$100,000,000
Common Stock
Preferred Stock
Warrants
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From time to time, we may offer and sell common stock, preferred stock or warrants or any combination of those securities, either individually or in units, in one or more offerings. The aggregate public offering price of the securities offered by us pursuant to this prospectus will not exceed $100,000,000.
This prospectus provides you with a general description of the securities that we may offer. Each time we offer securities, we will provide a prospectus supplement that will contain more specific information about the terms of that offering, including the prices at which those securities will be sold. We may also add, update or change in the prospectus supplement any of the information contained in this prospectus.
The securities offered by us pursuant to this prospectus may be sold directly to investors, through agents, underwriters or dealers as designated from time to time, through a combination of these methods or in any other manner as described under the heading "Plan of Distribution" and in the corresponding section in the applicable prospectus supplement. Each time we offer securities, the relevant prospectus supplement will provide the specific terms of the plan of distribution for such offering and the net proceeds that we expect to receive from such offering.
Our common stock is listed on the NASDAQ Capital Market under the trading symbol "ADMA." Each prospectus supplement will indicate if the securities offered pursuant to that prospectus supplement will be listed on any securities exchange.
The aggregate market value of our outstanding common stock held by non-affiliates is $38,176,850 based on 9,291,823 shares of outstanding common stock, of which 3,054,148 are held by non-affiliates, and a per share price of $12.50 based on the closing sale price of our common stock on November 6, 2014. We have not offered any securities pursuant to General Instruction I.B.6. of Form S-3 during the prior 12 calendar month period that ends on and includes the date of this prospectus.
This prospectus may not be used to sell any of our securities unless accompanied by a prospectus supplement.
Investing in our securities involves certain risks. You should carefully read both this prospectus and the applicable prospectus supplement, as well as any documents incorporated by reference in this prospectus and/or the applicable prospectus supplement, before you make your investment decision. See "Risk Factors" beginning on page 3 of this prospectus and contained in other documents that are incorporated by reference in this prospectus.
Neither the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") 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 date of this prospectus is December 23, 2014.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS
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SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION
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PROSPECTUS SUMMARY
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RISK FACTORS
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USE OF PROCEEDS
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DESCRIPTION OF CAPITAL STOCK
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PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION
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LEGAL MATTERS
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EXPERTS
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WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION
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INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE
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ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS
You should rely only on the information contained or incorporated by reference in this prospectus and any applicable prospectus supplements. We have not authorized any other person to provide you with different information. If anyone provides you with different or inconsistent information, you should not rely on it. We are not making an offer to sell these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted. You should assume that the information in this prospectus is accurate as of the date appearing on the front cover of this prospectus only and that information contained in any prospectus supplement or document incorporated by reference in this prospectus is only accurate as of the date of such prospectus supplement or document. Our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects may have subsequently changed.
This prospectus is part of a registration statement that we filed with the SEC to register an indeterminate number of shares of common stock, preferred stock and warrants as may from time to time be offered for sale, either individually or in units, at indeterminate prices (up to an aggregate maximum offering price for all such securities of $100,000,000), using a "shelf" registration process. By using a shelf registration statement, we may offer and sell from time to time in one or more offerings the securities described in this prospectus.
This prospectus provides you with some of the general terms that may apply to an offering of our securities. Each time we sell securities under this shelf registration statement, we will provide a prospectus supplement and may also provide a free writing prospectus. The prospectus supplement and any free writing prospectus will contain specific information about the terms of that specific offering, including the number and price (or exercise price) of the securities to be offered and sold in that offering and the specific manner in which such securities may be offered. The prospectus supplement may also add to, update or change any of the information contained in this prospectus. To the extent there is a conflict between the information contained in this prospectus, on the one hand, and the information contained in the applicable prospectus supplement, on the other hand, you should rely on the information in the prospectus supplement.
You should carefully read both this prospectus and the applicable prospectus supplement, as well as any documents incorporated by reference in this prospectus (as described under the heading "Incorporation by Reference") and/or the applicable prospectus supplement, before you make your investment decision. The information incorporated by reference includes important business and financial information about us that is not included nor delivered with this document. This information is available without charge on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov or upon written request to ADMA Biologics, Inc.'s Corporate Secretary c/o ADMA Biologics, Inc., 465 State Route 17 South, Ramsey, New Jersey 07446. If any statement in this prospectus, the applicable prospectus supplement or any document incorporated by reference into one of those documents is inconsistent with a statement in another of those documents having a later date, the statement in the document having the later date modifies or supersedes the earlier statement.
Unless otherwise mentioned or unless the context requires otherwise, all references to "ADMA," "ADMA Biologics," the "Company," "we," "us," "our," and similar terms refer to ADMA Biologics, Inc. and its subsidiaries on a consolidated basis. The phrase "this prospectus" refers to this prospectus and any applicable prospectus supplement, unless the context otherwise requires. Whenever we refer to "you" or "yours," we mean the persons to whom offers are made under this prospectus.
SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION
This prospectus and any related prospectus supplement and the information incorporated by reference herein and therein contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 (the "Securities Act"), and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. This information may involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that are difficult to predict and may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by any forward-looking statements. These risks, uncertainties and other factors include, but are not limited to, risks associated with the following:
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our plans to develop and commercialize RI-002,
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the expected timing of and our ability to obtain and maintain regulatory approvals for our product candidates,
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the expected timing, progress and results of clinical development and trials,
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the expected timing of announcing final Phase III secondary endpoints data from our clinical study,
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our plans to increase our supplies of plasma,
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the potential indications for our product candidates,
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potential investigational new product applications,
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our intellectual property position,
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our manufacturing capabilities and strategy,
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our plans relating to manufacturing, supply and other collaborative agreements,
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our estimates regarding expenses, capital requirements and needs for additional financing,
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as well as risks detailed under the caption "Risk Factors" in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2013 and in our other reports filed with the SEC from time to time thereafter. Forward-looking statements describe management's current expectations regarding our future plans, strategies and objectives and are generally identifiable by use of the words "anticipates," "believes," "can," "continue," "could," "estimates," "expects," "intends," "may," "plans," "potential," "predicts," "should," or "will," or the negative of these words or other variations on these words or comparable terminology. Such statements include, but are not limited to:
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projections of revenues, income (including loss), earnings (including loss) per share, capital expenditures, dividends, capital structure and other financial items,
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plans and objectives of management for future operations, including those relating to products or services,
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the projected announcement and availability of complete data,
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potential regulatory submissions and approvals,
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future product advancements, and
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future economic performance, including discussion and analysis of financial condition by management or in the results of operations.
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Forward-looking statements are based on assumptions that may be incorrect, and we cannot assure you that the projections included in the forward-looking statements will come to pass.
We have based the forward-looking statements included in this prospectus on information available to us on the date of this prospectus, and we assume no obligation to update any such forward-looking statements, other than as required by law. Although we undertake no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, you are advised to consult any additional disclosures that we may make directly to you or through reports that we, in the future, may file with the SEC, including Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K.
All forward-looking statements included herein are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements contained or referred to above.
PROSPECTUS SUMMARY
ADMA Biologics is a late stage biopharmaceutical company that develops, manufactures, and intends to market specialty plasma-based biologics for the treatment and prevention of certain infectious diseases. Our targeted patient populations include immune-compromised individuals who suffer from an underlying immune deficiency disorder or who may be immune-suppressed for medical reasons. Our product candidates are intended to be used by physician specialists focused on caring for immune-compromised patients with infectious diseases. Our lead product candidate, RI-002, has been administered to 59 patients in 9 treatment centers throughout the United States in an ongoing pivotal Phase III clinical trial. RI-002 is intended for the treatment of primary immune deficiency disease, or PIDD. RI-002 is an injectable immune globulin derived from human plasma enriched with high levels of naturally occurring polyclonal antibodies (e.g., streptococcus pneumoniae, H. influenza type B, CMV, measles, tetanus, etc.) as well as high levels of antibodies targeted to respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV. RSV is a common virus that ordinarily leads to mild, cold-like symptoms in healthy adults and children. In high risk groups, such as the immune-compromised, RSV can lead to a more serious infection and may even cause death. Our proprietary, unique and exclusive microneutralization assay allows us to standardize RI-002's potency by effectively identifying and isolating donor plasma with high-titer RSV antibodies, thereby allowing us to potentially garner a premium price.
PIDD, a genetic disorder that causes a deficient or absent immune system, is caused by hereditary or genetic defects and can affect anyone regardless of age or gender. PIDD patients are more vulnerable to infections and more likely to suffer complications from these infections. Intravenous immune globulin, or IGIV, is a plasma derived product that is used to prevent serious infections in patients with PIDD. It is comprised of polyclonal antibodies, which are proteins produced by B-cells that are used by the body's immune system to neutralize foreign objects such as bacteria and viruses. RI-002, a specialty IGIV with standardized levels of high-titer RSV antibodies, is intended to prevent infections in PIDD patients. The polyclonal antibodies which are present in RI-002 are expected to prevent infections in immune-compromised patients. It is estimated that there are about 250,000 diagnosed PIDD patients in the United States approximately half of whom are treated with IGIV regularly. In the United States, sales of immune globulin products for all its uses were reported to be approximately $3.5 billion in 2011. Since the introduction of IGIV therapy, the incidence of infections in IGIV-treated patients has dropped significantly.
On December 3, 2014, we announced that RI-002 demonstrated positive Phase III results and successfully achieved its primary endpoint. While final data from the study will be reported during the first quarter of 2015, preliminary analysis indicates that treatment with RI-002 resulted in no serious bacterial infections (SBI) observed in study subjects during the trial. Once final data is available, we expect to file a Biologics License Application, or BLA, with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, during the first half of 2015. The FDA could approve our BLA within approximately one year of filing, and potential first commercial sales could occur as early as the first half of 2016. The trial was conducted as a single arm study in which patients were treated approximately once per month for a period of 12 months plus 90 days for follow up. Fifty-nine patients were enrolled in 9 treatment centers in the United States. The pivotal Phase III primary endpoint followed published FDA industry guidance, which provides for a reduction in the incidence of serious infections to less than one per year in each subject receiving IGIV. The secondary endpoint was safety and included other pharmacokinetic, or PK, data collection points including antibody titers for certain agents, including RSV antibody levels at various time points after infusion. Following the FDA's guidance for our protocol should provide that a successful single Phase III trial and BLA submission should lead to FDA approval. RI-001 was the subject of a Phase II randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled human clinical trial in RSV-infected, immune-compromised patients. In that trial, RI-001 treated patients demonstrated a statistically significant rise in anti-RSV titers compared to patients receiving placebo. RI 002 is an improved formulation of our prior product candidate RI-001. RI-002 is manufactured using the same FDA approved contract manufacturing facility as its predecessor. To date, RI-002 has demonstrated improved production yields, an improved stability profile and comparable anti-RSV antibody titer potency levels relative to the prior formulation.
We operate an FDA-licensed, German Health Authority (GHA) and Korean Ministry of Food and Safety (MFDS) certified source plasma collection facility, ADMA BioCenters located in Norcross, Georgia, which provides us with a portion of our blood plasma for the manufacture of RI-002. In June 2013, ADMA BioCenters received a two-year certification from the GHA. GHA certification allows plasma collected at ADMA BioCenters to be imported into the European Union (EU) and to be purchased and processed by European Plasma Fractionators. During the third quarter of 2014, we completed the expansion of our Norcross, GA ADMA BioCenters facility by securing additional rented space to grow our donor and collection screening areas to meet an increase in market demand for source plasma. We have also entered into a new lease for a second plasma collection center in Marietta, Georgia, and we completed construction of this new facility during the fourth quarter of 2014. In November 2014, we announced the opening of our second plasma collection center in Marietta, Georgia. A typical plasma collection center, such as ADMA BioCenters, can collect 30,000 to 50,000 liters of source plasma annually, which may be sold for different prices depending upon the type of plasma, quantity of purchase, and market conditions at the time of sale. Plasma collected from ADMA BioCenters that is not used for making RI-002 is sold to customers in the U.S. and Europe under supply agreements or in the open "spot" market. We have entered into long term manufacturing and licensing agreements with Biotest AG and their U.S. subsidiary, Biotest Pharmaceuticals, Inc., together referred to as Biotest, that provide for the exclusive manufacture of RI-002. At the same time, we granted Biotest an exclusive, royalty-bearing license to market and sell RSV antibody-enriched IGIV in Europe and in other selected territories in North Africa and the Middle East.
The founders of ADMA have a combined 60 years of experience marketing and distributing blood plasma products and devices. With the appointment of the executive team and the board of directors, we added over 150 years of deep medical, technical and development experience in the biologics and pharmaceutical industry.
Our mission is to develop and commercialize plasma-derived, human immune globulins targeted to niche immune-compromised patient populations. We intend to accomplish our mission by achieving the following:
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report final data and outcomes of our pivotal Phase III trial and obtain FDA approval to manufacture and market RI-002 for the treatment of patients with PIDD;
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establish a specialty sales force to commercialize RI-002;
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explore other possible indications for RI-002;
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develop additional plasma-derived products for the treatment and/or prevention of infectious diseases in immune-compromised patient populations; and
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expand our network of ADMA BioCenters facilities, both to maintain control of a portion of our raw material supply and to generate additional revenue through the collection and sale of source plasma to third party customers.
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Our primary executive offices are located at 465 State Route 17 South, Ramsey, New Jersey 07446, and our telephone number is (201) 478-5552.
RISK FACTORS
Investing in our securities involves risks. In addition to the other information in this prospectus and any prospectus supplement, you should carefully consider the following risks before making an investment decision. The risks and uncertainties described below are not the only ones we face. Additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to us or that we currently consider immaterial may also impair our business operations. If any of the following risks actually occur, our business and financial results could be harmed. In such case, the trading price of our common stock could decline and investors in our common stock could lose all or part of their investment. You should also refer to the information included in our other filings with the SEC, including our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K or Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, as the case may be, and in any applicable prospectus supplement.
Risks Relating to our Business
We have only one product candidate in Phase III clinical development. If we are unable to successfully develop and commercialize this product candidate or experience significant delays in doing so, our business will be materially harmed.
RI-002 is our only product candidate currently in clinical development. On December 3, 2014, we announced top-line data on the primary endpoint from our pivotal Phase III clinical trial of RI-002. The announcement indicated that RI-002 achieved its primary endpoint. We expect to report final data from the trial during the first quarter of 2015. Our success is substantially dependent upon positive final data, achieving regulatory approval and successfully commercializing RI-002. The success of RI-002 and any of our other product candidates will depend on several factors. If we do not achieve one or more of these factors in a timely manner or at all, we could experience significant delays or an inability to successfully commercialize our drug candidates, which would materially harm our business.
We currently generate no revenue from the sale of any products and we may never be able to develop a marketable product. We have invested substantially all of our efforts and financial resources in the development of our human blood plasma platform, the identification of potential product candidates using that platform and the development of our product candidates. Other than with respect to RI-002, our ability to generate revenue from our other product candidates, which we do not expect will occur for many years, if ever, will depend heavily on their successful development and eventual commercialization. The success of RI-002 and other product candidates will depend on several factors, including:
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successful completion of preclinical studies and clinical trials;
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receipt of marketing approvals from applicable regulatory authorities;
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obtaining and maintaining patent and trade secret protection and regulatory exclusivity for our product candidates;
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making arrangements with third-party manufacturers for, or establishing, commercial manufacturing capabilities;
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launching commercial sales of the products, if and when approved, whether alone or in collaboration with others;
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acceptance of the products, if and when approved, by patients, the medical community and third party payors;
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effectively competing with other therapies;
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obtaining and maintaining healthcare coverage and adequate reimbursement;
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protecting our rights in our intellectual property portfolio; and
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maintaining a continued acceptable safety profile of the drugs following approval.
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If we do not achieve one or more of these factors in a timely manner or at all, we could experience significant delays or an inability to successfully commercialize our product candidates, which would materially harm our business.
To date, we have generated limited product revenues and will need to raise additional capital to operate our business, which may not be available on favorable terms, if at all.
To date, we have generated limited revenues. Nearly, all of our revenues to date have been derived from the sale of plasma collected by ADMA BioCenters, as well as our other plasma inventory sales. Unless and until we receive approval from the FDA and other regulatory authorities for our RI-002 product candidate, we will be unable to sell and generate revenues from that product. Therefore, for the foreseeable future, we will have to fund all of our operations and capital expenditures from the revenues that may be generated by the sale of plasma collected by ADMA BioCenters, as well as cash on hand and potential future capital raises. While ADMA BioCenters is committed to maintain compliance with all applicable regulations, we cannot assure you that we will be able to retain the FDA-license, GHA and MFDS certifications for our plasma collection center, which we need in order to sell plasma collected by ADMA BioCenters.
Our long term liquidity will be dependent upon on our ability to raise additional capital, fund our research and development and commercial programs and meet our obligations on a timely basis. If we are unable to successfully raise sufficient additional capital, we will likely not have sufficient cash flow and liquidity to fund our business operations, forcing us to curtail our activities and, ultimately, potentially cease operations. Even if we are able to raise additional capital, such financings may only be available on unattractive terms, resulting in significant dilution of stockholders' interests and, in such event, the value and potential future market price of our common stock may decline.
We anticipate that, based upon our projected revenue and expenditures, our current cash and cash equivalents and short term investments, along with the available funds from Hercules Technology Growth Capital, or HTGC, under an existing Loan and Security Agreement, will be sufficient to fund our operations into the first half of 2016. If our assumptions underlying our estimated expenses prove to be wrong, we may have to raise additional capital sooner than anticipated, and we currently do not have arrangements to obtain additional financing. Any such financing could be difficult to obtain or only available on unattractive terms and could result in significant dilution of stockholders' interests. Failure to secure any necessary financing in a timely manner and on favorable terms could have a material adverse effect on our business plan and financial performance and could delay, discontinue or prevent product development and clinical trial activities or the approval of any of our potential products. In addition, we could be forced to reduce or forego sales and marketing efforts and forego attractive business opportunities.
We are not currently profitable and may never become profitable.
We have a history of losses and expect to incur substantial losses and negative operating cash flow for the foreseeable future, and we may never achieve or maintain profitability. For the years ended December 31, 2012 and December 31, 2013, and for the nine months ended September 30, 2014 we had net losses of $7.3 million, $15.5 million and $13.2 million, respectively, and from our inception in 2004 through September 30, 2014, we have incurred a net loss of $65.9 million. Even if we succeed in developing and commercializing one or more product candidates, we expect to incur substantial losses for the foreseeable future and may never become profitable. We also expect to continue to incur significant operating and capital expenditures and anticipate that our expenses will increase substantially in the foreseeable future as we:
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report final data and outcomes of our pivotal Phase III trial for RI-002;
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seek regulatory approval(s);
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initiate commercialization and marketing efforts;
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implement additional internal systems, controls and infrastructure;
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hire additional personnel; and
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expansion and build out of our plasma center network.
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We also expect to experience negative cash flow for the foreseeable future as we fund our operating losses and capital expenditures. As a result, we will need to generate significant revenues in order to achieve and maintain profitability. We may not be able to generate these revenues or achieve profitability in the future. Our failure to achieve or maintain profitability could negatively impact the value of our securities.
We have a limited operating history upon which to base an investment decision.
We have not demonstrated an ability to perform the functions necessary for the successful commercialization of RI-002. The successful development and commercialization of any product candidate will require us or our collaborators to perform a variety of functions, including:
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undertaking product development and clinical trials;
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participating in regulatory approval processes;
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formulating and manufacturing products; and
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conducting sales and marketing activities once authorized.
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Our operations thus far provide a limited basis for you to assess our ability to commercialize our product candidates and the advisability of investing in our securities.
Our current product candidate, RI-002, requires extensive clinical data analysis and regulatory review and may require additional testing. Clinical trials and data analysis can be very expensive, time-consuming and difficult to design and implement. If we are unsuccessful in obtaining regulatory approval for RI-002 or any of our product candidates don't provide positive results, we may be required to delay or abandon development of such product, which would have a material adverse impact on our business.
Continuing product development requires additional and extensive clinical testing. Human clinical trials are very expensive and difficult to design and implement, in part because they are subject to rigorous regulatory requirements. The clinical trial process is also time consuming. We cannot provide any assurance or certainty regarding when we might complete the clinical trial process or submit a Biological License Application, or BLA, for regulatory approval for RI-002 or whether any such BLA will be accepted or approved. We estimate that clinical trials and the regulatory approval process of our product candidate will take between 12 to 18 months to several years to complete. Furthermore, failure can occur at any stage of the trials, and we could encounter problems that cause us to abandon or repeat clinical trials. The commencement and completion of clinical trials may be delayed by several factors, including:
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unforeseen safety issues;
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determination of dosing issues;
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lack of effectiveness during clinical trials;
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slower than expected rates of patient recruitment;
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inability to monitor patients adequately during or after treatment; and
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inability or unwillingness of medical investigators to follow our clinical protocols.
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In addition, the FDA or an Institutional Review Board, or IRB, may suspend our clinical trials at any time if it appears that we are exposing participants to unacceptable health risks or if the FDA finds deficiencies in our Investigational New Drug Application, or IND, submissions or the conduct of these trials. Therefore, we cannot provide any assurance or predict with certainty the schedule for future clinical trials. In the event we do not ultimately receive regulatory approval for RI-002, we may be required to terminate development of our only product candidate. Unless we acquire or develop other product candidates that are saleable, our business will be limited to plasma collection and sales.
If the results of our clinical trials do not support our product candidate claims, completing the development of such product candidate may be significantly delayed or we may be forced to abandon development of such product candidate altogether.
Even if our clinical trials are completed as planned, we cannot be certain that their results will support our product candidate claims. Success in preclinical testing and early clinical trials does not ensure that later clinical trials will be successful, and we cannot be sure that the results of later clinical trials will replicate the results of prior clinical trials and preclinical testing. The clinical trial process may fail to demonstrate that our product candidates are safe for humans and effective for indicated uses. This failure would cause us to abandon a product candidate and may delay development of other product candidates. Any delay in, or termination of, our clinical trials will delay the filing of a BLA with the FDA and, ultimately, our ability to commercialize our product candidates and generate product revenues. In addition, our clinical trials involve a relatively small patient population. Because of the small sample size, the results of these clinical trials may not be indicative of future results. In addition, certain portions of the clinical trial for RI-002 were performed outside of the United States, and therefore, may not have been performed in accordance with standards normally required by the FDA and other regulatory agencies.
Currently, our only viable product candidate is RI-002. If we do not obtain the necessary U.S. or worldwide regulatory approvals to commercialize RI-002, we will not be able to sell RI-002.
At the present time, our entire focus is obtaining regulatory approval for RI-002, our only product candidate. If we cannot obtain regulatory approval for RI-002, our only source of revenue will be plasma collection and sales. We cannot assure you that we will receive the approvals necessary to commercialize RI-002 or any other product candidate we may acquire or develop in the future. In order to obtain FDA approval of RI-002 or any other product candidate requiring FDA approval, our clinical development must demonstrate that the product candidate is safe for humans and effective for its intended use, and we must submit a BLA. To attain required FDA approval of any other product candidate generally requires significant research and testing, referred to as preclinical studies, as well as human tests, referred to as clinical trials. Satisfaction of the FDA's regulatory requirements typically takes many years, depends upon the type, complexity and novelty of the product candidate and requires substantial resources for research, development and testing. We cannot predict whether our research and clinical approaches will result in products that the FDA considers safe for humans and effective for indicated uses. The FDA has substantial discretion in the product approval process and may require us to conduct additional preclinical and clinical testing or to perform post-marketing studies. The approval process may also be delayed by changes in government regulation, future legislation or administrative action or changes in FDA policy that occur prior to or during our regulatory review. Delays in obtaining regulatory approvals may:
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delay commercialization of, and our ability to derive product revenues from, our product candidate;
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impose costly procedures on us; and
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diminish any competitive advantages that we may otherwise enjoy.
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Even if we comply with all FDA requests, the FDA may ultimately reject our BLA. In addition, the FDA could require that we conduct further studies with more subjects. We may never obtain regulatory approval for RI 002 or any other potential product candidate. Failure to obtain FDA approval of any of our product candidates will severely undermine our business by leaving us without a saleable product beyond the plasma collected by ADMA BioCenters, and therefore without any source of additional revenues if and until another product candidate can be developed and commercialized. There is no guarantee that we will ever be able to develop or acquire another product candidate. In foreign jurisdictions, we must receive approval from the appropriate regulatory authorities before we can commercialize any products. Foreign regulatory approval processes generally include all of the risks associated with the FDA approval procedures described above. We cannot assure you that we will receive the approvals necessary to commercialize any product candidate for sale outside the United States.
We depend on third-party researchers and developers to develop RI-002, and such parties are, to some extent, outside of our control.
We depend on independent investigators and collaborators, such as universities and medical institutions, to conduct our preclinical and clinical trials under agreements with us. These collaborators are not our employees and we cannot control the amount or timing of resources that they devote to our programs. These investigators may not assign as great a priority to our programs or pursue them as diligently as we would if we were undertaking such programs ourselves. If outside collaborators fail to devote sufficient time and resources to our product-development programs, or if their performance is substandard, the approval of our FDA application(s), if any, and our introduction of new products, if any, will be delayed. These collaborators may also have relationships with other commercial entities, some of whom may compete with us. If our collaborators assist our competitors at our expense, our competitive position would be harmed.
A single customer accounts for substantially all of our revenues and, therefore, the loss of such customer could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Substantially all of our revenues are attributed to a single customer, Biotest. Our relationship with Biotest is an arm's length commercial relationship. The loss of Biotest as a customer or a material change in the revenue generated by Biotest could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. Factors that could influence our relationships with our customers include, among other things:
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our ability to sell our products at prices that are competitive with our competitors;
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our ability to maintain features and quality standards for our products sufficient to meet the expectations of our customers; and
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our ability to produce and deliver a sufficient quantity of our products in a timely manner to meet our customers' requirements.
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Additionally, an adverse change in the financial condition of Biotest could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.
Relying exclusively on third parties to manufacture and commercialize our product candidates exposes us to risks that may delay: testing, development, regulatory approval, commercialization and overall manufacturing of our product candidates.
We have limited internal experience in manufacturing operations and do not intend to establish our own manufacturing facilities. We lack the internal resources to manufacture RI-002. Although we have agreements pertaining to the manufacture, supply, storage and distribution of product supplies of RI-002, upon commercialization, it is possible that our manufacturing requirements may exceed the available supply allotments under our existing agreements. We will rely on one or more third-party contractors to manufacture our products. Our anticipated future reliance on a limited number of third-party manufacturers exposes us to the following risks:
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we may be unable to identify manufacturers on acceptable terms or at all because the number of potential manufacturers is limited and the FDA must approve any replacement contractor. This approval would require new testing and compliance inspections. In addition, a new manufacturer would have to be educated in, or develop substantially equivalent processes for, production of our products after receipt of FDA approval, if any;
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third-party manufacturers might be unable to manufacture our products in the volume and of the quality required to meet our clinical and commercial needs, if any;
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contract manufacturers may not perform as agreed or may not remain in the contract manufacturing business for the time required to successfully produce, store and distribute our products;
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product manufacturers are subject to ongoing periodic unannounced inspection by the FDA, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and corresponding state agencies to ensure strict compliance with good manufacturing practice (cGMP) and other government regulations and corresponding foreign standards. We do not have control over third-party manufacturers' compliance with these regulations and standards and our manufacturers may be found to be in noncompliance with certain regulations, which may impact our ability to manufacture our drug product; and
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if any third-party manufacturer makes improvements in the manufacturing process for our products, we may not own, or may have to share, the intellectual property rights to the innovation. We may be required to pay fees or other costs for access to such improvements.
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Each of these risks could delay the approval, if any, of our product candidates by the FDA or the commercialization of our product candidates or result in higher costs or deprive us of potential product revenues.
If physicians and patients do not accept and use our product, our ability to generate revenue from sales will be materially impaired.
Even if the FDA approves RI-002, physicians and patients may not accept and use it. Acceptance and use of our product will depend on a number of factors including:
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perceptions by members of the health care community, including physicians, about the safety and effectiveness of our product;
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cost-effectiveness of our product relative to competing products;
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availability of reimbursement for our product from government or other healthcare payers; and
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effectiveness of marketing and distribution efforts by us and our licensees and distributors, if any.
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Because we expect sales of RI-002, if approved, to generate substantially all of our product revenues other than the revenue attainable from the sale of plasma collected by ADMA BioCenters, the failure of this product to find market acceptance would harm our business and could require us to seek additional financing or make such financing difficult to obtain on favorable terms, if at all.
Our long-term success may depend on our ability to supplement our existing RI-002 product candidate through new product development or the in-license or acquisition of other new products, and if our business development efforts are not successful, our ability to achieve profitability may be negatively impacted.
Our current product development portfolio consists primarily of RI-002. We intend to seek to expand our current portfolio through new product development efforts or to in-license or acquire additional products. If we are not successful in developing or acquiring additional products, we will have to depend on our ability to raise capital for, and the successful development and commercialization of, RI-002 and the revenue we may generate from the sale of plasma attributable to the operations of ADMA BioCenters.
Our loan and security agreement with Hercules is subject to acceleration in specified circumstances, which may result in Hercules taking possession and disposing of any collateral.
On December 21, 2012, we entered into a Loan and Security Agreement, or the Loan Agreement, with Hercules Technology Growth Capital, Inc., or Hercules. Under the Loan Agreement, we borrowed $5.0 million. On February 24, 2014, we amended the Loan Agreement whereby Hercules provided us with an additional $10.0 million of available funding. As of December 15, 2014, we have borrowed an aggregate of $15.0 million ($5.0 million was used to refinance existing debt with Hercules and we accessed an additional $10.0 million of financing). Our obligations under the Loan Agreement are secured by a security interest in all of our assets, except for our intellectual property (which is subject to a negative pledge). The Loan Agreement contains customary representations, warranties and covenants, including limitations on acquisitions, dispositions, incurrence of indebtedness and the granting of security interests. Upon the occurrence and during the continuance of any event of default, including upon the occurrence of any event deemed to result in a material adverse event, Hercules may, and at the written request of the requisite lenders shall, terminate the commitments under the facilities and declare any or all of the obligations to be immediately due and payable, without demand or notice to us. However, any event of default relating to timely payment of debts, insolvency, liquidation, bankruptcy or similar events will result in automatic acceleration. Among the remedies available to Hercules in case of an event of default are the taking possession and disposition of any collateral under the Loan Agreement.
Developments by competitors may render our products or technologies obsolete or non-competitive.
The biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries are intensely competitive and subject to rapid and significant technological change. Should we obtain regulatory approval for RI-002 or any future product we may develop, we will have to compete with existing therapies. In addition, other companies may pursue the development of pharmaceuticals that target the same diseases and conditions that we are targeting. We face competition from pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies in the United States and abroad. In addition, companies pursuing different but related fields represent substantial competition. Many of these organizations competing with us have substantially greater capital resources, larger research and development staffs and facilities, longer product development history in obtaining regulatory approvals and greater manufacturing and marketing capabilities than we do. These organizations also compete with us to attract qualified personnel and parties for acquisitions, joint ventures or other collaborations.
We do not currently own any issued patents and may never have any patents issued relating to our primary product candidate. If we are unable to protect our trade secrets or other proprietary rights, or if the patent applications we have on file do not get approved our competitiveness and business prospects may be materially damaged.
As we move forward in clinical development we are also uncovering novel aspects of our product and are drafting patents to cover our inventions. We do not currently own any issued patents and may never have any patents issued relating to our primary product candidate. Rather, we rely exclusively on a combination of trade secrets and nondisclosure and non-competition agreements to protect our proprietary intellectual property, and we will continue to do so. There can be no assurance that our trade secret policies and practices or other agreements will adequately protect our intellectual property. The processes, systems, and/or security measures we use to preserve the integrity and confidentiality of our data and trade secrets may be breached, and we may not have adequate remedies as a result of any such breaches. In addition, our trade secrets may otherwise become known or be independently discovered by competitors. There can be no assurance that the confidentiality, nondisclosure and non competition agreements with employees, consultants and other parties with access to our proprietary information to protect our trade secrets, proprietary technology, processes and other proprietary rights, or any other security measures relating to such trade secrets, proprietary technology, processes and proprietary rights, will be adequate, will not be breached, that we will have adequate remedies for any breach, that others will not independently develop substantially equivalent proprietary information or that third parties will not otherwise gain access to our trade secrets or proprietary knowledge. To the extent that our consultants, contractors or collaborators use intellectual property owned by others in their work for us, disputes may arise as to the rights in related or resulting know-how and inventions.
Third parties could obtain patents that may require us to negotiate licenses to conduct our business, and there can be no assurance that the required licenses would be available on reasonable terms or at all.
We may not be able to operate our business without infringing third-party patents. Numerous U.S. and foreign patents and pending patent applications owned by third parties exist in fields that relate to the development and commercialization of immune globulins. In addition, many companies have employed intellectual property litigation as a way to gain a competitive advantage. It is possible that infringement claims may occur as the number of products and competitors in our market increases. In addition, to the extent that we gain greater visibility and market exposure as a public company, we face a greater risk of being the subject of intellectual property infringement claims. We cannot be certain that the conduct of our business does not and will not infringe intellectual property or other proprietary rights of others in the United States and in foreign jurisdictions. If our products, methods, processes and other technologies are found to infringe third party patent rights, we could be prohibited from manufacturing and commercializing the infringing technology, process or product unless we obtain a license under the applicable third party patent and pay royalties or are able to design around such patent. We may be unable to obtain a license on terms acceptable to us, or at all, and we may not be able to redesign our products or processes to avoid infringement. Even if we are able to redesign our products or processes to avoid an infringement claim, our efforts to design around the patent could require significant time, effort and expense and ultimately may lead to an inferior or more costly product and/or process. Any claim of infringement by a third party, even those without merit, could cause us to incur substantial costs defending against the claim and could distract our management from our business. Furthermore, if any such claim is successful, a court could order us to pay substantial damages, including compensatory damages for any infringement, plus prejudgment interest and could, in certain circumstances, treble the compensatory damages and award attorney fees. These damages could be substantial and could harm our reputation, business, financial condition and operating results. A court also could enter orders that temporarily, preliminarily or permanently prohibit us, our licensees, if any, and our customers from making, using, selling, offering to sell or importing one or more of our products or practicing our proprietary technologies or processes, or could enter an order mandating that we undertake certain remedial activities. Any of these events could seriously harm our business, operating results and financial condition.
Continued instability in the credit and financial markets may negatively impact our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Financial markets in the United States, Canada, Europe and Asia continue to experience disruption, including, among other things, significant volatility in security prices, declining valuations of certain investments, as well as severely diminished liquidity and credit availability. Business activity across a wide range of industries and regions continues to be greatly reduced and local governments and many businesses are still suffering from the lack of consumer spending and the lack of liquidity in the credit markets. As a clinical-stage biotechnology company, we rely on third parties for several important aspects of our business, including contract manufacturing of drug product, plasma collection supplies, transportation and storage of plasma, and conduct of our clinical trials. These third parties may be unable to satisfy their commitments to us due to tightening of global credit from time to time, which would adversely affect our business. The continued instability in the credit and financial market conditions may also negatively impact our ability to access capital and credit markets and our ability to manage our cash balance. While we are unable to predict the continued duration and severity of the adverse conditions in the United States and other countries, any of the circumstances mentioned above could adversely affect our business, financial condition, operating results and cash flow or cash position.
If we are unable to successfully manage our growth, our business may be harmed.
Our success will depend on the expansion of our operations and the effective management of our growth, which will place a significant strain on our management and on our administrative, operational and financial resources. To manage this growth, we must expand our facilities, augment our operational, financial and management systems and hire and train additional qualified personnel. If we are unable to manage our growth effectively, our business could be harmed.
The loss of one or more key members of our management team could adversely affect our business.
Our performance is substantially dependent on the continued service and performance of our management team, who have extensive experience and specialized expertise in our business. In particular, the loss of Adam S. Grossman, our President and CEO, could adversely affect our business and operating results. We do not have "key person" life insurance policies for any members of our management team. We have employment agreements with each of our executive officers, however, the existence of an employment agreement does not guarantee retention of members of our management team and we may not be able to retain those individuals for the duration of or beyond the end of their respective terms.
If we are unable to hire additional qualified personnel, our ability to grow our business may be harmed.
We will need to hire additional qualified personnel with expertise in commercialization, sales, marketing, government regulation, formulation and manufacturing. In particular, over the next 12 months, we expect to hire up to 15 new employees devoted to commercialization, sales, marketing, medical and scientific affairs, regulatory affairs, quality control, financial services, and general and operational management. We expect that the hiring of such additional personnel will increase our annual expenditures by approximately $2.5 million or more. We compete for qualified individuals with numerous biopharmaceutical companies, universities and other research institutions. Competition for such individuals is intense, and we cannot assure you that our search for such personnel will be successful. Attracting and retaining qualified personnel will be critical to our success and any failure to do so successfully may have a material adverse effect on us.
We currently collect human blood plasma at our Norcross, Georgia and our Marietta, Georgia locations and, if we cannot maintain and/or obtain FDA approval for these locations we may be adversely affected and potentially may not be able to sell and use this human blood plasma for future commercial purposes.
We intend to seek and maintain FDA and other governmental and regulatory approvals of our collection facilities for the collection of human blood plasma. These facilities will be subject to FDA and other governmental and regulatory inspections and extensive regulation, including compliance with current good manufacturing practices, FDA and other government approvals. Failure to comply may result in enforcement action, which may significantly delay or suspend our operations for these locations. We have not yet applied for, nor received, approval from the FDA for the collection and marketing of human blood plasma from our Marietta, Georgia facility. If we do not receive such approval, or if the approval thereof is delayed, we will have increased our expense base without any ability to recognize corresponding revenue.
We may incur substantial liabilities and may be required to limit commercialization of our products in response to product liability lawsuits.
The testing and marketing of medical products entail an inherent risk of product liability. If we cannot successfully defend ourselves against product liability claims, we may incur substantial liabilities or be required to limit commercialization of our products. Our inability to obtain sufficient product liability insurance at an acceptable cost to protect against potential product liability claims could prevent or inhibit the commercialization of pharmaceutical products we develop, alone or with collaborators.
Many of our business practices are subject to scrutiny by regulatory authorities, as well as to lawsuits brought by private citizens under federal and state laws. Failure to comply with applicable law or an adverse decision in lawsuits may result in adverse consequences to us.
The laws governing our conduct in the United States are enforceable by criminal, civil and administrative penalties. Violations of laws such as the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, the False Claims Act and the Anti Kickback Law and the Public Health Service Act, and any regulations promulgated under their authority, may result in jail sentences, fines or exclusion from federal and state programs, as may be determined by Medicare, Medicaid and the Department of Health and Human Services and other regulatory authorities as well as by the courts. There can be no assurance that our activities will not come under the scrutiny of regulators and other government authorities or that our practices will not be found to violate applicable laws, rules and regulations or prompt lawsuits by private citizen "relators" under federal or state false claims laws.
For example, under the Anti-Kickback Law, and similar state laws and regulations, even common business arrangements, such as discounted terms and volume incentives for customers in a position to recommend or choose products for patients, such as physicians and hospitals, can result in substantial legal penalties, including, among others, exclusion from the Medicare and Medicaid programs, and arrangements with referral sources must be structured with care to comply with applicable requirements. Also, certain business practices, such as payments of consulting fees to healthcare providers, sponsorship of educational or research grants, charitable donations, interactions with healthcare providers that prescribe products for uses not approved by the FDA and financial support for continuing medical education programs, must be conducted within narrowly prescribed and controlled limits to avoid any possibility of wrongfully influencing healthcare providers to prescribe or purchase particular products or as a reward for past prescribing. Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the companion Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act, which together are referred to as the healthcare reform law, such payments by pharmaceutical manufacturers to United States healthcare practitioners and academic medical centers must be publicly disclosed. A number of states have similar laws in place. Additional and stricter prohibitions could be implemented by federal and state authorities. Where such practices have been found to be improper incentives to use such products, government investigations and assessments of penalties against manufacturers have resulted in substantial damages and fines. Many manufacturers have been required to enter into consent decrees or orders that prescribe allowable corporate conduct. Failure to satisfy requirements under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act can also result in penalties, as well as requirements to enter into consent decrees or orders that prescribe allowable corporate conduct. In addition, while regulatory authorities generally do not regulate physicians' discretion in their choice of treatments for their patients, they do restrict communications by manufacturers on unapproved uses of approved products or on the potential safety and efficacy of unapproved products in development. Companies in the United States, Canada and the European Union cannot promote approved products for other indications that are not specifically approved by the competent regulatory authorities (e.g., FDA in the United States), nor can companies promote unapproved products. In limited circumstances, companies may disseminate to physicians information regarding unapproved uses of approved products or results of studies involving investigational products. If such activities fail to comply with applicable regulations and guidelines of the various regulatory authorities, we may be subject to warnings from, or enforcement action by, these authorities. Furthermore, if such activities are prohibited, it may harm demand for our products. Promotion of unapproved drugs or devices or unapproved indications for a drug or device is a violation of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and subjects us to civil and criminal sanctions. Furthermore, sanctions under the Federal False Claims Act have recently been brought against companies accused of promoting off-label uses of drugs, because such promotion induces the use and subsequent claims for reimbursement under Medicare and other federal programs. Similar actions for off-label promotion have been initiated by several states for Medicaid fraud. The healthcare reform law significantly strengthened provisions of the Federal False Claims Act, Medicare and Medicaid Anti Kickback provisions, and other health care fraud provisions, leading to the possibility of greatly increased qui tam suits by relators for perceived violations. Violations or allegations of violations of the foregoing restrictions could materially and adversely affect our business. We may be required to report detailed pricing information, net of included discounts, rebates and other concessions, to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, or CMS, for the purpose of calculating national reimbursement levels, certain federal prices and certain federal and state rebate obligations.
We will need to establish systems for collecting and reporting this data accurately to CMS and institute a compliance program to assure that the information collected is complete in all respects. If we report pricing information that is not accurate to the federal government, we could be subject to fines and other sanctions that could adversely affect our business. If we choose to pursue clinical development and commercialization in the European Union or otherwise market and sell our products outside of the United States, we must obtain and maintain regulatory approvals and comply with regulatory requirements in such jurisdictions. The approval procedures vary among countries in complexity and timing. We may not obtain approvals from regulatory authorities outside the United States on a timely basis, if at all, which would preclude us from commercializing products in those markets.
In addition, some countries, particularly the countries of the European Union, regulate the pricing of prescription pharmaceuticals. In these countries, pricing discussions with governmental authorities can take considerable time after the receipt of marketing approval for a product. To obtain reimbursement or pricing approval in some countries, we may be required to conduct a clinical trial that compares the cost-effectiveness of their product candidate to other available therapies. Such trials may be time-consuming and expensive, and may not show an advantage in efficacy for our products. If reimbursement of our products is unavailable or limited in scope or amount, or if pricing is set at unsatisfactory levels, in either the United States or the European Union, we could be adversely affected. Also, under the United States Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, or FCPA, the United States has increasingly focused on regulating the conduct by United States businesses occurring outside of the United States, generally prohibiting remuneration to foreign officials for the purpose of obtaining or retaining business. To enhance compliance with applicable health care laws, and mitigate potential liability in the event of noncompliance, regulatory authorities, such as the United States Health and Human Services Department Office of Inspector General, or OIG, have recommended the adoption and implementation of a comprehensive health care compliance program that generally contains the elements of an effective compliance and ethics program described in Section 8B2.1 of the United States Sentencing Commission Guidelines Manual. Increasing numbers of United States based pharmaceutical companies have such programs. In the future, we may need to adopt healthcare compliance and ethics programs that would incorporate the OIG's recommendations, and train our applicable employees in such compliance. Such a program may be expensive and may not assure that we will avoid compliance issues.
The manufacturing processes for plasma based biologics are complex and involve biological intermediates that are susceptible to contamination.
Plasma is a raw material that is susceptible to damage and contamination and may contain human pathogens, any of which would render the plasma unsuitable as raw material for further manufacturing. For instance, improper storage of plasma, by us or third-party suppliers, may require us to destroy some of our raw material. If unsuitable plasma is not identified and discarded prior to the release of the plasma to the manufacturing process, it may be necessary to discard intermediate or finished product made from that plasma or to recall any finished product released to the market, resulting in a charge to cost of goods sold. The manufacture of our plasma products is an extremely complex process of fractionation, purification, filling and finishing. Our products can become non-releasable or otherwise fail to meet our stringent specifications or regulatory agencies' specifications through a failure in one or more of these process steps. We may detect instances in which an unreleased product was produced without adherence to our manufacturing procedures or plasma used in our production process was not collected or stored in a compliant manner consistent with our current Good Manufacturing Practices, or cGMP, or other regulations. Such an event of noncompliance would likely result in our determination that the implicated products should not be released or maybe replaced or withdrawn from the market and therefore should be destroyed. Once manufactured, our plasma-derived products must be handled carefully and kept at appropriate temperatures. Our failure, or the failure of third parties that supply, ship or distribute our products, to properly care for our products may require that those products be destroyed. Even if handled properly, biologics may form or contain particulates or have other issues or problems after storage which may require products to be destroyed or recalled. While we expect to write off small amounts of work-in-progress in the ordinary course of business due to the complex nature of plasma, our processes and our products, unanticipated events may lead to write-offs and other costs materially in excess of our expectations and the reserves we have established for these purposes. Such write offs and other costs could cause material fluctuations in our profitability.
Furthermore, contamination of our products could cause investors, consumers, or other third parties with whom we conduct business to lose confidence in the reliability of our manufacturing procedures, which could adversely affect our sales and profits. In addition, faulty or contaminated products that are unknowingly distributed could result in patient harm, threaten the reputation of our products and expose us to product liability damages and claims from companies for whom we do contract manufacturing.
Our ability to continue to produce safe and effective products depends on the safety of our plasma supply and manufacturing processes against transmittable diseases.
Despite overlapping safeguards, including the screening of donors and other steps to remove or inactivate viruses and other infectious disease causing agents, the risk of transmissible disease through blood plasma products cannot be entirely eliminated. For example, since plasma-derived therapeutics involves the use and purification of human plasma, there has been concern raised about the risk of transmitting human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV, prions, West Nile virus, H1N1 virus or "swine flu" and other blood-borne pathogens through plasma-derived products. There are also concerns about the future transmission of H5N1 virus, or "bird flu." In the 1980s, thousands of hemophiliacs worldwide were infected with HIV through the use of contaminated Factor VIII. Other producers of Factor VIII, though not us, were defendants in numerous lawsuits resulting from these infections. New infectious diseases emerge in the human population from time to time. If a new infectious disease has a period during which time the causative agent is present in the bloodstream but symptoms are not present, it is possible that plasma donations could be contaminated by that infectious agent. Typically, early in an outbreak of a new disease, tests for the causative agent do not exist. During this early phase, we must rely on screening of donors (e.g., for behavioral risk factors or physical symptoms) to reduce the risk of plasma contamination. Screening methods are generally less sensitive and specific than a direct test as a means of identifying potentially contaminated plasma units. During the early phase of an outbreak of a new infectious disease, our ability to manufacture safe products would depend on the manufacturing process' capacity to inactivate or remove the infectious agent. To the extent that a product's manufacturing process is inadequate to inactivate or remove an infectious agent, our ability to manufacture and distribute that product would be impaired. If a new infectious disease were to emerge in the human population, the regulatory and public health authorities could impose precautions to limit the transmission of the disease that would impair our ability to procure plasma, manufacture our products or both. Such precautionary measures could be taken before there is conclusive medical or scientific evidence that a disease poses a risk for plasma-derived products. In recent years, new testing and viral inactivation methods have been developed that more effectively detect and inactivate infectious viruses in collected plasma. There can be no assurance, however, that such new testing and inactivation methods will adequately screen for, and inactivate, infectious agents in the plasma used in the production of our products.
We could become supply-constrained and our financial performance would suffer if we cannot obtain adequate quantities of FDA-approved source plasma with proper specifications.
In order for plasma to be used in the manufacturing of our products, the individual centers at which the plasma is collected must be licensed by the FDA, and approved by the regulatory authorities of any country in which we may wish to commercialize our products. When we open a new plasma center, and on an ongoing basis after licensure, it must be inspected by the FDA for compliance with cGMP and other regulatory requirements. An unsatisfactory inspection could prevent a new center from being licensed or risk the suspension or revocation of an existing license. We do not and will not have adequate source plasma to manufacture RI-002. Therefore, we are reliant on purchasing normal source plasma to manufacture RI-002. We can give no assurances that normal source plasma will be available to us on commercially reasonable terms or at all. In order to maintain a plasma center's license, its operations must continue to conform to cGMP and other regulatory requirements. In the event that we determine that plasma was not collected in compliance with cGMP, we may be unable to use and may ultimately destroy plasma collected from that center, which would be recorded as a charge to cost of goods. Additionally, if non compliance in the plasma collection process is identified after the impacted plasma has been pooled with compliant plasma from other sources, entire plasma pools, in-process intermediate materials and final products could be impacted. Consequently, we could experience significant inventory impairment provisions and write offs which could adversely affect our business and financial results. We plan to increase our supplies of plasma for use in the manufacturing processes through increased collections at our existing and new plasma collection centers in Norcross, Georgia and Marietta, Georgia, respectively. This strategy is dependent upon our ability to successfully integrate and develop our new center, obtain FDA approval for our new unlicensed plasma centers, to maintain a cGMP compliant environment in both plasma centers and to expand production and attract donors to both centers. There is no assurance that the FDA will inspect and license our unlicensed plasma collection centers in a timely manner consistent with our production plans. If we misjudge the readiness of a center for an FDA inspection, we may lose credibility with the FDA and cause the FDA to more closely examine all of our operations. Such additional scrutiny could materially hamper our operations and our ability to increase plasma collections. Our ability to expand production and increase our plasma collection centers to more efficient production levels may be affected by changes in the economic environment and population in selected regions where ADMA BioCenters operates its current or future plasma centers, by the entry of competitive plasma centers into regions where ADMA BioCenters operates such centers, by misjudging the demographic potential of individual regions where ADMA BioCenters expects to expand production and attract new donors, by unexpected facility related challenges, or by unexpected management challenges at selected plasma centers.
Our ability to commercialize our products, alone or with collaborators, will depend in part on the extent to which reimbursement will be available from government and health administration authorities, private health maintenance organizations and health insurers and other healthcare payers.
Our ability to generate product revenues will be diminished if our products sell for inadequate prices or patients are unable to obtain adequate levels of reimbursement. Significant uncertainty exists as to the reimbursement status of newly approved healthcare products. Healthcare payers, including Medicare, are challenging the prices charged for medical products and services. Government and other healthcare payers increasingly attempt to contain healthcare costs by limiting both coverage and the level of reimbursement for products. Even if one of our product candidates is approved by the FDA, insurance coverage may not be available, and reimbursement levels may be inadequate, to cover such product. If government and other healthcare payers do not provide adequate coverage and reimbursement levels for one of our products, once approved, market acceptance of such product could be reduced. Prices in many countries, including many in Europe, are subject to local regulation and certain pharmaceutical products, such as plasma-derived products, are subject to price controls in several of the world's principal markets, including many countries within the European Union. In the United States, where pricing levels for our products are substantially established by third-party payors, if payors reduce the amount of reimbursement for a product, it may cause groups or individuals dispensing the product to discontinue administration of the product, to administer lower doses, to substitute lower cost products or to seek additional price related concessions. These actions could have a negative effect on financial results, particularly in cases where our products command a premium price in the marketplace, or where changes in reimbursement induce a shift in the site of treatment. The existence of direct and indirect price controls and pressures over our products could materially adversely affect our financial prospects and performance.
The implementation of the healthcare reform law in the United States may adversely affect our business.
Through the March 2010 adoption of the healthcare reform law in the United States, substantial changes are being made to the current system for paying for healthcare in the United States, including programs to extend medical benefits to millions of individuals who currently lack insurance coverage. The changes contemplated by the healthcare reform law are subject to rule-making and implementation timelines that extend for several years, and this uncertainty limits our ability to forecast changes that may occur in the future. However, implementation has already begun with respect to certain significant cost-saving measures under the healthcare reform law, for example with respect to several government healthcare programs that may cover the cost of our future products, including Medicaid, Medicare Parts B and D, and these efforts could have a materially adverse impact on our future financial prospects and performance. For example, with respect to Medicaid, in order for a manufacturer's products to be reimbursed by federal funding under Medicaid, the manufacturer must enter into a Medicaid rebate agreement with the Secretary of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, and pay certain rebates to the states based on utilization data provided by each state to the manufacturer and to CMS, and pricing data provided by the manufacturer to the federal government. The states share this savings with the federal government, and sometimes implement their own additional supplemental rebate programs. Under the Medicaid drug rebate program, the rebate amount for most branded drug products was previously equal to a minimum of 15.1% of the Average Manufacturer Price, or AMP, or the AMP less Best Price, whichever is greater. Effective January 1, 2010, the healthcare reform law generally increases the size of the Medicaid rebates paid by manufacturers for single source and innovator multiple source (brand name) drug product from a minimum of 15.1% to a minimum of 23.1% of the AMP, subject to certain exceptions, for example, for certain clotting factors, the increase is limited to a minimum of 17.1% of the AMP. For non-innovator multiple source (generic) products, the rebate percentage is increased from a minimum of 11.0% to a minimum of 13.0% of AMP. In 2010, the healthcare reform law also newly extended this rebate obligation to prescription drugs covered by Medicaid managed care organizations. These increases in required rebates may adversely affect our future financial prospects and performance. The healthcare reform law also creates new rebate obligations for our products under Medicare Part D, a partial, voluntary prescription drug benefit created by the United States federal government primarily for persons 65 years old and over. The Part D drug program is administered through private insurers that contract with CMS. Beginning in 2011, the healthcare reform law generally requires that in order for a drug manufacturer's products to be reimbursed under Medicare Part D, the manufacturer must enter into a Medicare Coverage Gap Discount Program agreement with the Secretary of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, and reimburse each Medicare Part D plan sponsor an amount equal to 50% savings for the manufacturer's brand name drugs and biologics which the Part D plan sponsor has provided to its Medicare Part D beneficiaries who are in the "donut hole" (or a gap in Medicare Part D coverage for beneficiaries who have expended certain amounts for drugs). The Part D plan sponsor is responsible for calculating and providing the discount directly to its beneficiaries and for reporting these amounts paid to CMS's contractor, which notifies drug manufacturers of the rebate amounts it must pay to each Part D plan sponsor. The rebate requirement could adversely affect our future financial performance, particularly if contracts with Part D plans cannot be favorably renegotiated or the Part D plan sponsors fail to accurately calculate payments due in a manner that overstates our rebate obligation. The healthcare reform law also introduced a biosimilar pathway that will permit companies to obtain FDA approval of generic versions of existing biologics based upon reduced documentation and data requirements deemed sufficient to demonstrate safety and efficacy than are required for the pioneer biologics. The new law provides that a biosimilar application may be submitted as soon as 4 years after the reference product is first licensed, and that the FDA may not make approval of an application effective until 12 years after the reference product was first licensed. With the likely introduction of biosimilars in the United States, we expect in the future to face greater competition from biosimilar products, including a possible increase in patent challenges. The FDA has reported meeting with sponsors who are interested in developing biosimilar products, and is developing regulations to implement the abbreviated regulatory review pathway. Regarding access to our products, the healthcare reform law established and provided significant funding for a Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute to coordinate and fund Comparative Effectiveness Research, or CER. While the stated intent of CER is to develop information to guide providers to the most efficacious therapies, outcomes of CER could influence the reimbursement or coverage for therapies that are determined to be less cost-effective than others. Should any of our products be determined to be less cost effective than alternative therapies, the levels of reimbursement for these products, or the willingness to reimburse at all, could be impacted, which could materially impact our future financial prospects and results.
Developments in the worldwide economy may adversely impact our business.
The difficult economic environment may adversely affect demand for our products. RI-002, our current product candidate, is expected to be sold to hospitals, specialty pharmacies and clinicians in the U.S. As a result of loss of jobs, patients may lose medical insurance and be unable to purchase supply or may be unable to pay their share of deductibles or co-payments. Hospitals adversely affected by the economy may steer patients to less costly therapies, resulting in a reduction in demand, or demand may shift to public health hospitals, which may purchase at a lower government price. While to date we cannot directly trace any material reduction in demand to the recession, if economic conditions do not improve, the impact may become material.
Risks Relating to our Finances, Capital Requirements and Other Financial Matters
We are a clinical stage company with a history of operating losses that are expected to continue and we are unable to predict the extent of future losses, whether we will generate significant revenues or whether we will achieve or sustain profitability.
We are a clinical stage company and our prospects must be considered in light of the uncertainties, risks, expenses and difficulties frequently encountered by similarly situated companies. We have generated net losses in all periods since our inception in June 2004 including losses of approximately $7.3 million, $15.5 million and $13.2 million for the years ended December 31, 2012 and 2013, and the nine months ended September 30, 2014, respectively. We have an accumulated deficit of $65.9 million since inception. We expect to make substantial expenditures and incur increasing operating costs in the future and our accumulated deficit will increase significantly as we expand development and clinical trial activities for our product candidates. Our losses have had, and are expected to continue to have, an adverse impact on our working capital, total assets and stockholders' equity. Because of the risks and uncertainties associated with product development, we are unable to predict the extent of any future losses, whether we will ever generate significant revenues or if we will ever achieve or sustain profitability.
We may require additional funding and may be unable to raise capital when needed, which would force us to delay, curtail or eliminate one or more of our research and development programs or commercialization efforts.
Our operations have consumed substantial amounts of cash since inception. During the years ended December 31, 2012 and 2013, we incurred research and development expenses of approximately $3.5 million and $9.3 million and for the nine month periods ended September 30, 2013 and 2014 we incurred research and development expenses of $6.3 million and $7.6 million, respectively. We expect to continue to spend substantial amounts on product development, including conducting clinical trials for our product candidates and purchasing clinical trial materials from our suppliers. We anticipate that, based upon our projected revenue and expenditures, our current cash and cash equivalents, short term investments, along with the additional funds made available by Hercules under our existing Loan Agreement will be sufficient to fund our operations into the first half of 2016. We have based this estimate, however, on assumptions that may prove to be wrong, and we could spend our available financial resources much faster than we currently expect.
Until such time, if ever, as we can generate a sufficient amount of product revenue and achieve profitability, we expect to seek to finance future cash needs through equity or debt financings or corporate collaboration and licensing arrangements. Other than the Loan Agreement with Hercules and this offering, we currently have no agreements relating to any of these types of transactions and we cannot be certain that additional funding will be available on acceptable terms, or at all. If we are unable to raise additional capital, we will have to delay, curtail or eliminate our product development, including conducting clinical trials for our product candidates and purchasing clinical trial materials from our suppliers.
Raising additional funds by issuing securities or through licensing or lending arrangements may cause dilution to our existing stockholders, restrict our operations or require us to relinquish proprietary rights.
To the extent that we raise additional capital by issuing equity securities, the share ownership of existing stockholders will be diluted. Any future debt financing may involve covenants that restrict our operations, including limitations on our ability to incur liens or additional debt, pay dividends, redeem our stock, make certain investments and engage in certain merger, consolidation or asset sale transactions, among other restrictions. In addition, if we raise additional funds through licensing arrangements, it may be necessary to relinquish potentially valuable rights to our product candidates, or grant licenses on terms that are not favorable to us.
Our cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments could be adversely affected if the financial institutions in which we hold our cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments fail.
We regularly maintain cash balances at third-party financial institutions in excess of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, or FDIC, insurance limit. While we monitor daily the cash balances in the operating accounts and adjust the balances as appropriate, these balances could be impacted, and there could be a material adverse effect on our business, if one or more of the financial institutions with which we deposit fails or is subject to other adverse conditions in the financial or credit markets. To date, we have experienced no loss or lack of access to our invested cash or cash equivalents; however, we can provide no assurance that access to our invested cash and cash equivalents will not be impacted by adverse conditions in the financial and credit markets.
If we fail to maintain proper and effective internal control over financial reporting in the future, our ability to produce accurate and timely financial statements could be impaired, which could harm our operating results, investors' views of us and, as a result, the value of our common stock.
Pursuant to Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and related rules, or SOX, our management is required to report on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. The rules governing the standards that must be met for management to assess our internal control over financial reporting are complex and require significant documentation, testing and possible remediation. To comply with the requirements of being a reporting company under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, or the Exchange Act, we have been required to upgrade, and may need to implement further upgrades to our systems, including information technology, implement additional financial and management controls, reporting systems and procedures and hire additional accounting and finance staff.
Risks Associated with our Capital Stock
The market price of our common stock may be volatile and may fluctuate in a way that is disproportionate to our operating performance.
Our stock price may experience substantial volatility as a result of a number of factors, including:
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sales or potential sales of substantial amounts of our common stock;
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delay or failure in initiating or completing preclinical or clinical trials or unsatisfactory results of these trials;
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announcements about us or about our competitors, including clinical trial results, regulatory approvals or new product introductions;
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developments concerning our licensors or product manufacturers;
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litigation and other developments relating to our patents or other proprietary rights or those of our competitors;
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conditions in the pharmaceutical or biotechnology industries;
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governmental regulation and legislation;
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variations in our anticipated or actual operating results; and
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change in securities analysts' estimates of our performance, or our failure to meet analysts' expectations.
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Many of these factors are beyond our control. The stock markets in general, and the market for pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies in particular, have historically experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations. These fluctuations often have been unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of these companies. These broad market and industry factors could reduce the market price of our common stock, regardless of our actual operating performance.
Sales of a substantial number of shares of our common stock, or the perception that such sales may occur, may adversely impact the price of our common stock.
As of September 30, 2014, almost all of our 9,291,823 outstanding shares of common stock, as well as a substantial number of shares of our common stock underlying outstanding warrants, are available for sale in the public market, either pursuant to Rule 144 under the Securities Act or may become available under registration statements we intend to file in the future. Sales of a substantial number of shares of our common stock, or the perception that such sales may occur, may adversely impact the price of our common stock.
We have never paid and do not intend to pay cash dividends. As a result, capital appreciation, if any, will be your sole source of gain.
We have never paid cash dividends on any of our capital stock and we currently intend to retain future earnings, if any, to fund the development and growth of our business. In addition, the terms of existing and future debt agreements may preclude us from paying dividends. As a result, capital appreciation, if any, of our common stock will be your sole source of gain for the foreseeable future.
Our affiliates control the majority of our shares of common stock. Provisions in our certificate of incorporation, our by-laws and Delaware law might discourage, delay or prevent a change in control of our company or changes in our management and, therefore, depress the trading price of our common stock.
Provisions of our certificate of incorporation, our by-laws and Delaware law may have the effect of deterring unsolicited takeovers or delaying or preventing a change in control of our company or changes in our management, including transactions in which our stockholders might otherwise receive a premium for their shares over then current market prices. Our directors and executive officers and their affiliates beneficially own approximately 67% of the outstanding shares of common stock. In addition, these provisions may limit the ability of stockholders to approve transactions that they may deem to be in their best interests. These provisions include:
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the inability of stockholders to call special meetings;
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the ability of our Board of Directors to designate the terms of and issue new series of preferred stock without stockholder approval, which could include the right to approve an acquisition or other change in our control or could be used to institute a rights plan, also known as a poison pill, that would work to dilute the stock ownership of a potential hostile acquirer, likely preventing acquisitions that have not been approved by our Board of Directors; and
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classification of our board of directors and limitation on filling of vacancies could make it more difficult for a third party to acquire, or discourage a third party from seeking to acquire, control of our company.
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In addition, Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law prohibits a publicly-held Delaware corporation from engaging in a business combination with an interested stockholder, generally a person which together with its affiliates owns, or within the last three years, has owned 15% of our voting stock, for a period of three years after the date of the transaction in which the person became an interested stockholder, unless the business combination is approved in a prescribed manner. The existence of the forgoing provisions and anti takeover measures could limit the price that investors might be willing to pay in the future for shares of our common stock. They could also deter potential acquirers of our company, thereby reducing the likelihood that you could receive a premium for your common stock in an acquisition. In addition, as a result of the concentration of ownership of our shares of common stock, our stockholders may from time to time, observe instances where there may be less liquidity in the public markets for our securities.
If we fail to adhere to the strict listing requirements of NASDAQ, we may be subject to delisting. As a result, our stock price may decline and our common stock may be delisted. If our stock were no longer listed on NASDAQ, the liquidity of our securities likely would be impaired.
Our common stock currently trades on the NASDAQ Capital Market under the symbol ADMA. If we fail to adhere to NASDAQ's strict listing criteria, our stock may be delisted. This could potentially impair the liquidity of our securities not only in the number of shares that could be bought and sold at a given price, which may be depressed by the relative illiquidity, but also through delays in the timing of transactions and the potential reduction in media coverage. As a result, an investor might find it more difficult to dispose of our common stock. We believe that current and prospective investors would view an investment in our common stock more favorably if it continues to be listed on NASDAQ. Any failure at any time to meet the continuing NASDAQ listing requirements could have an adverse impact on the value of and trading activity in our common stock.
We are an "emerging growth company," and may elect to comply with reduced public company reporting requirements applicable to emerging growth companies, which could make our common stock less attractive to investors.
We are an "emerging growth company," as defined by the JOBS Act. The JOBS Act contains provisions that, among other things, reduce certain reporting requirements for qualifying public companies. As an "emerging growth company," we may, under Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act, delay adoption of new or revised accounting standards applicable to public companies until such standards would otherwise apply to private companies. We may take advantage of this extended transition period until the first to occur of the date that we (i) are no longer an "emerging growth company" or (ii) affirmatively and irrevocably opt out of this extended transition period.
We could be an emerging growth company until October 16, 2018, which is the fifth anniversary of the first sale of our common equity securities pursuant to an effective registration statement under the Securities Act. However, if certain events occur prior to the end of such five-year period, including if we become a "large accelerated filer," our annual gross revenues exceed $1 billion or we issue more than $1 billion of non-convertible debt in any three-year period, we would cease to be an emerging growth company prior to the end of such five year period.
We have elected to take advantage of the benefits of this extended transition period. Our financial statements may therefore not be comparable to those of companies that comply with such new or revised accounting standards. Until the date that we are no longer an "emerging growth company" or affirmatively and irrevocably opt out of the exemption provided by Securities Act Section 7(a)(2)(B), upon issuance of a new or revised accounting standard that applies to our financial statements and that has a different effective date for public and private companies, we will disclose the date on which adoption is required for non-emerging growth companies and the date on which we will adopt the recently issued accounting standard. As an emerging growth company, we are also exempt from the requirement to have our independent auditors provide an attestation report on our internal control over financial reporting.
We cannot predict if investors will find our common stock less attractive as a result of our reliance on these exemptions. If some investors find our common stock less attractive as a result of any choice we make to reduce disclosure, there may be a less active trading market for our common stock and our stock price may be more volatile.
USE OF PROCEEDS
We will retain broad discretion over the use of net proceeds to us from the sale of our securities offered hereby. Except as may be otherwise described in a prospectus supplement, we currently anticipate using any net proceeds to us for general corporate purposes, which may include working capital, research and development expenses, general and administrative expenses, and capital expenditures. We may also use a portion of the net proceeds to acquire or invest in businesses, products and technologies that are complementary to our own, although we have no present definitive commitments or agreements for any such transactions on the date of this registration statement. The amounts and timing of our actual expenditures for each purpose may vary significantly depending upon numerous factors, including the actual amount of proceeds we receive, the status of our research and product development efforts, regulatory approvals, competition and economic or other conditions.
Pending the application of such proceeds, we may invest the proceeds in short-term, interest bearing, investment-grade marketable securities or money market obligations.
DESCRIPTION OF CAPITAL STOCK
General
ADMA is authorized by its certificate of incorporation to issue an aggregate of 85,000,000 shares of capital stock, of which 75,000,000 are shares of common stock and 10,000,000 are shares of preferred stock, each with a par value of $.0001 per share.
As of December 19, 2014, ADMA had 9,291,823 shares of common stock issued and outstanding and an additional 1,250,264 shares issuable upon exercise of outstanding options and warrants. Of the 1,250,264 shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of outstanding options and warrants, 942,611 shares are issuable to officers and directors of ADMA, 106,316 shares are issuable to other employees of ADMA, 111,587 shares of common stock are issuable to the representatives and designees of, and transferees from, the placement agent of our securities offering consummated in February 2012 (the "2012 Financing") and 89,750 are issuable to Hercules Technology Growth Capital, Inc. ("Hercules"), our primary creditor. Options to purchase an additional 654,297 shares are available for grant under the 2007 Employee Stock Option Plan, as amended, (the "2007 Plan").
Common Stock
All outstanding shares of common stock are of the same class and have equal rights and attributes. The holders of common stock are entitled to one vote per share on all matters submitted to a vote of our stockholders. The holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of common stock constitute a quorum at a meeting of stockholders for the transaction of any business. Directors are elected by a plurality of the votes of the shares present in person or represented by proxy at the meeting and entitled to vote on the election of directors. Any other action is authorized by a majority of the votes cast, except where the Delaware General Corporation Law, or DGCL, prescribes a different percentage of votes and/or a different exercise of voting power.
All stockholders are entitled to share equally in dividends, if any, as may be declared from time to time by the board of directors out of funds legally available. In the event of liquidation, the holders of common stock are entitled to share ratably in all assets remaining after payment of all liabilities. The holders of common stock do not have cumulative or preemptive rights.
Preferred Stock
No shares of preferred stock are currently outstanding, and we have no current plans to issue preferred stock. The issuance of shares of preferred stock, or the issuance of rights to purchase preferred stock, could be used to discourage an unsolicited acquisition proposal. For example, a business combination could be impeded by the issuance of a series of preferred stock containing class voting rights that would enable the holder or holders of such series to block any such transaction. Alternatively, a business combination could be facilitated by the issuance of a series of preferred stock having sufficient voting rights to provide a required percentage vote of our stockholders. In addition, under some circumstances, the issuance of preferred stock could adversely affect the voting power and other rights of the holders of our common stock. Although prior to issuing any series of preferred stock our board is required to make a determination as to whether the issuance is in the best interests of our stockholders, our board could act in a manner that would discourage an acquisition attempt or other transaction that some, or a majority, of our stockholders might believe to be in their best interests or in which our stockholders might receive a premium for their stock over prevailing market prices of such stock. Our board of directors does not presently intend to seek stockholder approval prior to any issuance of currently authorized preferred stock, unless otherwise required by law or applicable stock exchange requirements.
Warrants
Warrants to purchase 201,337 shares of common stock are outstanding as of December 19, 2014. Warrants to purchase 111,587 shares, exercisable at $7.56 per share, were issued to the representatives and designees of our placement agent from our 2012 Financing and expire after five years in February 2017. The warrants permit cashless exercise if at the time of the exercise an effective registration statement is not available for the resale of the underlying shares. Cashless exercise means that in lieu of paying the aggregate purchase price for the shares being purchased upon exercise of the warrants in cash, the holder will forfeit a number of shares underlying the warrants with a "fair market value" equal to the aggregate exercise price. We will not receive additional proceeds to the extent that warrants are exercised on a cashless basis. The exercise price and number of shares of our common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants may be adjusted in certain circumstances, including in the event of a stock dividend or stock split, certain rights offerings, or our recapitalization, reorganization, merger or consolidation. The warrants are subject to a beneficial ownership blocker, meaning that they may not be exercised, to the extent that after giving effect to the issuance of the underlying shares, the holder of the warrants (together with the holder's affiliates, and any other persons acting as a group together with the holder or any of the holder's affiliates), would beneficially own in excess of the 4.99% of the number of shares of the common stock outstanding immediately after giving effect to the issuance of shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants.
Warrants were issued to Hercules to purchase an aggregate of 89,750 shares, with exercise prices of $7.56 for 31,750 warrants and $7.50 for 58,000 warrants. Such warrants permit cashless exercise, and expire on December 21, 2022.
In connection with the Offering, we may issue, in one or more series, warrants to purchase preferred stock or common stock. The warrants may be issued independently or together with any securities and may be attached to or separate from the securities. If the warrants are issued pursuant to warrant agreements, we will so specify in the prospectus supplement relating to the warrants being offered pursuant to the prospectus supplement. While the following the terms described below will apply generally to any warrants we may offer, we will describe the particular terms of any series of warrants in the applicable prospectus supplement. The terms of any warrants offered under a prospectus supplement for a particular series of warrants may specify different or additional terms than those specified below.
The applicable prospectus supplement will describe the following terms of equity warrants offered:
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the title of the equity warrants;
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the securities (i.e., preferred stock or common stock) for which the equity warrants are exercisable;
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the price or prices at which the equity warrants will be issued;
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if applicable, the designation and terms of the preferred stock or common stock with which the equity warrants are issued, and the number of equity warrants issued with each share of preferred stock or common stock; and
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any other terms of the equity warrants, including terms, procedures and limitations relating to the exchange and exercise of equity warrants.
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Holders of warrants will not be entitled, by virtue of being such holders, to vote, consent, receive dividends, receive notice as stockholders with respect to any meeting of stockholders for the election of our directors or any other matter, or to exercise any rights whatsoever as our stockholders.
The exercise price payable and the number of shares of common stock or preferred stock purchasable upon the exercise of each warrant will be subject to adjustment in certain events, including the issuance of a stock dividend to holders of common stock or preferred stock or a stock split, reverse stock split, combination, subdivision or reclassification of common stock or preferred stock. In lieu of adjusting the number of shares of common stock or preferred stock purchasable upon exercise of each warrant, we may elect to adjust the number of warrants. No adjustments in the number of shares purchasable upon exercise of the warrants will be required until cumulative adjustments require an adjustment of at least 1% thereof. We may, at our option, reduce the exercise price at any time. No fractional shares will be issued upon exercise of warrants, but we will pay the cash value of any fractional shares otherwise issuable. Notwithstanding the foregoing, in case of any consolidation, merger, or sale or conveyance of our property as an entirety or substantially as an entirety, the holder of each outstanding warrant shall have the right to the kind and amount of shares of stock and other securities and property, including cash, receivable by a holder of the number of shares of common stock or preferred stock into which the warrant was exercisable immediately prior to the transaction.
Registration Rights
In connection with the 2012 Financing, we registered pursuant to a registration rights agreement, the resale of 2,500,663 shares of common stock. In addition, certain of our founding stockholders and initial investors are entitled to registration rights with respect to their shares of common stock. We intend to file a registration statement covering the sale of shares held by all of such holders shortly after we file the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part.
In addition, the 66,550 warrants issued to Hercules contain piggy-back registration rights. The sale of such shares will be included in the above referenced selling stockholder registration statement.
Liability and Indemnification of Directors and Officers
Our certificate of incorporation provides that no director is personally liable to us or our stockholders for monetary damages for any breach of fiduciary duty by such director as a director. Nonetheless, a director is liable to the extent provided by applicable law, (i) for breach of the director's duty of loyalty to us or our stockholders, (ii) for acts or omissions not in good faith or which involve intentional misconduct or a knowing violation of law, (iii) pursuant to Section 174 of the DGCL (relating to unlawful payment of dividend or unlawful stock purchase or redemption) or (iv) for any transaction from which the director derived an improper personal benefit. If the DGCL is amended to authorize the further elimination or limitation of the liability of directors, then the liability of one of our directors, in addition to the limitation on personal liability provided in our certificate of incorporation, will be limited to the fullest extent permitted by the amended DGCL. No amendment to or repeal of the relevant article of our certificate of incorporation will apply to or have any effect on the liability or alleged liability of any of our directors for or with respect to any acts or omissions of such director occurring prior to such amendment.
Our certificate of incorporation furthermore states that we shall indemnify, to the fullest extent permitted by Section 145 of the DGCL, as amended from time to time, each person that such section grants us the power to indemnify.
Insofar as indemnification for liability under the Securities Act may be permitted for 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.
Delaware Anti-Takeover Law
We are subject to the provisions of section 203 of the DGCL. Section 203 prohibits publicly held Delaware corporations from engaging in a "business combination" with an "interested stockholder" for a period of three years after the date of the transaction in which the person became an interested stockholder, unless the business combination is approved in a prescribed manner. A "business combination" includes mergers, asset sales and other transactions resulting in a financial benefit to the interested stockholder. Subject to certain exceptions, an "interested stockholder" is a person who, together with affiliates and associates, owns, or within three years did own, 15% or more of the corporation's voting stock. These provisions could have the effect of delaying, deferring or preventing a change of control of us or reducing the price that certain investors might be willing to pay in the future for shares of our common stock.
Staggered Board; Removal of Directors; Certificate of Incorporation
Our certificate of incorporation divides our board of directors into three classes with staggered three year terms. Only one class of directors will be elected at each annual meeting of our stockholders, with the other classes continuing for the remainder of their respective three year terms. Except as the DGCL may otherwise require, newly created directorships and any vacancies on our board of directors, including unfilled vacancies resulting from the removal of directors for cause or without cause, may be filled by the vote of a majority of the remaining directors then in office.
Our certificate of incorporation provides that (i) all stockholder actions must be effected at a duly called meeting of the stockholders and (ii) stockholders may not adopt actions by written consent without a meeting.
The combination of these provisions will make it more difficult for our existing stockholders to replace our board of directors as well as for another party to obtain control of us by replacing our board of directors. Since our board of directors has the power to retain and discharge our officers, these provisions could also make it more difficult for existing stockholders or another party to effect a change in management. In addition, the authorization of undesignated preferred stock makes it possible for our board of directors to issue preferred stock with voting or other rights or preferences that could impede any attempt to effect a change of control of our company.
Future Stock Issuances
Except as expressly set forth herein or pursuant to our equity incentive plan and any successor plans, we have no current plans to issue any additional shares of our capital stock.
Trading Information
We have been a public reporting company since February 13, 2012. Since November 10, 2014, our shares of common stock have been listed and trading on the NASDAQ Capital Market under the symbol "ADMA."
Transfer Agent
Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, 17 Battery Place, New York, New York, serves as the transfer agent and registrar for the common stock. We serve as warrant agent for the warrants outstanding as of the date of this prospectus.
PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION
We may sell the securities covered by this prospectus from time to time. Registration of our securities covered by this prospectus does not mean, however, that those securities will necessarily be offered or sold.
We may sell the securities covered by this prospectus:
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through one or more underwriters or dealers in a public offering and sale by them;
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through a block trade in which the broker or dealer engaged to handle the block trade will attempt to sell the securities as agent, but may position and resell a portion of the block as principal to facilitate the transaction;
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directly to one or more purchasers (through a specific bidding or auction process or otherwise);
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in "at the market offerings," within the meaning of Rule 415(a)(4) of the Securities Act, to or through a market maker or into an existing trading market, on an exchange or otherwise;
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through a combination of any of these methods of sale; or
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at a fixed exchange ratio in return for other of our securities.
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We may sell the securities from time to time in one or more transactions at a fixed price or prices, which may be changed from time to time, at market prices prevailing at the times of sale, at prices related to such prevailing market prices, or at negotiated prices. For each offering of securities hereunder, we will describe the method of distribution of such securities in a prospectus supplement. The prospectus supplements will describe the terms of the offerings of the securities, including:
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the name or names of any underwriters, if any;
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the purchase price of our securities and the proceeds we will receive from the sale;
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any overallotment options under which underwriters may purchase additional securities from us;
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any agency fees or underwriting discounts and other items constituting agents' or underwriters' compensation;
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any public offering price;
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any discounts or concessions allowed or reallowed or paid to dealers; and
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any securities exchange or market on which our common stock or other securities may be listed.
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Only underwriters named in the prospectus supplement are underwriters of the securities offered by that prospectus supplement.
If underwriters are used in the sale, they will acquire the securities for their own account and may resell the securities from time to time in one or more transactions at a fixed public offering price. Unless otherwise specified in the prospectus supplement, the obligations of the underwriters to purchase the securities will be subject to the conditions listed in the sales agreement, as amended, and, subject to certain conditions, the underwriters may be obligated to purchase all the securities offered by the prospectus supplement. We may offer the securities to the public through underwriting syndicates represented by managing underwriters or by underwriters without a syndicate. Any public offering price and any discounts or concessions allowed or reallowed or paid to dealers may change from time to time.
In connection with any particular offering pursuant to this prospectus, an underwriter may engage in stabilizing transactions, over-allotment transactions, syndicate covering transactions and penalty bids in accordance with Regulation M under the Exchange Act.
Stabilizing transactions permit bids to purchase the underlying security so long as the stabilizing bids do not exceed a specified maximum price.
Over-allotment involves sales by an underwriter of shares in excess of the number of shares an underwriter is obligated to purchase, which creates a syndicate short position. The short position may be either a covered short position or a naked short position. In a covered short position, the number of shares over-allotted by an underwriter is not greater than the number of shares that it may purchase in the over-allotment option. In a naked short position, the number of shares involved is greater than the number of shares in the over-allotment option. An underwriter may close out any short position by either exercising its over-allotment option and/or purchasing shares in the open market.
Syndicate covering transactions involve purchases of common stock in the open market after the distribution has been completed in order to cover syndicate short positions. In determining the source of shares to close out the short position, an underwriter will consider, among other things, the price of shares available for purchase in the open market as compared to the price at which they may purchase shares through the over-allotment option. If an underwriter sells more shares than could be covered by the over-allotment option, a naked short position, the position can only be closed out by buying shares in the open market. A naked short position is more likely to be created if an underwriter is concerned that there could be downward pressure on the price of the shares in the open market after pricing that could adversely affect investors who purchase in the offering.
Penalty bids permit representatives to reclaim a selling concession from a syndicate member when the common stock originally sold by the syndicate member is purchased in a stabilizing or syndicate covering transaction to cover syndicate short positions.
These stabilizing transactions, syndicate covering transactions and penalty bids may have the effect of raising or maintaining the market price of our common stock or preventing or retarding a decline in the market price of the common stock. As a result, the price of our common stock may be higher than the price that might otherwise exist in the open market. These transactions may be effected on the NASDAQ Capital Market or otherwise and, if commenced, may be discontinued at any time. We make no representation or prediction as to the direction or magnitude of any effect that any of these activities may have on the price of our common stock or, if applicable, the price for any of our other securities. For a description of these activities, see the information under the heading "Underwriting" or "Plan of Distribution" in the applicable prospectus supplement.
If we use dealers in the sale of securities, we will sell the securities to the dealers as principals. They may then resell those securities to the public at varying prices determined by the dealers at the time of resale. We will include in the prospectus supplement the names of the dealers and the terms of the transaction.
We may sell securities directly or through agents we designate from time to time. We will name any agent involved in the offering and sale of securities and we will describe any commissions payable by us to the agent in the prospectus supplement. Unless the prospectus supplement states otherwise, any such agent will act on a best efforts basis for the period of its appointment.
We may authorize agents or underwriters to solicit offers by certain types of institutional investors to purchase securities from us at the public offering price set forth in the prospectus supplement pursuant to delayed delivery contracts providing for payment and delivery on a specified date in the future. We will describe the conditions to these contracts and the commissions we must pay for solicitation of these contracts in the prospectus supplement.
We may provide underwriters and agents with indemnification against civil liabilities related to this offering, including liabilities under the Securities Act, or contribution with respect to payments that the underwriters or agents may make with respect to such liabilities.
Any preferred stock we offer will represent a new issue of securities with no established trading market. Any underwriters may make a market in these securities, but will not be obligated to do so and may discontinue any market making at any time without notice. We cannot guarantee the liquidity of the trading markets for these securities.
Underwriters, broker-dealers or agents who may become involved in the sale of our securities may engage in transactions with and perform other services for us in the ordinary course of their business for which they receive compensation.
LEGAL MATTERS
The validity of the securities offered hereby has been passed upon for us by Dentons US LLP, New York, New York.
EXPERTS
The consolidated financial statements of ADMA Biologics, Inc. appearing in ADMA Biologics, Inc.'s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2013, have been audited by CohnReznick LLP, independent registered public accounting firm, as set forth in their report thereon, included therein, and incorporated herein by reference. Such consolidated financial statements are incorporated herein by reference 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 subject to the informational reporting requirements of the Exchange Act and file annual, quarterly and current reports, proxy statements and other information with the SEC. You may read and copy any materials we file with the SEC at the SEC's Public Reference Room located at 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549. Please call the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330 for further information on the Public Reference Room. You may also access filed documents at the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. Our Internet website address is http://www.admabiologics.com. Information contained on our website does not constitute part of this prospectus or the registration statement.
This prospectus is part of the registration statement and does not contain all of the information included in the registration statement. Whenever a reference is made in this prospectus to any of our contracts or other documents, the reference may not be complete and, for a copy of the contract or document, you should refer to the exhibits that are a part of the registration statement.
You may request a copy of these filings at no cost by contacting us at:
ADMA Biologics, Inc.
465 Route 17 South, Ramsey, New Jersey 07446
(201) 478-5552
Chief Financial Officer: Brian Lenz
INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE
The SEC allows us to "incorporate by reference" in this prospectus the information in other documents that we file with the SEC, which means that we can disclose important information to you by referring you to those documents. The information incorporated by reference is considered to be a part of this prospectus and may subsequently be updated and superseded as described below. We incorporate by reference in this prospectus the documents listed below and any future filings that we may make with the SEC under Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14, or 15(d) of the Exchange Act prior to the termination of the offering under this prospectus. This prospectus also incorporates by reference any documents that we file with the SEC after the date that the initial registration statement is filed with the SEC and before the effectiveness of the registration statement.
We incorporate by reference the following documents we have filed, or may file, with the SEC:
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our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2013, including the information specifically incorporated by reference into the Annual Report from our definitive proxy statement on Schedule 14A, filed with the SEC on May 16, 2014;
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our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2014;
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our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2014;
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our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2014;
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our Current Reports on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on February 3, 2014, February 27, 2014, March 26, 2014, June 20, 2014 and December 12, 2014;
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all documents filed by us with the SEC under Section 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act after the date of this prospectus and before termination of this offering; and
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the description of our common stock contained in our registration statement on Form S-1 filed with the SEC on February 11, 2013, including any amendments thereto or reports filed for the purpose of updating such description.
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To the extent that any information contained in any Current Report on Form 8-K, or any exhibit thereto, is furnished to, rather than filed with, the SEC, such information or exhibit is specifically not incorporated by reference in this prospectus.
We make available free of charge through our website at www.admabiologics.com our press releases and all of the documents that we are required to file electronically with the SEC, including all amendments thereto, as soon as reasonably practical after they are electronically filed with, or furnished to, the SEC. Our website also contains our Code of Ethics. The information on our website is not part of nor incorporated by reference into this prospectus.
You may also read and copy any materials we file with the SEC at the SEC's Public Reference Room at 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549. You may obtain information on the operation of the Public Reference Room by calling the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330. The SEC also maintains an Internet site that contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding issuers, like ADMA Biologics, Inc., that file electronically with the SEC at www.sec.gov.
In addition, we will provide, without charge to each person, including any beneficial owner, to whom this prospectus is delivered, upon written or oral request of such person, a copy of any or all of the documents incorporated by reference in this prospectus other than exhibits, unless such exhibits specifically are incorporated by reference into such documents or this prospectus. Requests for such documents should be addressed in writing or by telephone to:
ADMA Biologics, Inc.
465 Route 17 South, Ramsey, New Jersey 07446
(201) 478-5552
Chief Financial Officer: Brian Lenz
$100,000,000
Common Stock
Preferred Stock
Warrants
PROSPECTUS
PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT
RAYMOND JAMES
April , 2016