BSTG Biostage Inc (QB)

Forward Looking Statements

This Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q contains statements that are not statements of historical fact and are forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”). The forward-looking statements are principally, but not exclusively, contained in “Item 2: Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.” Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements about management’s confidence or expectations and our plans, objectives, expectations and intentions that are not historical facts and the potential impact of COVID-19 on our business and operations. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terms such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “could,” “would,” “expects,” “plans,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “goals,” “sees,” “estimates,” “projects,” “predicts,” “intends,” “think,” “potential,” “objectives,” “optimistic,” “strategy,” and similar expressions intended to identify forward-looking statements. These statements reflect our current views with respect to future events and are based on assumptions and subject to risks and uncertainties. Given these uncertainties, you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Factors that may cause our actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements include our ability to access debt and equity markets and raise additional funds when needed; the success of our collaborations, clinical trials and pre-clinical development efforts and programs, which success may not be achieved on a timely basis or at all; our ability to obtain and maintain regulatory approval for our implant products, bioreactors, scaffolds and other devices we pursue, including for the esophagus or airway, which approvals may not be obtained on a timely basis or at all; the number of patients who can be treated with our products; the amount and timing of costs associated with our development of implant products, bioreactors, scaffolds and other devices; our failure to comply with regulations and any changes in regulations; unpredictable difficulties or delays in the development of new technology; our collaborators or other third parties we contract with, including with respect to conducting any clinical trial or pre-clinical development efforts, not devoting sufficient time and resources to successfully carry out their duties or meet expected deadlines; our ability to attract and retain qualified personnel and key employees and retain senior management; potential liability exposure with respect to our products; the availability and price of acceptable raw materials and components from third-party suppliers; difficulties in obtaining or retaining the management and other human resource competencies that we need to achieve our business objectives; increased competition in the field of regenerative medicine and bioengineering, and the financial resources of our competitors; our ability to obtain and maintain intellectual property protection for our device and product candidates; our inability to implement our growth strategy; the control our principal stockholders can exert based on holding a majority of voting power; plus factors described under the heading “Item 1A. Risk Factors” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on April 13, 2021 or described in our other public filings. Our results may also be affected by factors of which we are not currently aware. We may not update these forward-looking statements, even though our situation may change in the future, unless we have obligations under the federal securities laws to update and disclose material developments related to previously disclosed information.

Biostage, Inc. is referred to herein as “we,” “our,” “us,” and “the Company”.

Business Overview

We are a biotechnology company developing bioengineered organ implants based on our novel technology. Our technology is comprised of a proprietary biocompatible scaffold, which is the foundation of our Cellframe ™ technology, that is seeded with the recipient’s own mesenchymal stromal cells to form our Cellspan ™ implant, combining the clinically proven principles of tissue engineering, cell biology and materials science. This technology is being developed to treat life-threatening conditions of the esophagus, trachea and bronchus with the objective of dramatically improving the treatment paradigm for those patients.

We believe our technology will provide surgeons with new ways to address damage to the esophagus, bronchus, and trachea due to congenital abnormalities, diseases, infections and traumas. Products being developed based on our technology for those indications are called Cellspan products. We are pursuing our Cellspan Esophageal Implant (CEI) technology as our first product candidate to address both esophageal disease and pediatric esophageal atresia, and we are also developing our technology’s applications to address conditions of the bronchus and trachea.

In collaboration with world-class institutions, such as Mayo Clinic and Connecticut Children’s Medical Center, we are advancing our technology. Our product development program is based on the greatest medical unmet needs, analysis of existing surgical options and physician validation.

In October 2019, we filed an Investigational New Drug (IND) application with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat patients with esophageal disease, absent of cancer, in adults that would require a short segment esophageal implant following clinically indicated short segment resection of the thoracic esophagus with our CEI product candidate. In November 2019, we received notice from the FDA placing our IND on clinical hold and providing a preliminary list of clinical hold and non-clinical hold questions. In December 2019, we received the formal letter with clinical hold and non-clinical hold questions and submitted our response to the clinical hold questions on February 18, 2020. On March 19, 2020, the FDA notified us that the IND for our CEI product candidate has been removed from clinical hold and that we can proceed with our study. This FDA approval enables us to start our transition to a clinical-stage biotechnology company, and start clinical planning, engaging with a clinical research organization and site readiness in advance of starting the clinical trial for our CEI product candidate. On May 7, 2020, we submitted responses to certain non-clinical hold questions and finalized a majority of remaining non-clinical hold responses in the third quarter of 2020, and submitted the remaining responses in the fourth quarter of 2020, except for responses to our clinical trial details that we will submit once a clinical research organization is selected. The COVID-19 pandemic could adversely impact our business, including planned clinical trials, as discussed elsewhere in this document.

We believe that receiving regulatory approval to treat pediatric esophageal atresia with our CEI may provide a shorter time to a commercial product and the greater overall potential value in the U.S. market. In addition to providing a novel solution for a great medical need, approval of our pediatric esophageal atresia product candidate may result in receipt of a priority review voucher, which if achieved, could potentially provide significant value and non-dilutive funding to Biostage in the future. We have continued to advance our CEI pediatric esophagus program and plan to file a protocol amendment with the FDA to update our CEI esophageal disease clinical program after the initial adult patients are treated in the esophageal disease trial, subject to FDA approval.

We have also formed a subsidiary in Hong Kong, Harvard Apparatus Regenerative Technology Limited, as we continue to assess the market and regulatory approval pathway in China as to our implant products. We are not certain at this time as to which market, including U.S. or China for example, may provide the most viable initial pathway for regulatory approval to a commercial product. This will depend on a number of factors, including the approval and development processes, related costs, ability to raise capital and the terms and conditions thereof, as well as the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, among other factors. Any development and capital raising efforts in China may include a joint venture in relation to our Hong Kong subsidiary, and would also involve a number of commercial variables, including rights and obligations pertaining to licensing, development and financing, among others. Our failure to receive or obtain such clearances or approvals on a timely basis or at all, whether that be in the U.S., China or otherwise, would have an adverse effect on our results of operations.

Our products are currently in development and have not yet received regulatory approval for sale anywhere in the world.

Financial Condition and Need for Additional Funds

We expect to continue to incur operating losses and negative cash flows from operations for 2021 and in future years.

Operating Losses and Cash Requirements

We have incurred substantial operating losses since our inception, and as of March 31, 2021 had an accumulated deficit of approximately $69.8 million and will require additional financing to fund future operations. We expect that our operating cash on-hand as of March 31, 2021 of approximately $0.5 million along with cash proceeds of approximately $0.3 million received in May of 2021 from existing investors, will enable us to fund our operating expenses and capital expenditure requirements into the third quarter of 2021. We expect to continue to incur operating losses and negative cash flows from operations for 2021 and in future years. Therefore, as disclosed in Note 1 to our consolidated financial statements, these conditions raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern.

We will need to raise additional funds to fund our operations. In the event we do not raise additional capital from outside sources in the second quarter, we may be forced to curtail or cease its operations. Cash requirements and cash resource needs will vary significantly depending upon the timing of the financial and other resource needs that will be required to complete ongoing development, pre-clinical and clinical testing of products, as well as regulatory efforts and collaborative arrangements necessary for our products that are currently under development. We are currently seeking and will continue to seek financings from other existing and/or new investors to raise necessary funds through a combination of public or private equity offerings. We may also pursue debt financings, other financing mechanisms, research grants, or strategic collaborations and licensing arrangements. We may not be able to obtain additional financing on favorable terms, if at all.

Our operations will be adversely affected if it is unable to raise or obtain needed funding and may materially affect our ability to continue as a going concern. Our consolidated financial statements have been prepared assuming that we will continue as a going concern and therefore, the consolidated financial statements do not include any adjustments to reflect the possible future effects on the recoverability and classification of assets or the amount and classifications of liabilities that may result from the outcome of this uncertainty.

Small Business Innovation Research Grant

On March 28, 2018, we were awarded a Fast-Track Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant by the Eunice Kennedy National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) to support testing of pediatric Cellspan™ Esophageal Implants (CEIs). The award for Phase I provided for the reimbursement of approximately $0.2 million of qualified research and development costs which was received and recognized as grant income during 2018.

On October 26, 2018, we were awarded the Phase II Fast-Track SBIR grant from the Eunice Kennedy NICHD grant aggregating $1.1 million to support development, testing, and translation to the clinic through September 2019 and represented years one and two of the Phase II portion of the award. On August 3, 2020, we were awarded a third year of the Phase II grant totaling $0.5 million for support of development, testing, and translation to the clinic covering qualified expenses incurred from October 1, 2019 through September 30, 2020. In September of 2020, we filed and were granted a one year, no-cost extension for the Phase II grant period extending through September 30, 2021.

For the three months ended March 31, 2021 and 2020, we recognized $0.1 million and $0.0 million of grant income, respectively, from Phase II of the SBIR grant. The aggregate SBIR grant to date provides a total award of $1.8 million, of which, approximately $1.4 million has been recognized through March 31, 2021.

Management

We disclosed in our Current Report on Form 8-K dated February 7, 2020 that James McGorry, our former Chief Executive Officer, resigned from his role effective February 7, 2020. We also disclosed in our Current Report on Form 8-K dated August 31, 2020 that Peter Chakoutis, our Vice President of Finance, had taken a leave of absence from his role for personal reasons effective August 24, 2020. We disclosed in our Current Report on Form 8-K dated October 30, 2020 that Mr. Chakoutis would not be returning to the Company. In April 2021, we appointed Peter Pellegrino as Interim Vice President of Finance and Mr. Pellegrino is our current principal accounting officer and principal financial officer.

Components of Operating Loss

Research and development expense. Research and development expense consists of salaries and related expenses, including share-based compensation, for personnel and contracted consultants and various materials and other costs to develop our new products, primarily: synthetic scaffolds, including investigation and development of materials and investigation and optimization of cellularization, autoseeders, and 3D bioreactors, as well as studies of cells and cell behavior. Other research and development expenses include the costs of outside service providers and material costs for prototype and test units and outside laboratories and testing facilities performing cell growth and materials experiments, as well as the costs of all other preclinical research and testing including animal studies and expenses related to potential patents. We expense research and development costs as incurred.

Selling, general and administrative expense. Selling, general and administrative expense consists primarily of salaries and other related expenses, including share-based compensation, for personnel in executive, accounting, information technology and human resources roles. Other costs include professional fees for legal and accounting services, insurance, investor relations and facility costs.

Other income (expense). Grant income reflects income earned under the SBIR grant. Grant income is recognized based on timing of when qualified research and development costs are incurred. Changes in fair value of warrant liability represent the change in the fair value of common stock warrants classified as liability awards during the three months March 31, 2021 and 2020. We use the Black-Scholes pricing model to value the related warrant liability. The costs associated with the issuance of the warrants have been recorded as an expense upon issuance.

Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates

Our management’s discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations is based on our financial statements, which we have prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States, or. GAAP. The preparation of these financial statements requires us to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements, as well as the expenses during the reporting periods. We evaluate these estimates and judgments on an ongoing basis. We base our estimates on historical experience and on various other factors that we believe are reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying value of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. Our actual results may differ materially from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions.

While our significant accounting policies are discussed in more detail in Note 2 to our financial statements appearing elsewhere in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, we believe that the following accounting policies are the most critical for fully understanding and evaluating our financial condition and results of operations.

Share-based Compensation

We account for our share-based compensation in accordance with the fair value recognition provisions of current authoritative guidance. Share-based awards, including stock options, are measured at fair value as of the grant date and recognized as expense over the requisite service period (generally the vesting period), which we have elected to amortize on a straight-line basis. Expense on share-based awards for which vesting is performance or milestone based is recognized on a straight-line basis from the date when we determine the achievement of the milestone is probable to the vesting/milestone achievement date. Since share-based compensation expense is based on awards ultimately expected to vest, it has been reduced by an estimate for future forfeitures. We estimate forfeitures at the time of grant and revise our estimate, if necessary, in subsequent periods. We estimate the fair value of options granted using the Black-Scholes option valuation model. Significant judgment is required in determining the proper assumptions used in these models. The assumptions used include the risk-free interest rate, expected term, expected volatility and expected dividend yield. We base our assumptions on historical data when available or, when not available, on a peer group of companies. However, these assumptions consist of estimates of future market conditions, which are inherently uncertain and subject to our judgment, and therefore any changes in assumptions could significantly impact the future grant date fair value of share-based awards.

Warrant Liability

Most of the warrants to purchase shares of our common stock have been classified on our condensed consolidated balance sheets as equity. We classify warrants as a liability in our condensed consolidated balance sheets if the warrant is a free-standing financial instrument that may require us to transfer cash consideration upon exercise and that cash transfer event would be out of our control. Such a “liability warrant” is initially recorded at fair value on the date of grant using the Black-Scholes model, net of issuance costs, and it is subsequently re-measured to fair value at each subsequent balance sheet date. Changes in fair value of the warrant are recognized as a component of other income (expense) in the condensed consolidated statements of operations. We will continue to adjust the liability for changes in fair value until the earlier of the exercise or expiration of the warrant.

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Research and development expense

Research and development expense decreased approximately $0.2 million, or 24%, to $0.5 million for the three months ended March 31, 2021 as compared to $0.6 million for the same period in 2020. This decrease was due to lower headcount resulting in lower salary and share-based compensation expenses period over period.

Selling, general and administrative expense

Selling, general and administrative expense decreased approximately $0.7 million, or 59%, to $0.5 million for the three months ended March 31, 2021 compared to $1.3 million for the same period in 2020. This decrease was due to lower headcount resulting in lower salary expense of $0.3 million and lower share-based compensation expense of $0.4 million associated with the separation arrangement with our former Chief Executive Officer during the three months ended March 31, 2020.

Grant income

For the three months ended March 31, 2021, we recorded grant income of $0.1 million for qualified expenditures under the SBIR grant. There was no grant income for qualified expenditures from an SBIR grant for the three-month period ended March 31, 2020 as the modified Phase II grant development plan we submitted to the NICHD had not yet been approved as of March 31, 2020.

Change in fair value of warrant liability

During the three months ended March 31, 2021, the change in fair value of our warrant liability resulted in income of $4,000 due primarily to an increase in stock price and volatility of the underlying common shares. This compared to expense of $0.1 million for three months ended March 31, 2020 due to a higher stock price and volatility of the underlying common shares.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

Sources of liquidity.  We have incurred operating losses since inception, and as of March 31, 2021, we had an accumulated deficit of approximately $69.8 million. We are currently investing significant resources in the development and commercialization of our products for use by clinicians and researchers in the fields of regenerative medicine and bioengineering. As a result, we expect to incur operating losses and negative operating cash flows for the foreseeable future.

The following table sets forth the primary uses of cash for the three months ended March 31, 2021 and 2020 (in thousands):

Comparison of Three Months Ended March 31, 2021 and 2020

Operating activities.  Net cash used in operating activities of $0.6 million for the three months ended March 31, 2021 was due primarily to our net loss of $0.9 million, partially offset by a $0.2 million add-back for non-cash expenses including share-based compensation, depreciation, and change in fair value of warrant liability and $0.1 million of cash provided by working capital due to the timing of prepaid expenses and accounts payable.

Net cash used in operating activities of $1.1 million for the three months ended March 31, 2020 was primarily due to our net loss of $2.0 million, partially offset by $0.7 million add-back for non-cash expenses including share-based compensation, depreciation, and change in fair value of warrant liability, and $0.2 million of cash impact of working capital due to the timing of prepaid expenses and accounts payable.

Investing activities.  There were no investing activities for the three months ended March 31, 2021 and 2020.

Financing activities. There were no financing activities for the three months ended March 31, 2021.

Net cash generated from financing activities during the three months ended March 31, 2020 of approximately $1.0 million consisted of $0.6 million of net proceeds received from private placement transactions that resulted in the issuance of 151,027 shares of our common stock and warrants to purchase 151,027 shares of common stock to a group of investors at an exercise price of $3.70 per share, and $0.4 million received from the issuance of 214,000 shares of our common stock to a group of investors in connection with the exercise of a portion of the warrants previously issued on December 27, 2017.

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements

We do not have any material off-balance sheet arrangements as of March 31, 2021.

Other Information

JOBS Act

Effective December 31, 2020, we are no longer considered an “emerging growth company” under the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012.