NASDAQ: FBLG

FibroBiologics, Inc.

CIK 0001958777 · Pharmaceutical Preparations

Micro by assets Assets $6M as of Jul 17, 2026

We are a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing and commercializing fibroblast-based therapies for patients suffering from chronic diseases with significant unmet medical needs, including wound healing, multiple sclerosis, or MS, degenerative disc disease, psoriasis, certain… About this business →

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About FibroBiologics, Inc.

Source: Item 1 (Business) from the 10-K filed February 24, 2026. Description as filed by the company with the SEC.

Item 1.

Business

Overview

We are a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing and commercializing fibroblast-based therapies for patients suffering from chronic diseases with significant unmet medical needs, including wound healing, multiple sclerosis, or MS, degenerative disc disease, psoriasis, certain cancers, and potential human longevity applications including thymic involution reversal using a thymic organoid. Our most advanced product candidates are CYWC628, CYPS317, CYMS101 and CybroCellTM.

We were formed in April 2021 as a Texas limited liability company under the name FibroBiologics, LLC, and converted to a Delaware corporation in December 2021 under the name Fibrobiologics, Inc. On April 12, 2023, we changed our name to FibroBiologics, Inc. In connection with our formation, we issued shares of our Series A Preferred Stock, or the Series A Preferred Stock, to our then parent, SpinalCyte LLC (d/b/a FibroGenesis), or FibroGenesis, in return for rights to certain intellectual property through a patent assignment agreement, or the Patent Assignment Agreement, and an intellectual property cross-licensing agreement, or the Intellectual Property Cross-License Agreement. Developing the intellectual property obtained from FibroGenesis was the basis for our formation. Prior to our inception, preclinical research and development related to the transferred intellectual property took place under the name FibroGenesis.

Fibroblasts Technology Platform

Fibroblasts and stem cells are the only two cell types in the human body that can regenerate tissue and organs. Studies have indicated that mesenchymal stem cells and fibroblasts share many surface markers in common, can differentiate into many cells including adipocytes, chondrocytes, osteoblasts, hepatocytes, and cardiomyocytes, and can regulate the immune system. However, transcriptomic and epigenetic studies have indicated a clear difference between the two cell types.

Read full description ↓

Fibroblasts comprise the main cell type of connective tissue, possessing a spindle-shaped morphology, whose classical function had historically been believed to be only to produce the extracellular matrix responsible for maintaining the structural integrity of the tissue. However, publications have demonstrated immune modulation, and maintenance of stem cell niches as other important roles. Fibroblasts also play an important role in every single stage of the wound healing process.

Fibroblasts are favorable to stem cells as a cell therapy treatment platform because fibroblasts:

can be non-invasively harvested from a variety of skin donors from surgical procedures such as tummy tuck flaps;

have a faster doubling time in culture than stem cells;

possess superior immune modulatory activity compared with stem cells;

are already differentiated and do not spontaneously differentiate like stem cells;

exhibit enhanced ability to produce regenerative cytokines and growth factors compared with stem cells; and

are more economical to isolate, culture and expand compared with stem cells because fibroblasts do not require the use of expensive tissue culture media.

Third-party studies have demonstrated that allogeneic fibroblasts, much like mesenchymal stem cells, are immune-privileged and do not provoke an immune response in vitro and in vivo. These studies include that of Valente and

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colleagues (PMID 7646145) in which they looked at the aortic valve after heart transplantation and noted that even acute cases of acute myocardial rejection did not appear to compromise the long-term viability and durability of the valve, and the tissue viability was histologically confirmed and showed perfectly preserved fibroblasts. In another study by O’Brien and colleagues (PMID 3682851) the researchers illustrated, using chromosomal analysis, long-term viability of the male donor fibroblast cells from a valve leaflet removed nine years after implantation into a female recipient. This illustrated that donor fibroblast cells were able to survive and proliferate in the host without destruction by the immune system. If autologous fibroblasts were required instead, it would mean that cells would have to be harvested from each patient, processed and cultured, and then administered to the same patient, which would be more costly and inefficient.

Our Strategy

We are leveraging fibroblast cells as a technology platform to research and develop innovative treatments for chronic diseases with significant unmet treatment needs. Our vision is to become a world leader in regenerative medicine through a rigorous scientific process and commitment to serving patients’ needs. To achieve our vision, we focus our efforts on the following strategy:

Prioritize our clinical development efforts on product candidates with significant unmet treatment needs for their target indications.

Partner with Clinical Research Organizations, or CROs, with the relevant expertise and experience to successfully and timely execute clinical trials to generate reliable pivotal data that can be used to seek approvals.

Attract and retain scientists with the skill sets required to conduct preclinical studies and identify the optimal paths forward to clinical trials.

Invest in critical capabilities required to produce and supply fibroblasts for clinical trials and initial commercialization.

Protect, expand, and defend our intellectual property portfolio around fibroblasts.

Expand development efforts in product candidates with longer development timelines, greater development risk and significant unmet treatment needs as funding allows.

Our People

We have assembled an executive leadership team comprised of our founder, chief executive officer and chairperson of our board of directors, our chief scientific officer, our chief financial officer, and our general counsel, each with a successful track record in startup entrepreneurial companies and in the life sciences industry. Our executive leadership team works under the oversight of our board of directors who are recognized leaders with hands-on industry experience. We also have a team of world-renowned scientists with deep expertise on our scientific advisory board to help guide our research and development efforts.

Our Current Pipeline

We have a pipeline of product candidates at various stages of development, including the following:

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CYWC628 for Wound Healing

Wound Care/Healing

A chronic wound is one that is usually arrested in the inflammatory stage and cannot progress to the proliferative and remodeling phase of healing. Proinflammatory cytokines produced by necrotic tissue, foreign material and bacteria allow the inflammatory stage to continue. In addition, changes in the cellular deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA, synthesis leads to increased formation of metalloproteases that impede the body’s attempt to heal by overwhelming the building blocks—chemoattractant factors, growth factors and mitogens—needed for normal wound healing. Fibroblasts, essential cells in the wound healing process, are epigenetically altered in the setting of chronic wounds so that their ability to replicate as well as produce the necessary building blocks for the formation of granulation tissue is altered. Further, the keratinocytes at the periphery of the wounds are phenotypically different so that while being able to proliferate, they cannot fully differentiate into migrating keratinocytes. This explains the epithelial build up often seen around the edge of the wound.

Diabetic foot ulcers are the most prominent type of chronic wounds. The rising prevalence of chronic diseases globally is leading to increased incidence of chronic wounds, including diabetic foot ulcers, pressure ulcers and venous leg ulcers. These chronic wounds, especially late-stage “hard-to-heal ulcers,” exert a significant economic cost burden on healthcare agencies globally. Furthermore, over 50% of diabetic foot ulcers become infected, which raises the risk of hospitalization, amputation, and death.

Available Wound Care Treatments

Several treatments are presently available for treatment of chronic wounds, including Apligraf, Grafix, DermACELL and TheraSkin. Apligraf is comprised of neonatal keratinocytes, and neonatal fibroblasts within a bovine collagen matrix, and may be used to treat venous leg ulcers and diabetic foot ulcers. Grafix is a cryopreserved human placental membrane that may be used as a wound cover, wrap and/or barrier to treat acute and chronic wounds, diabetic ulcers, pressure injuries, surgical wounds, burns and venous ulcers. DermACELL is a technologically advanced dermal matrix comprised of intact cellular matrix that has at least 97% of DNA removed and may be used in the treatment of chronic wounds such as diabetic foot ulcers. TheraSkin is a cryopreserved human skin allograft with both epidermis and dermis layers that may be used to promote wound healing. In addition, increasing application of bioactive therapies like skin grafting and growth factors in urgent treatment of wounds like diabetic foot ulcers is resulting in high investment by companies in research and development of these therapies. In January 2019, Applied Tissue Technologies LLC received FDA approval for its Platform Wound Dressing, NPWT device that eliminates the use of foam or gauze dressings. In April 2019, PolarityTE, Inc. launched clinical trials for its SkinTE regenerative tissue

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product for chronic wounds. In January 2021, Smith & Nephew plc published that its PICO single-use negative pressure wound therapy system significantly reduced surgical site infections by 63.0% and the dehiscence by 30.0%, and in February 2021, Axio Biosolutions Private Limited received CE mark from Europe for its MaxioCel advanced wound care product, a bioactive microfiber gelling technology which helps wounds heal quickly.

Our Solution

We have completed our IND-enabling pre-clinical studies for the development of CYWC628 as a topically administered allogeneic fibroblast cell-based therapy for wound healing. Our pre-clinical studies focused on utilizing single cell fibroblasts, fibroblast spheroids, and fibroblast-derived materials to treat wounds in diabetic mice. We completed pre-clinical studies investigating (i) multiple administrations of CYWC628 spheroids on a chemically induced chronic wound NONcNZO10/LtJ and BKS.Cg-Dock7m +/+ LepRdb/J mouse model, (ii) dose titration to provide information on the proposed dose range of CYWC628, and (iii) acute and chronic toxicity. The results of our studies have shown statistically significant acceleration in the rate of wound closure, and statistically significant improvement in the quality of the healed wounds in comparison with both a marketed wound care product and control. Based on these results, we are initiating a twelve-week Phase 1/2 clinical trial in Australia for treatment of diabetic foot ulcers in the first quarter of 2026.

Market Opportunity

The wound care market size was valued at approximately $21.0 billion globally in 2024 and is projected to grow to approximately $35.9 billion by 2032 according to Fortune Business Insights. Initiatives are being undertaken by governments globally to create awareness among the general population for early diagnosis of wounds. These initiatives, along with improving reimbursement policies for wound care in the United States and Europe, are anticipated to drive the adoption of wound care products and lead to continued growth in this market.

CYMS101 for Multiple Sclerosis

Multiple Sclerosis

MS has been characterized into four distinct clinical subtypes, differing in the age of onset, aggressiveness and progression of the disease, and frequency of relapses. Most MS cases (85%) follow a relapsing-remitting pattern, or RRMS, with an average relapse every 12 to 18 months in an untreated population, and short-term episodes of neurologic deficits that resolve completely or almost completely. MS relapse is commonly defined as new or worsening symptoms that last 24 hours in duration and occur in the absence of fever or infection. Other patients may transition to a more aggressive disease form known as secondary progressive MS, or will experience steadily progressive neurologic deterioration without relapses, known as primary progressive MS.

There is no primary indicator test for MS, but common testing for suspected MS involves magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI, studies, evoked potentials testing, lumbar puncture/spinal tap, and other objective functional tests.

Once a diagnosis of MS has been determined, ongoing periodic disability measurement testing will occur as a standard clinical practice. The first Disability Status Scale was introduced by Kurtzke in 1955 and was later enhanced in 1983 into the Expanded Disability Status Scale, or EDSS. Over time, the EDSS has become the standard against which most MS clinical outcome measures are compared. Eight functional neurological systems are measured by the EDSS including vision, brainstem, pyramidal, cerebellar, sensory, bowel/bladder, mental/cerebral and ambulation (500m walk).

Other disability measurement tests include the Scripps Neurological Rating Scale, which is an overall neurological assessment; the Nine-Hole Peg Test, which measures arm function; the Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test, which measures cognitive function that assesses auditory information processing speed and calculation ability; and the Timed 25-Foot Walk Test, which measures ambulation function. The RAND 36-Question Health Survey may also be used, which is a general Quality of Life survey utilized by managed care organizations and by Medicare for routine monitoring and assessment of care outcomes in adult patients.

Available Treatments for MS

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There is no known cure for MS. Treatments available for MS include steroids for temporary flare-ups, disease-modifying drugs, and drugs that target specific symptoms such as balance, vision, spasticity, sexual dysfunction, and bladder or bowel control. The mechanism of action of current MS disease-modifying drugs is to block the host’s immune-mediated attacks on the nerves to inhibit or minimize the progressive destruction of myelin. While these drugs may reduce the frequency of exacerbations and slow the disease progression from inducing further nerve damage, there is no myelin or nerve regenerative capability in any of them to restore the cumulative damage already in place. Additionally, as the disease progresses further, the ability for any of these drugs to effectively block immune-mediated myelin or nerve destruction becomes more blunted. While there are more than 20 approved treatments for MS, most of them have serious adverse effects.

Key companies currently providing MS treatments include Biogen, Inc., F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd (commonly known as Roche), and Novartis AG. Various companies, such as Sanofi and Novartis AG, have been investing in the treatment of MS to bring novel therapeutics with high efficacy and potency for patients. These companies have recently launched therapeutics intended for the most prevalent form of MS. In August 2020, the FDA approved Novartis AG’s Kesimpta, the only self-administered, targeted B-cell therapy for patients with relapsing MS, and in March 2021, Johnson & Johnson received FDA approval for the launch of Ponvory as a daily oral drug for treatment against MS. TG Therapeutics, Inc.’s ublituximab for the indication of RMS was also recently approved by the FDA for treatment of MS.

Our Solution

We are developing CYMS101 as an intravenously administered allogeneic fibroblast single cell, and fibroblast spheroid, cell-based therapy to treat MS. After completing animal studies using CYMS101 we received approval from a U.S.-based institutional review board, or IRB, to conduct a clinical investigation in Mexico using the fibroblast cell composition for patients with MS, and completed a Phase 1 study. The study was conducted in five participants. The primary objective of the study was to assess safety, and the secondary objective was to assess efficacy. The primary objective was achieved as we saw no adverse events related to the treatment - no adverse events during intravenous injection of the tolerogenic fibroblasts, no short or long-impact in complete blood count tests during the 16-week monitoring period, and no short or long impact in electrocardiogram results during the 16-week monitoring period. In addition, the study assessed clinical activity using a standard set of neurological assessments routinely used to assess MS. The results of these assessments included:

General improvement of Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test (PASAT) score for all patients during the 16-week monitoring period.

General improvement of Nine-Hole Peg test completion time for all patients during the 16-week testing period.

No general improvement or deterioration noted with the Timed 25-Foot walk test.

No general improvement or deterioration noted with Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) test.

No patient exhibited further deterioration during the study trial.

While we believe the early data is promising and encouraging for a first in human use of fibroblast cells for a potential treatment of MS, the number of patients was not high enough to infer statistical significance to the potential efficacy findings.

We are currently conducting further research to more fully characterize the mode of action of fibroblasts in oligodendrocyte expansion. We believe that having a general sense of possible mode of action will have a tangible benefit in the development, optimization, and mitigation of possible side-effects. We plan to file an IND application for a Phase 1/2 clinical trial relating to MS in the United States in the first half of 2026. We expect to seek a strategic partner to collaborate with us on the development of CYMS101 either before initiating the Phase 1/2 study, or after its completion, if successful, and prior to commencing a potential Phase 3 clinical trial.

Market Opportunity

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The MS drug market size was valued at approximately $21.3 billion globally in 2023, with North America representing approximately 48% of the market share, and is projected to grow to approximately $38.9 billion globally by 2032 according to Fortune Business Insights. Both private and public organizations are increasing their investments in search of better treatments for this complex disease, including treatments that restore lost function, and government initiatives intended to improve access to MS treatments in developing economies are another potential driver of future growth in the MS drug market.

CybroCellTM for Degenerative Disc Disease

Degenerative Disc Disease

Back pain is strongly associated with degeneration of the intervertebral disc. Disc degeneration, although in many cases asymptomatic, is also associated with sciatica and disc herniation, pain or prolapse. It alters disc height and the mechanics of the rest of the spinal column, adversely affecting the behavior of other spinal structures such as muscles and ligaments. In the long term, it can lead to spinal stenosis, a major cause of pain and disability in the elderly. The incidence of degenerative disc disease is rising with current demographic changes and an increased aged population.

The disc acts as a joint between two vertebra and absorbs shock, maintains motion, and keeps stability, all critical functions. Discs degenerate far earlier than do other musculoskeletal tissues. The first unequivocal findings of degeneration in the lumbar discs are seen in the age group 11–16 years. About 20% of people in their teens have discs with mild signs of degeneration. The percentage increases sharply with age, particularly in males, so that around 10% of 50-year-old discs and 60% of 70-year-old discs are severely degenerated (“Current Epidemiology of Low Back Pain” by Mattiuzzi et al, in 2020).

During growth and skeletal maturation, the boundary between annulus and nucleus becomes less obvious and, with increasing age, the nucleus generally becomes more fibrotic and less gel-like. With increasing age and degeneration, the disc changes in morphology, becoming more and more disorganized. Often, the annular lamellae becomes irregular, bifurcating and interdigitating, and the collagen and elastin networks also appear to become more disorganized.

Cleft formation with fissures frequently forms within the disc, particularly in the nucleus. Nerves and blood vessels are increasingly found with degeneration. Cell proliferation occurs, leading to cluster formation in the nucleus. Cell death also occurs, with the presence of cells with necrotic and apoptotic appearance. It has been reported that more than 50% of cells in adult discs are necrotic. With increasing age comes an increased incidence of degenerative changes, including cell death, cell proliferation, mucous degeneration, granular change, and concentric tears. It is difficult to differentiate changes that occur solely due to aging from those that might be considered ‘pathological’.

According to research published in a Global Burden of Disease analysis in 2020, approximately 619 million people worldwide were living with low back pain, with a projected 843 million cases by 2050, confirming a substantial increase in global burden compared with earlier estimates. Furthermore, lower back pain is considered as one of the chief complaints that may indicate an underlying spine-related disorder. According to the research published in the Journal of Hospital Management and Health Policy, titled “Current Epidemiology of Low Back Pain” by Mattiuzzi et al, in 2020, incidence, prevalence and disability-adjusted life years, or DALYs, of lower back pain are 245.9 million cases per year (15th worldwide cause), 577.0 million cases (15th worldwide cause) and 64.9 million (6th worldwide cause), respectively. The paper further stated that the risk of lower back pain is marginally higher in women compared to men.

These statistics indicate the significant impact degenerative spine disorders can have on patients’ lives. These indications are associated with a diverse range of clinical symptoms such as weakness, low extremity pain and back pain, and can result in a significant reduction in the quality of life.

Available Treatments for Degenerative Disc Disease

The treatments used presently are mainly conservative and palliative and are aimed at returning patients to work. They range from bed rest (no longer recommended) to analgesia, the use of muscle relaxants or injection of corticosteroids,

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or local anesthetic and manipulation therapies. Various interventions (e.g., intradiscal electrotherapy) are also used, but despite anecdotal statements of success, trials thus far have found their use to be of little direct benefit. Disc degeneration-related pain may also be treated surgically either by artificial disc replacement or by immobilization of the affected vertebrae.

Most patients suffering from degenerative disc disease, at least initially, show improvement with non-surgical interventions such as physical therapy, core strengthening, and stretching. When those interventions no longer provide relief, patients typically use therapeutics, which include conventional drugs such as opioids, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, and corticosteroids for pain relief. When these non-surgical therapeutics are no longer effective, patients may undergo surgical treatment, including the use of medical devices or implants, to provide relief.

The typical surgical treatment for correcting degenerated disc is either to perform a discectomy or spinal fusion. Discectomy is an appropriate procedure and is routinely performed to remove the degenerated nucleus through a fenestration within the annulus. It allows removal of both the extruded nucleus (discectomy) and the degenerated remaining inter-vertebral nucleus fragments. Although this procedure is ideal for decompressing and relieving the nervous system (root or cauda equina), it is a poor operation for the spine, due to its resulting disabling condition which leads to a degenerative cascade and may require an additional invasive surgical procedure, like fusion or arthroplasty. Discectomy brings a good short-term effect in relieving radicular pain, but it causes disc height reduction with neuro-foramen stenosis, instability of the treated level, poor result on back pain, and/or complications, such as spinal stenosis or facet pain.

Patients who undergo these procedures are usually on painkillers for weeks and have at least three to six months of recovery time. Therefore, there is a need for a less painful, less invasive, and more effective method. The pitfalls of original treatment procedures have led to a search for the development of non-fusion technologies, such as disc or disc nucleus prosthesis. Disc arthroplasty with an artificial disc is an emerging treatment for patients with disc degeneration. Its advantages are to maintain motion, decrease incidence of adjacent segment degeneration, avoid complications related to fusion and allow early return to function. Currently, two kinds of devices are marketed: the total disc replacement and the nuclear replacement. However, both of these devices have major pitfalls.

There has been a growing demand for spinal artificial discs in the market globally. These devices are gaining popularity as they are designed with the intent to provide stabilization and eliminate pain while preserving motion of the functional spinal unit. Total disc replacement is a bulky metallic prosthesis designed to replace the entire disc: annulus, nucleus, and endplates. These prostheses use an invasive anterior (trans- or retro-peritoneal) approach that requires the presence of a vascular surgeon. Dislodgements, wear debris, degeneration of adjacent intervertebral discs, facet joint arthrosis and subsidence of this type of prosthesis have been reported. The artificial nucleus substitute preserves the remaining disc tissues and their functions. Its design allows its implantation through a posterior approach, but the major limitation of such nucleus prosthesis is that it can be used only in patients in whom disc degeneration is at an early or intermediate stage, because it requires the presence of a competent natural annulus. As a hydrogel-based device, it is fragile, and so it does not resist the outstanding biomechanical constraints of the lumbar spine (shear forces). As inert materials, they may lose their mechanical properties over time, and tears and breakages have been reported. Replacing the nucleus only and leaving in place a damaged annulus generates the conditions for implant extrusion or recidivism of discal herniation.

In addition to disc replacements, there are current treatment options for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine, which represent new options for the treatment of degenerative disc disease. A variety of approaches are used to regenerate tissues. These approaches can be categorized into the following three groups:

(i)

Biomaterials, without additional cells, which are used to send signals to attract cells and promote regeneration;

(ii)

Cells alone may be used, to form a tissue; and

(iii)

Cells may be used with a biomaterial scaffold that acts as a frame for developing tissues.

While Autologous Chondrocyte Transplantation, or ACT, has been used for a few years to repair articular cartilage, tissue engineering for disc repair remains in its infancy. Intensive research is currently underway, and animal studies have shown the feasibility of tissue-engineered intervertebral disc. Typically, articular cartilage is a tissue that is not

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naturally regenerated once damaged. Recently, efforts have been made to reconstruct damaged biological tissues by regenerating a portion of the damaged tissues in laboratories. This approach, defined as “tissue engineering,” has received significant attention.

Tissue engineering involves the development of biocompatible materials capable of specifically interacting with biological tissues to produce functional tissue equivalents. Tissue engineering has a basic concept of collecting a desired tissue from a patient, isolating cells from the tissue specimen, proliferating cells, seeding the proliferated cells onto a biodegradable polymeric scaffold, culturing the cells for a predetermined period in vitro, and transplanting back the cell/polymer construct into the patient. More interestingly, recent pilot clinical trials have shown that ACT is an efficient treatment of herniated discs. The main disadvantage of ACT for disc repair is that it requires a disc biopsy. Therefore, there is a need for an improved method to restore disc anatomy and improve its functioning, and there remains a need for an improved method of cartilage repair.

Our competitors in the market for degenerative disc disease include Mesoblast Limited, Aesculap Implant Systems, LLC, Novartis AG, Pfizer Inc., Eli Lilly and Company, DiscGenics, Inc., Spine BioPharma, Inc. and Ferring B.V. In July 2021, Aesculap Implant Systems, LLC announced the long-term reporting from its pivotal trial for the activl® Artificial Disc.

Our Solution

CybroCell™ is an investigational intradiscal administered allogeneic fibroblast cell-based therapy in development for degenerative disc disease and is being designed as an alternative method for repairing the cartilage of the intervertebral disc (or any other articular cartilage). The method is based on using Human Dermal Fibroblasts, or HDFs, which are forced to differentiate into chondrocyte-like cells in vivo using the mechanical force and intermittent hydrostatic pressure found in the spine, for chondrogenic differentiation of fibroblasts. We believe our solution has potential advantages as compared to existing treatments because it is designed to be less invasive while regenerating the disc, restoring function, and reducing pain, without debilitating long-term effects.

We have completed two animal studies in rabbit models. Sixteen animals were used in the first pilot study (PMID 27853661) with the objective of determining the effects of intradiscal transplantation of neonatal human dermal fibroblasts, or nHDFs, on intravertebral disc, or IVD, degeneration by measuring disc height, MRI, signal intensity, gene expression, and collagen immunostaining. The results indicated that in the nHDF group there was a 10% increase in disk height index after eight weeks of treatment with a p value of <.05, while there was no significant difference in the saline treated group. When compared with the saline treated group, discs treated with nHDFs showed reduced expression of inflammatory markers, a higher ratio of collagen type II over collagen type I gene expression, and more intense immunohistochemical staining for both collagen types I and II. In the second study (PMID 30142460) 38 animals were used with the objective of determining the impact of donor source on the therapeutic effect of dermal fibroblast treatment on disc degeneration and inflammation when comparing rabbit dermal fibroblasts, or RDFs, to nHDFs. Eight weeks after treatment, disc height indexes of discs treated with nHDF increased significantly by 7.8% (p<.01), whereas those treated with saline or RDF increased by 1.5% and 2.0%, respectively. Gene expression analysis showed that discs transplanted with nHDFs and RDFs displayed similar inflammatory responses (p=.2 to .8). Compared to intact discs, expression of both collagen types I and II increased significantly in nHDF-treated discs (p<.05), increased in RDF-treated discs, and did not increase significantly in saline treated discs. The ratio of collagen type II/collagen type I was higher in the IVDs treated with nHDFs (1.26) than those treated with RDFs (0.81) or saline (0.59) and intact discs (1.00). Last, proteoglycan contents increased significantly in discs treated with nHDF (p<.05) and increased in the RDF- treated discs compared to those treated with saline.

The technology allowed for differentiation of the HDFs into chondrocytes, and the results showed the cells remained in the disc and did not migrate. Further, the cells created a biologic condition which appeared to increase the disc height. The results from the studies were positive and supported our IND application to run a “first in human” trial. We received IND clearance from the FDA in 2018, conditional upon approval of our master cell bank, to evaluate this candidate in a planned clinical trial. A timeline will be determined through discussions with the FDA.

Market Opportunity

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The degenerative disc disease treatment market size was valued at approximately $26.1 billion globally in 2021, with North America representing approximately 36.0% of the market share, and is projected to grow to $45.9 billion globally by 2029 according to Fortune Business Insights.

CYPS317 for the Treatment of Psoriasis

Psoriasis

Psoriasis is a complex and chronic autoimmune inflammatory disease that afflicts approximately 2% of the world population and affects primarily the skin, nails and joints manifesting as raised, red, scaly patches on the skin, which can appear on various parts of the body. Psoriasis has a profound impact on the quality of life, leading to an increase in the rate of anxiety and depression among those affected by psoriasis. The disease is also associated with a significant number of comorbidities such arthritis, cardiometabolic disease, diabetes mellitus, obesity, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, and inflammatory bowel disease.

Available Treatments for Psoriasis

The pathophysiology of psoriasis is complex, involving immune dysregulation, keratinocyte hyperproliferation, and immune cell infiltration into psoriatic lesions. As a result, targeted therapies have been developed to modulate the immune response and reduce inflammation in individuals with psoriasis. Three anti-IL-23 monoclonal antibody treatments are approved by the FDA for the treatment of psoriasis, including Tremfya®, Illumya®, and Skyrizi®. While current biological therapies focusing on the selective blockade of interleukin (IL)-17 and IL-23 signaling have shown significant efficacy in psoriasis treatment, they are accompanied by several challenges, including significant side effects, variable treatment responses, and diminished effectiveness over time. Consequently, cell therapy has emerged as a potential approach to psoriasis management. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), derived from diverse sources, have demonstrated therapeutic potential in both psoriasis patients and animal models. Their immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory properties are believed to play pivotal roles in psoriasis treatment. They have been shown to directly affect keratinocytes, T lymphocytes, macrophages, and dendritic cells, or DCs, thereby reducing disease severity, immune cell infiltration, and cytokine production associated with psoriasis.

Key companies currently providing biological treatments for psoriasis include Amgen, Johnson and Johnson, Abbvie, and Eli Lilly. These and various other companies have been investing in the treatment of psoriasis to bring novel antibody, small molecule, and peptide-based therapeutics with high efficacy and potency for patients. There are currently multiple mono-clonal antibodies approved for the treatment of psoriasis. These include monoclonal antibodies against Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), IL-17 and IL-23. The most recent FDA approvals for the treatment of psoriasis were Bimzelx® from UCB Pharma in 2023, and Sotyktu® from BMS in 2022.

Our Solution

Fibroblasts share phenotypic and functional properties with MSCs and are increasingly recognized as key players in immune modulation. In clinical settings, fibroblasts have been applied in wound care, effectively treating conditions such as diabetic foot ulcers and recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa. The therapeutic potential of fibroblasts has also been observed in preclinical models of autoimmune diseases, including type I diabetes, alopecia areata, arthritis, and multiple sclerosis. These findings shed light on the prospect of using fibroblasts in psoriatic patients who do not respond to currently available therapies. As an immune modulator, fibroblasts have demonstrated a potential ability to alleviate autoimmunity by stimulating regulatory T cells, or Tregs, while suppressing pro-inflammatory Th17 cells, autoreactive T cells, and DC maturation. Consequently, fibroblasts may positively impact the onset and progression of autoimmune disease. Notably, fibroblasts offer a potential solution to scalability challenges often associated with MSC therapy, as a cost-effective alternative to MSCs, particularly for patients requiring long-term treatment and at risk of relapse.

CYPS317 is our allogeneic intravenously administered fibroblast spheroid cell-based investigational therapeutic for the treatment of psoriasis. We have completed preliminary IND-enabling pre-clinical studies utilizing chronic and acute psoriasis mouse models to assess the potential use of intravenous administration of fibroblast spheroids for the treatment of psoriasis. Results included that a single administration of fibroblast spheroids resulted in significant

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improvement in mice with moderate psoriasis, and that multiple administrations of fibroblast spheroids resulted in significant improvement in mice with severe psoriasis. We also completed IND-enabling animal model studies, which included carrying out a dosage study to determine optimal efficacious dose range, in addition to determining the durability of treatment for mild to moderate, and moderate to severe psoriasis. On December 30, 2025, we filed a Phase 1/2 Investigational New Drug (IND) application with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) seeking regulatory clearance to initiate clinical trials of CYPS317.

Market Opportunity

The psoriasis treatment market size was valued at approximately $20.3 billion in North America in 2024 and is projected to grow to $42.6 billion by 2032, according to Fortune Business Insights.

Our Early-Stage Research

CYTER915 for Human Longevity

Human Longevity

Fibroblasts are no longer considered as mere structural components of organs but as dynamic participants in immune processes. Fibroblasts produce an environment that influences regulatory T cell migration, proliferation, and activity, to provide immunotolerance.

One of the key organs of the immune system is the thymus. It serves a vital role in T cell maturation and selection, elimination of self-reactive cells, establishment of central tolerance and T cell migration to recognize a wide range of pathogens. A variety of cells have been identified inside the thymus. These include epithelial cells, thymocytes, dendritic cells, or DC, macrophages, B lymphocytes, myoid cells, endothelial cells, and fibroblasts. With age, the thymus declines in functionality through a process referred to as thymus or thymic involution. Publications have indicated that the process of involution enhances regulatory T cell generation which leads to increased susceptibility to pathogen infections, tumors, and autoimmune diseases.

The thymus is critically important to the immune system, which serves as the body’s defense mechanism providing surveillance and protection against diverse pathogens, tumors, antigens, and mediators of tissue damage. The immune system comprises a complex network of cellular and molecular components subdivided into thymus-independent (innate) and thymus-dependent (adaptive) arms which function synergistically in all immune responses. Innate immunity constitutes the first line of defense and is mediated by innate immune cells such as tissue macrophages, DC and granulocytes which elicit their effector function within minutes to hours following antigen exposure. Innate cells become activated via germ-line encoded pattern recognition receptors, including toll like receptors and nucleotide oligomerization domain-like receptors, which recognize invariant features of pathogens (pathogen-associate molecular patterns) and tissue damage.

Once activated, innate cells such as macrophages and neutrophils can effectively clear antigens via phagocytosis. Other types of innate cells, such as DC, take up and process antigens, resulting in expression of antigenic epitopes in conjunction with their major histocompatibility complex, or MHC, or human leukocyte antigen molecules. These DC can then serve as antigen-presenting cells for the priming of the adaptive immune system. In this way, the early innate response is coupled to, and facilitates, adaptive immunity.

The adaptive immune system consists of T and B lymphocytes which express specific antigen recognition receptors and develop highly specialized effector functions with the ability to form long-term immunological memory. Both B cells and T cells develop from bone marrow-derived progenitors; while mature B cells are exported to the periphery directly from the bone marrow, T cell development, maturation and export require critical differentiation steps to occur in the thymus. Thymus-dependent T cell differentiation processes include expression of an antigen-specific cell surface T cell receptor through recombination of germline-encoded gene segments, and thymic “education” involving negative selection of potentially self-reactive T cells and positive selection of T cells with the capacity to recognize antigens encountered in the periphery. These important thymic processes ensure that T cells can recognize antigens in the context of self-MHC, but do not elicit self-reactivity.

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The spleen is one of the key secondary lymphoid organs responsible for the rapid response of the immune system to pathogens in the blood, and to maintain a long-term adaptive response to such pathogens. The spleen also serves as the key organ for iron metabolism and erythrocyte homeostasis. The organ also functions as a key storage site for platelets and leukocytes. A variety of cells have been identified in the spleen, including endothelia cells, mesothelial cells, reticular cells, erythrocytes, granulocytes, mononuclear cells, hemopoietic cells, macrophages, dendritic cells, plasma cells, CD4+ and CD8+ T cells, and migrating B cells. With age, the structure and function of the spleen changes, leading to decreased ability to respond positively to vaccination, increased susceptibility to viral and bacterial pathogen infections, and increased incidence of autoimmune disease. Accordingly, there may be a need for therapies designed to improve and extend the productive life of the thymus and spleen through cell therapy, with the hope of extending the quality of human life by better positioning these organs to fight diseases that may otherwise be allowed to proliferate during the declining process of these vital organs.

Our Solution

Our research program is in the very early stages and is being designed to study the ability to regenerate or reinvigorate production of the thymus and/or spleen. The regeneration comprises organogenesis and/or T cell development, wherein the tissue is differentiated and/or expansion of epithelial cells uses activated or inactivated fibroblasts. In addition to fibroblasts, we anticipate using other agents such as nucleic acids, cytokines, chemokines, transcription factors, epigenetic factors, growth factors, hormones, or a combination thereof. The population of cells may be activated in vitro or ex vivo. The next step in developing fibroblasts to study potential thymic or splenic involution reversal will be to design and conduct preclinical studies to demonstrate whether thymic or splenic involution reversal can be achieved in animal models.

TCB190 for the Treatment of Certain Cancers

Our research on certain cancers is just beginning and further information about the opportunity will be released as it becomes available.

Artificial Pancreatic Organoid Program

Our research on artificial pancreatic organoids is just beginning and further information about the opportunity will be released as it becomes available.

Manufacturing and Supply

CYWC628

We contracted with a CDMO for the production of our master cell bank and working cell bank for CYWC628. The manufacturing of our master cell bank and working cell bank for CYWC628 is now complete and both are certified as released by our CDMO. This CDMO will also manufacture CYWC628 for use in our twelve-week Phase 1/2 clinical trial for treatment of diabetic foot ulcers that we plan to conduct in Australia. Please see “Risk Factors – Risks Related to Manufacturing” in this Annual Report.

CybroCell™

We successfully carried out experiments that demonstrated the ability to use the CYWC628 spheroid master cell bank for the manufacturing of a modified CybroCell™ drug product. We also supported animal trials confirming that the therapeutic effects of the fibroblast-derived chondrocyte spheroids derived from the CYWC628 master cell bank are significantly better than those of single-cell fibroblasts, which supported our IND clearance with the FDA for the planned Phase I clinical trial. Based on these results, we will work to amend the IND clearance with the FDA to replace single-cell fibroblasts with fibroblast-derived chondrocyte spheroids derived from the CYWC628 master cell bank. A timeline for the trial will be determined in connection with discussions with the FDA.

If any of our product candidates receive marketing approval, we expect to evaluate the feasibility of building our own current Good Manufacturing Practice, or cGMP, manufacturing facility or continuing to outsource manufacturing to

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a CDMO for clinical testing and commercial supply. We expect to rely on third parties for our cell therapy manufacturing process for the foreseeable future.

Intellectual Property

We strive to protect the proprietary technology that we believe is important to our business, including seeking and maintaining patents intended to cover our product candidates and compositions, when available, their methods of use and processes for their manufacture, and any other aspects of inventions that are commercially important to the development of our business. We also rely on trade secrets to protect aspects of our business that are not amenable to, or that we do not consider appropriate for, patent protection.

We plan to continue to expand our intellectual property estate by filing patent applications directed to compositions, methods of treatment and patient selection created or identified from our ongoing development of our product candidates. Our success will depend on our ability to obtain and maintain patent and other proprietary protection for commercially important technology, inventions and know-how related to our business, defend and enforce our patents, preserve the confidentiality of our trade secrets, and operate without infringing the valid and enforceable patents and proprietary rights of third parties. We also rely on know-how and continuing technological innovation to develop and maintain our proprietary position. We seek to obtain domestic and international patent protection, and endeavor to promptly file patent applications for new commercially valuable inventions.

As of December 31, 2025, we own 124 issued patents and 175 pending patent applications in various countries.

Given present patent ineligibility laws concerning products of nature, there are presently no composition of matter patents covering CybroCell™, although there are patents related to the method of use or making of CybroCell™. We currently have patent applications pending for the methods of use for both CYWC628 and CYMS101.

Our patent protections for our issued patents generally expire in years ranging from 2027 to 2043.

In connection with our formation, we entered into, among other agreements, the Patent Assignment Agreement and the Intellectual Property Cross-License Agreement. The Patent Assignment Agreement transferred all right, title and interest to certain patents/applications related to the spine, cancer, orthopedics, and multiple sclerosis from SpinalCyte to us. The Intellectual Property Cross-License Agreement allocates between SpinalCyte and us, exclusive fields of use for both assigned and retained patents issued/pending.

Through the Patent Assignment Agreement and the Intellectual Property Cross-License Agreement, SpinalCyte effectively granted to us exclusive rights to develop fibroblasts in the following fields of use for the diagnosis, treatment, prevention, and palliation of:

spinal diseases, disorders, or conditions;

cancers;

orthopedic diseases, disorders, or conditions; and

multiple sclerosis.

SpinalCyte has retained exclusive rights for all other fields of use for both issued patents and patent applications transferred to us or retained by SpinalCyte. When we refer to “our patents,” we refer to the patents that we own and the exclusive rights we have to the SpinalCyte retained patents in our field of use.

In addition to patents, we rely on trade secrets and know-how to develop and maintain our competitive position. We typically rely on trade secrets to protect aspects of our business that are not amenable to, or that we do not consider appropriate for, patent protection. We protect trade secrets and know-how by establishing confidentiality agreements and invention assignment agreements with our employees, consultants, scientific advisors, contractors, and partners. These agreements generally provide that all confidential information developed or made known during the course of an individual or entity’s relationship with us must be kept confidential during and after the relationship. These

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agreements also generally provide that all inventions resulting from work performed for us or relating to our business and conceived or completed during the period of employment or assignment, as applicable, shall be our exclusive property. In addition, we take other appropriate precautions, such as physical and technological security measures, to guard against misappropriation of our property.

We rely primarily on the protection of intellectual property that we own as opposed to intellectual property rights that we license from others outside of SpinalCyte. We use tools, procedures, and material from others that either expressly or implicitly include licenses to third party intellectual property rights, but we do not have any exclusive rights to such third-party intellectual property that provides us a competitive advantage in the marketplace.

Competition

The biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries are characterized by rapidly advancing technologies, intense competition and a strong emphasis on proprietary and novel products and product candidates. Our competitors have developed, are developing or may develop products, product candidates and processes competitive with our product candidates. Any product candidates that we successfully develop and commercialize will compete with existing therapies and new therapies that may become available in the future. We believe that a significant number of products are currently under development, and may become commercially available in the future, for the treatment of conditions for which we may attempt to develop product candidates. In addition, our products may need to compete with off-label drugs used by physicians to treat the indications for which we seek approval. This may make it difficult for us to replace existing therapies with our products.

Many of our current and potential competitors may have significantly greater financial, manufacturing, marketing, drug development, technical and human resources, and commercial expertise than we do. Large pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, in particular, have extensive experience in clinical testing, obtaining regulatory approvals, recruiting patients and manufacturing biotechnology products. These companies also have significantly greater research and marketing capabilities than we do and may also have products that have been approved or are in late stages of development, and collaborative arrangements in our target markets with leading companies and research institutions. Established pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies may also invest heavily to accelerate discovery and development of novel compounds or to in-license novel compounds that could make the product candidates that we develop obsolete. Mergers and acquisitions in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries may result in even more resources being concentrated among a smaller number of competitors. Smaller or early-stage companies may also prove to be significant competitors, particularly through collaborative arrangements with large and established companies, as well as in acquiring technologies complementary to, or necessary for, our programs. As a result, our competitors may succeed in obtaining approval from the FDA, the EMA, or other comparable foreign regulatory authorities or in discovering, developing, and commercializing products in our field before we do. Our commercial opportunity could be reduced or eliminated if our competitors develop and commercialize products that are safer, more effective, have fewer or less severe effects, are more convenient, have a broader label, are marketed more effectively, are reimbursed or are less expensive than any products that we may develop. Technological advances or products developed by our competitors may render our technologies or product candidates obsolete, less competitive or not economical. If we are unable to compete effectively, our opportunity to generate revenue from the sale of any products we may develop, if approved, could be adversely affected.

Regulatory Environment

Government Regulation and Product Approval

The FDA and comparable regulatory authorities in state and local jurisdictions and in other countries and jurisdictions impose substantial and burdensome requirements upon companies involved in the clinical development, manufacture, marketing, and distribution of products such as those we are developing. These entities regulate, among other things, the research, development, testing, manufacture, quality control, packaging, safety, effectiveness, labeling, storage, record keeping, approval, advertising, promotion, distribution, post-approval monitoring and reporting, sampling, export and import of our product candidates. Any product candidates that we develop must be approved by the FDA before they may be legally marketed in the United States and by the appropriate foreign regulatory agency before they may be legally marketed in those foreign countries. Generally, our activities in other countries will be subject to

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regulation that is similar in nature and scope as that imposed in the United States, although there can be important differences.

U.S. Product Development Process

In the United States, the FDA regulates drugs under the U.S. Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, or the FDCA, and biologics under the FDCA and the Public Health Service Act and their implementing regulations. The processes for obtaining regulatory approvals in the United States and in foreign countries and jurisdictions, along with subsequent compliance with applicable statutes and regulations, require the expenditure of substantial time and financial resources. The failure to comply with applicable U.S. requirements at any time during the product development process, approval process or after approval may subject an applicant and/or sponsor to a variety of administrative or judicial sanctions, including refusal by the FDA to approve pending applications, withdrawal of an approval, imposition of a clinical hold, issuance of warning letters and other types of letters, product seizures, total or partial suspension of production or distribution, injunctions, fines, refusals of government contracts, restitution, disgorgement of profits, or civil or criminal investigations and penalties brought by the FDA and the U.S. Department of Justice or other governmental entities. In addition, an applicant may need to recall a product. Additionally, certain of our product candidates will be subject to regulation in the United States as combination products. If marketed individually, each component would be subject to different regulatory pathways and would require approval of independent marketing applications by the FDA. A combination product, however, is assigned to a center within the FDA that will have primary jurisdiction over its regulation based on a determination of the combination product’s primary mode of action, which is the single mode of action that provides the most important therapeutic action. In the case of our CybroCell™ product candidate, we believe that the primary mode of action is attributable to the biologic component of the product. We expect to seek approval of this combination product candidate through a Biologics License Application, or BLA, and we do not expect that the FDA will require a separate marketing authorization for each of the drug and biologic constituents of the product. We also anticipate that other of our cell therapeutic candidates will be regulated as biologics. With this classification, commercial production of our cellular therapeutics will need to occur in registered facilities in compliance with cGMP for biologics. The FDA categorizes human cell- or tissue-based products as either minimally manipulated or more than minimally manipulated, and has determined that more than minimally manipulated products require clinical trials to demonstrate product safety and efficacy and the submission of a BLA for marketing authorization. We currently anticipate that our cellular therapeutic candidates will be considered more than minimally manipulated and will require evaluation in clinical trials and the submission and approval of a BLA before we can market them.

The process required by the FDA before a new product may be marketed in the United States generally involves the following:

completion of nonclinical or preclinical laboratory tests, animal studies and formulation studies in accordance with the FDA’s good laboratory practice, or GLP, requirements and other applicable regulations;

submission to the FDA of an IND, which must become effective before human clinical trials may begin;

approval by an IRB or ethics committee at each clinical site before each trial may be initiated;

performance of adequate and well-controlled human clinical trials in accordance with GCP requirements to establish the safety and efficacy of the proposed drug for its intended use, or with respect to biologics, the safety, purity, and potency of the product candidate for each proposed indication;

submission to the FDA of a BLA after completion of all pivotal trials;

a determination by the FDA within 60 days of its receipt of a BLA to file the application for review;

satisfactory completion of an FDA advisory committee review, if applicable;

satisfactory completion of one or more FDA inspections of the manufacturing facility or facilities at which the product, or components thereof, are produced to assess compliance with cGMP requirements to assure that the

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facilities, methods, and controls are adequate to preserve the drug’s identity, strength, quality and purity, and of selected clinical investigation sites to assess compliance with good clinical practices, or GCPs;

a potential FDA audit of the preclinical and/or clinical trial sites that generated the data in support of the BLA; and

the FDA’s review and approval of the BLA to permit commercial marketing of the product for particular indications for use in the United States.

Preclinical studies include laboratory evaluation of product chemistry, toxicity, and formulation, as well as in vitro and animal studies to assess potential safety and efficacy. The conduct of preclinical studies is subject to federal regulations and requirements, including GLP regulations for safety/toxicology studies submitted in support of the IND.

Prior to beginning the first clinical trial with a product candidate in the United States, we must submit an IND to the FDA. An IND is a request for authorization from the FDA to administer an investigational new drug product to humans. The central focus of an IND submission is on the general investigational plan and the protocol(s) for clinical trials. Some preclinical studies may continue even after the IND is submitted. The IND also includes results of animal and in vitro studies assessing the toxicology, pharmacokinetics, pharmacology, and pharmacodynamic characteristics of the product; chemistry, manufacturing, and controls information; and any available human data or literature to support the use of the investigational product. An IND must become effective before human clinical trials may begin. The IND automatically becomes effective 30 days after receipt by the FDA, unless the FDA, within the 30-day time period, raises safety concerns or questions about the proposed clinical trial. In such a case, the IND may be placed on clinical hold and the IND sponsor and the FDA must resolve any outstanding concerns or questions before the clinical trial can begin. Submission of an IND therefore may or may not result in FDA authorization to begin a clinical trial.

Clinical trials involve the administration of the investigational product to human subjects under the supervision of qualified investigators in accordance with GCP requirements, which include the requirement that all research subjects, or their legal representative, provide their informed consent for their participation in any clinical study. Clinical trials are conducted under protocols detailing, among other things, the inclusion and exclusion criteria, the objectives of the study, the parameters to be used in monitoring safety and the effectiveness criteria to be evaluated. A separate submission to the existing IND must be made for each successive clinical trial conducted during product development and for any subsequent protocol amendments. Furthermore, an independent IRB for each site proposing to conduct the clinical trial must review and approve the plan for any clinical trial and its informed consent form before the clinical trial begins at that site and must monitor the study until completed. An IRB is charged with protecting the welfare and rights of trial participants and considers such items as whether the risks to individuals participating in the clinical trials are minimized and are reasonable in relation to anticipated benefits. Regulatory authorities, the IRB or the sponsor may suspend a clinical trial at any time on various grounds, including a finding that the subjects are being exposed to an unacceptable health risk or that the trial is unlikely to meet its stated objectives. Some clinical trials also include oversight by an independent group of qualified experts organized by the clinical trial sponsor, known as a data safety monitoring board or committee, which provides authorization for whether or not a trial may move forward at designated check points based on access to certain data from the trial and may recommend that the clinical trial be halted if it determines that there is an unacceptable safety risk for subjects or other grounds, such as no demonstration of efficacy. There are also requirements governing the reporting of ongoing clinical trials and clinical trial results to public registries.

Human clinical trials are typically conducted in three sequential phases that may overlap or be combined:

Phase 1: The product candidate is initially introduced into healthy human subjects or, in certain cases such as certain cancers, patients with the target disease or condition. These trials are designed to test the safety, dosage tolerance, absorption, metabolism, and distribution of the investigational product in humans, the side effects associated with increasing doses, and, if possible, to gain early evidence on effectiveness. In the case of some products for severe or life-threatening diseases, such as certain cancers, especially when the product may be too inherently toxic to ethically administer to healthy volunteers, the initial human testing is often conducted in patients.

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Phase 2: The product candidate is administered to a limited patient population with a specified disease or condition to evaluate the preliminary efficacy, optimal dosages, dose tolerance and dosing schedule and to identify possible adverse side effects and safety risks. Multiple Phase 2 clinical trials may be conducted to obtain information prior to beginning larger and more expensive Phase 3 clinical trials.

Phase 3: The product candidate is administered to an expanded patient population to further evaluate dosage, to provide statistically significant evidence of clinical efficacy and to further test for safety, generally at multiple geographically dispersed clinical trial sites. These clinical trials are intended to establish the overall risk/benefit ratio of the investigational product and to provide an adequate basis for physician labelling. Generally, two adequate and well-controlled Phase 3 clinical trials are required by the FDA for approval of a BLA.

Post-marketing studies, sometimes referred to as Phase 4 clinical trials, may be conducted after initial marketing approval. These clinical trials are used to gain additional experience from the treatment of patients in the intended therapeutic indication. In certain instances, such as with accelerated approval drugs, the FDA may mandate the performance of Phase 4 clinical trials as a condition of approval.

Concurrent with clinical trials, companies may complete additional animal studies and must also develop additional information about the chemistry and physical characteristics of the drug and finalize a process for manufacturing the product in commercial quantities in accordance with cGMP requirements. The manufacturing process must be capable of consistently producing quality batches of the product candidate and, among other things, the manufacturer must develop methods for testing the identity, strength, quality, and purity of the final product. In addition, appropriate packaging must be selected and tested, and stability studies must be conducted to demonstrate that the product candidate does not undergo unacceptable deterioration over its shelf life.

While the IND is active and before product approval, progress reports summarizing the results of the clinical trials and nonclinical studies performed since the last progress report must be submitted at least annually to the FDA, and written IND safety reports must be submitted to the FDA and investigators for serious and unexpected suspected adverse events, findings from other studies suggesting a significant risk to humans exposed to the same or similar drugs, findings from animal or in vitro testing suggesting a significant risk to humans, and any clinically important increased incidence of a serious suspected adverse reaction compared to that listed in the protocol or investigator brochure. The sponsor must submit an IND safety report within 15 calendar days after the sponsor determines that the information qualifies for reporting. The sponsor also must notify the FDA of any unexpected fatal or life-threatening suspected adverse reaction within seven calendar days after the sponsor’s initial receipt of the information.

U.S. Review and Approval Process

Assuming successful completion of all required testing in accordance with all applicable regulatory requirements, the results of product development, preclinical and other nonclinical studies, and clinical trials, along with descriptions of the manufacturing process, analytical tests conducted on the chemistry of the drug, proposed labeling and other relevant information are submitted to the FDA as part of a BLA requesting approval to market the product. Data may come from company-sponsored clinical trials intended to test the safety and effectiveness of the use of a product, or from a number of alternative sources, including studies initiated by investigators. To support marketing approval, the data submitted must be sufficient in quality and quantity to establish the safety and effectiveness of the investigational drug product to the satisfaction of the FDA. The submission of a BLA is subject to the payment of substantial user fees; a waiver of such fees may be obtained under certain limited circumstances. Additionally, no user fees are assessed on BLAs for products designated as orphan drugs, unless the product also includes a non-orphan indication.

The FDA reviews a BLA to determine, among other things, whether a product is safe and effective for its intended use and whether its manufacturing is cGMP-compliant to assure and preserve the product’s identity, strength, quality, and purity. Under the Prescription Drug User Fee Act, or PDUFA, guidelines that are currently in effect, the FDA has a goal of ten months from the date of “filing” of a standard BLA to review and act on the submission. This review typically takes twelve months from the date the BLA is submitted to the FDA because the FDA has approximately two months to make a “filing” decision after the application is submitted. The FDA conducts a preliminary review of all BLAs within the first 60 days after submission, before accepting them for filing, to determine whether they are sufficiently complete to permit substantive review. The FDA may request additional information rather than accept a

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BLA for filing. In this event, the BLA must be resubmitted with the additional information. The resubmitted application also is subject to review before the FDA accepts it for filing.

The FDA may refer an application for a novel drug to an advisory committee. An advisory committee is a panel of independent experts, including clinicians and other scientific experts, that reviews, evaluates, and provides a recommendation as to whether the application should be approved and under what conditions. The FDA is not bound by the recommendations of an advisory committee, but it considers such recommendations carefully when making decisions.

Before approving a BLA, the FDA will typically inspect the facility or facilities where the product is manufactured. The FDA will not approve an application unless it determines that the manufacturing processes and facilities are in compliance with cGMP and adequate to assure consistent production of the product within required specifications. Additionally, before approving a BLA, the FDA will typically inspect one or more clinical sites to assure compliance with GCPs. If the FDA determines that the application, manufacturing process or manufacturing facilities are not acceptable, it will outline the deficiencies in the submission and often will request additional testing or information. Notwithstanding the submission of any requested additional information, the FDA ultimately may decide that the application does not satisfy the regulatory criteria for approval.

After the FDA evaluates a BLA, it may issue an approval letter or a Complete Response Letter. An approval letter authorizes commercial marketing of the drug with prescribing information for specific indications. A Complete Response Letter indicates that the review cycle of the application is complete, and the application will not be approved in its present form. A Complete Response Letter usually describes the specific deficiencies in the BLA identified by the FDA and may require additional clinical data, such as an additional pivotal Phase 3 clinical trial or other significant and time-consuming requirements related to clinical trials, nonclinical studies, or manufacturing. If a Complete Response Letter is issued, the sponsor must resubmit the BLA, addressing all of the deficiencies identified in the letter, or withdraw the application. Even if such data and information are submitted, the FDA may decide that the BLA does not satisfy the criteria for approval.

If regulatory approval of a product is granted, such approval will be granted for particular indications and may contain limitations on the indicated uses for which such product may be marketed. For example, the FDA may approve the BLA with a Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy, or REMS, to ensure the benefits of the product outweigh its risks. A REMS is a safety strategy to manage a known or potential serious risk associated with a medicine and to enable patients to have continued access to such medicines by managing their safe use, and could include medication guides, physician communication plans, or elements to assure safe use, such as restricted distribution methods, patient registries, and other risk minimization tools. The FDA also may condition approval on, among other things, changes to proposed labeling or the development of adequate controls and specifications. Once approved, the FDA may withdraw the product approval if compliance with pre- and post-marketing requirements is not maintained or if problems occur after the product reaches the marketplace. The FDA may also require one or more post-marketing studies and surveillance to further assess and monitor the product’s safety and effectiveness after commercialization, and may limit further marketing of the product based on the results of these post-marketing studies. In addition, new government requirements, including those resulting from new legislation, may be established, or the FDA’s policies may change, which could impact the timeline for regulatory approval or otherwise impact ongoing development programs.

Orphan Drug Designation

Under the Orphan Drug Act, the FDA may grant orphan designation to a drug intended to treat a rare disease or condition, which is a disease or condition that affects fewer than 200,000 individuals in the United States or, if it affects more than 200,000 individuals in the United States, there is no reasonable expectation that the cost of developing and making a drug product available in the United States for this type of disease or condition will be recovered from sales of the product. Orphan designation must be requested before submitting a BLA. After the FDA grants orphan designation, the identity of the therapeutic agent and its potential orphan use are disclosed publicly by the FDA. Orphan designation does not convey any advantage in or shorten the duration of the regulatory review and approval process. Orphan designation entitles a party to financial incentives such as opportunities for grant funding towards clinical trial costs, tax advantages and user-fee waivers.

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If a product that has orphan designation subsequently receives the first FDA approval for the disease or condition for which it has such designation, the product is entitled to orphan product exclusivity, which means that the FDA may not approve any other applications to market the same drug or biological product for the same indication for seven years, except in limited circumstances, such as a showing of clinical superiority to the product with orphan exclusivity. Competitors, however, may receive approval of different products for the indication for which the orphan product has exclusivity or obtain approval for the same product but for a different indication for which the orphan product has exclusivity. Orphan exclusivity also could block the approval of one of our products for seven years if a competitor obtains approval of the same drug as defined by the FDA or if our product candidate is determined to be contained within the competitor’s product for the same indication or disease. If an orphan designated product receives marketing approval for an indication broader than what is designated, it may not be entitled to orphan exclusivity. In addition, exclusive marketing rights in the United States may be lost if the FDA later determines that the request for designation was materially defective or if the manufacturer is unable to assure sufficient quantities of the product to meet the needs of patients with the rare disease or condition.

Expedited Development and Review Programs

The FDA has a number of programs intended to expedite the development or review of products that meet certain criteria. For example, new drugs are eligible for Fast Track designation if they are intended to treat a serious or life-threatening disease or condition and demonstrate the potential to address unmet medical needs for the disease or condition. Fast track designation applies to the combination of the product and the specific indication for which it is being studied. The sponsor of a fast track product has opportunities for more frequent interactions with the review team during product development, and the FDA may consider for review sections of the BLA on a rolling basis before the complete application is submitted, if the sponsor provides a schedule for the submission of the sections of the BLA, the FDA agrees to accept sections of the BLA and determines that the schedule is acceptable, and the sponsor pays any required user fee upon submission of the first section of the BLA.

A product, including a product with a Fast Track designation, may also be eligible for other types of FDA programs intended to expedite development and review, such as priority review and accelerated approval. A product is eligible for priority review if it has the potential to provide safe and effective therapy where no satisfactory alternative therapy exists or a significant improvement in the treatment, diagnosis or prevention of a disease compared to marketed products. The FDA will attempt to direct additional resources to the evaluation of an application for a new drug designated for priority review in an effort to facilitate the review. The FDA endeavors to review applications with priority review designations within six months of the filing date as compared to ten months for review of standard BLAs under its current PDUFA review goals.

In addition, a product may be eligible for accelerated approval. Products intended to treat serious or life-threatening diseases or conditions may be eligible for accelerated approval upon a determination that the product has an effect on a surrogate endpoint that is reasonably likely to predict clinical benefit, or on a clinical endpoint that can be measured earlier than irreversible morbidity or mortality, that is reasonably likely to predict an effect on irreversible morbidity or mortality or other clinical benefit, taking into account the severity, rarity or prevalence of the condition and the availability or lack of alternative treatments. As a condition of approval, the FDA may require that a sponsor of a drug receiving accelerated approval perform adequate and well-controlled post-marketing clinical trials. In addition, the FDA currently requires pre-approval of promotional materials as a condition for accelerated approval, which could adversely impact the timing of the commercial launch of the product.

A product candidate intended to treat a serious or life-threatening disease or condition may also be eligible for breakthrough therapy designation to expedite its development and review. A product can receive breakthrough therapy designation if preliminary clinical evidence indicates that the product, alone or in combination with one or more other drugs or biologics, may demonstrate substantial improvement over existing therapies on one or more clinically significant endpoints, such as substantial treatment effects observed early in clinical development. The designation includes all of the fast track program features, as well as more intensive FDA interaction and guidance beginning as early as Phase 1 and an organizational commitment to expedite the development and review of the product candidate, including involvement of senior managers.

In addition, the FDA may designate a product as a regenerative medicine advanced therapy, or RMAT. The RMAT designation is intended to facilitate an efficient development program for, and expedited review of, any product

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candidate that meets the following criteria: (i) the product candidate qualifies as a RMAT, which is defined as a cell therapy, therapeutic tissue engineering product, human cell and tissue product, or any combination product using such therapies or products, with limited exceptions; (ii) the product candidate is intended to treat, modify, reverse, or cure a serious or life-threatening disease or condition; and (iii) preliminary clinical evidence indicates that the product candidate has the potential to address unmet medical needs for such a disease or condition. RMAT designation provides potential benefits that include more frequent meetings with the FDA to discuss the development plan for the product candidate, and eligibility for rolling review and priority review of BLAs. Cell therapy candidates granted RMAT designation may also be eligible for accelerated approval on the basis of a surrogate or intermediate endpoint reasonably likely to predict long-term clinical benefit, or reliance upon data obtained from a meaningful number of sites, including through expansion to additional sites, as appropriate. RMAT-designated cell therapy candidates that receive accelerated approval may, as appropriate, fulfill their post-approval requirements through the completion of clinical trials, patient registries, or through submission of other sources of real world evidence, such as electronic health records, through the collection of larger confirmatory data sets, or via post-approval monitoring of all patients treated with such therapy prior to approval of the therapy.

Fast track designation, breakthrough therapy designation, priority review, RMAT designation and accelerated approval do not change the standards for approval, but may expedite the development or approval process. Even if a product candidate qualifies for one or more of these programs, the FDA may later decide that the product candidate no longer meets the conditions for qualification or decide that the time period for FDA review or approval will not be shortened.

Post-Approval Requirements

Any products manufactured or distributed pursuant to FDA approvals are subject to pervasive and continuing regulation by the FDA, including, among other things, requirements relating to record-keeping, reporting of adverse experiences, periodic reporting, product sampling and distribution, and advertising and promotion of the product. After approval, most changes to the approved product, such as adding new indications or other labeling claims, are subject to prior FDA review and approval. There also are continuing user fee requirements, under which the FDA assesses an annual program fee for each product identified in an approved BLA. Drug and biologic manufacturers and their subcontractors are required to register their establishments with the FDA and certain state agencies and are subject to periodic unannounced inspections by the FDA and certain state agencies for compliance with cGMPs, which impose certain procedural and documentation requirements upon us and our third-party manufacturers. Changes to the manufacturing process are strictly regulated, and, depending on the significance of the change, may require prior FDA approval before being implemented. Accordingly, manufacturers must continue to expend time, money, and effort in the area of production and quality control to maintain compliance with cGMPs and other aspects of regulatory compliance.

The FDA may withdraw approval if compliance with regulatory requirements and standards is not maintained or if problems occur after the product reaches the market. Later discovery of previously unknown problems with a product, including adverse events of unanticipated severity or frequency, or with manufacturing processes, or failure to comply with regulatory requirements, may result in revisions to the approved labeling to add new safety information; imposition of post-market studies or clinical trials to assess new safety risks; or imposition of distribution restrictions or other restrictions under a REMS program.

Other potential consequences include, among other things:

restrictions on the marketing or manufacturing of the product, complete withdrawal of the product from the market or product recalls;

fines, warning letters, or untitled letters;

clinical holds on clinical trials;

refusal of the FDA to approve pending applications or supplements to approved applications, or suspension or revocation of product license approvals;

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product seizure or detention, or refusal to permit the import or export of products;

consent decrees, corporate integrity agreements, debarment, or exclusion from federal healthcare programs;

mandated modification of promotional materials and labeling and the issuance of corrective information;

the issuance of safety alerts, Dear Healthcare Provider letters, press releases and other communications containing warnings or other safety information about the product; or

injunctions or the imposition of civil or criminal penalties.

The FDA also may require post-marketing testing, known as Phase 4 testing, and surveillance to monitor the effects of an approved product. Newly discovered or developed safety or effectiveness data may require changes to a product’s approved labeling, including the addition of new warnings and contraindications, and also may require the implementation of other risk management measures.

The FDA closely regulates the marketing, labeling, advertising, and promotion of drug products. A company can make only those claims relating to safety and efficacy, purity and potency that are consistent with the provisions of the FDA-approved label. The FDA and other agencies actively enforce the laws and regulations prohibiting the promotion of off-label uses. Failure to comply with these requirements can result in, among other things, adverse publicity, warning letters, corrective advertising, and potential civil and criminal penalties. Physicians may prescribe, in their independent professional medical judgment, legally available products for uses that are not described in the product’s labeling and that differ from those tested by us and approved by the FDA. Physicians may believe that such off-label uses are the best treatment for many patients in varied circumstances. The FDA does not regulate the behavior of physicians in their choice of treatments. The FDA does, however, restrict manufacturer communications on the subject of off-label use of their products. The federal government has levied large civil and criminal fines against companies for alleged improper promotion of off-label use and has enjoined companies from engaging in off-label promotion. The FDA and other regulatory agencies have also required that companies enter into consent decrees or permanent injunctions under which specified promotional conduct is changed or curtailed. However, companies may share truthful and not misleading information that is otherwise consistent with a product’s FDA-approved labeling.

In addition, the distribution of prescription biopharmaceutical products is subject to the Prescription Drug Marketing Act, or PDMA, which regulates the distribution of drugs and drug samples at the federal level and sets minimum standards for the registration and regulation of drug distributors by the states. Both the PDMA and state laws limit the distribution of prescription biopharmaceutical product samples and impose requirements to ensure accountability in distribution.

Biosimilars and Reference Product Exclusivity

The Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act of 2009, or BPCIA, created an abbreviated approval pathway for biological products that are highly similar, or “biosimilar,” to or interchangeable with an FDA-approved reference biological product. The FDA has issued several guidance documents outlining an approach to review and approval of biosimilars. Biosimilarity, which requires that there be no clinically meaningful differences between the biological product and the reference product in terms of safety, purity, and potency, is generally shown through analytical studies, animal studies, and a clinical trial or trials. Interchangeability requires that a product is biosimilar to the reference product and the product must demonstrate that it can be expected to produce the same clinical results as the reference product in any given patient and, for products that are administered multiple times to an individual, the biologic and the reference biologic may be alternated or switched after one has been previously administered without increasing safety risks or risks of diminished efficacy relative to exclusive use of the reference biologic. A product shown to be biosimilar or interchangeable with an FDA-approved reference biological product may rely in part on the FDA’s previous determination of safety and effectiveness for the reference product for approval, which can potentially reduce the cost and time required to obtain approval to market the product.

Under the BPCIA, an application for a biosimilar product may not be submitted to the FDA until four years following the date that the reference product was first licensed by the FDA. In addition, the approval of a biosimilar product may not be made effective by the FDA until 12 years from the date on which the reference product was first licensed.

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During this 12-year period of exclusivity, another company may still market a competing version of the reference product if the FDA approves a full BLA for the competing product containing that applicant’s own preclinical data and data from adequate and well-controlled clinical trials to demonstrate the safety, purity, and potency of its product. The BPCIA also created certain exclusivity periods for biosimilars approved as interchangeable products. At this juncture, it is unclear whether products deemed “interchangeable” by the FDA will, in fact, be readily substituted by pharmacies, which are governed by state pharmacy law.

A biological product can also obtain pediatric market exclusivity in the United States. Pediatric exclusivity, if granted, adds six months to existing exclusivity periods for all formulations, dosage forms, and indications of the product. This six-month exclusivity, which runs from the end of other exclusivity protection or patent term, may be granted based on the voluntary completion of a pediatric study in accordance with an FDA-issued “Written Request” for such a study provided that at the time pediatric exclusivity is granted there is not less than nine months of term remaining.

Data Privacy and Security

Other federal legislation may affect our ability to obtain certain health information in conjunction with our research activities. We may be subject to data privacy and security regulation by both the federal government and the states in which we conduct our business. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, as amended by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act of 2009 and its implementing regulations, collectively referred to as HIPAA, imposes obligations, including mandatory contractual terms, with respect to safeguarding the privacy, security, and transmission of individually identifiable health information. HIPAA also prohibits knowingly and willfully falsifying, concealing, or covering up a material fact or making any materially false, fictitious or fraudulent statements or representation, or making or using any false writing or document knowing the same to contain any materially false, fictitious or fraudulent statement or entry in connection with the delivery of or payment for healthcare benefits, items or services. We may obtain health information from third parties, such as research institutions, which are subject to privacy and security requirements under HIPAA. Although we are not directly subject to HIPAA, other than with respect to providing certain employee benefits, we could potentially be subject to criminal penalties if we, our affiliates, or our agents knowingly obtain or disclose individually identifiable health information maintained by a HIPAA-covered entity in a manner that is not authorized or permitted by HIPAA.

In addition, numerous federal and state laws and regulations that address privacy and data security, including state data breach notification laws, state health information privacy laws, and federal and state consumer protection laws (e.g., Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act), govern the collection, use, disclosure, and protection of health-related and other personal information. Failure to comply with data protection laws and regulations could result in government enforcement actions and create liability for us, which could include civil and/or criminal penalties, private litigation and/or adverse publicity that could negatively affect our business. In addition, regulators and legislators around the world are increasingly scrutinizing certain data transfers and may impose data localization requirements, which could impact our ability to conduct our business across international borders.

Failure to achieve and sustain compliance with applicable federal and state privacy, security and fraud laws could result in government enforcement actions and create liability for us, which could include civil and/or criminal penalties, private litigation and/or adverse publicity that could negatively affect our results of operations and business.

Other U.S. Regulatory Requirements

Biopharmaceutical companies are subject to additional healthcare regulation and enforcement by the federal government and by authorities in the states and foreign jurisdictions in which they conduct their business that may constrain the financial arrangements and relationships through which we research, as well as sell, market and distribute any products for which we obtain marketing authorization. Such laws include, without limitation, state and federal anti-kickback, fraud and abuse, false claims, and transparency laws and regulations related to drug pricing and payments and other transfers of value made to physicians and other healthcare providers. If our operations are found to be in violation of any of such laws or any other governmental regulations that apply, we may be subject to penalties, including, without limitation, administrative, civil and criminal penalties, damages, fines, disgorgement, the curtailment or restructuring of operations, integrity oversight and reporting obligations, exclusion from participation in federal and state healthcare programs and responsible individuals may be subject to imprisonment.

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Coverage and Reimbursement

Sales of any product depend, in part, on the extent to which such product will be covered by third-party payors, such as federal, state, and foreign government healthcare programs, commercial insurance and managed healthcare organizations, and the level of reimbursement for such product by third-party payors. In the United States, no uniform policy of coverage and reimbursement for products exists among third-party payors and coverage and reimbursement levels for products can differ significantly from payor to payor. The Medicare and Medicaid programs increasingly are used as models for how private payors and other governmental payors develop their coverage and reimbursement policies for drugs and biologics. Factors payors consider in determining reimbursement are based on whether the product is (i) a covered benefit under its health plan, (ii) safe, effective, and medically necessary, (iii) appropriate for the specific patient, (iv) cost-effective and (v) neither experimental nor investigational. Decisions regarding the extent of coverage and amount of reimbursement to be provided are made on a plan-by-plan basis. These third-party payors are increasingly reducing reimbursements for medical products, drugs, and services and may impose additional utilization management requirements, such as prior authorization, step therapy, quantity limits or restrictive formularies. For products administered under the supervision of a physician, obtaining coverage and adequate reimbursement may be particularly difficult because of the higher prices often associated with such drugs and because reimbursement may be bundled with procedural or site-of-care payments rather than paid separately for the product itself.

In addition, the U.S. government, state legislatures and foreign governments have continued implementing cost-containment programs, including price controls, restrictions on coverage and reimbursement and requirements for substitution of generic products. Recent legislative and regulatory initiatives have also increased scrutiny of drug pricing practices and expanded manufacturer financial responsibility under certain government healthcare programs. Adoption of price controls and cost-containment measures, and adoption of more restrictive policies in jurisdictions with existing controls and measures, could further limit sales of any product. Decreases in third-party reimbursement for any product or a decision by a third-party payor not to cover a product could reduce physician usage and patient demand for the product and also have a material adverse effect on sales.

Healthcare Reform

In March 2010, the ACA was enacted, which substantially changed the way healthcare is financed by both governmental and private insurers, and significantly affected the biopharmaceutical industry. The ACA contained a number of provisions, including those governing enrollment in federal healthcare programs, reimbursement adjustments and changes to fraud and abuse laws. Additionally, the ACA:

increased the minimum level of Medicaid rebates payable by manufacturers of brand name drugs from 15.1% to 23.1% of the average manufacturer price;

required collection of rebates for drugs paid by Medicaid managed care organizations;

required manufacturers to participate in a coverage gap discount program, under which they must agree to offer 50% (increased to 70% pursuant to the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018, effective as of January 1, 2019, and later eliminated altogether under the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (the "IRA")) 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

imposed a non-deductible annual fee on pharmaceutical manufacturers or importers who sell “branded prescription drugs” to specified federal government programs.

Other legislative changes have been proposed and adopted since the ACA was enacted, including aggregate reductions of Medicare payments to providers of 2% per fiscal year. In addition, the IRA introduced significant reforms affecting prescription drug pricing and reimbursement under Medicare, including inflation-based rebate obligations, a redesign of the Medicare Part D benefit and a drug price negotiation program for certain high-cost drugs and biologics without generic or biosimilar competition. Although certain drugs with a single orphan designation may be exempt from the negotiation program, that exemption is limited, and the overall impact of the IRA on our business and the biopharmaceutical industry remains uncertain.

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Moreover, there has recently been heightened governmental scrutiny over the manner in which manufacturers set prices for their marketed products, which has resulted in several Congressional inquiries, proposed and enacted legislation and executive orders designed to, among other things, bring more transparency to product pricing, review the relationship between pricing and manufacturer patient programs, and reform government program reimbursement methodologies for drug products. Individual states in the United States have also become increasingly active in implementing regulations designed to control pharmaceutical product pricing, including price or patient reimbursement constraints, discounts, restrictions on certain product access and marketing cost disclosure and transparency measures, and, in some cases, designed to encourage importation from other countries and bulk purchasing.

International Regulation

In order to market any product outside of the United States, a company must also comply with numerous and varying regulatory requirements of other countries and jurisdictions regarding quality, safety and efficacy and governing, among other things, clinical trials, marketing authorization, commercial sales, and distribution of products. Whether or not it obtains FDA approval for a product, an applicant will need to obtain the necessary approvals by the comparable foreign regulatory authorities before it can commence clinical trials or marketing of the product in those countries or jurisdictions.

The regulation of our product candidates outside of the United States varies by country. Certain countries regulate human tissue products as a pharmaceutical product, which would require us to make extensive filings and obtain regulatory approvals before selling our product candidates. Certain other countries classify our product candidates as human tissue for transplantation but may restrict its import or sale. Other countries may have no application regulations regarding the import or sale of products similar to our product candidates, creating uncertainty as to what standards we may be required to meet.

Employees

As of December 31, 2025, we had 15 full-time employees, including seven employees with medical or doctoral degrees and nine employees directly engaged in research and development, with the rest providing administrative, business and operations support. None of our employees are represented by labor unions or covered by collective bargaining agreements. We consider the relationship with our employees to be good.

Our Facilities

Our principal executive offices are located at 455 E. Medical Center Blvd., Suite 300, Houston, Texas, where we lease approximately 23,000 square feet of office space. The space serves as the location of our corporate headquarters. The lease expires in April 2027. In addition, we have leased research labs and offices in Houston, Texas, for our research and cell manufacturing operations. This lease expires in May 2031.

We believe that our facilities are adequate for our current and anticipated near-term needs and that suitable additional or substitute space would be available if needed.

Legal Proceedings

From time to time, we may be party to litigation arising in the ordinary course of business. We are currently not a party to any material legal proceedings and, to the best of our knowledge, no material legal proceedings are currently pending or threatened. Regardless of outcome, litigation can have an adverse impact on us because of defense and settlement costs, diversion of management resources and other factors.

Available Information

Our Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K, including exhibits, proxy and information statements and amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Sections 13(a), 14, and 15(d) of the Exchange Act are available through the “Investor Relations” page of our website at

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https://ir.fibrobiologics.com/ free of charge as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file such material with, or furnish it to, the SEC. Information on our website is not part of this Annual Report or any of our other securities filings unless specifically incorporated herein or therein by reference. In addition, our filings with the SEC may be accessed through the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. All statements made in any of our securities filings, including all forward-looking statements or information, are made as of the date of the document in which the statement is included, and we do not assume or undertake any obligation to update any of those statements or documents unless we are required to do so by law.

Our code of ethics and business conduct, corporate governance guidelines and the charters of our Audit Committee, Compensation Committee and Governance and Nominating Committee are available on our corporate website.