DYADIC INTERNATIONAL INC [DYAI] Filings

CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS AND RISK FACTOR SUMMARY

Information (other than historical facts) set forth in this Annual Report on Form 10-K (the “Annual Report” or the “Form 10-K”) contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Federal securities laws, which involve many risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those reflected in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements generally can be identified by use of the words “expect,” “should,” “intend,” “anticipate,” “will,” “project,” “may,” “might,” “potential,” or “continue” and other similar terms or variations of them or similar terminology. Such forward-looking statements are included under Item 7 “Management’s Discussion and Analysis”. Dyadic International, Inc., and its subsidiaries cautions readers that any forward-looking information is not a guarantee of future performance and that actual results could differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking information. Such statements reflect the current views of our management with respect to our operations, results of operations and future financial performance.

Forward-looking statements involve many risks, uncertainties or other factors beyond Dyadic’s control. These factors include, but are not limited to, the items in the following list, which also summarizes some of our more principal risks:

Risks Related to Our Business and Financial Condition

Risks Related to Dependence on Third Parties

Risks Related to Government Regulations and Environmental, Social, and Governance Issues

Risks Relating to Intellectual Property

Risks Related to Our Common Stock

We caution you that the foregoing list of important factors is not exclusive. Any forward-looking statements are based on our beliefs, assumptions and expectations of future performance, considering the information currently available to us. These statements are only predictions based upon our current expectations and projections about future events. There are important factors that could cause our actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements to differ materially from the results, level of activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. New risks emerge from time to time and it is not possible for our management to predict all risks, nor can we assess the impact of all factors on our business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements we may make. Before investing in our common stock, investors should carefully read the information set forth under the caption “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this Annual Report which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

You should not rely upon forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot guarantee that the future results, levels of activity, performance and events and circumstances reflected in the forward-looking statements will be achieved or occur. Except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements for any reason after the date of this Annual Report to conform these statements to actual results or to changes in our expectations.

We qualify all our forward-looking statements by these cautionary statements. In addition, with respect to all our forward-looking statements, we claim the protection of the safe harbor for forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.

PART I

Overview

Dyadic International, Inc. (“Dyadic”, “we”, “us”, “our”, or the “Company”) is a global biotechnology platform company based in Jupiter, Florida with operations in the United States and a satellite office in the Netherlands, and it utilizes several third-party consultants and research organizations to carry out the Company’s activities. Over the past two plus decades, the Company has developed a gene expression platform for producing commercial quantities of industrial enzymes and other proteins, and has previously licensed this technology to third parties, such as Abengoa Bioenergy SA, BASF SE, Codexis, Inc. and others, for use in industrial (non-pharmaceutical) applications. This technology is based on the Thermothelomyces heterothallica (formerly known as Myceliophthora thermophila) fungus, which the Company named C1.

On December 31, 2015, the Company sold its industrial technology business to Danisco USA (“Danisco”), the industrial biosciences business of DuPont (NYSE: DD) (the “DuPont Transaction”). As part of the DuPont Transaction, Dyadic retained co-exclusive rights to the C1-cell protein production platform for use in all human and animal pharmaceutical applications, and currently, the Company has the exclusive ability to enter into sub-license agreements (subject to the terms of the license and to certain exceptions) for use in all human and animal pharmaceutical applications. Danisco retained certain rights to utilize the C1-cell protein production platform in pharmaceutical applications, including the development and production of pharmaceutical products, for which it will be required to make royalty payments to Dyadic upon commercialization. In certain circumstances, Dyadic may owe a royalty to either Danisco or certain licensors of Danisco, depending upon whether Dyadic elects to utilize certain patents either owned by Danisco or licensed in by Danisco.

After the DuPont Transaction, the Company has been focused on building innovative microbial protein production platforms to address the growing demand for global protein bioproduction utilizing its advanced microbial platforms to develop and manufacture prophylactic, therapeutic, and nutritional biopharmaceutical products for human and animal health and wellness.

Our Technology

Our mission is to leverage our proprietary highly productive, and scalable microbial fungal protein production platforms to meet the growing demand for proteins in both human and animal health markets worldwide. Additionally, we aim to enable the rapid development and large-scale manufacturing of cost-effective proteins, metabolites, and other biologic products, extending beyond pharmaceutical applications in areas such as food, nutrition, and wellness.

The C1-cell protein production platform is a versatile thermophilic filamentous fungal expression system customized for the development and production of biologic products including enzymes and other proteins for human and animal health. Potential applications to be produced from C1-cells include protein antigens, ferritin nanoparticles, virus-like particles (“VLPs”), monoclonal antibodies (“mAbs”), Bi/Tri-specific antibodies, Fab antibody fragments, Fc-fusion proteins, as well as other therapeutic enzymes and proteins. The Company participates in multiple funded research collaborations with certain leading animal and human pharmaceutical companies. These partnerships are strategically engaged to leverage the potential of our C1-cell protein production platform in the development of innovative vaccines and drugs, as well as biosimilars and/or biobetters, which we believe will contribute to advancements in medical science and healthcare.

The Company also developed the Dapibus™ thermophilic filamentous fungal-based microbial protein production platform to enable the rapid development and large-scale manufacture of cost-effective proteins, metabolites, and other biologic products for use in non-pharmaceutical applications, including food, nutrition, and wellness.

We believe that our microbial cell line possesses distinctive characteristics compared to conventional filamentous fungal cells. Moreover, we believe that our protein production platforms offer potential competitive advantages in the discovery, development, and manufacturing of biologic medicines and vaccines, compared to certain other legacy biopharmaceutical expression systems, which include but are not limited to:

Purity

High retention of target secreted protein through downstream processing

No requirement for viral (i.e., CHO and Baculovirus) or endotoxin (i.e., E. coli) removal

High Productivity

Robust and versatile growth conditions High yields of secreted protein

Low viscosity due to C1’s unique morphology

Robustness

Proven at both small and large scale, ranging from laboratory microtiter plates, shaker flasks, single use and/or stainless-steel microbial fermenters Stable and correctly folded monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), having binding, neutralizing and certain other properties similar to CHO produced mAbs

Speeds

Develop stable C1-cell lines for protein production in ~ 60 days

Production time savings of ~30 days over CHO-cell production (C1: 12-14 days vs. CHO 41-54 days) Manufacturing ~ 3-4 batches of C1 produced mAbs in the same time it takes to make 1 batch using CHO-cells

Faster product release –No requirement for viral (i.e., CHO and Baculovirus) or endotoxin (i.e., E. coli) removal allowing for earlier product release

Costs

High yields and rapid manufacturing cycle times reduce costs and shrink manufacturing footprint

C1-cells can be grown using low-cost and readily available cGMP media; C1 media < 1/20 of the cost of CHO cell media

No requirement for viral or endotoxin removal, which simplifies processing compared to CHO, Baculovirus and E. coli, saving time and money

Competition

The biotechnology and biopharmaceutical industry is intensely competitive. There is continuous demand for innovation and speed, and as the vaccine and therapeutic markets evolve, there is always the risk that a competitor may be able to develop other compounds or drugs that are able to achieve similar or better results for indications. Potential competition includes major multinational pharmaceutical companies, established biotechnology companies, specialty pharmaceutical companies, universities, and other research institutions. Many of these competitors have substantially greater financial, technical, and other resources, such as larger research and development staff and experienced marketing and manufacturing organizations with established sales forces. Smaller or early-stage companies may also prove to be significant competitors, particularly through collaborative arrangements with large, established companies.

Currently, we are not aware of other companies pursuing a business model similar to what we are developing under our microbial filamentous fungal-based protein production platform. However, our competitors using other protein production platforms who are significantly larger and better capitalized than us, could potentially adopt strategies similar to our and even implement them at a faster pace. These potential competitors include multinational pharmaceutical companies, established biotechnology companies, specialty pharmaceutical companies, universities, governmental agencies, and other research institutions that are operating in the human health and animal health fields. Moreover, smaller or early-stage companies may emerge as significant competitors, particularly through collaborative arrangements with large, established companies. Unlike in human and animal health, several other companies have and are actively engaged in utilizing filamentous fungal microorganisms for the development and manufacture of low-cost proteins, metabolites, and other biological products for use in non-pharmaceutical applications, such as food, nutrition, and wellness.

We believe that our microbial fungal based protein production platforms, including C1 and Dapibus™, have significant potential to become an alternative to several traditional production technologies currently used in the biopharmaceutical industry to produce vaccines, monoclonal antibodies, and other therapeutic proteins for both the human and animal health markets. C1 has some inherent benefits and potential competitive advantages compared to CHO cells, E. coli, Pichia, and Insect Cells (i.e., Baculovirus) as discussed below:

We believe that our microbial protein production platforms hold the potential to become leading protein production platforms for developing and manufacturing proteins across various sectors, including biopharmaceuticals, food, nutrition, wellness, drug formulation, and research diagnostics, based on our platform's capability to expedite development processes, achieve high protein yields, scale efficiently, utilize low-cost media, and ultimately reduce production costs.

Our Industry and Potential Markets

Based on feedback received from our collaborators and our ongoing discussions with leading pharmaceutical and biotech companies, contract manufacturing organizations (CMOs), leading academic institutions, as well as U.S. and foreign governmental agencies, we continue to believe that the biopharmaceutical market is an attractive opportunity to apply our C1-cell protein production platform. The Company continues to evaluate potential opportunities to expand the application of our C1-cell protein production platform, and is currently focused on the following markets:

The use of biologic medicines, for applications such as infectious disease vaccines and therapeutics are growing significantly. However, biologic medicines are in many cases limited and expensive for both patients and health care systems. The Company believes that lack of access and high cost is, in part, the result of the following bottlenecks in the development and manufacture of biologic medicines:

The Company believes that the biopharmaceutical industry can benefit from an innovative protein production platform that is safe, efficient, reliable, and cost effective. Such a platform could facilitate the rapid and high titer production of difficult to express proteins resulting in greater patient access and more affordable biopharmaceuticals. We believe that our C1-cell protein production platform has the potential to be an alternative to CHO, Baculovirus and other traditional expression systems to produce proteins for vaccines, therapeutics, diagnostics, alternative foods, nutrition and wellness and other biological products.

Our Research Partners and Contract Research Organizations (CROs)

Currently, the Company is conducting its C1-cell protein production platform research and other internal and external third-party programs with several contract organizations as follows:

Since September 2016, the Company has been working with VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, Ltd. (“VTT”), a third-party contract research organization, to further modify and improve the Company’s C1-cell protein production platform to ensure a safe and efficient expression system for use in speeding up the development and lowering the cost of manufacturing pharmaceutical products and processes. VTT is one of the leading research and technology organizations in Europe, and it has conducted research and development on fungi and other microorganisms for more than three decades. VTT is continuing their development work to further develop our C1-cell protein production platform.

The Company has extended its research contract with VTT multiple times to continue developing Dyadic’s C1-cell protein production platform for therapeutic protein production, including C1 host system improvement, glycoengineering, protease deletion, and management of third-party target protein projects. A significant portion of the research and development activities at VTT are being funded by the Company’s third-party collaborators.

The Company works with several other research providers, cGMP manufacturers, and contract research organizations from time to time, which are important to achieve the Company’s scientific and business objectives. These entities include but are not limited to CR2O, a contract research organization, to manage and support further preclinical and clinical development of DYAI-100, and Eleszto Genetika (Budapest, Hungary).

These arrangements are typically work for hire on an as-needed basis, however, certain of these programs, if negatively impacted due to resource availability, disagreements, or for other reasons could lead to delays or inability to realize our research and commercial objectives. The Company, supplemented by third party funding is also further developing its Dapibus™ protein production platform for use in non-pharmaceutical applications, such as food, nutrition, and wellness.

Our Research and Development (“R&D”) Programs

C1 Production Host Improvement Programs

The Company has research and development agreements with VTT, Eleszto Genetika (Budapest, Hungary), other CROs and service and technical providers to further improve its C1-cell protein production platform to become an even more robust, versatile, and efficient therapeutic protein production platform. Ongoing projects include, among others: (i) improving the C1 genetic tools, (ii) further reducing the background protease(s) levels by identifying and deleting certain protease genes and/or modifying C1 fermentation processes, (iii) developing high expression C1 cell lines by precision engineering, (iv) developing C1 cell lines to express several potential vaccine and drug candidates and (v) modifying the glycosylation pathway of C1 cells in order for C1 to express certain mAbs and other proteins with mammalian like glycosylation structures and to eliminate or modify certain unwanted glycan structures such as N and O-glycosylation.

We continue to generate a growing amount of data that demonstrates different C1-produced proteins are properly folded and are biologically active:

Glycosylated Therapeutic Programs and Potential Nivolumab Commercialization Program

The Company’s longer-term objective, which will require substantially more time and capital, is to apply the C1-cell protein production platform for the large therapeutic glycoprotein market. We believe that the rapid advances being made in genomics and synthetic biology, make the C1 fungal cell line a promising candidate to further engineer glycosylation pathways: (i) to produce therapeutic proteins having human-like glycoforms structures such as G0, G2, G0F, and G2F; (ii) to reduce or eliminate O-glycosylation; and (iii) to create potentially improved immunogenicity in the case of vaccines.

The initial steps to develop C1 strains that produce mAbs with mammalian-like glycosylation are progressing at VTT. Based on research results we have to date, the Company believes that our C1-cell protein production platform has the potential to become a useful platform for the development and production of therapeutic glycoproteins with human-like or potentially even superior glycan structures. We believe that, if successful, the glycoengineering of C1 cells may help to position the C1 protein production platform to be an important production platform for developing and manufacturing glycosylated antibodies and other glycoproteins. These initial glycoengineered C1 cells have to date shown reduced gene expression levels when compared to the non-glycoengineered C1 cells. Several approaches are now being applied to reach our main goal – to develop cell line(s) that resemble the 3 main goals: (i) to produce therapeutic proteins having human-like glycoform structures, (ii) to produce therapeutic proteins at high level and (iii) to produce stable therapeutic proteins.

We continue the development of Nivolumab (Opdivo®) as a potential biosimilar/biobetter immunotherapeutic biologic drug for human metastatic cancers, including melanoma, lung, and other cancers. The aim of this program is to express Nivolumab (mAb) with a glycoprotein structure like Nivolumab produced in CHO cells. So far, C1 produced Nivolumab has been produced with similar glycosylated structures and the development of high producing C1 cell line that expresses a lower cost biosimilar/Biobetter Nivolumab as part of its glycoengineering program for glycoprotein Immunoglobulin G (IgG) monoclonal antibodies is ongoing. This project has proved the concept that C1-cell protein production platform can be applied to several very high value therapeutic or preventative monoclonal antibodies.

DYAI-100, a C1-SARS-CoV-2 recombinant protein RBD vaccine candidate, is the first C1-expressed protein tested in humans. The Phase 1 randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial was designed as a first-in-human trial to assess the clinical safety and antibody response of DYAI-100, produced using the C1 platform and administered as a booster vaccine at two single dose levels in healthy volunteers. Following the regulatory clearance from the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA), the trial was initiated in 1Q 2023 with the last patient visit occurring in 3Q 2023. On November 29, 2023, the Company announced the top-line safety results, indicating that the study had met its primary endpoint that both the low and high dose levels of the vaccine are safe and well tolerated among participants. Additionally, the vaccine has been shown to induce immune responses at both dose levels, suggesting its potential efficacy in generating protective immunity against the target virus.

On March 25, 2024, the Company entered into a funded research collaboration with a top ten pharmaceutical company to develop a vaccine antigen and a monoclonal antibody produced from the C1 technology.

On March 15, 2024, the Company expanded its collaboration with Phibro Animal Health/Abic Biological Laboratories Ltd to develop vaccines and treatments for companion and livestock animal diseases.

In March 2024, a manuscript of preclinical studies on C1 produced monoclonal antibody in non-human primates and hamsters was published in the prestigious peer-reviewed journal Nature Communications. A non-human primate challenge study completed dosing of a C1 produced COVID-19 monoclonal antibody that had previously demonstrated broad neutralization and protection against Omicron (BA.1 and BA.2) and the other earlier variants of concern in hamsters. Preliminary results obtained from the challenge study with the SARS-CoV-2 Delta virus on non-human primates demonstrated potential high protection. This was the first time a C1-produced monoclonal antibody was used in a non-human primate study validating the safety and efficacy of a C1 produced antibody for infectious diseases.

At the NIIMBL conference in February 2024, the Company showcased our project data and research results generated from the NIIMBL Grant received by the Company under the previously announced White House’s American Rescue Plan.

On February 28, 2024, the Company’s Dutch subsidiary, Dyadic Nederland BV, entered into a strategic partnership agreement and collaboration with Rabian BV (“Rabian”), a Dutch innovative SME founded by experienced entrepreneurs and vaccine scientists. Awarded by Eurostars for the AVATAR project, a part of the European Partnership on Innovative SMEs, and co-funded by the European Union through Horizon Europe, Rabian will use the total funding leveraging its expertise in virology to develop a rabies vaccine using Dyadic’s C1 protein production platform to tackle the challenges posed by rabies, particularly in lower- and middle-income countries. Dyadic is expected to receive an equity stake in Rabian, fully funded research and development costs, and specified product milestones and royalties upon commercialization.

On February 21, 2024, the Company announced it has advanced its collaboration with the Israel Institute for Biological Research (IIBR) and its commercial arm Life Science Research Israel (LSRI), to target emerging disease solutions. This partnership aims to leverage Dyadic’s expertise in microbial platforms for flexible scale protein bioproduction and the IIBR’s antibodies and antigens discovery capabilities to develop and manufacture innovative solutions for addressing emerging diseases and potential bio-threats. Through this collaboration, both parties are working towards the development of effective treatments and vaccines to combat global health challenges with the intention of future commercialization (to date, the framework is non-binding and subject to the execution of a binding agreement to be negotiated by the parties) through collaborative out-licensing initiatives.

On February 13, 2024, the Company announced a strategic partnership with Cygnus Technologies®, part of Maravai LifeSciences® (Nasdaq: MRVI), which has developed the C1 Host Cell Protein ELISA Kit for the quality release of products produced using Dyadic’s protein expression platforms.

On February 6, 2024, the Company announced it has signed a fully funded evaluation agreement including a commercial option with an undisclosed leading global biopharmaceutical company to design and produce recombinant proteins using Dyadic’s C1 filamentous fungal-based microbial protein production platform.

On October 25, 2023, the Company announced that it has entered into a new research collaboration with the Vaccine and Immunotherapy Center (“VIC”) at Massachusetts General Hospital to express vaccine antigens for influenza A and other infectious diseases, as part of VIC's $5.88 million award from the Department of Defense (“DoD”).

On September 26, 2023, the Company entered into a development and commercialization agreement with bYoRNA combining bYoRNA’s novel eukaryotic “bio” RNA platform with Dyadic’s industrially proven C1 protein production platform to provide the pharmaceutical industry with a potentially more cost-efficient platform for manufacturing large quantities of lower cost mRNA, enabling access to mRNA vaccines and drugs to a broader global population.

Rubic One Health, South Africa

In April 2023, the Company expanded the license agreement with South Africa’s Rubic One Health (“Rubic”) to include vaccines and therapeutic proteins beyond COVID-19 for both human and animal health markets. This is a collaboration to develop end-to-end solutions to develop, manufacture, commercialize, and distribute affordable vaccines and biologics for human and animal health in underserved African countries. Tech transfer of the C1-cell protein production platform has been completed. Under the license agreement, Dyadic is expected to receive certain marketing rights and other considerations, including milestones and royalty payments, from Rubic.

Phibro/Abic Sublicense Agreement

On February 8, 2022, the Company entered into an exclusive sublicense agreement with Abic Biological Laboratories Ltd. (“Abic”), an affiliate of Phibro Animal Health Corporation (“Phibro”), based on an existing July 1, 2020, non-exclusive sublicense and development agreement (the “Phibro/Abic Agreement”), to provide services for a targeted disease. Since then, the Company has expanded the Phibro/Abic Agreement to include additional research projects to develop vaccines and treatments for companion and livestock animal diseases.

Dyadic’s newly developed Dapibus™ filamentous fungal based microbial protein production platform is reengineered to enable the rapid development and large-scale manufacture of low-cost proteins, metabolites, and other biologic products for use in non-pharmaceutical applications, such as food, nutrition, and wellness. Given Dyadic’s industrial heritage, the expertise to rapidly achieve commercial scale within margin sensitive markets such as food and nutrition enzymes, provides our partners with the ability to move from demonstration to commercial production quickly and efficiently. We are actively applying our proprietary Dapibus™ platform and other technologies to address the unmet need to reduce the production cost in the global market for non-pharmaceutical recombinant proteins.

Cell Culture Media Products

Non-animal Dairy Products

Bio Industrial Products

Other Events

Government Regulation and Product Approval

As a small biotechnology company that operates in the United States, we are subject to extensive regulation. Government authorities in the United States (at the federal, state and local level) and in other countries extensively regulate, among other things, the research, development, testing, manufacturing, quality control, approval, labeling, packaging, storage, record-keeping, promotion, advertising, distribution, post-approval monitoring and reporting, marketing and export and import of drug products such as those we are developing. Product candidates that we develop must be approved by the FDA, before they may be legally marketed in the United States and by the appropriate foreign regulatory agency before they may be legally marketed in foreign countries. Generally, our activities in other countries will be subject to regulation that is similar in nature and scope as that imposed in the United States, although there can be important differences. For additional discussion on the effect of existing or probable governmental regulations on our business, see “Risk Factors—Risks Related to Government Regulations and Environmental, Social, and Governance Issues.”

Employees 

As of December 31, 2023, the Company had 7 full-time employees, all of whom are located in the United States.

Patents are important to developing and protecting our competitive position. Our general policy is to seek patent protection in the United States, major European countries, and other jurisdictions as appropriate for our compounds and methods. U.S. patents, as well as most foreign patents, are generally effective for 20 years from the date the earliest patent application was filed. In some cases, the patent term may be extended to recapture a portion of the term lost during the U.S. FDA regulatory review or because of U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) delays in prosecuting the application. The duration of foreign patents varies similarly, in accordance with local law.

Currently, Dyadic owns or has exclusive rights to seven (7) patent families, of which five (5) entered the national phase. The other two (2) applications are at the international (Patent Cooperation Treaty, PCT) phase. There are currently one (1) patent and five (5) pending patent applications in the United States, one patent in South Africa, and eighteen (18) additional patent applications in a variety of jurisdictions including Europe and China.

Our success is significantly dependent on our ability to obtain and maintain patent protection for C1 and Dapibus™, both in the United States and abroad. Our patent position and proprietary rights are subject to various risks and uncertainties. Please read the “Risk Factors” in Item 1A of this Annual Report for information about certain risks and uncertainties that may affect our patent position and proprietary rights.

We also rely upon unpatented confidential information to remain competitive. We protect such information principally through confidentiality agreements with our employees, consultants, outside scientific collaborators, and other advisers. In the case of our employees, these agreements also provide, in compliance with relevant law, that inventions and other intellectual property conceived by such employees during their employment shall be our exclusive property.

Information that we furnish to or file with the SEC, including the Company’s annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K and any amendments to, or exhibits included in, these reports are made available for download, free of charge, through the Company’s website at www.dyadic.com as soon as reasonably practicable. The Company’s SEC filings, including exhibits filed therewith, are also available directly on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.

The Company may use its website as a distribution channel of material company information. Financial and other important information regarding the Company is routinely posted on and accessible through the Company’s website. Accordingly, investors should monitor this channel, in addition to following the Company’s press releases, SEC filings and public conference calls and webcasts. Information contained on the Company’s website is not part of this report.

Investing in our common stock involves a high degree of risk. You should carefully consider the following material risks, together with the other matters described in this Annual Report and in our financial statements and the related notes thereto in evaluating our current business and future performance. We cannot assure you that any of the events discussed in the risk factors below will or will not occur. If we are not able to successfully address any of the following risks, we could experience significant changes in our business, operations and financial performance. In such circumstances, the trading price of our common stock could decline, and in some cases, such declines could be significant, and you could lose part or all of your investment. In addition to the risks described below, other unforeseeable risks that we currently believe are immaterial may arise that adversely affect our operating results. Certain statements contained in this Annual Report (including certain statements used in the discussion of our risk factors) constitute forward-looking statements. Please refer to the section entitled “Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” appearing on page [4] of this Annual Report for important information regarding reliance on forward-looking statements.

Risks Related to Our Business and Financial Condition

We may not succeed in implementing our business strategy.

In connection with the December 31, 2015 sale of substantially all of the assets of our industrial technology business to Danisco (the “DuPont Transaction”), Danisco obtained certain rights to utilize the C1-cell protein production platform for development and production of pharmaceutical products, for which it will make royalty payments to Dyadic upon commercialization. At the same time, Dyadic retained the co-exclusive rights to the C1-cell protein production platform for use in all human and animal pharmaceutical applications, with Dyadic currently having the exclusive ability to enter into sub-license agreements in that field (subject to the terms of the license and certain exceptions). We cannot predict whether Danisco intends to or will pursue the use of the C1-cell protein production platform to develop or manufacture pharmaceutical products or whether or when we might receive royalties from Danisco. In certain circumstances, Dyadic may owe a royalty to either Danisco or certain licensors of Danisco, depending upon whether Dyadic elects to utilize certain patents owned or licensed by Danisco. Consequently, our business has changed dramatically as compared to the past, as we no longer have any product revenue related to our enzyme business. We also now apply the C1-cell protein production platform in the biopharmaceutical market, which has higher risks and a higher barrier to entry.

As we attempt to adapt our microbial protein production platforms, including C1 and Dapibus™ and our other technologies for use in the biopharmaceutical and other markets, our business is subject to the execution, integration, and research and development risks that early-stage companies customarily face with new technologies, products and markets. These risks relate to, among other things, our ability to successfully further develop our protein production platforms and our other technologies, products and processes, assemble and maintain adequate production and research and development (“R&D”) capabilities, comply with regulatory requirements, construct effective channels of distribution and manage growth. We have encountered and will continue to encounter risks and difficulties frequently experienced by early-stage companies in expanding and upgrading our intellectual property, regulatory, marketing, sales and R&D capabilities, improving our accounting and financial reporting and internal controls infrastructure, and adapting to the rapidly evolving industries in which we operate. Additionally, we are subject to competition from much larger companies with more resources than we have. Also, the market for developing and manufacturing pharmaceutical proteins produced from a filamentous fungus, such as the C1 fungus, is a market that is not yet established and is subject to a high level of regulatory hurdles from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (the “FDA”) and other governmental bodies, and there is a risk that such technologies will not be adopted by the pharmaceutical industry or governmental agencies and therefore not succeed and/or not grow at the rates projected or at all.

We have not yet commercialized any products based on our platforms and technologies, and we may never be able to do so. We do not know when or if we and/or our current and/or future collaborators and licensees will complete any of our or their product development efforts, obtain regulatory approval for any product candidates incorporating our technologies or successfully commercialize any approved products. Even if we and/or our licensees and collaborators are successful in developing products that are approved for marketing, we and they will still require that these products gain regulatory approval and market acceptance. The biopharmaceutical industry is a high-risk industry in that even if we are successful at expressing certain proteins, these proteins may fail to be advanced or approved for use or sale for many reasons including their characteristics, biological activity, biological comparability, biological similarity, stability, glycosylation structures, containments, purity, performance, safety and regulatory reasons.

Because of the numerous risks and uncertainties associated with pharmaceutical product development, we are unable to predict the timing or amount of increased expenses or when, or if, we will be able to achieve certain technology, product and/or commercial milestones, access fees and royalties, launch products and/or processes, or achieve profitability. In addition, our expenses could increase if we are required by the FDA or other domestic and foreign regulatory authorities to perform studies or trials in addition to those currently expected, or if there are delays in completing additional safety studies such as toxicology and pathogenicity studies, clinical trials, preclinical studies, animal or human studies or the development of any of our or our collaborators’ product candidates.

We have a history of net losses, and we may not achieve or maintain profitability.

As of December 31, 2023, we had an accumulated deficit of approximately $80.3 million. Our profitability has strongly relied on, and will be even more reliant going forward on, third party industry and government research funding, licensing partnerships and other forms of collaborations. We believe that it is likely that if we do not sign license agreements or other forms of collaborations, we will incur losses because of our planned levels of R&D and additional general and administrative expenditures that we believe are necessary to operate our business and further develop our microbial protein production platforms and other technologies for use in the pharmaceutical and non-pharmaceutical industries. The amount of our future net losses will depend, in part, on the rate of increase in our expenses along with other potential cost of unforeseen circumstances, our ability to generate research funding, government grants, receipt of access fees, milestones, royalty and other payments, and whether we are able to generate revenues by entering into license agreements or other forms of collaborations, launch new products and/or processes from future licensees or collaborators, and our ability to raise additional capital. The net losses we anticipate incurring over the next several years will have an adverse effect on our stockholders’ equity and working capital.

The R&D efforts needed to enhance and leverage our microbial protein production platforms, including C1 and Dapibus™, for use in developing and manufacturing human and animal biopharmaceuticals and other non-pharmaceutical products will require significant funding and increased staffing. Therefore, we expect near-term operating and research expenses to continue, and maybe even accelerate, as we further develop our research and business plans, and our goals and objectives. Consequently, we will require significant additional revenue to achieve profitability. We cannot provide assurance that we will be able to generate any revenues from our focus and efforts as we intend to apply our C1-cell and Dapibus™ into the biopharmaceutical and non-pharmaceutical industries. If we fail to enter into new license agreements or other forms of collaborations or generate revenues and profit from additional research projects and government grants, the market price of our common stock will likely decrease. Further regulatory complications, competition from other technologies, or delays in our research programs and the adoption and use of the C1-cell and Dapibus™ protein production platforms and our other technologies by the biopharmaceutical and non-pharmaceutical industries may force us to reduce our staffing and research and development efforts, which may further affect our ability to generate cash flow.

We could fail to manage our growth.

We will need to take the following steps, among others, to manage our growth. If we fail to achieve one or more of these, it could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our revenue growth depends in part on market and regulatory acceptance of our microbial protein production platforms and other technologies to develop and manufacture animal and/or human biopharmaceutical and non-pharmaceutical products.

The success of our biopharmaceutical business will depend on our ability to develop, register, and introduce similar, new and improved technologies and products in a timely manner, at significantly lower manufacturing costs that address the evolving requirements of the pharmaceutical industry and potential customers. There is no assurance that the C1-cell protein production platform or any product expressed from C1, or our other technologies, will perform the same or better, save our customers money relative to existing gene expression technologies or those of our competitors, provide our customers with other benefits, obtain governmental safety and regulatory approvals, be registered or gain market acceptance. If we fail to develop similar, new and better performing technologies, products and processes at significantly lower manufacturing costs, make fermentation yield improvements on our existing production processes, generate the necessary safety and regulatory data or gain registration and market acceptance of the C1-cell and Dapibus^TM protein production platforms, or our other technologies, products or processes, we could fail to recoup our R&D investments and fail to capitalize on potential opportunities or gain market share from our competitors. Any failure, for technological, quality, safety, regulatory, or other reasons, to develop and launch improved technologies and new products, could negatively impact our business, financial condition and results of operation.

The dynamic and conservative nature of the biopharmaceutical industry, the unpredictable nature of the product development process and the time and cost of new technology adoption in the biopharmaceutical industry may affect our ability to meet the requirements of the marketplace or achieve market and/or regulatory acceptance. 

The expenses or losses associated with unsuccessful technology and product development activities or lack of market acceptance of our new technologies and products could harm our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We may fail to commercialize our microbial protein production platforms or other technologies for the expression of therapeutic proteins, antibodies, vaccines, and metabolites or other non-pharmaceutical biologic products.

We have not yet completed the necessary safety, efficacy, cost and regulatory studies, or the commercialization of any therapeutic proteins, antibodies and vaccines, and metabolites or other non-pharmaceutical biologic products based on C1 or Dapibus™.

To date, drug companies have developed and commercialized only a small number of gene-based products in comparison to the total number of drug molecules available in the marketplace. Our biopharmaceutical business should be evaluated as having the same risks as those inherent to early-stage biotechnology companies because the application of the C1-cell protein production platform for the expression of pre-clinical and clinical quantities of therapeutic proteins, antibodies and vaccines is still in early development.

Successful development of our microbial protein production platforms, including C1 and Dapibus™, for biopharmaceutical and non-pharmaceutical purposes will require significant research, development and capital investment, including testing, to prove its safety, efficacy and cost-effectiveness. In general, our experience has been that each step in the process has been longer and costlier than originally projected, and we anticipate that this is likely to remain the case with respect to the continuing development efforts of our biopharmaceutical and non-pharmaceutical business.

If our competitors develop technologies and products more quickly and market more effectively than our product candidates, our commercial opportunity will be reduced or eliminated.

The biopharmaceutical industry is characterized by rapid technological change, and the area of gene and protein research and platform development is a rapidly evolving field. Any biopharmaceutical products we or our current collaborators or licensees develop through the C1-cell protein production platform, or through our other technologies, will compete in highly competitive and regulated markets. Many of the organizations competing with us in the market for such products have more capital resources, larger R&D and marketing staff, facilities and capabilities, and greater experience in research and development, regulatory approval, manufacturing and commercialization of technology and products. Accordingly, our competitors may be able to develop technologies and products more rapidly. Our future success will depend on our ability to maintain a competitive position with respect to technological advances in terms of product and process quality, stability, safety, productivity and cost. If a competitor develops superior technology or products, or more cost-effective alternatives to our and our collaborators’ or licensees’ technologies, products or processes, it could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Well-known and highly competitive biotechnology companies offer comparable or alternative technologies for the same products and services as our biopharmaceutical and non-pharmaceutical business. We anticipate that we and our current or future collaborators and licensees will continue to encounter increased competition as new companies enter these markets and as the development of biological processes and products evolves.

Alternative technologies may not require microbial or other cell produced proteins, such as our proprietary C1 cells.

Research is being conducted with cell or gene-based therapies and other technologies that offer a possible alternative to producing proteins as they are being produced today based on microbial, organic matter containing Carbon, Hydrogen, and Oxygen or other organisms, such as our proprietary C1 cells or Dapibus™. Alternative methods may allow genes to be directly inserted into cells that can be implanted into animals and humans directly, displacing the need for the existing methods used for the development of biologic vaccines and drugs. If they are successful, these new methods may supplant or greatly reduce the need for microorganisms, Carbon, Hydrogen, and Oxygen or other organisms, including our C1 cells and Dapibus™, to produce these proteins externally as the injected cells in animals and humans may be able to do so internally. 

Our SARS-CoV-2 vaccine candidates are at the clinical stage and have not been approved for sale. We have not developed, manufactured or commercialized any vaccine product in the past, and we may be unable to produce a vaccine that can be used to successfully prevent the SARS-CoV-2 virus or its variants of concern, in a timely and economical manner, if at all.

Our DYAI-100, SARS-CoV-2 vaccine candidate has successfully completed its Phase 1 clinical trial in South Africa. However, we do not plan to continue Phase 2/3 clinical trials of DYAI-100 unless we obtain funding from our partners and collaborators. Moreover, adverse events, or the perception of adverse events, relating to vaccine product candidates and delivery technologies may negatively impact our ability to develop commercially successful products and also may lead to greater government regulation, which could have a material effect on our ability to develop and market our SARS-CoV-2 vaccine product candidates.

The success of our efforts to develop and commercialize our vaccine product candidates could fail for a number of reasons. Accordingly, we may be unable to produce a vaccine that successfully targets SARS-CoV-2 in a timely and economical manner, if at all. For example, we expect to commit significant financial resources and personnel to the development of SARS-CoV-2 vaccine product candidates, which may cause delays in or otherwise negatively impact our other product candidate development program. The outcome of any research and development program is highly uncertain. Only a small fraction of biotechnology and vaccine development programs ultimately result in commercial products or even product candidates, and a number of events could delay our development efforts and negatively impact our ability to obtain regulatory approval for, and to manufacture, market and sell, a vaccine. Additionally, our ability to develop an effective vaccine will depend on our ability to work on an accelerated timeline, with limited access to financial resources beyond those that we currently possess, and in competition with a significant number of better-funded and more experienced vaccine-development companies. Moreover, uncertainties exist surrounding the longevity and severity of COVID-19 as a global health concern, and given the COVID-19 pandemic is now relatively contained and the risk of further spread is diminished, we may be unable to identify strategic partners willing to work with and support us in our development efforts and/or the market that we anticipate for this product candidate may not exist or may be much smaller than we previously anticipated. Alternatively, even if a market exists, our vaccine product candidates could be found to be ineffective or unsafe, or otherwise fail to receive necessary regulatory clearances. Our vaccine product candidates, even if safe and effective, could be difficult to manufacture on a large scale or uneconomical to market, or our competitors could develop superior products more quickly and efficiently or more effectively market their competing products. Accordingly, our inability to develop a commercially successful vaccine product could materially harm our business.

The results of nonclinical studies and early-stage clinical trials may not be predictive of future results.

The results of nonclinical studies may not be predictive of the results of clinical trials, and the results of any early-stage clinical trials we commence may not be predictive of the results of the later-stage clinical trials. Vaccine and drug candidates in later stages of clinical trials may fail to show the desired safety and efficacy despite having progressed through nonclinical studies and initial clinical trials. There is a high failure rate for drugs proceeding through clinical trials, and a number of companies in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries have suffered significant setbacks in clinical development even after achieving promising results in earlier studies. There can be no assurance that any of our current or future clinical trials will ultimately be successful or support further clinical development of any of our vaccine and drug candidates. Even if our clinical trials are completed, the results may not be sufficient to obtain regulatory approval of any products. Any such setbacks in our clinical development could have a material adverse effect on our business and operating results.

We currently have very little leverage, and if our capital resources are insufficient to meet our capital requirements, we will have to raise additional funds to continue the development of our technologies and complete the development and commercialization of products, if any, resulting from our technologies. If the acquisition of additional funds is not possible or if we engage in future equity financings, dilution to our existing stockholders may result. If we raise capital through debt financing, we may be subject to restrictive covenants that limit our ability to conduct our business. We may not be able to raise funds on terms that are favorable to us, if at all. If we fail to raise sufficient funds and incur losses, our ability to fund our operations, take advantage of strategic opportunities, develop products or technologies, or otherwise respond to competitive pressures could be significantly limited. If this happens, we may be forced to delay or terminate research or development programs or the commercialization of products resulting from our technologies, curtail or cease operations or obtain funds through collaborative and licensing arrangements that may require us to relinquish commercial rights, sell certain assets of the company which will limit future opportunities, or grant licenses on terms that are not favorable to us. Without sufficient funding or revenue, we may have to curtail, cease, or dispose of one or more of our operations, which would have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and future prospects.

Changes in the global financial, pharmaceutical and biotech markets may make it difficult to accurately forecast operating results. These changes have had, and may continue to have, a negative effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and liquidity. In the event of a downturn in global economic activity, current or potential business partners may go out of business, may be unable to fund purchases or determine to reduce purchases, all of which could lead to reduced demand for our products and increased payment delays or defaults. We are also limited in our ability to reduce costs to offset the results of a prolonged or severe economic downturn given certain fixed costs associated with our operations and difficulties if we over strained our resources. The timing and nature of a sustained recovery in the credit and financial markets remain uncertain, and there can be no assurance that market conditions will significantly improve in the near future or that our results will not continue to be materially and adversely affected.

In addition, geopolitical risks, including those arising from political turmoil, trade tension or the imposition of trade tariffs and/or sanctions, terrorist activity and acts of civil or international hostility, are increasing. For instance, the ongoing military conflict between Russia and Ukraine, as well as conflicts in the Middle East have had negative impacts on the global economy and is expected to have further global economic consequences. Any such events and responses, including regulatory developments, may cause significant volatility and declines in the global markets, disproportionate impacts to certain industries or sectors, disruptions to commerce (including to economic activity, travel and supply chains), loss of life and property damage, and may materially and adversely affect the global economy or capital markets, as well as our business and results of operations. Should an economic slowdown occur in the U.S. or globally, our business and results of operations may be materially adversely affected.

Our sales and operations are subject to the risks of doing business internationally.

In the conduct of our business, in certain instances, we are required to receive payments or pay our obligations in currencies other than U.S. dollars. Especially since a large portion of our research and development is done in Europe, our CROs and certain consultants request payments in Euros. As a result, we are exposed to changes in currency exchange rates with respect to our business transactions denominated in non-US dollars. Fluctuations in currency exchange rates have in the past and may in the future negatively affect our revenue, expenses and our financial position and results of operations as expressed in U.S. dollars.

Changes to our outsourced software or infrastructure vendors as well as any sudden loss, breach of security, disruption or unexpected data or vendor loss associated with our information technology systems could have a material adverse effect on our business.

We rely on third-party software and infrastructure to run critical accounting, project management and financial information systems. If software or infrastructure vendors decide to discontinue further development, integration or long-term maintenance support for our information systems, or there is any system interruption, delay, breach of security, loss of data or loss of a vendor, we may need to migrate some or all of our accounting, project management and financial information to other systems. These disruptions could increase our operational expense as well as impact the management of our business operations, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial position, results of operations, cash flows and liquidity.

Risks Related to Dependence on Third Parties

We are dependent on collaborations with third parties, and if we fail to maintain or successfully manage existing, or enter into new, strategic collaborations, we may not be able to develop and commercialize many of our technologies and products and achieve profitability. 

Our R&D revenue is generated from a small number of research collaborations. These collaborations could be delayed or be discontinued, as they have in the past, at any time with little advance notice. If these research collaborations are lost or do not perform as expected, it could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and operating results.

Our ability to enter into, maintain and manage collaborations in our target markets is fundamental to the success of our business. We currently rely on, and expect to continue to rely on, our current and future partners, in part, for research and development, manufacturing and distribution, sales and marketing services, and application and regulatory know how. In addition, we intend to enter into additional collaborations to conduct research, develop, produce, market, license and sell our technologies and products and processes we anticipate developing. However, we may not be successful in entering into collaborative arrangements with third parties. Any failure to enter into such arrangements on favorable terms could delay or hinder our ability to develop and commercialize our technologies, products and processes and could increase our costs of research and development and commercialization.

We have limited or no control over the resources that any collaborator or licensee may devote to our programs, and reductions in collaborators’ R&D budgets may affect our businesses.

Any of our current or future collaborators or licensees may breach or terminate their agreements with us or otherwise fail to perform and conduct their required activities successfully and in a timely manner. Our collaborators or licensees may elect not to develop products arising out of our collaborative or license arrangements or may choose not to devote sufficient resources to the development, manufacture, market or sale of these products. If any of these events occur, we or our collaborators or licensees may not develop our technologies or commercialize our or their products.

Fluctuations in the R&D budgets of government agencies, our customers, licensees, collaborators and research partners could have a significant impact on the interest in and demand for our technology. Our businesses could be seriously damaged by significant decreases in life sciences and/or pharmaceutical R&D expenditures by government agencies and existing and potential partners.

We heavily rely on contracts with third-party contract research organizations (“CROs”) and other third-party service providers to conduct our research and development, pre-clinical, CMC and cGMP manufacturing, fill and finish, and potential clinical trials, which may not be available to the Company on commercially reasonable terms or at all.

As a result of the DuPont Transaction, we no longer own a research and development laboratory and we became dependent upon the performance and research capacity of a number of third-party contract research organizations and other service providers to conduct our research and development projects, pre-clinical, CMC and cGMP manufacturing, fill and finish, and potential clinical trials, which include services and programs in connection with the modification and enhancement of the Company’s C1-cell protein production platform and to support our business development efforts for C1’s use in biopharmaceutical applications. The licensing and service arrangements with these third parties are not guaranteed to be obtained, renewed or continued on reasonable terms, if at all. The Company may be unable to obtain, maintain or expand its access to third party CROs and other service providers to conduct these services. Failure to obtain, maintain and expand access to certain third party CROs and other service providers could have a material adverse impact on the Company’s research projects, financial condition and operating results. In addition, from time to time there are disagreements with such third parties that if not resolved can have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and operating results.

We are heavily dependent upon the availability and performance of third-party research organizations. If we require research capacity and/or capabilities and are unable to obtain it in sufficient quantity, and quality or at terms and conditions that are acceptable to the Company or our third party collaborators, we may not be able to offer our technologies or products for license, or sale, or we may be required to make substantial capital investments to build out that capacity or to contract with other research organizations on terms that may be less favorable than our current arrangements. In addition, if we contract with other research organizations, we may experience delays of several months in qualifying them or in starting up research programs at these facilities, which could harm our relationships with our licensees, collaborators or customers, and we may be required to make a capital investment in connection with these arrangements. This could have a material adverse effect on our business, revenues or operating results.

Additionally, if we were to be unsuccessful in retaining a CRO with the requisite experience and skills we require and were required to build our own research facility, it could take a year or longer before such owned research facility were able to be brought online to carry out the necessary technology and product development efforts of the Company. 

Conflicts with the CROs, other service providers, collaborators and/or licensees could harm our business.

An important part of our strategy includes involvement in proprietary research programs. We may pursue opportunities in the pharmaceutical field that could conflict with those of our collaborators and licensees. Moreover, disagreements with Danisco, our current and/or future CROs, other service providers, collaborators or licensees could develop over rights to our intellectual property, over further licensing of our technologies to other parties in certain pharmaceutical fields, or for other reasons. Any conflict with Danisco, our current and/or future CROs, other service providers, collaborators or licensees could reduce our ability to obtain future collaboration agreements and negatively impact our relationship with existing collaborators or licensees, which could reduce our revenues and profits.

Some of our current and/or future CROs, other service providers, collaborators and/or licensees could also become competitors in the future. Our current and/or future CROs, other service providers, collaborators and/or licensees could develop competing technologies or products, preclude us from entering into collaborations or license agreements with their customers, fail to obtain timely regulatory approvals, terminate their agreements with us prematurely or fail to devote sufficient resources to the development and commercialization of their technology and products and processes. Any of these developments could harm our technology development and value, product development efforts, revenue, profits and overall business.

We rely on our collaborators and other third parties to deliver timely and accurate information in order to accurately report our financial results as required by law.

We need to receive timely, accurate and complete information from a number of third parties in order to accurately and timely report our financial results. We rely on third parties to provide us with complete and accurate information regarding research developments and data, revenues, expenses and payments owed to or by us on a timely basis. We rely on the proper controls and procedures related to obtaining and reporting information from our CROs, licensees and collaborators related to research results and other data, when milestones are earned, if any, when royalties are earned, if any, as well as other types of potential revenues and expenses. If the information that we receive is not accurate, our consolidated financial statements may be materially incorrect and may require restatement. As a result, we may have difficulty in completing accurate and timely financial disclosures, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations and the market price of our common stock.

Risks Related to Government Regulations and Environmental, Social, and Governance Issues

Potential future regulations limiting our ability to sell genetically engineered products could harm our business.

We, our current and future collaborators and licensees expect to develop biologic products using genetically engineered microorganisms (“GMOs”). Products derived from GMOs may in some instances be subject to bans or additional regulation by federal, state, local and foreign government agencies. These agencies may not allow us or our collaborators and licensees to produce and market products derived from GMOs in a timely manner or under technically or commercially feasible conditions.

Compliance with FDA, Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) and EU regulations could result in expenses, delays or other impediments to our product development programs or the commercialization of resulting products. The FDA currently applies the same regulatory standards to products made through genetic engineering as those applied to products developed through traditional methodologies. Regardless of GMO status, a product may be subject to lengthy FDA reviews and unfavorable FDA determinations due to safety concerns or changes in the FDA’s regulatory policy. The EPA regulates biologically derived enzyme-related chemical substances not within the FDA’s jurisdiction. An unfavorable EPA ruling could delay commercialization or require modification of the production process or product in question, resulting in higher manufacturing costs, thereby making the product uneconomical. The EU and other countries also have regulations regarding the development, production and marketing of products from GMOs, which may be as or more restrictive than U.S. regulations.

Further, we, Danisco, and our current and future collaborators and licensees are subject to regulations in the other countries in which we operate outside of the U.S. and EU, which may have different rules and regulations depending on the jurisdiction. Different countries have different rules regarding which products qualify as GMOs. If any of these countries expand the definition of GMO and increase the regulatory burden on GMO products, our business could be harmed.

Other changes in regulatory requirements, laws and policies, or evolving interpretations of existing regulatory requirements, laws and policies, may result in increased compliance costs, delays, capital expenditures and other financial obligations that could adversely affect our business or financial results.

Public views on ethical and social issues may limit use of our technologies.

Our success will depend in part upon our ability, and our current and future collaborators’ or licensees’ ability, to develop pharmaceutical and non-pharmaceutical products discovered, developed and manufactured through the C1-cell protein production platform, and our other technologies. Governmental authorities could, for social, ethical or other purposes, limit the use of genetic processes or prohibit the practice of using a modified C1 organism to produce biologic vaccines, drugs and other biologic products. Concerns about the C1-cell protein production platform and our other technologies, and particularly about the expression of genes from C1 for pharmaceutical purposes, could adversely affect their market acceptance.

The commercial success of our current and future collaborations and our licensees’ potential products will depend in part on public acceptance of the use of genetically engineered products including enzymes, vaccines, drugs and other protein products produced in this manner. Claims that genetically engineered products are unsafe for consumption or pose a danger to the environment, animals or humans may influence public attitudes. Our and our licensees’ genetically engineered products may not gain public acceptance. Negative public reaction to GMOs and products could result in increased government regulation of genetic research and resulting products, including stricter labeling laws or other regulations, and could cause a decrease in the demand for our products. If we and/or our collaborators are not able to overcome the ethical, legal, and social concerns relating to genetic engineering, some or all of our products and processes may not gain public acceptance, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our results of operations may be adversely affected by environmental, health and safety laws, regulations and liabilities.

We and the CROs, collaborators and licensees are subject to various federal, state and local environmental laws and regulations relating to the discharge of materials into the air, water and ground, the generation, storage, handling, use, transportation and disposal of hazardous materials, and the health and safety of our employees. These laws, regulations and permits can often require expensive pollution control equipment or operational changes to limit actual or potential impacts to the environment. A violation of these laws and regulations or permit conditions could result in substantial fines, criminal sanctions, permit revocations and/or facility shutdowns.

In addition, new laws, new interpretations of existing laws, increased government enforcement of environmental laws, or other developments could require us or our CROs or other service providers to make additional significant expenditures. Present and future environmental laws and regulations and interpretations thereof, more vigorous enforcement of policies and discovery of currently unknown conditions may require substantial expenditures that could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial position. Additionally, any such developments may have a negative impact on our contract manufacturers, which could harm our business.

Increasing scrutiny and changing expectations from customers, regulators, investors, and other stakeholders with respect to our environmental, social and governance practices may impose additional costs on us or expose us to new or additional risks.

Companies are facing increasing scrutiny from customers, regulators, investors, and other stakeholders related to their environmental, social and governance practices. Investor advocacy groups, investment funds and influential investors are also increasingly focused on these practices, especially as they relate to the environment, health and safety, supply chain management, diversity and human rights. Failure to adapt to or comply with regulatory requirements or investor or stakeholder expectations and standards could negatively impact our reputation and the price of our common stock.

In addition, our customers may adopt policies that include social and environmental requirements or may seek to include such provisions in their contract terms and conditions. These social and environmental responsibility provisions and initiatives are subject to change and vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and certain elements may be difficult and/or cost prohibitive for us to comply with given the inherent complexity and the global scope of our operations. In certain circumstances, in order to meet the requirements or standards of our customers, we may be obligated to modify our sourcing practices or make other operational choices which may require additional investments and increase our costs or result in inefficiencies.

Any of the factors mentioned above, or the perception that we or those with whom we conduct business have not responded appropriately to the growing concern for such issues, regardless of whether we are legally required to do so, may damage our reputation and have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations cash flows and/or the price of our common stock.

We have no experience submitting applications to the FDA or similar regulatory authorities in the past and could be subject to lengthy and/or unfavorable regulatory proceedings.

While we understand that many of our current and future collaborators or licensees may have a proven track record of experience submitting application to the FDA or other applicable regulatory authorities, we have no such experience in the past. Neither we nor any collaborator or licensee has yet submitted any application with the FDA or any other regulatory authority for any product candidate generated through the use of the C1-cell protein production platform as it relates to the development and manufacture of pharmaceutical products. The FDA may not have substantial experience with technology similar to ours, which could result in delays or regulatory action against us. We and our current and future collaborators and licensees may not be able to able to obtain regulatory approval for C1 expressed products, which would harm our business.

The C1-cell protein production platform has been tested for use in the manufacturing of an enzyme in the production of wine, beer and fruit juices, and has generated promising safety and toxicity data for that enzyme. The C1-cell protein production platform could produce vaccines, antibodies, or therapeutic products and enzymes that have safety, toxicity, pathogenicity, immunogenicity and other issues associated with them. The C1-cell protein production platform and our other technologies may be subject to lengthy regulatory reviews and unfavorable regulatory determinations if they raise safety questions which cannot be satisfactorily answered or if results from studies do not meet regulatory requirements. An unfavorable regulatory ruling could be difficult to resolve and could delay or possibly prevent a product from being commercialized, or even delay or prevent the use of the C1-cell protein production platform or our other technologies to produce future products, which would have a material adverse effect on our growth and prospects. Additionally, future products produced by us or our current and future collaborators or licensees using the C1-cell protein production platform, or our other technologies may not be approved by the FDA or other regulatory agencies in the U.S. or worldwide. There is no assurance that safety, toxicity, pathogenicity, immunogenicity and other issues will not arise in current or future product development and manufacturing programs due to media, fermentation, inherent properties or genetic changes in the C1 and other strains and fermentation processes.

If these therapeutic protein products, antibodies or vaccines or other non-pharmaceutical products are not approved by regulators, we or our current and future customers or collaborators and licensees will not be able to commercialize them, and we may not receive research funding, upfront license fees, milestone and royalty payments, which are based upon the successful advancement of these products through the drug development and approval process. Even after investing significant time and expense, any regulatory approval may also impose limitations on the uses for which we can market a product, and any marketed product and its manufacturer are subject to continual review. Discovery of previously unknown problems with a product or manufacturer may result in new restrictions on the product, manufacturer and manufacturing facility, including withdrawal of the product from the market. In certain countries, regulatory agencies also set or approve prices, which may result in low or unprofitable margins and would have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Risks Relating to Intellectual Property

Failure to protect our intellectual property and the intellectual property of certain third parties could harm our competitive position.

Our success will depend in part on our ability to obtain patents and on our and Danisco’s (as part of the DuPont Transaction, patents were assigned to Danisco) and our current and future collaborators’ and licensees’ ability to maintain adequate protection of our and their intellectual property. If we, Danisco, or our current and future collaborators and licensees do not adequately protect our intellectual property, competitors may be able to practice our technologies and erode our competitive advantage. The laws of some foreign countries do not protect proprietary rights to the same extent as the laws of the United States, and many companies have encountered significant problems in protecting their proprietary rights in these foreign countries.

However, the patent positions of biotechnology companies, including our patent position, are generally uncertain and involve complex legal and factual questions. We will be able to protect our proprietary rights from unauthorized use by third parties only to the extent that our, and in certain instances the C1 patents assigned to Danisco, and our current and future collaborators’ and licensees’ proprietary technologies, are covered by valid and enforceable patents or are effectively maintained as trade secrets. We intend, from time to time, to apply for patents covering both our technologies and our products, while at other times, we only maintain such knowledge as trade secrets without applying for patents, as we deem appropriate. However, existing and future patent applications may be challenged and are not guaranteed to result in the issuing of patents. Even if a patent is obtained, it may not be sufficiently broad to prevent others from practicing our technologies or from developing competing products. Others, including Danisco and our current and future collaborators and licensees, may independently develop similar or alternative technologies or design around our, Danisco’s or our current and future collaborators’ and licensees’ patented technologies. In addition, Danisco, our current and future collaborators, licensees, or other third parties may challenge or invalidate our patents, or our patents may fail to provide us with any competitive advantages. If any third party is able to gain intellectual property protections for technology similar to our own, they may be successful in blocking us and our licensees from using the C1-cell protein production platform or our other technologies and/or commercializing products derived from them.

We cannot ensure that any of our pending patent applications will result in issued patents, or even if issued, predict the breadth of the claims upheld in our and other companies’ patents. Given that the degree of future protection for our proprietary rights is uncertain, we cannot ensure that we were the first to invent the inventions covered by our pending patent applications, or that we were the first to file patent applications for these inventions or the patents we have obtained.

In addition, Dyadic will continue to review its existing and potential patent positions and rights. Based on our analysis if and when the commercial opportunities and patent enforceability are questionable, we may abandon certain patents in some countries. There is a risk that we will abandon potentially valuable patents.

Litigation or other proceedings or third-party claims of intellectual property infringement could require us to spend significant time and resources and could prevent us and our collaborators from commercializing our or their technologies and products or negatively impact our stock price.

Our commercial success depends in part on neither infringing patents and proprietary rights of third parties, nor breaching any licenses that we have entered into with regard to our technologies and products. Others have filed, and in the future are likely to file, patent applications covering genes or gene fragments, genetic elements, screening, gene expression and fermentation processes and other intellectual property that we may wish to utilize with the C1-cell protein production platform or our other technologies or products and systems that are similar to those developed with its use. If these patent applications result in issued patents and we wish to use the claimed technology, we may need to obtain a license from the appropriate third party.

Third parties do and may continue to assert that we and/or our current and future collaborators and licensees are employing their proprietary technology without authorization. In addition, third parties may obtain patents in the future and claim that use of our technologies infringes these patents. We could incur substantial costs and diversion of management and technical personnel in defending ourselves against any of these claims or enforcing our patents and other intellectual property rights. Parties making claims against us may be able to obtain injunctive or other equitable relief, which could effectively block our ability to further develop, commercialize and sell products, and could result in the award of substantial damages against us. If a claim of infringement against us is successful, we may be required to pay damages and obtain one or more licenses from third parties. In the event that we are unable to obtain these licenses at a reasonable cost, we and/or current and future collaborators and licensees could encounter delays in product commercialization while we attempt to develop alternative methods or products. Defense of any lawsuit or failure to obtain any of these licenses could prevent us from commercializing available products.

In addition, unauthorized parties may attempt to steal, copy or otherwise obtain and use our C1 microbial strains, genetic elements, development and manufacturing processes, other technology or products. Monitoring unauthorized use of our intellectual property is difficult, and we cannot be certain that the steps we have taken will prevent unauthorized use of our technologies, particularly in certain foreign countries where the local laws may not protect our proprietary rights as fully as in the United States. Moreover, third parties could practice our inventions in territories where we do not have patent protection. Such third parties may then try to import into the United States or other territories products, or information leading to potentially competing products, made using our inventions in countries where we do not have patent protection for those inventions. If competitors are able to use our technologies, our ability and our current and future collaborators’ and licensees’ ability to compete effectively could be harmed. Moreover, others may independently develop and obtain patents for technologies that are similar to or superior to our technologies. If that happens, we may need to license these technologies, and we may not be able to obtain licenses on reasonable terms, if at all, which could harm our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Confidentiality agreements with employees and others may not adequately prevent disclosures of trade secrets and other proprietary information.

We rely in part on trade secret protection to protect our confidential and proprietary information and processes. However, trade secrets are difficult to protect. We have taken measures to protect our trade secrets and proprietary information, but these measures may not be effective. We require employees and consultants to execute confidentiality agreements upon the commencement of an employment or consulting arrangement with us. These agreements generally require that all confidential information developed by the individual or made known to the individual by us during the course of the individual’s relationship with us be kept confidential and not disclosed to third parties. These agreements also generally provide that inventions conceived by the individual in the course of rendering services to us shall be our exclusive property. Nevertheless, our proprietary information may be disclosed, third parties could reverse engineer our biocatalysts and others may independently develop substantially equivalent proprietary information and techniques or otherwise gain access to our trade secrets. Costly and time-consuming litigation could be necessary to enforce and determine the scope of our proprietary rights, and failure to obtain or maintain trade secret protection could adversely affect our competitive business position.

Risks Related to Our Common Stock

The price of our shares of common stock is likely to be volatile, and you could lose all or part of your investment.

The trading price of our common stock has been, and is likely to continue to be, volatile. Biotechnology company stocks generally tend to experience extreme price fluctuations. The valuations of many biotechnology companies without consistent product sales and earnings are extraordinarily high based on conventional valuation standards such as price-to-earnings and price-to-sales ratios. These trading prices and valuations may not be sustained. Factors that may result in fluctuations in our stock price include, but are not limited to, the following:

If we were to become party to a securities class action suit, we could incur substantial legal fees and our management’s attention and resources could be diverted from operating our business to responding to litigation.

Our quarterly and annual operating results may be volatile.

Our quarterly and annual operating results have fluctuated in the past and are likely to do so in the future. These fluctuations could cause our stock price to vary significantly or decline. Some of the factors that could impact our operating results include:

Due to the possibility of fluctuations in our revenues and expenses, we believe that quarter-to-quarter comparisons of our operating results are not necessarily a good indication of our future performance. Our operating results in some quarters, or even in some years, may not meet the expectations of stock market analysts and investors, potentially causing our stock price to decline.

We do not expect to pay cash dividends in the future.

We have never paid cash dividends on our stock and do not anticipate paying any dividends for the foreseeable future. The payment of dividends on our stock, if ever, will depend on our earnings, financial condition and other business and economic factors deemed relevant for consideration by our board of directors. If we do not pay dividends, our stock may be less valuable because a return on investment will only occur if and to the extent that our stock price appreciates.

Our anti-takeover defense provisions may deter potential acquirers and depress our stock price.

Certain provisions of our certificate of incorporation, bylaws and Delaware law, as well as certain agreements we have with our executives, could make it substantially more difficult for a third party to acquire control of us. These provisions include the following:

These provisions may discourage certain types of transactions involving an actual or potential change in control. These provisions may also limit our stockholders’ ability to approve transactions that they may deem to be in their best interests and discourage transactions in which our stockholders might otherwise receive a premium for their stock over the current market price.

Concentration of ownership among our existing officers, directors and principal stockholders may prevent other stockholders from influencing significant corporate decisions and depress our stock price.

Our executive officers, directors and principal stockholders (5% stockholders) together control approximately 35.1% of our 28,811,061 shares of outstanding common stock as of December 31, 2023.

Our Founder and Chief Executive Officer Mark Emalfarb, through the Mark A. Emalfarb Trust U/A/D October 1, 1987, as amended (the “MAE Trust”) of which he is the trustee and beneficiary, owned approximately 15.7% of our outstanding common stock as of December 31, 2023. Further, the Francisco Trust U/A/D February 28, 1996 (the “Francisco Trust”), whose beneficiaries are the descendants and spouse of Mr. Emalfarb, owned approximately 12.3% of our outstanding common stock as of December 31, 2023. We have historically been partially controlled, managed and partially funded by Mr. Emalfarb, and affiliates of Mr. Emalfarb. Collectively, Mr. Emalfarb and stockholders affiliated with Mr. Emalfarb controlled approximately 28.0% of our outstanding common stock as of December 31, 2023.

Mr. Emalfarb may be able to control or significantly influence all matters requiring approval by our stockholders, including the election of directors and the approval of mergers or other business combination transactions. The interests of Mr. Emalfarb may not always coincide with the interests of other stockholders, and he may take actions that advance his personal interests and are contrary to the desires of our other stockholders.

If our existing officers, directors and principal stockholders act together, they will be able to exert a significant degree of influence over our management and affairs and over matters requiring stockholder approval, including the election of directors and approval of significant corporate transactions. In addition, this concentration of ownership may delay or prevent a change in control and might affect the market price of our stock, even when a change may be in the best interests of all stockholders. Certain of our principal stockholders may elect to increase their holdings of our common stock, which may have the impact of delaying or preventing a change of control. Moreover, the interests of this concentration of ownership may not always coincide with our interests or the interests of other stockholders, and, accordingly, they could cause us to enter into transactions or agreements, which we would not otherwise consider.

Future issuances of shares of our common stock may negatively affect our stock price.

The sale of additional shares of our common stock, or the perception that such sales could occur, could harm the prevailing market price of shares of our common stock. These sales, or the possibility that these sales may occur, also might make it more difficult for us to sell equity securities in the future at a time and at a price that we deem appropriate.

As of December 31, 2023, there were 28,811,061 shares of our common stock outstanding. Approximately 35.1% of these outstanding common shares are beneficially owned or controlled by our executive officers, directors and principal stockholders. 

Our common stock has a relatively small public float. As a result, sales of substantial amounts of shares of our common stock, or even the potential for such sales, may materially and adversely affect prevailing market prices for our common stock. In addition, any adverse effect on the market price of our common stock could make it difficult for us to raise additional capital through sales of equity securities.

The Company is exposed to credit risk and fluctuations in the values of its investment portfolio. 

The Company’s investments can be negatively affected by liquidity, credit deterioration, financial results, market and economic conditions, political risk, sovereign risk, interest rate fluctuations or other factors. As a result, the value and liquidity of the Company’s cash, cash equivalents, and marketable and non-marketable securities may fluctuate substantially, which could result in significant losses and could have a material adverse impact on the Company’s financial condition and operating results.

We are a smaller reporting company, and the reduced disclosure requirements applicable to smaller reporting companies may make our common stock less attractive to investors.

We are a smaller reporting company and are therefore entitled to rely on certain reduced disclosure requirements, such as an exemption from providing selected financial data and executive compensation information. We are also exempt from the requirement to obtain an external audit on the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting provided in Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. These exemptions and reduced disclosures in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission due to our status as a smaller reporting company mean our auditors do not review our internal control over financial reporting and may make it harder for investors to analyze our results of operations and financial prospects. We cannot predict if investors will find our common stock less attractive because we may rely on these exemptions. If some investors find our common stock less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our common stock, and our stock prices may be more volatile.

Not applicable.

Item 1C.  Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity Risk Management and Strategy

We recognize the importance of assessing, identifying, and managing material risks associated with cybersecurity threats, as such term is defined in Item 106(a) of Regulation S-K. These risks include, among other things, operational risks, the risk of intellectual property theft, fraud, harm to employees or third parties with which we conduct business and violation of data privacy or security laws.

Identifying and assessing cybersecurity risk is integrated into our overall risk management systems and processes. We have established policies and controls for assessing, identifying and managing material cybersecurity risks and responding to material cybersecurity incidents.

We routinely assess material cybersecurity risks, including potential unauthorized occurrences on, or conducted through, our information systems that may compromise the confidentiality, integrity or availability of those systems or information maintained in them. We conduct periodic risk assessments to identify cybersecurity threats, as well as assessments when there is a material change in our business practices that we believe could affect information systems that are vulnerable to cybersecurity threats. These risk assessments include identifying reasonably foreseeable internal and external risks and the potential harm if the risks were to materialize. We conduct these risk assessments directly and also periodically engage third-party providers to support these processes.

Following these risk assessments, we evaluate how to appropriately implement and maintain reasonable safeguards to mitigate identified risks; reasonably address any identified gaps in existing safeguards; and regularly monitor the effectiveness of our safeguards. We have implemented cybersecurity tools, conducted employee training, and monitored emerging laws and regulations related to data protection and information security. We may also [obligate] certain third-party business partners to certify that they can implement and maintain appropriate security measures, consistent with all applicable laws, in connection with their work for us, and to promptly report any suspected breach of their security measures that may affect the Company.

Cybersecurity events and data incidents are evaluated, assessed based on severity and prioritized for response and remediation. Under our incident response policies, incidents are evaluated to determine materiality as well as operational and business impact and reviewed for privacy impact.

We have not, to date, experienced a cybersecurity incident that was determined to be material, although, like any technology provider, we have experienced incidents in the past. Despite our cybersecurity efforts, we may not be successful in preventing or mitigating a cybersecurity incident that could have a material adverse effect on our business. For additional information regarding whether any risks from cybersecurity threats are reasonably likely to materially affect our company, including our business strategy, results of operations, or financial condition, please refer to Item 1A, “Risk Factors,” in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Cybersecurity Governance

Cybersecurity is an important part of our risk management processes and an area of focus for our board of directors and management team. Our board of directors has delegated responsibility to the Audit Committee for the oversight of risks from cybersecurity threats. Members of the Audit Committee receive regular updates from senior management, including leaders from our information technology, legal and compliance teams regarding matters of cybersecurity. This includes existing and new cybersecurity risks, information on how management is addressing and/or mitigating those risks, cybersecurity incidents (if any) and the status on key information security initiatives.

Our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer are principally responsible for overseeing the cybersecurity risk management program, in partnership with outside consultants, as well as managing and responding to material cyber incidents if any occur. They will provide periodic briefings to the Audit Committee and to the Board of Directors about our cybersecurity risks and activities, including cybersecurity incidents and responses, cybersecurity systems testing, third-party activities and related topics. In addition, our policies for managing and responding to cybersecurity incidents include procedures for appropriate escalations to our Audit Committee Chair.

Leases

Jupiter, Florida Headquarters

The Company’s prior lease for its corporate headquarters located at 140 Intracoastal Pointe Dr. located in Jupiter Florida, expired on August 31, 2023. In August 2023, the Company entered into a new lease comprising approximately 1,719 square feet of office space located at 1044 N US 1, Jupiter, Florida, commencing September 1, 2023 (“Commencement Date”). Rent is subject to three percent (3%) annual increases, and the Company is responsible for certain common area maintenance charges and taxes throughout the life of the lease. The lease has an initial term of three (3) years, following the Commencement Date with an option to extend for two (2) successive one (1) year terms. The option to extend were not included in the lease term used in determining the right-of-use asset or lease liability, as the Company did not consider it reasonably certain that it would exercise the option. 

The Netherlands Office

The Company maintains a small satellite office in Wageningen, The Netherlands. The Company occupies a flexible office space for an annual rental rate of approximately $4,800. The lease expires on January 31, 2025, and thereafter, the Company will reconsider the leased space to align with the future operations of the Company.

We believe that our current office spaces are adequate to meet our needs for the immediate future, and that, should it be needed, suitable additional space is available to accommodate any expansion of our operations, but such space may not be available in the same building if and when such space is needed.

We are not currently involved in any litigation that we believe could have a materially adverse effect on our financial condition or results of operations. There is no action, suit, proceeding, inquiry or investigation before or by any court, public board, government agency, self-regulatory organization or body pending or, to the knowledge of the executive officers of our Company or any of our subsidiaries, threatened against or affecting our Company, our common stock, any of our subsidiaries or of our Company’s or our Company’s subsidiaries’ officers or directors in their capacities as such, in which an adverse decision could have a material adverse effect.

However, from time to time, we may become involved in various lawsuits and legal proceedings which arise in the ordinary course of business. 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.

Not applicable for our operations.

PART II

Market Information

As of December 31, 2023, Dyadic had two classes of capital stock authorized, common stock and preferred stock. Effective April 17, 2019, our common stock began trading on the NASDAQ Stock Market LLC’s NASDAQ Capital Market, under the symbol “DYAI”. There were no shares of preferred stock outstanding for the reported period. The number of record holders of our common stock as of December 31, 2023 was 50, including The Depository Trust Company, which holds shares of our common stock on behalf of an indeterminate number of beneficial owners. We have never declared or paid any dividends in the past. Any future determination to pay dividends will be at the discretion of our Board of Directors (the “Board”).

Securities Authorized for Issuance Under Equity Compensation Plans

See Part III, Item 12.

Equity Performance Graph

We are a smaller reporting company as defined by Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act and are not required to provide the information required under this item.

Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities

None.

Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

None.

The following discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with the financial statements and the notes to those statements appearing in this Annual Report. Some of the information contained in this discussion and analysis or set forth elsewhere in this Annual Report, including information with respect to our plans and strategy for our business, includes forward-looking statements that involve risks, assumptions and uncertainties. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the results described in or implied by the forward-looking statements contained in the following discussion and analysis include, but not limited to those set forth in “Item 1A. Risk Factors” in this Annual Report. All forward-looking statements included in this Annual Report are based on information available to us as of the time we file this Annual Report and, except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements.

Overview

Description of Business

Dyadic International, Inc. (“Dyadic”, “we”, “us”, “our”, or the “Company”) is a global biotechnology company based in Jupiter, Florida with operations in the United States and a satellite office in the Netherlands, and it utilizes several third-party consultants and research organizations to carry out the Company’s activities. Over the past two plus decades, the Company has developed a gene expression platform for producing commercial quantities of industrial enzymes and other proteins, and has previously licensed this technology to third parties, such as Abengoa Bioenergy SA, BASF SE, Codexis, Inc. and others, for use in industrial (non-pharmaceutical) applications. This technology is based on the Thermothelomyces heterothallica (formerly known as Myceliophthora thermophila) fungus, which the Company named C1. 

On December 31, 2015, the Company sold its industrial technology business to Danisco USA (“Danisco”), the industrial biosciences business of DuPont (NYSE: DD) (the “DuPont Transaction”). As part of the DuPont Transaction, Dyadic retained co-exclusive rights to the C1-cell protein production platform for use in all human and animal pharmaceutical applications, and currently the Company has the exclusive ability to enter into sub-license agreements (subject to the terms of the license and to certain exceptions) for use in all human and animal pharmaceutical applications. Danisco retained certain rights to utilize the C1-cell protein production platform in pharmaceutical applications, including the development and production of pharmaceutical products, for which it will be required to make royalty payments to Dyadic upon commercialization. In certain circumstances, Dyadic may owe a royalty to either Danisco or certain licensors of Danisco, depending upon whether Dyadic elects to utilize certain patents either owned by Danisco or licensed in by Danisco.

After the DuPont Transaction, the Company has been building innovative microbial platforms to address the growing demand for global protein bioproduction and unmet clinical needs for effective, affordable, and accessible biopharmaceutical products for human and animal health and for other biologic products for use in non-pharmaceutical applications.

The C1-cell protein production platform is a robust and versatile thermophilic filamentous fungal expression system for the development and production of biologic products including enzymes and other proteins for human and animal health. Some examples of human and animal vaccines and drugs which have the potential to be produced from C1-cells are protein antigens, ferritin nanoparticles, virus-like particles (“VLPs”), monoclonal antibodies (“mAbs”), Bi/Tri-specific antibodies, Fab antibody fragments, Fc-fusion proteins, as well as other therapeutic enzymes and proteins. The Company is involved in multiple funded research collaborations with animal and human pharmaceutical companies which are designed to leverage its C1-cell protein production platform to develop innovative vaccines and drugs, biosimilars and/or biobetters.

The Company also developed the Dapibus™ thermophilic filamentous fungal based microbial protein production platform to enable the rapid development and large-scale manufacture of low-cost proteins, metabolites, and other biologic products for use in non-pharmaceutical applications, such as food, nutrition, and wellness.

Critical Accounting Estimates

The preparation of these consolidated financial statements in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) requires management to make estimates that affect the reported amount of assets and liabilities and related disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of our consolidated financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the applicable period. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions. Such differences could be material to the consolidated financial statements.

We define critical accounting estimates as those that are reflective of significant judgments and uncertainties and which may potentially result in materially different results under different assumptions and conditions. In applying these critical accounting estimates, our management uses its judgment to determine the appropriate assumptions to be used in making certain estimates. These estimates are subject to an inherent degree of uncertainty. Our critical accounting estimates include the following:

Revenue Recognition

The Company has no products approved for sale. All our revenue to date has been research revenue from third-party collaborations and government grants, as well as revenue from sublicensing agreements and collaborative arrangements, which may include upfront payments, options to obtain a license, payment for research and development services, milestone payments and royalties, in the form of cash or non-cash considerations (e.g., minority equity interest).

Revenue related to research collaborations and agreements: The Company typically performs research and development services as specified in each respective agreement on a best-efforts basis, and recognizes revenue from research funding under collaboration agreements in accordance with the 5-step process outlined in ASC Topic 606 (“Topic 606”): (i) identify the contract(s) with a customer; (ii) identify the performance obligations in the contract; (iii) determine the transaction price; (iv) allocate the transaction price to the performance obligations in the contract; and (v) recognize revenue when (or as) the entity satisfies a performance obligation. We recognize revenue when we satisfy a performance obligation by transferring control of the service to a customer in an amount that reflects the consideration that we expect to receive. Depending on how the performance obligation under our license and collaboration agreements is satisfied, we recognize the revenue either at a point in time or over time by using the input method under Topic 606 to measure the progress toward complete satisfaction of a performance obligation. 

Accrued Research and Development Expenses

In order to properly record services that have been rendered but not yet billed to the Company, we review open contracts and purchase orders, communicate with our personnel and we estimate the level of service performed and the associated cost incurred for the service when we have not yet been invoiced or otherwise notified of the actual cost. The majority of our service providers invoice us monthly or quarterly in arrears for services performed or when contractual milestones are met. We make estimates of our accrued expenses as of each balance sheet date in our consolidated financial statements based on facts and circumstances known to us at that time. We periodically confirm the accuracy of our estimates with the service providers and adjust if necessary. Examples of accrued research and development expenses include amounts owed to contract research organizations, to service providers in connection with research and development activities.

Stock-Based Compensation

We have granted stock options to employees, directors and consultants. The fair value of each option award is estimated on the date of grant using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model. The Black-Scholes model considers volatility in the price of our stock, the risk-free interest rate, the estimated life of the option, the closing market price of our stock and the exercise price. For purposes of the calculation, we assumed that no dividends would be paid during the life of the options. We also used the weighted-average vesting period and contractual term of the option as the best estimate of the expected life of a new option, except for the options granted to the CEO (i.e., 5 or 10 years) and certain contractors (i.e., 1 or 3 years). The expected stock price volatility was calculated based on the Company’s own volatility since the DuPont Transaction. The Company reviews its volatility assumption on an annual basis and has used the Company’s historical volatilities since 2016, as the DuPont Transaction resulted in significant changes in the Company’s business and capital structure. 

The estimates utilized in the Black-Scholes calculation involve inherent uncertainties and the application of management judgment. These estimates are neither predictive nor indicative of the future performance of our stock. As a result, if other assumptions had been used, our recorded share-based compensation expense could have been materially different from that reported. In addition, because some of the performance-based options issued to employees, consultants and other third-parties vest upon the achievement of certain milestones, the total ultimate expense of share-based compensation is uncertain. 

Accounting for Income Taxes

The Company accounts for income taxes under the asset and liability method in accordance with ASC Topic 740, “Income Taxes”. Under this method, income tax expense /(benefit) is recognized for: (i) taxes payable or refundable for the current year and (ii) deferred tax consequences of temporary differences resulting from matters that have been recognized in an entity’s financial statements or tax returns. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured using enacted tax rates expected to apply to taxable income in the years in which those temporary differences are expected to be recovered or settled. The effect on deferred tax assets and liabilities of a change in tax rates is recognized in the results of operations in the period that includes the enactment date. A valuation allowance is provided to reduce the deferred tax assets reported if based on the weight of the available positive and negative evidence, it is more likely than not some portion or all the deferred tax assets will not be realized.

In determining taxable income for the Company’s consolidated financial statements, we are required to estimate income taxes in each of the jurisdictions in which we operate. This process requires the Company to make certain estimates of our actual current tax exposure and assessment of temporary differences between the tax and financial statement recognition of revenue and expense. In evaluating the Company’s ability to recover its deferred tax assets, the Company must consider all available positive and negative evidence including its past operating results, the existence of cumulative losses in the most recent years and its forecast of future taxable income. Significant management judgment is required in determining our provision for income taxes, deferred tax assets and liabilities and any valuation allowance recorded against our net deferred tax assets.

The Company is required to evaluate the provisions of ASC 740 related to the accounting for uncertainty in income taxes recognized in a company’s financial statements. ASC 740 prescribes a comprehensive model for how a company should recognize, present, and disclose uncertain positions that the company has taken or expects to take in its tax return. For those benefits to be recognized, a tax position must be more-likely-than-not to be sustained upon examination by taxing authorities. Differences between tax positions taken or expected to be taken in a tax return and the net benefit recognized and measured pursuant to the interpretation are referred to as “unrecognized benefits.” A liability should be recognized (or amount of net operating loss carry forward or amount of tax refundable is reduced) for unrecognized tax benefits, because it represents a company’s potential future obligation to the taxing authority for a tax position that was not recognized because of applying the provision of ASC 740.

The Company classifies accrued interest and penalties related to its tax positions as a component of income tax expense. The Company currently is not subject to U.S. federal, state and local tax examinations by tax authorities for the years before 2017. See Note 4 to the Consolidated Financial Statements.

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements

We do not have any off-balance sheet arrangements.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

See Note 1 to the Consolidated Financial Statements for information about recent accounting pronouncements.

Results of Operations

Year Ended December 31, 2023 Compared to the Year Ended December 31, 2022

Revenue and Cost of Revenue

The following table summarizes the Company’s revenue and cost of research and development revenue for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022:

For the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, the Company’s revenue was generated from sixteen and fourteen collaborations, respectively. The decrease in revenue and cost of research and development revenue was due to higher individual contract amounts on certain research funding and related work performed during 2022. The license revenue for the year ended December 31, 2023 was in connection with the Janssen license agreement, and for the year ended December 31, 2022 was in connection with the Phibro/Abic and Janssen license agreements.

Research and Development Expenses

Research and development costs are expensed as incurred and primarily include salary and benefits of research personnel, third-party contract research organization services and supply costs. 

Research and development expenses for the year ended December 31, 2023 decreased to $3.3 million compared to $4.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2022. The decrease primarily reflected the winding down of activities related to the Company’s Phase 1 clinical trial of DYAI-100 COVID-19 vaccine candidate.

General and Administrative Expenses

General and administrative expenses for the year ended December 31, 2023, decreased to  $5.8 million compared to $6.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2022. The decrease principally reflected a decrease in management incentives of $466,000, business development and investor relations costs of $219,000, and legal expenses of $39,000, partially offset by increases insurance premiums of $96,000, and other increases of $24,000.

Foreign Currency Exchange

Foreign currency exchange loss for the year ended December 31, 2023 was $38,000 compared to $50,000 for the year ended December 31, 2022. The decrease reflected the currency fluctuation of the Euro in comparison to the U.S. dollar.

Interest Income

Interest income for the year ended December 31, 2023, increased to $417,000 compared to $180,000 for the year ended December 31, 2022. The increase was primarily due to an increase in interest rates and yield on the Company’s investment grade securities, which are classified as held-to-maturity.

Other Income

For the year ended December 31, 2023, the Company had a gain of approximately $1.0 million from the sale of the Company’s equity interest in Alphazyme, LLC. For the year ended December 31, 2022, the Company received a settlement payment of $250,000 from the termination of a proposed license and collaboration.

Income Taxes

The Company had net operating loss (“NOL”) carryforwards available as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, in the amount of approximately $45.9 million and $44.0 million, respectively. Approximately $42.9 million of the net operating loss carryforwards will be carried forward indefinitely and will be available to offset 80% of taxable income. The remaining amount of the net operating loss carryforwards will expire at varying dates through 2037.

Net Loss

Net loss for the year ended December 31, 2023 was $6.8 million compared to a net loss of $9.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2022. The decrease in net loss of $2.9 million was principally due to decreases in research and development expenses of $1.2 million, general and administrative expenses of $605,000, and partially offset by an increase in other income of $768,000.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

Our primary source of cash to date has been the cash received from the DuPont Transaction in 2015, interest income received from investment grade securities, revenues from our research collaboration agreements and license agreements, and funds from the exercise of employee stock options. For the year ended December 31, 2023, the Company received $1.3 million from the sale of its equity interest in Alphazyme, LLC and $600,000 upfront payment for a product development and licensing agreement. 

On March 8, 2024, the Company sold and issued an aggregate principal amount of $6.0 million of its 8.0% Senior Secured Convertible Promissory Notes due March 8, 2027 (the “Convertible Notes”) in a private placement in reliance on the exemption from registration provided by Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”). The purchasers of the Convertible Notes include immediate family members and family trusts related to Mark Emalfarb, our President and Chief Executive Officer and a member of our Board of Directors, including The Francisco Trust, an existing holder of more than 5% of the Company’s outstanding common stock, (collectively, the “Purchasers”). The net proceeds from the sale of the Convertible Notes, after deducting offering expenses, are approximately $5,850,000. The Company intends to use the net proceeds from the offering of the Convertible Notes for working capital and general corporate purposes.

The Convertible Notes will be senior, secured obligations of Dyadic and its affiliates, and interest will be payable quarterly in cash on the principal amount equal to 8% per annum. The Convertible Notes will mature on March 8, 2027 (the “Maturity Date”), unless earlier converted, repurchased, or redeemed in accordance with the terms of the Convertible Notes.

The Convertible Notes will be convertible into shares of Dyadic’s Class A common stock (the “Common Stock”), at the option of the holders of the Convertible Notes (the “Noteholders”) at any time prior to the Maturity Date. The conversion price is $1.79 per share of the Common Stock, which is equal to 125% of the trailing 30-day VWAP of the Common Stock ending on the trading day immediately preceding the date of the securities purchase agreement. For more information regarding the Convertible Notes, including the covenants related thereto see Note 8 to the Consolidated Financial Statements.

This private placement funding strengthened our financial position, and it will support our near term revenue growth and accelerate our strategic objective of commercialization opportunities for pharmaceutical and non-pharmaceutical applications. The Company has received successful top-line results for the Phase 1 clinical trial of DYAI-100, and we do not plan to continue Phase 2/3 clinical trials unless funding is secured.

Our ability to achieve profitability depends on many factors, including our scientific results and our ability to continue to obtain funded research and development collaborations from industry and government programs, as well as sub-license agreements. We may continue to incur substantial operating losses even if we begin to generate revenues from research and development and licensing. Our primary future cash needs are expected to be for general operating activities, including our business development and research expenses, as well as legal and administrative costs as an SEC reporting and NASDAQ listed company. Our future cash requirements will depend on many factors, including those factors discussed under Item 1A. Risk Factors.

As of December 31, 2023, we had an accumulated deficit of $80.3 million. We expect to incur losses and have negative net cash flows from operating activities as we continue developing our microbial platforms and related products, and as we expand our pipeline and engage in further research and development activities for internal products as well as for our third-party collaborators and licensees. The success of the Company depends on its ability to develop its technologies and products to the point of regulatory approval and subsequent revenue generation or through sublicensing of the Company’s technologies and products, to raise enough capital to finance these developmental efforts. 

We expect our existing cash and cash equivalents and cash raised from the Convertible Notes, investments in debt securities, and operating cash flows will be sufficient to meet our operational, business, and other liquidity requirements for at least the next twelve (12) months from the date of issuance of the financial statements contained in this Form 10-K. However, we have based this estimate on assumptions that may prove to be wrong, and our operating plan may change because of many factors currently unknown. In the event our financing needs are not able to be met by our existing cash, cash equivalents and investments, we would seek to raise additional capital through strategic financial opportunities that could include, but are not limited to, future public or private equity offerings, collaboration agreements, and/or other means. Any amounts raised may be used for the further development and commercialization of product candidates, and for other working capital purposes. There is no guarantee that any of these strategic or financing opportunities will be executed or realized on favorable terms, if at all, and some could be dilutive to existing shareholders. 

At December 31, 2023, cash and cash equivalents were $6.5 million compared to $5.8 million at December 31, 2022. The carrying value of investment grade securities, including accrued interest at December 31, 2023 was $0.8 million compared to $6.9 million at December 31, 2022.

Net cash used in operating activities for the year ended December 31, 2023 of $6.7 million resulted from a net loss of $6.8 million adjusted for share-based compensation expenses of $1.2 million, partially offset by sale of our investment in Alphazyme of $1.0 million, and changes in operating assets and liabilities of $0.1 million.

Net cash used in operating activities for the year ended December 31, 2022 of $8.1 million resulted from a net loss of $9.7 million adjusted for share-based compensation expenses of $1.9 million, offset by changes in operating assets and liabilities of $0.3 million.

Net cash provided by investing activities for the year ended December 31, 2023 was $7.5 million compared to net cash used in investing activities of $2.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2022. Cash flows from investing activities in 2023 were primarily related to proceeds from maturities, net of purchases of investment grade debt securities, and proceeds from the sale of investment in Alphazyme. Cash flows from investing activities in 2022 were primarily related to proceeds from maturities, net of purchases of investment grade debt securities. 

There was no net cash provided by financing activities for the year ended December 31, 2023 compared to $544,000 for the year ended December 31, 2022. Cash flows from financing activities in 2022 were primarily related to proceeds received from the exercise of stock options. 

We are a smaller reporting company as defined by Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act and are not required to provide the information required under this item.

The Consolidated Financial Statements and supplementary data required by this item are presented elsewhere in this report beginning on page F-1, in the order shown below:

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm (PCAOB ID 173)

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm (PCAOB ID 199)  

Consolidated Balance Sheets as of December 31, 2023 and 2022 Consolidated Statements of Operations for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022

Consolidated Statements of Stockholders' Equity for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022

Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

None.

Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures

Our management, with the participation of our Chief Executive Officer and our Chief Financial Officer, evaluated the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures as of December 31, 2023. The term “disclosure controls and procedures,” as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act, means controls and other procedures of a company that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by a company in the reports that it files or submits under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC rules and forms. Based on the evaluation of our disclosure controls and procedures as of December 31, 2023, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer concluded that, as of such date, our disclosure controls and procedures were effective.

Management’s Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate “internal control over financial reporting,” as defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) under the Exchange Act. Our management assessed the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2023 based on the criteria set forth in the Internal Control-Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission. Based on the assessment, our management has concluded that our internal control over financial reporting was effective as of December 31, 2023. This Annual Report does not include an attestation report of our independent registered public accounting firm regarding internal control over financial reporting. Management’s report was not subject to attestation by our independent registered public accounting firm pursuant to the rules of the SEC that permit us to provide only management’s report in this Annual Report because we are a “smaller reporting company.”

Changes in Internal Controls Over Financial Reporting

There were no changes in our internal control over financial reporting identified in connection with the evaluation required by Rules 13a-15(d) and 15d-15(d) of the Exchange Act that occurred during the year ended December 31, 2023 that materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting. 

Inherent Limitation on Effectiveness of Controls

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. Further, the design of a control system must reflect the fact that there are resource constraints, and the benefits of controls must be considered relative to their costs. 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, within our Company have been detected. These inherent limitations include the realities that judgments in decision-making can be faulty and that breakdowns can occur because of a simple error or mistake. Additionally, controls can be circumvented by the individual acts of some persons, by collusion of two or more people, or by management override of the controls. The design of any system of controls is also based in part upon certain assumptions about the likelihood of future events, and there can be no assurance that any design will succeed in achieving its stated goals under all potential future conditions; over time, controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or because the degree of compliance with policies or procedures may deteriorate. Because of the inherent limitations in a cost-effective control system, misstatements due to error or fraud may occur and not be detected.

 Item 9C.  Disclosure Regarding Foreign Jurisdictions That Prevent Inspections

Not applicable.

PART III

The information required by this item is incorporated by reference to the Company’s definitive proxy statement relating to the 2024 annual meeting of shareholders. The definitive proxy statement will be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission within 120 days after the end of the 2023 fiscal year.

The information required by this item is incorporated by reference to the Company’s definitive proxy statement relating to the 2024 annual meeting of shareholders. The definitive proxy statement will be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission within 120 days after the end of the 2023 fiscal year.

The information required by this item is incorporated by reference to the Company’s definitive proxy statement relating to the 2024 annual meeting of shareholders. The definitive proxy statement will be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission within 120 days after the end of the 2023 fiscal year.

The information required by this item is incorporated by reference to the Company’s definitive proxy statement relating to the 2024 annual meeting of shareholders. The definitive proxy statement will be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission within 120 days after the end of the 2023 fiscal year.

The information required by this item is incorporated by reference to the Company’s definitive proxy statement relating to the 2024 annual meeting of shareholders. The definitive proxy statement will be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission within 120 days after the end of the 2023 fiscal year.

PART IV

(a)     Financial Statement

Our financial statements and related notes thereto are listed and included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K beginning on page F-1.

(b)     Exhibits

Legend:

**   Identifies a management contract or compensatory plan or arrangement.

†     Certain provisions of this exhibit have been omitted pursuant to Item 601(b)(10)(iv) of Regulation S-K.

#     Previously filed with the SEC.

^     Furnished herewith.

Not applicable.

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

POWER OF ATTORNEY

KNOW ALL PERSONS BY THESE PRESENTS, that each person whose signature appears below constitutes and appoints Mark A. Emalfarb and Ping W. Rawson, jointly and severally, his or her attorneys-in-fact, each with the power of substitution, for him or her in any and all capacities, to sign any amendments to this Annual Report on Form 10-K, and to file the same, with exhibits thereto and other documents in connection therewith, with the Securities and Exchange Commission, hereby ratifying and confirming all that each of said attorneys-in-fact, or his substitute or substitutes, may do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.

Pursuant to the requirements of Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, this report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the registrant in the capacities and on the dates indicated.

DYADIC INTERNATIONAL, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these audited consolidated financial statements.

DYADIC INTERNATIONAL, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these audited consolidated financial statements.

DYADIC INTERNATIONAL, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY