Annual report pursuant to Section 13 and 15(d)

STOCKHOLDERS' DEFICIT

v3.24.2
STOCKHOLDERS' DEFICIT
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2023
Stockholders' Equity Note [Abstract]  
STOCKHOLDERS' DEFICIT

NOTE 8—STOCKHOLDERS’ DEFICIT

Purchase Agreement with GPB—On December 29, 2017, the Company entered into the Purchase Agreement with GPB Debt Holdings II, LLC (“GPB”), pursuant to which the Company issued to GPB a $13 million senior secured convertible promissory note (the “GPB Note”) for an aggregate purchase price of $12.5 million, reflecting a 4.0% original issue discount. The GPB Note was repaid in February 2018.

In connection with the issuance of GPB Note, the Company issued to GPB a warrant (the “GPB Warrant”) to purchase up to 240,764 of common stock at an exercise price of $10.80 per share, with customary adjustments for stock splits, stock dividends and other recapitalization events. The GPB Warrant became exercisable six months after issuance and has a term of five years from the initial exercise date.

The GPB Warrant is separately recognized under ASC 815-40 at fair value as a liability. The warrant liability is remeasured at fair value on a recurring basis using Level 3 inputs and any change in the fair value of the liability is recorded in the condensed consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive income until June 2022, when the warrants met equity classification. During the year ended December 31, 2022, the Company recorded $40,000 of change in fair value, warrant derivative liabilities in the statement of operations. The warrant was expired in June 2022.

Extension of a Convertible Promissory Note - On June 15, 2020, the holder of a convertible promissory note in the principal amount of $3,150,000 agreed to an extension of the maturity date of the convertible promissory note to June 15, 2023 in exchange for an increase in the interest rate on the note from 11% to 12%. In conjunction with the extension, the Company issued to the note holder a five-year warrant to purchase up to 1,250,000 shares (500,000 shares if the related convertible promissory note was repaid by June 15, 2022) of the Company common stock at an exercise price of $2.05 a share. Under ASC 815-40, the warrant is recognized at fair value as a liability. The warrant liability is remeasured at fair value on a recurring basis using Level 3 input and any change in the fair value of liability is recorded in earnings. Since the loan was not repaid before June 15, 2022, the warrant was reclassified as equity. During the year ended December 31, 2022, the Company recorded approximately $1.3 million of change in fair value warrant derivative liabilities in the statements of operations.

Warrant — In September 2022, in connection with the loans from Dr. Niihara and his wife, the Company granted Dr. Niihara a five-year warrant to purchase up to 500,000 shares of common stock of the Company at an exercise price of $2.50 per share. Under ASC 480-10 and ASC 815, the warrant is classified as a liability. The fair value of the warrant liability was determined using Black-Scholes Merton model and the fair value of the warrant was $70,000 as of December 31, 2022. The change in fair value was recorded in the consolidated statements of operations. For the year ended December 31, 2022, the change in fair value of warrant liability was $14,000. The warrant expired by its terms in December 2023.

Warrant issued for services - On January 12, 2023, the Company granted Dr. Niihara a five-year warrant to purchase up to 7,500,000 shares of common stock of the Company at an exercise price of $4.50 in lieu of cash bonuses or salary increases. The fair value of the warrant was determined using the Black-Scholes Merton option pricing model. The fair value of the underlying shares was determined based on the market value of the Company's common stock. The expected

volatility was adjusted using the historical volatility of the Company's common stock and comparable publicly traded securities. The warrant expired by its terms in November 2023. On January 12, 2023, the Company also granted two consultants to the Company five-year warrants to purchase up to 250,000 shares of common stock each at an exercise price of $0.50 a share.

 

On January 27, 2023, the Company granted a consulting company a five-year warrant to purchase up to 500,000 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $0.47 a share. The warrants are subject to adjustment in the event of a stock split, reverse stock split and similar events. The fair value of the warrants was determined using the Black-Scholes Merton option pricing model. The fair value of the underlying shares was determined based upon the market value of the common stock. The expected volatility was adjusted using the historical volatility of the common stock and the market price of comparable public traded securities.

The estimated fair value of $334,000 was recorded as professional services in general and administrative expenses and the estimated fair value of $1.2 million of shared-based compensation was recognized in the consolidated statement of operations when the warrants were granted. Under ASC 480-10 and ASC 718, the warrants are classified as a liability. For the year ended December 31, 2023, the Company recorded the change in fair value of approximately $1.2 million in the consolidated statements of operations. Upon expiration of warrants in November 2023, approximately $296,000 of warrant liability was reclassified to additional paid in cash in the statements of stockholders' deficit.

 

The following table presents the assumptions used to value the warrants:

 

December 31, 2023

 

 

January 2023

Stock price

 

$

0.10

 

 

$0.31 - $0.49

Exercise price

 

$0.47 - $0.50

 

 

$0.47 - $4.50

Expected term

 

4.03-4.24 years

 

 

5 years

Risk-free rate

 

3.90%-3.92%

 

 

3.53%-3.66%

Dividend yield

 

 

 

Volatility

 

129.40%-130.23%

 

 

116.40% - 119.14%

A summary of the Company’s warrants activity for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022 is presented below:

 

December 31, 2023

 

 

December 31, 2022

 

 

Number of Warrants

 

 

Weighted
Average
Exercise
Price

 

 

Number of Warrants

 

 

Weighted
Average
Exercise
Price

 

Warrants outstanding, beginning of year

 

6,610,520

 

 

$

2.22

 

 

 

8,236,017

 

 

$

5.78

 

Granted

 

8,500,000

 

 

$

4.03

 

 

 

500,000

 

 

$

2.50

 

Exercised

 

 

 

$

 

 

 

 

 

$

 

Cancelled, forfeited and expired

 

(10,378,129

)

 

$

4.23

 

 

 

(2,125,497

)

 

$

14.38

 

Warrants outstanding, end of year

 

4,732,391

 

 

$

0.95

 

 

 

6,610,520

 

 

$

2.22

 

Warrant exercisable, end of year

 

4,732,391

 

 

$

0.95

 

 

 

6,610,520

 

 

$

2.22

 

As of December 31, 2023, the weighted-average remaining contractual life of outstanding warrants was 2.1 years.

Stock options The Company's former 2011 Stock Incentive Plan permitted grants of incentive stock options to employees, including executive officers, and other share-based awards such as stock appreciation rights, restricted stock, stock units, stock bonus and unrestricted stock awards to employees, directors, and consultants for up to 9,000,000 shares of common stock. Options granted under the 2011 Stock Incentive Plan generally expire ten years after grant. Options granted to directors vest in quarterly installments and all other option grants vest over a minimum period of three years, in each case, subject to continuous service with the Company. The 2011 Stock Incentive Plan expired in May 2021 and no further awards may be made under the Plan. As of December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022, stock options to purchase up to 1,728,773 shares and 4,412,940 shares, respectively, were outstanding under the 2011 Stock Incentive Plan.

 

The Company also had an Amended and Restated 2012 Omnibus Incentive Compensation Plan under which the Company could grant incentive stock options to selected employees including officers, non-employee consultants and non-employee directors. The Plan was terminated in September 2021. As of December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022, stock

options to purchase up to 245,108 shares and 247,847 shares, respectively, were outstanding under the Amended and Restated 2012 Omnibus Incentive Plan.

 

On September 29, 2021, the Board of Directors of the Company adopted the Emmaus Life Sciences, Inc. 2021 Stock Incentive Plan upon the recommendation of the Compensation Committee of the Board. The 2021 Stock Incentive Plan was approved by stockholders on November 23, 2021. No more than 4,000,000 shares of common stock may be issued pursuant to awards under the 2021 Stock Incentive Plan. The number of shares available for Awards, as well as the terms of outstanding awards, is subject to adjustment as provided in the Stock Incentive Plan for stock splits, stock dividends, reverse stock splits, recapitalizations and other similar events. During the year ended December 31, 2023, the Company granted options to purchase 850,000 shares, 300,000 shares and 100,000 shares of common stock to employees, non-employee directors and a consultant, respectively. All options are exercisable for ten years from the date of grant and will vest and become exercisable with respect to the underlying shares over three years for employees, one year for non-employee directors and immediately for the consultant. As of December 31, 2023, stock options to purchase up to 1,250,000 shares were outstanding under the 2021 Stock Incentive Plan, while there were no awards outstanding as of December 31, 2022.

 

Management has valued stock options at their date of grant utilizing the Black-Scholes-Merton Option pricing model. The fair value of the underlying shares was determined by the market value of the Company's common stock. The expected volatility was adjusted using the historical volatility of the common stock and a comparable public traded securities. The following table presents the assumptions used on the recent dates on which options were granted by the Company. The risk‑free interest rate is based on the implied yield available on U.S. Treasury issues with a term approximating the expected life of the options depending on the date of the grant and expected life of the respective options.

 

 

 

January 12, 2023

 

Stock price

 

$

0.31

 

Exercise price

 

$

4.50

 

Expected term

 

5-6 years

 

Risk-free rate

 

3.51-3.53%

 

Dividend yield

 

 

Volatility

 

108.16-116.40%

 

 

The risk‑free interest rate is based on the implied yield available on U.S. Treasury issues with a term approximating the expected life of the options depending on the date of the grant and expected life of the respective options.

A summary of the Company’s stock option activity for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022 is presented below:

 

 

December 31, 2023

 

 

December 31, 2022

 

 

 

Number of
Options

 

 

Weighted‑
Average
Exercise
Price

 

 

Number of
Options

 

 

Weighted‑
Average
Exercise
Price

 

Options outstanding, beginning of year

 

 

4,660,787

 

 

$

5.08

 

 

 

5,968,338

 

 

$

4.78

 

Granted or deemed issued

 

 

1,250,000

 

 

$

4.50

 

 

 

 

 

$

 

Exercised

 

 

 

 

$

 

 

 

 

 

$

 

Cancelled, forfeited and expired

 

 

(2,686,906

)

 

$

3.74

 

 

 

(1,307,551

)

 

$

3.73

 

Options outstanding, end of year

 

 

3,223,881

 

 

$

5.97

 

 

 

4,660,787

 

 

$

5.08

 

Options exercisable at end of year

 

 

2,373,881

 

 

$

6.50

 

 

 

4,645,286

 

 

$

5.10

 

Options available for future grant

 

 

2,750,000

 

 

 

 

 

 

4,000,000

 

 

 

 

During the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, the Company recognized $1,262,000 of which $1,151,000 is related to warrants issued and $111,000 related to stock option granted and $16,000, respectively, of share‑based compensation expense. As of December 31, 2023, there was approximately $94,000 of total unrecognized compensation cost related to unvested share‑based compensation awards outstanding under the 2021 Stock Incentive Plan. That cost is expected to be recognized over the weighted-average remaining period of 2.0 years.

Amended and Restated Warrants – The Company evaluated its outstanding amended and restated warrants to purchase up to 2,381,300 shares of common stock under ASC 815-40 and concluded that the warrants should be accounted for as equity.

 

In June 2022, the exercise price of outstanding amended and restated warrants was reduced to $0.446 per share pursuant to the anti-dilution adjustment provisions of the warrants triggered by the Company’s issuance of restricted shares of common stock for professional relations and consulting services discussed below. The warrants were valued using the Black-Scholes Merton model and the $446,000 change in fair value was recorded as additional paid-in capital and accumulated deficit.

 

In January 2023, the exercise price of outstanding amended and restated warrants was reduced to $0.37 per share pursuant to the anti-dilution adjustment provisions of the warrants triggered by the conversion of an outstanding convertible promissory note into shares of common stock of the Company at a conversion price $0.37 per share. The warrants were valued using the Black-Scholes Merton option pricing model and approximately $41,000 in change in fair value was recorded as additional paid-in capital and reflected in accumulated deficit.

 

In December 2023, the exercise price of outstanding amended and restated warrants was reduced to $0.29 per share pursuant to the anti-dilution adjustment provisions of the warrants triggered by the exchange of an outstanding convertible note and a promissory note into shares of common stock of the Company at an exchange price $0.29 per share. The warrants were valued using the Black-Scholes Merton option pricing model and approximately $11,000 in change in fair value was recorded as additional paid-in capital and reflected in accumulated deficit.

Stock issued for services – In June 2022, the Company issued 246,637 shares of restricted share of common stock, with an estimated fair value of $110,000 for professional relations and consulting services to be rendered over the six-month period beginning July 1, 2022. The value of the shares issued in connection with this agreement was recorded in prepaid expenses and other current assets in the condensed consolidated balance sheet as of June 30, 2022 and will be amortized over the six-month period.