UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

[X] Annual Report Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2017

[  ] Transition Report Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

For the transition period from ___________ to ___________

Commission File Number 333-181719

CARDAX, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

(808) 457-1400

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

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

None

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

None

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

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Act.

Yes [  ] No [X]

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.

Yes [X] No [  ]

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Website, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files). Yes [X] No [  ]

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K (§ 229.405 of this chapter) is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K. [X]

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

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

Indicate by check whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).

Yes [  ] No [X]

As of June 30, 2017, the last business day of the registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter, there were 91,713,848 shares of common stock, par value $0.001 per share (“common stock”), outstanding, and all of such shares were held by non-affiliates. As of such date, the aggregate market value of voting and non-voting common equity held by non-affiliates was $18,342,770.

As of March 26, 2018, there were 122,674,516 shares of common stock of the registrant outstanding.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Part I

Item 1. Business.

Explanatory Note

Unless otherwise noted, references in this Annual Report on Form 10-K to “Cardax,” the “Company,” “we,” “our,” or “us” means Cardax, Inc., the registrant, and, unless the context otherwise requires, together with its wholly-owned subsidiary, Cardax Pharma, Inc., a Delaware corporation (“Pharma”), and Pharma’s predecessor, Cardax Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a Delaware corporation (“Holdings”), which merged with and into Cardax, Inc. on December 30, 2015.

Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

There are statements in this annual report that are not historical facts. These “forward-looking statements” can be identified by use of terminology such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “expect,” “hope,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “positioned,” “project,” “propose,” “should,” “strategy,” “will,” or any similar expressions. You should be aware that these forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that are beyond our control. For a discussion of these risks, you should read this entire annual report carefully, especially the risks discussed under the section entitled “Risk Factors.” Although we believe that our assumptions underlying such forward-looking statements are reasonable, we do not guarantee our future performance, and our actual results may differ materially from those contemplated by these forward-looking statements. Our assumptions used for the purposes of the forward-looking statements specified in the following information represent estimates of future events and are subject to uncertainty as to possible changes in economic, legislative, industry, and other circumstances, including the development, acceptance and sales of our products and our ability to raise additional funding sufficient to implement our strategy. As a result, the identification and interpretation of data and other information and their use in developing and selecting assumptions from and among reasonable alternatives require the exercise of judgment. In light of these numerous risks and uncertainties, we cannot provide any assurance that the results and events contemplated by our forward-looking statements contained in this annual report will in fact transpire. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance. You are cautioned to not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of their dates. We do not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, except as required by law.

Cautionary Note Regarding Industry Data

Unless otherwise indicated, information contained in this annual report concerning our company, our business, the services we provide and intend to provide, our industry and our general expectations concerning our industry are based on management estimates. Such estimates are derived from publicly available information released by third party sources, as well as data from our internal research, and reflect assumptions made by us based on such data and our knowledge of the industry, which we believe to be reasonable.

Overview

We are a life sciences company engaged in the development, marketing, and distribution of consumer health products and we are a smaller reporting company as defined by applicable federal securities regulations.

We were incorporated on January 30, 2012, as a Delaware corporation, under the name “Koffee Korner Inc., and later changed our name to Cardax, Inc. in a February 7, 2014 reverse merger (the “Merger”) that acquired the life sciences business of Pharma. Prior to the February 7, 2014, our business was limited to a single location retailer of specialty coffee located in Houston, Texas. On the effective date of the Merger, we divested our coffee business and now exclusively continue Pharma’s life sciences business. On December 30, 2015, our former principal stockholder, Holdings, merged with and into us.

Our executive offices are located at 2800 Woodlawn Drive, Suite 129, Honolulu, Hawaii 96822; our telephone number is (808) 457-1400. Our website is located at https://www.cardaxpharma.com. The information on our website is not part of this annual report.

Our Business

We are a life sciences company engaged in the development, marketing, and distribution of consumer health products. We believe we are well positioned for significant and sustained growth via the commercialization of consumer health products utilizing synthetically manufactured astaxanthin and related xanthophyll carotenoids, which support health and longevity by reducing inflammation at the cellular and mitochondrial level without inhibiting normal function. We may also pursue the development of astaxanthin and related xanthophyll carotenoids for pharmaceutical applications. The safety and efficacy of our products have not been directly evaluated in clinical trials or confirmed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (the “FDA”).

Our Products

ZanthoSyn® is marketed as a novel astaxanthin dietary supplement with superior absorption and purity. Astaxanthin is a naturally occurring molecule with safe anti-inflammatory activity that supports joint health, cardiovascular health, metabolic health, liver health, and longevity. The form of astaxanthin utilized in ZanthoSyn® has demonstrated excellent safety in peer-reviewed published studies and is Generally Recognized as Safe (“GRAS”) according to FDA regulations.

We sell ZanthoSyn® primarily through e-commerce and wholesale channels. We launched our e-commerce channel in August 2016 and began selling to General Nutrition Corporation (“GNC”) stores in Hawaii on January 25, 2017 and GNC corporate stores across the United States on August 10, 2017. ZanthoSyn® is currently available at over three thousand GNC corporate stores in the United States. ZanthoSyn® was the top selling product at GNC stores in Hawaii during the fourth quarter of 2017. We have also sold ZanthoSyn® on a wholesale basis to Health Elite Club Limited, a Hong Kong-based company.

Our ZanthoSyn® product manufacturing process relies on certain third-party suppliers and this dependence creates several risks, including limited control over pricing, availability, quality, and delivery schedules. In addition, any supply interruption could materially harm our ability to manufacture ZanthoSyn® until a new source of supply is obtained on acceptable terms. We may be unable to find such other sources in a reasonable time period or on commercially reasonable terms, if at all, which would have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We market ZanthoSyn® primarily through a two-pronged approach:

Our sales and marketing program was initially launched in Hawaii, where robust physician outreach and education coupled with GNC store outreach, education, and in-store sales support increased consumer awareness and catalyzed strong sales growth. We have also launched this program in major markets in California and expect to extend this program nationally as resources permit. To support these efforts, we have hired additional sales and marketing personnel.

We may also conduct human clinical trials with astaxanthin. While the FDA does not require human clinical trials for consumer health products, we believe that positive results from human clinical trials would promote scientific and consumer awareness of astaxanthin’s health and longevity applications.

As a next generation ZanthoSyn® product, we are developing CDX-085, our patented astaxanthin derivative for more concentrated astaxanthin product applications. In collaboration with the University of Hawaii, we demonstrated that astaxanthin through administration of CDX-085 activated an important anti-aging gene in rodents. Following these results, the National Institutes of Health selected CDX-085 for an important anti-aging research program.

Synthetic Astaxanthin vs. Natural Astaxanthin

We believe synthetic astaxanthin offers significant advantages compared to astaxanthin from microalgae, krill, or other sources:

Research and Development

Our research and development program is presently comprised of employees, consultants, including regulatory, scientific, and medical professionals, and third-party collaborators or contract organizations, including academic institutions, contract research organizations, and contract manufacturing organizations. We utilized dedicated internal synthetic chemistry, biology, and bioanalytical chemistry laboratories and a research and development staff to conduct discovery stage synthesis of product candidates (with transfer of materials and/or methods for additional process development and/or testing), in vitro testing of product candidates and related components to elucidate the mechanism of action, and analysis of biological samples from internal research and/or contract organizations to detect and quantify levels of product candidates and related components following administration of product in various studies. Our research and development staff has also worked with other professionals to identify, contract and transfer materials and methods, and oversee research and manufacturing by contract organizations. Contract organizations provide us with access to larger scale manufacturing, animal proof-of-concept studies, pharmacokinetics, and toxicity, and analysis that would not otherwise be available to us without significant expense. We anticipate that the majority of our research and development will be conducted by contract organizations with direction and oversight by our current internal research and development personnel, including two Ph.D. scientists, two Ph.D. scientific executives, one operational executive, and one M.D. consultant.

In addition to conducting or overseeing research and development activities, our research and development personnel analyze and interpret other research on astaxanthin, as well as related compounds, competing products, applicable health applications, and industry trends. In the United States National Library of Medicine’s online repository, PubMed.gov, there are more than 1,600 peer-reviewed journal articles that reference astaxanthin in the title or abstract, over 400 of which were published in the last three years, with the vast majority published by organizations and researchers that are not affiliated with us. This type of “open-source” research has served to significantly advance the understanding of astaxanthin, and has also presented our research and development personnel with the critical task of keeping up-to-date on all of the latest research and interpreting and integrating the findings with our research and that of others in order to serve as the preeminent thought leaders on astaxanthin’s mechanism of action and its application in biological systems.

Our research and development expenditures totaled $460,991 and $347,885 for the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016. These expenditures primarily reflect the compensation of our research and development personnel and product development activities.

Government Regulation

Most aspects of our business are subject to some degree of government regulation. For some of our products, government regulation is significant and, in general, there appears to be a trend toward more stringent regulation throughout the world, as well as global harmonization of various regulatory requirements. We expect to devote significant time, effort and expense to address the extensive government and regulatory requirements applicable to our business. We believe that we are no more or less adversely affected by existing government regulations than our competitors.

FDA Regulation

Life sciences companies must comply with comprehensive regulation by the FDA and other regulatory agencies in the United States and comparable authorities in other countries. While the FDA does not require human clinical trials for consumer health products, we may conduct Phase I, Phase II, and/or Phase III clinical trials with our products.

We must obtain regulatory approvals by the FDA and, to the extent we have any international distribution of our products, foreign government agencies prior to human clinical testing and commercialization of any pharmaceutical product and for post-approval clinical studies for additional indications in approved drugs. We anticipate that any pharmaceutical product candidate will be subject to rigorous preclinical and clinical testing and pre-market approval procedures by the FDA and similar health authorities in foreign countries to the extent applicable. The extent to which our products are regulated by the FDA, and the designations applicable to our products, will depend upon the types of products we ultimately develop. We are currently evaluating other product developments or technologies to pursue and cannot predict, during this stage of our development, the scope of FDA or other agency regulation to which we or our products and technologies will be subject. Various federal statutes and regulations also govern or influence the preclinical and clinical testing, record-keeping, approval, labeling, manufacture, quality, shipping, distribution, storage, marketing and promotion, export and reimbursement of products and product candidates.

The steps ordinarily required before a drug product may be marketed in the United States include:

Preclinical trials typically involve laboratory evaluation of product candidate chemistry, formulation and stability, as well as animal studies to assess the potential safety and efficacy of each product candidate. The results of preclinical trials are submitted to the FDA as part of an IND and are reviewed by the FDA before the commencement of clinical trials. Unless the FDA objects to an IND, the IND will become effective 30 days following its receipt by the FDA. Submission of an IND may not result in FDA clearance to commence clinical trials, and the FDA’s failure to object to an IND does not guarantee FDA approval of a marketing application.

Clinical trials involve the administration of the product candidate to humans under the supervision of a qualified principal investigator. In the United States, clinical trials must be conducted in accordance with Good Clinical Practices under protocols submitted to the FDA as part of the IND. In addition, each clinical trial must be approved and conducted under the auspices of an institutional review board and with the patient’s informed consent. We would be subject to similar protocols and similar regulatory considerations if we conduct clinical trials outside the United States.

The goal of Phase I clinical trials is to establish initial data about safety and tolerability of the product candidate in humans. The investigators seek to evaluate the effects of various dosages and to establish an optimal dosage level and schedule.

The goal of Phase II clinical trials is to provide evidence about the desired therapeutic efficacy of the product candidate in limited studies with small numbers of carefully selected subjects. Investigators also gather additional safety data.

Phase III clinical trials consist of expanded, large-scale, multi-center studies in the target patient population. This phase further tests the product’s effectiveness, monitors side effects, and, in some cases, compares the product’s effects to a standard treatment, if one is already available. Phase III trials are designed to more rigorously test the efficacy of a product candidate and are normally randomized, double-blinded, and placebo-controlled. Phase III trials are typically monitored by an independent data monitoring committee, or DMC, which periodically reviews data as a trial progresses. A DMC may recommend that a trial be stopped before completion for a number of reasons including safety concerns, patient benefit or futility.

Data obtained from this development program are submitted as part of a NDA to the FDA and possibly to corresponding agencies in other countries for review. The NDA requires agency approval prior to marketing in the relevant country. Extensive regulations define the form, content and methods of gathering, compiling and analyzing the product candidate’s safety and efficacy data.

The process of obtaining regulatory approval can be costly, time consuming and subject to unanticipated delays. Regulatory agencies may refuse to approve an application if they believe that applicable regulatory criteria are not satisfied and may also require additional testing for safety and efficacy and/or post-marketing surveillance or other ongoing requirements for post-marketing studies. In some instances, regulatory approval may be granted with the condition that confirmatory Phase IV clinical trials are carried out, and if these trials do not confirm the results of previous studies, regulatory approval for marketing may be withdrawn. Moreover, each regulatory approval of a product is limited to specific indications. The FDA or other regulatory authorities may approve only limited label information for the product. The label information describes the indications and methods of use for which the product is authorized, may include Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategies and, if overly restrictive, may limit a sponsor’s ability to successfully market the product. Regulatory agencies routinely revise or issue new regulations, which can affect and delay regulatory approval of product candidates.

Furthermore, pharmaceutical manufacturing processes must conform to current Good Manufacturing Practices, or cGMPs. Manufacturers, including a drug sponsor’s third-party contract manufacturers, must expend time, money and effort in the areas of production, quality control and quality assurance, including compliance with stringent record-keeping requirements. Manufacturing establishments are subject to periodic inspections by the FDA or other health authorities, in order to assess, among other things, compliance with cGMP. Before approval of the initiation of commercial manufacturing processes, the FDA will usually perform a preapproval inspection of the facility to determine its compliance with cGMP and other rules and regulations. In addition, foreign manufacturing establishments must also comply with cGMPs in order to supply products for use in the United States, and are subject to periodic inspection by the FDA or by regulatory authorities in certain countries under reciprocal agreements with the FDA. Manufacturing processes and facilities for pharmaceutical products are highly regulated. Regulatory authorities may choose not to certify or may impose restrictions, or even shut down existing manufacturing facilities that they determine are non-compliant.

FDA GRAS Determination

“GRAS” is an acronym for the phrase “generally recognized as safe,” which the FDA utilizes to describe those substances that, in the generally recognized opinion of the scientific community, will not be harmful to consumers, provided the substance is used as intended. According to applicable FDA regulations, any substance that is intentionally added to food is a food additive, which is subject to premarket review and approval by FDA, unless the substance is generally recognized, among qualified experts, as having been adequately shown to be safe under the conditions of its intended use. Under sections 201(s) and 409 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (the “FD&C Act”), and FDA’s implementing regulations in 21 CFR 170.3 and 21 CFR 170.30, the use of a food substance may be GRAS either through scientific procedures or, for a substance used in food before 1958, through experience based on common use in food. General recognition of safety through scientific procedures requires the same quantity and quality of scientific evidence as is required to obtain approval of the substance as a food additive and ordinarily is based upon published studies, which may be corroborated by unpublished studies and other data and information. General recognition of safety through experience based on common use in foods requires a substantial history of consumption for food use by a significant number of consumers.

Manufacturers of GRAS substances may provide the FDA with a notification of GRAS determination, which includes a description of the substance, the applicable conditions of use, and an explanation of how the substance was determined to be safe. Upon review of such a notification, the FDA may respond with a “no questions” position, whereby the manufacturer’s determination that a product is GRAS for its intended purposes is affirmed. Alternatively, manufacturers may elect to “self-affirm” a given substance as GRAS without FDA notification but should retain all applicable safety data used for GRAS determination in the case of FDA inquiry.

Synthetic copies of naturally-occurring dietary ingredients or related components do not qualify as dietary ingredients under the FD&C Act, but substances that have been affirmed by the FDA as GRAS, self-affirmed as GRAS, or approved as direct food additives in the U.S. may be marketed as dietary ingredients, subject to FDA regulations for dietary ingredients.

FDA NDI Notification

The Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 (the “DSHEA”) (Pub. L. 103-417) was signed into law on October 25, 1994 and amended the FD&C Act by adding: (i) section 201(ff) (21 U.S.C. 321(ff)), which defines the term “dietary supplement”, and (ii) section 413 (21 U.S.C. 350b), which defines the term “new dietary ingredient” (“NDI”) and requires the manufacturer or distributor of an NDI, or of the dietary supplement that contains the NDI, to submit a premarket notification to FDA at least 75 days before introducing/delivering the supplement into interstate commerce, unless the NDI and any other dietary ingredients in the dietary supplement have been present in the food supply without chemical alteration (21 U.S.C. 350b(a)(1)). The NDI notification must contain applicable information, including history of use and citations to published articles, from which the manufacturer or distributor of the NDI or dietary supplement has concluded that the dietary supplement containing the NDI will be reasonably expected to be safe under the conditions of its intended use. NDI notifications are not required for the marketing of approved food additives or GRAS substances as NDIs unless the dietary ingredient has been chemically altered.

Other Regulations

Pharmaceutical companies are subject to various federal and state laws pertaining to healthcare “fraud and abuse,” including anti-kickback and false claims laws. The Anti-Kickback Statute is a federal criminal statute that makes it illegal for any person, including a prescription drug manufacturer, or a party acting on its behalf, to knowingly and willfully solicit, offer, receive or pay any remuneration, directly or indirectly, in exchange for, or to induce, the referral of business, including the purchase, order or prescription of a particular drug, for which payment may be made under federal healthcare programs such as Medicare and Medicaid. Some of the state prohibitions apply to referral of patients for healthcare services reimbursed by any source, not only the Medicare and Medicaid programs.

In the course of practicing medicine, physicians may legally prescribe FDA approved drugs for an indication that has not been approved by the FDA and which, therefore, is not described in the product’s approved labeling, so-called “off-label use.” The FDA does not ordinarily regulate the behavior of physicians in their choice of treatments. The FDA and other governmental agencies do, however, restrict communications on the subject of off-label use by a manufacturer or those acting on behalf of a manufacturer. Companies may not promote FDA-approved drugs for off-label uses. The FDA and other governmental agencies do permit a manufacturer (and those acting on its behalf) to engage in some limited, non-misleading, non-promotional exchanges of scientific information regarding unapproved indications. The United States False Claims Act prohibits, among other things, anyone from knowingly and willfully presenting, or causing to be presented for payment to third-party payers (including Medicare and Medicaid) claims for reimbursed drugs or services that are false or fraudulent, claims for items or services not provided as claimed or claims for medically unnecessary items or services. Violations of fraud and abuse laws may be punishable by criminal and/or civil sanctions, including imprisonment, fines and civil monetary penalties, as well as possible exclusion from federal health care programs (including Medicare and Medicaid). In addition, under this and other applicable laws, such as the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, there is an ability for private individuals to bring similar actions. Further, there is an increasing number of state laws that require manufacturers to make reports to states on pricing and marketing information. Many of these laws contain ambiguities as to what is required to comply with the law.

We are subject to various laws and regulations regarding laboratory practices and the experimental use of animals in connection with our research. In each of these areas, as above, the FDA and other regulatory authorities have broad regulatory and enforcement powers, including the ability to suspend or delay issuance of approvals, seize or recall products, withdraw approvals, enjoin violations and institute criminal prosecution, any one or more of which could have a material adverse effect upon our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We must comply with regulations under the Occupational Safety and Health Act, the Environmental Protection Act, the Toxic Substances Control Act and other federal, state and local regulations. We are subject to federal, state and local laws and regulations governing the use, generation, manufacture, storage, air emission, effluent discharge, handling and disposal of certain hazardous or potentially hazardous materials. We may be required to incur significant costs to comply with environmental and health and safety regulations in the future. Our research and development involves the controlled use of hazardous materials, including, but not limited to, certain hazardous chemicals.

Our activities are also potentially subject to federal and state consumer protection and unfair competition laws. We are also subject to the United States Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, or the FCPA, which prohibits companies and individuals from engaging in specified activities to obtain or retain business or to influence a person working in an official capacity. Under the FCPA, it is illegal to pay, offer to pay, or authorize the payment of anything of value to any foreign government official, governmental staff members, political party or political candidate in an attempt to obtain or retain business or to otherwise influence a person working in an official capacity. In addition, federal and state laws protect the confidentiality of certain health information, in particular, individually identifiable information, and restrict the use and disclosure of that information. At the federal level, the Department of Health and Human Services promulgated health information privacy and security rules under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996. In addition, many state laws apply to the use and disclosure of health information.

Competition

The industry in which we intend to compete is subject to intense competition. We believe that our ability to compete will be dependent in large part upon our ability to continually enhance and improve our products and technologies. In order to do so, we plan to effectively utilize and expand our research and development capabilities. Competition is based primarily on scientific and technological superiority, technical support, availability of patent protection, protection of trade secrets, access to adequate capital, ability to develop, acquire and market products successfully, ability to obtain governmental approvals and ability to serve the particular needs of customers. We intend to compete on the basis of safety, effectiveness, convenience, manufacturing superiority, intellectual property, and where appropriate, price.

Numerous pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies are developing or producing anti-inflammatories. These companies include, but are not limited to: AbbVie, Amgen, Astellas, AstraZeneca, Bayer, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Eisai, Eli Lilly, Gilead, GlaxoSmithKline, Johnson & Johnson, Merck, MT Pharma, Nestle/Pamlab, Novartis, Pfizer, Reata, Roche/Genentech, Sanofi-Aventis, Servier, Takeda, and Vivus.

In addition to competing with other anti-inflammatories in health applications, we compete with microalgal astaxanthin consumer health products on the basis of our global-scale manufacturing capability and product purity. Leading manufacturers of microalgal astaxanthin include Cyanotech, which produces the BioAstin brand; Fuji Health Science (parent company: Fuji Chemical), which produces the AstaREAL brand; and Algatechnologies, which produces the AstaPure brand. Many other companies, including Valensa International (parent company: EID Parry), acquire astaxanthin from these or other smaller manufacturers. We believe that large-scale, multi-fold expansion of naturally produced microalgal astaxanthin would require large amounts of land, and fresh water for open pond systems or large amounts of infrastructure and energy for closed systems, and, consequently, a significant if not overwhelming amount of investment capital. Furthermore, microalgal astaxanthin products, which are lipophilic extracts of a commercially cultivated microalgae, typically have relatively low astaxanthin content, with the majority of the product comprised of other lipophilic, non-astaxanthin microalgal compounds. In contrast, our synthetically manufactured astaxanthin products have very high astaxanthin content, with consistent purity. Higher relative astaxanthin content reduces the size/number of capsules or tablets required to achieve equivalent circulating levels of astaxanthin. We may also face competition from other synthetic astaxanthin consumer health products, although competitors in this space are limited by the substantial cost and technical expertise required to develop large-scale, industrial production of astaxanthin.

Our success will also depend in large part on our ability to obtain and maintain international and domestic patent and other legal protections for the proprietary technology that we consider important to our business. We intend to continue to seek appropriate patent protection for our products where applicable by filing patent applications in the United States and other selected countries. We intend for these patent applications to cover, where applicable, claims for composition of matter, uses, processes for preparation and formulations. Our success will also depend on our ability, and the ability of our current and/or future strategic partners to maintain trade secrets related to proprietary production methods for products that we, or our partners, intend to market.

Raw Materials and Components

We utilize contract manufacturers and/or other third-party suppliers for the production of our products and product candidates. The raw materials and supplies required for the production of our products and product candidates may be available, in some instances from one supplier, and in other instances, from multiple suppliers. In those cases where raw materials are only available through one supplier, such supplier may be either a sole source (the only recognized supply source available to us) or a single source (the only approved supply source for us among other sources). We, our contract manufacturers, and/or other third-party suppliers will adopt appropriate policies to attempt, to the extent feasible, to minimize our raw material supply risks, including maintenance of greater levels of raw materials inventory and implementation of multiple raw materials sourcing strategies, especially for critical raw materials. Although to date we have not experienced any significant delays in obtaining any raw materials from suppliers, we cannot provide assurance that we, our contract manufacturers, and/or other third-party suppliers will not face shortages from one or more of them in the future.

Customers

We sell ZanthoSyn® primarily through e-commerce and wholesale channels. We launched our e-commerce channel in August 2016 and began selling to GNC stores in Hawaii on January 25, 2017 and GNC corporate stores across the United States on August 10, 2017. We have also sold ZanthoSyn® on a wholesale basis to Health Elite Club Limited, a Hong Kong-based company.

We currently sell ZanthoSyn® to GNC under an exclusive sales contract for the “brick and mortar” retail channel in the United States, which comprises the majority of our revenues, the loss of which would have a material adverse effect on the Company. During the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016, sales to GNC accounted for 74% and 0% of our revenues, respectively. No other customer accounted for 10% or more of our revenues during these years.

Intellectual Property

We have obtained and are continuing to seek patent protection for compositions of matter, pharmaceutical compositions, and pharmaceutical uses, in certain disease areas, of our various carotenoid analogs and derivatives. Such carotenoids include, but are not limited to, astaxanthin, zeaxanthin, lutein, and/or lycophyll, and esters and other analogs and derivatives of these compounds. More specifically, we seek to protect: (i) the composition of matter of novel carotenoid analogs and derivatives, (ii) pharmaceutical compositions comprising synthetic or natural preparations of novel or natural occurring carotenoid analogs and derivatives, and (iii) the pharmaceutical use of synthetic preparations of novel or naturally occurring carotenoid analogs and derivatives in specific disease areas, including, but not limited to, the treatment of inflammation and related tissue damage, liver disease, and reperfusion injury, as well as the pharmaceutical use of synthetic or natural preparations of novel or natural occurring carotenoid analogs and derivatives for the reduction of platelet aggregation. We intend to enforce and defend our intellectual property rights consistent with our strategic business objectives.

We own 22 issued patents, including 14 in the United States and 8 others in Europe, China, India, Japan, and Hong Kong, related to the technology described above. These patents will expire during the years of 2023 to 2028, subject to any patent term extensions of the individual patent. We have 4 foreign patent applications pending in Europe, Canada, and Brazil, also related to the technology described above. Of these patents and patent applications, 21 patents and 3 patent applications have coverage related to astaxanthin analogs and derivatives; however, our proprietary technologies and business opportunities are not dependent on any single patent or sub-set of patents—the portfolio, which includes coverage related to compositions of matter, pharmaceutical compositions, and pharmaceutical uses, as described above, provides the comprehensive coverage that we deem material to our business.

Employees

As of the date of this report, we have 11 full-time employees and 1 part-time employee. None of our employees are subject to a collective bargaining agreement. We believe the relations with our employees are satisfactory.

Item 1A. Risk Factors.

An investment in our common stock, any warrants to purchase our common stock, or any other security that may be issued by us involves a high degree of risk. You should carefully consider the risks described below, together with all of the other information included in this annual report, before making an investment decision. If any of the following risks actually occur, our business, financial condition or results of operations could suffer. In that case, the trading price of our shares of common stock could decline, and you may lose all or part of your investment. You should read the section entitled “Forward-Looking Statements” above for a discussion of what types of statements are forward-looking statements, as well as the significance of such statements in the context of this annual report.

Risks Related to Our Business, Industry and Financial Condition

We have a history of operating losses and have received a going concern opinion from our auditors.

We have incurred substantial net losses since our inception and may continue to incur losses for the foreseeable future, as we continue our product development activities. As a result of our limited operating history, we have limited historical financial data that can be used in evaluating our business and our prospects and in projecting our future operating results. Through December 31, 2017, we have accumulated a total deficit of $57,919,096.

Additionally, we have received a “going concern” opinion from our independent registered public accounting firm. The Company expects that its marketing program for ZanthoSyn® will continue to focus on outreach to physicians, healthcare professionals, retail personnel, and consumers, and anticipates further losses in the development of its business. As a result of these and other factors, management has determined there is substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. Our ability to continue as a going concern is dependent upon our ability to raise additional capital and implement our business plan. If we are unable to achieve or sustain profitability or to secure additional financing on acceptable terms, we may not be able to meet our obligations as they come due, raising substantial doubts as to our ability to continue as a going concern. Any such inability to continue as a going concern may result in our common stock holders losing their entire investment. There is no guarantee that we will become profitable or secure additional financing on acceptable terms. Our consolidated financial statements contemplate that we will continue as a going concern and do not contain any adjustments that might result if we were unable to continue as a going concern. Changes in our operating plans, our existing and anticipated working capital needs, the acceleration or modification of our expansion plans, increased expenses, potential acquisitions or other events will all affect our ability to continue as a going concern.

We have limited experience as a commercial company.

In 2016, we launched our first commercial product, ZanthoSyn® and we have limited sales to date. As such, we have limited historical financial data upon which to base our projected revenue, planned operating expenses or upon which to evaluate our company and our commercial prospects. Based on our limited experience in developing and marketing new products, we may not be able to effectively:

In addition, a high percentage of our expenses is and will continue to be fixed. Accordingly, if we do not generate revenue as and when anticipated, our losses may be greater than expected and our operating results will suffer

We are dependent upon the success of our lead astaxanthin technologies, which may not be successfully commercialized.

While the FDA does not require clinical trials for consumer health products such as dietary ingredients/supplements and food additives, we may conduct clinical trials to demonstrate the safety and efficacy of our product(s) in humans. A failure of any clinical trial can occur at any stage of testing. The results of initial clinical testing of this product may not necessarily indicate the results that will be obtained from later or more extensive testing. Additionally, any observations made with respect to blinded clinical data are inherently uncertain as we cannot know which set of data come from patients treated with an active drug versus the placebo vehicle. Investors are cautioned not to rely on observations coming from blinded data and not to rely on initial clinical trial results as necessarily indicative of results that will be obtained in subsequent clinical trials.

Additionally, our products will be subject to a variety of FDA and other food and drug regulatory regimes. The extent of regulations applicable to our products, and the designations our products may receive from regulatory agencies such as the FDA, are dependent upon the nature and development of our future products and how such products are ultimately commercialized and marketed.

A number of different factors could prevent us from conducting a clinical trial or commercializing our product candidates on a timely basis, or at all.

We, the FDA, other applicable regulatory authorities or an institutional review board, or IRB, may suspend clinical trials of a product candidate at any time for various reasons, including if we or they believe the subjects or patients participating in such trials are being exposed to unacceptable health risks. Among other reasons, adverse side effects of a product candidate on subjects or patients in a clinical trial could result in the FDA or other regulatory authorities suspending or terminating the trial and refusing to approve a particular product candidate for any or all indications of use.

Clinical trials of a product require the enrollment of a sufficient number of patients, including patients who are suffering from the disease or condition the product candidate is intended to treat and who meet other eligibility criteria. Rates of patient enrollment are affected by many factors, and delays in patient enrollment can result in increased costs and longer development times.

Clinical trials also require the review and oversight of IRBs, which approve and continually review clinical investigations and protect the rights and welfare of human subjects. An inability or delay in obtaining IRB approval could prevent or delay the initiation and completion of clinical trials, and the FDA may decide not to consider any data or information derived from a clinical investigation not subject to initial and continuing IRB review and approval.

Numerous factors could affect the timing, cost or outcome of our drug development efforts, including the following:

It is possible that none of our future product candidates that we may develop will obtain the appropriate regulatory approvals necessary to begin selling them or that any regulatory approval to market a product may be subject to limitations on the indicated uses for which we may market the product. The time required to obtain FDA and other approvals is unpredictable, but often can take years following the commencement of clinical trials, depending upon the complexity of the product candidate. Any analysis we perform of data from clinical activities is subject to confirmation and interpretation by regulatory authorities, which could delay, limit or prevent regulatory approval. Any delay or failure in obtaining required approvals could have a material adverse effect on our ability to generate revenue from the particular product candidate.

We also must comply with clinical trial and post-approval safety and adverse event reporting requirements. Adverse events related to our products must be reported to the FDA in accordance with regulatory timelines based on their severity and expectedness. Failure to make timely safety reports and to establish and maintain related records could result in withdrawal of marketing authorization.

We may also become subject to numerous foreign regulatory requirements governing the conduct of clinical trials, manufacturing and marketing authorization, pricing and third-party reimbursement. The foreign regulatory approval process includes all of the risks associated with the FDA approval described above as well as risks attributable to the satisfaction of local regulations in foreign jurisdictions. Approval by the FDA does not assure approval by regulatory authorities outside of the United States.

We have limited experience in managing communications with regulatory agencies, including filing investigational new drug applications, filing new drug applications, submission of promotional materials and generally directing the regulatory processes in all territories.

We may be responsible for managing communications with regulatory agencies, including filing investigational new drug applications, filing new drug applications, submission of promotional materials and generally directing the regulatory processes in all territories. We have limited experience directing such activities and may not be successful with our planned development strategies, on the planned timelines, or at all. Even if any of our product candidates are designated for “fast track” or “priority review” status or if we seek approval under accelerated approval (Subpart H) regulations, such designation or approval pathway does not necessarily mean a faster development process or regulatory review process or necessarily confer any advantage with respect to approval compared to conventional FDA procedures. Accelerated development and approval procedures will only be available if the indications for which we are developing products remain unmet medical needs and if our clinical trial results support use of surrogate endpoints, respectively. Even if these accelerated development or approval mechanisms are available to us, depending on the results of clinical trials, we may elect to follow the more traditional approval processes for strategic and marketing reasons, since drugs approved under accelerated approval procedures are more likely to be subjected to post-approval requirements for clinical studies to provide confirmatory evidence that the drugs are safe and effective. If we fail to conduct any such required post-approval studies or if the studies fail to verify that any of our product candidates are safe and effective, our FDA approval could be revoked. It can be difficult, time-consuming and expensive to enroll patients in such clinical trials because physicians and patients are less likely to participate in a clinical trial to receive a drug that is already commercially available. Drugs approved under accelerated approval procedures also require regulatory pre-approval of promotional materials that may delay or otherwise hinder commercialization efforts.

We operate in highly competitive industries, and our failure to compete effectively could adversely affect our market share, financial condition and growth prospects. If competitors are better able to develop and market products that are more effective, or gain greater acceptance in the marketplace than our products, our commercial opportunities may be reduced or eliminated.

The consumer health and pharmaceutical industries are constantly evolving, and scientific advances are expected to continue at a rapid pace. This results in intense competition among companies operating in the industry. Other, larger companies may have, or may be developing, products that compete with our products and may significantly limit the market acceptance of our products or render them obsolete. Our technical and/or business competitors would include major pharmaceutical companies, biotechnology companies, consumer health companies, universities and nonprofit research institutions and foundations. Most of these competitors have significantly greater research and development capabilities than we have, as well as substantial marketing, financial and managerial resources. ZanthoSyn®, our lead product, primarily competes against consumer health and pharmaceutical products that provide anti-inflammatory health benefits. In addition, there are several other companies, both public and private, that service the same markets as we do, all of which compete to some degree with us.

The primary competitive factors facing us include safety, efficacy, price, quality, breadth of product line, manufacturing quality and capacity, service, marketing and distribution capabilities. Our current and future competitors may have greater resources, more widely accepted and innovative products and stronger name recognition than we do. Our ability to compete is affected by our ability to:

Competitors could develop products that are more effective, achieve favorable reimbursement status from third-party payors, cost less or are ready for commercial introduction before our products. If our competitors are better able to develop and patent products earlier than we can, or develop more effective and/or less expensive products that render our products obsolete or non-competitive, our business will be harmed and our commercial opportunities will be reduced or eliminated.

In addition, competitors and other parties may also seek to impact regulatory status of our products through the filing of citizen petitions or other similar documents. For example, allegations were made by the Natural Algae Astaxanthin Association (“NAXA”), a small trade group with four members, each of which markets natural astaxanthin products, in a citizen petition that it filed with FDA, which we believed to be false and baseless. Responding to any such actions, even if false and baseless, will use our limited time and resources.

We believe that the market in which we compete in is also highly sensitive to the introduction of new products, including various prescription drugs, which may rapidly capture a significant share of the market. In the United States, we expect to also compete for sales with heavily advertised national brands manufactured by large pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and consumer health companies, as well as other retailers.

As some products gain market acceptance, we may experience increased competition for those products as more participants enter the market. Currently, we are not a manufacturer. To the extent that we engage third-party manufacturers or use strategic alliances to produce our products, our manufacturing capabilities may not be adequate or sufficient to compete with large scale, direct or third-party manufacturers. Certain of our potential competitors are larger than us and have longer operating histories, customer bases, greater brand recognition and greater resources for marketing, advertising and product promotion. They may be able to secure inventory from vendors on more favorable terms, operate with a lower cost structure or adopt more aggressive pricing policies. In addition, our potential competitors may be more effective and efficient in introducing new products. We may not be able to compete effectively, and our attempt to do so may require us to increase marketing and/or reduce our prices, which may result in lower margins. Failure to effectively compete could adversely affect our market share, financial condition and growth prospects.

Market acceptance of ZanthoSyn® and any future products are vital to our future success.

The commercial success of ZanthoSyn® and any future products is dependent upon the acceptance of such products. ZanthoSyn® and any future products may not gain and maintain any significant degree of market acceptance among potential consumers, retailers, healthcare providers, or acceptance by third-party payors, such as health insurance companies. The health applications for ZanthoSyn® and any future products can also be addressed by other products or techniques. The medical community widely accepts alternative treatments, and certain of these other treatments have a long history of use. We cannot be certain that our proposed products and the procedures in which they are used will be able to replace those established treatments or that users will accept and utilize our products or any other medical products that we may market.

Market acceptance will depend upon numerous factors, many of which are not under our control, including:

If our proposed products do not achieve significant market acceptance, our future revenues and profitability would be adversely affected.

The pharmaceutical and consumer health industries are subject to extensive and complex healthcare regulation. Any determination that we have violated federal or state laws applicable to us that regulate healthcare would have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects and financial condition.

Federal and state laws regulating healthcare are extensive and complex. The laws applicable to our business are subject to evolving interpretations, and therefore we cannot be sure that a review of our operations by federal or state courts or regulatory authorities will not result in a determination that we have violated one or more provisions of federal or state law. Any such determination could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects and financial condition.

If we fail to comply with FDA regulations our business could suffer.

The manufacture and marketing of pharmaceutical and consumer health products are subject to extensive regulation by the FDA and foreign and state regulatory authorities. In the United States, pharmaceutical and consumer health companies such as ours must comply with laws and regulations promulgated by the FDA. These laws and regulations require various authorizations prior to a product being marketed in the United States. Manufacturing facilities and practices are also subject to FDA regulations. The FDA regulates the clinical testing, manufacture, labeling, sale, distribution and promotion of pharmaceutical and consumer health products in the United States. Our failure to comply with regulatory requirements, including any future changes to such requirements, could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition and results of operations.

Even after clearance or approval of a product, we are subject to continuing regulation by the FDA, including the requirements of registering our facilities and listing our products with the FDA. We are subject to reporting regulations. These regulations require us to report to the FDA if any of our products may have caused or contributed to a death or serious injury and such product or a similar product that we market would likely cause or contribute to a death or serious injury. Unless an exemption applies, we must report corrections and removals to the FDA where the correction or removal was initiated to reduce a risk to health posed by the product or to remedy a violation of the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. The FDA also requires that we maintain records of corrections or removals, regardless of whether such corrections and removals are required to be reported to the FDA. In addition, the FDA closely regulates promotion and advertising, and our promotional and advertising activities could come under scrutiny by the FDA.

The FDA also requires that manufacturing be in compliance with its Quality System Regulation, or QSR. The QSR covers the methods and documentation of the design, testing, control, manufacturing, labeling, quality assurance, packaging, storage and shipping of our products. Our failure to maintain compliance with the QSR requirements could result in the shutdown of, or restrictions on, our manufacturing operations, to the extent we have any, and the recall or seizure of our products, which would have a material adverse effect on our business. In the event that one of our suppliers fails to maintain compliance with our quality requirements, we may have to qualify a new supplier and could experience manufacturing delays as a result.

The FDA has broad enforcement powers. If we violate applicable regulatory requirements, the FDA may bring enforcement actions against us, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition and results of operations. Violations of regulatory requirements, at any stage, including after approval, may result in various adverse consequences, including the delay by a regulatory agency in approving or refusal to approve a product, withdrawal or recall of an approved product from the market, other voluntary agency-initiated action that could delay further development or marketing, as well as the imposition of criminal penalties against the manufacturer and NDA holder.

The extent of FDA regulations applicable to us, and whether our products are ultimately designated as drugs (including active pharmaceutical ingredients) or dietary supplements (including dietary ingredients), will depend upon how our products are ultimately commercialized. Because we are currently evaluating the extent of our pharmaceutical program, we are unable to determine the extent of FDA regulations applicable to our product candidates. Furthermore, our products may be commercialized by us or by other parties through licensing arrangements, joint ventures, or other alliances, and our burden of complying with any regulations applicable to our product candidates will depend upon the nature and extent of any relationships with such partners. While consumer health products are not as extensively regulated as pharmaceutical products, the extent of any other regulatory regimes to which we may be subject will depend upon the specific products we ultimately produce.

Healthcare and insurance legislation may increase the difficulty and cost for us to commercialize our product candidates and affect the prices we may obtain.

The United States and many foreign jurisdictions have enacted or proposed legislative and regulatory changes affecting the healthcare system that could prevent or delay marketing approval of our product candidates, restrict or regulate post-approval activities and affect our ability to profitably sell any product candidate for which we obtain marketing approval.

In the United States, the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003, or Medicare Modernization Act, changed the way Medicare covers and pays for pharmaceutical products. The legislation expanded Medicare coverage for drug purchases by the elderly by establishing Medicare Part D and introduced a new reimbursement methodology based on average sales prices for physician-administered drugs under Medicare Part B. In addition, this legislation provided authority for limiting the number of drugs that Medicare will cover in any therapeutic class under the new Medicare Part D program. Cost reduction initiatives and other provisions of this legislation could decrease the coverage and reimbursement rate that we receive for any of our approved products. While the Medicare Modernization Act applies only to drug benefits for Medicare beneficiaries, private payors often follow Medicare coverage policy and payment limitations in setting their own reimbursement rates. Therefore, any reduction in reimbursement that results from the Medicare Modernization Act may result in a similar reduction in payments from private payors.

In March 2010, former President Obama signed into law the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, as amended by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, or, collectively, the Affordable Care Act, a law intended to broaden access to health insurance, reduce or constrain the growth of healthcare spending, enhance remedies against healthcare fraud and abuse, add new transparency requirements for healthcare and health insurance industries, impose new taxes and fees on pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers and impose additional health policy reforms. Among other things, the Affordable Care Act expanded manufacturers’ rebate liability under the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program by increasing the minimum rebate for both branded and generic drugs, effective the first quarter of 2010, and revising the definition of “average manufacturer price,” or AMP, for reporting purposes, which could increase the amount of Medicaid drug rebates manufacturers are required to pay to states. The legislation also extended Medicaid drug rebates, previously due only on fee-for-service utilization, to Medicaid managed care utilization, and created an alternative rebate formula for certain new formulations of certain existing products that is intended to increase the amount of rebates due on those drugs. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which administers the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program, also has proposed to expand Medicaid drug rebates to the utilization that occurs in the United States territories, such as Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Also effective in 2010, the Affordable Care Act expanded the types of entities eligible to receive discounted 340B pricing, although, with the exception of children’s hospitals, these newly eligible entities will not be eligible to receive discounted 340B pricing on orphan drugs. In addition, because 340B pricing is determined based on AMP and Medicaid drug rebate data, the revisions to the Medicaid rebate formula and AMP definition described above could cause the required 340B discounts to increase. Furthermore, as of 2011, the new law imposes a significant annual fee on companies that manufacture or import branded prescription drug products and requires manufacturers to provide a 50% discount off the negotiated price of prescriptions filled by beneficiaries in the Medicare Part D coverage gap, referred to as the “donut hole.” Substantial new provisions affecting compliance have also been enacted, which may affect our business practices with healthcare practitioners. Notably, a significant number of provisions are not yet, or have only recently become, effective. Although it is too early to determine the full effect of the Affordable Care Act, the new law appears likely to continue the downward pressure on pharmaceutical pricing, especially under the Medicare program, and may also increase our regulatory burdens and operating costs.

In addition, other legislative changes have been proposed and adopted since the Affordable Care Act was enacted. In August 2011, the former President signed into law the Budget Control Act of 2011, which, among other things, created the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction to recommend to Congress proposals in spending reductions. The Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction did not achieve a targeted deficit reduction of at least $1.2 trillion for fiscal years 2012 through 2021, triggering the legislation’s automatic reduction to several government programs. This includes aggregate reductions to Medicare payments to providers of up to 2% per fiscal year.

We expect that the Affordable Care Act, as well as other healthcare reform measures that have and may be adopted in the future, may result in more rigorous coverage criteria and in additional downward pressure on the price that we receive for any approved product, and could seriously harm our future revenues. Any reduction in reimbursement from Medicare or other government programs may result in a similar reduction in payments from private payors. The implementation of cost containment measures or other healthcare reforms may prevent us from being able to generate revenue, attain profitability or commercialize our products.

The impact of continued health care reform efforts with respect to the Affordable Care Act is currently unknown, and may adversely affect our business model.

Since its enactment, there have been judicial and Congressional challenges to numerous provisions of the Affordable Care Act. In January 2017, Congress voted to adopt a budget resolution for fiscal year 2017, or the Budget Resolution, that authorizes the implementation of legislation that would repeal portions of the Affordable Care Act. The Budget Resolution is not a law, but it is widely viewed as the first step toward the passage of legislation that would repeal certain aspects of the Affordable Care Act. On January 20, 2017, President Trump signed an Executive Order directing federal agencies with authorities and responsibilities under the Affordable Care Act to waive, defer, grant exemptions from, or delay the implementation of any provision of the Affordable Care Act that would impose a fiscal or regulatory burden on states, individuals, healthcare providers, health insurers, or manufacturers of pharmaceuticals or medical devices. Additionally, on October 12, 2017, President Trump issued another executive order requiring the Secretaries of the Departments of Health and Human Services (“HHS”), Labor and the Treasury to consider proposing regulations or revising existing guidance to allow more employers to form association health plans that would be allowed to provide coverage across state lines, increase the availability of short-term, limited duration health insurance plans, which are generally not subject to the requirements of the Affordable Care Act, and increase the availability and permitted use of health reimbursement arrangements. On October 13, 2017, the Department of Justice announced that HHS was immediately stopping its cost sharing reduction payments to insurance companies based on the determination that those payments had not been appropriated by Congress. Furthermore, on December 22, 2017, President Trump signed tax reform legislation into law that, in addition to overhauling the federal tax system, also, effective as of January 1, 2019, repeals the penalties associated with the individual mandate. Congress or the President of the United States may also consider subsequent legislation or executive action to replace or eliminate elements of the Affordable Care Act. We will continue to evaluate the effect that the Affordable Care Act and any future measures to modify, repeal or replace the Affordable Care Act have on our business. We are not able to provide any assurance that the continued healthcare reform debate will not result in legislation, regulation or executive action by the President of the United States that is adverse to our business.

We rely on third parties to supply and manufacture our proposed products. If these third parties do not perform as expected or if our agreements with them are terminated, our business, prospects, financial condition and results of operations would be materially adversely affected.

We outsource our manufacturing to third parties. Our reliance on contract manufacturers and suppliers exposes us to risks, including the following:

We currently rely on a limited number of suppliers to provide key components for our products. If these or other suppliers become unable to provide components in the volumes needed or at an acceptable price or quality, we would have to identify and qualify acceptable replacements from alternative suppliers. We may experience stoppages in the future. We may not be able to find a sufficient alternative supplier in a reasonable time period, or on commercially reasonable terms, if at all, and our ability to produce and supply our products could be impaired.

To the extent we are able to identify alternative suppliers, qualifying suppliers is a lengthy process. There are a limited number of manufacturers and suppliers that may satisfy applicable requirements. In addition, FDA regulations may require additional testing of any components from new suppliers prior to our use of these materials or components, which testing could delay or prevent the supply of components. Moreover, a new manufacturer would have to be educated in, or develop substantially equivalent processes for, production of our products, which could take a significant period of time.

Each of these risks could delay the development or commercialization of our products or result in higher costs or deprive us of potential product revenues. Furthermore, delays or interruptions in the manufacturing process could limit or curtail our ability to meet demand for our products and/or make commercial sales, unless and until the manufacturing capability at the facilities are restored and re-qualified or alternative manufacturing facilities are developed or brought on-line and “scaled up.” Any such delay or interruption could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition and results of operations.

An unexpected interruption or shortage in the supply or significant increase in the cost of components could limit our ability to manufacture any products, which could reduce our sales and margins.

To the extent we engage in relationships with contract manufacturers in the future, an unexpected interruption of supply or a significant increase in the cost of components, whether to us or to our contract manufacturers for any reason, such as regulatory requirements, import restrictions, loss of certifications, disruption of distribution channels as a result of weather, terrorism or acts of war, or other events, could result in significant cost increases and/or shortages of our products. Our inability to obtain a sufficient amount of products or to pass through higher cost of products we offer could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

We have limited experience in marketing our products and services.

We have undertaken limited marketing efforts for ZanthoSyn® and any future products and services. Our sales and marketing teams compete against the experienced and well-funded sales organizations of competitors. Our future revenues and ability to achieve profitability will depend largely on the effectiveness of our sales and marketing team, and we will face significant challenges and risks related to marketing our services, including, but not limited to, the following:

We may seek to establish a network of distributors in selected markets to market, sell and distribute our products. If we fail to select or use appropriate distributors, or if the sales and marketing strategies of such distributors prove ineffective in generating sales of our products, our future revenues would be adversely affected and we might never become profitable.

We may rely on third-party distributors for sales, marketing and distribution activities.

We may rely on third-party distributors to sell, market, and distribute ZanthoSyn® and any future products. Because we may rely on third-party distributors for sales, marketing and distribution activities, we may be subject to a number of risks associated with our dependence on these third-party distributors, including:

If we fail to establish and maintain satisfactory relationships with third-party distributors, we may be unable to sell, market and distribute our products, our future revenues and market share may not grow as anticipated, and we could be subject to unexpected costs which would harm our results of operations and financial condition. There is no assurance that our sales through GNC stores will continue on terms that are favorable to us or at all.

The loss of our largest customer would substantially reduce revenues.

Our customers are material to our success. If we are unable to maintain good relationships with our existing customers, our business could suffer. We currently sell ZanthoSyn® to GNC under an exclusive sales contract for the “brick and mortar” retail channel in the United States. GNC has the ability to terminate the exclusive nature of this agreement. The loss of GNC as the exclusive seller or the reduction of increasing sales through GNC would have a material adverse effect on the Company.

Commercialization of our products and services will require us to build and maintain sophisticated sales and marketing teams.

We have limited prior experience with commercializing our products. To successfully commercialize our products and services, we will need to establish and maintain sophisticated sales and marketing teams. While we intend to use current Company employees and service providers to lead our marketing efforts, we may choose to expand our marketing and sales team. Experienced sales representatives may be difficult to locate and retain, and all new sales representatives will need to undergo extensive training. There is no assurance that we will be able to recruit and retain sufficiently skilled sales representatives, or that any new sales representatives will ultimately become productive. If we are unable to recruit and retain qualified and productive sales personnel, our ability to commercialize our products and to generate revenues will be impaired, and our business will be harmed.

We may not be able to establish or maintain the third-party relationships that are necessary to develop or potentially commercialize some or all of our product candidates.

We expect to depend on collaborators, partners, licensees, contract research organizations, contract manufacturing organizations, clinical research organizations and other third parties to support our discovery efforts, to formulate product candidates, to manufacture our product candidates and to conduct clinical trials for some or all of our product candidates. We cannot guarantee that we will be able to successfully negotiate agreements for or maintain relationships with collaborators, partners, licensees, contractors, clinical investigators, vendors and other third parties on favorable terms, if at all. Our ability to successfully negotiate such agreements will depend on, among other things, potential partners’ evaluation of the superiority of our technology over competing technologies, the quality of the preclinical and clinical data that we have generated and the perceived risks specific to developing our product candidates. If we are unable to obtain or maintain these agreements, we may not be able to clinically develop, formulate, manufacture, obtain regulatory approvals for or commercialize our future product candidates. We cannot necessarily control the amount or timing of resources that our contract partners will devote to our research and development programs, product candidates or potential product candidates, and we cannot guarantee that these parties will fulfill their obligations to us under these arrangements in a timely fashion. We may not be able to readily terminate any such agreements with contract partners even if such contract partners do not fulfill their obligations to us. We may experience stoppages in the future. We may not be able to find a sufficient alternative provider in a reasonable time period, or on commercially reasonable terms, if at all, and our ability to produce and supply our products could be impaired.

We expect to continue to incur significant research and development expenses, which may make it difficult for us to attain profitability.

We expend substantial funds to develop our proprietary technologies, and additional substantial funds will be required for further research and development, including preclinical testing and clinical trials of any product candidates, and to manufacture and market any products that are approved for commercial sale. Because the successful development of our products is uncertain, we are unable to precisely estimate the actual funds we will require to develop and potentially commercialize them. In addition, we may not be able to generate enough revenue, even if we are able to commercialize any of our product candidates, to become profitable.

We may be subject to product liability claims. Our insurance may not be sufficient to cover these claims, or we may be required to recall our products.

Our business is to develop and commercialize, among other things, pharmaceutical and consumer health products that provide anti-inflammatory benefits. As a result, we will face an inherent risk of product liability claims. The pharmaceutical industry has been historically litigious. Since our products are to be used in the human body, manufacturing errors, design defects or packaging defects could result in injury or death to the patient. This could result in a recall of one or more of our products and substantial monetary damages. Any product liability claim brought against us, with or without merit, could result in a diversion of our resources, an increase in our product liability insurance premiums and/or an inability to secure coverage in the future. We may also have to pay any amount awarded by a court in excess of our policy limits. In addition, any recall of our products, whether initiated by us or by a regulatory agency, may result in adverse publicity for us that could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition and results of operations. Our product liability insurance policies have various exclusions; therefore, we may be subject to a product liability claim or recall for which we have no insurance coverage. In such a case, we may have to pay the entire amount of the award or costs of the recall. Finally, product liability insurance supplements or renewals may be expensive and may not be available in the future on acceptable terms, or at all.

If we experience product recalls, we may incur significant and unexpected costs and damage to our reputation and, therefore, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

We may be subject to product recalls, withdrawals or seizures if any of our products are believed to cause injury or illness or if we are alleged to have violated governmental regulations in the manufacture, labeling, promotion, sale or distribution of our products. A recall, withdrawal or seizure of any of our products could materially and adversely affect consumer confidence in our brands and lead to decreased demand for our products. In addition, a recall, withdrawal or seizure of any of our products would require significant management attention, would likely result in substantial and unexpected expenditures and could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.

If we are unable to obtain and maintain protection of our intellectual property, the value of our products may be adversely affected.

Our business is dependent in part upon our ability to use intellectual property rights to protect our products from competition. To protect our products, we rely on a combination of patent and other intellectual property laws, employment, confidentiality and invention assignment agreements with our employees and contractors, and confidentiality agreements and protective contractual provisions with our partners, licensors and other third parties. These methods, however, afford us only limited protection against competition from other products.

We attempt to protect our intellectual property position, in part, by filing patent applications related to our proprietary technology, inventions and improvements that are important to our business. However, our patent position is not likely by itself to prevent others from commercializing products that compete directly with our products. Moreover, we do not have patent protection for certain components of our products and our patent applications can be challenged. In addition, we may fail to receive any patent for which we have applied, and any patent owned by us or issued to us could be challenged, invalidated, or held to be unenforceable. We also note that any patent granted may not provide a competitive advantage to us. Our competitors may independently develop technologies that are substantially similar or superior to our technologies. Further, third parties may design around our patented or proprietary products and technologies.

We rely on certain trade secrets and we may not be able to adequately protect our trade secrets even with contracts with our personnel and third parties. Also, any third party could independently develop and have the right to use, our trade secret, know-how and other proprietary information. If we are unable to protect our intellectual property rights, our business, prospects, financial condition and results of operations could suffer materially.

Our ability to market our products may be impaired by the intellectual property rights of third parties.

Our success depends in part on our products not infringing on the patents and proprietary rights of other parties. For instance, in the United States, patent applications filed in recent years are confidential for 18 months, while older applications are not published until the patent issues. As a result, there may be patents and patent applications of which we are unaware, and avoiding patent infringement may be difficult.

Our industry is characterized by a large number of patents, patent applications and frequent litigation based on allegations of patent infringement. Competitors may own patents or proprietary rights, or have filed patent applications, related to products that are similar to ours. We may not be aware of all of the patents and pending applications potentially adverse to our interests that may have been issued to others. Moreover, since there may be unpublished patent applications that could result in patents with claims relating to our products, we cannot be sure that our current products will not infringe any patents that might be issued or filed in the future. Based on the litigious nature of our industry and the fact that we may pose a competitive threat to some companies who own or control various patents, we believe it is possible that one or more third parties may assert a patent infringement claim seeking damages or enjoining us from the manufacture or marketing of one or more of our products. Such a lawsuit may have already been filed against us without our knowledge, or may be filed in the near future. If any future claim of infringement against us was successful, we may be required to pay substantial damages, cease the infringing activity or obtain the requisite licenses or rights to use the technology, which may not be available to us on acceptable terms, if at all. Even if we were able to obtain rights to a third party’s intellectual property rights, these rights may be non-exclusive, thereby giving our competitors potential access to the same rights and weakening our market position. Moreover, regardless of the outcome, patent litigation could significantly disrupt our business, divert our management’s attention and consume our financial resources. We cannot predict if or when any third-party patent holder will file suit for patent infringement.

We may be involved in lawsuits or proceedings to protect or enforce our intellectual property rights or to defend against infringement claims, which could be expensive and time consuming.

Litigation may be necessary to enforce our intellectual property rights, protect our trade secrets or determine the validity and scope of the proprietary rights of others. Interference proceedings conducted by a patent and trademark office may be necessary to determine the priority of inventions with respect to our patent applications. Litigation or interference proceedings could result in substantial costs and diversion of resources and management attention. In addition, in an infringement proceeding, a court may decide that a patent of ours is not valid or is unenforceable or may refuse to stop the other party from using the technology at issue on the grounds that our patents do not cover the technology. An adverse determination of any litigation or defense proceedings could put one or more of our patents at risk of being invalidated or interpreted narrowly and could put our patent applications at risk of not issuing. In addition, we may be enjoined from marketing one or more of our products if a court finds that such products infringe the intellectual property rights of a third party.

During litigation, we may not be able to prevent the confidentiality of certain of our proprietary rights because of the substantial amount of discovery required in connection with intellectual property litigation. In addition, during the course of litigation, there could be public announcements of the results of hearings, motions or other interim proceedings or developments. If investors or customers perceive these results to be negative, it could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition and results of operations.

Our insurance liability coverage is limited and may not be adequate to cover potential losses.

In the ordinary course of business, we purchase insurance coverage (e.g., liability coverage) to protect us against claims made by third parties and employees for property damage or personal injuries. However, the protection provided by such insurance is limited in significant respects and, in some instances, we have no coverage and certain of our insurance policies have substantial “deductibles” or have limits on the maximum amounts that may be recovered. Insurers have also introduced new exclusions or limitations of coverage for claims related to certain perils including, but not limited to, mold and terrorism. If a series of losses occurred, such as from a series of lawsuits in the ordinary course of business each of which were subject to the deductible amount, or if the maximum limit of the available insurance was substantially exceeded, we could incur losses in amounts that would have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition. We do not presently have any product liability insurance that would provide coverage for any allegation of product defects or related claims. We will review our ability to obtain such insurance coverage later, but there cannot be any assurance that such insurance coverage will be available on acceptable terms.

Our operating results may fluctuate, which may result in volatility of our share price.

Our operating results, including components of operating results, can be expected to fluctuate from time to time in the future. Some of the factors that may cause these fluctuations include:

If we are unable to manage our expected growth, our future revenue and operating results may be adversely affected.

Our anticipated growth is expected to place a significant strain on our management, operational and financial resources. Our current and planned personnel, systems, procedures and controls may not be adequate to support our anticipated growth. To manage our growth, we will be required to improve existing, and implement new, operational and financial systems, procedures and controls and expand, train and manage our growing employee base. We expect that we may need to increase our management personnel to oversee our expanding operations. Recruiting and retaining qualified individuals can be difficult. If we are unable to manage our growth effectively, or are unsuccessful in recruiting qualified management personnel, our business, prospects, financial condition and results of operations could be harmed.

We are highly dependent on our senior management, and if we are not able to retain them or to recruit and retain additional qualified personnel, our business will suffer.

We are highly dependent upon our senior management, including David G. Watumull, our President and Chief Executive Officer, Gilbert M. Rishton, our Chief Science Officer, Timothy J. King, our Vice President, Research, John B. Russell, our Chief Financial Officer, and David M. Watumull, our Chief Operating Officer. The loss of services of David G. Watumull or any other member of our senior management could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition and results of operations. We carry $1 million “key person” life insurance policies on David G. Watumull and David M. Watumull but do not carry similar insurance for any of our other senior executives.

We may choose to increase our management personnel. For example, we will need to obtain certain additional functional capability, including regulatory, sales, quality assurance and control, either by hiring additional personnel or by outsourcing these functions to qualified third parties. We may not be able to engage these third parties on terms favorable to us. Also, we may not be able to attract and retain qualified personnel on acceptable terms given the competition for such personnel among companies that operate in our markets. The trend in the pharmaceutical industry of requiring sales and other personnel to enter into non-competition agreements prior to starting employment exacerbates this problem, since personnel who have made such a commitment to their current employers are more difficult to recruit. If we fail to identify, attract, retain and motivate these highly skilled personnel, or if we lose current employees, our business, prospects, financial conditions and results of operations could be adversely affected.

Our ability to grow and compete in the future will be adversely affected if adequate capital is not available to us or not available on terms favorable to us.

The ability of our business to grow and compete depends on the availability of adequate capital, which in turn depends in large part on our cash flow from operations and the availability of equity and debt financing. We cannot assure you that our cash flow from operations will be sufficient or that we will be able to obtain equity or debt financing on acceptable terms or at all to implement our growth strategy. As a result, we cannot assure you that adequate capital will be available to finance our current growth plans, take advantage of business opportunities or respond to competitive pressures, any of which could harm our business. Additionally, if adequate additional financing is not available on acceptable terms, we may not be able to continue our business operations. Any additional capital, investment or financing of our business may result in dilution of our stockholders or be on terms and conditions that impair our ability to profitably conduct our business.

You may have limited access to information regarding our Company because we are a limited reporting company exempt from many regulatory requirements.

As a filer subject to Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act, the Company is not required to prepare proxy or information statements; our common stock is not subject to the protection of the going private regulations; the Company is subject to only limited portions of the tender offer rules; our officers, directors, and more than ten (10%) percent stockholders are not required to file beneficial ownership reports about their holdings in our Company; such persons are not subject to the short-swing profit recovery provisions of the Exchange Act; and stockholders of more than five percent (5%) are not required to report information about their ownership positions in the securities. As a result, investors will have reduced visibility as to the Company and its financial condition.

Risks Related to Ownership of Our Common Stock

Our common stock has a limited trading market, which could affect your ability to sell shares of our common stock and the price you may receive for our common stock.

Our common stock is currently traded in the over-the-counter market and “bid” and “asked” quotations regularly appear on the OTCQB maintained by OTC Markets, Inc. under the symbol “CDXI”. There is only limited trading activity in our securities. We have a relatively small public float compared to the number of our shares outstanding. Accordingly, we cannot predict the extent to which investors’ interest in our common stock will provide an active and liquid trading market, which could depress the trading price of our common stock and could have a long-term adverse impact on our ability to raise capital in the future. Due to our limited public float, we may be vulnerable to investors taking a “short position” in our common stock, which would likely have a depressing effect on the price of our common stock and add increased volatility to our trading market. The volatility of the market for our common stock could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. There cannot be any guarantee that an active trading market for our securities will develop or, if such a market does develop, will be sustained. Accordingly, investors must be able to bear the financial risk of losing their entire investment in our common stock.

We may voluntarily file for deregistration of our common stock with the Commission.

Compliance with the periodic reporting requirements required by the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission” or “SEC”) consumes a considerable amount of both internal, as well external, resources and represents a significant cost for us. Our senior management team has relatively limited experience managing a company subject to the reporting requirements of the Exchange Act, and the regulations promulgated thereunder. Our management will be required to design and implement appropriate programs and policies in responding to increased legal, regulatory compliance and reporting requirements, and any failure to do so could lead to the imposition of fines and penalties and harm our business. In addition, if we are unable to continue to devote adequate funding and the resources needed to maintain such compliance, while continuing our operations, we may be in non-compliance with applicable SEC rules or the securities laws, and be delisted from the OTCQB or other market we may be listed on, which would result in a decrease in or absence of liquidity in our common stock, and potentially subject us and our officers and directors to civil, criminal and/or administrative proceedings and cause us to voluntarily file for deregistration of our common stock with the Commission.

Future sales of our common stock in the public market could lower the price of our common stock and impair our ability to raise funds in future securities offerings.

We intend to raise additional capital through the sale of our securities. Future sales of a substantial number of shares of our common stock in the public market, or the perception that such sales may occur, could adversely affect the then prevailing market price of our common stock and could make it more difficult for us to raise funds in the future through the sale of our securities.

We may issue shares of preferred stock that subordinate your rights and dilute your equity interests.

We believe that for us to successfully execute our business strategy we will need to raise investment capital and it may be preferable or necessary to issue preferred stock to investors. Preferred stock may grant the holders certain preferential rights in voting, dividends, liquidation or other rights in preference over a company’s common stock.

The issuance by us of preferred stock could dilute both the equity interests and the earnings per share of existing holders of our common stock. Such dilution may be substantial, depending upon the number of shares issued. The newly authorized shares of preferred stock could also have voting rights superior to our common stock, and in such event, would have a dilutive effect on the voting power of our existing stockholders.

Any issuance of preferred stock with voting rights could, under certain circumstances, have the effect of delaying or preventing a change in control of us by increasing the number of outstanding shares entitled to vote and by increasing the number of votes required to approve a change in control of us. Shares of voting or convertible preferred stock could be issued, or rights to purchase such shares could be issued, to render more difficult or discourage an attempt to obtain control of us by means of a tender offer, proxy contest, merger or otherwise. Such issuances could therefore deprive our stockholders of benefits that could result from such an attempt, such as the realization of a premium over the market price that such an attempt could cause. Moreover, the issuance of such shares of preferred stock to persons friendly to our Board of Directors could make it more difficult to remove incumbent managers and directors from office even if such change were to be favorable to stockholders generally.

The market price of our common stock may be volatile and may be affected by market conditions beyond our control.

The market for our common shares is characterized by significant price volatility when compared to seasoned issuers, and we expect that our share price will continue to be more volatile than a seasoned issuer for the indefinite future. The volatility in our share price is attributable to a number of factors. First, our shares of common stock are sporadically and thinly traded. As a consequence of this lack of liquidity, the trading of relatively small quantities of shares by our stockholders may disproportionately influence the price of those shares in either direction. The price for our shares could, for example, decline precipitously in the event that a large number of shares of our common stock are sold on the market without commensurate demand, as compared to a seasoned issuer which could better absorb those sales without adverse impact on its share price. Second, we are a speculative or “risky” investment due to our limited operating history and lack of profits to date, and uncertainty of future market acceptance for our potential products. As a consequence of this enhanced risk, more risk-averse investors may, under the fear of losing all or most of their investment in the event of negative news or lack of progress, be more inclined to sell their shares on the market more quickly and at greater discounts than would be the case with the stock of a seasoned issuer. Many of these factors are beyond our control and may decrease the market price of our common stock, regardless of our operating performance. We cannot make any predictions or projections as to what the prevailing market price for our common stock will be at any time, including as to whether our common stock will sustain its current market price, or as to what effect the sale of shares or the availability of common stock for sale at any time will have on the prevailing market price.

The market price of our common stock is subject to significant fluctuations in response to, among other factors:

In addition, if the market for stock in our industry, or the stock market in general, experiences a loss of investor confidence, the market price of our common stock could decline for reasons unrelated to our business, financial condition or results of operations. If any of the foregoing occurs, it could cause the price of our common stock to fall and may expose us to lawsuits that, even if unsuccessful, could be costly to defend and distract our Board of Directors and management.

We do not intend to pay dividends for the foreseeable future, and you must rely on increases in the market prices of our common stock for returns on your investment.

For the foreseeable future, we intend to retain any earnings to finance the development and expansion of our business, and we do not anticipate paying any cash dividends on our common stock. Accordingly, investors must be prepared to rely on sales of their common stock after price appreciation to earn an investment return, which may never occur. Investors seeking cash dividends should not purchase our common stock. Any determination to pay dividends in the future will be made at the discretion of our Board of Directors and will depend on our results of operations, financial condition, contractual restrictions, restrictions imposed by applicable law and other factors our Board of Directors deems relevant.

We are subject to penny stock regulations and restrictions and you may have difficulty selling shares of our common stock.

The Commission has adopted regulations which generally define so-called “penny stocks” as an equity security that has a market price of less than $5.00 per share or an exercise price of less than $5.00 per share, subject to certain exemptions. Our common stock is a “penny stock”, and we are subject to Rule 15g-9 under the Exchange Act, or the Penny Stock Rule. This rule imposes additional sales practice requirements on broker-dealers that sell such securities to persons other than established customers and “accredited investors” (generally, individuals with a net worth in excess of $1,000,000 or annual income exceeding $200,000, or $300,000 together with their spouses). For transactions covered by Rule 15g-9, a broker-dealer must make a special suitability determination for the purchaser and receive the purchaser’s written consent to the transaction prior to sale. As a result, this rule affects the ability of broker-dealers to sell our securities and affects the ability of purchasers to sell any of our securities in the secondary market.

For any transaction involving a penny stock, unless exempt, the rules require delivery, prior to any transaction in a penny stock, of a disclosure schedule prepared by the Commission relating to the penny stock market. Disclosure is also required to be made about sales commissions payable to both the broker-dealer and the registered representative and current quotations for the securities. Finally, monthly statements are required to be sent disclosing recent price information for the penny stock held in the account and information on the limited market in penny stock.

There can be no assurance that our shares of common stock will qualify for exemption from the Penny Stock Rule. In any event, even if our common stock were exempt from the Penny Stock Rule, we would remain subject to Section 15(b)(6) of the Exchange Act, which gives the Commission the authority to restrict any person from participating in a distribution of penny stock if the Commission finds that such a restriction would be in the public interest.

In addition to the “penny stock” rules described above, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) has adopted similar rules that may also limit a stockholder’s ability to buy and sell our common stock. FINRA rules require that in recommending an investment to a customer, a broker-dealer must have reasonable grounds for believing that the investment is suitable for such customer. Prior to recommending speculative low priced securities to their non-institutional customers, broker-dealers must make reasonable efforts to obtain information about the customer’s financial status, tax status, investment objectives and other information. Under interpretations of these rules, FINRA believes that there is a high probability that speculative low priced securities will not be suitable for at least some customers. The FINRA requirements make it more difficult for broker-dealers to recommend that their customers buy our common stock, which may limit your ability to buy and sell our stock and have an adverse effect on the market for our shares.

Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments.

None.

Item 2. Properties.

We maintain a facility of approximately 738 square feet at 2800 Woodlawn Drive, Honolulu, Hawaii, which is leased on a month-to-month basis. We believe that our facility is adequate for our current purposes.

Item 3. Legal Proceedings.

From time to time, we may become involved in various lawsuits and legal proceedings that arise in the ordinary course of business. However, litigation is subject to inherent uncertainties and an adverse result in these or other matters may arise from time to time that may harm our business. We are currently not aware of any such legal proceedings or claims that we believe will have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or operating results.

Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures.

Not applicable.

Part II

Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of EQUITY Securities.

Market Information

Our shares of common stock are quoted on the OTCQB under the symbol “CDXI.” The high and low bid quotations for our shares of common stock for each full quarterly period within the two most recent fiscal years are:

Such quotations reflect inter-dealer prices, without retail mark-up, mark-down or commission and do not necessarily represent actual transactions.

Holders

As of March 26, 2018, there were approximately 480 stockholders of record of our common stock. The number of stockholders does not include beneficial owners holding shares through nominee names.

Dividends

We have never paid any cash dividends and intend, for the foreseeable future, to retain any future earnings for the development of our business. Our future dividend policy will be determined by our Board of Directors on the basis of various factors, including our results of operations, financial condition, capital requirements and investment opportunities.

Penny Stock Regulations

The Commission has adopted regulations which generally define so-called “penny stocks” as an equity security that has a market price of less than $5.00 per share or an exercise price of less than $5.00 per share, subject to certain exemptions. Our common stock is a “penny stock”, and we are subject to Rule 15g-9 under the Exchange Act, or the Penny Stock Rule. This rule imposes additional sales practice requirements on broker-dealers that sell such securities to persons other than established customers and “accredited investors” (generally, individuals with a net worth in excess of $1,000,000 or annual income exceeding $200,000, or $300,000 together with their spouses). For transactions covered by Rule 15g-9, a broker-dealer must make a special suitability determination for the purchaser and receive the purchaser’s written consent to the transaction prior to sale. As a result, this rule affects the ability of broker-dealers to sell our securities and affects the ability of purchasers to sell any of our securities in the secondary market.

For any transaction involving a penny stock, unless exempt, the rules require delivery, prior to any transaction in a penny stock, of a disclosure schedule prepared by the Commission relating to the penny stock market. Disclosure is also required to be made about sales commissions payable to both the broker-dealer and the registered representative and current quotations for the securities. Finally, monthly statements are required to be sent disclosing recent price information for the penny stock held in the account and information on the limited market in penny stock.

There can be no assurance that our shares of common stock will qualify for exemption from the Penny Stock Rule. In any event, even if our common stock were exempt from the Penny Stock Rule, we would remain subject to Section 15(b)(6) of the Exchange Act, which gives the Commission the authority to restrict any person from participating in a distribution of penny stock if the Commission finds that such a restriction would be in the public interest.

In addition to the “penny stock” rules described above, the FINRA has adopted similar rules that may also limit a stockholder’s ability to buy and sell our common stock. FINRA rules require that in recommending an investment to a customer, a broker-dealer must have reasonable grounds for believing that the investment is suitable for such customer. Prior to recommending speculative low-priced securities to their non-institutional customers, broker-dealers must make reasonable efforts to obtain information about the customer’s financial status, tax status, investment objectives and other information. Under interpretations of these rules, FINRA believes that there is a high probability that speculative low-priced securities will not be suitable for at least some customers. The FINRA requirements make it more difficult for broker-dealers to recommend that their customers buy our common stock, which may limit the ability of our stockholders to sell their shares and have an adverse effect on the market for our shares.

Securities Authorized for Issuance under Equity Compensation Plans

We adopted, and our stockholders approved, the Cardax, Inc. 2014 Equity Compensation Plan (the “2014 Plan”), effective as of February 7, 2014. Under such plan, we may grant equity-based incentive awards, including options, restricted stock, and other stock-based awards, to any directors, employees, advisers, and consultants that provide services to us or any of our subsidiaries on terms and conditions that are from time to time determined by us. An aggregate of 45,420,148 shares of our common stock are reserved for issuance under the 2014 Plan. Options for the purchase of 43,365,083 shares of our common stock have been granted, options for the purchase of 816,357 shares of our common stock have been exercised, and options for the purchase of 3,851,965 shares of our common stock have been forfeited; options for the purchase of 38,696,761 shares of our common stock are outstanding as of March 26, 2018. In addition, an aggregate of 2,696,202 shares of our common stock have been granted under the 2014 Plan. The purpose of the 2014 Plan is to provide financial incentives for selected directors, employees, advisers, and consultants of Cardax and/or its subsidiaries, thereby promoting the long-term growth and financial success of the Company.

Equity Compensation Plan Information

The following table summarizes information as of March 26, 2018 about our outstanding stock options and shares of common stock reserved for future issuance under our existing equity compensation plans.

Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities

We issued shares of our common stock in the following transactions:

2017(2) Unit Offering

We sold securities under separate subscription agreements (each, a “2017(2)-Subscription Agreement”), by and between the Company and investors (each a “2017(2)-Purchaser” and collectively, the “2017(2)-Purchasers”), pursuant to which we issued and sold to the 2017(2)-Purchasers units (each a “2017(2)-Unit” and collectively the “2017(2)-Units”) consisting of shares of our common stock and warrants to purchase shares of our common stock.

During the year ended December 31, 2017, we sold 416,595 2017(2)-Units for an aggregate purchase price of $124,979. Each 2017(2)-Unit consisted of (i) one share of our common stock, and (ii) a five-year warrant to purchase one share of our common stock at $0.30. No placement agent or broker dealer was used or participated in any offering or sale of such 2017(2)-Units.

The foregoing summary of the 2017(2)-Subscription Agreement does not purport to be complete and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the full text of such agreement, which was filed with our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed November 14, 2017.

2017(1) Unit Offering

We sold securities under separate subscription agreements (each, a “2017(1)-Subscription Agreement”), by and between the Company and investors (each a “2017(1)-Purchaser” and collectively, the “2017(1)-Purchasers”), pursuant to which we issued and sold to the 2017(1)-Purchasers units (each a “2017(1)-Unit” and collectively the “2017(1)-Units”) consisting of shares of our common stock and warrants to purchase shares of our common stock.

During the year ended December 31, 2017, we sold an aggregate of 31,453,788 2017(1)-Units for an aggregate purchase price of $3,774,4560. Each 2017(1)-Unit consisted of: (i) one share of our common stock, and (ii) a five-year warrant to purchase one share of our common stock at $0.12. No placement agent or broker dealer was used or participated in any offering or sale of such 2017(1)-Units.

The foregoing summary of the 2017(1)-Subscription Agreement does not purport to be complete and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the full text of such agreement, which was filed with our Annual Report on Form 10-K filed March 31, 2017.

2016/2017 Unit Offering

We sold securities under separate subscription agreements (each, a “2016/2017-Subscription Agreement”), by and between the Company and investors (each a “2016/2017-Purchaser” and collectively, the “2016/2017-Purchasers”), pursuant to which we issued and sold to the 2016/2017-Purchasers units (each a “2016/2017-Unit” and collectively the “2016/2017-Units”) consisting of shares of our common stock and warrants to purchase shares of our common stock.

During the year ended December 31, 2016 and the first quarter of 2017, we sold an aggregate of 16,250,000 2016/2017-Units for an aggregate purchase price of $1,300,000. Each 2016/2017-Unit consisted of: (i) one share of our common stock, (ii) a five-year warrant to purchase one share of our common stock at $0.08, (iii) a five-year warrant to purchase one share of our common stock at $0.12, and (iv) a five-year warrant to purchase one share of our common stock at $0.16. No placement agent or broker dealer was used or participated in any offering or sale of such 2016/2017-Units.

The foregoing summary of the 2016/2017-Subscription Agreement does not purport to be complete and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the full text of such agreement, which was filed with our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q on May 13, 2016.

Equity Purchase Agreement

On March 7, 2017, we sold 567,644 shares of our common stock at a price of $0.1057 per share pursuant to the equity purchase agreement (the “Equity Purchase Agreement”) with Southridge Partners II LP (“Southridge”), which we previously reported in the Registration Statement on Form S-1 (333-214049) filed on February 8, 2017. Pursuant to the terms of the Equity Purchase Agreement, we have the right, but not the obligation, to sell shares of our common stock to Southridge and Southridge has the right to resell the shares of our common stock.

On July 13, 2016, the date we entered into the Equity Purchase Agreement, we issued 1,500,000 shares of our common stock (the “Initial Shares”) to Southridge, which were not subject to any vesting provisions. Southridge has the right to sell up to 200,000 of the Initial Shares in any calendar month and we have the right to repurchase up to 200,000 shares of our common stock held by Southridge at a price per share equal to $0.067, subject to adjustment for stock splits and similar events.

The foregoing summary of the Equity Purchase Agreement does not purport to be complete and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the full text of such agreement, which was filed with our Current Report on Form 8-K on July 13, 2016.

Service Agreements

On April 10, 2017, we granted 100,000 shares of our common stock to a service provider, as compensation for services. These shares are subject to a risk of forfeiture and vest quarterly in arrears commencing on April 1, 2017.

On August 8, 2017, we granted 100,000 shares of our common stock to a service provider, as compensation for services. These shares are subject to a risk of forfeiture. Twenty five percent (25%) of the shares vested immediately upon issuance, and twenty-five percent (25%) of the shares vest at the end of each calendar quarter thereafter.

Settlement of Payable

On May 3, 2017, we settled a payable in the amount of $44,700 with a previously engaged broker dealer through the issuance 558,750 units. Each unit consisted of: (i) one (1) share of our common stock, (ii) a five-year warrant to purchase one (1) share of our common stock at $0.08 per share, (iii) a five-year warrant to purchase one (1) share of our common stock at $0.12 per share, and (iv) a five-year warrant to purchase one (1) share of our common stock at $0.16 per share.

Warrant Exercise

During the year ended December 31, 2017, we issued 233,217 shares of common stock in connection with the cashless exercise of a warrant for 298,000 shares of common stock at $0.10 per share with 64,783 shares of common stock withheld with an aggregate fair market value equal to the aggregate exercise price

During the year ended December 31, 2017, we issued 500,000 shares of common stock in connection with the exercise of a warrant for 500,000 shares of common stock at $0.08 per share in exchange for $40,000.

Stock Option Exercise

During the year ended December 31, 2017, we issued 645,288 shares of common stock in connection with the cashless exercise of stock options for 100,000, 45,000, and 625,000 shares of common stock at $0.155, $0.06, and $0.06, respectively, per share with 124,712 shares of common stock withheld with an aggregate fair market value equal to the aggregate exercise price.

The securities were issued in reliance upon exemptions from registration pursuant to Section 4(2) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”) and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder.

We may continue to offer securities and may use a placement agent or broker dealer in any such offering. Any future offering of securities may be on the same terms described in this Annual Report on Form 10-K or on other terms.

This Annual Report on Form 10-K does not constitute an offer to sell, or a solicitation to purchase, any of our securities.

Purchases of Equity Securities by the Issuer and Affiliated Purchasers

During each month within the fourth quarter of the fiscal year ended December 31, 2016, neither we nor any “affiliated purchaser,” as that term is defined in Rule 10b-18(a)(3) under the Exchange Act, repurchased any of our common stock or other securities.

Item 6. Selected Financial Data.

We are a “smaller reporting company,” and, accordingly, we are not required to provide the information required by this Item.

Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.

The financial data discussed below is derived from our audited consolidated financial statements for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016, which are found elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Our consolidated financial statements are prepared and presented in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States. The financial data discussed below is only a summary and investors should read the following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of our operations in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements and the related notes to those statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. This discussion contains forward-looking statements reflecting our current expectations that involve risks and uncertainties. Our actual results and the timing of events may differ materially from those contained in these forward-looking statements due to a number of factors, including those discussed in the section entitled “Risk Factors,” and elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Corporate Overview and History

We were incorporated on January 30, 2012, as a Delaware corporation, under the name “Koffee Korner Inc., and later changed our name to Cardax, Inc. in a February 7, 2014 reverse merger (the “Merger”) that acquired the life sciences business of Pharma. Prior to the February 7, 2014, our business was limited to a single location retailer of specialty coffee located in Houston, Texas. On the effective date of the Merger, we divested our coffee business and now exclusively continue Pharma’s life sciences business. On December 30, 2015, our former principal stockholder, Holdings, merged with and into us.

We are devoting substantially all of our present efforts to establishing our business related to the development and commercialization of consumer health products. Our first commercial product, ZanthoSyn®, is a physician recommended anti-inflammatory supplement for health and longevity that features astaxanthin with optimal absorption and purity. The form of astaxanthin utilized in ZanthoSyn® has demonstrated excellent safety in peer-reviewed published studies and is designated as GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe) according to FDA regulations. We sell ZanthoSyn® primarily through e-commerce and wholesale channels and expect that our marketing program will continue to focus on education of physicians, healthcare professionals, retail personnel, and consumers. As a next generation product, we are developing CDX-085, our patented astaxanthin derivative for more concentrated astaxanthin product applications. We may also pursue pharmaceutical applications of astaxanthin and related compounds. The safety and efficacy of our products have not been directly evaluated in clinical trials or confirmed by the FDA.

At present we are not able to estimate if or when we will be able to generate sustained revenues. Our financial statements have been prepared assuming that we will continue as a going concern; however, given our recurring losses from operations, our independent registered public accounting firm has determined there is substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern.

Results of Operations

Results of Operations for the Years Ended December 31, 2017 and 2016:

The following table reflects our operating results for the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016:

Operating Summary

We sell ZanthoSyn® primarily through e-commerce and wholesale channels. We launched our e-commerce channel in August 2016 and began selling to GNC stores in Hawaii on January 25, 2017 and GNC corporate stores across the United States on August 10, 2017. As a result, revenues were $610,323 and $35,258 for the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively. Cost of goods sold were $274,707 and $14,580 for the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively, and included costs of the product, shipping and handling, sales taxes, merchant fees, and other costs incurred on the sale of goods. Gross profits were $335,616 and $20,678 for the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016, which represented gross profit margins of 55% and 59%, respectively.

Operating expenses were $2,337,886 and $1,850,902, for the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively. Operating expenses primarily consisted of services provided to the Company, including payroll and consultation, for research and development, administration, and sales and marketing. These expenses were paid in accordance with agreements entered into with each consultant, employee, or service provider. Included in operating expenses were $242,146 and $525,062 in stock based compensation for the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively.

Other income was $17,036 and $46,519, for the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively. For the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016, other income primarily consisted of a State of Hawaii refundable research and development credit of $17,253 and $47,082.

Assets and Liabilities

Assets were $3,156,685 and $750,580 as of December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively. The increase was primarily due to an increase in cash. At December 31, 2017, cash totaled $2,236,837. Negative working capital of $1,833,988 as of December 31, 2017, was primarily due to accrued payroll and paid time off of $3,490,225, accrued Board of Director fees and related consultation of $418,546, and accounts payable of $603,391, less cash of $2,236,837. The accrual of payroll and Board of Director fees and related consultation, which occurred from January 2008 to December 2013, was due to significant capital constraints, and was selected in favor of layoffs or furloughs in order to maximize employee and director retention. In 2013 and 2014, the Company initiated repayment on these accrued amounts, utilizing approximately 5% to 10% of proceeds from various financings and plans to continue a structured repayment of the outstanding amounts over time as resources permit.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

Since our inception, we have sustained operating losses and have used cash raised by issuing securities in our operations. During the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016, we used cash in operating activities of $2,080,623 and $1,256,771, respectively, and incurred a net loss of $1,985,234 and $1,783,705, respectively.

As of December 31, 2017, we had a U.S. federal income tax net operating loss carryforward of $33,345,946. The net operating losses may be available to offset our future taxable income to the extent permitted under the Internal Revenue Code.

We require additional financing in order to continue to fund our operations and to pay existing and future liabilities and other obligations.

In addition to the $4,138,435 raised during the year ended December 31, 2017, we intend to raise additional capital that would fund our operations through at least December 31, 2018. We may continue to obtain additional financing from investors through the private placement of our common stock and warrants to purchase our common stock. Any financing transaction could also, or in the alternative, include the issuance of our debt or convertible debt securities. There can be no assurance that a financing transaction would be available to us on terms and conditions that we determined are acceptable. We may also access capital under the previously reported equity purchase agreement, pursuant to which we have the right, but not the obligation, to sell shares of our common stock, as described in our Registration Statement on Form S-1 (333-214049) filed on February 8, 2017.

We cannot give any assurance that we will in the future be able to achieve a level of profitability from the sale of existing or future products or otherwise to sustain our operations. These conditions raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern. The accompanying financial statements do not include any adjustments to reflect the possible future effects on recoverability and reclassification of assets or the amounts and classification of liabilities that may result from the outcome of this uncertainty.

Any inability to obtain additional financing on acceptable terms will materially and adversely affect us, including requiring us to significantly further curtail or cease business operations altogether.

Our working capital and capital requirements at any given time depend upon numerous factors, including, but not limited to:

We have funded our research, development, and commercialization primarily by issuing convertible debt and equity securities in several separate private placements of securities.

On January 3, 2014, Pharma received total proceeds from the sale of convertible unsecured promissory notes of $2,076,000.

Upon the consummation of the Merger, the outstanding principal amount of the senior secured convertible promissory notes issued by Pharma in 2013, consisting of (a) the aggregate principal amount of approximately $3,648,244 for notes exchanged with Holdings on May 31, 2013, and (b) the aggregate principal amount of $4,840,792 for notes issued by Pharma during the year ended December 31, 2013, together in the aggregate principal amount of $8,489,036, plus all accrued interest thereon, was automatically converted into an aggregate number of 14,446,777 shares of our common stock and warrants, issued by Cardax, to purchase an aggregate of 14,446,777 shares of our common stock at an exercise price equal to $0.625 that expire on February 7, 2019.

Upon the consummation of the Merger, the outstanding principal amount of the convertible unsecured promissory notes issued by Pharma in 2014, consisting of the aggregate principal amount of $2,076,000 plus all accrued interest thereon, was automatically converted into an aggregate number of 3,353,437 shares of our common stock and warrants to purchase an aggregate of 3,321,600 shares of our common stock at an exercise price equal to $0.625 that expire on February 7, 2019.

In addition, upon the consummation of the Merger we issued and sold an aggregate of 6,276,960 shares of our common stock and warrants, that expire on February 7, 2019, to purchase an aggregate of 6,276,960 shares of our common stock at a price per share equal to $0.625, for aggregate gross cash proceeds of $3,923,100.

During the year ended December 31, 2015, we sold securities in a self-directed offering in the aggregate amount of $1,806,222 at $0.30 per unit, which included the conversion of a $30,000 note issued on January 28, 2015 and $222 in accrued interest. Each unit consisted of one share of our common stock, two Class D warrants, each to purchase one share of our common stock at $0.10 per share, which expire March 31, 2020, and one Class E warrant to purchase three-fourths of one share of our common stock at $0.1667 per share, which expires March 31, 2020. In aggregate, we issued 6,020,725 shares of our common stock, Class D warrants to purchase 12,041,450 shares of our common stock, and Class E warrants to purchase 4,515,554 shares of our common stock.

During the year ended December 31, 2016 and the first quarter of 2017, we sold securities in a self-directed offering in the aggregate amount of $1,300,000 at $0.08 per unit. Each unit consisted of (i) one share of our common stock, (ii) a five-year warrant to purchase one share of our common stock at $0.08, (iii) a five-year warrant to purchase one share of our common stock at $0.12, and (iv) a five-year warrant to purchase one share of our common stock at $0.16. In aggregate, we issued (i) 16,250,000 shares of our common stock, (ii) warrants to purchase 16,250,000 shares of our common stock at $0.08 per share, (iii) warrants to purchase 16,250,000 shares of our common stock at $0.12 per share, and (iv) warrants to purchase 16,250,000 shares of our common stock at $0.16 per share.

During the year ended December 31, 2017, we sold securities in a self-directed offering in the aggregate amount of $3,774,456 at $0.12 per unit. Each unit consisted of (i) one share of our common stock, and (ii) a five-year warrant to purchase one share of our common stock at $0.12. In aggregate, we issued (i) 31,453,788 shares of our common stock, and (ii) warrants to purchase 31,453,788 shares of our common stock at $0.12 per share.

During the year ended December 31, 2017, we sold securities in a self-directed offering in the aggregate amount of $124,979 at $0.30 per unit. Each unit consisted of (i) one share of our common stock, and (ii) a five-year warrant to purchase one share of our common stock at $0.30. In aggregate, we issued (i) 416,595 shares of our common stock, and (ii) warrants to purchase 416,595 shares of our common stock at $0.30 per share.

On July 13, 2016, we entered into an Equity Purchase Agreement with Southridge. Pursuant to the Equity Purchase Agreement, Southridge shall commit to purchase up to $5,000,000 of our common stock over the course of twenty-four (24) months commencing on February 9, 2017, the effective date of our registration statement pursuant to the registration rights agreement. The price that we may specify in any exercise of a Put Right will be determined by calculating a 12% discount to the lowest closing bid price—subject to a pre-designated floor—during a ten trading day period following delivery of a notice of the exercise of our Put Right to Southridge.

As a result of the foregoing, management believes that that the Company should have sufficient sources of liquidity to satisfy its obligations for at least the next 12 months. To the extent our cash and cash equivalents, cash flow from operating activities, and net proceeds from the issuance of our common stock pursuant to the Equity Purchase Agreement are insufficient to fund our future activities, we may need to raise additional funds through bank credit arrangements or public or private equity or debt financings. We also may need to raise additional funds in the event we determine in the future to effect one or more acquisitions of, or investments in, businesses, services or technologies. If additional funding is required, we may not be able to obtain bank credit arrangements or to effect an equity or debt financing on terms acceptable to us or at all.

We will incur ongoing recurring expenses associated with professional fees for accounting, legal, and other expenses for annual reports, quarterly reports, proxy statements and other filings under the Exchange Act. We estimate that these costs will likely be in excess of $250,000 per year for the next few years. These obligations will reduce our ability and resources to fund other aspects of our business. We hope to be able to use our status as a public company to increase our ability to use non-cash means of settling obligations and compensate certain independent contractors who provide professional services to us, although there can be no assurances that we will be successful in any of those efforts.

The following is a summary of our cash flows provided by (used in) operating, investing, and financing activities during the periods indicated:

Cash Flows from Operating Activities

During the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016, our operating activities primarily consisted of payments or accruals for employees, directors, and consultants for services related to research and development, administration, and sales and marketing.

Cash Flows from Investing Activities

During the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016, our investing activities were primarily related to the capitalization of patent costs.

Cash Flows from Financing Activities

During the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016, our financing activities primarily consisted of various transactions in which we raised proceeds through the issuance of common stock.

Our existing liquidity is not sufficient to fund our operations, anticipated capital expenditures, working capital and other financing requirements for the foreseeable future. We will need to seek to obtain additional debt or equity financing, especially if we experience downturns or cyclical fluctuations in our business that are more severe or longer than anticipated, or if we experience significant increases in the cost of components and manufacturing, or increases in our expense levels resulting from being a publicly-traded company. If we attempt to obtain additional debt or equity financing, we cannot assure you that such financing will be available to us on favorable terms, or at all.

Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements

In May 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) No. 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers, related to revenue recognition. The underlying principle of this ASU is that a business or other organization will recognize revenue to depict the transfer of promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects what it expects in exchange for the goods or services. This ASU also requires more detailed disclosures and provides additional guidance for transactions that were not addressed completely in prior accounting guidance. ASU No. 2014-09 provides alternative methods of initial adoption. The Company is currently assessing the impact of this ASU on the Company’s consolidated financial statements. In August 2015, the FASB issued ASU No. 2015-14, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606): Deferral of the Effective Date, which defers the effective date of ASU No. 2014-09 by one year to fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017, including interim periods within those years and permitted early adoption of the standard, but not before the original effective date. The Company has assessed the impact of these ASUs and does not believe that they will have a material effect on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.

The FASB issued four additional ASUs in 2016 that affect the guidance in ASU No. 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers, and are effective upon adoption of ASU No. 2014-09.

The Company has assessed the impact of these ASUs and does not believe that they will have a material effect on the Company’s consolidated financial statements, including the following ASUs:

In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-02, Leases. This ASU requires management to recognize lease assets and lease liabilities for all leases. ASU No. 2016-02 retains a distinction between finance leases and operating leases. The classification criteria for distinguishing between finance leases and operating leases are substantially similar to the classification criteria for distinguishing between capital leases and operating leases in the previous leases guidance. The result of retaining a distinction between finance leases and operating leases is that under the lessee accounting model, the effect of leases in the statement of comprehensive income and the statement of cash flows is largely unchanged from previous U.S. GAAP. The guidance in ASU No. 2016-02 is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018, including interim periods within those fiscal years. The Company is currently assessing the impact of this ASU on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.

In March 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-09, Compensation - Stock Compensation. This ASU was issued as part of the FASB’s simplification initiative focused on improving areas of U.S. GAAP for which cost and complexity may be reduced while maintaining or improving the usefulness of information disclosed within the financial statements. The amendments focused on simplification specifically with regard to share-based payment transactions, including income tax consequences, classification of awards as equity or liabilities, and classification on the statement of cash flows. The guidance in ASU No. 2016-09 is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2016, including interim periods within those fiscal years. Early adoption is permitted. The amendments in this ASU should be applied prospectively to an award modified on or after the adoption date. The Company has assessed the impact of this ASU and does not believe that this update has a significant impact on its consolidated financial statements.

In November 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-18, Statement of Cash Flows (Topic 23). The amendments of ASU No. 2016-18 require that a statement of cash flow explain the change during a period in the total of cash, cash equivalents, and amounts generally described as restricted cash or restricted cash equivalents. The guidance of ASU No. 2016-18 is effective for years beginning after December 15, 2017, including interim periods within those years. The Company has assessed the impact of this ASU and does not believe that this update has a significant impact on its consolidated financial statements.

In May 2017, the FASB issued ASU No. 2017-09, Compensation-Stock Compensation: Scope of Modification Accounting. The amendments of ASU No. 2017-09 provide guidance about which changes to the terms or conditions of a share-based payment award require an entity to apply modification accounting. The guidance of ASU No. 2017-09 is effective for years beginning after December 15, 2017, including interim periods within those years. The Company has assessed the impact of this ASU and does not believe that this update has a significant impact on its consolidated financial statements.

We do not believe that any other recently issued, but not yet effective accounting pronouncements, if adopted, would have a material effect on the consolidated financial statements.

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements

There are no off-balance sheet arrangements that have or are reasonably likely to have a current or future effect on our financial condition, changes in financial condition, revenues or expenses, results of operations, liquidity, capital expenditures or capital resources.

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

We are a “smaller reporting company,” and, accordingly, we are not required to provide the information required by this Item.

Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data.

The consolidated financial statements required by this Item, together with the report of our independent registered public accounting firm, KBL, LLP, begin on page F-1, immediately following the signatures to this annual report. Please refer to Item 15 of this report for an index of the consolidated financial statements included in this annual report.

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

Not applicable.

Item 9A. Controls and Procedures.

Disclosure Controls and Procedures

Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting, as such term is defined in Exchange Act Rule 15d-15(f). Under the supervision and with the participation of our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, we conducted an evaluation of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting based on the framework in Internal Control—Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission. Internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles and includes those policies and procedures that (a) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the Company; (b) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit the preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles and that receipts and expenditures of the Company are being made only in accordance with authorizations of the our management and directors; and (c) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use or disposition of the Company’s assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements. Based on our evaluation under the framework in Internal Control—Integrated Framework, our management concluded that our internal control over financial reporting was effective as of December 31, 2017.

Changes in Internal Controls over Financial Reporting

There were no changes in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2017, that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, the Company’s internal control over financial reporting.

Item 9B. Other Information.

Not applicable.

Part III

Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance.

Set forth below is a list of the names, ages and positions of our directors and executive officers.

Biographies of Directors and Executive Officers

George W. Bickerstaff, III has served as a Director since June 16, 2014. Mr. Bickerstaff is currently a Managing Director of M.M. Dillon & Co., LLC, which he joined in 2005. Prior to joining M.M. Dillon & Co., LLC, Mr. Bickerstaff held various positions with Novartis International AG, a global pharmaceuticals and consumer health company, including Chief Financial Officer of Novartis Pharma AG from October 2000 to May 2005. From December 1999 to September 2000, Mr. Bickerstaff served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Workscape, Inc. a provider of employee-related information services. From July 1998 to December 1999, Mr. Bickerstaff served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Uniscribe Professional Services, Inc., a nationwide provider of paper and technology-based document management solutions. From January 1998 to June 1998, Mr. Bickerstaff served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Intellisource Group, Inc., a provider of information technology solutions to the federal, state and local government and utility markets. From July 1997 to December 1997, Mr. Bickerstaff served as Vice President of Finance of Cognizant Corporation, a global business information services company. From January 1990 to June 1997, Mr. Bickerstaff served in various senior finance roles, including Chief Financial Officer of IMS Healthcare, a global business information services company in the healthcare and pharmaceutical industries. Prior to that, Mr. Bickerstaff held various finance, audit and engineering positions with the Dun & Bradstreet Corporation and General Electric Company. Mr. Bickerstaff has been a member of the board of directors of CareDx, Inc., a company that develops, markets, and delivers diagnostic surveillance solutions for organ transplant recipients, since April 2014. Mr. Bickerstaff was a member of the board of directors of Vion Pharmaceuticals, Inc., from June 2005 to March 2010. Mr. Bickerstaff’s nonprofit activities include serving on the board of directors of the International Vaccine Institute, the International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children, The Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics & Policy and The Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization. Mr. Bickerstaff holds a B.S. in Engineering and a B.A. in Business Administration from Rutgers University (1978). Mr. Bickerstaff’s experience through various roles in establishing the strategic, operational, and financial direction of numerous private and public companies, including those in the pharmaceutical industry, will be instrumental in enabling our Board to implement our strategic plan.

David G. Watumull has served as our Chief Executive Officer, President, and Director since February 7, 2014. Mr. Watumull has served as the Chief Executive Officer, President, and Director of Pharma since its inception in May 2013. Mr. Watumull also served as the Chief Executive Officer, President, and Director of Holdings from its inception in March 2006 until it merged with us in December 2015. Mr. Watumull is a co-founder of Holdings and has over 20 years of experience as a biotechnology industry executive. From 2001 to 2006, Mr. Watumull served as President, Chief Executive Officer, and Director of Hawaii Biotech, Inc. Mr. Watumull was Executive Vice President of Aquasearch, Inc., a public astaxanthin consumer health company, from 1998 to 2000. From 1997 to 1998 he headed his own biotech research firm, Watumull & Co. From 1994 to 1997 he was a biotech research analyst, money manager, and investment banker at First Honolulu Securities. From 1992 to 1994 he led his own money management firm, Biovest, Inc. Prior to that, from 1982 to 1992, Mr. Watumull worked at Paine Webber in various capacities, including as a biotech money manager and investment executive. Mr. Watumull’s extensive background in the biotechnology industry, his operational acumen, and his position of leadership since the founding of our business uniquely qualifies him to serve as a member of our Board.

Terence A. Kelly, Ph.D. has served as a Director since June 16, 2014. Dr. Kelly has over 20 years of experience as a scientist and executive in the pharmaceutical industry starting as a medicinal chemist in 1990. Dr. Kelly is currently the President and Chief Executive Officer of CoMentis, Inc. and a founder of Kelly Pharma Research Consulting, LLC. From 1990 to 2009, Dr. Kelly served in various scientific and executive positions at Boehringer Ingelheim, where after a successful early career developing LFA-1 antagonists, he led its US-based medicinal chemistry department, which included 145 scientists in the high throughput screening, computational chemistry, structural biology, combinatorial chemistry and medicinal chemistry groups. Dr. Kelly holds a B.S. degree in Chemistry at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (1982) and a Ph.D. degree in Chemistry at the University of Texas at Austin (1988). He completed postdoctoral work in natural products synthesis at Yale University (1988-1990) and holds an MBA from New York University, Stern School of Business (1998). Dr. Kelly is the co-author of over 25 scientific publications and serves on the College of Natural Sciences Advisory Council for the University of Texas. Dr. Kelly’s scientific training and his track record of delivering high quality compounds into advanced clinical studies provide valuable skills and knowledge to our Board.

Michele Galen has served as a Director since January 4, 2017. Ms. Galen serves as a strategic advisor and board member across pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, health start-ups and global health, drawing on her broad experience in global business, communications, law and journalism. From June 2016 to present, Ms. Galen has led an independent consultancy, Michele Galen LLC. From April 2015 to June 2016, Ms. Galen served as Global Head, Communications and Public Affairs, for Shire plc, a biotechnology company, where she served as the lead communications and public affairs advisor on the successful $32 billion acquisition and integration of Baxalta. From February 2015 to March 2015, Ms. Galen led an independent consultancy, Michele Galen LLC. From May 2014 to January 2015, Ms. Galen served as a senior advisor to Novartis AG. From February 2012 to May 2014, Ms. Galen led Global Communications for Novartis AG, based in Basel, Switzerland. From February 2010 to February 2012, Ms. Galen served as Vice President and Global Head of Communications & Patient Advocacy for Novartis Pharma AG. From October 2003 to February 2010, Ms. Galen served as Vice President and Global Head, Oncology Affairs for Novartis Pharma AG. From February 2001 to October 2003, Ms. Galen served as Vice President, Corporate Communications for Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation. Earlier in her career, Ms. Galen was a Managing Director in the global public relations firm Burson-Marsteller. There, she co-founded the Organizational Change Communications practice. She is an award-winning journalist, and worked as Legal Editor and Social Issues Editor at Business Week magazine. Ms. Galen is a member of the New York State Bar and practiced law at Stroock, Stroock & Lavan LLP, and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP. Ms. Galen currently serves on the inaugural board of directors of Global Oncology, and on the advisory board of MK&A, a global healthcare consultancy firm. Formerly, she served as a pro bono advisor to the UNICEF Office of Public Advocacy, and on the boards of the Global Health Council and Stupid Cancer. Ms. Galen received a B.A. from George Washington University, M.S. from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, and J.D. from New York University School of Law. She also completed the External Executive Coaching Intensive at Columbia University. Ms. Galen’s broad pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and healthcare background provide valuable skills and knowledge to our Board.

John B. Russell, CPA, has served as our Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer since February 7, 2014. Mr. Russell has served as the Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer of Pharma since July 2013. Mr. Russell also served as the Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer of Holdings from July 2013 until it merged with us in December 2015. Mr. Russell is the founder of JBR Business Solutions, LLC and has served as its President since 2010. Mr. Russell has over 20 years of accounting, finance, operations, and SEC reporting experience in biopharmaceutical and high-tech industries. From 2010 to the present, he has served as Chief Financial Officer for various privately-held start-up companies. Mr. Russell was in charge of the Business Advisory Services for the Grant Thornton Honolulu office from 2006 to 2010. From 2005 to 2006, Mr. Russell worked at a consulting company as the Operations Consulting - Financial Management lead, advising Cisco Systems, Inc. Mr. Russell was the General Accounting Manager of the publicly traded company Scios Inc. from 2003 to 2005, where he was in charge of SEC reporting and internal controls. Mr. Russell was the Controller for several portfolio companies in the venture capital firm, Raza Foundries, Inc., from 2001 to 2002, and the General Accounting Manager for inSilicon Corporation, a public company, from 2000 to 2001. Previous to that, Mr. Russell was an auditor at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP from 1995 to 2000. Mr. Russell is a licensed CPA in Hawaii and has a B.A. in Economics/Accounting from Claremont McKenna College.

Richard M. Morris has served as our Secretary since February 7, 2014. Mr. Morris has served as Secretary of Pharma since December 2017 and previously as Assistant Secretary of Pharma from its inception in May 2013 to December 2017. Mr. Morris also served as Assistant Secretary of Holdings from July 2013 until its merger with us in December 2015. Mr. Morris is a Partner at Herrick, Feinstein LLP, our legal counsel (“Herrick”). As a partner of Herrick, Mr. Morris represents a variety of clients, primarily in corporate matters. Prior to becoming a lawyer, Mr. Morris was an auditor with the Commodities Exchange in New York and later focused on operations and financial management at Kidder Peabody. He also was the U.S. Audit Manager for the financial division for a diversified Australian company. Mr. Morris has a B.S. in Accounting from New York University (1982) and a J.D. from Fordham University School of Law (1990), with bar admissions in New York and Connecticut.

David M. Watumull has served as our Chief Operating Officer since August 2017 and previously as our Vice President, Operations from February 7, 2014 to August 2017. Mr. Watumull has also served as our Assistant Treasurer and Assistant Secretary since February 7, 2014. Mr. Watumull has served as the Chief Operating Officer of Pharma since December 2017 and previously as Vice President, Operations of Pharma from its inception in May 2013 to December 2017. Mr. Watumull has also served as Assistant Treasurer and Assistant Secretary of Pharma since July 2013 and previously as Secretary and Treasurer of Pharma from May 2013 to July 2013. Mr. Watumull also served as Vice President, Operations, Assistant Treasurer, and Assistant Secretary of Holdings from July 2013 until it merged with us in December 2015, and previously as Director, Operations and Finance from 2009 to 2013, Operations Manager from 2008 to 2009, and Program Manager from its inception in 2006 to 2009. Mr. Watumull oversees all operations with responsibility for sales and marketing, product development and manufacturing, regulatory compliance, finance, and administration. Mr. Watumull was previously Program Manager at Hawaii Biotech, Inc. from 2005 to 2006, Project Coordinator from 2004 to 2005, and Information Technology Associate / Manager from 2002 to 2004. Mr. Watumull also worked at Aquasearch, Inc., from 2000 to 2001 in various capacities including Medical Information Specialist and Information Technology Associate. Mr. Watumull graduated first in his high school class and studied Electrical Engineering at the University of Hawaii.

Executive officers are appointed by our Board of Directors. Each executive officer holds his or her office until he or she resigns, is removed by our Board of Directors or his or her successor is elected and qualified. Directors are elected annually by our stockholders at the annual meeting. Each director holds his or her office until his or her successor is elected and qualified or his or her earlier resignation or removal.

There have been no material changes to the procedures by which security holders may recommend nominees to our Board of Directors since our last annual report.

Family Relationships

David G. Watumull is the father of David M. Watumull. There are no other family relationships among any of our officers or directors.

Involvement in Certain Legal Proceedings

To the best of our knowledge, none of our directors or executive officers has been convicted in a criminal proceeding, excluding traffic violations or similar misdemeanors, or has been a party to any judicial or administrative proceeding during the past ten years that resulted in a judgment, decree, or final order enjoining the person from future violations of, or prohibiting activities subject to, federal or state securities laws, or a finding of any violation of federal or state securities laws, except for matters that were dismissed without sanction or settlement. Except as set forth in our discussion below in “Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence – Transactions with Related Persons,” none of our directors, director nominees, or executive officers has been involved in any transactions with us or any of our directors, executive officers, affiliates, or associates which are required to be disclosed pursuant to the rules and regulations of the Commission.

Code of Ethics

Our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics, effective as of February 7, 2014 (the “Code of Ethics”), contains the ethical principles by which our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, among others, are expected to conduct themselves when carrying out their duties and responsibilities. A copy of our Code of Ethics may be found on our website at www.cardaxpharma.com. We will provide a copy of our Code of Ethics to any person, without charge, upon request, by writing to David G. Watumull, Cardax, Inc., 2800 Woodlawn Drive, Suite 129, Honolulu, Hawaii 96822.

Board Committees

We are not required under the Securities and Exchange Act to maintain any committees of our Board of Directors. We have formed certain committees of our board as a matter of preferred corporate practices.

We have an audit committee, a compensation committee and a nominating and corporate governance committee, each of which has the composition and responsibilities described below.

Audit Committee. Our audit committee oversees a broad range of issues surrounding our accounting and financial reporting processes and audits of our consolidated financial statements, including the following:

The members of our audit committee are George W. Bickerstaff, III (Chairperson) and Terence A. Kelly, Ph.D. Our audit committee has a written charter available on our website at www.cardaxpharma.com.

Compensation Committee. Our compensation committee reviews and recommends policy relating to compensation and benefits of our officers, directors and employees, including reviewing and approving corporate goals and objectives relevant to the compensation of our Chief Executive Officer and other senior officers, evaluating the performance of these persons in light of those goals and objectives and setting compensation of these persons based on such evaluations. The compensation committee reviews and evaluates, at least annually, the performance of the compensation committee and its members, including compliance of the compensation committee with its charter.

The members of our compensation committee are Terence A. Kelly, Ph.D. (Chairperson) and George W. Bickerstaff, III. Our compensation committee has a written charter available on our website at www.cardaxpharma.com.

Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee. The nominating and corporate governance committee oversees and assists our Board of Directors in identifying, reviewing and recommending nominees for election as directors; evaluating our Board of Directors and our management; developing, reviewing and recommending corporate governance guidelines and a corporate code of business conduct and ethics; and generally advises our Board of Directors on corporate governance and related matters.

The members of our nominating and corporate governance committee are Terence A. Kelly, Ph.D. (Chairperson) and George W. Bickerstaff, III. Our nominating and corporate governance committee has a written charter available on our website at www.cardaxpharma.com.

Conflicts of Interest

Certain potential conflicts of interest are inherent in the relationships between our officers and directors and us.

From time to time, one or more of our affiliates may form or hold an ownership interest in and/or manage other businesses both related and unrelated to the type of business that we own and operate. These persons expect to continue to form, hold an ownership interest in and/or manage additional other businesses which may compete with our business with respect to operations, including financing and marketing, management time and services and potential customers. These activities may give rise to conflicts between or among the interests of us and other businesses with which our affiliates are associated. Our affiliates are in no way prohibited from undertaking such activities, and neither us nor our stockholders will have any right to require participation in such other activities.

Further, because we intend to transact business with some of our officers, directors and affiliates, as well as with firms in which some of our officers, directors or affiliates have a material interest, potential conflicts may arise between the respective interests of us and these related persons or entities. We believe that such transactions will be effected on terms at least as favorable to us as those available from unrelated third parties.

With respect to transactions involving real or apparent conflicts of interest, we have adopted policies and procedures which require that: (i) the fact of the relationship or interest giving rise to the potential conflict be disclosed or known to the directors who authorize or approve the transaction prior to such authorization or approval; and (ii) the transaction be fair and reasonable to us at the time it is authorized or approved by our directors.

Item 11. Executive Compensation.

The following sets forth information with respect to the compensation awarded or paid to David G. Watumull, our Chief Executive Officer, and David M. Watumull, our Chief Operating Officer, for all services rendered in all capacities to the Company and its predecessors during the fiscal years ending December 31, 2016 and 2017. These executive officers are referred to as the “named executive officers” throughout this Annual Report on Form 10-K. In addition, the following sets forth information with respect to the compensation awarded or paid to our two highest compensated individuals not serving as executive officers, Gilbert M. Rishton, our Chief Science Officer, and Timothy J. King, our Vice President of Research, for all services rendered in all capacities to the Company and its predecessors during the fiscal years ending December 31, 2016 and 2017.

Compensation of Executive Officers

The following table sets forth information regarding each element of compensation that we paid or awarded to our named executive officers, and our two highest compensated individuals not serving as executive officers, for the two fiscal years ended December 31, 2016 and 2017, which includes cash compensation, stock options awarded in lieu of cash compensation, and all other compensation:

Outstanding Equity Awards to Executive Officers at Fiscal Year-End 2017

The following table sets forth information regarding outstanding option awards to our named executive officers as of December 31, 2017:

Compensation of Directors

The following table sets forth information regarding each element of compensation that we paid or awarded to our current independent directors for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2017:

Outstanding Equity Awards to Directors at Fiscal Year-End 2017

The following table sets forth information regarding outstanding equity awards to our independent directors as of December 31, 2017:

Employment and Consulting Agreements

Executive Officer Compensation

On February 7, 2014, we entered into employment agreements with each of Messrs. David G. Watumull, David M. Watumull, Gilbert M. Rishton, and Timothy J. King, which provided for employment for an initial term of one year, subject to renewal and earlier termination rights as provided in such agreements. These agreements provide for compensation terms and duration of employment as set forth in each such agreement. Such agreements include restrictive covenants concerning competition with us and solicitation of our employees and clients, if such individuals are terminated for cause as defined in such agreements.

On July 30, 2013, we entered into a service agreement with JBR Business Solutions, LLC, under which John B. Russell agreed to serve as our Chief Financial Officer, and under which Mr. Russell would be paid an aggregate of $7,000 a month. Mr. Russell is the Managing Partner of JBR Business Solutions, LLC. To conserve cash resources while seeking additional financing, we and Mr. Russell, agreed to reduce cash compensation effective January 15, 2015. On June 30, 2015, the compensation arrangement was amended so that, effective after June 30, 2015, we had the right to pay up to 50% of any compensation due during any calendar quarter that was not paid in cash in the form of shares of our common stock or non-qualified stock options under the 2014 Plan. On March 28, 2016, Mr. Russell was furloughed and agreed to continue service as Chief Financial Officer for cash compensation equal to the minimum wage. On September 6, 2016, the compensation arrangement was amended so that effective September 30, 2016, he would receive monthly compensation of $3,500. On August 31, 2017, the compensation arrangement was amended so that effective September 1, 2017, Mr. Russell would receive monthly compensation of $5,250.

Director Compensation

On June 30, 2015, we entered into an agreement with George W. Bickerstaff, III and Terence A. Kelly, Ph.D. that provided for the annual compensation of each independent director equal to $100,000, payable quarterly in arrears in the form of a grant of shares of our common stock or non-qualified stock options to purchase shares of our common stock under the 2014 Plan.

Effective April 1, 2016, the independent directors of the Company agreed to suspend any additional equity compensation, until otherwise agreed by the Company

On September 6, 2016, the compensation arrangements of the independent directors of the Company were amended so that effective September 30, 2016, they would each receive quarterly equity compensation of $12,500 in arrears in the form of a grant of shares of our common stock or non-qualified stock options to purchase shares of our common stock under the 2014 Plan based on the higher of the then current market price or $0.15 per share, with such compensation prorated for one of three months for the quarter ended September 30, 2016.

On January 4, 2017, our Board of Directors elected Michele Galen to serve as an independent director until our next annual meeting of stockholders with quarterly equity compensation of $12,500 in arrears in the form of a grant of shares of our common stock or non-qualified stock options to purchase shares of our common stock under the 2014 Plan based on the higher of the then current market price or $0.15 per share.

On August 31, 2017, the compensation arrangements of the independent directors of the Company were amended so that effective September 1, 2017, they would each receive quarterly equity compensation of $18,750 in arrears in the form of a grant of shares of our common stock or non-qualified stock options to purchase shares of our common stock under the 2014 Plan based on the higher of the then current market price or $0.15 per share.

2014 Equity Compensation Plan

Our 2014 Plan is administered by our compensation committee. The purpose of the 2014 Plan is to provide financial incentives for selected directors, employees, advisers, and consultants of Cardax and/or its subsidiaries, thereby promoting the long-term growth and financial success of the Company. The issuance of awards under the 2014 Plan is at the discretion of our compensation committee, which has the authority to determine the persons to whom any awards shall be granted and the terms, conditions and restrictions applicable to any award. Under the 2014 Plan, we may grant equity-based incentive awards, including options, restricted stock, and other stock-based awards, to any directors, employees, advisers, and consultants that provide services to us or any of our subsidiaries. An aggregate of 45,420,148 shares of our common stock have been reserved for issuance under the 2014 Plan, which is subject to adjustment as described in such plan. As of March 26, 2018, there are 3,210,828 shares of common stock available for future awards under the 2014 Plan.

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

Securities Authorized for Issuance under Equity Compensation Plans

The information required by Item 201(d) of Regulation S-K regarding our 2014 Plan is outlined above in Item 5 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management

The following table sets forth information regarding the ownership of our common stock as of March 26, 2018 for:

The amounts and percentages of our common stock beneficially owned are reported on the basis of regulations of the SEC governing the determination of beneficial ownership of securities. Under the rules of the SEC, a person is deemed to be a “beneficial owner” of a security if that person has or shares “voting power,” which includes the power to vote or to direct the voting of such security, or “investment power,” which includes the power to dispose of or to direct the disposition of such security. A person is also deemed to be a beneficial owner of any securities of which that person has the right to acquire beneficial ownership within 60 days. Under these rules more than one person may be deemed a beneficial owner of the same securities and a person may be deemed to be a beneficial owner of securities as to which such person has no economic interest.

Unless otherwise indicated below, to the best of our knowledge each beneficial owner named in the table has sole voting and sole investment power with respect to all shares beneficially owned, subject to community property laws where applicable.

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

Transactions with Related Persons

Other than compensation arrangements with directors and executive officers, which are described under “Executive Compensation— Employment and Consulting Agreements” we have no other related-party transactions that are subject to disclosure.

Director Independence

George W. Bickerstaff, III, Terence A. Kelly, Ph.D., and Michele Galen are our independent directors. Because our common stock is not currently listed on a national securities exchange, we have used the definition of “independence” of The NASDAQ Stock Market to make this determination. NASDAQ Listing Rule 5605(a)(2) provides that an “independent director” is a person other than an officer or employee of the Company or any other individual having a relationship that, in the opinion of the Company’s Board, would interfere with the exercise of independent judgment in carrying out the responsibilities of a director. The NASDAQ listing rules provide that a director cannot be considered independent if:

Item 14. Principal Accounting Fees and Services.

We engaged KBL, LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm for the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016. The table below sets forth the aggregate fees billed for fiscal years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016, for professional services rendered by KBL, LLP, for the audit of our annual consolidated financial statements and review of the consolidated financial statements included in our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and services that are normally provided in connection with statutory and regulatory filings or engagements.

Audit Committee’s Pre-Approval Policies

Our audit committee is responsible for, among other things, the selection, appointment, retention and dismissal of our independent auditors. Additionally, our audit committee pre-approves the retention of our independent auditors for any non-audit services, and the funding for payment of compensation to our independent auditors for both audit and non-audit services.

Audit Hours Incurred

Less than fifty percent of the hours expended on our principal accountant’s engagement to audit our financial statements for the most recent fiscal year were attributed to work performed by persons other than our principal accountant’s full-time, permanent employees.

Part IV

Item 15. Exhibits, Financial Statement Schedules.

(a) Financial Statements

(b) Financial Statement Schedules

All consolidated financial statement schedules are included in the footnotes to the financial statements, are inapplicable, or otherwise not required.

(c) Exhibits