UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

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

For the fiscal year ended MarchDecember 31 2016 or, 2023

or

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

For the transition period from ___________ to ___________

Commission File No. 000-53832

STEVIA FIRST CORP.RANGE IMPACT, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in charter)

Nevada

75-3268988

Nevada

75-3268988

(State or other jurisdiction of

(IRS Employer

incorporation or organization)

(IRS Employer

Identification No.)

200 Park Avenue, Suite 400

1907 Avenue of the Stars, 2nd Floor

Cleveland, Ohio44122

(216)304-6556

Los Angeles, California 90067

(530) 231-7800

(Address of principal executive office, including zip code)

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

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

Title of each class:Trading SymbolName of each exchange on which registered:

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

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

None

Common Stock $0.001 par value

RNGEOTC Markets

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

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

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

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files). Yes ☒ No

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

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

Large accelerated filer

Accelerated filer

Non-accelerated filer

Smaller reporting company

(Do not check if a

smaller reporting company)

Emerging growth company

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

If securities are registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act, indicate by check mark whether the financial statements of the registrant included in the filing reflect the correction of an error to previously issued financial statements.

 

Indicate by check mark whether any of those error corrections are restatements that required a recovery analysis of incentive-based compensation received by any of the registrant’s executive officers during the relevant recovery period pursuant to §240.10D-1(b). ☐

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

As of SeptemberJune 30, 2015,2023, the last business day of the registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter, the aggregate market value of the common stock held by non-affiliates of the registrant was approximately $7,028,142,$6,957,607, based on the closing price of $0.10$0.16 for the registrant’s common stock as quoted on the OTC Markets Group’s OTCQB tier (“OTCQB”) on that date. For purposes of this calculation, it has been assumed that shares of common stock held by each director, each officer and each person who owns 10% or more of the registrant’s outstanding common stock are held by affiliates. The treatment of these persons as affiliates for purposes of this calculation is not conclusive as to whether such persons are, in fact, affiliates of the registrant.

As of June 22, 2016,March 28, 2024, there were 105,617,074101,023,485 shares of the registrant’s common stock, $0.001 par value per share, outstanding.


TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

Page

PART I

Item 1. Business

4

Item 1A. Risk Factors

11

Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments

26 35

Item 1C. Cybersecurity

35
Item 2. Properties

26 35

Item 3. Legal Proceedings

26 35

Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures

26 35

PART II

Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

27 36

Item 6. Selected Financial Data

29 37

Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

30 37

Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk

37 41

Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data

37 41

Item 9. Changes in and Disagreements With Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure

37 41

Item 9A. Controls and Procedures

37 42

Item 9B. Other Information

38 42

PART III

Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance

39 43

Item 11. Executive Compensation

41 47

Item 12. Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters

43 49

Item 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence

44 50

Item 14. Principal Accounting Fees and Services

44 50

PART IV

Item 15. Exhibits, Financial Statement Schedules

45 52

Item 16. Form 10-K Summary

52

2

 


This Annual Report on Form 10-K includes “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements relate to expectations concerning matters that are not historical facts, and are generally identified by words such as "believe"“believe”, "expect"“expect”, "anticipate"“anticipate”, "estimate"“estimate”, "intend"“intend”, "strategy"“strategy”, "may"“may”, "will likely"“will likely” and similar words or phrases. A forward-looking statement is neither a prediction nor a guarantee of future events or circumstances, and our actual results could differ materially and adversely from those expressed in any forward-looking statement. The forward-looking statements contained in this annual reportAnnual Report are all based on currently available market, operating, financial and competitive information and assumptions and are subject to various risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict, any of which could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in such forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties may include, without limitation, risks related to general economic and business conditions; our ability to continue as a going concern; our ability to obtain financing necessary to operate our business; our limited operating history; our ability to recruit and retain qualified personnel; our ability to manage any future growth; our ability to research and successfully develop our planned products;; our ability to successfully complete potential acquisitions and collaborative arrangements; and other factors discussedincluding those set forth below under the headingcaption “Risk Factors” in Part I, Item 1A and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in Part II, Item 7, and elsewhere in this annual report. ExceptAnnual Report, as well as in the other reports we file with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they were made, and, except as required by law, we do not undertake anyno obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statement for any reason.

Unless the context otherwise requires, all references to “we,” “our,” “us”“us,” “Range Impact,” and the “Company” in this annual reportAnnual Report refer to Stevia First Corp.Range Impact, Inc., a Nevada corporation and our consolidated subsidiaries. We do not currently hold any trademarks, and all trademarks used in this annual reportAnnual Report are the property of their respective owners.

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PART I

Item 1. Business

Company Overview

We were incorporatedUnless otherwise provided in this Annual Report, references to the State of“Company,” “we,” “us”, and “our” refer to Range Impact, Inc., a Nevada corporation formed on June 29, 2007 as Legend Mining Inc., and commenced operations as a mineral exploration company.its consolidated subsidiaries. On October 10, 2011, we completed a merger with our wholly-owned subsidiary, Stevia First Corp., whereby we changed our name from “Legend Mining Inc.” to “Stevia First Corp.” AlsoOn July 15, 2016, our Board of Directors and shareholders approved a name change to “Vitality Biopharma, Inc.” On October 1, 2021, we completed a merger with our wholly-owned subsidiary, Malachite Innovations, Inc., whereby we changed our name from “Vitality Biopharma, Inc.” to “Malachite Innovations, Inc.” On December 14, 2023, we completed a merger with our wholly-owned subsidiary, Range Impact, Inc., whereby we changed our name from “Malachite Innovations, Inc.” to “Range Impact, Inc.”

Range Impact, Inc. (“Range”) is a public company dedicated to improving the health and wellness of people and the planet through a novel and innovative approach to impact investing. Range owns and operates several complementary operating businesses focused on October 10, 2011, we effected a seven for one forward stock split of authorized, issueddeveloping long-term solutions to environmental, social, and outstanding common stock. As a result, our authorized capital was increased from 75,000,000 shares of common stockhealth challenges, with a par valueparticular focus on acquiring, reclaiming and repurposing mine sites and other undervalued land in economically disadvantaged communities throughout Appalachia. Range takes an opportunistic approach to impact investing by leveraging its competitive advantages and looking at solving old problems in new ways. Range seeks to thoughtfully allocate its capital into strategic opportunities that are expected to make a positive impact on the people-planet ecosystem and generate strong investment returns for its shareholders.

Our corporate headquarters is located in Cleveland, Ohio, with additional office locations in Flatwoods, West Virginia, Fola, West Virginia and Rocklin, California. As of $0.001March 28, 2024, we employed 56 full-time employees. In addition, we have, from time to 525,000,000 sharestime, engaged various consultants and professional service firms to provide us with flexible and experienced resources to advance our corporate objectives in order to maintain a cost-effective overhead structure. We strive to instill a corporate culture of common stockhonesty, integrity and respect while advancing our mission of doing well by doing good.

Impact Investing Strategy

Our impact investing strategy aims to improve the health and wellness of people and the planet, while also generating long-term sustainable financial returns for our shareholders. We believe that doing well and doing good are not mutually exclusive, and that an impact investing strategy can balance the environmental, social and economic needs of people and the planet while also generating attractive risk-adjusted financial returns for shareholders.

Our impact investing strategy provides an opportunity for our dedicated team to address pressing environmental, social and economic challenges, such as air and water pollution, educational inequality and economic disparity, and climate change, through the development of technology-based solutions. By actively directing investment capital towards businesses that are working to create positive environmental, social and economic outcomes, we believe that our impact investing strategy can contribute to an improved people-planet ecosystem and a healthier and happier way of life.

We have a particular interest in providing environmental and social solutions in economically-disadvantaged regions of the United States. Initially, the Company is targeting the Appalachian region, which is home to communities with a par valuesome of $0.001,the most disadvantaged income, education and issuedemployment demographics in the United States. Our ambitious strategy is to allocate investment capital and outstanding shares increased from 7,350,000build operating businesses that provide positive environmental and social impact in the disadvantaged coal communities of Appalachia to 51,450,000. In February 2012,maximize the good we substantially changedcan do for people and the planet.

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Operating Business Segments

Our five operating business segments are: (i) Range Reclaim, (ii) Range Water, (iii) Range Security, (iv) Range Land, and (v) Drug Development.

Information about our management team,business segments should be read together with “Part II. Item 7. Management’s Discussion and began pursuing an agricultural biotechnology business plan.  Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.”

Range Reclaim

In May 2016, we received shareholder2022, the Company acquired Range Environmental Resources, Inc., a West Virginia corporation (“Range Environmental”) and board approvalRange Natural Resources, Inc., a West Virginia corporation (“Range Natural” and together with Range Environmental, the “Range Reclamation Entities”). The Range Reclamation Entities provide land reclamation, water restoration and environmental consulting services to mining and non-mining customers throughout the Appalachian region with the goal of returning land to pre-mining conditions or repurposing the land for natural, commercial, agricultural, residential or recreational use. The Range Reclamation Entities’ water restoration services seek to improve rivers, streams and discharges through novel and innovative treatment applications to help customers meet their various regulatory standards and requirements. The Range Reclamation Entities also provide environmental consulting services to customers, typically in connection with land reclamation and water restoration projects, and, as an additional value-add service, sell water treatment chemicals manufactured by third parties to their customers. Range Natural also mines, directly and through subcontractors, natural resources, including coal, for customers incidental to the reclamation and repurposing of mine sites.

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (“EIA”), the United States had 551 coal mines in 2020, comprised of 370 active mines, 141 idled or closed mines, and 40 new or activated mines. Approximately 82% of those coal mines were located in Appalachia (which comprises the Appalachian Mountains and is commonly known as the cultural region in the Eastern United States stretching from the southern part of New York to the northern parts of Alabama and Georgia). According to the EIA, there were approximately three times as many coal mines in the United States in 2008 (compared to 2020) with approximately 89% located in Appalachia. The precipitous decline in the number of operating coal mines since 2008 is due to various supply, demand and regulatory factors, including a name changereduction in demand for coal as a source of electricity due to Vitality Biopharma, Inc.,the increased use of natural gas and renewable energy, an exchangeincrease in coal production costs due to inflation and the dearth of one (1) sharecost-effective locations remaining for mining, and a more stringent and costly regulatory environment, all of which have resulted in an increasingly difficult market for coal producers.

In 2000, coal was responsible for 1,966 billion kWh of electricity generation, representing 52% of the Company’s common stocktotal electricity generation in the United States. In 2022, coal was responsible for each 10 sharesonly 828 billion kWh of common stock outstanding or exercisable under any outstanding warrants or option agreementselectricity generation, representing 20% of the total electricity generation in the United States, a decline of approximately 58%. According to the EIA, 23% of the 200,568 megawatts of coal-fired capacity currently operating in the United States is scheduled to retire by the end of 2029 due to the high cost of operations, competition from natural gas and anrenewable energy resources, and sustainable initiatives of energy producers.

However, the reclamation of closed and inactive mine sites has not kept pace with the increase in the number of sharesclosed and idled mine sites, thus creating a substantial backlog of authorized common stockreclamation work that needs to be completed on former mine sites. According to the U.S. Office of Surfacing Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (“OSMRE”), there are approximately 50,000 high-priority abandoned mine land locations in the United States resulting from 525,000,000legacy coal mining operations that failed to 1,000,000,000.  These corporate changes will become effective uponadequately reclaim the approvalland and waterways back to their natural state as required by federal regulations. Additionally, there are tens of thousands of active mine sites in the United States that require contemporaneous reclamation of land and waterways during the active mining process, and an estimated equally large number of idled mine locations that also require significant land reclamation and water restoration.

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Under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (“SMRCA”), OSMRE was established for two basic purposes: (i) to ensure coal mines in the United States operate in a manner that protects citizens and the environment during mining operations and to restore the land to beneficial use following mining, and (ii) to implement an Abandoned Mine Land (“AML”) reclamation program to address the hazards and environmental degradation resulting from two centuries of coal mining activities that occurred before SMRCA was passed in 1977. The AML reclamation program is funded through fees levied against coal producers based on tons of coal produced. As of September 2020, the AML reclamation fund had collected a total of $11.7 billion in coal mining fees over the life of the Securitiesprogram, with $9.5 billion (81%) appropriated and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”distributed in accordance with SMCRA, and $2.2 billion (19%) unappropriated and available for future disbursement. In November 2021, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act was enacted, which, among other things, authorized $11.3 billion in new funding to be appropriated for deposit into the AML reclamation fund. The AML reclamation fund is only available to help fund the reclamation of mines abandoned before SMCRA was enacted in 1977, and therefore, all mines abandoned after the year 1977 cannot access funding from the AML reclamation fund and must obtain funding from other sources.

While much of the funding for this reclamation work comes from the federal government, each state in Appalachia has a Department of Environmental Protection (“DEP”) or an equivalent agency that oversees coal mining permitting, operations, and reclamation. Under DEP rules and regulations, coal mining companies are required to develop a mining and reclamation plan that is approved by the applicable state agency, obtain a mining permit from the state, and secure a reclamation surety bond from a qualified third-party insurance company or provide a comparable financial guarantee. The reclamation surety bond provides the state with financial assurances that land reclamation and waterway restoration will be performed in accordance with the reclamation plan once mining is complete if the coal mining company, as primary obligor, fails to perform. Therefore, there are at least three groups who may need land reclamation, water restoration and environmental consulting services: (i) mining companies when permits are active and reclamation bonds are not in default, (ii) surety bond insurers when reclamation bonds are in default, and (iii) states through their AML reclamation funds for mine lands abandoned before 1977 and for mine lands with defaulted coal mining companies and forfeited surety bonds on or after 1977.

At the time of its acquisition in May 2022, the Range Reclamation Entities had one reclamation customer, 15 pieces of owned and financed equipment, eight pieces of rented equipment, and 12 employees, all located and operating in West Virginia. As of March 2024, less than two years later, the businesses had five reclamation customers, more than 100 pieces of owned and financed equipment, and 35 employees in West Virginia. For the full year 2021, the Range Reclamation Entities had revenues of approximately $2.5 million. For the full year 2023, the Range Reclamation Entities generated revenues of approximately $18.7 million, an increase of $16.2 million over a two-year period. The Range Reclamation Entities have also made a significant investment in recruiting, retaining and rewarding employees, including providing new benefits such as health insurance, paid time off, vacation days, 401(k) retirement plan, and job advancement training. The Range Reclamation Entities’ employees are their most valuable asset, and therefore we are committed to building a best-in-class culture and financially rewarding our talented, hard-working employees so that we can maximize the good we can do for our people and their families.

The Range Reclamation Entities are planning for continued growth in their land reclamation, water restoration and consulting businesses by expanding their market share with existing coal mining customers and reclamation bond insurers, adding new coal mining and non-coal mining customers, and collaborating with the Company’s other operating businesses to generate incremental sales opportunities. We will seek to add additional people, equipment and technologies to support our ambitious growth goals to ensure we successfully execute our value creation plans for the Company and our shareholders.

In August 2023, the Company acquired Collins Building & Contracting, Inc. (“Collins Building”), a West Virginia-based environmental services business focused on performing reclamation services on abandoned mine lands throughout West Virginia. Collins Building, along with the Range Reclamation Entities, are classified within the Range Reclaim operating business segment.

Range Water

Terra Preta, LLC, an Ohio limited liability company (“Terra Preta”), is a biochar product development and environmental solutions business started by the Company in December 2022. Terra Preta is developing a novel and innovative combination of biochar, proprietary materials and structural designs intended to create several first-of-its-kind agricultural and water filtration products and solutions.

6

Biochar is a solid, lightweight carbon-rich material produced by the thermal decomposition of organic material (such as cellulosic feedstock, including wood and plants) using a chemical-conversion process known as pyrolysis. Carbonization pyrolysis is a chemical degradation process that heats organic materials to produce carbon-rich biochar, liquid bio-oils, and syngas products. Since organic material is thermally decomposed without oxygen during the pyrolysis process, combustion does not occur, so the process allows for the permanent capture of carbon in the biochar end-product and eliminates the release of climate-damaging carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. The specific yield of biochar during the carbonization pyrolysis process depends on several variables such as temperature, heating time and heating rate. Lower temperatures, longer heating times and lower heating rates typically yield more biochar and less bio-oil and syngas.

Terra Preta has been launched to build a full-cycle, carbon-negative business that reduces greenhouse gases from the atmosphere, passively filters contaminated water without the use of harsh chemicals, and provides a fortified, nutrient-rich soil amendment to improve the growth of agricultural products.

Greenhouse gases, comprised of carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and fluorinated gases, are gases that trap heat in the atmosphere, and are generally believed to result in warmer temperatures and climate change, including changing weather patterns, rising sea levels, and more extreme weather events. Carbon dioxide enters the atmosphere through, among other things, the burning of fossil fuels, solid waste and other biomass materials, and is removed from the atmosphere when absorbed by plants during the photosynthesis process. Terra Preta is in discussions with a large affiliated landowner to enter into a long-term lease or purchase of at least 100 acres of former mine land in West Virginia for the planting, growth and harvesting of crops to serve as the primary feedstock for our biochar production operations. The newly planted crops would then act as a “carbon sink”, drawing substantial amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere into the plants through the photosynthesis process. When the plants are harvested, biochar is produced through the carbonization pyrolysis process and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc.captured carbon dioxide is permanently preserved as carbon in the biochar product for use in water treatment and agricultural end uses.

Pursuant to rules adopted under the Clean Water Act of 1972 (“FINRA”Clean Water Act”), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) has implemented various pollution control programs such as wastewater standards for industry and recommendations for pollutants in surface waters. The Clean Water Act prohibits any party from discharging pollutants into a water of the United States unless they have a permit issued under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (“NPDES”), which contains limits on what a party can discharge and establishes monitoring and reporting requirements. On mining sites, coal operators are required to sample and test their water discharges on a regular basis to ensure compliance with the Clean Water Act and applicable NPDES permits. Currently, most mining operators treat non-compliant water with temporary holding ponds and expensive chemicals such as pH adjusters, coagulants and flocculants that require constant reapplication to ensure compliance. Terra Preta will focus on developing a proprietary, biochar-based passive treatment system that treats non-compliant mine site discharges to ensure compliance with the Clean Water Act and NPDES permits without the need for holding ponds or expensive chemicals.

Sustainable agriculture plays a critical role in the stability, growth, and diversification of our future food supply chain and the growth of plants intended to serve as a carbon sink to reduce greenhouse gases. High-quality soil, a key condition for sustainable agriculture, requires organic matter, microorganisms, nutrients, and optimal compaction. Subsoils with a sufficient number of air-filled pores have little restriction to drainage and aeration, and typically are able to decompose and cycle organic matter and nutrients more efficiently. Alternatively, soil with poor aeration leads to the build-up of carbon dioxide, reduces the ability of plants to absorb water and nutrients, and leads to increased plant stress and root disease. To help address the ill effects of soil compaction, Terra Preta is developing a proprietary, fortified biochar soil amendment that provides unique soil structuring characteristics that will allow plants to grow strong roots that optimize the absorption of water and nutrients, thereby reducing root stress and disease.

In December 2022, Terra Preta filed trademarks for biochar goods and services related to agricultural and water treatment applications, and in March 2023, filed provisional patents related to novel and innovative agricultural and water treatment solutions and designs. Additionally, in March 2023, Terra Preta purchased two pyrolysis ovens that each produce one ton of biochar per day to advance our research and development activities. We are currently evaluating the purchase of a large continuous-process pyrolysis oven to increase the scale of our biochar production to commercial levels.

7

 

Business Overview

Range Security

Range Security Resources, LLC, an Ohio limited liability company (“Range Security”), is an environmental security services business started by the Company in November 2022. Range Security is focused on providing eco-friendly, technology-driven security services to active and former mine sites, with a particular focus on locations transitioning from coal mining to next generation industries. Range Security is intended to serve as a complementary business to the Range Reclamation Entities.

Mine sites in the Appalachian region frequently comprise thousands of acres of natural habitat with valuable infrastructure and operating assets disbursed across large tracts of land. However, many of these mine sites lack adequate broadband access or cellular service, and therefore traditional technology-based security solutions are not available. Also, due to the large land areas and often challenging access roads and mountainous terrain, consistent visual confirmation of the safety and security of high value assets is problematic, and unnecessary amounts of carbon dioxide are emitted from heavy-duty trucks used to perform frequent visual security checks. Furthermore, due to the remoteness and lack of technological options, most security services in the market fail to provide an independent verification of the security status of a mine site and confirmation of visual security checks, resulting in a customer’s uncertainty regarding the actual security services being provided.

Valuable assets commonly found on mine sites requiring high-levels of security services include office buildings, coal operation facilities such as preparation plants and loadout facilities, power stations and electrical lines, vehicles and heavy equipment, supplies and chemicals, and spare parts and components. These high-value assets are frequently the target of theft since all or parts of these assets can be easily removed from the mine site and sold for cash. Unfortunately, the actual damage to the operation resulting from this type of destructive theft is frequently many times the market value of the stolen item, primarily due to the losses resulting from the down-time of operations, the cost of repairs and replacement components, and the long-term damage to critical infrastructure that could be repurposed and used to attract next generation industries once mining is complete.

In March 2023, Range Security was engaged by its first customer for environmental security services covering a 13,000-acre coal mine site in West Virginia. Range Security currently employs 17 security professionals, and is focusing its recruitment efforts on military veterans, police officers, and other professionals with security experience. Range Security has purchased two fuel-efficient utility task vehicles for ground surveillance and a thermal-imaging drone for aerial surveillance, all of which use significantly less fuel and electricity to operate than traditional security vehicles and provide a much broader coverage range with a substantially lower carbon footprint. Range Security is also in the process of establishing satellite-based wireless service to support video surveillance and enable a mobile technology solution used by our security professionals to provide real-time evidence of visual security checks. Range Security plans to expand its security service business onto additional mine sites, with a particular focus on locations with valuable infrastructure being repurposed into non-coal multi-use complexes with attractive job growth prospects and next generation industry opportunities.

Range Land

Range Land, LLC, an Ohio limited liability company (“Range Land”), is a land acquisition company started by the Company in August 2023. Range Land is focused on acquiring former mine lands with the goal of reclaiming and repurposing the sites for non-fossil fuel uses, including commercial, industrial, residential and recreational developments. Range Land is specifically interested in acquiring land to be used for renewable energy facilities, innovative agricultural installations, and projects focused on improving the quality and condition of our air, land and waterways.

According to industry estimates, Appalachia contains approximately one million acres of abandoned, idled and non-performing mine sites that are burdened with significant land reclamation and water restoration obligations. Many of these troubled mine sites are subject to mining permits and associated reclamation bonds, which as a result, prevents the land from being repurposed for non-mining uses until the land has been reclaimed and the permits and bonds have been released by the applicable state’s environmental protection department. Water quality is a particularly challenging issue since a permit can only be released if the site has at least 12-months of compliant water samples without active chemical treatment, which heightens the need for water restoration solutions to help transition former mine land to economically viable non-mining uses.

The Company, soonthrough its several operating businesses, has assembled the internal resources and capabilities to be renamed Vitality Biopharma, Inc.,reclaim land, restore waterways, install innovative water treatment solutions, and secure the mine site to protect the significant historical investment in infrastructure. In addition to these in-house capabilities, the Company and its operating businesses also possess deep knowledge and expertise about the permit and bond release process, which is unlockinga critical step necessary to unlock the powerunderlying value of cannabinoidsformer mine land for treatmentnon-fossil fuel uses. Range Land is actively evaluating several mine sites in Appalachia to acquire, reclaim and reversal of serious neurologicalrepurpose in order to improve the land and inflammatory disorders.create non-fossil fuel economic development opportunities for disadvantaged local coal communities.

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In 2014, salesSeptember 2023, Range Land, through its wholly-owned subsidiary CLV Azurite Land, LLC, an Ohio limited liability company (“CLV Azurite”), acquired over 1,900 acres of medical marijuana were estimatedsurface interest at $2.57 billion,an idled mine complex in West Virginia. CLV Azurite is in active discussions with the holder of the permits and are estimatedbonds associated with the acquired land to growensure that the acquired surface acreage can be repurposed for alternative non-fossil fuel uses. Concurrently, CLV Azurite is in active discussions with two experienced and well-capitalized solar developers to $10.2 billion in five years due to legalization and increasing recognitionconvert the former mine land into a large solar energy facility on a majority of its therapeutic utility, within the medical community.  Pharmaceutical versions of cannabinoids have been marketed in the U.S. for more than a decade, which hold the same therapeutic potential, yet their sales have lagged behind, with sales of synthetic cannabinoids pharmaceuticals in the U.S. estimated at only $133 million in 2014 by IMS Health.  Cannabinoid pharmaceuticals that are currently approved or in development by other companies have well known limitations, such as poor oral bioavailability, which translates into erratic and potentially unsafe dosingacquired surface acreage, as well as additional acreage for commercial, industrial, recreational and residential development. Under the solar arrangements, CLV Azurite would be the landlord and the solar developer-operator would be the tenant required to pay CLV Azurite a short durationnegotiated lease payment on a per acre basis.

Drug Development

Graphium Biosciences, Inc., a Nevada corporation (“Graphium”), is a cannabinoid-based drug development company tracing its history of action, which means that current treatments must be administered repeatedly throughouttechnological innovation and drug advancement back to October 2011 through two predecessor entities, Stevia First Corp. and Vitality Biopharma, Inc. In October 2021, the day,Company formed Graphium as a wholly-owned subsidiary and that theretransferred all of its drug development assets to this newly-formed entity.

Graphium is no overnight relief.

The Company has developedadvancing a new classbroad portfolio of glycosylated cannabinoid prodrugs known as cannabosides,that have been developed to overcome these limitations, and to ultimately provide a compelling oral cannabinoid pharmaceutical that we expect physicians will be eager to prescribe, and that patients will prefer over use of medical marijuana.  Cannabosides were discovered in 2015 through applicationunlock the rebalancing effects of the company’sendocannabinoid system to address numerous chronic conditions with inadequate pharmaceutical options. Graphium’s leading drug candidate, VBX-100, is a glycosylated tetrahydrocannabinol (“THC”) cannabinoid that targets inflammatory conditions of the gastrointestinal tract but without unwanted psychoactive or intoxicating side effects.

Cannabinoids, including THC and cannabidiol (“CBD”), have well-known therapeutic benefits through their interaction with the human endocannabinoid system, which serves a regulating and rebalancing function in the body. For decades, patients have used cannabinoids to activate the endocannabinoid system to provide relief for numerous chronic and debilitating ailments, including inflammation, pain, anxiety, depression, and cancer. However, THC, a commonly-used cannabinoid with significant therapeutic benefit, is psychoactive and intoxicating, and therefore its use has many practical, and in some cases legal, limitations. Nevertheless, many patients with chronic health conditions, including gastrointestinal inflammation, continue to use cannabinoids because current pharmaceutical offerings do not provide adequate therapeutic relief or result in unwanted side effects.

Our novel scientific discovery was the development of a proprietary enzymatic taste modification technologiesbioprocessing technology that were originally developed for stevia sweeteners.

Cannabosides areadds one or more glucose molecules to a cannabinoid, “prodrugs,” which meansresulting in our proprietary glycosylated cannabinoid compounds. Our glycosylated cannabinoids act as prodrugs that achieve targeted delivery of the bioactive cannabinoids within the body once they are medications oractivated. Prodrugs are compounds that, after administration, are converted within the bodymetabolized into a pharmacologically active drug and whichare often already have a long historydesigned to improve drug properties and reduce known or expected toxicities and adverse side effects. The advantages of clinical investigation and use.  A classic prodrug example is Asprin, acetylsalicylic acid, which was first made by Felix Hoffmann at Bayer in 1897 and is a synthetic prodrug of salicylic acid.  Because there already exists independent verification of the active drug’s safety and efficacy,our glycosylated cannabinoid prodrugs may receive marketing approval more quickly thaninclude: (i) administration in a convenient oral formulation, (ii) targeted delivery with release in the colon or large intestine, (iii) improved stability with limited degradation or drug metabolism, and (iv) delayed release enabling longer-lasting effects and fewer administrations by patients.

We have learned through our animal studies that glucose bound to cannabinoid molecules are inactive and poorly absorbed from the intestines, allowing the combined molecule to reach the large intestine where glycoside hydrolase enzymes cleave the glucose and the cannabinoid is released in a targeted and restricted manner. Further, we have learned through our animal studies that a targeted release of THC, which could be provided in very low doses to achieve physiologically beneficial results, serves as an anti-inflammatory agent in the lower gastrointestinal tract and minimizes the amount of THC absorbed into the blood stream. Therefore, we anticipate our glycosylated cannabinoid prodrug will provide the anti-inflammatory benefits of low-dose THC while avoiding the psychoactive and intoxicating properties that hinder the broader pharmaceutical use of THC. Initially, we are targeting the $20 billion inflammatory bowel disease (“IBD”) market in the United States, which is composed of patients suffering from ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease, both chronic and debilitating conditions with no cure. We also believe our glycosylated cannabinoids could also be used to treat other indications, including, among others, irritable bowel syndrome (“IBS”), anxiety, depression, autism and in some cases may receive drug approvals through completioncancer.

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By using our proprietary enzymatic bioprocessing technologies, our research team has developed a novel family of small clinical studies evaluating bioequivalence or bioavailability.  At the same time, a prodrug canover 100 glycosylated cannabinoid prodrugs. These glycosylated cannabinoids have manyunique commercial advantages, including that they can be proprietaryapplications and patentable compositions of matter, unlike cannabinoids themselves, or older pharmaceutical formulations where patent protection has already expired.

Cannabosides are more stable and soluble than cannabinoids, so there is less risk of non-psychotropic cannabidiol (“CBD”) being converted to psychotropic THC or otherwise degraded in the acidic stomach environment.   This could improve product bioavailability, eliminate unwanted side effects in pediatric epilepsy patients, and be useful in any medical treatment where oral CBD is administered at high dose.  Cannabosides enable the passage of cannabinoids through the digestive tract and their eventual release within the large intestine or colon, which enables targeted delivery of cannabinoids for treatment of gastrointestinal diseases.  Because passage of cannabosides through the digestive tract is likely to occur over several hours or longer, there is a sustained or delayed release of cannabinoids, which can also provide patients with long-lasting or overnight relief, a desirable attribute that is unavailable with medical marijuana or with current cannabinoid pharmaceutical formulations.

We have produced more than 25 novel cannabosides  so far and have patent applications that include composition of matter claims for prodrugs of cannabinoids that have been studied extensively in clinical trials worldwide, including THC, CBD, and CBDV.  The Company aims to develop and approve these proprietary molecules as pharmaceuticals using a low-risk regulatory strategy that is available for prodrugs, and to ultimately deliver to the market pharmaceuticals that are highly differentiated both from medical marijuana and from current cannabinoid drugs.

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A key part of our strategy will be to take advantage of a more efficient FDA review and approval process that is available for prodrugs, which reduces the need for large and expensive clinical trials.   This expedited regulatory process is available for our cannabosides because in the U.S. and internationally there have already been many independent clinical studies completed using the reference cannabinoid drugs we are studying.

We are initially developing our cannaboside pharmaceutical products for symptomatic relief of pain, cramping, and muscle spasticity that is the result of serious neurological and inflammatory conditions, such as inflammatory bowel disease and multiple sclerosis.  There is extensive clinical evidence supporting the potential efficacy of cannabinoids for treatment of each of these indications, including through clinical trials conducted by independent investigators. 

We plan to complete preclinical studies necessary in order to launch multiple clinical trials in 2017 that evaluate the clinical pharmacokinetics of drug formulations containing cannabosides, as well as their potential for providing symptomatic relief of pain, cramping, and muscle spasticity.  These trials may also obtain preliminary data about the regenerative potential of our drug formulations, both when administered alone and in combination with other medications, in healthy control populations, and also in patients that have inflammatory bowel disease and multiple sclerosis. 

Our primary operations are based in Yuba City, California, where we originally developed our proprietary bioprocessing methods.  The Company’s facilities include laboratories and a manufacturing suite for GMP production, which will be used for pharmaceutical-grade production of products to be tested in clinical trials, and which will be registered the U.S. FDA and DEA. 

Our Operations

As of the end of our March 31, 2016 fiscal year, we had generated only $248,348 in revenue from our business operations and we do not expect to generate significant amounts of cash from our operations for the foreseeable future. We had net losses for the year ended March 31, 2016 of $141,325,  used cash in operations of $1,685,841, and we had an accumulated deficit as of March 31, 2016 of $12,516,559. As described further under the heading “Liquidity and Capital Resources” below, we will need significant additional funding to support our operations and business plans and we have no commitments for future capital. The continuation of our business is dependent upon our ability to obtain loans or sell securities to new and existing investors or obtain capital from other alternative sources. In their report on our annual financial statements for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2016, our independent auditors included an explanatory paragraph regarding concerns about our ability to continue as a going concern, which means there is substantial doubt that we can continue as an on-going business unless we obtain additional capital or generate sufficient cash from our operations.  We will need to raise additional funds in order to continue operating our business and pursue and execute our planned research and development and commercial operations. We expect that we will seek such funding through equity and debt financings with our existing stockholders and other qualified investors. We do not have any commitments for any future financing and sources of additional funds may not be available when needed, on acceptable terms, or at all. See “Liquidity and Capital Resources” below.

Over the 12 months following the date of this report, we aim to increase the scale of our pharmaceutical development efforts. As of June 22, 2016, we had eight full-time employees. Total expenditures over the 12 months following March 31, 2016, are expected to be approximately $2,400,000. We expect to have sufficient funds to operate our business for at least 6 months.  However, our estimate of total expenditures could increase if we encounter unanticipated difficulties.  In addition, our estimates of the amount of cash necessary to fund our business may prove to be wrong, and we could spend our available financial resources much faster than we currently expect. If we cannot raise the money that we need in order to continue operating and/or advance our business, we will be forced to delay, scale back or eliminate some or all of our proposed operations. If any of these were to occur, there is a substantial risk that our business would fail.

The below descriptions of our planned operations include expected expenditures for various activities, some of which may depend on our ability to obtain additional funding, if available, and all of which are estimates based on current expectationsseparate and assumptions and could prove to be wrong. See “Liquidity and Capital Resources” in Item 7 of this annual report.

Product Development Plans

For each of the pharmaceutical products in our pipeline, the active cannabinoid pharmaceutical agents have either been independently approved by regulatory bodies, or are now in late-stage clinical trials, and there is extensive clinical data already available related to drug safety and effectiveness.  Because of this, the company will pursue abbreviated regulatory paths towards approval of its proprietary follow-on prodrugs for approval in similar clinical indications to those that have been approved in the U.S. and internationally.   In some cases, in order to obtain marketing authorization for a product in certain countries, the Company may need to only demonstrate plasma bioavailability of the active pharmaceutical agent, rather than repeat clinical studies that have previously demonstrated safety and efficacy of the approved cannabinoid pharmaceutical.

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Cannabinoids are known to be effective anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective agents, and as of 2015, more than 20 U.S. states have enacted medical marijuana laws to permit access to marijuana for treatment of a variety of conditions.  The approved conditions include chronic pain, epilepsy, wasting disorders, multiple sclerosis and muscle spasticity disorders, glaucoma, cirrhosis, Alzheimer’s disease, nausea, traumatic brain injury, Parkinson’s disease, HIV/AIDS, Huntington’s disease, inflammatory bowel disease, and more.  Cannabinoid pharmaceuticals are increasingly being approved as well, including primarily synthetic and botanical extracts of the two major constituents of Cannabis sativa, which are THC and CBD.  Dronabinol is a synthetic THC drug that has been approved for treating nausea and for stimulating appetite.  Nabiximols is a blend of two cannabinoids, THC and CBD, which has been approved in more than 20 countries for treatment of muscle spasticity in multiple sclerosis, and also for treatment of cancer pain in certain countries. 

CBD is not psychoactive, has established antianxiety and antipsychotic effects, and beyond its inclusion in nabiximols, is also being investigated as a stand-alone agent for epilepsy, schizophrenia, substance abuse, inflammatory bowel disease, and a variety of other neurological and inflammatory conditions.  We intend to obtain marketing authorizations for our cannaboside drug formulations in one or more of these disease indications.

Short Term Development Targets

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Complete additional pharmacokinetic studies and additional preclinical efficacy trials to support clinical development of cannabosides

·

Complete the manufacture of cannaboside formulations that will be used in initial clinical studies

·

Obtain regulatory approval for first-in-man clinical studies to evaluate the pharmacokinetics of cannabosides, and to obtain preliminary data about their efficacy for providing symptomatic relief related to neurological and inflammatory disorders

·

Obtain regulatory approval to begin manufacturing of pharmaceutical-grade cannabinoids, in order to support future clinical trials and for marketing authorizations both by the U.S. FDA

We believe that our long-term commercial success and profit potential depends in large part on our ability to develop and advance proprietary cannabinoid prodrugs that are strongly differentiateddistinct from both medical marijuana and existing cannabinoid drugs, and to do this more quickly, efficiently and effectively than our competitors.  Another critical factor that will determine our success is our ability to obtain and enforce patents, maintain protection of trade secrets, and operate our business without infringing the proprietary rights of third parties. As a result, we are dedicated to the continued development and protection ofordinary cannabinoids. Currently, our intellectual property portfolio. See “Intellectual Property”is comprised of the following patents: (i) Cannabinoid Glycoside Prodrugs and Methods of Synthesis: Patent filed in this report2016 and granted in 2021 for a further discussion.

Product Pipeline

Our pipeline includes cannabosides, which are cannabinoid glycoside prodrugs.   Prodrugs are medications or compounds metabolized by the body into a pharmacologically active drug.  We have patents pending for more than 25invention of these novel pharmaceutical compositions including prodrugs of THC, CBD,glycosylated cannabinoids and CBDV, which are cannabinoids that are either marketed and approved as pharmaceutical products today, or that are under investigation in independent clinical trials currently.    Prodrugs can optimize the marketability of a drug because they can be patented and proprietary, and yet still be approved through an abbreviated regulatory pathway.  VITA-100 is an oral cannabinoid formulation containing cannabosides that is being developed for treatment of inflammatory bowel disease, epilepsy, schizophrenia, and other disorders.  VITA-210 is a cannabinoid glycoside prodrug being developed primarily for treatment of pain and muscle spasticity in multiple sclerosis and in rare white matter disorders.

Through a process called glycosylation, the solubility and stability of a drug can be significantly improved.  Cannabinoid glycoside prodrugs and their use in drug formulations that are currently under development at Vitality Biopharma are designed to enable significant benefits, including:

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Administration of cannabinoids in a convenient oral formulation;

2.

Improved solubility, leading to oral formulations that are easy to manufacture and that improve the taste of products through reduction or removal of harsh organic solvents;

3.

Improved stability, preventing conversion of CBD to psychoactive THC in the acidic stomach environment, or other forms of degradation, and therefore enabling higher doses of CBD to be administered orally without undesirable side effects;

4.

Delayed release, enabling long-lasting relief of symptoms for patients, rather than having to administer treatment repeatedly throughout the day and requiring additional pharmaceuticals for overnight pain relief or as a sleep aid; and 

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5.

Targeted delivery of compounds to specific tissues or organs, especially targeted delivery of cannabinoids to the colon or large intestine for treatment of gastrointestinal disorders including inflammatory bowel disease.

Drug

Treatment Indications

Status

Cannabosides - VITA-100

Gastrointestinal Disorders, including Inflammatory Bowel Disease & Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Phase 1/2 Trial Expected to Initiate in 2017

Cannabosides - VITA-210

Muscle Spasticity in Multiple Sclerosis & Rare White Matter Disorders

Phase 1/2 Trial Expected to Initiate in 2017

Cannabosides

Epilepsy, Schizophrenia, Substance Abuse, Huntington’s disease

Preclinical

We also have licensed intellectual property that seeks to protect methods of use of certain FDA-approved drugs for treatment of multiple sclerosis and demyelinating disorders.  These drugs are being tested in combination with our cannaboside drug formulations in order to establish treatment regimens that provide regenerative effects for patients with serious neurological and inflammatory conditions. 

Additional Operations

Our glycosylation technology in the past was applied primarily to production of better tasting varieties of stevia through enzyme bioprocessing, which was developed in concert with additional technologies designed to improve the taste and yield of stevia sweetener derived from the stevia plant.  The company has an intellectual property portfolio related to stevia, as well as commercial operations related to the manufacture and sale of research products that commenced in 2014.  We also previously entered into a    distribution agreement and licensing agreement with Qualipride, a stevia supplier located in China, in order to license rights to certain stevia production technologies.  The Company intends to sustain these operations and technologies in a manner that is cash-flow neutral or better, through a combination of restructuring of existing agreements and entering into new licensing arrangements or strategic partnerships. 

Glycodiversification Technology for Prodrug Development 

The biosynthetic process of adding additional glucose molecules to compounds is called glycosylation, and we originally developed related production technologies in order to modify the taste and enable low-cost and reliable industrial production of steviol glycosides, which are sweet molecules better known as stevia, a zero-calorie, high-potency sweetener that is derived from the stevia plant, and that has been adopted widely within the food and beverage industry.  It has recently become appreciated within the pharmaceutical industry that glycosylation can act to generate novel natural product libraries with improved drug properties.  It is generally accepted that attaching a glyosidic moiety, a glucose or sugar molecule, to a compound that is typically found without one, known as an aglycone, will make the product more water-soluble.  This increase in water solubility influences the pharmacokinetic parameters of the respective compounds, including modification of their bioavailability within certain tissues and body fluids.

The process for modifying natural products through glycosylation to provide libraries of new molecules that may have more desirable attributes is called glycorandomization, or glycodiversification.   Reliable production of glycosylated natural products must be done in a directed way to enable production of purified individual compounds, after selection of those with the most desirable commercial attributes.  Synthesis is typically performed either using chemical or enzymatic methods. Production of chemical intermediates known as cofactors, which enable the glycosylation reaction to occur, has historically been expensive and has made it challenging to produce diverse natural product libraries, or to enable their economical industrial production.   We have developed multi-step enzymatic biosynthesis methods to recycle cofactors and to reduce the overall costs of glycoside production.  These methods have most recently been applied to production of cannabinoid glycosides (“cannabosides”), which are metabolized differently from cannabinoids and can enable their use as pharmaceutical prodrugs. 

A prodrug is a medication or compound that, after administration, is metabolized (i.e., converted within the body) into a pharmacologically active drug. Prodrugs are often designed to improve bioavailability of a drug, or to improve how selectively the drug interacts with cells or tissues that are not its intended target.  In general, prodrugs  are often used to make a drug better tolerated by patients and to reduce any of its adverse or unintended effects. 

Cannabinoids prodrugs are designed to overcome challenges that may be necessary in order to ensure cannabinoid pharmaceuticals can be effectively marketed and commercialized, including overcoming including problems with the taste and tolerability of formulations, improving their bioavailability, extending their duration of action, and also strengthening the intellectual property protection of follow-on pharmaceutical cannabinoid formulations.  Many of the most commonly accepted barriers that prodrugs may overcome include: insufficient chemical stability, poor aqueous stability, offensive taste or odor, irritation or pain, low

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oral absorption or systemic exposure, marked presystemic metabolism, a short duration of action, unfavorable distribution in the body, inadequate site specificity, drug toxicity, or drug patent life expiration.

Upon ingestion, delivery of bioactive compounds is known to occur naturally through liberation of aglycone compounds from poorly absorbed plant glycosides.  Many of these glycosides pass through the stomach and upper intestine without appreciable loss due to absorption or degradation by stomach acids.  Once a prodrug reaches the lower intestine, or colon, the polar sugar residue is released by the hydrolytic activity of glycosidase enzymes that are produced by gut bacteria, thus liberating the active pharmaceutical ingredient in the large intestine.  In addition, some glycoside compounds have been found to undergo active carrier-mediated transport across membranes and into specific tissues, such as the brain.  Such technology could also more broadly enable site-specific delivery of prodrugs through use of mechanisms that are typically used by the body to increase absorption of glucose as an energy source to various tissues.

Commonly known and ingested compounds that are glycosides include many flavonoids, or polyphenols, present in fruit and vegetables.  Flavonols are the most ubiquitous flavonoids found in foods, and these compounds are typically present in glycosylated form.  Fruit often contains 5 or 10 different flavonol glycosides.  A single glass of orange juice may contain between 40 and 140 mg of flavanone glycosides.  In leafy vegetables such as lettuce and cabbage, the glycoside concentration is more than 10 times higher in the green outer leaves as in the lighter, inner leaves.   There are also FDA-approved drugs that are glycosylated, including sennosides, or Ex-Lax, an over-the-counter drug that has been sold in the United States since 1906.  Sennosides are on the World Health Organization’s List of Essential Medicines, the most important medications needed in a basic health system, and exert their effects through targeted delivery of the active pharmaceutical ingredient to the colon over the course of six to 12 hours.

Pharmaceutical Use of Cannabinoids

The U.S. national legal marijuana market value is projected to be $2.57 billion in 2014 and to rise by more than 700 percent to $10.2 billion in 2019, according to Arcview Market Research.   Marijuana is one of the most popular recreational drugs, where worldwide an estimated 178 million people used cannabis at least once in 2012.  Cannabis was included as a controlled drug in the United Nations’ Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, and its use is illegal in most countries. 

As of 2015, more than 20 U.S. states have enacted medical marijuana laws to permit access to marijuana for treatment of a variety of medical conditions, with the approved conditions in certain states including chronic pain, epilepsy, wasting disorders, multiple sclerosis and muscle spasticity disorders, glaucoma, cirrhosis, Alzheimer’s disease, nausea, traumatic brain injury, Parkinson’s disease, HIV/AIDS, Huntington’s disease, inflammatory bowel disease, and more.  A concern with the increasing use of medical marijuana is that patients and physicians don’t know the precise chemical profile of these products, and that they desire a safe, well-tested pharmaceutical product that can be treated as any other medicine, which includes a list of ingredients, effects, and side effects.  Regulatory approval of pharmaceutical cannabinoid products could dramatically increase the chance that health insurance companies would pay for them, and their use could be further legitimized through approval by governments, insurance companies, and physicians.

There are already several approved cannabinoid drugs internationally, including dronabinol, nabilone, and nabiximols.  In 1985, the FDA approved both dronabinol and nabilone, which are synthetic forms of THC, and a THC analog, respectively, which are approved for management of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting and for wasting conditions related to AIDS and cancer.  Sales of these drugs are currently relatively weak, with dronabinol capsules in 2014 estimated to be only $133 million in the United States, according to IMS Health.  Data from more than 40 clinical trials of cannabinoids have been published, including evaluations of their use for treatment of chronic pain, neuropathic pain, epilepsy, and muscle spasticity associated with multiple sclerosis.  As of March 2015, there were:

·

Six (6) trials that examined chronic pain including 325 patients;

·

Six (6) trials that examined neuropathic pain including 396 patients;

·

Twelve (12) trials that examined multiple sclerosis including 1,600 patients; and

·

Multiple small clinical trials that examined use of CBD for treatment of rare forms of childhood epilepsy.

Several of these trials had positive results indicating that the drugs could be effective.

The American Academy of Neurology published evidence-based guidelines that recommend oral cannabis extract as having the highest level of empirical support for reducing patient-reported symptoms of spasticity and pain associated with multiple sclerosis, an autoimmune disorder where the immune system attacks the myelin and glial cells of the nervous system.  As of 2014, nabiximols, which is the world’s first prescription medicine made from cannabis extracts, was approved for use in multiple sclerosis in more than 20 countries, including the United Kingdom, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, and Australia.    The American Academy of Neurology

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also published a systematic review suggesting that nabiximols, a spray that contains both THC and CBD, as probably effective in treating spasticity, central pain, and urinary dysfunction associated with multiple sclerosis.

The main non-psychotropic component of marijuana is cannabidiol (CBD), which has established antianxiety and antipsychotic effects, acting to mitigate the high from THC, as well as neuroprotective and anti-inflammatory properties.  Cannabidiol has demonstrated therapeutic effects in clinical trials for serious neurological conditions including rare seizure disorders in children, and the FDA has granted orphan drug designation to an oral liquid formulation of plant-derived CBD for a clinical trial investigating its effectiveness in Dravet syndrome, Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, and neonatal hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy.  An open-label trial found that CBD reduced seizure frequencies in doses up to 25 mg/kg in multiple drug-resistant forms of epilepsy and seizure disorders and independent results of a placebo-controlled trial were announced in 2016 that found cannabidiol was effective in treating a rare form of childhood epilepsy called Dravet syndrome.  The average age of trial participants was 10 years old and the treatment group that included use of CBD achieved a median reduction in monthly convulsive seizures of nearly 40%, compared to 13% with a placebo, achieving a highly statistically significant effect that was sustained during the treatment period.  CBD was generally well tolerated in the study, however, somnolence or drowsiness was reported, and historically is present in nearly 20% of these patients, which may be as a result of degradation or conversion of CBD to THC within the acidic stomach environment.

The Role of Cannabidiol in Neuroprotection and Neural Repair

Cannabidiol is one of the key cannabinoid constituents of the Cannabis sativa plant and may often account for up to 40% of cannabis extracts.    Contrary to THC, which has some therapeutic benefits but also important adverse effects, CBD is not psychoactive.  It is well-tolerated and exhibits a broad spectrum of therapeutic properties, which have been studied at both the molecular and clinical level extensively.  CBD is often used alone or in combination with other phytocannabinoids, and has noted anti-inflammatory effects, making it useful for neuroinflammatory disorders.  Independent studies have already confirmed its effectiveness in treatment of multiple sclerosis in preclinical studies.  Based on its anticonvulsant properties, CBD has also been proposed for treatment of epilepsy and sleep disorders.  Moreover, CBD may also serve as an antipsychotic making it a promising compound for the treatment of schizophrenia, as well as for treatment of anxiety and depression.  In addition, due to its anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant properties, CBD has an established neuroprotective role, and therefore may have broad spectrum utility in neurologicalgastrointestinal disorders, beyond multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, and schizophrenia, including indications such as neonatal ischemia or Huntington’s disease.

The therapeutic value of CBD, either given alone or in combination with THC, may be due to it providing neuroprotection through multiple mechanisms of action at the molecular level, making it a rare compound.  Its combination of anti-glutamatergic, anti-inflammatory, and anti-oxidant effects cover nearly all aspects of neurotoxicity that are present in neurodegenerative diseases, including inflammatory responses, excitotoxicity, and oxidative injury.  The therapeutic properties of CBD do not appear to be exerted by the activation of key known molecular targets of the endocannabinoid systems such as the CB1 or CB2 receptors.  CBD has negligible activity at these cannabinoid receptors, and so is likely to exert effects through other mechanisms.   In almost all clinical studies performed, CBD has enhanced the effects of THC however, and so at least some of its biological and clinical activity is linked to enhancement of the endocannabinoid and related cellular signaling systems.

Cannabidiol may induce neuroprotection through oligodendrocytes and oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPCs), where it has been shown to promote survival through attenuation of cellular stress.  CBD administration has also been shown to protect both neuronal and non-neural cells against several detrimental insults, including β-amyloid, 6-hydroxydopamine, and glutamate, where related toxicity is thought to contribute to disorders such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases.  Additionally, synthetic cannabinoids have been shown to stimulate proliferation of OPCs, and the activation of cannabinoid receptors has been shown to be necessary for oligodendrocyte maturation.  Therefore, cannabinoids may provide a unique means to stimulate neuroprotection and also neuroregeneration.  The reported neuroprotective effects of CBD do not appear to be afforded by any other drugs that exist, suggesting a benefit for treatment of a wide variety of neurodegenerative disorders, especially upon consideration that CBD at commonly used doses has a near absence of side effects, including most notably a lack of psychotropic effects.

Treatment of Multiple Sclerosis, a Serious Neurological and Inflammatory Condition

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a condition that afflicts more than two million people worldwide, approximately 450,000 in the United States, and involves degenerative changes characterized by inflammation and demyelination of the central nervous system (CNS).  Most people with MS experience relapses and remissions of their symptoms, particularly early in the course of the disease, and symptoms are typically associated with areas of CNS inflammation.  Typically over time, the disease will gradually worsen, independent of acute inflammatory attacks, and progressive or degenerative changes occur.  People with MS have many debilitating symptoms that vary over time, including muscle spasticity, impaired mobility, mood and cognitive changes, pain and sensory problems, fatigue, visual disturbances, and therefore there is a significant impact on quality of life for patients and their families.  MS typically makes it difficult to live an independent and autonomous life, and often young adults that are diagnosed are then faced with needing to adapt their life to an unpredictable disease that requires frequent healthcare visits, extensive laboratory testing, and costly

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medications.   Compared to patients with other chronic diseases, those diagnosed with MS experience limitations in social roles, and have diminished ratings in physical function, health, and vitality.

The myelin sheath insulates and supports axons, the fibers that transit signals between nerve cells.  Recurring inflammatory attacks in MS patients degrade the myelin sheath.  Stripped of this protective coating, the axons gradually cause numbness, muscle spasms, and muscle spasticity, which is a frequent symptom of the disease.  The lifetime financial cost of MS, including both direct and indirect costs, has been estimated at $1.2 million, although today many MS drugs cost between $50,000 an $65,000 per year.    In addition, studies that have analyzed large populations that were untreated with a disease-modifying therapy demonstrated a reduction in survival of 8-12 years.   Copaxone, which was approved in 1996, is the best-selling therapy, with 2014 retail sales of $3.4 billion in the U.S. alone, according to Bloomberg Intelligence.   According to consulting firm GlobalData, the market for multiple sclerosis therapeutics was $17.2 billion in 2014.  As of 2014, there were 12 disease-modifying therapies approved in the U.S., which slow the inflammatory attack of MS, although they often have dangerous side effects, and none have been able to reverse disability or promote functional recovery.   None of these medications is a cure, and none will prevent recurring symptoms, such as fatigue or numbness.

Muscle spasticity, or muscle stiffness, is one of the more common symptoms of multiple sclerosis and affects approximately 80 percent of patients.  Spasticity is also present in many other disorders, such as rare demyelinating disorders, rare white matter disorders, spinal cord injury, stroke, and cerebral palsy.  Spasticity may be as mild as feeling tightness in muscles, leading to lower back pain, or may be so severe as to produce painful and uncontrollable spasms of the legs and other extremities.  Sales of muscle relaxants that have effects similar to spasticity medications were estimated at roughly $780 million annually from 2000-2007, and were part of the broader market for pain medications that had total annual sales of $17.8 billion annually during this period.  If untreated, spasticity can lead to serious complications, such as frozen or immobilized joints known as contractures, and pressure sores.  Treatment of spasticity and muscle tightness by medication and physical and occupational therapy is needed to prevent painful and disabling joint contractures, which often occurs in the knees, shoulders, elbows, ankles, and hips.  According to the National MS Society, two medications are primarily used to treat muscle spasticity today, including baclofen, the most common medication, and tizanidine.  Common side effects of these medications include drowsiness, muscle weakness, and a feeling of sedation.  Dosing of baclofen is very patient-specific, due to a narrow therapeutic window between effectiveness and inability to maintain functional ability.  Other less commonly-used medications include botulinum toxin, clonidine, phenol, dantrolene, and diazepam, or Valium®, which is not a first choice drug due to sedating effects and its potential to create dependence, but its effects last longer than baclofen and physicians may prescribe doses at bedtime to relieve spasms that interfere with sleep.

Treatment of Inflammatory Bowel Disease and Gastrointestinal Disorders

Inflammatory bowel disease (“IBD”) is a progressive inflammatory condition where parts of the digestive system become sore and inflamed.  The disease can lead to currently irreversible damage to the gastrointestinal tract and require surgical removal of the intestine and affected areas.  Two major forms of the disease are Crohn’s disease, which can affect any part of the digestive system and also ulcerative colitis, which often affects the rectum and the colon, or large intestine.   IBD is a chronic condition, meaning that it is ongoing and typically lasts throughout life in those that are afflicted.  As with multiple sclerosis, the disease is often unpredictable, and there are periods of remission where there are few or no symptoms, which alternate with periods where symptoms are very active and debilitating. 

Different classes of drugs are used to treat IBD, including anti-inflammatory drugs such as steroids, biologics, and immunosuppressants, antibiotics that treat or help prevent bacterial infections that result from gastrointestinal disturbances, and also drugs that relieve the symptoms of disease such as diarrhea, constipation, and pain.  A market research report by Visiongain predicts that in 2017 drug revenues for treatment of IBD will reach $9.6 billion. The ultimate goal of clinical treatment of IBD is to obtain complete disease control and to stop disease progression.  This includes remission of disease without use of steroids, normalization of inflammatory markers in the blood, and also healing of the mucosal lining of the gastrointestinal tract, which typically leads to better clinical outcomes, reduced healthcare costs, and an improved quality of life. 

Spastic colon is another name for irritable bowel syndrome (“IBS”), a gastrointestinal disorder that is characterized by abdominal cramping, diarrhea, constipation, and abdominal pain.  The term of “spastic colon” refers to the contraction of muscles in the small and large intestines that are often associated with the disorder. IBD and IBS, have similar symptoms, but(ii) Antimicrobial Compositions Comprising Cannabinoids and Methods of Using the underlying disease process is quite different, where IBD is characterized by inflammatory attackSame: Patent filed in 2018 and destruction ofgranted in 2021 for the gastrointestinal wall.  IBS is typically a gastrointestinal disorder where no apparent cause can be found, and is very common, with up to 25% of the U.S. population reporting symptoms of IBS. 

In gastroenterology, Cannabis extracts are known for their anti-vomiting, appetite-stimulating, and anti-diarrheal effects, which are thought to be useful for symptomatic relief of IBS and IBD.  More than half of patients with IBD in the U.S. use or have used Cannabis (51.3%), and 16.4% of patients had used Cannabis to treat IBD-related symptoms such as abdominal pain, nausea, loss of appetite, and diarrhea.  In a study of Cannabis use in 313 patients with IBD, there were reported improvements by 83.9% for abdominal pain, 76.8% for abdominal cramping, and 48.2% for joint pain.   In a Canadian population in 2011, chronic abdominal pain was reported as the primary reason for self-medication with Cannabis, including in patients with a history of abdominal surgery.  In a

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2013 clinical trial of use of Cannabiscannabinoids as antibiotics for the treatment of Clostridioides difficile, (iii) Novel Cannabinoid Glycosides and Uses Thereof: Patent filed in Crohn’s disease, complete remission was achieved2020 and in 5 outprosecution for additional novel cannabinoid glycosides and includes research data supporting the improved characteristics and commercial production strategies for these new molecules, and (iv) Continuous Enzymatic Perfusion Reactor System: Patent filed in 2021 and in prosecution for our improved reactor system for the efficient enzymatic glycosylation of 11 subjects (classified as Crohn’s Disease Activity Index < 150).  There were considerable clinical benefitshydrophobic small molecules, including patients being weaned off steroid dependency, and reported improvements in sleep and appetite, with no significant side effects reported. 

Studies have shown that activation of cannabinoid receptors can decrease inflammation, gastric acid secretion, and intestinal motility, and that cannabinoids may have therapeutic potential for reversing the disordered intestinal permeability associated with intestinal inflammation.  This includes inflammation related to IBD, colorectal cancer, and also sepsis (which some call “blood poisoning”).  Sepsis is a disorder where the gut is now hypothesized to play a central role, where a failure of the integrity of the gut mucosal lining leads to infections throughout the body and can lead to septic shock and multi-organ failure.  Each year, sepsis affects more than 750,000 Americans and is responsible for more than 210,000 deaths.  Up to 50% of all hospital deaths have been linked to sepsis.  It is the most expensive reason for hospitalization in the U.S., where in 2011 the U.S. spent more than $55 million each day in direct healthcare costs treating it.  Prevention methods are being developed, which include treatments that may help prevent sepsis altogether, or prevent patient deterioration from sepsis to severe sepsis, or from severe sepsis to septic shock.  Independent preclinical studies have already found that a lack of cannabinoid receptors leads to increased incidence of multi-organ failure, and that treatment with cannabidiol can lead to a significant reduction of mortality.

Competition

The biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries are highly active and dynamic, where many companies compete with a strong focus on advancing new technologies and developing proprietary products.cannabinoids. We believe our product candidates, technology, scientific acumen, facilities,intellectual property portfolio of glycosylated cannabinoids possess significant value and, as a result, we have allocated substantial resources to ensure that our U.S. and international patents are properly filed and successfully prosecuted. As our research efforts involving glycosylated cannabinoids continue to progress, we plan to file additional capabilities providepatents to further expand our growing family of intellectual property assets and create long-term value for our shareholders.

Our research team has performed 23 animal studies to test the safety, efficacy and dosing levels of our glycosylated cannabinoids, which have provided us with favorable scientific data and the opportunity to further refine our drug development plan. We have performed two industry standard colitis disease mouse models: (i) TNBS model in 2017 and 2018 that generated favorable colitis prevention data, and (ii) DSS model in 2021 that generated favorable colitis treatment data. In 2021, we received a significantletter from the Food and sustainable competitive advantage, but competition exists today, and new competitors may arise from multiple sources, including especially from major pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, researchers at non-profit institutions, and government-sponsored researchers.  Successfully commercialized products must compete not only with existing therapies, but also with new agentsDrug Administration’s (“FDA”) Office of Orphan Products Development stating that are currently in development or that may become available inwe have been granted Orphan Drug Designation for our glycosylated cannabinoid VBX-100 for the future.

Cannabinoid pharmaceuticals are approved and marketed currently, with more in development, from companies such as GW Pharmaceuticals PLC (“GW Pharma”), Insys Therapeutics Inc. (“Insys”), Zynerba Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (“Zynerba”), and others.  GW Pharma is developing botanical extracts including THC, CBD, CBDV, and blends of these compounds, including the current development and marketing of nabiximols, branded as Sativex®, which is approved in more than 20 countries internationally.  GW Pharma is also developing cannabidiol, branded as Epidiolex®, for use primarily with epilepsy and rare seizure disorders, and that is being developed in a liquid spray formulation that must be administered multiple times daily.  A similar synthetic CBD product is being developed by Insys.  Zynerba is developing synthetic forms of THC and CBD, or related prodrugs, which are being developed for use within formulations to be used as a topical gel or transdermal patch, rather than by oral delivery.  There is additional competition from companies that supply alternative synthetic cannabinoids, which may influence cannabinoid signaling, as well as from medical marijuana and botanical extracts that are increasingly available to physicians and patients.

The global market for multiple sclerosis drugs is currently estimated at $17.2 billion in 2014 according to GlobalData, with drugs marketed and in development from major pharmaceutical companies including Biogen, Teva Neuroscience, Genzyme, Novartis, Pfizer, Bayer Healthcare, as well as smaller development-stage pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.   Disease-modifying medications appear to slow down the accumulation of disability, and can reduce the frequency and severity of relapses or clinical attacks, as well as reduce the accumulation of lesions, which is damage to the brain and spinal cord as seen on magnetic resonance imaging scans.  None of these currently-marketed medications is a cure or will prevent recurring symptoms of the disease, although agents that effect functional repair of the nervous system are in development by various companies, including Biogen that is developing a first-in-class remyelinating drug that is a monoclonal antibody and is administered intravenously.  Muscle spasticity is a common symptom of multiple sclerosis for which there is no cure either, but symptomatic relief can be obtained through use of medications such as baclofen, tizanidine, and through use of less common alternative such as diazepam (Valium®), nerve blocking agents, and botulinum toxin (Botox®).  

The global market for drugs treating IBD is predicted by Visiongain to reach $9.6 billion in annual revenues in 2017.  The main types of drugs used commonly in IBD include anti-inflammatory drugs, drugs that provide symptomatic relief, and also antibiotics.  Drugs used in IBD come in different forms, and may be administered in different ways, including orally, through topical treatments, and also through injectables or infusions in order to obtain an immediate response to a severe inflammatory attack.   Primary drugs used in treatment of IBD include aminosalicylic acids, corticosteroids, immunosuppressants such as methotrexate, cyclosporine,pediatric ulcerative colitis. An Orphan Drug Designation provides several benefits, including fee waivers, tax credits, fast tracking of regulatory processes, and tacrolimus, and newer biologics such as infliximab (Remicade®) or adalimumab (Humira®) that target TNF-alpha, a mediatorseven years of inflammation.   There are a variety of drugs available for treatment of common symptoms such as pain, diarrhea, and constipation.  Current drugs that reduce painful abdominal cramps or spasms by relaxing the intestinal muscles are medications such as mebeverine, hyoscine butylbromide, and alverine citrate, which are often recommended for symptomatic relief of IBS but may also be helpful for IBD.   market exclusivity.

Government Regulation

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Due to our development of pharmaceutical products, we are subject to extensive regulation by the FDA and other federal, state, and local regulatory agencies. The Federal Food, Drug,Also, since we are researching and Cosmetic Act (“FDC Act”) sets most requirements for the development and marketing of our products.  Although most regulation described within this document focuses on the United States, the largest market in the world for pharmaceuticaldeveloping cannabinoid-based products, we anticipate seeking approval for, and marketing of, our products in other countries as well. Generally, our activities in other countries will beare subject to regulation that is similar in nature and scope, although there can be meaningful differences.

The FDA is the main regulatory body that controls pharmaceutical and biologic drugs in the United States.  Pharmaceutical products are also subject to other federal, state and local statutes. A failure to comply explicitly with any requirements during the product development, approval, or post-approval periods, may lead to administrative or judicial sanctions. These sanctions could include the imposition by the FDA or an institutional review board, or IRB, of a hold on clinical trials, refusal to approve pending marketing applications or supplements, withdrawal of approval, warning letters, product recalls, product seizures, total or partial suspension of production or distribution, injunctions, fines, or even civil penalties or criminal prosecution.  The FDA also inspects manufacturing facilities periodically in order to ensure adequate compliance with Good Manufacturing Practices (“GMP”), which may require substantial record keeping requirements and equipment maintenance.

Drug Approval Process by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration

The steps required before a new drug may be marketed in the United States generally include: completion of preclinical studies of drug safety and efficacy, as well as chemistry, manufacturing, and controls studies to characterize the production of the drug; submission to the FDA of an Investigational New Drug (“IND”) to support human clinical testing in the United States; approval by an independent research panel before each clinical trial may be initiated; performance of well-controlled clinical trials to establish the safety and efficacy of the drug for each proposed clinical use; submission of an New Drug Application (“NDA”) to the FDA; satisfaction of any periodic reviews or inspections; and FDA review and approval of the NDA.  After regulatory approval of a drug is obtained, a company is required to comply with a number of post-approval requirements, which may include ongoing testing, additional clinical trials, and surveillance of the drug’s clinical use in order to continue assess tis overall safety and efficacy profile.  In addition, companies with marketed drugs are required to report adverse reactions and manufacturing issues to the FDA, and to comply with requirements concerning advertising and promotional labeling for any of its products.

The FDA and other federal agencies closely regulate the marketing and promotion of drugs through, among other things, standards and regulations for direct-to-consumer advertising, communications regarding unapproved uses, industry-sponsored scientific and educational activities, and promotional activities conducted online. A pharmaceutical product cannot be commercially marketed before it is approved by the FDA.  After approval, product promotion can include only those claims relating to its safety and effectiveness that are consistent with the product labeling approved in advance by the FDA. Physicians and other healthcare providers are permitted to prescribe drugs for "off-label" uses, which deviate from the specific use described on the product labeling, because the FDA does not regulate the practice of medicine. However, FDA regulations impose stringent restrictions on drug manufacturers regarding the ability to market or promote such off-label use. 

Beyond seeking approval for a drug through an NDA, applicants may apply for an abbreviated new drug application (“ANDA”), and also through an abbreviated 505(b)(2) application. An ANDA provides for marketing of a generic drug product that has the same active ingredients, same strengths and dosage form, as a listed drug and has been shown through PK testing to be bioequivalent to the listed drug. Other than the requirement for bioequivalence testing, ANDA applicants are generally not required to conduct, or submit results of, preclinical studies or clinical tests to prove the safety or effectiveness of their drug product.  505(b)(2) applications provide for marketing of a drug product that may have the same active ingredients as the listed drug and contains full safety and effectiveness data as an NDA, but at least some of this information comes from studies that were not conducted by or for the applicant. Upon approval, depending on the type of drug approved, and the indication it was approved for, it may receive additional periods of marketing exclusivity during which the FDA cannot approve any alternative versions of the drugs.  In addition, the FDA may grant three years of marketing exclusivity for a 505(b)(2) application if the NDA includes reports of clinical studies beyond bioequivalence testing. 

Additional special programs are available through acts of the FDA, including use of patent term extensions, which can extend the life of a patent as compensation for lost time during the FDA review and approval process, as well as alternative regulatory paths.  This includes the Orphan Drug Act of 1983 and the FDA Safety and Innovation Act of 2012, which for example provides for a Breakthrough Therapy Designation.  Through obtaining a Breakthrough Therapy Designation, a Company may be able to obtain accelerated approval for one or more drugs if they meet the qualifying criteria, which includes treatment of a serious or life threatening disease or condition, and having preliminary clinical evidence that the treatment will provide a substantial improvement over existing therapies. 

Drug Coverage and Reimbursement by Third-Party Payers 

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Upon marketing approval, there still remains extensive uncertainty over the ability for any drug to obtain insurance coverage and reimbursement for use of any products from third-party payers within the healthcare system in the United States and internationally.  Sales of any products depend upon their acceptance and use by physicians and other healthcare providers, but also their availability from wholesalers and agreement to provide reimbursement from third-party payers, including private health insurance firms, managed care providers, and government health administrative agencies.   Any or all of these groups may limit coverage to specific drug products on an approved list, or formulary, which might not include all of the FDA approved drugs for a particular indication. In addition, third-party payers are increasingly challenging the price and examining the medical necessity and cost-effectiveness of medical products and services, in addition to their safety and efficacy.  

Alternative pricing and drug reimbursement mechanisms exist in other countries.  Some jurisdictions may not allow marketing of a drug until market prices have been established.  To obtain reimbursement or pricing approval, some of these countries may require the completion of clinical trials that compare the cost-effectiveness of a particular product candidate to currently available therapies.  Countries of the European Union are permitted to restrict the range of medicinal products for which their national health insurance systems provide reimbursement and to control the prices of medicinal products for human use. 

The marketability of any products for which we receive regulatory approval for commercial sale may suffer if the government and third-party payers fail to provide adequate coverage and reimbursement. In addition, an increasing emphasis on managed care in the United States has increased and will continue to increase the pressure on providing cost-effective pharmaceutical treatments.  Coverage policies and third-party reimbursement rates may change at any time. 

Controlled Substance Regulations

We are developing and performing research on compounds that have been classified as “controlled substances” within the Controlled Substances Act, and that are monitored in the United States by the Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”). TheOur research and development activities focus on cannabinoids, particularly THC and CBD derived from the cannabis plant, which the DEA actively monitors and helps establish procedures that are in accordance with the Controlled Substances Act, and this involves the company to register itself, and to adhere to certain reporting and security practices in order to prevent and mitigate any loss or mishandling of controlled substances used on the premises.  The State of California has similar requirements, and the Company must maintain registration with a panel with disclosure of planned studies and its practices in order to conduct its operations. 

The DEA regulates controlled substances using different schedules, whereclassified as Schedule I substances. Schedule I substances by definition have high potential for abuse,are defined as drugs with no currently accepted medical use inand a high potential for abuse. In May 2019, the United States and lack accepted safety for use under medical supervision.DEA informed us that it had determined that they consider our VBX-100 prodrug a Schedule I substance. As a result, any developing, testing, manufacturing, or clinical studies involving our VBX-100 prodrug, and Schedule II substancesby inference potentially all of our THC-glycoside molecules, are consideredrequired to present the highest risk of abuse, and Schedule V substances the lowest risk.  THC, CBD, and purified synthetic forms are listedbe properly licensed by the DEA as Schedule I substances, although some FDA-approved pharmaceutical versionsand adhere to strict diversion control standards.

We are working closely with a third-party contract research organization to develop a detailed drug development plan to advance our leading drug candidate, VBX-100, through Phase II clinical trials by the end of 2027, subject to receipt of sufficient funding, which is currently estimated to be approximately $16.0 million. We have engaged an investment banker to assist with an initial capital raise of $4.0 million and are targeting a closing of that initial capital raise in 2Q 2024, with the remaining $12.0 million to be raised in 2025 once key drug development milestones are achieved.

Competition

Our Company is focused on a large and growing marketplace for impact investing initiatives, and therefore, is anticipated to face competition from a variety of operating businesses and investment funds who are developing similar business plans and operating strategies to satisfy the increasing demands of these products are now listed as Schedule III substances.

A quota system controls and limits the availability and productiontypes of controlled substances in Schedule I or II. This includes manufacturing of pharmaceutical products.  The DEA establishes annually an aggregate quota for how much product may be producedinvestments in the United States basedmarketplace. In many cases, these competitors are larger and better capitalized operating businesses and investment funds.

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Our Company competes on the DEA’s estimatebasis of a number of factors, including our geographic focus on Appalachia, access to mission-driven energy-transition capital, access to impact investing opportunities, strategic relationships with reclamation bond insurance companies, recruitment and retention of key personnel, market share with key customers, and supply relationships with critical vendors. Our ability to continue to compete effectively in our businesses will depend upon our ability to attract new employees and retain and motivate our existing employees.

Information Systems

In 2023, the Company engaged Foundation Software, LLC (“Foundation Software”) as its new accounting software provider and converted all of the quantity neededCompany’s accounting system operations from QuickBooks to meet legitimate scientificFoundation Software during the second quarter of 2023.

Founded in Cleveland, Ohio in 1985, Foundation Software is specifically designed for service companies, particularly those in the construction, contracting and medicinal needs. This limited aggregate amount is allocated among individual companies, who must submit applications annuallyreclamation industries. Foundation Software offers the Company several enhanced features critical to the DEA for individual manufacturingsuccessful execution of its shareholder value creation plan, including (i) general ledger accounting, including accounts payable, accounts receivable, inventory and procurement quotas. 

DEA registration is required for any facilitycustomer billing, (ii) equipment tracking on job sites, maintenance, utilization and depreciation, (iii) employee tracking on job sites, time and materials, utilization, and billing, (iv) job costing and profitability reporting segmented by customers, job types and location, and (v) numerous real-time management dashboard and key performance indicator reports that performs research, manufactures, distributes, dispenses, imports or exports any controlled substance. The registration is specificwill allow management to the particular location, activityclosely monitor financial and controlled substance schedule.   The DEA typically inspects facilitiesoperational performance and quickly react to review the premises in advance of issuing a formal registration, in order to assess the adequacy of their securitybusiness opportunities and internal controls.  Security measures differ based on the specific type of application and controlled substance, but generally include physical control of inventory, surveillance cameras, and ensuring there is no diversion or loss of material through record-keeping and inventory monitoring.  Reports must be provided to the DEA on the use of materials, as well as immediate reports of theft, loss, or suspicious activity

Research and Development

During the fiscal years ended March 31, 2016 and 2015, we incurred $613,119 and $1,131,327 in expenses that were allocated to research and development activities.

Intellectual Property

In September and October 2015,issues. Furthermore, Foundation Software will allow the Company filed two U.S. patent applications, titled “Cannabinoid Glycoside Prodrugs and Methods of Synthesis”, including an initial filing and an expanded filing. These patent applications describe more than 30 cannabinoid glycoside prodrugs, or cannabosides, which are designed to overcome the deficiencies of existing cannabinoid

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pharmaceuticals. The patent filings include, but are not limited to, prodrugs of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, the primary psychoactive component of medical marijuana, as well as the non-psychotropic compounds cannabidiol and cannabidivarin.

In June 2015, the Company filed a U.S. patent application titled “Method for Production and Recycling of UDPG”, which describes methods for recycling and economical production of a key cofactor necessary for biotransformation of steviol and cannabinoids through glycosylation.  We previously licensed rights to a U.S. patent application titled, “Compositions and methods for producing steviol and steviol glycosides”, which was related to microbial production of stevia, and terminated this license in May 2016 in favor of pursuing internally developed patent applications for production of stevia and cannabinoid glycosides. 

In March 2016, the Company was assigned rights to a U.S. provisional patent application titled “Methods for Treatment of Multiple Sclerosis and Demyelinating Disorders” from the Myelin Repair Foundation, which covers methods for treating multiple sclerosis and other demyelinating diseases through use of FDA-approved drugs that can be repurposed for their utility in effecting remeylination, a form of nervous system repair or regeneration.  These drugs along with others including the Company’s cannabinoid glycoside prodrugs may be administered in oral or injectable forms. 

The Company’s internally developed patents now include provisional and non-provisional patent applications filed in the United States in 2013, 2014, and 2015 covering novel compositions of matter for cannabinoid prodrugs, methods for biosynthesis and medical applications of cannabinoid prodrugs, biosynthesis methods for steviol glycosides, and methods for efficient biosynthesis through glycosylation.  If successful in prosecuting patent claims, the Company would obtain patent protection through 2035 or beyond, and which may be extended through patent term adjustments.  

Employees

As of June 22, 2016, we had eight full-time employees, including six dedicated to research and development. We also utilize the services of a network of consultants that contribute on a part-time basis, which gives us access to additional scientists and engineers that focus on research and development activities. We expect to increase the number of our employees and contractors as we expand ourquickly scale operations and efficiently and cost-effectively support the numberanticipated growth of employees dedicatedeach business, thereby preventing our accounting and management systems from becoming a limiting factor to marketing and sales support as we begin to commercialize additional products and intensify our sales efforts.growth initiatives.

General Information

We maintain a corporate website at www.vitality.bio.at: www.rangeimpact.com. Information contained on our website is not incorporated by reference in this annual report.Annual Report. We file reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and make available free of charge, on orfree-of-charge through our website our annual reports, quarterly reports, current reports, proxy and information statements and amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”).

Item 1A. Risk Factors

The following risk factors should be considered carefully in addition to the other information contained in this annual report.Annual Report. This annual reportAnnual Report contains forward-looking statements. Our business, financial condition, results of operations and stock price could be materially adversely affected by any of these risks.

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Risks Related to Our Business

We are not currently profitable and we will need to raise substantial additional capital to operate our business. If we cannot raiseobtain the fundscapital we need to continue our operations, our business could fail.

In the fiscal year to March 31, 2016, we generated only $248,348 in revenue, which is not currently sufficient to sustain our operations.  From inception through March 31, 2016, we incurred an accumulated deficit of $12,516,559, which includes non-cash expenses. These circumstances raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern, as described in the explanatory paragraph in our independent auditors’ report on our financial statements for the year ended March 31, 2016, which are included in this report.

We will likely need to raise additional funds in order to continue operating our business.business beyond the near term. Since inception, we have primarily funded our operations through equity and debt financings such as our issuance and, sale of 26,500,000 shares of common stock and warrants to purchase an aggregate of 79,500,000 shares of our common stock that we completed on May 4, 2016, for net proceeds to us of approximately $265,000. We expect to continue to fund our operations primarily through equity and debt financings in the foreseeable future.more recently, with operating profits. If we do issue equity or convertible debt securities to raise additional funds or to fund, in whole or in part, acquisitions in furtherance of our business strategy, our existing stockholders may experience substantial dilution, and the new equity or debt securities may have rights, preferences and privileges senior to those of our existing

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stockholders. If we incur additional debt, it maywould increase our leverage relative to our earnings, if any, or to our equity capitalization, requiring us to pay additional interest expenses.expense. Obtaining commercial loans, assuming those loans would be available, would increase our liabilities and future cash commitments. If we pursue capital through alternative sources, such as collaborationsWe also may raise funds by selling some or other similar arrangements, we may be forced to relinquish rights toall of our proprietary compounds, technology or other intellectual property or marketing rights, which could result in our receipt of only a portion of any revenue that may be generated from a partnered product or business. Moreover, regardlessassets. Regardless of the manner in which we seek to raise capital, we may incur substantial costs in those pursuits, including investment banking fees, legal fees, accounting fees, printing and distribution expenses and other related costs.

We expect our total expenditures over the 12 months following March 31, 2016, to be approximately $2,400,000. However, our estimate of total expenditures could increase if we encounter unanticipated difficulties. In addition, our estimates of the amount of cash necessary to fund our business may prove to be wrong and we could spend our available financial resources much faster than we currently expect. Further, we expect that our operational expenses will increase substantially during our current fiscal year if we pursue our current operational goals, continuing our research and development activities, and otherwise seek to ramping-up our business. If we cannot raise the money that we need in order to continue to develop our business, we will be forced to delay, scale back or eliminate some or all of our proposed operations and/or forego other attractive business opportunities that may arise. If any of these were to occur, there is a substantial risk that our business would fail. Sources of additional funds may not be available on acceptable terms or at all. Weak economic and capital markets conditions could result in increased difficulties in raising capital for our operations. We may not be able to raise money through the sale of our equity securities or through borrowing funds on terms we find acceptable, or at all. If we cannot raise the funds that we need, we will be unable to continue our operations, and our stockholders could lose their entire investment in our company.

We are not profitable and may never become profitable.

We expect to incur substantial losses for the near future, and we may never achieve or maintain profitability. Even if we succeed in obtaining regulatory approval to market our products, we may still incur losses for the foreseeable future. We also expect to experience negative cash flow for the near future, as we plan to use all available resources to fund our operations and make significant capital expenditures.  As a result, we would need to generate significant revenues if we are to achieve and maintain profitability. We may not be able to generate these revenues or achieve profitability. Our failure to achieve or maintain profitability could negatively impact the value of our common stock and you could lose some or all of your investment.

We currently face, and will continue to face, significant competition.

Our major competitors for the development of pharmaceutical products related to cannabinoids, and related to neurological and inflammatory disorders includes major pharmaceutical companies, smaller companies, and academic research groups that are devoted to biological or pharmaceutical research either independently or by providing contract research services.  A number of multinational pharmaceutical companies are developing products in similar therapeutic areas, including but not limited to Biogen, Teva Neuroscience, Pfizer, Otsuka Pharmaceuticals, Purdue Pharma, Endo Pharmaceuticals, Genzyme, Novartis, Bayer Healthcare, and additional companies such as GW Pharmaceuticals, Insys Therapeutics, and Zynerba Pharmaceuticals are developing cannabinoid pharmaceuticals for treatment of various clinical indications.    See “Competition” in this report for a further discussion.  

Our limited operating experience could make our operations inefficient or ineffective.

We are an early-stage company withhave only a limited operating history upon which to base an evaluation of our current business and future prospects and how we will respond to competitive, financial or technological challenges. We only recently commenced operations in the development of pharmaceutical products, our primary business focus. As a result, we have limited experience with these activities and the revenue and income potential of our business is unproven. In addition, because of our limited operating history, we have limited insight into trends that may emerge and affect our business,businesses, and limited experience responding to such trends. We may make errors in predicting and reacting to relevant business trends and we will be subject to the risks, uncertainties and difficulties frequently encountered by early-stage companies in evolving markets. We may not be able to successfully address any or all of these risks and uncertainties. Failure to adequately to do so could cause our business, results of operations and financial condition to suffer or fail.

We may not be able to manage our expansion of operations effectively.

Our success will depend upon the expansion ofAssuming we are able to attract additional capital, we intend to expand our operations and the effective management of any growth we may experience, which will place a significant strain on our management and on our administrative, operational and financial resources.operations. To manage this growth, we mustmay need to expand our facilities, augment our operational, financial and management systems and hire and train qualified personnel. Our management will also be required to develop new relationships with customers, suppliers and other third parties. Our current and planned operations, personnel, systems, and internal procedures and controls may not be adequate to support our

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future growth. If we are unable to manage our growth effectively, we may not be able to take advantage of market opportunities, execute our business strategies or respond to competitive pressures.

If we are unable to hire and retain qualified personnel, we may not be able to implement our business plan.

 

As of June 22, 2016,March 28, 2024, we had eightemployed 56 full-time employees, including six dedicated to research and development.employees. Attracting and retaining qualified scientific, management and other personnel will be critical to our success. There is intense competition for qualified personnel in our area of activities, and weWe may not be able to attract and retain the qualified personnel necessary for the development of our business. In addition, we may have difficulty recruiting necessary personnel as a result of our limited operating history. The loss of key personnel or the failure to recruit necessary additional personnel could impede the achievement of our business objectives.

 

We may choose to hire part-time employees or use consultants. As a result, certain of our employees, officers, directors and consultants may from time to time serve as officers, directors and consultants of other companies. These other companies may have interests in conflict with ours. In addition, we expect to rely on independent organizations, advisors and consultants to provide certain services, including product testing and construction.services. The services of these independent organizations, advisors and consultants may not be available to us on a timely basis when needed or on acceptable terms, and if they are not available, we may not be able to find qualified replacements. If we are unable to retain the services of qualified personnel, independent organizations, advisors and consultants, we may not be able to implement our business plan.

 

Our CEO and certain other Company employees devote substantial portions of their time to businesses other than the Company’s business.

Certain of our officers, directors and employees devote substantial portions of their time to businesses of other companies. Our CEO, Michael Cavanaugh, currently serves as Chief Investment Officer of Tower 1 Partnership, LLC, an investment firm focused on private and public investments in a variety of industries, and as the manager of several non-affiliated investment partnerships, pursuant to which he devotes a significant portion of his time. The commitments of our officers, directors and employees to these other businesses may cause them to devote less time to the Company than would otherwise be the case.

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Cyber incidents or attacks directed at us could result in information theft, data corruption, operational disruption and/or financial loss.

We depend on digital technologies, including information systems, infrastructure and cloud applications and services, including those of third parties with which we may deal. Sophisticated and deliberate attacks on, or security breaches in, our systems or infrastructure, or the systems or infrastructure of third parties or the cloud, could lead to corruption or misappropriation of our assets, proprietary information and sensitive or confidential data. As an early-stage company without significant investments in data security protection, we may not be sufficiently protected against such occurrences. We may not have sufficient resources to adequately protect against, or to investigate and remediate any vulnerability to, cyber incidents. It is possible that any of these occurrences, or a combination of them, could have adverse consequences on our business and lead to financial loss.

Risks Related to Our Environmental-Related Businesses

We may have difficulty accomplishing our growth strategy within and outside of our current service areas.

Our ability to expand our business, both within our current service areas and into new areas, involves significant risks, including, but not limited to:

changes in regulatory landscape reducing the demand for, and incentives relating to, our land reclamation, water treatment and related environmental services;
receiving or maintaining necessary regulatory permits, licenses or approvals;
downturns in economic or population growth and development in our service areas, particularly in the coal mining industry and in those agricultural and commercial businesses and real estate developments which benefit from our land reclamation and water treatment services;
risks related to planning and commencing new operations, including inaccurate assessment of the demand for our land reclamation, water treatment and related environmental services and products and inability to begin operations as scheduled; and
our potential inability to identify suitable acquisition opportunities or to form relationships with coal mining operators or other landowners necessary to form strategic partnerships.

Operating costs, construction costs and costs of providing services may rise faster than revenue.

Our ability to increase the rates at which we provide our land reclamation, water treatment and related environmental services may be limited by a variety of factors. However, our costs are subject to market conditions and other factors, and may increase significantly. The second largest component of our equipment operating costs is made up of salaries and wages. These costs are affected by the local supply and demand for qualified labor. Other large components of our costs are general insurance, workers compensation insurance, employee benefits and health insurance costs. These costs may increase disproportionately to our service rate increases and may have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

Our suppliers may fail to deliver materials and parts according to schedules, prices, quality and volumes that are acceptable to us, or we may be unable to manage these materials and parts effectively.

The equipment we use in our land reclamation and water treatment and reclamation business contains materials and parts purchased globally from many suppliers which exposes us to potential component shortages or delays. Unexpected changes in business conditions, materials pricing, labor issues, wars such as the current conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine, trade policies, natural disasters, health epidemics such as the global COVID-19 pandemic, trade and shipping disruptions, port congestions and other factors beyond our or our suppliers’ control could also affect these suppliers’ ability to deliver components to us or to remain solvent and operational. Additionally, if our suppliers do not accurately forecast and effectively allocate production or if they are not willing to allocate sufficient production to us, it may reduce our access to components and require us to search for new suppliers. The unavailability of any component or supplier could result in delays in providing our services and products. Our suppliers may not be willing or able to sustainably meet our timelines or our cost, quality and volume needs, or to do so may cost us more, which may require us to replace them with other sources. While we believe that we will be able to secure additional or alternate sources for most of our necessary components or products, there is no assurance that we will be able to do so quickly or at all or at prices that are financially feasible.

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Our financial results depend on successful project execution and may be adversely affected by cost overruns, failure to meet customer schedules or other execution issues.

A portion of our revenue is derived from projects that are technically complex and that may last over many months. These projects are subject to a number of significant risks, including project delays, cost overruns, changes in scope, unanticipated site conditions, design and engineering issues, incorrect cost assumptions, increases in the cost of materials and labor, safety hazards, third party performance issues, weather issues and changes in laws or permitting requirements. If we are unable to manage these risks, we may incur higher costs, liquidated damages and other liabilities to our customers, which may decrease our profitability and harm our reputation. Our continued growth will depend in part on executing a higher volume of large projects, which will require us to expand and retain our project management and execution personnel and resources.

We face competition in our industry, and we may be unable to attract customers and maintain a viable business.

There can be no assurance that we will be able to successfully compete with our competitors. Our competitors may be able to offer similar services which prove to be more popular with potential customers than our services. Our ability to grow and achieve profitability will depend on our ability to satisfy our customers and withstand increasing competition by providing superior environmental services at reasonable cost. There can be no assurance that we will be able to achieve or maintain a successful competitive position.

If we become subject to environmental-related claims, we could incur significant cost and time to comply.

Our land reclamation and water treatment business activities create a risk of significant environmental liabilities and reputational damage. Under applicable environmental laws and regulations, we could be strictly, jointly and severally liable for releases of regulated substances by us at the properties of others, including if such releases result in contamination of air or water or cause harm to individuals. Our business activities also create a risk of contamination or injury to our employees, customers or third parties, from the use, treatment, storage, transfer, handling and/or disposal of these materials.

In the event that our business activities result in environmental liabilities, such as those described above, we could incur significant costs or reputational damage in connection with the investigation and remediation of environmental contamination, and we could be liable for any resulting damages including natural resource damages. Such liabilities could exceed our available cash or any applicable insurance coverage we may have. Additionally, we are subject to, on an ongoing basis, federal, state and local laws and regulations governing the use, storage, handling and disposal of these materials and specified waste products. The cost of compliance with these laws and regulations may become significant and could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations or prospects.

Further, we may incur costs to defend our position even if we are not liable for consequences arising out of environmental damage. Our insurance policies may not be sufficient to cover the costs of defending such claims.

Failure to effectively treat emerging contaminants could result in material liabilities.

A number of emerging contaminants might be found in water that we treat that may cause a number of illnesses. In applications where treated water enters the human body, illness and death may result if contaminants or pathogens are not eliminated during the treatment process. The potential impact of a contamination of water treated using our products, services or solutions is difficult to predict and could lead to an increased risk of exposure to product liability claims, increased scrutiny by federal and state regulatory agencies and negative publicity. Further, an outbreak of disease in any one of the markets we serve could result in a widespread loss of customers across such markets.

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We may incur liabilities to customers as a result of failure to meet performance guarantees, which could reduce our profitability.

Our customers may seek performance guarantees as to our equipment and services. Failure to meet specifications of our customers or our failure to meet our performance guarantees may increase our costs by requiring us to provide additional resources and services, monetary reimbursement to a customer or could otherwise result in liability to our customers. To the extent that we incur substantial performance guarantee claims, our reputation, earnings and ability to obtain future business could be materially adversely affected.

Developments in, and compliance with, current and future environmental and climate change laws and regulations could impact our land reclamation and water treatment business, financial condition or results of operations.

Our business, operations, and product and service offerings are subject to and affected by many federal, state, local and foreign environmental laws and regulations, including those enacted in response to climate change concerns. Compliance with existing laws and regulations currently requires, and compliance with future laws is expected to continue to require, increasing operating and capital expenditures in order to conform to changing environmental standards and regulations, which could impact our business, financial condition and results of operations. Furthermore, environmental laws and regulations may authorize substantial fines and criminal sanctions to address violations, and may require the installation of costly pollution control equipment or operational changes to limit emissions or discharges. We also incur, and expect to continue to incur, costs to comply with current environmental laws and regulations. At the same time, the demand for our land reclamation and water treatment services also is driven by federal and state laws, regulations and programs which create incentives for our services. Developments such as the adoption of new environmental laws and regulations, stricter enforcement of existing laws and regulations, violations by us of such laws and regulations, discovery of previously unknown or more extensive contamination, litigation involving environmental impacts, our inability to recover costs associated with any such developments, or the financial insolvency of other responsible parties could in the future have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

Our insurance may not provide adequate coverage.

Although we maintain general and product liability, property and commercial insurance coverage in amounts which we consider prudent, there can be no assurance that such insurance will prove adequate in the event of actual casualty losses or broader calamities such as earthquakes, financial crises, economic depressions or other catastrophic events, which are either uninsurable or not economically insurable. Any such losses could have a material adverse effect on the performance of our systems.

Our land reclamation and water treatment business is subject to various statutory and regulatory requirements, which may increase in the future.

Our land reclamation and water treatment business is subject to various statutory and regulatory requirements. Our ability to continue to hold licenses and permits required for our land reclamation and water treatment business is subject to maintaining satisfactory compliance with such requirements. We may incur significant costs to maintain compliance. Our ability to obtain modifications to our permits may be met with resistance, substantial statutory or regulatory requirements or may be too costly to achieve. These requirements may cause us to postpone or cancel our plans. Future statutory and regulatory requirements, including any legislation focused on combating climate change, may require significant cost to comply or may require changes to our products or services.

The environmental regulations to which we are subject may increase our costs and potential liabilities and limit our ability to operate.

Our land reclamation and water treatment business is subject to various federal, state, and local environmental requirements, including those relating to emissions to air, discharged wastewater, storage, treatment, transport and disposal of regulated materials and cleanup of coal mining and groundwater contamination. Efforts to conduct our operations in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations, including environmental rules and regulations, require programs to promote compliance, such as training employees and customers, purchasing health and safety equipment and in some cases hiring outside consultants and lawyers. Even with these programs, we face the risk of being subject to government enforcement proceedings, which can result in fines or other sanctions and require expenditures for remedial work on contaminated sites. The landscape of environmental regulation to which we are subject can change. Changes to environmental regulation often present new business opportunities for us; however, such changes may also result in increased operating and compliance costs. While we seek to monitor the landscape of environmental regulation, our ability to navigate is limited by our small size and resources, and any changes to such regulations may result in a material effect on our operations, cash flows or financial condition.

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Regulators also have the power to suspend or revoke permits or licenses needed for operation of our equipment and vehicles based on, among other factors, our compliance record, and customers may decide not to do business with us because of concerns about our compliance record. Suspension or revocation of permits or licenses would impact our land reclamation and water treatment business and could have a material impact on our financial results. Although we have never had any of our operating permits revoked, suspended or non-renewed involuntarily, it is possible that such an event could occur in the future.

Certain environmental laws and regulations impose liability and responsibility on present and former owners, operators or users of facilities and sites for contamination at such facilities and sites without regard to causation or knowledge of contamination. Investigations undertaken in connection with these activities may lead to discoveries of contamination that must be remediated, and closures of facilities might trigger compliance requirements that are not applicable to operating facilities.

Within the coal mining remediation market, demand for our services will be limited to a specific customer base and highly correlated to the coal mining industry. The coal mining industry’s demand for our services and products is affected by a number of factors including the volatile nature of the coal mining industry’s business, increased use of alternative types of energy and technological developments in the coal mining extraction process. A significant reduction in the target market’s demand for coal mining would reduce the demand for our services and products, which would have a material adverse effect upon our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

We require a variety of permits to operate our business. If we are not successful in obtaining and/or maintaining those permits it will adversely impact our operations.

Our land reclamation and water treatment business requires permits to operate. Our inability to obtain permits in a timely manner could result in substantial delays to our business. The issuance of permits is dependent on the applicable government agencies and is beyond our control and that of our customers. There can be no assurance that we and/or our customers will receive the permits necessary to operate, which could substantially and adversely affect our operations and financial condition.

Based on the nature of our business, we currently depend and are likely to continue to depend on a limited number of customers for a significant portion of our revenues.

We currently have five customers in West Virginia that account for substantially all of our land reclamation and water treatment business. The failure to obtain additional customers or the loss of all or a portion of the revenues attributable to any current or future customer as a result of competition, creditworthiness, inability to negotiate extensions or replacement of contracts or otherwise could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

If our customers do not enter into, extend or honor their contracts with us, our profitability could be adversely affected. Our ability to receive payment for production depends on the continued solvency and creditworthiness of our customers and prospective customers. If any of our customers’ creditworthiness suffers, we may bear an increased risk with respect to payment defaults. If customers refuse to make payments for which they have a contractual obligation, our revenues could be adversely affected.

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Risks Related to Our Cannabinoid Drug Development Business

If we are unable to market and distribute our products effectively, we may be unable to generate significant revenue.

We currently have limitedno sales, marketing or distribution capabilities. We intendcapabilities with respect to our cannabinoid drug development business. If sufficient capital is available, we may choose to build thesesales, marketing or distribution capabilities internally and also toor pursue collaborative arrangements regardingfor the sales and marketing of our products, including steps necessary to commercialize legacy stevia products and technologies. However, weproducts. We may be unable to establish or maintain any such collaborative arrangements, or if able to do so, they may not provide us with the sales and marketing benefits we expect. To the extent that we decide not to, or are unable to, enter into successful collaborative arrangements with respect to the sale and marketing of our proposed stevia products, significant capital expenditures, management resources and time will be required to establish and develop an in-house marketing and sales force with appropriate expertise. We may not be able to establish or maintain relationships with third party collaborators or develop in-house sales and distribution capabilities. To the extent that we depend on third parties for marketing and distribution, any revenues we receive will depend upon the efforts of such third parties and there can be no assurance that such effortsthird parties will establish adequate sales and distribution capabilities or be successful in gaining market acceptance of any approved product. If we are not successful in commercializing any product approved in the future, either on our own or through third parties, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially adversely affected.

We may seek orphan drug status for our products for the treatment of certain diseases or conditions, but we may be unsuccessful.unable to obtain such designation or to maintain the benefits associated with orphan drug status, including market exclusivity, which may cause our revenue, if any, to be reduced.

Regulatory authorities in some jurisdictions, including the United States and European Union, may designate drugs for relatively small patient populations as orphan drugs. The FDA may grant Orphan Drug Designation to drugs intended to treat a rare disease or condition that affects fewer than 200,000 individuals annually in the United States, or, if the disease or condition affects more than 200,000 individuals annually in the United States, if there is no reasonable expectation that the cost of developing and making the drug would be recovered from sales in the United States. In the European Union, the EMA’s Committee for Orphan Medicinal Products grants Orphan Drug Designation to promote the development of products that are intended for the diagnosis, prevention or treatment of life-threatening or chronically debilitating conditions affecting not more than five in 10,000 persons in the European Union. Additionally, designation is granted for products intended for the diagnosis, prevention or treatment of a life-threatening, seriously debilitating or serious and chronic condition and when, without incentives, it is unlikely that sales of the drug in the European Union would be sufficient to justify the necessary investment in developing the drug.

In the United States, Orphan Drug Designation entitles a party to financial incentives, such as opportunities for grant funding towards clinical trial costs, tax credits for certain research and user fee waivers under certain circumstances. In addition, if a product receives the first FDA approval for the indication for which it has orphan designation, the product is entitled to seven years of market exclusivity, which means the FDA may not approve any other application for the same drug for the same indication for a period of seven years, except in limited circumstances, such as a showing of clinical superiority over the product with orphan exclusivity. Orphan drug exclusivity does not prevent the FDA from approving a different drug for the same disease or condition, or the same drug for a different disease or condition. In the European Union, Orphan Drug Designation also entitles a party to financial incentives such as reduction of fees or fee waivers and ten years of market exclusivity following drug approval. This period may be reduced to six years if the Orphan Drug Designation criteria are no longer met, including where it is shown that the product is sufficiently profitable so that market exclusivity is no longer justified.

As a result, even if our products receive orphan exclusivity, the FDA or European Medicines Agency (EMA) can still approve other drugs that have a different active ingredient for use in treating the same indication. Furthermore, the FDA can waive orphan exclusivity if we are unable to manufacture sufficient supply of our products or the EMA could reduce the term of exclusivity if our products are sufficiently profitable.

While we have received orphan drug designation for our VBX-100 prodrug for the treatment of pediatric ulcerative colitis, exclusive marketing rights in the United States may be limited if we seek approval for an indication broader than the orphan designated indication and may be lost if the FDA or EMA later determines that the request for designation was materially defective or if the manufacturer is unable to assure sufficient quantities of the product to meet the needs of patients with the rare disease or condition.

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We are largely dependent on the success of our products, which are still in preclinicalpre-clinical development and will require significant capital resources and years of clinical development effort.

We currently have no pharmaceutical products on the market, and our product candidates are still in preclinicalpre-clinical development. OurThe success of our cannabinoid drug development business depends almost entirely on the successful clinical development, regulatory approval and commercialization of our product candidates, and additional preclinicalpre-clinical testing and substantial clinical development and regulatory approval efforts will be required before we are permitted to commence commercialization, if ever. TheAny clinical trials and manufacturing and marketing of product candidates will be subject to extensive and rigorous review and regulation by numerous government authorities in the United States and other jurisdictions where we intend to test and, if approved, market our product candidates. Before obtaining regulatory approvals for the commercial sale of any product candidate, we mustwould need to demonstrate through preclinicalpre-clinical testing and clinical trials that the product candidate is safe and effective for use in each target indication, and potentially in specific patient populations. This process can take many years and may include post-marketing studies and surveillance, which would require the expenditureexpenditures of substantial resources beyond the proceeds we raise in this offering. Of the large number of drugs in development for approval in the United States and the European Union, only a small percentage successfully complete the FDA or EMA regulatory approval processes, as applicable, and are commercialized. Accordingly, evenour current resources. Even if we are able to obtain the requisite financing to continue to fund our research, development and clinical programs, we cannot assure youare not certain that any of our product candidates will be successfully developed or commercialized.

Because the results of preclinicalpre-clinical testing are not necessarily predictive of future results, our products may not have favorable results in our plannedtheir clinical trials.

Any positive results from our preclinicalpre-clinical testing of our products may not necessarily be predictive of the results from our planned clinical trials in humans. Many companies in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries have suffered significant setbacks in clinical trials after achieving positive results in preclinical development, and we cannot be certain that we will not face similar setbacks. These setbacks have been caused by, among other things, preclinical findings made while clinical trials were underway or safety or efficacy observations made in clinical trials, including adverse events. Moreover, preclinical and clinical data are often susceptible to varying interpretations and analyses, and many companies that believed their product candidates performed satisfactorily in preclinical studies and clinical trials nonetheless failed to obtain FDA or EMA approval. If we fail to produce positive

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results in our clinical trials, the development timeline and regulatory approval and commercialization prospects for our products and, correspondingly, our business and financial prospects, would be materially adversely affected.

Failures or delays in the completion of our preclinicalpre-clinical studies or the commencement and completion of our clinical trials could result in increased costs to us and could delay, prevent or limit our ability to generate revenue and continue our business.

To date, we have not completed our pre-clinical animal studies or commenced any clinical trials. Successful completion of such pre-clinical animal studies and clinical trials is a prerequisite to submitting an NDA to the FDA or an MAAa marketing authorization application (MAA) to the EMA. Clinical trials are expensive, difficult to design and implement, can take many years to complete and their outcomes are uncertain as to outcome.uncertain. A product candidate can unexpectedly fail at any stage of clinical development. The historic failure rate for product candidates is high due to scientific feasibility, safety, efficacy, changing standards of medical care and other variables. The commencement and completion of clinical trials can be delayed or prevented for a number of reasons, including, among others:

delays in reaching or failing to reach agreement on acceptable terms with prospective clinical trial sites, the terms of which can be subject to extensive negotiation and may vary significantly among different clinical trial sites;

delays or inability in manufacturing or obtaining sufficient quantity or quality of a product candidate or other materials necessary to conduct clinical trials due to regulatory and manufacturing constraints; constraints, including delays or an inability to hire appropriate staff or consultants with requisite expertise in chemistry and manufacturing controls for pharmaceutical products;

difficulties obtaining institutional review board, or IRB,Institutional Review Board (IRB), DEA or comparable foreign regulatory authority, or ethics committee approval to conduct a clinical trial at a prospective site or sites;

challenges in recruiting and enrolling patients to participate in clinical trials, including the size and nature of the patient population, the proximity of patients to clinical trial sites, eligibility criteria for the clinical trial, the nature of the clinical trial protocol, the availability of approved effective treatments for the relevant indication and competition from other clinical trial programs for similar indications;

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severe or unexpected toxicities or drug-related side effects experienced by patients in our clinical trials or by individuals using drugs similar to our product candidates;

DEA or comparable foreign regulatory authority-related recordkeeping, reporting or security violations at a clinical trial site, leading the DEA, state authorities or comparable foreign regulatory authorities to suspend or revoke the site's controlled substance license at the site and causing a delay or termination of planned or ongoing clinical trials;

regulatory concerns with cannabinoid products generally and the potential for abuse of those products;

difficulties retaining patients who have enrolled in a clinical trial who may withdraw due to lack of efficacy, side effects, personal issues or loss of interest;

ambiguous or negative interim results; or

lack of adequate funding to continue the clinical trial.

In addition, a clinical trial may be suspended or terminated by us, the FDA, IRBs, ethics committees, data safety monitoring boardboards or other foreign regulatory authorities overseeing the clinical trial at issue or other regulatory authorities due to a number of factors, including, among others:

failure to conduct the clinical trial in accordance with regulatory requirements or our clinical trial protocols;

inspection of the clinical trial operations, or clinical trial sites, or drug manufacturing facilities by the FDA, the DEA, the EMA or other foreign regulatory authorities that reveals deficiencies or violations that require us to undertake corrective action, including the imposition of a clinical hold;

unforeseen safety issues, including any safety issues that could be identified in our ongoing toxicology studies;

adverse side effects or lack of effectiveness; and

changes in government regulations or administrative actions.

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We intend to focus on prodrugs for certain indications, and may fail to capitalize on other product candidates or other indications that may be more profitable or for which there is a greater likelihood of success.

Because we have limited financial and managerial resources, we are focusing onhave reduced the scope of our research programs relatingprogram and have limited that research to our proprietary products for certain indications, which concentrates the risk of product failure in the event the products prove to be unsafe, or ineffective or inadequate for clinical development or commercialization. As a result, we may forego or delay pursuit of opportunities with other product candidates or for other indications that could later prove to have greater commercial potential. Our resource allocation decisions may cause us to fail to capitalize on viable commercial products or profitable market opportunities. Our spending on proprietary research and development programs relating to our products may not yield any commercially viable products. If we do not accurately evaluate the commercial potential or target market for our products, we may relinquish valuable rights to our products through collaboration, licensing or other royalty arrangements in cases in which it would have been more advantageous for us to retain sole development and commercialization rights to our products.

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The regulatory approval processes of the FDA, the EMA and other comparable foreign regulatory authorities are lengthy, time-consuming and inherently unpredictable, and if we are ultimately unable to obtain regulatory approval for our product candidates, our business will be substantially harmed.

We are not permitted to market our product candidates in the United States or the European Union until we receive approval of an NDA from the FDA or an MAA from the EMA, respectively, or in any foreign countries until we receive the requisite approval from such countries. Prior to submitting an NDA to the FDA or an MAA to the EMA for approval of our product candidates we will need to complete our ongoing preclinicalpre-clinical studies, as well as Phase 1, Phase 2 and Phase 3 clinical trials. We are still conducting preclinicalpre-clinical studies and have not yet commenced our clinical program or tested any product in humans. We plan to submit NDAs for our products to the FDA upon completion of all requisite clinical trials. Successfully initiating and completing our clinical program and obtaining approval of an NDA or MAA is a complex, lengthy, expensive and uncertain process, and the FDA or EMA may delay, limit or deny approval of our product candidates for many reasons, including, among others, because:

we may not be able to demonstrate that our product candidates are safe and effective in treating patients to the satisfaction of the FDA or EMA;

the results of our clinical trials may not meet the level of statistical or clinical significance required by the FDA or EMA for marketing approval;

the FDA or EMA may disagree with the number, design, size, conduct or implementation of our clinical trials;

the FDA or EMA may require that we conduct additional clinical trials;

the FDA or EMA or other applicable foreign regulatory authorities may not approve the formulation, labeling or specifications of our product candidates;

the contract research organizations, or CROs, and other contractors that we may retain to conduct our clinical trials may take actions outside of our control that materially adversely impact our clinical trials;

the FDA or EMA may find the data from preclinicalpre-clinical studies and clinical trials insufficient to demonstrate that our products’ clinical and other benefits outweigh their safety risks;

the FDA or EMA may disagree with our interpretation of data from our preclinicalpre-clinical studies and clinical trials;

the FDA or EMA may not accept data generated at our clinical trial sites or may disagree with us over whether to accept efficacy results from clinical trial sites outside the United States where the standard of care is potentially different from that in the United States;

if and when our NDAs or MAAs are submitted to the FDA or EMA, as applicable, the regulatory agency may have difficulties scheduling the necessary review meetings in a timely manner, may recommend against approval of our application or may recommend or require, as a condition of approval, additional preclinicalpre-clinical studies or clinical trials, limitations on approved labeling or distribution and use restrictions;

the FDA may require development of a Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy or REMS,(REMS), which would use risk minimization strategies beyond the professional labeling to ensure that the benefits of certain prescription drugs outweigh

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their risks, as a condition of approval or post-approval, and the EMA may grant only conditional approval or impose specific obligations as a condition for marketing authorization, or may require us to conduct post-authorization safety studies;

the FDA, EMA, DEA or other applicable foreign regulatory agencies may not approve the manufacturing processes or facilities of third-party manufacturers with which we contract orcontract;

● the DEA or other applicable foreign regulatory agency may establish quotas maythat limit the quantities of controlled substances available to our manufacturers; or

the FDA or EMA may change their approval policies or adopt new regulations.

Any of these factors, many of which are beyond our control, could jeopardize our ability to obtain regulatory approval for and successfully market our products.

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Even if our products receive regulatory approval, they may still face future development and regulatory difficulties.

If we seek and obtain regulatory approval for any of our products, such approval would be subject to extensive ongoing requirements by the DEA, FDA, EMA and other foreign regulatory authorities related to the manufacture, quality control, further development, labeling, packaging, storage, distribution, safety surveillance, import, export, advertising, promotion, recordkeeping and reporting of safety and other post-market information. The safety profile of any product will continue to be closely monitored by the FDA, EMA and other comparable foreign regulatory authorities. If the FDA, EMA or any other comparable foreign regulatory authority becomes aware of new safety information after approval of any of our product candidates, theseThese regulatory authorities may require labeling changes or establishment of a REMS, impose significant restrictions on a product'sproduct’s indicated uses or marketing, impose ongoing requirements for potentially costly post-approval studies or post-market surveillance, or impose a recall.

In addition, manufacturers of therapeutic products and their facilities are subject to continual review and periodic inspections by the FDA, the EMA and other comparable foreign regulatory authorities for compliance with current good manufacturing practices or cGMP,(cGMP) regulations. Our current facilities and staff have never undergone such an inspection, and we currently rely upon outside consultants and advisors to provide guidance on chemistry and manufacturing controls for pharmaceutical products. Further, manufacturers of controlled substances must obtain and maintain necessary DEA and state registrations and registrations with applicable foreign regulatory authorities and must establish and maintain processes to ensure compliance with DEA and state requirements and requirements of applicable foreign regulatory authorities governing, among other things, the storage, handling, security, recordkeeping and reporting for controlled substances. If we or a regulatory agency discover previously unknown problems with a product, such as adverse events of unanticipated severity or frequency, or problems with the facility where the product is manufactured, a regulatory agency may impose restrictions on that product, the manufacturing facility or us, including requiring recall or withdrawal of the product from the market or suspension of manufacturing. If we, our product candidates or the manufacturing facilities for our product candidates fail to comply with applicable regulatory requirements, a regulatory agency may, among other things:

 issue untitled letters or warning letters; 

 mandate modifications to promotional materials or require us to provide corrective information to healthcare practitioners; 

 require us to enter into a consent decree, which can include imposition of various fines, reimbursements for inspection costs, required due dates for specific actions and penalties for noncompliance; 

 seek an injunction or impose civil or criminal penalties or monetary fines; 

 suspend or withdraw regulatory approval; 

 suspend any ongoing clinical trials; 

 refuse to approve pending applications or supplements to applications filed by us; or 

 require us to initiate a product recall.

The occurrence of any event or penalty described above may inhibit our ability to commercialize our product candidates and may otherwise have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

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Our products will be subject to controlled substance laws and regulations; failure to receive necessary approvals may delay the launch of our products and failure to comply with these laws and regulations may adversely affect the results of our business operations.

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Our products will contain controlled substances as defined in the federal Controlled Substances Act of 1970 or CSA.(CSA). Controlled substances that are pharmaceutical products are subject to a high degree of regulation under the CSA, which establishes, among other things, certain registration, manufacturing quotas, security, recordkeeping, reporting, import, export and other requirements administered by the DEA. The DEA classifies controlled substances into five schedules: Schedule I, II, III, IV or V substances. Schedule I substances by definition have a high potential for abuse, have no currently "accepted“accepted medical use"use” in the United States, lack accepted safety for use under medical supervision, and may not be prescribed, marketed or sold in the United States. Pharmaceutical products approved for use in the United States may be listed as Schedule II, III, IV or V, with Schedule II substances considered to present the highest potential for abuse or dependence and Schedule V substances the lowest relative risk of abuse among such substances. Schedule I and II drugs are subject to the strictest controls under the CSA, including manufacturing and procurement quotas, security requirements and criteria for importation. In addition, dispensing of Schedule II drugs is further restricted. For example, they may not be refilled without a new prescription.

While Cannabiscannabis is a Schedule I controlled substance, products approved for medical use in the United States that contain Cannabiscannabis or Cannabiscannabis extracts must be placed in Schedules II - V, since approval by the FDA satisfies the "accepted“accepted medical use"use” requirement. If and when our products receive FDA approval, the DEA will make a scheduling determination and place them in a schedule other than Schedule I in order for it to be prescribed to patients in the United States. If approved by the FDA, we expect the finished dosage forms of our products to be listed by the DEA as a Schedule II, III, IV or IIIV controlled substance. Consequently, their manufacture, importation, exportation, domestic distribution, storage, sale and legitimate use will be subject to a significant degree of regulation by the DEA. The scheduling process may take one or more years beyondadditional time after FDA approval, thereby significantly delaying the launch of our products. Furthermore, if the FDA, DEA or any foreign regulatory authority determines that our products may have potential for abuse, it may require us to generate more clinical data than that which is currently anticipated, which could increase the cost and/or delay the launch of our products.

Because our products will contain active ingredients of Cannabis, which arecompounds considered to be Schedule I substances, to conduct preclinicalpre-clinical studies and clinical trials with our products in the United States prior to approval, each of our research sites must submit a research protocol to the DEA and obtain and maintain a DEA researcher registration that will allow those sites to procure necessary materials from suppliers, and to handle and dispense our products. If the DEA delays or denies the grant of a research registration to one or more research sites, the preclinicalpre-clinical studies or clinical trials could be significantly delayed, and we could lose and be required to replace clinical trial sites, resulting in additional costs.

We expect that our products will be scheduled as Schedule II or III, as a result of which we will also need to identify wholesale distributors with the appropriate DEA registrations and authority to distribute theour products to pharmacies and other healthcare providers, and these distributors would need to obtain Schedule II or IIIthrough V distribution registrations. The failure to obtain, or delay in obtaining, or the loss of any of those registrations could result in increased costs to us. If our products are Schedule II drugs, pharmacies would have to maintain enhanced security with alarms and monitoring systems and they must adhere to recordkeeping and inventory requirements. This may discourage some pharmacies from carrying the product. Furthermore, state and federal enforcement actions, regulatory requirements, and legislation intended to reduce prescription drug abuse, such as the requirement that physicians consult a state prescription drug monitoring program, may make physicians less willing to prescribe, and pharmacies to dispense, Schedule II products.

We may manufacture the commercial supply of our products, or necessary raw materials, outside of the United States. If our products are each approved by the FDA and classified as a Schedule II or III substance, an importer can import that product for commercial purposes if it obtains from the DEA an importer registration and files an application with the DEA for an import permit for each import.importation. The DEA provides annual assessments/estimates to the International Narcotics Control Board which guides the DEA in the amounts of controlled substances that the DEA authorizes to be imported. The failure to identify an importer or obtain the necessary import authority, including specific quantities, could affect the availability of our products and have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. In addition, an application for a Schedule II importer registration must be published in the Federal Register, and there is a waiting period for third partythird-party comments to be submitted.

Individual states have also established controlled substance laws and regulations. ThoughAlthough state-controlled substance laws often mirror federal law, because the states are separate jurisdictions, they may separately schedule our product candidates as well.in a different manner. While some states automatically schedule a drug based on federal action, other states schedule drugs through rulemaking or a legislative action. State scheduling may delay commercial sale of any product for which we obtain federal regulatory approval and adverse scheduling could have a material adverse effect on the commercial attractiveness of such product. We or our partners must also obtain separate state registrations, permits or licenses in order to be able to obtain, handle, and distribute controlled substances for clinical trials or commercial sale, and failure to meet applicable regulatory requirements could lead to enforcement actions and sanctions by the states in addition to those from the DEA or otherwise arising under federal law.

Product shipment delays could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

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The shipment, import

We currently face, and export ofwill continue to face, significant competition in our products and raw materials may require import and export licenses. Inpharmaceutical business.

Our major competitors for the United States, the FDA, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and in other countries, similar regulatory authorities, regulate the import and exportdevelopment of pharmaceutical products related to cannabinoids and inflammatory disorders include major pharmaceutical companies, smaller companies, and academic research groups that contain controlled substances. Specifically, the importare devoted to biological or pharmaceutical research either independently or by providing contract research services. A number of multinational pharmaceutical companies are developing products in similar therapeutic areas, including, but not limited to, Biogen, Teva Neuroscience, Pfizer, Endo Pharmaceuticals, Genzyme, Novartis, Bayer Healthcare, and export process requires the issuanceadditional companies such as Jazz Pharmaceuticals, Corbus Pharmaceuticals, Trait Biosciences, and Zynerba Pharmaceuticals are developing cannabinoid pharmaceuticals for treatment of importvarious clinical indications and export licenses by the relevant controlled substance authority in both the importing and exporting country. We may not be granted, or if granted, maintain, such licenses from the authorities in certain countries. Even if we obtain the relevant licenses, shipments of our products and materials may be held up in transit, which could cause significant delays and may lead to product batches being stored outside required temperature ranges. Inappropriate storage may damage the product shipment resulting in delays in clinical trials or, upon commercialization, a partial or total loss of revenue from one or more shipments of our products. A delay in a clinical trial or, upon commercialization, a partial or total loss of revenue from one or more shipments of our products could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.commercial applications.

Failure to obtain regulatory approval in jurisdictions outside the United States and the European Union would prevent our product candidates from being marketed in those jurisdictions.

In order to market and sell our products in jurisdictions other than the United States and the European Union, we must obtain separate marketing approvals and comply with numerous and varying regulatory requirements. The regulatory approval process outside the United States and the European Union generally includes all of the risks associated with obtaining FDA and EMA approval, but can involve additional testing. We may need to partner with third parties in order to obtain approvals outside the United States and the European Union. In addition, in many countries worldwide, it is required that the product be approved for reimbursement before the product can be approved for sale in that country. We may not obtain approvals from regulatory authorities outside the United States and the European Union on a timely basis, if at all. Even if we were to receive approval in the United States or the European Union, approval by the FDA or the EMA does not ensure approval by regulatory authorities in other countries or jurisdictions. Similarly, approval by one regulatory authority outside the United States and the European Union would not ensure approval by regulatory authorities in other countries or jurisdictions or by the FDA or the EMA. We may not be able to file for marketing approvals and may not receive necessary approvals to commercialize our products in any market. If we are unable to obtain approval of our product candidates by regulatory authorities in other foreign jurisdictions, the commercial prospects of those product candidates may be significantly diminished and our business prospects could decline.

Healthcare legislation, including potentially unfavorable pricing regulations or other healthcare reform initiatives, may increase the difficulty and cost for us to obtain marketing approval of and commercialize our product candidates.

In the United States there have been a number of legislative and regulatory changes and proposed changes regarding the healthcare system that could prevent or delay marketing approval of our product candidates, restrict or regulate post-approval activities or affect our ability to profitably sell any product candidates for which we obtain marketing approval.

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, as amended by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act, or the Affordable Care Act, among other things, imposes a significant annual fee on companies that manufacture or import branded prescription drug products. It also contains substantial provisions intended to broaden access to health insurance, reduce or constrain the growth of healthcare spending, enhance remedies against healthcare fraud and abuse, add new transparency requirements for the healthcare and health insurance industries, impose new taxes and fees on pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers, and impose additional health policy reforms, any of which could negatively impact our business. A significant number of provisions are not yet, or have only recently become effective, but the Affordable Care Act is likely to continue the downward pressure on pharmaceutical and medical device pricing, especially under the Medicare program, and may also increase our regulatory burdens and operating costs.

In addition, other legislative changes have been proposed and adopted since passage of the Affordable Care Act. The Budget Control Act of 2011, among other things, created the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction to recommend to Congress proposals in spending reductions. The Joint Select Committee did not achieve a targeted deficit reduction of an amount greater than $1.2 trillion for the fiscal years 2012 through 2021, triggering the legislation's automatic reduction to several government programs. This included aggregate reductions to Medicare payments to healthcare providers of up to 2.0% per fiscal year, which went into effect in April 2013. In January 2013, President Obama signed into law the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, which, among other things, reduced Medicare payments to several categories of healthcare providers and increased the statute of limitations period for the government to recover overpayments to providers from three to five years. If we ever obtain regulatory approval and successfully commercialize our products, these new laws may result in additional reductions in Medicare and other healthcare funding, which could have a material adverse effect on our customers and accordingly, our financial operations.

We expect that the Affordable Care Act, as well as other healthcare reform measures that have been and may be adopted in the future, may result in more rigorous coverage criteria and in additional downward pressure on the price that we receive for any approved product, and could seriously harmnegatively impact our future revenues. Any reduction in reimbursement from Medicare or other government

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programs may result in a similar reduction in payments from private payors. The implementation of cost containment measures or other healthcare reforms may compromise our ability to generate revenue, attain profitability or commercialize our products.

We may seek orphan drug status for our products for the treatment of certain diseases or conditions, but we may be unable to obtain such designation or to maintain the benefits associated orphan drug status, including market exclusivity, which may cause our revenue, if any, to be reduced.

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Regulatory authorities in some jurisdictions, including the United States and European Union, may designate drugs for relatively small patient populations as orphan drugs. The FDA may grant Orphan Drug Designation to drugs intended to treat a rare disease or condition that affects fewer than 200,000 individuals annually in the United States, or, if the disease or condition affects more than 200,000 individuals annually in the United States, if there is no reasonable expectation that the cost of developing and making the drug would be recovered from sales in the United States. In the European Union, the EMA's Committee for Orphan Medicinal Products grants Orphan Drug Designation to promote the development of products that are intended for the diagnosis, prevention or treatment of life-threatening or chronically debilitating conditions affecting not more than five in 10,000 persons in the European Union community. Additionally, designation is granted for products intended for the diagnosis, prevention or treatment of a life-threatening, seriously debilitating or serious and chronic condition and when, without incentives, it is unlikely that sales of the drug in the European Union would be sufficient to justify the necessary investment in developing the drug.

In the United States, Orphan Drug Designation entitles a party to financial incentives, such as opportunities for grant funding towards clinical trial costs, tax credits for certain research and user fee waivers under certain circumstances. In addition, if a product receives the first FDA approval for the indication for which it has orphan designation, the product is entitled to seven years of market exclusivity, which means the FDA may not approve any other application for the same drug for the same indication for a period of seven years, except in limited circumstances, such as a showing of clinical superiority over the product with orphan exclusivity. Orphan drug exclusivity does not prevent the FDA from approving a different drug for the same disease or condition, or the same drug for a different disease or condition. In the European Union, Orphan Drug Designation also entitles a party to financial incentives such as reduction of fees or fee waivers and ten years of market exclusivity following drug approval. This period may be reduced to six years if the Orphan Drug Designation criteria are no longer met, including where it is shown that the product is sufficiently profitable so that market exclusivity is no longer justified.

As a result, even if our products receive orphan exclusivity, the FDA or EMA can still approve other drugs that have a different active ingredient for use in treating the same indication. Furthermore, the FDA can waive orphan exclusivity if we are unable to manufacture sufficient supply of our products or the EMA could reduce the term of exclusivity if our products are sufficiently profitable.

We may seek orphan drug designation for our products, but exclusive marketing rights in the United States may be limited if we seek approval for an indication broader than the orphan designated indication and may be lost if the FDA or EMA later determines that the request for designation was materially defective or if the manufacturer is unable to assure sufficient quantities of the product to meet the needs of patients with the rare disease or condition. In addition, although we may seek orphan drug designation for our products, we may never receive such designation, or there may be a delay in receiving such designation that would impact our expected timeframe for clinical development.

Even if we are able to commercialize our products, the products may not receive coverage and adequate reimbursement from third-party payors, which could harm our business.

The availability of reimbursement by governmental and private payors is essential for most patients to be able to afford expensive treatments. Sales of our products, if approved, will depend substantially on the extent to which the costs of these products will be paid by health maintenance, managed care, pharmacy benefit and similar healthcare management organizations, or reimbursed by government health administration authorities, private health coverage insurers and other third-party payors. If reimbursement is not available, or is available only to limited levels, we may not be able to successfully commercialize our products. Even if coverage is provided, the approved reimbursement amount may not be high enough to allow us to establish or maintain pricing sufficient to realize a sufficient return on our investment.

In the United States, the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003, or Medicare Modernization Act, established the Medicare Part D program and provided authority for limiting the number of drugs that will be covered in any therapeutic class thereunder. The Medicare Modernization Act, including its cost reduction initiatives, could decrease the coverage and reimbursement rate that we receive for any of our approved products. Furthermore, private payors often follow Medicare coverage policies and payment limitations in setting their own reimbursement rates. Therefore, any reduction in reimbursement that results from the Medicare Modernization Act may result in a similar reduction in payments from private payors.

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There is significant uncertainty related to the insurance coverage and reimbursement of newly approved products. In the United States, the principal decisions about reimbursement for new medicines are typically made by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services or CMS,(CMS), an agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services or HHS,(HHS), as CMS decides whether and to what extent a new medicine will be covered and reimbursed under Medicare. Private payors tend to follow CMS to a substantial degree.

The intended use of a drug product by a physician can also affect pricing. For example, CMS could initiate a National Coverage Determination administrative procedure, by which the agency determines which uses of a therapeutic product would and would not be reimbursable under Medicare. This determination process can be lengthy, thereby creating a long period during which the future reimbursement for a particular product may be uncertain.

Outside the United States, particularly in member states of the European Union, the pricing of prescription drugs is subject to governmental control. In these countries, pricing negotiations or the successful completion of health technology assessment procedures with governmental authorities can take considerable time after receipt of marketing approval for a product. In addition, there can be considerable pressure by governments and other stakeholders on prices and reimbursement levels, including as part of cost containment measures. Certain countries allow companies to fix their own prices for medicines, but monitor and control company profits. Political, economic and regulatory developments may further complicate pricing negotiations, and pricing negotiations may continue after reimbursement has been obtained. Reference pricing used by various European Union member states and parallel distribution, or arbitrage between low-priced and high-priced member states, can further reduce prices. In some countries, we or our collaborators may be required to conduct a clinical trial or other studies that compare the cost-effectiveness of our product candidates to other available therapies in order to obtain or maintain reimbursement or pricing approval. Publication of discounts by third-party payors or authorities may lead to further pressure on the prices or reimbursement levels within the country of publication and other countries. If reimbursement of any product candidate approved for marketing is unavailable or limited in scope or amount, or if pricing is set at unsatisfactory levels, our business, financial condition, results of operations or prospects could be adversely affected.

Our relationships with customers and third-party payors will be subject to applicable anti-kickback, fraud and abuse and other healthcare laws and regulations, which could expose us to criminal sanctions, civil penalties, contractual damages, reputational harm and diminished profits and future earnings.

Healthcare providers, physicians and third-party payors play a primary role in the recommendation and prescription of any product candidates for which we obtain marketing approval. Our future arrangements with third-party payors and customers may expose us to broadly applicable fraud and abuse and other healthcare laws and regulations that may constrain the business or financial arrangements and relationships through which we market, sell and distribute our products for which we obtain marketing approval. As a pharmaceutical company, even though we do not and will not control referrals of healthcare services or bill directly to Medicare, Medicaid or other third-party payors, certain federal and state healthcare laws and regulations pertaining to fraud and abuse and patients'patients’ rights are and will be applicable to our business. Restrictions under applicable federal and state healthcare laws and regulations that may affect our ability to operate include the following:

 the U.S. federal healthcare Anti-Kickback Statute impacts our marketing practices, educational programs, pricing policies and relationships with healthcare providers or other entities, by prohibiting, among other things, persons from knowingly and willfully soliciting, offering, receiving or providing remuneration, directly or indirectly, in cash or in kind, to induce or reward, or in return for, either the referral of an individual for, or the purchase, order or recommendation of, any good or service, for which payment may be made under a federal healthcare program such as Medicare and Medicaid; 

 federal civil and criminal false claims laws and civil monetary penalty laws impose criminal and civil penalties, including through civil whistleblower or qui tam actions, against individuals or entities for knowingly presenting, or causing to be presented, to the federal government, including the Medicare and Medicaid programs, claims for payment that are false or fraudulent (including through impermissible promotion of our products for off-label uses) or making a false statement or record to avoid, decrease or conceal an obligation to pay money to the federal government; 

 the U.S. federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, or HIPAA, imposes criminal and civil liability for executing a scheme to defraud any healthcare benefit program and also created federal criminal laws that prohibit knowingly and willfully falsifying, concealing or covering up a material fact or making any materially false statements in connection with the delivery of or payment for healthcare benefits, items or services; 

 HIPAA, and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder, establish federal standards for maintaining the privacy and security of certain patient health information known as Protected Health Information, or PHI. As amended by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act, or HITECH, HIPAA establishes federal standards for administrative, technical and physical safeguards relevant to the electronic transmission of PHI and imposes notification obligations in the event of a breach of the privacy or security of PHI. In addition to adhering to the requirements of HIPAA,

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entities considered "covered entities" under HIPAA (such as health plans, healthcare clearinghouses, and certain healthcare providers) are required to obtain assurances in the form of a written contract from certain business associates to which they transmit PHI (or who create, receive, transmit or maintain PHI on the covered entity's behalf) to ensure that the privacy and security of such information is maintained in accordance with HIPAA requirements. HITECH made changes to HIPAA including extending the reach of HIPAA beyond HIPAA covered entities to business associates, increased the maximum civil monetary penalties for violations of HIPAA, and granted enforcement authority to state attorneys general. Failure to comply with HIPAA/HITECH can result in civil and criminal liability, including civil monetary penalties, fines and imprisonment;

 the U.S. federal physician payment transparency requirements under the Affordable Care Act require applicable manufacturers of covered drugs, devices, biologics and medical supplies to report annually to HHS information related to payments and other transfers of value to physicians, certain other healthcare providers, and teaching hospitals, and ownership and investment interests held by physicians and certain other healthcare providers and their immediate family members and applicable group purchasing organizations; and 

analogous state laws and regulations, such as state anti-kickback and false claims laws, may apply to sales or marketing arrangements and claims involving healthcare items or services reimbursed by non-governmental third-party payors, including private insurers. Some state laws require pharmaceutical companies to comply with the pharmaceutical industry's voluntary compliance guidelines and the relevant compliance guidance promulgated by the federal government and may require drug manufacturers to report information related to payments and other transfers of value to physicians and certain other healthcare providers or marketing expenditures. Additionally, state and foreign laws govern the privacy and security of health information in certain circumstances, many of which differ from each other in significant ways and often are not preempted by HIPAA/HITECH, thus complicating compliance efforts.

Comparable laws and regulations exist in the countries within the European Economic Area or EEA.(EEA). Although such laws are partially based upon European Union law, they may vary from country to country. Healthcare specific, as well as general European Union and national laws, regulations and industry codes constrain, for example, our interactions with government officials and healthcare practitioners, and the handling of healthcare data. Non-compliance with any of these laws or regulations could lead to criminal or civil liability.

Efforts to ensure that our business arrangements with third parties will comply with applicable healthcare laws and regulations will involve substantial costs. It is possible that governmental authorities will conclude that our business practices may not comply with current or future statutes, regulations or case law involving applicable fraud and abuse or other healthcare laws and regulations. If our operations are found to be in violation of any of these laws or any other governmental regulations that may apply to us, we may be subject to significant civil, criminal and administrative penalties, damages, fines, imprisonment, exclusion from government funded healthcare programs, such as Medicare and Medicaid, and the curtailment or restructuring of our operations. If any physicians or other healthcare providers or entities with whom we expect to do business are found to not be in compliance with applicable laws, they may be subject to criminal, civil or administrative sanctions, including exclusions from government funded healthcare programs.

Also, the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and similar worldwide anti-bribery laws generally prohibit companies and their intermediaries from making improper payments to non-U.S. officials for the purpose of obtaining or retaining business. Our internal control policies and procedures may not protect us from reckless or negligent acts committed by our employees, future distributors, licensees or agents. Violations of these laws, or allegations of such violations, could result in fines, penalties or prosecution and have a negative impact on our business, results of operations and reputation.

If we are unable to develop pharmaceutical sales, marketing and distribution capabilities or enter into agreements with third parties to perform these functions on acceptable terms, we may be unable to generate revenue.

If our pharmaceutical products are approved, we will need to develop internal sales, marketing and distribution capabilities to commercialize such products, which would be expensive and time-consuming, or enter into collaborations with third parties to perform these services. If we decide to market our products directly, we will need to commit significant financial and managerial resources to develop a marketing and sales force with technical expertise and supporting distribution, administration and compliance capabilities. If we rely on third parties with such capabilities to market our products or decide to co-promote products with collaborators, we will need to establish and maintain marketing and distribution arrangements with third parties, and there can be no assurance that we will be able to enter into such arrangements on acceptable terms or at all. In entering into third-party marketing or distribution arrangements, any revenue we receive will depend upon the efforts of the third parties and there can be no assurance that such third parties will establish adequate sales and distribution capabilities or be successful in gaining market acceptance of any approved product. If we are not successful in commercializing any product approved in the future, either on our own or through third parties, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially adversely affected.

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Our products, if approved, may be unable to achieve broad market acceptance and, consequently, limit our ability to generate revenue from new products.

Even when product development is successful and regulatory approval has been obtained, our ability to generate significant revenue depends on the acceptance of our products by physicians and patients. The market acceptance of any product depends on a number of factors, including the indication statement and warnings approved by regulatory authorities in the product label, continued demonstration of efficacy and safety in commercial use, physicians'physicians’ willingness to prescribe the product, reimbursement from third-party payors such as government healthcare systems and insurance companies, the price of the product, the nature of any post-approval risk management plans mandated by regulatory authorities, competition, and marketing and distribution support. Any factorsfactor preventing or limiting the market acceptance of our product candidates could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

If we receive regulatory approvals, we intend tomay market our products in multiple jurisdictions where we have limited or no operating experience and may be subject to increased business and economic risks that could affect our financial results.

If we receive regulatory approvals, we plan tomay market our products in jurisdictions where we have limited or no experience in marketing, developing and distributing our products. Certain markets have substantial legal and regulatory complexities that we may not have experience navigating. We are subject to a variety of risks inherent in doing business internationally, including risks related to the legal and regulatory environment in non-U.S. jurisdictions, including with respect to privacy and data security, trade control laws and unexpected changes in laws, regulatory requirements and enforcement, as well as risks related to fluctuations in currency exchange rates and political, social and economic instability in foreign countries. If we are unable to manage our international operations successfully, our financial results could be adversely affected.

In addition, controlled substance legislation may differ in other jurisdictions and could restrict our ability to market our products internationally. Most countriesIf we are parties to the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs 1961, which governs international trade and domestic control of narcotic substances, including Cannabisextracts. Countries may interpret and implement their treaty obligations in a way that creates a legal obstacle to us obtaining marketing approval for our products in those countries. These countries may not be willing or able to amend or otherwise modify their laws and regulations to permit our products to be marketed, or achieving such amendments to the laws and regulations may take a prolonged period of time. We would be unable to marketmanage our products in countries with such obstacles in the near future or perhaps at all without modification to laws and regulations.international operations successfully, our financial results could be adversely affected.

Our products will contain controlled substances, the use of which may generate public controversy.

Since our products will contain controlled substances, their regulatory approval may generate public controversy. Political and social pressures and adverse publicity could lead to delays in approval of, and increased expenses for, our products. These pressures could also limit or restrict the introduction and marketing of our products. Adverse publicity from Cannabiscannabis misuse or adverse side effects from Cannabiscannabis or other cannabinoid products may adversely affect the commercial success or market penetration achievable by our products. The nature of our business attracts a high level of public and media interest, and in the event of any resultant adverse publicity, our reputation may be harmed.

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If we fail to protect or enforce our intellectual property rights or secure rights to the intellectual property of others, the value of our intellectual property rights would diminish.

We expect to continue to develop our intellectual property portfolio as we increase our research and development efforts. We may be unable to obtain patents or other protection for any technologies we develop, because such technologies are not coverable by patents or other forms of registered intellectual property, because third parties file patents covering the same claims earlier than we do, or for other reasons. If we are able to obtain issued patents, we cannot predict the degree and range of protection any patents will afford us against competitors, including whether third parties will find ways to invalidate or otherwise circumvent our patents. Others may obtain patents claiming aspects similar to those covered by our patents and patent applications, which may limit the efficacy of the protections afforded by any patents we may obtain.

Our success will also depend upon the skills, knowledge and experience of our personnel, our consultants and advisors as well as our licensors and contractors. To help protect any proprietary know-how we develop and any inventions for which patents may be unobtainable or difficult to obtain, we expect to rely on trade secret protection and confidentiality agreements. To this end, we expect to require our employees, consultants, advisors and contractors to enter into agreements which prohibit the disclosure of confidential information and, where applicable, require disclosure and assignment to us of the ideas, developments, discoveries and inventions important to our business. These agreements may not provide adequate protection for our trade secrets, know-how or other proprietary information in the event of any unauthorized use or disclosure or the lawful development by others of such information. If any of our trade secrets, know-how or other proprietary information is disclosed, the value of our trade secrets, know-how and other proprietary rights would be significantly impaired and our business and competitive position would suffer.

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If we infringe the rights of third parties we could be prevented from selling products and forced to pay damages or defend against litigation.

If our products, methods, processes and other technologies infringe the proprietary rights of other parties, we could incur substantial costs. In that case, we could be required to:

·

obtain licenses from such third parties, which may not be available on commercially reasonable terms, if at all;

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redesign our products or processes to avoid infringement, which may not be feasible;

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stop using the subject matter claimed in the patents held by others;

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pay damages; and/or

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defend litigation or administrative proceedings, which may be costly whether we win or lose, and which could result in a substantial diversion of our valuable management resources.

Any of these outcomes could divert management attention and other resources and could significantly harm our operations and financial condition.

We may incur substantial liabilities and may be required to limit commercialization of our products in response to product liability lawsuits.

If we are able to develop and commercialize our proposed products, we could become subject to product liability claims. If we are not able to successfully defend against such claims, we may incur substantial liabilities or be required to limit commercialization of our proposed products. If we are unable to obtain sufficient product liability insurance at an acceptable cost to protect against potential product liability claims this could prevent or inhibit the commercialization of products we develop, alone or with collaborators. Even if our agreements with any future collaborators entitle us to indemnification against losses, such indemnification may not be available or adequate should any claim arise.

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Government regulation of our products could increase our costs, prevent us from offering certain products or cause us to recall products.

The processing, formulation, manufacturing, packaging, labeling, advertising and distribution of our products is subject to regulation by one or more federal agencies, and various agencies of the states and localities in which our products are manufactured and sold. These government regulatory agencies may attempt to regulate any of our products that fall within their jurisdiction. Such regulatory agencies may not accept the evidence of safety for any new ingredients that we may want to market, may determine that a particular product or product ingredient presents an unacceptable health risk, may determine that a particular statement of nutritional support that we want to use is an unacceptable drug claim or an unauthorized version of a food “health claim,” may determine that a particular product is an unapproved new drug, or may determine that particular claims are not adequately supported by available scientific evidence. Such a determination would prevent us from marketing particular products or using certain statements of nutritional support on our products. We also may be unable to disseminate third-party literature that supports our products if the third-party literature fails to satisfy certain requirements.

In addition, a government regulatory agency could require us to remove a particular product from the market. Any product recall or removal would result in additional costs to us, including lost revenues from any products that we are required to remove from the market, any of which could be material. Any such product recalls or removals could lead to liability, substantial costs and reduced growth prospects.

If any of our products contain plants, herbs or other substances not recognized as safe by a government regulatory agency, we may not be able to market or sell such products in that jurisdiction. Any such prohibition could materially adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition. Further, if more stringent statutes are enacted, or if more stringent regulations are promulgated, we may not be able to comply with such statutes or regulations without incurring substantial expense, or at all.

We are not able to predict the nature of future laws, regulations, repeals or interpretations or to predict the effect additional governmental regulation, if and when it occurs, would have on our business in the future. Such developments could, however, require reformulation of certain products to meet new standards, recalls or discontinuance of certain products not able to be reformulated, additional record-keeping requirements, increased documentation of the properties of certain products, additional or different labeling, additional scientific substantiation, or other new requirements. Any such developments could involve substantial additional costs to us, which we may not be able to fund, and could have a material adverse effect on our business operations and financial condition.

We use hazardous materials in our business.drug development business and may use such materials in our environmental businesses in the future. Any claims relating to improper handling, storage or disposal of these materials could be time consuming and costly.

Our cannabinoid research and development efforts and our manufacturing and agricultural processes may involve the controlled storage, use and disposal of certain hazardous materials and waste products. The same may be true for our environmental businesses. We and our suppliers and other collaborators are subject to federal, state and local regulations governing the use, manufacture, storage, handling and disposal of materials and waste products. Even if we and these suppliers and collaborators comply with the standards prescribed by law and regulation, the risk of accidental contamination or injury from hazardous materials cannot be eliminated. We may not be able to obtain and maintain insurance on acceptable terms, or at all, to cover costs associated with any such accidental contamination. In the event of such an accident, we could be held liable for any damages that result, and any liability could exceed the limits or fall outside the coverage of any insurance we may obtain and exceed our financial resources. We may incur significant costs to comply with current or future environmental laws and regulations.

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Risks Related to our Impact Investing Strategy

If we are unable to identify and acquire businesses or assets in furtherance of our impact investing strategy, we may be unable to generate significant revenue.

We intend to acquire additional businesses and assets that will generate revenue related to our impact investing strategy and there can no assurance that we will be able to do so, or to do so on terms that are acceptable to us, or in a manner that will provide us with the revenue we expect.

Our consideration of sustainability and environmental criteria as the pre-eminent part of our business and investment strategy will limit the types and number of business opportunities available to the Company and may incur substantial liabilitiesresult in the Company engaging in industry sectors that underperform the market as a whole, or forgoing opportunities to invest available capital in businesses that might otherwise be advantageous to acquire or develop. If we are not successful in acquiring or developing desirable businesses or assets which fit within our business strategy or if those businesses do not generate sufficient revenue, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially adversely affected.

Our impact investing strategy is new, untested and may not be successful.

Our impact investing strategy is qualitative and subjective by nature, and there is no guarantee that the factors we utilize in making capital and other resource allocation decisions or any judgment exercised by our management or board will reflect the opinions of any particular shareholder, and the investment criteria utilized by the Company may differ from the investment criteria that any particular shareholder considers relevant in evaluating a company’s sustainability or impact investing practices. In making allocation and investment decisions, Company management will be dependent upon information and data obtained through voluntary or third-party reporting, if available, that may be incomplete, inaccurate or present conflicting information and data with respect to a particular opportunity, which in each case could cause the Company to incorrectly assess a potential target’s business practices with respect to its sustainability and impact investing practices. Socially and environmentally-responsible norms differ by region. In implementing its impact investing strategy, management will seek to exclude businesses deemed to be fundamentally misaligned with the Company’s sustainability principles. In addition, as a result of the Company’s engagement activities, the Company may make an investment in activities or companies that do not currently engage in sustainability or impact investing practices that meet criteria established by the Company in an effort to improve such target’s impact investing practices. Successful application of the Company’s impact investing strategy and management’s engagement efforts will depend on management’s skill in properly identifying and analyzing material sustainability issues, and there can be no assurance that the strategy or techniques employed will be successful.

We have limited experience operating an impact investing strategy and may be requiredsubject to limit commercialization ofincreased business and economic risks that could affect our products in response to product liability lawsuits.financial results.

We have limited experience operating a business with an impact investing strategy. If we are ableunable to manage our impact investing operations successfully, our financial results could be adversely affected.

We may be unable to obtain the financing we need to pursue our impact investing strategy and any future financing we receive may be less favorable to us than our current financing arrangements, either of which may adversely affect our ability to expand our operations.

Sustainability-focused businesses we may seek to acquire or develop will require substantial capital investment. Our access to capital on acceptable or favorable terms to us is necessary for the success of our impact investing strategy, particularly in enhancing our portfolio through M&A activities. Our attempts to obtain the necessary future financing may not be successful or result in financing available on favorable terms. Our ability to arrange for financing on a substantially non-recourse or limited recourse basis, and commercializethe costs of such financing, are dependent on numerous factors, including general economic conditions, conditions in the global capital and credit markets, investor confidence, the success of our proposed products, we could become subjectbusiness, the credit quality of the businesses being financed, and the continued existence of tax laws which are conducive to product liability claims.raising capital for these types of activities. If we are not able to successfully defend against such claims,obtain financing on a substantially non-recourse or limited recourse basis, we may incur substantial liabilitieshave to finance our M&A activities using recourse capital such as direct equity investments or the incurrence of additional debt by us. Also, in the absence of favorable financing options, we may decide not to develop or acquire facilities or businesses from third parties. Any of these alternatives could have a material adverse effect on our growth prospects.

28

We may also need additional financing to implement our impact investing strategic plan. For example, our cash flow from operations and existing liquidity facilities may not be requiredadequate to limit commercialization of our proposed products. Iffinance any acquisitions we are unablemay seek to obtain sufficient product liability insurance at an acceptable costpursue or new technologies we may seek to protect against potential product liability, claims could preventdevelop or inhibit the commercialization of products we develop, aloneacquire. Financing for acquisitions or with corporate collaborators. Even if our agreements with any future corporate collaborators entitle us to indemnification against losses, such indemnificationtechnology development activities may not be available or adequate should any claim arise.on terms we find acceptable.

Government regulation ofUnfavorable legislative changes could affect our products could increase our costs, prevent us from offering certain products or cause us to recall products.financial results.

The processing, formulation, manufacturing, packaging, labeling, advertising and distribution of our products isenvironmental assets we are considering purchasing are often subject to regulation by oneenvironmental regulations, and we expect such regulatory conditions to influence the assumptions we will make regarding the future revenues and expenses associated with such proposed acquisitions. If those regulatory conditions change, our revenues may decrease and our expenses may increase, adversely affecting our financial results.

The reduction or more federal agencies, and various agencieselimination of the states and localities in which our products are manufactured and sold. These government regulatory agencies may attempt to regulate any of our products that fall within their jurisdiction. Such regulatory agencies may not accept the evidence of safety for any new ingredients that we may want to market, may determine that a particular product or product ingredient presents an unacceptable health risk, may determine that a particular statement of nutritional support that we want to use is an unacceptable drug claim or an unauthorized version of a food "health claim," may determine that a particular product is an unapproved new drug, or may determine that particular claims are not adequately supported by available scientific evidence. Such a determination would prevent us from marketing particular products or using certain statements of nutritional support on our products. We also may be unable to disseminate third-party literature that supports our products if the third-party literature fails to satisfy certain requirements.

In addition, a government regulatory agencyincentives could require us to remove a particular product from the market. Any product recall or removal would result in additional costs to us, including lost revenues from any products that we are required to remove from

23


the market, any of which could be material. Any such product recalls or removals could lead to liability, substantial costs and reduced growth prospects.

If any of our products contain plants, herbs or other substances not recognized as safe by a government regulatory agency, we may not be able to market or sell such products in that jurisdiction. Any such prohibition could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, future results and cash flows.

Our impact investing strategy benefits from those public policies and government incentives that support renewable energy and enhance the economic feasibility of operationssustainability-based projects in regions where we operate. Such policies and financial condition. Further, if more stringent statutes are enacted,incentives include tax credits, accelerated depreciation tax benefits, renewable portfolio standards, carbon trading mechanisms, rebates, and may include similar or if more stringent regulations are promulgated, we may not be ableother incentives to comply with such statutesend users, distributors, or regulations without incurring substantial expense, or at all.

We are not able to predict the nature of future laws, regulations, repeals or interpretations or to predict the effect additional governmental regulation, if and when it occurs, would have on our businessother participants in the future. Such developments could, however, require reformulationenergy or mining industry. Some of certain productsthese measures have been implemented at the federal level, while others have been implemented by various states within the United States. The availability and continuation of these public policies and government incentives are likely to meet new standards, recallshave a significant effect on the economics and viability of our environmental businesses. Changes to such public policies or discontinuanceany reduction in or elimination or expiration of certain products not able to be reformulated, additional record-keeping requirements, increased documentationsuch government incentives supporting or deregulating the exploration, production and use of fossil fuels may create regulatory uncertainty in the properties of certain products, additional or different labeling, additional scientific substantiation, or other new requirements. Any such developments could involve substantial additional costs to us,renewable energy industry, which we may not be able to fund, and could have a material adverse effect on our business, operationsfinancial condition, future results, and financial condition.cash flows.

We may decide not to implement, or may not be successful in implementing, one or more elements of our multi-year strategic plan, and the plan as implemented may not achieve its goal of enhancing shareholder value through the long-term growth of our Company.

We are implementing a multi-year strategic plan to develop an impact investing business engaged in a number of complimentary impact investing businesses in the United States which will permit us to explore synergistic growth opportunities utilizing our core competencies.

There are uncertainties and risks associated with our strategic plan, including with respect to implementation and outcome. We may decide to change, or to not implement, one or more elements of the plan over time or we may not be successful in implementing one or more elements of the plan, in each case for a number of reasons. For example, we may face significant challenges and risks expanding into an impact investing business including:

our ability to compete with the large number of other companies pursuing similar business opportunities, many of which already have established businesses in the geographic regions we are targeting and/or have greater financial, strategic, technological or other resources than we have;
our ability to obtain financing on terms we consider acceptable, or at all, which we may need, for example, to develop new projects, to obtain desired technology, personnel, or intellectual property, to acquire one or more existing businesses as a platform for our expansion, or to fund internal research and development;
our ability to provide services or products that keep pace with rapidly changing technology, customer preferences, equipment costs, increasing raw materials and transportation costs, market conditions and other factors that currently are unknown to us that will impact these markets;

29

 

our ability to manage the risks and uncertainties associated with our operating the facilities and projects in this line of business, including the variability of revenues and profitability of such projects;
our ability to devote the management and other resources required to successfully implement this plan; and
our ability to recruit appropriate employees and address labor market challenges in those geographic regions in which we intend to operate.

Apart from the risks associated with implementing the plan, the plan itself will expose us to other risks and uncertainties once implemented. Expanding our customer base may expose us to customers with different credit profiles than our current customers. Expanding our geographic base will subject us to risks associated with doing business in new regions where we will have to learn the local business and political environment. In addition, expanding into new technologies will expose us to new risks and uncertainties that are unknown to us now in addition to the risks and uncertainties that may be similar to those we now face. The success of the plan, once implemented, will depend, among other things, on our ability to manage these risks effectively. There is no assurance that the plan will enhance shareholder value through long-term growth of the Company to the extent currently anticipated by our management or at all.

We have material weaknessesmay engage in transactions with businesses or entities affiliated with our internal control overexecutive officers, directors or major shareholders which may raise potential conflicts of interest.

In carrying our impact investing strategy, we may decide to enter into a transaction or acquire a business affiliated with our executive officers, directors or one or more of our major shareholders. We would pursue a transaction with an affiliated entity if we determined that such affiliated entity met our criteria and guidelines for a business combination or other transaction, and such transaction was approved by a majority of our independent and disinterested directors. We may not obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or another independent entity regarding the fairness to the Company from a financial reporting. If we failpoint of view of such a business combination or transaction. In the event of a transaction with an affiliated entity, potential conflicts of interest may exist and, as a result, the terms of the transaction may not be as advantageous to create effective controls and procedures and an effective systemour public shareholders as they would be absent any conflicts of internal control over financial reporting, weinterest.

We may not be able to accurately report our financial resultssuccessfully conclude the transactions or prevent fraud.

Asintegrate the companies which we disclose in Part II, Item 9A of this annual report, we have material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting and ineffective disclosure controls and procedures, related to insufficient segregation of duties in our finance and accounting functions due to limited personnel and insufficient corporate governance policies. These material weakness result in ineffective oversightmay acquire in the establishmentfuture, which could materially and monitoring of requiredadversely affect our business, financial condition, future results and other controls and procedures.cash flow.

Currently, one person often performs all aspects ofWe intend to carry out our financial reporting process, including, but not limited to, preparing underlying accounting records and systems, posting and recording journal entries and preparing our financial statements. As a result, thereimpact investing strategy primarily through acquisitions. Integrating acquisitions is often no review of our financial reporting process, which could result in a failure to detect errors in spreadsheets, calculations, or assumptions used to compile the financial statementscostly, and related disclosures as filed with the SEC. These control deficiencies could result in a material misstatement of our interim or annual financial statements that may not be prevented or detected.

Our Board of Directors is currently comprised of three directors, Mr. Robert Brooke, our Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Avtar Dhillon, and Dr. Anthony Maida III. Our Board of Directors has designated Dr. Maida as a designated audit committee financial expert, and we have established an audit committee that is currently comprised solely of Dr. Maida. Neither Mr. Brooke nor Dr. Dhillon would be considered independent for purposes of membership on an audit committee pursuant to Nasdaq Listing Rules. Further, Mr. Brooke, who currently serves as our principal financial officer and principal accounting officer, has some professional experience in finance and accounting but does not have professional credentials. We expect to appoint additional independent directors with experience in finance and accounting and hire additional dedicated finance and accounting staff as we increase our operations, as resources permit and as we identify and recruit qualified candidates for those positions. However, until we have done so, we may be unable to establishsuccessfully integrate our acquired businesses with our existing operations without substantial costs, delays or maintain effective internal control overother adverse operational or financial reporting. Asconsequences. Integrating our acquired companies involves a result,number of risks that could materially and adversely affect our business, including:

failure of the acquired companies to achieve the results we expect;
inability to retain key personnel of the acquired companies;
risks associated with unanticipated events or liabilities; and
the difficulty of establishing and maintaining uniform standards, controls, procedures and policies, including accounting controls and procedures.

If any of our acquired companies suffers customer dissatisfaction or performance problems, this could adversely affect our reputation and could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, future results and cash flow.

30

Concentration of customers, specific projects and regions may expose us to heightened financial exposure.

The success of our impact investing strategy may be heavily dependent on one or a limited number of customers. The financial performance of those businesses depends on the ability of each customer to perform its respective obligations, possibly under a long-term agreement between the parties. Our financial results could be materially and adversely affected if any of our customers fail to fulfill its contractual obligations and we are unable to find other customers in the marketplace to purchase at the same level of profitability. We cannot be assured that such performance failures by our customers will not occur, or that if they do occur, such failures will not adversely affect the cash flows or profitability of our businesses. Moreover, there can be no assurance that we will be able to enter into replacement agreements on favorable terms or at all.

Although we have identified general criteria and guidelines that we believe are important in evaluating prospective target businesses, we may discover additional material weaknessesenter into business combinations that do not have attributes entirely consistent with our general criteria and guidelines.

Although we have identified general criteria and guidelines for evaluating prospective target businesses that fall within our impact investing strategy, it is possible that we may acquire or enter into transactions with a target business which will not meet all of these criteria. If shareholder approval of the transaction is required by applicable law or other requirements, or we decide to obtain shareholder approval for business or other reasons, it may be more difficult for us to attain shareholder approval of those business combinations if the target business does not meet our general criteria and guidelines.

We may make future acquisitions or form partnerships and joint ventures that may involve numerous risks that could impact our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

Our impact investing strategy may include expanding our scope of products and services organically or through selective acquisitions, investments or creating partnerships and joint ventures. We may selectively acquire other businesses, product or service lines, assets or technologies that are complementary to our business. We may be unable to find or consummate future acquisitions at acceptable prices and terms, or we may be unable to integrate existing or future acquisitions effectively and efficiently and may need to divest those acquisitions. We expect to continually evaluate potential acquisition opportunities in our internal control over financial reportingthe ordinary course of business. Acquisitions involve numerous risks, including among others:

our evaluation of the synergies and/or long-term benefits of an acquired business;
integration difficulties, including challenges and costs associated with implementing systems, processes and controls to comply with the requirements of a publicly-traded company;
diverting management’s attention;
litigation arising from acquisition activity;
potential increased debt leverage;
potential issuance of dilutive equity securities;
entering markets in which we have no or limited direct prior experience and where competitors in such markets have stronger market positions;
unanticipated costs and exposure to undisclosed or unforeseen liabilities or operating challenges;
potential goodwill or other intangible asset impairments;
potential loss of key employees and customers of the acquired businesses, product or service lines, assets or technologies;
our ability to properly establish and maintain effective internal controls over an acquired company; and
increasing demands on our operational and IT systems.

The success of acquisitions of businesses, new technologies and products, or disclosure controlsarrangements with third parties is not always predictable and procedures, which we may not successfully remediatebe successful in realizing our objectives as anticipated. Furthermore, any future credit facility entered into in connection with such acquisitions may contain certain financial and operational covenants that limit, or that may have the effect of limiting, among other things, the payment of dividends, acquisitions, capital expenditures, the sale of assets and the incurrence of additional indebtedness.

31

We could be exposed to significant liability for violations of hazardous substances laws because of the use or presence of such substances at our facilities or properties.

Our impact investing business operations will be subject to numerous federal, regional, state and local statutory and regulatory standards relating to the generation, handling, transportation, use, storage, treatment and disposal of hazardous substances. If any hazardous substances are found to have been released into the environment at or by one of our facilities or on a timely basisone of our properties in concentrations that exceed regulatory limits, we could become liable for the investigation and removal of those substances, regardless of their source and time of release. If we fail to comply with these laws, ordinances or regulations (or any change thereto), we could be subject to, among other things, civil or criminal liability, the imposition of liens or fines, the cessation of operations, or substantial expenditures necessary to bring our operations into compliance. Furthermore, under certain federal and states laws, we can be held liable for the cleanup of releases of hazardous substances at any of our current or former facilities or at all. Any failureany other locations where we arranged for disposal of those substances, even if we did not cause the release at that location or if the release complied with applicable law at the time it occurred. Liability under these laws can be joint and several. The cost of any remediation activities in connection with a spill or other release of such substances could be significant and could expose us to remediatesignificant liability.

Our operations could be adversely impacted by climate change.

Our environmental services operations may be susceptible to losses and interruptions caused by extreme weather conditions such as droughts, hurricanes, floods, wildfires, and water or other natural resource shortages, occurrences of which may increase in frequency and severity as a result of climate change. Climate change may also produce general changes in weather or other environmental conditions, including temperature or precipitation levels. To the extent weather conditions continue to be impacted by climate change, our reported or any future material weaknesses, implement required new or improved controls, or further difficulties encounteredenvironmental services operations and facilities may be adversely impacted in their implementation,a manner that we could not predict which may in turn adversely impact our results of operations. In addition, the potential physical effects of climate change, such as increased frequency and severity of storms, floods, and other climatic events, could disrupt our operations and cause us to failincur significant costs to meet our reporting obligationsprepare for or result in material misstatements in our financial statements. Inadequate internal controls could also cause investorsrespond to lose confidence in our reported financial information, which could have a negative impact onthese effects.

If we are deemed to be an investment company under the trading price of our common stock. Moreover, asInvestment Company Act, we continue and aim to expand our operations we willmay be required to expend significant resourcesinstitute burdensome compliance requirements and our activities may be restricted, which may make it difficult for us to design, implementcarry out our impact investing strategy.

If we are deemed to be an investment company under the Investment Company Act, our activities may be subject to, among other things, restrictions on the nature of our investments and maintainthe issuance of securities, each of which may make it difficult for us to carry out our planned impact investing strategy. In addition, we may be subject to additional requirements including: (i) registration as an investment company with the SEC; (ii) adoption of a systemspecific form of internal controlscorporate structure; and (iii) reporting, record keeping, voting, proxy and disclosure requirements and other rules and regulations that is adequatewe are currently not subject to. Compliance with these additional regulatory burdens would require additional expenses for which we have not allotted funds and may hinder our ability to satisfycarry out our reporting obligationsimpact investing strategy.

In order not to be regulated as an investment company under the Investment Company Act, unless we can qualify for an exclusion, we must ensure that we are engaged primarily in a public company. The costs associatedbusiness other than investing, reinvesting or trading of securities and that our activities do not include investing, reinvesting, owning, holding or trading “investment securities” constituting more than 40% of our assets (exclusive of U.S. government securities and cash items) on an unconsolidated basis. Our business will include identifying and completing business combination and thereafter to operate the post-transaction business or assets for the long term. We do not plan to buy businesses or assets with external consultants and internal resourcesa view to accomplish this are significant and difficultresale or profit from their resale. We do not plan to predict.buy unrelated businesses or assets or to be a passive investor. We do not believe that our principal activities will subject us to registration under the Investment Company Act.

32

 

Risks Related to our Common Stock

Our common stock is illiquid and the price of our common stock may be negatively impacted by any negative operational results and factors unrelated to our operations.

Our common stock is quoted on the OTCQBOTC and has limited trading history. Trading on the OTCQBOTC is frequently highly volatile, with low trading volume. We have experienced significant fluctuations in the price and trading volume of our common stock, which may be caused by factors relating to our business and operational results and/or factors unrelated to our company,the Company, including general market conditions. A sufficientAn active market for our common stock may never develop, in which case it could be difficult for stockholders to sell their common stock. The market price of our common stock could continue to fluctuate substantially.

Trading of our stock is restricted by the SEC’s “penny stock” regulations and certain FINRA rules, which may limit a stockholder’s ability to buy and sell our common stock.

24


Our securities are covered by certain “penny stock” rules, which impose additional sales practice requirements on broker-dealers who sell low-priced securities to persons other than established customers and accredited investors. For transactions covered by these rules, a broker-dealer must make a special suitability determination for the purchaser and have received the purchaser’s written consent to the transaction prior to sale, among other things. These rules may affect the ability of broker-dealers and holders to sell our common stock and may negatively impact the level of trading activity for our common stock. To the extent our common stock remains subject to the penny stock regulations, such regulations may discourage investor interest in and adversely affect the market liquidity of our common stock.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (known as “FINRA”)(FINRA) has adopted rules that require that ina broker-dealer, when recommending an investment to a customer, a broker-dealer mustto have reasonable grounds for believing that the investment is suitable for that customer. Prior to recommending speculative low pricedlow-priced securities to their non-institutional customers, broker-dealers must make reasonable efforts to obtain information about the customer’s financial status, tax status, investment objectives and other information. Under interpretations of these rules, FINRA believes that there is a high probability that speculative low pricedlow-priced securities will not be suitable for at least some customers. FINRA requirements make it more difficult for broker-dealers to recommend that their customers buy our common stock, which may limit youran investor’s ability to buy and sell our common stock and could have an adverse effect on the market for our shares.

If we issue and sell additional shares of our common stock in the future, our existing stockholders will be diluted and our stock price could fall.

Our articles of incorporation authorize the issuance of up to 1,000,000,000 shares of common stock, of which, as of June 22, 2016,  105,617,074March 28, 2024, 101,023,485 shares were outstanding and 106,118,79818,855,879 shares were reserved for issuance under our stock incentive plan orand other outstanding options warrants or other convertible securities.warrants. As a result, we have a large number of shares of common stock that are authorized for issuance andthat are not outstanding or otherwise reserved, and could be issued at the discretion of our Board of Directors. We expect to seek additional financing in the future in order to fund our operations, and if we issue additional shares of common stock or securities convertible into common stock, our existing stockholders will be diluted. Our Board of Directors may also choose to issue shares of our common stock or securities convertible into or exercisable for our common stock to acquire assets or companies, for compensation to employees, officers, directors, consultants and advisors, or to fund capital expenditures.expenditures and to enter into strategic partnerships. Additionally, shares of common stock could be issued for anti-takeover purposes or to delay or prevent changes in control or management of the Company. Our Board of Directors may determine to issue shares of our common stock on terms that our stockholders do not deem, that may notbelieve enhance stockholder value, or that may ultimately have an adverse effect on our business or the trading price of our common stock. Further, the issuance of any such shares willmay cause further dilution to the ownership interest of our current stockholders, reduce the book value per share of our common stock and may contribute to a reduction in the market price for our common stock.

33

 

Our principal stockholders and management own a significant percentage of our stock and will be able to exert significant control over matters subject to stockholder approval.

Certain of our executive officers, directors and officers controlstockholders own a portionsignificant percentage of our outstanding common stock, which may delaycapital stock. As of March 28, 2024, our executive officers, directors, holders of 5% or prevent a change of controlmore of our company or adversely affect ourcapital stock price.

As of the date of this annual report, director Dr. Avtar Dhillonand their respective affiliates beneficially ownsowned approximately 5.7%54.8% of our outstanding shares of common stock. Accordingly, our directors, executive officers and certain stockholders have significant influence over our affairs due to their substantial stock ownership coupled with their positions on our management team. For example, these stockholders may be able to control or influence elections of directors, amendments of our organizational documents, or approval of any merger, sale of assets, or other major corporate transaction. This concentration of ownership may prevent or discourage unsolicited acquisition proposals or offers for our common stock and director and Chief Executive Officer Robert Brooke beneficially owns approximately 2.8%that some of our outstanding common stock. As a result, they are able to exercise a degree of control over matters requiring stockholder approval, such as the election of directors and the approval of significant corporate transactions. These types of transactions include transactions involving an actual or potential change of control of our company or other transactions that non-controlling stockholders may not deem to bebelieve is in their best interests and which could result in such stockholders receiving a premium for their shares.interest.

We are subject to the reporting requirements of federal securities laws, compliance with which involves significant time, expense and expertise.

We are a public reporting company in the United States, and accordingly, are subject to the information and reporting requirements of the Exchange Act and other federal securities laws, including the obligations imposed by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. The ongoing costs associated with preparing and filing annual, quarterly and current reports, proxy statements and other information with the SEC in the ordinary course, as well as preparing and filing audited financial statements, are significant and may cause unexpected increases in operational expenses. Our present management team is relatively small and may be unable to manage the ongoing costs and compliance effectively. It may be time consuming, difficult and costly for us to hire additional financial reporting, accounting and other finance staff in order to build and retain a management team with adequate expertise and experience in operating a public company.

We have never paid dividends on our capital stock, and we do not anticipate paying any cash dividends in the foreseeable future.

The continued operation and expansion of our business will require substantial funding. Investors seeking cash dividends in the foreseeable future should not purchase our common stock. We have paid no cash dividends on any of our capital stock to date and we currently intend to retain our available cash to fund the development and growth of our business. Any determination to pay

25


dividends in the future will be at the discretion of our Board of Directors and will depend upon our results of operations, financial condition, contractual restrictions, restrictions imposed by applicable law and other factors our Board of Directors deems relevant. We do not anticipate paying any cash dividends on our common stock in the foreseeable future. Any return to stockholders will therefore be limited to the appreciation of their stock, which may never occur.

34

 

Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments

Not applicable.

Item 1C. Cybersecurity

The Company recognizes the critical importance of cybersecurity in safeguarding sensitive information, maintaining operational resilience, and protecting stakeholders’ interests.

The Company is in the process of establishing a cybersecurity policy (i) designed to establish a comprehensive framework for identifying, assessing, mitigating, and responding to cybersecurity risks across the organization and (ii) which implements protocols to evaluate, recognize, and address significant risks, including those posed by cybersecurity threats. This strategy encompasses the utilization of standard traffic monitoring tools, educating personnel to identify and report abnormal activities, and partnering with reputable service providers capable of upholding security standards equivalent to or exceeding our own in order to minimize exposure to unnecessary risks across our operations. For cybersecurity, we will collaborate with expert consultants and third-party service providers to implement industry-standard strategies aimed at identifying and mitigating potential threats or vulnerabilities within our systems. Additionally, the policy strategy will have a comprehensive cyber crisis response plan to manage high severity security incidents, ensuring efficient coordination across the organization.

Cybersecurity threats have not historically impacted our operations and we do not anticipate such risks materially affecting our business, strategy, financial condition, or results of operations. However, given the escalating sophistication of cyber threats, our preventive measures may not always suffice. Despite well-designed controls, we acknowledge the inability to foresee all security breaches, including those stemming from third-party misuse of AI technologies, and the potential challenges in implementing timely preventive measures. Please see “Cyber incidents or attacks directed at us could result in information theft, data corruption, operational disruption and/or financial loss” in Item 1A: Risk Factors for additional disclosure regarding cyber attack-related risks.

The Chief Executive Officer will oversee our information security programs, including cybersecurity initiatives and cybersecurity incident response process. The Audit Committee of the Board of Directors oversees cybersecurity risk management activities, supported by Company management, the Board of Directors, and external consultants. We assess and prioritize risks based on potential impact, implement technical controls, and monitor third-party vendors’ security practices.

Item 2. Properties

We currently leaseOur corporate headquarters is a leased office located at 200 Park Avenue, Suite 400, Cleveland, Ohio. Graphium Biosciences operates out of leased office and laboratory space located at our operational headquarters2224A Sierra Meadows Drive, Rocklin, California pursuant to a lease expiring on March 31, 2024. The Range Reclamation Entities own an office in Yuba City, California. OurFlatwoods, West Virginia and lease agreement for our laboratory space expires on May 1, 2017 and requires rent payments of $2,300 per month.

an office in Fola, West Virginia. We believe that our current facilities will beare adequate forto support our research and development needs forcorporate strategy over the next 12 months, although we may lease additional property for additional research and development space.months.

Item 3. Legal Proceedings

From time to time, we may become involved in litigation that arises in the ordinary course of our business. Neither we nor any of our property is currently subject to any proceedings the adverse outcome of which, individually or in the aggregate, would have a material adverse effect on our financial position or results of operations.

Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures

Not applicable.

35

 

Not applicable.

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PART II

Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

Market Information

Our common stock has been quoted through various over-the-counter quotation systems at various times since 2009. However, no shares of our common stock traded on any over-the-counter market until March 5, 2012. Our common stock is currently quotedtrades on the OTCQBOTC Markets under the symbol “STVF”, but there is a limited public trading market for our common stock. The liquidity of our shares on the OTCQB is extremely limited, and prices quoted may not be a reliable indication of the value of our common stock.“RNGE.”

The following table sets forth the range of reported high and low closing bid quotations for our common stock for the fiscal quarters indicated as reported by the OTCQBOTC Markets Group. Common stock price reflects inter-dealer quotations, does not include retail markups, markdowns or another over-the-counter quotation system on which the common stock was then quoted.commissions and does not necessarily represent actual transactions.

  High  Low 
       
Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2022        
First Quarter ended March 31, 2022 $0.37  $0.13 
Second Quarter ended June 30, 2022  0.25   0.12 
Third Quarter ended September 30, 2022  0.20   0.13 
Fourth Quarter ended December 31, 2022  0.21   0.13 
         
Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2023        
First Quarter ended March 31, 2023 $0.20  $0.15 
Second Quarter ended June 30, 2023  0.20   0.15 
Third Quarter ended September 30, 2023  0.20   0.10 
Fourth Quarter ended December 31, 2023  0.37   0.12 



 

 

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

 

 

 



 

High

 

Low



 

 

 

 

 

 

Fiscal 2015

 

 

 

 

 

 

First Quarter ended June 30, 2014

 

 

0.45 

 

 

0.34 

Second Quarter ended September 30, 2014

 

 

0.39 

 

 

0.33 

Third Quarter ended December 31, 2014

 

 

0.45 

 

 

0.30 

Fourth Quarter ended March 31, 2015

 

 

0.44 

 

 

0.34 



 

 

 

 

 

 

Fiscal 2016

 

 

 

 

 

 

First Quarter ended June 30, 2015

 

 

0.36 

 

 

0.17 

Second Quarter ended September 30, 2015

 

 

0.21 

 

 

0.09 

Third Quarter ended December 31, 2015

 

 

0.11 

 

 

0.03 

Fourth Quarter ended March 31, 2016

 

 

0.14 

 

 

0.03 



 

 

 

 

 

 

Transfer Agent

The transfer agent and registrar for our common stock is Island StockSecurities Transfer Inc., 15500 Roosevelt Blvd.,Corporation, 2901 North Dallas Parkway, Suite 301, Clearwater, Florida 33760.380, Plano, Texas 75093.

Holders of Common Stock

As of June 22, 2016,March 28, 2024, there were 3270 holders of record of our common stock.

Dividends

We have never declared or paid any cash dividends or distributions on our capitalcommon stock. We currently intend to retain our future earnings, if any, to support operations and to finance expansion, and we do not anticipate paying any cash dividends on our common stock in the foreseeable future.

Recent Sales of Unregistered SecuritiesEquity Compensation Plan Information

On May 4, 2016,  subsequent to MarchDuring the year ended December 31, 2016,2023, we issued an aggregate of 26,500,000options to purchase 2,050,000 shares of the Company’s common stock (collectively, the “Shares”) and Warrants to purchase up to an aggregate of 79,500,000 shares of the Company’s common stock( the “Warrants”, and the shares issuable upon exercise of the Warrants, collectively, the “Warrant Shares”), at a price of $0.01 per Share (the “Offering”).

Each Warrant has an exercise price of $0.17 per share, was immediately exercisable, and expires on the six month anniversary of the date of issuance.  The Warrants are subject to adjustment for stock dividends and splits, subsequent rights offerings

27


and pro rata distributions to the Company’s common stockholders.  The exercisability of the Warrants may be limited if, upon exercise, the holder or any of its affiliates would beneficially own more than 4.99% of the Company’s common stock.

The issuance and sale of the Shares, the Warrants and the Warrant Shares (collectively, the “Securities”) have not been registered under the Securities Act and the Securities have been sold and will be issued in reliance on exemptions from the registration requirements of the Securities Act afforded by Section 4(a)(2) thereof and Rule 506 of Regulation D thereunder based on the following facts: each of the Purchasers has represented that it is an accredited investor as defined in Regulation D and that it is acquiring the Securities for its own account and not with a view to or for distributing or reselling the Securities and that it has sufficient investment experience to evaluate the risks of the investment; the Company used no advertising or general solicitation in connection with the issuance and sale of the Securities; and the Securities will be issued as restricted securities. 

Securities Authorized for Issuance under Equity Compensation Plans

On February 3, 2012, our Board of Directors approved and adopted the Stevia First Corp. 2012Range Impact, Inc. 2021 Stock Incentive Plan (as amended, the “2012 Plan”), and a majority of stockholders of the Company executed a written consent approving and adopting the 2012 Plan. In February 2013 our Board of Directors approved, and on April 11, 2013 at our 2013 annual stockholder meeting our stockholders approved, an amendment to the 2012 Plan to, among other things, increase the number of shares of our common stock available for issuance thereunder from 5,000,000 to 10,000,000 shares. In March 2014 our Board of Directors approved, and on June 9, 2014 at our 2014 annual stockholder meeting our stockholders approved, a second amendment to the 2012 Plan to increase the number of shares of our common stock available for issuance thereunder from 10,000,000 to 18,000,000 shares.  On May 4, 2016, our Board of Directors and stockholders of the Company, holding a majority of the outstanding shares of our common stock, executed joint written consents in lieu of a special meeting approving the amendment of the Plan by increasing the number of shares of the Company’s Common Stock available for issuance under the Plan from 1,800,000 (after adjusting for the Reverse Split) to 3,600,000 and adding an evergreen provision which, on January 1 of each year, increases the number of the Company’s common shares available for issuance under the Plan by a number equal to 10% of the number of shares of Common Stock previously available for issuance under the Plan (the “Evergreen  Provision”).

Except as listed in the table below, as of MarchDecember 31, 2016,2023, we do not have any equity basedequity-based plans, including individual compensation arrangements, thatwhich have not been approved by our stockholders.

36

The following table provides information as of MarchDecember 31, 20162023 with respect to our equity compensation plans:



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Equity Compensation Plan Information

Plan Category

 

Number of securities to be issued upon exercise of outstanding options, warrants and rights

 

Weighted-average exercise price of outstanding options, warrants and rights

 

Number of securities remaining available for future issuance under equity compensation plans (excluding securities reflected in column (a))



 

(a)

 

(b)

 

(c)



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Equity compensation plans approved by security holders

 

 

9,091,667 

 

$

0.29 

 

 

4,789,385 

Equity compensation plans not approved by security holders

 

 

 

$

 

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total

 

 

9,091,667 

 

$

0.29 

 

 

4,789,385 

5

(1)

As of March 31, 2016,  4,789,385 shares of our common stock remained available for future issuance pursuant to the 2012 Plan.

Equity Compensation Plan Information

Plan Category 

Number of

securities to be

issued upon

exercise of

outstanding

options, warrants

and rights

  

Weighted-

average exercise

price of

outstanding

options,

warrants

and rights

  

Number of

securities

remaining

available for

future issuance

under equity

compensation

plans (excluding

securities

reflected in

column (a))

 
  (a)  (b)  (c) 
          
Equity compensation plans approved by security holders  11,392,544  $0.47   4,150,000 
Total  11,392,544  $0.47   4,150,000 

28


Item 6. Selected Financial Data

Not applicable.

29


Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

This annual report contains forward-lookingCertain statements contained in this Annual Report are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act, and are subject to the “safe harbor” created by these sections. Future filings with the SEC, future press releases and future oral or written statements made by us or with our approval, which are not statements of 1934. Suchhistorical fact, may also contain forward-looking statements. Because such statements include without limitation, statements concerning proposed commercial activitiesrisks and collaboration relationships, property acquisitions, dispositions, design and construction, research and development activities, capital expenditures and capital raising activities. Words such as “expects,” “anticipates,” “intends,” “plans,” “likely,” “will,” “believes,” “seeks,” “estimates,” and variationsuncertainties, many of such words and similar expressionswhich are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Such statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may causebeyond our control, actual results performance or achievements to bemay differ materially different from the results of operations or plansthose expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. ActualSome of the factors that could cause actual results mayto differ substantiallymaterially from those referred to herein due to a number of factors, including but not limited to risks describedexpressed or implied by such forward-looking statements can be found under the headingcaption “Risk Factors” in Part I, Item 1A, and elsewhere in this annual report.

Although we believe that the assumptions underlying theAnnual Report. The forward-looking statements contained herein are reasonable, any of the assumptions could be inaccurate, and therefore such statements included in this annual report may not prove to be accurate. In light of the significant uncertainties inherent in the forward-looking statements included herein, the inclusion of such information should not be regarded as a representation by us or any other person that the results or conditions described in such statements or our objectives and plans will be achieved.

Forward-looking statements and such risks, uncertainties and other factors speak only as of the date of this annual report,on which they are made, and we expressly disclaim anyundertake no obligation or undertaking to update or revise any forward-looking statement contained herein,such statements to reflect any change in our expectations with regard thereto, or any other change in events conditionsthat occur or circumstances that exist after the date on which any such statement is based, except to the extent otherwise required by law.they are made.

The following discussion should be read in conjunction with the financial statements and the accompanying notes for the yearsperiods ended MarchDecember 31, 20152023 and 2016December 31, 2022 appearing elsewhere in this annual report.

Company Overview

We were incorporatedAnnual Report. Our actual results could differ materially from those expressed or implied in the State of Nevada on June 29, 2007 and commenced operationsany forward-looking statements as a mineral exploration company. On October 10, 2011, we completed a merger with our wholly-owned subsidiary, Stevia First Corp., whereby we changed our name from “Legend Mining Inc.” to “Stevia First Corp.” In February 2012, we substantially changed our management team, and began pursuing an agricultural biotechnology business plan.

In May 2016, we received shareholder and board approval for a name change to Vitality Biopharma, Inc., an exchangeresult of one (1) share of the Company’s common stock for each 10 shares of common stock outstanding or exercisable under any outstanding warrants or option agreements and an increase in the number of shares of authorized common stock from 525,000,000 to 1,000,000,000. These corporate changes will become effective upon the approval of the SEC and FINRA.

Our common stock is currently quoted on the OTC Markets Group’s OTCQB tiervarious factors, including those set forth under the symbol “STVF.” There is only a limited trading market for our common stock.caption “Risk Factors” in Part I, Item 1A.

PlanItems Affecting Comparability of OperationsFinancial Results

As of the end of our March 31, 2016 fiscal year, we had generated only $248,348 in revenue from our business operations and we do not expect to generate significant amounts of cash from our operations for the foreseeable future. We had net losses forDuring the year ended MarchDecember 31, 2016 of $141,325,  used cash2023, we purchased Collins Building, as described in operations of $1,685,841, and we had an accumulated deficit as of March 31, 2016 of $12,516,559. As described further underNote 2 to our Consolidated Financial Statements. During the heading “Liquidity and Capital Resources” below, we will need significant additional funding to support our operations and business plans and we have no commitments for future capital. The continuation of our business is dependent upon our ability to obtain loans or sell securities to new and existing investors or obtain capital from other alternative sources. In their report on our annual financial statements for the fiscal year ended MarchDecember 31, 2016,2022, we purchased the Range Reclamation Entities, as described in Note 3 to our independent auditors included an explanatory paragraph regarding concerns about our ability to continue as a going concern, which means there is substantial doubt that we can continue as an on-going business unless we obtain additional capital or generate sufficient cash from our operations.Consolidated Financial Statements.

Vitality Biopharma is unlocking the powerPlan of cannabinoids for the treatment of serious neurological and inflammatory disorders, such as inflammatory bowel disease and multiple sclerosis.Operations

In 2014, sales of medical marijuana were estimated at $2.57 billion, and are estimated to grow to $10.2 billion in five years due to legalization and increasing recognition of its therapeutic utility, within the medical community.  Pharmaceutical versions of cannabinoids have been marketed in the U.S. for more than a decade, which hold the same therapeutic potential, yet their sales have

30


lagged behind, with sales of synthetic cannabinoids pharmaceuticals in the U.S. estimated at only $133 million in 2014 by IMS Health.  Cannabinoid pharmaceuticals that are currently approved or in development by other companies have well known limitations, such as poor oral bioavailability, which translates into erratic and potentially unsafe dosing as well as a short duration of action, which means that current treatments must be administered repeatedly throughout the day, and that there is no overnight relief.

Vitality Biopharma has developed a new class of cannabinoid glycoside prodrugs, known as cannabosides, to overcome these limitations, and to ultimately provide a compelling oral cannabinoid pharmaceutical that we expect physicians will be eager to prescribe, and that patients will prefer over use of medical marijuana.  Cannabosides were discovered in 2015 through application of the company’s proprietary enzymatic taste modification technologies that were originally developed for stevia sweeteners.

Cannabosides are cannabinoid “prodrugs,” which means that they are medications or compounds that, after administration, are converted within the body into a pharmacologically active drug, which already has a long history of clinical investigation and use.  A classic prodrug example is Asprin, acetylsalicylic acid, which was first made by Felix Hoffmann at Bayer in 1897 and is a synthetic prodrug of salicylic acid.  Because there already exists independent verification of the active drug’s safety and efficacy, prodrugs may receive marketing approval more quickly than others, and in some cases may receive drug approvals through completion of small clinical studies evaluating bioequivalence or bioavailability.  At the same time, a prodrug can have many commercial advantages, including that they can be proprietary and patentable compositions of matter, unlike cannabinoids themselves, or older pharmaceutical formulations where patent protection has already expired.

Cannabosides are more stable and soluble than cannabinoids, so there is less risk of non-psychotropic cannabidiol (“CBD”) being converted to psychotropic THC in the acidic stomach environment, which may cause unwanted side effects in pediatric epilepsy patients, or in any medical treatment where oral CBD is used, and especially when oral CBD is administered at high dose.  Cannabosides enable the passage of cannabinoids through the digestive tract and their eventual release within the large intestine or colon, which enables targeted delivery of cannabinoids for treatment of gastrointestinal diseases.  Because passage of cannabosides through the digestive tract is likely to occur over several hours or longer, there is a sustained or delayed release of cannabinoids, which can also provide patients with long-lasting or overnight relief, a desirable attribute that is unavailable with medical marijuana or with current cannabinoid pharmaceutical formulations.

We have produced more than 25 novel cannabosides so far and have patent applications that include composition of matter claims for prodrugs of cannabinoids that have been studied extensively in clinical trials worldwide, including THC, CBD, and CBDV.  The Company aims to develop and approve these proprietary molecules as pharmaceuticals using a low-risk regulatory strategy that is available for prodrugs, and to ultimately deliver to the market pharmaceuticals that are highly differentiated both from medical marijuana and from current cannabinoid drugs.

A key part of our strategy will be to take advantage of a more efficient FDA review and approval process that is available for prodrugs, which reduces the need for large and expensive clinical trials.   This expedited regulatory process is available for our cannabosides because in the U.S. and internationally there have already been many independent clinical studies completed using the reference cannabinoid drugs we are studying.

We are initiallya public company dedicated to improving the health and wellness of people and the planet through a novel and innovative approach to impact investing. We own and operate several complementary operating businesses focused on developing long-term solutions to environmental, social, and health challenges, with a particular focus on acquiring, reclaiming and repurposing mine sites and other undervalued land in economically disadvantaged communities throughout Appalachia. We take an opportunistic approach to impact investing by leveraging our cannaboside pharmaceutical productscompetitive advantages and looking at solving old problems in new ways. We seek to thoughtfully allocate our capital into strategic opportunities that are expected to make a positive impact on the people-planet ecosystem and generate strong investment returns for symptomatic relief of pain, cramping, and muscle spasticity in that is the result of serious neurological and inflammatory conditions, such as inflammatory bowel disease and multiple sclerosis.  There is extensive clinical evidence supporting the potential efficacy of cannabinoids for treatment of each of these indications, including through clinical trials conducted by independent investigators. our shareholders.

37

 

We plan to complete preclinical studies necessary in order to launch multiple clinical trials in 2017 in order to evaluate the clinical pharmacokinetics of cannabosides, their potential for providing symptomatic relief of pain and muscle spasticity, as well as obtain preliminary data about the regenerative potential of cannabosides, both when administered alone and in combination with other medications, in healthy control populations, and also in patients that have inflammatory bowel disease and multiple sclerosis. 

Our primary operations are based in Yuba City, California, where we originally developed our proprietary bioprocessing methods.  The Company’s facilities include laboratories and a manufacturing suite for GMP production, which will be used for pharmaceutical-grade production of products to be tested in clinical trials, and which will be registered the U.S. FDA and DEA. 

Critical Accounting Policies

Our financial statements and accompanying notes have been prepared in accordance with United States generally accepted accounting principles applied on a consistent basis. The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting periods.

31


We regularly evaluate the accounting policies and estimates that we use to prepare our financial statements. In general, management’s estimates are based on historical experience, on information from third party professionals, and on various other assumptions that are believed to be reasonable under the facts and circumstances. Actual results could differ from those estimates made by management.

We believe the following critical accounting policies require us to make significant judgments and estimates in the preparation of our financial statements.

Use of Estimates and Assumptions

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the period. Actual results could differ from those estimates. The more significant estimates

Business Combinations

Business combinations are accounted for using the purchase method of accounting under ASC 805, “Business Combinations.” This method requires the Company to record assets and assumption by management include, among others,liabilities of the businesses acquired at their estimated allowancesfair values as of uncollectible receivables,the acquisition date. Any excess of the cost of the acquisition over the fair value of equity instruments issued for services,the net assets acquired is recorded as goodwill. Determining the fair value requires management to make estimates and assumptions used in the valuationincluding discount rates, rates of derivative liabilities.return on assets, and long-term sales growth rates.

Goodwill

As referenced by ASC 350 “Intangibles- Goodwill and other” (“ASC 350”), management performs its annual test for goodwill at least annually or more frequently, if impairment indicators arise.

Stock-Based Compensation

WeThe Company periodically issueissues stock options and warrantsrestricted stock awards to employees and non-employees in non-capital raising transactions for services and for financing costs. The Company accounts for share-based payments undersuch grants issued and vesting based on ASC 718, Compensation-Stock Compensation whereby the guidance as set forth in the Share-Based Payment Topicvalue of the FASB Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”), which requires the measurement and recognition of compensation expense for all share-based payment awards made to employees, officers, directors, and consultants, including employee stock options, based on estimated fair values. The Company estimates the fair value of share-based payment awards to employees and directorsaward is measured on the date of grant using a Black-Scholes-Merton option-pricing model, and recognized for employees as compensation expense on the valuestraight-line basis over the vesting period. Recognition of compensation expense for non-employees is in the same period and manner as if the Company had paid cash for the services.

Revenue

The Company recognizes revenue under ASC 606, “Revenue from Contracts with Customers”. The core principle of the portion ofrevenue standard is that a company should recognize revenue by analyzing the award that is ultimately expected to vest is recognized as expense overfollowing five steps; (1) identify the required service periodcontract with the customer; 2) identify the performance obligations in the Company's statements of operations.contract; 3) determine the transaction price; 4) allocate the transaction price to the performance obligations; and 5) recognize revenue when (or as) each performance obligation is satisfied. The Company accountsprimarily invoices customers and recognizes revenue on a periodic basis for stock optionequipment and warrant grants issued and vestinglabor hours provided to non-employees in accordance with the authoritative guidance whereas the value of the stock compensation is based upon the measurement date as determined at either a) the date at which a performance commitment is reached, or b) the date at which the necessary performance to earn the equity instruments is complete. Stock-based compensation iscustomer on a particular job based on awards ultimately expectedan agreed-upon hourly rate sheet or a fixed amount for a project. The Company also invoices customers and recognizes revenue for equipment mobilization fees and materials and supplies required to vestcomplete a project. The Company invoices for the sales of chemicals and is reducedrecognizes revenue when the products are delivered to the customer’s designated site. Costs for estimated forfeitures. Forfeituresequipment, labor and chemicals are estimated atgenerally expensed as incurred since the timeprojects are generally short-term and not subject to a contract. The Company also invoices customers for the provision of grant and revised, as necessary, in subsequent periods if actual forfeitures differenvironmental security services on an agreed-upon hourly rate for each project.

The Company recognizes revenue from those estimates.

Revenues

Revenue is measured at the fair value of the consideration received or receivable and represents amounts receivablecontracts for products and/or services that have been delivered in the normal course of business, title has passed, the selling price is both fixed and determinable, and collectability is reasonably assured, all of which generally occurs upon shipmentfinancial reporting purposes over time. Progress toward completion of the Company’s product or delivery of the product to the destination specifiedcontracts is measured by the customer.percentage of cost incurred to date compared to estimated total costs for each contract. This method is used because management considers total cost to be the best available measure of progress on contracts. Because of inherent uncertainties in estimating costs, it is at least reasonably possible that the estimates used will change significantly within the near term.

38

 

The Company determines whether delivery has occurred based on when title transfers and the risks and rewards of ownership have transferred to the buyer, which usually occurs when the Company ships the products. The Company regularly reviews its customers’ financial positions to ensure that collectability is reasonably assured. Except for warranties, the Company has no post-sales obligations.

Derivative Financial Instruments

We evaluate our financial instruments to determine if such instruments are derivatives or contain features that qualify as embedded derivatives. For derivative financial instruments that are accounted for as liabilities, the derivative instrument is initially recorded at its fair value and is then re-valued at each reporting date, with changes in the fair value reported in the statements of operations. For stock-based derivative financial instruments, we use a probability weighted average Black-Scholes-Merton models to value the derivative instruments at inception and on subsequent valuation dates through the March 31, 2016 reporting date. The classification of derivative instruments, including whether such instruments should be recorded as liabilities or as equity, is evaluated at the end of each reporting period. Derivative instrument liabilities are classified in the balance sheet as current or non-current based on whether or not net-cash settlement of the derivative instrument could be required within 12 months of the balance sheet date.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

Please refer to Footnote 21 of the accompanying financial statements for management’s discussion of recent accounting pronouncements.

32


Results of Operations

Fiscal Years Ended MarchDecember 31, 20162023 and MarchDecember 31, 20152022

The following table sets forth our results of operations for the years ended MarchDecember 31, 20162023 and 2015.2022.

  Year Ended
December 31, 2023
  Year Ended
December 31, 2022
 
       
Revenues $19,346,306  $4,832,278 
Cost of services  13,111,497   3,439,026 
Gross profit  6,234,809   1,393,252 
         
Operating Expenses:        
General and administrative  4,021,556   2,022,882 
Research and development  458,889   470,803 
Income (loss) from operations  1,754,364   (1,100,433)
         
Other Income:        
Gain on bargain purchase  1,875,150   - 
Gain on loan forgiveness  -   109,435 
Interest expense  (505,917)  (81,178)
Interest income  7,458   - 
Total other income (expense)  1,376,691   28,257 
         
Net income (loss) $3,131,055  $(1,072,176)



 

 

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

 

 

 



 

Twelve Months Ended
March 31,



 

2016

 

2015



 

 

 

 

 

 

Revenues

 

$

248,348 

 

$

245,680 

Cost of goods sold

 

 

149,478 

 

 

121,341 

Gross profit

 

 

98,870 

 

 

124,339 



 

 

 

 

 

 

Operating Expenses:

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

General and Administrative

 

 

2,196,922 

 

 

2,749,153 

Rent and other related party costs

 

 

30,600 

 

 

49,017 

Research & development

 

 

613,119 

 

 

1,131,327 

Loss from operations

 

 

(2,741,771)

 

 

(3,805,158)



 

 

 

 

 

 

Other income (expenses)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cost to induce exercise of warrants

 

 

 -

 

 

(961,767)

Interest expense

 

 

(363)

 

 

(6,065)

Change in fair value of derivative liability

 

 

2,600,809 

 

 

724,617 



 

 

 

 

 

 

Net loss

 

$

(141,325)

 

$

(4,048,373)

On May 16, 2014, the Company entered into an Asset Purchase Agreement with Percipio to purchase certain assets of Percipio for $50,000, which was allocated based upon the fair value of the acquired assets, as determined by management.  As a result of the acquisition, the results of our operations utilizing those assets were included in theThe Company’s March 31, 2016 financial statements since May 17, 2014.

During the fiscal year ended March 31, 2016, we generated $248,348 in revenue compared to sales of $245,680 during the year ended MarchDecember 31, 2015.  Our cost of goods sold were $149,478 and $121,341, resulting in gross profit of $98,870 and $124,3392023 was $19,346,306 compared to $4,832,278 for the year ended MarchDecember 31, 2016 and 2015, respectively.

Our net loss2022 (an increase of $14,514,028). During the year ended December 31, 2023, we earned a gross profit of $6,234,809 compared to $1,393,252 during the fiscal year ended MarchDecember 31, 2016 was $141,325 compared to a net loss2022 (an increase of $4,048,373 for$4,841,557).

During the fiscal year ended MarchDecember 31, 2015 (a decrease in net loss of $3,907,048).

During the fiscal year ended March 31, 2016,2023, we incurred general and administrative expenses in the aggregate amount of $2,196,922$4,021,556 compared to $2,749,153$2,022,882 incurred during the fiscal year ended MarchDecember 31, 2015 (a decrease2022 (an increase of $552,231)$1,998,674). General and administrative expenses generally include corporate overhead, salaries and other compensation costs, financial and administrative contracted services, marketing, consulting costs and travel expenses. A significant portion of these costs areThe largest increase related to (i) the developmentgeneral and administrative expenses incurred by our Range Reclaim segment of our organizational capabilities as a biotechnology company, including costs such as legal and advisory fees related to intellectual property development. In addition,$2,068,677 during the fiscal year ended MarchDecember 31, 2016,2023, compared to $631,820 incurred during the year ended December 31, 2022 (an increase of $1,436,857), which was due to the acquisition of Collins Building in 2023 and significantly increased activity in the Range Reclaim segment during the year ended December 31, 2023. We recorded wages for the Corporate segment in the amount of $465,057 during the year ended December 31, 2023 compared to $392,344 during the year ended December 31, 2022 (an increase of $72,713), which was primarily due to additional wages resulting from two new accounting professionals hired during the year ended December 31, 2023.

During the year ended December 31, 2023, we incurred research and development costsexpenses of $613,119$458,889 compared to $1,131,327$470,803 incurred during the fiscal year ended MarchDecember 31, 20152022 (a decrease of $518,208)$11,914). DuringAll of these expenses were incurred by the fiscalCompany’s Drug Development segment. The Company’s research and development personnel expenses were $274,912 during the year ended MarchDecember 31, 2016, we incurred related party rent and other costs totaling $30,6002023, compared to $49,017 incurred during$331,202 for the fiscal year ended MarchDecember 31, 20152022 (a decrease of $18,417). Also$56,290), and consulting expenses totaled $87,000 during the fiscal year ended MarchDecember 31, 2016, we incurred stock-based compensation totaling $906,2562023 compared to $1,334,493 incurred$0 during the fiscal year ended MarchDecember 31, 2015 (a decrease of $428,237), which are allocated between general and administrative expenses and research & development expenses during the years ended March 31, 2016 and 2015.2022.

39

 

This resulted in a loss from operations of $2,741,771 during

During the fiscal year ended MarchDecember 31, 2016 compared to a loss from operations of $3,805,158 during the fiscal year ended March 31, 2015, (a decrease of $1,063,387).

33


During the fiscal year ended March 31, 2016,2023, we recorded total net other income in the amount of $2,600,446, compared to total net other expenses recorded during the fiscal year ended March 31, 2015 in the amount$1,376,691, consisting of $243,215. During the fiscal year ended March 31, 2016, we incurreda gain on bargain purchase of $1,875,150 and interest income of $7,458, offset by interest expense of $363$505,917, compared to $6,065 incurredother income of $28,257 during the fiscal year ended MarchDecember 31, 2015 (a decrease2022, consisting of $5,702).We recorded a gain related to the change in fair valueon loan forgiveness of derivatives$109,435 offset by interest expense of $2,600,809$81,178 during the fiscal year ended MarchDecember 31, 2016, compared to a gain of $724,617 during the fiscal year ended March 31, 20152022 (an increase of $1,876,192)$1,348,434). We also recorded expenses related to the modification of warrant terms of $961,767 incurred

Our net income during the fiscal year ended MarchDecember 31, 2015.  No such expense2023 was recorded during the fiscal year ended March 31,2016. This resulted in a net loss of $141,325 during the fiscal year ended March 31, 2016$3,131,055 compared to a net loss of $4,048,373 during$1,072,176 for the fiscal year ended MarchDecember 31, 2015 (a decrease2022 (an improvement of $3,907,048)$4,203,231).

The decreaseimprovement in year over year net loss during the fiscal year ended March 31, 2016 comparedincome is primarily due to the fiscal year ended Marchover year increase in gross profit of $4,841,557 which was primarily derived from the operations of the Range Reclaim segment.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

As of December 31, 20152023, we had an accumulated deficit of $47,081,799.

As of December 31, 2023, we had total current assets of $9,724,845, primarily comprised of cash in the amount of $2,176,800 and accounts receivable of $7,185,411. As of December 31, 2023, we had total current liabilities of $8,971,089, primarily consisting of the current portion of long-term debt in the amount of $2,755,792, accounts payable of $3,714,014 and lines of credit of $2,400,000. As a result, on December 31, 2023, the Company had working capital of $753,756. At December 31, 2022, the Company had negative working capital of $(128,371).

As of December 31, 2023, the Company had long-term assets of $14,063,299, comprised of net equipment assets of $13,301,902, goodwill of $751,421, and deposits of $9,976. As of December 31, 2023, the Company had long-term liabilities of $5,250,027, comprised of long-term debt, net of current portion.

Sources of Capital

Based on the Company’s current corporate strategy, its net operating income for the 12 months following December 31, 2023 are expected to be approximately $1,200,000, which is attributable to a larger gain related tocomprised of revenue generated by the change in fair value of derivativesRange Reclaim and lower eneral and administrativeRange Security business segments partially offset by general operating and research and development expenses. Based on the Company’s cash balance of $2,176,800, and its estimated net operating income of approximately $1,200,000 for the 12-month period ending December 31, 2024, the Company expects to have sufficient funds to operate its business over the next 12 months. The Company expects to generate positive cash flow from its operating businesses, other than its Drug Development business, but may also seek additional financing and other sources of capital to accelerate the funding and execution of its growth strategy and value creation plan.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

As of March 31, 2016 we had recorded revenues of $248,348 from sales of products or services.have disclosed in our previously-filed quarterly reports, we are actively seeking capital to advance our leading drug candidate, VBX-100, through Phase II clinical trials. We have incurred losses since inception resultingno assurance that we will be successful in an accumulated deficitthese capital-raising efforts or whether, as a result of $12,516,559 as of March 31, 2016, and further losses are anticipated in the development of its business. In their report on our annual financial statements for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2016, our independent auditors included an explanatory paragraph regarding concerns about our ability tosuch fund-raising, Graphium would continue as a going concern, which means there is substantial doubtwholly-owned subsidiary of the Company. In the event that we fail to raise the desired amount of capital, the Company will likely explore a strategic alternative for our Drug Development business so the Company can continue as an on-goingfocus on our income-producing environmental services business. Such a disposition of the Drug Development business, unlesswere it to occur, would likely have a material effect on the Company’s operations and financial condition.

Our estimated total expenditures for the 12-month period ending December 31, 2024 could increase if we obtain additional capital or generate sufficient cash from our operations.  Our financial statements have been prepared assuming that we will continue as a going concern and, accordingly, do not include adjustments relating to the recoverability and realization of assets and classification of liabilities that might be necessary should we be unable to continueencounter unanticipated expenses in operation.

The continuation ofconnection with operating our business is dependent upon us raising additional capital and eventually attaining and maintaining profitable operations. We do not have any firm commitments for future capital. We do notas presently have, nor do we expect inplanned. In addition, our estimates of the near future to have, material revenueamount of cash necessary to fund our business from our operations,may prove to be too low, and we will need to obtain all ofcould spend our necessary funding from external sources in the near term. We may not be able to obtain additional financing on commercially reasonable or acceptable terms, when needed, or at all.available financial resources much faster than we currently expect. If we cannot raise the money that we need in ordercapital necessary to continue to develop our business, we will be forced to delay, scale back or eliminate some or all of our proposed operations. If any of these were to occur, there is a substantial risk that our business would fail and our stockholders could lose all of their investment.fail.

As of March 31, 2016, we had total current assets of $134,799. Our total current assets as of March 31, 2016 were comprised of cash in the amount of $95,433, accounts receivable, net, of $30,396, inventory of $6,470, and prepaid expenses and other current assets in the amount of $2,500. Our total current liabilities as of March 31, 2016 were $652,964, represented primarily by accounts payable and accrued liabilities of $244,937, accounts payable to a related party of $6,900and derivative liability of $401,127. The derivative liability is a non-cash item related to our outstanding warrants, as described in Note 4 to our financial statements. As a result, on March 31, 2016, we had a working capital of $(518,165). We had no long term liabilities as of March 31, 2016, or as of March 31, 2015.

In May 2016, subsequent to the year ended March 31, 2016, the Company entered into a securities purchase agreement with the purchasers identified therein  providing for the issuance and sale by the Company to the purchasers, in a private placement, of an aggregate of 26,500,000 shares of the Company’s common stock, and warrants to purchase up to an aggregate of 79,500,000 shares of the Company’s common stock, (the “May 2016 Offering”). The proceeds to the Company from the May 2016 Offering were approximately $265,000.

Sources of Capital

On June 25, 2013, we entered into a securities purchase agreement with three investors for our public offering, issuance and sale of an aggregate of 3,676,472 shares of our common stock and warrants to purchase an aggregate of 11,029,416 shares of our common stock, for total gross proceeds to us of $1,250,000, or a sales price of $0.34 per share. The offering closed on June 28, 2013. We incurred $116,750 of direct costs in connection with the offering, resulting in net cash proceeds to us of $1,133,250. The warrants issued to the purchasers in the offering were issued in three series of 3,676,472 each and have initial exercise prices of $0.40, $0.50 and $0.60 per share, respectively, are exercisable immediately upon issuance and have a term of exercise equal to five years, six months and nine months, respectively. We also issued warrants to purchase up to 294,185 shares of our common stock to our placement agent for the offering. The placement agent’s warrants have an exercise price of $0.425 per share and a term of five years and are exercisable immediately.

In November and December 2013, certain purchasers in the offering exercised some of their six-month warrants and acquired an aggregate of 314,000 shares of our common stock at the then-effective exercise price of $0.50 per share, resulting in gross proceeds to us of $157,000. On December 6, 2013, we offered the purchasers holding the remaining six-month warrants the right to exercise all

34


of those warrants, for an aggregate of 3,362,472 shares of our common stock, based on the terms of an early exercise offer wherein such warrants became exercisable at a reduced exercise price of $0.42 per share, so long as the exercise thereof occurred on or before December 9, 2013. All purchasers acted on the early exercise offer and we issued 3,362,472 shares of our common stock for gross proceeds to us of $1,327,504. We determined that the modification of the exercise price of the warrants from $0.50 per share to $0.42 per share should be recorded as a cost to induce the exercise of the warrants. As such, we recognized the difference of $173,824 between the fair value of the warrants before and after the modification as a cost in the accompanying statement of operations for the year ended March 31, 2014.

On March 26, 2014, we extended the expiration date of the nine-month warrants from March 28, 2014 to September 30, 2014. On September 9, 2014, we offered the purchasers holding the nine-month warrants the right to exercise all of those warrants, for an aggregate of 3,676,472 shares of our common stock, based on the terms of an early exercise offer wherein such warrants became exercisable at a reduced exercise price of $0.40 per share and new warrants would be issued to such investors, so long as the exercise thereof occurred on or before September 10, 2014. All purchasers acted on the early exercise offer and we issued 3,676,472 shares of our common stock for gross proceeds to us of $1,470,589. We determined that the modification of the exercise price of the warrants from $0.42 per share to $0.40 per share should be recorded as a cost to induce the exercise of the warrants. As such, we recognized the difference of $21,218 between the fair value of the warrants before and after the modification as a cost in the accompanying statements of operations for the year ended March 31, 2015.

In addition to the warrant exercises described above, during the fiscal year ended March 31, 2014, holders of an aggregate of 1,000,000 warrants were exercised to acquire a total of 1,000,000 shares of the Company’s common stock based upon their exercise price of $0.34 or total proceeds to the Company of $340,000.  Also, during the fiscal year ended March 31, 2014, certain holders of options exercised their options and received 1,250,000 shares of the Company's common stock based upon the exercise price per option agreements or total proceeds to the Company of $325,998.

In May 2015, the Company entered into a Securities Purchase Agreement with seven purchasers for the sale of an of aggregate of 5,000,002 shares of the Company’s common stock, and warrants to purchase an aggregate of 12,500,005 shares of the Company’s common stock for total gross proceeds of $1,500,000, or a sales price of $0.30 per share (the “May 2015 Offering”).  The May 2015 Offering closed on May 11, 2015.  The Company incurred $208,426 direct costs, fees and expenses in connection with the Offering, resulting in net cash proceeds to the Company of $1,291,574.  The warrants to purchase an aggregate of 12,500,005 issued to the purchasers in the Offering were issued in three tranches: Series A Warrants to purchase up to an aggregate of 5,000,002 shares of the Company’s common stock, with exercise price of $0.45 per share, and a term of 5 years; Series B Warrants to purchase up to an aggregate of 5,000,002 shares of the Company’s common stock, with exercise price of $0.35 per share, and a term of 9 months; and Series C Warrants to purchase up to an aggregate of 2,500,001 shares of the Company’s common stock, with exercise price of $0.40 per share, and a term of 1 year; all of which are exercisable immediately  (the Series A Warrants, the Series B Warrants and the Series C Warrants, collectively, the “Warrants”).   The Company also issued warrants to purchase up to 400,000 shares of the Company’s common stock (the “Placement Agent Warrants”) to H.C. Wainwright & Co., LLC as placement agent to the Offering. The Placement Agent Warrants have an exercise price of  $0.375 per share,a term of 5 years, and are exercisable immediately.

We have generated $248,348 in revenue during the fiscal year ended March 31, 2016. We believe that revenue in the near term, will be less than necessary to support our business and pursue our operational plans without obtaining additional financing. We currently have no commitments for any future funding. As of March 31, 2016, we had cash in the amount of $95,433. As discussed under the heading “Plan of Operations” above, our total expenditures over the 12 months following March 31, 2016, are expected to be approximately $2,400,000. As of the date of this annual report we expect to have sufficient funds to operate our business over the next 6 months. However, our estimate of total expenditures could increase if we encounter unanticipated difficulties. In addition, our estimates of the amount of cash necessary to fund our business may prove to be wrong, and we could spend our available financial resources much faster than we currently expect. If we cannot raise the capital we need in order to continue to develop our business, we will be forced to delay, scale back or eliminate some or all of our proposed operations. If any of these were to occur, there is a substantial risk that our business would fail.

Since inception, we have primarily funded our operations through equity and debt financings,financings. Until such time as our June 2013 public offering. Weoperating businesses are consistently cash flow positive, we expect to continue to fundfunding our operations, primarilyat least in part, through equity and debt financings in the foreseeable future.financings. However, sources of additional funds may not be available when needed, on acceptable terms, or at all. If we issue equity or convertible debt securities to raise additional funds or to fund, in whole or in part, acquisitions in furtherance of our business strategy, our existing stockholders may experience substantial dilution, and the new equity or debt securities may have rights, preferences and privileges senior to those of our existing stockholders. If we incur additional debt, it may increase our leverage relative to our earnings or to our equity capitalization, requiring us to pay additional interest expenses. Obtaining commercial loans, assuming those loans would be available, would increase our liabilities and future cash commitments. If we pursue capital through alternative sources, such as collaborations or other similar arrangements, we may be forced to relinquish rights to our proprietary technology or other intellectual property and could result in our receipt of only a portion of any revenue that may be generated from a partnered product or business. Moreover, regardless of the manner in which we seek to raise capital, we may incur substantial costs in those pursuits, including investment banking fees, legal fees, accounting fees, printing and distribution expenses and other related costs.

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40

 

Net Cash Used inProvided By (Used in) Operating Activities

We have not generated positive cash flows from operating activities. For the fiscal year ended MarchDecember 31, 2016,2023, net cash used inprovided by operating activities was $1,685,841$438,637 compared to net cash used in operating activities of $2,499,766$603,778 for the fiscal year ended MarchDecember 31, 2015.2022 (an improvement of $1,042,415). This improvement was primarily attributable to (i) our net income of $3,131,055 for the year ended December 31, 2023 compared to a net loss of $1,072,176 for the year ended December 31, 2022, (ii) an increase is duein accounts payable of $3,480,206, and (iii) an increase in the cash adjustment for depreciation expense of $1,781,573 during the year ended December 31, 2023 compared to increased gains related to our derivative liability.$395,543 during the year ended December 31, 2022, offset by an increase in accounts receivable of $6,204,026 in the year ending December 31, 2023. Net cash used in operating activities during the fiscal year ended MarchDecember 31, 20162022, consisted primarily of a net loss of $141,325 and $2,600,809 related to the change in fair value of derivative liability,$1,072,176, offset by $906,256 related to stock-based compensation.Net cash usedcompensation of $393,260 and depreciation of $395,543.

Net Cash Used in operating activities duringInvesting Activities

For the fiscal year ended MarchDecember 31, 2015 consisted primarily of a net loss of $4,048,373 and $724,617 related to the change in fair value of derivative liability, offset by $961,767 related to the cost of the warrant modification, and $1,334,493 related to stock-based compensation.

Net Cash Provided by Investing Activities

During the fiscal year ended March 31, 2016, net cash provided by investing activities was $0 compared to2023, net cash used in investing activities was $7,162,811, which consisted primarily of $10,505$4,035,250 of long-term debt issued and $1,000,000 paid for the fiscalCollins Building acquisition, $1,118,664 for equipment purchased primarily by the Range Reclaim segment and $1,008,897 for land purchases by the Range Land segment. For the year ended MarchDecember 31, 2015.   Net2022, net cash provided byused in investing activities was $6,547,230, which consisted primarily of $5,813,057 for equipment purchased by the Range Reclaim segment and $750,000 paid in the 2015 period related to the acquisition of cash fromconnection with the acquisition of the assets of Percipio Biosciences of $10,505.Range Reclamation Entities.

Net Cash Provided By Financing Activities

DuringFor the fiscal year ended MarchDecember 31, 2016,2023, net cash provided by financing activities was $1,391,544$8,458,605, compared to net cash provided byfrom financing activities of $1,475,588$7,555,034 for the fiscal year ended MarchDecember 31, 2015.2022. Net cash provided by financing activities duringfor the fiscal year ended MarchDecember 31, 20162023 consisted primarily of $1,291,574$3,110,000 received from the saleissuance of common stock and warrants.  .Netwarrants, proceeds of $4,035,250 from long-term debt issued for the Collins Building acquisition and proceeds of $2,400,000 from lines of credit, offset by the repayment of long-term debt of $1,650,659. Net cash provided by financing activities duringfor the fiscal year ended MarchDecember 31, 20152022 consisted primarily of $1,470,588$3,250,000 received from the exerciseissuance of common stock and warrants, to purchase common stock.proceeds of $5,091,177 from long-term debt, offset by the payoff of an SBA Disaster Loan of $158,815, the payoff of a revolving line of credit of $350,000 and repayment of long-term debt of $277,328.

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements

We have no significant off-balance sheet arrangements that have or are reasonably likely to have a current or future effect on our financial condition, changes in financial condition, revenues or expenses, results of operations, liquidity, capital expenditures or capital resources that would be material to stockholders.

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Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk

Not applicable.

Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data

The financial statements required by this item are set forth at the end of this annual reportAnnual Report beginning on page F-1 and are incorporated herein by reference.

Item 9. Changes in and Disagreements With Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure

None.

41

 

Not applicable.

Item 9A. Controls and Procedures

Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures

Under the supervision and with the participation of our principal executive and financial officer, our management conducted an evaluation of ourWe have established disclosure controls and procedures as such term is defined in Rule 13a-15(e) under the Exchange Act, as of the end of the period covered by this report. Based on this evaluation, our principal executive and financial officer concluded that as of March 31, 2016, our disclosure controls and procedures were not effectiveare designed to provide reasonable assuranceensure that information required to be disclosed by us in our reports we filefiled or submitsubmitted under the Exchange Act, is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms of the SEC, and that information relating to the Company is accumulated and communicated to our management, including our principal executive and financial officer,officers, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosures. The conclusiondisclosure. Our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer have evaluated the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures as of December 31, 2023 and have concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures were not effective was due to the presence of material weaknesses in internal control over financial reporting, as that term is defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) under the Exchange Act. In light of the material weaknesses identified by management, we performed additional analyses and procedures in order to conclude that our financial statements for the year ended March 31, 2016 are fairly presented, in all material respects, in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.

Description of Material Weaknesses and Management’s Remediation Initiatives

As of the date of this report, our remediation efforts continue related to each of the material weaknesses that we have identified in our internal control over financial reporting, and additional time and resources will be required in order to fully address these material weaknesses. We have not been able to complete all actions necessary and test the remediated controls in a manner that would enable us to conclude that such controls are effective. We are committed to implementing the necessary controls to remediate the material weaknesses described below as our resources permit. These material weaknesses will not be considered remediated until (1) the new processes are designed, appropriately controlled and implemented for a sufficient period of time and (2) we have sufficient evidence that the new processes and related controls are operating effectively. The following is a list of the material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting identified by management as of MarchDecember 31, 2016:2023.

(1) Insufficient segregation of duties in our finance and accounting functions due to limited personnel . During the year ended March 31, 2016, we internally performed all aspects of our financial reporting process, including, but not limited to, access to the underlying accounting records and systems, the ability to post and record journal entries and responsibility for the preparation of the financial statements. Due to the fact that these duties were often performed by the same person, there was a lack of review over the financial reporting process that might result in a failure to detect errors in spreadsheets, calculations, or assumptions used to compile the financial statements and related disclosures as filed with the SEC. These control deficiencies could result in a material misstatement to our interim or annual financial statements that would not be prevented or detected.

(2)Insufficient corporate governance policies. We have only one independent member on our board of directors, resulting in ineffective oversight in the establishment and monitoring of required internal controls and procedures.

We intend to take appropriate and reasonable steps to make the necessary improvements to remediate these material weaknesses and we intend to consider the results of our remediation efforts and conduct related testing as part of our next year-end assessment of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting.

Management’s Annual Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting

Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting, as such termdefined in Exchange Act Rule 13a-15. Internal control over financial reporting is defined in Rule 13a-15(f) and 15(d)-15(f) under the Exchange Act Rule 13a-15(f). Underas a process designed to provide reasonable assurance to the supervisionCompany’s management and withBoard of Directors regarding the participationpreparation and fair presentation of our management, including our

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principal executive andpublished financial officer, westatements. Management conducted an evaluationassessment of the effectiveness of ourCompany’s internal control over financial reporting as of MarchDecember 31, 20162023 based on the framework and criteria set forth in Internal Control—Integrated Framework issuedestablished by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission.Commission in Internal Control-Integrated Framework (COSO). Based on this evaluation, ourthe assessment, management concluded that, ouras of December 31, 2023, the Company’s internal controlcontrols over financial reporting was not effective as of March 31, 2016, and identified the material weaknesses described above .were effective.

This annual report does not include an attestation report of our independent registered public accounting firm regarding internal control over financial reporting. Management’s report was not subject to attestation by our independent registered public accounting firm pursuant to the rules of the SEC that permit us to provide only management's report in this annual report.

Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting

Other than the ongoing remediation efforts identified above, there wereThere are no changes in our internal control over financial reporting during the fourth quarter of our 2016 fiscal year ended December 31, 2023, that have materially affected, or areis reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

Inherent Limitations on Internal Control

A control system, no matter how well conceived and operated, can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the objectives of the control system are met. Further, the benefits of controls must be considered relative to their costs. Because of the inherent limitations in all control systems, no evaluation of controls can provide absolute assurance that all control issues and instances of fraud, if any, have been detected. These inherent limitations include the realities that judgments in decision making can be faulty, and that breakdowns can occur because of simple errors. Additionally, controls can be circumvented by the individual acts of some persons, by collusion of two or more people, or by management override of the control. The design of any system of controls is also based in part upon certain assumptions about the likelihood of future events, and there can be no assurance that any design will succeed in achieving its stated goals under all potential future conditions. Because of the inherent limitations in a cost-effective control system, misstatements due to error or fraud may occur and not be detected.

Item 9B. Other Information

None.

Item 9C. Disclosure Regarding Foreign Jurisdictions that Prevent Inspections

Not applicable.

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None.

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PART III

Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance

Set forth below is certain information regarding our current directors and executive officers:

Name

Position

Age

Name

Position

Age

Director/Executive Officer Since

Dr. Avtar DhillonEdward Feighan (2)(3)(4)

Chairman of the Board of Directors

54

76

August 2011

November 2018

Dr. Anthony Maida IIIRichard Celeste (1)(2)(3)

Director

64

86

March 2012

January 2019

Robert Brooke (5)

Michael Cavanaugh

Director and Chief Executive Officer

49November 2018 / May 2019
Richard McKilliganChief Financial Officer and Director

Counsel

36

60

January 2012

May 2019
Dr. Brandon ZippChief Science Officer42September 2020

(1) Member of Audit Committee

(2) Member of Compensation Committee

(3) Member of NominatingNomination and Corporate Governance Committee

(4) Member of Financing Committee

(5) Currently serves as our only executive officer.

Business Experience

The following is a brief account of the education and business experience of our current directors and executive officers:

Dr. Avtar DhillonEdward Feighan, Chairman, is currently the Chairman and CEO of Covius LLC, a privately-held firm providing a range of services to the mortgage securitization industry. Mr. Feighan has been an owner and Director of Continental Heritage Insurance Company, an early leader in the cannabis insurance market which provides surety bonds and other insurance solutions to the emerging cannabis markets, for more than twenty years. Previously, Mr. Feighan served as Chairman and CEO of ProCentury Insurance Corporation (NASDAQ: PROS) from its IPO in 2004 until the Chairmansale of our Boardthe company to another public insurance group in 2008. In 1996, Mr. Feighan was the founding CEO of Directors since January 31, 2012 and hasCentury Business Services (NYSE: CBZ). Mr. Feighan held elective office in Cleveland, Ohio for twenty consecutive years from 1973 to 1993. After being elected to three terms in the Ohio House of Representatives from 1973 to 1979, Mr. Feighan served a four-year term as a director since August 17, 2011. Dr. Dhillon alsoCuyahoga County Commissioner in the State of Ohio. Subsequently, Mr. Feighan served five terms as our Interim Principal Executivea Member of the United States House of Representatives from 1983 to 1993. During those ten years, Mr. Feighan served on the U.S. House Judiciary Committee and Financial OfficerForeign Affairs Committee. Mr. Feighan earned his law degree from August 17, 2011 until January 31, 2012. Dr. Dhillon has servedCleveland State University in 1978. The Board believes Mr. Feighan’s extensive operational and executive experience with growth companies pursuing business combination transactions, as Chairmanwell as his fundraising and regulatory insight and public service experience, provides the Company a critical voice and perspective as the Company continues to develop its business and grow its operations.

Richard Celeste, Director, is a consultant and Founding Chair and Member of the Board of Directorsthe US Olympic Museum (Colorado Springs, CO), Chair of OncoSec Medical Incorporated (NASDAQ: ONCS) since March 2011, and of Arch Therapeutics since April 2013, after serving as a director since May 2011. Dr. Dhillon served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (formerly Inovio Biomedical Corporation) (NASDAQ: INO) from October 2001 to June 2009, as President and Chairman of Inovio from June 2009 until October 2009, as Executive Chairman from October 2009 until August 2011, and as Chairman from September 2011. During his tenure at Inovio, Dr. Dhillon led the successful turnaround of the company through a restructuring, acquisition of technology from several European and North American companies, and a merger with VGX Pharmaceuticals to develop a vertically integrated DNA vaccine development company. Dr. Dhillon led multiple successful financings for Inovio and concluded several licensing deals that included multinational companies, Merck and Wyeth (now Pfizer). Prior to joining Inovio, Dr. Dhillon held roles of increasing responsibility with MDS Capital Corp. (now Lumira Capital Corp.), one of North America's leading healthcare venture capital organizations, from August 1998 until September 2001. In July 1989, Dr. Dhillon started a medical clinic and subsequently practiced family medicine for over 12 years until September 2001. Dr. Dhillon has been instrumental in successfully turning around struggling companies and influential as an active member in the biotech community. From March 1997 to July 1998, Dr. Dhillon was a consultant to CardiomePharma Corp. ("Cardiome"), a biotechnology company listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange and NASDAQ. While at Cardiome, Dr. Dhillon led a turnaround based on three pivotal financings, establishing a clinical development strategy, and procuring a new management team. In his role as a founder and board member of companies, Dr. Dhillon has been involved in several early stage healthcare focused companies listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange and TSX Venture Exchange, which have successfully matured through advances in their development pipeline and subsequent merger and acquisition transactions. He was a founding board member in February 2004 of Protox Therapeutics, Inc. (“Protox”), now a publicly traded specialty pharmaceutical company known as Sophiris Bio Inc. Dr. Dhillon maintained his board position at Protox until the execution of a financing with Warburg Pincus in November 2010. Dr. Dhillon currently sits on the Board of DirectorsGlobal Communities (Silver Spring, MD), Chair of BC Advantage Funds, a venture capital corporation in British Columbia,Organic India Pvt Ltd. (India), and has held this role since November 2003. Dr. Dhillon brings extensive experience in biotechnology companies to our BoardChair of Directors, as well as significant experience with obtaining financing and pursuing and completing strategic transactions. He has valuable experience servingOrganic India USA (Boulder, CO). In addition, Mr. Celeste serves on the BoardBoards of Directors of other publicly tradedBattelle for Kids (Columbus, OH), The Gates Family Foundation (Denver, CO), and privately held companies.

Dr. Anthony Maida, III joined our Board of Directors in March 2012. Dr. Maida hasFabindia Ltd. (India). Mr. Celeste served on the Board of Directors of OncoSec Medical Incorporated since June 2011 and currently serves as the ChairDirector of its Audit Committeethe Peace Corps from 1979-1981, as Governor of Ohio from 1983 to 1991, and as a member of its Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee. Dr. Maida has served on the Board of Directors of Spectrum Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ GS: SPPI) since December 2003 and currently serves as the Chair of its Audit Committee and a member of its Compensation Committee, Placement Committee, Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee and Product Acquisition Committee. He is currently Senior Vice President – Clinical Research (from June 2011) at Northwest Biotherapeutics, Inc., a company focused on the development of therapeutic DC cell based vaccinesUnited States Ambassador to treat patients with cancer. Dr. Maida has been the acting Chairman (from March 2003) of Dendri Therapeutics, Inc., a startup company focused on the clinical development of therapeutic vaccines for patients with cancer, since 2003. HeIndia from 1997 to 2001. Mr. Celeste also serves as Principal of Anthony Maida Consulting International (since September 1999), providing consulting services to large and small biopharmaceutical firms in the clinical development of oncology products and product acquisitions and to venture capital firms evaluating life science investment opportunities. Recently Dr. Maida was Vice President of Clinical Research and General Manager, Oncology, world-wide (from August 2010 to June 2011) for PharmaNet, Inc. He served as the President of Colorado College from 2002-2011. The Board believes Mr. Celeste’s fundraising and regulatory insight and public service experience provides the Company a critical voice and perspective as the Company continues to develop its business and grow its operations.

Michael Cavanaugh, Chief Executive Officer and Director, is currently the Chief Investment Officer of Replicon NeuroTherapeutics, Inc., a biopharmaceutical companyTower 1 Partnership, LLC, an investment firm focused on

39


private and public investments in a variety of industries and manager of several affiliated investment partnerships. In 2018, Mr. Cavanaugh was Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer of Kaulig Companies, a single-member family office with interests in private equity, real estate and wealth management. From 2016 to 2018, Mr. Cavanaugh was Managing Director of Conway MacKenzie, a national turnaround consulting firm, where he established and managed the therapy of patientsfirm’s Cleveland, Ohio office and provided interim management and restructuring services to distressed and underperforming businesses. From 2006 to 2009 and 2011 to 2015, Mr. Cavanaugh was an executive with tumors (both primaryResilience Capital Partners, a private equity firm focused on special situation control equity investments, where he served in several capacities, including as a Partner and metastatic)member of the central nervous system, where he successfully raised financingfirm’s Investment Committee and as an officer and director of numerous portfolio companies. Mr. Cavanaugh received a B.A. from both ventureColumbia University in 1996, an M.B.A. from the University of Michigan Business School in 2003, and a J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School in 2003. The Board believes Mr. Cavanaugh’s extensive executive management experience and financial, legal and capital and strategic investors and was responsible for all financial and operational aspects of the company, from June 2001 to July 2003. He was also President (from December 2000 to December 2001) of CancerVax Corporation, a biotechnology company dedicatedraising expertise will be valuable to the treatmentCompany as it continues to develop its business and grow its operations.

43

Richard McKilligan, Chief Financial Officer and Counsel, joined the Company in April 2012 as Controller, Counsel and Secretary. Mr. McKilligan is also a director of cancer.Bristol Investment Fund, Ltd, a private investment fund. He has been a speakerserved as Chief Financial Officer, General Counsel and Secretary of Research Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ: RSSS) from 2007 to 2011 and Chief Compliance Officer and Counsel to Bristol Capital Advisors, LLC, an SEC-registered investment adviser, from 2006 to 2008. Mr. McKilligan earned his law degree from Cornell Law School, his MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, and his undergraduate degree in Accountancy from the University of Illinois at industry conferences andUrbana-Champaign. He is a member of the American SocietyState Bar of Clinical Oncology,California, the AmericanNew York State Bar Association for Cancer Research, the Society of Neuro-Oncology, the American Chemical Society and the International Society for Biological TherapyFlorida Bar.

Dr. Brandon Zipp, Chief Science Officer, joined the Company in December 2012 as Staff Scientist. Dr. Zipp became Director of Cancer.Research and Development in 2014, and was appointed as Chief Science Officer in 2020. Dr. MaidaZipp received a B.A. in History from Santa Clara University in 1975, a B.A. in Biology from San Jose State University in 1977, an M.B.A. from Santa Clara University in 1978, an M.A. in Toxicology from San Jose State University in 1986 and a Ph.D. in ImmunologyBiochemistry and Molecular Biology and a B.S. in Molecular and Cellular Biology from the University of California Davis, in 2010. We believe that his financial and operational experience in our industry will provide important resources to our Board.at Davis.

Robert Brooke has served as a director and our Chief Executive Officer since January 31, 2012, and previously served as our Vice President of Business Development beginning in October 2011. Mr. Brooke was a founder of Lion Biotechnologies, Inc., formerly Genesis Biopharma, Inc. (NASDAQ: LBIO), a cancer drug development company, where he also served as Director, President and Chief Executive Officer from March 2010 until February 2011. Mr. Brooke is a co-founder of Intervene Immune, Inc., a privately held biotechnology company focused on immune regeneration, and since March 2014 has served on a limited part-time basis as Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Brooke was the founder of Percipio Biosciences, Inc., a privately held research diagnostics company that manufactures and distributes products related to oxidative stress research, and served as its President, on a limited part-time basis, from 2008 until its assets were acquired in June 2013. From 2004 to 2008, he was an analyst with Bristol Capital Advisors, LLC, investment manager to Bristol Investment Fund, Ltd. (“Bristol”). During this period, Bristol financed over 60 public healthcare and life science companies and was listed by The PIPEs Report in 2005 as being the most active investor in private placements by public biotechnology companies. Mr. Brooke earned a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Georgia Tech in 2003 and a M.S. in Biomedical Engineering from UCLA in 2005. Mr. Brooke provides our Board of Directors with public and private capital raising experience, as well as experience in leading early stage biotechnology companies.

Term of Office

In accordance with our Bylaws, our directors are elected at each annual meeting of stockholders and serve until the next annual meeting of stockholders or until their successor has been duly elected and qualified, or until their earlier death, resignation or removal.

Director Independence

Pursuant to its charter, the Nomination and Corporate Governance Committee reviews the independence of each director annually and makes recommendations to the Board based on its findings. During these reviews, the Nomination and Corporate Governance Committee is to consider transactions and relationships between each director (and his or her immediate family and affiliates) and the Company and our management in order to determine whether any such transactions or relationships are inconsistent with a determination that the director was independent under the independence standards established by the Board from time to time and under the applicable rules of any applicable stock exchange, except to the extent permitted by such rules. While the Nomination and Corporate Governance Committee did not conduct its annual review of director independence in 2023, the Board has determined that all of our directors are independent other than Mr. Cavanaugh, our Chief Executive Officer. Accordingly, our Board of Directors is comprised of a majority of independent directors.

Board and Committee Meetings

The Board of Directors held four meetings during the year ended December 31, 2023. The directors also, on occasion, communicate informally to discuss the affairs of the Company and, when appropriate, take formal action by written consent of all of the directors, in accordance with our Certificate of Incorporation, Bylaws and Nevada law. Our Board has three standing committees: the Audit Committee, the Compensation Committee and the Nomination and Corporate Governance Committee. Members of such committees met formally and informally from time to time throughout the year ended December 31, 2023 on committee matters, with the Audit Committee holding four meetings, the Compensation Committee holding one meeting, and the Nomination and Corporate Governance Committee holding no meetings. Each director attended, in person or by telephone, 100% of the meetings of the Board and any committee of which he or she was a member.

44

 

Committees

Attendance at Annual Meeting

Although the Company does not have a policy with respect to attendance by members of the Board of Directors at its annual meeting of stockholders, all directors are encouraged to attend.

On August 24, 2012, ourCommittees

General. The Board of Directors establishedhas three standing committees: an Audit Committee, a Compensation Committee, and a NominatingNomination and Corporate Governance Committee, and a Finance Committee, each of which has the composition and responsibilities described below.Committee.

Audit Committee

The Audit Committee of our Board of Directors consists of only Dr. Maida, who serves as Chairman. Our Board of Directors has determined that. Mr. Celeste is currently the sole member of our Audit CommitteeCommittee. Our Board has determined that Mr. Celeste is independent within the meaning of applicable SEC rules and Nasdaq Listing Rules, and has determined that Dr. Maida isqualifies as an audit committee financial expert, as such term is defined in the rules and regulationsItem 407(d)(5)(ii) of the SEC and is financially sophisticated within the meaning of the Nasdaq Listing Rules.Regulation S-K. The Audit Committee has oversight responsibilities regarding,for, among other things: the preparation of our financial statements andstatements; oversight of our financial reporting and disclosure processes; the administration, maintenance and review of our system of internal controls regarding accounting compliance; our practices and processes relating to internal audits of our financial statements; the appointment of our independent registered public accounting firm and the review of its qualifications and independence; the review of reports, written statements and letters from our independent registered public accounting firm; and our compliance with legal and regulatory requirements in connection with the foregoing. Our Board of Directors has adopted a written charter for our audit committee, which is available on our website, www.vitality.bio.

Compensation Committee

. The Compensation Committee of our Board of Directorscurrently consists of Dr. DhillonMessrs. Feighan and Dr. Maida,Celeste, with Dr. DhillonMr. Feighan serving as Chairman. Our Board of Directors has also determined that Dr. Maida is independent withinMessrs. Feighan and Celeste meet the meaningdefinition of applicable Nasdaq Listing Rules.a “non-employee director” under Rule 16b-3 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, the requirements of Section 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code for “outside directors.” The duties of our Compensation Committee include, without limitation: reviewing, approving and administering our compensation programs and arrangements to ensure that they are effective in attracting and retaining key employees and reinforcing business strategies and objectives; determining the objectives of our executive officer compensation programs and the specific objectives relating to CEO compensation, including evaluating the performance of the CEO in light of those objectives; approving the compensation of our other executive officers and our directors; review and recommend for approval by the Board the frequency with which the Company should submit to the stockholders an advisory vote on the compensation of the Company’s named executive officers, taking into account any prior stockholder advisory vote on the frequency with which the Company shall hold a stockholder advisory vote on compensation of the Company’s named executive officers; and administering our as-in-effect incentive-compensation and equity-based plans;plans. In making its compensation decisions and producing an annual report on executive officerrecommendations (other than with respect to the compensation for inclusionof our Chief Executive Officer), the Compensation Committee takes into account the recommendation of our Chief Executive Officer. Other than giving his recommendation, our Chief Executive Officer does not participate in our proxy statement, when required and in accordance with applicable rules and regulations. Our Board of Directors has adopted a written charter for our compensation committee, which is available on our website, www.vitality.bio.the Compensation Committee’s decisions regarding his own compensation.

40


NominatingNomination and Corporate Governance Committee

. The NominatingNomination and Corporate Governance Committee of our Board of Directors currently consists of Dr. DhillonMessrs. Feighan and Dr. Maida,Celeste, with Dr. DhillonMr. Feighan serving as Chairman. Our Board of Directors has also determined that Dr. Maida is independent within the meaning of applicable Nasdaq Listing Rules. The responsibilities of the NominatingNomination and Corporate Governance Committee include, without limitation: assisting in the identification of nominees for election to our Board of Directors, consistent with approved qualifications and criteria; determining the composition of the Board of Directors and its committees; recommending to the Board of Directors the director nominees for the annual meeting of stockholders; establishing and monitoring a process of assessing the effectiveness of the Board of Directors; developing and overseeing a set of corporate governance guidelines and procedures; and overseeing the evaluation of our directors and executive officers. In considering potential new directors, the Committee may review individuals from various disciplines and backgrounds. Among the qualifications to be considered in the selection of candidates are broad experience in business, finance or administration; familiarity with the Company’s industry; and prominence and reputation. Our Board of Directors has adopteddoes not assign specific weights to particular criteria and no particular criterion is a written charterprerequisite for each prospective nominee. Our Board of Directors does not have a policy with regard to the consideration of diversity in identifying director candidates, but our nominatingBoard of Directors believes that the backgrounds and corporate governance committee, which is available onqualifications of its directors, considered as a whole, should provide a composite mix of experience, knowledge, and abilities that will allow our website, www.vitality.bio.

Financing Committee

Dr. Avtar Dhillon is the Chairman and sole memberBoard of our Financing Committee.Directors to fulfill its responsibilities. The Financing CommitteeBoard does not currently haveuse an independent search firm in identifying candidates for service on the Board.

45

Board Leadership Structure

Mr. Feighan serves as Chairman of the Board, a charter.position he has held since November 2018. The FinancingCompany has determined its current structure to be most effective as the Chairman serves as a liaison between its directors and management and helps to maintain communication and discussion among the Board and management, while allowing the CEO to focus on the execution of business strategy, growth and development. The Chairman serves in a presiding capacity at Board meetings and has such other duties as are determined by the Board from time to time.

The Board’s Role in Risk Oversight

Our Board oversees the Company’s risk management efforts by reviewing information provided by management in order to oversee risk identification, risk management, and risk mitigation strategies. Our Board committees assist the Board in overseeing our material risks by focusing on risks related to the particular area of concentration of that committee. For example, our Compensation Committee has responsibilities relatingoversees risks related to our efforts to obtain adequate funding to financeexecutive compensation plans and arrangements, our development programsAudit Committee oversees the financial reporting, internal control and operations.

Family Relationships

No family relationships exist between anyrelated-party transaction risks, and our Nomination and Corporate Governance Committee oversees risks associated with the business conduct of the Company. Each committee reports its discussions of the applicable relevant risks at such Board meetings as appropriate. The full Board of Directors incorporates the insight provided by these reports into its overall risk management analysis.

Communications with Directors

Stockholders may communicate their concerns directly to the entire Board of Directors or specifically to non-management directors. Such communication can be confidential or anonymous, if so designated, and may be submitted in writing to the following address:

Board of Directors

Range Impact, Inc.

c/o Richard McKilligan, Corporate Secretary

200 Park Avenue, Suite 400

Cleveland, Ohio 44122

All communications received as described above will be opened by our Secretary for the sole purpose of determining whether the contents constitute a communication to our directors. Any contents that are not in the nature of advertising, promotions of a product or service, or patently offensive material will be forwarded promptly to the director or directors to whom it is addressed. In the case of communications to our Board of Directors or to any group of directors, our Secretary will make sufficient copies of the contents to send to each addressee.

Compensation Committee Interlocks and Insider Participation

During the year ended December 31, 2023, none of our executive officers or directors was a member of the Company.board of directors of any other company where the relationship would be construed to constitute an interlocking relationship (as described in Item 407(e)(iii) of SEC Regulation S-K).

Code of Business Conduct and Ethics

Our Board of Directors has adopted aThe Company’s Code of Business Conduct and Ethics as described in applicable SEC rules that applies to our principal executive officer, principal financial officer, principal accounting officer or controller, or persons performing similar functions, as well as our other employees.all of its employees, including its Chief Executive Officer and its Chief Financial Officer. The Code of Business Conduct and Ethics is available for reviewand all Committee charters are posted on ourthe Company’s website at www.steviafirst.com.https://rangeimpact.com/investors/

Section 16(a) Beneficial Ownership Reporting Compliance

Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act requires our directors and executive officers and directors and persons who own more than 10% of a registered class of our equity securities (the “Reporting Persons”) to file reports of ownership on Form 3 and changes in ownership on Form 4 or Form 5 with the SEC. Such executive officers, directorsSEC reports on Forms 3, 4 and 10% stockholders are also required by SEC rules to furnish us with copies5 concerning their ownership of all Section 16(a) reports they file.and transactions in our common stock and other equity securities.

To our knowledge, basedBased solely on oura review of the copies of such forms received by us or written representations from certain reporting persons that noSEC filings and other forms were required for such persons,procedures performed as deemed necessary, we believe that all Reporting Persons complied with these requirements during our fiscalthe year ended MarchDecember 31, 2014,2023, except that each of our executive officers, directors, and 10% stockholders complied with all applicable Section 16(a) filing requirements.including our Chief Executive Officer, failed to timely file a Form 4 reporting their receipt of options to purchase the Company’s common stock under the under the Range Impact, Inc. 2021 Stock Incentive Plan on December 21, 2023 as reported in a Form 4 filed by each such person on January 12, 2024.

46

 

Item 11. Executive Compensation

The following table summarizes all compensation recorded by us in each ofduring the fiscal years ended MarchDecember 31, 20162023 and MarchDecember 31, 20152022, for (i) our current principal executive officer and principal financial officer, and (ii) our next most highly compensated executive officer other than our principal executive officer and principal financial officer serving as an executive officer at the end of our 20162023 fiscal year and whose total compensation exceeded $100,000 in our 2016 fiscalduring the year (of which there were none).ended December 31, 2023.

Summary Compensation Table

Name Period
Ending
 Salary ($)  

Option

Awards
(non-cash) (1)

  Total ($) 
            
Michael Cavanaugh, Chief Executive Officer (2) (principal executive officer) Year Ended 12/31/23  236,000   211,800   447,800 
  Year Ended 12/31/22  236,000   111,300   347,300 
               
Richard McKilligan, Chief Financial Officer (3) (principal financial officer) Year Ended 12/31/23  180,000   -   180,000 
  Year Ended 12/31/22  180,000   37,100   217,100 
               
Dr. Brandon Zipp, Chief Science Officer (4) Year Ended 12/31/23  180,000   -   180,000 
  Year Ended 12/31/22  180,000   37,100   217,100 



 

 

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

Name

 

Fiscal Year

 

Salary ($)

 

Total ($)



 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Brooke, Chief Executive Officer
(principal executive and financial officer)

 

2016 

 

150,000 

 

150,000 



 

 

 

 

 

 



 

2015 

 

150,000 

 

150,000 

41


Employment Agreements

On January 31, 2012, our Board(1) The method used and the assumptions made to calculate the fair value of Directors appointed Robert Brooke as our Chief Executive Officer, Secretary, Treasurer, and director. On January 31, 2012, we entered into an Executive Employment Agreement with Mr. Brooke. Under the agreement, Mr. Brooke received an initial annual base salary of $100,000 and is eligible to participateoption awards included in the benefits made generally available to similarly-situated executives. His annual base salary increased to $125,000this table are described in March 2013 and to $150,000 in July 2013. The agreement further provides that if Mr. Brooke is terminated other than for cause, death or disability, he is entitled to receive severance payments equal to six months of his base salary. If Mr. Brooke terminates his employment with us with good reason following a change of control, Mr. Brooke is entitled to receive severance payments equal to 12 months of his base salary. Severance payments will be reduced by any remuneration paid to Mr. Brooke because of Mr. Brooke’s employment or self-employment during the applicable severance period. The Executive Employment Agreement had an initial term of two years.

Under the Executive Employment Agreement, termination for “good reason” means a termination by Mr. Brooke following the occurrence of anyFootnote 6 of the following events without Mr. Brooke’s consent within six monthsfinancial statements and the accompanying notes for the years ended December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022 appearing elsewhere in this Annual Report.

(2) Based on the fair value of a change(i) an option to purchase 750,000 shares of control: (a) a changecommon stock with an exercise price of $0.18 per share, granted in Mr. Brooke’s position that materially reduces his levelNovember 2022, and (ii) an option to purchase 1,000,000 shares of responsibility; (b) a material reductioncommon stock with an exercise price of $0.212 per share, granted in Mr. Brooke’s base salary, except for reductions that are comparableDecember 2023.

(3) Based on the fair value of an option to reductions generally applicablepurchase 250,000 shares of common stock with an exercise price of $0.18 per share, granted in November 2022.

(4) Based on the fair value of an option to similarly situated executivespurchase 250,000 shares of the Company; and (c) relocationcommon stock with an exercise price of Mr. Brooke’s principal place of employment more than 25 miles. The term “change of control” is defined as a change$0.18 per share, granted in ownership or control of the Company effected through a merger, consolidation or acquisition by any person or related group of persons (other than an acquisition by the Company, a Company-sponsored employee benefit plan or by a person or persons that directly or indirectly controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with, the Company) of beneficial ownership (within the meaning of Rule 13d-3 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934) of securities possessing more than 50% of the total combined voting power of the outstanding securities of the Company.November 2022.

47

 

Outstanding Equity Awards at Fiscal Year-EndDecember 31, 2023

  Option Awards
    Number of securities underlying unexercised option  Option Exercise  

Option

Expiration

  Grant Date Exercisable  Unexercisable  Price ($)  Date
Michael Cavanaugh (1) 5/8/2019  500,000   -   0.35  5/8/2029
  6/27/2019  250,000   -   0.30  6/27/2029
  12/10/2021  350,000   -   0.277  12/10/2031
  11/30/2022  750,000       0.18  11/30/2032
  12/21/2023  1,000,000       0.212  12/21/2033
                 
Richard McKilligan (2) 7/18/2016  370,234   -   0.50  7/18/2026
  6/27/2019  250,000   -   0.30  6/27/2029
  12/10/2021  150,000   -   0.277  12/10/2031
  11/30/2022  250,000       0.18  11/30/2032
                 
Brandon Zipp (3) 7/18/2016  370,234   -   0.50  7/18/2026
  5/8/2019  500,000   -   0.35  5/8/2029
  12/10/2021  150,000   -   0.277  12/10/2031
  11/30/2022  250,000       0.18  11/30/2032

(1)Granted under the Company’s Equity Incentive Plan, the awards consist of (i) an option to purchase 500,000 shares of common stock, 250,000 of which became fully exercisable in May 2020 and 250,000 of which became fully exercisable in May 2021, (ii) an option to purchase 250,000 shares of common stock, 125,000 of which became fully exercisable in June 2020 and 125,000 of which became fully exercisable in June 2021, (iii) an option to purchase 350,000 shares of common stock, all of which became fully exercisable in December 2021, (iv) an option to purchase 750,000 shares of common stock all of which became fully exercisable in November 2022, and (v) an option to purchase 1,000,000 shares of common stock all of which became fully exercisable in December 2023.
(2)Granted under the Company’s Equity Incentive Plan, the awards consist of (i) an option to purchase 370,234 shares of common stock, all of which became fully exercisable in July 2018, (ii) an option to purchase 250,000 shares of common stock, 125,000 of which became fully exercisable in June 2020 and 125,000 of which became fully exercisable in June 2021, (iii) an option to purchase 150,000 shares of common stock, all of which became fully exercisable in December 2021, and (iv) an option to purchase 250,000 shares of common stock, all of which became fully exercisable in November 2022.
(3)Granted under the Company’s Equity Incentive Plan, the awards consist of (i) an option to purchase 370,234 shares of common stock, all of which were became fully exercisable in July 2018, (ii) an option to purchase 500,000 shares of common stock, 250,000 of which became fully exercisable in May 2020, and 250,000 of which became fully exercisable in May 2021, (iii) an option to purchase 150,000 shares of common stock, all of which became fully exercisable in December 2021, and (iv) an option to purchase 250,000 shares of common stock, all of which became fully exercisable in November 2022.

As of March 31, 2016, 1) Dr. Dhillon held an option to purchase 500,000 shares of common stock, which vested and became exercisable in full on April 1, 2012, and an option to purchase 400,000 shares of common stock, 100,000 of which vested and became fully exercisable on November 21, 2015, and 100, 000 of which will vest on each of May 21, 2016, November 21, 2016 and May 21, 2017; 2) Dr. Maida held an option to purchase 100,000 shares of common stock, 25,000 of which vested and became fully exercisable on November 21, 2015, and 25, 000 of which will vest on each of May 21, 2016, November 21, 2016 and May 21, 2017; and 3) Mr Brooke held an option to purchase 400,000 shares of common stock, 100,000 of which vested and became fully exercisable on November 21, 2015, and 100, 000 of which will vest on each of May 21, 2016, November 21, 2016 and May 21, 2017.

Compensation of Directors

We haveDirectors receive a combination of cash and equity awards as compensation for their service. There are no formal planadditional fees paid for compensatingmeetings attended although our directors for service in their capacities as director, although directors are entitled to reimbursement for reasonable travel and other out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with attendance at meetings of our Board of Directors.

Dr. Dhillon and Dr. Maida served as our non-employee directors during the fiscal year ended March 31, 2016. Dr. Avtar Dhillon, the Chairman of our Board of Directors and of several of our board committees, received total cash compensation of $110,000 for such services during our fiscal year ended March 31, 2016, and Dr. Maida received $30,000 total cash compensation for his services as a director during our fiscal year ended March 31, 2016.committees.

48

 

42


Director Compensation Table

The following table shows compensation paid to our non-employee directors during the fiscal year ended MarchDecember 31, 2016:2023:

Name 

Fees earned

or paid in

cash

  

Option

awards
(non-cash)(1)

  

All other

compensation

  Total 
             
Richard Celeste (1) $36,000  $52,950  $-  $88,950 
                 
Edward Feighan (1) $136,000  $52,950   -  $188,950 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Name

 

Fees earned or paid in cash

 

Stock awards (non-cash)(1)

 

All other compensation

 

Total



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dr. Avtar Dhillon (1)

 

$

110,000 

 

$

27,867 

 

$

-

 

$

137,867 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dr. Anthony Maida (1)

 

$

30,000 

 

$

6,967 

 

$

-

 

$

36,967 

5

(1)

(1)

As of MarchDecember 31, 2016,2023, the aggregate number of stock and option awards held by each of our non-employee directors was as follows: (i) Dr. Avtar DhillonMr. Celeste held no stock awards andan option awardsaward to purchase 900,000500,000 shares of our common stock and (ii) Dr. Anthony Maida, III, held a stock awardwith an exercise price of 100,000$0.35 per share, an option to purchase 250,000 shares of our common stock with an exercise price of $0.277 per share, an option to purchase 250,000 shares of our common stock with an exercise price of $0.18 per share, and noan option awardsto purchase 250,000 shares of our common stock with an exercise price of $0.18 per share, all of which are fully vested, and (ii) Mr. Feighan held an option award to purchase 100,000500,000 shares of our common stock.

stock with an exercise price of $0.35 per share, an option to purchase 250,000 shares of our common stock with an exercise price of $0.30 per share, and an option to purchase 250,000 shares of our common stock with an exercise price of $0.277 per share, an option to purchase 250,000 shares of our common stock with an exercise price of $0.18 per share, and an option to purchase 250,000 shares of our common stock with an exercise price of $0.212 per share, all of which are fully vested. The method used and the assumptions made to calculate the fair value of the options are described in Footnote 6 of the financial statements and the accompanying notes for the years ended December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022 appearing elsewhere in this Annual Report.

Item 12. Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters

The following table sets forth certain information regarding the beneficial ownership of our common stock by (i) each person who, to our knowledge, beneficially owns more than 5% of our common stock, (ii) each of our directors and named executive officers, and (iii) all of our current executive officers and directors as a group. Unless otherwise indicated in the footnotes to the following table, the address of each person named in the table is: c/o Stevia First Corp.Range Impact, Inc., 1907200 Park Avenue, of the Stars, 2nd Floor, Los Angeles, California  90067.Suite 400, Cleveland, Ohio 44122. Shares of our common stock subject to options, warrants convertible notes or other rights currently exercisable or exercisable within 60 days after June 22, 2016,December 31, 2023, are deemed to be beneficially owned and outstanding for computing the share ownership and percentage of the person holding such options, warrants, convertible notes or other rights, but are not deemed outstanding for computing the beneficial ownership percentage of any other person.

Name of Beneficial Owner 

Number of

Shares

Beneficially
Owned

  

Percentage Beneficially

Owned (1)

 
Directors and Named Executive Officers:        
Edward Feighan (2)  4,857,584   4.8 
Michael Cavanaugh (3)  4,729,791   4.7 
Dr. Brandon Zipp (4)  1,334,234   1.3 
Richard Celeste (5)  1,250,000   1.2 
Richard McKilligan (6)  1,030,234   1.0 
         
All Directors and Executive Officers as a Group (5 persons)  13,201,843   13.1 
Joseph E. LoConti (7)  20,827,180   20.6 
Indemnity National Insurance Company (8)  21,333,333   21.1 



 

 

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

Name of Beneficial Owner

 

Number of Shares Beneficially Owned

 

Percentage Beneficially Owned (1)

Directors and Named Executive Officers:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dr. Avtar Dhillon (2)

 

 

6,050,000 

 

5.7 

%

Dr. Anthony Maida, III (3)

 

 

200,000 

 

*

 

Robert Brooke (4)

 

 

2,972,500 

 

2.8 

%

Current Directors and Executive Officers as a Group (3 persons)

 

 

9,222,500 

 

8.7 

%

*Less than 1%

[

(1)

(1)

Based on 105,617,074101,023,485 shares of our common stock issued and outstanding as of June 22, 2016. Except as otherwise indicated, we believe that the beneficial owners of the common stock listed above, based on information furnished by such owners, have sole investment and voting power with respect to such shares, subject to community property laws where applicable.March 28, 2024. Beneficial ownership is determined in accordance with the rules of the SEC and generally includes voting or investment power with respect to securities.

(2)

Includes an option(i) 2,672,365 shares of the Company’s common stock held directly by Mr. Feighan, (ii) currently exercisable options to purchase 500,0001,500,000 shares of common stock, which vested and became exercisable in full on April 1, 2012, and(iii) 685,228 shares of the Company’s common stock held by The Feighan Family Fund, LLC (the “Feighan Fund”), an option to purchase 400,000entity beneficially owned by Mr. Feighan.

49

(3)Consists of (i) 1,879,791 shares of common stock 100,000and (ii) currently exercisable options to purchase 2,850,000 shares of which vested and became fully exercisable on November 21, 2015, and 100, 000 of which will vest on each of May 21, 2016, November 21, 2016 and May 21, 2017.

common stock.

(3)

Includes 100,000 shares

(4)Consists of restricted common stock granted to Dr. Maida on July 30, 2012, 33,334 of which vested on January 1, 2013 and 33,333 on each of January 1, 2014 and January 1, 2015, and an option to purchase 100,000(i) 64,000 shares of common stock 25,000and (ii) currently exercisable options to purchase 1,270,234 shares of which vested and became fully exercisable on November 21, 2015, and 25, 000 of which will vest on each of May 21, 2016, November 21, 2016 and May 21, 2017.

common stock.

(4)

Includes an option

(5)Represents currently exercisable options to purchase 400,0001,250,000 shares of common stock.
(6)Consists of (i) 10,000 shares of common stock 100,000and (ii) currently exercisable options to purchase 1,020,234 shares of which vested and became fully exercisablecommon stock.
(7)This information is based solely on the Form 4 filed on Mr. LoConti on December 14, 2023. Mr. LoConti’s address is 200 Park Avenue, Suite 400, Orange Village, Ohio 44122.
(8)This information is based solely on the Schedule 13G filed by Indemnity National Insurance Company on November 21, 2015, and 100, 000 of which will vest on each of May 21, 2016, November 21, 2016 and May 21, 2017.

7, 2023. Indemnity National Insurance Company’s address is 238 Bedford Way, Franklin, Tennessee 37064.

43


Securities Authorized for Issuance under Equity Compensation Plans

Please see the information disclosed under the same heading in Item 5 of this annual report.

Item 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence

Transactions with Related Persons

On April 23, 2012, we entered into a lease agreement with One World Ranches LLC pursuant to which we lease from One World Ranches LLC certain office and laboratory space located atDuring the address of our principal executive offices. That lease agreement commenced on May 1, 2012 and expires on May 1, 2017, and our rent payments thereunder are $2,300 per month.

Also on April 23, 2012, we entered into a lease agreement with Sutter Buttes LLC pursuant to which we leased from Sutter Buttes LLC approximately 1,000 acres of land in Sutter County, California. That lease agreement commenced on May 1, 2012 and expired on May 1, 2014, and all rent payments thereunder, totaling $250,000, were pre-paid at the commencement of the lease.

One World Ranches LLC and Sutter Buttes LLC are jointly-owned by Dr. Avtar Dhillon, the Chairman of our Board of Directors, and his wife, Diljit Bains. The lease agreements were approved by our Board of Directors while Dr. Avtar Dhillon abstained from voting.

On August 18, 2012, we entered into a lease agreement with Sacramento Valley Real Estate, which is jointly-owned by Dr. Avtar Dhillon, the Chairman of our Board of Directors, and his wife, Diljit Bains, pursuant to which we agreed to lease space located at 33-800 Clark Avenue, Yuba City, California. The month-to-month lease began on August 20, 2012 and our rent payment is $1,000 per month. On August 22, 2012, we paid $1,000 as a refundable security deposit under this lease. 

On May 16, 2014, the Company entered into an Asset Purchase Agreement with Percipio to purchase certain assets of Percipio for $50,000. The Company’s Chief Executive Officer, Robert Brooke, owned 20% of Percipio. At March 31, 2016, $11,950 of the purchase price remains unpaid and is included in accounts payable on the accompanying balance sheet.  

Except as described above, during the fiscal years ended MarchDecember 31, 20152023 and 2016,2022, and through the filing of this annual report,Annual Report, there have been no transactions, and there are no currently proposed transactions, in which we were or are to be a participant and the amount involved exceeds the lesser of $120,000 or one percent of the average of our total assets at year endyear-end for the last two completed fiscal years and in which any related person had or will have a direct or indirect material interest.

Director Independence

Our Board of Directors has determined that Dr. Anthony MaidaMessrs. Feighan and Celeste would qualify as “independent” as that term is defined by Nasdaq Listing Rule 5605(a)(2). Mr. Robert BrookeCavanaugh would not qualify as “independent” because he currently serves as our Chief Executive Officer. Dr. Dhillon also would not qualify as “independent” under applicable Nasdaq Listing Rules.

Item 14. Principal Accounting Fees and Services

Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm’s Fee Summary

The following table provides information regarding the fees billed to us by WeinbergMeaden & Company, P.A.Moore, Ltd., our independent registered public accounting firm,firms, for services rendered in the fiscal years ended MarchDecember 31, 20152023 and 2016.2022. All fees described below were approved by our Board of Directors:

  For the year ended
December 31, 2023
  For the year ended
December 31, 2022
 
Audit Fees $183,350  $143,200 
Tax Fees  32,800   13,671 
All Other Fees  -   1,900 
Total Fees $216,150  $158,771 

50

 



 

 

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

 

 

 



 

For the years ended
March 31,



 

2016

 

2015

Audit Fees

 

$

59,474 

 

$

71,803 

Audit-Related Fees

 

 

-

 

 

-

Tax Fees

 

 

11,735 

 

 

7,389 

All Other Fees

 

 

-

 

 

-

Total Fees

 

$

71,209 

 

$

79,192 

44


Audit Fees. The fees identified under this caption were for professional services rendered by WeinbergMeaden & Company, P.A.forMoore, Ltd. for the audit of our annual financial statements. The fees identified under this caption also include fees for professional services rendered by WeinbergMeaden & Company, P.A.Moore, Ltd. for the review of the financial statements included in our quarterly reports on Forms 10-Q. In addition, the amounts include fees for services that are normally provided by the auditor in connection with regulatory filings and engagements for the years identified.

Audit-Related Fees. The fees identified under this caption consist of assurance and related services reasonably related to the performance of the audit or review of financial statements and not reported under the caption “Audit Fees”.

Tax Fees. Tax fees consist principally of assistance related to tax compliance and reporting.

All Other Fees. These fees consist primarily of accounting consultation fees related to potential collaborative agreements. We incurred no such fees in during the fiscal yearsyear ended MarchDecember 31, 2016 or 2015.2023.

Pre-Approval Policies and Procedures

Our Audit Committee'sCommittee’s charter requires our Audit Committee to pre-approve all audit and permissible non-audit services to be performed for the Company by our independent registered public accounting firm, giving effect to the "de minimis"“de minimis” exception for ratification of certain non-audit services allowed by the applicable rules of the SEC, in order to assure that the provision of such services does not impair the auditor'sauditor’s independence. Since the establishment of our Audit Committee on August 24, 2012, the Audit Committee approved in advance all services provided by our independent registered public accounting firm. All engagements of our independent registered public accounting firm for 2012 entered into prior to the establishment of the Audit Committee were pre-approved by the Board of DirectorDirectors.

51

 

PART IV

Item 15. Exhibits, Financial Statement Schedules

(a)

(1)

(a)

(1)

The financial statements filed as a part of this annual reportAnnual Report are as follows:

(2)

(2)

Schedules are omitted because they are not applicable or the required information is shown in the financial statements or notes thereto.

(3)

(3)The exhibits filed with this annual reportAnnual Report are set forth in the Exhibit Index included at the end of this annual report,Annual Report, which is incorporated herein by reference.

Item 16. Form 10-K Summary

None.

52

 

45


Signatures

Signatures

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

RANGE IMPACT, INC.

STEVIA FIRST CORP.

Date: March 29, 2024

By:

/s/ Michael Cavanaugh

Date: June 24, 2016

By:

/s/ Robert Brooke

Michael Cavanaugh

Robert Brooke

Chief Executive Officer

(Principal Executive Officer)

KNOW ALL PERSONS BY THESE PRESENTS, that each person whose signature appears below constitutes and appoints Robert BrookeMichael Cavanaugh as his or her true and lawful attorney-in-fact and agent, each with full power of substitution and resubstitution, for him or her and in his or her name, place and stead, in any and all capacities, to sign any and all amendments to this report and to file the same, with all exhibits thereto and all documents in connection therewith, with the Securities and Exchange Commission, granting unto said attorney-in-fact and agent full power and authority to do and perform each and every act and thing requisite and necessary to be done in and about the premises, as fully to all intents and purposes as he might or could do in person, hereby ratifying and confirming all that such attorney-in-fact and agent, or his or her substitute or substitutes, may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this report is signed below by the following persons on behalf of the Registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.

[

SIGNATURE

TITLE

DATE

SIGNATURE

TITLE

DATE

/s/ Robert Brooke

Michael Cavanaugh

Chief Executive Officer and Director

March 29, 2024
Michael Cavanaugh(Principal Executive Financial and Accounting Officer)

Officer)

June 24, 2016

Robert Brooke

/s/ Edward Feighan

Director

March 29, 2024

/s/ Avtar Dhillon

Edward Feighan

Director

June 24, 2016

Dr. Avtar Dhillon

/s/ Richard Celeste

Director

March 29, 2024

/s/ Anthony Maida

Richard Celeste

Director

June 24, 2016

53

EXHIBIT INDEX

2.1Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated September 14, 2011, by and between Stevia First Corp. and Legend Mining Inc. (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to the registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on October 14, 2011.)

Dr. Anthony Maida, III

3.1.1
Articles of Incorporation of Stevia First Corp. (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to the registrant’s Registration Statement on Form S-1 filed with the SEC on August 6, 2008 (File No. 333-152830).)
3.1.2Certificate of Amendment of Articles of Incorporation of Vitality Biopharma, Inc. (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to the registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on July 19, 2016.)
3.1.3Articles of Merger, effective October 10, 2011 (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to the registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on October 14, 2011.)
3.1.4Certificate of Change, effective October 10, 2011 (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.2 to the registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on October 14, 2011.)
3.1.5Articles of Merger, dated as of September 30, 2021, (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 2.1.1 to the registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on October 12, 2021.)
3.2.1.Bylaws of Stevia First Corp. (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.2 to the registrant’s Registration Statement on Form S-1 filed with the SEC on August 6, 2008 (File No. 333-152830).)
3.2.2Certificate of Amendment of Bylaws of Stevia First Corp. (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to the registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on February 7, 2012.)
3.2.3.Bylaws of Malachite Innovations, Inc., effective as of November 10, 2021 (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.2.3 to the registrant’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the SEC on November 15, 2021.)
10.10Form of Common Stock Purchase Warrant (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.10 to the registrant’s Registration Statement on Form S-1 filed with the SEC on August 31, 2021 (File No. 333-259010).
10.11#Vitality Biopharma, Inc. 2021 Stock Incentive Plan (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 99.1 to the registrant’s Registration Statement on Form S-8 filed with the SEC on September 3, 2021.)
21.1*Subsidiaries
23.1*Consent of Meaden & Moore, Ltd.
23.3*Power of Attorney (included on the signature page to this Annual Report.)
31.1*Certification of Principal Executive Officer pursuant to Rule 13a-14(a) or 15d-14(a) under the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934
31.2*Certification of Principal Financial Officer pursuant to Rule 13a-14(a) or 15d-14(a) under the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934
32.1*Certification of Principal Executive Officer pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
32.2*Certification of Principal Financial Officer pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002

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

*Filed herewith
#Management contract or compensatory plan or arrangement.

54

 

 

46


Index to Financial Statements

Page

Page

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

(PCAOB ID 314)

F-2

Consolidated Balance Sheets as of MarchDecember 31, 20162023 and 20152022

F-3

F-4

Consolidated Statements of Operations for the years ended MarchDecember 31, 20162023 and 20152022

F-4

F-5

Consolidated Statements of Stockholders’ DeficiencyEquity for the years ended MarchDecember 31, 20162023 and 20152022

F-5

F-6

Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for the years ended MarchDecember 31, 20162023 and 20152022

F-6

F-7

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

F-7F-8

F-1

 

F-1


 

REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRMReport of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

To the Stockholders and Board of Directors of

Stevia First Corp.Range Impact, Inc.

Yuba City, California

Opinion on the Financial Statements

We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of Stevia First Corp.,Range Impact, Inc. (the “Company”) as of MarchDecember 31, 20162023 and 2015,2022, and the related consolidated statements of operations, stockholders’ deficiencyequity, and cash flows for the years then ended. Theseended, and the related notes and schedules (collectively referred to as the “consolidated financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements based on our audits.

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

In our opinion, the consolidated financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of MarchDecember 31, 20162023 and 2015,2022, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the years then ended, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.

The accompanyingBasis for Opinion

These consolidated financial statements have been prepared assuming thatare the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these consolidated financial statements based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (“PCAOB”) and are required to be independent with respect to the Company will continue as a going concern. As discussed in Note 1accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.

We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the consolidated financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. The Company is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its internal control over financial reporting. As part of our audit, we are required to obtain an understanding of internal control over financial reporting but not for the Company has a stockholders’ deficiency at March 31, 2016 and has experienced recurring operating losses and negative operating cash flows since inception. These conditions raise substantial doubt aboutpurpose of expressing an opinion on the Company’s abilityeffectiveness of the entity’s internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion.

Our audit included performing procedures to continue as a going concern. Management’s plans in regard to these matters are also described in Note 1 toassess the financial statements. The accompanyingrisks of material misstatement of the consolidated financial statements, do not include any adjustmentswhether due to reflect the possible future effectserror or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on the recoverability and classification of assets ora test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and classificationsdisclosures in the consolidated financial statements. Our audit also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of liabilitiesthe consolidated financial statements. We believe that might resultour audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.

Critical Audit Matters

The critical audit matters communicated below are matters arising from the outcomecurrent period audit of this uncertainty.the consolidated financial statements that were communicated or required to be communicated to the audit committee and that: (1) related to accounts or disclosures that are material to the consolidated financial statements and (2) involved our especially challenging, subjective, or complex judgements. The communication of critical audit matters does not alter in any way our opinion on the consolidated financial statements, taken as a whole, and we are not, by communicating the critical matters below, providing separate opinions on the critical audit matters or on the accounts or disclosures to which they relate.

F-2

 

Weinberg

Critical Audit Matter Description

During the year ended December 31, 2023, the Company completed a business acquisition. On August 31, 2023, the Company acquired 100% of the outstanding common stock of Collins Building & Contracting, Inc., for an aggregate purchase price of $5,035,250. The Company P.A.accounted for this acquisition as a business combination. Accordingly, the purchase price was allocated to the assets acquired at fair value as of the transaction date. The Company utilized a third-party valuation specialist to assist in determining the fair value of the consideration granted and assets acquired in the acquisition, specifically the equipment and building assets acquired. The Company also utilized property tax assessments to assist in determining the fair value of the land assets acquired. We identified the estimation of the fair value of the consideration transferred and assets acquired, and the gain on bargain purchase in this acquisition as a critical audit matter.

We identified the valuation of the consideration transferred, assets acquired, and gain on bargain purchase as a critical audit matter because of the significant estimates and assumptions management made to determine the fair value of certain of these assets. This required a high degree of auditor judgment and an increased extent of effort when performing audit procedures to evaluate the reasonableness of valuation methodologies applied and the assumptions used such as market conditions and condition of the equipment and buildings, functionality of the equipment and buildings, and assessed property valuations from local taxing authorities.

How the Critical Audit Matter was Addressed in the Audit

Our audit procedures related to the following:

We evaluated management’s and the appraiser’s identification of assets acquired in the appraiser’s report.
We obtained management’s purchase price allocation detailing fair values assigned to acquired assets.
We obtained a valuation report prepared by a certified equipment appraiser engaged by management to assist in the purchase price allocation, including determination of fair values assigned to acquired assets, and examined valuation methods used and credentials, qualifications, and independence of the specialist.
We examined the completeness and accuracy of the underlying data supporting the significant assumptions and estimates used in the valuation report. We evaluated the accuracy and completeness of the financial statement presentation and disclosures of the acquisition.

In addition, the audit effort involved the use of professionals with specialized skill and knowledge to assist in the evaluations of the valuation methodologies deployed and the reasonableness of the significant assumptions used.

/s/ Meaden & Moore, Ltd.

MEADEN & MOORE, LTD.

We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2021.

Cleveland, Ohio

March 29, 2024

F-3

 

Los Angeles, California

June 24, 2016

RANGE IMPACT, INC.

F-2


STEVIA FIRST CORP.

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

         
  December 31 
  2023  2022 
Assets        
         
Current Assets        
Cash and cash equivalents $2,176,800  $442,369 
Accounts receivable  7,185,411   981,385 
Contract assets  247,310   - 
Prepaid expenses  115,324   884 
Total current assets  9,724,845   1,424,638 
Long-term Assets        
Property and equipment, net of accumulated depreciation  13,301,902   6,045,514 
Goodwill  751,421   751,421 
Deposits  9,976   8,892 
Total long-term assets  14,063,299   6,805,827 
Total Assets $23,788,144  $8,230,465 
         
Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity        
         
Current Liabilities        
Line of credit $2,400,000  $- 
Current portion of long-term debt  2,755,792   1,319,201 
Accounts payable  3,714,014   233,808 
Accrued expenses  101,283   - 
Total current liabilities  8,971,089   1,553,009 
Long-term Liabilities        
Long-term debt, net of current portion  5,250,027   3,738,013 
Total long-term debt  5,250,027   3,738,013 
Total liabilities  14,221,116   5,291,022 
         
Stockholders’ Equity        
Common stock, par value $0.001 per share; 1,000,000,000 shares authorized; 101,023,485 and 78,116,814 shares issued and outstanding, respectively  101,023   78,117 
Additional paid-in-capital  56,547,804   53,074,180 
Accumulated deficit  (47,081,799)  (50,212,854)
Total stockholders’ equity  9,567,028   2,939,443 
Total Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity $23,788,144  $8,230,465 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

March 31, 2016

 

 

March 31, 2015

Assets

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Current Assets

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cash

 

$

95,433 

 

 

$

389,730 

Accounts receivable, net

 

 

30,396 

 

 

 

61,595 

Inventory

 

 

6,470 

 

 

 

8,478 

Prepaid Expense and other current assets

 

 

2,500 

 

 

 

2,500 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total Assets

 

$

134,799 

 

 

$

462,303 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Liabilities and Stockholders' Deficiency

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Current Liabilities

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Accounts payable and accrued liabilities

 

$

244,937 

 

 

$

134,007 

Accounts payable - related party

 

 

6,900 

 

 

 

1,000 

Derivative liability

 

 

401,127 

 

 

 

1,406,596 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total liabilities

 

 

652,964 

 

 

 

1,541,603 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stockholders' Deficiency

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Common stock, par value $0.001 per share; 525,000,000 shares authorized; 79,117,074 and 72,968,915 shares issued and outstanding, respectively

 

 

79,117 

 

 

 

72,969 

Shares issuable, 9,997,000 shares

 

 

99,970 

 

 

 

-

Additional paid-in-capital

 

 

11,819,307 

 

 

 

11,222,965 

Accumulated deficit

 

 

(12,516,559)

 

 

 

(12,375,234)

Total stockholders' deficiency

 

 

(518,165)

 

 

 

(1,079,300)

Total liabilities and stockholders' deficiency

 

$

134,799 

 

 

$

462,303 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statementsstatements.

F-4

 

F-3


RANGE IMPACT, INC.

STEVIA FIRST CORP.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

         
  

Year Ended

December 31, 2023

  

Year Ended

December 31, 2022

 
       
Revenues $19,346,306  $4,832,278 
Cost of services  13,111,497   3,439,026 
Gross profit  6,234,809   1,393,252 
         
Operating Expenses:        
General and administrative  4,021,556   2,022,882 
Research and development  458,889   470,803 
Total operating expenses  4,480,445   2,493,685 
         
Income (loss) from operations  1,754,364   (1,100,433)
         
Other income (expense):        
Gain on bargain purchase  1,875,150   - 
Gain on loan forgiveness  -   109,435 
Interest expense  (505,917)  (81,178)
Interest income  7,458   - 
Total other income  1,376,691   28,257 
         
Net income (loss) $3,131,055  $(1,072,176)
         
Net income (loss) per share – basic and diluted $0.04  $(0.02)
Weighted average number of common shares outstanding – basic and diluted  83,129,637   68,112,248 



 

 

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

 

 

 



 

Years Ended March 31,



 

2016

 

2015



 

 

 

 

 

 

Revenues

 

$

248,348 

 

$

245,680 

Cost of goods sold

 

 

149,478 

 

 

121,341 

Gross profit

 

 

98,870 

 

 

124,339 



 

 

 

 

 

 

Operating Expenses:

 

 

 

 

 

 

General and Administrative

 

 

2,196,922 

 

 

2,749,153 

Rent and other related party costs

 

 

30,600 

 

 

49,017 

Research and development

 

 

613,119 

 

 

1,131,327 

Total Operating Expenses

 

 

2,840,641 

 

 

3,929,497 



 

 

 

 

 

 

Loss from operations

 

 

(2,741,771)

 

 

(3,805,158)



 

 

 

 

 

 

Other income (expenses)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cost to induce exercise of warrants

 

 

 -

 

 

(961,767)

Interest expense

 

 

(363)

 

 

(6,065)

Change in fair value of derivative liability

 

 

2,600,809 

 

 

724,617 

Total other income (expense)

 

 

2,600,446 

 

 

(243,215)



 

 

 

 

 

 

Net loss

 

$

(141,325)

 

$

(4,048,373)



 

 

 

 

 

 

Loss per share - Basic and diluted

 

$

(0.00)

 

$

(0.06)

Weighted average number of common shares outstanding, basic and diluted

 

 

75,419,835 

 

 

70,421,874 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statementsstatements.

F-5

 

F-4


RANGE IMPACT, INC.

STEVIA FIRST CORP.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF STOCKHOLDERS' DEFICIENCYSTOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY

YEARS ENDED MARCH 31, 2016 and 2015

                     
     Additional       
  Common Stock  Paid-in-  Accumulated    
  Shares  Amount  Capital  Deficit  Total 
Balance, December 31, 2021  51,450,147  $51,450  $48,707,587  $(49,140,678) $(381,641)
                     
Shares and warrants issued for cash  21,666,667   21,667   3,228,333   -   3,250,000 
Shares issued in exchange for Range  5,000,000   5,000   745,000   -   750,000 
Stock based compensation  -   -   393,260   -   393,260 
Net loss  -   -   -   (1,072,176)  (1,072,176)
                     
Balance, December 31, 2022  78,116,814  $78,117  $53,074,180  $(50,212,854) $2,939,443 
Balance  78,116,814  $78,117  $53,074,180  $(50,212,854) $2,939,443 
                     
Shares and warrants issued for cash  20,733,337   20,733   3,089,267   -   3,110,000 
Shares issued in exchange for warrants  2,173,334   2,173   (2,173)  -   - 
Stock based compensation  -   -   386,530   -   386,530 
Net income  -   -   -   3,131,055   3,131,055 
Net income (loss)  -   -   -   3,131,055   3,131,055 
                     
Balance, December 31, 2023  101,023,485  $101,023  $56,547,804  $(47,081,799) $9,567,028 
Balance  101,023,485  $101,023  $56,547,804  $(47,081,799) $9,567,028 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Common

 

Unvested,

 

 

 



 

Common Stock

 

Additional Paid-in-

 

Accumulated

 

stock,

 

Issued

 

 

 



 

Shares

 

Amount

 

Capital

 

Deficit

 

issuable

 

Common Stock

 

Total

Balance, March 31, 2014

 

 

66,832,523 

 

$

66,833 

 

$

8,299,366 

 

$

(8,326,861)

 

$

-

 

$

(149,714)

 

$

(110,376)



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Reclassification of unvested, issued common stock to paid-in capital

 

 

-

 

 

-

 

 

(149,714)

 

 

-

 

 

-

 

 

149,714 

 

 

-

Common stock issued upon exercise of stock options

 

 

50,000 

 

 

50 

 

 

4,950 

 

 

-

 

 

-

 

 

-

 

 

5,000 

Common stock issued to employees with vesting terms

 

 

1,500,000 

 

 

1,500 

 

 

328,011 

 

 

-

 

 

-

 

 

-

 

 

329,511 

Common stock issued for services

 

 

909,920 

 

 

910 

 

 

337,990 

 

 

-

 

 

-

 

 

-

 

 

338,900 

Fair value of vested stock options

 

 

-

 

 

-

 

 

233,310 

 

 

-

 

 

-

 

 

-

 

 

233,310 

Fair value of vested warrants granted to employees

 

 

-

 

 

-

 

 

432,772 

 

 

-

 

 

-

 

 

-

 

 

432,772 

Common stock issued upon exercise of warrants

 

 

3,676,472 

 

 

3,676 

 

 

1,466,912 

 

 

-

 

 

-

 

 

-

 

 

1,470,588 

Extinguishment of derivative liability

 

 

-

 

 

-

 

 

269,368 

 

 

-

 

 

-

 

 

-

 

 

269,368 

Net Loss

 

 

-

 

 

-

 

 

-

 

 

(4,048,373)

 

 

-

 

 

-

 

 

(4,048,373)



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Balance, March 31, 2015

 

 

72,968,915 

 

 

72,969 

 

 

11,222,965 

 

 

(12,375,234)

 

 

-

 

 

-

 

 

(1,079,300)



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Amortization of common stock issued to employees with vesting terms

 

 

 

 

 

 

161,936 

 

 

-

 

 

-

 

 

-

 

 

161,936 

Common stock issued for services

 

 

1,148,157 

 

 

1,148 

 

 

274,852 

 

 

-

 

 

-

 

 

-

 

 

276,000 

Fair value of vested stock options

 

 

-

 

 

-

 

 

286,248 

 

 

-

 

 

-

 

 

-

 

 

286,248 

Fair value of vested warrants granted to employees

 

 

-

 

 

-

 

 

182,072 

 

 

-

 

 

-

 

 

-

 

 

182,072 

Issuance of stock and warrants

 

 

5,000,002 

 

 

5,000 

 

 

(408,077)

 

 

-

 

 

-

 

 

-

 

 

(403,077)

Extinguishment of derivative liability

 

 

-

 

 

-

 

 

99,311 

 

 

-

 

 

-

 

 

-

 

 

99,311 

Common Stock issuable, 9,997,000 shares

 

 

-

 

 

-

 

 

 -

 

 

 

 

 

99,970 

 

 

 

 

 

99,970 

Net Loss

 

 

-

 

 

-

 

 

-

 

 

(141,325)

 

 

 

 

 

-

 

 

(141,325)



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Balance, March 31, 2016

 

 

79,117,074 

 

$

79,117 

 

$

11,819,307 

 

$

(12,516,559)

 

 

99,970 

 

$

-

 

$

(518,165)

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

F-6

 

RANGE IMPACT, INC.

F-5


STEVIA FIRST CORP.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS



 

 

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

 

 

 



 

Years Ended
March 31,



 

2016

 

2015

Operating activities

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net loss

 

$

(141,325)

 

$

(4,048,373)

Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash used in operating activities:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fair value of vested stock options

 

 

286,248 

 

 

233,310 

Fair value of vested common stock issued to employees

 

 

161,936 

 

 

329,511 

Fair value of vested warrants granted to employees

 

 

182,072 

 

 

432,772 

Fair value of common stock issued for services

 

 

276,000 

 

 

338,900 

Cost of warrant modification

 

 

-

 

 

961,767 

Change in fair value of derivative liability

 

 

(2,600,809)

 

 

(724,617)

Changes in assets and liabilities:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Accounts receivable

 

 

31,199 

 

 

(22,100)-

Inventory

 

 

2,008 

 

 

(8,478)

Advance payment on related party lease

 

 

-

 

 

10,413 

Prepaid expense

 

 

-

 

 

8,137 

Accounts payable - related party

 

 

5,900 

 

 

(15,100)

Accounts payable and accrued liabilities

 

 

110,930 

 

 

4,092 

Net Cash Used in Operating Activities

 

 

(1,685,841)

 

 

(2,499,766)



 

 

 

 

 

 

Investing activities

 

 

 

 

 

 

Acquisition of cash upon acquisition

 

 

-

 

 

10,505 

Net Cash Provided by Investing Activities

 

 

-

 

 

10,505 



 

 

 

 

 

 

Financing activities

 

 

 

 

 

 

Proceeds from exercise of warrants, net

 

 

-

 

 

1,470,588 

Proceeds from exercise of options

 

 

-

 

 

5,000 

Proceeds from Common Stock issuable

 

 

99,970 

 

 

-

Proceeds from sale of common stock and warrants, net

 

 

1,291,574 

 

 

-

Net Cash Provided by Financing Activities

 

 

1,391,544 

 

 

1,475,588 



 

 

 

 

 

 

Net decrease in cash

 

 

(294,297)

 

 

(1,013,673)

Cash - Beginning of Period

 

 

389,730 

 

 

1,403,403 



 

 

 

 

 

 

Cash - End of Period

 

$

95,433 

 

$

389,730 

Supplemental Disclosure of Cash Flow Information:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cash paid during the period for:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Interest

 

$

-

 

$

-

Income taxes

 

$

-

 

$

-



 

 

 

 

 

 

Non-Cash Investing and Financing Activities:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fair value of warrants issued with common stock, recorded as derivative liability

 

$

1,694,651 

 

$

961,767 

Extinguishment of derivative liability

 

$

99,311 

 

 

269,368 

Acquisition of accounts receivable upon acquisition

 

$

-

 

$

34,495 
         
  Year Ended
December 31, 2023
  Year Ended
December 31, 2022
 
Cash flows from operating activities:        
Net income (loss) $3,131,055  $(1,072,176)
         
Adjustments to reconcile net income (loss) to net cash provided by (used in) operating activities:        
Gain on bargain purchase  (1,875,150)  - 
Fair value of vested stock options  386,530   393,260 
Depreciation  1,781,573   395,543 
Changes in operating assets and liabilities:        
Accounts receivable  (6,204,026)  (91,466)
Contract assets  (247,310)  - 
Forgiveness of PPP loan  -   (109,435)
Prepaid expense  (114,440)  3,000 
Accounts payable  3,480,206   (122,304)
Accrued expenses  101,283   - 
Deposits  (1,084)  (200)
Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities  438,637   (603,778)
         
Cash flows from investing activities:        
Capital expenditures  (1,118,664)  (5,813,057)
Cash paid in consideration for Collins Building acquisition  (1,000,000)  - 
Long-term debt issued for Collins Building acquisition  (4,035,250)  - 
Cash paid for acquisition of land  (1,008,897)    
Cash acquired in acquisition of Range Environmental Resources  -   15,827 
Cash paid for acquisition of Range Environmental Resources  -   (750,000)
Net cash used in investing activities  (7,162,811)  (6,547,230)
         
Cash provided by financing activities:        
Proceeds from issuance of common shares and warrants  3,110,000   3,250,000 
Proceeds from notes issued in acquisition of Collins Building  4,035,250   - 
Proceeds from long-term debt  564,014   5,091,177 
Repayment of long-term debt  (1,650,659)  (277,328)
Payoff of SBA disaster loan  -   (158,815)
Proceeds from (payoff of) line of credit  2,400,000   (350,000)
Net cash provided by financing activities  8,458,605   7,555,034 
         
Net increase in cash and cash equivalents  1,734,431   404,026 
Cash and cash equivalents - beginning of period  442,369   38,343 
         
Cash and cash equivalents - end of period $2,176,800  $442,369 
         
Supplemental disclosure of cash flow information:        
Cash paid during the period for:        
Income taxes $-  $- 
         
Supplemental non-cash investing and financing activities:        
Shares issued for acquisition $-  $750,000 
Long-term debt from Range Reclamation Entities acquisition $-  $243,365 
Forgiveness of PPP loan $-   (109,435)

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

F-6

F-7

 

STEVIA FIRST CORP.

RANGE IMPACT, INC.

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEARS

YEARS ENDED MARCHDECEMBER 31, 20162023 AND 20152022

1. BUSINESS OPERATIONS AND BASISSUMMARY OF OPERATIONSSIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Stevia First Corp.Range Impact, Inc. (the “Company”, “we”, “us” or “our”), was incorporated in the State of Nevada on June 29, 2007.

Originally founded in 2007 and commencedas Legend Mining Inc., the Company began operations as a mineral extraction exploration company. On October 10,business. In 2011, we completed a merger with our wholly-owned subsidiary,the Company changed its name to Stevia First Corp., whereby we and pursued a new strategy focused on developing stevia-based additives for the food and beverage industry. In 2015, the Company changed ourits name from “Legend Mining Inc.” to “Stevia First Corp.” Also on October 10, 2011, we effected a seven for one forward stock split of authorized, issued and outstanding common stock. As a result, our authorized capital was increased from 75,000,000 shares of common stock with a par value of $0.001 to 525,000,000 shares of common stock with a par value of $0.001, and issued and outstanding shares increased from 7,350,000 to 51,450,000. In February 2012, we substantially changed our management team, and began pursuing an agricultural biotechnology business plan.  In May 2016, we received shareholder and board approval for a name change to Vitality Biopharma, Inc. and pursued a new strategy focused on developing cannabinoid-based prodrugs anticipated to treat inflammatory conditions of the gastrointestinal tract.

In October 2021, the Company changed its name to Malachite Innovations, Inc. and formed two wholly-owned operating subsidiaries: (i) Graphium Biosciences, Inc., a Nevada corporation (“Graphium”), into which the Company contributed all of its drug development assets; and (ii) Daedalus Ecosciences, Inc., a Nevada corporation (“Daedalus”) which was formed to serve as a holding company for the Company’s future impact investing businesses.

In May 2022, Daedalus acquired Range Environmental Resources, Inc., a West Virginia corporation (“Range Environmental”) and Range Natural Resources, Inc., a West Virginia corporation (“Range Natural” and together with Range Environmental, the “Range Reclamation Entities”). The Range Reclamation Entities provide land reclamation, water restoration and environmental consulting services to mining and non-mining customers throughout the Appalachian region with the goal of returning land to pre-mining conditions or repurposing the land for natural, commercial, agricultural or recreational use. The Range Reclamation Entities’ water restoration services seek to improve rivers, streams and discharges through novel and innovative treatment applications to help customers meet their various regulatory standards and requirements. The Range Reclamation Entities also provide environmental consulting services to customers typically in connection with land reclamation and water restoration projects and as an additional value-add service, sells water treatment chemicals manufactured by third parties to their customers. Range Natural also provides resource mining services for customers incidental to the reclamation and repurposing of mine sites.

In December 2022, Daedalus was merged into the Company as a result of which the Company became the parent of all of its wholly-owned operating subsidiaries.

In August 2023, the Company acquired Collins Building & Contracting, Inc., a West Virginia corporation (“Collins Building”), an exchangeenvironmental services business primarily focusing on the reclamation of one (1) shareabandoned mine land sites in West Virginia, as described in more detail in Note 2.

In December 2023, the Company changed its name to Range Impact, Inc., and reorganized into five operating business segments: (i) Range Reclaim, (ii) Range Water, (iii) Range Security, (iv) Range Land, and (v) Drug Development.

Basis of the Company’s common stock for each 10 shares of common stock outstanding or exercisable under any outstanding warrants or option agreements and an increase in the number of shares of authorized common stock from 525,000,000 to 1,000,000,000. These corporate changes will become effective upon the approval of the SEC and FIRNRA and are not reflected in these financial statements.    Presentation

The Company's fiscal year end is March 31.

Going Concern

Theseaccompanying consolidated financial statements have been prepared on a going concern basis which assumesin accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) and with the instructions to Form 10-K and Article 8 of Regulation S-X. The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company will be able to realizeand its assetswholly-owned subsidiaries, Catalyst Land Ventures, LLC, CLV Azurite Land LLC, Collins Building & Contracting, Inc., Graphium Biosciences, Inc., Range Environmental Resources, Inc., Range Land, LLC, Range Minerals, LLC, Range Natural Resources, Inc., Range Reclaim, LLC, Range Security, LLC, Range Security Resources, LLC, Range Water, LLC, Terra Preta, LLC, Aether Credit Ventures, Inc. (dissolved in November 2023), Pristine Stream Ventures, Inc. (dissolved in November 2023), NextGen AgriTech, Inc. (dissolved in November 2023), and discharge its liabilitiesDaedalus Ecosciences, Inc. (merged into Range Impact, Inc. in December 2022), and have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the normal courseUnited States of business for the foreseeable future.  The Company has incurred losses since inceptionAmerica. Intercompany balances and has a stockholders’ deficiency of $518,165 as at March 31, 2016, and further losses are anticipatedtransactions have been eliminated in the development of its business. These and other factors raise substantial doubt about the Company's ability to continue as a going concern. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might be necessary should the Company be unable to continue as a going concern.consolidation.

F-8

 

The ability to continue as a going concern is dependent on the Company attaining and maintaining profitable operations in the future and/or raising additional capital to meet its obligations and repay its liabilities arising from normal business operations when they come due. We estimate as of March 31, 2016 we will have sufficient funds to operate the business for the next 6 months.  We will require additional financing to fund our planned future operations, including the continuation of our ongoing research and development efforts, seeking to license or acquire new assets, and researching and developing any potential patents and any further intellectual property that we may acquire. Further, these estimates could differ if we encounter unanticipated difficulties, in which case our current funds may not be sufficient to operate our business for that period.  In addition, our estimates of the amount of cash necessary to operate our business may prove to be wrong, and we could spend our available financial resources much faster than we currently expect.

Subsequent to March 31, 2016, we completed a private placement of our common stock and warrants resulting in net proceeds of $265,000, of which proceeds amounting to $99,970 were received in March 2016.  We do not have any other firm commitments for future capital.   Significant additional financing will be required to fund our planned principal operations in the near term and in future periods, including research and development activities relating to stevia extract production, developing and seeking regulatory approval for any of our stevia product candidates, commercializing any product candidate for which we are able to obtain regulatory approval or certification, seeking to license or acquire new assets or businesses, and maintaining our intellectual property rights and pursuing rights to new technologies.   We do not presently have, nor do we expect in the near future to have, significant revenue to fund our business from our operations, and will need to obtain most of our necessary funding from external sources in the near term.   Since inception, we have funded our operations primarily through equity and debt financings, and we expect to continue to rely on these sources of capital in the future. However, if we raise additional funds by issuing equity or convertible debt securities, our existing stockholders’ ownership will be diluted, and obtaining commercial loans would increase our liabilities and future cash commitments. If we pursue capital through alternative sources, such as collaborations or other similar arrangements, we may be forced to relinquish rights to our proprietary technology or other intellectual property and could result in our receipt of only a portion of any revenue that may be generated from a partnered product or business. Further, these or other sources of capital may not be available on commercially reasonable or acceptable terms when needed, or at all.   If we cannot raise the money that we need in order to continue to develop our business, we will be forced to delay, scale back or eliminate some or all of our proposed operations.   If any of these were to occur, there is a substantial risk that our business would fail and our stockholders could lose all of their investment.

F-7


2. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Use of Estimates and Assumptions

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the period. Actual results could differ from those estimates. The more significant estimates

Business Combinations

Business combinations are accounted for using the purchase method of accounting under ASC 805, “Business Combinations.” This method requires the Company to record assets and assumptions by management include, among others, reserves for accounts receivable,liabilities of the businesses acquired at their estimated fair valuevalues as of equity instruments issued for services, and input assumptions used in the valuationacquisition date. Any excess of derivative liabilities.

Revenues

Revenue is measured atthe cost of the acquisition over the fair value of the consideration received or receivable and represents amounts receivable for products and/or services that have been delivered in the normal coursenet assets acquired is recorded as goodwill. Any excess of business, title has passed, the selling price is both fixed and determinable, and collectability is reasonably assured, all of which generally occurs upon shipment of the Company’s product or delivery of the product to the destination specified by the customer.

The Company determines whether delivery has occurred based on when title transfers and the risks and rewards of ownership have transferred to the buyer, which usually occurs when the Company ships the products. The Company regularly reviews its customers’ financial positions to ensure that collectability is reasonably assured. Except for warranties, the Company has no post-sales obligations.

Accounts Receivable

The Company evaluates the collectability of its trade accounts receivable based on a number of factors. In circumstances where the Company becomes aware of a specific customer’s inability to meet its financial obligations to the Company, a specific reserve for bad debts is estimated and recorded, which reduces the recognized receivable to the estimated amount the Company believes will ultimately be collected. In addition to specific customer identification of potential bad debts, bad debt charges are recorded based on the Company’s historical losses and an overall assessment of past due trade accounts receivable outstanding.

The allowance for doubtful accounts and returns and discounts is established through a provision reducing the carrying value of receivables. At March 31, 2016 and 2015, the allowance for doubtful accounts and returns and discounts was approximately $17,500 and $2,500, respectively.

Financial Assets and Liabilities Measured at Fair Value

The Company uses various inputs in determining the fair value of its investmentsthe net assets acquired over the cost of the acquisition is accounted for as a bargain purchase gain. Determining the fair value requires management to make estimates and measures theseassumptions including discount rates, rates of return on assets, and long-term sales growth rates.

Revenue Recognition

The Company recognizes revenue under ASC 606, “Revenue from Contracts with Customers”. The core principle of the ASC 606 revenue recognition standard is that a company should recognize revenue by analyzing the following five steps: (1) identify the contract with the customer; (2) identify the performance obligations in the contract; (3) determine the transaction price; (4) allocate the transaction price to the performance obligations; and (5) recognize revenue when (or as) each performance obligation is satisfied.

The Company primarily invoices customers and recognizes revenue on a recurring basis. Financial assets recorded at fair value inperiodic basis for equipment and labor hours provided to a customer on a particular job based on an agreed-upon hourly rate sheet or a fixed amount for a project. The Company also invoices customers and recognizes revenue for equipment mobilization fees and materials and supplies required to complete a project. The Company invoices for the balance sheetssales of chemicals and recognizes revenue when the products are categorizeddelivered to the customer’s designated site. Costs for equipment, labor and chemicals are generally expensed as incurred since the projects are generally short-term and not subject to a contract.

The Company recognizes revenue on reclamation contracts over time as performance obligations are satisfied due to the continuous transfer of control to the customer. The Company’s contracts are generally accounted for as a single performance obligation since the Company is providing a significant service of integrating components into a single project. The Company recognizes revenue using a cost-based input method, by which actual costs incurred relative to total estimated contract costs determine, as a percentage, progress toward contract completion. This percentage is applied to the level of objectivity associated with the inputs usedtransaction price to measure their fair value. Authoritative guidance provided by FASB defines the following levels directly related todetermine the amount of subjectivity associated withrevenue to recognize. The Company believes the inputs to fair valuationcost-based input method is the most faithful depiction of these financial assets:

Level 1

Quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities.

Level 2

Inputs, other thanperformance because it directly measures the quoted prices in active markets, that are observable either directly or indirectly.

Level 3

Unobservable inputs based on the Company’s assumptions.

The fair value of the derivative liabilities of $401,127 and $1,406,596 at March 31, 2016 and 2015, respectively, were valued using Level 2 inputs.services transferred to the customer.

The carrying value of cash and accounts payable and accrued liabilities approximates their fair value becauseContract Estimates

Due to the nature of the short maturityCompany’s performance obligations, the estimation of total revenue and cost at completion is subject to many variables and requires significant judgment. Since a significant change in one or more of these instruments. Unless otherwise noted,variables could affect the profitability of contracts, the Company reviews and updates contract-related estimates regularly through a review process in which the Company reviews the progress and execution of performance obligations and the estimated cost at completion.

The Company recognizes adjustments in estimated profit on contracts under the cumulative catch-up method. Under this method, the impact of the adjustment on profit recorded to date is recognized in the period the adjustment is identified. Revenue and profit in future periods of contract performance is recognized using the adjusted estimate. If at any time the estimate of contract profitability indicates an anticipated loss on the contract, a provision for the entire loss is recognized in the period it is management's opinionidentified.

F-9

Contract Modifications

Contract modifications can occur during the performance of the Company’s contracts. Contracts are modified to account for changes in contract specifications or requirements. In most instances, contract modifications are for goods or services that the Company isare not exposed to significant interest, currency or credit risks arising from these financial instruments.

Derivative Financial Instruments

The Company evaluates its financial instruments to determine if such instruments are derivatives or contain features that qualify as embedded derivatives. For derivative financial instruments thatdistinct, and, therefore, are accounted for as liabilities,part of the derivative instrumentexisting contract.

Cost and Expense Recognition

Contract costs include all direct labor, materials, equipment mobilization, subcontractor, and equipment costs, and those indirect costs related to contract performance, such as indirect labor, tools and supplies. For stabilization contracts, costs are generally recognized as incurred.

The Company recognizes revenue from contracts for financial reporting purposes over time. Progress toward completion of the Company’s contracts is initially recordedmeasured by the percentage of cost incurred to date compared to estimated total costs for each contract. This method is used because management considers total cost to be the best available measure of progress on contracts. Because of inherent uncertainties in estimating costs, it is at its fair valueleast reasonably possible that the estimates used will change significantly.

Revenue earned over time compared to a point in time is as follows for the years ended December 31, 2023 and is then re-valued at each reporting date, with changes2022.

SCHEDULE OF REVENUE EARNED OVERTIME COMPARED TO A POINT IN TIME

  Year ended December 31, 2023  Year ended December 31, 2022 
       
Earned over time $2,824,387  $- 
Point in time  16,521,919   4,832,278 
Total revenue  19,346,306   4,832,278 

Cost of Services

Contract costs include all direct labor, materials, subcontractor, and equipment costs and those indirect costs related to contract performance, such as indirect labor, tools and supplies. For construction contracts, costs are generally recognized as incurred. Under certain circumstances, costs incurred in the fair value reportedperiod related to future activity on contracts may be capitalized.

Costs incurred that do not contribute to satisfying performance obligations are excluded from the cost input calculation for revenue recognition. Excluded costs include both uninstalled materials and abnormal costs. Abnormal costs comprise wasted materials, wasted or rework labor and other resources to fulfill a contract that were not reflected in the statementsprice of operations. For stock-based derivative financial instruments, the contract. A limited allowance for material overages and labor inefficiencies is typically included in our contract costs estimates (and by extension, in the contract price).

Cash and Cash Equivalents

The Company usesconsiders all highly liquid investments with an original maturity of three months or less at the date of acquisition to be cash equivalents. From time to time, the Company’s cash account balances exceed the balances covered by the Federal Deposit Insurance System. The Company has never suffered a probability weighted average Black-Scholes-Merton modelsloss due to valuesuch excess balances.

Accounts Receivable

Included as a component of accounts receivable are contract receivables that represent the derivative instruments at inceptionCompany’s unconditional right, subject only to the passage of time, to receive consideration arising from performance obligations under reclamation contracts with customers. Billed contract receivables have been invoiced to customers based on contracted amounts. Contract receivables were $2,100,255 as of December 31, 2023. There were no reclamation contracts receivable as of December 31, 2022 and on subsequent valuation dates through the March 31, 2016, reporting date.2021.

F-8

F-10

 

The classificationCompany recognizes an allowance for losses on accounts and contract receivables in an amount equal to the current expected credit losses. The estimation of derivative instruments, including whether such instruments shouldthe allowance is based on an analysis of historical loss experience, current receivables aging and management’s assessment of current conditions and reasonable and supportable expectations of future conditions, as well as an assessment of specific identifiable customer accounts considered at risk or uncollectible. Based on management’s assessment, it has concluded that losses on balances outstanding as of December 31, 2023 and 2022 will be immaterial and, therefore, no allowances were recorded for the years ended December 31, 2023 or 2022. There were no accounts receivable balances at December 31, 2021. No bad debt expense was accrued in either of the years ended December 31, 2023 or 2022 and there is no allowance for credit losses as liabilitiesof December 31, 2023 or as equity,2022.

Contract Assets

Billing practices are governed by the contract terms of each project based upon costs incurred, achievement of milestones or predetermined schedules. Billings do not necessarily correlate with revenue recognized over time using the percentage-of-completion method. Contract assets include unbilled amounts typically resulting from revenue under long-term contracts when the percentage-of-completion method of revenue recognition is evaluatedutilized, and revenue recognition exceeds the amount billed to the customer. The Company’s contract assets are reported on a contract-by-contract basis at the end of each reporting period. The Company classifies contract assets as current or noncurrent based on whether the revenue is expected to be recognized sooner or later than one year from the balance sheet date.

Details of contract assets arising from reclamation contracts in process as of December 31, 2023 are as follows:

SCHEDULE OF CONTRACT ASSETS

     
Costs incurred on contracts in progress $425,634 
Estimated earnings  340,528 
Revenue earned on contracts in progress  766,162 
Less: Billings to date  (518,852)
Total contract assets $247,310 

There were no contract assets as of December 31, 2022 or 2021.

Property and Equipment

Property and equipment is carried at cost. Expenditures for maintenance and repairs are charged to cost of services. Additions and betterments are capitalized. The cost and related accumulated depreciation of equipment sold or otherwise disposed of are removed from the accounts and any gain or loss is reflected in the current year’s earnings.

SCHEDULE OF PROPERTY AND EQUIPMENT

  December 31, 2023  December 31, 2022 
       
Equipment $13,835,929  $6,637,814 
Land  1,563,797   - 
Buildings  199,500   - 
Property and equipment, gross  199,500   - 
Accumulated depreciation  (2,297,324)  (592,300)
Net book value  13,301,902   6,045,514 
Depreciation expense $1,781,573  $395,543 

The Company provides for depreciation of property and equipment using the straight-line method for both financial reporting and federal income tax purposes over the estimated six-year useful lives of the equipment. All of the Company’s buildings were acquired in the purchase of Collins Building and are also being depreciated over an estimated six-year useful life due to their age at the date of acquisition.

F-9

F-11

 

The Company assesses the recoverability of its property and equipment by determining whether the depreciation of the assets over their remaining lives can be recovered through projected future cash flows generated by the assets. There were no assets identified for impairment.

Goodwill

U.S. GAAP requires that goodwill be tested for impairment annually and more frequently if events or changes in circumstances indicate that it is more likely than not (i.e., a likelihood greater than 50%) that the reporting unit is impaired. During interim periods, ASC 350 requires companies to focus on those events and circumstances that affect the significant inputs used to determine the fair value of the reporting unit to determine whether an interim quantitative impairment test is required.

The Company performed its annual impairment test for goodwill on December 31, 2023. The Company first assessed certain qualitative factors to determine whether it is more likely than not that the fair value of the reporting unit is less than its carrying amount, and whether it is therefore necessary to perform the quantitative impairment test. The qualitative analysis indicated that a quantitative impairment test was not necessary.

Income Taxes

The Company follows the asset and liability method of accounting for income taxes. Under this method, deferred income tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the estimated tax consequences attributable to differences between the financial statement carrying values and their respective income tax basis (temporary differences). The effect on deferred income tax assets and liabilities of a change in tax rates is recognized as income (loss) in the period that includes the enactment date.

Leases

The Company determines whether a contract is, or contains, a lease at inception. Right-of-use assets represent the Company’s right to use an underlying asset during the lease term, and lease liabilities represent the Company’s obligation to make lease payments arising from the lease. Right-of-use assets and lease liabilities are recognized at lease commencement based upon the estimated present value of unpaid lease payments over the lease term. The Company uses its incremental borrowing rate based on the information available at lease commencement in determining the present value of unpaid lease payments. The Company had no lease commitments for longer than one year as of December 31, 2023 or 2022. The laboratory space lease in Rocklin, California was renewed in March 2022 and ends on March 31, 2023. The space is currently being leased on a month to month basis.

Stock-Based Compensation

The Company periodically issues stock options and warrantsrestricted stock awards to employees and non-employees in non-capital raising transactions for services and for financing costs.services. The Company accounts for share-based payments undersuch grants issued and vesting based on ASC 718, Compensation-Stock Compensation, whereby the guidance as set forth in the Share-Based Payment Topicvalue of the FASB Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”), which requires the measurement and recognition of compensation expense for all share-based payment awards made to employees, officers, directors, and consultants, including employee stock options, based on estimated fair values. The Company estimates the fair value of share-based payment awards to employees and directorsaward is measured on the date of grant using a Black-Scholes-Merton option-pricing model, and the value of the portion of the award that is ultimately expected to vest is recognized as expense over the required service period in the Company's statements of operations. The Company accounts for stock option and warrant grants issued and vesting to non-employees in accordance with the authoritative guidance whereas the value of the stock compensation is based upon the measurement date as determined at either a) the date at which a performance commitment is reached, or b) the date at which the necessary performance to earn the equity instruments is complete. Stock-based compensation is based on awards ultimately expected to vest and is reduced for estimated forfeitures. Forfeitures are estimated at the time of grant and revised, as necessary, in subsequent periods if actual forfeitures differ from those estimates. 

The Company periodically issues unvested (“restricted”) shares of its common stock to employees as equity incentives.  The Company’s restricted stock vests upon the satisfaction of a recipient’s service condition, which is satisfied over a period of number of years.  The restricted shares vest over certain period and remain subject to forfeiture if vesting conditions are not met.  The Company values the shares based on the price per share of the Company’s shares at the date of grant and recognizes the value as compensation expense ratablyon the straight-line basis over the vesting period. Recognition of compensation expense for non-employees is in the same period and manner as if the Company had paid cash for the services. The Company recognizes the fair value of stock-based compensation within its Consolidated Statements of Operations with classification depending on the nature of the services rendered.

The fair value of the Company’s stock options is estimated using the Black-Scholes-Merton Option Pricing model, which uses certain assumptions related to risk-free interest rates, expected volatility, expected life of the stock options or restricted stock, and future dividends. Compensation expense is recorded based upon the value derived from the Black-Scholes-Merton Option Pricing model. The assumptions used in the Black-Scholes-Merton Option Pricing model could materially affect compensation expense recorded in future periods.

F-12

 

Basic and Diluted LossIncome (Loss) Per Share

The Company computes loss per share in accordance with ASC Topic 260, “Earnings per Share” which requires presentation of both basic and diluted earnings per share on the face of the statement of operations. Basic loss per share is computed by dividing the net loss applicable to common stockholders by the weighted average number of outstanding common shares during the period. Shares of restricted stock are included in the basic weighted average number of common shares outstanding from the time they vest. Diluted lossincome (loss) per share is computed by dividing net lossincome (loss) applicable to common stockholders by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding plus the number of additional common shares that would have been outstanding if all dilutive potential common shares had been issued. Diluted loss per share excludes all potential common shares if their effect is anti-dilutive. The following potentially dilutive shares were excluded from the shares used to calculate diluted earnings per share as their inclusion would be anti-dilutive:

SCHEDULE OF ANTI-DILUTIVE SECURITIES EXCLUDED FROM COMPUTATION OF EARNINGS PER SHARE

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

March 31,

 

2016

 

2015

 December 31, 2023 December 31, 2022 

Options

 

 

9,091,667 

 

 

6,325,000   11,392,544   9,392,544 

Warrants

 

 

20,027,132 

 

 

12,127,129   3,313,335   22,313,335 

Total

 

 

29,118,799 

 

 

18,452,129   14,705,879   31,705,879 
Anti-dilutive loss per share  14,705,879   31,705,879 

Patents and Patent Application Costs

Although the Company believes that its patents and underlying technology have continuing value, the amount of future benefits to be derived from the patents is uncertain. Accordingly, patent costs are expensed as incurred.

Research and Development

Research and development costs consist primarily of fees paid to consultants and outside service providers, patent fees and costs, and other expenses relating to the acquisition, design, development and testing of the Company'sCompany’s treatments and product candidates. Research and development costs are expensed as incurred overincurred.

Fair Value of Financial Instruments

FASB ASC 825, “Financial Instruments” requires that the lifeCompany disclose estimated fair values of financial instruments. Financial instruments held by the underlying contracts onCompany include, among others, accounts receivable, accounts payable and long-term debt. The carrying amounts reported in the straight-line basis, unlessbalance sheets for assets and liabilities qualifying as financial instruments are a reasonable estimate of fair value.

Segments

As of December 31, 2023, the achievementCompany has five operating business segments: (i) Range Reclaim; (ii) Range Water; (iii) Range Security; (iv) Range Land; and (v) Drug Development. Previously, beginning in October 2021, the Company began operating under two segments: (A) the Drug Development segment, which reports the operating results of milestones,our broad portfolio of glycosylated cannabinoid prodrugs, and (B) the completionRange Reclaim segment, which provides land reclamation, water restoration and incidental mining to mining and non-mining customers throughout Appalachia. The Range Water, Range Security and Range Land business segments began operations in 2023.

In accordance with the “Segment Reporting” Topic of contracted work, or other information indicates that a different expensing scheduleASC 280, the Company’s chief operating decision-maker has been identified as the Company’s Chief Executive Officer, who reviews operating results to make decisions about allocating resources and assessing performance for the entire Company. Existing guidance, which is more appropriate. The Company reviews the status of its research and development contractsbased on a management approach to segment reporting, establishes requirements to report selected segment information quarterly basis.and to report annually entity-wide disclosures about products and services, major customers, and the countries in which the entity holds material assets and reports revenue. All material operating units qualify for aggregation under “Segment Reporting” due to their similar customer base and similarities in: economic characteristics; nature of products and services; and procurement, manufacturing, and distribution processes.

F-13

 

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

In May 2014,June 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-13, Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued Accounting Standards Update (ASU) No. 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers.  ASU 2014-09 isInstruments-Credit Losses. The standard requires a comprehensive revenue recognitionfinancial asset (including trade receivables) measured at amortized cost basis to be presented at the net amount expected to be collected. Thus, the income statement will reflect the measurement of credit losses for newly-recognized financial assets as well as the expected increases or decreases of expected credit losses that have taken place during the period. This standard that will supersede nearly all existing revenue recognition guidance under current U.S. GAAP and replace it with a principle based approach for determining

F-10


revenue recognition.  ASU 2014-09 will require that companies recognize revenue based on the value of transferred goods or services as they occur in the contract.  The ASU also will require additional disclosure about the nature, amount, timing and uncertainty of revenue and cash flows arising from customer contracts, including significant judgments and changes in judgments and assets recognized from costs incurred to obtain or fulfill a contract.  ASU 2014-09 iswas effective for interim and annual periodssmaller reporting companies for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017.   Early adoption2022. The Company has fully adopted the standard with no material impact to the financial statements.

In November 2023, the FASB issued ASU 2023-07, “Segment Reporting (Topic 280): Improvements to Reportable Segment Disclosures.” This ASU enhances reportable segment disclosures on both an annual and interim basis primarily in regards to the disclosure of significant segment expenses that are regularly provided to the chief operating decision maker (CODM) and included within the reported measure(s) of segment profit or loss. In addition, the ASU requires disclosure, by segment, of other items included in the reported measure(s) of segment profit or loss, including qualitative information describing the composition, nature and type of each item. The ASU also expands disclosure requirements related to the CODM, including how the reported measure(s) of segment profit or loss are used to assess segment performance and allocate resources, and the method used to allocate overhead for significant segment expenses. All current required annual segment reporting disclosures under Topic 280 are now effective for interim periods. The ASU is permitted only in annual reporting periodseffective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2016, including2023, and interim periods therein.  Entities will be able to transition to the standard either retrospectively or as a cumulative-effect adjustment as of the date of adoption.within fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2024, with early adoption permitted. The Company is in the process of evaluating the impact of ASU 2014-09 on the Company’s financial statements and disclosures.adopting this ASU.

In August 2014,December 2023, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update No. 2014-15, Disclosure of Uncertainties about an Entity’s AbilityASU 2023-09, “Income Taxes (Topic 740): Improvements to Continue as a Going Concern, which provides guidance on determining when andIncome Tax Disclosures.” This ASU enhances income tax disclosures by providing information to better assess how to disclose going-concern uncertainties in the financial statements.  ASU 2014-15 requires management to perform interim and annual assessments of an entity’s abilityoperations, related tax risks, tax planning and operational opportunities affect its tax rate and prospects for future cash flows. This ASU requires additional disclosures to continue as a going concern within one year of the dateannual effective tax rate reconciliation including specific categories and further disaggregated reconciling items that meet the financial statements are issued.  An entity must provide certainquantitative threshold. Additionally, the ASU requires disclosures if conditions or events raise substantial doubt about the entity’s abilityrelating to continue as a going concern.income tax expense and payments made to federal, state, local and foreign jurisdictions. This ASU 2014-15 is effective for annual periods ending after December 15, 2016, and interim periods thereafter.  Early adoption is permitted.  The Company is currently evaluating the expected impact that the standard could have on its financial statements and related disclosures.

In November 2014, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update No. 2014-16, Determining Whether the Host Contract in a Hybrid Financial Instrument Issued in the Form of a Share Is More Akin to Debt or to Equity.   The amendments in ASU 2014-6 do not change the current criteria in U.S. GAAP for determining when separation of certain embedded derivative features in a hybrid financial instrument is required.  The amendments clarify that an entity should consider all relevant terms and features, including the embedded derivative feature being evaluated for bifurcation, in evaluating the nature of the host contract.  ASU 2014-6 applies to all entities that are issuers of, or investors in, hybrid financial instruments that are issued in the form of a share and is effective for public business entities for fiscal years and interim periods within those fiscal years, beginning after December 15, 2015.  Early adoption is permitted.2024. The Company is currently evaluating the expected impact that the standard could have on its financial statements and related disclosures.of adopting this ASU.

In February 2016, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update (ASU) No. 2016-02, Leases.  ASU 2016-02 requires a lessee to record a right of use asset and a corresponding lease liability on the balance sheet for all leases with terms longer than 12 months.  ASU 2016-02 is effective for all interim and annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2018.  Early adoption is permitted.  A modified retrospective transition approach is required for lessees for capital and operating leases existing at, or entered into after, the beginning of the earliest comparative period presented in the financial statements, with certain practical expedients available.  The Company is currently evaluating the expected impact that the standard could have on its financial statements and related disclosures.2. ACQUISITION OF COLLINS BUILDING & CONTRACTING

Other recent accounting pronouncements issued by the FASB, including its Emerging Issues Task Force, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, and the Securities and Exchange Commission did not or are not believed by management to have a material impact on the Company's present or future consolidated financial statements.

3. ACQUISITION FROM RELATED PARTY

On May 16, 2014,August 31, 2023, the Company entered into an Asset Purchase Agreementa stock purchase agreement with Percipio Biosciences,the owner of Collins Building & Contracting, Inc. (“Percipio”Collins Building”), a Delaware corporation, pursuant to purchase certain assets of Percipio for $50,000. The Company’s Chief Executive Officer, Robert Brooke, owned 20% of Percipio. The acquisitionwhich the owner agreed to sell all of the assets has beenoutstanding common stock of Collins Building to the Company in exchange for (a) cash consideration of $1,000,000, (b) a five-year secured promissory note in the principal amount of $2,000,000, bearing interest at 7.0% per annum (the “First Promissory Note”), and (c) a two-year secured promissory note in the principal amount of $2,035,250, bearing interest at 8.25% per annum (the “Second Promissory Note”). The First Promissory Note is secured by the acquired real property and quarry infrastructure, and the Second Promissory Note is secured by the acquired equipment.

The Company accounted for the transaction as a purchasebusiness combination in accordance with ASC Topic 805 Business Combinations and the assets have been included in the Company’s financial statements since May 16, 2014.“Business Combinations”. The purchase price was allocated to current assets based on their fair value as determined by management. At March 31, 2016, $11,950Company has performed an allocation of the purchase price remains unpaid and is included in accounts payable on the accompanying balance sheet. The Company has determined that the acquisition is not a material acquisition and accordingly, no pro-forma information has been presented.  In conjunction with the Percipio asset purchase, the Company entered into written employment agreement with Dr. Fang Lu, majority owner and President of Percipio, under which he now serves as Senior Scientistpaid for the Company. Dr. Lu’s employment agreement commenced on May 17, 2014 and is terminable at any time at the option of Dr. Lu or the Company. Under the employment agreement, Dr. Lu is entitled to an annual salary of $95,000.  

4. DERIVATIVE LIABILITY

The FASB has issued authoritative guidance whereby instruments which do not have fixed settlement provisions are deemed to be derivative instruments.  Certain warrants issued to investors and placement agents (described in Note 5 and Note 6) do not have fixed settlement provisions because their exercise prices will be lowered if the Company issues securities at lower prices in the

F-11


future.  In accordance with the FASB authoritative guidance, the warrants have been characterized as derivative liabilities to be re-measured at the end of every reporting period with the change in value reported in the statement of operations.

At the applicable dates of issuance and as of March 31, 2015 and March 31, 2016, the derivative liabilities were valued using a probability weighted average Black-Scholes-Merton pricing model with the following assumptions:



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

Date of Modification

September 24, 2014

 

 

March 31, 2015

 

 

Upon Issuance

May 11, 2015

 

 

March 31, 2016

 

Exercise Price

$

0.40 - 0.45

 

 

$

0.34 - 0.45

 

 

$

0.35 - 0.45

 

 

$

0.30 – 0.45

 

Stock Price

$

0.42 

 

 

$

0.38 

 

 

$

0.29 

 

 

$

0.07 

 

Risk-free interest rate

 

1.78 - 2.0

%

 

 

0.41 - 1.25

%

 

 

0.17 - 1.59

%

 

 

0.19 – 1.04

%

Expected volatility

 

84.45 

%

 

 

76.26 

%

 

 

76.26 - 107.5

%

 

 

105.06 - 124.77

%

Expected life (in years)

 

0.01 – 5.0 years

 

 

 

2.50 - 4.5 years

 

 

 

0.75 – 5.0 years

 

 

 

0.1 – 4.2 years

 

Expected dividend yield

 

0.00 

 

 

 

0.00 

 

 

 

0.00 

 

 

 

0.00 

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fair Value:

$

961,767 

 

 

$

1,406,596 

 

 

$

1,694,651 

 

 

$

401,127 

 

The risk-free interest rate was based on rates established by the Federal Reserve Bank. The Company uses the historical volatility of its common stock to estimate the future volatility for its common stock. The expected life of the warrants was determined by the expiration date of the warrants. The expected dividend yield was based on the fact that the Company has not paid dividends to its common stockholders in the past and does not expect to pay dividends to its common stockholders in the future.

On September 10, 2014, certain terms of certain of the Company’s warrants were modified in connection with an early exercise offer made to the warrant holders,assets acquired and the incremental change in theirliabilities assumed. The fair values of $21,218 was accounted for as an increase inthe assets acquired are set forth below. Because the fair values exceeded the purchase price, we recognized a gain on the purchase of $1,875,150. The allocation of the purchase price is based on management’s estimates and a third party assessment of the fair value of the derivative liabilities asequipment purchased.

SCHEDULE OF BUSINESS ACQUISITION ALLOCATION OF PURCHASE PRICE

Fair value of assets acquired:    
Equipment $6,156,000 
Land  554,900 
Buildings  199,500 
Total assets acquired  6,910,400 
Less: Gain on bargain purchase price  (1,875,150)
Purchase price $5,035,250 
Cash consideration  1,000,000 
Long-term notes issued to the seller  4,035,250 
Total purchase price $5,035,250 
Acquisition transaction costs incurred $167,212 

F-14

Collins Building contributed revenues of $2,833,068 and net income of $437,554 to the Company’s consolidated revenues and net income for the year ended December 31, 2023.

3. ACQUISITION OF RANGE ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES AND RANGE NATURAL RESOURCES

In May 2022, the Company and its then wholly-owned subsidiary, Daedalus Ecosciences, Inc., entered into a share purchase agreement with Range Environmental Resources, Inc. (“Range Environmental”), and Range Natural Resources, Inc. (“Range Natural”, and collectively with Range Environmental, the “Range Reclamation Entities”), and the two (2) shareholders of the date of modification and recorded as a costRange Reclamation Entities (the “Range Shareholders”) (the “Share Purchase Agreement”), pursuant to induce exercise of the warrants. Also, as part of the terms of the early exercise offer,which the Company issued to such warrant holders new, replacement warrants with an aggregate fair value at their issue datea total of $940,549, which was accounted for as a derivative liability at the issue date (described in Note 7). All of the warrants subject to the early exercise offer, which were accounted for as derivative liabilities, were exercised in connection with such offer, and as such their corresponding fair value at the exercise date of $269,368 was extinguished from the derivative liabilities balance.  During the year ended March 31, 2015, we recognized a change in fair value of the derivative liability of $724,617. As of March 31, 2015, the aggregate fair value of the derivative liabilities was $1,406,596.

In May 2015, we recognized additional derivative liabilities of $1,694,651 related to the warrants issued in conjunction with the sale of the Company’s common stock (described in Note 5). For the fiscal year ended March 31, 2016, the Company recognized a change in fair value of the derivative liability of $2,600,809. As of March 31, 2016, the aggregate fair value of the derivative liabilities was $401,127.

5. STOCKHOLDERS’ DEFICIENCY

Equity financing

In May 2015, the Company entered into a Securities Purchase Agreement with seven purchasers for the sale of an of aggregate of 5,000,00210,000,000 shares of the Company’s common stock (collectively,to the “Shares”Range Shareholders and paid cash consideration of $1,000,000 to the Range Shareholders for 80% of the outstanding common stock of each of the Range Reclamation Entities.

Subsequent to entering into the Share Purchase Agreement, the Company discovered that Joshua Justice, one of the Range Shareholders (“Justice”), made certain misrepresentations in the Share Purchase Agreement. On July 12, 2022, the Company entered into a Separation Agreement, by and among the Company, Daedalus Ecosciences, the Range Reclamation Entities, and Justice and his spouse (the “Separation Agreement”) pursuant to which Justice: (a) acknowledged that his employment with the Range Reclamation Entities was terminated for cause effective June 30, 2022; (b) returned the 5,000,000 shares of the Company’s common stock that had been issued to him under the terms of the Share Purchase Agreement; (c) transferred his 10% interest in each of the Range Reclamation Entities to Daedalus Ecosciences; and (d) paid Daedalus Ecosciences cash in an amount of $250,000. As a result, only 5,000,000 of the Company’s common stock issued to the Range Shareholders is considered to have been issued in exchange for 90% of the outstanding common stock of each of the Range Reclamation Entities.

Subsequently, on October 11, 2022, Daedalus Ecosciences and Jeremy Starks, the remaining Range Shareholder (“Starks”), entered into a share purchase agreement, effective as of May 11, 2022 (the “Starks Agreement”), pursuant to which Starks exchanged his 10% common stock ownership of the Range Reclamation Entities for 10% of the Cash Dividends and Sale Proceeds (as both terms are defined in the Starks Agreement) of the Range Reclamation Entities, as a result of which the Range Reclamation Entities are now wholly-owned subsidiaries of the Company and the Range Reclamation Entities are reported as wholly-owned direct subsidiaries of the Company in the Company’s consolidated financial statements made part of this Form 10-K.

The Company accounted for the above-referenced transactions as a business combination in accordance ASC 805 “Business Combinations”. The Company has performed an allocation of the purchase price paid for the assets acquired and the liabilities assumed. The fair values of the assets acquired are set forth below. The allocation of the purchase price is based on management’s estimates.

SCHEDULE OF BUSINESS ACQUISITION ALLOCATION OF PURCHASE PRICE

Fair value of assets acquired:    
Cash $15,827 
Accounts receivables  889,919 
Property and equipment  628,000 
Goodwill  751,421 
Total assets acquired  2,285,167 
Fair value of liabilities assumed  (785,167)
Purchase price $1,500,000 
Cash consideration  750,000 
Common stock consideration  750,000 
Total purchase price $1,500,000 
Acquisition transaction costs incurred $20,592 

Goodwill has an assigned value of $751,421 and represents the value of the Range Reclamation Entities’ brand reputation, customer base and employee relations.

F-15

The Range Reclamation Entities contributed all of the Company’s consolidated revenues of $4,832,278 for the year ended December 31, 2022 and contributed $997,405 in net income to the Company’s consolidated net income for the year ended December 31, 2022.

4. GOODWILL

The increase in goodwill in the year ended December 31, 2022, was driven by the addition of the Range Reclamation Entities in the period and represents the value of the Range Reclamation Entities’ employee relations. All Goodwill is included in the Range Reclaim segment as follows:

SCHEDULE OF GOODWILL

  December 31, 2023  December 31, 2022 
Range Reclaim Segment:        
Beginning Balance $751,421  $- 
Acquisitions  -   751,421 
Ending Balance $751,421  $751,421 

5. EQUITY

Issuance of Common Stock and Warrants

In May 2022, the Company entered into two securities purchase agreements providing for the issuance and sale by the Company of (i) 20,000,000 shares of the Company’s common stock (the “May 2022 Shares”) at a price of $0.15 per share and (ii) warrants to purchase up to an additional 20,000,000 shares of the Company’s common stock at a price of $0.60 per share (the “May 2022 Warrants”). The May 2022 Warrants expire on May 10, 2027. The aggregate proceeds to the Company from the sale of 12,500,005the May 2022 Shares and May 2022 Warrants was $3,000,000.

In May 2022, the Company purchased 90% of the outstanding common stock of each of the Range Reclamation Entities for a combination of Company shares and cash, as described in Note 3. Only 5,000,000 of the Company’s common stock issued to the Range Shareholders is considered outstanding as of December 31, 2022, in order to reflect the effects of the Separation Agreement.

In August 2022, the Company entered into a securities purchase agreement providing for the issuance and sale by the Company of (i) 1,666,667 shares of the Company’s common stock (the “August 2022 Shares”) at a price of $0.15 per share and (ii) warrants to purchase up to an additional 1,666,667 shares of the Company’s common stock at a price of $0.60 per share (the “August 2022 Warrants”). The August 2022 Warrants expire on August 26, 2027. The aggregate proceeds to the Company from the sale of the August 2022 Shares and August 2022 Warrants was $250,000.

In April 2023, the Company entered into securities purchase agreements providing for the issuance and sale by the Company of (i) 2,733,334 shares of the Company’s common stock (the “April 2023 Shares”) at a price of $0.15 per share and (ii) warrants to purchase up to an additional 2,733,333 shares of the Company’s common stock at a price of $0.60 per share (the “April 2023 Warrants”). The April 2023 Warrants expire on April 11, 2028. The aggregate proceeds to the Company from the sale of the April 2023 Shares and April 2023 Warrants were approximately $400,000.

In August 2023, the Company entered into a securities purchase agreement providing for the issuance and sale by the Company of 6,666,667 shares of the Company’s common stock (the “August 2023 Shares”) at a price of $0.15 per share. After deducting for fees and expenses, the aggregate net proceeds from the sale of the August 2023 Shares were approximately $1,000,000.

In October 2023, the Company entered into warrant exchange agreements with certain holders of warrants to exchange warrants to purchase a total of 21,733,334 shares of the Company’s common stock for total gross proceedsan aggregate of $1,500,000, or a sales price2,173,334 shares of $0.30 per share (the “Offering”).the Company’s common stock. The Offering closed on May 11, 2015. Thewarrants that were exchanged were extinguished.

F-16

In December 2023, the Company incurred $208,426 direct costs, feesentered into securities purchase agreements providing for the issuance and expenses in connection with the Offering, resulting in net cash proceeds tosale by the Company of $1,291,574.11,333,336 shares of the Company’s common stock (the “December 2023 Shares”) at a price of $0.15 per share. The warrantsaggregate proceeds from the sale of the December 2023 Shares were approximately $1,700,000.

6. STOCK OPTIONS

Stock options issued during the year ended December 31, 2023

During the year ended December 31, 2023, the Company granted to directors, advisors, and employees options to purchase an aggregate of 12,500,005 issued to the purchasers in the Offering were issued in three tranches:  Series A Warrants to purchase up to an aggregate of 5,000,0022,050,000 shares of the Company’s common stock with exercise priceprices of $0.45between $0.1337 and $0.212 per share and a term of 5 years; Series B Warrants to purchase up to an aggregate of 5,000,002 shares of the Company’s common stock, with exercise price of $0.35 per share, and a term of 9  months; and Series C Warrants to purchase up to an aggregate of 2,500,001 shares of the Company’s common stock , with exercise price of $0.40 per share, and a term of 1 year; all of which are exercisable immediately (the Series A Warrants, the Series B Warrants and the Series C Warrants, collectively, the “Warrants”). The Company also issued warrants to purchase up to 400,000 shares of the Company’s common stock (the “Placement Agent Warrants”) to H.C. Wainwright & Co., LLC as placement agent to the Offering. The Placement Agent Warrants have an exercise price of $0.375 per share, a term of 5 years, and are exercisable immediately.

The exercise price of the Series A Warrants granted to the purchasers of the Offering includes an anti-dilution provision that allows for the automatic reset of the exercise price upon any future sale of the Company’s common stock, warrants, options, convertible debt or any other equity-linked securities at an issuance, exercise or conversion price below the current exercise price of

F-12


the warrants, provided that the exercise price shall not be reduced to less than $0.20 per share. Additionally, all of the Warrants granted to the purchasers of the Offering and the Placement Agent Warrants are subject to provision for certain fundamental transactions. The Company considered the current FASB guidance of “Determining Whether an Instrument Indexed to an Entity’s Own Stock” and determined that the exercise prices of the Warrants and the Placement Agent Warrants were not fixed amounts because they are subject to fluctuation based on the occurrence of future offerings or events, and certain fundamental transactions. As a result, the Company determined that the Warrants and the Placement Agent Warrants are not considered indexed to the Company’s own stock and characterized the initial fair value of these warrants as derivative liabilities upon issuance. The Company determined the aggregate initial fair value of the Warrants and the Placement Agent Warrants in the Offering to be $1,694,651 at issuance valued using a probability weighted average Black-Scholes-Merton pricing model. For financial statement purposes, the amount of the derivative liability created from the issuance of the Warrants and the Placement Agent Warrants of $1,694,651 has been offset to the net cash proceeds received of $1,291,574, resulting in a net reduction of additional paid-in capital of $408,077 from the sale of the Shares of common stock and Warrants.

Common stock issued to employees for services with vesting terms

The Company has issued the following shares of common stock to employees and directors that vest over time:

·

In July and August 2012, the Company issued an aggregate of 700,000 shares of its common stock to employees and a director of the Company, with aggregate fair value of $189,000 at grant date, and vesting over a period ranging from 16 months to 60 months from the date of grant under the Company's stock option and incentive plan (the “2012 Stock Incentive Plan”).

·

In July 2013, the Company issued 100,000 shares of its common stock to an employee of the Company with fair value of $36,000 at grant date and vesting over a period of 31 months from the date of grant under the Company's 2012 Stock Incentive Plan.

·

In conjunction with the Percipio asset purchase (see Note 3) entered into by the Company on May 2014, the Company entered into an employment agreement with a new employee, pursuant to which the Company granted 100,000 shares of its common stock with fair value of $38,000 at grant date.  The 100,000 shares of stock is vesting over a period of 24 months from the date of grant under the Company's 2012 Stock Incentive Plan.

·

In conjunction with the Distribution and License Agreements (see Note 9) entered into by the Company in August 2014, the Company entered into employment agreements with two new employees, pursuant to which the Company granted an aggregate of 1,400,000 shares of its common stock, with aggregate fair value of $420,000 at grant date.  Of these 1,400,000 shares of stock, 400,000 vested immediately, and the remaining 1,000,000 are vesting over periods ranging from 12 months to 36 months from the date of grant.  An aggregate of 1,000,000 shares of the Company’s restricted common stock will also be issued and will vest upon achievement certain milestones, for which the Company will account for their costs at the time their issuance becomes probable.

These shares of common stock were valued based upon the market price of the Company’s common stock at the dates of grant and determined the aggregate fair values to be of approximately $683,000.    The allocable portion of the aggregate fair values of these shares of common stock that vested during the years ended March 31, 2016 and 2015 amounted to $161,936 and $329,511, respectively, and were recognized as expense in the accompanying statements of operations during the years then ended.  As of March 31, 2016, approximately $86,000 of these awards remains unvested and will be amortized as compensation costs in future years.

Shares of restricted stock granted above are subject to forfeiture to the Company or other restrictions that will lapse in accordance with a vesting schedule determined by our Board.  In the event a recipient’s employment or service with the Company terminates, any or all of the shares of common stock held by such recipient that have not vested as of the date of termination under the terms of the restricted stock agreement are forfeited to the Company in accordance with such restricted grant agreement.

The Company reclassified $149,714 from unvested, unissued common stock to additional paid-in capital relating to the unvested portion of vested shares granted as of the prior year ended March 31, 2014, to make its presentation of stockholders’ deficiency reflect the transaction more appropriately. There was no net effect on stockholders’ deficiency.

Common stock issued for services

During the year ended March 31, 2015, the Company issued an aggregate of 790,972 shares of the Company’s common stock to consultants as payment for services and recorded an expense of $294,100 based on the closing market price of our common stock on the date of the issuance. These shares were issued outside of the 2012 Stock Incentive Plan.

F-13


In December 2014, the Company issued 78,948 shares of common stock under the 2012 Stock Incentive Plan to a consultant under the terms of a consulting agreement and recorded an expense of $30,000 based on the closing market price of our common stock on the date of issuance.

In March 2015, the Company also issued 40,000 shares of common stock under the 2012 Stock Incentive Plan, to an employee and recorded an expense of $14,800 based on the closing market price of our common stock on the date of issuance.

In May 2015, pursuant to the terms of certain consulting agreement, the Company issued an aggregate of 325,000 shares of the Company’s common stock to two consultants as payment for services and recorded an expense of $115,000 based on the fair value of the Company’s common stock at the issuance dates. In July 2015, we issued a total of 310,000 shares of our common stock to two consultants in exchange for services and recorded an expense of $61,000. These shares were issued outside of the 2012 Stock Incentive Plan.

In October and November 2015, pursuant to the terms of a certain consulting agreement, the Company issued an aggregate of 513,157 shares of the Company’s common stock to a consultant as payment for services valued at $100,000.  These shares were issued outside of the 2012 Stock Incentive Plan.

6. STOCK OPTIONS

Year Ended March 31, 2015

During the year ended March 31, 2015, the Company granted to employees options to purchase an aggregate of 1,125,000 shares of the Company’s common stock that expire ten years from the date of grant and have vesting periods ranging from zero to 36 months.grant. One option granted for 300,000 shares vests over two years, the other 1,750,000 options vested upon grant. The fair value of each option award was estimated on the date of grant using the Black-Scholes option pricingBlack-Scholes-Merton Option Pricing model based on the following assumptions: (i) a volatility rate of 81.84%between 269.66% and 277.5%, (ii) a discount rate of 1.62 %,between 1.40% and 4.27%, (iii) zero expected dividend yield, and (iv) an expected life of 5 years, which is the average of the term of the options and their vesting periods. The total fair value of the option grants to directors, advisors, and employees at their grant dates was approximately $300,000.$413,470, $386,530 of which was allocated to general and administrative expenses during the year ended December 31, 2023, and $26,940 of which will be amortized over two years from the date of grant. At December 31, 2023, $22,450 of the cost of the outstanding stock-based awards remained outstanding and will be amortized over the next two years.

Stock options issued during the year ended December 31, 2022

During the year ended MarchDecember 31, 2015, the Company also granted to three consultants options to purchase 225,000 shares of the Company’s common stock that expire between five and ten years from date of grant and have vesting periods ranging from is 0 to 36 months. The fair value of these options granted to the consultants was estimated using the Black-Scholes option pricing model based on the following assumptions: (i) volatility rate of 76.26%, (ii) discount rate of 2.17 %, (iii) zero expected dividend yield, and (iv) expected life of 5 years. The total fair value of the option grants to the consultants at their grant dates was approximately $88,000.

In April 2014, 50,000 options were exercised by a consultant at an exercise price of $0.10 per share or total proceeds to the Company of $5,000.

Year Ended March 31, 2016

During the year ended March 31, 2016,2022, the Company granted to directors, advisors, and employees options to purchase an aggregate of 1,375,0002,650,000 shares of the Company’s common stock with exercise prices of $0.18 per share that expire ten years from the date of grant, and have vesting periods ranging from zero to 36 months.vested upon grant. The fair value of each option award was estimated on the date of grant using the Black-Scholes option pricingBlack-Scholes-Merton Option Pricing model based on the following assumptions: (i) a volatility rate of 76.26%277.5%, (ii) a discount rate of 2.19 %,3.82%, (iii) zero expected dividend yield, and (iv) an expected life of 5 years, which is the average of the term of the options and their vesting periods. The total fair value of the option grants to directors, advisors, and employees at their grant dates was approximately $233,000.

During$393,260, all of which was allocated to general and administrative expenses during the year ended MarchDecember 31, 2016, the Company also granted to five consultants options to purchase 1,400,000 shares of the Company’s common stock that expire between three and ten years from date of grant and have vesting periods ranging from is 0 to 36 months. The fair value of these options granted to the consultants was estimated using the Black-Scholes option pricing model based on the following assumptions: (i) volatility rate between 76.26% to 107.51%, (ii) discount rate of 2.17%, (iii) zero expected dividend yield, and (iv) expected life of 5 years. The total fair value of the option grants to the consultants at their grant dates was approximately $131,000.2022.

A summary of the Company’s stock option activity during the fiscal years ended MarchDecember 31, 20152023 and 20162022 is as follows:

SUMMARY OF STOCK OPTION ACTIVITY

  

Number of Underlying

Shares
  

Weighted

Average

Exercise Price

 
Balance outstanding at December 31, 2021  6,882,544  $0.69 
Granted  2,650,000   0.18 
Exercised  -   - 
Expired  (140,000)  1.12 
Forfeited  -   - 
Balance outstanding at December 31, 2022  9,392,544  $0.54 
Granted  2,050,000   0.20 
Exercised  -   - 
Expired  (50,000)  3.62 
Forfeited  -   - 
Balance outstanding at December 31, 2023  11,392,544  $0.47 
Balance exercisable at December 31, 2023  11,192,544  $0.48 

At December 31, 2023, the 11,392,544 outstanding stock options had aggregate intrinsic value of $378,030.

Shares

Weighted Average Exercise Price

F-17

F-14


 

Balance at March 31, 2014

 

 

5,150,000 

 

$

0.26 

Granted

 

 

1,350,000 

 

 

 

Exercised

 

 

(50,000)

 

 

 

Cancelled

 

 

(125,000)

 

 

 

Balance outstanding at March 31, 2015

 

 

6,325,000 

 

$

0.33 

Granted

 

 

2,775,000 

 

 

 

Exercised

 

 

-

 

 

 

Cancelled

 

 

(8,333)

 

 

 

Balance outstanding at March 31, 2016

 

 

9,091,667 

 

$

0.33 

Balance exercisable at March 31,2016

 

 

6,793,752 

 

$

0.32 

A summary of the Company’s stock options outstanding as of MarchDecember 31, 20162023 is as follows:



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

Number of Options

 

Weighted Average Exercise Price

 

Weighted Average Grant-date Stock Price

Options Outstanding, March 31, 2016

 

 

1,300,000 

 

$

0.10 

 

$

1.00 



 

 

100,000 

 

 

0.15 

 

 

0.15 



 

 

2,875,000 

 

$

0.20 - 0.27

 

$

0.20 - 0.27



 

 

2,200,000 

 

$

0.31 - 0.38

 

$

0.31 - 0.38



 

 

2,016,667 

 

$

0.40 - 0.47

 

$

0.40 - 0.47



 

 

600,000 

 

$

0.51 

 

$

0.51 



 

 

9,091,667 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Options Exercisable, March 31, 2016

 

 

1,300,000 

 

$

0.10 

 

$

1.00 



 

 

1,237,500 

 

$

0.20 - 0.27

 

$

0.20 - 0.27



 

 

1,716,668 

 

$

0.31 - 0.38

 

$

0.31 - 0.38



 

 

1,939,584 

 

$

0.40 - 0.47

��

$

0.40 - 0.47



 

 

600,000 

 

$

0.51 

 

$

0.51 



 

 

6,793,752 

 

 

 

 

 

 

During

SCHEDULE OF STOCK OPTION OUTSTANDING

  Number of Options  Weighted Average Exercise Price  Weighted Average Grant- Date Stock Price 
Options Outstanding, December 31, 2023  100,000  $0.1337  $0.1337 
   3,050,000  $0.18  $0.18 
   1,550,000  $0.212  $0.212 
   1,150,000  $0.277  $0.277 
   750,000  $0.30  $0.30 
   2,000,000  $0.35  $0.35 
   1,664,542  $0.50  $0.50 
   128,000  $0.96  $0.96 
   350,834  $1.50 - 1.95  $1.50 - 1.95 
   597,500  $2.00 - 2.79  $2.00 - 2.79 
   33,334  $3.10 - 3.80  $3.10 - 3.80 
   18,334  $4.00 - 4.70  $4.00 - 4.70 
   11,392,544         

A summary of the years ended March 31, 2016 and 2015, we expensed total stock-based compensation related toCompany’s stock options outstanding and exercisable as of $286,248 and $233,310, respectively, and the remaining unamortized cost of the outstanding stock-based awards at MarchDecember 31, 2016 was approximately $345,000. This cost will be amortized on a straight line basis over a weighted average remaining vesting period of 2 years and will be adjusted for subsequent changes in estimated forfeitures. Future option grants will increase the amount of compensation expense that will be recorded.2023 is as follows:

The outstanding stock options had no intrinsic value at March 31, 2016. SCHEDULE OF STOCK OPTIONS OUTSTANDING AND EXERCISABLE

  Number of Options  Weighted Average Exercise Price  Weighted Average Grant- Date Stock Price 
Options Outstanding and Exercisable, December 31, 2023  100,000  $0.1337  $0.1337 
   2,850,000  $0.18  $0.18 
   1,550,000  $0.212  $0.212 
   1,150,000  $0.277  $0.277 
   750,000  $0.30  $0.30 
   2,000,000  $0.35  $0.35 
   1,664,542  $0.50  $0.50 
   128,000  $0.96  $0.96 
   350,834  $1.50 - 1.95  $1.50 - 1.95 
   597,500  $2.00 - 2.79  $2.00 - 2.79 
   33,334  $3.10 - 3.80  $3.10 - 3.80 
   18,334  $4.00 - 4.70  $4.00 - 4.70 
   11,192,544         

7. WARRANTS

A summary of warrants to purchase common stock issued during the fiscal years ended MarchDecember 31, 20152023 and 20162022 is as follows:

SCHEDULE OF WARRANTS ACTIVITY

  

Number of Underlying

Shares
  

Weighted

Average

Exercise Price

 
Balance outstanding at December 31, 2021  646,668  $1.08 
Granted  21,666,667   0.60 
Exercised  -   - 
Expired  -   - 
Balance outstanding and exercisable at December 31, 2022  22,313,335  $0.61 
Granted  2,733,334   0.60 
Exchanged for shares of common stock  (21,733,334)  0.60 
Exercised  -   - 
Expired  -   - 
Balance outstanding and exercisable at December 31, 2023  3,313,335  $0.66 

F-18

 



 

 

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

 

 

 



 

Shares

 

Weighted Average Exercise Price

Balance outstanding at March 31, 2014

 

 

7,727,129 

 

$

0.41 

Granted

 

 

8,076,472 

 

 

0.37 

Exercised

 

 

(3,676,472)

 

 

0.40 

Cancelled

 

 

 

 

Balance outstanding at March 31, 2015

 

 

12,127,129 

 

$

0.39 

Granted

 

 

12,900,005 

 

 

0.34 

F-15


Exercised

 

 

-

 

 

 -

Expired

 

 

(5,000,002)

 

 

0.35 

Balance outstanding at March 31, 2016

 

 

20,027,132 

 

$

0.35 

Balance exercisable at March 31, 2016

 

 

20,027,132 

 

$

0.35 

On September 9, 2014, we offeredIn October 2023, the Company entered into warrant exchange agreements with certain holders of 3,676,472 warrants the right to exercise all of those warrants, for an aggregate of 3,676,472 shares of our common stock, based on the terms of an early exercise offer wherein such warrants became exercisable at a reduced exercise price of $0.40 per share and new warrants would be issued to such investors, so long as the exercise thereof occurred on or before September 10, 2014. All purchasers acted on the early exercise offer and we issued 3,676,472 shares of our common stock for net proceeds to us of $1,470,589. We determined that the modification of the exercise price of the warrants from $0.42 per share to $0.40 per share should be recorded as a cost to induce the exercise of the warrants. As such, we recognized the difference of $21,218 between the fair value of the warrants before and after the modification as a cost in the accompanying statements of operations for the year ended March 31, 2015.

In conjunction with the early exercise offer, we issued to the warrant holders who acted on such offer new, replacementexchange warrants to purchase an additional 3,676,472a total of 21,733,334 shares of our common stock. The terms and conditions of the replacement warrants are the same as the terms of the originally issued warrants, except that: (a) the initial exercise date is September 10, 2014 rather than June 28, 2013; (b) the replacement warrants have an exercise term of five years rather than nine months; (c) the exercise price of the replacement warrants is $0.45 per share (subject to anti-dilution and other adjustments as described below and a floor exercise price of $0.20 per share); and (d) the replacement warrants and the shares of common stock underlying such warrants are not registered under the Securities Act and are restricted securities. The new warrants are exercisable immediately upon issuance. These replacement warrants also provide for the adjustment of the exercise price and/or number of shares issuable upon exercise thereof in connection with stock dividends and splits, subsequent rights offerings, pro rata distributions to the Company’s common stockholders and subsequent equity sales by the Company at an effective price lower than the then-current exercise price of the replacement warrants. We determined that the fair value of these replacement warrants at their issue date of $940,549 was recorded as a cost to induce the exercise of the originally issued nine-month warrants in the accompanying statements of operations for the year ended March 31, 2015.

In May 2015, the Company granted 5,000,002 Series A warrants, 5,000,002 Series B warrants and 2,500,001 Series C warrants in connection with an offering of the Company’s common stock for cash. Each Series A Warrant has an exercise priceaggregate of $0.45 per share, was immediately exercisable, and expires on the five year anniversary of the date of issuance.  Each Series B Warrant has an exercise price of $0.35 per share, was immediately exercisable, and expired on the nine month anniversary of the date of issuance.  Each Series C Warrant has an exercise price of $0.40 per share, was immediately exercisable, and will expire on the one year anniversary of the date of issuance.  The Company also issued Placement Agent Warrants to purchase up to 400,0002,173,334 shares of the Company’s common stock.

At December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022, the outstanding stock warrants had no intrinsic value.

8. NOTES PAYABLE

Range Environmental was granted a loan (the “PPP loan”) from United Bank for $109,435 on March 9, 2021, pursuant to H.C. Wainwright.the Paycheck Protection Program (the “PPP”) under the CARES Act. The Placement Agent Warrants have an exercise pricePPP loan had a maturity date of $0.375March 9, 2023 and bore interest at a rate of 1% per share, a termannum, with the first six months of 5 years,interest deferred. On August 19, 2022, Range Environmental received notice that the U.S. Small Business Administration (“SBA”) had reviewed the forgiveness application of the PPP loan and are exercisable immediately. 

The exercise priceprovided forgiveness of the Series A Warrants granted to the purchasersentire principal of the Offering includesPPP loan plus accrued interest. The Company recognized a gain on forgiveness of the PPP loan of $109,435 during the year ended December 31, 2022.

On June 17, 2020, Range Environmental was granted an anti-dilution provision that allowsSBA Disaster Loan in the amount of $150,000 with an interest rate of 3.75% per annum. On September 14, 2022, the Company paid the entire balance due on this loan of $158,815, including $8,815 in accrued interest.

The Company had no notes payable outstanding as of December 31, 2023.

9. LONG-TERM DEBT OBLIGATIONS

Long-term debt consists of debt on vehicles and equipment, which serves as the collateral, and debt issued as part of the acquisition of Collins Building.

Interest rates on the equipment financings range from 3.69% to 9.95% for 2023 and mature between 2024 through 2028.

The Collins Building debt consists of a five-year secured promissory note with an original principal amount of $2,000,000, bearing interest at 7.0% per annum (the “First Promissory Note”), and a two-year secured promissory note with an original principal amount of $2,035,250, bearing interest at 8.25% per annum (the “Second Promissory Note”, and, together with the First Promissory Note, the “Collins Promissory Notes”). The First Promissory Note is secured by the acquired real property and quarry infrastructure and the Second Promissory Note is secured by the acquired equipment. At December 31, 2023, the First Promissory Note had an outstanding balance of $1,887,395 and the Second Promissory Note had an outstanding balance of $1,798,633.

A summary of payments due under the long-term debt by year is as follows:

SCHEDULE OF MATURITIES OF LONG TERM DEBT

  Equipment Financing  Collins Promissory Notes 
       
2024 – due between January 1, 2024 and December 31, 2024 $1,319,219  $1,436,573 
2025 – due between January 1, 2025 and December 31, 2025  945,890   1,095,081 
2026 – due between January 1, 2026 and December 31, 2026  785,023   408,289 
2027 – due between January 1, 2027 and December 31, 2027  762,699   437,387 
2028 and later – due on January 1, 2028 and thereafter  506,960   308,698 
Total long-term debt $4,319,791  $3,686,028 

F-19

10. LINES OF CREDIT

In November 2022, the Company secured a line of credit with a bank with a limit of $1,000,000. In November 2023, the Company amended and restated this line of credit. The line of credit has a maturity date of November 30, 2024, and bears interest at one percent (1%) above the prime rate (9.50% at December 31, 2023). As of December 31, 2023, the balance due under the line of credit was $1,000,000. As of December 31, 2022, the balance due under the line of credit was $0.

In June 2023, Range Environmental secured a bank loan with a limit of $1,000,000. In November 2023, the loan amount was increased to $1,400,000. Principal and accrued interest payments are required in March, June, September and December 2024. The loan has a maturity date of December 31, 2024, and bears interest at the prime rate (8.50% at December 31, 2023). As of December 31, 2023, the balance due under the loan was $1,400,000.

11. INCOME TAXES

The Company had no income tax expense for the automatic reset of the exercise price upon any future sale of the Company’s common stock, warrants, options, convertible debt or any other equity-linked securities at an issuance, exercise or conversion price below the current exercise price of the warrants, provided that the exercise price shall not be reduced to less than $0.20 per share.   Additionally, all of the Warrants granted to the purchasers of the Offeringyear ended December 31, 2023 and to the placement agent are subject to provision for certain fundamental transactions.  In consideration of applicable guidance, the Company has determined that none of the warrants are considered indexed to the Company’s own stock, since the exercise prices of the warrants are subject to fluctuation based on the occurrence of future offerings or events and are not a fixed amount, and therefore characterizes the fair value of these warrants as derivative liabilities (See Note 3).

In consideration of applicable guidance, the Company has determined that the warrants are not considered indexed to the Company’s own stock, since the exercise prices of the warrants are subject to fluctuation based on the occurrence of future offerings or events and are not a fixed amount, and therefore characterized the fair value of these warrants of $401,127 as a derivative liability upon issuance (See Note 4).

Warrants issued to employees

On August 25, 2014, we entered into employment agreements with two new employees, pursuant to which, these employees became entitled to receive warrants to purchase an aggregate of 4,400,000 shares of the Company’s common stock. These warrants have an exercise price of $0.30, and a term of ten years from issue date. Vesting terms of these warrants are as follows: (i) warrants to purchase 800,000 shares of common stock vested immediately at their grant date, (ii) warrants to purchase 2,000,000 shares of common stock have vesting terms ranging from one year to three years, and (iii) warrants to purchase 1,600,000 shares of common

F-16


stock vest upon achievement of certain milestones under the distribution agreement (See Note 9). During the years ended March 31, 2016 and 2015, we expensed total stock-based compensation related to the vesting of these warrants of $182,072 and $432,772, respectively and the remaining unamortized cost of the outstanding warrants at March 31, 2016 was $91,036.

The aggregate intrinsic value of all of the outstanding and exercisable warrants at March 31, 2016 was $0.

8.  INCOME TAXES

The Company has no tax provision for any period presented2022 due to ourits history of operating losses. AsThe following is a reconciliation of March 31, 2016, the Company had net operating loss carry forwardsstatutory federal income tax rate to the Company’s effective tax rate:

SCHEDULE OF EFFECTIVE INCOME TAX RATE RECONCILIATION

  Year-Ended December 31, 2023  Year-Ended December 31, 2022 
Federal statutory tax rate  -21%  -21%
State tax rate, net of federal benefit  -7%  -7%
Total federal and state tax rate  -28%  -28%
Valuation allowance  28%  28%
Effective tax rate  -%  -%

Deferred tax assets and liabilities consist of approximately $8,900,000 that may be available to reduce future years' taxable income through 2030. Future tax benefits which may arise as a result of these losses have not been recognized in these financial statements, as management has determined that their realization is not likely to occur and accordingly, the Company has recorded a valuation allowance for the deferred tax asset relating to these tax loss carry-forwards.following:

SCHEDULE OF DEFERRED TAX ASSETS AND LIABILITIES

  December 31, 2023  December 31, 2022 
       
Net deferred tax assets:        
Net operating loss carryforwards  4,718,000   6,690,000 
Stock-based compensation  3,506,000   3,514,000 
Goodwill  187,000   202,000 
Research credits  342,000   86,000 
Other Capitalized Costs  208,000   

-

 
Operating lease liability  -   - 
Gross deferred tax assets  8,961,000   10,492,000 
Less: valuation allowance  (6,944,000)  (9,174,000)
Total deferred tax assets  2,017,000   1,318,000 
Deferred tax liabilities:        
Derivative income  1,108,000   1,108,000 
Fixed Assets  909,000   210,000 
Operating lease right-of-use asset  -   - 
Total deferred tax liabilities  2,017,000   1,318,000 
         
Net deferred income tax assets (liabilities)  -   - 

F-20

 

The Company adopted accounting rules which address the determinationprovisions of whether tax benefits claimed or expected to be claimed on a tax return should be recorded in the financial statements. Under these rules, the Company may recognize the tax benefit fromASC Topic 740, Accounting for Income Taxes, require an uncertain tax position only ifassessment of both positive and negative evidence when determining whether it is more likely than not that deferred tax assets are recoverable. For the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, based on all available objective evidence, including the existence of cumulative losses, the Company determined that it was more likely than not that the net deferred tax positionassets were not fully realizable. Accordingly, the Company established a full valuation allowance against its net deferred tax assets. The Company intends to maintain a full valuation allowance on net deferred tax assets until sufficient positive evidence exists to support reversal of the valuation allowance. The valuation allowance decreased by $2.2 million during the year ended December 31, 2023 and decreased by $0.9 million during the year ended December 31, 2022.

At December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022, the Company had available federal and state net operating loss carryforwards (“NOLs”) to reduce future taxable income. Due to restrictions imposed by Internal Revenue Code Section 382 regarding substantial changes in ownership of companies with loss carryforwards, the utilization of the Company’s NOLs may be limited as a result of changes in stock ownership. For Federal purposes, after considering limitations under Section 382, the net operating loss amounts available were approximately $16.9 million and $18.3 million as of December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022, respectively. For state purposes, after considering limitations under Section 382, the net operating loss amounts available were approximately $16.6 million as of December 31, 2023 and 2022. NOLs incurred subsequent to the latest change in control are not subject to the limitation. The Federal carryforwards generated prior to December 31, 2017 expire on various dates through 2037, and Federal carryforwards generated after December 31, 2017 do not expire but are limited to 80% utilization in a given period.

12. MAJOR CUSTOMER AND CONCENTRATION OF CREDIT RISK

Sales to the Company’s two largest customers were 70% and 24%, respectively, of total sales for the year ended December 31, 2023, and sales to the Company’s largest customer were 72% of total sales for the year ended December 31, 2022.

Accounts receivable from the same customers were 70% and 29%, respectively, of total accounts receivable and unbilled receivables as of December 31, 2023 and accounts receivable from the Company’s largest customer were 62% of total accounts receivable and unbilled receivables as of December 31, 2022.

13. COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

From time to time, the Company is involved in legal matters arising in the ordinary course of business. While the Company believes that such matters are currently not material, there can be no assurance that matters arising in the ordinary course of business for which the Company is, or could be, involved in litigation, will be sustainednot have an adverse effect on examination byits business, financial condition or results of operations.

14. SEGMENT INFORMATION

ASC 280, “Segment Reporting” establishes standards for reporting information about operating segments on a basis consistent with the taxing authorities,Company’s internal organizational structure as well as information about services, categories, business segments and major customers in financial statements. The Company has five reportable segments that are based on the technical meritsfollowing business units: (i) Range Reclaim, (ii) Range Water, (iii) Range Security, (iv) Range Land, and (v) Drug Development. In accordance with the “Segment Reporting” Topic of the position. The tax benefits recognized inASC, the financial statements from such a position are measuredCompany’s chief operating decision-maker has been identified as the Company’s Chief Executive Officer, who reviews operating results to make decisions about allocating resources and assessing performance for the entire Company. Existing guidance, which is based on the largest benefit that has a greater than fifty percent likelihood of being realized upon ultimate settlement. These accounting rules also provide guidance on de-recognition, classification, interestmanagement approach to segment reporting, establishes requirements to report selected segment information quarterly and penalties on income taxes, accounting in interim periods and requires increased disclosures. As of March 31, 2016  no liability for unrecognized tax benefits was required to be recorded.

9. DISTRIBUTION AND LICENSE AGREEMENTS

Related to our legacy stevia businessreport annually entity-wide disclosures about products and technologies, on August 25, 2014, we entered into aservices, major customers and the countries in which the entity holds material assets and reports revenue. All material operating units qualify for aggregation under “Segment Reporting” due to their similar customer base and similarities in: economic characteristics; nature of products and services; and procurement, manufacturing and distribution agreement where Qualipride International (“Qualipride”) agreed to provide stevia products toprocesses.

F-21

The five reportable segments that result from applying the Company at its cost, plus up to 2% for handling costs and up to a 5% sales commission.  aggregation criteria are as follows:

Range Reclaim – land reclamation, water restoration, incidental mining and land repurposing
Range Water – biochar product development and water solutions business
Range Security – security services on mine land being reclaimed and repurposed for non-fossil fuel uses
Range Land – mine land being acquired, reclaimed and repurposed for non-fossil fuel uses
Drug Development – glycosylated cannabinoid drug development program

The Company will account for such costs as such sales are made, or as such other direct costs are incurred. Duringoperated two reportable business segments, Range Reclaim and Drug Development, during the year ended MarchDecember 31, 2016, neither any2022. The other business segments began operating in 2023.

The Company had no inter-segment sales were made nor were other direct costs incurred pursuant tofor the termsperiods presented.

Summarized financial information concerning the Company’s reportable segments is shown as below:

SCHEDULE OF FINANCIAL INFORMATION OF REPORTABLE SEGMENT

By Categories

                      
  For the year ended December 31, 2023 
  Range Reclaim  Range Water  Range Security  Range Land  Drug Development  Corporate  Total 
                      
Sales $18,662,111  $-  $684,195  $-  $-  $-  $19,346,306 
Cost of services  12,808,990   -   302,507   -   -   -   13,111,497 
Gross profit  5,853,121   -   381,688   -   -   -   6,234,809 
Operating income (loss)  3,784,444   (69,840)  269,772   (13,134)  (458,889)  (1,757,989)  1,754,364 
Net income (loss)  3,407,546   (69,840)  269,548   (13,134)  (458,889)  (4,176)  3,131,055 
                             
Total assets  21,079,343   13,859   155,783   1,009,794   8,753   1,520,612   23,788,144 
                             
Depreciation  1,769,766   1,706   10,101   -   -   -   1,781,573 
Interest expense  376,898   -   224   -   -   128,795   505,917 
Capital expenditures for long-lived assets $1,050,640  $15,350  $52,674  $1,008,897  $-  $-  $2,127,561 

             
  For the year ended December 31, 2022 
  Range Reclaim  Drug Development  Corporate  Total 
             
Revenue $4,832,278  $-  $-  $4,832,278 
Cost of services  3,439,026   -   -   3,439,026 
Gross profit  1,393,252   -   -   1,393,252 
Operating income (loss)  761,432   (470,803)  (1,391,062)  (1,100,433)
Net income (loss)  816,469   (470,803)  (1,417,842)  (1,072,176)
                 
Total assets  6,056,568   -   2,173,897   8,230,465 
                 
Depreciation  395,543   -   -   395,543 
Interest expense  54,402   -   26,776   81,178 
Capital expenditures for long-lived assets $5,813,057  $-  $-  $5,813,057 

F-22

15. QUARTERLY DATA (UNAUDITED)

Quarterly results include all adjustments consisting of normal recurring adjustments that the Company considers necessary for the quarters presented and are not necessarily indicative of the distribution agreement.  Concurrently, we also entered into a technology license agreement with Qualipride, Mr. Dong Yuejin and Mr. Guo Yuxiao in which we obtained an exclusive license outside China to use Qualipride’s proprietary methods and designsoperating results of any future period. Summarized financial information for stevia extraction and purification facilities.  The Company will account for the potential costs of such license and obligation once adequate financing has been received to finance facility construction contemplated within the agreement, if such financing occurs.  During the year ended March 31, 2016, the Company did not receive any financing pursuant to the terms of the license agreement.   

Under employment agreements related to the distribution and license agreements, Mr. Dong and Mr. Guo are entitled to receive an aggregate of 2,400,000 restricted shares of our common stock (see Note 5) and warrants to purchase up to an aggregate of 4,400,000 shares of our common stock (see Note 7).  An aggregate of 400,000 shares of our restricted common stock and warrants to purchase up to an aggregate of 800,000 shares of our common stock vested immediately upon issuance.  An aggregate of 1,000,000 shares of our restricted common stock and warrants to purchase up to an aggregate of 2,000,000 shares of our common stock have vesting terms ranging from one to three years.  An aggregate of 1,000,000 shares of our restricted common stock will be issued and warrants to purchase up to an aggregate of 1,600,000 shares of our common stock will vest once we achieve certain financial and operational milestones.  The Company will account for the costs of the 1,000,000 shares of common stock and warrants to purchase up to an aggregate of 1,600,000 shares of common stock, at the time their issuance becomes probable. During the year ended March 31, 2016, no such milestones were met and as of the year ended March 31, 2016, we owed no compensation pursuant to these employment agreements. 

The distribution, license and employment agreements are all scheduled to terminate in August 2016, and the Company does not intend to renew or restructure them unless it obtains significant new strategic partnering interest or supply contracts from multinational ingredient or beverage companies related to its stevia products or technologies.

10.  RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS AND LEASE OBLIGATIONS

Related party lease obligations

On April 23, 2012, the Company entered into a lease agreement with One World Ranches LLC (“One World Ranches”), pursuant to which the Company has agreed to lease from One World Ranches certain office and laboratory space located at 5225 Carlson Road, Yuba City, California (the “Carlson Lease”). The Carlson Lease began on May 1, 2012 and expires on May 1, 2017,

F-17


and the Company’s rent payments thereunder are $2,300 per month. The Company has paid $1,500 as a refundable security deposit under the Carlson Lease.

On August 18, 2012, the Company entered into a lease agreement (the “Sacramento Lease”) with Sacramento Valley Real Estate, which is jointly-owned by Dr. Avtar Dhillon, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Company, and his wife, Diljit Bains, pursuant to which the Company leases an apartment located at 33-800 Clark Avenue, Yuba City, California. This Company used this apartment as an alternative to renting hotel rooms for management use since several of our managers are not resident in Yuba City. The month to month lease began on August 20, 2012 and was terminated in June 2015.  The Company’s rent payment was $1,000 per month. On August 22, 2012, the Company paid $1,000 as a refundable security deposit under the Sacramento lease.

Aggregate payments under the above leases foreach quarter during the years ended MarchDecember 31, 20162023 and 2015 were $30,6002022 is below:

SUMMARY OF FINANCIAL INFORMATION QUARTERLY DATA

  Quarter ended March 31, 2023  Quarter ended June 30, 2023  Quarter ended September 30, 2023  Quarter ended December 31, 2023 
             
Revenues $3,014,887  $3,998,267  $5,455,633  $6,877,519 
Gross profit  649,002   845,101   2,857,766   1,882,940 
Income (loss) from operations  (183,223)  153,693   1,659,871   124,023 
Net income (loss)  (226,860)  36,762   3,404,175   (83,022)
Net income (loss) per share – basic and diluted  -   -   0.04   - 

  Quarter ended March 31, 2022  Quarter ended June 30, 2022  Quarter ended September 30, 2022  Quarter ended December 31, 2022 
             
Revenues $-  $639,359  $1,547,258  $2,645,661 
Gross profit  -   64,952   357,783   970,517 
Loss from operations  (443,671)  (423,197)  (198,002)  (35,563)
Net loss  (447,974)  (443,186)  (119,616)  (61,400)
Net loss per share – basic and diluted  (0.01)  (0.01)  -   - 

16. PRO FORMA DATA (UNAUDITED)

The pro forma sales and $49,000, respectively.

11. COMMITMENTS

Related to our legacy stevia products and technologies, in addition to intellectual property developed internally, we previously licensed exclusive and worldwide rights to certain patents and patent applications related to microbial production of steviol and steviol glycosides from Vineland Research and Innovations Centre, Inc. entered into in August 2012, amended in October 2013 (the “Vineland License”), and terminated in May 2016.  Pursuantnet income data gives effect to the Vineland License, we agreed to total cash fees due and payable withinacquisition of Collins Building as if it had occurred on January 1, 2023, the first year of the agreement of $50,000, all of which have been paid and recorded as expenses.Under the Vineland License we will owe royalties of 0.5% of the sale price of products developed using the intellectual property, and in the third year and all subsequent years of the Vineland License the Company will owe a minimum annual royalty of $10,000.  No additional payments will be owed under the Vineland License as it was terminated in May 2016.

12. SUBSEQUENT EVENTS

In May 2016, the Company entered into a securities purchase agreement with the purchasers identified therein  providing for the issuance and sale by the Company to the purchasers, in a private placement, of an aggregate of 26,500,000 sharesbeginning of the Company’s common stock (collectively,2023 fiscal year, and to the “Shares”) and Warrants to purchase up to an aggregateacquisition of 79,500,000 sharesthe Range Entities as if it had occurred on January 1, 2022, the beginning of the Company’s common stock(the “Warrants”, and the shares issuable upon exercise of the Warrants, collectively, the “Warrant Shares”), at a price of $0.01 per Share (the “Offering”). The Warrants have an exercise price of $0.017 per share and expire six months from the date of issuance.  The Offering closed on May 4, 2016.  The aggregate proceeds to the Company from the sale of the Shares and Warrants was approximately $265,000.2022 fiscal year.

In May 2016, we received shareholder and board approval for a name change to Vitality Biopharma, Inc., an exchange of one (1) share of the Company’s common stock for each 10 shares of common stock outstanding or exercisable under any outstanding warrants or option agreements and an increase in the number of shares of authorized common stock from 525,000,000 to 1,000,000,000.   These corporate changes will become effective upon the approval of the SEC and FIRNRA and are not reflected in these financial statements.SCHEDULE OF PRO FORMA DATA INFORMATION

  For the year ended
December 31, 2023
 
  Sales  Net income 
       
Acquired companies  -   - 
Collins Building $4,005,645  $324,882 
All other companies  16,561,233   2,812,244 
Total $20,566,878  $3,137,126 

  For the year ended
December 31, 2022
 
  Sales  Net income (loss) 
       
Acquired companies  -   - 
Range Entities $5,848,298  $653,172 
All other companies  -   (1,888,645)
Total $5,848,298  $(1,235,473)

F-18


EXHIBIT INDEX

2.1

Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated September 14, 2011, by and between Stevia First Corp. and Legend Mining Inc. (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to the registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on October 14, 2011.)

3.1.1

Articles of Incorporation of Stevia First Corp. (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to the registrant’s Registration Statement on Form S-1 filed with the SEC on August 6, 2008 (File No. 333-152830).)

3.1.2

Articles of Merger, effective October 10, 2011 (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to the registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on October 14, 2011.)

3.1.3

Certificate of Change, effective October 10, 2011 (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.2 to the registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on October 14, 2011.)

3.2.1

Bylaws of Stevia First Corp. (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.2 to the registrant’s Registration Statement on Form S-1 filed with the SEC on August 6, 2008 (File No. 333-152830).)

3.2.2

Certificate of Amendment of Bylaws of Stevia First Corp. (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to the registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on February 7, 2012.)

4.1

Form of Series A/B/C Common Stock Purchase Warrant (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.1 to the registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on June 26, 2013.)

4.2

Offer Letter to Series B Warrant holders dated December 6, 2013 (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.1 to the registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on December 9, 2013.)

4.3

Offer Letter to Series C Warrant holders dated March 27, 2014 (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.1 to the registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on April 3, 2014.)

4.4

Form of Series A/B/C Common Stock Purchase Warrant (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.3 to the registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on May 6, 2015.)

10.1

Form of Convertible Debenture Subscription Agreement dated January 31, 2012 (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on February 7, 2012.)

10.2

Form of Convertible Debenture (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to the registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on February 7, 2012.)

10.3#

Executive Employment Agreement, dated January 31, 2012, by and between the registrant and Robert T. Brooke (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.3 to the registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on February 7, 2012.)

10.4#

Stevia First Corp. 2012 Stock Incentive Plan (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.4 to the registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on February 7, 2012.)

10.5

Form of Convertible Debenture Subscription Agreement dated February 7, 2012 (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on February 28, 2012.)

10.6

Form of Convertible Debenture (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to the registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on February 28, 2012.)

10.7

Note Exchange Agreement, dated May 24, 2012, by and between the registrant and Hsien Loong Wong (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the registration’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on May 25, 2012.)

10.8

Note Exchange Agreement, dated May 24, 2012, by and between the registrant and Wong Tsan Tung (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to the registration’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on May 25, 2012.)

10.9

Lease Agreement, dated April 23, 2012, by and between the registrant and One World Ranches LLC (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the registrant’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on July 13, 2012.)

10.10

Lease Agreement, dated April 23, 2012, by and between the registrant and Sutter Butte Ranches LLC (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to the registrant’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on July 13, 2012.)

10.11

Form of Securities Purchase Agreement, dated October 29, 2012, by and among the registrant and the signatories thereto (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on October 31, 2012.)

10.12

Form of 0% Convertible Debenture (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to the registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on October 31, 2012.)

10.13

Form of Warrant (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.3 to the registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on October 31, 2012.)

10.14

Form of Registration Rights Agreement, dated November 1, 2012, by and among the registrant and the signatories thereto (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.4 to the registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on October 31, 2012.)

10.15

Placement Agent Agreement, dated October 29, 2012, by and between the registrant and Dawson James Securities, Inc. (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.5 to the registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on October 31, 2012.)

10.16

License Agreement, dated August 28, 2012 by and between the registrant and Vineland Research and Innovation Centre, Inc. (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.18 to the registrant’s Registration Statement on Form S-1/A filed with the SEC on March 6, 2013 (File No. 333-185215.))

41


10.17#

Amendment No. 1 to the Stevia First Corp, 2012 Stock Incentive Plan (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.19 to the registrant’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on May 20, 2013.)

F-23

10.18

Securities Purchase Agreement, dated June 25, 2013, by and among Stevia First Corp. and the Purchasers listed on the signature pages thereto (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on June 26, 2013.)

10.19

Amendment to License Agreement, dated October 10, 2013 by and between Stevia First Corp. and Vineland Research and Innovation Centre, Inc. (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on October 16, 2013.)

10.20

Form of Stock Release Agreement dated April 2, 2014 (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on April 3, 2014.)

10.21#

Amendment No. 2 to Stevia First Corp. 2012 Stock Incentive Plan (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.21 to the registrant’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on June 30, 2014.).

10.22

Form of Securities Purchase Agreement, dated May 5, 2015, by and among Stevia First Corp. and the Purchasers listed on the signature pages thereto (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on May 6, 2015.)

10.23

Form of Registration Rights Agreement (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to the registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on May 6, 2015.)

10.24

Form of Securities Purchase Agreement, dated May 4, 2016, by and among Stevia First Corp. and the Purchasers listed on the signature pages thereto (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on May 9, 2016.)

10.25

Form of Warrant (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.1 to the registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on May 9, 2016.)

14.1*

Code of Business Conduct and Ethics Agreement

21.1*

Subsidiaries

23.1*

Consent of Weinberg & Company, P.A.

23.3*

Power of Attorney (included on the signature page to this Annual Report.)

31.1*

Certification of Principal Executive Officer and Principal Financial Officer pursuant to Rule 13a-14(a) or 15d-14(a) under the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934

32.1*

Certification of Principal Executive Officer and Principal Financial Officer pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002

101.INS*

XBRL Instance Document

101.SCH*

XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema Document

101.CAL*

XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase Document

101.DEF*

XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase Document

101.LAB*

XBRL Taxonomy Extension Label Linkbase Document

101.PRE*

XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase Document

*

Filed herewith

#

Management contract or compensatory plan or arrangement.

42