As used herein, “Apollo,” “we,” “us,” “our” and “Company” refer to Apollo Endosurgery, Inc. and its subsidiaries, unless the context otherwise requires.

In this Annual Report on Form 10-K, references to U.S. dollars, USD or $ are to U.S. Dollars.

Investors and others should note that we announce material financial information to our investor using our investor relations website (https://ir.apolloendo.com/). SEC filings, public conference calls and webcasts. We use these channels to communicate with our members and the public about our company, our services, and other issues. Therefore, we encourage investors, the media, and others interested in our company to review the information we provide on the channels listed above.

This Annual Report on Form 10-K contains forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements are contained principally in the sections entitled “Risk Factors,” “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and “Business.” These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performances or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terms such as “anticipates,” “believes,” “could,” “estimates,” “expects,” “intends,” “may,” “plans,” “potential,” “predicts,” “projects,” “should,” “will,” “would,” and similar expressions intended to identify forward-looking statements.

In addition, statements that "we believe"“we believe” and similar statements reflect our beliefs and opinions on the relevant subject. These statements are based upon information available to us as of the date of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, and while we believe such information forms a reasonable basis for such statements, such information may be limited or incomplete, and our statements should not be read to indicate that we have conducted an exhaustive inquiry into, or review of, all potentially available relevant information. These statements are inherently uncertain and investors are cautioned not to unduly rely upon these statements.

Except as required by law, we assume no obligation to update any forward-looking statements publicly, or to update the reasons actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in any forward-looking statements, even if new information becomes available in the future.

We are a medical technology company primarily focused on the design, development and commercialization of innovativenext-generation, less invasive medical devices to advance gastrointestinal therapeutic endoscopy.

Our products are primarily used by gastroenterologists and bariatric surgeons in a variety of settings to treat multiple gastrointestinal ("GI"(“GI”) conditions including closure of acute perforations and chronic fistulas; tissue closure after the removal of abnormal neoplastic lesions in the esophagus, stomach or colon (also known as polypectomy, endoscopic submucosal dissections, endoscopic mucosal resections and endoscopic full thickness resections); the treatment of swallowing disorders (peroral endoscopic myotomy, or "POEM"“POEM”); esophageal stent fixation and obesity.

Apollo was founded in 2005 and is incorporated in Delaware with headquarters in Austin, Texas. The Company was founded to develop and commercialize innovations originating from a collaboration of physicians from the Mayo Clinic, Johns Hopkins University, Medical University of South Carolina, the University of Texas Medical Branch and the Chinese University of Hong Kong, who called themselves the Apollo Group. The work of the Apollo Group resulted in a significant portfolio of patents in the field of flexible endoscopy and minimally invasive surgery aimed at minimizing the trauma of surgical access by taking advantage of natural orifices to deliver surgical tools to targeted areas.

In December 2016, we completed a business combination (the "Merger"“Lpath Merger”) with Lpath, Inc. ("Lpath"(“Lpath”), a publicly traded company. Following the Lpath Merger, Lpath was renamed "Apollo“Apollo Endosurgery, Inc."” and our common stock began trading on The Nasdaq Global Market under the symbol "APEN." “APEN.”

Today, we have offices in the United Kingdom and Italy that oversee regional sales and distribution activities outside the U.S. and a manufacturing facility in Costa Rica. All other activities are managed and operated from our facilities in Austin, Texas. Our products are offered in over 75 countries today, across a wide range of patient indications.

Interventional and therapeutic gastroenterology is a high growth area within medicine, and our suturing products are used in both the upper and lower GI tract. Examples of upper GI applications include fistula closure, esophageal stent fixation, and tunnel closure for peroral endoscopic myotomy, or POEM. Fistulas are chronic or acute defects that can form between two sites in the GI tract, cavity or skin, often occurring as a result of abdominal surgery. Esophageal stents are often used as part of the treatment of esophageal blockage from cancers or benign scarring and fixation is designed to prevent the premature migration of the stent, especially in benign conditions, which is common and costly. Clinical evidence shows that fully covered esophageal stents that are not fixed in place will have as high as a 60% migration rate. Suturing stents in place helps reduce stent migration saving an average of $860 per patient by preventing repeat procedures and complications for the patient. Achalasia is a condition where a patient has difficulty swallowing. As the incidence of achalasia increases, there is growing interest in endoscopic treatment options that can be offered, such as the POEM procedure. Suturing of the tunnel following the esophageal muscle dissection and release during a POEM secures a quick and low profile solution for the patient.

In the lower GI tract, there are over 2021 million colonoscopies performed annually in the United States alone. Cancer screening followed by the endoscopic resection of complex flat and large polyps can provide patients with an alternative to surgical resections. Delayed bleeding is a general risk of endoscopic resection and patients over the age of 50 are more often on anti-thrombotic (blood thinning) medications which carry a higher risk of bleeding. Suturing the resection site aids in healing and helps prevent delayed bleeding following the procedure.

ObesityCurrently, we estimate that our products have been used in over 90% of the top 20 research hospitals and top 25 GI specialized hospitals in the U.S. We intend to leverage our clinical experience in these leading academic institutions and hospitals to further penetrate existing accounts, as well as expand our global user base, through clinical research, clinical selling and training, peer-to-peer education programs, industry and society collaborations, product enhancement, new product development initiatives and expanding regulatory indications and obtaining new regulatory approvals in strategic markets.

Worldwide obesity numbers have nearly tripled since 1975. More than 650 million people are now considered clinically obese. In the U.S., it is estimated that 93more than 100 million adults are obese, or clinicallycomprising in excess of 40% of the adult population. Obesity related conditions including heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, liver disease, and certain types of cancer are among the leading causes of preventable, premature death. Obesity costs the U.S. health care system more than $170 billion a year, yet less than 1% of eligible obese patients are treated with a body mass index ("BMI") of 30 or more. Worldwide, over 650 million people are considered obese. bariatric surgical weight loss procedures each year.

The OverStitch and OverStitch Sx Endoscopic Suturing System ("ESS"(“ESS”, "OverStitch",“OverStitch” or "Sx"“Sx”) enables advanced endoscopic procedures from within the GI tract, or endolumenally, by allowing physicians to suture, especially full-thickness, and secure the approximation of tissue. OverStitch and OverStitch Sx are currently one of the onlyfew U.S. cleared flexible endoscopic suturing devices capable of full-thickness suturing of tissue. OverStitch is a single-use suturing device that is attached to a flexible endoscope. The flexible endoscope, with the OverStitch device attached, allows a physician to access a patient'spatient’s upper and lower GI tract and accurately suture the tissue inside the GI tract for different clinical needs, including a range of defect repairs, esophageal stent fixation to prevent stent migration, and volumetric space reduction. The OverStitch Endoscopic Suturing System received FDA 510(k) clearance in August 2008 and CE Mark in November 2012. The OverStitch Sx Endoscopic Suturing System received FDA 510(k) clearance in June 2018 and CE Mark in November 2018.

The OverStitch device that was 510(k) cleared in August of 2008 is compatible with a specific dual channel flexible endoscope, sold by Olympus, that has limited market presence, representing less than five percent of the flexible endoscopes in hospitals and clinics around the world. We have updated the OverStitch labeling to include both Olympus and Fujinon endoscopes as compatible with OverStitch, reducing our reliance on Olympus. Beginning in November 2018, we began the first commercial shipments of the OverStitch Sx that is compatible with four major scope manufacturers and over 20 single-channel flexible endoscopes with diameters ranging from 8.8 mm to 9.8 mm. These Sx compatible single-channel endoscopes represent the majority of flexible endoscopes in hospitals and clinics around the world today.

Since its market introduction in 2008, over 60,000100,000 OverStitch units have been sold for procedures worldwide.

The MERIT-Trial was designed to enroll two hundred patients, stratified into three groups (Obesity, Obesity with hypertension, Obesity with diabetes). The trial has two levels: (1) the randomized study phase with primary outcomes for both treatment and control participants evaluated at twelve months, and (2) the crossover, non-randomized study phase with outcomes for (a) the initial treatment participants at 24 months after their ESG, and (b) the control cross-over participants evaluated at twelve months after their ESG. The MERIT trial subsequently received an Investigational Device Exemption from the FDA in 2019. The primary outcomes for the first level procedures of the study are measured after a one-year follow-up period. The final enrolled patient completed their 12-month follow-up during the fourth quarter of 2020. Primary outcomes data is expectedIn June 2021, one of the principal investigators of the MERIT trial reported that, based on a preliminary analysis, the MERIT trial had achieved its primary end points for safety and efficacy, and in mid-2021. CrossoverOctober 2021, the primary investigators reported on the primary endpoints at a virtual session of the International Society for Surgery of Obesity (IFSO).

During 2017, we entered into a Registry Funding Agreement with the American Gastroenterological Association ("AGA"(“AGA”) Center for GI Innovation and Technology to develop and administer a registry (the “AGA Registry”) to collect real-world evidence related to the safety and efficacy of a number of flexible endoscopic suturing-enabled procedures, including the revision of gastric bypass (known as an outlet revision) who have experienced weight regain after their initial bariatric surgery; the fixation of esophageal stents to prevent migration; and other suturing procedures currently in practice. Enrollment and follow up completed in 2021. The resulting data will be used to present the benefits of endoscopic suturing procedures relative to traditional therapies. Enrollment for the endoscopic revision of a gastric bypass procedure has concludedThe registry was closed and the follow up will continue into the fourth quarter of 2021. Datadata from other endoscopic suturing procedures which have been collected in the registry has been analyzed and submitted to SAGES 2021 and DDW 2021.published.

During 2018, we established a European multi-center, longitudinal data repository for ESG and outlet revision procedures. This registry will collectcollected outcomes for over 1,000 patients enrolled across participating European centers related to procedure safety and effectiveness. In addition, a second, multi-center, retrospective data repository for gastrointestinal applications performed using the OverStitch System was also created. The objective of this registry is to collect European demographic, procedural and outcome data when OverStitch is used during various non-bariatric procedures including closure of full thickness and mucosal defects, post-operative leaks, perforations, stent fixation, treatment of gastrointestinal bleeding and other procedures. The goal is to support the clinical use and benefits of endolumenal suturing as well as provide real-world data on safety and effectiveness which can support physicians, patients and payors in making informed decisions. BothThe registries continue and publications have been generated from both.

In July 2022, we received marketing authorization for the Apollo ESG™, Apollo ESG Sx™, Apollo REVISE™ and Apollo REVISE Sx™ systems through the FDA’s De Novo Classification process. The Apollo ESG and Apollo ESG Sx Systems are expectedintended to provide interim reporting.be used by trained gastroenterologists or surgeons to facilitate weight loss in adults with obesity with Body Mass Index (BMI) between 30 and 50 kg/m2 who have not been able to lose weight or maintain weight loss through more conservative measures. The Apollo REVISE and Apollo REVISE Sx Systems are intended to be used by trained gastroenterologists or surgeons that perform bariatric procedures to facilitate weight loss in adult patients with obesity with BMI between 30 and 50 kg/m2 by enabling transoral outlet reduction (TORe) as a revision to a previous bariatric procedure. The De Novo was approved largely based on the MERIT trial, a multi-center, prospective randomized clinical trial evaluating the safety and effectiveness of ESG compared to a medically monitored regimen of diet and healthy lifestyle.

Additional applications forWe recently announced the planned introduction of OverStitch NXT, our next-generation single channel endoscopic suturing system. Key features of OverStitch NXT include several enhancements over our current single channel product, OverStitch SX, including:

Since dual channel scopes are emerging as physicians gain suturing proficiencyoften in limited supply and identify additional patient needs. In June 2018, Endoscopy International publishedrequire significant capital outlays, we believe that OverStitch NXT will create multiple opportunities for example a studyexpanded customer access and adoption in both new and existing accounts. We expect to launch OverStitch NXT in the second half of a novel resection and plication anti-reflux procedure ("RAP") using OverStitch. In this patient series, RAP was performed on 10 patients with gastroesophageal reflex disease ("GERD") and on long-term proton pump inhibitor ("PPI") therapy. All the patients underwent RAP without adverse events and were discharged on the same day. Follow-up ranged from 5 to 24 months, with the median being 9 months, and all patients were reported as having significant improvement in their GERD based quality of life scores, and 8 of the 10 patients had eliminated their daily PPI use.2023.

The X-Tack Endoscopic HeliX Tacking System (“X-Tack”) is a novel, through-the-scope, suture-based device designed specifically for closing and healing defects in both the lower gastrointestinal tract. It is expected also to have application in theand upper gastrointestinal tract. The X-Tack device enables physicians to easily address the challenges commonly encountered when closing large or irregularly shaped defects. The procedure involves suture-tethered HeliX Tacks, independently positioned into healthy tissue adjacent to a defect, then cinched to close the construct. X-Tack fulfills a long-expressed need for advanced closure devices to improve healing and address potential adverse events that can occur following standard colonic polypectomy

Each X-Tack device enables physicians to place up to four individual HeliX Tacks into healthy tissue adjacent to a defect using a novel Persian drill handle. The HeliX Tack design includes barbs on the coil for enhanced tack fixation. Each HeliX Tack has an eyelet tethering it to a suture. Pulling tension on the suture approximates the HeliX Tacks and, in turn, closes the tissue defect. A suture cinch is then used as the final step to secure the suture in place. Because it offers multiple points of fixation, we believe the X-Tack enhances a physician’s ability to overcome challenges of accurately closing large or irregularly shaped defects.

In December 2020, we received 510(k) clearance from the FDA clearance on December 15, 2020 andfor our X-Tack Endoscopic HeliX Tacking System. We commercially launched the first clinical cases were successfully completedX-Tack system in the U.S. beginning in January 2021. Currently, X-Tack is licensed in ten additional countries, including Brazil, Australia, Israel, Hong Kong, and Thailand. Additional submissions are underway. In December 2022, X-Tack entered review for CE Marking under the European Medical Device Regulation (“MDR”).

The endoscopic removal of upper gastrointestinal and colorectal neoplasia has a 2% risk of perforation and 8%8-10% risk of delayed bleeding. These two serious adverse events often result in additional endoscopic as well as surgical interventions, hospitalizations, expanded health care costs, and significant distress for both patients and their physicians. The closure of resection sites has been reported to significantly reduce the incidence of these two adverse events and has generated growing advocacy among physician societies.

Today, closure of polyp resection sites can be accomplished by applying through-the-scope (TTS) metallic (hemostatic) clips, over-the-scope (OTSC) large metallic clips or suturing with our OverStitch device. However, clips have limited use for large wide or irregular shaped defects while suturing requires use of a gastroscope, limiting access to the full length of the colon and also requires removal of the scope from the patient in order to mount the suturing device.

The X-Tack closure device is intended to resolve the limitations of TTS clips, OTSC and endoscopic suturing by offering functionality through the working channel of any standard gastroscope or colonoscope with precise HeliX Tack placement and tight closure of sites of varying shapes and sizes.

The intragastric balloon system ("IGB"(“IGB”, the "Orbera System"“Orbera System” or "Orbera"“Orbera”) is currently marketed under three brands depending on geography: the Orbera Intragastric Balloon System, the BIB, and the Orbera365 Managed Weight Loss System ("Orbera365"(“Orbera365”). Our IGB is a non-surgical alternative for interventional weight loss. Orbera is the global market leader among intragastric balloons and is available in over 75 countries and more than 300,000450,000 units have been sold worldwide. Our IGB is a single silicone balloon that is filled with saline after its endoscopic placement into the patient'spatient’s stomach. Once in the patient'spatient’s stomach, the balloon serves to reduce stomach capacity, causing patients to consume less following the procedure, and delay gastric content emptying which assists the patient in losing weight. Placement of the balloon is temporary andtemporary; at the end of its indwell time it is removed endoscopically, typically, under conscious sedation.

Outside the U.S., the BIB was CE marked in May 1997 and the Orbera365 was CE marked in August 2017. In the U.S., Orbera was approved by the FDA in August 2015.

In the U.S., Orbera is indicated for an indwell perioda dwell time in the stomach of up to six months, forin adults withinwith a BMI range of 30 to 40 kg/m2, who have tried other weight loss programs, such as supervised diet and exercise, but who were unable to lose or maintain weight and keep it off.loss. Outside the U.S., Orbera isApollo’s intragastric balloons are generally indicated for similar patients with a BMI greater thanof ≥ 30 kg/m2 and the labelled dwell times are six months for BIB balloon and twelve months for Orbera365 balloon. All balloons should be removed at or equalbefore their labelled dwell time. Outside the U.S., patients with BMI ≤ 40 kg/m2 may also receive a balloon to 27,increase the possibility of long-term weight loss and depending onalso to reduce the specific product label, is indicated forrisk of an indwell time of six or twelve months. In some cases, generally higher BMI patients, Orbera is indicated for use prior to generalanticipated surgery in order to lose weight, reduce their surgical risk and improve recovery time.(e.g. obesity surgery, joint replacement, etc.).

Today, IGBs are frequently used for aesthetic weight loss purposes and because of this, the IGB procedure is typically not covered by insurance and is paid for directly by the patient. While aesthetics is a significant market today for Orbera; we believe that IGB use for medical purposes is a potentially larger opportunity.

Specific to Orbera, there is a substantial and increasing body of evidence that shows that the level of weight loss with Orbera is very effective in the treatment of comorbidities associated with obesity. The clinical effectiveness and safety profile of the Orbera System as a non-ulcerogenic weight loss device has been reported in over 250 peer reviewed publications. Although not specifically indicated for the treatment of any individual obesity-related comorbidities, studies have consistently reported resolution or improvement in a patient'spatient’s pre-existing comorbidities at the time of Orbera removal. Orbera is currently the only balloon or other endoscopic product that has been recognized in the ASGE Preservation and Incorporation of Valuable Endoscopic Innovations assessment to have met its threshold standards for the treatment of obesity. The meta-analysis performed by the ASGE was based on the aggregation of certain clinical studies conducted outside the U.S. and reported an estimated TBWL at six months of approximately 13.2%.

As part of the FDA approval of Orbera, we were required to conduct a post-approval clinical study. The Orbera Post-Approval Study (PAS) was a prospective, multi-center, open-label study of the safety and effectiveness of Orbera as an adjunct to weight reduction for obese adults (22 years of age and older) with a BMI of ≥ 30 kg/m2 and BMI ≤ 40 kg/m2. The Orbera PAS completed enrollment in September 2018 with 281 patients treated with Orbera from 11 U.S. clinical study sites. The study'sstudy’s primary endpoint was a serious adverse event rate of less than 15% and secondary endpoint was total body weight loss of at least 7.5% at the time of Orbera'sOrbera’s removal. All study endpoints were met and our PAS obligation is complete.

As part of the CE mark approval for Orbera 365, we committed to performApollo initiated a post-approvalpost market clinical study, known as the OPTIMA365 study. The Orbera 365 CE post approvalOPTIMA365 study willaimed to enroll 100 patients at four to five centers in different European countries who will be followedand to follow those patients for 24 months. The start of this study was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic.pandemic and the study experienced a number of delays. However, the first clinical site began enrollment in February 2021. At this time, the study has enrolled 25 patients in Spain. Meanwhile, additional real world data has been identified and collected on the Obera365 balloon. This real world data includes many more patients than the OPTIMA365 study. In the event that our Notified Body determines that MDR requirements for Post Market Follow Up have been satisfied based upon the existing real world evidence and the current results of the OPTIMA365 study, Apollo may terminate additional enrollment and activity under the OPTIMA365 study.

In February 2017, the FDA issued a letter to health care providers related to adverse events following placement of liquid-filled balloons which were not seen during the U.S. pivotal studies, specifically related to events of spontaneous balloon over-inflation and, separately, reports of acute pancreatitis. We subsequently developed updates to Orbera'sOrbera’s product labeling and physician training materials, and these were approved by FDA and implemented in June 2017. The labeling changes included additions to the “Warnings” and “Possible Complications” sections and an update to the “Clinical Evaluations…” sub-section within the “Adverse Events” history for Orbera.

In August 2017, the FDA issued a second update to alert health care providers of five reports of unanticipated deaths that occurred since 2016 in patients with a liquid-filled intragastric balloon implant. Four of the deaths involved patients who had received an Orbera and had been self-reported by us to the FDA as part of our normal product surveillance process. Following this letter, we interactively worked with the FDA to provide further updates regarding the risks of gastric and esophageal perforation, aspiration, and death and updated the label disclosure for these adverse events as well as the physician training material to provide more detailed descriptions of the patient symptoms that may indicate persistent (or refractory) intolerance, methods of assessing these patients, and recommendations for the management of symptoms and removal of the device.

In June 2018, the FDA approved new Orbera labeling and concurrent with their approval issued a third update to alert health care providers of the label updates and provide an update on new reports worldwide of unanticipated deaths that had been reported since their August 2017 letter to Health Care Providers. Four of the reported deaths in this third update involved patients who had received our IGB product. In each case, the occurrence had been self-reported by us to the FDA as part of our normal product surveillance process. In the period from January 1, 2008 through March 30, 2020, there were 31 reported deaths of patients while they had an Orbera which is an incident rate of less than 0.02% based on the more than 165,000 Orbera balloons distributed during that same time period.

In April 2020, the FDA issued a fourth update to healthcare providers upon the successful completion of the Orbera PAS. The FDA advised physicians to consider the PAS results and emphasized that patients should be instructed to recognize the symptoms of potentially life-threatening conditions.

We are the only manufacturer with a device authorized for performing ESG and endoscopic bariatric revision. We face competition from other interventional therapies for the treatment of obesity. Traditional treatments for weight loss include medications and bariatric surgeries. Recently, a new class of weight-loss medications has come to the market. These medications, which include semaglutide and tirzepatide, offer significantly higher efficacy than prior medications, and these medications are anticipated to achieve widespread utilization. These other therapies are primarily surgical in nature, such as sleeve gastrectomy and gastric bypass. Sleeve gastrectomy is a surgical weight-loss procedure in which the stomach is reduced to about 15% of its original size by the longitudinal resection and removal of a large portion of the stomach along the greater curvature. The result is a sleeve or tube-like structure. The procedure permanently alters the stomach although weight regain after a few years is common. Gastric bypass surgery refers to a surgical procedure in which the stomach is divided into a small upper pouch excluding the much larger lower residual stomach and then the small intestine is rerouted to connect to the small upper pouch. The procedure leads to a marked reduction in the functional volume of the stomach, accompanied by an altered physiological and physical response to food. Both procedures are normally performed laparoscopically and rely upon surgical staplers as their principal surgical tool. As a result, these procedures are supported by the suppliers of surgical staplers, the largest of whom are Johnson & Johnson (Ethicon) and Medtronic (Covidien). Both companies have substantially more resources and ability to influence physicians and policy makers than we do.

We currently market and sell our products principally to providers of medical services and procedures including hospitals, outpatient surgical centers, clinics and physicians through an employee sales force in the U.S., Australia and certain countries in Europe. In addition, we sell products to third party distributors in certain markets where we have regulatory clearance for our products but do not have employees. In total, our products are offered in over 75 countries. No single customer represents 10% or more of our total revenue.

Obesity procedures that utilize our Endoscopy products are often cash pay procedures which means the patient must pay for the procedures out of pocket, although there are exceptions. Revisions of prior bariatric surgery using endoscopic suturing are routinelyoften receiving reimbursement from select payors for patients treated at specific hospitals in the U.S. Some of these same hospitals have also established relationships with select payors for the reimbursement of ESG procedures. Other times, reimbursement occurs on a case-by-case basis following a review of the patient'spatient’s specific situation. Medical procedures that utilize endoscopic suturing products in the treatment of GI complications generally receive reimbursement, but coverage can vary by country, state and procedure performed. IGB treatment is reimbursed in some countries for patients who meet certain criteria.

We operate a manufacturing facility in the Coyol Free Trade Zone in Alajuela, Costa Rica that performs assembly of select components of the OverStitch system, and final assembly of our new X-Tack System and IGB products. We also have the ability to manufacture select product components and sub-assemblies at our engineering facility in Austin, Texas. We manage all aspects of product supply through our operations team based in Austin, Texas and in our Costa Rica facility. In addition, we rely on several third-party suppliers to provide other OverStitch system components. We have identified several gross margin improvement projects intended to lower our product costs and improve capacity utilization of our manufacturing facility over the next three to five years.

We believe that our existing manufacturing facilities give us the necessary physical capacity to produce sufficient quantities of products to meet anticipated demand for at least the next twelve months. Our manufacturing facility is certified by the International Organization for Standardization, or ISO, and operates under the FDA'sFDA’s good manufacturing practice requirements for medical devices set forth in the Quality System Regulation ("QSR"(“QSR”).

We have developed and acquired significant know-how and proprietary technology, upon which our business depends. To protect our know-how and proprietary technology, we rely on trade secret laws, patents, copyrights, trademarks and confidentiality agreements and contracts. However, these methods afford only limited protection. Others may independently develop substantially equivalent proprietary information or technology, gain access to our trade secrets or disclose or use such secrets or technology without our approval.

As of December 31, 2020,2022, we own over 105100 U.S. patents and 165170 foreign patents. Our U.S. patents have expiration dates ranging from 20212023 to 2037 and our foreign patents have expiration dates ranging from 20222023 to 2034 subject to the payment of the requisite renewal fees. We also own 20 pending U.S. patent applications and 1827 pending foreign patent applications. We believe patents will be issued pursuant to such applications but cannot guarantee it. Moreover, neither the timing of any issuance, the scope of protection, nor the actual issue date of these pending applications can be forecasted with precision. Where we have acquired or licensed patent rights from third parties, we are generally required to pay royalties. While our patents are an important element of our products and future product development, our business as a whole is not significantly dependent on any one patent.

In 2009, we entered into an Intellectual Property Assignment Agreement, with Olympus Corporation and the "FTE Group"“FTE Group” comprised of The Johns Hopkins University, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, The University of Texas Medical Branch, MUSC Foundation for Research Development and the Chinese University of Hong Kong, whereby the FTE Group has assigned to us a Joint Research Agreement with Olympus Corporation, including their rights in certain inventions, patents and IP rights developed by the FTE Group under the Joint Research Agreement, which relate to the field of flexible endoscopy and minimally invasive surgery. Olympus Corporation has retained rights as a joint owner of certain inventions and related patents developed jointly by the FTE Group and Olympus Corporation under the Joint Research Agreement and retained a license granted by the FTE Group to Olympus Corporation to the inventions and related patents developed by the FTE Group under the Joint Research Agreement. The patents covered by the agreement pertain to endoscopic procedures and endoscopic suturing devices that relate to the OverStitch products and may also be incorporated into potential new products that we may develop in the future. As consideration for the assignment, we are obligated to pay to each of Olympus and the FTE Group one half of a royalty in the low single digits on net sales of our products covered by the patents, which royalty shall be reduced if related patents have expired or no longer exist. In addition, we have the right to sublicense our rights under the Joint Research Agreement to the patents and technologies. The term of the Intellectual Property Assignment Agreement is through and until termination. The agreement may be terminated upon written notice a) by Olympus if we materially breach any material terms that pertain to Olympus and the breach is not cured within 30 days after notice, b) by the FTE Group if we materially breach any of the material terms that pertain to the FTE Group and the breach is not cured within 30 days after notice or c) by us if Olympus materially breaches any material terms that pertain to Olympus and the breach is not cured within 30 days after notice.

Following the Lpath Merger, we also own 2010 U.S. and 1311 foreign issued patents and 42 pending U.S. and 62 foreign patent applications relating to technologies and inventions developed by Lpath prior to the Lpath Merger (the “Lpath IP”). The Lpath IP is not aligned with our current business activities. In January 2018, we entered into a royalty-bearing License Agreement with Echelon Biosciences, Inc., ("Echelon"(“Echelon”) under which Echelon may manufacture and sell certain antibody products covered by the Lpath IP for non-clinical research use only, clinical diagnostics and immunohistochemistry. In January 2018 we also entered into a Technology Transfer Agreement with Resolute Pharma, Inc. (“Resolute”) whereby we transferred certain scientific and research materials to Resolute and granted Resolute a license to certain patent rights related to the Lpath IP. Under the terms of the agreement with Resolute, Resolute has obligations to develop and commercialize licensed products and we maintain rights to terminate the agreement if certain development and commercialization milestones are not met. Under the agreement, Resolute is responsible to pay for any ongoing costs and fees associated with the Lpath IP, and we are entitled to a royalty for any revenues related to the Lpath IP including sales of licensed products, and a Tech Transfer Fee of $0.75 million.

The healthcare industry, and thus our business, is subject to extensive federal, state, local and foreign regulation. Some of the pertinent laws have not been definitively interpreted by the regulatory authorities or the courts, and their provisions are open to a variety of interpretations. In addition, these laws and their interpretations are subject to change.

Unless an exemption applies, each new or significantly modified medical device we seek to commercially distribute in the U.S. will require either a premarket notification to the FDA requesting permission for commercial distribution under Section 510(k) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, (or "FD“FD&C Act"Act”) also referred to as a 510(k) clearance, or approval from the FDA of a premarket approval ("PMA"(“PMA”) application. Both the 510(k) clearance and PMA processes can be resource intensive, expensive and lengthy, and require payment of significant user fees, unless an exemption is available.

Under the FD&C Act, medical devices are classified into one of three classes - Class I, Class II or Class III-depending on the degree of risk associated with each medical device and the extent of control needed to provide reasonable assurances with respect to safety and effectiveness.

Class I devices are those for which safety and effectiveness can be reasonably assured by adherence to a set of regulations, referred to as General Controls, which require compliance with the applicable portions of the QSR, facility registration and product listing, reporting of adverse events and malfunctions and appropriate, truthful and non-misleading labeling and promotional materials. Some Class I devices, also called Class I reserved devices, also require premarket clearance by the FDA through the 510(k) premarket notification process described below. Most Class I products are exempt from the premarket notification requirements.

Class II devices are those that are subject to the General Controls, as well as Special Controls, which can include performance standards, guidelines and postmarket surveillance. Most Class II devices are subject to premarket review and clearance by the FDA. Premarket review and clearance by the FDA for Class II devices is accomplished through the 510(k) premarket notification process. Under the 510(k) process, the manufacturer must submit to the FDA a premarket notification, demonstrating that the device is "substantially“substantially equivalent,"” as defined in the statute, to either:

To be "substantially“substantially equivalent,"” the proposed device must have the same intended use as the predicate device, and either have the same technological characteristics as the predicate device or have different technological characteristics and not raise different questions of safety or effectiveness than the predicate device. Clinical data are sometimes required to support substantial equivalence.

After a 510(k) notice is submitted, the FDA determines whether to accept it for substantive review. If it lacks necessary information for substantive review, the FDA will refuse to accept the 510(k) notification. If it is accepted for filing, the FDA begins a substantive review. By statute, the FDA is required to complete its review of a 510(k) notification within 90 days of receiving the 510(k) notification. As a practical matter, clearance often takes longer, and clearance is never assured.

Although many 510(k) premarket notifications are cleared without clinical data, the FDA may require further information, including clinical data, to make a determination regarding substantial equivalence, which may significantly prolong the review process. If the FDA agrees that the device is substantially equivalent, it will grant clearance to commercially market the device.

After a device receives 510(k) clearance, any modification, including modification to or deviation from design, manufacturing processes, materials, packaging and sterilization that could significantly affect its safety or effectiveness, or that would constitute a new or major change in its intended use, may require a new 510(k) clearance or, depending on the modification, could require a PMA application. The FDA requires each manufacturer to make this determination initially, but the FDA can review any such decision and can disagree with a manufacturer'smanufacturer’s determination. If the FDA requires a new 510(k) clearance or approval of a PMA application for any modifications to a previously cleared product, the applicant may be required to cease marketing or recall the modified device until clearance or approval is received. In addition, in these circumstances, the FDA can impose significant regulatory fines or penalties for failure to submit the requisite 510(k) or PMA application(s).

Class III devices include devices deemed by the FDA to pose the greatest risk such as life-supporting or life-sustaining devices, or implantable devices, in addition to those deemed novel and not substantially equivalent following the 510(k) process. The safety and effectiveness of Class III devices cannot be reasonably assured solely by the General Controls and Special Controls described above. Therefore, these devices are subject to the PMA application process, which is generally more costly and time consuming than the 510(k) process. Through the PMA application process, the applicant must submit data and information demonstrating reasonable assurance of the safety and effectiveness of the device for its intended use to the FDA'sFDA’s satisfaction. Accordingly, a PMA application typically includes, but is not limited to, extensive technical information regarding device design and development, pre-clinical and clinical trial data, manufacturing information, labeling and financial disclosure information for the clinical investigators in device studies. The PMA application must provide valid scientific evidence that demonstrates to the FDA'sFDA’s satisfaction a reasonable assurance of the safety and effectiveness of the device for its intended use.

In the U.S., absent certain limited exceptions, human clinical trials intended to support medical device clearance or approval require an Investigational Device Exemption ("IDE"(“IDE”) application. Some types of studies deemed to present "non-significant risk"“non-significant risk” are deemed to have an approved IDE once certain requirements are addressed and IRB approval is obtained. If the device presents a "significant risk"“significant risk” to human health, as defined by the FDA, the sponsor must submit an IDE application to the FDA and obtain IDE approval prior to commencing the human clinical trials. The IDE application must be supported by appropriate data, such as animal and laboratory testing results, showing that it is safe to test the device in humans and that the testing protocol is scientifically sound. The IDE application must be approved in advance by the FDA for a specified number of subjects. Generally, clinical trials for a significant risk device may begin once the IDE application is approved by the FDA and the study protocol and informed consent are approved by appropriate institutional review boards at the clinical trial sites. There can be no assurance that submission of an IDE will result in the ability to commence clinical trials, and although the FDA'sFDA’s approval of an IDE allows clinical testing to go forward for a specified number of subjects, it does not bind the FDA to accept the results of the trial as sufficient to prove the product'sproduct’s safety and efficacy, even if the trial meets its intended success criteria.

All clinical trials must be conducted in accordance with the FDA'sFDA’s IDE regulations that govern investigational device labeling, prohibit promotion and specify an array of recordkeeping, reporting and monitoring responsibilities of study sponsors and study investigators. Clinical trials must further comply with the FDA'sFDA’s regulations for institutional review board approval and for informed consent and other human subject protections. Required records and reports are subject to inspection by the FDA. The results of clinical testing may be unfavorable, or, even if the intended safety and efficacy success criteria are achieved, may not be considered sufficient for the FDA to grant marketing approval or clearance of a product or a specific indication for use. The commencement or completion of any clinical trial may be delayed or halted, or be inadequate to support approval of a PMA application or clearance of a 510(k), for numerous reasons, including, but not limited to, the following:

If the FDA evaluation of a PMA is favorable, the FDA will issue either an approval letter, or an approvable letter, the latter of which usually contains a number of conditions that must be met in order to secure final approval of the PMA. When and if those conditions have been fulfilled to the satisfaction of the FDA, the agency will issue a PMA approval letter authorizing commercial marketing of the device, subject to the conditions of approval and the limitations established in the approval letter. If the FDA'sFDA’s evaluation of a PMA application or manufacturing facilities is not favorable, the FDA will deny approval of the PMA or issue a not approvable letter. The FDA also may determine that additional tests or clinical trials are necessary, in which case the PMA approval may be delayed for several months or years while the trials are conducted and data are submitted in an amendment to the PMA, or the PMA is withdrawn and resubmitted when the data are available. The PMA process can be expensive, uncertain and lengthy and a number of devices for which FDA approval has been sought by other companies have never been approved by the FDA for marketing.

New PMA applications or PMA supplements may be required for modification to the manufacturing process, equipment or facility, quality control procedures, sterilization, packaging, expiration date, labeling, device specifications, components, materials or design of a device that has been approved through the PMA process. PMA supplements often require submission of the same type of information as an initial PMA application, except that the supplement is limited to information needed to support any changes from the device covered by the approved PMA application and may or may not require as extensive technical or clinical data or the convening of an advisory panel, depending on the nature of the proposed change.

In approving a PMA application, as a condition of approval, the FDA may also require some form of postmarket study or surveillance, whereby the applicant follows certain patient groups for a number of years and makes periodic reports to the FDA on the clinical status of those patients when necessary to protect the public health or to provide additional or longer term safety and effectiveness data for the device. The FDA may require postmarket surveillance for certain devices approved under a PMA or cleared under a 510(k) notification, such as implants or life-supporting or life-sustaining devices used outside a device user facility, devices where the failure of which would be reasonably likely to have serious adverse health consequences, or devices expected to have significant use in pediatric populations. The FDA may also approve a PMA application with other post-approval conditions intended to ensure the safety and effectiveness of the device, such as, among other things, restrictions on labeling, promotion, sale, distribution and use.

After the FDA permits a device to enter commercial distribution, numerous regulatory requirements continue to apply. These include:

Our business is regulated by laws pertaining to healthcare fraud and abuse including anti-kickback laws and false claims laws, and other healthcare laws. Violations of these laws are punishable by significant administrative, criminal and civil sanctions,penalties, including, in some instances,damages, disgorgement, monetary fines, possible exclusion from participation in federal and state healthcare programs, such as Medicare and Medicaid.Medicaid, imprisonment, and integrity oversight and reporting obligations.

The federal Anti-Kickback Statute prohibits, among other things, persons and entities from knowingly and willfully soliciting, offering, receiving or paying remuneration, directly or indirectly, in cash or in kind, in exchange for or to induce either the referral of an individual for, or the furnishing, recommending, purchasing, leasing, ordering, or arranging for, a good or service for which payment may be made under a federal healthcare program such as Medicare and Medicaid. The term "remuneration"“remuneration” has been broadly interpreted to include anything of value, including payments to physicians or other providers, gifts, discounts, the furnishing of supplies or equipment, credit arrangements, waiver of payments and providing anything of value at less than fair market value. The OfficeThere are a number of statutory exceptions and regulatory safe harbors protecting some common activities from prosecution, but the Inspector General ("OIG") of the U.S. Department of Healthexceptions and Human Servicessafe harbors are drawn narrowly and the U.S. Department of Justice ("DOJ") are responsible for enforcing the federal Anti-Kickback Statuterequire strict compliance in order to offer protection. These exceptions and the OIG is primarily responsible for identifying fraud and abuse activities affecting government healthcare programs.

In recent years,Additionally, the intent standard under the federal governmentAnti-Kickback Statute was amended by the Patient Protection and severalAffordable Care Act of 2010, as amended by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (collectively, the ACA) to a stricter standard such that a person or entity no longer needs to have actual knowledge of the federal Anti-Kickback Statue or specific intent to violate it in order to have committed a violation. Rather, if “one purpose” of the renumeration is to induce referrals, the federal Anti-Kickback Statute is violated. In addition, the ACA codified case law that a claim that includes items or services resulting from a violation of the federal Anti-Kickback Statute constitutes a false or fraudulent claim for purposes of the federal civil False Claims Act (“FCA”) (discussed below).

Further, certain states have enacted legislation requiring biotechnology, pharmaceuticaladopted prohibitions similar to the federal Anti-Kickback Statute, some of which apply to the referral of patients for healthcare services reimbursed by any source, not only by government healthcare programs such as the Medicare and medical device companies to establish marketing complianceMedicaid programs and file periodic reports on sales, marketing and other activities. Similar legislation is being considered in other states. Many of these requirements are new and uncertain, and available guidance is limited.do not include comparable exceptions and/or safe harbors to those provided by the federal Anti-Kickback Statute.

The federal False Claims Act ("FCA")FCA prohibits, among other things, knowingly filing or causing the filing of a false claim or the knowing use of false statements to obtain payment from the federal government. A claim that is filed pursuant to an unlawful kickback may be a false claim under this law and, in a number of cases, manufacturers of medical products have entered into settlements based on FCA allegations that their financial relationships with customers "caused"“caused” these customers to submit false claims. When an entity is determined to have violated the FCA, it may be required to pay up to three times the actual damages sustained by the government, plus mandatory civil penalties for each separate false claim. Private individuals can file suits under the FCA on behalf of the government. These lawsuits are known as "qui tam"“qui tam” actions, and the individuals bringing such suits, sometimes known as "relators"“relators” or, more commonly, "whistleblowers,"“whistleblowers,” may share in any amounts paid by the entity to the government in fines or settlement. Since complaints related to “qui tam” actions are initially filed under seal, the action may be pending for some time before a defendant is even aware of such action.

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 ("HIPAA"(“HIPAA”), created two new federal crimes:crimes, including: healthcare fraud and false statements relating to healthcare matters. The healthcare fraud statute prohibits knowingly and willfully executing, or attempting to execute, a scheme to defraud any healthcare benefit program, including private payers.payors. A violation of this statute is a felony and may result in fines, imprisonment or exclusion from government-sponsored programs. The false statements statute prohibits knowingly and willfully falsifying, concealing or covering up a material fact or making any materially false, fictitious or fraudulent statement in connection with the delivery of or payment for healthcare benefits, items or services. A violation of this statute is a felony and may result in fines or imprisonment.

HIPAA, as amended by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (“HITECH”), also protects the security and privacy of individually identifiable health information maintained or transmitted by certain healthcare providers, health plans and healthcare clearinghouses and their business associates.associates as well as their covered subcontractors. HIPAA restricts the use and disclosure of patient health information, including patient records. Although we believe that HIPAA does not apply directly to us, most of our customers have significant obligations under HIPAA, and we intend to cooperate with customers and others to ensure compliance with HIPAA with respect to patient information. Depending on the facts and circumstances, we could be subject to significant penalties if we violate HIPAA. Failure to comply with HIPAA obligations can result in civil fines and/or criminal penalties. Some states have also enacted rigorous laws or regulations protecting the security and privacy of patient information.

In March 2010, the U.S. Congress enacted the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 ("ACA").ACA.

The Physician Payments Sunshine Act, ("PPSA"), which is part of the ACA, requires certain manufacturers of drugs, biologics, devices and medical supplies covered under Medicare and Medicaid to record anypayments and transfers of value to physicians (defined to include doctors, dentists, optometrists, podiatrists, and chiropractors), certain non-physician healthcare professionals (such as physician assistants and nurse practitioners), and teaching hospitals as well as ownership and investment interests held by physicians and their immediate family members and to report this data to Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, for subsequent public disclosure. Similar reporting requirements have also been enacted in several states, and an increasing number of countries worldwide either have adopted or are considering similar laws requiring transparency of interactions with healthcare professionals. In addition to reporting, some states such as Massachusetts and Vermont impose an outright ban on certain gifts to physicians. Failure to report may result in civil or criminal fines and/or penalties.

Our business is also subject to regulation in each of the foreign countries in which our products are sold. Many of the regulations applicable to our products in these countries are similar to those of the FDA. The European Union ("EU") requires that Apollo Endosurgery’s devices comply with the Medical Device Directive. The Medical Device Directive is being replaced

In order to place a medical device in the European market, a CE mark must be obtained. To obtain a CE Mark, medical devices must meet certain minimum standards of safety and quality and, depending on which class of medical device they fall into, as such classes are defined in the MDR for the new regime, they may need to undergo an appropriate conformity assessment procedure conducted by a Notified Body. A Notified Body will, amongst other things, assess the quality management systems of the manufacturer and verify that the subject device conform to the requirements set out in the relevant legislation. Once the appropriate conformity assessment procedure for the medical device has been completed, a declaration of conformity will be created and the manufacturer will affix the CE mark to the device. The device can then be marketed throughout the European Economic Area (being the Member States of the EU, together with Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein). Notified bodies may perform surveillance and unannounced audits at the manufacturer and critical suppliers with respect to the devices covered by the certificates issued by them. If non-conformities raised during the audits are not remedied in a timely manner by the manufacturer, the notified body may (partially or wholly) suspend or withdraw the certificate concerned.

In the EU, we are also required to maintain certain ISO certifications in order to sell products and are subject to regulations and periodic review from various regulatory bodies in other countries where our products are sold. Lack of regulatory compliance in any of these jurisdictions could limit our ability to distribute products in these countries. Additionally, we are subject to foreign laws and regulations governing the marketing and promotion of our products including transparency reporting obligations.

The U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act ("FCPA"(“FCPA”) and similar worldwide anti-bribery laws in non-U.S. jurisdictions generally prohibit companies and their intermediaries from making improper payments to foreign government officials for the purpose of obtaining or retaining business. Many of our customer relationships outside of the U.S. are, either directly or indirectly, with governmental entities and employees (such as physicians at state-owned or state-operated hospitals) and are therefore subject to various anti-bribery laws.

We are subject to various international, federal, state and local laws and regulations relating to such matters as safe working conditions, laboratory and manufacturing practices and the use, handling and disposal of hazardous or potentially hazardous substances used in connection with our research and development and manufacturing activities. Specifically, the manufacture of our products is subject to compliance with various international and federal laws and regulations and by various foreign, state and local agencies.

As of December 31, 2020,2022, we had a total of 158 full-time employees.139 employees in the U.S. and 142 outside the U.S. None of our U.S. employees are (i) represented by a labor union or subject(ii) are party to a collective bargaining agreement. Our non-U.S. employment contracts complyWe believe that we have good relationships with our employees.

We are dedicated to conducting our business consistent with the highest standard of business ethics. Each employee receives and agrees to follow the Apollo Endosurgery Code of Business Conduct and Ethics. Employees are encouraged to discuss any related concerns with management or report concerns anonymously through an Ethics Helpline.

The health and safety of our employees is a key focus at our Company. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Company established safety protocols, facility enhancements, and work from home strategies to protect our employees. Some of our employees continue to work remotely. Employees that work on site are required to adhere to applicable countryprotocols and to report and document exposures, all following guidelines issued by the Centers for Disease Control or mandated collective agreementby local regulations.

We file or furnish pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, as applicable, our Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K, amendments to those reports, proxy statements and other information electronically with the SEC. Through a link on our website, we make copies of our periodic and current reports, amendments to those reports, proxy statements and other information available, free of charge, as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file such material with, or furnish it to, the SEC. Information found on, or accessible through, our website is not part of, and is not incorporated into, this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

The pendency of the Merger has resulted in and may continue to result in publicity and other public statements about us and the proposed combination. Such publicity or public statements, particularly if negative or adverse, may also result in investigations by regulatory authorities, legislators and law enforcement officials or in legal claims. Addressing any adverse publicity, governmental scrutiny, investigation or enforcement or other legal proceedings is time consuming and expensive and can divert the time and attention of our senior management from the day-to-day operation of our business and execution of our other strategic initiatives. Further, regardless of the factual basis for the assertions being made or the ultimate outcome of any investigation or proceeding, any negative publicity can have an adverse impact on our reputation and on the morale and performance of our employees and on our relationships with regulatory authorities. It may also have an adverse impact on our ability to take timely advantage of various business and market opportunities. The direct and indirect effects of negative publicity, and the demands of responding to and addressing it, may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

Putative stockholder complaints have been and likely will continue tomay in the future be adversely affectedfiled against us, our board of directors, Boston Scientific, Boston Scientific's board of directors, and others in connection with the transactions contemplated by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Completion of the Merger is conditioned upon, among other things, the expiration or termination of the required waiting period (and any extension thereof) applicable to the Merger under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, as amended, and resultsthe rules and regulations promulgated thereunder, or the HSR Act, and required consents, approvals, non-disapprovals and other authorizations under certain foreign antitrust or competition laws or foreign investment laws. While the waiting period under the HSR Act expired on January 19, 2023, we cannot provide any assurance that we or Boston Scientific will obtain the necessary consents, approvals, non-disapprovals and other authorizations or that the U.S. antitrust authorities will not take action under antitrust laws in respect of operations.the pending Merger.

Our sales and marketing personnel often rely on in-person and onsite access to healthcare providers which is currently restrictedAt any time before or after consummation of the Merger, notwithstanding expiration of the waiting period under the HSR Act, the FTC or DOJ could take such action under the antitrust laws as many hospitals continue to restrict access to essential personnel only. These restrictions have harmed our sales and marketing efforts, and continued restrictions would have a negative impact on our sales and results of operations. An increase of COVID-19-related hospital admissions may overload hospitals with unexpected patients, thereby delaying further procedures that use our devices but that are deemed elective by the hospital. Limited supplies of personal protective equipment and COVID-19 testing supplies may further reduce onsite access for our personnel and may delay the lifting of restrictions on elective procedures, including those that use our products. In addition, in 2020, we eliminated certain employee positions and made reductions to salary and work hours and mayit deems necessary or desirable in the futurepublic interest, including seeking to enjoin the completion of the Merger, seeking divestiture of substantial assets of one or both of the parties, requiring the parties to license or hold separate assets or terminate existing relationships and contractual rights, or requiring the parties to agree to other remedies. At any time before or after the completion of the Merger, and notwithstanding expiration of the waiting period under the HSR Act, any state or foreign jurisdiction could take similar actions which may negatively impact our workforce and our business.

We have incurred net losses since our inception in 2005. For the years ended December 31, 20202022 and 2019,2021, we had net losses of $22.6$39.8 million and $27.4$24.7 million, respectively. As of December 31, 2020,2022, we had an accumulated deficit of $272.8$337.3 million. To date, we have funded our operations primarily through equity offerings, the issuance of debt instruments, and from sales of our products. We have devoted substantially all of our resources to the acquisition of products, the research and development of products, sales and marketing activities and clinical and regulatory initiatives to obtain regulatory approvals for our products. Our ability to generate sufficient revenue from our existing products, and to transition to profitability and generate consistent positive cash flows is uncertain. We may need to raise additional funds in the future, and such funds may not be available on a timely basis, or at all. We expect that our operating expenses may increase as we continue to build our commercial infrastructure, develop, enhance and commercialize our products and incur additional costs associated with being a public company. As a result, we may incur operating losses for the foreseeable future and may never achieve profitability.

It is important to our business that we continue to build a market for therapeutic endoscopy procedures within the gastroenterology and bariatric communities. Our Endoscopy products offer non-surgical and less-invasiveminimally invasive solutions and technology that enable new options for physicians treating their patients who suffer from a variety of gastrointestinal conditions, including obesity. However, this is a new market and developing this market is expensive and time-consuming and may not be successful due to a variety of factors including lack of physician adoption, patient demand, or both. Many of our products are designed to work in cooperation with third party equipment such as flexible endoscopes whose design, specifications and continued availability is outside of our control. Changes to the design or specifications, withdrawals from the market, limited availability or other changes that limit the use and acceptance of such third party equipment may limit the market for our products or make our existing products obsolete. Even if we are successful in developing additional products in the Endoscopy market, the success of any new product offering or enhancement to an existing product will depend on several factors, including our ability to:

If we are unsuccessful in developing and commercializing the therapeutic endoscopy market, our ability to increase our revenue will be impaired and our business, results of operations, financial condition and prospects will be materially adversely affected.

Adverse economic conditions in the U.S. and international markets, including the economic contractionrecent macroeconomic uncertainty and challenges and inflationary pressures resulting in part from the COVID-19 pandemic and governmental and regulatory responses to its effects, have negatively affected and may continue to negatively affect our revenues and operating results. Inflation rates in the U.S. have recently increased to levels not seen in decades resulting in federal action to increase interest rates, affecting capital markets, and reducing discretionary consumer spending. Our Endoscopy products, such as the Intragastric Balloon products and Apollo ESG systems, have limited reimbursement, and in most cases are not currently reimbursable by governmental or other health care plans and instead are partially or wholly paid for directly by patients. Sales of our products have been and may continue to be negatively affected by adverse economic conditions impacting consumer spending, including among others, recent and potential future disruptions in access to bank deposits or lending commitments due to bank failures, inflationary pressures, increased taxation, higher unemployment, lower consumer confidence in the economy, disasters or disease outbreaks, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, geopolitical events (such as the conflict between Ukraine and Russia), higher consumer debt levels, lower availability of consumer credit, higher interest rates, and hardships relating to declines in the housing and stock markets which have historically caused consumers to reassess their spending choices and reduce their likelihood to pursue elective surgical procedures. Any continuing reduced consumer demand due to adverse economic or market conditions could have a material adverse effect on our business, cause sales and profitability to suffer, reduce operating cash flow and result in a decline in the price of our common stock. Adverse economic and market conditions could also have a negative impact on others, such as creditors, third-party contractors and suppliers, causing them to fail to meet their obligations to us. Foreign exchange fluctuations have also negatively impacted and may continue to negatively impact our revenue from international markets.

Our ability to sell our products depends on the willingness of our physician customers to adopt our products and to recommend corresponding procedures to their patients. Physicians may not adopt our products unless they determine that they have the necessary skills to use our products and, based on their own experience, clinical data, communications from regulatory authorities and published peer-reviewed research, that our products provide a safe and effective treatment option. Even if we are able to raise favorable awareness among physicians, physicians may be hesitant to change their medical treatment practices and may be hesitant to recommend procedures that utilize our products for a variety of reasons, including:

Many of the procedures that utilize our products are elective in nature and demand for our products is driven significantly by patient awareness and preference for the procedures that use our products. We provide patient education materials about our products and related procedures where allowed by local law and consistent with our product regulatory indications through various forms of media. However, the general media, social media and other forms of media outside of our control as well as competing organizations may distribute information that presents our products and related procedures as being unproven,

Our future financial performance will depend in part on our ability to develop and manufacture new products or to acquire new products in a cost-effective manner, to introduce these products to the market on a timely basis and to achieve market acceptance of these products. Factors which may result in delays of new product introductions include capital constraints, research and development delays, supply chain constraints, lack of personnel with sufficient experience or competence, delays in acquiring regulatory approvals or clearances, including obtaining regulatory approval for new indications for use, delays in closing acquisition transactions, or delays in receiving necessary approval from a hospital or healthcare facility to introduce a new product or procedure. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic may contribute to such delays, particularly as research and development may be narrowed to key projects and activities. Future product introductions may fail to achieve expected levels of market acceptance including physician adoption, patient awareness or both. Factors impacting the level of market acceptance include the timeliness of our product introductions, the effectiveness of medical education efforts, the effectiveness of patient awareness and educational activities, successful product pricing strategies, available financial and technological resources for product promotion and development, the ability to show clinical benefit from future products, the scope of the indicated use for new products and the availability of coverage and reimbursement for procedures that use future products.

The products we currently market have been approved or cleared by the FDA and other foreign regulatory bodies for specific indications. We train our marketing and direct sales force to not promote our products for uses outside of the FDA-approved or cleared indications for use, known as "off-label“off-label uses."” We cannot, however, prevent a physician from using our products off-label, when in the physician'sphysician’s independent professional medical judgment he or she deems it appropriate. There may be increased risk of injury to patients if physicians attempt to use our products off-label. Furthermore, the use of our products for indications other than those approved or cleared by the FDA or any foreign regulatory body may not effectively treat such conditions, which could harm our reputation in the marketplace among physicians and patients.

Physicians may also misuse our products, use improper techniques, ignore or disregard product warnings, contraindications or other information provided in training materials or product labeling, fail to obtain adequate training, or fail to inform patients of the risks associated with procedures that utilize our products, potentially leading to injury and an increased risk of product liability claims. If our products are misused or used with improper technique, we may become subject to costly litigation by our customers or their patients. Product liability claims could divert management'smanagement’s attention from our core business, be expensive to defend, and result in sizable damage awards against us that may not be covered by insurance. Some of our products have cleared indications for general use and the FDA or foreign regulatory bodies may request clinical evidence to support a specific intended use, or determine that promotional activity, educational materials or training relating to a specific intended use constitutes off-label promotion. If the FDA or any foreign regulatory body determines that our promotional materials or training constitute promotion of an off-label use, it could request that we modify our training or promotional materials or we could be subject to regulatory or enforcement actions, including the issuance of an untitled letter, a warning letter, injunction, seizure, civil fine or criminal penalties. It is also possible that other federal, state or foreign enforcement authorities might take action if they consider our business activities to constitute promotion of an off-label use, which could result in significant penalties, including, but not limited to, criminal, civil and administrative penalties, damages, fines, disgorgement, exclusion from

From time to time, we have experienced supply constraints and may experience them in the future. If the supply of materials from our suppliers or provision of services from our vendors were to be interrupted or if we experience delays or interruptions from our manufacturers, including due to the COVID-19 pandemic, replacement or alternative sources might not be readily obtainable. In particular, the products which together comprise our ESSOur products are sourced from a variety of suppliers and manufacturers, and these suppliers and manufacturers further depend on many component providers.providers and raw material suppliers. If our suppliers experience unanticipated quality issues or fail to supply components that meet design specifications, or if our contract sterilizers experience delays or shutdowns, we may experience manufacturing delays or product quality issues that may erode customer confidence in our products and negatively affect our sales. As ESS product sales increase, we have experienced times of temporary supply and vendor disruption for a variety of reasons and this has caused delays in our fulfillment of customer orders. For example, we have experienced production and inventory shortages for OverStitch as a result of supply shortages from component suppliers from time to time. Continued interruptions or shortages in these inputs or services, or future unexpected interruptions and shortages, could harm our business, financial condition and results of operations. If such a condition were to persist, our business could suffer as our reputation with customers could be damaged and eventually could lead to reduced future demand for our products. An inability to continue to source materials or components, or receive services, from any of our suppliers, vendors or manufacturers could be due to reasons outside of our direct control, such as regulatory actions or requirements affecting the supplier, adverse financial or other strategic developments experienced by a supplier or manufacturer, labor disputes or shortages at the supplier and unexpected demands or quality issues. We may also face disputes with our current or previous suppliers and vendors. In any of these cases, we could face a delay of several months to identify and qualify alternative suppliers and service providers with regulatory authorities, as we do not currently have supplier or vendor transition plans. In addition, the failure of our third-party suppliers and service providers to maintain acceptable quality requirements could result in the recall of our products.

Manufacturing of our products requires capital equipment and a well-trained workforce. The sourcing of new manufacturing or supply capacity can require significant lead time. If demand increases faster than we expect, or if we are unable to produce the quantity of goods that we expect with our current suppliers and manufacturers, we will not be able to adequately address demand for our products and our revenues and results of operations would suffer.

If we are required to replace a vendor, a new or supplemental filing with applicable regulatory authorities may be required before the product could be sold with a material or component supplied by a new supplier or manufacturer. The regulatory approval process may take a substantial period of time and we cannot assure investors that we would be able to obtain the necessary regulatory approval for a new material to be used in products on a timely basis, if at all. This could create supply disruptions that would materially adversely affect our business. For example, in instances where we are changing our supplier of a key component of a product, we will need to ensure that we have sufficient supply of the component while the change is reviewed by regulatory authorities.

We are dependent on warehouses and service providers in the United States, Australia and the Netherlands for product logistics, order fulfillment and distribution support that are owned and operated by third parties. Our ability to supply products to our customers in a timely manner and at acceptable commercial terms could be disrupted or continue to be disrupted by factors such as fire, earthquake or any other natural disaster, work stoppages or information technology system failures that occur at these third-party warehouse and service providers.

We create internal operational forecasts to determine requirements for components and materials used in the manufacture of our products and to make production plans. Our limited operating history and commercial experience, changes in the market or demand for our products, the launch of new products with no sales history, strategic shifts in or initiatives for our business and operations, macroeconomic uncertainty, including the effects on inflation and foreign exchange fluctuations, as well as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, may make it difficult for us to accurately predict future production requirements. If we forecast inaccurately, this may cause us to have shortfalls or backorders that may negatively impact our reputation with customers and cause them to seek alternative products, or could lead us to have excessive inventory, scrap or similar operational and financial inefficiency that could harm our business. We also have limited experience operating our business under economic conditions characterized by strategic shifts in or initiatives for our business and operations, macroeconomic uncertainty, including the effects on inflation and foreign exchange fluctuations, high inflation or in economic recessions. As a result, we may not be able to adequately anticipate and plan given our limited experience operating our business under such volatile macroeconomic conditions. Certain of our longer-term strategic initiatives may also be obstructed or have unintended effects in the event of an economic recession, which we may not be able to predict.

Our industry is highly competitive, subject to change and significantly affected by new product introductions and activities of other industry participants.

If another company successfully develops an approach for the treatment of gastrointestinal conditions, including obesity, that is less invasive or more effective than our current product offerings, sales of our products would be significantly and adversely affected. Furthermore, novel, recently approved drug therapies for weight loss have the potential to negatively impact the market for endoscopic weight loss procedures.

In the future, should we grow or acquire new assets or businesses, we expect to incrementally hire and train new personnel and implement appropriate financial and managerial controls, systems and procedures in order to effectively manage our growth and integrate newly acquired operations and processes. In the future, should we divest assets or portions of our business, we will need to implement financial and managerial controls and procedures to efficiently manage the divestiture of such assets and the transition of such business to an acquirer. Failure to successfully manage the integration of newly acquired assets or business or to efficiently transition divested assets to an acquirer could adversely affect our business.

Our business exposes us to the risk of product liability claims that are inherent in the testing, manufacturing and marketing of medical devices and drug products. This risk exists even if a device or product is approved or cleared for commercial sale by the FDA and manufactured in facilities regulated by the FDA, or an applicable foreign regulatory authority. Our products and product candidates are designed to affect important bodily functions and processes. Any side effects, manufacturing defects, misuse or abuse associated with our products or our product candidates could result in patient injury or death. The medical device industry has historically been subject to extensive litigation over product liability claims, and we cannot offer any assurance that we will not face product liability suits. We may be subject to product liability claims if our products contribute to, or merely appear to or are alleged to have contributed to, patient injury or death. In addition, an injury that is caused by the activities of our suppliers, such as those who provide us with components and raw materials, may be the basis for a claim against us. Further, because we provided certain transition services, including manufacturing support, to ReShape for our divested Surgical Product line through December 2020, we may be subject to product liability claims from sales of Surgical products by ReShape, over which we have limited to no control. Product liability claims may be brought against us by patients and their family members, health care providers or others selling or otherwise coming into contact with our products or product candidates, among others. If we cannot successfully defend ourselves against product liability claims, we will incur substantial liabilities and reputational harm. In addition, regardless of merit or eventual outcome, product liability claims may result in:

In addition, although we maintain product liability and clinical study liability insurance that we believe is appropriate, this insurance is subject to deductibles and coverage limitations. Our current product liability insurance may not continue to be available to us on acceptable terms, if at all, and, if available, coverage may not be adequate to protect us against any future product liability claims. If we are unable to obtain insurance at an acceptable cost or on acceptable terms with adequate coverage or otherwise protect against potential product liability claims, we will be exposed to significant liabilities, which may harm our business. A product liability claim, recall or other claim with respect to uninsured liabilities or for amounts in excess of insured liabilities could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We hold a number of insurance policies, including product liability insurance, directors’ and officers’ liability insurance, general liability insurance, property insurance and workers’ compensation insurance. If the costs of maintaining adequate insurance coverage increase significantly in the future, our operating expenses will increase by the same amount. Likewise, if any of our current insurance coverage should become unavailable to us or become economically impractical, we would be required to operate our business without coverage from commercial insurance providers. If we operate our business without insurance, we could be responsible for paying claims or judgments against us that would have otherwise been covered by insurance, which could adversely affect our results of operations or financial condition.

We do not have redundant facilities. We perform substantially all of our manufacturing in a single location in Costa Rica or at contract manufacturer locations in the United States. Any manufacturing facility and equipment would be costly to replace and would require substantial lead time to repair or replace. Manufacturing facilities may be harmed or rendered inoperable by natural or man-made disasters, including, but not limited to, flooding, fire, earthquakes, volcanic activity and power outages, which may render it difficult or impossible for us to perform our research, development, manufacturing and commercialization activities for some period of time. The inability to perform those activities, combined with our limited inventory of reserve raw materials and finished product, may result in the inability to continue manufacturing our products during such periods and the loss of customers, 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.

We believe that our continued success depends to a significant extent upon our efforts and ability to retain highly qualified personnel. Retaining and recruiting people with the appropriate skills is particularly challenging as the economy in general continues to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic resulting in competition for the human resources necessary to operate our business successfully. All of our officers and other employees are at-will employees, and therefore may terminate employment with us at any time with no advance notice. The replacement of any of our key personnel, including changes in our management team, likely would involve significant time and costs and may significantly delay or prevent the achievement of our business objectives and would harm our business. For example, we recently announced a planned CEO change to be effective in early March 2021. The failure to successfully execute this leadership transition and retain key employees could negatively impact our business and results of operations.

In order to manage the impact of COVID-19, we have implemented cost reduction programs including furloughs, salary reductions and work hour reductions that have impacted all employees. The introduction of these cost reduction measures increases the likelihood the employees may voluntarily terminate employment. The impact of COVID-19 on our business has harmed our stock price and, as a result, reduced the retention value of our employee's stock-based compensation. Our future success will depend largely on our ability maintain our workforce until business conditions improve such that we can return employees to previous employment status, salary, and work hour levels. However, weWe cannot assure you we will be able to maintain our workforce or to replace any departing personnel on favorable or commercially reasonable terms, if at all. Loss of personnel may negatively impact our ability to support business activities in the future if and when market activities return to pre-COVID-19 levels. The cost reduction programs were implemented in multiple foreign and domestic jurisdictions and may also expose us to contract or other disputes with impacted employees that may be detrimental to our business.future.

Our operating results are directly dependent upon the sales and marketing efforts of our employees. If our direct sales representatives fail to adequately promote, market and sell our products, our sales may suffer. In order to generate our anticipated sales, we will need to maintain a qualified and well-trained direct sales organization. As a result, our future success will depend largely on our ability to hire, train, retain and motivate skilled sales managers and direct sales representatives. Because of the competition for their services, we cannot assure you we will be able to hire and retain direct sales representatives on favorable or commercially reasonable terms, if at all. Failure to hire or retain qualified sales representatives would prevent us from expanding our business and generating sales. Additionally, new hires require training and take time before they achieve full productivity. If we fail to train new hires adequately, new hires may not become as productive as may be necessary to maintain or increase our sales and we may not be able to effectively commercialize our products, which would adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition. In addition, we may change our sales approach in certain markets from direct sales to healthcare providers to sales to distributors who then resell our products. If we were to change our sales approach in a given market, our product sales price in the affected market would be reduced which would lower our revenue and gross margin and the resulting reduction in our operating expense may not be sufficient to offset this reduction in our gross margin.

If our internal controls over financial reporting are found to be insufficient, our independent registered public accounting firm, which audits our financial statements, may issue an adverse opinion on the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting.

A material weakness is a deficiency, or combination of deficiencies, in internal controls over financial reporting such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of a company'scompany’s annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis. In the event that a material weakness is identified, we cannot assure you that we will be able to identify and implement measures that will be sufficient to remediate any such material weakness or that future material weaknesses will not occur.

If we fail to remediate an identified material weakness or identify new material weaknesses in our internal controls over financial reporting, investors may lack confidence in the accuracy and completeness of our financial reports and the market price of our common stock could be negatively affected regardless of whether material inaccuracies are determined to exist in our reported financial statements. If material inaccuracies are determined to exist in our financial statements or we are unable to report our financial statements on a timely basis, we could also become subject to investigations by Nasdaq, the SEC, or other regulatory authorities, and become subject to litigation from investors and stockholders, which could harm our reputation and financial condition or divert financial and management resources from our regular business activities.

Our products are subject to rigorous regulation by the FDA and numerous other federal, state and foreign governmental authorities. The process of obtaining regulatory clearances or approvals to market a medical device can be costly and time consuming, and we may not be able to obtain these clearances or approvals on a timely basis, if at all. In particular, the FDA permits commercial distribution of a new medical device only after the device has received clearance under Section 510(k) of the U.S. Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, or is the subject of an approved premarket approval application, or PMA unless the device is specifically exempt from those requirements. The FDA will clear marketing of a lower risk medical device through the 510(k) process if the manufacturer demonstrates that the new product is substantially equivalent to other pre-amendment, 510(k)-exempt, 510(k) cleared products, or PMA-approved products that have subsequently been down-classified. If the FDA determines that the device is not "substantially equivalent"“substantially equivalent” to a predicate device, or if the device is automatically classified into Class III, the device sponsor must then fulfill the much more rigorous premarketing requirements of the PMA approval process, or seek reclassification of the device through the De Novo process. A manufacturer can also submit a petition for a direct De Novo review if the manufacturer is unable to identify an appropriate predicate device and the new device or new use of the device presents a moderate or low risk. Of our products, Orbera is a class III product and has been approved through the FDA'sFDA’s PMA process and our suture-based products are class II products and have been cleared through the 510(k) process.and De Novo processes.

High risk devices deemed to pose the greatest risk, such as life-sustaining, life-supporting, or implantable devices, or devices not deemed substantially equivalent to a previously cleared device, require the approval of a PMA. In addition, the FDA may deem certain uses of an existing cleared general use device, such as OverStitch, to be a high risk use and may require the submission of a PMA or a De Novo 510(k) prior to expanding the device's indication for such additional use. The PMA process is more costly, lengthy and uncertain than the 510(k) clearance process. A PMA application must be supported by extensive data, including, but not limited to, technical, preclinical, clinical trial, manufacturing and labeling data, to demonstrate to the FDA’s satisfaction the safety and efficacy of the device for its intended use. In addition, although FDA has granted PMA approval for our class III products, holding those approvals in good standing requires ongoing compliance with FDA reporting requirements and conditions of approval including the completion of lengthy and expensive post market approval studies. The De Novo 510(k) process is also more costly, lengthy and uncertain than the 510(k) clearance process. Despite the time, effort and cost required to obtain approval, there can be no assurance that we will be able to meet all FDA requirements to maintain our PMA approvals or that circumstances outside of our control may cause the FDA to withdraw our PMA approvals.

Our failure to comply with U.S. federal, state and foreign governmental regulations could lead to the issuance of warning letters or untitled letters, the imposition of injunctions, suspensions or loss of regulatory clearance or approvals, product recalls, termination of distribution, product seizures or civil penalties. In the most extreme cases, criminal sanctions or closure of our manufacturing facility are possible.

Our industry is subject to numerous U.S. federal and state healthcare laws and regulations, including, but not limited to, anti-kickback, false claims, privacy and transparency laws and regulations. Our relationships with healthcare providers and

While we do not submit claims for reimbursement to payors and our customers make the ultimate decision on how to submit claims, from time-to-time, we may be asked for reimbursement guidance by our customers. Failure to comply with any of these laws, or any action against us for alleged violation of these laws, even if we successfully defend against it, could result in a material adverse effect on our reputation, business, results of operations and financial condition.

We have entered into consulting agreements with physicians, including some who use our products and may influence the ordering and use of our products. While we believe these transactions were structured to comply with all applicable laws, including state and federal anti-kickback laws, to the extent applicable, should the government take the position that these transactions are prohibited arrangements that must be restructured or discontinued, we could be subject to significant penalties. The medical device industry’s relationship with healthcare providers, including physicians is under increasing scrutiny by the OIG, the DOJ, state attorneys general, and other foreign and domestic government agencies. Our failure to comply with laws, rules and regulations governing our relationships with physicians, or an investigation into our compliance by the OIG, DOJ, state attorneys general and other government agencies could significantly harm our business.

To enforce compliance with the healthcare regulatory laws, federal and state enforcement bodies have recently increased their scrutiny of interactions between healthcare companies and healthcare providers, which has led to a number of investigations, prosecutions, convictions and settlements in the healthcare industry. Responding to investigations can be time and resource consuming and can divert management’s attention from the business. Additionally, as a result of these investigations, healthcare providers and entities may have to agree to onerous additional compliance and reporting requirements as part of a consent decree or corporate integrity agreement. Any such investigation or settlement could increase our costs or otherwise have an adverse effect on our business.

In addition, there has been a recent trend of increased federal and state regulation of payments and transfers of value provided to healthcare professionals or entities. The provision of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act’s provisionAct of 2010, as amended by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, commonly referred to as the federal Physician Payment Sunshine Act, as well as similar state and foreign laws, impose obligations on medical device manufacturers to annually report certain payments and other transfers of value provided, directly or indirectly, to physicians (defined to include doctors, dentists, optometrists, podiatrists and chiropractors), certain non-physician healthcare professionals (such as physician assistants and nurse practitioners), and teaching hospitals, as well as ownership and investment interests held by physicians and their family members. Beginning in 2022, applicable manufacturers also will be required to report such information regarding its payments and other transfers of value to physician assistants, nurse practitioners, clinical nurse specialists, anesthesiologist assistants, certified registered nurse anesthetists and certified nurse midwives during the previous year. Failure to comply with any of these state, federal, or foreign transparency and disclosure requirements could subject us to significant fines and penalties. The shifting commercial compliance environment and the need to build and maintain robust and expandable systems to comply with different compliance and reporting requirements in multiple jurisdictions increase the possibility that we may fail to comply fully with one or more of these requirements.

Although compliance programs can mitigate the risk of investigation and prosecution for violations of these laws, the risks cannot be entirely eliminated. Any action against us for violation of these laws, even if we successfully defend against it, could cause us to incur significant legal expenses and divert our management’s attention from the operation of our business.

Most of these laws apply to not only the actions taken by us, but also actions taken by our distributors. We have limited knowledge and control over the business practices of our distributors, and we may face regulatory action against us as a result of their actions which could have a material adverse effect on our reputation, business, results of operations and financial condition.

In addition, the scope and enforcement of these laws is uncertain and subject to rapid change in the current environment of healthcare reform, especially in light of the lack of applicable precedent and regulations. Federal or state regulatory authorities might challenge our current or future activities under these laws. Any such challenge could have a material adverse effect on our reputation, business, results of operations and financial condition. Any state or federal regulatory review of the Company, regardless of the outcome, would be costly and time-consuming. Additionally, we cannot predict the impact of any changes in these laws, whether or not retroactive.

All third-party payors, whether governmental or commercial, whether inside the U.S. or outside, are developing increasingly sophisticated methods of controlling healthcare costs. These cost-control methods include prospective payment systems, bundled payment models, capitated arrangements, group purchasing, benefit redesign, pre-authorization processes and requirements for second opinions prior to major surgery. These cost-control methods also potentially limit the amount that healthcare providers may be willing to pay for our products. Therefore, coverage or reimbursement for medical devices may decrease in the future. In addition, consolidation in the healthcare industry could lead to demands for price concessions, which may impact our ability to sell our products at prices necessary to support our current business strategies.

Federal and state governments in the U.S. and outside the U.S. may enact legislation to modify the healthcare system which may result in increased government price controls, additional regulatory mandates and other measures designed to constrain medical costs. These reform measures may limit the amounts that federal and state governments will pay for healthcare products and services, and also indirectly affect the amounts that private payors are willing to pay. TheseThe resulting pricing pressure from our hospital and ambulatory surgical center (“ASC”) customers due to cost sensitivities resulting from healthcare cost containment pressures and reimbursement changes could result in reduceddecrease demand for our products, the prices that customers are willing to pay and the frequency of use of our products, which could have an adverse effect on our business.

Patients in the United States and elsewhere generally rely on third‑party payors to reimburse part or all of the costs associated with their healthcare treatment. Accordingly, market acceptance of our products is dependent on the extent to which third‑party coverage and reimbursement is available from third-party payors, which can differ significantly from payor to payor and may change at any time. Adequate reimbursement coding, coverage, and payment may be required to support the future growth of some of our products. Inadequate coverage and negative reimbursement policies for our products could affect their adoption and our future revenue. Even if favorable coverage and reimbursement status is attained, less favorable coverage policies and reimbursement rates may be implemented in the future. If we are unable to obtain and thereafter maintain sufficient third‑party coverage and reimbursement for our products and/or procedures in which our products are used, the commercial success of our products may be limited, and our financial condition and results of operations may be materially and adversely affect our operating results.affected.

Further, from time to time, typically on an annual basis, payment amounts are updated and revised by third-party payors. In cases where the cost of certain of our products are recovered by the healthcare provider as part of the payment for performing a procedure and not separately reimbursed or paid directly by the patient, these updates could directly impact the demand for our products. We cannot predict how pending and future healthcare legislation will impact our business, and any changes in coverage and reimbursement that further restricts coverage of our products or lowers reimbursement for procedures using our products could materially affect our business.

Modifications to our products may require new regulatory approvals or clearances, including 510(k) or De Novo clearances or premarket approvals, additional approvals before foreign regulatory authorities, or require us to recall or cease marketing the modified devices until these clearances or approvals are obtained. The FDA and other regulatory authorities outside the United States require device manufacturers to initially make and document a determination of whether or not a modification requires a new approval, supplement or clearance. For example, a manufacturer may determine that a modification does not significantly affect safety or efficacy and does not represent a major change in its intended use, so that no new 510(k) clearance is necessary. However, a given regulatory authority, such as the FDA or a notified body, can review a manufacturer'smanufacturer’s decision and may disagree and on its own initiative determine that a new clearance or approval is required. We have made modifications to our products in the past and may make additional modifications in the future that we believe do not or will not require additional clearances or approvals. If a regulatory authority disagrees and requires new clearances or approvals for the modifications, we may be required to recall and to stop marketing our products as modified, which could require us to redesign our products, re-introduce pre-modified product back into the specific market, and harm our operating results. In addition, a regulatory authority in one country may not agree with the conclusion of a regulatory authority of another country. In these circumstances, we may be subject to significant enforcement actions.

If we determine that a modification to an FDA-cleared device could significantly affect its safety or efficacy,effectiveness, or would constitute a major change in its intended use, then we must file for a new 510(k) clearance or possibly De Novo, down classification, or a premarket approval application. Where we determine that modifications to our products require a new 510(k) or De Novo clearance or premarket approval application, we may not be able to obtain those additional clearances or approvals for the modifications or additional indications in a timely manner, or at all. For those products sold in the EU, we must notify our EU Notified Body, if significant changes are made to the products or if there are substantial changes to our quality assurance systems affecting those products. Obtaining clearances and approvals can be a time consuming process, and delays in obtaining required future clearances or approvals would adversely affect our ability to introduce new or enhanced products in a timely manner, which in turn would harm our sales.

For our class III devices, new PMAs or PMA supplements are required for modifications that affect the safety or effectiveness of the device, including, for example, certain types of modifications to the device'sdevice’s indication for use, manufacturing process, labeling and design. PMA supplements often require submission of the same type of information as a PMA, except that the supplement is limited to information needed to support any changes to the device covered by the original PMA and may not require as extensive clinical data or the convening of an advisory panel. There is no guarantee that the FDA will grant PMA approval of our future products and failure to obtain necessary approvals for our future products would adversely affect our ability to grow our business. Delays in receipt or failure to receive approvals, the loss of previously received approvals, or the failure to comply with existing or future regulatory requirements could reduce our sales, profitability and future growth prospects.

Expanding the indications for our products willmay require new regulatory approvals or clearances, including 510(k) or De Novo clearances or PMA approvals. We have current products such as OverStitch with clearance as a general use device but no procedure-specific indications for use. In the event that we pursue the approval of expanded indications for a product, the FDA or foreign regulatory authorities may require a separate filing such as a 510(k) or De Novo submission orPMA. We may deem the desired indication for use tonot be successful in obtaining additional marketing authorization, clearance, of high enough risk to require a PMA submission. For example, the investigators conducting the MERIT trial sought and received an Investigational Device Exemption following communication from the FDA which indicated that the FDA considered the ESG procedure for weight loss to be a high risk use. Obtaining clearances and approvals for expanded uses can be a time consuming and costly process and could adversely affect our ability to market ourindications for other products or delay efforts to obtain reimbursement coverage from payors.procedures that utilize our products.

We currently operate in the U.S., Costa Rica, Australia and various European countries and our products are approved for sale in over 75 different countries; our activities are subject to U.S. and foreign governmental trade, import and export and customs regulations and laws. Compliance with these regulations and laws is costly and exposes us to penalties for non-compliance.

Other laws and regulations that can significantly impact us include various anti-bribery laws, including the U.S. FCPA, as well as export control laws and economic sanctions laws. Any failure to comply with applicable legal and regulatory obligations could impact us in a variety of ways that include, but are not limited to, significant costs and disruption of business associated with an internal and/or government investigation, criminal, civil and administrative penalties, including imprisonment of individuals, fines and penalties, denial of export privileges, seizure of shipments, restrictions on certain business activities and exclusion or debarment from government contracting.

Our international operations present the same risks as presented by our U.S. operations plus unique risks inherent in operating in foreign jurisdictions. These unique risks include:

If we experience any of these events, our business, results of operations and financial condition may be harmed.

Any product for which we obtain approval or clearance, and the manufacturing processes, reporting requirements, post-market clinical data and promotional activities for such product, will be subject to continued regulatory review, oversight and periodic inspections by the FDA and other domestic and foreign regulatory bodies. In particular, we and our third-party suppliers are required to comply with the QSR. The QSR covers the methods and documentation of the design, testing, production, control, quality assurance, labeling, packaging, sterilization, storage and shipping of our products. Compliance with applicable regulatory requirements is subject to continual review and is monitored rigorously through periodic inspections by the FDA. If we, or our manufacturers, fail to adhere to QSR requirements in the U.S. or experience delays in obtaining necessary regulatory approvals or clearances, this could delay production of our products and lead to fines, difficulties in obtaining regulatory approvals or clearances, recalls, enforcement actions, including injunctive relief or consent decrees, or other consequences, which could, in turn, have a material adverse effect on our financial condition or results of operations.

In addition, the FDA audits compliance with the QSR through periodic announced and unannounced inspections of manufacturing and other facilities. The failure by the Company or one of our suppliers to comply with applicable statutes and regulations administered by the FDA, or the failure to timely and adequately respond to any adverse inspection observations or product safety issues, could result in any of the following enforcement actions:

Any of these sanctions could have a material adverse effect on our reputation, business, results of operations and financial condition. Furthermore, our key component suppliers may not currently be or may not continue to be in compliance with all applicable regulatory requirements, which could result in a failure to produce our products on a timely basis and in the required quantities, if at all.

Our products and operations are required to comply with standards set by foreign regulatory bodies, and those standards, types of evaluation and scope of review differ among foreign regulatory bodies. For example, audits are routinely performed by our Notified Body to ensure we are meeting by the Quality System requirements for Europe, which are organized in many other countries outside of Europe as well, notably Canada, Brazil, Australia and Japan. If we fail to comply with any of these standards adequately or if changes to our manufacturing or supply practices require additional regulatory approval, a foreign regulatory body may take adverse actions or cause delays within their jurisdiction similar to those within the power of the FDA. Any such action or circumstance may harm our reputation and business, and could have an adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

We may, under our own initiative, recall a product if any material deficiency in a device is found. In addition, the FDA and similar foreign governmental authorities can require the recall of commercialized products in the event of material deficiencies or defects in design or manufacture. In the case of the FDA, the recall must be based on an FDA finding that there is a

From time to time, legislation is drafted and introduced in Congress that could significantly change the statutory provisions governing the regulatory approval, manufacture and marketing of regulated products or the reimbursement thereof. Any new regulations or revisions or reinterpretations of existing regulations may impose additional costs or lengthen review times of future products. In addition, FDA regulations and guidance are often revised or reinterpreted by the agency in ways that may significantly affect our business and our products. It is impossible to predict whether legislative changes will be enacted or FDA regulations, guidance or interpretations changed, and what the impact of such changes, if any, may be.

Moreover, organizational changes within the FDA as well as recent and future federal election outcomes could result in significant legislative and regulatory reforms impacting the FDA’s regulation of our products. Any change in the laws or regulations that govern the clearance and approval processes relating to our current and future products could make it more difficult and costly to obtain clearance or approval for new products, or to produce, market and distribute existing products. Significant delays in receiving clearance or approval, or the failure to receive clearance or approval for our new products would have an adverse effect on our ability to expand our business.

In addition, on May 25, 2017, the new EU Medical Devices Regulation ("(“MDR 2017"2017”) was published and was scheduled to become effective on May 26, 2020. On April 17, 2020, the European Parliament approved the delay of the effectiveness of MDR 2017 until May 26, 2021. MDR 2017 repeals and replaces the EU Medical Devices Directive ("MDD"(“MDD”) and changes certain obligations of medical device manufacturers with product in the EU and subjects higher risk medical devices to additional scrutiny during the conformity assessment process. The new regulations will among other things:

Accordingly, we arewere required to update our quality system to conform to thecertain requirements of MDR 2017 by May 2021. However, at this time only onethree of the six EUDAMED modules isdescribed by MDR 2017 are fully operational atand their use is voluntary. Currently, the remaining modules of Vigilance, Clinical Investigation & Performance Studies and Market Surveillance are under development and will be released when the entire EUDAMED system is declared fully functional. We cannot predict when this time, with the European Commission stating that the EUDAMED database is now not expected to be fully operational until May 2022.may take place or how long any delays will last. As such, the quality system updates required for us to comply with MDR 2017 cannot be fully operable by May 2021.implemented at this time. There remains uncertainty on how some new provisions are to be addressed.

Additionally, existing regulatory filings must be reviewed again by Notified Bodies as part of the transition of CE Mark certificates from the current MDD to the new MDR 2017 requirements. Industry-wide, Notified Bodies are experiencing much longer review times on these filesIn November of 2022, we transitioned our legacy products to CE Mark under the MDR requirements. The new CE Certificates were issued by British Standards Institute and this creates additional uncertainty over the timely transition to MDR 2017. Our CE certificates under MDD are valid through November 2022 and we aim to have our MDR 2017 documentation available for Notified Bodyfive years. The X-Tack is currently in review by the end of 2021. But there are no assurances that our Notified Body will be able to conduct a timely reviewand the precise timing or certainty of CE Mark for this documentation nor that they will conclude our documentationproduct is sufficient. Depending on the timing of the

In order to continue to sell our products in Europe, we must maintain our CE marks and continue to comply with certain EU directives and, in the future with the MDR 2017. Our failure to continue to comply with applicable foreign regulatory requirements, including meeting additional clinical evidence requirements and complying with regulatory requirements administered by authorities of the EEA countries, could result in enforcement actions against us, including refusal, suspension or withdrawal of our CE Certificates of Conformity by our Notified Body, which could impair our ability to market products in the EEA in the future. Any changes to the membership of the EU, such as the departure of the United Kingdom (Brexit), may impact the regulatory requirements for the impacted countries and impair our business operations and our ability to market products in such countries.

We often must rely on third parties, such as medical institutions, clinical investigators, contract research organizations and contract laboratories to conduct our clinical trials and provide data or prepare deliverables for our PMA post market studies or CE Mark post-approval studies required to keep our market approvals in good standing as well as clinical studies designed to obtain the clinical data necessary to garner reimbursement from private and government payors. If these third parties do not successfully carry out their contractual duties or regulatory obligations or meet expected deadlines, if these third parties need to be replaced, or if the quality or accuracy of the data they obtain, analyze, and report is compromised due to the failure to adhere to applicable clinical protocols or regulatory requirements or for other reasons, our clinical activities or clinical trials may be extended, delayed, suspended or terminated, and we may be at risk of losing our regulatory approvals, fail to obtain desired regulatory approvals or fail to obtain reimbursement for our products or the procedures that use our products, which could harm our business.

We are subject to a variety of federal, state and local regulations relating to the use, handling, storage, disposal and human exposure to hazardous materials. Liability under environmental laws can be joint and several and without regard to comparative fault, and environmental laws could become more stringent over time, imposing greater compliance costs and increasing risks and penalties associated with violations, which could harm our business. Although we believe that our activities conform in all material respects with environmental laws, there can be no assurance that violations of environmental and health and safety laws will not occur in the future as a result of human error, accident, equipment failure or other causes. The failure to comply with past, present or future laws could result in the imposition of fines, third-party property damage and personal injury claims, investigation and remediation costs, the suspension of production or a cessation of operations. We also expect that our operations may be affected by other new environmental and health and safety laws on an ongoing basis. Although we cannot predict the ultimate impact of any such new laws, they will likely result in additional costs, and may require us to change how we manufacture our products, which could have a material adverse effect on our business.

We are subject to the U.S. FCPA, and other anti-bribery legislation around the world. The FCPA generally prohibits covered entities and their intermediaries from engaging in bribery or making other prohibited payments, offers or promises to foreign officials for the purpose of obtaining or retaining business or other advantages. In addition, the FCPA imposes recordkeeping and internal controls requirements on publicly traded corporations and their foreign affiliates. We may face significant risks if we fail to comply with the FCPA and other similar foreign antibribery laws. Although we have implemented safeguards and training, including company policies requiring our employees, distributors, consultants and agents to comply with the FCPA and similar laws, our international operations nonetheless present a risk of unauthorized payments or offers of payments by one of our employees, consultants, sales agents, or distributors, because these parties are not always subject to our control. Any violation of the FCPA and related policies could result in severe criminal or civil sanctions, which could have a material and adverse effect on our reputation, business, operating results and financial condition.

Our success depends significantly on our ability to protect our proprietary rights to the technologies and inventions used in, or embodied by, our products. To protect our proprietary technology, we rely on patent protection, as well as a combination of copyright, trade secret and trademark laws, as well as nondisclosure, confidentiality and other contractual restrictions in our supply, consulting and employment agreements. However, these legal means afford only limited protection and may not adequately protect our rights or permit us to gain or keep any competitive advantage.

The process of applying for patent protection itself is time consuming and expensive and we cannot assure investors that all of our patent applications will issue as patents or that, if issued, they will issue in a form that will be advantageous to us. The rights granted to us under our patents, including prospective rights sought in our pending patent applications, may not be meaningful or provide us with any commercial advantage and they could be opposed, contested or circumvented by our competitors or be declared invalid or unenforceable in judicial or administrative proceedings.

We own numerous issued patents and pending patent applications that relate to our products and methods of using our products, as well as individual components of our products. If any of our patents are challenged, invalidated or legally circumvented by third parties, and if we do not own other enforceable patents protecting our products, competitors could market products and use processes that are substantially similar to, or superior to, ours, and our business will suffer. In addition, the patents we own may not be sufficient in scope or strength to provide us with any meaningful protection or commercial advantage, and competitors may be able to design around our patents or develop products that provide outcomes comparable to ours without infringing on our intellectual property rights. We may also determine from time to time to discontinue the payment of maintenance fees, if we determine that certain patents are not material to our business.

We may be subject to a third-party preissuance submission of prior art to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office ("USPTO"(“USPTO”), or become involved in opposition, derivation, reexamination, inter partes review, post-grant review, or other patent office proceedings or litigation, in the U.S. or elsewhere, challenging our patent rights or the patent rights of others. An adverse determination in any such submission, proceeding or litigation could reduce the scope of, or invalidate, our patent rights, allow third parties to commercialize our technology or products and compete directly with us, without payment to the Company, or result in our inability to manufacture or commercialize products without infringing third-party patent rights.

Moreover, the USPTO and various foreign governmental patent agencies require compliance with a number of procedural, documentary, fee payment and other similar provisions during the patent application process. In addition, periodic maintenance fees on issued patents often must be paid to the USPTO and foreign patent agencies over the lifetime of the patent. While an unintentional lapse can in many cases be cured by payment of a late fee or by other means in accordance with the applicable rules, there are situations in which noncompliance can result in abandonment or lapse of the patent or patent application, resulting in partial or complete loss of patent rights in the relevant jurisdiction. Non-compliance events that could result in abandonment or lapse of a patent or patent application include, but are not limited to, failure to respond to official actions within prescribed time limits, non-payment of fees and failure to properly legalize and submit formal documents. If we fail to maintain the patents and patent applications covering our products or procedures, we may not be able to stop a competitor from marketing products that are the same as or similar to our products, which would have a material adverse effect on our business.

Furthermore, we do not have patent rights in certain foreign countries in which a market may exist in the future, and the laws of many foreign countries may not protect our intellectual property rights to the same extent as the laws of the U.S. Thus, we may not be able to stop a competitor from marketing and selling in foreign countries products that are the same as or similar to our products.

We rely on our trademarks as one means to distinguish our products from the products of our competitors and have registered or applied to register many of these trademarks. Our trademark applications may not be approved, however. Third parties may oppose our trademark applications, or otherwise challenge our use of the trademarks. In the event that our trademarks are successfully challenged, we could be forced to rebrand our products, which could result in loss of brand recognition and could require us to devote resources to advertising and marketing new brands. Our competitors may infringe our trademarks and we may not have adequate resources to enforce our trademarks.

We may not be able to prevent the unauthorized disclosure or use of our technical knowledge or other trade secrets by consultants, vendors, former employees or current employees, despite the existence of confidentiality agreements and other contractual restrictions. Monitoring unauthorized uses and disclosures of our intellectual property is difficult, and we do not know whether the steps we have taken to protect our intellectual property will be effective.

Moreover, our competitors may independently develop equivalent knowledge, methods and know-how. Competitors could purchase our products and attempt to replicate some or all of the competitive advantages we derive from our development efforts, willfully infringe our intellectual property rights, design around our protected technology or develop their own competitive technologies that fall outside of our intellectual property rights. If our intellectual property is not adequately protected so as to protect our market against competitors’ products and methods, our competitive position could be adversely affected, as could our business.

The medical device industry has been characterized by frequent and extensive intellectual property litigation. Additionally, the bariatric and therapeutic endoscopy markets are competitive. Our competitors or other patent holders may assert that our products and the methods we employ are covered by their patents. If our products or methods are found to infringe, we could be prevented from manufacturing or marketing our products. In the event that we become involved in such a dispute, we may incur significant costs and expenses and may need to devote resources to resolving any claims, which would reduce the cash we have available for operations and may be distracting to management. We do not know whether our competitors or potential competitors have applied for, will apply for, or will obtain patents that will prevent, limit or interfere with our ability to make, use, sell, import or export our products.

Competing products may also be sold in other countries in which our patent coverage might not exist or be as strong. If we lose a foreign patent lawsuit, alleging our infringement of a competitor’s patents, we could be prevented from marketing our products in one or more foreign countries. We may also initiate litigation against third parties to protect our own intellectual property. Our intellectual property has not been tested in prior litigation. If we initiate litigation to protect our rights, we run the risk of having our intellectual property rights adjudicated, invalidated, or limited in scope, which would undermine our competitive position.

Litigation related to infringement and other intellectual property claims, with or without merit, is unpredictable, expensive and time-consuming and can divert management’s attention from our core business. If we lose this kind of litigation, a court could require us to pay substantial damages, treble damages and attorneys’ fees, and prohibit us from using technologies essential to our products, any of which would have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. If relevant patents held by other parties are upheld as valid and enforceable and we are found to infringe, we could be prevented from selling our products unless we can obtain licenses to use technology or ideas covered by such patents. We do not know whether any necessary licenses would be available to us on satisfactory terms, if at all. If we cannot obtain these licenses, we could be forced to design around those patents at additional cost or abandon our products altogether. As a result, our ability to grow our business and compete in the market may be harmed.

Many of our employees were previously employed at other medical device companies, including our competitors or potential competitors. We could in the future be subject to claims that we or our employees have inadvertently or otherwise used or disclosed alleged trade secrets or other proprietary information of these former employers or competitors. In addition, we may in the future be subject to claims that we caused an employee to breach the terms of his or her non-competition or non-solicitation agreement and litigation may be necessary to defend against these claims. Even if we are successful in defending against these claims, litigation could result in substantial costs and could be a distraction to management. If our defense to those claims fails, in addition to paying monetary damages, a court could prohibit us from using technologies or features that are essential to our products or information that is essential to our business operations, if such technologies, features or information are found to incorporate or be derived from the trade secrets or other proprietary information of the former employers. An inability to incorporate technologies, features or information that are important or essential to our products or business operations would have a material adverse effect on our business and may prevent us from selling our products. In addition, we may lose valuable intellectual property rights or personnel. Any litigation or the threat thereof may adversely affect our ability to hire employees. A loss of key personnel or their work product could hamper or prevent our ability to commercialize our

In March 2019,December 2021, we borrowed $35.0 million principal amount of debt under a term loan facility ("Solar Debt Facility"(“Term Loans”) with SolarInnovatus Capital Ltd. ("Solar"Partners, LLC (“Innovatus”). We used $22.4$35.0 million of the proceeds to repay the existing senior secured credit facility. In April, July and December 2020, we entered into amendments to this agreement to allow us to enter into a loan under PPP, provide revenue covenant relief for the remainder of 2020 due to the impact of COVID-19, decrease the minimum liquidity requirement from $20.0 million to $12.5 million and extend the maturity date and interest-only payment period. Our outstanding debt is collateralized by substantially all of our assets and contains customary financial and operating covenants limiting our ability to transfer or dispose of assets, merge with or acquire other companies, make investments, pay dividends, incur additional indebtedness and liens and conduct transactions with affiliates without Solar'sInnovatus’s consent. We therefore may not be able to engage in any of the foregoing transactions until our current debt obligations are paid in full or we obtain the consent of the lender. In addition, we are required to prepare our financial statements and receive audits on our annual financial statements in a timely manner, meet certain financial ratio requirements and pay interest and principal when due. Furthermore, under the Solar Debt FacilityInnovatus Term Loans our interest rate is tied to LIBOR.the Wall Street Journal Prime Rate. We do not hedge this variable rate exposure to LIBORthe Wall Street Journal Prime Rate and in the event of an increase in the LIBOR rate,Wall Street Journal Prime Rate, we will be required to pay greater interest expenses, which may be material and have an adverse effect on our net loss and financial condition.

To the extent that our operating trends do not enable us to meet our financial and restrictive covenant requirements, we are unable to pay interest or principal when due or we are unable to meet other covenants and requirements contained within our credit agreements, we may default under such agreement. A default under any such agreements could result in further increases in consent or amendment fees to our lender, further increases in interest costs, the imposition of additional constraints on borrowing by our lender or potentially more serious liquidity constraints and adverse financial consequences, including reductions in the value of our common stock or the necessity of seeking protection from creditors under bankruptcy laws. To remedy issues we may encounter with meeting our debt obligations, or for other purposes, we may find it necessary to seek further refinancing of our indebtedness, and may do so with debt instruments that are more costly than our existing instruments (and which will rank senior to our common shareholders), or we may issue additional securities which may dilute the ownership interests or value of our existing shareholders.

We cannot assure you that we will be able to generate sufficient cash flows or revenue to meet the financial covenants or pay the principal and interest on our debt. Furthermore, we cannot assure you that future working capital, borrowings or equity financing will be available to repay or refinance any such debt.

We may need to raise substantial additional capital to fund our operations, including:

Any future funding requirements will depend on many factors, including:

If we raise additional funds by issuing equity securities, our stockholders may experience dilution. Any future debt financing into which we enter may impose covenants that restrict our operations, including limitations on our ability to incur liens or additional debt, pay dividends, repurchase our stock, make certain investments and engage in certain merger, consolidation or asset sale transactions. Any debt financing or additional equity that we raise may contain terms that are not favorable to us or our stockholders. If we raise additional funds through collaboration and licensing arrangements with third parties, it may be necessary to relinquish some rights to our technologies or our products, or grant licenses on terms that are not favorable to us. If we are unable to raise adequate funds, we may have to liquidate some or all of our assets, or delay, reduce the scope of or eliminate some or all of our development programs.

We cannot be certain that additional funding will be available on acceptable terms, if at all. In particular, the continuing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is highly uncertain as to the availability of additional funding and the underlying terms of such funding. In addition, United States and global equity markets have recently been extremely volatile and unpredictable, reflecting in part a general concern regarding the global economy. In addition, this volatility has also affected the ability of business to obtain credit and to raise money in the capital markets. If we do not have, or are not able to obtain, sufficient funds, we may have to delay development or commercialization of our products or license to third parties the rights to commercialize products or technologies that we would otherwise seek to commercialize. We also may have to reduce marketing, customer support or other resources devoted to our products or cease operations. Any of these factors could harm our operating results.

The market price of our common stock could be subject to significant fluctuations. Market prices for securities of early-stage medical device, pharmaceutical and other life sciences companies have historically been particularly volatile. Some of the factors that may cause the market price of our common stock to fluctuate include:

In the past, following periods of volatility in the market price of a company’s securities, stockholders have often instituted class action securities litigation against those companies. Such litigation, if instituted, could result in substantial costs and diversion of management attention and resources, which could significantly harm our profitability and reputation.

We will continue to incur significant legal, accounting and other expenses including costs associated with public company reporting requirements. We also incur costs associated with corporate governance requirements, including requirements under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, as well as new rules implemented by the SEC and The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC. Our executive officers, service providers and other personnel will need to devote substantial time to these rules and regulations. These rules and regulations require significant legal and financial compliance costs and make some other activities more time consuming and costly. These rules and regulations may also make it difficult and expensive for us to obtain directors’ and officers’ liability insurance. As a result, it may be more difficult for us to attract and retain qualified individuals to serve on our board of directors or as executive officers of the Company, which may adversely affect investor confidence and could cause our business or stock price to suffer.

Provisions in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws may delay or prevent an acquisition or a change in management. In addition, because we are incorporated in Delaware, we are governed by the provisions of Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporate Law, which prohibits stockholders owning in excess of 15% of our outstanding voting stock from merging or combining with us. Although we believe these provisions collectively will provide for an opportunity to receive higher bids by requiring potential acquirers to negotiate with our board of directors, they would apply even if the offer may be considered beneficial by some stockholders. In addition, these provisions may frustrate or

The current expectation is that we will retain future earnings to fund the development and growth of our business. As a result, capital appreciation, if any, of our common stock will be your sole source of gain, if any, for the foreseeable future. In addition, our ability to pay dividends is limited by covenants in our credit agreement. Additionally, we are a holding company, and our ability to pay dividends will be dependent upon our subsidiaries’ ability to make distributions, which may be restricted by covenants in our credit agreement or any future contractual obligations.

We cannot predict what effect, if any, sales of our shares in the public market or the availability of shares for sale will have on the market price of our common stock. However, if certain of our existing stockholders sell, or indicate an intention to sell, substantial amounts of our common stock in the public market, the trading price of our common stock could decline. In addition, shares of common stock that are subject to outstanding options will become eligible for sale in the public market to the extent permitted by the provisions of various vesting agreements and Rules 144 and 701 under the Securities Act. If these additional shares are sold, or if it is perceived that they will be sold, in the public market, the trading price of our common stock could decline.

In January 2023, all outstanding principal amount of our convertible debt was converted into new shares of common stock. The conversion or exercise of some or all of our outstanding convertible debt and pre-funded warrants respectively, may also dilute the ownership interests of existing stockholders. Any sales in the public market of any shares of our common stock issuable upon such conversion or exercise, as applicable, including pursuant to our registration statementsstatement on Form S-3 with respect to shares underlying these convertible securities, could negatively impact prevailing market prices of our common stock. In addition, the anticipated conversion of the convertible debt or exercise of the pre-funded warrants into shares of our common stock or a combination of cash and shares of our common stock could depress the price of our common stock.

We also expect that additional capital may be needed in the future to fund our operations. To raise capital, we have sold and may in the future sell common stock, preferred stock, convertible securities or such other equity securities in one or more transactions at prices and in a manner we determine from time to time. These sales, or the perception in the market that the holders of a large number of shares intend to sell shares, could reduce the market price of our common stock.

As of December 31, 2020, the majority2022, a substantial number of the outstanding shares of our common stock was held by a relatively small number of stockholders. In addition, our officers, directors, and members of management acquire stock or have the potential to own stock through previously granted equity awards. Consequently, our common stock has a relatively small float and low average daily trading volume, which could affect a stockholder’s ability to sell our stock or the price at which it can be sold. In addition, future sales of substantial amounts of our common stock in the public market by those larger stockholders, or the perception that these sales could occur, may adversely impact the market price of the stock and our stock could be difficult for a stockholder to liquidate.

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws each provide that, unless we consent in writing to an alternative forum, the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware will, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, be the sole and exclusive forum for the following types of actions or proceedings under Delaware statutory or common law: (i) any derivative action or proceeding brought on behalf of the corporation, (ii) any action asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any director, officer, or other employee of the corporation to the corporation or the corporation’s stockholders, (iii) any action asserting a claim arising pursuant to any provision of the Delaware General Corporation Law, or (iv) any action asserting a claim governed by the internal affairs doctrine.

These exclusive choice of forum provisions 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 lawsuits against us and our directors, officers, and other employees. If a court were to find the exclusive-forum provision in our amended and restated bylaws to be inapplicable or unenforceable in an action, we may incur further significant additional costs associated with resolving the dispute in other jurisdictions, all of which could harm our business.

Our computer systems, as well as those of various third-partiesthird parties on which we rely, including those of contractors, consultants, and law and accounting firms, may sustain damage from computer viruses, unauthorized access, data breaches, phishing attacks, cyber criminals, natural disasters, terrorism, war and telecommunication and electrical failures. We rely on our third-party providers to implement effective security measures and identify and correct for any such failures, deficiencies, or breaches. The risk of a security breach or disruption, particularly through cyber-attacks or cyber intrusion, including by computer hackers, foreign governments, and cyber terrorists, has generally increased as the number, intensity, and sophistication of attempted attacks and intrusions from around the world have increased. We may in the future experience material system failures or security breaches that could cause interruptions in our operations or result in material disruption of our product development programs. To the extent that any disruption or security breach were to result in a loss of or damage to our data or applications, or inappropriate disclosure of personal, confidential or proprietary information we could incur liability.

We depend on information technology systems for the efficient functioning of our business, including but not limited to accounting, data storage, compliance, sales operations, inventory management and product support applications. Information technology systems are also critical to enabling employees to work remotely. A number of information technology systems in use to support our business operations are owned and/or operated by third-party service providers over whom we have no or very limited control, and upon whom we have to rely to maintain business continuity procedures and adequate security controls to ensure high availability of their information technology systems and to protect our proprietary information.

While we will attempt to mitigate interruptions, they could still occur and disrupt our operations, including our ability to timely ship and track product orders, project inventory requirements, manage our supply chain and otherwise adequately service our customers. In the event we experience significant disruptions to our information technology systems, we may not be able to repair our systems in an efficient and timely manner. Accordingly, such events may disrupt or reduce the efficiency of our entire operation and have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and cash flows.

From time to time, we perform business improvements or infrastructure modernizations or use service providers for key systems and processes. If any of these initiatives are not successfully or efficiently implemented or maintained, they could adversely affect our business and our internal control over financial reporting.

We rely on information technology networks and systems, including the Internet, to securely process, transmit and store electronic information, including personal information of our customers and prospective product end-users. A security breach of this infrastructure, including physical or electronic break-ins, computer viruses, malware attacks by hackers and similar breaches, may cause all or portions of our or our third-party providers'providers’ systems to be unavailable, create system disruptions or shutdowns, and lead to erasure of critical data and software or unauthorized disclosure of confidential information.information which could harm our business and which may not be effectively mitigated by our insurance programs.

We and our various third-party providers make investments and take measures to protect our systems and data, but there can be no guarantee that any such measures, to the extent they are in place, will be effective. In addition, a security breach or

In addition, future interpretations and applications of consumer and data protection laws in the U.S., Europe and elsewhere, such as the EU General Data Protection Regulation ("GDPR"(“GDPR”) and the California Consumer Privacy Act (the “CCPA”), may be inconsistent with our data practices. If so, this could result in government-imposed fines, orders or guidance requiring that we change our data practices, which could cause us to incur substantial costs or require us to change our business practices in a manner adverse to our business.

None.

Our principal executive offices are located in an 18,38811,808 square foot facility in Austin, Texas. The term of the lease for our Austin facility extends through September 30, 2021.March 31, 2026. Our principal office in Austin houses research and development, sales, marketing, finance and administrative activities. We operate an approximate 18,20022,000 square foot manufacturing facility in the Coyol Free Trade Zone in Alajuela, Costa Rica. The term of the lease for our Costa Rica facility extends through September 30, 2028. Additionally, we have a research and development facility in Austin, Texas and sales and marketing offices in Italy and the United Kingdom. We believe that our facilities are currently adequate for our needs.

From time to time, we are involved in legal proceedings. The results of such legal proceedings and claims cannot be predicted with certainty, and regardless of the outcome, legal proceedings could have an adverse impact on our business because of defense and settlement costs, diversion of resources and other factors.

Not applicable.

Our common stock is listed for trading on the Nasdaq Global Market under the symbol "APEN"“APEN”.

As of January 31, 2021,March 15, 2023, there were approximately 10393 stockholders of record of our common stock. Certain shares are held in "street"“street” name and accordingly, the number of beneficial owners of such shares is not known or included in the foregoing number.

We have never paid or declared any cash dividends on our common stock. We do not anticipate paying any cash dividends on our common stock in the foreseeable future, and we intend to retain all available funds and any future earnings to fund the development and expansion of our business. In addition, our ability to pay dividends is limited by covenants in our credit agreement. Any future determination to pay dividends will be at the discretion of our board of directors and will depend upon a number of factors, including our results of operations, financial condition, future prospects, contractual restrictions, restrictions imposed by applicable law and other factors our board of directors deems relevant.

We have offices in the United Kingdom and Italy that oversee commercial activities outside the U.S. ("OUS"(“OUS”) and a products manufacturing facility in Costa Rica. All other activities are managed and operated from facilities in Austin, Texas.

ImpactSince its market introduction in 2008, over 100,000 OverStitch units have been sold for procedures worldwide. Historically, we estimate that approximately 60% of COVID-19OverStitch uses in the United States have been for advanced gastrointestinal therapies. The other uses were for endoscopic sleeve gastroplasty (“ESG”) approximately 25%, and bariatric revision, approximately 15%. Outside the United States, we estimate that the majority of OverStitch uses, approximately 65%, were for ESG. The other uses outside the United States were for bariatric revision, approximately 20%, and for advanced gastrointestinal therapies, approximately 15%. The procedural mix has shifted, and we expect will continue to shift, to a higher percentage of endobariatric procedures.

In July 2022, we received marketing authorization for the Apollo ESG™, Apollo ESG Sx™, Apollo REVISE™ and Apollo REVISE Sx™ systems through the FDA’s De Novo Classification process. The Apollo ESG and Apollo ESG Sx Systems are intended to be used by trained gastroenterologists or surgeons to facilitate weight loss in adults with obesity with Body Mass Index (BMI) between 30 and 50 kg/m2 who have not been able to lose weight or maintain weight loss through more conservative measures. The Apollo REVISE and Apollo REVISE Sx Systems are intended to be used by trained gastroenterologists or surgeons that perform bariatric procedures to facilitate weight loss in adult patients with obesity with BMI between 30 and 50 kg/m2 by enabling transoral outlet reduction (TORe) as a revision to a previous bariatric procedure. The De Novo was approved largely based on Our Businessthe MERIT trial, a multi-center, prospective randomized clinical trial evaluating the safety and effectiveness of ESG compared to a medically monitored regimen of diet and healthy lifestyle.

Due toMacroeconomic uncertainty, including inflationary pressures, supply chain challenges and foreign exchange fluctuations, as well as geopolitical events such as the business disruptions stemming directly from the COVID-19 pandemic, we took several actions to preserve our liquidity during 2020. In Marchwar in Ukraine, have also resulted and April 2020, we reduced 2019 cash bonuses, implemented reductions in compensation across our workforce including a $100,000 salary cap for all employees, furloughed 57 U.S. employees and reduced the employment arrangements of an additional 34 employees outside the United States. In September, the employee furlough program was discontinued and 35 employees were not recalled. The annual compensation costs associated with these positions were approximately $5.0 million. Finally, in November 2020, we completed a salary restoration plan to restore employee salaries to pre-reduction levels.

Our principal source of revenues are sales of our Endoscopyendoscopy products. The majority of our sales come from direct markets where sales are made to the final end customers, typically healthcare providers.providers and institutions. In other markets, we sell our products to distributors who resell our products to end users. Revenues between periods will be impacted by several factors, including the continuingnew COVID-19 pandemic,variants or outbreaks, physician procedures and therapy preferences, patient procedures and therapy preferences, buying patterns of distributors, other market trends, the stability of the average sales price we charge or realize on products and changes in foreign exchange rates used to translate foreign currency denominated sales into U.S. dollars.

Other revenue includes amounts recognized for our freight charged to customers, manufacturing services, and our digital aftercare support program, transitionwhich we began to transfer to a third party at the beginning of 2021 and manufacturing services we provided to ReShape and freight charged to customers.remaining deferred revenue will be fully recognized in the second quarter of 2023.

Our ESS products, representing the majority of our Endoscopy product sales, have historically been purchased from third-party manufacturers, and our costCost of sales for thesepurchased products has consistedconsists of the actual purchase price from these manufacturers plus an allocation of our internal manufacturing overhead cost. Cost of sales for products we manufacture include raw materials, labor, and manufacturing overhead. Raw materials used in our manufacturing activity are generally not subject to substantial commodity price volatility, and most of our manufacturing costs are incurred in U.S. dollars. Cost of sales also includesinclude royalties, shipping, warehousing, excess and obsolete inventory charges, inspection and related costs incurred in making our products available for sale or use. In periods of reduced production volume, unabsorbed manufacturing overhead costs are charged to expense when incurred.

Our gross margin comparability between periods has been impacted by the shift in our revenue mix from Surgical to Endoscopy products. Demand for our divested Surgical products historically were declining but Surgical product sales realized a higher gross margin compared to our Endoscopy products, which have been growing in demand. In addition, manufacturingManufacturing overhead as a percentage of revenue between periods can fluctuate as a result of manufacturing rates and the degree to which manufacturing overhead is allocated to production during the period. We expect to continue to improve gross margins as we complete certain identified gross margin improvement projects and improve capacity utilization of our manufacturing facility.

Sales and marketing expense primarily consists of salaries, commissions, benefits and other related costs, including stock-based compensation, for personnel employed in sales, marketing and medical education. In addition, our sales and marketing expense includes costs associated with physician training, industry events, advertising and other promotional activities.

General and administrative expense primarily consists of salaries, benefits and other related costs, including stock-based compensation, for personnel employed in corporate management, finance, legal, compliance, information technology and human resources. General and administrative expense also includes facility costs, insurance, audit fees, legal fees, bad debt expense and costs to develop and maintain our intellectual property portfolio.

Research and development expense includes product development, clinical trial costs, reimbursement project costs, quality and regulatory compliance, consulting services, outside prototyping services, outside research activities, materials, and other costs associated with development of our products. Research and development expense also includes compensationsalaries, benefits and other related costs, including stock-based compensation expense, for personnel dedicated to these activities. Research and development expense may fluctuate between periods depending on the activity associated with our various product development, reimbursement project costs, and clinical obligations.

Definite-lived intangible assets primarily consist of customer relationships, product technology, trade names, patents, and trademarks and capitalized software. Intangible assets are amortized over the asset'sasset’s estimated useful life.

Our management'smanagement’s discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations is based on our consolidated financial statements, which management has prepared in accordance with existing U.S. generally accepted accounting principles or GAAP.(“GAAP”). The preparation of these financial statements requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements, as well as the reported revenue and expenses during the reporting periods. Management evaluates estimates and judgments on an ongoing basis. Estimates relate to aspects of our revenue recognition, valuation of intangible assets, long-lived assets and goodwill, going concern assessment, stock-based compensation, allowance for doubtful accounts, and inventory valuation. We base our estimates on historical experience and on various other factors that management believes are reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying value of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. Our actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions.

The critical accounting policies addressed below reflect our most significant judgments and estimates used in the preparation of our consolidated financial statements.

Our principal source of revenues is from the sale of our products to hospitals, physician practices and distributors. We utilize a network of employee sales representatives in the U.S. and a combination of employee sales representatives, independent agents and distributors in OUS markets. Revenue is recognized when control of the promised goods is transferred to our customers, in an amount that reflects the consideration we expect to be entitled to in an exchange for those goods. Generally, these conditions are met upon product shipment. Customers generally have the right to return or exchange products purchased from us for up to thirty days from the date of product shipment. Distributors, who resell the products to their customers, take title to products and assume all risks of ownership at the time of shipment and are obligated to pay within specified terms regardless of when, if ever, they sell their products. At the end of each period, we determine the extent to which our revenues need to be reduced to account for expected rebates, returns and exchanges. We classify any shipping and handling cost billed to customers as revenue and the related expenses as cost of sales.

Inventory is stated at the lower of cost or net realizable value. Inventory costs include raw materials, inbound freight charges, warehousing costs, labor, and overhead expenses related to the Company’s manufacturing and processing facilities. The allocation of overhead costs requires significant estimates including the capitalization of related overhead costs and the utilization and efficiency of such cost inputs. Charges for excess and obsolete inventory are based on specific identification of excess and obsolete inventory items and an analysis of inventory items approaching expiration date. We evaluate the carrying value of inventory in relation to the estimated forecast of product demand. A significant decrease in demand could result in an increase in the amount of excess inventory quantities on hand. When quantities on hand exceed estimated sales forecasts, we record estimated excess and obsolescence charges to cost of sales. Our inventories are stated using the weighted averageweighted-average cost approach, which approximates actual costs.

To supplement our financial results, we are providing a non-GAAP financial measure, Endoscopy product sales percentage change in constant currency, which removes the impact of changes in foreign currency exchange rates that affect the comparability and trend of our Endoscopy product sales. Endoscopy productProduct sales percentage change in constant currency is calculated by translating current foreign currency sales using last year'syear’s exchange rate. This supplemental measure of our performance is not required by, and is not determined in accordance with GAAP.

We believe the non-GAAP financial measure included herein is helpful in understanding our current financial performance. We use this supplemental non-GAAP financial measure internally to understand, manage and evaluate our business, and make operating decisions. We believe that making non-GAAP financial information available to investors, in addition to GAAP financial information, may facilitate more consistent comparisons between our performance over time with the performance of other companies in the medical device industry, which may use similar financial measures to supplement their GAAP financial information. However, our non-GAAP financial measure is not meant to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for the comparable GAAP metric.

Gross margin was 52.9%55.2% for 20202022 compared to 50.6%55.5% for 2019.2021. The increasedecline in gross margin as a percentage of revenue was from implementedprimarily due to the impact of foreign currency changes on revenue, increased shipping costs, lower IGB product sales which have a higher gross margin improvement projects, an increase in direct market sales as a percentage of total revenues in 2020,profile, and a higher proportionpercentage of IGB product sales in 2020.revenues from OUS distributors, which have a lower gross margin profile. These improvementsdecreases were partially offset by a $0.5 million charge in the second quarterpositive gross margin impact of 2020 for unabsorbed overhead costs associated with reduced manufacturing activity as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.cost improvement projects and price increases, primarily related to our OverStitch products.

Loss from operations in 20202022 was $15.8$31.4 million compared to $23.5$19.2 million in 2019. Excluding the settlement gain2021, attributed to a $19.7 million increase in 2019 of $5.6 million, our loss from operations improved $13.3 million primarily due to the cost reduction actions implemented.operating expenses noted above, offset in part by higher revenues in 2022.