Risk Factors Dashboard

Risk Factors.

Our business faces many risks. We believe the risks described below are the material risks we face. However, the risks described below may not be the only risks we face. Additional unknown risks or risks that we currently consider immaterial may also impair our business operations. Additional unknown risks or risks that we currently consider immaterial may also impair our business operations. If any of the events or circumstances described below actually occurs, our business, financial condition or results of operations could suffer, and the trading price of our shares of common stock could decline significantly. Investors should consider the specific risk factors discussed below, together with the “Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” and the other information contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K and the other documents that we will file from time to time with the SEC.

Risks Related to Our Business

We will need to raise additional capital to fund our operations through the end of fiscal year 2026. If additional capital is not available, we will have to delay, reduce, or cease operations.

We believe that we have sufficient capital to fund our operations through the end of the second quarter of 2026. We will need to raise additional capital to fund our operations through the end of fiscal year 2026. Changing circumstances may cause us to consume capital significantly faster than we currently anticipate and could adversely affect our ability to raise additional capital. Additional financing may not be available when we need it or may not be available on terms that are favorable to us. In addition, the risk that we may not be able to continue as a going concern may make it more difficult to obtain necessary additional funding on terms favorable to us, or at all. If we raise additional funding through the issuance of equity securities, our stockholders may suffer dilution and our ability to use our net operating losses to offset future income may be limited. If we raise additional funding through the issuance of equity securities, our stockholders may suffer dilution and our ability to use our net operating losses to offset future income may be limited. If we raise additional funding through debt financing, we may be required to accept terms that restrict our ability to incur additional indebtedness, require us to use our cash to make payments under such indebtedness, force us to maintain specified liquidity or other ratios or restrict our ability to pay dividends or make acquisitions. If we raise additional funding through debt financing, we may be required to accept terms that restrict our ability to incur additional indebtedness, require us to use our cash to make payments under such indebtedness, force us to maintain specified liquidity or other ratios or restrict our ability to pay dividends or make acquisitions. If we are unable to secure additional funding, our development programs and our commercialization efforts would be delayed, reduced or eliminated, our relationships with our suppliers and manufacturers may be harmed, and we may not be able to continue our operations.

Our near-term prospects are highly dependent on revenues from a single product, the Aquadex System. We face significant challenges in expanding market acceptance of the Aquadex System, which could adversely affect our potential sales.

Our near-term prospects are highly dependent on revenues from a single product, the Aquadex System, and we have no other commercial products at this time. The established market or customer base for our Aquadex System is limited and our success depends on our ability to increase adoption and utilization of the Aquadex System. The established market or customer base for our Aquadex System is limited and our success depends on our ability to increase adoption and utilization of the Aquadex System. Acceptance of our product in the marketplace by healthcare providers is uncertain, and our failure to achieve sufficient market acceptance will significantly limit our ability to generate revenue and be profitable. Acceptance of our product in the marketplace by health care providers is uncertain, and our failure to achieve sufficient market acceptance will significantly limit our ability to generate revenue and be profitable. Market acceptance will require substantial marketing efforts and the expenditure of significant funds by us to inform healthcare providers of the benefits of using the Aquadex System and to provide further training on its use. Market acceptance will require substantial marketing efforts and the expenditure of significant funds by us to inform health care providers of the benefits of using the Aquadex System and to provide further training on its use. We may not be able to build key relationships with healthcare providers to drive further sales in the United States or sell the Aquadex System outside the United States. We may not be able to build key relationships with health care providers to drive further sales in the United States or sell the Aquadex System outside the United States. Product orders may be cancelled, patients or customers currently using our products may cease to do so and patients or customers expected to begin using our products may not do so. In addition, market acceptance of the Aquadex System may require that we make enhancements to the system or its components. In addition, market acceptance of the Aquadex System may require that we make enhancements to the system or its components. We cannot be sure that we will be able to successfully develop such enhancements, or that if developed they will be viewed favorable by the market. Our ability to achieve acceptance of our Aquadex System depends on our ability to demonstrate the safety, efficacy, ease-of-use and cost-effectiveness of the system. Our ability to achieve acceptance of our Aquadex System depends on our ability to demonstrate the safety, efficacy, ease-of-use and cost-effectiveness of the system. We may not be able to expand the adoption and market acceptance of the Aquadex System to both the inpatient and outpatient markets and our potential sales could be harmed. We may not be able to expand the adoption and market acceptance of the Aquadex System to both the inpatient and outpatient markets and our potential sales could be harmed.

We have limited history of operations and limited experience in sales and marketing, and we might be unsuccessful in increasing our sales and cannot assure you that we will ever generate substantial revenue or be profitable.

Prior to our acquisition of the Aquadex Business in August 2016, we did not have a product approved for commercial sale and focused our resources on developing and manufacturing our C-Pulse System. On September 29, 2016, we announced a strategic refocus of our strategy that included halting all clinical evaluations of the C-Pulse System to fully focus our resources on commercializing our Aquadex System, taking actions to reduce our cash utilization in connection with such strategic refocus and reviewing potential strategic alliances and financing alternatives. On September 29, 2016, we announced a strategic refocus of our strategy that included halting all clinical evaluations of the C-Pulse System to fully focus our resources on commercializing our Aquadex System, taking actions to reduce our cash burn in connection with such strategic refocus and reviewing potential strategic alliances and financing alternatives. In addition, our business strategy depends in part on our ability to grow our business by establishing an effective salesforce and selling our products to hospitals and other healthcare facilities while controlling costs. In addition, our business strategy depends in part on our ability to grow our business by establishing an effective sales force and selling our products to hospitals and other healthcare facilities while controlling costs. In addition to heart failure, we have expanded our commercialization efforts into critical care and post-cardiac surgery. In addition to heart failure, we have expanded our commercialization efforts into critical care and post-cardiac surgery. In February 2020, we received 510(k) clearance of the Aquadex SmartFlow system to include pediatric patients who weigh 20kg or more. In February 2020, we received 510(k) clearance of the Aquadex SmartFlow system to include pediatric patients who weigh 20kg or more. With this 510(k) clearance, we have expanded our commercialization efforts into pediatrics. We have limited prior experience with respect to sales or marketing of the Aquadex System across heart failure, critical care, post-cardiac surgery and pediatrics. We have limited prior experience with respect to sales or marketing of the Aquadex System across heart failure, critical care, post-cardiac surgery and pediatrics. If we are unsuccessful at marketing and selling our Aquadex System, our operations and potential revenues will be materially adversely affected.

We have incurred operating losses since our inception and anticipate that we will continue to incur operating losses in the near term.

We are an emerging company with a history of incurring net losses. We have incurred net losses since our inception, including net losses of $17.5 million as of December 31, 2025. As of December 31, 2025, our accumulated deficit was $316.3 million. We have incurred net losses since our inception, including net losses of $11.2 million as of December 31, 2024. As of December 31, 2024, our accumulated deficit was $298.8 million.

Prior to August 2016, we did not have any products approved for commercialization, generated only limited revenue from our clinical studies and had significant operating losses as we incurred costs associated with the conduct of clinical studies and our research and development programs for our C-Pulse System. We became a revenue-generating company only after acquiring the Aquadex Business from a subsidiary of Baxter in August 2016. We expect to incur additional losses in the near-term as we grow the Aquadex Business, including investments in expanding our sales and marketing capabilities, manufacturing components, and complying with the requirements related to being a U.S. public company listed on Nasdaq. To become and remain profitable, we must succeed in expanding the adoption and market acceptance of the Aquadex System. This will require us to succeed in a range of challenging activities, including training personnel at hospitals and effectively and efficiently manufacturing, marketing and distributing the Aquadex System and related components. This will require us to succeed in a range of challenging activities, including training personnel at hospitals and effectively and efficiently manufacturing, marketing and distributing the Aquadex System and related components. There can be no assurance that we will succeed in these activities, and we may never generate revenues sufficient to achieve profitability. If we do achieve profitability, we may not be able to sustain it.

We have identified two material weaknesses in connection with our internal control over financial reporting which, if not remediated, could adversely affect our business, reputation and stock price.

We review and update our internal controls, disclosure controls and procedures, and corporate governance policies as our Company continues to evolve. In addition, we are required to comply with the internal control evaluation and certification requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (“SOX”) and management is required to report annually on our internal control over financial reporting. In addition, we are required to comply with the internal control evaluation and certification requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (“SOX”) and management is required to report annually on our internal control over financial reporting. Our independent registered public accounting firm will not be required to formally attest to the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting pursuant to Section 404 of SOX until the date we are no longer a “smaller reporting company” as defined by applicable SEC rules. Our independent registered public accounting firm will not be required to formally attest to the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting pursuant to Section 404 of SOX until the date we are no longer a “smaller reporting company” as defined by applicable SEC rules.

Our management’s evaluation of the effectiveness of our internal controls over financial reporting as of December 31, 2025, concluded that our controls were not effective, due to material weaknesses resulting from insufficient headcount to fully ensure adequate segregation of duties relating to the accounting and financial reporting function and the information technology function. Additionally, the Company did not prepare and retain contemporaneous documentation to evidence the implementation and operation of controls, including controls related to the review of balance sheet reconciliations, the preparation and recording of journal entries and controls over user access. A material weakness is a deficiency or combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of the Company's interim or annual condensed consolidated financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis. A material weakness is a deficiency or combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of the Company's interim or annual condensed consolidated financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis.

Subject to limitations on liquidity that may prevent or delay additional hirings, the Company is taking steps to remediate these material weaknesses as soon as possible. We can give no assurance that these measures will remediate the material weakness in internal control, or that additional material weaknesses or significant deficiencies in our internal control over financial reporting will not be identified in the future. We can give no assurance that these measures will remediate the material weakness in internal control, or that additional material weaknesses or significant deficiencies in our internal control over financial reporting will not be identified in the future. Our failure to implement and maintain effective internal control over financial reporting could result in errors in our financial statements that may lead to restatements of our financial statements or cause us to fail to meet our reporting obligations. Our failure to implement and maintain effective internal control over financial reporting could result in errors in our financial statements that may lead to restatements of our financial statements or cause us to fail to meet our reporting obligations. Any such failure could also lead to reputational damage and a decrease in the market price of our stock. Any such failure could also lead to reputational damage and a decrease in the market price of our stock.

We depend on a limited number of customers, the loss of which, or failure of which to order our products in a particular period, could cause our revenues to decline.

Our ten largest customers represented 49.3% and 49.4% of our revenues in the twelve months ended December 31, 2025, and 2024, respectively, with our largest customer representing 13.7% and 14.4%, respectively, of our revenues during such periods. Customer ordering patterns may vary significantly from quarter.

Customers may discontinue providing therapies using our products. If one of our largest customers reduced its purchases in a fiscal period, our revenues for that period may be materially adversely affected. If one of our largest customers reduced its purchases in a fiscal period, our revenues for that period may be materially adversely affected. Further, if one of our largest customers discontinued the use of our products, our revenues may be materially adversely affected.

We have limited commercial manufacturing experience and could experience difficulty in producing commercial volumes of the Aquadex System and related components because we depend on third parties for manufacturing.

Reliance on third-party manufacturers entails risks to which we would not be subject if we manufactured our products, including:

We depend upon third-party suppliers, including single-source suppliers, making us vulnerable to supply problems and price fluctuations.

If we cannot develop adequate distribution, customer service and technical support networks, then we may not be able to market and distribute the Aquadex System effectively and our sales will suffer.

Our strategy requires us to provide a significant amount of customer service, maintenance, and other technical service to our customers. To provide these services, we have begun, and will need to continue, to develop a network of distribution and a staff of employees and independent contractors in each of the areas in which we intend to operate. To provide these services, we have begun, and will need to continue, to develop a network of distribution and a staff of employees and independent contractors in each of the areas in which we intend to operate. We cannot assure that we will be able to organize and manage this network on a cost-effective basis. If we cannot effectively organize and manage this network, then it may be difficult for us to distribute our products and to provide competitive service and support to our customers, in which case customers may be unable, or decide not, to order our products and our sales will suffer.

We compete against many companies, many of which have longer operating histories, more established products and greater resources than we do, which may prevent us from achieving further market penetration or improving operating results.

Competition from medical device companies and medical device divisions of healthcare companies, pharmaceutical companies and gene- and cell-based therapies is intense and expected to increase. The vast majority of patients with fluid overload receive pharmacological treatment (diuretics) as a standard of care. The vast majority of patients with fluid overload receive pharmacological treatment (diuretics) as a standard of care. There are no direct competitors for the Aquadex System in heart failure or critical care in the U.S., other than diuretics. Other systems, such as Baxter’s Prismaflex, a filter-based device that is approved for continuous renal replacement therapy for patients weighing 20kg or more with acute renal failure and/or fluid overload. Other systems, such as Baxter’s Prismaflex, a filter-based device that is approved for continuous renal replacement therapy for patients weighing 20kg or more with acute renal failure and/or fluid overload. In pediatrics, the Carpediem system distributed by Medtronic is indicated for use in acute kidney injury or fluid overloaded patients requiring hemodialysis or hemofiltration therapy, and Baxter’s HF20 Set is authorized under an Emergency Use Authorization to deliver CRRT to treat patients of low weight (8-20 kg) in an acute care environment during and since the COVID-19 pandemic. In pediatrics, the Carpe diem system distributed by Medtronic is indicated for use in acute kidney injury or fluid overloaded patients requiring hemodialysis or hemofiltration therapy, and Baxter’s HF20 Set is authorized under an Emergency Use Authorization to deliver CRRT to treat patients of low weight (8-20 kg) in an acute care environment during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Our ability to compete effectively depends upon our ability to demonstrate the advantages of ultrafiltration as compared to diuretics, a pharmacological treatment that is currently the standard of care. In addition, we need to distinguish the Aquadex System from the indirect competition of other devices that can also be used to conduct ultrafiltration. In addition, we need to distinguish Aquadex System from the indirect competition of other devices that can also be used to conduct ultrafiltration.

Significant additional governmental regulation could subject us to unanticipated delays which would adversely affect our sales.

Our business strategy depends in part on our ability to expand the use of the Aquadex System in the market as quickly as possible. To achieve expanded market use of the Aquadex System, we may develop additional enhancements to the system or its components. To achieve expanded market use of the Aquadex System, we may develop additional enhancements to the system or its components. Depending on their nature, such enhancements may be subject to review by the FDA and regulatory authorities outside of the United States under the applicable regulations. Any regulatory delay in our ability to implement enhancements to the Aquadex System or its components could have an adverse effect on our potential sales. Any regulatory delay in our ability to implement enhancements to the Aquadex System or its components could have an adverse effect on our potential sales.

Healthcare laws in the United States and other countries are subject to ongoing changes, including changes to the amount of reimbursement for hospital services. Additional laws and regulations, or changes to existing laws and regulations that are applicable to our business may be enacted or promulgated, and the interpretation, application or enforcement of the existing laws and regulations may change. Additional laws and regulations, or changes to existing laws and regulations that are applicable to our business may be enacted or promulgated, and the interpretation, application or enforcement of the existing laws and regulations may change. In that regard, the Trump administration’s legislative and regulatory agendas, as they relate to the healthcare and medical device industries, remain uncertain. In that regard, the Trump administration’s legislative and regulatory agendas, as they relate to the healthcare and medical device industries, remain uncertain. We cannot predict the nature of any future laws, regulations, interpretations, applications or enforcements or the specific effects any of these might have on our business. We cannot predict the nature of any future laws, regulations, interpretations, applications or enforcements or the specific effects any of these might have on our business. However, in the United States and international markets, we expect that both government and third-party payers will continue to attempt to contain or reduce the costs of healthcare by challenging the prices charged, or deny coverage, for healthcare products and services. Any future laws, regulations, interpretations, applications or enforcement could delay or prevent regulatory approval or clearance of our Aquadex System and our ability to market our Aquadex System. Moreover, changes that result in our failure to comply with the requirements of applicable laws and regulations could result in the types of enforcement actions by the FDA and/or other agencies as described above, all of which could impair our ability to manufacture and to sell the affected products.

In the United States, the products included in the Aquadex System are purchased primarily by customers, such as hospitals or other healthcare providers. Customers bill various third-party payers for covered therapies involving the Aquadex System provided to patients. Customers bill various third-party payers for covered therapies involving the Aquadex System provided to patients. These payers, which include federal health care programs (e.g., Medicare and Medicaid), state healthcare programs, private health insurance companies and managed care organizations, then reimburse our customers based on established payment formulas that consider part or all of the cost associated with these devices and the related procedures performed., Medicare and Medicaid), state health care programs, private health insurance companies and managed care organizations, then reimburse our customers based on established payment formulas that consider part or all of the cost associated with these devices and the related procedures performed. Legislative proposals can substantially change the way healthcare is financed by both governmental and private insurers and may negatively impact payment rates for our system. Legislative proposals can substantially change the way health care is financed by both governmental and private insurers and may negatively impact payment rates for our system.

While the agency responsible for administering the Medicare program, the CMS, has not issued a favorable national coverage determination under its Investigational Device Exemption Studies Program for ultrafiltration using the Aquadex System, a number of private insurers have approved reimbursement for the products included in the Aquadex System for specific indications and points of service. In addition, patients and providers may seek insurance coverage on a case-by-case basis. On January 1, 2022, a new and dedicated Category III CPT code, 0692T, became effective for Therapeutic Ultrafiltration. Healthcare providers can utilize this code when using Aquadex to deliver ultrafiltration to adult and pediatric patients (≥ 20kg). Healthcare providers can utilize this code when using Aquadex to deliver ultrafiltration to adult and pediatric patients (≥ 20kg). The approved temporary Therapeutic Ultrafiltration Category III CPT code will be in effect for at least five years and provides additional reimbursement for ultrafiltration administered in the outpatient setting. The approved temporary Therapeutic Ultrafiltration Category III CPT code will be in effect for at least five years and provides additional reimbursement for ultrafiltration administered in the outpatient setting.

We have experienced and may continue to experience product defects or issues with quality management, which may result in lawsuits for product liability, and could harm our business, results of operations and financial condition.

The design, manufacture and marketing of medical devices involve certain inherent risks. Manufacturing or design defects, unanticipated use of a product or inadequate disclosure of risks relating to the use of the product can lead to injury or other adverse events. These events could lead to recalls or safety alerts relating to a product (either voluntary or required by the FDA or similar governmental authorities in other countries), and could result, in certain cases, in the removal of a product from the market. Any recall of our Aquadex System or any related components could result in significant costs, as well as negative publicity and damage to our reputation that could reduce demand for our products. Personal injuries relating to the use of our products could also result in product liability claims being brought against us. In some circumstances, such adverse events could also cause delays in new product approvals.

We may be held liable if any product we develop or commercialize causes injury or is found otherwise unsuitable during product testing, manufacturing, marketing, sale or consumer use. The safety studies we must perform, and the regulatory approvals required to commercialize our products will not protect us from any such liability. The safety studies we must perform, and the regulatory approvals required to commercialize our products will not protect us from any such liability. We carry product liability insurance with a $6.0 million aggregate limit. However, if there are product liability claims against us, our insurance may be insufficient to cover the expense of defending against such claims or may be insufficient to pay or settle such claims. However, if there are product liability claims against us, our insurance may be insufficient to cover the expense of defending against such claims or may be insufficient to pay or settle such claims. Furthermore, we may be unable to obtain adequate product liability insurance coverage for commercial sales of any approved product. Furthermore, we may be unable to obtain adequate product liability insurance coverage for commercial sales of any approved product. If such insurance is insufficient to protect us, our business, results of operations and financial condition will be harmed. If any product liability claim is made against us, our reputation and future sales will be damaged, even if we have adequate insurance coverage. If any product liability claim is made against us, our reputation and future sales will be damaged, even if we have adequate insurance coverage. Even if a product liability claim against us is without merit or if we are not found liable for any damages, a product liability claim could result in decreased interest in our registry studies, decreased demand for our system, if approved for commercialization, injury to our reputation, diversion of management’s attention from operating our business, withdrawal of study participants, significant costs of related litigation, loss of revenue or the inability to commercialize our products. Even if a product liability claim against us is without merit or if we are not found liable for any damages, a product liability claim could result in decreased interest in our registry studies, decreased demand for our system, if approved for commercialization, injury to our reputation, diversion of management’s attention from operating our business, withdrawal of study participants, significant costs of related litigation, loss of revenue or the inability to commercialize our products.

On December 11, 2024, we sent a notice to affected customers that we were voluntarily recalling specific lots of the AquaFlexFlow UF 500 Plus extracorporeal blood circuit which is used with the Aquadex Smartflow® or Aquadex FlexFlow® System. The lots were recalled due to failures of the blood circuit associated with too many mismatch alarms. The lots were recalled due to failures of the blood circuit associated with too many mismatch alarms. The blood circuits may indicate “Ultrafiltrate Weight Mismatch” or “Excessive Weight Mismatch” alarms while in use. The blood circuits may indicate “Ultrafiltrate Weight Mismatch” or “Excessive Weight Mismatch” alarms while in use. If not addressed, this failure could result in excess fluid removal from a patient leading to Acute Volume Depletion. If not addressed, this failure could result in excess fluid removal from a patient leading to Acute Volume Depletion. We were made aware of five reported incidences of blood circuit product failures, with three leading to patient dehydration and requiring administration of fluids. We were made aware of five reported incidences of blood circuit product failures, with three leading to patient dehydration and requiring administration of fluids. The recall was conducted with the knowledge of the U.S. FDA which has classifed the recall as Class 1.

We may face significant risks associated with international operations, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We have historically marketed our products globally. Our international operations are subject to a number of risks, including the following: fluctuations in exchange rates of the United States dollar could adversely affect our results of operations, we may face difficulties in enforcing and collecting accounts receivable under some countries’ legal systems, have our products serviced or conduct other operations, political instability could disrupt our operations, some governments and customers may have longer payment cycles, with resulting adverse effects on our cash flow, and some countries could impose additional taxes or restrict the import of our products. Our international operations are subject to a number of risks, including the following: fluctuations in exchange rates of the United States dollar could adversely affect our results of operations, we may face difficulties in enforcing and collecting accounts receivable under some countries’ legal systems, have our products serviced or conduct other operations, political instability could disrupt our operations, some governments and customers may have longer payment cycles, with resulting adverse effects on our cash flow, and some countries could impose additional taxes or restrict the import of our products. In addition, regulations in individual countries or regions may restrict our ability to sell our products. In addition, regulations in individual countries or regions may restrict our ability to sell our products.

Our legacy device, the Aquadex SmartFlow system, including the console and blood circuit, is considered non-implantable, class IIb device. The EU MDR transition period has been extended from May 26, 2024 to December 31, 2028.

On August 7, 2025, the Company announced its decision to exit selected international operations in order to focus on the U.S. market—where the Company is seeing the strongest growth and clinical demand. This strategic realignment supports Nuwellis’ core business strategy: investing in the markets driving revenue growth. With expanding traction in U.S. cardiac surgery and pediatric programs, and a rising opportunity in the hospital-based outpatient space, the Company is streamlining to prioritize investment in markets where it can have the most immediate and long-term impact.

If we are not able to maintain sufficient quality controls, then the approval or clearance of our products by the FDA or other relevant authorities could be withdrawn, delayed or denied and our sales will suffer.

Approval or clearance of our products could be withdrawn, delayed, or denied by the FDA and the relevant authorities of other countries if our manufacturing facilities do not comply with their respective manufacturing requirements. The FDA imposes requirements on quality control systems of manufacturers, which are inspected and certified on a periodic basis and may be subject to additional unannounced inspections. The FDA also imposes requirements through the Quality Management System Regulation (“QMSR”), which include requirements for good manufacturing practices, or GMP. The FDA also imposes requirements through quality system requirements, or QSR, regulations, which include requirements for good manufacturing practices, or GMP. Failure to comply with these requirements could prevent us from obtaining FDA approval of our products and from marketing such products in the United States.

Our manufacturing facilities have not been inspected and certified by a Notified Body. We cannot be sure that our facilities or the processes we use will comply or continue to comply with their respective requirements on a timely basis or at all, which could delay or prevent obtaining the approvals we need to market our products in the European Union Community and the United States.

To market our products in the United States and other countries, where approved, manufacturers of such products must continue to comply or ensure compliance with the relevant manufacturing requirements. Although we cannot control the manufacturers of our products, if we choose to subcontract manufacturing to a contract manufacturer, we may need to expend time, resources and effort in product manufacturing and quality control to assist with their continued compliance with these requirements. If violations of applicable requirements are noted during periodic inspections of the manufacturing facilities of our manufacturers or we fail to address issues raised by the FDA in these inspections, then we may not be able to continue to market the products manufactured in such facilities and our revenues may be materially adversely affected. If violations of applicable requirements are noted during periodic inspections of the manufacturing facilities of our manufacturers or we fail to address issues raised by the FDA in these inspections, then we may not be able to continue to market the products manufactured in such facilities and our revenues may be materially adversely affected.

If we violate any provisions of the FDC Act or any other statutes or regulations, then we could be subject to enforcement actions by the FDA or other governmental agencies.

We face a significant compliance burden under the FDC Act and other applicable statutes and regulations which govern the testing, labeling, storage, record keeping, distribution, sale, marketing, advertising and promotion of our medically approved products.

If we violate the FDC Act or other regulatory requirements at any time during or after the product development and/or approval process, we could be subject to enforcement actions by the FDA or other agencies, including: Warning or Untitled letters, fines, injunctions, civil penalties, recalls or seizures of products, total or partial suspension of the production of our products, withdrawal of any existing approvals or pre-market clearances of our products, refusal to approve or clear new applications or notices relating to our products, recommendations that we not be allowed to enter into government contracts and criminal prosecution. Any of the above could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Any of the above could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our products may cause or contribute to adverse medical events or be subject to failures or malfunctions that we are required to report to the FDA, and if we fail to do so, we would be subject to sanctions that could harm our reputation, business, financial condition and results of operations. The discovery of serious safety issues with our products, or a recall of our products either voluntarily or at the direction of the FDA or another governmental authority, could have a negative impact on us.

The FDA has the authority to require the recall of a device in the event of material deficiencies or defects in design or manufacture or if it poses an unacceptable risk to health. We may also choose to voluntarily recall a product if any material deficiency is found. A government-mandated or voluntary recall by us could occur as a result of an unacceptable risk to health, component failures, malfunctions, manufacturing defects, labeling or design deficiencies, packaging defects or other deficiencies or failures to comply with applicable regulations. Depending on the corrective action we take to redress a product’s deficiencies or defects, the FDA may require, or we may decide, that we will need to obtain new clearances or approvals before we may market or distribute the corrected device. Seeking such clearances or approvals may delay our ability to replace the recalled devices in a timely manner. Moreover, if we do not adequately address problems associated with our devices, we may face additional regulatory enforcement action.

Companies are required to maintain certain records of recalls and corrections, even if they are not reportable to the FDA. We may, in the future, initiate voluntary withdrawals or corrections for our products that we determine do not require notification to the FDA. If the FDA disagrees with our determinations, it could require us to report those actions as recalls and we may be subject to enforcement action. A future recall announcement could harm our reputation with customers, potentially lead to product liability claims against us and negatively affect our sales. Any corrective action, whether voluntary or involuntary, as well as defending ourselves in a lawsuit, will require the dedication of time and capital, will distract management from operating our business and may harm our reputation and financial results.

If any of these events occur, then we could incur significant expenses, and it could become more difficult for us to market and sell our products and to generate revenues from sales. Other countries may impose analogous reporting requirements that could cause us to incur expenses and may also limit our ability to generate revenues from sales of our products. Other countries may impose analogous reporting requirements that could cause us to incur expenses and may also limit our ability to generate revenues from sales of our products.

We face significant uncertainty in the industry due to government healthcare reform and changes to healthcare regulations.

Since its implementation beginning in 2010, the Affordable Care Act has significantly changed, and continues to change, how health care services are covered, delivered and financed in the United States. The Affordable Care Act is extremely complex, and, as a result, additional legislation is likely to be considered and enacted over time. The Affordable Care Act is extremely complex, and, as a result, additional legislation is likely to be considered and enacted over time. The impact of the Affordable Care Act on the health care industry is extensive and includes, among other things, the federal government assuming a larger role in the health care system, expanding healthcare coverage of United States citizens and mandating basic healthcare benefits. The impact of the Affordable Care Act on the health care industry is extensive and includes, among other things, the federal government assuming a larger role in the health care system, expanding healthcare coverage of United States citizens and mandating basic healthcare benefits. The future of the Affordable Care Act and its implementation, however, is uncertain as the Affordable Care Act has continuously been the subject of legal and political challenges and national debate, which itself constitutes a risk. The future of the Affordable Care Act and its implementation, however, is uncertain as the Affordable Care Act has continuously been the subject of legal and political challenges and national debate, which itself constitutes a risk. To date, the Affordable Care Act has survived three major Supreme Court challenges and no bills wholly repealing the Affordable Care Act have passed both chambers of Congress. To date, the Affordable Care Act has survived three major Supreme Court challenges and no bills wholly repealing the Affordable Care Act have passed both chambers of Congress.

The Affordable Care Act includes a Hospital Readmission Reduction program and is designed to reduce payments to hospitals with excess heart failure readmissions, among other conditions. The penalty to hospitals can be significant, as much as 3% of total Medicare reimbursement. The penalty to hospitals can be significant, as much as 3% of total Medicare reimbursement. We believe the Aquadex System may offer hospitals an economic benefit for using the device on a regular basis for in-patient or out-patient usage to avoid readmissions for heart failure; however, if the Hospital Readmission Reduction program is repealed, hospitals may not be as inclined to take measures to reduce readmissions. We believe the Aquadex System may offer hospitals an economic benefit for using the device on a regular basis for in-patient or out-patient usage to avoid readmissions for heart failure; however, if the Hospital Readmission Reduction program is repealed, hospitals may not be as inclined to take measures to reduce readmissions.

Moreover, the federal Physician Payment Sunshine Act (the “Sunshine Act”), which was enacted as part of the Affordable Care Act, requires applicable medical device companies to track and publicly report, with limited exceptions, all payments and other transfers of value to physicians and teaching hospitals in the U.S. Implementing regulations for these tracking and reporting obligations were finalized in 2013, and companies have been required to track payments made since August 1, 2013. If we fail to comply with the data collection and reporting obligations imposed by the Sunshine Act, we may be subject to substantial civil monetary penalties.

We are subject, directly or indirectly, to United States federal and state healthcare fraud and abuse and false claims laws and regulations. Prosecutions under such laws have increased in recent years and we may become subject to such litigation. Prosecutions under such laws have increased in recent years and we may become subject to such litigation. If we are unable to, or have not fully complied with such laws, we could face substantial penalties.

Our operations are directly, or indirectly through customers, subject to various state and federal fraud and abuse laws, including, without limitation, the federal Anti-Kickback Statute, the Stark law and federal False Claims Act (the “FCA”). These laws may impact, among other things, our sales, marketing and education programs.

The federal Anti-Kickback Statute prohibits persons from knowingly and willfully soliciting, offering, receiving or providing remuneration, directly or indirectly, in exchange for or to induce either the referral of an individual, or the furnishing or arranging for a good or service, for which payment may be made under a federal healthcare program such as the Medicare and Medicaid programs. Several courts have interpreted the statute’s intent requirement to mean that if any one purpose of an arrangement involving remuneration is to induce referrals of federal healthcare covered business, the statute has been violated. Several courts have interpreted the statute’s intent requirement to mean that if any one purpose of an arrangement involving remuneration is to induce referrals of federal healthcare covered business, the statute has been violated.

The Anti-Kickback Statute is broad and, despite a series of narrow safe harbors, prohibits many arrangements and practices that are lawful in businesses outside of the healthcare industry. Penalties for violations of the federal Anti-Kickback Statute include criminal penalties and civil sanctions such as fines, imprisonment and possible exclusion from Medicare, Medicaid and other federal healthcare programs. Penalties for violations of the federal Anti-Kickback Statute include criminal penalties and civil sanctions such as fines, imprisonment and possible exclusion from Medicare, Medicaid and other federal healthcare programs. Many states have also adopted laws similar to the federal Anti-Kickback Statute, some of which apply to the referral of patients for healthcare items or services reimbursed by any source, not only the Medicare and Medicaid programs.

The federal physician self-referral law, commonly referred to as the Stark Law, is a strict liability statute that generally prohibits physicians from making referrals for the furnishing of any “designated health services,” for which payment may be made under the Medicare or Medicaid programs, to any entity with which the physician (or an immediate family member) has an ownership interest or compensation arrangement, unless an applicable exception applies. Moreover, many states have adopted or are considering adopting similar laws, some of which extend beyond the scope of the Stark Law to prohibit the payment or receipt of remuneration for the prohibited referral of patients for designated healthcare services and physician self-referrals, regardless of the source of the payment for the patient’s care. Moreover, many states have adopted or are considering adopting similar laws, some of which extend beyond the scope of the Stark law to prohibit the payment or receipt of remuneration for the prohibited referral of patients for designated healthcare services and physician self-referrals, regardless of the source of the payment for the patient’s care. If it is determined that any of the relationships we may have with physicians violate the Stark Law or similar statutes, we could become subject to civil and criminal penalties. If it is determined that any of the relationships we may have with physicians violate the Stark law or similar statutes, we could become subject to civil and criminal penalties. The imposition of any such penalties could harm our business.

The FCA prohibits persons from knowingly filing, or causing to be filed, a false claim to, or the knowing use of false statements to obtain payment from the federal government. Suits filed under the FCA, known as “qui tam” actions, can be brought by any individual on behalf of the government and such individuals, commonly known as “whistleblowers,” may share in any amounts paid by the entity to the government in fines or settlement. Suits filed under the FCA, known as “qui tam” actions, can be brought by any individual on behalf of the government and such individuals, commonly known as “whistleblowers,” may share in any amounts paid by the entity to the government in fines or settlement. The frequency of filing qui tam actions has increased significantly in recent years, causing greater numbers of medical device, pharmaceutical and healthcare companies to have to defend a FCA action. The frequency of filing qui tam actions has increased significantly in recent years, causing greater numbers of medical device, pharmaceutical and healthcare companies to have to defend a FCA action. When an entity is determined to have violated the federal FCA, it may be required to pay up to three times the actual damages sustained by the government, plus civil penalties for each separate false claim. When an entity is determined to have violated the federal FCA, it may be required to pay up to three times the actual damages sustained by the government, plus civil penalties for each separate false claim. Various states have also enacted laws modeled after the federal FCA.

We are unable to predict whether we could be subject to actions under any of these laws, or the impact of such actions. If we are found to be in violation of any of the laws described above or other applicable state and federal fraud and abuse laws, we may be subject to penalties, including civil and criminal penalties, damages, fines, exclusion from government healthcare reimbursement programs and the curtailment or restructuring of our operations. If we are found to be in violation of any of the laws described above or other applicable state and federal fraud and abuse laws, we may be subject to penalties, including civil and criminal penalties, damages, fines, exclusion from government healthcare reimbursement programs and the curtailment or restructuring of our operations.

Failure to comply with anti-bribery, anti-corruption, and anti-money laundering laws could subject us to penalties and other adverse consequences.

We are subject to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”) and other anti-corruption, anti-bribery and anti-money laundering laws in various jurisdictions both domestic and abroad. The FCPA prohibits any U.S. individual or business from paying, offering, authorizing payment or offering of anything of value, directly or indirectly, to any foreign official, political party or candidate for the purpose of influencing any act or decision of the foreign entity in order to assist the individual or business in obtaining or retaining business. The FCPA also obligates companies whose securities are listed in the United States to comply with certain accounting provisions requiring the company to maintain books and records that accurately and fairly reflect all transactions of the corporation, including its international subsidiary, and to devise and maintain an adequate system of internal accounting controls for international operations. Our distribution arrangements outside the U.S. present some risk under these laws. Our distributors may sell our products to healthcare providers that are owned, controlled or managed by a foreign government and its employees, including healthcare providers may be deemed to be a foreign official under the FCPA. We could be held liable for the actions of our distributors. We could be held liable for the actions of our distributors. While we have policies and procedures to address compliance with these laws, we cannot assure you that our distributors will not take actions in violation of our policies and applicable law, for which we may be ultimately held responsible. While we have policies and procedures to address compliance with these laws, we cannot assure you that our distributors will not take actions in violation of our policies and applicable law, for which we may be ultimately held responsible. Noncompliance with these laws could subject us to investigations, sanctions, settlements, prosecution, other enforcement actions, disgorgement of profits, significant fines, damages, other civil and criminal penalties or injunctions, adverse media coverage and other consequences. Any investigations, actions or sanctions could adversely affect our business, operating results and financial condition.

If we acquire other businesses, products or technologies, we could incur additional impairment charges and will be subject to risks that could hurt our business.

We may pursue acquisitions to obtain complementary businesses, products or technologies. Any such acquisition may not produce the revenues, earnings or business synergies that we anticipate, and an acquired business, product or technology might not perform as we expect. Any such acquisition may not produce the revenues, earnings or business synergies that we anticipate, and an acquired business, product or technology might not perform as we expect. Our management could spend a significant amount of time, effort and money in identifying, pursuing and completing the acquisition. If we complete an acquisition, we may encounter significant difficulties and incur substantial expenses in integrating the operations and personnel of the acquired businesses, products or technologies into our operations. If we complete an acquisition, we may encounter significant difficulties and incur substantial expenses in integrating the operations and personnel of the acquired businesses, products or technologies into our operations. In particular, we may lose the services of key employees and we may make changes in management that impair the acquired business’s relationships with employees, vendors and customers. In particular, we may lose the services of key employees and we may make changes in management that impair the acquired business’s relationships with employees, vendors and customers. Additionally, we may acquire development-stage companies that are not yet profitable and which require continued investment, which could decrease our future earnings or increase our future losses. Additionally, we may acquire development-stage companies that are not yet profitable and which require continued investment, which could decrease our future earnings or increase our futures losses.

Any of these outcomes could prevent us from realizing the anticipated benefits of an acquisition. To pay for an acquisition, we might use stock or cash. Alternatively, we might borrow money from a bank or other lender. Alternatively, we might borrow money from a bank or other lender. If we use stock, our stockholders would experience dilution of their ownership interests. If we use cash or debt financing, our financial liquidity would be reduced.

As a result of a potential acquisition, we may be required to capitalize a significant amount of intangibles, including goodwill. We would be required to review our definite-lived intangible assets for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of the assets may not be recoverable through the estimated undiscounted future cash flows derived from such assets. We would be required to review our definite-lived intangible assets for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of the assets may not be recoverable through the estimated undiscounted future cash flows derived from such assets. In addition, we would be required to evaluate goodwill for impairment annually, or to the extent events or conditions indicate a risk of possible impairment during the interim periods prior to its annual impairment test. In addition, we would be required to evaluate goodwill for impairment annually, or to the extent events or conditions indicate a risk of possible impairment during the interim periods prior to its annual impairment test. In the year ended December 31, 2017, we recognized impairment charges of $4.0 million related to goodwill and intangibles assets from our acquisition of the Aquadex Business. In the year ended December 31, 2017, we recognized impairment charges of $4.0 million related to goodwill and intangibles assets from our acquisition of the Aquadex Business. If we were required to recognize impairment charges related to future acquisitions, those charges could decrease our future earnings or increase our future losses.

Our business could be adversely affected due to risks related to proposed acquisitions and the subsequent integration of such accumulations.

On January 29, 2026, we entered into a Securities Purchase Agreement to acquire all of the issued and outstanding ordinary shares of Rendiatech Ltd., an Israeli-based medical technology company focused on automated kidney function monitoring. The transaction is expected to close following the satisfaction of customary closing conditions. We cannot be certain that we will be able to identify, consummate and successfully integrate this or any future acquisitions, and no assurance can be given with respect to the timing, likelihood or business effect of any possible transaction. Transactions that we consummate would involve risks and uncertainties to us, including mispricing the inherent value of the acquired entity, as well as potential difficulties in integrating systems, related assets, and realizing synergies.

The risks associated with our proposed acquisitions any future acquisitions include, but are not limited to:

Any of these risks, whether with respect to the proposed or any future acquisitions, could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.

If we fail to comply with federal and state laws regarding off-label use of our products, we could be subject to regulatory or enforcement actions and face substantial civil and criminal penalties and our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects could be adversely affected.

Our educational and promotional activities and training methods must comply with the FDCA and other applicable laws, including the prohibition of the promotion of a medical device for a use that has not been cleared or approved by the FDA. Use of a device outside of its cleared or approved indications is known as “off-label” use. Health care professionals may use authorized medical devices off-label in their professional medical judgment in the care of a patient, as the FDA does not regulate the practice of medicine. Medical device companies, however, are prohibited from marketing and promoting products for indications and uses that are not authorized by FDA.

Notwithstanding the regulatory restrictions on off-label promotion, the FDA and other regulatory authorities allow companies to engage in certain types of truthful, non-misleading, and non-promotional speech concerning their products. Accordingly, we engage in medical education activities and communicate with healthcare professionals about many aspects of our products and clinical trials. In addition, we are aware that the Aquadex System, which is cleared by FDA solely for use in adults and pediatric patients weighing 20 kg or more, is being used off-label to treat patients who weigh under 20 kg, including being modified by children’s hospitals so that it can provide dialysis to neonates and other premature infants who were born either without kidneys or without normal kidney function. These patients typically have very few other treatment options given the large extracorporeal blood volume required by standard dialysis machines, the need for blood priming of the dialysis circuit and the use of large catheters.

Although we believe that all of our communications regarding off-label uses are in compliance with the relevant regulatory expectations, the FDA or another regulatory authority may disagree, and characterize such communications as marketing and promotion of an off-label use.

If the FDA determines that our, or our commercial partners’ educational activities, training, and/or marketing constitutes promotion of an off-label use, it could request that we or our commercial partners cease to use, or modify, those promotional materials. We also could be subject to regulatory or enforcement actions, including the issuance of Untitled or Warning letters, injunctions, seizures, civil fines and criminal penalties, any of which could have an adverse impact on our reputation and financial results.

In addition to FDA, we may be subject to significant enforcement actions from other federal and state enforcement authorities, such as the Department of Justice and the Office of the Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS OIG”), if they consider our communications, including promotional and training materials, to constitute promotion of an uncleared, uncertified or unapproved use of a medical device. In the U.S., engaging in off-label promotion of our products, following approval, for off-label uses can also subject us to false claims and other litigation under federal and state statutes, including fraud and abuse and consumer protection laws, which can lead to civil and criminal penalties and fines, agreements with governmental authorities that materially restrict the manner in which we promote or distribute therapeutic products and do business through, for example, corporate integrity agreements, suspension or exclusion from participation in federal and state healthcare programs, and debarment from government contracts and refusal of future orders under existing contracts. These laws include the federal False Claims Act, which allows any individual to bring a lawsuit against a company on behalf of the federal government alleging submission of or causing others to submit false or fraudulent claims for payment by a federal program such as Medicare or Medicaid. Many False Claims Act lawsuits against, and preceding investigations of, manufacturers of healthcare products are brought every year, leading to several substantial civil and criminal settlements related to off-label uses. In addition, False Claims Act lawsuits may expose manufacturers to follow-on claims by private payors based on fraudulent marketing practices. This growth in litigation has increased the risk that a company will have to defend a false claim action, pay settlement fines or restitution, as well as criminal and civil penalties, agree to comply with burdensome reporting and compliance obligations, and be excluded from Medicare, Medicaid, or other federal and state healthcare programs. If we or our collaborators do not lawfully promote our approved products, we may become subject to such investigations and litigation and, if we do not successfully defend against such actions, those actions may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

Additionally, we must have adequate substantiation for the claims we make for our products and services. If any of our claims are determined to be false, misleading or deceptive, our products and services could be considered misbranded under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (“FDCA”) or in violation of the Federal Trade Commission Act. We could also face lawsuits from our competitors under the Lanham Act alleging that our marketing materials are false or misleading.

Foreign jurisdictions have their own laws and regulations concerning medical devices, including marketing authorizations and certifications, communications about off-label uses, and substantiation of advertising and promotional claims. Failure to comply with those laws and regulations could result in actions against us, including fines, penalties and exclusion from the market. Any such actions could adversely affect our ability to market new products and services or continue to market existing products and services in those jurisdictions.

Risks Related to Our Intellectual Property

If we or any of our independent contractors, consultants, collaborators, manufacturers, vendors or service providers fail to comply with healthcare laws and regulations, we or they could be subject to enforcement actions, which could result in penalties and affect our ability to develop, market and sell our product candidates and may harm our reputation.

We are subject to federal, state, and foreign healthcare laws and regulations pertaining to fraud and abuse and patients’ rights. These laws and regulations include:

Because of the breadth of these laws and regulations and the narrowness of the statutory exceptions and regulatory safe harbors available, it is possible that some of our operations, including our arrangements with physicians and customers could be subject to challenge under one or more of such laws. If our operations are found to be in violation of any such healthcare laws and regulations, we may be subject to penalties, including administrative, civil and criminal penalties, monetary damages, disgorgement, imprisonment, the curtailment or restructuring of our operations, loss of eligibility to obtain approvals from the FDA, or exclusion from participation in government contracting, healthcare reimbursement or other government programs, including Medicare and Medicaid, any of which could adversely affect our financial results. Although effective compliance programs can mitigate the risk of investigation and prosecution for violations of these laws, these risks cannot be entirely eliminated. Any action against us for an alleged or suspected violation could cause us to incur significant legal expenses and could divert our management’s attention from the operation of our business, even if our defense is successful. In addition, achieving and sustaining compliance with applicable laws and regulations may be costly to us in terms of money, time and resources.

We may not be able to protect our intellectual property rights effectively, which could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations

In addition, given the strategic refocus away from the C-Pulse System and towards the Aquadex System, we have chosen to limit the maintenance of issued C-Pulse System patents.

Our pending and future patent applications may not issue as patents or, if issued, may not issue in a form that will provide us any financial return. Even if issued, existing or future patents may be challenged, narrowed, invalidated or circumvented, which could limit our ability to obtain commercial benefits from them. Even if issued, existing or future patents may be challenged, narrowed, invalidated or circumvented, which could limit our ability to obtain commercial benefits from them. Changes in patent laws or their interpretation in the United States and other countries could also diminish the value of our intellectual property or narrow the scope of our patent protection. In addition, the legal systems of certain countries do not favor the aggressive enforcement of patents, and the laws of foreign countries may not protect our rights to the same extent as the laws of the United States. In order to preserve and enforce our patent and other intellectual property rights, we may need to make claims or file lawsuits against third parties. This can entail significant costs to us and divert our management’s attention from our business. This can entail significant costs to us and divert our management’s attention from our business.

Intellectual property litigation could be costly and disruptive to us.

In recent years, there has been significant litigation involving intellectual property rights in the medical device industry. From time to time, third parties may assert patent, copyright, trademark and other intellectual property rights to technologies used in our business. From time to time, third parties may assert patent, copyright, trademark and other intellectual property rights to technologies used in our business. Any claims, with or without merit, could be time-consuming, result in costly litigation, divert the efforts of our technical and management personnel or require us to pay substantial damages. If we are unsuccessful in defending ourselves against these types of claims, we may be required to do one or more of the following:

In the event a claim against us were successful and we could not obtain a license to the relevant technology on acceptable terms or license a substitute technology or redesign our system to avoid infringement, our business, results of operations and financial condition would be significantly harmed.

If we were unable to protect the confidentiality of our proprietary information and know-how, the value of our technology and system could be adversely affected.

In addition to patented technology, we rely on our unpatented proprietary technology, trade secrets, processes and know-how. We generally seek to protect this information by confidentiality agreements with our employees, consultants, scientific advisors and third parties. We generally seek to protect this information by confidentiality agreements with our employees, consultants, scientific advisors and third parties. These agreements may be breached, and we may not have adequate remedies for any such breach. In addition, our trade secrets may otherwise become known or be independently developed by competitors. To the extent that our employees, consultants or contractors use intellectual property owned by others in their work for us, disputes may arise as to the rights in related or resulting know-how and inventions.

Our products could infringe patent rights of others, which may require costly litigation and, if we are not successful, could cause us to pay substantial damages or limit our ability to commercialize our products.

Our commercial success depends, in part, on our ability to increase adoption of the Aquadex System without infringing the patents and other proprietary rights of third parties. As our industry expands and more patents are issued, the risk increases that there may be patents issued to third parties that relate to our system and technologies of which we are not aware or that we must challenge to continue our operations as currently contemplated. As our industry expands and more patents are issued, the risk increases that there may be patents issued to third parties that relate to our system and technologies of which we are not aware or that we must challenge to continue our operations as currently contemplated. Our system may infringe or may be alleged to infringe these patents. Our system may infringe or may be alleged to infringe these patents.

In addition, some patent applications in the United States may be maintained in secrecy until the patents are issued because patent applications in the United States and many foreign jurisdictions are typically not published until 18 months after filing, and because publications in the scientific literature often lag behind actual discoveries, we cannot be certain that others have not filed patent applications for technology covered by our issued patents or our pending applications or that we were the first to invent the technology. Another party may have filed, and may in the future file, patent applications covering our system or technology similar to ours. Any such patent application may have priority over our patent applications or patents, which could further require us to obtain rights to issued patents covering such technologies. Any such patent application may have priority over our patent applications or patents, which could further require us to obtain rights to issued patents covering such technologies. If another party has filed a U.S. patent application on inventions similar to ours, we may have to participate in an interference or derivation proceeding declared by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to determine priority of invention in the United States. The costs of these proceedings could be substantial, and it is possible that such efforts would be unsuccessful if the other party had independently arrived at the same or similar invention prior to our own invention, resulting in a loss of our U.S. patent position with respect to such inventions.

We may be subject to claims that our employees have wrongfully used or disclosed alleged trade secrets of their former employers.

As is common in our industry, we employ individuals who were previously employed at other medical device companies, including our competitors or potential competitors. Although no claims against us are currently pending, we may be subject to claims that these employees, or we, have used or disclosed trade secrets or other proprietary information of their former employers. Although no claims against us are currently pending, we may be subject to claims that these employees, or we, have used or disclosed trade secrets or other proprietary information of their former employers. Litigation may be necessary to defend against these claims. Even if we are successful in defending against these claims, litigation could result in substantial costs and be a distraction to management. Even if we are successful in defending against these claims, litigation could result in substantial costs and be a distraction to management.

Security breaches, loss of data and other disruptions could compromise sensitive information related to our business or prevent us from accessing critical information and expose us to liability, which could adversely affect our business and our reputation.

In the ordinary course of our business, we may collect and store sensitive data, including legally protected health information, personally identifiable information, intellectual property and proprietary business information owned or controlled by ourselves or others. At times we may have access to limited amounts of protected health information as part of other healthcare providers’ provision of treatment to patients with our medical devices. We manage and maintain our applications and data utilizing on-site systems. These applications and data encompass a wide variety of business-critical information including research and development information, commercial information, and business and financial information. We face four primary risks relative to protecting this critical information, including: loss of access risk; inappropriate disclosure risk; inappropriate modification risk; and the risk of our being unable to adequately monitor our controls over the first three risks.

The secure processing, storage, maintenance, and transmission of this critical information is vital to our operations and business strategy. Although we take measures to protect sensitive information from cyberattacks and other unauthorized access or disclosure, our information technology and infrastructure may be vulnerable to attacks by hackers or viruses or breached due to employee error, malfeasance, or other disruptions. Although we take measures to protect sensitive information from cyberattacks and other unauthorized access or disclosure, our information technology and infrastructure may be vulnerable to attacks by hackers or viruses or breached due to employee error, malfeasance, or other disruptions. Any such breach or interruption could compromise our networks and the information stored there could be accessed by unauthorized parties, publicly disclosed, lost, or stolen. Any such breach or interruption could compromise our networks and the information stored there could be accessed by unauthorized parties, publicly disclosed, lost, or stolen. Any such access, disclosure or other loss of information could result in legal claims or proceedings, liability under laws and regulations that protect the privacy of personal information and regulatory penalties. Any such access, disclosure or other loss of information could result in legal claims or proceedings, liability under laws and regulations that protect the privacy of personal information and regulatory penalties. To the extent that we may engage in activities regulated by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act and the Health Information Technology for Clinical and Economic Health Act we may have additional regulatory and reporting obligations. To the extent that we may engage in activities regulated by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act and the Health Information Technology for Clinical and Economic Health Act we may have additional regulatory and reporting obligations. Although we believe we have implemented security measures, there is no guarantee we can protect our systems and data from unauthorized access, loss or dissemination that could also disrupt our operations, including our ability to conduct our analyses, conduct research and development activities, collect, process, and prepare company financial information, provide information about our products and other patient and physician education and outreach efforts through our website, manage the administrative aspects of our business, and damage our reputation, any of which could adversely affect our business. Although we believe we have implemented security measures, there is no guarantee we can protect our systems and data from unauthorized access, loss or dissemination that could also disrupt our operations, including our ability to conduct our analyses, conduct research and development activities, collect, process, and prepare company financial information, provide information about our products and other patient and physician education and outreach efforts through our website, manage the administrative aspects of our business, and damage our reputation, any of which could adversely affect our business.

In addition, the interpretation and application of consumer, health-related, and data protection laws in the United States, and elsewhere are often uncertain, contradictory, and in flux. It is possible that these laws may be interpreted and applied in a manner that is inconsistent with our practices. If so, this could result in government-imposed fines or orders requiring that we change our practices, which could adversely affect our business. In addition, these privacy regulations may differ from country to country and may vary based on whether testing is performed in the United States or in the local country. Complying with these various laws could cause us to incur substantial costs or require us to change our business practices and compliance procedures in a manner adverse to our business.

Changes in U.S. federal government funding for the FDA and other government agencies could hinder their ability to hire and retain key leadership and other personnel, or otherwise prevent new or modified products from being developed, approved, or commercialized in a timely manner or at all, which could negatively impact our business.

The ability of the FDA to review and approve new products can be affected by a variety of factors, including budget and funding levels, the ability to hire and retain key personnel, and statutory, regulatory, and policy changes. Average review times at the agency have fluctuated in recent years as a result. In addition, government funding of other government agencies on which our operations may rely, including those that fund research and development activities is subject to the political process, which is inherently fluid and unpredictable.

Any future government proposals to reduce or eliminate budgetary deficits may include reduced allocations to the FDA and other related government agencies. These budgetary pressures may result in a reduced ability by the FDA to perform its respective roles and may have a related impact on academic institutions and research laboratories whose funding is fully or partially dependent on both the level and the timing of funding from government sources. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the current Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the FDA has previously stated his intent to downsize or restructure this agency. We cannot anticipate the effect that any such restructuring or new appointments may have on our business.

In the event of a partial or complete government shutdown, the FDA and certain other science agencies may temporarily cease certain operations. Furthermore, during such shutdown, the FDA may maintain only operations deemed to be essential for public health while suspending the acceptance of new medical product applications and routine regulatory and compliance work related to medical products and foods.

The U.S. government has previously shut down, including for a prolonged period during the second half of 2025. Disruptions at the FDA and other agencies, such as those resulting from a restructuring of these agencies, a government shutdown, or uncertainty from stopgap spending bills may slow the time necessary for new drugs and devices to be reviewed and/or approved by necessary government agencies and may affect the ability of the healthcare and drug industries to deliver new products to the market in a timely manner, which would adversely affect our operating results and business. . Interruptions to the function of the FDA and other government agencies could adversely affect the demand for laboratory space and significantly impact our operating results and our business.

If we experience an interruption in supply from a material sole-source supplier, our business may be harmed.

We are dependent on sole-source suppliers to produce raw materials including our one fully validated third-party sterilizer. If there is any interruption in supply of our raw materials from these sole-source suppliers, for any reason, there can be no assurance that we will be able to obtain adequate alternative quantities of the raw materials within a reasonable time or at commercially reasonable prices. Our suppliers could discontinue the manufacturing or supply of these components at any time.

We do not carry a significant inventory of some of these components. Our suppliers may not be able to meet our demand for their products, either because of acts of nature, the nature of our agreements with those suppliers or our relative importance to them as a customer, and our suppliers may decide in the future to discontinue or reduce the level of business they conduct with us. In addition, if these suppliers are unable to deliver components to us, whether due to a labor shortage, slow down or stoppage, or for any other reason, we would be required to seek alternative suppliers. We might not be able to identify and qualify additional or replacement suppliers for any of these components quickly or at all or without incurring significant additional costs.

We cannot guarantee that we will be able to establish and validate alternative relationships on similar terms, without delay or at all. Finding and validating alternative suppliers may not be feasible or could take a significant amount of time and involve significant expense, and any such delay could significantly harm our business resulting in backorders, production delays and rationing end-user product availability. While we have taken steps to attempt to mitigate the impact of potential supply shortages, a future shortage may have a negative impact on our ability to manufacture our products and harm our business.

Risks Related to Our Common Stock

Nasdaq may delist our common stock from its exchange which could limit your ability to make transactions in our securities and subject us to additional trading restrictions.

Our common stock is listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol “NUWE. In order to maintain that listing, we must satisfy minimum financial and other requirements including, without limitation, the minimum stockholders’ equity requirement and the minimum bid price requirement, both of which are requirements where we have been deficient in recent years. There can be no assurances that we will be successful in maintaining, or if we fall out of compliance, in regaining compliance with the continued listing requirements and maintaining the listing of our common stock on the Nasdaq Capital Market. There can be no assurances that we will be successful in maintaining, or if we fall out of compliance, in regaining compliance with the continued listing requirements and maintaining the listing of our common stock on the NASDAQ Capital Market.

On June 10, 2025, the Company closed an offering of 61,444 shares of its common stock and pre-funded warrants to purchase 335,381 shares of common stock, in each case with accompanying Series A Warrants to purchase up to 1,190,480 shares of common stock (“Series A Warrants”) and Series B Warrants to purchase up to 396,829 shares of common stock (“Series B Warrants”, collectively, the “June 2025 Offering”. The public offering price per share of common stock and accompanying warrants is $12.60 per share and accompanying warrants, and the public offering price per pre-funded warrant and accompanying warrants is $12.5958 per pre-funded warrant and accompanying warrants. The Series B Warrants had an exercise price of $12.60 and are exercisable for a period of five years following the receipt of stockholder approval, which we obtained on August 4, 2025. The Series A Warrants contained a one-time reset of the exercise price in the event that the Company implemented the 2025 Reverse Stock Split (as defined below) equal to the greater of: (i) 20% of the combined public offering price per share of common stock and accompanying warrants in the offering and (ii) the lowest daily volume-weighted-average price for the five trading days immediately following the date of the implementation of the 2025 Reverse Stock Split.

In addition to the foregoing, if our Common Stock is delisted from Nasdaq and it trades on the over-the-counter market, the application of the “penny stock” rules could adversely affect the market price of our Common Stock and increase the transaction costs to sell those shares. The SEC has adopted regulations which generally define a “penny stock” as an equity security that has a market price of less than $5.00 per share, subject to specific exemptions. If our Common Stock is delisted from Nasdaq and it trades on the over-the-counter market at a price of less than $5.00 per share, our Common Stock would be considered a penny stock. The SEC’s penny stock rules require a broker-dealer, before a transaction in a penny stock not otherwise exempt from the rules, to deliver a standardized risk disclosure document that provides information about penny stocks and the risks in the penny stock market. The SEC’s penny stock rules require a broker-dealer, before a transaction in a penny stock not otherwise exempt from the rules, to deliver a standardized risk disclosure document that provides information about penny stocks and the risks in the penny stock market. The broker-dealer must also provide the customer with current bid and offer quotations for the penny stock, the compensation of the broker-dealer and the salesperson in the transaction, and monthly account statements showing the market value of each penny stock held in the customer’s account. The broker-dealer must also provide the customer with current bid and offer quotations for the penny stock, the compensation of the broker-dealer and the salesperson in the transaction, and monthly account statements showing the market value of each penny stock held in the customer’s account. In addition, the penny stock rules generally require that before a transaction in a penny stock occurs, the broker-dealer must make a special written determination that the penny stock is a suitable investment for the purchaser and receive the purchaser’s agreement to the transaction. If applicable in the future, these rules may restrict the ability of brokers-dealers to sell our Common Stock and may affect the ability of investors to sell their shares, until our Common Stock no longer is considered a penny stock.

We continue to actively monitor our performance with respect to the listing standards and will consider available options to resolve any deficiency and maintain compliance with the Nasdaq rules. There can be no assurance that we will be able to maintain compliance or, if we fall out of compliance, regain compliance with any deficiency, or if we implement an option that regains our compliance, maintain compliance thereafter. There can be no assurance that we will be able to maintain compliance or, if we fall out of compliance, regain compliance with any deficiency, or if we implement an option that regains our compliance, maintain compliance thereafter.

Nasdaq has proposed enhanced listing standards, which could adversely affect our ability to maintain our Nasdaq listing and access to capital markets.

Our common stock is listed for trading on Nasdaq. We must satisfy Nasdaq’s continued listing requirements, including, among other things, a minimum closing bid price requirement of $1.00 per share for thirty consecutive business days. On January 13, 2026, Nasdaq filed a rule proposal with the SEC to adopt a new continued listing requirement that would require all companies listed on Nasdaq to maintain a minimum market value of listed securities of $5 million. Under the proposed rule, if a company’s market value of listed securities falls below this threshold for 30 consecutive trading days, Nasdaq may immediately suspend trading and initiate delisting proceedings without affording the company a compliance cure period. This proposed rule, if adopted, would be in addition to Nasdaq’s existing continued listing requirements. If the proposed rule is adopted and the market value of our common stock were to fall below the proposed $5 million threshold or we otherwise fail to satisfy Nasdaq’s continued listing standards, we could face delisting proceedings on an accelerated basis. The delisting of our common stock from Nasdaq could materially reduce the liquidity of our common stock and result in a corresponding material reduction in the price of our common stock. In addition, delisting could harm our ability to raise capital through alternative financing sources on terms acceptable to us, or at all, and may result in the potential loss of confidence by investors, employees and fewer business development opportunities. In the ordinary course of our business, we may collect and store sensitive data, including legally protected health information, personally identifiable information, intellectual property and proprietary business information owned or controlled by ourselves or others. The comment period for the proposed rule closed on February 19, 2026. The effective date of the proposed rule is not known, if approved and adopted.

Sales of a substantial number of shares of our common stock by our stockholders in the public market could cause our stock price to fall.

The number of shares of common stock issuable upon conversion of our outstanding preferred stock and exercise of outstanding warrants is significant in relation to the number of shares of our common stock currently outstanding.

As of December 31, 2025, we had warrants to purchase 1,334,937 shares of common stock outstanding, with exercise prices ranging from $7.00 to $36,750 with a weighted-average exercise price of $16.08.

As of December 31, 2025, there were 27 shares of Series F Convertible Redeemable Preferred Stock, par value $0.0001 per share (the “Series F Convertible Preferred Stock”) outstanding, convertible into 10,719 shares of common stock. The Series F convertible preferred stock has full ratchet price-based anti-dilution protection, subject to customary carve-outs, in the event of a down-round financing at a price per share below the conversion price of the Series F convertible preferred stock (which protection will expire if, during any 20 of 30 consecutive trading days, the volume weighted average price of the Company’s Common Stock exceeds 300% of the then-effective conversion price of the Series F convertible preferred stock and the daily dollar trading volume for each trading day during such period exceeds $7,000,000). Effective for every stock offering or reverse stock split, when applicable, the conversion price of the Series F convertible preferred stock has been recalculated based on the offering price. As of July 7, 2025 (the effective date of the most recent reverse stock split), the conversion price of the Series F convertible preferred stock was recalculated to $397.00.

On June 6, 2025, the Company filed the Certificate of Designation of Preferences, Rights and Limitations of Series F-1 Convertible Preferred Stock with the State of Delaware. At that time, 100 shares of Series F Preferred Stock were outstanding and owned by the Company’s Chief Executive Officer, John L. Erb. Such 100 shares of Series F Preferred Stock were exchanged for Series F-1 Preferred Shares pursuant to a Securities Exchange Agreement between John L. Erb and the Company, dated June 9, 2025. On June 9, 2025, 66 shares of the Series F-1 Preferred shares were converted into 26,191 shares of the Company’s Common Stock. The conversion rate for the 66 Series F-1 Preferred Shares was $397.00 per share. As of December 31, 2025, 66 of the series F-1 Preferred shares had been converted to Common Stock and 34 shares remained outstanding, convertible into 13,498 shares of common stock.

As of December 31, 2025, there were 137 shares of Series J Convertible Preferred Stock (as defined below) outstanding, convertible into 81 shares of common stock and 582 Series J Convertible Preferred Stock issuable upon the exercise of 47 warrants issued in the October 2023 Offering (as defined below).

If any security holder determines to sell a substantial number of shares into the market at any given time, there may not be sufficient demand in the market to purchase the shares without a decline in the market price for our common stock. Moreover, continuous sales into the market of a number of shares in excess of the typical trading volume for our common stock could depress the trading market for our common stock over an extended period of time. Sales of a substantial number of shares of our common stock in the public market or the perception that these sales might occur could significantly reduce the market price of our common stock and impair our ability to raise adequate capital through the sale of additional equity securities. We are unable to predict the effect that such sales may have on the prevailing market price of our common stock. As of December 31, 2025, we have outstanding warrants to purchase an aggregate of approximately 1,334,937 shares of our common stock, and options to purchase an aggregate of approximately 4,452 shares of our common stock, which, if exercised, may further increase the number of shares of our common stock outstanding and the number of shares eligible for resale in the public market. As of December 31, 2024, we have outstanding warrants to purchase an aggregate of approximately 5,303,254 shares of our common stock, and options to purchase an aggregate of approximately 3,873 shares of our common stock, which, if exercised, may further increase the number of shares of our common stock outstanding and the number of shares eligible for resale in the public market.

The rights of holders of our capital stock will be subject to, and could be adversely affected by, the rights of holders of our outstanding preferred stock and stock that may be issued in the future.

Our board of directors has authority, without further stockholder approval, to issue additional shares of preferred stock with such rights, preferences and privileges as our board may determine. These rights, preferences and privileges may include dividend rights, conversion rights, voting rights and liquidation rights that may be greater than the rights of our common stock. These rights, preferences and privileges may include dividend rights, conversion rights, voting rights and liquidation rights that may be greater than the rights of our common stock.

Our board of directors has previously approved, pursuant to this authority, the issuance of preferred stock, and we have 27 shares of Series F Convertible Preferred Stock outstanding, 34 shares of Series F-1 Convertible Preferred Stock outstanding and 137 shares of Series J Convertible Preferred Stock outstanding as of December 31, 2025. Upon liquidation, dissolution or winding-up of the Company, holders of our Series F Convertible Preferred Stock and Series J Convertible Preferred Stock have the right to receive, out of the assets, whether capital or surplus, of the Company an amount equal to the par value, plus any accrued and unpaid dividends thereon, for each share of such preferred stock held by such holder before any distribution or payment shall be made to the holders of our common stock, and, following such payment, such holders are entitled to receive the same amount that a holder of common stock would receive if such preferred stock was fully converted, pari passu with all the holders of common stock.

Our board of directors may issue additional series of preferred stock. As a result, the rights of holders of our capital stock will be subject to, and could be adversely affected by, the rights of holders of any stock that may be issued in the future.

There may be future sales of our securities or other dilution of our equity, which may adversely affect the market price of our common stock.

We are generally not restricted from issuing additional common stock, including any securities that are convertible into or exchangeable for, or that represent the right to receive, common stock. The market price of our common stock could decline as a result of sales of common stock or securities that are convertible into or exchangeable for, or that represent the right to receive, common stock after this offering or the perception that such sales could occur. The market price of our common stock could decline as a result of sales of common stock or securities that are convertible into or exchangeable for, or that represent the right to receive, common stock after this offering or the perception that such sales could occur.

We have a large number of authorized but unissued shares of stock, which could negatively impact a potential investor if they purchased our common stock.

With respect to authorized but unissued and unreserved shares, we could also use such shares to oppose a hostile takeover attempt or delay or prevent changes in control or changes in or removal of management. The issuance of additional shares of common stock or securities convertible into common stock may have a dilutive effect on earnings per share and relative voting power and may cause a decline in the trading price of our common stock. We could use the shares that are available for future issuance in dilutive equity financing transactions, or to oppose a hostile takeover attempt or delay or prevent changes in control or changes in or removal of management, including transactions that are favored by a majority of the stockholders or in which the stockholders might otherwise receive a premium for their shares over then-current market prices or benefit in some other manner. We could use the shares that are available for future issuance in dilutive equity financing transactions, or to oppose a hostile takeover attempt or delay or prevent changes in control or changes in or removal of management, including transactions that are favored by a majority of the stockholders or in which the stockholders might otherwise receive a premium for their shares over then-current market prices or benefit in some other manner.

A more active, liquid trading market for our common stock may not develop, and the price of our common stock may fluctuate significantly.

Historically, the market price of our common stock has fluctuated over a wide range. There has been relatively limited trading volume in the market for our common stock, and a more active, liquid public trading market may not develop or may not be sustained. Limited liquidity in the trading market for our common stock may adversely affect a stockholder’s ability to sell its shares of common stock at the time it wishes to sell them or at a price that it considers acceptable. If a more active, liquid public trading market does not develop we may be limited in our ability to raise capital by selling shares of common stock and our ability to acquire other companies or assets by using shares of our common stock as consideration. In addition, if there is a thin trading market or “float” for our stock, the market price for our common stock may fluctuate significantly more than the stock market as a whole. Without a large float, our common stock would be less liquid than the stock of companies with broader public ownership and, as a result, the trading prices of our common stock may be more volatile, and it would be harder for a stockholder to liquidate any investment in our common stock. Without a large float, our common stock would be less liquid than the stock of companies with broader public ownership and, as a result, the trading prices of our common stock may be more volatile, and it would be harder for a stockholder to liquidate any investment in our common stock. Furthermore, the stock market is subject to significant price and volume fluctuations, and the price of our common stock could fluctuate widely in response to several factors, including:

Some companies that have experienced volatility in the market price of their stock, have been subject to securities class action litigation and we may continue to be a target in the future. Securities litigation against us could result in substantial costs and divert our management’s attention from other business concerns, which could materially adversely affect our business, results of operations, and financial condition.

Our stock could be the target of short sellers who may seek to drive down the price of shares by disseminating negative reports or information about us. Such negative publicity may lead to additional public scrutiny or may cause further volatility in our stock price, a decline in the value of a stockholder’s investment in us or reputational harm. Volatility in our stock price also impacts the value of our equity compensation, which affects our ability to recruit and retain employees. Accordingly, substantial or sustained stock price declines could have a material adverse impact on stockholder confidence and employee recruiting and retention.

The stock market has experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations in recent years that have significantly affected the quoted prices of the securities of many companies, including companies in the healthcare industry. The changes often appear to occur without regard to specific operating performance. The price of our common stock could fluctuate based upon factors that have little or nothing to do with us and these fluctuations could materially reduce our stock price.

We are subject to litigation which could result in a material impact on our business, results of operations, and financial condition.

Our ability to use U.S. net operating loss carryforwards might be limited.

As of December 31, 2025, we had U.S. net operating loss (“NOL”) carryforwards of approximately $240.4 million for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Approximately $118.9 million of NOL carryforwards will expire from 2026 through 2038. Pursuant to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, the NOL carryforwards generated in 2018 through 2025 totaling approximately $121.5 million do not expire. Approximately $119.2 million of NOL carryforwards will expire from 2025 through 2038. Pursuant to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, the NOL carryforwards generated in 2019 through 2024 totaling approximately $101.0 million do not expire. The expiration of state NOL carryforwards will vary by jurisdiction. In addition, future utilization of NOL carryforwards in the U.S. may be subject to certain limitations under Section 382 of the Internal Revenue Code. The Company does not have any foreign tax loss carryovers.

We believe the Company may have experienced additional ownership changes under Section 382 of the Internal Revenue Code in the current and earlier years further limiting the NOL carryforwards that may be utilized. We have not yet completed a formal Section 382 analysis. As a result, prior or future changes in ownership could put limitations on the availability of our NOL carryforwards. In addition, our ability to utilize the current NOL carryforwards might be further limited by future issuances of our common stock. In addition, our ability to utilize the current NOL carryforwards might be further limited by future issuances of our common stock.

We do not intend to pay cash dividends on our common stock in the foreseeable future.

We have never declared or paid any cash dividends on our common stock, and we currently do not anticipate paying any cash dividends in the foreseeable future. We intend to retain any earnings to finance the development and expansion of our products and business. We intend to retain any earnings to finance the development and expansion of our products and business. Accordingly, our stockholders will not realize a return on their investments unless the trading price of our common stock appreciates.

Provisions in our charter documents and Delaware law may delay or deter a change-in-control transaction or limit our stockholders’ ability to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with us or our directors, officers, or employees.

Delaware law and certain provisions of our Certificate of Incorporation and bylaws make it harder for a third party to acquire us, even if doing so might be beneficial to our stockholders. These provisions include, among other things: authorizing our board of directors to issue, from time to time, any series of preferred stock and fix the designation, powers, preferences and rights of the shares of such series of preferred stock; prohibiting stockholders from acting by written consent; requiring advance notice of stockholder intention to put forth director nominees or bring up other business at a stockholders’ meeting; prohibiting stockholders from calling a special meeting of stockholders; and requiring at least two-thirds of the voting power of our outstanding stock entitled to vote to amend or repeal certain provisions of our Certificate of Incorporation or bylaws. These provisions include, among other things: authorizing our board of directors to issue, from time to time, any series of preferred stock and fix the designation, powers, preferences and rights of the shares of such series of preferred stock; prohibiting stockholders from acting by written consent; requiring advance notice of stockholder intention to put forth director nominees or bring up other business at a stockholders’ meeting; prohibiting stockholders from calling a special meeting of stockholders; and requiring at least two-thirds of the voting power of our outstanding stock entitled to vote to amend or repeal certain provisions of our Certificate of Incorporation or bylaws. Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law from which we did not elect to opt out, provides that if a holder acquires 15% or more of our stock without prior approval of our board of directors, that holder will be subject to certain restrictions on its ability to acquire us within three years. Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law from which we did not elect to opt out, provides that if a holder acquires 15% or more of our stock without prior approval of our board of directors, that holder will be subject to certain restrictions on its ability to acquire us within three years. These provisions may delay or deter a change in control of us, and they could limit the price that investors might be willing to pay in the future for shares of our common stock.

Further, our Certificate of Incorporation establishes that, unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware will be the exclusive forum for any derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf; any action asserting a breach of fiduciary duty; any action asserting a claim against us arising pursuant to the Delaware General Corporation Law; or any action asserting a claim against us that is governed by the internal affairs doctrine. This choice of forum provision may limit a stockholder’s ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum of its choosing for disputes with us or our directors, officers or other employees, which may discourage lawsuits against us and our directors, officers and other employees.

We are a “smaller reporting company” under federal securities laws. For as long as we continue to be a smaller reporting company, we may take advantage of exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies, including reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements. For as long as we continue to be a smaller reporting company, we may take advantage of exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies, including reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements. We may continue to be a smaller reporting company if either (i) the market value of our stock held by non-affiliates is less than $250 million or (ii) our annual revenue was less than $100 million during the most recently completed fiscal year and the market value of our stock held by non-affiliates is less than $700 million. We may continue to be a smaller reporting company if either (i) the market value of our stock held by non-affiliates is less than $250 million or (ii) our annual revenue was less than $100 million during the most recently completed fiscal year and the market value of our stock held by non-affiliates is less than $700 million. 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 price may decline or be more volatile. 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 price may decline or be more volatile.

Worldwide economic and market conditions, an unstable economy and other adverse developments, including inflation, could adversely affect our business, results of operations and liquidity, and stock price.

As widely reported, in recent years, global credit and financial markets have experienced volatility and disruptions, including declines in consumer confidence, concerns about declines in economic growth and unemployment, increases in the rate of inflation, increases in borrowing rates and changes in liquidity and credit availability, and uncertainty about geopolitical events and other challenges affecting the global economy, including most recently in connection with actions undertaken by the U.S. Federal Reserve Board to address inflation, the Ukraine-Russia and Israel-Hamas conflicts and supply chain disruptions. These factors could lead to further disruption, instability, and volatility in global markets, continue to increase inflation, disrupt supply chains, adversely affect consumer confidence and disposable income levels and have other impacts on our business. These factors could lead to further disruption, instability, and volatility in global markets, continue to increase inflation, disrupt supply chains, adversely affect consumer confidence and disposable income levels and have other impacts on our business. Furthermore, our stock price may decline due in part to the volatility of the stock market and any general economic downturn. Furthermore, our stock price may decline due in part to the volatility of the stock market and any general economic downturn. These factors could have a negative impact on our potential sales and operating results. These factors could have a negative impact on our potential sales and operating results.

Changes in spending or budgetary priorities may materially adversely affect our business.

Our business is dependent upon the FDA and the FDA’s ability to timely respond to our product development activities. On January 20, 2025, President Trump signed an executive order creating an advisory commission, the “Department of Government Efficiency” to reform federal government processes and reduce expenditures. On January 20, 2025, President Trump signed an executive order creating an advisory commission, the “Department of Government Efficiency” to reform federal government processes and reduce expenditures. Pressures on and uncertainty surrounding the U.S. federal government’s budget, and potential changes in budgetary priorities and spending levels, could adversely affect staffing levels and the funding for the FDA. Disruptions in how the FDA operates due to these policies may materially adversely affect our business.

Changes to U.S. tariff and import/export regulations may have a negative effect on our suppliers and/or service providers and, in turn, could have a material adverse impact on our financial condition.

The United States has recently enacted and proposed to enact significant new tariffs. Additionally, President Trump has directed various federal agencies to further evaluate key aspects of U.S. trade policy and there have been ongoing discussion and commentary regarding potential significant changes to U.S. trade policies, treaties and tariffs. On February 20, 2026, the Supreme Court struck down the bulk of President Trump's sweeping tariffs, ruling that the administration overstepped its authority by using the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to impose them. Hours after the ruling, President Trump signed an executive order for a new 10% global import duty using Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974. These actions have caused substantial uncertainty and volatility in financial markets and may result in retaliatory measures on U.S. goods.

There continues to exist significant uncertainty about the future relationship between the United States and other countries with respect to such trade policies, treaties and tariffs. These developments, or the perception that any of them could occur, may have a material adverse effect on global economic conditions and the stability of global financial markets, and may significantly impact the cost of Aquadex System, and other parts and supplies sourced internationally or impact the cost of service providers located outside of the United States, which in turn would negatively impact us. These developments, or the perception that any of them could occur, may have a material adverse effect on global economic conditions and the stability of global financial markets, and may significantly impact the cost of Aquadex System, and other parts and supplies sourced internationally or impact the cost of service providers located outside of the United States, which in turn would negatively impact us.

Not applicable.

We recognize the critical importance of developing, implementing, and maintaining robust cybersecurity measures to safeguard our information systems and protect the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of our data. We value 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. We value 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, intellectual property theft, fraud, extortion, harm to employees or customers and violation of data privacy or security laws.

Our board of directors has ultimate oversight of cybersecurity risk, which it manages as part of our risk management processes. That program is utilized in making decisions with respect to company priorities, resource allocations, and oversight structures. Although the board members are former executives of publicly traded companies, none of them have specific cybersecurity experience. Although the board members are former executives of publicly traded companies, none of them have specific cybersecurity experience.