At March 31, 2020, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer evaluated the effectiveness of a variety of factors, many of which are outsidethe design and operation of our control, which could cause fluctuationsdisclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the priceSecurities Exchange Act of our securities.

We believe we have taken appropriate and reasonable steps to make the necessary improvements to remediate these deficiencies, however we cannot be certain that our remediation efforts will ensure that our management designs, implements and maintains adequate controls over our financial processes and reporting in the future or that the changes made will be sufficient to address and eliminate the material weaknesses previously identified. The audit committee has requested a plan be prepared with the steps necessary to remedy such deficiencies and is waiting the preparation of such plan. Our inability to remedy any additional deficiencies or material weaknesses that may negatively affect our operating results:

Our management switched the primary business focus from a medical device manufacturing company to a cellular therapy provider for the treatment of COPD in January 2019. We ceased carrying our medical device DenerveX at the end of 2019, which was the primary source of revenue prior to the foregoing factors,change of business. In the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019 and the first quarter ended March 31, 2020, we generated revenue primarily from providing cellular therapy to COPD patients. During 2019, the Company partnered with Rion to begin the research and development of an investigational new drug for COPD, known as L-CYTE-01. This lack of historical revenue may make it more difficult for you to evaluate our quarterlybusiness, financial condition and prospects. As of the date of this prospectus, we were still in the process of switching to the new business model in various aspects, such as information infrastructure, pharmacies and laboratories, qualified personnel and physicians, collaborative contractors and other ancillary health service providers. There are a number of risks associated with an investigational drug development business model, and there is no guarantee that the new model will deliver the expected revenues and operating results are difficult to forecast.

Maintaining third party relationships for us.these purposes will impose significant added responsibilities on members of our management and other personnel. We anticipate thatmust be able to: manage our development efforts effectively; recruit and train sales and marketing personnel; manage our participation in the clinical trials in which our product candidates are involved effectively; and improve our managerial, development, operational and finance systems, all of which may impose a period of significant expansion will be required to address potential growth and to handle licensing and research activities.  This expansion will place a significant strain on our management, operational and financial resources.  To manage the expected growth of our operations and personnel, we must establish appropriate and scalable operational and financial systems, procedures and controls and must establish a qualified finance, administrative and operations staff. As a public company, we will have to implement internal controls to comply with government mandated regulations.  Our management may be unable to hire, train, retain, motivate and manage the necessary personnel or to identify, manage and exploit potential strategic relationships and market opportunities.  Our failure to manage growth effectively could have a material and adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

If we enter into arrangements with third parties to perform sales, marketing, andor distribution services, for our products, the resultingany product revenues that we receive, or the profitability fromof these product revenues to us, are likely to be lower than if we had sold, marketedwere to market and distributed oursell any products ourselves.that we develop without the involvement of these third parties. In addition, we may not be successful in entering into arrangements with third parties to sell market and distributemarket our products or may be unable to doin doing so on terms that are favorable to us. We likely will have limitedlittle control over such third parties, and any of these third partiesthem may fail to devote the necessary resources and attention to sell market and distributemarket our products effectively.

We have no history in obtaining regulatory approval for, or commercializing, any new therapy candidate.

With limited operating history, we have never obtained regulatory approval for, or commercialized, any new therapy candidate. It is possible that the FDA may refuse to accept our investigational new drug (“IND”) application for substantive review, or may conclude after review of our data that our application is insufficient to obtain regulatory approval of the new therapy candidate. If the FDA does not accept or approve our IND for phase I clinical trials and such research activities are, to a certain extent, beyond our control.

If the statutes and regulations in our industry change, our business could be adversely affected.

The U.S. healthcare industry has undergone significant changes designed to improve patient safety, improve clinical outcomes, and increase access to medical care. These changes include enactments and repeals of various healthcare related laws and regulation. Our operations and economic viability may be adversely affected by the changes in such regulations, including: (i) federal and state fraud and abuse laws; (ii) federal and state anti-kickback statutes; (iii) federal and state false claims laws; (iv) federal and state self-referral laws; (v) state restrictions on fee splitting; (vi) laws regarding the privacy and confidentiality of patient information; and (vii) other laws and government regulations.

If there are changes in laws, regulations, or administrative or judicial interpretations, we may have to change our business practices, or our existing business practices could be challenged as unlawful, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

We may encounter difficulties in managing our growth, and the nature of our business and rapid changes in the healthcare industry makes it difficult to reliably predict future growth and operating results.

We may not be able to successfully grow and expand. Successful implementation of our business plan will require management of growth, including potentially rapid and substantial growth, which could result in an increase in the level of responsibility for management personnel and strain on our human and capital resources. To manage growth effectively, we will be required, among other things, to continue to implement and improve our operating and financial systems, procedures and controls and to expand, train and manage our employee base. If we are unable to implement and scale improvements to our existing systems and controls in an efficient and timely manner or if we encounter deficiencies, we will not be able to successfully execute our business plans.

Failure to attract and retain sufficient numbers of qualified personnel could also impede our growth.

If we are unable to manage our growth effectively, it will have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. The evolving nature of our business and rapid changes in the healthcare industry make it difficult to anticipate the nature and amount of medical reimbursements, third-party private payments, and participation in certain government programs and thus to reliably predict our future growth and operating results. Our growth strategy may incur significant costs, which could adversely affect our financial condition. Our growth by strategic transactions strategy involves significant costs, including financial advisory, legal and accounting fees, and may include additional costs for items such as fairness opinions and severance payments. These costs could put a strain on our cash flows, which in turn could adversely affect our overall financial condition.

Our majority stockholders may take actions that conflict with our public stockholders’ best interests.

As of the date of this prospectus, RMS Shareholder and FWHC Holdings, LLC (“FWHC”) collectively owned approximately 56% of the outstanding voting power of the Company. The ownership interest and voting power in the Company held by FWHC, its affiliates, and its Section 13(d) group members (collectively, the “FWHC Group”) will increase substantially as a result of this offering and the Standby Commitment, as convertible notes held by the Standby Purchasers, some of whom are members of the FWHC Group, will be converted into Series A Preferred Shares and the Standby Purchasers may acquire additional Series A Preferred Shares as part of the Standby Commitment. Based on security ownership as of the Record Date and assuming the Standby Commitment is utilized in full, the FWHC Group will have beneficial ownership (as calculated under Rule 13d-3 under the Exchange Act) of approximately 70% of the voting power of the Company immediately after the completion of the rights offering which also assumes the conversion of all outstanding promissory notes, including the ones held by the FWHC Group, into Series A Preferred Shares and the exercise of all FWHC’s warrants. The members of the FWHC Group may own or operate companies that may conflict with those of the Company. We cannot assure you that our large stockholders will not take any actions that impair our ability to conduct our business competitively or conflict with the best interests of our other stockholders.

We are regulated by federal Anti-Kickback Statutes.

The federal Anti-Kickback Statute is a provision of the Social Security Act of 1972 that prohibits as a felony offense the knowing and willful offer, payment, solicitation or receipt of any form of remuneration in return for, or to induce, (1) the referral of a patient for items or services for which payment may be made in whole or part under Medicare, Medicaid, or other federal healthcare programs, (2) the furnishing or arranging for the furnishing of items or services reimbursable under Medicare, Medicaid, or other federal healthcare programs or (3) the purchase, lease, or order or arranging or recommending the purchasing, leasing or ordering of any item or service reimbursable under Medicare, Medicaid or other federal healthcare programs. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“ACA”) amended section 1128B of the Social Security Act to make it clear that a person need not have actual knowledge of the statute, or specific intent to violate the statute, as a predicate for a violation. The OIG, which has the authority to impose administrative sanctions for violation of the statute, has adopted as its standard for review a judicial interpretation which concludes that the statute prohibits any arrangement where even one purpose of the remuneration is to induce or reward referrals. A violation of the Anti-Kickback Statute is a felony punishable by imprisonment, criminal fines of up to $25,000, civil fines of up to $50,000 per violation, and three times the amount of the unlawful remuneration. A violation also can result in exclusion from Medicare, Medicaid or other federal healthcare programs. In addition, pursuant to the changes of the ACA, a claim that includes items or services resulting from a violation of the Anti-Kickback Statute is a false claim for purposes of the False Claims Act.

We cannot assure that the applicable regulatory authorities will not determine that some of our arrangements with physicians violate the federal Anti-Kickback Statute or other applicable laws. An adverse determination could subject us to different liabilities, including criminal penalties, civil monetary penalties and exclusion from participation in Medicare, Medicaid or other health care programs, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

We are regulated by the federal Stark Law.

The federal Stark Law, 42 U.S.C. 1395nn, also known as the physician self-referral law, generally prohibits a physician from referring Medicare and Medicaid patients to an entity (including hospitals) providing ‘‘designated health services,’’ if the physician or a member of the physician’s immediate family has a ‘‘financial relationship’’ with the entity, unless a specific exception applies. Designated health services include, among other services, inpatient hospital services, outpatient prescription drug services, clinical laboratory services, certain imaging services (e.g., MRI, CT, ultrasound), and other services that our affiliated physicians may order for their patients. The prohibition applies regardless of the reasons for the financial relationship and the referral; and therefore, unlike the federal Anti-Kickback Statute, intent to violate the law is not required. Like the Anti-Kickback Statute, the Stark Law contains statutory and regulatory exceptions intended to protect certain types of transactions and arrangements. Unlike safe harbors under the Anti-Kickback Statute with which compliance is voluntary, an arrangement must comply with every requirement of a Stark Law exception or the arrangement is in violation of the Stark Law.

Because the Stark Law and implementing regulations continue to evolve and are detailed and complex, while we attempt to structure its relationships to meet an exception to the Stark Law, there can be no assurance that the arrangements entered into by us with affiliated physicians and facilities will be found to be in compliance with the Stark Law, as it ultimately may be implemented or interpreted. The penalties for violating the Stark Law can include the denial of payment for services ordered in violation of the statute, mandatory refunds of any sums paid for such services, and civil penalties of up to $15,000 for each violation, double damages, and possible exclusion from future participation in the governmental healthcare programs. A person who engages in a scheme to circumvent the Stark Law’s prohibitions may be fined up to $100,000 for each applicable arrangement or scheme.

Some states have enacted statutes and regulations against self-referral arrangements similar to the federal Stark Law, but which may be applicable to the referral of patients regardless of their payor source and which may apply to different types of services. These state laws may contain statutory and regulatory exceptions that are different from those of the federal law and that may vary from state to state. An adverse determination under these state laws and/or the federal Stark Law could subject us to different liabilities, including criminal penalties, civil monetary penalties and exclusion from participation in Medicare, Medicaid or other health care programs, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

We must comply with Health Information Privacy and Security Standards

The privacy regulations Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”), as amended, contain detailed requirements concerning the use and disclosure of individually identifiable patient health information (“PHI”) by various healthcare providers, such as medical groups. HIPAA covered entities must implement certain administrative, physical, and technical security standards to protect the integrity, confidentiality and availability of certain electronic health information received, maintained, or transmitted. HIPAA also implemented standard transaction code sets and standard identifiers that covered entities must use when submitting or receiving certain electronic healthcare transactions, including billing and claim collection activities. Violations of the HIPAA privacy and security rules may result in civil and criminal penalties, including a tiered system of civil money penalties that range from $100 to $50,000 per violation, with a cap of $1.5 million per year for identical violations. A HIPAA covered entity must also promptly notify affected individuals where a breach affects more than 500 individuals and report breaches affecting fewer than 500 individuals annually. State attorneys general may bring civil actions on behalf of state residents for violations of the HIPAA privacy and security rules, obtain damages on behalf of state residents, and enjoin further violations.

Many states also have laws that protect the privacy and security of confidential, personal information, which may be similar to or even more stringent than HIPAA. Some of these state laws may impose fines and penalties on violators and may afford private rights of action to individuals who believe their personal information has been misused. We expect increased federal and state privacy and security enforcement efforts.

A cyber security incident could cause a violation of HIPAA, breach of customer and patient privacy, or other negative impacts.

We rely extensively on contract research organizations, independent clinical investigatorsour information technology (or IT) systems to manage scheduling and financial data, communicate with customers and their patients, vendors, and other third party service providersparties, and summarize and analyze operating results. In addition, we have made significant investments in technology, including the engagement of a third-party IT provider. A cyber-attack that bypasses our IT security systems could cause an IT security breach, a loss of protected health information, or other data subject to assist us with clinical testingprivacy laws, a loss of proprietary business information, or a material disruption of our IT business systems. This in turn could have a material adverse impact on our business and certainresult of operations. In addition, our future results of operations, as well as our reputation, could be adversely impacted by theft, destruction, loss, or misappropriation of public health information, other confidential data, or proprietary business information.

Computer malware, viruses, and hacking and phishing attacks by third parties have become more prevalent in our industry, have occurred on our systems in the past, and may occur on our systems in the future. Because techniques used to obtain unauthorized access to or sabotage systems change frequently and generally are not recognized until successfully launched against a target, we may be unable to anticipate these techniques or to implement adequate preventative measures. As cyber-security threats develop and grow, it may be necessary to make significant further investments to protect data and infrastructure. If an actual or perceived breach of our security occurs, (i) we could suffer severe reputational damage adversely affecting customer or investor confidence, (ii) the market perception of the effectiveness of our security measures could be harmed, (iii) we could lose potential sales and existing customers, our ability to deliver our services or operate our business may be impaired, (iv) we may be subject to litigation or regulatory investigations or orders, and (v) we may incur significant liabilities. Our insurance coverage may not be adequate to cover the potentially significant losses that may result from security breaches. We are currently reviewing our needs for cybersecurity policy as we continue our research and development activities. Our success is dependent uponon L-CYTE-01 and medical services for COPD patients.

We must comply with Environmental and Occupational Safety and Health Administration Regulations

We are subject to federal, state and local regulations governing the successstorage, use and disposal of these outside parties in performing their responsibilities.waste materials and products. Although we believe that our contractors are economically motivated to perform on their contractual obligations,safety procedures for storing, handling and disposing of these materials and products comply with the standards prescribed by law and regulation, we cannot directly controleliminate the adequacyrisk of accidental contamination or injury from those hazardous materials. In the event of an accident, we could be held liable for any damages that result and timeliness ofany liability could exceed the resources and expertise applied to these activities by our contractors. If our contractors do not perform their activities in an adequatelimits or timely manner,fall outside the development and commercializationcoverage of our products could be delayed.

Risks associated with the variable interest entity (the “VIE”) structure.

Upon consummation of the RMS Transaction, the consolidated results for H-CYTE included the financial activities of LI Dallas, LI Nashville, LI Pittsburgh, and LI Scottsdale, all of which maintain a group of variable interest entity agreements with H-CYTE and/or its wholly-owned subsidiaries. LI Dallas, LI Nashville, LI Pittsburgh and LI Scottsdale are collectively referred to as variable interest entities or VIEs.

We believe that the VIE contractual arrangements with VIEs and their respective shareholders are in compliance with the U.S. federal and state laws and regulations and are legally enforceable. However, uncertainties in the legal system could limit our ability to enforce the VIE contractual arrangements. If the legal structure and contractual arrangements were found to be in violation of the federal or state laws and regulations, the related regulatory agencies could:

● revoke the business and operating licenses of any or all of the VIEs;

● discontinue or restrict the operations of any related-party transactions between any of the VIEs and H-CYTE or its affiliates;

● impose fines or other requirements which may adversely affect the operations of the VIEs; or

● require the Company and any or all of its VIEs to restructure the relevant ownership structure or operations.

Our ability to conduct our business through the VIE structure may be negatively affected if the federal or state government were to carry out of any of the aforementioned actions. In such event, H-CYTE may not be able to consolidate any or all of the VIEs in its consolidated financial statements as it may lose the ability to exert effective control over any or all of the VIEs and their respective shareholders and it may lose the ability to receive economic benefits from its VIE structure.

We must comply with a range of other Federal and State Healthcare Laws.

We are also subject to other federal and state healthcare laws that could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations. The Health Care Fraud Statute prohibits any person from knowingly and willfully executing, or attempting to execute, a scheme to defraud any healthcare benefit program, which can be either a government or private payor plan. Violation of this statute, even in the absence of actual knowledge of or specific intent to violate the statute, may be charged as a felony offense and may result in fines, imprisonment, or both. The Health Care False Statement Statute prohibits, in any matter involving a federal health care program, anyone from knowingly and willfully falsifying, concealing or covering up, by any trick, scheme or device, a material fact, or making any materially false, fictitious or fraudulent statement or representation, or making or using any materially false writing or document knowing that it contains a materially false or fraudulent statement. A violation of this statute may be charged as a felony offense and may result in fines, imprisonment or both. Under the Civil Monetary Penalties Law of the Social Security Act, a person (including an organization) is prohibited from knowingly presenting or causing to be presented to any United States officer, employee, agent, or department, or any state agency, a claim for payment for medical or other items or services where the person knows or should know (a) the items or services were not provided as described in the coding of the claim, (b) the claim is a false or fraudulent claim, (c) the claim is for a service furnished by an unlicensed physician, (d) the claim is for medical or other items or service furnished by a person or an entity that is in a period of exclusion from the program, or (e) the items or services are medically unnecessary items or services. Violations of the law may result in penalties of up to $10,000 per claim, treble damages, and exclusion from federal healthcare programs.

In addition, the office of inspector general (“OIG”) may impose civil monetary penalties against any physician who knowingly accepts payment from a hospital (as well as against the hospital making the payment) as an inducement to reduce or limit medically necessary services provided to Medicare or Medicaid program beneficiaries. Further, except as permitted under the Civil Monetary Penalties Law, a person who offers or transfers to a Medicare or Medicaid beneficiary any remuneration that the person knows or should know is likely to influence the beneficiary’s selection of a particular provider of Medicare or Medicaid payable items or services may be liable for civil money penalties of up to $10,000 for each wrongful act.

In addition to the state laws previously described, we may also be subject to other state fraud and abuse statutes and regulations if we expand our operations nationally. Many states have adopted a form of anti-kickback law, self-referral prohibition, and false claims and insurance fraud prohibition. The scope of these laws and the interpretations of them vary from state to state and are enforced by state courts and regulatory authorities, each with broad discretion. Generally, state laws reach to all healthcare services and not just those covered under a governmental healthcare program. A determination of liability under any of these laws could result in fines and penalties and restrictions on our ability to operate in these states. We cannot assure that our arrangements or business practices will not be subject to government scrutiny or be found to violate applicable fraud and abuse laws.

Changes in healthcare laws could create an uncertain environment and materially impact us.

We cannot predict the effect that the ACA (also known as Obamacare) and its implementation, amendment, or repeal and replacement, may have on our business, results of operations or financial condition. Any changes in healthcare laws or regulations that reduce, curtail or eliminate payments, government-subsidized programs, government-sponsored programs, and/or the expansion of Medicare or Medicaid, among other actions, could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. For example, the ACA dramatically changed how healthcare services are covered, delivered, and reimbursed. The ACA requires insurers to accept all applicants, regardless of pre-existing conditions, cover an extensive list of conditions and treatments, and charge the same rates, regardless of pre-existing condition or gender.

The ACA and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (collectively, the “Health Care Reform Acts”) also mandated changes specific to home health and hospice benefits under Medicare. In 2012, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the ACA, including the “individual mandate” provisions of the ACA that generally require all individuals to obtain healthcare insurance or pay a penalty. However, the U.S. Supreme Court also held that the provision of the ACA that authorized the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to penalize states that choose not to participate in the expansion of the Medicaid program by removing all of its existing Medicaid funding was unconstitutional. In response to the ruling, a number of state governors opposed its state’s participation in the expanded Medicaid program, which resulted in the ACA not providing coverage to some low-income persons in those states. In addition, several bills have been, and are continuing to be, introduced in U.S. Congress to amend all or significant provisions of the ACA, or repeal and replace the ACA with another law. In December 2017, the individual mandate was repealed via the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. Afterwards, legal and political challenges as to the constitutionality of the remaining provisions of the ACA resumed.

Our operations are subject to the nation’s healthcare laws, as amended, repealed, or replaced from time to time.

The net effect of the ACA on our business is subject to numerous variables, including the law’s complexity, lack of complete implementing regulations and interpretive guidance, gradual and potentially delayed implementation or possible amendment, as well as the uncertainty as to the extent to which states will choose to participate in the expanded Medicaid program. The continued implementation of provisions of the ACA, the adoption of new regulations thereunder and ongoing challenges thereto, also added uncertainty about the current state of U.S. healthcare laws and could negatively impact our business, results of operations and financial condition. Healthcare providers could be subject to federal and state investigations and payor audits.

Due to our and our affiliates’ participation in government and private healthcare programs, we are from time to time involved in inquiries, reviews, audits, and investigations by governmental agencies and private payors of our business practices, including assessments of our compliance with coding, billing and documentation requirements. Federal and state government agencies have active civil and criminal enforcement efforts against healthcare companies, and their executives and managers. The Deficit Reduction Act, which provides a financial incentive to states to enact their own false claims acts, and similar laws encourage investigations against healthcare companies by different agencies. These investigations could also be initiated by private whistleblowers.

Responding to audit and investigative activities are costly and disruptive to our business operations, even when the allegations are without merit. If we are subject to an audit or investigation, a finding could be made that we or our affiliates erroneously billed or were incorrectly reimbursed, and we may be required to repay such agencies or payors, may be subjected to pre-payment reviews, which can be time-consuming and result in non-payment or delayed payments for the services we or our affiliates provide, and may be subject to financial sanctions or required to modify our operations.

Product pricing may be subject to regulatory control.

The pricing and profitability of the products we sell may be subject to control by third-party payors. As of the date of this prospectus, we do not receive reimbursements from insurance companies for our therapeutic products but we may in the future. In that case, the continuing efforts of governmental and other third-party payors to contain or reduce the cost of healthcare through various means may adversely affect our ability to successfully commercialize our products. We anticipate that there will continue to be federal and state proposals to implement similar governmental control, although it is unclear which proposals will ultimately become law, if any. Direct or indirect changes in prices, including any mandated pricing, could impact our revenues, profitability, and financial performance in the future if and when we receive reimbursements from third party payors.

Our revenues may depend on our customers’ receipt of adequate reimbursement from private insurers and government sponsored healthcare programs.

Political, economic, and regulatory influences continue to change the healthcare industry in the United States. If and when we start receiving reimbursements from third parties, the ability of hospitals to pay fees for our products will partially depend on the extent to which reimbursement for the costs of such materials and related treatments will continue to be available from private health coverage insurers and other similar organizations. We may have difficulty gaining market acceptance for the products we sell if third-party payors do not provide adequate coverage and reimbursement to hospitals.

Major third-party payors of hospitals, such as private healthcare insurers, periodically revise their payment methodologies based, in part, upon changes in government sponsored healthcare programs. We cannot predict these periodic revisions with certainty, and such revisions may result in stricter standards for reimbursement of hospital charges for certain specified products, potentially adversely impacting our business, results of operations, and financial conditions when we start receiving reimbursement from third party payors.

When we start receiving reimbursement from third party payors, the sales of our therapies will depend in part on the availability of reimbursement by third-party payors, such as government health administration authorities, private health insurers and other organizations. Third-party payors often challenge the price and cost-effectiveness of medical treatments and services. Governmental approval of health care products does not guarantee that these third-party payers will pay for the products. Even if third-party payers do accept our therapeutic treatments, the amounts they pay may not be adequate to enable us to realize a profit. Legislation and regulations affecting the pricing of therapies may change before our products and services are approved for marketing, and any such changes could further limit reimbursement, if any.

Future regulatory action remains uncertain.

We operate in a highly regulated and evolving environment with rigorous regulatory enforcement. Any legal or regulatory action could be time-consuming and costly. If we or the manufacturers or distributors that supply our products fail to comply with all applicable laws, standards, and regulations, action by the FDA or other regulatory agencies could result in significant restrictions, including restrictions on the marketing or use of the products we sell or the withdrawal of the products we sell from the market. Any such restrictions or withdrawals could materially affect our reputation, business and operations.

Our product candidates will remain subject to ongoing regulatory review even after they receive marketing approval, and if we fail to comply with continuing regulations, we could lose these approvals and the sale of any of our approved commercial products could be suspended.

Even as we receive regulatory approval to market a particular product candidate, such as L-CYTE-01 therapy, the manufacturing, labeling, packaging, adverse event reporting, storage, advertising, promotion, and record keeping related to the product will remain subject to extensive regulatory requirements. If we fail to comply with the regulatory requirements of the FDA and other applicable domestic and foreign regulatory authorities or discover any previously unknown problems with any approved product, manufacturer, or manufacturing process, we could be subject to administrative or judicially imposed sanctions, including:

If physicians and patients do not accept our current and future products or if the market for indications for which any product candidate is approved is smaller than expected, we may be unable to generate significant revenue, if any.

Even when any of our product development.candidates obtain regulatory approval, they may not gain market acceptance among physicians, patients, and third-party payers. Physicians may decide not to recommend our treatments for a variety of reasons including:

If any of our product candidates are approved, but fail to achieve market acceptance or such market is smaller than anticipated, we may not be able to generate significant revenue and our business would suffer.

Intellectual property litigation and infringement claims could cause us to incur significant expenses or prevent us from selling certain of our products.

The medical device and pharmaceutical industries are characterized by extensive intellectual property litigation and, from time to time, we may become the subject of claims of infringement or misappropriation. Regardless of outcome, such claims are expensive to defend and divert management and operating personnel from other business issues. A successful claim or claims of patent or other intellectual property infringement against us could result in payment of significant monetary damages and/or royalty payments or negatively impact our ability to sell current or future products in the affected category.

We depend extensively on our patents and proprietary technology and the patents and proprietary technology we license from others, and we must protect those assets in order to preserve our business.

Although we expect to seek patent protection for any compounds, devices, biologics, systems, and processes we discover and/or for any specific use we discover for new or previously known compounds, devices, biologics, systems, or processes, any or all of which may not be subject to effective patent protection. In addition, our issued patents may be declared invalid or our competitors may find ways to avoid the claims in the patents.

Our success will depend, in part, on our ability to obtain patents, protect our trade secrets and proprietary knowledge and operate without infringing on the proprietary rights of others. We are the exclusive licensee, sole assignee or co-assignee of numerous granted United States patents, pending United States patent applications and international patents. The patent position of pharmaceutical and biotechnology firms like us are generally highly uncertain and involves complex legal and factual questions, resulting in both an apparent inconsistency regarding the breadth of claims allowed in United States patents and general uncertainty as to their legal interpretation and enforceability. Accordingly, patent applications assigned or exclusively licensed to us may not result in patents being issued, any issued patents assigned or exclusively licensed to us may not provide us with competitive protection or may be challenged by others, and the current or future granted patents of others may have an adverse effect on our ability to do business and achieve profitability.

Moreover, because some of the basic research relating to one or more of our patent applications and/or patents were performed at various universities and/or funded by grants, one or more universities, employees of such universities and/or grantors could assert that they have certain rights in such research and any resulting products. Further, others may independently develop similar products, may duplicate our products, or may design around our patent rights. In addition, as a result of the assertion of rights by a third-party or otherwise, we may be required to obtain licenses to patents or other proprietary rights of others in or outside of the United States. Any licenses required under any such patents or proprietary rights may not be made available on terms acceptable to us, if at all. If we do not obtain such licenses, we could encounter delays in product market introductions during our attempts to design around such patents or could find that the development, manufacture or sale of products requiring such licenses is foreclosed. In addition, we could incur substantial costs in defending suits brought against us or in connection with patents to which we hold licenses or in bringing suit to protect our own patents against infringement.

We depend on license agreements with third-parties for certain intellectual property rights relating to our products and product candidates. In general, our license agreements require us to make payments and satisfy performance obligations in order to keep these agreements in effect and retain our rights under them. These payment obligations can include upfront fees, maintenance fees, milestones, royalties, patent prosecution expenses, and other fees. These performance obligations typically include diligence obligations. If we fail to pay, be diligent or otherwise perform as required under our license agreements, we could lose the rights under the patents and other intellectual property rights covered by these agreements. If disputes arise under any of our in-licenses, we could lose our rights under these agreements. Any such dispute may not be resolvable on favorable terms, or at all. Whether or not any disputes of this kind are favorably resolved, our management’s time and attention and our other resources could be consumed by the need to attend to these disputes and our business could be harmed by the emergence of such a dispute.

If we lose our rights under these agreements, we might not be able to develop any related product candidates further, or following regulatory approval, if any, we might be prohibited from marketing or commercializing these product candidates. In particular, patents previously licensed to us might, after termination of an agreement, be used to stop us from conducting these activities.

Due to legal and factual uncertainties regarding the scope and protection afforded by patents and other proprietary rights, we may not have meaningful protection from competition.

Our long-term success will substantially depend upon our ability to protect our proprietary technologies from infringement, misappropriation, discovery and duplication, and avoid infringing the proprietary rights of others. Our patent rights and the patent rights of biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies in general, are highly uncertain and include complex legal and factual issues. Because of this, our pending patent applications may not be granted. These uncertainties also mean that any patents that we own or will obtain in the future could be subject to challenge, and even if not challenged, may not provide us with meaningful protection from competition. Due to our financial uncertainties, we may not possess the financial resources necessary to enforce our patents. Patents already issued to us or our pending applications may become subject to dispute, and any dispute could be resolved against us. Because a substantial number of patents have been issued in the field of cellular therapy and because patent positions can be highly uncertain and frequently involve complex legal and factual questions, the breadth of claims obtained in any application or the enforceability of our patents cannot be predicted. Consequently, we do not know whether any of our pending or future patent applications will result in the issuance of patents or, to the extent patents have been issued or will be issued, whether these patents will be subject to further proceedings limiting their scope, will provide significant proprietary protection or competitive advantage, or will be circumvented or invalidated. Several of our currently issued patents have expired or will expire in the next twelve months.

Also, because of these legal and factual uncertainties, and because pending patent applications are held in secrecy for varying periods in the United States and other countries, even after reasonable investigation, we may not know with certainty whether any products that we (or a licensee) may develop will infringe upon any patent or other intellectual property right of a third party. For example, we are aware of certain patents owned by third parties that such parties could attempt to use in the future in efforts to affect our freedom to practice some of the patents that we own or have applied for. Based upon the science and scope of these third-party patents, we believe that the patents that we own or have applied for do not infringe any such third-party patents; however, we cannot know for certain whether we could successfully defend our position, if challenged. We may incur substantial costs if we are required to defend our intellectual property in patent suits brought by third parties. These legal actions could seek damages and seek to enjoin testing, manufacturing and marketing of the accused product or process. In addition to potential liability for significant damages, we could be required to obtain a license to continue to manufacture or market the accused product or process.

We may not be able to compete with treatments now being marketed and developed, or which may be developed and marketed in the future by other companies.

Our products will compete with existing and new therapies and treatments for COPD. We are aware of a number of companies currently seeking to develop alternative therapies or treatment for COPD and other related chronic lung diseases at least in part. Numerous pharmaceutical, biotechnology and drug delivery companies, hospitals, research organizations, individual scientists, and nonprofit organizations are engaged in the development of alternatives to our technologies. Some of these companies have greater research and development capabilities, experience, manufacturing, marketing, financial, and managerial resources than we do. Collaborations or mergers between large pharmaceutical or biotechnology companies with competing treatment technologies could enhance our competitors’ financial, marketing, and other resources. Developments by other drug companies could make our products or technologies uncompetitive or obsolete. Accordingly, our competitors may succeed in developing competing technologies, obtaining FDA approval for products or gaining market acceptance more rapidly than we can.

Due in part to our limited financial resources, we may fail to select or capitalize on the most scientifically, clinically or commercially promising or profitable indications or therapeutic areas for our product candidates or those that are in-licensed, and/or we may be unable to pursue the clinical trials that we would like to pursue.

We have limited technical, managerial, and financial resources to determine the indications on which we should focus the development efforts related to our product candidates. Due to our limited available financial resources, we may have curtailed clinical development programs and activities that might otherwise have led to more rapid progress of our product candidates through the regulatory and development processes.

We may make incorrect determinations with regard to the indications and clinical trials on which to focus the available resources that we do have. Furthermore, we cannot assure you that we will be able to retain adequate staffing levels to run our operations and/or to accomplish all of the objectives that we otherwise would seek to accomplish. Our decisions to allocate our research, management, and financial resources toward particular indications or therapeutic areas for our product candidates may not lead to the development of viable commercial products and may divert resources from better opportunities. Similarly, our decisions to delay or terminate drug development programs may also cause us to miss valuable opportunities.

If the third parties on which we rely for the conduct of our clinical trials and results do not perform our clinical trial activities in accordance with good clinical practices and related regulatory requirements, we may be unable to obtain regulatory approval for or commercialize our product candidates.

We use independent clinical investigators and other third-party service providers to conduct and/or oversee the clinical trials of our product candidates, and expect to continue to do so for the foreseeable future. As of the date of this prospectus, we rely heavily on Rion for its successful execution of our research on L-CYTE-01 in preparation for the IND application to the FDA for the phase I study of L-CYTE-01. Nonetheless, we are responsible for confirming that each of our preclinical studies and clinical trials is conducted in accordance with the FDA’s requirements and our general investigational plan and protocol.

The FDA requires us and our clinical investigators to comply with regulations and standards, commonly referred to as good clinical practices, for conducting, recording, and reporting the results of clinical trials to assure that data and reported results are credible and accurate, and that the trial participants are adequately protected. Our reliance on third parties that we do not control does not relieve us of these responsibilities and requirements. Third parties may not complete activities on schedule or may not conduct our clinical trials in accordance with regulatory requirements or the respective trial plans and protocols. The failure of these third parties to carry out their obligations could delay or prevent the development, approval, and commercialization of our product candidates or result in enforcement action against us.

Risks Related to Manufacturing & Distribution

We have limited manufacturing capacity and have relied on, and expect to continue to rely on, third-party contract manufacturers to produce our products and clinical development candidates.

We do not currently own or operate any manufacturing facilities for the production of clinical or commercial quantities of our products and candidates, and we currently lack sufficient internal staffthe resources and the capabilities to produce clinical and preclinical product supplies ourselves.build our own manufacturing facilities. As a result, we are working with acurrently rely, and expect to rely for the foreseeable future, on third-party contract manufacturermanufacturers to produce sufficient quantities ofsupply our products for futureand clinical trials, preclinical testing and commercialization.

If we do not maintain our key manufacturing relationships, we may fail to find replacement manufacturers or develop our own manufacturing capabilities, which could delay or impair our ability to obtain regulatory approval for our products and substantially increases our costs or deplete profit margins, if any. If we do find replacement manufacturers, we may not be able to enter into agreements with them on terms and conditions favorable to us, and there could be a substantial delay before new facilities could be qualified and registered with the third partyFDA and other foreign regulatory authorities.

The FDA and other foreign regulatory authorities require manufacturers to register manufacturing facilities. The FDA and corresponding foreign regulators also inspect these facilities to confirm compliance with current FDA Good Manufacturing Procedures (“cGMP”). Contract manufacturers may face manufacturing or quality control problems, leading to drug substance production and shipment delays or a situation where the contractor may not be able to maintain compliance with the applicable cGMP requirements. Any failure to comply with cGMP requirements or other FDA, EMA, and comparable foreign regulatory requirements could adversely affect our clinical research activities and our ability to develop our product candidates and market our products following approval.

Our current and anticipated future dependence upon others for the manufacture of our product candidates may adversely affect our future profit margins and our ability to develop our product candidates and commercialize any products that receive regulatory compliance and quality assurance, the possibilityapproval on a timely basis.

Interruption of breach of the manufacturing agreement by the third party because of factors beyondoperations could adversely affect our control (includingbusiness.

Our suppliers have manufacturing facilities for certain product lines that may be concentrated in one (1) or more plants. Damage to these facilities or issues in our manufacturing arising from a failure to manufacture our products in accordance with our product specifications)follow specific internal protocols and procedures, compliance concerns relating to quality systems regulations, equipment breakdown or malfunction, among other factors, could adversely affect the possibility of termination or nonrenewal of the agreement by the third party, based on its own business priorities, at a time that is costly or damaging to us. We will be dependent on the ability of these third-party manufacturers to produce adequate supplies of medical products to support our clinical development programs and future commercializationavailability of our products. In addition, the FDA and other regulatory authorities require that ourevent of an interruption in manufacturing of certain products, we may be manufactured accordingunable to cGMP and similar foreign standards. Any failure by our third-party manufacturerquickly shift to comply with cGMP or failure to scale up manufacturing processes, including any failure to deliver sufficient quantities of products in a timely manner, could lead to a delay in, or failure to obtain, regulatory approval of any of our products. In addition, such failure could be the basis for action by the FDA to withdraw approvals for products previously granted to us and for other regulatory action, including recall or seizure, fines, imposition of operating restrictions, total or partial suspensionalternate means of production to meet customer demand. In the event of a significant interruption, we may experience lengthy delays in resuming production of affected products due to the need for regulatory approvals. We may experience loss of market share, additional expense, or injunctions.

Additionally, we contract with a limited number of suppliers for certain capital equipment andthe raw materials that we use to manufacture ourproduce certain products. Such suppliers mayWhile we have not sell theseexperienced a shortage of raw materials in the past and believe that it is unlikely that there will be one in the future, if there were a shortage of raw materials, it could either increase the cost of production or prevent us from being able to our manufacturer at the times we need them or on commercially reasonable terms. We do not have any control over the process or timing of the acquisition of these materials by our third party manufacturer. If our manufacturer or we are unable to purchase these materials after regulatory approval has been obtained for our products, the commercial launchproduce some of our products, wouldwhich could adversely affect future results of our operations and financial condition.

We may be delayedadversely affected by product liability claims, unfavorable court decisions or legal settlements.

We are exposed to potential product liability risks inherent in the design, manufacturing, and marketing of pharmaceuticals and medical devices, many of which are administered to or implanted in the human body for long periods of time or indefinitely. These matters are subject to many uncertainties and outcomes are not predictable. In addition, we may incur significant legal expenses regardless of whether we are found to be liable.

While we maintain product liability insurance, there wouldcan be a shortageno assurance that such coverage is sufficient to cover all product liabilities that we may incur. We are not currently subject to any product liability proceedings, and we have no reserves for product liability disbursements. However, we may incur material liabilities relating to product liability claims in supply, which would impair our ability to generate revenues from the salefuture, including product liability claims arising out of the usage and delivery of our products.

Because we may not be able to manufacture our products at a costobtain or in quantities or in a timely mannermaintain the necessary to develop and commercialize them. If we successfully commercialize the DenerVex or any ofregulatory approvals for our products, we may benot generate revenues in the amounts we expect, or in the amounts necessary to continue our business. Our existing products as well as our manufacturing facility must meet quality standards and are subject to inspection by a number of domestic regulatory and other governmental and non-governmental agencies.

Our primary product L-CYTE-01 is subject to regulation in the U.S. by the FDA and/or other domestic and international governmental, public health agencies, regulatory bodies or non-governmental organizations. In particular, we are subject to strict governmental controls on the development, manufacturing, labeling, distribution, and marketing of our products. The process of obtaining required approvals or clearances varies according to the nature of, and uses for, a specific product. These processes can involve lengthy and detailed laboratory testing, human or animal clinical trials, sampling activities, and other costly, time-consuming procedures. The submission of an application to a regulatory authority does not guarantee that the authority will grant an approval or clearance for that product. Each authority may impose its own requirements and can delay or refuse to grant approval or clearance, even though a product has been approved in another country.

The time required to establishobtain approval or access large-scale commercial manufacturing capabilities. In addition, asclearance varies depending on the nature of the application and may result in the passage of a significant period of time from the date of submission of the application. Delays in the approval or clearance processes increase the risk that we will not succeed in introducing or selling the subject products, and we may determine to devote our development pipeline increasesresources to different products.

Changes in government regulations could increase our costs and matures,could require us to undergo additional trials or procedures, or could make it impractical or impossible for us to market our products for certain uses, in certain markets, or at all.

Changes in government regulations may adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations because we may have a greater need for clinical trialto incur additional expenses if we are required to change or implement new testing, manufacturing and commercial manufacturing capacity. To meetcontrol procedures. If we are required to devote resources to develop such new procedures, we may not have sufficient resources to devote to research and development, marketing, or other activities that are critical to our projected needs for commercial manufacturing the third party with whom we currently work will need to increase its scale of production or we will need to secure an alternate supplier.business.