Matthew Gage, Interim Chief Financial Officer, age 56

​

Mr. Gage was appointed Interim Chief Financial Officer of Precipio, Inc. effective March 21, 2022.  Mr. Gage served as Director of Financial Reporting and Analysis of Precipio, Inc. since joining the Company in June 2017 following its acquisition of Transgenomic Inc., where he was Director of Financial Reporting and Analysis since 2014. Mr. Gage has over 30 years of experience in company finance, 25 years of which being with publicly traded companies.  Mr. Gage holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration from Bryant University.

​

Environmental, Social, and Governance

​

As our business continues to grow and develop, we recognize the importance of making responsible business decisions for the benefit of all of our stakeholders, including our stockholders, customers, employees, partners, the communities in which we work and live, as well as the planet. To that end, we published our ESG Report in February 2023, which is available on our website, and expect to continue reporting on our progress to our various stakeholders.

​

Climate Change

​

We wereare committed to operating our business in an environmentally sustainable manner, meaning developing and producing products in a resource efficient way while limiting our environmental impact in the most material areas of greenhouse gas emissions, energy use, waste, and water.

​

For more information about how climate change impacts our business, see “Risk factors – Global climate change could negatively affect our business” in Item 1A of this Annual Report.

Compliance with Environmental Laws

​

We believe we are in compliance with current environmental protection requirements that apply to us or our business. Costs attributable to environmental compliance are not currently material.

​

Intellectual Property

​

The Company has filed provisional patent applications for its proprietary HemeScreen technology.

Corporate History

Precipio, Inc. was incorporated in Delaware on March 6, 1997. Our principal office is located at 12325 Emmet Street, Omaha, Nebraska 68164 (telephone: 402-452-5400). This facility houses certain administrative staff and laboratories. Our4 Science Park, New Haven, Connecticut facility houses certain administrative operations.

Summary of Risk Factors

​

Risks Related to Our Business and may incur losses in the future.

acceptable terms, or at all, and if not, we may use more cash than projected and not be ableour failure to meetraise capital when needed could limit our current obligations through December 31, 2016. These conditions raiseability to continue our operations. There remains substantial doubt about ourthe Company’s ability to continue as a going concern.

receivables of the Company (the “Purchased Accounts”). Upon purchase, Culain becomes the absolute owner of the Purchased Accounts, which are payable directly to Culain, subject to certain repurchase obligations or achieveof the operating improvements as contemplatedCompany. The willingness of Culain to make advances to us by the current operating plan.purchasing eligible accounts receivable is subject to customary conditions for financings of this nature. If we are unable to execute this plan,satisfy those conditions, Culain could refrain from providing financing to us, and we will needmight not have sufficient cash on hand to find additional sources of cash not contemplated by the current operating plan and/or raise additional capital to sustain continuing operations as currently contemplated. fund our ongoing operations.

​

We could seekmay have to raise significant additional funds through various potential sources such as through the sale of assets or sale of debt or equity securities. However, there can be no assurance that the additional funding sources will be available to us at reasonable terms or at all. If we are unable to achieve our operating plancapital or obtain additional financing,credit to fund our operations in the future. The failure to raise significant capital, or obtain credit when needed, on acceptable terms, could have a material adverse effect on our business, would be jeopardizedprospects, financial condition and results of operations, and we may not be able to continue our business as a going concern.

We are subject to concentrations of revenue risk and concentrations of credit risk in accounts receivable.

We have had several customers who, from time to time, have individually represented 10% or more of our total revenue, or whose accounts receivable balances individually represented 10% or more of our total accounts receivable.

For the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, no customer individually represented 10% or more of our total revenue. We expect to maintain ongoing relationships with our customers, however, the loss of, or significant decrease in demand from, any of our top customers could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

At December 31, 2022, one customer accounted for approximately 12% of our total accounts receivable and at December 31, 2021, two customers accounted for approximately 33% of our total accounts receivable.  The business risks associated with this concentration, including increased credit risks for these and other customers and the possibility of related bad debt write-offs, could negatively affect our margins and profits. Additionally, the loss of any of our top customers, whether through competition or consolidation, or a disruption in sales to such a customer, could result in a decrease of the Company’s future sales, earnings and cash flows.  Generally, we do not require collateral or other securities to support our accounts receivable and while we are directly affected by the financial condition of our customers, management does not believe significant credit risks exist at December 31, 2022.

We have been, and may continue to be, subject to costly litigation.

We have been, and may continue to be, subject to legal proceedings. Due to the nature of our business and our history of insufficient capital resources to pay our obligations on a timely basis, we may be subject to a variety of regulatory investigations, claims, lawsuits and other proceedings in the ordinary course of our business. The results of these legal proceedings cannot be predicted with certainty due to the uncertainty inherent in litigation, including the effects of discovery of new evidence or advancement of new legal theories, the difficulty of predicting decisions of judges and juries and the possibility that decisions may be reversed on appeal. Such litigation has been, and in the future, could be, costly, time-consuming and distracting to management, result in a diversion of resources and could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and operating results.

In addition, we may settle some litigation through the issuance of equity securities which may result in significant dilution to our stockholders.

For more information related to this risk factor, see Legal Proceedings under Item 3 in this Annual Report.

The commercial success of our diagnostic products, including those we are developing, will depend upon the degree of market acceptance of these products among physicians, patients, health care payers and the medical community and on our ability to successfully market our products.

Our products may never gain significant acceptance in the marketplace and, therefore, may never generate substantial revenue or profits for us. Our ability to achieve commercial market acceptance for our existing and future products will depend on several factors, including:

In addition, physicians may rely on guidelines issued by industry groups, such as the NCCN, medical societies, such as the College of American Pathologists, (“CAP”), or other key oncology-related organizations before utilizing any diagnostic test.

We believe that publications of scientific and medical results in peer-reviewed journals and presentations at leading conferences are critical to the broad adoption of our products. Publication in leading medical journals is subject to a peer-review process, and peer reviewers may not consider the results of studies involving our products sufficiently novel or worthy of publication. The failure to be listed in physician guidelines or to be published in peer-reviewed journals could limit the adoption of our products. Failure to achieve widespread market acceptance of our products would materially harm our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

If we cannot compete successfully with our competitors, including new entrants in the market, we may be unable to increase or sustain our revenue or achieve and sustain profitability.

The medical diagnostic industry is intensely competitive and characterized by rapid technological progress. We face significant competition from competitors ranging in size from diversified global companies with significant research and development resources to small, specialized firms whose narrower product lines may allow them to be more effective in deploying related PCR technology in the genetic diagnostic industry. Our closest competitors fall largely into two groups, consisting of companies that specialize in oncology and offer directly competing services to our diagnostic services, offering their services to oncologists and pathology departments within hospitals, as well as large commercial companies that offer a wide variety of laboratory tests that range from simple chemistry tests to complex genetic testing. The technologies associated with the molecular diagnostics industry are evolving rapidly and there is intense competition within such industry. Certain molecular diagnostics companies have established technologies that may be competitive to our product candidates and any future tests that we develop. Some of these tests may use different approaches or means to obtain diagnostic results, which could be more effective or less expensive than our tests for similar indications. Moreover, these and other future competitors have or may have considerably greater resources than we do in terms of technology, sales, marketing, commercialization and capital resources. These competitors may have substantial advantages over us in terms of research and development expertise, experience in clinical studies, experience in regulatory issues, brand name exposure and expertise in sales and marketing as well as in operating central laboratory services. Many of these organizations have financial, marketing and human resources greater than ours; therefore, there can be no assurance that we can successfully compete with present or potential competitors or that such competition will not have a materially adverse effect on our business, financial position or results of operations.

We believe that many of our competitors spend significantly more on research and development-related activities than we do. Our competitors may discover new diagnostic tools or develop existing technologies to compete with our diagnostic technology. Our commercial opportunities will be reduced or eliminated if these competing products are more effective, are more convenient or are less expensive than our product candidates.

We may not be able to develop new products or enhance the capabilities of our systems to keep pace with rapidly changing technology and customer requirements, which could have a material adverse effect on our business and operating results.

Our success depends on our ability to develop new products and applications for our diagnostic technology in existing and new markets, while improving the performance and cost-effectiveness of our systems. New technologies, techniques or products could emerge that might offer better combinations of price and performance than our current or future products and systems. Existing or future markets for our products, as well as potential markets for our diagnostic product candidates, are characterized by rapid technological change and innovation. It is critical to our success that we anticipate changes in technology and customer requirements and successfully introduce new, enhanced and competitive technologies to meet our customers’ and prospective customers’ needs on a timely and cost-effective basis. At the same time, however, we must carefully manage the introduction of new products. If customers believe that such products will offer enhanced features or be sold for a more attractive price, they may delay purchases until such products are available. We may also have excess or obsolete inventory of older products as we transition to new products and our experience in managing product transitions is very limited. If we do not successfully innovate and introduce new technology into our product lines or effectively manage the transitions to new product offerings, our revenues and results of operations will be adversely impacted.

Competitors may respond more quickly and effectively than we do to new or changing opportunities, technologies, standards or customer requirements. We anticipate that we will face increased competition in the future as

existing companies and competitors develop new or improved products and as new companies enter the market with new technologies.

​

We face risks related to health pandemics and other widespread outbreaks of contagious disease, including the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, which could significantly disrupt our operations and impact our financial results.

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to evolve. Despite recent progress in the administration of vaccines, COVID-19 had an adverse impact on the global economy and to some extent on our business. The COVID-19 pandemic continues to have a significant impact, both direct and indirect, on businesses and commerce, as worker shortages have occurred; supply chains have been disrupted; facilities and production have been suspended; and demand for certain goods and services may be slow to return to pre-pandemic levels, if they return to pre-pandemic levels. Our laboratory operations resumed to near-normal capacity, but we may continue to experience challenges in procuring materials and supplies in a consistently timely manner due to COVID-19-related supply chain issues. The demand for COVID-19 vaccines and potential for manufacturing facilities and materials to be commandeered under the Defense Production Act of 1950, or equivalent foreign legislation, during a public health emergency may make it more difficult to obtain materials or manufacturing. If any of our third-party manufacturers is adversely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic or if they divert resources or manufacturing capacity to accommodate the development or manufacture of COVID-19 coronavirus vaccines, our supply chain may be disrupted, limiting our ability to produce our diagnostic tests.

We have been and will continue to be prudent in managing through this economic crisis.  Digital connectivity is now fundamental to the continuity of our business operations. The extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact our results of operations and financial condition will depend on future developments that are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted, including new information that may emerge concerning the severity and longevity of COVID-19 and its variants, the resurgence of COVID-19 in regions that have begun to recover from the initial impact of the pandemic, the impact of COVID-19 on economic activity, and the actions to contain its impact on public health and the global economy.

International expansion of our business could expose us to business, regulatory, political, operational, financial and economic risks associated with doing business outside of the United States.

When cleared, authorized or approved, we and our collaborators may market, sell, and distribute our products and services outside of the United States, and our business would be subject to risks associated with doing business outside of the United States, including an increase in our expenses and diversion of our management’s attention from the development of future products and services. Accordingly, our business and financial results in the future could be adversely affected due to a variety of factors, including:

​

Any of these factors could significantly harm our future international expansion and operations and, consequently, our revenue and results of operations.

​

The sales of our products in the EU and the UK are regulated through a process that either requires self-certification or certification by a notified body in order to affix a CE mark. Such processes are uncertain, particularly in light of changes to the regulatory framework in the EU and UK. There may be a risk of delay in placing such products on the market and, once on the market, a risk of review and challenges to certain certified statuses.

On May 24, 2022, we received CE-IVD approval for the sale of HemeScreen® reagents in the UK and the EU in accordance with the requirements of the EU IVDD. However, the new EU In-Vitro Diagnostic Devices Regulation ((EU) 2017/746), came into effect on May 26, 2022 and repealed the IVDD. The transitional provisions under the IVDR allow for devices with a notified body certificate issued under the IVDD and which are placed on the EU market prior to May 26, 2022 to continue to be placed on the market in the EU until May 26, 2025. Our device will need to be re-certified under the IVDR by such date in order to remain on the EU market, which will include evaluation by an EU notified body to confirm whether our device meets the general safety and performance requirements under the IVDR. There is no guarantee that our device will be determined to be compliant with such requirements. It should also be appreciated that there currently is a severe shortage of capacity of the EU notified bodies to assess all devices that will require notified body certification under the IVDR. There can be no assurance that our ability to market HemeScreen® reagents in the EU in the future will not be interrupted and this could, in turn, have a negative impact on our business and operating results.

The regulatory framework for medical devices in the UK is likely to evolve now that the UK is no longer part of the EU. Changes to the UK regulations may require additional review of our devices and there is a risk our devices may not be compliant with any revised UK regulations.

Now that the UK has left the EU, the new UKCA mark will replace the EU CE mark in Great Britain, (“GB”). The EU legal framework remains applicable in Northern Ireland (indeed any products placed on the market in Northern Ireland must be compliant with EU law). EU CE marks will continue to be recognized in GB for in-vitro diagnostic devices for the time being, however, from July 2024, transitional arrangements will apply for CE and UKCA marked devices placed on the GB market. These transitional arrangements have not yet been brought into force through the UK medical devices regulations, but the UK Government intends to introduce legislation by Spring 2023 that will bring these into force. In addition, all devices must now be registered with the MHRA in order to be placed on the GB market. These new requirements under the UK medical devices legislation and any other changes that are brought into force could result in delays in our ability to obtain a UKCA mark and to continue to market our product in the UK. The UK’s departure from the EU has also impacted customs regulations as well as timing and ease of shipments into the EU from UK.

​

Unfavorable U.S. or global economic conditions could adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.

Over the twelve months ended June 2022, the US Bureau of Labor and Statistics reported that inflation increased 9.1 percent as against prices from June 2021. This represents the largest 12-month advance since 1981.

​

Our results of operations could be adversely affected by general conditions in the global economy and financial markets. A severe or prolonged economic downturn or increase in inflation rates could result in a variety of risks to our business, including weakened demand for our products and services and our ability to raise additional capital when needed on favorable terms, if at all. A weak declining or inflationary economy could strain our collaborators and suppliers, possibly resulting in supply disruption, or cause delays in their payments to us.

​

In addition, the Company’s operations and access to capital may be impacted by disruptions to the banking system and financial market volatility resulting from bank failures, particularly in light of the recent events that have occurred with respect to Silicon Valley Bank and other financial institutions.

​

Any of the foregoing could harm our business and we cannot anticipate all of the ways in which the current economic climate and financial market conditions could adversely impact our business.

​

Adverse developments affecting the financial services industry, such as actual events or concerns involving liquidity, defaults, or non-performance by financial institutions or transactional counterparties, could adversely affect the Company’s current and projected business operations and its financial condition and results of operations.

​

Actual events involving limited liquidity, defaults, non-performance or other adverse developments that affect financial institutions, transactional counterparties or other companies in the financial services industry or the financial services industry generally, or concerns or rumors about any events of these kinds or other similar risks, have in the past and may in the future lead to market-wide liquidity problems.  For example, on March 10, 2023, Silicon Valley Bank (“SVB”) was closed by the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation, which appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) as receiver.  Similarly, on March 12, 2023, Signature Bank and Silvergate Capital Corp. were each swept into receivership.  Although a statement by the Department of the Treasury, the Federal Reserve and the FDIC indicated that all depositors of SVB would have access to all of their money after only one business day of closure, including funds held in uninsured deposit accounts, borrowers under credit agreements, letters of credit and certain other financial instruments with SVB, Signature Bank or any other financial institution that is placed into receivership by the FDIC may be unable to access undrawn amounts thereunder.  If any of our suppliers or other parties with whom we conduct business are unable to access funds pursuant to such instruments or lending arrangements with such a financial institution, such parties’ ability to pay their obligations to us or to enter into new commercial arrangements requiring additional payments to us could be adversely affected. In this regard, counterparties to SVB credit agreements and arrangements, and third parties such as beneficiaries of letters of credit (among others), may experience direct impacts from the closure of SVB and uncertainty remains over liquidity concerns in the broader financial services industry. Similar impacts have occurred in the past, such as during the 2008-2010 financial crisis.  

​

Inflation and rapid increases in interest rates have led to a decline in the trading value of previously issued government securities with interest rates below current market interest rates. Although the U.S. Department of Treasury, FDIC and Federal Reserve Board have announced a program to provide up to $25 billion of loans to financial institutions secured by certain of such government securities held by financial institutions to mitigate the risk of potential losses on the sale of such instruments, widespread demands for customer withdrawals or other liquidity needs of financial institutions for immediately liquidity may exceed the capacity of such program. Additionally, there is no guarantee that the U.S. Department of Treasury, FDIC and Federal Reserve Board will provide access to uninsured funds in the future in the event of the closure of other banks or financial institutions, or that they would do so in a timely fashion.

​

Although we assess our banking relationships as we believe necessary or appropriate, our access to funding sources and other credit arrangements in amounts adequate to finance or capitalize our current and projected future business operations could be significantly impaired by factors that affect the Company, the financial institutions with

which we have or may enter into credit agreements or arrangements directly, or the financial services industry or economy in general.  These factors could include, among others, events such as liquidity constraints or failures, the ability to perform obligations under various types of financial, credit or liquidity agreements or arrangements, disruptions or instability in the financial services industry or financial markets, or concerns or negative expectations about the prospects for companies in the financial services industry.  These factors could involve financial institutions with which we have or may enter into financial or business relationships, but could also include factors involving financial markets or the financial services industry generally.

​

The results of events or concerns that involve one or more of these factors could include a variety of material and adverse impacts on our current and projected business operations and our financial condition and results of operations.  These could include, but may not be limited to, the following:

​

​

In addition, investor concerns regarding the U.S. or international financial systems could result in less favorable commercial financing terms, including higher interest rates or costs and tighter financial and operating covenants, or systemic limitations on access to credit and liquidity sources, thereby making it more difficult for us to acquire financing on acceptable terms or at all.  Any decline in available funding or access to our cash and liquidity resources could, among other risks, adversely impact our ability to meet our operating expenses, financial obligations or fulfill our other obligations, result in breaches of our financial and/or contractual obligations or result in violations of federal or state wage and hour laws and otherwise have a material adverse impact on our business.

​

Global climate change could negatively affect our business.

Increased public awareness and concern regarding global climate change will likely result in more regional and/or national requirements to reduce or mitigate the effects of greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, our stockholders and customers also expect us to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions. There continues to be a lack of consistent climate legislation, which creates economic and regulatory uncertainty. Any future regulations aimed at mitigating climate change may negatively impact the prices of raw materials and energy as well as the demand for certain of our customer’s products which could in turn impact demand for our products and impact our results of operations. The costs of compliance and any changes to our operations mandated by new or amended laws, may be significant. We may also face unexpected delays in obtaining permits and approvals required by such laws in connection with our manufacturing facilities, which would hinder our operation of these facilities. Furthermore, any violations of these laws may result in substantial fines and penalties, remediation costs, third party damages, or a suspension or cessation of our operations.

We also face physical and transition risks from climate change. The manifestations of climate change, such as extreme weather conditions or more frequent extreme weather events, including wildfires, flooding, water stress and extreme heat, could disrupt our operations, damage our facilities, disrupt our supply chain, impact the availability and cost of materials needed for manufacturing or increase insurance and other operating costs. As a result, severe weather events or natural disasters could result in a prolonged disruption to our operations or operations of our customers or suppliers, which could have a material adverse effect on our operating results, cash flows or financial condition

We depend upon a limited number of key personnel, and if we are not able to retain them or recruit additional qualified personnel, the execution of our strategy, management of our business and commercialization of our product candidates could be delayed or negatively impacted.

Our success is largely dependent upon the continued contributions of our officers and employees. Our success also depends in part on our ability to attract and retain highly qualified scientific, commercial and administrative personnel. In order to pursue our test development and commercialization strategies, we will need to attract and hire additional personnel with specialized experience in a number of disciplines, including assay development, laboratory and clinical operations, sales and marketing, billing and reimbursement. There is intense competition for personnel in the fields in which we operate. If we are unable to attract new employees and retain existing employees, the development and commercialization of our product candidates and any future tests could be delayed or negatively impacted. If any of them becomes unable or unwilling to continue in their respective positions, and we are unable to find suitable replacements, our business and financial results could be materially negatively affected.

We will need to increase the size of our organization, and we may experience difficulties in managing growth.

We are a small company with 53 full-time employees and 3 part-time employees as of March 15, 2023. Future growth will impose significant added responsibilities on members of management, including the need to identify, attract, retain, motivate and integrate highly skilled personnel. We may increase the number of employees in the future depending on the progress of our development of diagnostic technology. Our future financial performance and our ability to commercialize our product candidates and to compete effectively will depend, in part, on our ability to manage any future growth effectively. To that end, we must be able to:

Due to our limited resources, we may not be able to effectively manage the expansion of our operations or recruit and train additional qualified personnel. This may result in weaknesses in our infrastructure, give rise to operational mistakes, loss of business opportunities, loss of employees and reduced productivity among remaining employees. The expansion of our operations may lead to significant costs and may divert financial resources from other projects, such as the development of our current or future product candidates. If our management is unable to effectively manage our expected development and expansion, our expenses may increase more than expected, our ability to generate or increase our revenue could be reduced and we may not be able to implement our business strategy. Our future financial performance and our ability to commercialize our current or future diagnostic products and product candidates, if approved, and compete effectively will depend, in part, on our ability to effectively manage the future development and expansion of our company.

We may not be able to accomplish these tasks, and our failure to accomplish any of them could harm our financial results.

We currently have limited experience in marketing products. If we are unable to establish marketing and sales capabilities and retain the proper talent to execute on our sales and marketing strategy, we may not be able to generate product revenue.

We have limited experience in marketing our products and services. We intend to continue to develop our in-house marketing organization and sales force, which will require significant capital expenditures, management resources and time. We will have to compete with other companies to recruit, hire, train and retain marketing and sales personnel.

If we are unable to further grow our internal sales, marketing and distribution capabilities, we may pursue collaborative arrangements regarding the sales and marketing of our product candidates or future products. However, we may not be able to establish or maintain such collaborative arrangements, or if we are able to do so, they may not have effective sales forces. Any revenue we receive will depend upon the efforts of such third parties, which may not be successful. We may have little or no control over the marketing and sales efforts of such third parties and our revenue from

product sales may be lower than if we had commercialized our product candidates ourselves. We also face competition in our search for third parties to assist us with the sales and marketing efforts of our product candidates.

Cybersecurity risks could compromise our information and expose us to liability, which may harm our ability to operate effectively and may cause our business and reputation to suffer.

Cybersecurity refers to the combination of technologies, processes and procedures established to protect information technology systems and data from unauthorized access, attack, or damage. We rely on our information systems to provide security for processing, transmission and storage of confidential information about our patients, customers and personnel, such as names, addresses and other individually identifiable information protected by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, (“HIPAA”), other privacy laws. We rely on our third-party providers to implement effective security measures and identify and correct for any such failures, deficiencies or breaches. We also rely on our employees and consultants to safeguard their security credentials and follow our policies and procedures regarding use and access of computers and other devices that may contain our sensitive information. If we or our third-party providers fail to maintain or protect our information technology systems and data integrity effectively or fail to anticipate, plan for or manage significant disruptions to our information technology systems, we or our third-party providers could have difficulty preventing, detecting and controlling such cyber-attacks and any such attacks could result in losses described above, as well as disputes with physicians, patients and our partners, regulatory sanctions or penalties, increases in operating expenses, expenses or lost revenues or other adverse consequences, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition, prospects and cash flows. Any failure by such third parties to prevent or mitigate security breaches or improper access to or disclosure of such information could have similarly adverse consequences for us. If we are unable to prevent or mitigate the impact of such security or data privacy breaches, we could be exposed to litigation and governmental investigations, which could lead to a potential disruption to our business

​

Cyberattacks are increasing in their frequency, sophistication and intensity, and have become increasingly difficult to detect. Cyberattacks could include wrongful conduct by hostile foreign governments, industrial espionage, wire fraud and other forms of cyber fraud, the deployment of harmful malware, denial-of-service, social engineering fraud or other means to threaten data security, confidentiality, integrity and availability. A successful cyberattack could cause serious negative consequences for us, including, without limitation, the disruption of operations, the misappropriation of confidential business information, including financial information, trade secrets, financial loss and the disclosure of corporate strategic plans. The regulatory environment surrounding information security and privacy is increasingly demanding, with the frequent imposition of new and changing requirements. Compliance with changes in privacy and information security laws and with rapidly evolving industry standards may result in our incurring significant expense due to increased investment in technology and the development of new operational processes.

We have not experienced any known attacks on our information technology systems that compromised any confidential information. We maintain our information technology systems with safeguard protection against cyber-attacks including passive intrusion protection, firewalls and virus detection software. However, these safeguards do not ensure that a significant cyber-attack could not occur. Although we have taken steps to protect the security of our information systems and the data maintained in those systems, it is possible that our safety and security measures will not prevent the systems’ improper functioning or damage or the improper access or disclosure of personally identifiable information such as in the event of cyber-attacks.

Security breaches, including physical or electronic break-ins, computer viruses, attacks by hackers and similar breaches can create system disruptions or shutdowns or the unauthorized disclosure of confidential information. If personal information or protected health information is improperly accessed, tampered with or disclosed as a going concern, fundresult of a security breach, we may incur significant costs to notify and mitigate potential harm to the affected individuals, and we may be subject to sanctions and civil or criminal penalties if we are found to be in violation of the privacy or security rules under HIPAA or other similar federal or state laws protecting confidential personal information. In addition, a security breach of our expansion, promoteinformation systems could damage our brands,reputation, subject us to liability claims or regulatory penalties for compromised personal information and could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

​

Changes in tax law could adversely affect our business and financial condition.

​

The rules dealing with U.S. federal, state, and local and non-U.S. taxation are constantly under review by persons involved in the legislative process, the Internal Revenue Service, the U.S. Treasury Department and other taxing authorities. Changes to tax laws or tax rulings, or changes in interpretations of existing laws (which changes may have retroactive application), could adversely affect us or holders of our common stock. These changes could subject us to additional income-based taxes and non-income taxes (such as payroll, sales, use, value-added, digital tax, net worth, property, and goods and services taxes), which in turn could materially affect our financial position and results of operations. Additionally, new, changed, modified, or newly interpreted or applied tax laws could increase our customers’ and our compliance, operating and other costs, as well as the costs of our products. In recent years, many such changes have been made, and changes are likely to continue to occur in the future. As we expand the scale of our business activities, any changes in the U.S. and non-U.S. taxation of such activities may increase our effective tax rate and harm our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

Our ability to use net operating loss carryforwards to offset future taxable income for U.S. federal tax purposes is subject to limitation and risk that could further limit our ability to utilize our net operating losses.

As of December 31, 2022, we had approximately $74 million of federal net operating losses, (“NOLs”). Approximately $28 million of the federal NOLs will expire at various dates beginning in 2036 through 2037 if not utilized, while the remaining amount will have an indefinite life. As of December 31, 2022, we had approximately $2.4 million of state NOLs. For state NOLs expiration dates, it varies from 2022 to unlimited. Under current law, federal NOLs generated in taxable years ending after December 31, 2017, may be carried forward indefinitely, but the deductibility of such federal NOLs may be limited to 80% of our taxable income annually for tax years beginning after December 31, 2020. NOLs generated prior to December 31, 2017, however, have a 20-year carryforward period, but are not subject to the 80% limitation.

Under U.S. federal income tax law, a corporation’s ability to utilize its NOLs to offset future taxable income may be significantly limited if it experiences an “ownership change” as defined in Section 382 of the Internal Revenue Code, as amended. In general, an ownership change will occur if there is a cumulative change in a corporation’s ownership by “5-percent shareholders” that exceeds 50 percentage points over a rolling three-year period. A corporation that experiences an ownership change will generally be subject to an annual limitation on the use of its pre-ownership change NOLs equal to the value of the corporation immediately before the ownership change, multiplied by the long-term tax-exempt rate (subject to certain adjustments). Furthermore, our ability to utilize NOLs of companies that we have acquired or may acquire in the future may be subject to similar limitations. There is also a risk that due to regulatory changes, such as suspensions on the use of NOLs by federal or state taxing authorities or other unforeseen reasons, our existing NOLs could expire or otherwise be unavailable to reduce future income tax liabilities. For these reasons, we may not be able to utilize a material portion of the NOLs, even if we attain profitability, which could potentially result in increased future tax liability to us and could adversely affect our operating results and financial condition.

The testing, manufacturing and marketing of diagnostics entails an inherent risk of product liability and personal injury claims.

To date, we have experienced no product liability or personal injury claims, but any such claims arising in the future could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Potential product liability or personal injury claims may exceed the amount of our insurance coverage or may be excluded from coverage under the terms of our policy or limited by other claims under our umbrella insurance policy. Additionally, our existing insurance may not be renewed by us at a cost and level of coverage comparable to that presently in effect, if at all. In the event that we are held liable for a claim against which we are not insured or for damages exceeding the limits of our insurance coverage, such claim could have a material adverse effect on our cash flow and thus potentially a materially adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

All of our diagnostic technology development and our clinical services are performed at two laboratories, and in the event either or both of these facilities were to be affected by a termination of the lease or a man-made or natural disaster, our operations could be severely impaired.

Laboratory and R&D facilities located in New Haven, Connecticut and Omaha, Nebraska house development teams that collaborate on new products and services. The Company operates CLIA laboratories in both the New Haven, Connecticut and Omaha, Nebraska locations providing essential blood cancer diagnostics to office-based oncologists in many states nationwide. Despite precautions taken by us, any future natural or man-made disaster at these laboratories, such as a fire, earthquake or terrorist activity, could cause substantial delays in our operations, damage or destroy our equipment and testing samples or cause us to incur additional expenses.

In addition, we are leasing the facilities where our laboratories operate. We are currently in compliance with all and any lease obligations, but should the leases terminate for any reason, or if at any time either of the laboratories is moved due to conditions outside our control, it could cause substantial delay in our diagnostics operations, damage or destroy our equipment and biological samples or cause us to incur additional expenses. In the event of an extended shutdown of either laboratory, we may be unable to perform our services in a timely manner or at all and therefore would be unable to operate in a commercially competitive manner. This could harm our operating results and financial condition.

Further, if we have to use a substitute laboratory while our facilities were shut down, we could only use another facility with established state licensure and accreditation under CLIA. We may not be able to find another CLIA-certified facility and comply with applicable procedures, or find any such laboratory that would be willing to perform the tests for us on commercially reasonable terms. Additionally, any new laboratory opened by us would be subject to certification under CLIA and licensure by various states, which would take advantagea significant amount of acquisition opportunities, develop or enhance services or respondtime and result in delays in our ability to competitive pressures.

Changes in payer mix could have a material adverse impact on our net sales and profitability.

Oversight of Laboratory Developed Tests (LDTs)” and “FDA Notification and Medical Device Reporting for Regulatory Oversight of Laboratory Developed Tests (LDTs)”, that set forth a proposed risk-based regulatory framework that would apply varying levels of FDA oversight to LDTs. The timing of when, if at all, the draft guidance documents will be finalized is unclear. In January 2017, the FDA issued a “Discussion Paper on Laboratory Developed Tests (LDTs),” which includes a possible approach to LDT oversight that is intended to advance public discussion on the topic. Additionally, legislative proposals have been introduced in Congress or have been publicly circulated. Such proposals would implement differing approaches to the regulation of LDTs, including in certain instances to require marketing authorization from the FDA. We cannot predict whether any of these legislative proposals will be enacted into law or the impact such new legal requirements would have on our business.

If the FDA asserts that our RUO products and/or LDTs are subject to marketing authorization, or that our RUO products and/or LDTs are adulterated or misbranded, our business, financial condition or results of operations could be adversely affected.

Failure to comply with HIPAA could be costly.

Anti-Kickback Statute

A federal law commonly referred to as the adequacy“Anti-Kickback Statute” prohibits the knowing and willful offer, payment, solicitation or receipt of remuneration, directly or indirectly, in return for the referral of patients or arranging for the referral of patients, or in return for the recommendation, arrangement, purchase, lease or order of items or services that are covered, in whole or in part, by a federal healthcare program such as Medicare or Medicaid. The term “remuneration” has been broadly interpreted to include anything of value such as gifts, discounts, rebates, waiver of payments or providing anything at less than its fair market value. The PPACA amended the intent requirement of the Anti-Kickback Statute such that a person or entity can be found guilty of violating the statute without actual knowledge of the statute or specific intent to violate the statute. Further, the PPACA now provides that claims submitted in violation of the Anti-Kickback Statute constitute false or fraudulent claims for purposes of the federal False Claims Act (“FCA”), including the failure to timely return an overpayment. Many states have adopted similar prohibitions against kickbacks and other practices that are intended to influence the purchase, lease or ordering of healthcare items and services reimbursed by a governmental health program or state Medicaid program. Some of these state prohibitions apply to remuneration for referrals of healthcare items or services reimbursed by any third-party payer, including commercial payers and self-pay patients.

Stark Law

Section 1877 of the Social Security Act, or the Stark Law, prohibits a physician from referring a patient to an entity for certain “designated health services” reimbursable by Medicare if the physician (or close family members) has a financial relationship with that entity, including an ownership or investment interest, a loan or debt relationship or a compensation relationship, unless an exception to the Stark Law is fully satisfied. The designated health services covered by the law include, among others, laboratory and imaging services. Some states have self-referral laws similar to the Stark Law for Medicaid claims and commercial claims.

Violation of the Stark Law may result in prohibition of payment for services rendered, a refund of any Medicare payments for services that resulted from an unlawful referral, civil monetary penalties for specified infractions, criminal penalties, and potential exclusion from participation in government healthcare programs, and potential false claims liability. The repayment provisions in the Stark Law are not dependent on the parties having an improper intent; rather, the Stark Law is a strict liability statute and any violation is subject to repayment of all amounts arising out of tainted referrals. If physician self-referral laws are interpreted differently or if other legislative restrictions are issued, we could incur significant sanctions and loss of revenues, or we could have to change our arrangements and operations in a way that could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, damage to our reputation, results of operations and financial condition.

False Claims Act

The FCA prohibits providers from, among other things, (1) knowingly presenting or causing to be presented, claims for payments from the Medicare, Medicaid or other federal healthcare programs that are false or fraudulent; (2) knowingly making, using or causing to be made or used, a false record or statement to get a false or fraudulent claim paid or approved by the federal government; or (3) knowingly making, using or causing to be made or used, a false record or statement to avoid, decrease or conceal an obligation to pay money to the federal government. The “qui tam” or “whistleblower” provisions of the FCA allow private individuals to bring actions under the FCA on behalf of the government. These private parties are entitled to share in any amounts recovered by the government, and, as a result, the number of “whistleblower” lawsuits that have been filed against providers has increased significantly in recent years. Defendants found to be liable under the FCA may be required to pay three times the actual damages sustained by the government, plus civil penalties for each separate false claim.

There are many potential bases for liability under the FCA. The government has used the FCA to prosecute Medicare and other government healthcare program fraud such as coding errors, billing for services not provided, and providing care that is not medically necessary or that is substandard in quality. The PPACA also provides that claims submitted in connection with patient referrals that result from violations of the Anti-Kickback Statute constitute false claims for the purpose of the FCA, and some courts have held that a violation of the Stark law can result in FCA liability, as well. In addition, a number of states have adopted their own false claims and whistleblower provisions whereby a private

party may file a civil lawsuit in state court. We are required to provide information to our employees and certain contractors about state and federal false claims laws and whistleblower provisions and protections.

Civil Monetary Penalties Law

The Civil Monetary Penalties Law prohibits, among other things, the offering or giving of remuneration to a Medicare or Medicaid beneficiary that the person or entity knows or should know is likely to influence the beneficiary’s selection of a particular provider or supplier of items or services reimbursable by a federal or state healthcare program. This broad provision applies to many kinds of inducements or benefits provided to patients, including complimentary items, services or transportation that are of more than a nominal value. This law could affect how we have to structure our operations and activities.

Intellectual Property Risks Related to Our Business

We cannot be certain that measures taken to protect our intellectual property will be effective.

We rely upon patents, trade secrets, copyrights and trademarks, as well as non-disclosure agreements and other contractual confidentiality provisions to protect our confidential and proprietary information for which we are not seeking patent protection for various reasons. Such measures, however, may not provide adequate protection for our trade secrets or other proprietary information. If such measures do not protect our rights, third parties could use our technology and our ability to compete in the market would be reduced.  Our intellectual property portfolio with respect to certain aspects of our internal controls, including anytechnology and product candidates is at an early stage. We have one company-owned, pending patent application directed to our HemeScreen test.  This provisional patent application is not eligible to become an issued patent until, among other things, we file a non-provisional patent application within 12 months of the filing date of the applicable provisional patent application. Any failure to implement required newfile a non-provisional patent application within this timeline could cause us to lose the ability to obtain patent protection for the inventions disclosed in the associated provisional patent applications.

If any of our owned patent applications do not issue as patents in any jurisdiction, we may not be able to compete effectively.

Changes in either the patent laws or improved controls,their interpretation in the United States and other countries may diminish our ability to protect our inventions, obtain, maintain and enforce our intellectual property rights and, more generally, could affect the value of our intellectual property or ifnarrow the scope of our owned patents. We cannot predict whether the patent applications we experience difficultiesare currently pursuing will issue as patents in their implementation, our businessany particular jurisdiction or whether the claims of any issued patents will provide sufficient protection from competitors or other third parties.

The patent prosecution process is expensive, time-consuming and financial results could be harmed, we could fail to meet our financial reporting obligationscomplex, and we may not be able to accurately report financial resultsfile, prosecute, maintain, enforce or prevent fraud.

We depend on certain technologies that are licensed to us. We do not control these technologies and any loss of our rights to them could prevent us from selling some of our products.

On September 1, 2022, we terminated the license agreement with Dana-Farber pursuant to which we previously licensed our ICP technology. For more information regarding this license agreement termination, please see “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations-Recent Developments”. In the future, we may enter into other license agreements with third parties for certain licensed technologies that are, or may become, relevant to the products we market, or plan to market. In addition, we may elect to license third party intellectual property to further our business objectives and/or as needed for freedom to operate for our products. We do not and will not own the patents, patent applications or other intellectual property rights that are the subject of the Dana-Farber license or these other future licenses. Our revolving linerights to use these technologies and employ the inventions claimed in the licensed patents, patent applications and other intellectual property rights are or will be subject to the continuation of credit and term loancompliance with affiliatesthe terms of Third Security, LLC,those licenses.

We might not be able to obtain licenses to technology or other intellectual property rights that we require. Even if such licenses are obtainable, they may not be available at a reasonable cost or multiple licenses may be needed for the same product (e.g., stacked royalties). We could therefore incur substantial costs related to royalty payments for licenses obtained from third parties, which could negatively affect our gross margins. Further, we could encounter delays in product introductions, or interruptions in product sales, as we develop alternative methods or products.

In some cases, we do not or may not control the prosecution, maintenance, or filing of the patents or patent applications to which we hold licenses, or the enforcement of these patents against third parties. As a result, we cannot be certain that drafting or prosecution of the licensed patents and patent applications by the licensors have been or will be conducted in compliance with applicable laws and regulations or will result in valid and enforceable patents and other intellectual property rights. 

​

If we are unable to protect the confidentiality of our trade secrets, our business and competitive position may be harmed.

​

In addition to the protection afforded by patents, we rely upon trade secret protection, know-how and continuing technological innovation to develop and maintain our competitive position. We seek to protect our proprietary technology and processes, in part, by entering into confidentiality agreements with our contractors, collaborators, scientific advisors, employees and consultants and invention assignment agreements with our consultants and employees. However, we may not obtain these agreements in all circumstances, and individuals with whom we have these agreements may not comply with their terms. The assignment of intellectual property rights under these agreements may not be self-executing or the assignment agreements may be breached, and we may be forced to bring claims against third parties, or defend claims that they may bring against us, to determine the ownership of what we regard as our intellectual property. In addition, we may not be able to prevent the unauthorized disclosure or use of our technical know-how or other trade secrets by the parties to these agreements despite the existence of confidentiality agreements and other contractual restrictions. Monitoring unauthorized uses and disclosures is difficult and we do not know whether the steps we have taken to protect our proprietary technologies will be effective. If any of the contractors, collaborators, scientific advisors, employees and consultants who are parties to these agreements breaches or violates the terms of any of these agreements, we may not have adequate remedies for any such breach or violation. As a result, we could lose our trade secrets. Enforcing a claim against a third party (the “Lenders”) are governedthat illegally obtained and is using our trade secrets, like patent litigation, is expensive and time-consuming and the outcome is unpredictable.

​

Moreover, our trade secrets could otherwise become known or be independently discovered by our competitors or other third parties. Competitors and other third parties could purchase our product candidates and attempt to replicate some or all of the competitive advantages we derive from our development efforts, willfully infringe our intellectual property rights, design around our protected technology or develop their own competitive technologies that fall outside of our intellectual property rights. If any of our trade secrets were to be lawfully obtained or independently developed by a Loancompetitor or other third party, we would have no right to prevent them, or those to whom they communicate it, from using that technology or information to compete with us. If our trade secrets are not adequately protected or sufficient to provide an advantage over our competitors, our competitive position could be adversely affected, as could our business.

Additionally, if the steps taken to maintain our trade secrets are deemed inadequate, we may have insufficient recourse against third parties for misappropriating our trade secrets.

​

If our trademarks and Security Agreement,trade names are not adequately protected, then we may not be able to build name recognition in our markets of interest and our business may be adversely affected.

​

Our registered or unregistered trademarks or trade names may be challenged, infringed, circumvented or declared generic or determined to be infringing on other marks. We may not be able to protect our rights to these trademarks and trade names, which contains certain affirmativewe need to build name recognition among potential partners or customers in our markets of interest. At times, competitors or other third parties may adopt trade names or trademarks similar to ours, thereby impeding our ability to build brand identity and negative covenants. Underpossibly leading to market confusion. If we assert trademark infringement claims, a court may determine that the marks we have asserted are invalid or unenforceable, or that the party against whom we have asserted trademark infringement has superior rights to the marks in question. In this case, we could ultimately be forced to cease use of such trademarks. In addition, there could be potential trade name or trademark infringement claims brought by owners of other registered trademarks or trademarks that incorporate variations of our registered or unregistered trademarks or trade names. Over the long term, loan,if we are requiredunable to maintainestablish name recognition based on our trademarks and trade names, then we may not be able to compete effectively and our business may be adversely affected. Our efforts to enforce or protect our proprietary rights related to trademarks, trade secrets, domain names, copyrights or other intellectual property may be ineffective and could result in substantial costs and diversion of resources and could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

​

Third-party claims of intellectual property infringement, misappropriation or other violations may prevent or delay our product discovery and development efforts and have a minimum liquidity ratiomaterial adverse effect on our business.

​

Our commercial success depends in part on our avoiding infringement, misappropriation and achieveother violations of the patents and proprietary rights of third parties. There is a minimumsubstantial amount of revenue,litigation involving patents and we also agreed not to (i) pledgeother intellectual property rights in the diagnostic industries, as well as administrative proceedings for challenging patents, including interference and reexamination proceedings before the USPTO or otherwise encumber our assetsoppositions and other thancomparable proceedings in foreign jurisdictions. Recently, under U.S. patent reform, new procedures including inter partes review and post grant review have been implemented. As stated above, this reform will bring uncertainty to the Lenders, (ii) enter into additional borrowingspossibility of challenge to our patents in the future. Numerous U.S. and foreign issued patents and pending patent applications, which are owned by third parties, exist in the fields in which we are developing our product candidates. As the diagnostic industry expands and more patents are issued, the risk increases that our product candidates may give rise to claims of infringement of the patent rights of others.

​

Third parties may assert that we are employing their proprietary technology without authorization. Patents issued in the U.S. by law enjoy a presumption of validity that can be rebutted only with evidence that is “clear and convincing,” a heightened standard of proof. There may be third-party patents of which we are currently unaware with claims to materials, formulations, methods of manufacture or guarantees, (iii) repurchasemethods for treatment related to the use or manufacture of our capital stock,products or (iv) enter into certain mergersproduct candidates. Because patent applications can take many years to issue, there may be currently pending patent applications which may later result in issued patents that our product candidates may infringe. In addition, third parties may obtain patents in the future and claim that use of our technologies infringes upon these patents. If any third-party patents were held by a court of competent jurisdiction to cover the manufacturing process of our product candidates, constructs or acquisitions withoutmolecules used in or formed during the Lenders’ consent. To securemanufacturing process, or any final product itself, the repaymentholders of amounts borrowedany such patents may be able to block our ability to commercialize the product candidate unless we obtained a license under the revolving lineapplicable patents, or until such patents expire or they are finally determined to be held invalid or unenforceable. Similarly, if any third-party patent were held by a court of credit and term loan, we granted the Lenders a security interest in allcompetent jurisdiction to cover aspects of our assets. Failureformulations, processes for manufacture or methods of use, including combination therapy or patient selection methods, the holders of any such patent may be able to complyblock our ability to develop and commercialize the product candidate unless we obtained a license or until such patent expires or is finally determined to be held invalid or unenforceable. In either case, such a license may not be available on commercially reasonable terms or at all. Even if we obtained such a license, it may only be non-exclusive, which would permit third parties to use the same intellectual property and compete with us. If we are unable to obtain a necessary license to a third-party patent on commercially reasonable terms, or at all, we may be unable

to commercialize our product candidates or such efforts may be impaired or delayed, which could in turn significantly harm our business.

​

Parties making claims against us may seek and obtain injunctive or other equitable relief, which could effectively block our ability to further develop and commercialize our products or product candidates. Defense of these claims, regardless of their merit, would involve substantial litigation expense and would be a substantial diversion of employee resources from our business. We may not have sufficient resources to bring these actions to a successful conclusion. There could also be public announcements of the results of hearings, motions or other interim proceedings or developments. If securities analysts or investors perceive these results to be negative, it could have a material adverse effect on the price of shares of our common stock.

​

In the event of a successful claim of infringement against us, we may have to pay substantial damages, including treble damages and attorneys’ fees for willful infringement, obtain one or more licenses from third parties, pay royalties or redesign our infringing products, which may be impossible or require substantial time and monetary expenditure. We cannot predict whether any such license would be available at all or whether it would be available on commercially reasonable terms. Furthermore, even in the absence of litigation, we may need to obtain licenses from third parties to advance our research or allow commercialization of our product candidates. We may fail to obtain any of these licenses at a reasonable cost or on reasonable terms, if at all. In that event, we would be unable to further develop and commercialize our product candidates, which could harm our business significantly. Any of the foregoing may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

​

Obtaining and maintaining our patent protection depends on compliance with various procedural, document submission, fee payment and other requirements imposed by governmental patent agencies, and our patent protection could be reduced or eliminated for non-compliance with these requirements.

​

Periodic maintenance fees on any issued patent are due to be paid to the USPTO and foreign patent agencies in several stages over the lifetime of the patent. The USPTO and various foreign governmental patent agencies require compliance with a number of procedural, documentary, fee payment and other similar provisions during the patent application process. While an inadvertent lapse can in many cases be cured by payment of a late fee or by other means in accordance with the covenants underapplicable rules, there are situations in which noncompliance can result in abandonment or lapse of the loan agreement would bepatent or patent application, resulting in partial or complete loss of patent rights in the relevant jurisdiction. Noncompliance events that could result in abandonment or lapse of a patent or patent application include, but are not limited to, failure to respond to official actions within prescribed time limits, non-payment of fees and failure to properly legalize and submit formal documents. In such an event, of default underour competitors might be able to enter the loan agreement that, if not cured or waived,market earlier than would giveotherwise have been the Lenders the right to cease making additional advances, accelerate repayment of all sums due and take action to collect the amounts owed to them, including foreclosing on their security interest,case, which would have a material adverse effect on our business.

​

We may become involved in lawsuits to protect or enforce our patents or other intellectual property, which could be expensive, time-consuming and unsuccessful.

​

Competitors may infringe our patents, trademarks, copyrights or other intellectual property. To counter infringement or unauthorized use, we may be required to file infringement claims, which can be expensive and time-consuming and divert the time and attention of our management and scientific personnel. Any claims we assert against perceived infringers could provoke these parties to assert counterclaims against us alleging that we infringe their patents, in addition to counterclaims asserting that our patents are invalid or unenforceable, or both. In any patent infringement proceeding, there is a risk that a court will decide that a patent of ours is invalid or unenforceable, in whole or in part, and that we do not have the right to stop the other party from using the invention at issue. There is also a risk that, even if the validity of such patents is upheld, the court will construe the patent’s claims narrowly or decide that we do not have the right to stop the other party from using the invention at issue on the grounds that our patent claims do not cover the invention. An adverse outcome in a litigation or proceeding involving our patents could limit our ability to assert our patents against those parties or other competitors, and may curtail or preclude our ability to exclude third parties from making and selling similar or competitive products. Any of these occurrences could adversely affect our competitive business position, business prospects and financial condition. Similarly, if we assert trademark infringement claims, a court may determine that the marks we have asserted are invalid or unenforceable, or that the party against whom we have

asserted trademark infringement has superior rights to the marks in question. In this case, we could ultimately be forced to cease use of such trademarks.

​

Even if we establish infringement, the court may decide not to grant an injunction against further infringing activity and instead award only monetary damages, which may or may not be an adequate remedy. Furthermore, because of the substantial amount of discovery required in connection with intellectual property litigation, there is a risk that some of our confidential information could be compromised by disclosure during litigation. There could also be public announcements of the results of hearings, motions or other interim proceedings or developments. If securities analysts or investors perceive these results to be negative, it could have a material adverse effect on the price of shares of our common stock. Moreover, there can be no assurance that we will have sufficient financial or other resources to file and pursue such infringement claims, which typically last for years before they are concluded. Even if we ultimately prevail in such claims, the monetary cost of such litigation and the diversion of the attention of our management and scientific personnel could outweigh any benefit we receive as a result of the proceedings. Any of the foregoing may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations. operations and prospects.

​

Changes to the patent law in the U.S. and other jurisdictions could diminish the value of patents in general, thereby impairing our ability to protect our product candidates.

​

As is the case with other diagnostic companies, our success is heavily dependent on intellectual property, particularly patents. Obtaining and enforcing patents in the diagnostic industry involve both technological and legal complexity, and is therefore costly, time-consuming and inherently uncertain. In addition, the U.S. has recently enacted and is currently implementing wide-ranging patent reform legislation. Recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings have narrowed the scope of December 31, 2015,patent protection available in certain circumstances and weakened the rights of patent owners in certain situations. In addition to increasing uncertainty with regard to our ability to obtain patents in the future, this combination of events has created uncertainty with respect to the value of patents, once obtained. Depending on decisions by the Congress, the federal courts, and the USPTO, the laws and regulations governing patents could change in unpredictable ways that would weaken our ability to obtain new patents or to enforce our existing patents and patents that we weremight obtain in the future. For example, in the case, Assoc. for Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genetics, Inc., the U.S. Supreme Court held that certain claims to DNA molecules are not in compliance withpatentable. In addition, the financial covenantscase Amgen Inc. v. Sanofi affects the way antibody claims are examined and litigated. We cannot predict how future decisions by the courts, the Congress or the USPTO may impact the value of our patents.

​

In addition, a European Unified Patent Court (UPC) is scheduled to come into force during 2023. The UPC will be a common patent court to hear patent infringement and revocation proceedings effective for member states of the LoanEuropean Union. This could enable third parties to seek revocation of a European patent in a single proceeding at the UPC rather than through multiple proceedings in each of the jurisdictions in which the European patent is validated. Although we do not currently own any European patents or applications, if we obtain such patents and Security Agreement.applications in the future, any such revocation and loss of patent protection could have a material adverse impact on our business and our ability to commercialize or license our technology and products. Moreover, the controlling laws and regulations of the UPC will develop over time, and may adversely affect our ability to enforce or defend the validity of any European patents we may obtain. We may decide to opt out from the UPC any future European patent applications that we may file and any patents we may obtain. If certain formalities and requirements are not met, however, such European patents and patent applications could be challenged for non-compliance and brought under the jurisdiction of the UPC. We cannot be certain that future European patents and patent applications will avoid falling under the jurisdiction of the UPC, if we decide to opt out of the UPC.

Third parties may assert ownership or commercial rights to inventions we develop.

Third parties may in the future make claims challenging the inventorship or ownership of our intellectual property. For example, third parties that have been introduced to or have benefited from our inventions may attempt to replicate or reverse engineer our products and circumvent ownership of our inventions. In addition, we may face claims that our agreements with employees, contractors, or consultants obligating them to assign intellectual property to us are ineffective, or in conflict with prior or competing contractual obligations of assignment, which could result in ownership disputes regarding intellectual property we have developed or will develop and interfere with our ability to capture the commercial

value of such inventions. Litigation may be necessary to resolve an ownership dispute, and if we cannot meet the continued listing requirements of The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC (“Nasdaq”), Nasdaqare not successful, we may delistbe precluded from using certain intellectual property, or may lose our shares of common stock, which wouldexclusive rights in that intellectual property. Either outcome could have an adverse impact on our business.

Third parties may assert that our employees or consultants have wrongfully used or disclosed confidential information or misappropriated trade secrets.

Although we try to ensure that our employees and consultants do not use the trading volume, liquidityproprietary information or know-how of others in their work for us, we may be subject to claims that we or our employees, consultants or independent contractors have inadvertently or otherwise used or disclosed intellectual property, including trade secrets or other proprietary information, of a former employer or other third parties. Litigation may be necessary to defend against these claims. If we fail in defending any such claims, in addition to paying monetary damages, we may lose valuable intellectual property rights or personnel. Even if we are successful in defending against such claims, litigation could result in substantial costs and marketbe a distraction to management and other employees.

​

Intellectual property rights do not necessarily address all potential threats to our competitive advantage.

​

The degree of future protection afforded by our intellectual property rights is uncertain because intellectual property rights have limitations and may not adequately protect our business or permit us to maintain our competitive advantage. For example:

​

•others may be able to make products that are similar to our product candidates or utilize similar technology but that are not covered by the claims of the patents that we hold rights to;

​

•we, or our licensors or collaborators, might not have been the first to invent or the first to file patent applications covering certain of our or their inventions;

​

•others may independently develop similar or alternative technologies or duplicate any of our technologies without infringing our owned intellectual property rights;

​

•it is possible that our current or future pending owned patent applications will not lead to issued patents;

​

•issued patents that we hold rights to may be held invalid or unenforceable, including as a result of legal challenges by our competitors or other third parties;

​

•our competitors or other third parties might conduct research and development activities in countries where we do not have patent rights and then use the information learned from such activities to develop competitive products for sale in the US;

​

•we may not develop additional proprietary technologies that are patentable;

​

•the patents of others may harm our business; and

​

•we may choose not to file a patent in order to maintain certain trade secrets or know-how, and a third party may subsequently file a patent covering such intellectual property.

​

Should any of these events occur, they could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects

Risks Related to Our Common Stock

The price of our common shares. 

publicly held shares and all other initial listing standards for listing on Nasdaq, other than the Nasdaq Capital Market, except for the Minimum Bid Price Requirement,minimum bid price requirement, and (ii) notifyprovide written notice to Nasdaq of our intentintention to cure our noncompliance with the Minimum Bid Price, includingdelinquency during the second grace period, by effecting a reverse stock split, if necessary. If we domeet these requirements, Nasdaq will grant us an additional 180 calendar days. However, if it appears to Nasdaq that we will not indicate our intentbe able to cure the deficiency, or if it doeswe are otherwise not appear to Nasdaq that it would be possible for us to cure the deficiency, we would not be eligible, for the second 180 calendar day period, and our common stock would then be subject to delisting from the Nasdaq Capital Market.

internal control over financial reporting is perceived as inadequate, or that we are unable to produce timely or accurate financial statements, investors may lose confidence in our operating results, and the price of our common stock could decline.

We are required to comply with certain of the SEC rules that implement Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which requires management to certify financial and other information in our quarterly and annual reports and provide an annual management report on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. This assessment needs to include the disclosure of any material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting identified by our management or our independent registered public accounting firm. During the evaluation and testing process, if we identify one or more material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting or if we are unable to complete our evaluation, testing, and any required remediation in a timely fashion, we will be unable to assert that our internal control over financial reporting is effective.

These developments could make it more difficult for us to retain qualified members of our Board of Directors, or qualified executive officers. We are presently evaluating and monitoring regulatory developments and cannot estimate the timing or magnitude of additional costs we may incur as a result. To the extent these costs are significant, our general and administrative expenses are likely to increase.

We have not paid dividends on our common stock in the past and do not expect to pay dividends on our common stock for the foreseeable future. Any return on investment may be limited to the value of our common stock.

No cash dividends have been paid on our common stock. We expect that any income received from operations will be devoted to our future operations and growth. We do not expect to pay cash dividends on our common stock in the near future. Payment of dividends would depend upon our profitability at the time, cash available for those dividends, and other factors as our board of directors may consider relevant. If we do not pay dividends, our common stock may be less valuable because a return on an investor’s investment will only occur if our stock price appreciates. Investors in our common stock should not rely on an investment in our company if they require dividend income.

We may be at an increased risk of securities class action litigation.  

Historically, securities class action litigation has often been brought against a company following a decline in the market price of its securities. This risk is especially relevant for us because biotechnology stocks have experienced significant stock price volatility in recent years. If we were to be sued, it could result in substantial costs and a diversion of management’s attention and resources, which could harm our business.

If securities or industry analysts do not publish research or reports about our business, or if they change their recommendations regarding our stock adversely, our stock price and trading volume could decline.

The trading market for our common stock relies in part on the research and reports that equity research analysts publish about us and our business. We do not control these analysts. The price of our common stock could decline if one or more equity research analysts downgrade our common stock or if they issue other unfavorable commentary or cease publishing reports about us or our business.

The sale or issuance of our common stock to, or through, AGP may cause significant dilution and the sale of the shares of common stock acquired by AGP, or the perception that such sales may occur, could cause the price of our common stock to fall.

On April 2, 2021, we entered into a sales agreement with AGP, pursuant to which we may offer and sell our Common Stock, having aggregate sales proceeds of up to $22.0 million, to or through AGP, from time to time, in the ATM Offering. We are limited in the number of shares it can sell in the ATM Offering due to the offering limitations currently applicable to the Company under General Instruction I.B.6. of Form S-3 and the Company’s public float as of the applicable date of such sales, as well as the number of authorized and unissued shares available for issuance, in accordance with the terms of the AGP Sales Agreement. Sales to, or through, AGP by us could result in substantial dilution to the interests of other holders of our common stock. Additionally, the sale of a substantial number of shares of our common

stock, or the anticipation of such sales, could make it more difficult for us to sell equity or equity-related securities in the future at a time and at a price that we might otherwise wish to effect sales.

​

From April 2, 2021 through the date the consolidated financial statements were issued, we received approximately $16.0 million in gross proceeds through the AGP Sales Agreement from the sale of 5,119,656 shares of Common Stock, leaving us with an additional $6.0 million available for future sales pursuant to the AGP Sales Agreement.

​

Raising additional capital may cause dilution to our stockholders, restrict our operations or require us to relinquish rights to our diagnostic technologies or current or future development programs.

​

Until such time, if ever, as we can generate substantial product revenues, we expect to finance our cash needs through a combination of private and public equity offerings, debt financings, collaborations, strategic alliances and marketing, distribution or licensing arrangements.  We do not currently have any committed external source of funds. To the extent that we raise additional capital through the sale of common stock or securities convertible or exchangeable into common stock, your ownership interest will be diluted, and the terms of these securities may include liquidation or other preferences that materially adversely affect your rights as a common stockholder.  Debt financing, if available, would increase our relationshipsfixed payment obligations and may involve agreements that include covenants limiting or restricting our ability to take specific actions, such as incurring additional debt, making capital expenditures or declaring dividends.

​

If we raise funds through additional collaborations, strategic alliances or marketing, distribution or licensing arrangements with third parties, we may have to relinquish valuable rights to our intellectual property, future revenue streams, research programs or current or future product candidates or to grant licenses on terms that may not be favorable to us. If we are unable to raise additional funds through equity or debt financings when needed, we may be required to delay, scale back or discontinue the development and commercialization of one or more of our product candidates, delay our pursuit of potential in-licenses or acquisitions or grant rights to develop and market current or future product candidates that we would otherwise prefer to develop and market ourselves.

​

The issuance of our common stock to creditors or litigants may cause significant dilution to our stockholders and cause the price of our common stock to fall

We may seek to settle outstanding obligations to vendors, debtholders or litigants in any litigation through the issuance of our common stock or other security to such persons. Such issuances may cause significant dilution to our stockholders and cause the price of our common stock to fall.

Unstable market and economic conditions may have serious adverse consequences on our business, partnersfinancial condition and suppliersstock price.

As widely reported, global credit and customers’financial markets have experienced extreme volatility and potential customers’ decisionsdisruptions in the past several years, including severely diminished liquidity and credit availability, declines in consumer confidence, declines in economic growth, increases in unemployment rates and uncertainty about economic stability, including most recently in connection with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, current macroeconomic conditions, currency exchange rates, and volatile financial markets. There can be no assurance that further deterioration in credit and financial markets and confidence in economic conditions will not occur. Our general business strategy may be adversely affected by any such economic downturn, volatile business environment or continued unpredictable and unstable market conditions. If the current equity and credit markets deteriorate, or do not improve, it may make any necessary debt or equity financing more difficult, more costly, and more dilutive. Furthermore, our stock price may decline due in part to purchase our productsthe volatility of the stock market and services,the general economic downturn.

Failure to secure any necessary financing in a timely manner and on favorable terms could have a material adverse impacteffect on our businessgrowth strategy, financial performance and operating results.stock price and could require us to delay, scale back or discontinue the development and commercialization of one or more of our product candidates or delay our pursuit of potential in-licenses or acquisitions. In addition, there is a suspensionrisk that one or delistingmore of our current service providers, manufacturers and

other partners may not survive these difficult economic times, which could impairdirectly affect our ability to raiseattain our operating goals on schedule and on budget.

Our amended and restated bylaws, as amended, designate specific courts in as the exclusive forum for certain litigation that may be initiated by the Company’s stockholders, which could limit our stockholders’ ability to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with us.

Pursuant to our amended and restated bylaws, as amended (the “bylaws”), unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware is the sole and exclusive forum for state law claims for (1) any derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf; (2) any action or proceeding asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any current or former director, officer or other employee or agent of ours to us or our stockholders or debtholders, (3) any action asserting a claim against us or any director or officer or other employee of ours arising pursuant to any provision of the Delaware General Corporation Law or our certificate of incorporation or the bylaws (in each case, as they may be amended from time to time), (4) any action asserting a claim against us or any current or former director or officer or other employee or agent of ours governed by the internal affairs doctrine or (5) any action asserting an “internal corporate claim” as that term is defined in Section 115 of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware (the “Delaware Forum Provision”); provided, however, that the Delaware Forum Provision will not apply to any causes of action arising under the Securities Act or the Exchange Act. Our amended and restated bylaws further provide that unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, that in the event that the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware lacks jurisdiction over any such action or proceeding, the sole and exclusive forum for such action or proceeding shall be another state or federal court located within the State of Delaware; provided, however, that stockholders cannot and will not be deemed to have waived our compliance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder.

The Delaware Forum Provision and the Federal Forum Provision in our bylaws may impose additional capital through equitylitigation costs on stockholders in pursuing any such claims. Additionally, these forum selection clauses may limit our stockholders’ ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that they find favorable for disputes with us or debt financingsour directors, officers or employees, which may discourage the filing of lawsuits against us and our ability to attractdirectors, officers and retain employees, by means of equity compensation.

located or would otherwise choose to bring the action, and volume;such judgments may be more or less favorable to us than our stockholders.

Anti-takeover provisions under our charter documents and fewer broker-dealers willing to execute trades in our common stock. The occurrenceDelaware law could delay or prevent a change of any of these eventscontrol, which could result in a further decline inlimit the market price of our common stock and may prevent or frustrate attempts by our stockholders to replace or remove our current management.

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and our bylaws contain provisions that could havedelay or prevent a material adverse effectchange of control of our company or changes in our board of directors that our stockholders might consider favorable. Some of these provisions include:

In addition, because we are incorporated in Delaware, we are governed by the provisions of Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporate Law (“DGCL”), which may prohibit certain business combinations with stockholders owning 15% or more of our outstanding voting stock. These antitakeover provisions and other provisions in our fourth amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws could make it more difficult for stockholders or potential acquirers to obtain control of our board of directors or initiate actions that are opposed by the then-current board of directors and could also delay or impede a merger, tender offer or proxy contest involving our company. These provisions could also discourage proxy contests and make it more difficult for you and other stockholders to elect directors of your choosing or cause us to take other corporate actions you desire. Any delay or prevention of a change of control transaction or changes in our board of directors could cause the market price of our common stock to decline.

We are a ‘smaller reporting company,” and the reduced disclosure requirements applicable to smaller reporting companies may make our common stock less attractive to investors.

We are a smaller reporting company under Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. For so long as we remain a smaller reporting company, we are permitted and plan to rely on us.exemptions from certain disclosure requirements, including reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation. These exemptions and reduced disclosures in our SEC filings due to our status as a smaller reporting company also mean our auditors are not required to audit our internal control over financial reporting and may make it harder for investors to analyze our results of operations and financial prospects. We cannot predict if investors will find our common stock less attractive because we may rely on these exemptions. If some investors find our common stock less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our common