UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

 

FORM 10-K

(Mark One)

ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 20142017

 

OR

 

TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

Commission File No. 000-53754

 

VYSTAR CORPORATION

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

 

GEORGIA 20-2027731
(State or other jurisdiction of(I.R.S. Employer
incorporation or organization) (I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)
   
2480 Briarcliff Road101 Aylesbury Rd.  
Suite 6, #159
Atlanta, GAWorcester, MA
 3032901609
(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code)

 

Registrant’sRegistrants telephone number, including area code:866-674-5238

 

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

 

NONE

 

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:

 

Common Stock, par value $0.0001 per share

 

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes ☐ No ☒

 

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. Yes ☐ No ☒

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes ☐ No ☒

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files). Yes ☐ No ☒

 

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of registrant’sregistrants knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K. ☐

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” and“non-accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company, “and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):

 

 Large Accelerated Filer ☐ Accelerated Filer ☐ Non-Accelerated Filer ☐ Smaller Reporting Company ☒
Emerging growth Company ☐

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes ☐ No ☒

 

As of April 13, 2015,March 29, 2018, the aggregate market value of shares held by non-affiliates of the registrant (based upon the closing sale price of such shares on the OTC Market on April 13, 2015)March 28, 2018) was$1,022,070. $4,717,746. See Item 12.

 

As of April 15, 2015,March 29, 2018, there were 81,519,666134,307,218 shares of the registrant’sregistrant's common stock outstanding and 13,828 shares of the registrant’sregistrants Series A preferred stock.

 

 

Vystar Corporation

Annual Report on Form 10-K

For the Year Ended December 31, 20142017

 

Table of Contents

Part I
   
Part I
Item 1.Business 34
Item 1ARisk Factors 9
Item 1B.Unresolved Staff Comments 1512
Item 2.Properties 1512
Item 3.Legal Proceedings 1512
Item 4.Mine Safety Disclosures 1612
    
Part II
   
Item 5.Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities 1612
Item 6.Selected Financial Data 1814
Item 7.Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations 1814
Item 7A.Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk 2618
Item 8.Financial Statements and Supplementary Data 2618
Item 9.Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure 2719
Item 9A.Controls and Procedures 2719
Item 9B.Other Information 2819
    
Part III
   
Item 10.Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance 2920
Item 11.Executive Compensation 3323
Item 12.Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters 3925
Item 13.Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence 4227
Item 14.Principal Accountant Fees and Services 4328
    
Part IV
   
Item 15.Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules 4630
Item 16.Form 10K Summary32
Signatures 5033

 

 2

CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS

 

Certain oral and written statements made by Vystar Corporation about future events and expectations, including statements in this Annual Report on Form 10-K (the “Report”) contain forward-looking statements, within the meaning of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”) and the Securities Act of 1933, as amended ( the “Securities Act”), that involve risks and uncertainties. For those statements, we claim the protection of the safe-harbor for forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation Act of 1995. In some cases, forward-looking statements are identified by words such as “believe,” “anticipate,” “expect,” “intend,” “plan,” “will,” “may” and similar expressions. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this Report or the statement. All of these forward-looking statements are based on information available to us at this time, and we assume no obligation to update any of these statements. Actual results could differ from those projected in these forward-looking statements as a result of many factors, including those identified in “Risk Factors,” “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and elsewhere. We urge you to review and consider the various disclosures made by us in this Report, and those detailed from time to time in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), that attempt to advise you of the risks and factors that may affect our future results. We qualify any forward-looking statements entirely by these cautionary factors.

 

The above mentionedabove-mentioned risk factors are not all-inclusive. Given these uncertainties and that such statements, speak only as of the date made; you should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

 

 3

PART I

 

ITEM 1.BUSINESS

Products and Services

Natural Rubber Latex

 

Vystar Corporation (“Vystar”, the “Company”, “we”, “us”, or “our”) is the creator and exclusive owner of the innovative technology to produce Vytex® Natural Rubber Latex (“NRL”). In addition, on September 13, 2012, we acquired SleepHealth, LLC and SleepHealth North Carolina, LLC (“SleepHealth”), privately-held sleep diagnostic companies headquartered in Monroe, Georgia. We effectively closed SleepHealth in January 2014 due to changes in the marketplace and an inability to add new accounts and secure Durable Medical Equipment (DME) business. In essence, since the acquisition, local hospitals have taken over several of our profitable locations, we were forced to close other locations due to a lack of payment for our services and our efforts to increase contract pricing with our remaining locations to a profitable level have failed. Vystar sold the few remaining SleepHealth assets and has been contemplating its next move to re-coup what it considers to be hidden fees, ineffective contract price expectations and outright fabrication of potential by the seller.

In addition, on June 28, 2013, Vystar Corporation (the “Company”) completed the acquisition of Kiron Clinical Sleep Lab, LLC (“Kiron”) a vertically integrated sleep diagnostic practice located in Durham, NC. As a result of these actions, Vystar Corporation is now comprised of two segments, a Vytex Division, focused on expanding the licensing and utilization of its proprietary source natural rubber latex technology, and a Kiron Division providing full sleep medicine services including clinical, diagnostic and treatment.

The Vytex Division contains our global multi-patented technology that reduces antigenic and total protein in natural rubber latex products to virtually undetectable levels. Vytex NRL, our “ultra-low protein” natural rubber latex has been introduced throughout the worldwide marketplace that uses NRL or latex substitutes as a raw material for end products. Natural rubber latex or latex substitutes are used in an extensive range of products including balloons, textiles, footwear and clothing (threads), adhesives, foams (mattresses, pillows, mattress toppers, etc.), furniture (foam and adhesives), carpet, paints, coatings, protective equipment, sporting equipment, and, especially health care products such as condoms, surgical and exam gloves, among others. Our challenge has been that a manufacturer’s conversion from the use of standard latex or synthetic raw material to Vytex NRL involves a protracted sales cycle ranging from eighteen to thirty sixthirty-six months. We have seen that same cycle apply to the newest version of Vytex NRL, a dry rubber sampling targeted for the tire and tubing industries. Additionally, in the past, our primary method of distribution was via toll manufacturing. We now have several licensing agreements in place for global distribution that have allowed us to focus on and transition to sales and marketing with a technical oversight.

 

On June 28, 2013, Vystar Corporation entered into an LLC Ownership Interest Purchase Agreement (the “Agreement”) with Michael Soo, M.D. (“Seller”), the sole member of Kiron Clinical Sleep Lab, LLC, a North Carolina limited liability company (“Kiron”) to purchase all outstanding membership and ownership interests of Kiron, and on July 1, 2013 completed such purchase (the “Purchase”). Pursuant to the Agreement, the Company:

(a) Paid $90,000 cash to Seller;

(b) Issued 727,434 shares of Vystar common stock to Seller; and

(c) Agreed to pay two percent (2%) of Kiron’s gross receipts received by the Company after the Closing Date of the Acquisition for a period of five (5) years.

In addition, the Company agreed to pay an additional $60,000 (the “Adjustment Amount”), $10,000 in cash and $50,000 in shares of Vystar common stock, in the event the audited financial results of Kiron for the year-end 2011, 2012, and the first six (6) months of 2013 were within two percent (2%) variability of the Statement of Revenues and Expenses provided by the Seller at closing for the periods referenced above. If the audited financial results were within three percent (3%) variability, fifty percent (50%) of the Adjustment Amount would be paid to the Seller. The completed audit of Kiron’s 2011 and 2012 financial statements showed financial results that exceeded the three percent (3%) variability allowed under the Agreement and thus the $60,000 Adjustment Amount was forfeited. In addition, the Seller resigned from the role of Medical Director and as such has forfeited the two percent (2%) of gross receipts for five (5) years that was included in the original consideration. The Purchase Consideration was therefore adjusted to $140,000 and all initial Goodwill associated with the purchase was written-off.

At closing, the Company and Seller entered into an agreement (“Contract”) pursuant to which the Seller through his medical practice, Durham Neurology, PLLC, a wholly owned professional limited liability company would provide ongoing clinical and medical services to the Company and Kiron as Medical Director. The Seller subsequently dissolved Durham Neurology, PLLC on September 13, 2013 leaving Kiron without a Medical Director. On March 10, 2014, Vystar and Kiron filed Civil Suit 74A-07997-1 IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF GWINNETT COUNTY, STATE OF GEORGIA against Michael Soo, MD and Durham Neurology, PLLC for multiple breaches of the Agreement and Contract. Discovery is set to begin within weeks of the filing of this document.

Since this time, a new Medical Director has been hired and Kiron has re-established its practice with sleep consultations, sleep studies, Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (“CPAP”) titrations studies, CPAP clinics and a CPAP therapy re-supply business focusing on its existing and growing physician referral and patient bases.

Products and Services

Natural Rubber Latex

Natural rubber latex is an agricultural product produced from the sap of the rubber tree,Hevea brasiliensis. Accordingbrasiliensis. In presentations at the 5th World Elastomer Conference held in Dusseldorf, Germany during early March 2018 it was noted that there was a slowing growth rate in global NR consumption and it was predicted demand would fall over the next two years. The numbers 1 and 2 producers (Thailand and Indonesia) had a modest fall in production while Malaysia, China and India showed a large negative gap between output and capacity mainly based on current low prices. Vietnam continues at 85 to data obtained95% capacity. There is a huge natural rubber capacity surplus until the early 2030s and prices will remain flat through 2025. With growing substitution of synthetics, that an uptick in prices may not occur and based on the International Rubber Study Group web site (rubberstudy.com) and dated January 6, 2015:pricing of synthetics the worldtotal rubber demand is forecastmarket share competition may weigh more to increase at 1.8% and 4.1% in 2015 and 2016 respectively, growing below the long-term growth rate of 3.7% under the IMF Scenario to 29.1 million tonnes in 2015 and to 30.3 million tonnes in 2016.synthetics.

 

World Natural Rubber (NR) demand is forecasted to increase by 3.1% in 2015 under the IMF Scenario and by 4.4% in 2016. The world total NR consumption is expected to be 12.3 million tonnes in 2015, 12.9 million tonnes in 2016 and increasing to 16.5 million tonnes in 2023. World Synthetic Rubber (SR) demand is expected to increase to 16.8 million tonnes in 2015 and rise to 17.5 million tonnes in 2016 under the IMF Scenario. In 2023, the demand for SR will be 21.5 million tonnes. The outlook for NR supply is positive, sufficient to meet the demand of the industry for all forecast years under all three scenarios. Almost 60% of global consumption is by the world’s tyre manufacturing industry, with the remainder going into the ‘general rubber products’ sector; many thousands of different goods are manufactured by this sector, serving many industries, including transport, construction, health, mining etc.

Substantially all of the latex processors are located in Southeast Asia, India, Africa and Latin America and are owned by local groups or large multinational corporations. This future demand is awakening interest in other areas of the world where the climate is suitable, particularly in Guatemala, where it is expectedfocus now shifts to certifications from the latex industry will grow from 57,000 tonnes produced in 2006 to over 95,000 tonnes by 2016,Forestry Stewardship Council and Rainforest Alliance, as a 67% increase, according to a report issued by the office of Consulate General of Guatemala, Atlanta, Georgia in 2008. This is particularly attractive to U.S. manufacturers of latex products who could potentially see reduced transportation costs and lead times over the usual Asian sources.specialty latex. In addition to the resurgence of Central and South America in natural rubber latex production, countries such as Vietnam, Cambodia and CambodiaCameroon have launched major efforts to meet the needs of the global liquid natural rubber latex market. Vietnam is now a major processor of our Vytex NRL and several trial runs of the specialty offerings discussed below that are in place for manufacturer trials and we now have two producers in Guatemala, one in the trial phase.

 

Our initial product portfolio included Vytex NRL in high ammonia (HA) and low ammonia (LA) formulations. New specialized formulations are projected to come to market over the next year with trials in ultra-low ammonia, pre-vulcanisedpre-vulcanized and low nitrosamine versions currently being tested and/or developed.taking place. Vystar has used its technology to work with customers to solve production issues and provide them with a point of difference.difference and guidance as research using Vytex has headed into directions previously thought to be off-limits to natural rubber latex. It appears to be the removal of the vast majority of the proteins, the carotenoids and the non-rubbers that affords Vytex NRL this opportunity.

 

Board of Directors Member and Research & Development Director Ranjit K. Matthan, Ph.D., revealed ongoing developments in the formulation of Vytex NRL with reduced or no ammonia and nitrosamines at the International Latex Conference (ILC) session titled “Advances in Environmentally Friendly Ultra Low Protein Natural Rubber Specialty Latices” on August 12, 2015. The significant advances in aluminum hydroxide-treated Vytex NRL properties and applications are potential game-changers for the issues of volatile organic content and nitrosamines for some critical latex products, such as balloons, catheters, condoms, and other medical devices, as well as enabling cleaner and more sustainable work environments. The expanded Vystar product grades make it applicable in a wider range of latex products with the advantage of improved environmental impact through reduced leachables/extractables. The advances deliver a simplified, sustainable, totally safe raw material that Vystar can offer for several applications without reservations about nitrosamines. Vystar has initiated a scale up to lab production of all three newer versions of Vytex NRL and has commenced a sample fulfillment mode with a significant manufacturer of women’s intimate apparel who is in the final testing stages of two of the grades (no ammonia and ultra-low ammonia) as possible replacements of their current raw materials.

 Recently at the Nuremberg Toy Show (Speilwarenmesse) Vytex NRL was a targeted product for manufacturers of balloons, masks, etc. On the main page of the European Balloons and Party Council web site is a Yahoo video still plus a recent press release that discusses the benefits of Vytex NRL in items such as balloons. As there is a new proposal for limits on protein content of balloons by virtue of an EN listing, Vytex has now gone in to full prevulcanized testing to start the sampling process in selected areas based on manufacturing needs.


Over the course of several years, our technical groups have presented technical papers of varying topics that still hold relevance. Vytex NRL is produced at the latex processor level and can be integrated into the current processing environments without additional capital equipment investment. The protein removal and modification process that leads to Vytex NRL allows manufacturers to lower manufacturing costs with the benefit of reduced protein levels. We presented a paper on this topic (“technical paper”) at the RAPRA Latex and Synthetic Polymer Dispersions 2010 Conference in Amsterdam in March 2010. Reduced leaching times and resulting reductions in energy, water and material handling consumption can lead to realized cost savings.

 

In January 2011, William Doyle, our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, presented a paper entitled,Also, “Eco-Friendly Manufacturing of High Performance Latex using Ultra Low Antigenic Protein Latex” at the India Rubber Expo (IRE 2011) in Chennai, India. This paper reviewed some of the learning’slearnings Vystar had made since commercializing Vytex NRL. Among these discoveries were: improved air and helium retention in balloons; reduced leaching needs for some dipped products; truer colors for dyed dipped products;products (such as balloons); and low latex odor in foams. Later in the year,foams, which has now led to unique research into areas previously considered off-limits to NRL. Vystar published and presented a paper, “Further Development of Vytex® Natural Rubber Latex Leads to Strong Niche Market Advances”, at the July meeting of the International Latex Conference (ILC 2011) in Akron, Ohio. This paperthat added additional learnings related to slow release (memory) foam formulations and other technical improvements helping customers solve their new product development challenges.

 

We haveVystar has transitioned from toll manufacturing agreements to licensing agreements. Licensing agreements that eliminate the need to maintain a costly infrastructure along with the other investment and regulatory compliance costs to develop and operate a processing or manufacturing facility. All of these costs are or will be borne by our manufacturing and distribution contractors and/or customers. This means we must show the NRL producers and product manufacturers the economic value proposition of including Vytex NRL in their product lines, hence the technical paper presentations we have made and continue to make. In addition, as an all-natural raw material, Vytex NRL puts the main component in gloves and other products back in the environmentally friendly arena.

 

We have had a toll manufacturing agreement with Revertex (Malaysia), the world’s largest producer of pre-vulcanized natural rubber lattices, since 2008.

To implement our licensing model, in March 2010 we signed a licensing agreement with Pica de Hule Natural, a division of Grupo Agroindustrial de Occidente (“Occidente”), located in Guatemala. Occidente is the largest processor of natural rubber latex in Latin America and the largest exporter serving more than 15 countries. Under the agreement, Occidente will manufacture, sell and market Vytex NRL throughout Latin America as well as supply Vytex NRL to North America and Europe through our existing Centrotrade Minerals & Metals, USEurope. This agreement was continued in 2017 and Centrotrade Deutschland, GmbH, Germany distribution system. remains in place currently.

 

In October 2010, we signed a second licensing agreementAdditionally, in 2017, Vystar began trials to process various Vytex offerings, including pre-vulcanized grades, at Forteleza’s new facility in Guatemala with KA Prevulcanized Latex (KAPVL)initial good results. This is an important strategic maneuver to manufacture and sell Vytex NRLhandle demand in the SAARC region which includes India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, BhutanNorth, Central and Nepal. India isSouth American regions as well as certain areas of Southeast Asia. This will lead to a new agreement between the second largest consumertwo companies upon successful completion of concentrated latex behind China. In 2014 this agreement ended and we did not renew.the trials.

 

In addition, in January 2009, we entered into a Distribution Agreement with Centrotrade Minerals & Metals, US and Centrotrade Deutschland, GmbH, Germany, a leading global distributor of latex raw materials, to create a worldwide distribution network that will further enhance our ability to cost effectively reach and service manufacturer customers in these key manufacturing areas. This provides an expansive distribution network that facilitates both the licensing and toll manufacturing models and can assist with various processors in taking their products to market. On December 19, 2012, we amended our agreement with Centrotrade to expand Vytex NRL distribution rights to the world’s largest NRL consuming markets in Southeast Asia, specifically Malaysia and Thailand. Under this new license agreement, Centrotrade controls production scheduling of Vytex NRL, inventory in Thailand, sales, pricing and customer financing, while Vystar will focus on marketing, customized product development, as noted above, and support activities. Vystar currently has no exclusive areas under contract as RCMA, a Dutch based distributor was added in 2016.

 

In January 2013 William Doyle presented aDecember 2017 Halcyon Agri, the owners of Centrotrade, announced that they had acquired RCMA’s polymer group and would operate it under the Wurfbain label.

The paper entitled, “The Non EnzymaticNon-Enzymatic Deproteinization of Natural Rubber Latex (DPNRL) Enabling the Greater Versatility in End Product Applications” at the India Rubber and Tyre Expo (IRE 2013) in Mumbai, India. This paper discussed improvements that extend beyond the ultra-low allergenicity of the DPNRL and include improved color, absence of rubber odor, and improved physicochemical attributes. Improved air and helium retentions results were reported. The potential to extend applications into other non-conventional areas other than latex end products was discussed. In July 2013, William Doyle presented an updated version of the IRE paper at the International Latex Conference in Akron, Ohiodiscussed and in conjunction with its foam partner, Islatex, a division of Occidente; the Company began the development of a new line of bedding products. Wewe are currently in the final retail test market stages for the United States based manufacturing of mattresses, pillows and toppers to key furniture stores and buying groups, primarily in the Northeastern United States and signed a 5 year renewable agreement in January 2015 with Nature’s Home Solutions (NHS) to exclusively distribute these products in the United States.

Clinical Sleep Diagnostics In September 2016, the Vystar Board of Directors voted to end the January 2015 NHS agreement and Durable Medical Equipment

Vystar enteredreplace it with a global exclusive for foam manufactured with Vytex and sold into an Independent Contractor Agreement with Henry Clifford Baggett, MD, a North Carolina physicianthe home furnishings industry. This change reflects the global nature of the mattress, topper and sleep specialist,pillow businesses, the need for local warehousing, and access to assume the rolecontainer loads of Medical Directorfoam cores and pillows for Kiron on July 21, 2014. Dr. Baggett was born in Reidsville, NCEuropean and attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) and graduated in 1966. He then attended UNC Medical School and graduated in 1970. After residency at the Philadelphia Naval Hospital and board certification in Otolaryngology (Ear Nose and Throat-Head and Neck Surgery) in 1975, he returned to NC and served two more years in the Navy at Camp Lejeune.

Dr. Baggett established a practice in Rocky Mount, NC, and practiced there until 2004 when he moved to Raleigh. He became interested in Sleep Medicine in 2001 and established a sleep lab company for diagnostic sleep studies. Although he no longer has that company, his practice has been exclusively Sleep Medicine since 2004. He became board certified in Sleep Medicine in 2008.

CompetitionAsian manufacturers.

 

 Vystar has also expanded licensing arrangements into the consumer arena, with the licensing of foam products produced with and labeled as “Made with Vytex NRL”. Specifically working with partners, to introduce foam made with Vytex into the mattress, mattress topper and pillow arenas aligning with key foam manufacturers, mattress, mattress toppers and pillow producers, and furniture stores in specific areas of the Unites States. Vystar announced the signing of the aforementioned exclusive global distribution agreement with Worcester, MA based NHS who sources eco-friendly materials and technologies for use in furnishings and other markets. NHS has completed several trials with Vietnamese, European and Indian makers of foam products to use its Vytex NRL raw material in their current offerings in their own areas as well as to supply added needs for foam cores in both the mattress and topper arenas globally. The current requests from major mattress manufactures for Vytex foam trials involves different densities especially those used on the upper levels of mattresses. The samples have been presented to the manufacturers and feedback has been very positive with names such as Gold Bond, King Coil (Natura) and SpringAir (Nature’s Rest) adding Vytex to their current offerings. A similar trial occurred in October 2016 in Thailand focusing on specific densities and pillows, and a meeting with a Belgian foam maker using a unique drying concept occurred in May 2016 with discussions ongoing. In addition, working with NHS and a large Vietnamese foam manufacturer, Lien A, the group attended the International Sleep Products Association (ISPA) in Orlando in March 2016 and has followed that joint effort with ISPA 2018 in Charlotte, North Carolina. The significance of ISPA is the focus on components for use with major mattress and pillow manufacturers, which takes Vytex foam to an additional audience.


Pricing of materials in the rubber and latex industries continues to fluctuate as noted by the graph below courtesy of Centrotrade. Prices of centrifuged latex, thus Vytex, have risen throughout 2016, 2017, and into early 2018 due to various factors such as floods in southern Thailand, removal of older tress and replanting which is a seven-year process, newer plantations coming online, etc.

 

Competition

Natural Rubber Latex

 

Synthetic raw materials such as ethylene, propylene, styrene and butadiene compete with NRL. Currently, it is estimated that NRL processors have lost one-half of the overall latex market to synthetic latex. Despite the switch to non-latex alternatives, it is estimated that in U.S. hospitals as recently as September, 2010 overalmost 70% of exam gloves and nearly 80% of surgical gloves wereused in U.S. hospitals are still made with NRL.

During 2017 Vystar contracted with various consultants and manufacturers to make exam and surgical gloves on an OEM basis. The testing and results were encouraging and led to further efforts prepare for a potential launch of these lines in 2018. The company is going to proceed with testing and subsequent filing with the USFDA to obtain 510(k) allowances. With this new OEM structure, the Company will bring several versions (surgical, exam, household, etc) of the gloves to market under its own OEM brand label.

 

Several attempts, including new source crops, synthetic lattices and various treatment methods, have been made to eliminate problem proteins from Hevea NRL by biological, physical and/or chemical methods that act on proteins. One approach has been to introduce the latex articles to multiple leaching steps and chlorination. While it does reduce the protein levels in the finished product, it weakens the latex film thus compromising the desirable physical properties of the product. Another attempt to reduce proteins in NRL is the use of proteolytic enzymes to degrade the proteins in the latex solution but this approach introduces another protein (the enzyme) to the latex, which may itself be allergenic. Attempts to commercialize two other non-Hevea NRL materials have been made in the United States: guayule rubber latex and Taraxacum kok-saghyz, also known as the Russian dandelion. These materials are reported to be higher in cost compared to natural rubber latex and presently are available only in limited quantities.

 


These facts, coupled with the uncomplicated transition to the utilization of Vytex NRL, make it very attractive for processors to regain lost business by switching to Vytex NRL. We believe our unique patented technology offers a viable alternative to the marketplace. The licensing model will allow the message to spread through more sales channels than we could reach in the past.

 

Clinical Sleep Diagnostics and Durable Medical Equipment

We compete against numerous sleep-diagnostic providers, from smaller physicians’ offices to larger healthcare providers, including clinics and hospitals. While the competition is intense, we believe we have good relationships with our referring physicians and patient-base. Since sleep studies are performed overnight, the practice gains another revenue stream in off hours. Sleep-related problems are a public health crisis, with an estimated 50 to 70 million Americans experiencing sleep disorders.

Intellectual Property

 

Vystar has four issued patents by the United States Patent Trademark Office (“USPTO”) that were issued in 2005 (Patent No. 6,906,126), 2006 (Patent No. 7,056,970), 2011 (Patent No. 8,048,951) and 2012 (Patent No. 8,324,312). International patents include one issued patent from the Republic of South Africa in 2009 (2008/00886), a second foreign patent issued by China in 2011 (No. 200580051526.1), a third foreign patent issued by Japan in 2012 (No. 4944885) and a fourth foreign patent issued by Hong Kong in 2013 (HK1125959). In 2005, we sought international patent protection of our application that would become our U.S. Patent No. 6,906,126 pursuant to the Patent Cooperation Treaty (“PCT”) (No. PCT/US2005/025018), and this application has been nationalized in the following countries and regions: The European Union (No.05775523.3), Canada (No. 2,614,945), India (No.295/DELNP/2008), and Sri Lanka (No.14827). Additionally, this PCT was nationalized back into the United States to expand our protection to both method and composition claims (No.11/988,498). We expect patents to be issued in these countries without objection.

 

On January 18, 2012, we converted the provisional patent filed January 18, 2011 (No. 61/433,853) to full utility applications based on new discoveries and unexpected results (No. 13/374,851). We also sought international protection for the new developments and unexpected results reflected in this 2009 USPTO patent application through another PCT application (No. PCT/US2009/031445). This PCT application was nationalized in the following countries in 2010: the European Union (No. 09702339.4), Brazil (No. PI0906513-0), Guatemala (No. 2010-000208), India (No.2487/KOLNP/2010), Indonesia (No. W-00201002436), and Malaysia (No. PI2010003317). In addition, we filed the same patent application that was the subject of our USPTO patent application No. 12/356,355 and PCT/US2009/031445 directly into Thailand (No. 0901000201). Thailand has informed us that our patent application is now published for open comments.comments and Vystar has responded to various questions by Thailand’s patent office and is awaiting their response.

 

On January 18, 2017 Vystar was informed that the Indian Patent Office approved our application (2487/KOLNP/2010) entitled, “Natural Rubber Latex Having Reduced Allergenicity and Method of Making” under Patent Number 279323.

On February 8, 2017 Vystar received notice of grant from the Guatemalan Patent Office for application number 2010-000208 entitled, “Natural Rubber Latex Having Reduced Allergenicity and Method of Making” and is awaiting a grant number.

On October 27, 2017 Vystar was granted its second Indian patent (288824) from Application No.: 295/DELNP/2008 entitled: “Decreasing Allergenicity of Natural Latex Rubber Prior to Vulcanization.” The European Patent Office issued a Decision to Grant Vystar’s patent application under European Patent Number 1 902 089 titled “Decreasing Allergenicity of Natural Latex Rubber Prior to Vulcanization” greatly expanding the territory covered by the Company’s intellectual property portfolio. The mention of the grant was published in the European Patent Bulletin 13/35 dated 28 August 2013. Vystar selected the United Kingdom (065143-011612/UK), Germany (065143-011611/DE), and Austria (065143-001610/AT) as validation points for this specific patent. Also, on September 14, 2014, we wereThere is a second patent application still in process for Europe that can expand the countries that are validated.

On December 9, 2016 Vystar was notified by the Patents Officeour Singaporean IP Counsel that Malaysia Application No PI 2010003317 entitled “Natural Rubber Latex Having Reduced Allergenicity and Method of IrelandMaking” was cleared for issuance and that Patent 1902089 covering the same above titled patent was awarded to the Company on August 28, 2013.a Notice of Grant will be issued.

 

Vystar filed and has received registered trademark protected status in the United States for the marks “Vystar”, “Vytex” and “Created by Nature. Recreated by Science.” In 2010 Vystar filed for international trademark protection of “Vytex” in Malaysia (No.2010013149) and India (No. 1992991), which was granted in India. On November 18, 2014, the Company was informed that the “VYTEX” trademark was registered in Malaysia effective May 30, 2014. The aforementioned trademarks have been renewed successfully in each period as required.

 

While we believe that the pending patent and trademark applications will be granted without objection, there are no guarantees that all such patents or trademarks will be granted by each relevant governing body. No assurance can be given that such patent and trademark protection will provide substantial protection from competition. We realize that the market for Vytex NRL is an industrialized world concern and we are committed to aggressively challenging any infringements of our patents and/or trademarks. As of December 31, 2014,2017, Vystar has expended, since inception, approximately $250,000$290,195 on such patent and trademark costs and has budgeted approximately $50,000$25,000 more for the year ended December 31, 20152018 to continue to pursue and maintain its patents and trademarks around the world.

 


Research and Development

 

Vytex NRL has produced protein test results on finished products that are both “below detection” and “not detectable” in terms of the amount of proteins remaining in these finished goods made with Vytex NRL. These results have been reproduced in many subsequent tests. From inception through December 31, 2014,2017, Vystar’s research and development costs have been approximately $2.4 million, with an additional $50,000 budgeted for continued efforts in 2015.million. These efforts past and future have been and will continue to be patented and/or trademarked.

 

Government Regulation

Vytex:

 

In the United States, healthcare and many food and food-based packaging products are subject to regulation by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Vystar is not directly subject to regulation by the FDA due to the fact that it does not manufacture a finished medical device or other product, but only provides Vytex NRL as a component or raw material to healthcare or other product manufacturers. However, there will be FDA regulation of the labeling of healthcare and food-based packaging products that are produced with Vytex NRL and the FDA has promulgated standards for good manufacturing practices for manufacturing the end products, which makes the end product manufacturers responsible for seeing that all of their components and component manufacturers, including Vytex NRL, are produced using good manufacturing processes. Additionally, the FDA prohibits the use of the term “hypoallergenic” or “low protein” on any natural rubber latex product it regulates. In order to make any such claim, the latex product manufacturer must seek a waiver from the FDA of such regulatory prohibitions. Commentary by the FDA in its guidance documents and other rulings indicate that the prohibition on the use of the “hypoallergenic” or “low protein” label is based, at least in part, on the fact that, although the use of such terms in such labeling may be intended to indicate that the risk of allergic reaction to residual levels of processing chemicals has been reduced, consumers may interpret the labeling to mean that the risk of allergic reactions to any component in the device would be minimal. Thus the hypoallergenic or low protein label is deemed misleading. There can be no assurance, however, that we will succeed in securing FDA approval for any claim regarding the “hypoallergenic” “low protein” or reduced allergy potential of latex produced with the Vytex NRL process. Failure to secure, if required, such FDA approval, could delay or otherwise detrimentally affect our introduction to natural rubber latex healthcare and/or food packaging products regulated by the FDA. Notwithstanding, the medical or food packaging manufacturer will be able to use the Vytex NRL trademark on its label if size permits to indicate only that the Vytex NRL component was used in the production of the healthcare product, and what protein levels the end product does contain, but no further claim is asserted. We have been able to provide sufficient testing data to the FDA to support our protein level claims with respect to the natural rubber latex antigenic and total proteins present in end products made with Vytex NRL.

On May 1, 2009, a condom manufactured from Vytex NRL received 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. This was the first medical product available in the U.S. made from Vytex NRL, which had less than 2 micrograms/dm2, virtually undetectable levels, of the antigenic proteins that cause an allergic response, while retaining and improving upon all of the desirable qualities of latex. While the product is no longer available, this condom is a predicate device for future products and the 510(k) is still in existence. Vystar continues to seek other U.S. and global manufacturers interested in pursuing similar claims for products.

 

On July 22, 2009, an un-powdereda non-powdered medical exam glove manufactured with Vytex NRL received 510(k) clearance from the FDA, with an approved claim of less than 50 micrograms/gram of total proteins. As with the condom product, Vystar continues to pursue U.S. and global manufacturers using this exam glove as a predicate device.device and to help fill pending exam glove business. Late in 2016 the FDA banned the use of powder in medical gloves which took effect early in 2017 positioning the Vytex non-powdered exam glove in an excellent position.

 

Clinical Sleep Diagnostics and Durable Medical Equipment:

Our business is subject to extensive federal, state and local regulation including the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (“HIPAA”), Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (“HITECH”) Act, the Affordable Care Act, and the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act relating to, among other things, licensure, conduct of operations, privacy of patient information, physician relationships, addition of facilities and services, reimbursement rates for services, and consumer debt collections.

The laws, rules and regulations governing the health care industry are extremely complex and, in certain areas, the industry has little or no regulatory or judicial interpretation for guidance. If a determination is made that we were in violation of such laws, rules or regulations, we could be subject to penalties or liabilities or required to make significant changes to our operations.

Inflation and Seasonality

 

We do not believe that our operations are significantly impacted by inflation. Our NRL business is not seasonal in nature but is subject to commodity pricing. Our NRL product is a commodity-based raw material and prices for such material fluctuate from day-to-day, though this will have less impact as we transition to sales via licensing fees.

 

The sleep diagnostic business shows a decrease in revenue in the fourth quarter, particularly in November and December, due to holiday commitments making patients reluctant to schedule tests as compared to other times of the year.

Employees

 

As of December 31, 2014,2017, Vystar and its subsidiaries had a total of 7 associates. The Kiron Division had 6 associates and a contracted Medical Director and the Vystar division had 1 associate plus several contractors on an as needed basis.one associate.

 

Corporate Information

 

Vystar Corporation is a Georgia corporation that was incorporated in 2003. Our predecessor company, Vystar LLC, was formed by our founder, Travis Honeycutt, in February 2000 as a Georgia limited liability company.

 

Our principal mailing address is 2480 Briarcliff Road, Ste 6, #159, Atlanta, GA 30329.101 Aylesbury Rd., Worcester, MA 01609. Our website address is www.vytex.com. The information contained on, or that can be accessed through, our website is not a part of this Report. We have links on our website to reports, information statements, and other information that we file electronically with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, at the Internet website maintained by the SEC, www.sec.gov. In addition to visiting our website and the SEC’s website, you may read and copy public reports we file with or furnish to the SEC at the SEC’s Public Reference Room at 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549. You may obtain information on the operation of the Public Reference Room by calling the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330.

 


ITEM 1A.RISK FACTORS

 

Our business is subject to a number of risks and uncertainties — many of which are beyond our control — that may cause our actual operating results or financial performance to be materially different from our expectations. If one or more of the events discussed in the following risks were to occur, actual outcomes could differ materially from those expressed in or implied by any forward-looking statements we make in this report or our other filings with the SEC, and our business, financial condition, results of operations or liquidity could be materially adversely affected; furthermore, the trading price of our common stock could decline and our shareholders could lose all or part of their investment.

 

Neither of our business divisionsVystar presently generatesdoes not generate the cash needed to finance ourits current and anticipated operations.

 

We haveThe Company has had very limited revenue in ourits history prior to 2011 and transitioned from the development stage to the operational stage during the fourth quarter of 2009. We areThe Company is still in the early stagesstage of establishing our business including attracting new customers and increasing sales; our financial success will be dependent upon the soundness of our business concept, our management’s ability to successfully and profitably execute our plan, and our ability to raise additional capital.

 

In the Vytex Division, while we anticipate that revenue will continue to grow from what we achieved after transitioning from the development stage to the operational stage, ourOur limited operating history makes it difficult to evaluate our business. We expect to make significant future operating expenditures to develop and expand our business.business into areas such as OEM product lines and offerings in the mattress and furniture arenas. We may incur significant losses in the future for a number of reasons, including due to the other risks described in this Report, and we may encounter unforeseen expenses, difficulties, complications and delays and other unknown events. Accordingly, we may not be able to achieve or maintain profitability, and we may incur significant losses for the foreseeable future. See additional discussion under Liquidity and Capital Resources.

 

At December 31, 20142017 we had $73,770$13,502 cash on hand and an accumulated deficit of $24,354,473.$27,999,122. We plan to finance our operations for the next twelve (12) months through the use of cash on hand, stock warrant exercises from existing shareholders, raising of capital through private placements and the possible acquisition of cash flow positive foam business in key areas of the furniture world.world that includes finished mattresses, component cores, topper cores and pillows. You should consider, among other factors, our prospects for success in light of the risks and uncertainties encountered by companies that, like us, have not generated net earnings on an annual basis. Various factors, such as economic conditions, regulatory and legislative considerations, and competition, may also impede our ability to expand our market presence. We may not successfully address these risks and uncertainties or successfully implement our operating strategies. If we fail to do so, it could materially harm our business and impair the value of our common stock. Even if we accomplish these objectives, we may not generate positive cash flows or profits we anticipate in the future.

 

The following risk factors apply to our Vytex Division:

 

Our Vytex operating results could fluctuate and differ considerably from our financial forecasts.

 

Our business model is based on assumptions derived from (i) the experience of the principals of the Company, and (ii) third party market information and analysis. There are no assurances that these assumptions will prove to be valid for our future operations or plans.

 

Our operating results may fluctuate significantly as a result of a variety of factors, including:

Acceptance by manufacturers of the Vytex Natural Rubber Latex technology;
Our ability to achieve and sustain profitability;
Consumer confidence in products manufactured using our Vytex Natural Rubber Latex technology;
Our ability to raise additional capital.

Acceptance by manufacturers of the Vytex Natural Rubber Latex technology;
Our ability to achieve and sustain profitability;
Consumer confidence in products manufactured using our Vytex Natural Rubber Latex technology;
Our ability to raise additional capital.

 

Our Vytex NRL Division business is totally dependent on market demand for, and acceptance of, the VytexNatural Rubber Latex process.

 

We expect to derive most of our Vytex NRL Division revenue from the sales of our Vytex Natural Rubber Latex raw material to various manufacturers of rubber and rubber end products using NRL through our distribution agreement with Centrotrade Deutschland. We pay natural rubber latex processors a fee for the service of manufacturing and creating Vytex NRL for us under our toll manufacturing agreements. Conversely, Vystar collects a fee under the Centrotrade and Occidente (PICA) licensing models. The agreement in the bedding and furniture industries with NHS also provides income based on a license model. Our Vytex NRL product operates within broad, diverse and rapidly changing markets. As a result, widespread acceptance and use of product is critical to our future growth and success. If the market for our product fails to grow or grows more slowly than we currently anticipate, demand for our product could be negatively affected.

 


Our ability to generate significant revenue in the Vytex Division is substantially dependent upon the willingness of consumers to make discretionary purchases and the willingness of manufacturers to utilize capital for research and development and the retooling of their manufacturing process, both of which are impacted by the state of the economy.

 

The current state of the world economy has and likely will in the future impact upon our ability to increase revenue. Certain of the products that we anticipate will be manufactured with our Vystar NRL process, such as mattresses and sponge products, are considered discretionary consumer purchases which decline during economic downturns. Additionally, certain manufacturers who might otherwise utilize the Vytex NRL process in the manufacturing of products with NRL have determined not to expend capital to complete the research of the Vytex NRL process or to retool their manufacturing process because of the general downturn in the economy. As part of a strategy to increase awareness of the Vytex NRL brand, the Company has been aggressively seeking to have end products produced and labeled “made with Vytex NRL” such as mattresses, toppers and pillows. As these products enter the market, the Company plans to create consumer awareness of these end products and in so doing begin to develop consumer demand pull through as part of the Company’s efforts to complete the push-pull cycle using an ingredient branding strategy.

 

Assertions by a third party that our Vytex process infringes its intellectual property, whether or not correct, could subject us to costly and time-consuming litigation or expensive licenses.

 

There is frequent litigation based on allegations of infringement or other violations of intellectual property rights. As we face increasing competition and become increasingly visible as an operating company, the possibility of intellectual property rights claims against us may grow.

 

Any intellectual property rights claim against us or our customers, with or without merit, could be time-consuming, expensive to litigate or settle and could divert management attention and financial resources. An adverse determination also could prevent us from offering our process, require us to pay damages, require us to obtain a license or require that we stop using technology found to be in violation of a third party’s rights or procure or develop substitute services that do not infringe, which could require significant resources and expenses.

 

The latex market in which we will participate is competitive and if we do not compete effectively, our operating results may be harmed.

 

The markets for our product are competitive and rapidly changing. With the introduction of new technologies, increasing scrutiny of alternative lattices such as Russian dandelion, and market entrants, we expect competition to intensify in the future. In addition, pricing pressures and increased competition generally could result in reduced sales, reduced margins or the failure of our products to achieve or maintain widespread market acceptance.

 

While early interest was strong in a new innovative product in the natural rubber latex industry, pricing and regulatory approvals remain a key selling factor especially in the exam glove arena. There is no exam glove manufacturer signed to date that has accepted Vytex NRL into its product mix.

 

Our Vytex revenue will vary based on fluctuations in commodity prices for NRL.

 

NRL is a commodity and, as such, its price fluctuates on a daily basis. Since 2009 the market prices have been particularly volatile with prices rising 222% from a low of approximately $1080/wet metric tonne (mT) in January 2009 to a peak of over $3475/wet mT in February 2011. While prices have come down from this high to as low as $2100/wet mT in December 2011, 2012 prices started to rise again primarily due to seasonality. The pricing model for 2013 continued the rollercoaster ride and as of December 31, 2013 stood at $2576/wet mT. Currently at the end of 2014 pricing for NRL and continuing through early 2015 is at a level of $1154/ wet mT. As a result, ourOur raw material revenue (evenincluding licensing fees)fees and cost of goods will also fluctuate upward or downward based upon changing market prices for the raw material used to produce Vytex NRL. Prolonged periods of elevatedlowered market prices can also cause manufacturers to review synthetic price drops as they look for even lower cost alternatives to NRL. A current example of the fluctuations is shown above in the Centrifuged Latex graph

 

While Vytex NRL has received 510(k) clearance from the FDA for condoms and exam gloves, there is no assurance that future applications will be cleared.

 

In order for Vytex to be used in medical device applications, the manufacturer of the end product must submit an application to the FDA. If the device is classified by the FDA as Class II (e.g., condoms, surgical gloves, and most non-cardiac and non-renal/dialysis catheters) and in some cases Class I (e.g., exam gloves), a 510(k) application must be filed with the FDA seeking clearance to market the device based on the fact that there is at least one other predicate or similar device already marketed. If the product is classified as a Class III product (e.g., most cardiac and renal/dialysis catheters, certain adhesives and other in vivo devices), or is otherwise a new device with no predicate on the market already, then the manufacturer of the end product must submit a Pre-Market Approval (“PMA”) application seeking approval by the FDA to market the device. The PMA approval process is much more in depth and lengthy and requires a greater degree of clinical data and FDA review than does a 510(k) clearance process.

 

Since Vytex is a raw material and not an end-product, Vystar is not the entity that files with the FDA for any clearance or approval to market a device. Instead, the end-product manufacturers who will be selling and marketing the device(s) must submit applications and seek FDA clearance or approval depending upon the device classification. Vystar’s role in this process is only as background support to the manufacturers to supply information and any technical or test data regarding the Vytex raw material if and to the extent needed.

 

An American manufacturer of condoms and exam gloves had been engaged in production work and had completed required testing and received FDA clearance for using Vytex NRL in their condom and exam glove lines. However, this manufacturer is not currently producing products made with Vytex NRL or any other type of raw material. Notwithstanding such approvals, we have no assurance that future products will provide acceptable test results and even if they do, there is no certainty that the FDA will approve the applications.

 


Each of the above mentioned 510(k)s have been sold to other manufacturers.manufacturers hence the need to pursue 510(k)s for the newer manufacturing facilities.

 

Vytex may seek to have lower protein claims than what is currently on the market today for exam gloves and may ultimately seek to have latex warnings removed from or modified on all FDA-regulated products, but it cannot guarantee that either of such actions will be approved by the FDA.

 

The FDA heavily scrutinizes any and all claims categorizing the protein levels and other claims of an NRL product. Currently, the FDA has allowed claims only stating the level of less than 50 micrograms/gram of total extractable proteins pursuant to only one of two FDA-recognized standards on exam or surgical gloves. Vystar intends to claim protein levels pursuant to both of the two FDA-recognized standards, which will result in claiming the lowest level of antigenic proteins for a Hevea NRL product currently on the market. Although the FDA has cleared such claims on the condom using Vytex NRL, the FDA rejected those claims for the exam glove. There is no guarantee that the FDA will ultimately or ever allow these claims on an exam glove.

 

Additionally, for many years, the FDA has required warnings on products containing latex due to the latex allergy issue that exists. Vystar plans on petitioning the FDA to have that label removed from or modified on products manufactured with Vytex NRL, by filing a Citizen’s Petition. The Petition will be filed when we see that the benefits of filing will far outweigh the costs since such Petition is likely to require clinical test results indicating acceptable allergic reactions associated with Vytex NRL. There are no assurances that the FDA will grant that request.

 

Manufacturers are implementing trials of Vytex NRL in their facilities but final data are not yet available from all these manufacturers on its viability for their particular environments.

 

Over the past several years, samples of Vytex NRL have been made available to over 50 natural rubber latex and latex substitute end product manufacturers, 30 of which have been in place since early 2009. Since the completion of the Vytex NRL Standard Operation Procedures (SOPs), Vytex has been produced at Revertex (Malaysia), Occidente (Guatemala), KAPVL (India) and most recently Mardec-Yala (Thailand) and MMG (Thailand). Manufacturers that have signed a ‘sampling’ agreement with us have been provided with samples of Vytex NRL for validating its use in their manufacturing processes. To date, a number of manufacturers have completed those runs and feedback is often minimal. Although most feedback to date has been positive, there is no assurance that such feedback continues to be satisfactory.

 

Another risk is the validity of the customer as testing completes. Recently Vystar has completed more than three years of a specialized version of Vytex NRL only to have the end product manufacturer fail to upgrade their production line and fulfill their own contract.

 

As part of the Company’s learnings, we have found that in listening closely to customer challenges and needs, our technical team has been able to develop solutions. The Company has come to realize that what we offer is not just a raw material but often a technology solution to a production or product development challenge.

 

While many of these new formulations look promising, there is no guarantee that these technological innovations will be successfully scaled up or successfully implemented by the customer.

 

The following risk factors apply to our Clinical Sleep Diagnostics and Durable Medical Equipment division:

Our revenue may vary based on changes in reimbursement rates from third party providers received by our business.

Although our contracts require a certain reimbursement rate, these rates are constantly changing, with little to no control on our part.

Specifically, the success of our business depends in significant part on the number, quality and specialties of the physicians from whom we receive new patient referrals and maintaining good relations with those physicians. If we are unable to attract and retain sufficient numbers of quality physician referrals by providing adequate support personnel, technologically advanced equipment and facilities that meet the needs of those physicians and their patients, physicians may be discouraged from referring patients to our facilities, admissions may decrease and our operating performance may decline.

We cannot predict with certainty the effect the Affordable Care Act may have on our business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.

The Affordable Care Act was enacted to change how health care services in the United States are covered, delivered and reimbursed. The expansion of health insurance coverage under the law may result in a material increase in the number of patients using our facilities who have either private or public program coverage. Reductions to reimbursements under the Medicare and Medicaid programs by the Affordable Care Act could adversely affect our business and results of operations.

In June 2012, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate and struck down its penalties for states that refused to comply with Medicaid expansion provisions. We remain unable to predict with certainty the full impact of the Affordable Care Act on our future revenue and operations at this time due to the law’s complexity and the limited amount of implementing regulations and interpretive guidance, as well as our inability to foresee how individuals and businesses will respond to the choices available to them under the law. Furthermore, many of the provisions of the Affordable Care Act that expand insurance coverage will not become effective until 2014 or later. In addition, the Affordable Care Act will result in increased state legislative and regulatory changes in order for states to participate in Medicaid expansion and the grants and other incentive opportunities under the law, and we are unable to predict the timing and impact of changes resulting from actions individual states have taken or might take with respect to expanding Medicaid coverage at this time.

In general, there is significant uncertainty with respect to the positive and negative effects the Affordable Care Act may have on reimbursement, utilization and the future designs of provider networks and insurance plans (including pricing, provider participation, coverage, co-pays and deductibles), and the multiple models that attempt to predict those effects may differ materially from our expectations.

Further changes in the Medicare and Medicaid programs or other government health care programs could have an adverse effect on our business.

In addition to the changes affected by the Affordable Care Act, the Medicare and Medicaid programs are subject to: other statutory and regulatory changes, administrative rulings, interpretations and determinations concerning patient eligibility requirements, funding levels and the method of calculating payments or reimbursements, among other things; requirements for utilization review; and federal and state funding restrictions, all of which could materially increase or decrease payments from these government programs in the future, as well as affect the cost of providing services to our patients and the timing of payments to our facilities, which could in turn adversely affect our overall business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows. Any material adverse effects resulting from future reductions in payments from government programs could be exacerbated if we are not able to manage our operating costs effectively.

In general, we are unable to predict the effect of future government health care funding policy changes on our operations. If the rates paid by governmental payers are reduced, if the scope of services covered by governmental payers is limited or if one or more of our physician partners are excluded from participation in the Medicare or Medicaid program or any other government health care program, there could be a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.

Our health care business operates in a competitive environment, and competition is one reason increases in patient volumes have been constrained.

Overall, our health care business operates in a competitive environment, and we believe increases in patient volumes have been constrained, in part, by competition for market share in high margin services and for quality physicians and personnel. Generally, other hospitals and outpatient centers in the local communities we serve provide services similar to those we offer, and, in some cases, competing facilities are more established or newer than ours. Furthermore, competing facilities (1) may offer a broader array of services to patients and physicians than ours, (2) may have larger or more specialized medical staffs to admit and refer patients, (3) may have more favorable contracts with managed care plans, (4) may have a better reputation in the community, or (5) may be more centrally located with better parking or closer proximity to public transportation. We also face increased competition from specialty clinics (some of which are physician-owned) and unaffiliated freestanding outpatient centers for market share in high margin services and for personnel. Furthermore, some of the hospitals that compete with our business are owned by government agencies or not-for-profit organizations. These tax-exempt competitors may have certain financial advantages not available to our facilities, such as endowments, charitable contributions, tax-exempt financing, and exemptions from sales, property and income taxes. In addition, in certain markets in which we operate, large teaching hospitals provide highly specialized facilities, equipment and services that may not be available at our locations. If competing health care providers are better able to attract patients, recruit and retain physicians, expand services or obtain favorable managed care contracts at their facilities, our patient volume levels may suffer.

Our labor costs could be adversely affected by competition for staffing and the shortage of experienced licensed personnel.

Our operations depend on the efforts, abilities and experience of our management and technicians, as well as our physician partners. We compete with other health care providers in recruiting and retaining qualified technicians responsible for the daily operations of our sleep labs. In addition, like others in the health care industry, we continue to experience a shortage of experienced licensed technicians in certain key geographic areas. As a result, from time to time, we may be required to enhance wages and benefits to recruit and retain experienced technicians or hire more expensive temporary or contract personnel. In general, our failure to recruit and retain qualified personnel, or to control labor costs, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.

Our business and financial results could be harmed by violations of existing regulations or compliance with new or changed regulations.

Our business is subject to extensive federal, state and local regulation including the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (“HIPAA”) and Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (“HITECH”) Act relating to, among other things, licensure, conduct of operations, privacy of patient information, physician relationships, addition of facilities and services, and reimbursement rates for services. The laws, rules and regulations governing the health care industry are extremely complex and, in certain areas, the industry has little or no regulatory or judicial interpretation for guidance. If a determination is made that we were in violation of such laws, rules or regulations, we could be subject to penalties or liabilities or required to make significant changes to our operations. In addition, Kiron’s failure to comply with the laws and regulations applicable to it could result in reduced demand for its services. Even a public announcement that we are being investigated for possible violations of law could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations, and our business reputation could suffer. Furthermore, health care, as one of the largest industries in the United States, continues to attract much legislative interest and public attention. We are unable to predict the future course of federal, state and local regulation or legislation, including Medicare and Medicaid statutes and regulations. Further changes in the regulatory framework affecting health care providers could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.

We are also required to comply with various federal and state labor laws, rules and regulations governing a variety of workplace wage and hour issues.

The failure to comply with debt collection and consumer credit reporting regulations could subject Kiron to fines and other liabilities, which could harm Kiron’s reputation and business, and could make it more difficult for Kiron to retain existing customers or attract new customers.

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”) regulates persons who regularly collect or attempt to collect, directly or indirectly, consumer debts in default that are owed or asserted to be owed to another person. Many states impose additional requirements on debt collection communications, and some of those requirements may be more stringent than the federal requirements. Moreover, regulations governing debt collection are subject to changing interpretations that may be inconsistent among different jurisdictions. Kiron could incur costs or could be subject to fines or other penalties under the FDCPA, the Fair Credit Reporting Act and the Federal Trade Commission Act if it is determined to have mishandled protected information. Kiron’s customers could be required to report such breaches to affected consumers or regulatory authorities, leading to disclosures that could damage Kiron’s reputation, making it more difficult to retain existing customers or attract new customers, or otherwise harm Kiron’s business.

We could be subject to substantial uninsured liabilities or increased insurance costs as a result of significant legal actions.

We are subject to medical malpractice lawsuits, class action lawsuits and other legal actions in the ordinary course of business. Some of these actions may involve large demands, as well as substantial defense costs. Even in states that have imposed caps on damages, litigants are seeking recoveries under new theories of liability that might not be subject to such caps. Our professional and general liability insurance does not cover all claims against us, and it may not continue to be available at a reasonable cost for us to maintain adequate levels, as the health care industry has seen significant increases in the cost of such insurance due to increased litigation. We cannot predict the outcome of current or future legal actions against us or the effect that judgments or settlements in such matters may have on us or on our insurance costs. Additionally, all professional and general liability insurance we purchase is subject to policy limitations. If the aggregate limit of any of our professional and general liability policies is exhausted, in whole or in part, it could deplete or reduce the limits available to pay any other material claims applicable to that policy period. Any losses not covered by or in excess of the amounts maintained under insurance policies will be funded from our working capital. Furthermore, one or more of our insurance carriers could become insolvent and unable to fulfill its or their obligations to defend, pay or reimburse us when those obligations become due. In that case or if payments of claims exceed our estimates or are not covered by our insurance, it could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.

Our business could be negatively impacted by security threats, catastrophic events and other disruptions affecting our information technology and related systems.

As a provider of health care services, we rely on our information technology which are regulated by HIPAA and HITECH in the day-to-day operation of our business to process, transmit and store sensitive or confidential data, including electronic health records, other protected health information, and financial, payment and other personal data of patients, as well as to store our proprietary and confidential business performance data. Although we have redundancies and other measures designed to protect the security and availability of the data we process, transmit and store, our information technology and infrastructure is vulnerable to computer viruses, attacks by hackers or breaches due to employee error or malfeasance. Furthermore, our network and technology systems are subject to disruption due to events such as a major earthquake, fire, telecommunications failure, terrorist attack or other catastrophic event. Any such breach or system interruption could result in the unauthorized disclosure, misuse or loss of confidential, sensitive or proprietary information, could negatively impact our ability to conduct normal business operations (including the collection of revenue), and could result in potential liability and damage to our reputation, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

The economic downturn and other economic factors have impacted, and may continue to impact, our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We continue to be impacted by a number of industry-wide challenges, including constrained growth in patient volumes. We believe factors associated with the economic downturn — including higher levels of unemployment, reductions in commercial managed care enrollment, and patient decisions to postpone or cancel elective and non-emergency health care procedures — have impacted our volumes. If industry trends or general economic conditions worsen, we may not be able to reach profitability, and our liquidity and ability to repay our outstanding debt may be harmed.

Furthermore, the availability of liquidity and credit to fund the continuation and expansion of many business operations worldwide has been limited in recent years. Our ability to access the capital markets on acceptable terms has been severely restricted at a time when we need, to access these markets, and has had a negative impact on our growth plans, our flexibility to react to changing economic and business conditions, and our ability to refinance existing debt. The economic downturn or other economic conditions could also adversely affect the counterparties to our agreements.

Trends affecting our actual or anticipated results may require us to record charges that would adversely affect our results of operations.

As a result of factors that have negatively affected the health care industry generally and the sleep diagnostic business specifically, we have been required to record various charges in our results of operations. Our impairment tests presume stable, improving or, in some cases, declining operating results in our sleep labs. If these projections are not met, or if in the future negative trends occur that impact our future outlook, future impairments of long-lived assets and goodwill may occur, and we may incur additional restructuring charges. Future restructuring of our operating structure could also result in future impairments of our goodwill. Any such charges could adversely affect our results of operations.

The following risk factors apply to our company as a whole:

 

We do not expect to declare any dividends in the foreseeable future.

 

We do not anticipate declaring any cash dividends to holders of our common stock in the foreseeable future. Consequently, shareholders must rely on sales of their common stock after price appreciation, which may never occur, as the only way to realize any future gains on their investment. Investors seeking cash dividends should not purchase our common stock.

There is no assurance that any significant public market for our shares of common stock will develop.

 

While our shares of common stock trade on the OTC Bulletin Board under the symbol “VYST”, there is currently no significant public market for our common stock and there is no assurance that there will be any such significant public market for our common stock in the future.

 

The utilization of our tax losses could be substantially limited if we experience an ownership change as defined in the Internal Revenue Code.

 

Because of net operating losses we have experienced for federal income tax purposes at December 31, 2014,2017, we had federal net operating loss (“NOL”) carry-forwards of approximately $16.7$18.6 million (for 2013 $15.3 million)($17.8 million for 2016) pretax available to offset future taxable income. Our ability to utilize NOL carry-forwards to reduce future taxable income may be limited under Section 382 of the Internal Revenue Code if certain ownership changes in our Company occur during a rolling three-year period. These ownership changes include purchases of common stock under share repurchase programs, the offering of stock by us, the purchase or sale of our stock by 5% shareholders, as defined in the Treasury regulations, or the issuance or exercise of rights to acquire our stock. If such ownership changes by 5% shareholders result in aggregate increases that exceed 50 percentage points during the three-year period, then Section 382 imposes an annual limitation on the amount of our taxable income that may be offset by our NOL carry-forwards or tax credit carry-forwards at the time of ownership change. The limitation may affect the amount of our deferred income tax asset and, depending on the limitation, a significant portion of our NOL carry-forwards or tax credit carry-forwards could expire before we are able to use them. In such an event, our business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows could be adversely affected.

 


We believe we have not experienced an ownership change under Section 382 of the Internal Revenue Code as of December 31, 2014;2017; however, the amount by which our ownership may change in the future could be affected by purchases and sales of stock by 5% shareholders and new issuances of stock by us, should we choose to do so.

 

ITEM 1B.UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS

 

None

 

ITEM 2.PROPERTIES

Although we believe that our current space is adequate for the foreseeable future, if additional office space is required, we believe that suitable space will be available at market rates.

 

ITEM 3.LEGAL PROCEEDINGS

 

At the closing of the Kiron Clinical Sleep Lab, LLC acquisition, the Company and Michael Soo, MD, the Seller, entered into an agreement (“Contract”) pursuant to which the Michael Soo, MD, through his medical practice, Durham Neurology, PLLC, a wholly owned professional limited liability company would provide ongoing clinical and medical services to the Company and Kiron as Medical Director. The Seller subsequently dissolved Durham Neurology, PLLC on September 13, 2013 leaving Kiron without a Medical Director. On March 10, 2014, Vystar and Kiron filed Civil Suit 74A-07997-1 IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF GWINNETT COUNTY, STATE OF GEORGIA against Michael Soo, MD and Durham Neurology, PLLC for multiple breaches of the Agreement and Contract. Potential settlement discussions are currently taking place but there is no assurance they will be successful and discovery on this matter will start by mid-April 2015.None 

 

The company was a defendant in an action styled Audrey Soo v. Vystar Corporation, et al., District Court Division, General Court of Justice, Durham County, North Carolina, Civil Action No. 14-CVD-2373. In this action, plaintiff, a former employee of Kiron Clinical Sleep Lab, LLC., sought to recover approximately $17,000 in accrued vacation and personal time off pay for the period prior to Vystar’s purchase of Kiron. Plaintiff also sought to recover double or triple damages as well as attorneys’ fees and costs of the litigation. The company denied Soo had adequately documented her entitlement to the recovery which she sought and that the validity of her claim was barred by the employment policies that were in effect at the time Soo’s claim arose. The company vigorously defended the action and settled this suit on November 4, 2014 for a cash payout to the attorney.

The company was the defendant in an action styled Michael Allen Dyer v. Vystar Corporation, Superior Court Division, General Court of Justice, Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Civil Action No. 14-CVD-7522. In this action, plaintiff sought to recover against the company on a promissory note executed in his favor by SleepHealth, LLC, prior to Vystar’s acquisition of SleepHealth, LLC, in 2011. Plaintiff sought damages in the amount of the unpaid balance of the promissory note, $36,000, together with other damages for alleged tortious interference, unjust enrichment, and unfair or deceptive trade practices. The company had denied liability defending the action. The company settled the suit on December 17, 2014 for a combination of cash and stock and the action was dismissed on February 26, 2015.

The company is a defendant in an action styled Larry F. Berman, et al. v. Vystar Corporation, et al., Superior Court Division, General Court of Justice, Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Civil Action No. 14-CVS-8488. This is an action commenced by the plaintiff who alleges that the company is liable for certain actions by its subsidiary, SleepHealth, LLC, prior to the company’s acquisition of SleepHealth, LLC. Plaintiff seeks to recover actual damages in an in excess of $25,000 together with attorneys’ fees and costs of litigation. The company denies liability and is vigorously defending the action. Even without proof that the Berman office had been accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Healthcare, the company settled the suit on December 19, 2014 without releasing any further action it may take against Mary Ailene Miller, the former owner SleepHealth, LLC, and the action was dismissed on January 30, 2015.

ITEM 4.MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES

Not applicable

 

PART II.

 

ITEM 5.MARKET FOR REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES

 

Market Price Information

 

Our common stock is traded in the United States on the Over the Counter Bulletin Board (OTCBB) under the symbol “VYST.” The following table shows the range of high and low closing prices for our common stock.

 

December 31, 2013 High Low
December 31, 2016 High Low 
         
First Quarter $0.28  $0.16  $0.10  $0.06 
                
Second Quarter $0.17  $0.05  $0.08  $0.03 
                
Third Quarter $0.20  $0.06  $0.12  $0.02 
                
Fourth Quarter $0.11  $0.04  $0.22  $0.10 
                
December 31, 2014        
December 31, 2017        
                
First Quarter $0.17  $0.03  $0.19  $0.09 
                
Second Quarter $0.17  $0.10  $0.18  $0.10 
                
Third Quarter $0.13  $0.07  $0.11  $0.05 
                
Fourth Quarter $0.09  $0.04  $0.07  $0.04 

 

16

Holders

 

As of March 27, 2015,December 31, 2017, there were 468238 holders of record of our common stock.

 

Dividends

 

We have never paid or declared any cash dividends on our common stock and we do not intend to pay or declare dividends on our common stock in the near future. We presently expect to retain any future earnings to fund continuing development and growth of our business. Our payment of dividends is subject to the discretion of our board of directors and will depend on earnings, financial condition, capital requirements and other relevant factors.

 

Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

 

We did not make any repurchases of our equity securities during the 20142017 fiscal year.

 

Securities Authorized for Issuance Under Equity Compensation Plans

 

Information concerning our equity compensation plans is set forth in Item 12 of Part III of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

 

Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities

 

Common Stock and Warrant Grants

 

From January 1, 20142017 through December 31, 2014,2017, we issued 7,726,5007,244,225 shares of our common stock and warrants valued at $512,588$490,000 for services rendered to the Company in 20142017 and 17,293,6669,503,993 shares were issued in investments and cashless conversion of options and warrants valued at $454,576.$384,500. During the period, 1,109,406 shares of common stock valued at $55,359 were issued upon the conversion of convertible notes.

 

From January 1, 20142017 through December 31, 2014,2017, we issued 1,240,250 warrants to purchase 7,447,098 shares of common stock for investment in the amount of 4,902,316 shares and 2,544,782 shares for services rendered to the Company per the following:

 

Warrants Exercise Price per Share
   
 49,173  $0.14 
 15,148  $0.12 
 46,360  $0.11 
 24,626  $0.10 
 32,270  $0.09 
 537,206  $0.07 
 67,205  $0.06 
 6,349,783  $0.05 
 325,327  $0.04 
       
 7,447,098     
WarrantsExercise Price per Share
14,286$0.07 per share
17,357$0.07 per share
14,286$0.07 per share
10,000$0.10 per share
6,998$0.10 per share
9,091$0.11 per share
2,727$0.11 per share
8,333$0.12 per share
1,250$0.12 per share
7,692$0.13 per share
2,077$0.13 per share
362,219$0.14 per share
750,000$0.14 per share
7,143$0.14 per share
3,695$0.14 per share
7,143$0.14 per share
10,071$0.14 per share
5,882$0.17 per share

 

Stock Option Grants

 

From January 1, 20142017 through December 31, 2014,2017, we issued 2,000,0001,500,000 options to purchase common stock exercisable at $0.10 per share to $0.11 per share to Board members and employees.employees per the following:

 

Options Exercise Price per Share
   
 1,000,000  $0.10 
 1,000,000  $0.11 
OptionsExercise Price per Share
1,500,000$0.05 per share

 13

 

Application of Securities Laws and Other Matters

 

No underwriters were involved in the foregoing sales of securities. The securities described above were issued to investors in reliance upon the exemption from the registration requirements of the Securities Act, as set forth in Section 4(2) under the Securities Act and Regulation D promulgated thereunder, as applicable, relative to sales by an issuer not involving any public offering, to the extent an exemption from such registration was required.

 

The issuance of stock options as described above were issued pursuant to written compensatory plans or arrangements with our employees, directors and consultants, in reliance on the exemption provided by Rule 701 promulgated under the Securities Act. All recipients either received adequate information about us or had access, through employment or other relationships, to such information.

 

All of the foregoing securities are deemed restricted securities for purposes of the Securities Act. All certificates representing the issued shares of common stock, warrants and options described above included appropriate legends setting forth that the securities had not been registered and the applicable restrictions on transfer.

 

ITEM 6.SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA

 

As a smaller reporting company, we are not required to provide the information required by this Item pursuant to 301(c) of Regulation S-K.

 

ITEM 7.MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

 

This analysis of our results of operations should be read in conjunction with the accompanying financial statements, including notes thereto, contained in Item 8 of this Report. This Report contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act, and Section 21E of the Exchange Act. Statements that are predictive in nature and that depend upon or refer to future events or conditions are forward-looking statements. Although we believe that these statements are based upon reasonable expectations, we can give no assurance that projections will be achieved. Please refer to the discussion of forward-looking statements included in Part I of this Report.

 

Overview

 

Vystar LLC, the predecessor to the Company, was formed February 2, 2000, as a Georgia limited liability company by Travis W. Honeycutt. Operations under the LLC entity were focused substantially on the research, development and testing of the Vytex® Natural Rubber Latex (“NRL”) process, as well as attaining intellectual property rights. In 2003, the Company reorganized as Vystar Corporation, a Georgia corporation, at which time all assets and liabilities of the limited liability company became assets and liabilities of Vystar Corporation, including all intellectual property rights, patents and trademarks.

 

We are the creator and exclusive owner of the innovative technology to produce Vytex NRL. This technology reduces antigenic protein in natural rubber latex products to virtually undetectable levels in both liquid NRL and finished latex products. The process also removes many of the naturally occurring non-rubber particles superfluous to end product function, resulting in a cleaner latex base material. We have introduced Vytex NRL, our “ultra-low protein” natural rubber latex, throughout the worldwide marketplace that uses NRL or latex substitutes as a component of manufactured products. Natural rubber latex is used in an extensive range of products including balloons, textiles, footwear and clothing (threads), adhesives, foams, furniture, carpet, paints, coatings, protective equipment, sporting equipment, and especially health care products such as condoms, surgical and exam gloves. We produce Vytex through toll manufacturing and licensing agreements and have introduced Vytex NRL into the supply channels with aggressive, targeted marketing campaigns directed to the end users.

 

We transitioned from a development stage company to the operating stage during the last quarter of 2009. During the last five years,period of 2010 to 2015, our financial condition and results of operations have experienced substantial fluctuations as we provided introductory pricing in 2010 and then began to switch to a licensing rather than a toll model in 2011. Our licensing model will continue in 2018 for the raw material business and we will focus on the licensing contracts associated with the foam and furniture offerings. Accordingly, the financial condition and results of operations reflected in our historical financial statements are not expected to be indicative of our future financial condition and results of operations.

 

We believe that the key for increased Vytex NRL product acceptance is to focus on companies seeking solutions to production challenges or ways to differentiate their product offering. Vystar’s technical team has been successful in developing customized formulations to meet specific manufacturer needs. Some of these formulations will become new line extensions. Vystar is becoming less of a raw material provider and more of a technology innovator through its technical consultation and formulation activities.

 

In addition to this technology focus, we are determined to have the “made with Vytex” claim added to products made using various forms of Vytex NRL. To help drive this effort we’re focusing on products that benefit from Vytex NRL low non-rubber features. As part of this effort, we are working with a licensee to launch a line of foam core products used in various bedding products including pillows, mattresses and mattress toppers.

 


In January 2015 Vystar announced that it had entered into an exclusive agreement with Nature’s Home Solutions (NHS)NHS to distribute mattresses, mattress toppers and pillows made with its multi-patented Vytex NRL raw material. NHS is a distribution company led by Steve Rotman of RotmansRotman’s Furniture and Tom Eisenberg formerly withas of December 18, 2017 is the foam and mattress producer, Latex InternationalCEO of Vystar and focuses on innovative, sustainably sourced, eco-friendly material and technologies for use in furnishings and other markets. Our Vytex NRL fits the needs of this unique new distributor which has already attracted such firms as mattress manufacturer Gold Bond that was formed in 1899 to manufacture and then distribute mattresses, toppers and pillows along with a plan to reach specific segments of the United States by targeting other manufacturers. This is the focus of Vystar forhas focused on these segments since 2015 and beyondwill continue into 2018 as we display at furniture and mattress conventions and attend and sell at sleep products meetings such as ISPA 2016 (International Sleep Products Association) held in Orlando, FL and ISPA 2017 in Tampa, FL and attending ISPA 2018 in Charlotte, NC. Vystar will also continue to develop specialty versions of Vytex NRL after presenting to the International Latex Conference in Akron OH in July 2016 and also2017 and sending out samples for lab trials. Vystar is currently producing Vytex thread samples for an entry into the thread marketplace. In September 2016, the Vystar Board of Directors voted to end the January 2015 agreement with NHS and replace it with a global exclusive for foam manufactured with Vytex and sold into the home furnishings industry. This change reflects the global nature of the mattress, topper and pillow businesses.

 

Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates

 

Our discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations are based upon our financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles. As such, we are required to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenue and expenses during the reporting period. By their nature, these estimates and judgments are subject to an inherent degree of uncertainty. Our management reviews its estimates on an on-going basis. We base our estimates and assumptions on historical experience, knowledge of current conditions and our understanding of what we believe to be reasonable that might occur in the future considering available information. Actual results may differ from these estimates, and material effects on our operating results and financial position may result.

 

We believe the following critical accounting policies affect our more significant judgments and estimates used in the preparation of our financial statements.

 

Fair Value Inputs Related to Share-based and Other Equity Compensation

 

Generally accepted accounting principles require all share-based payments, including grants of employee stock options, stock grants and warrants, to be recognized in the financial statements based on their fair values. We compute the value of awards granted by utilizing the Black-Scholes valuation model based upon their expected lives, expected volatility, expected dividend yield, and the risk-free interest rate. The value of the awards is then straight-line expensed over the service period of the awards.

 

Allowance for Doubtful Accounts

 

We maintain allowances for doubtful accounts for estimated losses resulting from the inability of our customers to make required payments. If the financial condition of our customers were to deteriorate, resulting in an impairment of their ability to make payments, additional allowances may be required. Our allowances for doubtful accounts amounted to $53,317 and $257,160for$0 for both December 31, 20142017 and 2013 respectfully.2016. For the fiscal year 2017, the Company generated revenue from three customers and we have no history of not collecting from any of them. We therefore determined there was no need currently to carry an allowance for doubtful accounts.

 

Fixed Asset Lives

 

We estimate the useful life of equipment and other fixed assets using judgment, conventions in the industries in which we operate, and research on resale values. WeThe Company currently has no fixed assets on its balance sheet. If the Company were to acquire any fixed assets, we will review equipment and fixed asset lives annually in our impairment analyses.

Impairment Analyses

We review long-lived assets such as property and equipment for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate the carrying value may not be recoverable. If the total of the estimated undiscounted future cash flows is less than the carrying value of the assets, an impairment loss is recognized for the excess of the carrying value over the fair value of the long-lived assets.

 

Goodwill is tested for impairment annually or more frequently if events or changes in circumstances indicate that the assets might be impaired. We utilize a discounted cash flow analysis to determine a reporting unit’s fair value. The methodology used in estimating discounted cash flows is inherently complex and involves significant management assumptions, including expected revenue growth and increases in expenses, to determine an appropriate discount rate and cash flows. Estimated cash flows extend into the future and, by their nature, are difficult to determine over an extended timeframe. Factors that have and may significantly affect the estimates, and ultimately their carrying amount in our financials, include, among others, competitive forces, customer behaviors and attrition, changes in revenue growth trends, cost structures and technology, government regulation and changes in discount rates or market sector conditions. Significant changes in these assumptions could affect the need to record an impairment charge.

Income Taxes

 

We account for income taxes using the assets and liability method. This method requires that the deferred tax consequences of temporary differences between the amounts recorded in our financial statements and the amounts included in our federal and state income tax returns be recognized in the balance sheet. Estimates are often required with respect to, among other things, the potential utilization of any operating and capital loss carry-forwards for both federal and state income tax purposes and valuation allowances required, if any, for tax assets that may not be realizable in the future. We believe that it is more likely than not that the amounts recorded as deferred income tax assets will not be recoverable through future taxable income generated by us. As a result, the Company recorded a 100% valuation allowance against our net deferred tax assets as of December 31, 20142017 and 2013.2016. We believe the procedures and estimates used in our accounting for income taxes are reasonable and in accordance with established tax law. A tax benefit arising from an uncertain tax position can only be recognized for financial reporting purposes if, and to the extent that, the position is more likely than not to be sustained in an audit by the applicable taxing authority. We had no material unrecognized tax benefits and related tax liabilities at December 31, 20142017 and 2013.2016. Penalties related to uncertain tax positions would be recorded as a component of general and administrative expenses. Interest relating to uncertain tax positions would be recorded as a component of interest expense. We do not believe there will be any such uncertain tax position, costs or liabilities for any of the years under audit and take a conservative approach to all tax matters.

 

 15

20

 

RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

 

Year ended December 31, 20142017 compared to year ended December 31, 20132016

 

  Year Ended December 31,      
  2014 2013* $ change % change
  Vystar Kiron SleepHealth Consolidated      
Revenue, net $52,814  $598,177      $650,991  $332,692  $318,299   95.7%
Cost of revenue $18,390  $326,583      $344,973  $120,714  $224,259   185.8%
Gross profit $34,424  $271,594      $306,018  $211,978  $94,040   44.4%
                             
Operating Expenses                            
Sales and marketing                 $123,303  $(123,303)  (100.0%)
General and administrative $1,309,997  $265,721      $1,575,718  $1,769,808  $(194,090)  (11.0%)
Research and development                 $22,234  $(22,234)  (100.0%)
Goodwill impairment/intangible write-off                 $155,313  $(155,313)  (100.0%)
Total operating expenses $1,309,997  $265,721      $1,575,718  $2,070,658  $(494,940)  (23.9%)
                             
Profit (Loss) from continuing operations $(1,275,573) $5,873      $(1,269,700) $(1,858,680) $599,980   32.28%
                             
Interest income $34          $34  $9  $25   277.8%
Interest expense $(171,628) $(220)     $(171,848) $(402,126) $230,278   57.3%
Other income $6,780          $6,780  $(24,966) $31,746   127.2%
 Total Other Income/Expense $(164,814) $(220)     $(165,034) $(427,083) $262,049   61.4%
                             
Loss From Continuing Operations $(1,440,387) $5,653      $(1,434,734) $(2,285,763) $851,029   37.2%
Discontinued Operations         $(384) $(384) $(228,045) $227,661   99.8%
                             
Net Loss $(1,440,387) $5,653  $(384) $(1,435,118) $(2,513,808) $1,078,690   42.9%
                             
Basic and diluted loss per share  (0.03)  (0.00)  (0.00)  (0.03)  (0.09)        
Basic and diluted weighted average number of common shares outstanding  55,058,317           55,058,317   29,365,815         
  Year Ended December 31,  Continuing  Consolidated 
  2017  2016  $ change  % change  $ change  % change 
  Continuing  Discontinued  Consolidated  Continuing  Discontinued  Consolidated             
Revenue, net $16,754  $  $16,754  $40,193  $82,353  $122,546  ($23,439)  (58.3%) ($105,792)  (86.3%)
Cost of revenue  21,498      21,498   20,473   20,222   40,695   1,025   5.0%  (19,197)  (47.2%)
Gross profit  (4,744)     (4,744)  19,720   62,131   81,851   (24,464)  (124.1%)  (86,595)  (105.8%)
                                         
Operating Expenses                                        
General and administrative  1,125,638      1,125,638   1,096,354   24,045   1,120,399   29,284   2.7%  5,239   0.5%
Total operating expenses  1,125,638      1,125,638   1,096,354   24,045   1,120,399   29,284   2.7%  5,239   0.5%
                                         
Profit (Loss) from Operations  (1,130,382)     (1,130,382)  (1,076,634)  38,086   (1,038,548)  (53,748)  (5.0%)  (91,834)  (8.8%)
                                         
Interest income           1      1   (1)  (100.0%)  (1)  (100.0%)
Interest expense  (174,661)     (174,661)  (168,188)  2,594   (165,594)  (6,473)  3.8%  (9,067)  5.5%
Other income/(expense)  78,513   42,056   120,569   (14,456)  (2,701)  (17,157)  92,969   (643.1%)  137,726   (802.7%)
Total Other Income/Expense  (96,148)  42,056   (54,092)  (182,643)  (107)  (182,750)  86,495   47.4%  128,658   70.4%
                                         
Net loss ($1,226,530) $42,056  ($1,184,474) ($1,259,277) $37,979  ($1,221,298) $32,747   2.6% $36,824   3.0%
                                         
BASIC AND DILUTED LOSS PER SHARE:                                        
Net loss per share ($0.01) $0.00  ($0.01) ($0.01) $0.00  ($0.01)                
Basic and Diluted Weighted Average Number of Common Shares Outstanding  125,868,534   125,868,534   125,868,534   106,985,632   106,985,632   106,985,632                 

 

* SleepHealth operations were discontinued first quarter 2014; 2013 has been restated showing 2013 SleepHealth results as discontinued operations for comparative purposes.

21

Consolidated CompaniesRevenues

 

Consolidated revenuerevenues for Vystar’s companies was $650,991 compared to $332,692 in 2013, an increase of $318,299 over 2013. Our revenue expectations for 2013 and 2014 were negatively affected by the failure of the Seller of SleepHealth and contract General Manager to deliver any of the promised Durable Medical Equipment (“DME”) revenue and the Seller of Kiron and contracted Medical Director dissolving his Limited Liability Company and not continuing in this role.

For the yearsfiscal year ended December 31, 20142017 and 2013, total operating expenses2016 from the Company were $1,575,718$16,754 and $2,070,658$122,546, respectively, for a decrease of $494,940$105,792 or 86.3%. The decrease in revenues from operations was principally due to the closing of the Kiron division. Revenues for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2017 and 2016 from the Company’s continuing operations were $16,754 and $40,193, respectively, for a 23.9% reduction.decrease of $23,439 or 58.3%. The decrease in revenues from continuing operations was due to fluctuations in latex prices and changes in customer product mix.

 

In 2014, $834,758Consolidated gross profit for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2017 and 2016 from the Company were $(4,744) and $81,851, respectively for a decrease of $86,595 or 105.8%. Gross profit from continuing operations for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2017 and 2016 was recorded$(4,744) and $19,720, respectively, for share-based compensation. This compares with $701,204a decrease of $24,464 or 124.1%. Cost of revenue from continuing operations for share-based compensationfiscal year ended December 31, 2017 and $75,000 for amortization2016 was $21,498 and $20,473, respectively an increase of deferred compensation in 2013. $1,025 or 5.0%.

Operating Expenses

The deferred compensation expense in 2013 represents the amortized fair valueCompany’s operating expenses consist of stock and warrants issued for services to non-employees. Share-based compensation charges to operations were primarily for stock options granted under our Stock Option Plan to executive officers and directors and were made so their interests would align with those of shareholders, providing incentive to improve Company performance on a long-term basis. Grants of stock purchase warrants and common stock were also made to executive officers in lieu of cash compensation and to third parties for various services rendered and as additional compensation for financing agreements. Amortization of deferred compensation is recorded in general and administrative expenses. Share-based compensation expense is included in both sales and marketing and general and administrative expenses. For 2014, the amount of share-based compensation expense included in sales and marketing was $0 and $835,473 in general and administrative of which $512,588 in share based compensation that was paid in the form of common stock and stock purchase warrants to outside third parties. For 2013, the amount of share based compensation and deferred compensation included in sales and marketing was $84,635 and $616,569 in general and administrative of which $321,704 in share-based compensation was paid in the form of common stock and stock purchase warrants to outside third parties for contracted services

For the years ended December 31, 2014 and 2013, sales and marketing expenses were $0 and $123,303 respectively. The decrease of $123,303 was primarily due to the departure of the full-time Vice President of Technical Sales and Vice President of Marketing. Sales and marketing expenses consist primarily of compensation and support costs for sales and marketing personnel, professional services, promotional, marketing and related activities.

For the years ended December 31, 2014 and 2013 general and administrative expenses were $1,575,718 and $1,769,808, respectively. The $194,090 decrease in 2014 is primarily due to the cost saving measures put in place during 2014 as well as reduction in staff and elimination of office space. General and administrative expenses consist primarily of compensation and support costs for management and administrative staff, and for other general and administrative costs, including professional fees related to accounting, finance, and legal services as well as other operating expenses. The Company’s consolidated operating expenses were $1,125,638 and $1,120,399 for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively, for an increase of $5,239 or 0.5%. The Company’s operating expenses from continuing operations for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2017 and 2016 were $1,125,638 and $1,096,354, respectively, for an increase of $29,284 or 2.7%.

 

Goodwill Impairment/Intangible Write-Off 16

 

Vystar expensed $0 of goodwill impairment/intangible write-off in 2014 and $155,313 in 2013.

Other Income (Expense)

 

Other income (expense) for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2014, consisted2017 and 2016 were $120,569 and ($17,157), respectively for an increase of $34$137,726 or 802.7%. This large fluctuation was due to the write-off of interestdiscontinued operations related accounts payable in the amount of $42,056 and $6,780the derecognition and write-off of other income as compared to $9 of interest and ($24,966) of other income for December 31, 2013. Other income (expense) for 2013 included a loss of $24,906 on the disposal of Kiron fixed assets associated with the closing of an under-utilized sleep lab.disputed Vystar related accounts payables. Interest expense of $171,848 for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2014, compared to interest expense2017 and 2016 were $174,661 and $165,594, respectively for an increase of $9,067 or 5.5%. This was a primarily a result of an increase in 2013 of $402,126. The net decrease of $230,278 in interest expense is primarily due to the warrant expense associated withLIBOR index rate on the CMA Related Party line of credit (see Note 6). Amortization of deferred financing costs connected with the CMA Related Party line of credit was $0 and $182,225 in 2014 and 2013, respectively.

Vytex Sales Environment

The overall natural rubber markets remain in a state of flux as new plantations come on line in SE Asia in countries such as Vietnam, Cambodia, etc., and increases in production are noted in other countries such as Guatemala. Moves by certain countries to control pricing have succeeded in a few instances but just as often fail as manufacturers do not buy as far forward as the controlled pricing areas would like. Of keen interest is the improvement in non-latex gloves as synthetic glove makers have made great strides in perfecting their offerings. Gloves, as a segment, are the biggest segment of users of natural rubber latex. Vystar has focused on fewer segments of the marketplace as we see trends in areas that look to embrace the low non-rubber aspects of Vytex NRL such as adhesives, balloons, condoms, bandages, etc. and Vystar had planned to launch a line of branded foam products during the second quarter of 2014. Consequently, Vystar contracted itself with a group of expert retailers (Natures Home Solutions) who, along with their mattress manufacturers are launching Vytex mattresses, mattress toppers and pillows at the High Point furniture mart in mid April. Initial, non-scientific, market research pointed to a definite market for pure natural rubber latex foam products made with Vytex NRL.

SleepHealth Performance, Impairment, and Closing

SleepHealth’s post acquisition performance has fallen far below Vystar’s expectations. For the period from January 1 through March 31, 2014, the revenue from sleep studies was $28,610 and for the year January 1, 2013 through December 31, 2013, revenue was $975,084, still well below original projections. There are a number of facts available to Vystar now regarding the valuation of SleepHealth which were previously unknown to us or unascertainable. As part of the Company’s strategy to focus on realizing the potential of the Vytex foam business in the pillow and mattress marketsLoan as well as part of the Company’s cost reduction plan it initiatedadditional Shareholder Notes in 2013, the Company made the decision in first quarter 2014, to discontinue the operations of SleepHealth.2017.

 

Vystar originally based the valuation of SleepHealth on their 2010 and 2011 tax returns and the annualized results of the first six months of 2012 as presented by SleepHealth. At the time of the acquisition, the 2012 accounting had not been assembled by an outside CPA firm and SleepHealth’s 2010 and 2011 books and records required significant work to complete an independent audit. The audited financial statements for 2010 and 2011 actually showed net losses, contrary to the net profit presented in the 2010 and 2011 compilations and tax returns.

At the acquisition date, SleepHealth was invoicing 25 accounts, 13 of which performed fewer than 10 studies per month and utilization of the rooms available for testing was far from ideal. A sleep technician can monitor two to three patients, depending on testing needs, but numerous single patient nights were performed. Increased room utilization and 2:1 patient to technician studies were included in the forward looking projections. Also noted was that several accounts were invoiced for accreditation under the SleepHealth umbrella and these invoices were treated like normal study income when in fact they were the start of further expenses.

The contracted sleep study fee and SleepHealth’s hourly technician labor costs are the largest factors in determining whether an account is or has the potential to be profitable. SleepHealth needs a two-patient per night minimum to cover all of its costs and provide acceptable profits. Vystar instituted a two patient study per night minimum; closed eight unprofitable accounts and began working with the remaining accounts to achieve the new goals that benefit both parties.

After the acquisition, Vystar discovered that prior collections efforts resulted in slow cash flow and an inability to timely meet key obligations and unpaid tax consequences.

Additionally, the sales pipeline was much weaker than anticipated and Vystar broadened its approach in an attempt to secure a healthy sales pipeline in 2013.

The number of studies performed at a location over the term of the contract was dependent on the physician’s specialty, size of the physician’s patient base, advertising or partnering with other physicians to grow the patient base, or other reasons outside our direct control. As a physician cycled through his/her patient base, the number of studies from that location declined over the term of the contract without active management of the account. Vystar introduced steps for active account management that were unsuccessful.

During 2013, SleepHealth continued to underperform as local hospitals took over several of our profitable locations, and we were forced to close other locations due to a lack of payment for our services and our efforts to increase contract pricing to a profitable level with our remaining locations failed. The Durable Medical Equipment business, the primary driver in the decision to acquire SleepHealth never materialized and early in 2014, Vystar made the decision to suspend operations and transferred the remaining accounts to the SleepHealth management team, sold the nominal remaining SleepHealth assets and is contemplating its next move to re-coup what it considers to be hidden fees, ineffective contract price expectations and outright fabrication of financials and potential by the seller.

As a result of the above facts, the valuation of SleepHealth was revised with an additional $48,641of intangible write-down expense recognized in the fourth quarter of 2013 in addition to the prior $87,000 goodwill impairment taken in 2012.

 The new valuation reduced physician relationships from $193,000 to zero; trade names from $29,000 to zero and the non-compete agreement from $20,000 to zero. The reductions in these values were reclassified to goodwill and subsequently written-off. Vystar also reversed the $8,199 contingent consideration amount due the Seller.

Kiron Performance and Impairment

Kiron’s post acquisition performance has not met Vystar’s expectations. For the period from January 1, 2014 through December 31, 2014, revenue was $598,177, and for the year ending December 31, 2013 revenue was $734,820, still well below original expectations. The dissolving of Durham Neurology, PLLC on September 13, 2013 which was contracted to provide Kiron a Medical Director by the Seller of Kiron and the subsequent departure of the Seller as Medical Director negatively impacted revenue by an estimated $200,000.

Vystar originally based the valuation of Kiron on its 2010, 2011, and 2012 tax returns and the financial statements as prepared by Kiron’s outside CPA firm, Self & Associates, CPAs, PC. Upon outside audit, the financial statements for 2011 and 2012 showed significantly less revenue and identified approximately $150,000 in general operating expenses necessary for the business to operate which were not disclosed in the financials or due diligence material provided to Vystar. The Purchase Consideration was therefore adjusted to $140,000 and all the initial Goodwill in the amount of $106,031 associated with the purchase was written-off.

A new Medical Director was identified and hired as of January 1, 2014 but the contract was subsequently ended by mutual agreement in August 2014. In July 2014, Kiron entered into an agreement with Henry Clifford Baggett MD, a sleep specialist to perform the duties of Medical Director and has re-established its practice with sleep consultations, sleep studies, CPAP titrations studies, CPAP clinics and a solid re-supply business focusing on its existing and growing patient base.Net Loss

 

Net Loss

As a result ofloss for the factors described above, the consolidated net loss was significantly reduced by $1,078,690, a 42.9% reduction in our net loss to $1,435,118 for thefiscal year ended December 31, 2014 as compared to $2,513,8082017 and 2016 were $1,184,474 and $1,221,298, respectively for a decrease of $36,824 or 3.0%. The smaller net loss the Company experienced in the fiscal year ended December 31, 2013.2017 versus the same period in 2016 was primarily attributable to the reduction in third-party contract services.

 

LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES

 

The Company’sCompany's financial statements are prepared using the accrual method of accounting in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America and have been prepared on a going concern basis, which contemplates the realization of assets and the settlement of liabilities in the normal course of business. However, we have incurred significant losses and experienced negative cash flow since inception. At December 31, 2014,2017, the Company had cash of approximately $73,770$13,502 and a deficit in working capital of $2,068,476.$2,774,565. For the year ended December 31, 2014,2017, the company had a net loss of $1,435,118$1,184,474 and an accumulated deficit of $24,354,473.$27,999,123. For the year ended December 31, 2013,2016, the company had a net loss of $2,513,808$1,221,298 and the accumulated deficit amounted to $22,919,355.$26,814,649. We use working capital to finance our ongoing operations and since those operations do not currently cover all of our operating costs and managing working capital is essential to our Company’sCompany's future success.

 

Net cash used in operating activities was $634,285$498,963 for the year ended December 31, 20142017 as compared to $1,030,436$907,441 for the year ended December 31, 2013.2016. During the year ended December 31, 2014,2017, cash used in operations was primarily due to the net loss for the year of $1,435,118$1,184,474 net of non-cash related add-back of share-based compensation expense of $834,758.$710,348.

 

NetThe Company had no net cash usedprovided by investing activities was $282 during the year ended December 31, 2014 as this was used2017. Net cash provided by investing activities for the cost of equipment. During the year ended December 31, 2013 $69,5242016 was used for the acquisition$2,701 was a result of Kiron Clinical Sleep Lab, LLC (as discussed in more detail in Note 3), $8,035 for patents and intellectual property offset by a net inflow of $44,407 from equipment purchases/disposals.selling some equipment.

 

Net cash provided by financing activities was $651,964$476,183 during the year ended December 31, 2014,2017, as compared to cash provided of $1,028,042$911,963 during the year ended December 31, 2013. In 2014, the2016. During 2017 cash was provided was from the issuance of common stock of $699,443. In addition, the AR facility was paid off in the amount of $47,479 as well as one of the remaining shareholders converted $200,000 of their note during 2014.$384,500 and $91,683 in proceeds from Shareholder Notes. In 2013,2016, the cash provided by financing activities was provided from the issuance of notes payablecommon stock in the amount of $325,068 (as discussed in more detail in Note 6), issuance of preferred stock of $300,852, issuance$723,456, $53,500 from the exercise of common stock of $309,944, advances under the related party line of credit of $70,000,warrants and advances of $47,479 under an A/R facility offset by payments of $25,301 under promissory and other notes.

As discussed$135,000 in Note 6, the CMA Note matured on April 29, 2013, was renewedfor another year and was most recently renewed again until April 29, 2015. All theproceeds from Shareholder Notes which matured on various dates from March 11 through May 31, 2013 were either converted to preferred stock or were amended for an additional two years.Notes.

 

A successful transition to attaining profitable operations is dependent upon obtaining sufficient financing to fund the Company’s planned expenses and achieving a level of revenue adequate to support the Company’s cost structure. Management plans to finance future operations through the use ofusing cash on hand, increased revenue from better utilization of existing Kiron facilities, increased revenue from Vytex division license fees that now also include the company’s association with foam cores made out offrom Vytex used in mattresses, mattress toppers and pillows, stock warrant exercises from existing shareholders, and raising capital through private placement memoranda (see Note 16,13, Subsequent Events). As a resultBecause of this history of losses and financial condition, there is substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern.

 

There can be no assurances that we will be able to achieve projected levels of revenue in 20152018 and beyond. If we are not able to achieve projected revenue and obtain alternate additional financing of equity or debt, we would need to significantly curtail or reorient operations during 2015,2018, which could have a material adverse effect on our ability to achieve our business objectives and as a result, may require the Company to file for bankruptcy or cease operations. The financial statements do not include any adjustments relating to the recoverability and classification of recorded asset amounts or amounts classified as liabilities that might be necessary should the Company be forced to take any such actions.

 

Our future expenditures will depend on numerous factors, including: the rate at which we can introduce and license Vytex NRL raw material and the foam cores made from Vytex to manufacturers and subsequently retailers, the costs of filing, prosecuting, defending and enforcing any patent claims and other intellectual property rights; and market acceptance of our products and services and competing technological developments; rate at which we can build Kiron’s business, especially with respect to its Durable Medical Equipment (“DME”) business.developments. As we expand our activities and operations, our cash requirements are expected to increase at a rate consistent with revenue growth after we achieve sustained revenue generation.

 

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements

 

We do not have any material off-balance sheet arrangements.

 

Certain Relationships and Related Transactions

 

On April 29, 2011, the Company executed with CMA Investments, LLC, a Georgia limited liability company (“CMA”) a line of credit (Note 6) with a principal amount of up to $800,000 (the “CMA Note”). CMA is a limited liability company of which three of Vystar’sthe directors of the Company (“CMA directors”) are CMA members. Proceeds under the members (“CMA”), an unsecured line wereof credit bearing interest at LIBOR plus 5.25% per annum on amounts drawn to pay off amounts owed underand fees. The weighted average interest rate in effect on the Topping Lift Agreementborrowings for the years ended December 31, 2017 and for general working capital purposes. Under2016 was 6.37% and 5.75%, respectively.


During the termstenure of the CMA Note Payable, the Company may draw up to a maximum principalhas increased the amount of $800,000. Interestthe Note and fees were paid by an affiliated entity of a director of the company. Pursuant to an agreement between the Company and such affiliate, the Company will issue common stock to such affiliate with a value equal to such interest and fees paid based on the closing price of the common stock on the OTC Bulletin Board on the date of such payments. The maturity date of the CMA Note was April 29, 2013. The CMA Note is unsecured and no payments of principal are due until the second anniversary of the CMA Note, at which time all outstanding principal is due and payable. As compensation to the directors for providing the CMA Note, the Company issued warrants to purchase 2,600,000 shares of the Company’s common stock to the directors at $.45 per share which was the closing price of the Company’s common stock on that day, which was later adjusted to $.27 per share, which was the closing price of the Company’s common stock on the day it was adjusted.

On September 14, 2011, the Company’s Board of Directors approved increasing the line of credit to $1,000,000 and the Company’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer became a member of CMA. As compensation for increasing the credit line, the directors approved issuing warrants to purchase an additional 1,600,000 shares of the Company’s common stock at $.27 per share, which was the closing price of the Company’s common stock on that day.

On November 2, 2012, the Board of Directors approved an increase in the line of credit from $1,000,000 to $1,500,000. As compensationexchange provided benefits to the CMA members, wedirectors as follows:

DateAmount (increase)Benefit to CMAImpact to Company
Inception$800,000Warrants to purchase 2,600,000 shares @ $0.45, vesting 20% immediately and 10% per $100,000 drawnWarrant costs amortized over the term of the CMA Note
Sept 4, 2011$200,000Modified warrant price on 2,600,000 shares from $0.45 to $0.27, and issued additional 1,600,000 shares @ $0.27Warrant costs amortized over the remaining term of the CMA Note
Nov 2, 2012$500,000Warrants to purchase 2,100,000 shares @ $0.35Warrant costs amortized over the remaining term of the CMA Note
Apr 29, 2013$0 (maturity date extended 1 year)Modified warrant price on 6,300,000 shares from $0.10, and agreed to forfeit 630,000 of the warrantsWarrant costs amortized over the remaining term of the CMA Note
Apr 29, 2014$0 (maturity date extended 1 year)NoneNone
Apr 29, 2015$0 (maturity date extended 1 year)NoneNone

The note is currently due on demand.

In January 2015, Vystar announced that it had entered into an exclusive agreement with NHS to purchase an additional 2,100,000 sharesdistribute mattresses, mattress toppers and pillows made with its multi-patented Vytex NRL raw material. NHS is a distribution company led by Steve Rotman of the Company’s common stock at $0.35 per share. The closing price of the Company’s stock on November 2, 2013 was $0.21. The warrants vest 20% immediatelyRotman’s Furniture and 16% upon each $100,000 draw above $1,000,000. Substantially all of the additional $500,000 had been drawn as of December 31, 2012 and vesting was completed. Accordingly, $143,726 was capitalized into deferred financing costs for17, 2017 is the warrants in 2012. These costs were amortized to interest expense over the remaining termCEO of the CMA Note.Vystar.

 

On April 29, 2013, the maturity date of the CMA Note was extended to April 29, 2014. As compensation to the CMA Directors for extending the maturity date of the CMA Note, the Board of Directors approved modifying the exercise price for the 6,300,000 compensatory stock purchase warrants previously issued to the Directors to $0.10 per share and the CMA Directors forfeited 630,000 of the warrants. Amortization of the financing costs associated with extending the CMA Note was amortized through interest expense.

On April 29, 2014, the maturity date of the CMA Note was again extended for one year to April 29, 2015. No compensation was paid to the CMA Directors for this extension.

ITEM 7A.QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK

 

As a smaller reporting company, we are not required to provide the information required by this Item pursuant to 301(c) of Regulation S-K.

 

ITEM 8.FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA

Index to Financial Statements

  
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm F-1
Consolidated Balance Sheets F-2
Consolidated Statements of Loss F-3
Consolidated Statements of Stockholders’ Deficit F-4
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows F-6F-5
Notes to Financial Statements F-7F-6

 


 

 

REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

 

To the Board of Directors and Stockholders

Vystar Corporation

Atlanta, Georgia

 

We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of Vystar Corporation and subsidiaries (the “Company”)Company) as of December 31, 20142017 and 2013,2016, and the related consolidated statements of loss, stockholders'stockholders’ deficit, and cash flows for the years then ended. These consolidated financial statements are the responsibility of the Company'sCompany’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these consolidated financial statements based on our audits.

 

We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the consolidated financial statements are free of material misstatement. The Company is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its internal control over financial reporting.  Our audits included consideration of internal control over financial reporting as a basis for designing audit procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting.  Accordingly, we express no such opinion.  An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the consolidated financial statements, assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall consolidated financial statement presentation. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.

 

In our opinion, the consolidated financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the consolidated financial position of Vystar Corporation and subsidiaries as of December 31, 20142017 and 2013,2016, and the results of theirits operations and theirits cash flows for the years then ended, in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.

 

The accompanying consolidated financial statements have been prepared assuming that the Company will continue as a going concern. As discussed in Note 2 to the consolidated financial statements, the Company'sCompany’s recurring losses from operations, capital deficit, and limited capital resources raise substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern. Management’s plans in regard to these matters also are described in Note 2 to the consolidated financial statements. These consolidated financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.

 

Atlanta, Georgia

April 15, 2015March 29, 2018

 

F -1F-1

 

VYSTAR CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

 

  December 31,
  2014  2013
ASSETS     
      
CURRENT ASSETS     
Cash$73,770$ 56,373
Accounts receivable, net of allowance for uncollectible amount of $53,317 and $257,160 at December 31, 2014 and 2013, respectively 64,190  64,351
Inventory 3,449  3,449
Prepaid expenses 150,761  93,854
      
TOTAL CURRENT ASSETS$292,170 $218,027
      
PROPERTY AND EQUIPMENT, NET$4,868 $157,977
      
OTHER ASSETS     
Intangible assets, net$171,103 $186,783
      
      
TOTAL ASSETS$468,141 $562,787
      
 LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ DEFICIT     
      
CURRENT LIABILITIES     
Related party line of credit$1,499,875 $1,499,875
Bank line of credit 0  49,737
Accounts receivable line of credit 0  47,479
Accounts payable 667,941  728,557
Accrued compensation 43,892  88,781
Accrued expenses 148,938  92,900
Current portion of long term debt 0   9,732
TOTAL CURRENT LIABILITIES$2,360,646 $2,517,061
      
Shareholder notes payable$662,568 $862,568
      
Long term debt, net of current portion 0 $73,955
      
TOTAL LIABILITIES$3,023,214 $3,453,584
      
STOCKHOLDERS’ DEFICIT     
Preferred stock, $0.0001 par value, 15,000,000 shares authorized; 30,085 issued and outstanding at December 31, 2014 and 2013, respectively 3  3
Common stock, $0.0001 par value, 150,000,000 shares authorized; 68,559,669 and 39,160,255 shares issued and outstanding at December 31, 2014 and 2013, respectively 6,856  3,916
Additional paid-in capital 21,792,541  20,024,639
Accumulated deficit (24,354,473) (22,919,355)
TOTAL STOCKHOLDERS’ DEFICIT$(2,555,073)$(2,890,797)
      
TOTAL LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ DEFICIT$468,141 $562,787

For the Years Ended December 31, 2017 and 2016

 

  December 31, 
  2017  2016 
ASSETS      
CURRENT ASSETS        
Cash $13,502  $36,282 
Accounts receivable  3,963   17,370 
Prepaid expenses  166,091   41,300 
TOTAL CURRENT ASSETS  183,556   94,952 
OTHER ASSETS        
Intangible assets, net  123,882   139,562 
TOTAL ASSETS  307,438   234,514 
 LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ DEFICIT        
CURRENT LIABILITIES        
Related party line of credit $1,499,875  $1,499,875 
Accounts payable  468,906   488,784 
Accrued compensation  19,355   2,917 
Shareholder notes payable  674,990   595,837 
Accrued expenses  294,995   231,080 
TOTAL CURRENT LIABILITIES  2,958,121   2,818,493 
Long-term Shareholder notes payable  206,683   239,231 
TOTAL LIABILITIES $3,164,804  $3,057,724 
STOCKHOLDERS’ DEFICIT        
Preferred stock, $0.0001 par value, 15,000,000 shares authorized; 13,828 issued and outstanding at December 31, 2017 and 2016 respectively  1   1 
Common stock, $0.0001 par value, 250,000,000 shares authorized; 132,809,218 and 114,951,594 shares issued and outstanding at December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively  13,280   11,495 
Additional paid-in capital  25,128,476   23,979,943 
Accumulated deficit  (27,999,123)  (26,814,649)
TOTAL STOCKHOLDERS’ DEFICIT  (2,857,366)  (2,823,210)
TOTAL LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ DEFICIT $307,438  $234,514 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

 

F -2F-2

 

VYSTAR CORORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF LOSS

 

  For the years ended
December 31,
  2014 2013
     
REVENUE $650,991  $332,692 
         
COST OF REVENUE  344,973   120,714 
Gross Margin $306,018  $211,978 
         
OPERATING EXPENSES        
Sales and marketing, including non-cash share-based compensation of $0 and $84,635 in 2014 and 2013, respectively  0  $123,303 
General and administrative, including non-cash share-based compensation of $834,758 and $616,569 in 2014 and 2013 respectively  1,575,718   1,769,808 
Research and development  0   22,234 
Goodwill impairment and intangible write-off  0   155,313 
 Total Operating Expenses $1,575,718  $2,070,658 
        
LOSS FROM CONTINUING OPERATIONS $(1,269,700) $(1,858,680)
         
OTHER INCOME (EXPENSE)        
Interest income  34   9 
Other income (expense)  6,780   (24,966)
Interest expense  (171,848)  (402,126)
Total Other Income (Expense) $(165,034) $(427,083)
         
Loss from Continuing Operations $(1,434,734) $(2,285,763)
         
DISCONTINUED OPERATIONS $(384) $(228,045)
         
NET LOSS $(1,435,118) $(2,513,808)
         
Basic and Diluted Loss per Share  (0.03)  (0.09)
         
Basic and Diluted Weighted Average Number of Common Shares Outstanding  55,058,317   29,365,815 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements. 

F -3

VYSTAR CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF STOCKHOLDERS’ DEFICIT

For the Years Ended December 31, 20142017 and 20132016

 

  Number of Preferred Shares Preferred Stock Number of
Common
Shares
 Common
Stock
 Additional
Paid-in
Capital
 Deferred
Compensation
 Accumulated
Deficit
 Total
                 
Ending Balance, December 31, 2012        23,020,518  $2,302  $18,733,280  $(75,000) $(20,405,547) $(1,744,965)
                                 
Common Stock issued in private placement @ $0.25/common share with 1:1 warrants @ $0.35/share        20,000   2   4,998         5,000 
                                 
Common Stock issued in private placement @ $0.075/share        834,666   83   62,517         62,600 
                                 
Common Stock issued in private placement @ $0.05/share        1,200,000   120   59,880         60,000 
                                 
Common Stock issued in private placement @ $0.03/common share with 1:2 warrants @ $0.05/share        2,066,667   207   61,793         62,000 
                                 
Preferred Stock issued in private placement  19,711   2         197,108           197,110 
                                 
Common Stock issued for acquisition of Kiron        727,434   73   49,927         50,000 
                                 
Common Stock issued for services to be rendered        4,000,000   400   153,600         154,000 
                                
Commons Stock issued for expenses        233,288   23   14,713         14,736 
                                 
Common Stock issued due to Ratchet Clause of 2012 Private Placement Managed by Wellfleet        4,433,333   443   (443)         
                                 
Common Stock issued upon the cashless exercise of 429,000 of the Company’s outstanding and exercisable warrants        239,733   24   (24)           
                                 
Preferred Stock issued upon conversion of promissory note  10,374   1         103,741         103,742 
                                 
Share-based compensation issued for services already rendered – warrants              21,835         21,835 
                                 
Share-based compensation to employees - common stock        2,384,616   239   97,555         97,794 
                                 
Share-based compensation to employees - options/warrants              337,839         337,839 
                                 
Amortization of deferred compensation.                  75,000       75,000 
                                 
Warrants issued in conjunction with promissory notes.              5,976         5,976 
                                 
Share-based compensation resulting from modification of exercise price of option and warrant grants made in prior periods              120,344         120,344 
                                 
Net loss                    (2,513,808)  (2,513,808)
                                 
Ending Balance, December 31, 2013  30,085  $3   39,160,255  $3,916  $20,024,639  $  $(22,919,355) $(2,890,797)

F -4

Common Stock issued in private placement          17,293,666   1,729  $452,847          $454,576 
                                 
Common Stock issued in private placement with warrants                 $244,867          $244,867 
                                 
Share-based compensation to employees-stock          784,616   78  $39,152          $39,230 
Share-based compensation to employees – warrants                 $101,987          $101,987 
                                 
Common Stock and warrants issued for services already performed          7,726,500   773  $511,815          $512,588 
                                 
                                 
Share-based compensation to employees – options                 $160,050          $160,050 
                                 
Common Stock issued upon conversion of promissory note          3,594,632   360  $236,281          $236,641 
                                 
Warrant/Option Repricing                 $20,903          $20,903 
                                 
Net loss                   $(1,435,118) $(1,435,118)
                                 
Ending Balance, December 31, 2014  30,085  $3   68,559,669  $6,856  $21,792,541  $  $(24,354,473) $(2,555,073)
  For the Years Ended
December 31,
 
  2017  2016 
REVENUE $16,754  $40,193 
COST OF REVENUE  21,498   20,473 
Gross Margin  (4,744)  19,720 
OPERATING EXPENSES        
General and administrative, including non-cash share-based compensation of $585,556 and $242,159 in 2017 and 2016, respectively  1,125,638   1,096,354 
Total Operating Expenses  1,125,638   1,096,354 
LOSS FROM OPERATIONS  (1,130,382)  (1,076,634)
OTHER INCOME (EXPENSE)        
Interest income     1 
Other (expense) income  78,513   (14,456)
Interest expense  (174,661)  (168,188)
Total Other Income (Expense)  (96,148)  (182,643)
         
LOSS FROM CONTINUING OPERATIONS  (1,226,530)  (1,259,277)
         
DISCONTINUED OPERATIONS  42,056   37,979 
         
NET LOSS ($1,184,474) ($1,221,298)
BASIC AND DILUTED LOSS PER SHARE:        
Net loss per share ($0.01) ($0.01)
Basic and Diluted Weighted Average Number of Common Shares Outstanding  125,868,534   106,985,632 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

 

F -5F-3

 

VYSTAR CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWSSTOCKHOLDERS’ DEFICIT

 

  For the years ended December 31,
  2014 2013
CASH FLOWS FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES 
Net loss $(1,435,118) $(2,513,808)
Adjustments to reconcile net loss to cash used in operating activities        
Share-based compensation  834,758   701,204 
Allowance for uncollectible accounts receivable  6,066   13,506 
Depreciation  2,866   3,556 
Goodwill impairment  0   106,031 
Discontinued Operations  384   228,045 
Amortization of intangible assets  15,680   15,472 
Amortization of deferred financing costs  0   244,001 
Loss on disposal of equipment  302   0 
(Increase) decrease in assets:        
Accounts receivable  (43,118)  33,802 
Prepaid expenses  (55,662)  8,840 
Other  0  7,286 
 Increase (decrease) in liabilities:        
Accounts payable  (36,795)  255,486 
Accrued compensation and expenses  76,352   (133,857)
         
Net cash used in operating activities ($634,285) $(1,030,436)
         
CASH FLOWS FROM INVESTING ACTIVITIES        
Cash paid to complete Kiron combination, net of cash received of $20,476  0   (69,524)
Disposal (Purchase) of equipment, net  0   44,407 
Cost of equipment  (282)  0 
Cost of patents  0   (8,035)
         
Net cash used in investing activities $(282) $(33,152)
         
CASH FLOWS FROM FINANCING ACTIVITIES        
Issuance of common stock, net of costs  699,443   309,944 
Issuance of preferred stock  0   300,852 
Proceeds from related party line of credit  0   70,000 
Shareholder Notes-Net  0   325,068 
Payments of notes payable  0   (25,301)
Advances/(Payments) under A/R facility  (47,479)  47,479 
         
Net cash provided by financing activities $651,964  $1,028,042 
         
NET INCREASE (DECREASE) IN CASH $17,397  $(35,546)
         
CASH - BEGINNING OF YEAR $56,373  $91,919 
         
CASH - END OF YEAR $73,770  $56,373 
         
SUPPLEMENTAL DISCLOSURES OF CASH FLOW INFORMATION:        
NON-CASH TRANSACTIONS        
         
Warrants issued in conjunction with shareholder notes payable $0  $5,976 
Preferred stock issued upon conversion of related party promissory note  0   103,742 
Common stock issued for services rendered  430,700   821,548 
Conversion shareholder note payable  200,000   0 
Conversion of notes payable  22,000   0 
         
CASH PAID DURING THE PERIOD FOR  0    
Interest $87,382  $25,533 
         
CASH PAID FOR BUSINESS COMBINATION (see Note 3)        
Working capital  0  $(800)
Equipment and furnishings      34,769 
Goodwill  0   106,031 
Total assets acquired  0   140,000 
Less: line of credit assumed  0    
Less: common stock issued to Seller  0   (50,000)
Cash paid to acquire business  0   90,000 
Less: cash acquired in acquisition  0   (20,476)
Net cash used in business combination  0  $69,524 

For the Years Ended December 31, 2017 and 2016

  Number of Preferred Shares  Preferred Shares  Number of
Common
Shares
  Common
Stock
  Additional
Paid-in
Capital
  Accumulated
Deficit
  Total 
                      
Ending Balance, December 31, 2015  13,828  $1   96,443,907  $9,644  $22,962,678  ($25,593,351) ($2,621,028)
                             
Common stock issued in private placement          14,180,000   1,418   707,582       709,000 
                             
Common stock issued upon exercise of common stock warrants          3,080,220   308   53,192       53,500 
                             
Share-based compensation to employees - warrants                  100,291       100,291 
                             
Common stock and warrants issued for services          1,247,466   125   141,744       141,869 
                             
Warrant/Option Repricing                  14,456       14,456 
                             
Net Loss                      (1,221,298)  (1,221,298)
                             
Ending Balance, December 31, 2016  13,828  $1   114,951,593  $11,495  $23,979,943  ($26,814,649) ($2,823,210)
                             
Common stock issued in private placement          7,690,000   769   383,731       384,500 
                             
Common stock issued upon exercise of cashless common stock warrants          1,813,993   181   (181)       
                             
Share-based compensation to employees - warrants                  146,193       146,193 
                             
Share-based compensation to employees - common stock          750,000   75   37,425       37,500 
                             
Common stock and warrants issued for services          6,494,226   649   526,006       526,655 
                             
Common stock issued upon conversion of convertible notes          1,109,406   111   55,359       55,470 
                             
Net Loss                      (1,184,474)  (1,184,474)
                             
Ending Balance, December 31, 2017  13,828  $1   132,809,218  $13,280  $25,128,476  ($27,999,123) ($2,857,366)

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

 

F -6F-4

 

VYSTAR CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES

 STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

For the Years Ended December 31, 2017 and 2016

  For the years ended December 31, 
  2017  2016 
CASH FLOWS FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES        
Net loss ($1,184,474) ($1,221,298)
Adjustments to reconcile net loss to cash used in operating activities        
Share-based compensation  710,348   242,159 
Allowance for uncollectible accounts receivable     (60,266)
Depreciation     278 
Amortization of intangible assets  15,680   15,861 
(Increase) decrease in assets        
Accounts receivable  13,407   40,409 
Prepaid expenses  (124,791)  192,516 
Increase (decrease) in liabilities      
Accounts payable  (19,878)  (91,020)
Accrued compensation and expenses  90,745   (26,080)
Net cash used in operating activities  (498,963)  (907,441)
         
CASH FLOWS FROM INVESTING ACTIVITIES        
Disposal (investment in) of equipment, net     2,701 
Net cash provided by (used) in investing activities     2,701 
         
CASH FLOWS FROM FINANCING ACTIVITIES        
(Payments) Advances D&O Financing     7 
Issuance of common stock, net of costs  384,500   723,456 
Proceeds from exercise of common stock warrants     53,500 
Proceeds/(Payment) from Shareholder Notes  91,683   135,000 
         
Net cash provided by financing activities  476,183   911,963 
         
NET INCREASE (DECREASE) IN CASH  (22,780)  7,223 
         
CASH - BEGINNING OF YEAR  36,282   29,059 
         
CASH - END OF YEAR $13,502  $36,282 
         
SUPPLEMENTAL DISCLOSURES OF CASH FLOW INFORMATION:        
NON-CASH TRANSACTIONS        
Common stock issued for services rendered $710,348  $242,160 
Cashless exercise of common stock warrants  181    
Cashless conversion of shareholder note  55,471    
         
CASH PAID DURING THE PERIOD FOR        
Interest $100,354  $97,989 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

F-5

VYSTAR CORPORATION

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

December 31, 20142017 and 20132016

 

NOTE 1 - SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

 

History and Nature of Business

 

Vystar Corporation (“Vystar”, the “Company”, “we”, “us”, or “our”) is the creator and exclusive owner of the innovative technology to produce Vytex® Natural Rubber Latex (“NRL”). In addition, on June 28, 2013, Vystar is focused on expandingCorporation (the “Company”) completed the licensing and utilizationacquisition of its proprietary source natural rubber latex technology and has expanded into the consumer arena with a planned introduction into the mattress, mattress topper and pillow arenas aligning with key foam manufacturers, mattress, mattress toppers and pillows producers, and furniture store chains in specific areas of the Unites States. Vystar also owns Kiron Clinical Sleep Lab, LLC (“Kiron”) a vertically integrated sleep diagnostic practice located in Durham, NC focusedNC. We effectively closed Kiron in April 2016 due to changes in the healthcare insurance marketplace. Because of the closure of Kiron, Vystar Corporation has returned its focus to expanding the licensing and utilization of its proprietary source natural rubber latex technology. Vytex NRL uses a global multi-patented technology and proprietary formulation to reduce non-rubber particles including the antigenic proteins associated with latex allergies, resulting in a cleaner form of latex. In fact, the antigenic protein levels are reduced to virtually undetectable levels. On January 22, 2015, Vystar announced the signing of an exclusive domestic distribution agreement with Worcester, MA based Nature’s Home Solutions (NHS) who sources eco-friendly materials and technologies for use in furnishings and other markets. On March 4, 2015, the Company announced that Hartford, CT based Gold Bond formed a strategic alliance with NHS to produce and market the world’s first Vytex NRL based mattress. In June 2015, the first mattresses made with Vytex (hybrid and pure Vytex) were placed on the sleep diagnosticsales floor at Rotman’s Furniture and Durable Medical Equipment (“DME”) businesses.Carpet Store in Worcester, MA using the “Evaya” brand and Gold Bond had shipped four versions of their “Brilliance” inner coil and pure foam mattresses (Emerald, Ruby, Sapphire Plush and Sapphire Firm) to over 30 stores from Maine to Florida.

 

Basis of Presentation

 

The consolidated financial statements are presented in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”) as codified in the Financial Accounting Standards Board’s (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification.

 

The Company has evaluated subsequent events through the date of the filing of its Form 10-K with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Other than those events disclosed in Note 16,15, the Company is not aware of any other significant events that occurred subsequent to the balance sheet date but prior to the filing of this report that would have a material impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.

 

Reclassification

 

Certain items in the prior year’s financial statements have been reclassified in order to conform with the current year presentation. Specifically note such reclassifications for discontinued operations.

 

Consolidation

The accompanying consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Vystar and Kiron. All intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.

Estimates

 

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in the financial statements and accompanying disclosures. Although these estimates are based on management’s best knowledge of current events and actions the Company may undertake in the future, actual results could differ from these estimates. Examples include valuation allowances for deferred tax assets, provisions for bad debts, and fair values of share-based compensation and other equity issuances.

 

Concentration of Credit Risk

 

Certain financial instruments potentially subject the Company to concentrations of credit risk. These financial instruments consist primarily of cash and accounts receivable. Cash held in operating accounts may exceed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, or FDIC, insurance limits. While we monitor cash balances in our operating accounts on a regular basis and adjust the balances as appropriate, these balances could be impacted if the underlying financial institutions fail. To date, we have experienced no loss or lack of access to our cash; however, we can provide no assurances that access to our cash will not be impacted by adverse conditions in the financial markets.

 

F -7

Accounts Receivable

 

Accounts receivable are stated at the amount management expects to collect from outstanding balances. Management provides for uncollectible amounts through a charge to earnings and a credit to an allowance for doubtful accounts based upon its assessment of the current status of individual accounts. Balances that are still outstanding after management has performed reasonable collection efforts are written off through a charge to the allowance and a credit to accounts receivable. As of December 31, 20142017 and 2013,2016, we have provided for uncollectibledetermined there were no amounts through a charge to earnings of $53,317 and $257,160, respectively.deemed uncollectible. We grant credit to our customers without requiring collateral. The amount of accounting loss for which we are at risk in these unsecured accounts receivable is limited to their carrying value.

 

Vytex Division customers are located in both the United States and internationally. The Kiron Division’s customer base is exclusively in North Carolina.

 

Inventory

F-6

 

Inventory consisting of Vytex NRL is stated at the lower of cost or market and cost is determined using the first-in, first-out (FIFO) method.

Property and Equipment

 

Property and equipment is stated at cost. Depreciation is provided by the use of the straight-line and accelerated methods for financial and tax reporting purposes, respectively, over the estimated useful lives of the assets, generally 5 years. As of December 31, 2017 and 2016, all of our property and equipment was fully depreciated resulting in no net balance being reflected.

 

Intangible Assets

 

Patents represent legal and other fees associated with the registration of patents. The Company has four issued patents with the United States Patent and Trade Office (USPTO) as well as four issued international PCT (Patent Cooperation Treaty) patents. Patents are carried at cost and are being amortized on a straight-line basis over their estimated useful lives, typically 20 years.

 

The Company has trademark protection for “Vystar”, “Vytex”, and “Created by Nature. Recreated by Science.” Trademarks are carried at cost and since their estimated life is indeterminable, no amortization is recognized. Instead, they are evaluated annually for impairment.

 

Impairment of Long-lived Assets

 

Long-lived assets, including property and equipment and intangible assets with finite lives, are evaluated for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of such assets may not be recoverable. If the sum of the expected future undiscounted cash flows is less than the carrying amount of the asset, an impairment loss is recognized in the amount that the carrying amount of the asset exceeds its fair value. Fair value is determined based on discounted future net cash flows associated with the use of the asset.

 

Goodwill Impairment

Goodwill is tested for impairment annually or more frequently if events or changes in circumstances indicate that the assets might be impaired. We utilize a discounted cash flow analysis to determine a reporting unit’s fair value. The methodology used in estimating discounted cash flows is inherently complex and involves significant management assumptions, including expected revenue growth and increases in expenses, to determine an appropriate discount rate and cash flows. Estimated cash flows extend into the future and, by their nature, are difficult to determine over an extended timeframe. Factors that have and may significantly affect the estimates, and ultimately their carrying amount in our financials, include, among others, competitive forces, customer behaviors and attrition, changes in revenue growth trends, cost structures and technology, government regulation and changes in discount rates or market sector conditions. Significant changes in these assumptions could affect the need to record an impairment charge. During 2013, the Company charged off all goodwill in the total amount of $106,031.

F -8

Fair Value of Financial Instruments

 

The Company’s financial instruments consist of cash, accounts receivable, accounts payable, accrued expenses, lines of credit, shareholder notes payable, and long-term debt. The carrying values of all the Company’s financial instruments approximate fair value because of their short maturities. In addition to the short maturities, the carrying amounts of our line of credit and shareholder notes payable approximate fair value because the interest rates at December 31, 20142017 and 20132016 approximate market interest rates for the respective borrowings.

 

In specific circumstances, certain assets and liabilities are reported or disclosed at fair value. Fair value is the exit price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date in the Company’s principal market for such transactions. If there is not an established principal market, fair value is derived from the most advantageous market.

 

Valuation inputs are classified in the following hierarchy:

 

Level 1 inputs are unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities.
Level 2 inputs are directly or indirectly observable valuation inputs for the asset or liability, excluding Level 1 inputs.
Level 3 inputs are unobservable inputs for the asset or liability.
Level 1 inputs are unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities.
Level 2 inputs are directly or indirectly observable valuation inputs for the asset or liability, excluding Level 1 inputs.
Level 3 inputs are unobservable inputs for the asset or liability.

 

Highest priority is given to Level 1 inputs and the lowest priority to Level 3 inputs. Acceptable valuation techniques include the market approach, income approach, and cost approach. In some cases, more than one valuation technique is used.

 

Income Taxes

 

Vystar recognizes income taxes on an accrual basis based on a tax position taken or expected to be taken in its tax returns. A tax position is defined as a position in a previously filed tax return or a position expected to be taken in a future tax filing that is reflected in measuring current or deferred income tax assets or liabilities. Tax positions are recognized only when it is more likely than not (i.e., likelihood of greater than 50%), based on technical merits, that the position would be sustained upon examination by taxing authorities. Tax positions that meet the more likely than not threshold are measured using a probability-weighted approach as the largest amount of tax benefit that is greater than 50% likely of being realized upon settlement. Income taxes are accounted for using an asset and liability approach that requires the recognition of deferred tax assets and liabilities for the expected future tax consequences of events that have been recognized in our financial statements or tax returns. A valuation allowance is established to reduce deferred tax assets if all, or some portion, of such assets will more likely than not be realized. A valuation allowance for the full amount of the net deferred tax asset was recorded for the years ended December 31, 20142017 and 2013.2016. Should they occur, interest and penalties related to tax positions are recorded as interest expense. No such interest or penalties have been incurred as of December 31, 20142017 and 2013.2016. The Company is no longer subject to federal examination for years prior to 2009.2013.

 

On December 22, 2017 the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act was signed into law, impacting corporations by reducing the maximum tax rate from 35% to 21% as well as various other provisions relating to the deductibility of certain items. The Act is not expected to have an immediate impact on the Company due to the large net operating loss carryforward as well as the full valuation allowance.

F-7

Loss Per Share

 

The Company presents basic and diluted loss per share. Because the Company reported a net loss in 20142017 and 2013,2016, common stock equivalents, including stock options and warrants, were anti-dilutive; therefore, the amounts reported for basic and dilutive loss per share were the same. Excluded from the computation of diluted loss per share were options to purchase 8,364,9067,748,271 and 7,488,2399,418,271 shares of common stock for 20142017 and 2013,2016, respectively, as their effect would be anti-dilutive. Warrants to purchase 22,235,812 outstanding14,699,582 and 14,788,71416,122,332 shares of common stock for 20142017 and 2013,2016, respectively, were also excluded from the computation of diluted loss per share as their effect would be anti-dilutive. In addition, preferred stock convertible to 6,421,5334,037,977 and 3,761,417 shares of common stock for 20142017 and 20132016, respectively, were excluded from the computation of diluted loss per share as their effect would be anti-dilutive.

 

F -9

Revenue

 

The Vytex segment derives revenueRevenue is derived from sales of or license fees of Vytex NRL raw material to manufacturers and distributors of rubber and rubber end products. Under both the direct and licensing agreement sales the Vytex segment recognizes revenue is recognized at the time product is shipped and title passes to the customer. Revenue is recognized when the following four criteria are met: (1) persuasive evidence of an arrangement exists; (2) shipment or delivery has occurred; (3) the price is fixed or determinable and (4) collectability is reasonably assured.

 

Kiron bills insurance providers and patients directly and is dependent on the practice’s ability to collect from healthcare insurance providers and from its patients. The Kiron segment recognizes revenue each month for sleep services as services are provided. Cost of Revenue

 

Cost of Revenue

For Vytex, cost of revenue consists primarily of product and freight costs. For Kiron, the cost of revenue is primarily sleep technician labor costs and medical director fees.

 

F -10

Research and Development

 

Research and development costs are expensed when incurred. Research and development costs include all costs incurred related to the research, development and testing of the Company’s process to produce Vytex NRL.

 

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

 

In 2013,May 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”)FASB issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) No. 2013-11,Presentation2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers, a new standard on revenue recognition. The new standard will supersede existing revenue recognition guidance and apply to all entities that enter into contracts to provide goods or services to customers. The guidance also addresses the measurement and recognition of an Unrecognized Tax Benefit When a Net Operating Loss Carryforward, a Similar Tax Loss, or a Tax Credit Carryforward Exists. Undergains and losses on the sale of certain non-financial assets, such as real estate, property and equipment. In August 2015, the FASB issued ASU No. 2013-11, an entity2015-14, Revenue from Contracts with Customers: Deferral of the Effective Date, which defers the effective date of the guidance in ASU 2014-09 by one year. This update is requirednow effective for annual and interim period beginning after December 15, 2017, which will require us to present an unrecognized tax benefit, or a portion of an unrecognized tax benefit,adopt these provisions in the first quarter of fiscal year 2018. Early application is permitted for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2017, including interim reporting periods within that reporting period. This update permits the use of either the retrospective or cumulative effect transition method. The Company has assessed the impact that this guidance will have on its financial statements asand determined it will not have a reductionmaterial effect.

In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-02, Leases. ASU 2016-02 requires lessees to a deferred tax assetrecognize the assets and liabilities on their balance sheet for a net operating loss carryforward, a similar tax loss, or a tax credit carryforward. If a net operating loss carryforward, a similar tax loss, or a tax credit carryforwardthe rights and obligations created by most leases and continue to recognize expenses on their income statements over the lease term. It will also require disclosures designed to give financial statement users information on the amount, timing, and uncertainty of cash flows arising from leases. The guidance is not available ateffective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2018, and interim periods within those years. Early adoption is permitted. The Company is currently assessing the reporting date,impact that this guidance will have on its financial statements.

In August 2016, the unrecognized tax benefit should beFASB issued ASU No. 2016-15, Statement of Cash Flows (Topic 230): Classification of Certain Receipts and Cash Payments. This update addresses eight specific cash flow issues with the objective of reducing the existing diversity in practice in how certain receipts and cash payments are presented and classified in the financial statements as a liability and should not be combined with deferred tax assets. ASU No. 2013-11statement of cash flows. The new standard is effective for fiscal years, and interim periods within those fiscal years, beginning after December 15, 2013. We adopted this guidance in the first quarter of 2014. The application of this guidance did not have an impact on our consolidated financial statements or disclosures.

In 2014, the FASB issued ASU No. 2014-08,Reporting Discontinued Operations and Disclosures of Disposals of Components of an Entity, which raises the threshold for disposals to qualify as discontinued operations. ASU No. 2014-08 defines a discontinued operation as (1) a component of an entity or group of components that has been disposed of or classified as held for sale and represents a strategic shift that has or will have a major effect on an entity’s operations and financial results; or (2) an acquired business that is classified as held for sale on the acquisition date. Under ASU No. 2014-08, additional disclosures are required regarding discontinued operations, as well as material disposals that do not meet the definition of discontinued operations. The application of this guidance is prospective from the date of adoption and applies

only to disposals (or new classifications to held for sale) that have not been reported as discontinued operations in previously issued financial statements. The application of this guidance is not expected to have an impact on our consolidated financial statements or disclosures.

In 2014, the FASB issued ASU No. 2014-09,Revenue from Contracts with Customers. ASU No. 2014-09 provides a single comprehensive model for entities to use in accounting for revenue arising from contracts with customers and supersedes most current revenue recognition guidance, including industry-specific guidance. ASU No. 2014-09 will require an entity to recognize revenue when it transfers promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the entity expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services. This update creates a five-step model that requires entities to exercise judgment when considering the terms of the contract(s) which include (i) identifying the contract(s) with the customer, (ii) identifying the separate performance obligations in the contract, (iii) determining the transaction price, (iv) allocating the transaction price to the separate performance obligations, and (v) recognizing revenue when each performance obligation is satisfied. ASU No. 2014-09 is effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2016, including interim periods within that reporting period for public business entities. The Company has the option to apply the provisions of ASU No. 2014-09 either retrospectively to each prior reporting period presented or retrospectively with the cumulative effect of applying this ASU recognized at the date of initial application. Early adoption is not permitted.2017. The Company is currently evaluatingassessing the impact the adoption ofthat this ASUguidance will have on the Company’s consolidated financial statements, but does not believe the implementation of this ASU will have a material impact on the consolidated financial statements or disclosures.

In 2014, the FASB issued ASU No. 2014-15,Presentation of Financial Statements—Going Concern. ASU No. 2014-15 requires management to perform interim and annual assessments on whether there are conditions or events that raise substantial doubt about the entity’s ability to continue as a going concern within one year of the date the financial statements are issued and to provide related disclosures, if required. ASU No. 2014-15 applies to all entities and is effective for annual periods ending after December 15, 2016, and interim periods within annual periods beginning after December 15, 2016. Early application is permitted for annual or interim reporting periods for which the financial statements have not previously been issued. The adoption of ASU No. 2014-15 is not expected to have a material effect on the Company’s consolidatedits financial statements.

F -11

 

NOTE 2 – LIQUIDITY AND GOING CONCERN

 

The Company’sCompany's financial statements are prepared using the accrual method of accounting in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America and have been prepared on a going concern basis, which contemplates the realization of assets and the settlement of liabilities in the normal course of business. However, the Company haswe have incurred significant losses and experienced negative cash flow since inception. At December 31, 2014,2017, the Company had cash of approximately $73,770$13,502 and a deficit in working capital of $2,068,476.$2,774,565. For the year ended December 31, 2014,2017, the Company had a net loss of $1,435,118$1,184,474 and an accumulated deficit of $27,999,123. For the year ended December 31, 2016, the Company had a net loss of $1,221,298 and the accumulated deficit amounted to $24,354,473. Working$26,814,649. We use working capital is used to finance our ongoing operations and since those operations do not currently cover all of our operating costs and managing working capital is essential to the Company’sour Company's future success.

 

Net cash used in operating activities was $634,285$498,963 for the year ended December 31, 20142017 as compared to $1,030,436$907,441 for the year ended December 31, 2013.2016. During the year ended December 31, 2014,2017, cash used in operations was primarily due to the net loss for the year of $1,435,118$1,153,730 net of non-cash related add-back of share-based compensation expense of $834,758.$710,348.

 

Net

F-8

The Company had no net cash usedprovided by investing activities was $282 during the year ended December 31, 2014 as this was used2017. Net cash provided by investing activities for the cost of equipment. During the year ended December 31, 2013, $69,5242016 was used for the acquisition$2,701 was a result of Kiron Clinical Sleep Lab, LLC (as discussed in more detail in Note 3), $8,035 for patents and intellectual property offset by a net inflow of $44,407 from equipment purchases/disposals.selling some equipment.

 

Net cash provided by financing activities was $651,964$476,183 during the year ended December 31, 2014,2017, as compared to cash provided of $1,028,042$911,963 during the year ended December 31, 2013. In 2014, the2016. During 2017 cash was provided was from the issuance of common stock and warrants of $699,443. In addition, the AR facility was paid off in the amount of $47,479.$384,500 and $91,683 in proceeds from Shareholder Notes. In 2013,2016, the cash provided by financing activities was provided from the issuance of notes payablecommon stock in the amount of $325,068 (as discussed in more detail in Note 6), issuance of preferred stock of $300,852, issuance$723,456, $53,500 from the exercise of common stock of $309,944, advances under the related party line of credit of $70,000,warrants and advances of $47,479 under an A/R facility offset by payments of $25,301 under promissory and other notes.

 As discussed$135,000 in detail in Note 6, the CMA Note matured on April 29, 2013, was renewedfor another year and was most recently renewed again until April 29, 2015. All theproceeds from Shareholder Notes which matured on various dates from March 11 through May 31, 2013 were either converted to preferred stock or were renewed for two years.Notes.

 

A successful transition to attaining profitable operations is dependent upon obtaining sufficient financing to fund the Company’s planned expenses and achieving a level of revenue adequate to support the Company’s cost structure. Management plans to finance future operations through the use of cash on hand, increased revenue from better utilization of existing Kiron facilities, increased revenue from Vytex division license fees, stock warrant exercises from existing shareholders, and raising capital through private placement memoranda (see Note 16,13, Subsequent Events).

 

As a result of this history of losses and financial condition, there is substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern.

 

There can be no assurances that the Company will be able to achieve projected levels of revenue in 20152018 and beyond. If the Company is not able to achieve projected revenue and obtain alternate additional financing of equity or debt, the Company would need to significantly curtail or reorient operations during 2015,2018, which could have a material adverse effect on the ability to achieve the business objectives and as a result may require the Company to file for bankruptcy or cease operations. The financial statements do not include any adjustments relating to the recoverability and classification of recorded asset amounts or amounts classified as liabilities that might be necessary should the Company be forced to take any such actions.

 

The Company’s future expenditures will depend on numerous factors, including: the rate at which the Company can introduce and license Vytex NRL to manufacturers; the costs of filing, prosecuting, defending and enforcing any patent claims and other intellectual property rights; and market acceptance of the Company’s products and services and competing technological developments; and the rate at which Kiron’s business can be built, especially with respect to its Durable Medical Equipment (“DME”) business.developments. As the Company expands our activities and operations, cash requirements are expected to increase at a rate consistent with revenue growth after the Company has achieved sustained revenue generation.

F -12

NOTE 3 - ACQUISITONS

On June 28, 2013, Vystar Corporation entered into an LLC Ownership Interest Purchase Agreement (the “Agreement”) with Michael Soo, M.D. (“Seller”), the sole member of Kiron Clinical Sleep Lab, LLC, a North Carolina limited liability company (“Kiron”) to purchase all outstanding membership and ownership interests of Kiron, and on July 1, 2013 completed such purchase (the “Purchase”). Pursuant to the Agreement, the Company:

(a)  Paid $90,000 cash to Seller;

(b)  Issued 727,434 shares of Vystar common stock to Seller; and

(c)  Agreed to pay two percent (2%) of Kiron’s gross receipts received by the Company after the Closing Date of the
Acquisition for a period of five (5) years.

In addition, the Company agreed to pay an additional $60,000 (the “Adjustment Amount”), $10,000 in cash and $50,000 in shares of Vystar common stock, in the event the audited financial results of Kiron for the year-end 2011, 2012, and the first six (6) months of 2013 were within two percent (2%) variability of the Statement of Revenues and Expenses provided by the Seller at closing for the periods referenced above. In the event the audited financial results were within three percent (3%) variability, fifty percent (50%) of the Adjustment Amount would be paid to the Seller. As this calculation is subject to the audited results, management’s initial estimate is subject to change.

At closing, the Company and Seller entered into an agreement (“Contract”) pursuant to which the Seller through his medical practice, Durham Neurology, PLLC, a wholly owned professional limited liability company would provide ongoing clinical and medical services to the Company and Kiron as Medical Director. The Seller subsequently dissolved Durham Neurology, PLLC in October 2013 leaving Kiron without a Medical Director. On March 10, 2014, Vystar and Kiron filed Civil Suit 74A-07997-1 IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF GWINNETT COUNTY, STATE OF GEORGIA against Michael Soo, MD and Durham Neurology, PLLC for multiple breaches of the Agreement and Contract. Potential settlement discussions are currently taking place but there is no assurance they will be successful and discovery on this matter will start by mid-April 2015.

The completed audit of Kiron’s 2011 and 2012 financial statements showed financial results that exceeded the three percent (3%) variability allowed under the Agreement and thus the $60,000 Adjustment Amount was forfeited. In addition, the Seller resigned from the role of Medical Director and as such has forfeited the two percent (2%) of gross receipt for five (5) years that was included in the original consideration. The Purchase Consideration was therefore adjusted to $140,000 and all initial Goodwill associated with the purchase was written-off. 

The acquisition was accounted for as a business combination as defined by ASC Topic 805 – Business Combinations, with the purchase price allocation and valuation as follows:

Value of 727,434 shares issued at $0.0688 per share $50,000 
Cash paid at closing  90,000 
Total consideration  140,000 
     
Assets purchased:    
Tangible assets:    
Debt-free working capital  (800)
Fixed assets and equipment  34,769 
Subtotal $33,969 
     
Goodwill  106,031 
Write-off of Goodwill  (106,031)
Total assets purchased  33,969 
     
Net assets acquired $33,969 

F -13

Based on the timing of the acquisition, the Company, for comparability purposes, has disclosed the following pro-forma earnings information for the twelve months ended December 31, 2014, as if the acquisition had occurred effective January 1, 2013. As such, the actual and pro-forma earnings information for the twelve months ended December 31, 2014 and December 31, 2013 was as follows:

F -14

VYSTAR CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES

Unaudited Pro Forma Combined Statements of Operations

For the Years Ended December 31

  2014 2013
  Vystar Kiron SleepHealth (B) Consolidated Vystar Kiron SleepHealth (B)  Consolidated
Revenues, net $52,814  $598,177      $650,991  $1,002,204  $734,820      $1,737,024
Cost of revenues  18,390   326,583       344,973   746,359   324,914    (A)   1,071,273
Gross profit $34,424  $271,594      $306,018   255,845   409,906      665,751
                               
Operating expenses                              
Sales and marketing                  123,303          123,303
General and administrative  1,309,997   265,721       1,575,718   1,988,609   461,809      2,450,418
Goodwill Impairment                  155,313          155,313
Research and development                  22,234          22,234
Total operating expenses $1,309,997  $265,721      $1,575,718  $2,289,459  $461,809     $2,751,268
                               
Profit/(Loss) from operations $(1,275,573)  5,873      $(1,269,700) $(2,033,614) $(51,903)     (2,085,517)
                               
Other income (expense)                              
Interest income  34   0       34   6,543          6,543  
Interest expense  (171,628)  (220)      (171,848)  (420,238)  (864)     (421,102)
Other (expense) income  6,780   0       6,780   2,440   (24,906)     (22,466)
Total other income (expense) $(164,814) $(220)     $(165,034) $(411,255) $(25,770)     $(437,025)
                               
Loss from Continued Operations $(1,440,387) $5,653      $(1,434,734) $(2,444,869) $(77,673)  228,046  $(2,522,542)
                               
Discontinued Operations         $(384) $(384)              
                               
Net profit/(loss) $(1,440,387)  5,653  $(384) $(1,435,118) $(2,444,869) $(77,673)     $(2,522,542)
                               
Basic and diluted loss per share  (0.03)  (0.00)  (0.00)  (0.03)  (0.08)  (0.00)     (0.08)
                               
Basic and diluted weighted average number of common shares outstanding              55,058,317              29,802,275

Pro Forma Financial Statement Adjustments

The following pro forma adjustments are included in the Company’s unaudited pro forma combined financial statements:

(A) To record Medical Director Fee Expense of $64,600 and Medical Insurance Billing Software of $1,194 for the six month period ending June 30, 2013.

(B) The SleepHealth division discontinued its operation first quarter 2014.

F -15

NOTE 4 – PROPERTY AND EQUIPMENT

Property and equipment consisted of the following at December 31:

  2014 2013
     
Furniture, fixtures and equipment $150,400  $423,552 
Accumulated depreciation  (145,532)  (265,575)
         
  $4,868  $157,977 

Depreciation expense for the years ended December 31, 2014 and 2013 was $2,866 and $54,267, respectively.

 

NOTE 53 – INTANGIBLE ASSETS

 

Intangible assets were as follows at December 31:

 

 2014 2013 2017  2016 
         
Patents  238,551   238,551  $238,551  $238,551 
Trademarks & trade name  9,072   9,072   9,072   9,072 
Subtotal  247,623   247,623   247,623   247,623 
Accumulated amortization  (76,520)  (60,840)  (123,741)  (108,061)
                
Intangible assets, net $171,103  $186,783  $123,882  $139,562 

 

Amortization expense for the years ended December 31, 20142017 and 20132016 was $15,680 and $11,433,$15,861, respectively.

 

Estimated future amortization expense for finite-lived intangible assets is as follows:

 

  2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 Thereafter
Patents & trade name $15,680  $15,680  $15,680  $15,680  $15,680  $92,703 

F -16
  2017  2018  2019  2020  2021  Thereafter 
Patents & trade name $15,680  $15,680  $15,680  $15,680  $15,680  $45,482 

 

NOTE 64 – NOTES PAYABLE AND LOAN FACILITY

Related Party Line of Credit (CMA Note Payable)

 

On April 29, 2011, the Company executed with CMA Investments, LLC, a Georgia limited liability company (“CMA”), an unsecured line of credit with a principal amount of up to $800,000 (the “CMA Note”). CMA is a limited liability company of which three of the directors of the Company (“CMA directors”) are the members. Pursuant to the original termsmembers (“CMA”), an unsecured line of the CMA Note, the Company could draw up to a maximum principal amount of $800,000. Interest, which is computedcredit bearing interest at LIBOR plus 5.25% per annum on amounts drawn and fees, will be paid by a director of the Company, to CMA.fees. The weighted average interest rate in effect on the borrowings for the year ended December 31, 2014 was 5.44%. Pursuant to an agreement between the Company and CMA, the Company will issue common stock with a value equal to the interest and fees paid based on the closing price of the common stock on the OTC Bulletin Board on the date of such payments. From June through December 2011, 110,848 shares of common stock were issued valued at $43,839 for interest and fees related to the CMA Note and in January and February 2012, 28,138 shares of common stock were issued valued at $9,005 for interest for the related party CMA Note. This agreement was modified during February 2012 and the Company assumed responsibility for payment of such interest and fees. The original maturity date of the CMA Note was April 29, 2013.

 Other terms of the CMA Note include:

No payments of principal were due until the second anniversary of the CMA Note, at which time all outstanding principal was due and payable; and
As compensation to the directors for providing the CMA Note, the Company issued warrants to purchase 2,600,000 shares of the Company’s common stock to the CMA Directors at $0.45 per share, (the closing price of the Company’s stock on April 29, 2011), which vested 20% immediately and 10% upon each draw by the Company of $100,000 under the CMA Note. Because the warrants were issued and valued prior to the receipt of funds under this loan, no discount could be recorded and, accordingly, the value of the warrants was capitalized as a financing cost. These costs were amortized on a straight line basis over the term of the CMA Note.

On September 14, 2011, the Company’s Board of Directors approved increasing the line of credit with CMA by $200,000 to a maximum principal amount of $1,000,000 and the Company’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer became a member of CMA. As compensation to the CMA Directors for increasing the amount available under the CMA Note, the Board of Directors approved modifying the exercise price for the 2,600,000 compensatory stock purchase warrants previously issued to the directors from $0.45 to $0.27 per share, (the closing price of the Company’s common stock on that date) and the Company also issued warrants to purchase an additional 1,600,000 shares of the Company’s stock at $0.27 per share, (the closing price of the Company’s common stock on September 14, 2011), which vest upon the original terms of the CMA Note. The costs incurred in the modification of the exercise price of the 2,600,000 compensatory stock purchase warrants issued on April 29, 2011 and the additional 1,600,000 warrants issued on September 14, 2011 were amortized to interest expense over the remaining term of the CMA Note.

On November 2, 2012, the Board of Directors approved an increase in the CMA line of credit from $1,000,000 to $1,500,000. As compensation to the CMA Directors for increasing the amount available under the CMA Note, warrants to purchase an additional 2,100,000 shares of the Company’s stock at $0.35 per share were issued and recorded as deferred financing costs to be amortized through interest expense over the remaining term of the CMA Note. Amortization of the financing costs associated with the CMA Note amounted to $0 and $182,225 for the years ended December 31, 20142017 and 2013,2016 was 6.37% and 5.75%, respectively.

On April 29, 2013, the maturity date of the CMA Note was extended to April 29, 2014. As compensation to the CMA Directors for extending the maturity date of the CMA Note, the Board of Directors approved modifying the exercise price for the 6,300,000 compensatory stock purchase warrants previously issued to the Directors to $0.10 per share and the CMA Directors forfeited 630,000 of the warrants. Amortization of the financing costs associated with extending the CMA Note was amortized through interest expense.

 On April 29, 2014, the maturity date of the CMA Note was extended to April 29, 2015 with no compensation to CMA directors.

 

F -17F-9

 

During the tenure of the CMA Note Payable, the Company has increased the amount of the Note and in exchange provided benefits to the CMA directors as follows:

Bank Line of Credit

DateAmount (increase)Benefit to CMAImpact to Company
Inception$800,000Warrants to purchase 2,600,000 shares @ $0.45, vesting 20% immediately and 10% per $100,000 drawnWarrant costs amortized over the term of the CMA Note
Sept 4, 2011$200,000Modified warrant price on 2,600,000 shares from $0.45 to $0.27, and issued additional 1,600,000 shares @ $0.27Warrant costs amortized over the remaining term of the CMA Note
Nov 2, 2012$500,000Warrants to purchase 2,100,000 shares @ $0.35Warrant costs amortized over the remaining term of the CMA Note
Apr 29, 2013$0 (maturity date extended 1 year)Modified warrant price on 6,300,000 shares from $0.10, and agreed to forfeit 630,000 of the warrantsWarrant costs amortized over the remaining term of the CMA Note
Apr 29, 2014$0 (maturity date extended 1 year)NoneNone
Apr 29, 2015$0 (maturity date extended 1 year)NoneNone

The note is currently due on demand.

 

On September 13, 2012, the CompanyShareholder Notes Payable

Shareholder notes payable outstanding as part of the acquisition of SleepHealth, LLC, assumed a line of credit with Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. which is (i) unsecured, (ii) bears interest at an annual rate of Prime plus 1.1% and (iii) is payable upon demand. As of December 31, 2014 Vystar’s obligation under the line of credit was $0 due to Vystar’s refusal to carry the line. During 2014, the bank line of credit became the responsibility of the former owner of SleepHealth, Ailene Miller.2017 and 2016 totaled $881,673 and $835,068, respectively.

 

On April 25, 2014, on behalf of SleepHealth LLC, Vystar Corporation signed a general release agreement with Summit Financial Resources LLP thus closing its line of credit as a factoring partner.

Shareholder Notes Payable

The following table summarizes the shareholder notes payable:

  2014 2013
     
Shareholder notes payable  662,568  $862,568 
         
Total Shareholder Notes Payable $662,568  $862,568 

On March 11, 2011, the Company issued to existing shareholders of the Company an aggregate of $400,000$175,000 of convertible promissory notes together with warrants to purchase an aggregate of 160,000 shares of the Company’s common stock at $0.68 per share for two years from the date of issuance. Such notes are (i) unsecured, (ii) bear interest at an annual rate of ten percent (10%) per annum, and (iii) are convertible into shares of common stock at the conversion rate of $0.68 of principal and interest for each such share.stock. The principal and accrued interest cameoutstanding notes are currently due on March 11, 2013. Four of the holders of these notes with a total initial principal amount of $200,000 agreed to convert their notesdemand and accumulated interest to the Company’s 10% Series A Cumulative Convertible Preferred Stock. The remaining holders of notes have agreed to extend the maturity date until March 11, 2015. Vystar is currently working with the subscription holders of the dated subscriptions.matured notes to extend the maturity date beyond 2018. One subscription holder demanded payment for their matured note. The subscription holder and Vystar agreed to three installment payments of $52,785, the first of which was made in the fourth quarter of 2016; one installment was converted to Vystar common stock shares; and another holder of Vystar Shareholder Notes has agreed to purchase the third installment.

 

OnIn May 31, 2011,of 2013, the Company issued to existing shareholders of the Company an aggregate of $125,000$420,837 of convertible promissory notes together with warrants to purchase an aggregate of 50,000 shares of the Company’s common stock at $0.49 per share for two years from the date of issuance. Such notes are (i) unsecured, (ii) bear interest at an annual rate of ten percent (10%) per annum, and (iii) are convertible into shares of common stock at a conversion rate of $0.49 of principal and interest for each such share. Accumulated interest and principal camestock. The outstanding notes are currently due on May 31, 2013. One ofdemand and Vystar is currently working with the Shareholder Notes with an outstanding balance of $30,000 was retired. Thesubscription holders of the other two Shareholder Notes having an initial principal balance of $100,000 agreedmatured notes to extend the maturity date by two years and these notes with accumulated interest will be due on May 31, 2015.beyond 2018.

 

 On May 6, 2013,A summary of terms for the Company issued to an existing shareholder of the Company an aggregate of $112,500 of convertible promissory notes (the “Note”). The Note is (i)discussed above and additional convertible promissory notes issued to shareholders that are unsecured, (ii) bearsbear interest at an annual rate, of ten percent (10%) per annum from date of issuance, and (iii) is convertible at any time until maturity at the holder’s option into shares of the Company’s common stock at a weighted averagehave conversion rate of $0.075 of principal and interest for each such share. No payments of interest or principal are payable until May 6, 2015.privileges as follows:

 

On September 6, 2013, the Company issued to the Chief Executive Office a convertible promissory note with a face value of $40,769 (the “Note”) in lieu of compensation. The Note is (i) unsecured, (ii) bears interest at an annual rate of ten percent (10%) per annum from date of issuance, and (iii) is convertible at any time until maturity at the holder’s option into shares of the Company’s common stock at a weighted average conversion rate of $0.075 of principal and interest for each such share. No payments of interest or principal are payable until September 6, 2018.

DateAmountInterest RateConversion RateMaturity
March 11, 2011$75,00010%$0.10 of principal and interest for each shareDemand
March 11, 2011$54,92210%$0.05 of principal and interest for each shareDemand
May 6, 2013$390,83010%$0.05 of principal and interest for each shareDemand
May 31, 2013$30,00710%$0.10 of principal and interest for each shareDemand
Sept 6, 2013$40,76910%$0.075 of principal and interest for each shareSept 6, 2018
Dec 30, 2013$25,96210%$0.05 of principal and interest for each shareDec 30, 2018
Dec 31, 2015$37,50010%$0.08 of principal and interest for each shareDec 30, 2018
Dec 31, 2016$135,0005%$0.05 of principal and interest for each shareDec 30, 2021
Oct 10, 2017$20,0005%$0.05 of principal and interest for each shareDemand
Oct 10, 2017$25,0005%$0.05 of principal and interest for each shareDec 30, 2019
Nov 17, 2017$6,6835%$0.05 of principal and interest for each shareDec 30, 2019
Dec 13, 2017$30,0005%Convertible by the Company upon closing of NHS merger at prior 20-day average closing price, discounted 50%Dec 13, 2019
Dec 18, 2017$10,0005%Convertible by the Company upon closing of NHS merger at prior 20-day average closing price, discounted 50%Dec 13, 2019

 

F -18F-10

 

On December 30, 2013, the Company issued to the Chief Executive Office a convertible promissory note with a face value of $25,962 (the “Note”) in lieu of compensation. The Note is (i) unsecured, (ii) bears interest at an annual rate of ten percent (10%) per annum from date of issuance, and (iii) is convertible at any time until maturity at the holder’s option into sharesmaturities (by year) of the Company’s common stock at a weighted average conversion rateprincipal amount of $0.075Shareholder Notes Payable as of principal and interest for each such share. No payments of interest or principalDecember 31, 2017 are payable until December 30, 2015.as follows:

   Amount 
Matured  $570,759 
2018   104,231 
2019   71,683 
2020    
2021   135,000 
2022 & thereafter    
      
Total  $881,673 

 

The current base weighted-average conversion price for the above referenced Shareholder and Promissory Notes with an outstanding balance as of December 31, 20142017 of $809,978$1,176,668 including accrued interest of $147,410,$294,995, is $0.05$0.053 per share or 16,199,56022,208,271 shares of the Company’s common stock. The face value of the Shareholder Notes at December 31, 20142017 is $662,568.$881,673.

 

The maturities (by year) of Shareholder Notes Payable as of December 31, 2014 are as follows:

 Matured   75,000
 2015   546,799
 2016   
 2017   
 2018   40,769
 2019 & thereafter   

Kiron Acquisition Notes

On June 28, 2013, the Company entered into a note subscription agreement with two investors (the “Investors”) pursuant to which the Company agreed to issue to the Investors senior secured convertible promissory notes due June 30, 2018 bearing semi-annual interest at ten percent (10%) (the “Acquisition Notes”) in the principal amount of $200,000. The Acquisition Notes are convertible into common stock at a price equal to the greater of $0.075 per share or eighty percent (80%) of the volume weighted average 20 day trailing closing price prior to the applicable conversion date. The financing resulted in $200,000 of cash proceeds to the Company and was used for the acquisition of Kiron Clinical Sleep Lab, LLC (“Kiron”). The Company’s obligations under the Acquisition Notes are secured by a first priority lien on all of the Kiron limited liability corporate membership and ownership interest pursuant to the terms of a security agreement dated July 1, 2013 among the Company and the Investors. During 2014, the Acquisition Notes were converted to 3,156,632 common shares at $0.068 per share.NOTE 5 – COMMITMENTS

 

F -19

Long-Term Debt

The following table summarizes long-term debt as of December 31, 2014 and 2013:

  2014 2013
     
Note payable to former business partner of SleepHealth; original principal $108,000; imputed interest at 6% per annum, to be paid in monthly installments of $3,500. The note payable was settled for a combination of cash and stock.  0  $32,041 
         
Equipment loans totaling $41,985; bearing interest in the range of 11.7% to 12.3% per annum; to be paid in monthly installments from $366 to $981 per month; payoff dates between 2014 and 2016; secured by related equipment. Equipment was returned to lessor in 2014 in exchange for extinguishment of the note payable.  0   41,985 
         
Note payable to former business partner of SleepHealth; original principal $53,000; imputed interest at 6% per annum, to be paid in monthly installments of $1,000. The note payable was transferred back to former owner of SleepHealth, LLC.  0   4,784 
         
Other  0   4,877 
         
Subtotal  0   83,687 
         
 Less: current portion  0   9,732 
         
 Total long-term debt  0  $73,955 

F -20

NOTE 7 – COMMITMENTSEmployment Agreements

 

Operating Leases

The Company was obligatedThere are currently no employment agreements in place; however employment compensation and potential agreements are under an operating leasediscussion for its corporate office until January 2014 when the lease expired. Kiron’s clinical facilities expire in 2018 and it’s office equipment leases expire in April 2016.2018.

Aggregate minimum future lease payments are as follows:

Year Ending
December 31
 Amount
   
 2015  $67,243 
 2016  $66,141 
 2017  $67,146 
 2018  $45,137 
       
    $245,667 

 Rent expense approximating $68,000 and $131,000 is included in general and administrative expense for the years ended December 31, 2014 and 2013, respectively.

F -21

Employment Agreements

The Company has entered into an employment agreement with executive management, as appropriate, which includes provisions for the continued payment of salary and benefits for periods ranging from 3 months to 6 months, as well as a percentage of base salary for compliance with specified covenants in the agreements, upon termination of employment by the Company without cause, as defined.

 

NOTE 86 – DISCONTINUED OPERATIONS

 

SleepHealth’sKiron Clinical Sleep Lab’s post acquisition performance has fallenfell far below Vystar’s expectations. For the period from January 1 through March 31, 2014, the revenue from sleep studies was $28,610 and for the year January 1, 2013 through December 31, 2013, revenue was $975,084, still well below original projections. There are a number of facts available to Vystar now regarding the valuation of SleepHealth which were previously unknown to us or unascertainable. As part of the Company’s strategy to focus on realizing the potential of the Vytex foam business in the pillow and mattress markets as well as part of the Company’s cost reduction plan, it initiated in 2013, the Company made the decision in first quarter 2014, to discontinue the operations of SleepHealth, (see below for Reconciliationthe Kiron division acquired in June 2013 and the division was closed May of SleepHealth Net Loss).2016

 

Vystar originally basedThere was no revenue from the valuation of SleepHealth on their 2010Kiron division for the year ended December 31, 2017.The Kiron division revenue was $82,353 for the year ended December 31, 2016. Net gains from discontinued operations were $42,056 and 2011 tax returns$37,979 for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2017 and the annualized results of the first six months of 2012 as presented by SleepHealth. At the time of the acquisition, the 2012 accounting had not been assembled by an outside CPA firm and SleepHealth’s 2010 and 2011 books and records required significant work to complete an independent audit. The audited financial statements for 2010 and 2011 actually showed net losses, contrary2016, respectively. Net gains were recorded directly related to the net profit presented in the 2010 and 2011 compilations and tax returns.

At the acquisition date, SleepHealth was invoicing 25 accounts, 13write-off of which performed fewer than 10 studies per month and utilization of the rooms available for testing was far from ideal. A sleep technician can monitor two to three patients, depending on testing needs, but numerous single patient nights were performed. Increased room utilization and 2:1 patient to technician studies were included in the forward looking projections. Also noted was that several accounts were invoiced for accreditation under the SleepHealth umbrella and these invoices were treated like normal study income when in fact they were the start of further expenses.

The contracted sleep study fee and SleepHealth’s hourly technician labor costs are the largest factors in determining whether an account is or has the potentialpayables determined to be profitable. SleepHealth needs a two-patient per night minimum to cover all of its costs and provide acceptable profits. Vystar instituted a two patient study per night minimum; closed eight unprofitable accounts and began working with the remaining accounts to achieve the new goals that benefit both parties.no longer due.

After the acquisition, Vystar discovered that prior collections efforts resulted in slow cash flow and an inability to timely meet key obligations and unpaid tax consequences.

Additionally, the sales pipeline was much weaker than anticipated and Vystar broadened its approach in an attempt to secure a healthy sales pipeline in 2013.

The number of studies performed at a location over the term of the contract was dependent on the physician’s specialty, size of the physician’s patient base, advertising or partnering with other physicians to grow the patient base, or other reasons outside our direct control. As a physician cycled through his/her patient base, the number of studies from that location declined over the term of the contract without active management of the account. Vystar introduced steps for active account management that were unsuccessful.

During 2013, SleepHealth continued to underperform as local hospitals took over several of our profitable locations, and we were forced to close other locations due to a lack of payment for our services and our efforts to increase contract pricing to a profitable level with our remaining locations failed. The Durable Medical Equipment business, the primary driver in the decision to acquire SleepHealth never materialized and first quarter of 2014, Vystar made the decision to suspend operations and transferred the remaining accounts to the SleepHealth management team, sold the nominal remaining SleepHealth assets and is contemplating its next move to re-coup what it considers to be hidden fees, ineffective contract price expectations and outright fabrication of financials and potential by the seller.

As a result of the above facts, the valuation of SleepHealth was revised with an additional $48,641of intangible write-down expense recognized in the fourth quarter of 2013 in addition to the prior $87,000 goodwill impairment taken in 2012. The new valuation reduced physician relationships from $193,000 to zero; trade names from $29,000 to zero and the non-compete agreement from $20,000 to zero. The reductions in these values were reclassified to goodwill and subsequently written-off. Vystar also reversed the $8,199 contingent consideration amount due the Seller.

SleepHealth Net Loss 3/31/14 $(39,322)
     
Operating Expenses:    
Sales & Marketing $0 
General and administrative  (42,966)
Total operating expenses $(42,966)
     
Operating Loss $(82,288)
Other Income (Expense):    
Gain on Sale of Assets $17,292 
Gain on Extinguishment of Debt  64,612 
Total Other Income (Expense) $81,904 
     
Loss from Discontinued Operations 12/31/14 $(384)

 

NOTE 97 – STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY

 

Preferred Stock

On May 2, 2013, the Company began a private placement offering to sell up to 200,000 shares of the Company’s 10% Series A Cumulative Convertible Preferred Stock. Under the terms of the offering, the Company offered to sell up to 200,000 shares of preferred stock at $10.00 per share for a value of $2,000,000. The preferred stock accumulates a 10% per annum dividend and is convertible at a conversion price of $0.075 per common share at the option of the holder after a six month holding period. The holder may convert up to 5% of the shares to common shares per month. The preferred shares have full voting rights as if converted and have a fully participating liquidation preference.

As of August 29, 2013, the Company had received net investment of $197,110 and issued 19,711 shares of preferred stock under the terms of the offering. The Company has also issued an additional 10,374 shares of preferred stock in connection with the conversion of four of the Shareholder Notes issued on March 11, 2011 with a collective outstanding balance including accumulated interest on the date of conversion of $103,742.

 

At December 31, 2014,2017 and 2016, the 30,08513,828 shares of outstanding preferred stock had accumulated undeclared dividends of approximately $49,000,$63,600 and $49,800 and could be converted into 6,421,5334,037,977 and 3,761,417 shares of common stock, respectively, at the option of the holder.

 

Common Stock and Warrants

 

In January 2013, under the termsAs part of the private placement offering which commenced on May 4, 2012, the Company sold 20,000 shares of common stock at $0.25 per sharea September 2014 Private Placement Memorandum, updated in February 2015 and 20,000 warrants to purchase common stock at $0.35 per share for proceeds of $5,000.

In March 2013,September 2015, the Company issued 200,000 shares valued at $40,000 as compensation for a business development contract.

Between April 2013 and August 2013 the Company sold 834,66612,480,000 shares of common stock to five (5)six (6) accredited investors in a private offering.during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2016. Total gross proceeds of the issuances were $62,600.$624,000. No commissions were paid. The shares of common stock were offered and sold in reliance upon exemptions from registration pursuant to Section 4(2) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. The Company also issued 4,433,333 shares to investors in the Company’s 2012 private placement of common stock who were the beneficiaryamended, and Regulation D promulgated thereunder.

As part of a “ratchet clause” trigger.

On May 30, 2013,November 2016 Private Placement Memorandum, the Company issued 133,333 common shares to its CEO in lieu of expense reimbursement.

On September 6, 2013, the Company issued 63,182 common shares to its CEO in lieu of expense reimbursement.

On December 30, 2013, the Company issued 36,773 common shares in lieu of expense reimbursement.

On July 1, 2013, the Company issued to the prior owner of Kiron Clinical Sleep Lab, LLC (“Kiron”) a total of 727,434 common shares in connection with the purchase of Kiron.

On August 8, 2013, the Company issued a total of 239,733 common shares upon the cashless warrant exercise of 429,000 of the Company’s outstanding and exercisable warrants.

On August 28, 2013, the Company issued a total of 3,300,000 common shares as compensation for an amendment to the Company’s Consulting Agreement with Blue Oar Consulting, Inc.

Between August 1, 2013 and September 30, 2013, the Company issued 1,200,0001,700,000 shares of common stock to three (3)four (4) accredited investors in a private offering.during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2016. Total gross proceeds of the issuances were $60,000.$85,000. No commissions were paid. The shares of common stock and warrants were offered and sold in reliance upon exemptions from registration pursuant to Section 4(2) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.amended, and Regulation D promulgated thereunder.

 

Between November 1, 2013During the year ended December 31, 2016, the Company had 1,783,335 common stock warrants exercised at $0.03 per share for $53,500 and December 1, 2013,issued 1,296,885 common shares for cashless warrants that were exercised.

On June 30, 2016, the Company issued 2,066,667997,466 common shares ofas compensation under the Company’s Business Development Agreement with Blue Oar Consulting, Inc. executed in March 2013 as amended in August 2013 and amended February 2014 and 250,000 common shares as compensation under the Company’s Business Development Agreement with Byron Novosad executed in February 26, 2014.

F-11

During the year ended December 31, 2017, the Company had 1,950,000 cashless common stock warrants exercised at $0.05 per share and warrants to purchase 1,033,334issued 1,332,109 common shares.

During the year ended December 31, 2017, the Company had 1,750,000 cashless common stock options exercised at $0.05 per share and issued 481,884 common shares.

As part of the November 2016 Private Placement Memorandum, the Company issued 7,690,000 shares of common stock to twelve (12)sixteen (16) accredited investors in a private offering.during the period from January 1, 2017 to September 30, 2017. Total gross proceeds of the issuances were $62,000.$384,500. No commissions were paid. All warrants issued to investors (a) are exercisable at $0.05 per share of common stock, (b) do not have cashless exercise rights, and (c) are exercisable for two years. The shares of common stock and warrants were offered and sold in reliance upon exemptions from registration pursuant to Section 4(2) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.amended, and Regulation D promulgated thereunder.

 

On March 15, 2017, the Company issued 1,150,000 common shares as compensation under Business Development Agreements.

On April 25, 2017, the Company issued 1,109,406 common shares as a result of a partial conversion of a Shareholder Note and accrued interest.

On May 22, 2017, the Company signed a sales and marketing agreement issuing restricted common shares quarterly as goals are achieved and issued 363,985 shares on September 28, 2017 and 368,218 on October 10, 2017.

On July 1, 2017, the Company issued 3,125,000 shares under the Company’s Public Relations Services Agreement through December 12, 2013,2018.

On September 29, 2017, the Company issued 500,000 shares of common sharesstock as compensation for a business development and consulting contract (“Consulting Agreement”).

On December 30, 2013,part of the Company issued 692,308 common sharesexisting PPM to its CEO in lieu of salary payable for fiscal year 2013;earned in August and 1,692,308 common shares to its CFO in lieu of salary payable for fiscal year 2013. For December 31, 2014,September 2017.

On September 27, 2017, the Company issued 284,616an additional 200,000 common shares as compensation under a Business Development Agreement.

On July 30, 2017, the Company issued 200,000 common shares as compensation under a Business Development Agreement.

On July 25, 2017, the Company issued 1,087,023 shares as part of a prior contract for business development.

On November 1, 2017, the Company issued 250,000 shares of common stock as part of the existing PPM to its CEO in lieu of salary payable for fiscal year 2014. An additional 500,000 shares were issued to various other employees/contractorsearned in lieu of salary during 2014.October 2017.

On February 26, 2014, the Company issued 1,000,000 common shares as compensation for an amendment and extension to the Company’s Consulting Agreement executed in December 2013 with Jason Leaf and 1,500,000 common shares as compensation for a second amendment and extension to the Company’s Business Development Agreement with Blue Oar Consulting, Inc. executed in March 2013 as amended in August 2013. In May 2014 and July 2014, an additional 2,000,000 shares of common stock were issued in exchange for current services with Blue Oar Consulting. During 2014, an additional 3,226,500 shares of common stock were issued for contracted services.

On March 6 and March 31, 2014, the Company issued 3,594,632 in common shares in conversion of notes payable.

During the period January 1 through December 31, 2014, 17,293,666 shares were issued in private placement for a total amount of $454,576 and 4,902,316 warrants were issued equal to $244,867.

 

NOTE 108 – SHARE-BASED COMPENSATION

 

Generally accepted accounting principles require share-based payments to employees, including grants of employee stock options, to be recognized in the income statement based on their fair values at the date of grant, net of estimated forfeitures.

 

The Company used the Black-Scholes option pricing model to estimate the grant-date fair value of awards granted during 20142017 and 2013.2016. The following assumptions were used:

 

Expected Dividend Yield – because the Company does not currently pay dividends, the expected dividend yield is zero;
Expected Volatility in Stock Price –Expected volatility calculations were based on the Company’s trading activity ranged between 129.31% and 143.38% for 2014;
Expected Dividend Yield – because the Company does not currently pay dividends, the expected dividend yield is zero;
Expected Volatility in Stock Price – Expected volatility calculations were based on the Company’s trading activity which ranged between and 149.6% and 152.9% during 2017;
Risk-free Interest Rate – reflects the average rate on a United States Treasury bond with maturity equal to the expected term of the option or warrant, ranging from 2.54% to 2.60% for options1.81% and .03% to 2.99% for warrants;2.45% during 2017; and
 Expected Life of Awards – because the Company has minimal experience with the exercise of options or warrants for use in determining the expected life for each award, the simplified method was used to calculate an expected life based on the end of the contractual term of the stock award.

In total, the Company recorded $160,050$60,795 and $286,908$55,143 for the years ended December 31, 20142017 and 2013,2016, respectively, of share-based compensation expense related to employee and Board members’ stock options. The unrecognized compensation expense as of December 31, 20142017 was $204,659$151,730 for non-vested share-based awards to be recognized over a period of approximately five years.

 

Stock Options

 

During 2004, the Board of Directors of the Company adopted a stock option plan (the “Plan”) and authorized up to 4,000,000 shares to be issued under the Plan. In April 2009, the Company’s Board of Directors authorized an increase in the number of shares to be issued under the Plan to 10,000,000 shares and to include the independent Board Members in the Plan in lieu of continuing the previous practice of granting warrants each quarter to independent Board Members for services. At December 31, 2014,2017, there were 1,635,0942,251,729 shares of common stock reserved for issuance under the Plan. In 2014, the Board adopted an additional stock option plan which provides for an additional 5,000,000 shares.shares which are all available as of December 31, 2017. The Plan is intended to permit stock options granted to employees to qualify as incentive stock options under Section 422 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (“Incentive Stock Options”). All options granted under the Plan that are not intended to qualify as Incentive Stock Options are deemed to be non-qualified options. Stock options are granted at an exercise price equal to the fair market value of the Company’s common stock on the date of grant, typically vest over periods up to 4 years and are typically exercisable up to 10 years.

 

F-12

The weighted-average assumptions used in the option pricing model for stock option grants were as follows:

 

  2014 2013
Expected Dividend Yield  0.00%  0.00%
Expected Volatility in Stock Price  132.95%  120.91%
Risk-Free Interest Rate  2.57%  1.98%
Expected Life of Stock Awards – Years  10.0   10.0 
Weighted Average Fair Value at Grant Date $0.10  $0.13 

  2017  2016 
Expected Dividend Yield  0.00%  0.00%
Expected Volatility in Stock Price  149.81%  145.82%
Risk-Free Interest Rate  2.35%  1.87%
Expected Life of Stock Awards – Years  10.0   10.0 
Weighted Average Fair Value at Grant Date $0.05  $0.05 

 

The following tables summarize all stock option activity of the Company for the years ended December 31, 20142017 and 2013:2016:

 

 Number of Shares Weighted Average Exercise Price Number of Shares Weighted Average Exercise Price 
         
Outstanding, December 31, 2012   6,867,500  $0.66
Outstanding, December 31, 2015   9,381,573  $0.19 
                 
Granted   1,439,906  $0.14   500,000  $0.05 
Forfeited   (819,167) $0.57
                 
Outstanding, December 31, 2013   7,488,239  $0.23
Granted   2,000,000  $0.11
Exercised   (400,000) $0.05 
                 
Forfeited   (1,123,333) $0.05   (63,302) $0.07 
                 
Outstanding, December 31, 2014   8,364,906  $0.19
Exercisable, December 31, 2014   6,013,303  $0.24
Outstanding, December 31, 2016   9,418,271  $0.16 
         
Exercisable, December 31, 2016   6,783,271  $0.21 
         
Granted   1,500,000  $0.05 
         
Exercised   (1,750,000) $0.05 
         
Forfeited   (1,420,000) $0.17 
         
Outstanding, December 31, 2017   7,748,271  $0.16 
         
Exercisable, December 31, 2017   5,158,271  $0.25 

 

Additional details, including the average remaining contractual life of the options, as well as the range of exercise prices are shown in the table below:

 

  Number of Shares Weighted Average Remaining Contractual Life (Years) Range of Exercise Prices
Outstanding, December 31, 2013   7,488,239   5.49   $0.07 – $1.50
             
Granted   2,000,000   9.62   $0.10 – $0.11
             
Forfeited   (1,123,333)      $0.15-$0.68
             
Outstanding, December 31, 2014   8,364,906   5.49   $0.05-$1.50
             
Exercisable, December 31, 2014   6,013,303   7.24   $0.05 - $1.50
   Number of
Shares
  Weighted Average
Remaining
Contractual Life
(Years)
  Range of
Exercise Prices
 
           
Outstanding, December 31, 2015   9,381,573   6.29  $0.05 - $0.68 
              
Granted   500,000   9.10  $0.05 
              
Exercised   (400,000)     $0.05 
              
Expired/Forfeited   (63,302)     $0.07 
              
Outstanding, December 31, 2016   9,418,271   4.43  $0.05 - $0.68 
              
Exercisable, December 31, 2016   6,783,271   5.99  $0.10 - $0.68 
              
Granted   1,500,000   9.96  $0.05 
              
Exercised   (1,750,000)     $0.05 
              
Expired/Forfeited   (1,420,000)     $0.03 - $0.68 
              
Outstanding, December 31, 2017   7,748,271   5.80  $0.03 - $0.68 
              
Exercisable, December 31, 2017   5,158,271   9.42  $0.03 - $0.68 

 

F-13

On July 9, 2014, the Board approved the grant of

The Company added a director on May 18, 2016. The director was granted 500,000 options to each of its four directors. The options havewith a ten yearten-year term haveand an exercise price of $.11 per share,$0.05 respectively, the closing price of the Company’s common stock on the OTCBB on that date, andthe grant date. The options vest 25,000 shares quarterly beginning on SeptemberJune 30, 20142016 for a period of five years ending June 30, 2019. Two board members options were forfeited when they resigned from the board in 2014.March 31, 2021.

 

AsThe Company added three directors on December 17, 2017. Each director was granted 500,000 options with a ten-year term and an exercise price of December 31, 2014, there is no aggregate intrinsic value of outstanding stock options as$0.05 respectively, the closing price of the Company’s common stock on the last trading dayOTCBB on the grant date. The options vest 25,000 shares quarterly beginning on December 31, 2017 for a period of five years ending December 31, 2022.

As of December 31, 2017, the aggregate intrinsic value of the yearCompany’s outstanding options was equal to the exercise price of all outstanding stock options.$4,000. The amount of aggregate intrinsic value will change based on the fair market value of the Company’s common stock.

 

F-27

Warrants

 

Warrants are issued to third parties as payment for services, debt financing compensation and conversion and in conjunction with the issuance of common stock. The fair value of each common stock warrant issued for services is estimated on the date of grant using the Black-Scholes option pricing model.

 

The weighted-average assumptions used in the option pricing model for stock warrant grants were as follows:

 

  2014 2013
Expected Dividend Yield  0.00%  0.00%
Expected Volatility in Stock price  137.65%  130.03%
Risk-Free Interest Rate  l.13%  2.05%
Expected Life of Stock Awards – Years  4.73   8.40 

  2017  2016 
Expected Dividend Yield  0.00%  0.00%
Expected Volatility in Stock Price  152.54%  121.20%
Risk-Free Interest Rate  2.01%  2.18%
Expected Life of Stock Awards – Years  7.0   10.0 

 

The following table represents the CompanysCompany’s warrant activity for the years ended December 31, 20142017 and 2013:2016:

  Number
of
Shares
  Weighted
Average
Grant Date
Fair Value
  Weighted
Average Exercise Price
  Weighted 
Average 
Remaining
Contractual
 Life 
(Years)
 
             
Outstanding, December 31, 2015  18,178,158      $0.13   5.54 
                 
Granted  1,713,244  $0.07  $0.07   9.07 
                 
Exercised  (3,163,336)     $0.05   0.3 
                 
Forfeited  (605,734)            
                 
Outstanding, December 31, 2016  16,122,332      $0.13   5.54 
                 
Granted  1,240,250  $0.13  $0.14   6.14 
                 
Exercised  (1,950,000)     $0.08   0.18 
                 
Forfeited  (713,000)     $0.18     
                 
Outstanding, December 31, 2017  14,699,582      $0.10   5.41 
                 
Exercisable, December 31, 2017  14,699,582      $0.10   5.41 

 

  Number of
Shares
 Weighted
Average
Grant Date
Fair Value
 Weighted
Average
Exercise
Price
Weighted 
Average 
Remaining
Contractual
 Life 
(Years)
        
Outstanding, December 31, 2012   12,857,926         
                
Granted   3,678,051  $0.04  $0.06   
                
Exercised   (429,000     0.07   
                
Expired   (1,318,263     $0.92   
                
Outstanding, December 31, 2013   14,788,714      $0.16  6.67
                

Granted

   7,447,098  $0.06  $0.05   
                
Exercised   0           
                
Expired          $0.30   
                
Outstanding, December 31, 2014   22,235,812      $0.11  5.07
Exercisable, December 31, 2014   21,611,475      $0.11  5.01
F-14

 

The stock compensation expense for 20142017 and 2016 related to warrants was $466,567.$159,553 and $115,054, respectively.

 

NOTE 119 – RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS

 

Officers and Directors

 

During April 2009, the Company’s Board of Directors authorized the inclusion of the Board members in the Company’s stock option plan in lieu of continuing the previous practice of granting warrants each quarter to independent Board members. Each Board member was granted options to purchase 400,000 shares of the Company’s common stock, valued at approximately $233,000$84,346 each with an exercise price range between $0.05 andof $0.68 per share.    Vesting occursoccurred at the end of each complete calendar quarter served as an independent Board member of the Company at a rate of 20,000 shares each per quarter. The options are exercisable in whole or in part before September 30, 2019. In

Beginning in July 2014, each Board member was granted options to purchase 500,000 shares of the Company’s common stock. The value of each grant ranged from approximately $14,714 to $53,513 depending on the date of the grant and the exercise price of the option. Exercise prices ranged between $0.03 and $0.11 per share and were equal to the closing price of Company’s common stock on the date of the grant. Vesting occurs at the end of each complete calendar quarter served as an independent Board adopted an additional stock option plan which provides for an additional 5,000,000 shares. Twomember of the Company at a rate of 25,000 shares each per quarter. The options are exercisable in whole or in part before December 15, 2027.

One board membersmember’s unvested options were forfeited when theyhe resigned from the Board in 2014.2017. 

 

NOTE 1210 – DEFINED CONTRIBUTION PLAN

 

The Company maintains aCompany’s tax-qualified retirement plan that provides all regular employees with an opportunity to save for retirement on a tax-advantaged basis. Under the 401(k) plan, 100 percent of participants’ contributions up to a maximum of 3 percent of compensation and 50{401(k)} was terminated in 2016.

percent of participants’ contributions up to an additional 2 percent of compensation are matched. Company contributions under the plan were approximately $4,000 and $6,000 for the years ended December 31, 2014 and 2013, respectively.

 

NOTE 1311 – MAJOR CUSTOMERS AND VENDORS

 

Major customers and vendors are defined as a customer or vendor from which the Company derives at least 10% of its revenue and cost of revenue, respectively.

 

During 207, Vytex Division:

During 2014, the Vytex Division had product revenue came from twothree major customers IberoamericanaNatures Home Solutions, RCMA, and Centrotrade, which collectively comprised 20% and 80% of100% total Vytex revenue, respectively. During 2013, the Vytex division had product revenue from two major customers Occidente and Centrotrade, which comprised 85% and 15% of total revenue, respectively.revenue. No amounts were owed to major vendors at December 31, 20142017 and December 31, 2013. As of December 31, 2014 and December 31, 2013, no amount was due from either major customer.2016.

During 2014 and 2013, the Company’s revenue from this Division was 100% to customers outside of the United States.

Kiron Division

During 2014, the Kiron Division had service revenue from one major health insurance company, Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina (“BCBS”). BCBS comprised 69.4% for $312,232 of total revenue. At December 31, 2014, the accounts receivable balance from BCBS was $44,033.

During 2013, the Kiron Division had service revenue from two major health insurance companies, Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina (“BCBS”) and Medicare. BCBS comprised 56% of total revenue and Medicare comprised 23% of total revenue. As of December 31, 2013, we had accounts receivable from BCBS totaling $52,865 and $53,016 from Medicare.

During 2014 and 2013, 100% of Kiron’s revenue was earned in the state of North Carolina.

 

NOTE 1412 – RISKS AND UNCERTAINTIES

 

The Company is exposed to commodity price risk, mainly associated with variations in the market price for NRL as well as wintering of the Hevea trees, which differs for each country. The timing and magnitude of industry cycles are difficult to predict and are impacted by general economic conditions including the buying climate in China. The Company responds to changes in NRL prices by adjusting sales prices on a weekly basis and by turning rather than holding inventory in anticipation of higher prices. The Company actively manages its exposure to commodity price risk and monitors the actual and expected spread between forward selling prices and purchase costs and processing and shipping expense. The Company also currently spreads the processing of Vytex NRL among three continents. Sales contracts are based on forward market prices, and generally orders are placed 30 to 90 days ahead of shipment date due to these fluctuations. However, financial results may be negatively impacted where selling prices fall more quickly than purchase price adjustments can be made or when levels of inventory have an anticipated net realizable value that is below cost.

 

NOTE 1513SEGMENT INFORMATION AND GEOGRAPHIC DATASUBSEQUENT EVENTS

 

From January 1, 2018 and through the date of these financial statements, the Company has issued certain convertible promissory notes in varying amounts. The Company’s operating segmentsface amount of the notes represents the amount due at maturity along with the accrued interest, at which time that amount will be converted into shares of the Company stock based on the lowest 2 day closing price for the trailing 20 days prior to conversion and carrying a 35% discount. These notes are included in the Vytex Division,table below:

Issue Date Face Amount  Interest Rate  Maturity  Net Cash Proceeds 
Jan 29, 2018 $80,000   12%  Jan 29, 2019*  $72,300 
Feb 14, 2018 $80,000   12%  Nov 14, 2018*  $72,500 
Feb 13, 2018 $76,500   5%  Nov 13, 2018*  $72,500 
Feb 14, 2018 $85,000   12%  Feb 14, 2019*  $82,000 

*Note that these notes can be converted after 6 months from the Clinical Sleep Diagnostics Division and the Durable Medical Equipment Division. The Clinical Sleep Diagnostics and Durable Medical Equipment Divisions are comprised of Kiron. These segments have distinct lines of business, service or distribution methods, separate financial information and are regularly reviewed by management.issue date

 

From January 1, 2018 to February 9, 2018, the Company issued Convertible Promissory Notes (the “Notes”) contract work, investment and in lieu of salary and expense reimbursement in the amount of $195,635. The Notes are (i) unsecured, (ii) bear interest at an annual rate of five percent (5%) per annum from date of issuance, and (iii) are convertible by the Company completedupon the acquisitionclosing of Kiron on July 1, 2013. Kiron isthe previously announced intention to purchase all of the assets of NHS. The Notes mature one year from issuance but may be extended one (1) additional year by the Company. If converted, the Notes plus accrued interest are convertible into shares of the Company’s common stock at the prior twenty (20) day average closing price with a vertically integrated sleep diagnostic and treatment practice located in Durham, NC and provides clinical sleep diagnostic services and sells Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) therapy equipment and equipment resupply products for the treatment of obstructive sleep apnea (Durable Medical Equipment).50% discount.

 

Total revenue by industry segment includes sales to unaffiliated customers. There are no sales between our industry segments.

The following sets forth key financial information for our segments forOn February 5, 2018, the year ended December 31, 2014:

  Vystar Kiron Total
Revenue, net $52,814  $598,177  $650,991 
             
Gain/Loss from continuing operations before income taxes $(1,440,387) $5,653  $(1,434,734)
             
Capital Expenditures  0   0   0 
             
Total Assets $389,704  $78,437  $468,141 

NOTE 16SUBSEQUENT EVENTS

Company issued 1,500,000 shares under the terms of a Consulting Agreement dated January 26, 2018.

 

On January 20, 2015,7, 2018, the Company and Nature’s Home Solutions, LLC,signed a Massachusetts limited liability company (“NHS”), entered into a Distribution Agreement with respectLetter of Intent to acquire the distributionassets of foam furniture and bedding products manufactured with the Company’s patented Vytex®NRL process. The Agreement provides that NHS, shall be the exclusive U.S. distributor in the United States for such products, subject to the payment of agreed upon minimum license feesVytex® virtually allergen-, VOC- and rebates to the Company, for a five (5) year term, which is renewable for three additional five (5) year terms.

On February 18, 2015, Warren S. Binderman agreed to become the Company’s Acting Chief Financial Officer, succeeding William R. Doyle, the interim Chief Financial Officer of the Company. Mr. Doyle continues to be the Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company. Mr. Binderman will be compensated on an hourly basis and will work for the Company on a part-time basis.

On March 12, 2015, Dr. Ranjit K. Matthan, Ph.D., age 73, an internationally renowned latex and rubber expert, joined the Company’s Board of Directors. Dr. Matthan has been a consultant to Vystar Corporation since 2008 and has played a significant role in the manufacturing scale up of reduced-protein Vytex®odor-free natural rubber latex (NRL) foam. The transaction is expected to close in Malaysia.

On March 12, 2015, Dr. Matthan was granted options to acquire 500,000 sharesthe second quarter of Company common stock at $.08 per share, the closing price of Vystar’s common stock on that date. The option is exercisable in equal installments of 25,000 shares at the end of each financial quarter (the “Vesting Date”), beginning on March 31, 2015, for a period of five (5) years, ending on December 31, 2019, provided that the service of Dr. Matthan as a member of the Company’s Board of Directors continues through and on the applicable Vesting Date.

Beginning January 1, 2015 and ending on March 5, 2015, the Company (a) issued 5,200,000 shares of common stock to eleven (11) accredited investors in private offerings for total gross proceeds of $260,000. No commissions were paid. The shares of common stock were offered and sold in reliance upon exemptions from registration pursuant to Section 4(2) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Regulation D promulgated there under.2018.

 

F-15

ITEM 9.CHANGES IN AND DISAGREEMENTS WITH ACCOUNTANTS ON ACCOUNTING AND FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE

None

 

ITEM 9.ACONTROLS AND PROCEDURES

The Company’s Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer (the Certifying Officers) areOfficer) is responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures for the Company. Although the Certifying Officers haveOfficer has designed such disclosure controls and procedures to ensure that material information is made known to them, particularly during the period in which this report was prepared, certain material weaknesses occurred during the year ended December 31, 20142017 and subsequent to year end. The Certifying Officers haveOfficer has evaluated the effectiveness of the Company’s disclosure controls and procedures (as such term is defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) (the Rules) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (or Exchange Act) as of the end of the period covered by this Annual Report and believe that the Company’s disclosureis working on improving controls with an outside CPA firm and procedures are effective to the reasonable assurance level based on the required evaluation.a more dedicated internal resources.

 

Management’s Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

 

Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Exchange Act Rule 13a-15(f) and 15d - 15(f) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934). Internal control over financial reporting is a process to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of our financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. Internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that: (i) in reasonable detail accurately and fairly reflect our transactions; (ii) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary for preparation of our financial statements; (iii) provide reasonable assurance that our receipts and expenditures are made in accordance with management authorization; and (iv) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use or disposition of our assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.

 

Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting, however well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable, and not absolute, assurance that the controls will prevent or detect misstatements. In addition, the design of any control system is based in part upon certain assumptions about the likelihood of future events. Because of these and other inherent limitations of control systems, there is only the reasonable assurance that our controls will succeed in achieving their goals under all potential future conditions.

 

Management, under the supervision and with the participation of our Chief Executive Officer and our acting Chief Financial Officer, conducted an evaluation of our internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2014,2017 based on the framework inInternal Control-Integrated Frameworkissued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO). Based on our evaluation under the COSO framework, management concluded that our internal control over financial reporting was not effective as of December 31, 2014.2017. Such conclusion was reached based on the following material deficiencies noted by management:

 

a) We have a lack of segregation of duties due to the small size of the Company.

 

b) The Company did not maintain reasonable control over records underlying transactions necessary to permit preparation of the Company’s financial statements.

  

c) Lack of controls that provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use or disposal of the Company’s assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.

 

d) There was turnover in theLack of a formal CFO position (the sole principal accounting officer); such that no cohesive succession planning was ablewho can devote significant attention to be performed, thus knowledge transfer between parties was limited.financial reporting resulted in multiple audit adjustments.

 

Management expects to strengthen internal control during 20152018 by hiring a bookkeeper/ Controller for the Company, as well as developdeveloping stronger business and financial processes for accounting for transactions such as warrant/stock issuances, which will significantly enhance internal control for the Company.

 

Changes in Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

During 2014 and in the first quarter of 2015, we had a CFO transition in the Company. The new acting CFO is currently evaluating methods to strengthen our internal control over financial reporting. We anticipate integrating a stronger accounting system as well as hiring a bookkeeper/Controller to enhance segregation of duties in numerous key accounting areas.

ITEM 9B.OTHER INFORMATION

 

None

 

19

PART III

 

ITEM 10.DIRECTORS, EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

 

Board of Directors

 

The following tables set forth the name and information of each director of Vystar as of December 31, 2014.2017. Each director is elected to serve until the next Annual Meeting of Stockholders.

 

Name Principal Occupation During Last Five Years Age Director Since
William R. Doyle Mr. Doyle, the Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer, joined Vystar in 2004 as Vice President Sales & Marketing.  He became President and Chief Operating Officer in December 2005.  He became Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer of Vystar in March 2008.  Prior to that, Mr. Doyle served as Vice President of Marketing, Women’s Health, for Matria Healthcare, Inc., a disease management company, from 1999 to 2004. Mr. Doyle spearheaded the initial branding efforts at Matria as well as held responsibility for sales development, training, public relations, and marketing. He has worked in many aspects of healthcare industry for over twenty years encompassing manufacturing, sales, marketing and advertising. In addition to Matria, he has experience with such companies as Isolyser Company, Inc., McGaw, Inc., Lederle Laboratories (now Wyeth), and in an advertising capacity for Novartis Ophthalmics. Mr. Doyle is a member of the Board of Directors of the Georgia Chapter of the March of Dimes. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry from Penn State University and Master of Business Administration from Pepperdine University. 56 2005
       
Mitsy Y. Mangum From July 2009 to present, Ms. Mangum has been Vice President, Investments, WMS, RPC at American Capital Partners LLC., an independent investment banking firm in Atlanta, GA.  From July 2004 to July 2009, Ms. Mangum was a Vice President-Investments, Financial Advisor WMS, RPC with Raymond James & Associates in the Atlanta area. Ms. Mangum is an accomplished investment professional with over 24 years of financial service and industry experience both from the retail side as well as the institutional side. Ms. Mangum maintains an in-depth knowledge of the financial markets, professional money management and managing portfolios. She has a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration/ Management from College of Charleston. 50 2008
       
Thomas L. Mills Thomas Mills, is a partner in the Washington, D.C. office of international law firm Winston & Strawn who concentrates his practice on the legislative and regulatory aspects of health care.   He is the Chairman of the firm’s healthcare practice.

In his more than 30 years of law practice, Mr. Mills has represented the interests of a range of health care providers, including hospitals, health maintenance organizations, and other managed care providers; pharmaceutical companies; physician practice management companies; the entire range of extended care providers; major financial institutions involved in equity and debt financing, both public and private; and national associations representing providers of outpatient services, as well as independent providers of such services. These services have included skilled nursing services, home health, ambulatory surgery, dialysis, extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy, radiation therapy, home infusion therapy, diagnostic imaging, cardiac catheterization, durable medical equipment, and clinical diagnostic laboratory services.

Mr. Mills has conducted numerous internal investigations both on behalf of companies and of the audit committees. He has assisted in the defense of several highly publicized criminal prosecutions of individuals and a corporation accused of health care fraud, and has defended numerous health care clients under investigation by the Justice Department and the Office of Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services. He has argued cases before the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Provider Reimbursement Review Board and the Health and Human Services Departmental Appeals Board, as well as the federal courts, and has successfully challenged regulations promulgated by CMS concerning provider reimbursement rates and the Physician Self Referral Law. In addition, Mr. Mills has represented organizations on numerous occasions before federal congressional committees as well as state legislatures, and has led numerous federal and state legislative initiatives in which he has successfully obtained enactment of legislation or has defeated legislative proposals relating to a host of health care issues. These include Medicare fraud and abuse matters, such as physician self-referral and anti-kickback laws; Medicare provider reimbursement rates; certificate of need legislation; provider licensure, medical privacy and security legislation, and other healthcare regulatory requirements.

Mr. Mills served for seven years as Chairman of the Audit and Compliance Committee of United Surgical Partners International, Inc.

Mr. Mills received a B.S. from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in 1970 and a J.D., with honors, in 1975 from the George Washington University National Law Center, where he was a member of the Law Review.
 662014
Name Principal Occupation During Last Five Years Age Director Since
       
Joseph C. Allegra, Jr. PhD Joseph Allegra, PhD was elected Chairman of the Board on February 14, 2018 and has followed Vystar’s progress for numerous years and has assisted as an investment advisor and investor, providing insight into positioning the company to attract investors, particularly in the healthcare sector. He currently is an Instructor of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the University of Georgia and an Investment Advisor at Lincoln Lee Investments in Atlanta. Previously he was a Senior Drug Safety Associate at Genentech. Dr. Allegra received his BA in Psychology from Boston University, and his Masters of Public Health and Doctor of Philosophy degrees from the University of Georgia. 39 2017
Steven Rotman Steven Rotman, was elected Chief Executive Officer and a Director of Vystar Corporation. Mr. Rotman has been President and CEO of Rotmans, one of the oldest and largest, furniture and carpet retailers in New England, for more than 40 years. In addition, he is the founder and managing partner of NHS Holdings, a company that in 2015 became the exclusive distributor of Vytex™ natural rubber latex foam in the U.S. and laid the groundwork for Vytex’s entrance to the home furnishings industry. Mr. Rotman received a BBA degree from Clark University and an MS from New York University. 78 2017
Mitsy Y. Mangum Ms Mangum is currently a managing director/partner of Lakeview Capital Partners, LLC. From July 2009 to September 2015, Ms. Mangum was Vice President, Investments, WMS, RPC at American Capital Partners LLC., an independent investment banking firm in Atlanta, GA. From July 2004 to July 2009, Ms. Mangum was a Vice President-Investments, Financial Advisor WMS, RPC with Raymond James & Associates in the Atlanta area. Ms. Mangum is an accomplished investment professional with over 24 years of financial service and industry experience both from the retail side as well as the institutional side. Ms. Mangum maintains an in-depth knowledge of the financial markets, professional money management and managing portfolios. She has a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration/ Management from College of Charleston. 53 2008

Michael X. Ianacone

 

 

Mr. Ianacone has over forty years of successful experience in leading large organizations and improving performance of operating units across the US. He has a proven track record of growing revenue and profit, forming executive teams and working cross organizationally to deliver results.

 

He recently retired from Xerox Corporation where during his 38-year tenure he held senior executive management positions in sales, marketing, operations and strategy in the US. These positions included both headquarters and field locations. He was a key member of the US senior team during Xerox’s turnaround in the early 2000s.

 

Michael holds an A.B. degree from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. and currently resides in Atlanta, GA.

 

 

69

 

 

2014

 

Ranjit K. Matthan 

On March 12, 2015, Ranjit K. Matthan, Ph.D., an internationally renowned latex and rubber expert, joined the Company’s Board of Directors. Dr. Matthan has been a consultant to Vystar Corporation since 2008 and has played a significant role in the manufacturing scale up of reduced-protein Vytex® natural rubber latex (NRL) in Malaysia and refining the research and development of manufacturing processes for applications using Vytex NRL, such as latex foam, condoms, adhesives, medical devices, etc.

 74 2015

 

Michael X. Ianacone        








Ranjit K. Matthan
Mr. Ianacone has over forty years of successful experience in leading large organizations and improving performance of operating units across the US.  He has a proven track record of growing revenue and profit, forming executive teams and working cross organizationally to deliver results. 

He recently retired from Xerox Corporation where during his 38 year tenure he held senior executive management positions in sales, marketing, operations and strategy in the US. These positions included both headquarters and field locations.  He was a key member of the US senior team during Xerox’s turnaround in the early 2000s.


Michael holds an A.B. degree from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. and currently resides in Atlanta, GA.


On March 12, 2015, Dr. Ranjit K. Matthan, Ph.D., an internationally renowned latex and rubber expert, joined the Company’s Board of Directors. Dr. Matthan has been a consultant to Vystar Corporation since 2008 and has played a significant role in the manufacturing scale up of reduced-protein Vytex® natural rubber latex (NRL) in Malaysia and refining the research and development of manufacturing processes for applications using Vytex NRL, such as latex foam, condoms, adhesives, medical devices, etc.  

Dr. Matthan has been associated with the development of natural rubber and rubber based industries manufacturing in South Asia since the 1970s and introduced technically specified natural rubber into India. He has advised national and international companies and research bodies including the Government of India, the Malaysian Rubber Research and Development Board, Asian Development Bank, Industrial Development Bank of India, Revertex (Malaysia) as well as many private companies engaged in latex production and manufacturing. A founding Director of the Bangkok-based Asia Pacific Elastomer Science and Technology (APEST), he has played a key role in sustainability initiatives for natural rubber. He has also been associated with the development and commercial introduction of several eco-friendly natural rubber grades, including Vytex NRL. 

Dr. Matthan has received numerous industry awards, including: the prestigious 2014 Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining, U.K.'s Hancock Medal for his contributions to the development of the environmentally friendly sustainable growth of the global natural rubber industry, and the 2006 KMPhilip Award from the All India Rubber Industries Association for significant contributions toward the development of the Indian Rubber Industry. Dr. Matthan has published over 50 scientific and technical papers on natural rubber and lattices and is an invited speaker at several international conferences including the International Latex Conference. 

Dr. Matthan holds an undergraduate degree from St. Stephens College, Delhi University, India and he earned his Ph.D. in Polymer Chemistry from the National College of Rubber Technology, London, England, where he was the first Ph.D. student of Dr. D.C. Blackley whose books and high polymer lattices and emulsion polymerization are the industry standard references.


On March 12, 2015, Dr. Matthan was granted options to acquire 500,000 shares of Company common stock at $.08 per share, the closing price of Vystar’s common stock on that date.  The option is exercisable in equal installments of 25,000 shares at the end of each financial quarter (the "Vesting Date"), beginning on March 31, 2015, for a period of five (5) years, ending on December 31, 2019, provided that the continuous service of Dr. Matthan as a member of the Company's Board of Directors continues through and on the applicable Vesting Date.
66  








         73
2014









201520

  

Dr. Matthan has been associated with the development of natural rubber and rubber-based industries manufacturing in South Asia since the 1970s and introduced technically specified natural rubber into India. He has advised national and international companies and research bodies including the Government of India, the Malaysian Rubber Research and Development Board, Asian Development Bank, Industrial Development Bank of India, Revertex (Malaysia) as well as many private companies engaged in latex production and manufacturing. A founding Director of the Bangkok-based Asia Pacific Elastomer Science and Technology (APEST), he has played a key role in sustainability initiatives for natural rubber. He has also been associated with the development and commercial introduction of several eco-friendly natural rubber grades, including Vytex NRL.

 

Dr. Matthan has received numerous industry awards, including: the prestigious 2014 Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining, U.K.’s Hancock Medal for his contributions to the development of the environmentally friendly sustainable growth of the global natural rubber industry, and the 2006 KMPhilip Award from the All India Rubber Industries Association for significant contributions toward the development of the Indian Rubber Industry. Dr. Matthan has published over 50 scientific and technical papers on natural rubber and lattices and is an invited speaker at several international conferences including the International Latex Conference.

 

Dr. Matthan holds an undergraduate degree from St. Stephens College, Delhi University, India and he earned his Ph.D. in Polymer Chemistry from the National College of Rubber Technology, London, England, where he was the first Ph.D. student of Dr. D.C. Blackley whose books and high polymer lattices and emulsion polymerization are the industry standard references.

 

    
Bryan Stone, MD Bryan Stone, M.D, has advised Vystar over the past years relating to product development for the healthcare industry and brings to the Board an understanding of the challenges of new product development for start-up companies. He is the Chairman of Medicine at Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs, Calif., and is the Medical Director at multiple DaVita Dialysis Centers. He is also an entrepreneur, serving as the Interim CEO of Fluid Energy Conversion, Inc., a firm specializing in molecular fluid mechanics, specifically high efficiency mass producible energy conversion technologies. 51 2017

Keith Osborn, MD

 

 Dr. Osborn is a board-certified Orthopaedic Spine Surgeon with 30 years of experience after completing his Spine Fellowship at Harvard University. He received his medical degree from the University of Maryland School of Medicine and performed his residency at Harvard University and Johns Hopkins Hospital. Dr. Osborn currently specializes in Spinal Surgery at Resurgens Orthopaedics in Atlanta with a focus on adult spinal disorders and total disc arthroplasty.  60 2016

 

Director Independence

 

Under Rule 5605(b)(1) of the Nasdaq Marketplace Rules, independent directors must comprise a majority of a listed company’s board of directors within one year of listing. In addition, Nasdaq Marketplace Rules require that, subject to specified exceptions, each member of a listed company’s audit, compensation and nominating and governance committees be independent. While Vystar does not currently qualify for listing on Nasdaq and will likely not qualify for some time after the date of this proxy statement, it does intend to seek such listing as soon as possible and complies with its Marketplace Rules. Audit committee members must also satisfy the independence criteria set forth in Rule 10A-3 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Under Nasdaq Marketplace Rule 5605(a)(2), a director will only qualify as an “independent director” if, in the opinion of that company’s board of directors, that person does not have a relationship that would interfere with the exercise of independent judgment in carrying out the responsibilities of a director. In order to be considered to be independent for purposes of Rule 10A-3, a member of an audit committee of a public company may not, other than in his or her capacity as a member of the audit committee, the board of directors, or any other board committee: (1) accept, directly or indirectly, any consulting, advisory, or other compensatory fee from the public company or any of its subsidiaries; or (2) be an affiliated person of the listed company or any of its subsidiaries.

 

In March of 2013, our Board undertook a review of its composition, the composition of its committees and the independence of each director. Based upon information requested from and provided by each director concerning his or her background, employment and affiliations, including family relationships, our Board has determined none of the directors has a relationship that would interfere with the exercise of independent judgment in carrying out the responsibilities of a director and that each of these directors is “independent” as that term is defined under Nasdaq Marketplace Rule 5605(a)(2).

 

21

On December 17, 2017, William R Doyle retired from his positions with the Company as Chairman of the Board of Directors, a director and President and CEO of the Corporation. Mr. Doyle’s retirement did not result from any disagreement with the Company and he remains a Product Development Consultant.

On December 17, 2017 Jason Meggs resigned from his position with the Company as a director. Mr. Meggs’ resignation did not result from any disagreement with the Company.

Audit Committee

 

The Board member serving on our Audit Committee is Ms. Mangum. Ms. Mangum chairs and is the sole member of the Audit Committee. Our Board has determined that Ms. Mangum satisfies the requirements for financial literacy under the current requirements of the Nasdaq Marketplace Rules. Ms. Mangum is an “audit committee financial expert,” as defined by SEC rules and satisfies the financial sophistication requirements of The NASDAQ Global Market. Our Audit Committee assists our Board in its oversight of our accounting and financial reporting process and the audits of our financial statements. The Audit Committee’s responsibilities include:

 

•      appointing, approving the compensation of, and assessing the independence of our independent registered public accounting firm;

appointing, approving the compensation of, and assessing the independence of our independent registered public accounting firm;
overseeing the work of our independent registered public accounting firm, including through the receipt and consideration of reports from such firm;
reviewing and discussing with management and the independent registered public accounting firm our annual and quarterly financial statements and related disclosures;
monitoring our internal control over financial reporting, disclosure controls and procedures and code of business conduct and ethics;
discussing our risk management policies;
establishing policies regarding hiring employees from the independent registered public accounting firm and procedures for the receipt and resolution of accounting related complaints and concerns;
meeting independently with our independent registered public accounting firm and management;
reviewing and approving or ratifying any related person transactions; and
preparing the audit committee report required by SEC rules.

 

•      overseeing the work of our independent registered public accounting firm, including through the receipt and consideration of reports from such firm;

•      reviewing and discussing with management and the independent registered public accounting firm our annual and quarterly financial statements and related disclosures;

•      monitoring our internal control over financial reporting, disclosure controls and procedures and code of business conduct and ethics;

•      discussing our risk management policies;

•      establishing policies regarding hiring employees from the independent registered public accounting firm and procedures for the receipt and resolution of accounting related complaints and concerns;

•      meeting independently with our independent registered public accounting firm and management;

•      reviewing and approving or ratifying any related person transactions; and

•      preparing the audit committee report required by SEC rules.

All audit and non-audit services, other than de minimus non-audit services, to be provided to us by our independent registered public accounting firm must be approved in advance by our Audit Committee.

 

Audit Committee Charter

 

We have adopted an Audit Committee Charter which sets out the duties and responsibilities of our Audit Committee. The Audit Committee Charter is available on our website atwww.vytex.com. Any amendments to the Charter, or any waivers of its requirements, will be disclosed on our website.

 

Meetings of the Board and Committees

 

During fiscal year 2014,2017, our Board held foureleven meetings, and acted by written consent three times, and its Audit Committee held fivefour meetings. Each director attended at least 75% of the meetings of the Board in fiscal year 2014.2017. Members of our Board are encouraged to attend our annual meetings of shareholders.

 

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

 

Corporate Governance Guidelines

 

We believe in sound corporate governance practices and have adopted formal Corporate Governance Guidelines to enhance our effectiveness. Our Board adopted these Corporate Governance Guidelines in order to ensure that it has the necessary practices in place to review and evaluate our business operations as needed and to make decisions that are independent of our management. The Corporate Governance Guidelines are also intended to align the interests of directors and management with those of our shareholders. The Corporate Governance Guidelines set forth the practices our Board follows with respect to Board and committee composition and selection, Board meetings, chief executive officer performance evaluation and management development and succession planning for senior management, including the chief executive officer position. A copy of our Corporate Governance Guidelines is available on our website atwww.vytex.com.www.vytex.com.

22

 

Code of Business Conduct and Ethics

 

We adopted a Code of Business Conduct and Ethics applicable to all officers, directors and employees of Vystar that comply with NASDAQ listing standards. The Code of Business Conduct and Ethics includes an enforcement mechanism, and any waivers for directors or executive officers must be approved by our Board and disclosed in a current report on Form 8-K with the SEC. This Code of Business Conduct is publicly available on our website atwww.vytex.com. There were no waivers of the Code of Business Conduct and Ethics for any of our directors or executive officers during fiscal year 2014.2017.

 

ITEM 11.EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION

 

Overview

 

EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION

Summary Compensation Table

 

The following table sets forth information regarding compensation earned by our, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President our Chief Financial Officer during 2014for 2017 and 2013.2016.

 

Name and Principal Position Salary Option
Awards
(1)
 All Other
Compensation
(2)
 Total
William R. Doyle        
Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President        
2014 $70,321  $100,424  $47,039  $217,784 
2013  58,923   71,033   77,117   207,073 
                 
W. Dean Waters                
Chief Financial Officer, Through January 2014                
2014 $4,815  $0  $0  $4,815 
2013  48,460   106,580   74,366   229,406 
                 
Matthew P. Clark                
Vice President of Technical Sales                
2014 $0  $0  $0  $0 
2013  43,047          43,047 
                 
Monica Schreiber (3)                
Acting Chief Financial Officer                
2014 $0  $0  $0  $0 
2013  34,769         34,769 
Name and Principal Position Salary  Option
Awards
(1)
  All Other
Compensation
(2)
  Total 
William R. Doyle                
Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President                
2017 $106,855  $146,000  $38,900  $291,755 
2016 $150,000  $100,291  $2,000  $252,291 

 

(1)These amounts do not reflect the actual economic value realized by the executive officers. In accordance with SEC rules, the amounts in this column for 20142017 and 20132016 represent the dollar amount recognized as compensation expense by Vystar for financial statement reporting purposes for fiscal years 20142017 and 20132016 for stock options granted to each of the executive officers in each such fiscal year in accordance with applicable accounting guidance related to stock-based compensation. In 2012, all outstanding options held by the Company’s executive officers were repriced to exercise prices of $.05. In accordance with SEC rules, the amounts for 2012 represent the dollar amount recognized as compensation expense by Vystar for financial statement reporting purposes for fiscal year 2012 as a result of such repricing in such fiscal year in accordance with applicable accounting guidance related to stock-based compensation as well as the dollar amount recognized as compensation expense by Vystar for financial statement reporting purposes for fiscal year 2012 for stock options or warrants granted to each of the executive officers in such fiscal year in accordance with applicable accounting guidance related to stock-based compensation. Pursuant to SEC rules, the amounts shown disregard the impact of estimated forfeitures related to service-based vesting conditions.
  
(2)Amounts consist of medical dental, vision, life insurance and disability insurance premiums and 401(K) contributions paid by us on behalf of the named executive officer.
(3)Ms. Schreiber was an independent contractor. The Company was billed by Ms. Schreiber on a periodic basis for her services. Ms. Schreiber resigned as Acting Chief Financial Officer on April 1, 2013.common stock awards.

 

In 2013, William R. Doyle, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President of the Company, received warrants to purchase 736,045 shares of common stock share in lieu of $38,141 cash compensation due Mr. Doyle under his employment agreement. Mr. Doyle also received 692,308 shares of common stock in lieu of $20,769 cash compensation due Mr. Doyle under his employment agreement and convertible promissory notes with a total face value of $66,732 in lieu of cash compensation.Employment Agreements

 

On December 30, 2013, the Company issued to the Chief Executive Officer, William R. Doyle a convertible promissory note with a face value of $25,962 (the “Note”) in lieu of compensation. The Note is (i) unsecured, (ii) bears interest at an annual rate of ten percent (10%) per annum from date of issuance, and (iii) is convertible at any time until maturity at the holder’s option into shares of the Company’s common stock at a weighted average conversion rate of $0.075 of principal and interest for each such share. No payments of interest or principal are payable until December 30, 2015.

During 2013, W. Dean Waters, now former Chief Financial Officer of the Company, received warrants to purchase 846,154 shares of common stock in lieu of $21,797 cash compensation due Mr. Waters under his employment agreement. Mr. Waters also received 1,692,308 common shares in lieu of $50,769 cash compensation due Mr. Waters under his employment agreement.

In 2014, William R. Doyle, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President of the Company, received warrants to purchase 1,012,488 shares of common stock share in lieu of $75,424 cash compensation due Mr. Doyle under his employment agreement. Mr. Doyle also received 784,616 shares of common stock in lieu of $39,231 cash compensation due Mr. Doyle under his employment agreement.

Employment Agreements

On November 11, 2008, Vystar entered into an employment agreement with William R. Doyle to continue to serve as Vystar’s President, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board. The term of the agreement is effective until terminated by either party in accordance with the terms of the agreement. Under the agreement, Mr. Doyle receives a base salary of $185,000 per year, as such base salary may be adjusted by the Board, and an annual bonus equal to a maximum of 125% of Mr. Doyle’s base salary based on the success of the Company in meeting its objectives, as determined by the Board; provided, that no cash bonus is payable to Mr. Doyle on any date unless he is employed by the Company on that date. The amount of the annual bonus is determined by the Board based on the percentage of achievement of the stated company objectives. The effective date of the annual bonus calculation is the Company’s fiscal year-end and is payable in one or more installments as determined by the Board beginning in the first quarter of the following fiscal year. Mr. Doyle’s employment agreement is terminable at will by the Company for cause or without cause as defined in the agreement. However, if Mr. Doyle’s employment is terminated by Vystar without cause, Vystar is obligated to pay Mr. Doyle compensation earned through the date of termination plus a severance payment equal to six (6) months base salary from the date of termination payable as if he had remained an employee of the Company, plus, assuming Mr. Doyle complies with non-compete and non-solicitation covenants contained in the employment agreement, an amount equal to 75% of Mr. Doyle’s base salary amount for the one (1) year period after the date of termination. If Mr. Doyle is terminated for cause or he terminates the employment agreement without cause, he is only entitled to compensation accrued through the date of termination.

 

On January 13, 2015,15, 2016, the Board approved a change in Mr. Doyle’s compensation package that included a base annual salary of $150,000 paid monthly and an immediate award of $50,000 in warrants that vest at the end of each month of employment through the end of 2015.2016.

 

Outstanding Equity AwardsOn February 15, 2017, the Board approved a change in Mr. Doyle’s compensation package that included a base annual salary of $150,000 paid monthly and an immediate award of $50,000 in warrants that vest at Fiscal Year-Endthe end of each month of employment through the end of 2017.

 

The following table sets forth certain information with respect to the value of all unexercised options previously awarded to our executive officers as ofOn December 31, 2014:17, 2017, Mr. Doyle retired.

 

Name Number of 
Securities
Underlying
Unexercised 
Options
Exercisable(#)
 Number of 
Securities
Underlying
Unexercised 
Options
Unexercisable (#)
 Equity Incentive
Plan Awards:
Number of 
Securities
Underlying 
Unexercised
Unearned 
Options (#)
 Options
Exercise
Price ($)
 Option
Expiration
Date
William R. Doyle          
  100,000     0.05 4/28/2015
  500,000     0.05 10/1/2016
  1,750,000     0.05 2/11/2018
  83,333 166,667 166,667 0.05 3/14/2021
    500,000 500,000 0.05  4/1/2023
  500,000      0.05 7/9/2024

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Risk Analysis of Performance-Based Compensation Programs

 

The BoardAs of Directors believes that our executiveDecember 31, 2017, there are no officers under a performance-based compensation programs do not encourage or result in excessive risk taking. Such programs consist of base salaries, cash bonuses (none of which have been paid to date), and stock option grants. Cash bonuses and the vesting of stock option grants for Mr. Doyle, our Chief Executive Officer, Chairman and President are based on milestones to be set by our Board of Directors. We anticipate that such bonuses and stock options will be based on attaining specified percentages of the company’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (“EBITDA”). As a result, such bonuses will likely be focused on increasing revenue and managing expenses, all of which is consistent with the interests of our shareholders. Further, the cash bonuses will likely be capped at a percentage of his base salary. We believe this cap will limit the incentive for excessive risk-taking.program.

No other officers of the Company have employment agreements that specify compensation programs.

Retirement and Deferred Compensation Plan Benefits

We do not provide our employees, including the executive officers, with a defined benefit pension plan, any supplemental executive retirement plans, or retiree health benefits. The executive officers may participate on the same basis as other employees in Vystar’s Section 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan (the “401(k) Plan”). The 401(k) Plan allows for matching contributions to be made by us. We currently match dollar for dollar on the first three percent (3%) of compensation and $.50 on each dollar of the next two percent (2%) of compensation. As a tax-qualified retirement plan, contributions to the 401(k) Plan and earnings on those contributions are not taxable to the employees until distributed from the 401(k) Plan and all contributions are deductible by us when made. Vystar makes a matching contribution to help attract and retain employees and to provide an additional incentive for our employees to save for their retirement in a tax-advantaged manner.

Potential Payments upon Termination Without Cause

The following table sets forth the estimated potential payments and benefits payable to our one (1) executive officer in the event of a termination of employment without cause.

Executive Officer Monthly
Severance
Programs (1)
 Additional
Monthly Severance
Payments (2)
 Continuing
Benefits (3)
 TOTALS
                 
William R. Doyle $92,500  $138,750  $962  $232,212 

(1)The amounts represent the aggregate of monthly payments for six (6) months for Mr. Doyle..

(2)In the event that Mr. Doyle complies with certain restrictive covenants in his employment agreement, after termination without cause, he is additionally entitled to this amount (75% of his base salary) payable in monthly installments over a one (1) year period following the initial six (6) month period of monthly severance payments.

(3)Consists of health insurance premiums.

 

DIRECTOR COMPENSATION

 

The following table sets forth certain information with respect to compensation awarded to, paid to or earned by each of Vystar’s non-employee directors during fiscal year 2014.2017.

 

Name Fees Earned or Paid in
Cash ($)
 Stock Awards ($) Option Awards ($) (1) Total ($) (2)
Mitsy Y. Mangum        33,467  33,467
Thomas L. Mills        4,820  4,820
Michael X. Ianacone        4,820  4,820
J. Douglas Craft        28,115  28,115
W. Dean Waters        35,459  35,459
Joseph Allegra, M.D.        38,725  38,725
              
Name Fees Earned or Paid in
Cash ($)
 Stock Awards ($) Option Awards ($) (1) Total ($) (2)
Mitsy Y. Mangum        10,703  10,703
Michael X. Ianacone        9,640  9,640
Ranjit K. Matthan        7,837  7,837
Jason M. Meggs        3,679  3,679
Keith D. Osborn        4,904  4,904
Steven Rotman        1,230  1,230
Joseph C. Allegra, Jr., PhD        1,230  1,230
Bryan Stone, MD        1,230  1,230

 

(1)

In 2009, all2014, Ms. Mangum as a non-employee directors weredirector was granted 400,000500,000 options at $1.63$0.11 per share which vest 20,00025,000 options at the end of each fiscal quarter for five (5) years beginning JuneSeptember 30, 2009,2014.

On September 15, 2014, Mr. Ianacone as non-employee directors were granted 500,000 options at $0.10 per share which vest 25,000 options at the end of each fiscal quarter for Messrs. Craft and Waters, and Ms. Mangum, andfive (5) years beginning September 30, 20092014.

On March 12, 2015, Dr. Matthan as a non-employee director was granted 500,000 options at $0.08 per share which vest 25,000 options at the end of each fiscal quarter for Dr. Allegra. Such vesting is based onfive (5) years beginning March 30, 2015.

On December 2, 2015, Mr. Meggs as a non-employee director was granted 500,000 options at $0.03 per share which vest 25,000 options at the end of each director’s continued servicefiscal quarter for five (5) years beginning March 30, 2016. On December 17, 2017 Jason Meggs resigned from his position with the Company as a director and his unvested options were forfeited.

On May 18, 2016, Dr. Osborn as a non-employee director was granted 500,000 options at $0.05 per share which vest 25,000 options at the end of each quarterly vesting date. fiscal quarter for five (5) years beginning September 30, 2016.

On December 15, 2017, Dr. Stone and Dr. Allegra as non-employee directors were granted 500,000 options at $0.05 per share which vest 25,000 options at the end of each fiscal quarter for five (5) years beginning December 31, 2017.

On December 15, 2017, Mr. Rotman as director was granted 500,000 options at $0.05 per share which vest 25,000 options at the end of each fiscal quarter for five (5) years beginning December 31, 2017.

The amounts included represent the portion of the original total grant date fair value of options that vested in 20132017 together with the dollar amount recognized as compensation expense by Vystar for financial statement reporting purposes for fiscal year 2013 as a result of all outstanding options held by the Company’s directors being repriced to exercise prices of $0.35 per share in such fiscal year2017 in accordance with applicable accounting guidance related to stock-based compensation.

(2)These amounts do not reflect the actual economic value realized by the directors. In accordance with SEC rules, this column represents the dollar amount recognized as compensation expense by Vystar for financial statement reporting purposes for fiscal year 20142017 for stock options granted to each of the non-employee directors during fiscal year 2009,years 2015, 2016, and 2017 in accordance with applicable accounting guidance related to stock-based compensation. Pursuant to SEC rules, the amounts shown disregard the impact of estimated forfeitures related to service-based vesting conditions.

 

Compensation Philosophy

 

The current policy of our Board is that compensation for non-employee directors should be equity-based compensation to reward directors for quarterly periods of service in fulfilling their oversight responsibilities.

 

Expenses

 

We reimburse our directors for their travel and related expenses in connection with attending Board and committee meetings, as well as costs and expenses incurred in attending director education programs and other Vystar-related seminars and conferences.

 

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ITEM 12.SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT AND RELATEDSTOCKHOLDERRELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS

 

The following table sets forth the beneficial ownership of our common stock as of December 31, 20142017 by each entity or person who is known to beneficially own 5% or more of our common stock, each of our directors, each Executive Officer identified in “Executive Compensation—Summary Compensation Table” contained in this proxy statement and all of our directors and current executive officers as a group. This table is based upon information supplied by executive officers, directors and principal shareholders. Unless otherwise indicated in the footnotes to this table and subject to community property laws where applicable, each of the shareholders named in this table has sole voting and investment power with respect to the shares indicated as beneficially owned. None of the shares beneficially owned by our executive officers and directors are pledged as security. Applicable percentages are based on shares outstanding on December 31, 2014,2017, adjusted as required by rules promulgated by the SEC.

 

5% Stockholders    
Keith Osborn Atlanta, GA  13,474,637   19.652%
         
Joseph C. Allegra, M.D. Atlanta, GA  10,370,169   15.126%
         
Gregory Rotman Palm Springs, CA  5,875,000   8.569%
         
Dean Waters Atlanta, GA  5,319,475   7.759%
         
John Douglas Craft Atlanta, GA  3,906,667   5.698%
         
Officers & Directors        
         
William R Doyle Atlanta, GA  10,629,125   15.504%
         
Michael X. Ianacone Atlanta, GA  1,040,000   1.517%
         
Michelle Mangum Atlanta, GA  2,315,000   3.377%
         
Thomas L. Mills Davidson, MD  1,028,589   1.500%
         
All Directors and Executive Officers as a Group  15,012,714   21.898%
         
Total Shares Outstanding  68,559,669     
5% Stockholders      
       
Joseph C Allegra, Sr. M.D.
Atlanta, GA
  9,771,899   7.273%
         
Lam Ngoc Minh
Vietnam
  10,000,000   7.530%
         
William R Doyle
Atlanta, GA
  14,733,516   10.275%
         
Officers & Directors        
         
Steven Rotman
Worcester, MA
  3,097,466   2.324%
         
Keith Osborn
Atlanta, GA
  23,785,908   16.358%
         
Michelle Mangum
Atlanta, GA
  2,315,000   1.714%
         
Michael X. Ianacone
Atlanta, GA
  1,040,000   0.780%
         
Ranjit K. Matthan
India
  517,500   0.388%
         
Bryan Stone, M.D.
Palm Springs, CA
  2,500,000   1.875%
         
Joseph Carmen Allegra, Jr. PhD
Atlanta, GA
  500,000   0.375%
         
All Directors and Executive Officers as a Group  33,755,874   25.417%
         
Total Shares Outstanding  132,809,218     

 

SECTION 16(A) BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP REPORTING COMPLIANCE

 

Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act requires our executive officers and directors, and any person or entity who owns more than ten percent of a registered class of our common stock or other equity securities, to file with the SEC certain reports of ownership and changes in ownership of our securities. Executive officers, directors and shareholders who hold more than ten percent of our outstanding common stock are required by the SEC to furnish us with copies of all required forms filed under Section 16(a). We prepare Section 16(a) forms on behalf of our executive officers and directors based on the information provided by them.

 

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Based solely on review of this information and written representations by our executive officers and directors that no other reports were required, we believe that, during fiscal year 2014,2017 each director failed to filefiled the forms required by Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act on a timely basis with respect to the repricing of option and warrants. Such filings are now current.

 

EQUITY COMPENSATION PLAN INFORMATION

 

The following table shows information related to our common stock which may be issued under our 2004 Long-Term Incentive Compensation Plan, as amended, as of December 31, 2014:2017:

Plan Category Number of securities
to be issued upon
exercise of
outstanding options
by Executive Officers
 Number of
securities
remaining available
for future issuance
under equity
compensation plans
(excluding
securities reflected
in first column)
 Number of securities
to be issued upon
exercise of
outstanding options
by Executive Officers
 Number of
securities
remaining available
for future issuance
under equity
compensation plans
(excluding
securities reflected
in first column)
 
2004 Long-Term Incentive Compensation Plan, as amended, approved by shareholders  8,364,906   1,635,094   7,748,271   2,251,729 
        
2014 Long Term Incentive Compensation Plan  0   5,000,000 
        
        
2014 Long-Term Incentive Compensation Plan  0   5,000,000 
Total  8,364,906   6,635,094   7,748,271   7,251,729 

 

Our 2004 Long-Term Incentive Compensation Plan, as amended, which we refer to as the 2004 Plan, was adopted by our Board in 2004, and amended and approved by our shareholders in 2009. A maximum of 10,000,000 shares of common stock were authorized for issuance under the 2004 Plan.

 

The 2004 Plan provides for the grant of incentive stock options, non-statutory stock options, restricted stock and other stock-based awards. Our officers, employees, consultants and directors are eligible to receive awards under the 2004 Plan; however, incentive stock options may only be granted to our employees. In accordance with the terms of the 2004 Plan, our Board administers the 2004 Plan and, subject to any limitations in the 2004 Plan, selects the recipients of awards and determines:

 

the number of shares of common stock covered by options and the dates upon which those options become exercisable;
the exercise prices of options;
the duration of options;
the methods of payment of the exercise price; and
the number of shares of common stock subject to any restricted stock or other stock-based awards and the terms and conditions of those awards, including the conditions for repurchase, issue price and repurchase price.
the number of shares of common stock covered by options and the dates upon which those options become exercisable;
the exercise prices of options;
the duration of options;
the methods of payment of the exercise price; and
the number of shares of common stock subject to any restricted stock or other stock-based awards and the terms and conditions of those awards, including the conditions for repurchase, issue price and repurchase price.

 

Pursuant to the terms of the 2004 Plan, in the event of a change in control of our company, each outstanding option under the 2004 Plan will vest, but the holders shall have the right, assuming the holder still maintains a continuous service relationship with us, immediately prior to such dissolution or liquidation, to exercise the option to the extent exercisable on the date of such dissolution or liquidation.

 

In the event of a merger or other reorganization event, our Board shall have the discretion to provide for any or all of the following: (a) the acceleration of vesting or the termination of our repurchase rights of any or all of the outstanding awards, (b) the assumption or substitution of all options by the acquitting or succeeding entity or (c) the termination of all options that remain outstanding at the time of the merger or other reorganization event.

 

26

 

ITEM 13.CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS, AND DIRECTOR INDEPENDENCE

Review, Approval or Ratification of Transactions with Related Persons

 

Vystar’s Code of Business Conduct requires that all employees and directors avoid conflicts of interests that interfere with the performance of their duties or are not in the best interests of Vystar.

 

In addition, pursuant to its written charter, the Audit Committee considers and approves or disapproves any related person transaction as defined under Item 404 of Regulation S-K promulgated by the SEC, after examining each such transaction for potential conflicts of interest and other improprieties. The Audit Committee has not adopted any specific written procedures for conducting such reviews and considers each transaction in light of the specific facts and circumstances presented.

 

Transactions with Related Persons

 

On April 29, 2011, the Company executed with CMA Investments, LLC, a Georgia limited liability company (“CMA”) a line of credit with a principal amount of up to $800,000 (the “CMA Note”). CMA is a limited liability company of which three of the directors of the Company were the members at such date. Proceeds under the line were drawn for general working capital purposes. Under the terms of the CMA Note, the Company may draw up to a maximum principal amount of $800,000. Interest on amounts drawn and fees were paid by an affiliate of Joseph C. Allegra, M.D., a director of the Company, to CMA, until February 6, 2012, at which time the Company took over responsibility for the payment of such interest and fees. Pursuant to an agreement between the Company and such affiliate, the Company issued common stock to such affiliate with a value equal to such interest and fees paid based on the closing price of the common stock on the OTC Bulletin Board on the date of such payments. The maturity date of the Note is April 29, 2013 and was subsequently renewed for one year. The CMA Note is unsecured and no payments of principal are due until the second anniversary of the Note, at which time all outstanding principal is due and payable. As compensation to the directors for providing the CMA Note, the Company issued warrants to purchase 2,600,000 shares of the Company’s common stock to the directors at $.45 per share which was the closing price of the Company’s common stock on that day, later adjusted to $.27 per share, which was the closing price of the Company’s common stock on the day it was adjusted.

 

CMA is a limited liability company of which Joseph C. Allegra, M.D., J. Douglas Craft and Michelle Y. Mangum, each a director of the Company, are the members. Effective year ending December 31, 2014, Joseph C. Allegra, M.D. and J. Douglas Craft are no longer members of Vystar’s board of directors.

 

On September 14, 2011, the Company’s Board of Directors approved increasing the line of credit to $1,000,000 and William R. Doyle, the Company’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer became a member of CMA. As compensation for increasing the line and for Mr. Doyle joining CMA, the directors approved issuing warrants to purchase an additional 1,600,000 shares of the Company’s common stock at $.27 per share, which was the closing price of the Company’s common stock on that day.

 

On November 2, 2012, the Board of Directors approved an increase in the CMA line of credit from $1,000,000 to $1,500,000. On January 10, 2013, as compensation to the CMA members for providing the increased CMA Note, the Company issued warrants to purchase 2,100,000 shares of the Company’s common stock to the CMA members at $0.35 per share and recorded as deferred financing cost to be amortized through interest expense over the remaining term of the CMA Note.

 

On April 29, 2013, the maturity date of the CMA Note was extended to April 29, 2014. As compensation to the CMA Directors for extending the maturity date of the CMA Note, the Board of Directors approved modifying the exercise price for the 6,300,000 compensatory stock purchase warrants previously issued to the Directors to $0.10 per share and the CMA Directors forfeited 630,000 of the warrants. Amortization of the financing costs associated with extending the CMA Note was amortized through interest expense.

 

On April 29, 2014, the maturity date of the CMA Note was extended to April 29, 2015 with no compensation being paid to the CMA Directors for this extension.

 

As of April 29, 2015, the maturity date of the CMA Note was again extended for one year to April 29, 2016. No compensation was paid to the CMA Directors for this extension. The note is currently due on demand.

On January 7, 2018, Vystar Corporation has signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) to acquire the assets of NHS Holdings, LLC. (NHS), Vystar’s exclusive U.S. distributor of Vytex® virtually allergen-, VOC- and odor-free natural rubber latex (NRL) foam. Please refer to Form 8-K filed on December 17, 2017 for further information.

Director Independence

 

Under Rule 5605(b)(1) of the Nasdaq Marketplace Rules, independent directors must comprise a majority of a listed company’s board of directors within one year of listing. In addition, Nasdaq Marketplace Rules require that, subject to specified exceptions, each member of a listed company’s audit, compensation and nominating and governance committees be independent. While Vystar does not currently qualify for listing on Nasdaq and will likely not qualify for some time after the date of this proxy statement, it does intend to seek such listing as soon as possible and complies with its Marketplace Rules. Audit committee members must also satisfy the independence criteria set forth in Rule 10A-3 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Under Nasdaq Marketplace Rule 5605(a)(2), a director will only qualify as an “independent director” if, in the opinion of that company’s board of directors, that person does not have a relationship that would interfere with the exercise of independent judgment in carrying out the responsibilities of a director. In order to be considered to be independent for purposes of Rule 10A-3, a member of an audit committee of a public company may not, other than in his or her capacity as a member of the audit committee, the board of directors, or any other board committee: (1) accept, directly or indirectly, any consulting, advisory, or other compensatory fee from the public company or any of its subsidiaries; or (2) be an affiliated person of the listed company or any of its subsidiaries.

 

27

ITEM 14.PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTANT FEES AND SERVICES

 

During fiscal year 20142017 and 2013,2016, we retained the firm of Porter Keadle Moore, LLC (“PKM”) to provide services in the following categories and amounts:

 

Fee Category 2014 ($) 2013 ($)  2017($)  2016($)
Audit Fees  66,933   69,985   66,750   68,750 
Audit-Related Fees  0          
Tax Fees  0          
All Other Fees  0   35,960       
        
Total  66,933   105,945   66,750   68,750 

 

Audit fees include the audit of Vystar’s annual financial statements, review of financial statements included in each of our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, and services that are normally provided in connection with statutory and regulatory filings or engagements for those fiscal years.

 

Audit-related fees consist of fees for assurance and related services that are reasonably related to the performance of the audit or review of our financial statements. This category includes fees related to accounting-related consulting services. No audit-related fees incurred for the current or previous period.

 

Tax fees consist of fees for professional services for tax compliance, tax advice and tax planning. This category includes fees primarily related to the preparation and review of federal, state and international tax returns and assistance with tax audits. No tax fees incurred for the current or previous period.

 

All other fees include assurance services not related to the audit or review of our financial statements. No other fees incurred for the current or previous period.

 

Our Audit Committee determined that the rendering ofThere were no non-audit services provided by PKM was compatible with maintainingfor the independence of each firm.current or previous period.

 

AUDIT COMMITTEE PRE-APPROVAL OF SERVICES PERFORMED BY OUR

INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS

 

It is the policy of our Audit Committee to pre-approve all audit and permissible non-audit services to be performed by PKM. Our Audit Committee pre-approves services by authorizing specific projects within the categories outlined above, subject to a budget for each category. Our Audit Committee’s charter delegates to one or more members of the Audit Committee the authority to address any requests for pre-approval of services between Audit Committee meetings, and the subcommittee or such member or members must report any pre-approval decisions to our Audit Committee at its next scheduled meeting.

 

All services related to audit fees audit-related fees, tax fees and all other fees provided by PKM during fiscal year 20142017 and 20132016 were pre-approved by the Audit Committee in accordance with the pre-approval policy described above.

 

REPORT OF THE AUDIT COMMITTEE

 

The Audit Committee’s role includes the oversight of our financial, accounting and reporting processes; our system of internal accounting and financial controls; our enterprise risk management program; and our compliance with related legal, regulatory and ethical requirements. The Audit Committee oversees the appointment, compensation, engagement, retention, termination and services of our independent registered public accounting firm, including conducting a review of its independence; reviewing and approving the planned scope of our annual audit; overseeing our independent registered public accounting firm’s audit work; reviewing and pre-approving any audit and non-audit services that may be performed by it; reviewing with management and our independent registered public accounting firm the adequacy of our internal financial and disclosure controls; reviewing our critical accounting policies and the application of accounting principles; and monitoring the rotation of partners of our independent registered public accounting firm on our audit engagement team as required by regulation. The Audit Committee establishes procedures, as required under applicable regulation, for the receipt, retention and treatment of complaints received by us regarding accounting, internal accounting controls or auditing matters and the submission by employees of concerns regarding questionable accounting or auditing matters. The Audit Committee’s role also includes meeting to review our annual audited financial statements and quarterly financial statements with management and our independent registered public accounting firm. The Audit Committee held four meetings during fiscal year 2014.2017.

28

The sole member of the Audit Committee meets the independence criteria prescribed by applicable regulation and the rules of the SEC for audit committee membership and is an “independent director” within the meaning of NASDAQ listing standards. The Audit Committee member meets NASDAQ’s financial literacy requirements, and the Board further determined that Ms. Mangum is a “audit committee financial expert” is a “ as“as such term is defined in Item 407(d) of Regulation S-K promulgated by the SEC also meets NASDAQ’s financial sophistication requirements. The Audit Committee acts pursuant to a written charter, which complies with the applicable provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and related rules of the SEC and NASDAQ, a copy of which can be found on our website atwww.vytex.com.www.vytex.com.

 

We have reviewed and discussed with management and PKM Vystar’s audited financial statements. We discussed with PKM and Vystar’s Chief Financial Officer the overall scope and plans of PKM’s audits. We met with PKM, with and without management present, to discuss results of its examinations, its evaluation of Vystar’s internal controls, and the overall quality of Vystar’s financial reporting.

 

We have reviewed and discussed with PKM matters required to be discussed pursuant to Statement on Auditing Standards No. 61, as amended (AICPA,Professional Standards, , Vol. 1. AU section 380), as adopted by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board in Rule 3200T. We have received from PKM the written disclosures and letter required by the applicable requirements of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board regarding PKM’s communications with the Audit Committee concerning independence. We have discussed with PKM matters relating to its independence, including a review of both audit and non-audit fees, and considered the compatibility of non-audit services with PKM’s independence.

 

Based on the reviews and discussions referred to above and our review of Vystar’s audited financial statements for fiscal year 2014,2017, we recommended to the Board that Vystar’s audited financial statements be included in the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2014,2017, for filing with the SEC.

 

Respectfully submitted,

 

AUDIT COMMITTEE

Mitsy Y. Mangum, Chair

 

29

PART IV

 

ITEM 15.EXHIBITS AND FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES

 

1. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

The following financial statements and notes thereto of Vystar Corporation, and the related Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm are set forth in Item 8.

 

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm F-1
Consolidated Balance Sheets F-2
Consolidated Statements of Loss F-3
Consolidated Statements of Stockholders’ Equity (Deficit) F-4
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows F-6F-5

Notes to Financial Statements
 F-7F-6

 

2. FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES

All schedules for which provision is made in the applicable accounting regulations of the SEC have been omitted because they are not applicable, or the required information is included in the financial statements or notes thereto.

 

3. EXHIBITS

 

Exhibit Index *

 

* Some Exhibits have certain confidential information redacted pursuant to a request for confidential treatment

 

Number Description
3.1 Articles of Incorporation of Vystar Acquisition Corporation (now named Vystar Corporation) dated December 17, 2003 (as amended) (incorporated by reference to Vystar’s Registration Statement on Form S-1 originally filed on November 13, 2008, Registration Statement No. 333-155344)
3.2***3.2 Articles of Amendment to the Articles of Incorporation of Vystar Corporation
3.3 Bylaws of Vystar Corporation (incorporated by reference to Vystar’s Registration Statement on Form S-1 originally filed on November 13, 2008, Registration Statement No. 333-155344)
4.1 Specimen Certificate evidencing shares of Vystar common stock (incorporated by reference to Vystar’s Registration Statement on Form S-1 originally filed on November 13, 2008, Registration Statement No. 333-155344)

4.2 Form of Share Subscription Agreements and Investment Letter (First Private Placement) (incorporated by reference to Vystar’s Registration Statement on Form S-1 originally filed on November 13, 2008, Registration Statement No. 333-155344)
4.3 Form of Share Subscription Agreement and Investment Letter (Second Private Placement) (incorporated by reference to Vystar’s Registration Statement on Form S-1 originally filed on November 13, 2008, Registration Statement No. 333-155344)
4.4 Form of Vystar Corporation Investor Questionnaire and Subscription Agreement (Third Private Placement) (incorporated by reference to Vystar’s Registration Statement on Form S-1 originally filed on November 13, 2008, Registration Statement No. 333-155344)
4.5 Warrant to Purchase Shares of Common Stock of Vystar Corporation dated March 11, 2011 issued to Topping Lift Capital LLC (incorporated by reference to Vystar’s Current Report on Form 8-K dated March 11, 2011 and filed on March 15, 2011)
4.6 Form of Warrant issued to Investor note holders (incorporated by reference to Vystar’s Current Report on Form 8-K dated March 11, 2011 and filed on March 15, 2011)

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4.7 Form of Series A-1 Warrant (incorporated by reference to Vystar’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on June 11, 2012)
10.1* Manufacturing Agreement between Vystar Corporation and Revertex (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd. effective April 1, 2008 (incorporated by reference to Vystar’s Registration Statement on Form S-1 originally filed on November 13, 2008, Registration Statement No. 333-155344)
10.2 Executive Employment Agreement between Vystar Corporation and William R. Doyle, dated November 11, 2008 (incorporated by reference to Vystar’s Registration Statement on Form S-1 originally filed on November 13, 2008, Registration Statement No. 333-155344)
10.3 Management Agreement dated January 31, 2008 between Universal Capital Management, Inc. and Vystar Corporation (incorporated by reference to Vystar’s Registration Statement on Form S-1 originally filed on November 13, 2008, Registration Statement No. 333-155344)
10.4 Letter Agreement dated August 15, 2008 between Universal Capital Management, Inc. and Vystar Corporation (incorporated by reference to Vystar’s Registration Statement on Form S-1 originally filed on November 13, 2008, Registration Statement No. 333-155344)

10.5 Addendum to Management Agreement dated February 29, 2008 between Universal Capital Management, Inc. and Vystar Corporation (incorporated by reference to Vystar’s Registration Statement on Form S-1 originally filed on November 13, 2008, Registration Statement No. 333-155344)
10.6 Warrant Purchase Agreement dated January 31, 2008 between Universal Capital Management, Inc. and Vystar Corporation (incorporated by reference to Vystar’s Registration Statement on Form S-1 originally filed on November 13, 2008, Registration Statement No. 333-155344)
10.7 Management Agreement dated April 30, 2008 between Universal Capital Management, Inc. and Vystar Corporation (incorporated by reference to Vystar’s Registration Statement on Form S-1 originally filed on November 13, 2008, Registration Statement No. 333-155344)
10.8 Warrant Purchase Agreement dated April 30, 2008 between Universal Capital Management, Inc. and Vystar Corporation (incorporated by reference to Vystar’s Registration Statement on Form S-1 originally filed on November 13, 2008, Registration Statement No. 333-155344)
10.9 Vystar Corporation 2004 Long-Term Compensation Plan, as amended (incorporated by reference to Vystar’s Registration Statement on Form S-1 originally filed on November 13, 2008, Registration Statement No. 333-155344)
10.10 Employment Agreement between Vystar Corporation and Sandra Parker dated April 1, 2008 (incorporated by reference to Vystar’s Registration Statement on Form S-1 originally filed on November 13, 2008, Registration Statement No. 333-155344)
10.10* Distributor Agreement among Vystar Corporation, Centrotrade Minerals & Metals, Inc. and Centrotrade Deutschland, GmbH dated January 6, 2009 (incorporated by reference to Vystar’s Registration Statement on Form S-1 originally filed on November 13, 2008, Registration Statement No. 333-155344)
10.11 Note agreement between Vystar Corporation and Climax Global Energy, Inc. dated August 15, 2008 (incorporated by reference to Vystar’s Registration Statement on Form S-1 originally filed on November 13, 2008, Registration Statement No. 333-155344)
10.12 Form of Investor Note (incorporated by reference to Vystar’s Current Report on Form 8-K dated March 11, 2011 and filed on March 15, 2011)

10.13 Promissory Grid Note dated April 29, 2011, in a principal amount of $800,000 from Vystar Corporation to CMA Investments, LLC (incorporated by reference to Vystar’s Current Report on Form 8-K dated April 29, 2011 and filed on May 2, 2011)

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10.14 First Amendment to Agreement dated September 9, 2011, between Vystar Corporation, CMA Investments, LLC and Italia-Eire, LP, a Georgia limited partnership
10.15 Form of Securities Purchase Agreement dated May 2012 between Vystar and investors (incorporated by reference to Vystar’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed on August 10, 2012)
10.16 LLC Ownership Interest Purchase Agreement dated September 13, 2012, between Vystar and Mary Ailene Miller (incorporated by reference to Vystar’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on September 19, 2012)
10.17 Second Amendment to Agreement dated November 2, 2012, among Vystar, CMA Investments, LLC and Italia – Eire LP (incorporated by reference to Vystar’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed on November 11,14, 2012)
10.18** Employment Agreement between W. Dean Waters and Vystar dated April 1, 2013
10.19 LLC Ownership Interest Purchase Agreement dated June 28, 2013, between the Company and Michal Soo, M.D. (incorporated by reference to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on July 2, 2013)
10.20 Note Subscription Agreement dated June 28, 2013 between the Company and the Investors (incorporated by reference to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on July 2, 2013)
10.21 Form of Senior Secured Convertible Promissory Note dated June 30, 2013 (incorporated by reference to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on July 2, 2013)
10.22 Form of Security Agreement dated July 1, 2013 (incorporated by reference to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on July 2, 2013)
31.1*31*** Certification of Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
31.2*32*** Certification of Chief Financial Officer pursuant Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
32.1***Certification of Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350 as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002

 

______________________

101.INS***XBRL Instance Document
101.SCH***XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema Document
101.CAL***XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase Document
101.DEF***XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase Document
101.LAB***XBRL Taxonomy Extension Label Linkbase Document
101.PRE***XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase Document

 

*           Some Exhibits have certain confidential information redacted pursuant to a request for confidential treatment.

 

**        Exhibits and schedules to this exhibit have been omitted pursuant to Item 601(b)(2) of Regulation S-K. The Company will furnish copies of the omitted exhibits and schedules to the Securities and Exchange Commission upon its request. Confidential treatment has been requested as to a portion of this exhibit, which portion has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

 

***       Filed herewith.

 

ITEM 16.FORM 10-K SUMMARY

Not applicable.

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SIGNATURES

 

Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

 

 VYSTAR CORPORATION
  
Date: April 15, 2015March 29, 2018 By:/s/ William R. DoyleSteven Rotman
 William R. DoyleSteven Rotman
 Chairman, President, Chief Executive Officer and
Director (Principal Executive Officer)
Date: April 15, 2015By:/s/ Warren S. Binderman
Warren S. Binderman
Acting, Chief Financial Officer (Principal Financial
and Accounting Officer) and Director

 

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities indicated, on April 15, 2015.March 30, 2018 .

 

Signature Title
   
/s/ William R. DoyleSteven Rotman Chairman, President, Chief Executive Officer, and Chief ExecutiveFinancial Officer
William R. DoyleSteven Rotman  
   
/s/ Warren S. BindermanJoseph Allegra Acting Chief Financial OfficerChairman of the Board of Directors
 Warren S. BindermanJoseph Allegra, PhD  
   
/s/ Thomas L. MillsKeith D. Osborn Director
 Thomas L. Mills Keith D. Osborn, MD  
   
/s Michael X. Ianacone Director
 Michael X. Ianacone  
   
 /s/ Mitsy Y. Mangum Director
 Mitsy Y. Mangum  
   
/s/ Ranjit MatthanDirector
 Ranjit Matthan, PhD
/s/ Bryan StoneDirector
 Bryan Stone, MD

 

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