BIOC Biocept, Inc.

Risks

• *We are an early stage molecular oncology diagnostics company with a history of net losses; we expect to incur net losses in the future, and we may never achieve sustained profitability.
• We need to raise additional capital to continue as a going concern.
• If we are unable to increase sales of our current products, assays and services or successfully develop and commercialize other products, assays and services, our revenues will be insufficient for us to achieve profitability.
• If we cannot develop products, assays and services to keep pace with rapid advances in technology, medicine and science, our operating results and competitive position could be harmed.
• If our current products, assays and services and our planned future products, assays and services do not continue to perform as expected, our operating results, reputation and business will suffer.
• If our sole laboratory facility becomes damaged or inoperable, or we are required to vacate the facility, our ability to sell and provide our products and diagnostic assays and pursue our research and development efforts may be jeopardized.
• *If we cannot compete successfully with our competitors, we may be unable to increase or sustain our revenues or achieve and sustain profitability.
• *We expect to continue to incur significant expenses to develop and market products and diagnostic assays, which could make it difficult for us to achieve and sustain profitability.
• Clinical utility studies are important in demonstrating to both customers and payers an assay’s clinical relevance and value. If we are unable to identify collaborators willing to work with us to conduct clinical utility studies, or the results of those studies do not demonstrate that an assay provides clinically meaningful information and value, commercial adoption of such assay may be slow, which would negatively impact our business.
• The loss of key members of our executive management team could adversely affect our business.
• There is a scarcity of experienced professionals in our industry. If we are not able to retain and recruit personnel with the requisite technical skills, we may be unable to successfully execute our business strategy.
• Our failure to continue to attract, hire and retain a sufficient number of qualified sales professionals would hamper our ability to increase demand for our products and diagnostic assays, to expand geographically and to successfully commercialize any other products or assays we may develop.
• We depend on third parties for the supply of blood samples and other biological materials that we use in our research and development efforts. If the costs of such samples and materials increase or our third-party suppliers terminate their relationship with us, our business may be materially harmed.
• We currently rely on third-party suppliers for our BCTs, shipping kits, and critical materials needed to perform our current assays, as well as our planned future products, assays and services, and any problems experienced by them could result in a delay or interruption of their supply to us.
• If we were sued for product liability or professional liability, we could face substantial liabilities that exceed our resources.
• We may acquire other businesses or form joint ventures or make investments in other companies or technologies that could harm our operating results, dilute our stockholders’ ownership, increase our debt or cause us to incur significant expense.
• If we cannot support demand for our current products, assays and services, as well as our planned future products, assays and services, including successfully managing the evolution of our laboratory service, our business could suffer.
• Billing for our diagnostic assays is complex, and we must dedicate substantial time and resources to the billing process to be paid.
• We rely on third-party billing provider software, and an in-house billing function, to transmit claims to payers, and any delay in transmitting claims could have an adverse effect on our revenue.
• We may encounter manufacturing problems or delays that could result in lost revenue.
• General economic or business conditions may have a negative impact on our business.
• Intrusions into our computer systems could result in compromise of confidential information.
• We depend on our information technology and telecommunications systems, and any failure of these systems could harm our business.
• Healthcare policy changes, including recently enacted legislation reforming the U.S. health care system, may have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
• Our commercial success could be compromised if hospitals or other clients do not pay our invoices or if third-party payers, including managed care organizations and Medicare, do not provide coverage and reimbursement, breach, rescind or modify their contracts or reimbursement policies or delay payments for our current assays and our planned future assays.
• *We expect to depend on Medicare and a limited number of private payers for a significant portion of our revenues and if these or other payers stop providing reimbursement or decrease the amount of reimbursement for our current assays and our planned future assays, our revenues could decline.
• *Because of certain Medicare billing policies, we may not receive complete reimbursement for assays provided to Medicare patients. Medicare reimbursement revenues are an important component of our business model, and private payers sometimes look to Medicare determinations when making their own payment determinations; therefore, incomplete or inadequate reimbursement from Medicare would negatively affect our business.
• Long payment cycles of Medicare, Medicaid and/or other third-party payers, or other payment delays, could hurt our cash flows and increase our need for working capital.
• Complying with numerous regulations pertaining to our business is an expensive and time-consuming process, and any failure to comply could result in substantial penalties.
• If the FDA were to begin requiring approval or clearance of our current products or assays and our planned future products or assays, we could incur substantial costs and time delays associated with meeting requirements for pre-market clearance or approval or we could experience decreased demand for, or reimbursement of, our assays.
• If we were required to conduct additional clinical studies or trials before continuing to offer assays that we have developed or may develop as LDTs, those studies or trials could lead to delays or failure to obtain necessary regulatory approval, which could cause significant delays in commercializing any future products and harm our ability to achieve sustained profitability.
• We are required to comply with laws governing the transmission, security and privacy of health information that require significant compliance costs, and any failure to comply with these laws could result in material criminal and civil penalties.
• Clinical research is heavily regulated and failure to comply with human subject protection regulations may disrupt our research program leading to significant expense, regulatory enforcement, private lawsuits and reputational damage.
• Violation of a state’s prohibition on the corporate practice of medicine could result in a material adverse effect on our business.
• If we are unable to obtain and maintain effective patent rights for our products or services, we may not be able to compete effectively in our markets.
• Patent policy and rule changes could increase the uncertainties and costs surrounding the prosecution of our patent applications and the enforcement or defense of our issued patents.
• If we are unable to maintain effective proprietary rights for our products or services, we may not be able to compete effectively in our markets.
• Third-party claims of intellectual property infringement may prevent or delay our development and commercialization efforts.
• We may not be successful in obtaining or maintaining necessary rights to our products or services through acquisitions and in-licenses.
• Although we are not currently involved in any litigation, we may be involved in lawsuits to protect or enforce our patents or the patents of our licensors, which could be expensive, time consuming, and unsuccessful.
• We may be subject to claims challenging the inventorship of our patents and other intellectual property.
• Changes in U.S. patent law could diminish the value of patents in general, thereby impairing our ability to protect our products.
• We may not be able to protect our intellectual property rights throughout the world.
• The price of our common stock may be volatile.
• If our shares become subject to the penny stock rules, it would become more difficult to trade our shares.
• Our quarterly operating results may fluctuate significantly.
• If securities or industry analysts issue an adverse opinion regarding our stock or do not publish research or reports about our company, our stock price and trading volume could decline.
• If we are unable to favorably assess the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting, investors may lose confidence in our financial reporting and our stock price could be materially adversely affected.
• We are an “emerging growth company,” and we cannot be certain if the reduced reporting requirements applicable to emerging growth companies will make our common stock less attractive to investors.
• We have incurred and will continue to incur significant increased costs as a result of operating as a public company, and our management will be required to devote substantial time to new compliance initiatives.
• Because we do not expect to pay cash dividends for the foreseeable future, you must rely on appreciation of our common stock price for any return on your investment. Even if we change that policy, we may be restricted from paying dividends on our common stock.
• Our effective tax rate may fluctuate, and we may incur obligations in tax jurisdictions in excess of accrued amounts.
• Our ability to use our estimated net operating loss carryforwards and certain other tax attributes may be limited.
• We could be subject to securities class action litigation.