Kraig Biocraft Laboratories, Inc.: Form 10-K for the period ended Dec 31, 2023
Filed with the SEC on Apr 1, 2024 and accepted by EDGAR at Apr 1, 2024, 16:31 ET.
Business
As filed, 41,733 characters, with its headings, lists and tables. Extracted from the main document; charts and exhibits are in the original on sec.gov.
Overview
Kraig Biocraft Laboratories, Inc., a Wyoming corporation, is a corporation organized to develop high strength fibers using recombinant DNA technology for commercial applications in technical textile. We use genetically engineered silkworms that produce spider silk proteins to create our recombinant spider silk. Applications include performance apparel, workwear, filtration, luxury fashion, flexible composites, medical implants, cosmetics and more. We believe that we have been a leader in the research and development of commercially scalable and cost effective spider silk for technical textile and non-fibrous applications. Our primary proprietary fiber technology utilizes natural and engineered variants of spider silk produced in domesticated mulberry silkworms. Our business brings twenty-first century biotechnology to the historical silk industry, permitting us to introduce materials with innovative properties and claims into an established commercial ecosystem of silkworm rearing, silk spinning and weaving, and manufacture of garments and other products that can include our specialty fibers and textiles. Specialty fibers are engineered for specific uses that require exceptional strength, flexibility, heat resistance and/or chemical resistance. The specialty fiber market is exemplified by two synthetic fiber products that come from petroleum derivatives: (1) aramid fibers; and (2) ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene fibers. The technical textile industry involves products for both industrial and consumer products, such as filtration fabrics, medical textiles (e.g., sutures and artificial ligaments), safety and protective clothing and fabrics used in military and aerospace applications (e.g., high-strength composite materials).
We are using genetic engineering technologies to develop fibers with greater strength, resiliency and flexibility for use in our target markets, namely the specialty fiber and technical textile industries. We believe that the genetically engineered protein-based fibers we seek to produce have properties that are in some ways superior to the materials currently available in the marketplace. Our technology holds, what we believe to be, the potential for life-saving ballistic resistant materials. Other potential applications for spider silk based recombinant fibers include use as structural material and for any application in which light weight and high strength are required. We believe that fibers made with recombinant protein-based polymers will make significant inroads into the specialty fiber and technical textile markets.
Through our technologies, the introduction of the gene sequence based on those found in native spider silk, results in a germline transformation and is therefore self-perpetuating. Our recombinant spider silk fibers incorporate the silk proteins found in spider silk with native silkworm silk proteins. This combination of native silkworm proteins combined with spider silk protein structures results in new and unique recombinant silk fibers. This technology is in essence a protein expression platform which has other potential applications including diagnostics and pharmaceutical production. Moreover, our technologies are “green” inasmuch as our fibers and textiles are derived from nature and do not use any petrochemicals as an input into the fibers.
The Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm to our financial statements as of December 31, 2023 include an explanatory paragraph stating that our net loss from operations and net capital deficiency at December 31, 2023 raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.
Corporate Information
Kraig was incorporated in Wyoming in 2006. Our principal executive offices are located at 2723 South State St. Suite 150, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48104. Our website is located at www.kraiglabs.com (http://www.kraiglabs.com) and we make available, free of charge, on or through our website all of our periodic reports, including our Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, and current reports on Form 8-K, as soon as reasonably practicable after we file such reports with the SEC. Our website and the information contained on our website is not incorporated by reference and is not a part of this Annual Report.
Recent Developments
In January 2022, we completed production of the first Dragon Silk yarn produced entirely in Vietnam. The finished recombinant spider silk yarn was spun from raw recombinant spider silk produced at Prodigy Textiles. . While Prodigy Textiles remains focused on ramping up the output of silk cocoons, supporting vendors will play an essential role in processing that silk into finished goods for a wide range of consumer markets. Once we achieve commercial scale production, we plan to ship some of this Dragon Silk yarn to SpydaSilk Enterprises in Singapore, a joint venture partially owned by the Company for weaving into fabrics and finished garments. The Company expects that Prodigy Textiles will leverage any expanding silk production to address the material needs of SpydaSilk and make additional materials available for purchase to fill the numerous and backlogged material requests it has received.
On July 15, 2022, we signed an agreement with Global Silk Solutions Joint Stock Company (GSS). Under this agreement, GSS agreed to serve as a contract manufacturer.
In 2023 the Company implemented a concentrated program to strengthen our production silkworm strains with the goal of increasing their robustness and tolerance for the commercial production environment. We undertook this program because our study of previous attempts to increase production indicated that our laboratory strains may have lacked the necessary robustness to carry out our production objectives. This process involved selective breeding over many generations and isolating target traits while crossbreeding with more robust specimens. The ultimate goal is to create two, and ultimately four, separate strains of our silkworm, which, when crossed with each other, would produce significant hybrid vigor. We are now concentrated on six strains, half of which are ready or nearly ready for field trials. As of December 2023, we achieved homozygous for the transgene in one of those strains. We achieved homozygosity of a second strain in the first quarter of 2024.
On January 24, 2024, we signed a memorandum of understand with the Vietnam Sericulture Association (VSA) and the Lam Dong Agro-Forestry Research & Experiment Center (LAREC) to enhance sericulture in Vietnam through the expanded application of the Company’s spider silk silkworm technology.
Strategic Partnership
On November 23, 2020, we entered into a Strategic Partnership Agreement ((as amended in January 2021, the “SPA”) with Mthemovement Kings Pte Ltd (“Kings”). Kings is an eco-friendly luxury streetwear apparel line, part of the Kings Group of Companies and its affiliated companies.
Pursuant to the SPA, the parties have formed a joint venture to develop and sell the Company’s spider silk fibers under the new innovative apparel and fashion brand, trade named SpydaSilk™ and potential other trademarks to be announced. All trademarks and branding related intellectual property related to the SpydaSilk™ brand name, will be jointly owned by the Company and Kings. Under the terms of the Agreement, the Company granted the joint venture and the SpydaSilk Enterprises Pte. Ltd. brand an exclusive geographic license for distribution of the Company’s products for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
The Agreement has a 60-month term, which can be terminated at any time by mutual agreement following a consultation period of 120 days, or such other period as agreed by the parties. If applicable, the parties will honor their share of committed expenditures of the joint venture and King will repay the Company any unused brand funds.
Yorkville Transaction
On January 18, 2022, we entered into a securities purchase agreement with YA II PN, LTD., a Cayman Islands exempt company (“Yorkville”), pursuant to which Yorkville purchased secured convertible debentures (the “Securities Purchase Agreement”) in the aggregate principal amount of USD$3,000,000 (the “Convertible Debentures”), which are convertible into shares of Common Stock (as converted, the “Conversion Shares”), of which a secured convertible debenture (the “First Convertible Debenture”) in the principal amount of $1,500,000 (the “First Convertible Debenture Purchase Price”) shall be issued upon signing the Securities Purchase Agreement and a secured convertible debenture (the “Second Convertible Debenture,” together with the First Convertible Debenture, each a “Convertible Debenture” and collectively, the “Convertible Debentures”) in the principal amount of $1,500,000 (the “Second Convertible Debenture Purchase Price”) shall be issued on or about the date that the Securities and Exchange Commission declares the registration statement registering the shares of common stock underlying the notes effective (collectively, the First Convertible Debenture Purchase Price and the Second Convertible Debenture Purchase Price shall collectively be referred to as the “Purchase Price”) (the “Yorkville Transaction”). These additional funds, together with those from the previously completed transactions we conducted with Yorkville between December 2020 and March 2021, account for an $8 million total Yorkville investment; as of November 17, 2022, all debentures to Yorkville pursuant thereto have been satisfied. The Company also issued Yorkville a warrant to purchase 12,500,000 shares of the Company’s Common Stock, at an initial exercise price of $0.12 per share and a warrant to purchase 4,285,714 shares of the Company’s Common Stock, at an initial exercise price of $0.14 per share. The warrants have a term of five (5) years and can be exercised via cashless exercise. If the Company issues or sells securities at a price less than the applicable warrant exercise price, the exercise price of the applicable warrant shall be reduced to such lower price. The warrants also have the same ownership cap as set forth in the Convertible Debentures, as described below.
In connection with the Securities Purchase Agreement, the Company also entered into a Registration Rights Agreement with Yorkville, pursuant to which the Company agreed to register all of the shares of Common Stock underlying the Convertible Debentures and warrants and with respect to subsequent registration statements, if any, such number of shares of Common Stock as requested by Yorkville not to exceed 300% of the maximum number of shares of Common Stock issuable upon conversion of all Convertible Debentures then outstanding (assuming for purposes hereof that (x) such Convertible Debentures are convertible at the then current conversion price and (y) any such conversion shall not take into account any limitations on the conversion of the Convertible Debentures set forth therein, in each case subject to any cutbacks set forth in the Registration Rights Agreement.
Upon signing the letter of intent for the Yorkville Transaction, the Company paid $10,000 to an affiliate of Yorkville, for due diligence and structuring.
The Securities Purchase Agreement also contained customary representation and warranties of the Company and the Investor, indemnification obligations of the Company, termination provisions, and other obligations and rights of the parties.
The foregoing description of the Securities Purchase Agreement, Convertible Debentures, Warrant, Security Agreement, IP Security Agreement, Registration Rights Agreement and Guaranty Agreement is qualified by reference to the full text of the forms of Securities Purchase Agreement, Convertible Debenture and Warrant, which are filed as Exhibits hereto and incorporated herein by reference.
Maxim Group LLC received a cash placement agent fee of $230,000.
Covid-19
On March 19, 2020, we furloughed non-essential staff in response to governmental regulations relating to COVID. This decision primarily impacted staff at our fully owned subsidiary, Prodigy Textiles, in Vietnam and resulted in the temporary closing of silk rearing operations at that facility. As of the date hereof, we have resumed silk production operations in Vietnam. The Company supported its furloughed staff and paid their salaries during all mandatory closures. During the duration of the furlough, the Company’s CEO voluntarily waved the payment or accrual of his salary. The Company leveraged this forced closure time to improve its production infrastructure based on the lessons learned from its operations. After the mandated closure, the Company has enhanced its production operations with process automation, moved its production headquarters to a facility designed for silk production, created a more self-reliant supply chain, and established a microbiology laboratory in its facilities for enhanced quality control. The global COVID pandemic and government regulations associated with the pandemic continue to evolve. We will continue to monitor the situation closely, including its potential effect on our plans and timelines.
The Product
Our products exploit the unique characteristics of spider silk, specifically dragline silk from Nephila clavipes (golden orb-web spider) and variants thereof. Such fibers possess unique mechanical properties in terms of strength, resilience and flexibility. Through the use of genetic engineering, we believe that we have produced a variety of unique transgenic silkworm strains that produce recombinant spider silk. Our recombinant spider silk fiber incorporate the silk proteins found in spider silk with the native silkworm silk proteins. This combination of native silkworm proteins combined with spider silk protein structures results in a new and unique recombinant silk fiber.
Monster Silk®
Monster Silk® was the first recombinant spider silk fiber product we developed. Monster Silk incorporates the natural elasticity of spider silk to make a silk fiber which is more flexible that conventional silk fibers and textiles. We have produced sample products using Monster Silk® including knit fabrics, gloves, and shirts in collaboration with textile mills. We expect that Monster Silk® will have market applications across the traditional textile markets where its increased flexibility will provide increased durability and comfort.
Dragon SilkTM
Dragon SilkTM is the next evolution in recombinant spider silk, combining the elasticity of Monster Silk® with additional high strength elements of native spider silk. Some samples of Dragon SilkTM have demonstrated strength beyond that of native spider silk. This combination of strength and elasticity results in a silk fiber which is soft and flexible, yet tougher than leading synthetic fiber available on the market. Based on inquires we have received from end market leaders, we believe that Dragon SilkTM- will have applications in performance apparel, durable workwear, luxury goods, and composites.
Other Products
We are continuing to develop new recombinant silks and other protein-based fibers and materials using our genetic engineering capabilities. The Company leverages the latest in genetic engineering technology to develop new silk and protein technologies that it believes will have significant advantages over our legacy technology which created Dragon Silk and Monster Silk. Chief among these is the potential to produce spider silks with greatly increased purity and performance. Due to the biocompatible and biodegradable properties of silk, we believe that the materials developed using this process will create opportunities for products in the medical industry, including sutures, grafts, and implants.
Our Technology
Our technology builds upon the unique advantages of the domesticated silkworm. The silkworm is an efficient commercial and industrial producer of protein based polymers, and forty percent (40%) of the caterpillars’ weight is devoted to the silk glands. The silk glands produce large amounts of an insoluble protein called fibroin, which the silkworm spins into a composite protein thread (silk).
We use our genetic engineering technology to create proprietary recombinant silk polymers from the silkworms. On September 29, 2010, we, along with our collaborators at Notre Dame created approximately twenty different strains of transgenic silkworm which produce recombinant silk polymers. In October of 2017, with the support of funding from the U.S. Army, we transitioned our research operations out of Notre Dame and into our own research and development headquarters.
Our transgenic silkworms are created by inserting the genes expressing spider silk with either natural or engineered amino acid sequences into the embryos of the silkworm. The spider silk sequence is introduced to the embryo of the silkworm and incorporated into the silkworm genome using state of the art molecular biology approaches. The spider sequence is created on a circular loop of DNA called a plasmid. We developed a method to alter the plasmid DNA to more readily allow the mixing and matching of various targeted traits including spider DNA genes, disease resistance, commercially marketable proteins and other physical properties. In this way, we can combine different genetic cassettes to create fibers and proteins with the modified chemical, physical, and mechanical properties more rapidly than through conventional methods.
Production of this material in commercial quantities holds the potential of a life-saving ballistic resistant material, which is lighter, more flexible, and tougher than steel. However, the Company does not currently have any life-saving ballistic products and could be some time before we are able to produce such a product. Other potential applications for spider silk based recombinant fibers include use as structural material and for any application in which light weight and high strength are required. We believe that fibers made with recombinant protein-based polymers will make significant inroads into the specialty fiber and technical textile markets. Our interactions with manufacturers of high performance textiles, convince us that there is an eager commercial market for our innovative, sustainable, and differentiated technology and products.
Manufacturing
Our spider silk technology is designed for plug and play incorporation into the existing silk production model. We manufacture and plan to continue to manufacture our proprietary spider silk fibers using traditional silkworm production practices (sericulture).
Working with our contractors we identified robustness and acclimation of our silkworm strain to the local climate as one of the most significant challenges to production. In 2023 the Company implemented a concentrated program to strengthen our production silkworm strains with the goal of increasing their robustness and tolerance for the commercial production environment. This process involved selective breeding over many generations and isolating target traits while crossbreeding with more robust specimens. The ultimate goal is to create two, and ultimately four, separate strains of our silkworm, which, when crossed with each other, would produce significant hybrid vigor. We are now concentrated on six strains, half of which are ready or nearly ready for field trials. As of December 2023, we achieved homozygosity for the transgene in one of those strains. We achieved homozygosity of a second strain in the first quarter of 2024. Our work in this area is continuing and accelerating.
The Company, through Prodigy Textiles, has hired local workers with experience in sericulture production to care for and raise our silkworms through the five instars, or stages, of the silkworm life cycle, including the final instar when the mature caterpillars produce a cocoon comprised of pure silk. These cocoons are then reeled to our specifications to form the final spider silk threads such as Dragon SilkTM and Monster Silk®.
By utilizing existing production methodology in traditional silk regions to produce our high performance materials, we leverage historical knowledge, available labor and existing capital infrastructure for production, spinning, and weaving of our spider silk materials. This approach reduces the risk to our manufacturing operations and decreases our need for upfront capital expenditure.
We believe that we will be able to target metric tons of capacity of spider silk fiber per annum from our operations when fully developed. This capacity will allow us to address our anticipated initial demand for applications in the protective, performance, and luxury textile markets.
The Market
We are focusing our work on the creation of new fibers with unique properties including fibers with potential high performance and technical fiber applications for the performance fiber market. The performance fiber market is currently dominated by two classes of product: aramid fibers, and ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene fibers. These existing products serve the need for materials with high strength, resilience, but are unable to delivery flexibility. Because these synthetic performance fibers are stronger and tougher than steel, they are used in a wide variety of military, industrial, and consumer applications.
The military and police are among the users of performance fibers for its ballistic protection. The materials are also used for industrial applications requiring superior strength and toughness, e.g., critical cables and abrasion/impact resistant components. Performance fibers are also employed in safety equipment, high strength composite materials for the aero-space industry and for ballistic protection by the defense industry.
The global market for technical textiles was estimated at greater than $184 billion in 2020 and projected to reach $250 billion by 20271.
These are industrial materials which have become essential products for both industrial and consumer applications. The market for technical textiles can be defined as consisting of:
- Medical textiles;
- Geotextiles;
- Textiles used in Defense and Military;
- Safe and Protective Clothing;
- Filtration Textiles;
- Textiles used in Transportation;
- Textiles used in Buildings;
- Composites with Textile Structure; and,
- Functional and Sportive Textiles.
We believe that the superior mechanical characteristics of the next generation of protein-based polymers (in other words, genetically engineered silk fibers), will open up new applications for the technology. The materials which we are working to produce are tougher and stronger than steel.
We are actively pursuing relationships within target end markets to secure product collaborations with key market channel leaders. Due to the unique nature of our product, we received numerous unsolicited requests from leading businesses across a range of attractive end markets requesting materials for applications development. This substantial interest in spider silk materials across the broad spectrum of applications for high performance fibers and textiles, combined with the limited initial production capacity, has, we believe, provided the opportunity to be selective in choosing market channel partners best able to bring our product to market at scale. We are working under non-disclosure agreements to secure these collaborative development agreements and to establish limited channel exclusivity for firms we believe mirror our culture of innovation. In January 2021 the Company entered into a partnership and exclusive purchase agreement with M the Movement by Kings Group. This partnership is designed to establish a jointly owned apparel and fashion brand headquarter in Singapore focuses on sales to the ASEAN region.
1https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/technical-textiles-market#:~:text=Report%20Overview,4.5%25%20from%202020%20to%202027.
Research and Development
In 2007, we entered into the first series of the Notre Dame Agreements to develop new transgenic silkworms. In 2010, we achieved our longstanding goal of producing new silk fibers composed of recombinant proteins. In 2016, we received a contract from the U.S. Army to deliver the first samples of its recombinant spider silk materials. In 2017, this contract was expanded to include research into the development of stronger silk materials. As a result of that contract, the Company brought its research operations in-house, opening its own research laboratories and expanding its scientific staff. This transition to in-house operations has led to a series of new technical breakthroughs and is believed to have accelerated the pace of new development. We intend to turn its technology to the development and production of high performance polymers.
During the fiscal years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, we have spent approximately 15,126 hours and 10,375 hours, respectively, on research and development activities, which consisted primarily of laboratory research on genetic engineering by our in-house research operations.
We have initiated production of our recombinant materials, which we have named Monster Silk® and Dragon SilkTM. Additionally, we plan to accelerate both our microbiology and selective breeding programs, as well as providing more resources for their material and genetic testing protocols.
A key aspect of our research program is designed to target the biggest immediate hurdle to production, the robustness of our silkworms within the large-scale production environment. Working with our contractors we have identified robustness and acclimation of our silkworm lines to the local climate as one of the most significant challenges to production. Our research department has initiated, and we are accelerating a hybridization program, which is explicitly designed to increase robustness and cocoon size.
Our Intellectual Property Approach
Our intellectual property strategy utilizes a blended approach of licensed technologies and in-house developments. As part of our intellectual property portfolio, we have licensed the exclusive right to use certain patented gene-splicing technologies for use in silkworm.
Under the Notre Dame Agreements, we exercised our right to exclusive commercial use for spider silk technologies developed under that agreement. We have worked collaboratively with the university to develop fibers with the mechanical characteristics of spider silk. We are applying this proprietary genetic engineering technology to domesticated silkworms, which we believe is the best path to economical, commercial scale production of spider silk.
In 2017, we opened a research and development facility to expand on the work conducted at Notre Dame. Since opening this new facility, we have expanded our intellectual property portfolio with multiple additional provisional and utility patent filings based on new discoveries and inventions. We will continue to utilize our in-house research capabilities to expand and strengthen its patent portfolio while also maintaining and growing our trade secrets relating to genetic advancement and spider silk. We are actively working to develop new approaches to the development of genetically engineering silkworms, underlying construction techniques, and fundamental genetic sequences for improved material performance.
The Notre Dame Agreements will last for the duration of the patented materials that we developed with Notre Dame. The new technologies that we are developing in our internal research labs does not rely on the Notre Dame patented materials and as a result will not be impacted by an expiration of those agreements.
License Agreements/Intellectual Property
We have obtained certain rights to use a number of university created, and patented gene splicing and spider silk protein technologies.
As part of the joint development program with the University of Notre Dame and the Notre Dame Agreements, Kraig Labs negotiated an option for exclusive global commercial rights to technologies jointly developed with Notre Dame. Kraig Labs has exercised that option. As of the date of this filing, four patents relating to the jointly developed technologies have been issued, number 10-1926286 in South Korea, number 2011314072 in Australia, number 26612 in Vietnam, and number 2,812,791 in Canada. These jurisdictions are a mix of silk producing and consuming countries. We believe protecting our technologies in these countries will be beneficial to our future operations.
In addition to the patents related to licensed technologies from Notre Dame listed above, Kraig Labs has filed a number of patent applications and provisional applications based on technologies developed solely within the Company’s own laboratories. Kraig has filed two such patent applications and four provisional patent applications based on technologies developed and discoveries from our own independent research operations.
Table of Patent Applications and Status
| Title Transgenic Silkworms Capable of Producing Chimeric Spider Silk Polypeptides and Fibers Chimeric Spider Silk and Uses Thereof | Country United States of America Japan | Application No. 14/754946 2017-038829 | Filing Date 30-Jun-2015 01-Mar-2017 | Patent No. | Patent Date | Status Under Exam Under Exam |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chimeric Spider Silk and Uses thereof | China (People’s Republic) | 201180057127.1 | 28-May-2013 | Pending | ||
| Chimeric Spider Silk and Uses thereof | Korea, Republic of | 10-2017-7005086 | 22-Feb-2017 | 10-1926286 | 30-Nov-2018 | Granted |
| A Nucleic Acid Encoding a Chimeric Spider Silk Polypeptide, Chimeric Spider Silk Polypeptide, Composite Fiber Comprising the Chimeric Spider Silk Polypeptide and Method of Preparing a Transgenic Silkworm | Vietnam | 1-2013-01306 | 25-Apr-2013 | 26612 | 03-Nov-2020 | Granted |
| Chimeric Spider Silk and Uses thereof | Canada | 2812791 | 28-Sep-2011 | 2812791 | 14-Jul-2020 | Granted |
| Chimeric Spider Silk Polypeptides and Fibers Uses Thereof | United States of America | 14/754916 | 30-Jun-2015 | Under Exam | ||
| Chimeric Spider Silk and Uses thereof | Japan | 2013-530432 | 26-Mar-2013 | Pending | ||
| Chimeric Spider Silk and Uses thereof | France | 11833071.1 | 26-Apr-2013 | 2621957 | 02-Jun-2021 | Granted |
| Chimeric Spider Silk and Uses thereof | India | 3574/DELNP/2013 | 22-Apr-2013 | Under Exam | ||
| Chimeric Spider Silk and Uses thereof | Germany | 11833071.1 | 26-Apr-2013 | 602011071095.8 | 02-Jun-2021 | Granted |
| Chimeric Spider Silk and Uses Thereof | United States of America | 61/387332 | 28-Sep-2010 | Expired | ||
| Chimeric Spider Silk and Uses thereof | China (People’s Republic) | 201710335250.4 | 12-May-2017 |
* The terms in this column have the following meanings:
Published: Pending patent applications that have been published by a corresponding state Patent Office (e.g., the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office) or international patent authority (e.g., the World Intellectual Property Association).
Pending: Patent applications that have been submitted to a corresponding state Patent Office for examination but that have not been issued or abandoned.
Under Exam: Pending patent applications currently being examined by a corresponding state Patent Office.
Granted: Patent applications that have been allowed by a corresponding state Patent Office and that have passed through the registration process; a granted patent application is synonymous with a “patent” and is conferred the associated patent rights for the given jurisdiction.
In addition to patent protection for intellectual property developed by the Company and through its collaborative research agreements, the Company has developed specialized skills and knowledge in the field of selective breeding, performance selection, and husbandry. This information is considered to be trade secrets and will play a critical role in the development of unique strains of new transgenics with diverse mechanical properties. These operations and knowledge held as trade secrets provide an additional layer of security and protection for the products and technologies we seek to develop.
In 2014, the following six trademarks were issued to the Company; the Company shall use these trademarks for product branding in the future:
Marks
Monster Silk®
Spiderpillar®
Spilk®
Monster Worm®
Spider Worm®
Spider Moth®
Dragon SilkTM
In 2021, through its Singapore based joint venture the following four trademarks were issued.
Notre Dame Agreements
As discussed above, in 2007 we entered into the first series of Notre Dame Agreements. We provided financial support to ongoing research and development of transgenic silkworms and the creation of recombinant silk fibers. In exchange, we have an option to obtain the exclusive global commercialization rights to the technology developed pursuant to the research effort.
Following the first agreement, we entered into successive intellectual property and collaborative research agreements with Notre Dame to provide different levels of financial support. The trend had been for an increase in financial support for the research and development in nearly every successive agreement. In June 2012, we entered into an Intellectual Property / Collaborative Research Agreement with Notre Dame (“2012 Notre Dame Research Agreement”). On March 4, 2015, we entered into a new Intellectual Property / Collaborative Research Agreement with Notre Dame extending the agreement through March 2016 (“2015 Notre Dame Research Agreement”). Under the 2015 Notre Dame Research agreement, the Company provided approximately $534,000 in financial support. On September 20, 2015, the 2015 Notre Dame Research Agreement was amended to increase the total funding by approximately $179,000; in February 2016, the 2015 Notre Dame Research Agreement was extended to July 31, 2016 and in August 2016, the 2015 Notre Dame Research Agreement was extended to December 31, 2016. In May 2017, the 2015 Notre Dame Research Agreement was amended to increase the total funding by approximately $189,000 and the duration of the 2015 Notre Dame Research Agreement was extended to September 30, 2017. With the funding we received from the U.S. Army, we were able to conduct our research and development in-house, at less cost, and therefore we did not extend the 2015 Notre Dame Research Agreement after September 30, 2017.
In 2011, we exercised our option to obtain the global commercialization rights to the technology developed under the Notre Dame Agreements, which resulted in a separate license agreement with Notre Dame (the “2011 Notre Dame Agreement”). Pursuant to the 2011 Notre Dame Agreement, Notre Dame filed an international patent application and numerous national patent applications on technology relating to the creation and use of recombinant spider silks and we received exclusive and non-exclusive rights to certain spider silk and gene splicing technologies including commercial rights with the right to sublicense such intellectual property. The 2011 Notre Dame Agreement obligates us to reimburse Notre Dame for costs associated with the filing, prosecuting and maintaining of such patents and patent applications. In exchange for the rights to commercialization, Notre Dame has received 2,200,000 shares of our Common Stock and we have agreed to pay Notre Dame royalties equal to 2% of our gross sales of the licensed products and 10% of any sublicensing fees received by the Company on licensed technology.
Cooperative Agreement in Vietnam
On December 30, 2015, we entered into a cooperative agreement with a provincial government office in Vietnam for the research and pilot production of hybrid silkworms. In April 2018, we received our investment registration certificate for our facility in Vietnam. Later that month the Company was issued its ERC so that it could begin operations in Vietnam. We have established a subsidiary in Vietnam which is currently producing our spider silk in small quantities. Management believes the ERC puts the Company on a path to scale at a much greater level by harnessing existing silk production infrastructure with the capacity to match the existing demand for their spider silk materials.
Other Agreements
On October 15, 2013, we entered into an intellectual property agreement with a scientific researcher relating to the development of new recombinant silk fibers. Under the terms of that agreement, the scientific researcher transferred his rights of intellectual property, inventions and trade secrets which the researcher develops relating to recombinant silk to us. Upon signing, the researcher received 8,000,000 common stock purchase warrants from the Company, exercisable 24 months from the date of the agreement. As per the terms of the agreement, the researcher received an additional 10,000,000 warrants after creating a new recombinant silk fiber for us that met specified performance characteristics and another 8,000,000 warrants for performing the contract in good faith. The warrants described above all contain a cashless exercise provision and are exercisable on the 24-month anniversary of the date on which they were issuable under the agreement. All warrant under this agreement were exercised.
Governmental Regulations
We are subject to U.S. federal, state and local laws and regulations, as well as Vietnam central, provisional, and district laws and regulations. These laws and regulations govern, among other things, labor relations, the labeling and safety of our products, the environment, distribution of products, the production of products, and our molecular biology based technologies. We believe that we are in material compliance with all such applicable laws and regulations, although no assurance can be provided that this will remain true in the future or that interpretation of laws and regulations will remain a constant. Laws and particularly their interpretations and enforcement can and do change. Social and political trends shift in ways that we can not predict and which could become less favorable to our technology. With regards to areas where law is vague, lacking, or could be subject to interpretation we endeavor to conform to industry norms.
Environment
Kraig Labs is fully committed to its vision of bringing spider silk technologies to commercial markets while maintaining the highest levels of environmental responsibility. We believe our technology, built on a renewable resource, has a positive environmental impact and offers significant benefits over competing synthetic textiles. Our production system is derived from nature and does not use any petrochemicals as an input into our fibers.
We seek to comply with and exceed all applicable statutory and administrative requirements concerning environmental quality. Expenditures for compliance with federal state and local environmental laws have not had, and are not expected to have, a material effect on our capital expenditures, results of operations or competitive position.
While being environmentally conscious is the objective of all producers in this industry, the fermentation process used by our competitors produces high levels of carbon dioxide. CO2 is a greenhouse gas and is argued to be a leading cause of global warming. In stark contrast, Kraig Labs’ mulberry trees and the silk from silkworms have proven to be effective at sequestering carbon dioxide and are renewable resources. Mulberry trees also provide essential global green-cover and significantly help in reducing soil erosion in areas.
Competition
We compete directly with numerous other companies with similar product lines and/or distribution that have extensive capital, resources, market share, and brand recognition.
There are presently three primary competitors that we face in the fledgling spider silk industry, but there are few barriers to entry in our industry. This creates the strong possibility of new competitors emerging, and of others succeeding in developing the same or similar fibers for application that we are trying to develop. The effects of this increased competition may be materially adverse to us and our stockholders. As this is an emergent industry there is no one producer that has captured a significant portion of the market. Bolt Threads, Inc. based in California and Spiber Inc. based in Japan are competitors which have raised the largest amounts of investment capital to date. We also compete with AMSilk, which is based in Germany. We believe that our technology offers more cost-effective methods with lower environmental impact than technologies used by our identified competitors, however, new technologies could be developed that remove this advantage.
These competitors have raised and spent 100’s of millions of dollars in pursuit of spider silk production. The Company believes that its competitors will continue to overspend while struggling to deliver cost effective results.
Employees
The Company currently employs between 10-14 people at its U.S. facilities, 7 full-time and up to 7 part-time, including Kim Thompson, our officer and sole director and Jonathan R. Rice, our Chief Operating Officer. The Company employs between 8-30 full time personnel at its Vietnamese subsidiary depending on the production cycle. We plan to hire more persons on as-needed basis.
Properties
As filed, 1,740 characters, with its headings, lists and tables. Extracted from the main document; charts and exhibits are in the original on sec.gov.
Our principal executive office is located at 2723 South State St., Suite 150, Ann Arbor, Michigan. We pay an annual rent of $2,508 for conference facilities, mail, fax, and reception services located at this location.
On September 5, 2019, we signed a two-year lease for a 5,000 square foot property in Lansing, MI that commenced on October 1, 2019 and ends on September 30, 2021, for its research and development headquarters. Pursuant to the lease, it was an annual rent of $42,000 for year one of the lease and $44,800 for year two of the lease. On April 16, 2021, we signed a two year amendment to this lease, pursuant to which, commencing on July 1, 2021 and ending on September 30, 2022, we pay an annualized rent of $42,000 and from October 1, 2022 through September 30, 2023, we will pay an annual rent of $44,800. On October 1, 2023, the Company extended the terms of the lease through September 30, 2025. From October 1, 2023, through September 30, 2024, the Company will pay an annual rent of $44,800. From October 1, 2024, through September 30, 2025, the Company will pay an annual rent of $47,600.
On July 1, 2021, the Company signed a 5-year property lease in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam which consists of 30,000 square meters of property and 6,000 square meter of buildings, which it leases at a rate of approximately $8,645 per year for each of the five years.
On January 31, 2024, the Company signed a five-year lease for a 700 square meter facility in Lam Dong, Vietnam that commenced on February 1, 2024 and ends on January 31, 2029. We pay an annual rent of approximately $7,284 for year one and two of the lease. For years 3-5 the price will increase with Vietnam’s state land price bracket, not to exceed 10%.
Legal proceedings
As filed, 347 characters, with its headings, lists and tables. Extracted from the main document; charts and exhibits are in the original on sec.gov.
We may from time to time become a party to various legal or administrative proceedings arising in the ordinary course of our business.
To the knowledge of our management, we are currently not a party to any material legal or administrative proceedings and are not aware of any pending or threatened legal or administrative proceedings against us.
Management's discussion and analysis
As filed, 32,311 characters, with its headings, lists and tables. Extracted from the main document; charts and exhibits are in the original on sec.gov.
Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Information
The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and result of operations should be read in conjunction with our audited consolidated financial statements and the notes to those financial statements appearing elsewhere in this Form 10-K. This discussion contains forward-looking statements and involves numerous risks and uncertainties contained in this report and the other reports we file with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Our actual results may differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements.
The following section reflects management’s views on the financial condition as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, and the results of operations and cash flows for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022. This section is provided as a supplement to, and should be read in conjunction with, the Company’s audited consolidated financial statements and related notes to the consolidated financial statements contained elsewhere in this report.
Overview
Kraig Biocraft Laboratories, Inc. is a corporation organized under the laws of Wyoming on April 25, 2006. Kraig Labs was organized to develop high strength fibers using recombinant DNA technology for commercial applications in technical textile. We use genetically engineered silkworms that produce spider silk proteins to create our recombinant spider silk. Applications include performance apparel, workwear, filtration, luxury fashion, flexible composites, medical implants, cosmetics and more. We believe that we have been a leader in the research and development of commercially scalable and cost-effective spider silk for technical textile and non-fibrous applications. Our primary proprietary fiber technology includes natural and engineered variants of spider silk produced in domesticated mulberry silkworms. Our business brings twenty-first century biotechnology to the historical silk industry, permitting us to introduce materials with innovative properties into an established commercial ecosystem of silkworm rearing, silk spinning and weaving, and manufacture of garments and other products that can include our specialty fibers and textiles. Specialty fibers are engineered for specific uses that require exceptional strength, flexibility, heat resistance and/or chemical resistance. The specialty fiber market is exemplified by two synthetic fiber products that come from petroleum derivatives: (1) aramid fibers; and (2) ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene fibers. The technical textile industry involves products for both industrial and consumer products, such as filtration fabrics, medical textiles (e.g., sutures and artificial ligaments), safety and protective clothing and fabrics used in military and aerospace applications (e.g., high-strength composite materials).
We are using genetic engineering technologies to develop fibers with greater strength, resiliency and flexibility for use in our target markets, namely the specialty fiber and technical textile industries.
We are continuing to work with our non-CRISPR Cas9 platform technology to accelerate our R&D operations. We are refining that approach for our targeted end-market applications. We are simultaneously working with other technologies to advance, accelerate, and broaden our genetic engineering capabilities. All of these systems are built on our eco-friendly and cost-effective silkworm production system, which we believe is more advanced than current competing methods. We are implementing these gene editing technologies to develop new protein structures with the goal of moving well beyond the native spider silk sequences that were used to create our Monster silk and Dragon silk lines.
Based on our internal analysis, management believes that this new platform technology will allow us to outpace and surpass Dragon Silk, a fiber that we developed with our previous tools. Samples of Dragon Silk have already demonstrated to be tougher than many fibers used in our target markets. We expect that this new approach will yield materials beyond those capabilities based upon its potential for significantly improved purity.
The company manufactures its spider silk materials through its wholly owned Vietnamese subsidiary, Prodigy Textiles. Through Prodigy Textiles the Company operates direct inhouse operations and contract manufacturing operations to develop and grow its production capacity for spider silk. We believe that we will be able to target metric tons of capacity of our spider silk fibers per annum from our operations when fully developed. This capacity will allow us to address initial demand for our products and materials for various applications in the protective, performance, and luxury textile markets.
The Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm to our financial statements as of December 31, 2023 includes an explanatory paragraph stating that our net loss from operations and net capital deficiency at December 31, 2023 raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.
Plan of Operations
During the next twelve months, we expect to take the following steps in connection with the further development of our business and the implementation of our plan of operations:
- We plan to accelerate and expand commercial scale production of our recombinant spider silk.
- We plan to expand our research and development to accelerate our work in creating next generation materials and to improve the robustness of our recombinant spider silk lines.
- We plan to develop a line of fabrics and apparel, to create a line of recombinant spider silk fashion wear under.
- We plan to continue the expansion of our overseas production operations, including working with local contractors or cooperatives and the hiring of additional direct staff, as needed.
- We plan to overcome the current bottleneck in production by improving the overall robustness of our recombinant spider silk lines through a combination of climate acclimation and implementation of a multiple-strain hybrid breeding program. This program has already been initiated and is being rapidly accelerated.
- We plan to accelerate both our microbiology and selective breeding programs, as well as provide more resources for our material testing protocols. In 2023, we directed our research and development efforts on growing our internal capabilities; we plan to continue to dedicate our efforts in 2024 to grow our internal research and development programs.
- We will consider buying an established revenue producing company in a compatible business, in order to broaden our financial base and facilitate the commercialization of our products; as of the date hereof, we have not had any formal discussion or entered into any definitive agreements regarding any such purchase.
- We will also actively consider pursuing collaborative research opportunities with private laboratories in areas of research which overlap the company’s existing research and development. If our financing allows, management will strongly consider increasing the breadth of our research to include protein expression platform technologies.
- We plan to actively pursue collaborative research and product testing opportunities with companies in the biotechnology, materials, textile and other industries.
- We plan to actively pursue additional collaborative commercialization, marketing and manufacturing opportunities with companies in the textile and material sectors for the fibers we developed and for any new polymers that we create in 2024 and going forward.
- We plan to actively pursue an uplist to a national exchange if such an opportunity presents itself.
Limited Operating History
We have not previously demonstrated that we will be able to expand our business through an increased investment in our research and development efforts. We cannot guarantee that the research and development efforts described in this filing will be successful. Our business is subject to risks inherent in growing an enterprise, including limited capital resources, risks inherent in the research and development process and possible rejection of our products in development.
If financing is not available on satisfactory terms, we may be unable to continue our research and development and other operations. Equity financing will result in dilution to existing stockholders.
Impact of COVID-19 Outbreak
On January 30, 2020, the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus outbreak a “Public Health Emergency of International Concern” and on March 10, 2020, declared it to be a pandemic. Actions taken around the world to help mitigate the spread of the coronavirus include restrictions on travel, and quarantines in certain areas, and forced closures for certain types of public places and businesses. The coronavirus and actions taken to mitigate it have had and are expected to continue to have an adverse impact on the economies and financial markets of many countries, including the geographical area in which the Company operates. While the closures and limitations on movement, domestically and internationally, are expected to be temporary, if the outbreak continues the duration of the supply chain disruption could reduce the availability, or result in delays, of materials or supplies to and from the Company, which in turn could materially interrupt the Company’s business operations. Given the speed and frequency of the continuously evolving developments with respect to this pandemic, the Company cannot reasonably estimate the magnitude of the impact to its consolidated results of operations. We have taken every known precaution possible to ensure the safety of our employees.
2 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5131771/
https://www.yourgenome.org/facts/what-is-genome-editing
https://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/primer/genomicresearch/genomeediting
On March 19, 2020, we furloughed non-essential staff in response to governmental regulations relating to COVID. This decision primarily impacted staff at our fully owned subsidiary, Prodigy Textiles, in Vietnam and resulted in the temporary closing of silk rearing operations at that facility. As of the date hereof, we have resumed silk production operations at the factory in Vietnam. The Company supported its furloughed staff and paid their salaries during all mandatory closures. During the duration of the furlough, the Company’s CEO voluntarily waved the payment or accrual of his salary. The Company leveraged this forced closure time to improve its production infrastructure based on the lessons learned from its operations. After the mandated closure, the Company has enhanced its production operations with process automation, moved its production headquarters to a facility designed for silk production, created a more self-reliant supply chain, and established a microbiology laboratory in its factory for enhanced quality control. On October 24, 2020, silk production operations at the factory resumed.
The global COVID pandemic and government regulations associated with the pandemic continue to evolve. We will continue to monitor the situation closely, including its potential effect on our plans and timelines. The actions of governments in response to COVID, both domestic and foreign, have impacted our ability to transport goods, people, essential equipment, and other items essential to our production. In turn, these restrictions are impacting our ability to produce intermediate and end products and are delaying our timelines for commercialization and revenue.
Additionally, it is reasonably possible that estimates made in the financial statements have been, or will be, materially and adversely impacted in the near term as a result of these conditions, including losses on inventory; impairment losses related to goodwill and other long-lived assets and current obligations.
Note Financing
January 2022
On January 18, 2022, we entered into a securities purchase agreement with YA II PN, LTD., a Cayman Islands exempt company (“Yorkville”), pursuant to which Yorkville purchased secured convertible debentures (the “Securities Purchase Agreement”) in the aggregate principal amount of USD$3,000,000 (the “Convertible Debentures”), which are convertible into shares of Common Stock (as converted, the “Conversion Shares”), of which a secured convertible debenture (the “First Convertible Debenture”) in the principal amount of $1,500,000 (the “First Convertible Debenture Purchase Price”) shall be issued upon signing the Securities Purchase Agreement and a secured convertible debenture (the “Second Convertible Debenture,” together with the First Convertible Debenture, each a “Convertible Debenture” and collectively, the “Convertible Debentures”) in the principal amount of $1,500,000 (the “Second Convertible Debenture Purchase Price”) shall be issued on or about the date that the Securities and Exchange Commission declares the registration statement registering the shares of common stock underlying the notes effective (collectively, the First Convertible Debenture Purchase Price and the Second Convertible Debenture Purchase Price shall collectively be referred to as the “Purchase Price”) (the “Yorkville Transaction”). These additional funds, together with those from the previously completed transactions we conducted with Yorkville between December 2020 and March 2021, account for an $8 million total Yorkville investment; as of November 17, 2022, all debentures to Yorkville pursuant thereto have been satisfied. The Company also issued Yorkville a warrant to purchase 12,500,000 shares of the Company’s Common Stock, at an initial exercise price of $0.12 per share and a warrant to purchase 4,285,714 shares of the Company’s Common Stock, at an initial exercise price of $0.14 per share. The warrants have a term of five (5) years and can be exercised via cashless exercise. If the Company issues or sells securities at a price less than the applicable warrant exercise price, the exercise price of the applicable warrant shall be reduced to such lower price. The warrants also have the same ownership cap as set forth in the Convertible Debentures, as described below.
In connection with the Securities Purchase Agreement, the Company also entered into a Registration Rights Agreement with Yorkville, pursuant to which the Company agreed to register all of the shares of Common Stock underlying the Convertible Debentures and warrants and with respect to subsequent registration statements, if any, such number of shares of Common Stock as requested by Yorkville not to exceed 300% of the maximum number of shares of Common Stock issuable upon conversion of all Convertible Debentures then outstanding (assuming for purposes hereof that (x) such Convertible Debentures are convertible at the then current conversion price and (y) any such conversion shall not take into account any limitations on the conversion of the Convertible Debentures set forth therein, in each case subject to any cutbacks set forth in the Registration Rights Agreement.
Upon signing the letter of intent for the Yorkville Transaction, the Company paid $10,000 to an affiliate of Yorkville, for due diligence and structuring.
The Securities Purchase Agreement also contained customary representation and warranties of the Company and the Investor, indemnification obligations of the Company, termination provisions, and other obligations and rights of the parties.
The foregoing description of the Securities Purchase Agreement, Convertible Debentures, Warrant, Security Agreement, IP Security Agreement, Registration Rights Agreement and Guaranty Agreement is qualified by reference to the full text of the forms of Securities Purchase Agreement, Convertible Debenture and Warrant, which are filed as Exhibits hereto and incorporated herein by reference.
Maxim Group LLC received a cash placement agent fee of $230,000.
Results of Operations for the Years ended December 31, 2022 and 2023
Our revenue, operating expenses, and net loss from operations for the years ended December 31, 2023 as compared to the year ended December 31, 2023, were as follows – some balances on the prior period’s combined financial statements have been reclassified to conform to the current period presentation:
| Year Ended December 31, 2023 | 2022 | Change | % Change Increase (Decrease) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NET REVENUES | $- | $- | - | - |
| COSTS OF REVENUES | - | - | - | |
| Gross Profit | - | - | - | |
| OPERATING EXPENSES: | ||||
| General and Administrative | 1,454,295 | 825,460 | 628,835 | 76.18% |
| Professional Fees | 125,222 | 339,710 | (214,488) | -63.14% |
| Officer’s Salary | 797,406 | 779,742 | 17,664 | 2.27% |
| Research and Development | 237,871 | 176,431 | 61,440 | 34.82% |
| Total operating expenses | 2,614,794 | 2,121,343 | 493,451 | 23.26% |
| Loss from operations | (2,614,794) | (2,121,343) | (493,451) | 23.26% |
| Interest expense | (484,658) | (609,129) | 124,471 | -20.43% |
| Amortization of debt issue costs | - | (1,111,580) | 1,111,580 | -100.00% |
| Impairment expense | (95,872) | - | (95,872) | 100,00% |
| Net change in unrealized appreciation on investment in gold bullion | 55,985 | 38 | 55,947 | 147228.95% |
| Interest income | 109,559 | - | 109,559 | 100.00% |
| Net Loss | $(3,029,780) | $(3,842,014) | 812,234 | -21.14% |
23
Net Revenues: During the year ended December 31, 2023, we realized $0 of revenues from our business. During the year ended December 31, 2022, we realized $0 of revenues from our business. Accordingly, there was no change in revenues between the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022.
Research and development expenses: During year ended December 31, 2023, we incurred $237,871 research and development expenses. During year ended December 31, 2023, we incurred $176,431 of research and development expenses, an increase of $61,440 or 34.82% compared with the same period in 2022. The research and development expenses are attributable to the research and development with the Notre Dame University; the increase was due to the timing of research related activity and costs by insources the Company’s research operations.
Professional Fees: During year ended December 31, 2023, we incurred $125,222 professional expenses, which decreased by $214,488 or 63.14% from $339,710 for year ended December 31, 2022. The decrease in professional fees expense was attributable to decreased expenses related to investor relations services during year ended December 31, 2023.
Officers Salary: During year ended December 31, 2023, officers’ salary expenses increased to $797,406 or 2.27% compared to $779,742 for year ended December 31, 2022. The increase is due to contractual terms of employment. In order to conserve Company resources, the CEO agreed to accrue and not collect a majority of his salary for 2023.
General and Administrative Expense: General and administrative expenses increased by $628,835 or 76.18% to $1,454,295 for year ended December 31, 2023 from $825,460 for year ended December 31, 2022. Our general and administrative expenses for year ended December 31, 2023 consisted of other general and administrative expenses (which includes expenses such as Auto, Business Development, SEC Filing, Investor Relations, General Office, warrant Compensation) of $1,031,363, Travel of $44,629, office salary of $368,683, and consulting of $9,620 for a total of $1,454,295. Our general and administrative expenses for year ended December 31, 2022 consisted of other general and administrative expenses (which includes expenses such as Auto, Business Development, SEC Filing, Investor Relations, General Office, warrant Compensation) of $416,221, Travel of $25,231, office salary of $259,008, and consulting of $80,000 for a total of $825,460.
Interest Expense: Interest expense decreased to $484,658, or 20.43% for the year ended December 31, 2023 compared to $609,129 for the year ended December 31, 2022. The decrease was primarily due to interest on the related party loans and accounts payable and accrued expenses to the related parties.
Net Change in Unrealized Depreciation on Investment in Gold Bullion: Net change in unrealized appreciation on investment in gold bullion increased by $55,947 to $55,985 for the year ended December 31, 2023 from $38 for the year ended December 31, 2022. The increase was primarily due to a net change in unrealized depreciation on investment in gold bullion.
Amortization of original issue and debt discounts: Amortization of original issue and debt discount decreased to $1,111,580, or 100% for the year ended December 31, 2023 compared to $0 for the year ended December 31, 2022. The decrease was primarily due to amortization of original issue and debt discounts on convertible loans.
Asset impairment expense: Asset impairment expense increased to $95,872, or 100% for the year ended December 31, 2023, compared to $0 for the year ended December 31, 2022. The increase was primarily due to recognizing impairment expense of a deposit towards the purchase of inventory during the year ended December 31, 2023.
Net Loss: Net loss decreased by $812,234, or 21.14%, to a net loss of $3,029,780 for the year ended December 31, 2023 from a net loss of $3,842,014 for the year ended December 31, 2022. This decrease in net loss was driven primarily by a decrease in warrant compensation, amortization of original issue discount and professional fees and slightly offset by an increase in officer’s salary expense and general and administrative expenses and impairment expense.
Capital Resources and Liquidity
Our financial statements have been presented on the basis that we have a going concern, which contemplates the realization of assets and satisfaction of liabilities in the normal course of business. As presented in the financial statements, we incurred a net loss of $3,029,780 during the year ended December 31, 2023, and losses are expected to continue in the near term. The accumulated deficit is $49,686,780 at December 31, 2023. Refer to Note 2 for our discussion of stockholder deficit. We have been funding our operations through private loans and the sale of common stock in private placement transactions. Refer to Note 6 and Note 7 in the financial statements for our discussion of notes payable and shares issued, respectively. Our cash resources are insufficient to meet our planned business objectives without additional financing. These and other factors 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 the recoverability and classification of assets or the amounts and classification of liabilities that may result from the possible inability of our company to continue as a going concern.
Management anticipates that significant additional expenditures will be necessary to develop and expand our business before significant positive operating cash flows can be achieved. Our ability to continue as a going concern is dependent upon our ability to raise additional capital and to ultimately achieve sustainable revenues and profitable operations. At December 31, 2023, we had $2,551,834 of cash on hand. These funds are insufficient to complete our business plan and as a consequence, we will need to seek additional funds, primarily through the issuance of debt or equity securities for cash to operate our business. No assurance can be given that any future financing will be available or, if available, that it will be on terms that are satisfactory to us. Even if we are able to obtain additional financing, it may contain undue restrictions on our operations, in the case of debt financing or cause substantial dilution for our stockholders, in the case of equity financing.
Management has undertaken steps as part of a plan to improve operations with the goal of sustaining our operations for the next twelve months and beyond. These steps include (a) raising additional capital and/or obtaining financing; (b) controlling overhead and expenses; and (c) executing material sales or research contracts. There can be no assurance that the Company can successfully accomplish these steps and it is uncertain that the Company will achieve a profitable level of operations and obtain additional financing. There can be no assurance that any additional financing will be available to the Company on satisfactory terms and conditions, if at all. As of the date of this Report, we have not entered into any formal agreements regarding the above.
In the event the Company is unable to continue as a going concern, the Company may elect or be required to seek protection from its creditors by filing a voluntary petition in bankruptcy or may be subject to an involuntary petition in bankruptcy. To date, management has not considered this alternative, nor does management view it as a likely occurrence.
Cash, total current assets, total assets, total current liabilities and total liabilities as of December 31, 2023 as compared to December 31, 2022, were as follows:
| December 31, 2023 | December 31, 2022 | |
|---|---|---|
| Cash | $2,551,834 | $3,862,716 |
| Inventory | $6,884 | $6,580 |
| Prepaid expenses | $14,902 | $15,665 |
| Deposits | $- | $98,480 |
| Total current assets | $2,573,620 | $3,983,441 |
| Total assets | $3,232,822 | $4,570,920 |
| Total current liabilities | $8,885,610 | $8,072,083 |
| Total liabilities | $8,939,978 | $8,092,780 |
At December 31, 2023, we had a working capital deficit of $6,311,990, compared to a working capital deficit of $4,088,642 at December 31, 2022. Current liabilities increased to $8,885,610 at December 31, 2023 from $8,072,083 at December 31, 2022, primarily as a result of accounts payable.
For the year ended December 31, 2023, net cash used in operations of $1,244,483 was the result of a net loss of $3,029,780 offset by depreciation expense of $27,620, asset impairment expense of $95,872, net change in unrealized appreciation in gold bullions of $55,985, stock issued for services of $225,000, warrants issuance of $538,633, imputed interest on related party loans of $80,851, increase in prepaid expenses of $763, decrease in deposits of $2,608, increase in inventory of $304, and a decrease in operating lease right of use of $48,064, an increase of accrued expenses and other payables-related party of $869,640, increase in accounts payable of $1,298 and a decrease in operating lease liabilities of $48,763.
For the year ended December 31, 2022, net cash used in operations of $1,887,187 was the result of a net loss of $3,842,014 offset by depreciation expense of $28,103, net change in unrealized appreciation in gold bullions of $38, amortization of debt discount of $1,111,580, warrants issuance of $234,698, imputed interest on related party loans of $80,849, increase in prepaid expenses of $4,610 and a decrease in operating lease right of use of $45,275, an increase of accrued expenses and other payables-related party of $470,448, increase in accounts payable of $138,159 and a decrease in operating lease liabilities of $44,577.
Net cash used in our investing activities were $6,399 and $5,021 for the year ended December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022, respectively. During the year ended December 31, 2023, the Company had net purchases of treasury bills of $2,587,811 and net proceeds from maturities of treasury bills of $2,587,811 and purchase of fixed assets of $6,399. During the year ended December 31, 2022, our cash outflow of $5,021, is represented by purchase of fixed assets of $5,021.
Our financing activities resulted in a cash inflow of $60,000 for the year ended December 31, 2023, which is represented by $60,000 loan repayment.
Our financing activities resulted in a cash inflow of $3,399,864 for the year ended December 31, 2022, which is represented by proceeds from convertible notes payable of $2,760,000 and repayment of convertible notes of $60,000, repayment of note payable – related party of $40,000, loan repayment of $60,000 and proceeds from a warrant exercise for $739,864.
Critical Accounting Policies
Our financial statements and related public financial information are based on the application of accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (“GAAP”). GAAP requires the use of estimates; assumptions, judgments and subjective interpretations of accounting principles that have an impact on the assets, liabilities, and revenue and expense amounts reported. These estimates can also affect supplemental information contained in our external disclosures including information regarding contingencies, risk and financial condition. We believe our use of estimates and underlying accounting assumptions adhere to GAAP and are consistently and conservatively applied. We base our estimates on historical experience and on various other assumptions that we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances. Actual results may differ materially from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions. We continue to monitor significant estimates made during the preparation of our financial statements.
Our significant accounting policies are summarized in Note 1 of our financial statements. While all these significant accounting policies impact its financial condition and results of operations, we view certain of these policies as critical. Policies determined to be critical are those policies that have the most significant impact on our financial statements and require management to use a greater degree of judgment and estimates. Actual results may differ from those estimates. Our management believes that given current facts and circumstances, it is unlikely that applying any other reasonable judgments or estimate methodologies would cause effect on our results of operations, financial position or liquidity for the periods presented in this report.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
Changes to accounting principles are established by the FASB in the form of Accounting Standards Updates (“ASU’s”) to the FASB’s Codification. We consider the applicability and impact of all ASU’s on our consolidated financial position, results of operations, stockholders’ equity, cash flows, or presentation thereof. Management has evaluated all recent accounting pronouncements issued through the date these financial statements were available to be issued and found no recent accounting pronouncements issued, but not yet effective accounting pronouncements, when adopted, will have a material impact on the consolidated financial statements of the Company.
In March 2022, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (the “FASB”) issued ASU 2022-02, Financial Instruments – Credit Losses (Topic 326): Troubled Debt Restructurings and Vintage Disclosures (“ASU 2022-02”), which eliminates the accounting guidance on troubled debt restructurings (“TDRs”) for creditors in ASC 310, Receivables (Topic 310), and requires entities to provide disclosures about current period gross write-offs by year of origination. Also, ASU 2022-02 updates the requirements related to accounting for credit losses under ASC 326, Financial Instruments – Credit Losses (Topic 326), and adds enhanced disclosures for creditors with respect to loan refinancings and restructurings for borrowers experiencing financial difficulty. ASU 2022-02 was effective for the Company January 1, 2023. The adoption of ASU 2022-02 did not have a material impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.
This guidance was adopted on January 1, 2023. The adoption of ASU 2022-02 did not have a material impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.
There are various other updates recently issued, most of which represented technical corrections to the accounting literature or application to specific industries and are not expected to a have a material impact on our consolidated financial position, results of operations or cash flows.
Controls and procedures
As filed, 7,550 characters, with its headings, lists and tables. Extracted from the main document; charts and exhibits are in the original on sec.gov.
Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures
Pursuant to Rule 13a-15(b) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (“Exchange Act”), the Company carried out an evaluation, with the participation of the Company’s management, including the Company’s Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”) and Chief Financial Officer (“CFO”) (the Company’s principal financial and accounting officer), of the effectiveness of the Company’s disclosure controls and procedures (as defined under Rule 13a-15(e) under the Exchange Act) as of December 31, 2023. Based upon that evaluation, the Company’s CEO and CFO concluded that the Company’s disclosure controls and procedures are not effective as of December 31, 2023, to ensure that information required to be disclosed by the Company in the reports that the Company files or submits under the Exchange Act, is recorded, processed, summarized and reported, within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms, and that such information is accumulated and communicated to the Company’s management, including the Company’s CEO and CFO, as appropriate, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.
Management’s Annual Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting.
Our Chief Executive Officer, as the principal executive officer (chief executive officer) and principal financial officer (chief financial officer), is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting, as such term is defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) or 15d-15(f). 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. Internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that (1) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of our assets; (2) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and that our receipts and expenditures are being made only in accordance with authorizations of our management and directors; and (3) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of our assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.
Because of its inherent limitations, our internal controls and procedures may not prevent or detect misstatements. A control system, no matter how well conceived and operated, can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the objectives of the control system are met. Because of the inherent limitations in all control systems, no evaluation of controls can provide absolute assurance that all control issues and instances of fraud, if any, have been detected. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies and procedures may deteriorate.
Our management assessed the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2023. The framework used by management in making that assessment was the criteria set forth in the document entitled “Internal Control – Integrated Framework” (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission. Based on that assessment, our management has determined that as of December 31, 2023, the Company’s internal control over financial reporting was not effective for the purposes for which it is intended based on the following material weaknesses:
- Lack of internal audit function. During 2023, the Company, upon review of the independent auditors, made some adjustments to its financial statements, including recording an impairment expense against prepaid inventory. Management believes that the foregoing is due to the fact that the Company lacks qualified resources to perform the internal audit functions properly and that the scope and effectiveness of the internal audit function are yet to be developed. Specifically, the reporting mechanism between the accounting department and the Board of Directors and the CEO was not effective, therefore resulting in the delay of recording and reporting.
- No Segregation of Duties Ineffective controls over financial reporting: As of December 31, 2023, we had no full-time employees with the requisite expertise in the key functional areas of finance and accounting. As a result, there is a lack of proper segregation of duties necessary to insure that all transactions are accounted for accurately and in a timely manner.
- Lack of a functioning audit committee: Due to a lack of a majority of independent members and a lack of a majority of outside directors on our board of directors, and no audit committee has been elected, the oversight in the establishment and monitoring of required internal controls and procedures is inadequate.
- Written Policies & Procedures: Due to lack of written policies and procedures for accounting and financial reporting, the Company did not establish a formal process to close our books monthly and account for all transactions.
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- Lack of controls over related party transactions: As of December 31, 2023, the Company did not establish a formal written policy for the approval, identification and authorization of related party transactions.
We are developing a plan to ensure that all information will be recorded, processed, summarized and reported accurately, and as of the date of this report, we have hired a payroll service firm to manage all payroll functions including tax withholdings. We will take the following steps to address the above-referenced material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting:
1. We will continue to educate our management personnel to increase its ability to comply with the disclosure requirements and financial reporting controls; and
2. We will increase management oversight of accounting and reporting functions in the future; and
3. As soon as we can raise sufficient capital or our operations generate sufficient cash flow, we will hire personnel to handle our accounting and reporting functions.
While the first two steps of our remediation process are ongoing, we do not expect to remediate the weaknesses in our internal controls over financial reporting until the time when we start to commercialize a recombinant fiber (and, therefore, may have sufficient cash flow for hiring personnel to handle our accounting and reporting functions).
This annual report does not include an attestation report of the Company’s registered public accounting firm regarding internal control over financial reporting. Management’s report was not subject to attestation by our registered public accounting firm pursuant to the rules of the SEC that permit us to provide only management’s report in this report.
Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting
No change in our system of internal control over financial reporting occurred during the fourth quarter of the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023 that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.
Figures reported in this filing
Standardized line items from the XBRL in this filing, for the period ended 2023-12-31. Comparative periods it repeats are left out.
| Line item | Period | Value | XBRL concept |
|---|---|---|---|
| Research and development | 12 months2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 | $237.9k | us-gaap:ResearchAndDevelopmentExpense |
| Operating income | 12 months2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 | −$2.6m | us-gaap:OperatingIncomeLoss |
| Net income | 12 months2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 | −$3.0m | us-gaap:NetIncomeLoss |
| Diluted EPS | 12 months2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 | $0.00 | us-gaap:EarningsPerShareDiluted |
| Basic EPS | 12 months2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 | $0.00 | us-gaap:EarningsPerShareBasic |
| Diluted shares (weighted) | 12 months2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 | 1,033,122,597 shares | us-gaap:WeightedAverageNumberOfDilutedSharesOutstanding |
| Operating cash flow | 12 months2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 | −$1.2m | us-gaap:NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities |
| Capital expenditure | 12 months2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 | $6.4k | us-gaap:PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment |
| Cash and equivalents | At period end2023-12-31 | $2.6m | us-gaap:CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue |
| Current assets | At period end2023-12-31 | $2.6m | us-gaap:AssetsCurrent |
| Total assets | At period end2023-12-31 | $3.2m | us-gaap:Assets |
| Current liabilities | At period end2023-12-31 | $8.9m | us-gaap:LiabilitiesCurrent |
| Total liabilities | At period end2023-12-31 | $8.9m | us-gaap:Liabilities |
| Shareholders' equity | At period end2023-12-31 | −$5.7m | us-gaap:StockholdersEquity |
Source: SEC EDGAR, the filing index for accession 0001493152-24-012404. Last ingested by Listed: Oct 24, 2026, 15:09 ET. Listed shows no prices and gives no investment advice.