424B3 1 tm2115985-21_424b3.htm 424B3 tm2115985-21_424b3 - none - 66.9378394s
  Filed Pursuant to Rule 424(b)(3)
 Registration No. 333-255493
PROXY STATEMENT FOR SPECIAL MEETING OF
MOUNTAIN CREST ACQUISITION CORP. II
AND
PROSPECTUS FOR SHARES OF
COMMON STOCK OF MOUNTAIN CREST ACQUISITION CORP. II
Mountain Crest Acquisition Corp. II
311 West 43rd Street
12th Floor
New York, NY 10036
(646) 493-6558
To the Stockholders of Mountain Crest Acquisition Corp. II:
You are cordially invited to attend the Special Meeting of Stockholders (the “Special Meeting”) of Mountain Crest Acquisition Corp. II, which is referred to as “MCAD.” The Special Meeting will be held on October 27, 2021, at 10:00 a.m. local time, via a virtual meeting. You will need the 12-digit meeting control number that is printed on your proxy card to enter the Special Meeting. MCAD recommends that you log in at least 15 minutes before the Special Meeting to ensure you are logged in when the Special Meeting starts. Please note that you will not be able to attend the Special Meeting in person.
At the Special Meeting, MCAD stockholders will be asked to consider and vote upon the following proposals (the “Proposals”):
Proposal 1.   The Business Combination Proposal — to consider and vote on a proposal to adopt and approve (a) the Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated as of April 6, 2021 and as amended as of August 30, 2021 and September 27, 2021 (the “Merger Agreement”), by and among Mountain Crest Acquisition Corp. II, a Delaware corporation (“MCAD”), MCAD Merger Sub Inc., a Delaware corporation and wholly owned subsidiary of MCAD (“Merger Sub”), and Better Therapeutics, Inc., a Delaware corporation (“BTX”), pursuant to which Merger Sub will merge with and into BTX, with BTX surviving the merger as a wholly owned subsidiary of MCAD and (b) such merger and the other transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement (the “Business Combination” and such proposal, the “Business Combination Proposal”). A copy of the Merger Agreement is attached to this proxy statement/prospectus as Annex A;
Proposal 2.   The Charter Amendment Proposal — to consider and vote on a proposal to adopt the proposed amended and restated certificate of incorporation of MCAD (the “Proposed Certificate of Incorporation”) attached hereto as Annex B (the “Charter Amendment Proposal”).
Proposal 3.   The Governance Proposal — to consider and vote, on a non-binding advisory basis, on seven separate governance proposals relating to the following material differences between the Current Charter and the Proposed Certificate of Incorporation (collectively, the “Governance Proposal”):
(A)
to amend the name of MCAD to “Better Therapeutics, Inc.” from “Mountain Crest Acquisition Corp. II” and remove certain provisions related to MCAD’s status as a special purpose acquisition company that will no longer be relevant following the closing of the Business Combination;
(B)
to increase the authorized shares of (i) Common Stock from 30,000,000 shares to 200,000,000 shares and (ii) preferred stock from no shares to 10,000,000 shares;
(C)
require the vote of at least two-thirds of the voting power of the outstanding shares of capital stock, rather than a simple majority, to adopt, amend or repeal MCAD’s bylaws;
(D)
require the vote of at least two-thirds of the voting power of the outstanding shares of capital stock, rather than a simple majority, to remove a director from office;
(E)
require the vote of a majority of the voting power of the outstanding shares of capital stock, to amend or repeal certain provisions of the Proposed Certificate of Incorporation;
(F)
require that special meetings of stockholders may only be called by the board of directors and not by stockholders, subject to any special rights of the holders of preferred stock; and
(G)
remove the forum selection provision providing for concurrent jurisdiction in the Court of Chancery and the federal district court for the District of Delaware for claims arising under the Securities Act of 1933 from the Proposed Certificate of Incorporation, such that Section 7 of the Combined Entity’s Bylaws providing for designation of the U.S. federal district courts as the exclusive forum for claims arising under the Securities Act of 1933 will be applicable.

Proposal 4.   The Nasdaq Proposal — to consider and vote on a proposal to approve, for purposes of complying with Nasdaq Rules 5635(a) and (b), (i) the issuance of more than 20% of the issued and outstanding MCAD common stock, $0.0001 par value (the “Common Stock”), and the resulting change in control in connection with the Business Combination and (ii) for the purposes of complying with Nasdaq Rules 5635(d) the issuance of more than 20% of the issued and outstanding Common Stock in the PIPE Investment (as defined in the accompanying proxy statement/prospectus), upon the completion of the Business Combination (the “Nasdaq Proposal”);
Proposal 5.   The Directors Proposal — to consider and vote upon a proposal to elect, effective as of the consummation of the Business Combination David Perry, Kevin Appelbaum, Richard Carmona, Suying Liu, Andy Armanino, Geoffrey Parker and Risa Lavizzo-Mourey to serve on MCAD’s Board of Directors (the “Directors Proposal”);
Proposal 6.   The 2021 Stock Option and Incentive Plan Proposal — to consider and vote on a proposal to approve the 2021 Stock Option and Incentive Plan Proposal (the “2021 Plan”), a copy of which is annexed to this proxy statement/prospectus as Annex D, in connection with the Business Combination (the “2021 Plan Proposal”);
Proposal 7.   The 2021 Employee Stock Purchase Plan Proposal — to consider and vote on a proposal to approve the 2021 Employee Stock Purchase Plan (the “2021 ESPP”), a copy of which is annexed to this proxy statement/prospectus as Annex E, in connection with the Business Combination (the “2021 ESPP Proposal”);
Proposal 8.   The Adjournment Proposal — to approve a proposal to adjourn the Special Meeting to a later date or dates, if necessary, to permit further solicitation and vote of proxies if, based upon the tabulated vote at the time of the Special Meeting, there are not sufficient votes to approve the Business Combination Proposal, the Charter Amendment Proposal, the Governance Proposal, the Nasdaq Proposal, the Directors Proposal, the 2021 Plan Proposal or the 2021 ESPP (the “Adjournment Proposal”).
On April 6, 2021, MCAD entered into the Merger Agreement by and among MCAD, Merger Sub and BTX. The Merger Agreement was amended on August 30, 2021 and September 27, 2021 to extend the outside date for the closing of the Business Combination from August 31, 2021 to October 8, 2021 and then from October 8, 2021 to October 31, 2021, respectively.
The Merger Agreement provides for the merger of Merger Sub with and into BTX, with BTX continuing as the surviving entity and following the merger BTX will be a wholly owned subsidiary of MCAD. In connection with the Business Combination, MCAD shall be renamed “Better Therapeutics, Inc.”
Under the Merger Agreement, MCAD has agreed to acquire all of the outstanding shares of BTX common stock in exchange for 15,000,000 shares of MCAD’s common stock, par value $0.0001 per share (“MCAD Common Stock”), subject to adjustment as explained below (the “Merger Consideration”). BTX shall deliver to MCAD, two business days prior to the closing of the Merger (the “Closing”), the calculation of BTX’s net debt (the “Net Debt”), by 8:00 PM Eastern Time (the “Net Debt Calculation Date”). Net Debt means, without duplication, (i) the amount outstanding under the Paycheck Protection Program Loan Promissory Note dated May 9, 2020 issued by Celtic Bank Corporation to BTX, minus (ii) the cash of BTX minus transaction expenses, in each case, as of the Net Debt Calculation Date. The Merger Consideration shall be adjusted as follows to account for the Net Debt: (a) if Net Debt is greater than $0.00 (the “Net Debt Target”), then the Merger Consideration shall be reduced at a rate of one share of MCAD Common Stock for each $10.00 increment that the Net Debt is greater than the Net Debt Target; (b) if Net Debt is less than the Net Debt Target, then the Merger Consideration shall be increased at a rate of one share of MCAD Common Stock for each $10.00 increment that the Net Debt is less than the Net Debt Target; or (c) if Net Debt equals the Net Debt Target, then no adjustment will be made to the Merger Consideration. Any adjustment to the Merger Consideration pursuant to this Section 2.2 shall be in whole shares of MCAD Common Stock and no adjustment shall be made for any divergence that is in an increment of less than $10.00.
Subject to the terms and conditions set forth in the Merger Agreement, at the effective time of the Business Combination (the “Effective Time”):
a.
each share of BTX common stock (other than BTX restricted stock) issued and outstanding immediately prior to the Effective Time shall be canceled and automatically converted into such BTX Shareholder’s right to receive, without interest, the number of shares of MCAD Common Stock equal to the product of (i) the number of shares of BTX common stock (other than BTX restricted stock) held by such BTX Shareholder and (ii) the “Exchange Ratio” determined by dividing (A) the Merger Consideration (after giving effect to the Net Debt adjustment, if any) by (B) the issued and outstanding number of shares of BTX common stock as of the Closing;
b.
each BTX stock option (whether vested or unvested) that is outstanding and unexercised immediately prior to the Effective Time shall be assumed by MCAD and automatically converted into an option to purchase shares of MCAD Common Stock (each an “Assumed Option”). The number of shares of MCAD Common Stock (rounded down to the nearest whole share) that are subject to each Assumed Option shall be equal to the product of (i) the number of shares of BTX common stock subject to the BTX stock option and (ii) the Exchange Ratio, and the exercise price per share of the Assumed Option (rounded up to the nearest whole cent) shall be equal to the quotient obtained by dividing (A) the exercise price per share of the BTX stock option by (B) the Exchange Ratio. Each Assumed Option will continue to

be subject to the terms and conditions set forth in the BTX stock option plan and its applicable grant agreement (except any references therein to BTX or shares of BTX common stock will instead mean the MCAD and shares of MCAD Common Stock, respectively). MCAD shall take all corporate action necessary to reserve for future issuance, and shall maintain such reservation for so long as any Assumed Options remain outstanding, a sufficient number of shares of MCAD Common Stock for delivery upon the exercise of such Assumed Options; and
c.
each award of BTX restricted stock that is outstanding immediately prior to the Effective Time shall be assumed by MCAD and automatically converted into an award of restricted MCAD Common Stock with the number of shares of MCAD Common Stock equal to the product of (i) the number of shares of BTX restricted stock and (ii) the Exchange Ratio (the “Assumed Restricted Stock Award”). Each Assumed Restricted Stock Award will continue to be subject to the terms and conditions set forth in the applicable restricted stock agreement (except any references therein to BTX or shares of BTX common stock will instead mean the MCAD and shares of MCAD Common Stock, respectively).
Following completion of the Business Combination and assuming no holders of Common Stock underlying the units (the “Public Shares”) sold in the MCAD IPO (as defined below) elect to redeem their shares, Mountain Crest Capital LLC (the “Sponsor”), MCAD’s officers, directors and other holders of MCAD shares, the public stockholders, the PIPE Investment (as defined below) investors and holders of BTX capital stock (the “BTX Equityholders”) will own approximately 6%, 22%, 18% and 54% of the outstanding common stock of the Combined Entity, respectively. These percentages are calculated based on a number of assumptions (described in the accompanying proxy statement/prospectus) and are subject to adjustment in accordance with the terms of the Merger Agreement.
The approval of the Charter Amendment Proposal requires the affirmative vote of a majority of the issued and outstanding shares of MCAD Common Stock as of the record date (the “Record Date”) for the Special Meeting. The approval of the Business Combination Proposal, the Governance Proposal, the Nasdaq Proposal, the 2021 Plan Proposal, 2021 ESPP Proposal and the Adjournment Proposal each require the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the shares of MCAD Common Stock cast by the stockholders represented in person or by proxy and entitled to vote thereon at the Special Meeting. Approval of the Directors Proposal will require the vote by a plurality of the shares of the Common Stock present in person by virtual attendance or represented by proxy and entitled to vote at the Meeting. If the Business Combination Proposal is not approved, the Charter Amendment Proposal, the Governance Proposal, the Nasdaq Proposal, the Directors Proposal, 2021 Plan Proposal and the 2021 ESPP Proposal will not be presented to the MCAD stockholders for a vote. The approval of the Business Combination Proposal, the Charter Amendment Proposal, the Nasdaq Proposal, the Directors Proposal, the 2021 Plan Proposal and the 2021 ESPP Proposal are preconditions to the consummation of the Business Combination.
MCAD Common Stock, Units (as defined below) and Rights (as defined below) are currently listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbols “MCAD,” “MCADU” and “MCADR,” respectively. Effective March 17, 2021, holders of MCAD’s units who elect to do so are able to trade the common stock and rights included in the units separately. The common stock and rights trade on the Nasdaq under the symbols MCAD and MCADR, respectively. Units not separated will continue to trade on Nasdaq under the symbol MCADU. After separation, the common stock and rights may not be recombined to create units.
Pursuant to the certificate of incorporation of MCAD as of the date hereof (the “Current Charter”), MCAD is providing its public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem, upon the Closing, shares of its Common Stock then held by them for cash equal to their pro rata share of the aggregate amount on deposit (as of two business days prior to the closing of the Business Combination) in the trust account (the “Trust Account”) that holds the proceeds (including interest but less franchise and income taxes payable) of MCAD’s initial public offering (the “MCAD IPO”). For illustrative purposes, based on funds in the Trust Account of approximately $57.5 million as of the Record Date, the estimated per share redemption price would have been approximately $10.00. Public stockholders may elect to redeem their shares even if they vote for the Business Combination Proposal A public stockholder, together with any of his, her or its affiliates or any other person with whom it is acting in concert or as a “group” ​(as defined under Section 13 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”)), will be restricted from redeeming in the aggregate his, her or its shares or, if part of such a group, the group’s shares, 20% or more of the shares of Common Stock included in the Units sold in MCAD IPO. Holders of MCAD’s outstanding Rights and Units do not have redemption rights with respect to such securities in connection with the Business Combination. Holders of outstanding Units must separate the underlying Public Shares and Rights prior to exercising redemption rights with respect to the Public Shares. The Sponsor, officers and directors have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to any shares of MCAD’s capital stock they may hold in connection with the consummation of the Business Combination, and such shares will be excluded from the pro rata calculation used to determine the per-share redemption price. As of the Record Date, the Sponsor owns  % of MCAD’s issued and outstanding shares of Common Stock. The Sponsor, directors and officers have agreed to vote any shares of Common Stock owned by them in favor of the Business Combination Proposal.
MCAD is providing this proxy statement/prospectus and accompanying proxy card to MCAD stockholders in connection with the solicitation of proxies to be voted at the Special Meeting and at any adjournments or postponements of the Special

Meeting. Whether or not you plan to attend the Special Meeting, MCAD urges you to read this proxy statement/prospectus (and any documents incorporated into this proxy statement/prospectus by reference) carefully. Please pay particular attention to the section titled “Risk Factors.
After careful consideration, the board of directors of MCAD has unanimously approved and adopted the Merger Agreement and the transactions contemplated therein and unanimously recommends that MCAD stockholders vote “FOR” adoption and approval of the Business Combination Proposal, FOR” the Charter Amendment Proposal, FOR” the Governance Proposal “FOR” the Nasdaq Proposal, “FOR” the Directors Proposal, “FOR” the 2021 Plan Proposal and “FOR” the 2021 ESPP Proposal presented to MCAD stockholders in this proxy statement/prospectus, and “FOR” the Adjournment Proposal. When you consider the board of directors’ recommendation of these proposals, you should keep in mind that the directors and officers of MCAD have interests in the Business Combination that may conflict with your interests as a stockholder. See the section titled “Business Combination Proposal — Interests of Certain Persons in the Business Combination.”
Each redemption of shares of MCAD Common Stock by MCAD public stockholders will decrease the amount in the Trust Account, which held total assets of approximately $57.5 million as of the Record Date. Net tangible assets will be maintained at a minimum of $5,000,001 upon consummation of the Business Combination.
Your vote is very important. If you are a registered stockholder, please vote your shares as soon as possible to ensure that your vote is counted, regardless of whether you expect to attend the Special Meeting in person on line, by completing, signing, dating and returning the enclosed proxy card in the postage-paid envelope provided. If you hold your shares in “street name” through a bank, broker or other nominee, you will need to follow the instructions provided to you by your bank, broker or other nominee to ensure that your shares are represented and voted at the Special Meeting. The transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement will be consummated only if the Business Combination Proposal, the Charter Amendment Proposal, the Nasdaq Proposal, the Directors Proposal, 2021 Plan Proposal and the 2021 ESPP Plan are approved at the Special Meeting. The Charter Amendment Proposal, the Governance Proposal, The Nasdaq Proposal, the Directors Proposal, the 2021 Plan Proposal and the 2021 ESPP Proposal are conditioned on the approval of the Business Combination Proposal and satisfaction of other closing conditions.
If you sign, date and return your proxy card without indicating how you wish to vote, your proxy will be voted “FOR” the Business Combination Proposal, “FOR” for the Charter Amendment Proposal, “FOR” for the Governance Proposal, “FOR” the Nasdaq Proposal, “FOR” the Directors Proposal, “FOR” for the 2021 Plan Proposal, and “FOR” the 2021 ESPP Proposal to be presented at the Special Meeting and “FOR” the Adjournment Proposal, if presented. If you fail to return your proxy card or fail to submit your proxy by telephone or over the Internet, or fail to instruct your bank, broker or other nominee how to vote, and do not attend the Special Meeting in person on line, the effect will be that your shares will not be counted for purposes of determining whether a quorum is present at the Special Meeting, and, if a quorum is present, will have no effect on the Proposals. If you are a stockholder of record and you attend the Special Meeting and wish to vote during the Special Meeting, you may withdraw your proxy and vote during the Special Meeting.
TO EXERCISE YOUR REDEMPTION RIGHTS, YOU MUST DEMAND THAT MCAD REDEEM YOUR SHARES FOR A PRO RATA PORTION OF THE FUNDS HELD IN THE TRUST ACCOUNT AND TENDER YOUR SHARES TO MCAD’S TRANSFER AGENT AT LEAST TWO BUSINESS DAYS PRIOR TO THE VOTE AT THE SPECIAL MEETING. YOU MAY TENDER YOUR SHARES BY EITHER DELIVERING YOUR SHARE CERTIFICATE TO THE TRANSFER AGENT OR BY DELIVERING YOUR SHARES ELECTRONICALLY USING DEPOSITORY TRUST COMPANY’S DEPOSIT WITHDRAWAL AT CUSTODIAN (“DWAC”) SYSTEM. IF THE BUSINESS COMBINATION IS NOT COMPLETED, THEN THESE SHARES WILL NOT BE REDEEMED FOR CASH. IF YOU HOLD THE SHARES IN STREET NAME, YOU WILL NEED TO INSTRUCT THE ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE AT YOUR BANK OR BROKER TO WITHDRAW THE SHARES FROM YOUR ACCOUNT IN ORDER TO EXERCISE YOUR REDEMPTION RIGHTS.
On behalf of MCAD’s board of directors, I would like to thank you for your support and look forward to the successful completion of the Business Combination.
Sincerely,
Suying Liu
Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the
Board of Directors
Mountain Crest Acquisition Corp. II
Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of the securities to be issued under the accompanying proxy statement/prospectus or determined that the accompanying proxy statement/prospectus is accurate or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
The accompanying proxy statement/prospectus is dated October 12, 2021 and is first being mailed to the stockholders of MCAD on or about October 12, 2021.

 
Mountain Crest Acquisition Corp. II
311 West 43rd Street
12th Floor
New York, NY 10036
NOTICE OF SPECIAL MEETING OF STOCKHOLDERS
OF MOUNTAIN CREST ACQUISITION CORP. II
To Be Held On October 27, 2021
To the Stockholders of Mountain Crest Acquisition Corp. II:
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that a special meeting of stockholders (the “Special Meeting”) of Mountain Crest Acquisition Corp. II, a Delaware corporation (“MCAD,” “we,” “our” or “us”), will be held on October 27, 2021, at 10:00 a.m., Eastern time, via live webcast at the following address https://www.cstproxy.com/mcacquisitionii/2021. You will need the 12 digit meeting control number that is printed on your proxy card to enter the Special Meeting. MCAD recommends that you log in at least 15 minutes before the Special Meeting to ensure you are logged in when the Special Meeting starts. You may also access the Special Meeting by telephone (listen only) within the U.S. and Canada: 1 888 965-8995 (toll free) and outside of the U.S. and Canada: +1 415 655-0243 (standard rates apply). You are cordially invited to attend the Special Meeting for the following purposes:
Proposal 1.   The Business Combination Proposal — to consider and vote on a proposal to adopt and approve (a) the Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated as of April 6, 2021 and as amended as of August 30, 2021 and September 27, 2021 (the “Merger Agreement”), by and among Mountain Crest Acquisition Corp. II, a Delaware corporation (“MCAD”), MCAD Merger Sub Inc., a Delaware corporation and wholly owned subsidiary of MCAD (“Merger Sub”), and Better Therapeutics, Inc., a Delaware corporation (“BTX”), pursuant to which Merger Sub will merge with and into BTX, with BTX surviving the merger as a wholly owned subsidiary of MCAD and (b) such merger and the other transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement (the “Business Combination” and such proposal, the “Business Combination Proposal”). A copy of the Merger Agreement is attached to this proxy statement/prospectus as Annex A;
Proposal 2.   The Charter Amendment Proposal — to consider and vote on a proposal to adopt the proposed amended and restated certificate of incorporation of MCAD (the “Proposed Certificate of Incorporation”) attached hereto as Annex B (the “Charter Amendment Proposal”).
Proposal 3.   The Governance Proposal — to consider and vote, on a non-binding advisory basis, on seven separate governance proposals relating to the following material differences between the Current Charter and the Proposed Certificate of Incorporation (collectively, the “Governance Proposal”):
(A)
to amend the name of MCAD to “Better Therapeutics, Inc.” from “Mountain Crest Acquisition Corp. II” and remove certain provisions related to MCAD’s status as a special purpose acquisition company that will no longer be relevant following the closing of the Business Combination;
(B)
to increase the authorized shares of (i) Common Stock from 30,000,000 shares to 200,000,000 shares and (ii) preferred stock from no shares to 10,000,000 shares;
(C)
require the vote of at least two-thirds of the voting power of the outstanding shares of capital stock, rather than a simple majority, to adopt, amend or repeal MCAD’s bylaws;
(D)
require the vote of a majority of the voting power of the outstanding shares of capital stock, to remove a director from office;
(E)
require the vote a majority of the voting power of the outstanding shares of capital stock, to amend or repeal certain provisions of the Proposed Certificate of Incorporation;
(F)
require that special meetings of stockholders may only be called by the board of directors and not by stockholders, subject to any special rights of the holders of preferred stock; and
 

 
(G)
remove the forum selection provision providing for concurrent jurisdiction in the Court of Chancery and the federal district court for the District of Delaware for claims arising under the Securities Act of 1933 from the Proposed Certificate of Incorporation, such that Section 7 of the Combined Entity’s Bylaws providing for designation of the U.S. federal district courts as the exclusive forum for claims arising under the Securities Act of 1933 will be applicable.
Proposal 4.   The Nasdaq Proposal — to consider and vote on a proposal to approve, for purposes of complying with Nasdaq Rules 5635(a) and (b), (i) the issuance of more than 20% of the issued and outstanding MCAD common stock, $.0001 par value, (the “Common Stock”) and the resulting change in control in connection with the Business Combination and (ii) for the purposes of complying with Nasdaq Rules 5635(d) the issuance of more than 20% of the issued and outstanding Common Stock in the PIPE Investment (as defined in the accompanying proxy statement/prospectus), upon the completion of the Business Combination (the “Nasdaq Proposal”);
Proposal 5.   The Directors Proposal — to consider and vote upon a proposal to elect, effective as of the consummation of the Business Combination, David Perry, Kevin Appelbaum, Richard Carmona, Suying Liu, Andy Armanino, Geoffrey Parker and Risa Lavizzo-Mourey to serve on the MCAD’s Board of Directors (the “Directors Proposal”);
Proposal 6.   The 2021 Stock Option and Incentive Plan Proposal — to consider and vote on a proposal to approve the 2021 Stock Option and Incentive Plan Proposal (the “2021 Plan”), a copy of which is annexed to this proxy statement/prospectus as Annex D, in connection with the Business Combination (the “2021 Plan Proposal”);
Proposal 7.   The 2021 Employee Stock Purchase Plan Proposal — to consider and vote on a proposal to approve the 2021 Employee Stock Purchase Plan (the “2021 ESPP”), a copy of which is annexed to this proxy statement/prospectus as Annex E, in connection with the Business Combination (the “2021 ESPP Proposal”); and
Proposal 8.   The Adjournment Proposal — to approve a proposal to adjourn the Special Meeting to a later date or dates, if necessary, to permit further solicitation and vote of proxies if, based upon the tabulated vote at the time of the Special Meeting, there are not sufficient votes to approve the Business Combination Proposal, the Charter Amendment Proposal, the Governance Proposal, the Nasdaq Proposal, the Directors Proposal, the 2021 Plan Proposal or the 2021 ESPP Proposal (the “Adjournment Proposal”).
Only holders of record of MCAD Common Stock at the close of business on September 8, 2021 (the “Record Date”) are entitled to notice of the Special Meeting and to vote at the Special Meeting and any adjournments or postponements of the Special Meeting. A complete list of MCAD stockholders of record entitled to vote at the Special Meeting will be available for ten days before the Special Meeting at the principal executive offices of MCAD for inspection by stockholders during ordinary business hours for any purpose germane to the Special Meeting.
Pursuant to MCAD’s Charter, MCAD is providing MCAD public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem, upon the closing of the Business Combination, shares of MCAD Common Stock then held by them for cash equal to their pro rata share of the aggregate amount on deposit (as of two business days prior to the closing of the Business Combination) in the Trust Account that holds the proceeds (including interest but less franchise and income taxes payable) of the MCAD IPO. For illustrative purposes, based on funds in the Trust Account of approximately $57.5 million on the Record Date, the estimated per share redemption price would have been approximately $10.00.
Public stockholders may elect to redeem their shares even if they vote for the Business Combination Proposal.   A public stockholder, together with any of his, her or its affiliates or any other person with whom it is acting in concert or as a “group” ​(as defined under Section 13 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”)), will be restricted from redeeming in the aggregate his, her or its shares or, if part of such a group, the group’s shares, with respect to 20% or more of the shares of Common Stock included in the Units sold in the MCAD IPO. Holders of MCAD’s outstanding Rights and Units do not have redemption rights with respect to such securities in connection with the Business Combination. Holders of outstanding Units must separate the underlying Public Shares and Rights prior to exercising
 

 
redemption rights with respect to the Public Shares. MCAD’s Sponsor, officers and directors have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to any shares of MCAD Common Stock they may hold in connection with the consummation of the Business Combination, and such shares will be excluded from the pro rata calculation used to determine the per-share redemption price. As of the Record Date, the Sponsor owns 20.8% of the issued and outstanding shares of MCAD Common Stock. MCAD’s Sponsor, directors and officers have agreed to vote any shares of MCAD Common Stock owned by them in favor of the Business Combination Proposal.
The approval of the Charter Amendment requires the affirmative vote of a majority of the issued and outstanding shares of MCAD Common Stock as of the Record Date for the Special Meeting. The approval of the Business Combination Proposal, the Governance Proposal, the Nasdaq Proposal, the 2021 Plan Proposal, the 2021 ESPP Proposal and the Adjournment Proposal each require the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the shares of MCAD Common Stock cast by the stockholders represented in person or by proxy and entitled to vote thereon at the Special Meeting. Approval of the Directors Proposal will require the vote by a plurality of the shares of the Common Stock present in person by virtual attendance or represented by proxy and entitled to vote at the Meeting. If the Business Combination Proposal is not approved, the Charter Amendment Proposal, the Governance Proposal, the Nasdaq Proposal, the Directors Proposal, the 2021 Plan Proposal and the 2021 ESPP Proposal will not be presented to the MCAD stockholders for a vote. The approval of the Business Combination Proposal, the Charter Amendment Proposal, the Nasdaq Proposal, the Directors Proposal, the 2021 Plan Proposal and the 2021 ESPP Proposal are preconditions to the consummation of the Business Combination. MCAD’s board of directors has already approved the Business Combination.
As of the Record Date, there was approximately $57.5 million in the Trust Account. Each redemption of shares of MCAD Common Stock by its public stockholders will decrease the amount in the Trust Account. Net tangible assets will be maintained at a minimum of $5,000,001 upon consummation of our initial business combination.
Your attention is directed to the proxy statement/prospectus accompanying this notice (including the annexes thereto) for a more complete description of the proposed Business Combination and related transactions and each of the Proposals. We encourage you to read this proxy statement/prospectus carefully. If you have any questions or need assistance voting your shares, please call us at (646) 493-6558.
October 12, 2021
By Order of the Board of Directors
Suying Liu
Chief Executive Officer and
Chairman of the Board of Directors
 

 
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ABOUT THIS PROXY STATEMENT/PROSPECTUS
This document, which forms part of a registration statement on Form S-4 filed with the SEC by MCAD (File No. 333-255493) (the “Registration Statement”), constitutes a prospectus of MCAD under Section 5 of the Securities Act, with respect to the shares of Common Stock to be issued if the Business Combination described below is consummated. This document also constitutes a notice of meeting and a proxy statement under Section 14(a) of the Exchange Act with respect to the special meeting of MCAD stockholders at which MCAD stockholders will be asked to consider and vote upon a proposal to approve the Business Combination by the approval and adoption of the Merger Agreement, among other matters.
MCAD files reports, proxy statements/prospectuses and other information with the SEC as required by the Exchange Act. You can read MCAD’s SEC filings, including this proxy statement/prospectus, over the Internet at the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov.
If you would like additional copies of this proxy statement/prospectus or if you have questions about the Business Combination or the proposals to be presented at the special meeting, you should contact us by telephone or in writing:
Suying Liu
Chief Executive Officer
Mountain Crest Acquisition Corp. II
311 West 43rd Street
12th Floor
New York, NY 10036
(646) 493-6558
You may also obtain these documents by requesting them in writing or by telephone from our proxy solicitor at:
Advantage Proxy
P.O. Box 13581
Des Moines, WA 98198
Toll Free: 877-870-8565
Collect: 206-870-8565
Email: KSmith@advantageproxy.com
If you are a stockholder of MCAD and would like to request documents, please do so by October 20, 2021 to receive them before the MCAD special meeting of stockholders. If you request any documents from us, we will mail them to you by first class mail, or another equally prompt means.
 
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FREQUENTLY USED TERMS
Unless otherwise stated or unless the context otherwise requires, the terms “we,” “us,” “our,” and “MCAD” refer to Mountain Crest Acquisition Corp. II
In this document:
Board” means the board of directors of MCAD.
BTX” means Better Therapeutics, Inc., a Delaware corporation, prior to the Business Combination;
BTX Board” means the board of directors of BTX prior to the Business Combination.
BTX Equityholders” refers to the holders of equity interests in BTX as of the time immediately before the Business Combination.
Business Combination” means the business combination pursuant to the Merger Agreement.
Charter” or “Current Charter” means MCAD’s current amended and restated certificate of incorporation as filed with the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware on July 31, 2020.
Closing” means the closing of the Business Combination.
Code” means the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended.
Combined Entity” means MCAD after the event in which BTX becomes a wholly-owned subsidiary of MCAD.
Effective Time” means the time at which the Business Combination became effective pursuant to its terms.
Founder Shares” means the outstanding shares of our Common Stock held by the Sponsor, our directors and affiliates of our management team since July 31, 2020.
MCAD” means Mountain Crest Acquisition Corp. II
MCAD Common Stock” or “Common Stock” means the common stock of MCAD, $.0001 par value
MCAD IPO” means MCAD’s initial public offering.
Merger Agreement” means the Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated as of April 6, 2021, by and among MCAD, Merger Sub and BTX, as amended by the Amendment to Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated as of August 30, 2021 and the Second Amendment to Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated as of September 27, 2021.
Merger Consideration Shares” means the 15,000,000 shares of Common Stock, subject to adjustment in accordance with the Merger Agreement, to be issued as part of the consideration for the Business Combination.
PIPE Investment” refers to the sale of shares of newly issued Common Stock in a private placement concurrent with the Business Combination.
Proposals” means the Business Combination Proposal, the Charter Amendment Proposal, the Governance Proposal, the Nasdaq Proposal, the Directors Proposal, the 2021 Plan Proposal, the 2021 ESPP Plan Proposal and the Adjournment Proposal.
Proposed Certificate of Incorporation” means the proposed certificate of incorporation of the Company to be in effect following the Business Combination, a form of which is attached to this proxy statement/prospectus as Annex B.
Public Shares” means Common Stock underlying the Units sold in the MCAD IPO.
Rights” means the rights issued in the MCAD IPO, each of which entitles the holder thereof to receive one-tenth (1/10) of a share of common stock upon consummation of our initial business combination.
 
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Redemption” means the right of the holders of Common Stock to have their shares redeemed in accordance with the procedures set forth in this proxy statement/prospectus.
Special Meeting” means the special meeting of the stockholders of MCAD, to be held on October 27, 2021, at 10:00 a.m., Eastern time, via live webcast at the following address https://www.cstproxy.com/mcacquisitionii/2021. You may also access the Special Meeting by telephone (listen only) within the U.S. and Canada: 1 888 965-8995 (toll free) and outside of the U.S. and Canada: +1 415 655-0243 (standard rates apply).
Sponsor” means Mountain Crest Capital LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, the two members of which are Suying Liu, our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, and Dong Liu, our Chief Financial Officer.
Trust Account” means the Trust Account of MCAD, which holds the net proceeds of the MCAD IPO and the sale of the private units, together with interest earned thereon, less amounts released to pay franchise and income tax obligations.
Unit” means a unit consisting of one share of Common Stock and one right to receive one-tenth (1/10) of a share.
 
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QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ABOUT THE PROPOSALS
The following questions and answers briefly address some commonly asked questions about the proposals to be presented at the Special Meeting of MCAD stockholders. The following questions and answers do not include all the information that is important to stockholders of MCAD. We urge the stockholders of MCAD to read carefully this entire proxy statement/prospectus, including the annexes and other documents referred to herein.
Q.
Why am I receiving this proxy statement/prospectus?
A.
MCAD stockholders are being asked to consider and vote upon a proposal to approve and adopt the Merger Agreement, among other proposals. MCAD has entered into the Merger Agreement as a result of which Merger Sub, a wholly owned subsidiary of MCAD, shall merge with and into BTX with BTX surviving such merger, and as a result of BTX will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of MCAD. We refer to this merger as the “Business Combination.” Subject to the terms of the Merger Agreement and customary adjustments set forth therein, the aggregate consideration for the Business Combination and related transactions is expected to be approximately $152,000,000 of equity consideration, as set forth in the Merger Agreement. We refer to such aggregate amount as the “Aggregate Purchase Price.” A copy of the Merger Agreement is attached to this proxy statement/prospectus as Annex A.
This proxy statement/prospectus and its annexes contain important information about the proposed Business Combination and the other matters to be acted upon at the Special Meeting. You should read this proxy statement/prospectus and its annexes carefully and in their entirety.
Your vote is important. You are encouraged to submit your proxy as soon as possible after carefully reviewing this proxy statement/prospectus and its annexes.
Below are proposals on which MCAD stockholders are being asked to vote.
Proposal 1.   The Business Combination Proposal — to consider and vote on a proposal to adopt and approve (a) the Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated as of April 6, 2021 and as amended as of August 30, 2021 and on September 27, 2021 (the “Merger Agreement”), by and among Mountain Crest Acquisition Corp. II, a Delaware corporation (“MCAD”), MCAD Merger Sub Inc., a Delaware corporation and wholly owned subsidiary of MCAD (“Merger Sub”), and Better Therapeutics, Inc., a Delaware corporation (“BTX”), pursuant to which Merger Sub will merge with and into BTX, with BTX surviving the merger as a wholly owned subsidiary of MCAD and (b) such merger and the other transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement (the “Business Combination” and such proposal, the “Business Combination Proposal”). A copy of the Merger Agreement is attached to this proxy statement/prospectus as Annex A;
Proposal 2.   The Charter Amendment Proposal — to consider and vote on a proposal to adopt the proposed amended and restate certificate of incorporation of MCAD (the “Proposed Certificate of Incorporation”) attached hereto as Annex B (the “Charter Amendment Proposal”);
Proposal 3.   The Governance Proposal — to consider and vote, on a non-binding advisory basis, on seven separate governance proposals relating to the following material differences between the Current Charter and the Proposed Certificate of Incorporation (collectively, the “Governance Proposal”):
(A)
to amend the name of MCAD to “Better Therapeutics, Inc.” from “Mountain Crest Acquisition Corp. II” and remove certain provisions related to MCAD’s status as a special purpose acquisition company that will no longer be relevant following the closing of the Business Combination;
(B)
to increase the authorized shares of (i) Common Stock from 30,000,000 shares to 200,000,000 shares and (ii) preferred stock from no shares to 10,000,000 shares;
(C)
require the vote of at least two-thirds of the voting power of the outstanding shares of capital stock, rather than a simple majority, to adopt, amend or repeal the Combined Entity’s bylaws;
(D)
require the vote of at least two-thirds of the voting power of the outstanding shares of capital stock, rather than a simple majority, to remove a director from office;
 
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(E)
require the vote of a majority of the voting power of the outstanding shares of capital stock, to amend or repeal certain provisions of the Proposed Certificate of Incorporation;
(F)
require that special meetings of stockholders may only be called by the board of directors and not by stockholders, subject to any special rights of the holders of preferred stock; and
(G)
remove the forum selection provision providing for concurrent jurisdiction in the Court of Chancery and the federal district court for the District of Delaware for claims arising under the Securities Act from the Proposed Certificate of Incorporation, such that Section 7 of the Combined Entity’s Bylaws providing for designation of the U.S. federal district courts as the exclusive forum for claims arising under the Securities Act will be applicable.
Proposal 4.   The Nasdaq Proposal — to consider and vote on a proposal to approve, for purposes of complying with Nasdaq Rules 5635(a) and (b), (i) the issuance of more than 20% of the issued and outstanding MCAD common stock, $0.0001 par value (the “Common Stock”), and the resulting change in control in connection with the Business Combination and (ii) for the purposes of complying with Nasdaq Rules 5635(d) the issuance of more than 20% of the issued and outstanding Common Stock in the PIPE Investment (as defined in the accompanying proxy statement/prospectus), upon the completion of the Business Combination (the “Nasdaq Proposal”);
Proposal 5.   The Directors Proposal — to consider and vote upon a proposal to elect, effective as of the consummation of the Business Combination, David Perry, Kevin Appelbaum, Richard Carmona, Suying Liu, Andy Armanino, Geoffrey Parker and Risa Lavizzo-Mourey to serve on the Combined Entity Board of Directors (we refer to this proposal as the “Directors Proposal”);
Proposal 6.   The 2021 Stock Option and Incentive Plan Proposal — to consider and vote on a proposal to approve the 2021 Stock Option and Incentive Plan Proposal (the “2021 Plan”), a copy of which is annexed to this proxy statement/prospectus as Annex D, in connection with the Business Combination (the “2021 Plan Proposal”);
Proposal 7.   The 2021 Employee Stock Purchase Plan Proposal — to consider and vote on a proposal to approve the 2021 Employee Stock Purchase Plan (the “2021 ESPP”), a copy of which is annexed to this proxy statement/prospectus as Annex E, in connection with the Business Combination (the “2021 ESPP Proposal”);
Proposal 8.   The Adjournment Proposal — to approve a proposal to adjourn the Special Meeting to a later date or dates, if necessary, to permit further solicitation and vote of proxies if, based upon the tabulated vote at the time of the Special Meeting, there are not sufficient votes to approve the Business Combination Proposal, the Charter Amendment Proposal, the Governance Proposal or the Nasdaq Proposal, the Directors Proposal, the 2021 Plan Proposal or the 2021 ESPP Proposal (the “Adjournment Proposal”).
Q:
Are the proposals conditioned on one another?
A:
Unless the Business Combination Proposal is approved, the Charter Amendment Proposal, the Governance Proposal, the Nasdaq Proposal, the Directors Proposal, the 2021 Plan Proposal and the 2021 ESPP Proposal will not be presented to the stockholders of MCAD at the Special Meeting. The Adjournment Proposal is not conditioned on the approval of any other proposal set forth in this proxy statement/prospectus. It is important for you to note that in the event that the Business Combination Proposal does not receive the requisite vote for approval, then we will not consummate the Business Combination. If MCAD does not consummate the Business Combination and fails to complete an initial business combination by April 12, 2022, MCAD will be required to dissolve and liquidate its Trust Account by returning the then remaining funds in such account to its public stockholders.
Q:
What will happen in the Business Combination?
A:
At the Closing, Merger Sub will merge with and into BTX, with BTX surviving such merger as the surviving entity. Upon consummation of the Business Combination, BTX will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of MCAD. In connection with the Business Combination, the cash held in the Trust Account after giving effect to any redemption of shares by MCAD’s public stockholders and the
 
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proceeds from the PIPE Investment will be used to pay certain fees and expenses in connection with the Business Combination, and for working capital and general corporate purposes. A copy of the Merger Agreement is attached to this proxy statement/prospectus as Annex A.
Q:
What equity stake will current stockholders of the Company and BTX Equityholders hold in the Combined Entity after the Closing?
A:
It is anticipated that, upon the Closing of the Business Combination, MCAD’s public stockholders (other than the PIPE Investment investors) will retain an ownership interest of approximately 22% in the Combined Entity, the PIPE Investment investors will own approximately 18% of the Combined Entity (such that public stockholders, including PIPE Investment investors, will own approximately 40% of the Combined Entity), MCAD’s Sponsor, officers, directors and other holders of MCAD shares will retain an ownership interest of approximately 6% in the Combined Entity and the BTX Equityholders will own approximately 54% of the outstanding common stock of the Combined Entity. The ownership percentage with respect to the Combined Entity following the Business Combination does not take into account (i) the redemption of any shares by MCAD’s public stockholders, or (ii) the issuance of any shares upon Closing of the Business Combination under the 2021 Plan or the 2021 ESPP, which are intended to be adopted following consummation of the Business Combination. If the actual facts are different than these assumptions (which they are likely to be), the percentage ownership retained by the Company’s existing stockholders in the Combined Entity will be different.
See the section titled “Unaudited Pro Forma Condensed Combined Financial Information” for further information.
Q.
What conditions must be satisfied to complete the Business Combination?
A:
There are a number of closing conditions in the Merger Agreement, including the approval by the stockholders of MCAD of the Business Combination Proposal, the Charter Amendment Proposal, the Nasdaq Proposal, the Directors Proposal, the 2021 Plan Proposal and the 2021 ESPP Proposal. The Charter Amendment Proposal, the Governance Proposal, the Nasdaq Proposal, the Directors Proposal, the 2021 Plan Proposal and the 2021 ESPP Proposal are subject to and conditioned on the approval of the Business Combination Proposal. The Business Combination Proposal is subject to and conditioned on the approval of the Charter Amendment Proposal, the Nasdaq Proposal, the Directors Proposal, the 2021 Plan Proposal and the 2021 ESPP Proposal. For a summary of the conditions that must be satisfied or waived prior to the Closing of the Business Combination, see the section titled “The Business Combination Proposal — The Merger Agreement.”
Q:
Why is MCAD providing stockholders with the opportunity to vote on the Business Combination?
A:
Under the Current Charter, MCAD must provide all holders of its Public Shares with the opportunity to have their Public Shares redeemed upon the consummation of MCAD’s initial business combination either in conjunction with a tender offer or in conjunction with a stockholder vote. For business and other reasons, MCAD has elected to provide its stockholders with the opportunity to have their Public Shares redeemed in connection with a stockholder vote rather than a tender offer. Therefore, MCAD is seeking to obtain the approval of its stockholders of the Business Combination Proposal in order to allow its public stockholders to effectuate redemptions of their Public Shares in connection with the closing of its Business Combination.
Q:
Are there any arrangements to help ensure that MCAD will have sufficient funds, together with the proceeds in its Trust Account, to fund the Aggregate Purchase Price?
A:
Yes. MCAD entered into subscription agreements dated as of April 6, 2021, with the PIPE Investment investors, pursuant to which, among other things, MCAD agreed to issue and sell, in a private placement to close concurrent with the consummation of the Business Combination, an aggregate of 5,000,000 shares of MCAD common stock for $10 per share for a total of $50,000,000.
To the extent not utilized to consummate the Business Combination, the proceeds from the Trust Account will be used for general corporate purposes, including, but not limited to, working capital for operations, capital expenditures and future acquisitions. MCAD has agreed that it (or its successor) will
 
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file with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) a registration statement registering the resale of the shares purchased in the PIPE Investment and use its commercially reasonable efforts to have the registration statement declared effective as soon as practicable.
Q:
How many votes do I have at the Special Meeting?
A:
MCAD stockholders are entitled to one vote at the Special Meeting for each share of MCAD Common Stock held of record as of September 8, 2021, the record date for the Special Meeting (the “Record Date”). As of the close of business on the Record Date, there were 7,557,500 outstanding shares of MCAD Common Stock.
Q:
What vote is required to approve the proposals presented at the Special Meeting?
A:
The approval of the Charter Amendment Proposal requires the affirmative vote of a majority of the issued and outstanding MCAD Common Stock as of the Record Date. Accordingly, an MCAD stockholder’s failure to vote by proxy or to vote in person on line at the Special Meeting or an abstention will have the same effect as a vote “AGAINST” the Charter Amendment Proposal.
The approval of the Business Combination Proposal, the Governance Proposal, the Nasdaq Proposal, the 2021 Plan Proposal, 2021 ESPP Proposal and the Adjournment Proposal each require the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the shares of MCAD Common Stock cast by the stockholders represented in person or by proxy and entitled to vote thereon at the Special Meeting. Approval of the Directors Proposal will require the vote by a plurality of the shares of the Common Stock present in person by virtual attendance or represented by proxy and entitled to vote at the Meeting. A MCAD stockholder’s failure to vote by proxy or to vote in person on line at the Special Meeting will not be counted towards the number of shares of MCAD Common Stock required to validly establish a quorum, and if a valid quorum is otherwise established, it will have no effect on the outcome of the vote on the Governance Proposal, the Nasdaq Proposal, the Directors Proposal, the 2021 Plan Proposal, the 2021 ESPP Proposal and the Adjournment Proposal.
If the Business Combination Proposal is not approved, the Charter Amendment Proposal, the Governance Proposal, the Nasdaq Proposal the Directors Proposal the 2021 Plan Proposal and the 2021 ESPP Proposal will not be presented to the MCAD stockholders for a vote. The approval of the Business Combination Proposal, the Charter Amendment Proposal, the Nasdaq Proposal, the Directors Proposal the 2021 Plan Proposal and the 2021 ESPP Proposal are preconditions to the consummation of the Business Combination.
Q:
What constitutes a quorum at the Special Meeting?
A:
A quorum will be present at the Special Meeting if a majority of the Common Stock issued and outstanding and entitled to vote at the Special Meeting is represented in person or by proxy at the Special Meeting. In the absence of a quorum, the stockholders present in person or represented by proxy shall have power to adjourn the meeting.
Q:
How will the Sponsor, directors and officers vote?
A:
The Sponsor, as MCAD’s initial stockholder, has agreed to vote its Founder Shares (as well as any Public Shares purchased during or after the MCAD IPO) in favor of the Business Combination. Likewise MCAD’s directors and officers have agreed to vote the shares held by them in favor of the Business Combination. Accordingly, it is more likely that the necessary stockholder approval will be received than would be the case if the Sponsor agreed to vote their Founder Shares in accordance with the majority of the votes cast by MCAD’s public stockholders.
Q:
What interests do MCAD’s current officers and directors have in the Business Combination?
A:
The Sponsor the two members of which are Suying Liu, our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, and Dong Liu, our Chief Financial Officer, members of the Board and its executive officers have interests in the Business Combination that are different from or in addition to (and which may conflict with) your interest. These interests include:
 
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unless MCAD consummates an initial business combination, MCAD’s officers, directors and Sponsor will not receive reimbursement for any out-of-pocket expenses incurred by them to the extent that such expenses exceed the amount of available proceeds from the MCAD IPO and Private Placement not deposited in the Trust Account. As of the date of this filing MCAD’s officers, directors and Sponsor have not loaned any money to MCAD and have not incurred any expenses on behalf of MCAD for which they are seeking reimbursement;

with certain limited exceptions, 50% of MCAD’s founder shares will not be transferred, assigned, sold or released from escrow until the earlier of six months after the date of the consummation of our initial business combination and the date the closing price of our common stock equals or exceeds $12.50 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations and recapitalizations) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing after our initial business combination and the remaining 50% of the insider shares will not be transferred, assigned, sold or released from escrow until six months after the date of the consummation of our initial business combination or earlier in either case if, subsequent to our initial business combination, we complete a liquidation, merger, stock exchange or other similar transaction which results in all of our stockholders having the right to exchange their shares of common stock for cash, securities or other property;

the fact that Sponsor paid an aggregate of $25,000 (or approximately $0.017 per share) for its 1,431,500 founders shares and such securities may have a value of $14,315,000 at the time of the Business Combination. Because the merger consideration is based on a deemed price per share of $10.00 a share, our Sponsor could make a substantial profit after the initial business combination even if public investors experience substantial losses. Further, the Founder Shares have no redemption rights upon MCAD’s liquidation and will be worthless if no business combination is effected

the fact that the Sponsor currently holds 142,500 private units which were purchased at a price of $10 per unit, or an aggregate value of $1,425,000 and which have no redemption rights upon MCAD’s liquidation and will be worthless if no business combination is effected; and

the fact that Sponsor has agreed not to redeem any of the Founders Shares in connection with a stockholder vote to approve a proposed initial business combination.
These interests may influence MCAD’s directors in making their recommendation that you vote in favor of the approval of the Business Combination.
Q:
What happens if I sell my shares of Common Stock before the Special Meeting?
A:
The Record Date is earlier than the date of the Special Meeting. If you transfer your shares of Common Stock after the Record Date, but before the Special Meeting, unless the transferee obtains from you a proxy to vote those shares, you will retain your right to vote at the Special Meeting. However, you will not be able to seek redemption of your shares because you will no longer be able to deliver them for cancellation upon consummation of the Business Combination. If you transfer your shares of Common Stock prior to the Record Date, you will have no right to vote those shares at the Special Meeting or redeem those shares for a pro rata portion of the proceeds held in our Trust Account.
Q:
What happens if I vote against the Business Combination Proposal?
A:
Pursuant to the Current Charter, if the Business Combination Proposal is not approved and MCAD does not otherwise consummate an alternative business combination by April 12, 2022, MCAD will be required to dissolve and liquidate its Trust Account by returning the then remaining funds in such account to the public stockholders.
Q:
Do I have redemption rights?
A:
Pursuant to the Current Charter, holders of Public Shares may elect to have their shares redeemed for cash at the applicable redemption price per share calculated in accordance with MCAD’s Charter. As of the Record Date, based on funds in the Trust Account of approximately $57.5 million, this would have amounted to approximately $10.00 per share. If a holder exercises its redemption rights, then such holder will be exchanging its shares of MCAD Common Stock for cash. Such a holder will be
 
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entitled to receive cash for its Public Shares only if it properly demands redemption and delivers its shares (either physically or electronically) to MCAD’s transfer agent prior to the Special Meeting. See the section titled “Special Meeting of MCAD Stockholders — Redemption Rights” for the procedures to be followed if you wish to redeem your shares for cash.
Q:
Will how I vote affect my ability to exercise redemption rights?
A:
No. You may exercise your redemption rights whether you vote your shares of MCAD Common Stock “FOR” or “AGAINST” the Business Combination Proposal or any other proposal described by this proxy statement/prospectus. As a result, the Merger Agreement can be approved by stockholders who will redeem their shares and no longer remain stockholders, leaving stockholders who choose not to redeem their shares holding shares in a company with a potentially less liquid trading market, fewer stockholders, potentially less cash and the potential inability to meet the listing standards of Nasdaq.
Q:
How do I exercise my redemption rights?
A:
In order to exercise your redemption rights, you must prior to 5:00 PM, Eastern time, on October 25, 2021 (two (2) business days before the Special Meeting), tender your shares physically or electronically and submit a request in writing that we redeem your Public Shares for cash to Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, our transfer agent, at the following address:
Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company
One State Street Plaza, 30th Floor
New York, New York 10004
Attention: Mark Zimkind
Email: mzimkind@continentalstock.com
Notwithstanding the foregoing, a holder of the Public Shares, together with any affiliate of his or any other person with whom he is acting in concert or as a “group” ​(as defined in Section 13d-3 of the Exchange Act) will be restricted from seeking redemption rights with respect to an aggregate of 20% or more of the shares of MCAD Common Stock included in the Units sold in the MCAD IPO, which we refer to as the “20% threshold.” Accordingly, all Public Shares in excess of the 20% threshold beneficially owned by a public stockholder or group will not be redeemed for cash.
Stockholders seeking to exercise their redemption rights and opting to deliver physical certificates should allot sufficient time to obtain physical certificates from the transfer agent and time to effect delivery. It is MCAD’s understanding that stockholders should generally allot at least two weeks to obtain physical certificates from the transfer agent. However, MCAD does not have any control over this process and it may take longer than two weeks. Stockholders who hold their shares in street name will have to coordinate with their bank, broker or other nominee to have the shares certificated or delivered electronically.
Any demand for redemption, once made, may be withdrawn at any time until the deadline for exercising redemption requests and thereafter, with MCAD’s consent, until the vote is taken with respect to the Business Combination. If you delivered your shares for redemption to MCAD’s transfer agent and decide within the required timeframe not to exercise your redemption rights, you may request that MCAD’s transfer agent return the shares (physically or electronically). You may make such request by contacting MCAD’s transfer agent at the phone number or address listed under the question “Who can help answer my questions?” below.
Q:
What are the U.S. federal income tax consequences of exercising my redemption rights?
A:
In the event that a U.S. Holder elects to redeem its MCAD Common Stock for cash, the treatment of the transaction for U.S. federal income tax purposes will depend on whether the redemption qualifies as sale or exchange of the MCAD Common Stock under Section 302 of the Internal Revenue Code (the “Code”) or is treated as a distribution under Section 301 of the Code. Whether the redemption qualifies as a sale or exchange or is treated as a distribution will depend on the facts and circumstances of each particular U.S. Holder at the time such U.S. Holder exercises his, her, or its redemption right. If the redemption qualifies as a sale or exchange of the MCAD Common Stock, the U.S. Holder will be
 
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treated as recognizing capital gain or loss equal to the difference between the amount realized on the redemption and such U.S. Holder’s adjusted tax basis in the MCAD Common Stock surrendered in such redemption transaction. Any such capital gain or loss generally will be long-term capital gain or loss if the U.S. Holder’s holding period for the MCAD Common Stock redeemed exceeds one year. Long-term capital gains recognized by non-corporate U.S. Holders will be eligible to be taxed at reduced rates. The deductibility of capital losses is subject to limitations. If the redemption does not qualify as a sale or exchange of MCAD Common Stock, the U.S. Holder will be treated as receiving a corporate distribution. Such distributions generally will constitute dividends for U.S. federal income tax purposes to the extent paid from MCAD’s current or accumulated earnings and profits, as determined under U.S. federal income tax principles. Distributions in excess of current and accumulated earnings and profits will constitute a return of capital that will be applied against and reduce (but not below zero) the U.S. Holder’s adjusted tax basis in the MCAD Common Stock. Any remaining excess will be treated as gain realized on the sale or other disposition of the Common Stock. See “Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Consequences — Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Consequences of Exercising Redemption Rights” for a more detailed discussion of the U.S. federal income tax consequences of a U.S. Holder electing to redeem its MCAD Common Stock for cash.
Q:
If I am a holder of Rights, can I exercise redemption rights with respect to my Rights?
A:
No. The holders of Rights have no redemption rights with respect to the Rights.
Q:
If I am a Unit holder, can I exercise redemption rights with respect to my Units?
A:
No. Holders of outstanding Units must separate the underlying Public Shares and Rights prior to exercising redemption rights with respect to the Public Shares.
If you hold Units registered in your own name, you must deliver the certificate for such Units to Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, our transfer agent, with written instructions to separate such Units into Public Shares and Rights. This must be completed far enough in advance to permit the mailing of the Public Share certificates back to you so that you may then exercise your redemption rights upon the separation of the Public Shares from the Units. See the question “— How do I exercise my redemption rights?” above. The address of Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company is listed under the question “— Who can help answer my questions?” below.
If a broker, dealer, commercial bank, trust company or other nominee holds your Units, you must instruct such nominee to separate your Units. Your nominee must send written instructions by facsimile to Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, our transfer agent. Such written instructions must include the number of Units to be split and the nominee holding such Units. Your nominee must also initiate electronically, using DTC’s deposit withdrawal at custodian (DWAC) system, a withdrawal of the relevant units and a deposit of an equal number of Public Shares and Rights. This must be completed far enough in advance to permit your nominee to exercise your redemption rights upon the separation of the Public Shares from the Units. While this is typically done electronically the same business day, you should allow at least one full business day to accomplish the separation. If you fail to cause your Public Shares to be separated in a timely manner, you will likely not be able to exercise your redemption rights.
Q:
Do I have dissenter rights if I object to the proposed Business Combination?
A:
No. There are no dissenter rights available to holders of MCAD Common Stock in connection with the Business Combination.
Q:
What happens to the funds held in the Trust Account upon consummation of the Business Combination?
A:
If the Business Combination is consummated, the funds held in the Trust Account will be released to pay:

Company stockholders who properly exercise their redemption rights;

certain other fees, costs and expenses (including regulatory fees, legal fees, accounting fees, printer fees, and other professional fees) that were incurred by MCAD or BTX in connection with the transactions contemplated by the Business Combination and pursuant to the terms of the Merger Agreement;
 
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unpaid franchise and income taxes of MCAD; and

for general corporate purposes including, but not limited to, working capital for operations, capital expenditures and future potential acquisitions.
Q:
What happens if the Business Combination is not consummated?
A:
There are certain circumstances under which the Merger Agreement may be terminated. See the section titled “The Business Combination Proposal — The Merger Agreement” for information regarding the parties’ specific termination rights.
If, as a result of the termination of the Merger Agreement or otherwise, MCAD is unable to complete the Business Combination or another initial business combination transaction by April 12, 2022, the Current Charter provides that it will (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten Business Days thereafter, subject to lawfully available funds therefor, redeem 100% of the Public Shares in consideration of a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the quotient obtained by dividing (A) the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account, including interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account and not previously released to it to pay franchise and income taxes payable and up to $100,000 for dissolution expenses, by (B) the total number of then outstanding Public Shares, which redemption will completely extinguish rights of the public stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidation distributions, if any), subject to applicable law, and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemptions, subject to the approval of the remaining stockholders and the board of directors in accordance with applicable law, dissolve and liquidate, subject (in the case of (ii) and (iii) above) to its obligations under the Delaware General Corporation Law (“DGCL”) to provide for claims of creditors and other requirements of applicable law.
MCAD expects that the amount of any distribution its public stockholders will be entitled to receive upon its dissolution will be approximately the same as the amount they would have received if they had redeemed their shares in connection with the Business Combination, subject in each case to MCAD’s obligations under the DGCL to provide for claims of creditors and other requirements of applicable law. Holders of Founder Shares have waived any right to any liquidation distribution with respect to those shares.
Q:
When is the Business Combination expected to be completed?
A:
The Closing is expected to take place (a) the second business day following the satisfaction or waiver of the conditions described below under the section titled “The Business Combination Proposal — Structure of the Business Combination — Conditions to Closing of the Business Combination”; or (b) such other date as agreed to by the parties to the Merger Agreement in writing, in each case, subject to the satisfaction or waiver of the Closing conditions. The Merger Agreement may be terminated by either MCAD or BTX if the Closing has not occurred by October 31, 2021, subject to certain exceptions.
For a description of the conditions to the completion of the Business Combination, see the section titled “The Business Combination Proposal.”
Q:
What do I need to do now?
A:
You are urged to read carefully and consider the information contained in this proxy statement/prospectus, including the annexes, and to consider how the Business Combination will affect you as a stockholder. You should then vote as soon as possible in accordance with the instructions provided in this proxy statement/prospectus and on the enclosed proxy card or, if you hold your shares through a brokerage firm, bank or other nominee, on the voting instruction form provided by the broker, bank or nominee.
Q:
How do I vote?
A.
If you are a stockholder of record, you may vote online at the virtual Meeting or vote by proxy using the enclosed proxy card, the Internet or telephone. Whether or not you plan to participate in the Meeting,
 
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we urge you to vote by proxy to ensure your vote is counted. Even if you have already voted by proxy, you may still attend the virtual Meeting and vote online, if you choose.
To vote online at the virtual Meeting, follow the instructions below under “How may I participate in the virtual Meeting?”
To vote using the proxy card, please complete, sign and date the proxy card and return it in the prepaid envelope. If you return your signed proxy card before the Meeting, we will vote your shares as you direct.
To vote via the telephone, you can vote by calling the telephone number on your proxy card. Please have your proxy card handy when you call. Easy-to-follow voice prompts will allow you to vote your shares and confirm that your instructions have been properly recorded.
To vote via the Internet, please go to https://www.cstproxy.com/mcacquisitionii/2021 and follow the instructions. Please have your proxy card handy when you go to the website. As with telephone voting, you can confirm that your instructions have been properly recorded.
Telephone and Internet voting facilities for stockholders of record will be available 24 hours a day until 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on October 26, 2021. After that, telephone and Internet voting will be closed, and if you want to vote your shares, you will either need to ensure that your proxy card is received before the date of the Meeting or attend the virtual Meeting to vote your shares online.
If your shares are registered in the name of your broker, bank or other agent, you are the “beneficial owner” of those shares and those shares are considered as held in “street name.” If you are a beneficial owner of shares registered in the name of your broker, bank or other agent, you should have received a proxy card and voting instructions with these proxy materials from that organization rather than directly from us. Simply complete and mail the proxy card to ensure that your vote is counted. You may be eligible to vote your shares electronically over the Internet or by telephone. A large number of banks and brokerage firms offer Internet and telephone voting. If your bank or brokerage firm does not offer Internet or telephone voting information, please complete and return your proxy card in the self-addressed, postage-paid envelope provided.
If you plan to vote at the virtual Meeting, you will need to contact Continental at the phone number or email below to receive a control number and you must obtain a legal proxy from your broker, bank or other nominee reflecting the number of shares of Common Stock you held as of the Record Date, your name and email address. You must contact Continental for specific instructions on how to receive the control number. Please allow up to 48 hours prior to the meeting for processing your control number.
After obtaining a valid legal proxy from your broker, bank or other agent, to then register to attend the Meeting, you must submit proof of your legal proxy reflecting the number of your shares along with your name and email address to Continental. Requests for registration should be directed to 917-262-2373 or email proxy@continentalstock.com. Requests for registration must be received no later than 5:00 p.m., Eastern Time, on October 22, 2021.
You will receive a confirmation of your registration by email after we receive your registration materials. We encourage you to access the Meeting prior to the start time leaving ample time for the check in.
Q.
How may I participate in the virtual Meeting?
A.
If you are a stockholder of record as of the Record Date for the Meeting, you should receive a proxy card from Continental, containing instructions on how to attend the virtual Meeting including the URL address, along with your control number. You will need your control number for access. If you do not have your control number, contact Continental at 917-262-2373 or email proxy@continentalstock.com.
You can pre-register to attend the virtual Meeting starting at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time, on October 20, 2021. Go to https://www.cstproxy.com/mcacquisitionii/2021, enter the control number found on your proxy card you previously received, as well as your name and email address. Once you pre-register you can vote. At the start of the Meeting you will need to re-log into https://www.cstproxy.com/mcacquisitionii/2021 using your control number.
 
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If your shares are held in street name, and you would like to join and not vote, Continental will issue you a guest control number. Either way, you must contact Continental for specific instructions on how to receive the control number. Please allow up to 48 hours prior to the meeting for processing your control number.
Q:
Who can help answer any other questions I might have about the virtual Meeting?
A.
If you have questions about the Proposals or if you need additional copies of this proxy statement or the enclosed proxy card, you should contact MCAD’s proxy solicitor at:
Advantage Proxy
P.O. Box 13581
Des Moines, WA 98198
Toll Free: 877-870-8565
Collect: 206-870-8565
Email: KSmith@advantageproxy.com
You may also obtain additional information about MCAD from documents filed with the SEC by following the instructions in the section titled “Where You Can Find More Information.”
Q:
If my shares are held in “street name” by my bank, brokerage firm or nominee, will they automatically vote my shares for me?
A:
No. If you are a beneficial owner and you do not provide voting instructions to your broker, bank or other holder of record holding shares for you, your shares will not be voted with respect to any Proposal for which your broker does not have discretionary authority to vote. If a proposal is determined to be discretionary, your broker, bank or other holder of record is permitted to vote on the proposal without receiving voting instructions from you. If a proposal is determined to be non-discretionary, your broker, bank or other holder of record is not permitted to vote on the proposal without receiving voting instructions from you. A “broker non-vote” occurs when a bank, broker or other holder of record holding shares for a beneficial owner does not vote on a non-discretionary proposal because the holder of record has not received voting instructions from the beneficial owner.
Broker non-votes will not be counted for the purposes of determining the existence of a quorum or for purposes of determining the number of votes cast at the special meeting. Each of the Proposals to be presented at the Meeting is a non-discretionary proposal. Accordingly, if you are a beneficial owner and you do not provide voting instructions to your broker, bank or other holder of record holding shares for you, your shares will not be voted with respect to any of the Proposals.
Broker non-votes will count as a vote “AGAINST” all of the Proposals, except for the Directors Proposal (Proposal 5).
Q:
What will happen if I abstain from voting or fail to vote at the Special Meeting?
A:
At the Special Meeting, MCAD will count a properly executed proxy marked “ABSTAIN” with respect to a particular proposal as present for purposes of determining whether a quorum is present. Abstentions will have the same effect as a vote “AGAINST” the Business Combination Proposal, the Charter Amendment Proposal, the Governance Proposal, the Nasdaq Proposal, the Directors Proposal, the 2021 Plan Proposal, the 2021 ESPP Proposal and the Adjournment Proposal. Broker non-votes will not be counted as present for the purposes of establishing a quorum and will have no effect on any of the Proposals. Additionally, if you abstain from voting or fail to vote at the Special Meeting, you will not be able to exercise your redemption rights (as described above).
Q:
What will happen if I sign and return my proxy card without indicating how I wish to vote?
A:
Signed and dated proxies received by MCAD without an indication of how the stockholder intends to vote on a proposal will be voted “FOR” each proposal presented to the stockholders. The proxyholders may use their discretion to vote on any other matters which properly come before the Special Meeting. If you fail to indicate how you vote, you will not be able to exercise your redemption rights.
 
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Q:
If I am not going to attend the Special Meeting, should I return my proxy card instead?
A:
Yes. Whether you plan to attend the Special Meeting virtually or not, please read the enclosed proxy statement/prospectus carefully, and vote your shares by completing, signing, dating and returning the enclosed proxy card in the postage-paid envelope provided.
Q:
If my shares are held in “street name,” will my broker, bank or nominee automatically vote my shares for me?
A:
No. Under the rules of various national and regional securities exchanges, your broker, bank or nominee cannot vote your shares with respect to non-discretionary matters unless you provide instructions on how to vote in accordance with the information and procedures provided to you by your broker, bank or nominee. MCAD believes the proposals presented to the stockholders will be considered non-discretionary and therefore your broker, bank or nominee cannot vote your shares without your instruction. Your bank, broker or other nominee can vote your shares only if you provide instructions on how to vote. You should instruct your broker to vote your shares in accordance with directions you provide.
Q:
May I change my vote after I have mailed my signed proxy card?
A:
Yes. You may change your vote by sending a later-dated, signed proxy card to MCAD’s secretary at the address listed below so that it is received by MCAD’s secretary prior to the Special Meeting or attend the Special Meeting in person on line and vote. You also may revoke your proxy by sending a notice of revocation to MCAD’s secretary, which must be received by MCAD’s secretary prior to the Special Meeting.
Q:
What should I do if I receive more than one set of voting materials?
A:
You may receive more than one set of voting materials, including multiple copies of this proxy statement/prospectus and multiple proxy cards or voting instruction cards. For example, if you hold your shares in more than one brokerage account, you will receive a separate voting instruction card for each brokerage account in which you hold shares. If you are a holder of record and your shares are registered in more than one name, you will receive more than one proxy card. Please complete, sign, date and return each proxy card and voting instruction card that you receive in order to cast your vote with respect to all of your shares.
Q:
Who will solicit and pay the cost of soliciting proxies?
A:
MCAD will pay the cost of soliciting proxies for the Special Meeting. MCAD has engaged Advantage Proxy, to assist in the solicitation of proxies for the Special Meeting. MCAD has agreed to pay Advantage Proxy a fee of $7,500, plus disbursements. MCAD will reimburse Advantage Proxy for reasonable out-of-pocket expenses and will indemnify Advantage Proxy and its affiliates against certain claims, liabilities, losses, damages and expenses. MCAD will also reimburse banks, brokers and other custodians, nominees and fiduciaries representing beneficial owners of shares of MCAD Common Stock for their expenses in forwarding soliciting materials to beneficial owners of the MCAD Common Stock and in obtaining voting instructions from those owners. MCAD’s directors, officers and employees may also solicit proxies by telephone, by facsimile, by mail, on the Internet or in person. They will not be paid any additional amounts for soliciting proxies.
Q:
Who can help answer my questions?
A:
If you have questions about the proposals or if you need additional copies of this proxy statement/prospectus or the enclosed proxy card you should contact:
If you have any questions concerning the virtual Meeting (including accessing the meeting by virtual means) or need help voting your shares of the Company’s Common Stock, please contact Continental at 917-262-2373 or email proxy@continentalstock.com.
The Notice of Special Meeting, Proxy Statement and form of Proxy Card are available at
 
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You may also contact our proxy solicitor at:
Advantage Proxy
P.O. Box 13581
Des Moines, WA 98198
Toll Free: 877-870-8565
Collect: 206-870-8565
Email: KSmith@advantageproxy.com
To obtain timely delivery, MCAD stockholders must request the materials no later than five (5) business days prior to the Special Meeting.
You may also obtain additional information about MCAD from documents filed with the SEC by following the instructions in the section titled “Where You Can Find More Information.”
If you intend to seek redemption of your Public Shares, you will need to send a letter demanding redemption and deliver your stock (either physically or electronically) to MCAD’s transfer agent prior to the Special Meeting in accordance with the procedures detailed under the question “— How do I exercise my redemption rights” above. If you have questions regarding the certification of your position or delivery of your stock, please contact Continental Attention: Mark Zimkind E-mail: mzimkind@continentalstock.com
 
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SUMMARY OF THE PROXY STATEMENT/PROSPECTUS
This summary, together with the section entitled, “Questions and Answers About the Proposals” summarizes certain information contained in this proxy statement/prospectus and may not contain all of the information that is important to you. To better understand the Business Combination and the Proposals to be considered at the Special Meeting, you should read this entire proxy statement/prospectus carefully, including the annexes. See also the section titled “Where You Can Find More Information.”
Unless otherwise indicated or the context otherwise requires, references in this Summary of the Proxy Statement/Prospectus to the “Combined Entity” refer to MCAD and its consolidated subsidiaries after giving effect to the Business Combination. References to the “Company” or “MCAD” refer to Mountain Crest Acquisition Corp. II
Unless otherwise specified, all share calculations assume no exercise of redemption rights by the Company’s public stockholders and do not include any shares of MCAD Common Stock issuable upon the exercise of the Rights.
Parties to the Business Combination
Mountain Crest Acquisition Corp. II
MCAD is a Delaware corporation formed on July 31, 2020, for the purpose of effecting a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses. Although there is no restriction or limitation on what industry or geographic region our target operates in, it is our intention to pursue prospective targets that are in North America.
On January 12, 2021, MCAD consummated the IPO of 5,000,000 Units, generating gross proceeds of $50,000,000. Simultaneously with the closing of our IPO, MCAD consummated the sale of 185,000 Private Units in a private placement to our Sponsor, generating gross proceeds of $1,850,000. In connection with the underwriters’ full exercise of their over-allotment option, the Company also consummated the sale of an additional 15,000 Private Units at $10.00 per Private Unit, generating gross proceeds of $150.000.
After deducting the underwriting discounts, offering expenses, and commissions from the IPO and the sale of the Private Units, a total of $57,500,000 was deposited into the Trust Account, and the remaining $450,000 of the net proceeds were outside of the Trust Account and made available to be used for business, legal and accounting due diligence on prospective business combinations and continuing general and administrative expenses. As of the Record Date, MCAD had cash of $258,658.89 outside of the Trust Account. The net proceeds deposited into the Trust Account remain on deposit in the Trust Account earning interest. As of the Record Date, there was 57.5 held in the Trust Account.
In accordance with MCAD’s Current Certificate of Incorporation, the amounts held in the Trust Account may only be used by MCAD upon the consummation of a business combination, except that there can be released to MCAD, from time to time, any interest earned on the funds in the Trust Account that it may need to pay its tax obligations. The remaining interest earned on the funds in the Trust Account will not be released until the earlier of the completion of a business combination and MCAD’s liquidation. MCAD executed the Merger Agreement on April 6, 2021 and it must liquidate unless a business combination is consummated by April 12, 2022.
MCAD’s Common Stock, Rights and Units are currently listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbols “MCAD,” “MCADR” and “MCADU,” respectively. The Units commenced trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market on January 12, 2021, and the Common Stock and Rights commenced separate trading from the Units on March 17, 2021.
The mailing address of our principal executive office is 311 West 43rd Street,12th Floor, New York, NY 10036. Our telephone number is (646) 493-6558.
Merger Sub
MCAD Merger Sub Inc. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of MCAD, formed on March 29, 2021 to consummate the Business Combination. Following the Business Combination, BTX will merge with Merger
 
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Sub with BTX surviving the merger. As a result, BTX will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Combined Entity. In connection with the merger between Merger Sub and BTX, BTX shall change its name such that the name of the surviving corporation will be “Better Therapeutics OpCo, Inc.”
Better Therapeutics, Inc.
The U.S. spends approximately $4 trillion per year on healthcare. About 90% of that spending is for the treatment of chronic diseases. The majority of chronic diseases are caused predominantly by behaviors, including cardiometabolic diseases, or CMDx, such as diabetes and heart disease. The root causes of CMDx are often behaviors relating to diet, physical activity, and other lifestyle factors, yet current treatments are focused on reducing the effects of those diseases rather than addressing the root causes.
BTX has developed a proprietary platform for the development of FDA-regulated (yet to be authorized for marketing by the FDA), software-based, prescription digital therapeutics, or PDT, for treating diabetes, heart disease, and other cardiometabolic conditions. Our prescription digital therapeutics, which is yet to be authorized for marketing by the FDA, deliver a novel form of cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT, that are designed to promote changes in neural pathways of the brain so that lasting changes in behavior can become possible. It is well-established that behavior change occurs when there are changes in the brain’s neural pathways through the process called neuroplasticity. We believe that addressing the underlying causes of these diseases has the potential to dramatically improve patient health while lowering healthcare costs.
Our lead product candidate for the treatment of patients with type 2 diabetes, BT-001, is currently enrolling patients in what we have designed to be a potentially pivotal study which, if successful and its results are viewed favorably by the FDA, could support a regulatory submission for marketing authorization from the FDA. We expect this study to be fully enrolled in 4Q 2021, with primary endpoint readout in 1Q 2022, and expect to apply for FDA authorization of this product in late 2022. This regulatory submission is intended to enable the FDA to evaluate whether the safety and effectiveness of BT-001 is sufficient to support a treatment claim of improving blood glycemic index control after 90 days of use. The unique characteristics of prescription digital therapeutics and CMDx may make it possible for us to launch multiple products now in development for the treatment of other CMDx over the next few years.
Founded in 2015, our company is led by executives that have track records of building multi-billion-dollar businesses and extensive industry experience in developing compelling software products and developing and commercializing therapeutics. In multiple peer-reviewed journals, we have published clinical data demonstrating the clinical potential of our developmental product candidates. We have also conducted primary market research into the potential for widespread reimbursement coverage of our lead product candidate, which is yet to be authorized for marketing by the FDA, by representative payer groups and believe widespread reimbursement coverage can be established. We intend to set pricing for BT-001 at a moderate discount to branded, oral glycemic control medications in order to gain maximum reimbursement coverage.
We plan to build a fully integrated PDT company focused on treating the root causes of CMDx. Our therapeutics are intended to fill a known gap in the treatment of CMDx and integrate within the existing healthcare system. We expect primary care providers to prescribe our therapeutics and insurers to reimburse them much like they would a drug, and for the patient to remain in the care of their provider while using them.
Essential elements of our value proposition to our stakeholders include:

The ability to treat the root causes of CMDx.   We believe we can reframe the dynamic of intervention around type 2 diabetes care away from the expectation of inevitable decline, to halt its progression and for many patients reverse the disease altogether.

Regulatory and platform leverage.   We estimate that 20 or more CMDx share essentially the same root causes our platform is designed to address. The regulatory pathway for PDTs is much faster than for traditional therapeutics. Every patient we treat with any of our product candidates generates data that we can use to improve our platform algorithms. The exponential rate at which our patient data will increase, especially if we are able to obtain FDA marketing authorization and commercialize
 
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BT-001, and our ability to continuously improve future products based on this data will make it increasingly challenging, we believe, for followers to offer products comparable in quality to ours.

First-mover advantage.   We estimate we have a two-to-three-year lead over potential competitors in bringing to market an FDA-regulated PDT for the treatment of type 2 diabetes.
For more information about BTX, see “Information About BTX” and “BTX’s Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.”
The Proposals
The Business Combination Proposal
MCAD and BTX have agreed to a Business Combination under the terms of the Merger Agreement, dated as of April 6, 2021 and as amended on August 30, 2021 and on September 27, 2021. Pursuant to the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in the Merger Agreement, at the closing of the transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement, Merger Sub, a Delaware corporation and a wholly-owned subsidiary of MCAD will merge with and into BTX, with BTX continuing as the surviving entity and becoming a wholly owned subsidiary of MCAD. See the section titled “The Business Combination Proposal.”
The Merger Agreement
On April 6, 2021, MCAD, BTX and MCAD Merger Sub Inc., a Delaware corporation and wholly owned subsidiary of MCAD (“Merger Sub”) entered into the Merger Agreement. The Merger Agreement was unanimously approved by the Board on March 29, 2021. The Merger Agreement was amended on August 30, 2021 and September 27, 2021 to extend the outside date for the closing of the Business Combination from August 31, 2021 to October 8, 2021 and then from October 8, 2021 to October 31, 2021, respectively. Pursuant to the terms of the Merger Agreement, at the closing of the transactions contemplated thereby, Merger Sub will merge with and into BTX (the “Merger” or “Business Combination”), with BTX being the surviving corporation and following the merger BTX will be a wholly owned subsidiary of MCAD. In connection with the Business Combination, MCAD shall be renamed “Better Therapeutics, Inc.”
Consideration
Under the Merger Agreement, MCAD has agreed to acquire all of the outstanding shares of BTX common stock in exchange for 15,000,000 shares of MCAD’s common stock, par value $0.0001 per share (“MCAD Common Stock”), subject to adjustment as explained below (the “Merger Consideration”). BTX shall deliver to MCAD, two business days prior to the closing of the Merger (the “Closing”), the calculation of BTX’s net debt (the “Net Debt”), by 8:00 PM Eastern Time (the “Net Debt Calculation Date”). Net Debt means, without duplication, (i) the amount outstanding under the Paycheck Protection Program Loan Promissory Note dated May 9, 2020 issued by Celtic Bank Corporation to BTX, minus (ii) the cash of BTX, in each case, as of the Net Debt Calculation Date. The Merger Consideration shall be adjusted as follows to account for the Net Debt: (a) if Net Debt is greater than $0.00 (the “Net Debt Target”), then the Merger Consideration shall be reduced at a rate of one share of MCAD Common Stock for each $10.00 increment that the Net Debt is greater than the Net Debt Target; (b) if Net Debt is less than the Net Debt Target, then the Merger Consideration shall be increased at a rate of one share of MCAD Common Stock for each $10.00 increment that the Net Debt is less than the Net Debt Target; or (c) if Net Debt equals the Net Debt Target, then no adjustment will be made to the Merger Consideration. Any adjustment to the Merger Consideration pursuant to this Section 2.2 shall be in whole shares of MCAD Common Stock and no adjustment shall be made for any divergence that is in an increment of less than $10.00.
BTX shall also deliver to MCAD two business days prior to the Closing, an equityholder allocation schedule setting forth each shareholder of BTX common stock (each a “BTX Shareholder”), as of the Closing, and such BTX Shareholder’s percentage of the Merger Consideration.
On the date the Merger is effective (the “Effective Time”) by virtue of the Merger and without any action on the part of MCAD, Merger Sub, BTX:
 
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a.
each share of BTX common stock (other than BTX restricted stock) issued and outstanding immediately prior to the Effective Time shall be canceled and automatically converted into such BTX Shareholder’s right to receive, without interest, the number of shares of MCAD Common Stock equal to the product of (i) the number of shares of BTX common stock (other than BTX restricted stock) held by such BTX Shareholder and (ii) the “Exchange Ratio” determined by dividing (A) the Merger Consideration (after giving effect to the Net Debt adjustment, if any) by (B) the issued and outstanding number of shares of BTX common stock as of the Closing;
b.
each BTX stock option (whether vested or unvested) that is outstanding and unexercised immediately prior to the Effective Time shall be assumed by MCAD and automatically converted into an option to purchase shares of MCAD Common Stock (each an “Assumed Option”). The number of shares of MCAD Common Stock (rounded down to the nearest whole share) that are subject to each Assumed Option shall be equal to the product of (i) the number of shares of BTX common stock subject to the BTX stock option and (ii) the Exchange Ratio, and the exercise price per share of the Assumed Option (rounded up to the nearest whole cent) shall be equal to the quotient obtained by dividing (A) the exercise price per share of the BTX stock option by (B) the Exchange Ratio. Each Assumed Option will continue to be subject to the terms and conditions set forth in the BTX stock option plan and its applicable grant agreement (except any references therein to BTX or shares of BTX common stock will instead mean the MCAD and shares of MCAD Common Stock, respectively). MCAD shall take all corporate action necessary to reserve for future issuance, and shall maintain such reservation for so long as any Assumed Options remain outstanding, a sufficient number of shares of MCAD Common Stock for delivery upon the exercise of such Assumed Options.; and
c.
each award of BTX restricted stock that is outstanding immediately prior to the Effective Time shall be assumed by MCAD and automatically converted into an award of restricted MCAD Common Stock with the number of shares of MCAD Common Stock equal to the product of (i) the number of shares of BTX restricted stock and (ii) the Exchange Ratio (the “Assumed Restricted Stock Award”). Each Assumed Restricted Stock Award will continue to be subject to the terms and conditions set forth in the applicable restricted stock agreement (except any references therein to BTX or shares of BTX common stock will instead mean the MCAD and shares of MCAD Common Stock, respectively).
MCAD Post-Closing Board of Directors and Executive Officers
Immediately following the Closing, the Board will consist of no more than seven directors of which MCAD has the right to designate one director and the remaining six directors will be designated by BTX. At Closing, all of the executive officers of MCAD shall resign and the individuals serving as executive officers of MCAD immediately after the Closing will be the same individuals (in the same offices) as those of BTX immediately prior to the Closing.
Representations and Warranties; Covenants
MCAD, Merger Sub and BTX have made customary representations, warranties and covenants in the Merger Agreement, including, among other things, covenants with respect to the conduct of MCAD and BTX prior to the Closing. The parties have also agreed to customary “no shop” obligations, their ability and authority to enter into the Merger Agreement and the capitalization of MCAD and BTX, respectively. The representations and warranties of MCAD, Merger Sub and BTX will not survive the Closing of the Merger.
Conditions to Closing
The obligation of the parties to consummate the Merger is conditioned on, among other things, the satisfaction or waiver (where permissible) by MCAD and BTX of the following conditions, (a) the stockholders of both MCAD and BTX have approved the Merger, (b) the stockholders of MCAD have approved and adopted the MCAD Proposals; (c) The representations and warranties of MCAD, Merger Sub and BTX set forth in the Merger Agreement are true and correct in all material respects, as of its date and
 
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as of the Closing; (d) there shall have been no Material Adverse Effect (as defined in the Merger Agreement) (e) after giving effect to all redemptions of MCAD Common Stock in connection with the Merger, the net tangible assets held by MCAD shall be equal to at least $5,000,001; (f) the MCAD Common Stock to be issued in the Merger and pursuant to the Subscription Agreements (as defined below) shall have been approved for listing on the Nasdaq Capital Market; (g) certain BTX stockholders have entered into a lock-up agreement and (h) the PIPE Financing discussed below shall have been consummated pursuant to the Subscription Agreements.
Termination
The Merger Agreement may be terminated at any time by MCAD or BTX under certain circumstances, including, among other things, (i) by mutual written consent of MCAD and BTX; (ii) by either MCAD or BTX if the Closing has not occurred by October 31, 2021, (iii) by MCAD or BTX if MCAD has not obtained the required approval by MCAD stockholders or if BTX has not obtained the required approval of BTX stockholders.
The Charter Amendment Proposal
In connection with the Business Combination, MCAD stockholders will be asked to consider and vote on a proposal to adopt the Proposed Certificate of Incorporation attached hereto as Annex B. In the judgment of the Board, Charter Amendment Proposal is necessary to adequately address the needs of the Combined Entity.
A summary of the Proposed Certificate of Incorporation is set forth in the “The Proposed Certificate of Incorporation Proposal” section of this proxy statement/prospectus and a complete copy of the Proposed Certificate of Incorporation is attached hereto as Annex B.
The Governance Proposal
Proposal 3.   The Governance Proposal — to consider and vote, on a non-binding advisory basis, on seven separate governance proposals relating to the following material differences between the Current Charter and the Proposed Certificate of Incorporation (collectively, the “Governance Proposal”):
(A)
to amend the name of MCAD to “Better Therapeutics, Inc.” from “Mountain Crest Acquisition Corp. II” and remove certain provisions related to MCAD’s status as a special purpose acquisition company that will no longer be relevant following the closing of the Business Combination;
(B)
to increase the authorized shares of (i) Common Stock from 30,000,000 shares to 200,000,000 shares and (ii) preferred stock from no shares to 10,000,000 shares;
(C)
require the vote of at least two-thirds of the voting power of the outstanding shares of capital stock, rather than a simple majority, to adopt, amend or repeal the Combined Entity’s bylaws;
(D)
require the vote of at least two-thirds of the voting power of the outstanding shares of capital stock, rather than a simple majority, to remove a director from office;
(E)
require the vote of a majority of the outstanding shares of capital stock, to amend or repeal certain provisions of the Proposed Certificate of Incorporation;
(F)
require that special meetings of stockholders may only be called by the board of directors and not by stockholders, subject to any special rights of the holders of preferred stock; and
(G)
remove the forum selection provision providing for concurrent jurisdiction in the Court of Chancery and the federal district court for the District of Delaware for claims arising under the Securities Act from the Proposed Certificate of Incorporation, such that Section 7 of the Combined Entity’s Bylaws providing for designation of the U.S. federal district courts as the exclusive forum for claims arising under the Securities Act will be applicable.
A summary of the seven separate governance proposals are set forth in the “The Governance Proposal” section of this proxy statement/prospectus and a complete copy of the Proposed Certificate of Incorporation is attached hereto as Annex B.
 
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The Nasdaq Proposal
As part of the consideration for the Business Combination, MCAD is obligated to issue 15,000,000 shares of Common Stock, subject to adjustment in accordance with the Merger Agreement, to the BTX Equityholders. In addition, in connection with the Business Combination, MCAD entered into the Subscription Agreements with the PIPE Investment investors to purchase 5,000,000 shares of Common Stock for an aggregate amount of $50,000,000, subject to certain conditions, including that all conditions precedent to the Closing of the Business Combination will have been satisfied or waived (other than those conditions that are to be satisfied at closing).
MCAD stockholders will be asked to approve, for purposes of complying with the Nasdaq Rules, the issuance of 15,000,000 shares of Common Stock pursuant to the Business Combination and 5,000,000 shares of Common Stock in the PIPE Investment. Please see the section titled “The Nasdaq Proposal.”
The Directors Proposal
MCAD is proposing that its stockholders to vote to elect, effective as of the consummation of the Business Combination, David Perry, Kevin Appelbaum, Richard Carmona, Suying Liu, Andy Armanino, Geoffrey Parker and Risa Lavizzo-Mourey to serve on the Combined Entity Board of Directors.
The 2021 Plan Proposal
MCAD is proposing that its stockholders approve and adopt the 2021 Stock Option and Incentive Plan, which will become effective upon the Closing of the Business Combination and have the following principal features:
A summary of the 2021 Plan is set forth in the “The 2021 Plan Proposal” section of this proxy statement/prospectus and a complete copy of the 2021 Plan is attached hereto as Annex D.
The 2021 Employee Stock Purchase Plan Proposal
MCAD is proposing that its stockholders consider and vote on a proposal to approve the 2021 Employee Stock Purchase Plan, a copy of which is annexed to this proxy statement/prospectus as Annex E, in connection with the Business Combination.
A summary of the 2021 Employee Stock Purchase Plan is set forth in the “The 2021 Employee Stock Purchase Plan Proposal” section of this proxy statement/prospectus and a complete copy of the 2021 Employee Stock Purchase Plan is attached hereto as Annex E.
The Adjournment Plan Proposal
MCAD is proposing that its stockholders approve a proposal to adjourn the Special Meeting to a later date or dates, if necessary, to permit further solicitation and vote of proxies if, based upon the tabulated vote at the time of the Special Meeting, there are not sufficient votes to approve the Business Combination Proposal, the Charter Amendment Proposal, the Governance Proposal, the Nasdaq Proposal, the Directors Proposal, the 2021 Plan Proposal and the 2021 ESPP Proposal (the “Adjournment Proposal”).
Certain Agreements Related to the Business Combination Agreement
Parent Support Agreement
Contemporaneously with the execution of the Merger Agreement, certain holders of the MCAD Common Stock entered into the Parent Support Agreement, pursuant to which such holders agreed to approve the Merger Agreement and the proposed Merger.
Company Support Agreement
Contemporaneously with the execution of the Merger Agreement, certain holders of BTX common stock entered into the Company Support Agreement, pursuant to which such holders agreed to approve the Merger Agreement and the proposed Merger.
 
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PIPE Subscription Agreements and PIPE Registration Rights
In connection with the proposed Merger, MCAD has obtained commitments from interested accredited investors (each a “Subscriber”) to purchase shares of MCAD Common Stock which will be issued in connection with the Closing (the “PIPE Shares”), for an aggregate cash amount of $50,000,000 at a purchase price of $10.00 per share, in a private placement (the “PIPE”). Certain offering related expenses are payable by MCAD, including customary fees payable to Cowen and Company, LLC (“Cowen”) who served as the placement agent. Such commitments are being made by way of the Subscription Agreements (the “PIPE Subscription Agreements”), by and among each Subscriber and MCAD. The purpose of the sale of the PIPE Shares is to raise additional capital for use in connection with the Merger and to meet the minimum cash requirements provided in the Merger Agreement. The PIPE Shares are identical to the shares of MCAD Common Stock that will be held by MCAD’s public stockholders at the time of the Closing, except that the PIPE Shares will not be entitled to any redemption rights and will not be registered with the SEC. The closing of the sale of PIPE Shares (the “PIPE Closing”) will be contingent upon the substantially concurrent consummation of the Merger. The PIPE Closing will occur on the date of, and immediately prior to, the consummation of the Merger.
Pursuant to the PIPE Subscription Agreement Agreements, MCAD has agreed to file (at MCAD’s sole cost and expense) a registration statement registering the resale of the shares of common stock to be purchased in the private placement (the “PIPE Resale Registration Statement”) with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) no later than thirty (30) calendar days following the Closing. MCAD will use its commercially reasonable efforts to have the PIPE Resale Registration Statement declared effective as soon as practical but no later than the earlier of (i) the 90th calendar day following the filing date thereof (in the event the SEC notifies MCAD that it will “review” the PIPE Resale Registration Statement) and (ii) the 5th business day after the date MCAD is notified by the SEC that the PIPE Resale Registration Statement will not be “reviewed” or will not be subject to further review. (The rights set forth above granted to the Subscribers pursuant to the PIPE Subscription Agreements are defined as the “PIPE Registration Rights
Each PIPE Subscription Agreement will terminate upon the earlier to occur of (i) such date and time as the Merger Agreement is terminated in accordance with its terms, (ii) upon the mutual written agreement of each of the parties to the PIPE Subscription Agreements, (iii) any of the conditions to the PIPE Closing are not satisfied or waived on or prior to the PIPE Closing and, as a result thereof, the transactions contemplated by the Subscription Agreement are not consummated at the PIPE Closing or (iv) October 31, 2021.
Additional Agreements to be Executed at Closing
Lock-Up Agreement
In connection with the Closing, certain of the BTX stockholders will each agree, subject to certain customary exceptions, not to (i) sell, offer to sell, contract or agree to sell, pledge or otherwise dispose of, directly or indirectly, any shares of MCAD Common Stock held by them (such shares, together with any securities convertible into or exchangeable for or representing the rights to receive shares of MCAD Common Stock if any, acquired during the Lock-Up Period (as defined below), the “Lock-up Shares”), (ii) enter into a transaction that would have the same effect, (iii) enter into any swap, hedge or other arrangement that transfers to another, in whole or in part, any of the economic consequences of ownership of the Lock-Up Shares or otherwise or engage in any short sales or other arrangement with respect to the Lock-Up Shares or (iv) publicly announce any intention to effect any transaction specified in clause (i) or (ii) until the date that is 6 months after the Closing (the “Lock-Up Period”).
MCAD Amended and Restated Registration Rights Agreement
At the closing, MCAD will enter into an amended and restated registration rights agreement (the “MCAD Amended and Restated Registration Rights Agreement”) with certain existing stockholders of MCAD with respect to the shares of MCAD Common Stock they own at the Closing, and the BTX stockholders of MCAD with respect to the Merger Consideration. The MCAD Amended and Restated Registration Rights Agreement will require MCAD to, among other things, file a resale shelf registration
 
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statement on behalf of the stockholders no later than 60 days after the closing of the Business Combination. The MCAD Amended and Restated Registration Rights Agreement will also provide certain demand registration rights and piggyback registration rights to the stockholders, subject to underwriter cutbacks and issuer blackout periods. MCAD will agree to pay certain fees and expenses relating to registrations under the MCAD Amended and Restated Registration Rights Agreement.
The Board of Directors’ Reasons for the Approval of the Business Combination
In evaluating the transaction with BTX, the Board consulted with management and MCAD’s legal counsel as well as its financial advisor Chardan Capital Markets, LLC (“Chardan”). The Board of Directors considered and evaluated several factors, including, but not limited to, the factors discussed below. In light of the number and wide variety of factors considered in connection with its evaluation of the Business Combination, the Board of Directors did not assign relative weights to the specific factors that it considered in reaching its determination and supporting its decision. The Board of Directors based its decision on all the information available and the factors presented to and considered by it. In addition, individual directors may have given different weights to different factors. This explanation of our reasons for the Business Combination and all other information presented in this section is forward-looking in nature and, therefore, should be read in light of the factors discussed under “Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements.” Before reaching its decision, the Board of Directors discussed the material results of its management’s due diligence activities, which included:

extensive meetings and calls with BTX’s management team regarding the company’s products, development plans, operations and projections;

research on the healthcare industry in general and the medical technology, medical device, and prescription digital therapeutics trends specifically, where market sizes were overlaid with Better’s product offerings and potential revenue shares;

due diligence activities relating to business, accounting, legal, tax, environmental, insurance, operations and other matters;

financial and valuation analyses including financial projections provided by BTX; and

research on the public trading values of comparable peer companies.
The Board of directors considered a number of factors that align with the above metrics pertaining to the Business Combination as generally supporting its decision to enter into the Merger Agreement and the transactions contemplated thereby, including but not limited to, the following material factors:

The Board believes prescription digital therapeutics (PDTs) are becoming mainstream.   The Board believes PDTs are gaining broad acceptance and prescription-based digitized disease interventions are likely coming for all disease areas in the future. Because BTX has a pipeline of PDTs, including its lead program BT-001 for type 2 diabetes, the company is well-positioned to benefit from the fact that patients, prescribers, regulatory bodies, and payors have been very receptive of PDTs as a new treatment modality.

Potential for first mover advantage in PDTs for cardiometabolic disease.   We believe BTX has the potential to be a leader in developing software as a medical treatment for cardiometabolic diseases that include type 2 diabetes. The company has already conducted pilot non-clinical studies of its lead candidate BT-001 in diabetes and hypertension, with BT-001 demonstrating that it has potential to provide therapeutic benefit. As the company is preparing to conduct potentially pivotal clinical studies, we believe learnings from pilot studies may provide a competitive advantage in PDTs geared for cardiometabolic diseases. Additionally, BTX has filed three patent families covering methods of treatment, methods of managing medications, and the systems and software that comprise BTX’s platform.

Intellectual Property.   Additionally, BTX has filed three patent families covering methods of treatment, methods of managing medications, and the systems and software that comprise BTX’s platform which the Board believes may provide BTX with a competitive advantage over existing and/or potential Competitors.
 
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Management has extensive experience in founding and leading companies.   BTX’s management team has experience in leadership and creation of value in both public and privately-held disruptive companies. The Board believes the company’s management has the acumen to provide unparalleled leadership.

Differentiated from wellness products through treatment claims based on clinical trials.   Better Therapeutics is developing PDTs through its plans to employ clinical evidence-based approaches to provide therapeutic interventions. The ability to make a disease treatment claim via clinical trials differentiates PDTs from conventional wellness products since treatment claims require FDA-clearance. The Board believes the PDT approach provides an edge to the company, not only in cardiometabolic disease but also when compared to those making wellness products.

Peer-reviewed publications are supportive of the company’s platform.   Better Therapeutics has published multiple peer-reviewed studies on clinical and economic effectiveness of using digitized interventions in cardiometabolic diseases including type 2 diabetes and hypertension. The Board believes peer-reviewed publications are supportive of the company’s approach of using prescription digital therapeutics-based interventions to cardiometabolic diseases.

Supportive regulatory landscape.   Recent developments in the regulatory landscape are evolving in favor of PDTs as a treatment modality. We believe continued development of these regulatory frameworks and acceptance of digitized interventions for disease bodes well for companies like Better Therapeutics.

Clear development path for the company’s lead candidate.   The company has had multiple formal meeting interactions with the FDA for its lead candidate, BT-001. We believe that over the course of these formal meeting interactions, Better Therapeutics has aligned with the FDA on the core aspects of what we believe to be a potentially pivotal clinical trial design. We also believe our ongoing potentially pivotal trial of BT-001, if successful, is also likely to inform on additional pipeline programs and may facilitate acceleration of the company’s pipeline buildup. Additionally, BTX has filed three patent families covering methods of treatment, methods of managing medications, and the systems and software that comprise BTX’s platform.

Multiple barriers to entry.   With digitized devices and digitized products gaining broad acceptance, Better Therapeutics has put itself in a position with clear barriers to entry including: 1) development of prescription digital therapeutic products, which require clinical trials for treatment claims, 2) a first-mover advantage in use of PDTs in cardiometabolic diseases, 3) ability to conduct clinical studies involving PDTs, and 4) intellectual property. We believe barriers to entry provide an advantage to Better Therapeutics.

An initial focus on disease areas where a behavioral component is tied to clinical outcome.   The Board believes a “low-hanging fruit” for PDTs is in disease areas where therapeutic benefit is linked to a behavioral component. The Board believes BTX’s focus on cognitive behavioral therapy delivered through prescription digital therapeutics has a high likelihood of translating to clinical benefit to patients.

Significant market opportunity and unmet medical need.   The United States spends over $100 billion per year on therapeutics treating the effects of three major obesity-related diseases: type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia. Despite this tremendous spending, these conditions are amongst the highest contributors to morbidity and mortality for Americans. The Board believes BTX’s platform is poised to disrupt the standard of care in this area.

Near-term milestones provide for potential value inflection points.   The company has multiple upcoming catalysts including, but not limited to, 1) for BT-001: 3Q21 interim data, 4Q21 primary endpoint data, 1Q22 secondary endpoint data; and (2) pipeline expansion beginning in 2022 onwards. The Board believes these catalysts including longer-term milestones could serve as value-creating events for the company.

Attractive valuation.   Our management and its financial advisors have conducted extensive research on comparable prescription digital therapeutics companies to BTX. Given the nascent nature of this emerging modality, there are limited truly comparable prescription digital therapeutics-focused
 
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companies. Our management and its financial advisors however considered numerous public listings for digital health companies, which have priced in recent years involving early-stage, frequently pre-revenue, companies pursuing near-term commercialization of a health product. These include: Amwell (formerly American Well Corporation, provides telemedicine technology solutions, $4.91 billion fully-diluted market capitalization, $3.84 billion enterprise value, estimated 11.6x EV/Revenue 2024), Dario Health (provides digitized solutions for diabetes management, $321 million fully-diluted market capitalization, $293 million enterprise value, estimated 1.9x EV/Revenue 2024), Fitbit (provides wearable fitness devices, acquired by Google in January 2021 for $2.1 billion), and Livongo Health (provides tools for healthy living, acquired by Teladoc in October 2020 for $18.5 billion), NantHealth, Inc. (provides next-generation, evidence-based healthcare solutions, $597 million enterprise value, estimated 5.9x EV/Revenue 2024). Additionally, industry leaders that remain privately-held have achieved robust private market valuations including: Hinge Health (provides digital solutions for pain, post-money valuation of $3.0 billion as of January 2021), Omada Health (provides lifestyle-based health solutions, post-money valuation >$630 million as of May 2020), Pear Therapeutics (provides prescription digital therapeutics, post-money valuation >$675 million as of March 2021). Therefore, the Board concluded that BTX’s valuation of $150 million (or estimated 1.7x for 2024 revenue multiple) was attractive in comparison.
The Board also considered a variety of uncertainties and risks and other potentially negative factors concerning the Business Combination, including, but not limited to, the following:

Future Financial Performance.   The risk that future financial performance may not meet our expectations due to factors in our control or out of our control, including due to economic cycles or other macroeconomic factors.

COVID-19.   Uncertainties regarding the potential impacts of the COVID-19 virus and related economic disruptions on BTX’s operations and demand for its products.

Potential for Benefits not Achieved.   The risk that the potential benefits of the Business Combination, including BTX’s future value-creation strategies and identified cost savings or revenue opportunities, may not be fully achieved, or may not be achieved within the expected timeframe.

Liquidation of the Company.   The risks and costs to our business if the Business Combination is not completed, including the risk of diverting management focus and resources from other businesses combination opportunities, which could result in our inability to effect a business combination by April 12, 2022 and force MCAD to liquidate and the rights to expire worthless.

Exclusivity.   The fact that the Merger Agreement includes an exclusivity provision that prohibits us from, among other things, soliciting, initiating, engaging, participating or entering into discussions or negotiations with any person concerning any alternative transaction between us and another person with respect to a potential business combination. The exclusivity provision is effective until the earlier of the Closing and the date that the Merger Agreement is properly terminated.

Stockholder Vote.   The risk that our stockholders may fail to provide the respective votes necessary to effect the Business Combination.

Closing Conditions.   The fact that completion of the Business Combination is conditioned on the satisfaction of certain closing conditions that are not within our control.

Litigation.   The possibility of litigation challenging the Business Combination or that an adverse judgment granting permanent injunctive relief could indefinitely enjoin consummation of the Business Combination.

Fees and Expenses.   The fees and expenses associated with completing the Business Combination.

Other Risks.   Various other risks associated with the Business Combination, the business of MCAD, and the business of Better Therapeutics described under “Risk Factors.”
Expected Accounting Treatment
The Merger will be accounted for as a reverse recapitalization in accordance with U.S. GAAP. Under this method of accounting, MCAD, who is the legal acquirer, will be treated as the “acquired” company for
 
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financial reporting purposes and BTX will be treated as the accounting acquirer. This determination was primarily based on BTX expecting to have a majority of the voting power of the post-combination company, Better Therapeutics’ senior management comprising substantially all of the senior management of the post-combination company, the relative size of BTX compared to MCAD, and Better Therapeutics’ operations comprising the ongoing operations of the post-combination company. Accordingly, for accounting purposes, the Merger will be treated as the equivalent of a capital transaction in which BTX is issuing stock for the net assets of MCAD. The net assets of MCAD will be stated at historical cost, with no goodwill or other intangible assets recorded. Operations prior to the Merger will be those of BTX.
Dissenter Rights
Dissenter rights are not available to MCAD stockholders in connection with the Business Combination.
Ownership of the Post-Business Combination Company After the Closing
If no redemptions occur upon the Closing of the Business Combination, MCAD’s public stockholders (other than the PIPE Investment investors) will retain an ownership interest of approximately 22% in the Combined Entity, the PIPE Investment investors will own approximately 18% of the Combined Entity (such that public stockholders, including PIPE Investment investors, will own approximately 40% of the Combined Entity), MCAD’s Sponsor, officers, directors and other holders of MCAD shares will retain an ownership interest of approximately 6% in the Combined Entity and the BTX Equityholders will own approximately 54% of the outstanding common stock of the Combined Entity.
The following tables illustrate varying ownership levels in MCAD (i) under a scenario where no shares of common stock are redeemed and (ii) under a scenario where 5,049,200 shares of common stock are redeemed for cash, which assumes the high redemption scenario of Combined Company common stock to ensure a minimum consolidated Trust Account balance of $5,000,001 of net tangible remaining after the closing. The below scenarios do not take into account the issuance of any shares upon Closing of the Business Combination under the 2021 Plan or the 2021 ESPP, which are intended to be adopted following consummation of the Business Combination. If the actual facts are different than these assumptions (which they are likely to be), the percentage ownership retained by the MCAD’s existing stockholders in the Combined Entity will be different.
Assumed % of Public Shares
Redeemed (or Proceeds Remaining
in Trust Account)
0% (or
$57.5 million
in trust)
%
(or $5,000,001
in trust)
Public Stockholders
22% 6%
PIPE Investment investors
18% 21%
Sponsor, officers, directors and other holders of MCAD shares
6% 8%
BTX Equityholders
54% 65%
Total
100.0% 100.0%
Upon consummation of the Business Combination, the Board anticipates having 7 directors, with each Class I director having an initial term that expires at the Combined Entity’s annual meeting of stockholders in 2022, each Class II director having an initial term that expires at the Combined Entity’s annual meeting of stockholders in 2023, and each Class III director having an initial term that expires at the Combined Entity’s annual meeting of stockholders in 2024, or in each case until their respective successors are duly elected and qualified, or until their earlier resignation, removal or death. See the section titled “Management After the Business Combination” for additional information.
Interests of MCAD Directors and Officers
When you consider the recommendation of the Board in favor of approval of the Business Combination Proposal and the other proposals, you should keep in mind that the Sponsor and MCAD’s directors and
 
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officers, have interests in such proposals that are different from, or in addition to, your interests as a stockholder. These interests include, among other things:

unless MCAD consummates an initial business combination, MCAD’s officers, directors and Sponsor will not receive reimbursement for any out-of-pocket expenses incurred by them to the extent that such expenses exceed the amount of available proceeds not deposited in the Trust Account. As of the date of this filing MCAD’s officers, directors and Sponsor have not loaned any money to MCAD and have not incurred any expenses on behalf of MCAD for which they are seeking reimbursement;

MCAD has until April 12, 2022 to consummate the Business Combination;

MCAD’s Sponsor has agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of the Founder Shares (except to certain permitted transferees) until, with respect to 50% of the Founder Shares, the earlier of six months after the date of the consummation of a Business Combination and the date on which the closing price of the Company’s common stock equals or exceeds $12.50 per share for any 20 trading days within a 30-trading day period following the consummation of a Business Combination and, with respect to the remaining 50% of the Founder Shares, six months after the date of the consummation of a Business Combination, or earlier in each case if, subsequent to a Business Combination, the Company completes a liquidation, merger, stock exchange or other similar transaction which results in all of the stockholders having the right to exchange their shares of common stock for cash, securities or other property;

the fact that Sponsor paid an aggregate of $25,000 (or approximately $0.017 per share) for its 1,413,500 founders shares and such securities may have a significantly higher value of $14,135,000 at the time of the Business Combination since the merger consideration is based on a deemed price per share of $10.00 a share, our Sponsor could make a substantial profit after the initial business combination even if public investors experience substantial losses. Further, the Founder Shares have no redemption rights upon MCAD’s liquidation and will be worthless if no business combination is effected

the fact that the Sponsor currently holds 142,500 private units which were purchased at a price of $10 per unit, or an aggregate value of $1,425,000 and which have no redemption rights upon MCAD’s liquidation and will be worthless if no business combination is effected; and

the fact that Sponsor has agreed not to redeem any of the Founders Shares in connection with a stockholder vote to approve a proposed initial business combination.
Date, Time and Place of Special Meeting
The Special Meeting will be held on October 27, 2021, at 10:00 a.m., Eastern time, conducted via live webcast at the following address https://www.cstproxy.com/mcacquisitionii/2021. You will need the 12-digit meeting control number that is printed on your proxy card to enter the Special Meeting. MCAD recommends that you log in at least 15 minutes before the Special Meeting to ensure you are logged in when the Special Meeting starts. You may also access the Special Meeting by telephone (listen only) within the U.S. and Canada: 1 888 965-8995 (toll free) and outside of the U.S. and Canada: +1 415 655-0243 (standard rates apply). Please note that you will not be able to physically attend the Special Meeting in person.
Proxy Solicitation
Proxies may be solicited by mail. We have engaged Advantage Proxy to assist in the solicitation of proxies. If a stockholder grants a proxy, it may still vote its shares online if it revokes its proxy before the special meeting. A stockholder may also change its vote by submitting a later-dated proxy as described in the section entitled “Special Meeting of MCAD Stockholders — Revoking Your Proxy.”
Quorum and Required Vote for Proposals for the Special Meeting
A quorum of MCAD stockholders is necessary to hold a valid meeting. A quorum will be present at the Special Meeting of stockholders if a majority of the Common Stock issued outstanding and entitled to
 
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vote at the Special Meeting is represented live or by proxy at the Special Meeting. Abstentions will count as present for the purposes of establishing a quorum. Broker non-votes will not be counted for purposes of establishing a quorum.
The approval of the Charter Amendment Proposal requires the affirmative vote of a majority of the issued and outstanding MCAD Common Stock as of the Record Date. Accordingly, a MCAD stockholder’s failure to vote by proxy or to vote in person on line at the Special Meeting or an abstention will have the same effect as a vote “AGAINST” the Charter Amendment Proposal.
The approval of the Business Combination Proposal, the Governance Proposal, the Nasdaq Proposal, the 2021 Plan Proposal, the 2021 ESPP Proposal and the Adjournment Proposal each require the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the shares of MCAD Common Stock cast by the stockholders represented in person or by proxy and entitled to vote thereon at the Special Meeting. An MCAD stockholder’s failure to vote by proxy or to vote in person at the Special Meeting will not be counted towards the number of shares of Common Stock required to validly establish a quorum, and if a valid quorum is otherwise established, it will have no effect on the outcome of the vote on the Business Combination Proposal, the Governance Proposal, the Nasdaq Proposal, the Directors Proposal, the 2021 Plan Proposal, the 2021 ESPP Proposal and the Adjournment Proposal. Approval of the Directors Proposal will require the vote by a plurality of the shares of the Common Stock present in person by virtual attendance or represented by proxy and entitled to vote at the Meeting.
The Charter Amendment Proposal, the Governance Proposal, the Nasdaq Proposal, the Directors Proposal, the 2021 Plan Proposal and the 2021 ESPP Proposal are conditioned on the approval of the Business Combination Proposal and the Business Combination Proposal is conditioned on the approval of the Charter Amendment Proposal, the Nasdaq Proposal, the Directors Proposal the 2021 Plan Proposal and the 2021 ESPP Proposal. The Adjournment Proposal is not conditioned on any other Proposal and does not require the approval of any other Proposal to be effective. It is important for you to note that in the event the Business Combination Proposal, the Charter Amendment Proposal, the Governance Proposal, the Nasdaq Proposal, the Directors Proposal the 2021 Plan Proposal and the 2021 ESPP Proposal do not receive the requisite vote for approval, then MCAD will not consummate the Business Combination. If MCAD does not consummate the Business Combination and fails to complete an initial business combination by April 12, 2022, it will be required to dissolve and liquidate its Trust Account by returning the then remaining funds in such account to its public stockholders.
Emerging Growth Company
MCAD is an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act, as modified by the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012 (the “JOBS Act”), and it may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies, including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (the “Sarbanes-Oxley Act”), reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved.
We will remain an emerging growth company until the earlier of: (i) the last day of the fiscal year (a) following the fifth anniversary of the closing of MCAD’s initial public offering, (b) in which we have total annual gross revenue of at least $1.07 billion, or (c) in which we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer, which means the market value of our common equity that is held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the last business day of its most recently completed second fiscal quarter; and (ii) the date on which we have issued more than $1.00 billion in non-convertible debt securities during the prior three-year period. References herein to “emerging growth company” have the meaning associated with it in the JOBS Act.
Smaller Reporting Company
Additionally, we are a “smaller reporting company” as defined in Item 10(f)(1) of Regulation S-K. Smaller reporting companies may take advantage of certain reduced disclosure obligations, including, among other things, providing only two years of audited financial statements. We will remain a smaller
 
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reporting company until the last day of the fiscal year in which (i) the market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates exceeds $250 million as of the prior June 30, or (ii) our annual revenues exceeded $100 million during such completed fiscal year and the market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the prior June 30.
Recommendation to MCAD Stockholders
The Board believes that the Proposals to be presented at the Special Meeting are in the best interests of MCAD and its stockholders and unanimously recommends that MCAD stockholders vote “FOR” the Proposals.
When you consider the recommendation of the Board in favor of approval of these Proposals, you should keep in mind that MCAD directors and officers have interests in the Business Combination that are different from or in addition to (and which may conflict with) your interests as a stockholder. These interests include, among other things:

unless MCAD consummates an initial business combination, MCAD’s officers, directors and Sponsor will not receive reimbursement for any out-of-pocket expenses incurred by them to the extent that such expenses exceed the amount of available proceeds not deposited in the Trust Account from the MCAD IPO and Private Placement. As of the date of this filing MCAD’s officers, directors and Sponsor have not loaned any money to MCAD and have not incurred any expenses on behalf of MCAD for which they are seeking reimbursement;

with certain limited exceptions, 50% of MCAD’s founder shares will not be transferred, assigned, sold or released from escrow until the earlier of six months after the date of the consummation of our initial business combination and the date the closing price of our common stock equals or exceeds $12.50 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations and recapitalizations) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing after our initial business combination and the remaining 50% of the insider shares will not be transferred, assigned, sold or released from escrow until six months after the date of the consummation of our initial business combination or earlier in either case if, subsequent to our initial business combination, we complete a liquidation, merger, stock exchange or other similar transaction which results in all of our stockholders having the right to exchange their shares of common stock for cash, securities or other property;

the fact that Sponsor paid an aggregate of $25,000 (or approximately $0.017 per share) for its 1,431,500 founders shares and such securities may have a value of $14,315,000 at the time of the Business Combination. Because the merger consideration is based on a deemed price per share of $10.00 a share, our Sponsor could make a substantial profit after the initial business combination even if public investors experience substantial losses. Further, the Founder Shares have no redemption rights upon MCAD’s liquidation and will be worthless if no business combination is effected

the fact that the Sponsor currently holds 142,500 private units which were purchased at a price of $10 per unit, or an aggregate value of $1,425,000 and which have no redemption rights upon MCAD’s liquidation and will be worthless if no business combination is effected; and

the fact that Sponsor has agreed not to redeem any of the founder shares in connection with a stockholder vote to approve a proposed initial business combination.
Risk Factors
In evaluating the proposals set forth in this proxy statement/prospectus, you should carefully read this proxy statement/prospectus, including the annexes, and especially consider the factors discussed in the section entitled “Risk Factors.”
Summary of Risks Related to BTX
This discussion includes forward-looking information regarding our business, results of operations and cash flows and contractual obligations and arrangements that involves risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Our actual results may differ materially from any future results expressed or implied by such forward-looking
 
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statements as a result of various factors, including, but not limited to, those discussed in the sections of this proxy statement/prospectus entitled “Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements.”
BTX is a clinical-stage digital therapeutics company with a limited operating history. BTX was formed in December 2015 and its operations to date have been limited. BTX has not yet demonstrated an ability to generate revenues, obtain regulatory approvals, manufacture any product on a commercial scale or arrange for a third party to do so on BTX’s behalf, or conduct sales and marketing activities necessary for successful product commercialization.
BTX has no products approved for commercial sale and has not generated any revenue from product sales to date, nor does it expect to generate any revenue from product sales for the next few years, if ever. BTX will continue to incur significant research and development and other expenses related to its preclinical and clinical development and ongoing operations. As a result, BTX is not profitable and has incurred losses in each period since its inception. Net losses and negative cash flows have had, and will continue to have, an adverse effect on BTX Equityholders’ equity and working capital.
BTX’s ability to become and remain profitable depends on its ability to generate revenue or execute other business development arrangements. BTX does not expect to generate significant revenue, if any, unless and until BTX is able to obtain regulatory approval for, and successfully commercialize the product candidates BTX is developing or may develop. Successful commercialization will require achievement of many key milestones, including demonstrating safety and efficacy in clinical trials, obtaining regulatory approval for these product candidates, developing, marketing and selling those products for which BTX may obtain regulatory approval, satisfying any post-marketing requirements and obtaining reimbursement for its products from private insurance or government payers. Because of the uncertainties and risks associated with these activities, BTX is unable to accurately and precisely predict the timing and amount of revenues, the extent of any further losses or if or when BTX might achieve profitability. BTX may never succeed in these activities and, even if BTX does, BTX may never generate revenues that are significant enough for BTX to achieve profitability. Even if BTX does achieve profitability, it may not be able to sustain or increase profitability on a quarterly or annual basis.
BTX’s operations have consumed substantial amounts of cash since inception. BTX expects to continue to spend substantial amounts to continue the clinical and preclinical development of BTX’s product candidates, including its program for its leading product candidate BT-001. BTX will need to raise additional capital to complete its currently planned clinical trials and any future clinical trials. Other unanticipated costs may arise in the course of its development efforts. If BTX is able to gain marketing approval for product candidates that it develops, BTX will require significant additional amounts of funding in order to launch and commercialize such product candidates. BTX cannot reasonably estimate the actual amounts necessary to successfully complete the development and commercialization of any product candidate it develops and BTX may need substantial additional funding after consummation of this transaction to complete the development and commercialization of BTX’s product candidates.
Upon the consummation of the Business Combination, we will be a public company, and be subject to the reporting requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act, the listing standards of The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC, or Nasdaq, and other applicable securities rules and regulations. We expect that the requirements of these rules and regulations will continue to increase our legal, accounting and financial compliance costs, make some activities more difficult, time-consuming and costly, and place significant strain on our personnel, systems and resources. For example, the Exchange Act requires, among other things, that we file annual, quarterly and current reports with respect to our business and results of operations. As a result of the complexity involved in complying with the rules and regulations applicable to public companies, our management’s attention may be diverted from other business concerns, which could harm our business, results of operations and financial condition. Although we have already hired additional employees to assist us in complying with these requirements, we may need to hire more employees in the future or engage outside consultants, which will increase our operating expenses.
 
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SUMMARY HISTORICAL FINANCIAL INFORMATION OF BTX
The following selected historical financial information for BTX set forth below should be read in conjunction with “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations of BTX” and BTX’s historical financial statements and the related notes thereto contained elsewhere in this proxy statement/prospectus.
BTX’s balance sheet data as of June 30, 2021 and statement of operations data for the six months ended June 30, 2021 are derived from BTX’s unaudited financial statements included elsewhere in this proxy statement.
For the Six
Months Ended
June 30,
2021
(Unaudited)
For the Year
Ended
December 31,
2020
(Audited)
(in thousands, except share
and per share data)
Statement of Operations Data:
Revenue
$ $ 8
Cost of Revenue
297 682
Gross loss
(297) (674)
Operating Expenses:
Research and development
6,119 2,978
Sales and marketing
607 216
General and administrative
2,439 2,455
Total operating expenses
9,165 5,649
Loss from operations
(9,462) (6,323)
Interest expense, net
(2) (100)
Change in fair value of SAFEs
(5,313) 189
Gain on loan forgiveness
647
Loss before (benefit from)/provision for income taxes
(14,130) (6,234)
(Benefit from)/provision for income taxes
(150) 153
Net loss
$ (13,980) $ (6,387)
Cumulative preferred dividends allocated to Series A Preferred
Shareholders
$ (782) $ (1,507)
Net loss attributable to common shareholders, basic and
diluted
$ (14,762) $ (7,894)
Net loss per share attributable to common shareholders,
basic and diluted
$ (2.83) $ (1.57)
Weighted-average shares used in computing net loss per share
5,209,490 5,022,339
As of June 30,
2021 (Unaudited)
As of December 31,
2020 (Audited)
(in thousands)
Balance Sheet Data:
Current assets
$ 3,853 $ 463
Total assets
9,729 6,387
Current liabilities
2,677 613
Total liabilities
30,405 13,145
Convertible preferred stock
24,204 24,204
Accumulated deficit
(45,388) (31,408)
Total stockholder’s deficit
$ (44,880) $ (30,962)
 
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SUMMARY HISTORICAL FINANCIAL INFORMATION OF MCAD
MCAD’s balance sheet data as of June 30, 2021 and statement of operations data for the six months ended June 30, 2021 are derived from MCAD’s unaudited financial statements included elsewhere in this proxy statement. MCAD’s balance sheet data as of December 31, 2020 and statement of operations data for the period from July 31, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020 are derived from MCAD’s audited financial statements included elsewhere in this proxy statement.
The historical results of MCAD included below and elsewhere in this proxy statement are not necessarily indicative of the future performance of MCAD. You should read the following selected financial data in conjunction with “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations of MCAD” and the financial statements and the related notes appearing elsewhere in this proxy statement.
For the Six
Months Ended
June 30, 2021
(Unaudited)
For the
Period from
July 31, 2020
(inception) through
December 31,
2020 (Audited)
Operating and formation costs
$ 316,685 $ 1,686
Loss from operation
(316,685) (1,686)
Net loss
$ (311,454) $ (1,686)
Weighted average shares outstanding – basic and diluted
5,092,476 1,250,000(1)
Basic and diluted net loss per share common share
$ (0.13) $ (0.00)
(1)
Excludes an aggregate of up to 187,500 shares subject to forfeiture if the over-allotment option is not exercised in full or in part by the underwriters (see Note 5 to MCAD Audited Financial Statements).
As of
June 30, 2021
(Unaudited)
As of
December 31,
2020
Balance Sheet Data:
Cash
$ 296,363 $ 24,764
Prepaid expenses
$ 99,506
Marketable securities held in Trust Account
$ 57,505,231
Deferred offering costs
$ 61,894
Total assets
$ 57,901,100 $ 86,658
Total liabilities
$ 2,120,833 $ 63,344
Common Stock subject to possible redemption
$ 50,780,263
Total Stockholders’ Equity (Deficit)
$ 5,000,004 $ 23,314
 
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SUMMARY UNAUDITED PRO FORMA CONDENSED COMBINED FINANCIAL INFORMATION
The following summary unaudited pro forma combined financial data gives effect to the Business Combination and the other transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement described in the section titled “Unaudited Pro Forma Combined Financial Information”.
The following summary unaudited pro forma condensed combined financial information has been derived from the unaudited pro forma condensed combined balance sheet as of June 30, 2021 and the unaudited pro forma condensed combined statement of operations for the six months ended June 30, 2021 and the year ended December 31, 2020, included in “Unaudited Pro Forma Condensed Combined Financial Information.”
The summary unaudited pro forma condensed combined financial information should be read in conjunction with the unaudited pro forma condensed combined balance sheet and the unaudited pro forma condensed combined statement of operations, and the accompanying notes. In addition, the unaudited condensed combined pro forma financial information was based on and should be read in conjunction with the historical financial statements of MCAD and BTX, including the accompanying notes, which are included elsewhere in this prospectus.
The unaudited pro forma condensed combined financial information is for illustrative purposes only. The financial results may have been different had the companies always been combined. You should not rely on the unaudited pro forma condensed combined financial information as being indicative of the historical results that would have been achieved had the companies always been combined or the future results that the combined company will experience. MCAD and BTX have not had any historical relationship prior to the Business Combination. Accordingly, no pro forma adjustments were required to eliminate activities between the companies.
The Business Combination will be accounted for as a reverse capitalization, with no goodwill or other intangible assets recorded, in accordance with U.S. GAAP. Under this method of accounting, MCAD is treated as the “acquired” company for financial reporting purposes. Accordingly, for accounting purposes, the financial statements of the combined entity will represent a continuation of the financial statements of BTX with the Business Combination being treated as the equivalent of BTX issuing stock for the net assets of MCAD, accompanied by a recapitalization. The net assets of MCAD are stated at historical cost, with no goodwill or other intangible assets recorded. Operations prior to the Business Combination are those of BTX.
The unaudited pro forma condensed combined financial information has been prepared assuming two alternative levels of redemption into cash of MCAD’s public shares:

Assuming no redemptions for cash:   This presentation assumes that no MCAD stockholders exercise redemption rights with respect to their shares of common stock upon consummation of the Business Combination; and

Assuming maximum redemptions for cash:   This presentation assumes that MCAD stockholders exercise their redemption rights with respect to a maximum of 5,049,200 shares of common stock upon consummation of the Business Combination at a redemption price of $10.00 per share. The maximum redemption amount is presented based on a minimum trust account balance of $5,000,001, after giving effect to the payments to redeeming stockholders, but prior to payment of estimated transaction expenses. The “maximum” scenario includes all adjustments contained in the “no redemptions” scenario and presents additional adjustments to reflect the effect of the “maximum redemption” scenario.
The historical financial information has been adjusted to give pro forma effect to events that are related and/or directly attributable to the Business Combination, and other related events, and are factually supportable. The adjustments presented to the unaudited pro forma condensed combined financial statements have been identified and presented to provide relevant information necessary for an accurate understanding of the combined company upon consummation of the Business Combination.
 
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(in thousands, except per share data)
Pro Forma
Combined
(Assuming No
Redemptions)
Pro Forma
Combined
(Assuming Max
Redemptions)
Summary Unaudited Pro Forma Condensed Combined Statement of Operations Data For Six Months Ended June 30, 2021
Net loss per share – basic and diluted
$ (0.32) $ (0.38)
Weighted-average shares outstanding – basic and diluted
28,382,000 23,332,800
Summary Unaudited Pro Forma Condensed Combined Statement of Operations Data For Twelve Months Ended December 31, 2020
Net loss per share – basic and diluted
$ (0.23) $ (0.28)
Weighted-average shares outstanding – basic and diluted
28,382,000 23,332,800
Pro Forma
Combined
(Assuming No
Redemptions)
Pro Forma
Combined
(Assuming Max
Redemptions)
Summary Unaudited Pro Forma Condensed Combined Balance Sheet
Data as of June 30, 2021
Total assets
$ 110,444 $ 59,952
Total liabilities
$ 1,574 $ 1,574
Total stockholders’ equity
$ 108,870 $ 58,378
 
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UNAUDITED HISTORICAL COMPARATIVE AND PRO FORMA COMBINED
PER SHARE DATA OF MCAD AND BTX
The following table sets forth selected historical comparative share information for MCAD and BTX and unaudited pro forma combined per share information of the Combined Entity after giving effect to the Business Combination, assuming two redemption scenarios as follows:
Assuming No Redemption:   This scenario assumes that no shares of Common Stock are redeemed; and
Assuming Maximum Possible Redemption:   This scenario assumes that 5,049,200 shares of Common Stock are redeemed for an aggregate payment of approximately $50.5 million from the Trust Account, which is the maximum redemptions that would satisfy MCAD having at least $5,000,001 of net tangible assets remaining after the closing.
You should read the information in the following table in conjunction with the summary historical financial information included elsewhere in this proxy statement/prospectus, and the historical financial statements of MCAD and BTX and related notes that are included elsewhere in this proxy statement/prospectus. The unaudited pro forma combined share information is derived from, and should be read in conjunction with, the unaudited pro forma combined financial statements and related notes included elsewhere in this proxy statement/prospectus.
The unaudited pro forma combined net loss per share information below does not purport to represent the net loss per share which would have occurred had the companies been combined during the periods presented, nor net loss per share for any future date or period. The unaudited pro forma combined book value per share information below does not purport to represent what the value of MCAD and BTX would have been had the companies been combined during the periods presented. 
Unaudited Combined
Pro Forma
Unaudited BTX equivalent
pro forma per share data(1)
MCAD
(Historical)(2)
BTX
(Historical)(3)
(Assuming No
Redemption)
(Assuming
Maximum
Redemption)
(Assuming No
Redemption)
(Assuming
Maximum
Redemption)
As of and for the Six
Months Ended June 30,
2021 Book value per
share
$ 2.09 $ (8.62) $ 3.84 $ 2.50 $ 3.63 $ 2.36
Weighted average shares outstanding of Common Stock – basic and diluted
2,387,287 5,209,490 28,382,000 23,332,800 15,200,000 15,200,000
Net loss per share of Common Stock – basic and diluted
$ (0.13) $ (2.83) $ (0.32) $ (0.38) $ (0.30) $ (0.36)
As of and for the Year Ended December 31, 2020 Book value per share
$ 2.07 $ (6.16) $ 3.78 $ 2.42 $ 43.57 $ 2.29
Weighted average shares outstanding of Common Stock – basic and diluted
2,419,578 5,022,339 28,382,000 23,332,800 15,200,000 15,200,000
Net loss per share of Common Stock – basic and diluted
$ (0.00) $ (1.57) $ (0.23) $ (0.28) $ (0.22) $ (0.27)
 
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(1)
The equivalent pro forma basis and diluted per share data for BTX is based on the exchange ratio of 0.9452 as set forth in the Merger Agreement.
(2)
The MCAD historical financial information gives effect to the MCAD initial public offering completed on January 12, 2021. The book value per share for MCAD excludes redeemable common stock from the weighted average shares outstanding to calculate the book value per share.
(3)
The book value per share for BTX excludes convertible preferred stock from the weighted average shares outstanding to calculate the book value per share.
(4)
Book value per share is calculated as total equity divided by weighted average common stock outstanding for the six months ended June 30, 2021 and year ended December 31, 2020, respectively.
 
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RISK FACTORS
The following risk factors will apply to our business and operations following the completion of the Business Combination. These risk factors are not exhaustive and investors are encouraged to perform their own investigation with respect to the business, prospects, financial condition and operating results of BTX and our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results following the completion of the Business Combination. You should carefully consider the following risk factors in addition to the other information included in this proxy statement/prospectus, including matters addressed in the section entitled “Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements,” before deciding how to vote your shares of Common Stock. We may face additional risks and uncertainties that are not presently known to us, or that we currently deem immaterial, which may also impair our business, prospects, financial condition or operating results. The following discussion should be read in conjunction with our financial statements and the financial statements of BTX and notes to the financial statements included herein.
Risks Related to MCAD’s Business and to BTX’s Business Following the Business Combination
Unless the context otherwise requires, any reference in the below sections of this proxy statement/prospectus to the “we,” “us” or “our” refers to MCAD and its consolidated subsidiaries prior to the consummation of the Business Combination and to BTX and its consolidated subsidiaries following the Business Combination. The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with our financial statements and accompanying notes, and other financial information included elsewhere within this proxy statement/prospectus. This discussion includes forward-looking information regarding our business, results of operations and cash flows and contractual obligations and arrangements that involves risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Our actual results may differ materially from any future results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including, but not limited to, those discussed in the sections of this proxy statement/prospectus entitled “Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” and “MCAD’s Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.”
BTX is a clinical-stage digital therapeutics company with a limited operating history and BTX has incurred significant financial losses since its inception. BTX anticipates that it will continue to incur significant financial losses for the foreseeable future.
BTX is a clinical-stage digital therapeutics company with a limited operating history. BTX was formed in December 2015 and its operations to date have been limited. BTX has not yet demonstrated an ability to generate revenues, obtain regulatory approvals, manufacture any product on a commercial scale or arrange for a third party to do so on BTX’s behalf, or conduct sales and marketing activities necessary for successful product commercialization.
BTX has no products approved for commercial sale and has not generated any revenue from product sales to date, nor does it expect to generate any revenue from product sales for the next few years, if ever. BTX will continue to incur significant research and development and other expenses related to its preclinical and clinical development and ongoing operations. As a result, BTX is not profitable and has incurred losses in each period since its inception. Net losses and negative cash flows have had, and will continue to have, an adverse effect on BTX Equityholders’ equity and working capital. BTX’s net loss was $6.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2020. As of December 31, 2020, BTX had an accumulated deficit of $31.4 million. BTX expects to continue to incur significant losses for the foreseeable future, and it expects these losses to increase as BTX continues its research and development of, and seek regulatory approvals for, BTX’s product candidates.
BTX anticipates that its expenses will increase substantially if, and as, it:

advances its lead product candidate BT-001 through clinical development;

advances its pilot stage product candidates into clinical development;

seeks to identify, acquire and develop additional product candidates, including through business development efforts to invest in or in-license other technologies or product candidates;
 
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hires additional clinical, quality control, medical, scientific and other technical personnel to support its clinical operations;

expands its operational, financial and management systems and increases personnel to support its operations;

meets the requirements and demands of being a public company;

maintains, expands and protects its intellectual property portfolio;

seeks regulatory approvals for any product candidates that successfully complete clinical trials; and

undertakes any pre-commercialization activities to establish sales, marketing and distribution capabilities for any product candidates for which it may receive regulatory approval.
Digital therapeutic product development entails substantial upfront capital expenditures and significant risk that any potential product candidate will fail to demonstrate adequate efficacy, gain regulatory approval, secure market access and reimbursement and become commercially viable and therefore any investment in BTX is highly speculative. Additionally, BTX’s expenses could increase beyond its expectations if it is required by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, or other regulatory authorities to perform clinical trials in addition to those that BTX currently expects, or if there are any delays in establishing appropriate arrangements for or in completing its clinical trials or the development of any of BTX’s product candidates.
You should consider BTX’s prospects, factoring in the costs, uncertainties, delays and difficulties frequently encountered by companies in clinical development, especially clinical-stage digital therapeutics companies such as BTX. Any predictions you make about BTX’s future success or viability may not be as accurate as they would otherwise be if BTX had a longer operating history or a history of successfully developing and commercializing digital therapeutics products. BTX may encounter unforeseen expenses, difficulties, complications, delays and other known or unknown factors in achieving its business objectives.
BTX has never generated revenue from product sales and may never be profitable.
BTX’s ability to become and remain profitable depends on its ability to generate revenue or execute other business development arrangements. BTX does not expect to generate significant revenue, if any, unless and until BTX is able to obtain regulatory approval for, and successfully commercialize the product candidates BTX is developing or may develop. Successful commercialization will require achievement of many key milestones, including demonstrating safety and efficacy in clinical trials, obtaining regulatory approval for these product candidates, developing, marketing and selling those products for which BTX may obtain regulatory approval, satisfying any post-marketing requirements and obtaining reimbursement for its products from private insurance or government payers. Because of the uncertainties and risks associated with these activities, BTX is unable to accurately and precisely predict the timing and amount of revenues, the extent of any further losses or if or when BTX might achieve profitability. BTX may never succeed in these activities and, even if BTX does, BTX may never generate revenues that are significant enough for BTX to achieve profitability. Even if BTX does achieve profitability, it may not be able to sustain or increase profitability on a quarterly or annual basis.
BTX’s failure to become and remain profitable may depress the market price of its common stock and could impair its ability to raise capital, expand its business, diversify its product offerings or continue its operations. If BTX continues to suffer losses as it has since inception, investors may not receive any return on their investment and may lose their entire investment.
BTX will need substantial additional funding, and if it is unable to raise capital when needed, BTX could be forced to delay, reduce or terminate its product discovery and development programs or commercialization efforts.
BTX’s operations have consumed substantial amounts of cash since inception. BTX expects to continue to spend substantial amounts to continue the clinical and preclinical development of BTX’s product candidates, including its program for its leading product candidate BT-001. BTX will need to raise additional capital to complete its currently planned clinical trials and any future clinical trials. Other unanticipated costs may arise in the course of its development efforts. If BTX is able to gain marketing
 
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approval for product candidates that it develops, BTX will require significant additional amounts of funding in order to launch and commercialize such product candidates. BTX cannot reasonably estimate the actual amounts necessary to successfully complete the development and commercialization of any product candidate it develops and BTX may need substantial additional funding after consummation of this transaction to complete the development and commercialization of BTX’s product candidates.
BTX’s future need for additional funding depends on many factors, including:

the scope, progress, results and costs of researching and developing its current product candidates, as well as other additional product candidates BTX may develop and pursue in the future;

the timing of, and the costs involved in, obtaining marketing approvals for BTX’s product candidates and any other additional product candidates BTX may develop and pursue in the future;

the number of future product candidates that BTX may pursue and their development requirements;

the costs of commercialization activities for BTX’s product candidate, including the costs and timing of establishing product sales, marketing, and distribution capabilities;

subject to receipt of regulatory approval, revenue, if any, received from commercial sales of BTX’s product candidates;

the extent to which BTX in-licenses or acquires rights to other products, product candidates or technologies;

its headcount growth and associated costs as BTX expands its research and development and establish a commercial infrastructure;

the costs of preparing, filing and prosecuting patent applications, maintaining and protecting its intellectual property rights, including enforcing and defending intellectual property related claims; and

the costs of operating as a public company.
BTX cannot be certain that additional funding will be available on acceptable terms, or at all. If BTX is unable to raise additional capital in sufficient amounts or on terms acceptable to BTX, BTX may have to significantly delay, reduce or terminate its product development programs or plans for commercialization.
BTX believes that, following this transaction, it will be able to fund its operating expenses and capital expenditure requirements into 2023. BTX’s estimate may prove to be wrong, and BTX could use its available capital resources sooner than BTX currently expects. Further, changing circumstances, some of which may be beyond its control, could cause BTX to consume capital significantly faster than BTX currently anticipates, and BTX may need to seek additional funds sooner than planned.
Due to the significant resources required for the development of BTX’s pipeline, and depending on its ability to access capital, BTX must prioritize the development of certain product candidates over others. BTX may fail to expend its limited resources on product candidates or indications that may have been more profitable or for which there is a greater likelihood of success.
BTX currently has one late-stage clinical-stage product candidate as well as several other product candidates that are at various earlier stages of development. BTX seeks to maintain a process of prioritization and resource allocation to maintain an optimal balance between aggressively pursuing its more advanced clinical-stage product candidate, BT-001, and ensuring the development of additional potential product candidates.
Due to the significant resources required for the development of BTX’s product candidates, BTX must decide which product candidates to pursue and advance and the amount of resources to allocate to each. BTX’s decisions concerning the allocation of research, development, collaboration, management and financial resources toward particular product candidates or therapeutic areas may not lead to the development of any viable commercial products and may divert resources away from better opportunities. If BTX makes incorrect determinations regarding the viability or market potential of any of BTX’s product candidates or misread trends in the pharmaceutical industry, in particular for cardiometabolic disorders, its business,
 
39

 
financial condition, and results of operations could be materially adversely affected. As a result, BTX may fail to capitalize on viable commercial products or profitable market opportunities, be required to forego or delay pursuit of opportunities with other product candidates or other diseases and disease pathways that may later prove to have greater commercial potential than those BTX chooses to pursue, or relinquish valuable rights to such product candidates through collaboration, licensing, or other royalty arrangements in cases in which it would have been advantageous for BTX to invest additional resources to retain sole development and commercialization rights.
Raising additional capital may cause dilution to BTX Equityholders, restrict its operations or require BTX to relinquish rights to its technologies or product candidates.
BTX expects its expenses to increase in connection with its planned operations. Unless and until BTX can generate a substantial amount of revenue from BTX’s product candidates, BTX expects to finance its future cash needs through public or private equity offerings, debt financings, collaborations, licensing arrangements or other sources, or any combination of the foregoing. In addition, BTX may seek additional capital due to favorable market conditions or strategic considerations, even if BTX believes that BTX has sufficient funds for its current or future operating plans.
To the extent that BTX raises additional capital through the sale of common stock, convertible securities or other equity securities, your ownership interest may be diluted, and the terms of these securities could include liquidation or other preferences and anti-dilution protections that could adversely affect your rights as a common stockholder. In addition, debt financing, if available, may result in fixed payment obligations and may involve agreements that include restrictive covenants that limit its ability to take specific actions, such as incurring additional debt, making capital expenditures, creating liens, redeeming stock or declaring dividends, that could adversely impact its ability to conduct its business. In addition, securing financing could require a substantial amount of time and attention from its management and may divert a disproportionate amount of their attention away from day-to-day activities, which may adversely affect its management’s ability to oversee the development of BTX’s product candidates.
If BTX raises additional capital through collaborations or marketing, distribution or licensing arrangements with third parties, BTX may have to relinquish valuable rights to its technologies, future revenue streams or product candidates or grant licenses on terms that may not be favorable to BTX. If BTX is unable to raise additional capital when needed, BTX may be required to delay, reduce or terminate its product discovery and development programs or commercialization efforts or grant rights to develop and market product candidates that BTX would otherwise prefer to develop and market itself.
The amount of BTX’s future losses is uncertain and BTX’s quarterly and annual operating results may fluctuate significantly or fall below the expectations of investors or securities analysts, each of which may cause its stock price to fluctuate or decline.
BTX’s quarterly and annual operating results may fluctuate significantly in the future due to a variety of factors, many of which are outside of its control and may be difficult to predict, including the following:

the timing and success or failure of clinical trials for BTX’s product candidates or competing product candidates, or any other change in the competitive landscape of its industry, including consolidation among its competitors or partners or as a result of COVID-19;

its ability to successfully recruit and retain subjects for clinical trials, and any delays caused by difficulties in such efforts, including as a result of COVID-19;

its ability to obtain marketing approval for BTX’s product candidates and the timing and scope of any such approvals BTX may receive;

the timing and cost of, and level of investment in, research and development activities relating to BTX’s product candidates, which may change from time to time;

its ability to attract, hire and retain qualified personnel;

expenditures that BTX will or may incur to develop additional product candidates;
 
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the level of demand for its product candidates should they receive approval, which may vary significantly;

the risk/benefit profile, cost and reimbursement policies with respect to BTX’s product candidates, if approved, and existing and potential future therapeutics that compete with BTX’s product candidates;

the changing and volatile U.S. and global economic environments; and

future accounting pronouncements or changes in its accounting policies.
The cumulative effects of these factors could result in large fluctuations and unpredictability in its quarterly and annual operating results. As a result, comparing its operating results on a period-to-period basis may not be meaningful. This variability and unpredictability could also result in its failing to meet the expectations of industry or financial analysts or investors for any period. If its operating results or revenue fall below the expectations of analysts or investors or below any forecasts BTX may provide to the market, or if the forecasts BTX provides to the market are below the expectations of analysts or investors, the price of its common stock could decline substantially. Such a stock price decline could occur even when BTX has met any previously publicly stated guidance BTX may provide.
BTX’s business is highly dependent on the success of BTX’s its lead product candidate, BT-001. If BTX is unable to successfully complete clinical development, obtain regulatory approval for or commercialize BT-001, or if BTX experiences delays in doing so, its business will be materially harmed.
To date, BTX as an organization have not completed any clinical trials or development of any product candidates. BTX’s future success and ability to generate revenue from its lead product candidates, is dependent on its ability to successfully develop, obtain regulatory approval for and commercialize BT-001. BTX initiated its potentially pivotal phase trial for BT-001 in February 2021. If BT-001 encounters efficacy problems, development delays or regulatory issues or other problems, the development plans for our other product candidates and business would be materially harmed.
BTX may not have the financial resources to continue development of its product candidates if BT-001 experiences any issues that delay or prevent regulatory approval of, or its ability to commercialize, BT-001, including:

its inability to demonstrate to the satisfaction of the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities that BT-001 is safe and effective;

insufficiency of its financial and other resources to complete the necessary clinical trials and preclinical studies;

negative or inconclusive results from its clinical trials, preclinical studies or the clinical trials of others for product candidates similar to BTX’s, leading to a decision or requirement to conduct additional clinical trials or preclinical studies or abandon a program;

product-related adverse events experienced by subjects in its clinical trials, including unexpected results, or by individuals using products similar to BT-001;

delays in enrolling subjects in clinical trials;

high drop-out rates of subjects from clinical trials;

poor effectiveness of BT-001 during clinical trials;

greater than anticipated clinical trial or manufacturing costs;

delays in submitting a de novo application, or comparable foreign applications or delays or failure in obtaining the necessary approvals from regulators to commence a clinical trial or a suspension or termination, or hold, of a clinical trial once commenced;

conditions imposed by the FDA, the European Medicines Agency, or EMA, or comparable foreign regulatory authorities regarding the scope or design of its clinical trials;
 
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delays and changes in regulatory requirements, policy and guidelines, including the imposition of additional regulatory oversight around clinical testing generally or with respect to its therapies in particular; or

varying interpretations of data by the FDA, EMA and comparable foreign regulatory authorities.
The failure of BTX’s products, if approved, to achieve and maintain market acceptance would cause our business, financial condition and results of operation to be materially and adversely affected.
Our current business strategy is highly dependent on BTX’s products achieving and thereafter FDA approval and maintaining market acceptance. Market acceptance and adoption of BTX’s products depends on educating people with cardiometabolic conditions, as well as payers, health plans and government entities, as to the distinct features, clinical impact, cost savings, and other benefits of BTX’s products. If BTX is not successful in demonstrating to physicians who treat potential patients the benefits of BTX’s products, if approved, or if we are not able to achieve the support of insurance carriers for BTX’s products, our business, financial condition and results of operation would be materially and adversely affected.
In addition, BTX’s products may be perceived by patients and healthcare providers to be more complicated or less effective than traditional approaches, and people may be unwilling to change their current health regimens. Moreover, we believe that healthcare providers tend to be slow to change their medical treatment practices because of perceived liability risks arising from the use of new products and the uncertainty of third-party reimbursement. Accordingly, healthcare providers may not recommend BTX’s products until there is sufficient evidence to convince them to alter their current approach.
Competitive products may reduce or eliminate the commercial opportunity for BTX’s product candidates, if approved. If its competitors develop technologies or product candidates more rapidly than BTX does, or their technologies or product candidates are more effective or safer than BTX’s, its ability to develop and successfully commercialize BTX’s product candidates may be adversely affected.
The clinical and commercial landscapes for the treatment of cardiometabolic diseases are highly competitive and subject to rapid and significant technological change. BTX faces competition with respect to its indications for BTX’s product candidates from major pharmaceutical companies, specialty pharmaceutical companies, biotechnology companies and potentially other technology companies. There are a number of large pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies that currently market and sell drugs or are pursuing the development of drug candidates for the treatment of the indications that BTX is pursuing. Potential competitors also include academic institutions, government agencies and other public and private research organizations that conduct research, seek patent protection and establish collaborative arrangements for research, development, manufacturing and commercialization. In addition, technology companies are increasingly exploring digital product to manage and treat cardiometabolic diseases that could compete with BTX’s product candidates, if approved.
BTX’s competitors may have significantly greater financial resources, established presence in the market, expertise in research and development, manufacturing, preclinical and clinical testing, obtaining regulatory approvals and reimbursement and marketing approved products than BTX does. Accordingly, its competitors may be more successful than BTX may be in obtaining regulatory approval for therapies and achieving widespread market acceptance. BTX’s competitors’ products may be more effective, or more effectively marketed and sold, than any product candidate BTX may commercialize and may render its therapies obsolete or non-competitive before BTX can recover development and commercialization expenses. If any of BTX’s product candidates, including BT-001, is approved, it could compete with a range of therapeutic treatments that are in development.
If BTX obtains approval for any of BTX’s product candidates, BTX may face competition based on many different factors, including the efficacy, safety and tolerability of its products, the ease with which its products can be administered, the timing and scope of regulatory approvals for these products, the availability and cost of manufacturing, marketing and sales capabilities, price, reimbursement coverage and patent position. Existing and future competing products could present superior treatment alternatives, including being more effective, safer, less expensive or marketed and sold more effectively than any product BTX may develop. Competitive products may make any product BTX develops obsolete or noncompetitive before it
 
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recovers the expense of developing and commercializing BTX’s product candidates. Such competitors could also recruit its employees, which could negatively impact BTX’s level of expertise and its ability to execute its business plan.
In addition, BTX’s competitors may obtain patent protection or FDA approval and commercialize products more rapidly than BTX does, which may impact future approvals or sales of any of BTX’s product candidates that receive regulatory approval. If the FDA approves the commercial sale of any of BTX’s product candidates, BTX will also be competing with respect to marketing capabilities and manufacturing efficiency. BTX expects competition among products will be based on product efficacy and safety, the timing and scope of regulatory approvals, marketing and sales capabilities, product price, reimbursement coverage by government and private third-party payers, regulatory exclusivities and patent position. BTX’s profitability and financial position will suffer if BTX’s product candidates receive regulatory approval but cannot compete effectively in the marketplace.
Mergers and acquisitions in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries may result in even more resources being concentrated among a smaller number of its competitors. Smaller and other early-stage companies may also prove to be significant competitors, particularly as the develop disruptive therapies through collaborative arrangements with large and established companies. These third parties compete with BTX in recruiting and retaining qualified scientific and management personnel and establishing clinical trial sites, as well as in acquiring technologies complementary to, or necessary for, its programs.
We cannot assure you that our diligence review has identified all material risks associated with the Business Combination, and you may be less protected as an investor from any material issues with respect to BTX’s business, including any material omissions or misstatements contained in the Registration Statement or this proxy statement/prospectus than an investor in an initial public offering.
Before entering into the Business Combination Agreement, we performed a due diligence review of BTX and its business and operations; however, we cannot assure you that our due diligence review identified all material issues, and certain unexpected risks may arise and previously known risks may materialize in a manner not consistent with our preliminary risk analysis. Additionally, the scope of due diligence we have conducted in conjunction with the Business Combination may be different than would typically be conducted in the event BTX pursued an underwritten initial public offering. In a typical initial public offering, the underwriters of the offering conduct due diligence on the company to be taken public, and following the offering, the underwriters are subject to liability to private investors for any material misstatements or omissions in the registration statement. While potential investors in an initial public offering typically have a private right of action against the underwriters of the offering for any such material misstatements or omissions, there are no underwriters of the BTX common stock that will be issued pursuant to the Registration Statement and thus no corresponding right of action is available to investors in the Business Combination, for any material misstatements or omissions in the Registration Statement or this proxy statement/prospectus. Therefore, as an investor in the Business Combination, you may be exposed to future losses, impairment charges, write-downs, write-offs or other charges that could have a significant negative effect on BTX’s financial condition, results of operations and the share price of its securities, which could cause you to lose some or all of your investment without certain recourse against any underwriter that may be available in an underwritten public offering.
Acquisitions and investments could result in operating difficulties, dilution and other harmful consequences that may adversely impact our business, results of operations and financial condition.
We may in the future make acquisitions to add complementary companies, products, technologies, or revenue. These transactions could be material to our results of operations and financial condition. We may also evaluate and enter into discussions regarding a wide array of potential strategic transactions. The identification of suitable acquisition candidates can be difficult, time-consuming and costly, and we may not be able to complete acquisitions on favorable terms, if at all. The process of integrating an acquired company, business or technology may create, unforeseen operating difficulties and expenditures. The areas where we face risks include:

loss of key employees of the acquired company and other challenges associated with integrating new employees into our culture, as well as reputational harm if integration is not successful;
 
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diversion of management time and focus from operating our business to addressing acquisition integration challenges;

implementation or remediation of controls, procedures, and policies at the acquired company;

difficulties in integrating and managing the combined operations, technologies, technology platforms and products of the acquired companies and realizing the anticipated economic, operational and other benefits in a timely manner, which could result in substantial costs and delays or other operational, technical or financial problems;

integration of the acquired company’s accounting, human resource and other administrative systems, and coordination of products, engineering and sales and marketing function;

assumption of contractual obligations that contain terms that are not beneficial to us, require us to license or waive intellectual property rights, or increase our risk for liabilities;

failure to successfully further develop the acquired technology or realize our intended business strategy;

uncertainty of entry into markets in which we have limited or no prior experience or in which competitors have stronger market positions;

unanticipated costs associated with pursuing acquisitions;

failure to find commercial success with the products or services of the acquired company;

difficulty of transitioning the acquired technology onto our existing platforms and maintaining the security standards for such technology consistent with our other products;

failure to successfully onboard patients or maintain brand quality of acquired companies;

responsibility for the liabilities of acquired businesses, including those that were not disclosed to us or exceed our estimates, as well as, without limitation, liabilities arising out of their failure to maintain effective data protection and privacy controls and comply with applicable regulations;

inability to maintain our internal standards, controls, procedures, and policies;

failure to generate the expected financial results related to an acquisition on a timely manner or at all;

difficulties in complying with antitrust and other government regulations;

challenges in integrating and auditing the financial statements of acquired companies that have not historically prepared financial statements in accordance with GAAP;

potential accounting charges to the extent intangibles recorded in connection with an acquisition, such as goodwill, trademarks, patient relationships or intellectual property, are later determined to be impaired and written down in value; and

failure to accurately forecast the impact of an acquisition transaction.
Future acquisitions could also result in expenditures of significant cash, dilutive issuances of our equity securities, the incurrence of debt, restrictions on our business, contingent liabilities, amortization expenses or write-offs of goodwill, any of which could harm our financial condition. In addition, any acquisitions we announce could be viewed negatively by patients.
Additionally, competition within our industry for acquisitions of business, technologies and assets may become intense. Even if we are able to identify an acquisition that we would like to consummate, we may not be able to complete the acquisition on commercially reasonable terms or the target may be acquired by another company. We may enter into negotiations for acquisitions that are not ultimately consummated. Those negotiations could result in diversion of management time and significant out-of-pocket costs. If we fail to evaluate and execute acquisitions successfully, we may not be able to realize the benefits of these acquisitions, and our operating results could be harmed. If we are unable to successfully address any of these risks, our business, financial condition or operating results could be harmed.
 
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If BTX is unable to develop its sales, marketing and distribution capability on its own or through collaborations with marketing partners, it will not be successful in commercializing BTX’s product candidates, if approved.
BTX currently has no marketing, sales or distribution capabilities. BTX intends to establish a sales and marketing organization, to commercialize its product candidates, if approved. These efforts will require substantial additional resources, some or all of which may be incurred in advance of any approval of the product candidate. Any failure or delay in the development of BTX’s sales, marketing and distribution capabilities would adversely impact the commercialization of its product candidates, if approved.
Factors that may inhibit BTX’s efforts to commercialize BTX’s product candidates, if approved, include:

its inability to recruit and retain adequate numbers of effective sales and marketing personnel;

the inability of sales personnel to obtain access to or persuade adequate numbers of physicians to prescribe its products, if approved;

the lack of complementary products to be offered by sales personnel, which may put BTX at a competitive disadvantage relative to companies with more extensive product lines; and

unforeseen costs and expenses associated with creating an independent sales and marketing organization.
With respect to its existing and future product candidates, BTX may choose to collaborate with third parties that have direct sales forces and established distribution systems to serve as an alternative to its own sales force and distribution systems. BTX’s future product revenue may be lower than if it directly marketed or sold BTX’s product candidates, if approved. In addition, any revenue BTX receives will depend in whole or in part upon the efforts of these third parties, which may not be successful and are generally not within its control. If BTX is not successful in commercializing any approved products, its future product revenue will suffer and BTX may incur significant additional losses.
If we are unable to achieve widespread acceptance of BTX’s products, if approved, our revenue growth could be slower than we expect, and our business may be adversely affected.
We expect to generate revenue from physicians prescription of BTX’s products, if approved, for patients. As a result, widespread acceptance, prescription and use of our products, if approved, is critical to our future growth and success. If the market fails to grow or grows more slowly than we currently anticipate, demand for BTX’s products, if approved, could be negatively affected and our revenue may grow more slowly than we expect and our business may be adversely affected. Demand for BTX’s products, if approved, is affected by a number of factors, many of which are beyond our control. Some of these potential factors include:

awareness of BTX’s products and the adoption of prescription CBT;

ease of adoption and use;

platform experience;

performance;

brand;

security and privacy; and

pricing.
Any failure to offer high-quality patient support may adversely affect our relationships with our existing and prospective patients, and in turn our business, results of operations and financial condition.
In implementing and using BTX’s products, our patients will depend on our patient support to resolve issues in a timely manner. We may be unable to respond quickly enough to accommodate short-term increases in demand for patient support. Increased patient demand for support could increase costs and adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition. Any failure to maintain high-quality patient support, or a market perception that we do not maintain high-quality patient support, could adversely affect patient
 
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satisfaction or the willingness of physicians to prescribe our products, and in turn our business, results of operations, and financial condition.
If we fail to effectively manage our growth, we may be unable to execute our business plan, adequately address competitive challenges or maintain our corporate culture, and our business, financial condition and results of operations would be harmed.
The growth and expansion of our business creates significant challenges for our management, operational and financial resources. To effectively manage our growth, we must continue to improve our operational, financial and management processes and systems and to effectively expand, train and manage our employee base. As our organization continues to grow and we are required to implement more complex organizational management structures, we may find it increasingly difficult to maintain the benefits of our corporate culture. This could negatively affect our business performance.
We may in the future enter into collaborations, in-licensing arrangements, joint ventures, or strategic alliances with third-parties that may not result in the development of commercially viable products or the generation of significant future revenues.
In the ordinary course of our business, we may enter into collaborations, in-licensing arrangements, joint ventures, or strategic alliances to develop proposed products and to pursue new markets.
In the future, proposing, negotiating, and implementing collaborations, in-licensing arrangements, joint ventures, strategic alliances, or partnerships may be a lengthy and complex process. Other companies, including those with substantially greater financial, marketing, sales, technology or other business resources, may compete with us for these opportunities or arrangements. We may not identify, secure or complete any such transactions or arrangements in a timely manner, on a cost-effective basis, on acceptable terms or at all, and may not realize the anticipated benefits of any such transaction or arrangement.
Additionally, with respect to current and future collaborations, we may not be in a position to exercise sole decision-making authority regarding the transaction or arrangement, which could create the potential risk of creating impasses on decisions, and our collaborators may have economic or business interests or goals that are, or that may become, inconsistent with our business interests or goals. For example, BTX entered into a research collaboration with Steward Health Care Network to conduct a real world use study of BT-001. However, the parties do not expect to proceed with the study at this point.
It is possible that conflicts may arise with our collaborators, 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 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 collaborators’ or our future products. Disputes between us and our 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.
We could suffer disruptions, outages, defects, and other performance and quality problems with our platform or with the cloud and internet infrastructure on which it relies.
Our business depends on our platform to be available without disruption. We have experienced, and may in the future experience, disruptions, outages, defects, and other performance and quality problems with our platform. We have also experienced, and may in the future experience, disruptions, outages, defects, and other performance and quality problems with the cloud and internet infrastructure on which our platform relies. These problems can be caused by a variety of factors, including introductions of new functionality, vulnerabilities and defects in proprietary and open source software, human error or misconduct, capacity constraints, design limitations, or denial of service attacks or other security-related incidents.
 
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Further, if our contractual and other business relationships with our cloud service providers are terminated, suspended, or suffer a material change to which we are unable to adapt, such as the elimination of services or features on which we depend, we could be unable to provide our platform and could experience significant delays and incur additional expense in transitioning patients to a different cloud service provider.
Any disruptions, outages, defects, and other performance and quality problems with our platform or with the cloud and internet infrastructure on which it relies, or any material change in our contractual and other business relationships with our cloud services providers, could result in reduced use of our platform, increased expenses, including service credit obligations, and harm to our brand and reputation, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
We depend on our senior management team, and the loss of one or more of our executive officers or key employees or an inability to attract and retain highly skilled employees could adversely affect our business.
Our success depends largely upon the continued services of our key executive officers. These executive officers are at-will employees and therefore they may terminate employment with us at any time with no advance notice. We rely on our leadership team in the areas of operations, clinical and software development, information security, marketing, compliance and general and administrative functions. From time to time, there may be changes in our executive management team resulting from the hiring or departure of executives, which could disrupt our business. From time to time, there may be changes in our executive management team resulting from the hiring or departure of executives, which could disrupt our business. The loss of one or more of the members of our senior management team, or other key employees, could harm our business. The replacement of one or more of our executive officers or other key employees would likely involve significant time and costs and may significantly delay or prevent the achievement of our business objectives.
To continue to execute our growth strategy, we also must attract and retain highly skilled personnel. Competition is intense for qualified professionals. We may not be successful in continuing to attract and retain qualified personnel. We have from time to time in the past experienced, and we expect to continue to experience in the future, difficulty in hiring and retaining highly skilled personnel with appropriate qualifications. The pool of qualified personnel with experience working in the healthcare market is limited overall. In addition, many of the companies with which we compete for experienced personnel have greater resources than we have.
Additionally, our success is dependent on our ability to evolve our culture, align our talent with our business needs, engage our employees and inspire our employees to be open to change and innovate. Our business would be adversely affected if we fail to adequately plan for succession of our executives and senior management, or if we fail to effectively recruit, integrate, retain and develop key talent and/or align our talent with our business needs, in light of the current rapidly changing environment.
We have broad discretion in the use of the net proceeds from this offering and may not use them effectively.
Our management will have broad discretion in the application of the net proceeds from the PIPE Financing and the amount in trust following the Business Combination, and you will not have the opportunity as part of your investment decision to assess whether the net proceeds are being used appropriately. Because of the number and variability of factors that will determine our use of the net proceeds from this offering, their ultimate use may vary substantially from their currently intended use. Our management might not apply our net proceeds in ways that ultimately increase or maintain the value of your investment.
We will incur increased costs and demands upon management as a result of complying with the laws and regulations affecting public companies, which could adversely affect our business, results of operations, and financial condition.
Upon the consummation of the Business Combination, we will be a public company, and be subject to the reporting requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act, the listing standards of The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC, or Nasdaq, and other applicable securities rules and regulations. We expect that the requirements of these rules and regulations will continue to increase our
 
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legal, accounting and financial compliance costs, make some activities more difficult, time-consuming and costly, and place significant strain on our personnel, systems and resources. For example, the Exchange Act requires, among other things, that we file annual, quarterly and current reports with respect to our business and results of operations. As a result of the complexity involved in complying with the rules and regulations applicable to public companies, our management’s attention may be diverted from other business concerns, which could harm our business, results of operations and financial condition. Although we have already hired additional employees to assist us in complying with these requirements, we may need to hire more employees in the future or engage outside consultants, which will increase our operating expenses.
In addition, changing laws, regulations and standards relating to corporate governance and public disclosure are creating uncertainty for public companies, increasing legal and financial compliance costs, and making some activities more time-consuming. These laws, regulations and standards are subject to varying interpretations, in many cases due to their lack of specificity, and, as a result, their application in practice may evolve over time as new guidance is provided by regulatory and governing bodies. This could result in continuing uncertainty regarding compliance matters and higher costs necessitated by ongoing revisions to disclosure and governance practices. We intend to invest substantial resources to comply with evolving laws, regulations and standards, and this investment may result in increased general and administrative expenses and a diversion of management’s time and attention from business operations to compliance activities. If our efforts to comply with new laws, regulations and standards differ from the activities intended by regulatory or governing bodies due to ambiguities related to their application and practice, regulatory authorities may initiate legal proceedings against us and our business may be harmed.
We also expect that being a public company and these new rules and regulations will make it more expensive for us to obtain director and officer liability insurance, and we may be required to accept reduced coverage or incur substantially higher costs to obtain coverage. These factors could also make it more difficult for us to attract and retain qualified patients of the Board, particularly to serve on our audit committee and compensation committee, and qualified executive officers.
As a result of disclosure of information in this prospectus and in filings required of a public company, our business and financial condition will become more visible, which may result in an increased risk of threatened or actual litigation, including by competitors and other third parties. If such claims are successful, our business and results of operations could be harmed, and even if the claims do not result in litigation or are resolved in our favor, these claims, and the time and resources necessary to resolve them, could divert the resources of our management and harm our business, results of operations, and financial condition.
If we fail to maintain an effective system of disclosure controls and internal control over financial reporting, our ability to produce timely and accurate financial statements or comply with applicable regulations could be impaired.
As a public company, we will be subject to the reporting requirements of the Exchange Act, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the rules and regulations of the applicable listing standards of Nasdaq. We expect that the requirements of these rules and regulations will continue to increase our legal, accounting and financial compliance costs, make some activities more difficult, time-consuming and costly and place significant strain on our personnel, systems and resources.
The Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires, among other things, that we maintain effective disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting. We are continuing to develop and refine our disclosure controls and other procedures that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by us in the reports that we will file with the SEC is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in SEC rules and forms and that information required to be disclosed in reports under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to our principal executive and financial officers. We are also continuing to improve our internal control over financial reporting, which includes hiring additional accounting and financial personnel to implement such processes and controls. In order to maintain and improve the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting, we have expended, and anticipate that we will continue to expend, significant resources, including accounting-related costs and significant management oversight. If any of these new or improved controls and systems do not perform as expected, we may experience material weaknesses in our controls.
 
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Our current controls and any new controls that we develop may become inadequate because of changes in conditions in our business. Further, weaknesses in our disclosure controls and internal control over financial reporting may be discovered in the future. Any failure to develop or maintain effective controls or any difficulties encountered in their implementation or improvement could harm our results of operations or cause us to fail to meet our reporting obligations and may result in a restatement of our financial statements for prior periods. Any failure to implement and maintain effective internal control over financial reporting also could adversely affect the results of periodic management evaluations and annual independent registered public accounting firm attestation reports regarding the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting that we will eventually be required to include in our periodic reports that will be filed with the SEC. Ineffective disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting could also cause investors to lose confidence in our reported financial and other information, which would likely have a negative effect on the trading price of our common stock. In addition, if we are unable to continue to meet these requirements, we may not be able to remain listed on Nasdaq. We are not currently required to comply with the SEC rules that implement Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and are therefore not required to make a formal assessment of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting for that purpose. As a public company, we will be required to provide an annual management report on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting commencing with our second annual report on Form 10-K.
Our independent registered public accounting firm is not required to formally attest to the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting until after we are no longer an “emerging growth company” as defined in the JOBS Act. At such time, our independent registered public accounting firm may issue a report that is adverse in the event it is not satisfied with the level at which our internal control over financial reporting is documented, designed or operating. Any failure to maintain effective disclosure controls and internal control over financial reporting could have an adverse effect on our business and results of operations and could cause a decline in the price of our common stock.
The requirements of being a public company may strain our resources and distract our management, which could make it difficult to manage our business, particularly after we are no longer an “emerging growth company.”
As a public company, we will incur legal, accounting and other expenses that we did not previously incur. We will become subject to the reporting requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act, and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the listing requirements of the Nasdaq and other applicable securities rules and regulations. Compliance with these rules and regulations will increase our legal and financial compliance costs, make some activities more difficult, time-consuming or costly and increase demand on our systems and resources, particularly after we are no longer an “emerging growth company.” The Exchange Act requires that we file annual, quarterly and current reports with respect to our business, financial condition and results of operations. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires, among other things, that we establish and maintain effective internal controls and procedures for financial reporting. Furthermore, the need to establish the corporate infrastructure demanded of a public company may divert our management’s attention from implementing our growth strategy, which could prevent us from improving our business, financial condition and results of operations. We have made, and will continue to make, changes to our internal controls and procedures for financial reporting and accounting systems to meet our reporting obligations as a public company. However, the measures we take may not be sufficient to satisfy our obligations as a public company. In addition, these rules and regulations will increase our legal and financial compliance costs and will make some activities more time-consuming and costly. For example, we expect these rules and regulations to make it more difficult and more expensive for us to obtain director and officer liability insurance, and we may be required to incur substantial costs to maintain the same or similar coverage. These additional obligations could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
In addition, changing laws, regulations and standards relating to corporate governance and public disclosure are creating uncertainty for public companies, increasing legal and financial compliance costs and making some activities more time consuming. These laws, regulations and standards are subject to varying interpretations, in many cases due to their lack of specificity, and, as a result, their application in practice may evolve over time as new guidance is provided by regulatory and governing bodies. This could result in
 
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continuing uncertainty regarding compliance matters and higher costs necessitated by ongoing revisions to disclosure and governance practices. We intend to invest resources to comply with evolving laws, regulations and standards, and this investment may result in increased general and administrative expenses and a diversion of our management’s time and attention from revenue-generating activities to compliance activities. If our efforts to comply with new laws, regulations and standards differ from the activities intended by regulatory or governing bodies due to ambiguities related to their application and practice, regulatory authorities may initiate legal proceedings against us and there could be a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Our business could be disrupted by catastrophic events and man-made problems, such as power disruptions, data security breaches, and terrorism.
Our platform and the cloud-based infrastructure on which our platform relies are] vulnerable to damage or interruption from the occurrence of any catastrophic event, including earthquake, fire, flood, tsunami, or other weather event, power loss, telecommunications failure, software or hardware malfunction, cyber-attack, war, terrorist attack, incident of mass violence disease, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, and similar events, which could result in lengthy interruptions in access to our platform. In addition, acts of terrorism, including malicious internet-based activity, could cause disruptions to the internet or the economy as a whole. Even with our disaster recovery arrangements, access to our platform could be interrupted. If our systems were to fail or be negatively impacted as a result of a natural disaster or other event, our ability to deliver our platform and products to our patients and patients would be impaired or we could lose critical data. If we are unable to develop adequate plans to ensure that our business functions continue to operate during and after a disaster, and successfully execute on those plans in the event of a disaster or emergency, our business, financial condition, and results of operations would be harmed.
We have implemented a disaster recovery program that allows us to move website traffic to a backup data center in the event of a catastrophe. This allows us the ability to move traffic in the event of a problem, and the ability to recover in a short period of time. However, to the extent our disaster recovery program does not effectively support the movement of traffic in a timely or complete manner in the event of a catastrophe, our business and results of operations may be harmed.
We do not carry business interruption insurance sufficient to compensate us for the potentially significant losses, including the potential harm to our business, financial condition and results of operations that may result from interruptions in access to our platform as a result of system failures.
Risks Related to our Intellectual Property and Potential Litigation
We may be subject to legal proceedings and litigation, including intellectual property and privacy disputes, which are costly to defend and could materially harm our business and results of operations.
We may be party to lawsuits and legal proceedings in the normal course of business. These matters are often expensive and disruptive to normal business operations. We may face allegations, lawsuits and regulatory inquiries, audits and investigations regarding data privacy, security, labor and employment, consumer protection and intellectual property infringement, including claims related to privacy, patents, publicity, trademarks, copyrights and other rights. A portion of the technologies we use incorporates open source software, and we may face claims claiming ownership of open source software or patents related to that software, rights to our intellectual property or breach of open source license terms, including a demand to release material portions of our source code or otherwise seeking to enforce the terms of the applicable open source license. We may also face allegations or litigation related to our acquisitions, securities issuances or business practices, including public disclosures about our business. Litigation and regulatory proceedings, and particularly the patent infringement and class action matters we could face, may be protracted and expensive, and the results are difficult to predict. Certain of these matters may include speculative claims for substantial or indeterminate amounts of damages and include claims for injunctive relief. Additionally, our litigation costs could be significant. Adverse outcomes with respect to litigation or any of these legal proceedings may result in significant settlement costs or judgments, penalties and fines, or require us to modify BTX’s product or require us to stop offering certain products, all of which could negatively impact our revenue growth. We may also become subject to periodic audits, which would likely increase our regulatory
 
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compliance costs and may require us to change our business practices, which could negatively impact our revenue growth. Managing legal proceedings, litigation and audits, even if we achieve favorable outcomes, is time-consuming and diverts management’s attention from our business.
The results of regulatory proceedings, litigation, claims, and audits cannot be predicted with certainty, and determining reserves for pending litigation and other legal, regulatory and audit matters requires significant judgment. There can be no assurance that our expectations will prove correct, and even if these matters are resolved in our favor or without significant cash settlements, these matters, and the time and resources necessary to litigate or resolve them, could harm our reputation, business, financial condition, results of operations and the market price of our common stock.
Furthermore, our business exposes us to potential product liability claims that are inherent in the design, manufacture, testing and sale of medical devices. We could become the subject of product liability lawsuits alleging that component failures, manufacturing flaws, design defects or inadequate disclosure of product-related risks or product-related information resulted in an unsafe condition, injury or death to patients. In addition, the misuse of BTX’s products, or the failure of patients to adhere to operating guidelines, could cause significant harm to patients, including death, which could result in product liability claims. Product liability lawsuits and claims, safety alerts or product recalls, with or without merit, could cause us to incur substantial costs, and could place a significant strain on our financial resources, divert the attention of management from our core business, harm our reputation and adversely affect our ability to attract and retain patients, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Although we maintain third-party product liability insurance coverage, it is possible that claims against us may exceed the coverage limits of our insurance policies. Even if any product liability loss is covered by an insurance policy, these policies typically have substantial deductibles for which we are responsible. Product liability claims in excess of applicable insurance coverage could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, any product liability claim brought against us, with or without merit, could result in an increase of BTX’s product liability insurance premiums. Insurance coverage varies in cost and can be difficult to obtain, and we cannot guarantee that we will be able to obtain insurance coverage in the future on terms acceptable to us or at all.
Failure to protect or enforce our intellectual property rights could harm our business and results of operations.
We believe that our intellectual property is an essential asset of our business. If we do not adequately protect our intellectual property, our brand and reputation could be harmed and competitors may be able to use our technologies and erode or negate any competitive advantage we may have, which could materially harm our business, negatively affect our position in the marketplace, limit our ability to commercialize our platform and delay or render impossible our achievement of profitability. A failure to protect our intellectual property in a cost-effective and meaningful manner could have a material adverse effect on our ability to compete. We regard the protection of our trade secrets, copyrights, trademarks, trade dress, databases, domain names and patents as critical to our success. We strive to protect our intellectual property rights by relying on federal, state and common law rights and other rights provided under foreign laws. These laws are subject to change at any time and could further restrict our ability to protect or enforce our intellectual property rights. In addition, the existing laws of certain foreign countries in which we operate may not protect our intellectual property rights to the same extent as do the laws of the United States. We also have a practice of entering into confidentiality and invention assignment agreements with our employees and contractors, and often enter into confidentiality agreements with parties with whom we conduct business in order to limit access to, and disclosure and use of, our proprietary information. In addition, from time to time we make our technology and other intellectual property available to others under license agreements, including open source license agreements and trademark licenses under agreements with any development collaborators for the purpose of co-branding or co-marketing BTX’s products or services. However, these contractual arrangements and the other steps we have taken to protect our intellectual property rights may not prevent the misappropriation of our proprietary information, infringement of our intellectual property rights, disclosure of trade secrets and other proprietary information, or deter independent development of similar or competing technologies, duplication of our technologies or efforts to design around our patents by others, and may not provide an adequate remedy in the event of such misappropriation or infringement.
 
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Obtaining and maintaining effective intellectual property rights is expensive, including the costs of defending our rights. We make business decisions about when to seek patent protection for a particular technology and when to rely upon trade secret protection, and the approach we select may ultimately prove to be inadequate. We are seeking to protect certain of our intellectual property rights through filing applications for copyrights, trademarks, patents and domain names in a number of jurisdictions, a process that is expensive and may not be successful in all jurisdictions. We are continuing to monitor and evaluate our intellectual property protection in various jurisdictions as we expand our business. Even in cases where we seek patent protection, there is no assurance that the resulting patents will effectively protect every significant feature of BTX’s products, technology, or proprietary information, or provide us with any competitive advantages. Moreover, we cannot guarantee that any of our pending patent applications will issue or be approved. The United States Patent and Trademark Office, or the USPTO, also requires compliance with a number of procedural, documentary, fee payment and other similar provisions during the patent application process and after a patent has issued. There are situations in which noncompliance can result in abandonment or lapse of the patent or patent application, resulting in partial or complete loss of patent rights in the relevant jurisdiction. If this occurs, our competitors might be able to enter the market, which would have a material adverse effect on our business. Even where we have intellectual property rights, they may later be found to be unenforceable or have a limited scope of enforceability. In addition, we may not seek to pursue such protection in every jurisdiction. In particular, we believe it is important to maintain, protect and enhance our brands. Accordingly, we pursue the registration of domain names and our trademarks and service marks in the United States and in some jurisdictions outside of the United States. Third parties may challenge our use of our trademarks, oppose our trademark applications or otherwise impede our efforts to protect our intellectual property in certain jurisdictions. In the event that we are unable to register our trademarks in certain jurisdictions, we could be forced to rebrand BTX’s products, which could result in loss of brand recognition and could require us to devote resources to advertising and marketing new brands. We have already and may, over time, increase our investment in protecting innovations through investments in patents and similar rights, and this process is expensive and time-consuming.
In order to protect our intellectual property rights, we may be required to spend significant resources to monitor and protect these rights. We may not always detect infringement of our intellectual property rights, and defending or enforcing our intellectual property rights, even if successfully detected, prosecuted, enjoined or remedied, could result in the expenditure of significant financial and managerial resources. Litigation may be necessary to enforce our intellectual property rights, protect our proprietary rights or determine the validity and scope of proprietary rights claimed by others. Any litigation of this nature, regardless of outcome or merit, could result in substantial costs and diversion of management and technical resources, any of which could adversely affect our business and results of operations. We may also incur significant costs in enforcing our trademarks against those who attempt to imitate our brand and other valuable trademarks and service marks. Furthermore, our efforts to enforce our intellectual property rights may be met with defenses, counterclaims, countersuits and adversarial proceedings such as oppositions, inter partes review, post-grant review, re-examination or other post-issuance proceedings, that attack the validity and enforceability of our intellectual property rights. An adverse determination of any litigation proceedings could put our patents at risk of being invalidated or interpreted narrowly and could put our related pending patent applications at risk of not issuing. Furthermore, because of the substantial amount of discovery required in connection with intellectual property litigation, there is a risk that some of our confidential or sensitive information could be compromised by disclosure in the event of litigation. In addition, during the course of litigation there could be public announcements of the results of hearings, motions or other interim proceedings or developments. If securities analysts or investors perceive these results to be negative, it could have a substantial adverse effect on the price of our common stock.
If we fail to maintain, protect and enhance our intellectual property rights, our business, results of operations and financial condition may be harmed and the market price of our common stock could decline.
Risks Related to Employment Matters
Federal, state and local employment-related laws and regulations could increase our cost of doing business and subject us to fines and lawsuits.
Our operations are subject to a variety of federal, state and local employment-related laws and regulations, including, but not limited to, the U.S. Fair Labor Standards Act, which governs such matters as
 
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minimum wages, the Family Medical Leave Act, overtime pay, compensable time, recordkeeping and other working conditions, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the National Labor Relations Act, regulations of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, regulations of the Office of Civil Rights, regulations of the Department of Labor (DOL), regulations of state attorneys general, federal and state wage and hour laws, and a variety of similar laws enacted by the federal and state governments that govern these and other employment-related matters. As our employees are located in a number of states, compliance with these evolving federal, state and local laws and regulations could substantially increase our cost of doing business while failure to do so could subject us to fines and lawsuits. We are currently subject to employee-related legal proceedings in the ordinary course of business. While we believe that we have adequate reserves for those losses that we believe are probable and can be reasonably estimated, the ultimate results of legal proceedings and claims cannot be predicted with certainty.
Risks Related to Discovery and Development
Our current product candidates are in various stages of development. Our product candidates may fail in development or suffer delays that adversely affect their commercial viability. If we fail to obtain or maintain U.S. Food and Drug Administration de novo classification or clearance to market and sell our BT-001 digital therapeutic, or if such classification or clearance is delayed, our business will be materially harmed.
The process of seeking regulatory de novo classification or clearance to market a medical device is expensive and time consuming. There can be no assurance that marketing authorization will be granted. If we are not successful in obtaining timely de novo classification granting marketing authorization of our BT-001 digital therapeutic, we may never be able to generate significant revenue and may be forced to cease operations. Specifically, we hope to pursue additional regulatory marketing clearances for our BT-001 digital therapeutic for additional uses once if our first de novo classification is granted. The FDA de novo classification process requires an applicant to demonstrate the safety and efficacy based, in part, on extensive data, including, but not limited to preclinical, clinical trial, technical, manufacturing and labeling data. The FDA regulatory clearance process requires an applicant to demonstrate the device to be marketed is as safe and effective, that is, substantially equivalent, to a legally marketed device and the de novo classification process requires an applicant to demonstrate the safety and effectiveness of a new device. The FDA can delay, limit or deny de novo classification or clearance a device for many reasons, including:

we may not be able to demonstrate to the FDA’s satisfaction that BTX’s product candidates are safe and effective for its intended use;

the FDA may disagree that our clinical data supports the label and use that we are seeking;

the FDA may disagree that the data from our preclinical or pilot studies and clinical trials is sufficient to support marketing authorization; and
Obtaining de novo classification and clearance from the FDA or any foreign regulatory authority could result in unexpected and significant costs for us and consume management’s time and other resources. The FDA could ask us to supplement our submissions, collect additional non-clinical data, conduct additional clinical trials, prepare additional manufacturing data or information or engage in other time-consuming actions, or it could simply deny our applications. In addition, if approved or granted marketing authorization, we will be required to obtain additional FDA approvals or clearances prior to making certain modification to our devices, and the FDA may revoke the approval or clearance or impose other restrictions if post-market data demonstrates safety issues or lack of efficacy. If we are unable to obtain and maintain the necessary regulatory authorizations and clearances to market BTX’s products, our financial condition may be adversely affected, and our ability to grow domestically and internationally would likely be limited. Additionally, even if authorized or cleared for marketing, our BT-001 digital therapeutic may not receive marketing authorization for the indications that are necessary or desirable for successful commercialization or profitability.
We are substantially dependent on the FDA’s de novo classification of our BT-001 digital therapeutic, as well as market acceptance in the United States of BT-001, and our failure to receive FDA de novo classification of our BT-001 digital therapeutic or the failure to gain such market acceptance for it would negatively impact our business.
Since our inception, we have devoted substantially all of our efforts to the development of our BT-001 digital therapeutic application that we believe, if granted de novo classification, will serve the basis for future
 
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marketing clearances for additional uses in other indications. We have not yet received de novo classification from the FDA to market and sell our BT-001 digital therapeutic in the United States. However, we will incur costs, including costs to build our sales force, in anticipation of potential FDA de novo classification being granted. If we are unable to obtain the necessary grant from the FDA to market and sell our BT-001 digital therapeutic in the United States and then to achieve significant market acceptance in the United States, our results of operations will be adversely affected as the United States is expected to be the principal market for our BT-001, if approved. Further, because we have incurred costs prospectively in advance of FDA de novo classification, we would be unable to recoup these costs if the BT-001 is not granted marketing authorization by the FDA or if it is granted de novo classification but fails to obtain market acceptance. We have other digital therapeutics development that depend on marketing clearance to be obtained under FDA’s 510(k) clearance pathway, enabled by the de novo classification of our first BT-001 product candidate; thus, if we are unsuccessful in obtaining de novo classification of our initial BT-001 digital therapeutic, we would need to seek de novo classification for the next BT-001 digital therapeutic indication we seek to market. Unexpected or serious complications or other unforeseen negative effects related to the development or market acceptance of any BT-001 digital therapeutic we seek to market could materially and adversely affect our business.
The clinical trial process required to obtain marketing authorizations for BTX’s product candidates is lengthy and expensive with uncertain outcomes. If clinical trials of any of our digital therapeutic applications in development fails to produce results necessary to support regulatory marketing authorization or clearance in the United States or, with respect to our current or future products, elsewhere, we will be unable to commercialize these products and may incur additional costs or experience delays in completing, or ultimately be unable to complete, the commercialization of those products.
We are currently conducting a virtual clinical trial and plan to seek de novo classification for our BT-001 digital therapeutic application for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. The virtual aspects of the trial include recruitment of participants using email and social media and the conducting of study visits using telemedicine visits. In order to obtain de novo classification, we must obtain clinical data demonstrating the safety and efficacy of the product candidate. Conducting clinical trials is a complex and expensive process, can take many years, and outcomes are inherently uncertain. We incur substantial expense for, and devote significant time to, clinical trials but cannot be certain that the trials will ever result in commercial revenue. We may experience significant setbacks in clinical trials, even after earlier clinical trials showed promising results, and failure can occur at any time during the clinical development process. Any of BTX’s products may malfunction or may produce undesirable adverse effects that could cause us, institutional review boards or IRBs, or regulatory authorities to interrupt, delay or halt clinical trials. We, IRBs, the FDA, or another regulatory authority may suspend or terminate clinical trials at any time to avoid exposing trial participants to unacceptable health risks.
Successful results of earlier pilot studies are not necessarily indicative of future clinical trial results, and predecessor pilot study or clinical trial results may not be replicated in subsequent clinical trials. Moreover, interim results or topline results may be subject to change upon full review of the data from a clinical trial. Additionally, the FDA may disagree with our interpretation of the data from our pilot studies and clinical trials, or may find the clinical trial design, conduct or results inadequate to demonstrate safety or efficacy, and may require us to pursue additional clinical trials, which could further delay the de novo classification grant or clearance of BTX’s product candidates. The data we collect from our pilot studies and clinical trials may not be sufficient to support FDA de novo classification or clearance, and if we are unable to demonstrate the safety and efficacy of our future products in our clinical trials, we will be unable to obtain the regulatory authorizations we need to commercialize BTX’s products.
In addition, we may estimate and publicly announce the anticipated timing of the accomplishment of various clinical, regulatory and other product development goals, which are often referred to as milestones. These milestones could include: the submission to the FDA of a meeting request to discuss product development pathways or submission of an investigational device exemption, or IDE, if applicable, to commence clinical trials of BTX’s product candidates; the enrollment of patients in clinical trials; the release of data from clinical trials; and other clinical and regulatory events; and the obtainment of the right to affix the CE mark in the European Union. The actual timing of these milestones could vary dramatically compared to our estimates, in some cases for reasons beyond our control. We cannot assure you that we will
 
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meet our projected milestones and if we do not meet these milestones as publicly announced, the commercialization of BTX’s products may be delayed and, as a result, our stock price may decline.
Clinical trials are necessary to support de novo classification requests and certain 510(k) applications and may be necessary to support subsequent 510(k) submissions for modified versions of any digital therapeutic devices for which we obtain marketing authorization. This requires the enrollment of large numbers of suitable subjects, which may be difficult to identify, recruit and maintain as participants in the clinical trial. Adverse outcomes in our potentially pivotal trials or post-approval studies could also result in restrictions on or withdrawal of marketing clearances we obtain. We will likely need to conduct additional clinical studies in the future for the authorization of the use of BTX’s products in some foreign countries. Clinical testing is difficult to design and implement, can take many years, can be expensive and carries uncertain outcomes. The initiation and completion of any of these trials may be prevented, delayed, or halted for numerous reasons. We may experience a number of events during the conduct of our clinical trials that could adversely affect the costs, timing or successful completion, including:

if we are required to submit an IDE application to FDA, which must become effective prior to commencing human clinical trials, the FDA may reject our IDE application and notify us that we may not begin investigational trials;

regulators and other comparable foreign regulatory authorities may disagree as to the design or implementation of our clinical trials;

regulators and/or institutional review boards, or IRBs, or other reviewing bodies may not authorize us or our investigators to commence a clinical trial, or to conduct or continue a clinical trial at a prospective or specific trial site;

we may not reach agreement on acceptable terms with prospective contract research organizations, or CROs, and clinical trial sites, the terms of which can be subject to extensive negotiation and may vary significantly among different CROs and trial sites;

clinical trials may produce negative or inconclusive results, or we may not agree with regulatory authorities on the interpretation of our clinical trial results, and we may decide, or regulators may require us, to conduct additional clinical trials or abandon product development programs;

the number of subjects or patients required for clinical trials, including to effectively test and demonstrate the effect of BTX’s product candidates, may be larger than we anticipate, enrollment in these clinical trials may be insufficient or slower than we anticipate, and the number of clinical trials being conducted at any given time may be high and result in fewer available patients for any given clinical trial, or patients may drop out of these clinical trials at a higher rate than we anticipate;

our third-party contractors, may fail to comply with regulatory requirements or meet their contractual obligations to us in a timely manner, or at all;

we might have to suspend or terminate clinical trials for various reasons, including a finding that the subjects are being exposed to unacceptable health risks;

we may have to amend clinical trial protocols or conduct additional studies to reflect changes in regulatory requirements or guidance, which we may be required to submit to an IRB and/or regulatory authorities for re-examination;

regulators, IRBs, or other parties may require or recommend that we or our investigators suspend or terminate clinical research for various reasons, including safety signals or noncompliance with regulatory requirements;

the cost of clinical trials may be greater than we anticipate;

clinical sites may not adhere to the clinical protocol or may drop out of a clinical trial;

we may be unable to recruit a sufficient number of clinical trial sites or trial subjects;

regulators, IRBs, or other reviewing bodies may fail to approve or subsequently find fault with our manufacturing processes for clinical and commercial supplies, the supply of devices or other materials
 
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necessary to conduct clinical trials may be insufficient, inadequate or not available at an acceptable cost, or we may experience interruptions in our ability to supply BTX’s product candidates;

marketing authorization policies, pathways or regulations of FDA or applicable foreign regulatory agencies may change in a manner rendering our clinical data insufficient for marketing authorization; and

our current or future products may have undesirable side effects or other unexpected characteristics.
Clinical trials must be conducted in accordance with the applicable laws and regulations of the FDA and other applicable regulatory authorities’ legal requirements, regulations or guidelines, and are subject to oversight by these governmental agencies and IRBs at the medical institutions where the clinical trials are conducted. We may in the future have to terminate a clinical trial site or investigator which is found through our clinical trial monitoring activities to be noncompliant with our clinical trial protocols or with applicable laws, regulations, requirements and guidelines for the conduct of our clinical trials.
Furthermore, we rely on clinical trial sites to ensure the proper and timely conduct of our clinical trials and while we have agreements governing their committed activities, we have limited influence over their actual performance. We depend on our CROs to support the conduct of our clinical trials in compliance with good clinical practice, or GCP, requirements. To the extent our CROs fail to help oversee the conduct the study in compliance with GCP standards or are delayed for a significant time in the execution of the trial, including achieving full enrollment, we may be affected by increased costs, program delays or both. In addition, clinical trials that are conducted in countries outside the United States may subject us to further delays and expenses as a result of increased shipment costs, additional regulatory requirements and the engagement of non-U.S. CROs, as well as expose us to risks associated with clinical investigators who are unknown to the FDA, and different standards of diagnosis, screening and medical care.
Failure can occur at any stage of clinical testing. Our clinical trials may produce negative or inconclusive results or may demonstrate a lack of effect of BTX’s product candidates. We may decide, or regulators may require us, to conduct additional clinical and non-clinical testing in addition to those we have planned. Our failure to adequately demonstrate the safety and effectiveness of any product candidates we may develop or may develop in the future would prevent receipt of regulatory marketing authorization and, ultimately, the commercialization of that product or indication for use. Even if our future products are granted de novo classification or cleared in the United States, commercialization of BTX’s products in foreign countries would require marketing authorization by regulatory authorities in those countries. Marketing authorization procedures vary among jurisdictions and can involve requirements and administrative review periods different from, and greater than, those in the United States, including the conduct of additional pilot studies or clinical trials. Any of these occurrences could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Enrollment and retention of patients in clinical trials is an expensive and time-consuming process and could be made more difficult or rendered impossible by multiple factors outside our control.
We may encounter delays or difficulties in enrolling, or be unable to enroll, a sufficient number of patients to complete any of our clinical trials on our current timelines, or at all, and even once enrolled, we may be unable to retain a sufficient number of patients to complete any of our trials. Slow enrollment in our clinical trials may lead to delays in our development timelines and milestones.
Patient enrollment in clinical trials and completion of patient follow-up depend on many factors, including the size of the patient population, the nature of the trial protocol, the ability of patients to continue to receive medical care, the eligibility criteria for the clinical trial, patient compliance, competing clinical trials and clinicians’ and patients’ perceptions as to the potential advantages of the product being studied in relation to other available therapies, including any new treatments that may be approved for the indications we are investigating. For example, patients may be discouraged from enrolling in our clinical trials if the trial protocol requires them to undergo extensive post-treatment procedures or follow-up to assess the safety and efficacy of a product candidate, or they may be persuaded to participate in contemporaneous clinical trials of a competitor’s product candidate. In addition, patients participating in our clinical trials may drop out before completion of the trial or experience adverse medical events unrelated to BTX’s products. Delays in patient enrollment or failure of patients to continue to participate in a clinical trial may delay
 
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commencement or completion of the clinical trial, cause an increase in the costs of the clinical trial and delays, make our data more difficult to interpret, affect the powering of our trial, or result in the failure of the clinical trial.
Delays or failures in planned patient enrollment or retention may result in increased costs, program delays or both, which could have a harmful effect on our ability to develop BTX’s product candidates, or could render further development impossible. In addition, we rely on clinical trial sites to ensure timely conduct of our clinical trials and, while we have entered into agreements governing their services, we are limited in our ability to compel their actual performance.
Interim, “topline,” and preliminary data from our clinical trials that we announce or publish from time to time may change as more patient data become available and are subject to confirmation, audit, and verification procedures that could result in material changes in the final data.
From time to time, we may publicly disclose preliminary or topline data from our pilot studies and clinical trials, which is based on a preliminary analysis of then-available data, and the results and related findings and conclusions are subject to change following a more comprehensive review of the data related to the particular study or trial. We also make assumptions, estimations, calculations, and conclusions as part of our analyses of data, and we may not have received or had the opportunity to fully and carefully evaluate all data. As a result, the topline or preliminary results that we report may differ from future results of the same studies, or different conclusions or considerations may qualify such results, once additional data have been received and fully evaluated. Topline data also remain subject to audit and verification procedures that may result in the final data being materially different from the preliminary data we previously published. As a result, topline data should be viewed with caution until the final data are available. From time to time, we may also disclose interim data from our clinical trials. Interim or preliminary data from clinical trials are subject to the risk that one or more of the clinical outcomes may materially change as patient enrollment and treatment continues and more patient data become available or as patients from our clinical trials continue other treatments for their disease. Adverse differences between preliminary or interim data and final data could significantly harm our business prospects. Further, disclosure of interim data by us or by our competitors could result in volatility in the price of our common stock after this offering.
Further, others, including regulatory agencies, may not accept or agree with our assumptions, estimates, calculations, conclusions or analyses or may interpret or weigh the importance of data differently, which could impact the potential of the particular program, the likelihood of marketing authorization or clearance or commercialization of the particular product candidate, the commercial success of any product for which we may have already obtained authorization or clearance, and our company in general. In addition, the information we choose to publicly disclose regarding a particular study or clinical trial is derived from information that is typically extensive, and you or others may not agree with what we determine is material or otherwise appropriate information to include in our disclosure.
If the interim, topline, or preliminary data that we report differ from actual results, or if others, including regulatory authorities, disagree with the conclusions reached, our ability to obtain approval for, and commercialize, BTX’s product candidates may be harmed, which could harm our business, operating results, prospects or financial condition.
If patients or physicians are not willing to change current practices to adopt our BT-001 digital therapeutic, if granted authorization for marketing, our future product candidates may fail to gain increased market acceptance, and our business will be adversely affected.
Our primary strategy to grow our revenue is to drive the adoption of our BT-001 digital therapeutic, if granted marketing authorization, by physicians to assist their patients in improving glycemic control by lowering HbA1c. Physicians may choose not to adopt our digital therapeutic products for a number of reasons, including:

lack of availability of adequate third-party payer coverage or reimbursement;

lack of experience with BTX’s product;

our inability to convince key opinion leaders to recommend BTX’s products;
 
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perceived inadequacy of evidence supporting clinical benefits, safety or cost-effectiveness of BTX’s product;

liability risks generally associated with the use of new products; and

the training required to use new products.
We focus our sales, marketing and training efforts primarily on primary care physicians. However, physicians from other disciplines, such as endocrinologists, as well as other medical professionals, such as nurse practitioners and physician assistants, are often the initial point of contact for patients with diabetes management needs. We believe that educating physicians in these disciplines and other medical professionals about the clinical merits, patient benefits and safety profile of our digital therapeutic products is an element of increasing product adoption. If additional primary care physicians or other medical professionals do not appreciate and recommend the benefits of our digital therapeutic for any reason, including those listed above, our ability to execute our growth strategy will be impaired, and our business may be adversely affected.
In addition, patients may not be able to adopt or may choose not to adopt our digital therapeutic if, among other potential reasons, they are worried about potential adverse effects of use of our digital therapeutic or they are unable to obtain adequate third-party coverage or reimbursement.
Our long-term growth depends on our ability to enhance our digital therapeutic products, expand our indications and develop and commercialize additional products once granted marketing authorization and clearance.
It is important to our business strategy that we continue to enhance our BT-001 digital therapeutic with additional functionalities and, in the future, additional indications as well as develop and introduce new products. Developing products is expensive and time-consuming and could divert management’s attention away from our core business. The success of any new product offering or product enhancements will depend on several factors, including our ability to:

properly identify and anticipate physician and patient needs;

develop and introduce new functionalities, uses, products and product enhancements in a timely manner;

avoid infringing upon the intellectual property rights of third-parties;

demonstrate, if required, the safety and effectiveness of new products with data from preclinical and pilot studies and clinical trials;

obtain the necessary regulatory clearances, grants or approvals for expanded indications, new products or product modifications;

be fully FDA-compliant with marketing of new products or modified products;

provide adequate training to potential patients prescribed BTX’s products;

receive adequate coverage and reimbursement for procedures performed with BTX’s products; and

develop an effective and dedicated sales and marketing team.
If we are not successful in expanding our indications and developing and commercializing new products and product enhancements, our ability to increase our revenue may be impaired, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Our product candidates represent novel and innovative potential therapeutic areas, and negative perception of any product candidate that we develop could adversely affect our ability to conduct our business, obtain regulatory approvals or identify alternate regulatory pathways to market for such product candidate.
Certain of our product candidates are considered relatively new and novel therapeutic approaches. Our and their success will depend upon physicians who specialize in the treatment of diseases targeted by our and their product candidates prescribing potential treatments that involve the use of our and their product candidates in lieu of, or in addition to, existing treatments with which they are more familiar and for which
 
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greater clinical data may be available. Access will also depend on consumer acceptance and adoption of products that are commercialized. In addition, responses by the U.S., state or foreign governments to negative public perception or ethical concerns may result in new legislation or regulations that could limit our ability to develop or commercialize any product candidates, obtain or maintain regulatory approval, identify alternate regulatory pathways to market or otherwise achieve profitability.
For example, in the United States, no prescription digital therapeutic candidates designed to deliver cognitive behavioral therapy for treating diabetes, heart disease, and other cardiometabolic conditions have been approved. BTX is developing a platform of FDA-regulated, software-based, prescription digital therapeutic candidates for treating such conditions through a novel form of cognitive behavioral therapy. The FDA may lack experience in evaluating the safety and efficacy of product candidates based on cognitive behavioral therapy, which could result in a longer than expected regulatory review process, increase expected development costs and delay or prevent potential commercialization of product candidates.
Risks Related to Government Regulation
Our products and operations are subject to extensive government regulation and oversight both in the United States and abroad, and our failure to comply with applicable requirements could harm our business.
We and BTX’s products are subject to extensive regulation in the United States and elsewhere, including by the FDA and its foreign counterparts. The FDA and foreign regulatory agencies regulate, among other things, with respect to medical devices: design, development and manufacturing; testing, labeling, content and language of instructions for use; clinical trials; product safety; pre-market clearance and approval; establishment registration and device listing; marketing, sales and distribution; complaint handling; record keeping procedures; advertising and promotion; recalls and field safety corrective actions; post-market surveillance, including reporting of deaths or serious injuries and malfunctions that, if they were to recur, could lead to death or serious injury; post-market approval studies; and product import and export.
The regulations to which we are subject are complex and have tended to become more stringent over time. Regulatory changes could result in restrictions on our ability to carry on or expand our operations, higher than anticipated costs or lower than anticipated sales. The FDA enforces these regulatory requirements through periodic unannounced inspections. We do not know whether we will pass any future FDA inspections or those conducted by foreign regulatory agencies. Failure to comply with applicable regulations could jeopardize our ability to sell BTX’s products and result in enforcement actions such as: warning letters; fines; injunctions; civil penalties; termination of distribution; recalls or seizures of products; delays in the introduction of products into the market; total or partial suspension of production; refusal to grant future clearances or approvals; withdrawals or suspensions of current marketing authorizations, resulting in prohibitions on the sale and distribution of BTX’s products; and in the most serious cases, criminal penalties.
We may not receive the necessary de novo classification grant for our BT-001 digital therapeutic or clearances for future expanded indications of our BT-001 digital therapeutic product candidate, and failure to timely obtain these regulatory authorizations would adversely affect our ability to grow our business.
Our strategy is dependent on the initial de novo classification by FDA of our BT-001 digital therapeutic granting its ability for marketing in the United States. In the United States, before we can market a new medical device, or a new use of, new claim for or significant modification to an existing products, we must first receive either clearance under Section 510(k) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, or the FDCA, or grant under the de novo classification process added under the Food and Drug Administration Modernization Act, or FDAMA, or premarket approval, or PMA, from the FDA, unless an exemption applies.
The de novo classification process, which is the development pathway required based on discussions with FDA for our BT-001 digital therapeutic for our current planned use in treatment of type 2 diabetes, provides a pathway to classify novel medical devices for which general controls alone, or general and special controls, provide reasonable assurance of safety and efficacy for the intended use, but for which there is no legally marketed predicate device. A de novo classification is a risk-based classification process where
 
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devices that are classified into class I or class II through a de novo classification request may be marketed and used as predicates for future premarket notification 510(k) submissions.
In the 510(k) clearance process, before a device may be marketed, the FDA must determine that a proposed device is “substantially equivalent” to a legally-marketed “predicate” device, which includes a device that has been previously cleared through the 510(k) process, a device that was legally marketed prior to May 28, 1976 (pre-amendments device), a device that was originally on the United States market pursuant to an approved PMA and later down-classified, or a 510(k)-exempt device. To be “substantially equivalent,” the proposed device must have the same intended use as the predicate device, and either have the same technological characteristics as the predicate device or have different technological characteristics and not raise different questions of safety or effectiveness than the predicate device. Clinical data are sometimes required to support substantial equivalence demonstrations. We plan to pursue the 510(k) clearance process for the addition of expanded indications for our BT-001 digital therapeutic.
Where the de novo classification or 510(k) clearance pathways are not available for medical devices, and where no policy of enforcement discretion exists enabling a manufacturer to market a medical device without obtaining premarket authorization, the process of obtaining PMA approval may apply, which is the most rigorous product development pathway for seeking marketing approval for a medical device. In review of a PMA application, the FDA must determine that a proposed device is safe and effective for its intended use based, in part, on extensive data, including, but not limited to pre-clinical, clinical trial, technical, manufacturing and labeling data beyond that which is required to support a de novo classification request or 510(k) clearance submission. The PMA process is typically required for devices that are deemed to pose the greatest risk, such as life-sustaining, life-supporting or implantable devices.
Modifications to products that are approved through a PMA application generally require FDA approval. Similarly, certain modifications made to products cleared through a 510(k) or the de novo classification process may require a new 510(k) clearance or a new de novo classification request. Both the PMA approval, de novo classification, and the 510(k) clearance processes can be expensive, lengthy and uncertain. The FDA’s 510(k) clearance process usually takes from three to 12 months, but can last longer, while the de novo classification request process is usually longer requiring a clinical trial. The process of obtaining a PMA is much more costly and uncertain than the de novo or 510(k) clearance processes and generally takes from one to three years, or even longer, from the time the application is filed with the FDA. In addition, a PMA generally requires the performance of one or more clinical trials. Despite the time, effort and cost, a device may not be approved, granted or cleared by the FDA. Any delay or failure to obtain necessary regulatory approvals could harm our business. Furthermore, even if we are granted regulatory authorizations, clearances or approvals, they may include significant limitations on the indicated uses for the device, which may limit the market for the device.
In the United States, we are currently developing our BT-001 digital therapeutic through the de novo classification pathway. Any modification to our BT-001 digital therapeutic that has not been previously authorized may require us to submit a 510(k) premarket clearance application or de novo classification request prior to implementing the change. If the FDA requires us to go through a lengthier, more rigorous examination for future products or modifications to existing products than we had expected, product introductions or modifications could be delayed or canceled, which could adversely affect our ability to grow our business.
The FDA can delay, limit or deny de novo classification, clearance or approval of a device for many reasons, including:

our inability to demonstrate to the satisfaction of the FDA or the applicable regulatory entity or notified body that BTX’s products are safe or effective for their intended uses;

the disagreement of the FDA or the applicable foreign regulatory body with the design or implementation of our clinical trials or the interpretation of data from pre-clinical studies or clinical trials;

serious and unexpected adverse device effects experienced by participants in our clinical trials;

the data from our pre-clinical or pilot studies and clinical trials may be insufficient to support de novo classification, clearance or approval where required;
 
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our inability to demonstrate that the clinical and other benefits of the device outweigh the risks; and

the potential for medical device policies or regulations of the FDA or applicable foreign regulatory bodies to change significantly in a manner rendering our clinical data or regulatory filings insufficient for de novo classification, clearance or approval.
In addition, the FDA may change its policies, adopt additional regulations or revise existing regulations, or take other actions, which may prevent or delay de novo classification, clearance or approval of our future products under development or impact our ability to modify our currently cleared products on a timely basis. Such policy or regulatory changes could impose additional requirements upon us that could delay our ability to obtain new authorizations, increase the costs of compliance or restrict our ability to maintain any authorizations we may successfully obtain. For example, as part of the Food and Drug Administration Safety and Innovation Act, or FDASIA, enacted in 2012, Congress reauthorized the Medical Device User Fee Amendments with various FDA performance goal commitments and enacted several “Medical Device Regulatory Improvements” and miscellaneous reforms, which are further intended to clarify and improve medical device regulation both pre- and post-marketing. Some of these proposals and reforms could impose additional regulatory requirements upon us that could delay our ability to obtain new approvals, increase the costs of compliance or restrict our ability to maintain our current approval.
We may market digital products for uses under current FDA enforcement discretion or outside of the current definition of a “medical device” in the United States.
Currently, the FDA’s regulatory framework permits the marketing of certain digital applications and products outside of the FDA’s active regulation under its device authorities or, in other cases, completely outside FDA regulation if the product uses do not meet the definition of a “medical device.” From time to time, we may develop and commercialize products that we determine fall within the current areas of FDA enforcement discretion or outside the definition of a medical device, but the FDA may not agree with our determination. If FDA disagrees with any such determinations that we make, we may be required to cease further marketing or distribution of those products until such time as we obtain any required premarket authorization, clearance or approval for those products and we may be subject to receiving an FDA untitled letter or warning letter for such product marketing and distribution activities, amongst other potential enforcement mechanisms available to the FDA.
Failure to comply with post-marketing regulatory requirements could subject us to enforcement actions, including substantial penalties, and might require us to recall or withdraw a products from the market.
After de novo classification, if granted, for our BT-001 digital therapeutic product candidate, we will be subject to ongoing and pervasive regulatory requirements governing, among other things, the manufacture, marketing, labeling, sale, promotion, advertising, medical device reporting, registration, distribution, and listing of devices. For example, we must submit periodic reports to the FDA, including reports of certain adverse events. These reports include safety and effectiveness information about the device after its authorization for marketing. Failure to submit such reports, or failure to submit the reports in a timely manner, could result in enforcement action by the FDA. Following its review of these periodic reports and medical device adverse event reports, the FDA might ask for additional information or initiate further investigation.
In addition, our digital therapeutics may become subject to post-market study requirements. Any failure to conduct the required studies in accordance with an IRB, and informed consent requirements, or adverse findings in these studies, could also be grounds for modification or withdrawal of marketing authorization for any product we may commercialize.
The FDA and the Federal Trade Commission, or FTC, also regulate the advertising and promotion of BTX’s products and services to ensure that the claims we make are consistent with our regulatory authorizations, that there is adequate and reasonable data to substantiate the claims and that our promotional labeling and advertising is neither false nor misleading. If the FDA or FTC determines that any of our advertising or promotional claims are misleading, not substantiated or not permissible, we may be subject to enforcement actions, including warning letters, and we may be required to revise our promotional claims and make other corrections or restitutions.
 
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The regulations to which we are subject are complex and have become more stringent over time. Regulatory changes could result in restrictions on our ability to continue or expand our operations, higher than anticipated costs, or lower than anticipated sales. Even after we have obtained the proper regulatory authorization to market a device, we have ongoing responsibilities under FDA regulations and applicable foreign laws and regulations. The FDA, state and foreign regulatory authorities have broad enforcement powers. Our failure to comply with applicable regulatory requirements could result in enforcement action by the FDA, state or foreign regulatory authorities, which may include any of the following sanctions:

untitled letters or warning letters;

fines, injunctions, consent decrees and civil penalties;

recalls, termination of distribution, administrative detention, or seizure of BTX’s products;

patient notifications for repair, replacement or refunds;

operating restrictions or partial suspension or total shutdown of production;

delays in or refusal to grant our requests for future marketing authorizations of new products, new intended uses, or modifications to any marketed products we may commercialize;

withdrawals or suspensions of our current regulatory authorizations, resulting in prohibitions on sales and distribution of BTX’s products;

FDA refusal to issue certificates to foreign governments needed to export products for sale in other countries; and

criminal prosecution.
Any of these sanctions could result in higher than anticipated costs or lower than anticipated sales and have a material adverse effect on our reputation, business, financial condition and results of operations.
If treatment guidelines for diabetes patient management change or the standard of care evolves, we may need to redesign and seek new marketing authorization from the FDA for one or more of BTX’s product candidates.
If treatment guidelines for diabetes patient management change or the standard of care for this or any other conditions in which we seek to develop digital therapeutics evolves, we may need to redesign the applicable product or product candidates we market or seek to develop and may need to seek and obtain new de novo classifications, clearances or approvals from the FDA and the equivalent from foreign regulatory authorities. If treatment guidelines or the standards of care change so that different treatments become desirable, the clinical utility of one or more of BTX’s products could be diminished and our business could be adversely affected.
The misuse or off-label use of BTX’s products may harm our reputation in the marketplace, result in injuries that lead to product liability suits or result in costly investigations, fines or sanctions by regulatory bodies if we are deemed to have engaged in the promotion of these uses, any of which could be costly to our business.
Although BTX’s products, if authorized for marketing, are marketed for the specific therapeutic uses for which the devices were designed and our personnel will be trained to not promote BTX’s products for uses outside of the FDA-approved indications for use, known as “off-label uses,” we cannot, however, prevent a physician from using BTX’s products in ways, when in the physician’s independent professional medical judgment, he or she deems it appropriate. There may be increased risk of injury to patients if primary care physicians attempt to use BTX’s products off-label. Furthermore, the use of BTX’s products for indications other than those authorized, cleared or approved by the FDA or authorized by any foreign regulatory body may not effectively treat such conditions, which could harm our reputation in the marketplace among primary care physicians and patients.
If following authorization of our BT-001 digital therapeutic or any other product candidates we may commercialize the FDA or any foreign regulatory body determines that our promotional materials or training constitute promotion of an off-label use, it could request that we modify our training or promotional materials or subject us to regulatory or enforcement actions, including the issuance or imposition of an untitled letter or warning letter, injunction, seizure, civil fine or criminal penalties. It is also possible that other
 
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federal, state or foreign enforcement authorities might take action under other regulatory authority, such as false claims laws for any products for which we obtain government reimbursement, if they consider our business activities to constitute promotion of an off-label use, which could result in significant penalties, including, but not limited to, criminal, civil and administrative penalties, damages, fines, disgorgement, exclusion from participation in government healthcare programs and the curtailment of our operations.
In addition, physicians may misuse BTX’s products with their patients if they are not adequately trained, potentially leading to injury and an increased risk of product liability. If BTX’s products are misused, we may become subject to costly litigation by our patients or their patients. As described above, product liability claims could divert management’s attention from our core business, be expensive to defend and result in sizeable damage awards against us that may not be covered by insurance.
Our products may cause or contribute to adverse medical events or be subject to failures or malfunctions that we are required to report to the FDA, and if we fail to do so, we would be subject to sanctions that could harm our reputation, business, financial condition and results of operations. The discovery of serious safety issues with BTX’s products, or a recall of BTX’s products either voluntarily or at the direction of the FDA or another governmental authority, could have a negative impact on us.
We are subject to the FDA’s medical device reporting regulations and similar foreign regulations, which require us to report to the FDA when we receive or become aware of information that reasonably suggests that one or more of BTX’s products may have caused or contributed to a death or serious injury or malfunctioned in a way that, if the malfunction were to recur, it could cause or contribute to a death or serious injury. The timing of our obligation to report is triggered by the date we become aware of the adverse event as well as the nature of the event. We may fail to report adverse events of which we become aware within the prescribed timeframe. We may also fail to recognize that we have become aware of a reportable adverse event, especially if it is not reported to us as an adverse event or if it is an adverse event that is unexpected or removed in time from the use of the product. If we fail to comply with our reporting obligations, the FDA could take action, including warning letters, untitled letters, administrative actions, criminal prosecution, imposition of civil monetary penalties, revocation of our device approval, seizure of BTX’s products or delay in clearance or approval of future products.
The FDA and foreign regulatory bodies have the authority to require the recall of commercialized products in the event of material deficiencies or defects in design or manufacture of a product or in the event that a product poses an unacceptable risk to health. The FDA’s authority to require a recall must be based on a finding that there is reasonable probability that the device could cause serious injury or death. We may also choose to voluntarily recall a product if any material deficiency is found. A government-mandated or voluntary recall by us could occur as a result of an unacceptable risk to health, component failures, malfunctions, manufacturing defects, labeling or design deficiencies, packaging defects or other deficiencies or failures to comply with applicable regulations. Product defects or other errors may occur in the future.
Depending on the corrective action we take to redress a product’s deficiencies or defects, the FDA may require, or we may decide, that we will need to obtain new authorizations, clearance or approvals for the device before we may market or distribute the corrected device. Seeking such authorizations, clearances or approvals may delay our ability to replace the recalled devices in a timely manner. Moreover, if we do not adequately address problems associated with our devices, we may face additional regulatory enforcement action, including FDA warning letters, product seizure, injunctions, administrative penalties or civil or criminal fines.
Companies are required to maintain certain records of recalls and corrections, even if they are not reportable to the FDA. We may initiate voluntary withdrawals or corrections for BTX’s products in the future that we determine do not require notification of the FDA. If the FDA disagrees with our determinations, it could require us to report those actions as recalls and we may be subject to enforcement action. A future recall announcement could harm our reputation with patients, potentially lead to product liability claims against us and negatively affect our sales. Any corrective action, whether voluntary or involuntary, as well as defending ourselves in a lawsuit, will require the dedication of our time and capital, distract management from operating our business and may harm our reputation and financial results.
 
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In the event we seek to market BTX’s products in international markets, if we do not obtain and maintain international regulatory registrations or approvals for BTX’s products, we will be unable to market and sell BTX’s products outside of the United States.
Sales of BTX’s products outside of the United States are subject to foreign regulatory requirements that vary widely from country to country. In addition, the FDA regulates exports of medical devices from the United States. While the regulations of some countries may not impose barriers to marketing and selling BTX’s products or only require notification, others require that we obtain the marketing authorization of a specified regulatory body. Complying with foreign regulatory requirements, including obtaining registrations or marketing authorizations, can be expensive and time-consuming, and we may not receive regulatory authorizations, clearances or approvals in each country in which we may plan to market BTX’s products or we may be unable to do so on a timely basis. The time required to obtain registrations or marketing authorizations, if required by other countries, may be longer than that required for FDA de novo classification, clearance or approval, and requirements for such registrations and marketing authorizations may significantly differ from FDA requirements. If we modify BTX’s products, we may need to apply for additional regulatory authorizations before we are permitted to sell the modified product. In addition, we may not continue to meet the quality and safety standards required to maintain the authorizations that we have received. If we are unable to maintain our authorizations in a particular country, we will no longer be able to sell the applicable product in that country.
Regulatory de novo classification, clearance or approval by the FDA does not ensure registration or marketing authorization by regulatory authorities in other countries, and registration or marketing authorization by one or more foreign regulatory authorities does not ensure registration or marketing authorization by regulatory authorities in other foreign countries or by the FDA. However, a failure or delay in obtaining registration or marketing authorization in one country may have a negative effect on the regulatory process in others.
Risks related to Healthcare Laws and Regulation
The insurance coverage and reimbursement status of newly-approved products is uncertain. Failure to obtain or maintain adequate coverage and reimbursement for any of BTX’s product candidates, if approved, could limit our ability to market those products and decrease our ability to generate revenue.
In the United States and markets in other countries, patients generally rely on third-party payers to reimburse all or part of the costs associated with their treatment. Adequate coverage and reimbursement from governmental healthcare programs, such as Medicare and Medicaid, and commercial payers is critical to new product acceptance. Our ability to successfully commercialize BTX’s product candidates will depend in part on the extent to which coverage and adequate reimbursement for these products and related treatments will be available from government health administration authorities, private health insurers and other organizations. Government authorities and third-party payers, such as private health insurers and health maintenance organizations, decide which medications they will pay for and establish reimbursement levels. The availability of coverage and extent of reimbursement by governmental and private payers is essential for most patients to be able to afford treatments. Sales of product candidates that we may identify will depend substantially, both domestically and abroad, on the extent to which the costs of BTX’s product candidates will be paid by health maintenance, managed care, pharmacy benefit and similar healthcare management organizations, or reimbursed by government health administration authorities, private health coverage insurers and other third-party payers. If coverage and adequate reimbursement is not available, or is available only to limited levels, we may not be able to successfully commercialize BTX’s product candidates. Even if coverage is provided, the approved reimbursement amount may not be high enough to allow us to establish or maintain pricing sufficient to realize a sufficient return on our investment.
There is also significant uncertainty related to the insurance coverage and reimbursement of newly approved products and coverage may be more limited than the purposes for which the medicine is approved by the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities.
Factors payers consider in determining reimbursement are based on whether the product is:

a covered benefit under its health plan;
 
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safe, effective and medically necessary;

appropriate for the specific patient;

cost-effective; and

neither experimental nor investigational.
Each payer determines whether or not it will provide coverage for a treatment, what amount it will pay the manufacturer for the treatment and on what tier of its formulary it will be placed. The position on a payer’s list of covered drugs, biological products, and medical devices, or formulary, generally determines the co-payment that a patient will need to make to obtain the therapy and can strongly influence the adoption of such therapy by patients and physicians. Patients who are prescribed treatments for their conditions and providers prescribing such services generally rely on third-party payers to reimburse all or part of the associated healthcare costs. Patients are unlikely to use BTX’s products unless coverage is provided and reimbursement is adequate to cover a significant portion of the cost of BTX’s products. There may be significant delays in obtaining such coverage and reimbursement for newly approved products, and coverage may be more limited than the purposes for which the product is approved by the FDA.
Moreover, eligibility for coverage and reimbursement does not imply that a product will be paid for in all cases or at a rate that covers our costs, including research, development, intellectual property, manufacture, sale and distribution expenses. Interim reimbursement levels for new products, if applicable, may also not be sufficient to cover our costs and may not be made permanent. Reimbursement rates may vary according to the use of the product and the clinical setting in which it is used, may be based on reimbursement levels already set for lower cost products and may be incorporated into existing payments for other services. Net prices for products may be reduced by mandatory discounts or rebates required by government healthcare programs or private payers, by any future laws limiting pharmaceutical prices and by any future relaxation of laws that presently restrict imports of products from countries where they may be sold at lower prices than in the United States. In addition, many pharmaceutical manufacturers must calculate and report certain price reporting metrics to the government, such as average sales price and best price. Penalties may apply in some cases when such metrics are not submitted accurately and timely.
Third-party payers have attempted to control costs by limiting coverage and the amount of reimbursement for particular medications. We cannot be sure that coverage and reimbursement will be available for any product that we commercialize and, if reimbursement is available, what the level of reimbursement will be. Inadequate coverage and reimbursement may impact the demand for, or the price of, any product for which we obtain marketing approval. If coverage and adequate reimbursement are not available, or are available only at limited levels, we may not be able to successfully commercialize BTX’s product candidates.
In addition, in some foreign countries, the proposed pricing for a prescription device must be approved before it may be lawfully marketed. The requirements governing medical product pricing vary widely from country to country. For example, the European Union provides options for its Member States to restrict the range of medicinal products for which their national health insurance systems provide reimbursement and to control the prices of medicinal products for human use. To obtain reimbursement or pricing approval, some of these countries may require the completion of clinical trials that compare the cost effectiveness of a particular product candidate to currently available therapies. A Member State may approve a specific price for the medicinal products or it may instead adopt a system of direct or indirect controls on the profitability of the company placing the medicinal product on the market. There can be no assurance that any country that has price controls or reimbursement limitations for pharmaceutical products will allow favorable reimbursement and pricing arrangements for any of BTX’s product candidates. Historically, products launched in the European Union do not follow price structures of the U.S. and generally prices tend to be significantly lower.
We may be subject, directly or indirectly, to federal and state healthcare fraud and abuse laws, false claims laws health information privacy and security laws, and other health care laws and regulations. If we are unable to comply, or have not fully complied, with such laws, we could face substantial penalties.
We are subject to applicable fraud and abuse and other healthcare laws and regulations, including, without limitation, the U.S. federal Anti-Kickback Statute and the U.S. federal False Claims Act, or FCA,
 
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which may constrain the business or financial arrangements and relationships through which we sell, market and distribute BTX’s products. In particular, the promotion, sales and marketing of healthcare items and services, as well as certain business arrangements in the healthcare industry (e.g., healthcare providers, physicians and third-party payers), are subject to extensive laws designed to prevent fraud, kickbacks, self-dealing and other abusive practices. These laws and regulations may restrict or prohibit a wide range of pricing, discounting, marketing and promotion, structuring and commission(s), certain customer incentive programs and other business arrangements generally. We also may be subject to patient information and privacy and security regulation by both the federal government and the states and foreign jurisdictions in which we conduct our business. The applicable federal, state and foreign healthcare laws and regulations laws that may affect our ability to operate include, but are not limited to:

the federal Anti-Kickback Statute, which prohibits, among other things, persons or entities from knowingly and willfully soliciting, receiving, offering or paying any remuneration (including any kickback, bribe or rebate), directly or indirectly, overtly or covertly, in cash or in kind, to induce, or in return for, the purchase, lease, order, arrangement, or recommendation of any good, facility, item or service for which payment may be made, in whole or in part, under a federal healthcare program, such as the Medicare and Medicaid programs. A person or entity does not need to have actual knowledge of the federal Anti-Kickback Statute or specific intent to violate it to have committed a violation. Violations are subject to civil and criminal fines and penalties for each violation, plus up to three times the remuneration involved, imprisonment, and exclusion from government healthcare programs. In addition, the government may assert that a claim including items or services resulting from a violation of the federal Anti-Kickback Statute constitutes a false or fraudulent claim for purposes of the federal False Claims Act or federal civil money penalties. On December 2, 2020, the Office of Inspector General, or OIG, published further modifications to the federal Anti-Kickback Statute. Under the final rules, OIG added safe harbor protections under the Anti-Kickback Statute for certain coordinated care and value-based arrangements among clinicians, providers, and others. This rule (with exceptions) became effective January 19, 2021. Implementation of this change is currently under review by the Biden administration and may be amended or repealed. We continue to evaluate what effect, if any, the rule will have on our business;

the federal civil and criminal false claims laws and civil monetary penalty laws, such as the federal False Claims Act, which impose criminal and civil penalties and authorize civil whistleblower or qui tam actions, against individuals or entities for, among other things: knowingly presenting, or causing to be presented, to the federal government, claims for payment that are false or fraudulent; knowingly making, using or causing to be made or used, a false statement of record material to a false or fraudulent claim or obligation to pay or transmit money or property to the federal government or knowingly concealing or knowingly and improperly avoiding or decreasing an obligation to pay money to the federal government. A person can be held liable under the federal False Claims Act even when they do not submit claims directly to government payers if they are deemed to “cause” the submission of false or fraudulent claims. The federal False Claims Act also permits a private individual acting as a “whistleblower” to bring actions on behalf of the federal government alleging violations of the federal False Claims Act and to share in any monetary recovery;

the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, or HIPAA, which created new federal criminal statutes that prohibit a person from knowingly and willfully executing, or attempting to execute, a scheme to defraud any healthcare benefit program or obtain, by means of false or fraudulent pretenses, representations or promises, any of the money or property owned by, or under the custody or control of, any healthcare benefit program, regardless of the payer (e.g., public or private) and knowingly and willfully falsifying, concealing or covering up by any trick or device a material fact or making any materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent statements or representations in connection with the delivery of, or payment for, healthcare benefits, items or services relating to healthcare matters; similar to the federal Anti-Kickback Statute, a person or entity does not need to have actual knowledge of the statute or specific intent to violate it in order to have committed a violation;

HIPAA, as amended by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act of 2009, or HITECH and their respective implementing regulations, including the Final Omnibus Rule published in January 2013, which impose requirements on certain covered healthcare providers,
 
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health plans, and healthcare clearinghouses as well as their respective business associates, independent contractors or agents of covered entities, that perform services for them that involve the creation, maintenance, receipt, use, or disclosure of, individually identifiable health information relating to the privacy, security and transmission of individually identifiable health information. HITECH also created new tiers of civil monetary penalties, amended HIPAA to make civil and criminal penalties directly applicable to business associates, and gave state attorneys general new authority to file civil actions for damages or injunctions in federal courts to enforce the federal HIPAA laws and seek attorneys’ fees and costs associated with pursuing federal civil actions. In addition, there may be additional federal, state and non-U.S. laws which govern the privacy and security of health and other personal information in certain circumstances, many of which differ from each other in significant ways and may not have the same effect, thus complicating compliance efforts;

The U.S. federal transparency requirements under the ACA, including the provision commonly referred to as the Physician Payments Sunshine Act, and its implementing regulations, which requires applicable manufacturers of drugs, devices, biologics and medical supplies for which payment is available under Medicare, Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program to report annually to CMS, information related to payments or other transfers of value made to physicians (defined to include doctors, dentists, optometrists, podiatrists and chiropractors) and teaching hospitals, as well as ownership and investment interests held by the physicians described above and their immediate family members. Effective January 1, 2022, these reporting obligations will extend to include transfers of value made to certain non-physician providers such as physician assistants and nurse practitioners;

federal government price reporting laws, which require us to calculate and report complex pricing metrics in an accurate and timely manner to government programs;

federal consumer protection and unfair competition laws, which broadly regulate marketplace activities and activities that potentially harm consumers;

Additionally, we are subject to state and foreign equivalents of each of the healthcare laws and regulations described above, among others, some of which may be broader in scope and may apply regardless of the payer. Many U.S. states have adopted laws similar to the federal Anti-Kickback Statute and False Claims Act, and may apply to our business practices, including, but not limited to, research, distribution, sales or marketing arrangements and claims involving healthcare items or services reimbursed by non-governmental payers, including private insurers. Several states also impose other marketing restrictions or require medical device manufacturers to make marketing or price disclosures to the state. State and foreign laws, including for example the European Union General Data Protection Regulation, which became effective May 2018 also govern the privacy and security of health information in some circumstances, many of which differ from each other in significant ways and often are not preempted by HIPAA, thus complicating compliance efforts. There are ambiguities as to what is required to comply with these state requirements and if we fail to comply with an applicable state law requirement we could be subject to penalties. Finally, there are state and foreign laws governing the privacy and security of health information, many of which differ from each other in significant ways and often are not preempted by HIPAA, thus complicating compliance efforts.
Because of the breadth of these laws and the narrowness of the statutory exceptions and safe harbors available, it is possible that some of our business activities could be subject to challenge and may not comply under one or more of such laws, regulations, and guidance. Law enforcement authorities are increasingly focused on enforcing fraud and abuse laws, and it is possible that some of our practices may be challenged under these laws. Efforts to ensure that our current and future business arrangements with third parties, and our business generally, will comply with applicable healthcare laws and regulations will involve substantial costs. If our operations, including our arrangements with physicians and other healthcare providers are found to be in violation of any of such laws or any other governmental regulations that apply to us, we may be subject to penalties, including, without limitation, administrative, civil and criminal penalties, damages, fines, disgorgement, contractual damages, reputational harm, diminished profits and future earnings, the curtailment or restructuring of our operations, exclusion from participation in federal and state healthcare programs (such as Medicare and Medicaid), and imprisonment, as well as additional reporting obligations and oversight if we become subject to a corporate integrity agreement or other agreement to resolve
 
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allegations of non-compliance with these laws, any of which could adversely affect our ability to operate our business and our financial results.
We are subject to data privacy and security laws and regulations governing our collection, use, disclosure, or storage of personally identifiable information, including protected health information and payment card data, which may impose restrictions on us and our operations and subject us to penalties if we are unable to fully comply with such laws.
Numerous federal and state laws and regulations govern the collection, use, disclosure, storage and transmission of personally identifiable information, including protected health information. These laws and regulations, including their interpretation by governmental agencies, are subject to frequent change and could have a negative impact on our business. In addition, in the future, industry requirements or guidance, contractual obligations, and/or legislation at both the federal and the state level may limit, forbid or regulate the use or transmission of health information outside of the United States.
These varying interpretations can create complex compliance issues for us and our partners and potentially expose us to additional expense, adverse publicity and liability, any of which could adversely affect our business.
Federal and state consumer protection laws are increasingly being applied by the United States Federal Trade Commission, or FTC, and states’ attorneys general to regulate the collection, use, storage and disclosure of personal or personally identifiable information, through websites or otherwise, and to regulate the presentation of website content.
The security measures that we and our third-party vendors and subcontractors have in place to ensure compliance with privacy and data protection laws may not protect our facilities and systems from security breaches, acts of vandalism or theft, computer viruses, misplaced or lost data, programming and human errors or other similar events. Even though we provide for appropriate protections through our agreements with our third party vendors, we still have limited control over their actions and practices. A breach of privacy or security of personally identifiable health information may result in an enforcement action, including criminal and civil liability, against us. We are not able to predict the extent of the impact such incidents may have on our business. Enforcement actions against us could be costly and could interrupt regular operations, which may adversely affect our business. While we have not received any notices of violation of the applicable privacy and data protection laws and believe we are in compliance with such laws, there can be no assurance that we will not receive such notices in the future.
There is ongoing concern from privacy advocates, regulators and others regarding data privacy and security issues, and the number of jurisdictions with data privacy and security laws has been increasing. Also, there are ongoing public policy discussions regarding whether the standards for de-identification, anonymization or pseudonymization of health information are sufficient, and the risk of re-identification sufficiently small, to adequately protect patient privacy. We expect that there will continue to be new proposed and amended laws, regulations and industry standards concerning privacy, data protection and information security in the United States, such as the California Consumer Privacy Act, or CCPA, which went into effect on January 1, 2020 and has been amended several times. Further, a new California privacy law, the California Privacy Rights Act, or CPRA, was passed by California voters on November 3, 2020. The CPRA will create additional obligations with respect to processing and storing personal information that are scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2023 (with certain provisions having retroactive effect to January 1, 2022). Other U.S. states also are considering omnibus privacy legislation and industry organizations regularly adopt and advocate for new standards in these areas. While the CCPA and CPRA contains an exceptions for certain activities involving PHI under HIPAA, we cannot yet determine the impact the CCPA, CPRA or other such future laws, regulations and standards may have on our business.
Future laws, regulations, standards, obligations amendments, and changes in the interpretation of existing laws, regulations, standards and obligations could impair our or our clients’ ability to collect, use or disclose information relating to patients or consumers, including information derived therefrom, which could decrease demand for our Platform, increase our costs and impair our ability to maintain and grow our client base and increase our revenue. Accordingly, we may find it necessary or desirable to fundamentally
 
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change our business activities and practices or to expend significant resources to modify our software or platform and otherwise adapt to these changes.
Further, our patients may expect us to comply with more stringent privacy and data security requirements than those imposed by laws, regulations or self-regulatory requirements, and we may be obligated contractually to comply with additional or different standards relating to our handling or protection of data.
Any failure or perceived failure by us to comply with federal or state laws or regulations, industry standards or other legal obligations, or any actual or suspected privacy or security incident, whether or not resulting in unauthorized access to, or acquisition, release or transfer of personally identifiable information or other data, may result in governmental enforcement actions and prosecutions, private litigation, fines and penalties or adverse publicity and could cause our clients to lose trust in us, which could have an adverse effect on our reputation and business. We may be unable to make such changes and modifications in a commercially reasonable manner or at all, and our ability to develop new products could be limited. Any of these developments could harm our business, financial condition and results of operations. Privacy and data security concerns, whether valid or not valid, may inhibit retention of our Platform by existing clients or adoption of our Platform by new clients.
Healthcare legislative reform measures and constraints on national budget social security systems may have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.
In both the United States and certain foreign jurisdictions, there have been a number of legislative and regulatory changes to the health care system that could impact our ability to sell BTX’s products profitably. In particular, in 2010, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, as amended by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, or collectively, the ACA, was enacted, which, among other things, addressed a new methodology by which rebates owed by manufacturers under the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program are calculated for drugs that are inhaled, infused, instilled, implanted or injected; increased the minimum Medicaid rebates owed by most manufacturers under the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program; extended the Medicaid Drug Rebate program to utilization of prescriptions of individuals enrolled in Medicaid managed care organizations; subjected manufacturers to new annual fees and taxes for certain branded prescription drugs; created a new Medicare Part D coverage gap discount program, in which manufacturers must agree to offer 50% (increased to 70% pursuant to the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018, effective as of January 1, 2019) point-of-sale discounts off negotiated prices of applicable brand drugs to eligible beneficiaries during their coverage gap period, as a condition for the manufacturer’s outpatient drugs to be covered under Medicare Part D; and provided incentives to programs that increase the federal government’s comparative effectiveness research.
Since its enactment, there have been numerous judicial, administrative, executive, and legislative challenges to certain aspects of the ACA, and we expect there will be additional challenges and amendments to the ACA in the future. For example, various portions of the ACA are currently undergoing legal and constitutional challenges in the United States Supreme Court. Additionally, the Trump Administration has issued various Executive Orders which eliminated cost sharing subsidies and various provisions that would impose a fiscal burden on states or a cost, fee, tax, penalty or regulatory burden on individuals, healthcare providers, health insurers, or manufacturers of pharmaceuticals or medical devices and Congress has introduced several pieces of legislation aimed at significantly revising or repealing the ACA. Further, on December 20, 2019, President Trump signed into law the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act (H.R. 1865), which repeals the Cadillac tax, the health insurance provider tax, and the medical device excise tax. It is unclear whether the ACA will be overturned, repealed, replaced, or further amended. We cannot predict what affect further changes to the ACA would have on our business, especially given the new administration.
Other legislative changes have been proposed and adopted in the United States since the Affordable Care Act was enacted. In August 2011, the Budget Control Act of 2011, among other things, created measures for spending reductions by Congress. A Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, tasked with recommending a targeted deficit reduction of at least $1.2 trillion for the years 2013 through 2021, was unable to reach required goals, thereby triggering the legislation’s automatic reduction to several government programs. This includes aggregate reductions of Medicare payments to providers up to 2% per fiscal year, and, due to subsequent legislative amendments, will remain in effect through 2030 unless additional
 
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Congressional action is taken. Pursuant to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, also known as the CARES Act, as well as subsequent legislation, these reductions have been suspended from May 1, 2020 through March 31, 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Proposed legislation, if passed, would extend this suspension until the end of the pandemic.
There has been increasing legislative and enforcement interest in the United States with respect to prescription pricing practices. Specifically, there have been several recent U.S. Congressional inquiries and proposed federal and state legislation designed to, among other things, bring more transparency to drug pricing, reduce the cost of prescription drugs under Medicare, review the relationship between pricing and manufacturer patient programs, and reform government program reimbursement methodologies for drugs. The HHS has already started the process of soliciting feedback on some of these measures and, at the same time, is immediately implementing others under its existing authority. It is unclear what effect such legislative and enforcement interest may have on prescription devices. Further, it is unclear whether the Biden administration will challenge, reverse, revoke or otherwise modify the prior administration’s executive and administrative actions after January 20, 2021.
We expect that these and other healthcare reform measures that may be adopted in the future, may result in more rigorous coverage criteria and in additional downward pressure on the price that we receive for any approved device, which could have an adverse effect on patients for BTX’s product candidates. Any reduction in reimbursement from Medicare or other government programs may result in a similar reduction in payments from private payers.
There have been, and likely will continue to be, legislative and regulatory proposals at the foreign, federal and state levels in the U.S. directed at broadening the availability of healthcare and containing or lowering the cost of healthcare. The implementation of cost containment measures or other healthcare reforms may prevent us from being able to generate revenue, attain profitability or commercialize BTX’s products. Such reforms could have an adverse effect on anticipated revenue from product candidates that we may successfully develop and for which we may obtain regulatory approval and may affect our overall financial condition and ability to develop product candidates. If we or any third parties we may engage are slow or unable to adapt to changes in existing requirements or the adoption of new requirements or policies, or if we or such third parties are not able to maintain regulatory compliance, our current or any future product candidates we may develop may lose any regulatory approval that may have been obtained and we may not achieve or sustain profitability.
Our employees, independent contractors, consultants, commercial collaborators, principal investigators, vendors and other agents may engage in misconduct or other improper activities, including non-compliance with regulatory standards and requirements.
We are exposed to the risk that our employees, independent contractors, consultants, commercial collaborators, principal investigators, vendors and other agents may engage in fraudulent conduct or other illegal activity. Misconduct by these parties could include intentional, reckless or negligent conduct or disclosure of unauthorized activities to us that violates applicable regulations, including those laws requiring the reporting of true, complete and accurate information to regulatory agencies, manufacturing standards and U.S. federal and state healthcare laws and regulations. In particular, sales, marketing and business arrangements in the healthcare industry are subject to extensive laws and regulations intended to prevent fraud, kickbacks, self-dealing and other abusive practices. We could face liability under the U.S. federal Anti-Kickback Statute and similar U.S. state laws. These laws and regulations may restrict or prohibit a wide range of pricing, discounting, marketing and promotion, sales commission, referrals, customer incentive programs and other business arrangements. Misconduct by these parties could also involve the improper use of individually identifiable information, including, without limitation, information obtained in the course of clinical trials, which could result in significant regulatory sanctions and serious harm to our reputation. Further, should violations include promotion of unapproved (off-label) uses one or more of BTX’s products, we could face significant regulatory sanctions for unlawful promotion, as well as substantial penalties under the FCA, and similar state laws. Similar concerns could exist in jurisdictions outside of the United States as well. It is not always possible to identify and deter misconduct by employees and other third parties, and the precautions we take to detect and prevent this activity may not be effective in controlling unknown or unmanaged risks or losses or in protecting us from governmental investigations or other actions or lawsuits
 
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stemming from a failure to comply with these laws or regulations. The precautions we take to detect and prevent misconduct may not be effective in controlling unknown or unmanaged risks or losses or in protecting us from governmental investigations or other actions or lawsuits stemming from a failure to be in compliance with such laws or regulations. If any such actions are instituted against us, and we are not successful in defending ourselves or asserting our rights, those actions could have a significant impact on our business, including the imposition of civil, criminal and administrative penalties, damages, monetary fines, imprisonment, possible exclusion from participation in Medicare, Medicaid and other federal healthcare programs, additional reporting requirements and oversight if we become subject to a corporate integrity agreement or similar agreement to resolve allegations of noncompliance with these laws, contractual damages, reputational harm, diminished profits and future earnings, and curtailment of our operations, any of which could adversely affect our ability to operate our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Risks Related to Our Legal and Regulatory Environment
Failure to comply with anti-bribery, anti-corruption and anti-money laundering laws could subject us to penalties and other adverse consequences.
We are subject to the FCPA and other anti-corruption, anti-bribery, and anti-money laundering laws in the jurisdictions in which we do business, both domestic and abroad. These laws generally prohibit us and our employees from improperly influencing government officials or commercial parties in order to obtain or retain business, direct business to any person or gain any improper advantage. The FCPA and similar applicable anti-bribery and anti-corruption laws also prohibit our third-party business partners, representatives and agents from engaging in corruption and bribery. We and our third-party business partners, representatives and agents may have direct or indirect interactions with officials and employees of government agencies or state-owned or affiliated entities. We may be held liable for the corrupt or other illegal activities of these third-party business partners and intermediaries, our employees, representatives, contractors, partners and agents, even if we do not explicitly authorize such activities. These laws also require that we keep accurate books and records and maintain internal controls and compliance procedures designed to prevent any such actions. While we have policies and procedures to address compliance with such laws, we cannot assure you that our employees and agents will not take actions in violation of our policies or applicable law, for which we may be ultimately held responsible. Our exposure for violating these laws will increase as we expand internationally and as we commence sales and operations in foreign jurisdictions. Any violation of the FCPA or other applicable anti-bribery, anti-corruption laws and anti-money laundering laws could result in whistleblower complaints, adverse media coverage, investigations, imposition of significant legal fees, loss of export privileges, severe criminal or civil sanctions or suspension or debarment from U.S. government contracts, substantial diversion of management’s attention, drop in stock price or overall adverse consequences to our business, all of which may have an adverse effect on our reputation, business, financial condition, and results of operations.
Risks Related to MCAD and the Business Combination
Unless the context otherwise requires, all references in this section to “we,” “us,” or “our” refer to MCAD and its subsidiaries prior to the consummation of the Business Combination.
MCAD has no operating history and is subject to a mandatory liquidation and subsequent dissolution requirement. If MCAD is unable to consummate a business combination, including the Business Combination, its public stockholders may be forced to wait more than 15 months before receiving distributions from the Trust Account.
MCAD is a development stage blank check company, and it has no operating history and is subject to a mandatory liquidation and subsequent dissolution requirement. MCAD has until April 12, 2022 to complete a business combination. MCAD has no obligation to return funds to investors prior to such date unless MCAD consummates its initial business combination prior thereto and only then in cases where investors have sought to convert their shares. Furthermore, there will be no distribution with respect to the MCAD Rights, which will expire worthless as a result of MCAD’s failure to complete a business combination.
 
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We do not have a specified maximum redemption threshold in our Current Charter. The absence of such a redemption threshold may make it possible for us to complete a Business Combination with which a substantial majority of our public stockholders may redeem their public shares.
Our Current Charter does not provide a specified maximum redemption threshold, except that we will not redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause MCAD’s net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 upon consummation of our initial business combination (such that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules). As a result, we may be able to complete our Business Combination even though a substantial portion of our public stockholders have redeemed their public shares.
In the event the aggregate cash consideration we would be required to pay for all shares of Common Stock that are validly submitted for redemption plus any amount required to satisfy cash conditions pursuant to the terms of the Merger Agreement (if such conditions are not waived) exceeds the aggregate amount of cash available to us, we may not complete the Business Combination or redeem any shares, all public shares submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof, and we instead may search for an alternate business combination.
There is no guarantee that a stockholder’s decision whether to redeem its shares for a pro rata portion of the Trust Account will put the stockholder in a better future economic position.
We can give no assurance as to the price at which a stockholder may be able to sell its public shares in the future following the completion of the Business Combination or any alternative business combination. Certain events following the consummation of any initial business combination, including the Business Combination, may cause an increase in our share price, and may result in a lower value realized now than a stockholder of MCAD might realize in the future had the stockholder not redeemed its shares. Similarly, if a stockholder does not redeem its shares, the stockholder will bear the risk of ownership of the public shares after the consummation of the Business Combination, and there can be no assurance that a stockholder can sell its shares in the future for a greater amount than the redemption price set forth in this prospectus. A stockholder should consult the stockholder’s own tax and/or financial advisor for assistance on how this may affect his, her or its individual situation.
You must tender your shares of Common Stock in order to validly seek redemption at the Meeting of stockholders.
In connection with tendering your shares for redemption, you must elect either to physically tender your share certificates to Continental or to deliver your Common Stock to Continental electronically using DTC’s DWAC (Deposit/Withdrawal At Custodian) System, in each case at least two business days before the Meeting. The requirement for physical or electronic delivery ensures that a redeeming holder’s election to redeem is irrevocable once the Business Combination is consummated. Any failure to observe these procedures will result in your loss of redemption rights in connection with the vote on the Business Combination.
Our Sponsor officers and directors have agreed to vote in favor of such initial business combination, regardless of how MCAD’s public stockholders vote.
Our Sponsor, officers and directors have agreed (i) to vote their insider shares, private shares and any public shares acquired in MCAD’s initial public offering in favor of any proposed business combination, (ii) not to propose, or vote in favor of, an amendment to the Current Charter that would affect the substance or timing of MCAD’s obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if it does not complete its initial business combination within 15 months from the closing of its initial public offering unless MCAD provides its public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their shares of common stock upon approval of any such amendment at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, net of taxes payable, divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, (iii) not to convert any shares (including the insider shares) into the right to receive cash from the trust account in connection with a stockholder vote to approve our proposed initial business combination (or sell any shares they hold to MCAD in a tender offer in connection with a proposed initial business combination) or a vote to amend the provisions of our Current Charter relating to the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of MCAD’s public shares if it does not complete its initial business combination within 15 months from the closing of its initial public offering, and (D) that the insider shares shall not be entitled to
 
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be redeemed for a pro rata portion of the funds held in the trust account if a business combination is not consummated. As a result, based on the number of shares outstanding on the Record Date, MCAD would need only 2,198,751, or approximately 29.1%, of the 7,557,500 shares of MCAD Common Stock to be voted in favor of the Business Combination in order to have the Business Combination approved. Accordingly, it is more likely that the necessary stockholder approval will be received than would be the case if the Sponsor agreed to vote its Founders Shares in accordance with the majority of the votes cast by MCAD’s public stockholders.
The unaudited pro forma condensed combined financial information included in this proxy statement/prospectus may not be indicative of what MCAD’s actual financial position or results of operations would have been.
The unaudited pro forma condensed combined financial information in this proxy statement/prospectus is presented for illustrative purposes only and is not necessarily indicative of what MCAD’s actual financial position or results of operations would have been had the Business Combination been completed on the dates indicated. See the section entitled “Unaudited Pro Forma Condensed Combined Financial Information” for more information.
If third parties bring claims against MCAD, the proceeds held in trust could be reduced and the per-share redemption price received by stockholders may be less than $10.00.
MCAD’s placing of funds in trust may not protect those funds from third party claims against MCAD. Although MCAD will seek to have all vendors and service providers MCAD engages and prospective target businesses MCAD negotiates with execute agreements with MCAD waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the Trust Account for the benefit of MCAD’s public stockholders, they may not execute such agreements. Furthermore, even if such entities execute such agreements with MCAD, they may seek recourse against the Trust Account. A court may not uphold the validity of such agreements. Accordingly, the proceeds held in trust could be subject to claims which could take priority over those of MCAD’s public stockholders.
Additionally, if MCAD is forced to file a bankruptcy case or an involuntary bankruptcy case is filed against MCAD’s which is not dismissed, the proceeds held in the Trust Account could be subject to applicable bankruptcy law, and may be included in MCAD’s bankruptcy estate and subject to the claims of third parties with priority over the claims of MCAD’s stockholders. To the extent any bankruptcy claims deplete the Trust Account, MCAD may not be able to return to MCAD’s public stockholders at least $10.00. As a result, if any such claims were successfully made against the Trust Account, the funds available for MCAD’s initial business combination, including the Business Combination, and redemptions could be reduced to less than $10.00 per Public Share.
MCAD’s stockholders may be held liable for claims by third parties against MCAD to the extent of distributions received by them.
The Current Charter provides that MCAD will continue in existence only until 2022. If MCAD is unable to consummate a transaction within the required time periods, upon notice from MCAD, the trustee of the Trust Account will distribute the amount in its Trust Account to its public stockholders. Concurrently, MCAD shall pay, or reserve for payment, from funds not held in trust, its liabilities and obligations, although MCAD cannot assure you that there will be sufficient funds for such purpose. If there are insufficient funds held outside the Trust Account for such purpose, the Sponsor has contractually agreed that, if it liquidates prior to the consummation of a business combination, they will be liable to ensure that the proceeds in the Trust Account are not reduced by the claims of target businesses or claims of vendors or other entities that are owed money by MCAD for services rendered or contracted for or products sold to it, but only if such a vendor or prospective target business does not execute such a waiver. However, we may not properly assess all claims that may be potentially brought against us. As such, our stockholders could potentially be liable for any claims to the extent of distributions received by them (but no more) and any liability of our stockholders may extend well beyond the third anniversary of the date of distribution. Accordingly, third parties may seek to recover from our stockholders amounts owed to them by us.
 
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If, after MCAD distributes the proceeds in the trust account to our public stockholders, it files a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, any distributions received by stockholders could be viewed under applicable debtor/creditor and/or bankruptcy laws as either a “preferential transfer” or a “fraudulent conveyance.” As a result, a bankruptcy court could seek to recover all amounts received by our stockholders. In addition, our Board may be viewed as having breached its fiduciary duty to our creditors and/or having acted in bad faith, thereby exposing itself and us to claims of punitive damages, by paying public stockholders from the trust account prior to addressing the claims of creditors.
If MCAD’s due diligence investigation of BTX was inadequate, then stockholders of MCAD following the Business Combination could lose some or all of their investment.
Even though MCAD conducted a due diligence investigation of BTX, it cannot be sure that this diligence uncovered all material issues that may be present inside BTX or its business, or that it would be possible to uncover all material issues through a customary amount of due diligence, or that factors outside of BTX and its business and outside of its control will not later arise.
Stockholder litigation and regulatory inquiries and investigations are expensive and could harm MCAD’s business, financial condition and operating results and could divert management attention.
In the past, securities class action litigation and/or stockholder derivative litigation and inquiries or investigations by regulatory authorities have often followed certain significant business transactions, such as the sale of a company or announcement of any other strategic transaction, such as the Business Combination. Any stockholder litigation and/or regulatory investigations against MCAD, whether or not resolved in MCAD’s favor, could result in substantial costs and divert MCAD’s management’s attention from other business concerns, which could adversely affect MCAD’s business and cash resources and the ultimate value MCAD’s stockholders receive as a result of the Business Combination.
MCAD’s ability to successfully effect the Business Combination and to be successful thereafter will be totally dependent upon the efforts of its key personnel, including BTX’s key personnel, all of whom are expected to remain with the Combined Entity following the Business Combination. While MCAD intends to closely scrutinize any individuals it engages after the Business Combination, it cannot assure you that its assessment of these individuals will prove to be correct.
MCAD’s ability to successfully effect the Business Combination is dependent upon the efforts of MCAD’s key personnel, including key personnel of BTX. Although MCAD expects all of such key personnel to remain with the Combined Entity following the Business Combination, it is possible that MCAD will lose some key personnel, the loss of which could negatively impact the operations and profitability of the Combined Entity. While MCAD intends to closely scrutinize any individuals it engages after the Business Combination, it cannot assure you that its assessment of these individuals will prove to be correct. These individuals may be unfamiliar with the requirements of operating a public company which could cause MCAD to have to expend time and resources helping them become familiar with such requirements. This could be expensive and time-consuming and could lead to various regulatory issues which may adversely affect its operations.
MCAD is requiring stockholders who wish to redeem their public shares in connection with a proposed business combination to comply with specific requirements for redemption that may make it more difficult for them to exercise their redemption rights prior to the deadline for exercising their rights.
MCAD is requiring stockholders who wish to redeem their Common Stock to either tender their certificates to Continental or to deliver their shares to Continental electronically using the DTC’s DWAC (Deposit/Withdrawal At Custodian) System at least two business days before the Meeting. In order to obtain a physical certificate, a stockholder’s broker and/or clearing broker, DTC and Continental will need to act to facilitate this request. It is MCAD’s understanding that stockholders should generally allot at least two weeks to obtain physical certificates from Continental. However, because we do not have any control over this process or over the brokers or DTC, it may take significantly longer than two weeks to obtain a physical stock certificate. While we have been advised that it takes a short time to deliver shares through the DWAC
 
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System, we cannot assure you of this fact. Accordingly, if it takes longer than MCAD anticipates for stockholders to deliver their Common Stock, stockholders who wish to redeem may be unable to meet the deadline for exercising their redemption rights and thus may be unable to redeem their Common Stock.
MCAD will require its public stockholders who wish to redeem their public shares in connection with the Business Combination to comply with specific requirements for redemption described above, such redeeming stockholders may be unable to sell their securities when they wish to in the event that the Business Combination is not consummated.
If MCAD requires public stockholders who wish to redeem their public shares in connection with the proposed Business Combination to comply with specific requirements for redemption as described above and the Business Combination is not consummated, MCAD will promptly return such certificates to its public stockholders. Accordingly, investors who attempted to redeem their public shares in such a circumstance will be unable to sell their securities after the failed acquisition until MCAD has returned their securities to them. The market price for shares of our Common Stock may decline during this time and you may not be able to sell your securities when you wish to, even while other stockholders that did not seek redemption may be able to sell their securities.
If MCAD’s security holders exercise their registration rights with respect to their securities, it may have an adverse effect on the market price of MCAD’s securities.
MCAD’s Initial Stockholders are entitled to make a demand that it register the resale of their Insider Shares at any time commencing three months prior to the date on which their shares may be released from escrow. Additionally, our Initial Stockholders, officers and directors are entitled to demand that MCAD register the resale of the shares underlying any securities our Initial Stockholders, officers, directors or their affiliates may be issued in payment of working capital loans made to us at any time after MCAD consummates a business combination. If such persons exercise their registration rights with respect to all of their securities, then there will be an additional shares of Common Stock eligible for trading in the public market. The presence of these additional shares of Common Stock trading in the public market may have an adverse effect on the market price of MCAD’s securities.
MCAD will not obtain an opinion from an unaffiliated third party as to the fairness of the Business Combination to its stockholders.
MCAD is not required to obtain an opinion from an unaffiliated third party that the price it is paying in the Business Combination is fair to its public stockholders from a financial point of view. MCAD’s public stockholders therefore, must rely solely on the judgment of the Board.
MCAD’s Sponsor, directors and officers have interests in the Business Combination which may be different from or in addition to (and which may conflict with) the interests of its stockholders.
MCAD’s Sponsor, officers and directors and their respective affiliates and associates have interests in and arising from the Business Combination that are different from or in addition to (and which may conflict with) the interests of MCAD’s public stockholders, which may result in a conflict of interest. These interests include:

unless MCAD consummates an initial business combination, MCAD’s officers, directors and Sponsor will not receive reimbursement for any out-of-pocket expenses incurred by them to the extent that such expenses exceed the amount of available proceeds not deposited in the Trust Account from the MCAD IPO and Private Placement. As of the date of this filing MCAD’s officers, directors and Sponsor have not loaned any money to MCAD and have not incurred any expenses on behalf of MCAD for which they are seeking reimbursement;

With certain limited exceptions, 50% of the founder shares will not be transferred, assigned, sold or released from escrow until the earlier of six months after the date of the consummation of the Business Combination and the date the closing price of MCAD’s common stock equals or exceeds $12.50 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations and recapitalizations) for any
20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing after the Business Combination and
 
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the remaining 50% of the insider shares will not be transferred, assigned, sold or released from escrow until six months after the date of the consummation of the Business Combination or earlier in either case if, subsequent to the Business Combination, MCAD completes a liquidation, merger, stock exchange or other similar transaction which results in all of its stockholders having the right to exchange their shares of common stock for cash, securities or other property.;

the fact that Sponsor paid an aggregate of $25,000 (or approximately $0.017 per share) for its 1,431,500 founders shares and such securities may have a value of $14,315,000 at the time of the Business Combination. Because the merger consideration is based on a deemed price per share of $10.00 a share, our Sponsor could make a substantial profit after the initial business combination even if public investors experience substantial losses. Further, the Founder Shares have no redemption rights upon MCAD’s liquidation and will be worthless if no business combination is effected

the fact that the Sponsor currently holds 142,500 private units which were purchased at a price of $10 per unit, or an aggregate value of $1,425,000 and which have no redemption rights upon MCAD’s liquidation and will be worthless if no business combination is effected; and

the fact that Sponsor has agreed not to redeem any of the Founder Shares in connection with a stockholder vote to approve a proposed initial business combination.
A market for MCAD’s securities may not continue, which would adversely affect the liquidity and price of its securities.
Following the Business Combination, the price of MCAD’s securities may fluctuate significantly due to the market’s reaction to the Business Combination and general market and economic conditions. An active trading market for MCAD’s securities following the Business Combination may never develop or, if developed, it may not be sustained. In addition, the price of MCAD’s securities after the Business Combination can vary due to general economic conditions and forecasts, MCAD’s general business condition and the release of MCAD’s financial reports. Additionally, if MCAD’s securities are not listed on, or become delisted from Nasdaq for any reason, and are quoted on the OTC Bulletin Board, an inter-dealer automated quotation system for equity securities that is not a national securities exchange, the liquidity and price of MCAD’s securities may be more limited than if MCAD were quoted or listed on Nasdaq or another national securities exchange. You may be unable to sell your securities unless a market can be established or sustained.
There can be no assurance that MCAD will be able to comply with the continued listing standards of Nasdaq.
MCAD’s continued eligibility for listing may depend on the number of its shares that are redeemed. If, after the Business Combination, Nasdaq delists MCAD’s securities from trading on its exchange for failure to meet the listing standards, MCAD and its stockholders could face significant material adverse consequences including:

a limited availability of market quotations for MCAD’s securities;

a determination that MCAD Common Stock is a “penny stock” which will require brokers trading in its Common Stock to adhere to more stringent rules, possibly resulting in a reduced level of trading activity in the secondary trading market for MCAD Common Stock;

a limited amount of analyst coverage; and

a decreased ability to issue additional securities or obtain additional financing in the future.
If the Business Combination’s benefits do not meet the expectations of investors, stockholders or financial analysts, the market price of MCAD’s securities may decline.
If the benefits of the Business Combination do not meet the expectations of investors or securities analysts, the market price of MCAD’s securities may decline. The market values of MCAD’s securities at the time of the consummation of the Business Combination may vary significantly from their prices on the date the Merger Agreement was executed, the date of this proxy statement/prospectus, or the date on which MCAD’s stockholders vote on the Business Combination.
 
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In addition, following the Business Combination, fluctuations in the price of MCAD’s securities could contribute to the loss of all or part of your investment. Prior to the Business Combination, there has not been a public market for BTX’s stock and trading in the shares of MCAD Common Stock has not been active. Accordingly, the valuation ascribed to BTX and MCAD Common Stock in the Business Combination may not be indicative of the price that will prevail in the trading market following the Business Combination. If an active market for MCAD’s securities develops and continues, the trading price of MCAD’s securities following the Business Combination could be volatile and subject to wide fluctuations in response to various factors, some of which are beyond MCAD’s control. Any of the factors listed below could have a material adverse effect on your investment in MCAD’s securities and MCAD’s securities may trade at prices significantly below the price you paid for them. In such circumstances, the trading price of MCAD’s securities may not recover and may experience a further decline.
Factors affecting the trading price of the Combined Entity’s securities following the Business Combination may include:

actual or anticipated fluctuations in the Combined Entity’s quarterly financial results or the quarterly financial results of companies perceived to be similar to the Combined Entity’s;

changes in the market’s expectations about the Combined Entity’s operating results;

success of competitors;

the Combined Entity’s operating results failing to meet the expectation of securities analysts or investors in a particular period;

changes in financial estimates and recommendations by securities analysts concerning the Combined Entity or the market in general;

operating and stock price performance of other companies that investors deem comparable to the Combined Entity;

the Combined Entity’s ability to develop product candidates;

changes in laws and regulations affecting the Combined Entity’s business;

commencement of, or involvement in, litigation involving the Combined Entity;

changes in the Combined Entity’s capital structure, such as future issuances of securities or the incurrence of additional debt;

the volume of shares of the Combined Entity’s securities available for public sale;

any major change in the board or management;

sales of substantial amounts of Common Stock by MCAD’s directors, executive officers or significant stockholders or the perception that such sales could occur; and

general economic and political conditions such as recessions, interest rates, fuel prices, international currency fluctuations and acts of war or terrorism.
Broad market and industry factors may materially harm the market price of the Combined Entity’s securities irrespective of its operating performance. The stock market in general and Nasdaq in particular have experienced price and volume fluctuations that have often been unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of the particular companies affected. The trading prices and valuations of these stocks, and of the Combined Entity’s securities, may not be predictable. A loss of investor confidence in the market for healthcare company stocks or the stocks of other companies which investors perceive to be similar to the Combined Entity could depress the Combined Entity’s stock price regardless of the Combined Entity’s business, prospects, financial conditions or results of operations. A decline in the market price of the Combined Entity’s securities also could adversely affect the Combined Entity’s ability to issue additional securities and the Combined Entity’s ability to obtain additional financing in the future.
Volatility in the Combined Entity’s share price could subject the Combined Entity to securities class action litigation.
In the past, securities class action litigation has often been brought against a company following a decline in the market price of its securities. If the Combined Entity faces such litigation, it could result in substantial costs and a diversion of management’s attention and resources, which could harm its business.
 
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Following the Business Combination, if securities or industry analysts do not publish or cease publishing research or reports about the Combined Entity, its business, or its market, or if they change their recommendations regarding the Combined Entity’s securities adversely, the price and trading volume of the Combined Entity’s securities could decline.
The trading market for the Combined Entity’s securities will be influenced by the research and reports that industry or securities analysts may publish about MCAD, its business, its market, or its competitors. Securities and industry analysts do not currently, and may never, publish research on MCAD or the Combined Entity. If no securities or industry analysts commence coverage of the Combined Entity, MCAD’s stock price and trading volume would likely be negatively impacted. If any of the analysts who may cover the Combined Entity change their recommendation regarding MCAD’s stock adversely, or provide more favorable relative recommendations about MCAD’s competitors, the price of the Combined Entity’s securities would likely decline. If any analyst who may cover the Combined Entity were to cease coverage of the Combined Entity or fail to regularly publish reports on it, MCAD could lose visibility in the financial markets, which could cause its stock price or trading volume to decline.
The future sales of shares by existing stockholders and future exercise of registration rights may adversely affect the market price of the Combined Entity’s common stock.
Sales of a substantial number of shares of the Combined Entity’s common stock in the public market could occur at any time. If the Combined Entity’s stockholders sell, or the market perceives that the Combined Entity’s stockholders intend to sell, substantial amounts of the Combined Entity’s common stock in the public market, the market price of the Combined Entity’s common stock could decline.
The holders of the Founder Shares are entitled to registration rights pursuant to a registration rights agreement entered into in connection with the MCAD IPO. The holders of the majority of these securities are entitled to make up to three demands that MCAD register such securities. The holders of the majority of the Founder Shares can elect to exercise these registration rights at any time commencing three months prior to the date on which these shares of Common Stock are to be released from escrow. In addition, the holders have certain “piggy-back” registration rights with respect to registration statements filed subsequent to MCAD’s consummation of a business combination. The presence of these additional shares of Common Stock trading in the public market may have an adverse effect on the market price of the Combined Entity’s securities.
MCAD’s public stockholders may experience dilution as a consequence of, among other transactions, the issuance of Common Stock as consideration in the Business Combination and the PIPE Investment. Having a minority share position may reduce the influence that MCAD’s current stockholders have on the management of the Combined Entity.
It is anticipated that, upon the Closing of the Business Combination, MCAD’s public stockholders (other than the PIPE Investment investors) will retain an ownership interest of approximately 22% in the Combined Entity, the PIPE Investment investors will own approximately 18% of the Combined Entity (such that public stockholders, including PIPE Investment investors, will own approximately 40% of the Combined Entity), MCAD’s Sponsor, officer, directors and other holders of MCAD shares will retain an ownership interest of approximately 6% in the Combined Entity and the BTX Equityholders will own approximately 54% of the outstanding common stock of the Combined Entity.
The ownership percentage with respect to the Combined Entity following the Business Combination does not take into account (i) the redemption of any shares by MCAD’s public stockholders or (ii) the issuance of any shares upon Closing of the Business Combination under the 2021 Plan or the 2021 ESPP, which are intended to be adopted following consummation of the Business Combination. If the actual facts are different than these assumptions (which they are likely to be), the percentage ownership retained by the Company’s existing stockholders in the Combined Entity will be different.
Anti-takeover provisions contained in the Proposed Certificate of Incorporation and proposed amended and restated bylaws, as well as provisions of Delaware law, could impair a takeover attempt.
The Amended Charter will contain provisions that may discourage unsolicited takeover proposals that stockholders may consider to be in their best interests. MCAD is also subject to anti-takeover provisions
 
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under Delaware law, which could delay or prevent a change of control. Together these provisions may make more difficult the removal of management and may discourage transactions that otherwise could involve payment of a premium over prevailing market prices for MCAD’s securities. These provisions are described in the Section titled “Charter Amendment Proposal.”
Activities taken by MCAD’s affiliates to purchase, directly or indirectly, Public Shares will increase the likelihood of approval of the Business Combination Proposal and the other Proposals and may affect the market price of the MCAD’s securities.
MCAD’s Sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase shares in privately negotiated transactions either prior to or following the consummation of the Business Combination. None of MCAD’s Sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates will make any such purchases when such parties are in possession of any material non-public information not disclosed to the seller or during a restricted period under Regulation M under the Exchange Act. Although none of MCAD’s Sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates currently anticipate paying any premium purchase price for such Public Shares, in the event such parties do, the payment of a premium may not be in the best interest of those stockholders not receiving any such additional consideration. There is no limit on the number of shares that could be acquired by MCAD’s Sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates, or the price such parties may pay.
If such transactions are effected, the consequence could be to cause the Business Combination to be approved in circumstances where such approval could not otherwise be obtained. Purchases of shares by the persons described above would allow them to exert more influence over the approval of the Business Combination Proposal and other proposals and would likely increase the chances that such Proposals would be approved. If the market does not view the Business Combination positively, purchases of Public Shares may have the effect of counteracting the market’s view, which would otherwise be reflected in a decline in the market price of MCAD’s securities. In addition, the termination of the support provided by these purchases may materially adversely affect the market price of MCAD’s securities.
As of the date of this proxy statement/prospectus, no agreements with respect to the private purchase of Public Shares by MCAD or the persons described above have been entered into with any such investor or holder. MCAD will file a Current Report on Form 8-K with the SEC to disclose private arrangements entered into or significant private purchases made by any of the aforementioned persons that would affect the vote on the Business Combination Proposal or other proposals.
Changes in laws or regulations, or a failure to comply with any laws and regulations, may adversely affect MCAD’s business, investments and results of operations.
MCAD is subject to laws, regulations and rules enacted by national, regional and local governments. In particular, MCAD is required to comply with certain SEC, Nasdaq and other legal or regulatory requirements. Compliance with, and monitoring of, applicable laws, regulations and rules may be difficult, time consuming and costly. Those laws, regulations and rules and their interpretation and application may also change from time to time and those changes could have a material adverse effect on MCAD’s business, investments and results of operations. In addition, a failure to comply with applicable laws, regulations and rules, as interpreted and applied, could have a material adverse effect on MCAD’s business and results of operations.
Because the Combined Entity does not anticipate paying any cash dividends in the foreseeable future, capital appreciation, if any, would be your sole source of gain.
The Combined Entity currently anticipates that it will retain future earnings for the development, operation and expansion of its business and do not anticipate declaring or paying any cash dividends for the foreseeable future. As a result, capital appreciation, if any, of the Combined Entity’s shares of Common Stock would be your sole source of gain on an investment in such shares for the foreseeable future.
Future sales of shares of the Combined Entity’s Common Stock may depress its stock price.
Sales of a substantial number of the Combined Entity’s Common Stock in the public market after the closing of the Business Combination, or the perception that these sales might occur, could depress the market
 
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price of the Combined Entity’s Common Stock and could impair its ability to raise capital through the sale of additional equity securities.
The Combined Entity is an emerging growth company, and the Combined Entity cannot be certain if the reduced reporting requirements applicable to emerging growth companies will make its shares less attractive to investors.
After the completion of the Business Combination, the Combined Entity will be an emerging growth company, as defined in the JOBS Act. For as long as the Combined Entity continues to be an emerging growth company, it may take advantage of exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not “emerging growth companies,” including exemption from compliance with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. The Company Entity will remain an emerging growth company until the earlier of (1) the date (a) January 7, 2026, (b) in which the Company Entity has total annual gross revenue of at least $1.07 billion or (c) in which the Company Entity is deemed to be a large accelerated filer, which means the market value of shares of the Company Entity’s Common Stock that are held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the prior September 30th, and (2) the date on which the Company Entity has issued more than $1.0 billion in non-convertible debt during the prior three-year period.
In addition, under the JOBS Act, emerging growth companies can delay adopting new or revised accounting standards until such time as those standards apply to private companies. The Company Entity has elected to avail itself of this exemption from new or revised accounting standards and, therefore, the Company Entity will not be subject to the same new or revised accounting standards as other public companies that are not emerging growth companies.
Even after the Company Entity no longer qualifies as an emerging growth company, it may still qualify as a “smaller reporting company,” which would allow it to take advantage of many of the same exemptions from disclosure requirements including exemption from compliance with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 and reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in this proxy statement and the Company Entity’s periodic reports and proxy statements.
The Company Entity cannot predict if investors will find its Common Stock less attractive because the Company Entity may rely on these exemptions. If some investors find the Company Entity’s Common Stock less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for the Common Stock and its market price may be more volatile.
MCAD identified material weaknesses in its internal control over financial reporting.
MCAD’s management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes. Our management also evaluates the effectiveness of our internal controls and we will disclose any changes and material weaknesses identified through such evaluation in those internal controls. As of June 30, 2021, MCAD identified material weaknesses in its internal control over financial reporting related to the inaccurate accounting for the value of shares to be issued to the underwriter at the closing of its Initial Public Offering as well as inaccurate accounting for certain accrued expenses and prepaid expenses. We have implemented a remediation plan to remediate the material weakness but can give no assurance that the measures we have taken will prevent any future material weaknesses or deficiencies in internal control over financial reporting. Even though we believe we have strengthened our controls and procedures, in the future those controls and procedures may not be adequate to prevent or identify irregularities or errors or to facilitate the fair presentation of our financial statements.
 
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Risks Related to the Combined Entity and the Business Combination
The Combined Entity’s amended and restated by laws will provide that the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware and the federal district courts of the United States of America will be the exclusive forums for substantially all disputes between the Combined Entity and its stockholders, which could limit the Combined Entity’s stockholders’ ability to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with the Combined Entity or its directors, officers, or employees.
The Combined Entity’s amended and restated by laws will provide that, unless the Company consents in writing to selection of an alternative forum, the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware is the exclusive forum for:

any derivative action or proceeding brought on its behalf;

any action asserting a breach of fiduciary duty;

any action asserting a claim against the Combined Entity arising under the Delaware General Corporation Law, the Combined Entity’s amended and restated certificate of incorporation, or the Combined Entity’s amended and restated bylaws; and

any action asserting a claim against the Combined Entity that is governed by the internal-affairs doctrine.
This exclusive-forum provision would not apply to suits brought to enforce a duty or liability created by the Exchange Act. Furthermore, Section 22 of the Securities Act creates concurrent jurisdiction for federal and state courts over all such Securities Act actions. Accordingly, both state and federal courts have jurisdiction to entertain such claims. To prevent having to litigate claims in multiple jurisdictions and the threat of inconsistent or contrary rulings by different courts, among other considerations, the Amended Charter provides that the federal district courts of the United States of America will be the exclusive forum for resolving any complaint asserting a cause of action arising under the Securities Act.
These exclusive-forum provisions may limit a stockholder’s ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for disputes with the Combined Entity or its directors, officers, or other employees, which may discourage lawsuits against the Combined Entity and its directors, officers, and other employees. If a court were to find either exclusive-forum provision in the Amended Charter to be inapplicable or unenforceable in an action, it may incur additional costs associated with resolving the dispute in other jurisdictions, which could harm the Combined Entity’s business.
 
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CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This proxy statement/prospectus contains forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions under the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements about the parties’ ability to close the proposed Business Combination, the anticipated benefits of the proposed Business Combination, and the financial condition, results of operations, earnings outlook and prospects of MCAD and/or BTX and may include statements for the period following the consummation of the proposed Business Combination. In addition, any statements that refer to projections (including EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA, EBITDA margin and revenue projections), forecasts or other characterizations of future events or circumstances, including any underlying assumptions, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words such as “plan,” “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “outlook,” “estimate,” “forecast,” “project,” “continue,” “could,” “may,” “might,” “possible,” “potential,” “predict,” “should,” “would” and other similar words and expressions, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking.
The forward-looking statements are based on the current expectations of the management of MCAD and BTX, as applicable, and are inherently subject to uncertainties and changes in circumstances and their potential effects and speak only as of the date of such statement. There can be no assurance that future developments will be those that have been anticipated. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties or other assumptions that may cause actual results or performance to be materially different from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements, including: risks related to BTX’s strategies and its prescription digital therapeutics (“PDTs”), such as the willingness of the FDA to approve PDTs and insurance companies to reimburse their use; the ability to complete the proposed business combination due to the failure to obtain approval from MCAD stockholders or satisfy other closing conditions in the definitive merger agreement; the amount of any redemptions by existing holders of MCAD’s common stock; the ability to recognize the anticipated benefits of the business combination, and other risks and uncertainties included under the header “Risk Factors” in this proxy statement/prospectus, in the final prospectus of MCAD for its initial public offering dated January 7, 2021 and its annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020, and in MCAD’s other filings with the SEC.
These forward-looking statements are based on information available as of the date of this proxy statement/prospectus, and current expectations, forecasts and assumptions, and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Accordingly, forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing our views as of any subsequent date, and we do not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date they were made, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required under applicable securities laws.
In addition, statements that MCAD or BTX “believes” and similar statements reflect such parities beliefs and opinions on the relevant subject. These statements are based upon information available to such party as of the date of this proxy statement/prospectus, and while such party believes such information forms a reasonable basis for such statements, such information may be limited or incomplete, and these statements should not be read to indicate that either MCAD or BTX has conducted an exhaustive inquiry into, or review of, all potentially available relevant information. These statements are inherently uncertain and investors are cautioned not to unduly rely upon these statements.
You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements in deciding how to grant your proxy or instruct how your vote should be cast or vote your shares on the proposals set forth in this proxy statement/prospectus. As a result of a number of known and unknown risks and uncertainties, our actual results or performance may be materially different from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Some factors that could cause the Combined Entity’s actual results to differ include:

the occurrence of any event, change or other circumstances that could give rise to the termination of the Business Combination;

the outcome of any legal proceedings that may be instituted against MCAD, BTX or others following announcement of the Business Combination and the transactions contemplated therein;

the inability to complete the transactions contemplated by the Business Combination due to the failure to obtain approval of the stockholders of MCAD or BTX or other conditions to closing in the Business Combination;
 
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the risk that the proposed transaction disrupts current plans and operations as a result of the announcement and consummation of the Business Combination;

the ability to recognize the anticipated benefits of the Business Combination, which may be affected by, among other things, the ability of the Combined Entity to grow and manage growth profitably, maintain relationships with customers, compete within its industry and retain its key employees;

costs related to the proposed Business Combination;

the possibility that MCAD or BTX may be adversely impacted by other economic, business, and/or competitive factors;

future exchange and interest rates; and

other risks and uncertainties indicated in this proxy statement/prospectus, including those under “Risk Factors” herein, and other filings that have been made or will be made with the SEC.
 
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SPECIAL MEETING OF MCAD STOCKHOLDERS
General
MCAD is furnishing this proxy statement/prospectus to its stockholders as part of the solicitation of proxies by the board of directors for use at the Special Meeting to be held on October 27, 2021 and at any adjournment or postponement thereof. This proxy statement/prospectus provides MCAD’s stockholders with information they need to know to be able to vote or direct their vote to be cast at the Special Meeting.
Date, Time and Place
The Special Meeting will be held on October 27, 2021, at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time, via live webcast at the following address: https://www.cstproxy.com/mcacquisitionii/2021.
Voting Power; Record Date
You will be entitled to vote or direct votes to be cast at the Special Meeting if you owned shares of MCAD Common Stock at the close of business on September 8, 2021 which is the Record Date. You are entitled to one vote for each share of Common Stock that you owned as of the close of business on the Record Date. If your shares are held in “street name” or are in a margin or similar account, you should contact your broker, bank or other nominee to ensure that votes related to the shares you beneficially own are properly counted. On the Record Date, there were 7,557,500 shares of Common Stock outstanding, of which 5,750,000 are Public Shares and 1,807,500 are Shares held by the Sponsor, officers, directors and other holders at MCAD Shares.
Vote of the Sponsor, Directors and Officers
In connection with the MCAD IPO, MCAD entered into agreements with each of its Sponsor, directors and officers pursuant to which each agreed to vote any shares of Common Stock owned by it in favor of the Business Combination Proposal and for all other proposals presented at the Special Meeting. These agreements apply to the Sponsor as it relates to the Founder Shares and the requirement to vote such shares in favor of the Business Combination Proposal and for all other proposals presented to MCAD stockholders in this proxy statement/prospectus.
MCAD’s Sponsor, directors and officers have waived any redemption rights, including with respect to shares of Common Stock issued or purchased in the MCAD IPO or in the aftermarket, in connection with Business Combination. The Founder Shares and the private units held by the Sponsor have no redemption rights upon MCAD’s liquidation and will be worthless if no business combination is effected by MCAD by April 12, 2022.
Quorum and Required Vote for Proposals
A quorum of MCAD stockholders is necessary to hold a valid meeting. A quorum will be present at the Special Meeting if a majority of the Common Stock issued outstanding and entitled to vote at the Special Meeting is represented in person or by proxy at the Special Meeting.
The approval of the Charter Amendment Proposal requires the affirmative vote of a majority of the issued and outstanding MCAD Common Stock as of the Record Date for the Special Meeting. The approval of the Business Combination Proposal, the Governance Proposal, the Nasdaq Proposal, the 2021 Plan Proposal, the 2021 ESPP Proposal and the Adjournment Proposal each require the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the shares of MCAD Common Stock cast by the stockholders represented in person or by proxy and entitled to vote thereon at the Special Meeting. Approval of the Directors Proposal will require the vote by a plurality of the shares of the Common Stock present in person by virtual attendance or represented by proxy and entitled to vote at the Meeting.
If the Business Combination Proposal is not approved, the Charter Amendment Proposal, the Governance Proposal, the Nasdaq Proposal, the Directors Proposal, the 2021 Plan Proposal and the 2021 ESPP Proposal will not be presented to the MCAD stockholders for a vote. The approval of the Business Combination Proposal, the Charter Amendment Proposal, the Nasdaq Proposal, the Directors Proposal, the
 
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2021 Plan Proposal, and the 2021 ESPP Proposal are preconditions to the consummation of the Business Combination. The Charter Amendment Proposal, the Governance Proposal, the Nasdaq Proposal, the Directors Proposal, the 2021 Plan Proposal, and the 2021 ESPP Proposal are conditioned on the approval of the Business Combination Proposal (and the Business Combination Proposal is conditioned on the approval of the Charter Amendment Proposal, Proposal, the Nasdaq Proposal, the Directors Proposal, the 2021 Plan Proposal, and the 2021 ESPP Proposal). The Adjournment Proposal is not conditioned on the approval of any other proposal set forth in this proxy statement/prospectus.
It is important for you to note that in the event the Business Combination Proposal does not receive the requisite vote for approval, then MCAD will not consummate the Business Combination. If MCAD does not consummate the Business Combination and fails to complete an initial business combination by April 12, 2022, MCAD will be required to dissolve and liquidate its Trust Account by returning the then remaining funds in such account to the public stockholders.
Abstentions and Broker Non-Votes
Abstentions will be counted in connection with the determination of whether a valid quorum is established and will have the same effect as a vote “AGAINST” the Proposals. A failure to vote by proxy or to vote in person or an abstention from voting with regard to the Proposals will have the same effect as a vote “AGAINST” the Charter Amendment Proposal and if a valid quorum is otherwise established, it will have no effect on the outcome of the vote on the Business Combination Proposal, the Governance Proposal, the Nasdaq Proposal, the Directors Proposal, the 2021 Plan Proposal, the 2021 ESPP Proposal and the Adjournment Proposal. Broker non-votes will not be counted as present for the purposes of establishing a quorum and will have no effect on any of the Proposals.
Recommendation of the Board
The board of directors has unanimously determined that each of the proposals is fair to and in the best interests of MCAD and its stockholders, and has unanimously approved such proposals. The board of directors unanimously recommends that stockholders:

vote “FOR” the Business Combination Proposal;

vote “FOR” the Charter Amendment Proposal;

vote “FOR” the Governance Proposal;

vote “FOR” the Nasdaq Proposal;

vote “FOR” the Directors Proposal;

vote “FOR” the 2021 Plan Proposal;

vote “FOR” the 2021 ESPP Proposal; and

vote “FOR” the Adjournment Proposal, if it is presented to the meeting.
When you consider the recommendation of the Board in favor of approval of the Proposals, you should keep in mind that the Sponsor, members of the Board and officers have interests in the Business Combination that are different from or in addition to (or which may conflict with) your interests as a stockholder. These interests include, among other things:

unless MCAD consummates an initial business combination, MCAD’s officers, directors and Sponsor will not receive reimbursement for any out-of-pocket expenses incurred by them to the extent that such expenses exceed the amount of available proceeds not deposited in the Trust Account. As of the date of this filing MCAD’s officers, directors and Sponsor have not loaned any money to MCAD and have not incurred any expenses on behalf of MCAD for which they are seeking reimbursement;