FY 2023 --12-31 false 0001279695 00012796952024-02-20 00012796952023-06-30
 
 

 



 

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

FORM 10-K

 

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

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023

 

or

 

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

For the transition period from ________ to ________

 

Commission file number: 000-52607

 

unilogosm.jpg

Universal Biosensors, Inc.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

 

Delaware

 

98-0424072

(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)

 

(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)

     

Universal Biosensors, Inc.

1 Corporate Avenue,

Rowville, 3178, Victoria

Australia

 

Not Applicable

(Address of principal executive offices)

 

(Zip Code)

 

Telephone: +61 3 9213 9000

 

(Registrants telephone number, including area code)

 

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act: None

 

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

 

Shares of Common Stock, par value US$0.0001 per share

(Title of each class)

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

Large accelerated filer ☐ Accelerated filer ☐
   

Non-accelerated filer

Smaller reporting company

   
 

Emerging growth company

 

1

 

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

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report.

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

The approximate aggregate market value of voting and non-voting common equity held by non-affiliates of the registrant was A$39,940,224 (equivalent to US$26,480,368) as of June 30, 2023.

 

There were 212,369,435 shares of the registrant’s common stock, par value US$0.0001 per share, outstanding as of February 20, 2024.

 

Documents incorporated by reference:

Certain information contained in the registrant’s definitive Proxy Statement for the 2024 annual meeting of stockholders, to be filed with the SEC not later than 120 days after the end of the fiscal year covered by this report, is incorporated by reference into Part III hereof.

 

Information contained on pages F-2 through F-30 of our Annual Report to Stockholders for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023 (our “2023 Annual Report”) is incorporated by reference in our response to Items 7, 7A, 8 and 9A of Part II. The 2023 Annual Report is filed as Exhibit 13 to this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

 

2

 

 

UNIVERSAL BIOSENSORS, INC.

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

 

Page

Part I

   
     

Item 1.

Business

5

     

Item 1A.

Risk Factors

10

     

Item 1B.

Unresolved Staff Comments

21

     

Item 1C.

Cybersecurity

22

     

Item 2.

Properties

23

     

Item 3.

Legal Proceedings

24

     

Item 4.

Mine Safety Disclosures

25

     

Part II

   
     

Item 5.

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

26

     

Item 6.

[Reserved]

28

     

Item 7.

Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

29

     

Item 7A.

Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk

30

     

Item 8.

Financial Statements and Supplementary Data

31

     

Item 9.

Changes in and Disagreements With Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure

32

     

Item 9A.

Controls and Procedures

33

     

Item 9B.

Other Information

36

     

Item 9C.

Disclosure Regarding Foreign Jurisdictions that Prevent Inspections

37

     

Part III

   
     

Item 10.

Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance

38

     

Item 11.

Executive Compensation

39

     

Item 12.

Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters

40

     

Item 13.

Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence

41

     

Item 14.

Principal Accountant Fees and Services

42

     

Part IV

   
     

Item 15.

Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules

43

     

Item 16.

Form 10-K Summary

45

     

Signatures

46

 

Unless otherwise noted, references in this Annual Report on Form 10-K (this “Form 10-K”) to “Universal Biosensors”, the “Company,” “Group,” “we,” “our” or “us” means Universal Biosensors, Inc. (“UBI”), a Delaware corporation and, when applicable, its wholly owned Australian operating subsidiary, Universal Biosensors Pty Ltd (“UBS”), its wholly owned US operating subsidiary, Universal Biosensors LLC (“UBS LLC”) and UBS’ wholly owned Canadian operating subsidiary, Hemostasis Reference Laboratory Inc. (“HRL”) and wholly owned Dutch operating subsidiary, Universal Biosensors B.V. (“UBS BV”). Unless otherwise noted, all references in this Form 10-K to “$”, “A$” or “dollars” and dollar amounts are references to Australian dollars. References to “US$”, “CAD$” and “€” are references to United States dollars, Canadian dollars and Euros, respectively.

 

3

 

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

 

This Form 10-K, together with other statements and information publicly disseminated by us, contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). We intend such forward-looking statements to be covered by the safe harbor provisions for forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and include this statement for purposes of complying with these safe harbor provisions. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our, our customers and partners’ or our industry’s actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from those anticipated by the forward-looking statements. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements about:

 

 

the impact of global economic and political developments on our business, including economic slowdowns or recessions that may result from war or other military conflict and inflationary factors such as increases in the cost of various inputs in our supply chain, each of which could harm our commercialization efforts for our products as well as the value of our common stock and our ability to access capital markets, if required;

 

natural and manmade disasters, including pandemics such as COVID-19, and other force majeures, which could impact our operations, and those of our partners and other participants which operates within our industry;

 

our business and product development strategies;

 

our expectations with respect to collaborative, strategic or distribution arrangements;

 

our expectations with respect to the timing and amounts of revenues from our customers and partners;

 

our expectations with respect to the services we provide to, and the development projects we undertake for, our customers and partners;

 

our expectations with respect to regulatory submissions, clearances, market launches of products we develop or are involved in developing;

 

our expectations with respect to sales of products we develop or are involved in developing and the quantities of such products to be manufactured by us;

 

our expectations with respect to our research and development programs, the timing of product development and our associated research and development expenses;

 

the ability to protect our owned or licensed intellectual property; and

 

our estimates regarding our capital requirements, the sufficiency of our cash resources, our debt repayment obligations and our need for additional financing.

 

The statements in this Form 10-K containing the words “anticipates,” “assumes,” “believes,” “can,” “could,” “estimates,” “expects,” “future,” “illustration,” “intends,” “may,” “plans,” “predicts,” “will,” “would,” and similar expressions constitute forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain such identifying words. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which apply only as of the date of this Form 10-K. The forward-looking statements included in this Form 10-K do not guarantee our future performance, and actual results could differ from those contemplated by these forward-looking statements. Actual results or events could differ materially from the plans, intentions and expectations disclosed in the forward-looking statements that we make. We undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which the statement is made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, those discussed in cautionary statements throughout this Form 10-K, particularly those set forth in section “Item 1A - Risk Factors.” However, new factors emerge from time to time and it is not possible for us to predict which factors will arise. In addition, we cannot assess the impact of each factor on our business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements. Except to the extent required by applicable law or regulation, we do not undertake to update or revise any forward-looking statements.

 

4

 

PART I

 

Item 1. Business.

 

The following discussion and analysis should be read in conjunction with our financial statements and related notes included elsewhere in this Form 10-K. This discussion and analysis contain forward-looking statements based upon current expectations that involve risks and uncertainties. Our actual results and the timing of events could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of several factors, including those set forth in the section entitled “Item 1A - Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this Form 10-K.

 

Business Overview

 

We specialize in the design and development of electrochemical cells (strips) used in conjunction with point-of-use devices that are used in various industries such as healthcare (point-of-care), wine, food and agriculture. Our ambition is to build a multi-product stable of biosensors in large markets which generates ongoing revenue streams. UBI was incorporated as a Delaware corporation on September 14, 2001.

 

Key developments during 2023 include:

 

Revenue from the sale of products increased 67% to $5.64m

 

Total revenue increased 47% to A$6.63 million

 

Gross profit increased 100% to A$4.28 million

 

Operating costs decreased as follows:

 

o

R&D expenses declined by 60% to A$4.97 million

 

o

Total operating expenses declined by 43% to A$20.97 million

 

Net loss after tax and impairment of intangible assets improved by A$20.11 million

 

Completion of Xprecia Prime clinical trials and submission of 510K application to the US (“FDA”)

 

Global launch of Sentia's Fructose, Acetic Acid and Titratable Acidity tests

 

Global launch of the Petrackr blood glucose product

 

First sales of next generation Xprecia Prime in Europe

 

Major tender win to supply Xprecia Prime in Italy

 

Received regulatory approval and first order for Xprecia Prime in India and Malaysia

 

Received regulatory approval for the sale of Xprecia Prime 4U directly to patients for self-testing in Europe

 

The continuing development of our Oncology platform

 

 

 

Description of our business

 

Industry background

 

We operate in the high growth, point-of-care segment of the global in vitro diagnostics (IVD) industry, oenology (wine industry), veterinary blood glucose monitoring and other industries where point-of-use devices are or can be used. A large proportion of testing in the IVD industry, has historically been performed either by using expensive equipment or by trained personnel at dedicated or centralized testing sites including hospital laboratories and commercial laboratories. Similarly, a large proportion of testing in the wine industry, has historically been performed either by using expensive equipment or by trained personnel at dedicated or centralized testing sites including commercial laboratories. Significant interest has developed in techniques and technologies that allow testing to be performed “on-the-spot” in real time. While not all tests are suited to being performed at the point-of-use, we believe our electrochemical cell technology and other technologies could be a suitable platform for adapting a number of tests to a point-of-use format as it offers speed, ease of use, reliability, accuracy at a low cost in alternative industries.

 

Point-of-use tests in development and partnering strategy

 

We continue to demonstrate the broader application of our technology platform for markets with significant commercial potential and have developed products in blood glucose, a coagulation Prothrombin Time International Normalized Ratio (“PT-INR”) test and chemical tests for the wine industry.

 

We continue to invest an appropriate amount of resources into the development of new products and technologies across various industries including oncology, fertility, aptamers, per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (“PFAS”), Sentia alcohol and heavy metals.

 

5

 

We use various channels to sell our products and they include direct sales and the engagement of distributors and agents.

 

Principal products and services

 

We are the manufacturer and distributor of PT-INR coagulation test strips and devices (Xprecia Stride and Xprecia Prime), used to monitor the effect of the anticoagulant therapy warfarin. Xprecia Stride and Xprecia Prime are medical devices.

 

We are the manufacturer and distributor of all the Sentia wine testing products which includes Free SO₂, Malic Acid, Glucose, Fructose, Total Acid and Titratable Acidity. Sentia is a non-medical device.

 

We are the manufacturer and distributor of the Petrackr which is a blood glucose test used in cats and dogs.

 

HRL provides non-diagnostic laboratory services and performs coagulation testing services.

 

UBS continues to conduct research and development to demonstrate the broader application of its technology platform.

 

Facilities

 

UBS leases approximately 5,000 square meters of office, research and development and manufacturing facilities at 1 Corporate Avenue, Rowville in Melbourne, Australia. UBS has had ISO 13485 certification continuously at that site since May 2007. The lease for 1 Corporate Avenue expires on December 31, 2025 with an option to renew the lease for two further terms of five years each.

 

On June 28, 2021, HRL entered a premises lease to occupy approximately 418 square meters of office and laboratory facilities at 44 Frid Street, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The lease commenced in February 2022, with a ten-year contractual period. HRL relocated to the new premises in February 2022. The lease does not include an option to renew the lease for a further term. HRL holds an ISO 13485:2016 certification.

 

Raw materials

 

Raw materials essential to our business are purchased worldwide in the ordinary course of business from numerous suppliers. In general, these materials are available from multiple sources. Certain of our products in development may be more reliant on sole sources of supply. The use of sole sourced materials may be due to sourcing of proprietary and/or patented technology and processes that are intended to provide a unique market differentiation to our product. UBI continuously assesses its sole sourced raw materials and maintains business continuity plans with its suppliers. UBI’s continuity plans may include securing secondary supply with alternate suppliers, qualification of alternate manufacturing facilities, maintaining contingency stock and securing a long lead time for the supply of raw materials once notice of termination is given by the supplier. While UBI works closely with its suppliers, there may nonetheless be events that cause supply interruption, reduction or termination that adversely impacts UBI’s ability to manufacture and sell certain products.

 

Distribution

 

Order back log is not material to our business in as much as orders for our products generally are received and filled on a current basis. Our worldwide revenue for Xprecia Stride, Xprecia Prime, Petrackr and for the provision of non-diagnostic laboratory and coagulation testing services are not generally seasonal. Our worldwide revenue for certain of our Sentia products is seasonal based on the respective grape harvest seasons in each territory.

 

Regulatory clearances

 

UBI’s medical device products and operations are subject to regulation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) and various other federal and state agencies, as well as by foreign governmental agencies. These agencies enforce laws and regulations that govern the development, testing, manufacturing, labelling, advertising, marketing and distribution, and market surveillance of UBI’s medical devices products. These products are also developed, manufactured and sold under an international quality system standard known as ISO 13485.

 

UBI’s Petrackr (animal device) and Sentia (non-medical) products are subject to regulation by product safety regulations by government agencies in multiple jurisdictions. These agencies enforce laws and regulations that govern the safety aspects for development, testing, manufacturing, labelling, advertising, marketing and distribution, and market surveillance of UBI’s products. These products are also developed, manufactured and sold under an international quality system standard known as ISO 9001.

 

6

 

UBI actively maintains FDA/ISO Quality Systems that establish standards for its product design, manufacturing, and distribution processes. Prior to marketing or selling most of its medical products, UBI must secure approval from the FDA and counterpart non-U.S. regulatory agencies. Following the introduction of a product, these agencies may engage in periodic reviews of UBI’s quality systems, as well as product performance and advertising and promotional materials. These regulatory controls, as well as any changes in FDA policies, can affect the time and cost associated with the development, introduction and continued availability of new products. Where possible, UBI anticipates these factors in its product development and planning processes. These agencies possess the authority to take various administrative and legal actions against UBI, such as product recalls, product seizures and other civil and criminal sanctions.

 

UBI also is subject to various federal and state laws, and laws outside the United States, concerning healthcare fraud and abuse (including false claims laws and anti-kickback laws), global anti-corruption, transportation, safety and health, and customs and exports. Many of the agencies enforcing these laws have increased their enforcement activities with respect to medical device manufacturers in recent years.

 

UBI believes it is in compliance in all material respects with applicable law and the regulations promulgated by the applicable agencies (including, without limitation, environmental laws and regulations), and that such compliance has not had, and will not have, a material adverse effect on our operations or results.

 

The importance and duration of all our patents, trademarks and licenses

 

We rely on a combination of patent, copyright, trademark and trade secret laws, as well as confidentiality agreements, to establish and protect our proprietary rights which in the aggregate we believe to be of material importance to us in the operation of our business. Our continued success depends to a large extent on our ability to protect and maintain our owned and licensed patents and patent applications, copyright, trademark and trade secrets.

 

Our point-of-use tests in development draw upon an extensive portfolio of patents and patent applications as well as know-how either owned by UBS or licensed to UBS. We patent the technology, inventions and improvements that we consider important to the development of our business.

 

We rely on the owned patent applications and the patents and patent applications licensed to us in the manufacture of the point-of-use tests being developed by us and to enable us to grant rights to our customers and partners to commercialize products that we may develop.

 

Our owned and licensed patents extend for varying periods according to the date of patent filing or grant and the legal term of patents in the various countries where patent protection is obtained. The actual protection afforded by a patent, which can vary from country to country, depends upon the type of patent, the scope of its coverage and the availability of legal remedies in the country. We maintain the owned and licensed patents and patent applications that we consider most significant by virtue of their importance to our platform.

 

We intend to continue to file and prosecute patent applications when and where appropriate to attempt to protect our rights in our proprietary technologies.

 

Our ability to build and maintain our proprietary position for our technology and products will depend on our success in obtaining effective claims and those claims being enforced once granted and, with respect to intellectual property licensed to us, the licensee’s success in obtaining effective claims and those claims being enforced once granted. The patent positions of companies like ours are generally uncertain and involve complex legal and factual questions for which important legal principles remain unresolved. Some countries in which we or our customers or partners may seek approval to sell point of use tests that we have been involved in developing, may fail to protect our owned and licensed intellectual property rights to the same extent as the protection that may be afforded in the United States or Australia. Some legal principles remain unresolved and there has not been a consistent policy regarding the breadth or interpretation of claims allowed in patents in the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union, Australia or elsewhere. In addition, the specific content of patents and patent applications that are necessary to support and interpret patent claims is highly uncertain due to the complex nature of the relevant legal, scientific and factual issues. Changes in either patent laws or in interpretations of patent laws in the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union, Australia or elsewhere may diminish the value of our intellectual property or narrow the scope of our patent protection.

 

Trademarks

 

We own the “SENTIA” trademark which we use to market our wine testing products and the “PETRACKR” trademark which we use to market our blood glucose test to detect and monitor diabetes in non-humans.

 

7

 

The practices of the registrant and the industry (respective industries) relating to working capital items

 

The nature of the Company's business requires it to maintain sufficient levels of inventory to meet contractually agreed delivery requirements of its customers. Significant amounts of inventory are not retained by the Company as it does not have to meet rapid delivery requirements. The Company provides its customers with payment terms prevalent in the industry. The Company generally does not provide extended payment terms to its customers.

 

Dependence on single customer

 

Our total income as disclosed below is attributed to countries based on location of customer. Location has been determined generally based on contractual arrangements. Total income includes revenue from products and services, interest income, research and development tax incentive income and other income as disclosed in the Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income/(Loss).

 

   

Year Ended December 31,

 
   

2023

   

2022

 
   

A$

   

A$

 

Australia (home country)

    4,823,076       4,978,712  

Americas

    1,913,892       1,387,556  

Europe

    2,295,455       2,841,678  

Other

    2,006,822       150,082  

Total income

    11,039,245       9,358,028  

 

% of total revenue from products and services derived from major customers (revenue generated by customers having sales of more than 10% has been disclosed separately in the table below):

 

   

Year Ended December 31,

 
   

2023

   

2022

 

Siemens

    0 %     13 %

Other

    100 %     87 %

 

Siemens rights to sell Xprecia products pursuant to the Commercial and Distribution agreement ended formally on March 31, 2023. We are not dependent on a single customer now.

 

We did not have any significant backlog orders as of December 31, 2023 and 2022.

 

Competitive conditions of our business

 

UBI operates in the increasingly challenging medical devices and non-medical devices technology marketplace. Technological advances and scientific discoveries have accelerated the pace of change in technology. The regulatory environment of medical devices products is becoming more complex and vigorous, and economic conditions have resulted in a challenging market. Companies of varying sizes compete in the global technology field. Some are more specialized than UBI with respect to particular markets, and some have greater financial resources than UBI. New companies have entered the field and established companies have diversified their business activities into the technology area. Acquisitions and collaborations by and among companies seeking a competitive advantage also affect the competitive environment.

 

UBI competes in this evolving marketplace on the basis of many factors, including price, quality, innovation, service, reputation, distribution and promotion. In order to remain competitive in the industries in which UBI operates, it continues to make investments in research and development, quality management, quality improvement, product innovation and productivity improvement.

 

Human capital management

 

Through our long operating history and experience with technological innovation, we appreciate the importance of retention, growth and development of our employees. The Company has a talented, motivated, and dedicated team, and is committed to supporting the development of all of its team members and to continuously building on its strong culture. As of February 20, 2024, the Company had approximately 80 employees located in Australia, Canada, the United States and Europe. Females represent 45% of our workforce, including 25% of senior management. 98% of our workforce are permanently employed to ensure throughput of growth and development. None of our employees are subject to a collective bargaining agreement.

 

8

 

The Company believes that success of its mission is realized by the engagement and empowerment of its employees. The CEO and Head of People Strategy & Culture regularly update the Company’s Board of Directors (“the Board of Directors”) and its committees on the status of the human capital trends and activities within the business. Our management and cross-functional teams work closely to evaluate human capital management issues such as staff retention, workplace safety, harassment and bullying, as well as to implement measures to mitigate these risks.

 

Workplace Practices and Policies

The Company is committed to providing a workplace free of harassment or discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status, caste or other legally protected characteristic. The Company is an equal opportunity employer committed to inclusion and diversity.

 

Compensation and Benefits

The Company recognizes its people are most likely to thrive when they have the resources to meet their needs and the time and support to succeed in their professional and personal lives. In support of this, we believe the Company offers compensation in each of our locations around the globe that is competitive (including salary, incentive bonus and equity), equitable and enables employees to share in the Company’s success. Further to monetary rewards, the Company provides a family-friendly environment where staff can organize hybrid work arrangements where required.

 

Growth and Development

The Company invests in tools and resources that support employees’ individual growth and development. The Company offers professional development opportunities including leadership training and have development programs and on-demand opportunities to cultivate talent throughout the Company. Training needs are identified at the start of each year when corporate and departmental objectives are communicated. Strategic talent reviews and succession planning discussions takes place annually, as an extension to annual performance reviews, across all business areas. The CEO and Head of People Strategy & Culture meet with senior management and the Board of Directors to review top enterprise talent. The Company continues to provide opportunities for employees to grow their careers with over half of the open management positions filled internally during 2023.

 

Inclusion and Diversity

The Company is committed to hiring inclusively, providing training and development opportunities, fostering an inclusive culture, and ensuring equitable pay for employees, and is continuing to focus on increasing diverse representation at every level of the Company.

 

Engagement

The Company believes that open and honest communication among team members; managers and leadership foster an open, collaborative work environment where everyone can participate, develop and thrive. Team members are encouraged to come to their managers with questions, feedback or concerns, and the Company regularly conducts surveys that gauge employee sentiment in areas like career development and overall workplace satisfaction. Excluding senior management, staff to manager ratio is 16.2 – this enables effective and efficient management that supports optimum employee engagement.

 

Health and Safety

The Company is committed to protecting its employees everywhere it operates. The Company identifies potential risks associated with workplace activities in order to develop measures to mitigate possible hazards. The Company supports employees with general safety training and puts specific programs in place for those working in potentially high-hazard environments, including chemical management, equipment and machinery safety, hazardous materials management and electrical safety. The Company’s Safety Committee generally meet monthly to review any incidents, implement additional or update existing safety procedures across the whole operation. During the year ended December 31, 2023, zero safety incidents were achieved. Separately, the Company views mental health as a fundamental part of our humanity and implemented a comprehensive Employee Assistance Program in 2021. The program offers a wide-ranging suite of online resources, including mental health coaching and training to help managers recognize and respond to signs of mental health issues.

 

Available Information         

 

We are required to file a Form 10-K as a result of UBI being registered under the Exchange Act.

 

We file annual and quarterly reports, proxy statements and other information with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), copies of which are available on ASX. Our public filings (including our Annual Report on Form 10-K and proxy statement) are also available at the website maintained by us at http://universalbiosensors.com and the SEC at http://www.sec.gov.

 

We provide without charge to each person solicited by the Proxy Statement a copy of our Annual Report on Form 10-K, including our financial statements but excluding the exhibits to Form 10-K other than Exhibit 13. The Annual Report includes a list of the exhibits that were filed with the Form 10-K, and we will furnish a copy of any such exhibit to any person who requests it upon the payment of our reasonable expenses in providing the requested exhibit. For further information, please contact our Company Secretary at companysecretary@universalbiosensors.com or 1 Corporate Avenue, Rowville VIC 3178 Australia.

 

Our Corporate Governance Statement issued in accordance with ASX Listing Rule 4.10.3 reporting compliance against the ASX Corporate Governance Principles and Recommendations is available at https://www.universalbiosensors.com/investor-centre/corporate-governance.

 

9

 

 

Item 1A. Risk Factors.

 

Investing in our shares or CDIs involves a high degree of risk. Before you invest in our shares or CDIs, you should understand the high degree of risk involved. You should carefully consider the following risks and other information in this Form 10-K, including our financial statements and related notes appearing elsewhere in this Form 10-K, before you decide to invest in our shares or CDIs. If any of the events described below actually occurs, our business, financial condition and operating results could be harmed. In such an event, the market price of our CDIs would likely decline and you could lose part or all of your investment.

 

Key Business Risks

 

We may face challenges in marketing and selling our products, and training new customers on the use of our products which could impact our revenues.

 

Our financial condition and operating results are and will continue to be highly dependent on our ability to adequately promote, market and sell our products, and our ability to train new customers on the use of our products. If our sales and marketing representatives fail to achieve their objectives, our sales could decrease or may not increase at levels that are in line with our forecasts.

 

We believe a majority of our sales will be to independent distributors for the foreseeable future who may also sell the products of our competitors. If we are unable to maintain or expand our network of independent distributors, our revenues may be negatively impacted.

 

If any of our key independent distributors were to cease to distribute our products or reduce their promotion of our products as compared to the products of our competitors, our sales could be adversely affected. In that case, we may need to seek alternative independent distributors or increase our reliance on our other independent distributors, or we may engage direct sales representatives, which may not prevent our revenues from being adversely affected. Additionally, to the extent we enter into additional arrangements with independent distributors to perform sales, marketing or distribution services, the terms of the arrangements could result in our product margins being lower than if we directly marketed and sold our products.

 

Our products may not be successful in the marketplace.

 

Our success and the success of the products that we develop, manufacture and distribute is ultimately dependent on the level of continued market acceptance and sales of such products. Continued market acceptance will depend on, amongst other things, the ability to provide and maintain evidence of safety, efficacy and cost effectiveness of our products, the advantages and profile over competing products, the level of support from the industry experts, the relative convenience and ease of use, cost-effectiveness compared to other products, the availability of reimbursement from national health authorities, the timing of regulatory clearances and market introduction and the success of marketing and sales efforts by our customers and partners. Additionally, it is difficult to determine the market opportunity for new technologies and our estimates may not accurately reflect the actual demand in the target markets or new competitive product introductions may disrupt current market conditions and decrease our commercial opportunities and impact on our revenue.

 

Our commercial opportunities will be reduced or eliminated if the size of the market opportunity is less than we expect or if our competitors develop and commercialize products that are safer, more effective, more convenient, less expensive, or reach markets sooner or are marketed better than the products that we develop, manufacture and distribute or are currently being marketed by our partners.

 

We cannot be sure that any other products that we develop, manufacture and distribute will be successful in the marketplace or will secure and maintain adequate market share.

 

Our ability to be or maintain profitability in the future will be adversely affected if any of the products that we develop, manufacture and distribute fail to achieve or maintain market acceptance or compete effectively in the market place. It may render prior development efforts unproductive and worthless and would reduce or eliminate our revenues from product sales and/or manufacturing and may have a material adverse effect on our business and financial position.

 

We may enter into collaborations, licensing arrangements, strategic alliances or partnerships with third parties that may not result in the development of commercially viable products or the generation of significant future revenues or our business would be severely harmed if our key contracts are terminated, or if counterparties to our key contracts do not meet their performance obligations under those contracts.

 

In the ordinary course of our business, we may enter into collaborations, licensing arrangements, strategic alliances or partnerships to develop proposed products or technologies, pursue new markets, or protect our intellectual property assets. We may also elect to amend or modify similar agreements that we already have in place. Proposing, negotiating and implementing collaborations, licensing arrangements, strategic alliances or partnerships may be a lengthy and complex process, and may subject us to business risks. For example, other companies, including those with substantially greater financial, marketing, sales, technology or other business resources, may compete with us for these opportunities, or may be the counterparty in any such arrangements. We may not be able to identify or complete any such collaboration in a timely manner, on a cost-effective basis, on acceptable terms or at all. In addition, we may not realize the anticipated benefits of any such collaborations that we do identify and complete. In particular, these collaborations may not result in the development of products or technologies that achieve commercial success or result in positive financial results, or may otherwise fail to have the intended impact on our business.

 

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Additionally, we may not be in a position to exercise sole decision-making authority regarding a collaboration, licensing or other similar arrangement, which could create the potential risk of creating impasses on decisions. Further, our collaborators and business partners may have economic or business interests or goals that are, or that may become, inconsistent with our business interests or goals. It is possible that conflicts may arise with our collaborators and other business partners, such as conflicts concerning the achievement of performance milestones, or the interpretation of significant terms under any agreement, such as those related to financial obligations, termination rights or the ownership or control of intellectual property developed during the collaboration. If any conflicts arise with our current or future collaborators, they may act in their self-interest, which may be adverse to our best interest, and they may breach their obligations to us. In addition, we have limited control over the amount and timing of resources that our current collaborators or any future collaborators devote to our arrangement with them or our future products. Disputes between us and our current, future or potential collaborators may result in litigation or arbitration which would increase our expenses and divert the attention of our management. Further, these transactions and arrangements are contractual in nature and may be terminated or dissolved under the terms of the applicable agreements and, in such event, we may not continue to have rights to the products relating to such transaction or arrangement or may need to purchase such rights at a premium.

 

For example, we entered into a license agreement with LifeScan Global Corporation, which provide us exclusive license to develop a test strip and meter to be used for the detection and monitoring of diabetes in non-humans. Under certain circumstances, the agreement may be terminated by LifeScan Global Corporation including if we don’t launch the product within a specified period of time, if the product is not launched in certain key territories within a specified period of time and if rolling twelve months sales falls below a certain level after a specified period of time. The termination of our existing license agreement with LifeScan Global Corporation would disrupt our ability to commercialize the product which could have a material adverse impact on our financial condition and results of operations, negatively impact our ability to compete and cause our stock price to decline.

 

Furthermore, the License Agreement with LifeScan imposes material obligations on us. LifeScan may terminate the License Agreement if we fail to use commercially reasonable efforts to commercialise and fail to provide evidence of our compliance within 90 days of written notice, are liquidated or wound up, or are in persistent and material breach of our obligations and fail to remedy the breach within 90 days of written notice requiring us to do so. If we were to breach the License Agreement and LifeScan were to validly terminate the agreement in response, it would severely and adversely affect our financial results, business and business prospects and the future of our research and development activities. Amongst other things, it would seriously restrict or eliminate our ability to develop and commercialize our own tests and our ability to grant further sublicenses, which would restrict or eliminate our commercialization opportunities. If the License Agreement was terminated, any sublicense under the License Agreement previously granted by us to a third party that is in effect immediately prior to such termination would survive termination as a direct license from LifeScan to such sublicensee, provided certain conditions are met, including that the sublicensee is not in material breach of any provision of the License Agreement and agrees to be bound to the terms of the License Agreement with respect to the applicable sublicense field.

 

Deviations from expected results of operations and/or expected cash requirements could adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.

 

Our principal current sources of liquidity are the earnings generated from our products and services, along with cash flows from operations and existing cash and cash equivalents. These are sufficient to fund our operating needs and capital requirements for at least the next twelve months, based on current assumptions regarding the amount and timing of such expenditures and anticipated cash flows. Any significant deviation in actual results from our expected results of operations, any significant deviation in the amounts or timing of material expenditures from current estimates, or other significant unanticipated expenses could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and/or may result in the need for debt or equity financing.

 

Reduced margins would have a material adverse effect on our business and financial position.

 

Our revenues may decline and/or our costs may increase, either of which could result in reduced margins, which would have a material adverse effect on our business and financial position. The primary factors that pose this risk include selling prices, increased manufacturing costs and currency fluctuations.

 

Increases in our costs to manufacturing products or conducting development work may decrease our margins or cause us to suffer a loss on the manufactured products. Additionally, we may suffer decreased margins due to the global reach of our business exposing us to market risk from changes in foreign currency exchange rates. The majority of our cash receipts are in US dollars and Euros and expenses are in Australian dollars and US dollars, and we are exposed to foreign exchange exposure particularly when we have to convert our US dollar and Euro cash receipts into Australian dollars to fund our operations.

 

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The success of our business is heavily dependent upon market factors such as growth of the point-of-use testing market and our ability to compete effectively within the highly competitive market.

 

Our business success relies on the growth of both the existing and emerging point-of-use testing market. We cannot be sure that this market will grow as we anticipate. Such growth will require continued support and demand from users, payers, patients and healthcare professionals and the endorsement by professional bodies that influence point-of-use tests. Research and clinical data may not sufficiently support point-of-use testing, nor may the economic benefits sufficiently support point-of-use testing as an alternative to current practice. Even if the data is compelling, significant resources may be required to educate users and change in practice may be slower and more costly than we anticipate. If point-of-use testing fails to be adopted at the rate we expect, the sector may remain unattractive to the size of partner we seek to attract and as a consequence, we may need to change our business model. This may require us to incur more cost and/or our anticipated growth will be adversely affected and our results will suffer.

 

We may face intense competition in development, marketing and selling point-of-use tests.

 

The market for in vitro diagnostics and point-of-use testing in food and drink and agriculture is intensely competitive, price sensitive and subject to rapid change. We and our customers and partners may be unable to accurately anticipate changes in the markets and the direction of technological innovation and the demands of end users, competitors may develop improved technologies and the marketplace may conclude that our products are obsolete. Our larger competitors enjoy several competitive advantages including significantly greater financial resources, greater brand recognition, greater expertise in conducting clinical trials, obtaining regulatory clearances and managing manufacturing operations, and greater experience in product sales and marketing. Early-stage companies may also prove to be significant competitors.

 

Competition will be faced from existing products as well as products in development. Point-of-use tests are likely to experience significant and continuing competition from traditional pathology laboratory-based testing as well as other point-of-use tests. Our and our customers’ and partners’ commercial opportunity will be reduced or eliminated if competitors develop and commercialize safer, more effective, more convenient, or cheaper products, or reach the market sooner than we do. Any such developments adversely affecting the market for products developed by us may force us and our partners to reduce production or discontinue manufacturing which would cause our operating results to suffer. There can be no assurances given with respect to our or any partner’s ability to compete effectively in the competitive markets in which we operate.

 

The loss of a key employee or the inability to recruit and retain high caliber staff to manage future anticipated growth could have a material adverse effect on our business.

 

As with most growth companies, our future success is substantially dependent on our key personnel. Certain key personnel would be difficult to replace, and the loss of any such key personnel may adversely impact the achievement of our objectives. Our ability to operate successfully and manage the business depends significantly on attracting and retaining additional highly qualified personnel. The loss of any key personnel may be disruptive or have a material adverse effect on the future of our business. Effective succession planning is important for our long-term success and failure to ensure effective transfers of knowledge and smooth transitions involving key employees could hinder our strategic planning and execution. The competition for qualified employees in scientific research and medical diagnostic and laboratory industries is particularly intense and there are a limited number of persons with the necessary skills and experience.

 

Operational Risks

 

New product design and development and clinical/validation testing is costly, labor intensive and the outcomes uncertain.

 

The design and development of different tests on our platform takes a number of years to complete, is costly and the outcomes are uncertain. Although development risk generally reduces the further a test is developed, the tests we develop have a significant degree of technical risk, and irrespective of the stage of development, design and development work and product validation, the development of the test may be unsuccessful or not warrant product commercialization.  If development activities are unsuccessful, we may need to delay, reduce the scope of or eliminate some or all of our development programs and significant monies and management time invested may be rendered unproductive and worthless.

 

Diagnostic devices must be tested for safety and performance in laboratory and clinical trials before regulatory clearance for marketing is achieved. Such studies are costly, time consuming and unpredictable. Clinical trials may not be successful and marketing authorization may not be granted which may result in us not being profitable, or trigger dissolution of partnerships or collaborative relationships. The outcome of early clinical trials may not be predictive of the success of later clinical trials. Failed clinical trials may result in considerable investments of time and money being rendered unproductive and worthless.

 

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Additionally, unanticipated clinical trial costs or delays could cause substantial additional expenditure and we may have to delay or modify our plans significantly. This may harm our business, time to market, financial condition and results of operations.

 

We are dependent on our suppliers.

 

Similar to most major manufacturers in our industry, we are dependent upon our suppliers for certain raw materials and components. We have preferred suppliers, making us vulnerable to supply disruption, which could harm our business and delay manufacturing operations. We seek to enter into long term contractual arrangements with certain of our suppliers, however we may not always be able to do so on acceptable terms. If our manufacturing requirements change, such long-term contractual arrangements may cause us to have excess or obsolete inventory. We may not be able to guarantee the supply of certain of our materials which may in turn affect our ability to supply product to our customers. We may have difficulty locating alternative suppliers in a timely manner or on commercially acceptable terms, and switching components may require product redesign and further regulatory clearance which could significantly delay production. Likewise, our customers and partners are subject to supply risks which may delay their ability to supply customers with product which would impact our revenue and have a consequential adverse effect on our business and results of operations. Supply disruption may also impact on our research and development programs.

 

Further, if our contract manufacturers fail to achieve and maintain required production yields or manufacturing standards, it could result in product withdrawals, delays, recalls, product liability claims and other problems that could seriously harm our business. Any meter shortages or sub-components thereof or manufacturing delays could result in delays or reduction in our revenues, with consequential adverse effect on our business and results of operations.

 

We face risks manufacturing product or providing services.

 

Our business strategy depends on our ability to manufacture our current and proposed products in sufficient quantities and on a timely basis so as to meet consumer demand, while adhering to product quality standards, complying with regulatory requirements and managing manufacturing costs. We are subject to numerous risks related to our manufacturing capabilities, including:

 

quality or reliability defects in product components that we source from third-party suppliers;

 

our inability to secure product components in a timely manner, in sufficient quantities and on commercially reasonable terms;

 

difficulty identifying and qualifying alternative suppliers for components in a timely manner;

 

implementing and maintaining acceptable quality systems while experiencing rapid growth;

 

our failure to increase production of products to meet demand;

 

our inability to modify production lines and expand manufacturing facilities to enable us to efficiently produce future products or implement changes in current products in response to consumer demand or regulatory requirements;

 

our inability to manufacture multiple products simultaneously while utilizing common manufacturing equipment; and

 

potential damage to or destruction of our manufacturing equipment or manufacturing facilities.

 

As demand for our products increases, and as the number of our commercial products expands, we will have to invest additional resources to purchase components, hire and train employees, and enhance our manufacturing processes and quality systems. We may also increase our utilization of third parties to perform contracted manufacturing services for us, and we may need to acquire additional custom designed equipment to support the expansion of our manufacturing capacity. In addition, although we expect some of our products under development to share product features and components with our current products, manufacturing of these products may require modification of our production lines, hiring of specialized employees, identification of new suppliers for specific components, qualifying and implementing additional equipment and procedures, obtaining new regulatory approvals, or developing new manufacturing technologies. Ultimately, it may not be possible for us to manufacture these products at a cost or in quantities sufficient to make these products commercially viable.

 

If we fail to increase our production capacity to meet consumer demand while also maintaining product quality standards, obtaining and maintaining regulatory approvals, and efficiently managing costs, our revenues and operating margins could be negatively impacted, which would have an adverse impact on our financial condition and operating results.

 

There are technical challenges to establishing and maintaining commercial manufacturing for products, including maintaining the consistency of our incoming raw materials, equipment design and automation, material procurement, production yields and quality control and assurance. We may fail to achieve and maintain required production yields or manufacturing standards which could result in financial loss, patient injury or death, product recalls or withdrawals, product shortages, delays or failures in product testing or delivery, breach of our agreements with any partner and other problems that could seriously harm our business.

 

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Our operations may not be profitable, particularly in the near term.

 

We have largely funded our operations and capital expenditures from capital raising, our existing cash reserves and the sale of our products and provision of services and government grants and rebates including the research and development tax incentive income. The revenue from the sale of our products and provision of services has funded a relatively small portion of our operating expenses. For the 2024 financial year, we expect to generate revenues from the sale of our Xprecia Stride and Xprecia Prime products, Sentia and Petrackr products and through the provision of services undertaken by HRL. If our revenues are not significant, we will continue to incur operating losses on an annual basis.

 

To implement our business strategy and achieve consistent profitability, we need to, among other things, increase sales of our products and the gross profit associated with those sales, maintain an appropriate customer service and support infrastructure, fund ongoing research and development activities, create additional efficiencies in our manufacturing processes while adding to our capacity, and obtain regulatory clearance or approval to commercialize our products currently under development. We expect our expenses will continue to increase as we pursue these objectives and make investments in our business. Additional increases in our expenses without commensurate increases in sales could significantly increase our operating losses.

 

The extent of our future operating losses and the timing of our profitability are highly uncertain in light of a number of factors, including the timing of the launch of new products and product features by us and our competitors, market acceptance of our products and competitive products and the timing of regulatory approval of our products and the products of our competitors. Any additional operating losses will have an adverse effect on our stockholders’ equity, and we cannot assure you that we will be able to sustain profitability.

 

We may also require additional capital to fund our business operations, which may not be available on acceptable commercial terms, or at all.

 

Our primary development, testing and manufacturing operations are conducted at a single location. Any disruption at our facility could adversely affect our operations and increase our expenses.

 

Our primary operations are conducted at our Corporate Avenue facility in Melbourne, Australia. HRL also provides us with calibration services from its facilities in Hamilton, Canada. We take precautions to safeguard our facilities, including security, health and safety protocols and maintain applicable insurance. However, we may be impacted by cybersecurity risks, industrial action or operating equipment and facilities may not operate as intended or be unavailable as a result of unanticipated failures or other events outside of our control such as a natural disaster, fire, flood or earthquake or catastrophic breakdowns or deliberate acts of destruction. The occurrence of any of these events may restrict our ability to supply product or our ability to provide coagulation testing and calibration services, could cause substantial delays in our operations, damage or destroy our manufacturing and laboratory equipment or inventory, and cause us to incur additional expenses. The insurance we maintain against fires, floods, earthquakes and other natural disasters may not be adequate to cover our losses in any particular case.

 

Our success is reliant on the accuracy, reliability and proper use of sophisticated information processing systems and management information technology and the interruption in these systems could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

 

Our success is reliant on the accuracy, reliability and proper use of sophisticated information processing systems and management information technology. Our information technology systems are designed and selected in order to facilitate the entering of order entry, customer billing, to maintain customer records, to provide product traceability, to accurately track purchases, to manage accounting, finance, administration and manufacturing, generate reports and provide customer service and technical support. Any interruption in these systems could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

 

The failure of our information systems to function as intended or their penetration by outside parties with the intent to corrupt them or our failure to comply with privacy laws and regulations could result in business disruption, litigation and regulatory action, and loss of revenue, assets or personal or other confidential data.

 

We use information systems to help manage business processes, collect and interpret data and communicate internally and externally with employees, suppliers, consumers, customers and others. Some of these information systems are managed by third-party service providers. We have backup systems and business continuity plans in place, and we take care to protect our systems and data from unauthorized access. Nevertheless, failure of our systems to function as intended, or penetration of our systems by outside parties intent on extracting or corrupting information or otherwise disrupting business processes, could place us at a competitive disadvantage, result in a loss of revenue, assets or personal or other sensitive data, litigation and regulatory action, cause damage to our reputation and that of our brands and result in significant remediation and other costs. Failure to protect personal data, respect the rights of data subjects, and adhere to strict cybersecurity protocols could subject us to substantial fines and other legal challenges under regulations such as the EU General Data Protection Regulation. As we are increasingly relying on digital platforms in our business, the magnitude of these risks is likely to increase.

 

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The effects of global climate change or other unexpected events, including global health crises, may disrupt our operations and have a negative impact on our business.

 

The effects of global climate change, such as extreme weather conditions and natural disasters occurring more frequently or with more intense effects, or the occurrence of unexpected events including wildfires, hurricanes, earthquakes, floods, tsunamis and other severe hazards or global health crises, such as the outbreak of Ebola or the global COVID-19 pandemic, or other actual or threatened epidemic, pandemic, outbreak and spread of a communicable disease or virus, in the countries where we operate or sell products and provide services, could adversely affect our operations and financial performance. Extreme weather, natural disasters, power outages, global health crises or other unexpected events could disrupt our operations by impacting the availability and cost of materials needed for manufacturing, causing physical damage and partial or complete closure of our manufacturing sites or distribution centers, loss of human capital, temporary or long-term disruption in the manufacturing and supply of products and services and disruption in our ability to deliver products and services to customers. These events and disruptions could also adversely affect our customers’ and suppliers’ financial condition or ability to operate, resulting in reduced customer demand, delays in payments received or supply chain disruptions. Further, these events and disruptions could increase insurance and other operating costs, including impacting our decisions regarding construction of new facilities to select areas less prone to climate change risks and natural disasters, which could result in indirect financial risks passed through the supply chain or other price modifications to our products and services.

 

Legal and Regulatory Risks

 

If we cannot maintain our intellectual property rights, our ability to make or develop point-of-use tests would be restricted or eliminated, and the value of our technology and diagnostic tests may be adversely affected.

 

Our ability to obtain proprietary rights, maintain trade secret protection and operate without infringing the proprietary rights of third parties is an integral part of our business.

 

A number of companies, universities and research institutions have or may be granted patents that cover technologies that we need to complete development of a particular product. We may choose or be required to seek licenses under third party patents which would be costly, may not be available on commercially acceptable terms, or at all. Further, we may be unaware of other third-party patents or proprietary rights that are infringed by our point of use tests.

 

Much of our platform intellectual property rights are licensed to us from LifeScan. If we were to breach the license agreement and LifeScan were to validly terminate the agreement in response, it would seriously restrict or eliminate our ability to develop and commercialize our existing and future tests which would have a material adverse effect on us as it would restrict r eliminate our existing commercialization opportunities. We also license other intellectual property from third parties as part of our other development efforts.

 

LifeScan and our other licensors have a considerable degree of control over the manner that the intellectual property licensed to us is maintained and protected and, as a result, we have reduced control with respect to the maintenance and protection of our licensed patent portfolio. LifeScan is responsible for the prosecution and maintenance of the intellectual property it licenses to us and we are largely dependent on them to defend proceedings or prosecute infringers. The same applies to our other licensors. Our business would be harmed if the licensed patents were infringed or misappropriated. Prosecuting third parties and defending ourselves against third-party claims would be costly, time-consuming and divert management’s attention from our business, potentially leading to delays in our development or commercialization efforts. Additionally, if third parties made successful claims, we may be liable for substantial damages or license fees, be required to stop marketing the infringing product or take other actions that are adverse to our business.

 

Allegedly defective design or the manufacture of allegedly defective products could potentially expose us to substantial costs, write-offs, regulatory actions and reputational damage.

 

Allegedly defective designs or manufacture of allegedly defective products exposes us to the risk of product liability claims and product recalls. Any such claims have the potential to result in substantial costs, write-offs and potential delays in our shipment of product to customers, decreased demand for products and services, loss of revenue and cash flow, reputational damage, costs of related litigation, increases in our insurance premiums and increased scrutiny by regulatory agencies, claims by our customers and may trigger the dissolution of partnerships or collaborative relationships. The occurrence of some of these events may trigger action by government regulatory agencies including for example, warning, recalls and fines or penalties. While we will seek to mitigate our loss by obtaining appropriate insurances and appropriate contractual protections, if we are unable to maintain our insurance at an acceptable cost or on acceptable terms with adequate coverage, or negotiate appropriate contractual protections or otherwise protect against potential product liability claims, we will be exposed to significant liabilities. Recalls would harm our business and compromise the performance of our obligations to our customers and would have a material adverse effect on our business and financial results and may result in claims by our customers or partners and may trigger the dissolution of partnerships or collaborative relationships. Any claim for damages by our customers or other claim against us could be substantial.

 

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There are many elements to manufacturing products that can cause variability beyond acceptable limits. We may be required to discard defective products after we have incurred significant material and labor costs, resulting in manufacturing delays and delayed shipment to customers. Further, if our suppliers are unable to provide materials in conformance with specifications, we may be required to discard materials, which may also cause delays in the manufacture and shipment of products.

 

Risks associated with regulatory clearance and changes to regulation.

 

The devices products we are involved in developing are subject to extensive regulation in all major markets. The Company submitted its full response to the FDA’s “Request for Additional Information” in November 2023 for the Xprecia Prime product. Assuming there are no further queries, an FDA decision for the approval of Xprecia Prime for sale in United States is expected during Q1 2024. The process of obtaining regulatory clearance is costly and time consuming and there can be no assurance that the required regulatory clearances will be obtained. Products cannot be commercially sold without regulatory clearance. We and our customers and partners may be unable to obtain the necessary clearances to sell or if the clearances are delayed, revoked or subject to unacceptable conditions, the product may not be able to be commercialized which would have a material adverse effect on us.

 

If we were required and able to change suppliers and third party contract manufacturers, applicable regulatory bodies may require new testing and compliance inspections and require that we demonstrate structural and functional comparability between the same products manufactured by different organizations, resulting in additional costs and potential delays in time to market which could be detrimental to our business.

 

Furthermore, regulation is ongoing and manufacturers and marketers of products are subject to continuous review and periodic inspections. Potentially costly responses may be required to be given by us and our customers including product modification, or post-marketing clinical trials as a condition of approval to further substantiate safety and efficacy or investigate issues of interest. If we or our customers fail to comply with applicable regulatory requirements it may result in fines, delays, suspensions of clearances, seizures, recalls of products, operating restrictions or criminal prosecutions and could have a material adverse effect on our operations. Additionally, changes in existing regulations or the adoption of new regulations could make regulatory compliance by us more difficult in future and could hamper our ability to produce our products when we require.

 

Any failure to prevent or mitigate security breaches and improper access to or disclosure of our data or our user data could result in the loss or misuse of such data, which could harm our business and reputation and diminish our competitive position.

 

Awareness and sensitivity to personal data breaches and cyber security threats is at an all-time high. Our computer systems and those of our contractors and consultants are vulnerable to damage from unauthorized access, computer viruses, telecommunications and electrical failures, and natural disasters. If such an event were to occur and cause interruptions in our operations, it could result in a material disruption to our operations.

 

As part of our business model, we collect, retain, and transmit confidential information over public networks. We may be vulnerable to targeted or random personal data or security breaches, acts of vandalism, computer malware, misplaced or lost data, programming and/or human errors, or other similar events. Any misappropriation of our internal confidential or personal information gathered, stored or used by us, be it intentional or accidental, could have a material impact on the operation of our business, including severely damaging our reputation and our relationships with licensees, employees and investors. We may incur further significant costs implementing additional security measures to protect against new or enhanced data security or privacy threats, or to comply with current and new international, federal, and state laws governing the unauthorized disclosure of confidential and personal information which are continuously being enacted. We could also experience loss of revenues resulting from unauthorized use of proprietary information including our intellectual property. We could also face sizable fines, significant breach containment and notification costs to supervisory authorities and the affected data subjects, and increased litigation as a result of cyber security or personal data breaches.

 

The rapid evolution and increased adoption of artificial intelligence technologies may intensify our cybersecurity risks by making cyberattacks more difficult to detect, contain or mitigate. We believe we will continue to see, widespread vulnerabilities that could affect our or other third parties’ data or systems. Mitigation and remediation recommendations continue to evolve, and addressing this and other critical vulnerabilities pertaining to widely used systems, platforms and infrastructure is a priority for us. Internal access management failures could result in the compromise or unauthorized exposure of confidential data. Moreover, hardware, software or applications we use may have inherent vulnerabilities or defects of design, manufacture or operations or could be inadvertently or intentionally implemented or used in a manner that could compromise information security. There can be no assurance that we or our vendors and other third parties will not be subject to additional cybersecurity threats and incidents that bypass our or their security measures, impact the integrity, availability or privacy of personal health information or other data subject to privacy laws or disrupt our or their information systems, devices or business. In such an event, we may incur substantial costs, including but not limited to, costs associated with remediating the effects of the cybersecurity incident, costs for security measures to guard against similar future incidents and costs to recover data. Further, consumer confidence in the integrity and security of personal information and critical operations data in the life sciences industry generally could be shaken to the extent there are successful cyberattacks at other companies, which could have a material, adverse effect on our business, financial position or results of operations.

 

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If we are found to have violated laws concerning the privacy and security of patient health information or other personal information, we could be subject to civil or criminal penalties, which could increase our liabilities and harm our reputation or our business.

 

There are a number of domestic and international laws protecting the privacy and security of personal information. These laws place limits on how we may collect, use, share and store medical information and other personal information, and they impose obligations to protect that information against unauthorized access, use, loss, and disclosure.

 

If we, or any of our service providers who have access to the personal data for which we are responsible, are found to be in violation of the privacy or security requirements, we could be subject to civil or criminal penalties, which could increase our liabilities, harm our reputation and have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and operating results. Although we utilize a variety of measures to secure the data that we control, even compliant entities can experience security breaches or have inadvertent failures despite employing reasonable practices and safeguards.

 

We may also face new risks relating to data privacy and security as the United States, individual U.S. states, E.U. member states, and other international jurisdictions adopt or implement new data privacy and security laws and regulations as we continue to commercialize our products worldwide. For example, the California Consumer Privacy Act, which took effect on January 1, 2020, may impose additional requirements on us and increase our regulatory and litigation risk. As we continue to expand, our business will need to adapt to meet these and other similar legal requirements.

 

We may be involved in litigation.

 

There has been substantial litigation and other proceedings in the medical diagnostic industries. Defending against litigation and other third-party claims would be costly and time-consuming and would divert management’s attention from our business, which could lead to delays in our development or commercialization efforts. If third parties are successful in their claims, we might have to pay substantial damages or take other actions that are adverse to our business.

 

Changes in laws may adversely affect our business.

 

Our business and the business of our customers and partners are subject to the laws and regulations in a number of jurisdictions. Unforeseen changes in laws and government policy both in Australia, the EU, the US and elsewhere, could materially impact our operations, assets, contracts and profitability.

 

We are exposed to risks relating to evaluations of controls required by Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

 

Changing laws, regulations and standards relating to corporate governance and public disclosure, including the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (“Sarbanes-Oxley Act”) and related regulations implemented by the SEC, have substantially increased legal and financial compliance costs. We expect that our ongoing compliance with applicable laws and regulations, including the Exchange Act and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, will involve significant and potentially increasing costs. In particular, we must annually evaluate our internal controls systems to allow management to report on our internal controls. We must perform the system and process evaluation and testing (and any necessary remediation) required to comply with the management certification and, when applicable, auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. If we are not able to continue to satisfy the requirements of Section 404 adequately, we may be subject to sanctions or investigation by regulatory authorities, including the SEC. Any action of this type could adversely affect our financial results, investors’ confidence in our company and our ability to access capital markets, and could cause our stock price to decline.

 

Tax Risks

 

Our ability to carry forward our Australian tax losses and certain other tax attributes may be impacted.

 

As of December 31, 2023, we had A$30,582,036 of accumulated tax losses available for carry forward against future earnings, which under Australian tax laws do not expire but may not be available under certain circumstances. The Company also has A$ 3,374,776 of non-refundable R&D tax offset as at December 31, 2023. The R&D Tax offset is a non-refundable tax offset, which assists to reduce a company’s tax liability. Once the liability has been reduced to zero, any excess offset may be carried forward into future income years.

 

17

 

To continue to offset our accumulated tax losses and the non-refundable R&D tax offset against future earnings, we have to meet the requirements of the Continuity of Ownership Test (“COT”) and failing that the Same Business Test (“SBT”). A taxpayer generally satisfies the COT where the company can demonstrate at all times that the same persons (i.e. ultimate individual owners) beneficially held more than 50% of the voting power in the company; and the rights to more than 50% of the company’s dividends; and the rights to more than 50% of the company’s capital distributions, for the period commencing at the beginning of the loss year (i.e. the year that the relevant tax loss was incurred) to the end of the income year in which the company seeks to utilize the loss. In performing a SBT analysis, UBI would need to show that the activities undertaken by the business immediately prior to the COT breach is either the same or similar to the business activities undertaken in the loss recoupment year.

 

Our share ownership may change overtime and we may not be able to satisfy COT and we may venture into other businesses which are not similar to our existing activities hence we may not be able to utilize our losses for offset against future earnings which will negatively impact our cash flows.

 

We benefit from government grants and rebates.

 

Our principal sources of liquidity are cash flows from operations (revenue from services and product sales). We have also financed our business operations through government grants and rebates, including the refundable tax offset (“tax incentive income”). The refundable tax offset is one of the key elements of the Australian Government’s support for Australia’s innovation system and if eligible, provides the recipient with cash based upon our eligible research and development activities and expenditures. For the year ended December 31, 2022, our aggregate turnover was less than A$20,000,000 and we received a tax incentive income of A$4,495,137. Additionally, we will be eligible to make this claim for the year ended December 31, 2023, as our revenues are less than A$20,000,000. We anticipate receiving a refundable tax offset of A$3,774,343 in 2024 following the lodgment of our 2023 Australian company tax return.

 

Despite these, there can be no assurance that we will qualify and be eligible for such incentives or that the Australian Government will continue to provide incentives, offsets, grants and rebates on similar terms or at all.

 

Investors may be subject to Australian and/or US taxation.

 

The receipt of dividends by Australian tax resident security holders and any subsequent disposal of our securities by any such Australian tax resident may have both United States and Australian tax consequences depending upon their individual circumstances. This may result in a security holder being subject to tax in both jurisdictions and a tax credit may or may not be available in one jurisdiction to offset the tax paid in the other jurisdiction depending upon the security holder’s individual circumstances.  

 

Risks Related to the Ownership of Our Shares

 

The price of our shares is highly volatile and could decline significantly.

 

Our shares of common stock in the form of CDIs were quoted on the ASX and began trading on December 13, 2006. The price of our shares is highly volatile and could decline significantly. The market price of our shares historically has been, and we expect will continue to be, subject to significant fluctuations over short periods of time. Some of the factors that may cause the market price of our common stock to fluctuate include:

 

the entry into, or termination of, key agreements, including collaboration and supply agreements and licensing agreements with key strategic partners;

 

any inability to obtain additional financing on favorable terms to fund our operations and pursue our business plan if additional financing becomes necessary;

 

future sales of our common stock or debt or convertible debt securities or other capital-raising activities, and the terms of those issuances of securities;

 

time to market and future revenue streams from product sales, if any, by our collaborative partners, and the extent of demand for, and sales of, our products;

 

the initiation of material developments in, or conclusion of disputes or litigation with our customers or partners or to enforce or defend any of our intellectual property rights or otherwise;

 

our results of operations and financial condition, including our cash reserves, cash burn and cost level;

 

general and industry-specific economic and regulatory conditions that may affect our ability to successfully develop and commercialize products;

 

the loss of key employees;

 

the introduction of technological innovations or other products by our competitors;

 

sales of a substantial number of CDIs by our large stockholders;

 

changes in estimates or recommendations by securities analysts, if any, who cover our common stock;

 

issuance of shares or CDIs by us, and sales in the public market of the shares or CDIs issued, upon exercise of our outstanding warrants; and

 

period-to-period fluctuations in our financial results.

 

We may experience a material decline in the market price of our CDIs, regardless of our operating performance and therefore, a holder of our shares may not be able to sell those shares at or above the price paid by such holder for such shares. Sales by our larger shareholders may create volatility, price pressure or impact how the value of our shares is perceived.

 

18

 

Class action litigation has been brought in the past against companies which have experienced volatility in the market price of their securities. We may become involved in this type of litigation in the future. Litigation of this type is often extremely expensive and diverts management’s attention and our resources.

 

Our securities are not currently traded on any United States public markets and there are currently restrictions on the ability of United States persons to acquire our securities on the ASX.

 

There is no public market for our shares in the United States or in any other jurisdiction other than Australia. We have not determined whether we will seek the quotation of our shares on any United States public trading market. Even if our shares are in the future listed on a United States public market, the liquidity of our shares may not improve, and the United States market price may not accurately reflect the price or prices at which purchasers or sellers would be willing to purchase or sell our common stock.

 

In addition, our securities are “restricted securities” as that term is defined in Rule 144 under the Securities Act. Restricted securities may be resold to U.S. persons as defined in Regulation S only if registered for resale or pursuant to an exemption from registration under the Securities Act.  We have not agreed to register any of our shares of common stock for resale by security holders.

 

A significant amount of our shares are controlled by individuals or voting blocks, and the interests of such individuals or voting blocks could conflict with those of the other stockholders.

 

Single stockholders with significant holdings or relatively small groups of stockholders have the power to influence matters requiring the approval of stockholders. Viburnum Funds Pty Ltd (“Viburnum”), as investment manager for its associated funds and entities holds a beneficial interest and voting power over approximately 26% of our shares. For details of our substantial stockholders and the interests of our directors, refer to “Part III, Item 12 — Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters.”

 

Provisions in our charter documents and under Delaware law could make the possibility of our acquisition, which may be beneficial for our stockholders, more difficult and may prevent attempts by our stockholders to replace or remove current management.

 

Provisions in our certificate of incorporation and our bylaws may delay or prevent an acquisition of us or a change in our management and frustrate or prevent attempts by our stockholders to replace or remove our current management by making it more difficult to remove our current directors. Such provisions include:

 

 

the division of our board of directors into classes whose terms expire at staggered intervals over a three-year period and advance notice requirements for nominations to our board of directors and proposing matters that can be acted upon at shareholder meetings;

 

our stockholders do not have the power to call special meetings of our stockholders; and

 

our stockholders are prohibited from taking action by written consent, and all stockholder action is required to take place at a meeting of our stockholders.

 

These provisions, alone or together, could delay or prevent hostile takeovers and changes in control or changes in our management. As a Delaware corporation, we are also subject to provisions of Delaware law, including Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, or DGCL, which prevents interested stockholders, such as certain stockholders holding more than 15% of our outstanding common stock, from engaging in certain business combinations unless (i) prior to the time such stockholder became an interested stockholder, our board of directors approved the transaction that resulted in such stockholder becoming an interested stockholder, (ii) upon consummation of the transaction that resulted in such stockholder becoming an interested stockholder, the interested stockholder owned at least 85% of our common stock, or (iii) following board approval, such business combination receives the approval of the holders of at least two-thirds of our outstanding common stock not held by such interested stockholder at an annual or special meeting of stockholders.

 

Any provision of our certificate of incorporation, bylaws, or Delaware law that has the effect of delaying, preventing, or deterring a change in control could limit the opportunity for our stockholders to receive a premium for their shares of our common stock and could also affect the price that some investors are willing to pay for our common stock.

 

Other Risks

 

We may not be able to raise capital or secure credit if and when required.

 

We may not be able to raise capital or secure further credit if and when required. If we are unable to raise capital or secure further credit when required, we may have to delay, reduce the scope of or eliminate some or all of our development programs or commercialization efforts or liquidate some or all of our assets.

 

19

 

General Risk Factors

 

Adverse economic conditions may harm our business.

 

Market and economic conditions have been volatile. Market and economic concerns include fluctuations in foreign exchange rates, inflation, interest rates, rate of economic growth, taxation laws, consumer spending, unemployment rates, government fiscal, monetary and regulatory policies and consumer and business sentiment. Any of these factors have the potential to cause costs to increase or revenues to decline. Turbulence in international markets and economies may adversely affect our ability to enter into collaborative arrangements, the behavior and financial condition of our current and any future customers and partners and the spending patterns of users of the products we are developing. This may adversely impact demand for our services and for products developed by us. In addition, economic conditions could also impact our suppliers, which may impact on their ability to provide us with materials and components which in turn may negatively impact our business.

 

20

 

 

Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments.

 

None.

 

21

 

Item 1C. Cybersecurity.

 

The Company’s Board of Directors takes seriously both the responsibility to guard against cybersecurity threats and its compliance with the SEC Cybersecurity regulations adopted on July 26, 2023. Our Board of Directors has standing agenda to review and discuss on cybersecurity matters with management during each meeting. Management is updated on cybersecurity matters by the IT Senior Systems Administrator (“ITSSA”).

 

Our cybersecurity risk management program leverages a combination of processes, technologies and personnel with expertise in cybersecurity to comply with applicable regulations and detect and respond to cyber-attacks, data breaches, security incidents, and compromises of personal information, as well as to regularly and promptly inform management and our Board of Directors of any significant cybersecurity risks and developments.

 

Our ITSSA, who has significant experience in managing cybersecurity risks is directly responsible for establishing cybersecurity strategies and structures and managing ongoing cybersecurity risk management activities, reports relevant information regarding cybersecurity threats and risks to management. Management can then further elevate matters to the full Board of Directors, as necessary or required.

 

The Company and the Board of Directors are committed to remaining updated on evolving cybersecurity regulations and best practices, as well as the development and amendment of processes to meet these changing demands.

 

The Company did not experience any cyber security incident during 2023.

 

22

 

 

Item 2. Properties.

 

The Company leases approximately 5,000 square meters of office, research and development and manufacturing facilities at 1 Corporate Avenue, Rowville in Melbourne, Australia. The lease for 1 Corporate Avenue will expire on December 31, 2025 with an option to renew the lease for two further terms of five years each.

 

We manufacture our test strips using custom manufacturing equipment.

 

Depending on the number of strips required to be manufactured, it may become necessary in the future for us to acquire additional large-scale equipment to satisfy manufacturing demand. If our existing facilities and equipment are fully utilized for the manufacture of test strips for one of our customers or our own products, we will need to secure additional or alternative facilities and establish additional large-scale equipment sufficient to meet future manufacturing requirements.

 

On June 28, 2021, HRL entered a premises lease to occupy approximately 418 square meters of office and laboratory facilities at 44 Frid Street, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The lease commenced in February 2022, with a ten-year contractual period. HRL relocated to the new premises in February 2022. The lease does not include an option to renew the lease for a further term.

 

23

 

 

Item 3. Legal Proceedings.

 

There are no material pending legal proceedings to which the Company or any of its subsidiaries is a party or of which any of their property is the subject. There are no known contemplated material governmental proceedings pending against the Company.

 

24

 

 

Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures.

 

Not applicable.

 

25

 

 

PART II

 

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

 

Market information

 

Our shares of common stock are not currently traded on any established United States public trading market. We do not currently intend to seek the quotation of our shares of common stock on any United States public trading market. We cannot assure you that we will never seek to be quoted on any United States public trading market or that we would meet any applicable listing requirements.

 

Our shares of common stock are traded on the ASX in the form of CHESS Depositary Interests, or CDIs, under the ASX trading code “UBI”. The Clearing House Electronic Subregister System, or “CHESS”, is an electronic system which manages the settlement of transactions executed on the ASX and facilitates the paperless transfer of legal title to ASX quoted securities. CHESS cannot be used directly for the transfer of securities of U.S. domiciled companies. CDIs are used as a method of holding and transferring the legal title of these securities on the ASX which are not able to be electronically traded in CHESS. CDIs are exchangeable, at the option of the holder, into shares of our common stock at a ratio of 1:1. The main difference between holding CDIs and holding the underlying securities (in this case our shares) is that a holder of CDIs has beneficial ownership of the equivalent number of our shares instead of legal title. Legal title is held by CHESS Depositary Nominees Pty Ltd, or “CDN”, and the shares are registered in the name of CDN and held by CDN on behalf of and for the benefit of the holders of CDIs. CDN is a wholly owned subsidiary of ASX.

 

Holders of CDIs who do not wish to have their trades settled in CDIs on the ASX may request that their CDIs be converted into shares, in which case legal title to the shares of common stock are transferred to the holder of the CDIs. Likewise, stockholders who wish to be able to trade on the ASX can do so by requesting that their shares be converted into CDIs and by lodging their applicable share certificate with our share registrar and signing a share transfer form with respect to the relevant shares. Our share registrar will then transfer the shares from the stockholder to CDN and establish a CDI holding in the name of the stockholder (now a CDI holder).

 

Security details

 

As of February 20, 2024, there were 212,369,435 shares of our common stock issued and outstanding and 12,406,300 options and performance rights that are exercisable for an equivalent number of shares of common stock. All of our issued and outstanding shares of common stock are fully paid.

 

Under applicable U.S. securities laws all of the shares of our common stock are “restricted securities” as that term is defined in Rule 144 under the Securities Act. Restricted securities may be resold to U.S. persons as defined in Regulation S only if registered or pursuant to an exemption from registration under the Securities Act. We have not agreed to register any of our shares of common stock for resale by security holders.

 

Holders

 

Currently, CDN holds the majority of our shares on behalf of and for the benefit of the holders of CDIs. The balance of the shares are held by certain of our employees generally as part of our restricted employee share scheme. Set out below is the approximate aggregate number of our registered holders of CDIs and shares at the specific date below:

 

Date

Total Number of

Registered Holders

Number of Registered

Holders that are United

States Residents

At February 20, 2024

2,590

8

 

Dividends

 

To date, we have not declared or paid any cash dividends on our shares or CDIs.

 

Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities

 

None.

 

26

 

Restricted Employee Shares Issued to Employees

 

Our Employee Share Plan was adopted in 2021 (“the Equity Incentive Plan”). The Equity Incentive Plan permits our Board to grant shares of our common stock to our employees and directors. The number of shares able to be granted is limited to the amount permitted to be granted at law, the ASX Listing Rules and by the limits on our authorized share capital in our certificate of incorporation. We issue these shares in reliance upon exemptions from registration under Regulation S under the Securities Act on the basis that none of the recipient of such shares are “U.S. person” as such term is defined in Regulation S.

 

There were no restricted shares issued by the Company within the past three fiscal years and the balance of the restricted shares as of December 31, 2023, is nil.

 

There were no performance rights issued by the Company to employees during the year ended December 31, 2023.

 

There were 1,555,000 performance rights issued by the Company to select employees during the year ended December 31, 2022, of which nil shares vested during the year ended December 31, 2023.The number of securities able to be granted is limited to the amount permitted to be granted at law, the ASX Listing Rules and by the limits on our authorized share capital in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. The Listing Rules of ASX generally prohibits companies whose securities are quoted on ASX from issuing securities exceeding 15% of issued share capital in any 12-month period, without stockholder approval.

 

Purchases of Equity Securities by the Issuer and Affiliated Purchasers

 

There were no repurchases of equity securities registered under Section 12 of the Exchange Act made in the fourth quarter of the fiscal year covered by this Form 10-K by or on behalf of the Company or any affiliated purchaser (as defined in Rule 10b-18(a)(3) under the Exchange Act).

 

27

 

 

Item 6. [Reserved].

 

28

 

Item 7. Managements Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.

 

The information required by this item is incorporated by reference to our 2023 Annual Report under the caption “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” on pages F2 to F8.

 

29

 

 

Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk.

 

As a “smaller reporting company,” we are not required to provide the information called for by this Item 7A.

 

30

 

Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data.

 

The information required by this item is incorporated by reference to our 2023 Annual Report under the following captions:

 

Consolidated Balance Sheets

 

Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income/(Loss)

 

Consolidated Statements of Changes in Stockholders’ Equity and Comprehensive Income/(Loss)

 

Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows

 

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

 

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm (PCAOB ID 1379)

 

The items are included on pages F10 through F30 of the 2023 Annual Report.

 

31

 

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

 

None.

 

32

 

 

Item 9A. Controls and Procedures.

 

Disclosure Controls and Procedures.  As of the end of the period covered by this Form 10-K, the Company and its management evaluated the effectiveness of the design and operation of its disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) or 15d-15(e)). The Company’s disclosure controls and procedures are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by the Company in the reports that it files or submits under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms. Disclosure controls and procedures include, without limitation, controls and procedures designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by the Company in the reports that it files or submits under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to the Company’s management, including its principal executive and principal financial officers, or persons performing similar functions, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure. John Sharman, Principal Executive Officer and Salesh Balak, Principal Financial Officer, reviewed and participated in this evaluation. Based on this evaluation, Mr. Sharman and Mr. Balak concluded that, as of the end of the period covered by this Form 10-K, the Company’s disclosure controls and procedures were effective.

 

Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting. During the quarter ended December 31, 2023, there were no changes in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, the Company’s internal control over financial reporting.

 

33

 

 

Managements Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting

 

Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over the Company’s financial reporting (as defined in Rule 13a-15(f) and 15d – 15(f) under the Exchange Act). Our internal control over the Company’s financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles and includes those policies and procedures that:

 

Pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and the dispositions of the assets of the Company;

 

Provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and that receipts and expenditures of the Company are being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and the board of directors of the Company; and

 

Provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of the Company’s assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.

 

Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluations of effectiveness to future periods are subject to risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions or because of declines in the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures.

 

Our management, with the participation of the Principal Executive Officer and Principal Financial Officer, assessed the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2023. In making this assessment, the Company’s management used the criteria set forth by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (“COSO”) in Internal Control-Integrated Framework (2013).

 

Based on this evaluation, our management, with the participation of the Principal Executive Officer and Principal Financial Officer, concluded that, as of December 31, 2023, our internal control over financial reporting was effective.

 

 

 

/s/ John Sharman   /s/ Salesh Balak

John Sharman

  

Salesh Balak

Principal Executive Officer

  

Principal Financial Officer

 

February 29, 2024

 

34

 

 

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm on Internal Control over Financial Reporting.

 

This Annual Report does not include an attestation report of our Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm regarding internal control over financial reporting. We are an emerging growth company and are a non-accelerated filer under the SEC rules, and are exempt from the requirement to provide an auditor attestation report.

 

35

 

 

Item 9B. Other Information.

 

None.

 

36

 

 

Item 9C. Disclosure Regarding Foreign Jurisdictions that Prevent Inspections.

 

Not applicable.

 

37

 

Part III

 

Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance.

 

The information required by this Item 10 is incorporated by reference to our definitive proxy statement to be filed with the SEC within 120 days after December 31, 2023, in connection with our Annual Meeting of Stockholders in 2024 (the “2024 Proxy Statement”) under the captions “Management of the Company” and, if applicable, “Delinquent Section 16(a) Reports.”

 

38

 

Item 11. Executive Compensation.

 

The information required by this Item 11 is incorporated by reference to the 2024 Proxy Statement under the captions “Management of the Company – Compensation of Directors,” “Executive Compensation” and “Management of the Company – Board Meetings and Board Committees – Compensation Committee Interlocks and Insider Participation.”

 

39

 

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

 

The information required by this Item 12 is incorporated by reference to the 2024 Proxy Statement under the captions “Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management,” and “Executive Compensation – Equity Compensation Plan Information.”

 

40

 

 

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

 

The information required by this Item 13 is incorporated by reference to the 2024 Proxy Statement under the captions “Certain Relationships and Related Transactions,” and “Management of the Company.”

 

41

 

 

Item 14. Principal Accountant Fees and Services.

 

The information required by this item is incorporated by reference to the 2024 Proxy Statement under the caption “Independent Public Accountants – Audit Fees.”

 

42

 

Part IV

 

Item 15. Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules.

 

(a)(1)

Financial Statements

 

The following financial statements are incorporated by reference from pages F-9 through F-30 of our Annual Report to Stockholders for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023, as provided in Item 8 hereof:

 

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm (PCAOB ID 1379)

F-9

Consolidated Balance Sheets

F-10

Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income/(Loss)

F-11

Consolidated Statements of Changes in Stockholders’ Equity and Comprehensive Income/(Loss)

F-12

Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows

F-13

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements         

F-14

 

(a)(2)

All other schedules are omitted because of the absence of the conditions under which they are required or because the required information is included elsewhere in the financial statements.

 

(a)(3) and (b) Exhibits – Refer below.

 

Exhibit Number

 

Description

 

Location

3.1

 

Amended and restated certificate of incorporation dated December 5, 2006.

 

Incorporated by reference to our General Form for Registration of Securities on Form 10 filed on April 30, 2007 as Exhibit 3.1.

3.2

 

Amended and restated by-laws dated December 5, 2006.

 

Incorporated by reference to our Amendment No. 5 to Form 10 filed on April 29, 2008 as Exhibit 3.2.

4.3

 

Description of Securities

 

Incorporated by reference to our Annual Report on Form 10-K filed on February 24, 2021 as Exhibit 4.3.

10.1

 

Amended and Restated License Agreement, between LifeScan, Inc. and Universal Biosensors Pty Ltd dated on August 29, 2011 and effective as of August 19, 2011.

 

Incorporated by reference to our Current Report on Form 8-K filed on August 30, 2011 as Exhibit 10.1.

10.2

 

Amended and Restated Development and Research Agreement between Cilag GmbH International and Universal Biosensors Pty Ltd dated on August 29, 2011 and effective as of August 19, 2011.

 

Incorporated by reference to our Current Report on Form 8-K filed on August 30, 2011 as Exhibit 10.2.

10.3

 

Form of indemnity agreement entered into with directors of us, our principal financial officer and company secretary

 

Incorporated by reference to our Current Report on Form 8-K filed on March 7, 2022 as Exhibit 10.1.

10.4#

 

CEO Option Plan.

 

Incorporated by reference to our Current Report on Form 8-K filed on September 17, 2021 as Exhibit 10.1.

10.5#

 

Employment agreement between Universal Biosensors Pty Ltd and Mr. Salesh Balak effective November 27, 2006.

 

Incorporated by reference to our General Form for Registration of Securities on Form 10 filed on April 30, 2007 as Exhibit 10.8.

10.6

 

Amended and Restated Master Services and Supply Agreement (which amends and restates the Master Services and Supply Agreement by and between Universal Biosensors Pty. Ltd., Universal Biosensors, Inc., and LifeScan, Inc. dated October 29, 2007 filed on November 14, 2007 as Exhibit 10.1 to our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and the First Amendment to the Master Services and Supply Agreement filed on March 30, 2009 as Exhibit 10.14 to our Annual Report on Form 10-K).

 

Incorporated by reference to our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed on August 7, 2009 as Exhibit 10.3. Confidentiality treatment has been granted for portions of this exhibit. These confidential portions have been omitted and were filed separately with the SEC.

 

43

 

10.7

 

Third Amendment to Amended and Restated Master Services and Supply Agreement by and among Universal Biosensors, Inc., Universal Biosensors Pty Ltd, and Cilag GmbH International.

 

Incorporated by reference to our Current Report on Form 8-K filed on December 20, 2013 as Exhibit 10.2.

10.8

 

Deed of Surrender and Lease between Universal Biosensors Pty Ltd and Bowmayne Pty Ltd

 

Incorporated by reference to our Current Report on Form 8-K filed on March 18, 2021 as Exhibit 10.1.

10.9

 

Employment agreement between Universal Biosensors Pty Ltd and Mr. John Sharman effective March 3, 2020.

 

Incorporated by reference to our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q/A filed on May 1, 2020 as Exhibit 10.1

10.10

 

Definitive Agreements between Universal Biosensors Pty Ltd and Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics, Inc. dated September 18, 2019.

 

Incorporated by reference to our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed on November 4, 2019 as Exhibit 10.23

10.11#

 

Employee Incentive Plan

 

Incorporated by reference to our Current Report on Form 8-K filed on September 17, 2021 as Exhibit 10.2.

10.12#

 

Award Agreement between Universal Biosensors, Inc. and Mr. Salesh Balak, dated February 28, 2021

 

Incorporated by reference to our Current Report on Form 8-K filed on March 18, 2021 as Exhibit 10.2.

10.13#

 

Award Agreement between Universal Biosensors, Inc. and Mr. John Sharman, dated February 28, 2021

 

Incorporated by reference to our Current Report on Form 8-K filed on March 18, 2021 as Exhibit 10.3.

10.14

 

Underwriting Agreement between Viburnum Funds Pty Ltd and Universal Biosensors, Inc.

 

Incorporated by reference to our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed on August 10, 2022 as Exhibit 10.18.

13.0

 

Annual Report.

 

Filed herewith.

14.0

 

Code of Ethics.

 

Incorporated by reference to our Annual Report on Form 10-K filed on March 28, 2008 as Exhibit 14.

21.0

 

List of Subsidiaries.

 

Filed herewith.

24.0

 

Power of Attorney.

 

Included on signature page.

31.1

 

Certification of Principal Executive Officer pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

 

Filed herewith.

31.2

 

Certification of Principal Financial Officer pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

 

Filed herewith.

32.0

 

Certification of Principal Executive Officer and Principal Financial Officer pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

 

As provided in Rule 406T of Regulation S-T, this information is furnished herewith and not filed for purposes of Sections 11 and 12 of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

101

 

The following materials from the Universal Biosensors, Inc. Annual Report on Form 10-K for the financial year ended December 31, 2023 formatted in Extensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL): (i) the Consolidated Balance Sheets, (ii) the Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income/(Loss), (iii) the Consolidated Statements of Changes in Stockholder’s Equity and Comprehensive Income/(Loss), (iv) the Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows and (v) the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.

 

As provided in Rule 406T of Regulation S-T, this information is furnished herewith and not filed for purposes of Sections 11 and 12 of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

104

 

Cover Page Interactive Data File (Formatted as Inline XBRL and contained in Exhibit 101.

   

#

Indicates a management or compensatory plan.

 

 

 

44

 

Item 16. Form 10-K Summary.

 

None.

 

45

 

SIGNATURES

 

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

 

Date: February 29, 2024

 

 

Universal Biosensors, Inc.

 

(Registrant)

   
 

By: /s/ John Sharman

 

John Sharman

Principal Executive Officer

 

Power of Attorney

 

Each person whose signature appears below hereby constitutes and appoints John Sharman and Salesh Balak and each of them, his or her attorneys-in-fact, each with the power of substitution, for him or her and in his or her name, place and stead, in any and all capacities, to sign any and all amendments to this report on Form 10-K, and to file the same, with all exhibits thereto and all documents in connection therewith, with the SEC, granting unto said attorneys-in-fact and agents, and each of them full power and authority to do and perform each and every act and all intents and purposes as he or she might or could do in person, hereby ratifying and confirming all that such attorneys in-fact and agents or any of them or his or their substitute or substitutes, may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue thereof.

 

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this report has been signed by the following on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated:

 

Signature

Title

Date

 

/s/ John Sharman

Chief Executive Officer

February 29, 2024

John Sharman

(Principal Executive Officer)

 
     

/s/ Salesh Balak

Chief Financial Officer

February 29, 2024

Salesh Balak

(Principal Financial Officer and Principal Accounting Officer)

 
     

/s/ Craig Coleman

Director

February 29, 2024

Craig Coleman

   
     

/s/ Judith Smith

Director

February 29, 2024

Judith Smith

   

 

/s/ David Hoey

Director

February 29, 2024

David Hoey

   

 

/s/ Graham McLean

Non-Executive Chairman and Director

February 29, 2024

Graham McLean

   

 

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