As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 14, 2021April 24, 2023

Registration No. 333-255112 333-[●]

 

 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

PRE-EFFECTIVE AMENDMENT NO. 1 TO

FORM S-1

REGISTRATION STATEMENT

UNDER

THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

ABVC BIOPHARMA, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Nevada508426-0014658
(State or other jurisdiction of

incorporation or organization)
(Primary Standard Industrial

Classification Code Number)

(I.R.S. Employer

Identification Number)

44370 Old Warm Springs Blvd.,

Fremont, CA 94538

(510) 668-0881

(Address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of registrant’s principal executive offices)

Dr. Howard Doong

Chief Executive Officer

44370 Old Warm Springs Blvd.,

Fremont, CA 94538

(510)-668-0881- 668-0881- telephone

(Name, address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of agent for service)

With copies to:

Louis Taubman, Esq.

Ross D. Carmel, Esq.

Joan Wu, Esq.

Jeffrey P. Wofford, Esq.

Hunter Taubman Fischer & Li LLCCarmel, Milazzo & Feil
800950 Third Avenue, Suite 280055 West 39th Street, 18th19th Floor
New York, New York 10022New York, New York 10018‌10022
(917) 512-0827- telephoneTelephone: (212) 658-0458
Louis Taubman, Esq.

Approximate date of commencement of proposed sale of the securities to the public: As soon as practicable after this registration statement is declared effective.

If any of the securities being registered on this Form are to be offered on a delayed or continuous basis pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act of 1933, check the following box. ☒

If this Form is filed to register additional securities for an offering pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, please check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. ☐

If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(c) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. ☐

If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(d) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. ☐

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

Large accelerated filerAccelerated filer
Non-accelerated filerSmaller 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 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act. ☐

CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE

Title of Each Class of Securities to be Registered Proposed
Maximum
Aggregate
Offering Price
(1)(2)(3)
   Amount of
Registration
Fee
 
Units (4) $7,187,500.00  $784.16 
Common Stock included in the Units, par value $0.001 per share (5)  —     —   
Warrants to purchase common stock (5)  —     —   
Common Stock issuable upon exercise of the Series A Warrants, which are included in the Units $8,625,000.00  $940.99 
Common Stock issuable upon exercise of the Series B Warrants, which are included in the Units $11,500,000.00  $1,254.65 
Representative’s Warrants (6)  —     —   
Common Stock underlying Representative’s Warrants (6) $575,000.00  $62.73 
Total $  27,887,500.00  $  3,042.53(7)

(1)Estimated solely for the purpose of calculating the registration fee pursuant to Rule 457(o) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, based on an estimate of the proposed maximum aggregate offering price.
(2)In addition, pursuant to Rule 416 under the Securities Act of 1933, this Registration Statement includes an indeterminate number of additional shares as may be issuable as a result of stock splits or stock dividends which occur during this continuous offering.
(3)Includes the price of additional shares of common stock and warrants to purchase common stock that the underwriters have the option to purchase to cover over-allotments, if any, within 45 days after the date of this prospectus.
(4)Each Unit includes (i) one share of common stock, (ii) one Series A Warrant and (iii) one Series B Warrant.
(5)Included in the price of the units. No separate registration fee is required pursuant to Rule 457(g) under the Securities Act.
(6)Estimated solely for the purposes of calculating the registration fee pursuant to Rule 457(g) under the Securities Act. We have calculated the proposed maximum aggregate offering price of the common stock underlying the underwriter’s warrants by assuming that such warrants are exercisable at a price per share equal to 100%  of the public offering price of the common stock in the Units sold in this offering, and that the number of shares of common stock underlying the underwriter’s warrants equal to eight percent (8%) of the number of the common stock in the Units offered in this offering.
(7)The registrant previously paid a registration fee of $2,579.56 in relation to its filing of its initial Registration Statement on Form S-1 (No. 333-255112) on April 8, 2021.

The Registrant hereby amends this registration statement on such date or dates as may be necessary to delay its effective date until the Registrant shall file a further amendment that specifically states that this registration statement shall thereafter become effective in accordance with Section 8(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or until the registration statement shall become effective on such date as the Securities and Exchange Commission, acting pursuant to said Section 8(a), may determine.

 

 

 

 

The information in this preliminary prospectus is not complete and may be changed. WeNeither we nor the Selling Stockholders may not sell or accept an offer to buy these securities until the registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission is effective. This preliminary prospectus is not an offer to sell these securities and we areis not soliciting anyan offer to buy these securities in any jurisdiction where suchthe offer or sale is not permitted.

 

SUBJECT TO COMPLETION, DATED [●], 2021APRIL 24, 2023

 

PRELIMINARY PROSPECTUS

 

 

1,000,000 Units

Shares and Warrants

This is a firm commitment underwritten public offeringprospectus relates to the resale, from time to time, by the selling stockholders identified in this prospectus under the caption “Selling Stockholders,” of up to $3,175,000 shares of Common Stock of ABVC Biopharma,BioPharma, Inc., a Nevada corporation (the “Company”), $0.001 par value (the “Common Stock”), issuable upon conversion of 1,000,000 unitsa secured, convertible note (the “Units”“Note”), based on the public offering at an initial conversion price of $6.25 per Unit

Each Unit consists of (a) one share of common stock, (b) one Series A warrant (the “Series A Warrants”) to purchase one share of common stock at an exercise price equal to $7.50$1.05 per share, exercisable until the fifth anniversary of the issuance date, and (c) one Series B warrant (the “Series B Warrants,” and together with the Series A Warrants, the “Purchase Warrants”)up to purchase one share of common stock at an exercise price equal to $10.00 per share, exercisable until the fifth anniversary of the issuance date and subject to certain adjustment and cashless exercise provisions as described herein. The5,291,667 shares of Common Stock and Purchase Warrants comprising the Units are immediately separable and will be issued separately in this offering. The public offering price will be determined by us and WallachBeth Capital, LLC (“WallachBeth”underlying a common stock purchase warrant (the “Warrant”), as representatives of the underwriters, taking into consideration several factors as described in “Underwriting – Determination of Offering Price”, and will not be based upon the at an initial exercise price of $1.05 per share, and up to 211,667 shares of Common Stock underlying a placement agent common stock purchase warrant (the “PA Warrant”) at an initial exercise price of $1.05 per share.

For the details about the selling stockholder, please see “Selling Stockholders.” The selling stockholder may sell these shares from time to time in the principal market on which our Common Stock onis traded at the OTCQB Marketplace (the “OTCQB”).prevailing market price, in negotiated transactions, or through any other means described in the section titled “Plan of Distribution.” The selling stockholder may be deemed an underwriter within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, of the shares of Common Stock that they are offering. We will pay the expenses of registering these shares. We will not receive proceeds from the sale of our shares by the selling stockholder that are covered by this prospectus.

 

The shares are being registered to permit the selling stockholder, or its respective pledgees, donees, transferees or other successors-in-interest, to sell the shares from time to time in the public market. We do not know when or in what amount the selling stockholder may offer the securities for sale. The selling stockholder may sell some, all or none of the securities offered by this prospectus.

Our common stock is quoted on the OTCQBNasdaq Capital Markets under the symbol ABVC. On May 13, 2021,April 21, 2023, the closing price of our common stock was $5.40$0.656 per share. Prior to January 14, 2016,August 3, 2021, our common stock was quoted on the OTC under the symbol “MTOO”. Prior to December 15, 2015, our common stock was quoted under the symbol “ECOC”.ABVC.

 

ThereThe Selling Stockholders may sell their shares of Common Stock described in this prospectus in a number of different ways, at prevailing market prices or privately negotiated prices and there is no established trading market for the Purchase Warrants. Quotes of stock trading prices on an over-the-counter marketplace may not be indicativetermination date of the market price on a national securities exchange. There is a limited public trading market for our Common Stock. We have applied to list our Common Stock on the Nasdaq Capital Market (“Nasdaq”) under the symbols “ABVC”. We believe that upon the completion of the offering contemplated by this prospectus, we will meet the standards for listing on the Nasdaq Capital Market or other national exchange. We cannot guarantee that we will be successful in listing our common stock on Nasdaq or other national exchange, or, if successful, that an active trading market for our Common Stock will develop or be sustained. If we are unable to list our Common Stock on Nasdaq or other national exchange, the Company will not consummate thisSelling Stockholders’ offering.

 

The offering price of the Units was determined between the underwriters and us, considering our historical performance and capital structure, prevailing market conditions, and overall assessment of our business, and is at a discount to the current market price.

You should read this prospectus, together with additional information described under the headings “Incorporation of Certain Information by Reference” and “Where You Can Find More Information”, carefully before you invest in any of our securities.

 

Investing in our securities involves a high degree of risk. See “Risk Factors” starting on page 118 of this prospectus.

 

  Price to
Public(1)
  Total
(No Exercise
Of Over-
Allotment)
  Total
(Full Exercise
of Over-Allotment)
 
Public Offering Price Per Unit $6.25  $6,250,000  $7,187,500 
Underwriting Discounts (2) $0.50  $500,000  $575,000 
Proceeds to the Company (before other expenses) $5.75  $5,750,000  $6,612,500 

(1)Based on assumed public offering price of $6.25 per Unit.

(2)We have agreed to issue upon the closing of this offering, compensation warrants to WallachBeth Capital, LLC, as representative of the underwriters, entitling them to purchase up to 8% of the securities sold in this offering. We have also agreed to pay a non-accountable expense allowance to the underwriters of 1.5% of the gross proceeds received in this offering and to reimburse the underwriters for other out-of-pocket expenses related to the offering, but such allowance is not reflected in the table above. For a description of other terms of the compensation warrants and a description of the other compensation to be received by the underwriters, see “Underwriting.”.

We refer you to “Underwriting” beginning on page 100 of this prospectus for additional information regarding underwriting compensation.

We have granted the underwriters an option, exercisable one or more times in whole or in part, to purchase up to 150,000 additional shares of common stock at a price of $6.23 and/or Series A Warrants to purchase up to an aggregate of 150,000 shares of common stock at a price of $0.01 and Series B Warrants to purchase up to an aggregate of 150,000 common shares at a price of $0.01, in any combinations thereof, less underwriting discount and commissions, for 45 days after the date of this prospectus to cover over-allotments, if any.

Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or determined if this prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

 

The underwriters expect to deliver the Units to purchasers on or about [●], 2021, subject to customary closing conditions, including that, upon the closing of the offering, the Common Stock would qualify for listing on the Nasdaq Capital Market or other national exchange.

WallachBeth Capital, LLC

The date of this prospectus is May 14, 2021April 24, 2023

 

 

 

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

PROSPECTUS CONVENTIONSii
INDUSTRY AND MARKET DATAiiiii
PROSPECTUS SUMMARY1
THE OFFERING97
RISK FACTORS118
SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS3526
USE OF PROCEEDS3727
DIVIDEND POLICY37
CAPITALIZATION38
DILUTION39
MARKET FOR OUR COMMON STOCK, DIVIDENDS AND RELATED SHAREHOLDER INFORMATION40
MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS4128
BUSINESS6357
MANAGEMENT7872
EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION8477
SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT8881
RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS OF DIRECTORS AND EXECUTIVE OFFICERS OF THE COMBINED COMPANY8982
DESCRIPTION OF SECURITIES92
DESCRIPTION OF SECURITIES THAT WE ARE OFFERING9486
UNDERWRITINGSELLING STOCKHOLDERS10088
LEGAL MATTERSPLAN OF DISTRIBUTION10489
EXPERTSLEGAL MATTERS10491
EXPERTS91
WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION10591

 

You should rely only on the information contained in this prospectus or in any free writing prospectus that we may specifically authorize to be delivered or made available to you. We and our Underwriter have not authorized anyone to provide you with any information other than that contained in this prospectus or in any free writing prospectus we may authorize to be delivered or made available to you. We take no responsibility for, and can provide no assurance as to the reliability of, any other information that others may give you. This prospectus may only be used where it is legal to offer and sell our securities. The information in this prospectus is accurate only as of the date of this prospectus, regardless of the time of delivery of this prospectus or any sale of our securities. Our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects may have changed since that date. We are not making an offer of these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer is not permitted.

 

Unless the context otherwise requires, the terms “ABVC,” “we,” “us” and “our” in this prospectus refer to ABVC BioPharma, Inc.BIOPHARMA, INC., and “this offering” refers to the offering contemplated in this prospectus.

 

i

 

 

PROSPECTUS CONVENTIONS

 

Except where the context otherwise requires and for purposes of this prospectus only:

 

“American BriVision Corporation” refers to a Delaware corporation and wholly-owned subsidiary of ABVC;

 

“APR” or “annual percentage rate” refers to the annual rate that is charged to borrowers, including a fixed interest rate and a transaction fee rate, expressed as a single percentage number that represents the actual yearly cost of borrowing over the life of a loan;

 

“BioKey” means BioKey, Inc. refers to a California corporation and wholly-owned subsidiary of ABVC;

 

“BioLite” means BioLite Holding, Inc. refers to a Nevada corporation and a wholly-owned subsidiary of ABVC;

 

The “Board” or “Board of Directors” refers to the board of directors of the Company;

 

China”, “mainland China” and “P.R.C.” refer to the People’s Republic of China, excluding Taiwan,including Hong Kong Special Administrative Region or Macau Special Administrative Region, unless referencing specific laws and regulations adopted by the PRC and other legal or tax matters only applicable to mainland China, excluding Taiwan for purposes of this prospectus;

 

“Common Stock” is the Common Stock of ABVC Biopharma, Inc., par value US$0.001 per share;

 

“Merger Agreement” means the Agreement and Plan of Merger dated as of January 31, 2018, pursuant to which the Company, BioLite, BioKey, “BioLite Acquisition Corp.” a Nevada corporation, and BioKey Acquisition Corp.” a California corporation completed a business combination on February 8, 2019 where ABVC acquired BioLite and BioKey via the issuance of additional shares of Common Stock to the shareholdersstockholders of BioLite and BioKey;

 

“Series A Convertible Preferred Stock” is the Series A convertible preferred stock of ABVC Biopharma, Inc., par value US$0.001 per share;

 

The terms “we,” “us,” “our,” “the Company,” “our Company” or “ABVC” refers to ABVC Biopharma, Inc., a Nevada corporation, and all of the Subsidiaries as defined herein unless the context specifies;

 

“R.O.C.” or “Taiwan” refers to Taiwan, the Republic of China;

 

“Subsidiary” or “Subsidiaries,” refer to American BriVision Corporation, sometimes referred to as “BriVision”, BioLite Holding, Inc. or BioLite and BioKey, Inc. or BioKey;

 

All references to “NTD” and “New Taiwan Dollars” are to the legal currency of R.O.C.; and

 

All references to “U.S. dollars”, “dollars”, and “$” are to the legal currency of the U.S.

 

This prospectus specifies certain NTD amounts and in parenthesis the approximate U.S. dollar amounts at the exchange rate on the date of this prospectus. The conversion rates regarding NTD and U.S. dollars are subject to change and, therefore, we can provide no assurance that U.S. dollar amounts specified in this prospectus will not change.

 

For clarification, this prospectus follows English naming convention of first name followed by last name, regardless of whether an individual’s name is Chinese or English.

 

This prospectus does not discuss any affiliates of the Company that are not controlled by the Company, such as BioFirst and BioFirst Australia.

ii

 

INDUSTRY AND MARKET DATA

 

This prospectus includes information with respect to market and industry conditions and market share from third-party sources or based upon estimates using such sources when available. We have not, directly or indirectly, sponsored or participated in the publication of any of such materials. We believe that such information and estimates are reasonable and reliable. We also assume the information extracted from publications of third-party sources has been accurately reproduced. We understand that the Company would be liable for the information included in this prospectus if any part of the information was incorrect, misleading or imprecise to a material extent.

 

ii

iii

 

 

PROSPECTUS SUMMARY

 

This summary highlights information contained elsewhere in this prospectus and does not contain all of the information that you should consider in making your investment decision. Before investing in our securities, you should carefully read this entire prospectus, including our financial statements and the related notes and the information set forth under the headings “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in each case included elsewhere in this prospectus.

 

Company Overview

 

Our Mission

 

We devote our resources to building a sophisticated biotech company and becoming a pioneer in the biopharmaceutical industry. Dr. Howard Doong, our Chief Executive Officer, and Dr. Tsung-Shann Jiang, the founder and majority shareholder of the Company, understand the challenges and opportunities of the biotech industry and intend to provide therapeutic solutions to significant unmet medical needs and to improve health and quality of human life by developing innovative botanical drugs to treat central nervous system (“CNS”) and oncology/ hematology diseases.

 

Business Overview

 

The Company develops itsAs of the date hereof, the Company’s minimal revenue has come from the sale of CDMO services through BioKey. However, the Company’s focus is on developing a pipeline of products by carefully tracking new medical discoveries or medical device technologies in research institutions in the Asia-Pacific region. Pre-clinical, disease animal model and Phase I safety studies are examined closely by the Company’s scientists and other specialists known to the Company to identify drugs or medical devices that it believes demonstrate efficacy and safety based on the Company’s internal qualifications. Once a drug or medical device is shown to be a good candidate for further development and ultimately commercialization, ABVC licenses the drug or medical device from the original researchers and introduces the drug or medical device clinical trial plan to highly respected principal investigators in the United States, Australia and Taiwan. In almost all cases, ABVC has found that research institutions in each of those countries are eager to work with the Company to move forward with Phase II clinical trials.

 

Currently, institutionsInstitutions that have or are now conducting phase II clinical trials in partnership with ABVC include:

 

Drug: ABV-1504, Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), Phase II completed. NCE drug Principal Investigators: Charles DeBattista M.D. and Alan F. Schatzberg, MD, Stanford University Medical Center, Cheng-Ta Li, MD, Ph.D – Taipei Veterans General Hospital

 

Drug: ABV-1505, Adult Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Phase II Part 1 completed. NCE drug  Principal Investigators: Keith McBurnett, Ph.D. and Linda Pfiffner, Ph.D., University of California San Francisco (UCSF), School of MedicineMedicine. Phase II, Part 2 ‌‌clinical study sites includes UCSF and 5 locations in Taiwan. The Principal Investigators are Keith McBurnett, Ph.D. and Linda Pfiffner, Ph.D., University of California San Francisco (UCSF), School of Medicine; Susan Shur-Fen Gau, M.D., National Taiwan University Hospital; Xinzhang Ni, M.D. Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital; Wenjun Xhou, M.D., Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital; Ton-Ping Su, M.D., Cheng Hsin General Hospital, Cheng-Ta Li, M.D., Taipei Veterans General Hospital. The Phase II, Part 2 began‌ in the 1st quarter of 2022 at‌ the 5 Taiwan sites. The UCSF site will join the study in the 2nd quarter of 2023.

 

Drug: ABV-1601, Major Depression in Cancer Patients, Phase I/II, NCE drug Principal Investigator: Scott Irwin, MD, Ph.D. – Cedars Sinai Medical Center (CSMC). The Phase I clinical study was conducted on March 31, 2023.

 

Drug: ABV-1703, Advanced Inoperable or Metastatic Pancreatic Cancer,‌Medical Device: ABV-1701, Vitargus® in vitrectomy surgery, Phase II NCE drugStudy has been initiated in Australia and Thailand, Principal Investigator: Andrew E. Hendifar, MD – Cedars Sinai Medical Center (CSMC)Duangnate Rojanaporn, M.D., Ramathibodi Hospital; Thuss Sanguansak, M.D., Srinagarind Hospital of the two Thailand Sites and Professor/Dr. Matthew Simunovic, Sydney Eye Hospital; Dr. Elvis Ojaimi, East Melbourne Eye Group & East Melbourne Retina. The Phase II study will be started in the 2nd quarter of 2023.

 

The following trials are expected to begin in the second or third quarter of 2021:2023:

 

Medical Device: ABV-1701, Vitargus® in vitrectomy surgery, PivotalDrug: ABV-‌1519, ‌Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer ‌treatment, Phase I/II Study in Australia,Taiwan, Principal Investigator: Andrew Chang, MD, Ph.D.‌Dr. Yung-Hung Luo, ‌M.D.‌, Sydney EyeTaipei Veterans General Hospital Australia(‌TVGH)

 

Drug: ABV-1501, AABV-1703, Advanced Inoperable or Metastatic Pancreatic Cancer, Phase I/II, Open Label Study to Evaluate the Safety and Efficacy of BLEX 404 Oral Liquid Combined with Docetaxel Monotherapy in Patients with Stage IV or Recurrent Breast Cancer PatientsPrincipal Investigator: Andrew E. Hendifar, MD – Cedars Sinai Medical Center (CSMC)

Medical Device: ABV-2002, Class I/II through 510K for market launch, Corneal Storage Media, Technology Licensing in progress

1

 

Upon successful completion of a Phase II trial, ABVC will seek a partner, typically a large pharmaceutical company, to complete a Phase III study submit the New Drug Application (NDA), and commercialize the drug or medical device upon approval by the US FDA, Taiwan TFDA and other country regulatory authorities. We expect to seek our first commercialization partner in 2021 for Vitargus®, our vitreous substitute that helps to maintain both a round shape and a stable retinal location during vitrectomy surgery.

 

Another part of our business is conducted by BioKey, a wholly owned subsidiary. BioKey provides a wide range of services, including, API characterization, pre-formulation studies, formulation development, analytical method development, stability studies, IND/NDA/ANDA/510K submissions, and manufacturing clinical trial materials (phase I through phase III) and commercial manufacturing.


 

Corporate Structure

 

OnABVC was incorporated under the laws of the State of Nevada on February 8, 2019, the Company,6, 2002 and has three wholly-owned Subsidiaries: BriVision, BioLite Holding, Inc. (“BioLite”),and BioKey, Inc. (“BioKey”), BioLite Acquisition Corp., a direct wholly-owned subsidiaryBriVision was incorporated in July 2015 in the State of the CompanyDelaware and BioKey Acquisition Corp., a direct wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company completedis in the business combination pursuant to that certain Agreement and Plan of Merger dated January 31, 2018, pursuant to which the Company acquired BioLite and BioKey via issuing shares of the Company’s Common Stock to the shareholders of BioLite and BioKey. As a result, BioLite and BioKey became two wholly-owned subsidiaries of the Company on February 8, 2019. The Company issued an aggregate of 104,558,777 shares of Common Stock (prior to the reverse stock splitdeveloping pharmaceutical products in 2019) to the shareholders of both BioLite and BioKey under a registration statement on Form S-4 (file number 333-226285), which became effective by operation of law on or about February 5, 2019.North America.

 

BioLite Holding was incorporated under the laws of the State of Nevada on July 27, 2016, with 500,000,000 shares authorized, par value $0.0001. BioLite’sIts key subsidiariesSubsidiaries include BioLite BVI, Inc. (“BioLite BVI”) that was incorporated in the British Virgin Islands on September 13, 2016 and BioLite Inc. (“BioLite Taiwan”), a Taiwanese corporation that was founded in February 2006. BioLite Taiwan has been in the business of developing new drugs for over fifteentwelve years.

BioLite and BioLite BVI are holding companies and have not carried out substantive business operations of their own.

In January 2017, BioLite, BioLite BVI, BioLite Taiwan, and certain Certain shareholders of BioLite Taiwan entered into a share purchase / exchange agreement. Pursuant to the BioLite Share Purchase / Exchange Agreement, the shareholder participants to the BioLite Share Purchase / Exchange Agreement sold theirexchanged approximately 73% of equity securities in BioLite Taiwan and usedfor the proceeds from such sales to purchase shares of Common Stock of BioLite at the same price per share, resulting in their owning the same number of shares of Common Stock as they owned in BioLite Taiwan. Upon closing of the ShareHolding in accordance with a share purchase/ exchange agreement (the “Share Purchase/ Exchange Agreement in August 2017,Agreement”). As a result, BioLite Holding owns via BioLite BVI approximately 73% of BioLite Taiwan. The other shareholders who did not enter this Share Purchase/ Exchange Agreement retain their equity ownership in BioLite Taiwan.

 

Incorporated in California on November 20, 2000, BioKey was incorporatedhas chosen to initially focus on August 9, 2000 indeveloping generic drugs to ride the Stateopportunity of California. BioKey provides a wide range of services, including, API characterization, pre-formulation studies, formulation development, analytical method development, stability studies, IND/NDA/ANDA/510K submissions, and manufacturing clinical trial materials (Phase I through Phase III) and commercial manufacturing.

2

Corporate Structurethe booming industry.

 

 

Common Stock Reverse SplitUpon closing of the Mergers on February 8, 2019, BioLite and BioKey became two wholly-owned subsidiaries of ABVC.

 

OnThe following chart illustrates the corporate structure of ABVC: 

Effective March 12, 2019,5, 2022, the Company’s Board for Directors approved amending the Company’s Bylaws to remove Section 2.8, which permitted cumulative voting for directors since cumulative voting is specifically prohibited by unanimous written consentour Articles of Incorporation. Since it is not otherwise stated in lieuour Articles of Incorporation or Bylaws, directors shall be elected by a meeting approved to i) effect a stock reverse splitplurality of the votes cast at the ratio of 1-for-18 (the “Reverse Split”) of bothelection, as provided in the authorized common stock of the Company and the issued and outstanding common stock and ii) to amend the articles of incorporation of the Company to reflect the Reverse Split. The Board approved and authorized the Reverse Split without obtaining approval of the Company’s shareholders pursuant to Section 78.207 of Nevada Revised Statutes.

 

On May 3, 2019, the Company filed a certificate of amendment to the Company’s articles of incorporation (the “Amendment”) to effect the Reverse Split with the Secretary of State of the State of Nevada. The Reverse Split took effect on May 8, 2019.Recent Developments

 

Increasing the Authorized SharesNASDAQ Listing

 

As disclosed onOn August 5, 2021, we closed a current report on Form 8-K filedpublic offering (the “Offering”) of 1,100,000 units (the “Units”), with the SEC on April 7, 2020, on March 12, 2020,each Unit consisting of one share of our board of directors approved and adopted an amendment to the Company’s Articles of Incorporation, to increase the authorized shares of the common stock par value $0.001 per share, from 20,000,000 to 100,000,000, such that, after including the previously authorized 20,000,000 shares of preferred stock, par value $0.001 per share, the aggregate number of shares of stock that the Company has authority to issue is 120,000,000 shares.

3

Name Change and Cusip Number

The Company’s shareholders approved an amendment to the Company’s Articles of Incorporation to change the Company’s corporate name from American BriVision (Holding) Corporation to ABVC BioPharma, Inc. and approved and adopted the Certificate of Amendment to affect same at the 2020 annual meeting of shareholders (the Annual Meeting“Common Stock”). The name change amendment to the Company’s Articles of Incorporation was filed with Nevada’s Secretary of State and became effective on March 8, 2021 and FINRA approved our application for the name change as of May 3, 2021. Stock certificates will remain valid and stockholders are not required to submit their stock certificates for exchange as a result of the name change. New stock certificates issued by the Company will be printed with the Company’s new name, ABVC BioPharma, Inc.; existing stock certificates will remain valid.

The Company’s new CUSIP number is 0091F106. The Company’s stock symbol remains ABVC.

Recent Financing

1. On November 11, 2020, we conducted a closing with regard to certain securities purchase agreements, one Series A warrant (the SPAs”) dated October 23, 2020, separately with two non-U.S. investors (the “Investors”). Each of the Investors agreed to purchase and the Company agreed to sell to each of the Investors 1,111,112 shares of the Company’s Common Stock and warrants (the “Warrants“Series A Warrants”) to purchase 1,111,112 sharesone share of Common Stock, for acommon stock at an exercise price equal to $6.30 per share, exercisable until the fifth anniversary of the issuance date, and one Series B warrant (the “Series B Warrants,” and together with the Series A Warrants, the “Public Warrants”) to purchase one share of common stock at an exercise price equal to $10.00 per share, exercisable until the fifth anniversary of $2,500,000. The Warrants are exercisable uponthe issuance and will expire three years fromdate; the date of issuance. The initial exercise price of the Public Warrants is $6.00,are subject to stock, splits, stock dividendcertain adjustment and other similar events. In addition, whencashless exercise provisions as described therein. The Company completed the Offering pursuant to its registration statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-255112), originally filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on April 8, 2021 (as amended, the “Original Registration Statement”), that the SEC declared effective on August 2, 2021 and the registration statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-258404) that was filed and automatically effective on August 4, 2021 (the “S-1MEF,” together with the Original Registration Statement, the “Registration Statement”). The Units were priced at $6.25 per Unit, before underwriting discounts and offering expenses, resulting in gross proceeds of $6,875,000. The Offering was conducted on a firm commitment basis. The Common Stock was approved for listing on The Nasdaq Capital Market and commenced trading under the ticker symbol “ABVC” on August 3, 2021.


On August 19, 2022, we received a deficiency letter from the Nasdaq Listing Qualifications Department (the “Staff”) of the Nasdaq Stock Market LLC (“Nasdaq”) notifying us that, for the last 30 consecutive business days, the closing bid price for our common stock was below the minimum $1.00 per share required for continued listing on The Nasdaq Capital Market pursuant to Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(a)(2) (“Rule 5550(a)(2)”). In accordance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5810(c)(3)(A), we were initially given until February 14, 2023 to regain compliance with Rule 5550(a)(2). Since we did not regain compliance by such date, we requested and received an additional 180 days, until August 14, 2023, to comply with Rule 5550(a)(2).

1J Cancer Res Clin Oncol (2009) 135:1215-1221

The deficiency has no immediate effect on the listing of our common stock, and our common stock continues to trade on The Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol “ABVC” at this time.

If at any time before August 14, 2023, the bid price of the Common Stock equals or exceeds $9.00our common stock closes at $1.00 per share or more for twenty Trading Days (as defined ina minimum of 10 consecutive business days, the Exchange Agreements) during any thirty-day period,Staff will provide written confirmation that we have achieved compliance and the Company shall havematter will be closed.

If we do not regain compliance with Rule 5550(a)(2) by August 14, 2023, the Staff will provide written notification that our securities will be delisted, although we maintain the right to require the Investorsappeal such determination.

We intend to exercise all or any portion of the Warrants for a cash exercise. The aggregate net proceeds of the Offering were $5,000,000. The Company and the Investors further agreed to amend the terms of the SPA to permitactively monitor the closing of the offering to occur on a rolling basis.

The Company paid the following fees to a FINRA member firm in connection with the Offering: (i) a cash success fee of $175,000 and (ii) warrants to purchase a number of shares of Common Stock equal to 7% of the number of shares of Common Stock sold in the Offering, at an exercisebid price per share equal to $6.00 subject to adjustment (the “Comp Warrants”). The Comp Warrants are exercisable over a 5 year period on a cashless basis, at the holder’s discretion.

2. On October 23, 2020, we entered into a Securities Purchase Agreement (the “October SPA”) with one accredited investor. Pursuant to the October SPA, the Company sold and issued a convertible promissory note (the “October Note”) in the principal amount of $2,500,000 to the investor and received the payment from such investor on October 30, 2020.

The October Note was issued on October 23, 2020 and the maturity date of the October Note is the twenty-four (24) month anniversary from the issuance date (the “Maturity Date”). Upon the Maturity Date, the Company shall pay to the holder, in cash, an amount representing all outstanding principal amount and accrued and unpaid interest under the October Note. The October Note bears an interest rate of ten percent (10%) per annum and may be convertible into shares of the Company’s common stock at a fixed conversion price of $2.25 per share. The holder of the October Note may elect to convert part or all of the outstanding balance of the October Note from the issuance date until the Maturity Date. The Company may prepay the outstanding amount at any time, in whole or in part, without any penalty.

In connection with the October Note and pursuant to the terms of an agreement entered into between the Company and a FINRA member firm, such firm shall receive (i) a cash success fee of $78,750 and (ii) upon conversion of the October Note, warrants equal to 7.0% of the number of shares of Common Stock received by the investor at the time of conversion (“Note Warrants”). The warrants are exercisable on a cashless basis, at the holder’s discretion.

The issuance and sale of the Common Stock, the Investor Warrants, Comp Warrants, Note Warrants and the shares of Common Stock underlying the Investor Warrants, the Comp Warrants and the October Note were made in reliance on an exemption from registration contained in either Regulation D or Regulation S of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”).

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Entry into Securities Purchase Agreements

1. On January 21, 2020, the Company entered into three note agreements with investors who previously entered into a prior note agreement with the Company in 2018. These three investors are Guoliang Yu and Yingfei Wei Family Trust, Keypoint Technology Ltd., and Yoshinobu Odaira. The new agreements bear the same term as the 2019 Notes, as defined below. Later, on April 5, 2020, the Company entered into exchange agreements with these 3 note holders. Pursuant to the exchange agreements, the 3 note holders delivered the notes, in the aggregate principal amount plus accrued interest expenses of $931,584, to the Company for cancellation, in exchange for which the Company issued to the holders an aggregate of 506,297 shares of the Company’sour common stock and warrantswill consider available options to purchase 506,297 shares ofresolve the Company’s common stock.

2. In May 2020, the Company received capital contributions of approximately $1,602,040 in cash from 40 investors through the private placement sale of 712,035 shares of the Company’s common stock at a price of $2.25 per share including a 5 year warrantdeficiency and regain compliance with each share of common stock that was purchased. The exercise price of the warrant is $6.00 with a mandatory exercise price of $9.00.

Pursuant to the terms of an agreement entered into between the Company and a FINRA member firm, such firm shall receive (i) a cash success fee of $60,831.65 (ii) a warrant to purchase 37,852 shares of Common Stock with an exercise price of $2.25 per share, and (iii) a warrant to purchase 37,852 shares of Common Stock with an exercise price of $6.00 per share.

3. On August 28, 2019 and September 4, 2019, the Company issued convertible promissory notes in the aggregate principal amount of $515,196, including accrued interest to Kuo, Li Shen, Chang, Ping Shan, Lin, Shan Tyan, and Liu, Ching Hsuan (the “2019 Notes”). On April 20, 2020, the Company entered into separate exchange agreements with each note holder to cancel the notes in return for an aggregate of 289,438 shares of the Company’s common stock and warrants to purchase 289,438 shares of the Company’s common stock.

Recent PPP Loan

On January 29, 2021, BioKey received a loan in the amount of $132,331 under the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) administered by the United States Small Business Administration (the “SBA”) from East West Bank. According to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the “Cares Act”), PPP loan provides for forgiveness of up to the full principal amount and accrued interest if the funds are used for payroll costs, interest on mortgages, rent, and utilities. However, at least 60% of the forgiven amount must have been used for payroll. The loan was granted pursuant to a promissory note dated January 27, 2021 issued by the Company, which matures on January 28, 2026 and bears interest at a rate of 1.00% per annum. The Company will pay the principal in one payment of all outstanding principal plus all accrued unpaid interest on that date that is five years after the date of the promissory note. In addition, the Company will start the application with the US Government regarding the loan forgiveness program as soon as the US Government allows. No collateral or personal guarantees are required.

On February 7, 2021, the Company received a loan in the amount of $104,167 under the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) administered by the United States Small Business Administration (the “SBA”) from Cathay Bank. According to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the “Cares Act”), PPP loan provides for forgiveness of up to the full principal amount and accrued interest if the funds are used for payroll costs, interest on mortgages, rent, and utilities. However, at least 60% of the forgiven amount must have been used for payroll. The loan was granted pursuant to a promissory note dated February 7, 2021 issued by the Company, which matures on February 6, 2026 and bears interest at a rate of 1.00% per annum. The Company will pay the principal in one payment of all outstanding principal plus all accrued unpaid interest on that date that is five years after the date of the promissory note. In addition, the Company will start the application with the US Government regarding the loan forgiveness program as soon as the US Government allows. No collateral or personal guarantees are required.

Recent Research Results

On May 23, 2019, the Company announced its internal Phase II clinical study results of ABV-1504 for Major Depression Disorder (“MDD”). The clinical study results showed that PDC-1421, the active pharmaceutical ingredient of ABV-1504, met the pre-specified primary endpoint of the Phase II clinical trial and significantly improved the symptoms of MDD.

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The Phase II clinical study was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multi-center trial, in which 60 adult patients with confirmed moderate to severe MDD were treated with PDC-1421 in either low dose (380 mg) or high dose (2 x 380 mg) compared with placebo administration, three times a day for six weeks. PDC-1421 high dose (2 x 380 mg) met the pre-specified primary endpoint by demonstrating a highly significant 13.2-point reduction in the Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) total score by Intention-To-Treat (ITT) analysis, averaged over the 6-week treatment period (overall treatment effect) from baseline, as compared to 9.2-point reduction of the placebo group. By Per-Protocol (PP) analysis, PDC-1421 showed a dose dependent efficacy toward MDD in which high dose (2 x 380 mg) gave 13.4-point reduction in MADRS total score from baseline and low dose (380 mg) gave 10.4-point reduction as compared to a 8.6-point in the placebo group. The Company has decided to use the high dose formula in the Phase III clinical trial of ABV-1504.

On September 9, 2020 the Company issued a full clinical study report (CSR) of Vitargus® First-in-Human Phase I Clinical TrialThe safety and preliminary efficacy findings from this study, combined with the unique properties of Vitargus® (BFC-1401), are supportive of further development for its use during vitrectomy surgery in patients requiring vitreous replacement.

The study was an open label, Phase I study undertaken at a single study center in Sydney, Australia. A total of 11 participants were enrolled for the study in which each participant had been diagnosed with either (1) a complex or rhegmatogenous retinal detachment or chronic retinal detachment with failure of gas or silicone oil treatment or Rule 5550(a)(2) a vitreous hemorrhage that requires vitrectomy surgery. The study found that Vitargus® was well-tolerated as a vitreous substitute without any apparent toxicity to ocular tissues. Further, there was no indication of an increased overall safety risk with Vitargus®.

On November 9, 2020 the Company issued a full clinical study report (CSR) of its ABV-1505 Phase II Part I clinical trial conducted at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) for the treatment of Adult Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The Phase II Part I clinical study for treating ADHD found that the PDC-1421 Capsule was safe, well tolerated and efficacious during its treatment and the follow-up period with six adult patients. For the primary endpoints, the percentages of improvement in Adult Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Rating Scale-Investigator Rated-IV (ADHD-RS-IV) score from baseline to 8 weeks treatment were 83.3% (N=5) in the Intention-To-Treat (ITT) population and 80.0% (N=4) in the Per-Protocol (PP) population. Both low and high doses of PDC-1421 Capsule met the primary end points by passing the required 40% population in ADHD-RS-IV test scores.

Overall, the results from this study, which demonstrate the therapeutic value of PDC-1421, support further clinical development of ABV-1505 for the treatment of adult ADHD.

On November 4, 2020, the Company executed an amendment to our collaboration agreement with BioFirst to add BFC-1403 Intraocular Irrigation Solution and BFC-1404 Corneal Storage Solution to our agreement. BFC-1404 is utilized during a corneal transplant procedure to replace a damaged or diseased cornea while BFC-1403 has broader utilization during a variety of ocular procedures.

Initially the Company will focus on BFC-1404, a solution utilized to store a donor cornea prior to either penetrating keratoplasty (full thickness cornea transplant) or endothelial keratoplasty (back layer cornea transplant). Designated ABV-2002 under the Company’s product identification system, the solution is comprised of a specific poly amino acid that protects ocular tissue from damage caused by external osmolarity exposure during pre-surgery storage. The specific polymer in ABV 2002 can adjust osmolarity to maintain a range of 330 to 390 mOsM thereby permitting hydration within the corneal stroma during the storage period. Stromal hydration results in (a) maintaining acceptable corneal transparency and (b) prevents donor cornea swelling. ABV-2002 also contains an abundant phenolic phytochemical found in plant cell walls that provides antioxidant antibacterial properties and neuroprotection.

Early testing by BioFirst indicates that ABV-2002 may be more effective for protecting the cornea and retina during long-term storage than other storage media available today and can be manufactured at lower cost. Categorized as a Class I Medical Device which has the lowest risk to patients, the Company intends to submit a Premarket Notification 510(K) submission to the FDA before the end of 2021 to demonstrate the device is at least as safe and effective as current products on the market.

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Strategy

 

Key elements of our business strategy include:

 

Advancing to the pivotal trial phase of ABV-1701 Vitargus® for the treatments of Retinal Detachment or Vitreous Hemorrhage.Hemorrhage, which we expect to generate revenues in the future.

 

Focusing on licensing ABV-1504 for the treatment of major depressive disorder, MDD, after the successful completion of its Phase II clinical trials.

 

Completing Phase II, Part 2 clinical trial for ABV-1505 for the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, ADHD.

 

Out licensing drug candidates and medical device candidates to major pharmaceutical companies for phase III and pivotal clinical trials, as applicable, and further marketing if approved by the FDA.

 

We plan to augment our core research and development capability and assets by conducting Phase I and II clinical trials for investigational new drugs and medical devices in the fields of CNS, Hematology/Oncology and Ophthalmology.

 

Our management team has extensive experiences across a wide range of new drug and medical device development and we have in-licensed new drug and medical device candidates from large research institutes and universities in both the U.S. and Taiwan. Through an assertive product development approach, we expect that we will build a substantial portfolio of Oncology/ Hematology, CNS and Ophthalmology products. We primarily focus on Phase I and II research of new drug candidates and out license the post-Phase-II products to pharmaceutical companies; we do not expect to devote substantial efforts and resources to building the disease-specific distribution channels.

 

Material Risks and Challenges

We face substantial competition from a great many established and emerging pharmaceutical and biotech companies that develop, distribute or sell therapeutics to treat the same indications that our drug candidates are designed to treat. Our current and potential competitors include large pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, and specialty pharmaceutical and generic drug companies. Many of our current and potential competitors have substantially greater financial, technical and human resources than we do and significantly more experience in the marketing, commercialization, discovery, development and regulatory approvals of products, which could place us at a significant competitive disadvantage or deny our marketing exclusivity rights. Typically, our competitors will most likely have more capital resources to support their products than we do. In addition, you should carefully consider the risks described under the “Risk Factors” section beginning on page 8 before investing in us. Some of these risks are:

Risk associated with our profitability including, but not limited to:

We have never generated revenue and will continue to be unprofitable in the foreseeable future.

Our business, operations and plans and timelines could be adversely affected by the effects of health epidemics, including the recent COVID-19 pandemic.


Risk associated with clinical trials and the development of our products, including but not limited to:

Clinical trials are expensive and time consuming, and their outcome is uncertain.

Our clinical trials could be delayed or unsuccessful, and we may not be able to obtain regulatory approval for any of our drug candidates when expected, or at all.

We may experience delays in our clinical trials that could adversely affect our business and operations.

We rely on third parties to conduct our preclinical studies and clinical trials and if such third parties do not meet our deadlines or otherwise conduct the studies as required, we may be delayed in progressing, or ultimately may not be able to progress, our drug candidates to clinical trials.

We may not be able to secure and maintain research institutions to conduct our future trials.

We may not be able to secure co-developers or partners to further post-Phase II clinical trials and eventually commercialize our drug candidates.

We may need to prioritize the development of our most promising candidates at the expense of the development of other products.

Physicians, patients, third-party payors or others in the medical community may not be receptive to our products, and we may not generate any future revenue from the sale or licensing of our products.

Risks associated with intellectual property including but not limited to:

We may not be successful in obtaining or maintaining patent or other relating rights necessary to the development of our drug candidates in the pipeline;

The intellectual property rights underlying our exclusive licensing rights may expire or be terminated due to lack of maintenance;

Risks associated with competition and manufacturing including, but not limited to:

We face competition from entities that have developed or are developing products for our target disease indications, including companies developing novel treatments and technologies similar to ours; and

We depend primarily upon a sole supplier of our key extract for three drug candidates and could incur significant costs and delays if we are unable to promptly find a replacement for such supplier if the supplier fails to deliver the extract pursuant to our orders.

Risks associated with government regulations including without limitation:

If we do not obtain the necessary governmental approvals, we will be unable to sub-license or commercialize our pharmaceutical products; and

Even if we obtain regulatory approval for a drug candidate, our products may remain subject to regulatory scrutiny.

Risk associated with our Common Stock including without limitation:

The market prices and trading volumes of the Common may be volatile and may be affected by economic conditions beyond our control; and,

There is only a limited trading market for our Common Stock and such market may never develop.

These and other risks described in this prospectus could materially and adversely impact our business, financial condition, operating results and cash flow, which could cause the trading price of our Common Stock to decline and could result in a loss of your investment.


Summary Risk Factors

 

The below is a summary of principal risks to our business and risks associated with this offering. It is only a summary. You should read the more detailed discussion of risks set forth below and elsewhere in this prospectus for a more complete discussion of the risks listed below and other risks.

 

Risk associated with our competition, including, but not limited to:

 

Many of our current and potential competitors have substantially greater financial, technical and human resources than we do, which could place us at a significant competitive disadvantage or deny our marketing exclusivity rights.

 

Many of our current and potential competitors have significantly more experience in the marketing, commercialization, discovery, development and regulatory approvals of products, which could place us at a significant competitive disadvantage or deny our marketing exclusivity rights

 

Risk associated with our profitability including, but not limited to:

 

We have never generated revenue and will continue to be unprofitable in the foreseeable future.

 

Our business, operations and plans and timelines could be adversely affected by the effects of health epidemics, including the recent COVID-19 pandemic.

 

Risk associated with clinical trials and the development of our products, including but not limited to:

 

Clinical trials are expensive and time consuming, and their outcome is uncertain.

 

Our clinical trials could be delayed or unsuccessful, and we may not be able to obtain regulatory approval for any of our drug candidates when expected, or at all.

 

We may experience delays in our clinical trials that could adversely affect our business and operations.

 

We rely on third parties to conduct our preclinical studies and clinical trials and if such third parties do not meet our deadlines or otherwise conduct the studies as required, we may be delayed in progressing, or ultimately may not be able to progress, our drug candidates to clinical trials.

 

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We may not be able to secure and maintain research institutions to conduct our future trials.

 

We may not be able to secure co-developers or partners to further post-Phase II clinical trials and eventually commercialize our drug candidates.

 

We may need to prioritize the development of our most promising candidates at the expense of the development of other products.

 


Physicians, patients, third-party payors or others in the medical community may not be receptive to our products, and we may not generate any future revenue from the sale or licensing of our products.

 

Risks associated with intellectual property including but not limited to:

 

We may not be successful in obtaining or maintaining patent or other relating rights necessary to the development of our drug candidates in the pipeline;

 

The intellectual property rights underlying our exclusive licensing rights may expire or be terminated due to lack of maintenance;

 

Risks associated with competition and manufacturing including, but not limited to:

 

We face competition from entities that have developed or are developing products for our target disease indications, including companies developing novel treatments and technologies similar to ours; and

 

We depend primarily upon a sole supplier of our key extract for three drug candidates and could incur significant costs and delays if we are unable to promptly find a replacement for such supplier if the supplier fails to deliver the extract pursuant to our orders.

 

Risks associated with government regulations including without limitation:

 

If we do not obtain the necessary governmental approvals, we will be unable to sub-license or commercialize our pharmaceutical products; and

 

Even if we obtain regulatory approval for a drug candidate, our products may remain subject to regulatory scrutiny.

 

Risk associated with our Common Stock including without limitation:

 

The market prices and trading volumes of the Common may be volatile and may be affected by economic conditions beyond our control; and,

 

There is only a limited trading market for our Common Stock and such market may never develop.

 

These and other risks described in this prospectus could materially and adversely impact our business, financial condition, operating results and cash flow, which could cause the trading price of our Common Stock to decline and could result in a loss of your investment. In addition, you should carefully consider the risks described under “Risk Factors” beginning on page 11 before investing in us.8.

 

Corporate Information

 

ABVC (f/k/a American BriVision (Holding) Corporation) was incorporated under the laws of the State of Nevada on February 6, 2002. BriVision was incorporated in the State of Delaware on July 21, 2015. BioLite was incorporated in the State of Nevada on July 27, 2016. BioKey was incorporated in the State of California on November 20, 2000. BriVision, BioLite and BioKey are three operating subsidiaries that are wholly owned by the Company.

 

The Company’s shareholders approved an amendment to the Company’s Articles of Incorporation to change the Company’s corporate name from American BriVision (Holding) Corporation to ABVC BioPharma, Inc. and approved and adopted the Certificate of Amendment to affect same at the 2020 annual meeting of shareholders (the “Annual Meeting”). The name change amendment to the Company’s Articles of Incorporation was filed with Nevada’s Secretary of State and became effective on March 8, 2021 and FINRA approved our application for the name change as of May 3, 2021.

The Common Stock was approved for listing on The Nasdaq Capital Market and commenced trading under the ticker symbol “ABVC” on August 3, 2021. The Company’s CUSIP number is 0091F106.

Our principal executive office is located at 44370 Old Warm Springs Blvd., Fremont, CA 94538. Our telephone number at our principal executive office is (510) 668-0881.-668-0881. Our corporate website of BriVision is http://www.abvcbiopharma.comwww.abvcpharma.com. The information on our corporate website is not part of, and is not incorporated by reference into, this prospectus.

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THE OFFERING

 

SecuritiesCommon Stock being offered by usSelling Stockholders1,000,000 Units, each Unit consistsUp to $3,175,000 of (a) one shareshares of common stock, (b) one Series A warrant (the “Series A Warrants”) to purchase one share of common stock at an exercise price equal to $7.50 per share, exercisable until the fifth anniversaryCommon Stock issuable upon conversion of the issuance date,Note, up to 5,291,667 shares of Common Stock underlying the Warrant and (c) one Series B warrantup to purchase one share211,667 shares of common stockCommon Stock underlying the PA Warrant. The Selling Stockholders may sell their shares of Common Stock at an exercise price equal to $10.00 per share, exercisable untilprevailing market prices or privately negotiated prices. We will not receive any proceeds from the fifth anniversary ofsales by the issuance date and subject to certain adjustment and cashless exercise provisions as described herein.Selling Stockholders.
Price per UnitUse of ProceedsThe assumed initial public purchase price is $6.25 per Unit. The actual number of Units we will offer will be determined based on the actual public offering price.
Over-Allotment optionWe have granted the underwriters an option, exercisable one or more times in whole or in part, to purchase up to 150,000 additional shares of common stock at a price of $6.23 and/or Series A Warrants to purchase up to an aggregate of 150,000 shares of common stock at a price of $0.01 and Series B Warrants to purchase up to an aggregate of 150,000 shares of common stock at a price of $0.001, less underwriting discounts and commissions, in any combinations thereof, for 45 days after the date of this prospectus to cover over-allotments, if any. See “Underwriting” for additional information regarding the over-allotment option.
Common Stock outstanding prior to completion of this offering (1)24,420,526
Common Stock outstanding immediately after this offering (2)25,420,526 (or 25,570,526 if the underwriters’ option to purchase additional shares from us is exercised in full).
Proposed Nasdaq Listing of our Common StockOur Common Stock is currently quoted on the OTCQB. In connection with this offering, we have applied and expect to have our Common Stock listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol “ABVC”.
No Listing for Purchase WarrantsThere is no established public trading market for the Purchase Warrants and we will not seek to list them.
Use of proceeds

We estimate that the netreceive any proceeds from the sale of 1,000,000 Units inshares by the offering will be approximately $5,375,000, or approximately $6,237,500 if the underwriters exercise their option to purchase additional shares of Common Stock and/or Purchase Warrants in full, based on an assumed price to the public in this Offering of $6.25 per Unit, after deducting the underwriting discounts and estimated offering expenses.

We intend to use the net proceeds from the offering for (i) funding clinical trials; and (ii) working capital and general business purposes.

The amount and timing of our actual expenditures will depend on numerous factors, including the status of our acquisition and development efforts, sales and marketing activities, and the amount of cash generated or used by our operations. We may find it necessary or advisable to use portions of the proceeds for other purposes, and we will have broad discretion in the application of the net proceeds.

Selling Stockholders.
Trading SymbolABVC
Risk factorsFactorsThe Unitssecurities offered hereby involvesby this prospectus are speculative and involve a high degree of risk.risk and investors purchasing securities should not purchase the securities unless they can afford the loss of their entire investment. You should read “Risk Factors,” and other information included in this prospectusbeginning on page 8 for a discussion of factors to consider before deciding to invest in our securitiessecurities.
Transfer AgentVStock Transfer, LLC

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(1)The number of Common Stock to be outstanding before this offering is based on 24,420,526 shares of Common Stock outstanding as of the date of this prospectus, and excludes:

545,182 shares of our Common Stock issuable upon the exercise of stock options outstanding;
4,472,738 shares of our Common Stock underlying any outstanding warrants; and
1,111,112 shares of our Common Stock issuable upon the conversion of notes and other evidence of indebtedness.

(2)The number of Common Stock to be outstanding after this offering is based on 25,420,526 shares of Common Stock outstanding as of May 14, 2021, and excludes:

545,182 shares of our Common Stock issuable upon the exercise of stock options outstanding;
4,472,738 shares of our Common Stock underlying any outstanding warrants;
1,111,112 shares of our Common Stock issuable upon the conversion of notes and other evidence of indebtedness;
1,000,000 shares of our Common Stock issuable upon the exercise of the Purchase Warrants; and
92,000 shares of our Common Stock issuable upon the exercise of the Representative’s Warrants issued in this Offering;

Except as otherwise indicated, all information in this prospectus assumes:

that the assumed public offering price is $6.25 per Unit;
no exercise of 4,472,738 outstanding warrants;
no exercise of the Purchase Warrants included in the Units;
no exercise of the Representative’s Warrants;
no exercise of the Representative’s option to purchase additional shares of Common Stock and/or Purchase Warrants from us in this offering; and
no exercise of the 545,182 shares of our Common Stock issuable upon the exercise of stock options outstanding.

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RISK FACTORS

 

Investing in our securities includes a high degree of risk. Prior to making a decision about investing in our securities, you should consider carefully the specific factors discussed below, together with all of the other information contained in this prospectus. If any of the following risks actually occurs, our business, financial condition, results of operations and future prospects would likely be materially and adversely affected. This could cause the market price of our Common Stock to decline and could cause you to lose all or part of your investment.

 

Risks Related to the Company’s Business

 

Unfavorable global economic conditions, including as a result of health and safety concerns, could adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.

 

Our results of operations could be adversely affected by general conditions in the global economy, including conditions that are outside of our control, such as the impact of health and safety concerns from the current outbreak of the COVID-19 coronavirus (“COVID-19”). The spread of the COVID-19, which was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization in March 2020, has caused different countries and cities to mandate curfews, including “shelter-in-place” and closures of most non-essential businesses as well as other measures to mitigate the spread of the virus.

 

The negative impact of COVID-19 on our operations is ongoing and the extent of which remains uncertain and potentially wide-spread, including:

 

our ability to successfully execute our long-term growth strategy during these uncertain times;

 

our ability to recruit the necessary number of patients to complete future clinical trials;
supply chain disruptions in projects ABV-1504, ABV-1505 and ABV-1601, resulting from reduced workforces, scarcity of raw materials, and scrutiny or embargoing of goods produced in infected areas;

 

our ability to perform on-site due-diligence for project ABV-1505 (MDD Phase II completed new drug candidate) and ABV-1701 (Vitargus®(Vitargus FIH completed medical device) with our potential partners/collaborators in US, Mainland China, and Japan;

 

our ability to access capital sources, as well as the ability of our key customers, suppliers, and vendors to do the same in regard to their own obligations; and

 

diversion of management and employee attention and resources from key business activities and risk management outside of COVID-19 response efforts, including maintenance of internal controls.

 

The COVID-19 pandemic remains highly volatile and continues to evolve on a daily basis and therefore, despite our efforts and developments to combat the virus, there can be no assurance that these measures will prove successful. The extent to which COVID-19 continues to impact the Company’s business, sales, and results of operations will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted.

 

The Company is a development stage biopharmaceutical company and is thus subject to the risks associated with new businesses in that industry.

 

The Company acquired the sole licensing rights to develop and commercialize for therapeutic purposes six compounds from BioLite and the right to co-develop with BioFirst a medical device (collectively the “ABVC Pipeline Products”). As such, the Company is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company with operations that generate unsubstantial revenues. The Company is establishing and implementing many important functions necessary to operate a business, including the clinical research and development of the ABVC Pipeline Products, further establishment of the Company’s managerial and administrative structure, accounting systems and internal financial controls

 

BioLite and BioKey are expected to continue to have limited revenue and remain unprofitable for an indefinite period of time.


Accordingly, you should consider the Company’s prospects in light of the risks and uncertainties that a pharmaceutical company with a limited operating history and revenue faces. In particular, potential investors should consider that there are significant risks that the Company will not be able to:

 

implement or execute its current business plan, or generate profits;

 

attract and maintain a skillful management team;

 


raise sufficient funds in the capital markets or otherwise to effectuate its business plan;

 

determine that the processes and technologies that it has developed are commercially viable; and/or

 

enter into contracts with commercial partners, such as licensors and suppliers.

 

If any of the above risks occurs, the Company’s business may fail, in which case you may lose the entire amount of your investment in the Company. The Company cannot assure that any of its efforts in business operations will be successful or result in the timely development of new products, or ultimately produce any material revenue and profits.

 

As a pre-profit biopharmaceutical company, the Company needs to transition from a company with a research and development focus to a company capable of supporting commercial activities. The Company may not be able to reach such transition point or make such a transition, which would have affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

 

If the Company fails to raise additional capital, its ability to implement its business model and strategy could be compromised.

 

The Company has limited capital resources and operations. The CDMO Unitservices provided by BioKey generates a limited amount of revenue that couldcan only partially support the operations of the Company. To date, itsthe Company’s operations have been funded partially from the proceeds from financings or loans from its shareholders and management.. From time to time, we may seek additional financing to provide the capital required to expand research and development (“R&D”) initiatives and/or working capital, as well as to repay outstanding loans if cash flow from operations is insufficient to do so. We cannot predict with certainty the timing or amount of any such capital requirements.

 

If the Company does not raise sufficient capital to fund its ongoing development activities, it is likely that it will be unable to carry out its business plans, including R&D development and expansion of production facilities. Currently, the Company has had to put several projects on hold due to a lack of funding. Even if the Company obtains financing for near term operations and product development, the Company may require additional capital beyond the near term. Furthermore, additional capital may not be available in sufficient amounts or on reasonable terms, if at all, and our ability to raise additional capital may be adversely impacted by potential worsening global economic conditions and the recent disruptions to and volatility in the credit and financial markets in the United States and worldwide resulting from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. If the Company is unable to raise capital when needed, its business, financial condition and results of operations would be materially adversely affected, and it could be forced to reduce or discontinue our operations.

 

The Company has no history in obtaining regulatory approval for, or commercializing, any new drug candidate.

 

With limited operating history, the Company has never obtained regulatory approval for, or commercialized, any new drug candidate. It is possible that the FDA may refuse to accept our planned New Drug Application (or “NDA”) for any of the six drug products for substantive review or may conclude after review of our data that our application is insufficient to obtain regulatory approval of the new drug candidates or the medical device. Although our CDMO strategic business department has experience in obtaining abbreviated new drug application (or “ANDA”) approvals, the processes and timelines of obtaining an NDA approval and ANDA approval can differentiate substantially. If the FDA does not accept or approve our planned NDA for our product candidates, it may require that we conduct additional clinical, preclinical or manufacturing validation studies, which may be costly. Depending on the FDA required studies, approval of any NDA or application that we submit may be significantly delayed, possibly for several years, or may require us to expend more resources than we have. Any delay in obtaining, or inability to obtain, regulatory approvals of any of our drug candidate will prevent us from sublicensing such product. It is also possible that additional studies, if performed and completed, may not be considered sufficient by the FDA. If any of these outcomes occurs, we may be forced to abandon our planned NDA for such drug candidate, which materially adversely affects our business and could potentially cause us to cease operations. We face similar regulatory risks in a foreign jurisdiction.


Our growth is dependent on our ability to successfully develop, acquire or license new drugs.

 

Our growth is supported by continuous investment in time, resources and capital to identify and develop new products or new formulations for the market and market penetration. If we are unable to either develop new products on our own or acquire licenses for new products from other parties, our ability to grow revenues and market share will be adversely affected. In addition, we may not be able to recover our investment in the development of new drugs and medical devices, given that projects may be interrupted, unsuccessful, not as profitable as initially contemplated or we may not be able to obtain necessary financing for such development. Similarly, there is no assurance that we can successfully secure such rights from third parties on an economically feasible basis.

 

Our current products have certain side effects. If the side effects associated with our current or future products are not identified prior to their marketing and sale, we may be required to withdraw such products from the market, perform lengthy additional clinical trials or change the labeling of our products, any of which could adversely impact our growth.

 

The Company researches and develops the following sixseven drug products and one medical device: ABV-1501, ABV-1504, ABV-1505, ABV-1701,ABV-1519, ABV-1702, ABV-1601 and ABV-1703. Each of these seven products may cause serious adverse effects to their users. For example, the API of ABV-1501, ABV-1702 and ABV-1703 is Maitake mushroom extract. Side effects, or adverse events, associated with Maitake mushroom extract include blood bilirubin increase, lymphocyte count decrease, neutrophil count decrease, platelet count decrease, white blood cell decrease, headache, and hyperglycemia. Serious adverse events (collectively, the “SAE”) associated with this compound include leukocytosis, platelet count decrease, eye disorders, abdominal pain, gastrointestinal disorders, aphonia, lung infection, muscle weakness right-sided, confusion, edema cerebral, stroke, dyspnea, wheezing, and pruritus.

 


ABV-1504 and ABV-1505 have the same API, “Radix Polygala”, which is known as Polygala tenuifolia Willd or PDC-1421 Capsule (“Polygala tenuifolia Willd”). Side effects, or adverse events, associated with ABV-1504 and ABV-1505, coming from administration of the trial medicine or examination procedure such as the procedure of taking blood (fainting, pain and/or bruising), may lead to gastrointestinal disorders (abdominal fullness and constipation), nervous system disorders (drowsiness, sleepiness, and oral ulcer). In addition, long-term use may cause miscarriages.

 

The safety and preliminary efficacy findings from this study, combined with the unique properties of ABV-1701, are supportive of further investigation for its use following vitrectomy surgery in patients requiring vitreous replacement. However, new serious side effects of ABV-1701 may be uncovered as the clinical trials continue.

 

The occurrence of any of those adverse events would harm our future sales of these medicines and substantially increase the costs and expenses of marketing these medicines, which in turn could cause our revenues and net income to decline. In addition, the reputation and sales of our future medicines could be adversely affected due to the severe side effects discovered.

 

We may be subject to product liability claims in the future, which could divert our resources, cause us to incur substantial liabilities and limit commercialization of any products that we may develop.

 

We face an inherent business risk of exposure to product liability claims in the event that the uses of our products are alleged to have caused adverse side effects. Side effects or marketing or manufacturing problems pertaining to any of our products could result in product liability claims or adverse publicity. These risks will exist for those products in clinical development and with respect to those products that receive regulatory approval for commercial sale. Furthermore, although we have not historically experienced any problems associated with claims by users of our products, we do not currently maintain product liability insurance and there could be no assurance that we are able to acquire product liability insurance with terms that are commercially feasible.


We face an inherent risk of product liability claims as a result of the clinical testing of our products and potentially commercially selling any products that we may develop. For example, we may be sued if any product we develop allegedly causes injury or is found to be otherwise unsuitable during clinical testing, manufacturing, marketing or sale. Any such product liability claims may include allegations of defects in manufacturing, defects in design, a failure to warn of dangers inherent in the product, negligence, strict liability or a breach of warranties. Claims could also be asserted under state consumer protection acts. If we cannot successfully defend ourselves against product liability claims, we may incur substantial liabilities or be required to limit commercialization of our product candidate. Regardless of the merits or eventual outcome, liability claims may result in:

 

decreased demand for our product candidates or products that we may develop;
injury to our reputation and significant negative media attention;

 

withdrawal of clinical trial participants;

 

significant costs to defend resulting litigation;
substantial monetary awards to trial participants or patients;
loss of revenue;
reduced resources of our management to pursue our business strategy; and
the inability to commercialize any products that we may develop.

 

We currently have insurance policies to cover liabilities under the clinic trials but do not maintain general liability insurance; and even if we have a general liability insurance in the future, this insurance may not fully cover potential liabilities that we may incur. The cost of any product liability litigation or other proceeding, even if resolved in our favor, could be substantial. We would need to increase our insurance coverage if and when we begin selling any product candidate that receives marketing approval. In addition, insurance coverage is becoming increasingly expensive. If we are unable to obtain or maintain sufficient insurance coverage at an acceptable cost or to otherwise protect against potential product liability claims, it could prevent or inhibit the development and commercial production and sale of our product candidate, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

 

We have conducted, and may in the future conduct, clinical trials for certain of our product candidates at sites outside the United States, and the FDA may not accept data from trials conducted in such locations.

 

We have conducted and may in the future choose to conduct one or more of our clinical trials outside the United States. Although the FDA may accept data from clinical trials conducted outside the United States, acceptance of this data is subject to certain conditions imposed by the FDA. For example, the clinical trial must be well designed and conducted and performed by qualified investigators in accordance with ethical principles. The trial population must also adequately represent the U.S. population, and the data must be applicable to the U.S. population and U.S. medical practice in ways that the FDA deems clinically meaningful. In addition, while these clinical trials are subject to the applicable local laws, FDA acceptance of the data will be dependent upon its determination that the trials also complied with all applicable U.S. laws and regulations. There can be no assurance that the FDA will accept data from trials conducted outside of the United States. If the FDA does not accept the data from any of our clinical trials that we determine to conduct outside the United States, it would likely result in the need for additional trials, which would be costly and time-consuming and delay or permanently halt our development of the product candidate.

 


In addition, the conduct of clinical trials outside the United States could have a significant impact on us. Risks inherent in conducting international clinical trials include:

 

foreign regulatory requirements that could restrict or limit our ability to conduct our clinical trials;
administrative burdens of conducting clinical trials under multiple foreign regulatory schema;
foreign exchange fluctuations; and
diminished protection of intellectual property in some countries.

If clinical trials of our product candidates fail to demonstrate safety and efficacy to the satisfaction of the FDA and comparable non-U.S. regulators, we may incur additional costs or experience delays in completing, or ultimately be unable to complete the development and commercialization of our product candidates.

 

We are not permitted to commercialize, market, promote or sell any product candidate in the United States without obtaining marketing approval from the FDA. Comparable non-U.S. regulatory authorities impose similar restrictions. We may never receive such approvals. We must complete extensive preclinical development and clinical trials to demonstrate the safety and efficacy of our product candidate in humans before we will be able to obtain these approvals.

 

Clinical testing is expensive, difficult to design and implement, can take many years to complete and is inherently uncertain as to outcome. Any inability to successfully complete preclinical and clinical development could result in additional costs to us and impair our ability to generate revenues from product sales, regulatory and commercialization milestones and royalties. In addition, if (1) we are required to conduct additional clinical trials or other testing of our product candidate beyond the trials and testing that we contemplate, (2) we are unable to successfully complete clinical trials of our product candidate or other testing, (3) the results of these trials or tests are unfavorable, uncertain or are only modestly favorable, or (4) there are unacceptable safety concerns associated with our product candidate, we, in addition to incurring additional costs, may:

 

be delayed in obtaining marketing approval for our product candidates;

 

not obtain marketing approval at all;

 

obtain approval for indications or patient populations that are not as broad as we intended or desired;

 

obtain approval with labeling that includes significant use or distribution restrictions or significant safety warnings, including boxed warnings;

 

be subject to additional post-marketing testing or other requirements; or

 

be required to remove the product from the market after obtaining marketing approval.

 

Even if any of our product candidates receives marketing approval, it may fail to achieve the degree of market acceptance by physicians, patients, third party payors and others in the medical community necessary for commercial success and the market opportunity for the product candidate may be smaller than we estimate.

 

We have never completed a new drug or new medical device FDA application process from Phase I to FDA approval and commercialization. Even if our products are approved by the appropriate regulatory authorities for marketing and sale, they may nonetheless fail to gain sufficient market acceptance by physicians, patients, third party payors and others in the medical community. For example, physicians are often reluctant to switch their patients from existing therapies even when new and potentially more effective or convenient treatments enter the market. Further, patients often acclimate to the therapy that they are currently taking and do not want to switch unless their physicians recommend switching products or they are required to switch therapies due to lack of reimbursement for existing therapies.

 

The potential market opportunities for our products are difficult to estimate precisely. Our estimates of the potential market opportunities are predicated on many assumptions, including industry knowledge and publications, third party research reports and other surveys. While we believe that our internal assumptions are reasonable, these assumptions involve the exercise of significant judgment on the part of our management, are inherently uncertain and the reasonableness of these assumptions has not been assessed by an independent source. If any of the assumptions proves to be inaccurate, the actual markets for our products could be smaller than our estimates of the potential market opportunities.

 


We may seek to enter into collaborations with third parties for the development and commercialization of our product candidates. If we fail to enter into such collaborations, or such collaborations are not successful, we may not be able to capitalize on the market potential of our product candidates.

 

We may seek third-party collaborators for development and commercialization of our products. Our likely collaborators for any marketing, distribution, development, licensing or broader collaboration arrangements include large and mid-size pharmaceutical companies, regional and national pharmaceutical companies, non-profit organizations, government agencies, and biotechnology companies. Our ability to generate revenues from these arrangements will depend on our collaborators’ abilities to successfully perform the functions assigned to them in these arrangements.


Collaborations involving our products will pose the following risks to us:

 

collaborators may have significant discretion in determining the efforts and resources that they will apply to these collaborations;

 

collaborators may not pursue development and commercialization of our product candidate or may elect not to continue or renew development or commercialization programs based on preclinical or clinical trial results, changes in the collaborators’ strategic focus or available funding, or external factors such as an acquisition that diverts resources or creates competing priorities;

 

collaborators may delay clinical trials, provide insufficient funding for a clinical trial program, stop a clinical trial or abandon a product candidate, repeat or conduct new clinical trials or require a new formulation of a product candidate for clinical testing;

 

collaborators could independently develop, or develop with third parties, products that compete directly or indirectly with our product candidate if the collaborators believe that competitive products are more likely to be successfully developed or can be commercialized under terms that are more economically attractive than ours;

 

collaborators with marketing and distribution rights to one or more products may not commit sufficient resources to the marketing and distribution of such product or products;

 

collaborators may not properly maintain or defend our intellectual property rights or may use our proprietary information in such a way as to invite litigation that could jeopardize or invalidate our intellectual property or proprietary information or expose us to potential litigation;

 

collaborators may infringe the intellectual property rights of third parties, which may expose us to litigation and potential liability;

 

disputes may arise between the collaborators and us that result in the delay or termination of the research, development or commercialization of our product candidate or that result in costly litigation or arbitration that diverts management attention and resources; and

 

collaborations may be terminated and, if terminated, may result in a need for additional capital to pursue further development or commercialization of the applicable product candidates.

 

Collaborative agreements may not lead to development or commercialization of our product candidate in the most efficient manner or at all. If a collaborator of ours were to be involved in a business combination, the continued pursuit and emphasis on our product development or commercialization program could be delayed, diminished or terminated.

 

ABVC, through BioLite, may not be able to receive the full amounts available under the collaboration agreement by and between BioLite, Inc. and BioHopeKing, which could increase its burden to seek additional capital to fund the business operations.

 

In February and December of 2015, BioLite, Inc., a subsidiary of BioLite, entered into a total of three joint venturecollaboration agreements with BioHopeKing to jointly develop ABV-1501 for Triple Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC),TNBC (or BLI-1401-2 as used by BioLite internally) and ABV-1504 for MDD and ABV 1505 for ADHD. The agreements granted marketing rights to BioHopeKing for certain(or BLI-1005 as used by BioLite internally) in most Asian countries and BLI-1006, which has been later replaced with BLI-1008 for ADHD in returnAsia, excluding Japan. ABVC and BioLite are co-developing ABV-1501 for TNBC and ABV-1504 for MDD pursuant to the Collaboration Agreement and its Addendum entered by and between BriVision and BioLite Taiwan where ABVC and BriVision are responsible for the clinical trials of such two new drug candidates. In accordance with the terms of the BioHopeKing Collaboration Agreement for ABV-1501 or BLI-1401-2 and the Addendum thereto, BioLite shall receive payments of a seriestotal of milestone payments totaling $10 million in cash and equity of BioHopeKing or equity securities owned by BioHopeKing. The milestone payments are determined byit at various stages on a schedule dictated by BioLite’s achievements of BioLite development achievements. In addition, BioLite will receive a royalty ofcertain milestones and twelve percentper cent (12%) of net sales of the three drugs upon commencement of salesdrug products when ABV-1501 or BLI-1401-2 is approved for sale in the countries covered by the agreement.

Subsequently, ABVC and BioLite agreed to cooperate together to conduct clinical trials of the three new drug candidates in return for ABVC receiving the marketing rights to all countries not included in the BioHopeKing agreement.

licensed territories. If BioLite fails to reach any of the milestones pursuant to the milestone schedule,in a timely manner, it may not receive the rest of the payments from BioHopeKing. As a result of BioLite’s potential inability to receive the full payments under those collaboration agreements with BioHopeKing, ABVC and BioLite may have to seek other sources of financing to fund their operationalits operation activities.


ABVC and its Subsidiaries may not be successful in establishing and maintaining additional strategic partnerships, which could adversely affect ABVC’s ability to develop and commercialize products, negatively impacting its operating results.

In addition to ABVC’s current collaboration with BioHopeKing for selected Asian markets, a part of its strategy is to evaluate and, as deemed appropriate, enter into additional partnerships in the future with major biotechnology or pharmaceutical companies. ABVC’s products may prove to be difficult to effectively license out as planned. Various regulatory, commercial and manufacturing factors may impact ABVC’s ability to seek co-developers of or grow revenues from licensing out any of the sixseven products in the pipeline, none of which has been fully licensed out. Specifically, ABVC may encounter difficulty by virtue of:

its inability to effectively identify and align with commercial partners in the U.S. to collaborate the development of ABV-1504 for the treatment of Major Depressive Disorder, ABV-1505 to treat Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disease, ABV-1501 for the treatment of Triple Negative Breast Cancer, ABV-1519 to treat of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer, ABV-1703 to the treatment of Pancreatic Cancer, ABV-1601 to treat Depression in Cancer Patients and ABV-1702 to treat Myelodysplastic syndromes and ABV-1701 Vitargus®Vitargus for use during the treatmenttreatments of Retinal Detachment or Vitreous Hemorrhage;

its inability to secure appropriate contract research organizations (“CRO”s) to conduct data analysis, lab research and FDA communication; and

its inability to effectively continue clinical studies on and secure positive research results of all of our investigational new drugs to attract additional commercial collaborators.collaborators outside the U.S.

ABVC faces significant competition in seeking appropriate partners for its therapeutic candidates, and the negotiation process is time-consuming and complex. In order for ABVC to successfully partner its autoimmune, CNS and hematology therapeutic candidates, as well as Vitargus®,Vitargus, its medical device, potential partners must view these medicinal candidates as economically valuable in markets they determine to be attractive in light of the terms that ABVC is seeking and compared to other available products for licensing by other companies. Even if ABVC is successful in its efforts to establish new strategic partnerships, the terms that ABVC agrees upon may not be favorable, and it may not be able to maintain such strategic partnerships if, for example, development or approval of an autoimmune therapeutic is delayed or sales of an approved product are disappointing. Any delay in entering into new strategic partnership agreements related to any of ABVC’s therapeutic candidates could delay the development and commercialization of such candidates and reduce its competitiveness even if it reaches the market.

If ABVC fails to establish and maintain additional strategic partnerships or collaboration related to its therapeutic candidates that have not been fully licensed, it will bear all of the risk and costs related to the development of any such drug candidate, and it may need to seek additional financing, hire additional employees and otherwise develop expertise for which it has not budgeted. This could negatively affect the development of any incompletely partnered new drug candidates.

ABVC’s licensors may choose to terminate any of the license agreements with ABVC. As a result, ABVC’s research and development of the new drug candidate which containscandidates that contain the underlying API may be terminated abruptly.

If ABVC’s Subsidiary BioLite materially breaches any license agreements it has with Yukiguni Maitake Co. (“Yukiguni”), Medical and Pharmaceutical Industry Technology and Development Center (“MPITDC”) or Industrial Technology Research Institute (“ITRI”), or any of such license agreement terminates unexpectedly, BioLite may not be able to continue its research and development of the new drug candidate which contains the underlying API whose license has been terminated. Pursuant to the Yukiguni License Agreement, if BioLite fails to meet the milestone sales requirement or submit certain applications to the appropriate health authorities on a schedule prescribed therein, Yukiguni shall have the right to terminate the Yukiguni License Agreement. If the Yukiguni License Agreement is terminated involuntarily, BioLite maywill be forced to discontinue its new drug development of ABV-1702,ABV-1703, ABV-1502 and ABV-1501 and terminate the collaboration agreements relating to the three new drug candidates. The termination of the right to use the underlying API will materially disrupt the operations of ABVC. Pursuant to the license agreement between BioLite Taiwan and ITRI, if BioLite Taiwan fails to complete the research submission milestones according to the schedule set forth therein without reasons or with reasons unstatisfied with ITRI, ITRI shall have the right to terminate the license agreement with BioLite Taiwan without refund to BioLite Taiwan.

BioLite Taiwan and BioLite have submitted the IND for PDC-1421 and subsequently conducted Phase II clinical trials of two drug candidatescandidiates developed from PDC-1421 according to the schedule listed in the license agreement between BioLite Taiwan and MPITDC.


ABVC’s Subsidiary BioLite depends on one supplier for the API of ABV-1702,ABV-1703, ABV-1519, ABV-1502 and ABV-1501 and any failure of such supplier to deliver sufficient quantities of the API that meets its quality standard could have a material adverse effect on its research of these threefour drug candidates.

Currently BioLite relies primarily on Yukiguni, a Japanese supplier, to provide Yukiguni Maitake Extract 404, the API which is contained in ABV-1702,ABV-1703, ABV-1519, ABV-1502 and ABV-1501, threefour of the sixseven drug candidates in BioLite’s oncology/hematology portfolio. It has entered into the Yukiguni License Agreement, among other things, for the delivery of Yukiguni Maitake Extract 404, which is patented in Japan and China.404. BioLite agrees to fulfill its demand of the Yukiguni Maitake Extract 404 by purchasing first from Yukiguni respecting the therapeutic products and Yukiguni represents that it will provide sufficient quantities of such API that meets cGMP standards. If the supplies of Yukiguni Maitake Extract 404 were interrupted for any reason, BioLite’s research and development activities of these threefour drug candidates could be delayed. These delays could be extensive and expensive, especially in situations where a substitution is not readily available.

Although BioLite may negotiateis currently negotiating with other vendors that could provideanother supplier of Yukiguni Maitake Extract 404 it cannot guarantee that itis located in Canada. However, there can be no assurance that the negotiation will be able to find such vendors.successful. Failure to obtain adequate supplies of high quality Yukiguni Maitake Extract 404 in a timely manner could have a disruptive effect on ABVC and BioLite’s research and development activities of ABV-1702,ABV-1703, ABV-1519, ABV-1502 and ABV-1501, resulting in a material adverse effect on the Company’s business, financial condition and results of operations. As of the date of this prospectus, BioLite has sufficient API on hand from Yukiguni for the upcoming clinical study of ABV-1501 for the treatment of Triple Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC).


 

ABVC may use hazardous chemicals and biological materials in its business. Any claims relating to improper handling, storage or disposal of these materials could be time consuming and costly.

ABVC’s research and development may involve the controlled use of hazardous materials, including chemicals and biological materials. ABVC cannot eliminate the risk of accidental contamination or discharge and any resulting injury from these materials. ABVC may be sued for any injury or contamination that results from its use or the use by third parties of these materials, and its liability may exceed any insurance coverage and its total assets. Federal, state and local laws and regulations govern the use, manufacture, storage, handling and disposal of these hazardous materials and specified waste products, as well as the discharge of pollutants into the environment and human health and safety matters. Although ABVC makes its best efforts to comply with environmental laws and regulations despite the associated high costs and inconvenience, ABVC cannot guarantee that it will not mishandle any hazardous materials in the future. If it fails to comply with these requirements or any improper handling of hazardous materials occurs, it could incur substantial costs, including civil or criminal fines and penalties, clean-up costs or capital expenditures for control equipment or operational changes necessary to achieve and maintain compliance. In addition, ABVC cannot predict the impact on its business of new or amended environmental laws or regulations or any changes in the way existing and future laws and regulations are interpreted and enforced.

The facilities where the samples of drug candidates are manufactured need to be maintained and monitored in compliance with the good manufacturing practice standards, the failure of such maintenance could contaminate the results of our clinical trials and adversely affect our operations.

ABVC’s Subsidiary BioKey operates a laboratory facility that is a certified good manufacturing practice facility (“cGMP”) and some of its contract clinical trial service providers use cGMP facilities to conduct clinical studies. ABVC cannot be certain that ABVC or its present or future contract manufacturers or suppliers will be able to comply with cGMPs regulations and other FDA regulatory requirements. Failure to comply with these requirements may result in, among other things, total or partial suspension of production activities, failure of the FDA to grant approval for marketing, and withdrawal, suspension, or revocation of marketing approvals.


Risks Related to Intellectual Property

Pharmaceutical patents and patent applications involve highly complex legal and factual questions, which, if determined adversely to the Company, could negatively impact its respective licensors’ patent position and interrupt its research activities.

The patent positions of pharmaceutical companies and research institutions can be highly uncertain and involve complex legal and factual questions. The interpretation and breadth of claims allowed in some patents covering pharmaceutical compositions may be uncertain and difficult to determine, and are often affected materially by the facts and circumstances that pertain to the patented compositions and the related patent claims. The standards of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, or USPTO, are sometimes uncertain and could change in the future. Consequently, the issuance and scope of patents cannot be predicted with certainty. Patents, if issued, may be challenged, invalidated or circumvented. U.S. patents and patent applications may also be subject to interference proceedings, and U.S. patents may be subject to re-examination proceedings, post-grant review and/or inter parties review in the USPTO. Foreign patents may be subject to opposition or comparable proceedings in the corresponding foreign patent office, which could result in either loss of the patent or denial of the patent application or loss or reduction in the scope of one or more of the claims of the patent or patent application. In addition, such interference, re-examination, post-grant review, inter parties review and opposition proceedings may be costly. Accordingly, rights under any issued patents may not provide the Company with sufficient protection against competitive products or processes.

In addition, changes in or different interpretations of patent laws in the U.S. and foreign countries may permit others to use discoveries of the Company or to develop and commercialize their new drug candidates without providing any compensation thereto, or may limit the number of patents or claims the Company can obtain. The laws of some countries do not protect intellectual property rights to the same extent as U.S. laws and those countries may lack adequate rules and procedures for defending the intellectual property rights of the Company.

If the Company fails to obtain and maintain patent protection and trade secret protection of its respective products, the Company could lose their competitive advantages and competition it faces would increase, reducing any potential revenues and adversely affecting its ability to attain or maintain profitability.

Developments in patent law could have a negative impact on the Company’s Licensors’ patent positions and the Company’s business.

From time to time, the U.S. Supreme Court, other federal courts, the U.S. Congress or the USPTO may change the standards of patentability and any such changes could have a negative impact on the Company’s business.

In addition, the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act, or the America Invents Act, which was signed into law in 2011, includes a number of significant changes to U.S. patent law. These changes include a transition from a “first-to-invent” system to a “first-to-file” system, changes the way issued patents are challenged, and changes the way patent applications are disputed during the examination process. These changes may favor larger and more established companies that have greater resources to devote to patent application filing and prosecution. The USPTO has developed regulations and procedures to govern the full implementation of the America Invents Act, and many of the substantive changes to patent law associated with the America Invents Act, and, in particular, the first-to-file provisions, became effective on March 16, 2013. Substantive changes to patent law associated with the America Invents Act may affect the Company, BioLite and BioKey’s ability to obtain patents, and if obtained, to enforce or defend them. Accordingly, it is not clear what, if any, impact the America Invents Act will ultimately have on the cost of prosecuting the Company’s patent applications, its ability to obtain patents based on its discoveries and its ability to enforce or defend its patents.


If the Company is unable to protect the confidentiality of its trade secrets, its business and competitive position would be harmed, respectively.

In addition to patent protection, because the Company operates in the highly technical field of discovery and development of therapies, it relies in part on trade secret protection in order to protect its proprietary technology and processes. However, trade secrets are difficult to protect. The Company has entered into confidentiality and non-disclosure agreements with its employees, consultants, outside scientific and commercial collaborators, sponsored researchers, and other advisors. These agreements generally require that the other party keep confidential and not disclose to third parties any confidential information developed by the party or made known to the party by the Company during the course of the party’s relationship therewith. These agreements also generally provide that inventions conceived by the party in the course of rendering services to the Company will be ABVC’s exclusive property. However, these agreements may not be honored and may not effectively assign intellectual property rights to the Company.

In addition to contractual measures, the Company tries to protect the confidential nature of its proprietary information using physical and technological security measures. Such measures may not, for example, in the case of misappropriation of a trade secret by an employee or third party with authorized access, provide adequate protection for the Company. The Company’s security measures may not prevent an employee or consultant from misappropriating its trade secrets and providing them to a competitor, and recourse it takes against such misconduct may not provide an adequate remedy to protect the Company’s interests fully. Enforcing a claim that a party illegally disclosed or misappropriated a trade secret can be difficult, expensive, and time-consuming, and the outcome is unpredictable. In addition, courts outside the U.S. may be less willing to protect trade secrets. Trade secrets may be independently developed by others in a manner that could prevent legal recourse by the Company. If the Company’s confidential or proprietary information, such as the trade secrets, were to be disclosed or misappropriated, or if any such information was independently developed by a competitor, its competitive position could be harmed.

Third parties may assert that the Company’s employees or consultants have wrongfully used or disclosed confidential information or misappropriated trade secrets.

The Company might employ individuals who were previously employed at universities or other biopharmaceutical companies, including its competitors or potential competitors. Although through certain non-disclosure covenants and employment agreements with its officers and employees, the Company tries to ensure that its employees and consultants do not use the proprietary information or know-how of others in the work for the Company, the Company may be subject to claims that it or its employees, consultants or independent contractors have inadvertently or otherwise used or disclosed intellectual property, including trade secrets or other proprietary information, of a former employer or other third parties. Litigation may be necessary to defend against these claims. If the Company fails in defending any such claims, in addition to paying monetary damages, the Company may lose valuable intellectual property rights or personnel. Even if the Company is successful in defending against such claims, litigation could result in substantial costs and be a distraction to the Company’s management and other employees.

ABVC’s ability to compete may decline if it does not adequately protect its proprietary rights or if it is barred by the intellectual property rights of others.

ABVC’s commercial success depends on obtaining and maintaining proprietary rights to its drug candidates as well as successfully defending these rights against third-party challenges. ABVC obtains its rights to use and research certain proprietary information to further develop the drug candidates primarily from three institutions, MPITDC, ITRI and Yukiguni (collectively the “Licensors”). These three institutions own the intellectual property rights in the products that have been licensed to us and may prosecute new patents of the drug candidates that are invented or discovered within the licensed scope of use under the respective license agreements. ABVC will only be able to protect its new drug candidates from unauthorized use by third parties to the extent that its valid and enforceable patents, or effectively protected trade secrets and know-how, cover them.

ABVC’s ability to obtain new patent protection for its new drug candidates is uncertain due to a number of factors, including that:

ABVC may not have been the first to make the inventions covered by pending patent applications or issued patents;

ABVC may not have been the first to file patent applications for its new drug candidates;

others may independently develop identical, similar or alternative products or compositions and uses thereof;

ABVC’s disclosures in patent applications may not be sufficient to meet the statutory requirements for patentability;

any or all of ABVC’s pending patent applications may not result in issued patents;

ABVC may not seek or obtain patent protection in countries that may eventually provide a significant business opportunity;

any patents issued to ABVC may not provide a basis for commercially viable products, may not provide any competitive advantages, or may be successfully challenged by third parties;

ABVC’s methods may not be patentable;


 

ABVC’s licensors may successfully challenge that ABVC’s new patent application fall outside the licensed use of the products; or

others may design around ABVC’s patent claims to produce competitive products which fall outside of the scope of its patents.

Even if ABVC has or obtains new patents covering its new drug candidates, ABVC may still be barred from making, using and selling them because of the patent rights of others. Others may have filed, and in the future may file, patent applications covering products that are similar or identical to ABVC. There are many issued U.S. and foreign patents relating to therapeutic products and some of these relate to ABVC’s new drug candidates. These could materially affect ABVC’s ability to develop its drug candidates. Because patent applications can take many years to issue, there may be currently pending applications unknown to ABVC that may later result in issued patents that its new drug candidates may infringe. These patent applications may have priority over patent applications filed by ABVC.

The Company and its respective licensors may not be able to enforce their intellectual property rights throughout the world.

The laws of some foreign countries do not protect intellectual property rights to the same extent as the laws of the U.S. Many companies have encountered significant problems in protecting and defending intellectual property rights in certain foreign jurisdictions. The legal systems of some countries, particularly developing countries, do not favor the enforcement of patents and other intellectual property protection, especially those relating to pharmaceuticals and medical devices. This could make it difficult for the Company and its respective licensors to stop the infringement of some of the Licensors’ patents, or the misappropriation of their other intellectual property rights. For example, many foreign countries have compulsory licensing laws under which a patent owner must grant licenses to third parties. In addition, many countries limit the enforceability of patents against third parties, including government agencies or government contractors. In these countries, patents may provide limited or no benefit. Patent protection must ultimately be sought on a country-by-country basis, which is an expensive and time-consuming process with uncertain outcomes. Accordingly, the Company and its licensors have chosen in the past and may choose in the future not to seek patent protection in certain countries, and as a result the Company will not have the benefit of patent protection in such countries. Moreover, the Company may choose in the future not to seek patent protection in certain countries, and as a result it will not have the benefit of patent protection in such countries.

Proceedings to enforce the Company’s and its licensors’ patent rights in foreign jurisdictions could result in substantial costs and divert its efforts and attention from other aspects of the businesses. Accordingly, the efforts to protect the Company’s intellectual property rights in such countries may be inadequate. In addition, changes in the law and legal decisions by courts in the U.S. and foreign countries may affect the Company’s ability to obtain adequate protection for its technology and the enforcement of intellectual property.


Regulatory Risks Relating to Biopharmaceutical Business

The Company is subject to various government regulations.

The manufacture and sale of human therapeutic and diagnostic products in the U.S. and foreign jurisdictions are governed by a variety of statutes and regulations. These laws require approval of manufacturing facilities, controlled research and testing of products and government review and approval of a submission containing manufacturing, preclinical and clinical data in order to obtain marketing approval based on establishing the safety and efficacy of the product for each use sought, including adherence to current PIC/S Guide to Good Manufacturing Practice for Medicinal products during production and storage, and control of marketing activities, including advertising and labeling.

The products the Company is currently developing will require significant development, preclinical and clinical testing and investment of substantial funds prior to its commercialization. The process of obtaining required approvals can be costly and time-consuming, and there can be no assurance that future products will be successfully developed and will prove to be safe and effective in clinical trials or receive applicable regulatory approvals. Markets other than the U.S. have similar restrictions. Potential investors and shareholders should be aware of the risks, problems, delays, expenses and difficulties which we may encounter in view of the extensive regulatory environment which controls our business.

The Company cannot be certain that it will be able to obtain regulatory approval for, or successfully commercialize, any of its current or future product candidates.

The Company may not be able to develop any current or future product candidates. The Company’s new drug candidates will require substantial additional clinical development, testing, and regulatory approval before the commencement of commercialization. The clinical trials of the Company’s drug candidates are, and the manufacturing and marketing of our new drug candidates will be subject to extensive and rigorous review and regulation by numerous government authorities in the U.S. and in other countries where the Company intend to test and, if approved, market any new drug candidate. Before obtaining regulatory approvals for the commercial sale of any product candidate, the Company must demonstrate through pre-clinical testing and clinical trials that the product candidate is safe and effective for use in each target indication. This process can take many years and may include post-marketing studies and surveillance, which will require the expenditure of substantial resources. Of the large number of drugs in development in the U.S., only a small percentage successfully completes the FDA regulatory approval process and is commercialized. Accordingly, even if the Company is able to obtain the requisite financing to continue to fund its development and clinical programs, it cannot assure the investors that any of the product candidates will be successfully developed or commercialized.


 

The Company is not permitted to market a therapeutic product in the U.S. until it receives approval of an NDA or ANDA, for that product from the FDA, or in any foreign countries until they receive the requisite approval from such countries. Obtaining approval of an NDA is a complex, lengthy, expensive and uncertain process, and the FDA may delay, limit or deny approval of any product candidate for many reasons, including, among others:

Unable to demonstrate that a product candidate is safe and effective to the satisfaction of the FDA;

the results of the Company’s clinical trials may not meet the level of statistical or clinical significance required by the FDA for marketing approval;

the FDA may not approve the formulation of any product candidate;

the CROs, that BioLite or the Company retains to conduct its clinical trials may take actions outside of its control that materially adversely impact its clinical trials;

delays in patient enrollment, variability in the number and types of patients available for clinical trials, and lower-than anticipated retention rates for patients in clinical trials;

the FDA may find the data from pre-clinical studies and clinical trials insufficient to demonstrate that a product candidate’s clinical and other benefits outweigh its safety risks, such as the risk of drug abuse by patients or the public in general;

the FDA may disagree with the interpretation of data from the Company’s pre-clinical studies and clinical trials;

the FDA may not accept data generated at the Company’s clinical trial sites;

if an NDA, if and when submitted, is reviewed by an advisory committee, the FDA may have difficulties scheduling an advisory committee meeting in a timely manner or the advisory committee may recommend against approval of our application or may recommend that the FDA require, as a condition of approval, additional pre-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, as a condition of approval or post-approval; or

the FDA may change its approval policies or adopt new regulations.

These same risks apply to applicable foreign regulatory agencies from which the Company, through BioLite, may seek approval for any of our new drug candidates.

Any of these factors, many of which are beyond the Company’s control, could jeopardize its ability to obtain regulatory approval for and successfully market any new drug candidate. As a result, any such setback in the Company’s pursuit of initial or additional regulatory approval would have a material adverse effect on its business and prospects.

If the Company does not successfully complete pre-clinical and Phase I and II clinical development, it will be unable to receive full payments under their respective collaboration agreements, find future collaborators or partners to take the drug candidates to Phase III clinical trials. Even if the Company successfully completes all Phase I and II clinical trials, those results are not necessarily predictive of results of additional trials that may be needed before an NDA for Phase III trials may be submitted to the FDA. Although there are a large number of drugs in development in the U.S. and other countries, only a very small percentage result in commercialization, and even fewer achieve widespread physician and consumer acceptance following the regulatory approval.

In addition, the Company may encounter delays or drug candidate rejections based on new governmental regulations, future legislative or administrative actions, or changes in FDA policy or interpretation during the period of product development. If the Company obtains required regulatory approvals, such approvals may later be withdrawn. Delays or failures in obtaining regulatory approvals may result in:

varying interpretations of data and commitments by the FDA and similar foreign regulatory agencies; and

diminishment of any competitive advantages that such drug candidates may have or attain.

Furthermore, if the Company fails to comply with applicable FDA and other regulatory requirements at any stage during this regulatory process, the Company may encounter or be subject to:

delays or termination in clinical trials or commercialization;

refusal by the FDA or similar foreign regulatory agencies to review pending applications or supplements to approved applications;

product recalls or seizures;

suspension of manufacturing;


 

withdrawals of previously approved marketing applications; and

fines, civil penalties, and criminal prosecutions.

The Company faces substantial competition from companies with considerably more resources and experience than the Company has, which may result in others discovering, developing, receiving approval for, or commercializing products before or more successfully than the Company.

The Company competes with companies that research, develop, manufacture and market already-existing and new pharmaceutical products in the fields of CNS, hematology/oncology and autoimmune. The Company anticipates that it will face increased competition in the future as new companies enter the market with new drugs and/or technologies and/or their competitors improve their current products. One or more of their competitors may offer new drugs superior to the Company’s and render the Company’s drugs uneconomical. A lot of the Company’s current competitors, as well as many of its respective potential competitors, have greater name recognition, more substantial intellectual property portfolios, longer operating histories, significantly greater resources to invest in new drug development, more substantial experience in product marketing and new product development, greater regulatory expertise, more extensive manufacturing capabilities and the distribution channels to deliver products to customers. If the Company is not able to compete successfully, it may not generate sufficient revenue to become profitable. The Company’s ability to compete successfully will depend largely on its ability to:

successfully commercialize its drug candidates with commercial partners;

discover and develop new drug candidates that are superior to other products in the market;

with its collaborators, obtain required regulatory approvals;

attract and retain qualified personnel; and

obtain patent and/or other proprietary protection for its product candidates.

Established pharmaceutical companies devote significant financial resources to discovering, developing or licensing novel compounds that could make the Company’s products and product candidates obsolete. Our competitors may obtain patent protection, receive FDA approval, and commercialize medicines before we do. Other companies are or may become engaged in the discovery of compounds or botanical materials that may compete with the drug candidates the Company is developing.

The Company competes with a large number of well-established pharmaceutical companies that may have more resources than the Company does in developing therapeutics in the fields of CNS, oncology/hematology and ophthalmology.

Any new drug candidate the Company is developing or commercializing that competes with a currently-approved product must demonstrate compelling advantages in efficacy, convenience, tolerability and/or safety in order to address price competition and be commercially successful. If the Company is not able to compete effectively against its current and future competitors, its business will not grow and its financial condition and operations will suffer.

Risks Relating to Doing Business Outside the United States

Because part of ABVC’s pharmaceutical research and development is conducted outside of the U.S., the Company is subject to the risks of doing business internationally, including periodic foreign economic downturns and political instability, which may adversely affect the Company’s revenue and cost of doing business in Taiwan.

ABVC collaborates with partners whose primary place of business is in Taiwan, Republic of China and the Company has certain key employees in Taiwan. Foreign economic downturns may affect our results of operations in the future. Additionally, other facts relating to the operation of the Company’s business outside of the U.S. may have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business, financial condition and results of operations, including:

international economic and political changes;

the imposition of governmental controls or changes in government regulations, including tax laws, regulations and treaties;

changes in, or impositions of, legislative or regulatory requirements regarding the pharmaceutical industry;

compliance with U.S. and international laws involving international operations, including the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and export control laws;

difficulties in achieving headcount reductions due to unionized labor and works councils;

restrictions on transfers of funds and assets between jurisdictions; and

China- Taiwan geo-political instability.


 

As the Company continues to operate its business globally, its success will depend in part, on its ability to anticipate and effectively manage these risks. The impact of any one or more of these factors could materially adversely affect the Company’s business, financial condition and results of operations.

 

The Company may be exposed to liabilities under the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”) and Chinese anti-corruption law.

The Company is subject to the FCPA, and other laws that prohibit improper payments or offers of payments to foreign governments, foreign government officials and political parties by U.S. persons as defined by the statute for purposes of obtaining or retaining businesses. The Company may have agreements with third parties who may make sales in mainland China and the U.S., during the process of which the Company may be exposed to corruption. Activities in Taiwan create the risk of unauthorized payments or offers of payments by an employee, consultant or agent of the Company, because these parties are not always subject to the Company’s control.

Although the Company believes to date it has complied in all material aspects with the provisions of the FCPA and Chinese anti-corruption law, the existing safeguards and any future improvements may prove to be less than effective and any of the Company’s employees, consultants or agents may engage in corruptive conduct for which the Company might be held responsible. Violations of the FCPA or Chinese anti-corruption law may result in severe criminal or civil sanctions against the Company and individuals and therefore could negatively affect the Company’s business, operating results and financial condition. In addition, the Taiwanese government may seek to hold the Company liable as a successor for FCPA violations committed by companies in which the Company invests or acquires.

International operations expose the Company to currency exchange and repatriation risks, and the Company cannot predict the effect of future exchange rate fluctuations on its business and operating results.

The Company has business operations in Taiwan and collaborative activities in the U.S. and Japan. Substantial amounts of revenues are received and expenses are incurred in New Taiwan Dollars and U.S. dollars. Thus, the Company has exposure to currency fluctuations. The Company cannot assure you that the effect of currency exchange fluctuations will not materially affect its revenues and net income in the future.

We conduct our operations internationally and the effect of business, legal and political risks associated with international operations may seriously harm our business.

Sales to customers outside the United States accounted for 66 % and 7% for the year ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively. Our international sales and operations are subject to a wide range of risks, which may vary from country to country or region to region. These risks include the following:

export and import duties, changes to import and export regulations, and restrictions on the transfer of funds;

political and economic instability;

issues arising from cultural or language differences and labor unrest;

longer payment cycles and greater difficulty in collecting accounts receivable;

compliance with trade and technical standards in a variety of jurisdictions;

difficulties in staffing and managing international operations, including the risks associated with fraud, theft and other illegal conduct;

compliance with laws and regulations, including environmental, employment and tax laws, which vary from country to country and over time, increasing the costs of compliance and potential risks of non-compliance;

difficulties enforcing our contractual and intellectual property rights, especially in those foreign countries that do not respect and protect intellectual property rights to the same extent as the United States and European countries;

operations may be affected by political tensions, trade disputes and similar matters, particularly between China and Taiwan or between China and the United States;

United States and foreign trade restrictions, including those that may limit the importation of technology or components to or from various countries or impose tariffs or quotas; and

imposition of currency exchange controls or taxes that make it impracticable or costly to repatriate funds from foreign countries.

We cannot assure you that risks relating to our international operations will not seriously harm our business.


 

If the Company becomes directly subject to the recent scrutiny, criticism and negative publicity involving U.S.-listed Chinese companies, we may have to expend significant resources to investigate and resolve the matters. Any unfavorable results from the investigations could harm our business operations, this offering and our reputation.

Recently, U.S. public companies that have substantially all of their operations in China, have been subjects of intense scrutiny, criticism and negative publicity by investors, financial commentators and regulatory agencies, such as the SEC. Much of the scrutiny, criticism and negative publicity has centered on financial and accounting irregularities, lack of effective internal control over financial accountings, inadequate corporate governance and ineffective implementation thereof and, in many cases, allegations of fraud. As a result of enhanced scrutiny, criticism and negative publicity, the publicly traded stocks of many U.S. listed Chinese companies have sharply decreased in value and, in some cases, have become virtually worthless or illiquid. Many of these companies are now subject to shareholder lawsuits and SEC enforcement actions and are conducting internal and external investigations into the allegations. It is not clear what effects the sector-wide investigations will have on the Company. If the Company becomes a subject of any unfavorable allegations, whether such allegations are proven to be true or untrue, the Company will have to expend significant resources to investigate such allegations and defend the Company. If such allegations were not proven to be baseless, the Company would be severely hampered and the price of the stock of the Company could decline substantially. If such allegations were proven to be groundless, the investigation might have significantly distracted the attention of the Company’s management.

Risks Related to the Company’s Financial Condition

Our existing indebtedness may adversely affect our ability to obtain additional funds and may increase our vulnerability to economic or business downturns.

We are subject to a number of risks associated with our indebtedness, including: 1) we must dedicate a portion of our cash flows from operations to pay debt service costs, and therefore we have less funds available for operations and other purposes; 2) it may be more difficult and expensive to obtain additional funds through financings, if available at all; 3) we are more vulnerable to economic downturns and fluctuations in interest rates, less able to withstand competitive pressures and less flexible in reacting to changes in our industry and general economic conditions; and 4) if we default under any of our existing credit facilities or if our creditors demand payment of a portion or all of our indebtedness, we may not have sufficient funds to make such payments. As of March 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020,2022, our outstanding current liabilities were approximately $4.7$5.8 million, and $4.8 million, respectively which consisted primarily of short-term bank loans and accrued expenses. On April 5 and 20, 2020, we entered into certain exchange agreements separately with certain U.S. and non-U.S. holders of certain convertible promissory notes in the aggregate amount of $1,446,780; pursuant to the exchange agreements, we issued to the Holders an aggregate of 795,735 shares of Common Stock and warrants to purchase 795,735 shares of Common Stock. On November 9, 2020, we entered into an exchange agreement with a certain non-U.S. holder of certain convertible promissory notes in the amount of $270,272; pursuant to the exchange agreements, we will issue to the holder an aggregate of 120,121 shares of Common Stock and warrants to purchase 120,121 shares of Common Stock. On October 23, 2020, we entered into a securities purchase agreement with a certain accredited investor. Pursuant to such securities purchase agreement, we issued a convertible promissory note in principal amount of $2,500,000 with a maturity date of twenty-four (24) month anniversary from the issuance date. The convertible promissory note bears an interest rate of ten percent (10%) per annum and may be convertible into our shares of common stock at a fixed conversion price of $2.25 per share. We also agreed to issue an aggregate of 545,182 options to purchaseof common stock to some of our employees in lieu of their deferred salaries in an aggregate amount of $1,090,360.


We haveFailure to remediate a historymaterial weakness in internal accounting controls could result in material misstatements in our financial statements.

Our management has identified a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting related to not having sufficient and skilled accounting personnel with appropriate level of lossestechnical accounting knowledge and will incur additional losses.

While we have begun to generate revenues, we are still operating at a loss, and there is no guarantee that we will be able to growexperience in the revenues enough to offset our costs to realize profitability.

To date, we have not been profitable and our comprehensive loss for the three months ended was $1,092,365 and $1,253,989 at March 31, 2021 and March 31, 2021, respectively. Our losses have resulted principally from costs incurred in research and development, including clinical trials, and from general and administrative costs associated with our operations. In order to license our technologies, we will need to conduct substantial additional research, development and clinical trials. We will also need to receive necessary regulatory clearances bothapplication of accounting principles generally accepted in the United States commensurate with the Company’s financial reporting requirements and foreign countries and obtain meaningful patent protection forhas concluded that, due to such material weakness, our licenses. We cannot be sure that we will obtain required regulatory approvals, or successfully research, develop and license our technologies. We expect that these activities, together with future general and administrative activities, will result in significant expenses for the foreseeable future. We may never achieve profitability.

Our disclosure controls and procedures were not effective as of December 31, 20202022. If not remediated, or if we identify further material weaknesses in our internal controls, our failure to establish and as a result of such we do not expect that ourmaintain effective disclosure controls and procedures will prevent all errors and all instancesinternal control over financial reporting could result in material misstatements in our financial statements and a failure to meet our reporting and financial obligations, each of fraud. The ineffectivewhich could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and the trading price of our common stock.

Failure to maintain the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures may lead to restatement of our financial statements, harm our operating results, subject us to regulatory scrutiny and sanction, cause investors to lose confidence in our reported financial information and have a negative effect on the market prices for our Common Stock.

EffectiveThe Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) have requirements that we may fail to meet or we may fall out of compliance with, such as the internal controls auditor attestation required under Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, with which we are not currently required to comply as we are a smaller reporting company. If we fail to achieve and maintain the adequacy of our internal controls, as such standards are modified, supplemented or amended from time to time, we may not be able to ensure that we can conclude on an ongoing basis that we have effective internal controls over financial reporting in accordance with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. Moreover, effective internal controls, particularly those related to revenue recognition, are necessary for us to produce reliable financial reports and are important to help prevent financial fraud. If we cannot provide reliable financial reports or prevent fraud, our business and effectively prevent fraud. We maintain a system of internal control overoperating results could be harmed, investors could lose confidence in our reported financial reporting, which is defined as a process designed by, or underinformation, and the supervisiontrading price of our principal executive officer and principal financial officer, or persons performing similar functions, and effected by our board of directors, management and other personnel, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.stock could drop significantly.


 

We maintain disclosure controls and procedures designed to provide reasonable assurance that material information required to be disclosed by us in the reports we file or submit under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms, and that the information is accumulated and communicated to our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure. We performed an evaluation, under the supervision and with the participation of our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, of the effectiveness of the design and operation of our disclosure controls and procedures as of the end of the period covered by this prospectus. Based on their evaluation, our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures were not effective as of December 31, 2020.

We do not expect that our disclosure controls and procedures will prevent all errors and all instances of fraud. Disclosure controls and procedures, no matter how well conceived and operated, can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the objectives of the disclosure controls and procedures are met. Further, the design of disclosure controls and procedures must reflect the fact that there are resource constraints, and the benefits must be considered relative to their costs. Because of the inherent limitations in all disclosure controls and procedures, no evaluation of disclosure controls and procedures can provide absolute assurance that we have detected all our control deficiencies and instances of fraud, if any. The design of disclosure controls and procedures is also based partly on 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.

Our articles of incorporation allow for our board to create new series of preferred stock without further approval by our shareholders, which could adversely affect the rights of the holders of our Common Stock.

Our Board of Directors has the authority to fix and determine the relative rights and preferences of preferred stock without shareholder approval. As a result, our Board of Directors could authorize the issuance of a series of preferred stock that would grant to holders the preferred right to our assets upon liquidation, the right to receive dividend payments before dividends are distributed to the holders of Common Stock and the right to the redemption of the shares, together with a premium, prior to the redemption of our Common Stock. In addition, our Board of Directors could authorize the issuance of a series of preferred stock that has greater voting power than our Common Stock or that is convertible into our Common Stock, which could decrease the relative voting power of our Common Stock or result in dilution to our existing shareholders.

We may create any additional series of preferred stock and issue such shares in the future although we do not have any present intention of doing so.


We may not be able to secure financing needed for future operating needs on acceptable terms, or on any terms at all.

From time to time, we may seek additional financing to provide the capital required to expand our production facilities, Research and development (“R&D”) initiatives and/or working capital, as well as to repay outstanding loans if cash flow from operations is insufficient to do so. We cannot predict with certainty the timing or amount of any such capital requirements. If such financing is not available on satisfactory terms, we may be unable to expand our business or to develop new business at the rate desired. If we are able to incur debt, we may be subject to certain restrictions imposed by the terms of the debt and the repayment of such debt may limit our cash flow and growth. If we are unable to incur debt, we may be forced to issue additional equity, which could have a dilutive effect on our current shareholders.

Our internal computer systems, or those of our third-party contractors or consultants, may fail or suffer security breaches, which could result in a material disruption of our product development programs.

Despite the implementation of security measures, our internal computer systems and those of our third-party contractors and consultants are vulnerable to damage from computer viruses, unauthorized access, natural disasters, terrorism, war and telecommunication and electrical failures. While we do not believe that we have experienced any such system failure, accident, or security breach to date, if such an event were to occur and cause interruptions in our operations, it could result in a loss of clinical trial data for our new drug candidates which could result in delays in our regulatory approval efforts and significantly increase our costs to recover or reproduce the data. To the extent that any disruption or security breach results in a loss of or damage to our data or applications or other data or applications relating to our technology or new drug candidates, or inappropriate disclosure of confidential or proprietary information, we could incur liabilities and the further development of our product candidates could be delayed.

The elimination of personal liability against our directors and officers under Nevada law and the existence of indemnification rights held by our directors, officers and employees may result in substantial expenses.

ABVC Bylaws eliminate the personal liability of our directors and officers to us and our shareholders for damages for breach of fiduciary duty as a director or officer to the extent permissible under Nevada law. Further, our Bylaws provide that we are obligated to indemnify each of our directors or officers to the fullest extent authorized by Nevada law and, subject to certain conditions, advance the expenses incurred by any director or officer in defending any action, suit or proceeding prior to its final disposition. Those indemnification obligations could expose us to substantial expenditures to cover the cost of settlement or damage awards against our directors or officers, which we may be unable to afford. Further, those provisions and resulting costs may discourage us or our shareholders from bringing a lawsuit against any of our current or former directors or officers for breaches of their fiduciary duties, even if such actions might otherwise benefit our shareholders.


 

Risks Related to the Offering and the Company’s Common Stock

The share price of our Common Stock is volatile and may be influenced by numerous factors, some of which are beyond our control.

There is currently only a limited public market for our Common Stock, which is listed on the OTCQBNasdaq Capital Market, and there can be no assurance that a trading market will develop further or be maintained for our Common Stock in the future. The trading price of our Common Stock is likely to be highly volatile, and could be subject to wide fluctuations in response to various factors, some of which are beyond our control. In addition to the factors discussed in this “Risk Factors” section and elsewhere in this prospectus,herein, these factors include:

the new drug candidates we acquire for commercialization;

the product candidates we seek to pursue, and our ability to obtain rights to develop those product candidates;

our decision to initiate a clinical trial, not to initiate a clinical trial or to terminate an existing clinical trial;

actual or anticipated adverse results or delays in our pre-clinical studies and clinical trials;

our failure to get any of our new drug candidates approved;

unanticipated serious safety and environmental concerns related to the use and research activities of any of our new drug candidates;

overall performance of the equity markets and other factors that may be unrelated to our operating performance or the operating performance of our competitors, including changes in market valuations of similar companies;

conditions or trends in the healthcare, biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries;

introduction of new products offered by us or our competitors;

announcements of significant acquisitions, strategic partnerships, joint ventures or capital commitments by us or our competitors;

our ability to maintain an adequate rate of growth and manage such growth;

issuances of debt or equity securities by us;

sales of our securities by us or our shareholders in the future, or the perception that such sales could occur;

trading volume of our Common Stock;

ineffectivenesseffectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting or disclosure controls and procedures;

general political and economic conditions in U.S. and other countries and territories where we conduct our business;

effects of natural or man-made catastrophic events; and

adverse regulatory decisions;

additions or departures of key scientific or management personnel;

changes in laws or regulations applicable to our product candidates, including without limitation clinical trial requirements for approvals;

disputes or other developments relating to patents and other proprietary rights and our ability to obtain protection for our products;

our dependence on third parties, including CROs and scientific and medical advisors;

failure to meet or exceed any financial guidance or expectations regarding development milestones that we may provide to the public;

actual or anticipated variations in quarterly operating results;

failure to meet or exceed the estimates and projections of the investment community;

other events or factors, many of which are beyond our control.


 

In addition, the stock market in general, and the stocks of small-cap healthcare, biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies in particular, have experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations that have often been unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of these companies. Broad market and industry factors may negatively affect the market price of our Common Stock, regardless of our actual operating performance. The realization of any of the above risks or any of a broad range of other risks, including those described in these “Risk Factors,” could have a dramatic and material adverse impact on the market price of our Common Stock.


Insiders have substantial control over us, and they could delay or prevent a change in our corporate control even if our other shareholders wanted it to occur.

Our executive officers, directors, and principal shareholders own, in the aggregate, approximately 61.4% of our outstanding Common Stock. As a result of their stockholdings, these shareholders are able to assert substantial control over matters requiring shareholder approval, including the election of directors and approval of significant corporate transactions. This could delay or prevent an outside party from acquiring or merging with us even if our other shareholders wanted it to occur.

The market price of our Common Stock may be volatile and there may not be sufficient liquidity in the market for our securities in order for investors to sell their securities.

The market price of our Common Stock has been and will likely continue to be highly volatile, as is the stock market in general. Factors that may materially affect the market price of our Common Stock are beyond our control, these factors may materially adversely affect the market price of our Common Stock, regardless of our performance. In addition, the public stock markets have experienced extreme price and trading volume volatility. These broad market fluctuations may influence the market price of our Common Stock. There is currently only a limited public market for our Common Stock, which is listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market, and there can be no assurance that a trading market will develop further or be maintained in the future.

The stock markets have experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations that have affected and continue to affect the market prices of equity securities of many companies, including very recently in connection with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which has resulted in decreased stock prices for many companies notwithstanding the lack of a fundamental change in their underlying business models or prospects. These fluctuations have often been unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of those companies. Broad market and industry factors, including potentially worsening economic conditions and other adverse effects or developments relating to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, political, regulatory and other market conditions, may negatively affect the market price of shares of our common stock, regardless of our actual operating performance. The market price of shares of our common stock may decline and you may lose some or all of your investment.

If any of the foregoing occurs, it could cause the price of our Common Stock to fall and may expose us to lawsuits that, even if unsuccessful, could be costly to defend and distract our Board and management.

Insiders have substantial control over us, and they could delay or prevent a change in our corporate control even if our other shareholders wanted it to occur.

Our executive officers, directors, and principal shareholders own, in the aggregate, approximately 54.3% of our outstanding Common Stock immediately prior to the closing of this offering. As a result of their stockholdings, these shareholders are able to assert substantial control over matters requiring shareholder approval, including the election of directors and approval of significant corporate transactions. This could delay or prevent an outside party from acquiring or merging with us even if our other shareholders wanted it to occur.

We have not paid dividends in the past and do not expect to pay dividends in the future, and any return on investment may be limited to the value of our shares.

We have never paid any cash dividends on our Common Stock and do not anticipate paying any cash dividends in the foreseeable future, and any return on investment may be limited to the value of our Common Stock. We plan to retain any future earnings to finance growth.

Under applicable Nevada law, we, as a Nevada corporation, generally may not make a distribution if i) we would not be able to pay our debts as they become due in the usual course of business, or ii) our total assets would be less than the sum of our total liabilities plus the amount that would be needed, if we were to be dissolved at the time of distribution, to satisfy the preferential rights upon dissolution of shareholders whose preferential rights are superior to those receiving the distribution.

If securities or industry analysts do not publish research or publish inaccurate or unfavorable research about our business, our stock price and any trading volume could decline.

Any trading market for our Common Stock that may develop will depend in part on the research and reports that securities or industry analysts publish about us or our business. Securities and industry analysts do not currently, and may never,As of the date hereof, there is only 1 publish research on us orreport about our business. If no securities or industry analysts commence coverage of our company, the trading prices for our Common Stock could be negatively affected. If securities or industry analysts initiateprovide additional coverage, and one or more of those analysts downgrade our stock or publish inaccurate or unfavorable research about our business, our stock price would likely decline. If one or more of these analysts cease coverage of our company or fail to publish reports on us regularly, demand for our Common Stock could decrease, which might cause our stock price and any trading volume to decline.


 

Future sales and issuances of our Common Stock or rights to purchase Common Stock, including pursuant to our equity incentive plan or otherwise, could result in dilution of the percentage ownership of our shareholders and could cause our stock price to fall.

We expect that we will need significant additional capital in the future to continue our planned operations. To raise capital, we may sell Common Stock, convertible securities or other equity securities in one or more transactions at prices and in a manner we determine from time to time. If we sell Common Stock, convertible securities or other equity securities in more than one transaction, including issuance of equity securities pursuant to any future stock incentive plan to our officers, directors, employees and non-employee consultants for their services to us, investors in a prior transaction may be materially diluted by subsequent sales. Additionally, any such sales may result in material dilution to our existing shareholders, and new investors could gain rights, preferences and privileges senior to those of holders of our Common Stock. Further, any future sales of our Common Stock by us or resales of our Common Stock by our existing shareholders could cause the market price of our Common Stock to decline. Any future grants of options, warrants or other securities exercisable or convertible into our Common Stock, or the exercise or conversion of such shares, and any sales of such shares in the market, could have an adverse effect on the market price of our Common Stock. On October 29, 2021, we filed a registration statement on Form S-3, as amended on November 16, 2021, which was declared effective on November 29, 2021. On May 11, 2022, we agreed to issue 2,000,000 shares of Common Stock, par value $0.001 per share, at a price of $2.11 per share and 5-year warrants to purchase up to 2,000,000 shares of Common Stock, exercisable at a price of $2.45 per share pursuant to certain securities purchase agreement dated May 11, 2022, which was effected as a takedown off the Company’s shelf registration statement on Form S-3, as amended. We also issued the co-placement agents warrants to purchase up to 160,000 shares of Common Stock, on the same terms as the investors warrants in connection with the transaction. We may issue shares of Common Stock through the Form S-3 in the future, which would further dilute your ownership.


Our Common Stock may be subject to the “penny stock” rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission, which may make it more difficult for shareholders to sell our Common Stock.

The SEC has adopted Rule 15g-9 which establishes the definition of a “penny stock,” for the purposes relevant to us, as any equity security that has a market price of less than $5.00 per share, subject to certain exceptions. For any transaction involving a penny stock, unless exempt, the rules require that a broker or dealer approve a person’s account for transactions in penny stocks, and the broker or dealer receive from the investor a written agreement to the transaction, setting forth the identity and quantity of the penny stock to be purchased.

In order to approve a person’s account for transactions in penny stocks, the broker or dealer must obtain financial information and investment experience objectives of the person, and make a reasonable determination that the transactions in penny stocks are suitable for that person and the person has sufficient knowledge and experience in financial matters to be capable of evaluating the risks of transactions in penny stocks.

The broker or dealer must also deliver, prior to any transaction in a penny stock, a disclosure schedule prescribed by the SEC relating to the penny stock market, which, in highlight form sets forth the basis on which the broker or dealer made the suitability determination, and that the broker or dealer received a signed, written agreement from the investor prior to the transaction.

Generally, brokers may be less willing to execute transactions in securities subject to the “penny stock” rules. This may make it more difficult for investors to dispose of the Company’s Common Stock if and when such shares are eligible for sale and may cause a decline in the market value of its stock.

Disclosure also has to be made about the risks of investing in penny stocks in both public offerings and in secondary trading and about the commissions payable to both the broker-dealer and the registered representative, current quotations for the securities and the rights and remedies available to an investor in cases of fraud in penny stock transactions. Finally, monthly statements have to be sent disclosing recent price information for the penny stock held in the account and information on the limited market in penny stock.


 

Our management will have broad discretion as to the use of proceeds from this offering, and we may not use the proceeds effectively.

Our management will have broad discretion in the application of the net proceeds from this offering and could spend the proceeds in ways that do not improve our results of operations or enhance the value of our Common Stock. You will not have the opportunity, as part of your investment decision, to assess whether these proceeds are being used appropriately. Our failure to apply these funds effectively could have a material adverse effect on our business and cause the price of our common stock to decline.

Investors in this offering will experience immediate and substantial dilution in net tangible book value.

The public offering price will be substantially higher than the net tangible book value per share of our outstanding shares of our Common Stock. As a result, investors in this offering will incur immediate dilution of $5.97 per share, based on the assumed public offering price of $6.25 per Unit. Investors in this offering will pay a price per share that substantially exceeds the book value of our assets after subtracting our liabilities. See “Dilution” for a more complete description of how the value of your investment will be diluted upon the completion of this offering.

An active, liquid, and orderly market for our common stock or Purchase Warrants may not develop.

Our Common Stock is expected to trade on Nasdaq or other national exchange as of the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. An active trading market for our Common Stock may never develop or be sustained. If an active market for our Common Stock does not continue to develop or is not sustained, it may be difficult for investors to sell shares of our Common Stock without depressing the market price and investors may not be able to sell the shares of our Common Stock at all. An inactive market may also impair our ability to raise capital by selling our Common Stock and may impair our ability to acquire other businesses, applications, or technologies using our Common Stock as consideration, which, in turn, could materially adversely affect our business.


While we are seeking to list our Common Stock on Nasdaq, there is no assurance that they will be listed on Nasdaq or any stock exchange.

While we are seeking to list our Common Stock on Nasdaq, we cannot ensure that such securities will be accepted for listing on Nasdaq. Should our Common Stock be rejected for listing on Nasdaq, we will not complete this transaction.

The Purchase Warrants may not have any value.

Each Purchase Warrant will have an exercise price equal to the per share public offering of our Units and will expire on the fifth anniversary of the date they first become exercisable. In the event our Common Stock price does not exceed the exercise price of the Purchase Warrants during the period when the warrants are exercisable, the Purchase Warrants may not have any value.

Holders of our Purchase Warrants will have no rights as shareholders until they acquire shares of our common stock, if ever.

If you acquire the Purchase Warrants to purchase shares of our common stock in this offering, you will have no rights with respect to our common stock until you acquire shares of such common stock upon exercise of your Purchase Warrants. Upon exercise of your Purchase Warrants, you will be entitled to exercise the rights of a holder of common stock only as to matters for which the record date occurs after the exercise date.

Risk Factors Related to Uplisting on the Nasdaq Capital Market or Another National Exchange

Our ability to uplist our Common Stock to the Nasdaq Capital Market or another national exchange is contingent on our meeting applicable initial listing criteria.

We have applied for our Common Stock to be listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market or another national securities exchange. Each exchange requires companies desiring to list their common stock to meet certain listing criteria including total number of stockholders; minimum stock price, total value of public float, and in some cases total stockholders’ equity and market capitalization. Our failure to meet such applicable listing criteria would prevent us from listing our Common Stock on the Nasdaq Capital Market or another national exchange. In the event we are unable to uplist our Common Stock, our Common Stock will continue to be quoted on the OTCQB, which is generally considered less liquid and more volatile than a national securities exchange. Our failure to uplist our Common Stock could make it more difficult for you to trade our Common Stock, could prevent our common stock trading on a frequent and liquid basis and could result in the value of our Common Stock being less than it would be if we were able to uplist.

If the Nasdaq Capital Market or another national exchange does not list our securities for quotation, it could limit investors’ ability to make transactions in our securities and subject us to additional trading restrictions.

We have applied for our Common Stock to be listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market, or another national securities exchange. After giving effect to this offering, we expect to meet, on a pro forma basis, the Nasdaq Capital Market’s minimum initial listing standards, which generally only mandate that we meet certain requirements relating to stockholders’ equity, market capitalization, aggregate market value of publicly held shares, bid price and distribution requirements. We cannot guarantee that we will be able to meet those initial listing requirements. If the Nasdaq Capital Market or another national exchange does not list our common stock for trading on its exchange, we could face significant material adverse consequences, including:

a limited availability of market quotations for our securities;

reduced liquidity with respect to our securities;

a determination that our shares of or Common Stock are “penny stock,” which will require brokers desiring to recommend our shares of Common Stock to their clients to adhere to more stringent rules, possibly resulting in a reduced level of trading activity in the secondary trading market for our shares of common stock;

a limited amount of news and analyst coverage for our Company; and

a decreased ability to issue additional securities or obtain additional financing in the future.

The National Securities Markets Improvement Act of 1996, which is a federal statute, prevents or preempts the states from regulating the sale of certain securities, which are referred to as “covered securities.” If our Common Stock is listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market or another national exchange, such securities will be covered securities. Although the states are preempted from regulating the sale of our securities, the federal statute does allow the states to investigate companies if there is a suspicion of fraud, and, if there is a finding of fraudulent activity, then the states can regulate or bar the sale of covered securities in a particular case. Further, if we were no longer listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market or another national exchange, our securities would not be covered securities and we would be subject to regulation in each state in which we offer our securities.

If our application to uplist is approved, our failure to meet the continued listing requirements of the Nasdaq Capital Market or another national exchange could result in a delisting of our Common Stock.

If our application to list our Common Stock on the Nasdaq Capital Market or another national exchange is approved, and thereafter we fail to satisfy the continued listing requirements of the Nasdaq Capital Market, or another national exchange, such as the corporate governance requirements or the minimum closing bid price requirement, the Nasdaq Capital Market or another national exchange may take steps to delist our common stock. Such a delisting would likely have a negative effect on the price of our common stock and would impair your ability to sell or purchase our common stock when you wish to do so.

On August 19, 2022, we received a deficiency letter from the Nasdaq Listing Qualifications Department (the “Staff”) of the Nasdaq Stock Market LLC (“Nasdaq”) notifying us that, for the last 30 consecutive business days, the closing bid price for our common stock was below the minimum $1.00 per share required for continued listing on The Nasdaq Capital Market pursuant to Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(a)(2) (“Rule 5550(a)(2)”). Under the Nasdaq Listing Rules, we have until February 14, 2023 to regain compliance. Since we did not regain compliance by such date, we requested and received an additional 180 days, until August 14, 2023, to comply with Rule 5550(a)(2).

If we fail to regain compliance on or prior to August 14, 2023, we could be subject to suspension and delisting proceedings, unless we timely appeal for a hearing before a Nasdaq Hearings Panel. The request for a hearing will stay any suspension or delisting action pending the issuance of the decision of the Nasdaq Hearings Panel following the hearing and the expiration of any additional extension granted by the Nasdaq Hearings Panel. The deficiency has no immediate effect on the listing of our common stock, and our common stock continues to trade on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol “ABVC” at this time. However, there can be no assurance that we will be able to regain compliance with the bid price requirement under Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(a)(2).

If our common stock were delisted from the Nasdaq, trading of our common stock would most likely take place on an over-the-counter market established for unlisted securities, such as the OTCQB or the Pink Market maintained by OTC Markets Group Inc. An investor would likely find it less convenient to sell, or to obtain accurate quotations in seeking to buy, our common stock on an over-the-counter market, and many investors would likely not buy or sell our common stock due to difficulty in accessing over-the-counter markets, policies preventing them from trading in securities not listed on a national exchange or other reasons. In addition, as a delisted security, our common stock would be subject to SEC rules as a “penny stock,” which impose additional disclosure requirements on broker-dealers. The regulations relating to penny stocks, coupled with the typically higher cost per trade to the investor of penny stocks due to factors such as broker commissions generally representing a higher percentage of the price of a penny stock than of a higher-priced stock, would further limit the ability of investors to trade in our common stock.

In the event of a delisting, we anticipate that we would take actions to restore our compliance with the Nasdaq Capital Market or another national exchange’s listing requirements, but we can provide no assurance that any such action taken by us would allow our Common Stock to remain listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market, or another national exchange, stabilize our market price, improve the liquidity of our common stock, prevent our common stock from dropping below the Nasdaq Capital Market or another national exchange’sMarket’s minimum bid price requirement, or prevent future non-compliance with the Nasdaq Capital Market or another national exchange’s listing requirements.

We will continue to incur significant increased costs as a result of operating as a public company, and our management will be required to devote substantial time to new compliance requirements as a result of our planned efforts to uplist our Common Stock tobeing listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market or another national exchange.Market.

We will continue to incur significant increased costs as a result of operating as a public company, and our management will be required to devote substantial time to new compliance requirements if our uplisting toof the Nasdaq Capital Market or another national exchange is successful.Market. As a public company, we will continue to incur significant legal, accounting and other expenses. For example, if our uplisting application to the Nasdaq Capital Market or another national exchange is successful, we will beWe are subject to mandatory reporting requirements of the Exchange Act, which require, among other things, that we continue to file with the SEC annual, quarterly and current reports with respect to our business and financial condition, that we were not required to file as a voluntary reporting company (though we did file such reports with the SEC on a voluntary basis). We have incurred and will continue to incur costs associated with the preparation and filing of these SEC reports. Furthermore, if our planned uplisting to the Nasdaq Capital Market or another national exchange is successful, we will beare subject to mandatory new corporate governance and other compliance requirements.requirements of the Nasdaq Capital Market. In addition, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, as well as rules subsequently implemented by the SEC, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and the Nasdaq Capital Market or another national exchange have imposed various other requirements on public companies. Stockholder activism, the current political environment and the current high level of government intervention and regulatory reform may lead to substantial new regulations and disclosure obligations, which may lead to additional compliance costs and impact (in ways we cannot currently anticipate) the way we operate our business. Our management and other personnel will need to devote a substantial amount of time to these compliance initiatives. Moreover, these rules and regulations have and will continue to increase our legal and financial compliance costs and will make some activities more time-consuming and costly.

In addition, if and when we cease to be a smaller reporting company and become subject to Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, we will be required to furnish an attestation report on internal control over financial reporting issued by our independent registered public accounting firm. To achieve compliance with Section 404 within the prescribed time period, we will continue to be engaged in a process to document and evaluate our internal control over financial reporting, which is both costly and challenging. In this regard, we will need to dedicate substantially greater internal resources, potentially engage outside consultants and adopt a detailed work plan to assess and document the adequacy of internal control over financial reporting, continue steps to improve control processes as appropriate, validate through testing that controls are functioning as documented and implement a continuous reporting and improvement process for internal control over financial reporting. Despite our efforts, there is a risk that our independent registered public accounting firm, when required, will not be able to conclude within the prescribed timeframe that our internal control over financial reporting is effective as required by Section 404. This could result in an adverse reaction in the financial markets due to a loss of confidence in the reliability of our financial statements.


Our Common Stock is currently quoted on the OTCQB, which may not be indicative of the price at which our stock may trade upon listing on the Nasdaq Capital Market or another national exchange.

 

Our Common Stock is quoted on the OTCQB. The OTCQB is a significantly more limited market than the Nasdaq Capital Market or another national exchange. Although we intend to list our Common Stock on the Nasdaq Capital Market or another national exchange in connection with this offering, an adequate trading market for the securities may not develop or be sustained after this rights offering. In addition, if our shares are approved for listing on the Nasdaq Capital Market or another national exchange, the per share trading prices may differ significantly to trading prices previously quoted while on the OTCQB. There can be no assurance that the Company’s share price will demonstrate the same trading characteristics of historical price and volume on the Nasdaq Capital Market that were demonstrated while listed on the OTCQB. Accordingly, after listing, we could fail to satisfy the continued listing requirements of the Nasdaq Capital Market or another national exchange, such as the minimum closing bid price requirement. The Nasdaq Capital Market or another national exchange could take steps to delist our Common Stock. Such a delisting would likely have a negative effect on the price of our Common Stock and would impair your ability to sell or purchase our Common Stock.

In addition, the stock markets have experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations that have affected and continue to affect the market prices of equity securities of many companies, including very recently in connection with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which has resulted in decreased stock prices for many companies notwithstanding the lack of a fundamental change in their underlying business models or prospects. These fluctuations have often been unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of those companies. Broad market and industry factors, including potentially worsening economic conditions and other adverse effects or developments relating to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, political, regulatory and other market conditions, may negatively affect the market price of shares of our common stock, regardless of our actual operating performance. The market price of shares of our common stock may decline below the initial public offering price, and you may lose some or all of your investment.


SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This prospectus contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, including statements based on our current expectations, assumptions, estimates and projections about us, our industry and the regulatory environment in which we and companies integral to our ecosystem operate. The forward-looking statements are contained principally in the sections entitled “Prospectus Summary,” “Risk Factors,” “Use of Proceeds,” “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and “Business.” These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. In some cases, these forward-looking statements can be identified by words or phrases such as “may,” “will,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “aim,” “estimate,” “intend,” “plan,” “believe,” “potential,” “continue,” “is/are likely to” or other similar expressions. The forward-looking statements included in this prospectus relate to, among others:

risks and uncertainties associated with our research and development activities, including our clinical trials and preclinical studies;

the timing or likelihood of regulatory filings and approvals or of alternative regulatory pathways for our drug candidates;

the potential market opportunities for commercializing our drug candidates;

our expectations regarding the potential market size and the size of the patient populations for our drug candidates, if approved for commercial use, and our ability to serve such markets;

estimates of our expenses, future revenue, capital requirements and our needs for additional financing;

our ability to develop, acquire and advance our product candidates into, and successfully complete, clinical trials and preclinical studies and obtain regulatory approvals;

the implementation of our business model and strategic plans for our business and drug candidates;

the initiation, cost, timing, progress and results of future preclinical studies and clinical trials, and our research and development programs;

the terms of future licensing arrangements, and whether we can enter into such arrangements at all;

timing and receipt or payments of licensing and milestone revenues, if any;

the scope of protection we are able to establish and maintain for intellectual property rights covering our drug candidates and our ability to operate our business without infringing the intellectual property rights of others;

regulatory developments in the United States and foreign countries;

the performance of our third party suppliers and manufacturers;

our ability to maintain and establish collaborations or obtain additional funding;

the success of competing therapies that are currently or may become available;

our ability to continue as a going concern;

the effect of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic;
our financial performance; and

developments and projections relating to our competitors and our industry.


 

We caution you that the forward-looking statements highlighted above do not encompass all of the forward-looking statements made in this prospectus or in the documents incorporated by reference in this prospectus.


There are important factors that could cause actual results to vary materially from those described in this registration statementherein as anticipated, estimated or expected, including, but not limited to: the effects of the COVID-19 outbreak, including on the demand for our products; the duration of the COVID-19 outbreak and severity of such outbreak in regions where we operate; the pace of recovery following the COVID-19 outbreak; our ability to implement cost containment and business recovery strategies; the adverse effects of the COVID-19 outbreak on our business or the market price of our ordinary shares; competition in the industry in which we operate and the impact of such competition on pricing, revenues and margins, volatility in the securities market due to the general economic downturn; SEC regulations which affect trading in the securities of “penny stocks,” and other risks and uncertainties described herein and the risk factors set forth in Part I - Item 1A, “Risk Factors”, in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020,2022, as filed with the SEC on March 16, 202131, 2023, and elsewhere in the documents incorporated by reference into this prospectus. Moreover, we operate in a very competitive and challenging environment. New risks and uncertainties emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for us to predict all risks and uncertainties that could have an impact on the forward-looking statements contained in this prospectus and in the documents incorporated by reference in this prospectus. We cannot assure you that the results, events and circumstances reflected in the forward-looking statements will be achieved or occur, and actual results, events or circumstances could differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. Except as required by law, we assume no obligation to update any forward-looking statements publicly, or to update the reasons actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in any forward- looking statements, even if new information becomes available in the future. Depending on the market for our stock and other conditional tests, a specific safe harbor under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 may be available. Notwithstanding the above, Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”) and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”) expressly state that the safe harbor for forward-looking statements does not apply to companies that issue penny stock. Because we may from time to time be considered to be an issuer of penny stock, the safe harbor for forward-looking statements may not apply to us at certain times.

The forward-looking statements contained in this prospectus and in the documents incorporated by reference in this prospectus relate only to events as of the date on which the statements are made. We do not undertake any obligation to release publicly any revisions to such forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this prospectus or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. We may not actually achieve the plans, intentions or expectations disclosed in our forward-looking statements and you should not place undue reliance on our forward-looking statements. Our forward-looking statements do not reflect the potential impact of any future acquisitions, mergers, dispositions, joint ventures, other strategic transactions or investments we may make.


USE OF PROCEEDS

We estimate that the netwill not receive any proceeds from the sale of 1,000,000 Units at the assumed public offering price of $6.25 per Unit, will be approximately $5,375,000 (net proceeds would be approximately $6,237,500 if the underwriters exercise their option to purchase additional shares of Common Stock and/or Purchase Warrants in full), in each case after deductingby the underwriting commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us.

We intendselling stockholders pursuant to use the netthis prospectus. All proceeds from the offeringsale of the shares will be for the account of the selling stockholder. The selling stockholder may sell these shares in the open market or otherwise, at market prices prevailing at the time of sale, at prices related to fund clinical trialsthe prevailing market price, or at negotiated prices.

The selling stockholder will pay any underwriting discounts and commissions and expenses incurred by the selling stockholder for working capitalbrokerage or legal services or any other expenses incurred by the selling stockholder in disposing of the shares included in this prospectus. We will bear all other costs, fees and general business purposes. The amountsexpenses incurred in effecting the registration of the shares covered by this prospectus, including all registration and timing of these expenditures may vary significantly depending on a number of factors, including the amount of cash generated by our operations, competitive developments,filing fees and the rate of growth, if any,fees and expenses of our business. Wecounsel and accountants.

DETERMINATION OF OFFERING PRICE

The selling stockholders may find it necessary or advisable to use portions of the proceeds for other purposes, and we will have broad discretionsell these shares in the application of the net proceeds. In addition, while we have not entered into any agreements, commitmentsover-the-counter market or understandings relating to any significant transaction as of the date of this prospectus, we may use a portion of the net proceeds to pursue acquisitions, joint ventures, and other strategic transactions. If we obtain additional financing through the issuance of debt or convertible debt securities, then we may use the net proceeds of this offering to repay any such indebtedness.

Use of Proceeds (1)
 
Fund Clinical Trials and R&D $3,500,000 
     
Offering Expenses $875,000 
     
Working Capital $1,875,000 
     
Total $6,250,000 

(1)The offering expenses included in the table are estimates only. Our actual expenditures for some or all of our expenses may differ from the estimates set forth in this prospectus.

Although we believe that the net proceeds from this offering, together with our cash and cash equivalents, and anticipated cash flows from operating activities will be sufficient to meet our anticipated working capital requirements and capital expenditures in the ordinary course of business for the next 12 months, we cannot guarantee that this will be the case. We cannot specify with certainty all of the particular uses for the net proceeds to be received upon the closing of this offering.

DIVIDEND POLICY

We have never declared or paid any cash dividends on our capital stock, and we do not currently intend to pay any cash dividends on our capital stock in the foreseeable future. We currently intend to retain all available funds and any future earnings to support operations and to finance the growth and development of our business. Any future determination to pay dividends will be madeotherwise, at market prices prevailing at the discretiontime of our Board, subject to applicable laws and will depend upon, among other factors, our results of operations, financial condition, contractual restrictions and capital requirements. Our future ability to pay cash dividends on our capital stock may also be limited by the terms of any debt instruments or preferred securities issued in the future.


CAPITALIZATION

The following table sets forth our capitalization as of March 31, 2021:

on an actual basis (column 1);

on a pro forma as-adjusted basis to give effect to the sale of 1,150,000 Units by us in this offering at the assumed public offering price of $6.25, assuming the underwriters exercise their option to purchase additional shares of Common Stock and/or Purchase Warrants in full after deducting the underwriting discounts and estimated offering expenses payable by us (column 2).

You should read this capitalization table in conjunction with “Use of Proceeds,” “Selected Consolidated Financial and Operating Data,” “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and the consolidated financial statements and thesale, at prices related notes appearing elsewhere in this prospectus.

As of March 31, 2021

  1
Actual
  2
Pro Forma As Adjusted (unaudited)
 
  US$  US$(1) 
Cash  2,615,073   7,990,073 
Common Stock, $0.001 Par Value  24,420   30,670 
Common Stock issuable        
Additional paid-in capital  40,751,807   46,995,557 
Statutory reserves        
Contributed capital        
Accumulated deficit  (26,770,892)  (26,770,892)
Accumulated other comprehensive Income  601,000   601,000 
Total Stockholders’ Equity  1,728,624   7,103,624 
Total capitalization  6,285,672   11,660,672 

(1)

The as adjusted number of shares to be outstanding immediately after this offering as shown above is based on shares outstanding as of May 14, 2021. The as adjusted information discussed above is illustrative only and will be further adjusted based on the actual public offering price and other terms of this offering to be determined by the Company and the underwriters.


DILUTION

If you invest in our Common Stock, your interest will be diluted immediately to the extent of the difference between the public offeringprevailing market price, per share of common stock that is part of the Unit youor at negotiated prices. We will pay in this offering and the as adjusted net tangible book value per share of our Common Stock immediately after this offering.

As of March 31, 2021, our net tangible book value was approximately $1,728,624, or $0.07 per share of Common Stock. Our net tangible book value per share set forth below represents our total tangible assets, less total liabilities, divided by 24,420,526 the number of shares of our Common Stock outstanding on March 31, 2021.

After giving effect tonot receive any proceeds from the sale of 1,000,000 Units in this offering atshares by the assumed public offering price of $6.25 per Unit, after deducting the underwriter discounts and estimated offering expenses payable by us, the as adjusted net tangible book value as of March 31, 2021 would have been approximately $7,103,624, or $0.28 per share. This represents an immediate increase in net tangible book value to existing stockholders of $0.21 per share. The public offering price per share will significantly exceed the net tangible book value per share. Accordingly, new investors who purchase shares of Common Stock in this offering will suffer an immediate dilution of their investment of $5.97 per share. We determine dilution by subtracting the net tangible book value per share after the offering from the amount of cash that a new investor paid for a share of Common Stock.selling stockholders.


 

The following table illustrates this per share dilution to the new investors:

Assumed Public offering price per Unit $6.25 
Net tangible book value per share as of March 31, 2021  0.07 
Increase in net tangible book value per share attributable to the offering  0.21 
As-adjusted net tangible book value per share as of after giving effect to the offering  0.28 
Dilution per share to new investors $5.97 

Each $1.00 increase (decrease) in the assumed public offering price of $6.25 per Unit (the midpoint of the estimated initial public offering price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus) per share would increase (decrease) our pro forma net tangible book value after this offering by approximately $1 million, or approximately $0.04 per share, and increase (decrease) the dilution per share to new investors by approximately $0.04 per share, after deducting underwriting discounts and estimated offering fees and expenses payable by us, and assuming that the number of shares offered by us, as set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, remains the same. We may also increase or decrease the number of shares we are offering. An increase (decrease) of 100,000 shares in the number of shares offered by us would increase (decrease) our pro forma net tangible book value after this offering by approximately $0.625 million, or $0.02 per share, and increase (decrease) the dilution per share to new investors by approximately $0.02 per share, after deducting underwriting discounts and estimated offering fees and expenses payable by us, and assuming that the public offering price remains the same. The pro forma information discussed above is illustrative only and will be adjusted based on the actual public offering price and other terms of this offering determined at pricing.

If the underwriters exercise their option to purchase additional shares of Common Stock and/or Purchase Warrants in full, our pro forma net tangible book value per share after this offering would be $0.40 per share. This amount represents an immediate increase in net tangible book value of $0.33 per share to our existing stockholders and an immediate dilution in net tangible book value of $5.85 per share to new investors purchasing shares of our common stock in this offering.


MARKET FOR OUR COMMON STOCK, DIVIDENDS AND

RELATED SHAREHOLDER INFORMATION

As of the date of this prospectus, our company’s common stock is quoted on the OTCQB under the symbol ABVC; prior thereto, since December 16, 2015, our symbol was MTOO.

The following table sets forth the quarterly high and low bid prices for the last two fiscal years. The prices set forth below represent inter-dealer quotations, without retail markup, markdown or commission and may not be reflective of actual transactions.

  High  Low 
Fiscal 2019      
Quarter ended March 31, 2019 $37.80  $26.10 
Quarter ended June 30, 2019 $27.00  $11.95 
Quarter ended September 30, 2019 $13.00  $6.00 
Quarter ended December 31, 2019 $7.18  $4.37 
Fiscal 2020        
Quarter ended March 31, 2020 $5.03  $2.25 
Quarter ended June 30, 2020 $3.20  $2.00 
Quarter ended September 30, 2020 $4.05  $2.60 
Quarter ended December 31, 2020 $5.27  $2.75 
Fiscal 2021        
Quarter ended March 31, 2021 $5.65  $4.18 

On May 14, 2021, the closing bid price of the common stock was $4.50.

Holders. As of May 14, 2021, there were 711 and 0 shareholders of record of our Common Stock and Series A Convertible Preferred Stock, respectively, and an aggregate of 24,420,526 shares of our common stock and 0 shares of Series A Convertible Preferred Stock, were issued and outstanding. Our common shares are issued in registered form. The transfer agent of our company’s common stock is Olde Monmouth Stock Transfer, Inc.

Dividend Policy. We have not paid any cash dividends on our common stock and have no present intention of paying any dividends on the shares of our common stock. Our current policy is to retain earnings, if any, for use in our operations and in the development of our business. Our future dividend policy will be determined from time to time by our board of directors.

Securities Authorized for Issuance under Equity Compensation Plans

The following table discloses information as of the date of this prospectus, with respect to compensation plans (including individual compensation arrangements) under which our equity securities are authorized for issuance, aggregated as follows:

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  Shares of common stock remaining available for future issuance under equity compensation plans 
Equity compensation plans approved by security holders  545,182  $2.00   2,812,949 
Equity compensation plans not approved by security holders  —     —     —   
Total  545,182  $2.00   2,812,949 

See, Executive Compensation – Stock Option Plan for additional details about our option plan.


MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND
RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

The following discussion and analysis should be read together with our financial statements and the related notes appearing elsewhere in this prospectus. This discussion contains forward-looking statements reflecting our current expectations that involve risks and uncertainties. See “Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements and Industry Data” for a discussion of the uncertainties, risks and assumptions associated with these statements. Actual results and the timing of events could differ materially from those discussed in our forward-looking statements as a result of many factors, including those set forth under “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this prospectus.

Overview

From its inception, the Company has not generated substantial revenue from its medical device and new drug development. For the three monthsyear ended MarchDecember 31, 2021 and March 31, 2020,2022, the Company generated $263,150 and $78,786$969,783 in revenue, respectively. For the twelve months ended December 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019, the Company generated $483,045 and $701,719 in revenue, respectively. In each case, mainly from the sale of Contract Development & Manufacturing Organization (“CDMO”) services.

Business Overview

The Company operates through American BriVision Corporation (“BriVision”)ABVC BioPharma Inc., which was incorporated in July 2015 inunder the laws of the State of Delaware,Nevada on February 6, 2002, is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on development of new drugs and medical devices, all of which are derived from plants.

Medicines derived from plants have a long history of relieving or preventing many diseases and, typically, have exhibited fewer side effects than drugs developed from animals or chemical ingredients. Perhaps the most famous example is aspirin, which evolved from a compound found in the bark and leaves of the willow tree and was later marketed by Bayer starting in 1899. Aspirin has very few serious side effects and has proven to be one of the most successful drugs in medical history. Some 50 years later, scientists identified anticancer compounds in the rosy periwinkle, which Eli Lilly subsequently produced for the treatment of leukemia and Hodgkins disease. Other well-known examples of successful botanical drugs include the cancer-fighting Taxol, isolated from the Pacific yew tree.

The Company develops its pipeline by carefully tracking new medical discoveries or medical device technologies in research institutions in the Asia-Pacific region. Pre-clinical, disease animal model and Phase I safety studies are examined closely by the Company’s scientists and other specialists known to the Company to identify drugs that it believes demonstrate efficacy and safety based on the Company’s internal qualifications. Once a drug is shown to be a good candidate for further development and ultimately commercialization, BriVision licenses the drug or medical device from the original researchers and begins to introduce the drugs clinical plan to highly respected principal investigators in the United States, Australia and Taiwan. In almost all cases, we have found that research institutions in each of those countries are eager to work with the Company to move forward with Phase II clinical trials.

Currently, institutions that have or are now conducting phase II clinical trials in partnership with ABVC include:

Medical Device: ABV-1701, Vitargus® in vitrectomy surgery, ‌Phase II Study in Australia and Thailand, Principal Investigator: ‌Professor/Dr. Matthew Simunovic, Sydney Eye Hospital; Dr. Elvis Ojaimi, East Melbourne Eye Group & East Melbourne Retina, Duangnate Rojanaporn, M.D., ‌Ramathibodi Hospital; Thuss Sanguansak, M.D., Srinagarind Hospital.

Drug: ABV-1504, Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), Phase II, completed. NCE drug Principal Investigators: Charles DeBattista M.D. and Alan F. Schatzberg, MD, Stanford University Medical Center, Cheng-Ta Li, MD, Ph.D – Taipei Veterans General Hospital

Drug: ABV-1505, Adult Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Phase II, Part 1 completed. NCE drug Principal Investigators: Keith McBurnett, Ph.D. and Linda Pfiffner, Ph.D., University of California San Francisco (UCSF), School of Medicine

Drug: ABV-1601, Major Depression in Cancer Patients, Phase I/II, NCE drug Principal Investigator: Scott Irwin, MD, Ph.D. – Cedars Sinai Medical Center (CSMC)

Drug: ABV-1703, Advanced Inoperable or Metastatic Pancreatic Cancer, Phase II, NCE drug Principal Investigator: Andrew E. Hendifar, MD – Cedars Sinai Medical Center (CSMC)

The following trials are expected to begin in the second or third quarter of 2021:

Medical Device: ABV-1701, Vitargus® in vitrectomy surgery, Pivotal Study in Australia, Principal Investigator: Andrew Chang, MD, Ph.D., Sydney Eye Hospital, Australia

Drug: ABV-1501,ABV-‌1519, A Phase I/II, Open Label Study to Evaluate the Safety and Efficacy of BLEX 404 Oral Liquid Combined with Docetaxel Monotherapy‌Pemetrexed + Carboplatin Therapy in Patients with Stage IV‌Advanced Inoperable or Recurrent BreastMetastatic EGFR wild-type Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Patients

 

Upon successful completion of the Phase II trial, the Company will seek a partner – a large pharmaceutical company – to complete a Phase III study, submit the New Drug Application (NDA), and commercialize the drug upon approval by the FDA and Taiwan FDAs. The Company expects to seek its first commercialization partner in 20212022 for Vitargus®,Vitargus, its vitreous substitute that helps to maintain a round shape and retinal location during vitrectomy surgery.

Another part of the Company’s business is conducted by BioKey, a wholly owned subsidiary, that is engaged in a wide range of services, including, API characterization, pre-formulation studies, formulation development, analytical method development, stability studies, IND/NDA/ANDA/510K submissions, and manufacturing clinical trial materials (phase I through phase III) and commercial manufacturing.


 

On February 8, 2019, the Company, BioLite Holding, Inc. (“BioLite”), BioKey, Inc. (“BioKey”), BioLite Acquisition Corp., a direct wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company (“Merger Sub 1”), and BioKey Acquisition Corp., a direct wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company (“Merger Sub 2”) (collectively referred to as the “Parties”) completed the business combination pursuant to that certain Agreement and Plan of Merger (the “Merger Agreement”), dated January 31, 2018, pursuant to which the Company acquired BioLite and BioKey via issuing shares of the Company’s Common Stock to the shareholders of BioLite and BioKey. As a result, BioLite and BioKey became two wholly-owned subsidiaries of the Company on February 8, 2019. The Company issued an aggregate of 104,558,777 shares of Common Stock (prior to the reverse stock split in 2019) to the shareholders of both BioLite and BioKey under a registration statement on Form S-4 (file number 333-226285), which became effective by operation of law on or about February 5, 2019.

 

BioLite was incorporated under the laws of the State of Nevada on July 27, 2016, with 500,000,000 shares authorized, par value $0.0001. BioLite’s key subsidiaries include BioLite BVI, Inc. (“BioLite BVI”) that was incorporated in the British Virgin Islands on September 13, 2016 and BioLite, Inc. (“BioLite Taiwan”), a Taiwanese corporation that was founded inon February 13, 2006. BioLite Taiwan has been in the business of developing new drugs for over ten years.

BioLite and BioLite BVI are holding companies and have not carried out substantive business operations of their own.

In January 2017, BioLite, BioLite BVI, BioLite Taiwan, and certain shareholders of BioLite Taiwan entered into a share purchase / exchange agreement (the “BioLite Share Purchase / Exchange Agreement”). Pursuant to the BioLite Share Purchase / Exchange Agreement, the shareholder participants to the BioLite Share Purchase / Exchange Agreement sold their equity in BioLite Taiwan and used the proceeds from such sales to purchase shares of Common Stock of BioLite at the same price per share, resulting in their owning the same number of shares of Common Stock as they owned in BioLite Taiwan. Upon closing of the Share Purchase/ Exchange Agreement in August 2017, BioLite owns, via BioLite BVI, approximately 73% of BioLite Taiwan. The other shareholders who did not enter this Share Purchase/ Exchange Agreement retain their equity ownership in BioLite Taiwan.

BioKey was incorporated on August 9, 2000 in the State of California. It is engaged primarily in research and development, manufacturing, and distribution of generic drugs and nutraceuticals with strategic partners. BioKey provides a wide range of services, including, API characterization, pre-formulation studies, formulation development, analytical method development, stability studies, IND/NDA/ANDA/510K submissions, and manufacturing clinical trial materials (phase 1 through phase 3) and commercial manufacturing. It also licenses out its technologies and initiates joint research and development processes with other biotechnology, pharmaceutical, and nutraceutical companies.

Common Stock Reverse Split

On March 12, 2019, the Board by unanimous written consent in lieu of a meeting approved to i) effect a stock reverse split at the ratio of 1-for-18 (the “Reverse Split”) of both the authorized common stock of the Company and the issued and outstanding common stock and ii) to amend the articles of incorporation of the Company to reflect the Reverse Split. The Board approved and authorized the Reverse Split without obtaining approval of the Company’s shareholders pursuant to Section 78.207 of Nevada Revised Statutes.


On May 3, 2019, the Company filed a certificate of amendment to the Company’s articles of incorporation (the “Amendment”) to effect the Reverse Split with the Secretary of State of the State of Nevada. The Reverse Split took effect on May 8, 2019.

Series A Convertible Preferred Stock

On June 28, 2019, the Company filed a certificate of designation (the “Series A COD”) of Series A Convertible Preferred Stock (the “Series A Stock”) with the Secretary of the State of Nevada.

Pursuant to the Series A COD, the Company designated 3,500,000 shares of preferred stock as Series A Stock, par value of $0.001 per share. Subject to the laws of Nevada, the Company will pay cumulative dividends on the Series A Stock on each anniversary from the date of original issue for a period of four calendar years. The Series A Stock will rank senior to the outstanding common stock of the Company, par value $0.001 (the “Common Stock”) with respect to dividend rights, rights upon liquidation, dissolution or winding up in the amount of accrued but unpaid dividend. Holders of the Series A Stock will have the same voting rights as the Company’s Common Stock holders. Each share of Series A Stock is initially convertible at any time at the option of the holder into one share of Common Stock and automatically converts into one share of Common Stock on the four-year anniversary of its issuance.

As of March 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020,2022, no Series A Convertible Preferred Stock has been issued by the Company.

Increasing the Authorized Shares

On March 12, 2020, our board of directors approved and adopted an amendment to the Company’s Articles of Incorporation, to increase the authorized shares of the common stock, par value $0.001 per share, from 20,000,000 to 100,000,000, such that, after including the previously authorized 20,000,000 shares of preferred stock, par value $0.001 per share, the aggregate number of shares of stock that the Company has authority to issue is 120,000,000 shares. The amendment became effective on April 2, 2020.


NASDAQ Listing

On August 5, 2021, we closed a public offering (the “Offering”) of 1,100,000 units (the “Units”), with each Unit consisting of one share of our common stock (the “Common Stock”), one Series A warrant (the “Series A Warrants”) to purchase one share of common stock at an exercise price equal to $6.30 per share, exercisable until the fifth anniversary of the issuance date, and one Series B warrant (the “Series B Warrants,” and together with the Series A Warrants, the “Public Warrants”) to purchase one share of common stock at an exercise price equal to $10.00 per share, exercisable until the fifth anniversary of the issuance date; the exercise price of the Public Warrants are subject to certain adjustment and cashless exercise provisions as described therein. The Company completed the Offering pursuant to its registration statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-255112), originally filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on April 8, 2021 (as amended, the “Original Registration Statement”), that the SEC declared effective on August 2, 2021 and the registration statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-258404) that was filed and automatically effective on August 4, 2021 (the “S-1MEF,” together with the Original Registration Statement, the “Registration Statement”). The Units were priced at $6.25 per Unit, before underwriting discounts and offering expenses, resulting in gross proceeds of $6,875,000. The Offering was conducted on a firm commitment basis. The Common Stock was approved for listing on The Nasdaq Capital Market and commenced trading under the ticker symbol “ABVC” on August 3, 2021.

In August 2022, we received a deficiency letter from the Nasdaq Listing Qualifications Department (the “Staff”) notifying us that, for the last 30 consecutive business days, the closing bid price for our common stock was below the minimum $1.00 per share required for continued listing on The Nasdaq Capital Market pursuant to Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(a)(2) (“Rule 5550(a)(2)”). In accordance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5810(c)(3)(A), we were initially given until February 14, 2023 to regain compliance with Rule 5550(a)(2). Since the Company did not regain compliance by such date, it requested and received an additional 180 days, until August 14, 2023, to comply with Rule 5550(a)(2).

The deficiency has no immediate effect on the listing of the Company’s common stock, and its common stock continues to trade on The Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol “ABVC” at this time.

If at any time before August 14, 2023, the bid price of the Company’s common stock closes at $1.00 per share or more for a minimum of 10 consecutive business days, the Staff will provide written confirmation that the Company has achieved compliance and the matter will be closed.

If the Company does not regain compliance with Rule 5550(a)(2) by August 14, 2023, the Staff will provide written notification that the Company’s securities will be delisted, although the Company maintains the right to appeal such determination. The Company intends to actively monitor the closing bid price for its common stock and will consider available options to resolve the deficiency and regain compliance with Rule 5550(a)(2).

Name Change and Cusip Number

The Company’s shareholders approved an amendment to the Company’s Articles of Incorporation to change the Company’s corporate name to “ABVC BioPharma, Inc.” and approved and adopted the Certificate of Amendment to affect same at the 2020 annual meeting of shareholders (the “Annual Meeting”). Nevada’s Secretary of State approved the name change on March 8, 2021, and FINRA processed our request for such name change on April 30, 2021. The new name was effective on May 3, 2021. Stock certificates issued before the name change remain valid and stockholders are not required to submit their stock certificates for exchange as a result of the name change. New stock certificates issued by the Company after the name change will be printed with the Company’s new name, ABVC BioPharma, Inc.; existing stock certificates remain valid.

The Company’s cusip number is 0091F106. The Company’s stock symbol remains ABVC.

Joint Venture Agreement

On October 6, 2021 (the “Completion Date”), ABVC BioPharma, Inc. (the “Company”), Lucidaim Co., Ltd., a Japanese corporation (“Lucidaim,” together with the Company, the “Shareholders”), and BioLite Japan K.K., a Japanese corporation (“Biolite JP”) entered into a Joint Venture Agreement (the “Agreement”). Biolite JP is a private limited company (a Japanese Kabushiki Kaisha) incorporated on December 18, 2018 and at the date of the Agreement has 10,000 ordinary shares authorized, with 3,049 ordinary shares issued and outstanding (the “Ordinary Shares”). Immediately prior to the execution of the Agreement, Lucidaim owned 1,501 ordinary shares and the Company owned the 1,548 ordinary shares. The Shareholders entered into the joint venture to formally reduce to writing their desire to invest in and operate Biolite JP as a joint venture. The business of the joint venture shall be the research and development of drugs, medical device and digital media, investment, fund running and consulting, distribution and marketing of supplements carried on by Biolite JP and its subsidiaries in Japan, or any other territory or businesses as may from time to time be agreed by an amendment to the Agreement. The closing of the transaction is conditioned upon the approval and receipt of all necessary government approvals, which have been received.


Pursuant to the Agreement and the related share transfer agreement, the Company shall transfer 54 of its Ordinary Shares to Lucidaim for no consideration, such that following the transfer, Lucidaim shall own 1,555 Ordinary Shares (51%) and the Company shall own 1,494 Ordinary Shares (49%). Also pursuant to the Agreement, there shall be 3 directors of Biolite JP, consisting of 1 director appointed by the Company and 2 appointed by Lucidiam. The Company shall appoint Eugene Jiang, the Company’s current Chairman and Chief Business Officer and Lucidaim shall appoint Michihito Onishi; the current director of Biolite JP, Toru Seo (who is also a director of BioLite Japan’s other shareholder), is considered the second Lucidaim director. The Agreement further provides that the Company and Biolite JP shall assign the research collaboration and license agreement between them to Biolite JP or prepare the same (the “License Agreement”). The aforementioned transactions occurred on the Completion Date.

As per the Agreement, the Shareholders shall supervise and manage the business and operations of Biolite JP. The directors shall not be entitled to any renumeration for their services as a director and each Shareholder can remove and replace the director he/she/it appointed. If a Shareholder sells or disposes of all of its Ordinary Shares, the director such Shareholder appointed must tender his/her resignation. The Agreement also sets forth certain corporate actions that must be pre-approved by all Shareholders (the “Reserved Matters”). If the Shareholders are unable to make a decision on any Reserved Matter, then either Shareholder can submit a deadlock notice to the other shareholder, 5 days after which they must refer the matter to each Shareholder’s chairman and use good faith to resolve the dispute. If such dispute is not resolved within 10 days thereafter, then either Shareholder can offer to buy all of the other Shareholder’s Ordinary Shares for cash at a specified price; if there is not affirmative acceptance of the sale, the sale shall proceed as set forth in the sale offer.

Each of the Shareholders maintains a pre-emptive right to purchase such number of additional Ordinary Shares as would allow such Shareholder to maintain its ownership percentage in Biolite JP if Biolite JP issues any new Ordinary Shares. However, the Agreement provides that the Company shall lose its pre-emptive rights under certain conditions. The Shareholders also maintain a right of first refusal if the other Shareholder receives an offer to buy such shareholder’s Ordinary Shares.

The Agreement also requires Biolite JP to obtain a bank facility in the amount of JPY 30,460,000 (approximately USD272,000), for its initial working capital purposes. Pursuant to the Agreement, each Shareholder agrees to guarantee such bank facility if the bank requires a guarantee. Accordingly, the Company may be liable for the bank facility in an amount up to JPY 14,925,400 (approximately USD134,000), which represents 49% of the maximum bank facility. The Agreement further provides that Biolite JP shall issue annual dividends at the rate of at least 1.5% of Biolite JP’s profits, if it has sufficient cash to do so.

Pursuant to the Agreement, the Company and Biolite JP agree to use their best efforts to execute the License Agreement by the end of December 2021; the parties continue to negotiate the License Agreement. The Company agreed that any negotiation on behalf of Biolite JP regarding the terms of the License Agreement shall be handled by the directors appointed by Lucidaim. If the Company and such Lucidaim directors do not reach agreement on the terms, Biolite JP may at its sole discretion determine not to execute the License Agreement without any liability to the Company.

The Agreement contains non-solicitation and non-compete clauses for a period of 2 years after a Shareholder or its subsidiaries ceases to be a Shareholder, with such restrictive covenants limited to business within the ophthalmologic filed or central neurological field. Any rights to intellectual property that arise from Biolite JP’s activities, shall belong to Biolite JP.

The Agreement contains standard indemnification terms, except that no indemnifying party shall have any liability for an individual liability unless it exceeds JPY 500,000 (approximately USD4,500) and until the aggregate amount of all liabilities exceeds JPY 2,000,000 (approximately USD18,000) and then only to the extent such liability exceed such limit.

The Company paid $150,000 towards the setup of the joint venture and BioLite Japan’s other shareholder paid $150,000 after the Letter of Intent was signed.


The Agreement shall continue for 10 years, unless earlier terminated and shall continue until terminated by: (i) either party by giving the other party at least 6 months written notice, until the end of the 10 years, after which the parties can terminate at any time or (ii) or by written agreement of all Shareholders, in which case it shall terminate automatically on the date upon which all Ordinary Shares are owned by one Shareholder. The Agreement also allows a Shareholder to terminate the agreement upon certain defaults committed by another Shareholder, as set forth in the Agreement.

This was a related party transaction and was conducted at arm’s length. In addition to the Company’s board of directors providing approval for the Company to enter into the Agreement, the Company’s audit committee approved the Company’s entry into the Agreement. The Board believes that this joint venture will enhance the Company’s ability to provide therapeutic solutions to significant unmet medical needs and to develop innovative botanical drugs to treat central nervous system (“CNS”) and oncology/ hematology diseases. The Company’s Board of Directors believes that the joint venture has the potential to provide the Company with access to additional early-stage product candidates that it would not otherwise have access to and to introduce the Company to early-stage opportunities, and therefore the Board believes the joint venture is in the best interest of the Company and its shareholders.

Recent PPP

On April 14, 2020, the Company received a loan in the amount of $124,400 under the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) administered by the United States Small Business Administration (the “SBA”) from East West Bank. According to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the “Cares Act”), PPP loan provides for forgiveness of up to the full principal amount and accrued interest if the funds are used for payroll costs, interest on mortgages, rent, and utilities. However, at least 60% of the forgiven amount must have been used for payroll. The loan was granted pursuant to a promissory note dated April 14, 2020 issued by the Company, which matures on April 13, 2022 and bears interest at a rate of 1.00% per annum. The Company will pay the principal in one payment of all outstanding principal plus all accrued unpaid interest on that date that is two years after the date of the promissory note. On March 15, 2021 the US Government approved our application of the loan forgiveness program, so there will be no obligation to pay back this loan.

On January 29, 2021, BioKey received a loan in the amount of $132,331 under the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) administered by the United States Small Business Administration (the “SBA”) from East West Bank. According to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the “Cares Act”), PPP loan provides for forgiveness of up to the full principal amount and accrued interest if the funds are used for payroll costs, interest on mortgages, rent, and utilities. However, at least 60% of the forgiven amount must have been used for payroll. The loan was granted pursuant to a promissory note dated January 27, 2021 issued by the Company, which matures on January 28, 2026 and bears interest at a rate of 1.00% per annum. The Company will pay the principal in one payment of all outstanding principal plus all accrued unpaid interest on that date that is five years after the date of the promissory note. In addition, on September 28, 2021, the US Government approved our application of the loan forgiveness program, so there will be no obligation to pay back this loan.

On February 7, 2021, the Company received a loan in the amount of $104,167 under the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) administered by the United States Small Business Administration (the “SBA”) from Cathay Bank. According to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the “Cares Act”), PPP loan provides for forgiveness of up to the full principal amount and accrued interest if the funds are used for payroll costs, interest on mortgages, rent, and utilities. However, at least 60% of the forgiven amount must have been used for payroll. The loan was granted pursuant to a promissory note dated February 7, 2021 issued by the Company, which matures on February 6, 2026 and bears interest at a rate of 1.00% per annum. The Company will pay the principal in one payment of all outstanding principal plus all accrued unpaid interest on that date that is five years after the date of the promissory note. In addition, on November 15, 2021, the US Government approved our application of the loan forgiveness program, so there will be no obligation to pay back this loan.

Recent Research Results

On May 23, 2019, the Company announced its internal Phase II clinical study results of ABV-1504 for Major Depression Disorder (“MDD”). The clinical study results showed that PDC-1421, the active pharmaceutical ingredient of ABV-1504, met the pre-specified primary endpoint of the Phase II clinical trial and significantly improved the symptoms of MDD.


 

The Phase II clinical study was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multi-center trial, in which 60 adult patients with confirmed moderate to severe MDD were treated with PDC-1421 in either low dose (380 mg) or high dose (2 x 380 mg) compared with placebo administration, three times a day for six weeks. PDC-1421 high dose (2 x 380 mg) met the pre-specified primary endpoint by demonstrating a highly significant 13.2-point reduction in the Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) total score by Intention-To-Treat (ITT) analysis, averaged over the 6-week treatment period (overall treatment effect) from baseline, as compared to 9.2-point reduction of the placebo group. By Per-Protocol (PP) analysis, PDC-1421 showed a dose dependent efficacy toward MDD in which high dose (2 x 380 mg) gave 13.4-point reduction in MADRS total score from baseline and low dose (380 mg) gave 10.4-point reduction as compared to a 8.6-point in the placebo group. The Company has decided to use the high dose formula in the Phase III clinical trial of ABV-1504.

On September 9, 2020 the Company issued a full clinical study report (CSR) of Vitargus® First-in-Human Phase I Clinical Trial. The safety and preliminary efficacy findings from this study, combined with the unique properties of Vitargus® (BFC-1401), are supportive of further development for its use during vitrectomy surgery in patients requiring vitreous replacement.

The study was an open label, Phase I study undertaken at a single study center in Sydney, Australia. A total of 11 participants were enrolled for the study in which each participant had been diagnosed with either (1) a complex or rhegmatogenous retinal detachment or chronic retinal detachment with failure of gas or silicone oil treatment or (2) a vitreous hemorrhage that requires vitrectomy surgery. The study found that Vitargus® was well-tolerated as a vitreous substitute without any apparent toxicity to ocular tissues. Further, there was no indication of an increased overall safety risk with Vitargus®.

Vitargus® Phase II Study has been initiated in Australia and Thailand, Principal Investigator: Duangnate Rojanaporn, M.D., Ramathibodi Hospital; Thuss Sanguansak, M.D., Srinagarind Hospital of the two Thailand sites and Professor/Dr. Matthew Simunovic, Sydney Eye Hospital; Dr. Elvis Ojaimi, East Melbourne Eye Group & East Melbourne Retina of the two Australian sites. The Phase II study will be started in the 2nd quarter of 2023.

On November 9, 2020 the Company issued a full clinical study report (CSR) of its ABV-1505 Phase II Part I clinical trial conducted at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) for the treatment of adult Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

The Phase II Part I clinical study for treating ADHD found that the PDC-1421 Capsule was safe, well tolerated and efficacious during its treatment and the follow-up period with six adult patients. For the primary endpoints, the percentages of improvement in Adult Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Rating Scale-Investigator Rated-IV (ADHD-RS-IV) score from baseline to 8 weeks treatment were 83.3% (N=5) in the Intention-To-Treat (ITT) population and 80.0% (N=4) in the Per-Protocol (PP) population. Both low and high doses of PDC-1421 Capsule met the primary end points by passing the required 40% population in ADHD-RS-IV test scores.

Overall, the results from this study, which demonstrate the therapeutic value of PDC-1421, support further clinical development of ABV-1505 for the treatment of adult ADHD.

Phase II, Part 2 clinical study sites includes UCSF and 5 locations in Taiwan.The Principal Investigators are Keith McBurnett, Ph.D. and Linda Pfiffner, Ph.D., University of California San Francisco (UCSF), School of Medicine; Susan Shur-Fen Gau, M.D., National Taiwan University Hospital; Xinzhang Ni, M.D. Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital; Wenjun Xhou, M.D., Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital; Ton-Ping Su, M.D., Cheng Hsin General Hospital, Cheng-Ta Li, M.D., Taipei Veterans General Hospital. The Phase II, Part 2 began in the 1st quarter of 2022 at the 5 Taiwan sites. And UCSF site will join the study in the 2nd quarter of 2023.


On November 4, 2020, we executed an amendment to our collaboration agreement with BioFirst to add ABV-2001 Intraocular Irrigation Solution and ABV-2002 Corneal Storage Solution to our agreement. ABV-2002 is utilized during a corneal transplant procedure to replace a damaged or diseased cornea while ABV-2001 has broader utilization during a variety of ocular procedures.

Initially, the Company will focus on ABV-2002, a solution utilized to store a donor cornea prior to either penetrating keratoplasty (full thickness cornea transplant) or endothelial keratoplasty (back layer cornea transplant). Designated ABV-2002 under the Company’s product identification system, the solution is comprised of a specific poly amino acid that protects ocular tissue from damage caused by external osmolarity exposure during pre-surgery storage. The specific polymer in ABV-2002 can adjust osmolarity to maintain a range of 330 to 390 mOsM thereby permitting hydration within the corneal stroma during the storage period. Stromal hydration results in (a) maintaining acceptable corneal transparency and (b) prevents donor cornea swelling. ABV-2002 also contains an abundant phenolic phytochemical found in plant cell walls that provides antioxidant antibacterial properties and neuroprotection.

Early testing by BioFirst indicates that ABV-2002 may be more effective for protecting the cornea and retina during long-term storage than other storage media available today and can be manufactured at lower cost. urther clinical development task was put on hold due to the lack of funding.

Recent FinancingPublic Offering & Financings

 

Financing in 2023

On February 23, 2023, the Company entered into a securities purchase agreement (the “Lind Securities Purchase Agreement”) with Lind Global Fund II, LP (“Lind”), pursuant to which the Company issued Lind a secured, convertible note in the principal amount of $3,704,167 (the “Lind Offering”), for a purchase price of $3,175,000 (the “Lind Note”), that is convertible into shares of the Company’s common stock at an initial conversion price of $1.05 per share, subject to adjustment (the “Note Shares”). The Company also issued Lind a common stock purchase warrant (the “Lind Warrant”) to purchase up to 5,291,667 shares of the Company’s common stock at an initial exercise price of $1.05 per share, subject to adjustment (each, a “Warrant Share,” together with the Note, Note Shares and Warrants, the “Lind Securities”).

The Lind Note does not carry any interest. Beginning with the date that is six months from the issuance date of the Lind Note and on each one (1) month anniversary thereafter, the Company shall pay Lind an amount equal to $308,650.58, until the outstanding principal amount of the Lind Note has been paid in full prior to or on the Maturity Date or, if earlier, upon acceleration, conversion or redemption of the Lind Note in accordance with the terms thereof (the “Monthly Payments”). At the Company’s discretion, the Monthly Payments shall be made in (i) cash, (ii) shares of the Company’s common stock, or (iii) a combination of cash and Shares; if made in shares, the number of shares shall be determined by dividing (x) the principal amount being paid in shares by (y) 90% of the average of the 5 lowest daily VWAPs during the 20 trading days prior to the applicable payment date. The Lind Notes sets forth certain conditions that must be satisfied before the Company may make any Monthly Payments in shares of common stock. If the Company makes a Monthly Payment in cash, the Company must also pay Lind a cash premium of 5% of such Monthly Payment.

Upon the occurrence of any Event of Default (as defined in the Lind Note), the Company must pay Lind an amount equal to 120% of the then outstanding principal amount of the Lind Note, in addition to any other remedies under the Note or the other Transaction Documents.


The Lind Warrant may be exercised via cashless exercise.

Pursuant to the terms of the Lind Securities Purchase Agreement, if at any time prior to a date that is 18 months following the closing of the Lind Offering, the Company proposes to offer or sell any additional securities in a subsequent financing, the Company shall first offer Lind the opportunity to purchase up to 10% of such new securities. In connection with the Lind Offering, the Company and its subsidiaries: (i) Biokey, Inc., a California corporation (“BioKey”), (ii) Biolite Holding, Inc., a Nevada corporation (“BioLite”), (iii) Biolite BVI, Inc., a British Virgin Islands corporation (“BioLite BVI”) and (iv) American BriVision Corporation, a Delaware corporation (“American BriVision” and, collectively with the Company, BioKey, BioLite, and BioLite BVI, the “Guarantors”), jointly and severally guaranteed all of the obligations of the Company in connection with the Lind Offering (the “Guaranty”) with certain collateral, as set forth in the related Transaction Documents (as hereinafter defined).

The sale of the Lind Note and the terms of the Lind Offering, including the Guaranty are set forth in the Lind Securities Purchase Agreement, the Note, the Warrant, a Security Agreement, Guarantor Security, Guaranty, a Trademark Security Agreement with Rgene Corporation, a Trademark Security Agreement with BioFirst, a Patent Security Agreement, a Copyright Security Agreement and a Stock Pledge Agreement (collectively, the “Transaction Documents”).

Allele Capital Partners, LLC (“Allele”) together with its executing broker dealer, Wilmington Capital Securities, LLC (together with its affiliates, “Wilmington”), served as the exclusive placement agent (the “Placement Agent”) of the Lind Offering. As a result of the Lind Offering, the Company will pay the Placement Agent (i) a cash fee of 6% of the gross proceeds from the sale of the Securities, and (ii) common stock purchase warrants to purchase 6% of the number of shares of common stock issuable under the Lind Note. We also agreed to pay certain expenses of the placement agent in connection with the Lind Offering.

Pursuant to the Lind Securities Purchase Agreement, the Company agreed to register all of the Lind Securities and the shares of common stock underlying the warrant issued to the placement agent.

The Securities Purchase Agreement also contains customary representation and warranties of the Company and the Investors, indemnification obligations of the Company, termination provisions, and other obligations and rights of the parties.

The foregoing description of the Transaction Documents is qualified by reference to the full text of the forms of the Transaction Documents, which are filed as Exhibits hereto and incorporated herein by reference.

Financing in 2022

On May 11, 2022, the Company entered into certain securities purchase agreement (the “May SPA”) with certain investors (the “Purchasers”). Pursuant to the May SPA, the Company agreed to issue 2,000,000 shares of its Common Stock, at a price of $2.11 per share and 5-year warrants to purchase up to 2,000,000 shares of Common Stock, exercisable at a price of $2.45 per share (the “May Warrants”) to the Purchasers. The gross proceeds before deducting any estimated offering expenses are $4,220,000. The transaction contemplated by the May SPA was closed on May 16, 2022.

The Company paid to the co-placement agents an aggregate cash fee equal to 8% of the aggregate sales price of the securities sold and issued them warrants to purchase up to 160,000 shares of Common Stock, on the same terms as the May Warrants.


Financing in 2021

On August 5, 2021, the Company closed its public offering (the “Public Offering”) of 1,100,000 units (the “Units”), with each Unit consisting of one share of the Company’s common stock, one Series A warrant (the “Series A Warrants”) to purchase one share of common stock at an exercise price equal to $6.30 per share, exercisable until the fifth anniversary of the issuance date, and one Series B warrant (the “Series B Warrants,” and together with the Series A Warrants, the “Public Warrants”) to purchase one share of common stock at an exercise price equal to $10.00 per share, exercisable until the fifth anniversary of the issuance date; the exercise price of the Public Warrants are subject to certain adjustment and cashless exercise provisions as described therein. The Company completed the Public Offering pursuant to its registration statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-255112), originally filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on April 8, 2021 (as amended, the “Original Registration Statement”), that the SEC declared effective on August 2, 2021 and the registration statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-258404) that was filed and automatically effective on August 4, 2021 (the “S-1MEF,” together with the Original Registration Statement, the “Registration Statement”). The Units were priced at $6.25 per Unit, before underwriting discounts and offering expenses, resulting in gross proceeds of $6,875,000. The Public Offering was conducted on a firm commitment basis.

Financing in November 2020

 

On November 11, 2020, we conducted a closing with regard to certain securities purchase agreements (the “SPAs”) dated October 23, 2020, separately with two non-U.S. investors (the “Investors”). Each of the Investors agreed to purchase and the Company agreed to sell to each of the Investors 1,111,112 shares of the Company’s Common Stock, and warrants (the “November Warrants”) to purchase 1,111,112 shares of Common Stock, for a purchase price of $2,500,000. The November Warrants are exercisable upon issuance and will expire three years from the date of issuance. The initial exercise price of the November Warrants is $6.00, subject to stock, splits, stock dividend and other similar events. In addition, when the closing price of the Common Stock equals or exceeds $9.00 per share for twenty Trading Days (as defined in the SPAs) during any thirty-day period, the Company shall have the right to require the Investors to exercise all or any portion of the November Warrants for a cash exercise. The aggregate net proceeds were $5,000,000. The Company and the Investors further agreed to amend the terms of the SPA to permit the closing of the offering to occur on a rolling basis.

 

The Company paid the following fees to a FINRA member firm in connection with such offering: (i) a cash success fee of $175,000 and (ii) warrants to purchase a number of shares of Common Stock equal to 7% of the number of shares of Common Stock sold in the Offering, at an exercise price per share equal to $6.00 subject to adjustment (the “Comp Warrants”). The Comp Warrants are exercisable on a cashless basis, at the holder’s discretion.

 

Financing in October 2020

 

On October 23, 2020, we entered into a Securities Purchase Agreement (the “October SPA”) with one accredited investor. Pursuant to the October SPA, the Company sold and issued a convertible promissory note (the “October Note”) in the principal amount of $2,500,000 to the investor and received the payment from such investor on October 30, 2020.

 

The October Note was issued on October 23, 2020 and the maturity date of the October Note is the twenty-four (24) month anniversary from the issuance date (the “Maturity Date”). Upon the Maturity Date, the Company shall pay to the holder, in cash, an amount representing all outstanding principal amount and accrued and unpaid interest under the October Note. The October Note bears an interest rate of ten percent (10%) per annum and may be convertible into shares of the Company’s common stock at a fixed conversion price of $2.25 per share. The holder of the October Note may elect to convert part or all of the outstanding balance of the October Note from the issuance date until the Maturity Date. The Company may prepay the outstanding amount at any time, in whole or in part, without any penalty. On June 3, 2021, the parties to the October SPA signed Amendment No. 1 to Promissory Note (the “Amendment”). Pursuant to the Amendment, the October Note shall now also automatically convert into shares of the Company’s common stock immediately following the Company’s receipt of conditional approval to list its common stock on the NASDAQ stock market, if and when we receive such approval, which cannot be guaranteed, at a conversion price equal to the then current conversion price.


In connection with the October Note and pursuant to the terms of an agreement entered into between the Company and a FINRA member firm, such firm shall receive (i) a cash success fee of $78,750 and (ii) upon conversion of the October Note, warrants equal to 7.0% of the number of shares of Common Stock received by the investor at the time of conversion (“Note Warrants”). The warrants are exercisable on a cashless basis, at the holder’s discretion.

 

The issuance and sale of the Common Stock, the Investor Warrants, Comp Warrants, Note Warrants and the shares of Common Stock underlying the Investor Warrants, the Comp Warrants and the October Note were made in reliance on an exemption from registration contained in either Regulation D or Regulation S of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”).

 


Financing in May 2020

 

In May 2020, the Company received capital contributions of approximately $1,602,040 in cash from 40 investors through private placements with the term of $2.25 per share and a free warrant attaches with each Common stock that was purchased. The exercise price of the warrant will be at $6.00 with a mandatory exercise price of $9.00.

 

Pursuant to the terms of an agreement entered into between the Company and a FINRA member firm, such firm shall receive (i) a cash success fee of $60,831.65 (ii) a warrant to purchase 37,852 shares of Common Stock with an exercise price of $2.25 per share, and (iii) a warrant to purchase 37,852 shares of Common Stock with an exercise price of $6.00 per share.

 

Financing in April 2020

 

On January 21, 2020, the Company entered into three note agreements with existing note investors who executed the agreements in 2018. These three investors are Guoliang Yu and Yingfei Wei Family Trust, Keypoint Technology Ltd., and Yoshinobu Odaira. The new agreements bear the same term as other notes investors who executed the contract in 2019. On April 5, 2020, the Company entered into exchange agreements with such note holders. Pursuant to the exchange agreements, the Holders agreed to deliver the Notes to the Company for cancellation, of which the aggregate principal amount plus accrued interest expenses are $931,584, and the Company agreed to issue to the Holders an aggregate of 506,297 shares of the Company’s common stock and warrants to purchase 506,297 shares of the Company’s common stock.

 

On August 28, 2019 and September 4, 2019, the Company issued convertible promissory notes in the aggregate principal amount plus accrued interest expenses are $515,196 to Kuo, Li Shen, Chang, Ping Shan, Lin, Shan Tyan, and Liu, Ching Hsuan. On April 20, 2020, the Company entered into separate exchange agreements with each note holder. Pursuant to the exchange agreements, the note holders agreed to cancel the notes and the Company agreed to issue to the holders an aggregate of 289,438 shares of the Company’s common stock and warrants to purchase 289,438 shares of the Company’s common stock.

 

Recent PPP LoanStrategy

 

On April 14, 2020, the Company received a loan in the amount of $124,400 under the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) administered by the United States Small Business Administration (the “SBA”) from East West Bank. According to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the “Cares Act”), PPP loan provides for forgiveness of up to the full principal amount and accrued interest if the funds are used for payroll costs, interest on mortgages, rent, and utilities. However, at least 60% of the forgiven amount must have been used for payroll. The loan was granted pursuant to a promissory note dated April 14, 2020 issued by the Company, which matures on April 13, 2022 and bears interest at a rate of 1.00% per annum. The Company will pay the principal in one payment of all outstanding principal plus all accrued unpaid interest on that date that is two years after the date of the promissory note. On October 23, 2020, ABVC BioPharma, Inc.(the “Company”) has started the application with the US Government regarding the loan forgiveness program. On February 27, 2021, the Company submitted all required documents to East West Bank for the application of forgiveness. During 2021, the PPP loan from East West Bank of $124,400 was waived by the SBA as a gesture of supporting the operation of the Company. The Company recorded the forgiveness of the PPP loan as government grant income during the three months ended March 31, 2021.

On January 29, 2021, BioKey received a loan in the amount of $132,331 under the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) administered by the United States Small Business Administration (the “SBA”) from East West Bank. According to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the “Cares Act”), PPP loan provides for forgiveness of up to the full principal amount and accrued interest if the funds are used for payroll costs, interest on mortgages, rent, and utilities. However, at least 60% of the forgiven amount must have been used for payroll. The loan was granted pursuant to a promissory note dated January 27, 2021 issued by the Company, which matures on January 28, 2026 and bears interest at a rate of 1.00% per annum. The Company will pay the principal in one payment of all outstanding principal plus all accrued unpaid interest on that date that is five years after the date of the promissory note. In addition, the Company will start the application with the US Government regarding the loan forgiveness program as soon as the US Government allows. No collateral or personal guarantees are required.


On February 7, 2021, the Company received a loan in the amount of $104,167 under the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) administered by the United States Small Business Administration (the “SBA”) from Cathay Bank. According to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the “Cares Act”), PPP loan provides for forgiveness of up to the full principal amount and accrued interest if the funds are used for payroll costs, interest on mortgages, rent, and utilities. However, at least 60% of the forgiven amount must have been used for payroll. The loan was granted pursuant to a promissory note dated February 7, 2021 issued by the Company, which matures on February 6, 2026 and bears interest at a rate of 1.00% per annum. The Company will pay the principal in one payment of all outstanding principal plus all accrued unpaid interest on that date that is five years after the date of the promissory note. In addition, the Company will start the application with the US Government regarding the loan forgiveness program as soon as the US Government allows. No collateral or personal guarantees are required.

Recent Research Results

On May 23, 2019, the Company announced its internal Phase II clinical study results of ABV-1504 for Major Depression Disorder (“MDD”). The clinical study results showed that PDC-1421, the active pharmaceutical ingredient of ABV-1504, met the pre-specified primary endpoint of the Phase II clinical trial and significantly improved the symptoms of MDD.

The Phase II clinical study was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multi-center trial, in which 60 adult patients with confirmed moderate to severe MDD were treated with PDC-1421 in either low dose (380 mg) or high dose (2 x 380 mg) compared with placebo administration, three times a day for six weeks. PDC-1421 high dose (2 x 380 mg) met the pre-specified primary endpoint by demonstrating a highly significant 13.2-point reduction in the Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) total score by Intention-To-Treat (ITT) analysis, averaged over the 6-week treatment period (overall treatment effect) from baseline, as compared to 9.2-point reduction of the placebo group. By Per-Protocol (PP) analysis, PDC-1421 showed a dose dependent efficacy toward MDD in which high dose (2 x 380 mg) gave 13.4-point reduction in MADRS total score from baseline and low dose (380 mg) gave 10.4-point reduction as compared to a 8.6-point in the placebo group. The Company has decided to use the high dose formula in the Phase III clinical trial of ABV-1504.

On September 9, 2020 the Company issued a full clinical study report (CSR) of Vitargus® First-in-Human Phase I Clinical TrialThe safety and preliminary efficacy findings from this study, combined with the unique properties of Vitargus® (BFC-1401), are supportive of further development for its use during vitrectomy surgery in patients requiring vitreous replacement.

The study was an open label, Phase I study undertaken at a single study center in Sydney, Australia. A total of 11 participants were enrolled for the study in which each participant had been diagnosed with either (1) a complex or rhegmatogenous retinal detachment or chronic retinal detachment with failure of gas or silicone oil treatment or (2) a vitreous hemorrhage that requires vitrectomy surgery. The study found that Vitargus® was well-tolerated as a vitreous substitute without any apparent toxicity to ocular tissues. Further, there was no indication of an increased overall safety risk with Vitargus®.

On November 9, 2020 the Company issued a full clinical study report (CSR) of its ABV-1505 Phase II Part I clinical trial conducted at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) for the treatment of Adult Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The Phase II Part I clinical study for treating ADHD found that the active ingredient of ABV-1505, PDC-1421, was safe, well tolerated and efficacious during its treatment and the follow-up period with six adult patients. For the primary endpoints, the percentages of improvement in Adult Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Rating Scale-Investigator Rated-IV (ADHD-RS-IV) score from baseline to 8 weeks treatment were 83.3% (N=5) in the Intention-To-Treat (ITT) population and 80.0% (N=4) in the Per-Protocol (PP) population. Both low and high doses of PDC-1421 Capsule met the primary end points by passing the required 40% population in ADHD-RS-IV test scores. Overall, the results from this study, which demonstrate the therapeutic value of PDC-1421, support further clinical development of ABV-1505 for the treatment of adult ADHD.

On November 4, 2020, the Company executed an amendment to its collaboration agreement with BioFirst to add BFC-1403 Intraocular Irrigation Solution and BFC-1404 Corneal Storage Solution to our agreement. BFC-1404 is utilized during a corneal transplant procedure to replace a damaged or diseased cornea while BFC-1403 has broader utilization during a variety of ocular procedures.


Initially the Company will focus on BFC-1404, a solution utilized to store a donor cornea prior to either penetrating keratoplasty (full thickness cornea transplant) or endothelial keratoplasty (back layer cornea transplant). Designated ABV-2002 under the Company’s product identification system, the solution is comprised of a specific poly amino acid that protects ocular tissue from damage caused by external osmolarity exposure during pre-surgery storage. The specific polymer in ABV 2002 can adjust osmolarity to maintain a range of 330 to 390 mOsM thereby permitting hydration within the corneal stroma during the storage period. Stromal hydration results in (a) maintaining acceptable corneal transparency and (b) prevents donor cornea swelling. ABV-2002 also contains an abundant phenolic phytochemical found in plant cell walls that provides antioxidant antibacterial properties and neuroprotection.

Early testing by BioFirst indicates that ABV-2002 may be more effective for protecting the cornea and retina during long-term storage than other storage media available today and can be manufactured at lower cost. Categorized as a Class I Medical Device which has the lowest risk to patients, the Company intends to submit a Premarket Notification 510(K) submission to the FDA before the end of 2021 to demonstrate the device is at least as safe and effective as current products on the market.

Strategy

Key elements of our business strategy include:

 

Advancing to the pivotal trial phase of ABV-1701 Vitargus® for the treatments of Retinal Detachment or Vitreous Hemorrhage, which we expect to generate revenues in the future.

 

Focusing on licensing ABV-1504 for the treatment of major depressive disorder, MDD, after the successful completion of its Phase II clinical trials.

 

Completing Phase II, Part 2 clinical trial for ABV-1505 for the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, ADHD.

 

Out licensing drug candidates and medical device candidates to major pharmaceutical companies for phase III and pivotal clinical trials, as applicable, and further marketing if approved by the FDA.

 

We plan to augment our core research and development capability and assets by conducting Phase I and II clinical trials for investigational new drugs and medical devices in the fields of CNS, Hematology/Oncology and Ophthalmology.

 

Our management team has extensive experiences across a wide range of new drug and medical device development and we have in-licensed new drug and medical device candidates from large research institutes and universities in both the U.S. and Taiwan. Through an assertive product development approach, we expect that we will build a substantial portfolio of Oncology/ Hematology, CNS and Ophthalmology products. We primarily focus on Phase I and II research of new drug candidates and out license the post-Phase-II products to pharmaceutical companies; we do not expect to devote substantial efforts and resources to building the disease-specific distribution channels.

 


Business Objectives

 

The Company is operating its core business based on collaborative activities that can generate current and future revenues through research, development and/or commercialization joint venture agreements. The terms of these agreements typically include payment to the Company related to one or more of the following:

 

nonrefundable upfront license fees,

 

development and commercial milestones,

 

partial or complete reimbursement of research and development costs and

 

royalties on net sales of licensed products.

Each type of payments results in revenue except for revenue from royalties on net sales of licensed products, which are classified as royalty revenues. To date, we have not received any royalty revenues. Revenue is recognized upon satisfaction of a performance obligation by transferring control of a good or service to the joint venture partner.

 

As part of the accounting for these arrangements, the Company applies judgment to determine whether the performance obligations are distinct and develop assumptions in determining the stand-alone selling price for each distinct performance obligation identified in the collaboration agreements. To determine the stand-alone selling price, the Company relies on assumptions which may include forecasted revenues, development timelines, reimbursement rates for R&D personnel costs, discount rates and probabilities of technical and regulatory success.

 

The Company had multiple deliverables under the collaborative agreements, including deliverables relating to grants of technology licenses, regulatory and clinical development, and marketing activities. Estimation of the performance periods of the Company’s deliverables requires the use of management’s judgment. Significant factors considered in management’s evaluation of the estimated performance periods include, but are not limited to, the Company’s experience in conducting clinical development, regulatory and manufacturing activities. The Company reviews the estimated duration of its performance periods under its collaborative agreements on an annually basis, and makes any appropriate adjustments on a prospective basis. Future changes in estimates of the performance period under its collaborative agreements could impact the timing of future revenue recognition.

 

(i) Nonrefundable upfront payments

 

If a license to the Company’s intellectual property is determined to be distinct from the other performance obligations identified in an arrangement, the Company recognizes revenue from the related nonrefundable upfront payments based on the relative standalone selling price prescribed to the license compared to the total selling price of the arrangement. The revenue is recognized when the license is transferred to the collaboration partners and the collaboration partners are able to use and benefit from the license. To date, the receipt of nonrefundable upfront fees was solely for the compensation of past research efforts and contributions made by the Company before the collaborative agreements entered into and it does not relate to any future obligations and commitments made between the Company and the collaboration partners in the collaborative agreements.

 


(ii) Milestone payments

 

The Company is eligible to receive milestone payments under the collaborative agreement with collaboration partners based on achievement of specified development, regulatory and commercial events. Management evaluated the nature of the events triggering these contingent payments, and concluded that these events fall into two categories: (a) events which involve the performance of the Company’s obligations under the collaborative agreement with collaboration partners, and (b) events which do not involve the performance of the Company’s obligations under the collaborative agreement with collaboration partners.

 

The former category of milestone payments consists of those triggered by development and regulatory activities in the territories specified in the collaborative agreements. Management concluded that each of these payments constitute substantive milestone payments. This conclusion was based primarily on the facts that (i) each triggering event represents a specific outcome that can be achieved only through successful performance by the Company of one or more of its deliverables, (ii) achievement of each triggering event was subject to inherent risk and uncertainty and would result in additional payments becoming due to the Company, (iii) each of the milestone payments is nonrefundable, (iv) substantial effort is required to complete each milestone, (v) the amount of each milestone payment is reasonable in relation to the value created in achieving the milestone, (vi) a substantial amount of time is expected to pass between the upfront payment and the potential milestone payments, and (vii) the milestone payments relate solely to past performance. Based on the foregoing, the Company recognizes any revenue from these milestone payments in the period in which the underlying triggering event occurs.


(iii) Multiple Element Arrangements

 

The Company evaluates multiple element arrangements to determine (1) the deliverables included in the arrangement and (2) whether the individual deliverables represent separate units of accounting or whether they must be accounted for as a combined unit of accounting. This evaluation involves subjective determinations and requires management to make judgments about the individual deliverables and whether such deliverables are separate from other aspects of the contractual relationship. Deliverables are considered separate units of accounting provided that: (i) the delivered item(s) has value to the customer on a standalone basis and (ii) if the arrangement includes a general right of return relative to the delivered item(s), delivery or performance of the undelivered item(s) is considered probable and substantially within its control. In assessing whether an item under a collaboration has standalone value, the Company considers factors such as the research, manufacturing, and commercialization capabilities of the collaboration partner and the availability of the associated expertise in the general marketplace. The Company also considers whether its collaboration partners can use the other deliverable(s) for their intended purpose without the receipt of the remaining element(s), whether the value of the deliverable is dependent on the undelivered item(s), and whether there are other vendors that can provide the undelivered element(s).

 

The Company recognizes arrangement consideration allocated to each unit of accounting when all of the revenue recognition criteria in ASC 606 are satisfied for that particular unit of accounting. In the event that a deliverable does not represent a separate unit of accounting, the Company recognizes revenue from the combined unit of accounting over the Company’s contractual or estimated performance period for the undelivered elements, which is typically the term of the Company’s research and development obligations. If there is no discernible pattern of performance or objectively measurable performance measures do not exist, then the Company recognizes revenue under the arrangement on a straight-line basis over the period the Company is expected to complete its performance obligations. Conversely, if the pattern of performance in which the service is provided to the customer can be determined and objectively measurable performance measures exist, then the Company recognizes revenue under the arrangement using the proportional performance method. Revenue recognized is limited to the lesser of the cumulative amount of payments received or the cumulative amount of revenue earned, as determined using the straight-line method or proportional performance method, as applicable, as of the period ending date.

 


At the inception of an arrangement that includes milestone payments, the Company evaluates whether each milestone is substantive and at risk to both parties on the basis of the contingent nature of the milestone. This evaluation includes an assessment of whether: (1) the consideration is commensurate with either the Company’s performance to achieve the milestone or the enhancement of the value of the delivered item(s) as a result of a specific outcome resulting from its performance to achieve the milestone, (2) the consideration relates solely to past performance and (3) the consideration is reasonable relative to all of the deliverables and payment terms within the arrangement. The Company evaluates factors such as the scientific, clinical, regulatory, commercial, and other risks that must be overcome to achieve the particular milestone and the level of effort and investment required to achieve the particular milestone in making this assessment. There is considerable judgment involved in determining whether a milestone satisfies all of the criteria required to conclude that a milestone is substantive. Milestones that are not considered substantive are recognized as earned if there are no remaining performance obligations or over the remaining period of performance, assuming all other revenue recognition criteria are met.

 

(iv) Royalties and Profit Sharing Payments

 

Under the collaborative agreement with the collaboration partners, the Company is entitled to receive royalties on sales of products, which is at certain percentage of the net sales. The Company recognizes revenue from these events based on the revenue recognition criteria set forth in ASC 606. Based on those criteria, the Company considers these payments to be contingent revenues, and recognizes them as revenue in the period in which the applicable contingency is resolved.

 

Revenues Derived from Research and Development Activities Services — Revenues related to research and development and regulatory activities are recognized when the related services or activities are performed, in accordance with the contract terms. The Company typically has only one performance obligation at the inception of a contract, which is to perform research and development services. The Company may also provide its customers with an option to request that the Company provides additional goods or services in the future, such as active pharmaceutical ingredient, API, or IND/NDA/ANDA/510K submissions. The Company evaluates whether these options are material rights at the inception of the contract. If the Company determines an option is a material right, the Company will consider the option a separate performance obligation.


If the Company is entitled to reimbursement from its customers for specified research and development expenses, the Company accounts for the related services that it provides as separate performance obligations if it determines that these services represent a material right. The Company also determines whether the reimbursement of research and development expenses should be accounted for as revenues or an offset to research and development expenses in accordance with provisions of gross or net revenue presentation. The Company recognizes the corresponding revenues or records the corresponding offset to research and development expenses as it satisfies the related performance obligations.

 

The Company then determines the transaction price by reviewing the amount of consideration the Company is eligible to earn under the contracts, including any variable consideration. Under the outstanding contracts, consideration typically includes fixed consideration and variable consideration in the form of potential milestone payments. At the start of an agreement, the Company’s transaction price usually consists of the payments made to or by the Company based on the number of full-time equivalent researchers assigned to the project and the related research and development expenses incurred. The Company does not typically include any payments that the Company may receive in the future in its initial transaction price because the payments are not probable. The Company would reassess the total transaction price at each reporting period to determine if the Company should include additional payments in the transaction price.

 


The Company receives payments from its customers based on billing schedules established in each contract. Upfront payments and fees may be recorded as advance from customers upon receipt or when due, and may require deferral of revenue recognition to a future period until the Company performs its obligations under these arrangements. Amounts are recorded as accounts receivable when the right of the Company to consideration is unconditional. The Company does not assess whether a contract has a significant financing component if the expectation at contract inception is such that the period between payment by the customers and the transfer of the promised goods or services to the customers will be one year or less.

 

Examples of collaborative agreements the Company has entered into are as follows:

 

Collaborative agreements with BHK, a related party

 

(i)In February and December of 2015, BioLite, Inc. entered into a total of three joint venture agreements with BioHopeKing to jointly develop ABV-1501 for Triple Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC), ABV-1504 for MDD and ABV-1505 for ADHD. The agreements granted marketing rights to BioHopeKing for certain Asian countries in return for a series of milestone payments totaling $10 million in cash and equity of BioHopeKing or equity securities owned by BioHopeKing.

 

The milestone payments are determined by a schedule of BioLite development achievements as shown below:

 

Milestone Payment 
Execution of BHK Co-Development Agreement $1,000,000 
Investigational New Drug (IND) Submission $1,000,000 
Phase II Clinical Trial Complete $1,000,000 
Initiation of Phase III Clinical Trial $3,000,000 
New Drug Application (NDA) Submission $4,000,000 
Total $10,000,000 

 

(ii)In December of 2015, BHK paid the initial cash payment of $1 million upon the execution of the BHK Agreement. The Company concluded that certain deliverables are considered separate units of accounting as the delivered items have value to the customer on a standalone basis and recognized this cash payment as collaboration revenue when all research, technical, and development data was delivered to BHK in 2015. The payment included compensation for past research efforts and contributions made by BioLite Taiwan before the BHK agreement was signed and does not relate to any future commitments made by BioLite Taiwan and BHK in the BHK Agreement.

 

(iii)In August 2016, the Company received the second milestone payment of $1 million, and recognized collaboration revenue for the year ended December 31, 2016. As of MarchDecember 31, 2021,‌2022, the Company had not completed the first phase II clinical trial.trial for ABV-1504 MDD on October 31, 2019, but has not yet completed the phase II clinical trial for ABV-1505 ADHD.

(iv)In addition to the milestone payments, BioLite Taiwan‌Inc. is entitled to receive a royalty equal to 12% of BHK’s net sales related to ABV-1501, ABV-1504 and ABV-1505 Products. As of March‌December 31, 2021,2022, the Company has not earned royalties under the BHK Co-Development Agreement.

 

(v)The BHK Co-Development Agreement will remain in effect for fifteen years from the date of first commercial sale of the Product in in Asia excluding Japan.

 


Collaborative agreement with BioLite, Inc., a related party

The Company entered into a collaborative agreement with BioLite, Inc. on December 29, 2015, and then entered into two addendums to such agreement, as amended and revised, (the “BioLite Agreement”). The majority shareholder of BioLite is one of the Company’s subsidiaries, Mr. Jiang, the Company’s Chairman is a director of BioLite and Dr. Jiang, the Company’s Chief Strategy Officer and a director, is the Chairman of BioLite.

Pursuant to the BioLite Agreement, the Company acquired the sole licensing rights to develop and commercialize for therapeutic purposes six compounds from BioLite. In accordance with the terms of the Agreement, the Company shall pay BioLite (i) milestone payments of up to $100 million in cash and equity of the Company or equity securities owned by it at various stages on a schedule dictated by BioLite’s achievements of certain milestones, as set forth in the Agreement (the “Milestone Payments”) and (ii) a royalty payment equal to 5% of net sales of the drug products when ABV-1501 is approved for sale in the licensed territories. If BioLite fails to reach any of the milestones in a timely manner, it may not receive the rest of the payments from the Company.

According to the BioLite Agreement, after Phase II clinical trials are completed, 15% of the Milestone Payment becomes due and shall be paid in two stages: (i) 5% no later than December 31, 2021 (the “December 2021 Payment”) and (ii) 10% no later than December 31, 2022.

On February 12, 2022, the Company’s Board of Directors determined that the December 2021 Payment, which is equal to $5,000,000, shall be paid via the cancellation of certain outstanding debt, in the amount of $5,000,000, that BioLite owes the Company as of December 31, 2021.

On February 22, 2022, the parties entered into an amendment to the BioLite Agreement allowing the Company to make all payments due under the Agreement via the forgiveness of debt, in equal value, owed by BioLite to the Company.

This was a related party transaction.

Co-Development agreement with Rgene Corporation, a related party

 

On May 26, 2017, BriVisionthe Company entered into a co-development agreement (the “Rgene Agreement”) with Rgene Corporation (the “Rgene”), a related party under common control by the controlling beneficiary shareholder of YuanGene Corporation and the Company (See Note 12). Pursuant to the Rgene Agreement, BriVision and Rgene agreed to co-develop and commercialize ABV-1507 HER2/neu Positive Breast Cancer Combination Therapy, ABV-1703 Pancreatic Cancer Combination Therapy and ABV-1527 Ovary Cancer Combination Therapy. Under the terms of the Rgene Agreement, Rgene is required to pay the Company $3,000,000 in cash or stock of Rgene with equivalent value by August 15, 2017 as compensation of BriVision’s past research efforts and contributions made by BriVision before the Rgene Agreement was executed. The payment does not relate to any future milestones attained by BriVision. In addition to $3,000,000, the Company is entitled to receive 50% of the future net licensing income or net sales profit earned by Rgene. All development costs shall be equally shared by both BriVision and Rgene.

 

On June 1, 2017, the Company delivered all research, technical data and development data to Rgene pursuant to the Rgene Agreement in return for a cash payment of $450,000 and 1,530,000 common shares of Rgene stock valued at $2,550,000, which in 2018 was accounted for using the equity method long-term investment. On December 31, 2018, the Company determined to fully write off this investment based on the Company’s assessment of the severity and duration of the impairment, and qualitative and quantitative analysis of the operating performance of the investee, adverse changes in market conditions, the regulatory or economic environment, changes in operating structure of Rgene, additional funding requirements and Rgene’s ability to remain in business. All research projects that were initiated will be managed and funded equally by the Company and Rgene.

 

The Company and Rgene signed an amendment to the Rgene Agreement on November 10, 2020, pursuant to which both parties agreed to delete AB-1507 HER2/neu Positive Breast Cancer Combination Therapy and AB-1527 Ovary Cancer Combination Therapy and add ABV-1519 EGFR Positive Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Combination Therapy and ABV-1526 Large Intestine / Colon / Rectal Cancer Combination Therapy to the products to be co-developed and commercialized. Other provisions of the Rgene Agreement remain in full force and effect.

 


Clinical Development Service Agreement with Rgene Corporation, a related party

On June 10, 2022, the Company its co-development partnership with Rgene. The Company’s subsidiary, BioKey, entered into a Clinical Development Service Agreement with Rgene (“Service Agreement”) to guide certain Rgene drug products, RGC-1501 for the treatment of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC), RGC-1502 for the treatment of pancreatic cancer and RGC 1503 for the treatment of colorectal cancer patients, through completion of Phase II clinical studies under U.S. FDA IND regulatory requirements (the “Rgene Studies”). Under the terms of the Service Agreement, BioKey is eligible to receive payments totaling up to $3.0 million over a 3-year period with each payment amount to be determined by certain regulatory milestones obtained during the agreement period.

Through a series of transactions over the past 5 years, the Company and Rgene have co-developed the three drug products covered by the Service Agreement, which has resulted in the Company owning 31.62% of Rgene.

As part of the Rgene Studies, the Company agreed to loan $1.0 million to Rgene, for which Rgene has provided the Company with a 5% working capital convertible loan (the “Note”). If the Note is fully converted, the Company will own an additional 6.4% of Rgene. The Company is expected to receive the outstanding loan from the related party by the 2023 Q1, either by cash or conversion of shares of Rgene. The Company may convert the Note at any time into shares of Rgene’s common stock at either (i) a fixed conversion price equal to $1.00 per share or (ii) 20% discount of the stock price of the then most recent offering, whichever is lower; the conversion price is subject to adjustment as set forth in the Note. The Note includes standard events of default, as well as a cross default provision pursuant to which a breach of the Service Agreement will trigger an event of default under the Note if not cured after 5 business days of written notice regarding the breach is provided. Upon an event of default, the outstanding principal and any accrued and unpaid interest shall be immediately due and payable.

The Service Agreement shall remain in effect until the expiration date of the last patent and automatically renew for 5 more years unless terminated earlier by either party with six months written notice. Either party may terminate the Service Agreement for cause by providing 30 days written notice.

Rgene has further agreed, effective July 1, 2022, to provide the Company with a seat on Rgene’s Board of Directors until the loan is repaid in full. The Company has nominated Dr. Jiang, its Chief Strategy Officer and Director to occupy that seat; Dr. Jiang is also one of the Company’s largest shareholders, owning 12.8% of the Company.

The Rgene Studies is a related party transaction.

Collaborative agreement with BioFirst Corporation, a related party

 

On July 24, 2017, BriVisionthe Company entered into a collaborative agreement (the “BioFirst Agreement”) with BioFirst Corporation, a corporation incorporated under the laws of Taiwan (“BioFirst”), pursuant to which BioFirst granted the Company global licensing rights to medical use of ABV-1701 Vitreous Substitute for Vitrectomy. BioFirst is a related party to the Company because a controlling beneficiary shareholder of YuanGene Corporation and the Company is a Director and shareholders of BioFirst (See Note 12).

 

Pursuant to the BioFirst Agreement, the Company and BioFirst will co-develop and commercialize BFC-1401. The Company will pay BioFirst a total amount of $3,000,000 in cash or stock of the Company before September 30, 2018 as payment in full for BioFirst’s past research efforts and contributions made by BioFirst before the BioFirst Agreement was executed. The Company is entitled to receive 50% of any future net licensing revenue or net profit associated with Vitargus®. All development cost will be equally shared by both BriVision and BioFirst.

 

On September 25, 2017, BioFirst delivered all research, technical, data and development data to BriVision.the Company. For the year ended September 30, 2017, the Company determined to fully expense the entire amount of $3,000,000 since the related licensing rights do not have alternative future uses. According to ASC 730-10-25-1, absent alternative future uses the acquisition of product rights to be used in research and development activities must be charged to research and development expenses immediately. Hence, the entire amount of $3,000,000 is fully expensed as research and development expense during the year ended September 30, 2017.


On June 30, 2019, BriVisionthe Company entered into a Stock Purchase Agreement (the “Purchase Agreement”) with BioFirst. Pursuant to the Purchase Agreement, the Company issued 428,571 shares of the Company’s common stock to BioFirst as payment for $3,000,000 owed by the Company to BioFirst in connection with the BioFirst Agreement.

 

On August 5, 2019, BriVisionthe Company entered into a second Stock Purchase Agreement with BioFirst whereby the Company issued 414,702 shares of the Company’s common stock to BioFirst as repayment in full for a loan in the amount of $2,902,911 provided to BriVision from BioFirst.

 

On November 4, 2020, the Company executed an amendment to the BioFirst Agreement with BioFirst to add ABV-2001 Intraocular Irrigation Solution and ABV-2002 Corneal Storage Solution to the agreement. ABV-2002 is utilized during a corneal transplant procedure to replace a damaged or diseased cornea while ABV-2001 has broader utilization during a variety of ocular procedures.

 

Initially the Company will focus on ABV-2002, a solution utilized to store a donor cornea prior to either penetrating keratoplasty (full thickness cornea transplant) or endothelial keratoplasty (back layer cornea transplant). ABV-2002 is a solution comprised of a specific poly amino acid that protects ocular tissue from damage caused by external osmolarity exposure during pre-surgery storage. The specific polymer in ABV-2002 can adjust osmolarity to maintain a range of 330 to 390 mOsM thereby permitting hydration within the corneal stroma during the storage period. Stromal hydration results in (a) maintaining acceptable corneal transparency and (b) prevents donor cornea swelling. ABV-2002 also contains an abundant phenolic phytochemical found in plant cell walls that provides antioxidant antibacterial properties and neuroprotection.

 

Early testing by BioFirst indicates that ABV-2002 may be more effective for protecting the cornea and retina during long-term storage than other storage media available today and can be manufactured at lower cost. CategorizedFurther clinical development was put on hold due to the lack of funding.

In addition, BioFirst was incorporated on November 7, 2006, focusing on the R&D, manufacturing, and sales of innovative patented pharmaceutical products. The technology of BioFirst comes from the global exclusive licensing agreements BioFirst maintains with domestic R & D institutions. Currently, BioFirst’s main research and development product is the vitreous substitute (Vitargus®), licensed by the National Health Research Institutes. Vitargus is the world’s first bio-degradable vitreous substitute and offers a number of advantages over current vitreous substitutes by minimizing medical complications and reducing the need for additional surgeries.

Vitargus has started the construction of a GMP factory in Hsinchu Biomedical Science Park, Taiwan, with the aim at building a production base to supply the global market, and promote the construction of bio-degradable vitreous substitute manufacturing centers in Taiwan. Completion of this factory would allow ABVC to manufacture Vitargus with world-class technology in a GMP certified pharmaceutical factory. BioFirst is targeting to complete the construction in 2024.

Co-Development agreement with BioLite Japan K.K. , a related party

On October 6, 2021 (the “Completion Date”), the Company, Lucidaim Co., Ltd., a Japanese corporation (“Lucidaim,” together with the Company, the “Shareholders”), and BioLite Japan K.K., a Japanese corporation (“Biolite JP”) entered into a Joint Venture Agreement (the “Agreement”). Biolite is a private limited company (a Japanese Kabushiki Kaisha) incorporated on December 18, 2018 and at the date of the Agreement has 10,000 ordinary shares authorized, with 3,049 ordinary shares issued and outstanding (the “Ordinary Shares”). Immediately prior to the execution of the Agreement, Lucidaim owned 1,501 ordinary shares and the Company owned the 1,548 ordinary shares. The Shareholders entered into the joint venture to formally reduce to writing their desire to invest in and operate Biolite as a lower risk Class I Medical Device,joint venture. The business of the joint venture shall be the research and development of drugs, medical device and digital media, investment, fund running and consulting, distribution and marketing of supplements carried on by Biolite and its subsidiaries in Japan, or any other territory or businesses as may from time to time be agreed by an amendment to the Agreement. The closing of the transaction is conditioned upon the approval and receipt of all necessary government approvals, which have been received.


Pursuant to the Agreement and the related share transfer agreement, the Company intendsshall transfer 54 of its Ordinary Shares to Lucidaim for no consideration, such that following the transfer, Lucidaim shall own 1,555 Ordinary Shares (51%) and the Company shall own 1,494 Ordinary Shares (49%). Also pursuant to the Agreement, there shall be 3 directors of Biolite, consisting of 1 director appointed by the Company and 2 appointed by Lucidiam. The Company shall appoint Eugene Jiang, the Company’s current Chairman and Chief Business Officer and Lucidaim shall appoint Michihito Onishi; the current director of Biolite, Toru Seo (who is also a director of BioLite Japan’s other shareholder), is considered the second Lucidaim director. The Agreement further provides that the Company and Biolite shall assign the research collaboration and license agreement between them to Biolite or prepare the same (the “License Agreement”). The aforementioned transactions occurred on the Completion Date.

As per the Agreement, the Shareholders shall supervise and manage the business and operations of Biolite. The directors shall not be entitled to any renumeration for their services as a director and each Shareholder can remove and replace the director he/she/it appointed. If a Shareholder sells or disposes of all of its Ordinary Shares, the director such Shareholder appointed must tender his/her resignation. The Agreement also sets forth certain corporate actions that must be pre-approved by all Shareholders (the “Reserved Matters”). If the Shareholders are unable to make a decision on any Reserved Matter, then either Shareholder can submit a Premarket Notification 510(K) submissiondeadlock notice to the FDA beforeother shareholder, 5 days after which they must refer the matter to each Shareholder’s chairman and use good faith to resolve the dispute. If such dispute is not resolved within 10 days thereafter, then either Shareholder can offer to buy all of the other Shareholder’s Ordinary Shares for cash at a specified price; if there is not affirmative acceptance of the sale, the sale shall proceed as set forth in the sale offer.

Each of the Shareholders maintains a pre-emptive right to purchase such number of additional Ordinary Shares as would allow such Shareholder to maintain its ownership percentage in Biolite if Biolite issues any new Ordinary Shares. However, the Agreement provides that the Company shall lose its pre-emptive rights under certain conditions. The Shareholders also maintain a right of first refusal if the other Shareholder receives an offer to buy such shareholder’s Ordinary Shares.

The Agreement also requires Biolite to obtain a bank facility in the amount of JPY 30,460,000 (approximately USD272,000), for its initial working capital purposes. Pursuant to the Agreement, each Shareholder agrees to guarantee such bank facility if the bank requires a guarantee. Accordingly, the Company may be liable for the bank facility in an amount up to JPY 14,925,400 (approximately USD134,000), which represents 49% of the maximum bank facility. The Agreement further provides that Biolite shall issue annual dividends at the rate of at least 1.5% of Biolite’s profits, if it has sufficient cash to do so.

Pursuant to the Agreement, the Company and Biolite agree to use their best efforts to execute the License Agreement by the end of 2021 to demonstrateDecember 2021. The Company agreed that any negotiation on behalf of Biolite regarding the device is at least as safeterms of the License Agreement shall be handled by the directors appointed by Lucidaim. If the Company and effective as current productssuch Lucidaim directors do not reach agreement on the market.terms, Biolite may at its sole discretion determine not to execute the License Agreement without any liability to the Company.

 

The Agreement contains non-solicitation and non-compete clauses for a period of 2 years after a Shareholder or its subsidiaries ceases to be a Shareholder, with such restrictive covenants limited to business within the ophthalmologic filed or central neurological field. Any rights to intellectual property that arise from Biolite’s activities, shall belong to Biolite JP.

The Agreement contains standard indemnification terms, except that no indemnifying party shall have any liability for an individual liability unless it exceeds JPY 500,000 (approximately USD4,500) and until the aggregate amount of all liabilities exceeds JPY 2,000,000 (approximately USD18,000) and then only to the extent such liability exceed such limit.

The Company paid $150,000 towards the setup of the joint venture; BioLite Japan’s other shareholder also paid $150,000 after the Letter of Intent was signed.

The Agreement shall continue for 10 years, unless earlier terminated. The Agreement also allows a Shareholder to terminate the agreement upon certain defaults committed by another Shareholder, as set forth in the Agreement.

This was a related party transaction.

In November 2021, the Company received $4,244,452 in gross proceeds from the exercise of warrants issued in the Company’s August 3, 2021, public offering of securities. Investors exercised a total of 673,405 Series A warrants at a price of $6.30 per share, and 200 Series B warrants at a price of $10 per share.


BioKey Revenues

 

In addition to collaborative agreements, ABVC earns revenue through its wholly owned BioKey subsidiary which provides a wide range of Contract Development & Manufacturing Organization (“CDMO”) services including API characterization, pre-formulation studies, formulation development, analytical method development, stability studies, IND/NDA/ANDA/510K submissions, and manufacturing clinical trial materials (from Phase I through Phase III) and commercial manufacturing of pharmaceutical products.

 

In addition, BioKey provides a variety of regulatory services tailored to the needs of its customers, which include proofreading and regulatory review of submission documents related to formulation development, clinical trials, marketed products, generics, nutraceuticals and OTC products and training presentations. In addition to supporting ABVC’s new drug development, BioKey submits INDs, NDAs, ANDAs, and DMFs to the FDA, on ABVC’s behalf in compliance with new electronic submission guidelines of the FDA.

 

Impact of COVID-19 Outbreak

 

On January 30, 2020, the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus outbreak a “Public Health Emergency of International Concern” and on March 10, 2020, declared it to be a pandemic. Actions taken around the world to help mitigate the spread of the coronavirus include restrictions on travel, and quarantines in certain areas, and forced closures for certain types of public places and businesses. The coronavirus and actions taken to mitigate it have had and are expected to continue to have an adverse impact on the economies and financial markets of many countries, including the geographical area in which the Company operates. While the closures and limitations on movement, domestically and internationally, are expected to be temporary, if the outbreak continues on its current trajectory the duration of the supply chain disruption could reduce the availability, or result in delays, of materials or supplies to and from the Company, which in turn could materially interrupt the Company’s business operations. Given the speed and frequency of the continuously evolving developments with respect to this pandemic, the Company cannot reasonably estimate the magnitude of the impact to its consolidated results of operations. We have taken every precaution possible to ensure the safety of our employees.


Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, our revenue for the first half of fiscal 2020 was2021 and 2022 were significantly impacted. As we have not seen a stronger signal to indicate that overall global economiceconomies will be back to normal in the third quarter,first half of fiscal 2023, our business’s overall revenue stream may be impacted further until the restrictions of COVID-19 can be released, thenafter which we expect the companyCompany can start operating normally. resume normal operations.

The COVID-19 pandemic, including variants, has adversely affected, and is expected to continue to adversely affect, elements of our CDMO business sector. The COVID-19 pandemic government imposed restrictions constrained researcher access to labs globally. These constraints limited scientific discovery capacity and we observed that demand in those labs fell well below historic levels. As constraints on social distancing were gradually lifted around the world recently, labs have been able to increase research activity. While we believe that underlying demand is still not yet at pre-COVID-19 levels since lab operations remain below their normal capacity, we are hopeful that the vaccination programs that are underway combined with policy changes planned for the summer will further increase research activity and support a return to pre-COVID-19 demand levels worldwide.

The global pandemic of COVID-19 continues to evolve rapidly, and we will continue to monitor the situation closely, including its potential effect on our plans and timelines.

 

Additionally, it is reasonably possible that estimates made in the financial statements have been, or will be, materially and adversely impacted in the near term as a result of these conditions, including losses on inventory; impairment losses related to goodwill and other long-lived assets and current obligations.

 


Summary of Critical Accounting Policies

 

Basis of Presentation

 

The accompanying consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America (the “U.S. GAAP”). All significant intercompany transactions and account balances have been eliminated.

 

This basis of accounting involves the application of accrual accounting and consequently, revenues and gains are recognized when earned, and expenses and losses are recognized when incurred. The Company’s financial statements are expressed in U.S. dollars.

 

Fiscal Year

 

The Company changed its fiscal year from the period beginning on October 1st and ending on September 30th to the period beginning on January 1st and ending on December 31st, beginning January 1, 2018. All references herein to a fiscal year prior to December 31, 2017 refer to the twelve months ended September 30th of such year.

 

Use of Estimates

 

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles generally accepted 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 consolidated financial statements and the amount of revenues and expenses during the reporting periods. Actual results could differ materially from those results.

 

Inventory

 

Inventory consists of raw materials, work-in-process, finished goods, and merchandise. Inventories are stated at the lower of cost or market and valued on a moving weighted average cost basis. Market is determined based on net realizable value. The Company periodically reviews the age and turnover of its inventory to determine whether any inventory has become obsolete or has declined in value, and incurs a charge to operations for known and anticipated inventory obsolescence.

 

Reclassifications

Certain classifications have been made to the prior year financial statements to conform to the current year presentation. The reclassification had no impact on previously reported net loss or accumulated deficit.

Forward Stock Split

 

On March 21, 2016, the Board of Directors of the Company approved an amendment to Articles of Incorporation to effect a forward split at a ratio of 1 to 3.141 and increase the number of our authorized shares of Common Stock, par value $0.001 per share, to 360,000,000, which was effective on April 8, 2016.


Stock Reverse Split

 

On March 12, 2019, the Board of Directors of the Company by unanimous written consent in lieu of a meeting approved to i) effect a stock reverse split at the ratio of 1-for-18 (the “Reverse Split”) of both the authorized common stock of the Company (the “Common Stock”) and the issued and outstanding Common Stock and ii) to amend the articles of incorporation of the Company to reflect the Reverse Split. The Board approved and authorized the Reverse Split without obtaining approval of the Company’s shareholders pursuant to Section 78.207 of Nevada Revised Statutes. On May 3, 2019, the Company filed a certificate of amendment to the Company’s articles of incorporation (the “Amendment”) to effect the Reverse Split with the Secretary of State of Nevada. The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) informed the Company that the Reverse Split was effective on May 8, 2019. All shares and related financial information in this Form 10-Qprospectus reflect this 1-for-18 reverse stock split.

 


Fair Value Measurements

 

FASB ASC 820, “Fair Value Measurements” defines fair value for certain financial and nonfinancial assets and liabilities that are recorded at fair value, establishes a framework for measuring fair value and expands disclosures about fair value measurements. It requires that an entity measure its financial instruments to base fair value on exit price, maximize the use of observable units and minimize the use of unobservable inputs to determine the exit price. It establishes a hierarchy which prioritizes the inputs to valuation techniques used to measure fair value. This hierarchy increases the consistency and comparability of fair value measurements and related disclosures by maximizing the use of observable inputs and minimizing the use of unobservable inputs by requiring that observable inputs be used when available. Observable inputs are inputs that reflect the assumptions market participants would use in pricing the assets or liabilities based on market data obtained from sources independent of the Company. Unobservable inputs are inputs that reflect the Company’s own assumptions about the assumptions market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability developed based on the best information available in the circumstances. The hierarchy prioritizes the inputs into three broad levels based on the reliability of the inputs as follows:

 

Level 1 - Inputs are quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities that the Company has the ability to access at the measurement date. Valuation of these instruments does not require a high degree of judgment as the valuations are based on quoted prices in active markets that are readily and regularly available.

 

Level 2 - Inputs other than quoted prices in active markets that are either directly or indirectly observable as of the measurement date, such as quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities; quoted prices in markets that are not active; or other inputs that are observable or can be corroborated by observable market data for substantially the full term of the assets or liabilities.

 

Level 3 - Valuations based on inputs that are unobservable and not corroborated by market data. The fair value for such assets and liabilities is generally determined using pricing models, discounted cash flow methodologies, or similar techniques that incorporate the assumptions a market participant would use in pricing the asset or liability.

 

The carrying values of certain assets and liabilities of the Company, such as cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash, accounts receivable, due from related parties, inventory, prepaid expenses and other current assets, accounts payable, accrued liabilities, and due to related parties approximate fair value due to their relatively short maturities. The carrying value of the Company’s short-term bank loan, convertible notes payable, and accrued interest approximates their fair value as the terms of the borrowing are consistent with current market rates and the duration to maturity is short. The carrying value of the Company’s long-term bank loan approximates fair value because the interest rates approximate market rates that the Company could obtain for debt with similar terms and maturities.

 

Cash and Cash Equivalents

 

The Company considers highly liquid investments with maturities of three months or less, when purchased, to be cash equivalents. As of March 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020,2022 and 2021, the Company’s cash and cash equivalents amounted $2,615,073$85,265 and $4,273,208,$5,828,548, respectively. Some of the Company’s cash deposits are held in financial institutions located in Taiwan where there is currently regulation mandated on obligatory insurance of bank accounts. The Company believes this financial institution is of high credit quality.


Restricted Cash Equivalents

 

Restricted cash equivalents primarily consist of cash held in a reserve bank account in Taiwan. As of March 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020,2022 and 2021, the Company’s restricted cash equivalents amounted to $718,163$1,306,463 and $728,163,$736,667, respectively.

 

Concentration of Credit Risk

 

The Company’s financial instruments that are exposed to concentrations of credit risk consist primarily of cash and cash equivalents. The Company places its cash and temporary cash investments in high quality credit institutions, but these investments may be in excess of Taiwan Central Deposit Insurance Corporation and the U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s insurance limits. The Company does not enter into financial instruments for hedging, trading or speculative purposes.

 

We perform ongoing credit evaluation of our customers and requires no collateral. An allowance for doubtful accounts is provided based on a review of the collectability of accounts receivable. We determine the amount of allowance for doubtful accounts by examining its historical collection experience and current trends in the credit quality of its customers as well as its internal credit policies. Actual credit losses may differ from our estimates.

Revenue Recognition

 

During the fiscal year 2018, the Company adopted Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”), Topic 606 (ASC 606), Revenue from Contracts with Customers, using the modified retrospective method to all contracts that were not completed as of January 1, 2018, and applying the new revenue standard as an adjustment to the opening balance of accumulated deficit at the beginning of 2018 for the cumulative effect. The results for the Company’s reporting periods beginning on and after January 1, 2018 are presented under ASC 606, while prior period amounts are not adjusted and continue to be reported under the accounting standards in effect for the prior period. Based on the Company’s review of existing collaborative agreements as of January 1, 2018, the Company concluded that the adoption of the new guidance did not have a significant change on the Company’s revenue during all periods presented.

 

Pursuant to ASC 606, the Company recognizes revenue when its customer obtains control of promised goods or services, in an amount that reflects the consideration that the Company expects to receive in exchange for those goods or services. To determine revenue recognition for arrangements that the Company determines is within the scope of ASC 606, the Company performs the following five steps: (i) identify the contract(s) with a customer; (ii) identify the performance obligations in the contract; (iii) determine the transaction price; (iv) allocate the transaction price to the performance obligations in the contract; and (v) recognize revenue when (or as) the Company satisfies a performance obligation. The Company only applies the five-step model to contracts when it is probable that the Company will collect the consideration the Company is entitled to in exchange for the goods or services the Company transfers to the customers. At inception of the contract, once the contract is determined to be within the scope of ASC 606, the Company assesses the goods or services promised within each contract, determines those that are performance obligations, and assesses whether each promised good or service is distinct. The Company then recognizes as revenue the amount of the transaction price that is allocated to the respective performance obligation when (or as) the performance obligation is satisfied.

 


Property and Equipment

 

Property and equipment is carried at cost net of accumulated depreciation. Repairs and maintenance are expensed as incurred. Expenditures that improve the functionality of the related asset or extend the useful life are capitalized. When property and equipment is retired or otherwise disposed of, the related gain or loss is included in operating income. Leasehold improvements are depreciated on the straight-line method over the shorter of the remaining lease term or estimated useful life of the asset. Depreciation is calculated on the straight-line method, including property and equipment under capital leases, generally based on the following useful lives:

 

Estimated
Life
in
Years
Buildings and leasehold improvements5 ~ 50
Machinery and equipment5 ~ 10
Office equipment3 ~ 6

Impairment of Long-Lived Assets

 

The Company has adopted Accounting Standards Codification subtopic 360-10, Property, Plant and Equipment (“ASC 360-10”). ASC 360-10 requires that long-lived assets and certain identifiable intangibles held and used by the Company be reviewed for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of an asset may not be recoverable. The Company evaluates its long-lived assets for impairment annually or more often if events and circumstances warrant. Events relating to recoverability may include significant unfavorable changes in business conditions, recurring losses, or a forecasted inability to achieve break-even operating results over an extended period. Should impairment in value be indicated, the carrying value of intangible assets will be adjusted, based on estimates of future discounted cash flows resulting from the use and ultimate disposition of the asset. ASC 360-10 also requires assets to be disposed of be reported at the lower of the carrying amount or the fair value less costs to sell.

 

Long-term Equity Investment

 

The Company acquires the equity investments to promote business and strategic objectives. The Company accounts for non-marketable equity and other equity investments for which the Company does not have control over the investees as:

 

Equity method investments when the Company has the ability to exercise significant influence, but not control, over the investee. Its proportionate share of the income or loss is recognized monthly and is recorded in gains (losses) on equity investments.

 

Non-marketable cost method investments when the equity method does not apply.

 

Significant judgment is required to identify whether an impairment exists in the valuation of the Company’s non-marketable equity investments, and therefore the Company considers this a critical accounting estimate. Its yearly analysis considers both qualitative and quantitative factors that may have a significant impact on the investee’s fair value. Qualitative analysis of its investments involves understanding the financial performance and near-term prospects of the investee, changes in general market conditions in the investee’s industry or geographic area, and the management and governance structure of the investee. Quantitative assessments of the fair value of its investments are developed using the market and income approaches. The market approach includes the use of comparable financial metrics of private and public companies and recent financing rounds. The income approach includes the use of a discounted cash flow model, which requires significant estimates regarding the investees’ revenue, costs, and discount rates. The Company’s assessment of these factors in determining whether an impairment exists could change in the future due to new developments or changes in applied assumptions.

 


Other-Than-Temporary Impairment

 

The Company’s long-term equity investments are subject to a periodic impairment review. Impairments affect earnings as follows:

 

Marketable equity securities include the consideration of general market conditions, the duration and extent to which the fair value is below cost, and our ability and intent to hold the investment for a sufficient period of time to allow for recovery of value in the foreseeable future. The Company also considers specific adverse conditions related to the financial health of, and the business outlook for, the investee, which may include industry and sector performance, changes in technology, operational and financing cash flow factors, and changes in the investee’s credit rating. The Company records other-than-temporary impairments on marketable equity securities and marketable equity method investments in gains (losses) on equity investments.

 

Non-marketable equity investments based on the Company’s assessment of the severity and duration of the impairment, and qualitative and quantitative analysis of the operating performance of the investee; adverse changes in market conditions and the regulatory or economic environment; changes in operating structure or management of the investee; additional funding requirements; and the investee’s ability to remain in business. A series of operating losses of an investee or other factors may indicate that a decrease in value of the investment has occurred that is other than temporary and that shall be recognized even though the decrease in value is in excess of what would otherwise be recognized by application of the equity method. A loss in value of an investment that is other than a temporary decline shall be recognized. Evidence of a loss in value might include, but would not necessarily be limited to, absence of an ability to recover the carrying amount of the investment or inability of the investee to sustain an earnings capacity that would justify the carrying amount of the investment. The Company records other-than-temporary impairments for non-marketable cost method investments and equity method investments in gains (losses) on equity investments. Other-than-temporary impairments of equity investments were $0, $0 and $0 for the three months ended March 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively.  Other-than-temporary impairments of equity investments were $961,217 and $0 for the year‌years ended December 31, 20202022 and 2019,2021, respectively.

Goodwill

 

Goodwill

The Company evaluates goodwill for impairment annually or more frequently when an event occurs or circumstances change that indicate the carrying value may not be recoverable. In testing goodwill for impairment, the Company may elect to utilize a qualitative assessment to evaluate whether it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying amount. If the qualitative assessment indicates that goodwill impairment is more likely than not, the Company performs a two-step impairment test. The Company tests goodwill for impairment under the two-step impairment test by first comparing the book value of net assets to the fair value of the reporting units. If the fair value is determined to be less than the book value or qualitative factors indicate that it is more likely than not that goodwill is impaired, a second step is performed to compute the amount of impairment as the difference between the estimated fair value of goodwill and the carrying value. The Company estimates the fair value of the reporting units using discounted cash flows. Forecasts of future cash flows are based on our best estimate of future net sales and operating expenses, based primarily on expected category expansion, pricing, market segment share, and general economic conditions.

 

The Company completed the required testing of goodwill for impairment as of MarchDecember 31, 2021,2022, and determined that goodwill was impaired because of the current financial condition of the Company and the Company’s inability to generate future operating income without substantial sales volume increases, which are highly uncertain. Furthermore, the Company anticipates future cash flows indicate that the recoverability of goodwill is not reasonably assured.

 

Research and Development Expenses

 

The Company accounts for the cost of using licensing rights in research and development cost according to ASC Topic 730-10-25-1. This guidance provides that absent alternative future uses the acquisition of product rights to be used in research and development activities must be charged to research and development expenses when incurred.

 


For CDMO business unit, the

The Company accounts for R&D costs in accordance with Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 730, Research and Development (“ASC 730”). Research and development expenses are charged to expense as incurred unless there is an alternative future use in other research and development projects or otherwise. Research and development expenses are comprised of costs incurred in performing research and development activities, including personnel-related costs, facilities-related overhead, and outside contracted services including clinical trial costs, manufacturing and process development costs for both clinical and preclinical materials, research costs, and other consulting services. Non-refundable advance payment for goods and services that will be used in future research and development activities are expensed when the activity has been performed or when the goods have been received rather than when the payment is made. In instances where the Company enters into agreements with third parties to provide research and development services, costs are expensed as services are performed.

 

Post-retirement and post-employment benefits

 

The Company’s subsidiaries in Taiwan adopted the government mandated defined contribution plan pursuant to the Labor Pension Act (the “Act”) in Taiwan. Such labor regulations require that the rate of contribution made by an employer to the Labor Pension Fund per month shall not be less than 6% of the worker’s monthly salaries. Pursuant to the Act, the Company makes monthly contribution equal to 6% of employees’ salaries to the employees’ pension fund. The Company has no legal obligation for the benefits beyond the contributions made. The total amounts for such employee benefits, which were expensed as incurred, were $2,503$ 13,031 and $3,598$ 11,375 for the three months ended March 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively. The total amounts for such employee benefits, which were expensed as incurred, were $13,961 and $15,928 for the yearyears ended December 31, 20202022 and 2019,2021, respectively. Other than the above, the Company does not provide any other post-retirement or post-employment benefits.

 

Stock-based Compensation

 

The Company measures expense associated with all employee stock-based compensation awards using a fair value method and recognizes such expense in the consolidated financial statements on a straight-line basis over the requisite service period in accordance with FASB ASC Topic 718 “Compensation-Stock Compensation”. Total employee stock-based compensation expenses were $0$1,241,930 and $0 for the three months ended March 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively. Total employee stock-based compensation expenses were $1,623,102 and $0$2,675,205 for the years ended December 31, 20202022 and 2019.2021, respectively.

 

The Company accounted for stock-based compensation to non-employees in accordance with FASB ASC Topic 718 “Compensation-Stock Compensation” and FASB ASC Topic 505-50 “Equity-Based Payments to Non-Employees” which requires that the cost of services received from non-employees is measured at fair value at the earlier of the performance commitment date or the date service is completed and recognized over the period the service is provided. Total non-employee stock-based compensation expenses were $225,740$5,794,848 and $525 for the three months ended March 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively. Total non-employee stock-based compensation expenses were $2,523,877 and $22,314$2,631,550 for the years ended December 31, 20202022 and 2019,2021, respectively.


Beneficial Conversion Feature

 

From time to time, the Company may issue convertible notes that may contain an imbedded beneficial conversion feature. A beneficial conversion feature exists on the date a convertible note is issued when the fair value of the underlying common stock to which the note is convertible into is in excess of the remaining unallocated proceeds of the note after first considering the allocation of a portion of the note proceeds to the fair value of the warrants, if related warrants have been granted. The intrinsic value of the beneficial conversion feature is recorded as a debt discount with a corresponding amount to additional paid in capital. The debt discount is amortized to interest expense over the life of the note using the effective interest method.

 

Income Taxes

 

The Company accounts for income taxes using the asset and liability approach which allows the recognition and measurement of deferred tax assets to be based upon the likelihood of realization of tax benefits in future years. Under the asset and liability approach, deferred taxes are provided for the net tax effects of temporary differences between the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities for financial reporting purposes and the amounts used for income tax purposes. A valuation allowance is provided for deferred tax assets if it is more likely than not these items will expire before the Company is able to realize their benefits, or future deductibility is uncertain.

 


Under ASC 740, a tax position is recognized as a benefit only if it is “more likely than not” that the tax position would be sustained in a tax examination, with a tax examination being presumed to occur. The evaluation of a tax position is a two-step process. The first step is to determine whether it is more-likely-than-not that a tax position will be sustained upon examination, including the resolution of any related appeals or litigations based on the technical merits of that position. The second step is to measure a tax position that meets the more-likely-than-not threshold to determine the amount of benefits recognized in the financial statements. A tax position is measured at the largest amount of benefit that is greater than 50 percent likely of being realized upon ultimate settlement. Tax positions that previously failed to meet the more-likely-than-not recognition threshold should be recognized in the first subsequent period in which the threshold is met. Previously recognized tax positions that no longer meet the more-likely-than-not criteria should be de-recognized in the first subsequent financial reporting period in which the threshold is no longer satisfied. Penalties and interest incurred related to underpayment of income tax are classified as income tax expense in the year incurred. No significant penalty or interest relating to income taxes has been incurred for the three months ended March 31, 2021 or the years ended December 31, 20202022 and 2019.2021. GAAP also provides guidance on de-recognition, classification, interest and penalties, accounting in interim periods, disclosures and transition.

 

On December 22, 2017, the SEC issued Staff Accounting Bulletin (“SAB 118”), which provides guidance on accounting for tax effects of the Tax Act. SAB 118 provides a measurement period that should not extend beyond one year from the Tax Act enactment date for companies to complete the accounting under ASC 740. In accordance with SAB 118, a company must reflect the income tax effects of those aspects of the Act for which the accounting under ASC 740 is complete. To the extent that a company’s accounting for certain income tax effects of the Tax Act is incomplete but it is able to determine a reasonable estimate, it must record a provisional estimate to be included in the financial statements. If a company cannot determine a provisional estimate to be included in the financial statements, it should continue to apply ASC 740 on the basis of the provision of the tax laws that were in effect immediately before the enactment of the Tax Act. While the Company is able to make reasonable estimates of the impact of the reduction in corporate rate and the deemed repatriation transition tax, the final impact of the Tax Act may differ from these estimates, due to, among other things, changes in our interpretations and assumptions, additional guidance that may be issued by the I.R.S., and actions the Company may take. The Company is continuing to gather additional information to determine the final impact.

 

Valuation of Deferred Tax Assets

 

A valuation allowance is recorded to reduce the Company’s deferred tax assets to the amount that is more likely than not to be realized. In assessing the need for the valuation allowance, management considers, among other things, projections of future taxable income and ongoing prudent and feasible tax planning strategies. If the Company determines that sufficient negative evidence exists, then it will consider recording a valuation allowance against a portion or all of the deferred tax assets in that jurisdiction. If, after recording a valuation allowance, the Company’s projections of future taxable income and other positive evidence considered in evaluating the need for a valuation allowance prove, with the benefit of hindsight, to be inaccurate, it could prove to be more difficult to support the realization of its deferred tax assets. As a result, an additional valuation allowance could be required, which would have an adverse impact on its effective income tax rate and results. Conversely, if, after recording a valuation allowance, the Company determines that sufficient positive evidence exists in the jurisdiction in which the valuation allowance was recorded, it may reverse a portion or all of the valuation allowance in that jurisdiction. In such situations, the adjustment made to the deferred tax asset would have a favorable impact on its effective income tax rate and results in the period such determination was made.


Loss Per Share of Common Stock

 

The Company calculates net loss per share in accordance with ASC Topic 260, “Earnings per Share”. Basic loss per share is computed by dividing the net loss by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding during the period. Diluted loss per share is computed similar to basic loss per share except that the denominator is increased to include the number of additional common shares that would have been outstanding if the potential common stock equivalents had been issued and if the additional common shares were dilutive. Diluted earnings per share excludes all dilutive potential shares if their effect is anti-dilutive.

 


Commitments and Contingencies

 

The Company has adopted ASC Topic 450 “Contingencies” subtopic 20, in determining its accruals and disclosures with respect to loss contingencies. Accordingly, estimated losses from loss contingencies are accrued by a charge to income when information available before financial statements are issued or are available to be issued indicates that it is probable that an assets had been impaired or a liability had been incurred at the date of the financial statements and the amount of the loss can be reasonably estimated. Legal expenses associated with the contingency are expensed as incurred. If a loss contingency is not probable or reasonably estimable, disclosure of the loss contingency is made in the financial statements when it is at least reasonably possible that a material loss could be incurred.

 

Foreign-currency Transactions

 

For the Company’s subsidiaries in Taiwan, the foreign-currency transactions are recorded in New Taiwan dollars (“NTD”) at the rates of exchange in effect when the transactions occur. Gains or losses resulting from the application of different foreign exchange rates when cash in foreign currency is converted into New Taiwan dollars, or when foreign-currency receivables or payables are settled, are credited or charged to income in the year of conversion or settlement. On the balance sheet dates, the balances of foreign-currency assets and liabilities are restated at the prevailing exchange rates and the resulting differences are charged to current income except for those foreign currencies denominated investments in shares of stock where such differences are accounted for as translation adjustments under the Statements of Stockholders’ Equity (Deficit).

 

Translation Adjustment

 

The accounts of the Company’s subsidiaries in Taiwan were maintained, and their financial statements were expressed, in New Taiwan Dollar (“NT$”). Such financial statements were translated into U.S. Dollars (“(”$” or “USD”) in accordance ASC 830, “Foreign Currency Matters”, with the NT$ as the functional currency. According to the Statement, all assets and liabilities are translated at the current exchange rate, shareholder’s deficit are translated at the historical rates and income statement items are translated at an average exchange rate for the period. The resulting translation adjustments are reported under other comprehensive income (loss) as a component of shareholders’ equity (deficit).

 

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

 

In December 2019, the FASB issued ASU 2019-12, Income Taxes (Topic 740): Simplifying the Accounting for Income Taxes, as part of its overall simplification initiative to reduce costs and complexity of applying accounting standards while maintaining or improving the usefulness of the information provided to users of financial statements. The FASB’s amendments primarily impact ASC 740, Income Taxes, and may impact both interim and annual reporting periods. ASU 2019-12 will be effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2020, and interim periods within those fiscal years and early adoption is permitted. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of adopting ASU 2019-12.

In August 2020, the FASB issued ASU 2020-06, Debt — Debt with Conversion and Other Options (Subtopic 470-20) and Derivatives and Hedging- Hedging—Contracts in Entity’s Own Equity (Subtopic 815-40),: Accounting for Convertible Instruments and Contracts in an Entity’s Own Equity (“ASU 2020-06”). ASU 2020-06 simplifies the accounting for convertible debt by eliminating the beneficial conversion and cash conversion accounting models. Upon adoption of ASU 2020-06, convertible debt, unless issued with a substantial premium or an embedded conversion feature that is not clearly and closely related to the host contract, will no longer be allocated between debt and equity components. This modification will reduce the complexity associated with applying U.S. GAAP principles for certainissue discount and result in less non-cash interest expense in financial instruments with characteristics of liabilities and equity. The amendments in thisstatements. ASU reduce2020-06 also updates the number of accounting models for convertible instruments and expand the existing disclosure requirements over earnings per share calculation and requires entities to assume share settlement when the convertible debt can be settled in cash or shares. For contracts in an entity’s own equity, the type of contracts primarily affected by ASU 2020-06 are freestanding and embedded features that are accounted for as it relatesderivatives under the current guidance due to convertible instruments. Thisa failure to meet the settlement assessment by removing the requirements to (i) consider whether the contract would be settled in registered shares, (ii) consider whether collateral is required to be posted, and (iii) assess shareholder rights. ASU will be2020-06 is effective for the fiscal yearyears beginning January 1, 2022 and interim periods therein.after December 15, 2023. Early adoption is permitted, but no earlier than fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2020. The amendments may be2020, and only if adopted through either a modified retrospective method, or a fully retrospective method.as of the beginning of such fiscal year. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of adopting ASU 2020-06.that the standard will have on its consolidated financial statements.


In May 2021, the FASB issued ASU 2021-04, Earnings Per Share (Topic 260), Debt — Modifications and Extinguishments (Subtopic 470-50), Compensation — Stock Compensation (Topic 718), and Derivatives and Hedging — Contracts in Entity’s Own Equity (Subtopic 815-40): Issuer’s Accounting for Certain Modifications or Exchanges of Freestanding Equity-Classified Written Call Options (“ASU 2021-04”). ASU 2021-04 provides guidance as to how an issuer should account for a modification of the terms or conditions or an exchange of a freestanding equity-classified written call option (i.e., a warrant) that remains classified after modification or exchange as an exchange of the original instrument for a new instrument. An issuer should measure the effect of a modification or exchange as the difference between the fair value of the modified or exchanged warrant and the fair value of that warrant immediately before modification or exchange and then apply a recognition model that comprises four categories of transactions and the corresponding accounting treatment for each category (equity issuance, debt origination, debt modification, and modifications unrelated to equity issuance and debt origination or modification). ASU 2021-04 is effective for all entities for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2021, including interim periods within those fiscal years. An entity should apply the guidance provided in ASU 2021-04 prospectively to modifications or exchanges occurring on or after the effective date. Early adoption is permitted for all entities, including adoption in an interim period. If an entity elects to early adopt ASU 2021-04 in an interim period, the guidance should be applied as of the beginning of the fiscal year that includes that interim period. The Company is currently evaluating the impact that the standard will have on its consolidated financial statements.

Estimates and Assumptions

 

In preparing our consolidated financial statements, we use estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts and disclosures. Our estimates are often based on complex judgments, probabilities and assumptions that we believe to be reasonable, but that are inherently uncertain and unpredictable. We are also subject to other risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ from estimated amounts.

 

Results of Operations

Three Months — Year Ended MarchDecember 31, 20212022 Compared to Three MonthsYear Ended MarchDecember 31, 2020.2021.

 

The following table presents, for the three months indicated, our consolidated statements of operations information.

  March 31,
2021
  March 31,
2020
 
       
Revenues $263,150  $78,786 
         
Cost of revenues  1,245   3,959 
         
Gross profit  261,905   74,827 
         
Operating expenses        
Selling, general and administrative expenses  1,167,595   1,152,889 
Research and development expenses  121,315   92,790 
Stock-based compensation  225,740   525 
Total operating expenses  1,514,650   1,246,204 
         
Loss from operations  (1,252,745)  (1,171,377)
         
Other income (expense)        
Interest income  52,529   10,720 
Interest expense  (130,229)  (131,517)
Rent income  4,867   5,231 
Rent income – related parties  1,600   1,200 
Gain/Loss on foreign exchange changes  951   2 
Gain/Loss on investment in equity securities  (47,791)  (70,411)
Other income (expense)  71   6,322 
Government grant income  124,400   —   
Total other income (expenses)  6,398   (178,453)
         
Loss before provision income tax  (1,246,347)  (1,349,830)
         
Provision for income tax  (51,024)  (40,568)
         
Net loss  (1,195,323)  (1,309,262)
         
Net loss attributable to noncontrolling interests  (66,818)  (61,724)
         
Net loss attributed to ABVC and subsidiaries  (1,128,505)  (1,247,538)
Foreign currency translation adjustment  36,140   (6,451)
Comprehensive Loss $(1,092,365) $(1,253,989)
         
Net loss per share:        
Basic and diluted $(0.05) $(0.06)
         
Weighted average number of common shares outstanding:        
Basic and diluted  24,420,526   19,484,542 

59

Revenues. We generated $263,150$969,783 and $78,786$355,797 in revenues for the three monthsyears ended MarchDecember 31, 20212022 and 2020, respectively; and incurred $1,245 and $3,959 in cost of sales for the three months ended March 31, 2021, and 2020, respectively. The increase of $613,986, or approximately 173%, was primarily caused by the increase in revenues was mainly due to the recovery from the impact of COVID-19 onto our CDMO business sector.contract services with Rgene.

 

Operating Expenses.Expenses. Our operating expenses have increased by $268,446, or 22%,were $15,797,780 in the year ended December 31, 2022, as compared to $1,514,650 for$12,056,679 in the three monthsyear ended MarchDecember 31, 2021 from $1,246,204 for the three months ended March 31, 2020.2021. Such increase in operating expenses was mainly dueattributable to the increase in stock -based compensation and selling, general and administrative expenses by $2,051,449 which relates to costs in conjunction with our public offering and research and development expenses.

Our selling, general and administrative expenses and stock-based compensation increased by $239,921, or 21%, mainly due to the increase in company’s marketing and up-list related expenses.

Ourour recent stock issuances, as well as increasing research and development expenses increased by $28,525 or approximately 31% primarily because of new service agreements signed with vendors during the three months ended March 31, 2021.$1,689,652 to continue to develop our pipeline.

 

Other Income (Expense)(expense). OurThe other incomeexpense was $6,398 for$400,158 in the three monthsyear ended MarchDecember 31, 20212022 as compared to other expense $178,453 forincome of $495,141 in the three monthsyear ended MarchDecember 31, 2020.2021. The change was principally caused by the increase in government grant income of $124,400 duringinterest expense, while being offset by the quarter, due to the grant of the PPP loan, as well as increase in interest income for the year ended December 31, 2022, and decreasing loss on investment in equity securities.securities and decrease in government grant income for the year ended December 31, 2022.

 

Interest income (expense), net, was $52,529$(106,151) for the three monthsyear ended MarchDecember 31, 2021 as2022, compared to $10,720$(184,014) for the three monthsyear ended MarchDecember 31, 2020.2021. The increasedecrease of $41,809,$77,863, or approximately 390%42%, was primarily due to the interestrepayment of convertible notes payable during the year ended 2021.

Government grant income for various related-party loans.

Loss on investment in equity securities was $47,791$0 for the three monthsyear ended MarchDecember 31, 20212022 as compared to $70,411$360,898 for the three monthsyear ended March 31, 2020. The decrease of $22,620, or approximately 32%, was primarily due to the loss on investment in BioFirst.

Other income and government grant income totaled $124,471 for the three months ended MarchDecember 31, 2021, which was recorded as compared to $6,322 for the three months ended March 31, 2020. The increase of $118,149, or approximately 1,869%, was primarily due to the grantreceipt of the PPP loans.Forgiveness by the government.

 

Net Loss. As a result of the above factors, ourThe net loss was $1,195,323$16,312,374 for the three monthsyear ended MarchDecember 31, 20212022 compared to $1,309,262$12,035,851 for the three monthsyear ended MarchDecember 31, 2020, representing a decrease of $113,939,2021. The Company’s net loss increased by $4,276,523 or 9%.approximately 36% during the year ended December 31, 2022 from 2021.

 


Liquidity and Capital Resources

 

Working Capital

 

  As of
March 31,
2021
  As of
December 31,
2020
 
  (Unaudited)    
Current Assets $5,205,453  $6,172,966 
Current Liabilities $4,666,300  $4,844,391 
Working Capital (deficit) $539,153  $1,328,575 
  As of
‌December 31,
2022
  As of
December 31,
2021
 
       
Current Assets $2,987,247  $7,653,782 
Current Liabilities $5,819,529  $3,692,312 
Working (Deficit) Capital $(2,832,282) $3,691,470 

 

Cash Flow from Operating Activities

 

During the three monthsyears ended MarchDecember 31, 20212022 and 2020,2021, the net cash used in operating activities were $1,413,074($7,398,391) and $630,944,

($7,597,719), respectively. The increasedecrease in the amount used in operating activities of $782,130$199,328 was primarily due to the increased accountsnet loss, account receivables, due from related parties, prepaid expenses, and deposits, andstock-based compensation, accrued expenses and other current liabilities, partially offset by the decrease of gain on sales of investment in net lossequity securities, government grant income, and investment loss; and by the increase of deferred tax during the three monthsyear ended MarchDecember 31, 2021.2022.

 

Cash Flow from Investing Activities

 

During the three monthsyears ended MarchDecember 31, 2022 and 2021, the net cash used in investing activities were $1,721,684 and $805,966, respectively. The increase in the amount of $915,718 was $281,952, comparedprimarily due to the decrease in net cash usedproceeds from sale of investment occurred in investing activities was $0 for the three months ended March 31, 2020. The2020, and increase was due to thein prepayment for equity investment and purchase of equipment during the first quarter of 2021.year ended December 31, 2022.

 

Cash Flow from Financing Activities

 

During the three monthsyears ended MarchDecember 31, 20212022 and 2020,2021, the net cash provided by financing activities were $42,226$4,013,925 and $610,387, respectively. The decrease in net cash provided by financing activities were primarily due to proceeds from long-term loan and issuance of common stock for cash, partially offset by the repayment of convertible notes during the three months ended March 31, 2021.

60

Year Ended December 31, 2020 Compared to Year Ended December 31, 2019.

Revenues. We generated $483,045 and $701,719 in revenues for the year ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively. The decrease of $218,674, or approximately -31%, was primarily due to the impact of COVID-19 on our CDMO business sector. Even though we were not required to shut down our operations during the shelter-in-place period, several clients decided to postpone the progress of their current and new projects with us.

Operating Expenses. Our operating expenses were $8,970,105 in the year ended December 31, 2020 as compared to $4,140,360 in the year ended December 31, 2019. Our total operating expenses increased by $4,829,745 during the year ended December 31, 2020 from 2019. Such increase in operating expenses was mainly attributed to the increase in stock based compensation by $4,124,665 mainly due to the increase in professional service fees that relates to our up-list and general expenses that occurred for our CDMO business unit; and our recent action of converting unpaid employees’ salaries to common stock option.

Other Income (expense). The other expenses were ($2,308,160) in the year ended December 31, 2020 as compared to ($551,503) in the year ended December 31, 2019. The decrease of $1,756,657, or approximately 319%, was principally caused by the increase in impairment loss, investment loss, and loss on investment in equity securities, partially offset by the increase in interest income and other income.

Impairment loss was $961,217 for the year ended December 31, 2020 as compared to $0 for the year ended December 31, 2019. The increase of $961,217 was due to our re-assessment of valuation based on the latest market consensus and trading price.

Investment loss was $40,589 for the year ended December 31, 2020 as compared to $0 for the year ended December 31, 2019. The increase of $40,589 was mainly due to our liquidation of stocks at lower than historical book value based on the market condition.

Loss on investment in equity securities was $1,168,733 for the year ended December 31, 2020 as compared to $210,086 for the year ended December 31, 2019, representing an increase of $958,647, or 456%, which was mainly due to the investment in a related party, BioFirst, accounted for using the equity method accounting treatment.

Interest income was $71,045 for the year ended December 31, 2020 as compared to $23,344 for year ended December 31, 2019. The increase of $47,701, or approximately 204%, was primarily due to the interest income from various related-party loans.

Other income was $174,770 for the year ended December 31, 2020 as compared to $92,959 for the year ended December 31, 2019. The increase of $81,811, or approximately 88%, was primarily due to the adjustments of tax refund contributed by BioFirst based on the co-development agreement.

Net Loss. The net loss was $10,593,584 for the year ended December 31, 2020 compared to $3,933,240 for the year ended December 31, 2019. The Company’s net loss increased by $6,660,344 or approximately 169% during the year ended December 31, 2020 from 2019.


Liquidity and Capital Resources

Working Capital

  As of
December 31,
2020
  As of
December 31,
2019
 
Current Assets $6,172,966  $878,238 
Current Liabilities $4,844,391  $6,814,193 
Working Capital (deficit) $1,328,575  $(5,935,955)

Cash Flow from Operating Activities

During the year ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, the net cash used in operating activities were ($4,563,919) and ($3,134,526), respectively. The decrease in the amount of $1,429,393 was primarily due to the increased net loss and accrued expenses and other current liabilities, partially offset by the increase in stock based compensation for nonemployees, non-cash based investment loss, loss on investment in equity securities, and due to related parties during the year ended December 31, 2020.

Cash Flow from Investing Activities

During the year ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, the net cash used in investing activities was ($225,431) and the net cash generated was ($35,297), respectively. The decrease in the amount of $190,134 was primarily due to the loan to related parties and partially offset by the net proceeds from sale of investment during the year ended December 31, 2020.

Cash Flow from Financing Activities

During the year ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, the net cash provided by financing activities were $9,567,843 and $3,087,489,$9,995,550, respectively. The net cash provided by financing activities increaseddecreased by $6,480,354 during$5,981,625, due to the compared periods because we obtained more funding throughincrease in proceeds from short-term loans, partially offset by the decrease in issuance of common stock short-term bank loans andthrough up-list, as well as decrease in payment of offering costs, repayment of convertible notes and notes payable, and proceeds from long-term loans during the year ended December 31, 2020 than in the year ended December 31, 2019.2021

 

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements

 

As of March 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020,2022, we did not have any 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 is material to investors.


BUSINESS

 


BUSINESS

Industry Overview

 

The biotechnology industry focuses on developing breakthrough products and technologies to combat various types of diseases through efficient industrial manufacturing process. Biotechnology is an important business sector in the world’s economies and plays a key role in human health. Companies engaged in biotechnology generally require large amounts of capital investment for their research & development activities and it may take up to tens of years to develop and commercialize a new drug or a new medical device. ABVC (“we” or the “Company”) is an early stage biotechnology company with a pipeline of sixseven new drugs and one medical device under development, all of which are licensed from related parties of the Company.

 

Our MissionBusiness Overview

 

We devote our resources to building a sophisticated biotech company and becoming a pioneer in the biopharmaceutical industry. Dr. Howard Doong, our Chief Executive Officer, and Dr. Tsung-Shann Jiang, the founder and majority shareholderAs of the Company, understanddate hereof, the challenges and opportunitiesCompany’s minimal revenue has come from the sale of CDMO services through BioKey. However, the biotech industry and intend to provide therapeutic solutions to significant unmet medical needs and to improve health and qualityCompany’s focus is on developing a pipeline of human life by developing innovative botanical drugs to treat central nervous system (“CNS”), oncology/ hematology.

Business Overview

The Company develops its pipelineproducts by carefully tracking new medical discoveries or medical device technologies in research institutions in the Asia-Pacific region. Pre-clinical, disease animal model and Phase I safety studies are examined closely by the Company’s scientists and other specialists known to the Company to identify drugs or medical devices that it believes demonstrate efficacy and safety based on the Company’s internal qualifications. Once a drug or medical device is shown to be a good candidate for further development and ultimately commercialization, ABVC licenses the drug or medical device from the original researchers and begins to introduceintroduces the drugsdrug or medical devicesdevice clinical trial plan to highly respected principal investigators in the United States, Australia and Taiwan. In almost all cases, we haveABVC has found that research institutions in each of those countries are eager to work with the Company to move forward with Phase II clinical trials.

 

Currently, institutionsInstitutions that have or are now conducting phase II clinical trials in partnership with ABVC include:

 

Medical Device: ABV-1701, Vitargus® in vitrectomy surgery, Pivotal Study in Australia, Principal Investigator: Andrew Chang, MD, Ph.D., Sydney Eye Hospital, Australia

Drug: ABV-1504, Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), Phase II completed. NCE drug Principal Investigators: Charles DeBattista M.D. and Alan F. Schatzberg, MD, Stanford University Medical Center, Cheng-Ta Li, MD, Ph.D – Taipei Veterans General Hospital

 

Drug: ABV-1505, Adult Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Phase II Part 1 completed. NCE drug Principal Investigators: Keith McBurnett, Ph.D. and Linda Pfiffner, Ph.D., University of California San Francisco (UCSF), School of MedicineMedicine. Phase II, Part 2 ‌‌clinical study sites includes UCSF and 5 locations in Taiwan.The Principal Investigators are Keith McBurnett, Ph.D. and Linda Pfiffner, Ph.D., University of California San Francisco (UCSF), School of Medicine; Susan Shur-Fen Gau, M.D., National Taiwan University Hospital; Xinzhang Ni, M.D. Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital; Wenjun Xhou, M.D., Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital; Ton-Ping Su, M.D., Cheng Hsin General Hospital, Cheng-Ta Li, M.D., Taipei Veterans General Hospital. The Phase II, Part 2 began‌ in the 1st quarter of 2022 at‌ the 5 Taiwan sites. The UCSF site will join the study in the 2nd quarter of 2023.

 

Drug: ABV-1601, Major Depression in Cancer Patients, Phase I/II, NCE drug Principal Investigator: Scott Irwin, MD, Ph.D. – Cedars Sinai Medical Center (CSMC). The Phase I clinical study was conducted on March 31, 2023.

 

‌Medical Device: ABV-1701, Vitargus® in vitrectomy surgery, Phase II Study has been initiated in Australia and Thailand, Principal Investigator: Duangnate Rojanaporn, M.D., Ramathibodi Hospital; Thuss Sanguansak, M.D., Srinagarind Hospital of the two Thailand Sites and Professor/Dr. Matthew Simunovic, Sydney Eye Hospital; Dr. Elvis Ojaimi, East Melbourne Eye Group & East Melbourne Retina. The Phase II study will be started in the 2nd quarter of 2023.


The following trials are expected to begin in the third quarter of 2023:

Drug: ABV-‌1519, ‌Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer ‌treatment, Phase I/II Study in Taiwan, Principal Investigator: ‌Dr. Yung-Hung Luo, ‌M.D.‌, Taipei Veterans General Hospital (‌TVGH)

Drug: ABV-1703, Advanced Inoperable or Metastatic Pancreatic Cancer, Phase II, NCE drug Principal Investigator: Andrew E. Hendifar, MD – Cedars Sinai Medical Center (CSMC)

The following trials are expected to begin in the second or third quarter of 2021:

Drug: ABV-1501, A Phase I/II, Open Label Study to Evaluate the Safety and Efficacy of BLEX 404 Oral Liquid Combined with Docetaxel Monotherapy in Patients with Stage IV or Recurrent Breast Cancer Patients

Medical Device: ABV-2002, Class I/II through 510K for market launch, Corneal Storage Media, Technology Licensing in progress

Upon successful completion of a Phase II trial, ABVC will seek a partner, typically a large pharmaceutical company, to complete a Phase III study submit the New Drug Application (NDA), and commercialize the drug or medical device upon approval by the US FDA, Taiwan TFDA and other country regulatory authorities. We expect to seek our first commercialization partner in 2021 for Vitargus®, our vitreous substitute that helps to maintain a round shape and retinal location during vitrectomy surgery.

 

Another part of our business is conducted by BioKey, a wholly owned subsidiary. BioKey provides a wide range of services, including, API characterization, pre-formulation studies, formulation development, analytical method development, stability studies, IND/NDA/ANDA/510K submissions, and manufacturing clinical trial materials (phase I through phase III) and commercial manufacturing.

Our Pipeline

 

I.ABV- 1501 Triple Negative Breast Cancer - Combination therapy for Triple Negative Breast Cancer (“TNBC”)

ABV- 1501 is developed from BLI-1401-2 whose active pharmaceutical ingredient is Yukiguni Maitake Extract 404. Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (“MSKCC”) conducted the Phase I clinical trial of a polysaccharide extract from Grifola frondosa (Maitake mushroom), which is very similar to Yukiguni Maitake Extract 404. The Phase I trial focused on Grifola frondosa extract’s immunological effects on breast cancer patients. The results of the Phase I trial showed that oral administration of a polysaccharide extract from Maitake mushroom is associated with both immunologically stimulatory and inhibitory measurable effects in peripheral blood.

Our Investigational New Drug (“IND”) application of ABV-1501 for the Phase II clinical trials referenced with MSKCC Maitake and such Phase II IND was approved in March 2016 by the U.S. FDA.

We are currently collaborating with BHK and in the process to file clinical trial application to the Taiwan FDA (“TFDA”) for conducting this combination therapy trial in Taiwan.

As an alternative route to approval, we are also working towards setting up a clinical site in the U.S. to obtain IRB approval of our IND application, which based on a recent adopted policy in Taiwan, the TFDA will then automatically approve.

II.ABV-1504 Major Depressive Disorder (“MDD”)

We are developing and researching ABV-1504, a botanical reuptake inhibitor that targets norepinephrine. Prior to clinical trials, we conducted radioligand-binding assay tests on ABV-1504. Radioligand-binding assays are used to characterize the binding effects of a drug to its target receptor. In the case of ABV-1504, the receptors of radioligand-binding assays are norepinephrine, dopamine and serotonin. The radioligand-binding assay test on norepinephrine was conducted from May 3 to May 8, 2007 and the radioligand-binding assay test on dopamine and serotonin was administered from November 26 to December 5, 2007. The result of radioligand-binding assay to norepinephrine of ABV-1504was 2.102 μg/ml of IC50, which indicated ABV-1504’s high inhibitory efficiency on norepinephrine. The results of radioligand-binding assay to dopamine and serotonin were not as good as to norepinephrine, which indicated lower inhibitory efficiency. Because research has shown that norepinephrine inhibitors can alleviate the level of depression, our research team saw ABV-1504’s potential to treat depression and decided to commence the clinical trial process of ABV-1504.

In 2013, ABVC successfully completed the Phase I clinical trial of ABV-1504. The primary objective of the Phase I study was to assess the safety profile of ABV-1504. The safety endpoint was assessed based on the results of physical examinations, vital signs, laboratory data, electrocardiograms (“ECG”), Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale evaluation and a number of adverse events during the study period. We began recruiting healthy people as subjects for the Phase I trial in Taiwan on October 30, 2012. For the Phase I trial, we screened 85 healthy volunteers at the Taipei Veterans General Hospital and eventually enrolled 30 people as trial subjects. We divided the subjects into four cohort groups and administered ABV-1504oral capsules of 380 mg, 1140 mg, 2280 mg, and 3800 mg to the subjects in each cohort group, respectively. BioLite visited the first subject the first time on November 13, 2012 and the last subject the last time on July 5, 2013. During the said period, no subject had a serious adverse event nor discontinued the trial due to any adverse events. ABVC did not observe any clinically significant findings in physical examinations, vital signs, electrocardiogram, laboratory measurements, and C-SSRS throughout the treatment period. However, ABVC observed the following mild adverse events: two subjects with flatulence and one subject with constipation in the single-dose 380mg cohort of seven subjects; one subject with somnolence and one subject with stomatitis ulcer in the single-dose 2,280 mg cohort. Comparatively, two subjects with somnolence and one subject with stomatitis ulcer were observed in the placebo group of seven subjects. ABVC did not observe any suicidal ideation or behavior throughout the trial period. ABV-1504’s Phase I clinical trial results reflected that the oral administration of ABV-1504 to healthy volunteers was safe and well-tolerated at the dose levels of from 380 mg to 3,800 mg.

ABVC received an IND approval to proceed with the Phase II clinical trial of ABV-1504 from the F.D.A. in March 2014 and an IND approval of its Phase II trial from the Taiwan F.D.A. in June 2014. For the Phase II trial, BioLite administered oral capsules to 72 MDD patients (the trial subjects) in a randomized, double-blind study with a placebo control group to assess ABV-1504’s efficacy and safety profile, primarily in accordance with the Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (“MADRS”). ABVC via BioLite began recruiting Phase II subjects in March 2015 at the following study sites, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taipei City Hospital-Songde Branch, Tri-Service General Hospital, Wan Fang Hospital and started recruiting MDD patients at Stanford Depression Research Clinic. The first five sites are in Taiwan and the last one is in the United States. The primary endpoint of the Phase II trial is to see changes of the subjects’ MADRS total scores from the baseline scores of the placebo subjects within the first six weeks. The secondary objectives of the Phase II trial were to evaluate the efficacy and safety profile of ABV-1504 on other rating scales with secondary endpoints of (i) demonstrating changes in MADRS total scores from baseline scores within the second to seventh weeks and (ii) showing changes in the total scores on Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAM-D-17), Hamilton Rating Scale for Anxiety (HAM-A), Depression and Somatic Symptoms Scale (DSSS), Clinical Global Impression Scale (CGI) from the baseline scores in the second, fourth, sixth and seventh week. ABVC plans to measure the percentages of partial responders (subjects with a 25% to 50% decrease of total MADRS scores from the baseline score) and responders (subjects with 50% or more decrease of total MADRS scores from the baseline score) by the second, fourth, sixth and seventh week. Additionally, ABVC intends to monitor the subjects’ performance in accordance with the Safety Assessments and Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale from the screening stage to each subject’s last visit as well as to analyze the differences in the mean changes of MADRS, HAM-D-17, HAM-A, DSSS, CGI and Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale scores of the subjects administered with ABV-1504 and the placebo group in the second, fourth, sixth and seventh week.


On May 23, 2019, the Company announced the Phase II clinical study results of ABV-1504. The clinical study results showed that PDC-1421, the active pharmaceutical ingredient of ABV-1504, met the pre-specified primary endpoint of the Phase II clinical trial and significantly improved the symptoms of MDD. The Phase II clinical study was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multi-center trial, in which sixty (60) adult patients with confirmed moderate to severe MDD were treated with PDC-1421 in either low dose (380 mg) or high dose (2 x 380 mg) compared with placebo administration, three times a day for six weeks. PDC-1421 high dose (2 x 380 mg) met the pre-specified primary endpoint by demonstrating a highly significant 13.2-point reduction in the Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) total score by Intention-To-Treat (ITT) analysis, averaged over the 6-week treatment period (overall treatment effect) from baseline, as compared to 9.2-point reduction of the placebo group. By Per-Protocol (PP) analysis, PDC-1421 showed a dose dependent efficacy toward MDD in which high dose (2 x 380 mg) gave 13.4-point reduction in MADRS total score from baseline and low dose (380 mg) gave 10.4-point reduction as compared to a 8.6-point in the placebo group. Based on the trial results as set forth above, the Company has decided to use the high dose formula for ABV-1504’s Phase III clinical trial.

III.ABV-1505 Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (“ADHD”)

We developed the ADHD indication from the same API of ABV-1504. Also ABV-1505 shares similar pharmaceutical mechanism of action as ABV-1504 in as much as ABV-1505 shows the potential of increasing the level of norepinephrine in the human’s nervous system by inhibiting its reabsorption. Because of ABV-1505’s sufficient similarity with ABV-1504, in January 2016 the FDA approved our IND application to conduct ABV-1505’s Phase II clinical trial based on its preclinical research and the Phase I trial results of ABV-1504.

For the Phase II trial, ABVC plans to recruit a maximum number of 105 ADHD patients as trial subjects in the United States and Taiwan, to whom ABVC intends to administer ABV-1505 oral capsules. ABVC together with its CROs designed a randomized, double-blind dose escalation study with a placebo-controlled group to assess the efficacy and safety profile of ABV-1505, primarily against the ADHD Rating Scale-IV (“ADHD-RS-IV”). The primary endpoint of the Phase II trial is a 40% or higher improvement on the ADHD-RS-IV from the respective baseline scores within a period of up to eight weeks. The secondary objective is to determine the efficacy and safety profile of ABV-1505 on other rating scales with secondary endpoints of (i) improvements of the total ADHD symptom scores from the respective baseline scores on the Conners’ Adult ADHD Rating Scale-Self Report: Short Version (“CAARS-S:S”) 18-Item for a treatment period of eight weeks at maximum; and (ii) achievement of scores of two or lower on both the Clinical Global Impression-ADHD- Severity (“CGI-ADHD-S”) and Clinical Global Impression-ADHD-Improvement (“CGI-ADHD-I”) from the subjects’ respective baseline scores. As of the date of this prospectus, ABVC was engaging with the University of California San Francisco (“UCSF”) for conducting the Phase II trial which consists of Part I and Part II. Part I clinical protocol, entitled “A Phase II Tolerability and Efficacy Study of PDC-1421 Treatment in Adult Patients with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Part I”, was initiated on January 14, 2020. Part I was a single center, open label, dose escalation evaluation with two dosage levels in six subjects. Six subjects were initially evaluated for safety and efficacy assessments at low-dose (1 capsule of PDC-1421, three times a day (TID)) for 28 days. A safety checkpoint was evaluated at day-28 for entering the high-dose (2 capsules TID). The subjects who passed the checkpoint were evaluated for safety and efficacy assessments at high-dose (2 capsules of PDC-1421 TID) for 28 days. On July 15, 2020, the last patient last visit (LPLV) marked the final step toward the completion of the ABV-1505 Phase II Part I clinical trial for the treatment of adult ADHD. On October 24, 2020, a full clinical study report (CSR) of ABV-1505 Phase II Part I clinical trial was issued. The study results showed that the PDC-1421 Capsule was safe, well tolerated and efficacious during its treatment and the follow-up period with six adult patients. For the primary endpoints, the percentages of improvement in ADHD-RS-IV score from baseline to 8 weeks treatment were 83.3% (N=5) in the ITT population and 80.0% (N=4) in the PP population. Both low and high doses of PDC-1421 Capsule met the primary end points by passing the required 40% population in ADHD-RS-IV test scores. Overall, the results from this study, which demonstrate the therapeutic value of PDC-1421, support further Phase II Part II clinical development of ABV-1505 for the treatment of adult ADHD.


IV.ABV-1702 to treat Myelodysplastic syndromes (“MDS”)

ABVC began preparation for ABV-1702’s Phase II clinical trials after receiving IND approval from the FDA in July 2016. ABVC plans to recruit fifty-two subjects in the United States diagnosed with either IPSS int-1, IPSS int-2 or high risk MDS or CMML and who take azacitidine as part of the subjects’ prescription. Azacitidine is an FDA-approved drug used to treat MDS. ABVC intends to administer ABV-1702 in the oral liquid form along with azacitidine. The Phase II trial is divided into two parts, where Part 1 is designed to determine the safety and recommended dose level (“RDL”) of ABV-1702 in combination with azacitidine and Part 2 will determine whether ABV-1702 under the established RDL reduces bactericidal and fungicidal infection in a subjects’ respiratory systems. The primary endpoint of Part 1 Phase II trial is to assess the safety and RDL profile of ABV-1702 administered with azacitidine by measuring ABV-1702’s prohibited toxicity. The secondary endpoints of Phase II Part 1 are to determine the safety, time-to-first infection after first dose (Day 1) of the first azacitidine treatment cycle, reduction in treatment requirements and duration of infections, enhancement of immune responses, improvements of response rates, progression, and survival rates of the subjects under such ABV-1702 - azacitidine combination treatment. The primary endpoint of Part 2 of Phase II is to determine whether ABV-1702 under the established RDL reduces bactericidal and fungicidal infection risks in the subjects’ respiratory systems in combination with azacitidine as compared to the control group with incidence of infections and incidence/frequency of inpatient hospitalization due to infections. The secondary endpoints of Part 2 of Phase II are to determine the safety, time-to-first infection after first dose (Day 1) of the first azacitidine treatment cycle, reduction in required dosage and duration of infection, enhancement of immune responses, improvement of response rate, progression, and survival rates of the subjects under the trial conditions. In April 2016, BioLite submitted a letter to the FDA in response to its queries with additional information about the proposed Phase II trial.

As of the date of this prospectus, ABVC intends to commence the Phase II clinical trial of ABV-1702 in the fourth quarter of 2021 although neither BioLite nor ABVC can guaranty that the Phase II trial will be initiated as planned. Due to the scarcity of MDS cases, on April 6, 2015, BioLite applied for the orphan drug designation for ABV-1702 or BLI-1301.

V.ABV-1703 Pancreatic Cancer

ABVC developed a new indication for Pancreatic Cancer from Maitake Extract, which is named ABV-1703 and out licensed it to Rgene for the preparation of its IND application with the FDA. On August 25, 2017, ABV-1703’s Phase II trial was approved by the FDA. Pursuant to the Rgene Agreement, ABVC is responsible for coordinating and conducting global clinical trials of ABV-1703 and Rgene is responsible for preparing the related FDA applications. As of the date of this prospectus, ABVC has engaged Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in the U.S. to conduct the Phase II clinical trial which is expected to be initiated in the third quarter of 2021. We plan to submit ABV-1703’s Phase II clinical trial IND to the Taiwan FDA after we commence the clinical trials in the United States. However, there is no guaranty that we would be able to launch the Phase II trials of ABV-1703 as planned in either the U.S. or Taiwan.

VI.ABV-1601 Treating Depression in Cancer Patients

We developed a treatment for depression in cancer patients using the same active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) as ABV-1504. Further, ABV-1601 shares a similar pharmaceutical mechanism of action as ABV-1504 in as much as ABV-1601 shows the potential of increasing the level of norepinephrine in human’s nervous system by inhibiting its reabsorption. Because of ABV-1601’s sufficient similarity with ABV-1504, the FDA approved our ABV-1601-001 clinical protocol under IND 112567 (the same IND as for ABV-1504) in December 2018.

For the Phase II trial, ABVC plans to recruit a maximum number of 54 cancer patients with depression to receive ABV-1601 oral capsules. We have engaged a principal investigator at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in the U.S. to design a randomized, double-blind dose escalation study with a comparator-controlled group to assess the efficacy and safety profile of ABV-1601, primarily against Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) total score. The primary endpoint of the Phase II trial is change in MADRS, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), and subscales (HADS-A and HADS-D) and Clinical Global Impression Scale (CGI) total scores from baseline in patients taking PDC-1421 compared to the comparator. As of the date of this prospectus, the Part I of Phase II clinical protocol, which is an open trial, has been approved by Cedars-Sinai Medical Center IRB Committee. This study has been initiated in the first quarter of 2021.


VII.ABV-1701 Vitreous Substitute for Vitrectomy and Collaboration Agreement with BioFirst

On July 24, 2017, BriVision, a wholly-owned subsidiary, entered into a collaboration agreement (the “BioFirst Agreement”) with BioFirst, pursuant to which BioFirst granted BriVision the global license to co-develop BFC-1401 Vitreous Substitute for Vitrectom (“BFC-1401”) for medical purposes. BioFirst is a related party to the Company because BioFirst and YuanGene Corporation (“YuanGene”), the Company’s controlling shareholder, are under common control, being both controlled by the controlling beneficiary shareholder of YuanGene.

According to the BioFirst Agreement, we are to co-develop and commercialize BFC-1401 or ABV-1701 with BioFirst and are obligated to pay BioFirst $3,000,000 (the “Total Payment”) in cash or common stock of BriVision on or before September 30, 2018 in two installments. An upfront payment of $300,000, representing 10% of the Total Payment due under the Collaboration Agreement, was to be paid upon execution of the BioFirst Agreement. BriVision is entitled to receive 50% of the future net licensing income or net sales profit when ABV-1701 is sublicensed or commercialized. On June 30, 2019, the Company and BioFirst entered into a Stock Purchase Agreement (the “Purchase Agreement”), pursuant to which the Company will issue 428,571 shares of the Company’s common stock to BioFirst in consideration for $3,000,000 owed by the Company to BioFirst in connection with the BioFirst Collaborative Agreement. For more information about the BioFirst Agreement and Purchase Agreement, please refer to the current reports on Form 8-K filed on July 24, 2017 and July 12, 2019.

On November 7, 2016, the application of Phase I clinical trial prepared and submitted by BioFirst was approved by the Human Research Ethics Committee, Australia (“HREC”) and, subsequently, on November 14, 2016 was approved by the Therapeutic Goods Administration, Australia (“TGA”).

We successfully finished the Phase I clinical trial of ABV-1701 at the Sydney Retina Clinic and Day Surgery in Sydney, Australia, the only site for this trial. The trial started on November 17, 2016, and was completed with positive results in July 2018. The Protocol Title is “A Phase I, single center, safety and tolerability study of Vitargus® in the treatment of Retinal Detachment.”

The primary endpoint of this Phase I clinical trial was to evaluate the safety and tolerability of a single intravitreal dose of Vitargus® in patients as a vitreous substitute during vitrectomy surgery for retinal detachment. Intravitreal is a route of administration of a drug or other substance, in which the substance is delivered into the eyes. The secondary endpoint of this Phase I clinical trial is to assess retinal attachment and Virtagus® degradation at day 90 and to assess best corrected visual acuity (“BVCA”) after vitrectomy surgery. BVCA refers to the best possible vision a person can achieve. The primary and second endpoints are required by HREC for the purpose of evaluation of our Phase I clinical trial application. We enrolled an aggregate number of 10 patient subjects in this trial. On November 17, 2016, we received the approval from the Data and Safety Monitoring Board for the first subject, and nine more subjects were enrolled thereafter. In this trial, Vitargus® was injected into the vitreous cavity of vitrectomised eyes, whose vitreous gel was removed from the vitreous cavity after a vitrectomy surgery. On August 24, 2020, a full clinical study report (CSR) of ABV-1701 Phase I clinical trial was issued. The study results showed that ABV-1701 (Vitargus®) was well-tolerated as a vitreous substitute without any apparent toxicity to ocular tissues. Further, there was no indication of an increased overall safety risk with Vitargus®. For efficacy, participants showed significant improvement in visual acuity. The optical properties of Vitargus® allowed the patients to see well and facilitated visualisation of the fundus immediately following surgery. In addition, since Vitargus® set as a stable semisolid gel adhering to the retina, it maintained its position without requiring the patient to remain face-down following surgery.

We are currently planning the pivotal study for ABV-1701, a necessary step to obtain the Premarket Approval for this medical device. The pivotal study for ABV-1701 is designed to be a multi-nation and multi-site clinical trial involving several countries, including Australia, the U.S.A., Japan, Thailand, Taiwan, and the People’s Republic of China. The pivotal study will be initiated in Australia in the third quarter of 2021.


Co-Development agreement with Rgene Corporation, a related party

On May 26, 2017, BriVision entered into a co-development agreement (the “Rgene Agreement”) with Rgene Corporation (the “Rgene”), a related party under common control by the controlling beneficiary shareholder of YuanGene Corporation and the Company (See Note 12). Pursuant to the Rgene Agreement, BriVision and Rgene agreed to co-develop and commercialize ABV-1507 HER2/neu Positive Breast Cancer Combination Therapy, ABV-1511 Pancreatic Cancer Combination Therapy and ABV-1527 Ovary Cancer Combination Therapy. Under the terms of the Rgene Agreement, Rgene is required to pay the Company $3,000,000 in cash or stock of Rgene with equivalent value by August 15, 2017 as compensation of BriVision’s past research efforts and contributions made by BriVision before the Rgene Agreement was executed. The payment does not relate to any future milestones attained by BriVision. In addition to $3,000,000, the Company is entitled to receive 50% of the future net licensing income or net sales profit earned by Rgene. All development costs shall be equally shared by both BriVision and Rgene.

On June 1, 2017, the Company delivered all research, technical, data and development data to Rgene pursuant to the Rgene Agreement in return for a cash payment of $450,000 and 1,530,000 common shares of Rgene stock valued at $2,550,000, which in 2018 was accounted for using the equity method long-term investment. On December 31, 2018, the Company determined to fully write off this investment based on the Company’s assessment of the severity and duration of the impairment, and qualitative and quantitative analysis of the operating performance of the investee, adverse changes in market conditions, the regulatory or economic environment, changes in operating structure of Rgene, additional funding requirements and Rgene’s ability to remain in business. All research projects that were initiated will be managed and funded equally by the Company and Rgene.

The Company and Rgene signed an amendment to the Rgene Agreement on November 10, 2020, pursuant to which both parties agreed to delete AB-1507 HER2/neu Positive Breast Cancer Combination Therapy and AB 1527 Ovary Cancer Combination Therapy and add ABV-1519 EGFR Positive Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Combination Therapy and ABV-1526 Large Intestine / Colon / Rectal Cancer Combination Therapy to the products to be co-developed and commercialized. Other provisions of the Rgene Agreement remain in full force and effect.

BioKey

BioKey provides a variety of regulatory services tailored to the needs of its customers, which include proofreading and regulatory review of submission documents related to formulation development, clinical trials, marketed products, generics, nutraceuticals and OTC products and training presentations. In addition to supporting ABVC’s new drug development, ABVC’s CDMO SBU submits INDs, NDAs, ANDAs, and DMFs to the FDA, on behalf of clients, in compliance with new electronic submission guidelines of the FDA. ABVC provides regulatory consulting services for the entire lifecycle of its clients’ drug development projects.

GMP Manufacturing

 

ABVC owns a certified GMP manufacturing facility, through BioKey, that is qualified to deliver small quantities of drugs for use by its clients in clinical trials from Phase I to Phase III. The GMP facility can manufacture direct API or blend fill-in capsules, manual and automated encapsulation, wet granulation or tray drying process, tablet compression and coating process, packaging solid dosage forms for ANDA and IND submission.

 

ABVC manufacturingThe BioKey facility consists of thea GMP suite, product development area, analytical laboratory, food processing area, caged GMP storage area, receiving area and two warehouses. The facility was establishedremodeled in December 2008 and received its first drug manufacturing license in June 2009. ABVC’s current drug manufacturing license allows it to manufacture drug products under IND for human clinical trials thereon until the expiration of suchthe license on December 2, 2021.2024.

In 2022, BioKey began manufacturing a dietary supplement based on the maitake mushroom. The mushrooms, supplied by Shogun Maitake Canada, Co. Ltd., are grown in a controlled temperature and humid environment free of pesticides and chemicals. Initially, sales of the new supplement in the US and Canada will be targeted to high end grocery stores and worldwide via online distribution. While there are many mushroom-based supplements currently available to customers, BioKey believes its new line has a significant competitive advantage since the purity and consistency of the mushrooms themselves exceeds any maitake mushrooms currently available and the extraction process employed by BioKey delivers a particularly strong dose. The maitake mushroom is rich in bioactive polysaccharides, especially beta-glucans. These polysaccharides have well-documented immune-protecting and antitumor properties. BioKey has developed both a tablet and a liquid version of the supplement. GMP manufacturing of bulk quantities Maitake mushroom tablets and Maitake mushroom drinks were completed in 2 and 1 batches respectively for commercial launches in Taiwan and Canada in 2022.

Beta-glucans in maitake mushrooms has been shown to reduce cholesterol, resulting in improved artery functionality and overall better cardiovascular health that lowers the risk of heart disease. Further, studies have shown that the beta-glucans in maitake mushroom have the effect of strengthening the immune system1. In a trial of postmenopausal breast cancer patients, oral administration of a maitake extract was shown to have immunomodulatory effects. In a different trial done at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, maitake extracts were shown to enhance neutrophil and monocyte function in patients with myelodysplastic syndrome. It boosts production of lymphokines (protein mediators) and interleukins (secreted proteins) resulting in improved immune response. Further, beta-glucans, has been shown in clinical trials to lower blood glucose levels thereby helping to activate insulin receptors, while reducing insulin resistance in diabetes management.

BioKey has entered into a three-year distribution agreement with Define Biotech Co. Ltd., a Taiwan-based pharmaceutical marketing company that focuses on sales of drugs, dietary supplements and medical products in the Asia-Pacific region. The agreement grants Define Biotech the exclusive right to distribute this new dietary supplement in China and Taiwan in exchange for the commitment to purchase $3.0 million worth of the new product over the three-year period.


Our Pipeline

I.Central Nervous System

1.ABV-1504 to treat Major Depressive Disorder (“MDD”)

We are developing and researching ABV-1504, a botanical reuptake inhibitor that targets norepinephrine. Prior to clinical trials, we conducted radioligand-binding assay tests on ABV-1504. Radioligand-binding assays are used to characterize the binding effects of a drug to its target receptor. In the case of ABV-1504, the receptors of radioligand-binding assays are norepinephrine, dopamine and serotonin. The radioligand-binding assay test on norepinephrine was conducted from May 3 to May 8, 2007 and the radioligand-binding assay test on dopamine and serotonin was administered from November 26 to December 5, 2007. The result of radioligand-binding assay to norepinephrine of ABV-1504was 2.102 μg/ml of IC50, which indicated ABV-1504’s high inhibitory efficiency on norepinephrine. The results of radioligand-binding assay to dopamine and serotonin were not as good as to norepinephrine, which indicated lower inhibitory efficiency. Because research has shown that norepinephrine inhibitors can alleviate the level of depression, our research team saw ABV-1504’s potential to treat depression and decided to commence the clinical trial process of ABV-1504.

In 2013, ABVC successfully completed the Phase I clinical trial of ABV-1504. The primary objective of the Phase I study was to assess the safety profile of ABV-1504. The safety endpoint was assessed based on the results of physical examinations, vital signs, laboratory data, electrocardiograms (“ECG”), Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale evaluation and a number of adverse events during the study period. We began recruiting healthy people as subjects for the Phase I trial in Taiwan on October 30, 2012. For the Phase I trial, we screened 85 healthy volunteers at the Taipei Veterans General Hospital and eventually enrolled 30 people as trial subjects. We divided the subjects into four cohort groups and administered ABV-1504oral capsules of 380 mg, 1140 mg, 2280 mg, and 3800 mg to the subjects in each cohort group, respectively. BioLite visited the first subject the first time on November 13, 2012 and the last subject the last time on July 5, 2013. During the said period, no subject had a serious adverse event nor discontinued the trial due to any adverse events. ABVC did not observe any clinically significant findings in physical examinations, vital signs, electrocardiogram, laboratory measurements, and C-SSRS throughout the treatment period. However, ABVC observed the following mild adverse events: two subjects with flatulence and one subject with constipation in the single-dose 380mg cohort of seven subjects; one subject with somnolence and one subject with stomatitis ulcer in the single-dose 2,280 mg cohort. Comparatively, two subjects with somnolence and one subject with stomatitis ulcer were observed in the placebo group of seven subjects. ABVC did not observe any suicidal ideation or behavior throughout the trial period. ABV-1504’s Phase I clinical trial results reflected that the oral administration of ABV-1504 to healthy volunteers was safe and well-tolerated at the dose levels of from 380 mg to 3,800 mg.

ABVC received an IND approval to proceed with the Phase II clinical trial of ABV-1504 from the F.D.A. in March 2014 and an IND approval of its Phase II trial from the Taiwan F.D.A. in June 2014. For the Phase II trial, BioLite administered oral capsules to 72 MDD patients (the trial subjects) in a randomized, double-blind study with a placebo control group to assess ABV-1504’s efficacy and safety profile, primarily in accordance with the Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (“MADRS”). ABVC via BioLite began recruiting Phase II subjects in March 2015 at the following study sites, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taipei City Hospital-Songde Branch, Tri-Service General Hospital, Wan Fang Hospital and started recruiting MDD patients at Stanford Depression Research Clinic. The first five sites are in Taiwan and the last one is in the United States. The primary endpoint of the Phase II trial is to see changes of the subjects’ MADRS total scores from the baseline scores of the placebo subjects within the first six weeks. The secondary objectives of the Phase II trial are to evaluate the efficacy and safety profile of ABV-1504 on other rating scales with secondary endpoints of (i) demonstrating changes in MADRS total scores from baseline scores within the second to seventh weeks and (ii) showing changes in the total scores on Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAM-D-17), Hamilton Rating Scale for Anxiety (HAM-A), Depression and Somatic Symptoms Scale (DSSS), Clinical Global Impression Scale (CGI) from the baseline scores in the second, fourth, sixth and seventh week. ABVC plans to measure the percentages of partial responders (subjects with a 25% to 50% decrease of total MADRS scores from the baseline score) and responders (subjects with 50% or more decrease of total MADRS scores from the baseline score) by the second, fourth, sixth and seventh week. Additionally, ABVC intends to monitor the subjects’ performance in accordance with the Safety Assessments and Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale from the screening stage to each subject’s last visit as well as to analyze the differences in the mean changes of MADRS, HAM-D-17, HAM-A, DSSS, CGI and Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale scores of the subjects administered with ABV-1504 and the placebo group in the second, fourth, sixth and seventh week.


On May 23, 2019, the Company announced the Phase II clinical study results of ABV-1504. The clinical study results showed that PDC-1421, the active pharmaceutical ingredient of ABV-1504, met the pre-specified primary endpoint of the Phase II clinical trial and significantly improved the symptoms of MDD. The Phase II clinical study was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multi-center trial, in which sixty (60) adult patients with confirmed moderate to severe MDD were treated with PDC-1421 in either low dose (380 mg) or high dose (2 x 380 mg) compared with placebo administration, three times a day for six weeks. PDC-1421 high dose (2 x 380 mg) met the pre-specified primary endpoint by demonstrating a highly significant 13.2-point reduction in the Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) total score by Intention-To-Treat (ITT) analysis, averaged over the 6-week treatment period (overall treatment effect) from baseline, as compared to 9.2-point reduction of the placebo group. By Per-Protocol (PP) analysis, PDC-1421 showed a dose dependent efficacy toward MDD in which high dose (2 x 380 mg) gave 13.4-point reduction in MADRS total score from baseline and low dose (380 mg) gave 10.4-point reduction as compared to a 8.6-point in the placebo group. Based on the trial results as set forth above, the Company has decided to use the high dose formula for ABV-1504’s Phase III clinical trial.

2.ABV-1505 to treat Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (“ADHD”)

We developed the ADHD indication from the same API of ABV-1504. Also, ABV-1505 shares similar pharmaceutical mechanism of action as ABV-1504 in as much as ABV-1505 shows the potential of increasing the level of norepinephrine in the human’s nervous system by inhibiting its reabsorption. Because of ABV-1505’s sufficient similarity with ABV-1504, in January 2016 the FDA approved our IND application to conduct ABV-1505’s Phase II clinical trial based on its preclinical research and the Phase I trial results of ABV-1504.

For the ADHD Phase II trial, ABVC plans to recruit a maximum of 105 ADHD patients as trial subjects in the United States and Taiwan, to whom ABVC intends to administer ABV-1505 oral capsules. ABVC has designed a randomized, double-blind dose escalation study with a placebo-controlled group to assess the efficacy and safety profile of ABV-1505, primarily against the ADHD Rating Scale-IV (“ADHD-RS-IV”). The primary endpoint of the Phase II trial is a 40% or higher improvement on the ADHD-RS-IV from the respective baseline scores within a period of up to eight weeks. The secondary objective is to determine the efficacy and safety profile of ABV-1505 on other rating scales with secondary endpoints of (i) improvements of the total ADHD symptom scores from the respective baseline scores on the Conners’ Adult ADHD Rating Scale-Self Report: Short Version (“CAARS-S:S”) 18-Item for a treatment period of eight weeks at maximum; and (ii) achievement of scores of two or lower on both the Clinical Global Impression-ADHD- Severity (“CGI-ADHD-S”) and Clinical Global Impression-ADHD-Improvement (“CGI-ADHD-I”) from the subjects’ respective baseline scores. The University of California San Francisco (“UCSF”) initiated the Phase II, Part 1 clinical trial entitled “A Phase II Tolerability and Efficacy Study of PDC-1421 Treatment in Adult Patients with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Part I, on January 14, 2020. The Part 1 trial is a single center, open label, dose escalation evaluation with two dosage levels in six subjects. Six subjects were initially evaluated for safety and efficacy assessments at low-dose (1 capsule of PDC-1421, three times a day (TID)) for 28 days. A safety checkpoint was evaluated at day-28 for entering the high-dose (2 capsules TID). The subjects who passed the checkpoint were evaluated for safety and efficacy assessments at high-dose (2 capsules of PDC-1421 TID) for 28 days. On July 15, 2020, the last patient last visit (LPLV) marked the final step toward the completion of the ABV-1505 Phase II Part I clinical trial for the treatment of adult ADHD. On October 24, 2020, a full clinical study report (CSR) of ABV-1505 Phase II Part I clinical trial was issued. The study results showed that the PDC-1421 Capsule was safe, well tolerated and efficacious during its treatment and the follow-up period with six adult patients. For the primary endpoints, the percentages of improvement in ADHD-RS-IV score from baseline to 8 weeks treatment were 83.3% (N=5) in the ITT population and 80.0% (N=4) in the PP population. Both low and high doses of PDC-1421 Capsule met the primary end points by passing the required 40% population in ADHD-RS-IV test scores. Overall, the results from this study, which demonstrate the therapeutic value of PDC-1421, support further Phase II Part II clinical development of ABV-1505 for the treatment of adult ADHD.

The Phase II Part II study with its clinical protocol entitled “A Phase II Tolerability and Efficacy Study of PDC-1421 Treatment in Adult Patients with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Part II” is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel three-groups with a maximum 99 subjects to be enrolled. This study was started at five Taiwan medical centers beginning in April 2022. The University of California, San Francisco site was conducted on March 29, 2023.  


3.ABV-1601 to treat Depression in Cancer Patients

We developed a treatment for depression in cancer patient from the same active pharmaceutical ingredients as ABV-1504. ABV-1601 shares similar pharmaceutical mechanisms of action as ABV-1504 in that ABV-1601 shows the potential of increasing the level of norepinephrine in the human nervous system by inhibiting its reabsorption. Due to ABV-1601’s similarity with ABV-1504, the FDA approved our ABV-1601-001 clinical protocol under the same IND as for ABV-1504 (IND 112567) in December 2018.

For the Phase II trial of ABV-1601, ABVC plans to recruit a maximum number of 54 cancer patients with depression, to whom ABVC intends to administer ABV-1601 oral capsules. ABVC is engaging the Principal Investigator at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in the U.S. which designed a randomized, double-blind dose escalation study with a comparator-controlled group to assess the efficacy and safety profile of ABV-1601, primarily against Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) total score. The primary endpoint of the Phase II trial is a change in MADRS, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), subscales (HADS-A and HADS-D), and Clinical Global Impression Scale (CGI) total scores from baseline in patients taking PDC-1421 compared to the comparator. As of the date hereof, the Part I of Phase II clinical protocol, which is an open trial, has been approved by Cedars-Sinai Medical Center IRB Committee. This study will be initiated on March 31, 2023.

II.Oncology

1.ABV-‌1702 to treat ‌Myelodysplastic Syndrome (“‌MDS”)

ABVC started the preparation for ABV-1702’s Phase II clinical trials after receiving its IND approval from the FDA in July 2016. ABVC plans to recruit fifty-two subjects in the United States who are diagnosed with either IPSS int-1, IPSS int-2 or high risk MDS or CMML and may take azacitidine as part of the subjects’ prescription. Azacitidine is an FDA-approved drug used to treat MDS. ABVC intends to administer ABV-1702 in the oral liquid form along with azacitidine. The Phase II trial is divided into two parts, where Part 1 is to determine the safety and recommended dose level (“RDL”) of ABV-1702 in combination with azacitidine and Part 2 is to determine whether ABV-1702 under the established RDL reduces bactericidal and fungicidal infection in the subjects’ respiratory systems. The primary endpoint of Part 1 Phase II trial is to assess the safety and RDL profile of ABV-1702 administered with azacitidine by measuring ABV-1702’s prohibited toxicity. The secondary endpoints of Phase II Part 1 are to determine the safety, time-to-first infection after first dose (Day 1) of the first azacitidine treatment cycle, reduction in treatment requirements and duration of infections, enhancement of immune responses, improvements of response rates, progression, and survival rates of the subjects under such ABV-1702 - azacitidine combination treatment. The primary endpoint of Part 2 of Phase II is to determine whether ABV-1702 under the established RDL reduces bactericidal and fungicidal infection risks in the subjects’ respiratory systems in combination with azacitidine as compared to the control group with incidence of infections and incidence/frequency of inpatient hospitalization due to infections. The secondary endpoints of Part 2 of Phase II are to determine the safety, time-to-first infection after first dose (Day 1) of the first azacitidine treatment cycle, reduction in required dosage and duration of infection, enhancement of immune responses, improvement of response rate, progression, and survival rates of the subjects under the trial conditions. In April 2016, BioLite submitted a letter to the FDA in response to its queries with additional information about the proposed Phase II trial.


The Company expects to begin Phase II clinical trials of ABV-1702 in the fourth quarter of 2023 and is actively looking for qualified principal investigators and an appropriate site for the study and therefore the timing cannot be guaranteed.

2.ABV-‌1703 to treat ‌Pancreatic Cancer

ABVC developed a new indication for Pancreatic Cancer from Maitake Extract, which is named as ABV-1703 and out licensed it to Rgene for the preparation of its IND application with the FDA. On August 25, 2017, ABV-1703’s Phase II trial was approved by FDA. Pursuant to the ABVC-Rgene Co-development Agreement, ABVC is responsible for coordinating and conducting the clinical trials of ABV-1703 globally and Rgene is responsible for preparing the related FDA applications. As of the date hereof, we are engaging Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in the U.S. to conduct the Phase II clinical trial and plan to initiate the Phase II trial in the third quarter of 2023. We plan to submit ABV-1703’s Phase II clinical trial IND to the Taiwan FDA after we commence the clinical trials in the United States.

3.ABV- 1501 Triple Negative Breast Cancer - Combination therapy for Triple Negative Breast Cancer (“TNBC”)

ABV- 1501 is developed from BLI-1401-2 whose active pharmaceutical ingredient is Yukiguni Maitake Extract 404. Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (“MSKCC”) conducted the Phase I clinical trial of a polysaccharide extract from Grifola frondosa (Maitake mushroom), which is very similar to Yukiguni Maitake Extract 404. The Phase I trial focused on Grifola frondosa extract’s immunological effects on breast cancer patients. The results of the Phase I trial showed that oral administration of a polysaccharide extract from Maitake mushroom is associated with both immunologically stimulatory and inhibitory measurable effects in peripheral blood.

Our ABV-1501 Investigational New Drug (“IND”) application to the US FDA for the Phase II clinical trials referencing the MSKCC maitake research resulted in a Phase II IND approval in March of 2016 by the U.S. FDA.

‌The collaboration with BHK to file clinical trial application to the Taiwan FDA (“TFDA”) for conducting this combination therapy trial in Taiwan was temporarily put on hold due to the lack of funding.

Our Collaborative Agreements

I.ABV-1701 Vitreous Substitute for Vitrectomy and Collaboration Agreement with BioFirst

On July 24, 2017, BriVision, one of our wholly-owned subsidiaries entered into a collaboration agreement (the “BioFirst Agreement”) with BioFirst, pursuant to which BioFirst granted BriVision the global license to co-develop BFC-1401 Vitreous Substitute for Vitrectomy (“BFC-1401”) for medical purposes. BioFirst is a related party to the Company because BioFirst and YuanGene Corporation (“YuanGene”), the Company’s controlling shareholder, are under common control, being both controlled by the controlling beneficiary shareholder of YuanGene.

According to the BioFirst Agreement, we are to co-develop and commercialize BFC-1401 or ABV-1701 with BioFirst and are obligated to pay BioFirst $3,000,000 (the “Total Payment”) in cash or common stock of BriVision on or before September 30, 2018 in two installments. An upfront payment of $300,000, representing 10% of the Total Payment due under the Collaboration Agreement, was to be paid upon execution of the BioFirst Agreement. BriVision is entitled to receive 50% of the future net licensing income or net sales profit when ABV-1701 is sublicensed or commercialized. On June 30, 2019, the Company and BioFirst entered into a Stock Purchase Agreement (the “Purchase Agreement”), pursuant to which the Company will issue 428,571 shares of the Company’s common stock to BioFirst in consideration for $3,000,000 owed by the Company to BioFirst in connection with the BioFirst Collaborative Agreement. For more information about the BioFirst Agreement and Purchase Agreement, please refer to the current reports on Form 8-K filed on July 24, 2017 and July 12, 2019.

On November 7, 2016, the application of Phase I clinical trial prepared and submitted by BioFirst was approved by the Human Research Ethics Committee, Australia (“HREC”), and on November 14, 2016, it was approved by the Therapeutic Goods Administration, Australia (“TGA”).

We successfully finished the Phase I clinical trial of ABV-1701 at Sydney Retina Clinic and Day Surgery, a clinic located in Sydney, Australia. This was the only site for this Phase I clinical trial. The trial started on November 17, 2016, and was completed with positive results in July 2018. The Protocol Title is “A Phase I, single center, safety and tolerability study of Vitargus in the treatment of Retinal Detachment.”


The primary endpoint of this Phase I clinical trial was to evaluate the safety and tolerability of a single intravitreal dose of Vitargus in patients as a vitreous substitute during vitrectomy surgery for retinal detachment. Intravitreal is a route of administration of a drug or other substance, in which the substance is delivered into the eyes. The secondary endpoint of this Phase I clinical trial is to assess retinal attachment and Virtagus degradation at day 90 and to assess best corrected visual acuity (“BVCA”) after vitrectomy surgery. BVCA refers to the best possible vision a person can achieve. The primary and second endpoints are required by HREC for the purpose of evaluation of our Phase I clinical trial application. We enrolled an aggregate number of 10 patient subjects in this trial. On November 17, 2016, we received the approval from the Data and Safety Monitoring Board for the first subject, and nine more subjects were enrolled thereafter. In this trial, Vitargus was injected into the vitreous cavity of vitrectomised eyes, whose vitreous gel was removed from the vitreous cavity after a vitrectomy surgery. On August 24, 2020, a full clinical study report (CSR) of ABV-1701 Phase I clinical trial was issued. The study results showed that ABV-1701 (Vitargus) was well-tolerated as a vitreous substitute without any apparent toxicity to ocular tissues. Further, there was no indication of an increased overall safety risk with Vitargus. For efficacy, participants showed significant improvement in visual acuity. The optical properties of Vitargus allowed the patients to see well and facilitated visualisation of the fundus immediately following surgery. In addition, since Vitargus set as a stable semisolid gel adhering to the retina, it maintained its position without requiring the patient to remain face-down following surgery.

ABV-1701, Vitargus® in vitrectomy surgery, Phase II Study will be started in the 2nd quarter of 2023. A total of four (4) study sites in Australia and Thailand join this multi-nation and multi-site clinical study. We plan to extend the Phase II study to a Phase III pivotal study by adding sites in Taiwan, USA, and China in 2024.

II.Co-development Agreement with Rgene

On May 26, 2017, American BriVision Corporation entered into a co-development agreement (the “Co-Dev Agreement”) with Rgene Corporation (the “Rgene”), a related party under common control by controlling beneficiary shareholder of YuanGene Corporation and the Company. Pursuant to Co-Dev Agreement, BriVision and Rgene agreed to co-develop and commercialize ABV-1507 HER2/neu Positive Breast Cancer Combination Therapy, ABV-17 Pancreatic Cancer Combination Therapy and ABV-1527 Ovary Cancer Combination Therapy. Under the terms of the Co-Dev Agreement, Rgene is required to pay the Company $3,000,000 in cash or stock of Rgene with equivalent value by August 15, 2017. The payment is for the compensation of BriVision’s past research efforts and contributions made by BriVision before the Co-Dev Agreement was signed and it does not relate to any future commitments made by BriVision and Rgene in this Co-Dev Agreement. In addition to the $3,000,000, the Company is entitled to receive 50% of the future net licensing income or net sales profit earned by Rgene, if any, and any development costs shall be equally shared by both BriVision and Rgene.

By June 1, 2017, the Company had delivered all research, technical, data and development data to Rgene. Since both Rgene and the Company are related parties and under common control by a controlling beneficiary shareholder of YuanGene Corporation and the Company, the Company has recorded the full amount of $3,000,000 in connection with the Co-Dev Agreement as additional paid-in capital during the year ended September 30, 2017. During the year ended December 31, 2017, the Company received $450,000 in cash. On December 24, 2018, the Company received the remaining balance of $2,550,000 in the form of newly issued shares of Rgene’s Common Stock, at the price of NT$50 (approximately equivalent to $1.60 per share), for an aggregate number of 1,530,000 shares, which accounted for equity method long-term investment as of December 31, 2018. During the year ended December 31, 2018, the Company has recognized investment loss of $549. On December 31, 2018, the Company determined to fully write off this investment based on the Company’s assessment of the severity and duration of the impairment, and qualitative and quantitative analysis of the operating performance of the investee, adverse changes in market conditions and the regulatory or economic environment, changes in operating structure of Rgene, additional funding requirements, and Rgene’s ability to remain in business. All projects that have been initiated will be managed and supported by the Company and Rgene.

The Company and Rgene signed an amendment to the Co-Dev Agreement on November 10, 2020, pursuant to which both parties agreed to delete AB-1507 HER2/neu Positive Breast Cancer Combination Therapy and AB 1527 Ovary Cancer Combination Therapy and add ABV-1519 EGFR Positive Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Combination Therapy and ABV-1526 Large Intestine / Colon / Rectal Cancer Combination Therapy to the products to be co-developed and commercialized. Other provisions of the Co-Dev Agreement remain in full force and effect.


III.Clinical Development Service Agreement with Rgene

On June 10, 2022, the Company expanded its co-development partnership with Rgene. BioKey entered into a Clinical Development Service Agreement with Rgene (“Service Agreement”) to guide certain Rgene drug products, RGC-1501 for the treatment of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC), RGC-1502 for the treatment of pancreatic cancer and RGC 1503 for the treatment of colorectal cancer patients, through completion of Phase II clinical studies under U.S. FDA IND regulatory requirements (the “Rgene Studies”).

Under the terms of the Service Agreement, BioKey is eligible to receive payments totaling up to $3.0 million over a 3-year period with each payment amount to be determined by certain regulatory milestones obtained during the agreement period. Through a series of transactions over the past 5 years, the Company and Rgene have co-developed the three drug products covered by the Service Agreement, which has resulted in the Company owning 31.62% of Rgene.

As part of the Rgene Studies, the Company agreed to loan $1.0 million to Rgene, for which Rgene has provided the Company with a 5% working capital convertible loan (the “Note”). If the Note is fully converted, the Company will own an additional 6.4% of Rgene. The Company is expected to receive the outstanding loan from the related party by the 2023 Q1, either by cash or conversion of shares of Rgene. The Company may convert the Note at any time into shares of Rgene’s common stock at either (i) a fixed conversion price equal to $1.00 per share or (ii) 20% discount of the stock price of the then most recent offering, whichever is lower; the conversion price is subject to adjustment as set forth in the Note. The Service Agreement shall remain in effect until the expiration date of the last patent and automatically renew for 5 more years unless terminated earlier by either party with six months written notice. Either party may terminate the Service Agreement for cause by providing 30 days written notice.

Rgene has further agreed, effective July 1, 2022, to provide the Company with a seat on Rgene’s Board of Directors until the loan is repaid in full. The Company has nominated Dr. Jiang, its Chief Strategy Officer and Director to occupy that seat; Dr. Jiang is also one of the Company’s largest shareholders, owning 12.8% of the Company. For more information about the Service Agreement and Note, please refer to the current reports on Form 8-K filed on June 21, 2022.

BLEX 404, a new drug under clinical development covered by the Service Agreement, is extracted from Maitake mushroom (Grifola frondosa), an edible mushroom. Its immunological effects and the safety have been demonstrated in two Phase I/II clinical studies performed at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) with breast cancer and myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) patients.

Market Distribution Strategy

 

We focus primarily on developing botanical drugs, which are intended for use in the diagnosis, cure, mitigation or treatment of disease in humans. Together with our strategic partners, we plan to market, distribute and sell our drug products internationally once those drug candidates comply with the local authorities regulating drugs and foods. Currently, many countries follow the International Council for Harmonization of Technical Requirements for Registration of Pharmaceuticals for Human Use (the “ICH”) guidelines that are published by European Medicines to provide guidance on quality and safety of pharmaceutical development and new drug commercialization in Japan, the United States and Europe. All of our drug candidates first go through the United States FDA process for new drug development first and then seek regulatory approval from regulators equivalent to the FDA in the jurisdictions where we plan to distribute those candidates.

 


Intellectual Property

 

The new drug candidates are dependent on or are the subject of the following patents and patent applications.

 

No. Status Patent No.  Patent
Starting
Date
 Patent
Expiration
Date
 Patent Name Territory Patent
Owner(1)(2)
1 granted  6911222  6/28/2005 1/10/2022 Anti-depression Pharmaceutical Composition Containing Polygala Extract, Part 1 The U.S. MPITDC
2 granted  7175861  2/13/2007 1/10/2022 Anti-depression Pharmaceutical Composition Containing Polygala Extract, Part 2 The U.S. MPITDC
3 granted  7179496  2/20/2007 1/10/2022 Anti-depression Pharmaceutical Composition Containing Polygala Extract, Part 3 The U.S. MPITDC
4 granted  7223425  5/29/2007 1/10/2022 Anti-depression Pharmaceutical Composition Containing Polygala Extract, Part 4 The U.S. MPITDC
5 granted  0001337647  1/31/2007 1/10/2022 Anti-depression Pharmaceutical Composition Containing Polygala Extract Italy MPITDC
6 granted  CH693499  9/15/2003 1/10/2022 Anti-depression Pharmaceutical Composition Containing Polygala Extract Switzerland MPITDC
7 granted  10220149  4/26/2007 1/10/2022 Anti-depression Pharmaceutical Composition Containing Polygala Extract Germany MPITDC
8 granted  GB2383951  6/7/2006 1/10/2022 Anti-depression Pharmaceutical Composition Containing Polygala Extract United Kingdom MPITDC
9 granted  4109907  6/6/2002 6/5/2022 Anti-depression Pharmaceutical Composition Containing Polygala Extract Japan MPITDC
10 granted  FR2834643  7/18/2003 1/10/2022 Anti-depression Pharmaceutical Composition Containing Polygala Extract France MPITDC
11 granted  I295576  4/11/2008 1/10/2022 Anti-depression Pharmaceutical Composition Containing Polygala Extract Taiwan MPITDC
12 granted  DE202007003503 U1  8/23/2007 9/20/2026 Novel Polygalatenosides and use thereof as an antidepressant agent Germany MPITDC
13 granted  7531519  5/12/2009 9/20/2026 Novel Polygalatenosides and use thereof as an antidepressant agent The U.S. MPITDC
No. Status Patent No. Patent
Starting
Date
 Patent
Expiration
Date
 Patent Name Territory Patent
Owner(1)(2)
1 granted 6911222 6/28/2005 1/10/2022 Anti-depression
Pharmaceutical Composition
Containing Polygala Extract,
Part 1
 The U.S. MPITDC
2 granted 7175861 2/13/2007 1/10/2022 Anti-depression
Pharmaceutical Composition
Containing Polygala Extract,
Part 2
 The U.S. MPITDC
3 granted 7179496 2/20/2007 1/10/2022 Anti-depression
Pharmaceutical Composition
Containing Polygala Extract,
Part 3
 The U.S. MPITDC
4 granted 7223425 5/29/2007 1/10/2022 Anti-depression
Pharmaceutical Composition
Containing Polygala Extract,
Part 4
 The U.S. MPITDC
5 granted 0001337647 1/31/2007 1/10/2022 Anti-depression
Pharmaceutical Composition
Containing Polygala Extract
 Italy MPITDC
6 granted CH693499  9/15/2003 1/10/2022 Anti-depression Pharmaceutical Composition Containing Polygala Extract Switzerland MPITDC
7 granted 10220149  4/26/2007 1/10/2022 Anti-depression Pharmaceutical Composition Containing Polygala Extract Germany MPITDC
8 granted GB2383951  6/7/2006 1/10/2022 Anti-depression Pharmaceutical Composition Containing Polygala Extract United Kingdom MPITDC
9 granted 4109907 6/6/2002 6/5/2022 Anti-depression Pharmaceutical Composition Containing Polygala Extract Japan MPITDC
10 granted FR2834643  7/18/2003 1/10/2022 Anti-depression Pharmaceutical Composition Containing Polygala Extract France MPITDC
11 granted I295576 4/11/2008 1/10/2022 Anti-depression
Pharmaceutical Composition
Containing Polygala Extract
 Taiwan MPITDC
12 granted DE202007003503 U1 8/23/2007 9/20/2026 Novel Polygalatenosides and
use thereof as an
antidepressant agent
 Germany MPITDC
13 granted 7531519 5/12/2009 9/20/2026 Novel Polygalatenosides and
use thereof as an
antidepressant agent
 The U.S. MPITDC
14 granted 4620652 11/20/2006 11/19/2026 Novel Polygalatenosides and
use thereof as an
antidepressant agent
 Japan MPITDC
15 granted I 314453 9/21/2006 9/20/2026 Novel Polygalatenosides and
use thereof as an
antidepressant agent
 Taiwan MPITDC
16 granted I389713 3/21/2013 10/13/2030 Cross-linked oxidized
hyaluronic acid for use as a
vitreous substitute (3)
 Taiwan NHRI
17 granted US 8197849 B2 6/12/2012 8/30/2030 Cross-linked oxidized
hyaluronic acid for use as a
vitreous substitute
 The U.S. NHRI


No. Status Patent No.  Patent
Starting
Date
 Patent
Expiration
Date
 Patent Name Territory Patent
Owner(1)(2)
14 granted  4620652  11/20/2006 11/19/2026 Novel Polygalatenosides and use thereof as an antidepressant agent Japan MPITDC
15 granted  I 314453  9/21/2006 9/20/2026 Novel Polygalatenosides and use thereof as an antidepressant agent Taiwan MPITDC
16 granted  I389713  3/21/2013 10/13/2030 Cross-linked oxidized hyaluronic acid for use as a vitreous substitute (3) Taiwan NHRI
17 granted  US 8197849 B2  6/12/2012 8/30/2030 Cross-linked oxidized hyaluronic acid for use as a vitreous substitute The U.S. NHRI
18 granted  AU 2011/215775 B2  4/17/2014 2/9/2031 Cross-linked oxidized hyaluronic acid for use as a vitreous substitute Australia NHRI
19 granted  KR 10-1428898  8/4/2014 2/9/2031 Cross-linked oxidized hyaluronic acid for use as a vitreous substitute Korea NHRI
20 granted  CA 2786911 (C)  10/6/2015 2/10/2031 Cross-linked oxidized hyaluronic acid for use as a vitreous substitute Canada NHRI
21 granted  WO2011100469 A1  N/A(4) N/A(4) Cross-linked oxidized hyaluronic acid for use as a vitreous substitute PCT NHRI
22 granted  EP 2534200  4/8/2015 2/9/2031 Cross-linked oxidized hyaluronic acid for use as a vitreous substitute European Union (Germany, United Kingdom, France, Switzerland, Spain, Italy) NHRI
23 granted  特許第5885349號  2/9/2011 2/9/2031 Cross-linked oxidized hyaluronic acid for use as a vitreous substitute Japan NHRI
24 granted  ZL 201180005494.7  12/24/2014 2/9/2031 Cross-linked oxidized hyaluronic acid for use as a vitreous substitute(3) China NHRI
25 granted  HK1178188  3/6/2015 6/21/2030 Cross-linked oxidized hyaluronic acid for use as a vitreous substitute(3) Hong Kong (5) NHRI
26 applied  US 16/936,032  9/4/2020 9/4/2040 Polygala extract for the treatment of major depresive disorder US ABVC
27 applied  TW 109130285  9/4/2020 9/4/2040 Polygala extract for the treatment of major depresive disorder Taiwan ABVC
28 applied  US17/120,965  12/20/2020 12/20/2040 Polygala Extract for the Treatment of Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder U.S. ABVC
29 applied  TW 110106546  2/24/2021 2/24/2041 Polygala Extract for the Treatment of Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder Taiwan ABVC

 

18(1)grantedAU 2011/215775 B24/17/20142/9/2031Cross-linked oxidized hyaluronic
acid for use as a vitreous
substitute
AustraliaNHRI
19grantedKR 10-14288988/4/20142/9/2031Cross-linked oxidized hyaluronic
acid for use as a vitreous
substitute
KoreaNHRI
20grantedCA 2786911 (C)10/6/20152/10/2031Cross-linked oxidized hyaluronic
acid for use as a vitreous
substitute
CanadaNHRI
21grantedWO2011100469 A1N/A(4)N/A(4)Cross-linked oxidized hyaluronic
acid for use as a vitreous
substitute
PCTNHRI
22grantedEP 25342004/8/20152/9/2031Cross-linked oxidized hyaluronic
acid for use as a vitreous
substitute
European Union (Germany, United Kingdom, France, Switzerland, Spain, Italy)NHRI
23granted特許第 5885349號2/9/20112/9/2031Cross-linked oxidized hyaluronic
acid for use as a vitreous
substitute
JapanNHRI
24grantedZL 201180005494.712/24/20142/9/2031Cross-linked oxidized hyaluronic
acid for use as a vitreous
substitute
(3)
ChinaNHRI
25grantedHK11781883/6/20156/21/2030Cross-linked oxidized hyaluronic
acid for use as a vitreous
substitute
(3)
Hong Kong (5)NHRI
26appliedUS 16/936,0329/4/2020 9/4/2040Polygala extract for the treatment
of major depressive disorder
USABVC
27appliedTW 1091302859/4/20209/4/2040Polygala extract for the treatment
of major depressive disorder
TaiwanABVC
28appliedUS17/120,96512/20/202012/20/2040Polygala Extract for the Treatment
of Attention Deficit Hyperactive
Disorder
U.S.ABVC
29appliedTW 1101065462/24/20212/24/2041Polygala Extract for the Treatment
of Attention Deficit Hyperactive
Disorder
TaiwanABVC

(1)“MPITDC” stands for Medical and Pharmaceutical Industry Technology and Development Center, Taiwan.

(2)(2)“NHRI” stands for National Health Research Institutes, Taiwan.

(3)(3)The patent name is translated into English and the original patent name is written as “交联氧化透明质酸作为眼球玻璃体之替代物.”

(4)(4)The starting date and expiration date of patents under PTC are subject to the laws of the specific participating jurisdiction where the patent application is filed. We have subsequently submitted such patent to the jurisdictions listed in No.22 herein above.

(5)(5)NHRI has obtained standard patent in Hong Kong based on the registration of the patent (listed as No.24 herein) granted by the State Intellectual Property Office, People’s Republic of China.

 

71


 

 

Corporate History and Structure

 

ABVC was incorporated under the laws of the State of Nevada on February 6, 2002 and has three wholly-owned Subsidiaries: BriVision, BioLite Holding, Inc. and BioKey, Inc. BriVision was incorporated in July 2015 in the State of Delaware and is in the business of developing pharmaceutical products in North America.

 

BioLite Holding was incorporated under the laws of the State of Nevada on July 27, 2016, with 500,000,000 shares authorized, par value $0.0001. Its key Subsidiaries include BioLite BVI, Inc. (“BioLite BVI”) that was incorporated in the British Virgin Islands on September 13, 2016 and BioLite Inc. (“BioLite Taiwan”), a Taiwanese corporation that was founded in February 2006. BioLite Taiwan has been in the business of developing new drugs for over twelve years. Certain shareholders of BioLite Taiwan exchanged approximately 73% of equity securities in BioLite Taiwan for the Common Stock in BioLite Holding in accordance with a share purchase/ exchange agreement (the “Share Purchase/ Exchange Agreement”). As a result, BioLite Holding owns via BioLite BVI approximately 73% of BioLite Taiwan. The other shareholders who did not enter this Share Purchase/ Exchange Agreement retain their equity ownership in BioLite Taiwan.

 

Incorporated in California on November 20, 2000, BioKey has chosen to initially focusedfocus on developing generic drugs. drugs to ride the opportunity of the booming industry.

Upon closing of the Mergers on February 8, 2019, BioLite and BioKey became two wholly-owned subsidiaries of ABVC.

 

The following chart illustrates the corporate structure of ABVC:

 

 


Effective March 5, 2022, the Company’s Board for Directors approved amending the Company’s Bylaws to remove Section 2.8, which permitted cumulative voting for directors since cumulative voting is specifically prohibited by our Articles of Incorporation. Since it is not otherwise stated in our Articles of Incorporation or Bylaws, directors shall be elected by a plurality of the votes cast at the election, as provided in the Nevada Revised Statutes.

Competition

 

The healthcare industry is highly competitive and subject to significant and rapid technological change as researchers learn more about diseases and develop new technologies and treatments. Significant competitive factors in our industry include product efficacy and safety; quality and breadth of an organization’s technology; skill of an organization’s employees and its ability to recruit and retain key employees; timing and scope of regulatory approvals; the average selling price of products; the availability of raw materials and qualified manufacturing capacity; manufacturing costs; intellectual property and patent rights and their protection; and our capabilities of securing competent collaborators. Market acceptance of our current products and product candidates will depend on a number of factors, including: (i) potential advantages over existing or alternative therapies or tests, (ii) the actual or perceived safety of similar classes of products, (iii) the effectiveness of sales, marketing, and distribution capabilities, and (iv) the scope of any approval provided by the FDA or foreign regulatory authorities.

 


Since we are a small biopharmaceutical company compared to other companies that we may compete against, it is our intention to license our products to much larger pharmaceutical, specialty pharmaceutical and generic drug companies with the financial, technical and human resources to compete effectively in the markets we address.

 

We anticipate that our license partners will face intense and increasing competition when and as our new drug candidates enter the markets, as advanced technologies become available and as generic forms of currently branded products become available. Finally, the development of new treatment methods for the diseases we are targeting could render our products non-competitive or obsolete. There can be no assurance that any of our new drug candidates will be clinically superior or scientifically preferable to products developed or introduced by our competitors.

 

The following chart lists some, not all, of the biopharmaceutical companies that research, develop, commercialize, distribute or sell drugs that are in competition with our drug candidates.

 

DiseaseDrug NamePharmaceutical
Companies
Headquarters
Major Depressive DisorderCymbalta oralEli Lilly and Co., Inc.IN

Lexapro oral

Effexor XR

Forest Laboratories, Inc.

NJ
Pfizer Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

NJ

CT

Attention-DeficitAdderall XRShire Development LLCMA
Hyperactivity DiseaseRitalinCelgene Corp.Novartis Pharmaceuticals CorporationNJ
DexedrineAmedra Pharmaceuticals LLCPA
MyelodysplasticVidazaCelgene CorporationNJ
SyndromesDacogenAstex Pharmaceuticals, Inc.CA
Triple Negative Breast CancerAvastinGenentech, Inc.CA
Erbitux (Cetuximab)ImClone Systems IncorporatedNY
Pancreatic CancerAbraxane, AfinitorAbraxis BioScience LLCLos AngelesCA
Novartis Pharma Stein AGSteinSwitzerland
Vitargus® for the treatmentsAlcon Laboratories, Inc.Fort WorthTX

of Retinal Detachment or

Vitreous Hemorrhage

Ispan SF6 Arciolane

Alcon Laboratories, Inc.

Arcadophta

TX

Arcadophta

ToulouseFrance


Government Regulations

 

Currently, we are focusing on the research and development of six therapeutic candidates in the fields of CNS, oncology/hematology and autoimmune, for which regulatory approval must be received before we can commence marketing. In addition, our cGMP facility is subject to review by the FDA. Regulatory approval processes and FDA regulations for ABVC’s current and any future product candidates are discussed below.

 

Approval Process for Pharmaceutical Products

 

FDA Approval Process for Pharmaceutical Products

 

In the U.S., pharmaceutical products are subject to extensive regulation by the FDA. The Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (the “FDC Act”), and other federal and state statutes and regulations, govern, among other things, the research, development, testing, manufacture, storage, recordkeeping, approval, labeling, promotion and marketing, distribution, post-approval monitoring and reporting, sampling, and import and export of pharmaceutical products. Failure to comply with applicable U.S. requirements may subject a company to a variety of administrative or judicial sanctions, such as FDA refusal to approve pending NDAs, warning letters, product recalls, product seizures, total or partial suspension of production or distribution, injunctions, fines, civil penalties, and criminal prosecution. Pharmaceutical product development in the U.S. typically involves the performance of satisfactory nonclinical, also referred to as pre-clinical, laboratory and animal studies under the FDA’s Good Laboratory Practice, or GLP, regulation, the development and demonstration of manufacturing processes, which conform to FDA mandated current good manufacturing requirements, or cGMPs, including a quality system regulating manufacturing, the submission and acceptance of an IND application, which must become effective before human clinical trials may begin in the U.S., obtaining the approval of Institutional Review Boards, or IRBs, at each site where we plan to conduct a clinical trial to protect the welfare and rights of human subjects in clinical trials, adequate and well-controlled clinical trials to establish the safety and effectiveness of the drug for each indication for which FDA approval is sought, and the submission to the FDA for review and approval of an NDA. Satisfaction of FDA requirements typically takes many years and the actual time required may vary substantially based upon the type, complexity, and novelty of the product or disease.

 

Pre-clinical tests generally include laboratory evaluation of a product candidate, its chemistry, formulation, stability and toxicity, as well as certain animal studies to assess its potential safety and efficacy. Results of these pre-clinical tests, together with chemistry, manufacturing controls and analytical data and the clinical trial protocol, which details the objectives of the trial, the parameters to be used in monitoring safety, and the effectiveness criteria to be evaluated, along with other requirements must be submitted to the FDA as part of an IND, which must become effective before human clinical trials can begin. The entire clinical trial and its protocol must be in compliance with what are referred to as good clinical practice, or GCP, requirements. The term, GCP, is used to refer to various FDA laws and regulations, as well as international scientific standards intended to protect the rights, health and safety of patients, define the roles of clinical trial sponsors and assure the integrity of clinical trial data.

 

An IND automatically becomes effective 30 days after receipt by the FDA, unless the FDA, within the 30-day time period, raises concerns or questions about the intended conduct of the trials and imposes what is referred to as a clinical hold. Pre-clinical studies generally take several years to complete, and there is no guarantee that an IND based on those studies will become effective, allowing clinical testing to begin. In addition to FDA review of an IND, each medical site that desires to participate in a proposed clinical trial must have the protocol reviewed and approved by an independent IRB or Ethics Committee, or EC. The IRB considers, among other things, ethical factors, and the selection and safety of human subjects. Clinical trials must be conducted in accordance with the FDA’s GCP requirements. The FDA and/or IRB may order the temporary, or permanent, discontinuation of a clinical trial or that a specific clinical trial site be halted at any time, or impose other sanctions for failure to comply with requirements under the appropriate entity jurisdiction.

 

Clinical trials to support NDAs for marketing approval are typically conducted in three sequential phases, but the phases may overlap.

 

In Phase I clinical trials, a product candidate is typically introduced either into healthy human subjects or patients with the medical condition for which the new drug is intended to be used. The main purpose of the trial is to assess a product candidate’s safety and the ability of the human body to tolerate the product candidate. Phase I clinical trials generally include less than 50 subjects or patients.


During Phase 2 trials, a product candidate is studied in an exploratory trial or trials in a limited number of patients with the disease or medical condition for which it is intended to be used in order to: (i) further identify any possible adverse side effects and safety risks, (ii) assess the preliminary or potential efficacy of the product candidate for specific target diseases or medical conditions, and (iii) assess dosage tolerance and determine the optimal dose for Phase III trials.

 

Phase III trials are generally undertaken to demonstrate clinical efficacy and to further test for safety in an expanded patient population with the goal of evaluating the overall risk-benefit relationship of the product candidate. Phase III trials are generally designed to reach a specific goal or endpoint, the achievement of which is intended to demonstrate the candidate product’s clinical efficacy and adequate information for labeling of the approved drug.

 


The FDA has 60 days from its receipt of an NDA to determine whether the application will be accepted for filing based on the FDA’s threshold determination that it is sufficiently complete to permit substantive review. Once the submission is accepted for filing, the FDA begins an in-depth review. The FDA has agreed to certain performance goals in the review of NDAs. Most applications for standard review drug products are reviewed within ten months; most applications for priority review drugs are reviewed within six months. Priority review can be applied to drugs that the FDA determines offer major advances in treatment, or provide a treatment where no adequate therapy exists. The review process for both standard and priority review may be extended by the FDA for three additional months to consider certain late-submitted information, or information intended to clarify information already provided in the submission. The FDA may also refer applications for novel drug products, or drug products which present difficult questions of safety or efficacy, to an advisory committee — typically a panel that includes clinicians and other experts — for review, evaluation, and a recommendation as to whether the application should be approved. The FDA is not bound by the recommendation of an advisory committee, but it generally follows such recommendations. Before approving an NDA, the FDA will typically inspect one or more clinical sites to assure compliance with GCP. Additionally, the FDA will inspect the facility or the facilities at which the drug is manufactured. The FDA will not approve the product unless compliance with cGMPs is satisfactory and the NDA contains data that provide substantial evidence that the drug is safe and effective in the indication studied.

 

After the FDA evaluates the NDA and the manufacturing facilities, it issues either an approval letter or a complete response letter. A complete response letter generally outlines the deficiencies in the submission and may require substantial additional testing or information in order for the FDA to reconsider the application. If and when those deficiencies have been addressed to the FDA’s satisfaction in a resubmission of the NDA, the FDA will issue an approval letter. The FDA has committed to reviewing such resubmissions in two or six months depending on the type of information included. An approval letter authorizes commercial marketing of the drug with specific prescribing information for specific indications. As a condition of NDA approval, the FDA may require a risk evaluation and mitigation strategy, or REMS, to help ensure that the benefits of the drug outweigh the potential risks.

 

REMS can include medication guides, communication plans for healthcare professionals, and elements to assure safe use, or ETASU. ETASU can include, but are not limited to, special training or certification for prescribing or dispensing, dispensing only under certain circumstances, special monitoring, and the use of patient registries. The requirement for a REMS can materially affect the potential market and profitability of the drug. Moreover, product approval may require substantial post-approval testing and surveillance to monitor the drug’s safety or efficacy. Once granted, product approvals may be withdrawn if compliance with regulatory standards is not maintained or problems are identified following initial marketing.

 

Post-Approval Regulations

 

Even if a product candidate receives regulatory approval, the approval is typically limited to specific clinical indications. Further, even after regulatory approval is obtained, subsequent discovery of previously unknown problems with a product may result in restrictions on its use or even complete withdrawal of the product from the market. Any FDA-approved products manufactured or distributed by us are subject to continuing regulation by the FDA, including record-keeping requirements and reporting of adverse events or experiences. Further, drug manufacturers and their subcontractors are required to register their establishments with the FDA and state agencies, and are subject to periodic inspections by the FDA and state agencies for compliance with cGMPs, which impose rigorous procedural and documentation requirements upon us and our contract manufacturers. ABVC cannot be certain that ABVC or its present or future contract manufacturers or suppliers will be able to comply with cGMPs regulations and other FDA regulatory requirements. Failure to comply with these requirements may result in, among other things, total or partial suspension of production activities, failure of the FDA to grant approval for marketing, and withdrawal, suspension, or revocation of marketing approvals.


If the FDA approves one or more of our product candidates, ABVC must provide certain updated safety and efficacy information. Product changes, as well as certain changes in the manufacturing process or facilities where the manufacturing occurs or other post-approval changes may necessitate additional FDA review and approval. The labeling, advertising, promotion, marketing and distribution of a drug must be in compliance with FDA and Federal Trade Commission, or FTC, requirements which include, among others, standards and regulations for direct-to-consumer advertising, off-label promotion, industry sponsored scientific and educational activities, and promotional activities involving the Internet. The FDA and FTC have very broad enforcement authority, and failure to abide by these regulations can result in penalties, including the issuance of a warning letter directing us to correct deviations from regulatory standards and enforcement actions that can include seizures, fines, injunctions and criminal prosecution.

 

Foreign Regulatory Approval

 

Outside of the U.S., ABVC’s ability to market our product candidates will be contingent also upon its receiving marketing authorizations from the appropriate foreign regulatory authorities, whether or not FDA approval has been obtained. The foreign regulatory approval process in most industrialized countries generally encompasses risks similar to those ABVC will encounter in the FDA approval process. The requirements governing conduct of clinical trials and marketing authorizations, and the time required to obtain requisite approvals, may vary widely from country to country and differ from those required for FDA approval.

 


ABVC will be subject to additional regulations in other countries in which we market, sell and import our products, including Canada. ABVC or its distributors must receive all necessary approvals or clearance prior to marketing and/or importing our products in those markets.

 

Other Regulatory Matters

 

Manufacturing, sales, promotion and other activities following product approval are also subject to regulation by numerous regulatory authorities in addition to the FDA, including, in the U.S., the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, other divisions of the Department of Health and Human Services, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the Federal Trade Commission, the Occupational Safety &Health Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency and state and local governments. In the U.S., sales, marketing and scientific/educational programs must also comply with state and federal fraud and abuse laws. Pricing and rebate programs must comply with the Medicaid rebate requirements of the U.S. Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990 and more recent requirements in the Health Care Reform Law, as amended by the Health Care and Education Affordability Reconciliation Act, or ACA. If products are made available to authorized users of the Federal Supply Schedule of the General Services Administration, additional laws and requirements apply. The handling of any controlled substances must comply with the U.S. Controlled Substances Act and Controlled Substances Import and Export Act. Products must meet applicable child-resistant packaging requirements under the U.S. Poison Prevention Packaging Act. Manufacturing, sales, promotion and other activities are also potentially subject to federal and state consumer protection and unfair competition laws.

 

The distribution of pharmaceutical products is subject to additional requirements and regulations, including extensive recordkeeping, licensing, storage and security requirements intended to prevent the unauthorized sale of pharmaceutical products.

 

The failure to comply with regulatory requirements subjects firms to possible legal or regulatory action. Depending on the circumstances, failure to meet applicable regulatory requirements can result in criminal prosecution, fines, imprisonment or other penalties, injunctions, recall or seizure of products, total or partial suspension of production, denial or withdrawal of product approvals, or refusal to allow a firm to enter into supply contracts, including government contracts. In addition, even if a firm complies with FDA and other requirements, new information regarding the safety or effectiveness of a product could lead the FDA to modify or withdraw product approval. Prohibitions or restrictions on sales or withdrawal of future products marketed by us could materially affect our business in an adverse way.

 

Changes in regulations, statutes or the interpretation of existing regulations could impact our business in the future by requiring, for example: (i) changes to our manufacturing arrangements; (ii) additions or modifications to product labeling; (iii) the recall or discontinuation of our products; or (iv) additional record-keeping requirements. If any such changes were to be imposed, they could adversely affect the operation of our business.

Employees

As of the date of this prospectus, ABVC, including its Subsidiaries, had 23 employees, 19 of which located in the U.S. and Taiwan. The following table sets forth the number of our employees by function:

Number of
Functional AreaEmployees
Senior management5
Research and development11
Administration2
Accounting5
Total23

ABVC believes that it maintains a good working relationship with its employees. ABVC offers its employees competitive benefits, including a pleasant and rewarding work environment, career-oriented training, and career growth opportunities. ABVC believes its employees are devoted to delivering superb services. ABVC did not experience any significant labor disputes.

Legal Proceedings

From time to time ABVC and its Subsidiaries may become involved in legal proceedings and claims, or be threatened with other legal actions and claims, arising in the ordinary course of business relating to its intellectual property, product liability, regulatory compliance and/or marketing and advertising of its products. As of the date of this prospectus, ABVC and its Subsidiaries were not involved or threatened with any legal actions and regulatory proceedings.

Environment

ABVC seeks to comply with all applicable statutory and administrative requirements concerning environmental quality. Expenditures for compliance with federal state and local environmental laws have not had, and are not expected to have, a material effect on ABVC’s capital expenditures, results of operations or competitive position.


Properties

 

Our Subsidiary BioLite has its laboratories located in Hsinchu Biomedical Science Park, with an address of 20, Sec. 2, Shengyi Rd., 2nd Floor, Zhubei City, Hsinchu County 302, Taiwan (R.O.C.). On January 1, 2015, BioLite Taiwan entered into a lease agreement with the National Science Park Administrative Office (Hsinchu City) under which it rents two dormitory buildings in Hsinchu County, Taiwan for a period of five years. On January 1, 2020, BioLite Taiwan extended the contract for another five years. The new expiration date is on Dec 31, 2024. The rent increases by a small percentage each year during the term of the lease agreement. During the fiscal years of 2019 and 2018, BioLite paid approximately $50,038 and $43,619, respectively for the rent. In addition, BioLite leases two spaces as its laboratories in Hsinchu County, Taiwan. BioLite Taiwan and the National Science Park Administrative Office (Hsinchu City) entered into two five-year term leases which each commenced respectively on January 1, 2020. The aggregate leasing area amounts to approximately 678 square meters (equivalent to approximately 7,298 square feet) on the second floor of the building. The leased space counts for approximately 1.9% of the total space of the building. InOn January 1, 2020, BioLite Taiwan extended the fiscalcontract for another five years. The new expiration date is on December 31, 2024. The rent increases by a small percentage each year during the term of 2019the lease agreement. BioLite paid $60,104 and 2018, BioLite incurred$60,296 in rental expenses relatingexpense for the laboratory spaces in the amount of approximately $9,000 per month. BioLite paid $64,506 and $9,912space for the years ended December 31, 20202022 and 2019,2021, respectively.

 

Another of our Subsidiarysubsidiary BioKey is headquartered in Fremont, California. BioKey’s office lease will end on February 28, 2026 and the office occupies approximately 28,186 square feet. BioKey’s space consists of offices, research and production laboratories, and manufacturing facilities, which are GMP certified. BioKey has an option to extend the lease for its offices in Fremont for a period of five years commencing February 28, 2026, and BioKey may exercise this option for 5 more years. The total BioKey’s rental expenses were $403,776$328,051 and $306,876$331,482 for the years ended December 31, 20202022 and 2019,2021, respectively.

 

Legal ProceedingsMANAGEMENT

 

From time to time ABVC and its Subsidiaries may become involved in legal proceedings and claims, or be threatened with other legal actions and claims, arising in the ordinary course of business relating to its intellectual property, product liability, regulatory compliance and/or marketing and advertising of its products. AsThe following table sets forth as of the date of this prospectus, ABVCthe name, age, and its Subsidiaries were not involved or threatened with any legal actionsposition of each executive officer and regulatory proceedings.director and the term of office of each such person.

 

Environment

ABVC seeks to comply with all applicable statutory and administrative requirements concerning environmental quality. Expenditures for compliance with federal state and local environmental laws have not had, and are not expected to have, a material effect on ABVC’s capital expenditures, results of operations or competitive position.

Employees

As of the date of this prospectus, ABVC, including its Subsidiaries, had 34 employees, located in the U.S. and Taiwan. The following table sets forth the number of our employees by function:

Functional AreaName

Number of

Employees

Age
Title
Senior management6
Research and development14
Public relations2
Sales and Marketing3
Internal control3
Accounting6
Total34

ABVC believes that it maintains a good working relationship with its employees. ABVC offers its employees competitive benefits, including a pleasant and rewarding work environment, career-oriented training, and career growth opportunities. ABVC believes its employees are devoted to delivering superb services. ABVC did not experience any significant labor disputes.


MANAGEMENT

The following table lists the names, ages and positions as of the date of the prospectus:

NameAgeTitle
Eugene Jiang3734Chairman of the Board and Chief Business Officer (“CBO”)
Dr. Howard Doong6563Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”)
Chihliang An‌Leeds Chow3440Chief Financial Officer (“CFO”)
Dr. Chi-Hsin Richard King71Chief Scientific Officer (“CSO”)
Dr. Ming-Fong Wu45Independent Director
Norimi Sakamoto50Independent Director
Yen-Hsin Chou32Independent Director
Dr. Tsung-Shann (T.S.) Jiang6967Chief Strategy Officer (“CSTRO”) and Director
Dr. Shin-Yu Miao57Independent Director
Yoshinobu Odaira72Independent Director
Shih-Chen Tzeng63Independent Director
Dr. Hwalin Lee84Director
Dr. Tsang Ming Jiang6260Director
Dr. Chang-Jen Jiang6765Director
Norimi Sakamoto52Independent Director
Yen-Hsin Chou42Independent Director
Hsin-Hui Miao56Independent Director
Yoshinobu Odaira75Independent Director
Che-Wei Hsu42Independent Director
Shuling Jiang67 Director
Yu-Min (Francis) Chung58Independent Director  
Dr. Chi-Hsin (Richard) King74Chief Scientific Officer (“CSO”)

 

Set forth below is certain biographical information regarding each of our directors and executive officers as of the date of this prospectus.

 

Eugene Jiang, Chairman,has served as our CEO and President since the Company’s inception in July 2015 until he resigned on September 15, 2017. He remains the Chairman of the Board. From June 2015 until present,He also serves as our CBO since September 2019 and serves as the CBO of BioKey, Inc. since 2019. Mr. Jiang also serves as Director for BioLite Incorporation.Incorporation since June 2015 and as Director for BioFirst Corp. since 2012. He also serves as CEO for Genepro Investment Company since March 2010. Mr. Jiang obtained a PMBA degree from National Taiwan University in 2017 and an EMBA degree from the University of Texas in Arrington in 2009.2010. And in 2008,2009, Mr. Jiang received a bachelor’s degree in Physical Education from Fu-Jen Catholic University.

 

Dr. Howard Doong, Ph. D. and M.D., CEO,, was appointed as the Company’s new CEO on September 15, 2017. In addition to the position at the Company, Dr. Doong also serves as director of United BioPharma (K.Y.) since December 2022 and as the Chairman and the CEO and Chief Scientific Officer (“CSO”) of LifeCode Biotechnology Company (“LifeCode”), a Taiwan company in the biotechnology business, since March 2017. At the same time, he alsoDr. Doong serves as the Chairman of Biokey since December 2020. Dr. Doong served as the CEO and CSO of Wuhan Frasergen Genomic Medicine Company (“Wuhan Frasergen Genomic”), a Chinese company in the biotechnology business, since 2016.from 2016 to 2020. He served as the CSO of Cold Spring Biotech Corporation, a Taiwan corporation in the biotechnology business from 2014 to 2016. He served as the CEO of iKnowledge-Care Bioscience Corp, a Taiwan company in the biotechnology business from 2014 to 2015. He served as the director of Taipei Veteran General Hospital-LihPao Laboratory of Cancer Genomic Medicine from 2012 to 2013. He served as the Vice President and director of Quality Assurance, TrimGen Corporation, a Maryland corporation in the biotechnology business from 2006 to 2011. Before 2006, Dr. Doong was a professor at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and Biotechnology Institute, and a researcher at National Cancer Institute (NCI) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Dr. Doong received his Ph.D. degree from University of Chicago, the Department of Organismal Biology and Anatomy and the Department of Surgery.Anatomy. He received his M.D and Ph.D. degree from Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology. He received his M.S. degree from the University of New Hampshire, Genetics Program and B.S. degree from Fu-Jen Catholic University, Taiwan, Department of Biology.

 

Mr. Chihliang AnLeeds Chow, was appointed as the Managing Director of Investment Team at Yinyai Investment (Hong Kong) sinceCompany’s Chief Financial Officer and Principal Accounting Officer on September 2018 to June 2019. Prior to that, Mr. An4, 2022. He has served as a Senior Director of Sales and Operations at Goertek (USA) from March 2017 to August 2018 and a Director of Finance at BioKey, Inc., which is a wholly-owned subsidiaryFinancial Controller of the Company now, from March 20152021 to February 2017.August 2022. Mr. Chihliang An receivedChow has over 12 years of experience in Audit and Financing Industry. He has served as the finance manager in a family office, in charge of managing investment portfolios, handling financial and operating aspects. He has also worked in a local investment company in Hong Kong, serving as a financial advisor during the Hong Kong Initial Public Offering process, as well as preparing opinion letters as an independent financial advisor for transactions for Hong Kong listed companies. Mr. Chow graduated in University of California, Santa Barbara, with a Bachelor of ArtArts degree, majoring in Statistics from Tamkang University in Taiwan in 2003 and an MBA in Finance from University of Kentucky in 2007.Business Economics with Accounting Emphasis.


Dr. T.S. Jiang, Chief Strategy Officer and Director,, has served as the Company’s Chief Strategy Officer since September 2019. Dr. Jiang serves as the CEO of Biokey, Inc. since December 2021, as a director of BioFirst Corp. since 2013, and has been the CEO and chairman of BioLite, Inc., a subsidiary of BioLite BVI, Inc., since January 2010. Prior to BioLite, Dr. Jiang served as the president and/or chairman of multiple biotech companies in Taiwan, including PhytoHealth Corporation from 1998 to 2009 and AmCad BioMed Corporation from 2008 to 2009. In addition, Dr. Jiang is a director on various biotech associations, such as the Taiwan Bio Industry Organization (Taiwan) from 2006 to 2008 and the Chinese Herbs and Biotech Development Association in Taiwan from 2003 to 2006. Dr. Jiang was an assistant professor at University of Illinois from 1981 to 1987 and an associate professor at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey from 1987 to 1990 and served as a professor at a few Taiwanese universities during a period from 1990 to 1993, such as National Taiwan University, National Cheng Kung University and Tunghai University. Dr. Jiang obtained his bachelor degree in Engineering and Chemical Engineering from National Taiwan University in Taiwan in 1976, masters and Ph.D. from Northwestern University in the U.S. in 1981 and Executive Master of Business Administration (“EMBA”) from National Taiwan University in Taiwan in 2007. As a successful entrepreneur, Dr. Jiang has developed and commercialized PG2 Lyo Injection, a new drug to treat cancer related fatigue. From 1998 to 2009, Dr. T. S. Jiang served as President of Phyto Health Corporation where he led a project team to develop PG2 Injectable. This product was extracted, isolated and purified from a type of Traditional Chinese Medicine. PG2 Injection was intended for cancer patients who had trouble recovering from severe fatigue. Dr. Jiang oversaw and managed the R&D department, daily corporate operations and business of Phyto Health Corporation when he was the President. PG2 Lyo Injection received approval on its NDA from Taiwan Food and Drug Administration in 2010 and later was launched into the Taiwan market in 2012. We believe that Dr. Jiang provides leadership and technological guidance on our strategic development and operations.

 

Dr. Tsang Ming Jiang, Director, has served as a director of BioFirst Corp. since 2017 and as a technical director at Supermicro Computer, Inc. since August 2022. Dr. Jiang served as a technical director at the Industrial Technology Research Institute in Taiwan since January 2017.from February 2017 to July 2021. Prior to joining the Industrial Technology Research Institute as a technical director, Dr. Jiang worked at the Company as chief information officer from November 2016 to January 2017, Ericsson as engineering manager from 2013 to 2016 and the Industrial Technology Research Institute as deputy director from October 2011 to February 2013. In addition, Dr. Jiang worked at several other research institutes, including University of Alaska Fairbanks, National Taiwan University and Chung Cheng University, with his research interest in cloud computing and Internet security, especially in the areas of virtualization, software-defined data centers, SDN enabled networks and big data analytics. Dr. Jiang received his Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering in 19821983 and Master of Science in electrical engineering in 1984, both from National Taiwan University, and his Ph.D. in electrical engineering and computer science from University of Illinois at Chicago in 1988. Dr. Tsang Ming Jiang is a brother of Dr. Tsung-Shann Jiang, who together with his wife collectively owns 80% of Lion Arts Promotion, Inc. which has approximately 69.3% of ownership interest in the Company through YuanGene Corporation, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Lion Arts Promotion, Inc.

 

Dr. Ming-Fong WuChang-Jen Jiang, Director,, is a senior physician at Taoyuan Hanqun Orthopedic Clinic from 2012. Prior to Taoyuan Hanqun Orthopedic Clinic, Dr. Wu worked as a physician at various private and public hospitals and clinics, such as National Taiwan University Hospital. Dr. Wu graduated from National Taiwan University College of Medicine in 2000 and has obtained his license to practice medicine and orthopedist’s license in Republic of China.

Norimi Sakamoto, currently serves at four enterprises, Shogun Maitake Canada Co., Ltd. as an executive officer and business development manager from 2015, Shogun Maitake Odaira Enterprise Ltd as an executive officer from 2017, Odaira Corporation Co., Ltd. as chief executive officer since 2014 and MyLife Corporation as president and chief executive officer since 2012. Ms. Sakamoto started her career in 1997 from Sumitomo Corporation Hokkaido Co., Ltd. in Japan. Ms. Sakamoto received her Bachelor Degree of Arts in travel and tourism from Davis and Elkins College in 1993 and Master of Science in urban studies from the University of New Orleans in 1995.

Yen-Hsin Chou, has served as a clerk at Mega Securities Co., Ltd.director of BioLite Inc. since 2011. Ms. Chou’s responsibilities primarily include selling various types2013 and as a director of securities, including futures, funds and insurance, managing clients’ accounts and business development. Ms. Chou received a Bachelor Degree from Yuan Chi University School of Economics in 2011.

BioFirst Corp. since 2015. Dr. Chang-Jen Jiang, has been an attending doctora pediatrician at the department of pediatrics of Eugene Women and Children Clinic since 2009.2016. Previously, Dr. Chang-Jen worked as an attending doctor at the department of pediatrics of Keelung Hospital, the Ministry of Health and Welfare in Taiwan from 1994 to 2009. Before his position at Keelung Hospital, he was a chief doctor at the department of pediatrics, hematology and oncology of Mackay Memorial Hospital in Taiwan for three years until 1994. Dr. Chang-Jen Jiang obtained his doctor of medicine degree (the Taiwanese equivalent degree of MD) from Taipei Medical University in Taiwan in 1982 and started his career in Mackay Memorial Hospital. We believe that the Company will benefit from Dr. Jiang’s knowledge in biology and experiences in medical practice.


Dr. Shin-Yu MiaoNorimi Sakamoto, Director, currently serves a director at Shogun Maitake Canada Co., Ltd. from June 2016. Ms. Sakamoto served as the chief executive officer of MyLife Co., Ltd. from June 2013 to March 2020. Ms. Sakamoto started her career in 1997 from Sumitomo Corporation Hokkaido Co., Ltd. in Japan. Ms. Sakamoto received her Bachelor Degree of Arts in travel and tourism from Davis and Elkins College in 1993 and Master of Science in urban studies from the University of New Orleans in 1995.

Yen-Hsin Chou, Director, has served as an associate professora financial specialist at Ling TungMega Bank since 2011. Ms. Chou’s responsibilities primarily include customer services and financial consultations. Ms. Chou received a Bachelor Degree in finance and economics from Yuan Ze University DepartmentSchool of Applied Foreign Languages since 2004. SheEconomics in 2010.


Hsin-Hui Miao, Director, served as counter manager at Yueh Shan Chi Cram School from August 2021 to May 2022. From August 1988 to July 2021, Ms. Miao was a lecturer from 1996 to 2004.kindergarten teacher and also severed as the leader of general affairs team at the affiliated high school of Tunghai University, Kindergarten Division. Ms. Miao received her M.S. in AdultBachelor Degree of Education from theTaichung University of ManchesterEducation in 1995 and Ph.D. in Adult Education from the University of South Australia in 2004. We believe that Ms. Miao’s familiarity with biotech research centers will be a valuable resource for our drug development.1998.

 

Yoshinobu Odaira, Director,, was elected as a director on our Board of Directors on February 8, 2019. He is an entrepreneur and has founded a number of Japanese agricultural companies, including Yukiguni Maitake, our licensing partner. In 1983, Mr. Odaira established Yukiguni Maitake, which became a public company in Japan in 1994. In 2015, Bain Capital Private Equity purchased Yukiguni Maitake through a tender offer. In addition to his success with Yukiguni Maitake, Mr. Odaira served as the CEO of Yukiguni Shoji Co., Ltd. since 1988, andas the CEO of Odaira Shoji Co., Ltd. from 1989 and as a director of Shogun Maitake Japan Co., Ltd. since June 1989. In 2015, Mr. Odaira founded two new companies, Shogun Maitake Canada Co., Ltd. in Canada and Odaira Kinoko Research Co., Ltd. in Japan. Mr. Odaira has served as the CEO and director of Shogun Maitake Canada Co., Ltd. since June 2016. Mr. Odaira served as a director of BioLite Inc. from February 2019 to April 2019. Yoshinobu Odaira graduated from the Ikazawa Junior High School in 1963. We believe that we will benefit from Mr. Odaira’s successful business experience.

 

Shih-Chen TzengChe Wei Hsu, Director, is currently employed as a clerk by Chunghwa Post Co., Ltd. since August 2016; previously she was a teacher in a Junior High School. Ms. Hsu received a Bachelor Degree from Tunghai University School of Chinese Literature in 2004.

Shuling Jiang, Director, has served as a sales managerdirector for various companies, including BioLite, Inc. and BioFirst Corp, , since 2017 and started to serve as Managing Director for Biokey, Inc. in 2022. Ms. Jiang received a Bachelor Degree from National Taiwan Normal University School of Music in 1978 and a Master Degree from Northwestern University School of Music in 1983.

Yu-Min (Francis) Chung, Director, was a Partner at SinoPac Securities Corp. (“SinoPac Securities”), a well-established brokerageMaxpro Ventures, an investment firm in Taiwan since 2000. SinoPac Securities has fifty-eight (58) branch offices in Taiwan and subsidiaries in Hong Kong, Shanghai and London. Shih-Chen Tszeng graduatedfocused on breakthrough biomedical technology companies, from Dam Kang University in 1978 with a bachelor degree in Accounting. We believe the Company will benefit from Ms. Tszeng’s knowledge and experience with the securities industries.

Dr. Hwalin Lee, serves as the chairman of Phoeng Foundation since 2011 and will become the director and chairman of the board of directors of BioKey Surviving Corporation after the closing of the BioKey Merger. From 1986, Dr. Lee has been the chairman of the Chuan Lyu Foundation. From 1973July 2018 to 1989, Dr. Lee was the president of Deltan Corporation and priorMay 2022. Prior to that, he was senior research chemistserved as Vice President at TaiAn Technology, which is a couplebiotechnology service company and a management company for biotechnology venture capital funds in Taiwan, from June 2016 to June 2018. Mr. Chung received his Bachelor’s Degree of chemical companies. Dr. Hwalin Lee obtained a B.S.Science in pharmacyChemistry from National Taiwan University in 19571987, Master’s Degree in Business Administration from National Taiwan University in 2006, and a Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical ChemistryPharmacy from University of California, San FranciscoIowa in 1966. Dr. Lee qualifies as a director of the Company because he has extensive work experience in chemical companies and educational background in pharmaceutical chemistry.1995.

 

Significant Employees

 

The following are employees who are not executive officers, but who are expected to make significant contributions to our business:

 

Dr. Chi-Hsin Richard King—Chief Scientific OfficerKing, CSO.

Effective September 15, 2017, the Board appointed Dr. Chi-Hsin Richard King as the CSO of the Company. Dr. Chi-Hsin Richard King, 71, retired since July 2017. He served as the consultant at TaiGen Biotechnology Co. Ltd (“TaiGen”), a Taiwan company in the biotechnology business, from August 2016 to July 2017, the Senior Vice President at TaiGen from July 2008 to August 2016 and as the Vice President at Research and Development of TaiGen from June 2005 to July 2008. Dr. King served as the Director at Albany Molecular Research Inc. (“AMRI”), a New York corporation, from January 2003 to June 2005, the Assistant Director at Medicinal Chemistry Department of AMRI from January 2000 to December 2002 and the Assistant Director at Chemical Development Department of AMRI from August 1997 to January 2000. Dr. King received the Ph. D.Ph.D. degree of organicbio-organic chemistry from University of Utah in March 1980, and B.S. degree of chemistry from National Taiwan Normal University in July 1972.

 

Family Relationships

 

There are no family relationships among the executive officers and directors of the Company, except that Dr. Tsang Ming Jiang, Dr. Tsung-Shann Jiang and Dr. Chang-Jen Jiang are brothers, and Mr. Eugene Jiang is Dr. Tsung-Shann Jiang’s son.son, and the marital relationship between Yoshinobu Odaira and Norimi Sakamoto and between Shuling Jiang and Dr. Jiang.

 

Legal Proceedings

 

Involvement in Certain Legal Proceedings

 

During the past ten years, none of our current directors, executive officers, promoters, control persons, or nominees has been:

 

the subject of any bankruptcy petition filed by or against any business of which such person was a general partner or executive officer either at the time of the bankruptcy or within two years prior to that time;

convicted in a criminal proceeding or is subject to a pending criminal proceeding (excluding traffic violations and other minor offenses);

 

subject to any order, judgment, or decree, not subsequently reversed, suspended or vacated, of any court of competent jurisdiction or any Federal or State authority, permanently or temporarily enjoining, barring, suspending or otherwise limiting his involvement in any type of business, securities or banking activities;

 

found by a court of competent jurisdiction (in a civil action), the Commission or the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to have violated a federal or state securities or commodities law.

 


the subject of, or a party to, any Federal or State judicial or administrative order, judgment, decree, or finding, not subsequently reversed, suspended or vacated, relating to an alleged violation of (a) any Federal or State securities or commodities law or regulation; (b) any law or regulation respecting financial institutions or insurance companies including, but not limited to, a temporary or permanent injunction, order of disgorgement or restitution, civil money penalty or temporary or permanent cease-and-desist order, or removal or prohibition order; or (c) any law or regulation prohibiting mail or wire fraud or fraud in connection with any business entity; or

 

the subject of, or a party to, any sanction or order, not subsequently reversed, suspended or vacated, of any self-regulatory organization (as defined in Section 3(a)(26) of the Exchange Act (15 U.S.C. 78c(a)(26))), any registered entity (as defined in Section 1(a)(29) of the Commodity Exchange Act (7 U.S.C. 1(a)(29))), or any equivalent exchange, association, entity or organization that has disciplinary authority over its members or persons associated with a member.

 

Unless disclosed otherwise, we are currently not a party to any material legal or administrative proceedings and are not aware of any pending legal or administrative proceedings against us. We may from time to time become a party to various legal or administrative proceedings arising in the ordinary course of our business.

 

Director Independence

 

We are not currently subject to listing requirements of any national securities exchange that has requirementsThe NASDAQ Rules require that a majority of the boardBoard be independent. The Board consists of 11 directors, be “independent.” Nevertheless, our board of directors determine which directors qualify as “independent” directors in accordance with listing requirementsnine are non-management directors. Each year the Board reviews the materiality of The NASDAQ Stock Market, or NASDAQ. The NASDAQ independence definition includes a series of objective tests, such asany relationship that the director is not, and has not been for at least three years, oneeach of our employeesdirectors has with the Company, either directly or indirectly. No member of the Board has any relationship or arrangement that would require disclosure under Item 404 of Regulation S-K. For additional information see “Certain Relationships and that neitherRelated-Party Transactions” in this report. Based on this review, the director nor any of his family members has engaged in various types of business dealings with us.

Our Board of Directors has determined that 6 of ourthe following current directors are considered independent directors in accordance with the definition of independence applied“independent directors” as defined by the NASDAQ Stock Market: Dr. Ming-Fong Wu, Norimi Sakamoto, Yen-Hsin Chou, Dr. Shin-Yu Miao, YoshinobuRules: Messrs. Odaira and Shih-Chen Tzeng.Chung and Mses. Sakamoto, Chou and Miao.

 

Each director who is a member of the Audit and Finance Committee, Compensation Committee and Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee is an independent director.

Board Committees

 

Audit Committee. The Audit Committee of the Board of Directors currently consists of Ms. Chou, Yen-Hsin (Chair), Ming-Fong, Shin-Yu, Mr. WuMs. Miao, Hsin-Hui, and Ms. Miao.Hsu, Che-Wei. The functions of the Audit Committee include the retention of our independent registered public accounting firm, reviewing and approving the planned scope, proposed fee arrangements and results of the Company’s annual audit, reviewing the adequacy of the Company’s accounting and financial controls and reviewing the independence of the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm. The Board has determined that Ms. Chou, Mr. WuMs. Miao and Ms. MaioHsu are each an “independent director” under the listing standards of The NASDAQ Stock Market. The Board of Directors has also determined Ms. Chou is an “audit committee financial expert” within the applicable definition of the SEC. The Audit Committee is governed by a written charter approved by the Board of Directors, a copy of which is available on our website at www.abvcpharma.com. Information contained on our website are not incorporated by reference into and do not form any part of this prospectus.reports. We have included the website address as a factual reference and do not intend it to be an active link to the website.


Compensation Committee. The Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors currently consists of Mr. WuMs. Norimi Sakamoto (Chair), Ms. Miao, Hsin-Hui, and Ms. Sakamoto.Hsu, Che-Wei. The functions of the Compensation Committee include the approval of the compensation offered to our executive officers and recommending to the full Board of Directors the compensation to be offered to our directors, including our Chairman. The Board has determined that Mr. Wu (Chair), Ms. Sakamoto, Ms. Miao and Ms. MaioHsu are each an “independent director” under the listing standards of The NASDAQ Stock Market LLC. In addition, the members of the Compensation Committee qualify as “non-employee directors” for purposes of Rule 16b-3 under the Exchange Act and as “outside directors” for purposes of Section 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended. The Compensation Committee is governed by a written charter approved by the Board of Directors, a copy of which is available on our website at www.abvcpharma.com. Information contained on our website are not incorporated by reference into and do not form any part of this registration statement.report. We have included the website address as a factual reference and do not intend it to be an active link to the website.

 

Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee. Effective asThe Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee of the dateBoard of this prospectus, we have established a corporate governance and nominating committee of the board of directors, which will consistDirectors consists of Mr. Ming-FongYoshinobu Odaira (Chair), Mr. Wu, Shin-Yu, Ms. Sakamoto, NorimiMiao, Hsin-Hui, and Ms. Miao,Hsu, Che-Wei, each of whom is an independent director under Nasdaq’s listing standards. The corporate governance and nominating committee is responsible for overseeing the selection of persons to be nominated to serve on our board of directors. The corporate governance and nominating committee considers persons identified by its members, management, shareholders, investment bankers and others.

 


Guidelines for Selecting Director Nominees

 

The guidelines for selecting nominees, which are specified in the Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee Charter, generally provide that persons to be nominated:

 

should have demonstrated notable or significant achievements in business, education or public service;

 

should possess the requisite intelligence, education and experience to make a significant contribution to the board of directors and bring a range of skills, diverse perspectives and backgrounds to its deliberations; and

 

should have the highest ethical standards, a strong sense of professionalism and intense dedication to serving the interests of the shareholders.

 

The corporate governance and nominating committee will consider a number of qualifications relating to management and leadership experience, background and integrity and professionalism in evaluating a person’s candidacy for membership on the board of directors. The nominating committee may require certain skills or attributes, such as financial or accounting experience, to meet specific board needs that arise from time to time and will also consider the overall experience and makeup of its members to obtain a broad and diverse mix of board members. The board of directors will also consider director candidates recommended for nomination by our shareholders during such times as they are seeking proposed nominees to stand for election at the next annual meeting of shareholders (or, if applicable, a special meeting of shareholders). Our shareholders that wish to nominate a director for election to the Board should follow the procedures set forth in our bylaws. The nominating committee does not distinguish among nominees recommended by shareholders and other persons.

 

Board Leadership Structure and Role in Risk Oversight

 

We have two separate individuals serving as our CEO and Chairman. Our Board of Directors, or the Board, is primarily responsible for overseeing our risk management processes on behalf of our company. The Board receives and reviews periodic reports from management, auditors, legal counsel, and others, as considered appropriate regarding our company’s assessment of risks. In addition, the Board focuses on the most significant risks facing our company and our company’s general risk management strategy, and also ensures that risks undertaken by our company are consistent with the board’s appetite for risk. While the Board oversees our company’s risk management, management is responsible for day-to-day risk management processes. We believe this division of responsibilities is the most effective approach for addressing the risks facing our company and that our board leadership structure supports this approach.


Code of Ethics

 

We adopted a code of ethics, a copy of which is attached herein as Exhibit 14.1. The Code of Ethics applies to all of our employees, officers and directors. This Code constitutes a “code of ethics” as defined by the rules of the SEC. Copies of the code may be obtained free of charge from our website, www.abvcpharma.com. Any amendments to, or waivers from, a provision of our code of ethics that applies to any of our executive officers will be posted on our website in accordance with the rules of the SEC.

 

Indemnification

 

Neither our Articles of Incorporation nor Bylaws prevent us from indemnifying our officers, directors and agents to the extent permitted under the Nevada Revised Statute (“NRS”). NRS Section 78.7502 provides that a corporation shall indemnify any director, officer, employee or agent of a corporation against expenses, including attorneys’ fees, actually and reasonably incurred by him in connection with any the defense to the extent that a director, officer, employee or agent of a corporation has been successful on the merits or otherwise in defense of any action, suit or proceeding referred to Section 78.7502(1) or 78.7502(2), or in defense of any claim, issue or matter therein.

 

Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act of 1933 may be permitted to directors, officers or persons controlling the Company pursuant to NevadaWyoming law, we are informed that in the opinion of the Securities and Exchange Commission, such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is therefore unenforceable.


EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION

 

The following tables set forth, for each of the last two completed fiscal years of us, the total compensation awarded to, earned by or paid to any person who was a principal executive officer during the preceding fiscal year and every other highest compensated executive officers earning more than $100,000 during the last fiscal year (together, the “Named Executive Officers”). The tables set forth below reflect the compensation of the Named Executive Officers. The following table provides information regarding the named executive officers of ABVC during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020 and 2019.

 

Summary Compensation Table

 

Name and
Principal Position
 Year  Salary
($)
  Bonus
($)
  Stock Awards
($)
  Option Awards
($) (7)
  Non-Equity Incentive Plan Compensation
($)
  Change in Pension
Value and
Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Earnings
($)
  All Other Compensation
($)
  Total
($)
 
Howard Doong, CEO (1)  2020   200,000           234,750               434,750 
   2019   133,332           150,003              283,335 
                                     
Chun Mu Hung (2)  2020   —            —                 —   
   2019   14,434   —     —     —     —     —         14,434 
                                     
Chihliang An, CFO (3)  2020   200,000           156,500               356,500 
   2019   133,332           100,002               233,334 
                                     
Tsung-Shann Jiang, CSTRO (4)  2020   200,000           106,749               306,749 
   2019   133,332           —                 133,332 
                                     
Richard Chi-Hsin King, CSO (5)  2020   200,000           234,750               434,750 
   2019   133,332           150,010               283,342 
                                     
Eugene Jiang, Chairman (6)  2020   200,000           207,585               407,585 
   2019   133,332           128,030               261,362 
Name and Principal Position Year  Salary
($)
  Bonus
($)
  Stock Awards
($)
  Option Awards
($) (‌7)
  Non-Equity Incentive Plan Compensation
($)
  Change in Pension
Value and
Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Earnings
($)
  All Other Compensation
($)
  Total
($)
 
                            
Howard Doong (1)  2022   200,000               248,386                              448,386 
   2021   200,000           836,002               1,036,002 
                                     
Leeds Chow (2)  2022   130,000           -               130,000 
                                     
   ‌2021   ‌120,000           ‌-               ‌120,000 
                                     
Tsung-Shann Jiang (3)
  

2022

2021

   

200,000

200,000

           

248,386

62,700

               

448,386

262,700

 
                                    
                                     
Richard Chi-Hsin King (4)
  

2022

2021

   

200,000

200,000

           

248,386

661,834

               

448,386

861,834

 
                                     
Eugene Jiang (5)  2022   200,000           248,386               448,386 
   2021   200,000           62,700               262,700 
                                     
Chihliang An (6)  2022   133,333           248,386               381,719 
   ‌2021   200,000           ‌487,668               ‌687,668 

 

(1)(1)Dr. Doong was appointed as the CEO on September 15, 2017.

(2)Mr. Hung was appointed as the CFO, Secretary and Treasury on September 15, 2017 and resigned as the CFO, Secretary and Treasurer on May 4, 2018.
(3)Mr. An‌Chow was appointed as the CFO on September 1, 2019.‌4, ‌2022.
(4)
(3)Dr. Jiang was appointed as the CSTRO on September 1, 20192019.
(5)
(4)Dr. King was appointed as the CSO on September 15, 20172017.
(6)
(5)Eugene Jiang was appointed as CBO on September 1, 20192019.
(7)All
(6)Mr. An resigned from his positions as the Company’s CFO on September 4, 2022.
‌(7)The weighted average grant date fair value of options disclosed in this table were issued in exchangegranted during ‌2022 was $‌1.63, using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model. Accordingly, the Company recognized stock-based compensation expense of $‌1,241,930 for previously unpaid and accrued salary owed to each such individual, following the individuals agreement to convert such salary into options. The total amount of salary that was converted into options was $600,850.years ended December 31, ‌2022.


Narrative Disclosure to Summary Compensation Table

 

Other than set out below, there are no arrangements or plans in which we provide pension, retirement or similar benefits for directors or executive officers. Our directors and executive officers may receive share options at the discretion of our board of directors in the future. We do not have any material bonus or profit sharing plans pursuant to which cash or non-cash compensation is or may be paid to our directors or executive officers, except that share options may be granted at the discretion of our board of directors.

 

Stock Option Plan

 

2016 Plan

On February 17, 2016, weOur board approved and adopted the Amended and Restated 2016 Equity Incentive Plan which was amended on September 12, 2020 (the “2020 Amendment,”“Plan”), a copy of which is attached hereto as amended, the “Plan”). Under the Plan, as amended, (x) the numberexhibit 10.17.

Grants of shares available for granting awards under the Plan is (A) 10% of the current outstanding shares, plus (B) additional shares as follows: as of January 1 of each year, commencing with the year 2017 and ending with 2022, the aggregate number of shares available for granting awards under the Plan shall automatically increase by a number of shares equal to 5% of the total number of shares then outstanding; and (y) there is no additional limit on the number of shares with respect to which Incentive Stock Options may be granted in any year (prior to the 2020 Amendment, there was a cap on the number of shares available for issuance as Incentive Stock Options of 2% of the total outstanding shares). The 2020 Amendment also provides that to the extent that the aggregate fair market value of the shares (determined at the time of grant) with respect to which Incentive Stock Options are exercisable for the first time by the participant during any calendar year (under all plans of the Company or Affiliates) exceeds $100,000, or such other limit established in the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended from time to time, or otherwise does not comply with the rules governing Incentive Stock Options, the Options or portions thereof that exceed such limit (according to the order in which they were granted) or otherwise do not comply with such rules, will be treated as Non-Qualified Stock Options, notwithstanding any contrary provision of the applicable option agreement.Plan-Based Awards

 

Awards will be made pursuant to agreements and may be subject to vesting and other restrictions as determined by the board of directors. The term of the Plan is 10 years. The Plan and any option may be amended or terminated by the Board without the consent of any share owner or participant of the Plan. There is a 2% of the number of shares outstanding limit for the number of shares with respect to which awards may be granted under the Plan to any one person in a fiscal year.

We adopted the Plan to provide additional incentives to selected directors, officers, employees and consultants, and enable our Company to obtain and retain the services of these individuals. The Plan will enable us to grant options, restricted shares or other awards to our directors, employees and consultants. Awards will be made pursuant to agreements and may be subject to vesting and other restrictions as determined by the board of directors.

On May 29, 2020, the Company’s Board of Directors approved the following future option awards pursuant to the Plan, but such options have not yet been issued and may not be issued until the Compensation Committee or the Board further approves such issuance:

20,000 options to each director; such options are exercisable at $2.00 per share.

Options for 266,667 shares, 155,556 shares, and 211,111 shares to the CEO, CFO and CSO, respectively; the options are exercisable at $2.00 per share.

On November 21, 2020, the Company issued an aggregate of 545,182 options to purchase shares of Common Stock in lieu of unpaid salaries of certain employees (other than Officers and Directors) and unpaid consulting fees under the Plan, as amended; the total converted salaries was $1,090,361. The options are exercisable at $2.00 per share.

 

On October 15, 2021, the Company’s Board of Directors approved and issued the following option awards pursuant to the Plan:

30,000 options to each director, including the Chairman; such options are exercisable at $3.00 per share.

Options for 400,001 shares, 233,334 shares, and 316,667 shares to the CEO, CFO and CSO, respectively; the options are exercisable at $3.00 per share.

On April 16, 2022, the Company entered into stock option agreements with 5 directors, pursuant to which the Company granted options to purchase an aggregate of 761,920 shares of common stock under the Plan, as amended, at an exercise price of $3 per share. The options were vested at the grant date and become exercisable for 10 years from the grant date.

As of the date of this report,hereof, we have granted options under the Plan that can be exercised for an aggregate of 545,1822,587,104 shares of Common Stock.


Outstanding Equity Awards at Fiscal Year End

 

The following table summarizes outstanding unexercised options, unvested stocks and equity incentive plan awards held by each of our named executive officers, as of December 31, 2020:2022:

 

OUTSTANDING EQUITY AWARDS AT FISCAL YEAR-END

 

OPTION AWARDS  STOCK AWARDS 
Name Number of
Securities
Underlying
Unexercised
Options (#)
Exercisable
  Number of
Securities
Underlying
Unexercised
Options (#)
Unexercisable
  Equity Incentive
Plan Awards:
Number of
Securities
Underlying
Unexercised
Unearned Options
(#)
  Options
Exercise
Prices
($)
  Option
Expiration
Date
 Number of
Shares or
Units of
Stock That
Have Not
Vested
(#)
  Market
Value of
Shares or
Units of
Stock That
Have Not
Vested
($)
  Equity
Incentive Plan
Awards:
Number of
Unearned
Shares, Units
or Other
Rights That
Have Not
Been Issued
(#)
  Equity Incentive
Plan Awards:
Market or Payout
Value of Unearned
Shares, Units or
Other Rights That
Have Not Been
Issued
($)
 
Howard Doong  85,715   10,715   -   2.00  Nov 20, 2031  -   -   -  - 
                -                 266,667(1)  1,360,002(2) 
                                  
Chihliang An  54,762   9,524       2.00  Nov 20, 2031          155,556(1)  793,336(2) 
                                  
Tsung-Shann Jiang  34,105   -       2.00  Nov 20, 2031               
                                  
Richard Chi-Hsin King  82,144   14,286       2.00  Nov 20, 2031          211,111(1)  1,076,666(2) 
                                  
Eugene Jiang  72,418   12,193       2.00  Nov 20, 2031               
OPTION AWARDS STOCK AWARDS
Name Number of
Securities
Underlying
Unexercised
Options (#)
Exercisable
  Number of
Securities
Underlying
Unexercised
Options (#)
Unexercisable
  Equity Incentive
Plan Awards:
Number of
Securities
Underlying
Unexercised
Unearned Options
(#)
  Options
Exercise
Prices
($)
  Option
Expiration
Date
 Number of
Shares or
Units of
Stock That
Have Not
Vested
(#)
 Market
Value of
Shares or
Units of
Stock That
Have Not
Vested
($)
  Equity
Incentive Plan
Awards:
Number of
Unearned
Shares, Units
or Other
Rights That
Have Not
Been Issued
(#)
  Equity Incentive
Plan Awards:
Market or Payout
Value of Unearned
Shares, Units or
Other Rights That
Have Not Been
Issued
($)
 
Howard Doong  85,715   10,715        -   2.00  Nov 20, 2031       -      -       -       - 
   400,001   -   -   3.00  Oct 15, ‌2032              
   152,384   -   -   3.00  Apr 16, 2033              
                                 
Chihliang An  54,762   9,524   -   2.00  Nov 20, 2031              
   233,334   -   -   3.00  Oct 15, ‌2032              
   152,384   -   -   3.00  Apr 16, 2033              
                                 
Tsung-Shann Jiang  34,105   -   -   2.00  Nov 20, 2031              
   30,000   -   -   3.00  Oct 15, ‌2032              
   152,384   -   -   3.00  Apr 16, 2033              
                                 
Richard Chi-Hsin King  82,144   14,286   -   2.00  Nov 20, 2031              
   316,667   -   -   ‌3.00  Oct 15, ‌2032              
   152,384   -   -   3.00  Apr 16, 2033              
                                 
Eugene Jiang  72,418   12,193   -   2.00  Nov 20, 2031              
   30,000   -   -   3.00  Oct 15, ‌2032              
   152,384   -   -   3.00  Apr 16, 2033              

 

(1)The Board approved granting these future options, but they have not been issued as of the date of this Report and may not be issued until the Compensation Committee or the Board further approves such issuance.
(2)Based on $5.10 per share, which is the closing market price of our Common Stock as of December 31, 2020.

Compensation of Directors

 

We dodid not have any agreements for compensating our directors for their services in their capacity as directors as of December 31, 2020. On May 29, 2020, our Board of Directors approved issuing 20,000pay stock options to each director at an exercise price of $2.00 per share, but such options may not be issued until the Compensation Committee or the Board further approves such issuance.directors in fiscal year 2022.

 


Pension, Retirement or Similar Benefit Plans

 

There are no arrangements or plans in which we provide pension, retirement or similar benefits for directors or executive officers. We have no material bonus or profit sharing plans pursuant to which cash or non-cash compensation is or may be paid to our directors or executive officers, except that stock options may be granted at the discretion of the board of directors or a committee thereof.


Employment Agreements

 

Employment Contracts

Dr. Howard Doong has entered into an employment agreement (“Doong Employment Agreement”) with the Company, pursuant to which he shall receive an annual base salary of $100,000. As of December 31, 2017, we paid Mr.Dr. Doong 20,833 shares of the Company’s common stock at a per share price of $1.60 as opposed to cash compensation. Under Doong Employment Agreement, Dr. Doong is employed as our CEO and President of the Company. We may terminate the employment for cause, at any time, without notice or remuneration, for certain acts of the executive officer, such as conviction or plea of guilty to a felony or grossly negligent or dishonest acts to our detriment, or misconduct or a failure to perform agreed duties. In such case, the executive officer will not be entitled to receive payment of any severance benefits or other amounts by reason of the termination, and the executive officer’s right to all other benefits will terminate, except as required by any applicable law. We may also terminate an executive officer’s employment without cause upon one-month advance written notice. In such case of termination by us, we are required to provide compensation to the executive officer, including severance pay equal to 12 months of base salary. The executive officer may terminate the employment at any time with a one-month advance written notice if there is any significant change in the executive officer’s duties and responsibilities or a material reduction in the executive officer’s annual salary. In such case, the executive officer will be entitled to receive compensation equivalent to 12 months of the executive officer’s base salary. On August 21, 2019, all of the Board members present at the Meeting, unanimously reelected Dr. Howard Doong as the Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”), which became effective on September 1, 2019 for a term of three years.

 

On August 21, 2019, all ofSeptember 4, 2022, the Board members present at the Meeting unanimously appointed Mr. Chihliang AnLeeds Chow as the Company’s Chief Financial Officer (“CFO”) and Principal Accounting Officer effective from September 1, 20194, 2022 for a term of three3 years.

 

Mr. Chun Mu Hung has entered into an employment agreement (“Hung Employment Agreement”) with the Company, pursuant to which he shall receive an annual base salary of $40,000. On May 4, 2018, Mr. Hung resigned as the CFO, Secretary and Treasurer of the Company, effective immediately.

Dr. Chi-Hsin Richard King has entered into an employment agreements (“King Employment Agreement”) with the Company, pursuant to which he shall receive an annual base salary of $50,000. As of December 31, 2017, we paid Mr. King 10,416 shares of the Company’s common stock at a per share price of $1.60 as opposed to cash compensation. Under King Employment Agreement, Dr. King is employed as the CSO of the Company. We may terminate the employment for cause, at any time, without notice or remuneration, for certain acts of the executive officer, such as conviction or plea of guilty to a felony or grossly negligent or dishonest acts to our detriment, or misconduct or a failure to perform agreed duties. In such case, the executive officer will not be entitled to receive payment of any severance benefits or other amounts by reason of the termination, and the executive officer’s right to all other benefits will terminate, except as required by any applicable law. We may also terminate an executive officer’s employment without cause upon one-month advance written notice. In such case of termination by us, we are required to provide compensation to the executive officer, including severance pay equal to 12 months of base salary. The executive officer may terminate the employment at any time with a one-month advance written notice if there is any significant change in the executive officer’s duties and responsibilities or a material reduction in the executive officer’s annual salary. In such case, the executive officer will be entitled to receive compensation equivalent to 12 months of the executive officer’s base salary. On August 21, 2019, all of the Board members present at the Meeting, unanimously reelected Dr. Richard King as the Chief Scientific Officer (“CSO”), which shall becomebecame effective on September 1, 2019 for a term of three yearsyears.

 

On August 21, 2019, all of the Board members present at the Meeting, except Eugene Jiang, appointed Mr. Eugene Jiang, the current Chairman of the Board, as the Chief Business Officer, effective since September 1, 2019 for a term of three years. Mr. Eugene Jiang excused himself from the discussion regarding his appointment as the Chief Business Officer of the Company during the Board meeting.

 

On August 21, 2019, all of the Board members present at the Meeting, except Dr. Tsung-Shann Jiang, reelected Dr. Tsung-Shann Jiang as the Chief Strategy Officer, effective since September 1, 2019 for a term of three years. Dr. Tsung-Shann Jiang excused himself from the discussion regarding his appointment as the Chief Strategy Officer of the Company during the Board meeting.


SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT

 

The following table sets forth certain information regarding beneficial ownership of our common stock as of the date hereof (i) each person (or group of affiliated persons) who is known by us to own more than five percent (5%) of the outstanding shares of our Common Stock, (ii) each director, executive officer and director nominee, and (iii) all of our directors, executive officers and director nominees as a group.

 

Beneficial ownership is determined in accordance with SEC rules and generally includes voting or investment power with respect to securities. For purposes of this table, a person or group of persons is deemed to have “beneficial ownership” of any shares of common stock that such person has the right to acquire within 60 days of the date of the respective table. For purposes of computing the percentage of outstanding shares of our common stock held by each person or group of persons named above, any shares that such person or persons has the right to acquire within 60 days of the date of the respective table is deemed to be outstanding for such person, but is not deemed to be outstanding for the purpose of computing the percentage ownership of any other person. The inclusion herein of any shares listed as beneficially owned does not constitute an admission of beneficial ownership.

 

Unless otherwise noted, the business address of each beneficial owner listed is 44370 Old Warm Springs Blvd., Fremont, CA 94538. Except as otherwise indicated, the persons listed below have sole voting and investment power with respect to all shares of our common stock owned by them, except to the extent that power may be shared with a spouse.

 

As of the date hereof,April 20, 2023, we have 24,420,526had 33,080,740 shares of common stock issued and outstanding.

 

Name of Beneficial Owner Amount and
Nature of
Beneficial
Ownership
  Percent of
Class Prior to the Offering
  Percent of
Class After the Offering(6)
 
Dr. Howard Doong, CEO  18,404   *%  * 
Eugene Jiang, Chairman (1)  732,716   *   * 
Chihliang An, CFO  13,334   *   * 
Chi-Hsin (Richard) King, CSO  869   *   * 
Yen-Hsin Chou, Director  5,679   *   * 
Dr. Shin-Yu Miao, Director (2)  67,378   *   * 
Dr. Tsang-Ming Jiang, Director  6,067   *   * 
Dr. Ming-Fong Wu, Director  —     *   * 
Norimi Sakamoto, Director  —     *   * 
Dr. Tsung-Shann Jiang, CSTRO and Director (3)(5)  12,103,971   49.6%  47.6%
Dr. Chang-Jen Jiang, Director (4)  5,949   *   * 
Yoshinobu Odaira, Director  163,702   *   * 
Shih-Chen Tzeng, Director  —     *   * 
Dr. Hwalin Lee, Director  133,314   *   * 
             
All officers and directors as a group (Fourteen (14) persons)  13,251,383   54.3%  52.1%
YuanGene Corporation (5)  8,296,968   34%  32.6%
Name of Beneficial OwnerAmount and
Nature of
Beneficial
Ownership
Percent of
Class
Dr. Howard Doong18,404  *%
Eugene Jiang (1)‌702,246 ‌2.3%
Leeds Chow2,728   *
Chi-Hsin (Richard) King869    *
Yen-Hsin Chou5,679    *
Hsin-Hui Miao-    *
Dr. Tsang-Ming Jiang6,067    *
Norimi Sakamoto4,667    *
Dr. Tsung-Shann Jiang (2)(4)  ‌11,980,752   ‌36.2%
Dr. Chang-Jen Jiang (3)5,545    *
Yoshinobu Odaira163,702    *
Che -Wei Hsu  ‌3,346    *
Shuling Jiang  ‌-   ‌*
‌Yu-Min Ch‌ung5,556    *
All officers and directors as a group (Fourteen (14) persons)  ‌12,899,54039.0%
YuanGene Corporation (4)8,296,968   ‌25.1%

 

*less than 1%.

 

(1)Eugene Jiang held 701,989673,189 shares of the Company’s common stock through his ownership in AsianGene, 5,3523,743 shares of the Company’s common stock through his ownership in BioFirst, 202‌121 shares of the Company’s common stock through his ownership in Rgene, and the rest of 25,173 shares through direct ownership.

(2)Dr. Shin-Yu Miao held 1,705 shares of the Company’s common stock through her ownership in BioFirst, 7 shares of the Company’s common stock through his ownership in Rgene, and the rest of 65,666 through direct ownership.

(3)Dr. Tsung-Shann Jiang held 8,296,968‌8,296,968 shares of common stock through his ownership in YuanGene Corporation, 11,603‌2,277 shares of the Company’s common stock through BioLite, 19,609‌16,829 shares through Rgene Corporation, 143,264‌96,364 shares through BioFirst, 674,723‌674,724 shares through Lion Arts, 509,877‌509,878 shares through LionGene, 8,850‌8,850 shares through Genepro Investment, 213,120 shares through Keypoint, 64,215 shares through Shu-Ling Chiang, and the rest of 2,161,742 shares through direct ownership.

(4)(3)Dr. Chang-Jen Jiang held 1,343939 shares of common stock in the Company through his ownership in BioFirst, 6‌5 shares of the Company’s common stock through Rgene, and the rest of 4,600 shares through direct ownership.

(5)(4)YuanGene Corporation is a company wholly-owned by Lion Arts, which is owned by Shu-Ling Chiang (80%) and Dr. Tsung-Shann Jiang (20%); however, YuanGene appointed Eugene Jiang to have sole voting control over the shares held by YuanGene, the principal office address of which is 2nd floor, Building B, SNPF Plaza, Savalalo, Apia, Samoa.
(6)Based on a total of 25,420,526 shares of common stock outstanding aftertheOffering.


RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS OF DIRECTORS AND EXECUTIVE OFFICERS

 

Except as disclosed herein, no director, executive officer, shareholder holding at least 5% of shares of our common stock, or any family member thereof, had any material interest, direct or indirect, in any transaction, or proposed transaction since January 1, 2019,2020, in which the amount involved in the transaction exceeds the lesser of $120,000 or one percent of the average of our total assets at the year-end for the last two completed fiscal years.

 

Co-Development agreement with Rgene Corporation

 

On November 10, 2020, the Company and Rgene signed an amendment to the Co-Dev Agreement dated May 26, 2017, pursuant to which both parties agreed to delete AB-1507 HER2/neu Positive Breast Cancer Combination Therapy and AB 1527 Ovary Cancer Combination Therapy and add ABV-1519 EGFR Positive Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Combination Therapy and ABV-1526 Large Intestine / Colon / Rectal Cancer Combination Therapy to the products to be co-developed and commercialized. Other provisions of the Co-Dev Agreement remain in full force and effect.

 

Clinical Development Service Agreement with Rgene Corporation

On June 10, 2022, the Company expanded its co-development partnership with Rgene. BioKey, Inc. entered into a Clinical Development Service Agreement with Rgene (“Service Agreement”) to guide certain Rgene drug products, RGC-1501 for the treatment of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC), RGC-1502 for the treatment of pancreatic cancer and RGC 1503 for the treatment of colorectal cancer patients, through completion of Phase II clinical studies under U.S. FDA IND regulatory requirements (the “Rgene Studies”). The Service Agreement shall remain in effect until the expiration date of the last patent and automatically renew for 5 more years unless terminated earlier by either party with six months written notice. Under the terms of the Service Agreement, BioKey is eligible to receive payments totaling up to $3.0 million over a 3-year period with each payment amount to be determined by certain regulatory milestones obtained during the agreement period.

Collaborative agreement with BioFirst Corporation

 

On November 4, 2020, we executed an amendment to our collaboration agreement with BioFirst dated July 24, 2017, to add BFC-1403ABV-2001 Intraocular Irrigation Solution and BFC-1404ABV-2002 Corneal Storage Solution to our agreement. BFC-1404ABV-2002 is intended to be utilized during a corneal transplant procedure to replace a damaged or diseased cornea while BFC-1403ABV-2001 has broader utilization during a variety of ocular procedures.

 

Initially ABVC will focus on BFC-1404,ABV-2002, a solution utilized to store a donor cornea prior to either penetrating keratoplasty (full thickness cornea transplant) or endothelial keratoplasty (back layer cornea transplant). Designated ABV-2002 under ABVC’s product identification system, the solution is comprised of a specific poly amino acid that protects ocular tissue from damage caused by external osmolarity exposure during pre-surgery storage. The specific polymer in ABV 2002 can adjust osmolarity to maintain a range of 330 to 390 mOsM thereby permitting hydration within the corneal stroma during the storage period. Stromal hydration results in (a) maintaining acceptable corneal transparency and (b) prevents donor cornea swelling. ABV-2002 also contains an abundant phenolic phytochemical found in plant cell walls that provides antioxidant antibacterial properties and neuroprotection.

 

Early testing by BioFirst indicates that ABV-2002 may be more effective for protecting the cornea and retina during long-term storage than other storage media available today and can be manufactured at lower cost. CategorizedABV-2002 is categorized as a Class I Medical Device that has the lowest risk to patients, ABVC intends to submit a Premarket Notification 510(K) submissionpatients; however, further clinical development was put on hold due to the FDA before the endlack of 2021 to demonstrate the device is at least as safe and effective as current products on the market.funding.

 

On July 12, 2019, the Company had an aggregate amount of loan with BioFirst of $150,000 to meet its working capital needs, pursuant to which the interest bears at 12% per annum. The Company paid back $21,317 in 2019. The remaining loan balance was $128,683 as of December 31, 2019. The loan matured on July 11, 2020.

On May 11, 2018, the Company and BioFirst (Australia) Pty Ltd. (the “BioFirst (Australia)”) (an entity 100% owned by BioFirst and controlled by controlling beneficiary shareholder of YuanGene), entered into a loan agreement for a total amount of $40,000 to meet its working capital needs. The advances bear 0% interest rate and are due on demand prior to JuneSeptember 30, 2020. Afterwards, all outstanding load will bear interest rate at 12% per annum. On July 1, 2020, the Company entered into anothera loan agreement with BioFirst (Australia) for $321,487$361,487 to properly record R&D cost and tax refund allocation based on a co-development contract executed on July 24, 2017. The loan willwas originally set to mature on JuneSeptember 30, 2021 with an interest rate of 12%6.5% per annum.annum, however, on September 7, 2021, the Company entered into a loan agreement with BioFirst (Australia) for $67,873 to meet its new project needs. On December 1, 2021, the Company entered into a loan agreement with BioFirst (Australia) for $250,000 to increase the cost for upcoming projects. The loan has an interest rate of 6.5% per annum and matured on November 30, 2022. As of MarchDecember 31, 2022 and 2021, the aggregate amount of outstanding loans and accrued interest was $1,028,556 and $491,816, respectively.

Joint Venture Agreement

On October 6, 2021 (the “Completion Date”), the Company, Lucidaim Co., Ltd., a Japanese corporation (“Lucidaim,” together with the Company, the “Shareholders”), and BioLite Japan K.K., a Japanese corporation (“Biolite JP”) entered into a Joint Venture Agreement (the “Agreement”). Biolite JP is a private limited company (a Japanese Kabushiki Kaisha) incorporated on December 18, 2018 and at the date of the Agreement has 10,000 ordinary shares authorized, with 3,049 ordinary shares issued and outstanding (the “Ordinary Shares”). Immediately prior to the execution of the Agreement, Lucidaim owned 1,501 Ordinary Shares and the Company owned 1,548 Ordinary Shares. The Shareholders entered into the joint venture to formally reduce to writing their desire to invest in and operate Biolite JP as a joint venture. The business of the joint venture shall be the research and development of drugs, medical device and digital media, investment, fund running and consulting, distribution and marketing of supplements carried on by Biolite JP and its subsidiaries in Japan, or any other territory or businesses as may from time to time be agreed by an amendment to the Agreement. The closing of the transaction is conditioned upon the approval and receipt of all necessary government approvals, which have been received.


Pursuant to the Agreement and the related share transfer agreement, the Company shall transfer 54 of its Ordinary Shares to Lucidaim for no consideration, such that following the transfer, Lucidaim shall own 1,555 Ordinary Shares (51%) and the Company shall own 1,494 Ordinary Shares (49%). Also pursuant to the Agreement, there shall be 3 directors of Biolite JP, consisting of 1 director appointed by the Company and 2 appointed by Lucidiam. The Company shall appoint Eugene Jiang, the Company’s current Chairman and Chief Business Officer and Lucidaim shall appoint Michihito Onishi; the current director of Biolite JP, Toru Seo (who is also a director of BioLite Japan’s other shareholder), is considered the second Lucidaim director. The Agreement further provides that the Company and Biolite JP shall assign the research collaboration and license agreement between them to Biolite JP or prepare the same (the “License Agreement”). The aforementioned transactions occurred on the Completion Date.

As per the Agreement, the Shareholders shall supervise and manage the business and operations of Biolite JP. The directors shall not be entitled to any renumeration for their services as a director and each Shareholder can remove and replace the director he/she/it appointed. If a Shareholder sells or disposes of all of its Ordinary Shares, the director such Shareholder appointed must tender his/her resignation. The Agreement also sets forth certain corporate actions that must be pre-approved by all Shareholders (the “Reserved Matters”). If the Shareholders are unable to make a decision on any Reserved Matter, then either Shareholder can submit a deadlock notice to the other shareholder, 5 days after which they must refer the matter to each Shareholder’s chairman and use good faith to resolve the dispute. If such dispute is not resolved within 10 days thereafter, then either Shareholder can offer to buy all of the other Shareholder’s Ordinary Shares for cash at a specified price; if there is not affirmative acceptance of the sale, the sale shall proceed as set forth in the sale offer.

Each of the Shareholders maintains a pre-emptive right to purchase such number of additional Ordinary Shares as would allow such Shareholder to maintain its ownership percentage in Biolite JP if Biolite JP issues any new Ordinary Shares. However, the Agreement provides that the Company shall lose its pre-emptive rights under certain conditions. The Shareholders also maintain a right of first refusal if the other Shareholder receives an offer to buy such shareholder’s Ordinary Shares.

The Agreement also requires Biolite JP to obtain a bank facility in the amount of JPY 30,460,000 (approximately USD272,000), for its initial working capital purposes. Pursuant to the Agreement, each Shareholder agrees to guarantee such bank facility if the bank requires a guarantee. Accordingly, the Company may be liable for the bank facility in an amount up to JPY 14,925,400 (approximately USD134,000), which represents 49% of the maximum bank facility. The Agreement further provides that Biolite JP shall issue annual dividends at the rate of at least 1.5% of Biolite JP’s profits, if it has sufficient cash to do so.

Pursuant to the Agreement, the Company and Biolite JP agree to use their best efforts to execute the License Agreement by the end of December 2021, but since it was not yet executed, the parties continue such efforts. The Company agreed that any negotiation on behalf of Biolite JP regarding the terms of the License Agreement shall be handled by the directors appointed by Lucidaim. If the Company and such Lucidaim directors do not reach agreement on the terms, Biolite JP may at its sole discretion determine not to execute the License Agreement without any liability to the Company.

The Agreement contains non-solicitation and non-compete clauses for a period of 2 years after a Shareholder or its subsidiaries ceases to be a Shareholder, with such restrictive covenants limited to business within the ophthalmologic filed or central neurological field. Any rights to intellectual property that arise from Biolite JP’s activities, shall belong to Biolite JP.

The Agreement contains standard indemnification terms, except that no indemnifying party shall have any liability for an individual liability unless it exceeds JPY 500,000 (approximately USD4,500) and until the aggregate amount of all liabilities exceeds JPY 2,000,000 (approximately USD18,000) and then only to the extent such liability exceed such limit.

The Company paid $150,000 towards the setup of the joint venture; BioLite Japan’s other shareholder also paid $150,000 after the Letter of Intent was signed.

The Agreement shall continue for 10 years, unless earlier terminated. The Agreement also allows a Shareholder to terminate the agreement upon certain defaults committed by another Shareholder, as set forth in the Agreement.


Agreement with BioLite, Inc.

We entered into a Collaborative Agreement with BioLite, Inc., a company incorporated under the laws of Taiwan, and a subsidiary of the Company, (“BioLite”) on December 29, 2015, and then entered into two addendums to such agreement (as amended and revised, (the “Agreement”). The majority shareholder of BioLite is one of the Company’s subsidiaries, the Company’s Chairman is a director of BioLite and Dr. Jiang, the Company’s Chief Strategy Officer and a director, is the Chairman of BioLite.

Pursuant to the Agreement, the Company acquired the sole licensing rights to develop and commercialize for therapeutic purposes six compounds from BioLite. In accordance with the terms of the Agreement, the Company shall pay BioLite (i) milestone payments of up to $100 million in cash and equity of the Company or equity securities owned by it at various stages on a schedule dictated by BioLite’s achievements of certain milestones, as set forth in the Agreement (the “Milestone Payments”) and (ii) a royalty payment equal to 5% of net sales of the drug products when ABV-1501 is approved for sale in the licensed territories. If BioLite fails to reach any of the milestones in a timely manner, it may not receive the rest of the payments from the Company. According to the Agreement, after Phase II clinical trials are completed, 15% of the Milestone Payment becomes due and shall be paid in two stages: (i) 5% no later than December 31, 2021 (the “December 2021 Payment”) and (ii) 10% no later than December 31, 2020,2022. On February 12, 2022, the Company’s Board of Directors determined that the December 2021 Payment, which is equal to $5,000,000, shall be paid via the cancellation of certain outstanding loan balances was $379,110 and $373,235, respectively.debt, in the amount of $5,000,000, that BioLite owes the Company as of December 31, 2021. On February 22, 2022, the parties entered into an amendment to the Agreement allowing the Company to make all payments due under the Agreement via the forgiveness of debt, in equal value, owed by BioLite to the Company.

 

This was a related party transaction and was conducted at arm’s length. In addition to the Company’s board of directors approving the modification of terms of the Agreement, the Company’s audit committee approved them too. The Board believes it is in the Company’s best interest to cancel outstanding debt and apply it to the December 2021 Payment.

Following such approval, the Company and BioLite entered into an amendment to the Agreement reflecting the modified payment method.

Other related party transactions

Due from related parties:

(1)

 

As of December 31, 2021, ‌due from Rgene amounted to $49,110. Under the terms of the loan agreement, the loan bears interest at 1% per month (or equivalent to 12% per annum) and the maturity date was December 31, 2020. As of December 31, 2021, the outstanding loan balance was $33,520; and accrued interest was $13,701, respectively. On January 1, 2021, BioLite Taiwan entered into a consultant services agreement with Rgene, of which the amount due from Rgene was $1,889 ‌for the year ended December 31, 2021.

‌On June 16, 2022, the Company entered into ‌a one-year convertible loan ‌agreement with Rgene, with a ‌principal amount of $‌1,000,000 to ‌Rgene which bears interest ‌at 5% per annum for the use of working capital that, if fully converted, would result in ABVC owning an additional 6.4% of Rgene. The Company may convert the Note at any time into shares of Rgene’s common stock at either (i) a fixed conversion price equal to $1.00 per share or (ii) 20% discount of the stock price of the then most recent offering, whichever is lower; the conversion price is subject to adjustment as set forth in the Note. The Note includes standard events of default, as well as a cross-default provision pursuant to which a breach of the Service Agreement will trigger an event of default under the convertible note if not cured after 5 business days of written notice regarding the breach is provided. As of ‌December 31, 2022, the outstanding loan balance was $‌ 500,000; and accrued interest was $‌13,819.

‌(2)On July 1, 2020, the Company entered into a loan agreement with BioFirst (Australia) for $361,487 to properly record R&D cost and tax refund allocation based on co-development contract executed on July 24, 2017. The loan was originally set to be mature on September 30, 2021 with an interest rate of 6.5% per annum, but on September 7, 2021, the Company entered into a loan agreement with BioFirst (Australia) for $67,873 to meet its new project needs.   On December 1, 2021, the Company entered into a loan agreement with BioFirst (Australia) for $250,000 to increase the cost for upcoming projects. The loan will be matured on November 30, 2022 with an interest rate of 6.5% per annum. In 2022, the Company entered into several loan agreements with BioFirst (Australia) for a total amount of $‌507,000 to increase the cost for upcoming projects. All the loans period was twelve months with an interest rate of 6.5% per annum. As of ‌December 31, 2022 and 2021, the aggregate amount of outstanding loan and accrued interest was $‌1,028,556 and $491,816, respectively.


‌(3)

On February 24, 2015, BioLite Taiwan and BioHopeKing Corporation (the “BHK”) entered into a co-development agreement, (the “BHK Co-Development Agreement”, see Note 3). The development costs shall be shared 50/50 between BHK and the Company. Under the termsterm of the agreement, BioLite issued relevant development cost to BHK. As of March‌December 31, 20212022 and December 31, 2020, the amount2021, due from BHK was $121,848$‌112,822 and $123,583,$124,972, respectively.

 ●On February 27, 2019, the Company has advanced funds to LBG USA for working capital purpose. The advances bear 0% interest rate and are due on demand. As of March 31, 2021, the outstanding advance balances was $675.

‌(4)On May 8, 2020, the Company and Lucidaim entered into a Letter of Intent (LOI) in regard to a potential joint venture of BioLite Japan. Based on the LOI, each party will advance an aggregated amount of $150,000 to meet BioLite Japan’s working capital needs, which the Company advanced an amount of $100,000$150,000 and the advance bear 0% interest rate. As of March‌December 31, 2021, December 31, 20202022 and December 31, 2019,2021, the outstanding advance balances was $‌0 and $150,000, $150,000 and $0, respectively

On January 26, 2017, BriVision and BioFirst entered into a loan agreement for a total commitment (non-secured indebtedness) of $950,000 to meet its working capital needs. On February 2, 2019, BriVision and BioFirst agreed to extend the remaining loan balance of $693,000 for one year matured on February 1, 2020. Under the terms of the loan agreement, the loan bears interest at 12% per annum. On August 1, 2019, the Company entered into a Conversion Agreements to convert the remaining balance of $693,000 to 99,000 shares of the Company’s common stock at a conversion price of $7.00 per share.

On October 31, 2020, the Company has advanced an aggregate amount of $1,610 to Keypoint for working capital purpose. Under the terms of the loan agreement, the loan bears interest at 6.5% per annum and the loan will be matured on October 30, 2021. As of March 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020, therespectively. The outstanding loan balance was $1,610.reclassified as prepayment for long-term investments due to the debt-to-equity agreement with BioLite Japan, while format document is pending to be executed.

Due to related parties:

(1)
In January 2021, the CompanySince 2019, BioFirst has advanced funds to the Jiangs.Company for working capital purpose. The advances bear 0%interest 1% per month (or equivalent to 12% per annum). As of ‌December 31, 2022 and 2021, the aggregate amount of outstanding balance and accrued interest is $‌188,753, a combination of $147,875 from loan, and $40,878 from expense-sharing, and $40,878, respectively.

(2)As of ‌December 31, 2022 and 2021, BioFirst (Australia) has advanced the Company an aggregate amount of $‌275,900 and $132,443, respectively for new project purpose.

‌(3)Since 2019, the Jiangs advanced funds to the Company for working capital purpose. As of ‌December 31, 2022 and 2021, the outstanding balance due to the Jiangs amounted to $19,789 and $18,750, respectively. These loans bear interest rate of 0% to 1% per month, and are due on demand. As of March 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020, the outstanding advance balances was $2,093 and $0, respectively

 

Since 2017, BioLite Taiwan and BioFirst entered into several loan agreements for an aggregate amount of NT$19,430,000, equivalent to $625,646, to meet its working capital needs. Under the terms of the loan agreements, the loans bear interest at 12% per annum. The term of the loans has various maturity dates through May 27, 2020. On August 1, 2019, the Company entered into a Conversion Agreements to convert the remaining balance of $625,646 to 89,378 shares of the Company’s common stock at a conversion price of $7.00 per share.

Since 2017, BioFirst has also advanced funds to the Company for working capital purpose. The advances bear 0% interest rate and are due on demand. On August 1, 2019, the Company entered into a Conversion Agreements to convert the remaining balance of $597,128 to 85,304 shares of the Company’s common stock at a conversion price of $7.00 per share.

On April 12, 2017, BioLite BVI and BioFirst entered into a loan agreement for NT$30,000,000, equivalent to $987,134 to meet its working capital needs. Under the terms of the loan agreement, the loan bears interest at 1% per month (or equivalent to 12% per annum). BioLite BVI and BioFirst extended the loan with the same interest rate and amount for one year. The loan will be matured on May 11, 2019. On May 12, 2019, the two parties extended the loan with the same interest rate and amount for one year. The loan will be matured on May 11, 2020. On August 1, 2019, the Company entered into a Conversion Agreement to convert the remaining balance of $987,134 to 141,020 shares of the Company’s common stock at a conversion price of $7.00 per share.

On July 24, 2017, BriVision entered into a collaborative agreement (the “BioFirst Collaborative Agreement”) with BioFirst (See Note 3). On September 25, 2017, BioFirst has delivered all research, technical, data and development data to BriVision, and the Company has recorded the full amount of $3,000,000 due to BioFirst. On June 30, 2019, the Company entered into a Stock Purchase Agreement with BioFirst, pursuant to which the Company agreed to issue 428,571 shares of the Company’s common stock to BioFirst in consideration for $3,000,000 owed by the Company to BioFirst.

Since 2019, BioFirst has also advanced funds to the Company for working capital purpose. The advances bear interest 1% per month (or equivalent to 12% per annum). As of March 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020, the aggregate amount of outstanding balance and accrued interest is $23,647 and $23,647, respectively.

‌(4)Since 2018, Mr. Tsung-Shann Jiang (Director), Mr. Chang-Jen Jiang (Director), Ms. Shu-Ling Jiang, and Ms. Mei-Ling Jiang (collectively, the “Jiangs”) have entered into various loans with the Company for working capital purpose in an aggregate amount of $795,340. These loans bear interest at 12% per annum and are due on demand. On August 1, 2019, the Company entered into a Conversion Agreements to convert the remaining balance of $837,726 to 119,675 shares of the Company’s common stock at a conversion price of $7.00 per share.

Since 2018, the Jiangs have advanced funds to the Company for working capital purpose in an aggregate amount of $353,050. The advances bear 0% interest rate and are due on demand. On August 4, 2019, the Company entered into a Conversion Agreement to convert the remaining balance of $353,050 to 50,436 shares of the Company’s common stock at a conversion price of $7.00 per share.

On November 15, 2019, the Jiangs advanced funds to the Company for working capital purpose in an aggregate amount of NTD $300,000, equivalent to $10,680, The advances bear 1% interest rate per month.


As of March 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020, the outstanding balance due to the Jiangs amounted to $18,750 and $16,627, respectively. These loans bear interest rate of 0% to 1% per month, and are due on demand.

Since 2018, the Company’s shareholders have advanced funds to the Company for working capital purposes.purpose. The advances bear interest rate from‌from 12% to 13.6224% per annum. As of March‌December 31, 20212022 and December 31, 2020,2021, the outstanding principal and accrued interest was $163,566$‌151,450 and $166,261,$168,131, respectively. Interest expenses in connection with these loans were $5,298$‌22,779 and $5,269$‌22,779 for the three months‌years ended March‌December 31, 2022 and 2021, and 2020, respectively.

 

On January 21, 2019, the Company received a loan in the amount of $500,000 from Cathay Bank (the “Bank”) pursuant to a business loan agreement (the “Loan Agreement”) entered by and between the Company and Bank on January 8, 2019 and a promissory note (the “Note”) executed by the Company on the same day. The Loan Agreement provides for a revolving line of credit in the principal amount of $1,000,000 with a maturity date (the “Maturity Date”) of January 1, 2020. The Note executed in connection with the Loan Agreement bears an interest rate (the “Regular Interest Rate”) equal to the sum of one percent (1%) and the prime rate as published in the Wall Street Journal (the “Index”) and the accrued interest shall become payable each month from February 1, 2019. If the Company defaults on the Note, the default interest rate shall become five percent (5%) plus the Regular Interest Rate.

In connection with the Note and Loan Agreement, on January 8, 2019, each of Dr. Tsung Shann Jiang (the Company’s majority shareholder, Chief Strategy Officer and a Director, who is also the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of BioLite Holding, Inc the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of BioLite Holding, Inc.) and Dr. George Lee (Chairman of the board of directors of BioKey, Inc.), executed a commercial guaranty (the “Guaranty”) to guaranty the loans for the Company pursuant to the Loan Agreement and Note, severally and individually, in the amount not exceeding $500,000 each until the entire Note plus interest are fully paid and satisfied. On December 29, 2020, the Company entered into a new loan extension agreement and assignment of deposit account with the Bank, which allowed Dr. Tsung Shann Jiang and Dr. George Lee to be removed as guarantees from the list of Guaranty.

In addition, on January 8, 2019, each of the Company and BioKey, signed a commercial security agreement (the “Security Agreement”) to secure the loans under the Loan Agreement and the Note. Pursuant to the Security Agreements, each of the Company and BioKey (each, a “Grantor”, and collectively, the “Grantors”) granted security interest in the collaterals as defined therein, comprised of almost all of the assets of each Grantor, to secure such loans for the benefit of the Bank. On March 31, 2020, the Company extended the Loan Agreement with the same term for seven months, which is due on October 31, 2020. On April 8, 2020 and October 3, 2020, the Company repaid an aggregated principal amount of $350,000. The outstanding loan balance was $650,000 and $650,000 as of March 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020, respectively.

On May 8, 2020, the Company and Lucidaim entered into a Letter of Intent (LOI) in regard to a potential joint venture of BioLite Japan, an entity controlled by the Company’s controlling beneficiary shareholder. Based on the LOI, each party will advance an aggregated amount of $150,000 to meet BioLite Japan’s working capital needs, which the Company advanced an amount of $150,000 and the advance bears 0% interest rate.

Promoters and Certain Control Persons

 

None of our management or other control persons were “promoters” (within the meaning of Rule 405 under the Securities Act), and none of such persons took the initiative in the formation of our business or received any of our debt or equity securities or any of the proceeds from the sale of such securities in exchange for the contribution of property or services, during the last five years.


DESCRIPTION OF SECURITIES

 

General

 

The Company’s authorized capital stock consists of:

 

100,000,000 shares of Common Stock, $0.001 par value per share; and

 

20,000,000 shares of preferred stock, $0.001 par value per share.

 

Our Common Stock may be issued for such consideration as may be fixed from time to time by our board of directors. Our board of directors may issue such shares of our Common Stock in one or more series, with such voting powers, shall be stated in the resolution or resolutions.

 

Common Stock

 

As of the date hereof, there are 24,420,52633,080,740 shares of our Common Stock issued and outstanding. Holders of Common Stock are entitled to cast one vote for each share on all matters submitted to a vote of shareholders,stockholders, including the election of directors. The holders of Common Stock are entitled to receive ratably such dividends, if any, as may be declared by the Board out of funds legally available therefore. Such holders do not have any preemptive or other rights to subscribe for additional shares. All holders of Common Stock are entitled to share ratably in any assets for distribution to shareholdersstockholders upon the liquidation, dissolution or winding up of the Company, subject to prior distribution rights of preferred stock then outstanding. There are no conversions, redemptions or sinking fund provisions applicable to the Common Stock. All outstanding shares of Common Stock are fully paid and non-assessable.

 

Preferred Stock

 

As of the date hereof, there is no preferred stock outstanding, including the class of Series A Convertible Preferred Stock.outstanding. Pursuant to the articles of incorporation of the Company, the Board of Directors is expressly granted the authority to issue preferred stock up to 20,000,000 shares and prescribe its designations. On June 28, 2019, the Company filed a certificate of designation (the “Series A COD”) of Series A Convertible Preferred Stock (the “Series A Stock”) with the Secretary of the State of Nevada, pursuant to which the Company designated 3,500,000 shares of preferred stock as Series A Stock, par value of $0.001 per share.

 

The following description of preferred stock and the Series A Stock isdescription of the terms of any particular series of preferred stock of the Company are not complete. The Company’s Board of Directors has the authority, without further action by the shareholders,stockholders, to issue shares of preferred stock in one or more other series and to fix the rights, preferences, privileges and restrictions granted to or imposed upon the preferred stock. Any or all of these rights may be greater than the rights of the Company’s Common Stock. These descriptions are qualified in their entirety by reference to the Company’s Articles of Incorporation, as amended, and the certificate of designation relating to each such series.

 

Conversion Rights

 

Each share of Series A Convertible Preferred Stock is initially convertible at any time at the option of the holders into one share of Common Stock and automatically converts into one share of Common Stock (the “Conversion Ratio”) on its four-year anniversary of issuance and without the payment of additional consideration by the holder thereof.

 

No fractional shares shall be issued upon conversion of Series A Convertible Preferred Stock into Common Stock and no payment. In lieu of delivering fractional shares, we will pay to the holder, to the extent permitted by law, an amount in cash equal to the current fair market value of such fractional share as determined in good faith by our Board.

 

No Maturity, Sinking Fund or Mandatory Redemption

 

The Series A Convertible Preferred Stock has no maturity date and we are not required to redeem the Series A Convertible Preferred Stock at any time. However, we may choose to convert all the outstanding shares of the Series A Convertible Preferred Stock into our Common Stock at the same Conversion Ratio at any time, provided that we have prepaid and distributed all the dividend accrued and to be accrued at the end of the four-year period since issuance thereof. Accordingly, the Series A Convertible Preferred Stock will remain outstanding until automatically converted to Common Stock on the four-year anniversary of issuance, unless the holders of the Series A Convertible Preferred Stock or we choose to convert the Series A Convertible Preferred Stock into the Common Stock. The Series A Convertible Preferred Stock is also not subject to any sinking fund.


Voting Rights

 

Holders of shares of the Series A Convertible Preferred Stock vote on anshall have the same voting rights as converted basis withof the holders of our Common Stock.

 

Holders of shares of Series A Stock were entitled to receive a cash dividend at the per annum rate of an amount equal to the product of 5% multiplied by the public offering price per share of the shares that were to be sold pursuant to the registration statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-228387) initially filed on November 14, 2018, but has since been withdrawn. Therefore, the Series A Stock is not eligible for dividends at this time.

Warrants and Options

 

As of the date hereof, we have 993,5751,307,102 and 4,337,2897,038,442 options and warrants, respectively of the Company outstanding. We are not registering shares of common stock underlying any warrants in this S1.

 

Transfer Agent

 

The transfer agent and registrar for our Common Stock is: Olde Monmouth StockVStock Transfer, Inc.;LLC; Address: 200 Memorial Pkwy, Atlantic Highlands, NJ 07716;18 Lafayett Place, Woodmere, New York 11598; Phone: (732) 872-2727;(212) 828-8436; website:www.oldemonmouth.com. www.VStockTransfer.com

 

Anti-Takeover Provisions

 

Nevada Revised Statutes

 

Acquisition of Controlling Interest Statutes. Nevada’s “acquisition of controlling interest” statutes contain provisions governing the acquisition of a controlling interest in certain Nevada corporations. These “control share” laws provide generally that any person that acquires a “controlling interest” in certain Nevada corporations may be denied certain voting rights, unless a majority of the disinterested shareholdersstockholders of the corporation elects to restore such voting rights. These statutes provide that a person acquires a “controlling interest” whenever a person acquires shares of a subject corporation that, but for the application of these provisions of the Nevada Revised Statutes, would enable that person to exercise (1) one-fifth or more, but less than one-third, (2) one-third or more, but less than a majority or (3) a majority or more, of all of the voting power of the corporation in the election of directors. Once an acquirer crosses one of these thresholds, shares which it acquired in the transaction taking it over the threshold and within the 90 days immediately preceding the date when the acquiring person acquired or offered to acquire a controlling interest become “control shares” to which the voting restrictions described above apply. Our articles of incorporation and bylaws currently contain no provisions relating to these statutes, and unless our articles of incorporation or bylaws in effect on the tenth day after the acquisition of a controlling interest were to provide otherwise, these laws would apply to us if we were to (i) have 200 or more shareholdersstockholders of record (at least 100 of which have addresses in the State of Nevada appearing on our stock ledger) and (ii) do business in the State of Nevada directly or through an affiliated corporation. If these laws were to apply to us, they might discourage companies or persons interested in acquiring a significant interest in or control of the Company, regardless of whether such acquisition may be in the interest of our shareholders.stockholders.

 

Combinations with Interested ShareholdersStockholders Statutes. Nevada’s “combinations with interested shareholders”stockholders” statutes prohibit certain business “combinations” between certain Nevada corporations and any person deemed to be an “interested shareholder”stockholder” for two years after such person first becomes an “interested shareholder”stockholder” unless (i) the corporation’s board of directors approves the combination (or the transaction by which such person becomes an “interested shareholder”stockholder”) in advance, or (ii) the combination is approved by the board of directors and sixty percent of the corporation’s voting power not beneficially owned by the interested shareholder,stockholder, its affiliates and associates. Furthermore, in the absence of prior approval certain restrictions may apply even after such two-year period. For purposes of these statutes, an “interested shareholder”stockholder” is any person who is (x) the beneficial owner, directly or indirectly, of ten percent or more of the voting power of the outstanding voting shares of the corporation, or (y) an affiliate or associate of the corporation and at any time within the two previous years was the beneficial owner, directly or indirectly, of ten percent or more of the voting power of the then outstanding shares of the corporation. The definition of the term “combination” is sufficiently broad to cover most significant transactions between the corporation and an “interested shareholder”stockholder”. Subject to certain timing requirements set forth in the statutes, a corporation may elect not to be governed by these statutes. We have not included any such provision in our articles of incorporation.

 

The effect of these statutes may be to potentially discourage parties interested in taking control of the Company from doing so if it cannot obtain the approval of our board of directors.


DESCRIPTION OF SECURITIES THAT WE ARE OFFERING

 

We are


SELLING STOCKHOLDERS

This prospectus relates to the offering 1,000,000 Units in this offering at an assumed initial offering priceand sale, from time to time, of $6.25 per Unit. Each Unit consistsup to $3,175,000 of (a) one shareshares of common stock, (b) one Series A Warrants to purchase one share of common stock at an assumed public exercise price equal to $7.50 per share, exercisable until the fifth anniversaryour Common Stock issuable upon conversion of the issuance date, and (c) one Series B WarrantsNote, up to purchase one share of common stock at an exercise price equal to $10.00 per share, exercisable until the fifth anniversary of the issuance date and subject to certain adjustment and cashless exercise provisions as described herein. The common stock and the Purchase Warrants are immediately separable and will be issued separately, but will be purchased together in this offering. We do not intend to apply for any listing of either of the Purchase Warrants on the Nasdaq Capital Market or any other securities exchange or nationally recognized trading system, and we do not expect a market to develop for the Series A Warrants or the Series B Warrants. We are also registering the5,291,667 shares of Common Stock underlying the Warrant and up to 211,667 shares of Common Stock underlying the PA Warrant held by the stockholders named in the table below. We are registering the shares to permit the selling stockholders and their pledgees, donees, transferees and other successors-in-interest that receive their shares from a selling stockholder as a gift, partnership distribution or other non-sale related transfer after the date of this prospectus to resell the shares when and as they deem appropriate in the manner described in the “Plan of Distribution.” As of April 20, 2023, there were 33,080,740 shares of Common Stock issued and outstanding.

The following table sets forth:

the name of the selling stockholders,

the number of shares of our Common Stock that the selling stockholders beneficially owned prior to the offering for resale of the shares under this prospectus,

the maximum number of shares of our Common Stock that may be offered for resale for the account of the selling stockholders under this prospectus, and

the number and percentage of shares of our Common Stock beneficially owned by the selling stockholders after the offering of the shares (assuming all of the offered shares are sold by the selling stockholders).

Unless set forth below, the selling stockholders received their securities in a private transaction with the Company.

Each selling stockholder may offer for sale all or part of the Shares from time to time. The table below assumes that the selling stockholders will sell all of the Shares offered for sale. A selling stockholder is under no obligation, however, to sell any Shares pursuant to this prospectus.

Name of selling stockholder Shares of
Common
Stock
Beneficially
Owned Prior
To offering
  Maximum
Number of
Shares of
Common
Stock To Be
Sold
  Number of
Shares of
Common
Stock
Owned
After
offering (1)
  Percentage
Ownership
After
offering (2)
 
Lind Global Fund II LP (3)             8,819,455   8,819,455   -   9.99%
Wilmington Capital Securities, LLC (4)  -   211,667(4)  -   * 

*Represents Beneficial Ownership of Less Than One Percent of Our Outstanding Shares.

(1)Since we do not have the ability to control how many, if any, of their shares each of the selling stockholders listed above will sell, we have assumed that the selling stockholders will sell all of the shares offered herein for purposes of determining how many shares they will own after the offering and their percentage of ownership following the offering.
(2)All percentages have been rounded up to the nearest one hundredth of one percent.
(3)Consists of 3,527,778  shares of Common Stock issuable upon the conversion of the Note, which is calculated based on the initial Conversion Price (as defined in the Note) of $1.05 per share, and 5,291,677 shares of Common Stock underlying the Warrant. Both the Note and the Warrant contain blocker provisions such that they cannot be exercised to the extent such exercise would cause the holder, together with its affiliates, to beneficially own in excess of 9.99% of the outstanding Equity Interests (as defined in the Note and Warrant) of such class. The number of shares of Common Stock set forth in second and fourth columns do not give effect to such blocker provisions, but the percentages set forth in fifth column do give effect to such blocker provisions. The address for Lind Global Fund II LP is c/o The Lind Partners LLC,  444 Madison Avenue, Floor 41, New York, NY 10022.

(4)Represents shares of Common Stock underlying the PA Warrant. The PA Warrant contains blocker provisions such that they cannot be exercised to the extent such exercise would cause the holder, together with its affiliates, to beneficially own in excess of 9.99% of the outstanding Equity Interests (as defined in the PA Warrant) of such class. The number of shares of Common Stock set forth in second and fourth columns do not give effect to such blocker provisions, but the percentages set forth in fifth column do give effect to such blocker provisions. Investment and voting control held by John Mikes, president. The address for Wilmington Capital Securities, LLC is 600 Old Country Road, Suite 200, Garden City, NY 11530. Wilmington is a FINRA registered broker dealer.


PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION

The selling stockholders and any of their respective pledgees, donees, assignees and other successors-in-interest may, from time to time, upon exercisesell any or all of their shares of common stock on any stock exchange, market or trading facility on which the shares are traded or in private transactions. These sales may be at fixed or negotiated prices. The selling stockholders may use any one or more of the Purchase Warrantsfollowing methods when selling shares:

ordinary brokerage transactions and transactions in which the broker-dealer solicits the purchaser;

block trades in which the broker-dealer will attempt to sell the shares as agent but may position and resell a portion of the block as principal;

facilitate the transaction;

purchases by a broker-dealer as principal and resale by the broker-dealer for its account;

an exchange distribution in accordance with the rules of the applicable exchange;

privately-negotiated transactions;

broker-dealers may agree with the selling stockholders to sell a specified number of such shares at a stipulated price per share;

through the writing of options on the shares;

a combination of any such methods of sale; and

any other method permitted pursuant to applicable law.

The selling stockholders may also sell shares under Rule 144 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), if available, rather than under this prospectus. The selling stockholders shall have the sole and absolute discretion not to accept any purchase offer or make any sale of shares if it deems the purchase price to be unsatisfactory at any particular time.

The selling stockholders or their respective pledgees, donees, transferees or other successors in interest, may also sell the shares directly to market makers acting as principals and/or broker-dealers acting as agents for themselves or their customers. Such broker-dealers may receive compensation in the form of discounts, concessions or commissions from the selling stockholders and/or the purchasers of shares for whom such broker-dealers may act as agents or to whom they sell as principal or both, which compensation as to a particular broker-dealer might be in excess of customary commissions. Market makers and block purchasers purchasing the shares will do so for their own account and at their own risk. It is possible that a selling stockholder will attempt to sell shares of common stock in block transactions to market makers or other purchasers at a price per share which may be below the then existing market price. We cannot assure that all or any of the shares offered hereby.in this prospectus will be issued to, or sold by, the selling stockholders. The selling stockholders and any brokers, dealers or agents, upon effecting the sale of any of the shares offered in this prospectus, may be deemed to be “underwriters” as that term is defined under the Securities Act, the Exchange Act and the rules and regulations of such acts. In such event, any commissions received by such broker-dealers or agents and any profit on the resale of the shares purchased by them may be deemed to be underwriting commissions or discounts under the Securities Act.

 

Common StockWe are required to pay all fees and expenses incident to the registration of the shares, including fees and disbursements of counsel to the selling stockholders, but excluding brokerage commissions or underwriter discounts.

 

The material termsselling stockholders, alternatively, may sell all or any part of the shares offered in this prospectus through an underwriter. The selling stockholders have not entered into any agreement with a prospective underwriter and there is no assurance that any such agreement will be entered into.

The selling stockholders may pledge their shares to their brokers under the margin provisions of our Common Stockcustomer agreements. If a selling stockholder defaults on a margin loan, the broker may, from time to time, offer and eachsell the pledged shares. The selling stockholders and any other class of our securities that qualifies or limits our Common Stock are describedpersons participating in the section entitled “Descriptionsale or distribution of Securities” in this prospectus.

Purchase Warrantsthe shares will be subject to be Issued in this Offering

The following summary of certain terms andapplicable provisions of the Purchase Warrants offered hereby isExchange Act, and the rules and regulations under such act, including, without limitation, Regulation M. These provisions may restrict certain activities of, and limit the timing of purchases and sales of any of the shares by, the selling stockholders or any other such person. In the event that any of the selling stockholders are deemed an affiliated purchaser or distribution participant within the meaning of Regulation M, then the selling stockholders will not completebe permitted to engage in short sales of common stock. Furthermore, under Regulation M, persons engaged in a distribution of securities are prohibited from simultaneously engaging in market making and iscertain other activities with respect to such securities for a specified period of time prior to the commencement of such distributions, subject to and qualifiedspecified exceptions or exemptions. In addition, if a short sale is deemed to be a stabilizing activity, then the selling stockholders will not be permitted to engage in its entirety by,a short sale of our common stock. All of these limitations may affect the provisionsmarketability of the warrant agent agreement betweenshares.

If a selling stockholder notifies us and Olde Monmouth, as warrant agent, andthat it has a material arrangement with a broker-dealer for the formresale of Purchase Warrant, both of which are filed as exhibitsthe common stock, then we would be required to amend the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part. Prospective investors should carefully reviewpart, and file a prospectus supplement to describe the termsagreements between the selling stockholder and provisions set forth in the warrant agent agreement, including the annexes thereto, and form of Purchase Warrant.broker-dealer.

 

Series A Warrants Offered HerebyIn compliance with the guidelines of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc., or FINRA, the maximum consideration or discount to be received by any member of the FINRA may not exceed 8% of the aggregate amount of the securities offered pursuant to this prospectus.

 

The Series A Warrants entitle


MARKET FOR OUR COMMON STOCK, DIVIDENDS AND

RELATED STOCKHOLDER INFORMATION

Market Information. As of August 3, 2021, our common stock, par value $.001 per share (the “Common Stock”), is currently quoted on the registered holder to purchase one shareNasdaq Capital Markets under the symbol “ABVC”.

Holders. As of April 20, 2023, we had approximately 667 shareholders of record of our common stock.

Dividends. Holders of our common stock at a price equal to $7.50 per share, subject to adjustment as discussed below, terminating at 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on the fifth (5th) anniversary of the date of issuance.

The exercise price and number of shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of the Series A Warrants may be adjusted in certain circumstances, including in the event of a stock dividend, extra common dividend on or recapitalization, reorganization, merger or consolidation.

The Series A Warrants may be exercised upon surrender of the warrant certificate on or prior to the expiration date at the offices of the Warrant Agent, with the exercise form attached to the warrant certificate completed and executed as indicated, accompanied by full payment of the exercise price, by certified or official bank check payable to us, for the number of warrants being exercised. The Series A Warrant holders do not have the rights or privileges of holders of common stock and any voting rights until they exercise their Series A Warrants and receive shares of common stock. After the issuance of shares of common stock upon exercise of the Series A warrants, each holder will be entitled to one vote for each share held of record on all matters to be voted on by stockholders.

No Series A Warrants will be exercisable for cash unless at the time of the exercise a prospectus or prospectus relating to common stock issuable upon exercise of the Series A Warrants is current and the common stock has been registered or qualified or deemed to be exempt under the securities laws of the state of residence of the holder of the warrants. Under the terms of the Series A Warrant Agent Agreement, we have agreed to use our best efforts to maintain a current prospectus or prospectus relating to common stock issuable upon exercise of the Series A Warrants until the expiration of the Series A Warrants. Additionally, the market for the Series A Warrants may be limited if the prospectus or prospectus relating to the common stock issuable upon exercise of the Series A Warrants is not current or if the common stock is not qualified or exempt from qualification in the jurisdictions in which the holders of such Series A Warrants reside. In no event will the registered holders of a Series A Warrant beare entitled to receive a net-cash settlement in lieusuch dividends as may be declared by our board of physical settlement in shares of our common stock.


directors. No fractional shares of common stock will be issued upon exercise of the Series A Warrants. If, upon exercise of the Series A Warrants, a holder would be entitled to receive a fractional interest in a share, we will, upon exercise, round down to the nearest whole number the number of shares of common stock to be issued to the Warrant holder. If multiple Series A Warrants are exercised by the holder at the same time, we will aggregate the number of whole shares issuable upon exercise of all the Series A Warrants.

The price of the Series A Warrants has been arbitrarily established by us and the Underwriter after giving consideration to numerous factors, including but not limited to, the pricing of the Units in this offering. No particular weighting was given to any one aspect of those factors considered. We have not performed any method of valuation of the warrants.

The Series A Warrant form contains a governing law and forum selection provision which provides that, subject to applicable law, any action, proceeding or claim against us or the warrant agent arising out of or relating in any way to the warrant agreement shall be brought and enforced in the state and federal courts sitting in the City of New York, Borough of Manhattan, and that each party irrevocably submits to such jurisdiction, which jurisdiction shall be the exclusive forum for any such action, proceeding or claim. Each party to the Series A Warrant irrevocably waives personal service of process and consents to process being served in any such suit, action or proceeding by mailing a copy thereof via registered or certified mail or overnight delivery (with evidence of delivery) to such party at the address in effect for notices to it under the warrant and agrees that such service shall constitute good and sufficient service of process and notice thereof. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the exclusive forum provision described above shall not apply to suits brought to enforce a duty or liability created by the Exchange Act, any other claim for which the federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction or any complaint asserting a cause of action arising under the Securities Act against us or any of our directors, officers, other employees or agents. Section 27 of the Exchange Act creates exclusive federal jurisdiction over all suits brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Exchange Act or the rules and regulations thereunder.

Series B Warrants Offered Hereby

The Series B Warrants entitle each holder to purchase one share ofdividends on our common stock at an exercise price of $10.00 per share, subject to adjustment as discussed below, terminating at 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on the fifth (5th) anniversary of the date of issuance.

The exercise pricehave ever been paid, and number of shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of the Series B Warrants may be adjusted in certain circumstances, including in the event of a stock dividend, extra common dividend on or recapitalization, reorganization, merger or consolidation.

The Series B Warrants may be exercised upon surrender of the warrant certificate on or prior to the expiration date at the offices of the Warrant Agent, with the exercise form attached to the warrant certificate completed and executed as indicated, accompanied by full payment of the exercise price, by certified or official bank check payable to us, for the number of warrants being exercised. The Series B Warrant holderswe do not have the rights or privileges of holders of common stock and any voting rights until they exercise their Series B Warrants and receive shares of common stock. After the issuance of shares of common stock upon exercise of the Series B warrants, each holderanticipate that dividends will be entitled to one vote for each share held of recordpaid on all matters to be voted on by stockholders.

No Series B Warrants will be exercisable for cash unless at the time of the exercise a prospectus or prospectus relating to common stock issuable upon exercise of the Series B Warrants is current and the common stock has been registered or qualified or deemed to be exempt under the securities laws of the state of residence of the holder of the warrants. Under the terms of the Series B Warrant Agent Agreement, we have agreed to use our best efforts to maintain a current prospectus or prospectus relating to common stock issuable upon exercise of the Series B Warrants until the expiration of the Series B Warrants. Additionally, the market for the Series B Warrants may be limited if the prospectus or prospectus relating to the common stock issuable upon exercise of the Series B Warrants is not current or if the common stock is not qualified or exempt from qualification in the jurisdictions in which the holders of such Series B Warrants reside. In no event will the registered holders of a Series B Warrant be entitled to receive a net-cash settlement in lieu of physical settlement in shares of our common stock.


No fractional shares of common stock will be issued upon exercise of the Series B Warrants. If, upon exercise of the Series B Warrants, a holder would be entitled to receive a fractional interest in a share, we will, upon exercise, round down to the nearest whole number the number of shares of common stock to be issued to the Warrant holder. If multiple Series B Warrants are exercised by the holder at the same time, we will aggregate the number of whole shares issuable upon exercise of all the Series B Warrants.

The price of the Series B Warrants has been arbitrarily established by us and the Underwriter after giving consideration to numerous factors, including but not limited to, the pricing of the Units in this offering. No particular weighting was given to any one aspect of those factors considered. We have not performed any method of valuation of the warrants.

If we fail to maintain a current prospectus or prospectus relating to the common stock issuable upon the exercise of the Series B Warrants, such holders may exercise their Series B warrants on a “cashless” basis pursuant to a formula set forth in the terms of the Series B Warrants. Additionally, holders of Series B Warrants may exercise such warrants on a “cashless” basis upon the earlier of (i) 15 trading days from the issuance date of such warrant or (ii) the time when $10.0 million of volume is traded in our common stock if the volume weighted average price (“VWAP”) of our common stock on any trading day on or after the date of issuance fails to exceed the then current exercise price of the Series B Warrant (subject to adjustment for any stock splits, stock dividends, stock combinations, recapitalizations and similar events). In such event, the aggregate number of shares of common stock issuable in such cashless exercise shall equal the product of (x) the aggregate number of shares of common stock that would be issuable upon exercise of the Series B Warrant in accordance with its terms if such exercise were by means of a cash exercise rather than a cashless exercise and (y) 1.00.

Warrant Agent

The Series A Warrants and Series B Warrants will be issued in registered form under a warrant agent agreement (the “Warrant Agent Agreement”) between us and our warrant agent, Olde Monmouth Stock Transfer Co., Inc. (the “Warrant Agent”). The Purchase Warrants will be issued in book-entry form and shall initially be represented only by one or more global warrants deposited with the warrant agent, as custodian on behalf of The Depository Trust Company, or DTC, and registered in the name of Cede & Co., a nominee of DTC, or as otherwise directed by DTC. The material provisions of the warrants are set forth herein and a copy of the Warrant Agent Agreement has been filed as an exhibit to the Registration Statement on Form S-1, of which this prospectus forms a part. The Company and the Warrant Agent may amend or supplement the Warrant Agent Agreement without the consent of any holder for the purpose of curing any ambiguity, or curing, correcting or supplementing any defective provision contained therein or adding or changing any other provisions with respect to matters or questions arising under the Warrant Agent Agreement as the parties thereto may deem necessary or desirable and that the parties determine, in good faith, shall not adversely affect the interest of the Series A Warrant or Series B Warrant holders. All other amendments and supplements to the Warrant Agent Agreement shall require the vote or written consent of holders of at least 50.1% of each of the Series A Warrants and Series B Warrants.


SHARES ELIGIBLE FOR FUTURE SALE

Prior to this offering, only a limited public market for our Common Stock existed on the OTCQB. Future sales of substantial amounts of our Common Stock in the public market, including shares issued upon exercise of outstanding warrants, or the anticipation of such sales, could adversely affect prevailing market prices of our Common Stock from time to time and could impair our ability to raise equity capital in the future.

Upon the closing of this offering, we will have 25,420,526 shares of our Common Stock outstanding (assuming no exercise of the underwriter’s option to purchase additional shares of Common Stock and/or Purchase Warrants). All of the shares sold in this offering will be freely tradable unless purchased by our “affiliates,” as that term is defined in Rule 144 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act.

Lock-Up

For further details on the lock-up agreements, see the section entitled “Underwriting – Lock Up Agreements.”

Rule 144

In general, under Rule 144 of the Securities Act, as in effect on the date of this prospectus, any person who is not our affiliate at any time during the preceding three months, and who has beneficially owned their shares for at least six months, including the holding period of any prior owner other than one of our affiliates, would be entitled to sell an unlimited number of shares of our Common Stock provided current public information about us is available, and, after owning such shares for at least one year, including the holding period of any prior owner other than one of our affiliates, would be entitled to sell an unlimited number of shares of our Common Stock without restriction.

A person who is our affiliate or who was our affiliate at any time during the preceding three months, and who has beneficially owned restricted securities for at least six months, including the holding period of any prior owner other than one of our affiliates, is entitled to sell within any three-month period a number of shares that does not exceed the greater of:

1% of the number of shares of our Common Stock then outstanding, which will equal approximately 254,205 shares, or

the average weekly trading volume of our Common Stock during the four calendar weeks preceding the filing of a Notice of Proposed Sale of Securities pursuant to Rule 144 with respect to the sale.

Sales under Rule 144 by our affiliates are also subject to manner of sale provisions and notice requirements and to the availability of current public information about us.

Rule 701

In general, under Rule of the Securities Act, any of our employees, directors, consultants or advisors who purchased shares from us in connection with a qualified compensatory stock or option plan or other written agreement and in compliance with Rule 701, is eligible to resell those shares 90 days after the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part in reliance on Rule 144, but without compliance with the various restrictions, including the holding period, contained in Rule 144.


CERTAIN U.S. FEDERAL INCOME TAX CONSIDERATIONS

This section summarizes certain U.S. federal income tax considerations relating to the purchase, ownership and disposition of our Common Stock. This summary does not provide a complete analysis of all potential tax considerations. The information provided below is based upon provisions of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), Treasury regulations promulgated thereunder and administrative rulings and judicial decisions, all as currently in effect. These authorities may change at any time, possibly on a retroactive basis, or the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”), might interpret the existing authorities differently. In either case, the tax considerations of purchasing, owning or disposing of Common Stock could differ from those described below.

This discussion is addressed only to U.S. holders (defined below) which hold our shares of Common Stock as a “capital asset” within the meaning of Section 1221 of the Code (generally, property held for investment). This discussion does not address all of the U.S. federal income tax considerations that might be relevant to a beneficial owner in light of such beneficial owner’s particular circumstances or to beneficial owners subject to special treatment under the U.S. federal income tax laws, including:

a broker, dealer or trader in securities, currencies, commodities, or notional principal contracts;

a bank, financial institution or insurance company;

a regulated investment company, a real estate investment trust or grantor trust;

a tax-exempt entity or organization, including an individual retirement account or Roth IRA as defined in Section 408 or 408A of the Code, respectively;

a person holding the Common Stock as part of a hedging, integrated, or conversion transaction or a straddle, or a person deemed to sell Common Stock under the constructive sale provisions of the Code;

a trader in securities that has elected the mark-to-market method of tax accounting for securities;

an entity that is treated as a partnership or other pass-through entity for U.S. federal income tax purposes;

a person who is a partner or investor in a partnership or other pass-through entity that holds the Common Stock;

a U.S. person whose “functional currency” is not the U.S. dollar;

a controlled foreign corporation or passive foreign investment company;

a qualified foreign pension fund or an entity that is wholly owned by one or more qualified foreign pension funds; or

a U.S. expatriate.

For purposes of this discussion, a “U.S. holder” is a beneficial owner of a share of Common Stock that is, for U.S. federal income tax purposes:

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

a corporation (or any other entity treated as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes) created or organized in or under the laws of the United States, any state thereof or the District of Columbia;

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

a trust if (1) it is subject to the primary supervision of a court within the United States and one or more U.S. persons have the authority to control all substantial decisions of the trust or (2) it has a valid election in effect under applicable U.S. Treasury regulations to be treated as a U.S. person.

For purposes of this discussion, a “non-U.S. holder” is a beneficial owner of a share of Common Stock that is (i) a foreign corporation, (ii) a nonresident alien individual, or (iii) a foreign estate or trust that in each case is not subject to U.S. federal income tax on a net-income basis on income or gain from a share of Common Stock.

If a partnership holds shares of Common Stock, the tax treatment of a partner will generally depend upon the status of the partner and the activities of the partnership. A partnership holding shares of Common Stock or a partner therein should consult its own tax advisors as to the tax consequences of holding and disposing of shares of Common Stock.

You are urged to consult your tax advisor with respect to the application of the U.S. federal income tax laws to your particular situation, as well as any tax consequences of the purchase, ownership and disposition of our Common Stock arising under the U.S. federal estate or gift tax rules or under the laws of any U.S. state or local or any non-U.S. or other taxing jurisdiction or under any applicable tax treaty.

Certain U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations for U.S. Holders of Common Stock

Dividends on our Common Stock

We do not expect to declare or pay any distributions on our Common Stock in the foreseeable future. If we do make any distributions on shares of our Common Stock, however, such distributions will be includible in the gross income of a U.S. holder as ordinary dividend income to the extent paid out of current or accumulated earnings and profits, as determined

Securities Authorized for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Any portion of a distribution in excess of current or accumulated earnings and profits would be treated as a return of the holder’s tax basis in its Common Stock and then as gain from the sale or exchange of the Common Stock. Under current law, if certain requirements are met, a preferential U.S. federal income tax rate will apply to any dividends paid to a holder of Common Stock who is a U.S. individual.Issuance under Equity Compensation Plans

 

Distributions to U.S. holders that are corporate stockholders, constituting dividends for U.S. federal income tax purposes, may qualify for the dividends received deduction, or DRD, which is generally available to corporate stockholders. No assurance can be given that we will have sufficient earnings and profits (as determined for U.S. federal income tax purposes) to cause any distributions to be eligible for a DRD. In addition, a DRD is available only if certain holding periods and other taxable income requirements are satisfied.

Sale of Common Stock

A U.S. holder of Common Stock will generally recognize gain or loss on the taxable sale, exchange, or other taxable disposition of such stock in an amount equal to the difference between such U.S. holder’s amount realized on the sale and its adjusted tax basis in the Common Stock sold. A U.S. holder’s amount realized should equal the amount of cash and the fair market value of any property received in consideration of its stock. The gain or loss should be capital gain or loss and should be long-term capital gain or loss if the Common Stock is held for more than one year at the time of disposition. The deductibility of capital losses for U.S. federal income tax purposes is subject to limitations under the Code. Under current law, long-term capital gain recognized by an individual U.S. holder is generally eligible for a preferential U.S. federal income tax rate.

Information Reporting and Backup Withholding

Information reporting requirements generally will apply to payments of dividends on shares of Common Stock and to the proceeds of a sale of Common Stock unless a U.S. holder is an exempt recipient, such as a corporation. Backup withholding will apply to those payments if a U.S. holder fails to provide its correct taxpayer identification number and certification of exempt status, or fails to report in full dividend income. Any amounts withheld under the backup withholding rules will be allowed as a refund or a credit against U.S. federal income tax liability, provided the required information is timely furnished to the IRS.


UNDERWRITING

WallachBeth Capital, LLC is acting as the sole book-running manager and as representative of the underwriters of this offering (the “Representative”). Subject to the terms and conditions of an underwriting agreement between us and the Representative, we have agreed to sell to each underwriter named below, and each underwriter named below has severally agreed to purchase, at the public offering price less the underwriting discounts set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, the number of shares of our Common Stock and corresponding Purchase Warrants listed next to its name in the following table on a firm commitment basis:

UnderwriterNumber of Units
WallachBeth Capital, LLC1,000,000
Total1,000,000

The underwriters are committed to purchase all the Units offered by this prospectus if they purchase any Units. The underwriting agreement also provides that if an underwriter defaults, the purchase commitments of non-defaulting underwriters may be increased or the offering may be terminated. The underwriters are not obligated to purchase Units covered by the underwriters’ over-allotment option described below. The underwriters are offering the Units, subject to prior sale, when, as and if issued to and accepted by them, subject to approval of legal matters by their counsel, and other conditions contained in the underwriting agreement, such as the receipt by the underwriters of officer’s certificates and legal opinions. The underwriters reserve the right to withdraw, cancel, or modify offers to the public and to reject orders in whole or in part.

Over-Allotment Option

We have granted to the underwriters an option, exercisable one or more times in whole or in part, to purchase up to 150,000 additional shares of common stock at a price of $6.23 and/or Series A Warrants to purchase up to an aggregate of 150,000 shares of common stock at a price of $0.001 and Series B Warrants to purchase up to an aggregate of 150,000 shares of common stock at a price of $0.001, in any combinations thereof, for 45 days after the date of this prospectus to cover over-allotments, if any. If the over-allotment option is exercised in full, the total public offering price, underwriting discount, offering expenses and net proceeds to us after offering expenses will be $7,187,500, $575,000, $375,000 and $6,237,500, respectively. To the extent the option is exercised and the conditions of the underwriting agreement are satisfied, we will be obligated to sell to the underwriters, and the underwriters will be obligated to purchase, these additional Units.

Commissions and Discounts

We have agreed to pay WallachBeth a cash fee equal to eight-and-one-half percent (8.5%) of the aggregate sales price of securities sold in the Offering and an additional one-and-one-half percent (1.5%) of the aggregate sales price of securities sold in the Offering as non-accountable expenses.

In addition to the underwriting discount, we paid WallachBeth, $15,000, upon the execution of the engagement letter, as an advance against out-of-pocket accountable expenses actually anticipated to be incurred by the underwriter, which is reimbursable to the extent not actually in compliance with FINRA Rule 5110(f)(2)(C).

The Representative has advised us that the underwriters propose to offer the shares of Common Stock and corresponding Purchase Warrants directly to the public at the public offering price set forth on the cover of this prospectus. In addition, the Representative may offer some of the shares of Common Stock and corresponding Purchase Warrants to other securities dealers at such price less a concession of up to [ ]%/$[●] per share of Common Stock and corresponding Purchase Warrant. After the offering to the public, the offering price and other selling terms may be changed by the Representative without changing the Company’s proceeds from the underwriters’ purchase of the shares of Common Stock and corresponding Purchase Warrants.


The following table summarizes the assumed initial offering price of $6.25 per Unit, underwriting discounts, and proceeds before estimated offering fees and expenses to us assuming both no exercise and full exercisediscloses information as of the underwriters’ optionyear ended December 31, 2022, with respect to purchase additional shares ofcompensation plans (including individual compensation arrangements) under which our Common Stock and/or Purchase Warrants. The underwriting discountsequity securities are equal to the public offering price per share and related Purchase Warrants less the amount per share the underwriters pay usauthorized for the shares of our common stock and Purchase Warrants.issuance, aggregated as follows:

 

     Total 
  Per Unit  No Exercise  Full Exercise 
Public offering price $6.25  $6,250,000  $7,187,500 
Underwriting discount (1) $0.50  $500,000  $575,000 
Proceeds to us, before other fees and expenses (2) $5.75  $5,750,000  $6,612,500 

Equity Compensation Plan Information

 

(1)Assumes an underwriting discount of 8% of the public offering price for all securities sold in this offering.
(2)We estimate that the total expenses of this offering, including registration, filing and listing fees, printing fees and legal and accounting expenses, will be approximately $875,000. This figure includes expense reimbursements we have agreed to pay the Representative for reimbursement of its expenses related to the offering up to a maximum aggregate expense allowance of $125,000, $15,000 of which was paid at the time the engagement letter was executed. In accordance with FINRA Rule 5110, the reimbursement fee described in the preceding sentence is deemed underwriting compensation for this offering. This amount does not include the non-accountable expenses we agreed to pay in the amount of one-and-one-half percent (1.5%) of the aggregate sales price of securities sold in the Offering.
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
  Shares of
common
stock
remaining
available for
future
issuance
under equity
compensation
plans
 
Equity compensation plans approved by security holders  2,587,104  $2.79   3,860,211 
Equity compensation plans not approved by security holders      -     -     
Total  2,587,104  $2.79   3,860,211 

 

We have also agreed to indemnify the underwriters against certain liabilities, including civil liabilities under the Securities Act or to contribute to payments that the underwriters may be required to make in respect of those liabilities.


 

Except as disclosed in this prospectus, the underwriters have not received, and will not receive, from us any other item of compensation or expense in connection with this offering considered by FINRA to be underwriting compensation under its rule of fair price. The underwriting discount was determined through an arms’ length negotiation between us and the underwriter.

 

Representative’s WarrantsLEGAL MATTERS

 

We have agreed to issue to the Representative (or its designed affiliates) share purchase warrants (the “Representative’s Warrants”) to purchase up to a total of 8% of the shares of Common Stock sold in this offering at an exercise price that is equal to 100% of the per unit offering price of the Units. The Representative’s Warrants will be non-exercisable for six (6) months after the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part and will expire five (5) years after such effective date. The Representative’s Warrants shall not be redeemable. The Company will register the shares of Common Stock underlying the Representative’s Warrants under the Securities Act and will file all necessary undertakings in connection therewith. The Representative’s Warrants may not be sold, transferred, assigned, pledged, or hypothecated, or be the subject of any hedging, short sale, derivative, put, or call transaction that would result in the effective economic disposition of the securities by any person for a period of 180 days following the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, except that they may be assigned, in whole or in part, to any officer or partner of the Representative and to members of the underwriting syndicate or selling group and officers and partners thereof.

Tail

The Representative will receive a cash fee equal to 2% of the Aggregate Consideration (as defined below) the Company pays or receives in connection with any sale, merger, acquisition or other similar transactions (each, a “Transaction”) occurring with a party introduced by WallachBeth within 12 months of the closing of this offering. The term “Transaction” shall include, without limitation, any investment in (whether in one or a series of transactions) the assets or the capital stock of the Company, through any proposed merger, consolidation, joint venture or other business/strategic combination with or involving the Company or any event which results in the transfer of control of or a material interest in the Company or of all or a substantial amount of the assets thereof, as well as any recapitalization or restructuring of the Company by the current owners, a third party or any combination thereof, or any other form of transaction which results in the effective acquisition of the principal business and operations of the Company.


“Aggregate Consideration” means the total proceeds and other consideration paid to or received by, or to be paid to or received by, the Company, or any of its affiliates or other parties in interest in connection with a Transaction, including, without limitation, cash, notes, securities, and other property; payments made in installments; or Contingent Payments (as defined below). In addition, if any of the Company’s liabilities are assumed or otherwise paid off in conjunction with a Transaction (by the Company or any Investor, in the form of “cure” payments or otherwise), the Aggregate Consideration will be increased to reflect the face value of any such liabilities and the fair market value of any such assets.

“Contingent Payments” mean the fair market value of consideration received or receivable by the Company or any of its affiliates, and/or any other parties in the form of deferred Aggregate Consideration based on “earn-outs”, or other contingent payments based upon the future performance of the Company or any of its businesses or assets, and shall not include any payments made pursuant to any employment or consulting agreements which requires the services of such individual for market rate compensation.

Right of First Refusal

For a period of twelve (12) months from the closing of the Offering, the Representative is granted the right of first refusal to act as lead underwriter or book running manager or placement agent for any and all of our future public and private equity, equity-linked, convertible or debt (excluding commercial bank debt) offerings during such twelve (12) month period of the Company, or any successor to or any subsidiary of the Company.

Share Issuance

In January of 2021 the Representative performed due diligence and research work for us. In consideration for their services we are obligated to issue the Representative 6,000 shares of our common stock. Theses shares have not yet been issued as of date of this prospectus.

Determination of Offering Price

Prior to this offering, there has only been limited public market for our securities. The public offering price of the Units was determined by negotiation between us and the Representative. The principal factors considered in determining the public offering price of our Units included:

the information in this prospectus and otherwise available to the underwriters, including our financial information;

the history and the prospects for the industry in which we compete;

the ability of our management;

the prospects for our future earnings;

the present state of our development and our current financial condition;

the general condition of the economy and the securities markets in the United States at the time of this offering;

the recent market prices of, and the demand for, publicly-traded securities of generally comparable companies; and

other factors as were deemed relevant.

We cannot be sure that the public offering price will correspond to the price at which the shares will trade in the public market following this offering or that an active trading market for the shares will develop or continue after this offering.

Lock-Up Agreements

We and each of our officers, and directors have agreed not to offer, issue, sell, contract to sell, encumber, grant any option for the sale of or otherwise dispose of any Common Stock or other securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for Common Stock for a period of six months from the date this offering is completed without the prior written consent of the Representative.

The Representative may in its sole discretion and at any time without notice release some or all of the shares subject to lock-up agreements prior to the expiration of the lock-up period. When determining whether or not to release shares from the lock-up agreements, the underwriters will consider, among other factors, the security holder’s reasons for requesting the release, the number of shares for which the release is being requested and market conditions at the time.


Price Stabilization, Short Positions and Penalty Bids

In connection with this offering, the underwriters may engage in transactions that stabilize, maintain or otherwise affect the price of our common stock. Specifically, the underwriters may over-allot in connection with this offering by selling more Units than are set forth on the cover page of this prospectus. This creates a short position in our Common Stock and/or Purchase Warrants for its own account. The short position may be either a covered short position or a naked short position. In a covered short position, the number of shares Common Stock and/or Purchase Warrants over-allotted by the underwriters is not greater than the number of shares of our Common Stock and/or Purchase Warrants that they may purchase in the over-allotment option. In a naked short position, the number of shares of our Common Stock and/or Purchase Warrants involved is greater than the number of shares Common Stock and/or Purchase Warrants in the over-allotment option. To close out a short position, the underwriters may elect to exercise all or part of the over-allotment option. The underwriters may also elect to stabilize the price of our Common Stock and/or Purchase Warrants or reduce any short position by bidding for, and purchasing, Common Stock in the open market.

The underwriters may also impose a penalty bid. This occurs when a particular underwriter or dealer repays selling concessions allowed to it for distributing a security in this offering because the underwriter repurchases that security in stabilizing or short covering transactions.

Finally, the underwriters may bid for, and purchase, shares of our Common Stock in market making transactions, including “passive” market making transactions as described below.

These activities may stabilize or maintain the market price of our Common Stock at a price that is higher than the price that might otherwise exist in the absence of these activities. The underwriters are not required to engage in these activities, and may discontinue any of these activities at any time without notice.

In connection with this offering, the underwriters and selling group members, if any, or their affiliates may engage in passive market making transactions in our Common Stock immediately prior to the commencement of sales in this offering, in accordance with Rule 103 of Regulation M under the Exchange Act. Rule 103 generally provides that:

a passive market maker may not effect transactions or display bids for our Common Stock in excess of the highest independent bid price by persons who are not passive market makers;

net purchases by a passive market maker on each day are generally limited to 30% of the passive market maker’s average daily trading volume in our common stock during a specified two-month prior period or 200 shares, whichever is greater, and must be discontinued when that limit is reached; and

passive market making bids must be identified as such.

Electronic Distribution

A prospectus in electronic format may be made available on a website maintained by the representatives of the underwriters and may also be made available on a website maintained by other underwriters. The underwriters may agree to allocate a number of shares to underwriters for sale to their online brokerage account holders. Internet distributions will be allocated by the representatives of the underwriters to underwriters that may make Internet distributions on the same basis as other allocations. In connection with the offering, the underwriters or syndicate members may distribute prospectuses electronically. No forms of electronic prospectus other than prospectuses that are printable as Adobe® PDF will be used in connection with this offering.

The underwriters have informed us that they do not expect to confirm sales of shares offered by this prospectus to accounts over which they exercise discretionary authority.

Other than the prospectus in electronic format, the information on any underwriter’s website and any information contained in any other website maintained by an underwriter is not part of the prospectus or the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, has not been approved and/or endorsed by us or any underwriter in its capacity as underwriter and should not be relied upon by investors.


Affiliations

Certain of the underwriters and their affiliates may provide, from time to time, investment banking and financial advisory services to us in the ordinary course of business, for which they may receive customary fees and commissions.

Foreign Regulatory Restrictions on Purchase of our Shares

We have not taken any action to permit a public offering of our shares outside the United States or to permit the possession or distribution of this prospectus outside the United States. People outside the United States who come into possession of this prospectus must inform themselves about and observe any restrictions relating to this offering of our shares and the distribution of this prospectus outside the United States.

Indemnification

We have agreed to indemnify the underwriters against liabilities relating to the offering arising under the Securities Act and the Exchange Act and to contribute to payments that the underwriters may be required to make for these liabilities.

Selling Restrictions

Canada. The securities may be sold in Canada only to purchasers purchasing, or deemed to be purchasing, as principal that are accredited investors, as defined in National Instrument 45 106 Prospectus Exemptions or subsection 73.3(1) of the Securities Act (Ontario), and are permitted clients, as defined in National Instrument 31 103 Registration Requirements, Exemptions and Ongoing Registrant Obligations. Any resale of the securities must be made in accordance with an exemption from, or in a transaction not subject to, the prospectus requirements of applicable securities laws.

Securities legislation in certain provinces or territories of Canada may provide a purchaser with remedies for rescission or damages if this prospectus (including any amendment thereto) contains a misrepresentation, provided that the remedies for rescission or damages are exercised by the purchaser within the time limit prescribed by the securities legislation of the purchaser’s province or territory. The purchaser should refer to any applicable provisions of the securities legislation of the purchaser’s province or territory for particulars of these rights or consult with a legal advisor.

Pursuant to section 3A.3 of National Instrument 33 105 Underwriting Conflicts (NI 33 105), the underwriters are not required to comply with the disclosure requirements of NI 33 105 regarding underwriter conflicts of interest in connection with this offering.

DISCLOSURE OF COMMISSION POSITION ON INDEMNIFICATION FOR SECURITIES ACT LIABILITIES

Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act of 1933 may be permitted to directors, officers or persons controlling the registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, the registrant has been informed that in the opinion of the SEC such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is therefore unenforceable.

LEGAL MATTERS

The validity of the securities being offered by this prospectus been passed upon for us by Hunter Taubman Fischer & Li LLC. Carmel, Milazzo & Feil LLP, New York, New York is acting as counsel for the representative of the underwriters with respect to the offering.

 

EXPERTS

 

The consolidated financial statements of ABVC BioPharma, Inc.as of December 31, 20202022 and 20192021 included elsewhere in this prospectus have been audited by KCCW Accountancy Corp.,WWC P.C. CPA, independent registered public accounting firm, as set forth in their report appearing elsewhere herein, and are included in reliance upon such report given on the authority of such firm as experts in accounting and auditing.


WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION

 

We are a reporting company and file annual, quarterly and special reports, and other information with the SEC. Copies of the reports and other information may be read and copied at the SEC’s Public Reference Room at 100 F Street N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549. You can request copies of such documents by writing to the SEC and paying a fee for the copying cost. You may obtain information on the operation of the Public Reference Room by calling the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330. The SEC maintains a web site at http://www.sec.gov that contains reports, proxy and information statements and other information regarding registrants that file electronically with the SEC.

 

This prospectus is part of a registration statement on Form S-1 that we filed with the SEC. Certain information in the registration statement has been omitted from this prospectus in accordance with the rules and regulations of the SEC. We have also filed exhibits and schedules with the registration statement that are excluded from this prospectus. For further information you may:

 

read a copy of the registration statement, including the exhibits and schedules, without charge at the SEC’s Public Reference Room; or

 

obtain a copy from the SEC upon payment of the fees prescribed by the SEC.

 

We file periodic reports, proxy statements, and other information with the SEC. These periodic reports, proxy statements, and other information will be available for inspection and copying at the SEC’s public reference facilities and the website of the SEC referred to above. After the closing of this offering, you may access our annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K, and amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act with the SEC free of charge as soon as reasonably practicable after such material is electronically filed with, or furnished to, the SEC. The information contained in, or that can be accessed through, our website is not incorporated by reference into this prospectus.

 

DISCLOSURE OF COMMISSION POSITION ON INDEMNIFICATION FOR SECURITIES ACT LIABILITIES

 

Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act of 1933 may be permitted to our directors, officers and controlling persons pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, we have been advised that in the opinion of the SEC such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by us of expenses incurred or paid by one of our directors, officers or controlling persons in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by that director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, we will, unless in the opinion of our counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether that indemnification by us is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of that issue.


INDEX TO FINANCIAL INFORMATION

 


Financial Statements and Supplementary Data 

Our Consolidated Financial Statements and Notes thereto and the report of WWC P.C. CPA, our independent registered public accounting firm, are set forth on pages F-2 through F-36 of this Report.

PAGE
PAGE F-1F-2Financial Statements (Unaudited)
PAGE F-2Unaudited Consolidated Balance Sheets as of March 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020
PAGE F-3Unaudited Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Loss for the Three Months Ended March 31, 2021 and 2020
PAGE F-4Unaudited Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for the Three Months Ended March 31, 2021 and 2020
PAGE F-5Unaudited Consolidated Statement of Changes in Equity (Deficit) for the Three Months Ended March 31, 2021 and 2020
PAGE F-6Notes to Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements
PAGE F-41REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM (PCAOB  ID 1171)
PAGE F-42
PAGEF-4CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS AS OF DECEMBER 31, 20202022 AND DECEMBER 31, 2019.2021.
PAGE F-43
PAGEF-5CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS AND COMPREHENSIVE LOSS FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 20202022 AND DECEMBER 31, 2019.2021.
PAGE F-44
PAGEF-6CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 20202022 AND DECEMBER 31, 2019.2021.
PAGE F-45
PAGESF-7CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY (DEFICIT) FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 20192022 AND DECEMBER 31, 2020.2021.
PAGE F-46
PAGESF-8NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS.

 


Item 1. Financial Statements.

ABVC BIOPHARMA, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

  March 31,
2021
  December 31,
2020
 
  (Unaudited)    
ASSETS      
Current Assets      
Cash and cash equivalents $2,615,073  $4,273,208 
Restricted cash and cash equivalents  718,163   728,163 
Accounts receivable, net  392,532   159,712 
Accounts receivable - related parties, net  145,075   143,435 
Due from related parties  702,889   696,255 
Inventory, net  -   - 
Prepaid expense and other current assets  631,721   172,193 
Total Current Assets  5,205,453   6,172,966 
         
Property and equipment, net  504,952   514,834 
Operating lease right-of-use assets  1,714,740   1,772,747 
Goodwill, net  -   - 
Long-term investments  1,126,884   1,190,727 
Deferred tax assets  1,815,755   1,790,597 
Prepaid expenses – noncurrent  117,639   119,315 
Security deposits  40,639   45,519 
Total Assets $10,526,062  $11,606,705 
         
LIABILITIES AND EQUITY        
Current Liabilities        
Accounts payable $10,334  $23,044 
Short-term bank loans  1,615,250   1,629,000 
Short-term loan  100,000   100,000 
Notes payable  105,300   106,800 
Accrued expenses and other current liabilities  2,135,912   2,118,854 
Advance from customers  12,070   12,070 
Operating lease liabilities – current portion  331,179   316,178 
Other payable  44,103   - 
Due to related parties  312,152   288,445 
Convertible notes payable - related parties, current portion  -   250,000 
Total Current Liabilities  4,666,300   4,844,391 
Paycheck Protection Program loan payable  236,498   124,400 
Tenant security deposit  11,080   19,280 
Operating lease liability – noncurrent portion  1,383,560   1,456,567 
Convertible notes payable – noncurrent portion  2,500,000   2,500,000 
Total Liabilities  8,797,438   8,944,638 
         
Equity        
Preferred stock, $0.001 par value, 20,000,000 authorized, nil shares issued and outstanding  -   - 
Common stock, $0.001 par value, 100,000,000 authorized, 24,420,526 and 24,420,526 shares issued and outstanding  24,420   24,420 
Additional paid-in capital  40,751,807   40,751,807 
Stock subscription receivable  (2,934,620)  (3,160,360)
Accumulated deficit  (26,770,892)  (25,642,387)
Accumulated other comprehensive income  601,000   564,860 
Treasury stock  (9,100,000)  (9,100,000)
Total Stockholders’ Equity  2,571,715   3,438,340
Noncontrolling interest  (843,091)  (776,273)
Total Equity  1,728,624   2,662,067 
         
Total Liabilities and Equity $10,526,062  $11,606,705 

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

F-2


 

 

 

REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

To:The Board of Directors and Stockholders of

ABVC BioPharma, Inc. and subsidiaries

Opinion on the Financial Statements

We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheet of ABVC BioPharma, Inc. and subsidiaries (collectively the “Company”) as of December 31, 2022, and the related consolidated statements of operation and comprehensive loss, cash flows, stockholders’ equity (deficit), and the related notes (collectively referred to as the “financial statements”). In our opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of December 31, 2022, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the year ended December 31, 2022, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.

Emphasis of Matter

The accompanying financial statements have been prepared assuming that the Company will continue as a going concern. As discussed in Note 1 to the financial statements, the Company incurred substantial losses during the year ended December 31, 2022. As of December 31, 2022, the Company had a working capital deficit and net cash outflows from operating activities. Accordingly, as of December 31, 2022, these factors gave rise to substantial doubt that the Company would continue as a going concern. Management closely monitors the Company’s financial position and has prepared a plan that is found in Note 1 that addresses this substantial doubt. These financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.

Basis for Opinion

These financial statements are the responsibility of our management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the financial statements based on our audit. 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 in accordance 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 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 audits, we are required to obtain an understanding of internal control over financial reporting, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion.

Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the 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 the financial statements. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.

Critical Audit Matters

The critical audit matters communicated below are matters arising from the current period audit of the financial statements that were communicated or required to be communicated to the audit committee and that: (1) relate to accounts or disclosures that are material to the financial statements and (2) involved our especially challenging, subjective, or complex judgments. 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 audit matters below, providing separate opinions on the critical audit matters or on the accounts or disclosures to which they relate.


Long-term investments

As described in Note 6 of the financial statements, certain of the Company’s investments are entered into and governed by complex agreements. The terms and conditions of the agreement will dictate the proper categorization and recognition of these investments in the Company’s financial statements. Accordingly, we have identified long-term investments as a critical audit matter due to the complexity of such investment agreements. We believe management assertions most affected by this critical audit matter are existence, rights, and valuation.

The primary audit procedures we performed in order to address this critical audit matter were the following: (i) examine the investment agreements and other related documents, evaluate the terms and conditions, (ii) gain and understanding of the structure set forth by the agreements by enquiring with management, (iii) confirm with the investees their understanding of the terms and conditions of the agreements and compare their responses with the Company’s books and records, (iv) test the reasonableness, completeness, mathematical accuracy and relevance of key underlying data used in the valuation of the investments. The long-term investment and investment loss accounts are affected by this critical audit matter.

Stock-based compensation to third parties

As described in Note 14 of the financial statements, the Company granted common stock to third parties as consideration to consultants for services rendered; these grants were recorded as stock-based compensation expense in the Company’s results of operations. We identified the recognition of stock-based compensation to non-employees as a critical audit matter due to the significant judgments and assumptions made by management to apply proper valuation and allocation to such grants.

The primary procedures we performed in order to address this critical audit matter were the following: (i) obtained and examined the board meeting minutes, board resolutions, and service contracts, (ii) evaluated the reasonableness of the fair value of services received from the non-employees receiving the grants, either measured at the fair value at the outset of the contract, or around the completion date of the service contract and compared those amounts against the fair value of the grants based on the prevailing market value. Common stock, additional paid in capital and stock based compensation are affected by this critical audit matter.

Stock-based compensation expense for employees and insiders

As described in Note 15 of the financial statements, the Company granted stock options to its directors and employees and estimated total stock compensation expense related to those issuances in the amount of $1,241,930 for the year ended December 31, 2022. The stock compensation cost was valued at the grant date, and management evaluated the fair value of these stock options at the grant date and recognized the expense in accordance to the time frame set forth by the vesting schedule. We identified the stock-based compensation expense for related to the issuance of stock options to directors and employees as a critical audit matter due to significant judgments and assumptions made by management in order to develop an appropriate valuation for the compensation given out.

The primary procedures we performed in order to address this critical audit matter were the following: (i) obtained all board meeting minutes and board resolutions, (ii) gained an understanding and assessed the reasonableness of the stock option valuation model, (iii) vouched underlying source data and assessed the appropriateness of the data entered into the valuation model, and (iv) re-performed the calculation to test the accuracy of the output. Additional paid in capital and stock based compensation are affected by this critical audit matter.

 

WWC, P.C.

Certified Public Accountants

PCAOB ID No. 1171

We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2022.

San Mateo, California

March 31, 2023

 


ABVC BIOPHARMA, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS AND COMPREHENSIVE LOSSBALANCE SHEETS

FOR THE THREE MONTHS ENDED MARCH 31, 2021 AND 2020

(UNAUDITED)

 

  March 31,
2021
  March 31,
2020
 
       
Revenues $263,150  $78,786 
         
Cost of revenues  1,245   3,959 
         
Gross profit  261,905   74,827 
         
Operating expenses        
Selling, general and administrative expenses  1,167,595   1,152,889 
Research and development expenses  121,315   92,790 
Stock-based compensation  225,740   525 
Total operating expenses  1,514,650   1,246,204 
         
Loss from operations  (1,252,745)  (1,171,377)
         
Other income (expense)        
Interest income  52,529   10,720 
Interest expense  (130,229)  (131,517)
Rental income  4,867   5,231 
Rental income – related parties  1,600   1,200 
Gain/Loss on foreign exchange changes  951   2 
Gain/Loss on investment in equity securities  (47,791)  (70,411)
Other income (expense)  71   6,322 
Government grant income  124,400   - 
Total other income (expenses)  6,398   (178,453)
         
Loss before provision income tax  (1,246,347)  (1,349,830)
         
Provision for income tax  (51,024)  (40,568)
         
Net loss  (1,195,323)  (1,309,262)
         
Net loss attributable to noncontrolling interests  (66,818)  (61,724)
         
Net loss attributed to ABVC and subsidiaries  (1,128,505)  (1,247,538)
Foreign currency translation adjustment  36,140   (6,451)
Comprehensive loss $(1,092,365) $(1,253,989)
         
Net loss per share:        
Basic and diluted $(0.05) $(0.06)
         
Weighted average number of common shares outstanding:        
Basic and diluted  24,420,526   19,484,542 
  December 31,
2022
  December 31,
2021
 
ASSETS      
Current Assets      
Cash and cash equivalents $85,265  $5,828,548 
Restricted cash and cash equivalents  1,306,463   736,667 
Accounts receivable, net  98,325   280,692 
Accounts receivable – related parties, net  757,343   145,399 
Due from related parties  513,819   - 
Inventories, net  -   25,975 
Short-term investments  75,797   108,147 
Prepaid expense and other current assets  150,235   528,354 
Total Current Assets  2,987,247   7,653,782 
         
Property and equipment, net  573,978   525,881 
Operating lease right-of-use assets  1,161,141   1,471,899 
Long-term investments  842,070   932,755 
Deferred tax assets, net  117,110   981,912 
Prepaid expenses – noncurrent  135,135   119,309 
Security deposits  58,838   41,157 
Prepayment for long-term investments  2,838,578   1,153,155 
Due from related parties – noncurrent  1,141,378   818,183 
Total Assets $9,855,475  $13,698,033 
         
LIABILITIES AND EQUITY        
Current Liabilities        
Short-term bank loans $1,893,750  $1,640,000 
Accrued expenses and other current liabilities  2,909,587   1,300,803 
Advance from customers  10,985   10,985 
Operating lease liabilities – current portion  369,314   347,100 
Due to related parties  635,893   393,424 
Total Current Liabilities  5,819,529   3,692,312 
         
Tenant security deposit  7,980   10,580 
Operating lease liability – noncurrent portion  791,827   1,124,799 
Total Liabilities  6,619,336   4,827,691 
COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES        
Equity        
Preferred stock, $0.001 par value, 20,000,000 authorized, nil shares issued and outstanding  -   - 
Common stock, $0.001 par value, 100,000,000 authorized, 32,857,329 and 28,926,322 shares issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively  32,857   28,926 
Additional paid-in capital  67,907,479   58,113,667 
Stock subscription receivable  (1,354,440)  (2,257,400)
Accumulated deficit  (54,904,439)  (38,481,200)
Accumulated other comprehensive income  517,128   539,660 
Treasury stock  (9,100,000)  (9,100,000)
Total Stockholders’ equity  3,098,585   8,843,653 
Noncontrolling interest  137,554   26,689 
Total Equity  3,236,139   8,870,342 
         
Total Liabilities and Equity $9,855,475  $13,698,033 

 

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


ABVC BIOPHARMA, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

FOR THE THREE MONTHS ENDED MARCH 31, 2021OPERATIONS AND 2020COMPREHENSIVE LOSS

(UNAUDITED)

 

  2021  2020 
       
Cash flows from operating activities      
Net loss $(1,195,323) $(1,309,262)
Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash used in operating activities:        
Depreciation  2,928   11,174 
Stock based compensation for nonemployees  225,740   525 
Gain/Loss on investment in equity securities  47,791   70,411 
Government grant income  (124,400)  - 
Other non-cash income and expenses  -   (2,333)
Deferred tax  (51,024)  (40,568)
Changes in operating assets and liabilities:        
Decrease (increase) in accounts receivable  (238,484)  52,950 
Decrease (increase) in prepaid expenses and deposits  (187,723)  27,834 
Decrease (increase) in due from related parties  (18,229)  (7,536)
Increase (decrease) in accounts payable  (12,710)  (3,632)
Increase (decrease) in accrued expenses and other current liabilities  136,519   500,743 
Increase (decrease) in due to related parties  1,841   68,750 
Net cash used in operating activities  (1,413,074)  (630,944)
         
Cash flows from investing activities        
Prepayment for equity investment  (281,952)  - 
Net cash used in investing activities  (281,952)  - 
         
Cash flows from financing activities        
Issuance of common stock  40,448   267,740 
Proceeds from short-term borrowing from third parties  -   280,940 
Repayment of convertible notes  (250,000)  - 
Proceeds from long-term loans  236,498   - 
Borrowings from related parties  15,280   71,688 
Repayment of long-term bank loans  -   (9,981)
Net cash provided by financing activities  42,226   610,387 
         
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash  (15,335)  (93)
         
Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash  (1,668,135)  (20,650)
         
Cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash        
Beginning  5,001,371   160,443 
Ending $3,333,236  $139,793 
         
Supplemental disclosure of cash flows        
Cash paid during the year for:        
Interest expense paid $21,666  $10,446 
Income taxes paid $-  $- 
  Year Ended
December 31,
 
  2022  2021 
Revenues $969,783  $355,797 
         
Cost of revenues  286,415   5,086 
         
Gross profit  683,368   350,711 
         
Operating expenses        
Selling, general and administrative expenses  6,067,545   5,746,119 
Research and development expenses  2,693,457   1,003,805 
Stock based compensation  7,036,778   5,306,755 
Total operating expenses  15,797,780   12,056,679 
         
Loss from operations  (15,114,412)  (11,705,968)
         
Other income (expense)        
Interest income  187,817   43,196 
Interest expense  (293,968)  (227,210)
Operating sublease income  107,150   134,576 
Operating sublease income – related parties  -   4,800 
Impairment loss  (110,125)  - 
Investment loss  (7,446)  - 
Gain/Loss on foreign exchange changes  (259,463)  426,316 
Gain/Loss on investment in equity securities  -   (269,844)
Other income  (24,149)  22,409 
Government grant income  -   360,898 
Total other income (expenses)  (400,184)  495,141 
         
Loss before provision income tax  (15,514,596)  (11,210,827)
         
Provision for income tax expense  797,778   825,024 
         
Net loss  (16,312,374)  (12,035,851)
         
Net loss attributable to noncontrolling interests  110,865   802,962 
         
Net loss attributed to ABVC and subsidiaries  (16,423,239)  (12,838,813)
Foreign currency translation adjustment  (22,532)  (25,200)
Comprehensive loss $(16,445,771) $(12,864,013)
         
Net loss per share:        
Basic and diluted $(0.52) $(0.51)
         
Weighted average number of common shares outstanding:        
Basic and diluted  31,664,660   25,053,522 

 

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


ABVC BIOPHARMA, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY (DEFICIT)CASH FLOWS

FOR THE THREE MONTHSYEAR ENDED MARCHDECEMBER 31, 20212022 AND 20202021

(UNAUDITED)

 

  Common Stock  Stock  Additional        Treasury Stock  Non  Stockholders’ 
  Number of
shares
  Amounts  

Subscription

Receivable

  Paid-in
Capital
  Accumulated
Deficit
  Comprehensive
Income
  Number of
shares
  Amounts  controlling
Interest
  Equity
(Deficit)
 
Balance at December 31, 2019  19,478,168  $19,478  $(4,063,320) $28,180,348  $(15,851,223) $663,753   (275,347) $(9,100,000) $26,147  $(124,817)
Issuance of common shares  10,000   10   225,740   41,989   -   -       -   -   267,739 
Stock based compensation  -   -   -   525       -       -   -   525 
Net loss for the period  -   -   -   -   (1,247,538)  -       -   (61,724)  (1,309,262
Cumulative transaction adjustments  -   -   -   -   -   (6,451)  -   -   -   (6,451)
Balance at March 31, 2020  19,488,168  $19,488  $(3,837,580) $28,222,862  $(17,098,761) $657,302   (275,347) $(9,100,000) $(35,577) $(1,172,266)

  2022  2021 
Cash flows from operating activities      
Net loss $(16,312,374) $(12,035,851)
Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash used in operating activities:        
Depreciation  23,799   11,993 
Stock based compensation  7,036,778   5,306,755 
Loss on investment in equity securities    -   269,844 
Inventory allowance for valuation losses  25,975   - 
Provision for doubtful accounts, net of recovery  184,589   - 
Government grant income  -   (360,898)
Other non-cash income and expenses  32,350   - 
Impairment of prepaid expenses  110,125   - 
Deferred tax  864,802   824,199 
Changes in operating assets and liabilities:        
Decrease (increase) in accounts receivable  (614,166)  (120,980)
Decrease (increase) in prepaid expenses and other current assets  238,092   (357,276)
Decrease (increase) in due from related parties  (837,014)  (595,037)
Decrease (increase) in inventories    -   (25,830)
Increase (decrease) in accounts payable  -   (23,044)
Increase (decrease) in accrued expenses and other current liabilities  1,608,784   (173,151)
Increase (decrease) in advanced from customers  -   (1,085)
Increase (decrease) in tenant security deposit received      (2,600)  - 
Increase (decrease) in due to related parties  242,469   (317,358)
Net cash used in operating activities  (7,398,391)  (7,597,719)
         
Cash flows from investing activities        
Purchase of investments  -   (107,547)
Purchase of equipment    (119,692)  (17,503)
Prepayment for equity investment  (1,601,992)  (680,916)
Net cash used in investing activities  (1,721,684)  (805,966)
         
Cash flows from financing activities        
Issuance of common stock  3,663,925   11,119,452 
Payment for offering costs  -   (850,429)
Repayment of convertible notes  -   (306,836)
Repayment of short-term loan  -   (100,000)
Repayment of notes payable  -   (107,400)
Proceeds from long-term loan  -   236,498 
Proceeds from short term loan  350,000   - 
Proceeds from short term borrowings from third parties      -   4,265 
Net cash provided by financing activities  4,013,925   9,995,550 
         
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash  (67,337)  (28,021)
         
Net increase(decrease  ) in cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash  (5,173,487)  1,563,844 
         
Cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash        
Beginning  6,565,215   5,001,371 
Ending $1,391,728  $6,565,215 
         
Supplemental disclosure of cash flows        
Cash paid during the year for:        
Interest expense paid $285,465  $333,873 
Income taxes paid $1,600  $- 
Non-cash financing and investing activities        
Common shares issued for debt conversion     $-  $2,693,548 

 

  Common Stock  Stock  Additional        Treasury Stock  Non  Stockholders’ 
  Number of
shares
  Amounts  

Subscription

Receivable

  Paid-in
Capital
  Accumulated
Deficit
  Comprehensive
Income
  Number of
shares
  Amounts  controlling
Interest
  Equity
(Deficit)
 
Balance at December 31, 2020  24,420,526  $24,420  $(3,160,360) $40,751,807  $(25,642,387) $564,860   (275,347) $(9,100,000) $(776,273) $2,662,067 
Stock based compensation  -   -   225,740   -   -   -   -   -   -   225,740 
Net loss for the period  -   -   -   -   (1,128,505)  -   -       (66,818)  (1,195,323)
Cumulative transaction adjustments  -   -   -   -   -   36,140   -   -   -   36,140 
Balance at March 31, 2021  24,420,526  $24,420  $(2,934,620) $40,751,807  $(26,770,892) $601,000   (275,347) $(9,100,000) $(843,091) $1,728,624 

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


ABVC BIOPHARMA, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY (DEFICIT)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2022 AND 2021

  Common Stock  Stock  Additional     Accumulated
Other
  Treasury Stock  Non  Stockholders’ 
  Number of
shares
  Amounts  Subscription
Receivable
  Paid-in
Capital
  Accumulated
Deficit
  Comprehensive
Income
  Number of
Shares
  Amount  controlling
Interest
  

Total
Equity

 
Balance at December 31, 2020  24,420,526  $24,420  $(3,160,360) $40,751,807  $(25,642,387) $564,860   (275,347) $(9,100,000) $(776,273) $2,662,067 
Issuance of common shares for cash  3,027,750   3,028   -   10,265,995   -   -   -   -   -   10,269,023 
Issuance of common shares for consulting service  366,934   367   -   1,728,223   -   -   -   -   -   1,728,590 
Issuance of common shares for debt conversion  1,111,112   1,111   -   2,692,437   -   -   -   -   -   2,693,548 
Stock based compensation for services  -   -   902,960   -   -   -   -   -   -   902,960 
                                         
Stock based compensation for options granted  -   -   -   2,675,205   -   -   -   -   -   2,675,205 
Net loss for the year  -   -   -   -   (12,838,813)  -   -   -   802,962   (12,035,851)
Cumulative transaction adjustments  -   -   -   -   -   (25,200)  -   -   -   (25,200)
Balance at December 31, 2021  28,926,322  $28,926  $(2,257,400) $58,113,667  $(38,481,200) $539,660   (275,347) $(9,100,000) $26,689  $8,870,342 
Issuance of common shares for cash  2,000,000   2,000   -   3,661,925   -   -   -   -   -   3,663,925 
Issuance of common shares for consulting service  1,931,007   1,931   -   4,889,957   -   -   -   -   -   4,891,888 
Stock based compensation for services  -   -   902,960   -   -   -   -   -   -   902,960 
Stock based compensation for options granted  -   -   -   1,241,930   -   -   -   -   -   1,241,930 
Net loss for the year  -   -   -   -   (16,423,239)  -   -   -   110,865   (16,312,374)
Cumulative transaction adjustments  -   -   -   -   -   (22,532)  -   -   -   (22,532)
Balance at December 31, 2022  32,857,329  $32,857  $(1,354,440) $67,907,479  $(54,904,439) $517,128   (275,347) $(9,100,000) $137,554  $3,236,139 

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


ABVC BIOPHARMA, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

(UNAUDITED)

  

1. ORGANIZATION AND DESCRIPTION OF BUSINESS

 

ABVC BioPharma, Inc. (the “Company”), formerly known as American BriVision (Holding) Corporation, a Nevada corporation, through the Company’s operating entity, American BriVision Corporation (“BriVision”), which was incorporated in July 2015 in the State of Delaware, engages in biotechnology to fulfill unmet medical needs and focuses on the development of new drugs and medical devices derived from plants.  BriVision develops its pipeline by carefully tracking new medical discoveries or medical device technologies in research institutions in the Asia-Pacific region. Pre-clinical, disease animal model and Phase I safety studies are examined closely by the Company to identify drugs that BriVision believes demonstrate efficacy and safety. Once a drug appears to be a good candidate for development and ultimately commercialization, BriVision licenses the drug or medical device from the original researchers and begins to introduce the drugs clinical plan to highly respected principal investigators in the United States, Australia and Taiwan to conduct a Phase II clinical trial. At present, clinical trials for the Company’s drugs and medical devices are being conducted at such world-famous institutions as Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (“MSKCC”) and MD Anderson Cancer Center. BriVision had no predecessor operations prior to its formation on July 21, 2015.

 

Name Change

 

The Company’s shareholders approved an amendment to the Company’s Articles of Incorporation to change the Company’s corporate name from American BriVision (Holding) Corporation to ABVC BioPharma, Inc. and approved and adopted the Certificate of Amendment to affect same at the 2020 annual meeting of shareholders (the “Annual Meeting”). The name change amendment to the Company’s Articles of Incorporation was filed with Nevada’s Secretary of State and became effective on March 8, 2021 and FINRA processed our request to change our name on April 30, 2021, which became effective as of May 3, 2021.

 

The Company’s stock symbol remains ABVC.

 

Reverse Merger

 

On February 8, 2016, a Share Exchange Agreement (the “Share Exchange Agreement”) was entered into by and among the Company, BriVision, and Euro-Asia Investment & Finance Corp. Limited, a company incorporated under the laws of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China (“Euro-Asia”), being the owners of record of 164,387,376 (52,336,000 pre-stock split) shares of Common Stock of the Company, and the owners of record of all of the issued share capital of BriVision (the “BriVision Stock”).

 

Pursuant to the Share Exchange Agreement, upon surrender by the BriVision Shareholders and the cancellation by BriVision of the certificates evidencing the BriVision Stock as registered in the name of each BriVision Shareholder, and pursuant to the registration of the Company in the register of members maintained by BriVision as the new holder of the BriVision Stock and the issuance of the certificates evidencing the aforementioned registration of the BriVision Stock in the name of the Company, the Company issued 166,273,921 (52,936,583 pre-stock split) shares (the “Acquisition Stock”) (subject to adjustment for fractionalized shares as set forth below) of the Company’s Common Stock to the BriVision Shareholders (or their designees), and 163,159,952 (51,945,225 pre-stock split) shares of the Company’s Common Stock owned by Euro-Asia were cancelled and retired to treasury. The Acquisition Stock collectively represented 79.70% of the issued and outstanding Common Stock of the Company immediately after the Closing, in exchange for the BriVision Stock, representing 100% of the issued share capital of BriVision in a reverse merger (the “Merger”).

 

Pursuant to the Merger, all of the issued and outstanding common shares of BriVision were converted, at an exchange ratio of 0.2536-for-1, into an aggregate of 166,273,921 (52,936,583pre-stock(52,936,583 pre-stock split) common shares of the Company and BriVision had become a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company. The holders of Company’s Common Stock as of immediately prior to the Merger held an aggregate of 205,519,223(65,431,144205,519,223 (65,431,144 pre-stock split) shares of Company’s Common Stock. Because of the exchange of the BriVision Stock for the Acquisition Stock (the “Share Exchange”), BriVision had become a wholly owned subsidiary (the “Subsidiary”) of the Company and there was a change of control of the Company following the closing. There were no warrants, options or other equity instruments issued in connection with the share exchange agreement.

 


Upon the consummation of the Share Exchange, BriVision became a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company.

 

Following the Share Exchange, the Company has abandoned prior business plan and is now pursuing BriVision’s historically proposed businesses, which focus on the development of new drugs and innovative medical devices to fulfill unmet medical needs. The business model of the Company is to integrate research achievements from world-famous institutions, conduct clinical trials of translational medicine for Proof of Concept (“POC”), out-license to international pharmaceutical companies, and explore global markets.


 

Accounting Treatment of the Reverse Merger

 

For financial reporting purposes, the Share Exchange represents a “reverse merger” rather than a business combination and BriVision is deemed the accounting acquirer in the transaction. The Share Exchange is being accounted for as a reverse-merger and recapitalization. BriVision is the acquirer for financial reporting purposes and the Company is the acquired company. Consequently, the assets and liabilities and the operations reflected in the historical financial statements prior to the Share Exchange will be those of BriVision and recorded at the historical cost basis of BriVision. In addition, the consolidated financial statements after completion of the Share Exchange will include the assets and liabilities of the Company and BriVision, and the historical operations of BriVision and operations of the Combined Company from the closing date of the Share Exchange.

 

Merger

 

On February 8, 2019, the Company, BioLite Holding, Inc. (“BioLite”), BioKey, Inc. (“BioKey”), BioLite Acquisition Corp., a direct wholly-owned subsidiary of Parent (“Merger Sub 1”), and BioKey Acquisition Corp., a direct wholly-owned subsidiary of Parent (“Merger Sub 2”) (collectively referred to as the “Parties”) completed the business combination pursuant to the Agreement and Plan of Merger (the “Merger Agreement”) dated as of January 31, 2018 where ABVC acquired BioLite and BioKey via issuing additional Common Stock of ABVC to the shareholders of BioLite and BioKey.

 

Pursuant to the terms of the Merger Agreement, BioLite and BioKey became two wholly-owned subsidiaries of the Company on February 8, 2019. ABVC issued an aggregate of 104,558,777 shares (prior to the reverse stock split in 2019) to the shareholders of both BioLite and BioKey under a registration statement on Form S-4 (file number 333-226285), which became effective by operation of law on or about February 5, 2019.

 

BioLite Holding, Inc. (the “BioLite Holding”) was incorporated under the laws of the State of Nevada on July 27, 2016. BioLite BVI, Inc. (the “BioLite BVI”), a wholly owned subsidiary of BioLite Holding, was incorporated in the British Virgin Islands on September 13, 2016. BioLite Holding and BioLite BVI are holding companies and have not carried out substantive business operations of their own.

 

BioLite, Inc., (the “BioLite Taiwan”) was incorporated on February 13, 2006 under the laws of Taiwan. BioLite is in the business of developing and commercialization of new botanical drugs with application in central nervous system, autoimmunity, inflammation, hematology, and oncology. In addition, BioLite Taiwan distributes dietary supplements made from extracts of Chinese herbs and Maitake mushroom.

 

In January 2017, BioLite Holding, BioLite BVI, BioLite Taiwan, and certain shareholders of BioLite Taiwan entered into a share purchase / exchange agreement (the “BioLite Share Purchase / Exchange Agreement”). Pursuant to the BioLite Share Purchase / Exchange Agreement, the shareholder participants to the BioLite Share Purchase / Exchange Agreement have sold their equity in BioLite Taiwan and were using the proceeds from such sales to purchase shares of Common Stock of BioLite Holding at the same price per share, resulting in their owning the same number of shares of Common Stock as they owned in the BioLite Taiwan. Upon closing of the Share Purchase/ Exchange Agreement in August 2017, BioLite Holding ultimately owns via BioLite BVI approximately 73% of BioLite Taiwan. The other shareholders who did not enter this Share Purchase/ Exchange Agreement retain their equity ownership in BioLite Taiwan.

 

BioKey, Inc. was incorporated on August 9, 2000 in the State of California. BioKey provides a wide range of services, including, API characterization, pre-formulation studies, formulation development, analytical method development, stability studies, IND/NDA/ANDA/510K submissions, and manufacturing clinical trial materials (Phase I through phase III) and commercial manufacturing. It also licenses out its technologies and initiates joint research and development processes with other biotechnology, pharmaceutical, and nutraceutical companies.

 


Accounting Treatment of the Merger

 

The Company adopted ASC 805, “Business Combination” to record the merger transactions of BioKey. Since the Company and BioLite Holding are the entities under Dr. Tsung-Shann Jiang’s common control, the transaction is accounted for as a restructuring transaction. All the assets and liabilities of BioLite Holding, BioLite BVI, and BioLite Taiwan were transferred to the Company at their respective carrying amounts on the closing date of the Merger. The Company has recast prior period financial statements to reflect the conveyance of BioLite Holding’s common shares as if the restructuring transaction had occurred as of the earliest date of the financial statements. All material intercompany accounts, transactions, and profits have been eliminated in consolidation. The nature of and effects on earnings per share (EPS) of nonrecurring intra-entity transactions involving long-term assets and liabilities is not required to be eliminated and EPS amounts have been recast to include the earnings (or losses) of the transferred net assets.

 

Going Concern

The accompanying financial statements have been prepared in conformity with U.S. GAAP which contemplates continuation of the Company on a going concern basis. The going concern basis assumes that assets are realized, and liabilities are settled in the ordinary course of business at amounts disclosed in the financial statements. The Company’s ability to continue as a going concern depends upon its ability to market and sell its products to generate positive operating cash flows. For the year ended December 31, 2022, the Company reported net loss of $16,312,374. As of December 31, 2022, the Company’s working capital deficit was $2,832,282. In addition, the Company had net cash outflows of $7,398,391 from operating activities for the year ended December 31, 2022. These conditions give rise to substantial doubt as to whether the Company will be able to continue as a going concern.

Management’s plan is to continue improve operations to generate positive cash flows and raise additional capital through private and public offerings. If the Company is not able to generate positive operating cash flows, and raise additional capital, there is the risk that the Company may not be able to meet its short-term obligations.

2. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

 

Basis of Presentation

 

The accompanying consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America (the “U.S. GAAP”). All significant intercompany transactions and account balances have been eliminated.

 

This basis of accounting involves the application of accrual accounting and consequently, revenues and gains are recognized when earned, and expenses and losses are recognized when incurred. The Company’s financial statements are expressed in U.S. dollars.

 

Fiscal Year 

 

The Company changed its fiscal year from the period beginning on October 1st and ending on September 30th to the period beginning on January 1st and ending on December 31st, beginning January 1, 2018. All references herein to a fiscal year prior to December 31, 2017 refer to the twelve months ended September 30th of such year. 

 

Use of Estimates

 

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles generally accepted 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 consolidated financial statements and the amount of revenues and expenses during the reporting periods. Actual results could differ materially from those results.

 

Inventory

 

Inventory consists of raw materials, work-in-process, finished goods, and merchandise. Inventories are stated at the lower of cost or market and valued on a moving weighted average cost basis. Market is determined based on net realizable value. The Company periodically reviews the age and turnover of its inventory to determine whether any inventory has become obsolete or has declined in value, and incurs a charge to operations for known and anticipated inventory obsolescence.

 

Reclassifications

Certain classifications have been made to the prior year financial statements to conform to the current year presentation. The reclassification had no impact on previously reported net loss or accumulated deficit.Forward Stock Split

 


Forward Stock Split

On March 21, 2016, the Board of Directors of the Company approved an amendment to Articles of Incorporation to effect a forward split at a ratio of 1 to 3.141 and increase the number of our authorized shares of Common Stock, par value $0.001 per share, to 360,000,000, which was effective on April 8, 2016.

 


Stock Reverse Split

 

On March 12, 2019, the Board of Directors of the Company by unanimous written consent in lieu of a meeting approved to i) effect a stock reverse split at the ratio of 1-for-18 (the “Reverse Split”) of both the authorized common stock of the Company (the “Common Stock”) and the issued and outstanding Common Stock and ii) to amend the articles of incorporation of the Company to reflect the Reverse Split. The Board approved and authorized the Reverse Split without obtaining approval of the Company’s shareholders pursuant to Section 78.207 of Nevada Revised Statutes. On May 3, 2019, the Company filed a certificate of amendment to the Company’s articles of incorporation (the “Amendment”) to effect the Reverse Split with the Secretary of State of Nevada. The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) informed the Company that the Reverse Split was effective on May 8, 2019. All shares and related financial information in this Form 10-K reflect this 1-for-18 reverse stock split. 

 

Fair Value Measurements

 

FASB ASC 820, “Fair Value Measurements” defines fair value for certain financial and nonfinancial assets and liabilities that are recorded at fair value, establishes a framework for measuring fair value and expands disclosures about fair value measurements. It requires that an entity measure its financial instruments to base fair value on exit price, maximize the use of observable units and minimize the use of unobservable inputs to determine the exit price. It establishes a hierarchy which prioritizes the inputs to valuation techniques used to measure fair value. This hierarchy increases the consistency and comparability of fair value measurements and related disclosures by maximizing the use of observable inputs and minimizing the use of unobservable inputs by requiring that observable inputs be used when available. Observable inputs are inputs that reflect the assumptions market participants would use in pricing the assets or liabilities based on market data obtained from sources independent of the Company. Unobservable inputs are inputs that reflect the Company’s own assumptions about the assumptions market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability developed based on the best information available in the circumstances. The hierarchy prioritizes the inputs into three broad levels based on the reliability of the inputs as follows:

 

 Level 1 - Inputs are quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities that the Company has the ability to access at the measurement date. Valuation of these instruments does not require a high degree of judgment as the valuations are based on quoted prices in active markets that are readily and regularly available.

 
Level 2 - Inputs other than quoted prices in active markets that are either directly or indirectly observable as of the measurement date, such as quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities; quoted prices in markets that are not active; or other inputs that are observable or can be corroborated by observable market data for substantially the full term of the assets or liabilities.

 
Level 3 - Valuations based on inputs that are unobservable and not corroborated by market data. The fair value for such assets and liabilities is generally determined using pricing models, discounted cash flow methodologies, or similar techniques that incorporate the assumptions a market participant would use in pricing the asset or liability.

 

The carrying values of certain assets and liabilities of the Company, such as cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash, accounts receivable, due from related parties, inventory, prepaid expenses and other current assets, accounts payable, accrued liabilities, and due to related parties approximate fair value due to their relatively short maturities. The carrying value of the Company’s short-term bank loan, convertible notes payable, and accrued interest approximates their fair value as the terms of the borrowing are consistent with current market rates and the duration to maturity is short. The carrying value of the Company’s long-term bank loan approximates fair value because the interest rates approximate market rates that the Company could obtain for debt with similar terms and maturities.

 


Cash and Cash Equivalents 

 

The Company considers highly liquid investments with maturities of three months or less, when purchased, to be cash equivalents. As of March 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020,2022 and 2021, the Company’s cash and cash equivalents amounted $2,615,073$85,265 and $4,273,208,$5,828,548, respectively. Some of the Company’s cash deposits are held in financial institutions located in Taiwan where there is currently regulation mandated on obligatory insurance of bank accounts. The Company believes this financial institution is of high credit quality.

 


Restricted Cash Equivalents 

 

Restricted cash equivalents primarily consist of cash held in a reserve bank account in Taiwan. As of March 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020,2022 and 2021, the Company’s restricted cash equivalents amounted $718,163$1,306,463 and $728,163,$736,667, respectively.

 

Concentration of Credit Risk

 

The Company’s financial instruments that are exposed to concentrations of credit risk consist primarily of cash and cash equivalents. The Company places its cash and temporary cash investments in high quality credit institutions, but these investments may be in excess of Taiwan Central Deposit Insurance Corporation and the U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s insurance limits. The Company does not enter into financial instruments for hedging, trading or speculative purposes.

 

Revenue RecognitionWe perform ongoing credit evaluation of our customers and requires no collateral. An allowance for doubtful accounts is provided based on a review of the collectability of accounts receivable. We determine the amount of allowance for doubtful accounts by examining its historical collection experience and current trends in the credit quality of its customers as well as its internal credit policies. Actual credit losses may differ from our estimates.

 

Concentration of clients

As of December 31, 2022, the most major clients, specializes in developing and commercializing of dietary supplements and therapeutics in dietary supplement industry, accounted for 71.89% of the Company’s total account receivable; the second major client with its Chairman being the Board of Director of Biokey, accounted for 16.62% of the Company’s total account receivable. As of December 31, 2021, the major clients in biotechnology research accounted for 37.48% of the Company’s total account receivable; the second major client accounted for 33.38% if the Company’s total account receivable.

For the year ended December 31, 2022, one major client, Rgene Corporation, a related party under common control by controlling beneficiary shareholder of YuanGene Corporation and the Company, which works in development and commercialization of new drugs in Taiwan, accounted for 93.22% of the Company's total revenues. For the year ended December 31, 2021, one major client, GLIA, LLC, accounted for 46.24% of the Company’s total revenue.

Revenue Recognition

During the fiscal year 2018, the Company adopted Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”), Topic 606 (ASC 606), Revenue from Contracts with Customers, using the modified retrospective method to all contracts that were not completed as of January 1, 2018, and applying the new revenue standard as an adjustment to the opening balance of accumulated deficit at the beginning of 2018 for the cumulative effect. The results for the Company’s reporting periods beginning on and after January 1, 2018 are presented under ASC 606, while prior period amounts are not adjusted and continue to be reported under the accounting standards in effect for the prior period. Based on the Company’s review of existing collaborative agreements as of January 1, 2018, the Company concluded that the adoption of the new guidance did not have a significant change on the Company’s revenue during all periods presented.

 

Pursuant to ASC 606, the Company recognizes revenue when its customer obtains control of promised goods or services, in an amount that reflects the consideration that the Company expects to receive in exchange for those goods or services. To determine revenue recognition for arrangements that the Company determines is within the scope of ASC 606, the Company performs the following five steps: (i) identify the contract(s) with a customer; (ii) identify the performance obligations in the contract; (iii) determine the transaction price; (iv) allocate the transaction price to the performance obligations in the contract; and (v) recognize revenue when (or as) the Company satisfies a performance obligation. The Company only applies the five-step model to contracts when it is probable that the Company will collect the consideration the Company is entitled to in exchange for the goods or services the Company transfers to the customers. At inception of the contract, once the contract is determined to be within the scope of ASC 606, the Company assesses the goods or services promised within each contract, determines those that are performance obligations, and assesses whether each promised good or service is distinct. The Company then recognizes as revenue the amount of the transaction price that is allocated to the respective performance obligation when (or as) the performance obligation is satisfied.

 

The following are examples of when the Company recognizes revenue based on the types of payments the Company receives.

 

Collaborative Revenues — The Company recognizes collaborative revenues generated through collaborative research, development and/or commercialization agreements. The terms of these agreements typically include payment to the Company related to one or more of the following: non-refundable upfront license fees, development and commercial milestones, partial or complete reimbursement of research and development costs, and royalties on net sales of licensed products. Each type of payments results in collaborative revenues except for revenues from royalties on net sales of licensed products, which are classified as royalty revenues. To date, the Company has not received any royalty revenues. Revenue is recognized upon satisfaction of a performance obligation by transferring control of a good or service to the collaboration partners.

 


As part of the accounting for these arrangements, the Company applies judgment to determine whether the performance obligations are distinct, and develop assumptions in determining the stand-alone selling price for each distinct performance obligation identified in the collaboration agreements. To determine the stand-alone selling price, the Company relies on assumptions which may include forecasted revenues, development timelines, reimbursement rates for R&D personnel costs, discount rates and probabilities of technical and regulatory success.

 


The Company had multiple deliverables under the collaborative agreements, including deliverables relating to grants of technology licenses, regulatory and clinical development, and marketing activities. Estimation of the performance periods of the Company’s deliverables requires the use of management’s judgment. Significant factors considered in management’s evaluation of the estimated performance periods include, but are not limited to, the Company’s experience in conducting clinical development, regulatory and manufacturing activities. The Company reviews the estimated duration of its performance periods under its collaborative agreements on an annually basis, and makes any appropriate adjustments on a prospective basis. Future changes in estimates of the performance period under its collaborative agreements could impact the timing of future revenue recognition.

 

(i) Non-refundable upfront payments

 

If a license to the Company’s intellectual property is determined to be distinct from the other performance obligations identified in an arrangement, the Company recognizes revenue from the related non-refundable upfront payments based on the relative standalone selling price prescribed to the license compared to the total selling price of the arrangement. The revenue is recognized when the license is transferred to the collaboration partners and the collaboration partners are able to use and benefit from the license. To date, the receipt of non-refundable upfront fees was solely for the compensation of past research efforts and contributions made by the Company before the collaborative agreements entered into and it does not relate to any future obligations and commitments made between the Company and the collaboration partners in the collaborative agreements.

 

(ii) Milestone payments

 

The Company is eligible to receive milestone payments under the collaborative agreement with collaboration partners based on achievement of specified development, regulatory and commercial events. Management evaluated the nature of the events triggering these contingent payments, and concluded that these events fall into two categories: (a) events which involve the performance of the Company’s obligations under the collaborative agreement with collaboration partners, and (b) events which do not involve the performance of the Company’s obligations under the collaborative agreement with collaboration partners.

 

The former category of milestone payments consists of those triggered by development and regulatory activities in the territories specified in the collaborative agreements. Management concluded that each of these payments constitute substantive milestone payments. This conclusion was based primarily on the facts that (i) each triggering event represents a specific outcome that can be achieved only through successful performance by the Company of one or more of its deliverables, (ii) achievement of each triggering event was subject to inherent risk and uncertainty and would result in additional payments becoming due to the Company, (iii) each of the milestone payments is non-refundable, (iv) substantial effort is required to complete each milestone, (v) the amount of each milestone payment is reasonable in relation to the value created in achieving the milestone, (vi) a substantial amount of time is expected to pass between the upfront payment and the potential milestone payments, and (vii) the milestone payments relate solely to past performance. Based on the foregoing, the Company recognizes any revenue from these milestone payments in the period in which the underlying triggering event occurs.

 


(iii) Multiple Element Arrangements

 

The Company evaluates multiple element arrangements to determine (1) the deliverables included in the arrangement and (2) whether the individual deliverables represent separate units of accounting or whether they must be accounted for as a combined unit of accounting. This evaluation involves subjective determinations and requires management to make judgments about the individual deliverables and whether such deliverables are separate from other aspects of the contractual relationship. Deliverables are considered separate units of accounting provided that: (i) the delivered item(s) has value to the customer on a standalone basis and (ii) if the arrangement includes a general right of return relative to the delivered item(s), delivery or performance of the undelivered item(s) is considered probable and substantially within its control. In assessing whether an item under a collaboration has standalone value, the Company considers factors such as the research, manufacturing, and commercialization capabilities of the collaboration partner and the availability of the associated expertise in the general marketplace. The Company also considers whether its collaboration partners can use the other deliverable(s) for their intended purpose without the receipt of the remaining element(s), whether the value of the deliverable is dependent on the undelivered item(s), and whether there are other vendors that can provide the undelivered element(s).

 


The Company recognizes arrangement consideration allocated to each unit of accounting when all of the revenue recognition criteria in ASC 606 are satisfied for that particular unit of accounting. In the event that a deliverable does not represent a separate unit of accounting, the Company recognizes revenue from the combined unit of accounting over the Company’s contractual or estimated performance period for the undelivered elements, which is typically the term of the Company’s research and development obligations. If there is no discernible pattern of performance or objectively measurable performance measures do not exist, then the Company recognizes revenue under the arrangement on a straight-line basis over the period the Company is expected to complete its performance obligations. Conversely, if the pattern of performance in which the service is provided to the customer can be determined and objectively measurable performance measures exist, then the Company recognizes revenue under the arrangement using the proportional performance method. Revenue recognized is limited to the lesser of the cumulative amount of payments received or the cumulative amount of revenue earned, as determined using the straight-line method or proportional performance method, as applicable, as of the period ending date.

 

At the inception of an arrangement that includes milestone payments, the Company evaluates whether each milestone is substantive and at risk to both parties on the basis of the contingent nature of the milestone. This evaluation includes an assessment of whether: (1) the consideration is commensurate with either the Company’s performance to achieve the milestone or the enhancement of the value of the delivered item(s) as a result of a specific outcome resulting from its performance to achieve the milestone, (2) the consideration relates solely to past performance and (3) the consideration is reasonable relative to all of the deliverables and payment terms within the arrangement. The Company evaluates factors such as the scientific, clinical, regulatory, commercial, and other risks that must be overcome to achieve the particular milestone and the level of effort and investment required to achieve the particular milestone in making this assessment. There is considerable judgment involved in determining whether a milestone satisfies all of the criteria required to conclude that a milestone is substantive. Milestones that are not considered substantive are recognized as earned if there are no remaining performance obligations or over the remaining period of performance, assuming all other revenue recognition criteria are met.

 

(iv) Royalties and Profit Sharing Payments

 

Under the collaborative agreement with the collaboration partners, the Company is entitled to receive royalties on sales of products, which is at certain percentage of the net sales. The Company recognizes revenue from these events based on the revenue recognition criteria set forth in ASC 606. Based on those criteria, the Company considers these payments to be contingent revenues, and recognizes them as revenue in the period in which the applicable contingency is resolved.

 

Revenues Derived from Research and Development Activities Services — Revenues related to research and development and regulatory activities are recognized when the related services or activities are performed, in accordance with the contract terms. The Company typically has only one performance obligation at the inception of a contract, which is to perform research and development services. The Company may also provide its customers with an option to request that the Company provides additional goods or services in the future, such as active pharmaceutical ingredient, API, or IND/NDA/ANDA/510K submissions. The Company evaluates whether these options are material rights at the inception of the contract. If the Company determines an option is a material right, the Company will consider the option a separate performance obligation.

 


If the Company is entitled to reimbursement from its customers for specified research and development expenses, the Company accounts for the related services that it provides as separate performance obligations if it determines that these services represent a material right. The Company also determines whether the reimbursement of research and development expenses should be accounted for as revenues or an offset to research and development expenses in accordance with provisions of gross or net revenue presentation. The Company recognizes the corresponding revenues or records the corresponding offset to research and development expenses as it satisfies the related performance obligations.

  

The Company then determines the transaction price by reviewing the amount of consideration the Company is eligible to earn under the contracts, including any variable consideration. Under the outstanding contracts, consideration typically includes fixed consideration and variable consideration in the form of potential milestone payments. At the start of an agreement, the Company’s transaction price usually consists of the payments made to or by the Company based on the number of full-time equivalent researchers assigned to the project and the related research and development expenses incurred. The Company does not typically include any payments that the Company may receive in the future in its initial transaction price because the payments are not probable. The Company would reassess the total transaction price at each reporting period to determine if the Company should include additional payments in the transaction price.

 


The Company receives payments from its customers based on billing schedules established in each contract. Upfront payments and fees may be recorded as advance from customers upon receipt or when due, and may require deferral of revenue recognition to a future period until the Company performs its obligations under these arrangements. Amounts are recorded as accounts receivable when the right of the Company to consideration is unconditional. The Company does not assess whether a contract has a significant financing component if the expectation at contract inception is such that the period between payment by the customers and the transfer of the promised goods or services to the customers will be one year or less.

 

Property and Equipment

 

Property and equipment is carried at cost net of accumulated depreciation. Repairs and maintenance are expensed as incurred. Expenditures that improve the functionality of the related asset or extend the useful life are capitalized. When property and equipment is retired or otherwise disposed of, the related gain or loss is included in operating income. Leasehold improvements are depreciated on the straight-line method over the shorter of the remaining lease term or estimated useful life of the asset. Depreciation is calculated on the straight-line method, including property and equipment under capital leases, generally based on the following useful lives:

 

  Estimated
Life
in
Years
Buildings and leasehold improvements 5 ~ 50
Machinery and equipment 5 ~ 10
Office equipment 3 ~ 6

 

Impairment of Long-Lived Assets

 

The Company has adopted Accounting Standards Codification subtopic 360-10, Property, Plant and Equipment (“ASC 360-10”). ASC 360-10 requires that long-lived assets and certain identifiable intangibles held and used by the Company be reviewed for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of an asset may not be recoverable. The Company evaluates its long-lived assets for impairment annually or more often if events and circumstances warrant. Events relating to recoverability may include significant unfavorable changes in business conditions, recurring losses, or a forecasted inability to achieve break-even operating results over an extended period. Should impairment in value be indicated, the carrying value of intangible assets will be adjusted, based on estimates of future discounted cash flows resulting from the use and ultimate disposition of the asset. ASC 360-10 also requires assets to be disposed of be reported at the lower of the carrying amount or the fair value less costs to sell.

 


Long-term Equity Investment 

 

The Company acquires the equity investments to promote business and strategic objectives. The Company accounts for non-marketable equity and other equity investments for which the Company does not have control over the investees as:

 

 Equity method investments when the Company has the ability to exercise significant influence, but not control, over the investee. Its proportionate share of the income or loss is recognized monthly and is recorded in gains (losses) on equity investments.

 

 Non-marketable cost method investments when the equity method does not apply.

 


Significant judgment is required to identify whether an impairment exists in the valuation of the Company’s non-marketable equity investments, and therefore the Company considers this a critical accounting estimate. Its yearly analysis considers both qualitative and quantitative factors that may have a significant impact on the investee’s fair value. Qualitative analysis of its investments involves understanding the financial performance and near-term prospects of the investee, changes in general market conditions in the investee’s industry or geographic area, and the management and governance structure of the investee. Quantitative assessments of the fair value of its investments are developed using the market and income approaches. The market approach includes the use of comparable financial metrics of private and public companies and recent financing rounds. The income approach includes the use of a discounted cash flow model, which requires significant estimates regarding the investees’ revenue, costs, and discount rates. The Company’s assessment of these factors in determining whether an impairment exists could change in the future due to new developments or changes in applied assumptions.

 

Other-Than-Temporary Impairment

 

The Company’s long-term equity investments are subject to a periodic impairment review. Impairments affect earnings as follows:

 

 Marketable equity securities include the consideration of general market conditions, the duration and extent to which the fair value is below cost, and our ability and intent to hold the investment for a sufficient period of time to allow for recovery of value in the foreseeable future. The Company also considers specific adverse conditions related to the financial health of, and the business outlook for, the investee, which may include industry and sector performance, changes in technology, operational and financing cash flow factors, and changes in the investee’s credit rating. The Company records other-than-temporary impairments on marketable equity securities and marketable equity method investments in gains (losses) on equity investments.

 

 Non-marketable equity investments based on the Company’s assessment of the severity and duration of the impairment, and qualitative and quantitative analysis of the operating performance of the investee; adverse changes in market conditions and the regulatory or economic environment; changes in operating structure or management of the investee; additional funding requirements; and the investee’s ability to remain in business. A series of operating losses of an investee or other factors may indicate that a decrease in value of the investment has occurred that is other than temporary and that shall be recognized even though the decrease in value is in excess of what would otherwise be recognized by application of the equity method. A loss in value of an investment that is other than a temporary decline shall be recognized. Evidence of a loss in value might include, but would not necessarily be limited to, absence of an ability to recover the carrying amount of the investment or inability of the investee to sustain an earnings capacity that would justify the carrying amount of the investment. The Company records other-than-temporary impairments for non-marketable cost method investments and equity method investments in gains (losses) on equity investments.

Other-than-temporary impairments of equity investments were $0 and $0 for the three monthsyear ended MarchDecember 31, 2022 and 2021, and 2020, respectively.

 


Goodwill

 

The Company evaluates goodwill for impairment annually or more frequently when an event occurs or circumstances change that indicate the carrying value may not be recoverable. In testing goodwill for impairment, the Company may elect to utilize a qualitative assessment to evaluate whether it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying amount. If the qualitative assessment indicates that goodwill impairment is more likely than not, the Company performs a two-step impairment test. The Company tests goodwill for impairment under the two-step impairment test by first comparing the book value of net assets to the fair value of the reporting units. If the fair value is determined to be less than the book value or qualitative factors indicate that it is more likely than not that goodwill is impaired, a second step is performed to compute the amount of impairment as the difference between the estimated fair value of goodwill and the carrying value. The Company estimates the fair value of the reporting units using discounted cash flows. Forecasts of future cash flows are based on our best estimate of future net sales and operating expenses, based primarily on expected category expansion, pricing, market segment share, and general economic conditions.

 


The Company completed the required testing of goodwill for impairment as of MarchDecember 31, 2021,2022, and determined that goodwill was impaired because of the current financial condition of the Company and the Company’s inability to generate future operating income without substantial sales volume increases, which are highly uncertain. Furthermore, the Company anticipates future cash flows indicate that the recoverability of goodwill is not reasonably assured.

 

Research and Development Expenses

 

The Company accounts for the cost of using licensing rights in research and development cost according to ASC Topic 730-10-25-1. This guidance provides that absent alternative future uses the acquisition of product rights to be used in research and development activities must be charged to research and development expenses when incurred.

 

For CDMO business unit, theThe Company accounts for R&D costs in accordance with Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 730, Research and Development (“ASC 730”). Research and development expenses are charged to expense as incurred unless there is an alternative future use in other research and development projects or otherwise. Research and development expenses are comprised of costs incurred in performing research and development activities, including personnel-related costs, facilities-related overhead, and outside contracted services including clinical trial costs, manufacturing and process development costs for both clinical and preclinical materials, research costs, and other consulting services. Non-refundable advance payment for goods and services that will be used in future research and development activities are expensed when the activity has been performed or when the goods have been received rather than when the payment is made. In instances where the Company enters into agreements with third parties to provide research and development services, costs are expensed as services are performed.

 

Post-retirement and post-employment benefits

 

The Company’s subsidiaries in Taiwan adopted the government mandated defined contribution plan pursuant to the Labor Pension Act (the “Act”) in Taiwan. Such labor regulations require that the rate of contribution made by an employer to the Labor Pension Fund per month shall not be less than 6% of the worker’s monthly salaries. Pursuant to the Act, the Company makes monthly contribution equal to 6% of employees’ salaries to the employees’ pension fund. The Company has no legal obligation for the benefits beyond the contributions made. The total amounts for such employee benefits, which were expensed as incurred, were $2,503$13,031 and $3,598$11,375 for the three monthsyears ended MarchDecember 31, 20212022 and 2020,2021, respectively. Other than the above, the Company does not provide any other post-retirement or post-employment benefits.

 


Stock-based Compensation

 

The Company measures expense associated with all employee stock-based compensation awards using a fair value method and recognizes such expense in the consolidated financial statements on a straight-line basis over the requisite service period in accordance with FASB ASC Topic 718 “Compensation-Stock Compensation”. Total employee stock-based compensation expenses were $0$1,241,930 and $0$2,675,205 for the three monthsyears ended MarchDecember 31, 20212022 and 2020,2021, respectively.

 

The Company accounted for stock-based compensation to non-employees in accordance with FASB ASC Topic 718 “Compensation-Stock Compensation” and FASB ASC Topic 505-50 “Equity-Based Payments to Non-Employees” which requires that the cost of services received from non-employees is measured at fair value at the earlier of the performance commitment date or the date service is completed and recognized over the period the service is provided. Total non-employee stock-based compensation expenses were $225,740$5,794,848 and $525$2,631,550 for the three monthsyears ended MarchDecember 31, 20212022 and 2020,2021, respectively.

 


Beneficial Conversion Feature

 

From time to time, the Company may issue convertible notes that may contain an imbedded beneficial conversion feature. A beneficial conversion feature exists on the date a convertible note is issued when the fair value of the underlying common stock to which the note is convertible into is in excess of the remaining unallocated proceeds of the note after first considering the allocation of a portion of the note proceeds to the fair value of the warrants, if related warrants have been granted. The intrinsic value of the beneficial conversion feature is recorded as a debt discount with a corresponding amount to additional paid in capital. The debt discount is amortized to interest expense over the life of the note using the effective interest method.

 

Income Taxes

 

The Company accounts for income taxes using the asset and liability approach which allows the recognition and measurement of deferred tax assets to be based upon the likelihood of realization of tax benefits in future years. Under the asset and liability approach, deferred taxes are provided for the net tax effects of temporary differences between the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities for financial reporting purposes and the amounts used for income tax purposes. A valuation allowance is provided for deferred tax assets if it is more likely than not these items will expire before the Company is able to realize their benefits, or future deductibility is uncertain.

 

Under ASC 740, a tax position is recognized as a benefit only if it is “more likely than not” that the tax position would be sustained in a tax examination, with a tax examination being presumed to occur. The evaluation of a tax position is a two-step process. The first step is to determine whether it is more-likely-than-not that a tax position will be sustained upon examination, including the resolution of any related appeals or litigations based on the technical merits of that position. The second step is to measure a tax position that meets the more-likely-than-not threshold to determine the amount of benefits recognized in the financial statements. A tax position is measured at the largest amount of benefit that is greater than 50 percent likely of being realized upon ultimate settlement. Tax positions that previously failed to meet the more-likely-than-not recognition threshold should be recognized in the first subsequent period in which the threshold is met. Previously recognized tax positions that no longer meet the more-likely-than-not criteria should be de-recognized in the first subsequent financial reporting period in which the threshold is no longer satisfied. Penalties and interest incurred related to underpayment of income tax are classified as income tax expense in the year incurred. No significant penalty or interest relating to income taxes has been incurred for the three monthsyears ended MarchDecember 31, 20212022 and 2020.2021. GAAP also provides guidance on de-recognition, classification, interest and penalties, accounting in interim periods, disclosures and transition.

 

On December 22, 2017, the SEC issued Staff Accounting Bulletin (“SAB 118”), which provides guidance on accounting for tax effects of the Tax Act. SAB 118 provides a measurement period that should not extend beyond one year from the Tax Act enactment date for companies to complete the accounting under ASC 740. In accordance with SAB 118, a company must reflect the income tax effects of those aspects of the Act for which the accounting under ASC 740 is complete. To the extent that a company’s accounting for certain income tax effects of the Tax Act is incomplete but it is able to determine a reasonable estimate, it must record a provisional estimate to be included in the financial statements. If a company cannot determine a provisional estimate to be included in the financial statements, it should continue to apply ASC 740 on the basis of the provision of the tax laws that were in effect immediately before the enactment of the Tax Act. While the Company is able to make reasonable estimates of the impact of the reduction in corporate rate and the deemed repatriation transition tax, the final impact of the Tax Act may differ from these estimates, due to, among other things, changes in our interpretations and assumptions, additional guidance that may be issued by the I.R.S., and actions the Company may take. The Company is continuing to gather additional information to determine the final impact.

 


Valuation of Deferred Tax Assets

 

A valuation allowance is recorded to reduce the Company’s deferred tax assets to the amount that is more likely than not to be realized. In assessing the need for the valuation allowance, management considers, among other things, projections of future taxable income and ongoing prudent and feasible tax planning strategies. If the Company determines that sufficient negative evidence exists, then it will consider recording a valuation allowance against a portion or all of the deferred tax assets in that jurisdiction. If, after recording a valuation allowance, the Company’s projections of future taxable income and other positive evidence considered in evaluating the need for a valuation allowance prove, with the benefit of hindsight, to be inaccurate, it could prove to be more difficult to support the realization of its deferred tax assets. As a result, an additional valuation allowance could be required, which would have an adverse impact on its effective income tax rate and results. Conversely, if, after recording a valuation allowance, the Company determines that sufficient positive evidence exists in the jurisdiction in which the valuation allowance was recorded, it may reverse a portion or all of the valuation allowance in that jurisdiction. In such situations, the adjustment made to the deferred tax asset would have a favorable impact on its effective income tax rate and results in the period such determination was made.

 


Loss Per Share of Common Stock

 

The Company calculates net loss per share in accordance with ASC Topic 260, “Earnings per Share”. Basic loss per share is computed by dividing the net loss by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding during the period. Diluted loss per share is computed similar to basic loss per share except that the denominator is increased to include the number of additional common shares that would have been outstanding if the potential common stock equivalents had been issued and if the additional common shares were dilutive. Diluted earnings per share excludes all dilutive potential shares if their effect is anti-dilutive.

 

Commitments and Contingencies

 

The Company has adopted ASC Topic 450 “Contingencies” subtopic 20, in determining its accruals and disclosures with respect to loss contingencies. Accordingly, estimated losses from loss contingencies are accrued by a charge to income when information available before financial statements are issued or are available to be issued indicates that it is probable that an assetsasset had been impaired or a liability had been incurred at the date of the financial statements and the amount of the loss can be reasonably estimated. Legal expenses associated with the contingency are expensed as incurred. If a loss contingency is not probable or reasonably estimable, disclosure of the loss contingency is made in the financial statements when it is at least reasonably possible that a material loss could be incurred.

 

Foreign-currency Transactions

 

For the Company’s subsidiaries in Taiwan, the foreign-currency transactions are recorded in New Taiwan dollars (“NTD”) at the rates of exchange in effect when the transactions occur. Gains or losses resulting from the application of different foreign exchange rates when cash in foreign currency is converted into New Taiwan dollars, or when foreign-currency receivables or payables are settled, are credited or charged to income in the year of conversion or settlement. On the balance sheet dates, the balances of foreign-currency assets and liabilities are restated at the prevailing exchange rates and the resulting differences are charged to current income except for those foreign currencies denominated investments in shares of stock where such differences are accounted for as translation adjustments under the Statements of Stockholders’ Equity (Deficit).

 


Translation Adjustment

 

The accounts of the Company’s subsidiaries in Taiwan were maintained, and their financial statements were expressed, in New Taiwan Dollar (“NT$”). Such financial statements were translated into U.S. Dollars (“$” or “USD”) in accordance ASC 830, “Foreign Currency Matters”, with the NT$ as the functional currency. According to the Statement, all assets and liabilities are translated at the current exchange rate, stockholder’s deficit are translated at the historical rates and income statement items are translated at an average exchange rate for the period. The resulting translation adjustments are reported under other comprehensive income (loss) as a component of stockholders’ equity (deficit).

 

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

 

In December 2019, the FASB issued ASU 2019-12, Income Taxes (Topic 740): Simplifying the Accounting for Income Taxes, as part of its overall simplification initiative to reduce costs and complexity of applying accounting standards while maintaining or improving the usefulness of the information provided to users of financial statements. The FASB’s amendments primarily impact ASC 740, Income Taxes, and may impact both interim and annual reporting periods. ASU 2019-12 will be effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2020, and interim periods within those fiscal years and early adoption is permitted. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of adopting ASU 2019-12.

In August 2020, the FASB issued ASU 2020-06, Debt — Debt with Conversion and Other Options (Subtopic 470-20) and Derivatives and Hedging- Hedging—Contracts in Entity’s Own Equity (Subtopic 815-40),: Accounting for Convertible Instruments and Contracts in an Entity’s Own Equity (“ASU 2020-06”). ASU 2020-06 simplifies the accounting for convertible debt by eliminating the beneficial conversion and cash conversion accounting models. Upon adoption of ASU 2020-06, convertible debt, unless issued with a substantial premium or an embedded conversion feature that is not clearly and closely related to the host contract, will no longer be allocated between debt and equity components. This modification will reduce the complexity associated with applying U.S. GAAP principles for certainissue discount and result in less non-cash interest expense in financial instruments with characteristics of liabilities and equity. The amendments in thisstatements. ASU reduce2020-06 also updates the number of accounting models for convertible instruments and expand the existing disclosure requirements over earnings per share calculation and requires entities to assume share settlement when the convertible debt can be settled in cash or shares. For contracts in an entity’s own equity, the type of contracts primarily affected by ASU 2020-06 are freestanding and embedded features that are accounted for as it relatesderivatives under the current guidance due to convertible instruments. Thisa failure to meet the settlement assessment by removing the requirements to (i) consider whether the contract would be settled in registered shares, (ii) consider whether collateral is required to be posted, and (iii) assess shareholder rights. ASU will be2020-06 is effective for the fiscal yearyears beginning January 1, 2022 and interim periods therein.after December 15, 2023. Early adoption is permitted, but no earlier than fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2020. The amendments may be2020, and only if adopted through either a modified retrospective method, or a fully retrospective method.as of the beginning of such fiscal year. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of adopting ASU 2020-06.that the standard will have on its consolidated financial statements.

 


In May 2021, the FASB issued ASU 2021-04, Earnings Per Share (Topic 260), Debt — Modifications and Extinguishments (Subtopic 470-50), Compensation — Stock Compensation (Topic 718), and Derivatives and Hedging — Contracts in Entity’s Own Equity (Subtopic 815-40): Issuer’s Accounting for Certain Modifications or Exchanges of Freestanding Equity-Classified Written Call Options (“ASU 2021-04”). ASU 2021-04 provides guidance as to how an issuer should account for a modification of the terms or conditions or an exchange of a freestanding equity-classified written call option (i.e., a warrant) that remains classified after modification or exchange as an exchange of the original instrument for a new instrument. An issuer should measure the effect of a modification or exchange as the difference between the fair value of the modified or exchanged warrant and the fair value of that warrant immediately before modification or exchange and then apply a recognition model that comprises four categories of transactions and the corresponding accounting treatment for each category (equity issuance, debt origination, debt modification, and modifications unrelated to equity issuance and debt origination or modification). ASU 2021-04 is effective for all entities for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2021, including interim periods within those fiscal years. An entity should apply the guidance provided in ASU 2021-04 prospectively to modifications or exchanges occurring on or after the effective date. Early adoption is permitted for all entities, including adoption in an interim period. If an entity elects to early adopt ASU 2021-04 in an interim period, the guidance should be applied as of the beginning of the fiscal year that includes that interim period.

In March 2022, the FASB issued ASU 2022-02, Troubled Debt Restructurings and Vintage Disclosures. This ASU eliminates the accounting guidance for troubled debt restructurings by creditors that have adopted ASU 2016-13, Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments. This ASU also enhances the disclosure requirements for certain loan refinancing and restructurings by creditors when a borrower is experiencing financial difficulty. In addition, the ASU amends the guidance on vintage disclosures to require entities to disclose current period gross write-offs by year of origination for financing receivables and net investments in leases within the scope of ASC 326-20. The ASU is effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2022, including interim periods within those fiscal years. Adoption of the ASU would be applied prospectively. Early adoption is also permitted, including adoption in an interim period.

The Company is currently evaluating the impact that the standards mentioned above will have on its consolidated financial statements.

3. COLLABORATIVE AGREEMENTS

 

Collaborative agreements with BHK, a related party

 

(i) On February 24, 2015, BioLite Taiwan and BioHopeKing Corporation (the “BHK”) entered into a co-development agreement, (the “BHK Co-Development Agreement”), pursuant to which it is collaborative with BHK to develop and commercialize BLI-1401-2 (Botanical Drug) Triple Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC) Combination Therapy (BLI-1401-2 Products) in Asian countries excluding Japan for all related intellectual property rights, and has developed it for medicinal use in collaboration with outside researchers. The development costs shall be shared 50/50 between BHK and the Company. The BHK Co-Development Agreement will remain in effect for fifteen years from the date of first commercial sale of the Product in in Asia excluding Japan.

 

On July 27, 2016, BioLite Taiwan and BHK agreed to amend the payment terms of the milestone payment in an aggregate amount of $10 million based on the following schedule:

 

 Upon the signing of the BHK Co-Development Agreement: $1 million, or 10% of total payment

 

 Upon the first Investigational New Drug (IND) submission and BioLite Taiwan will deliver all data to BHK according to FDA Reviewing requirement: $1 million, or 10% of total payment

 

 At the completion of first phase II clinical trial: $1 million, or 10% of total payment

 

 At the initiation of phase III of clinical trial research: $3 million, or 30% of total payment

 

 Upon the New Drug Application (NDA) submission: $4 million, or 40% of total payment

 


In December 2015, BHK has paid a non-refundable upfront cash payment of $1 million, or 10% of $10,000,000, upon the signing of BHK Co-Development Agreement. The Company concluded that the deliverables are considered separate units of accounting as the delivered items have value to the customer on a standalone basis and recognized this cash receipt as collaboration revenue when all research, technical, and development data was delivered to BHK in 2015. The receipt is for the compensation of past research efforts and contributions made by BioLite Taiwan before this collaborative agreement was signed and it does not relate to any future commitments made by BioLite Taiwan and BHK in this collaborative agreement. In August 2016, the Company has received the second milestone payment of NT$31,649,000, approximately equivalent to $1 million, and recognized collaboration revenue for the year ended December 31, 2016. As of the date of this report, the Company has not completed the first phase II clinical trial.

 

In addition to the milestone payments, BioLite Taiwan is entitled to receive royalty on 12% of BHK’s net sales related to BLI-1401-2 Products. As of MarchDecember 31, 20212022 and December 31, 2020,2021, the Company has not earned the royalty under the BHK Co-Development Agreement.

 


(ii) On December 9, 2015, BioLite Taiwan entered into another two collaborative agreements (the “BHK Collaborative Agreements”), pursuant to which it is collaborative with BHK to co-develop and commercialize BLI-1005 for “Targeting Major Depressive Disorder” (BLI-1005 Products) and BLI-1006 for “Targeting Inflammatory Bowel Disease” (BLI-1006 Products) in Asia excluding Japan for all related intellectual property rights, and has developed it for medicinal use in collaboration with outside researchers. The development costs shall be shared 50/50 between BHK and the Company. The BHK Co-Development Agreement will remain in effect for fifteen years from the date of first commercial sale of the Product in in Asia excluding Japan.

 

In 2015, the Company recognized the cash receipt in a total of NT$50 million, approximately equivalent to $1.6 million, as collaboration revenue when all research, technical, and development data was delivered to BHK. The Company concluded that the deliverables are considered separate units of accounting as the delivered items have value to the customer on a standalone basis and recognized this payment as collaboration revenue when all research, technical, data and development data was delivered to BHK. The cash receipt is for the compensation of past research efforts and contributions made by BioLite Taiwan before this BHK Collaborative Agreements was signed and it does not relate to any future commitments made by BioLite Taiwan and BHK in this BHK Collaborative Agreements.

 

In addition to the total of NT$50 million, approximately equivalent to $1.60 million, BioLite Taiwan is entitled to receive 50% of the future net licensing income or net sales profit. As of March 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020,2022 and 2021, the Company has not earned the royalty under the BHK Collaborative Agreements.

 

Co-Development agreement with Rgene Corporation, a related party

 

On May 26, 2017, BriVision entered into a co-development agreement (the “Co-Dev Agreement”) with Rgene Corporation (the “Rgene”), a related party under common control by controlling beneficiary shareholder of YuanGene Corporation and the Company (See Note 12). Pursuant to Co-Dev Agreement, BriVision and Rgene agreed to co-develop and commercialize ABV-1507 HER2/neu Positive Breast Cancer Combination Therapy, ABV-1511 Pancreatic Cancer Combination Therapy and ABV-1527 Ovary Cancer Combination Therapy. Under the terms of the Co-Dev Agreement, Rgene is required to pay the Company $3,000,000 in cash or stock of Rgene with equivalent value by August 15, 2017. The payment is for the compensation of BriVision’s past research efforts and contributions made by BriVision before the Co-Dev Agreement was signed and it does not relate to any future commitments made by BriVision and Rgene in this Co-Dev Agreement. In addition to $3,000,000, the Company is entitled to receive 50% of the future net licensing income or net sales profit earned by Rgene, if any, and any development costs shall be equally shared by both BriVision and Rgene.

 


On June 1, 2017, the Company has delivered all research, technical, data and development data to Rgene. Since both Rgene and the Company are related parties and under common control by a controlling beneficiary shareholder of YuanGene Corporation and the Company, the Company has recorded the full amount of $3,000,000 in connection with the Co-Dev Agreement as additional paid-in capital during the year ended December 31, 2017. During the year ended December 31, 2017, the Company has received $450,000 in cash. On December 24, 2018, the Company received the remaining balance of $2,550,000 in the form of newly issued shares of Rgene’s Common Stock, at the price of NT$50 (approximately equivalent to $1.60 per share), for an aggregate number of 1,530,000 shares, which accounted for equity method long-term investment as of December 31, 2018. During the year ended December 31, 2018, the Company has recognized investment loss of $549. On December 31, 2018, the Company determined to fully write off this investment based on the Company’s assessment of the severity and duration of the impairment, and qualitative and quantitative analysis of the operating performance of the investee, adverse changes in market conditions and the regulatory or economic environment, changes in operating structure of Rgene, additional funding requirements, and Rgene’s ability to remain in business. All projects that have been initiated will be managed and supported by the Company and Rgene.

 

The Company and Rgene signed an amendment to the Co-Dev Agreement on November 10, 2020, pursuant to which both parties agreed to delete AB-1507 HER2/neu Positive Breast Cancer Combination Therapy and AB 1527 Ovary Cancer Combination Therapy and add ABV-1519 EGFR Positive Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Combination Therapy and ABV-1526 Large Intestine / Colon / Rectal Cancer Combination Therapy to the products to be co-developed and commercialized. Other provisions of the Co-Dev Agreement remain in full force and effect.

 


Collaborative agreement with BioFirst Corporation, a related party

 

On July 24, 2017, BriVision entered into a collaborative agreement (the “BioFirst Collaborative Agreement”) with BioFirst Corporation (“BioFirst”), pursuant to which BioFirst granted the Company the global licensing right for medical use of the product (the “Product”): BFC-1401 Vitreous Substitute for Vitrectomy. BioFirst is a related party to the Company because a controlling beneficiary shareholder of YuanGene Corporation and the Company is one of the directors and Common Stock shareholders of BioFirst (See Note 12).

 

Pursuant to the BioFirst Collaborative Agreement, the Company will co-develop and commercialize the Product with BioFirst and pay BioFirst in a total amount of $3,000,000 in cash or stock of the Company before December 31,September 30, 2018. The amount of $3,000,000 is in connection with the compensation for BioFirst’s past research efforts and contributions made by BioFirst before the BioFirst Collaborative Agreement was signed and it does not relate to any future commitments made by BioFirst and BriVision in this BioFirst Collaborative Agreement. In addition, the Company is entitled to receive 50% of the future net licensing income or net sales profit, if any, and any development cost shall be equally shared by both BriVision and BioFirst.

 

On September 25, 2017, BioFirst has delivered all research, technical, data and development data to BriVision. The Company determined to fully expense the entire amount of $3,000,000 since currently the related licensing rights do not have alternative future uses. According to ASC 730-10-25-1, absent alternative future uses the acquisition of product rights to be used in research and development activities must be charged to research and development expenses immediately. Hence, the entire amount of $3,000,000 is fully expensed as research and development expense during the year ended December 31, 2017.

 

On June 30, 2019, BriVision entered into a Stock Purchase Agreement (the “Purchase Agreement”) with BioFirst Corporation (“BioFirst”).BioFirst. Pursuant to the Purchase Agreement, the Company issued 428,571 shares of the Company’s common stock (the “Shares”) to BioFirst in consideration for $3,000,000 owed by the Company to BioFirst (the “Total Payment”) in connection with a certain collaborative agreement between the Company and BioFirst dated July 24, 2017 (the “Collaborative Agreement”). Pursuant to the Collaborative Agreement, BioFirst granted the Company the global licensing right to co-develop BFC-1401 or ABV-1701 Vitreous Substitute for Vitrectomy for medical purposes in consideration for the Total Payment.

 

On August 5, 2019, BriVision entered into a second Stock Purchase Agreement (“Purchase Agreement 2”) with BioFirst Corporation (“BioFirst”).BioFirst. Pursuant to Purchase Agreement 2, the Company issued 414,702 shares of the Company’s common stock (the “Shares”) to BioFirst in consideration for $2,902,911 owed by the Company to BioFirst (the “Total Payment”) in connection with a loan provided to BriVision from BioFirst.

 

On November 4, 2020, the Company executed an amendment to the BioFirst Agreement with BioFirst to add ABV-2001 Intraocular Irrigation Solution and ABV-2002 Corneal Storage Solution to the agreement. ABV-2002 is utilized during a corneal transplant procedure to replace a damaged or diseased cornea while ABV-2001 has broader utilization during a variety of ocular procedures.

Initially the Company will focus on ABV-2002, a solution utilized to store a donor cornea prior to either penetrating keratoplasty (full thickness cornea transplant) or endothelial keratoplasty (back layer cornea transplant). ABV-2002 is a solution comprised of a specific poly amino acid that protects ocular tissue from damage caused by external osmolarity exposure during pre-surgery storage. The specific polymer in ABV-2002 can adjust osmolarity to maintain a range of 330 to 390 mOsM thereby permitting hydration within the corneal stroma during the storage period. Stromal hydration results in (a) maintaining acceptable corneal transparency and (b) prevents donor cornea swelling. ABV-2002 also contains an abundant phenolic phytochemical found in plant cell walls that provides antioxidant antibacterial properties and neuroprotection.

Early testing by BioFirst indicates  that ABV-2002 may be more effective for protecting the cornea and retina during long-term storage than other storage media available today and can be manufactured at lower cost.    Further ABV-2002 product development was put on hold due the lack of funding.

In addition, BioFirst was incorporated on November 7, 2006, focusing on the R&D, manufacturing, and sales of innovative patented pharmaceutical products. The technology of BioFirst comes from the global exclusive licensing from domestic R & D institutions. Currently, the main research and development product is the vitreous substitute (Vitargus®) Licensed by the National Health Research Institutes. Vitargus is the world’s first bio-degradable vitreous substitute and offers a number of advantages over current vitreous substitutes by minimizing medical complications and reducing the need for additional surgeries.

Vitargus has started the construction of a GMP factory in Hsinchu Biomedical Science Park, Taiwan, with the aim at building a production base to supply the global market and promote the construction of bio-degradable vitreous substitute manufacturing center in Taiwan, allowing ABVC to achieve the world-class technology of manufacturing Vitargus and GMP certified pharmaceutical factory. BioFirst is targeting to complete the construction in 2024.

F-20


 

 

4. INVENTORY

 

Inventory consists of the following:

 

  March 31,
2021
  December 31,
2020
 
  (Unaudited)    
Finished goods $99,549  $100,967 
Work-in-process  21,729   22,038 
Raw materials  60,851   61,718 
Allowance for inventory valuation and obsolescence loss  (182,129)  (184,723)
Inventory, net $-  $- 
  December 31,
2022
  December 31,
2021
 
Finished goods $       -  $96,725 
Work-in-process  -   - 
Raw materials  -   84,620 
Allowance for inventory valuation and obsolescence loss  -   (155,370)
Inventories, net $-  $25,975 

 

For the year ended December 31, 2022, the inventories were expensed as research and development expenses.

5. PROPERTY AND EQUIPMENT

 

Property and equipment as of March 31, 2021 and December 31, 20202022 and 2021 are summarized as follows:

 

  March 31,
2021
  December 31,
2020
 
  (Unaudited)    
Land $390,088  $395,645 
Buildings and leasehold improvements  2,231,712   2,233,573 
Machinery and equipment  992,882   994,544 
Office equipment  187,181   189,760 
   3,801,863   3,813,522 
Less: accumulated depreciation  (3,296,911)  (3,298,688)
Property and equipment, net $504,952  $514,834 
  December 31,
2022
  December 31,
2021
 
Land $361,193  $400,091 
Buildings and leasehold improvements  2,226,687   2,235,061 
Machinery and equipment  1,116,789   1,013,376 
Office equipment  173,766   191,824 
   3,878,435   3,840,352 
Less: accumulated depreciation  (3,304,457)  (3,314,471)
Property and equipment, net $573,978  $525,881 

 

Depreciation expensesexpense were $2,928$23,799 and $11,174$11,993 for three monthsthe years ended MarchDecember 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively. As of December 31, 2022 and 2020, respectively.2021, Land with book value amounted to approximately $361,193 and $400,091, respectively, were pledged for obtaining bank loan (see Notes 8 Bank loans).

 

6. LONG-TERM INVESTMENTS

  

(1)The ownership percentages of each investee are listed as follows:

 

  Ownership percentage   
  March 31,  December 31,  Accounting
Name of related party 2021  2020  treatments
Braingenesis Biotechnology Co., Ltd.  0.17%  0.17% Cost Method
Genepharm Biotech Corporation  0.70%  0.70% Cost Method
BioHopeKing Corporation  5.90%  5.90% Cost Method
BioFirst Corporation  15.99%  15.99% Equity Method
Rgene Corporation  31.62%  31.62% Equity Method
  Ownership percentage   
  December 31,  December 31,  Accounting
Name of related party 2022  2021  treatments
Braingenesis Biotechnology Co., Ltd.  0.22%  0.22% Cost Method
Genepharm Biotech Corporation  0.92%  0.92% Cost Method
BioHopeKing Corporation  8.03%  8.03% Cost Method
BioFirst Corporation  21.77%  21.77% Equity Method
Rgene Corporation  28.85%  28.85% Equity Method

 

(2)The extent the investee relies on the company for its business are summarized as follows:

 

Name of related party The extent the investee relies on the Company for its business  
Braingenesis Biotechnology Co., Ltd. No specific business relationship
Genepharm Biotech Corporation No specific business relationship
BioHopeKing Corporation Collaborating with the Company to develop and commercialize drugs
BioFirst Corporation Loaned from the investee and provides research and development support service
Rgene Corporation Collaborating with the Company to develop and commercialize drugs

  

F-21


 

 

(3)Long-term investment mainly consists of the following:

 

  March 31,
2021
  December 31,
2020
 
       
Non-marketable Cost Method Investments, net      
Braingenesis Biotechnology Co., Ltd. $7,742  $7,853 
Genepharm Biotech Corporation  23,638   23,974 
BioHopeKing Corporation  878,056   890,564 
Sub total  909,436   922,391 
Equity Method Investments, net        
BioFirst Corporation  217,448   268,336 
Rgene Corporation  -   - 
Total $1,126,884  $1,190,727 
  December 31,
2022
  December 31,
2021
 
Non-marketable Cost Method Investments, net      
Braingenesis Biotechnology Co., Ltd. $7,169  $7,941 
Genepharm Biotech Corporation  21,887   24,244 
BioHopeKing Corporation  813,014   900,570 
Subtotal  842,070   932,755 
Equity Method Investments, net        
BioFirst Corporation  -   - 
Rgene Corporation  -   - 
Total $842,070  $932,755 

 

(a)(a)BioFirst Corporation (the “BioFirst”):

 

The Company holds an equity interest in BioFirst Corporation, accounting for its equity interest using the equity method to accounts for its equity investment as prescribed in ASC 323, Investments—Equity Method and Joint Ventures (“ASC 323”). Equity method adjustments include the Company’s proportionate share of investee’s income or loss and other adjustments required by the equity method. As of March 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020,2022 and 2021, the Company owns 15.99%21.77% and 15.99%21.77% common stock shares of BioFirst, respectively. During the three monthsyear ended MarchDecember 31, 2021, the Company made prepayment for equity investment in BioFirst to purchase additional 132,000317,000 shares to be issued by BioFirst in the aggregate amount of $281,952.$618,150, recorded as prepayment for long-term investments as of December 31, 2022. The amount due from BioFirst has been reclassified as prepayment for investment.

 

Summarized financial information for the Company’s equity method investee, BioFirst, is as follows:

 

Balance Sheet

 

  March 31,
2021
  December 31,
2020
 
       
Current Assets $1,216,963  $1,299,822 
Non-current Assets  2,633,925   2,540,041 
Current Liabilities  1,959,919   1,986,340 
Non-current Liabilities  76,082   73,197 
Stockholders’ Equity  1,814,887   1,780,326 
  December 31,
2022
  December 31,
2021
 
Current Assets $1,543,151  $2,205,669 
Noncurrent Assets  739,472   959,454 
Current Liabilities  2,663,051   2,909,703 
Noncurrent Liabilities  103,447   32,522 
Stockholders’ Equity  483,874   222,898 

 

Statement of operation

 

  Three Months Ended
March 31,
 
  2021  2020 
    
Net sales $12,239  $12,110 
Gross profit  7,080   1,578 
Net loss  (220,855)  (325,652)
Share of losses from investments accounted for using the equity method  (47,791)  (70,411)
  Year Ended
December 31,
 
  2022  2021 
Net sales $30,162  $26,693 
Gross profit  8,239   8,348 
Net loss  (1,274,539)  (2,276,892)
Share of losses from investments accounted for using the equity method  -   (269,844)

 

F-22


 

 

(b)(b)Rgene Corporation (the “Rgene”)

 

Both Rgene and the Company are under common control by Dr. Tsung-Shann Jiang, the CEO and chairman of the BioLite Inc. Since Dr. Tsung-Shann Jiang is able to exercise significant influence, but not control, over the Rgene, the Company determined to use the equity method to accounts for its equity investment as prescribed in ASC 323, Investments—Equity Method and Joint Ventures (“ASC 323”). Equity method adjustments include the Company’s proportionate share of investee’s income or loss and other adjustments required by the equity method. As of March 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020,2022 and 2021, the Company owns 31.62%28.85% and 31.62% Common Stock28.85% common stock shares of Rgene, respectively.

  

Summarized financial information for the Company’s equity method investee, Rgene, is as follows:

 

Balance Sheets

 

  March 31,
2021
  December 31,
2020
 
       
Current Assets $107,682  $123,958 
Noncurrent Assets  395,665   412,342 
Current Liabilities  1,451,387   1,392,756 
Noncurrent Liabilities  28,877   38,953 
Shareholders’ Deficit  (976,917)  (895,409)
  December 31,
2022
  December 31,
2021
 
Current Assets $68,302  $73,452 
Noncurrent Assets  303,893   374,423 
Current Liabilities  2,478,868   1,934,786 
Noncurrent Liabilities  2,441   - 
Shareholders’ Deficit  (2,481,309)  (1,486,911)

 

Statement of operations

 

  Three Months Ended
March 31,
 
  2021  2020 
    
Net sales $-  $- 
Gross Profit  -   - 
Net loss  (95,395)  (21,889)
Share of loss from investments accounted for using the equity method  -   - 
  Year Ended
December 31,
 
  2022  2021 
Net sales $   -  $- 
Gross Profit  -   - 
Net loss  (1,550,123)  (576,514)
Share of loss from investments accounted for using the equity method  -   - 

  

(4)(4)Disposition of long-term investment

 

During the yearyears ended December 31, 2020, the Company sold 218,000 shares of common stock of BioHopeKing Corporation at price of NT$24, equivalent $0.85, to several individuals,2022 and the percentage of ownership decreased to 5.90% as of December 31, 2020. As a result of the transactions, the Company recognized investment loss of $40,589 and impairment loss of $961,217 for the same period. As of March 31. 2021, there is no disposition of long-term investment.

 

(5)(5)Losses on Equity Investments

 

The components of losses on equity investments for each period were as follows:

 

  Three Months Ended
March 31,
 
  2021  2020 
       
Share of equity method investee losses $(47,791) $(70,411)
  Year Ended
December 31,
 
  2022  2021 
Share of equity method investee losses $      -  $(269,844)

 


7. CONVERTIBLE NOTES PAYABLE

 

On May 9, 2018, the Company issued an eighteen-month term unsecured convertible promissory note (the “Yu and Wei Note”) in an aggregate principal amount of $300,000 to Guoliang Yu and Yingfei Wei Family Trust (the “Yu and Wei”), pursuant to which the Company received $300,000. The Yu and Wei Note bears interest at 8% per annum. The Company shall pay to the Yu and Wei an amount in cash representing all outstanding principal and accrued and unpaid interest on the Eighteenth (18) month anniversary of the issuance date of the Yu and Wei Note, which is on November 8, 2019. In the event that the Company raises gross proceeds from the sale of its common stock of at least $5,000,000 (an “Equity Offering”) then within five days of the closing for such offering, the Company must repay the outstanding amount of this Yu and Wei Note. At any time from the date hereof until this Yu and Wei Note has been satisfied, the Yu and Wei may convert the unpaid and outstanding principal plus any accrued and unpaid interest and or default interest, if any, into shares of the Company’s common stock at a conversion price (the “Conversion Price”) equal to the lower of (i) $2.00 per share (the “Fixed Conversion Price”), subject to adjustment or (ii) 80% of the per share offering price (the “Alternative Conversion Price”) of any completed equity offering of the Company in an amount exceeding $500,000 that occurs when any part of the Yu and Wei Note is outstanding, subject to adjustments set forth in the Yu and Wei Note. In accordance with FASB ASC 470-20, the Company recognized none of the intrinsic value of embedded beneficial conversion feature present in the Yu and Wei Note. On January 21, 2020, Yu and Wei entered into a new agreement that the new Note bears interest at 20% per annum. The Company shall pay to the Yu and Wei an amount in cash representing all outstanding principal and accrued and unpaid interest on the Twelve (12) month anniversary of the issuance date of the new “Yu and Wei” Note, which is on January 20, 2021. On April 5, 2020, the Company entered into an exchange agreement with “Yu and Wei”. The aggregate principal amount plus accrued interest expenses were $354,722, and the Company agreed to issue to the Holders an aggregate of 192,784 shares of the Company’s common stock, and warrants to purchase 192,784 shares of the Company’s common stock. As of March 31, 2021, these common shares have been issued.

On June 27, 2018, the Company issued an eighteen-month term unsecured convertible promissory note (the “Keypoint Note”) in the aggregate principal amount of $250,000 to Keypoint Technology Ltd. (“Keypoint”), a related party, pursuant to which the Company received $250,000. The Keypoint Note bears interest at 8% per annum. The Company shall pay to the Keypoint an amount in cash representing all outstanding principal and accrued and unpaid interest on the Eighteenth (18) month anniversary of the issuance date of the Keypoint Note, which is on December 26, 2019. In the event that the Company raises gross proceeds from the sale of its common stock of at least $5,000,000 (an “Equity Offering”) then within five days of the closing for such offering, the Company must repay the outstanding amount of this Keypoint Note. At any time from the date hereof until this Keypoint Note has been satisfied, Keypoint may convert the unpaid and outstanding principal plus any accrued and unpaid interest and or default interest, if any, into shares of the Company’s common stock at a conversion price (the “Conversion Price”) equal to the lower of (i) $2.00 per share (the “Fixed Conversion Price”), subject to adjustment or (ii) 80% of the per share offering price (the “Alternative Conversion Price”) of any completed equity offering of the Company in an amount exceeding $500,000 that occurs when any part of the Keypoint Note is outstanding, subject to adjustments set forth in the Keypoint Note. In accordance with FASB ASC 470-20, the Company recognized none of the intrinsic value of embedded beneficial conversion feature present in the Keypoint Note. On January 21, 2020, Keypoint entered into a new agreement that the new Note bears interest at 20% per annum. The Company shall pay to the Keypoint an amount in cash representing all outstanding principal and accrued and unpaid interest on the Twelve (12) month anniversary of the issuance date of the new “Keypoint” Note, which is on January 20, 2021. On April 5, 2020, the Company entered into an exchange agreement with “Keypoint”. The aggregate principal amount plus accrued interest expenses were $292,826, and the Company agreed to issue to the Holders an aggregate of 159,145 shares of the Company’s common stock, and warrants to purchase 159,145 shares of the Company’s common stock. As of March 31, 2021, these common shares have been issued.


On August 25, 2018, the Company issued an eighteen-month term unsecured convertible promissory notes (the “Odaira Note”) in the aggregate principal amount of $250,000 to Yoshinobu Odaira. (“Odaira”), pursuant to which the Company received $250,000. The Odaira Note bears interest at 8% per annum. The Company shall pay to the Odaira an amount in cash representing all outstanding principal and accrued and unpaid interest on the Eighteenth (18) month anniversary of the issuance date of the Odaira Note, which is on February 24, 2020. In the event that the Company raises gross proceeds from the sale of its common stock of at least $5,000,000 (an “Equity Offering”) then within five days of the closing for such offering, the Company must repay the outstanding amount of this Odaira Note. At any time from the date hereof until this Odaira Note has been satisfied, Odaira may convert the unpaid and outstanding principal plus any accrued and unpaid interest and or default interest, if any, into shares of the Company’s common stock at a conversion price (the “Conversion Price”) equal to the lower of (i) $2.00 per share (the “Fixed Conversion Price”), subject to adjustment or (ii) 80% of the per share offering price (the “Alternative Conversion Price”) of any completed equity offering of the Company in an amount exceeding $500,000 that occurs when any part of the Odaira Note is outstanding, subject to adjustments set forth in the Odaira Note. In accordance with FASB ASC 470-20, the Company recognized none of the intrinsic value of embedded beneficial conversion feature present in the Odaira Note. On January 21, 2020, Odaira entered into a new agreement that the new Note bears interest at 20% per annum. The Company shall pay to the Odaira an amount in cash representing all outstanding principal and accrued and unpaid interest on the Twelve (12) month anniversary of the issuance date of the new “Odaira” Note, which is on January 20, 2021. On April 5, 2020, the Company entered into an exchange agreement with “Odaira”. The aggregate principal amount plus accrued interest expenses were $284,036, and the Company agreed to issue to the Holders an aggregate of 154,368 shares of the Company’s common stock, and warrants to purchase 154,368 shares of the Company’s common stock. As of March 31, 2021, these common shares have been issued.

On May 30 and July 10, 2019, the Company issued two (2) twelve-month term unsecured convertible promissory notes (the “KSL Note”) in an aggregate principal amount of $250,000 to Kuo Sheng Lung (the “KSL”), pursuant to which the Company received $160,000 and $90,000, respectively. The KSL Note bears interest at 20% per annum. The Company shall pay to KSL an amount in cash representing all outstanding principal and accrued and unpaid interest on the Twelve (12) month anniversary of the issuance date of the KSL Note, which is on May 29, 2020 and July 9, 2020. At any time from the issuance date until the KSL Note has been satisfied, the KSL may convert the unpaid and outstanding principal plus any accrued and unpaid interest and or default interest, if any, into shares of the Company’s common stock at a conversion price (the “Conversion Price”) equal to the lower of (i) $0.50 per share (the “Fixed Conversion Price”), subject to adjustment, or (ii) 70% of the per share offering price (the “Alternative Conversion Price”) of the completed public equity offering of the Company in an amount exceeding $10,000,000 as stated on the registration statement on a Form S-1 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 14, 2018 (the “Public Offering”), as amended from time to time. In accordance with FASB ASC 470-20, the Company recognized none of the intrinsic value of the embedded beneficial conversion feature present in the KSL Note. On May 13, 2020, the Company received an acknowledgement letter from KSL that they will not claim the repayment of loan for 12 months. On November 9, 2020, the Company entered into an agreement with “KSL”. The aggregate principal amount plus accrued interest expenses are $270,272, and KSL agreed to use the full amount to purchase certain securities pursuant to a securities purchase agreement; KSL agreed to purchase and the Company agreed to issue 120,121 shares of the Company’s common stock and warrants for a purchase price of $270,272. As of March 31, 2021, the Company issued to the Holders an aggregate of 120,121 shares of the Company’s common stock.

On July 10, 2019, the Company issued a twelve-month term unsecured convertible promissory note (the “NEA Note”) in an aggregate principal amount of $250,000 to New Eastern Asia (the “NEA”), a related party, pursuant to which the Company received $250,000 on July 10, 2019. The NEA Note bears interest at 20% per annum. The Company shall pay to the NEA an amount in cash representing all outstanding principal and accrued and unpaid interest on the Twelve (12) month anniversary of the issuance date of the NEA Note, which is on July 9, 2020. At any time from the date hereof until this NEA Note has been satisfied, the NEA may convert the unpaid and outstanding principal plus any accrued and unpaid interest and or default interest, if any, into shares of the Company’s common stock at a conversion price (the “Conversion Price”) equal to the lower of (i) $.50 per share (the “Fixed Conversion Price”), subject to adjustment, or (ii) 70% of the per share offering price (the “Alternative Conversion Price”) of the completed public equity offering of the Company in an amount exceeding $10,000,000 as stated on the registration statement on a Form S-1 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 14, 2018 (the “Public Offering”), as amended from time to time. In accordance with FASB ASC 470-20, the Company recognized none of the intrinsic value of embedded beneficial conversion feature present in the NEA Note. As of March 31, 2021, the Company paid off the convertible promissory note of $306,667, including principal and accrued and unpaid interest expense.


On August 28, 2019, the Company issued a twelve-month term unsecured convertible promissory note (the “KLS Note”) in an aggregate principal amount of $200,000 to Kuo Li Shen (the “KLS”), pursuant to which the Company received $200,000 on August 28, 2019. The KLS Note bears interest at 20% per annum. The Company shall pay to the KLS an amount in cash representing all outstanding principal and accrued and unpaid interest on the Twelve (12) month anniversary of the issuance date of the KLS Note, which is on August 27, 2020. At any time from the date hereof until this KLS Note has been satisfied, the KLS may convert the unpaid and outstanding principal plus any accrued and unpaid interest and or default interest, if any, into shares of the Company’s common stock at a conversion price (the “Conversion Price”) equal to the lower of (i) $.50 per share (the “Fixed Conversion Price”), subject to adjustment, or (ii) 70% of the per share offering price (the “Alternative Conversion Price”) of the completed public equity offering of the Company in an amount exceeding $10,000,000 as stated on the registration statement on a Form S-1 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 14, 2018 (the “Public Offering”), as amended from time to time. In accordance with FASB ASC 470-20, the Company recognized none of the intrinsic value of embedded beneficial conversion feature present in the KLS Note. On April 20, 2020, the Company entered into an exchange agreement with KLS. The aggregate principal amount plus accrued interest expenses were $225,222, and the Company agreed to issue to the Holders an aggregate of 126,530 shares of the Company’s common stock, and warrants to purchase 126,530 shares of common stock. As of March 31, 2021, these common shares have been issued.

On September 4, 2019, the Company issued 3 twelve-month term unsecured convertible promissory note (the “C.L.L. Note”) in an aggregate principal amount of $257,500 to Chang Ping Shan, Lin Shan Tyan, and Liu Ching Hsuan (together the “C.L.L.”), pursuant to which the Company received $257,500 on September 4, 2019. Chang Ping Shan and Liu Ching Hsuan are related parties to the Company. The C.L.L. Note bears interest at 20% per annum. The Company shall pay to the C.L.L. an amount in cash representing all outstanding principal and accrued and unpaid interest on the Twelve (12) month anniversary of the issuance date of the C.L.L. Note, which is on September 3, 2020. At any time from the date hereof until this C.L.L. Note has been satisfied, the C.L.L. may convert the unpaid and outstanding principal plus any accrued and unpaid interest and or default interest, if any, into shares of the Company’s common stock at a conversion price (the “Conversion Price”) equal to the lower of (i) $.50 per share (the “Fixed Conversion Price”), subject to adjustment, or (ii) 70% of the per share offering price (the “Alternative Conversion Price”) of the completed public equity offering of the Company in an amount exceeding $10,000,000 as stated on the registration statement on a Form S-1 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 14, 2018 (the “Public Offering”), as amended from time to time. In accordance with FASB ASC 470-20, the Company recognized none of the intrinsic value of embedded beneficial conversion feature present in the C.L.L. Note. On April 20, 2020, the Company entered into an exchange agreement with C.L.L.. The aggregate principal amount plus accrued interest expenses were $289,974, and the Company agreed to issue to the Holders an aggregate of 162,908 shares of the Company’s common stock, and warrants to purchase 162,908 shares of common stock. As of March 31, 2021, these common shares have been issued.

On October 29, 2019, the Company issued a twelve-month term unsecured convertible promissory note (the “Lee Note”) in an aggregate principal amount of $250,000 to Hwalin Lee (the “Lee”), a related party, pursuant to which the Company received $250,000 on October 29, 2019. The Lee Note bears interest at 20% per annum. The Company shall pay to the Lee an amount in cash representing all outstanding principal and accrued and unpaid interest on the Twelve (12) month anniversary of the issuance date of the Lee Note, which is on October 28, 2020. At any time from the date hereof until this Lee Note has been satisfied, the Lee may convert the unpaid and outstanding principal plus any accrued and unpaid interest and or default interest, if any, into shares of the Company’s common stock at a conversion price (the “Conversion Price”) equal to the lower of (i) $.50 per share (the “Fixed Conversion Price”), subject to adjustment, or (ii) 70% of the per share offering price (the “Alternative Conversion Price”) of the completed public equity offering of the Company in an amount exceeding $10,000,000 as stated on the registration statement on a Form S-1 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 14, 2018 (the “Public Offering”), as amended from time to time. In accordance with FASB ASC 470-20, the Company recognized none of the intrinsic value of embedded beneficial conversion feature present in the Lee Note. As of March 31, 2021, the Company paid off the convertible promissory note of $311,233, including principal and accrued and unpaid interest expense. 


On October 23, 2020, the Company entered into a Securities Purchase Agreement (the “October SPA”) with one accredited investor. Pursuant to the October SPA, the Company sold and issued a convertible promissory note (the “October Note”) in the principal amount of $2,500,000 to the investor and received the payment from such investor on October 30, 2020. The October Note was issued on October 23, 2020 and the maturity date of the October Note is the twenty-four (24) month anniversary from the issuance date (the “Maturity Date”). Upon the Maturity Date, the Company shall pay to the holder, in cash, an amount representing all outstanding principal amount and accrued and unpaid interest under the October Note. The October Note bears an interest rate of ten percent (10%) per annum and may be convertible into shares of the Company’s common stock at a fixed conversion price of $2.25 per share. The holder of the October Note may elect to convert part or all of the outstanding balance of the October Note from the issuance date until the Maturity Date. The Company may prepay the outstanding amount at any time, in whole or in part, without any penalty.

 

On May 17, 2021, the parties to the October SPA signed Amendment No. 1 to Promissory Note (the “Amendment”). Pursuant to the Amendment, the Note shall also be automatically converted into shares of the Company’s common stock immediately following the Company’s receipt of conditional approval to list its common stock on the NASDAQ stock market, if and when the Company receives such approval, at a conversion price equal to $2.25 per share. On July 21, 2021, The Company converted all convertible promissory note amounted $2,500,000 into 1,111,112 shares of the Company’s common stock and warrants.

As of March 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020,2022 and 2021, the aggregate carrying values of the convertible debentures were $2,500,000 and $2,750,000, respectively;both $0; and accrued convertible interest was $110,215 and $104,551, respectively.were both $0.

 

Total interest expenses in connection with the above convertible note payable were $66,897$208,657 and $95,214$193,548 for the three monthsyears ended MarchDecember 31, 2022 and 2021, and 2020, respectively.

 

8. BANK LOANS

 

(1)Short-term bank loan consists of the following:

 

  March 31,  December 31, 
  2021  2020 
Cathay United Bank $263,250  $267,000 
CTBC Bank  702,000   712,000 
Cathay Bank  650,000   650,000 
Total $1,615,250  $1,629,000 
  December 31,  December 31, 
  2022  2021 
Cathay United Bank $243,750  $270,000 
CTBC Bank  650,000   720,000 
Cathay Bank  1,000,000   650,000 
Total $1,893,750  $1,640,000 

 

Cathay United Bank

 

On June 28, 2016, BioLite Taiwan and Cathay United Bank entered into a one-year bank loan agreement (the “Cathay United Loan Agreement”) in an amount of NT$7,500,000, equivalent to $263,250.$243,750. The term started June 28, 2016 with maturity date at June 28, 2017. The loan balance bears interest at a floating rate of prime rate plus 1.15%. The prime rate is based on term deposit saving interest rate of Cathay United Bank. On September 6, 2017, BioLite Taiwan extended the Cathay United Loan Agreement for one year, which was due on September 6, 2018, with the principal amount of NT$7,500,000, equivalent to $263,250.$243,750. On October 1, 2018, BioLite Taiwan extended the Cathay United Loan Agreement with the same principal amount of NT$7,500,000, equivalent to $263,250$243,750  for one year, which was due on September 6, 2019. On September 6, 2019, BioLite Taiwan extended the Cathay United Loan Agreement with the same principal amount of NT$7,500,000, equivalent to $263,250$243,750 for one year, which is due on September 6, 2020. On September 6, 2020, BioLite Taiwan extended the Cathay United Loan Agreement with the same principal amount of NT$7,500,000, equivalent to $263,250$243,750 for one year, which is due on September 6, 2021. On September 6, 2021, BioLite Taiwan extended the Cathay United Loan Agreement with the same principal amount of NT$7,500,000, equivalent to $243,750 for one year, which is due on September 6, 2022. On September 6, 2022, BioLite Taiwan extended the Cathay United Loan Agreement with the same principal amount of NT$7,500,000, equivalent to $243,750 for one year, and same interest rate, which is due on September 6, 2023. As of MarchDecember 31, 20212022 and December 31, 2020,2021, the effective interest rates per annum was 2.1%2.67% and 2.10%. The loan is collateralized by the building and improvementLand of BioLite Taiwan, and is also personal guaranteed by the Company’s chairman.

 

Interest expenses were $1,383$5,960 and $1,378$5,639 for the three monthsyears ended MarchDecember 31, 20212022 and 2020,2021, respectively.

 


CTBC Bank 

 

On June 12, 2017 and July 19, 2017, BioLite Taiwan and CTBC Bank entered into short-term saving secured bank loan agreements (the “CTBC Loan Agreements”) in an amount of NT$10,000,000, equivalent to $351,000,$325,000, and NT$10,000,000, equivalent to $351,000,$325,000, respectively. Both two loans with the same maturity date at January 19, 2018. In February 2018, BioLite Taiwan combined two loans and extended the loan contract with CTBC for one year. On January 18, 2019, BioLite Taiwan and CTBC Bank agreed to extend the loan with a new maturity date, which was July 18, 2019. On July 18, 2019, BioLite Taiwan extended the CTBC Loan Agreement with the same principal amount of NT$20,000,000, equivalent to $702,000$650,000 for six months, which is due on January 17, 2020. On January 19, 2020, BioLite Taiwan extended the CTBC Loan Agreement with the same principal amount of NT$20,000,000, equivalent to $702,000$650,000 for six months, which is due on July 19, 2020. On July 17, 2020, BioLite Taiwan extended the CTBC Loan Agreement with the same principal amount of NT$20,000,000, equivalent to $702,000$650,000 for six months, which is due on January 15, 2021. On January 15, 2021, BioLite Taiwan extended the CTBC Loan Agreement with the same principal amount of NT$20,000,000, equivalent to $702,000$650,000 for six months, which is due on July 15, 2021. On July 15, 2021, BioLite Taiwan extended the CTBC Loan Agreement with the same principal amount of NT$20,000,000, equivalent to $650,000 for six months, which is due on January 14, 2022. The loan balances bear interest at a fixed rate of 1.68% per annum. The loan is secured by the money deposited in a savings account with the CTBC Bank. This loan was also personal guaranteed by the Company’s chairman and BioFirst. During the year ended December 31, 2020,2021, BioLite Taiwan has opened a TCD account with CTBC bank to guarantee the loan going forward.

 


On July 14, 2022, BioLite Taiwan extended the CTBC Loan Agreement with the same principal amount of NT$20,000,000, equivalent to $650,000 for six months, which is due on January 14, 2023. The loan balance bear interest at a fixed rate of 2.00% per annum.

On January 14, 2023, BioLite Taiwan extended the CTBC Loan Agreement with the same principal amount of NT$20,000,000, equivalent to $650,000 for six months, which is due on July 14, 2023. The loan balance bear interest at a fixed rate of 2.50% per annum.

Interest expenses were $2,949$12,220 and $2,755$12,029 for the three monthsyears ended MarchDecember 31, 20212022 and 2020,2021, respectively.

 

Cathay Bank 

 

On January 21, 2019, the Company received a loan in the amount of $500,000 from Cathay Bank (the “Bank”) pursuant to a business loan agreement (the “Loan Agreement”) entered by and between the Company and Bank on January 8, 2019 and a promissory note (the “Note”) executed by the Company on the same day. The Loan Agreement provides for a revolving line of credit in the principal amount of $1,000,000 with a maturity date (the “Maturity Date”) of January 1, 2020. The Note executed in connection with the Loan Agreement bears an interest rate (the “Regular Interest Rate”) equal to the sum of one percent (1%) and the prime rate as published in the Wall Street Journal (the “Index”) and the accrued interest shall become payable each month from February 1, 2019. Pursuant to the Note, the Company shall pay the entire outstanding principal plus accrued unpaid interest on the Maturity Date and may prepay portion or all of the Note before the Maturity Date without penalty. If the Company defaults on the Note, the default interest rate shall become five percent (5%) plus the Regular Interest Rate.

 

In connection with the Note and Loan Agreement, on January 8, 2019, each of Dr. Tsung Shann Jiang and Dr. George Lee, executed a commercial guaranty (the “Guaranty”) to guaranty the loans for the Company pursuant to the Loan Agreement and Note, severally and individually, in the amount not exceeding $500,000 each until the entire Note plus interest are fully paid and satisfied. Dr. Tsung Shann Jiang is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of BioLite Holding, Inc. and Dr. George Lee serves as the Chairman of the board of directors of BioKey, Inc, which became a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company effective by operation of law on or about February 5, 2019.BioKey. On December 29, 2020, the Company entered into a new loan extension agreement and assignment of deposit account with the Bank, which allowed Dr. Tsung Shann Jiang and Dr. George Lee to be removed as guarantees from the list of Guaranty.

 

In addition, on January 8, 2019, each of the Company and BioKey, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company, signed a commercial security agreement (the “Security Agreement”) to secure the loans under the Loan Agreement and the Note. Pursuant to the Security Agreements, each of the Company and BioKey (each, a “Grantor”, and collectively, the “Grantors”) granted security interest in the collaterals as defined therein, comprised of almost all of the assets of each Grantor, to secure such loans for the benefit of the Bank. On March 31, 2020, the Company extended the Loan Agreement with the same term for seven months, which is due on October 31, 2020. On April 8, 2020 and October 3, 2020, the Company repaid an aggregated principal amount of $350,000. On December 3, 2020, The Company renewed the Loan Agreement with the principal amount of $650,000 for ten months, which is due on October 31, 2021. On September 24, 2021, the Cathay Bank has increased the line of credit to $1,000,000 from $650,000. The Loan Agreement was further extended and due on December 31, 2022. The outstanding loan balance was $650,000$1,000,000 as of MarchDecember 31, 2021.2022. On February 23, 2023, the bank loan from Cathay Bank was fully repaid.

 

Interest expenses were $3,927$46,957 and $13,740$18,143 for the three monthsyears ended MarchDecember 31, 2022 and 2021, and 2020, respectively.

 

F-28


 

 

9. PAYCHECK PROTECTION PROGRAM LOAN PAYABLE 

 

On April 14, 2020, the Company received a loan in the amount of $124,400 under the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) administered by the United States Small Business Administration (the “SBA”) from East West Bank. According to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the “Cares Act”), PPP loan provides for forgiveness of up to the full principal amount and accrued interest if the funds are used for payroll costs, interest on mortgages, rent, and utilities. However, at least 60% of the forgiven amount must have been used for payroll.

 

The loan was granted pursuant to a promissory note dated April 14, 2020 issued by the Company, which matures on April 13, 2022 and bears interest at a rate of 1.00% per annum. The Company will pay the principal in one payment of all outstanding principal plus all accrued unpaid interest on that date that is two years after the date of the promissory note. In addition, the Company will pay regular monthly payments in an amount equal to one month’s accrued interest commencing on the date that is seven months after the date of the promissory note, with all subsequent interest payments to be due on the same day of each month after that. No collateral or personal guarantees are required.

 

On January 29, 2021, the entity of BioKey received a loan in the amount of $132,331 under the Paycheck Protection Program administered by the United States Small Business Administration from East West Bank. According to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, (the “Cares Act”), PPP loan provides for forgiveness of up to the full principal amount and accrued interest if the funds are used for payroll costs, interest on mortgages, rent, and utilities. However, at least 60% of the forgiven amount must have been used for payroll. The loan was granted pursuant to a promissory note dated January 27, 2021 issued by the Company, which matures on January 28, 2026 and bears interest at a rate of 1.00% per annum. The Company will pay the principal in one payment of all outstanding principal plus all accrued unpaid interest on that date that is five years after the date of the promissory note. In addition, the Company will start the application with the US Government regarding the loan forgiveness program as soon as the US Government allows. No collateral or personal guarantees are required. 

 

On February 7, 2021, the entity of ABVCCompany received a loan in the amount of $104,167 under the Paycheck Protection Program administered by the United States Small Business Administration from Cathay Bank. According to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, (the “Cares Act”), PPP loan provides for forgiveness of up to the full principal amount and accrued interest if the funds are used for payroll costs, interest on mortgages, rent, and utilities. However, at least 60% of the forgiven amount must have been used for payroll. The loan was granted pursuant to a promissory note dated February 7, 2021 issued by the Company, which matures on February 6, 2026 and bears interest at a rate of 1.00% per annum. The Company will pay the principal in one payment of all outstanding principal plus all accrued unpaid interest on that date that is five years after the date of the promissory note. In addition, the Company will start the application with the US Government regarding the loan forgiveness program as soon as the US Government allows. No collateral or personal guarantees are required.

 


PPP loan Forgiveness 

 

On February 27, 2021, the Company submitted all required documents, such as application form and use of funds, to East West Bank for the application of forgiveness. During 2021, theThe PPP loan from East West Bank of $124,400 and $132,331 was waivedforgiven by the SBA as a gesture of supporting the operation of the Company.Company on March 15, 2021 and September 28, 2021, respectively.

On September 23, 2021, the Company submitted the required documents, such as application form and use of funds, to Cathay Bank for the application of forgiveness. The PPP loan from Cathay Bank of $104,167 was forgiven by the SBA as a gesture of supporting the operation of the Company on November 15, 2021.

As a result, the Company recorded the forgiveness of the PPP loanloans as government grant income in the aggregate amount of $360,898 during the three monthsyear ended MarchDecember 31, 2021. As of December 31, 2022, there was no outstanding balance payable to the bank.

 

10. NOTES PAYABLE

 

In January, 2019, BioLite Taiwan entered an unsecured loan agreement with one individual bearing interest at fixed rates at 12% per annum of NT$3,000,000, equivalent to $105,300,$106,800, for working capital purpose. On September 11, 2021 the outstanding balance has been repaid in full. As of the date of this report, BioLite Taiwan is still in discussion with the individual with respect to the terms of the unsecured loans. As of MarchDecember 31, 20212022 and 2020,2021, the balance due to this individual amounted to $105,300 and $106,800, respectively.both $0. Interest expense was $3,204$0 and $2,988$8,592 for the three monthsyears ended MarchDecember 31, 2022 and 2021, and 2020, respectively.

 

11. SHORT-TERM LOAN

 

On February 18, 2020, the Company entered an unsecured loan agreement with a third-party in the amount of $100,000. This loan bears the interest rate of 1.5% per annum and will be matured on August 17, 2020. On August 18, 2020, the Company extended the contract for six months under the same term. On February 18, 2021, the Company extended the contract for six months under the same term. On August 26, 2021, the loan with interest totaling $102,272 has been repaid in full. Accrued interest expense was $375 and $1,302were both $0 as of March 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020,2022 and 2021, respectively.

 


12. RELATED PARTIES TRANSACTIONS 

 

The related parties of the company with whom transactions are reported in these financial statements are as follows:

 

Name of entity or Individual Relationship with the Company and its subsidiaries
BioFirst Corporation (the “BioFirst”) Entity controlled by controlling beneficiary shareholder of YuanGene
BioFirst (Australia) Pty Ltd. (the “BioFirst (Australia)”) 100% owned by BioFirst; Entity controlled by controlling beneficiary shareholder of YuanGene
Rgene Corporation (the “Rgene”) Shareholder of the Company; entity controlled by controlling beneficiary shareholder of YuanGene
YuanGene Corporation (the “YuanGene”) Controlling beneficiary shareholder of the Company
AsiaGene Corporation (the “AsiaGene”) Shareholder; entity controlled by controlling beneficiary shareholder of YuanGene
Eugene Jiang Former President and Chairman
Keypoint Technology Ltd. (the “Keypoint’) The Chairman of Keypoint is Eugene Jiang’s mother.
Lion Arts Promotion Inc. (the “Lion Arts”) Shareholder of the Company
Yoshinobu Odaira (the “Odaira”) Director of the Company
GenePharm Inc. (the “GenePharm”) Dr. George Lee, Board Director of Biokey, is the Chairman of GenePharm.
Euro-Asia Investment & Finance Corp Ltd. (the “Euro-Asia”) Shareholder of the Company
LBG USA, Inc. (the “LBG USA”) 100% owned by BioFirst; Entity controlled by controlling beneficiary shareholder of YuanGene
LionGene Corporation (the “LionGene”) Shareholder of the Company; Entity controlled by controlling beneficiary shareholder of YuanGene
Kimho Consultants Co., Ltd. (the “Kimho”) Shareholder of the Company

The Jiangs

 

Mr. Tsung-Shann Jiang, the controlling beneficiary shareholder of the Company and Rgene, the Chairman and CEO of the BioLite Holding Inc. and BioLite Inc. and the President and a member of board of directors of BioFirst

Ms. Shu-Ling Jiang, Mr. Tsung-Shann Jiang’s wife, is the Chairman of Keypoint; and a member of board of directors of BioLite Inc.

Mr. Eugene Jiang is Mr. and Ms. Jiang’s son. Mr. Eugene Jiang is the chairman, and majority shareholder of the Company and a member of board of directors of BioLite Inc.

Mr. Chang-Jen Jiang is Mr. Tsung-Shann Jiang’s sibling and the director of the Company.

Ms. Mei-Ling Jiang is Ms. Shu-Ling Jiang’s sibling.

Amkey Ventures, LLC (“Amkey”) An entity controlled by Dr. George Lee, who serves as one of the board directors of BioKey, Inc
BioLite JapanEntity controlled by controlling beneficiary shareholder of ABVC
BioHopeKing Corporation Entity controlled by controlling beneficiary shareholder of ABVC
ABVC BioPharma (HK), LimitedAn entity 100% owned by Mr. Tsung-Shann Jiang

 


Accounts receivable - related parties

 

Accounts receivable due from related parties consisted of the following as of the periods indicated:

 

  March 31,  December 31, 
  2021  2020 
GenePharm Inc. $142,225  $142,225 
Amkey  2,850   1,210 
Total $145,075  $143,435 
  December 31,  December 31, 
  2022  2021 
GenePharm Inc. $142,225  $142,225 
Rgene  615,118   2,374 
Amkey  -   800 
Total $757,343  $145,399 

 


Due from related parties

 

Amount due from related parties consisted of the following as of the periods indicated:

 

  March 31,  December 31, 
  2021  2020 
Rgene $43,266  $42,911 
AsiaGene  4,287   4,241 
BioFirst (Australia)  379,110   373,235 
BioHopeKing Corporation  121,848   123,583 
LBG USA  675   675 
BioLite Japan  150,000   150,000 
Keypoint  1,610   1,610 
The Jiangs  2,093   - 
Total $702,889  $696,255 

Due from related party- Current

 

  December 31,  December 31, 
  2022  2021 
Rgene $513,819  $                  - 
Total $513,819  $- 

Due from related parties- Noncurrent

  December 31,  December 31, 
  2022  2021 
Rgene $-  $49,110 
BioFirst (Australia)  1,028,556   491,816 
BioHopeKing Corporation  112,822   124,972 
LBG USA  -   675 
BioLite Japan  -   150,000 
Keypoint  -   1,610 
Total $1,141,378  $818,183 

(1)

As of MarchDecember 31, 2021, and December 31, 2020, the Company has advanced an aggregate amount of $43,266 and $42,911due from Rgene amounted to Rgene for working capital purpose.$49,110. Under the terms of the loan agreement, the loan bears interest at 1% per month (or equivalent to 12% per annum) and the maturity date was December 31, 2020. As of MarchDecember 31, 2021, and December 31, 2020, the outstanding loan balance was $31,239 and $31,684;$33,520; and accrued interest was $12,027 and $11,227,$13,701, respectively.

(2)On May 27, 2019,January 1, 2021, BioLite Taiwan entered into a consultant services agreement with Rgene, of which the amount due from Rgene was $1,889 for the year ended December 31, 2021.

On June 16, 2022, the Company entered into loan agreements with AsiaGene for NT $100,000, equivalent to $3,510, to meet its working capital needs.  Under the terms of thea one-year convertible loan agreement the loanwith Rgene, with a principal amount of $1,000,000 to Rgene which bears interest at 1%5% per month (or equivalentannum for the use of working capital that, if fully converted, would result in ABVC owning an additional 6.4% of Rgene. The Company may convert the Note at any time into shares of Rgene’s common stock at either (i) a fixed conversion price equal to 12%$1.00 per annum) andshare or (ii) 20% discount of the loan maturity date wasstock price of the then most recent offering, whichever is lower; the conversion price is subject to adjustment as set forth in the Note. The Note includes standard events of default, as well as a cross-default provision pursuant to which a breach of the Service Agreement will trigger an event of default under the convertible note if not cured after 5 business days of written notice regarding the breach is provided. As of December 31, 2020. As of March 31, 2021, and December 31, 2020,2022, the outstanding loan balance was $3,510 and $3,560,$ 500,000; and accrued interest was $777 and $681, respectively.$13,819.

 


(3)(2)On May 11, 2018, the Company and BioFirst (Australia) entered into a loan agreement for a total amount of $40,000 to meet its working capital needs. The advances bear 0% interest rate and are due on demand prior to June 30, 2020. Afterwards, all outstanding load will bear interest rate at 12% per annum. On July 1, 2020, the Company entered into a loan agreement with BioFirst (Australia) for $321,487$361,487 to properly record R&D cost and tax refund allocation based on co-development contract executed on July 24, 2017. The loan willwas originally set to be maturedmature on JuneSeptember 30, 2021 with an interest rate of 12%6.5% per annum, but on September 7, 2021, the Company entered into a loan agreement with BioFirst (Australia) for $67,873 to meet its new project needs.   On December 1, 2021, the Company entered into a loan agreement with BioFirst (Australia) for $250,000 to increase the cost for upcoming projects. The loan will be matured on November 30, 2022 with an interest rate of 6.5% per annum. In 2022, the Company entered into several loan agreements with BioFirst (Australia) for a total amount of $507,000 to increase the cost for upcoming projects. All the loans period was twelve months with an interest rate of 6.5% per annum. As of March 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020,2022 and 2021, the aggregate amount of outstanding loan and accrued interest was $379,110$1,028,556 and $373,235,$491,816, respectively.


(4)

(3)

On February 24, 2015, BioLite Taiwan and BioHopeKing Corporation (the “BHK”) entered into a co-development agreement, (the “BHK Co-Development Agreement”, see Note 3). The development costs shall be shared 50/50 between BHK and the Company. Under the term of the agreement, BioLite issued relevant development cost to BHK. As of MarchDecember 31, 20212022 and 2020,2021, due from BHK was $121,848$112,822 and $123,583,$124,972, respectively.

(5)(4)On February 27, 2019, the Company has advanced funds to LBG USA for working capital purpose. The advances bear 0% interest rate and are due on demand. As of March 31, 2021 and 2020, the outstanding advance balances was $675 and $675, respectively.

(6)On May 8, 2020, the Company and Lucidaim entered into a Letter of Intent (LOI) in regard to a potential joint venture of BioLite Japan. Based on the LOI, each party will advance an aggregated amount of $150,000 to meet BioLite Japan’s working capital needs, which the Company advanced an amount of $150,000 and the advance bear 0% interest rate. As of March 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020,2022 and 2021, the outstanding advance balances was $150,000$0 and $150,000, respectively.
(7)On October 31, 2020, the Company has advanced an aggregate amount of $1,610 to Keypoint for working capital purpose. Under the terms of the loan agreement, the loan bears interest at 6.5% per annum and the loan will be matured on October 30, 2021. As of March 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020, the The outstanding loan balance was $1,610.

(8)In January 2021, the Company has advanced fundsreclassified as prepayment for long-term investments due to the Jiangs. The advances bear 0% interest rate and are due on demand. As of March 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020, the outstanding advance balances was $2,093 and $0, respectivelydebt-to-equity agreement with BioLite Japan, while format document is pending to be executed.

 

Due to related parties

 

Amount due to related parties consisted of the following as of the periods indicated:

 

  March 31,  December 31, 
  2021  2020 
BioFirst Corporation $23,647  $23,647 
AsiaGene  24,017   - 
YuanGene  9,205   9,205 
The Jiangs  18,750   16,627 
Due to shareholders  163,566   166,261 
Due to employee  72,967   72,704 
Total $312,152  $288,445 
  December 31,  December 31, 
  2022  2021 
BioFirst Corporation $188,753  $40,878 
BioFirst (Australia)  275,901   132,443 
AsiaGene  -   24,017 
YuanGene  -   9,205 
The Jiangs  19,789   18,750 
Due to shareholders  151,450   168,131 
Total $635,893  $393,424 

 

(1)Since 2019, BioFirst has advanced funds to the Company for working capital purpose. The advances bear interest 1% per month (or equivalent to 12% per annum). As of March 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020,2022 and 2021, the aggregate amount of outstanding balance and accrued interest is $23,647$188,753, a combination of $147,875 from loan, and $23,647,$40,878 from expense-sharing, and $40,878, respectively.

(2)

As of March 31, 2021, and December 31, 2020, AsiaGene2022 and 2021, BioFirst (Australia) has advanced the Company an aggregate amount of $24,017$275,901 and $0,$132,443, respectively for working capitalnew project purpose. This advance bears 0% interest rate and is due on demand.

(3)

As of March 31, 2021, and December 31, 2020, YuanGene has advanced the Company an aggregate amount of $9,205 for working capital purpose. This advance bears 0% interest rate and is due on demand.

(4)

Since 2019, the Jiangs advanced funds to the Company for working capital purpose. As of March 31, 2021, and December 31, 2020,2022 and 2021, the outstanding balance due to the Jiangs amounted to $18,750$19,789 and $16,627,$18,750, respectively. These loans bear interest rate of 0% to 1% per month, and are due on demand.

(5)(4)Since 2018, the Company’s shareholders have advanced funds to the Company for working capital purpose. The advances bear interest rate from 12% to 13.6224% per annum. As of March 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020,2022 and 2021, the outstanding principal and accrued interest was $163,566$151,450 and $166,261,$168,131, respectively. Interest expenses in connection with these loans were $5,298$21,378 and $5,269$22,779 for the three monthsyears ended March 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively. 

(6)Commencing January, 2020, the Company had advances from one employee for working capital purpose. The outstanding balance including accrued interest due to this employee amounted to $72,967 and $72,704 as of March 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020,2022 and 2021, respectively. This loan bears interest rate of 1.5% per annum, and is due on demand.

 


13. EQUITY

On February 8, 2016, a Share Exchange Agreement (“Share Exchange Agreement”) was entered into by and among the Company, BriVision, Euro-Asia Investment & Finance Corp. Limited, a company incorporated under the laws of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of People’s Republic of China (“Euro-Asia”), being the owners of record of 164,387,376 (52,336,000 pre-stock split) shares of Common Stock of the Company, and the owners of record of all of the issued share capital of BriVision (the “BriVision Stock”). Pursuant to the Share Exchange Agreement, upon surrender by the BriVision Shareholders and the cancellation by BriVision of the certificates evidencing the BriVision Stock as registered in the name of each BriVision Shareholder, and pursuant to the registration of the Company in the register of members maintained by BriVision as the new holder of the BriVision Stock and the issuance of the certificates evidencing the aforementioned registration of the BriVision Stock in the name of the Company, the Company should issue 166,273,921(52,936,583 pre-stock split) shares (the “Acquisition Stock”) (subject to adjustment for fractionalized shares as set forth below) of the Company’s Common Stock to the BriVision Shareholders (or their designees), and 163,159,952 (51,945,225 pre-stock split) shares of the Company’s Common Stock owned by Euro-Asia should be cancelled and retired to treasury. The Acquisition Stock collectively should represent 79.70% of the issued and outstanding Common Stock of the Company immediately after the Closing, in exchange for the BriVision Stock, representing 100% of the issued share capital of BriVision in a reverse merger, or the Merger. Pursuant to the Merger, all of the issued and outstanding shares of BriVision’s Common Stock were converted, at an exchange ratio of 0.2536-for-1, into an aggregate of 166,273,921(52,936,583 pre-stock split) shares of Company’s Common Stock and BriVision became a wholly owned subsidiary, of the Company. The holders of Company’s Common Stock as of immediately prior to the Merger held an aggregate of 205,519,223 (65,431,144 pre-stock split) shares of Company’s Common Stock, Because of the exchange of the BriVision Stock for the Acquisition Stock (the “Share Exchange”), BriVision became a wholly owned subsidiary (the “Subsidiary”) of the Company and there was a change of control of the Company following the closing.  There were no warrants, options or other equity instruments issued in connection with the share exchange agreement.

 

On February 17, 2016, pursuant to the 2016 Equity Incentive Plan (the “2016 Plan”), 157,050 (50,000 pre-stock split) shares were granted to the employees.

 

On March 21, 2016, the Board of Directors of the Company approved an amendment to Articles of Incorporation to effect a forward split at a ratio of 1 to 3:141 (the “Forward Stock Split”) and increase the number of our authorized shares of Common Stock, par value $0.001 per share, to 360,000,000, which was effective on April 8, 2016.

 

On May 6, 2016, the Company and BioLite Taiwan agreed to amend the BioLite Collaborative Agreement, through entry into the Milestone Payment Agreement, whereby the Company has agreed to issue shares of Common Stock of the Company, at the price of $1.60 per share, for an aggregate number of 562,500 shares, as part of the Company’s first installation of payment pursuant to the Milestone Payment. The shares issuance was completed in June 2016. On August 26, 2016, the Company issued 1,468,750 shares (“Shares”) of the Company’s Common Stock, par value $0.001 (the “Offering”) to BioLite Taiwan pursuant to a certain Stock Purchase Agreement dated August 26, 2016 (the “SPA”). The Shares are exemptRevenue from the registration requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), pursuant to Regulation S of the Securities Act promulgated thereunder. The purchase price per share of the Offering is $1.60. The net proceeds to the Company from the Offering are approximately $2,350,000. Pursuant to the BioLite Collaborative Agreement, BriVision should pay a total of $100,000,000 in cash or stock of the Company with equivalent value according to the milestone achieved. The agreement requires that 6.5% of total payment, $6,500,000 shall be made upon the first IND submission which was submitted in March 2016. In February 2017, the Company remitted this amount to BioLite with $650,000 in cash and $5,850,000 in the form of newly issued shares of the Company’s Common Stock, at the price of $2.0 per share, for an aggregate number of 2,925,000 shares. Upon the consummation of the restructuring transaction between the Company and BioLite on February 8, 2019, the Company’s Common Stock held by BioLite Taiwan was accounted for treasury stocks in the statement of equity (deficit). On February 8, 2019, after the Merger, the Company issued 74,997,546 shares to the shareholders of BioLite and 29,561,231 shares to the shareholders of BioKey.

On May 3, 2019, the Company filed a Certificate of Amendment with the Secretary of State of Nevada, which was effective May 8, 2019 upon its receipt of the written notice from Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”). Pursuant to the Certificate of Amendment, the Company effectuated a 1-for-18 reverse stock split of its issued and outstanding shares of common stock, $0.001 par value, whereby 318,485,252 outstanding shares of the Company’s common stock were exchanged for 17,693,625 shares of the Company’s Common Stock. All shares and related financial information in this Form 10-K reflect this 1-for-18 reverse stock split.party

 


  

Year Ended
December 31,

 
  2022  2021 
Rgene $904,043  $2,373  
Total $904,043  $2,373 

On October 1, 2016, the Company entered into a consulting agreement with Kazunori Kameyama (“Kameyama”)

13. INCOME TAXES

Income tax expense for the provision of services related to the clinical trials and other administrative work, public relation work, capital raising, trip coordination, In consideration for providing such services, the Company agreed to indemnify the consultant in an amount of $150 per hour in cash up to $3,000 per month, and issue to Kameyama the Company’s Common Stock at $1.00 per share for any amount exceeding $3,000. The Company’s stocks shall be calculated and issued in December every year. On November 21, 2020, the Company entered into an agreement with Kameyama, pursuant to which the Company granted and issued 24,694 stock options to Kameyama related to unpaid consulting fees of $49,388 (see Note 14).

During the yearyears ended December 31, 2019, the Company entered into service agreements with Euro-Asia Investment & Finance Corp Ltd. (a related party), Ever Adventure inv. (Formosa) Consultant Co., Ltd., New Eastern Asia (a related party),2022 and Kimho Consultants Co., Ltd. (a related party) for the maintenance2021 consisted of the listing in the U.S. stock exchange market, investor relations, and business development. Pursuant to the agreements, the Company issued 644,972 sharesfollowing:

  Year Ended
December 31,
 
  2022  2021 
Current:      
Federal $-  $- 
State  2,400   800 
Foreign  -   - 
Total Current $2,400  $800 
Deferred:        
Federal $-  $- 
State  -   - 
Foreign  795,378   (187,055)
Total Deferred $795,378  $(187,055)
Total provision for income taxes $797,778  $(186,255)

Deferred tax assets (liability) as of the Company’s common stock for the consulting service from July 2019 to July 2024 for the service fee of $4,514,800 in aggregate, and recorded as stock subscription receivable. As of MarchDecember 31, 20212022 and December 31, 2020, stock subscription receivable was $2,934,620 and $3,160,360, respectively.2021 consist approximately of:

 

  December 31,  December 31, 
  2022  2021 
Loss on impairment of Assets  709,961   741,390 
Net operating loss carryforwards  5,866,623   2,801,363 
Tax credit of investment  -   698,187 
Operating lease liabilities  213,482   - 
Operating lease assets  (213,482)  - 
Deferred tax assets, Gross  6,576,584   4,240,940 
Valuation allowance  (6,459,474)  (3,259,028)
Deferred tax assets, net  117,110   981,912 

On July 24, 2017, BriVision entered into a collaborative agreement (the “BioFirst Collaborative Agreement”) with BioFirst (See Note 3). On September 25, 2017, BioFirst has delivered all research, technical, data and development data to BriVision, and the Company has recorded the full amount of $3,000,000 due to BioFirst. On June 30, 2019, the Company entered into a Stock Purchase Agreement with BioFirst, pursuant to which the Company agreed to issue 428,571 shares of the Company’s common stock to BioFirst in consideration for $3,000,000 owed by the Company to BioFirst. These common shares were issued during the year ended December 31, 2019.

14. EQUITY

 

In August, 2019, the Company entered into several Conversion Agreements to all creditors that are listed under below table of “due to related parties” in consideration for a total of $4,872,340 owed by the Company to various creditors based on outstanding loan agreements. Under the Conversion Agreements, creditor agrees to convert the amount of debt into the Company’s common stock at a price of $7.00 per share.

  Amount of
Debt
Converted
  Number of
Shares
Issued
 
       
Lion Arts Promotion Inc $97,864   13,981 
LionGene Corporation  428,099   61,157 
BioFirst Corporation  2,902,911   414,702 
AsiaGene Corporation  160,000   22,858 
YuanGene Corporation  92,690   13,242 
The Jiangs  1,190,776   170,111 
Total $4,872,340   696,051 

On March 12, 2020, the board of directors of the Company approved and adopted an amendment to the Company’s Articles of Incorporation, to increase the authorized shares of its common stock, par value $0.001 per share, from 20,000,000 to 100,000,000 shares.

On July 8, 2020, the Company entered an agreement with View Trade Securities Inc. (“ViewTrade”) to engage ViewTrade as the placement agent and the Company’s advisoradvisor/consultant with respect to its ongoing capital events. Pursuant to the agreement, the Company agreed to pay View Trade 60,000 restricted common shares of the Company and 60,000 warrants to purchase common shares of the Company at an exercise price of $6 per share for a period of 5 years with cashless exercise provision. As of December 31, 2020, the Company has issued 60,000 shares of common stock to ViewTrade for the consulting fee with an estimated value of $135,000. The warrants were never issued and the parties mutually agreed to terminate the agreement on November 19, 2020. As

Pursuant to the termination agreement, the Company issued 50,000 shares of the Company’s common stock at a price of $5 per share as a termination fee the Company agreedon June 29, 2021, of which 6,000 shares were issued to issue ViewTrade 50,000 restricted common shares of the Company.


Also on November 19, 2020, the Company and ViewTrade agreed to a new Advisory agreement under which ViewTrade was engaged to provide advisory services only.WallachBeth Capital LLC (“WallachBeth”). In addition to a retainer fee, the Company agreed to issue 200,000 warrants, with an exercise price of $2.25, an industry standard cashless exercise provision, and a term of 5 years from November 19, 2020.

During the year ended December 31, 2020, the CompanyJanuary 2021, WallachBeth entered into a consulting agreement with a service provider for consulting and advisory services,the Company pursuant to which the Company agreedengaged WallachBeth to payconduct due diligence and research work with respect to the service fee by issuing 50,000Company. On June 29, 2021, WallachBeth was issued 6,000 shares of unrestricted common shares, valued at the closing price of $2.9 per share on the grant date. As of December 31, 2020, these shares have been issued.stock as compensation for those services.  

 

During the year ended December 31, 2020, the Company received aggregated capital contributions of $7,615,331 in cash from 45 investors through private placements of the sale of the Company’s common stock for the purchase price of $2.25 per share and a free warrant attached with each common stock purchased. As of March 31,


In July 2021, 3,384,6151,111,112 shares of the Company’s common stock have been issued.and warrants were issued pursuant to the conversion of convertible promissory note of $2,500,000 entered in October 2020 (see Note 7).

 

DuringOn August 5, 2021, the year ended December 31, 2020,Company closed its public offering (the “Public Offering”) of 1,100,000 units (the “Units”), with each Unit consisting of one share of the Company’s common stock, one Series A warrant (the “Series A Warrants”) to purchase one share of common stock at an exercise price equal to $6.30 per share, exercisable until the fifth anniversary of the issuance date, and one Series B warrant (the “Series B Warrants,” and together with the Series A Warrants, the “Public Warrants”) to purchase one share of common stock at an exercise price equal to $10.00 per share, exercisable until the fifth anniversary of the issuance date; the exercise price of the Public Warrants are subject to certain adjustment and cashless exercise provisions as described therein. The Company completed the Public Offering pursuant to its registration statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-255112), originally filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on April 8, 2021 (as amended, the “Original Registration Statement”), that the SEC declared effective on August 2, 2021 and the registration statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-258404) that was filed and automatically effective on August 4, 2021 (the “S-1MEF,” together with the Original Registration Statement, the “Registration Statement”). The Units were priced at $6.25 per Unit, before underwriting discounts and offering expenses, resulting in gross proceeds of $6,875,000. In August 2021, 2,354,145 shares of the Company’s common stock were issued for gross proceeds of $6,875,000, before placement agent fees and legal fees of $850,429.

In November 2021, the Company received $4,244,452 in gross proceeds from the exercise of warrants issued in the Company’s August 3, 2021, public offering of securities. Investors exercised a total of 673,405 Series A warrants at a price of $6.30 per share and 200 Series B warrants at a price of $10 per share. Pursuant to these exercises, the Company issued an aggregate of 673,605 shares of Common Stock.

In November 2021, the Company entered into consulting agreements with four service providers for consulting and advisory services, pursuant to which the Company agreed to pay the service fee amounted $1,478,590 by issuing 521,887316,934 shares of unrestricted common shares, valued at the closing price from $2$2.31 to $3.68$6.3 per share on   the grant date. As of March 31, 2021, theseThese shares have been issued.issued during the year ended December 31, 2021.

 

AsIn January 2022, the Company agreed to pay the deferred service fees related to Public Offering amounted $4,296,763 by issuing 1,306,007 shares of unrestricted common shares, valued at $3.29 per share on the grant date. These shares have been issued in January 2022.

In March 31, 2021,2022, the Company issued aggregated75,000 common shares of 915,856  to six previous note holders, who had converted their outstanding principalsBarLew Holdings, LLC for consulting and accruedadvisory services amounted to $169,500, valued at $2.26 per share.

In May 2022, the Company and unpaid interests, including the debt conversionan institutional investor entered into certain securities purchase agreement relating to the following:

a.Keypoint converted the aggregated amount of $292,826 at the conversion price of $1.84 on April 5, 2020, in exchange for 159,145 shares of the Company’s common stock, and warrants to purchase 159,145 shares of the Company’s common stock.

b.Odaira converted the aggregated amount of $284,036 at the conversion price of $1.84 on April 5, 2020, in exchange for 154,368 shares of the Company’s common stock, and warrants to purchase 154,368 shares of the Company’s common stock.

c.C.L.L. converted the aggregated amount of $289,974 at the conversion price of $1.78 on April 20, 2020, in exchange for 162,908 shares of the Company’s common stock, and warrants to purchase 162,908 shares of the Company’s common stock.

d.KLS converted the aggregated amount of $225,222 at the conversion price of $1.78 on April 20, 2020, in exchange for 126,530 shares of the Company’s common stock, and warrants to purchase 126,530 shares of the Company’s common stock.

e.Yu and Wei converted the aggregated amount of $354,722 at the conversion price of $1.84 on April 5, 2020, in exchange for 192,784 shares of the Company’s common stock, and warrants to purchase 192,784 shares of the Company’s common stock.

f.KSL converted the aggregated amount of $270,272 at the conversion price of $2.25 on November 9, 2020, in exchange for 120,121 shares of the Company’s common stock, and warrants to purchase 120,121 shares of the Company’s common stock.

See Note 7offer and sale of 2,000,000 shares of common stock at an offering price of $2.11 per share in a registered direct offering. The shares of the Company’s common stock were issued for more details in connection withgross proceeds of $4,220,000, before placement agent fees and legal fees of $556,075. Pursuant to the above debt conversion.offering, the Company will also issue 5-year warrants to purchase 2,000,000 shares of common stock, exercisable at a price of $2.45 per share. As of December 31, 2022, these warrants have been issued but not exercised.

 


14.On July 10, 2022, the Board approved the issuance of 75,000 shares of common stock to Barlew Holdings, LLC pursuant to the consulting agreement by and between Barlew Holdings, LLC and the Company dated July 1, 2022, and 250,000 shares of common stock to Inverlew Advisors, LLC, in accordance with the consulting agreement by and between Inverlew Advisors, LLC and the Company dated July 1, 2022.

On December 1, 2022, the Company issued 125,000 and 100,000 common shares to Euro-Asia Investment & Finance Corp Ltd. and Thalia Media Ltd. for consulting and advisory services.

15. STOCK OPTIONS

 

On October 30, 2020, the Company issued an aggregate of 545,182 shares of common stock in lieu of unpaid salaries of certain employees and unpaid consulting fees under the 2016 Equity Incentive Plan, as amended, at a conversion price of $2 per share; the total amount of converted salaries and consulting fees was $1,090,361. On November 21, 2020, the Company has entered into acknowledgement agreements and stock option purchase agreements with these employees and consultant; pursuant to which the Company granted stock options to purchase 545,182 shares of the Company’s common stock in lieu of common stock. The options were vested at the grant date and become exercisable for 10 years from the grant date.

 

On October 15, 2021, the Company entered into stock option agreements with 11 directors and 3 employees, pursuant to which the Company granted options to purchase an aggregate of 1,280,002 shares of common stock under the 2016 Equity Incentive Plan, as amended, at an exercise price of $3 per share. The options were vested at the grant date and become exercisable for 10 years from the grant date. 

On April 16, 2022, the Company entered into stock option agreements with 5 directors, pursuant to which the Company agreed to grant options to purchase an aggregate of 761,920 shares of common stock under the 2016 Equity Incentive Plan, at an exercise price of $3 per share, exercisable for 10 years from the grant date. As of December 31, 2022, these stock options have not been granted.


Options issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2020,2022, and their activities during the year then ended are as follows:

 

        Weighted-    
     Weighted-  Average    
    Average  Contractual    
  Number of  Exercise  Life  Aggregate 
  Underlying
Shares
  Price
Per Share
  Remaining
in Years
  Intrinsic
Value
 
Outstanding as of January 1, 2020        -  $-      $        
Granted  545,182   2.00   9.89   616,056 
Forfeited  -   -         
Outstanding as of December 31, 2020  545,182   2.00   9.89  $616,056 
Exercisable as of December 31, 2020  545,182   2.00   9.89  $616,056 
Vested and expected to vest  545,182  $2.00   9.89  $616,056 
        Weighted-    
     Weighted-  Average    
     Average  Contractual    
  Number of  Exercise  Life  Aggregate 
  Underlying
Shares
  Price
Per Share
  Remaining
in Years
  Intrinsic
Value
 
Outstanding as of January 1, 2022  1,825,184  $2.70                           
Granted  761,920   3.00         
Forfeited  -   -         
Outstanding as of December 31, 2022  2,587,104   2.79   8.74  $- 
Exercisable as of December 31, 2022  2,587,104   2.79   8.74  $- 
Vested and expected to vest  2,587,104  $2.79   8.74  $- 

 

The fair value of stock options granted for the yearyears ended December 31, 20202022 and 2021 was calculated using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model applying the following assumptions:

 

Year ended
December 31,
2020
Risk free interest rate0.38%
Expected term (in years)5.00
Dividend yield0%
Expected volatility89.01%
  Year ended
December 31
 
  2022  2021 
       
Risk free interest rate  2.79%  1.13%
Expected term (in years)  5.00   5.00 
Dividend yield  0%  0%
Expected volatility  83.86%  108.51%

 

The Company granted options to purchase 761,920 and 1,280,002 shares of common stock to employees and certain consultants during the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively. The weighted average grant date fair value of options granted during 2020the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021 was $3.13.$1.63 and $2.09, respectively. There are 2,812,9493,860,211 options available for grant under the 2016 Equity Incentive Plan as of December 31, 2020.2022. Compensation costs associated with the Company’s stock options are recognized, based on the grant-date fair values of these options over vesting period. Accordingly, the Company recognized stock-based compensation expense of $0$1,241,930 and $0$2,675,205 for the three monthsyears ended MarchDecember 31, 20212022 and 2020,2021, respectively. As of MarchDecember 31, 2022 and 2021, there were no unvested options. There were no options exercised during the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021.

 


15.16. LOSS PER SHARE

 

Basic loss per share is computed by dividing net loss by the weighted-average number of common shares outstanding during the year. Diluted loss per share is computed by dividing net loss by the weighted-average number of common shares and dilutive potential common shares outstanding during the three monthsyears ended MarchDecember 31, 20212022 and 2020.2021.

 

  For the Three Months Ended 
  March 31,
2021
  March 31,
2020
 
Numerator:      
Net loss attributable to ABVC’s common stockholders $(1,128,505) $(1,247,538)
         
Denominator:        
Weighted-average shares outstanding:        
Weighted-average shares outstanding - Basic  24,420,526   19,484,542 
Stock options       
Weighted-average shares outstanding - Diluted  24,420,526   19,484,542 
         
Loss per share        
-Basic $(0.05) $(0.06)
-Diluted $(0.05) $(0.06)
  For the Year Ended 
  December 31,
2022
  December 31,
2021
 
Numerator:      
Net loss attributable to ABVC’s common stockholders $(16,423,239) $(12,838,813)
         
Denominator:        
Weighted-average shares outstanding:        
Weighted-average shares outstanding - Basic  31,664,600   25,053,522 
Stock options        
Weighted-average shares outstanding - Diluted  31,664,600   25,053,522 
         
Loss per share        
-Basic $(0.52) $(0.51)
-Diluted $(0.52) $(0.51)

 


Diluted loss per share takes into account the potential dilution that could occur if securities or other contracts to issue Common Stock were exercised and converted into Common Stock.

  

16.17. LEASE

 

The Company adopted FASB Accounting Standards Codification, Topic 842, Leases (“ASC 842”) using the modified retrospective approach, electing the practical expedient that allows the Company not to restate its comparative periods prior to the adoption of the standard on January 1, 2019.

 

The Company applied the following practical expedients in the transition to the new standard and allowed under ASC 842:

 

 Reassessment of expired or existing contracts: The Company elected not to reassess, at the application date, whether any expired or existing contracts contained leases, the lease classification for any expired or existing leases, and the accounting for initial direct costs for any existing leases.

 

 Use of hindsight: The Company elected to use hindsight in determining the lease term (that is, when considering options to extend or terminate the lease and to purchase the underlying asset) and in assessing impairment of right-to-use assets.

 

 Reassessment of existing or expired land easements: The Company elected not to evaluate existing or expired land easements that were not previously accounted for as leases under ASC 840, as allowed under the transition practical expedient. Going forward, new or modified land easements will be evaluated under ASU No. 2016-02.

 

 Separation of lease and non- lease components: Lease agreements that contain both lease and non-lease components are generally accounted for separately.

 

 Short-term lease recognition exemption: The Company also elected the short-term lease recognition exemption and will not recognize ROU assets or lease liabilities for leases with a term less than 12 months.

 


The new leasing standard requires recognition of leases on the consolidated balance sheets as right-of-use (“ROU”) assets and lease liabilities. ROU assets represent the Company’s right to use underlying assets for the lease terms and lease liabilities represent the Company’s obligation to make lease payments arising from the leases. Operating lease ROU assets and operating lease liabilities are recognized based on the present value and future minimum lease payments over the lease term at commencement date. The Company’s future minimum based payments used to determine the Company’s lease liabilities mainly include minimum based rent payments. As most of Company’s leases do not provide an implicit rate, the Company uses its estimated incremental borrowing rate based on the information available at commencement date in determining the present value of lease payments.

 

The Company recognized lease liabilities, with corresponding ROU assets, based on the present value of unpaid lease payments for existing operating leases longer than twelve months. The ROU assets were adjusted per ASC 842 transition guidance for existing lease-related balances of accrued and prepaid rent, unamortized lease incentives provided by lessors, and restructuring liabilities. Operating lease cost is recognized as a single lease cost on a straight-line basis over the lease term and is recorded in Selling, general and administrative expenses. Variable lease payments for common area maintenance, property taxes and other operating expenses are recognized as expense in the period when the changes in facts and circumstances on which the variable lease payments are based occur.

 

The Company has no finance leases. The Company’s leases primarily include various office and laboratory spaces, copy machine, and vehicles under various operating lease arrangements. The Company’s operating leases have remaining lease terms of up to approximately five years.

  March 31,
2021
  December 31,
2020
 
ASSETS      
Operating lease right-of-use assets $1,714,740  $1,772,747 
LIABILITIES        
Operating lease liabilities (current)  331,179   316,178 
Operating lease liabilities (noncurrent)  1,383,560   1,456,567 

Supplemental Information

The following provides details of the Company’s lease expenses:

  Three Months Ended
March 31,
 
  2021  2020 
Operating lease expenses $

78,847

  $77,527 


Other information related to leases is presented below:

  Three Months Ended
March 31,
 
  2021  2020 
Cash paid for amounts included in the measurement of operating lease liabilities $

78,847

  $77,527 

  March 31,
2021
  December 31,
2020
 
Weighted Average Remaining Lease Term:      
Operating leases   3.58 years    3.08 years 
         
Weighted Average Discount Rate:        
Operating leases  1.45%  0.55%

The minimum future annual payments under non-cancellable leases during the next five years and thereafter, at rates now in force, are as follows:

  Operating leases 
2021(excluding three months ended March 31, 2021) $253,618 
2022  352,248 
2023  359,591 
2024  374,584 
2025  338,676 
Thereafter  56,916 
Total future minimum lease payments, undiscounted  1,735,633 
Less: Imputed interest  20,893 
Present value of future minimum lease payments $1,714,740 


17. BUSINESS COMBINATION

On February 8, 2019, the Company consummated the Merger transactions of BioLite and BioKey (See Note 1). Pursuant to the terms of the Merger Agreement, BioLite and BioKey became two wholly-owned subsidiaries of the Company on February 8, 2019. The Company adopted ASC 805, “Business Combination” to record the merger transactions of BioKey. The acquisition was accounted for as a business combination under the purchase method of accounting. BioKey’s results of operations were included in the Company’s results beginning February 8, 2019. The purchase price has been allocated to the assets acquired and the liabilities assumed based on their fair value at the acquisition date as summarized in the following:

Purchase consideration:   
Common Stock (*) $44,341,847 
Allocation of the purchase price:    
Cash and cash equivalents $531,147 
Accounts receivable, net  188,550 
Property and equipment, net  56,075 
Operating lease right-of-use assets  485,684 
Security deposits  10,440 
Total assets acquired  1,271,896 
Accounts payable  (56,204)
Accrued expenses and other current liabilities  (251,335)
Operating lease liability  (267,256)
Tenant security deposit  (2,880)
Total liabilities assumed  (577,675)
Total net assets acquired  694,221 
Goodwill as a result of the Merger $43,647,626 

*29,561,231 shares (1,642,291 after stock reverse split) of common stock of the Company was issued to BioKey in connection with the Merger. Those shares were valued at $1.50 per share, based on the bid-and-ask share price of common stock of the Company on the final day of trading, February 8, 2019.

On February 8, 2019, the Company has recorded a 100% goodwill write-down of $43,647,626. Goodwill was determined to have been impaired because of the current financial condition of the Company and the Company’s inability to generate future operating income without substantial sales volume increases, which are highly uncertain. Furthermore, the Company’s anticipated future cash flows indicate that the recoverability of goodwill is not reasonably assured. The goodwill write-down was reflected as a decrease in additional paid-in capital in the statement of equity upon the consummation of the Merger.

18. SUBSEQUENT EVENTS

The Company has evaluated subsequent events through the date which the financial statements were available to be issued. All subsequent events requiring recognition as of March 31, 2021 have been incorporated into these financial statements and there are no subsequent events that require disclosure in accordance with FASB ASC Topic 855, “Subsequent Events.”  


REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

To the Board of Directors and Shareholders of

American BriVision (Holding) Corporation and Subsidiaries

Opinion on the Consolidated Financial Statements

We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of American BriVision (Holding) Corporation and subsidiaries (collectively “the Company”) as of December 31, 2020 and 2019, the related consolidated statements of operations, comprehensive income (loss), shareholders’ equity (deficit), and cash flows for the years then ended, and the related notes (collectively referred to as the “consolidated financial statements”). In our opinion, the consolidated financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company at December 31, 2020 and 2019, 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.

Change in Accounting Principle

As discussed in Note 16 to the consolidated financial statements, the Company has changed its method of accounting for leases in 2019 due to the adoption of Financial Accounting Standards Board Accounting Standards Codification Topic 842, Leases.

Basis for Opinion

These consolidated financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s 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 in accordance 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 audits we are required to obtain an understanding of internal control over financial reporting 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.

Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the consolidated financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the consolidated financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the consolidated financial statements. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.

Critical Audit Matters

The critical audit matters communicated below are matters arising from the current period audit of the consolidated financial statements that were communicated or required to be communicated to the audit committee and that (i) relate to accounts or disclosures that are material to the consolidated financial statements and (ii) involved our especially challenging, subjective, or complex judgments. 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 audit matters below, providing separate opinions on the critical audit matters or on the accounts or disclosures to which they relate.

Recognition of Stock-Based Compensation Cost for Stock Options Issued

As described in Note 14 to the consolidated financial statements, the Company granted stock options to its employees and consultant for unpaid salaries and consulting fee and estimated total stock compensation expense related to the issuance of stock options of $1,706,419 for the year ended December 31, 2020. The stock compensation cost was valued at the grant date, and management evaluated the fair value of these stock options at the grant date and recognized based on the vesting schedule.

We identified the recognition of stock options as a critical audit matter due to the significant judgments made by management when developing underlying assumptions.

The following are the primary procedures we performed to address this critical audit matter. We obtained an understanding and evaluated the design and implementation of certain controls relating to significant judgments and assumptions developed by management. We evaluated and tested sources of data and assumptions used by management. In addition, we tested the completeness and accuracy of the underlying assumptions used by management.

/s/ KCCW Accountancy Corp.

We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2019.

Diamond Bar, California

March 15, 2021

KCCW Accountancy Corp. 3333 S. Brea Canyon Road, Suite 206, CA 91765 USA

Tel: +1 909 348 7228 ● Fax: +1 909 895-4155s


AMERICAN BRIVISION (HOLDING) CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

  December 31,
2020
  December 31,
2019
 
ASSETS      
Current Assets      
Cash and cash equivalents $4,273,208  $144,295 
Restricted cash and cash equivalents  728,163   16,148 
Accounts receivable, net  159,712   163,566 
Accounts receivable - related parties, net  143,435   143,278 
Due from related parties  696,255   333,682 
Inventory, net  —     —   
Prepaid expense and other current assets  172,193   77,269 
Total Current Assets  6,172,966   878,238 
         
Property and equipment, net  514,834   520,930 
Operating lease right-of-use assets  1,772,747   524,445 
Goodwill, net  —     —   
Long-term investments  1,190,727   3,364,619 
Deferred tax assets  1,790,597   1,460,033 
Prepaid expenses – noncurrent  119,315   135,443 
Security deposits  45,519   44,103 
Total Assets $11,606,705  $6,927,811 
         
LIABILITIES AND EQUITY        
Current Liabilities        
Accounts payable $23,044  $23,995 
Short-term bank loans  1,629,000   1,918,500 
Short-term loan  100,000   —   
Long-term bank loans – current portion  —     13,403 
Notes payable  106,800   100,200 
Accrued expenses and other current liabilities  2,118,854   2,007,573 
Advance from customers  12,070   13,085 
Operating lease liabilities – current portion  316,178   304,248 
Due to related parties  288,445   425,689 
Convertible notes payable – current portion  —     820,000 
Convertible notes payable – related parties, current portion  250,000   1,187,500 
Total Current Liabilities  4,844,391   6,814,193 
         
Paycheck Protection Program Loan Payable  124,400   —   
Tenant security deposit  19,280   2,880 
Operating lease liability – noncurrent portion  1,456,567   235,555 
Convertible notes payable – noncurrent portion  2,500,000   —   
Total Liabilities  8,944,638   7,052,628 
         
Equity        
Preferred stock, $0.001 par value, 20,000,000 authorized, nil shares issued and outstanding  —     —   
Common stock, $0.001 par value, 100,000,000 authorized, 24,420,526 and 19,478,168 shares issued and outstanding  24,420   19,478 
Additional paid-in capital  40,751,807   28,180,348 
Stock subscription receivable  (3,160,360)  (4,063,320)
Accumulated deficit  (25,642,387)  (15,851,223)
Accumulated other comprehensive income  564,860   663,753 
Treasury stock  (9,100,000)  (9,100,000)
Total Stockholders’ deficit  3,438,340   (150,964)
Noncontrolling interest  (776,273)  26,147 
Total Equity (Deficit)  2,662,067   (124,817)
         
Total Liabilities and Equity (Deficit) $11,606,705  $6,927,811 

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


AMERICAN BRIVISION (HOLDING) CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS AND COMPREHENSIVE LOSS

  Year Ended December 31, 
  2020  2019 
Revenues $483,045  $701,719 
         
Cost of revenues  18,716   20,137 
         
Gross profit  464,329   681,582 
         
Operating expenses        
Selling, general and administrative expenses  4,273,468   3,069,493 
Research and development expenses  549,658   1,048,553 
Stock based compensation  4,146,979   22,314 
Total operating expenses  8,970,105   4,140,360 
         
Loss from operations  (8,505,776)  (3,458,778)
         
Other income (expense)        
Interest income  71,045   23,344 
Interest expense  (405,032)  (482,014)
Rent income  20,071   19,487 
Rent income – related parties  4,800   4,400 
Impairment loss  (961,217)  —   
Investment loss  (40,589)  —   
Gain/Loss on foreign exchange changes  (3,275)  407 
Gain/Loss on investment in equity securities  (1,168,733)  (210,086)
Other income  174,770   92,959 
Total other expenses  (2,308,160)  (551,503)
         
Loss before provision income tax  (10,813,936)  (4,010,281)
         
Provision for income tax  (220,352)  (77,041)
         
Net loss  (10,593,584)  (3,933,240)
         
Net loss attributable to noncontrolling interests  (802,420)  (291,464)
         
Net loss attributed to ABVC and subsidiaries  (9,791,164)  (3,641,776)
Foreign currency translation adjustment  (98,893)  7,902 
Comprehensive loss $(9,890,057) $(3,633,874)
         
Net loss per share:        
Basic and diluted $(0.50) $(0.21)
         
Weighted average number of common shares outstanding:        
Basic and diluted  19,715,559   17,498,543 

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


AMERICAN BRIVISION (HOLDING) CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

FOR THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2020 AND 2019

  2020  2019 
Cash flows from operating activities      
Net loss $(10,593,584) $(3,933,240)
Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash used in operating activities:        
Depreciation  37,142   55,086 
Stock based compensation  4,146,979   22,314 
Gain/Loss on investment in equity securities  1,168,733   210,086 
Other non-cash income and expenses  (15,360)  (5,747)
Investment loss  1,001,806   —   
Deferred tax  (223,201)  (80,692)
Changes in operating assets and liabilities:        
Decrease (increase) in accounts receivable  3,696   (120,739)
Decrease (increase) in prepaid expenses and deposits  (15,778)  (27,617)
Decrease (increase) in due from related parties  20,645   (282,092)
Decrease (increase) in inventory  —     1,306 
Increase (decrease) in accounts payable  (951)  50,244 
Increase (decrease) in notes payable  —     (4,861)
Increase (decrease) in accrued expenses and other current liabilities  (359,822)  801,434 
Increase (decrease) in advanced from others  (1,015)  1,909 
Increase (decrease) in due to related parties  266,791   178,083 
Net cash used in operating activities  (4,563,919)  (3,134,526)
         
Cash flows from investing activities        
Net proceeds from sale of investment  147,804   —   
Loan to related parties  (373,235)  (17,496)
Long-term equity investment  —     (17,801)
Net cash used in investing activities  (225,431)  (35,297)
         
Cash flows from financing activities        
Issuance of common stock for cash  7,615,331   —   
Issuance of common shares for stock-based compensation  —     552,962 
Proceeds from issuance of common stock for acquisition  —     531,147 
Proceeds from convertible notes  2,500,000   1,207,500 
Repayment of short-term bank loan  (350,000)  —   
Proceeds from short-term loan  100,000   1,000,000 
Proceeds from long-term loan  124,400   —   
Net (repayments of) proceeds from short term borrowings from third parties  (480,989)  657,466 
Proceeds from (repayment of) borrowings from related parties  72,704   (820,000)
Repayment of long-term bank loans  (13,603)  (41,586)
Net cash provided by financing activities  9,567,843   3,087,489 
         
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash  62,435   (4)
         
Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash  4,840,928   (82,338)
         
Cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash        
Beginning  160,443   242,781 
Ending $5,001,371  $160,443 
         
Supplemental disclosure of cash flows        
Cash paid during the year for:        
Interest expense paid $208,556  $167,126 
Income taxes paid $—    $2,050 
         
Non-cash financing and investing activities        
Common shares issued for employees and consultants $—    $325,740 
Capital contribution from related parties under common control $—    $7,872,340 

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


AMERICAN BRIVISION (HOLDING) CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY (DEFICIT)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2020 AND 2019

  Common Stock  Stock  Additional     Accumulated
Other
  Treasury Stock  Non  Stockholders’ 
  Number of
shares
  Amounts  Subscription
Receivable
  Paid-in
Capital
  Accumulated
Deficit
  Comprehensive
Income
  Number of
Shares
  Amount  controlling
Interest
  Equity
(Deficit)
 
Balance at December 31, 2018  11,884,804  $11,885  $—    $14,983,714  $(12,209,446) $655,851   (275,347) $(9,100,000) $317,610  $(5,340,386)
                                         
Issuance of common shares  7,593,364   7,593   (4,063,360)  13,174,320   —     —     —     —         9,118,593 
                                         
Stock based compensation  —     —     —     22,314   —     —     —     —         22,314 
                                         
Net loss for the year  —     —     —     —     (3,641,777)      —     —     (291,463)  (3,933,240)
                                         
Cumulative transaction adjustments  —     —     —     —     —     7,902   —     —         7,902 
                                         
Balance at December 31, 2019  19,478,168   19,478   (4,063,320)  28,180,348   (15,851,223)  663,753   (275,347)  (9,100,000)  26,147   (124,817)
                                         
Capital contribution  3,384,615   3,385   —     7,611,946   —     —     —     —     —     7,615,331 
                                         
Stock based compensation for options granted  —     —     —     1,706,419   —     —     —     —     —     1,706,419 
                                         
Stock based compensation for services  641,887   642   902,960   1,536,958   —     —     —     —     —     2,440,560 
                                         
Debt conversion  915,856   915   —     1,716,136   —     —     —     —     —     1,717,051 
                                         
Net loss for the year  —     —     —     —     (9,791,164)  —     —     —     (802,420)  (10,593,584)
                                         
Cumulative transaction adjustments  —     —     —     —     —     (98,893)  —     —     —     (98,893)
                                         
Balance at December 31, 2020  24,420,526  $24,420  $(3,160,360) $40,751,807  $(25,642,387) $564,860   (275,347) $(9,100,000) $(776,273) $2,662,067 

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


AMERICAN BRIVISION (HOLDING) CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

1. ORGANIZATION AND DESCRIPTION OF BUSINESS

American BriVision (Holding) Corporation (the “Company” or “Holding entity”), a Nevada corporation, through the Company’s operating entity, American BriVision Corporation (“BriVision”), which was incorporated in July 2015 in the State of Delaware, engages in biotechnology to fulfill unmet medical needs and focuses on the development of new drugs and medical devices derived from plants. BriVision develops its pipeline by carefully tracking new medical discoveries or medical device technologies in research institutions in the Asia-Pacific region. Pre-clinical, disease animal model and Phase I safety studies are examined closely by the Company to identify drugs that BriVision believes demonstrate efficacy and safety. Once a drug appears to be a good candidate for development and ultimately commercialization, BriVision licenses the drug or medical device from the original researchers and begins to introduce the drugs clinical plan to highly respected principal investigators in the United States, Australia and Taiwan to conduct a Phase II clinical trial. At present, clinical trials for the Company’s drugs and medical devices are being conducted at such world-famous institutions as Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (“MSKCC”) and MD Anderson Cancer Center. BriVision had no predecessor operations prior to its formation on July 21, 2015.

Reverse Merger

On February 8, 2016, a Share Exchange Agreement (the “Share Exchange Agreement”) was entered into by and among American BriVision (Holding) Corporation, American BriVision Corporation (“BriVision”), and Euro-Asia Investment & Finance Corp. Limited, a company incorporated under the laws of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China (“Euro-Asia”), being the owners of record of 164,387,376 (52,336,000 pre-stock split) shares of Common Stock of the Company, and the owners of record of all of the issued share capital of BriVision (the “BriVision Stock”).

Pursuant to the Share Exchange Agreement, upon surrender by the BriVision Shareholders and the cancellation by BriVision of the certificates evidencing the BriVision Stock as registered in the name of each BriVision Shareholder, and pursuant to the registration of the Company in the register of members maintained by BriVision as the new holder of the BriVision Stock and the issuance of the certificates evidencing the aforementioned registration of the BriVision Stock in the name of the Company, the Company issued 166,273,921(52,936,583 pre-stock split) shares (the “Acquisition Stock”) (subject to adjustment for fractionalized shares as set forth below) of the Company’s Common Stock to the BriVision Shareholders (or their designees), and 163,159,952 (51,945,225 pre-stock split) shares of the Company’s Common Stock owned by Euro-Asia were cancelled and retired to treasury. The Acquisition Stock collectively represented 79.70% of the issued and outstanding Common Stock of the Company immediately after the Closing, in exchange for the BriVision Stock, representing 100% of the issued share capital of BriVision in a reverse merger (the “Merger”).

Pursuant to the Merger, all of the issued and outstanding common shares of BriVision were converted, at an exchange ratio of 0.2536-for-1, into an aggregate of 166,273,921(52,936,583pre-stock split) common shares of the Company and BriVision had become a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company. The holders of Company’s Common Stock as of immediately prior to the Merger held an aggregate of 205,519,223(65,431,144 pre-stock split) shares of Company’s Common Stock. Because of the exchange of the BriVision Stock for the Acquisition Stock (the “Share Exchange”), BriVision had become a wholly owned subsidiary (the “Subsidiary”) of the Company and there was a change of control of the Company following the closing. There were no warrants, options or other equity instruments issued in connection with the share exchange agreement.

Upon the consummation of the Share Exchange, BriVision became a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company.

Following the Share Exchange, the Company has abandoned prior business plan and is now pursuing BriVision’s historically proposed businesses, which focus on the development of new drugs and innovative medical devices to fulfill unmet medical needs. The business model of the Company is to integrate research achievements from world-famous institutions, conduct clinical trials of translational medicine for Proof of Concept (“POC”), out-license to international pharmaceutical companies, and explore global markets.


Accounting Treatment of the Reverse Merger

For financial reporting purposes, the Share Exchange represents a “reverse merger” rather than a business combination and BriVision is deemed the accounting acquirer in the transaction. The Share Exchange is being accounted for as a reverse-merger and recapitalization. BriVision is the acquirer for financial reporting purposes and the Company is the acquired company. Consequently, the assets and liabilities and the operations reflected in the historical financial statements prior to the Share Exchange will be those of BriVision and recorded at the historical cost basis of BriVision. In addition, the consolidated financial statements after completion of the Share Exchange will include the assets and liabilities of the Company and BriVision, and the historical operations of BriVision and operations of the Combined Company from the closing date of the Share Exchange.

Merger

On February 8, 2019, the Company, BioLite Holding, Inc. (“BioLite”), BioKey, Inc. (“BioKey”), BioLite Acquisition Corp., a direct wholly-owned subsidiary of Parent (“Merger Sub 1”), and BioKey Acquisition Corp., a direct wholly-owned subsidiary of Parent (“Merger Sub 2”) (collectively referred to as the “Parties”) completed the business combination pursuant to the Agreement and Plan of Merger (the “Merger Agreement”) dated as of January 31, 2018 where ABVC acquired BioLite and BioKey via issuing additional Common Stock of ABVC to the shareholders of BioLite and BioKey.

Pursuant to the terms of the Merger Agreement, BioLite and BioKey became two wholly-owned subsidiaries of the Company on February 8, 2019. ABVC issued an aggregate of 104,558,777 shares (prior to the reverse stock split in 2019) to the shareholders of both BioLite and BioKey under a registration statement on Form S-4 (file number 333-226285), which became effective by operation of law on or about February 5, 2019.

BioLite Holding, Inc. (the “BioLite Holding”) was incorporated under the laws of the State of Nevada on July 27, 2016. BioLite BVI, Inc. (the “BioLite BVI”), a wholly owned subsidiary of BioLite Holding, was incorporated in the British Virgin Islands on September 13, 2016. BioLite Holding and BioLite BVI are holding companies and have not carried out substantive business operations of their own.

BioLite, Inc., (the “BioLite Taiwan”) was incorporated on February 13, 2006 under the laws of Taiwan. BioLite is in the business of developing and commercialization of new botanical drugs with application in central nervous system, autoimmunity, inflammation, hematology, and oncology. In addition, BioLite Taiwan distributes dietary supplements made from extracts of Chinese herbs and Maitake mushroom.

In January 2017, BioLite Holding, BioLite BVI, BioLite Taiwan, and certain shareholders of BioLite Taiwan entered into a share purchase / exchange agreement (the “BioLite Share Purchase / Exchange Agreement”). Pursuant to the BioLite Share Purchase / Exchange Agreement, the shareholder participants to the BioLite Share Purchase / Exchange Agreement have sold their equity in BioLite Taiwan and were using the proceeds from such sales to purchase shares of Common Stock of BioLite Holding at the same price per share, resulting in their owning the same number of shares of Common Stock as they owned in the BioLite Taiwan. Upon closing of the Share Purchase/ Exchange Agreement in August 2017, BioLite Holding ultimately owns via BioLite BVI approximately 73% of BioLite Taiwan. The other shareholders who did not enter this Share Purchase/ Exchange Agreement retain their equity ownership in BioLite Taiwan.

BioKey, Inc. was incorporated on August 9, 2000 in the State of California. BioKey provides a wide range of services, including, API characterization, pre-formulation studies, formulation development, analytical method development, stability studies, IND/NDA/ANDA/510K submissions, and manufacturing clinical trial materials (Phase I through phase III) and commercial manufacturing. It also licenses out its technologies and initiates joint research and development processes with other biotechnology, pharmaceutical, and nutraceutical companies.


Accounting Treatment of the Merger

The Company adopted ASC 805, “Business Combination” to record the merger transactions of BioKey. Since the Company and BioLite Holding are the entities under Dr. Tsung-Shann Jiang’s common control, the transaction is accounted for as a restructuring transaction. All the assets and liabilities of BioLite Holding, BioLite BVI, and BioLite Taiwan were transferred to the Company at their respective carrying amounts on the closing date of the Merger. The Company has recast prior period financial statements to reflect the conveyance of BioLite Holding’s common shares as if the restructuring transaction had occurred as of the earliest date of the financial statements. All material intercompany accounts, transactions, and profits have been eliminated in consolidation. The nature of and effects on earnings per share (EPS) of nonrecurring intra-entity transactions involving long-term assets and liabilities is not required to be eliminated and EPS amounts have been recast to include the earnings (or losses) of the transferred net assets.

2. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Basis of Presentation

The accompanying consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America (the “U.S. GAAP”). All significant intercompany transactions and account balances have been eliminated.

This basis of accounting involves the application of accrual accounting and consequently, revenues and gains are recognized when earned, and expenses and losses are recognized when incurred. The Company’s financial statements are expressed in U.S. dollars.

Fiscal Year

The Company changed its fiscal year from the period beginning on October 1st and ending on September 30th to the period beginning on January 1st and ending on December 31st, beginning January 1, 2018. All references herein to a fiscal year prior to December 31, 2017 refer to the twelve months ended September 30th of such year. 

Use of Estimates

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted 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 consolidated financial statements and the amount of revenues and expenses during the reporting periods. Actual results could differ materially from those results.

Inventory

Inventory consists of raw materials, work-in-process, finished goods, and merchandise. Inventories are stated at the lower of cost or market and valued on a moving weighted average cost basis. Market is determined based on net realizable value. The Company periodically reviews the age and turnover of its inventory to determine whether any inventory has become obsolete or has declined in value, and incurs a charge to operations for known and anticipated inventory obsolescence.

Reclassifications

Certain classifications have been made to the prior year financial statements to conform to the current year presentation. The reclassification had no impact on previously reported net loss or accumulated deficit.

Forward Stock Split

On March 21, 2016, the Board of Directors of the Company approved an amendment to Articles of Incorporation to effect a forward split at a ratio of 1 to 3.141 and increase the number of our authorized shares of Common Stock, par value $0.001 per share, to 360,000,000, which was effective on April 8, 2016.


Stock Reverse Split

On March 12, 2019, the Board of Directors of the Company by unanimous written consent in lieu of a meeting approved to i) effect a stock reverse split at the ratio of 1-for-18 (the “Reverse Split”) of both the authorized common stock of the Company (the “Common Stock”) and the issued and outstanding Common Stock and ii) to amend the articles of incorporation of the Company to reflect the Reverse Split. The Board approved and authorized the Reverse Split without obtaining approval of the Company’s shareholders pursuant to Section 78.207 of Nevada Revised Statutes. On May 3, 2019, the Company filed a certificate of amendment to the Company’s articles of incorporation (the “Amendment”) to effect the Reverse Split with the Secretary of State of Nevada. The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) informed the Company that the Reverse Split was effective on May 8, 2019. All shares and related financial information in this Form 10-K reflect this 1-for-18 reverse stock split. 

Fair Value Measurements

FASB ASC 820, “Fair Value Measurements” defines fair value for certain financial and nonfinancial assets and liabilities that are recorded at fair value, establishes a framework for measuring fair value and expands disclosures about fair value measurements. It requires that an entity measure its financial instruments to base fair value on exit price, maximize the use of observable units and minimize the use of unobservable inputs to determine the exit price. It establishes a hierarchy which prioritizes the inputs to valuation techniques used to measure fair value. This hierarchy increases the consistency and comparability of fair value measurements and related disclosures by maximizing the use of observable inputs and minimizing the use of unobservable inputs by requiring that observable inputs be used when available. Observable inputs are inputs that reflect the assumptions market participants would use in pricing the assets or liabilities based on market data obtained from sources independent of the Company. Unobservable inputs are inputs that reflect the Company’s own assumptions about the assumptions market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability developed based on the best information available in the circumstances. The hierarchy prioritizes the inputs into three broad levels based on the reliability of the inputs as follows:

Level 1 - Inputs are quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities that the Company has the ability to access at the measurement date. Valuation of these instruments does not require a high degree of judgment as the valuations are based on quoted prices in active markets that are readily and regularly available.
Level 2 - Inputs other than quoted prices in active markets that are either directly or indirectly observable as of the measurement date, such as quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities; quoted prices in markets that are not active; or other inputs that are observable or can be corroborated by observable market data for substantially the full term of the assets or liabilities.
Level 3 - Valuations based on inputs that are unobservable and not corroborated by market data. The fair value for such assets and liabilities is generally determined using pricing models, discounted cash flow methodologies, or similar techniques that incorporate the assumptions a market participant would use in pricing the asset or liability.

The carrying values of certain assets and liabilities of the Company, such as cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash, accounts receivable, due from related parties, inventory, prepaid expenses and other current assets, accounts payable, accrued liabilities, and due to related parties approximate fair value due to their relatively short maturities. The carrying value of the Company’s short-term bank loan, convertible notes payable, and accrued interest approximates their fair value as the terms of the borrowing are consistent with current market rates and the duration to maturity is short. The carrying value of the Company’s long-term bank loan approximates fair value because the interest rates approximate market rates that the Company could obtain for debt with similar terms and maturities.

Cash and Cash Equivalents

The Company considers highly liquid investments with maturities of three months or less, when purchased, to be cash equivalents. As of December 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019, the Company’s cash and cash equivalents amounted 4,273,208 and $144,295, respectively. Some of the Company’s cash deposits are held in financial institutions located in Taiwan where there is currently regulation mandated on obligatory insurance of bank accounts. The Company believes this financial institution is of high credit quality.


Restricted Cash Equivalents

Restricted cash equivalents primarily consist of cash held in a reserve bank account in Taiwan. As of December 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019, the Company’s restricted cash equivalents amounted $728,163 and $16,148, respectively.

Concentration of Credit Risk

The Company’s financial instruments that are exposed to concentrations of credit risk consist primarily of cash and cash equivalents. The Company places its cash and temporary cash investments in high quality credit institutions, but these investments may be in excess of Taiwan Central Deposit Insurance Corporation and the U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s insurance limits. The Company does not enter into financial instruments for hedging, trading or speculative purposes.

Revenue Recognition

During the fiscal year 2018, the Company adopted Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”), Topic 606 (ASC 606), Revenue from Contracts with Customers, using the modified retrospective method to all contracts that were not completed as of January 1, 2018, and applying the new revenue standard as an adjustment to the opening balance of accumulated deficit at the beginning of 2018 for the cumulative effect. The results for the Company’s reporting periods beginning on and after January 1, 2018 are presented under ASC 606, while prior period amounts are not adjusted and continue to be reported under the accounting standards in effect for the prior period. Based on the Company’s review of existing collaborative agreements as of January 1, 2018, the Company concluded that the adoption of the new guidance did not have a significant change on the Company’s revenue during all periods presented.

Pursuant to ASC 606, the Company recognizes revenue when its customer obtains control of promised goods or services, in an amount that reflects the consideration that the Company expects to receive in exchange for those goods or services. To determine revenue recognition for arrangements that the Company determines is within the scope of ASC 606, the Company performs the following five steps: (i) identify the contract(s) with a customer; (ii) identify the performance obligations in the contract; (iii) determine the transaction price; (iv) allocate the transaction price to the performance obligations in the contract; and (v) recognize revenue when (or as) the Company satisfies a performance obligation. The Company only applies the five-step model to contracts when it is probable that the Company will collect the consideration the Company is entitled to in exchange for the goods or services the Company transfers to the customers. At inception of the contract, once the contract is determined to be within the scope of ASC 606, the Company assesses the goods or services promised within each contract, determines those that are performance obligations, and assesses whether each promised good or service is distinct. The Company then recognizes as revenue the amount of the transaction price that is allocated to the respective performance obligation when (or as) the performance obligation is satisfied.

The following are examples of when the Company recognizes revenue based on the types of payments the Company receives.

Collaborative Revenues — The Company recognizes collaborative revenues generated through collaborative research, development and/or commercialization agreements. The terms of these agreements typically include payment to the Company related to one or more of the following: non-refundable upfront license fees, development and commercial milestones, partial or complete reimbursement of research and development costs, and royalties on net sales of licensed products. Each type of payments results in collaborative revenues except for revenues from royalties on net sales of licensed products, which are classified as royalty revenues. To date, the Company has not received any royalty revenues. Revenue is recognized upon satisfaction of a performance obligation by transferring control of a good or service to the collaboration partners.

As part of the accounting for these arrangements, the Company applies judgment to determine whether the performance obligations are distinct, and develop assumptions in determining the stand-alone selling price for each distinct performance obligation identified in the collaboration agreements. To determine the stand-alone selling price, the Company relies on assumptions which may include forecasted revenues, development timelines, reimbursement rates for R&D personnel costs, discount rates and probabilities of technical and regulatory success.


The Company had multiple deliverables under the collaborative agreements, including deliverables relating to grants of technology licenses, regulatory and clinical development, and marketing activities. Estimation of the performance periods of the Company’s deliverables requires the use of management’s judgment. Significant factors considered in management’s evaluation of the estimated performance periods include, but are not limited to, the Company’s experience in conducting clinical development, regulatory and manufacturing activities. The Company reviews the estimated duration of its performance periods under its collaborative agreements on an annually basis, and makes any appropriate adjustments on a prospective basis. Future changes in estimates of the performance period under its collaborative agreements could impact the timing of future revenue recognition.

(i) Non-refundable upfront payments

If a license to the Company’s intellectual property is determined to be distinct from the other performance obligations identified in an arrangement, the Company recognizes revenue from the related non-refundable upfront payments based on the relative standalone selling price prescribed to the license compared to the total selling price of the arrangement. The revenue is recognized when the license is transferred to the collaboration partners and the collaboration partners are able to use and benefit from the license. To date, the receipt of non-refundable upfront fees was solely for the compensation of past research efforts and contributions made by the Company before the collaborative agreements entered into and it does not relate to any future obligations and commitments made between the Company and the collaboration partners in the collaborative agreements.

(ii) Milestone payments

The Company is eligible to receive milestone payments under the collaborative agreement with collaboration partners based on achievement of specified development, regulatory and commercial events. Management evaluated the nature of the events triggering these contingent payments, and concluded that these events fall into two categories: (a) events which involve the performance of the Company’s obligations under the collaborative agreement with collaboration partners, and (b) events which do not involve the performance of the Company’s obligations under the collaborative agreement with collaboration partners.

The former category of milestone payments consists of those triggered by development and regulatory activities in the territories specified in the collaborative agreements. Management concluded that each of these payments constitute substantive milestone payments. This conclusion was based primarily on the facts that (i) each triggering event represents a specific outcome that can be achieved only through successful performance by the Company of one or more of its deliverables, (ii) achievement of each triggering event was subject to inherent risk and uncertainty and would result in additional payments becoming due to the Company, (iii) each of the milestone payments is non-refundable, (iv) substantial effort is required to complete each milestone, (v) the amount of each milestone payment is reasonable in relation to the value created in achieving the milestone, (vi) a substantial amount of time is expected to pass between the upfront payment and the potential milestone payments, and (vii) the milestone payments relate solely to past performance. Based on the foregoing, the Company recognizes any revenue from these milestone payments in the period in which the underlying triggering event occurs.

(iii) Multiple Element Arrangements

The Company evaluates multiple element arrangements to determine (1) the deliverables included in the arrangement and (2) whether the individual deliverables represent separate units of accounting or whether they must be accounted for as a combined unit of accounting. This evaluation involves subjective determinations and requires management to make judgments about the individual deliverables and whether such deliverables are separate from other aspects of the contractual relationship. Deliverables are considered separate units of accounting provided that: (i) the delivered item(s) has value to the customer on a standalone basis and (ii) if the arrangement includes a general right of return relative to the delivered item(s), delivery or performance of the undelivered item(s) is considered probable and substantially within its control. In assessing whether an item under a collaboration has standalone value, the Company considers factors such as the research, manufacturing, and commercialization capabilities of the collaboration partner and the availability of the associated expertise in the general marketplace. The Company also considers whether its collaboration partners can use the other deliverable(s) for their intended purpose without the receipt of the remaining element(s), whether the value of the deliverable is dependent on the undelivered item(s), and whether there are other vendors that can provide the undelivered element(s).


The Company recognizes arrangement consideration allocated to each unit of accounting when all of the revenue recognition criteria in ASC 606 are satisfied for that particular unit of accounting. In the event that a deliverable does not represent a separate unit of accounting, the Company recognizes revenue from the combined unit of accounting over the Company’s contractual or estimated performance period for the undelivered elements, which is typically the term of the Company’s research and development obligations. If there is no discernible pattern of performance or objectively measurable performance measures do not exist, then the Company recognizes revenue under the arrangement on a straight-line basis over the period the Company is expected to complete its performance obligations. Conversely, if the pattern of performance in which the service is provided to the customer can be determined and objectively measurable performance measures exist, then the Company recognizes revenue under the arrangement using the proportional performance method. Revenue recognized is limited to the lesser of the cumulative amount of payments received or the cumulative amount of revenue earned, as determined using the straight-line method or proportional performance method, as applicable, as of the period ending date.

At the inception of an arrangement that includes milestone payments, the Company evaluates whether each milestone is substantive and at risk to both parties on the basis of the contingent nature of the milestone. This evaluation includes an assessment of whether: (1) the consideration is commensurate with either the Company’s performance to achieve the milestone or the enhancement of the value of the delivered item(s) as a result of a specific outcome resulting from its performance to achieve the milestone, (2) the consideration relates solely to past performance and (3) the consideration is reasonable relative to all of the deliverables and payment terms within the arrangement. The Company evaluates factors such as the scientific, clinical, regulatory, commercial, and other risks that must be overcome to achieve the particular milestone and the level of effort and investment required to achieve the particular milestone in making this assessment. There is considerable judgment involved in determining whether a milestone satisfies all of the criteria required to conclude that a milestone is substantive. Milestones that are not considered substantive are recognized as earned if there are no remaining performance obligations or over the remaining period of performance, assuming all other revenue recognition criteria are met.

(iv) Royalties and Profit Sharing Payments

Under the collaborative agreement with the collaboration partners, the Company is entitled to receive royalties on sales of products, which is at certain percentage of the net sales. The Company recognizes revenue from these events based on the revenue recognition criteria set forth in ASC 606. Based on those criteria, the Company considers these payments to be contingent revenues, and recognizes them as revenue in the period in which the applicable contingency is resolved.

Revenues Derived from Research and Development Activities Services — Revenues related to research and development and regulatory activities are recognized when the related services or activities are performed, in accordance with the contract terms. The Company typically has only one performance obligation at the inception of a contract, which is to perform research and development services. The Company may also provide its customers with an option to request that the Company provides additional goods or services in the future, such as active pharmaceutical ingredient, API, or IND/NDA/ANDA/510K submissions. The Company evaluates whether these options are material rights at the inception of the contract. If the Company determines an option is a material right, the Company will consider the option a separate performance obligation.

If the Company is entitled to reimbursement from its customers for specified research and development expenses, the Company accounts for the related services that it provides as separate performance obligations if it determines that these services represent a material right. The Company also determines whether the reimbursement of research and development expenses should be accounted for as revenues or an offset to research and development expenses in accordance with provisions of gross or net revenue presentation. The Company recognizes the corresponding revenues or records the corresponding offset to research and development expenses as it satisfies the related performance obligations.

The Company then determines the transaction price by reviewing the amount of consideration the Company is eligible to earn under the contracts, including any variable consideration. Under the outstanding contracts, consideration typically includes fixed consideration and variable consideration in the form of potential milestone payments. At the start of an agreement, the Company’s transaction price usually consists of the payments made to or by the Company based on the number of full-time equivalent researchers assigned to the project and the related research and development expenses incurred. The Company does not typically include any payments that the Company may receive in the future in its initial transaction price because the payments are not probable. The Company would reassess the total transaction price at each reporting period to determine if the Company should include additional payments in the transaction price.


The Company receives payments from its customers based on billing schedules established in each contract. Upfront payments and fees may be recorded as advance from customers upon receipt or when due, and may require deferral of revenue recognition to a future period until the Company performs its obligations under these arrangements. Amounts are recorded as accounts receivable when the right of the Company to consideration is unconditional. The Company does not assess whether a contract has a significant financing component if the expectation at contract inception is such that the period between payment by the customers and the transfer of the promised goods or services to the customers will be one year or less.

Property and Equipment

Property and equipment is carried at cost net of accumulated depreciation. Repairs and maintenance are expensed as incurred. Expenditures that improve the functionality of the related asset or extend the useful life are capitalized. When property and equipment is retired or otherwise disposed of, the related gain or loss is included in operating income. Leasehold improvements are depreciated on the straight-line method over the shorter of the remaining lease term or estimated useful life of the asset. Depreciation is calculated on the straight-line method, including property and equipment under capital leases, generally based on the following useful lives:

Estimated Life
in Years
Buildings and leasehold improvements5 ~ 50
Machinery and equipment5 ~ 10
Office equipment3 ~ 6

Impairment of Long-Lived Assets

The Company has adopted Accounting Standards Codification subtopic 360-10, Property, Plant and Equipment (“ASC 360-10”). ASC 360-10 requires that long-lived assets and certain identifiable intangibles held and used by the Company be reviewed for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of an asset may not be recoverable. The Company evaluates its long-lived assets for impairment annually or more often if events and circumstances warrant. Events relating to recoverability may include significant unfavorable changes in business conditions, recurring losses, or a forecasted inability to achieve break-even operating results over an extended period. Should impairment in value be indicated, the carrying value of intangible assets will be adjusted, based on estimates of future discounted cash flows resulting from the use and ultimate disposition of the asset. ASC 360-10 also requires assets to be disposed of be reported at the lower of the carrying amount or the fair value less costs to sell.

Long-term Equity Investment

The Company acquires the equity investments to promote business and strategic objectives. The Company accounts for non-marketable equity and other equity investments for which the Company does not have control over the investees as:

Equity method investments when the Company has the ability to exercise significant influence, but not control, over the investee. Its proportionate share of the income or loss is recognized monthly and is recorded in gains (losses) on equity investments.

Non-marketable cost method investments when the equity method does not apply.

Significant judgment is required to identify whether an impairment exists in the valuation of the Company’s non-marketable equity investments, and therefore the Company considers this a critical accounting estimate. Its yearly analysis considers both qualitative and quantitative factors that may have a significant impact on the investee’s fair value. Qualitative analysis of its investments involves understanding the financial performance and near-term prospects of the investee, changes in general market conditions in the investee’s industry or geographic area, and the management and governance structure of the investee. Quantitative assessments of the fair value of its investments are developed using the market and income approaches. The market approach includes the use of comparable financial metrics of private and public companies and recent financing rounds. The income approach includes the use of a discounted cash flow model, which requires significant estimates regarding the investees’ revenue, costs, and discount rates. The Company’s assessment of these factors in determining whether an impairment exists could change in the future due to new developments or changes in applied assumptions.


Other-Than-Temporary Impairment

The Company’s long-term equity investments are subject to a periodic impairment review. Impairments affect earnings as follows:

Marketable equity securities include the consideration of general market conditions, the duration and extent to which the fair value is below cost, and our ability and intent to hold the investment for a sufficient period of time to allow for recovery of value in the foreseeable future. The Company also considers specific adverse conditions related to the financial health of, and the business outlook for, the investee, which may include industry and sector performance, changes in technology, operational and financing cash flow factors, and changes in the investee’s credit rating. The Company records other-than-temporary impairments on marketable equity securities and marketable equity method investments in gains (losses) on equity investments.

Non-marketable equity investments based on the Company’s assessment of the severity and duration of the impairment, and qualitative and quantitative analysis of the operating performance of the investee; adverse changes in market conditions and the regulatory or economic environment; changes in operating structure or management of the investee; additional funding requirements; and the investee’s ability to remain in business. A series of operating losses of an investee or other factors may indicate that a decrease in value of the investment has occurred that is other than temporary and that shall be recognized even though the decrease in value is in excess of what would otherwise be recognized by application of the equity method. A loss in value of an investment that is other than a temporary decline shall be recognized. Evidence of a loss in value might include, but would not necessarily be limited to, absence of an ability to recover the carrying amount of the investment or inability of the investee to sustain an earnings capacity that would justify the carrying amount of the investment. The Company records other-than-temporary impairments for non-marketable cost method investments and equity method investments in gains (losses) on equity investments. Other-than-temporary impairments of equity investments were $961,217 and $0 for the year ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively.

Goodwill

The Company evaluates goodwill for impairment annually or more frequently when an event occurs or circumstances change that indicate the carrying value may not be recoverable. In testing goodwill for impairment, the Company may elect to utilize a qualitative assessment to evaluate whether it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying amount. If the qualitative assessment indicates that goodwill impairment is more likely than not, the Company performs a two-step impairment test. The Company tests goodwill for impairment under the two-step impairment test by first comparing the book value of net assets to the fair value of the reporting units. If the fair value is determined to be less than the book value or qualitative factors indicate that it is more likely than not that goodwill is impaired, a second step is performed to compute the amount of impairment as the difference between the estimated fair value of goodwill and the carrying value. The Company estimates the fair value of the reporting units using discounted cash flows. Forecasts of future cash flows are based on our best estimate of future net sales and operating expenses, based primarily on expected category expansion, pricing, market segment share, and general economic conditions.

The Company completed the required testing of goodwill for impairment as of December 31, 2020, and determined that goodwill was impaired because of the current financial condition of the Company and the Company’s inability to generate future operating income without substantial sales volume increases, which are highly uncertain. Furthermore, the Company anticipates future cash flows indicate that the recoverability of goodwill is not reasonably assured.

Research and Development Expenses

The Company accounts for the cost of using licensing rights in research and development cost according to ASC Topic 730-10-25-1. This guidance provides that absent alternative future uses the acquisition of product rights to be used in research and development activities must be charged to research and development expenses when incurred.


For CDMO business unit, the Company accounts for R&D costs in accordance with Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 730, Research and Development (“ASC 730”). Research and development expenses are charged to expense as incurred unless there is an alternative future use in other research and development projects or otherwise. Research and development expenses are comprised of costs incurred in performing research and development activities, including personnel-related costs, facilities-related overhead, and outside contracted services including clinical trial costs, manufacturing and process development costs for both clinical and preclinical materials, research costs, and other consulting services. Non-refundable advance payment for goods and services that will be used in future research and development activities are expensed when the activity has been performed or when the goods have been received rather than when the payment is made. In instances where the Company enters into agreements with third parties to provide research and development services, costs are expensed as services are performed.

Post-retirement and post-employment benefits

The Company’s subsidiaries in Taiwan adopted the government mandated defined contribution plan pursuant to the Labor Pension Act (the “Act”) in Taiwan. Such labor regulations require that the rate of contribution made by an employer to the Labor Pension Fund per month shall not be less than 6% of the worker’s monthly salaries. Pursuant to the Act, the Company makes monthly contribution equal to 6% of employees’ salaries to the employees’ pension fund. The Company has no legal obligation for the benefits beyond the contributions made. The total amounts for such employee benefits, which were expensed as incurred, were $13,961and $15,928 for the year ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively. Other than the above, the Company does not provide any other post-retirement or post-employment benefits.

Stock-based Compensation

The Company measures expense associated with all employee stock-based compensation awards using a fair value method and recognizes such expense in the consolidated financial statements on a straight-line basis over the requisite service period in accordance with FASB ASC Topic 718 “Compensation-Stock Compensation”. Total employee stock-based compensation expenses were $1,623,102 and $0 for the year ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively.

The Company accounted for stock-based compensation to non-employees in accordance with FASB ASC Topic 718 “Compensation-Stock Compensation” and FASB ASC Topic 505-50 “Equity-Based Payments to Non-Employees” which requires that the cost of services received from non-employees is measured at fair value at the earlier of the performance commitment date or the date service is completed and recognized over the period the service is provided. Total non-employee stock-based compensation expenses were $2,523,877 and $22,314 for the year ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively.

Beneficial Conversion Feature

From time to time, the Company may issue convertible notes that may contain an imbedded beneficial conversion feature. A beneficial conversion feature exists on the date a convertible note is issued when the fair value of the underlying common stock to which the note is convertible into is in excess of the remaining unallocated proceeds of the note after first considering the allocation of a portion of the note proceeds to the fair value of the warrants, if related warrants have been granted. The intrinsic value of the beneficial conversion feature is recorded as a debt discount with a corresponding amount to additional paid in capital. The debt discount is amortized to interest expense over the life of the note using the effective interest method.

Income Taxes

The Company accounts for income taxes using the asset and liability approach which allows the recognition and measurement of deferred tax assets to be based upon the likelihood of realization of tax benefits in future years. Under the asset and liability approach, deferred taxes are provided for the net tax effects of temporary differences between the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities for financial reporting purposes and the amounts used for income tax purposes. A valuation allowance is provided for deferred tax assets if it is more likely than not these items will expire before the Company is able to realize their benefits, or future deductibility is uncertain.


Under ASC 740, a tax position is recognized as a benefit only if it is “more likely than not” that the tax position would be sustained in a tax examination, with a tax examination being presumed to occur. The evaluation of a tax position is a two-step process. The first step is to determine whether it is more-likely-than-not that a tax position will be sustained upon examination, including the resolution of any related appeals or litigations based on the technical merits of that position. The second step is to measure a tax position that meets the more-likely-than-not threshold to determine the amount of benefits recognized in the financial statements. A tax position is measured at the largest amount of benefit that is greater than 50 percent likely of being realized upon ultimate settlement. Tax positions that previously failed to meet the more-likely-than-not recognition threshold should be recognized in the first subsequent period in which the threshold is met. Previously recognized tax positions that no longer meet the more-likely-than-not criteria should be de-recognized in the first subsequent financial reporting period in which the threshold is no longer satisfied. Penalties and interest incurred related to underpayment of income tax are classified as income tax expense in the year incurred. No significant penalty or interest relating to income taxes has been incurred for the year ended December 31, 2020 and 2019. GAAP also provides guidance on de-recognition, classification, interest and penalties, accounting in interim periods, disclosures and transition.

On December 22, 2017, the SEC issued Staff Accounting Bulletin (“SAB 118”), which provides guidance on accounting for tax effects of the Tax Act. SAB 118 provides a measurement period that should not extend beyond one year from the Tax Act enactment date for companies to complete the accounting under ASC 740. In accordance with SAB 118, a company must reflect the income tax effects of those aspects of the Act for which the accounting under ASC 740 is complete. To the extent that a company’s accounting for certain income tax effects of the Tax Act is incomplete but it is able to determine a reasonable estimate, it must record a provisional estimate to be included in the financial statements. If a company cannot determine a provisional estimate to be included in the financial statements, it should continue to apply ASC 740 on the basis of the provision of the tax laws that were in effect immediately before the enactment of the Tax Act. While the Company is able to make reasonable estimates of the impact of the reduction in corporate rate and the deemed repatriation transition tax, the final impact of the Tax Act may differ from these estimates, due to, among other things, changes in our interpretations and assumptions, additional guidance that may be issued by the I.R.S., and actions the Company may take. The Company is continuing to gather additional information to determine the final impact.

Valuation of Deferred Tax Assets

A valuation allowance is recorded to reduce the Company’s deferred tax assets to the amount that is more likely than not to be realized. In assessing the need for the valuation allowance, management considers, among other things, projections of future taxable income and ongoing prudent and feasible tax planning strategies. If the Company determines that sufficient negative evidence exists, then it will consider recording a valuation allowance against a portion or all of the deferred tax assets in that jurisdiction. If, after recording a valuation allowance, the Company’s projections of future taxable income and other positive evidence considered in evaluating the need for a valuation allowance prove, with the benefit of hindsight, to be inaccurate, it could prove to be more difficult to support the realization of its deferred tax assets. As a result, an additional valuation allowance could be required, which would have an adverse impact on its effective income tax rate and results. Conversely, if, after recording a valuation allowance, the Company determines that sufficient positive evidence exists in the jurisdiction in which the valuation allowance was recorded, it may reverse a portion or all of the valuation allowance in that jurisdiction. In such situations, the adjustment made to the deferred tax asset would have a favorable impact on its effective income tax rate and results in the period such determination was made.

Loss Per Share of Common Stock

The Company calculates net loss per share in accordance with ASC Topic 260, “Earnings per Share”. Basic loss per share is computed by dividing the net loss by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding during the period. Diluted loss per share is computed similar to basic loss per share except that the denominator is increased to include the number of additional common shares that would have been outstanding if the potential common stock equivalents had been issued and if the additional common shares were dilutive. Diluted earnings per share excludes all dilutive potential shares if their effect is anti-dilutive.


Commitments and Contingencies

The Company has adopted ASC Topic 450 “Contingencies” subtopic 20, in determining its accruals and disclosures with respect to loss contingencies. Accordingly, estimated losses from loss contingencies are accrued by a charge to income when information available before financial statements are issued or are available to be issued indicates that it is probable that an assets had been impaired or a liability had been incurred at the date of the financial statements and the amount of the loss can be reasonably estimated. Legal expenses associated with the contingency are expensed as incurred. If a loss contingency is not probable or reasonably estimable, disclosure of the loss contingency is made in the financial statements when it is at least reasonably possible that a material loss could be incurred.

Foreign-currency Transactions

For the Company’s subsidiaries in Taiwan, the foreign-currency transactions are recorded in New Taiwan dollars (“NTD”) at the rates of exchange in effect when the transactions occur. Gains or losses resulting from the application of different foreign exchange rates when cash in foreign currency is converted into New Taiwan dollars, or when foreign-currency receivables or payables are settled, are credited or charged to income in the year of conversion or settlement. On the balance sheet dates, the balances of foreign-currency assets and liabilities are restated at the prevailing exchange rates and the resulting differences are charged to current income except for those foreign currencies denominated investments in shares of stock where such differences are accounted for as translation adjustments under the Statements of Stockholders’ Equity (Deficit).

Translation Adjustment

The accounts of the Company’s subsidiaries in Taiwan were maintained, and their financial statements were expressed, in New Taiwan Dollar (“NT$”). Such financial statements were translated into U.S. Dollars (“$” or “USD”) in accordance ASC 830, “Foreign Currency Matters”, with the NT$ as the functional currency. According to the Statement, all assets and liabilities are translated at the current exchange rate, stockholder’s deficit are translated at the historical rates and income statement items are translated at an average exchange rate for the period. The resulting translation adjustments are reported under other comprehensive income (loss) as a component of stockholders’ equity (deficit).

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

In December 2019, the FASB issued ASU 2019-12, Income Taxes (Topic 740): Simplifying the Accounting for Income Taxes, as part of its overall simplification initiative to reduce costs and complexity of applying accounting standards while maintaining or improving the usefulness of the information provided to users of financial statements. The FASB’s amendments primarily impact ASC 740, Income Taxes, and may impact both interim and annual reporting periods. ASU 2019-12 will be effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2020, and interim periods within those fiscal years and early adoption is permitted. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of adopting ASU 2019-12.

In August 2020, the FASB issued ASU 2020-06, Debt with Conversion and Other Options (Subtopic 470-20) and Derivatives and Hedging- Contracts in Entity’s Own Equity (Subtopic 815-40), to reduce the complexity associated with applying U.S. GAAP principles for certain financial instruments with characteristics of liabilities and equity. The amendments in this ASU reduce the number of accounting models for convertible instruments and expand the existing disclosure requirements over earnings per share as it relates to convertible instruments. This ASU will be effective for the fiscal year beginning January 1, 2022 and interim periods therein. Early adoption is permitted, but no earlier than fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2020. The amendments may be adopted through either a modified retrospective method, or a fully retrospective method. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of adopting ASU 2020-06.

F-57

3. COLLABORATIVE AGREEMENTS

Collaborative agreements with BHK

(i) On February 24, 2015, BioLite Taiwan and BioHopeKing Corporation (the “BHK”) entered into a co-development agreement, (the “BHK Co-Development Agreement”), pursuant to which it is collaborative with BHK to develop and commercialize BLI-1401-2 (Botanical Drug) Triple Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC) Combination Therapy (BLI-1401-2 Products) in Asian countries excluding Japan for all related intellectual property rights, and has developed it for medicinal use in collaboration with outside researchers. The development costs shall be shared 50/50 between BHK and the Company. The BHK Co-Development Agreement will remain in effect for fifteen years from the date of first commercial sale of the Product in in Asia excluding Japan.

On July 27, 2016, BioLite Taiwan and BHK agreed to amend the payment terms of the milestone payment in an aggregate amount of $10 million based on the following schedule:

Upon the signing of the BHK Co-Development Agreement: $1 million, or 10% of total payment

Upon the first Investigational New Drug (IND) submission and BioLite Taiwan will deliver all data to BHK according to FDA Reviewing requirement: $1 million, or 10% of total payment

At the completion of first phase II clinical trial: $1 million, or 10% of total payment

At the initiation of phase III of clinical trial research: $3 million, or 30% of total payment

Upon the New Drug Application (NDA) submission: $4 million, or 40% of total payment

In December 2015, BHK has paid a non-refundable upfront cash payment of $1 million, or 10% of $10,000,000, upon the signing of BHK Co-Development Agreement. The Company concluded that the deliverables are considered separate units of accounting as the delivered items have value to the customer on a standalone basis and recognized this cash receipt as collaboration revenue when all research, technical, and development data was delivered to BHK in 2015. The receipt is for the compensation of past research efforts and contributions made by BioLite Taiwan before this collaborative agreement was signed and it does not relate to any future commitments made by BioLite Taiwan and BHK in this collaborative agreement. In August 2016, the Company has received the second milestone payment of NT$31,649,000, approximately equivalent to $1 million, and recognized collaboration revenue for the year ended December 31, 2016. As of the date of this report, the Company has not completed the first phase II clinical trial.

In addition to the milestone payments, BioLite Taiwan is entitled to receive royalty on 12% of BHK’s net sales related to BLI-1401-2 Products. As of December 31, 2020 and 2019, the Company has not earned the royalty under the BHK Co-Development Agreement.

(ii) On December 9, 2015, BioLite Taiwan entered into another two collaborative agreements (the “BHK Collaborative Agreements”), pursuant to which it is collaborative with BHK to co-develop and commercialize BLI-1005 for “Targeting Major Depressive Disorder” (BLI-1005 Products) and BLI-1006 for “Targeting Inflammatory Bowel Disease” (BLI-1006 Products) in Asia excluding Japan for all related intellectual property rights, and has developed it for medicinal use in collaboration with outside researchers. The development costs shall be shared 50/50 between BHK and the Company. The BHK Co-Development Agreement will remain in effect for fifteen years from the date of first commercial sale of the Product in in Asia excluding Japan.

In 2015, the Company recognized the cash receipt in a total of NT$50 million, approximately equivalent to $1.6 million, as collaboration revenue when all research, technical, and development data was delivered to BHK. The Company concluded that the deliverables are considered separate units of accounting as the delivered items have value to the customer on a standalone basis and recognized this payment as collaboration revenue when all research, technical, data and development data was delivered to BHK. The cash receipt is for the compensation of past research efforts and contributions made by BioLite Taiwan before this BHK Collaborative Agreements was signed and it does not relate to any future commitments made by BioLite Taiwan and BHK in this BHK Collaborative Agreements.

In addition to the total of NT$50 million, approximately equivalent to $1.60 million, BioLite Taiwan is entitled to receive 50% of the future net licensing income or net sales profit. As of December 31, 2020 and 2019, the Company has not earned the royalty under the BHK Collaborative Agreements.

F-58

Co-Development agreement with Rgene Corporation, a related party

On May 26, 2017, American BriVision Corporation entered into a co-development agreement (the “Co-Dev Agreement”) with Rgene Corporation (the “Rgene”), a related party under common control by controlling beneficiary shareholder of YuanGene Corporation and the Company (See Note 12). Pursuant to Co-Dev Agreement, BriVision and Rgene agreed to co-develop and commercialize ABV-1507 HER2/neu Positive Breast Cancer Combination Therapy, ABV-1703 Pancreatic Cancer Combination Therapy and ABV-1527 Ovary Cancer Combination Therapy. Under the terms of the Co-Dev Agreement, Rgene is required to pay the Company $3,000,000 in cash or stock of Rgene with equivalent value by August 15, 2017. The payment is for the compensation of BriVision’s past research efforts and contributions made by BriVision before the Co-Dev Agreement was signed and it does not relate to any future commitments made by BriVision and Rgene in this Co-Dev Agreement. In addition to $3,000,000, the Company is entitled to receive 50% of the future net licensing income or net sales profit earned by Rgene, if any, and any development costs shall be equally shared by both BriVision and Rgene.

On June 1, 2017, the Company has delivered all research, technical, data and development data to Rgene. Since both Rgene and the Company are related parties and under common control by a controlling beneficiary shareholder of YuanGene Corporation and the Company, the Company has recorded the full amount of $3,000,000 in connection with the Co-Dev Agreement as additional paid-in capital during the year ended December 31, 2017. During the year ended December 31, 2017, the Company has received $450,000 in cash. On December 24, 2018, the Company received the remaining balance of $2,550,000 in the form of newly issued shares of Rgene’s Common Stock, at the price of NT$50 (approximately equivalent to $1.60 per share), for an aggregate number of 1,530,000 shares, which accounted for equity method long-term investment as of December 31, 2018. During the year ended December 31, 2018, the Company has recognized investment loss of $549. On December 31, 2018, the Company determined to fully write off this investment based on the Company’s assessment of the severity and duration of the impairment, and qualitative and quantitative analysis of the operating performance of the investee, adverse changes in market conditions and the regulatory or economic environment, changes in operating structure of Rgene, additional funding requirements, and Rgene’s ability to remain in business. All projects that have been initiated will be managed and supported by the Company and Rgene.

The Company and Rgene signed an amendment to the Co-Dev Agreement on November 10, 2020, pursuant to which both parties agreed to delete AB-1507 HER2/neu Positive Breast Cancer Combination Therapy and AB 1527 Ovary Cancer Combination Therapy and add ABV-1519 EGFR Positive Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Combination Therapy and ABV-1526 Large Intestine / Colon / Rectal Cancer Combination Therapy to the products to be co-developed and commercialized. Other provisions of the Co-Dev Agreement remain in full force and effect.

Collaborative agreement with BioFirst Corporation, a related party

On July 24, 2017, American BriVision Corporation entered into a collaborative agreement (the “BioFirst Collaborative Agreement”) with BioFirst Corporation (“BioFirst”), pursuant to which BioFirst granted the Company the global licensing right for medical use of the product (the “Product”): BFC-1401 Vitreous Substitute for Vitrectomy. BioFirst is a related party to the Company because a controlling beneficiary shareholder of YuanGene Corporation and the Company is one of the directors and Common Stock shareholders of BioFirst (See Note 12).

Pursuant to the BioFirst Collaborative Agreement, the Company will co-develop and commercialize the Product with BioFirst and pay BioFirst in a total amount of $3,000,000 in cash or stock of the Company before December 31, 2018. The amount of $3,000,000 is in connection with the compensation for BioFirst’s past research efforts and contributions made by BioFirst before the BioFirst Collaborative Agreement was signed and it does not relate to any future commitments made by BioFirst and BriVision in this BioFirst Collaborative Agreement. In addition, the Company is entitled to receive 50% of the future net licensing income or net sales profit, if any, and any development cost shall be equally shared by both BriVision and BioFirst.

On September 25, 2017, BioFirst has delivered all research, technical, data and development data to BriVision. The Company determined to fully expense the entire amount of $3,000,000 since currently the related licensing rights do not have alternative future uses. According to ASC 730-10-25-1, absent alternative future uses the acquisition of product rights to be used in research and development activities must be charged to research and development expenses immediately. Hence, the entire amount of $3,000,000 is fully expensed as research and development expense during the year ended December 31, 2017.


On June 30, 2019, BriVision entered into a Stock Purchase Agreement (the “Purchase Agreement”) with BioFirst Corporation (“BioFirst”). Pursuant to the Purchase Agreement, the Company issued 428,571 shares of the Company’s common stock (the “Shares”) to BioFirst in consideration for $3,000,000 owed by the Company to BioFirst (the “Total Payment”) in connection with a certain collaborative agreement between the Company and BioFirst dated July 24, 2017 (the “Collaborative Agreement”). Pursuant to the Collaborative Agreement, BioFirst granted the Company the global licensing right to co-develop BFC-1401 or ABV-1701 Vitreous Substitute for Vitrectomy for medical purposes in consideration for the Total Payment.

On August 5, 2019, BriVision entered into a second Stock Purchase Agreement (“Purchase Agreement 2”) with BioFirst Corporation (“BioFirst”). Pursuant to Purchase Agreement 2, the Company issued 414,702 shares of the Company’s common stock (the “Shares”) to BioFirst in consideration for $2,902,911 owed by the Company to BioFirst (the “Total Payment”) in connection with a loan provided to BriVision from BioFirst.

4. INVENTORY

Inventory consists of the following:

  December 31,
2020
  December 31,
2019
 
Finished goods $100,967  $94,727 
Work-in-process  22,038   20,676 
Raw materials  61,718   57,904 
Allowance for inventory valuation and obsolescence loss  (184,723)  (173,307)
Inventory, net $—    $—   

5. PROPERTY AND EQUIPMENT

Property and equipment as of December 31, 2020 and 2019 are summarized as follows:

  December 31,
2020
  December 31,
2019
 
Land $395,645  $371,195 
Buildings and leasehold improvements  2,233,573   2,225,386 
Machinery and equipment  994,544   987,234 
Office equipment  189,760   178,409 
   3,813,522   3,762,224 
Less: accumulated depreciation  (3,298,688)  (3,241,294)
Property and equipment, net $514,834  $520,930 

Depreciation expense were $37,142 and $55,086 for the year ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively.


6. LONG-TERM INVESTMENTS

(1)The ownership percentages of each investee are listed as follows:

  Ownership percentage   
  December 31,  December 31,  Accounting
Name of related party 2020  2019  treatments
Braingenesis Biotechnology Co., Ltd.  0.17%  0.17% Cost Method
Genepharm Biotech Corporation  0.70%  0.72% Cost Method
BioHopeKing Corporation  5.90%  7.13% Cost Method
BioFirst Corporation  15.99%  15.89% Equity Method
Rgene Corporation  31.62%  31.61% Equity Method

(2)The extent the investee relies on the company for its business are summarized as follows:

Name of related partyThe extent the investee relies on the Company for its business
Braingenesis Biotechnology Co., Ltd.No specific business relationship
Genepharm Biotech CorporationNo specific business relationship
BioHopeKing CorporationCollaborating with the Company to develop and commercialize drugs
BioFirst CorporationLoaned from the investee and provides research and development support service
Rgene CorporationCollaborating with the Company to develop and commercialize drugs

(3)Long-term investment mainly consists of the following:

  December 31,
2020
  December 31,
2019
 
Non-marketable Cost Method Investments, net      
Braingenesis Biotechnology Co., Ltd. $7,853  $7,367 
Genepharm Biotech Corporation  23,974   22,493 
BioHopeKing Corporation  890,564   1,998,310 
Sub total  922,391   2,028,170 
Equity Method Investments, net        
BioFirst Corporation  268,336   1,336,449 
Rgene Corporation  —     —   
Total $1,190,727  $3,364,619 

(a)BioFirst Corporation (the “BioFirst”):

The Company holds an equity interest in BioFirst Corporation, accounting for its equity interest using the equity method to accounts for its equity investment as prescribed in ASC 323, Investments—Equity Method and Joint Ventures (“ASC 323”). Equity method adjustments include the Company’s proportionate share of investee’s income or loss and other adjustments required by the equity method. As of December 31, 2020 and 2019, the Company owns 15.99% and 15.89% common stock shares of BioFirst, respectively.

Summarized financial information for the Company’s equity method investee, BioFirst, is as follows:

Balance Sheet

  December 31,
2020
  December 31,
2019
 
Current Assets $1,299,822  $1,350,701 
Noncurrent Assets  2,540,041   7,450,032 
Current Liabilities  1,986,340   2,060,460 
Noncurrent Liabilities  73,197   78,888 
Stockholders’ Equity  1,780,326   6,661,385 

Statement of operation

  Year Ended
December 31,
 
  2020  2019 
Net sales $257,235  $43,975 
Gross profit  10,121   (37,160)
Net loss  (5,401,074)  (972,303)
Share of losses from investments accounted for using the equity method  (1,168,733)  (210,086)

(b)Rgene Corporation (the “Rgene”)

Both Rgene and the Company are under common control by Dr. Tsung-Shann Jiang, the CEO and chairman of the BioLite Inc. Since Dr. Tsung-Shann Jiang is able to exercise significant influence, but not control, over the Rgene, the Company determined to use the equity method to accounts for its equity investment as prescribed in ASC 323, Investments—Equity Method and Joint Ventures (“ASC 323”). Equity method adjustments include the Company’s proportionate share of investee’s income or loss and other adjustments required by the equity method. As of December 31, 2020 and 2019, the Company owns 31.62% and 31.61% common stock shares of Rgene, respectively.

Summarized financial information for the Company’s equity method investee, Rgene, is as follows:

Balance Sheets

  December 31,
2020
  December 31,
2019
 
Current Assets $123,958  $82,254 
Noncurrent Assets  412,342   62,768 
Current Liabilities  1,392,756   312,950 
Noncurrent Liabilities  38,953   —   
Shareholders’ Deficit  (895,409)  (167,928)

Statement of operations

  Year Ended
December 31,
 
  2020  2019 
Net sales $16,595  $- 
Gross Profit  (335,735)  - 
Net loss  (641,636)  (53,877)
Share of loss from investments accounted for using the equity method  -   - 

(4)Disposition of long-term investment

During the year ended December 31, 2020, the Company sold 218,000 shares of common stock of BioHopeKing Corporation at price of NT$24, equivalent $0.85, to several individuals, and the percentage of ownership decreased to 5.90% as of December 31, 2020. As a result of the transactions, the Company recognized investment loss of $40,589 and impairment loss of $961,217 for the same period.

(5)Losses on Equity Investments

The components of losses on equity investments for each period were as follows:

  Year Ended
December 31,
 
  2020  2019 
Share of equity method investee losses $(1,168,733) $(210,086)

7. CONVERTIBLE NOTES PAYABLE

On May 9, 2018, the Company issued an eighteen-month term unsecured convertible promissory note (the “Yu and Wei Note”) in an aggregate principal amount of $300,000 to Guoliang Yu and Yingfei Wei Family Trust (the “Yu and Wei”), pursuant to which the Company received $300,000. The Yu and Wei Note bears interest at 8% per annum. The Company shall pay to the Yu and Wei an amount in cash representing all outstanding principal and accrued and unpaid interest on the Eighteenth (18) month anniversary of the issuance date of the Yu and Wei Note, which is on November 8, 2019. In the event that the Company raises gross proceeds from the sale of its common stock of at least $5,000,000 (an “Equity Offering”) then within five days of the closing for such offering, the Company must repay the outstanding amount of this Yu and Wei Note. At any time from the date hereof until this Yu and Wei Note has been satisfied, the Yu and Wei may convert the unpaid and outstanding principal plus any accrued and unpaid interest and or default interest, if any, into shares of the Company’s common stock at a conversion price (the “Conversion Price”) equal to the lower of (i) $2.00 per share (the “Fixed Conversion Price”), subject to adjustment or (ii) 80% of the per share offering price (the “Alternative Conversion Price”) of any completed equity offering of the Company in an amount exceeding $500,000 that occurs when any part of the Yu and Wei Note is outstanding, subject to adjustments set forth in the Yu and Wei Note. In accordance with FASB ASC 470-20, the Company recognized none of the intrinsic value of embedded beneficial conversion feature present in the Yu and Wei Note. On January 21, 2020, Yu and Wei entered into a new agreement that the new Note bears interest at 20% per annum. The Company shall pay to the Yu and Wei an amount in cash representing all outstanding principal and accrued and unpaid interest on the Twelve (12) month anniversary of the issuance date of the new “Yu and Wei” Note, which is on January 20, 2021. On April 5, 2020, the Company entered into an exchange agreement with “Yu and Wei”. The aggregate principal amount plus accrued interest expenses were $354,722, and the Company agreed to issue to the Holders an aggregate of 192,784 shares of the Company’s common stock, and warrants to purchase 192,784 shares of the Company’s common stock. As of December 31, 2020, these common shares have been issued.

On June 27, 2018, the Company issued an eighteen-month term unsecured convertible promissory note (the “Keypoint Note”) in the aggregate principal amount of $250,000 to Keypoint Technology Ltd. (“Keypoint”), a related party, pursuant to which the Company received $250,000. The Keypoint Note bears interest at 8% per annum. The Company shall pay to the Keypoint an amount in cash representing all outstanding principal and accrued and unpaid interest on the Eighteenth (18) month anniversary of the issuance date of the Keypoint Note, which is on December 26, 2019. In the event that the Company raises gross proceeds from the sale of its common stock of at least $5,000,000 (an “Equity Offering”) then within five days of the closing for such offering, the Company must repay the outstanding amount of this Keypoint Note. At any time from the date hereof until this Keypoint Note has been satisfied, Keypoint may convert the unpaid and outstanding principal plus any accrued and unpaid interest and or default interest, if any, into shares of the Company’s common stock at a conversion price (the “Conversion Price”) equal to the lower of (i) $2.00 per share (the “Fixed Conversion Price”), subject to adjustment or (ii) 80% of the per share offering price (the “Alternative Conversion Price”) of any completed equity offering of the Company in an amount exceeding $500,000 that occurs when any part of the Keypoint Note is outstanding, subject to adjustments set forth in the Keypoint Note. In accordance with FASB ASC 470-20, the Company recognized none of the intrinsic value of embedded beneficial conversion feature present in the Keypoint Note. On January 21, 2020, Keypoint entered into a new agreement that the new Note bears interest at 20% per annum. The Company shall pay to the Keypoint an amount in cash representing all outstanding principal and accrued and unpaid interest on the Twelve (12) month anniversary of the issuance date of the new “Keypoint” Note, which is on January 20, 2021. On April 5, 2020, the Company entered into an exchange agreement with “Keypoint”. The aggregate principal amount plus accrued interest expenses were $292,826, and the Company agreed to issue to the Holders an aggregate of 159,145 shares of the Company’s common stock, and warrants to purchase 159,145 shares of the Company’s common stock. As of December 31, 2020, these common shares have been issued.


On August 25, 2018, the Company issued an eighteen-month term unsecured convertible promissory notes (the “Odaira Note”) in the aggregate principal amount of $250,000 to Yoshinobu Odaira. (“Odaira”), pursuant to which the Company received $250,000. The Odaira Note bears interest at 8% per annum. The Company shall pay to the Odaira an amount in cash representing all outstanding principal and accrued and unpaid interest on the Eighteenth (18) month anniversary of the issuance date of the Odaira Note, which is on February 24, 2020. In the event that the Company raises gross proceeds from the sale of its common stock of at least $5,000,000 (an “Equity Offering”) then within five days of the closing for such offering, the Company must repay the outstanding amount of this Odaira Note. At any time from the date hereof until this Odaira Note has been satisfied, Odaira may convert the unpaid and outstanding principal plus any accrued and unpaid interest and or default interest, if any, into shares of the Company’s common stock at a conversion price (the “Conversion Price”) equal to the lower of (i) $2.00 per share (the “Fixed Conversion Price”), subject to adjustment or (ii) 80% of the per share offering price (the “Alternative Conversion Price”) of any completed equity offering of the Company in an amount exceeding $500,000 that occurs when any part of the Odaira Note is outstanding, subject to adjustments set forth in the Odaira Note. In accordance with FASB ASC 470-20, the Company recognized none of the intrinsic value of embedded beneficial conversion feature present in the Odaira Note. On January 21, 2020, Odaira entered into a new agreement that the new Note bears interest at 20% per annum. The Company shall pay to the Odaira an amount in cash representing all outstanding principal and accrued and unpaid interest on the Twelve (12) month anniversary of the issuance date of the new “Odaira” Note, which is on January 20, 2021. On April 5, 2020, the Company entered into an exchange agreement with “Odaira”. The aggregate principal amount plus accrued interest expenses were $284,036, and the Company agreed to issue to the Holders an aggregate of 154,368 shares of the Company’s common stock, and warrants to purchase 154,368 shares of the Company’s common stock. As of December 31, 2020, these common shares have been issued.

On May 30 and July 10, 2019, the Company issued two (2) twelve-month term unsecured convertible promissory notes (the “KSL Note”) in an aggregate principal amount of $250,000 to Kuo Sheng Lung (the “KSL”), pursuant to which the Company received $160,000 and $90,000, respectively. The KSL Note bears interest at 20% per annum. The Company shall pay to KSL an amount in cash representing all outstanding principal and accrued and unpaid interest on the Twelve (12) month anniversary of the issuance date of the KSL Note, which is on May 29, 2020 and July 9, 2020. At any time from the issuance date until the KSL Note has been satisfied, the KSL may convert the unpaid and outstanding principal plus any accrued and unpaid interest and or default interest, if any, into shares of the Company’s common stock at a conversion price (the “Conversion Price”) equal to the lower of (i) $0.50 per share (the “Fixed Conversion Price”), subject to adjustment, or (ii) 70% of the per share offering price (the “Alternative Conversion Price”) of the completed public equity offering of the Company in an amount exceeding $10,000,000 as stated on the registration statement on a Form S-1 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 14, 2018 (the “Public Offering”), as amended from time to time. In accordance with FASB ASC 470-20, the Company recognized none of the intrinsic value of the embedded beneficial conversion feature present in the KSL Note. On May 13, 2020, the Company received an acknowledgement letter from KSL that they will not claim the repayment of loan for 12 months. On November 9, 2020, the Company entered into an agreement with “KSL”. The aggregate principal amount plus accrued interest expenses are $270,272, and KSL agreed to use the full amount to purchase certain securities pursuant to a securities purchase agreement; KSL agreed to purchase and the Company agreed to issue 120,121 shares of the Company’s common stock and warrants for a purchase price of $270,272. As of December 31, 2020, the Company issued to the Holders an aggregate of 120,121 shares of the Company’s common stock.

On July 10, 2019, the Company issued a twelve-month term unsecured convertible promissory note (the “NEA Note”) in an aggregate principal amount of $250,000 to New Eastern Asia (the “NEA”), a related party, pursuant to which the Company received $250,000 on July 10, 2019. The NEA Note bears interest at 20% per annum. The Company shall pay to the NEA an amount in cash representing all outstanding principal and accrued and unpaid interest on the Twelve (12) month anniversary of the issuance date of the NEA Note, which is on July 9, 2020. At any time from the date hereof until this NEA Note has been satisfied, the NEA may convert the unpaid and outstanding principal plus any accrued and unpaid interest and or default interest, if any, into shares of the Company’s common stock at a conversion price (the “Conversion Price”) equal to the lower of (i) $.50 per share (the “Fixed Conversion Price”), subject to adjustment, or (ii) 70% of the per share offering price (the “Alternative Conversion Price”) of the completed public equity offering of the Company in an amount exceeding $10,000,000 as stated on the registration statement on a Form S-1 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 14, 2018 (the “Public Offering”), as amended from time to time. In accordance with FASB ASC 470-20, the Company recognized none of the intrinsic value of embedded beneficial conversion feature present in the NEA Note. As of December 31, 2020, the Company paid off the convertible promissory note of $306,667, including principal and accrued and unpaid interest expense.


On August 28, 2019, the Company issued a twelve-month term unsecured convertible promissory note (the “KLS Note”) in an aggregate principal amount of $200,000 to Kuo Li Shen (the “KLS”), pursuant to which the Company received $200,000 on August 28, 2019. The KLS Note bears interest at 20% per annum. The Company shall pay to the KLS an amount in cash representing all outstanding principal and accrued and unpaid interest on the Twelve (12) month anniversary of the issuance date of the KLS Note, which is on August 27, 2020. At any time from the date hereof until this KLS Note has been satisfied, the KLS may convert the unpaid and outstanding principal plus any accrued and unpaid interest and or default interest, if any, into shares of the Company’s common stock at a conversion price (the “Conversion Price”) equal to the lower of (i) $.50 per share (the “Fixed Conversion Price”), subject to adjustment, or (ii) 70% of the per share offering price (the “Alternative Conversion Price”) of the completed public equity offering of the Company in an amount exceeding $10,000,000 as stated on the registration statement on a Form S-1 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 14, 2018 (the “Public Offering”), as amended from time to time. In accordance with FASB ASC 470-20, the Company recognized none of the intrinsic value of embedded beneficial conversion feature present in the KLS Note. On April 20, 2020, the Company entered into an exchange agreement with KLS. The aggregate principal amount plus accrued interest expenses were $225,222, and the Company agreed to issue to the Holders an aggregate of 126,530 shares of the Company’s common stock, and warrants to purchase 126,530 shares of common stock. As of December 31, 2020, these common shares have been issued.

On September 4, 2019, the Company issued 3 twelve-month term unsecured convertible promissory note (the “C.L.L. Note”) in an aggregate principal amount of $257,500 to Chang Ping Shan, Lin Shan Tyan, and Liu Ching Hsuan (together the “C.L.L.”), pursuant to which the Company received $257,500 on September 4, 2019. Chang Ping Shan and Liu Ching Hsuan are related parties to the Company. The C.L.L. Note bears interest at 20% per annum. The Company shall pay to the C.L.L. an amount in cash representing all outstanding principal and accrued and unpaid interest on the Twelve (12) month anniversary of the issuance date of the C.L.L. Note, which is on September 3, 2020. At any time from the date hereof until this C.L.L. Note has been satisfied, the C.L.L. may convert the unpaid and outstanding principal plus any accrued and unpaid interest and or default interest, if any, into shares of the Company’s common stock at a conversion price (the “Conversion Price”) equal to the lower of (i) $.50 per share (the “Fixed Conversion Price”), subject to adjustment, or (ii) 70% of the per share offering price (the “Alternative Conversion Price”) of the completed public equity offering of the Company in an amount exceeding $10,000,000 as stated on the registration statement on a Form S-1 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 14, 2018 (the “Public Offering”), as amended from time to time. In accordance with FASB ASC 470-20, the Company recognized none of the intrinsic value of embedded beneficial conversion feature present in the C.L.L. Note. On April 20, 2020, the Company entered into an exchange agreement with C.L.L.. The aggregate principal amount plus accrued interest expenses were $289,974, and the Company agreed to issue to the Holders an aggregate of 162,908 shares of the Company’s common stock, and warrants to purchase 162,908 shares of common stock. As of December 31, 2020, these common shares have been issued.

On October 29, 2019, the Company issued a twelve-month term unsecured convertible promissory note (the “Lee Note”) in an aggregate principal amount of $250,000 to Hwalin Lee (the “Lee”), a related party, pursuant to which the Company received $250,000 on October 29, 2019. The Lee Note bears interest at 20% per annum. The Company shall pay to the Lee an amount in cash representing all outstanding principal and accrued and unpaid interest on the Twelve (12) month anniversary of the issuance date of the Lee Note, which is on October 28, 2020. At any time from the date hereof until this Lee Note has been satisfied, the Lee may convert the unpaid and outstanding principal plus any accrued and unpaid interest and or default interest, if any, into shares of the Company’s common stock at a conversion price (the “Conversion Price”) equal to the lower of (i) $.50 per share (the “Fixed Conversion Price”), subject to adjustment, or (ii) 70% of the per share offering price (the “Alternative Conversion Price”) of the completed public equity offering of the Company in an amount exceeding $10,000,000 as stated on the registration statement on a Form S-1 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 14, 2018 (the “Public Offering”), as amended from time to time. In accordance with FASB ASC 470-20, the Company recognized none of the intrinsic value of embedded beneficial conversion feature present in the Lee Note. On January 19, 2021, the Company paid off the convertible promissory note of $311,233, including principal and accrued and unpaid interest expense. 

On October 23, 2020, the Company entered into a Securities Purchase Agreement (the “October SPA”) with one accredited investor. Pursuant to the October SPA, the Company sold and issued a convertible promissory note (the “October Note”) in the principal amount of $2,500,000 to the investor and received the payment from such investor on October 30, 2020. The October Note was issued on October 23, 2020 and the maturity date of the October Note is the twenty-four (24) month anniversary from the issuance date (the “Maturity Date”). Upon the Maturity Date, the Company shall pay to the holder, in cash, an amount representing all outstanding principal amount and accrued and unpaid interest under the October Note. The October Note bears an interest rate of ten percent (10%) per annum and may be convertible into shares of the Company’s common stock at a fixed conversion price of $2.25 per share. The holder of the October Note may elect to convert part or all of the outstanding balance of the October Note from the issuance date until the Maturity Date. The Company may prepay the outstanding amount at any time, in whole or in part, without any penalty.


As of December 31, 2020 and 2019, the aggregate carrying values of the convertible debentures were $2,750,000 and $2,007,500, respectively; and accrued convertible interest was $104,551 and $181,852, respectively.

Total interest expenses in connection with the above convertible note payable were $240,420 and $145,514 for the year ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively.

8. BANK LOANS

(1)Short-term bank loan consists of the following:

  December 31,  December 31, 
  2020  2019 
Cathay United Bank $267,000  $250,500 
CTBC Bank  712,000   668,000 
Cathay Bank  650,000   1,000,000 
Total $1,629,000  $1,918,500 

Cathay United Bank

On June 28, 2016, BioLite Taiwan and Cathay United Bank entered into a one-year bank loan agreement (the “Cathay United Loan Agreement”) in an amount of NT$7,500,000, equivalent to $267,000. The term started June 28, 2016 with maturity date at June 28, 2017. The loan balance bears interest at a floating rate of prime rate plus 1.15%. The prime rate is based on term deposit saving interest rate of Cathay United Bank. On September 6, 2017, BioLite Taiwan extended the Cathay United Loan Agreement for one year, which was due on September 6, 2018, with the principal amount of NT$7,500,000, equivalent to $267,000. On October 1, 2018, BioLite Taiwan extended the Cathay United Loan Agreement with the same principal amount of NT$7,500,000, equivalent to $267,000 for one year, which was due on September 6, 2019. On September 6, 2019, BioLite Taiwan extended the Cathay United Loan Agreement with the same principal amount of NT$7,500,000, equivalent to $267,000 for one year, which is due on September 6, 2020. On September 6, 2020, BioLite Taiwan extended the Cathay United Loan Agreement with the same principal amount of NT$7,500,000, equivalent to $267,000 for one year, which is due on September 6, 2021. As of December 31, 2020 and 2019, the effective interest rates per annum was 2.1% and 2.22%, respectively. The loan is collateralized by the building and improvement of BioLite Taiwan, and is also personal guaranteed by the Company’s chairman.

Interest expenses were $5,280 and $5,395 for the year ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively.

CTBC Bank

On June 12, 2017 and July 19, 2017, BioLite Taiwan and CTBC Bank entered into short-term saving secured bank loan agreements (the “CTBC Loan Agreements”) in an amount of NT$10,000,000, equivalent to $356,000, and NT$10,000,000, equivalent to $356,000, respectively. Both two loans with the same maturity date at January 19, 2018. In February 2018, BioLite Taiwan combined two loans and extended the loan contract with CTBC for one year. On January 18, 2019, BioLite Taiwan and CTBC Bank agreed to extend the loan with a new maturity date, which was July 18, 2019. On July 18, 2019, BioLite Taiwan extended the CTBC Loan Agreement with the same principal amount of NT$20,000,000, equivalent to $712,000 for six months, which is due on January 17, 2020. On January 19, 2020, BioLite Taiwan extended the CTBC Loan Agreement with the same principal amount of NT$20,000,000, equivalent to $712,000 for six months, which is due on July 19, 2020. On July 17, 2020, BioLite Taiwan extended the CTBC Loan Agreement with the same principal amount of NT$20,000,000, equivalent to $712,000 for six months, which is due on January 15, 2021. On January 15, 2021, BioLite Taiwan extended the CTBC Loan Agreement with the same principal amount of NT$20,000,000, equivalent to $712,000 for six months, which is due on July 15, 2021. The loan balances bear interest at a fixed rate of 1.68% per annum. The loan is secured by the money deposited in a savings account with the CTBC Bank. This loan was also personal guaranteed by the Company’s chairman and BioFirst. During the year ended December 31, 2020, BioLite Taiwan has opened a TCD account with CTBC bank to guarantee the loan going forward.

Interest expenses were $11,395 and $10,563 for the year ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively.


Cathay Bank

On January 21, 2019, the Company received a loan in the amount of $500,000 from Cathay Bank (the “Bank”) pursuant to a business loan agreement (the “Loan Agreement”) entered by and between the Company and Bank on January 8, 2019 and a promissory note (the “Note”) executed by the Company on the same day. The Loan Agreement provides for a revolving line of credit in the principal amount of $1,000,000 with a maturity date (the “Maturity Date”) of January 1, 2020. The Note executed in connection with the Loan Agreement bears an interest rate (the “Regular Interest Rate”) equal to the sum of one percent (1%) and the prime rate as published in the Wall Street Journal (the “Index”) and the accrued interest shall become payable each month from February 1, 2019. Pursuant to the Note, the Company shall pay the entire outstanding principal plus accrued unpaid interest on the Maturity Date and may prepay portion or all of the Note before the Maturity Date without penalty. If the Company defaults on the Note, the default interest rate shall become five percent (5%) plus the Regular Interest Rate.

In connection with the Note and Loan Agreement, on January 8, 2019, each of Dr. Tsung Shann Jiang and Dr. George Lee, executed a commercial guaranty (the “Guaranty”) to guaranty the loans for the Company pursuant to the Loan Agreement and Note, severally and individually, in the amount not exceeding $500,000 each until the entire Note plus interest are fully paid and satisfied. Dr. Tsung Shann Jiang is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of BioLite Holding, Inc. and Dr. George Lee serves as the Chairman of the board of directors of BioKey, Inc, which became a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company effective by operation of law on or about February 5, 2019. On December 29, 2020, the Company entered into a new loan extension agreement and assignment of deposit account with the Bank, which allowed Dr. Tsung Shann Jiang and Dr. George Lee to be removed as guarantees from the list of Guaranty.

In addition, on January 8, 2019, each of the Company and BioKey, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company, signed a commercial security agreement (the “Security Agreement”) to secure the loans under the Loan Agreement and the Note. Pursuant to the Security Agreements, each of the Company and BioKey (each, a “Grantor”, and collectively, the “Grantors”) granted security interest in the collaterals as defined therein, comprised of almost all of the assets of each Grantor, to secure such loans for the benefit of the Bank. On March 31, 2020, the Company extended the Loan Agreement with the same term for seven months, which is due on October 31, 2020. On April 8, 2020 and October 3, 2020, the Company repaid an aggregated principal amount of $350,000. On December 3, 2020, The Company renewed the Loan Agreement with the principal amount of $650,000 for ten months, which is due on October 31, 2021. The outstanding loan balance was $650,000 as of December 31, 2020.

Interest expenses were $53,992 and $59,586 for the year ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively.

(2)Long-term bank loan consists of the following:

  December 31,  December 31, 
  2020  2019 
Cathay United Bank $—    $13,403 
Less: current portion of long-term bank loan  —     (13,403)
Total $—    $—   

Cathay United Bank

On April 30, 2010, BioLite Taiwan entered a seven-year bank loan of NT$8,900,000, equivalent to $288,360, with Cathay United Bank. The term started April 30, 2010 with maturity date at April 30, 2017. On April 30, 2017, BioLite Taiwan extended the original loan agreement for additional three years with the new maturity date at April 30, 2020. The loan balance bears interest at a floating rate of prime rate plus variable rates from 0.77% to 1.17%. The prime rate is based on term deposit saving interest rate of Cathay United Bank. The loan was collateralized by the building and improvement of BioLite Taiwan, and is also personal guaranteed by the Company’s chairman. On April 30, 2020, the loan was paid off in full.

Interest expenses were $63 and $859 for the year ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively. 


9. PAYCHECK PROTECTION PROGRAM LOAN PAYABLE

On April 14, 2020, the Company received a loan in the amount of $124,400 under the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) administered by the United States Small Business Administration (the “SBA”) from East West Bank. According to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the “Cares Act”), PPP loan provides for forgiveness of up to the full principal amount and accrued interest if the funds are used for payroll costs, interest on mortgages, rent, and utilities. However, at least 60% of the forgiven amount must have been used for payroll.

The loan was granted pursuant to a promissory note dated April 14, 2020 issued by the Company, which matures on April 13, 2022 and bears interest at a rate of 1.00% per annum. The Company will pay the principal in one payment of all outstanding principal plus all accrued unpaid interest on that date that is two years after the date of the promissory note. In addition, the Company will pay regular monthly payments in an amount equal to one month’s accrued interest commencing on the date that is seven months after the date of the promissory note, with all subsequent interest payments to be due on the same day of each month after that. No collateral or personal guarantees are required.

On February 27, 2021, the Company has submitted all required to East West Bank for the application of forgiveness.

10. NOTES PAYABLE

In January, 2019, BioLite Taiwan entered an unsecured loan agreement with one individual bearing interest at fixed rates at 12% per annum of NT$3,000,000, equivalent to $106,800, for working capital purpose. As of the date of this report, BioLite Taiwan is still in discussion with the individual with respect to the terms of the unsecured loans. As of December 31, 2020 and 2019, the balance due to this individual amounted to $106,800 and $100,200, respectively. Interest expense was $12,204 and $11,778 for the year ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively.

11. SHORT-TERM LOAN

On February 18, 2020, the Company entered an unsecured loan agreement with a third-party in the amount of $100,000. This loan bears the interest rate of 1.5% per annum and will be matured on August 17, 2020. On August 18, 2020, the Company extended the contract for six months under the same term. Accrued interest expense was $1,302 as of and for the year ended December 31, 2020.


12. RELATED PARTIES TRANSACTIONS

The related parties of the company with whom transactions are reported in these financial statements are as follows:

Name of entity or IndividualRelationship with the Company and its subsidiaries
BioFirst Corporation (the “BioFirst”)Entity controlled by controlling beneficiary shareholder of YuanGene
BioFirst (Australia) Pty Ltd. (the “BioFirst (Australia)”)100% owned by BioFirst; Entity controlled by controlling beneficiary shareholder of YuanGene
Rgene Corporation (the “Rgene”)Shareholder of the Company; entity controlled by controlling beneficiary shareholder of YuanGene
YuanGene Corporation (the “YuanGene”)Controlling beneficiary shareholder of the Company
AsiaGene Corporation (the “AsiaGene”)Shareholder; entity controlled by controlling beneficiary shareholder of YuanGene
Eugene JiangFormer President and Chairman
Keypoint Technology Ltd. (the “Keypoint’)The Chairman of Keypoint is Eugene Jiang’s mother.
Lion Arts Promotion Inc. (the “Lion Arts”)Shareholder of the Company
Yoshinobu Odaira (the “Odaira”)Director of the Company
GenePharm Inc. (the “GenePharm”)Dr. George Lee, Board Director of Biokey, is the Chairman of GenePharm.
Euro-Asia Investment & Finance Corp Ltd. (the “Euro-Asia”)Shareholder of the Company
LBG USA, Inc. (the “LBG USA”)100% owned by BioFirst; Entity controlled by controlling beneficiary shareholder of YuanGene
LionGene Corporation (the “LionGene”)Shareholder of the Company; Entity controlled by controlling beneficiary shareholder of YuanGene
Kimho Consultants Co., Ltd. (the “Kimho”)Shareholder of the Company
Mr. Tsung-Shann Jiang, Ms. Shu-Ling Jiang, Mr. Chang-Jen Jiang, Ms. Mei-Ling Jiang, and Mr. Eugene Jiang (collectively the “Jiangs”)

Mr. Tsung-Shann Jiang, the controlling beneficiary shareholder of the Company and Rgene, the Chairman and CEO of the BioLite Holding Inc. and BioLite Inc. and the President and a member of board of directors of BioFirst

Ms. Shu-Ling Jiang, Mr. Tsung-Shann Jiang’s wife, is the Chairman of Keypoint; and a member of board of directors of BioLite Inc.

Mr. Eugene Jiang is Mr. and Ms. Jiang’s son. Mr. Eugene Jiang is the chairman, and majority shareholder of the Company and a member of board of directors of BioLite Inc.

Mr. Chang-Jen Jiang is Mr. Tsung-Shann Jiang’s sibling and the director of the Company.

Ms. Mei-Ling Jiang is Ms. Shu-Ling Jiang’s sibling.

Amkey Ventures, LLC (“Amkey”)An entity controlled by Dr. George Lee, who serves as one of the board directors of BioKey, Inc
BioLite JapanEntity controlled by controlling beneficiary shareholder of ABVC

Accounts receivable - related parties

Accounts receivable due from related parties consisted of the following as of the periods indicated:

  December 31,  December 31, 
  2020  2019 
GenePharm Inc. $142,225  $142,225 
Rgene  —     1,053 
Amkey  1,210   —   
Total $143,435  $143,278 

Due from related parties

Amount due from related parties consisted of the following as of the periods indicated:

  December 31,  December 31, 
  2020  2019 
Rgene $42,911  $36,332 
AsiaGene  4,241   3,578 
BioFirst  —     137,151 
BioFirst (Australia)  373,235   40,000 
BioHopeKing Corporation  123,583   115,946 
LBG USA  675   675 
BioLite Japan  150,000   —   
Keypoint  1,610   —   
Total $696,255  $333,682 

(1)As of December 31, 2020 and 2019, the Company has advanced an aggregate amount of $31,684 and $29,194 to Rgene for working capital purpose. Under the terms of the loan agreement, the loan bears interest at 1% per month (or equivalent to 12% per annum) and the loan will be matured on December 31, 2019. On January 1, 2020, the contract has been renewed for another year, when the new maturity date now is on December 31, 2020. As of December 31, 2020, and December 31, 2019, the outstanding loan balance was $31,684 and $29,194; and accrued interest was $11,227 and $7,138, respectively.

(2)On May 27, 2019, the Company entered into loan agreements with AsiaGene for NT $100,000, equivalent to $3,560, to meet its working capital needs. Under the terms of the loan agreement, the loan bears interest at 1% per month (or equivalent to 12% per annum) and the loan will be matured on December 31, 2019. On January 1, 2020, the agreement has been renewed for another year, when the new maturity date now is on December 31, 2020. As of December 31, 2020 and 2019, the outstanding loan balance was $3,560 and $3,343, and accrued interest was $681 and $235, respectively.

(3)On July 12, 2019, the Company had an aggregate amount of loan with BioFirst of $150,000 to meet its working capital needs, pursuant to which the interest bears at 12% per annum. The Company paid back $21,317 in 2019. The remaining loan balance was $128,683 as of December 31, 2019. This loan is matured on July 11, 2020 and bears interest at 1% per month (or equivalent to 12% per annum). As of December 31, 2020 and 2019, the outstanding loan balance was $0 and $128,683, and accrued interest was $0 and $8,468, respectively.

(4)On May 11, 2018, the Company and BioFirst (Australia) entered into a loan agreement for a total amount of $40,000 to meet its working capital needs. The advances bear 0% interest rate and are due on demand prior to June 30, 2020. Afterwards, all outstanding load will bear interest rate at 12% per annum. On July 1, 2020, the Company entered into a loan agreement with BioFirst (Australia) for $321,487 to properly record R&D cost and tax refund allocation based on co-development contract executed on July 24, 2017. The loan will be matured on June 30, 2021 with an interest rate of 12% per annum. As of December 31, 2020 and 2019, the outstanding loan balances was $373,235 and $40,000, respectively.

(5)On February 24, 2015, BioLite Taiwan and BioHopeKing Corporation (the “BHK”) entered into a co-development agreement, (the “BHK Co-Development Agreement”, see Note 3). The development costs shall be shared 50/50 between BHK and the Company. Under the term of the agreement, BioLite issued relevant development cost to BHK. As of December 31, 2020 and 2019, due from BHK was $123,583 and $115,946, respectively.

(6)On February 27, 2019, the Company has advanced funds to LBG USA for working capital purpose. The advances bear 0% interest rate and are due on demand. As of December 31, 2020 and 2019, the outstanding advance balances were $675.

(7)On May 8, 2020, the Company and Lucidaim entered into a Letter of Intent (LOI) in regard to a potential joint venture of BioLite Japan. Based on the LOI, each party will advance an aggregated amount of $150,000 to meet BioLite Japan’s working capital needs, which the Company advanced an amount of $150,000 and the advance bear 0% interest rate. As of December 31, 2020 and 2019, the outstanding advance balances was $150,000 and $0, respectively.
(8)On October 31, 2020, the Company has advanced an aggregate amount of $1,610 to Keypoint for working capital purpose. Under the terms of the loan agreement, the loan bears interest at 6.5% per annum and the loan will be matured on October 30, 2021. As of December 31, 2020, the outstanding loan balance was $1,610.

Due to related parties

Amount due to related parties consisted of the following as of the periods indicated:

  December 31,  December 31, 
  2020  2019 
LionGene Corporation $—    $10,275 
BioFirst Corporation  23,647   24,182 
AsiaGene  —     24,017 
YuanGene  9,205   9,205 
The Jiangs  16,627   40,031 
Kimho  —     21,500 
Euro Asia  —     12,000 
Due to shareholders  166,261   284,479 
Due to employee  72,704   —   
Total $288,445  $425,689 

(1)

In November 2018, BioLite Taiwan has borrowed an aggregate amount of NT$13,295,000, equivalent to $430,817 from LionGene for working capital purpose. The advances bear 0% interest rate and are due on demand. On August 1, 2019, the Company entered into a Conversion Agreements to convert the all of remaining balance of $428,099, to 61,157 shares of the Company’s common stock at a conversion price of $7.00 per share.

On October 15, 2019, LionGene has advanced funds to the Company for working capital purpose in an aggregate amount of NTD $300,000, equivalent to $10,020, The advances bear 1% interest rate per month. As of December 31, 2020 and 2019, the outstanding principal of loans was $0 and $10,020, and accrued interest was $0 and $255, respectively. Interest expenses in connection with these loans were $955 and $255 for the year ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively.

(2)

On January 26, 2017, BriVision and BioFirst entered into a loan agreement for a total commitment (non-secured indebtedness) of $950,000 to meet its working capital needs. On February 2, 2019, BriVision and BioFirst agreed to extend the remaining loan balance of $693,000 for one year matured on February 1, 2020. Under the terms of the loan agreement, the loan bears interest at 12% per annum. On August 1, 2019, the Company entered into a Conversion Agreement to convert the remaining balance of $693,000 to 99,000 shares of the Company’s common stock at a conversion price of $7.00 per share.

Since 2017, BioLite Taiwan and BioFirst entered into several loan agreements for an aggregate amount of NT$19,430,000, equivalent to $625,646, to meet its working capital needs. Under the terms of the loan agreements, the loans bear interest at 12% per annum. The term of the loans has various maturity dates through May 27, 2020. On August 1, 2019, the Company entered into a Conversion Agreement to convert the remaining balance of $625,646 to 89,378 shares of the Company’s common stock at a conversion price of $7.00 per share.

Since 2017, BioFirst has also advanced funds to the Company for working capital purpose. The advances bear 0% interest rate and are due on demand. On August 1, 2019, the Company entered into a Conversion Agreement to convert the remaining balance of $597,128 to 85,304 shares of the Company’s common stock at a conversion price of $7.00 per share.

F-71

On April 12, 2017, BioLite BVI and BioFirst entered into a loan agreement for NT$30,000,000, equivalent to $987,134 to meet its working capital needs. Under the terms of the loan agreement, the loan bears interest at 1% per month (or equivalent to 12% per annum). BioLite BVI and BioFirst extended the loan with the same interest rate and amount for one year. The loan will be matured on May 11, 2019. On May 12, 2019, the two parties extended the loan with the same interest rate and amount for one year. The loan will be matured on May 11, 2020. On August 1, 2019, the Company entered into a Conversion Agreement to convert the remaining balance of $987,134 to 141,020 shares of the Company’s common stock at a conversion price of $7.00 per share.

On July 24, 2017, BriVision entered into a collaborative agreement (the “BioFirst Collaborative Agreement”) with BioFirst (See Note 3). On September 25, 2017, BioFirst has delivered all research, technical, data and development data to BriVision, and the Company has recorded the full amount of $3,000,000 due to BioFirst. On June 30, 2019, the Company entered into a Stock Purchase Agreement with BioFirst, pursuant to which the Company agreed to issue 428,571 shares of the Company’s common stock to BioFirst in consideration for $3,000,000 owed by the Company to BioFirst.

Since 2019, BioFirst has also advanced funds to the Company for working capital purpose. The advances bear interest 1% per month (or equivalent to 12% per annum). As of December 31, 2020 and 2019, the aggregate amount of outstanding balance and accrued interest is $23,647 and $24,182, respectively.

(3)

In September 2017, AsiaGene entered an investment and equity transfer agreement (the “Investment and Equity Transfer Agreement”) with Everfront Biotech Inc. (the “Everfront”), a third party. Pursuant to the Investment and Equity Transfer Agreement, Everfront agreed to purchase 2,000,000 common shares of the Company owned by AsiaGene at $1.60 per share in a total amount of $3,200,000, of which $160,000 is due before September 15, 2017 and the remaining amount of $3,040,000 is due before December 15, 2017. AsiaGene also agreed to loan the proceeds to the Company for working capital purpose. The non-secured loan bears 0% interest rate and is due on demand. On August 1, 2019, the Company entered into a Conversion Agreement to convert the remaining balance of $160,000 to 22,858 shares of the Company’s common stock at a conversion price of $7.00 per share.

As of December 31, 2020 and 2019, AsiaGene has advanced the Company an aggregate amount of $0 and $24,017, respectively for working capital purpose. This advance bears 0% interest rate and is due on demand.

(4)

On January 18, 2018, the Company and YuanGene entered into a loan agreement for a total of $50,000 to meet its working capital needs. Under the terms of the loan agreement, the loan bears interest at 1% per month (or equivalent to 12% per annum) and the Company is required to pay interest monthly to the lender. The maturity date of this loan is January 19, 2019. On January 20, 2019, the two parties extended the loan with the same interest rate and amount for one year. The loan will be matured on January 19, 2020. On August 1, 2019, the Company entered into a Conversion Agreement to convert the remaining balance of $50,000 to 7,143 shares of the Company’s common stock at a conversion price of $7.00 per share. 

In January 2018, YuanGene Corporation has advanced an aggregate amount of $42,690 to the Company for working capital purpose. The advances bear 0% interest rate and are due on demand. On August 1, 2019, the Company entered into a Conversion Agreement to convert the remaining balance of $42,690 to 6,099 shares of the Company’s common stock at a conversion price of $7.00 per share. 

As of December 31, 2020 and 2019, YuanGene has advanced the Company an aggregate amount of $9,205 for working capital purpose. This advance bears 0% interest rate and is due on demand.

(5)Since 2018, Mr. Tsung-Shann Jiang, Mr. Chang-Jen Jiang, Ms. Shu-Ling Jiang, and Ms. Mei-Ling Jiang have entered into various loans with the Company for working capital purpose in an aggregate amount of $795,340. These loans bear interest at 12% per annum and are due on demand. On August 1, 2019, the Company entered into a Conversion Agreement to convert the remaining balance of $837,726 to 119,675 shares of the Company’s common stock at a conversion price of $7.00 per share.

Since 2018, the Jiangs have advanced funds to the Company for working capital purpose in an aggregate amount of $353,050. The advances bear 0% interest rate and are due on demand. On August 4, 2019, the Company entered into a Conversion Agreement to convert the remaining balance of $353,050 to 50,436 shares of the Company’s common stock at a conversion price of $7.00 per share.

Since 2019, the Jiangs advanced funds to the Company for working capital purpose. As of December 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019, the outstanding balance due to the Jiangs amounted to $16,627 and $40,031, respectively. These loans bear interest rate of 0% to 1% per month, and are due on demand.

(6)On July 2, 2019, the Company entered into an agreement with Kimho for consulting service, with such services to begin in September 2019. As of December 31, 2020 and 2019, the outstanding services charge was $0 and $21,500, respectively. 

(7)As of December 31, 2020 and 2019, Euro Asia has advanced of $0 and $12,000, respectively, to the Company for working capital purpose. The advances bear 0% interest rate.

(8)Since 2018, the Company’s shareholders have advanced funds to the Company for working capital purpose. The advances bear interest rate from 12% to 13.6224% per annum. As of December 31, 2020 and 2019, the outstanding principal and accrued interest was $166,261 and $284,479, respectively. Interest expenses in connection with these loans were $21,520 and $14,910 for the year ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively. 

(9)During the year Ended December 31, 2020, the Company had advances from one employee for working capital purpose. The outstanding balance due to this employee amounted to $72,704 as of December 31, 2020. This loan bears interest rate of 1.5% per annum, and is due on demand.

13. EQUITY

During October 2015, $350,000 of subscription receivable was fully collected from the shareholders.

On February 8, 2016, a Share Exchange Agreement (“Share Exchange Agreement”) was entered into by and among American BriVision (Holding) Corporation (the “Company”), American BriVision Corporation (“BriVision”), Euro-Asia Investment & Finance Corp. Limited, a company incorporated under the laws of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of People’s Republic of China (“Euro-Asia”), being the owners of record of 164,387,376 (52,336,000 pre-stock split) shares of Common Stock of the Company, and the owners of record of all of the issued share capital of BriVision (the “BriVision Stock”). Pursuant to the Share Exchange Agreement, upon surrender by the BriVision Shareholders and the cancellation by BriVision of the certificates evidencing the BriVision Stock as registered in the name of each BriVision Shareholder, and pursuant to the registration of the Company in the register of members maintained by BriVision as the new holder of the BriVision Stock and the issuance of the certificates evidencing the aforementioned registration of the BriVision Stock in the name of the Company, the Company should issue 166,273,921(52,936,583 pre-stock split) shares (the “Acquisition Stock”) (subject to adjustment for fractionalized shares as set forth below) of the Company’s Common Stock to the BriVision Shareholders (or their designees), and 163,159,952 (51,945,225 pre-stock split) shares of the Company’s Common Stock owned by Euro-Asia should be cancelled and retired to treasury. The Acquisition Stock collectively should represent 79.70% of the issued and outstanding Common Stock of the Company immediately after the Closing, in exchange for the BriVision Stock, representing 100% of the issued share capital of BriVision in a reverse merger, or the Merger. Pursuant to the Merger, all of the issued and outstanding shares of BriVision’s Common Stock were converted, at an exchange ratio of 0.2536-for-1, into an aggregate of 166,273,921(52,936,583 pre-stock split) shares of Company’s Common Stock and BriVision became a wholly owned subsidiary, of the Company. The holders of Company’s Common Stock as of immediately prior to the Merger held an aggregate of 205,519,223 (65,431,144 pre-stock split) shares of Company’s Common Stock, Because of the exchange of the BriVision Stock for the Acquisition Stock (the “Share Exchange”), BriVision became a wholly owned subsidiary (the “Subsidiary”) of the Company and there was a change of control of the Company following the closing. There were no warrants, options or other equity instruments issued in connection with the share exchange agreement.


On February 17, 2016, pursuant to the 2016 Equity Incentive Plan (the “2016 Plan”), 157,050 (50,000 pre-stock split) shares were granted to the employees.

On March 21, 2016, the Board of Directors of the Company approved an amendment to Articles of Incorporation to effect a forward split at a ratio of 1 to 3:141 (the “Forward Stock Split”) and increase the number of our authorized shares of Common Stock, par value $0.001 per share, to 360,000,000, which was effective on April 8, 2016.

On May 6, 2016, the Company and BioLite Taiwan agreed to amend the BioLite Collaborative Agreement, through entry into the Milestone Payment Agreement, whereby the Company has agreed to issue shares of Common Stock of the Company, at the price of $1.60 per share, for an aggregate number of 562,500 shares, as part of the Company’s first installation of payment pursuant to the Milestone Payment. The shares issuance was completed in June 2016. On August 26, 2016, the Company issued 1,468,750 shares (“Shares”) of the Company’s Common Stock, par value $0.001 (the “Offering”) to BioLite Taiwan pursuant to a certain Stock Purchase Agreement dated August 26, 2016 (the “SPA”). The Shares are exempt from the registration requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), pursuant to Regulation S of the Securities Act promulgated thereunder. The purchase price per share of the Offering is $1.60. The net proceeds to the Company from the Offering are approximately $2,350,000. Pursuant to the BioLite Collaborative Agreement, BriVision should pay a total of $100,000,000 in cash or stock of the Company with equivalent value according to the milestone achieved. The agreement requires that 6.5% of total payment, $6,500,000 shall be made upon the first IND submission which was submitted in March 2016. In February 2017, the Company remitted this amount to BioLite with $650,000 in cash and $5,850,000 in the form of newly issued shares of the Company’s Common Stock, at the price of $2.0 per share, for an aggregate number of 2,925,000 shares. Upon the consummation of the restructuring transaction between the Company and BioLite on February 8, 2019, the Company’s Common Stock held by BioLite Taiwan was accounted for treasury stocks in the statement of equity (deficit). On February 8, 2019, after the Merger, the Company issued 74,997,546 shares to the shareholders of BioLite and 29,561,231 shares to the shareholders of BioKey.

On May 3, 2019, the Company filed a Certificate of Amendment with the Secretary of State of Nevada, which was effective May 8, 2019 upon its receipt of the written notice from Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”). Pursuant to the Certificate of Amendment, the Company effectuated a 1-for-18 reverse stock split of its issued and outstanding shares of common stock, $0.001 par value, whereby 318,485,252 outstanding shares of the Company’s common stock were exchanged for 17,693,625 shares of the Company’s Common Stock. All shares and related financial information in this Form 10-K reflect this 1-for-18 reverse stock split.

On October 1, 2016, the Company entered into a consulting agreement with Kazunori Kameyama (“Kameyama”) for the provision of services related to the clinical trials and other administrative work, public relation work, capital raising, trip coordination, In consideration for providing such services, the Company agreed to indemnify the consultant in an amount of $150 per hour in cash up to $3,000 per month, and issue to Kameyama the Company’s Common Stock at $1.00 per share for any amount exceeding $3,000. The Company’s stocks shall be calculated and issued in December every year. On November 21, 2020, the Company entered into an agreement with Kameyama, pursuant to which the Company granted and issued 24,694 stock options to Kameyama related to unpaid consulting fees of $49,388 (see Note 14).

During the year ended December 31, 2019, the Company entered into service agreements with Euro-Asia Investment & Finance Corp Ltd. (a related party), Ever Adventure inv. (Formosa) Consultant Co., Ltd., New Eastern Asia (a related party),and Kimho Consultants Co., Ltd. (a related party) for the maintenance of the listing in the U.S. stock exchange market, investor relations, and business development. Pursuant to the agreements, the Company issued 644,972 shares of the Company’s common stock for the consulting service from July 2019 to July 2024 for the service fee of $4,514,800 in aggregate, and recorded as stock subscription receivable. As of December 31, 2020 and 2019, stock subscription receivable was $3,160,360 and $4,063,320, respectively.

On July 24, 2017, BriVision entered into a collaborative agreement (the “BioFirst Collaborative Agreement”) with BioFirst (See Note 3). On September 25, 2017, BioFirst has delivered all research, technical, data and development data to BriVision, and the Company has recorded the full amount of $3,000,000 due to BioFirst. On June 30, 2019, the Company entered into a Stock Purchase Agreement with BioFirst, pursuant to which the Company agreed to issue 428,571 shares of the Company’s common stock to BioFirst in consideration for $3,000,000 owed by the Company to BioFirst. These common shares have been issued during the year ended December 31, 2019.


As stated in Note 12, in August 2019, the Company entered into several Conversion Agreements to all creditors that are listed under below table of “due to related parties” in consideration for a total of $4,872,340 owed by the Company to various creditors based on outstanding loan agreements. Under the Conversion Agreements, creditor agrees to convert the amount of debt into the Company’s common stock at a price of $7.00 per share.

  Amount of
Debt
Converted
  Number of
Shares
Issued
 
Lion Arts Promotion Inc $97,864   13,981 
LionGene Corporation  428,099   61,157 
BioFirst Corporation  2,902,911   414,702 
AsiaGene Corporation  160,000   22,858 
YuanGene Corporation  92,690   13,242 
The Jiangs  1,190,776   170,111 
Total $4,872,340   696,051 

On March 12, 2020, the board of directors of the Company approved and adopted an amendment to the Company’s Articles of Incorporation, to increase the authorized shares of its common stock, par value $0.001 per share, from 20,000,000 to 100,000,000 shares.

On July 8, 2020, the Company entered an agreement with View Trade Securities Inc. (“ViewTrade”) to engage ViewTrade as the placement agent and the Company’s advisor with respect to its ongoing capital events. Pursuant to the agreement, the Company agreed to pay View Trade 60,000 restricted common shares of the Company and 60,000 warrants to purchase common shares of the Company at an exercise price of $6 per share for a period of 5 years with cashless exercise provision. As of December 31, 2020, the Company has issued 60,000 shares of common stock to ViewTrade for the consulting fee with an estimated value of $135,000. The warrants were never issued and the parties mutually agreed to terminate the agreement on November 19, 2020. As a termination fee, the Company agreed to issue ViewTrade 50,000 restricted common shares of the Company.

Also on November 19, 2020, the Company and ViewTrade agreed to a new Advisory agreement under which ViewTrade was engaged to provide advisory services only. In addition to a retainer fee, the Company agreed to issue 200,000 warrants, with an exercise price of $2.25, an industry standard cashless exercise provision, and a term of 5 years from November 19, 2020.

During the year ended December 31, 2020, the Company entered into a consulting agreement with a service provider for consulting and advisory services, pursuant to which the Company agreed to pay the service fee by issuing 50,000 shares of unrestricted common shares, valued at the closing price of $2.9 per share on the grant date. As of December 31, 2020, these shares have been issued.

During the year ended December 31, 2020, the Company received aggregated capital contributions of $7,615,331 in cash from 45 investors through private placements of the sale of the Company’s common stock for the purchase price of $2.25 per share and a free warrant attached with each common stock purchased. As of December 31, 2020, 3,384,615 shares of the Company’s common stock have been issued.

During the year ended December 31, 2020, the Company entered into consulting agreements with four service providers for consulting and advisory services, pursuant to which the Company agreed to pay the service fee by issuing 521,887 shares of unrestricted common shares, valued at the closing price from $2 to $3.68 per share on the grant date. As of December 31, 2020, these shares have been issued.

During the year ended December 31, 2020, the Company issued aggregated common shares of 915,856 to six previous note holders, who had converted their outstanding principals and accrued and unpaid interests, including the debt conversion to the following:

a.Keypoint converted the aggregated amount of $292,826 at the conversion price of $1.84 on April 5, 2020, in exchange for 159,145 shares of the Company’s common stock, and warrants to purchase 159,145 shares of the Company’s common stock.

b.Odaira converted the aggregated amount of $284,036 at the conversion price of $1.84 on April 5, 2020, in exchange for 154,368 shares of the Company’s common stock, and warrants to purchase 154,368 shares of the Company’s common stock.

c.C.L.L. converted the aggregated amount of $289,974 at the conversion price of $1.78 on April 20, 2020, in exchange for 162,908 shares of the Company’s common stock, and warrants to purchase 162,908 shares of the Company’s common stock.

d.KLS converted the aggregated amount of $225,222 at the conversion price of $1.78 on April 20, 2020, in exchange for 126,530 shares of the Company’s common stock, and warrants to purchase 126,530 shares of the Company’s common stock.

e.Yu and Wei converted the aggregated amount of $354,722 at the conversion price of $1.84 on April 5, 2020, in exchange for 192,784 shares of the Company’s common stock, and warrants to purchase 192,784 shares of the Company’s common stock.

f.KSL converted the aggregated amount of $270,272 at the conversion price of $2.25 on November 9, 2020, in exchange for 120,121 shares of the Company’s common stock, and warrants to purchase 120,121 shares of the Company’s common stock.

See Note 7 for more details in connection with the above debt conversion.

14. STOCK OPTIONS

On October 30, 2020, the Company issued an aggregate of 545,182 shares of common stock in lieu of unpaid salaries of certain employees and unpaid consulting fees under the 2016 Equity Incentive Plan, as amended, at a conversion price of $2 per share; the total amount of converted salaries and consulting fees was $1,090,361. On November 21, 2020, the Company has entered into acknowledgement agreements and stock option purchase agreements with these employees and consultant; pursuant to which the Company granted stock options to purchase 545,182 shares of the Company’s common stock in lieu of common stock. The options were vested at the grant date and become exercisable for 10 years from the grant date.

Options issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2020, and their activities during the year then ended are as follows:

  Number of
Underlying
Shares
  Weighted-
Average
Exercise
Price
Per Share
  Weighted-
Average
Contractual
Life
Remaining
in Years
  Aggregate
Intrinsic
Value
 
Outstanding as of January 1, 2020  —    $—          
Granted  545,182   2.00   9.89   616,056 
Forfeited  —     —           
Outstanding as of December 31, 2020  545,182   2.00   9.89  $616,056 
Exercisable as of December 31, 2020  545,182   2.00   9.89  $616,056 
Vested and expected to vest  545,182  $2.00   9.89  $616,056 

The fair value of stock options granted for the year ended December 31, 2020 was calculated using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model applying the following assumptions:

Year ended
December 31,
2019
Risk free interest rate0.38%
Expected term (in years)5.00
Dividend yield0%
Expected volatility89.01%

The weighted average grant date fair value of options granted during 2020 was $3.13. There are 2,812,949 options available for grant under the 2016 Equity Incentive Plan as of December 31, 2020. Compensation costs associated with the Company’s stock options are recognized, based on the grant-date fair values of these options over vesting period. Accordingly, the Company recognized stock-based compensation expense of $1,706,419 and $0 for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively. As of December 31, 2020, there were no unvested options.

15. LOSS PER SHARE

Basic loss per share is computed by dividing net loss by the weighted-average number of common shares outstanding during the year. Diluted loss per share is computed by dividing net loss by the weighted-average number of common shares and dilutive potential common shares outstanding during the Year Ended December 31, 2020 and 2019.

  For the Year Ended 
  December 31,
2020
  December 31,
2019
 
Numerator:      
Net loss attributable to ABVC’s common stockholders $(9,791,164) $(3,641,776)
         
Denominator:        
Weighted-average shares outstanding:        
Weighted-average shares outstanding - Basic  19,715,559   17,498,543 
Stock options      —   
Weighted-average shares outstanding - Diluted  19,715,559   17,498,543 
         
Loss per share        
-Basic $(0.50) $(0.21)
-Diluted $(0.50) $(0.21)

Diluted loss per share takes into account the potential dilution that could occur if securities or other contracts to issue Common Stock were exercised and converted into Common Stock.


16. LEASE

The Company adopted FASB Accounting Standards Codification, Topic 842, Leases (“ASC 842”) using the modified retrospective approach, electing the practical expedient that allows the Company not to restate its comparative periods prior to the adoption of the standard on January 1, 2019. As such, the disclosures required under ASC 842 are not presented for periods before the date of adoption. For the comparative periods prior to adoption, the Company presented the disclosures which were required under ASC 840.

The Company applied the following practical expedients in the transition to the new standard and allowed under ASC 842:

Reassessment of expired or existing contracts: The Company elected not to reassess, at the application date, whether any expired or existing contracts contained leases, the lease classification for any expired or existing leases, and the accounting for initial direct costs for any existing leases.

Use of hindsight: The Company elected to use hindsight in determining the lease term (that is, when considering options to extend or terminate the lease and to purchase the underlying asset) and in assessing impairment of right-to-use assets.

Reassessment of existing or expired land easements: The Company elected not to evaluate existing or expired land easements that were not previously accounted for as leases under ASC 840, as allowed under the transition practical expedient. Going forward, new or modified land easements will be evaluated under ASU No. 2016-02.

Separation of lease and non- lease components: Lease agreements that contain both lease and non-lease components are generally accounted for separately.

Short-term lease recognition exemption: The Company also elected the short-term lease recognition exemption and will not recognize ROU assets or lease liabilities for leases with a term less than 12 months.

The new leasing standard requires recognition of leases on the consolidated balance sheets as right-of-use (“ROU”) assets and lease liabilities. ROU assets represent the Company’s right to use underlying assets for the lease terms and lease liabilities represent the Company’s obligation to make lease payments arising from the leases. Operating lease ROU assets and operating lease liabilities are recognized based on the present value and future minimum lease payments over the lease term at commencement date. The Company’s future minimum based payments used to determine the Company’s lease liabilities mainly include minimum based rent payments. As most of Company’s leases do not provide an implicit rate, the Company uses its estimated incremental borrowing rate based on the information available at commencement date in determining the present value of lease payments.

The Company recognized lease liabilities, with corresponding ROU assets, based on the present value of unpaid lease payments for existing operating leases longer than twelve months as of January 1, 2019. The ROU assets were adjusted per ASC 842 transition guidance for existing lease-related balances of accrued and prepaid rent, unamortized lease incentives provided by lessors, and restructuring liabilities.

The adoption of ASC 842 had a substantial impact on the Company’s consolidated balance sheets. The most significant impact was the recognition of the operating lease right-of-use assets and the liability for operating leases. Accordingly, adoption of this standard resulted in the recognition of operating lease right-of-use assets of $577,830 and operating lease liabilities of $598,937 comprised of $301,105 of current operating lease liabilities and $297,832 of non-current operating lease liabilities on the consolidated balance sheet as of January 1, 2019. The adoption of ASC 842 also resulted in a cumulative-effect adjustment of $(21,107) to the opening balance of accumulated deficit.

In addition, the adoption of the standard did not have a material impact on the Company’s results of operations or cash flows. Operating lease cost is recognized as a single lease cost on a straight-line basis over the lease term and is recorded in Selling, general and administrative expenses. Variable lease payments for common area maintenance, property taxes and other operating expenses are recognized as expense in the period when the changes in facts and circumstances on which the variable lease payments are based occur.


The Company has no finance leases. The Company’s leases primarily include various office and laboratory spaces, copy machine, and vehicles under various operating lease arrangements. The Company’s operating leases have remaining lease terms of up to approximately five years.

 

  December 31,
2020
  December 31,
2019
 
ASSETS      
Operating lease right-of-use assets $1,772,747  $524,445 
         
LIABILITIES        
Operating lease liabilities (current)  316,178   304,248 
Operating lease liabilities (noncurrent)  1,456,567   235,555 
  December 31,
2022
  December 31,
2021
 
ASSETS      
Operating lease right-of-use assets $1,161,141  $1,471,899 
LIABILITIES        
Operating lease liabilities (current)  369,314   347,100 
Operating lease liabilities (noncurrent)  791,827   1,124,799 

 


Supplemental Information

 

The following provides details of the Company’s lease expenses:

 

  Year Ended
December 31,
 
  2020  2019 
Operating lease expenses $337,282  $301,437 
  Year Ended
December 31,
 
  2022  2021 
Operating lease expenses $358,576  $335,208 

 

Other information related to leases is presented below:

 

  Year Ended
December 31,
 
  2020  2019 
Cash paid for amounts included in the measurement of operating lease liabilities $337,282  $301,437 
  Year Ended
December 31,
 
  2022  2021 
Cash paid for amounts included in the measurement of operating lease liabilities $358,576  $335,208 

 

  December 31,
2020
  December 31,
2019
 
Weighted Average Remaining Lease Term:      
Operating leases  3.08 years   3.08 years 
         
Weighted Average Discount Rate:        
Operating leases  0.55%  0.55%
  December 31,
2022
  December 31,
2021
 
Weighted Average Remaining Lease Term:        
Operating leases  2.48 years   2.90 years 
         
Weighted Average Discount Rate:        
Operating leases  1.49%  1.39%

 

The minimum future annual payments under non-cancellable leases during the next five years and thereafter, at rates now in force, are as follows:

 

  Operating leases 
2021 324,788 
2022  341,527 
2023  358,431 
2024  375,337 
2025  338,676 
Thereafter  56,916 
Total future minimum lease payments, undiscounted  1,795,675 
Less: Imputed interest  22,930 
Present value of future minimum lease payments $1,772,745 

  Operating leases 
2023 $374,478 
2024  389,613 
2025  348,837 
2026  56,916 
2027  - 
Total future minimum lease payments, undiscounted  1,169,844 
Less: Imputed interest  8,703 
Present value of future minimum lease payments $1,161,141 

17. BUSINESS COMBINATION

18. COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES 

 

On February 8, 2019,The Company is party to a lawsuit filed on October 12, 2022, by its former Chief Financial Officer, Chihliang An (“Plaintiff”), in the Superior Court of California In and For the County of Alameda (Case No. 22cv019544) (the “Employment Action”), which seeks an award of monetary damages, including, (1) unpaid wages; (2) Company common stock; (3) stock options; (4) penalties pursuant to Labor Code § 203; and any other and further relief the Court deems necessary. Plaintiff’s Complaint alleges four (4) causes of action against the Company. The Complaint alleges claims for (1) breach of written contract; (2) breach of oral contract; (3) failure to pay wages; and (4) failure to pay wages upon termination. The Company filed its Answer to Plaintiff’s Complaint on December 5, 2022. The Company is currently participating in discovery. However, the Company consummated the Merger transactions of BioLite and BioKey (See Note 1). Pursuantcontinues to the terms of the Merger Agreement, BioLite and BioKey became two wholly-owned subsidiaries ofbelieve that Plaintiff’s claims have no merit. As such, the Company on February 8, 2019. The Company adopted ASC 805, “Business Combination”will continue to record the merger transactions of BioKey. The acquisition was accounted for as a business combination under the purchase method of accounting. BioKey’s results of operations were includedvigorously defend against Plaintiff’s claims in the Company’s results beginning February 8, 2019. The purchase price has been allocated to the assets acquired and the liabilities assumed based on their fair value at the acquisition date as summarized in the following:Employment Action.

 

Purchase consideration:   
Common Stock (*) $44,341,847 
Allocation of the purchase price:    
Cash and cash equivalents $531,147 
Accounts receivable, net  188,550 
Property and equipment, net  56,075 
Operating lease right-of-use assets  485,684 
Security deposits  10,440 
Total assets acquired  1,271,896 
Accounts payable  (56,204)
Accrued expenses and other current liabilities  (251,335)
Operating lease liability  (267,256)
Tenant security deposit  (2,880)
Total liabilities assumed  (577,675)
Total net assets acquired  694,221 
Goodwill as a result of the Merger $43,647,626 

*29,561,231 shares (1,642,291 after stock reverse split) of common stock of the Company was issued to BioKey in connection with the Merger. Those shares were valued at $1.50 per share, based on the bid-and-ask share price of common stock of the Company on the final day of trading, February 8, 2019.

On February 8, 2019, the Company has recorded a 100% goodwill write-down of $43,647,626. Goodwill was determined to have been impaired because of the current financial condition of the Company and the Company’s inability to generate future operating income without substantial sales volume increases, which are highly uncertain. Furthermore, the Company’s anticipated future cash flows indicate that the recoverability of goodwill is not reasonably assured. The goodwill write-down was reflected as a decrease in additional paid-in capital in the statement of equity upon the consummation of the Merger.


18.19. SUBSEQUENT EVENTS 

 

On January 3, 2023, the Company issued 223,411 common shares to a consultant for providing consulting services on listing to NASDAQ in 2021.

On January 14, 2023, BioLite Taiwan extended the CTBC Loan Agreement with the same principal amount of NT$20,000,000, equivalent to $650,000 for six months, which is due on July 14, 2023.

On February 7, 2021,23, 2023, the entity of ABVC receivedCompany entered into a loansecurities purchase agreement with Lind Global Fund II, LP (“Lind”), pursuant to which the Company issued Lind a secured, convertible note in the principal amount of $104,167 under$3,704,167, for a purchase price of $3,175,000, that is convertible into shares of the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) administered byCompany’s common stock at an initial conversion price of $1.05 per share, subject to adjustment. The Company also issued Lind a common stock purchase warrant to purchase up to 5,291,667 shares of the United States Small Business Administration (the “SBA”)Company’s common stock at an initial exercise price of $1.05 per share, subject to adjustment. Subsequently on February 23, 2023, the bank loan from Cathay Bank. According to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the “Cares Act”), PPP loan provides for forgiveness of up to the full principal amount and accrued interest if the funds are used for payroll costs, interest on mortgages, rent, and utilities. However, at least 60% of the forgiven amount must have been used for payroll. The loanBank was granted pursuant to a promissory note dated February 7, 2021 issued by the Company, which matures on February 6, 2026 and bears interest at a rate of 1.00% per annum. The Company will pay the principal in one payment of all outstanding principal plus all accrued unpaid interest on that date that is five years after the date of the promissory note. In addition, the Company will start the application with the US Government regarding the loan forgiveness program as soon as the US Government allows. No collateral or personal guarantees are required.fully repaid.

 

On January 29, 2021, the entity of BioKey received a loan in the amount of $132,331 under the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) administered by the United States Small Business Administration (the “SBA”) from East West Bank. According to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the “Cares Act”), PPP loan provides for forgiveness of up to the full principal amount and accrued interest if the funds are used for payroll costs, interest on mortgages, rent, and utilities. However, at least 60% of the forgiven amount must have been used for payroll. The loan was granted pursuant to a promissory note dated January 27, 2021 issued by the Company, which matures on January 28, 2026 and bears interest at a rate of 1.00% per annum. The Company will pay the principal in one payment of all outstanding principal plus all accrued unpaid interest on that date that is five years after the date of the promissory note. In addition, the Company will start the application with the US Government regarding the loan forgiveness program as soon as the US Government allows. No collateral or personal guarantees are required.

The Company has evaluated subsequentassessed all events from December 31, 2022, up through March 31, 2023, which is the date which thethat these consolidated financial statements wereare available to be issued. Allissued, Other than the events disclosed above, no other subsequent events requiringhave occurred that would require recognition as of December 31, 2020 have been incorporated into these financial statements and there are no subsequent events that requireor disclosure in accordance with FASB ASC Topic 855, “Subsequent Events.”the Company's consolidated financial statements.


PART II — INFORMATION NOT REQUIRED IN PROSPECTUS

 

Item 13. Other Expenses of Issuance and Distribution

 

The following table sets forth all expenses to be paid by the Registrant, other than estimated placement agents’ fees, in connection with our public offering. All amounts shown are estimates except for the SEC registration fee and the FINRA filing fee:

 

SEC registration fee $3,042.53
FINRA filing fee $-
Legal fees and expenses $**
Accounting fees and expenses $**
Transfer agent and registrar fees $**
Miscellaneous fees and expenses $**
Total $ **
SEC registration fee $3,019.01 
FINRA filing fee $5,985.47 
Legal fees and expenses $95,000 
Accounting fees and expenses $19,250 
Transfer agent and registrar fees $10,238 
Miscellaneous fees and expenses $- 
Total $133,492.48 

 

All amounts are estimated, except the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission registration fee, the NASDAQ listing fee and the FINRA filing fee.

**To be completed by amendment.

Item 14. Indemnification of Directors and Officers

 

Neither our Articles of Incorporation nor Bylaws prevent us from indemnifying our officers, directors and agents to the extent permitted under the Nevada Revised Statute (“NRS”). NRS Section 78.7502 provides that a corporation shall indemnify any director, officer, employee or agent of a corporation against expenses, including attorneys’ fees, actually and reasonably incurred by him in connection with any the defense to the extent that a director, officer, employee or agent of a corporation has been successful on the merits or otherwise in defense of any action, suit or proceeding referred to Section 78.7502(1) or 78.7502(2), or in defense of any claim, issue or matter therein.

 

NRS 78.7502(1) provides that a corporation may indemnify any person who was or is a party or is threatened to be made a party to any threatened, pending or completed action, suit or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative, except an action by or in the right of the corporation, by reason of the fact that he is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of the corporation, or is or was serving at the request of the corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise, against expenses, including attorneys’ fees, judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement actually and reasonably incurred by him in connection with the action, suit or proceeding if he: (a) is not liable pursuant to NRS 78.138; or (b) acted in good faith and in a manner which he reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the corporation, and, with respect to any criminal action or proceeding, had no reasonable cause to believe his conduct was unlawful.

 

NRS Section 78.7502(2) provides that a corporation may indemnify any person who was or is a party or is threatened to be made a party to any threatened, pending or completed action or suit by or in the right of the corporation to procure a judgment in its favor by reason of the fact that he is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of the corporation, or is or was serving at the request of the corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise against expenses, including amounts paid in settlement and attorneys’ fees actually and reasonably incurred by him in connection with the defense or settlement of the action or suit if he: (a) is not liable pursuant to NRS 78.138; or (b) acted in good faith and in a manner which he reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the corporation. Indemnification may not be made for any claim, issue or matter as to which such a person has been adjudged by a court of competent jurisdiction, after exhaustion of all appeals there from, to be liable to the corporation or for amounts paid in settlement to the corporation, unless and only to the extent that the court in which the action or suit was brought or other court of competent jurisdiction determines upon application that in view of all the circumstances of the case, the person is fairly and reasonably entitled to indemnity for such expenses as the court deems proper.

 

NRS Section 78.747 provides that except as otherwise provided by specific statute, no director or officer of a corporation is individually liable for a debt or liability of the corporation, unless the director or officer acts as the alter ego of the corporation. The court as a matter of law must determine the question of whether a director or officer acts as the alter ego of a corporation.

 

II-1

Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to directors, officers or persons controlling us pursuant to the foregoing provisions, we have been informed that, in the opinion of the SEC, such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is therefore unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, we will, unless in the opinion of our counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by us is against public policy as expressed hereby in the Securities Act and we will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.

 

II-1

Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws

 

Our articles of incorporation, as amended, do not include specific provisions relating to the indemnification of our directors or officers.

 

Our bylaws provide that the Company may indemnify and advance litigation expenses to its directors, officers, employees and agents to the extent permitted by law, the Company’s Articles or Bylaws, and shall indemnify and advance litigation expenses to its directors, officers, employees and agents to the extent required by law, the Company’s Articles of Incorporation or Bylaws. The Company’s obligations of indemnification, if any, shall be conditioned on the Company receiving prompt notice of the claim and the opportunity to settle and defend the claim. The Company may, to the extent permitted by law, purchase and maintain insurance on behalf of an individual who is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of the Company.

 

Item 15. Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities

 

During the last three years, the Company has not issued unregistered securities to any person, except as described below. None of these transactions involved any underwriters, underwriting discounts or commissions, except as specified below, or any public offering, and, unless otherwise indicated below, the Registrant believes that each transaction was exempt from the registration requirements of the Securities Act by virtue of Section 4(a)(2) thereof and/or Rule 506 of Regulation D promulgated thereunder, and/or Regulation S promulgated thereunder regarding offshore offers and sales. All recipients had adequate access, though their relationships with the Registrant, to information about the Registrant.

 

Between January 1, 2018 and August 6, 2019,During the Company issued convertible notes of an aggregate amount of $800,000 to three non-U.S. investors for the Company’s general working capital purposes in reliance on an exemption from registration set forth in section 4(2) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.

On February 8, 2019, after the Merger, the Company issued 74,997,546 shares to the shareholders of BioLite and 29,561,231 shares to the shareholders of BioKey.

On June 30,year ended December 31, 2019, the Company entered into a Stock Purchase Agreementservice agreements with BioFirst, pursuantEuro-Asia Investment & Finance Corp Ltd. (a related party), Ever Adventure inv. (Formosa) Consultant Co., Ltd., New Eastern Asia (a related party), and Kimho Consultants Co., Ltd. (a related party) for the maintenance of the listing in the U.S. stock exchange market, investor relations, and business development. Pursuant to whichthe agreements, the Company agreed to issue 428,571issued 644,972 shares of the Company’s common stock for the consulting service from July 2019 to BioFirstJuly 2024 for the service fee of $4,514,800 in consideration for $3,000,000 owed by the Company to BioFirst. These common shares have been issued during the year endedaggregate, and recorded as stock subscription receivable. As of December 31, 2019.2022 and 2021, stock subscription receivable was $1,354,440 and $2,257,400, respectively.

 

On August 1, 2019,January 21, 2020, the Company entered into certainthree note agreements with existing note investors who executed the agreements in 2018. These three investors are Guoliang Yu and Yingfei Wei Family Trust, Keypoint Technology Ltd., and Yoshinobu Odaira. The new agreements bear the same term as other notes investors who executed the contract in 2019. On April 5, 2020, the Company entered into exchange agreements with such note holders. Pursuant to convert certain related party debts inthe exchange agreements, the Holders agreed to deliver the Notes to the Company for cancellation, of which the aggregate principal amount plus accrued interest expenses are $931,584, and the Company issued to the Holders an aggregate amount of $4,872,340 into506,297 shares of ourthe Company’s common stock, at a conversion price of $7.00 per share, which are being issued asand warrants to purchase 506,297 shares of the date of this prospectus.Company’s common stock.

 

On April 5, 2020 and April 20, 2020, the Company entered into certain exchange agreements separately with certain U.S. and non-U.S. holders who are holders of certain convertible promissory notes issued by the Company in the aggregate amount of $1,446,780. Pursuant to the exchange agreements, the Company agreed to issue to the Holders an aggregate of 795,735 shares of the Company’s common stock, and warrants to purchase 795,735 shares of common stock.

II-2

Each warrant is exercisable upon issuance and expires three years from the date of issuance. The initial exercise price of the warrant is $5.00, subject to stock, splits, stock dividend and other similar events. In addition, when the closing price of the common stock equals or exceeds $9.00 per share for twenty Trading Days (as defined in the exchange agreements) during any thirty-day period, the Company shall have the right to require the holders to exercise all or any portion of the note holders’ warrants for a cash exercise. On September 30, 2020, the Company has issued such note holders’ shares warrants to the holders and closed the transactions contemplated by the Exchange Agreements. The note holder’s shares and warrants were exempt from the registration requirements of the Securities Act, pursuant to Regulation S and Regulation D promulgated thereunder.

 

In May 2020, the Company received capital contributions of approximately $1,602,040 in cash from 40 investors through private placements of the sale of certain number of Common Stocks for the purchase price of $2.25 per share of Common Stock and a free warrant attaches with each Common stock that was purchased. The exercise price of the warrant is at $6.00 per common stock with a mandatory redemption at $9.00 per common stock pursuant to the terms and conditions of the warrants.

 

On July 8, 2020, the Company entered an agreement with View Trade Securities Inc. (“ViewTrade”) to engage ViewTrade as the placement agent and the Company’s advisor with respect to its ongoing capital events. Pursuant to the agreement, the Company agreed to pay View Trade (“ViewTrade Securities”) 60,000 restricted common shares of the Company and 60,000 warrants to purchase common shares of the Company at an exercise price of $6 per share for a period of 5 years with cashless exercise provision.

As of December 31, 2020,2021, the Company has issued 60,000 shares of common stock to ViewTrade for the advisory services with an estimated value of $135,000. The warrants were never issued and the parties mutually agreed to terminate the agreement on November 19, 2020. As a termination fee, the Company agreed to issue ViewTrade 50,000 restricted common shares of the Company.

 

Also on November 19, 2020, the Company and ViewTrade agreed to a new Advisory agreement under which ViewTrade was engaged to provide advisory services only. In addition to a retainer fee, the Company agreed to issue 200,000 warrants, with an exercise price of $2.25, an industry standard cashless exercise provision, and a term of 5 years from November 19, 2020.

 

II-2

On September 30, 2020, the Company also issued to Ever Adventure inv. (Formosa) Consultant Co., Ltd. (or its designee), Jinwei International Co., Ltd. (or its designee), and Thalia Media Ltd. (or its designee) (the “Consultants”) 120,000 shares, 180,000 shares and 120,000 shares of common stock (collectively, “Consultants’ Shares”), respectively, as their compensation as the Company’s investor relations and business development advisors. Each Consultant has entered into certain consulting agreement with the Company.

 

On September 30, 2020, the Company issued an aggregate of 795,735 shares of Common Stock to five previous note holders, who had converted their outstanding principals and accrued and unpaid interests during 2020. For the nine monthsyear ended September 30, 2020.December 31, 2022, no conversion was made to the note holders.

 

On November 8, 2020, the Company entered into an exchange agreement with a holder of convertible promissory notes issued by the Company in the aggregate amount of $270,272. Pursuant to the exchange agreements, the Company agreed to issue to the Holder an aggregate of 120,121 shares of the Company’s common stock, and warrants to purchase 120,121 shares of common stock. On December 31, 2020,2021, the Company issued an aggregated of 120,121 shares of Common Stock to the note holder.

 

On November 11, 2020, the Company conducted a closing with regard to certain securities purchase agreements (the “SPAs”) dated October 23, 2020, separately with two non-U.S. investors (the “Investors”). Each of the Investors agreed to purchase and the Company agreed to sell to each of the Investors 1,111,112 shares of the Company’s common stock, and warrants to purchase 1,111,112 shares of common stock, for a purchase price of $2,500,000. The warrants are exercisable upon issuance and expires three years from the date of issuance. The initial exercise price of the warrants is $6.00, subject to stock, splits, stock dividend and other similar events. In addition, when the closing price of the common stock equals or exceeds $9.00 per share for twenty Trading Days (as defined in the exchange agreements) during any thirty-day period, the Company shall have the right to require the investors to exercise all or any portion of the warrants for a cash exercise. The aggregate net proceeds of the Offering were $5,000,000. The Company and the investors further agreed to amend the terms of the SPA to permit the closing of the offering to occur on a rolling basis. In July 2021, 1,111,112 shares of the Company’s common stock and warrants were issued pursuant to the conversion of a $2,500,000 convertible promissory note.

 

II-3

During the year ended December 31, 2020, the Company entered into a consulting agreement with a service provider for consulting and advisory services, pursuant to which the Company agreed to pay the service fee by issuing 50,000 shares of unrestricted common shares, valued at the closing price of $2.9 per share on the grant date. These shares were issued in 2020.

During the year ended December 31, 2020, the Company received aggregated capital contributions of $7,615,331 in cash from 45 investors through private placements of the sale of the Company’s common stock for the purchase price of $2.25 per share and a free warrant attached with each common stock purchased. In December 2020, 3,384,615 shares of the Company’s common stock have been issued.

During the year ended December 31, 2021, the Company entered into consulting agreements with four service providers for consulting and advisory services, pursuant to which the Company agreed to pay the aggregate service fee by issuing a total of 521,887 shares of unrestricted common shares, valued at the closing price from $2 to $3.68 per share on the grant date. As of December 31, 2020,2021, these shares have been issued.

 

During the year ended December 31, 2019, the Company entered into service agreements with Euro-Asia Investment & Finance Corp Ltd. (a related party), Ever Adventure inv. (Formosa) Consultant Co., Ltd., New Eastern Asia (a related party),and Kimho Consultants Co., Ltd. (a related party) for the maintenance of the listing in the U.S. stock exchange market, investor relations, and business development. Pursuant to the agreements,2020, the Company issued 644,972an aggregate of 915,856 shares of common stock to six previous note holders, who had converted their outstanding principals and accrued and unpaid interests.

II-3

On August 5, 2021, the Company closed its public offering (the “Public Offering”) of 1,100,000 units (the “Units”), with each Unit consisting of one share of the Company’s common stock, one Series A warrant (the “Series A Warrants”) to purchase one share of common stock at an exercise price equal to $6.30 per share, exercisable until the fifth anniversary of the issuance date, and one Series B warrant (the “Series B Warrants,” and together with the Series A Warrants, the “Public Warrants”) to purchase one share of common stock at an exercise price equal to $10.00 per share, exercisable until the fifth anniversary of the issuance date; the exercise price of the Public Warrants are subject to certain adjustment and cashless exercise provisions as described therein. The Company completed the Public Offering pursuant to its registration statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-255112), originally filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on April 8, 2021 (as amended, the “Original Registration Statement”), that the SEC declared effective on August 2, 2021 and the registration statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-258404) that was filed and automatically effective on August 4, 2021 (the “S-1MEF,” together with the Original Registration Statement, the “Registration Statement”). The Units were priced at $6.25 per Unit, before underwriting discounts and offering expenses, resulting in gross proceeds of $6,875,000. The Public Offering was conducted on a firm commitment basis. In August 2021, 2,354,145 shares of the Company’s common stock were issued for the consulting service from July 2019 to July 2024 for the service feegross proceeds of $4,514,800 in aggregate,$6,875,000, before placement agent fees and recorded as stock subscription receivable. Aslegal fees of December 31, 2020 and 2019, stock subscription receivable was $3,160,360 and $4,063,320, respectively.$850,429.

 

The Company paid the following fees to a FINRA member firm in connection with the Offering:private financing transaction that closed on November 11, 2020: (i) a cash success fee of $175,000 and (ii) warrants to purchase a number of shares of Common Stock equal to 7% of the number of shares of Common Stock sold in this offering, at an exercise price per share equal to $6.00 subject to adjustment (the “Comp Warrants”). The Comp Warrants are exercisable on a cashless basis, at the holder’s discretion.

 

On June 29, 2021, we issued 6,000 shares of Common Stock to WallachBeth as compensation for consulting services.

In November 2021, the Company issued an aggregate of 316,934 shares of Common Stock to Consultants.

The Company also issued an aggregate of 1,306,007 shares of Common Stock to Consultants, who provided consulting services in January 2022; it issued an additional 75,000 shares to another consultant in March 2022, based on the 6-month consulting and advisory services agreement, with a monthly payment of USD $15,000.

In November 2021, the Company issued 55,000 underwriter warrants to WallachBeth, pursuant to the Company’s engagement of WallachBeth as the Company’s exclusive placement agent and advisor in connection with the offering for the listing on The Nasdaq Capital Market.

In November 2021, the Company received $4,244,452 in gross proceeds from the exercise of warrants issued in the Company’s August 3, 2021 public offering of securities. Investors exercised a total of 673,405 Series A warrants at a price of $6.30 per share and 200 Series B warrants at a price of $10 per share. Pursuant to these exercises, the Company issued an aggregate of 673,605 shares of Common Stock.

In January 2022, the Company agreed to pay the deferred service fees related to the Offering amounting to $4,296,763 by issuing 1,306,007 shares of unrestricted common shares, valued at $3.29 per share on the grant date.

In March 2022, the Company issued 75,000 shares to BarLew Holdings, LLC, a consultant (“Barlew”). On January 1, 2022, the Company engaged Barlew for consulting and advisory services for six months, with a monthly payment of USD15,000, as well as additional compensation of 75,000 shares of restricted common stock.

In March 2022, the Company issued 242,247 warrants to a FINRA member firm.

On May 11, 2022, the Company and certain investors entered into certain securities purchase agreement relating to the offer and sale of 2,000,000 shares of common stock, par value $0.001 per share in a registered direct offering.

On July 10, 2022, the Board approved the issuance of 75,000 shares of common stock to Barlew Holdings, LLC pursuant to the consulting agreement by and between Barlew Holdings, LLC and the Company dated July 1, 2022, and 250,000 shares of common stock to Inverlew Advisors, LLC, in accordance with the consulting agreement by and between Inverlew Advisors, LLC and the Company dated July 1, 2022.

On December 1, 2022, the Company issued 125,000 and 100,000 common shares to Euro-Asia Investment & Finance Corp Ltd. and Thalia Media Ltd. for consulting and advisory services.

On January 3, 2023, the Company issued 223,411 common shares to a consultant for providing consulting services on listing to NASDAQ in 2021.

On February 23, 2023, the Company entered into a securities purchase agreement with Lind Global Fund II, LP (“Lind”), pursuant to which the Company issued Lind a secured, convertible note in the principal amount of $3,704,167, for a purchase price of $3,175,000, that is convertible into shares of the Company’s common stock at an initial conversion price of $1.05 per share, subject to adjustment. The Company also issued Lind a common stock purchase warrant to purchase up to 5,291,667 shares of the Company’s common stock at an initial exercise price of $1.05 per share, subject to adjustment.

II-4

 

 

Item 16. Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules

 

Exhibit No.Description
1.12.1Form of Underwriting Agreement**
2.1Share Exchange Agreement, dated February 8, 2016 (1)
3.1
3.1Articles of Incorporation of the Company (2)
3.2
3.2Bylaws of the Registrant,Company, as amended and currently in effect (3)
3.3
3.3Certificate of Amendment to Articles of Incorporation filed on March 21, 2016 (4)
3.4
3.4Certificate of Amendment to Articles of Incorporation filed on December 21, 201630, 2015 (5)
3.5
3.5Certificate of Amendment to Articles of Incorporation filed on May 3, 2019March 30, 2020 (6)
3.6 
3.6Certificate of Amendment to Articles of Incorporation filed on April 2, 2020 (28)February 17, 2021 (10)
4.1Form of Warrant (7)
3.64.2Certificate of Designations for Series A Convertible Preferred Stock (27)
4.1Form of the Registrant’s Common Stock certificate*certificate ‌(16)
5.1
4.2Form of Series A Warrant**
4.3Form of Series B Warrant**
4.3Form of Representative’s Warrant**
4.4Form of Warrant Agent Agreement**
4.5Form of Lock-Up Agreement**
5.1Legal Opinion of Hunter Taubman Fischer & Li LLC as to the validity of the Common Stock and Purchase Warrants**(Filed herewith)
10.1
10.1Collaboration Agreement dated December 29, 2015 (7)(8)
10.2
10.2Collaborative Agreement and Milestone Payment Agreement dated June 9,May 6, 2016 (8)(9)
‌10.3
10.3Addendum to the Collaboration Agreement dated January 12, 2017 (9)(11)
‌10.4
10.4Collaboration Agreement with BioFirst dated July 24, 2017 (10)(12)
‌10.5
10.5Co-Development Agreement with Rgene dated May 26, 2017 (11)(13)
‌10.6
10.6Employment Agreement with Dr. Howard Doong (12)(14)

II-5

10.7Employment Agreement with Dr. Chi-Hsin Richard King (13)(15)
‌10.8‌Employment Agreement with Leeds Chow (25)
10.8‌10.9Business Loan Agreement entered by and between Cathay Bank and the Company (14)
10.9Promissory Note entered by The Company (15)American BriVision (Holding) Corporation (17)
‌10.10
10.10Form of Commercial Security Agreement (16)(18)
10.11
10.11Form of Conversion Agreement (17)
10.12Form of Warrant issued to the Holders pursuant to the Exchange Agreement dated April 20, 2020 (22)
10.13Form of Exchange Agreement entered into by and between the Company and the non-US Holder dated April 20, 2020 (23)persons (19)
10.12
10.14Form of Warrant issued to the Holders pursuant to the Exchange Agreement dated April 5, 2020 (24)
10.15Form of Exchange Agreement entered into by and between the Company and the US Holder dated April 5, 2020 (25)persons (20)
10.13
10.16Form of Exchange Agreement entered into by and between the Company and the non-US Holder dated April 5, 2020 (26)person (21)
‌10.14Form of Securities Purchase Agreement entered into by and between the Company and U.S. investors (22)
‌10.15Form of Securities Purchase Agreement entered into by and between the Company and non-U.S. investors (24)
‌10.16Amended and Restated American BriVision (Holding) Corporation 2016 Equity Incentive (28)
10.17Joint Venture Agreement between the Company, Lucidaim Co., Ltd. And BioLite Japan K.K.(26)
‌10.18Amendment to the Collaboration Agreement dated December 29, 2015 (32)
10.19

Form of Securities Purchase Agreement entered into by and between the Company and certain investors dated May 11, 2022 (34)

10.20Clinical Development Service Agreement between the Company and Rgene dated June 10, 2022 (portions of the exhibit have been omitted because they (i) are not material and (ii) is the type of information that the registrant treats as private or confidential) (35)

II-5

10.21 AmendmentPromissory Note dated June 16, 2022 issued by Rgene Corporation to Co-Developmentthe Company (36)
10.22Securities Purchase Agreement (37)
10.23Form of Note (37)
10.24Form of Warrant (37)
10.25Security Agreement (37)
10.26Guarantor Security Agreement (37)
10.27Guaranty (37)
10.28Trademark Security Agreement with Rgene (29)Corporation (37)
10.1810.29 Amended and Restated 2016 Equity Incentive Plan (33)Trademark Security Agreement with BioFirst Corporation (37)
14.110.30 Patent Security Agreement (37)
10.31Copyright Security Agreement (37)
10.32Stock Pledge Agreement (37)
10.33Form of Placement Agent Warrant (37)
14.1Code of Ethics (18)(23)
21.1‌List of subsidiaries‌ (38)
21.123.1List of significant subsidiaries of ABVC*
23.1Consent of Hunter Taubman Fischer & Li LLC (19) (Included in Exhibit 5.1)
23.2
23.2Consent of KCCW Accountancy CorpWWC, P.C. (filed herewith)
99.1
99.1Charter of the Audit Committee (30)(29)
99.2
99.2Charter of the Compensation Committee (31)(30)
99.3
99.3Charter of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee (32)(31)

*As previously filed.
**101.INSTo be filed by amendment.Inline XBRL Instance Document (Fiscal year ended December 31, ‌2022) (33).
101.SCHInline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema Document.
101.CALInline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase Document.
101.DEFInline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase Document.
101.LABInline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Label Linkbase Document.
101.PREInline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase Document.
104Cover Page Interactive Data File (formatted as Inline XBRL and contained in Exhibit 101).
107Filing Fees Exhibit (filed herewith)

 

II-6

(1)Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K, filed on February 16, 2016.

II-6

(2)Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.01 to the Company’s Form SB-2 filed on June 28, 2002.2002

(3)Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.02‌3.2 to the Company’s Annual Report on Form SB-2,‌10-‌K, filed on June 28, 2002.‌March 31, ‌2023.

(4)Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.1 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K, filed on March 28, 2016.

(5)Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.4 to the Company’s Form S-1, filed on September 13, 2016.

(6)Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 into the current reportCompany’s Form 8-K, filed on April 7, 2020

(7)Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.1 the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K, with the Securities and Exchange Commissionfiled on May 8, 2019.April 24, 2020

(7)(8)Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K, filed on February 16, 2016.

(8)(9)Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 99.1 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K, filed on June 9, 2016.

(9)(10)Incorporated by reference to Exhibit ‌3.6 to the Company’s ‌Quarterly Report on Form 10-‌Q filed on ‌May 10, ‌2021.

(11)Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 99.1 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K, filed on February 22, 2017.

(10)(12)Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K, filed on July 24, 2017.

(11)(13)Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 99.1 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K, filed on May 30, 2017.

(12)(14)Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K, filed on September 20, 2017.

(13)(15)Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.3 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K, filed on September 20, 2017.

II-7

(14)(16)Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K,‌S-‌1, filed on February 1, 2019.‌June 14, ‌2022.

(15)(17)Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K, filed on February 1, 2019.

(16)(18)Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.3 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K, filed on February 1, 2019.

(17)(19)Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K, filed on April 14, 2020.

(20)Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K, filed April 14, 2020.

(21)Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Company’s Current Report on August 6, 2019.Form 8-K, filed April 24, 2020.

(18)(22)Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.15 to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K, filed May 15, 2020.

(23)Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 14.1 to the Company’s Amendment No.1 to Form S-1, filed on November 14, 2016.

(19)(24)Included as Exhibit 5.1.
(20)Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 1.110.16 to the Company’s Annual Report on Form S-1,10-K, filed on August 6, 2019.May 15, 2020.

(21)(25)Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.2‌10.6 to the Company’s Form S-1, filed on August 6, 2019.
(22)Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.1 to the Company’s CurrentAnnual Report on Form 8-K,10-K, filed on April 24, 2020.‌March 31, ‌2023.
(23)
(26)Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K, filed on April 24, 2020.October 8, 2021.
(24)
(27)Reserved.
(28)Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.110.17 to the Company’s CurrentAnnual Report on Form 8-K,10-K, filed March 16, 2021.

(29)Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 99.1 to the Company’s Form S-1, filed on April 14,November 24, 2020.
(25)
(30)Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 99.2 to the Company’s Form S-1, filed on November 24, 2020.
(31)Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 99.3 to the Company’s Form S-1, filed on November 24, 2020.

(32)Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.22 to the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, filed on May 16, 2022.
(33)Incorporated by reference to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K, filed March 31, ‌2023.
(34)Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 1.1 to the Company’s ‌Current Report on Form ‌8-‌K, filed May ‌12, 2022.
(35)Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K, filed on April 14, 2020.June 21, 2022.
(26)
(36)Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K, filed on April 14, 2020.June 21, 2022.
(27)
(37)Incorporated by reference to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K, filed on February 24, 2023.
(38)Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.6 to the Company’s Amendment No.2 to Form S-1, filed on June 28, 2019.
(28)Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 in the current report on Form 8-K with the Securities and Exchange Commission on April 7, 2020.
(29)Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.17 to the Company’s Form S-1, filed on November 24, 2020.
(30)Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 99.1 to the Company’s Form S-1, filed on November 24, 2020.
(31)Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 99.2 to the Company’s Form S-1, filed on November 24, 2020.
(32)Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 99.3 to the Company’s Form S-1, filed on November 24, 2020.
(33)Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1721.1 to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K, filed on March 16, 2021.31, 2023.

 

II-7

II-8

 

 

Item 17. Undertakings

 

The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes to provide to the underwriters at the closing specified in the underwriting agreement, certificates in such denominations and registered in such names as required by the underwriters to permit prompt delivery to each purchaser.

Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act of 1933 may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of the registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the Securities and Exchange Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.

The undersigned registrantRegistrant hereby undertakes:

 

(1) To file, during any period in which offers or sales are being made, a post-effective amendment to this registration statement:

 

(i) To include any prospectus required by section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended;1933;

 

(ii) To reflect in the prospectus any facts or events arising after the effective date of the registration statement (or the most recent post-effective amendment thereof) which, individually or in the aggregate, represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in the registration statement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any increase or decrease in volume of securities offered (if the total dollar value of securities offered would not exceed that which was registered) and any deviation from the low or high end of the estimated maximum offering range may be reflected in the form of prospectus filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) (§230.424(b) of this chapter) if, in the aggregate, the changes in volume and price represent no more than a 20% change in the maximum aggregate offering price set forth in the “Calculation of Registration Fee” table in the effective registration statement.

 

(iii) To include any material information with respect to the plan of distribution not previously disclosed in the registration statement or any material change to such information in the registration statement;

 

(2) That, for the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each such post-effective amendment shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.

 

(3) To remove from registration by means of a post-effective amendment any of the securities being registered which remain unsold at the termination of the offering.

 

The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes that:

(1) For purposes(4) That, for the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933 to any purchaser:

(i) If the information omitted from the form of prospectus filed as partRegistrant is relying on Rule 430B (§230.430B of this registration statement in reliance upon Rule 430A and contained in a form ofchapter):

(A) Each prospectus filed by the registrant pursuant to Rule 424(b)(1) or (4) or 497(h) under the Securities Act(3) shall be deemed to be part of thisthe registration statement as of the time itdate the filed prospectus was declared effective.deemed part of and included in the registration statement; and

 

II-9

(B) Each prospectus required to be filed pursuant to Rule 424(b)(2) For, (b)(5), or (b)(7) as part of a registration statement in reliance on Rule 430B relating to an offering made pursuant to Rule 415(a)(1)(i), (vii), or (x) for the purpose of determining any liability underproviding the information required by section 10(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 each post-effective amendment that contains ashall be deemed to be part of and included in the registration statement as of the earlier of the date such form of prospectus is first used after effectiveness or the date of the first contract of sale of securities in the offering described in the prospectus. As provided in Rule 430B, for liability purposes of the issuer and any person that is at that date an Underwriter, such date shall be deemed to be a new effective date of the registration statement relating to the securities offered therein,in the registration statement to which that prospectus relates, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof. Provided, however, that no statement made in a registration statement or prospectus that is part of the registration statement or made in a document incorporated or deemed incorporated by reference into the registration statement or prospectus that is part of the registration statement will, as to a purchaser with a time of contract of sale prior to such effective date, supersede or modify any statement that was made in the registration statement or prospectus that was part of the registration statement or made in any such document immediately prior to such effective date; or

 

The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes(ii) If the Registrant is subject to Rule 430C, each prospectus filed pursuant to Rule 424(b) as part of a registration statement relating to an offering, other than registration statements relying on Rule 430B or other than prospectuses filed in reliance on Rule 430A, shall be deemed to be part of and included in the registration statement as of the date it is first used after effectiveness. Provided, however, that no statement made in a registration statement or prospectus that is part of the registration statement or made in a document incorporated or deemed incorporated by reference into the registration statement or prospectus that is part of the registration statement will, as to a purchaser with a time of contract of sale prior to such first use, supersede or modify any statement that was made in the registration statement or prospectus that was part of the registration statement or made in any such document immediately prior to such date of first use.

(5) That, for purposesthe purpose of determining any liability of the Registrant under the Securities Act of 1933 each filingto any purchaser in the initial distribution of the registrant’s annual reportsecurities, the undersigned Registrant undertakes that in a primary offering of securities of the undersigned registrant pursuant to section 13(a)this registration statement, regardless of the underwriting method used to sell the securities to the purchaser, if the securities are offered or section 15(d)sold to such purchaser by means of any of the following communications, the undersigned registrant will be a seller to the purchaser and will be considered to offer or sell such securities to such purchaser:

(i) Any preliminary prospectus or prospectus of the undersigned Registrant relating to the offering required to be filed pursuant to Rule 424;

(ii) Any free writing prospectus relating to the offering prepared by or on behalf of the undersigned Registrant or used or referred to by the undersigned Registrant;

(iii) The portion of any other free writing prospectus relating to the offering containing material information about the undersigned Registrant or its securities provided by or on behalf of the undersigned registrant; and

(iv) Any other communication that is an offer in the offering made by the undersigned registrant to the purchaser.

The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes to provide to the Underwriters at the closing specified in the underwriting agreement certificates in such denominations and registered in such names as required by the Underwriters to permit prompt delivery to each purchaser.

Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act of 1933 may be permitted to directors, officers, and controlling persons of the Registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the Registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the Securities and Exchange Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the Registrant of 1934 (and, where applicable, each filing of an employee benefit plan’s annual report pursuant to section 15(d)expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer, or controlling person of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934) that is incorporated by referenceRegistrant in the registration statement shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating tosuccessful defense of any action, suit, or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer, or controlling person in connection with the securities offered therein,being registered, the Registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Act and will be governed by the offeringfinal adjudication of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.issue.

 

II-8

II-10

 

 

SIGNATURES

 

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the registrant has duly caused this registration statement on Form S-1 to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized in the City of Taipei and City of Hong Kong, on May 14, 2021.April 24, 2023.

 

ABVC BioPharma, Inc.
By:/s/ Howard Doong
Name:  Howard Doong
Title:Chief Executive Officer

ABVC BioPharma, Inc.

By:/s/ Chihliang An‌Leeds ‌Chow
Name:  Chihliang An‌Leeds Chow
Title:Chief Financial Officer

 

POWER OF ATTORNEY

KNOW ALL MEN BY THESE PRESENTS, that each person whose signature appears below constitutes and appoints Howard Doong as his or her true and lawful attorney-in-fact, with full power of substitution and resubstitution for him and in his or her name, place and stead, in any and all capacities to sign any and all amendments including post-effective amendments to this registration statement and to file the same, with all exhibits thereto, and other documents in connection therewith, with the Securities and Exchange Commission, hereby ratifying and confirming all that said attorney-in-fact or his substitute, each acting alone, may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue thereof.

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this registration statement has been signed by the following persons in the capacities and on the dates indicated.

 

Name  SignatureTitle TitleDate
  
/s/ Howard DoongPresident and Chief Executive Officer May 14, 2021April 24, 2023
Howard Doong(Principal Executive Officer)
  
/s/ ‌Leeds ‌ChowChief Financial Officer April 24, 2023
‌Leeds Chow(Principal Financial and Accounting Officer)
  
/s/ Chihliang AnChief Financial OfficerMay 14, 2021
Chihliang An

(Principal Financial and Accounting Officer)

/s/ Eugene JiangChairman of the Board of Directors and May 14, 2021April 24, 2023
Eugene JiangChief Business Officer  
  
/s/ Tsang Ming JiangDirector May 14, 2021April 24, 2023
Tsang Ming Jiang  
/s/ Che Wei HsuDirectorApril 24, 2023
Che Wei Hsu
  
 Director April 24, 2023
Yen-Hsin Chou  
/s/ Ming-Fong WuDirectorMay 14, 2021
Ming-Fong Wu  
/s/ Norimi SakamotoDirector April 24, 2023
Norimi Sakamoto  
/s/ Yen-Hsin ChouDirectorMay 14, 2021
Yen-Hsin Chou
/s/ Norimi SakamotoDirectorMay 14, 2021
Norimi Sakamoto
  
/s/ Tsung-Shann JiangChief Strategy Officer and Director May 14, 2021April 24, 2023
Tsung-Shann Jiang  
  
/s/ Chang-Jen JiangDirector May 14, 2021April 24, 2023
Chang-Jen JiangDirector  
/s/ Shin-Yu MiaoMay 14, 2021
Shin-Yu MiaoDirector
  
/s/ Yoshinobu OdairaDirectorApril 24, 2023
Yoshinobu Odaira  May 14, 2021
Yoshinobu Odaira 
/s/ Shuling JiangDirectorApril 24, 2023
Shuling Jiang
  
 Director April 24, 2023
Yu-Min (Francis) Chung
  
/s/ Shih-Chen TzengHsin-Hui MiaoDirector May 14, 2021April 24, 2023
Shih-Chen TzengHsin-Hui MiaoDirector
/s/ Hwalin LeeMay 14, 2021
Hwalin LeeDirector  

 

 

II-9II-11

 

0.51 0.52 25053522 31664660 false FY 2022 0001173313