424B5 1 tm238178-1_424b5.htm 424B5 tm238178-1_424b5 - none - 8.2031245s
The information contained in this prospectus supplement is not complete and may be changed. A registration statement relating to these securities has been declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission. This preliminary prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus is not an offer to sell these securities and is not soliciting an offer to buy these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted.
 As filed pursuant to Rule 424(b)(5)
 Registration Statement No. 333-265980
SUBJECT TO COMPLETION, DATED MARCH 7, 2023
PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT
(To Prospectus Dated July 11, 2022)
           Shares
[MISSING IMAGE: lg_miromatrix-4c.jpg]
Miromatrix Medical Inc.
Common Stock
We are offering           shares of our common stock.
Our common stock is listed on The Nasdaq Capital Market (“Nasdaq”) under the symbol “MIRO.” On March 3, 2023, the last reported sales price of our common stock on the Nasdaq was $2.62 per share.
Investing in our securities involves risks. See the section entitled “Risk Factors” commencing on page S-5 of this prospectus supplement and page 8 of the accompanying base prospectus for a discussion of information that should be considered in connection with an investment in our securities.
Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or passed upon the adequacy or accuracy of this prospectus supplement. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
Per Share
Total
Public offering price
$       $      
Underwriting discounts and commissions(1)
$ $
Proceeds, before expenses, to us
$ $
(1)
In addition to the underwriting discount, we have agreed to reimburse the underwriters for certain expenses. See “Underwriting” for additional information regarding total underwriting compensation.
We have granted the underwriters an option to purchase up to                 additional shares of common stock from us at the public offering price, less underwriting discounts and commissions. The underwriters can exercise this right at any time within 30 days after the date of this prospectus supplement.
The underwriters expect to deliver the shares of our common stock against payment on or about                 , 2023.
Certain of our directors, officers and executives have indicated an interest in purchasing up to $450,000 of shares of our common stock in this offering, based on their preliminary indications of interest. It also is possible that these investors could indicate an interest in purchasing more shares of our common stock. However, because indications of interest are not binding agreements or commitments to purchase, the underwriters may determine to sell more, less or no shares in this offering to these investors, or these investors may determine to purchase more, less or no shares in this offering.
Book-Running Manager
Piper Sandler & Co.
Lead Manager
Craig-Hallum
The date of this prospectus supplement is                 , 2023

 
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Prospectus Supplement
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Prospectus
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ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT
This prospectus supplement and the accompanying base prospectus are part of a registration statement that we filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) utilizing a “shelf” registration process. Each time we conduct an offering to sell securities under the accompanying base prospectus we will provide a prospectus supplement that will contain specific information about the terms of that offering, including the price, the amount of securities being offered and the plan of distribution. This prospectus supplement describes the specific details regarding this offering and may add, update or change information contained in the accompanying base prospectus. The base prospectus, including the documents incorporated by reference therein, provides general information about us and our securities, some of which, such as the section entitled “Plan of Distribution,” may not apply to this offering. This prospectus supplement and the accompanying base prospectus are an offer to sell only the securities offered hereby, but only under circumstances and in jurisdictions where it is lawful to do so. We are not, and the underwriters are not, making offers to sell or solicitations to buy our common stock in any jurisdiction in which an offer or solicitation is not authorized or in which the person making that offer or solicitation is not qualified to do so or to anyone to whom it is unlawful to make an offer or solicitation.
If information in this prospectus supplement is inconsistent with the accompanying base prospectus or the information incorporated by reference with an earlier date, you should rely on this prospectus supplement. This prospectus supplement, together with the base prospectus, the documents incorporated by reference into this prospectus supplement and the accompanying base prospectus and any free writing prospectus we have provided for use in connection with this offering, include all material information relating to this offering. We have not, and the underwriters have not, authorized anyone to provide you with different or additional information and you must not rely on any unauthorized information or representations. You should assume that the information appearing in this prospectus supplement, the accompanying base prospectus, the documents incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying base prospectus and any free writing prospectus we have provided for use in connection with this offering is accurate only as of the respective dates of those documents. Our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects may have changed since those dates.
You should carefully read this prospectus supplement, the accompanying base prospectus and the information and documents incorporated herein by reference herein and therein, as well as any free writing prospectus we have provided for use in connection with this offering, before making an investment decision. See “Incorporation of Certain Documents by Reference” and “Where You Can Find More Information” in this prospectus supplement and in the accompanying base prospectus.
This prospectus supplement and the accompanying base prospectus contain summaries of certain provisions contained in some of the documents described herein, but reference is made to the actual documents for complete information. All of the summaries are qualified in their entirety by the full text of the actual documents, some of which have been filed or will be filed and incorporated by reference herein. See “Where You Can Find More Information” in this prospectus supplement. We further note that the representations, warranties and covenants made by us in any agreement that is filed as an exhibit to any document that is incorporated by reference into this prospectus supplement or the accompanying base prospectus were made solely for the benefit of the parties to such agreement, including, in some cases, for the purpose of allocating risk among the parties to such agreements, and should not be deemed to be a representation, warranty or covenant to you. Moreover, such representations, warranties or covenants were accurate only as of the date when made. Accordingly, such representations, warranties and covenants should not be relied on as accurately representing the current state of our affairs.
This prospectus supplement and the accompanying base prospectus contain and incorporate by reference certain market data and industry statistics and forecasts that are based on Company-sponsored studies, independent industry publications and other publicly available information. Although we believe these sources are reliable, estimates as they relate to projections involve numerous assumptions, are subject to risks and uncertainties, and are subject to change based on various factors, including those discussed under “Risk Factors” in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying base prospectus and under similar headings in the documents incorporated by reference herein and therein. Accordingly, investors should not place undue reliance on this information.
Unless otherwise stated or the context requires otherwise, all references in this prospectus supplement to the “Company,” “we,” “us,” “our” and “Miromatrix” refer to Miromatrix Medical Inc., a Delaware corporation.
 
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SUMMARY
This summary highlights information contained elsewhere in this prospectus supplement, the accompanying base prospectus and the documents incorporated by reference herein and therein. This summary does not contain all of the information that you should consider before deciding to invest in our securities. You should read this entire prospectus supplement and the accompanying base prospectus carefully, including the section entitled “Risk Factors” in this prospectus supplement and our financial statements and the related notes and the other information incorporated by reference into this prospectus supplement and the accompanying base prospectus, before making an investment decision.
THE COMPANY
Overview
We are a life sciences company pioneering a novel technology for bioengineering fully transplantable organs to help save and improve patients’ lives. Founded in 2009, we are one of a small group of companies at the forefront of developing alternatives to human-donor organ transplants, and within this small group of companies there are important differences between the technologies being developed. Our proprietary technology is a scalable platform that uses a two-step method of decellularization and recellularization designed to remove the porcine cells from the organs obtained from pigs and replace them with unmodified human cells. Our initial development focus is on bioengineering livers and kidneys, and our technology platform is also applicable to bioengineering other organs including hearts, lungs and pancreases. We have collaborations with the Mayo Clinic, Mount Sinai and the Texas Heart Institute, and have received strategic investments from Baxter, CareDx and DaVita.
Recent Developments
Preliminary Estimated Unaudited Fiscal Year 2022 Results
A brief summary of certain of our preliminary unaudited financial results as of December 31, 2022 and for the year ended December 31, 2022 is set forth below. This summary is not meant to be a comprehensive statement of our financial results for these periods. The following financial data as of December 31, 2022 and for the year ended December 31, 2022 is preliminary and based upon our estimates, and actual results may differ from these estimates following the completion of our financial closing procedures and related adjustments.
Cash and cash equivalents totaled $5,208,005 as of December 31, 2022, as compared to $52,811,531 as of December 31, 2021, restricted cash totaled $800,100 as of December 31, 2022, as compared to $800,100 as of December 31, 2021, and short-term investments totaled $19,989,489 as of December 31, 2022, as compared to $0 as of December 31, 2021.
Revenue for the year ended December 31, 2022 was $953,470, as compared to $33,066 for the year ended December 31, 2021.
You should read this data together with our financial statements and related notes included in the financial statements as of December 31, 2021 and 2020 and for each of the two years in the period ended December 31, 2021 incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement. The unaudited preliminary financial data included in this registration statement has been prepared by, and is the responsibility of, our management. Baker Tilly US, LLP has not audited, reviewed, compiled or performed any procedures with respect to the accompanying preliminary financial data. Accordingly, Baker Tilly US, LLP does not express an opinion or any other form of assurance with respect thereto.
Business and Pipeline Update
In November of 2022, we submitted our miroliverELAP Investigational New Drug (“IND”) application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (the “FDA”). In response to the IND application, we received a clinical hold letter from the FDA in January 2023 identifying certain nonclinical and clinical deficiencies and requesting responsive information, including, among other things, new toxicology studies in an
 
S-1

 
appropriate animal model, biocompatibility studies, as well as various validations to be provided in our IND application. We plan to submit our complete response to the clinical hold letter to the FDA in the second half of 2023. If our complete response addresses the deficiencies to the FDA’s satisfaction and does not raise new concerns regarding risks to subjects, we expect the FDA will lift the clinical hold and we then intend to initiate a first-in-human clinical trial shortly thereafter.
miroliverELAP is our external liver assist product candidate and we believe it represents the nearest term opportunity to advance one of our bioengineered organ programs into human clinical trials. In order to achieve our goal of submitting our complete response to the clinical hold letter to the FDA in the second half of 2023 and initiating a first-in-human clinical trial for miroliverELAP shortly after IND clearance, we will reallocate resources previously intended for miroliver and mirokidney, our fully implantable bioengineered liver and kidney programs, to miroliverELAP, which will likely delay the preclinical development of miroliver and mirokidney.
In 2022 we manufactured over 500 bioengineered organs at our in-house manufacturing facility, and we have the capacity to produce over 1,000 bioengineered organs per year. Further, as of February 23, 2023, we had 144 issued patents and 43 pending patents.
Liquidity
If we were to raise $8 million in gross proceeds in this offering, we believe that we would have sufficient liquidity to sustain the Company into the second quarter of 2024.
Our Corporate Information
We maintain our principal executive offices at 6455 Flying Cloud Drive, Suite 107, Eden Prairie, MN 55344, (952) 942-6000. Our website is located at www.miromatrix.com. The information contained on or connected to our website is not incorporated by reference in, and is not a part of, this prospectus supplement. We have included our website address as a factual reference and do not intend it to be an active link to our website. You should not rely on such information in making your decision whether to purchase our securities.
 
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THE OFFERING
The following is a brief summary of some of the terms of the offering and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the more detailed information appearing elsewhere in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying base prospectus. For a more complete description of the terms of our common stock, see description of our common stock in the accompanying base prospectus in the section, “The Securities We May Offer.”
Common stock offered by us
        shares of our common stock, par value $0.00001 per share.
Common stock to be outstanding after this offering
        shares of common stock (or          shares of our common stock if the underwriters exercise their option to purchase additional shares of our common stock in full).
Underwriters’ option to purchase additional shares
The underwriters have the option to purchase up to            additional shares of our common stock. The underwriters can exercise this option any time within 30 days from the date of this prospectus supplement.
Use of Proceeds
We estimate that the net proceeds from this offering will be approximately $     million, or approximately $     million if the underwriters exercise their option to purchase additional shares in full, after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and offering expenses payable by us. If we were to raise $8 million in gross proceeds in this offering, we believe that we would have sufficient liquidity to sustain the Company into the second quarter of 2024.
We intend to use the net proceeds from this offering for research, development and manufacturing of our product candidates, working capital, capital expenditures and general corporate purposes. We may also use a portion of the net proceeds to invest in or acquire businesses or technologies that we believe are complementary to our own, although we have no current understandings, commitments or agreements with respect to any investments or acquisitions as of the date of this prospectus supplement. See “Use of Proceeds” on page S-6 of this prospectus supplement.
Risk factors
Investing in our common stock involves a high degree of risk. You should carefully read and consider the information set forth under “Risk Factors” in this prospectus supplement, the accompanying base prospectus and in the documents incorporated by reference herein and therein to read about factors you should consider before buying shares of our common stock.
Participation in the Offering
Certain of our directors, officers and executives have indicated an interest in purchasing up to $450,000 of shares of our common stock in this offering, based on their preliminary indications of interest. It also is possible that these investors could indicate an interest in purchasing more shares of our common stock. However, because indications of interest are not binding agreements or commitments to purchase, the underwriters may determine to sell more, less or no shares in this offering to these investors, or these investors may determine to purchase more, less or no shares in this offering.
 
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Nasdaq Capital Market Symbol
“MIRO”
The number of shares of our common stock expected to be outstanding after this offering is based on 20,983,263 shares of common stock outstanding as of January 31, 2023 and excludes the following:
(1)
4,196,686 shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of stock options as of January 31, 2023 at a weighted average exercise price of $4.04 per share;
(2)
596,587 shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of warrants as of January 31, 2023 at a weighted average exercise price of $6.18 per share;
(3)
305,556 shares of unvested common stock issuable upon the vesting of outstanding restricted stock units as of January 31, 2023;
(4)
895,915 shares of common stock reserved for issuance and available for future grant under our 2021 Equity Incentive Plan as of January 31, 2023; and
(5)
700,000 shares of common stock reserved for issuance and available for future grant under our 2021 Employee Stock Purchase Plan as of January 31, 2023.
 
S-4

 
RISK FACTORS
Investing in our common stock involves a high degree of risk. Before purchasing our common stock, you should read and consider carefully the following risk factors and the risk factors included in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on March 30, 2022, as well as all other information contained and incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying base prospectus, including our consolidated financial statements and the related notes. Each of these risk factors, either alone or taken together, could adversely affect our business, operating results and financial condition, as well as adversely affect the value of an investment in our common stock. There may be additional risks that we do not presently know of or that we currently believe are immaterial, which could also impair our business and financial position. If any of the events described below were to occur, our financial condition, our ability to access capital resources, our results of operations and/or our future growth prospects could be materially and adversely affected and the market price of our common stock could decline. As a result, you could lose some or all of any investment you may make in our common stock.
Risks Related to This Offering
Future sales of substantial amounts of our common stock, or the possibility that such sales could occur, could adversely affect the market price of our common stock.
We cannot predict the effect, if any, that future issuances or sales of our securities or the availability of our securities for future issuance or sale, will have on the market price of our common stock. Issuances or sales of substantial amounts of our securities, or the perception that such issuances or sales might occur, could negatively impact the market price of our common stock and the terms upon which we may obtain additional equity financing in the future.
You may experience immediate and substantial dilution in the net tangible book value per common share you purchase.
If you purchase our common stock in this offering, you will incur an immediate dilution of $      in net tangible book value (deficit) per share from the price you paid, based on the public offering price of $      per share, and assuming no exercise of the underwriters’ option to purchase additional shares. The exercise of outstanding options or warrants will result in further dilution. For a further description of the dilution that you will experience immediately after this offering, see the section titled “Dilution” on page S-7 of this prospectus supplement for further information.
Our management will have broad discretion over the use of the net proceeds from this offering, and you may not agree with how we use the proceeds and the proceeds may not be invested successfully.
Our management will have broad discretion as to the use of the net proceeds from this offering and could use them for purposes other than those contemplated at the time of this offering. We will retain broad discretion over the use of the net proceeds from the sale of the securities offered hereby. We expect to use the net proceeds from the sale of any of our common stock offered under this prospectus supplement for research, development and manufacturing of our product candidates, working capital, capital expenditures and general corporate purposes. We may also use a portion of the net proceeds to invest in or acquire businesses or technologies that we believe are complementary to our own, although we have no current understandings, commitments or agreements with respect to any investments or acquisitions as of the date of this prospectus supplement. See the section entitled “Use of Proceeds” below for a more detailed discussion. Accordingly, you will be relying on the judgment of our management with regard to the use of these net proceeds, and you will not have the opportunity, as part of your investment decision, to assess whether the proceeds will be used appropriately. It is possible that the proceeds will be invested in a way that does not yield a favorable, or any, return for the Company and cause the price of our common stock to decline.
Risks Related to Our Business and Operations
We have limited cash resources and will likely require additional financing to achieve commercialization of our products.
We believe that in order to be successful, we must grow and expand our operations. We will likely require substantial additional capital in the future to further our research and development efforts and other
 
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operating activities to develop products that can be commercialized to generate revenue. Delays in obtaining additional funding could adversely affect our ability to move forward with our business plans.
We have historically relied upon proceeds from the issuance of equity securities to fund our business and operations. In the future, we may seek additional capital through a combination of equity offerings, debt financings and strategic collaborations. If we raise additional funds through the issuance of equity or debt securities, the percentage ownership of our stockholders could be significantly diluted, and these newly issued securities may have rights, preferences or privileges senior to those of existing stockholders. The incurrence of indebtedness would result in increased fixed payment obligations and could also result in certain restrictive covenants, such as limitations on our ability to incur additional debt, limitations on our ability to acquire or license intellectual property rights and other operating restrictions that could adversely impact our ability to conduct our business. If we raise additional funds through strategic partnerships and alliances and licensing arrangements with third parties, we may have to relinquish valuable rights to our product candidates or grant licenses on terms that are not favorable to us. Our ability to obtain additional financing will be subject to many factors, including market conditions, our operating performance and investor sentiment. If we are unable to raise additional capital when required or on acceptable terms, we may have to significantly delay, scale back or discontinue the development or commercialization of one or more of our product candidates, restrict our operations or obtain funds by entering into agreements on unattractive terms, which would likely have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and may cause the market price of our common stock to decline.
We received a clinical hold from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on miroliverELAP Investigational New Drug and if the clinical hold is not resolved, or not resolved in accordance with our expected timeframe, our business could be materially and adversely affected.
In November 2022, we submitted our miroliverELAP Investigational New Drug (“IND”) application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) and in January 2023, we received a formal clinical hold letter from the FDA stating that the IND application for miroliverELAP was placed on clinical hold prior to the initiation of patient dosing. The clinical hold letter identified certain nonclinical and clinical deficiencies and requested responsive information, including, among other things, new toxicology studies in an appropriate animal model, biocompatibility studies, as well as various validations to be provided in in our IND submission. We have evaluated the deficiencies identified in the clinical hold letter, and we plan to submit a complete response to the FDA. If we are unable to submit a complete response letter during the second half of 2023 as expected, or our complete response to the clinical hold does not address the deficiencies to the FDA’s satisfaction or raises new concerns regarding risks to subjects, the clinical hold will not be lifted in accordance with our expected timeframeat that time, or simply will not be lifted, and we will not be able to begin our first-in-human clinical trial for miroliverELAP. If the FDA maintains the clinical hold, we will be required to develop information to respond to the deficiencies in the new clinical hold letter, which will take additional time and resources. Any such delay in the initiation of our first-in-human clinical trial may result in significant delay, scale back or discontinuance of the development or commercialization of miroliverELAP, and would likely have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and may cause the market price of our common stock to decline.
We have incurred significant net losses since inception and we expect to incur net losses for the foreseeable future.
We have and expect to continue to incur significant research and development and other expenses related to our ongoing operations. For the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, we had net losses of $14,670,756 and $10,309,568, respectively. As of September 30, 2022, we had an accumulated deficit of $97,065,906. We have devoted substantially all of our resources and efforts to research and development and we expect that it will be many years before we generate revenue from product sales from our whole organ program, and we may never generate revenue. Even if we commercialize one of our whole organ product candidates, we expect to continue to develop additional product candidates and incur expenses. If we are unable to achieve or sustain profitability, we may face significant challenges in financing our business and accomplishing our strategic objectives, either of which would have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations and may cause the market price of our common stock to decline.
 
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We have identified a significant deficiency in our internal control over financial reporting and we may identify additional significant deficiencies in the future.
In connection with the preparation and audits of our financial statements for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, we identified a significant deficiency (as defined under the Exchange Act and by the auditing standards of the U.S. Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (“PCAOB”)), in our internal control over financial reporting and a significant deficiency in our internal control over tax accounting was identified for the year ended December 31, 2021. A significant deficiency is a deficiency, or a combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting that is less severe than a material weakness, yet important enough to merit attention by those responsible for oversight of a company’s financial reporting.
We have determined that our financial statement close process includes significant control gaps mainly driven by the small size of our accounting and finance staff and, as a result, a significant lack of appropriate segregation of duties. We also determined that we do not have sufficient staffing or written policies and procedures for accounting and financial reporting, which contributed to the lack of a formalized process or controls for management’s timely review and approval of financial information. As we continue to evaluate and take actions to improve our internal control over financial reporting, we may determine to take additional actions to address control deficiencies or determine to modify certain of the remediation measures described above.
If we are unable to remediate our existing or any future significant deficiencies in our internal control over financial reporting, or if we identify any material weaknesses, the accuracy and timing of our financial reporting may be adversely affected, and we may be unable to maintain compliance with securities law requirements regarding timely filing of periodic reports, in addition to applicable stock exchange listing requirements As a result, investors could lose confidence in our financial reporting, and our share price may decline. We also could become subject to investigations by the Nasdaq Capital Market (“Nasdaq”), the SEC, or other regulatory authorities.
Our financial results may fluctuate significantly and may not fully reflect the underlying performance of our business.
Our quarterly and annual results of operations may vary significantly in the future, and period-to-period comparisons of our operating results may not be meaningful. Accordingly, the results of any one quarter or period should not be relied upon as an indication of future performance. Our quarterly and annual financial results may fluctuate as a result of a variety of factors, many of which are outside our control. Factors that may cause fluctuations in our quarterly and annual results include:

our ability to obtain and maintain regulatory clearance or approval for any products in development or for any additional indications or in additional jurisdictions;

timing of new product offerings, acquisitions, licenses or other significant events by us or our competitors;

results of clinical research and trials on our products in development;

delays in, or failure of, component and raw material deliveries by our suppliers; and

positive or negative coverage in the media or clinical publications of our future products or products of our competitors or our industry.
Because our quarterly and annual results may fluctuate, period-to-period comparisons may not be the best indication of the underlying results of our business. These fluctuations may also increase the likelihood that we will not meet our forecasted performance, which could negatively affect the market price for our common stock.
All of our operations are currently conducted at one location and any disruption at this facility could materially and adversely affect our businesses.
Because of the level of precision and quality required for our operations, we currently conduct and intend to conduct all of our manufacturing and preclinical work in-house at our own facility for the
 
S-7

 
foreseeable future. Our facility and equipment would be costly to replace and could require substantial lead time to repair or replace. The facility may be harmed or rendered inoperable by natural or man-made disasters which may render it difficult or impossible for us to perform our research, development and commercialization activities for some period of time. The inability to perform those activities may result in the loss of certain opportunities or harm to our reputation. Although we possess insurance for damage to our property and the disruption of our business, this insurance may not be sufficient to cover all of our potential losses and this insurance may not continue to be available to us on acceptable terms, or at all.
Our results of operations could be materially harmed if the addressable markets for our future products are smaller than we estimate.
Our estimates of the annual total addressable markets for our products under development are based on a number of internal and third-party estimates, as well as assumed prices at which we can sell our future products. While we believe our assumptions and the data underlying our estimates are reasonable, these assumptions and estimates may not be correct and the conditions supporting our assumptions or estimates may change at any time, thereby reducing the predictive accuracy of these underlying factors. As a result, our estimates of the annual total addressable market for our product candidates may prove to be incorrect. If the price at which we can sell future products, or the annual total addressable market for our product candidates is smaller than we have estimated, it could have an adverse impact on our business. Moreover, our product candidates have a limited shelf life and will expire if not timely used. To ensure adequate inventory supply once commercialized, we will need to forecast inventory needs based on forecasted markets, which could be negatively affected by many factors, including product introductions by competitors, an increase or decrease in surgeon demand for our products or for products of our competitors, our failure to accurately manage our growth strategy, our failure to accurately forecast surgeon acceptance of new products, and unanticipated changes in general market conditions or regulatory matters.
Our ability to maintain our competitive position depends on our ability to attract and retain senior management and other highly qualified personnel.
We are highly dependent on our senior management and other key personnel. Our success depends in part on our continued ability to attract, retain and motivate highly qualified senior management and attract, retain and motivate qualified employees, including sales and marketing professionals, clinical specialists and other highly skilled personnel. Competition for skilled personnel in our market is intense and may limit our ability to hire and retain highly qualified personnel on acceptable terms, or at all. If we are not successful in attracting and retaining highly qualified personnel, it would have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. The loss of highly qualified employees could result in delays in product development and commercialization and harm our business.
Although we have entered into employment agreements with our chief executive officer and chief financial officer, either may terminate his employment with us at any time. The replacement of any of our key personnel likely would involve significant time and costs and may significantly delay or prevent the achievement of our business objectives and could therefore have an adverse effect on our business. We also do not maintain “key man” insurance policies on the lives of these individuals or the lives of any of our other employees.
We currently have no marketing and sales organization. If we are unable to establish marketing and sales capabilities or enter into agreements with third parties to market and sell our products, we may not be able to generate future product revenue.
We have no internal sales, marketing or distribution capabilities. If any of our product candidates ultimately receives regulatory approval, we expect to establish a direct marketing and sales force with technical expertise and supporting distribution capabilities to commercialize each such product in major markets, which will be expensive and time consuming. There are significant risks involved in building and managing a sales organization, including our ability to hire, retain and incentivize qualified individuals, generate sufficient sales leads, provide adequate training to sales and marketing personnel and effectively manage a geographically dispersed sales and marketing team. Any failure or delay in the development of our internal sales, marketing and distribution capabilities would adversely impact the commercialization of
 
S-8

 
these products. We may also choose to collaborate with third parties that have direct sales forces and established distribution systems, either to augment our own sales force and distribution systems or in lieu of our own sales force and distribution systems. We may not be able to enter into collaborations or hire consultants or external service providers to assist us in sales, marketing and distribution functions on acceptable financial terms, or at all. In addition, our product revenues and our profitability, if any, may be lower if we rely on third parties for these functions than if we were to market, sell and distribute any products that we develop ourselves. We likely will have little control over such third parties, and any of them may fail to devote the necessary resources and attention to sell and market our products effectively. If we are not successful in commercializing our products, either on our own or through arrangements with one or more third parties, we may not be able to generate any future product revenue and our business would be harmed.
Our business may be adversely affected by global health epidemics, including the COVID-19 pandemic.
The outbreak of COVID-19 and government measures taken in response to the pandemic have had a significant impact, both direct and indirect, on businesses and commerce, including our company, and may continue to significantly impact our business in the future. In particular, worker shortages have occurred; supply chains have been disrupted; facilities and production have been suspended; and demand for certain goods and services, such as medical services and supplies, has spiked, while demand for other goods and services has fallen. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have experienced disruptions and may continue to experience disruptions that could severely impact our preclinical studies and business development plan, including:

interruption of our preclinical trial activities, due to restricted or limited operations at our manufacturing facility, limitations on travel, or interruption of study procedures that are deemed non-essential, which may impact the integrity of subject data and study endpoints;

interruption or delays in the operations of the FDA or other regulatory authorities, which may impact review and approval timelines;

interruption of, or delays in receiving, supplies of raw materials or other components for our preclinical activities; and

limitations on employee resources that would otherwise be focused on the conduct of our preclinical studies, including because of sickness of employees or their families.
Additionally, while the economic impact brought by and the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic are difficult to assess or predict, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the global financial markets may reduce our ability to access capital, which could negatively affect our short- and long-term liquidity. In addition, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic could exacerbate other risks we face, including those described elsewhere in “Risk Factors.”
If we generate taxable income, our ability to use our net operating loss carryforwards and other tax attributes to offset applicable taxes may be subject to limitations.
We have incurred net losses since our inception, and expect to continue to incur operating losses for the foreseeable future. At December 31, 2022, our federal net operating loss carryforward (“NOL”) was approximately $40,500,000  and our state NOLs were approximately $20,700,000. If not utilized, our existing NOLs will begin to expire in 2031. Even if we generate taxable income before the NOLs expire, our ability to use NOLs and other tax attributes (including any research and development credit carryforwards) to offset future taxable income or reduce taxes may be subject to limitations. In general, under Sections 382 and 383 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), a corporation that undergoes an “ownership change” ​(generally defined as a greater than 50% cumulative change by value in its equity ownership of certain stockholders over a rolling three-year period) is subject to an annual limitation on its ability to utilize its pre-change NOLs and other tax attributes. Similar provisions of state tax law may also limit the use of our state NOLs and other tax attributes. We have not performed an analysis to determine whether our past issuances of stock and other changes in our stock ownership may have resulted in one or more ownership changes under the Code. In addition, we may experience an ownership change in the future as a result of changes in our stock ownership, many of which may be in the public market and outside our control. We have
 
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not taken and do not currently intend to take any steps to prohibit changes in our stock ownership in order to avoid such an ownership change.
In addition to any limitation imposed by Section 382 of Code, the use of NOLs arising after December 31, 2017 generally is limited to a deduction of 80% of taxable income for the corresponding taxable year. NOLs arising after December 31, 2017, with certain exceptions that did not apply at the time of our initial public offering (“IPO”), may not be carried back to previous taxable years, but may be carried forward indefinitely.
If an ownership change or other limitation on our ability to use NOLs has occurred in the past or occurs in the future, we may not be able to use a material portion of our NOLs and other tax attributes to offset future taxable income or taxes, if any, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and cash flows.
Risks Related to the Development and Commercialization of our Products
We currently do not have, and may never develop, any FDA-approved, licensed or commercialized products and we may never be able to commercialize our technology.
We do not currently have any FDA-approved, licensed or commercialized products. We have not yet sought regulatory approvals for any of our whole organ product candidates in the U.S. or in any foreign market. Our lead product candidates are still in pre-clinical development and have never been tested in humans, with our recellularized kidney product candidate having only been subject to bench testing. Our interpretation of data and results from the studies we have completed to date do not ensure that we will be able to initiate human clinical trials or achieve positive results in future clinical trials. In addition, pre-clinical data are often susceptible to various interpretations and analyses, and many companies that have believed their products performed satisfactorily in pre-clinical studies have nonetheless failed to replicate results in clinical trials. Significant additional research and development activity and clinical testing are required before we will have a chance to achieve a viable product for commercialization from such candidates. Our research and development efforts remain subject to all the risks associated with the development of new biopharmaceutical products and treatments, including but not limited to unanticipated technical or other problems and the possible insufficiency of funds needed in order to complete development of these product candidates. As further described below, safety, regulatory and efficacy issues, clinical hurdles or other challenges may result in delays and cause us to incur additional expenses that would increase our losses. If we cannot complete, or if we experience significant delays in developing, our products for use in potential commercial applications, particularly after incurring significant expenditures, our business may fail, and investors may lose the entirety of their investment.
The successful discovery, development, manufacturing, and sale of biologics is a long, expensive, and uncertain process and carries unique risks and uncertainties.
The successful development, manufacturing, and sale of biologics is a long, expensive, and uncertain process and the process has unique risks and uncertainties. We are not permitted to market our product candidates in the U.S. until we receive approval of a biologics license application (“BLA”) from the FDA, or in any foreign countries until we receive the requisite approval from such countries. Biological products are subject to extensive regulation by the FDA and other regulatory authorities in the U.S. and other countries, which regulations differ from country to country. For example, access to and supply of necessary biological materials, such as cell lines, may be limited and governmental regulations restrict access to and govern the transport and use of such materials. In addition, the testing, development, approval, manufacturing, distribution, and sale of biologics is subject to applicable provisions of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, the Public Health Service Act and regulations issued thereunder that are often more complex and extensive than the regulations applicable to other pharmaceutical products or to medical devices. Manufacturing biologics, especially in large quantities, is often complicated and may require the use of innovative technologies. Such manufacturing also requires specifically designed and validated facilities and sophisticated quality assurance and quality control procedures. Biologics are also frequently costly to manufacture because production inputs are derived from living animal or plant material, and some biologics
 
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cannot be made synthetically. Failure to successfully discover, develop, manufacture, and sell biologics could adversely impact our business, operating results, and financial condition.
Further, to successfully commercialize our product candidates, we also will be required to expand, train and manage our employee base, particularly skilled technical, management and marketing personnel within a short time period. We will also be required to scale our manufacturing capabilities, and eventually, once our product candidates are cleared for commercial use, our sales and marketing capabilities. Rapid growth also would require an increase in the level of responsibility for both existing and new management and would require us to implement and improve operational, financial and management information procedures and controls. Our inability to adequately manage growth could have a material adverse effect on our business and prospects.
We may experience delays in commencing and successfully completing our clinical trials.
We may experience delays in initiating our clinical trials, which could significantly increase our product development costs and delay product commercialization. The commencement of clinical trials may be delayed for a variety of reasons, including the delays in:

demonstrating sufficient safety, purity and potency of the product candidate, including any of its constituent parts, to be permitted by the FDA or other regulatory authorities to commence a clinical trial;

developing a stable formulation of a product candidate;

manufacturing sufficient quantities of a product candidate;

securing and maintaining relationships with third parties for preclinical and clinical development studies;

our or third-party compliance with good clinical practices (“GCPs”) and current good tissue practices (“cGTPs”);

obtaining institutional review board approval to conduct a clinical trial at a prospective site;

being permitted by the FDA or other regulatory authorities to initiate our clinical trials due to questions regarding the nonclinical support for our clinical trials or the scope or design of our clinical trials, resulting in the imposition of a clinical hold;

imposition of a clinical hold for any number of reasons, including as a result of an inspection of the clinical operations or study sites or nonclinical or clinical safety operations; and

funding shortages or other disruptions within the FDA and other regulatory agencies that affect their ability to perform routine functions and review biologics.
In addition, because our miroliverELAP will contain human cells from more than one donor, if we are unable to obtain an exemption from the FDA for the cGTP prohibition against pooling cells from two or more donors during manufacturing, we would be unable to initiate clinical trials of our BEL. Further, given that our clinical trials will be conducted with patients in advanced disease states, there is a risk that unexpected deaths could halt the clinical trial process. Even if we are able to commence clinical trials and our initial clinical trials are successful, we are required to conduct additional clinical trials to establish our product candidates’ safety, purity and potency before submitting a BLA. Success in early phases of pre-clinical and clinical trials does not ensure that later clinical trials will be successful, and interim results of a clinical trial do not necessarily predict final results. A failure of one or more of our clinical trials can occur at any stage of testing. Moreover, there is no guarantee that our clinical trials will be successful or that we will continue clinical development in support of such approvals.
Our product candidates utilize biological components obtained from animals that could prevent or restrict their development and commercialization.
Our current product candidates use biological components obtained from animals, including our decellularized porcine scaffold. As a result, our product candidates could be deemed to involve xenotransplantation (transplantation from animals to humans). No xenotransplantation clinical trials have
 
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occurred to date and based on FDA guidance, we believe the regulatory approval process for xenotransplantation would be extremely complex and difficult. There are also regulatory and safety concerns surrounding the risk of infectious agents and possible transmission to the general population through xenotransplantation. Although we believe our technology overcomes the primary challenges associated with genetically modified xenotransplants, mainly because our product candidates are revascularized using living human cells as opposed to genetically modifying the genome of a pig, the FDA and other regulatory authorities may find our product candidates are xenotransplants and are thus subject to regulations and other laws regarding xenotransplantation. The additional regulations governing xenotransplantation could delay or prevent our ability to receive regulatory approval or commercialize our product candidates.
Our product candidates may be considered combination products, which would result in additional regulation and associated risks.
The FDA may view a bioengineered organ as a combination product comprised of an HCT/P and a medical device. In this case, each component of the product candidate would be subject to FDA requirements for that type of component. As a result, FDA approval of a product candidate classified as a combination product may require multiple marketing applications, such application determination determined on a case-by-case basis. If we are required to submit multiple marketing applications, we could experience delays due to regulatory timing constraints and uncertainties in the product development and approval process, as well as coordination between different centers within the FDA responsible for review of the different components of the combination product.
If we encounter difficulties enrolling patients in our future clinical trials, our clinical development activities could be delayed or otherwise adversely affected.
Even if we are permitted to begin clinical trials, we may experience difficulties in patient enrollment in our clinical trials for a variety of reasons. The timely completion of clinical trials in accordance with their protocols will depend, among other things, on our ability to enroll a sufficient number of patients who remain in the trial until its conclusion. We may encounter difficulties enrolling subjects in our future clinical trials due, in part, to defined inclusion and exclusion criteria, effect on their transplant list status, and reluctance to try an unproven therapy, among other reasons. Any future clinical trials for our organ program will involve major surgeries, which some members of the relevant patient populations may be hesitant to undertake. If we are unable to enroll patients in future clinical trials, in accordance with our planned timelines, it could constitute a significant setback to our product development and path to commercializing our product candidates.
We may be unable to process organ products in quantities sufficient for clinical trials or a commercial launch.
We may encounter difficulties in producing our organ products. Processing of tissue and organs involves strict adherence to complex manufacturing and storage protocols and procedures. Future difficulties may arise that limit our production capability and delay progress in our clinical trials.
Moreover, we have no current experience in manufacturing our fully recellularized whole organs for human patients and we are not aware of any party that manufactures products similar to ours. As a result, if we are not able to successfully manufacture our products, it would have a material adverse effect on our business and cause us to cease operations.
Our supply of raw materials for use in preclinical activities and manufacturing our product candidates may be vulnerable to disruption.
Our process includes cellular and acellular components. Disruptions from suppliers for the starting porcine materials, decellularization chemicals, cell culture media, cell culture supplies, laboratory supplies, cell culture media components, release testing analytical components or other raw materials utilized in our development and manufacturing could constitute a significant setback to our product development and path to commercializing our product candidates.
 
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Even if we obtain approval of our product candidates, our biologic products may be subject to competition from biosimilars.
Even if we are able to successfully develop biologics in the future, the Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act created a framework for the approval of biosimilars in the U.S. that could allow competitors to reference data from any future biologic products for which we receive marketing approvals. In addition, companies are developing biosimilars in other countries that could compete with any biologic products that we develop. If competitors are able to obtain marketing approval for biosimilars referencing any biologic products that we develop, our products may become subject to competition from such biosimilars, with the attendant competitive pressure and consequences.
In addition, there is a risk that any of our product candidates regulated as a biologic and licensed under a full BLA, would not qualify for FDA exclusivity or that such exclusivity could be shortened due to congressional action or otherwise, potentially creating the opportunity for competition sooner than anticipated. The extent to which a biosimilar, once approved, will be substituted for any one of our reference products in a way that is similar to traditional generic substitution for non-biological products is not yet clear, and will depend on a number of marketplace and regulatory factors that are still developing.
Moreover, the biologics industry is characterized by rapid and significant change. There can be no assurance that other companies will not succeed in developing or marketing devices and products that are more effective than any products that we may offer in the future or that would render any such products obsolete or noncompetitive. Additionally, new surgical procedures, medications and other therapies could be developed that replace or reduce the importance of our future products. Accordingly, our success will depend in part on our ability to respond quickly to medical and other changes through the development and introduction of new products. Product development involves a high degree of risk, and there can be no assurance that our new product development efforts will result in any commercially successful products.
We may be unable to compete successfully with larger competitors in our highly competitive industries.
While we are not aware of any other company developing bioengineered whole organs based on perfusion decellularization and recellularization, we believe our technology will compete with other technologies including xenotransplants, immersion decellularization, 3D printing and direct implantation of animal organs, as well as other therapeutic (i.e., non-transplant) options for the indications which we attempt to address. Certain companies with these products and technologies are significantly larger than us and have much greater financial, marketing and other resources than we do. Accordingly, we may not be able to compete successfully against existing or new competitors which would have a material adverse effect on our business.
If we are able to commercialize any of our product candidates, their commercial success will largely depend upon attaining significant market acceptance.
Even if we are able to receive regulatory approval for one or more of our product candidates, our ability to execute our growth strategy, achieve commercial success and become profitable will depend upon the adoption by hospitals, surgeons and patients of our bioengineered organs. We cannot predict how quickly, if at all, our products will be accepted or, if accepted, how frequently they will be used. Our bioengineered organs may never gain broad market acceptance among the medical community for some or all of our indications. The market for regenerative medicine technology is relatively new, subject to rapid innovation and remains uncertain. Further, our perfusion technology is a new approach for processing and developing organs.
Failure to achieve or maintain market acceptance and/or market share would limit our ability to generate revenue and would have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Further, if we cannot build and maintain strong working relationships with these professionals and seek their advice and input on our product candidates, the development and marketing of our future products could suffer, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We rely on third parties for our product candidate development activities.
We rely on third parties to conduct certain preclinical development activities and we intend to rely on third parties to conduct any clinical trials we undertake in the future. We may not be able to secure and
 
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maintain relationships with these third parties for preclinical and clinical development studies on acceptable terms and our reliance on these third parties reduces our control over these activities. We are responsible for ensuring that each of our preclinical development activities and our clinical trials are conducted in accordance with the applicable U.S. federal and state laws and foreign regulations, general investigational plan and protocols. However, other than any contracts with these third parties, we have no direct control over these researchers or contractors, as they are not our employees. Our reliance on third parties that we do not control does not relieve us of these responsibilities and requirements. These third parties also may have relationships with other entities, some of which may be our competitors. If these third parties do not successfully carry out their contractual duties, meet expected deadlines or conduct our preclinical development activities or our clinical trials in accordance with regulatory requirements or our stated protocols, we may not be able to or be delayed in receiving marketing approvals for our products or successful commercialize our products. These third parties may be subject to various types of sanctions by the FDA or other government or regulatory authorities for failing to meet the applicable requirements imposed on such third parties. As a result, the third parties may not be able to fulfill their contractual obligations, and the results obtained from such third parties regarding preclinical and clinical research may not be accepted by the FDA to support the marketing approval of our product candidates. If the third parties or their employees become debarred by the FDA, we cannot use the research data derived from their services to support the marketing approval of our products. Finally, these third parties may be acquired by other entities, change their business plans or strategies or go out of business, thereby preventing them from meeting their contractual obligations to us. Our success depends on conducting preclinical and clinical trials successfully through commercialization, and therefore, any failure by a third party in this regard would have a material adverse effect on our business.
Risks Related to Intellectual Property
Our commercial success will depend in large part on our ability to obtain and maintain intellectual property protections.
Our commercial success will depend in large part on our ability to obtain and maintain patent, trademark, trade secret and other intellectual property protection of our new organ candidates and other technology, methods used to manufacture them and methods of treatment, as well as successfully defending our patent and other intellectual property rights against third-party challenges. It is difficult and costly to protect and enforce intellectual property rights, and we may not be able to ensure the same for every product. Our ability to stop unauthorized third parties from making, using, selling, offering to sell, importing or otherwise commercializing our new organ candidates is dependent upon the extent to which we have rights under valid and enforceable patents or trade secrets that cover these activities.
If we are unable to obtain or maintain patent protection with respect to a product candidate, or if the scope of the patent protection secured is not sufficiently broad, our competitors could develop and commercialize products and technology similar or identical to ours and our ability to commercialize that product candidate may be adversely affected.
The patent prosecution process is expensive, time-consuming, and complex, and we may not be able to file, prosecute, maintain, enforce, or license all necessary or desirable patent applications at a reasonable cost or in a timely manner. In addition, we may not pursue or obtain patent protection in all relevant markets. It is also possible that we will fail to identify patentable aspects of our research and development output in time to obtain patent protection. Although we enter into non-disclosure and confidentiality agreements with parties who have access to confidential or patentable aspects of our research and development output, any such party may breach the agreements and disclose such output before a patent application is filed, thereby jeopardizing our ability to seek patent protection. In addition, our ability to obtain and maintain valid and enforceable patents depends on whether the differences between our inventions and the prior art allow our inventions to be patentable over the prior art. Furthermore, publications of discoveries in the scientific literature often lag behind the actual discoveries, and patent applications in the U.S. and other jurisdictions are typically not published until 18 months after filing, or in some cases not at all. Therefore, we cannot be certain that we were the first to make the inventions claimed in our patents or pending patent applications, or that we were the first to file for patent protection of such inventions.
We also cannot predict whether the patent applications we are currently pursuing will issue as patents in any particular jurisdiction or whether the claims of any issued patents will be valid and enforceable and
 
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provide sufficient protection from competitors. Any patents that we own or in-license may be challenged, narrowed, circumvented, or invalidated by third parties. Consequently, we do not know whether any new organ candidates we may develop will be protectable or remain protected by valid and enforceable patents. Our competitors or other third parties may be able to circumvent our patents by developing similar or alternative technologies or products in a non-infringing manner.
Our patents and patent applications contain claims directed to new organ candidates, as well as methods directed to making new organ candidates, intermediates in the making of new organ candidates, the use of such new organ candidates, and other technologies. Method-of-use patents do not prevent a competitor or other third party from developing or marketing an identical product for an indication that is outside the scope of the patented method. Moreover, with respect to method-of-use patents, even if competitors or other third parties do not actively promote their product for our eventual targeted indications or uses for which we may obtain patents, providers may recommend that patients use these products off-label, or patients may do so themselves.
In addition, given the amount of time required for the development, testing, and regulatory review of new organ candidates, patents protecting such candidates might expire before or shortly after such candidates are commercialized. As a result, our intellectual property may not provide us with sufficient rights to exclude others from commercializing products similar or identical to ours. Moreover, some of our owned patents and patent applications may in the future be co-owned by us with third parties. If we are unable to obtain an exclusive license to such third-party co-owners’ interest in such patents or patent applications, such co-owners may be able to license their rights to other third parties, including our competitors, and our competitors could market competing products and technology. In addition, we may need the cooperation of any such co-owners of our patents in order to enforce such patents against third parties, and such cooperation may not be provided to us. Any of the foregoing could have a material adverse effect on our competitive position, business, financial conditions, results of operations, and prospects.
We may also be subject to claims that former employees, collaborators, or other third parties have an interest in our patents or patent applications or other intellectual property as an inventor or co-inventor. If we are unable to obtain an exclusive license to any such third party co-owners’ interest in such patent applications, such co-owners may be able to license their rights to other third parties, including our competitors. In addition, we may need the cooperation of any such co-owners to enforce any patents that issue from such patent applications against third parties, and such cooperation may not be provided to us.
Our foreign intellectual property rights are not exhaustive.
We have intellectual property for our new organ candidates in many key markets such as the U.S. and Europe. However, we do not have intellectual property rights in every country throughout the world. Filing, prosecuting, and defending patents on new organ candidates in all countries throughout the world would be prohibitively expensive, and our intellectual property rights in some countries outside the U.S., and Europe can be less extensive than those in the U.S. In addition, the laws of foreign countries do not protect intellectual property rights to the same extent as federal and state laws of the U.S. Consequently, we may not be able to prevent third parties from practicing our inventions in all countries outside the U.S., or from selling or importing products made using our inventions in and into the U.S. or other jurisdictions. Competitors may use our technologies in jurisdictions where we have not obtained patent protection to develop their own products and, further, may export otherwise infringing products to territories where we have patent protection but where enforcement is not as strong as that in the U.S. These products may compete with our new organ candidates and our patents or other intellectual property rights may not be effective or sufficient to prevent them from competing.
Many countries have compulsory licensing laws under which a patent owner may be compelled to grant licenses to third parties. In addition, many countries limit the enforceability of patents against government agencies or government contractors. In these countries, the patent owner may have limited remedies, which could materially diminish the value of such patent. If we or any of our licensors is forced to grant a license to third parties with respect to any patents relevant to our business, our competitive position may be impaired, and our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects may be adversely affected.
 
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We have entered and may enter into license agreements for intellectual property rights in the future and if we fail to comply with our obligations in such agreements or otherwise experience disruptions to our business relationships with our licensors or research and development partners, we could lose license rights that are important to our business.
We cannot provide any assurances that third-party patents do not exist which might be enforced against our current technology, resulting in either an injunction prohibiting our manufacture or future sales, or, with respect to our future sales, an obligation on our part to pay royalties and/or other forms of compensation to third parties monetary damages, including treble damages and attorneys’ fees, each of which could be significant. It is possible that our ability to commercialize some new organ candidates in the U.S. and abroad may be adversely affected if we cannot obtain a license to any potentially relevant third-party patents on commercially-reasonable terms that would allow us to make an appropriate return on our investment. In addition, companies that perceive us to be a competitor may be unwilling to assign or license rights to us. As such, we could be forced, including by court order, to cease developing, manufacturing, and commercializing the infringing technology or new organ candidates. Thus, we may be required to expend significant time and resources to redesign our technology, new organ candidates, or the methods for manufacturing them or to develop or license replacement technology, or we may need to abandon development of the relevant program or product candidate, all of which may not be feasible on a technical or commercial basis and could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects. Claims that we have misappropriated the confidential information or trade secrets of third parties could have a similar material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects.
The intellectual property landscape pertaining to live new organs is in constant flux.
The field of new organs is still in its infancy. Due to the intense research and development that is taking place by several companies, including us and our competitors, in this field, the intellectual property landscape is evolving and in flux, and it may remain uncertain for the coming years. There may be significant intellectual property related litigation and proceedings relating to intellectual property and proprietary rights in the future.
Our commercial success depends upon our ability and the ability of future collaborators to develop, manufacture, market, and sell any new organ candidates that we may develop and use our proprietary technologies without infringing, misappropriating, or otherwise violating the intellectual property and proprietary rights of third parties. The biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries are characterized by extensive litigation regarding patents and other intellectual property rights as well as administrative proceedings for challenging patents, including interference, derivation, inter partes review, post grant review, and reexamination proceedings before the USPTO or oppositions and other comparable proceedings in foreign jurisdictions. We may in the future be subject to and may in the future become party to, or threatened with, adversarial proceedings or litigation regarding intellectual property rights including interference proceedings, post-grant review, inter partes review, and derivation proceedings before the USPTO and similar proceedings in foreign jurisdictions such as oppositions before the European Patent Office. Numerous U.S. and foreign issued patents and pending patent applications that are owned by third parties may exist in the fields in which we are developing our new organ candidates and they may assert infringement claims against us based on existing patents or patents that may be granted in the future, regardless of their merit.
Defense of third-party claims of infringement of misappropriation, or violation of intellectual property rights involves substantial litigation expense and would be a substantial diversion of management and employee time and resources from our business. Some third-parties may be able to sustain the costs of complex patent litigation more effectively than we can because they have substantially greater resources. In addition, any uncertainties resulting from the initiation and continuation of any litigation could have a material adverse effect on our ability to raise the funds necessary to continue our operations or could otherwise have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects. There could also be public announcements of the results of hearings, motions, or other interim proceedings or developments and there is a risk that some of our confidential information could be compromised by disclosure during this type of litigation, and if securities analysts or investors perceive these announcements
 
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or disclosures to be negative, it could have a substantial adverse effect on the price of our common stock. Any of the foregoing events could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
We may choose to challenge the patentability of claims in a third party’s U.S. patent by requesting that the USPTO review the patent claims in re-examination, post-grant review, inter partes review, interference proceedings, derivation proceedings, and equivalent proceedings in foreign jurisdictions (e.g., opposition proceedings). If we challenge and subsequently fail to obtain a favorable result at the USPTO, European Patent Office or other patent office then we may be exposed to litigation by a third party alleging that the patent may be infringed by our new organ candidates or other proprietary technologies.
Obtaining and maintaining our patent protection depends on compliance with various procedural and other requirements imposed by government patent agencies, and our patent protection could be reduced or eliminated for non-compliance with these requirements.
Periodic maintenance fees, renewal fees, annuity fees, and various other government fees on patents and applications are due to be paid to the USPTO and foreign patent agencies outside of the U.S. over the lifetime of our patents and applications. The USPTO and foreign patent agencies require compliance with several procedural, documentary, fee payment, and other similar provisions during the patent application process. While an inadvertent lapse can ordinarily be cured by payment of a late fee or by other means in accordance with the applicable rules, there are situations, however, in which non-compliance can result a partial or complete loss of patent rights in the relevant jurisdiction. Were a noncompliance event to occur, our competitors might be able to enter the market with similar or identical products or technology, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects.
If we do not obtain a patent term extension for a patent, our business may be materially harmed.
Depending upon the timing, duration and specifics of any FDA licensing of any new organ candidates we may develop, one or more of our U.S. patents may be eligible for limited patent term extension (“PTE”). Analogous extensions of patent term may be available upon marketing approval in other jurisdictions. The PTE term of up to five years is awarded as compensation for patent term lost during the FDA regulatory review process. However, even if we were to seek a PTE or corresponding extension of patent term in other jurisdictions, it may not be granted because of, for example, the failure to exercise due diligence during the testing phase or regulatory review process, the failure to apply within applicable deadlines, the failure to apply prior to expiration of relevant patents, or any other failure to satisfy applicable requirements. Moreover, the applicable time period or the scope of patent protection afforded could be less than we request. If we are unable to obtain PTE or a corresponding extension of patent term in other jurisdictions, or the term of any such extension is less than we request, our competitors may be able to launch competing products earlier than anticipated following our patent expiration, and our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects could be materially harmed.
If we are unable to protect the confidentiality of our trade secrets, our business and competitive position would be harmed.
In addition to seeking patents for our technology and new organ candidates, we also rely on know-how and trade secret protection, as well as confidentiality agreements, non-disclosure agreements and invention assignment agreements with our employees, consultants and third-parties, to protect our confidential and proprietary information, especially where we do not believe patent protection is appropriate or obtainable.
It is our policy to require our employees, corporate collaborators, outside scientific collaborators, contract manufacturers, consultants, advisors, and other third parties to execute confidentiality agreements upon the commencement of employment or consulting relationships with us. These agreements provide that all confidential information concerning our business or financial affairs developed by or made known to the individual or entity during the course of the party’s relationship with us is to be kept confidential and not disclosed to third parties, except in certain specified circumstances. However, we cannot guarantee that we have entered into such agreements with each party that may have or have had access to our trade secrets or proprietary technology and processes. Any of these parties may breach the agreements and disclose
 
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our proprietary information, including our trade secrets, and we may not be able to obtain adequate remedies for such breaches. Enforcing a claim that a party illegally disclosed or misappropriated a trade secret is difficult, expensive, and time-consuming, and the outcome is unpredictable.
In addition to contractual measures, we try to protect the confidential nature of our proprietary information through other appropriate precautions, such as physical and technological security measures. However, trade secrets and know-how can be difficult to protect. These measures may not, for example, in the case of misappropriation of a trade secret by an employee or third party with authorized access, provide adequate protection for our proprietary information. Our security measures may not prevent an employee or consultant from misappropriating our trade secrets and providing them to a competitor, and any recourse we might take against this type of misconduct may not provide an adequate remedy to protect our interests fully. In addition, trade secrets may be independently developed by others in a manner that could prevent us from receiving legal recourse. If any of our confidential or proprietary information, such as our trade secrets, were to be disclosed or misappropriated, or if any of that information was independently developed by a competitor, our competitive position could be harmed.
Third parties may assert that our employees, consultants, or advisors have wrongfully used or disclosed confidential information or misappropriated trade secrets.
As is common in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries, we may employ individuals that are currently or were previously employed at universities, research institutions or other biotechnology or pharmaceutical companies, including our competitors or potential competitors. Although we try to ensure that our employees, consultants, and advisors do not use the proprietary information or know-how of others in their work for us, we may be subject to claims that we or these individuals have inadvertently or otherwise used or disclosed intellectual property, including trade secrets or other proprietary information, of any such individual’s current or former employer. Also, in the future we may be subject to claims that these individuals are violating non-compete agreements with their former employers. We may then have to pursue litigation to defend against these claims. If we fail in defending any such claims, in addition to paying monetary damages, we may lose valuable intellectual property rights or personnel. Even if we are successful in defending against such claims, litigation could result in substantial costs and be a distraction to our technical and management personnel from their normal responsibilities. In addition, there could be public announcements of the results of hearings, motions or other interim proceedings or developments, and, if securities analysts or investors perceive these results to be negative, that perception could have a substantial adverse effect on the price of our common stock. This type of litigation or proceeding could substantially increase our operating losses and reduce our resources available for development activities, and we may not have sufficient financial or other resources to adequately conduct this type of litigation or proceedings.
Risks Related to Government Regulation
The development and commercialization of biopharmaceutical products is subject to extensive regulation, and the regulatory approval processes of the FDA are lengthy, time-consuming, and inherently unpredictable. If we are ultimately unable to obtain regulatory approval for our product candidates on a timely basis if at all, our business will be substantially harmed.
The clinical development, manufacturing, labeling, packaging, storage, recordkeeping, advertising, promotion, export, import, marketing, distribution, adverse event reporting, including the submission of safety and other post-marketing information and reports, and other possible activities relating to our product candidates are subject to extensive regulation. In the U.S., marketing approval of biologics requires the submission of a BLA to the FDA, and we are not permitted to market any product candidate in the U.S. until we obtain approval from the FDA of the BLA for that product candidate. A BLA must be supported by extensive clinical and preclinical data, as well as extensive information regarding pharmacology, chemistry, manufacturing, and controls. Outside the U.S., many comparable foreign regulatory authorities employ similar approval processes.
We have not previously submitted a BLA to the FDA or similar regulatory approval filings to comparable foreign authorities, for any product candidate, and we cannot be certain that any of our product candidates will receive regulatory approval. We are not permitted to market our product candidates in the U.S. or in
 
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other countries until we receive approval of a BLA from the FDA or marketing approval from applicable regulatory authorities outside the U.S.. Obtaining approval of a BLA can be a lengthy, expensive, and uncertain process, and we have no experience with the preparation of a BLA submission for marketing approval. Further, the FDA has not yet granted approval for any whole organ using our perfusion technology or any whole organ biologic, and to our knowledge, a clinical trial has never been conducted using a bioengineered organ in humans before, which we believe may increase the complexity, uncertainty and length of the regulatory approval process. Further, if the FDA was to categorize our bioengineered organ products as xenotransplants, the length of the regulatory approval process could be extended. In addition, the FDA has the authority to require a risk evaluation and mitigation strategies plan as part of a BLA or after approval, which may impose further requirements or restrictions on the distribution or use of an approved biologic, such as limiting prescribing to certain physicians or medical centers that have undergone specialized training, limiting treatment to patients who meet certain safe-use criteria and requiring treated patients to enroll in a registry.
Our product candidates could fail to receive regulatory approval for many reasons, including the following:

the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities may disagree with the design or implementation of our clinical trials, and might therefore not allow an IND to proceed;

we may be unable to demonstrate to the satisfaction of the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities that a product candidate is safe, pure and potent for its proposed indication;

the results of clinical trials may not meet the level of statistical significance required by the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities for approval;

we may be unable to demonstrate that a product candidate’s clinical and other benefits outweigh its safety risks;

the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities may disagree with our interpretation of data from preclinical studies or clinical trials;

the data collected from clinical trials of our product candidates may not be sufficient to support the submission of a BLA or other submission or to obtain regulatory approval in the U.S. or elsewhere, or regulatory authorities may not accept a submission due to, among other reasons, the content or formatting of the submission;

the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities may fail to approve our manufacturing processes or facilities or those of third-party manufacturers with which we contract for clinical and commercial supplies; and

the approval policies or regulations of the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities may significantly change in a manner rendering our clinical data insufficient for approval.
This lengthy approval process, as well as the unpredictability of future clinical trial results, may result in our failing to obtain regulatory approval to market any of our product candidates, which would significantly harm our business, results of operations, and prospects. The FDA and comparable foreign regulatory authorities have substantial discretion in the approval process, and determining when or whether regulatory approval will be obtained for any of our product candidates. As a result, we may be required to conduct additional preclinical studies, alter our proposed clinical trial designs, or conduct additional clinical trials to satisfy the regulatory authorities in each of the jurisdictions in which we hope to conduct clinical trials and develop and market our products, if approved. Further, even if we believe the data collected from clinical trials of our product candidates are promising, such data may not be sufficient to support approval by the FDA or any comparable foreign regulatory authority.
In addition, even if we were to obtain approval, regulatory authorities may approve any of our product candidates for fewer or more limited indications than we request, may not approve the price we intend to charge for our products, may grant approval contingent on the performance of costly post-marketing clinical trials, or may approve a product candidate with a label that does not include the labeling claims necessary or desirable for the successful commercialization of that product candidate. Any of the foregoing scenarios could materially harm the commercial prospects for our product candidates.
 
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Even if our product candidates obtain regulatory approval, we will be subject to ongoing obligations and continued regulatory review, which may result in significant additional expense. Additionally, our product candidates, if approved, could be subject to labeling and other restrictions and market withdrawal and we may be subject to penalties if we fail to comply with regulatory requirements or experience unanticipated problems with our products.
If the FDA or a comparable foreign regulatory authority approves any of our product candidates, the manufacturing processes, testing, labeling, packaging, distribution, import, export, adverse event reporting, storage, advertising, promotion, and recordkeeping for the product will be subject to extensive and ongoing regulatory requirements. These requirements include submissions of safety and other post-marketing information and reports, registration, as well as continued compliance with current cGMPs, cGTPs and GCPs for any clinical trials that we conduct post-approval, all of which may result in significant expense and limit our ability to commercialize such products. In addition, any regulatory approvals that we receive for our product candidates may also be subject to limitations on the approved indicated uses for which the product may be marketed or to the conditions of approval, or contain requirements for potentially costly post-marketing testing, including Phase 4 clinical trials, and surveillance to monitor the safety and efficacy of the product candidate.
Manufacturers and manufacturers’ facilities are required to comply with extensive FDA and comparable foreign regulatory authority requirements, including ensuring that quality control and manufacturing procedures conform to cGMP regulations, as well as, for the manufacture of certain of our product candidates, the FDA’s cGTPs for the use of human cellular and tissue products to prevent the introduction, transmission or spread of communicable diseases. As such, we and our contract suppliers and manufacturers, if any, will be subject to continual review and inspections to assess compliance with cGMPs, cGTPs and adherence to commitments made in any approved marketing application. Accordingly, we and others with whom we work must continue to expend time, money, and effort in all areas of regulatory compliance, including manufacturing, quality control, and distribution.
If there are changes in the application of legislation or regulatory policies, or if problems are discovered with a product or our manufacture of a product, or if we or one of our distributors, licensees or co-marketers fails to comply with regulatory requirements, the regulators could take various actions. These include issuing warning letters or untitled letters, imposing fines on us, imposing restrictions on the product or its manufacture, and requiring us to recall or remove the product from the market. The regulators could also suspend or withdraw our marketing authorizations, requiring us to conduct additional clinical trials, change our product labeling, or submit additional applications for marketing authorization. If any of these events occurs, our ability to sell such product may be impaired, and we may incur substantial additional expense to comply with regulatory requirements, which could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
If a regulatory agency discovers previously unknown problems with a product, such as adverse events of unanticipated severity or frequency, or problems with the facility where the product is manufactured, or disagrees with the promotion, marketing or labeling of a product, such regulatory agency may impose restrictions on that product or us, including requiring withdrawal of the product from the market. If we fail to comply with applicable regulatory requirements, a regulatory agency or enforcement authority may, among other things:

issue warning or untitled letters;

issue, or require us to issue, safety-related communications, such as safety alerts, field alerts, “Dear Doctor” letters to healthcare professionals, or import alerts;

impose civil or criminal penalties;

suspend, limit, or withdraw regulatory approval;

suspend any of our preclinical studies and clinical trials;

refuse to approve pending applications or supplements to approved applications submitted by us;

impose restrictions on our operations, including closing our and our contract manufacturers’ facilities; or
 
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seize or detain products, refuse to permit the import or export of products, or require us to conduct a product recall.
Any government investigation of alleged violations of law could require us to expend significant time and resources in response and could generate negative publicity. Any failure to comply with ongoing regulatory requirements may significantly and adversely affect our ability to commercialize and generate revenue from our products, if approved. If regulatory sanctions are applied or if regulatory approval is withdrawn, the value of our company and our operating results will be adversely affected.
Compliance with current and future governmental regulations regarding the treatment of animals used in research could increase our operating costs or impact the commercialization of our technology.
Certain laws and regulations require us to test our product candidates on animals before initiating clinical trials involving humans. In addition, we are subject to federal law that covers the treatment of certain animals used in research. Currently, federal law imposes a wide variety of specific regulations that govern the humane handling, care, treatment and transportation of certain animals by producers and users of research animals, most notably relating to personnel, facilities, sanitation, cage size, feeding, watering and shipping conditions. Third parties with whom we contract are subject to registration, inspections and reporting requirements. Furthermore, some states have their own regulations, including general anti-cruelty legislation, which establish certain standards in handling animals. If we or any of our contractors fail to comply with regulations concerning the treatment of animals used in research, we may be subject to fines and penalties and adverse publicity, and our operations could be adversely affected.
Moreover, animal testing activities have been the subject of controversy and adverse publicity. Animal rights groups and other organizations and individuals have attempted to stop animal testing activities by pressing for legislation and regulation in these areas and by disrupting these activities through protests and other means. To the extent the activities of these groups are successful, our research and development activities may be interrupted, delayed, or become more expensive.
Even if we are able to commercialize any product candidate, coverage and adequate reimbursement may not be available or such product candidate may become subject to unfavorable pricing regulations or third-party coverage and reimbursement policies, which would harm our business.
The regulations that govern regulatory approvals, pricing, and reimbursement for biologics such as our product candidates vary widely from country to country. Some countries require approval of the sale price of a product before it can be marketed. In many countries, the pricing review period begins after marketing approval is granted. In some foreign markets, product pricing remains subject to continuing governmental control even after initial approval is granted. As a result, we might obtain regulatory approval for a product in a particular country, but then be subject to price regulations that delay our commercial launch of the product, possibly for lengthy time periods, and negatively impact the revenues we are able to generate from the sale of the product in that country. Adverse pricing limitations may hinder our ability to recoup our investment in one or more product candidates, even if our product candidates obtain regulatory approval.
Our ability to commercialize any products successfully also will depend in part on the extent to which coverage and adequate reimbursement for these products and related treatments will be available from third-party payors, such as government authorities, private health insurers, and other organizations. Even if we succeed in bringing one or more products to the market, these products may not be considered cost-effective, and the amount reimbursed for any products may be insufficient to allow us to sell our products on a competitive basis. Because our programs are in the early stages of development, and in particular due to the novel nature of our technology, we are unable at this time to determine their cost effectiveness or the likely level or method of coverage and reimbursement. Increasingly, the third-party payors who reimburse patients or healthcare providers are requiring that companies provide them with predetermined discounts from list prices, and are seeking to reduce the prices charged or the amounts reimbursed for drug products. If the price we are able to charge for any products we develop, or the coverage and reimbursement provided for such products, is inadequate in light of our development and other costs, our return on investment could be affected adversely.
 
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Further, no uniform policy for coverage and reimbursement exists in the U.S., and coverage and reimbursement can differ significantly from payor to payor. Third-party payors often follow Medicare coverage policy and payment limitations in setting their own reimbursement rates, but also have their own methods and approval process apart from Medicare determinations. As a result, the coverage determination process is often a time-consuming and costly process that will require us to provide scientific and clinical support for the use of our product candidates to each payor separately, with no assurance that coverage and adequate reimbursement will be applied consistently or obtained in the first instance. Decisions regarding the extent of coverage and amount of reimbursement to be provided for any product candidates that we develop will be made on a payor-by-payor basis. One payor’s determination to provide coverage for a biologic does not assure that other payors will also provide coverage and adequate reimbursement for the biologic. Additionally, a third-party payor’s decision to provide coverage for a therapy does not imply that an adequate reimbursement rate will be approved.
We face potential liability related to protection of the privacy of personal information, including health information we utilize in the development of our product candidates.
We and our partners and vendors are subject to various federal, state, and foreign data protection laws and regulations. If we fail to comply with these laws and regulations, we may be subject to litigation, regulatory investigations, enforcement notices, enforcement actions, fines, and criminal or civil penalties, as well as negative publicity, reputational harm, and a potential loss of business.
In the U.S., numerous federal and state laws and regulations, including state data breach notification laws and federal and state data privacy laws and regulations that govern the collection, use, disclosure, and protection of health information and other personal information apply to our operations and the operations of our partners. For example, most healthcare providers, including research institutions from which we obtain patient health information, are subject to data privacy and security regulations promulgated under HIPAA, as amended by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act of 2009. Depending on the facts and circumstances, we could be subject to significant penalties if we violate HIPAA. For example, under HIPAA, we could potentially face substantial criminal or civil penalties if we knowingly receive protected health information from a HIPAA-covered healthcare provider or research institution that has not satisfied HIPAA’s requirements for disclosure of such health information, or otherwise violate applicable HIPAA requirements related to the protection of such information. Even when HIPAA does not apply, failing to take appropriate steps to keep consumers’ personal information secure may constitute a violation of the Federal Trade Commission Act.
Certain of the research materials we use in our research and development efforts are derived from human sources, which potentially contain sensitive identifiable personal information regarding the donor. In addition, once we commence clinical trials, we may maintain sensitive identifiable personal information, including health information, that we receive throughout the clinical trial process, in the course of our research collaborations, and directly from individuals (or their healthcare providers) who enroll in our patient assistance programs. As such, we may become subject to further obligations under HIPAA. In addition, our collection of personal information generally (e.g., of employees currently and/or of patients in the future) may subject us to state data privacy laws governing the processing of personal information and requiring notification of affected individuals and state regulators in the event of a breach of such personal information. Numerous laws relating to data privacy and security have been proposed at the state and federal level, and if passed, such laws may have potentially conflicting requirements that would make compliance challenging, require us to expend significant resources to come into compliance, and restrict our ability to process certain personal information. New legislation proposed or enacted in various other states will continue to shape the data privacy environment nationally. Certain state laws may be more stringent or broader in scope, or offer greater individual rights, with respect to confidential, sensitive and personal information than federal, international or other state laws, and such laws may differ from each other, which may complicate compliance efforts.
We are likely to be required to expend significant capital and other resources to ensure ongoing compliance with applicable data privacy and security laws. Claims that we have violated individuals’ privacy rights or breached our contractual obligations, even if we are not found liable, could be expensive and time-consuming to defend, and could result in adverse publicity that could harm our business. Moreover, even if we
 
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take all necessary action to comply with legal and regulatory requirements, we could be subject to a data breach or other unauthorized access of personal information, which could subject us to fines and penalties, as well as litigation and reputational damage.
Risks Related to Our Common Stock
The price of our common stock may be volatile and you may lose all or part of your investment.
The market price of our common stock has historically and is likely to be highly volatile and may fluctuate substantially due to many factors. In recent years, the stock markets generally have experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations that have often been unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of those companies. Broad market and industry factors may significantly affect the market price of our common stock, regardless of our actual operating performance.
In addition, in the past, class action litigation has often been instituted against companies whose securities have experienced periods of volatility in market price. Securities litigation brought against us following volatility in our stock price, regardless of the merit or ultimate results of such litigation, could result in substantial costs, which would hurt our financial condition and operating results and divert management’s attention and resources from our business.
We are an emerging growth company and the reduced disclosure requirements applicable to emerging growth companies may make our common stock less attractive to investors.
We are an emerging growth company, as defined in the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012, as amended (“JOBS Act”), and we may take advantage of certain exemptions and relief from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not “emerging growth companies.” In particular, while we are an “emerging growth company” ​(i) we will not be required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, (ii) we will be exempt from any rules that could be adopted by the PCAOB requiring mandatory audit firm rotations or a supplement to the auditor’s report on financial statements, (iii) we will be subject to reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and (iv) we will not be required to hold nonbinding advisory votes on executive compensation or stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved.
We may remain an emerging growth company until as late as December 31, 2026, the fiscal year-end following the fifth anniversary of the completion of our IPO, though we may cease to be an “emerging growth company” earlier under certain circumstances, including if (i) we have more than $1.07 billion in annual revenue in any fiscal year, (ii) the market value of our common stock that is held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of any June 30 or (iii) we issue more than $1.0 billion of non-convertible debt over a three-year period.
The exact implications of the JOBS Act are still subject to interpretations and guidance by the SEC and other regulatory agencies, and we cannot assure you that we will be able to take advantage of all of the benefits of the JOBS Act. In addition, investors may find our common stock less attractive to the extent we rely on the exemptions and relief granted by the JOBS Act. If some investors find our common stock less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our common stock and our stock price may decline or become more volatile.
If securities or industry analysts do not publish research or publish inaccurate or unfavorable research about our business, our stock price and trading volume could decline.
The trading market for our securities may be influenced to some extent by the research and reports that industry or financial analysts publish about us and our business. We do not control these analysts. As a newly public company, we may be slow to attract research coverage and the analysts who publish information about our common stock will have had relatively little experience with us or our business and products, which could affect their ability to accurately forecast our results and could make it more likely that we fail to meet their estimates. In the event we obtain securities or industry analyst coverage, if any of the analysts who cover us provide inaccurate or unfavorable research or issue an adverse opinion regarding our stock price,
 
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our stock price could decline. If one or more of these analysts cease coverage of us or fail to publish reports covering us regularly, we could lose visibility in the market, which in turn could cause our stock price or trading volume to decline and result in the loss of all or a part of your investment in us.
Provisions in our corporate charter documents and under Delaware law could discourage another company from acquiring us and may prevent attempts by our stockholders to replace or remove our current management.
Provisions in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and our amended and restated bylaws may discourage, delay or prevent a merger, acquisition or other change in control of us that stockholders may consider favorable, including transactions in which stockholders might otherwise receive a premium for their shares. These provisions could also limit the price that investors might be willing to pay in the future for shares of our common stock, thereby depressing the market price of our common stock. In addition, these provisions may frustrate or prevent any attempts by our stockholders to replace or remove our current management by making it more difficult for stockholders to replace members of our board of directors. As our board of directors is responsible for appointing the members of our management team, these provisions could in turn affect any attempt by our stockholders to replace current members of our management team. These provisions provide, among other things, that:

our board of directors has the exclusive right to expand the size of our board of directors and to elect directors to fill a vacancy created by the expansion of the board of directors or the resignation, death or removal of a director, which prevents stockholders from being able to fill vacancies on our board of directors;

our board of directors is divided into three classes, with each class serving staggered three-year terms, which delays the ability of stockholders to change the membership of a majority of our board of directors;

our stockholders may not act by written consent, which forces stockholder action to be taken at an annual or special meeting of our stockholders;

a special meeting of stockholders may be called only by the chair of our board of directors, our chief executive officer (or president, in the absence of a chief executive officer) or a majority of our board of directors, which may delay the ability of our stockholders to force consideration of a proposal or to take action, including the removal of directors;

our amended and restated certificate of incorporation prohibits cumulative voting in the election of directors, which limits the ability of minority stockholders to elect director candidates;

the approval of the holders of at least two-thirds of our shares entitled to vote at an election of our board of directors is required to adopt, amend or repeal our amended and restated bylaws or repeal the provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation regarding the election and removal of directors;

stockholders must provide advance notice and additional disclosures to nominate individuals for election to the board of directors or to propose matters that can be acted upon at a stockholders’ meeting, which may discourage or deter a potential acquirer from conducting a solicitation of proxies to elect the acquirer’s own slate of directors or otherwise attempting to obtain voting control of our shares; and

our board of directors is authorized to issue shares of preferred stock and to determine the terms of those shares, including preferences and voting rights, without stockholder approval, which could be used to significantly dilute the ownership of a hostile acquirer.
Moreover, because we are incorporated in Delaware, we are governed by the provisions of Section 203 of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware (“DGCL”), which prohibits a person who owns in excess of 15% of our outstanding voting stock from merging or combining with us for a period of three years after the date of the transaction in which the person acquired in excess of 15% of our outstanding voting stock, unless the merger or combination is approved in a prescribed manner.
 
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Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides for a choice of forum for substantially all disputes between us and our stockholders.
Our amended and restated certificate provides that the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware will be the exclusive forum, to the fullest extent permitted by law, for (i) any derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf, (ii) any action asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty or other wrongdoing by any of our directors, officers, employees or agents to us or our stockholders, (iii) any action asserting a claim arising pursuant to any provision of the DGCL or our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or amended and restated bylaws or (iv) any action asserting a claim governed by the internal affairs doctrine, subject to certain limited exceptions including any actions arising under the Securities Act or Exchange Act. This provision may limit a stockholder’s ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for disputes with us or our directors, officers or other employees, which may discourage such lawsuits against us and our directors, officers and other employees.
Alternatively, if a court were to find the choice of forum provision contained in the Company’s amended and restated bylaws to be inapplicable or unenforceable in an action, the Company may incur additional costs associated with resolving such action in other jurisdictions.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws further provide that the federal district courts of the U.S. will be the exclusive forum for resolving any complaint asserting a cause of action arising under the Securities Act or Exchange Act. The Securities Act, however, creates concurrent jurisdiction for federal and state courts over all suits brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Securities Act or the rules and regulations thereunder. Accordingly, there is uncertainty as to whether a court would enforce such a forum selection provision as written in connection with claims arising under the Securities Act.
 
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CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
Certain statements made in this prospectus supplement, the accompanying base prospectus, the documents that are incorporated by reference herein and other written or oral statements made by or on behalf of our company may constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 (the “Securities Act”) and Section 21E of the Exchange Act. Forward-looking statements may be identified by the use of words such as “may,” “will,” “forecast,” “estimate,” “project,” “intend,” “plan,” “expect,” “should,” “believe” and other similar expressions that predict or indicate future events or trends or that are not statements of historical matters. These forward-looking statements relate to our future plans, objectives, expectations, intentions and financial performance and the assumptions that underlie these statements, and are based only on our current beliefs, expectations and assumptions regarding the future of our business, future plans and strategies, projections, anticipated events and trends, the economy and other future conditions and speak only as of the date on which it is made. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors, including those discussed in “Risk Factors”, which may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the following:

estimates regarding future results of operations, financial position, research and development costs, capital requirements and our needs for additional financing;

our expectations with respect to the regulatory pathway of our product candidates, our ability to obtain regulatory approvals for such product candidates and the anticipated effect of delays in obtaining any such regulatory approvals;

our expectations with respect to pre-clinical and clinical trial plans for our product candidates, the results of such activities and the safety, purity and potency of our product candidates;

our plans with respect to collaborating with third parties on product development and other matters;

our ability to commercialize our product candidates;

our expectations regarding our manufacturing capabilities;

our ability to compete successfully with larger competitors in our highly competitive industry;

our ability to achieve and maintain adequate levels of coverage or reimbursement for any future products we may seek to commercialize;

our beliefs with respect to the development, regulatory approval, efficacy and commercialization of competing products;

our business model and strategic plans for our product candidates, technologies and business, including our implementation thereof;

the size of the markets for our product candidates and our expectations about market trends;

our ability to attract and retain senior management and key scientific personnel;

our ability to obtain additional capital to finance our planned operations;

regulatory developments in the United States and internationally; and

our ability to establish and maintain intellectual property protection for our products, as well as our ability to operate our business without infringing the intellectual property rights of others.
This list of factors that may affect future performance and the accuracy of forward-looking statements is illustrative but not exhaustive. In addition, new risks and uncertainties may arise from time to time. Accordingly, all forward-looking statements should be evaluated with an understanding of their inherent uncertainty and we caution accordingly against relying on forward-looking statements.
Consider these factors carefully in evaluating the forward-looking statements. Additional factors that may cause results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements are set forth in the 2021 Form 10-K under the heading “Risk Factors” and in “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of
 
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Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in the 2021 Form 10-K and in subsequent reports filed by us with the SEC, including on Forms 10-K, 10-Q and 8-K. Because of the foregoing, you are cautioned against relying on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. We do not undertake to update any of these statements in light of new information or future events, except as required by applicable law.
 
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USE OF PROCEEDS
We estimate that the net proceeds from our issuance and sale of           shares of common stock in this offering at a public offering price of $      will be $      million after deducting the underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us. If the underwriters exercise their option to purchase additional shares in full, we estimate that our net proceeds will be approximately $      million after deducting estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us. If we were to raise $8 million in gross proceeds in this offering, we believe that we would have sufficient liquidity to sustain the Company into the second quarter of 2024.
We expect to use the net proceeds, if any, from the sale of any of our common stock offered under this prospectus supplement for research, development and manufacturing of our product candidates, working capital, capital expenditures and general corporate purposes. We may also use a portion of the net proceeds to invest in or acquire businesses or technologies that we believe are complementary to our own, although we have no current understandings, commitments or agreements with respect to any investments or acquisitions as of the date of this prospectus supplement.
This expected use of the net proceeds from this offering represents our intentions based upon our current plans and business conditions, which could change in the future as our plans and business conditions evolve. The amounts and timing of our actual expenditures may vary significantly depending on numerous factors, including the net proceeds from this offering, the progress of our development efforts, the timing of regulatory submissions and the outcome of regulatory reviews, the status of and results from future clinical trials, as well as any collaborations that we may enter into with third parties for our product candidates, and any unforeseen cash needs. As a result, our management will retain broad discretion over the allocation of the net proceeds from this offering. We have no current agreements, commitments or understandings for any material investments, acquisitions or licenses of any third-party products, product candidates, businesses or technologies as of the date of this prospectus supplement.
Pending these uses, we intend to invest the net proceeds in cash and investment-grade, interest-bearing securities.
 
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DILUTION
If you invest in our common stock in this offering, your ownership interest will be diluted immediately to the extent of the difference between the public offering price per share of our common stock and the as adjusted net tangible book value per share of our common stock after this offering. As of September 30, 2022, our net tangible book value was $32.7 million, or $1.57 per share. Net tangible book value per share represents our total tangible assets less our total liabilities, divided by the number of shares outstanding.
After giving effect to the sale of           shares of our common stock at the public offering price of $      per share, and after deducting commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us, our as adjusted net tangible book value as of September 30, 2022 would have been $      million, or $      per share. This amount represents an immediate increase in net tangible book value of $      per share to existing stockholders and an immediate dilution in net tangible book value of $      per share to new investors purchasing common stock in this offering. We determine dilution by subtracting the as adjusted net tangible book value per share after this offering from the price per share paid by an investor in this offering.
The following table illustrates this dilution:
Public offering price per share
$      
Historical net tangible book value per share as of September 30, 2022
$ 1.57
Increase in net tangible book value per share attributable to new investors in this
offering
$
As adjusted net tangible book value per share after giving effect to this offering
$
Dilution per share to new investors participating in this offering
$
If the underwriters exercise in full their option to purchase additional shares, our as adjusted net tangible book value per share after this offering would be $      per share, representing an immediate increase in as adjusted net tangible book value per share of $      to existing stockholders and immediate dilution of $      in as adjusted net tangible book value per share to new investors purchasing common stock in this offering.
The number of shares of our common stock expected to be outstanding after this offering is based on 20,904,295 shares of common stock outstanding as of September 30, 2022 and excludes the following:
(1)
3,874,186 shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of stock options as of September 30, 2022 at a weighted average exercise price of $4.06 per share;
(2)
599,191 shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of warrants as of September 30, 2022 at a weighted average exercise price of $6.16 per share;
(3)
240,587 shares of unvested common stock issuable upon the vesting of outstanding restricted stock units as of September 30, 2022;
(4)
809,927 shares of common stock reserved for issuance and available for future grant under our 2021 Equity Incentive Plan as of September 30, 2022; and
(5)
500,000 shares of common stock reserved for issuance and available for future grant under our 2021 Employee Stock Purchase Plan as of September 30, 2022.
The above illustration of dilution per share to investors participating in this offering assumes no exercise of outstanding options or warrants to purchase our common stock. To the extent that the options or warrants are exercised, investors participating in this offering will experience further dilution. In addition, we may choose to raise additional capital depending on market conditions, our capital requirements and strategic considerations, even if we believe we have sufficient funds for our current or future operating plans. To the extent that additional capital is raised through our sale of equity or convertible debt securities, the issuance of these securities could result in further dilution to our stockholders.
 
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DIVIDEND POLICY
We have never declared or paid any cash dividends on our capital stock. We intend to retain future earnings, if any, to finance the operation of our business and do not anticipate paying any cash dividends in the foreseeable future. Any future determination related to our dividend policy will be made at the discretion of our board of directors after considering our financial condition, results of operations, capital requirements, business prospects and other factors our board of directors deems relevant, and subject to the restrictions contained in any future financing instruments. In addition, the terms of our loan and security agreement restrict our ability to pay cash dividends.
 
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MATERIAL U.S. FEDERAL INCOME TAX CONSIDERATIONS FOR NON-U.S. HOLDERS
The following discussion is a summary of the material U.S. federal income tax consequences to Non-U.S. Holders (as defined below) of the purchase, ownership and disposition of our common stock issued pursuant to this offering, but does not purport to be a complete analysis of all potential tax effects. The effects of other U.S. federal tax laws, such as estate and gift tax laws, and any applicable state, local or non-U.S. tax laws are not discussed. This discussion is based on the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, or the Code, Treasury Regulations promulgated thereunder, judicial decisions, and published rulings and administrative pronouncements of the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, or the IRS, in each case in effect as of the date hereof. These authorities may change or be subject to differing interpretations. Any such change or differing interpretation may be applied retroactively in a manner that could adversely affect a Non-U.S. Holder of our common stock. We have not sought and will not seek any rulings from the IRS regarding the matters discussed below. There can be no assurance the IRS or a court will not take a contrary position to that discussed below regarding the tax consequences of the purchase, ownership and disposition of our common stock.
This discussion is limited to Non-U.S. Holders that hold our common stock as a “capital asset” within the meaning of Section 1221 of the Code (generally, property held for investment). This discussion does not address all U.S. federal income tax consequences relevant to a Non- U.S. Holder’s particular circumstances, including the impact of the Medicare contribution tax on net investment income and the alternative minimum tax. In addition, it does not address consequences relevant to Non-U.S. Holders subject to special rules, including, without limitation:

U.S. expatriates and former citizens or long-term residents of the United States;

persons holding our common stock as part of a hedge, straddle or other risk reduction strategy or as part of a conversion transaction or other integrated investment;

banks, insurance companies and other financial institutions;

brokers, dealers or traders in securities;

“controlled foreign corporations,” “passive foreign investment companies” and corporations that accumulate earnings to avoid U.S. federal income tax;

partnerships or other entities or arrangements treated as partnerships for U.S. federal income tax purposes (and investors therein);

tax-exempt organizations or governmental organizations;

persons deemed to sell our common stock under the constructive sale provisions of the Code;

persons who hold or receive our common stock pursuant to the exercise of any employee stock option or otherwise as compensation;

tax-qualified retirement plans;

“qualified foreign pension funds” as defined in Section 897(l)(2) of the Code and entities all of the interests of which are held by qualified foreign pension funds; and

persons subject to special tax accounting rules as a result of any item of gross income with respect to our common stock being taken into account in an applicable financial statement.
If an entity or arrangement treated as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes holds our common stock, the tax treatment of a partner in the partnership will depend on the status of the partner, the activities of the partnership and certain determinations made at the partner level. Accordingly, partnerships holding our common stock and the partners in such partnerships should consult their tax advisors regarding the U.S. federal income tax consequences to them.
THIS DISCUSSION IS FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY AND IS NOT TAX ADVICE. INVESTORS SHOULD CONSULT THEIR TAX ADVISORS WITH RESPECT TO THE APPLICATION OF THE U.S. FEDERAL INCOME TAX LAWS TO THEIR PARTICULAR SITUATIONS AS WELL AS ANY TAX CONSEQUENCES OF THE PURCHASE, OWNERSHIP
 
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AND DISPOSITION OF OUR COMMON STOCK ARISING UNDER THE U.S. FEDERAL ESTATE OR GIFT TAX LAWS OR UNDER THE LAWS OF ANY STATE, LOCAL OR NON-U.S. TAXING JURISDICTION OR UNDER ANY APPLICABLE INCOME TAX TREATY.
Definition of a Non-U.S. Holder
For purposes of this discussion, a “Non-U.S. Holder” is any beneficial owner of our common stock that is neither a “U.S. person” nor an entity treated as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes. A U.S. person is any person that, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, is or is treated as any of the following:

an individual who is a citizen or resident of the United States;

a corporation or entity treated as a corporation that is created or organized under the laws of the United States, any state thereof, or the District of Columbia;

an estate, the income of which is subject to U.S. federal income tax regardless of its source; or

a trust that (i) is subject to the primary supervision of a U.S. court and the control of one or more “United States persons” ​(within the meaning of Section 7701(a)(30) of the Code), or (ii) has a valid election in effect to be treated as a United States person for U.S. federal income tax purposes.
Distributions
As described in the section titled “Dividend Policy,” we do not currently intend to pay any cash dividends on our capital stock in the foreseeable future. However, if we make distributions of cash or property on our common stock, such distributions will constitute dividends for U.S. federal income tax purposes to the extent paid from our current or accumulated earnings and profits, as determined under U.S. federal income tax principles. Amounts not treated as dividends for U.S. federal income tax purposes will constitute a return of capital and first be applied against and reduce a Non-U.S. Holder’s adjusted tax basis in its common stock, but not below zero. Any excess will be treated as capital gain and will be treated as described below under “Sale or Other Taxable Disposition.”
Subject to the discussions below on effectively connected income, backup withholding and FATCA (as defined below), dividends paid to a Non-U.S. Holder of our common stock will be subject to U.S. federal withholding tax at a rate of 30% of the gross amount of the dividends (or such lower rate specified by an applicable income tax treaty, provided the Non-U.S. Holder furnishes a valid IRS Form W-8BEN or W-8BEN-E (or other applicable documentation) certifying qualification for the lower treaty rate). A Non-U.S. Holder that does not timely furnish the required documentation, but that qualifies for a reduced treaty rate, may obtain a refund of any excess amounts withheld by timely filing an appropriate claim for refund with the IRS. Non-U.S. Holders should consult their tax advisors regarding their entitlement to benefits under any applicable income tax treaty.
If dividends paid to a Non-U.S. Holder are effectively connected with the Non-U.S. Holder’s conduct of a trade or business within the United States (and, if required by an applicable income tax treaty, the Non-U.S. Holder maintains a permanent establishment or fixed base in the United States to which such dividends are attributable), the Non-U.S. Holder will be exempt from the U.S. federal withholding tax described above. To claim the exemption, the Non-U.S. Holder must furnish to the applicable withholding agent a valid IRS Form W-8ECI, certifying that the dividends are effectively connected with the Non-U.S. Holder’s conduct of a trade or business within the United States.
Any such effectively connected dividends generally will be subject to U.S. federal income tax on a net income basis at the regular rates. A Non-U.S. Holder that is a corporation also generally will be subject to a branch profits tax at a rate of 30% (or such lower rate specified by an applicable income tax treaty) on its effectively connected earnings and profits attributable to such dividends, as adjusted for certain items. Non-U.S. Holders should consult their tax advisors regarding any applicable tax treaties that may provide for different rules.
Sale or Other Taxable Disposition
Subject to the discussions below regarding backup withholding and FATCA, a Non-U.S. Holder will not be subject to U.S. federal income tax on any gain realized upon the sale or other taxable disposition of our common stock unless:
 
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the gain is effectively connected with the Non-U.S. Holder’s conduct of a trade or business within the United States (and, if required by an applicable income tax treaty, the Non-U.S. Holder maintains a permanent establishment or fixed base in the United States to which such gain is attributable);

the Non-U.S. Holder is a nonresident alien individual present in the United States for 183 days or more during the taxable year of the disposition and certain other requirements are met; or

our common stock constitutes a U.S. real property interest, or USRPI, by reason of our status as a U.S. real property holding corporation, or USRPHC, for U.S. federal income tax purposes.
Gain described in the first bullet point above generally will be subject to U.S. federal income tax on a net income basis at the regular rates. A Non-U.S. Holder that is a corporation also generally will be subject to a branch profits tax at a rate of 30% (or such lower rate specified by an applicable income tax treaty) on its effectively connected earnings and profits attributable to such gain, as adjusted for certain items.
A Non-U.S. Holder described in the second bullet point above will be subject to U.S. federal income tax at a rate of 30% (or such lower rate specified by an applicable income tax treaty) on gain realized upon the sale or other taxable disposition of our common stock, which may be offset by U.S. source capital losses of the Non-U.S. Holder (even though the individual is not considered a resident of the United States), provided the Non-U.S. Holder has timely filed U.S. federal income tax returns with respect to such losses.
With respect to the third bullet point above, we believe we currently are not, and do not anticipate becoming, a USRPHC. However, because the determination of whether we are a USRPHC depends on the fair market value of our USRPIs relative to the fair market value of our non-U.S. real property interests and our other business assets, there can be no assurance we currently are not a USRPHC or will not become one in the future. Even if we are or were to become a USRPHC, gain arising from the sale or other taxable disposition by a Non-U.S. Holder of our common stock will not be subject to U.S. federal income tax if our common stock is “regularly traded,” as defined by applicable Treasury Regulations, on an established securities market, and such Non-U.S. Holder owned, actually and constructively, 5% or less of our common stock throughout the shorter of the five-year period ending on the date of the sale or other taxable disposition or the Non-U.S. Holder’s holding period. If we are a USRPHC and either our common stock is not regularly traded on an established securities market or a Non-U.S. Holder holds more than 5% of our common stock, actually or constructively, during the applicable testing period, such Non-U.S. Holder will generally be taxed on any gain in the same manner as gain that is effectively connected with the conduct of a U.S. trade or business, except that the branch profits tax generally will not apply.
Non-U.S. Holders should consult their tax advisors regarding any applicable income tax treaties that may provide for different rules.
Information Reporting and Backup Withholding
Payments of dividends on our common stock will not be subject to backup withholding, provided the applicable withholding agent does not have actual knowledge or reason to know the holder is a United States person and the holder either certifies its non-U.S. status by furnishing a valid IRS Form W-8BEN, W-8BEN-E or W-8ECI or otherwise establishes an exemption. However, information returns are required to be filed with the IRS in connection with any distributions on our common stock paid to the Non-U.S. Holder, regardless of whether such distributions constitute dividends or whether any tax was actually withheld. In addition, proceeds of the sale or other taxable disposition of our common stock within the United States or conducted through certain U.S.-related brokers generally will not be subject to backup withholding or information reporting, if the applicable withholding agent receives the certification described above and does not have actual knowledge or reason to know that such holder is a United States person or the holder otherwise establishes an exemption. Proceeds of a disposition of our common stock conducted through a non-U.S. office of a non-U.S. broker that does not have certain enumerated relationships with the United States generally will not be subject to backup withholding or information reporting.
Copies of information returns that are filed with the IRS also may be made available under the provisions of an applicable treaty or agreement to the tax authorities of the country in which the Non-U.S. Holder resides or is established.
 
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Backup withholding is not an additional tax. Any amounts withheld under the backup withholding rules may be allowed as a refund or a credit against a Non-U.S. Holder’s U.S. federal income tax liability, provided the required information is timely furnished to the IRS.
Additional Withholding Tax on Payments Made to Foreign Accounts
Withholding taxes may be imposed under Sections 1471 to 1474 of the Code (such Sections commonly referred to as the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, or FATCA) on certain types of payments made to non-U.S. financial institutions and certain other non-U.S. entities. Specifically, a 30% withholding tax may be imposed on dividends on, or (subject to the proposed Treasury Regulations discussed below) gross proceeds from the sale or other disposition of, our common stock paid to a “foreign financial institution” or a “non-financial foreign entity” ​(each as defined in the Code), unless (1) the foreign financial institution undertakes certain diligence and reporting obligations, (2) the non-financial foreign entity either certifies it does not have any “substantial United States owners” ​(as defined in the Code) or furnishes identifying information regarding each substantial United States owner, or (3) the foreign financial institution or non-financial foreign entity otherwise qualifies for an exemption from these rules. If the payee is a foreign financial institution and is subject to the diligence and reporting requirements in (1) above, it must enter into an agreement with the U.S. Department of the Treasury requiring, among other things, that it undertake to identify accounts held by certain “specified United States persons” or “United States owned foreign entities” ​(each as defined in the Code), annually report certain information about such accounts, and withhold 30% on certain payments to non-compliant foreign financial institutions and certain other account holders. Foreign financial institutions located in jurisdictions that have an intergovernmental agreement with the United States governing FATCA may be subject to different rules.
Under proposed Treasury Regulations, FATCA withholding on payments of gross proceeds has been eliminated. Taxpayers generally may rely on these proposed Treasury Regulations until final Treasury Regulations are issued.
Prospective investors should consult their tax advisors regarding the potential application of withholding under FATCA to their investment in our common stock.
 
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UNDERWRITING
Subject to the terms and conditions set forth in the underwriting agreement between us and Piper Sandler & Co., as the representative of the underwriters, we have agreed to sell to the underwriters, and each of the underwriters has agreed, severally and not jointly, to purchase from us, at the public offering price less the underwriting discounts and commissions set forth on the cover page of this prospectus supplement, the number of shares of common stock listed opposite its name below.
Underwriter
Number of
Shares
Piper Sandler & Co.
        
Craig-Hallum Capital Group LLC
Total
The underwriting agreement provides that the obligations of the several underwriters are subject to certain conditions precedent such as the receipt by the underwriters of officers’ certificates and legal opinions and approval of certain legal matters by their counsel. The underwriting agreement provides that the underwriters will purchase all of the securities sold under the underwriting agreement if any of these securities are purchased. If an underwriter defaults, the underwriting agreement provides that the purchase commitments of the non-defaulting underwriter may be increased if the amount of shares not purchased does not aggregate to more than 10% of the total amount of shares to be sold, and if this threshold is exceeded, then the underwriting agreement may be terminated. The underwriters reserve the right to withdraw, cancel or modify offers to the public and to reject orders in whole or in part.
Option to Purchase Additional Shares
We have granted the underwriters an option to purchase up to additional      shares of our common stock. The underwriters may exercise this option at any time and from time to time during the 30-day period from the date of this prospectus supplement. If any additional shares of our common stock are purchased, the underwriters will offer the additional shares of our common stock on the same terms as those on which the shares are being offered.
Discounts and Commissions
The underwriters have advised us that they propose to offer the shares of our common stock directly to the public at the offering price set forth on the cover of this prospectus supplement. The underwriters propose to offer the shares to certain dealers at the same price less a concession of not more than $      per share of common stock. After the offering, if all of the shares of our common stock are not sold at the public offering price, the public offering price and concession may be reduced by the representative. No such reduction will change the amount of proceeds to be received by us as set forth on the cover of this prospectus supplement.
The underwriting fee is equal to the public offering price per share of our common stock less the amount paid by the underwriters to us per share of common stock. The following table shows the per share and total underwriting discount to be paid by the underwriters in connection with this offering, assuming both no exercise and full exercise of the underwriters’ option:
Per Share
Total without
Optional Shares
Total with
Optional Shares
Public offering price
$        $        $       
Underwriting discounts
$ $ $
Proceeds, before expenses, to us
$ $ $
We estimate that the total fees and expenses payable by us, excluding underwriting discount, will be approximately $      , which includes up to $150,000 that we have agreed to reimburse the underwriters for their counsel fees.
 
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Indemnification of Underwriters
We have agreed to indemnify the underwriters against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act, or to contribute to payments that the underwriters may be required to make in respect of those liabilities.
No Sales of Similar Securities
We, our executive officers, directors and certain significant stocholders, have agreed, subject to specified exceptions, not to offer, sell, agree to sell, directly or indirectly, or otherwise dispose of any shares of common stock or any securities convertible into or exchangeable for shares of common stock without the prior written consent of the Piper Sandler & Co., as representative, for a period of 90 days after the date of this prospectus.
These restrictions contain limited exceptions and terminate after the close of trading of our common stock on and including the 90th day after the date of this prospectus supplement. The representative may, in its discretion and at any time or from time to time before the termination of the 90-day period, release all or any portion of the securities subject to lock-up agreements. There are no existing agreements between the underwriters and any of our stockholders who will execute a lock-up agreement, providing consent to the sale of shares prior to the expiration of the lock-up period.
Listing
Our common stock is listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol “MIRO.”
Price Stabilization, Short Positions and Penalty Bids
Until the distribution of the shares of our common stock, SEC rules may limit underwriters from bidding for and purchasing shares of our common stock. However, the underwriters may engage in transactions that stabilize the price of our common stock, such as bids or purchases to peg, fix or maintain that price.
In connection with this offering, the underwriters may purchase and sell shares of our common stock in the open market. These transactions may include short sales, purchases on the open market to cover positions created by short sales and stabilizing transactions. Short sales involve the sale by the underwriters of a greater number of shares than they are required to purchase in this offering. “Covered” short sales are sales made in an amount not greater than the underwriters’ option to purchase additional shares described above. The underwriters may close out any covered short position by either exercising their option or purchasing shares in the open market. In determining the source of shares to close out the covered short position, the underwriters will consider, among other things, the price of shares available for purchase in the open market as compared to the price at which they may purchase shares through the underwriters’ option. “Naked” short sales are sales in excess of the underwriters’ option. The underwriters must close out any naked short position by purchasing shares in the open market. A naked short position is more likely to be created if the underwriters are concerned that there may be downward pressure on the price of our common stock in the open market after pricing that could adversely affect investors who purchase in this offering. Stabilizing transactions consist of various bids for or purchases of shares of our common stock made by the underwriters in the open market prior to the closing of this offering.
The underwriters may also impose a penalty bid. This occurs when a particular underwriter repays to the underwriters a portion of the underwriting discount received by it because the representatives have repurchased shares sold by or for the account of such underwriter in stabilizing or short covering transactions.
Similar to other purchase transactions, the underwriters’ purchases to cover the syndicate short sales may have the effect of raising or maintaining the market price of our common stock or preventing or retarding a decline in the market price of our common stock. As a result, the price of our common stock may be higher than the price that might otherwise exist in the open market. The underwriters may conduct these transactions on the Nasdaq Capital Market, in the over-the-counter market or otherwise.
 
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Neither we nor any of the underwriters make any representation or prediction as to the direction or magnitude of any effect that the transactions described above may have on the price of our common stock. In addition, neither we nor any of the underwriters make any representation that the representatives will engage in these transactions or that these transactions, once commenced, will not be discontinued without notice.
The underwriters may also engage in passive market making transactions in our common stock on the Nasdaq Capital Market in accordance with Rule 103 of Regulation M promulgated under the Exchange Act during a period before the commencement of offers or sales of the securities in this offering and extending through the completion of distribution. A passive market maker must display its bid at a price not in excess of the highest independent bid of that security. However, if all independent bids are lowered below the passive market maker’s bid, that bid must then be lowered when specified purchase limits are exceeded. If passive market making is commenced, it may be discontinued at any time.
Electronic Distribution
A prospectus in electronic format may be made available by e-mail or on the websites or through online services maintained by one or more of the underwriters or their affiliates. In those cases, prospective investors may view offering terms online and may be allowed to place orders online. The underwriters may agree with us to allocate a specific number of shares of our common stock for sale to online brokerage account holders. Any such allocation for online distributions will be made by the underwriters on the same basis as other allocations. Other than the prospectus in electronic format, the information on each underwriter’s or its affiliates’ websites and any information contained in any other website maintained by any of the underwriters or their respective affiliates is not part of this prospectus, has not been approved and/or endorsed by us or the underwriters and should not be relied upon by investors.
Affiliations
The underwriters and certain of their respective affiliates are full service financial institutions engaged in various activities, which may include securities trading, commercial and investment banking, financial advisory, investment management, investment research, principal investment, hedging, financing and brokerage activities. The underwriters and certain of their respective affiliates have, from time to time, performed, and may in the future perform, various commercial and investment banking and financial advisory services for us and our affiliates, for which they received or will receive customary fees and expenses. For example, Piper Sandler & Co. is a sales agent under our Open Market Equity Distribution Agreement. Under the Open Market Equity Distribution Agreement, we may offer and sell, from time to time, shares of our common stock through an “at the market offering” as defined in Rule 415(a)(4) promulgated under the Securities Act. In addition, from time to time, certain of the underwriters and their respective affiliates may effect transactions for their own account or the account of customers, and hold on behalf of themselves or their customers, long or short positions in our debt or equity securities or loans, and may do so in the future. Certain of the underwriters and their affiliates may also make investment recommendations and/or publish or express independent research views in respect of such securities or financial instruments and may hold, or recommend to clients that they acquire, long and/or short positions in such securities and instruments.
Selling Restrictions
Other than in the United States, no action has been taken by us or the underwriters that would permit a public offering of the securities offered by this prospectus supplement in any jurisdiction where action for that purpose is required. The shares offered by this prospectus supplement may not be offered or sold, directly or indirectly, nor may this prospectus supplement or any other offering material or advertisements in connection with the offer and sale of any such shares be distributed or published in any jurisdiction, except under circumstances that will result in compliance with the applicable rules and regulations of that jurisdiction. Persons into whose possession this prospectus supplement comes are advised to inform themselves about and to observe any restrictions relating to the offering and the distribution of this prospectus supplement. This prospectus supplement does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of
 
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an offer to buy any securities offered by this prospectus supplement in any jurisdiction in which such an offer or a solicitation is unlawful.
European Economic Area
In relation to each Member State of the European Economic Area, each, a Relevant State, no securities have been offered or will be offered pursuant to this offering to the public in that Relevant State prior to the publication of a prospectus in relation to the securities which has been approved by the competent authority in that Relevant State or, where appropriate, approved in another Relevant State and notified to the competent authority in that Relevant State, all in accordance with the Prospectus Regulation, except that offers of securities may be made to the public in that Relevant State at any time under the following exemptions under the Prospectus Regulation:
(a)
to any legal entity which is a qualified investor as defined under the Prospectus Regulation;
(b)
to fewer than 150 natural or legal persons (other than qualified investors as defined under the Prospectus Regulation), subject to obtaining the prior consent of the underwriters; or
(c)
in any other circumstances falling within Article 1(4) of the Prospectus Regulation,
provided that no such offer of the securities shall require us or any underwriter to publish a prospectus pursuant to Article 3 of the Prospectus Regulation or supplement a prospectus pursuant to Article 23 of the Prospectus Regulation and each person who initially acquires any securities or to whom any offer is made will be deemed to have represented, acknowledged and agreed to and with each of the underwriters and the Company that it is a “qualified investor” within the meaning of Article 2(e) of the Prospectus Regulation. In the case of any securities being offered to a financial intermediary as that term is used in the Prospectus Regulation, each such financial intermediary will be deemed to have represented, acknowledged and agreed that the securities acquired by it in the offer have not been acquired on a nondiscretionary basis on behalf of, nor have they been acquired with a view to their offer or resale to, persons in circumstances which may give rise to an offer of any securities to the public other than their offer or resale in a Relevant State to qualified investors as so defined or in circumstances in which the prior consent of the underwriters have been obtained to each such proposed offer or resale.
For the purposes of this provision, the expression an “offer to the public” in relation to securities in any Relevant State means the communication in any form and by any means of sufficient information on the terms of the offer and any securities to be offered so as to enable an investor to decide to purchase or subscribe for any securities, and the expression “Prospectus Regulation” means Regulation (EU) 2017/1129.
We have not authorized and do not authorize the making of any offer of the securities through any financial intermediary on their behalf, other than offers made by the underwriters with a view to the final placement of the securities in this document. Accordingly, no purchaser of the securities, other than the underwriters, is authorized to make any further offer of the securities on behalf of us or the underwriters.
United Kingdom
In relation to the United Kingdom, no securities have been offered or will be offered pursuant to this offering to the public in the United Kingdom prior to the publication of a prospectus in relation to the securities that has been approved by the Financial Conduct Authority, except that offers of securities may be made to the public in the United Kingdom at any time under the following exemptions under the UK Prospectus Regulation:
(a)
to any legal entity which is a qualified investor as defined in Article 2 of the UK Prospectus Regulation;
(b)
to fewer than 150 natural or legal persons (other than qualified investors as defined in Article 2 of the UK Prospectus Regulation), subject to obtaining the prior consent of the underwriters; or
(c)
in any other circumstances falling within section 86 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, or FSMA,
 
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provided that no such offer of securities shall require us or any representatives to publish a prospectus pursuant to 85 of the FSMA or supplement a prospectus pursuant to Article 23 of the UK Prospectus Regulation.
Each person in the United Kingdom who initially acquires any securities or to whom any offer is made will be deemed to have represented, acknowledged and agreed to and with us and the representatives that it is a qualified investor within the meaning of Article 2 of the UK Prospectus Regulation.
In the case of any securities being offered to a financial intermediary as that term is used in Article 1(4) of the U.K. Prospectus Regulation, each financial intermediary will also be deemed to have represented, acknowledged and agreed that the securities acquired by it in the offer have not been acquired on a non-discretionary basis on behalf of, nor have they been acquired with a view to their offer or resale to, persons in circumstances which may give rise to an offer of any securities to the public, other than their offer or resale in the United Kingdom to qualified investors as so defined or in circumstances in which the prior consent of the representatives has been obtained to each such proposed offer or resale.
For the purposes of this provision, the expression an “offer to the public” in relation to any securities in any relevant state means the communication in any form and by any means of sufficient information on the terms of the offer and any securities to be offered so as to enable an investor to decide to purchase or subscribe for any securities, and the expression “UK Prospectus Regulation” means Regulation (EU) 2017/1129 as it forms part of domestic law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018.
Australia
No placement document, prospectus, product disclosure statement or other disclosure document has been lodged with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission in relation to this offering. This prospectus supplement does not constitute a prospectus, product disclosure statement or other disclosure document under the Corporations Act 2001, or the Corporations Act, and does not purport to include the information required for a prospectus, product disclosure statement or other disclosure document under the Corporations Act.
Any offer in Australia of the securities may only be made to persons, or the Exempt Investors, who are “sophisticated investors” ​(within the meaning of section 708(8) of the Corporations Act), “professional investors” ​(within the meaning of section 708(11) of the Corporations Act) or otherwise pursuant to one or more exemptions contained in section 708 of the Corporations Act so that it is lawful to offer the securities without disclosure to investors under Chapter 6D of the Corporations Act.
The securities applied for by Exempt Investors in Australia must not be offered for sale in Australia in the period of 12 months after the date of allotment under this offering, except in circumstances where disclosure to investors under Chapter 6D of the Corporations Act would not be required pursuant to an exemption under section 708 of the Corporations Act or otherwise or where the offer is pursuant to a disclosure document which complies with Chapter 6D of the Corporations Act. Any person acquiring securities must observe such Australian on-sale restrictions.
This prospectus supplement contains general information only and does not take account of the investment objectives, financial situation or particular needs of any particular person. It does not contain any securities recommendations or financial product advice. Before making an investment decision, investors need to consider whether the information in this prospectus supplement is appropriate to their needs, objectives and circumstances, and, if necessary, seek expert advice on those matters.
Canada
The securities may be sold only to purchasers purchasing as principal that are both “accredited investors” as defined in National Instrument 45-106 Prospectus and Registration Exemptions and “permitted clients” as defined in National Instrument 31-103 Registration Requirements, Exemptions and Ongoing Registrant Obligations. Any resale of our securities must be made in accordance with an exemption from the prospectus requirements and in compliance with the registration requirements of applicable securities laws.
 
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France
This prospectus (including any amendment, supplement or replacement thereto) is not being distributed in the context of a public offering in France within the meaning of Article L. 411-1 of the French Monetary and Financial Code (Code monétaire et financier).
This prospectus has not been and will not be submitted to the French Autorité des marchés financiers, or the AMF, for approval in France and accordingly may not and will not be distributed to the public in France.
Pursuant to Article 211-3 of the AMF General Regulation, French residents are hereby informed that:
(a)
the transaction does not require a prospectus to be submitted for approval to the AMF;
(b)
persons or entities referred to in Point 2°, Section II of Article L.411-2 of the Monetary and Financial Code may take part in the transaction solely for their own account, as provided in Articles D. 411-1, D. 734-1, D. 744-1, D. 754-1 and D. 764-1 of the Monetary and Financial Code; and
(c)
the financial instruments thus acquired cannot be distributed directly or indirectly to the public otherwise than in accordance with Articles L. 411-1, L. 411-2, L. 412-1 and L. 621-8 to L. 621-8-3 of the Monetary and Financial Code.
This prospectus is not to be further distributed or reproduced (in whole or in part) in France by the recipients of this prospectus. This prospectus has been distributed on the understanding that such recipients will only participate in the issue or sale of our securities for their own account and undertake not to transfer, directly or indirectly, our securities to the public in France, other than in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations and in particular with Articles L. 411-1 and L. 411-2 of the French Monetary and Financial Code.
Germany
Each person who is in possession of this prospectus is aware of the fact that no German securities prospectus (wertpapierprospekt) within the meaning of the German Securities Prospectus Act (Wertpapier-prospektgesetz, or the Act) of the Federal Republic of Germany has been or will be published with respect to the securities. In particular, each underwriter has represented that it has not engaged and has agreed that it will not engage in a public offering in the Federal Republic of Germany within the meaning of the Act with respect to any of the securities otherwise than in accordance with the Act and all other applicable legal and regulatory requirements.
Hong Kong
The securities may not be offered or sold in Hong Kong by means of any document other than (i) in circumstances which do not constitute an offer to the public within the meaning of the Companies Ordinance (Cap. 32, Laws of Hong Kong), or (ii) to “professional investors” within the meaning of the Securities and Futures Ordinance (Cap. 571, Laws of Hong Kong) and any rules made thereunder, or (iii) in other circumstances which do not result in the document being a “prospectus” within the meaning of the Companies Ordinance (Cap. 32, Laws of Hong Kong) and no advertisement, invitation or document relating to the securities may be issued or may be in the possession of any person for the purpose of issue (in each case whether in Hong Kong or elsewhere), which is directed at, or the contents of which are likely to be accessed or read by, the public in Hong Kong (except if permitted to do so under the laws of Hong Kong) other than with respect to securities which are or are intended to be disposed of only to persons outside Hong Kong or only to “professional investors” within the meaning of the Securities and Futures Ordinance (Cap. 571, Laws of Hong Kong) and any rules made thereunder.
Israel
This document does not constitute a prospectus under the Israeli Securities Law, 5728-1968 (the Securities Law) and has not been filed with or approved by the Israel Securities Authority. In Israel, this
 
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prospectus is being distributed only to, and is directed only at, and any offer of the securities is directed only at, (i) a limited number of persons in accordance with the Israeli Securities Law and (ii) investors listed in the first addendum (the Addendum), to the Israeli Securities Law, consisting primarily of joint investment in trust funds, provident funds, insurance companies, banks, portfolio managers, investment advisors, members of the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, underwriters, venture capital funds, entities with equity in excess of NIS 50 million and “qualified individuals,” each as defined in the Addendum (as it may be amended from time to time), collectively referred to as qualified investors (in each case, purchasing for their own account or, where permitted under the Addendum, for the accounts of their clients who are investors listed in the Addendum). Qualified investors are required to submit written confirmation that they fall within the scope of the Addendum, are aware of the meaning of same and agree to it.
Singapore
This prospectus supplement has not been registered as a prospectus with the Monetary Authority of Singapore. Accordingly, the securities were not offered or sold or caused to be made the subject of an invitation for subscription or purchase and will not be offered or sold or caused to be made the subject of an invitation for subscription or purchase, and this prospectus or any other document or material in connection with the offer or sale, or invitation for subscription or purchase, of the securities, has not been circulated or distributed, nor will it be circulated or distributed, whether directly or indirectly, to any person in Singapore other than (i) to an institutional investor (as defined in Section 4A of the Securities and Futures Act (Chapter 289) of Singapore, as modified or amended from time to time, or the SFA,) pursuant to Section 274 of the SFA, (ii) to a relevant person (as defined in Section 275(2) of the SFA) pursuant to Section 275(1) of the SFA, or any person pursuant to Section 275(1A) of the SFA, and in accordance with the conditions specified in Section 275 of the SFA, or (iii) otherwise pursuant to, and in accordance with the conditions of, any other applicable provision of the SFA.
Where the securities are subscribed or purchased under Section 275 of the SFA by a relevant person which is:
(a)
a corporation (which is not an accredited investor (as defined in Section 4A of the SFA)) the sole business of which is to hold investments and the entire share capital of which is owned by one or more individuals, each of whom is an accredited investor; or
(b)
a trust (where the trustee is not an accredited investor) whose sole purpose is to hold investments and each beneficiary of the trust is an individual who is an accredited investor, securities (as defined in Section 239(1) of the SFA) of that corporation or the beneficiaries’ rights and interest (howsoever described) in that trust shall not be transferred within six months after that corporation or that trust has acquired the securities pursuant to an offer made under Section 275 of the SFA except:
1.
to an institutional investor or to a relevant person defined in Section 275(2) of the SFA, or to any person arising from an offer referred to in Section 275(1A) or Section 276(4)(i)(B) of the SFA;
2.
where no consideration is or will be given for the transfer;
3.
where the transfer is by operation of law;
4.
as specified in Section 276(7) of the SFA; or
5.
as specified in Regulation 32 of the Securities and Futures (Offers of Investment) (Shares and Debentures) Regulations 2005.
Singapore Securities and Futures Act Product Classification
Solely for the purposes of our obligations pursuant to sections 309B(1)(a) and 309B(1)(c) of the SFA, we have determined, and hereby notify all relevant persons (as defined in Section 309A of the SFA), that the securities are “prescribed capital markets products” ​(as defined in the Securities and Futures (Capital Markets Products) Regulations 2018) and Excluded Investment Products (as defined in MAS Notice
 
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SFA 04-N12: Notice on the Sale of Investment Products and MAS Notice FAA-N16: Notice on Recommendations on Investment Products).
Japan
The securities have not been and will not be registered under the Financial Instruments and Exchange Law of Japan (Law No. 25 of 1948, as amended) and, accordingly, will not be offered or sold, directly or indirectly, in Japan, or for the benefit of any Japanese Person or to others for re-offering or resale, directly or indirectly, in Japan or to any Japanese Person, except in compliance with all applicable laws, regulations and ministerial guidelines promulgated by relevant Japanese governmental or regulatory authorities in effect at the relevant time. For the purposes of this paragraph, “Japanese Person” shall mean any person resident in Japan, including any corporation or other entity organized under the laws of Japan.
Switzerland
The securities may not be publicly offered in Switzerland and will not be listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange, or the SIX, or on any other stock exchange or regulated trading facility in Switzerland. This document has been prepared without regard to the disclosure standards for issuance prospectuses under art. 652a or art. 1156 of the Swiss Code of Obligations or the disclosure standards for listing prospectuses under art. 27 ff. of the SIX Listing Rules or the listing rules of any other stock exchange or regulated trading facility in Switzerland. Neither this document nor any other offering or marketing material relating to the securities or this offering may be publicly distributed or otherwise made publicly available in Switzerland.
Neither this document nor any other offering or marketing material relating to this offering, our company or the securities have been or will be filed with or approved by any Swiss regulatory authority. In particular, this document will not be filed with, and the offer of securities will not be supervised by, the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority FINMA (FINMA), and the offer of securities has not been and will not be authorized under the Swiss Federal Act on Collective Investment Schemes, or CISA. The investor protection afforded to acquirers of interests in collective investment schemes under the CISA does not extend to acquirers of securities.
United Arab Emirates
This offering has not been approved or licensed by the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates, or the UAE, Securities and Commodities Authority of the UAE and/or any other relevant licensing authority in the UAE including any licensing authority incorporated under the laws and regulations of any of the free zones established and operating in the territory of the UAE, in particular the Dubai Financial Services Authority, or the DFSA, a regulatory authority of the Dubai International Financial Centre, or DIFC. This offering does not constitute a public offer of securities in the UAE, DIFC and/or any other free zone in accordance with the Commercial Companies Law, Federal Law No 8 of 1984 (as amended), DFSA Offered Securities Rules and NASDAQ Dubai Listing Rules, accordingly, or otherwise. The securities may not be offered to the public in the UAE and/or any of the free zones.
The securities may be offered and issued only to a limited number of investors in the UAE or any of its free zones who qualify as sophisticated investors under the relevant laws and regulations of the UAE or the free zone concerned.
 
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LEGAL MATTERS
The validity of the securities offered by this prospectus supplement will be passed upon for us by Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP. Certain legal matters in connection with this offering will be passed upon for the underwriters by Fredrikson & Byron, P.A., Minneapolis, Minnesota.
EXPERTS
The financial statements and management’s assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting (which is included in Management’s Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting) incorporated in this prospectus supplement by reference to the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021 have been so incorporated in reliance on the report of Baker Tilly US, LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, given on the authority of said firm as experts in auditing and accounting.
 
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INCORPORATION OF CERTAIN DOCUMENTS BY REFERENCE
The SEC permits us to “incorporate by reference” the information and reports we file with it. This means that we can disclose important information to you by referring to another document. The information that we incorporate by reference is considered to be part of this prospectus supplement, and later information that we file with the SEC automatically updates and supersedes this information. We incorporate by reference the documents listed below, except to the extent information in those documents is different from the information contained in this prospectus supplement, and all future documents filed with the SEC under Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14, or 15(d) of the Exchange Act (other than filings or portions thereof, including exhibits, deemed to be furnished to the SEC pursuant to Item 9 or Item 12 of Form S-3) until we terminate the offering of these securities:
(1)
(2)
The Registrant’s Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarters ended March 31, 2022, June 30, 2022 and September 30, 2022;
(3)
The Registrant’s Current Reports on Form 8-K filed on January 5, 2022, March 1, 2022, May 16, 2022, June 2, 2022 and December 14, 2022 (in each case other than any portions thereof deemed furnished and not filed); and
(4)
To the extent that any statement in this prospectus supplement is inconsistent with any statement that is incorporated by reference and that was made on or before the date of this prospectus supplement, the statement in this prospectus supplement shall supersede such incorporated statement. The incorporated statement shall not be deemed, except as modified or superseded, to constitute a part of this prospectus supplement or the registration statement. Statements contained in this prospectus supplement as to the contents of any contract or other document are not necessarily complete and, in each instance, we refer you to the copy of each contract or document filed as an exhibit to our various filings made with the SEC.
We will provide to each person, including any beneficial owner, to whom a prospectus supplement is delivered, without charge upon written or oral request, a copy of any or all of the documents that are incorporated by reference into this prospectus supplement but not delivered with the prospectus supplement, including exhibits which are specifically incorporated by reference into such documents. You may request a copy of these filings, at no cost, by writing or telephoning us at the following address or telephone number:
Miromatrix Medical Inc.
Attn: Jeffrey Ross
6455 Flying Cloud Drive, Suite 107
Eden Prairie, MN 55344
(952) 942-6000
WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION
We file annual, quarterly and current reports, proxy statements and other information with the SEC. The SEC maintains an Internet site that contains our reports, proxy and other information regarding us and other issuers that file electronically with the SEC, at http://www.sec.gov. Our SEC filings are also available at our website (www.miromatrix.com). However, except for our filings with the SEC that are incorporated by reference into this prospectus supplement, the information on our website is not, and should not be deemed to be, a part of, or incorporated by reference into this prospectus supplement.
 
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PROSPECTUS
Miromatrix Medical Inc.
$200,000,000
Common Stock
Preferred Stock
Debt Securities
Stock Purchase Contracts
Warrants
Rights
Units
We may offer and sell, from time to time in one or more offerings, up to $200,000,000 in the aggregate of common stock, preferred stock, debt securities, stock purchase contracts, warrants, rights and units, in any combination. We intend to use the proceeds, if any, for general corporate purposes unless otherwise indicated in the applicable prospectus supplement.
This prospectus provides you with a general description of the securities offered. Each time we offer and sell securities, we will file a prospectus supplement to this prospectus that contains specific information about the offering and, if applicable, the amounts, prices and terms of the securities. Such supplements may also add, update or change information contained in this prospectus. You should carefully read this prospectus and the applicable prospectus supplement before you invest in any of our securities. This prospectus may not be used to consummate sales of securities unless accompanied by a prospectus supplement.
We may offer and sell the securities described in this prospectus and any prospectus supplement directly to our shareholders or to other purchasers or through agents on our behalf or through underwriters or dealers as designated from time to time. If any agents or underwriters are involved in the sale of any of these securities, the applicable prospectus supplement will provide the names of the agents or underwriters and any applicable fees, commission or discounts.
Our Common Stock is listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market (“Nasdaq”) under the symbol “MIRO”. On June 27, 2022, the last reported sale price of our Common Stock on the Nasdaq was $3.91. Investing in our securities involves risks. You should carefully read and consider the “Risk Factors” included in this prospectus, in our periodic reports, in any applicable prospectus supplement relating to a specific offering of securities and in any other documents we file with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). See the section entitled “Risk Factors” on page 5 of this prospectus, in our other filings with the SEC and in the applicable prospectus supplement, if any.
Neither the SEC nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or determined if this prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
The date of this prospectus is July 11, 2022.

 
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS
This prospectus is part of a registration statement that we filed with the SEC using a “shelf” registration process. By using a shelf registration statement, we may sell securities described in this prospectus from time to time and in one or more offerings up to a total dollar amount of $200,000,000. This prospectus provides you with a general description of our securities that we may offer, which is not meant to be a complete description of each of the securities.
To the extent required by applicable law, each time we sell securities, we will provide you with this prospectus and, to the extent required, a prospectus supplement that will contain more information about the specific terms of the offering. The prospectus supplement may also add, update or change information contained in this prospectus or in documents incorporated by reference in this prospectus. If there is any inconsistency between the information in this prospectus and the applicable prospectus supplement, you should rely on the prospectus supplement, provided that if any statement in one of these documents is inconsistent with a statement in another document having a later date — for example, a document incorporated by reference in this prospectus or any prospectus supplement — the statement in the later-dated document modifies or supersedes the earlier statement. We urge you to carefully read this prospectus, any applicable prospectus supplement, if any, together with the information incorporated herein and therein by reference as described under the headings “Where You Can Find More Information” and “Incorporation of Certain Documents by Reference” before buying any of the securities being offered.
You should rely only on the information contained in this prospectus, and any accompanying prospectus supplement, including the information incorporated by reference herein as described under “Where You Can Find More Information” and “Incorporation of Certain Documents by Reference”, and any free writing prospectus that we prepare and distribute.
You should rely only on the information contained in this prospectus and any accompanying prospectus supplement or incorporated by reference herein or therein. We have not authorized any other person to provide you with different or additional information. If anyone provides you with different or additional information, you should not rely on it. We may only offer to sell, and seek offers to buy any securities in jurisdictions where offers and sales are permitted.
This prospectus and any accompanying prospectus supplement or other offering materials do not contain all of the information included in the registration statement as permitted by the rules and regulations of the SEC. For further information, we refer you to the registration statement on Form S-3, including its exhibits. We are subject to the informational requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”), and, therefore, file reports and other information with the SEC. Statements contained in this prospectus and any accompanying prospectus supplement or other offering materials about the provisions or contents of any agreement or other document are only summaries. If SEC rules require that any agreement or document be filed as an exhibit to the registration statement, you should refer to that agreement or document for its complete contents.
This prospectus incorporates by reference, and any prospectus supplement or free writing prospectus may contain and incorporate by reference, certain market and industry data obtained from independent market research, industry publications and surveys, governmental agencies and publicly available information. Industry surveys, publications and forecasts generally state that the information contained therein has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable, although they do not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of such information. We believe the data from such third-party sources to be reliable. However, we have not independently verified any of such data and cannot guarantee its accuracy or completeness. Similarly, internal market research and industry forecasts, which we believe to be reliable based upon our management’s knowledge of the market and the industry, have not been verified by any independent sources. While we are not aware of any misstatements regarding the market or industry data presented herein, our estimates involve risks and uncertainties and are subject to change based on various factors.
 
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You should assume that the information in this prospectus, any accompanying prospectus supplement or any other offering materials is only accurate as of the date on its respective cover, and that any information incorporated by reference is accurate only as of the date of the document incorporated by reference, unless otherwise indicated. Our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects may have changed since such date.
Unless stated otherwise, references to “we,” “us,” “our,” the “Company” or “MIRO” refer to Miromatrix Medical Inc.
 
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WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION
We file annual, quarterly and current reports, proxy statements and other information with the SEC. The SEC maintains an Internet site that contains our reports, proxy and other information regarding us and other issuers that file electronically with the SEC, at http://www.sec.gov. Our SEC filings are also available at our website (www.miromatrix.com). However, except for our filings with the SEC that are incorporated by reference into this prospectus, the information on our website is not, and should not be deemed to be, a part of, or incorporated by reference into this prospectus.
INCORPORATION OF CERTAIN DOCUMENTS BY REFERENCE
The SEC allows “incorporation by reference” into this prospectus of information that we file with the SEC. This permits us to disclose important information to you by referencing these filed documents. Any information referenced this way is considered to be a part of this prospectus and any information filed by us with the SEC subsequent to the date of this prospectus automatically will be deemed to update and supersede this information. We incorporate by reference the following documents which we have filed with the SEC (excluding any documents or portions of such documents that have been “furnished” but not “filed” for purposes of the Exchange Act):
(1)
(2)
(3)
The Registrant’s Current Reports on Form 8-K filed on January 5, 2022 and March 1, 2022 (in each case other than any portions thereof deemed furnished and not filed); and
(4)
We incorporate by reference any filings made by us with the SEC in accordance with Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act on or after the date of this prospectus and the date all of the securities offered hereby are sold or the offering is otherwise terminated, with the exception of any information furnished under Item 2.02 and Item 7.01 (including any financial statements or exhibits relating thereto furnished pursuant to Item 9.01) of Form 8-K, which is not deemed filed and which is not incorporated by reference herein. Any such filings shall be deemed to be incorporated by reference and to be a part of this prospectus from the respective dates of filing of those documents.
This prospectus and any accompanying prospectus supplement are part of a registration statement that we filed with the SEC and do not contain all of the information in the registration statement. The full registration statement may be obtained from the SEC or us, as provided below. Statements in this prospectus or any accompanying prospectus supplement or free writing prospectus about these documents are summaries and each statement is qualified in all respects by reference to the document to which it refers. You should refer to the actual documents for a more complete description of the relevant matters. You may inspect a copy of the registration statement at the SEC’s website, as provided above.
Any statement contained in a document incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference in this prospectus will be deemed to be modified or superseded to the extent that a statement contained herein or in any other subsequently filed document which also is or is deemed to be incorporated by reference in this prospectus modifies or supersedes that statement. Any statement so modified or superseded will not be deemed, except as so modified or superseded, to constitute a part of this prospectus.
 
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We will provide to each person, including any beneficial owner, to whom a prospectus is delivered, without charge, upon written or oral request, a copy of any or all of the documents that are incorporated by reference into this prospectus but not delivered with this prospectus, excluding any exhibits to those documents unless the exhibit is specifically incorporated by reference as an exhibit in this prospectus. You should direct requests for documents to:
Miromatrix Medical Inc.
Attn: Jeffrey Ross
6455 Flying Cloud Drive, Suite 107
Eden Prairie, MN 55344
(952) 942-6000
 
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PROSPECTUS SUMMARY
This summary highlights certain information about us and selected information contained elsewhere in or incorporated by reference into this prospectus. This summary is not complete and does not contain all of the information that you should consider before deciding to invest in our securities. For a more complete understanding of our company, we encourage you to read and consider carefully the more detailed information in this prospectus, including the information incorporated by reference in this prospectus, and the information under the heading “Risk Factors” in this prospectus, beginning on page 6, before making an investment decision. Unless otherwise stated or the context otherwise indicates, references to Mount Sinai, Baxter, CareDx and Davita refer to Mount Sinai Health System, Baxter International Inc, CareDx, Inc, and Davita Inc., respectively.
THE COMPANY
Overview
We are a life sciences company pioneering a novel technology for bioengineering fully transplantable organs to help save and improve patients’ lives. Founded in 2009, we are one of a small group of companies at the forefront of developing alternatives to human-donor organ transplants, and within this small group of companies there are important differences between the technologies being developed. Our proprietary technology is a scalable platform that uses a two-step method of decellularization and recellularization designed to remove the porcine cells from the organs obtained from pigs and replace them with unmodified human cells. Our initial development focus is on bioengineering livers and kidneys, and our technology platform is also applicable to bioengineering other organs including hearts, lungs and pancreases. We have collaborations with the Mayo Clinic, Mount Sinai and the Texas Heart Institute, and have received strategic investments from Baxter, CareDx and DaVita.
Our Corporate Information
We maintain our principal executive offices at 6455 Flying Cloud Drive, Suite 107, Eden Prairie, MN 55344, and our telephone number is (952) 942-6000. Our website is located at www.miromatrix.com. The information contained on or connected to our website is not incorporated by reference in, and is not a part of, this prospectus. We have included our website address as a factual reference and do not intend it to be an active link to our website. You should not rely on such information in making your decision whether to purchase our securities.
 
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CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
Certain statements made in this prospectus, the documents that are incorporated by reference in this prospectus and other written or oral statements made by or on behalf of our Company may constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 (the “Securities Act”) and Section 21E of the Exchange Act. Forward-looking statements may be identified by the use of words such as “may,” “will,” “forecast,” “estimate,” “project,” “intend,” “plan,” “expect,” “should,” “believe” and other similar expressions that predict or indicate future events or trends or that are not statements of historical matters. These forward-looking statements relate to our future plans, objectives, expectations, intentions and financial performance and the assumptions that underlie these statements, and are based only on our current beliefs, expectations and assumptions regarding the future of our business, future plans and strategies, projections, anticipated events and trends, the economy and other future conditions and speak only as of the date on which it is made. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors, including those discussed in “Risk Factors”, which may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the following:

estimates regarding future results of operations, financial position, research and development costs, capital requirements and our needs for additional financing;

our expectations with respect to the regulatory pathway of our product candidates, our ability to obtain regulatory approvals for such product candidates and the anticipated effect of delays in obtaining any such regulatory approvals;

our expectations with respect to pre-clinical and clinical trial plans for our product candidates, the results of such activities and the safety and efficacy of our product candidates;

our plans with respect to collaborating with third parties on product development and other matters;

our ability to commercialize our product candidates;

our expectations regarding our manufacturing capabilities;

our ability to compete successfully with larger competitors in our highly competitive industry;

our ability to achieve and maintain adequate levels of coverage or reimbursement for any future products we may seek to commercialize;

our beliefs with respect to the development, regulatory approval, efficacy and commercialization of competing products;

our business model and strategic plans for our product candidates, technologies and business, including our implementation thereof;

the size of the markets for our product candidates and our expectations about market trends;

our ability to attract and retain senior management and key scientific personnel;

our ability to obtain additional capital to finance our planned operations;

regulatory developments in the United States and internationally; and

our ability to establish and maintain intellectual property protection for our products, as well as our ability to operate our business without infringing the intellectual property rights of others.
This list of factors that may affect future performance and the accuracy of forward-looking statements is illustrative but not exhaustive. In addition, new risks and uncertainties may arise from time to time. Accordingly, all forward-looking statements should be evaluated with an understanding of their inherent uncertainty and we caution accordingly against relying on forward-looking statements.
Consider these factors carefully in evaluating the forward-looking statements. Additional factors that may cause results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements are set forth in the 2021 Form 10-K under the heading “Risk Factors” and in “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of
 
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Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in the 2021 Form 10-K and in subsequent reports filed by us with the SEC, including on Forms 10-K, 10-Q and 8-K. Because of the foregoing, you are cautioned against relying on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. We do not undertake to update any of these statements in light of new information or future events, except as required by applicable law.
 
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RISK FACTORS
Investing in our securities involves risks. You should carefully consider the risk factors included in this prospectus, as well as described in Part I, Item 1A, “Risk Factors” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021 and any updates to those risk factors or new risk factors contained in our subsequent Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q or Current Reports on Form 8-K, all of which are incorporated by reference into this prospectus, as the same may be amended, supplemented or superseded from time to time by our filings under the Exchange Act, as well as any prospectus supplement relating to a specific offering or resale. Before making any investment decision, you should carefully consider these risks as well as other information we include or incorporate by reference in this prospectus or in any applicable prospectus supplement or free writing prospectus. For more information, see the section entitled “Where You Can Find More Information” and “Incorporation of Documents by Reference” elsewhere in this prospectus. These risks could materially affect our business, results of operations or financial condition and affect the value of our securities. You could lose all or part of your investment. Additionally, the risks and uncertainties discussed in this prospectus or in any document incorporated by reference into this prospectus are not the only risks and uncertainties that we face, and additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to us or that we currently deem immaterial may also affect our business, results of operations or financial condition.
Risks Related to This Offering
Management will have broad discretion as to the use of the proceeds from this offering, and we may not use the proceeds effectively.
You will be relying on the judgment of our management with regard to the use of these net proceeds, and you will not have the opportunity, as part of your investment decision, to assess whether the proceeds are being used appropriately. Our management will have broad discretion in the application of the net proceeds from this offering and could spend the proceeds in ways that do not improve our results of operations or enhance the value of our common stock. Our failure to apply these funds effectively could have a material adverse effect on our business and cause the price of our common stock to decline.
You may experience dilution as a result of this or future offerings.
In order to raise additional capital, we may in the future offer additional shares of our common stock or other securities convertible into or exchangeable for our common stock. We cannot assure you that we will be able to sell shares or other securities in any other offering at a price per share that is equal to or greater than the price per share paid by investors in this offering, and investors purchasing our shares or other securities in the future could have rights superior to existing shareholders. The price per share at which we sell additional shares of our common stock or other securities convertible into or exchangeable for our common stock in future transactions may be higher or lower than the price per share in this offering.
Resales of our common stock in the public market during this offering by our shareholders may cause the market price of our common stock to fall.
We may issue common or preferred stock from time to time in connection with this offering. This issuance from time to time of these new shares, or our ability to issue these shares in this offering, could result in resales of our common stock by our current shareholders concerned about the potential dilution of their holdings. In turn, these resales could have the effect of depressing the market price for our common stock.
We are not currently paying dividends and will likely continue not paying cash dividends on our common stock for the foreseeable future.
We currently intend to retain all available funds and any future earnings to fund the development and growth of our business and, therefore, we do not anticipate paying any cash dividends in the foreseeable future. Any future determination to pay dividends will be at the discretion of our board of directors, subject to various factors, including applicable laws, our results of operations, financial condition, future prospects and any other factors deemed relevant by our board of directors. Any income derived from our common stock may only come from a rise in the market price of our common stock, which is uncertain and unpredictable.
 
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USE OF PROCEEDS
We will retain broad discretion over the use of the net proceeds from the sale of the securities offered hereby. Except as described in any applicable prospectus supplement or in any free writing prospectuses that we may authorize to be provided to you in connection with a specific offering, we currently intend to use the net proceeds from the sale of the securities offered hereby for research, development and manufacturing of our product candidates, working capital, capital expenditures and general corporate purposes. We may also use a portion of the net proceeds to invest in or acquire businesses or technologies that we believe are complementary to our own, although we have no current understandings, commitments or agreements with respect to any investments or acquisitions as of the date of this prospectus. As of the date of this prospectus, we cannot specify with certainty all of the particular uses for the net proceeds to us from the sale of the securities offered by us hereunder. We will set forth in the applicable prospectus supplement or free writing prospectus our intended use for the net proceeds received from the sale of any securities sold pursuant to the prospectus supplement or free writing prospectus. Pending these uses, we intend to invest the net proceeds in cash and investment-grade, interest-bearing securities.
 
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DESCRIPTION OF CAPITAL STOCK
The following description of our capital stock is summarized from, and qualified in its entirety, by our second amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws, each of which has been publicly filed with the SEC. See the section entitled “Where You Can Find More Information” and “Incorporation of Documents by Reference” contained elsewhere.
The following description of our capital stock is not complete and may not contain all the information you should consider before investing in our capital stock. This description is summarized from, and qualified in its entirety by reference to, our second amended and restated certificate of incorporation, which has been publicly filed with the SEC. See “Where You Can Find More Information; Incorporation by Reference.”
General
Our authorized capital stock consists of 190,000,000 shares of common stock, par value $0.00001 per share, and 10,000,000 shares of preferred stock, par value $0.00001 per share. All of our outstanding shares of common stock are fully paid and nonassessable.
Common Stock
Voting Rights
Each holder of our common stock is entitled to one vote for each share on all matters submitted to a vote of the stockholders, including the election of directors. Our stockholders do not have cumulative voting rights in the election of directors. Accordingly, holders of a majority of the voting shares are able to elect all of the directors. In addition, the affirmative vote of holders of 6623% of the voting power of all of the then outstanding voting stock is required to take certain actions, including amending certain provisions of our second amended and restated certificate of incorporation, such as the provisions relating to amending our amended and restated bylaws, procedures for our stockholder meetings, the classified board, director liability, and exclusive forum for proceedings.
Dividends
Subject to preferences that may be applicable to any then outstanding preferred stock, holders of our common stock are entitled to receive dividends, if any, as may be declared from time to time by our board of directors out of legally available funds.
Liquidation
In the event of our liquidation, dissolution or winding up, holders of our common stock will be entitled to share ratably in the net assets legally available for distribution to stockholders after the payment of all of our debts and other liabilities and the satisfaction of any liquidation preference granted to the holders of any then outstanding shares of preferred stock.
Rights and Preferences
Holders of our common stock have no preemptive, conversion, subscription or other rights, and there are no redemption or sinking fund provisions applicable to our common stock. The rights, preferences and privileges of the holders of our common stock are subject to and may be adversely affected by the rights of the holders of shares of any series of our preferred stock that we may designate in the future.
Listing
Our common stock is listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol “MIRO.”
Transfer Agent and Registrar
The transfer agent and registrar for our common stock is Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company.
 
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Preferred Stock
Our board of directors is authorized to direct us to issue shares of preferred stock in one or more series without stockholder approval. Our board of directors has the discretion to determine the rights, preferences, privileges and restrictions, including voting rights, dividend rights, conversion rights, redemption privileges and liquidation preferences, of each series of preferred stock.
The purpose of authorizing our board of directors to issue preferred stock and determine its rights and preferences is to eliminate delays associated with a stockholder vote on specific issuances. The issuance of preferred stock, while providing flexibility in connection with possible acquisitions, future financings and other corporate purposes, could have the effect of making it more difficult for a third-party to acquire, or could discourage a third-party from seeking to acquire, a majority of our outstanding voting stock.
Anti-Takeover Provisions of Delaware Law and Our Charter Documents
Our second amended and restated certificate of incorporation and our amended and restated bylaws contain provisions that could make the following transactions more difficult: acquisition of us by means of a tender offer; acquisition of us by means of a proxy contest or otherwise; or removal of our incumbent officers and directors. It is possible that these provisions could make it more difficult to accomplish or could deter transactions that stockholders may otherwise consider to be in their best interest or in our best interests, including transactions that might result in a premium over the market price for our shares.
These provisions, summarized below, are expected to discourage coercive takeover practices and inadequate takeover bids. These provisions are also designed to encourage persons seeking to acquire control of us to first negotiate with our board of directors. We believe that the benefits of increased protection of our potential ability to negotiate with the proponent of an unfriendly or unsolicited proposal to acquire or restructure us outweigh the disadvantages of discouraging these proposals because negotiation of these proposals could result in an improvement of their terms.
Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law
We are subject to Section 203 of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware, or the DGCL, which prohibits persons deemed “interested stockholders” from engaging in a “business combination” with a publicly-held Delaware corporation for three years following the date these persons become interested stockholders unless the business combination is, or the transaction in which the person became an interested stockholder was, approved in a prescribed manner or another prescribed exception applies. Generally, an “interested stockholder” is a person who, together with affiliates and associates, owns, or within three years prior to the determination of interested stockholder status did own, 15% or more of a corporation’s voting stock. Generally, a “business combination” includes a merger, asset or stock sale, or other transaction resulting in a financial benefit to the interested stockholder. The existence of this provision may have an anti-takeover effect with respect to transactions not approved in advance by the board of directors, such as discouraging takeover attempts that might result in a premium over the market price of our common stock.
Elimination of Stockholder Action by Written Consent
Our second amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that all stockholder actions must be effected at a duly called meeting of stockholders and not by consent in writing. A special meeting of stockholders may be called only by a majority of our board of directors, the chair of our board of directors, or our chief executive officer.
Undesignated Preferred Stock
The ability to authorize undesignated preferred stock makes it possible for our board of directors to issue preferred stock with voting or other rights or preferences that could impede the success of any attempt to change control of us. These and other provisions may have the effect of deterring hostile takeovers or delaying changes in control or management of our company.
 
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Amendment of Charter Provisions
Our second amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that the affirmative vote of holders of at least 6623% of the voting power of all of the then outstanding shares of voting stock, voting as a single class, are required to amend certain provisions of our second amended and restated certificate of incorporation, including provisions relating to the size of the board, removal of directors, special meetings, actions by written consent and cumulative voting. The affirmative vote of holders of at least 6623% of the voting power of all of the then outstanding shares of voting stock, voting as a single class, are required to amend or repeal our amended and restated bylaws; provided, however, that if the Board of Directors recommends that stockholders approve such amendment or repeal at such meeting of stockholders, such amendment or repeal shall only require the affirmative vote of the majority of the outstanding shares of capital stock entitled to vote on such amendment or repeal, voting together as a single class
Classified Board; Election and Removal of Directors
Our second amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that our board of directors is divided into three classes, Class I, Class II and Class III, with each class serving staggered terms, and gives our board of directors the exclusive right to expand the size of our board of directors and to elect directors to fill a vacancy created by the expansion of the board of directors or the resignation, death or removal of a director.
Choice of Forum
Our second amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that, unless our board of directors consents in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware (or, if the Court of Chancery does not have jurisdiction, the United States District Court for the District of Delaware) is the sole and exclusive forum for: (i) any derivative action or proceeding brought on behalf of us; (ii) any action asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any of our directors, officers or other employees or agents to us or our stockholders; (iii) any action asserting a claim against us arising pursuant to any provision of the DGCL or our second amended and restated certificate of incorporation and our amended and restated bylaws; or (iv) any action asserting a claim against us governed by the internal affairs doctrine, except, in each case, (A) any claim as to which such court determines that there is an indispensable party not subject to the jurisdiction of such court (and the indispensable party does not consent to the personal jurisdiction of such court within 10 days following such determination), (B) which is vested in the exclusive jurisdiction of a court or forum other than such court, or (C) for which such court does not have subject matter jurisdiction.
Section 27 of the Exchange Act creates exclusive federal jurisdiction over all suits brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Exchange Act or the rules and regulations thereunder. As a result, the exclusive forum provision will not apply to suits brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Exchange Act or any other claim for which the federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction. In addition, Section 22 of the Securities Act creates concurrent jurisdiction for federal and state courts over all suits brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Securities Act or the rules and regulations thereunder. As a result, the exclusive forum provision will not apply to suits brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Securities Act or any other claim for which the federal and state courts have concurrent jurisdiction.
 
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DESCRIPTION OF DEBT SECURITIES
This section describes the general terms and provisions of our debt securities, which could be senior debt securities or subordinated debt securities. A prospectus supplement will describe the specific terms of the debt securities offered through that prospectus supplement and any general terms outlined in this section that will not apply to those debt securities.
The senior debt securities will be issued under an indenture, referred to herein as the “senior indenture,” between us and the trustee named in the applicable prospectus supplement. The subordinated debt securities will be issued under an indenture, referred to herein as the “subordinated indenture,” between us and the trustee named in the applicable prospectus supplement.
We have summarized the anticipated material terms and provisions of the senior and subordinated indentures in this section. We have also filed the forms of the indentures summarized in this section as exhibits to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part. You should read the applicable indenture for additional information before you buy any debt securities. The summary that follows includes references to section numbers of the indentures so that you can more easily locate these provisions.
General
The debt securities will be our direct unsecured obligations. Neither of the indentures limits the amount of debt securities that we may issue. Both indentures permit us to issue debt securities from time to time and debt securities issued under an indenture will be issued as part of a series that has been established by us under such indenture.
The senior debt securities will be unsecured and will rank equally with all of our other unsecured unsubordinated debt. The subordinated debt securities will be unsecured and will rank equally with all of our other subordinated debt securities and, together with such other subordinated debt securities, will be subordinated to all of our existing and future Senior Debt (as defined below). See “— Subordination” below.
The debt securities are our unsecured senior or subordinated debt securities, as the case may be, but our assets include equity in our subsidiaries. As a result, our ability to make payments on our debt securities may depend in part on our receipt of dividends, loan payments and other funds from our subsidiaries. In addition, if any of our subsidiaries becomes insolvent, the direct creditors of that subsidiary will have a prior claim on its assets. Our rights and the rights of our creditors, including your rights as an owner of our debt securities, will be subject to that prior claim, unless we are also a direct creditor of that subsidiary. This subordination of creditors of a parent company to prior claims of creditors of its subsidiaries is commonly referred to as structural subordination.
Unless otherwise specified in the applicable prospectus supplement, we may, without the consent of the holders of a series of debt securities, issue additional debt securities of that series having the same ranking and the same interest rate, maturity date and other terms (except for the price to public and issue date) as such debt securities. Any such additional debt securities, together with the initial debt securities, will constitute a single series of debt securities under the applicable indenture. No additional debt securities of a series may be issued if an event of default under the applicable indenture has occurred and is continuing with respect to that series of debt securities.
A prospectus supplement relating to a series of debt securities being offered will include specific terms relating to the offering. These terms will include some or all of the following:

The title and type of the debt securities;

Any limit on the total principal amount of the debt securities of that series;

The price at which the debt securities will be issued;

The date or dates on which the principal of and premium, if any, on the debt securities will be payable;

The maturity date or dates of the debt securities or the method by which those dates can be determined;
 
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If the debt securities will bear interest:

The interest rate on the debt securities or the method by which the interest rate may be determined;

The date from which interest will accrue;

The record and interest payment dates for the debt securities and the first interest payment date;

The place or places where:

We can make payments on the debt securities;

The debt securities can be surrendered for registration of transfer or exchange; and

Notices and demands can be given to us relating to the debt securities and under the applicable indenture;

Any optional redemption provisions that would permit us to elect redemption of the debt securities, or the holders of the debt securities to elect repayment of the debt securities, before their final maturity;

Any sinking fund provisions that would obligate us to redeem the debt securities before their final maturity;

Whether the debt securities will be convertible and, if so, the terms and conditions of any such conversion;

If the debt securities will be issued in bearer form, the terms and provisions contained in the bearer securities and in the applicable indenture specifically relating to the bearer securities;

Whether all or part of the debt securities will not be issued as permanent global securities and the extent to which the description of the book-entry procedures described below under “— Book-Entry, Delivery and Form” will not apply to such global securities — a “global security” is a debt security that we issue in accordance with the applicable indenture to represent all or part of a series of debt securities;

Whether all or part of the debt securities will be issued in whole or in part as temporary global securities and, if so, the depositary for those temporary global securities and any special provisions dealing with the payment of interest and any terms relating to the ability to exchange interests in a temporary global security for interests in a permanent global security or for definitive debt securities;

Whether any additional amounts will be payable;

The denominations of the debt securities, if other than $1,000 and any integral multiple thereof for registered securities, and $5,000 for bearer securities;

Any portion of the principal amount of debt securities that shall be payable upon acceleration;

The currency or currencies in which the debt securities will be denominated and payable, if other than U.S. dollars and, if a composite currency, any special provisions relating thereto;

Any circumstances under which the debt securities may be paid in a currency other than the currency in which the debt securities are denominated and the manner in which the exchange rate shall be determined;

Whether the provisions described below under the heading “— Defeasance” will not apply to the debt securities;

Any events of default that will apply to the debt securities in addition to those contained in the applicable indenture;

Any additions or changes to the covenants contained in the applicable indenture and the ability, if any, of the holders to waive our compliance with those additional or changed covenants;

The identity of the trustee, security registrar and paying agent for the debt securities;

Any material tax implications of the debt securities;
 
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Any special provisions relating to the payment of any additional amounts on the debt securities; and

Any other terms of the debt securities. When we use the term “holder” in this prospectus with respect to a registered debt security, we mean the person in whose name such debt security is registered in the security register.
Exchange and Transfer
At the option of the holder, any debt securities of a series can be exchanged for other debt securities of that series so long as the other debt securities are denominated in authorized denominations and have the same aggregate principal amount and same terms as the debt securities that were surrendered for exchange, subject to limitations with respect to bearer securities in global form. The debt securities may be presented for registration of transfer, duly endorsed or accompanied by a satisfactory written instrument of transfer, at the office or agency maintained by us for that purpose in any place of payment that we may designate. However, holders of global securities may transfer and exchange global securities only in the manner and to the extent set forth under “— Book-Entry, Delivery and Form” below. There will be no service charge for any registration of transfer or exchange of the debt securities, but we may require holders to pay any tax or other governmental charge payable in connection with a transfer or exchange of the debt securities. If the applicable prospectus supplement refers to any office or agency, in addition to the security registrar, initially designated by us where holders can surrender the debt securities for registration of transfer or exchange, we may at any time rescind the designation of any such office or agency or approve a change in the location. However, we will be required to maintain an office or agency in each place of payment for that series.
We will not be required to:

Issue, register the transfer of or exchange debt securities to be redeemed for a period of 15 calendar days preceding the mailing of the relevant notice of redemption; or

Register the transfer of or exchange any registered debt security selected for redemption, in whole or in part, except the unredeemed or unpaid portion of that registered debt security being redeemed in part.
Interest and Principal Payments
Payments.   Holders may present debt securities for payment of principal, premium, if any, and interest, if any, register the transfer of the debt securities and exchange the debt securities at the agency maintained by us for such purpose and identified in the applicable prospectus supplement. We refer to the applicable trustee acting in the capacity of a paying agent for the debt securities as the “paying agent.”
Any money that we pay to the paying agent for the purpose of making payments on the debt securities and that remains unclaimed two years after the payments were due will, at our request, be returned to us and after that time any holder of a debt security can only look to us for the payments on the debt security.
Recipients of Payments.   The paying agent will pay interest to the person in whose name the debt security is registered at the close of business on the applicable record date. However, upon maturity, redemption or repayment, the paying agent will pay any interest due to the person to whom it pays the principal of the debt security. The paying agent will make the payment on the date of maturity, redemption or repayment, whether or not that date is an interest payment date. An “interest payment date” for any debt security means a date on which, under the terms of that debt security, regularly scheduled interest is payable.
Book-Entry Debt Securities.   The paying agent will make payments of principal, premium, if any, and interest, if any, to the account of The Depository Trust Company, referred to herein as “DTC,” or other depositary specified in the applicable prospectus supplement, as holder of book-entry debt securities, by wire transfer of immediately available funds. The “depositary” means the depositary for global securities issued under the applicable indenture and, unless provided otherwise in the applicable prospectus supplement, means DTC. We expect that the depositary, upon receipt of any payment, will immediately credit its participants’ accounts in amounts proportionate to their respective beneficial interests in the book-entry debt securities as shown on the records of the depositary. We also expect that payments by the depositary’s participants to
 
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owners of beneficial interests in the book-entry debt securities will be governed by standing customer instructions and customary practices and will be the responsibility of those participants.
Certificated Debt Securities.   Except as indicated below for payments of interest at maturity, redemption or repayment, the paying agent will make payments of interest either:

By check mailed to the address of the person entitled to payment as shown on the security register; or

By wire transfer to an account designated by a holder, if the holder has given written notice not later than 10 calendar days prior to the applicable interest payment date.
Redemption and Repayment of Debt Securities
Optional Redemption by Us.   If applicable, the prospectus supplement will indicate the terms of our option to redeem the debt securities. We will mail a notice of redemption to each holder which, in the case of global securities, will be the depositary, as holder of the global securities, by first-class mail, postage prepaid, at least 30 days and not more than 60 days prior to the date fixed for redemption, or within the redemption notice period designated in the applicable prospectus supplement, to the address of each holder as that address appears upon the books maintained by the security registrar.
A partial redemption of the debt securities may be effected by such method as required by us, the registrar or the trustee, and may provide for the selection for redemption of a portion of the principal amount of debt securities held by a holder equal to an authorized denomination. If we redeem less than all of the debt securities and the debt securities are then held in book-entry form, the redemption will be made in accordance with the depositary’s customary procedures. We have been advised that it is DTC’s practice to determine by the lot the amount of each participant in the debt securities to be redeemed.
Unless we default in the payment of the redemption price, on and after the redemption date interest will cease to accrue on the debt securities called for redemption.
Repayment at Option of Holder.   If applicable, the prospectus supplement relating to a series of debt securities will indicate that the holder has the option to have us repay a debt security of that series on a date or dates specified prior to its stated maturity date. Unless otherwise specified in the applicable prospectus supplement, the repayment price will be equal to 100% of the principal amount of the debt security, together with accrued interest to the date of repayment.
Each holder desiring to exercise such holder’s option for repayment shall surrender the debt security to be repaid, together with written notice of the exercise, at least 30 days but not more than 45 days prior to the repayment date, at any of our offices or agencies in a place of payment, setting forth the principal amount of the debt security, the principal amount of the debt security to be repaid, and in the case of partial repayment, shall specify the denomination or denominations of the debt securities of the same series and the portion of the principal amount which is not to be repaid.
Exercise of the repayment option by the holder of a debt security will be irrevocable. The holder may exercise the repayment option for less than the entire principal amount of the debt security but, in that event, the principal amount of the debt security remaining outstanding after repayment must be an authorized denomination.
If a debt security is represented by a global security, the depositary or the depositary’s nominee will be the holder of the debt security and therefore will be the only entity that can exercise a right to repayment. In order to ensure that the depositary’s nominee will timely exercise a right to repayment of a particular debt security, the beneficial owner of the debt security must instruct the broker or other direct or indirect participant through which it holds an interest in the debt security to notify the depositary of its desire to exercise a right to repayment. Different firms have different cut-off times for accepting instructions from their customers and, accordingly, each beneficial owner should consult the broker or other direct or indirect participant through which it holds an interest in a debt security in order to ascertain the cut-off time by which an instruction must be given in order for timely notice to be delivered to the depositary.
 
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We may purchase debt securities at any price in the open market or otherwise. Debt securities so purchased by us may, at our discretion, be held or resold or surrendered to the applicable trustee for cancellation.
Denominations
Unless we state otherwise in the applicable prospectus supplement, the debt securities may be issued in registered form in denominations of $1,000 each and integral multiples of $1,000 in excess thereof, or in bearer form in denominations of $5,000.
Consolidation, Merger or Sale
Each of the indentures permits a consolidation or merger between us and another entity, subject to certain conditions. They also permit the sale or transfer by us of all or substantially all of our property and assets. These transactions are permitted if:

The resulting or acquiring entity, if other than us, is organized and existing under the laws of a domestic jurisdiction and assumes all of our responsibilities and liabilities under the applicable indenture, including the payment of all amounts due on the debt securities and performance of the covenants in the applicable indenture; and

Immediately after giving effect to the transaction, no event of default under the applicable indenture exists.
If we consolidate or merge with or into any other entity or sell or lease all or substantially all of our assets according to the terms and conditions of the indentures, the resulting or acquiring entity will be substituted for us in the indentures with the same effect as if it had been an original party to the indentures. As a result, such successor entity may exercise our rights and powers under the indentures, in our name and, except in the case of a lease of all or substantially all of our properties, we will be released from all our liabilities and obligations under the indentures and under the debt securities.
Modification and Waiver
Under each of the indentures, certain of our rights and obligations and certain of the rights of holders of the debt securities may be modified or amended with the consent of the holders of at least a majority of the aggregate principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of all series of debt securities affected by the modification or amendment, acting as one class. However, the following modifications and amendments will not be effective against any holder without its consent:

A change in the stated maturity date of any payment of principal or interest;

A reduction in payments due on the debt securities;

A change in the place of payment or currency in which any payment on the debt securities is payable;

A limitation of a holder’s right to sue us for the enforcement of payments due on the debt securities;

A reduction in the percentage of outstanding debt securities required to consent to a modification or amendment of the applicable indenture or required to consent to a waiver of compliance with certain provisions of the applicable indenture or certain defaults under the applicable indenture;

A reduction in the requirements contained in the applicable indenture for quorum or voting;

A limitation of a holder’s right, if any, to repayment of debt securities at the holder’s option; and

A modification of any of the foregoing requirements contained in the applicable indenture.
Under each of the indentures, the holders of at least a majority of the aggregate principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of all series of debt securities affected by a particular covenant or condition, acting as one class, may, on behalf of all holders of such series of debt securities, waive compliance by us with any covenant or condition contained in the applicable indenture unless we specify that such covenant or condition cannot be so waived at the time we establish the series.
 
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In addition, under each of the indentures, the holders of a majority in aggregate principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of any series of debt securities may, on behalf of all holders of that series, waive any past default under the applicable indenture, except:

A default in the payment of the principal of or any premium or interest on any debt securities of that series; or

A default under any provision of the applicable indenture which itself cannot be modified or amended without the consent of the holders of each outstanding debt security of that series.
Events of Default
Unless otherwise specified in the applicable prospectus supplement, an “event of default,” when used in the senior indenture or the subordinated indenture with respect to any series of debt securities issued thereunder, means any of the following:

Failure to pay interest on any debt security of that series for 30 days after the payment is due;

Failure to pay the principal of or any premium on any debt security of that series when due;

Failure to deposit any sinking fund payment on debt securities of that series when due;

Failure to perform any other covenant in the applicable indenture that applies to debt securities of that series for 90 days after we have received written notice of the failure to perform in the manner specified in the applicable indenture;

Certain events in bankruptcy, insolvency or reorganization; or

Any other event of default that may be specified for the debt securities of that series when that series is created.
If an event of default for any series of debt securities occurs and continues, the trustee or the holders of at least 25% in aggregate principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of the series may declare the entire principal of all the debt securities of that series to be due and payable immediately. If such a declaration occurs, the holders of a majority of the aggregate principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of that series can, subject to conditions, rescind the declaration.
Each of the indentures requires us to file an officers’ certificate with the applicable trustee each year that states, to the knowledge of the certifying officers, whether or not any defaults exist under the terms of the applicable indenture. The applicable trustee may withhold notice to the holders of debt securities of any default, except defaults in the payment of principal, premium, interest or any sinking fund installment, if it considers the withholding of notice to be in the interest of the holders. For purposes of this paragraph, “default” means any event which is, or after notice or lapse of time or both would become, an event of default under the applicable indenture with respect to the debt securities of the applicable series.
Other than its duties in the case of a default, a trustee is not obligated to exercise any of its rights or powers under the applicable indenture at the request, order or direction of any holders, unless the holders offer that trustee security or indemnity satisfactory to the trustee. If satisfactory indemnification is provided, then, subject to other rights of the trustee, the holders of a majority in principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of any series may, with respect to the debt securities of that series, direct the time, method and place of:

Conducting any proceeding for any remedy available to the trustee; or

Exercising any trust or power conferred upon the trustee.
The holder of a debt security of any series will have the right to begin any proceeding with respect to the applicable indenture or for any remedy only if:

The holder has previously given the trustee written notice of a continuing event of default with respect to that series;

The holders of at least 25% in aggregate principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of that series have made a written request of, and offered reasonable indemnification to, the trustee to begin such proceeding;
 
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The trustee has not started such proceeding within 60 days after receiving the request; and

The trustee has not received directions inconsistent with such request from the holders of a majority in aggregate principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of that series during those 60 days.
However, the holder of any debt security will have an absolute right to receive payment of principal of and any premium and interest on the debt security when due and to institute suit to enforce this payment, subject to limitations with respect to subordinated debt securities.
Defeasance
Defeasance and Discharge.   At the time that we establish a series of debt securities under the applicable indenture, we can provide that the debt securities of that series are subject to the defeasance and discharge provisions of that indenture. Unless we specify otherwise in the applicable prospectus supplement, the debt securities offered thereby will be subject to the defeasance and discharge provisions of the applicable indenture, and we will be discharged from our obligations on the debt securities of that series if:

We deposit with the applicable trustee, in trust, sufficient money or, if the debt securities of that series are denominated and payable in U.S. dollars only, Eligible Instruments, to pay the principal, any interest, any premium and any other sums due on the debt securities of that series, such as sinking fund payments, on the dates the payments are due under the applicable indenture and the terms of the debt securities;

We deliver to the applicable trustee an opinion of counsel that states that the holders of the debt securities of that series will not recognize income, gain or loss for federal income tax purposes as a result of the deposit and will be subject to federal income tax on the same amounts and in the same manner and at the same times as would have been the case if no deposit, defeasance and discharge had been made; and

If the debt securities of that series are listed on any domestic or foreign securities exchange, the debt securities will not be delisted as a result of the deposit.
When we use the term “Eligible Instruments” in this section, we mean monetary assets, money market instruments and securities that are payable in U.S. dollars only and essentially risk free as to collection of principal and interest, including:

Monetary assets, money market instruments and securities that are payable in U.S. dollars only and essentially risk free as to collection of principal and interest; or

Direct obligations of the United States for the payment of which its full faith and credit is pledged, or obligations of a person controlled or supervised by and acting as an agency or instrumentality of the United States if the timely payment of the obligation is unconditionally guaranteed as a full faith and credit obligation by the United States.
In the event that we deposit money and/or Eligible Instruments in trust and discharge our obligations under a series of debt securities as described above, then:

The applicable indenture, including, in the case of subordinated debt securities, the subordination provisions contained in the subordinated indenture, will no longer apply to the debt securities of that series; however, certain obligations to compensate, reimburse and indemnify the trustee, to register the transfer and exchange of debt securities, to replace lost, stolen or mutilated debt securities, to maintain paying agencies and the trust funds and to pay additional amounts, if any, required as a result of U.S. withholding taxes imposed on payments to non-U.S. persons will continue to apply; and

Holders of debt securities of that series can only look to the trust fund for payment of principal, any premium and any interest on the debt securities of that series.
Defeasance of Certain Covenants and Certain Events of Default.   At the time that we establish a series of debt securities under the applicable indenture, we can provide that the debt securities of that series are subject to the covenant defeasance provisions of that indenture. Unless we specify otherwise in the applicable prospectus supplement, the debt securities offered thereby will be subject to the covenant defeasance
 
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provisions of the applicable indenture, and if we make the deposit and deliver the opinion of counsel described above in this section under the heading “— Defeasance and Discharge,” we will not have to comply with any covenant we designate when we establish the series of debt securities. In the event of a covenant defeasance, our obligations under the applicable indenture and the debt securities, other than with respect to the covenants specifically designated upon establishing the debt securities, will remain in effect.
If we exercise our option not to comply with certain covenants as described above and the debt securities of the series become immediately due and payable because an event of default has occurred, other than as a result of an event of default specifically relating to any of such covenants, the amount of money and/or Eligible Instruments on deposit with the applicable trustee will be sufficient to pay the principal, any interest, any premium and any other sums, due on the debt securities of that series, such as sinking fund payments, on the date the payments are due under the applicable indenture and the terms of the debt securities, but may not be sufficient to pay amounts due at the time of acceleration. However, we would remain liable for the balance of the payments.
Subordination
The subordinated debt securities will be subordinate to all of our existing and future Senior Debt, as defined below. Our “Senior Debt” includes the senior debt securities and means the principal of, premium, if any, and interest on, rent under, and any other amounts payable on or in or in respect of any of our indebtedness (including, without limitation, any obligations in respect of such indebtedness and any interest accruing after the filing of a petition by or against us under any bankruptcy law, whether or not allowed as a claim after such filing in any proceeding under such bankruptcy law), whether outstanding on the date of the senior indenture or thereafter created, incurred, assumed, guaranteed or in effect guaranteed by us (including all deferrals, renewals, extensions, refinancings or refundings of, or amendments, modifications or supplements to the foregoing). However, Senior Debt does not include:

Any liability for federal, state, local or other taxes owed or owing by us;

Our indebtedness to any of our subsidiaries;

Our trade payables and accrued expenses (including, without limitation, accrued compensation) for goods, services or materials purchased or provided in the ordinary course of business; and

Any particular indebtedness in which the instrument creating or evidencing the same expressly provides that such indebtedness shall not be senior in right of payment to, or is pari passu with, or is subordinated or junior to, the subordinated debt securities.
If certain events in bankruptcy, insolvency or reorganization occur, we will first pay all Senior Debt, including any interest accrued after the events occur, in full before we make any payment or distribution, whether in cash, securities or other property, on account of the principal of or interest on the subordinated debt securities. In such an event, we will pay or deliver directly to the holders of Senior Debt any payment or distribution otherwise payable or deliverable to holders of the subordinated debt securities. We will make the payments to the holders of Senior Debt according to priorities existing among those holders until we have paid all Senior Debt, including accrued interest, in full. Notwithstanding the subordination provisions discussed in this paragraph, we may make payments or distributions on the subordinated debt securities so long as:

The payments or distributions consist of securities issued by us or another company in connection with a plan of dissolution, reorganization, readjustment or winding up; and

Payment on those securities is subordinate to outstanding Senior Debt and any securities issued with respect to Senior Debt under such plan of dissolution, reorganization, readjustment or winding up at least to the same extent provided in the subordination provisions of the subordinated debt securities.
If such events in bankruptcy, insolvency or reorganization occur, after we have paid in full all amounts owed on Senior Debt:

The holders of subordinated debt securities,

Together with the holders of any of our other obligations ranking equal with those subordinated debt securities,
 
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will be entitled to receive from our remaining assets any principal, premium or interest due at that time on the subordinated debt securities and such other obligations before we make any payment or other distribution on account of any of our capital stock or obligations ranking junior to those subordinated debt securities.
If we violate the subordinated indenture by making a payment or distribution to holders of the subordinated debt securities before we have paid all of the Senior Debt in full, then such holders of the subordinated debt securities will be deemed to have received the payments or distributions in trust for the benefit of, and will have to pay or transfer the payments or distributions to, the holders of the Senior Debt outstanding at the time. The payment or transfer to the holders of the Senior Debt will be made according to the priorities existing among those holders. Notwithstanding the subordination provisions discussed in this paragraph, holders of subordinated debt securities will not be required to pay, or transfer payments or distributions to, holders of Senior Debt so long as:

The payments or distributions consist of securities issued by us or another company in connection with a plan of reorganization or readjustment; and

Payment on those securities is subordinated to outstanding Senior Debt and any securities issued with respect to Senior Debt under such plan of reorganization or readjustment at least to the same extent provided in the subordination provisions of those subordinated debt securities.

Because of the subordination, if we become insolvent, holders of Senior Debt may receive more, ratably, and holders of the subordinated debt securities having a claim pursuant to those securities may receive less, ratably, than our other creditors.
We may modify or amend the subordinated indenture as provided under “— Modification and Waiver” above. However, the modification or amendment may not, without the consent of the holders of all Senior Debt outstanding, modify any of the provisions of the subordinated indenture relating to the subordination of the subordinated debt securities in a manner that would adversely affect the holders of Senior Debt.
Payment of Additional Amounts
Unless we specify otherwise in the applicable prospectus supplement, we will not pay any additional amounts on the debt securities offered thereby to compensate any beneficial owner for any United States tax withheld from payments on such debt securities.
Book-Entry, Delivery and Form
We have obtained the information in this section concerning DTC, Clearstream Banking S.A., or “Clearstream,” and Euroclear Bank S.A./N.V., as operator of the Euroclear System, or “Euroclear,” and the book-entry system and procedures from sources that we believe to be reliable, but we take no responsibility for the accuracy of this information. This information could change at any time. In addition, we have no control over DTC, Clearstream or Euroclear, or any of their participants, and therefore we take no responsibility for their activities.
Unless otherwise specified in the applicable prospectus supplement, the debt securities will be issued as fully registered global securities that will be deposited with, or on behalf of, DTC and registered, at the request of DTC, in the name of Cede & Co. Beneficial interests in the global securities will be represented through book-entry accounts of financial institutions acting on behalf of beneficial owners as direct or indirect participants in DTC. The direct and indirect participants will remain responsible for keeping account of their holdings on behalf of their customers. Investors may elect to hold their interests in the global securities through either DTC (in the United States) or (in Europe) through Clearstream or through Euroclear. Investors may hold their interests in the global securities directly if they are participants of such systems, or indirectly through organizations that are participants in these systems. Interests held through Clearstream and Euroclear will be recorded on DTC’s books as being held by the U.S. Depositary for each of Clearstream and Euroclear (the “U.S. Depositaries”), which U.S. Depositaries will, in turn, hold interests on behalf of their participants’ customers’ securities accounts. Unless otherwise specified in the applicable prospectus supplement, beneficial interests in the global securities will be held in denominations of $1,000 and multiples
 
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of $1,000 in excess thereof. Except as set forth below, the global securities may be transferred, in whole and not in part, only to another nominee of DTC or to a successor of DTC or its nominee.
Debt securities represented by a global security can be exchanged for definitive securities in registered form only if:

DTC notifies us that it is unwilling or unable to continue as depositary for that global security and we do not appoint a qualified successor depositary within 90 days after receiving that notice;

At any time DTC ceases to be a clearing agency registered under the Exchange Act and we do not appoint a successor depositary within 90 days after becoming aware that DTC has ceased to be registered as a clearing agency;

We in our sole discretion determine that such global security will be exchangeable for definitive securities in registered Form or elect to terminate the book-entry system through DTC and notify the applicable trustee of our decision; or

An event of default with respect to the debt securities represented by that global security has occurred and is continuing.
A global security that can be exchanged as described in the preceding sentence will be exchanged for definitive securities issued in authorized denominations in registered form for the same aggregate amount. The definitive securities will be registered in the names of the owners of the beneficial interests in the global security as directed by DTC.
We will make principal and interest payments on all debt securities represented by a global security to the paying agent which in turn will make payment to DTC or its nominee, as the case may be, as the sole registered owner and the sole holder of the debt securities represented by a global security for all purposes under the applicable indenture. Accordingly, we, the applicable trustee and any paying agent will have no responsibility or liability for:

Any aspect of DTC’s records relating to, or payments made on account of, beneficial ownership interests in a debt security represented by a global security;

Any other aspect of the relationship between DTC and its participants or the relationship between those participants and the owners of beneficial interests in a global security held through those participants; or

The maintenance, supervision or review of any of DTC’s records relating to those beneficial ownership interests.
We understand that DTC’s current practice is to credit direct participants’ accounts on each payment date with payments in amounts proportionate to their respective beneficial interests in the principal amount of such global security as shown on DTC’s records, upon DTC’s receipt of funds and corresponding detail information. The underwriters or agents for the debt securities represented by a global security will initially designate the accounts to be credited. Payments by participants to owners of beneficial interests in a global security will be governed by standing instructions and customary practices, as is the case with securities held for customer accounts registered in “street name,” and will be the sole responsibility of those participants, and not of DTC or its nominee, the trustee, any agent of ours, or us, subject to any statutory or regulatory requirements. Book-entry notes may be more difficult to pledge because of the lack of a physical note.
DTC
So long as DTC or its nominee is the registered owner of a global security, DTC or its nominee, as the case may be, will be considered the sole owner and holder of the debt securities represented by that global security for all purposes of the debt securities. Owners of beneficial interests in the debt securities will not be entitled to have debt securities registered in their names, will not receive or be entitled to receive physical delivery of the debt securities in definitive form and will not be considered owners or holders of debt securities under the applicable indenture. Accordingly, each person owning a beneficial interest in a global security must rely on the procedures of DTC and, if that person is not a DTC participant, on the procedures of the
 
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participant through which that person owns its interest, to exercise any rights of a holder of debt securities. The laws of some jurisdictions may require that certain purchasers of securities take physical delivery of the securities in certificated form. These laws may impair the ability to transfer beneficial interests in a global security. Beneficial owners may experience delays in receiving distributions on their debt securities since distributions will initially be made to DTC and must then be transferred through the chain of intermediaries to the beneficial owner’s account.
We understand that, under existing industry practices, if we request holders to take any action, or if an owner of a beneficial interest in a global security desires to take any action which a holder is entitled to take under the applicable indenture, then DTC would authorize the participants holding the relevant beneficial interests to take that action and those participants would authorize the beneficial owners owning through such participants to take that action or would otherwise act upon the instructions of beneficial owners owning through them.
Beneficial interests in a global security will be shown on, and transfers of those ownership interests will be effected only through, records maintained by DTC and its participants for that global security. The conveyance of notices and other communications by DTC to its participants and by its participants to owners of beneficial interests in the debt securities will be governed by arrangements among them, subject to any statutory or regulatory requirements in effect.
We understand that DTC is a limited-purpose trust company organized under the New York Banking Law, a “banking organization” within the meaning of the New York Banking Law, a member of the Federal Reserve System, a “clearing corporation” within the meaning of the New York Uniform Commercial Code and a “clearing agency” registered under the Exchange Act. DTC is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (“DTCC”). DTCC is the holding company for DTC, National Securities Clearing Corporation and Fixed Income Clearing Corporation, all of which are registered clearing agencies. DTCC is owned by the users of its regulated subsidiaries.
DTC holds the securities of its participants and facilitates the clearance and settlement of securities transactions among its participants in such securities through electronic book-entry changes in accounts of its participants. The electronic book-entry system eliminates the need for physical certificates. DTC’s participants include securities brokers and dealers, including underwriters, banks, trust companies, clearing corporations and certain other organizations, some of which, and/or their representatives, own DTCC. Banks, brokers, dealers, trust companies and others that clear through or maintain a custodial relationship with a participant, either directly or indirectly, also have access to DTC’s book-entry system. The rules applicable to DTC and its participants are on file with the SEC.
The above information with respect to DTC has been provided for informational purposes only and is not intended to serve as a representation, warranty or contract modification of any kind.
Clearstream
We understand that Clearstream was incorporated under the laws of Luxembourg as an international clearing system. Clearstream holds securities for its participating organizations, or “Clearstream Participants,” and facilitates the clearance and settlement of securities transactions between Clearstream Participants through electronic book-entry changes in accounts of Clearstream Participants, thereby eliminating the need for physical movement of certificates. Clearstream provides to Clearstream Participants, among other things, services for safekeeping, administration, clearance and settlement of internationally traded securities and securities lending and borrowing. Clearstream interfaces with domestic securities markets in several countries. As a professional depositary, Clearstream is subject to regulation by the Luxembourg Commission for the Supervision of the Financial Sector (Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier). Clearstream Participants are recognized financial institutions around the world, including underwriters, securities brokers and dealers, banks, trust companies, clearing corporations and certain other organizations. Clearstream’s U.S. Participants are limited to securities brokers and dealers and banks. Indirect access to Clearstream is also available to others, such as banks, brokers, dealers and trust companies that clear through or maintain a custodial relationship with a Clearstream Participant either directly or indirectly.
Distributions with respect to debt securities held beneficially through Clearstream will be credited to cash accounts of Clearstream Participants in accordance with its rules and procedures, to the extent received by the U.S. Depositary for Clearstream.
 
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Euroclear
We understand that Euroclear was created in 1968 to hold securities for participants of Euroclear, or “Euroclear Participants,” and to clear and settle transactions between Euroclear Participants through simultaneous electronic book-entry delivery against payment, thereby eliminating the need for physical movement of certificates and any risk from lack of simultaneous transfers of securities and cash. Euroclear performs various other services, including securities lending and borrowing and interacts with domestic markets in several countries. Euroclear is operated by Euroclear Bank S.A./N.V., or the “Euroclear Operator,” under contract with Euroclear plc, a U.K. corporation. All operations are conducted by the Euroclear Operator, and all Euroclear securities clearance accounts and Euroclear cash accounts are accounts with the Euroclear Operator, not Euroclear plc. Euroclear plc establishes policy for Euroclear on behalf of Euroclear Participants. Euroclear Participants include banks, including central banks, securities brokers and dealers and other professional financial intermediaries. Indirect access to Euroclear is also available to other firms that clear through or maintain a custodial relationship with a Euroclear Participant, either directly or indirectly. Euroclear is an indirect participant in DTC.
The Euroclear Operator is a Belgian bank. As such it is regulated by the Belgian Banking and Finance Commission and the National Bank of Belgium.
Securities clearance accounts and cash accounts with the Euroclear Operator are governed by the Terms and Conditions Governing Use of Euroclear and the related Operating Procedures of the Euroclear System, and applicable Belgian law, which we will refer to herein as the “Terms and Conditions.” The Terms and Conditions govern transfers of securities and cash within Euroclear, withdrawals of securities and cash from Euroclear, and receipts of payments with respect to securities in Euroclear. All securities in Euroclear are held on a fungible basis without attribution of specific certificates to specific securities clearance accounts. The Euroclear Operator acts under the Terms and Conditions only on behalf of Euroclear Participants, and has no record of or relationship with persons holding through Euroclear Participants.
Distributions with respect to debt securities held beneficially through Euroclear will be credited to the cash accounts of Euroclear Participants in accordance with the Terms and Conditions, to the extent received by the Euroclear Operator.
We further understand that investors that acquire, hold and transfer interests in the debt securities by book-entry through accounts with the Euroclear Operator or any other securities intermediary are subject to the laws and contractual provisions governing their relationship with their intermediary, as well as the laws and contractual provisions governing the relationship between such an intermediary and each other intermediary, if any, standing between themselves and the global securities.
Global Clearance and Settlement Procedures
Unless otherwise specified in the applicable prospectus supplement, initial settlement for the debt securities will be made in immediately available funds. Secondary market trading between DTC participants will occur in the ordinary way in accordance with DTC rules and will be settled in immediately available funds using DTC’s Same-Day Funds Settlement System. Secondary market trading between Clearstream Participants and/or Euroclear Participants will occur in the ordinary way in accordance with the applicable rules and operating procedures of Clearstream and Euroclear and will be settled using the procedures applicable to conventional eurobonds in immediately available funds.
Cross-market transfers between persons holding directly or indirectly through DTC, on the one hand, and directly or indirectly through Clearstream Participants or Euroclear Participants, on the other, will be effected through DTC in accordance with DTC rules on behalf of the relevant European international clearing system by its U.S. Depositary; however, such cross-market transactions will require delivery of instructions to the relevant European international clearing system by the counterparty in such system in accordance with its rules and procedures and within its established deadlines (European time). The relevant European international clearing system will, if the transaction meets its settlement requirements, deliver instructions to its U.S. Depositary to take action to effect final settlement on its behalf by delivering or receiving debt securities through DTC, and making or receiving payment in accordance with normal procedures for same-day funds settlement applicable to DTC. Clearstream Participants and Euroclear Participants may not deliver instructions directly to their respective U.S. Depositaries.
 
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Because of time-zone differences, credits of debt securities received through Clearstream or Euroclear as a result of a transaction with a DTC participant will be made during subsequent securities settlement processing and dated the business day following the DTC settlement date. Such credits or any transactions in such debt securities settled during such processing will be reported to the relevant Euroclear Participants or Clearstream Participants on such business day. Cash received in Clearstream or Euroclear as a result of sales of debt securities by or through a Clearstream Participant or a Euroclear Participant to a DTC participant will be received with value on the DTC settlement date but will be available in the relevant Clearstream or Euroclear cash account only as of the business day following settlement in DTC.
If the debt securities are cleared only through Euroclear and Clearstream (and not DTC), you will be able to make and receive through Euroclear and Clearstream payments, deliveries, transfers, exchanges, notices, and other transactions involving any securities held through those systems only on days when those systems are open for business. Those systems may not be open for business on days when banks, brokers, and other institutions are open for business in the United States. In addition, because of time-zone differences, U.S. investors who hold their interests in the securities through these systems and wish to transfer their interests, or to receive or make a payment or delivery or exercise any other right with respect to their interests, on a particular day may find that the transaction will not be effected until the next business day in Luxembourg or Brussels, as applicable. Thus, U.S. investors who wish to exercise rights that expire on a particular day may need to act before the expiration date.
Although DTC, Clearstream and Euroclear have agreed to the foregoing procedures in order to facilitate transfers of debt securities among participants of DTC, Clearstream and Euroclear, they are under no obligation to perform or continue to perform such procedures and such procedures may be modified or discontinued at any time. Neither we nor any paying agent will have any responsibility for the performance by DTC, Euroclear or Clearstream or their respective direct or indirect participants of their obligations under the rules and procedures governing their operations.
Conversion and Exchange
If any offered debt securities are convertible at the option of the holders or exchangeable at our option, the prospectus supplement relating to those debt securities will include the terms and conditions governing any conversions and exchanges.
Governing Law
The indentures are, and the debt securities will be, governed by and will be construed in accordance with New York law.
 
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DESCRIPTION OF STOCK PURCHASE CONTRACTS
We may issue stock purchase contracts, including contracts obligating holders to purchase from us and contracts obligating us to sell to the holders, a specified number of shares of common stock or other securities at a future date or dates. The price per share of the securities and the number of shares of the securities may be fixed at the time the stock purchase contracts are issued or may be determined by reference to a specific formula set forth in the stock purchase contracts. The stock purchase contracts may be issued separately or as part of units consisting of a stock purchase contract and warrants or other securities or debt obligations of third parties, including U.S. treasury securities, securing the holders’ obligations to purchase the securities under the stock purchase contracts. The stock purchase contracts may require us to make periodic payments to the holders of the stock purchase contracts or vice versa, and such payments may be unsecured or prefunded on some basis. They may also require holders to secure their obligations thereunder in a specified manner and in certain circumstances we may deliver newly issued prepaid stock purchase contracts, or prepaid securities, upon release to a holder of any collateral securing such holder’s obligations under the original stock purchase contract.
The stock purchase contracts, and, if applicable, collateral or depositary arrangements will be filed with the SEC in connection with the offering of stock purchase contracts. The prospectus supplement and any incorporated documents relating to any stock purchase contracts that we offer will include specific terms relating to the offering, including, among other matters:

If applicable, a discussion of material U.S. federal income tax considerations; and

Any other information we think important about the stock purchase contracts.
 
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DESCRIPTION OF WARRANTS
We may issue warrants for the purchase of shares of our common stock or preferred stock or of debt securities. We may issue warrants independently or together with other securities, and the warrants may be attached to or separate from any offered securities. Each series of warrants will be issued under a separate warrant agreement to be entered into between us and the investors or a warrant agent. The following summary of material provisions of the warrants and warrant agreements are subject to, and qualified in their entirety by reference to, all the provisions of the warrant agreement and warrant certificate applicable to a particular series of warrants. The terms of any warrants offered under a prospectus supplement may differ from the terms described below. We urge you to read the applicable prospectus supplement and any related free writing prospectus, as well as the complete warrant agreements and warrant certificates that contain the terms of the warrants.
The particular terms of any issue of warrants will be described in the prospectus supplement relating to the issue. Those terms may include:

The number of shares of common stock or preferred stock purchasable upon the exercise of warrants to purchase such shares and the price at which such number of shares may be purchased upon such exercise;

The designation, stated value and terms (including, without limitation, liquidation, dividend, conversion and voting rights) of the series of preferred stock purchasable upon exercise of warrants to purchase preferred stock;

The principal amount of debt securities that may be purchased upon exercise of a debt warrant and the exercise price for the warrants, which may be payable in cash, securities or other property;

The date, if any, on and after which the warrants and the related debt securities, preferred stock or common stock will be separately transferable;

The terms of any rights to redeem or call the warrants;

The date on which the right to exercise the warrants will commence and the date on which the right will expire;

A discussion of certain United States federal income tax consequences applicable to the warrants; and

Any additional terms of the warrants, including terms, procedures, and limitations relating to the exchange, exercise and settlement of the warrants.
Holders of equity warrants will not be entitled to:

Vote, consent or receive dividends;

Receive notice as stockholders with respect to any meeting of stockholders for the election of our directors or any other matter; or

Exercise any rights as stockholders of the Company.
Each warrant will entitle its holder to purchase the principal amount of debt securities or the number of shares of preferred stock or common stock at the exercise price set forth in, or calculable as set forth in, the applicable prospectus supplement. Unless we otherwise specify in the applicable prospectus supplement, holders of the warrants may exercise the warrants at any time up to the specified time on the expiration date that we set forth in the applicable prospectus supplement. After the close of business on the expiration date, unexercised warrants will become void.
A holder of warrant certificates may exchange them for new warrant certificates of different denominations, present them for registration of transfer and exercise them at the corporate trust office of the warrant agent or any other office indicated in the applicable prospectus supplement. Until any warrants to purchase debt securities are exercised, the holder of the warrants will not have any rights of holders of the debt securities that can be purchased upon exercise, including any rights to receive payments of principal, premium or interest on the underlying debt securities or to enforce covenants in the applicable indenture.
 
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Until any warrants to purchase common stock or preferred stock are exercised, the holders of the warrants will not have any rights of holders of the underlying common stock or preferred stock, including any rights to receive dividends or payments upon any liquidation, dissolution or winding up on the common stock or preferred stock, if any.
 
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DESCRIPTION OF RIGHTS
We may issue rights to purchase our common stock. The rights may or may not be transferable by the persons purchasing or receiving the rights. In connection with any rights offering, we may enter into a standby underwriting or other arrangement with one or more underwriters or other persons pursuant to which such underwriters or other persons would purchase any offered securities remaining unsubscribed for after such rights offering. Each series of rights will be issued under a separate rights agent agreement to be entered into between us and one or more banks, trust companies or other financial institutions, as rights agent, that we will name in the applicable prospectus supplement. The rights agent will act solely as our agent in connection with the rights and will not assume any obligation or relationship of agency or trust for or with any holders of rights certificates or beneficial owners of rights.
The prospectus supplement and any incorporated documents relating to any rights that we offer will include specific terms relating to the offering, including, among other matters:

The date of determining the security holders entitled to the rights distribution;

The aggregate number of rights issued and the aggregate number of shares of common stock purchasable upon exercise of the rights;

The exercise price;

The conditions to completion of the rights offering;

The date on which the right to exercise the rights will commence and the date on which the rights will expire; and

A discussion of certain United States federal income tax consequences applicable to the rights offering.
Each right would entitle the holder of the rights to purchase for cash shares of common stock at the exercise price set forth in the applicable prospectus supplement. Rights may be exercised at any time up to the close of business on the expiration date for the rights provided in the applicable prospectus supplement. After the close of business on the expiration date, all unexercised rights will become void.
If less than all of the rights issued in any rights offering are exercised, we may offer any unsubscribed securities directly to persons other than our security holders, to or through agents, underwriters or dealers or through a combination of such methods, including pursuant to standby arrangements, as described in the applicable prospectus supplement.
 
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DESCRIPTION OF UNITS
We may issue units consisting of any combination of the other types of securities offered under this prospectus in one or more series. We may evidence each series of units by unit certificates that we will issue under a separate agreement. We may enter into unit agreements with a unit agent. Each unit agent will be a bank or trust company that we select. We will indicate the name and address of the unit agent in the applicable prospectus supplement relating to a particular series of units.
The following description, together with the additional information included in any applicable prospectus supplement, summarizes the general features of the units that we may offer under this prospectus. You should read any prospectus supplement and any free writing prospectus that we may authorize to be provided to you related to the series of units being offered, as well as the complete unit agreements that contain the terms of the units. Specific unit agreements will contain additional important terms and provisions and we will file as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part, or will incorporate by reference from another report that we file with the SEC, the form of each unit agreement relating to units offered under this prospectus.
If we offer any units, certain terms of that series of units will be described in the applicable prospectus supplement, including, without limitation, the following, as applicable:

The title of the series of units;

Identification and description of the separate constituent securities comprising the units;

The price or prices at which the units will be issued;

The date, if any, on and after which the constituent securities comprising the units will be separately transferable;

A discussion of certain United States federal income tax considerations applicable to the units; and

Any other terms of the units and their constituent securities.
 
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PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION
We may sell securities in any one or more of the following ways from time to time: (i) to or through agents; (ii) to or through underwriters (including through syndicates or acting alone for resale); (iii) to or through brokers or dealers; (iv) directly by us to purchasers, including through a specific bidding, auction or other process; (v) upon the exercise of subscription rights that may be distributed to our shareholders; (vi) through a combination of any of these methods of sale; or (vii) by any other method permitted by law. The applicable prospectus supplement and/or other offering material will contain the terms of the transaction, name or names of any underwriters, dealers, or agents and the respective amounts of securities underwritten or purchased by them, the initial public offering price of the securities, and the applicable agent’s commission, dealer’s purchase price or underwriter’s discount. Any dealers and agents participating in the distribution of the securities may be deemed to be underwriters, and compensation received by them on resale of the securities may be deemed to be underwriting discounts.
Sales of the securities may be effected from time to time in one or more transactions, including negotiated transactions, (a) at a fixed price or prices, which may be changed; (b) at market prices prevailing at the time of sale; (c) at prices related to prevailing market prices; (d) at varying prices determined at the time of sale; or (e) at negotiated prices. Any initial offering price, dealer purchase price, discount or commission may be changed from time to time. The securities may be distributed from time to time in one or more transactions, at negotiated prices, at a fixed price or fixed prices (that may be subject to change), at market prices prevailing at the time of sale, at various prices determined at the time of sale or at prices related to prevailing market prices.
Offers to purchase securities may be solicited directly by us or by agents designated by us from time to time. Any such agent may be deemed to be an underwriter, as that term is defined in the Securities Act, of the securities so offered and sold.
If underwriters or dealers acting as principal are utilized in the sale of any securities in respect of which this prospectus is being delivered, such securities will be acquired by the underwriters or dealers for their own account and may be resold from time to time in one or more transactions, including negotiated transactions, at fixed public offering prices or at varying prices determined by the underwriters or dealers at the time of sale. Securities may be offered to the public either through underwriting syndicates represented by managing underwriters or directly by one or more underwriters. If any underwriter or underwriters are utilized in the sale of securities, unless otherwise indicated in the applicable prospectus supplement and/or other offering material, the obligations of the underwriters are subject to certain conditions precedent, and the underwriters will be obligated to purchase all such securities if any are purchased.
If a dealer is utilized in the sale of the securities in respect of which this prospectus is delivered, we will sell such securities to the dealer, as principal. The dealer may then resell such securities to the public at varying prices to be determined by such dealer at the time of resale. Transactions through brokers or dealers may include block trades in which brokers or dealers will attempt to sell shares as agent but may position and resell as principal to facilitate the transaction or in crosses, in which the same broker or dealer acts as agent on both sides of the trade. Any such dealer may be deemed to be an underwriter, as such term is defined in the Securities Act, of the securities so offered and sold.
Offers to purchase securities may be solicited directly by us and the sale thereof may be made directly to institutional investors or others, who may be deemed to be underwriters within the meaning of the Securities Act with respect to any resale thereof.
If so indicated in the applicable prospectus supplement and/or other offering material, we may authorize agents and underwriters to solicit offers by certain institutions to purchase securities at the public offering price set forth in the applicable prospectus supplement and/or other offering material pursuant to delayed delivery contracts providing for payment and delivery on the date or dates stated in the applicable prospectus supplement and/or other offering material. Such delayed delivery contracts will be subject only to those conditions set forth in the applicable prospectus supplement and/or other offering material.
Agents, underwriters and dealers may be entitled under relevant agreements to indemnification against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act, or to contribution with respect to payments
 
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which such agents, underwriters and dealers may be required to make in respect thereof. The terms and conditions of any indemnification or contribution will be described in the applicable prospectus supplement and/or other offering material.
We may also sell shares of our common stock through various arrangements involving mandatorily or optionally exchangeable securities, and this prospectus may be delivered in connection with those sales.
We may enter into derivative, sale or forward sale transactions with third parties, or sell securities not covered by this prospectus to third parties in privately negotiated transactions. If the applicable prospectus supplement and/or other offering material indicates, in connection with those transactions, the third parties may sell securities covered by this prospectus and the applicable prospectus supplement and/or other offering material, including in short sale transactions and by issuing securities not covered by this prospectus but convertible into, or exchangeable for or representing beneficial interests in such securities covered by this prospectus, or the return of which is derived in whole or in part from the value of such securities. The third parties may use securities received under derivative, sale or forward sale transactions, or securities pledged by us or borrowed from us or others to settle those sales or to close out any related open borrowings of stock, and may use securities received from us in settlement of those transactions to close out any related open borrowings of stock. The third party in such sale transactions will be an underwriter and will be identified in the applicable prospectus supplement (or a post-effective amendment) and/or other offering material.
Underwriters, broker-dealers or agents may receive compensation in the form of commissions, discounts or concessions from us. Underwriters, broker-dealers or agents may also receive compensation from the purchasers of shares for whom they act as agents or to whom they sell as principals, or both. Compensation as to a particular underwriter, broker-dealer or agent might be in excess of customary commissions and will be in amounts to be negotiated in connection with transactions involving shares. In effecting sales, broker-dealers may arrange for other broker-dealers to participate in the resales.
Each series of securities will be a new issue and, other than the common stock, which is listed on Nasdaq, will have no established trading market. We may elect to list any series of securities on an exchange, and in the case of the common stock, on any additional or substitute exchange, but, unless otherwise specified in the applicable prospectus supplement and/or other offering material, we shall not be obligated to do so. No assurance can be given as to the liquidity of the trading market for any of the securities.
Agents, underwriters and dealers may engage in transactions with, or perform services for us and our respective subsidiaries in the ordinary course of business.
Any underwriter may engage in overallotment, stabilizing transactions, short covering transactions and penalty bids in accordance with Regulation M under the Exchange Act. Overallotment involves sales in excess of the offering size, which create a short position. Stabilizing transactions permit bids to purchase the underlying security so long as the stabilizing bids do not exceed a specified maximum. Short covering transactions involve purchases of the securities in the open market after the distribution is completed to cover short positions. Penalty bids permit the underwriters to reclaim a selling concession from a dealer when the securities originally sold by the dealer are purchased in a covering transaction to cover short positions. Those activities may cause the price of the securities to be higher than it would otherwise be. If commenced, the underwriters may discontinue any of the activities at any time. An underwriter may carry out these transactions on Nasdaq, any additional or substitute exchange on which our common stock is listed, in the over-the-counter market or otherwise. We do not make any representation or prediction as to the direction or magnitude of any effect that the transactions described above might have on the price of the securities. In addition, we do not make any representation that underwriters will engage in such transactions or that such transactions, once commenced, will not be discontinued without notice.
The place and time of delivery for securities will be set forth in the accompanying prospectus supplement and/or other offering material for such securities.
To comply with applicable state securities laws, the securities offered by this prospectus will be sold, if necessary, in such jurisdictions only through registered or licensed brokers or dealers. In addition, securities may not be sold in some states unless they have been registered or qualified for sale in the applicable state or an exemption from the registration or qualification requirement is available and is complied with.
 
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LEGAL MATTERS
The validity of the securities being offered hereby will be passed upon for us by Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP. Any underwriters, dealers or agents will also be advised about the validity of the securities and other legal matters by their own counsel, which will be named in the applicable prospectus supplement.
EXPERTS
The financial statements and management’s assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting (which is included in Management’s Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting) incorporated in this Prospectus by reference to the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021 have been so incorporated in reliance on the report of Baker Tilly US, LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, given on the authority of said firm as experts in auditing and accounting.
 
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           Shares
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MIROMATRIX MEDICAL INC.
Common Stock
PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT
Book-Running Manager
Piper Sandler & Co.
Lead Manager
Craig-Hallum
                 , 2023