require approval of a supplemental application before the drug may be marketed as changed. Any products that we manufacture or distribute pursuant to FDA approvals are subject to continuing regulation by the FDA, including compliance with cGMP and the reporting of adverse experiences with the drugs. The nature of marketing claims that the FDA will permit us to make in the labeling and advertising of our products will be limited to those specified in an FDA approval, and the advertising of our products will be subject to comprehensive regulation by the FDA. Claims exceeding those that are approved will constitute a violation of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. Violations of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act or regulatory requirements at any time during the product development process, approval process, or after approval may result in agency enforcement actions, including withdrawal of approval, recall, seizure of products, injunctions, fines and/or civil or criminal penalties. Any agency enforcement action could have a material adverse effect on our business.
32
Should we wish to market our products in countries other than the U.S., we must receive marketing authorization from the appropriate regulatory authorities. The requirements governing the conduct of clinical trials, marketing authorization, pricing and reimbursement vary widely from country to country. At present, companies are typically required to apply for foreign marketing authorizations at a national level. However, within the EU, registration procedures are available to companies wishing to market a product in more than one EU member state. Typically, if the regulatory authority is satisfied that a company has presented adequate evidence of safety, quality and efficacy, then the regulatory authority will grant a marketing authorization. This regulatory approval process, however, involves risks similar or identical to the risks associated with FDA approval discussed above, and therefore we cannot guarantee that we will be able to obtain the appropriate marketing authorization for any product in any particular country.
Failure to comply with applicable laws and regulations would likely have a material adverse effect on our business. In addition, laws and regulations regarding the manufacture and sale of new drugs are subject to future changes. We cannot predict the likelihood, nature, effect or extent of adverse governmental regulation that might arise from future legislative or administrative action.
Employees
As of April 30, 2024, we have no employees, only four part-time service providers. We and Israeli employees who might be employed by us, are subject, by an extension order of the Israeli Ministry of Welfare, to certain provisions of collective bargaining agreements between the Histadrut, the General Federation of Labor Unions in Israel and the Coordination Bureau of Economic Organizations, including the Industrialists Associations. Our part-time service providers are not subject to these collective bargaining agreements. These provisions principally address cost of living increases, recreation pay, travel expenses, vacation pay and other conditions of employment. We provide our employees with benefits and working conditions equal to or above the required minimum. Other than those provisions, our employees are not represented by a labor union.
Organizational structure
Our legal and commercial name is XTL Biopharmaceuticals Ltd. We were established as a private company limited by shares under the laws of the State of Israel on March 9, 1993, under the name Xenograft Technologies Ltd. We re-registered as a public company on June 7, 1993, in Israel, and changed our name to XTL Biopharmaceuticals Ltd. on July 3, 1995.
We commenced operations to use and commercialize technology developed at the Weizmann Institute, in Rehovot, Israel. Since 1993 we pursued therapeutic and pharmaceutical development programs for the treatment of a variety of indications including hepatitis B, hepatitis C, diabetic neuropathic pain, schizophrenia, SLE and multiple myeloma, most of which have terminated.
We currently have one subsidiary, Xtepo Ltd., a private company limited by shares under the laws of the State of Israel which holds a license for the exclusive use of rHuEPO for the treatment of multiple myeloma. As of April 30, 2024, we hold approximately 1.04% of the issued and outstanding share capital of InterCure Ltd., a now former subsidiary of ours.
The ADSs are listed for trading on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol “XTLB.” Our ordinary shares are traded on the TASE under the symbol “XTLB.” We operate under the laws of the State of Israel under the Israeli Companies Law, and in the U.S., the Securities Act and the Exchange Act.
Our principal offices are located at 26 Ben-Gurion St., Ramat Gan 5112001, Israel, and our telephone number is (972) 3-6116600. Our primary internet address is www.xtlbio.com. None of the information on our website is incorporated by reference herein.
33
ITEM 4A. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS
None.
ITEM 5. OPERATING AND FINANCIAL REVIEW AND PROSPECTS
You should read the following discussion and analysis in conjunction with our audited consolidated financial statements, including the related notes, prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (“IFRS”) for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021, and as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, contained in “Item 18. Consolidated Financial Statements” and with any other selected financial data included elsewhere in this annual report.
The tables below present selected financial data for the fiscal years ended as of December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021. We have derived this selected financial data from our audited consolidated financial statements, included elsewhere in this report and prepared in accordance with IFRS issued by the IASB. You should read the selected financial data in conjunction with “Item 3. Key Information” and “Item 8. Financial Information” and “Item 18. Consolidated Financial Statements.”
Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income (Loss):
| Year ended December 31, | ||||||||||||
| 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | ||||||||||
| U.S. dollars in thousands (except per share data) | ||||||||||||
| Continuing operations: | ||||||||||||
| Research and development expenses | (31 | ) | (30 | ) | (30 | ) | ||||||
| General and administrative expenses | (734 | ) | (850 | ) | (1,001 | ) | ||||||
| Operating loss | (765 | ) | (880 | ) | (1,031 | ) | ||||||
| Revaluation of warrants to purchase ADS’s | - | 1,054 | 719 | |||||||||
| Revaluation of marketable securities | (1,022 | ) | (1,531 | ) | 747 | |||||||
| Other finance income | 41 | 36 | 21 | |||||||||
| Other finance expenses | (36 | ) | (27 | ) | (21 | ) | ||||||
| Finance income (expenses), net | (1,017 | ) | (468 | ) | 1,466 | |||||||
| Total income (loss) for the year | (1,782 | ) | (1,348 | ) | 435 | |||||||
| Total income (loss) attributable to: | ||||||||||||
| Equity holders of the Company | (1,782 | ) | (1,348 | ) | 435 | |||||||
| Total comprehensive income (loss) attributable to: | ||||||||||||
| Equity holders of the Company | (1,782) | (1,348 | ) | 435 | ||||||||
| Basic earnings (loss) per share (in U.S. dollars) | (0.003 | ) | (0.002 | ) | 0.001 | |||||||
| Diluted earnings (loss) per share (in U.S. dollars) | (0.003 | ) | (0.002 | ) | (0.000 | ) | ||||||
Consolidated Statements of Financial Position Data:
| As of December 31, | ||||||||
| 2023 | 2022 | |||||||
| U.S Dollars in thousands | ||||||||
| Cash and cash equivalents | 1,401 | 2,094 | ||||||
| Working capital | 1,840 | 3,619 | ||||||
| Total assets | 2,426 | 4,186 | ||||||
| Long term liabilities | - | - | ||||||
| Total shareholders’ equity | 2,220 | 3,999 | ||||||
| Non-controlling interests | - | - | ||||||
34
Overview
We are a biopharmaceutical company engaged in the acquisition and development of pharmaceutical drugs for the treatment of autoimmune diseases. Our current lead drug compound, hCDR1, is for the treatment of SLE and SS.
We were established as a corporation under the laws of Israel in 1993, and commenced operations to use and commercialize technology developed at the Weizmann Institute, in Rehovot, Israel. Since commencing operations, our activities have been primarily devoted to developing our technologies and drug candidates, acquiring pre-clinical and clinical-stage compounds, raising capital, purchasing assets for our facilities, and recruiting personnel. We have had no drug product sales to date. Our major sources of working capital have been proceeds from various private and public offerings of our securities and option and warrant exercises.
We have incurred negative cash flow from operations each year since our inception and we anticipate incurring negative cash flows from operating activities for the foreseeable future. We have spent, and expect to continue to spend, substantial amounts in connection with implementing our business strategy, including our planned product development efforts, our clinical trials, and potential in-licensing and acquisition opportunities.
Our research and development expenses primarily consisted of expenses related to the hCDR1 development plan. As part of the preparations for future clinical trials of hCDR1, we engaged regulatory and clinical consultants and commenced work on Chemistry, Manufacturing and Control, or CMC, including production and testing of the drug substance. The Company is expanding its IP portfolio surrounding hCDR1 and has decided to reduce its research and development expenditures in connection with execution of its clinical trials until full funding for the trials or cooperation with a strategic partner is secured. In parallel, the Company will look to identify additional assets to add to XTL’s portfolio.
Subject to receiving adequate financing and/or entering into a collaboration agreement, we plan to:
| ● | initiate an international, prospective advanced clinical study intended to assess the safety and efficacy of hCDR1 when given to patients with SLE; |
| ● | initiate a prospective Phase 2 study intended to assess the safety and efficacy of hCDR1 when given to patients with pSS; and |
| ● | continually build our pipeline of therapeutic candidates. |
Our general and administrative expenses consist primarily of management fees, consultant fees, and related expenses for executive, finance and other administrative personnel, professional fees, director fees and other corporate expenses, including investor relations, business development costs and facilities related expenses. We expense our general and administrative costs as incurred.
Our results of operations include non-cash compensation expense as a result of the grants of XTL stock options. Compensation expense for awards of options granted to key service providers and directors represents the fair value of the award (measured using the Black-Scholes valuation model) recorded over the respective vesting periods of the individual stock options (see details below.)
For awards of options to consultants and other third-parties, according to IFRS 2, the treatment of such options is the same as employee options compensation expense (see note 12 to the consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2023). We record compensation expense based on the fair value of the award at the grant date according to the Black-Scholes valuation model. According to IFRS 2, in non-performance-based options, we recognize options expenses using the graded vesting method (accelerated amortization). Graded vesting means that portions of a single option grant will vest on several dates, equal to the number of tranches. We treat each tranche as a separate share option grant; because each tranche has a different vesting period, and hence the fair value of each tranche is different. Therefore, under this method the compensation cost amortization is accelerated to earlier periods in the overall vesting period.
35
Our planned clinical trials will be lengthy and expensive. Even if these trials show that our drug candidates are effective in treating certain indications, there is no guarantee that we will be able to record commercial sales of any of our product candidates in the near future or generate licensing revenues from upfront payments associated with out-licensing transactions. In addition, we expect losses in our drug development activity to continue as we continue to fund development of our drug candidates. As we continue our development efforts, we may enter into additional third-party collaborative agreements and may incur additional expenses, such as licensing fees and milestone payments. As a result, our periodical results may fluctuate and a period-by-period comparison of our operating results may not be a meaningful indication of our future performance.
A. Results of Operations
Year ended December 31, 2023 compared to the year ended December 31, 2022
Research and Development Expenses. Research and development expenses in the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022 totaled approximately $31 thousand and $30 thousand, respectively. Research and development expenses are comprised mainly of expenses related to maintenance of our intangible assets.
General and Administrative Expenses. General and administrative expenses for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022 totaled approximately $734 thousand and $850 thousand, respectively. The decrease in 2023 compared to 2022 is mainly from lower patent fee and from lower insurance fee.
Impairment of intangible assets. The Company is required to determine, at least on an annual basis and as of year-end, whether the fair value of its unamortized intangible assets exceeds their book value. As of December 31, 2023 and 2022, the Company recognized no impairments. For further information, see also Note 8 of the consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2023.
Finance income (expenses), net. Finance income, net for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022 totaled approximately $1,017 thousand and $468 thousand, respectively. The difference is primarily from revaluation of marketable securities and warrants to purchase ADS’s which wasn’t recognized during 2023.
Year ended December 31, 2022 compared to the year ended December 31, 2021
Refer to Form 20-F of December 31, 2022.
Material Accounting Policies
We describe our material accounting policies in Note 3 to our consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2023.
36
Impact of Inflation and Currency Fluctuations
While a substantial amount of our operating expenses are in US dollars, we incur a portion of our expenses in New Israeli Shekels. In addition, we also pay for some of our services and supplies in the local currencies of our suppliers. As a result, we are exposed to the risk that the US dollar will be devalued against the New Israeli Shekel or other currencies, and as result our financial results could be harmed if we are unable to protect against currency fluctuations in Israel or other countries in which services and supplies are obtained in the future. Accordingly, we may enter into currency hedging transactions to decrease the risk of financial exposure from fluctuations in the exchange rates of currencies. The Company’s treasury’s risk management policy is to hold NIS-denominated cash and cash equivalents and short-term deposits in the amount of the anticipated NIS-denominated liabilities for six consecutive months from time to time in line with the directives of the Company’s Board. These measures, however, may not adequately protect us from the adverse effects of inflation in Israel. In addition, we are exposed to the risk that the rate of inflation in Israel will exceed the rate of devaluation of the New Israeli Shekel in relation to the US Dollar or that the timing of any devaluation may lag behind inflation in Israel. Future activities may lead us to perform a clinical trial in Israel, which may lead us to reassess our use of the US dollar as our functional currency.
As of December 31, 2023, had the Group’s functional currency strengthened by 10% against the NIS with all other variables remaining constant, loss for the year would have been $144 thousand lower (2022 loss would have been approximately $152 thousand higher; 2021 - profit approximately $328 thousand lower), mainly as a result of exchange rate changes on translation of other accounts receivable, net and exchange rate changes on NIS-denominated cash and cash equivalents and marketable securities – investment in InterCure Ltd.
Governmental Economic, Fiscal, Monetary or Political Policies that Materially Affected or Could Materially Affect Our Operations
Tax rates applicable to the Company:
| ● | Taxable income of the Company is subject to a corporate tax rate as follow: 2023 and 2022 - 23%. |
As of December 31, 2023, XTL Biopharmaceuticals Ltd. did not have any taxable income. As of December 31, 2023, our net operating loss carry forwards for Israeli tax purposes registered on behalf of XTL Biopharmaceuticals Ltd. amounted to approximately $38.9 million and approximately $22.9 million capital loss carryforward which may be offset against future capital gain. Under Israeli law, these net-operating losses may be carried forward indefinitely and offset within XTL Biopharmaceuticals Ltd only, against future taxable income, including capital gains from the sale of assets used in the business, with no expiration date.
B. Liquidity and Capital Resources
We have financed our operations from inception primarily through various proceeds from various private and public offerings of our securities and option and warrant exercises. As of December 31, 2023, we received net proceeds of approximately $85.9 million from various private placement transactions, public offerings and exercises of warrants.
As of December 31, 2023, we had approximately $1,401 thousands in cash and cash equivalents, compared to approximately $2,094 thousands on December 31, 2022. The decrease is mainly from the general and administrative expenses of 2023.
Net cash used in operating activities for the year ended December 31, 2023 was $707 thousand, compared to net cash used in operating activities of $901 thousand for year ended December 31, 2022. The decrease in net cash used in operating activities is mainly from the general and administrative expenses of 2023.
Net cash provided by investing activities for the year ended December 31, 2023 was $41 thousand compared to $36 thousand for the year ended December 31, 2022. The increase in net cash provided by investing activities is due to an increase in interest income from deposits.
37
No Net cash provided by financing activities for the year ended December 31, 2023 and for the year ended December 31, 2022.
We have incurred continuing losses and depend on outside financing resources to continue our activities. We have decided to reduce our research and development expenditures in connection with execution of our clinical trials until full funding for the trials or cooperation with a strategic partner is secured. In parallel, we will look to identify additional assets to add to our portfolio.
Subject to receiving adequate financing and/or entering into a collaboration agreement, we plan to:
| ● | initiate an international, prospective advanced clinical study intended to assess the safety and efficacy of hCDR1 when given to patients with SLE; |
| ● | initiate a prospective Phase 2 study intended to assess the safety and efficacy of hCDR1 when given to patients with pSS; and |
| ● | continually build our pipeline of therapeutic candidates. |
Based on existing business plans, our management estimates that our outstanding cash and cash equivalent balances will allow us to finance our activities for an additional period of at least 12 months from the date of this report. However, the amount of cash which we will need in practice to finance our activities depends on numerous factors which include, but are not limited to, the timing, planning and execution of clinical trials of existing drugs and future projects which we might acquire or other business development activities such as acquiring new technologies and/or changes in circumstances which are liable to cause significant expenses to us in excess of management’s current and known expectations as of the date of these financial statements and which will require us to reallocate funds against plans, also due to circumstances beyond our control.
We expect to incur additional losses through the end of 2024 and beyond arising from research and development activities, testing additional technologies and operating activities, which will be reflected in negative cash flows from operating activities. In order to perform the clinical trials aimed at developing a product until obtaining its marketing approval, we may be required to raise additional funds in the future by issuing securities. Should we fail to raise additional capital in the future under standard terms, we will be required to minimize our activities or sell or grant a sublicense to third parties to use all or part of its technologies.
C. Research and Development, Patents and Licenses
Research and development costs in 2023, 2022, 2021 substantially derived from costs related to the hCDR1 and, to a lesser degree, development plans. As part of the preparations for a planned clinical study of hCDR1, the Company engaged regulatory and clinical consultants and completed work on CMC, including production and testing of the drug substance and drug product.
hCDR1 for the Treatment of SLE
The Company is expanding its IP portfolio surrounding hCDR1 and has decided to reduce its R&D expenditure in connection with execution of its clinical trials until full funding for the trials or cooperation with a strategic partner is secured.
rHuEPO for the Treatment of Multiple Myeloma
We have decided to concentrate our efforts and resources on the development of hCDR1 and therefore do not expect to initiate any activities related to rHuEPO.
38
The following table sets forth the research and development costs for the years 2023, 2022 and 2021 including all costs related to the clinical-stage projects, our pre-clinical activities, and all other research and development. We in-licensed hCDR1 in January 2014 and started preparations for clinical development of this asset during the year. We started preparations for rHuEPO clinical development in the last quarter of 2010 (after the completion of the Bio-Gal transaction on August 2010). We in-licensed SAM-101 in November 2011 and in June 2015, the Company terminated the license agreement and all rights in and to the licensed technology reverted to MinoGuard. Whether or not and how quickly we commence and complete development of our clinical stage projects is dependent on a variety of factors, including the rate at which we are able to engage clinical trial sites and the rate of enrollment of patients. As such, the costs associated with the development of our drug candidates will probably increase significantly.
| Research and development Expenses in thousand US$ | ||||||||||||
| Year ended December 31, | ||||||||||||
| 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | ||||||||||
| hCDR1 | 31 | 30 | 30 | |||||||||
| Total Research and Development | 31 | 30 | 30 | |||||||||
D. Trend Information
We are a development stage company and it is not possible for us to predict with any degree of accuracy the outcome of our research, development or commercialization efforts. As such, it is not possible for us to predict with any degree of accuracy any significant trends, uncertainties, demands, commitments or events that are reasonably likely to have a material effect on our net sales or revenues, income from continuing operations, profitability, liquidity or capital resources, or that would cause financial information to not necessarily be indicative of future operating results or financial condition. However, to the extent possible, certain trends, uncertainties, demands, commitments and events are identified in the preceding subsections.
E. Critical Accounting Estimates
Estimates and judgments are continually evaluated and are based on historical experience and other factors, including expectations of future events that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances.
| 1. | Critical accounting estimates and assumptions |
Accounting estimates will, by definition, seldom equal the related actual results. The estimates and assumptions that have a significant risk of causing a material adjustment to the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities within the next financial year are addressed below.
| ● | Intangible assets |
Intangible asset is not yet available for use and therefore not amortized, an impairment in its respect is tested at least every year. In addition, discretion is exercised as to whether there is an indication to examine impairment more frequently.
39
F. Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements
We have not entered into any transactions with unconsolidated entities whereby we have financial guarantees, subordinated retained interests, derivative instruments or other contingent arrangements that expose us to material continuing risks, contingent liabilities, or any other obligations under a variable interest in an unconsolidated entity that provides us with financing, liquidity, market risk or credit risk support.
ITEM 6. DIRECTORS AND SENIOR MANAGEMENT
Directors and Senior Management
The following sets forth information with respect to our directors and executive officers as of the date hereof.
| Name | Age | Position | ||
| Shlomo Shalev | 62 | Chief Executive Officer and Director | ||
| Itay Weinstein | 52 | Chief Financial Officer | ||
| Osnat Hillel Fain | 58 | Non-Executive and External Director | ||
| Iris Shapira Yalon | 56 | Non-Executive and External Director | ||
| Alexander Rabinovich | 53 | Non-Executive Director | ||
| Doron Turgeman | 55 | Non-Executive Director and Chairman of the Board | ||
| Dr. Jonathan Schapiro | 63 | Non-Executive Director | ||
| Dr. Dobroslav Melamed | 46 | Non-Executive Director |
Shlomo Shalev joined our Board of Directors in December 2014. On May 19, 2020, Mr. Shalev was appointed to serve as Chief Executive Officer of the Company. In August 2015, Mr. Shalev was appointed to serve as Chairman, and served in such capacity through June 2018. He most recently served as Chairman of the Board of Intercure, a TASE and Nasdaq listed company. In addition to serving as a board member on a number of NASDAQ and TASE listed companies, such as OphirOptronics, Arel Communications and PowerDsine, Mr. Shalev was the Senior Vice President of Investments for Ampal. He has also worked on a number of transactions in mergers and acquisitions and initial public offerings. With an educational background in economics, Mr. Shalev was Israel’s Consul for Economic Affairs and the Economic Advisor to the Director General, Ministry of Industry and Trade. Mr. Shalev holds an MBA from the University of San Francisco and a B.A. degree in Economics from the University of Ben Gurion, Beer Sheva, Israel. We believe Mr. Shalev’s extensive company strategy and oversight experience, along with his board experience makes him well-qualified to serve as a Director of our Board of Directors.
Itay Weinstein was appointed our Chief Financial Officer in July, 2017. Mr. Itay Weinstein is a Partner at Shimony C.P.A. and has been employed there since 1999. Mr. Weinstein served as the Controller of Can-Fite BioPharma Ltd. since 2003 and as the Chief Financial Officer of Ophthalix Inc. from November 2011 through November 2017. Prior to joining Shimony C.P.A, Mr. Weinstein served as an auditor at Oren Horowitz. Mr. Weinstein holds a B.A. in economics and accounting from the Tel Aviv University, Israel, and has been a licensed CPA since 1999. Mr. Weinstein is also a board member of Uno Management and Consulting Ltd.
Osnat Hillel Fain joined our Board of Directors in March 2015. Ms. Fain served as Founder, Director and Managing Partner of Newton Propulsion Technologies LTD from 2003 to 2016. Since 2017, Ms. Fain has served as Consultant, Strategy and Business Development at Adi Shefaram Management LTD where she locates, examines and screens economic feasibility for ventures in various fields and provides business development assistance among other duties. In addition, Ms. Fain serves as a board member on a number of TASE listed companies, including Tigi, Alrov Real Estate and Mehadrin and a former director of TASE listed companies such as DIC Discount Investment Corporation, Elron, PBC Group, ICB, Priortech LTD, E.T.VIEW, Aran R&D, Leumi Start LTD. Ms. Fain was the Business Development Manager at Giora Eiland Ltd., a representative of the Cheyne Capital Group in Israel, General Director of InterVision, Managing Partner at Aran Medical Ventures Hedge Fund, Marketing Manager at Datasphere Ltd. and a marketing consultant for TCB, Elgan Office Supplies, the Haifa Theatre, Adar (software house). Ms. Fain earned a BA in Humanities and Executive MBA from Tel Aviv University and completed a one year course in Management at the Tel Aviv campus of the College of Management. We believe Ms. Fain’s extensive management and board experience makes her well-qualified to serve as a member of our Board of Directors.
40
Iris Shapira Yalon was appointed a director on January 29, 2020. Ms. Yalon serves as External Director of Shufersal Ltd (The leading Israeli retail chain)., as well as Director of Rotem Industries Ltd. (Israeli government-owned company), Mei Avivim, (a water corporation of Tel Aviv) and in several associations for the benefit of the public and as a Lecturer of Director’s course. Prior to that, Ms. Yalon served as Board member on a number of TASE listed companies, including Electra real estate Ltd., Computer Direct Group Ltd. and on a dual listed company such as TAT Technologies Ltd., Ms. Yalon served as the Chief Financial Officer of multiple companies such as Kryon Systems Ltd., Haldor Advanced Technologies Ltd., Mofet Technology Fund Ltd., and Cloverleaf Media Ltd.,which was acquired in 2010 by Dot Hill. Moreover, Ms. Yalon has served as Audit Team Manager at Ernest & Young. She earned a BA in Economics and Accounting (cum laude) at Tel Aviv University and she is licensed accountant. We believe Ms. Yalon’s extensive board experience makes her well-qualified to serve as a member of our Board of Directors.
Alexander Rabinovich joined our Board of Directors in April 2017. He has significant public company experience with both NASDAQ and TASE listed companies. Mr. Rabinovich is currently the Chief Executive Officer and director of Green Forest Holdings Ltd., a fully owned company engaged in capital investments. He served as director in Pilat Media Global PLC, public company listed on TASE and on the Alternative Investment Market of the London Stock Exchange and several other private companies such as Visualety Systems Ltd. Mr. Rabinovich holds a B.A. degree in Economics and Accounting from the University of Haifa. We believe Mr. Rabinovich’s extensive company strategy and oversight experience, along with his board experience makes him well-qualified to serve as a Director of our Board of Directors.
Doron Turgeman joined our Board of Directors in December 2014 and was appointed Chief Executive Officer on January 29, 2020. On May 19, 2020, Mr. Turgeman resigned as Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Turgeman remains on the board following his resignation as Chief Executive Officer. He has served as Chairman of our Board of Directors since July 2018 through present. Mr. Turgeman has significant public company experience with both NASDAQ and TASE listed companies. He has gained considerable experience in mergers and acquisitions involving both debt and equity. Mr. Turgeman holds a B.A. degree in Economics and Accounting from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and is a certified public accountant in Israel. We believe Mr. Turgeman’s extensive company strategy experience and technical background makes him well-qualified to serve as a Director of our Board of Directors.
Dr. Jonathan Schapiro joined our Board of Directors in December 2014. He is Director of HIV/AIDS at the National Hemophilia Center at Sheba Medical Center in Tel-Aviv, Israel, and the Head of the Advisory Committee for the Stanford University HIVDB Drug Resistance Interpretation System, as well as Co-Chair, Research and Innovation Working Group Subcommittee, World Health Organization HIV Drug Resistance Network, Geneva, Switzerland. He served as a committee member on the United States Food and Drug Administration Antiviral Drugs Advisory Committee and is a member of the Liverpool University HIV Drug Interactions Editorial Board. Dr. Schapiro is on the organizing and scientific committee of international conferences on antiviral drug development, clinical pharmacology, and resistance, as well as contributing to guidelines publications. His research has appeared in major journals such as Lancet and Annals of Internal Medicine. He has served on the scientific advisory boards of major pharmaceutical and molecular diagnostic companies and has been involved in the development of multiple antiviral drugs over the last 20 years. Dr. Schapiro has devoted his career to HIV clinical care, research, and education since completing his Fellowship in Infectious Diseases and Geographic Medicine at Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford CA. He graduated from the Ben Gurion University School of Medicine and completed his Medical Residency at the Rabin Medical Center in Israel. We believe Dr. Schapiro’s extensive company strategy experience and technical background makes him well-qualified to serve as a Director of our Board of Directors.
41
Dr. Dobroslav Melamed joined our Board of Directors in December 2014. He is a biotech entrepreneur with over 10 years of experience in the life science industry. He has demonstrated success in taking drugs from the lab to the shelf by identifying target markets, planning regulatory strategy, raising capital, executing successful clinical trials and scaling up to commercial production. He is currently establishing two companies involved in the development of a treatment for Ebola and novel drug delivery. Until September 2014, he was the President of SciVac (formerly SciGen IL), a high growth biopharmaceutical company that develops, manufactures and markets recombinant human health care biotechnology derived products, including vaccines. Dr. Melamed was responsible for SciVac’s operations, clinical trials and new business. Dr. Melamed is the co-founder of Periness LTD, a developer of new drugs for male infertility and Oshadi LTD, a developer of oral carriers for proteins like insulin. He has also been a researcher at Bar-Ilan University’s Male Fertility clinic, where he assisted in the development of new drugs for male infertility; and QBI, where he worked in the Pre-clinical and Research Pharmacology Department establishing In-Vivo models for drug discovery and delivery. Dr. Melamed earned a PhD in Biotechnology and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Biotechnology from the Bar-Ilan University, Israel. We believe Dr. Melamed’s extensive company strategy experience and technical background makes him well-qualified to serve as a Director of our Board of Directors.
B. Compensation
The aggregate compensation paid by us to all persons who served as directors or officers for the year 2023 (8 persons) was approximately $243 thousand.
All members of our Board of Directors who are not our employees are reimbursed for their expenses for each meeting attended, save for Alexander Rabinovich, who is a significant shareholder of our Company. Our directors are eligible to receive stock options under our stock option plans. Non-executive directors do not receive any remuneration from us other than fees for their services as members of the board or committees of the board and expense reimbursement, save for one director who is eligible for fees for consulting services provided to the Company.
In 2017, we fixed the monetary compensation for non-executive directors as follows: annual consideration of NIS 29 thousand (to be paid in 4 equal quarterly payments), payments of NIS 1,460 for attendance at each board or committee meeting in person, NIS 876 for meetings held by teleconference, NIS 730 for unanimous written board resolutions and reimbursement of reasonable out-of-pocket expenses.
For further details regarding share options granted to our directors and service providers, see Note 12 and 19 to the consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2023.
Employment Agreements
Shlomo Shalev
Our Chief Executive Officer, Shlomo Shalev, was appointed on May 19, 2020. Mr. Shalev will receive compensation as follows:
| 1. | Monthly Salary – Mr. Shalev shall be entitled to a fixed gross monthly fee of NIS 30,000 (approximately USD 9,331), excluding value added tax. |
| 2. | Working Hours – Mr. Shalev shall be employed at a 50% capacity. |
| 3. | Social Benefits – Mr. Shalev shall be entitled to receive monthly car expense payments of NIS 3,000 (approximately USD 933). |
| 4. | Options – Mr. Shalev was issued 10,000,000 options (the “Options”) to purchase, under the approved ESOP plan of the Company, 10,000,000 ordinary shares of the Company consisting of about two per cent (2%) of the total issued and outstanding capital share of the Company, at an exercise price of NIS 0.09 (approximately USD 0.03) per Option. The Options shall vest on a quarterly basis over 36 months, so that 1/12 of the Options shall vest on the last day of each three-month period, provided that on such date Mr. Shalev is still employed by the Company. |
42
Itay Weinstein
In July 2017, we entered into a service agreement with Mr. Itay Weinstein pursuant to which he serves as our Chief Financial Officer on a part time basis. Mr. Weinstein is entitled to a monthly gross payment of NIS 15,000 (NIS 180,000 annually).
In addition, we pay Shimony C.P.A, the accounting firm of which Mr. Weinstein is a Partner, monthly fees of NIS 15,000 for controller and bookkeeping services.
Jonathan Schapiro
We entered into a consulting agreement dated January 1, 2015 with Dr. Jonathan Schapiro, a director. Commencing on such date, Dr. Schapiro shall serve as a consultant to us for a monthly fee of $2,000 increasing to $3,000 upon the successful completion of a cash fund raising of at least $3 million in a public offering or private placement of equity securities, including securities convertible or exercisable into equity by us or any entity in our control. In addition, under the consulting agreement, on December 30, 2014, Dr. Schapiro was granted options to purchase 150,000 ordinary shares at an exercise price of NIS 0.4915 per share (in addition to the options granted to him as a director on the same day as described below). One third of the options vest on the twelve month anniversary of the grant date, and the remaining two thirds vest on a quarterly basis over the following two years provided Dr. Schapiro provides services to us. The options have a term of ten years. The consulting agreement continues in force unless terminated without cause upon 30 days’ advance written notice.
Dr. Schapiro receives a fixed fee of $2,000 per month (in addition to his board membership fee).
In accordance with the requirements of Israeli Law, we determine our directors’ compensation in the following manner:
| ● | first, our compensation committee reviews the proposal for compensation. |
| ● | second, provided that the compensation committee approves the proposed compensation, the proposal is then submitted to our Board of Directors for review, except that a director who is the beneficiary of the proposed compensation does not participate in any discussion or voting with respect to such proposal; and |
| ● | finally, if our Board of Directors approves the proposal, it must then submit its recommendation to our shareholders, which is usually done in connection with our shareholders’ general meeting. |
The approval of a majority of the shareholders voting at a duly convened shareholders meeting is required to implement any such compensation proposal.
C. Board Practices
Election of Directors and Terms of Office
Our Board of Directors currently consists of seven members. Other than our two external directors, our directors are elected by an ordinary resolution at the annual general meeting of our shareholders. The nomination of our directors is proposed by our Board of Directors or a designated nomination committee composed of three members of our Board of Directors, whose proposal is then approved by the board. Our board, following receipt of a proposal of the nomination committee, has the authority to add additional directors up to the maximum number of 12 directors allowed under our Articles. Such directors appointed by the board serve until the next annual general meeting of the shareholders. Unless they resign before the end of their term or are removed in accordance with our Articles, all of our directors, other than our external directors, will serve as directors until our next annual general meeting of shareholders.
None of our directors or officers has any family relationship with any other director or officer.
43
Our Articles permit us to maintain directors’ and officers’ liability insurance and to indemnify our directors and officers for actions performed on behalf of us, subject to specified limitations. We maintain a directors and officers insurance policy which covers the liability of our directors and officers as allowed under Israeli Companies Law.
There are no service contracts or similar arrangements with any director that provide for benefits upon termination of a directorship.
External and Independent Directors
The Israeli Companies Law requires Israeli companies with shares that have been offered to the public either in or outside of Israel to appoint two external directors. No person may be appointed as an external director if that person or that person’s relative, partner, employer or any entity under the person’s control, has or had, on or within the two years preceding the date of that person’s appointment to serve as an external director, any affiliation with the company or any entity controlling, controlled by or under common control with the company. The term affiliation includes:
| ● | an employment relationship; |
| ● | a business or professional relationship maintained on a regular basis; |
| ● | control; and |
| ● | service as an office holder, other than service as an officer for a period of not more than three months, during which the company first offered shares to the public. |
No person may serve as an external director if that person’s position or business activities create, or may create, a conflict of interest with that person’s responsibilities as an external director or may otherwise interfere with his/her ability to serve as an external director. If, at the time external directors are to be appointed, all current members of the Board of Directors are of the same gender, then at least one external director must be of the other gender. A director in one company shall not be appointed as an external director in another company if at that time a director of the other company serves as an external director in the first company. In addition, no person may be appointed as an external director if he/she is a member or employee of the Israeli Security Authority, and also not if he/she is a member of the Board of Directors or an employee of a stock exchange in Israel.
External directors are to be elected by a majority vote at a shareholders’ meeting, provided that either:
| ● | the majority of shares voted at the meeting, including at least one-half of the shares held by non-controlling shareholders or other shareholders who have a personal interest in such election voted at the meeting, vote in favor of election of the director, with abstaining votes not being counted in this vote; or |
| ● | the total number of shares held by non-controlling shareholders voted against the election of the director does not exceed two percent of the aggregate voting rights in the company. |
44
The initial term of an external director is three years and may be extended for two additional three-year terms. Notwithstanding, pursuant applicable articles of the Companies Regulations (Reliefs for Israeli companies whose securities are listed for trading on a stock exchange outside of Israel), promulgated under the Companies Law and as amended from time to time, following the Audit Committee and the Board of Directors recommendation, the Company shareholders may re-elect an external director for additional terms. An external director may be removed only by the same percentage of shareholders as is required for their election, or by a court, and then only if such external director ceases to meet the statutory qualifications for their appointment or violates his or her duty of loyalty to the company. Both external directors must serve on every committee that is empowered to exercise one of the functions of the Board of Directors.
An external director is entitled to compensation as provided in regulations adopted under the Israeli Companies Law and is otherwise prohibited from receiving any other compensation, directly or indirectly, in connection with service provided as an external director.
Osnat Hillel Fain and Iris Shapira Yalon serve as external directors pursuant to the provisions of the Israeli Companies Law. They both serve on our audit committee, our committee for the approval of financial statements, our nomination committee and our compensation committee.
Audit Committee
The Israeli Companies Law requires public companies to appoint an audit committee. The responsibilities of the audit committee include identifying irregularities in the management of the company’s business and approving related party transactions as required by law. An audit committee must consist of at least three directors, including all of its external directors. The chairman of the Board of Directors, any director employed by or otherwise providing services to the company, and a controlling shareholder or any relative of a controlling shareholder, may not serve as members of the audit committee. An audit committee may not approve an action or a transaction with a controlling shareholder, or with an office holder, unless at the time of approval two external directors are serving as members of the audit committee and at least one of the external directors was present at the meeting in which an approval was granted.
Our audit committee is currently comprised of three independent non-executive directors. The audit committee is chaired by Osnat Hillel Fain, who serves as the audit committee financial expert, Iris Shapira Yalon and Dobroslav Melamed as members. The audit committee meets at least four times a year and monitors the adequacy of our internal controls, accounting policies and financial reporting. It regularly reviews the results of the ongoing risk self-assessment process, which we undertake, and our interim and annual reports prior to their submission for approval by the full Board of Directors. The audit committee oversees the activities of the internal auditor, sets its annual tasks and goals and reviews its reports. The audit committee reviews the objectivity and independence of the external auditors and also considers the scope of their work and fees.
We have adopted a written charter for our audit committee, setting forth its responsibilities as outlined by the regulations of the SEC. In addition, our audit committee has adopted procedures for the receipt, retention and treatment of complaints we may receive regarding accounting, internal accounting controls, or auditing matters and the submission by our key consultants of concerns regarding questionable accounting or auditing matters. In addition, SEC rules mandate that the audit committee of a listed issuer consist of at least three members, all of whom must be independent, as such term is defined by rules and regulations promulgated by the SEC. We are in compliance with the independence requirements of the SEC rules.
45
Financial Statement Examination Committee
According to regulations promulgated under the Companies law and since we are considered as a “Small Corporation” under the Israeli Securities law Regulation, we are not required to appoint a financial statement examination committee, therefore our financial statements are examined and approved by our board of directors.
Compensation Committee
Under the Companies Law, the board of directors of any public company must establish a compensation committee and to adopt a compensation policy with respect to its officers, or the Compensation Policy. In addition, the Companies Law sets forth the approval process required for a public company’s engagement with its officers (with specific reference to a director, a non-director officer, a chief executive officer and controlling shareholders and their relatives who are employed by the company).
The compensation committee shall be nominated by the board of directors and be comprised of its members. The compensation committee must consist of at least three members. All of the external directors must serve on the compensation committee and constitute a majority of its members. The remaining members of the compensation committee must be directors who qualify to serve as members of the audit committee (including the fact that they are independent) and their compensation should be identical to the compensation paid to the external directors of the company. The approval of the compensation committee is required in order to approve terms of office and/or employment of office holders. The Company’s Compensation Policy was duly approved on January 7, 2021.
Similar to the rules that apply to the audit committee, the compensation committee may not include the chairman of the board, or any director employed by the company, by a controlling shareholder or by any entity controlled by a controlling shareholder, or any director providing services to the company, to a controlling shareholder or to any entity controlled by a controlling shareholder on a regular basis, or any director whose primary income is dependent on a controlling shareholder, and may not include a controlling shareholder or any of its relatives. Individuals who are not permitted to be compensation committee members may not participate in the committee’s meetings other than to present a particular issue; provided, however, that an employee that is not a controlling shareholder or relative may participate in the committee’s discussions, but not in any vote, and the company’s legal counsel and corporate secretary may participate in the committee’s discussions and votes if requested by the committee.
The roles of the compensation committee are, among other things, to: (i) recommend to the board of directors the Compensation Policy for office holders and recommend to the board once every three years the extension of a Compensation Policy that had been approved for a period of more than three years; (ii) recommend to the directors any update of the Compensation Policy, from time to time, and examine its implementation; (iii) decide whether to approve the terms of office and of employment of office holders that require approval of the compensation committee; and (iv) decide, in certain circumstances, whether to exempt the approval of terms of office of a chief executive officer from the requirement of shareholder approval.
The Compensation Policy requires the approval of the general meeting of shareholders with a “Special Majority”, which requires a majority of the shareholders of the company who are not either a controlling shareholder or an “interested party” in the proposed resolution, or the shareholders holding less than 2% of the voting power in the company voted against the proposed resolution at such meeting. However, under special circumstances, the board of directors may approve the Compensation Policy without shareholder approval, if the compensation committee and thereafter the board of directors decided, based on substantiated reasons after they have reviewed the compensation policy again, that the Compensation Policy is in the best interest of the company.
46
The compensation policy must serve as the basis for decisions concerning the financial terms of employment or engagement of executive officers and directors, including exculpation, insurance, indemnification or any monetary payment or obligation of payment in respect of employment or engagement. The Compensation Policy must relate to certain factors, including advancement of the company’s objectives, the company’s business and its long-term strategy, and creation of appropriate incentives for executives. It must also consider, among other things, the company’s risk management, size and the nature of its operations. The Compensation Policy must furthermore consider the following additional factors:
| ● | the knowledge, skills, expertise and accomplishments of the relevant director or executive; |
| ● | the director’s or executive’s roles and responsibilities and prior compensation agreements with him or her; |
| ● | the relationship between the terms offered and the average and median compensation of the key consultants of the company; |
| ● | the impact of disparities in salary upon work relationships in the company; |
| ● | the possibility of reducing variable compensation at the discretion of the board of directors; and the possibility of setting a limit on the exercise value of non-cash variable compensation; and |
| ● | as to severance compensation, the period of service of the director or executive, the terms of his or her compensation during such service period, the company’s performance during that period of service, the person’s contribution towards the company’s achievement of its goals and the maximization of its profits, and the circumstances under which the person is leaving the company. |
The compensation policy must also include the following principles:
| ● | the link between variable compensation and long-term performance and measurable criteria; |
| ● | the relationship between variable and fixed compensation, and the ceiling for the value of variable compensation; |
| ● | the conditions under which a director or executive would be required to repay compensation paid to him or her if it was later shown that the data upon which such compensation was based was inaccurate and was required to be restated in the company’s financial statements; |
| ● | the minimum holding or vesting period for variable, equity-based compensation; and |
| ● | maximum limits for severance compensation. |
The compensation policy must also consider appropriate incentives from a long-term perspective and maximum limits for severance compensation.
Osnat Hillel Fain is the chairman of our compensation committee. Dobroslav Melamed and Iris Shapira Yalon serve as the other members of our compensation committee.
Approval of Compensation to Our Officers
The Israeli Companies Law prescribes that compensation to officers must be approved by a company’s board of directors.
47
As detailed above, our compensation committee consists of three independent directors: Dobroslav Melamed, Osnat Hillel Fain and Iris Shapira Yalon. The responsibilities of the compensation committee are to set our overall policy on executive remuneration and to decide the specific remuneration, benefits and terms of employment for directors, officers and the Chief Executive Officer.
The objectives of the compensation committee’s policies are that such individuals should receive compensation which is appropriate given their performance, level of responsibility and experience. Compensation packages should also allow us to attract and retain executives of the necessary caliber while, at the same time, motivating them to achieve the highest level of corporate performance in line with the best interests of shareholders. In order to determine the elements and level of remuneration appropriate to each executive director, the compensation committee reviews surveys on executive pay, obtains external professional advice and considers individual performance.
Internal Auditor
Under the Israeli Companies Law, the board of directors must appoint an internal auditor, nominated by the audit committee. Our internal auditor is Daniel Spira. The role of the internal auditor is to examine, among other matters, whether the company’s actions comply with the law and orderly business procedure. Under the Israeli Companies Law, an internal auditor may not be:
| ● | a person (or a relative of a person) who holds more than 5% of the company’s shares; |
| ● | a person (or a relative of a person) who has the power to appoint a director or the general manager of the company; |
| ● | an executive officer or director of the company; or |
| ● | a member of the company’s independent accounting firm. |
We comply with the requirement of the Israeli Companies Law relating to internal auditors. Our internal auditors examine whether our various activities comply with the law and orderly business procedure. Our internal auditor is not our employee, but the managing partner of a firm which specializes in internal auditing.
D. Employees
As of April 30, 2024, we have no employees, only four part-time service providers. We and Israeli employees who might be employed by us, are subject, by an extension order of the Israeli Ministry of Welfare, to certain provisions of collective bargaining agreements between the Histadrut, the General Federation of Labor Unions in Israel and the Coordination Bureau of Economic Organizations, including the Industrialists Associations. Our part-time service providers are not subject to these collective bargaining agreements. These provisions principally address cost of living increases, recreation pay, travel expenses, vacation pay and other conditions of employment. We provide our employees with benefits and working conditions equal to or above the required minimum. Other than those provisions, our employees are not represented by a labor union.
48
E. Share Ownership
The following table sets forth information regarding the beneficial ownership of our outstanding ordinary shares as of April 30, 2024 by the members of our senior management, board of directors, individually and as a group, and each person who we know beneficially owns 5% or more of our outstanding ordinary shares. The beneficial ownership of ordinary shares is based on 544,906,149 ordinary shares outstanding as of April 30, 2024 and is determined in accordance with the rules of the SEC and generally includes any ordinary shares over which a person exercises sole or shared voting or investment power. For purposes of the table below, we deem shares subject to options or warrants that are currently exercisable or exercisable within 60 days of April 30, 2024, to be outstanding and to be beneficially owned by the person holding the options or warrants for the purposes of computing the percentage ownership of that person but we do not treat them as outstanding for the purpose of computing the percentage ownership of any other person.
| Name of Beneficial Owner | Number of Ordinary Shares | Percentage of Class* | ||||||
| Senior Management and Directors | ||||||||
| Shlomo Shalev Chief Executive Officer and Director | 14,669,309 | (1) | 2.63 | % | ||||
| Osnat Hillel Fain Director | 150,000 | (2) | * | |||||
| Iris Shapira Yalon Director | 150,000 | (3) | * | |||||
| Alexander Rabinovich Director | 128,288,887 | (4) | 23.54 | % | ||||
| Jonathan Schapiro Director | 300,000 | (5) | * | |||||
| Dobroslav Melamed Director | 150,000 | (6) | * | |||||
| Doron Turgeman Director | 490,000 | (7) | * | |||||
| Itay Weinstein Chief Finance Officer | - | - | ||||||
| Directors and Senior Management as a group (8 persons) | 144,198,196 | 26.26 | % | |||||
| Beneficial owners of 5% or more | ||||||||
| Alexander Rabinovitch | 128,288,887 | 23.54 | % | |||||
| * | Denotes less than 1% |
| (1) | Includes (i) 3,019,309 ordinary shares, (ii) 150,000 ordinary shares issuable upon the exercise of options at an exercise price of NIS 0.4325 per share exercisable until December 29, 2024, (iii) 1,500,000 ordinary shares issuable upon the exercise of options at an exercise price of NIS 0.6 per share exercisable until March 30, 2026, and (iv) 10,000,000 ordinary shares issuable upon the exercise of options at an exercise price of NIS 0.09 per share exercisable until July 6, 2030. |
| (2) | Includes 150,000 ordinary shares issuable upon the exercise of options at an exercise price of NIS 0.4 per share exercisable until March 24, 2025. |
| (3) | Includes 150,000 ordinary shares issuable upon the exercise of options at an exercise price of NIS 0.0495 per share exercisable until March 1, 2033. |
| (4) | Includes (i) 62,149,487 ordinary shares, and (ii) 661,394 ADSs representing 66,139,400 ordinary shares. |
| (5) | Includes (i) 150,000 ordinary shares issuable upon the exercise of options at an exercise price of NIS 0.4325 per share exercisable until December 29, 2024, and (ii) 150,000 ordinary shares issuable upon the exercise of options at an exercise price of NIS 0.4915 per share exercisable until December 29, 2024. |
| (6) | Includes 150,000 ordinary shares issuable upon the exercise of options at an exercise price of NIS 0.4325 per share exercisable until December 29, 2024. |
| (7) | Includes (i) 340,000 ordinary shares represented by 3,400 ADSs, and (ii) 150,000 ordinary shares issuable upon the exercise of options at an exercise price of NIS 0.4325 per share exercisable until December 29, 2024. |
49
Share Option Plans
We maintain the following share option plans for our and our subsidiary’s directors and consultants. In addition to the discussion below, see note 12 of our consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2023.
Our Board of Directors administers our share option plans and has the authority to designate all terms of the options granted under our plans including the grantees, exercise prices, grant dates, vesting schedules and expiration dates, which may be no more than ten years after the grant date. Options may not be granted with an exercise price of less than the fair market value of our ordinary shares on the date of grant, unless otherwise determined by our Board of Directors.
As of December 31, 2023, we have granted to directors and consultants options that are outstanding to purchase up to 12,550,000 ordinary shares under two share option plans.
2011 Share Option Plan
On August 29, 2011, our Board of Directors approved the adoption of an employee stock option scheme for the grant of options exercisable into shares of the Company according to section 102 to the Israeli Tax Ordinance, or the 2011 Plan, and to reserve up to 10 million ordinary shares in the framework of the 2011 Plan, for options allocation to employees, directors and consultants.
During 2020 it was decided to enlarge the reserve to 30 million options.
The 2011 Plan shall be subject to section 102 of the Israeli Tax Ordinance. According to the Capital Gain Track, which was adopted by us and the abovementioned section 102, we are not entitled to receive a tax deduction that relates to remuneration paid to employees, including amounts recorded as salary benefit for options granted to employees in the framework of the 2011 Plan, except the yield benefit component, if available, that was determined on the grant date. The terms of the options which will be granted according to the 2011 Plan, including option period, exercise price, vesting period and exercise period, shall be determined by our Board of Directors on the date of the actual allocation. On March 14, 2023, Company’s Board of directors approved to extend retroactively the expire date of the 2011 plan by additional 5 years to August 29, 2026.
As of December 31, 2023, we have granted options to purchase 12,550,000 ordinary shares under the 2011 Plan at exercise prices between $0.03 and $0.17 per ordinary share.
For further details regarding share options granted to our directors and service providers, see note 12 and 19 to the consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2023.
ITEM 7. MAJOR SHAREHOLDERS AND RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS
A. Major shareholders
As of the date hereof, there were 2,879,572 ADSs outstanding, held by approximately 50 DTC participants and a registered shareholder, whose holdings represented approximately 52.8% of the total outstanding ordinary shares.
The following table sets forth the number of our ordinary shares owned by any person known to us to be the beneficial owner of 5% or more of our ordinary shares as of the date hereof. The information in this table is based on 544,906,149 outstanding ordinary shares as of such date. The number of Ordinary Shares beneficially owned by a person includes Ordinary Shares subject to options held by that person that were currently exercisable. None of the holders of the Ordinary Shares listed in this table have voting rights different from other holders of the Ordinary Shares.
| Name | Number of shares owned | Percent of ordinary shares | ||||||
| Alexander Rabinovitch | 128,288,887 | 23.54 | % | |||||
50
B. Related Party Transactions
The following is a description of some of the transactions with related parties to which we, or our subsidiaries, are party, and which were in effect within the past three fiscal years. The descriptions provided below are summaries of the terms of such agreements, do not purport to be complete and are qualified in their entirety by the complete agreements.
We believe that we have executed all of our transactions with related parties on terms no less favorable to us than those we could have obtained from unaffiliated third parties. We are required by Israeli law to ensure that all future transactions between us and our officers, directors and principal shareholders and their affiliates are approved by a majority of our board of directors, including a majority of the independent and disinterested members of our board of directors, and that they are on terms no less favorable to us than those that we could obtain from unaffiliated third parties.
Employment and Consulting Agreements
We have or have had employment, consulting or related agreements with our senior management. See Item 6 - Compensation-Employment Agreements”.
Indemnification Agreements
Israeli law permits a company to insure an office holder in respect of liabilities incurred by him or her as a result of an act or omission in the capacity of an office holder for:
| ● | a breach of the office holder’s duty of care towards the company or towards another person; |
| ● | a breach of the office holder’s fiduciary duty to the company, provided that he or she acted in good faith and had reasonable cause to believe that the act would not prejudice the company; and |
| ● | a financial liability imposed upon the office holder in favor of another person. |
| ● | A financial liability imposed on the office holder’s for all victims of the violation in an Administrative Proceeding. |
| ● | Expenses incurred by the office holder’s in connection with an Administrative Proceeding conducted in his or her case, including litigation expenses and reasonable legal fees. |
Moreover, a company can indemnify an office holder for any of the following obligations or expenses incurred in connection with the acts or omissions of such person in his or her capacity as an office holder:
| ● | monetary liability imposed upon him or her in favor of a third party by a judgment, including a settlement or an arbitral award confirmed by the court; and |
| ● | reasonable litigation expenses, including legal fees, actually incurred by the office holder or imposed upon him or her by a court, in a proceeding brought against him or her by or on behalf of the company or by a third party, or in a criminal action in which he or she was acquitted, or in a criminal action which does not require criminal intent in which he or she was convicted; furthermore, a company can, with a limited exception, exculpate an office holder in advance, in whole or in part, from liability for damages sustained by a breach of duty of care to the company. |
51
| ● | financial liability imposed on the office holder for all victims of the violation in an Administrative Proceeding. |
| ● | expenses incurred by the office holder in connection with an Administrative Proceeding conducted in his or her case, including litigation expenses and reasonable legal fees. |
Our Articles of Association allow for insurance, exculpation and indemnification of office holders to the fullest extent permitted by law. We have entered into indemnification, insurance and exculpation agreements with our directors and executive officers, following shareholder approval of these agreements. We have directors’ and officers’ liability insurance covering our officers and directors for a claim imposed upon them as a result of an action carried out while serving as an officer or director, for (a) the breach of duty of care towards us or towards another person, (b) the breach of fiduciary duty towards us, provided that the officer or director acted in good faith and had reasonable grounds to assume that the action would not harm our interests, and (c) a monetary liability imposed upon him in favor of a third party.
ITEM 8. FINANCIAL INFORMATION
A. Consolidated Statements and Other Financial Information
Our audited consolidated financial statements appear in this annual report on Form 20-F. See “Item 18. Financial Statements.”
Significant Changes
None.
ITEM 9. THE OFFER AND LISTING
Markets and Share Price History
Our ordinary shares have been trading on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, or TASE, since July 2005. Our ordinary shares currently trade on the TASE under the symbol “XTLB”.
On June 1, 2012, the Company filed an application for relisting its ADSs on the Nasdaq Capital Market, or Nasdaq. On July 10, 2013, the Company received a notice from Nasdaq stating that the admission committee had approved the Company’s application to relist its ADSs for trading on the Nasdaq Capital Market. Accordingly, on July 15, 2013, the Company’s ADSs began trading on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol “XTLB”.
ITEM 10. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Memorandum and Articles of Association
Objects and Purposes of the Company
Pursuant to Part B, Section 3 of our Articles of Association, we may undertake any lawful activity.
Powers and Obligations of the Directors
Pursuant to the Israeli Companies Law and our Articles of Association, a director is not permitted to vote on a proposal, arrangement or contract in which he or she has a personal interest. Also, the directors may not vote on compensation to themselves or any members of their body, as that term is defined under Israeli law, without the approval of our audit committee and our shareholders at a general meeting. The power of our directors to enter into borrowing arrangements on our behalf is limited to the same extent as any other transaction by us.
52
The Israeli Companies Law codifies the fiduciary duties that office holders, including directors and executive officers, owe to a company. An office holder’s fiduciary duties consist of a duty of care and a duty of loyalty. The duty of care generally requires an office holder to act with the same level of care as a reasonable office holder in the same position would employ under the same circumstances. The duty of loyalty includes avoiding any conflict of interest between the office holder’s position in the company and such person’s personal affairs, avoiding any competition with the company, avoiding exploiting any corporate opportunity of the company in order to receive personal advantage for such person or others, and revealing to the company any information or documents relating to the company’s affairs which the office holder has received due to his or her position as an office holder.
Indemnification of Directors and Officers; Limitations on Liability
Israeli law permits a company to insure an office holder in respect of liabilities incurred by him or her as a result of an act or omission in the capacity of an office holder for:
| ● | a breach of the office holder’s duty of care towards the company or towards another person; |
| ● | a breach of the office holder’s fiduciary duty to the company, provided that he or she acted in good faith and had reasonable cause to believe that the act would not prejudice the company; and |
| ● | a financial liability imposed upon the office holder in favor of another person. |
| ● | A financial liability imposed on the office holder’s for all victims of the violation in an Administrative Proceeding. |
| ● | Expenses incurred by the office holder’s in connection with an Administrative Proceeding conducted in his or her case, including litigation expenses and reasonable legal fees. |
Moreover, a company can indemnify an office holder for any of the following obligations or expenses incurred in connection with the acts or omissions of such person in his or her capacity as an office holder:
| ● | monetary liability imposed upon him or her in favor of a third party by a judgment, including a settlement or an arbitral award confirmed by the court; and |
| ● | reasonable litigation expenses, including legal fees, actually incurred by the office holder or imposed upon him or her by a court, in a proceeding brought against him or her by or on behalf of the company or by a third party, or in a criminal action in which he or she was acquitted, or in a criminal action which does not require criminal intent in which he or she was convicted; furthermore, a company can, with a limited exception, exculpate an office holder in advance, in whole or in part, from liability for damages sustained by a breach of duty of care to the company. |
| ● | financial liability imposed on the office holder for all victims of the violation in an Administrative Proceeding. |
| ● | expenses incurred by the office holder in connection with an Administrative Proceeding conducted in his or her case, including litigation expenses and reasonable legal fees. |
Our Articles of Association allow for insurance, exculpation and indemnification of office holders to the fullest extent permitted by law. We have entered into indemnification, insurance and exculpation agreements with our directors and executive officers, following shareholder approval of these agreements. We have directors’ and officers’ liability insurance covering our officers and directors for a claim imposed upon them as a result of an action carried out while serving as an officer or director, for (a) the breach of duty of care towards us or towards another person, (b) the breach of fiduciary duty towards us, provided that the officer or director acted in good faith and had reasonable grounds to assume that the action would not harm our interests, and (c) a monetary liability imposed upon him in favor of a third party.
53
Approval of Related Party Transactions under the Israeli Companies Law
Fiduciary duties of the office holders
The Israeli Companies Law imposes a duty of care and a duty of loyalty on all office holders of a company. The duty of care of an office holder is based on the duty of care set forth in connection with the tort of negligence under the Israeli Torts Ordinance (New Version) 5728-1968. This duty of care requires an office holder to act with the degree of proficiency with which a reasonable office holder in the same position would have acted under the same circumstances. The duty of care includes a duty to use reasonable means, in light of the circumstances, to obtain:
| ● | information on the advisability of a given action brought for his or her approval or performed by virtue of his or her position; and |
| ● | All other important information pertaining to these actions. |
The duty of loyalty requires an office holder to act in good faith and for the benefit of the company, and includes the duty to:
| ● | refrain from any act involving a conflict of interest between the performance of his or her duties in the company and his or her other duties or personal affairs; |
| ● | refrain from any activity that is competitive with the business of the company; |
| ● | refrain from exploiting any business opportunity of the company for the purpose of gaining a personal advantage for himself or herself or others; and |
| ● | disclose to the company any information or documents relating to the company’s affairs which the office holder received as a result of his or her position as an office holder. |
We may approve an act performed in breach of the duty of loyalty of an office holder provided that the office holder acted in good faith, the act or its approval does not harm the company, and the office holder discloses his or her personal interest, as described below.
Disclosure of personal interests of an office holder and approval of acts and transactions
The Israeli Companies Law requires that an office holder promptly disclose to the company any personal interest that he or she may have and all related material information or documents relating to any existing or proposed transaction by the company. An interested office holder’s disclosure must be made promptly and in any event no later than the first meeting of the board of directors at which the transaction is considered. An office holder is not obligated to disclose such information if the personal interest of the office holder derives solely from the personal interest of his or her relative in a transaction that is not considered as an extraordinary transaction.
The term personal interest is defined under the Israeli Companies Law to include the personal interest of a person in an action or in the business of a company, including the personal interest of such person’s relative or the interest of any corporation in which the person is an interested party, but excluding a personal interest stemming solely from the fact of holding shares in the company. A personal interest furthermore includes the personal interest of a person for whom the office holder holds a voting proxy or the interest of the office holder with respect to his or her vote on behalf of the shareholder for whom he or she holds a proxy even if such shareholder itself has no personal interest in the approval of the matter. An office holder is not, however, obligated to disclose a personal interest if it derives solely from the personal interest of his or her relative in a transaction that is not considered an extraordinary transaction.
54
Under the Israeli Companies Law, an extraordinary transaction which requires approval is defined any of the following:
| ● | a transaction other than in the ordinary course of business; |
| ● | a transaction that is not on market terms; or |
| ● | a transaction that may have a material impact on the company’s profitability, assets or liabilities. |
Under the Israeli Companies Law, once an office holder has complied with the disclosure requirement described above, a company may approve a transaction between the company and the office holder or a third party in which the office holder has a personal interest, or approve an action by the office holder that would otherwise be deemed a breach of duty of loyalty. However, a company may not approve a transaction or action that is adverse to the company’s interest or that is not performed by the office holder in good faith.
Under the Companies Law, unless the articles of association of a company provide otherwise, a transaction with an office holder, a transaction with a third party in which the office holder has a personal interest, and an action of an office holder that would otherwise be deemed a breach of duty of loyalty requires approval by the board of directors. Our Articles of Association do not provide otherwise. If the transaction or action considered is (i) an extraordinary transaction, (ii) an action of an office holder that would otherwise be deemed a breach of duty of loyalty and may have a material impact on a company’s profitability, assets or liabilities, (iii) an undertaking to indemnify or insure an office holder who is not a director, or (iv) for matters considered an undertaking concerning the terms of compensation of an office holder who is not a director, including, an undertaking to indemnify or insure such office holder, then approval by the audit committee is required prior to approval by the board of directors. Arrangements regarding the compensation, indemnification or insurance of a director require the approval of the audit committee, board of directors and shareholders, in that order.
A director who has a personal interest in a matter that is considered at a meeting of the board of directors or the audit committee may generally not be present at the meeting or vote on the matter, unless a majority of the directors or members of the audit committee have a personal interest in the matter or the chairman of the audit committee or board of directors, as applicable, determines that he or she should be present to present the transaction that is subject to approval. If a majority of the directors have a personal interest in the matter, such matter would also require approval of the shareholders of the company.
Disclosure of personal interests of a controlling shareholder and approval of transactions
Under the Israeli Companies Law, the disclosure requirements that apply to an office holder also apply to a controlling shareholder of a public company. Extraordinary transactions with a controlling shareholder or in which a controlling shareholder has a personal interest, including a private placement in which a controlling shareholder has a personal interest, as well as transactions for the provision of services whether directly or indirectly by a controlling shareholder or his or her relative, or a company such controlling shareholder controls, and transactions concerning the terms of engagement of a controlling shareholder or a controlling shareholder’s relative, whether as an office holder or an employee, require the approval of the audit committee, the board of directors and a majority of the shares voted by the shareholders of the company participating and voting on the matter in a shareholders’ meeting. In addition, such shareholder approval must fulfill one of the following requirements:
| ● | at least a majority of the shares held by shareholders who have no personal interest in the transaction and are voting at the meeting must be voted in favor of approving the transaction, excluding abstentions; or |
| ● | the shares voted by shareholders who have no personal interest in the transaction who vote against the transaction represent no more than 2% of the voting rights in the company. |
To the extent that any such transaction with a controlling shareholder is for a period extending beyond three years, approval is required once every three years, unless the audit committee determines that the duration of the transaction is reasonable given the circumstances related thereto.
55
Duties of shareholders
Under the Israeli Companies Law, a shareholder has a duty to refrain from abusing its power in the company and to act in good faith and in an acceptable manner in exercising its rights and performing its obligations to the company and other shareholders, including, among other things, voting at general meetings of shareholders on the following matters:
| ● | an amendment to the articles of association; |
| ● | an increase in the company’s authorized share capital; |
| ● | a merger; |
| ● | an increase in the company’s authorized share capital; and |
| ● | the approval of related party transactions and acts of office holders that require shareholder approval. |
A shareholder also has a general duty to refrain from discriminating against other shareholders.
The remedies generally available upon a breach of contract will also apply to a breach of the above mentioned duties, and in the event of discrimination against other shareholders, additional remedies are available to the injured shareholder.
In addition, any controlling shareholder, any shareholder that knows that its vote can determine the outcome of a shareholder vote and any shareholder that, under a company’s articles of association, has the power to appoint or prevent the appointment of an office holder, or has another power with respect to a company, is under a duty to act with fairness towards the company. The Israeli Companies Law does not describe the substance of this duty except to state that the remedies generally available upon a breach of contract will also apply in the event of a breach of the duty to act with fairness, taking the shareholder’s position in the company into account.
ORDINARY SHARES
Rights Attached to Ordinary Shares
Through March 18, 2009, our authorized share capital was NIS 10,000,000 consisting of 500,000,000 ordinary shares, par value NIS 0.02 per share. On March 18, 2009, pursuant to a shareholder’s meeting, the share capital of our company was consolidated and re-divided so that each five (5) shares of NIS 0.02 nominal value was consolidated into one (1) share of NIS 0.1 nominal value so that following such consolidation and re-division, our authorized share capital consisted of 100,000,000 ordinary shares, par value NIS 0.10 per share. In addition, the authorized share capital of our company was increased from NIS 10,000,000 to NIS 70,000,000 divided into 700,000,000 ordinary shares, NIS 0.10 nominal value. The share consolidation was effected in June 22, 2009. Effective August 3, 2017, the authorized share capital of the company increased from NIS 70,000,000 divided into 700,000,000 ordinary shares to NIS 145,000,000 divided into 1,450,000,000 ordinary shares.
Holders of ordinary shares have one vote per share, and are entitled to participate equally in the payment of dividends and share distributions and, in the event of our liquidation, in the distribution of assets after satisfaction of liabilities to creditors. No preferred shares are currently authorized. All outstanding ordinary shares are validly issued and fully paid.
Transfer of Shares
Fully paid ordinary shares are issued in registered form and may be freely transferred under our Articles of Association unless the transfer is restricted or prohibited by another instrument or applicable securities laws.
Dividend and Liquidation Rights
We may declare a dividend to be paid to the holders of ordinary shares according to their rights and interests in our profits. In the event of our liquidation, after satisfaction of liabilities to creditors, our assets will be distributed to the holders of ordinary shares in proportion to the nominal value of their holdings.
This right may be affected by the grant of preferential dividend or distribution rights, to the holders of a class of shares with preferential rights that may be authorized in the future. Under the Israeli Companies Law, the declaration of a dividend does not require the approval of the shareholders of the company, unless the company’s articles of association require otherwise. Our Articles provide that the Board of Directors may declare and distribute dividends without the approval of the shareholders.
56
Annual and Extraordinary General Meetings
We must hold our annual general meeting of shareholders each year and no later than 15 months from the last annual meeting, at a time and place determined by the Board of Directors, upon at least 21 days’ prior notice to our shareholders, to which we need to add an additional three days for notices sent outside of Israel. A special meeting may be convened by request of two directors, 25% of the directors then in office, one or more shareholders holding at least 5% of our issued share capital and at least 1% of our issued voting rights, or one or more shareholders holding at least 5% of our issued voting rights. Notice of a general meeting must set forth the date, time and place of the meeting. Such notice must be given at least 21 days but not more than 45 days prior to the general meeting. The quorum required for a meeting of shareholders consists of at least two shareholders present in person or by proxy who hold or represent between them at least one-third of the voting rights in the company. A meeting adjourned for lack of a quorum generally is adjourned to the same day in the following week at the same time and place (with no need for any notice to the shareholders) or until such other later time if such time is specified in the original notice convening the general meeting, or if we serve notice to the shareholders no less than seven days before the date fixed for the adjourned meeting. If at an adjourned meeting there is no quorum present half an hour after the time set for the meeting, any number participating in the meeting shall represent a quorum and shall be entitled to discuss the matters set down on the agenda for the original meeting. All shareholders who are registered in our registrar on the record date, or who will provide us with proof of ownership on that date as applicable to the relevant registered shareholder, are entitled to participate in a general meeting and may vote as described in “Voting Rights” and “Voting by Proxy and in Other Manners,” below.
Voting Rights
Our ordinary shares do not have cumulative voting rights in the election of directors. As a result, the holders of ordinary shares that represent more than 50% of the voting power represented at a shareholders meeting in which a quorum is present have the power to elect all of our directors, except the external directors whose election requires a special majority.
Holders of ordinary shares have one vote for each ordinary share held on all matters submitted to a vote of shareholders. Shareholders may vote in person or by proxy. These voting rights may be affected by the grant of any special voting rights to the holders of a class of shares with preferential rights that may be authorized in the future.
Under the Israeli Companies Law, unless otherwise provided in the Articles of Association or by applicable law, all resolutions of the shareholders require a simple majority. Our Articles of Association provide that all decisions may be made by a simple majority. See “Approval of Related Party Transactions” above for certain duties of shareholders towards the company.
Voting by Proxy and in Other Manners
Our Articles of Association enable a shareholder to appoint a proxy, who need not be a shareholder, to vote at any shareholders meeting. We require that the appointment of a proxy be in writing signed by the person making the appointment or by an attorney authorized for this purpose, and if the person making the appointment is a corporation, by a person or persons authorized to bind the corporation. In the document appointing a proxy, each shareholder may specify how the proxy should vote on any matter presented at a shareholders meeting. The document appointing the proxy shall be deposited in our offices or at such other address as shall be specified in the notice of the meeting not less than 48 hours before the time of the meeting at which the person specified in the appointment is due to vote.
The Israeli Companies Law and our Articles of Association do not permit resolutions of the shareholders to be adopted by way of written consent, for as long as our ordinary shares are publicly traded.
57
Limitations on the Rights to Own Securities
The ownership or voting of ordinary shares by non-residents of Israel is not restricted in any way by our Articles of Association or the laws of the State of Israel, except that nationals of countries which are, or have been, in a state of war with Israel may not be recognized as owners of ordinary shares.
Anti-Takeover Provisions under Israeli Law
The Israeli Companies Law permits merger transactions with the approval of each party’s board of directors and shareholders. In accordance with the Israeli Companies Law, a merger may be approved at a shareholders meeting by a majority of the voting power represented at the meeting, in person or by proxy, and voting on that resolution. In determining whether the required majority has approved the merger, shares held by the other party to the merger, any person holding at least 25% of the outstanding voting shares or means of appointing the board of directors of the other party to the merger, or the relatives or companies controlled by these persons, are excluded from the vote.
Under the Israeli Companies Law, a merging company must inform its creditors of the proposed merger. Any creditor of a party to the merger may seek a court order blocking the merger, if there is a reasonable concern that the surviving company will not be able to satisfy all of the obligations of the parties to the merger. Moreover, a merger may not be completed until at least 30 days have passed from the time the merger was approved in a general meeting of each of the merging companies, and at least 50 days have passed from the time that a merger proposal was filed with the Israeli Registrar of Companies.
Israeli corporate law provides that an acquisition of shares in a public company must be made by means of a tender offer if, as a result of such acquisition, the purchaser would become a 25% or greater shareholder of the company. This rule does not apply if there is already another shareholder with 25% or greater shares in the company. Similarly, Israeli corporate law provides that an acquisition of shares in a public company must be made by means of a tender offer if, as a result of the acquisition, the purchaser’s shareholdings would entitle the purchaser to over 45% of the shares in the company, unless there is a shareholder with 45% or more of the shares in the company. These requirements do not apply if, in general, the acquisition (1) was made in a private placement that received the approval of the company’s shareholders; (2) was from a 25% or greater shareholder of the company which resulted in the purchaser becoming a 25% or greater shareholder of the company, or (3) was from a 45% or greater shareholder of the company which resulted in the acquirer becoming a 45% or greater shareholder of the company. These rules do not apply if the acquisition is made by way of a merger. Regulations promulgated under the Israeli Companies Law provide that these tender offer requirements do not apply to companies whose shares are listed for trading external of Israel if, according to the law in the country in which the shares are traded, including the rules and regulations of the stock exchange or which the shares are traded, either:
| ● | there is a limitation on acquisition of any level of control of the company; or |
| ● | the acquisition of any level of control requires the purchaser to do so by means of a tender offer to the public. |
58
The Israeli Companies Law provides specific rules and procedures for the acquisition of shares held by minority shareholders, if the majority shareholder holds more than 90% of the outstanding shares. If, as a result of an acquisition of shares, the purchaser will hold more than 90% of a company’s outstanding shares, the acquisition must be made by means of a tender offer for all of the outstanding shares. If less than 5% of the outstanding shares are not tendered in the tender offer, all the shares that the purchaser offered to purchase will be transferred to it. The Israeli Companies Law provides for appraisal rights if any shareholder files a request in court within three months following the consummation of a full tender offer. If more than 5% of the outstanding shares are not tendered in the tender offer, then the purchaser may not acquire shares in the tender offer that will cause his shareholding to exceed 90% of the outstanding shares of the company. Israeli tax law treats specified acquisitions, including a stock-for-stock swap between an Israeli company and a foreign company, less favorably than does U.S. tax law. These laws may have the effect of delaying or deterring a change in control of us, thereby limiting the opportunity for shareholders to receive a premium for their shares and possibly affecting the price that some investors are willing to pay for our securities.
Rights of Shareholders
Under the Israeli Companies Law, our shareholders have the right to inspect certain documents and registers including the minutes of general meetings, the register of shareholders and the register of substantial shareholders, any document held by us that relates to an act or transaction requiring the consent of the general meeting as stated above under “Approval of Related Party Transactions” our Articles of Association and our financial statements, and any other document which we are required to file under the Israeli Companies Law or under any law with the Registrar of Companies or the Israeli Securities Authority, and is available for public inspection at the Registrar of Companies or the Securities Authority, as the case may be.
If the document required for inspection by one of our shareholders relates to an act or transaction requiring the consent of the general meeting as stated above, we may refuse the request of the shareholder if in our opinion the request was not made in good faith, the documents requested contain a commercial secret or a patent, or disclosure of the documents could prejudice our good in some other way.
The Israeli Companies Law provides that with the approval of the court any of our shareholders or directors may file a derivative action on our behalf if the court finds the action is a priori, to our benefit, and the person demanding the action is acting in good faith. The demand to take action can be filed with the court only after it is serviced to us, and we decline or omit to act in accordance to this demand.
59
Enforceability of Civil Liabilities
We are incorporated in Israel and most of our directors and officers named in this report reside outside the U.S. Service of process upon them may be difficult to effect within the U.S. Furthermore, because substantially all of our assets, and those of our non-U.S. directors and officers and the Israeli experts named herein, are located outside the U.S., any judgment obtained in the U.S. against us or any of these persons may not be collectible within the U.S.
We have been informed by our legal counsel in Israel, Doron Tikotsky Kantor Gutman & Amit Gross, that there is doubt as to the enforceability of civil liabilities under the Securities Act or the Exchange Act, pursuant to original actions instituted in Israel. However, subject to particular time limitations, executory judgments of a U.S. court for monetary damages in civil matters may be enforced by an Israeli court, provided that:
| ● | the judgment was obtained after due process before a court of competent jurisdiction, that recognizes and enforces similar judgments of Israeli courts, and the court had authority according to the rules of private international law currently prevailing in Israel; |
| ● | adequate service of process was effected and the defendant had a reasonable opportunity to be heard; |
| ● | the judgment is not contrary to the law, public policy, security or sovereignty of the State of Israel and its enforcement is not contrary to the laws governing enforcement of judgments; |
| ● | the judgment was not obtained by fraud and does not conflict with any other valid judgment in the same matter between the same parties; |
| ● | the judgment is no longer appealable; and |
| ● | an action between the same parties in the same matter is not pending in any Israeli court at the time the lawsuit is instituted in the foreign court. |
Foreign judgments enforced by Israeli courts generally will be payable in Israeli currency. The usual practice in an action before an Israeli court to recover an amount in a non-Israeli currency is for the Israeli court to render judgment for the equivalent amount in Israeli currency at the rate of exchange in force on the date of the judgment. Under existing Israeli law, a foreign judgment payable in foreign currency may be paid in Israeli currency at the rate of exchange for the foreign currency published on the day before date of payment. Current Israeli exchange control regulations also permit a judgment debtor to make payment in foreign currency. Pending collection, the amount of the judgment of an Israeli court stated in Israeli currency ordinarily may be linked to Israel’s consumer price index plus interest at the annual statutory rate set by Israeli regulations prevailing at that time. Judgment creditors must bear the risk of unfavorable exchange rates.
60
AMERICAN DEPOSITORY SHARES
We have issued and deposited ordinary shares with Bank Hapoalim B.M., The Bank of New York’s custodian in Tel Aviv, Israel. The Bank of New York in turn issued American Depositary Shares, or ADSs, representing American Depositary Shares, or ADSs. One ADS represents an ownership interest in one hundred of our ordinary shares. Each ADS also represents securities, cash or other property deposited with The Bank of New York but not distributed to ADS holders. The Bank of New York’s Corporate Trust Office is located at 101 Barclay Street, New York, NY 10286, U.S.A. Their principal executive office is located at One Wall Street, New York, NY 10286, U.S.A.
You may hold ADSs either directly or indirectly through your broker or other financial institution. If you hold ADSs directly, you are an ADS holder. This description assumes you hold your ADSs directly. If you hold the ADSs indirectly, you must rely on the procedures of your broker or other financial institution to assert the rights of ADS holders described in this section. You should consult with your broker or financial institution to find out what those procedures are.
Because The Bank of New York will actually hold the ordinary shares, you must rely on it to exercise the rights of a shareholder. The obligations of The Bank of New York are set out in a deposit agreement among us, The Bank of New York and you, as an ADS holder. The agreement and the ADSs are generally governed by New York law.
The following is a summary of the agreement. Because it is a summary, it does not contain all the information that may be important to you. For more complete information, you should read the entire agreement and the ADS. Directions on how to obtain copies of these are provided in the section entitled “Where You Can Find More Information.”
Share Dividends and Other Distributions
The Bank of New York has agreed to pay to you the cash dividends or other distributions it or the custodian receives on shares or other deposited securities after deducting its fees and expenses. You will receive these distributions in proportion to the number of shares your ADSs represent.
Cash. The Bank of New York will convert any cash dividend or other cash distribution we pay on the shares into U.S. dollars, if it can do so on a reasonable basis and can transfer the U.S. dollars to the U.S. If that is not possible or if any approval from any government or agency thereof is needed and cannot be obtained, the agreement allows The Bank of New York to distribute the foreign currency only to those ADS holders to whom it is possible to do so. It will hold the foreign currency it cannot convert for the account of the ADS holders who have not been paid. It will not invest the foreign currency and it will not be liable for the interest.
Before making a distribution, any withholding taxes that must be paid under U.S. law will be deducted. The Bank of New York will distribute only whole U.S. dollars and cents and will round fractional cents to the nearest whole cent. If the exchange rates fluctuate during a time when The Bank of New York cannot convert the foreign currency, you may lose some or all of the value of the distribution.
Shares. The Bank of New York may distribute new ADSs representing any shares we may distribute as a dividend or free distribution, if we furnish it promptly with satisfactory evidence that it is legal to do so. The Bank of New York will only distribute whole ADSs. It will sell shares which would require it to use a fractional ADS and distribute the net proceeds in the same way as it does with cash. If The Bank of New York does not distribute additional ADSs, each ADS will also represent the new shares.
Rights to receive additional shares. If we offer holders of our ordinary shares any rights to subscribe for additional shares or any other rights, The Bank of New York may make these rights available to you. We must first instruct The Bank of New York to do so and furnish it with satisfactory evidence that it is legal to do so. If we do not furnish this evidence and/or give these instructions, and The Bank of New York decides it is practical to sell the rights, The Bank of New York will sell the rights and distribute the proceeds, in the same way as it does with cash. The Bank of New York may allow rights that are not distributed or sold to lapse. In that case, you will receive no value for them. If The Bank of New York makes rights available to you, upon instruction from you, it will exercise the rights and purchase the shares on your behalf. The Bank of New York will then deposit the shares and issue ADSs to you. It will only exercise rights if you pay it the exercise price and any other charges the rights require you to pay.
61
U.S. securities laws may restrict the sale, deposit, cancellation and transfer of the ADSs issued after exercise of rights. For example, you may not be able to trade the ADSs freely in the U.S. In this case, The Bank of New York may issue the ADSs under a separate restricted deposit agreement, which will contain the same provisions as the agreement, except for the changes needed to put the restrictions in place.
Other Distributions. The Bank of New York will send to you anything else we distribute on deposited securities by any means it thinks is legal, fair and practical. If it cannot make the distribution in that way, The Bank of New York has a choice. It may decide to sell what we distributed and distribute the net proceeds in the same way as it does with cash or it may decide to hold what we distributed, in which case the ADSs will also represent the newly distributed property.
The Bank of New York is not responsible if it decides that it is unlawful or impractical to make a distribution available to any ADS holders. We have no obligation to register ADSs, shares, rights or other securities under the Securities Act. We also have no obligation to take any other action to permit the distribution of ADSs, shares, rights or anything else to ADS holders. This means that you may not receive the distribution we make on our shares or any value for them if it is illegal or impractical for us to make them available to you.
Deposit, Withdrawal and Cancellation
The Bank of New York will issue ADSs if you or your broker deposits shares or evidence of rights to receive shares with the custodian upon payment of its fees and expenses and of any taxes or charges, such as stamp taxes or stock transfer taxes or fees. The Bank of New York will register the appropriate number of ADSs in the names you request and will deliver the ADSs at its office to the persons you request.
You may turn in your ADSs at The Bank of New York’s office. Upon payment of its fees and expenses and of any taxes or charges, such as stamp taxes or stock transfer taxes or fees, The Bank of New York will deliver (1) the underlying shares to an account designated by you and (2) any other deposited securities underlying the ADS at the office of the custodian; or, at your request, risk and expense, The Bank of New York will deliver the deposited securities at its office.
Voting Rights
You may instruct The Bank of New York to vote the shares underlying your ADSs but only if we ask The Bank of New York to ask for your instructions. Otherwise, you will not be able to exercise your right to vote unless you withdraw the shares. However, you may not know about the meeting enough in advance to withdraw the shares.
If we ask for your instructions, The Bank of New York will notify you of the upcoming vote and arrange to deliver our voting materials to you. The materials will (1) describe the matters to be voted on and (2) explain how you, on a certain date, may instruct The Bank of New York to vote the shares or other deposited securities underlying your ADSs as you direct. For instructions to be valid, The Bank of New York must receive them on or before the date specified. The Bank of New York will try, as far as practical, subject to Israeli law and the provisions of our Articles of Association, to vote or to have its agents vote the shares or other deposited securities as you instruct. The Bank of New York will only vote or attempt to vote as you instruct. However, if The Bank of New York does not receive your voting instructions, it will deem you to have instructed it to give a discretionary proxy to vote the shares underlying your ADSs to a person designated by us provided that no such instruction shall be deemed given and no such discretionary proxy shall be given with respect to any matter as to which we inform The Bank of New York that (x) we do not wish such proxy given, (y) substantial opposition exists, (z) such matter materially affects the rights of the holders of the shares underlying the ADSs.
We cannot assure you that you will receive the voting materials in time to ensure that you can instruct The Bank of New York to vote your shares. In addition, The Bank of New York and its agents are not responsible for failing to carry out voting instructions or for the manner of carrying out voting instructions. This means that you may not be able to exercise your right to vote and there may be nothing you can do if your shares are not voted as you requested.
62
Rights of Non-Israeli Shareholders to Vote
The ADSs may be freely held and traded pursuant to the General Permit and the Currency Control Law. The ownership or voting of ADSs by non-residents of Israel is not restricted in any way by our Articles of Association or by the laws of the State of Israel.
Fees and Expenses
| ADS holders must pay: | For: | |
| $5.00 (or less) per 100 ADSs (or portion thereof) | Each issuance of an ADS, including as a result of a distribution of shares or rights or other property.
Each cancellation of an ADS, including if the agreement terminates. | |
| $0.05 (or less) per ADS | Any cash payment. | |
| Registration or Transfer Fees | Transfer and registration of shares on the share register of the Foreign Registrar from your name to the name of The Bank of New York or its agent when you deposit or withdraw shares. | |
| Expenses of The Bank of New York | Conversion of foreign currency to U.S. dollars.
Cable, telex and facsimile transmission expenses.
Servicing of shares or deposited securities. | |
| $0.02 (or less) per ADS per calendar year (if the depositary has not collected any cash distribution fee during that year) | Depositary services. | |
| Taxes and other governmental charges | As necessary The Bank of New York or the Custodian have to pay on any ADS or share underlying an ADS, for example, stock transfer taxes, stamp duty or withholding taxes. | |
| A fee equivalent to the fee that would be payable if securities distributed to you had been ordinary shares and the ordinary shares had been deposited for issuance of ADSs | Distribution of securities distributed to holders of deposited securities which are distributed by the depositary to ADS holders. |
Payment of Taxes
You will be responsible for any taxes or other governmental charges payable on your ADSs or on the deposited securities underlying your ADSs. The Bank of New York may refuse to transfer your ADSs or allow you to withdraw the deposited securities underlying your ADSs until such taxes or other charges are paid. It may apply payments owed to you or sell deposited securities underlying your ADSs to pay any taxes owed and you will remain liable for any deficiency. If it sells deposited securities, it will, if appropriate, reduce the number of ADSs to reflect the sale and pay to you any proceeds, or send to you any property, remaining after it has paid the taxes.
63
Reclassifications, Recapitalizations and Mergers
| If we: | Then: | |
|
Change the nominal or par value of our shares;
|
The cash, shares or other securities received by The Bank of New York will become deposited securities. Each ADS will automatically represent its equal share of the new deposited securities. The Bank of New York may, and will if we ask it to, distribute some or all of the cash, shares or other securities it received. It may also issue new ADSs or ask you to surrender your outstanding ADSs in exchange for new ADSs, identifying the new deposited securities. | |
| Reclassify, split up or consolidate any of the deposited securities; | ||
| Distribute securities on the shares that are not distributed to you; or | ||
| Recapitalize, reorganize, merge, liquidate, sell all or substantially all of our assets, or takes any similar action. |
Amendment and Termination
We may agree with The Bank of New York to amend the agreement and the ADSs without your consent for any reason. If the amendment adds or increases fees or charges, except for taxes and other governmental charges or registration fees, cable, telex or facsimile transmission costs, delivery costs or other such expenses, or prejudices an important right of ADS holders, it will only become effective thirty days after The Bank of New York notifies you of the amendment. At the time an amendment becomes effective, you are considered, by continuing to hold your ADS, to agree to the amendment and to be bound by the ADSs and the agreement is amended.
The Bank of New York will terminate the agreement if we ask it to do so. The Bank of New York may also terminate the agreement if The Bank of New York has told us that it would like to resign and we have not appointed a new depositary bank within ninety days. In both cases, The Bank of New York must notify you at least ninety days before termination.
After termination, The Bank of New York and its agents will be required to do only the following under the agreement: (1) advise you that the agreement is terminated, and (2) collect distributions on the deposited securities and deliver shares and other deposited securities upon cancellation of ADSs. After termination, The Bank of New York will, if practical, sell any remaining deposited securities by public or private sale. After that, The Bank of New York will hold the proceeds of the sale, as well as any other cash it is holding under the agreement for the pro rata benefit of the ADS holders that have not surrendered their ADSs. It will not invest the money and will have no liability for interest. The Bank of New York’s only obligations will be to account for the proceeds of the sale and other cash. After termination our only obligations will be with respect to indemnification and to pay certain amounts to The Bank of New York.
Limitations on Obligations and Liability to ADS Holders
The agreement expressly limits our obligations and the obligations of The Bank of New York, and it limits our liability and the liability of The Bank of New York. We and The Bank of New York:
| ● | are only obligated to take the actions specifically set forth in the agreement without negligence or bad faith; |
| ● | are not liable if either is prevented or delayed by law or circumstances beyond their control from performing their obligations under the agreement; |
| ● | are not liable if either exercises discretion permitted under the agreement; |
| ● | have no obligation to become involved in a lawsuit or other proceeding related to the ADSs or the agreement on your behalf or on behalf of any other party; and |
| ● | may rely upon any documents they believe in good faith to be genuine and to have been signed or presented by the proper party. |
In the agreement, we and The Bank of New York agree to indemnify each other under certain circumstances.
64
Requirements for Depositary Actions
Before The Bank of New York will issue or register transfer of an ADS, make a distribution on an ADS, or make a withdrawal of shares, The Bank of New York may require payment of stock transfer or other taxes or other governmental charges and transfer or registration fees charged by third parties for the:
| ● | transfer of any shares or other deposited securities; |
| ● | production of satisfactory proof of the identity and genuineness of any signature or other information it deems necessary, and |
| ● | compliance with regulations it may establish, from time to time, consistent with the agreement, including presentation of transfer documents. |
The Bank of New York may refuse to deliver, transfer, or register transfers of ADSs generally when the books of The Bank of New York or our books are closed, or at any time if The Bank of New York or we think it advisable to do so. You have the right to cancel your ADSs and withdraw the underlying shares at any time except:
| ● | when temporary delays arise because: (1) The Bank of New York or we have closed its transfer books; (2) the transfer of shares is blocked to permit voting at a shareholders’ meeting; or (3) we are paying a dividend on the shares; or |
| ● | when it is necessary to prohibit withdrawals in order to comply with any laws or governmental regulations that apply to ADSs or to the withdrawal of shares or other deposited securities. |
This right of withdrawal may not be limited by any other provision of the agreement.
Pre-Release of ADSs
In certain circumstances, subject to the provisions of the agreement, The Bank of New York may issue ADSs before deposit of the underlying shares. This is called a pre-release of the ADS. The Bank of New York may also deliver shares upon cancellation of pre-released ADSs (even if the ADSs are cancelled before the pre-release transaction has been closed out). A pre-release is closed out as soon as the underlying shares are delivered to The Bank of New York. The Bank of New York may receive ADSs instead of shares to close out a pre-release. The Bank of New York may pre-release ADSs only under the following conditions: (1) before or at the time of the pre-release, the person to whom the pre-release is being made must represent to The Bank of New York in writing that it or its customer owns the shares or ADSs to be deposited; (2) the pre-release must be fully collateralized with cash or other collateral that The Bank of New York considers appropriate; and (3) The Bank of New York must be able to close out the pre-release on not more than five business days’ notice. In addition, The Bank of New York will limit the number of ADSs that may be outstanding at any time as a result of prerelease, although The Bank of New York may disregard the limit from time to time, if it thinks it is appropriate to do so.
Inspection of Books of the Depositary
Under the terms of the agreement, holders of ADSs may inspect the transfer books of the depositary at any reasonable time, provided that such inspection shall not be for the purpose of communicating with holders of ADSs in the interest of a business or object other than either our business or a matter related to the deposit agreement or ADSs.
65
Book-Entry Only Issuance - The Depository Trust Company
The Depository Trust Company, or DTC, New York, New York, will act as securities depository for the ADSs. The ADSs will be represented by one global security that will be deposited with and registered in the name of Cede & Co. (DTC’s partnership nominee), or such other name as may be requested by an authorized representative of DTC. This means that we will not issue certificates to you for the ADSs. One global security will be issued to DTC, which will keep a computerized record of its participants (for example, your broker) whose clients have purchased the ADSs. Each participant will then keep a record of its clients. Unless it is exchanged in whole or in part for a certificated security, a global security may not be transferred. However, DTC, its nominees, and their successors may transfer a global security as a whole to one another. Beneficial interests in the global security will be shown on, and transfers of the global security will be made only through, records maintained by DTC and its participants.
DTC is a limited-purpose trust company organized under the New York Banking Law, a “banking organization” within the meaning of the New York Banking Law, a member of the United States Federal Reserve System, a “clearing corporation” within the meaning of the New York Uniform Commercial Code and a “clearing agency” registered under the provisions of Section 17A of the Exchange Act. DTC holds securities that its participants (direct participants) deposit with DTC. DTC also records the settlement among direct participants of securities transactions, such as transfers and pledges, in deposited securities through computerized records for direct participant’s accounts. This eliminates the need to exchange certificates. Direct participants include securities brokers and dealers, banks, trust companies, clearing corporations and certain other organizations.
DTC’s book-entry system is also used by other organizations such as securities brokers and dealers, banks and trust companies that work through a direct participant. The rules that apply to DTC and its participants are on file with the SEC.
DTC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation, or DTCC. DTCC is, in turn, owned by a number of DTC’s direct participants and by the New York Stock Exchange, Inc., the American Stock Exchange, Inc. and the National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc.
When you purchase ADSs through the DTC system, the purchases must be made by or through a direct participant, who will receive credit for the ADSs on DTC’s records. Since you actually own the ADSs, you are the beneficial owner and your ownership interest will only be recorded on the direct (or indirect) participants’ records. DTC has no knowledge of your individual ownership of the ADSs. DTC’s records only show the identity of the direct participants and the amount of ADSs held by or through them. You will not receive a written confirmation of your purchase or sale or any periodic account statement directly from DTC. You will receive these from your direct (or indirect) participant. Thus the direct (or indirect) participants are responsible for keeping accurate account of the holdings of their customers like you.
We will wire dividend payments to DTC’s nominee, and we will treat DTC’s nominee as the owner of the global security for all purposes. Accordingly, we will have no direct responsibility or liability to pay amounts due on the global security to you or any other beneficial owners in the global security.
Any redemption notices will be sent by us directly to DTC, who will in turn inform the direct participants, who will then contact you as a beneficial holder.
It is DTC’s current practice, upon receipt of any payment of dividends or liquidation amount, to credit direct participants’ accounts on the payment date based on their holdings of beneficial interests in the global securities as shown on DTC’s records. In addition, it is DTC’s current practice to assign any consenting or voting rights to direct participants whose accounts are credited with preferred securities on a record date, by using an omnibus proxy. Payments by participants to owners of beneficial interests in the global securities, and voting by participants, will be based on the customary practices between the participants and owners of beneficial interests, as is the case with the ADSs held for the account of customers registered in “street name.” However, payments will be the responsibility of the participants and not of DTC or us.
66
ADSs represented by a global security will be exchangeable for certificated securities with the same terms in authorized denominations only if:
| ● | DTC is unwilling or unable to continue as depositary or if DTC ceases to be a clearing agency registered under applicable law and a successor depositary is not appointed by us within 90 days; or |
| ● | we determine not to require all of the ADSs to be represented by a global security. |
If the book-entry only system is discontinued, the transfer agent will keep the registration books for the ADSs at its corporate office.
The information in this section concerning DTC and DTC’s book-entry system has been obtained from sources we believe to be reliable, but we take no responsibility for the accuracy thereof.
Exchange Controls
There are no Israeli government laws, decrees or regulations that restrict or that affect our export or import of capital or the remittance of dividends, interest or other payments to non-resident holders of our securities, including the availability of cash and cash equivalents for use by us and our wholly-owned subsidiaries, except or otherwise as set forth under Taxation.
Taxation
The following discussion summarizes certain Israeli and U.S. federal income tax consequences that may be material to our shareholders, but is not intended, and should not be construed, as legal or professional tax advice and does not exhaust all possible tax considerations that may be relevant to holders of our ordinary shares. This discussion is based on existing law, judicial authorities and administrative interpretations, all of which are subject to change or differing interpretations, possibly with retroactive effect. This summary does not purport to be a complete analysis of all potential tax consequences of owning our ordinary shares. In particular, this discussion does not take into account the specific circumstances of any particular holder or holders who may be subject to special rules, such as tax-exempt entities, broker-dealers, shareholders subject to Alternative Minimum Tax, shareholders that actually or constructively own 10% or more of our voting securities, shareholders that hold ordinary shares or ADSs as part of straddle or hedging or conversion transaction, traders in securities that elect mark to market, banks and other financial institutions or partnerships or other pass-through entities. The following tax considerations are not relevant to employees of the company or any controlling shareholders. The tax aspects do not include reference to the Encouragement of Capital Investments Law and the Encouragement of Industry Taxes Law.
We urge shareholders to consult their own tax advisors as to the potential U.S., Israeli, or other tax consequences of the purchase, ownership and disposition of ordinary shares and ADSs, including, in particular, the effect of any foreign, state or local taxes. For purposes of the entire Taxation discussion, we refer to ordinary shares and ADSs collectively as ordinary shares.
Israeli Tax Considerations and Government Programs
The following is a brief summary of the material Israeli tax laws applicable to us and certain Israeli Government programs that benefit us. This section also contains a discussion of material Israeli tax consequences concerning the ownership and disposition of our ordinary shares. This summary does not discuss all the aspects of Israeli tax law that may be relevant to a particular investor in light of his or her personal investment circumstances or to some types of investors subject to special treatment under Israeli law. Examples of such investors include residents of Israel or traders in securities who are subject to special tax regimes not covered in this discussion. To the extent that the discussion is based on new tax legislation that has not yet been subject to judicial or administrative interpretation, we cannot assure you that the appropriate tax authorities or the courts will accept the views expressed in this discussion. The discussion below is subject to change, including due to amendments under Israeli law or changes to the applicable judicial or administrative interpretations of Israeli law, which change could affect the tax consequences described below.
67
General Corporate Tax Structure in Israel
Israeli resident (as defined below) companies, such as us, are generally subject to corporate tax at the rate of 23% since 2018. However, the effective tax rate imposed on a company that derives income from a Preferred Enterprise or a Preferred Technology Enterprise (as discussed below) may be considerably lower. Capital gains derived by an Israeli company are generally subject to tax at the prevailing corporate tax rate.
Law for the Encouragement of Industry (Taxes), 5729-1969
The Law for the Encouragement of Industry (Taxes), 5729-1969 (the “Industry Encouragement Law”), grants several tax benefits for “Industrial Companies.”
The Industry Encouragement Law defines an “Industrial Company” as a company resident in Israel, of which 90% or more of its income in any tax year, other than income deriving from defense loans, and is derived from an “Industrial Enterprise” owned by it. An “Industrial Enterprise” is defined as an enterprise whose principal activity in a given tax year is industrial production (and several other activities listed in the said law, and are associated with industrial production).
The following corporate tax benefits, among others, are available to Industrial Companies:
| ● | amortization over an eight-year period of the cost of patents and/or rights to use a patent and know-how which were purchased in good faith and/or are used for the development or advancement of the Industrial Enterprise over an eight-year period; |
| ● | deduction of expenses incurred in connection with the issuance and listing of shares on a stock market over a three-year period; and |
| ● | under certain conditions, an election to file its tax returns along with related Israeli Industrial Companies. |
There can be no assurance that we currently qualify, or will continue to qualify, as an Industrial Company or that the benefits described above will be available in the future.
Law for the Encouragement of Capital Investments, 5719-1959
Tax Benefits for Income from Preferred Enterprise
The Law for the Encouragement of Capital Investments, 5719-1959 (the “Investment Law”), currently provides certain tax benefits for income generated by “Preferred Companies” from their “Preferred Enterprises.” The definition of a Preferred Company includes, inter alia, a company incorporated in Israel and that is not wholly owned by a governmental entity, which:
| ● | owns a Preferred Enterprise, which is defined as an “Industrial Enterprise” (as defined under the Investment Law) that is classified as either a “Competitive Enterprise” (as defined under the Investment Law) or a “Competitive Enterprise in the Field of Renewable Energy” (as defined under the Investment Law); |
| ● | is controlled and managed from Israel; |
| ● | is not a “Family Company,” a “Home Company,” or a “Kibbutz” (collective community) as defined under the Income Tax Ordinance; |
| ● | keeps acceptable ledgers and files reports in accordance with the provisions of the Investment Law and the Income Tax Ordinance; and |
| ● | was not, and certain officers of which were not, convicted of certain crimes in the 10 years prior to the tax year with respect to which benefits are being claimed. |
68
As of January 1, 2017, a Preferred Company is currently entitled to a reduced corporate tax rate of 16% with respect to its income derived by its Preferred Enterprise, unless the Preferred Enterprise is located in development area A, in which case the rate is currently 7.5% (our operations are currently not located in development area A).
Dividends paid out of income attributed to a Preferred Enterprise are generally subject to tax at the rate of 20% or such lower rate as may be provided in an applicable tax treaty. However, if such dividends are paid to an Israeli company, such dividends should be exempt from tax (although, if such dividends are subsequently distributed to non-Israeli individuals or a non-Israeli company, tax at a rate of 20% or such lower rate as may be provided in an applicable tax treaty will apply).
If in the future we generate taxable income, to the extent that we qualify as a “Preferred Company,” the benefits provided under the Investment Law could potentially reduce our corporate tax liabilities. Therefore, the termination or substantial reduction of the benefits available under the Investment Law could materially increase our tax liabilities.
Tax Benefits for Income from Preferred Technology Enterprise
An amendment to the Investment Law was enacted as part of the Economic Efficiency Law that was published on December 29, 2016, and entered into effect as of January 1, 2017 (the “2017 Amendment”). The 2017 Amendment provides additional tax benefits to Preferred Companies for “Technology Enterprises,” as described below, and is in addition to the Preferred Enterprise regime provided under the Investment Law.
The 2017 Amendment provides that a technology company satisfying certain conditions will qualify as a “Preferred Technology Enterprise” and may thereby enjoy a reduced corporate tax rate of 12% on income that qualifies as “Preferred Technology Income,” as defined in the Investment Law. The tax rate is further reduced to 7.5% for a Preferred Technology Enterprise located in development area A. In addition, a Preferred Technology Enterprise may enjoy a reduced capital gains tax rate of 12% on capital gain derived from the sale of certain “Benefited Intangible Assets” (as defined in the Investment Law) to a related foreign company if the Benefited Intangible Assets were acquired from a foreign company on or after January 1, 2017 for at least NIS 200 million, pending that the sale receives is pre-approved by the IIA.
Dividends distributed by a Preferred Technology Enterprise that are paid out of Preferred Technology Income are subject to tax at the rate of 20%, but if they are distributed to a foreign company and at least 90% of the shares of the distributing company are held by foreign resident companies then the tax rate may be as low as 4%, subject to the fulfillment of certain conditions.
As we have not yet generated taxable income, there is no assurance that we qualify as a Preferred Technology Enterprise or that the benefits described above will be available to us in the future.
If in the future we generate taxable income, to the extent that we qualify as a “Preferred Company,” the benefits provided under the Investment Law could potentially reduce our corporate tax liabilities. Therefore, the termination or substantial reduction of the benefits available under the Investment Law could materially increase our tax liabilities.
The Encouragement of Research, Development and Technological Innovation in the Industry Law 5744
Under the Encouragement of Research, Development and Technological Innovation in the Industry Law 5744-1984 (formerly known as the Law for the Encouragement of Research and Development in Industry 5744-1984) (“Innovation Law”), and the regulations and guidelines promulgated thereunder, research and development programs which meet specified criteria and are approved by a committee of the IIA, are eligible for grants. The grants awarded are typically up to 50% of the project’s expenditures, as determined by the research committee. The grantee is required to pay royalties to the State of Israel from the sale of products developed under the program. Regulations under the Innovation Law generally provide for the payment of royalties of 3% to 6% on income generated from products and services based on technology developed using grants, until 100% of the grant, linked to the dollar and bearing interest at the LIBOR rate, is repaid. In July 2017, new regulations came into force. According to the new regulations, the royalties range between 1.3-5% depending on the company’s size and sector. The terms of the IIA participation also require that products developed with IIA grants be manufactured in Israel and that the know-how developed thereunder may not be transferred outside of Israel, unless approval is received from the IIA and additional payments are made to the IIA. However, this does not restrict the export of products that incorporate the funded know-how. The royalty repayment ceiling can reach up to three times the amount of the grant received (plus interest) if manufacturing is transferred outside of Israel, and repayment of up to six times the amount of the grant (plus interest) may be required if the technology itself is transferred outside of Israel or license to use it was granted to a foreign entity.
69
Taxation of our Shareholders
Capital Gains Tax
Israeli law generally imposes a capital gains tax (i) on the sale of any capital assets by residents of Israel, as defined for Israeli tax purposes, and (ii) on the sale of capital assets located in Israel, including shares of Israeli companies, by non-residents of Israel, unless a specific exemption is available or unless a tax treaty between Israel and the shareholder’s country of residence provides otherwise. The law distinguishes between real gain and inflationary surplus. The inflationary surplus is a portion of the total capital gain that is equivalent to the increase of the relevant asset’s purchase price which is attributable to the increase in the Israeli consumer price index or a foreign currency exchange rate between the date of purchase and the date of sale. The real gain is the excess of the total capital gain over the inflationary surplus.
Israeli Residents
Generally, as of January 1, 2012 and thereafter, the tax rate applicable to real capital gains derived from the sale of shares, whether listed on a stock market or not, is 25% for Israeli individuals, unless such shareholder claims a deduction for financing expenses in connection with such shares, in which case the gain will generally be taxed at a rate of 30%. Additionally, if such shareholder is considered a “substantial shareholder” (SSH) at the time of the sale or at any time during the 12-month period preceding such sale, the tax rate will be 30%. A “substantial shareholder” is defined as one who holds, directly or indirectly, alone or “together with another” (i.e., together with a relative, or together with someone who is not a relative but with whom, according to an agreement, there is regular cooperation in material matters of the company, directly or indirectly), directly or indirectly, at least 10% of any of the “means of control” in the company. “Means of control” generally include the right to vote, receive profits, nominate a director or an executive officer, receive assets upon liquidation, or instruct someone who holds any of the aforementioned rights regarding the manner in which such rights are to be exercised. However, different tax rates will apply to dealers in securities. Israeli companies are subject to capital gains tax at the regular corporate tax rate (i.e., 23% for the tax year 2018 and thereafter) on real capital gains derived from the sale of listed shares.
As of January 1, 2024, Israeli resident shareholders who are individuals with taxable income that exceeds NIS 721,560 in a tax year (linked to the Israeli consumer price index each year) will be subject to an additional tax at the rate of 3% on the portion of their taxable income for such tax year that is in excess of NIS 721,560 (linked to the Israeli consumer price index each year). For this purpose, taxable income includes taxable capital gains from the sale of our shares and taxable income from dividend distributions.
In some instances where our shareholders are liable for Israeli tax on the sale of their ordinary shares, the payment of the consideration may be subject to the withholding of Israeli tax at source.
Non-Israeli Residents
A non-Israeli resident who derives capital gains from the sale of shares in an Israeli resident company that were purchased after the company was listed for trading on a stock exchange outside of Israel will be exempt from Israeli tax so long as the shares were not held through a permanent establishment that the non-resident maintains in Israel. However, non-Israeli resident corporations will not be entitled to the foregoing exemption if (i) an Israeli resident has a controlling interest, directly or indirectly, alone, “together with another” (as defined above), or together with another Israeli resident, of more than 25% in one or more of the “means of control” (as defined above) in such non-Israeli resident corporation, or (ii) Israeli residents are the beneficiaries of, or are entitled to, 25% or more of the revenues or profits of such non-Israeli resident corporation, whether directly or indirectly.
70
In addition, a sale of securities by a non-Israeli resident may be exempt from Israeli capital gains tax under the provisions of an applicable tax treaty. For example, pursuant to the provisions of the Convention between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the State of Israel with respect to Taxes on Income, as amended (the “U.S.-Israel Tax Treaty”), capital gains arising from the sale, exchange or disposition of our ordinary shares by (i) a person who qualifies as a resident of the United States within the meaning of the U.S.-Israel Tax Treaty, (ii) who holds the shares as a capital asset, and (iii) who is entitled to claim the benefits afforded to such person by the U.S.-Israel Tax Treaty generally is generally exempt from Israeli capital gains tax. Such exemption will not apply if: (i) such person holds, directly or indirectly, shares representing 10% or more of our voting power during any part of the 12-month period preceding such sale, exchange, or disposition, subject to particular conditions; (ii) the capital gains from such sale, exchange, or disposition are attributable to a permanent establishment in Israel; or (iii) such person is an individual and was present in Israel for 183 days or more during the relevant tax year. In such case, the capital gain arising from the sale, exchange, or disposition of our ordinary shares would be subject to Israeli tax, to the extent applicable; however, under the U.S.-Israel Tax Treaty, the taxpayer may be permitted to claim a credit for such taxes against the U.S. federal income tax imposed with respect to such sale, exchange, or disposition, subject to the limitations under U.S. law applicable to foreign tax credits. The U.S.-Israel Tax Treaty does not relate to U.S. state or local taxes.
Shareholders may be required to demonstrate that they are exempt from tax on their capital gains in order to refrain from withholding at source at the time of sale.
It should be noted that in the event that the real capital gain realized by an individual shareholder is not exempt from tax in Israel, the tax rates applicable to Israeli resident individual shareholders should generally apply.
In some instances where our shareholders may be liable for Israeli tax on the sale of their ordinary shares, the payment of the consideration may be subject to the withholding of Israeli tax at source.
Taxation of Dividend Distributions
Israeli Residents
Israeli resident individuals are generally subject to Israeli income tax on the receipt of dividends paid on our ordinary shares, other than bonus shares (share dividends). As of January 1, 2012 and thereafter, the tax rate applicable to such dividends is generally 25%. With respect to a person who is a “substantial shareholder” (as defined above) at the time the dividend is received or at any time during the preceding 12-month period, the applicable tax rate is 30%. Dividends paid from income derived from Preferred Enterprises and Preferred Technology Enterprises will generally be subject to income tax at a rate of 20%.
As of January 1, 2024, Israeli resident shareholders who are individuals with taxable income that exceeds NIS 721,560 in a tax year (linked to the Israeli consumer price index each year) will be subject to an additional tax at the rate of 3% on the portion of their taxable income for such tax year that is in excess of NIS 721,560 (linked to the Israeli consumer price index each year). For this purpose, taxable income includes taxable capital gains from the sale of our shares and taxable income from dividend distributions.
Dividends paid to an Israeli resident individual shareholder on our ordinary shares will generally be subject to withholding tax at the rates corresponding with the income tax rates detailed above unless we are provided in advance with a withholding tax certificate issued by the Israel Tax Authority stipulating a different rate.
Notwithstanding the above, dividends paid to an Israeli resident “substantial shareholder” (as defined above) on publicly traded shares, like our ordinary shares, which are held via a “nominee company” (as defined under the Israeli Securities Law), are generally subject to Israeli withholding tax at a rate of 25%, unless a different rate is provided under an applicable tax treaty, provided that a certificate from the Israel Tax Authority allowing for a reduced withholding tax rate is obtained in advance.
71
If the dividend is attributable partly to income derived from a Preferred Enterprise or a Preferred Technology Enterprise and partly to other sources of income, the tax rate will be a blended rate reflecting the relative portions of the various types of income. We cannot assure you that we will designate the profits that are being distributed in a way that will reduce shareholders’ tax liability.
Israeli resident companies are generally exempt from tax on the receipt of dividends paid on our ordinary shares.
Non-Israeli Residents
Unless a tax relief is provided by a treaty between Israel and the shareholder’s country of residence, non-Israeli residents are generally subject to Israeli income tax on the receipt of dividends paid on our ordinary shares at the rate of 25%. With respect to a person (including a corporation) who is a “substantial shareholder” (as defined above) at the time of receiving the dividend or at any time during the preceding 12-month period, absent treaty relief as mentioned above, the applicable Israeli income tax rate is 30%. Notwithstanding the above, dividends paid from income derived from Preferred Enterprises will be subject to Israeli income tax at a rate of 20%. In addition, dividends distributed by a Preferred Technology Enterprise that are paid out of Preferred Technology Income are subject to tax at the rate of 20%, but if they are distributed to a foreign company and at least 90% of the shares of the distributing company are held by foreign resident companies then the tax rate may be as low as 4%, subject to the fulfillment of certain conditions.
In this regard, dividends paid to a non-Israeli resident shareholder on our ordinary shares will generally be subject to withholding tax at the rates corresponding with the income tax rates detailed above unless we are provided in advance with a withholding tax certificate issued by the Israel Tax Authority stipulating a different rate (e.g., in accordance with the provisions of an applicable tax treaty).
Notwithstanding the above, dividends paid to a non-Israeli resident “substantial shareholder” (as defined above) on publicly traded shares, like our ordinary shares, which are held via a “nominee company” (as defined under the Israeli Securities Law), are generally subject to Israeli withholding tax at a rate of 25%, unless a different rate is provided under an applicable tax treaty, provided that a certificate from the Israel Tax Authority allowing for a reduced withholding tax rate is obtained in advance.
In addition, it should be noted that an additional 3% tax might be applicable to individual shareholders if certain conditions are met.
Under the U.S.-Israel Tax Treaty, the maximum Israeli tax on dividends paid to a holder of ordinary shares who qualifies as a resident of the United States within the meaning of the U.S.-Israel Tax Treaty is 25%. Such tax rate is generally reduced to 12.5% if: (i) the shareholder is a U.S. corporation and holds at least 10% of the outstanding shares of our voting stock during the part of our tax year that precedes the date of payment of the dividends and during the whole of our prior tax year; (ii) not more than 25% of our gross income in the tax year preceding the payment of the dividends consists of interest or dividends, other than dividends or interest received from subsidiary corporations 50% or more of the outstanding shares of voting stock of which is owned by us at the time such dividends or interest are received by us; and (iii) the dividends are not sourced from income derived during a period for which we were entitled to the reduced tax rate applicable to a Preferred Enterprise under the Investment Law. If the dividends are sourced from income derived during a period for which we are entitled to the reduced tax rate applicable to a Preferred Enterprise or a Preferred Technology Enterprise under the Investment Law, to the extent that the first two conditions detailed above are met, the Israeli tax rate applicable to such dividends should be 15%.
If the dividend is attributable partly to income derived from a Preferred Enterprise or a Preferred Technology Enterprise and partly to other sources of income, the tax rate will be a blended rate reflecting the relative portions of the various types of income. We cannot assure you that we will designate the profits that are being distributed in a way that will reduce shareholders’ tax liability.
Estate and gift tax
Israeli law presently does not impose estate tax.
Israeli law also does not presently impose gift taxes upon the transfer of assets to Israeli resident individuals so long as it is demonstrated to the satisfaction of the Israel Tax Authority that the transfer was executed in good faith
72
U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations
TO ENSURE COMPLIANCE WITH U.S. TREASURY DEPARTMENT CIRCULAR 230, PROSPECTIVE HOLDERS OF ORDINARY SHARES ARE HEREBY NOTIFIED THAT: (A) ANY DISCUSSION OF U.S. FEDERAL TAX ISSUES IN THIS MEMORANDUM IS NOT INTENDED OR WRITTEN TO BE RELIED UPON, AND CANNOT BE RELIED UPON, BY HOLDERS OF ORDINARY SHARES FOR THE PURPOSE OF AVOIDING PENALTIES THAT MAY BE IMPOSED ON SUCH HOLDERS UNDER THE INTERNAL REVENUE CODE OF 1986, AS AMENDED (THE “CODE”); (B) SUCH DISCUSSION IS WRITTEN IN CONNECTION WITH THE PROMOTION OR MARKETING OF THE TRANSACTIONS OR MATTERS ADDRESSED HEREIN; AND (C) PROSPECTIVE HOLDERS OF ORDINARY SHARES SHOULD SEEK ADVICE BASED ON THEIR PARTICULAR CIRCUMSTANCES FROM AN INDEPENDENT TAX ADVISOR.
The following discussion applies only to a holder of our ordinary shares who qualifies as a “U.S. holder”. For purposes of this discussion a “U.S. holder” is a beneficial owner of our ordinary shares that is for U.S. federal income tax purposes:
| ● | an individual who is a U.S. citizen or U.S. resident alien; |
| ● | a corporation (or other entity taxable as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes) that was created or organized under the laws of the U.S., any state thereof or the District of Columbia; |
| ● | an estate whose income is subject to U.S. federal income taxation regardless of its source; or |
| ● | a trust (i) if a U.S. court is able to exercise primary supervision over the administration of the trust and one or more “United States persons” (as defined in the Code) have the authority to control all substantial decisions of the trust, or (ii) if the trust has a valid election in effect under applicable Treasury Regulations to be treated as a “United States person.” |
This discussion is based on current provisions of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, which we refer to as the Code, current and proposed Treasury regulations promulgated under the Code, and administrative and judicial decisions as of the date of this report, all of which are subject to change or differing interpretation, possibly on a retroactive basis. This discussion does not address any aspect of state, local or non-U.S. tax laws. Except where noted, this discussion addresses only those holders who hold our shares as capital assets. This discussion does not purport to be a comprehensive description of all of the tax considerations that may be relevant to U.S. holders entitled to special treatment under U.S. federal income tax laws, for example, financial institutions, insurance companies, tax-exempt organizations and broker/dealers, and it does not address all aspects of U.S. federal income taxation that may be relevant to any particular shareholder based on the shareholder’s individual circumstances. In particular, this discussion does not address the potential application of the alternative minimum tax, or the special U.S. federal income tax rules applicable in special circumstances, including to U.S. holders who:
| ● | have elected mark-to-market accounting; |
| ● | hold our ordinary shares as part of a straddle, hedge or conversion transaction with other investments; |
| ● | own directly, indirectly or by attribution at least 10% of our voting power; |
| ● | are tax exempt entities; |
| ● | are persons who acquire shares in connection with employment or other performance of services; and |
| ● | have a functional currency that is not the U.S. dollar. |
73
Additionally, this discussion does not consider the tax treatment of partnerships or persons who hold ordinary shares through a partnership or other pass-through entity or the possible application of U.S. federal gift or estate taxes.
EACH PROSPECTIVE SHAREHOLDER IS URGED TO CONSULT ITS TAX ADVISOR REGARDING THE PARTICULAR TAX CONSEQUENCES TO SUCH HOLDER OF OWNERSHIP AND DISPOSITION OF OUR SHARES, AS WELL AS ANY TAX CONSEQUENCES THAT MAY ARISE UNDER THE LAWS OF ANY OTHER RELEVANT FOREIGN, STATE, LOCAL, OR OTHER TAXING JURISDICTION.
Taxation of Distributions Paid on Ordinary Shares
Subject to the description of the passive foreign investment company rules below, a U.S. holder will be required to include in gross income as ordinary income from sources outside of the U.S. the amount of any distribution paid on ordinary shares, including any Israeli taxes withheld from the amount paid, to the extent the distribution is paid out of our current or accumulated earnings and profits as determined for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Distributions in excess of these earnings and profits will be applied against and will reduce the U.S. holder’s basis in the ordinary shares and, to the extent in excess of this basis, will be treated as gain from the sale or exchange of ordinary shares. We do not expect to maintain calculations of our earnings and profits under U.S. federal income tax principles and, therefore, U.S. holder should expect that the entire amount of any distribution generally will be reported as dividend income.
On December 22, 2017, President Trump signed into law the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, or the TCJA. The TCJA provides a 100% deduction for the foreign-source portion of dividends received from “specified 10-percent owned foreign corporations” by U.S. corporate holders, subject to a one-year holding period. No foreign tax credit, including Israeli withholding tax (or deduction for foreign taxes paid with respect to qualifying dividends) would be permitted for foreign taxes paid or accrued with respect to a qualifying dividend. Deduction would be unavailable for “hybrid dividends.” The dividend received deduction enacted under the TCJA may not apply to dividends from a passive foreign investment company, as discussed below.
Certain dividend income may be eligible for a reduced rate of taxation. Dividend income will be taxed to a non-corporate holder at the applicable long-term capital gains rate if the dividend is received from a “qualified foreign corporation,” and the shareholder of such foreign corporation holds such stock for more than 60 days during the 121 day period that begins on the date that is 60 days before the ex-dividend date for the stock. The holding period is tolled for any days on which the shareholder has reduced his risk of loss with respect to the stock. A “qualified foreign corporation” is either a corporation that is eligible for the benefits of a comprehensive income tax treaty with the U.S. or a corporation whose stock, the shares of which are with respect to any dividend paid by such corporation, is readily tradable on an established securities market in the United States (including, for this purpose, ADSs traded on a securities market in the United States with respect to the foreign corporation’s shares). However, a foreign corporation will not be treated as a “qualified foreign corporation” if it is a passive foreign investment company (as discussed below) for the year in which the dividend was paid or the preceding year. Distributions of current or accumulated earnings and profits paid in foreign currency to a U.S. holder will be includible in the income of a U.S. holder in a U.S. dollar amount calculated by reference to the exchange rate in effect on the day the distribution is received by the U.S. holder (or, in the case of ADSs, on the day the distribution is received by the depository). A U.S. holder that receives a foreign currency distribution and converts the foreign currency into U.S. dollars subsequent to receipt will have foreign exchange gain or loss based on any appreciation or depreciation in the value of the foreign currency against the U.S. dollar, which will generally be U.S. source ordinary income or loss.
As described above, we will generally be required to withhold Israeli income tax from any dividends paid to holders who are not residents of Israel. See “- Israeli Tax Considerations—Taxation of Dividends” above.
With respect to certain non-corporate U.S. Holders, including individual U.S. Holders, dividends may be taxed at the lower capital gain rates applicable to “qualified dividend income,” provided (1) our ordinary shares are readily tradable on an established securities market in the United States (such as Nasdaq), (2) we are neither a PFIC nor treated as such with respect to you (as discussed above) for either the taxable year in which the dividend was paid or the preceding taxable year, (3) certain holding period requirements are met and (4) you are not under an obligation to make related payments with respect to positions in substantially similar or related property. As discussed above under “Passive foreign investment company,” there is a significant risk that we will be a PFIC for U.S. federal income tax purposes, and, as a result, the qualified dividend rate may be unavailable with respect to dividends we pay.
74
The amount of any distribution paid in a currency other than U.S. dollars will be equal to the U.S. dollar value of such currency on the date such distribution is includible in your income, regardless of whether the payment is in fact converted into U.S. dollars at that time. The amount of any distribution of property other than cash will be the fair market value of such property on the date of distribution.
Any dividends will constitute foreign source income for foreign tax credit limitation purposes. If the dividends are taxed as qualified dividend income (as discussed above), the amount of the dividend taken into account for purposes of calculating the foreign tax credit limitation will in general be limited to the gross amount of the dividend, multiplied by the reduced tax rate applicable to qualified dividend income and divided by the highest tax rate normally applicable to dividends. The limitation on foreign taxes eligible for credit is calculated separately with respect to specific classes of income. For this purpose, dividends distributed by us with respect to our ordinary shares will generally constitute “passive category income” but could, in the case of certain U.S. Holders, constitute “general category income.”
If Israeli withholding taxes apply to any dividends paid to you with respect to our ordinary shares, subject to certain conditions and limitations, such withholding taxes may be treated as foreign taxes eligible for credit against your U.S. federal income tax liability. Instead of claiming a credit, you may elect to deduct such taxes in computing taxable income, subject to applicable limitations. If a refund of the tax withheld is available under the applicable laws of Israel or under the Israel-U.S. income tax treaty (the “Treaty”), the amount of tax withheld that is refundable will not be eligible for such credit against your U.S. federal income tax liability (and will not be eligible for the deduction against your U.S. federal taxable income). The rules relating to the determination of the foreign tax credit are complex, and you should consult your tax advisor regarding the availability of a foreign tax credit in your particular circumstances, including the effects of the Treaty.
Special rules, described below, apply if we are a passive foreign investment company.
Taxation of the Disposition of Ordinary Shares
Subject to the description of the passive foreign investment company rules below, upon the sale, exchange or other disposition of our ordinary shares, a U.S. holder will recognize capital gain or loss in an amount equal to the difference between the U.S. holder’s basis in the ordinary shares, which is usually the cost of those shares, and the amount realized on the disposition. Capital gain from the sale, exchange or other disposition of ordinary shares held more than one year is long-term capital gain and is eligible for a reduced rate of taxation for non-corporate holders. In general, gain realized by a U.S. holder on a sale, exchange or other disposition of ordinary shares generally will be treated as U.S. source income for U.S. foreign tax credit purposes. A loss realized by a U.S. holder on the sale, exchange or other disposition of ordinary shares is generally allocated to U.S. source income. However, regulations require the loss to be allocated to foreign source income to the extent certain dividends were received by the taxpayer within the 24-month period preceding the date on which the taxpayer recognized the loss. The deductibility of a loss realized on the sale, exchange or other disposition of ordinary shares is subject to limitations for both corporate and individual shareholders.
A U.S. holder that uses the cash method of accounting calculates the U.S. dollar value of the proceeds received from a sale of ordinary shares as of the date that the sale settles, and will generally have no additional foreign currency gain or loss on the sale, while a U.S. holder that uses the accrual method of accounting is required to calculate the value of the proceeds of the sale as of the trade date and may therefore realize foreign currency gain or loss, unless the U.S. holder has elected to use the settlement date to determine its proceeds of sale for purposes of calculating this foreign currency gain or loss. In addition, a U.S. holder that receives foreign currency upon disposition of our ordinary shares and converts the foreign currency into U.S. dollars subsequent to receipt will have foreign exchange gain or loss based on any appreciation or depreciation in the value of the foreign currency against the U.S. dollar, which will generally be U.S. source ordinary income or loss.
75
Tax Consequences if we are a Passive Foreign Investment Company
Special federal income tax rules apply to the timing and character of income received by a U.S. holder of a PFIC. We will be a PFIC if either 75% or more of our gross income in a tax year is passive income or the average percentage of our assets (by value) that produce or are held for the production of passive income in a tax year is at least 50%. The IRS has indicated that cash balances, even if held as working capital, are considered to be assets that produce passive income. Therefore, any determination of PFIC status will depend upon the sources of our income, and the relative values of passive and non- passive assets, including goodwill. Furthermore, because the goodwill of a publicly-traded corporation is largely a function of the trading price of its shares, the valuation of that goodwill is subject to significant change throughout each year. A determination as to a corporation’s status as a PFIC must be made annually. We believe we may be a PFIC during 2022 and although we have not determined whether we will be a PFIC in 2023, or in any subsequent year, our operating results for any such years may cause us to be a PFIC. Although we may not be a PFIC in any one year, the PFIC taint remains with respect to those years in which we were or are a PFIC and the special PFIC taxation regime will continue to apply.
If we are classified as a PFIC, a special tax regime would apply to both (a) any “excess distribution” by us (generally, the U.S. holder’s ratable share of distributions in any year that are greater than 125% of the average annual distributions received by such U.S. holder in the three preceding years or its holding period, if shorter) and (b) any gain recognized on the sale or other disposition of your ordinary shares. Under this special regime, any excess distribution and recognized gain would be treated as ordinary income and the federal income tax on such ordinary income would be determined as follows: (i) the amount of the excess distribution or gain would be allocated ratably over the U.S. holder’s holding period for our ordinary shares; (ii) U.S. federal income tax would be determined for the amounts allocated to the first year in the holding period in which we were classified as a PFIC and for all subsequent years (except the year in which the excess distribution was received or the sale occurred) by applying the highest applicable tax rate in effect in the year to which the income was allocated; (iii) an interest charge would be added to this tax, calculated by applying the underpayment interest rate to the tax for each year determined under the preceding sentence from the due date of the income tax return for such year to the due date of the return for the year in which the excess distribution or sale occurs; and (iv) amounts allocated to a year prior to the first year in the U.S. holder’s holding period in which we were classified as a PFIC or to the year in which the excess distribution or the disposition occurred would be taxed as ordinary income but without the imposition of an interest charge.
A U.S. holder may generally avoid the PFIC “excess distribution” regime by electing to treat his PFIC shares as a “qualified electing fund.” If a U.S. holder elects to treat PFIC shares as a qualified electing fund, also known as a “QEF Election,” the U.S. holder must include annually in gross income (for each year in which PFIC status is met) his pro rata share of the PFIC’s ordinary earnings and net capital gains, whether or not such amounts are actually distributed to the U.S. holder. A U.S. holder may make a QEF Election with respect to a PFIC for any taxable year in which he was a shareholder. A QEF Election is effective for the year in which the election is made and all subsequent taxable years of the U.S. holder. Procedures exist for both retroactive elections and the filing of protective statements. A U.S. holder making the QEF Election must make the election on or before the due date, as extended, for the filing of the U.S. holder’s income tax return for the first taxable year to which the election will apply.
A QEF Election is made on a shareholder-by-shareholder basis. A U.S. holder must make a QEF Election by completing Form 8621, Return by a Shareholder of a Passive Foreign Investment Company or Qualified Electing Fund, and attaching it to the holder’s timely filed U.S. federal income tax return.
Alternatively, a U.S. holder may also generally avoid the PFIC regime by making a so-called “mark-to-market” election. Such an election may be made by a U.S. holder with respect to ordinary shares owned at the close of such holder’s taxable year, provided that we are a PFIC and the ordinary shares are considered “marketable stock.” The ordinary shares will be marketable stock if they are regularly traded on a national securities exchange that is registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or the national market system established pursuant to section 11A of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, or an equivalent regulated and supervised foreign securities exchange.
76
If a U.S. holder were to make a mark-to-market election with respect to ordinary shares, such holder generally will be required to include in its annual gross income the excess of the fair market value of the PFIC shares at year-end over such shareholder’s adjusted tax basis in the ordinary shares. Such amounts will be taxable to the U.S. holder as ordinary income, and will increase the holder’s tax basis in the ordinary shares. Alternatively, if in any year, a United States holder’s tax basis exceeds the fair market value of the ordinary shares at year-end, then the U.S. holder generally may take an ordinary loss deduction to the extent of the aggregate amount of ordinary income inclusions for prior years not previously recovered through loss deductions and any loss deductions taken will reduce the shareholder’s tax basis in the ordinary shares. Gains from an actual sale or other disposition of the ordinary shares with a “mark-to-market” election will be treated as ordinary income, and any losses incurred on an actual sale or other disposition of the ordinary shares will be treated as an ordinary loss to the extent of any prior “unreversed inclusions” as defined in Section 1296(d) of the Code.
The mark-to-market election is made on a shareholder-by-shareholder basis. The mark-to-market election is made by completing Form 8621, Return by a Shareholder of a Passive Foreign Investment Company or Qualified Electing Fund, and attaching it to the holder’s timely filed U.S. federal income tax return for the year of election. Such election is effective for the taxable year for which made and all subsequent years until either (a) the ordinary shares cease to be marketable stock or (b) the election is revoked with the consent of the IRS.
In view of the complexity of the issues regarding our treatment as a PFIC, U.S. shareholders are urged to consult their own tax advisors for guidance as to our status as a PFIC.
Information Reporting and Back-Up Withholding
U.S. holders generally are subject to information reporting requirements with respect to dividends paid in the U.S. on ordinary shares. Existing regulations impose information reporting and back-up withholding on dividends paid in the U.S. on ordinary shares and on proceeds from the disposition of ordinary shares unless the U.S. holder provides IRS Form W-9 or otherwise establishes an exemption.
Prospective investors should consult their tax advisors concerning the effect, if any, of these Treasury regulations on an investment in ordinary shares. Back-up withholding is not an additional tax. The amount of any back-up withholding will be allowed as a credit against a holder’s U.S. federal income tax liability and may entitle the holder to a refund, provided that specified required information is furnished to the IRS on a timely basis.
Documents on Display
We file reports and other information with the SEC under the Exchange Act and the regulations thereunder applicable to foreign private issuers. You may inspect and copy reports and other information filed by us with the SEC at the SEC’s public reference facilities described below. Although as a foreign private issuer we are not required to file periodic information as frequently or as promptly as U.S. companies, we generally announce publicly our interim and year-end results promptly on a voluntary basis and will file that periodic information with the SEC under cover of Form 6-K. As a foreign private issuer, we are also exempt from the rules under the Exchange Act prescribing the furnishing and content of proxy statements, and our officers, directors and principal shareholders are exempt from the reporting and other provisions in Section 16 of the Exchange Act.
You can review our SEC filings by accessing the SEC’s internet site at http://www.sec.gov.
We also maintain a website at http://www.xtlbio.com, but information contained on our website does not constitute a part of this report and is not incorporated by reference into this report.
ITEM 11. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK
Interest Rate Risk. The primary objective of our investment activities is to preserve principal while maximizing our income from investments and minimizing our market risk. We invest in bank deposits and marketable securities in accordance with our investment policy. As of December 31, 2023, our portfolio of financial instruments consists of cash and cash equivalents and marketable securities. Due to the short-term nature of these investments, we believe we have no material exposure to interest rate risk arising from our investments.
77
Foreign Currency and Inflation Risk. We hold most of our cash, cash equivalents and bank deposits in U.S. dollars. While a substantial amount of our operating expenses are in U.S. dollars, we incur a portion of our expenses in New Israeli Shekels. In addition, we also pay for some of our services and supplies in the local currencies of our suppliers, as our head office is located in Israel. As a result, we are exposed to the risk that the U.S. dollar will be devalued against the New Israeli Shekel or other currencies, and as a result our financial results could be harmed if we are unable to guard against currency fluctuations in Israel or other countries in which services and supplies are obtained in the future. Accordingly, we may enter into currency hedging transactions to decrease the risk of financial exposure from fluctuations in the exchange rates of currencies. The Company’s treasury risk management policy is to hold NIS-denominated cash and cash equivalents and short-term deposits in the amount of the anticipated NIS-denominated liabilities for six consecutive months from time to time and this in line with the directives of the Company’s Board. These measures, however, may not adequately protect us from the adverse effects of inflation in Israel. In addition, we are exposed to the risk that the rate of inflation in Israel will exceed the rate of devaluation of the New Israeli Shekel in relation to the dollar or that the timing of any devaluation may lag behind inflation in Israel.
As of December 31, 2023, had the Group’s functional currency strengthened by 10% against the NIS with all other variables remaining constant, loss for the year would have been $144 thousand lower (2022 - loss would have been $152 thousand higher; 2021 - profit approximately $328 thousand lower), mainly as a result of exchange rate changes on translation of other accounts receivable and exchange rate changes on NIS-denominated cash and cash equivalents.
Credit Risk. Credit risks are managed at the Group level. The Group has no significant concentrations of credit risk. The Group has a policy to ensure collection through sales of its products to wholesalers with an appropriate credit history and through retail sales in cash or by credit card.
Liquidity Risk. Cash flow forecasting is performed by the Group’s management both in the entities of the Group and aggregated by the Group. The Group’s management monitors rolling forecasts of the Group’s liquidity requirements to ensure it has sufficient cash to meet operations. The Group currently does not use credit facilities. Forecasting takes into consideration several factors such as raising capital to finance operations and certain liquidity ratios that the Group strives to achieve.
Surplus cash held to finance operating activities is invested in interest bearing current accounts, time deposits and other similar channels. These channels were chosen by reference to their appropriate maturities or liquidity to provide sufficient cash balances to the Group as determined by the abovementioned forecasts.
ITEM 12. DESCRIPTION OF SECURITIES OTHER THAN EQUITY SECURITIES
Not applicable.
78
PART II
ITEM 13. DEFAULTS, DIVIDEND ARREARAGES AND DELINQUENCIES
Not applicable.
ITEM 14. MATERIAL MODIFICATIONS TO THE RIGHTS OF SECURITY HOLDERS AND USE OF PROCEEDS
Not applicable.
ITEM 15. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES
(a) Disclosure controls and procedures. Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining effective disclosure controls and procedures, as defined under Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. As of December 31, 2023, an evaluation was performed under the supervision and with the participation of our management of the effectiveness of the design and operation of our disclosure controls and procedures. Based on that evaluation, management, including the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures as of December 31, 2023 were effective.
(b) Management’s annual report on internal controls over financial reporting. Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate control over financial reporting, as such term is defined in Rule 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) of the Exchange Act. Under the supervision and with the participation of our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and our Chief Financial Officer, we conducted an evaluation of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2023. In making this assessment, our management used the criteria established in Internal Control - Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO) (2013). Based on that evaluation, our management concludes our internal control over financial reporting was effective as of December 31, 2023.
All internal control systems, no matter how well designed, have inherent limitations. Therefore, even those systems determined to be effective may not prevent or detect misstatements and can provide only reasonable assurances with respect to the preparation and presentation of financial statements.
(c) Not applicable.
(d) Internal controls. There has been no significant change in our internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the year ended December 31, 2023.
ITEM 16. RESERVED
ITEM 16A. AUDIT COMMITTEE FINANCIAL EXPERT
Our Board of Directors has determined that Osnat Hillel Fain, chairperson of our audit committee, is an audit committee financial expert, as defined by applicable SEC regulations, and is independent in accordance with applicable SEC regulations.
ITEM 16B. CODE OF ETHICS
We have adopted a Code of Conduct applicable to all directors and officers of our company, including our principal executive officer, principal financial officer, principal accounting officer or controller and other individuals performing similar functions. A copy of our Code of Conduct can be found on our website (http://www.xtlbio.com) and may also be obtained, without charge, upon a written request addressed to our investor relations department, XTL Biopharmaceuticals Ltd., 26 Ben-Gurion St., Ramat Gan 5112001, Israel.
ITEM 16C. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTANT FEES AND SERVICES
Policy on Pre-Approval of Audit and Non-Audit Services of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
Our audit committee is responsible
for the oversight of the independent registered public accounting firm’s work. The audit committee’s policy is to pre-approve
all audit and non-audit services provided by our independent registered public accounting firm, Somekh Chaikin, a member firm of KPMG
International (“KPMG”), located in Tel Aviv, Israel, PCAOB ID No.
79
Principal Accountant Fees and Services
The following table presents the aggregate amount of fees for professional services rendered to the Company by our principal accountant, for the years ended December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022:
| 2023 | 2022 | |||||||
| U.S. dollars in thousands | ||||||||
| Audit fees | 80 | 75 | ||||||
| Tax services | 5 | 5 | ||||||
| Total | 85 | 80 | ||||||
The audit fees for the year ended December 31, 2023 and 2022 were for professional services rendered for the audit of our annual consolidated financial statements and for review of interim consolidated financial information.
In the fiscal years ended December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022 all of the services performed by our independent registered public accounting firm were pre-approved by the audit committee.
ITEM 16D. EXEMPTIONS FROM THE LISTING STANDARDS FOR AUDIT COMMITTEES
Not applicable.
ITEM 16E. PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES BY THE ISSUER AND AFFILIATED PURCHASERS
None.
ITEM 16F. CHANGE IN REGISTRANT’S REGISTERED ACCOUNTANT
Not applicable
ITEM 16G. CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
Under the NASDAQ corporate governance rules, foreign private issuers are exempt from many of the requirements if they instead elect to comply with home country practices and disclose where they have elected to do so. As noted above, we are currently in compliance with NASDAQ rules relating to the independence of our board of directors and our audit committee. Our board of directors and our audit committee has adopted a written charter for the audit committee setting forth the responsibilities of the audit committee as required by the SEC and NASDAQ. Also as noted above, we currently have a nomination committee to identify, review and recommend to the Board of Directors individuals believed to be qualified to become directors. We have adopted a written charter for the nomination committee, as required by NASDAQ. We currently have in place a compensation committee, as discussed in more detail above. We have adopted a written charter for the compensation committee.
The Company does not follow NASDAQ Rule 5635(d), which requires shareholder approval in order to enter into any transaction, other than a public offering, involving the sale, issuance or potential issuance by the Company of ordinary shares (or securities convertible into or exercisable for ordinary shares) equal to 20% or more of the outstanding share capital of the Company or 20% or more of the voting power outstanding before the issuance for less than the greater of book or market value of the ordinary shares. We will follow Israeli law with respect to any requirement to obtain shareholder approval in connection with any private placements of equity securities.
The Company does not follow NASDAQ Rule 5635(c), which requires shareholder approval prior to an issuance of securities when a stock option or purchase plan is to be established or materially amended or other equity compensation arrangement made or materially amended, pursuant to which stock may be acquired by officers, directors, employees or consultants. We will follow Israeli law with respect to any requirement to obtain shareholder approval in connection with such issuances.
In August 2005, our board of directors adopted a Code of Conduct that applies to all employees, directors and officers of our company, including our principal executive officer, principal financial officer, principal accounting officer or controller and other individuals performing similar functions. A copy of our Code of Conduct may be obtained, without charge, upon a written request addressed to our investor relations department, XTL Biopharmaceuticals Ltd., 26 Ben-Gurion St., Ramat Gan 5112001, Israel.
80
ITEM 16H. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURE
Not applicable.
ITEM 16I. DISCLOSURE REGARDING FOREIGN JURISDICTIONS THAT PREVENT INSPECTIONS
Not applicable.
ITEM 16J. INSIDER TRADING POLICIES
Not applicable.
ITEM 16K. CYBERSECURITY
We have established policies and processes for assessing, identifying, and managing material risk from cybersecurity threats, and have integrated these processes into our overall risk management systems and processes. We routinely assess material risks from cybersecurity threats, including any potential unauthorized occurrence on or conducted through our information systems that may result in adverse effects on the confidentiality, integrity, or availability of our information systems or any information residing therein.
We conduct periodic risk assessments to identify cybersecurity threats, as well as assessments in the event of a material change in our business practices that may affect information systems that are vulnerable to such cybersecurity threats. These risk assessments include identification of reasonably foreseeable internal and external risks, the likelihood and potential damage that could result from such risks, and the sufficiency of existing policies, procedures, systems, and safeguards in place to manage such risks.
Following these risk assessments, we re-design, implement, and maintain reasonable safeguards to minimize identified risks; reasonably address any identified gaps in existing safeguards; and regularly monitor the effectiveness of our safeguards. Primary responsibility for assessing, monitoring and managing our cybersecurity risks rests with our chief financial officer, to manage the risk assessment and mitigation process.
Our audit committee is responsible for cybersecurity oversight and monitoring risk. Management informs the audit committee of such risk by committee meetings.
As part of our overall risk management system, we monitor and test our safeguards and train our key consultants on these safeguards, in collaboration with IT and management. Personnel at all levels and departments are made aware of our cybersecurity policies through trainings.
We engage consultants, or other third parties in connection with our risk assessment processes. These service providers assist us to design and implement our cybersecurity policies and procedures, as well as to monitor and test our safeguards. We are in the process of requiring each third-party service provider to certify that it has the ability to implement and maintain appropriate security measures, consistent with all applicable laws, to implement and maintain reasonable security measures in connection with their work with us, and to promptly report any suspected breach of its security measures that may affect our company.
As of the date of this report, we have not encountered cybersecurity challenges that have materially impaired our operations or financial standing. For additional information regarding risks from cybersecurity threats, please refer to Item 1A, “Risk Factors,” in this annual report on Form 20-F.
81
PART III
ITEM 17. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
We have elected to furnish financial statements and related information specified in Item 18.
ITEM 18. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
XTL BIOPHARMACEUTICALS LTD.
CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
AS OF DECEMBER 31, 2023
INDEX
| Page | |
| Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm | F-2 |
| Consolidated Financial Statements - in U.S. dollars: | |
| Statements of Financial Position | F-3 |
| Statements of Comprehensive Income (Loss) | F-4 |
| Statements of Changes in Equity | F 5 - F 6 |
| Statements of Cash Flows | F 7 - F 8 |
| Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements | F 9 - F 29 |
- - - - - - - - - - - -
F-1
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
To the Shareholders and Board of Directors
XTL Biopharmaceuticals Ltd.:
Opinion on the Consolidated Financial Statements
We have audited the accompanying consolidated statements of financial position of XTL Biopharmaceuticals Ltd. and its subsidiary (hereinafter – “the Company”) as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, the related consolidated statements of comprehensive income (loss), changes in equity, and cash flows for each of the years in the three-year period ended December 31, 2023, and the related notes (collectively, “the consolidated financial statements”).
In our opinion, the consolidated financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the years in the three-year period ended December 31, 2023, in conformity with International Financial Reporting Standards as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board.
Basis for Opinion
These consolidated financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these consolidated financial statements based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (PCAOB) and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.
We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the consolidated financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. The Company is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its internal control over financial reporting. As part of our audits, we are required to obtain an understanding of internal control over financial reporting but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion.
Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the consolidated financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the consolidated financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the consolidated financial statements. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.
Critical Audit Matters
Critical audit matters are matters arising from the current period audit of the consolidated financial statements that were communicated or required to be communicated to the audit committee and that (i) relate to accounts or disclosures that are material to the consolidated financial statements and (ii) involved our especially challenging, subjective, or complex judgments. We determined that there are no critical audit matters.
| /s/ | |
| Somekh Chaikin | |
| Member Firm of KPMG International |
We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2022.
April 30, 2024
F-2
| XTL BIOPHARMACEUTICALS LTD. |
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF FINANCIAL POSITION |
| December 31, | ||||||||||
| 2023 | 2022 | |||||||||
| Note | U.S. dollars in thousands | |||||||||
| ASSETS | ||||||||||
| CURRENT ASSETS: | ||||||||||
| Cash and cash equivalents | 5 | |||||||||
| Marketable securities – InterCure Ltd. | 6 | |||||||||
| Prepaid expenses and other current assets | 7 | |||||||||
| NON-CURRENT ASSETS: | ||||||||||
| Intangible assets | 8 | |||||||||
| Total assets | ||||||||||
| LIABILITIES AND EQUITY | ||||||||||
| CURRENT LIABILITIES: | ||||||||||
| Accounts payable | 9 | |||||||||
| EQUITY ATTRIBUTABLE TO EQUITY HOLDERS OF THE COMPANY: | 11, 12 | |||||||||
| Share capital - ordinary shares of NIS | ||||||||||
| Additional paid in capital | ||||||||||
| Reserve from transactions with non-controlling interests | ||||||||||
| Accumulated deficit | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||||
| Total equity | ||||||||||
| Total liabilities and equity | ||||||||||
The accompanying notes are an integral part of the consolidated financial statements.
| Shlomo Shalev | Doron Turgeman | Itay Weinstein | ||
| Chief Executive Officer | Chairman of the Board | Chief Financial Officer |
Date of approval of the financial statements by the Company’s Board of Directors: April 30, 2024.
F-3
| XTL BIOPHARMACEUTICALS LTD. |
| CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME (LOSS) |
| Year ended December 31, | ||||||||||||||
| 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | ||||||||||||
| Note | U.S. dollars in thousands (except per share data) | |||||||||||||
| Research and development expenses | 13 | ( | ) | ( | ) | ( | ) | |||||||
| General and administrative expenses | 14 | ( | ) | ( | ) | ( | ) | |||||||
| Operating loss | ( | ) | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||||||
| Revaluation of warrants to purchase ADS's | 10 | |||||||||||||
| Revaluation of marketable securities | 6 | ( | ) | ( | ) | |||||||||
| Other finance income | ||||||||||||||
| Other finance expenses | ( | ) | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||||||
| Finance income (expenses), net | 15 | ( | ) | ( | ) | |||||||||
| Total comprehensive income (loss) for the year | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||||||||
| Basic earnings (loss) per share (in U.S. dollars): | 18 | ( | ) | ( | ) | |||||||||
| Diluted loss per share (in U.S. dollars): | 18 | ( | ) | ( | ) | ( | ) | |||||||
| Weighted average number of issued ordinary shares | ||||||||||||||
| Diluted weighted average number of ordinary shares | ||||||||||||||
The accompanying notes are an integral part of the consolidated financial statements.
F-4
| XTL BIOPHARMACEUTICALS LTD. |
| CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN EQUITY |
| Attributable to equity holders of the Company | ||||||||||||||||||||
Share capital | Additional paid in capital | Accumulated deficit | Reserve from transactions with non-controlling interests | Total equity | ||||||||||||||||
| U.S. dollars in thousands | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Balance as of January 1, 2023 | ( | ) | | |||||||||||||||||
| loss for the year | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||||||||||||||
| Share-based payment | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Balance as of December 31, 2023 | ( | ) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Attributable to equity holders of the Company | ||||||||||||||||||||
Share capital | Additional paid in capital | Accumulated deficit | Reserve from transactions with non-controlling interests | Total equity | ||||||||||||||||
| U.S. dollars in thousands | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Balance as of January 1, 2022 | ( | ) | | |||||||||||||||||
| loss for the year | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||||||||||||||
| Share-based payment | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Balance as of December 31, 2022 | ( | ) | ||||||||||||||||||
The accompanying notes are an integral part of the consolidated financial statements.
F-5
| XTL BIOPHARMACEUTICALS LTD. |
| CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN EQUITY |
| Attributable to equity holders of the Company | ||||||||||||||||||||
Share capital | Additional paid in capital | Accumulated deficit | Reserve from transactions with non-controlling interests | Total equity | ||||||||||||||||
| U.S. dollars in thousands | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Balance as of January 1, 2021 | ( | ) | | |||||||||||||||||
| Income for the year | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Exercise of warrants to ordinary shares | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Share-based payment | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Balance as of December 31, 2021 | ( | ) | ||||||||||||||||||
The accompanying notes are an integral part of the consolidated financial statements.
F-6
| XTL BIOPHARMACEUTICALS LTD. |
| CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS |
| Year ended December 31, | ||||||||||||
| 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | ||||||||||
| U.S. dollars in thousands | ||||||||||||
| Cash flows from operating activities: | ||||||||||||
| Income (loss) for the year | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||||||
| Adjustments to reconcile net income (loss) to net cash used in operating activities (a) | ( | ) | ||||||||||
| Net cash used in operating activities | ( | ) | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||||
| Cash flows from investing activities: | ||||||||||||
| Interest from bank deposit | ||||||||||||
| Net cash provided by investing activities | ||||||||||||
| Cash flows from financing activities: | ||||||||||||
| Exercise of warrants | ||||||||||||
| Net cash provided by financing activities | ||||||||||||
| Decrease in cash and cash equivalents | ( | ) | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||||
| Losses from exchange rate differences on cash and cash equivalents | ( | ) | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||||
| Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of year | ||||||||||||
| Cash and cash equivalents at end of year | ||||||||||||
The accompanying notes are an integral part of the consolidated financial statements.
F-7
| XTL BIOPHARMACEUTICALS LTD. |
| CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS |
| Year ended December 31, | ||||||||||||||
| 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | ||||||||||||
| Note | U.S. dollars in thousands | |||||||||||||
| (a) | Adjustments to reconcile net income (loss) to net cash used in operating activities: | |||||||||||||
| Income and expenses not involving operating cash flows: | ||||||||||||||
| Depreciation | ||||||||||||||
| Revaluation of marketable securities | 6 | ( | ||||||||||||
| Revaluation of warrants | ( |
) | ( | |||||||||||
| Share-based payment expense | 12 | |||||||||||||
| Losses from exchange rate differences on cash and cash equivalents | ||||||||||||||
| Interest income | ( |
) | ( |
) | ( | |||||||||
| ( | ||||||||||||||
| Changes in operating asset and liability items: | ||||||||||||||
| Decrease (increase) in prepaid expenses and other current assets | ( | |||||||||||||
| Increase (decrease) in accounts payable | ( |
) | ( | |||||||||||
| ( |
) | ( | ||||||||||||
| ( | ||||||||||||||
| (b) | Non-cash activities: | |||||||||||||
| Exercise of warrants | ||||||||||||||
The accompanying notes are an integral part of the consolidated financial statements.
F-8
| XTL BIOPHARMACEUTICALS LTD. |
| NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS |
| NOTE 1: | GENERAL |
| a. | A general description of the Company and its activity: |
XTL Biopharmaceuticals Ltd. (the “Company”) is engaged in the development of therapeutics for the treatment of unmet medical needs. The Company was incorporated under the Israeli Companies Law on March 9, 1993. The registered office of the Company is located at 26 Ben-Gurion Street, Ramat Gan, Israel. The Company has decided, at this time, to explore collaboration with a strategic partner in order to execute the clinical trials. In parallel, the Company is looking to expand and identify additional assets to add to XTL’s portfolio.
The Company’s American Depository Shares (“ADSs”) are listed for trading on the Nasdaq Capital Market (“Nasdaq”) and its ordinary shares are traded on the Tel-Aviv Stock Exchange (“TASE”).
As of December 31, 2023, the Company has a wholly-owned subsidiary, Xtepo Ltd. ("Xtepo"), which was incorporated in Israel.
The Company and Xtepo are heretofore referred to as “the Group”.
| b. | The Group has incurred continuing losses and depends on outside financing resources to continue its activities. Based on existing business plans, the Company’s management estimates that its outstanding cash and cash equivalent balances will allow the Company to finance its activities which include, but are not limited to maintenance and ongoing expenses related to hCDR1, for an additional period of at least 12 months from the date of this report. However, the amount of cash which the Company will need to finance its future activities depends on numerous factors which include, but are not limited to future projects which the Company might acquire or other business development activities such as acquiring new technologies and/or changes in circumstances which are liable to cause significant expenses to the Company in excess of management’s current and known expectations as of the date of these Financial Statements and which will require the Company to reallocate funds against plans, also due to circumstances beyond its control. |
The Company expects to incur additional losses in 2024 arising from research and development activities, testing additional technologies and operating activities, which will be reflected in negative cash flows from operating activities. In order to perform the clinical trials aimed at developing a product until obtaining its marketing approval, the Company will need to raise additional funds by issuing securities. The Company decided to seek collaboration with third parties to finance the clinical trials and continues to seek additional assets.
| c. | In October 2023, Hamas terrorists infiltrated Israel’s southern border from the Gaza Strip and conducted a series of attacks on civilian and military targets, launched extensive rocket attacks and kidnapped many Israeli civilians and soldiers. Following the attack, Israel declared war against Hamas. In parallel, border clashes between Israel and the Hezbollah terrorist group on Israel’s northern border with Lebanon intensified and may escalate into a greater regional conflict. The Israel Defence Force (the “IDF”), the national military of Israel, is a conscripted military service, subject to certain exceptions. Since October 7, 2023, the IDF has called up several hundred thousand of its reserve forces to serve. |
F-9
| XTL BIOPHARMACEUTICALS LTD. |
| NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS |
| NOTE 1: | GENERAL (Cont.) |
As a result, its operations in Israel may be disrupted by such absences, which disruption may materially and adversely affect its business, prospects, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, since the commencement of these events, there have been continued hostilities along Israel’s northern border with Lebanon (with the Hezbollah terror organization) and southern border (with the Houthi movement in Yemen). It is possible that hostilities with Hezbollah in Lebanon will escalate, and that other terrorist organizations, including Palestinian military organizations in the West Bank as well as other hostile countries, such as Iran, will join the hostilities. Such clashes may escalate in the future into a greater regional conflict. Further, in April 2024, Iran launched a direct attack on Israel involving hundreds of drones, ballistic missiles and cruise missiles and may attack again. Although until approval of these financial statements, the impact of the war on the Company was negligible, it is currently not possible to predict the duration or severity of the ongoing conflict or its effects on the Company’s business, operations and financial conditions. The ongoing conflict is rapidly evolving and developing, and could disrupt its business and operations, and hamper its ability to raise additional funds or sell its securities, among others.
| d. | On March 19, 2024, the Company has entered into a binding term sheet, subject to due diligence, with THE SOCIAL PROXY Ltd. (the “Social Proxy”) an AI web data company, developing and powering a unique ethical, IP based, proxy and data extraction platform for AI & BI Applications at scale (the “Term Sheet”). |
Pursuant
to the Term Sheet, the Company will acquire all of the issued and outstanding share capital of Social Proxy on a fully diluted basis
(the “Transaction”) in exchange for the issuance by the Company to the shareholders of the Social Proxy, by way of a private
placement, such number of ordinary shares of the Company, representing immediately after such issuance,
Social Proxy will operate as fully owned subsidiary of the Company and its shareholders will be entitled to appoint 2 representatives to the Company’s board of directors out of a total of up to 7 directors.
The proposed Transaction is part of the Company’s strategy to expand its assets portfolio with high potential assets.
In addition, the Company secured
an investment commitment from several shareholders (including one shareholder, who is also a related party), in the amount of
US$
F-10
| XTL BIOPHARMACEUTICALS LTD. |
| NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS |
| NOTE 1: | GENERAL (Cont.) |
| e. | Definitions: |
“Related party” - as the term is defined in IAS 24, “Related Party Disclosures” (“IAS 24”).
| f. | Approval of financial statements: |
These financial statements were approved by the Company’s Board of Directors (“BoD”) on April 30, 2024.
| NOTE 2: | BASIS OF PREPARATION |
| a. | Statement of Compliance: |
The consolidated financial statements of the Company (the “Financial Statements”) have been prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs), as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB).
| b. | Basis of measurement: |
The Financial Statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention, except for financial assets and liabilities measured at fair value.
| c. | Use of judgments and estimates: |
The preparation of Financial Statements in conformity with IFRS requires the use of certain critical accounting estimates. It also requires the Group’s management to exercise its judgment in the process of applying the Group’s accounting policies. Actual results could significantly differ from the estimates and assumptions used by the Group’s management.
Estimates and judgments are continually evaluated and are based on historical experience and other factors, including expectations of future events that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances.
Critical accounting estimates and assumptions:
Accounting estimates will, by definition, seldom equal the related actual results. The estimates and assumptions that have a significant risk of causing a material adjustment to the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities within the next financial year are addressed below.
Intangible assets – the intangible asset is not yet available for use and therefore not amortized, an impairment in its respect is tested at least every year. In addition, discretion is exercised as to whether there is an indication to examine impairment more frequently.
F-11
| XTL BIOPHARMACEUTICALS LTD. |
| NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS |
| NOTE 2: | BASIS OF PREPARATION (Cont.) |
| d. | Translation of balances and transactions in foreign currency: |
| 1. | Functional currency and presentation currency: |
Items included in the Financial Statements of each of the Group’s entities are measured using the currency of the primary economic environment in which the entity operates (the “Functional Currency”). The consolidated financial statements are presented in U.S. dollars, which is the Functional Currency of each of the Group’s entities and the Company’s presentation currency and have been rounded to the nearest thousand.
| Exchange rate of | ||||
| U.S. $ 1 | ||||
| As of | NIS | |||
| December 31, 2023 | ||||
| December 31, 2022 | ||||
| 2. | Transactions and balances: |
Transactions in a currency other than the Functional Currency (“Foreign Currency”) are translated into the Functional Currency using the exchange rates at the dates of the transactions. After initial recognition, monetary assets and liabilities denominated in Foreign Currency are translated at the end of each reporting period into the Functional Currency at the exchange rate at that date.
Exchange differences are recognized in the statement of comprehensive income (loss) in the line-item finance income (expenses), net. Non-monetary assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currency and measured at cost are translated at the exchange rate at the date of the transaction.
| e. | Initial application of new standards, amendments to standards and interpretations |
Amendment to IAS 1, Presentation of Financial Statements: "Disclosure of Accounting Policies" (“the Amendment”)
According to the Amendment, companies must provide disclosure of their material accounting policies rather than their material accounting policies. Pursuant to the Amendment, accounting policy information is material if, when considered with other information disclosed in the financial statements, it can be reasonably be expected to influence decisions that the users of the financial statements make on the basis of those financial statements.
The Amendment also clarifies that accounting policy information is expected to be material if, without it, the users of the financial statements would be unable to understand other material information in the financial statements. The Amendment also clarifies that immaterial accounting policy information need not be disclosed.
As a result of applying the Amendment, the extent of the accounting policy disclosure provided in the financial statements for 2023 was reduced and adjusted according to the Company’s specific circumstances.
F-12
| XTL BIOPHARMACEUTICALS LTD. |
| NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS |
| NOTE 3: | MATERIAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES |
The accounting policies have been consistently applied to all the years presented, unless otherwise stated.
| a. | Intangible assets: |
| 1. | Unamortized intangible assets (licenses and patent rights): |
These assets are reviewed for impairment once a year and whenever there are indicators of a possible impairment, in accordance with the provisions of IAS 36, Impairment of Assets (see also Note 8). The amortization of an asset on a straight-line basis over its useful life begins when the development procedure is completed and the asset is available for use.
| 2. | Research and development: |
Research expenditures are recognized as expenses when incurred.
| b. | Impairment of non-financial assets: |
Intangible assets which are not yet available for use are not amortized and impairment in their respect is tested at least every year. Depreciable assets are reviewed for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount may not be recoverable. An impairment loss is recognized for the amount by which the asset’s carrying amount exceeds its recoverable amount. The recoverable amount is the higher of an asset’s fair value less costs to sell and value in use. For the purposes of assessing impairment, assets are grouped at the lowest levels for which there are separately identifiable cash flows (cash-generating units).
Non-financial assets that sustained impairment are reviewed for possible reversal of the impairment at each date of the statement of financial position. Company’s intangible asset is not yet available for use and therefore not amortized, an impairment in its respect is tested at least every year. In addition, discretion is exercised as to whether there is an indication to examine impairment more frequently.
| c. | Investments and other financial assets: |
The Group classifies its equity investments as financial assets at fair value through profit or loss (FVPL).
F-13
| XTL BIOPHARMACEUTICALS LTD. |
| NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS |
| NOTE 3: | MATERIAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES (Cont.) |
| d. | Share-based payment: |
The Group operates share-based payment plan to employees, directors, officers and to other service providers who render services that are settled with the Group’s equity instruments. In this framework, the Company grants employees, directors, officers and other service providers, from time to time, and, at its discretion, options to purchase shares of the Company. The fair value of options granted is measured according to the Black-Scholes model as of the date of grant (the date of the Company's Board of Directors' decision unless shareholders’ approval is required) and recognized as an expense in the statement of comprehensive income (loss) and correspondingly carried to equity. The total amount recognized as an expense over the vesting term of the options (the term over which all pre-established vesting conditions are expected to be satisfied) is determined by reference to the fair value of the options granted at grant date.
At each reporting date, the Company revises its estimates of the number of options that are expected to vest based on the non-market vesting conditions and recognizes the impact of the revision to original estimates, if any, in the statement of comprehensive income (loss) with a corresponding adjustment in equity.
When options are exercised, the Company issues new shares. The proceeds net of any directly attributable transaction costs are credited to share capital (nominal value) and share premium.
| e. | Earning (loss) per share: |
Basic earning (loss) per share is calculated by dividing the earnings attributable to equity holders of the Company by the weighted average number of ordinary shares outstanding during the period.
For the diluted earnings per share calculation, the weighted average number of shares outstanding during the year is adjusted for the average number of shares and ordinary shares that are potentially issuable in connection with service-provider share-based payment and warrants, using the treasury stock method. If the inclusion of potentially issuable shares would decrease loss per share, the potentially issuable shares are excluded from the weighted average number of shares outstanding used to calculate diluted earnings per share.
| f. | Leases: |
IFRS 16 requiring lessees to recognize a liability for a lease, reflecting the discounted value of future lease payments, and a “right to use” asset, with respect to all leases (except as stated below), with no distinction between financing lease and operating lease. However, IFRS 16 allows lessees not to apply these provisions for short-term leases, by groups of underlying assets, and for leases in which the underlying asset of the lease is of low value.
The Company elected to apply the practical expedient for short-term leases (leases with a lease term of 12 months or less).
The Company leases an office. The Company has a termination option with a notice period of 60 days. Therefore, the enforceable period of the lease is 60 days, and the lease qualifies for the short-term lease exemption.
F-14
| XTL BIOPHARMACEUTICALS LTD. |
| NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS |
| NOTE 4: | FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS AND FINANCIAL RISK MANAGEMENT |
| a. | Financial risk management: |
| 1. | Financial risk factors: |
The Group’s activities expose it to a variety of financial risks: market risks and liquidity risk. The Group’s overall risk management program focuses on the unpredictability of financial markets and seeks to minimize potential adverse effects on the Group’s financial performance.
Risk management is carried out by the Group’s management under policies approved by the Board. The Group’s treasury identifies, evaluates and defines financial risks. The Board provides written principles for overall risk management, as well as written policies covering specific areas, such as foreign exchange risk, interest rate risk and investment of excess liquidity.
| a. | Market risks: |
Foreign currency exchange rate risk:
The Group operates internationally and is exposed to foreign exchange risk arising from various currency exposures with respect to the NIS. Foreign exchange risk arises from assets and liabilities denominated in currency that is other than the functional currency.
The Group treasury’s risk management policy is to hold NIS-denominated cash and cash equivalents in the amount of the anticipated NIS-denominated liabilities for six to twelve consecutive months from time to time and this in line with the directives of the Company’s Board.
As
of December 31, 2023, had the Group’s functional currency strengthened by
F-15
| XTL BIOPHARMACEUTICALS LTD. |
| NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS |
| NOTE 4: | FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS AND FINANCIAL RISK MANAGEMENT (Cont.) |
Equity securities price risk:
The group’s exposure to equity securities price risk arises from investments held by the group and classified in the balance sheet at fair value through profit or loss (currently only the investment in the shares of InterCure Ltd).
| b. | Liquidity risk: |
Cash flow forecasting is performed by the Group’s management both in the entities of the Group and aggregated by the Group.
The Group’s management monitors rolling forecasts of the Group’s liquidity requirements to ensure it has sufficient cash to meet operations. The Group does not use borrowing credit facilities.
Surplus cash held to finance operating activities is invested in interest bearing current accounts and time deposits. The Company holds cash and deposits with banks and financial institutions and in the estimation of management, the credit risk for these financial instruments is low.
These channels were chosen by reference to their appropriate maturities or liquidity to provide sufficient cash balances to the Group as determined by the abovementioned forecasts.
As of December 31, 2023 and 2022, the maturity of the Group’s financial liabilities are less than one year from each of the reporting dates.
| 2. | Capital management: |
The Group’s objectives when managing capital are to ensure the Group’s ability to continue as a going concern in order to provide returns on investments for shareholders and benefits for other interested parties and to maintain an optimal capital structure to reduce the cost of capital.
In order to maintain or adjust the capital structure, the Group may take a variety of measures such as issue new shares or sell assets to reduce liabilities.
| b. | Financial instruments by category: |
Financial asset of the group is classified in one category: measured subsequently at fair value or through profit or loss.
As of December 31, 2023 and 2022, all financial liabilities were classified in one category: Trade and other account payables, measured at amortized cost.
F-16
| XTL BIOPHARMACEUTICALS LTD. |
| NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS |
| NOTE 4: | FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS AND FINANCIAL RISK MANAGEMENT (Cont.) |
| c. |
| Warrants | ||||
| U.S. dollars in thousands | ||||
| Balance as of December 31, 2020 | ||||
| Revaluation during the year | ( | ) | ||
| Exercises during the year | ( | ) | ||
| Balance as of December 31, 2021 | ||||
| Revaluation during the year | ( | ) | ||
| Balance as of December 31, 2022 | ||||
| Revaluation during the year | ||||
| Balance as of December 31, 2023 | ||||
| NOTE 5: | CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS |
| December 31, | ||||||||
| 2023 | 2022 | |||||||
| U.S. dollars in thousands | ||||||||
| Cash in banks and on hand | ||||||||
| Bank deposits with original maturities of three months or less* | ||||||||
| * |
| December 31, | ||||||||
| 2023 | 2022 | |||||||
| U.S. dollars in thousands | ||||||||
| U.S. dollars | ||||||||
| NIS (not linked to the Israeli CPI) | ||||||||
F-17
| XTL BIOPHARMACEUTICALS LTD. |
| NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS |
| NOTE 6: | MARKETABLE SECURITIES – InterCure Ltd |
| a. | All marketable securities held by the Company constitute Level 1 financial instruments, as defined in IFRS 13 - “Fair Value Measurement”. Level 1 inputs are quoted prices (unadjusted) in active markets for identical assets or liabilities that the entity can access at the measurement date. |
| b. |
| December 31, | ||||||||
| 2023 | 2022 | |||||||
| U.S. dollars in thousands | ||||||||
| Marketable securities - InterCure Ltd | ||||||||
The
entire investment in marketable securities is classified as a financial asset at fair value through profit or loss. As of December 31,
2023 and 2022 the Company holds approximately
| c. |
| December 31, | ||||||||||||
| 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | ||||||||||
| U.S. dollars in thousands | ||||||||||||
| Fair value opening balance | ||||||||||||
| Changes in fair value during the year | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||||||
| Fair value closing balance | ||||||||||||
| NOTE 7: | PREPAID EXPENSES AND OTHE CURRENT ASSETS |
| December 31, | ||||||||
| 2023 | 2022 | |||||||
| U.S. dollars in thousands | ||||||||
| Prepaid expenses and other receivables | ||||||||
| Government authorities (*) | ||||||||
| (*) |
The carrying amount of government authorities is a reasonable approximation of the fair value because the effect of discounting is immaterial.
F-18
| XTL BIOPHARMACEUTICALS LTD. |
| NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS |
| NOTE 8: | INTANGIBLE ASSETS |
| a. | On January 7, 2014, the Company signed a licensing agreement with Yeda, as amended on September 6, 2015, to develop hCDR1, a Phase II-ready asset for the treatment of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (“SLE”). The license from Yeda also included all clinical data of the phase 1 and phase 2A conducted in the hCDR1. The terms of the licensing agreement include, among other things, expense reimbursement for patent expenses payable in six installments, certain milestone payments to Yeda, low single-digit royalties based on net sales, and additional customary royalties to the Office of the Israel innovation authority. |
Under
the license agreement, the Company is also required to meet certain development milestones including the delivery of a trial protocol
to Yeda by January 1, 2016 (which it delivered), receipt of investment of at least $
The
term of the license agreement is the later of the date of expiry of the last of the licensed patents or the expiry of a continuous period
of
The
license agreement may also be terminated by Yeda upon 45 days prior written notice if either the Company fails to meet certain development
milestones or commercial sale shall have commenced and there shall be a period of 6 months of no sales, subject to certain exceptions.
Yeda shall also be entitled to terminate the license agreement if the Company were to commence legal action against Yeda challenging
the validity of any of the licensed patents, and the Company was unsuccessful in such challenge, in which event the Company would be
required to pay to Yeda liquidated damages of $
As
of December 31, 2023, all expense reimbursement for patent expenses to Yeda in the amount of $
F-19
| XTL BIOPHARMACEUTICALS LTD. |
| NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS |
| NOTE 8: | INTANGIBLE ASSETS (Cont.) |
Accordingly, the license agreement may be terminated by Yeda upon 45 days prior written notice. To this date the Company and Yeda have held discussions regarding further amendment to the payment scheme under the license agreement.
The Company exclusively licensed two families of patents relating to hCDR1:
One expired on September 22, 2022 (in the US. For all other countries, it expired on February 26, 2022) and the other expired on January 14, 2024.
The Company reviews the hCDR1 asset for impairment once a year on December 31 or more frequently if events or changes in circumstances indicate that there is an impairment.
If the carrying amount exceeds their recoverable amount, the assets are reduced to their recoverable amount.
This asset is not ready for usage (the development was paused before finishing) and therefore has not been amortized yet.
In order to measure the recoverable amount of the hCDR1 asset, Company management deducted the fair value of its other assets and liabilities from the amount representing its market value as of December 31, 2023. The resulting fair value attributable to the hCDR1 asset was higher than the book value of the hCDR1 asset and therefore no impairment was recorded in the Company's financial statements as of December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021.
| b. | Composition and movement: |
There
were no changes or movements in 2023, 2022 and 2021 and the balance remained
$
| NOTE 9: | ACCOUNTS PAYABLE |
| a. |
| December 31, | ||||||||
| 2023 | 2022 | |||||||
| U.S. dollars in thousands | ||||||||
| Trade payables | ||||||||
| Accrued expenses | ||||||||
The carrying amount of accounts payable is a reasonable approximation of their fair value because the effect of discounting is immaterial.
F-20
| XTL BIOPHARMACEUTICALS LTD. |
| NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS |
| NOTE 9: | ACCOUNTS PAYABLE (Cont.) |
| b. |
| December 31, | ||||||||
| 2023 | 2022 | |||||||
| U.S. dollars in thousands | ||||||||
| U.S. dollars | ||||||||
| NIS (not linked to the Israeli CPI) | ||||||||
| NOTE 10: | WARRANTS |
During
the year ended December 31, 2017, the Company raised gross funds amounted to $
IFRS 13 "Fair Value Measurement", ("IFRS 13"), defines fair value as the price that would be received from selling an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date.
When
determining
IFRS 13 also establishes a fair value hierarchy that requires an entity to maximize the use of observable inputs and minimize the use of unobservable inputs when measuring fair value. A financial instrument's categorization within the fair value hierarchy is based on the lowest level of input that is significant to the fair value measurement. IFRS 13 establishes three levels of inputs that may be used to measure fair value.
| Level 1 - | quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities; |
| Level 2 - | inputs other than Level 1 that are observable, either directly or indirectly, such as quoted prices in active markets for similar assets or liabilities, quoted prices for identical or similar assets or liabilities in markets that are not active, or other inputs that are observable or can be corroborated by observable market data for substantially the full term of the assets or liabilities; or |
| Level 3 - | unobservable inputs that are supported by little or no market activity and that are significant to the fair value of the assets or liabilities. |
The Company accounted for the warrants issued to investors with a cashless exercise mechanism as a non-current liability according to provisions of IAS 32. The Company measured the warrants at fair value by using a Black-Scholes model.
F-21
| XTL BIOPHARMACEUTICALS LTD. |
| NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS |
| NOTE 10: | WARRANTS (Cont.) |
The warrants were measured in each reporting period. Changes in the fair value were recognized in the Company`s statement of comprehensive income (loss) as financial income or expense, as appropriate. The warrants were classified as level 3.
| December 31, | ||||||||||||
| 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | ||||||||||
| Risk-free interest rate (1) | % | |||||||||||
| Expected volatility (2) | % | |||||||||||
| Contractual term life (in years) (3) | ||||||||||||
| Dividend yield (4) | % | |||||||||||
| (1) |
| (2) |
| (3) |
| (4) |
For more information about the warrants exercised during 2021, see Note 18.
During 2022, all warrants have expired and as such, as of December 31, 2023 and 2022 there are no outstanding warrants.
| NOTE 11: | SHARE CAPITAL, RESERVES AND ACCUMULATED DEFICIT |
| a. | The Company’s Ordinary shares of NIS |
Ordinary shares confer upon their holders voting rights and right to participate in the shareholders’ meeting, right to receive dividends and the right to participate in the excess of assets upon liquidation of the Company.
| b. | Company’s authorized share capital is |
F-22
| XTL BIOPHARMACEUTICALS LTD. |
| NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS |
| NOTE 12: | SHARE-BASED PAYMENT |
On
August 29, 2011, the Company’s Board of Directors approved the adoption of an employee share option plan for the grant of options
exercisable into shares of the Company, in accordance with section 102 to the Israeli Tax Ordinance (the “2011 Plan”) which
ended after
As
of December 31, 2023, the remaining number of options available for grant under the 2011 Plan is
On
March 2, 2023, the Company’s shareholders approved the grant of options exercisable into
On
March 14, 2023, Company’s Board of directors approved retroactively to extend the expire date of the 2011 plan by additional
Regarding options granted subsequent to balance sheet date and the extension of exercise period for certain directors, refer to Note 19.
| Year ended December 31, | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Number
of options | Weighted average exercise price (USD) | Number
of options | Weighted average exercise price | Number
of options | Weighted average exercise price | |||||||||||||||||||
| Outstanding at beginning of year | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Granted | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Exercised | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Expired | ( | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Forfeited | ( | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Outstanding at end of year | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Exercisable at end of year | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
F-23
| XTL BIOPHARMACEUTICALS LTD. |
| NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS |
| NOTE 12: | SHARE-BASED PAYMENT (Cont.) |
| December 31, | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2023 | 2022 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Options outstanding at end of year | Range
of exercise prices (USD) | Weighted
average remaining contractual life | Options outstanding at end of year | Range
of exercise prices (USD) | Weighted average remaining contractual life | |||||||||||||||||
| December 31, 2021 | ||||||||||
| Options
outstanding at end of year | Range
of exercise prices (USD) | Weighted
average remaining contractual life | ||||||||
Share
based expenses recognized in the Company’s statements of comprehensive income (loss) for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022
and 2021 for grant of options to employees and service providers were $
| Options
outstanding | Position | Grant date (*) | Exercise price in NIS | Fair value USD
in | Vesting schedule | |||||||||||
| (*) |
F-24
| XTL BIOPHARMACEUTICALS LTD. |
| NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS |
| NOTE 12: | SHARE-BASED PAYMENT (Cont.) |
| March 2, 2023 | ||||
| Dividend yield | % | |||
| Expected volatility | % | |||
| Risk-free interest | % | |||
| Expected life (years) | ||||
We have calculated the volatility based on the Company's historical volatility. The share price was set according to the Company's share market value.
No options were granted in 2022 and 2021.
| NOTE 13: | RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT EXPENSES |
| Year ended December 31, | ||||||||||||
| 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | ||||||||||
| U.S. dollars in thousands | ||||||||||||
| Fees related to service providers | ||||||||||||
| NOTE 14: | GENERAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES |
| Year ended December 31, | ||||||||||||
| 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | ||||||||||
| U.S. dollars in thousands | ||||||||||||
| Management fees and expenses relating to service providers | ||||||||||||
| Share based payment expense | ||||||||||||
| Patents and fees | ||||||||||||
| Directors’ fees | ||||||||||||
| Investor relations and travel | ||||||||||||
| Rent and office maintenance | ||||||||||||
| Insurance | ||||||||||||
| Professional services | ||||||||||||
| Other | ||||||||||||
F-25
| XTL BIOPHARMACEUTICALS LTD. |
| NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS |
| NOTE 15: | FINANCE INCOME (EXPENSES), NET |
| Year ended December 31, | ||||||||||||
| 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | ||||||||||
| U.S. dollars in thousands | ||||||||||||
| Finance expenses: | ||||||||||||
| Revaluation of marketable securities | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||||||
| Bank account management fees and commissions | ( | ) | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||||
| Exchange rate differences | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||||||
| Total finance expenses | ( | ) | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||||
| Finance income: | ||||||||||||
| Revaluation of warrants to purchase ADS's | ||||||||||||
| Revaluation of marketable securities | ||||||||||||
| Interest income on bank deposits | ||||||||||||
| Exchange rate differences | ||||||||||||
| Total finance income | ||||||||||||
| Finance income (expenses), net | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||||||
| NOTE 16: | TAXES ON INCOME |
| a. | Tax rates applicable to the Company: |
Since
the tax year 2018, the taxable income of the Company and its subsidiary is subject to a corporate tax rate of
| b. | The Group’s carryforward tax losses as of December 31, 2023, totaled approximately $ |
| c. | The main reconciling items between the “theoretical” tax expense, assuming that all the income were taxed at the regular tax rate applicable to companies in Israel ( |
| d. | Tax assessments: |
The Company and Xtepo filed self-assessments that are deemed final through the 2018 tax year.
F-26
| XTL BIOPHARMACEUTICALS LTD. |
| NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS |
| NOTE 16: | TAXES ON INCOME (Cont.) |
| e. | Unrecognized deferred taxes: |
As
of December 31, 2023 and 2022, the Company’s had a deferred tax liability of approximately $
| NOTE 17: | TRANSACTIONS AND BALANCES WITH RELATED PARTIES |
The Company’s key management personnel who are included, along with other factors, in the definition of related party, as above in IAS 24, includes directors, members of the executive committee and InterCure Ltd.
Compensation to key management personnel:
| Year ended December 31, | ||||||||||||
| 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | ||||||||||
| U.S. dollars in thousands | ||||||||||||
| Management fees, directors, and consulting fees | ||||||||||||
| Share-based payments | ||||||||||||
| Number of persons | ||||||||||||
The
Company pays to an accounting firm of which the company's CFO is a Partner (“accounting firm”), a monthly fees of NIS
In
addition, as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, the Company’s balances with key management personnel and the accounting firm, totaled
approximately $
For further information regarding share-based payment to related parties, see also Note 12 above and Note 19.
InterCure Ltd:
As
of December 31, 2023 and 2022, the Company's share in the shares of InterCure Ltd was
The Company's investment in the shares of InterCure Ltd is presented as Marketable securities.
F-27
| XTL BIOPHARMACEUTICALS LTD. |
| NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS |
| NOTE 17: | TRANSACTIONS AND BALANCES WITH RELATED PARTIES (Cont.) |
As
of December 31, 2023 and 2022, the Company’s balances of InterCure Ltd's shares total approximately $
The
Company subleases an office from Canndoc Ltd., which is a subsidiary of InterCure Ltd. During 2023, 2022 and 2021, the Company recorded
rent expenses of approximately $
Regarding investment agreement signed subsequent to balance sheet date with one of the Company’s shareholders see Note 1d.
| NOTE 18: | EARNINGS (LOSS) PER SHARE |
Basic earnings (loss) per share
The calculation of basic earnings per share (EPS) is based on the following profit (loss) attributable to shareholders and weighted-average number of ordinary shares outstanding.
| 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | ||||||||||
| U.S. dollars in thousands | ||||||||||||
| Total comprehensive income (loss) for the year | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||||||
| 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | ||||||||||
| Number of shares | ||||||||||||
| Issued ordinary shares at January 1 | ||||||||||||
| Issued March 7,2021 due to warrant exercise | ||||||||||||
| Issued May 4, 2021 due to warrant exercise | ||||||||||||
| Issued July 6, 2021 due to warrant exercise | ||||||||||||
| Issued August 30, 2021 due to warrant exercise | ||||||||||||
| Issued September 1, 2021 due to warrant exercise | ||||||||||||
| Issued October 11, 2021 due to warrant exercise | ||||||||||||
| Weighted average number of ordinary shares (basic) | ||||||||||||
Diluted earnings (loss) per share
The calculation of diluted EPS is based on the following profit (loss) attributable to shareholders and weighted-average number of ordinary shares outstanding after adjustment for the effects of all dilutive potential ordinary shares.
F-28
| XTL BIOPHARMACEUTICALS LTD. |
| NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS |
| NOTE 18: | EARNINGS (LOSS) PER SHARE (Cont.) |
| 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | ||||||||||
| U.S. dollars in thousands | ||||||||||||
| Total comprehensive income (loss) for the year (basic) | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||||||
| Warrant revaluation income | ( | ) | ||||||||||
| ( | ) | ( | ) | ( | ) | |||||||
| 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | ||||||||||
| Number of shares | ||||||||||||
| Weighted-average number of ordinary shares (basic) | ||||||||||||
| Effect of warrants | ||||||||||||
| Weighted average number of ordinary shares (diluted) | ||||||||||||
In
2023 and 2022 all options and warrants were excluded from the diluted weighted average number of shares calculation because their effect
would have been anti-dilutive. In 2021,
The average market value of the Company’s shares for calculating the dilutive effect of share options and warrants was based on quoted market prices for the year during which the options were outstanding.
| NOTE 19: | SUBSEQUENT EVENTS |
On
March 17, 2024 the Company’s board of directors approved the grant of
On
March 19, 2024, the Company signed a binding term sheet, subject to due diligence, with THE SOCIAL PROXY Ltd. (the “Social Proxy”)
to acquire all of the issued and outstanding share capital of Social Proxy on a fully diluted basis. The acquisition included, among
other things, the grant to the Social Proxy current shareholders of the right to appoint of 2 new directors to the Company’s board
of directors, against the resignation of 2 Company’s current directors. Consequently, the Company approved to extend the resigning
directors options exercise period for an additional
In
addition, the Company has secured a commitment of an investment of an amount of US$
On March 27, 2024 the Company entered into a loan agreement with the
Social Proxy. According to the loan agreement, on March 27, 2024, the Company provided the Social Proxy with a loan of US$
F-29
ITEM 19. EXHIBITS
The following exhibits are filed as part of this annual report:
82
| 12.1 | Certification of Chief Executive Officer pursuant to Rule 13a-14(a)/15d-14(a), as adopted pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002,* | |
| 12.2 | Certification of Chief Financial Officer pursuant to Rule 13a-14(a)/15d-14(a), as adopted pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.* | |
| 13.1 | Certification of Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer pursuant to 18 USC. §1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.** | |
| 99.7 | Clawback Policy* | |
| 101.INS | Inline XBRL Instance Document. | |
| 101.SCH | Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema Document. | |
| 101.CAL | Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase Document. | |
| 101.DEF | Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase Document. | |
| 101.LAB | Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Label Linkbase Document. | |
| 101.PRE | Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase Document. | |
| 104 | Cover Page Interactive Data File (formatted as Inline XBRL and contained in Exhibit 101). |
| * | Filed herewith. |
| ** | Furnished herewith. |
| † | Certain confidential information contained in this exhibit was omitted. |
| (1) | Incorporated by reference from the registration statement on F-6 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 28, 2007, as it may be amended or restated. |
| (2) | Incorporated by reference from the annual report on Form 20-F filed by XTL Biopharmaceuticals Ltd. with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 23, 2007. |
| (3) | Incorporated by reference from the annual report on Form 20-F filed by XTL Biopharmaceuticals Ltd. with the Securities and Exchange Commission on April 6, 2009. |
| (4) | Incorporated by reference from the annual report on Form 20-F filed by XTL Biopharmaceuticals Ltd. with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 31, 2011. |
| (5) | Incorporated by reference from the annual report on Form 20-F filed by XTL Biopharmaceuticals Ltd. with the Securities and Exchange Commission on April 2, 2014. |
| (6) | Incorporated by reference from the registration statement on Form F-1 filed by XTL Biopharmaceuticals Ltd. with the Securities and Exchange Commission on December 31, 2015. |
| (7) | Incorporated by reference from the current report on Form 6-K filed by XTL Biopharmaceuticals Ltd. with the Securities and Exchange Commission on February 22, 2017. |
| (8) | Incorporated by reference from the current report on Form 6-K filed by XTL Biopharmaceuticals Ltd. with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 9, 2017. |
| (9) | Incorporated by reference from the registration statement on Form 20-F filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on August 10, 2005. |
| (10) | Incorporated by reference from the registration statement on Form F-1/A filed by XTL Biopharmaceuticals Ltd. with the Securities and Exchange Commission on February 1, 2018. |
| (11) | Incorporated by reference from the annual report on Form 20-F filed by XTL Biopharmaceuticals Ltd. with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 15, 2021. |
83
SIGNATURES
The registrant hereby certifies that it meets all the requirements for filing on Form 20-F and that it has duly caused and authorized the undersigned to sign this registration statement on its behalf.
| XTL BIOPHARMACEUTICALS LTD. | ||
| (Registrant) | ||
| Date: April 30, 2024 | Signature: | /s/ Shlomo Shalev |
| Shlomo Shalev | ||
| Chief Executive Officer | ||
84