Biocept
Annual Report 2017

Plain-text annual report

UNITED STATESSECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSIONWashington, D.C. 20549 FORM 10-K (Mark One)☒ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2017OR☐TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934FOR THE TRANSITION PERIOD FROM TO Commission File Number: 001-36284 Biocept, Inc.(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its Charter) Delaware 80-0943522(State or other jurisdiction ofincorporation or organization) (I.R.S. EmployerIdentification No.) 5810 Nancy Ridge Drive, San Diego, California 92121(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code)Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (858) 320-8200Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act: Title of Each Class Name of Exchange on Which RegisteredCommon Stock, par value $0.0001 per share The NASDAQ Stock Market LLCSecurities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None Indicate by check mark if the Registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. YES ☐ NO ☒Indicate by check mark if the Registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Act. YES ☐ NO ☒Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant: (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding12 months (or for such shorter period that the Registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. YES ☒ NO ☐Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and postedpursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the Registrant was required to submit and post suchfiles). YES ☒ NO ☐Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K (§229.405) is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best ofRegistrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K. ☐ Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company.See the definition of “large accelerated filer”, “accelerated filer”, “smaller reporting company” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act: Large accelerated filer☐Accelerated filer☐ Non-accelerated filer☐ (Do not check if a smaller reporting company)Smaller reporting company☒ Emerging growth company☒ If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financialaccounting standards provided pursuant to Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act. ☒Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). YES ☐ NO ☒The aggregate market value of the voting and non-voting common equity held by non-affiliates of the Registrant, based on the closing price of the shares of common stock on TheNASDAQ Stock Market on June 30, 2017, was $38,238,785.The number of shares of Registrant’s Common Stock outstanding as of March 26, 2018 was 68,038,349.DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCEPortions of the registrant’s definitive Proxy Statement for the 2018 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Regulation14A not later than 120 days after the end of the fiscal year covered by this Form 10-K, are incorporated by reference in Part III, Items 10-14 of this Form 10-K. Except for theportions of the Proxy Statement specifically incorporated by reference in this Form 10-K, the Proxy Statement shall not be deemed to be filed as part hereof. TABLE OF CONTENTS Part I Item 1 Business 3 Item 1A Risk Factors 32 Item 1B Unresolved Staff Comments 61 Item 2 Properties 62 Item 3 Legal Proceedings 62 Item 4 Mine Safety Disclosures 62 Part II Item 5 Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities 63 Item 6 Selected Financial Data 63 Item 7 Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations 64 Item 7A Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk 79 Item 8 Financial Statements and Supplementary Data 80 Item 9 Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure 114 Item 9A Controls and Procedures 114 Item 9B Other Information 114 Part III Item 10 Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance 115 Item 11 Executive Compensation 115 Item 12 Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters 115 Item 13 Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence 115 Item 14 Principal Accounting Fees and Services 115 Part IV Item 15 Exhibits, Financial Statement Schedules 116 Signatures 121 CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTSThis Annual Report on Form 10-K, or Annual Report, contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933,as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. All statements included or incorporated by reference in this AnnualReport other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements. You can identify these and other forward-looking statements by the use ofwords such as “may,” “will,” “could,” “anticipate,” “expect,” “intend,” “believe,” “continue” or the negative of such terms, or other comparableterminology. Forward-looking statements also include the assumptions underlying or relating to such statements.Our actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including those set forthbelow under the caption “Risk Factors” in Part I, Item 1A and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations”in Part II, Item 7 of this Annual Report and elsewhere in this Annual Report. Moreover, we operate in an evolving environment. New risk factors anduncertainties emerge from time to time and it is not possible for us to predict all risk factors and uncertainties, nor can we assess the impact of all factors onour business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements speak only as of thedate on which they are made and we undertake no obligation to update such statements to reflect events that occur or circumstances that exist after the dateon which they are made except as required by law. Readers should, however, review the factors and risks we describe in the reports we file from time to timewith the Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC. 2PART I Item 1.BusinessOverviewWe are an early stage molecular oncology diagnostics company that develops and commercializes proprietary circulating tumor cell, or CTC, and circulatingtumor DNA, or ctDNA, assays utilizing a standard blood sample, or “liquid biopsy.” Our current and planned assays are intended to provide information toaid healthcare providers to identify specific oncogenic alterations that may qualify a subset of cancer patients for targeted therapy at diagnosis, progressionor for monitoring in order to identify specific resistance mechanisms. Sometimes traditional procedures, such as surgical tissue biopsies, result in tumor tissuethat is insufficient and/or unable to provide the molecular subtype information necessary for clinical decisions. Our assays, performed on blood, have thepotential to provide more contemporaneous information on the characteristics of a patient’s disease when compared with tissue biopsy and radiographicimaging.Our current assays and our planned future assays focus on key solid tumor indications utilizing our Target-SelectorTM liquid biopsy technology platform forthe biomarker analysis of CTCs and ctDNA from a standard blood sample. Our patented Target-Selector CTC offering is based on an internally developedmicrofluidics-based cell capture and analysis platform, with enabling features that change how information provided by CTC testing is used by clinicians.Our CTC technology could also be validated on cerebral spinal fluid in order to provide information for patients with leptomeningeal disease. Our patentedTarget-Selector ctDNA technology enables detection of mutations and genome alterations with enhanced sensitivity and specificity, and is applicable tonucleic acid from ctDNA, and could potentially be validated for other sample types such as bone marrow, tissue or cerebrospinal fluid. Our Target-SelectorCTC and ctDNA platforms provide both biomarker detection as well as monitoring capabilities and require only a patient blood sample. We believe that ourTarget-Selector platform technology has the potential to be developed and commercialized as in vitro diagnostic (IVD) test kits, and we are currentlypursuing this strategy.At our corporate headquarters facility located in San Diego, California, we operate a clinical laboratory that is certified under the Clinical LaboratoryImprovement Amendments of 1988, or CLIA, and accredited by the College of American Pathologists, or CAP. We also performed research and developmentthat led to our current assays, and continue to perform for our planned assays, at this same facility. In addition, we manufacture our microfluidic channels,related equipment and certain reagents. The assays we offer and intend to offer are classified as laboratory developed tests, or LDTs, under CLIA regulations.CLIA certification is required before any clinical laboratory, including ours, may perform testing on human specimens for the purpose of obtaininginformation for the diagnosis, prevention, or treatment of disease or the assessment of health. In addition, we participate in and have received CAPaccreditation, which includes rigorous bi-annual laboratory inspections and adherence to specific quality standards.Our primary sales strategy is to engage medical oncologists and other physicians in the United States at private and group practices, hospitals and cancercenters. In addition, we market our clinical trial and research services to pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical companies and clinical researchorganizations. Additionally, commencing in October 2017, our pathology partnership program, branded as Empower TCTM, provides the unique ability forpathologists to participate in the interpretation of liquid biopsy results and is available to pathology practices and hospital systems throughout the UnitedStates. Further, our proprietary blood collection tubes, or BCTs, which allow for the intact transport of liquid biopsy samples for research use only, or RUO,from regions around the world, are anticipated to be sold to laboratory supply distributors commencing in 2018.Our revenue generating efforts are focused in three areas: •medical oncologists, surgical oncologists, pulmonologists, pathologists and other physicians who use the biomarker information we providein order to determine the best treatment plan for their patients; •providing laboratory services utilizing both our CTC and ctDNA testing in order to help pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical companiesdeveloping drug candidate therapies to treat cancer; and •licensing and/or selling our proprietary testing and/or technologies to partners in the United States and abroad.We plan to grow our business by directly offering medical oncologists, surgical oncologists, pulmonologists, pathologists and other physicians our Target-Selector liquid biopsy CTC and ctDNA assays. Based on our product development data, as well3as discussions with our collaborators, we believe that our planned future assays should provide important information and clinical value to physicians. Inparticular, CTC and ctDNA assays could deliver important, actionable information not provided by other assays. For example, the historic clinical CTC test isthe United States Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, approved CellSearch® test (formerly Janssen Diagnostics, now owned by Menarini SiliconBiosystems), which provides CTC enumeration, but is not FDA approved to perform biomarker analysis. We believe our ability to rapidly translate researchinsights about the utility of cytogenetic, immunocytochemical and molecular biomarkers to provide information to medical oncologists, surgicaloncologists, pulmonologists, pathologists and other physicians for treatment decisions in the clinical setting will improve patient treatment andmanagement, and that these assays will become a key component of the standard of care for personalized cancer treatment.Market OverviewCancer Market OverviewDespite many advances in the treatment of cancer, it remains one of the greatest areas of unmet medical need. According to the World Cancer Report 2014,cancers figure among the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide, and according to the World Health Organization, there were approximately14 million new cases and 8.8 million cancer related deaths in 2015. The number of new cases is also expected to rise by approximately 70% over the next twodecades. According to the World Health Organization, the most common causes of cancer death are cancers of the lung (21%), liver (10%), colon (9%),stomach (9%), and breast (7%). The incidence of, and deaths caused by, the major cancers are staggering. According to the National Cancer Institute, therewere approximately 249,000 new cases of breast cancer and approximately 224,000 new cases of lung cancer diagnosed in the United States in 2016, withover 3.5 million patients who have had a diagnosis of these cancers and are either living with these diseases and are undergoing treatment or are beingmonitored. For example, in breast cancer, many women have been deemed cancer-free, but continue to undergo periodic monitoring to assure there has beenno disease recurrence. Our commercialized assays and our other planned future assays only require a readily accessible standard blood sample and thus maybe used to help manage these patients, including supporting the selection of appropriate treatment, at multiple time points during the course of their disease.Because our assays require only a standard blood sample, they can be particularly useful when there is no currently available biopsy or surgical material, as isoften the case in lung cancer, even at the time of initial evaluation. For example, up to 25% of patients with stage I non-small cell lung cancer, or NSCLC, arenot surgically treated for various reasons, including patient status (consensus statement from the American College of Chest Physicians and the Society ofThoracic Surgeons; Chest, Dec. 2012). This is also the case with breast and lung cancers once surgical resection of the tumor has taken place and treatmenthas been initiated. Patients with breast and lung cancer must often undergo surgical resection of their primary tumor as part of their treatment. Therefore, atthe time of progression or recurrence there may be no ability to obtain a tissue biopsy. Additionally, many studies have shown that most tumors mutateduring treatment and as the disease progresses, so information from the initial tumor tissue may not be relevant. Again, a significant benefit of our technologyis that it allows physicians to assess the current status of the tumors on a real-time basis utilizing a standard blood sample or liquid biopsy.The following data published by the National Cancer Institute shows estimated new cases and deaths for 2017, and prevalence in 2013, in the United Statesfor the major solid cancers types: Cancer Type Est. Incidence(New Cases/Year-2017) Est. Mortality(Deaths/Year-2017) Est. Prevalence(Diagnosed andAlive as of 2013)** Bladder79,03016,870587,426Breast*252,71040,6103,069,231Cervical12,8204,210248,920Colorectal*95,52050,2601,177,556Endometrial61,38010,920***Gastric*28,00010,96079,843Kidney63,99014,000394,336Lung*222,500155,870415,707Melanoma*87,1109,7301,034,460Ovarian22,44014,080195,767Pancreatic53,67043,09046,620Prostate*161,36026,7302,850,1394Cancer Type Est. Incidence(New Cases/Year-2017) Est. Mortality(Deaths/Year-2017) Est. Prevalence(Diagnosed andAlive as of 2013)** Thyroid56,8702,010637,115 *Areas where we currently have assays or active development programs.**Includes active disease and disease-free.***National Cancer Institute data is unavailable for 2013. 2010 data indicates an estimated prevalence of 600,346.In addition to the human toll, the financial cost of cancer is overwhelming. An independent study published in 2010 and conducted jointly by the AmericanCancer Society and LIVESTRONG ranked cancer as the most economically devastating cause of death in the world - estimated to be as high as $1.4 trillionglobally. According to an article in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, the direct cost of cancer deaths in the United States in 2000 was over$115 billion and forecasted to rise to over $157 billion by 2020.Cancer is a Heterogeneous DiseaseCancer constitutes a heterogeneous class of diseases, characterized by uncontrolled cell growth that results from a combination of both environmental andhereditary risk factors. Many different tissue types can become malignant, such as breast, lung, liver, and skin, and even within a particular tumor there isheterogeneity, with certain cancer cells in a patient bearing specific cellular or genetic biomarkers which others lack. Only in recent years has technologyprogressed sufficiently to enable researchers to understand many cancers at a cellular and molecular level, attribute specific cancers to associated geneticchanges, and determine the extent to which these changes are seen in a patient’s tumor.Cancer cells contain genetic alterations compared to normal human cells. Common genetic abnormalities correlated to cancer include gains or losses ofgenetic material on specific chromosomal regions, or loci, or changes in specific genes, or mutations, which ultimately result in detrimental cellular changesfollowed by cancerous or pre-cancerous conditions. For example, multiple gains or losses on various chromosomes, and the rearrangement of genetic materialamong chromosomes, or chromosomal translocations, have been observed in different cancer types, such as HER2 in breast cancer and ALK rearrangementsin NSCLC. In addition, mutations within gene sequences, or single nucleotide variations, can give rise to aberrant proteins that do not perform their functionscorrectly, leading to uncontrolled cell growth. Such genetic alterations can be a result of multiple factors, including genetic predisposition, environmental orlifestyle factors or viral infections. Importantly, these genetic changes or aberrant proteins can be used as biomarkers to help guide appropriate treatment.Detecting these biomarkers, particularly those representing drug targets, or those indicative of responsiveness or resistance of a tumor’s cells to specifictherapies, helps clinicians to select drugs, design treatment regimens and optimize patient care and management. Assays that provide such predictiveinformation have the potential to dramatically improve treatment outcomes for patients suffering from cancer.Limitations of Traditional Cancer Diagnostic and Profiling ApproachesCancer is difficult to diagnose and manage due to its heterogeneity at morphologic, genetic and clinical levels. Traditional methods of diagnosis for solidtumors, routinely used as the initial step in cancer detection, involve a tissue biopsy followed by a pathologist examining a thin slice of potentiallycancerous tissue under a microscope. A recently obtained tissue sample is used in combination with chemical staining techniques to enable analysis of thebiopsy. After staining, the pathologist determines through visual inspection whether the biopsy contains normal or cancerous cells, with those that aredeemed cancerous being graded on a level of aggressiveness. Often an analysis of biomarkers relevant to that tumor type is also performed on the tissue,ranging from IHC to FISH, to mutation analysis by various means such as microarrays and sequencing. After the diagnosis, a clinical workup is performedaccording to established guidelines for the specific cancer type. From there, the physician determines the stage of progression of the cancer based on a seriesof clinical measures, such as size, grade, metastasis risk, symptoms and patient history, and decides on a treatment plan that may include surgery, watchfulwaiting, radiation, chemotherapy, or stem cell transplantation.This type of analysis is dependent on the availability of a recently obtained tissue biopsy for the pathologist to analyze. Such a biopsy is often not available.A tumor may not be readily accessible for biopsy, a patient’s condition may be such that a biopsy is not advised, and for routine periodic patient monitoringto evaluate potential progression or recurrence, a biopsy is a fairly invasive procedure and not typically performed. As the length of time between when theoriginal biopsy, diagnosis or5surgery is conducted to the current evaluation of the patient increases, the likelihood that an original biopsy specimen is truly representative of the currentdisease condition declines, as does the usefulness of the original biopsy for making treatment decisions. This risk intensifies in situations where a drugtherapy is being administered, because the drug can put selective pressure on the tumor cells to adapt and change.Similarly, the heterogeneity referred to above means that different parts or areas of the same tumor can have different molecular features or properties. Inevaluating a biopsy specimen, the pathologist will take a few thin slices of the tumor for microscopic review rather than exhaustively analyzing the wholetumor mass. The pathologist can only report on the tumor sections analyzed and if other parts of the tumor have different features, such as biomarkerscorresponding to specific treatments, they can be missed. A more representative analysis of the entire tumor, as well as any metastases if they are present, isvery helpful.CTCs, ctDNA and CancerCTCs are cancer cells that have detached from the tumor matrix and entered the patient’s blood or other bodily fluids. These cells are representative of thetumor and its metastases and can function as their surrogates. Testing CTCs can complement pathologic information drawn from a biopsy or resected tissuesample, helping to ensure that the analysis is comprehensive and not biased by tumor heterogeneity and sampling issues. They can also provide critical datawhen a biopsy is not possible. Clinical studies have demonstrated that the presence and number of CTCs provides information on the likely course of certaintypes of disease for the cancer patient, or in other words they are considered “prognostic.” Since CTCs are representative of the tumor, they can also be usedfor biomarker analysis, such as helping to guide therapy selection. Such analyses are “predictive” in that they offer insight into the likely responsiveness orresistance to particular therapies. After surgery and during any subsequent therapy or monitoring period, blood samples can periodically be drawn in astandard manner and analyzed to evaluate a therapy’s continuing effectiveness, as well as to detect other biomarkers such as new genetic mutations that mayarise as a result of selection pressure by a particular therapy or by chance. Physicians can use this information to determine which therapy is most likely tobenefit their patients at particular times through the course of their disease. Treatment decisions based on patient-specific information are the foundation ofpersonalized medicine, and assays that guide a physician in the selection of individualized therapy for a patient are termed “predictive assays.”ctDNA is nucleic acid that is released into blood by dying tumor cells. Cell death occurs in all tissues, especially those that are rapidly dividing, and incancer, where cell growth is not only rapid but also uncontrolled. Parts of tumors often outgrow their blood supply, resulting in cell death. Tumor cells dyingas a result of therapy also release nucleic acid into blood. As a consequence, ctDNA is common in cancer patients and scientists believe that like CTCs, itmay be more representative of a patient’s entire tumor than a few thin sections from a tissue biopsy, thus reducing the heterogeneity problem. ctDNA is foundin the plasma component of blood and is readily accessible in a standard blood sample. Analyzing ctDNA for mutations that are used as biomarkers fortherapy selection shows great promise. One of the strengths of this approach, in addition to not requiring a tissue biopsy, is that it is not dependent oncapturing rare tumor cells from blood to provide a sample for testing. The difficulty with this approach is that the cellular context is lost since the ctDNA ismixed with a much larger amount of circulating DNA from normal cells that are continuously dying and being replaced in the body, thus making analysischallenging. This requires a mutation detection methodology with enhanced sensitivity and specificity, to distinguish mutations in particular gene regions incancer cells from the normal gene sequence present in those same genes in normal cells which co-exist in blood as normal cells die and are replaced in thebody. Our Target-Selector technology provides this necessary sensitivity and specificity and creates an opportunity for ctDNA analysis to complement CTCanalysis, or potentially to serve as the platform for stand-alone assays.Given the incidence of cancer in the United States, with an estimated 1,260,000 new cases in 2016 for the major solid tumors targeted by our planned futureassay products, the markets for our current and planned future cancer diagnostic assays are very large. Furthermore, these market opportunities are evengreater due to the benefits of CTC and ctDNA testing, including not only the ability to offer physicians a simple way to augment an initial tumor biopsyanalysis but also to provide a means for relatively frequent monitoring of the tumor’s molecular status, utilizing a standard blood sample as a “liquid biopsy.”The latter application enables the physician to determine if or how a tumor is changing over time or is responding to therapy and what the next treatmentshould be. For example, in the United States, the incidence of new cases of breast cancer alone is estimated to be over 232,000 in 2016, and the prevalence ofthis disease is over 2.8 million (the number of women with a history of breast cancer in the United States, including women being treated and women whohave finished treatment), with an estimated 330,000 lumpectomies performed annually in the United States. Of these lumpectomies, 20% need to be repeatedbecause on pathological examination it is shown the procedure did not result in “clean margins,” thus suggesting the6entire tumor was not removed, according to a Johns Hopkins report. If a CTC assay were performed at the time of initial diagnosis, at the time of surgery, or inlieu of, or as an adjunct to, a PET/CT scan (as a CTC assay has the potential to identify a single tumor cell in a blood sample, while a scan requires a tumormass of millions of cells to be detectable), to monitor disease progression or test for recurrence, thousands of assays, in breast cancer alone, could beperformed per year with still relatively low market penetration.Use of CTC- and ctDNA-Derived Biomarker Data in Cancer TreatmentCTCs and ctDNA are derived from, and are understood to be representative of, a solid tumor and its metastases and can be analyzed as adjuncts to or in placeof the tumor, especially when a recent tumor biopsy is not available. This is also referred to as a liquid biopsy. In theory, almost any analysis that can beperformed on tumor tissue can also be performed on CTCs, while ctDNA, because it is only nucleic acid, is more limited. We have focused our analysis ofCTCs and ctDNA on known biomarkers associated with specific therapies to support treatment decisions and therapy selection made by physicians. Thebiomarkers we analyze consist of proteins or protein modifications that can be identified by immunocytochemical means, cytogenetic or chromosomalaberrations, which are detected by FISH. Gene mutations in CTCs or ctDNA are detected by molecular diagnostic assays, including Target-Selectortechniques and gene sequencing. Specific examples include (i) for ICC, the detection of the estrogen receptor protein in breast cancer, indicative of the likelyresponsiveness to hormonal therapies like tamoxifen, often sold under the trade name Nolvadex®, (ii) for FISH, the presence of an amplified HER2 gene inbreast cancer, indicative of the likely responsiveness to HER2-targeted agents like trastuzumab, often sold under the trade name Herceptin®, and (iii) formutation detection, the presence of an EGFR activating mutation in NSCLC like L858R, indicative of the likely responsiveness to EGFR-targeted agents likeTarceva®. All of these biomarkers are currently tested on tumor tissue and can be tested on CTCs, and in the latter case on ctDNA. The resulting informationcould then be used to guide patient care, and specifically treatment selection.To date, these types of molecular and genetic detection methods have been successfully utilized to provide predictive information for several cancersincluding breast, colon, NSCLC, melanoma and others in the form of companion diagnostics, typically performed on tumor tissue. CTC and ctDNA assays,which analyze the same biomarkers in a more convenient standard blood sample test that also permits periodic monitoring, could be used in the same way.Our Business StrategyWe provide medical oncologists, surgical oncologists, pulmonologists, pathologists and other physicians with a straightforward means to profile andcharacterize their patients’ tumors on a real-time basis by analyzing CTCs and ctDNA found in standard blood draws. Biomarkers are currently detected andanalyzed primarily in tissue biopsy specimens. We believe that our technology, which not only provides information on CTC enumeration but also theassessment of treatment-associated biomarkers identified within the CTCs or in ctDNA, will provide information to physicians that improves patienttreatment and management and will become a key component of the standard of care for personalized cancer treatment.Our approach is to develop and commercialize CTC and ctDNA assays and services that enable us to offer standard blood sample based, real-time testingsolutions for a range of solid tumor types to oncologists that improve patient treatment with better prognostic and predictive tools. To achieve this, we intendto:•Develop and commercialize a portfolio of proprietary CTC and ctDNA assays and services, to enable physicians to develop personalized treatmentplans. We intend to continue the development of additional prognostic and predictive assays and services to provide information that is essential topersonalized cancer treatment. By including predictive information on biomarkers associated with specific therapies in our analysis in addition toCTC enumeration, our assays are designed to provide a more complete profile of a patient’s disease than existing CTC tests. The biomarkerinformation will assist physicians in selecting appropriate therapies for individual patients. Our ctDNA assays are expected to offer enhancedsensitivity and specificity based on the Target-Selector technology, enabling earlier detection of therapy-associated mutation targets or resistancemarkers, again supporting treatment decisions. We have launched our Target-Selector offering in a number of key indications such as breast cancer,lung cancer, gastric cancer, colorectal cancer, prostate cancer, and melanoma, which are performed in our CLIA-accredited testing facility. We plan toperform the necessary validation studies to allow us to commercialize these assays through our clinical laboratory.•Scale our internal sales and marketing capabilities. Our direct sales force with specialized experience in cancer diagnostic testing focuses on keyidentified territories in order to provide geographic coverage throughout the United7States. At December 31, 2017, we had 14 sales representatives, and depending on our assay volume, we expect to increase this group to 20-25 withintwo years and potentially 30-35 within five years. This team will educate physicians directly on the benefits of our assays and the clinical datasupporting them, as well as provide support to and serve as technical specialists for our partners. In addition to our internal efforts, we are activelyseeking commercial partnerships that can increase our market reach.•Develop and expand our collaborations with leading university hospitals and research centers. We collaborate with key thought leaders, physiciansand clinical researchers, including those at Sarah Cannon Research Institute, University of Colorado, the University of California, San Diego, theUniversity of Minnesota, the John Wayne Cancer Institute, Columbia University, Johns Hopkins Medical Institute, Vanderbilt University, Universityof Texas Southwestern Medical Center, St. Josephs of Orange, St. Luke’s Cancer Center, and Georgetown University. Our collaborations enable us totest new technologies, validate the effectiveness and utility of our planned future assays in a clinical setting and provide us access to clinically well-characterized and highly annotated patient data. These samples and data accelerate our validation process and facilitate the testing and refinement ofour planned new assays.•Enhance our efforts in reaching and educating medical oncologists, surgical oncologists, pulmonologists, pathologists and other physicians aboutCTC and ctDNA assays. According to the State of Cancer Care in America 2014 Report, published in the Journal of Oncology Practice in March 2014,there were approximately 13,400 medical oncologists in the United States or 16,500 if gynecologic and pediatric oncologists are included. With thesupport of our key thought leader collaborators, we intend to focus on medical oncologists, surgical oncologists, pulmonologists, pathologists andother physicians who treat cancer patients by targeting our sales and marketing efforts on this important customer segment. We believe this willexpand and optimize the oncology testing services and personalization of cancer treatment provided by medical oncologists, surgical oncologists,pulmonologists, pathologists and other physicians so that they can better serve their cancer patients.•Increase our efforts to provide biopharmaceutical companies and clinical research organizations with our current and planned CTC and ctDNA assaysand services. Oncology drugs have the potential to be among the most personalized of therapeutics, yet oncology drugs have one of the worstapproval rates, at 13.4% for leading indications and 8.2% for secondary indications of cancer drug compounds from first administration in humans toapproval (2013, Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics). In an effort to improve the outcome of clinical trials for oncology drugs, and more rapidlyadvance targeted therapeutics, pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical companies are increasingly looking to companies that have cancer diagnosticassays that specifically address their needs, including the ability to characterize and monitor a patient’s tumor over time using CTC and ctDNA assaysto analyze biomarkers of interest. There are over 5,000 active trials in the United States in breast, lung, colorectal, prostate and gastric cancers andmelanoma according to clinicaltrials.gov. We expect to increase our sales and marketing focus in this business as well as seek additionalcollaborations and partnerships with diagnostic, pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical companies.•Become an enabling technology to cancer targeted therapies. Biopharmaceutical companies will increasingly focus on the personalized cancerdiagnostic sector as the potential and prevalence of molecularly targeted oncology therapies approved by the FDA along with companion diagnosticsincreases. As targeted therapies move into their next phase, the market is beginning to see next generation of drugs such as Astra Zeneca’s Tagrisso(Osimertinib) that work after a patient on targeted therapy begin to progress and show a resistance mechanism that is identifiable / targetable, in thiscase a mutation in EGFR known as T790M. With these drugs, the original biopsy tissue would not show the resistance mechanism, so the patient musteither undergo a re-biopsy procedure. In many cases re-biopsy is not medically feasible and liquid biopsy offers a more cost effective and saferalternative in this application. Another area of interest for the pharmaceutical industry is in immuno-oncology. This is the challenge of helping thebody to counter the cancer cell’s ability to evade the immune system. Several protein-based tests are being developed in tissue to work ascomplimentary or companion diagnostics to these new and promising drugs, but the use of these tests will be limited as a result of limitations of tissuebiopsies. Another solution would be to test for these proteins with a liquid biopsy-based CTC test rather than relying on tissue biopsies.•Conduct additional clinical studies with our current CTC and ctDNA assays and assays we plan to introduce in various cancer types. Clinical utilityand validation studies for our planned ctDNA assays may rely on archived plasma or blood samples from clinical trials in which patient outcomes arealready available, in a retrospective-prospective design that significantly shortens the length of such studies.•Continue to enhance our current and planned future CTC and ctDNA assays and reduce the costs associated with providing them through internalresearch and development and partnering with leading technology developers and8reagent suppliers. We intend to work closely with select key technology developers and suppliers to further automate the optical interpretation of ourcurrent assays and our planned additional CTC assays, including enumeration, immunocytochemical biomarker staining and FISH. We also intend toreduce the costs associated with key material components of these assays, including FISH probes. We have and currently utilize an automation systemthat significantly reduces the hands-on time of our cytogenetic technologists for microfluidic channel analysis while increasing the uniformity of thedata we generate. This system is also expected to provide the ability to evaluate multiple fluorescent signals of different wavelengths simultaneouslyfor multiplexed analysis, further enhancing efficiency.Our Competitive AdvantagesWe believe that the competitive advantages of our molecular assays, including our assays which are still under development, would include the following.Our current Target-Selector molecular assays enable, and we anticipate our planned future CTC and ctDNA assays will each enable, detailed analysis of apatient’s cancer utilizing a standard blood sample, facilitating testing at any time, including when a biopsy is not available or inconclusive, offering real-time monitoring of the cancer and the response of the cancer therapy, and allowing medical oncologists, surgical oncologists, pulmonologists, pathologistsand other physicians to select timely modifications to treatment regimens. Because CTCs and ctDNA are derived from the primary tumor or its metastases,they function as surrogates for the tumor, with the advantage of being readily accessible in a standard blood sample. This is especially important in situationswhere a biopsy is not available or advised. The simplicity of obtaining a standard blood sample permits repeat testing in a monitoring mode to detectrecurrence or progression and to offer information on treatment modifications based on a current assessment of the cancer’s properties. A key advantage tousing Biocept is our ability to interrogate both CTC and ctDNA biomarker targets.Our current Target-Selector assays each provide, and we anticipate our planned future assays will each provide, more information than competitors’existing tests, including predictive information on biomarkers associated with specific therapies. We anticipate that such additional biomarker informationwill enable a physician to develop a personalized treatment plan. By including biomarker information in our analysis, in addition to CTC enumeration, ourcurrent assays and our planned future assays are designed to provide a more complete profile of a patient’s disease than existing CTC or ctDNA. We intendfor our assays to contain actionable information to assist physicians in selecting appropriate therapies for individual patients. Our ctDNA assays are expectedto offer enhanced sensitivity and specificity based on our patented technology, enabling earlier detection of therapy-associated mutation targets or resistancemarkers, again supporting treatment decisions.Our current Target-Selector and our planned future assays are designed to capture and detect a broader range of CTCs than existing tests and to beapplicable to, or quickly modifiable for, a wide range of cancer types. Our antibody capture cocktail includes antibodies targeting not only EpCAM, thetraditional epithelial CTC capture antigen utilized in the CellSearch® system and in other platforms, but also other epithelial antigens as well asmesenchymal and cancer stem cell antigens, indicative of cells having undergone the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition. These cells may be more relevantfor metastasis. Our detection methods include cytokeratin staining with a broader range of cytokeratin isotypes than existing CTC tests, and we haveintroduced additional staining which would enable detection of cells specifically captured with our antibody cocktail, including EMT cells lackingcytokeratin. We believe that through our enhanced staining, more CTCs and different types of CTCs will be able to be identified and potentially at earlierstages of disease, resulting in fewer non-informative cases and more information for physicians.Our current and planned CTC and ctDNA Target-Selector assays will be flexible and readily configurable to accommodate new biomarkers with clinicalrelevance as they are identified. In theory, our platforms permit essentially any analysis that is currently performed on tumor tissue to be performed on CTCs,including immunocytochemical staining, FISH and molecular analysis. As new therapies are approved, and to the extent that they are targeted therapies forwhich knowledge of a particular gene amplification event, mutation or presence, absence or modification, such as phosphorylation, of a protein are indicativeof likely response or resistance to that therapy, we will be able to include them in our assays with minimal changes. This is attractive to pharmaceutical andbiotechnology companies that are developing such therapies or seeking ways to make their clinical trials more efficient, as this flexibility enables them tofocus on patients more likely to respond to a particular therapy and demonstrate a benefit from that therapy.9Collaborative relationships with physicians at Sarah Cannon Research Institute, University of Colorado, the University of California, San Diego, theUniversity of Minnesota, the John Wayne Cancer Institute, Columbia University, Johns Hopkins Medical Institute, Vanderbilt University, University of TexasSouthwestern Medical Center, St. Josephs of Orange, St. Luke’s Cancer Center, and Georgetown University. We have worked closely with a number ofphysicians at institutions on various collaborative projects in different cancer types including breast, NSCLC, prostate, colorectal, ovarian, bladder, renal andendometrial. These projects provide us access to leading researchers, clinicians and key thought leaders, access to valuable patient samples and insight intoclinical applications for our assays. Some of these projects have resulted in publications in leading journals, such as Cancer Discovery and Cancer Medicine,which enhances our standing in the oncology community and supports our marketing efforts.Our planned Target-Selector mutation assays would not be platform dependent. These assays are being designed to be able to be performed on almost anymolecular instrument, which will provide flexibility in laboratory operations. To the extent we elect to develop these assays as IVDs, including by pursuingCE marks for such assays to be marketed outside the United States, the ability to rapidly deploy them on different approved instrument platforms already inmany laboratories should greatly simplify their distribution and commercialization.Our Assays, Products and ServicesAssays, Products and ServicesWe currently offer and conduct our commercialized diagnostic assays and offer our clinical trial services at our CLIA-certified, CAP-accredited and state-licensed laboratory. We have commercialized our Target-Selector assays for a number of solid tumor indications such as: breast cancer, NSCLC, gastriccancer, colorectal cancer, prostate cancer, melanoma, pancreaticobiliary cancer, and ovarian cancer. These assays utilize our dual CTC and ctDNAtechnology platforms and provide biomarker analysis from a patient’s blood sample.Our current assays and our planned near-term cancer diagnostic assays and clinical trial services include:•CTC and ctDNA Testing. Our current assays and our other planned cancer diagnostic assays are based on our Target-Selector technologies and arecurrently intended to be performed only in our clinical laboratory. After completing testing, we or our partners provide our customers with an easy tounderstand report that describes the results of the analyses performed, which is designed to help medical oncologists, surgical oncologists,pulmonologists, pathologists and other physicians make better decisions about the treatment of their patients.•Clinical Trial Services. We plan to utilize our clinical laboratory and translational research capabilities to provide clinical trial and research servicesto pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical companies and clinical research organizations to improve the efficiency and economic viability of theirclinical trials. Our clinical trials and translational research services could leverage our knowledge of CTCs and ctDNA and our ability to develop andimplement new cytogenetic, immunocytochemical and molecular diagnostic assays. Our current assays can, and our other planned cancer diagnosticassays and biomarker assays are anticipated to be able to, help optimize clinical trial patient selection, and as a result potentially improve thelikelihood of success of the clinical trial. With positive results in a clinical trial, our assays would more easily then move into standard clinicalpractice, helping physicians select the most appropriate therapy for their patients.In the case of our breast and gastric cancer offerings, biomarker analysis involves fluorescence in situ hybridization, or FISH, for the detection andquantitation of the human epidermal growth factor receptor 2, or HER2, gene copy number as well as immunocytochemical, or ICC, analysis of estrogenreceptor, or ER, protein, progesterone receptor, or PR, protein, and androgen receptor, or AR, protein, which are currently commercially available. A patient’sHER2 status provides the physician with information about the appropriateness of therapies such as Herceptin® or Tykerb®. ER and PR status provides thephysician with information about the appropriateness of endocrine therapies such as tamoxifen and aromatase inhibitors.Our lung cancer biomarker analysis offering currently includes FISH testing for ALK, ROS1, RET, MET and FGFR1 gene rearrangements, as well as analysisfor the T790M, Deletion 19, and L858R mutations of the epidermal growth factor receptor, or EGFR gene, as well as BRAF, KRAS and NRAS. The L858Rmutation of the EGFR gene and Exon 19 deletions as activators of EGFR kinase activity are associated with the use of the drugs Tarceva®, Gilotrif® andIressa®. For lung cancer, we also offer a resistance profile assay consisting of the biomarkers MET, HER2 (both of which we perform using our technology forCTCs), KRAS, and T790M (both of which are performed using ctDNA in plasma). These assays can be used10by physicians to identify the mechanism causing disease progression for patients with NSCLC who are being treated with tyrosine kinase inhibitor, or TKI,therapy and therefore may qualify patients for inclusion in a clinical trial. In November 2015, Tagrisso® was approved by the FDA, providing anotherbiomarker-based therapy for the treatment of patients with EGFR-related lung cancer. Tagrisso® is indicated for the treatment of patients with metastaticdisease, who have progressed on or after EGFR TKI therapy, and who have acquired a T790M resistance mutation. Recently, the FDA approved thecombination of Novartis’ Tafinlar® (dabrafenib) and Mekinist® (trametinib) for the treatment of patients with metastatic NSCLC whose tumors express theBRAF V600E mutation, an FDA “breakthrough therapy” designation for patients who have received prior chemotherapy. This combination was approved inEurope for the same indication in March 2017. BRAF mutations, which appear in approximately 1-3% of NSCLC cases globally, are associated withZelboraf® and Tafinlar® treatment, as these BRAF inhibitors are both approved for the treatment of patients with melanoma.In September 2017, we launched our assay for mutations of the NRAS oncogene, which can be used to detect and monitor an actionable biomarker associatedwith multiple cancer types such as metastatic melanoma, colorectal and lung cancer. As a result, we now offer 15 CLIA-certified liquid biopsy tests utilizingour Target-Selector platform to determine the status of key cancer biomarkers listed in the National Comprehensive Cancer Network Guidelines®. Our NRASassay combines our proprietary switch blocker technology for improved mutation detection with next generation sequencing, or NGS, resulting in ultra-highsensitivity.Fibroblast growth receptor 1, or FGFR1, amplification is offered using our CTC technology. FGFR1 is present in several tumor types, including both NSCLCand small cell lung cancer, or SCLC, and has been shown to be a prognostic indicator of progression. FGFR1 is also a key target for several drugs undergoingclinical development.We analytically validated PD-L1 testing utilizing our CTC technology in 2016. PD-L1 is a biomarker that is informative for immuno-oncology therapiescurrently marketed for lung cancer and melanoma, as well as therapies in development for multiple tumor types. We collaborated with David Rimm, M.D.,Ph.D., a pathologist at Yale Medical School and a scientific advisor to us, on the analytical development of this assay.We plan to release additional blood-based biomarker assays, such as those that test for ESR1, to our current menu of liquid biopsy assays using bloodsamples. In addition, we plan to complete the development and offer multiplexed biomarker tests, which will allow the detection and quantitative monitoringof multiple biomarkers in a single assay.In August 2017, we announced that we had executed a distribution agreement for our proprietary blood collection tubes with VWR International, LLC whichcan preserve intact cells (such as CTCs) for up to 96 hours and ctDNA for up to 8 days, allowing for the intact transport of RUO liquid biopsy samples fromregions around the world.In October 2017, we launched our pathology partnership initiative, branded as Empower TC, expanding access of our proprietary liquid biopsy testing tocommunity pathologists and hospitals throughout the United States. The aim of this program is to incorporate community pathologists into the review ofbiomarkers found in liquid biopsy for patients diagnosed with cancer. Pathologists are now enabled to interpret our liquid biopsy results locally, whilepatient specimens will continue to be sent to us for processing in our CLIA-certified, CAP-accredited high complexity laboratory.We intend to continue to commercialize cancer diagnostic assays in the United States as LDTs performed in our CLIA-certified, CAP-accredited, and state-licensed laboratory. We plan to evaluate potential opportunities for the commercialization of our products in other countries. We believe the Target-Selectortechnology can someday be used as a stand-alone test for molecular biomarker screening, marked as IVD test kits. Additionally, we plan to evaluateopportunities for licensing of our products and proprietary technologies to partners in the United States and abroad.Pharmaceutical and Research Collaborations and StudiesWe continue to execute on our strategies intended to expand our business globally, as well as to engage with pharmaceutical companies on clinical trials andassay development. We have preferred provider agreements in place in Mexico with Quest Diagnostics to support testing for Astra Zeneca. In addition, wehave distribution agreements in place in Mexico, Uruguay, Turkey, the Czech Republic, the Philippines, Lebanon, Columbia, Israel and Canada.We completed a study, published in Cancer Medicine in March 2013, utilizing our assay, and a version of this assay adapted for use with bone marrowsamples, with a group at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center comprised of breast cancer surgeons, pathologists and basic researchers. In thisstudy, we demonstrated the ability to identify HER2 positive CTCs and disseminated tumor cells, or DTCs, seen in bone marrow in patients that had beenpreviously classified as11HER2 negative by analysis of their tumor tissue. A HER2 positive result in a patient with breast cancer provides an indication to the physician that there islikely to be a survival benefit from treatment with Herceptin®, which has been demonstrated in a number of large clinical studies.We were involved in a clinical study led by investigators at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute following up on the study findings, published in CancerMedicine regarding CTCs. This study has completed enrolling patients. In the screening phase of this study, we tested in our CLIA-certified, CAP accredited,and state-licensed laboratory blood samples from HER2 negative patients based on standard tumor tissue analysis, to identify those patients that have HER2positive CTCs. These patients were then assigned to chemotherapy plus Herceptin®, and followed for a period of time, with additional CTC assays, includingbiomarker analysis for HER2 using FISH, performed at subsequent time points. In December 2014, we announced findings that were presented at the SanAntonio Breast Conference that 22% of 311 patients tested, who were previously HER2 negative according to a solid tumor biopsy, were found, upon diseaseprogression, to be HER2 positive by CTC analysis, making them potential candidates for anti-HER2 therapy as the cancer evolves. Moreover, our multi-antibody CTC capture method identified a substantial subset of patients who would not likely be detected with commonly used CTC capture technologies.This added 10% (included in the 22%) to the number of women who were candidates for this highly specific targeted therapy.With our cooperation, researchers at Columbia published a study in the journal Clinical and Translational Oncology in January 2015. The studydemonstrated the high correlation (79%) of circulating tumor cells, primary tumor tissue biopsy and metastatic tumor tissue biopsy for determination ofhormone receptor status (ER/PR) in breast cancer patients. The investigators also found that this high correlation was strongest when comparing metastatictissue biopsy to CTCs (83%). The conclusion of the study was that determining ER/PR status in CTCs using our platform is feasible, with high concordancein ER/PR between tumor tissue (as determined with immunohistochemistry, or IHC) and CTCs (as determined with immunocytochemistry, or ICC). Theauthors suggest a larger trial to determine the prognostic significance of these findings.In collaboration with the University of California, San Diego, in June 2015 we presented the clinical validation data of our ctDNA assay demonstrating a veryhigh level of concordance to tissue results (88%), and with our >95% analytical sensitivity and 99% analytical specificity, that we offer a validated, robustnon-invasive solution for mutation identification and monitoring in patients with lung cancer. The FDA approval of Tagrisso®, a third-generation tyrosinekinase inhibitor, presents an opportunity for patients to be monitored using a ctDNA assay.During 2016, we announced a pharmaceutical collaboration agreement that provides testing for a clinical trial, which includes metastatic lung cancerpatients with leptomeningeal or brain metastases. In this exploratory trial, we are testing both cerebrospinal fluid and blood for molecular alterations thatcould be impacted by treatment. In April 2016, we announced a collaboration involving a study conducted with Dr. Giuseppe Giaccone at the MedStarGeorgetown University Hospital to assess resistance biomarkers in NSCLC patients treated with EGFR inhibitors or chemotherapy. Also in 2016, weannounced another collaboration involving a study presented at the European Society for Medical Oncology, or ESMO, Annual Congress in October 2016,evaluating the detection of EGFR alterations (del19, L858R and T790M) by our Target-Selector liquid biopsy. Subsequent to this study, we have earnedbusiness in both Mexico and Columbia for EGFR testing in blood to qualify patients for a pharmaceutical company’s targeted therapy. The relationship alsoresulted in a 2017 study that includes peripheral blood CTC assessment of PD-L1 protein expression in patients undergoing chemotherapy as a monotherapyor in combination with a checkpoint inhibitor. In December 2016, we announced a clinical study agreement with Columbia University Medical Center toevaluate the clinical utility of our Target-Selector platform to diagnose leptomeningeal metastases, or LM, in breast cancer patients. Dr. Kevin Kalinsky leadsthe study to test CTCs in cerebrospinal fluid and blood, where CTC analysis will be compared to standard methods for confirming LM diagnosis.In April 2017, we announced our entry into a preferred provider collaboration and services agreement with Oregon Health & Sciences University on behalf ofthe OHSU Knight Cancer Institute, or collectively OHSU. The multiphase agreement grants OHSU the rights to commercially offer our Target-Selector liquidbiopsy testing services exclusively throughout the state of Oregon. Additionally, we and OHSU plan to engage in technology transfer, whereby OHSU willhave the ability to use Target-Selector assays in-house, and act as a secondary laboratory for our research and testing activities. We and OHSU also plan to co-develop additional liquid biopsy assay technologies and platform capabilities including highly sensitive, multiplexed assay panels for molecular biomarkerdetection and assessment. Additional research and development and commercial pilot projects are anticipated under the agreement.In May 2017, we announced jointly with the Addario Lung Cancer Medical Institute, or ALCMI, entry into a clinical collaboration and initiation of theALCMI-009 liquid biopsy clinical trial. This large-scale trial was developed and will be12conducted by ALCMI with its consortium of leading U.S. and international oncology centers. The prospective, multi-center study, which plans to enroll 400patients, will utilize our Target-Selector testing platform and services to detect and assess cancer biomarkers found in both CTCs and ctDNA from the bloodof patients with lung cancer. We expect this study to commence in the first half of 2018.In May 2017, we entered into a clinical study agreement with the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. Led by recognized oncologist and ALKalteration researcher, Dr. Saad Khan, the study is designed to evaluate the clinical utility of our Target-Selector platform for patients diagnosed with ALK-positive NSCLC and treated with ALK-inhibitor therapy. A second arm of the study will evaluate patients with rare cancers such as anaplastic thyroid cancerto determine if driver mutations such as ALK rearrangements can be identified and treated with targeted therapy to improve patient outcomes.In October 2017, we entered into a promotion and marketing agreement with Miraca Life Sciences, Inc., or Miraca Life Sciences, to market our Target-Selector liquid biopsy tests and services to community-based oncologists and hematologists in specified sales territories in the United States. Based on theagreement, Miraca Life Sciences’ sales professionals will promote our liquid biopsy tests to both their existing and new clinician clients in designated salesterritories, with the potential to expand the agreement to additional territories in the future. All tests will be performed in our CLIA-certified CAP-accreditedlaboratory.In November 2017, we announced a collaboration involving 100 patients in a clinical study with the University of California, San Diego. The study entailsclinical validation of the PD-L1 antibody clones 28-8 and 22C3 on our Target-Selector CTC platform. Concordance of PD-L1 protein expression in tissuebiopsy versus liquid biopsy, as well as correlation of therapeutic response with PD-L1 liquid biopsy status, are the study objectives. Also in November 2017, we submitted a scientific abstract in collaboration with Dr. Shilpa Gupta from the Masonic Cancer Center at the University ofMinnesota. The abstract was accepted as a poster presentation for the April 2018 American Association for Cancer Research annual meeting. The resultsdemonstrate proof-of-concept use of our Target-Selector CTC platform to correlate CTC count with clinical responses in refractory testicular cancer patientsundergoing therapy. This work is part of a Phase 2 clinical trial of brentuximab vedontin (an anti-CD-30 antibody) with bevacizumab in refractory CD-30 +germ cell tumors. The capability for our Target-Selector CTC platform to monitor this rare cancer type presents the potential for a precision medicine-basedapproach to guide treatment decisions for these patients.Provider AgreementsIn January 2017, we announced that we had secured an in-network provider agreement with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas, the largest provider of healthbenefits in Texas. In addition, we entered into a national master business agreement with the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, a not-for-profit tradeassociation that provides multiple services for its 38-member Blue Cross and Blue Shield health plan companies across the U.S., including forming nationalstrategic vendor partnerships. We were selected by the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association based on a rigorous request-for-proposal progress. This agreementestablishes pricing for our Target-Selector liquid biopsy testing service through the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association’s group purchasing organization,CareSourcing Workgroup. The pricing offered by the CareSourcing Workgroup group purchasing organization is available to those Blue Cross and BlueShield member health plans that have, or may seek, in-network agreements with us.In June 2017, we entered into a participating provider agreement with MediNcrease Health Plans, LLC and a preferred provider agreement with ScrippsHealth Plan Services, Inc., both establishing pricing for our Target-Selector liquid biopsy testing service.In December 2017, we signed an agreement with Wellmark, Inc., the largest health insurer in Iowa and South Dakota. The agreement marks our third BlueCross Blue Shield contract and enables patients diagnosed with cancer the ability to access our proprietary testing services in-network under their Wellmarkhealth plan.We are currently contracted with nine preferred provider organization networks, three large health plans, and five regional independent physicianassociations, and expect to continue to gain contracts in order to be considered as an “in-network” provider with additional plans.13Laboratory TestingFrom our CLIA-certified laboratory in San Diego, California, we provide test results from our current and planned CTC and ctDNA assays to medicaloncologists, surgical oncologists, pulmonologists, pathologists and other physicians in community hospitals, cancer centers, group practices and offices. Atthe federal level, clinical laboratories, such as ours, must be certified under CLIA in order for us to perform testing on human specimens. Our laboratory is alsoaccredited by CAP, which is one of six accreditation organizations approved by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, or CMS, under CLIA. Ourclinical laboratory is located in California and we hold the requisite license from the California Department of Public Health to operate our laboratory. Inaddition, we hold licenses issued by the states of Florida, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island to test specimens from patients in those states orreceived from ordering physicians from those states. In addition, our clinical reference laboratory is required to be licensed on a product-specific basis byNew York as an out of state laboratory and our products, as LDTs, must be approved by the New York State Department of Health before they are offered inNew York. As part of this process, the State of New York requires validation of our assays. We are currently in the process of addressing the requirements forlicensure in New York, and we have obtained all required licenses and approvals in all other states requiring licensure of out-of-state laboratories.Clinical Trial ServicesIndustry research has shown many promising drugs have produced disappointing results in clinical trials. For example, a study by Princess Margaret Hospitalin Toronto estimated that over a five-year study period 85% of the new therapies for solid tumors which were tested in early clinical trials in the UnitedStates, Europe and Japan failed, and that of those that survive through to Phase III trials only a third will actually be approved. Given such a high failure rateof oncology drugs in clinical development, combined with constrained budgets for pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical companies, there is a significantneed for drug developers to utilize molecular diagnostics to help decrease these failure rates. For specific molecular-targeted therapeutics, the identificationof appropriate biomarkers may help to optimize clinical trial patient selection and success rates by helping clinicians identify patients that are most likely tobenefit from a therapy based on their individual genetic profile.In addition to testing for physicians and their patients, we offer clinical trials testing services to help increase the efficiency and economic viability ofclinical trials for pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical companies and clinical research organizations. Our clinical trial services will be aimed at developingcustomizable assays and techniques utilizing CTC and ctDNA technologies to provide sensitive, real-time characterization of an individual patient’s tumorsusing a standard blood sample. These assays may be useful as, and ultimately developed into, companion diagnostics associated with a specific therapeutic.Additionally, through our services we may gain further insights into biomarkers for disease progression and drug resistance, as well as those associated withcurrent drug development efforts, which we can incorporate into assays.Assay Development ProcessOur Target-Selector assays were, and our planned additional CTC and ctDNA assays are being, developed and validated in conjunction with leadingacademic and clinical research centers to ensure that the needs of the clinical community are being met with the latest research on key biomarkers that affectpatient care. We utilize a research and validation process to help ensure that we are providing diagnostic, prognostic and predictive information that isclinically relevant and accurate. The time-frame for this process from design through development and market launch is dependent upon, among other things,the biomarkers in question having been discovered and validated before we incorporate them in an assay, the specific clinical claims we plan to pursue, andthe availability of high-quality samples for validation. Our development protocol calls for us to monitor and review the process in four stages as detailedbelow:•Stage 1, Research. We review known, validated biomarkers, preferably associated with a specific therapeutic or other high value treatment decisionand discuss with clinical collaborators and key thought leaders to characterize the opportunity, the specific clinical setting and the product profile ofthe candidate assay.•Stage 2, Assay Development. We design the assay, which typically has two parts: efficient capture of CTCs and/or ctDNA from the targeted cancertype and development of the biomarker assays that will be included. For example, the first part may involve modification of the antibody capturecocktail and the second could include development of specific Target-Selector mutation assays or testing of FISH probes. The assay will be used onnormal control specimens and clinical samples to assure performance and the process includes defining the performance characteristics of the assay aswell as developing standard protocols for our CLIA-certified, CAP accredited, and state-licensed14laboratory, where the assay will ultimately be performed. This assessment includes such features as reproducibility, accuracy, sensitivity, andspecificity.•Stage 3, Clinical Validation. When the assay is performing as desired it is validated on clinical samples, typically in comparison to the existing goldstandard for that biomarker, which is usually tumor tissue analysis. Depending on the tumor type and specimen requirement, samples are collectedfrom patients through collaborators, or in the case of ctDNA assays, from sample banks, where clinical information on the patients, includingoutcomes, is already available.•Stage 4, Availability for Commercialization. Upon the completion of clinical validation and before launch, we take several steps to prepare an assayfor marketing as an LDT. We create standard operating procedures and quality assurance and quality control measures to ensure repeatability andhigh standards of quality. We train both our commercial and laboratory staff on the interpretation and use of the data. Licenses and approvals for ourlaboratory to perform or use LDTs have been obtained from the appropriate regulatory authorities, such as CMS, which oversees CLIA, and differentstate regulatory bodies.We currently offer 15 assays that are available for clinical use that have completed all four stages of the development protocol. Other assays for both CTCsand ctDNA are in earlier stages of development. Markers for such assays include, but are not limited to, ESR1 and a multiplexed assay.We may be required to seek FDA clearance or approval to expand the commercial use of assays to other laboratories and testing sites in the United States. Wemay also need to complete additional activities to submit each of these assays for regulatory clearance or approval before commercialization in each of theinternational markets where introduction is planned.If the FDA finalizes its current draft guidance on a risk-based framework for regulation of LDTs, our process would also need to allow for obtaining FDAreview, clearance or approval, as applicable, which would add delay, expense and risk to our current assay development process. In November 2016, the FDAput the process to review and issue this guidance on hold and has not yet provided further information as to when the process will move forward.Research and DevelopmentWe incurred research and development expenses of $2.7 million and $3.4 million for the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2017, respectively, whichrepresented 84% and 66% of our net revenues, respectively. Research and development expenses represented 13% of our total costs and expenses in each ofthe years ended December 31, 2016 and 2017. Major components of research and development expenses were direct personnel costs, laboratory equipment,consumables and overhead expenses.Technology DevelopmentIn addition to developing new CTC and ctDNA assays for different cancers to be offered through our CLIA laboratory and adapting additional predictivebiomarkers to these assays as their importance is demonstrated by the scientific and clinical research communities, we continue to focus on improving thebase technologies underlying our assays and processes. We are exploring various ways to improve CTC capture efficiency and detection, as well asapproaches to sub-categorize CTCs into different populations that may have clinical relevance. For example, by determining which antigens individualCTCs expressed that enabled their capture, we could differentiate, and enumerate, various CTC phenotypes, for example, epithelial versus mesenchymal. Weare also working to simplify the assay process, and in general to provide a broader range of useful data on a patient’s cancer to assist the physician indetermining an appropriate treatment. Some of these projects and initiatives include:•Improve Ability to Capture CTCsContinued modification and optimization of our microfluidic channel as a way to further enhance CTC capture efficiency. Capture efficiency directlyimpacts sensitivity, informative rate, and the ability to perform accurate and reliable biomarker analyses on the CTCs, all of which increase the valueof our offering. We are utilizing some of our early research experience to improve CTC capture rates and reduce background contamination fromnormal white blood cells.15•Automation of Our Assay ProcessDevelopment of automation throughout the assay process, but particularly at the visual evaluation steps, which include enumeration, any ICC forbiomarkers beyond those used to identify CTCs, for example protein biomarkers, and FISH analysis, is a way to drive efficiencies, reduce costs, speedup turnaround time, and generate more reliable, uniform, and in some cases more sensitive data. We have implemented an automation solution for thevisual analysis, which has been validated and implemented in our CLIA laboratory. We have also adapted a semi-automated system for the separation,processing and washing steps before running a sample on the microfluidic channel, which has also been validated and implemented in the CLIAlaboratory. We are currently evaluating further steps in automation, including pipetting. These measures will reduce costs and time as well as allowfor higher-throughput as sample volumes increase.•Development of Second Generation Platform for CTC TestingWe are continuing to evaluate and develop techniques for CTC capture that take advantage of our antibody enrichment cocktail and our stainingtechnology to modify our current CTC process into a simpler IVD testing kit format. In addition to reducing internal costs, such an advance wouldenable us to offer a testing kit format that can access the worldwide CTC testing market. The distribution of such kits could create a new businessopportunity for us.•Utilization of ctDNA Technology for Highly Multiplexed Mutation TestingThe ctDNA technology should enable us to multiplex mutation testing such that larger panels of genes can be analyzed in a single step and interfacedwith genetic sequencing. This should position us for the analysis at the molecular level of whole signaling pathways or enzyme cascades. We plan totake advantage of the sensitivity and specificity of the ctDNA technology and leverage interest in the clinical research community for detecting anyactionable biomarker in a particular tumor, as opposed to only those that are known to occur at relatively higher frequencies in that type of tumor.Such multiplexed mutation assays, relying on our ctDNA technology, could provide a more global evaluation of a tumor through analysis of eitherCTCs or ctDNA. This would offer a broader range of potential treatment options as well as enable the monitoring of the effectiveness of thosetreatments over time.•Development of Single Cell CTC Isolation Techniques for Molecular AnalysisTumor heterogeneity is a well-recognized problem for tissue analysis and is in part addressed by focusing on CTCs, which may provide a moreuniversal sampling of a tumor. One result of this can be a diverse population of CTCs in a sample, with different phenotypes and genotypesrepresented. We are working with a collaborator on techniques for subsequent sorting of our highly enriched CTC samples released from ourmicrofluidic channels into pools of CTCs with similar phenotypes, and ultimately to single CTCs, for molecular analysis.Translational/Clinical ResearchIn the course of our research and validation studies, we have processed and analyzed thousands of normal control and cancer patient samples. Our initialfocus has been on breast cancer, where validation studies for our CTC assay, including enumeration of CTCs on the Biocept platform compared to theCellSearch® system, and HER2 FISH performed on CTCs and compared with HER2 analysis performed on tumor tissue from the same patients, involved over120 patient samples. The results of our validation studies, and the demonstration of a reliable and reproducible method for CTC capture and analysis usingour platform were published in a paper entitled “Novel Platform for the Detection of Cytokeratin Positive (CK+) and Cytokeratin Negative (CK-) CTCs”appearing in the December 2011 issue of Cancer Discovery and a paper entitled “Efficient capture of circulating tumor cells with a novelimmunocytochemical microfluidic device” appearing in the September 2011 issue of BioMicrofluidics.Additional studies were conducted in breast and other tumor types, including lung, prostate and colorectal cancers, utilizing patient samples for comparisonto the CellSearch® system. In head-to-head studies, our system detected cytokeratin positive CTCs in comparable numbers of breast cancer patients, and inconsiderably more patients in the other cancer types (Cancer Discovery, December 2011). Moreover, the results clearly demonstrated that the use of ourantibody enrichment cocktail enabled recovery of more CTCs compared to using only anti-EpCAM antibodies. This data served as a clinical validationstudy for CTC enumeration. When our staining is applied to detect cytokeratin-negative CTCs, we expect to see far more16CTCs based on preliminary studies reported in a paper entitled “Detection of EpCAM-Negative and Cytokeratin-Negative CTCs in Peripheral Blood”appearing in the 2011 issue of the Journal of Oncology.Our system has the added advantage of post-capture immunofluorescent, cytogenetic and molecular genomic analyses of the CTCs. Cells captured byBiocept’s proprietary Target-Selector system can be analyzed directly within the microfluidic channel, removing the need to re-deposit cells on a slide andthereby minimizing cell loss or damage. Furthermore, given the transparency of the microfluidic channel, captured cells can be immediately analyzed on amicroscope. Together, these two important features allow for a very efficient process that is well suited for a LDT performed in a CLIA laboratory. The post-capture analyses directed towards evaluation of biomarkers, are particularly important and valuable to physicians and patients since they focus on actionableinformation related to therapy selection. We have performed a number of clinical research studies in collaboration with The University of Texas MDAnderson Cancer Center investigators involving various tumor types, including breast, ovarian, endometrial, lung, colorectal, bladder and prostate cancers.In a collaboration with physicians and researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, we evaluated matched samples of tumor tissue,blood for CTCs and bone marrow for DTCs in recently diagnosed breast cancer patients for evidence of HER2 amplification. Positive HER2 status wouldindicate eligibility for HER2-targeted therapies like Herceptin®, a potentially life-saving treatment. These results were presented at both the 2011 and 2012annual meetings of the American Society of Clinical Oncology. In a study published in Cancer Medicine (2013, 2(2) 226-233) involving 95 patients, HER2positive CTCs and/or DTCs were identified in 18.9% of cases in which the primary tumor was HER2 negative. In the same cohort of patients, only 12.6%were HER2 positive in their primary tumor. In other words, beyond the 12 (of the 95) which traditional tumor tissue analysis had indicated could benefit fromHerceptin-based therapy, the Target-Selector assay detected 18 (of the 95 patients) who (despite the fact they were identified as being HER2 negative byprimary-tumor testing) could benefit from Herceptin-based therapy. Patients classified as HER2 negative based on tumor tissue and found to have HER2positive CTCs and/or DTCs will continue to be followed by our collaborators at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center to assess their overalland progression-free survival. Tumor heterogeneity is one likely cause of the discordance for HER2 status between tumor tissue and our assay performed onblood and bone marrow samples. Tumor heterogeneity indicates an important clinical application for the CTC analysis with the Target-Selector assay. Ourtechnology can use a standard blood sample to confirm and crosscheck tissue analysis performed by the pathologist at the time of biopsy or surgery,especially if HER2 negative.Our Target-Selector platform is well suited towards blood-based analysis of breast cancer biomarkers. A 24-patient study published with Columbia University(Clinical and Translational Oncology, 2015, 17(7):539-46) demonstrated the feasibility of CTC testing to evaluate ER and PR status in metastatic breastcancer (mBC) patients. Results showed a concordance of 83% and 68% in ER/PR status between CTCs vs. metastatic tissue tumor, and CTCs vs. primarytissue, respectively. More recently, a December 2016 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium poster presentation featured the evaluation of 74 mBC patients.This collaborative work with the Sarah Cannon Research Institute, demonstrated detection of CTCs in 99% of mBC patient samples. In addition, ER proteinexpression concordance was 84% in cytokeratin positive cells and 18% in cytokeratin negative cells. FISH-based analysis of captured CTCs displayed tissueconcordances of 93% and 68% for HER2 gene amplification in cytokeratin positive CTCs and cytokeratin negative CTCs, respectively; FGFR1amplification concordances to tissue were 79% and 67% for cytokeratin positive CTCs and cytokeratin negative CTCs, respectively. While furtherinvestigation is needed to elucidate the significance of cytokeratin negative cells as a possible prognostic indicator to evaluate ER, HER2 and FGFR1biomarkers in mBC patients, our ability to assess cytokeratin positive and negative CTCs affords a distinct advantage over other CTC technologies that relysolely upon characterization of cytokeratin positive CTCs.We have also developed proprietary and robust technology to detect and quantify mutant ctDNA in plasma originating from the same blood sample that isused for the previously described CTC analyses. In collaboration between Mexico’s Instituto Nacional de Cancerologia and AstraZeneca, a clinicalevaluation of blood-based liquid biopsy mutational profiling using our service was performed on 60 advanced-stage non-small cell lung cancer patients. Thisposter discussion presentation at the European Society for Molecular Oncology in October 2016 demonstrated EGFR mutation detection (exon 19 deletions,L858R, and T790) by Target-Selector with 90% sensitivity, 100% specificity, 100% positive predictive value and 90.9% negative predictive value. Thesame cohort was then presented by the authors of the study at the World Lung Congress in October 2017. Target-Selector assays are highly sensitive with theability to detect EGFR mutations down to one mutant copy per milliliter of plasma. The high concordance of ctDNA versus tissue exhibited in this workhighlights Target-Selector plasma ctDNA assays as a viable and practical means to detect EGFR activating and acquired resistance mutations relevant forguiding targeted therapy decisions.17Clinical utility studies, which demonstrate the specific clinical setting in which a particular CTC or ctDNA assay is used, and how to use the informationgenerated for medical, specifically treatment-related, decision making is a key part of our strategy and research and development plan. Data resulting fromsuch studies is critical not only in the sales and marketing process, but also for reimbursement, as many health plans and government payers now ask for peer-reviewed publications describing such studies and results before agreeing to coverage of a specific assay. We are involved in and plan to become involved innumerous studies to further demonstrate the clinical utility of our assays.Sales and MarketingAt December 31, 2017, our sales organization consisted of 14 sales representatives placed in strategic locations around the country that have highconcentrations of cancer patients, and we may, depending on assay volume, potentially grow this number to 20-25 sales representatives within two years andto 30-35 within five years. We have defined sales territories and have hired sales professionals with extensive successful experience in clinical oncology salesor oncology diagnostic testing sales from leading biopharmaceutical, pharmaceutical or specialty reference laboratory companies. We plan on growing thisspecialized, oncology-focused sales force and supporting it with clinical specialists who bring significant technical knowledge in the use of CTC and ctDNAassays. We have also invested in sales headcount focusing on biopharma clinical trial opportunities.Finally, we have invested in a managed care sales and marketing expert in order to pursue favorable payment and coverage for our liquid biopsy testingservices. The key value proposition for these customers will be focused on clinical utility and cost savings by offering our assays as alternatives to expensivesurgeries when tumor biopsy tissue is insufficient or not available.Our sales and marketing efforts are and will be based on a five-part marketing strategy:•Work with oncologists, other physicians and group practices at community hospitals and cancer centers to educate them on the advantages andopportunities that CTC and ctDNA assays provide for better information, allowing them to select the most appropriate therapy for their patients, andhow and when these assays are most effectively used;•build relationships with key thought leaders in oncology, specifically in the cancer types for which we are offering or plan to offer assays, to educateand support community oncologists;•collaborate with leading research universities and institutions that enable the validation of our new assays, as well as the generation of clinical utilitydata;•partner with pharmaceutical companies for clinical trial work focusing on CTC and ctDNA testing and analysis; and•add value for the payer community by delivering clinically actionable information and providing a cost-effective alternative to access clinicallyactionable information through the use of a simple blood test.We also take advantage of customary marketing channels commonly used by the diagnostic and pharmaceutical industries, such as medical meetings, broad-based publication of our scientific and clinical data, and the Internet. In addition, we provide easy-to-access information to our customers through ourwebsite and a data portal for physicians who wish to access test results electronically. Our customers value secure and easily accessible information in orderto quickly review their patients’ information and begin developing a treatment protocol.Outside the United StatesOutside the United States, where a central laboratory business model is less developed, we will evaluate opportunities with our existing and other partners forthe conversion and/or development of our current and planned CTC and ctDNA assays into test systems or IVDs, and related strategies to develop and servesuch regional oncology markets. We also plan to sell our clinical trial services to biopharmaceutical companies and research organizations outside the UnitedStates.We plan to cooperate with partners on accessing markets internationally. We plan for this to be accomplished either through partnerships with local groupsand distributors or the development of IVD test kits and/or test systems, including instrumentation.18CompetitionAs a cancer diagnostics company focused on current and planned assays for CTCs and ctDNA from standard blood samples, we rely extensively on our abilityto combine novel technology and biomarker information with high-quality, state-of-the art clinical laboratory testing. We believe that we competeprincipally on the basis of:•Our ability to utilize standard blood samples, enabling frequent testing of patients through the course of their disease in addition to, or without abiopsy, thereby reducing cost and trauma, saving time, and providing real-time information on the current status of the tumor;•our ability to include biomarker information in our analysis, in addition to CTC enumeration, thereby providing a more complete profile of apatient’s disease than existing CTC tests. This clinically actionable information can assist physicians in selecting more personalized treatment plansfor individual patients;•our current and planned future CTC assays’ ability to capture and detect a broader range of CTC phenotypes than existing tests, and potentially atearlier stages of disease, resulting in fewer non-informative cases and more information for physicians. For example, our antibody capture cocktailtargets not only EpCAM but also other epithelial antigens as well as mesenchymal and cancer stem cell antigens, indicative of cells havingundergone the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition. These cells may be more relevant for metastasis;•our ability to rapidly integrate new biomarkers, either validated in academic laboratories or of interest to pharmaceutical and biopharmaceuticalcompanies in the context of their new therapies, into our current and planned future assays, facilitating the expansion of actionable information formedical oncologists, surgical oncologists, pulmonologists, pathologists and other physicians;•our research and clinical collaborations with key academic and clinical study groups, which enhance our research and development resources and, byenhancing our standing in the oncology community, support our marketing efforts; and•our current and planned ctDNA assays based on our patented technology, which currently offer and are expected to continue to offer enhancedsensitivity and specificity in detecting mutation targets or resistance markers, again supporting treatment decisions.We believe that we compete favorably with respect to these factors, although we cannot assure you that we will be able to continue to do so in the future orthat new products or assays that perform better than our current and planned future assays and services will not be introduced. We believe that our continuedsuccess depends on our ability to:•Expand and enhance our current and planned Target-Selector assays to provide clinically meaningful information in additional cancers;•work with clinicians to design and implement clinical studies that demonstrate the clinical utility of our products;•continue to innovate and maintain scientifically advanced technology including development, regulatory approvals, and commercialization ofTarget-Selector IVD test kits;•successfully market and sell assays;•continue to comply with regulatory guidelines and obtain appropriate regulatory approvals in the United States and abroad as applicable;•continue to validate our pipeline of assays;•conduct or collaborate with clinical utility studies to demonstrate the application and medical value of our assays;•continue to seek to obtain positive coverage and reimbursement decisions from Medicare and private third-party payers;•continue to enter into sales and marketing partnerships;•maintain existing and enter into new research and clinical collaborations with key academic and clinical study groups;•continue to attract and retain skilled scientific, clinical, laboratory, and marketing personnel;•continue to participate in and gain clinical trial work through biopharma partnerships;•receive payment for the testing we provide for patients;19•obtain patents or other protection for our technologies, assays and services; and•obtain and maintain our clinical reference laboratory accreditations and licenses.Our principal competition comes from mainstream diagnostic methods, used by medical oncologists, surgical oncologists, pulmonologists, pathologists andother physicians for many years, which focus on tumor tissue analysis. The methods or behavior of medical oncologists, surgical oncologists,pulmonologists, pathologists and other physicians may be difficult to change regarding the use of our CTC and ctDNA testing, including moleculardiagnostic testing, in their practices in conjunction with or instead of tissue biopsies and analysis. In addition, companies offering capital equipment and kitsor reagents to local pathology laboratories represent another source of potential competition. These kits are used directly by the pathologist, which canfacilitate adoption. Historically, we have focused our marketing and sales efforts on medical oncologists rather than pathologists, although commencing inOctober 2017, our Empower TC offering provides the unique ability for pathologists to participate in the interpretation of liquid biopsy results and isavailable to pathology practices and hospital systems throughout the United States.We also face competition from companies that offer products or are conducting research to develop products for CTC or ctDNA testing in various cancers.CTC and ctDNA testing is a new area of science and we cannot predict what assays others will develop that may compete with or provide results similar orsuperior to the results we are able to achieve with the assays we develop. Competitors include but are not limited to companies such as Atossa, Agena,Qiagen, Roche, Guardant Health, Menarini Silicon Biosystems (now owns Janssen Diagnostics), Alere (Adnagen), Illumina, Apocell, EPIC Sciences,Clearbridge Biomedics, Biodesix, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Foundation Medicine, Neogenomics, Cynvenio Biosystems, Genomic Health, FluxionBiosciences, RareCells, ScreenCell, and Sysmex. Some of these groups, in addition to operating research and development laboratories, are establishingCLIA-certified testing laboratories while others are focused on selling equipment and reagents.There are a number of companies which are focused on the oncology diagnostic market, such as Cancer Genetics, Caris, Neogenomics, Agendia andGenoptix, who while not currently offering CTC or ctDNA assays are selling to the medical oncologists and pathologists and could develop or offer CTC orctDNA assays. Large laboratory services companies such as Quest and LabCorp provide more generalized cancer diagnostic testing but could also offer aCTC or ctDNA testing services. Companies like Abbott, Danaher, Qiagen, Thermo Fisher Scientific and others could develop equipment or reagents in thefuture as well.Some of our present and potential competitors have widespread brand recognition and substantially greater financial and technical resources anddevelopment, production and marketing capabilities than we do. Others may develop lower-priced, less complex assays that payers, medical oncologists,surgical oncologists, pulmonologists, pathologists and other physicians could view as functionally equivalent to our current or planned future assays, whichcould force us to lower the list price of our assays and impact our operating margins and our ability to achieve and maintain profitability. In addition,technological innovations that result in the creation of enhanced diagnostic tools that are more sensitive or specific than ours may enable other clinicallaboratories, hospitals, physicians or medical providers to provide specialized diagnostic assays similar to ours in a more patient-friendly, efficient or cost-effective manner than is currently possible. If we cannot compete successfully against current or future competitors, we may be unable to increase or createmarket acceptance and sales of our current or planned future assays, which could prevent us from increasing or sustaining our revenues or achieving orsustaining profitability.We expect that biopharmaceutical companies will increasingly focus attention and resources on the personalized cancer diagnostic sector as the potentialand prevalence of molecularly targeted oncology therapies approved by the FDA along with companion diagnostics increases. For example, the FDA hasapproved three such agents—Xalkori® from Pfizer Inc. along with its companion anaplastic lymphoma kinase FISH test from Abbott Laboratories, Inc.,Zelboraf® from Daiichi-Sankyo/Genentech/Roche along with its companion B-RAF kinase V600 mutation test from Roche Molecular Systems, Inc. andTafinlar® from GlaxoSmithKline along with its companion B-RAF kinase V600 mutation test from bioMerieux. Since companion diagnostic tests are part ofFDA labeling, non-FDA cleared tests such as ours would be considered an off-label use and this may limit our access to this market segment.Additionally, projects related to cancer diagnostics and particularly genomics have received increased government funding, both in the United States andinternationally. As more information regarding cancer genomics becomes available to the public, we anticipate that more products aimed at identifyingtargeted treatment options will be developed and that these20products may compete with ours. In addition, competitors may develop their own versions of our current or planned future assays in countries where we didnot apply for patents or where our patents have not issued and compete with us in those countries, including encouraging the use of their assay by physiciansor patients in other countries.Third-Party Suppliers and ManufacturersSome of the components used in our current or planned future products are currently sourced from a supplier for which alternative suppliers exist, but we havenot validated the products of such alternative suppliers, and substitutes for these components might not be able to be obtained easily or may requiresubstantial design or manufacturing modifications. Any significant problem experienced by any one of our suppliers may result in a delay or interruption inthe supply of components to us until that supplier cures the problem or an alternative source of the component is located and qualified. Any delay orinterruption would likely lead to a delay or interruption in our manufacturing operations. The inclusion of substitute components must meet our productspecifications and could require us to qualify the new supplier with the appropriate government regulatory authorities.Patents and TechnologyThe proprietary nature of, and protection for, our products, services, processes, and know-how are important to our business. Our success depends in part onour ability to protect the proprietary nature of our products, services, technology, and know-how, to operate without infringing on the proprietary rights ofothers, and to prevent others from infringing our proprietary rights. We seek patent protection in the United States and internationally for our products,services and other technology. Our policy is to patent or in-license the technology, inventions and improvements that we consider important to thedevelopment of our business.We also rely on trade secrets, know-how, and continuing innovation to develop and maintain our competitive position. We cannot be certain that patents willbe granted with respect to any of our pending patent applications or with respect to any patent applications filed by us in the future, nor can we be sure thatany of our existing patents or any patents granted to us in the future will be commercially useful in protecting our technology.Our success depends on an intellectual property portfolio that supports our future revenue streams and erects barriers to our competitors. We are maintainingand building our patent portfolio through filing new patent applications, prosecuting existing applications, and licensing and acquiring new patents andpatent applications.Despite these measures, any of our intellectual property and proprietary rights could be challenged, invalidated, circumvented, infringed or misappropriated,or such intellectual property and proprietary rights may not be sufficient to permit us to take advantage of current market trends or otherwise to providecompetitive advantages. For more information, see the section entitled “Risk Factors – Intellectual Property Risks Related to Our Business.”As of December 31, 2017, we owned 25 issued patents and 23 patents pending related to our current technologies. Of these, 8 were issued and 5 were pendingpatents in the U.S., while 17 were issued and 18 were pending patents in non-U.S. territories. Separately, we also owned 7 issued patents related to our earliermicroarray and cell analysis technology.Microfluidic Channels. At December 31, 2017, we had 4 issued U.S. patents that are related to our current business, and in 2016 and 2017 we received anadditional issued patent on our microfluidic channel in each of China and Hong Kong, respectively, in addition to our earlier allowances in Japan, HongKong, Europe, China, and South Korea, which cover our microfluidic channel technology. Further U.S. and foreign patent application are pending.Blood Collection Tubes. In 2015, we received a U.S. patent related to our blood collection tubes, which contain reagents designed to prevent clumping ofblood cells and CTCs that could clog the microfluidic channels and disrupt our assays.Antibody Enrichment Cocktail. At December 31, 2017, we had 1 issued and 1 pending U.S. patent application, and 2 broadly issued European patents, as wellas other corresponding foreign patent applications directed to our antibody capture cocktail technology. This technology includes using antibodies to anumber of tumor-associated antigens from cancer cells of both epithelial and mesenchymal phenotype, as well as cancer stem cells.Enhanced Staining. At December 31, 2017, we had 1 issued U.S. patent, 1 issued Chinese patent, and 1 issued Japanese patent, as well as correspondingforeign patent applications directed to this technology.21Target-Selector Mutation Detection Technology. At December 31, 2017, we co-owned 1 issued and 1 pending U.S. patent, and 1 issued Australian patent,with Aegea Biotechnologies, Inc., or Aegea. Under our agreement with Aegea, we have certain exclusive rights for oncology clinical testing and diagnosticsas well as limited rights for oncology basic and clinical research. Aegea is responsible for the prosecution of 1 U.S. application, while we are responsible forthe prosecution of the second U.S. application and its corresponding foreign applications. Lyle J. Arnold, Ph.D., our Senior Vice-President of Research &Development and Chief Scientific Officer, is the controlling person of Aegea.Operations and Production FacilitiesOur research and development laboratory, our CLIA-certified, CAP accredited, and state-licensed diagnostic testing laboratory and our manufacturing facilityare located in our San Diego, California headquarters. The laboratories employ commercial state-of-the-art equipment as well as custom-made componentsspecific to our CTC process that are generated in a small in-house engineering shop. The manufacturing facility used for the production of our microfluidicchannels is a Class 10,000 suite in which polydimethylsiloxane is formed into the base of our proprietary microfluidic channels in a molding process. A glasscover slip suitable for optical analysis is added to seal the channels and make them watertight by making them reactive using plasma techniques. The insideof the microfluidic channels is subsequently chemically derivatized to enable the attachment of binding elements that strongly bind to antibody-tagged orcoated CTCs. Because the microfluidic channels have micrometer dimensions, and we are seeking individual cells in a blood sample to interact with thesurface of the microfluidic channel, dust particles and other microscopic debris that could clog the channel needs to be avoided.The process of performing our assays is straightforward. When a health care professional takes a standard blood sample from a patient for CTC or ctDNAtesting, he or she will place the blood sample in our blood collection tubes, complete a requisition form, and package the specimen in our shipping kit fordirect shipment to us. Once we receive the specimen at our laboratory and we enter all pertinent information about the specimen into our clinical laboratoryinformation system, our laboratory technologists prepare the specimen for processing and analysis. Laboratory technologists, including clinical laboratorytechnologists and clinical laboratory scientists then conduct the analysis, including enumeration of CTCs and biomarker analysis such as FISH. The data,including images and the processed cells, are sent to our in-house or contracted pathologists or a commercialization partner’s pathologists who areexperienced in the analysis and evaluation requested by the referring oncologist or pathologist.After analysis, our in-house or contracted pathologists or a commercialization partner’s pathologists use laboratory information systems to prepare acomprehensive report, which may include selected relevant images associated with the specimen. Our Internet reporting portal allows a referring oncologistor pathologist to access his or her patient’s test results in real time in a secure manner that we believe to be compliant with the Health Insurance Portabilityand Accountability Act, or HIPAA, and other applicable standards. The reports are generated in industry standard .pdf formats which allows for highdefinition color images to be reproduced clearly. We send the results to the ordering physician and bill the payer using third-party medical billing software.Quality Management ProgramWe are committed to providing reliable and accurate diagnostic testing to our customers. Accurate specimen identification, timely communication of testresults, and prompt correction of errors, is critical. We monitor and improve our performance through a variety of methods, including performanceimprovement indicators, internal proficiency testing and external quality audits conducted by CAP. All quality concerns and incidents are subject to reviewand analysis, and our procedures are designed to ensure that we are providing the best services possible to our patients and customers. Protection of patientresults from misuse and improper access is imperative and electronic and paper results are guarded via password-protection and identification cards.We have established a Quality Management Program for our laboratory designed to help ensure accurate and timely test results, to produce consistent high-quality testing services. The Quality Management Program documents the quality assurance and performance improvement plans and policies, and thelaboratory quality assurance and quality control procedures necessary to ensure that we offer the highest quality of diagnostic testing services. This programis designed to satisfy all the requirements necessary for local and state licensures and accreditation for clinical diagnostic laboratories by CAP. We follow thepolicies and procedures for patient and employee safety, hazardous waste disposal and fire codes stated in the general laboratory procedure manual. Webelieve that all pertinent regulations of CLIA, the Occupational Safety and22Health Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency and the FDA are satisfied by following the established guidelines and procedures of ourQuality Management Program.In addition to the compulsory proficiency programs and external inspections required by CMS and other regulatory agencies, we have developed a variety ofinternal systems and procedures to emphasize, monitor and continuously improve the quality of our operations. We maintain internal quality controls byroutinely processing specimens with known diagnoses in parallel with patient specimens. We also have an internally administered proficiency program forspecimen testing.The CAP accreditation program involves unannounced on-site inspections of our laboratories. CAP is an independent, non-governmental organization ofboard-certified pathologists that accredits laboratories nationwide on a voluntary basis and that has been recognized by CMS as an accreditationorganization to inspect laboratories to determine adherence to the CLIA standards.Third-Party Payer ReimbursementRevenues from our clinical laboratory testing are derived from several different sources. Depending on the billing arrangement, instructions of the orderingphysician and applicable law, parties that reimburse us for our services include:•Third-party payers that provide coverage to the patient, such as an insurance company, a managed care organization or a governmental payerprogram;•physicians or other authorized parties, such as hospitals or independent laboratories, that order the testing service or otherwise refer the services to us;•patients in cases where the patient has no insurance, has insurance that partially covers the testing, or owes a co-payment, co-insurance or deductibleamount;•collaboration partners; or•biopharmaceutical companies, universities or researchers for clinical trial work.We are reimbursed for two categories of testing, anatomic pathology, which includes cell staining and the enumeration component of CTC assays, FISH, ICCand immunofluorescence, and molecular pathology, which includes mutation analysis. Reimbursement under the Medicare program for the diagnosticservices that we offer is based on either the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule or the Medicare Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule, each of which is subject togeographic adjustments and is updated annually. Medical services provided to Medicare beneficiaries that require a degree of physician supervision,judgment or other physician involvement, such as pathology services, are generally reimbursed under the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule, whereas clinicaldiagnostic laboratory tests are generally reimbursed under the Medicare Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule. Some of the services that we provide are geneticand molecular testing, which are reimbursed as clinical diagnostic laboratory tests.Regardless of the applicable fee schedule, Medicare payment amounts are established for each CPT code. In addition, under the Clinical Laboratory FeeSchedule, Medicare also sets a cap on the amount that it will pay for any individual assay. This cap, usually referred to as the National Limitation Amount, isset at a percentage of the median of all the contractor fee schedule amounts for each billing code.Medicare also has policies that may limit when we can bill directly for our services and when we must instead bill another provider, such as a hospital. Whenthe testing that we perform is done on a specimen that was collected while the patient was in the hospital, as either an inpatient or outpatient, we may berequired to bill the hospital for clinical laboratory services and for the technical component of pathology services. Which party is to be billed dependsprimarily on whether the service was ordered at least 14 days after the patient’s discharge from the hospital. Complying with these requirements is complexand time-consuming and may affect our ability to collect for our services. In addition, hospitals may refuse to pay our invoices or may demand pricing thatnegatively affects our profit margin.Medicare requires a beneficiary to pay a 20% co-insurance amount for services billed under the Physician Fee Schedule. Medicare covers the remaining 80%.There is currently no patient co-payment or co-insurance amount applicable to testing billed under the Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule. Patients often havesupplemental insurance policies that cover the co-insurance amount for physician services.23Medicare has coverage policies that can be national or regional in scope. Coverage means that assay is approved as a benefit for Medicare beneficiaries. Ifthere is no coverage, neither the supplier nor any other party, such as a reference laboratory, may receive reimbursement from Medicare for the service. Thereis currently no national coverage policy regarding the CTC enumeration portion of our testing. Because our laboratory is in California, the regional MedicareAdministrative Contractor, or MAC, for California is the relevant MAC for all our testing. The previous MAC for California, Palmetto GBA, LLC, orPalmetto, which is contracted with CMS to administer the MolDx program that sets guidelines for coding, coverage and reimbursement of moleculardiagnostic assays, adopted a negative coverage policy for CTC enumeration. The current MAC for California, Noridian Healthcare Solutions, LLC, isadopting the coverage policies from Palmetto. Therefore, the enumeration portion of our testing is not currently covered, and we will receive no paymentfrom Medicare for this portion of the service unless and until the coverage policy is changed. Although approximately 82% and 76% of all billable casesreceived during the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2017, respectively, relate to our Target-Selector biomarker assays, we continue to receive orders forour traditional enumeration testing, which counts disease burden, and therefore the enumeration testing receives no payment from Medicare based upon theexisting coverage decision. The CTC enumeration counts disease burden and is a prognostic test, and although oncologists find the information valuable, itdoes not currently meet many of the medical necessity requirements of Medicare and the payers. We intend to pursue payment for the capture portion of ourCTC technology that allows us to run our diagnostic testing for some of our Target-Selector assays.Reimbursement rates paid by private third-party payers can vary based on whether we are considered to be an “in-network” provider, a participating provider,a covered provider, an “out-of-network” provider or a non-participating provider. These definitions can vary among payers, but we are generally consideredan “out-of-network” or non-participating provider by the vast majority of private third-party payers. An in-network provider usually has a contract with thepayer or benefits provider. This contract governs, among other things, service-level agreements and reimbursement rates. In certain instances, an insurancecompany may negotiate an in-network rate for our testing. An in-network provider may have rates that are lower per assay than those that are out-of-network,and that rate can vary widely. The rate varies based on the payer, the testing type and often the specifics of the patient’s insurance plan. If a laboratory agreesto contract as an in-network provider, it generally expects to receive quicker payment and access to additional covered patients.Billing and Billing Codes for Third-Party Payer ReimbursementCPT codes are the main billing code set used by physicians, hospitals, laboratories and other health care professionals to report separately-payable clinicallaboratory and pathology services for reimbursement purposes. The CPT coding system is maintained and updated on an annual basis by the AmericanMedical Association. We believe there are existing codes that describe nearly all of the steps in our testing process. We currently use a combination of codesto bill for our testing and analysis.In order to ensure our coding is compliant, we have engaged industry experts to provide guidance on the proper coding of our assays. These experts includeconsultants at Senergene Solutions, LLC, Codemap, LLC and ADVI Health, LLC. However, coding can be complex, and payers may require differing codesfor a given assay to effect payment. Changes in coding and reimbursement could adversely impact our revenues going forward, or payers could request thatwe reimburse them for payments we have already received. There can be no guarantees that Medicare and other payers will establish new positive or adequatecoverage policies or reimbursement rates, or not change existing positive coverage policies, in the future.We are moving forward with plans to obtain reimbursement coverage for the capture components of our assays. For other tests, we are able to utilize existingCPT codes from the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule and Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule. For these established CPT codes (for example, the codes formolecular testing, FISH and ICC), positive coverage determinations have been adopted as part of national Medicare policy or under applicable LocalCoverage Determinations. Specific codes for our assays, however, do not assure an adequate coverage policy or reimbursement rate. Please see the sectionentitled “Legislative and Regulatory Changes Impacting Clinical Laboratory Tests” for further discussion of certain legislative and regulatory changes tothese billing codes and the anticipated impact on our business.Coverage and Reimbursement for our Current Assays and our Planned Future AssaysOur Medicare Administrative Contractor has issued a negative coverage determination for the enumeration component of all CTC assays. We have receivedreimbursement for the enumeration component of our assays from some private payers, including major private third-party payers, based on submission ofstandard CPT codes. FISH, ICC and Molecular Testing24CPT codes are the subject of positive coverage national or local Medicare determinations. We believe these codes can be used to bill for the analysiscomponents of our current and planned future CTC assays, however, CMS, Palmetto or Noridian could adopt specific negative coverage policies for CTCs orctDNA analysis in the future.We expect these analysis components to have a significantly greater reimbursement value than the enumeration components of our current and anticipatedCTC assays, based on a comparison of what we believe CellSearch® enumeration reimbursement rates currently are, versus existing reimbursement rates foranalysis components such as FISH and ICC analysis and molecular testing.Additionally, on March 16, 2018 CMS issued a final determination decision memo for NGS for Medicare Beneficiaries with Advanced Cancer (CAG-00450N). Under this final determination, NGS tests that gain FDA approval or clearance as a companion diagnostic will receive coverage, and the finaldetermination of coverage for NGS tests that are LDTs will be left up to the local MAC. Currently, only 1 of our 15 CLIA validated assays is NGS-based;however, we plan to offer additional NGS assays in the future. To gain coverage for those assays, we will need to apply to Palmetto, which is the MAC thatevaluates and recommends payment coverage or denial for molecular testing in our jurisdiction. Historically, Palmetto has offered a path to reimbursement byproviding coverage while data is being gathered known as Coverage with Data Development, or CDD. Going forward, the extent to which CDD will becontinued, if at all, or to the extent that a process will be available in its place, if any, are unclear. We believe, based on research showing that approximately 54% of new cancers occur in persons age 65 and older and that almost all Americans age 65 andolder are enrolled in Medicare that a substantial portion of the patients for whom we would expect to perform cancer diagnostic assays will have Medicare astheir primary medical insurance. We cannot assure you that, even if our current and our planned future assays are otherwise successful, reimbursement for thecurrently Medicare-covered portions of our current and our planned future assays would, without Medicare reimbursement for the enumeration portion,produce sufficient revenues to enable us to reach profitability and achieve our other commercial objectives.Where there is a private or governmental third-party payer coverage policy in place, we bill the payer and the patient in accordance with the establishedpolicy. Where there is no coverage policy in place, we pursue reimbursement on a case-by-case basis. Our efforts in obtaining reimbursement based onindividual claims, including pursuing appeals or reconsiderations of claims denials, could take a substantial amount of time, and bills may not be paid formany months, if at all. Furthermore, if a third-party payer denies coverage after final appeal, payment may not be received at all. We are working to decreaserisks of nonpayment by implementing a revenue cycle management system.We cannot predict whether, or under what circumstances, payers will reimburse for all components of our assays. Payment amounts can also vary acrossindividual policies. Full or partial denial of coverage by payers, or reimbursement at inadequate levels, would have a material adverse impact on our businessand on market acceptance of our assays.Legislative and Regulatory Changes Impacting Clinical Laboratory TestsFrom time to time, Congress has revised the Medicare statute and the formulas it establishes for both the Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule, or CLFS, and thePhysician Fee Schedule, or PFS. Annually, CMS releases the payment amounts under the Medicare fee schedules. The rates are important because they notonly determine our reimbursement under Medicare, but those payment amounts are also often used as a basis for payment amounts set by other governmentaland private third-party payers. For example, state Medicaid programs are prohibited from paying more than the Medicare fee schedule limit for clinicallaboratory services furnished to Medicaid recipients.In accordance with Section 1833 (h)(2)(A)(i) of the Social Security Act, the annual update to the CLFS for calendar year 2018 is 1.10% (see 42CFR405.509(b)(1)). With respect to our diagnostic services for which we expect to be reimbursed under PFS, CMS issues a Final Rule on an annual basis.Since 2015, the PFS Final Rules have included both increases and decreases in certain relative value units and geographic adjustment factors used todetermine reimbursement for a number of codes used in our current assays and our planned future assays. These codes describe services that we must performin connection with our assays and we bill for these codes in connection with the services that we provide.In addition, other legislative changes have been proposed and adopted since the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, or ACA, was enacted in March2010. The Protecting Access to Medicare Act of 2014, or PAMA, was signed to law, which, among other things, significantly alters the current paymentmethodology under the CLFS. Under the new law, issued in252016 and the reporting period beginning in 2017 and every three years thereafter (or annually in the case of advanced diagnostic lab tests), clinicallaboratories must report laboratory test payment data for each Medicare-covered clinical diagnostic lab test that it furnishes during a time period. Thereported data must include the payment rate (reflecting all discounts, rebates, coupons and other price concessions) and the volume of each test that was paidby each private payer (including health insurance issuers, group health plans, Medicare Advantage plans and Medicaid managed care organizations).Beginning in 2018, the Medicare payment rate for each clinical diagnostic lab test is equal to the weighted median amount for the test from the most recentdata collection period. The payment rate will apply to laboratory tests furnished by a hospital laboratory if the test is separately paid under the hospitaloutpatient prospective payment system. The PAMA rate changes to our tests that were impacted did not materially affect our payments beginning in 2018;however, we cannot predict how this may change future payment in coming years. Also, under PAMA, CMS is required to adopt temporary billing codes toidentify new tests and new advanced diagnostic laboratory tests that have been cleared or approved by the FDA. For an existing test that is cleared orapproved by the FDA and for which Medicare payment is made as of April 1, 2014, CMS is required to assign a unique billing code if one has not alreadybeen assigned by the agency. In addition to assigning the code, CMS was required to publicly report payment for the tests no later than January 1, 2016.Further, under PAMA, CMS is required to adopt temporary billing codes to identify new tests and new advanced diagnostic laboratory tests that have beencleared or approved by the FDA. We cannot determine at this time the full impact of PAMA on our business, financial condition and results of operations.Further, with respect to the Medicare program, Congress has proposed on several occasions to impose a 20% coinsurance charge on patients for clinicallaboratory tests reimbursed under the Medicare Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule, which would require us to bill patients for these amounts. Because of therelatively low reimbursement for many clinical laboratory tests, in the event that Congress were to ever enact such legislation, the cost of billing andcollecting for these services would often exceed the amount actually received from the patient and effectively increase our costs of billing and collecting.Some of our Medicare claims may be subject to policies issued by Palmetto and Noridian Healthcare Solutions, our former and current MACs for California,respectively. Palmetto is contracted with CMS to administer the MolDx program, which sets guidelines for coding, coverage and reimbursement of moleculardiagnostic assays. Palmetto has issued a Local Coverage Determination, whereby Palmetto will not cover many molecular diagnostic assays, such as theenumeration component of our current assays, unless the test is expressly included in a National Coverage Determination issued by CMS or a Local CoverageDetermination or coverage article issued by Palmetto. Currently, laboratories may submit coverage determination requests to Palmetto for consideration andapply for a unique billing code for each assay (which is a separate process from the coverage determination). In the event that a non-coverage determinationis issued, the laboratory must wait six months following the determination to submit a new request. Palmetto currently has a negative coverage determinationfor the enumeration component of CTC assays, but there is no such negative coverage determination for the analysis component of such CTC assays. Denial(or continuation of denial) of coverage for the enumeration component of our current and anticipated CTC assays by Palmetto or its successor MAC, NoridianHealthcare Solutions, which adopts coverage policies set by the MolDx program, or reimbursement at inadequate levels, would have a material adverseimpact on our business and on market acceptance of our current assays and our planned future assays. Noridian Healthcare Solutions intends to follow, forCTC assays, the positive or negative coverage determinations which from time to time Palmetto makes as well as any coverage policy changes set by theMolDx program. On November 27, 2013, Palmetto denied our request for coverage for the enumeration/detection portion of our testing. We have notreceived any other indications to suggest that the negative coverage determination will be reversed. The CTC enumeration counts disease burden and is aprognostic test, and although oncologists find this information valuable, it does not meet many of the medical necessity requirements of Medicare and thepayers. We intend to pursue payment for the capture portion of our CTC technology that allows us to run our diagnostic testing for some of our Target-Selector assays.Additionally, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CMS and the Office of Civil Rights issued a final rule in February 2014 to amend both theHIPAA and CLIA regulations. The final rule amended the HIPAA privacy rule to remove the CLIA laboratory exceptions, and as a result, HIPAA-coveredlaboratories are now required to provide individuals, upon request, with access to their completed test reports. Similarly, the final rule amended CLIA to statethat CLIA laboratories and CLIA-exempt laboratories may provide copies of the patient’s completed rest reports that, using the laboratory’s authenticationprocess, can be identified as belonging to that patient.26Governmental RegulationsClinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments of 1988 and State RegulationAs a provider of laboratory testing on human specimens for the purpose of diagnosis, prevention, or treatment, we are required to hold certain federal, stateand local licenses, certifications and permits to conduct our business. In 1988, Congress enacted CLIA, which established quality standards for alllaboratories providing testing to ensure the accuracy, reliability and timeliness of patient test results regardless of where the test was performed. Ourlaboratory holds a CLIA certificate of accreditation. As to state laws, we are required to meet certain laboratory licensing and other requirements. Ourlaboratory holds the required licenses from the applicable state agencies in which we operate. For more information on state licensing requirements, see thesections entitled see the section entitled “Governmental Regulations—California State Laboratory Licensing” and “Governmental Regulations—OtherStates’ Laboratory Licensing.”Under CLIA, a laboratory is defined as any facility which performs laboratory testing on specimens derived from humans for the purpose of providinginformation for the diagnosis, prevention or treatment of disease, or the impairment of, or assessment of health of human beings. CLIA also requires that wehold a certificate applicable to the complexity of the categories of testing we perform and that we comply with certain standards. CLIA further regulatesvirtually all clinical laboratories by requiring they comply with various operational, personnel, facilities administration, quality and proficiency testingrequirements intended to ensure that their clinical laboratory testing services are accurate, reliable and timely. CLIA certification is also a prerequisite to beeligible to be reimbursed for services provided to state and federal health care program beneficiaries. CLIA is user-fee funded. Therefore, all costs ofadministering the program must be covered by the regulated facilities, including certification and survey costs.We are subject to survey and inspection every two years to assess compliance with program standards and may be subject to additional unannouncedinspections. Laboratories performing high complexity testing are required to meet more stringent requirements than laboratories performing less complextests. In addition, a laboratory like ours that is certified as “high complexity” under CLIA may obtain analyte-specific reagents, which are used to developLDTs.In addition to CLIA requirements, we must comply with the standards set by CAP, which accredits our laboratory. Under CMS requirements, accreditation byCAP is sufficient to satisfy the requirements of CLIA. Therefore, because we are accredited by CAP, we are deemed to also comply with CLIA. CLIA alsoprovides that a state may adopt laboratory regulations that are more stringent than those under federal law, and certain states have implemented their ownmore stringent laboratory regulatory schemes.Federal, State and Foreign Fraud and Abuse LawsA variety of federal and state laws prohibit fraud and abuse. These laws are interpreted broadly and enforced aggressively by various state and federalagencies, including CMS, the Department of Justice, the Office of Inspector General for Health and Human Services, or HHS, and various state agencies. Inaddition, the Medicare and Medicaid programs increasingly use a variety of contractors to review claims data and to identify improper payments as well asfraud and abuse. These contractors include Recovery Audit Contractors, Medicaid Integrity Contractors and Zone Program Integrity Contractors. In addition,CMS conducts Comprehensive Error Rate Testing audits, the purpose of which is to detect improper Medicare payments. Any overpayments identified mustbe repaid unless a favorable decision is obtained on appeal. In some cases, these overpayments can be used as the basis for an extrapolation, by which theerror rate is applied to a larger universe of claims, and which can result in even higher repayments.The federal Anti-Kickback Statute prohibits, among other things, knowingly and willfully offering, paying, soliciting, receiving, or providing remuneration,directly or indirectly, to induce or in return for either the referral of an individual, or the furnishing, recommending, or arranging for the purchase, lease ororder of any health care item or service reimbursable, in whole or in part, under a federal health care program. The definition of “remuneration” has beenbroadly interpreted to include anything of value, including gifts, discounts, credit arrangements, payments of cash, ownership interests and providinganything at less than its fair market value. Recognizing that the Anti-Kickback Statute is broad and may technically prohibit many innocuous or beneficialarrangements within the health care industry, the Office of Inspector General for HHS has issued a series of regulatory “safe harbors.” These safe harborregulations set forth certain requirements that, if met, will assure immunity from prosecution under the federal Anti-Kickback Statute. Although fullcompliance with these provisions ensures against prosecution under the federal Anti-Kickback Statute, the failure of a transaction or arrangement to fit withina specific safe harbor does not necessarily mean that the transaction or arrangement is illegal or that prosecution under the27federal Anti-Kickback Statute will be pursued. For further discussion of the impact of federal and state health care fraud and abuse laws and regulations onour business, see the section entitled “Risk Factors—Regulatory Risks Relating to Our Business.” We are subject to federal and state health care fraud andabuse laws and regulations and could face substantial penalties if we are unable to fully comply with such laws.In addition, HIPAA also created new federal crimes, including health care fraud and false statements relating to health care matters. The health care fraudstatute prohibits knowingly and willfully executing a scheme to defraud any health care benefit program, including private third-party payers. A violation ofthis statute is a felony and may result in fines, imprisonment or exclusion from federal health care programs, such as the Medicare and Medicaid programs.The false statements statute prohibits knowingly and willfully falsifying, concealing or covering up a material fact or making any materially false, fictitiousor fraudulent statement in connection with the delivery of or payment for health care benefits, items or services. A violation of this statute is a felony and mayresult in fines, imprisonment or exclusion from federal health care programs.Finally, another development affecting the health care industry is the increased enforcement of the federal False Claims Act and, in particular, actionsbrought pursuant to the False Claims Act’s “whistleblower” or “qui tam” provisions. The False Claims Act imposes liability on any person or entity that,among other things, knowingly presents, or causes to be presented, a false or fraudulent claim for payment to the federal government. The qui tam provisionsof the False Claims Act allow a private individual to bring actions on behalf of the federal government and permit such individuals to share in any amountspaid by the entity to the government in fines or settlement. In addition, various states have enacted false claim laws analogous to the federal False ClaimsAct, and some of these state laws apply where a claim is submitted to any third-party payer. When an entity is determined to have violated the False ClaimsAct, it may be required to pay up to three times the actual damages sustained by the government, plus civil penalties ranging from $5,500 to $11,000 for eachfalse claim.Additionally, the civil monetary penalties statute imposes penalties against any person or entity that, among other things, is determined to have presented orcaused to be presented a claim to a federal health program that the person knows or should know is for an item or service that was not provided as claimed oris false or fraudulent.Also, many states have laws similar to those listed above that may be broader in scope and may apply regardless of payer.Additionally, in Europe various countries have adopted anti-bribery laws providing for severe consequences, in the form of criminal penalties and/orsignificant fines for individuals and/or companies committing a bribery offence. Violations of these anti-bribery laws, or allegations of such violations, couldhave a negative impact on our business, results of operations and reputation. For instance, in the United Kingdom, under the Bribery Act 2010, a briberyoccurs when a person offers, gives or promises to give a financial or other advantage to induce or reward another individual to improperly perform certainfunctions or activities, including any function of a public nature. Bribery of foreign public officials also falls within the scope of the Bribery Act 2010. Underthe new regime, an individual found in violation of the Bribery Act 2010 faces imprisonment of up to 10 years. In addition, the individual can be subject toan unlimited fine, as can commercial organizations for failure to prevent bribery.Physician Referral ProhibitionsUnder a federal law directed at “self-referral,” commonly known as the Stark Law, there are prohibitions, with certain exceptions, on Medicare and Medicaidpayments for laboratory tests referred by physicians who personally, or through a family member, have a “financial relationship”—including an investmentor ownership interest or a compensation arrangement—with the clinical laboratory performing the tests. Several Stark Law exceptions are relevant toarrangements involving clinical laboratories, including: (1) fair market value compensation for the provision of items or services; (2) payments by physiciansto a laboratory for clinical laboratory services; (3) certain space and equipment rental arrangements that satisfy certain requirements, and (4) personal servicesarrangements that satisfy certain requirements. The laboratory cannot submit claims to the Medicare Part B program for services furnished in violation of theStark Law, and Medicaid reimbursements may be at risk as well. Penalties for violating the Stark Law include the return of funds received for all prohibitedreferrals, fines, civil monetary penalties and possible exclusion from the federal health care programs. Many states have comparable laws that are not limitedto Medicare and Medicaid referrals.28Corporate Practice of MedicineA number of states, including California, do not allow business corporations to employ physicians to provide professional services. This prohibition againstthe “corporate practice of medicine” is aimed at preventing corporations such as us from exercising control over the medical judgments or decisions ofphysicians. The state licensure statutes and regulations and agency and court decisions that enumerate the specific corporate practice rules vary considerablyfrom state to state and are enforced by both the courts and regulatory authorities, each with broad discretion. If regulatory authorities or other parties in anyjurisdiction successfully assert that we are engaged in the unauthorized corporate practice of medicine, we could be required to restructure our contractualand other arrangements. In addition, violation of these laws may result in sanctions imposed against us and/or the professional through licensure proceedings,and we could be subject to civil and criminal penalties that could result in exclusion from state and federal health care programs.Direct Billing Laws and Other State Law Restrictions on Billing for Laboratory ServicesLaws and regulations in certain states prohibit laboratories from billing physicians or other purchasers for testing that they order. Some of those laws andregulations apply only to anatomic pathology services while others extend to other types of testing. Some states may allow laboratories to bill physiciansdirectly but may prohibit the physician (and, in some cases, other purchasers) from charging more than the purchase price for the services (or may allow onlyfor the recovery of acquisition costs) or may require disclosure of certain information on the invoice. In some cases, and if not prohibited by law or regulation,we may bill physicians, hospitals and other laboratories directly for the services that they order. An increase in the number of states that impose similarrestrictions could adversely affect us by encouraging physicians to perform laboratory services in-house or by causing physicians to refer services to otherlaboratories that are not subject to the same restrictions.Physician LicensingA number of the states where specimens originate require that the physician interpreting those specimens be licensed by that particular state. Physicians whofail to comply with these licensure requirements could face fines or other penalties for practicing medicine without a license and we could be required to paythose fines on behalf of our pathologists or subject to liability under the federal False Claims Act and similar state laws if we bill for services furnished byunlicensed pathologists. We do not believe that the services our pathologist performs constitute the practice of medicine in any state that requires out-of-statephysician licensure. We believe that our pathologist thus is not required to obtain licensure in any state where he does not reside.In addition, many states also prohibit the splitting or sharing of fees between physicians and non-physician entities. We do not believe that our contractualarrangements with physicians, physicians group practices or hospitals will subject us to claims under such regulations. However, changes in the laws maynecessitate modifications in our relationships with our clients.California State Laboratory LicensingOur laboratory is licensed and in good standing under the State of California Department of Public Health standards. Our current licenses permit us to receivespecimens obtained in California.California state laws and regulations also establish standards for the day-to-day operations of clinical laboratories, including physical facility requirementsand equipment, quality control and proficiency testing requirements. If we are found to be out of compliance with California statutory or regulatorystandards, we may be subject to suspension, restriction or revocation of our laboratory license or assessed civil money penalties. The operator of anoncompliant laboratory may also be found guilty of a misdemeanor under California law. A finding of noncompliance, therefore, may result in harm to ourbusiness.Other States’ Laboratory LicensingSeveral states require the licensure of out-of-state laboratories that accept specimens from those states. We hold licenses from the states of Florida, Maryland,Pennsylvania and Rhode Island to test specimens from patients in those states or received from ordering physicians in those states. We are currently in theprocess of addressing the requirements for licensure in New York.29From time to time, other states may require out of state laboratories to obtain licensure in order to accept specimens from such states. If we identify any otherstate with such requirements or if we are contacted by any other state advising us of such requirements, we intend to follow instructions from the stateregulators as to how we should comply with such requirements.U.S. Food and Drug AdministrationWe provide our assays as LDTs. Historically; the FDA has exercised enforcement discretion with respect to most LDTs and has not required laboratories thatoffer LDTs to comply with the agency’s requirements for medical devices (e.g., establishment registration, device listing, quality systems regulations,premarket clearance or premarket approval, and post-market controls). In recent years, however, the FDA has stated it intends to end its policy of enforcementdiscretion and regulate certain LDTs as medical devices. To this end, on October 3, 2014, the FDA issued two draft guidance documents, entitled “Frameworkfor Regulatory Oversight of Laboratory Developed Tests (LDTs)” and “FDA Notification and Medical Device Reporting for Laboratory Developed Tests(LDTs)”, respectively, that set forth a proposed risk-based regulatory framework that would apply varying levels of FDA oversight to LDTs. The FDA hasindicated that it does not intend to modify its policy of enforcement discretion until the draft guidance documents are finalized. In January 2017, the FDAannounced that final guidance on the oversight of LDTs would allow for further public discussion. On January 13, 2017 the FDA issued a “Discussion Paperon Laboratory Developed Tests (LDTs),” which states that the material in the document does not represent a final version of the LDT draft guidancedocuments that were published in 2014 or position of the FDA; rather, the document is a method to encourage additional dialogue. The timing of when, if atall, the draft guidance documents will be finalized is unclear, and even then, the new regulatory requirements are proposed to be phased-in consistent withthe schedule set forth in the guidance. Nevertheless, the FDA may decide to regulate certain LDTs on a case-by-case basis at any time. LDTs with the sameintended use as a cleared or approved companion diagnostic are defined in FDA’s draft guidance as “high-risk LDTs (Class III medical devices)” for whichpremarket review would be first to occur.Failure to comply with applicable FDA regulatory requirements may trigger a range of enforcement actions by the FDA including warning letters, civilmonetary penalties, injunctions, criminal prosecution, recall or seizure, operating restrictions, partial suspension or total shutdown of production, and denialof or challenges to applications for clearance or approval, as well as significant adverse publicity.Other Regulatory RequirementsOur laboratory is subject to federal, state and local regulations relating to the handling and disposal of regulated medical waste, hazardous waste andbiohazardous waste, including chemical, biological agents and compounds, blood and bone marrow samples and other human tissue. Typically, we useoutside vendors who are contractually obligated to comply with applicable laws and regulations to dispose of such waste. These vendors are licensed orotherwise qualified to handle and dispose of such waste.The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has established extensive requirements relating to workplace safety for health care employers, includingrequirements to develop and implement programs to protect workers from exposure to blood-borne pathogens by preventing or minimizing any exposurethrough needle stick or similar penetrating injuries.Segment and Geographical InformationWe operate in one reportable business segment and historically have derived revenues primarily from within the United States.EmployeesAs of December 31, 2017, we had a total of 95 full-time employees, 8 of whom hold doctorate degrees and 14 of whom are engaged in full-time research anddevelopment activities, as well as one part-time employee. We plan to expand production, sales and marketing and our research and development programs,and we plan to hire additional staff as these initiatives are implemented. None of our employees is represented by a labor union.Available InformationOur website address is www.biocept.com. We post links to our website to the following filings as soon as reasonably practicable after they are electronicallyfiled with or furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC: annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reportson Form 8-K, proxy statements, and any30amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. All such filings areavailable through our website free of charge. Our filings may also be read and copied at the SEC’s Public Reference Room at 100 F Street, NE, Washington,DC 20549. Information on the operation of the Public Reference Room may be obtained by calling the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330. The SEC also maintains aninternet site at www.sec.gov that contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with theSEC.Company InformationWe maintain our principal executive offices at 5810 Nancy Ridge Drive, San Diego, California 92121. Our telephone number is (858) 320-8200 and ourwebsite address is www.biocept.com. The information contained in, or that can be accessed through, our website is not incorporated into and is not part ofthis annual report. We were incorporated in California on May 12, 1997 and reincorporated as a Delaware corporation on July 30, 2013.31Item 1A.Risk FactorsAn investment in our securities involves a high degree of risk. You should consider carefully the risks described below, together with all of the otherinformation included in this Annual Report, as well as in our other filings with the SEC, in evaluating our business. If any of the following risks actuallyoccur, our business, financial condition, operating results and future prospects could be materially and adversely affected. In that case, the trading price ofour common stock may decline and you might lose all or part of your investment. The risks described below are not the only ones we face. Additional risksthat we currently do not know about or that we currently believe to be immaterial may also impair our business, financial condition, operating results andprospects. Certain statements below are forward-looking statements. For additional information, see the information included under the heading “SpecialNote Regarding Forward-Looking Statements.”Risks Relating to Our Financial Condition and Capital RequirementsWe are an early stage molecular oncology diagnostics company with a history of net losses; we expect to incur net losses in the future, and we may neverachieve sustained profitability.We have historically incurred substantial net losses, including net losses of $18.4 million and $21.6 million for the years ended December 31 2016 and 2017,respectively, and we have never been profitable. At December 31, 2017, our accumulated deficit was approximately $195.2 million. Before 2008, we werepursuing a business plan relating to fetal genetic disorders and other fields, all of which were unrelated to cancer diagnostics. The portion of our accumulateddeficit that relates to the period from inception through December 31, 2007 is approximately $66.5 million.We expect our losses to continue as a result of costs relating to our lab operations as well as increased sales and marketing costs and ongoing research anddevelopment expenses. These losses have had, and will continue to have, an adverse effect on our working capital, total assets and stockholders’ equity.Because of the numerous risks and uncertainties associated with our commercialization efforts, we are unable to predict when we will become profitable, andwe may never become profitable. Even if we do achieve profitability, we may not be able to sustain or increase profitability on a quarterly or annual basis.Our inability to achieve and then maintain profitability would negatively affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.We need to raise additional capital to continue as a going concern.We expect to continue to incur losses for the foreseeable future and will have to raise additional capital to fund our planned operations and to meet our long-term business objectives. As a result, there is substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern unless we are able to successfully raiseadditional capital. Until we can generate significant cash from operations, including product and assay revenues, we expect to continue to fund ouroperations with the proceeds from offerings of our equity securities or debt, or transactions involving product development, technology licensing orcollaboration. We can provide no assurances that any sources of a sufficient amount of financing will be available to us on favorable terms, if at all. Failure toraise additional capital in sufficient amounts would significantly impact our ability to continue as a going concern. The actual amount of funds that we willneed and the timing of any such investment will be determined by many factors, some of which are beyond our control.An event of default under our credit facility may have a material adverse effect on our financial condition.On April 30, 2014, we borrowed $5.0 million pursuant to the terms of a credit facility, or the April 2014 Credit Facility, with Oxford Finance LLC, or Oxford.At December 31, 2017, a principal balance of approximately $1.2 million was outstanding and due within one year under the April 2014 Credit Facility. TheApril 2014 Credit Facility includes events of default, the occurrence and continuation of which provide Oxford, as collateral agent, with the right to exerciseremedies against us and the collateral securing the loans under the April 2014 Credit Facility, including foreclosure against our properties securing the April2014 Credit Facility, including our cash. These events of default include, among other things, our failure to pay any amounts due under the April 2014 CreditFacility, a breach of covenants under the April 2014 Credit Facility, our insolvency, a material adverse change, the occurrence of any default under certainother indebtedness in an amount greater than $250,000, and a final judgment against us in an amount greater than $250,000.Accordingly, the occurrence of an event of default under our April 2014 Credit Facility, unless cured or waived, may have a material adverse effect on ourresults of operations.32Risks Relating to Our Business and StrategyIf we are unable to increase sales of our current products, assays and services or successfully develop and commercialize other products, assays andservices, our revenues will be insufficient for us to achieve profitability.We currently derive substantially all of our revenues from sales of diagnostic assays. We began offering our assays through our Clinical LaboratoryImprovement Amendments of 1988, or CLIA, certified, CAP accredited, and state-licensed laboratory in 2014. Additionally, our proprietary blood collectiontubes, or BCTs, which allow for the intact transport of liquid biopsy samples for RUO from regions around the world, are anticipated to be sold to laboratorysupply distributors commencing in 2018. We are in varying stages of research and development for other products and diagnostic assays that we may offer. Ifwe are unable to increase sales of our existing products and diagnostic assays or successfully develop and commercialize other products and diagnosticassays, we will not produce sufficient revenues to become profitable.If we are unable to execute our sales and marketing strategy for our products and diagnostic assays and are unable to gain acceptance in the market, wemay be unable to generate sufficient revenue to sustain our business.We are an early stage molecular oncology diagnostics company and have engaged in only limited sales and marketing activities for the diagnostic assays wecurrently offer through our CLIA-certified, CAP accredited, and state-licensed laboratory. To date, our revenue has been insufficient to fund operations.Although we believe that our current assays and our planned future assays, as well as our BCT product, represent a promising commercial opportunity, ourproducts or assays may never gain significant acceptance in the marketplace and therefore may never generate substantial revenue or profits for us. We willneed to establish a market for our products and diagnostic assays and build that market through physician education, awareness programs and the publicationof clinical trial results. Gaining acceptance in medical communities requires, among other things, publications in leading peer-reviewed journals of resultsfrom studies using our current products, assays and services and/or our planned future products, assays and services. The process of publication in leadingmedical journals is subject to a peer review process and peer reviewers may not consider the results of our studies sufficiently novel or worthy of publication.Failure to have our studies published in peer-reviewed journals would limit the adoption of our current products, assays and services and our planned futureproducts, assays and services.Our ability to successfully market the products and diagnostic assays that we have developed, and may develop in the future, will depend on numerousfactors, including:•conducting clinical utility studies of such assays in collaboration with key thought leaders to demonstrate their use and value in important medicaldecisions such as treatment selection;•whether our current or future partners, vigorously support our offerings;•the success of our sales force;•whether healthcare providers believe such diagnostic assays provide clinical utility;•whether the medical community accepts that such diagnostic assays are sufficiently sensitive and specific to be meaningful in-patient care andtreatment decisions;•our ability to continually source raw materials, BCTs, shipping kits and other products that we sell or consume in our manufacturing process that areof sufficient quality and supply;•our ability to continue to fund planned sales and marketing activities; and•whether private health insurers, government health programs and other third-party payers will adopt liquid biopsy-based assays in their guidelines, orcover such diagnostic assays and, if so, whether they will adequately reimburse us.Failure to achieve widespread market acceptance of our current products, assays and services, as well as our planned future products, assays and services,would materially harm our business, financial condition and results of operations.If we cannot develop products, assays and services to keep pace with rapid advances in technology, medicine and science, our operating results andcompetitive position could be harmed.33In recent years, there have been numerous advances in technologies relating to the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. Several new cancer drugs have beenapproved, and a number of new drugs in clinical development may increase patient survival time. There have also been advances in methods used to identifypatients likely to benefit from these drugs based on analysis of biomarkers. We must continuously develop new products and diagnostic assays and enhanceany existing products, assays and services to keep pace with evolving standards of care. Our current products, assays and services and our planned futureproducts, assays and services could become obsolete unless we continually innovate and expand them to demonstrate benefit in the diagnosis, monitoring orprognosis of patients with cancer. New cancer therapies typically have only a few years of clinical data associated with them, which limits our ability todevelop products and diagnostic assays based on, for example, biomarker analysis related to the appearance or development of resistance to those therapies.If we cannot adequately demonstrate the applicability of our current products, assays and services and our planned future products, assays and services to newtreatments, by incorporating important biomarker analysis, sales of our products, assays and services could decline, which would have a material adverseeffect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.If our current products, assays and services and our planned future products, assays and services do not continue to perform as expected, our operatingresults, reputation and business will suffer.Our success depends on the market’s confidence that we can continue to provide reliable, high-quality products and assay results. We believe that ourcustomers are likely to be particularly sensitive to product or assay defects and errors. As a result, the failure of our current or planned future products orassays to perform as expected, including with respect to our ability to maintain the sensitivity, specificity, concordance or reproducibility of such assays,would significantly impair our reputation and the public image of our products and cancer assays, and we may be subject to legal claims arising from anydefects or errors.If our sole laboratory facility becomes damaged or inoperable, or we are required to vacate the facility, our ability to sell and provide our products anddiagnostic assays and pursue our research and development efforts may be jeopardized.We currently derive our revenues from our diagnostic assays conducted in our CLIA-certified, CAP accredited, and state-licensed laboratory. We do not haveany clinical reference laboratory facilities other than our facility in San Diego, California. Our facilities and equipment could be harmed or renderedinoperable by natural or man-made disasters, including fire, earthquake, flooding and power outages, which may render it difficult or impossible for us to sellour products or perform our diagnostic assays for some period of time. The inability to sell our current or planned future products, or to perform our currentassays and our planned future assays, or the backlog of assays that could develop if our facility is inoperable for even a short period of time, may result in theloss of customers or harm to our reputation or relationships with scientific or clinical collaborators, and we may be unable to regain those customers or repairour reputation in the future. Furthermore, our facilities and the equipment we use to perform our research and development work could be costly and time-consuming to repair or replace.The San Diego area has recently experienced serious fires and power outages and is considered to lie in an area with earthquake risk.Additionally, a key component of our research and development process involves using biological samples as the basis for our diagnostic assaydevelopment. In some cases, these samples are difficult to obtain. If the parts of our laboratory facility where we store these biological samples were damagedor compromised, our ability to pursue our research and development projects, as well as our reputation, could be jeopardized. We carry insurance for damageto our property and the disruption of our business, but this insurance may not be sufficient to cover all of our potential losses and may not continue to beavailable to us on acceptable terms, if at all.Further, if our CLIA-certified, CAP accredited, and state-licensed laboratory became inoperable we may not be able to license or transfer our technology toanother facility with the necessary qualifications, including state licensure and CLIA certification, under the scope of which our current assays and ourplanned future assays could be performed. Even if we find a facility with such qualifications to perform our assays, it may not be available to us oncommercially reasonable terms.If we cannot compete successfully with our competitors, we may be unable to increase or sustain our revenues or achieve and sustain profitability.34Our principal competition comes from mainstream diagnostic methods, used by medical oncologists, surgical oncologists, pulmonologists, pathologists andother physicians for many years, which focus on tumor tissue analysis. The methods or behavior of medical oncologists, surgical oncologists,pulmonologists, pathologists and other physicians may be difficult to change regarding the use of our CTC and ctDNA assays, including moleculardiagnostic assays, in their practices in conjunction with or instead of tissue biopsies and analysis. In addition, companies offering capital equipment, BCTs,and kits or reagents to local pathology laboratories or laboratory supply distributors represent another source of potential competition. These kits are useddirectly by the pathologist, which can facilitate adoption. Historically, we have focused our marketing and sales efforts on medical oncologists rather thanpathologists, although commencing in October 2017, our Empower TC offering provides the unique ability for pathologists to participate in theinterpretation of liquid biopsy results and is available to pathology practices and hospital systems throughout the United States.We also face competition from companies that offer products or are conducting research to develop products for CTC or ctDNA assays in various cancers.CTC and ctDNA products, assays and services represent a new area of science and we cannot predict what products or assays others will develop that maycompete with or provide results similar or superior to the results we are able to achieve with the products or assays we develop. Competitors include but arenot limited to companies such as Atossa, Qiagen, Roche, Guardant, Cancer Genetics, Agena, Alere (Adnagen), Illumina, Grail, Apocell, EPIC Sciences,Clearbridge Biomedics, Biodesix, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Foundation Medicine, Neogenomics, Cynvenio Biosystems, Genomic Health, FluxionBiosciences, RareCells, ScreenCell, Menarini Silicon Biosystems and Sysmex. Some of these groups, in addition to operating research and developmentlaboratories, are establishing CLIA-certified testing laboratories while others are focused on selling equipment and reagents.There are a number of companies which are focused on the oncology diagnostic market, such as Agendia and Genoptix, who while not currently offeringCTC or ctDNA assays are selling to the medical oncologists and pathologists and could develop or offer CTC or ctDNA assays. Large laboratory servicescompanies such as Quest and LabCorp provide more generalized cancer diagnostic assays and testing but could also offer a CTC or ctDNA assay service.Companies like Abbott, Danaher, Qiagen, Thermo Fisher Scientific and others could develop equipment or reagents in the future as well. Currently,companies like Streck, Roche and Biomatrica offer BCTs, and in the future, companies like Covidien, Beckton Dickinson, Thermo Fisher, and other largemedical device companies may develop BCTs as well.Some of our present and potential competitors have widespread brand recognition and substantially greater financial and technical resources anddevelopment, production and marketing capabilities than we do. Others may develop lower-priced, less complex assays that payers, medical oncologists,surgical oncologists, pulmonologists, pathologists and other physicians could view as functionally equivalent to our current or planned future assays, whichcould force us to lower the list price of our assays and impact our operating margins and our ability to achieve and maintain profitability. In addition,technological innovations that result in the creation of enhanced products or diagnostic tools that are more sensitive or specific than ours may enable otherclinical laboratories, hospitals, physicians or medical providers to provide specialized products or diagnostic assays similar to ours in a more patient-friendly,efficient or cost-effective manner than is currently possible. If we cannot compete successfully against current or future competitors, we may be unable toincrease or create market acceptance and sales of our current or planned future products or assays, which could prevent us from increasing or sustaining ourrevenues or achieving or sustaining profitability.We expect that biopharmaceutical companies will increasingly focus attention and resources on the personalized cancer diagnostic sector as the potentialand prevalence of molecularly targeted oncology therapies approved by the FDA along with companion diagnostics increases. For example, the FDA hasapproved three such agents: Xalkori® from Pfizer Inc. along with its companion anaplastic lymphoma kinase FISH test from Abbott Laboratories, Inc.,Zelboraf® from Daiichi-Sankyo/Genentech/Roche along with its companion BRAF kinase V600 mutation test from Roche Molecular Systems, Inc. andTafinlar® from GlaxoSmithKline along with its companion BRAF kinase V600 mutation test from bioMerieux. Since companion diagnostic tests are part ofFDA labeling, non-FDA cleared tests such as ours would be considered an off-label use and this may limit our access to this market segment.Additionally, projects related to cancer diagnostics and particularly genomics have received increased government funding, both in the United States andinternationally. As more information regarding cancer genomics becomes available to the public, we anticipate that more products aimed at identifyingtargeted treatment options will be developed and that these products may compete with ours. In addition, competitors may develop their own versions of ourcurrent or planned future products or assays in countries where we did not apply for patents or where our patents have not issued and compete with us in thosecountries, including encouraging the use of their product or assay by physicians or patients in other countries.35We expect to continue to incur significant expenses to develop and market products and diagnostic assays, which could make it difficult for us to achieveand sustain profitability.In recent years, we have incurred significant costs in connection with the development of our products and diagnostic assays. For the years endedDecember 31, 2016 and 2017, our research and development expenses were $2.7 million and $3.4 million, respectively, and our sales and marketingexpenses were $5.1 million and $6.3 million, respectively. We expect our expenses to continue to increase for the foreseeable future as we conduct studies ofour current products, assays and services and our planned future products, assays and services, continue to establish our sales and marketing organization,drive adoption of and reimbursement for our products and diagnostic assays and develop new products, assays and services. As a result, we need to generatesignificant revenues in order to achieve sustained profitability.If medical oncologists, surgical oncologists, pulmonologists, pathologists and other physicians decide not to order our current or planned future assays, orif laboratory supply distributors or their customers decide not to order our current or planned future products, we may be unable to generate sufficientrevenue to sustain our business.To generate demand for our current products, assays and services and our planned future products, assays and services, we will need to educate medicaloncologists, surgical oncologists, pulmonologists, pathologists, and other physicians and other health care professionals, as well as laboratory and medicalequipment suppliers, on the clinical utility, benefits and value of the products, assays and services we provide through published papers, presentations atscientific conferences, educational programs and one-on-one education sessions by members of our sales force. In addition, we need to medical oncologists,surgical oncologists, pulmonologists, pathologists and other physicians of our ability to obtain and maintain coverage and adequate from third-party payers.We need to hire additional commercial, scientific, technical and other personnel to support this process. Unless an adequate number of medical practitionersorder our current assays and our planned future assays, or unless an adequate number of laboratory supply distributors order our current and planned futureproducts, we will likely be unable to create demand in sufficient volume for us to achieve sustained profitability.Clinical utility studies are important in demonstrating to both customers and payers an assay’s clinical relevance and value. If we are unable to identifycollaborators willing to work with us to conduct clinical utility studies, or the results of those studies do not demonstrate that an assay provides clinicallymeaningful information and value, commercial adoption of such assay may be slow, which would negatively impact our business.Clinical utility studies show when and how to use a clinical test or assay and describe the particular clinical situations or settings in which it can be appliedand the expected results. Clinical utility studies also show the impact of the test or assay results on patient care and management. Clinical utility studies aretypically performed with collaborating oncologists or other physicians at medical centers and hospitals, analogous to a clinical trial, and generally result inpeer-reviewed publications. Sales and marketing representatives use these publications to demonstrate to customers how to use a clinical test or assay, as wellas why they should use it. These publications are also used with payers to obtain coverage for a test or assay, helping to assure there is appropriatereimbursement.We need to conduct additional studies for our assays, increase assay adoption in the marketplace and obtain coverage and adequate reimbursement. Shouldwe not be able to perform these studies, or should their results not provide clinically meaningful data and value for medical oncologists, surgical oncologists,pulmonologists, pathologists and other physicians, adoption of our assays could be impaired, and we may not be able to obtain coverage and adequatereimbursement for them.The loss of key members of our executive management team could adversely affect our business.Our success in implementing our business strategy depends largely on the skills, experience and performance of key members of our executive managementteam and others in key management positions, including Michael W. Nall, our Chief Executive Officer and President, Lyle J. Arnold, Ph.D., our Senior Vice-President of Research & Development and Chief Scientific Officer, Veena M. Singh, M.D., our Senior Medical Director, Michael Terry, our Senior VicePresident Commercial Operations, and Timothy C. Kennedy, our Chief Financial Officer, Senior Vice President of Operations and Secretary. The collectiveefforts of each of these persons and others working with them as a team are critical to us as we continue to develop our technologies, products, services, assaysand research and development and sales programs. As a result of the difficulty in locating qualified new management, the loss or incapacity of existingmembers of our executive management team could adversely affect our operations. If we were to lose one or more of these key employees, we couldexperience difficulties in finding qualified successors, competing effectively, developing our technologies and implementing36our business strategy. Our executive management team each have employment agreements, however, the existence of an employment agreement does notguarantee retention of members of our executive management team and we may not be able to retain those individuals for the duration of or beyond the endof their respective terms. We do not maintain “key person” life insurance on any of our employees.In addition, we rely on collaborators, consultants and advisors, including scientific and clinical advisors, to assist us in formulating our research anddevelopment and commercialization strategy. Our collaborators, consultants and advisors are generally employed by employers other than us and may havecommitments under agreements with other entities that may limit their availability to us.The loss of a key employee, the failure of a key employee to perform in his or her current position or our inability to attract and retain skilled employeescould result in our inability to continue to grow our business or to implement our business strategy.There is a scarcity of experienced professionals in our industry. If we are not able to retain and recruit personnel with the requisite technical skills, we maybe unable to successfully execute our business strategy.The specialized nature of our industry results in an inherent scarcity of experienced personnel in the field. Our future success depends upon our ability toattract and retain highly skilled personnel, including scientific, technical, commercial, business, regulatory and administrative personnel, necessary tosupport our anticipated growth, develop our business and perform certain contractual obligations. Given the scarcity of professionals with the scientificknowledge that we require and the competition for qualified personnel among life science businesses, we may not succeed in attracting or retaining thepersonnel we require to continue and grow our operations.Our failure to continue to attract, hire and retain a sufficient number of qualified sales professionals would hamper our ability to increase demand for ourproducts and diagnostic assays, to expand geographically and to successfully commercialize any other products or assays we may develop.To succeed in selling our products and diagnostic assays and any other products or assays that we are able to develop, we must expand our sales force in theUnited States and/or internationally by recruiting additional sales representatives with extensive experience in oncology and established relationships withmedical oncologists, surgical oncologists, pulmonologists, pathologists, oncology nurses, and other physicians and hospital personnel, as well as laboratorysupply distributors. To achieve our marketing and sales goals, we will need to continue to build our sales and commercial infrastructure. Sales professionalswith the necessary technical and business qualifications are in high demand, and there is a risk that we may be unable to attract, hire and retain the number ofsales professionals with the right qualifications, scientific backgrounds and relationships with decision-makers at potential customers needed to achieve oursales goals. We expect to face competition from other companies in our industry, some of whom are much larger than us and who can pay greatercompensation and benefits than we can, in seeking to attract and retain qualified sales and marketing employees. If we are unable to hire and retain qualifiedsales and marketing personnel, our business will suffer.Our dependence on commercialization partners for sales of products, assays and services could limit our success in realizing revenue growth.We intend to grow our business through the use of commercialization partners for the sales, marketing and commercialization of our current products, assaysand services, as well as our planned future products, assays and services, and to do so we must enter into agreements with these partners to sell, market orcommercialize our products, assays and services. These agreements may contain exclusivity provisions and generally cannot be terminated without causeduring the term of the agreement. We may need to attract additional partners to expand the markets in which we sell products or assays. These partners maynot commit the necessary resources to market and sell our products and diagnostics assays to the level of our expectations, and we may be unable to locatesuitable alternatives should we terminate our agreement with such partners or if such partners terminate their agreement with us.If current or future commercialization partners do not perform adequately, or we are unable to locate commercialization partners, we may not realize revenuegrowth.37We depend on third parties for the supply of blood samples and other biological materials that we use in our research and development efforts. If the costsof such samples and materials increase or our third-party suppliers terminate their relationship with us, our business may be materially harmed.We have relationships with suppliers and institutions that provide us with blood samples and other biological materials that we use in developing andvalidating our current assays and our planned future assays. If one or more suppliers terminate their relationship with us or are unable to meet ourrequirements for samples, we will need to identify other third parties to provide us with blood samples and biological materials, which could result in a delayin our research and development activities and negatively affect our business. In addition, as we grow, our research and academic institution collaboratorsmay seek additional financial contributions from us, which may negatively affect our results of operations.We currently rely on third-party suppliers for our BCTs, shipping kits, and critical materials needed to perform our current assays, as well as our plannedfuture products, assays and services, and any problems experienced by them could result in a delay or interruption of their supply to us.We currently purchase our BCTs and raw materials for our microfluidic channels and assay reagents under purchase orders and do not have long-termcontracts with most of the suppliers of these materials. If suppliers were to delay or stop producing our BCTs, shipping kits, materials or reagents, or if theprices they charge us were to increase significantly, or if they elected not to sell to us, we would need to identify other suppliers. We could experience delaysin obtaining BCTs and shipping kits, manufacturing the microfluidic channels, or performing assays while finding another acceptable supplier, which couldimpact our results of operations. The changes could also result in increased costs associated with qualifying the new BCTs, shipping kits, materials orreagents and in increased operating costs. Further, any prolonged disruption in a supplier’s operations could have a significant negative impact on our abilityto perform diagnostic assays in a timely manner and sell our products.Some of the components used in our current or planned future products are currently sourced from a supplier for which alternative suppliers exist but we havenot validated the products of such alternative suppliers, and substitutes for these components might not be able to be obtained easily or may requiresubstantial design or manufacturing modifications. Any significant problem experienced by any one of our suppliers may result in a delay or interruption inthe supply of components to us until that supplier cures the problem or an alternative source of the component is located and qualified. Any delay orinterruption would likely lead to a delay or interruption in our manufacturing operations or product sales. The inclusion of substitute components must meetour product specifications and could require us to qualify the new supplier with the appropriate government regulatory authorities.If we were sued for product liability or professional liability, we could face substantial liabilities that exceed our resources.The marketing, sale and use of our products and current assays, as well our planned future products, assays and services, could lead to the filing of productliability claims against us if someone alleges that our products or assays failed to perform as designed. We may also be subject to liability for errors in theassay results we provide to physicians or for a misunderstanding of, or inappropriate reliance upon, the information we provide. A product liability orprofessional liability claim could result in substantial damages and be costly and time-consuming for us to defend.Although we believe that our existing product and professional liability insurance is adequate, our insurance may not fully protect us from the financialimpact of defending against product liability or professional liability claims. Any product liability or professional liability claim brought against us, with orwithout merit, could increase our insurance rates or prevent us from securing insurance coverage in the future. Additionally, any product liability lawsuitcould damage our reputation, result in the recall of products or assays, or cause current partners to terminate existing agreements and potential partners toseek other partners, any of which could impact our results of operations.If we use biological and hazardous materials in a manner that causes injury, we could be liable for damages.Our activities currently require the controlled use of potentially harmful biological materials and chemicals. We cannot eliminate the risk of accidentalcontamination or injury to employees or third parties from the use, storage, handling or disposal of these materials. In the event of contamination or injury,we could be held liable for any resulting damages, and any liability could exceed our resources or any applicable insurance coverage we may have.Additionally, we are subject to, on an ongoing basis, federal, state and local laws and regulations governing the use, storage, handling and disposal of thesematerials and specified waste products. The cost of compliance with these laws and regulations may become significant and38could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. In the event of an accident or if we otherwise fail tocomply with applicable regulations, we could lose our permits or approvals or be held liable for damages or penalized with fines.We may acquire other businesses or form joint ventures or make investments in other companies or technologies that could harm our operating results,dilute our stockholders’ ownership, increase our debt or cause us to incur significant expense.As part of our business strategy, we may pursue acquisitions of businesses and assets. We also may pursue strategic alliances and joint ventures that leverageour core technology and industry experience to expand our offerings or distribution. We have no experience with acquiring other companies and limitedexperience with forming strategic alliances and joint ventures. We may not be able to find suitable partners or acquisition candidates, and we may not be ableto complete such transactions on favorable terms, if at all. If we make any acquisitions, we may not be able to integrate these acquisitions successfully intoour existing business, and we could assume unknown or contingent liabilities. Any future acquisitions also could result in significant write-offs or theincurrence of debt and contingent liabilities, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations and cashflows. Integration of an acquired company also may disrupt ongoing operations and require management resources that would otherwise focus on developingour existing business. We may experience losses related to investments in other companies, which could have a material negative effect on our results ofoperations. We may not identify or complete these transactions in a timely manner, on a cost-effective basis, or at all, and we may not realize the anticipatedbenefits of any acquisition, technology license, strategic alliance or joint venture.To finance any acquisitions or joint ventures, we may choose to issue shares of our common stock as consideration, which would dilute the ownership of ourstockholders. If the price of our common stock is low or volatile, we may not be able to acquire other companies or fund a joint venture project using ourstock as consideration. Alternatively, it may be necessary for us to raise additional funds for acquisitions through public or private financings. Additionalfunds may not be available on terms that are favorable to us, or at all.If we cannot support demand for our current products, assays and services, as well as our planned future products, assays and services, includingsuccessfully managing the evolution of our laboratory service, our business could suffer.As our product and assay volume grows, we will need to increase our assay capacity, implement automation, increase our scale and related processing,customer service, billing, collection and systems process improvements and expand our internal quality assurance program and technology to support assayson a larger scale. Examples of challenges we may face include, but are not limited to, maintaining the same validated sensitivity in our assays for both CTCand ctDNA analysis as our assay volume increases. We will also need additional clinical laboratory scientists and other scientific and technical personnel toprocess these additional assays. Any increases in scale, related improvements and quality assurance may not be successfully implemented and appropriatepersonnel may not be available. As additional products, assays and services are commercialized, we may need to bring new equipment on line, implementnew systems, technology, controls and procedures and hire personnel with different qualifications. Failure to implement or maintain necessary procedures orto hire the necessary personnel could result in a higher cost of processing or an inability to meet market demand. We cannot assure you that we will be able toperform assays on a timely basis, or procure BCTs, shipping kits or other materials we sell, at a level consistent with demand, that our efforts to scale ourcommercial operations will not negatively affect the quality of our assay results, or that we will respond successfully to the growing complexity of ouroperations. If we encounter difficulty meeting market demand or quality standards for our current products, assays and services and our planned futureproducts, assays and services, including with respect to our assays our ability to maintain the sensitivity, specificity, concordance and reproducibility of suchassays, our reputation could be harmed, and our future prospects and business could suffer, which may have a material adverse effect on our financialcondition, results of operations and cash flows.Billing for our diagnostic assays is complex, and we must dedicate substantial time and resources to the billing process to be paid.Billing for clinical laboratory assay services is complex, time-consuming and expensive. Depending on the billing arrangement and applicable law, we billvarious payers, including Medicare, insurance companies and patients, all of which have different billing requirements. We generally bill third-party payersfor our diagnostic assays and pursue reimbursement on a case-by-case basis where pricing contracts are not in place. To the extent laws or contracts require usto bill patient co-payments or co-insurance, we must also comply with these requirements. We may also face increased risk in our collection39efforts, including potential write-offs of doubtful accounts and long collection cycles, which could adversely affect our business, results of operations andfinancial condition.Several factors make the billing process complex, including: •differences between the list price for our assays and the reimbursement rates of payers; •compliance with complex federal and state regulations related to billing Medicare; •risk of government audits related to billing Medicare; •disputes among payers as to which party is responsible for payment; •differences in coverage and in information and billing requirements among payers, including the need for prior authorization and/or advancednotification; •the effect of patient co-payments or co-insurance; •changes to billing codes and/or coverage policies that apply to our assays; •incorrect or missing billing information; and •the resources required to manage the billing and claims appeals process.We use standard industry billing codes, known as CPT codes, to bill for our diagnostic assays. These codes can change over time. When codes change, thereis a risk of an error being made in the claim adjudication process. These errors can occur with claims submission, third-party transmission or in the processingof the claim by the payer. Claim adjudication errors may result in a delay in payment processing or a reduction in the amount of the payment received.Coding changes, therefore, may have an adverse effect on our revenues. There can be no assurance that payers will recognize these codes in a timely manneror that the process of transitioning to such a code and updating their billing systems and ours will not result in errors, delays in payments and a relatedincrease in accounts receivable balances.As we introduce new assays, we will need to add new codes to our billing process as well as our financial reporting systems. Failure or delays in effectingthese changes in external billing and internal systems and processes could negatively affect our collection rates, revenue and cost of collecting.Additionally, our billing activities require us to implement compliance procedures and oversight, train and monitor our employees, challenge coverage andpayment denials, assist patients in appealing claims, and undertake internal audits to evaluate compliance with applicable laws and regulations as well asinternal compliance policies and procedures. Payers also conduct external audits to evaluate payments, which add further complexity to the billing process. Ifthe payer makes an overpayment determination, there is a risk that we may be required to return some portion of prior payments we have received. Thesebilling complexities, and the related uncertainty in obtaining payment for our assays, could negatively affect our revenue and cash flow, our ability toachieve profitability, and the consistency and comparability of our results of operations.We rely on third-party billing provider software, and an in-house billing function, to transmit claims to payers, and any delay in transmitting claims couldhave an adverse effect on our revenue.While we manage the overall processing of claims, we rely on third-party billing provider software to transmit the actual claims to payers based on thespecific payer billing format. We have previously experienced delays in claims processing when our third-party provider made changes to its invoicingsystem. Additionally, coding for diagnostic assays may change, and such changes may cause short-term billing errors that may take significant time toresolve. If claims are not submitted to payers on a timely basis or are erroneously submitted, or if we are required to switch to a different software provider tohandle claim submissions, we may experience delays in our ability to process these claims and receipt of payments from payers, or possibly denial of claimsfor lack of timely submission, which would have an adverse effect on our revenue and our business.40We may encounter manufacturing problems or delays that could result in lost revenue.We currently manufacture our proprietary microfluidic channels at our San Diego facility and intend to continue to do so. We believe we currently haveadequate manufacturing capacity for our microfluidic channels. If demand for our current products, assays and services and our planned future products,assays and services increases significantly, we will need to either expand our manufacturing capabilities or outsource to other manufacturers. If we or third-party manufacturers engaged by us fail to manufacture and deliver our microfluidic channels or certain reagents in a timely manner, our relationships with ourcustomers could be seriously harmed. We cannot assure you that manufacturing, or quality control problems will not arise as we attempt to increase theproduction of our microfluidic channels or reagents or that we can increase our manufacturing capabilities and maintain quality control in a timely manner orat commercially reasonable costs. If we cannot manufacture our microfluidic channels consistently on a timely basis because of these or other factors, it couldhave a significant negative impact on our ability to perform assays and generate revenues.International expansion of our business would expose us to business, regulatory, political, operational, financial and economic risks associated withdoing business outside of the United States.Our business strategy is to pursue increased international expansion, including partnering with academic and commercial testing laboratories, andintroducing our technology outside the United States as part of IVD test kits and/or testing systems utilizing our technologies. Doing business internationallyinvolves a number of risks, including:•multiple, conflicting and changing laws and regulations such as tax laws, export and import restrictions, employment laws, regulatory requirementsand other governmental approvals, permits and licenses;•failure by us or our distributors to obtain regulatory approvals for the sale or use of our current products or assays and our planned future products orassays in various countries;•difficulties in managing foreign operations;•complexities associated with managing government payer systems, multiple payer-reimbursement regimes or self-pay systems;•logistics and regulations associated with shipping blood samples, including infrastructure conditions and transportation delays;•limits on our ability to penetrate international markets if our current products or assays and our planned future products or assays cannot be processedby an appropriately qualified local laboratory;•financial risks, such as longer payment cycles, difficulty enforcing contracts and collecting accounts receivable and exposure to foreign currencyexchange rate fluctuations;•reduced protection for intellectual property rights, or lack of them in certain jurisdictions, forcing more reliance on our trade secrets, if available;•natural disasters, political and economic instability, including wars, terrorism and political unrest, outbreak of disease, boycotts, curtailment of tradeand other business restrictions; and•failure to comply with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, including its books and records provisions and its anti-bribery provisions, by maintainingaccurate information and control over sales activities and distributors’ activities.Any of these risks, if encountered, could significantly harm our future international expansion and operations and consequently, have a material adverseeffect on our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.General economic or business conditions may have a negative impact on our business.Continuing concerns over United States health care reform legislation and energy costs, geopolitical issues, the availability and cost of credit andgovernment stimulus programs in the United States and other countries have contributed to increased volatility and diminished expectations for the globaleconomy. These factors, combined with low business and consumer confidence and high unemployment, precipitated an economic slowdown and recession.If the economic climate deteriorates, our business, including our access to patient samples and the addressable market for products or diagnostic assays thatwe41may successfully develop, as well as the financial condition of our suppliers and our third-party payers, could be adversely affected, resulting in a negativeimpact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.Intrusions into our computer systems could result in compromise of confidential information.Despite the implementation of security measures, our technology or systems that we interface with, including the Internet and related systems, may bevulnerable to physical break-ins, hackers, improper employee or contractor access, computer viruses, programming errors, or similar problems. Any of thesemight result in confidential medical, business or other information of other persons or of ourselves being revealed to unauthorized persons.There are a number of state, federal and international laws protecting the privacy and security of health information and personal data. As part of theAmerican Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, or ARRA, Congress amended the privacy and security provisions of the Health Insurance Portability andAccountability Act, or HIPAA. HIPAA imposes limitations on the use and disclosure of an individual’s healthcare information by healthcare providers,healthcare clearinghouses, and health insurance plans, collectively referred to as covered entities, and also grants individuals rights with respect to theirhealth information. HIPAA also imposes compliance obligations and corresponding penalties for non-compliance on individuals and entities that provideservices to healthcare providers and other covered entities, collectively referred to as business associates. ARRA also made significant increases in thepenalties for improper use or disclosure of an individual’s health information under HIPAA and extended enforcement authority to state attorneys general. Asamended by ARRA and subsequently by the final omnibus rule adopted in 2013, or Final Omnibus Rule, HIPAA also imposes notification requirements oncovered entities in the event that certain health information has been inappropriately accessed or disclosed: notification requirements to individuals, federalregulators, and in some cases, notification to local and national media. Notification is not required under HIPAA if the health information that is improperlyused or disclosed is deemed secured in accordance with encryption or other standards developed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, orHHS. Most states have laws requiring notification of affected individuals and/or state regulators in the event of a breach of personal information, which is abroader class of information than the health information protected by HIPAA. Many state laws impose significant data security requirements, such asencryption or mandatory contractual terms to ensure ongoing protection of personal information. Activities outside of the United States implicate local andnational data protection standards, impose additional compliance requirements and generate additional risks of enforcement for non-compliance. We may berequired to expend significant capital and other resources to ensure ongoing compliance with applicable privacy and data security laws, to protect againstsecurity breaches and hackers or to alleviate problems caused by such breaches.We depend on our information technology and telecommunications systems, and any failure of these systems could harm our business.We depend on information technology and telecommunications systems for significant aspects of our operations. In addition, our third-party billing softwareprovider depends upon telecommunications and data systems provided by outside vendors and information we provide on a regular basis. These informationtechnology and telecommunications systems support a variety of functions, including assay processing, sample tracking, quality control, customer serviceand support, billing and reimbursement, research and development activities and our general and administrative activities. Information technology andtelecommunications systems are vulnerable to damage from a variety of sources, including telecommunications or network failures, malicious human actsand natural disasters. Moreover, despite network security and back-up measures, some of our servers are potentially vulnerable to physical or electronicbreak-ins, computer viruses and similar disruptive problems. Despite the precautionary measures we have taken to prevent unanticipated problems that couldaffect our information technology and telecommunications systems, failures or significant downtime of our information technology or telecommunicationssystems or those used by our third-party service providers could prevent us from processing assays, providing assay results to medical oncologists, surgicaloncologists, pulmonologists, pathologists, other physicians, billing payers, processing reimbursement appeals, handling patient or physician inquiries,conducting research and development activities and managing the administrative aspects of our business. Any disruption or loss of information technologyor telecommunications systems on which critical aspects of our operations depend could have an adverse effect on our business.42Regulatory Risks Relating to Our BusinessHealthcare policy changes, including recently enacted legislation reforming the U.S. health care system, may have a material adverse effect on ourfinancial condition, results of operations and cash flows.The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, as amended by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act, or collectively the ACA, enacted inMarch 2010, makes a number of substantial changes in the way health care is financed by both governmental and private insurers. Among other things, theACA requires each medical device manufacturer to pay an excise tax equal to 2.3% of the price for which such manufacturer sells its medical devices that arelisted with the FDA. We believe that at this time this tax does not apply to our current diagnostic assays or to our products that are currently sold or indevelopment; nevertheless, this could change in the future if either the FDA or the Internal Revenue Service, which regulates the payment of this excise tax,changes its position.Although some of these provisions may negatively impact payment rates for clinical laboratory tests, the ACA also extends coverage to over 30 millionpreviously uninsured people, which may result in an increase in the demand for our current assays and our planned future assays. The mandatory purchase ofinsurance has been strenuously opposed by a number of state governors, resulting in lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of certain provisions of theACA. In 2012, the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the ACA, with the exception of certain provisions dealing with the expansion of Medicaidcoverage under the law. Since January 2017, the President of the United States has signed two executive orders and other directives designed to delay,circumvent, or loosen certain requirements mandated by the ACA. Concurrently, Congress has considered legislation that would repeal or repeal and replaceall or part of the ACA. While Congress has not passed repeal legislation, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 includes a provision repealing, effectiveJanuary 1, 2019, the tax-based shared responsibility payment imposed by the ACA on certain individuals who fail to maintain qualifying health coverage forall or part of a year that is commonly referred to as the “individual mandate”. Congress may consider other legislation to repeal or replace elements of theACA.In addition, other legislative changes have been proposed and adopted since the ACA was enacted. The Protecting Access to Medicare Act of 2014, orPAMA, was signed to law, which, among other things, significantly alters the current payment methodology under the CLFS. Under the new law, issued in2016 and the reporting period beginning in 2017 and every three years thereafter (or annually in the case of advanced diagnostic lab tests), clinicallaboratories must report laboratory test payment data for each Medicare-covered clinical diagnostic lab test that it furnishes during a time period. Thereported data must include the payment rate (reflecting all discounts, rebates, coupons and other price concessions) and the volume of each test that was paidby each private payer (including health insurance issuers, group health plans, Medicare Advantage plans and Medicaid managed care organizations).Beginning in 2018, the Medicare payment rate for each clinical diagnostic lab test is equal to the weighted median amount for the test from the most recentdata collection period. The payment rate will apply to laboratory tests furnished by a hospital laboratory if the test is separately paid under the hospitaloutpatient prospective payment system. The PAMA rate changes to our tests that were impacted did not materially affect our payments beginning in 2018;however, we cannot predict how this may change future payment in coming years. Also, under PAMA, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, orCMS, is required to adopt temporary billing codes to identify new tests and new advanced diagnostic laboratory tests that have been cleared or approved bythe FDA. For an existing test that is cleared or approved by the FDA and for which Medicare payment is made as of April 1, 2014, CMS is required to assign aunique billing code if one has not already been assigned by the agency. In addition to assigning the code, CMS was required to publicly report payment forthe tests no later than January 1, 2016. Further, under PAMA, CMS is required to adopt temporary billing codes to identify new tests and new advanceddiagnostic laboratory tests that have been cleared or approved by the FDA. We cannot determine at this time the full impact of PAMA on our business,financial condition and results of operations.Additionally, the Budget Control Act of 2011, among other things, created the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction to recommend proposals inspending reductions to Congress. The Joint Select Committee did not achieve its targeted deficit reduction of at least $1.2 trillion for the years 2013 through2021, triggering the legislation’s automatic reduction to several government programs. This includes aggregate reductions to Medicare payments toproviders and suppliers of up to 2% per fiscal year, starting in 2013, and will remain in effect through 2024 unless additional congressional action is taken.The full impact on our business the sequester law is uncertain. In addition, the Middle-Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012, or MCTRJCA,mandated an additional change in Medicare reimbursement for clinical laboratory tests.43Some of our laboratory assay business is subject to the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule and, under the current statutory formula, the rates for these servicesare updated annually. For the past several years, the application of the statutory formula would have resulted in substantial payment reductions if Congressfailed to intervene. In the past, Congress passed interim legislation to prevent the decreases. If Congress fails to intervene to prevent the negative updatefactor in future years, the resulting decrease in payment may adversely affect our revenue and results of operations. If in future years Congress does not adoptinterim legislation to block or offset, and/or CMS does not moderate, any substantial CMS-proposed reimbursement reductions, the resulting decrease inpayments from Medicare could adversely impact our revenues and results of operations.We cannot predict whether future health care initiatives will be implemented at the federal or state level, or how any future legislation or regulation mayaffect us. The expansion of government’s role in the U.S. health care industry, and changes to the reimbursement amounts paid by Medicare and other payersfor our current assays and our planned future assays, may reduce our profits, if any, and have a materially adverse effect on our business, financial condition,results of operations and cash flows. Moreover, Congress has proposed on several occasions to impose a 20% coinsurance payment requirement on patientsfor clinical laboratory tests reimbursed under the Medicare Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule, which would require us to bill patients for these amounts. In theevent that Congress were to ever enact such legislation, the cost of billing and collecting for our assays could often exceed the amount actually received fromthe patient.Our commercial success could be compromised if hospitals or other clients do not pay our invoices or if third-party payers, including managed careorganizations and Medicare, do not provide coverage and reimbursement, breach, rescind or modify their contracts or reimbursement policies or delaypayments for our current assays and our planned future assays.Medical oncologists, surgical oncologists, pulmonologists, pathologists and other physicians may not order our current assays and our planned future assaysunless third-party payers, such as managed care organizations and government payers (e.g., Medicare and Medicaid), pay a substantial portion of the assayprice. Coverage and reimbursement by a third-party payer may depend on a number of factors, including a payer’s determination that assays using ourtechnologies are:•not experimental or investigational;•medically necessary;•appropriate for the specific patient;•cost-effective;•supported by peer-reviewed publications; and•included in clinical practice guidelines.Uncertainty surrounds third-party payer coverage and adequate reimbursement of any test incorporating new technology, including tests developed using ourtechnologies. Technology assessments of new medical tests conducted by research centers and other entities may be disseminated to interested parties forinformational purposes. Third-party payers and health care providers may use such technology assessments as grounds to deny coverage for a test orprocedure. Technology assessments can include evaluation of clinical utility studies, which define how a test is used in a particular clinical setting orsituation.Because each payer generally determines for its own enrollees or insured patients whether to cover or otherwise establish a policy to reimburse our diagnosticassays, seeking payer approvals is a time-consuming and costly process. We cannot be certain that coverage for our current assays and our planned futureassays will be provided in the future by additional third-party payers or that existing agreements, policy decisions or reimbursement levels will remain inplace or be fulfilled under existing terms and provisions. If we cannot obtain coverage and adequate reimbursement from private and governmental payerssuch as Medicare and Medicaid for our current assays, or new assays or assay enhancements that we may develop in the future, our ability to generaterevenues could be limited, which may have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations and cash flow. Further, we mayexperience delays and interruptions in the receipt of payments from third-party payers due to missing documentation and/or other issues, which could causedelay in collecting our revenue.In addition, to the extent that our assays are ordered for Medicare inpatients and outpatients, only the hospital may receive payment from the Medicareprogram for the technical component of pathology services and any clinical laboratory services44that we perform, unless the testing is ordered at least 14 days after discharge and certain other requirements are met. We therefore must look to the hospital forpayment for these services under these circumstances. If hospitals refuse to pay for the services or fail to pay in a timely manner, our ability to generaterevenues could be limited, which may have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations and cash flow.We expect to depend on Medicare and a limited number of private payers for a significant portion of our revenues and if these or other payers stopproviding reimbursement or decrease the amount of reimbursement for our current assays and our planned future assays, our revenues could decline.Approximately 40% and 39% of total net revenues during the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2017, respectively, were associated with Medicarereimbursement. Approximately 11% and 19% of total net revenues during the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2017, respectively, were associated withBlue Cross Blue Shield reimbursement, and approximately 19% and 12%, respectively, of total net revenues were associated with United Healthcarereimbursement. We cannot assure you that, even if our current assays and our planned future assays are otherwise successful, reimbursement for the currentlyMedicare, Blue Cross Blue Shield, and United Healthcare covered-portions of our current assays and our planned future assays would, without suchcontracted payer reimbursement for the capture/enumeration portion, produce sufficient revenues to enable us to reach profitability and achieve our othercommercial objectives.Medicare and other third-party payers may change their coverage policies or cancel future contracts with us at any time, review and adjust the rate ofreimbursement or stop paying for our assays altogether, which would reduce our total revenues. Payers have increased their efforts to control the cost,utilization and delivery of health care services. In the past, measures have been undertaken to reduce payment rates for and decrease utilization of the clinicallaboratory testing generally. Because of the cost-trimming trends, third-party payers that currently cover and provide reimbursement for our current assaysand our planned future assays may suspend, revoke or discontinue coverage at any time, or may reduce the reimbursement rates payable to us. Any suchaction could have a negative impact on our revenues, which may have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations and cashflows.In addition, we are currently considered a “non-contracted provider” by many private payers because we have not entered into a specific contract to providediagnostic assays to their insured patients at specified rates of reimbursement. Additionally, a significant amount of our non-Medicare business (privatepayers) has historically not been contracted, and reimbursement for this business has historically not been at “in network” rates and has therefore beeninconsistent. We first began to contract private payer networks in 2015, and since then our number of accessions treated as “in network” has increased as wecontinue to execute additional contracts, and reimbursement is improving. We are currently contracted with nine preferred provider organization networks,three large health plans, and five regional independent physician associations, and expect to continue to gain contracts in order to be considered as an “in-network” provider with additional plans. If we were to become a contracted provider with additional payers in the future, the amount of overallreimbursement we receive would likely decrease because we could be reimbursed less money per assay performed at a contracted rate than at a non-contractedrate, which could have a negative impact on our revenues. Further, we typically are unable to collect payments from patients beyond that which is paid bytheir insurance and will continue to experience lost revenue as a result.Because of certain Medicare billing policies, we may not receive complete reimbursement for assays provided to Medicare patients. Medicarereimbursement revenues are an important component of our business model, and private payers sometimes look to Medicare determinations when makingtheir own payment determinations; therefore, incomplete or inadequate reimbursement from Medicare would negatively affect our business.Medicare has coverage policies that can be national or regional in scope. Coverage means that assay is approved as a benefit for Medicare beneficiaries. Ifthere is no coverage, neither the supplier nor any other party, such as a reference laboratory, may receive reimbursement from Medicare for the service. Thereis currently no national coverage policy regarding the CTC enumeration portion of our assays. Because our laboratory is in California, the regional MAC forCalifornia is the relevant MAC for all our assays. The previous MAC for California, Palmetto, which is contracted with CMS to administer the MolDxprogram that sets guidelines for coding, coverage and reimbursement of molecular diagnostic assays, adopted a negative coverage policy for CTCenumeration. The current MAC for California, Noridian Healthcare Solutions, LLC, is adopting the coverage policies from Palmetto. Therefore, theenumeration portion of our assays is not currently covered, and we will receive no payment from Medicare for this portion of the service unless and until thecoverage policy is changed. Although approximately 82% and 76% of all billable cases received during the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2017,respectively, relate to our Target-Selector biomarker assays, we continue to receive orders for traditional enumeration testing, which45counts disease burden, and therefore the enumeration testing receives no payment from Medicare based upon the existing coverage decision. The CTCenumeration counts disease burden and is a prognostic assay, and although valuable, it does not meet many of the medical necessity requirements ofMedicare and the payers. We intend to pursue payment for the capture portion of our CTC technology that allows us to run our diagnostic testing for some ofour Target-Selector assays.We cannot assure you that, even if our current assays and our planned future assays are otherwise successful, reimbursement for the currently Medicare, BlueCross Blue Shield, and United Healthcare-covered portions of our current assays and our planned future assays would, without such contracted payerreimbursement for the capture/enumeration portion, produce sufficient revenues to enable us to reach profitability and achieve our other commercialobjectives.The processing of Medicare claims is subject to change at CMS’ discretion at any time. Cost containment initiatives may be a threat to Medicarereimbursement levels (including for the covered components of our current assays and our planned future assays, including FISH analysis and molecularassays) for the foreseeable future.Long payment cycles of Medicare, Medicaid and/or other third-party payers, or other payment delays, could hurt our cash flows and increase our need forworking capital.Medicare and Medicaid have complex billing and documentation requirements that we must satisfy in order to receive payment, and the programs can beexpected to carefully audit and monitor our compliance with these requirements. We must also comply with numerous other laws applicable to billing andpayment for healthcare services, including, for example, privacy laws. Failure to comply with these requirements may result in, among other things, non-payment, refunds, exclusion from government healthcare programs, and civil or criminal liabilities, any of which may have a material adverse effect on ourrevenues and earnings. In addition, failure by third-party payers to properly process our payment claims in a timely manner could delay our receipt ofpayment for our products and services, which may have a material adverse effect on our cash flows.Complying with numerous regulations pertaining to our business is an expensive and time-consuming process, and any failure to comply could result insubstantial penalties.We are subject to CLIA, a federal law regulating clinical laboratories that perform testing on specimens derived from humans for the purpose of providinginformation for the diagnosis, prevention or treatment of disease. Our clinical laboratory must be certified under CLIA in order for us to perform testing onhuman specimens. CLIA is intended to ensure the quality and reliability of clinical laboratories in the United States by mandating specific standards in theareas of personnel qualifications, administration, and participation in proficiency testing, patient test management, quality control, quality assurance andinspections. We have a current certificate of accreditation under CLIA to perform high complexity testing, and our laboratory is accredited by CAP, one of sixCLIA-approved accreditation organizations. To renew this certificate, we are subject to survey and inspection every two years. Moreover, CLIA and CAPinspectors may make periodic inspections of our clinical laboratory outside of the renewal process. The failure to comply with CLIA or CAP requirements canresult in enforcement actions, including the revocation, suspension, or limitation of our CLIA and/or CAP certificate of accreditation, as well as a directedplan of correction, state on-site monitoring, civil money penalties, civil injunctive suit and/or criminal penalties. We must maintain CLIA compliance andcertification to be eligible to bill for assays provided to Medicare beneficiaries. If we were to be found out of compliance with CLIA program requirementsand subjected to sanctions, our business and reputation could be harmed. Even if it were possible for us to bring our laboratory back into compliance, wecould incur significant expenses and potentially lose revenue in doing so.In addition, our laboratory is located in California and is required by state law to have a California state license; as we expand our geographic focus, we mayneed to obtain laboratory licenses from additional states. California laws establish standards for operation of our clinical laboratory, including the trainingand skills required of personnel and quality control. In addition, we hold licenses from the states of Pennsylvania, Florida, Maryland and Rhode Island to testspecimens from patients in those states or received from ordering physicians in those states. In addition, our clinical reference laboratory is required to belicensed on a product-specific basis by New York as an out of state laboratory and our products, as LDTs, must be approved by the New York StateDepartment of Health before they are offered in New York. As part of this process, the State of New York requires validation of our assays. We currently do nothave the necessary New York license, but we are in the process of addressing the requirements for licensure in New York. Other states may have similarrequirements or may adopt similar requirements in the future. Finally, we may be subject to regulation in foreign jurisdictions if we seek to expandinternational distribution of our assays outside the United States.46If we were to lose our CLIA certification or California laboratory license, whether as a result of a revocation, suspension or limitation, we would no longer beable to offer our assays, which would limit our revenues and harm our business. If we were to lose, or fail to obtain, a license in any other state where we arerequired to hold a license, we would not be able to test specimens from those states. If we were to lose our CAP accreditation, our reputation for quality, aswell as our business, financial condition and results of operations, could be significantly and adversely affected.If the FDA were to begin requiring approval or clearance of our current products or assays and our planned future products or assays, we could incursubstantial costs and time delays associated with meeting requirements for pre-market clearance or approval or we could experience decreased demandfor, or reimbursement of, our assays.We provide our assays as LDTs. Historically; the FDA has exercised enforcement discretion with respect to most LDTs and has not required laboratories thatoffer LDTs to comply with the agency’s requirements for medical devices (e.g., establishment registration, device listing, quality systems regulations,premarket clearance or premarket approval, and post-market controls). In recent years, however, the FDA has stated it intends to end its policy of enforcementdiscretion and regulate certain LDTs as medical devices. To this end, on October 3, 2014, the FDA issued two draft guidance documents, entitled “Frameworkfor Regulatory Oversight of Laboratory Developed Tests (LDTs)” and “FDA Notification and Medical Device Reporting for Laboratory Developed Tests(LDTs)”, respectively, that set forth a proposed risk-based regulatory framework that would apply varying levels of FDA oversight to LDTs. The FDA hasindicated that it does not intend to modify its policy of enforcement discretion until the draft guidance documents are finalized. In January 2017, the FDAannounced that final guidance on the oversight of LDTs would allow for further public discussion. On January 13, 2017 the FDA issued a “Discussion Paperon Laboratory Developed Tests (LDTs),” which states that the material in the document does not represent a final version of the LDT draft guidancedocuments that were published in 2014 or position of the FDA; rather, the document is a method to encourage additional dialogue. The timing of when, if atall, the draft guidance documents will be finalized is unclear, and even then, the new regulatory requirements are proposed to be phased-in consistent withthe schedule set forth in the guidance. Nevertheless, the FDA may decide to regulate certain LDTs on a case-by-case basis at any time. LDTs with the sameintended use as a cleared or approved companion diagnostic are defined in FDA’s draft guidance as “high-risk LDTs (Class III medical devices)” for whichpremarket review would be first to occur.FDA review, if required and successfully accomplished, would be expected to have some advantages. Certain health insurance payers have paid higheramounts over LDT prices for FDA approved or cleared tests, recognizing the additional costs of bringing a test through regulatory review. Some payers alsoaccept FDA approval or clearance as a presumptive evidence of an assay’s analytic validity and clinical validity, which can reduce the barriers to coveragesince the payer can focus its review on clinical utility.The container we provide for collection and transport of blood samples from a health care provider to our clinical laboratory, as well as our BCTs, may bemedical devices subject to the FDA regulation but are currently exempt from pre-market review by the FDA. While we believe that we are currently inmaterial compliance with applicable laws and regulations, we cannot assure you that the FDA or other regulatory agencies would agree with ourdetermination, and a determination that we have violated these laws, or a public announcement that we are being investigated for possible violations of theselaws, could adversely affect our business, prospects, results of operations or financial condition.Some of the materials we use for our current products, assays and services and may use in our planned future products, assays and services are labeled forRUO. In November 2013, the FDA finalized guidance regarding the sale and use of products labeled for research or investigational use only. Among otherthings, the guidance advises that the FDA continues to be concerned about distribution of research or investigational use only products intended for clinicaldiagnostic use and that the manufacturer’s objective intent for the product’s intended use will be determined by examining the totality of circumstances,including advertising, instructions for clinical interpretation, presentations that describe clinical use, and specialized technical support, surrounding thedistribution of the product in question. The FDA has advised that if evidence demonstrates that a product is inappropriately labeled for research orinvestigational use only, the device would be misbranded and adulterated within the meaning of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. Some of thematerials and reagents obtained by us from suppliers for use in our current products, assays and services and our planned future products, assays and servicesare currently labeled as research or investigational use only products. If the FDA were to undertake enforcement actions, some of our suppliers might ceaseselling research or investigational use products to us, and any failure to obtain an acceptable substitute could significantly and adversely affect our business,financial condition and results of operations, including increasing the cost of materials or reagents used in our current products, assays and services orplanned47future products, assays and services or delaying, limiting or prohibiting the purchase of materials or reagents necessary to sell our current products or plannedfuture products or to perform our current assays or our planned future assays.Our BCTs will be marketed for RUO and distributed and sold to end users, some of which will be researchers and institutions while other end users could belabs performing clinical testing that will create their own LDTs utilizing our tubes. Some end users of the BCTs may assert that our BCT caused their assaysto perform inadequately or give erroneous results. If that was the case, we could potentially incur additional liabilities.Further, HHS requested that its Advisory Committee on Genetics, Health and Society make recommendations about the oversight of genetic testing. A finalreport was published in April 2008. If the report’s recommendations for increased oversight of genetic testing were to result in further regulatory burdens,they could negatively affect our business and delay the commercialization of assays in development.Additionally, on March 16, 2018 CMS issued a final determination decision memo for NGS for Medicare Beneficiaries with Advanced Cancer (CAG-00450N). Under this final determination, NGS tests that gain FDA approval or clearance as a companion diagnostic will receive coverage, and the finaldetermination of coverage for NGS tests that are LDTs will be left up to the local MAC. Currently, only 1 of our 15 CLIA validated assays is NGS-based;however, we plan to offer additional NGS assays in the future. To gain coverage for those assays, we will need to apply to Palmetto, which is the MAC thatevaluates and recommends payment coverage or denial for molecular testing in our jurisdiction. Historically, Palmetto has offered a path to reimbursement byproviding coverage while data is being gathered known as Coverage with Data Development, or CDD. Going forward, the extent to which CDD will becontinued, if at all, or to the extent that a process will be available in its place, if any, are unclear. The requirement of pre-market review could negatively affect our business until such review is completed and clearance to market or approval is obtained.The FDA could require that we stop selling our products or diagnostic assays pending pre-market clearance or approval. If the FDA allows our products orassays to remain on the market but there is uncertainty about our products or assays, if they are labeled investigational by the FDA or if labeling claims theFDA allows us to make are very limited, orders from laboratory supply distributors and physicians, or reimbursement from third-party payers, may decline.The regulatory approval process may involve, among other things, successfully completing additional clinical trials and making a 510(k) submission orfiling a pre-market approval application with the FDA. If the FDA requires pre-market review, our products or assays may not be cleared or approved on atimely basis, if at all. We may also decide voluntarily to pursue FDA pre-market review of our products or assays if we determine that doing so would beappropriate.If we were required to conduct additional clinical studies or trials before continuing to offer assays that we have developed or may develop as LDTs, thosestudies or trials could lead to delays or failure to obtain necessary regulatory approval, which could cause significant delays in commercializing anyfuture products and harm our ability to achieve sustained profitability.If the FDA decides to require that we obtain clearance or approvals to commercialize our current assays or our planned future assays, we may be required toconduct additional pre-market clinical testing before submitting a regulatory notification or application for commercial sales. In addition, as part of our long-term strategy we may plan to seek FDA clearance or approval, so we can sell our assays outside our CLIA laboratory; however, we would need to conductadditional clinical validation activities on our assays before we can submit an application for FDA approval or clearance. Clinical trials must be conducted incompliance with FDA regulations or the FDA may take enforcement action or reject the data. The data collected from these clinical trials may ultimately beused to support market clearance or approval for our assays. It may take two years or more to conduct the clinical studies and trials necessary to obtainapproval from the FDA to commercially launch our current assays and our planned future assays outside of our clinical laboratory. Even if our clinical trialsare completed as planned, we cannot be certain that their results will support our assay claims or that the FDA or foreign authorities will agree with ourconclusions regarding our assay results. Success in early clinical trials does not ensure that later clinical trials will be successful, and we cannot be sure thatthe later trials will replicate the results of prior clinical trials and studies. If we are required to conduct pre-market clinical trials, whether using prospectivelyacquired samples or archival samples, delays in the commencement or completion of clinical testing could significantly increase our assay development costsand delay commercialization. Many of the factors that may cause or lead to a delay in the commencement or completion of clinical trials may also ultimatelylead to delay or denial of regulatory clearance or approval. The commencement of clinical trials may be delayed due to insufficient patient enrollment, whichis a function of many factors, including the size of the patient population, the nature of the protocol, the proximity of patients to clinical sites and theeligibility criteria for the clinical trial.48Moreover, the clinical trial process may fail to demonstrate that our current assays and our planned future assays are effective for the proposed indicated uses,which could cause us to abandon an assay candidate and may delay development of other assays.We may find it necessary to engage contract research organizations to perform data collection and analysis and other aspects of our clinical trials, whichmight increase the cost and complexity of our trials. We may also depend on clinical investigators, medical institutions and contract research organizationsto perform the trials properly. If these parties do not successfully carry out their contractual duties or obligations or meet expected deadlines, or if the quality,completeness or accuracy of the clinical data they obtain is compromised due to the failure to adhere to our clinical protocols or for other reasons, our clinicaltrials may have to be extended, delayed or terminated. Many of these factors would be beyond our control. We may not be able to enter into replacementarrangements without undue delays or considerable expenditures. If there are delays in testing or approvals as a result of the failure to perform by thirdparties, our research and development costs would increase, and we may not be able to obtain regulatory clearance or approval for our current assays and ourplanned future assays. In addition, we may not be able to establish or maintain relationships with these parties on favorable terms, if at all. Each of theseoutcomes would harm our ability to market our assays or to achieve sustained profitability.We are subject to federal and state healthcare fraud and abuse laws and regulations and could face substantial penalties if we are unable to fully complywith such laws.We are subject to health care fraud and abuse regulation and enforcement by both the federal government and the states in which we conduct our business.These health care laws and regulations include, for example:•the federal Anti-Kickback Statute, which prohibits, among other things, persons or entities from soliciting, receiving, offering or providingremuneration, directly or indirectly, overtly or covertly, in cash or in kind, in return for or to induce either the referral of an individual for, or thepurchase, lease, order or recommendation of, any good, facility, item or services for which payment may be made under a federal health care programsuch as the Medicare and Medicaid programs;•the federal physician self-referral prohibition, commonly known as the Stark Law, which prohibits physicians from referring Medicare or Medicaidpatients to providers of “designated health services” with whom the physician or a member of the physician’s immediate family has an ownershipinterest or compensation arrangement, unless a statutory or regulatory exception applies;•HIPAA, which established federal crimes for, among other things, knowingly and willfully executing a scheme to defraud any health care benefitprogram or making false statements in connection with the delivery of or payment for health care benefits, items or services;•HIPAA, as amended by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act of 2009, or HITECH, and its implementingregulations, which imposes certain requirements relating to the privacy, security and transmission of individually identifiable health information;•federal false claims and civil monetary penalties laws, which, prohibit, among other things, individuals or entities from knowingly presenting, orcausing to be presented, false or fraudulent claims for payment to the federal government;•the federal Physician Payments Sunshine Act requirements under the ACA, which require certain manufacturers of drugs, devices, biologics andmedical supplies to report to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services information related to payments and other transfers of value made toor at the request of covered recipients, such as physicians and teaching hospitals, and certain physician ownership and investment interests in suchmanufacturers; and•state law equivalents of each of the above federal laws, such as anti-kickback and false claims laws, which may apply to items or services reimbursedby any third-party payer, including commercial insurers.Further, the ACA, among other things, amends the intent requirement of the federal Anti-Kickback Statute and certain criminal health care fraud statutes.Where the intent requirement has been lowered, a person or entity no longer needs to have actual knowledge of this statute or specific intent to violate it. Inaddition, the government may now assert that a claim including items or services resulting from a violation of the federal Anti-Kickback Statute constitutes afalse or fraudulent claim for purposes of the false claims statutes. Any action brought against us for violation of these laws or regulations, even if wesuccessfully defend against it, could cause us to incur significant legal expenses and divert our management’s attention from the operation of our business. Ifour operations are found to be in violation of any of these laws and regulations, we may49be subject to any applicable penalty associated with the violation, including, among others, administrative, civil and criminal penalties, damages and fines,and/or exclusion from participation in Medicare, Medicaid programs, including the California Medical Assistance Program (Medi-Cal-the CaliforniaMedicaid program) or other state or federal health care programs. Additionally, we could be required to refund payments received by us, and we could berequired to curtail or cease our operations. Any of the foregoing consequences could seriously harm our business and our financial results.We may be required to comply with laws governing the transmission, security and privacy of health information that require significant compliance costs,and any failure to comply with these laws could result in material criminal and civil penalties.Under the administrative simplification provisions of HIPAA, HHS has issued regulations which establish uniform standards governing the conduct of certainelectronic health care transactions and protecting the privacy and security of Protected Health Information used or disclosed by health care providers andother covered entities.The privacy regulations regulate the use and disclosure of Protected Health Information by covered entities engaging in certain electronic transactions or“standard transactions.” They also set forth certain rights that an individual has with respect to his or her Protected Health Information maintained by acovered entity, including the right to access or amend certain records containing Protected Health Information or to request restrictions on the use ordisclosure of Protected Health Information. The HIPAA security regulations establish administrative, physical and technical standards for maintaining theconfidentiality, integrity and availability of Protected Health Information in electronic form. These standards apply to covered entities and also to “businessassociates” or third parties providing services to covered entities involving the use or disclosure of Protected Health Information. The HIPAA privacy andsecurity regulations establish a uniform federal “floor” and do not supersede state laws that are more stringent or provide individuals with greater rights withrespect to the privacy or security of, and access to, their records containing Protected Health Information. As a result, we may be required to comply with bothHIPAA privacy regulations and varying state privacy and security laws.Moreover, HITECH, enacted as part of ARRA, among other things, established certain health information security breach notification requirements, whichwere later further modified by the Final Omnibus Rule. In the event of a breach of unsecured Protected Health Information, a covered entity must notify eachindividual whose Protected Health Information is breached, federal regulators and in some cases, must publicize the breach in local or national media.Breaches affecting 500 individuals or more may be publicized by federal regulators who publicly identify the breaching entity, the circumstances of thebreach and the number of individuals affected.These laws contain significant fines and other penalties for wrongful use or disclosure of Protected Health Information. Given the complexity of HIPAA andHITECH and their overlap with state privacy and security laws, and the fact that these laws are rapidly evolving and are subject to changing and potentiallyconflicting interpretation, our ability to comply with the HIPAA, HITECH and state privacy requirements is uncertain and the costs of compliance aresignificant. Adding to the complexity is that our operations are evolving, and the requirements of these laws will apply differently depending on such thingsas whether or not we bill electronically for our services. The costs of complying with any changes to the HIPAA, HITECH and state privacy restrictions mayhave a negative impact on our operations. Noncompliance could subject us to criminal penalties, civil sanctions and significant monetary penalties as well asreputational damage.Clinical research is heavily regulated and failure to comply with human subject protection regulations may disrupt our research program leading tosignificant expense, regulatory enforcement, private lawsuits and reputational damage.Clinical research is subject to federal, state and, for studies conducted outside of the United States, international regulation. At the federal level, the FDAimposes regulations for the protection of human subjects and requirements such as initial and ongoing institutional review board review; informed consentrequirements, adverse event reporting and other protections to minimize the risk and maximize the benefit to research participants. Many states imposehuman subject protection laws that mirror or in some cases exceed federal requirements. HIPAA also regulates the use and disclosure of Protected HealthInformation in connection with research activities. Research conducted overseas is subject to a variety of national protections such as mandatory ethicscommittee review, as well as laws regulating the use, disclosure and cross-border transfer of personal data. The costs of compliance with these laws may besignificant and compliance with regulatory requirements may result in delay. Noncompliance may disrupt our research and result in data that is unacceptableto regulatory authorities, data lock or other sanctions that may significantly disrupt our operations.50Violation of a state’s prohibition on the corporate practice of medicine could result in a material adverse effect on our business.A number of states, including California, do not allow business corporations to employ physicians to provide professional services. This prohibition againstthe “corporate practice of medicine” is aimed at preventing corporations such as us from exercising control over the medical judgments or decisions ofphysicians. The state licensure statutes and regulations and agency and court decisions that enumerate the specific corporate practice rules vary considerablyfrom state to state and are enforced by both the courts and regulatory authorities, each with broad discretion. If regulatory authorities or other parties in anyjurisdiction successfully assert that we are engaged in the unauthorized corporate practice of medicine, we could be required to restructure our contractualand other arrangements. In addition, violation of these laws may result in sanctions imposed against us and/or the professional through licensure proceedings,and we could be subject to civil and criminal penalties that could result in exclusion from state and federal health care programs.Intellectual Property Risks Related to Our BusinessIf we are unable to obtain and maintain effective patent rights for our products or services, we may not be able to compete effectively in our markets.We rely upon a combination of patents, trade secret protection, and confidentiality agreements to protect the intellectual property related to our technologies,products and services. Our success depends in large part on our ability to obtain and maintain patent and other intellectual property protection in the UnitedStates and in other countries with respect to our proprietary technology and products.We have sought to protect our proprietary position by filing patent applications in the United States and abroad related to our novel technologies andproducts that are important to our business. This process is expensive and time consuming, and we may not be able to file and prosecute all necessary ordesirable patent applications at a reasonable cost or in a timely manner. The possibility exists that we will fail to identify patentable aspects of our researchand development output before it is too late to obtain patent protection.The patent position of diagnostic companies generally is highly uncertain and involves complex legal and factual questions for which legal principlesremain unsolved. The patent applications that we own, or in-license, may fail to result in issued patents with claims that cover our products or services in theUnited States or in other foreign countries. There is no assurance that all potentially relevant prior art relating to our patents and patent applications has beenfound, which can invalidate a patent or prevent a patent from issuing from a pending patent application. Even if patents do successfully issue, and even ifsuch patents cover our products and services, third parties may challenge their validity, enforceability, or scope, which may result in such patents beingnarrowed, found unenforceable or invalidated. Furthermore, even if they are unchallenged, our patents and patent applications may not adequately protectour intellectual property, provide exclusivity for our products and services, or prevent others from designing around our claims. Any of these outcomes couldimpair our ability to prevent competition from third parties, which may have an adverse impact on our business.We, independently or together with our licensors, have filed several patent applications covering various aspects of our products and services. We cannotoffer any assurances about which, if any, patents will issue, the breadth of any such patent or whether any issued patents will be found invalid andunenforceable or will be threatened by third parties. Any successful opposition to these patents or any other patents owned by or licensed to us after patentissuance could deprive us of rights necessary for the successful commercialization of any products and services that we may offer. Further, if we encounterdelays in regulatory approvals, the period of time during which we could market a product or service under patent protection could be reduced.Patent policy and rule changes could increase the uncertainties and costs surrounding the prosecution of our patent applications and the enforcement ordefense of our issued patents.Changes in either the patent laws or interpretation of the patent laws in the United States and other countries may diminish the value of our patents or narrowthe scope of our patent protection. The laws of foreign countries may not protect our rights to the same extent as the laws of the United States. Publications ofdiscoveries in the scientific literature often lag behind the actual discoveries, and patent applications in the United States and other jurisdictions are typicallynot published until 18 months after filing, or in some cases not at all. We therefore cannot be certain that we or our licensors were the first to make51the invention claimed in our owned and licensed patents or pending applications, or that we or our licensor were the first to file for patent protection of suchinventions. Assuming the other requirements for patentability are met, in the United States prior to March 15, 2013, the first to make the claimed invention isentitled to the patent, while outside the United States, the first to file a patent application is entitled to the patent. After March 15, 2013, under the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act, or the Leahy-Smith Act, enacted on September 16, 2011, the United States has moved to a first to file system. The Leahy-SmithAct also includes a number of significant changes that affect the way patent applications will be prosecuted and may also affect patent litigation. The effectsof these changes are currently unclear as the United States Patent and Trademark Office, or USPTO, must still implement various regulations, the courts haveyet to address any of these provisions and the applicability of the act and new regulations on specific patents discussed herein have not been determined andwould need to be reviewed. In general, the Leahy-Smith Act and its implementation could increase the uncertainties and costs surrounding the prosecution ofour patent applications and the enforcement or defense of our issued patents, all of which could have a material adverse effect on our business and financialcondition.If we are unable to maintain effective proprietary rights for our products or services, we may not be able to compete effectively in our markets.In addition to the protection afforded by patents, we rely on trade secret protection and confidentiality agreements to protect proprietary know-how that isnot patentable or that we elect not to patent, processes for which patents are difficult to enforce and any other elements of our products and services thatinvolve proprietary know-how, information or technology that is not covered by patents. However, trade secrets can be difficult to protect. We seek to protectour proprietary technology and processes, in part, by entering into confidentiality agreements with our employees, consultants, scientific advisors, andcontractors. We also seek to preserve the integrity and confidentiality of our data and trade secrets by maintaining physical security of our premises andphysical and electronic security of our information technology systems. While we have confidence in these individuals, organizations and systems,agreements or security measures may be breached, and we may not have adequate remedies for any breach. In addition, our trade secrets may otherwisebecome known or be independently discovered by competitors.Although we expect all of our employees and consultants to assign their inventions to us, and all of our employees, consultants, advisors, and any thirdparties who have access to our proprietary know-how, information, or technology to enter into confidentiality agreements, we cannot provide any assurancesthat all such agreements have been duly executed or that our trade secrets and other confidential proprietary information will not be disclosed or thatcompetitors will not otherwise gain access to our trade secrets or independently develop substantially equivalent information and techniques.Misappropriation or unauthorized disclosure of our trade secrets could impair our competitive position and may have a material adverse effect on ourbusiness. Additionally, if the steps taken to maintain our trade secrets are deemed inadequate, we may have insufficient recourse against third parties formisappropriating the trade secret.Third-party claims of intellectual property infringement may prevent or delay our development and commercialization efforts.Our commercial success depends in part on our avoiding infringement of the patents and proprietary rights of third parties. There have been many lawsuitsand other proceedings involving patent and other intellectual property rights in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries, including patentinfringement lawsuits, interferences, oppositions, and reexamination proceedings before the USPTO and corresponding foreign patent offices. Numerous U.S.and foreign issued patents and pending patent applications, which are owned by third parties, exist in the fields in which we are developing products andservices. As the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries expand and more patents are issued, the risk increases that our products and services may besubject to claims of infringement of the patent rights of third parties.Third parties may assert that we are employing their proprietary technology without authorization. There may be third-party patents or patent applicationswith claims to materials, formulations, methods of manufacture, or methods for treatment related to the use or manufacture of our products and services. Wehave conducted freedom to operate analyses with respect to only certain of our products and services, and therefore we do not know whether there are anythird-party patents that would impair our ability to commercialize these products and services. We also cannot guarantee that any of our analyses arecomplete and thorough, nor can we be sure that we have identified each and every patent and pending application in the United States and abroad that isrelevant or necessary to the commercialization of our products and services. Because patent applications can take many years to issue, there may be currentlypending patent applications that may later result in issued patents that our products or services may infringe.52For example, in August 2016, we received a letter from MolecularMD Corp. offering a license to two U.S. Patents owned by the Memorial Sloan-KetteringCancer Center, and licensed to MolecularMD Corp., that are relevant to one of the biomarkers we detect in our Liquid Biopsy Non-Small Cell Lung CancerProfile Target-Selector assay and our Liquid Biopsy Lung Cancer Resistance Profile Target-Selector™ assay. One of the two patents is expected to expire in2026. The other patent is expected to expire in 2028. Although we believe that the claims of both patents relevant to our assays would likely be held invalid,we cannot provide any assurances that a court or an administrative agency would agree with our assessment. If the validity of the relevant claims in questionis upheld upon a validity challenge, then we may be liable for past damages and would need a license in order to continue commercializing our LiquidBiopsy Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Profile Target-Selector Assay and our Liquid Biopsy Lung Cancer Resistance Profile Target-Selector Assay in theUnited States. However, such a license may not be available on commercially reasonable terms or at all, which could materially and adversely affect ourbusiness.In addition, we are aware of a U.S. Patent owned by Amgen, Inc. that is relevant to one of the biomarkers we detect in our Liquid Biopsy Non-Small Cell LungCancer Profile Target-Selector assay and our Liquid Biopsy Lung Cancer Resistance Profile Target-Selector assay. The patent is expected to expire in 2028.Although we believe that the claims of the patent relevant to our assays would likely be held invalid, we cannot provide any assurances that a court or anadministrative agency would agree with our assessment. If the validity of the relevant claims in question is upheld upon a validity challenge, then we may beliable for past damages and would need a license in order to continue commercializing our Liquid Biopsy Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Profile Target-Selector assay and our Liquid Biopsy Lung Cancer Resistance Profile Target-Selector assay in the United States. However, such a license may not beavailable on commercially reasonable terms or at all, which could materially and adversely affect our business.We are also aware of a U.S. Patent owned by Genentech, Inc. that is relevant to one of the biomarkers we detect in our Liquid Biopsy Lung Cancer ResistanceProfile Target-Selector assay and our Liquid Biopsy Colon Cancer Profile Target-Selector assay. The patent is expected to expire in 2025. Although webelieve that the claims of the patent relevant to our assays would likely be held invalid, we cannot provide any assurances that a court or an administrativeagency would agree with our assessment. If the validity of the relevant claims in question is upheld upon a validity challenge, then we may be liable for pastdamages and would need a license in order to continue commercializing our Liquid Biopsy Lung Cancer Resistance Profile Target-Selector assay and ourLiquid Biopsy Colon Cancer Profile Target-Selector assay in the United States. However, such a license may not be available on commercially reasonableterms or at all, which could materially and adversely affect our business.In addition, in July 2016, we received a communication from the Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research (“Mayo”) offering a license to a U.S.Patent owned by Mayo that is relevant to an antibody that we use in our Liquid Biopsy Immuno-Oncology PD-L1 assay. The patent is expected to expire in2021. At present, we believe that we will need a license to this patent to continue commercializing our Liquid Biopsy Immuno-Oncology PD-L1 assay. Weare currently in discussions with Mayo and believe a license can be obtained on commercially reasonable terms. However, if we are unable to secure such alicense, we may be liable for past damages, and our business could be materially and adversely affected.In addition, third parties may obtain patents in the future and claim that use of our technologies infringes upon these patents. If any third-party patents wereheld by a court of competent jurisdiction to cover aspects of our products or services, the holders of any such patents may be able to block our ability tocommercialize such products or services unless we obtained a license under the applicable patents, or until such patents expire or are finally determined to beinvalid or unenforceable. Such a license may not be available on commercially reasonable terms or at all.Parties making claims against us may obtain injunctive or other equitable relief, which could effectively block our ability to further develop andcommercialize one or more of our products or services. Defense of these claims, regardless of their merit, would involve substantial litigation expense andwould be a substantial diversion of employee resources from our business. In the event of a successful claim of infringement against us, we may have to paysubstantial damages, including treble damages and attorneys’ fees for willful infringement, pay royalties, redesign our infringing products or obtain one ormore licenses from third parties, which may be impossible or require substantial time and monetary expenditure.We may not be successful in obtaining or maintaining necessary rights to our products or services through acquisitions and in-licenses.53We currently have rights to the intellectual property, through licenses from third parties and under patents that we own, to develop our products and services.Because our programs may require the use of proprietary rights held by third parties, the growth of our business will likely depend in part on our ability toacquire, in-license, or use these proprietary rights. We may be unable to acquire or in-license any compositions, methods of use, processes, or other third-partyintellectual property rights from third parties that we identify as necessary for our products or services. The licensing and acquisition of third-partyintellectual property rights is a competitive area, and a number of more established companies are also pursuing strategies to license or acquire third-partyintellectual property rights that we may consider attractive. These established companies may have a competitive advantage over us due to their size, cashresources, and greater clinical development and commercialization capabilities. In addition, companies that perceive us to be a competitor may be unwillingto assign or license rights to us. We also may be unable to license or acquire third-party intellectual property rights on terms that would allow us to make anappropriate return on our investment.We sometimes collaborate with U.S. and foreign institutions to accelerate our research or development under written agreements with these institutions.Typically, these institutions provide us with an option to negotiate a license to any of the institution’s rights in technology resulting from the collaboration.Regardless of such option, we may be unable to negotiate a license within the specified timeframe or under terms that are acceptable to us. If we are unable todo so, the institution may offer the intellectual property rights to other parties, potentially blocking our ability to pursue our program.If we are unable to successfully obtain rights to required third-party intellectual property rights or maintain the existing intellectual property rights we have,we may have to abandon development of that program and our business and financial condition could suffer.Although we are not currently involved in any litigation, we may be involved in lawsuits to protect or enforce our patents or the patents of our licensors,which could be expensive, time consuming, and unsuccessful.Competitors may infringe our patents or the patents of our licensors. Although we are not currently involved in any litigation, if we or one of our licensingpartners were to initiate legal proceedings against a third-party to enforce a patent covering one of our products or services, the defendant could counterclaimthat the patent covering our product or service is invalid and/or unenforceable. In patent litigation in the United States, defendant counterclaims alleginginvalidity and/or unenforceability are commonplace. Grounds for a validity challenge could be an alleged failure to meet any of several statutoryrequirements, including lack of novelty, obviousness, or non-enablement. Grounds for an unenforceability assertion could be an allegation that someoneconnected with prosecution of the patent withheld relevant information from the USPTO, or made a misleading statement, during prosecution. The outcomefollowing legal assertions of invalidity and unenforceability is unpredictable.Interference proceedings provoked by third parties or brought by us or declared by the USPTO may be necessary to determine the priority of inventions withrespect to our patents or patent applications or those of our licensors. An unfavorable outcome could require us to cease using the related technology or toattempt to license rights to it from the prevailing party. Our business could be harmed if the prevailing party does not offer us a license on commerciallyreasonable terms. Our defense of litigation or interference proceedings may fail and, even if successful, may result in substantial costs and distract ourmanagement and other employees. In addition, the uncertainties associated with litigation could have a material adverse effect on our ability to raisesufficient capital to continue our research programs, license necessary technology from third parties, or enter into development partnerships that would helpcommercialize our products or services.Furthermore, because of the substantial amount of discovery required in connection with intellectual property litigation, there is a risk that some of ourconfidential information could be compromised by disclosure during this type of litigation. There could also be public announcements of the results ofhearings, motions, or other interim proceedings or developments. If securities analysts or investors perceive these results to be negative, it could have amaterial adverse effect on the price of our common stock.We may be subject to claims that our employees, consultants, or independent contractors have wrongfully used or disclosed confidential information ofthird parties or that our employees have wrongfully used or disclosed alleged trade secrets of their former employers.We employ certain individuals who were previously employed at universities or other biotechnology or pharmaceutical companies, including ourcompetitors or potential competitors. Although we try to ensure that our employees, consultants,54and independent contractors do not use the proprietary information or know-how of others in their work for us, and we are not currently subject to any claimsthat our employees, consultants, or independent contractors have wrongfully used or disclosed confidential information of third parties, we may in the futurebe subject to such claims. Litigation may be necessary to defend against these claims. If we fail in defending any such claims, in addition to paying monetarydamages, we may lose valuable intellectual property rights or personnel, which could adversely impact our business. Even if we are successful in defendingagainst such claims, litigation could result in substantial costs and be a distraction to management and other employees.We may be subject to claims challenging the inventorship of our patents and other intellectual property.Although we are not currently experiencing any claims challenging the inventorship of our patents or ownership of our intellectual property, we may in thefuture be subject to claims that former employees, collaborators or other third parties have an interest in our patents or other intellectual property as aninventor or co-inventor. For example, we may have inventorship disputes arise from conflicting obligations of consultants or others who are involved indeveloping our products or services. Litigation may be necessary to defend against these and other claims challenging inventorship. If we fail in defendingany such claims, in addition to paying monetary damages, we may lose valuable intellectual property rights, such as exclusive ownership of, or right to use,valuable intellectual property. Such an outcome could have a material adverse effect on our business. Even if we are successful in defending against suchclaims, litigation could result in substantial costs and be a distraction to management and other employees.Changes in U.S. patent law could diminish the value of patents in general, thereby impairing our ability to protect our products.As is the case with other biopharmaceutical companies, our success is heavily dependent on intellectual property, particularly patents. Obtaining andenforcing patents in the biotechnology industry involves both technological and legal complexity. Therefore, obtaining and enforcing biotechnologypatents is costly, time consuming, and inherently uncertain. In addition, the United States has recently enacted and is currently implementing wide-rangingpatent reform legislation. Recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings have narrowed the scope of patent protection available in certain circumstances and weakenedthe rights of patent owners in certain situations. In addition to increasing uncertainty with regard to our ability to obtain patents in the future, thiscombination of events has created uncertainty with respect to the value of patents, once obtained. Depending on future actions by the U.S. Congress, thefederal courts, and the USPTO, the laws and regulations governing patents could change in unpredictable ways that would weaken our ability to obtain newpatents or to enforce our existing patents and patents that we might obtain in the future.We may not be able to protect our intellectual property rights throughout the world.Filing, prosecuting, and defending patents on products and services in all countries throughout the world would be prohibitively expensive, and ourintellectual property rights in some countries outside the United States can be less extensive than those in the United States. In addition, the laws of someforeign countries do not protect intellectual property rights to the same extent as federal and state laws in the United States. Consequently, we may not beable to prevent third parties from practicing our inventions in all countries outside the United States, or from selling or importing products made using ourinventions in and into the United States or other jurisdictions. Competitors may use our technologies in jurisdictions where we have not obtained patentprotection to develop their own products and may also export infringing products to territories where we have patent protection, but enforcement is not asstrong as that in the United States. These products may compete with our products and our patents or other intellectual property rights may not be effective orsufficient to prevent them from competing.Many companies have encountered significant problems in protecting and defending intellectual property rights in foreign jurisdictions. The legal systemsof certain countries, particularly certain developing countries, do not favor the enforcement of patents, trade secrets, and other intellectual propertyprotection, particularly those relating to biotechnology products, which could make it difficult for us to stop the infringement of our patents or marketing ofcompeting products in violation of our proprietary rights generally. Proceedings to enforce our patent rights in foreign jurisdictions, whether or notsuccessful, could result in substantial costs and divert our efforts and attention from other aspects of our business, could put our patents at risk of beinginvalidated or interpreted narrowly and our patent applications at risk of not issuing and could provoke third parties to assert claims against us. We may notprevail in any lawsuits that we initiate, and the damages or other remedies awarded, if any, may not be commercially meaningful. Accordingly, our efforts toenforce our intellectual property rights55around the world may be inadequate to obtain a significant commercial advantage from the intellectual property that we develop or license.Our collaborators may assert ownership or commercial rights to inventions we develop from our use of the biological materials which they provide to us,or otherwise arising from the collaboration.We collaborate with several institutions, physicians and researchers in scientific matters. We do not have written agreements with certain of suchcollaborators, or the written agreements we have do not cover intellectual property rights. Also, we rely on numerous third parties to provide us with bloodsamples and biological materials that we use to develop assays. If we cannot successfully negotiate sufficient ownership and commercial rights to anyinventions that result from our use of a third-party collaborator’s materials, or if disputes arise with respect to the intellectual property developed with the useof a collaborator’s samples, or data developed in a collaborator’s study, we may be limited in our ability to capitalize on the market potential of theseinventions or developments.Risks Relating to Our Common StockThe price of our common stock may be volatile.Before our initial public offering, there was no public market for our common stock. Market prices for securities of early-stage life sciences companies havehistorically been particularly volatile. The factors that may cause the market price of our common stock to fluctuate include, but are not limited to:•progress, or lack of progress, in performing, developing and commercializing our current assays and our planned future assays;•favorable or unfavorable decisions about our assays from government regulators, insurance companies or other third-party payers;•our ability to remain compliant with the terms of our April 2014 Credit Facility;•our ability to recruit and retain qualified research and development personnel;•changes in investors’ and securities analysts’ perception of the business risks and conditions of our business;•changes in our relationship with key collaborators;•changes in the market valuation or earnings of our competitors or companies viewed as similar to us;•changes in key personnel;•depth of the trading market in our common stock;•changes in our capital structure, such as future issuances of securities or the incurrence of additional debt;•the granting or exercise of employee stock options or other equity awards;•realization of any of the risks described herein; and•general market and economic conditions.In addition, the equity markets have experienced significant price and volume fluctuations that have affected the market prices for the securities of newlypublic companies for a number of reasons, including reasons that may be unrelated to our business or operating performance. These broad market fluctuationsmay result in a material decline in the market price of our common stock and you may not be able to sell your shares at prices you deem acceptable. In thepast, following periods of volatility in the equity markets, securities class action lawsuits have been instituted against public companies. Such litigation, ifinstituted against us, could result in substantial cost and the diversion of management attention.56Our failure to meet the continued listing requirements of The NASDAQ Capital Market could result in a de-listing of our common stock.If we fail to satisfy the continued listing requirements of The NASDAQ Capital Market, such as the corporate governance requirements, the minimum closingbid price requirement, or the minimum stockholders’ equity requirement, NASDAQ may take steps to de-list our common stock. For example, in May 2016,we received a letter from NASDAQ indicating that we are not in compliance with the minimum stockholders’ equity requirement of NASDAQ Listing Rule5550(b)(1), and in each of June 2016, November 2016, and January 2018, we received letters from NASDAQ indicating that we are not in compliance withthe minimum bid price requirement of NASDAQ Listing Rule 5550(a)(2), which requires that companies listed on The NASDAQ Capital Market maintain aminimum closing bid price of at least $1.00 per share. If we fail to regain and/or maintain compliance with these, or any other of the continued listingrequirements of The NASDAQ Capital Market, NASDAQ may take steps to de-list our common stock. Such a de-listing would likely have a negative effect onthe price of our common stock and would impair your ability to sell or purchase our common stock when you wish to do so. In the event of a de-listing, wewould take actions to restore our compliance with NASDAQ’s listing requirements, but we can provide no assurance that any such action taken by us wouldallow our common stock to become listed again, stabilize the market price or improve the liquidity of our common stock, or prevent future non-compliancewith NASDAQ’s listing requirements.If our shares become subject to the penny stock rules, it would become more difficult to trade our shares.The SEC has adopted rules that regulate broker-dealer practices in connection with transactions in penny stocks. Penny stocks are generally equity securitieswith a price of less than $5.00, other than securities registered on certain national securities exchanges or authorized for quotation on certain automatedquotation systems, provided that current price and volume information with respect to transactions in such securities is provided by the exchange or system.If we do not retain a listing on The NASDAQ Capital Market, and if the price of our common stock is less than $5.00, our common stock will be deemed apenny stock. The penny stock rules require a broker-dealer, before a transaction in a penny stock not otherwise exempt from those rules, to deliver astandardized risk disclosure document containing specified information. In addition, the penny stock rules require that before effecting any transaction in apenny stock not otherwise exempt from those rules, a broker-dealer must make a special written determination that the penny stock is a suitable investmentfor the purchaser and receive (i) the purchaser’s written acknowledgment of the receipt of a risk disclosure statement; (ii) a written agreement to transactionsinvolving penny stocks; and (iii) a signed and dated copy of a written suitability statement. These disclosure requirements may have the effect of reducingthe trading activity in the secondary market for our common stock, and therefore stockholders may have difficulty selling their shares.Our quarterly operating results may fluctuate significantly.We expect our operating results to be subject to quarterly fluctuations. Our net loss and other operating results will be affected by numerous factors,including:•the rate of adoption and/or continued use of our current assays and our planned future assays by healthcare practitioners;•variations in the level of expenses related to our development programs;•addition or reduction of resources for sales and marketing;•addition or termination of clinical utility studies;•any intellectual property infringement lawsuit in which we may become involved;•third-party payer determinations affecting our assays; and•regulatory developments affecting our assays.If our quarterly operating results fall below the expectations of investors or securities analysts, the price of our common stock could decline substantially.Furthermore, any quarterly fluctuations in our operating results may, in turn, cause the price of our stock to fluctuate substantially.57If securities or industry analysts issue an adverse opinion regarding our stock or do not publish research or reports about our company, our stock priceand trading volume could decline.The trading market for our common stock will depend in part on the research and reports that equity research analysts publish about us, our business and ourcompetitors. We do not control these analysts or the content and opinions or financial models included in their reports. Securities analysts may elect not toprovide research coverage of our company, and such lack of research coverage may adversely affect the market price of our common stock. The price of ourcommon stock could also decline if one or more equity research analysts downgrade our common stock or if those analysts issue other unfavorablecommentary or cease publishing reports about us or our business. If one or more equity research analysts cease coverage of our company, we could losevisibility in the market, which in turn could cause our stock price to decline.Future sales of our common stock or other securities, or the perception that future sales may occur, may cause the market price of our common stock todecline, even if our business is doing well.Sales of substantial amounts of our common stock or other securities, or the perception that these sales may occur, could materially and adversely affect theprice of our common stock and could impair our ability to raise capital through the sale of additional equity securities. For example, in May 2015, the SECdeclared effective a shelf registration statement filed by us. This shelf registration statement allows us to issue any combination of our common stock,preferred stock, debt securities and warrants from time to time for an aggregate initial offering price of up to $50 million, subject to certain limitations for solong as our public float is less than $75 million. The specific terms of additional future offerings, if any, under this shelf registration statement would beestablished at the time of such offerings. Depending on a variety of factors, including market liquidity of our common stock, the sale of shares under this shelfregistration statement may cause the trading price of our common stock to decline. The sale of a substantial number of shares of our common stock under thisshelf registration statement, or anticipation of such sales, could cause the trading price of our common stock to decline or make it more difficult for us to sellequity or equity-related securities in the future at a time and at a price that we might otherwise desire.We had outstanding 68,038,349 shares of common stock as of March 26, 2018, of which no more than 2,008,182 are restricted securities that may be soldonly in accordance with the resale restrictions under Rule 144 of the Securities Act. In addition, as of March 26, 2018, we had outstanding options topurchase 1,808,786 shares of our common stock, 185,920 shares of common stock were issuable upon the settlement of outstanding restricted stock units, orRSUs, and 41,503,131 shares of our common stock were issuable upon the exercise of outstanding warrants. Shares issued upon the exercise of stock optionsor upon the settlement of outstanding RSUs generally will be eligible for sale in the public market, except that affiliates will continue to be subject to volumelimitations and other requirements of Rule 144 under the Securities Act. The issuance or sale of such shares could depress the market price of our commonstock.In the future, we also may issue our securities if we need to raise additional capital. The number of new shares of our common stock issued in connection withraising additional capital could constitute a material portion of the then-outstanding shares of our common stock.If we are unable to favorably assess the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting, investors may lose confidence in our financialreporting and our stock price could be materially adversely affected.Effective internal controls over financial reporting are necessary for us to provide reliable financial reports and, together with adequate disclosure controlsand procedures, are designed to prevent fraud. Any failure to implement required new or improved controls, or difficulties encountered in theirimplementation could cause us to fail to meet our reporting obligations. In addition, any testing by us conducted in connection with Section 404(a) of theSarbanes-Oxley Act, or the subsequent testing by our independent registered public accounting firm conducted in connection with Section 404(b) of theSarbanes-Oxley Act after our public float is at least $75 million and we no longer qualify as an “emerging growth company,” may reveal deficiencies in ourinternal controls over financial reporting that are deemed to be material weaknesses or that may require prospective or retroactive changes to ourconsolidated financial statements or identify other areas for further attention or improvement. Inferior internal controls could also cause investors to loseconfidence in our reported financial information, which could have a negative effect on the trading price of our common stock.We are required to disclose changes made in our internal control procedures on a quarterly basis and our management is required to assess the effectiveness ofthese controls annually. However, for as long as we are an “emerging growth company” under the recently enacted JOBS Act, our independent registeredpublic accounting firm will not be required to58attest to the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting pursuant to Section 404. An independent assessment of the effectiveness of ourinternal controls could detect problems that our management’s assessment might not. Undetected material weaknesses in our internal controls could lead tofinancial statement restatements and require us to incur the expense of remediation.We are an “emerging growth company,” and we cannot be certain if the reduced reporting requirements applicable to emerging growth companies willmake our common stock less attractive to investors.We are an emerging growth company, as defined in the JOBS Act. For as long as we continue to be an emerging growth company, we may take advantage ofexemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies, including not beingrequired to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, reduced disclosure obligations regardingexecutive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements and exemptions from the requirements of holding nonbinding advisory votes onexecutive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. We could be an emerging growth companyuntil December 31, 2019, although circumstances could cause us to lose that status earlier, including if the market value of our common stock held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of any June 30 before that time or if we have total annual gross revenue of $1.07 billion or more during any fiscal yearbefore that time, in which cases we would no longer be an emerging growth company as of the following December 31 or, if we issue more than $1.0 billionin non-convertible debt during any three year period before that time, we would cease to be an emerging growth company immediately. Even after we nolonger qualify as an emerging growth company, we may still qualify as a “smaller reporting company” which would allow us to take advantage of many ofthe same exemptions from disclosure requirements including not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of theSarbanes-Oxley Act, as well as reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements. We cannotpredict if investors find our common stock less attractive because we may rely on these exemptions. If some investors find our common stock less attractive asa result, there may be a less active trading market for our common stock and our stock price may be more volatile.Under the JOBS Act, emerging growth companies can also delay adopting new or revised accounting standards until such time as those standards apply toprivate companies. We have irrevocably elected not to avail ourselves of this exemption from new or revised accounting standards and, therefore, are subjectto the same new or revised accounting standards as other public companies that are not emerging growth companies. As a result, changes in rules of U.S.generally accepted accounting principles or their interpretation, the adoption of new guidance or the application of existing guidance to changes in ourbusiness could significantly affect our financial position and results of operations.We have incurred and will continue to incur significant increased costs as a result of operating as a public company, and our management will be requiredto devote substantial time to new compliance initiatives.As a public company, we are subject to the reporting requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reformand Consumer Protection Act, or the Dodd-Frank Act, the listing requirements of The NASDAQ Stock Market and other applicable securities rules andregulations. Compliance with these rules and regulations has increased and will continue to increase our legal and financial compliance costs, make someactivities more difficult, time-consuming or costly, and increase demand on our systems and resources. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires, among other things,that we maintain effective disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting. In order to maintain and, if required, improve ourdisclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting to meet this standard, significant resources and management oversight maybe required. As a result, management’s attention may be diverted from other business concerns, which could harm our business and operating results. Further,there are significant corporate governance and executive compensation related provisions in the Dodd-Frank Act, enacted in 2010, that require the SEC toadopt additional rules and regulations in these areas such as “say on pay” and proxy access. Recent legislation permits smaller “emerging growth companies”to implement many of these requirements over a longer period. We intend to continue taking advantage of this new legislation but cannot guarantee that wewill not be required to implement these requirements sooner than budgeted or planned and thereby incur unexpected expenses. Stockholder activism, thecurrent political environment and the current high level of government intervention and regulatory reform may lead to substantial new regulations anddisclosure obligations, which may lead to additional compliance costs and impact the manner in which we operate our business in ways we cannot currentlyanticipate.59In addition, changing laws, regulations and standards relating to corporate governance and public disclosure are creating uncertainty for public companies,increasing legal and financial compliance costs and making some activities more time consuming. These laws, regulations and standards are subject tovarying interpretations, in many cases due to their lack of specificity, and, as a result, their application in practice may evolve over time as new guidance isprovided by regulatory and governing bodies. This could result in continuing uncertainty regarding compliance matters and higher costs necessitated byongoing revisions to disclosure and governance practices. We intend to invest resources to comply with evolving laws, regulations and standards, and thisinvestment may result in increased general and administrative expenses and a diversion of management’s time and attention from revenue-generatingactivities to compliance activities. If our efforts to comply with new laws, regulations and standards differ from the activities intended by regulatory orgoverning bodies due to ambiguities related to practice, regulatory authorities may initiate legal proceedings against us and our business may be harmed.Anti-takeover provisions of our certificate of incorporation, our bylaws and Delaware law could make an acquisition of us, which may be beneficial to ourstockholders, more difficult and may prevent attempts by our stockholders to replace or remove the current members of our board and management.Certain provisions of our amended certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws could discourage, delay or prevent a merger, acquisition orother change of control that stockholders may consider favorable, including transactions in which you might otherwise receive a premium for your shares.Furthermore, these provisions could prevent or frustrate attempts by our stockholders to replace or remove members of our Board of Directors. (For example,Delaware law provides that if a corporation has a classified board of directors, stockholders cannot remove any director during his or her term without cause.)These provisions also could limit the price that investors might be willing to pay in the future for our common stock, thereby depressing the market price ofour common stock. Stockholders who wish to participate in these transactions may not have the opportunity to do so. These provisions, among other things:•classify our Board of Directors into three classes of equal (or roughly equal) size, with all directors serving for a three-year term and the directors ofonly one class being elected at each annual meeting of stockholders, so that the terms of the classes of directors are “staggered”;•allow the authorized number of directors to be changed only by resolution of our Board of Directors;•authorize our Board of Directors to issue, without stockholder approval, preferred stock, the rights of which will be determined at the discretion of theBoard of Directors and that, if issued, could operate as a “poison pill” to dilute the stock ownership of a potential hostile acquirer to prevent anacquisition that our Board of Directors does not approve;•establish advance notice requirements for stockholder nominations to our Board of Directors or for stockholder proposals that can be acted on atstockholder meetings; and•limit who may call a stockholders meeting.In addition, we are governed by the provisions of Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, or DGCL, which may, unless certain criteria are met,prohibit large stockholders, in particular those owning 15% or more of the voting rights on our common stock, from merging or combining with us for aprescribed period of time.Because we do not expect to pay cash dividends for the foreseeable future, you must rely on appreciation of our common stock price for any return on yourinvestment. Even if we change that policy, we may be restricted from paying dividends on our common stock.We do not intend to pay cash dividends on shares of our common stock for the foreseeable future. Any determination to pay dividends in the future will be atthe discretion of our Board of Directors and will depend upon results of operations, financial performance, contractual restrictions, restrictions imposed byapplicable law and other factors our Board of Directors deems relevant. Accordingly, you will have to rely on capital appreciation, if any, to earn a return onyour investment in our common stock. Investors seeking cash dividends in the foreseeable future should not purchase our common stock.The recently passed comprehensive tax reform bill could adversely affect our business and financial condition.On December 22, 2017, the President of the United States signed into law new legislation that significantly revises the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, asamended, or the Code. The newly enacted federal income tax law, among other things, contains significant changes to corporate taxation, includingreduction of the corporate tax rate from a top marginal rate of6035% to a flat rate of 21%, limitation of the tax deduction for interest expense to 30% of adjusted earnings (except for certain small businesses), limitation ofthe deduction for net operating losses to 80% of current year taxable income and elimination of net operating loss carrybacks, one time taxation of offshoreearnings at reduced rates regardless of whether they are repatriated, elimination of U.S. tax on foreign earnings (subject to certain important exceptions),immediate deductions for certain new investments instead of deductions for depreciation expense over time, and modifying or repealing many businessdeductions and credits. Notwithstanding the reduction in the corporate income tax rate, the overall impact of the new federal tax law is uncertain and ourbusiness and financial condition could be adversely affected. In addition, it is uncertain if and to what extent various states will conform to the newly enactedfederal tax law. The impact of this tax reform on holders of our common stock is also uncertain and could be adverse. We urge our stockholders to consultwith their legal and tax advisors with respect to this legislation and the potential tax consequences of investing in or holding our common stock.Our effective tax rate may fluctuate, and we may incur obligations in tax jurisdictions in excess of accrued amounts.We are subject to taxation in numerous U.S. states and territories. As a result, our effective tax rate is derived from a combination of applicable tax rates in thevarious places that we operate. In preparing our financial statements, we estimate the amount of tax that will become payable in each of such places.Nevertheless, our effective tax rate may be different than experienced in the past due to numerous factors, including passage of the newly enacted federalincome tax law, the results of examinations and audits of our tax filings, our inability to secure or sustain acceptable agreements with tax authorities, changesin accounting for income taxes and changes in tax laws. Any of these factors could cause us to experience an effective tax rate significantly different fromprevious periods or our current expectations and may result in tax obligations in excess of amounts accrued in our financial statements.Our ability to use our estimated net operating loss carryforwards and certain other tax attributes may be limited.Our ability to utilize our estimated federal net operating loss, carryforwards and federal tax credits may be limited under Sections 382 and 383 of the Code.Under the newly enacted federal income tax law, federal net operating losses incurred in 2018 and in future years may be carried forward indefinitely, but thedeductibility of such federal net operating losses is limited. It is uncertain if and to what extent various states will conform to the newly enacted federal taxlaw. In addition, the limitations apply if an “ownership change,” as defined by Section 382 of the Code, occurs. If we have experienced an ownership changeat any time since our formation, we may already be subject to limitations on our ability to utilize our existing net operating losses and other tax attributes tooffset taxable income. Future changes in our stock ownership (including in connection with future offerings, as well as other changes that may be outside ofour control), may trigger an ownership change and, consequently, limitations under Sections 382 and 383 of the Code. As a result, if we earn net taxableincome, our ability to use our estimated pre-change net operating loss carryforwards and other tax attributes to offset United States federal taxable incomemay be subject to limitations, which could potentially result in increased future tax liability to us. As of December 31, 2017, we had estimated federal andstate net operating loss carryforwards of approximately $13.6 million and $15.0 million, respectively, and estimated federal and California research anddevelopment credits of approximately $5,000 and $3,395,000, respectively, which could be limited if we have experienced or do experience any “ownershipchanges.” We have not completed a study to assess whether an ownership change has occurred or whether there have been multiple ownership changes sinceour formation, due to the complexity and cost associated with such a study, and the fact that there may be additional ownership changes in the future,however, we believe ownership changes likely occurred in each year from 2015 through 2018. As a result, we have estimated that the use of our net operatingloss is limited and the amounts above represent the remaining net operating loss carryforwards and research and development credits we estimate can be usedin the future, which remain fully offset by a valuation allowance to reduce the net asset to zero.We could be subject to securities class action litigation.In the past, securities class action litigation has often been brought against a company following a decline in the market price of its securities. This risk isespecially relevant for us because early-stage life sciences companies have experienced significant stock price volatility in recent years. If we face suchlitigation, it could result in substantial costs and a diversion of management’s attention and resources, which could harm our business. Item 1B.Unresolved Staff Comments.Not applicable.61 Item 2.Properties.We have a lease for approximately 48,000 square feet of space in San Diego, California for use as a clinical reference laboratory and corporate headquarters,including manufacturing and research laboratories. As of December 31, 2017, the average rent for the remaining lease period is approximately $118,500 permonth. This lease expires in July 2020. Item 3.Legal Proceedings.In the normal course of business, we may be involved in legal proceedings or threatened legal proceedings. We are not party to any legal proceedings oraware of any threatened legal proceedings which are expected to have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations or liquidity. Item 4.Mine Safety Disclosures.Not applicable. 62PART II Item 5.Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities.Market InformationOur common stock is traded on The NASDAQ Capital Market under the symbol “BIOC.” The following table sets forth the high and low sales prices per shareof our common stock as reported on The NASDAQ Capital Market for the periods indicated. Such quotations represent inter-dealer prices without retailmarkup, markdown or commission and may not necessarily represent actual transactions. For the year ended December 31, 2017 High Low First Quarter $3.39 $0.78 Second Quarter $2.26 $1.24 Third Quarter $1.64 $1.11 Fourth Quarter $1.35 $0.60 For the year ended December 31, 2016 High Low First Quarter $5.64 $3.15 Second Quarter $4.29 $1.68 Third Quarter $2.40 $1.42 Fourth Quarter $1.60 $0.74The last sale price for our common stock as reported by The NASDAQ Capital Market on March 26, 2018 was $0.3149 per share.Holders of RecordAs of March 26, 2018, there were 197 holders of record of our common stock. The actual number of common stockholders is greater than the number of recordholders, and includes stockholders who are beneficial owners, but whose shares are held in street name by brokers and other nominees. This number ofholders of record also does not include stockholders whose shares may be held in trust by other entities.Dividend PolicyWe have never declared dividends on our equity securities, and currently do not plan to declare dividends on shares of our common stock in the foreseeablefuture. We expect to retain our future earnings, if any, for use in the operation and expansion of our business. Subject to the foregoing, the payment of cashdividends in the future, if any, will be at the discretion of our Board of Directors and will depend upon such factors as earnings levels, capital requirements,our overall financial condition and any other factors deemed relevant by our Board of Directors. Additionally, any payment of a dividend would require theprior approval of our lender.Securities Authorized for Issuance under Equity Compensation PlansInformation about our equity compensation plans is incorporated herein by reference to Part III, Item 12 of this Annual Report. Item 6.Selected Financial Data.Not applicable.63Item 7.Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.The following discussion of our financial condition and results of operations should be read together with our financial statements and related notesincluded elsewhere in the Annual Report. This discussion contains forward-looking statements based upon our current plans, estimates, beliefs andexpectations that involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Our actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-lookingstatements as a result of various factors, including those set forth under the sections entitled “Risk Factors,” “Special Note Regarding Forward-LookingStatements” and elsewhere in this Annual Report.We are an early stage molecular oncology diagnostics company that develops and commercializes proprietary circulating tumor cell, or CTC, and circulatingtumor DNA, or ctDNA, assays utilizing a standard blood sample, or “liquid biopsy.” Our current and planned assays are intended to provide information toaid healthcare providers to identify specific oncogenic alterations that may qualify a subset of cancer patients for targeted therapy at diagnosis, progressionor for monitoring in order to identify specific resistance mechanisms. Sometimes traditional procedures, such as surgical tissue biopsies, result in tumor tissuethat is insufficient and/or unable to provide the molecular subtype information necessary for clinical decisions. Our assays, performed on blood, have thepotential to provide more contemporaneous information on the characteristics of a patient’s disease when compared with tissue biopsy and radiographicimaging.Our current assays and our planned future assays focus on key solid tumor indications utilizing our Target-SelectorTM liquid biopsy technology platform forthe biomarker analysis of CTCs and ctDNA from a standard blood sample. Our patented Target-Selector CTC offering is based on an internally developedmicrofluidics-based cell capture and analysis platform, with enabling features that change how information provided by CTC testing is used by clinicians.Our CTC technology could also be validated on cerebral spinal fluid in order to provide information for patients with leptomeningeal disease. Our patentedTarget-Selector ctDNA technology enables detection of mutations and genome alterations with enhanced sensitivity and specificity, and is applicable tonucleic acid from ctDNA, and could potentially be validated for other sample types such as bone marrow, tissue or cerebrospinal fluid. Our Target-SelectorCTC and ctDNA platforms provide both biomarker detection as well as monitoring capabilities and require only a patient blood sample. We believe that ourTarget-Selector platform technology has the potential to be developed and commercialized as in vitro diagnostic (IVD) test kits, and we are currentlypursuing this strategy.At our corporate headquarters facility located in San Diego, California, we operate a clinical laboratory that is certified under the Clinical LaboratoryImprovement Amendments of 1988, or CLIA, and accredited by the College of American Pathologists, or CAP. We also perform research and developmentthat led to our current assays and planned assays, at this same facility. In addition, we manufacture our microfluidic channels, related equipment and certainreagents. The assays we offer and intend to offer are classified as laboratory developed tests, or LDTs, under CLIA regulations. CLIA certification is requiredbefore any clinical laboratory, including ours, may perform testing on human specimens for the purpose of obtaining information for the diagnosis,prevention, or treatment of disease or the assessment of health. In addition, we participate in and have received CAP accreditation, which includes rigorousbi-annual laboratory inspections and adherence to specific quality standards.Our primary sales strategy is to engage medical oncologists, surgical oncologists, pulmonologists, pathologists and other physicians in the United States atprivate and group practices, hospitals and cancer centers. In addition, we market our clinical trial and research services to pharmaceutical andbiopharmaceutical companies and clinical research organizations. Additionally, commencing in October 2017, our pathology partnership program, brandedas Empower TCTM, provides the unique ability for pathologists to participate in the interpretation of liquid biopsy results and is available to pathologypractices and hospital systems throughout the United States. Further, our proprietary blood collection tubes, or BCTs, which allow for the intact transport ofliquid biopsy samples for research use only, or RUO, from regions around the world, are anticipated to be sold to laboratory supply distributors commencingin 2018.Our revenue generating efforts are focused in three areas: •medical oncologists, surgical oncologists, pulmonologists, pathologists and other physicians who use the biomarker information we providein order to determine the best treatment plan for their patients; •providing laboratory services utilizing both our CTC and ctDNA testing in order to help pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical companiesdeveloping drug candidate therapies to treat cancer; and •licensing and/or selling our proprietary testing and/or technologies to partners in the United States and abroad.64Assays, Products and ServicesWe have commercialized our Target-Selector assays for a number of solid tumor indications such as: breast cancer, non-small cell lung cancer, or NSCLC,gastric cancer, colorectal cancer, prostate cancer, melanoma, pancreaticobiliary cancer, and ovarian cancer. These assays utilize our dual CTC and ctDNAtechnology platforms and provide biomarker analysis from a patient’s blood sample.In the case of our breast and gastric cancer offerings, biomarker analysis involves fluorescence in situ hybridization, or FISH, for the detection andquantitation of the human epidermal growth factor receptor 2, or HER2, gene copy number as well as immunocytochemical, or ICC, analysis of estrogenreceptor, or ER, protein, progesterone receptor, or PR, protein, and androgen receptor, or AR, protein, which are currently commercially available. A patient’sHER2 status provides the physician with information about the appropriateness of therapies such as Herceptin® or Tykerb®. ER and PR status provides thephysician with information about the appropriateness of endocrine therapies such as tamoxifen and aromatase inhibitors.Our lung cancer biomarker analysis offering currently includes FISH testing for ALK, ROS1, RET, MET and FGFR1 gene rearrangements, as well as analysisfor the T790M, Deletion 19, and L858R mutations of the epidermal growth factor receptor, or EGFR gene, as well as BRAF, KRAS and NRAS. The L858Rmutation of the EGFR gene and Exon 19 deletions as activators of EGFR kinase activity are associated with the use of the drugs Tarceva®, Gilotrif® andIressa®. For lung cancer, we also offer a resistance profile assay consisting of the biomarkers MET, HER2 (both of which we perform using our technology forCTCs), KRAS, and T790M (both of which are performed using ctDNA in plasma). These assays can be used by physicians to identify the mechanism causingdisease progression for patients with NSCLC who are being treated with tyrosine kinase inhibitor, or TKI, therapy and therefore may qualify patients forinclusion in a clinical trial. In November 2015, Tagrisso® was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, providing another biomarker-based therapy for the treatment of patients with EGFR-related lung cancer. Tagrisso® is indicated for the treatment of patients with metastatic disease, whohave progressed on or after EGFR TKI therapy, and who have acquired a T790M resistance mutation. Recently, the FDA approved the combination ofNovartis’ Tafinlar® (dabrafenib) and Mekinist® (trametinib) for the treatment of patients with metastatic NSCLC whose tumors express the BRAF V600Emutation, an FDA “breakthrough therapy” designation for patients who have received prior chemotherapy. This combination was approved in Europe for thesame indication in March 2017. BRAF mutations, which appear in approximately 1-3% of NSCLC cases globally, are associated with Zelboraf® andTafinlar® treatment, as these BRAF inhibitors are both approved for the treatment of patients with melanoma.In September 2017, we launched our assay for mutations of the NRAS oncogene, which can be used to detect and monitor an actionable biomarker associatedwith multiple cancer types such as metastatic melanoma, colorectal and lung cancer. As a result, we now offer 15 CLIA-certified liquid biopsy tests utilizingour Target-Selector platform to determine the status of key cancer biomarkers listed in the National Comprehensive Cancer Network Guidelines®. Our NRASassay combines our proprietary switch blocker technology for improved mutation detection with next generation sequencing, resulting in ultra-highsensitivity.Fibroblast growth receptor 1, or FGFR1, amplification is offered using our CTC technology. FGFR1 is present in several tumor types, including both NSCLCand small cell lung cancer, or SCLC, and has been shown to be a prognostic indicator of progression. FGFR1 is also a key target for several drugs undergoingclinical development.We analytically validated PD-L1 testing utilizing our CTC technology in 2016. PD-L1 is a biomarker that is informative for immuno-oncology therapiescurrently marketed for lung cancer and melanoma, as well as therapies in development for multiple tumor types. We collaborated with David Rimm, M.D.,Ph.D., a pathologist at Yale Medical School and a scientific advisor to us, on the analytical development of this assay.We plan to release additional blood-based biomarker assays, such as those that test for ESR1, to our current menu of liquid biopsy assays using bloodsamples. In addition, we plan to complete the development and offer multiplexed biomarker tests, which will allow the detection and quantitative monitoringof multiple biomarkers in a single assay.In August 2017, we announced that we had executed a distribution agreement for our proprietary blood collection tubes with VWR International, LLC whichcan preserve intact cells (such as CTCs) for up to 96 hours and ctDNA for up to 8 days, allowing for the intact transport of RUO liquid biopsy samples fromregions around the world.In October 2017, we launched our pathology partnership initiative, branded as Empower TC, expanding access of our proprietary liquid biopsy testing tocommunity pathologists and hospitals throughout the United States. The aim of this65program is to incorporate community pathologists into the review of biomarkers found in liquid biopsy for patients diagnosed with cancer. Pathologists arenow enabled to interpret our liquid biopsy results locally, while patient specimens will continue to be sent to us for processing in our CLIA-certified, CAP-accredited high complexity laboratory.Pharmaceutical and Research CollaborationsWe continue to execute on our strategies intended to expand our business globally, as well as to engage with pharmaceutical companies on clinical trials andassay development. We have preferred provider agreements in place in Mexico with Quest Diagnostics to support testing for Astra Zeneca. In addition, wehave distribution agreements in place in Mexico, Uruguay, Turkey, the Czech Republic, the Philippines, Lebanon, Columbia, Israel and Canada.We completed a study, published in Cancer Medicine in March 2013, utilizing our assay, and a version of this assay adapted for use with bone marrowsamples, with a group at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center comprised of breast cancer surgeons, pathologists and basic researchers. In thisstudy, we demonstrated the ability to identify HER2 positive CTCs and disseminated tumor cells, or DTCs, seen in bone marrow in patients that had beenpreviously classified as HER2 negative by analysis of their tumor tissue. A HER2 positive result in a patient with breast cancer provides an indication to thephysician that there is likely to be a survival benefit from treatment with Herceptin®, which has been demonstrated in a number of large clinical studies.We were involved in a clinical study led by investigators at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute following up on the study findings, published in CancerMedicine regarding CTCs. This study has completed enrolling patients. In the screening phase of this study, we tested in our CLIA-certified, CAP accredited,and state-licensed laboratory blood samples from HER2 negative patients based on standard tumor tissue analysis, to identify those patients that have HER2positive CTCs. These patients were then assigned to chemotherapy plus Herceptin®, and followed for a period of time, with additional CTC assays, includingbiomarker analysis for HER2 using FISH, performed at subsequent time points. In December 2014, we announced findings that were presented at the SanAntonio Breast Conference that 22% of 311 patients tested, who were previously HER2 negative according to a solid tumor biopsy, were found, upon diseaseprogression, to be HER2 positive by CTC analysis, making them potential candidates for anti-HER2 therapy as the cancer evolves. Moreover, our multi-antibody CTC capture method identified a substantial subset of patients who would not likely be detected with commonly used CTC capture technologies.This added 10% (included in the 22%) to the number of women who were candidates for this highly specific targeted therapy.With our cooperation, researchers at Columbia published a study in the journal Clinical and Translational Oncology in January 2015. The studydemonstrated the high correlation (79%) of circulating tumor cells, primary tumor tissue biopsy and metastatic tumor tissue biopsy for determination ofhormone receptor status (ER/PR) in breast cancer patients. The investigators also found that this high correlation was strongest when comparing metastatictissue biopsy to CTCs (83%). The conclusion of the study was that determining ER/PR status in CTCs using our platform is feasible, with high concordancein ER/PR between tumor tissue (as determined with immunohistochemistry, or IHC) and CTCs (as determined with immunocytochemistry, or ICC). Theauthors suggest a larger trial to determine the prognostic significance of these findings.In collaboration with the University of California, San Diego, in June 2015 we presented the clinical validation data of our ctDNA assay demonstrating a veryhigh level of concordance to tissue results (88%), and with our >95% analytical sensitivity and 99% analytical specificity, that we offer a validated, robustnon-invasive solution for mutation identification and monitoring in patients with lung cancer. The FDA approval of Tagrisso®, a third-generation tyrosinekinase inhibitor, presents an opportunity for patients to be monitored using a ctDNA assay.During 2016, we announced a pharmaceutical collaboration agreement that provides testing for a clinical trial, which includes metastatic lung cancerpatients with leptomeningeal or brain metastases. In this exploratory trial, we are testing both cerebrospinal fluid and blood for molecular alterations thatcould be impacted by treatment. In April 2016, we announced a collaboration involving a study conducted with Dr. Giuseppe Giaccone at the MedStarGeorgetown University Hospital to assess resistance biomarkers in NSCLC patients treated with EGFR inhibitors or chemotherapy. Also in 2016, weannounced another collaboration involving a study presented at the European Society for Medical Oncology, or ESMO, Annual Congress in October 2016,evaluating the detection of EGFR alterations (del19, L858R and T790M) by our Target-Selector liquid biopsy. Subsequent to this study, we have earnedbusiness in both Mexico and Columbia for EGFR testing in blood to qualify patients for a pharmaceutical company’s targeted therapy. The relationship alsoresulted in a 2017 study that includes peripheral blood CTC assessment of PD-L1 protein expression in patients undergoing chemotherapy as a monotherapyor in combination with a checkpoint inhibitor. In December 2016, we announced a clinical study agreement with Columbia66University Medical Center to evaluate the clinical utility of our Target-Selector platform to diagnose leptomeningeal metastases, or LM, in breast cancerpatients. Dr. Kevin Kalinsky leads the study to test CTCs in cerebrospinal fluid and blood, where CTC analysis will be compared to standard methods forconfirming LM diagnosis.In April 2017, we announced our entry into a preferred provider collaboration and services agreement with Oregon Health & Sciences University on behalf ofthe OHSU Knight Cancer Institute, or collectively OHSU. The multiphase agreement grants OHSU the rights to commercially offer our Target-Selector liquidbiopsy testing services exclusively throughout the state of Oregon. Additionally, we and OHSU plan to engage in technology transfer, whereby OHSU willhave the ability to use Target-Selector assays in-house, and act as a secondary laboratory for our research and testing activities. We and OHSU also plan to co-develop additional liquid biopsy assay technologies and platform capabilities including highly sensitive, multiplexed assay panels for molecular biomarkerdetection and assessment. Additional research and development and commercial pilot projects are anticipated under the agreement.In May 2017, we announced jointly with the Addario Lung Cancer Medical Institute, or ALCMI, entry into a clinical collaboration and initiation of theALCMI-009 liquid biopsy clinical trial. This large-scale trial was developed and will be conducted by ALCMI with its consortium of leading U.S. andinternational oncology centers. The prospective, multi-center study, which plans to enroll 400 patients, will utilize our Target-Selector testing platform andservices to detect and assess cancer biomarkers found in both CTCs and ctDNA from the blood of patients with lung cancer. We expect this study tocommence in the first half of 2018.In May 2017, we entered into a clinical study agreement with the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. Led by recognized oncologist and ALKalteration researcher, Dr. Saad Khan, the study is designed to evaluate the clinical utility of our Target-Selector platform for patients diagnosed with ALK-positive NSCLC and treated with ALK-inhibitor therapy. A second arm of the study will evaluate patients with rare cancers such as anaplastic thyroid cancerto determine if driver mutations such as ALK rearrangements can be identified and treated with targeted therapy to improve patient outcomes.In October 2017, we entered into a promotion and marketing agreement with Miraca Life Sciences, Inc., or Miraca Life Sciences, to market our Target-Selector liquid biopsy tests and services to community-based oncologists and hematologists in specified sales territories in the United States. Based on theagreement, Miraca Life Sciences’ sales professionals will promote our liquid biopsy tests to both their existing and new clinician clients in designated salesterritories, with the potential to expand the agreement to additional territories in the future. All tests will be performed in our CLIA-certified CAP-accreditedlaboratory.In November 2017, we announced a collaboration involving 100 patients in a clinical study with the University of California, San Diego. The study entailsclinical validation of the PD-L1 antibody clones 28-8 and 22C3 on our Target-Selector CTC platform. Concordance of PD-L1 protein expression in tissuebiopsy versus liquid biopsy, as well as correlation of therapeutic response with PD-L1 liquid biopsy status, are the study objectives. Also in November 2017, we submitted a scientific abstract in collaboration with Dr. Shilpa Gupta from the Masonic Cancer Center at the University ofMinnesota. The abstract was accepted as a poster presentation for the April 2018 American Association for Cancer Research annual meeting. The resultsdemonstrate proof-of-concept use of our Target-Selector CTC platform to correlate CTC count with clinical responses in refractory testicular cancer patientsundergoing therapy. This work is part of a Phase 2 clinical trial of brentuximab vedontin (an anti-CD-30 antibody) with bevacizumab in refractory CD-30 +germ cell tumors. The capability for our Target-Selector CTC platform to monitor this rare cancer type presents the potential for a precision medicine-basedapproach to guide treatment decisions for these patients.Provider AgreementsIn January 2017, we announced that we had secured an in-network provider agreement with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas, the largest provider of healthbenefits in Texas. In addition, we entered into a national master business agreement with the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, a not-for-profit tradeassociation that provides multiple services for its 38-member Blue Cross and Blue Shield health plan companies across the U.S., including forming nationalstrategic vendor partnerships. We were selected by the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association based on a rigorous request-for-proposal progress. This agreementestablishes pricing for our Target-Selector liquid biopsy testing service through the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association’s group purchasing organization,CareSourcing Workgroup. The pricing offered by the CareSourcing Workgroup group67purchasing organization is available to those Blue Cross and Blue Shield member health plans that have, or may seek, in-network agreements with us.In June 2017, we entered into a participating provider agreement with MediNcrease Health Plans, LLC and a preferred provider agreement with ScrippsHealth Plan Services, Inc., both establishing pricing for our Target-Selector liquid biopsy testing service.In December 2017, we signed an agreement with Wellmark, Inc., the largest health insurer in Iowa and South Dakota. The agreement marks our third BlueCross Blue Shield contract and enables patients diagnosed with cancer the ability to access our proprietary testing services in-network under their Wellmarkhealth plan.We are currently contracted with nine preferred provider organization networks, three large health plans, and five regional independent physicianassociations, and expect to continue to gain contracts in order to be considered as an “in-network” provider with additional plans.Patents and TechnologyWe have issued patents with broad claims covering our blood collection tube, antibody cocktail approach, microchannel, and CTC detection methodologies.In addition to issuance of patents in the U.S., we have patents for our proprietary microchannel in China, Korea, Europe, Hong Kong, and Japan, and for ourantibody cocktail in Australia, Europe, and Japan. Our patent estate continues to evolve, and in addition to the broad patent estate around our CTC platform,we expect issuances of multiple patents for our novel switch blocker technology in the near future, solidifying our proprietary enrichment methodology fordetecting ctDNA with very high sensitivity. Our CTC platform patents were filed from 2005 through 2012, and we expect to have patent protection into the2030s. Our patents and applications cover not only cancer as a target, but also prenatal and other rare cells of interest. Recently allowed patents in the U.S.cover the capture of “any target of interest on any solid surface” using our antibody capture approach. The patent for our proprietary specimen collectiontubes expire in 2031.As of December 31, 2017, we owned 25 issued patents and 23 patents pending related to our current technologies. Of these, 8 were issued and 5 were pendingpatents in the U.S., while 17 were issued and 18 were pending patents in non-U.S. territories. Separately, we also owned 7 issued patents related to our earliermicroarray and cell analysis technology.Key Factors Affecting our Results of Operations and Financial ConditionOur overall long-term growth plan depends on our ability to continue to develop and commercialize products and assays through our CLIA-certified, CAP-accredited, and state-licensed laboratory. We have commercialized our Target-Selector assays for breast cancer, non-small cell lung cancer, or NSCLC, gastriccancer, colorectal cancer, prostate cancer, melanoma, pancreaticobiliary cancer, and ovarian cancer, and plan to continue to launch a series of cancerdiagnostic assays for different predictive biomarkers assays in the United States as LDTs performed in our laboratory, and enhance revenue for these productsthrough the efforts of our sales and marketing organization, which we plan to expand. Our sales strategy is to engage medical oncologists, surgicaloncologists, pulmonologists, pathologists and other physicians in the United States at private and group practices, hospitals and cancer centers. We also planto continue to evaluate potential opportunities for the commercialization of our products and assays in other countries. Additionally, our proprietary BCTs,which allow for the intact transport of liquid biopsy samples for RUO from regions around the world, are anticipated to be sold to laboratory supplydistributors commencing in 2018. In addition to testing for physicians and their patients, we offer clinical trials testing and research services to help increasethe efficiency and economic viability of clinical trials for pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical companies and clinical research organizations both withinand outside of the United States. We are currently exploring the possibility of introducing ctDNA technology outside the United States as part of IVD test kitsand/or testing systems utilizing our Target-Selector technologies. We plan to continue to cooperate with partners on accessing markets internationally eitherthrough partnerships with local groups and distributors or through the development of IVDs and/or test systems, including instrumentation. We also have aresearch and development program focused on technology enhancements, novel platform development, and evaluating clinical applications for our cancerdiagnostic tests in different cancer types and clinical settings.68To facilitate market adoption of our products and assays, we anticipate having to successfully complete additional clinical utility studies with clinicalsamples to generate clinical utility data and then publish our results in peer-reviewed scientific journals. Our ability to complete such clinical studies isdependent upon our ability to leverage our collaborative relationships with leading institutions to facilitate our research, to conduct the appropriate clinicalstudies and to obtain favorable clinical data. We collaborate with physicians and researchers at Sarah Cannon Research Institute, University of Colorado, theUniversity of California, San Diego, the University of Minnesota, the John Wayne Cancer Institute, Columbia University, Johns Hopkins Medical Institute,Vanderbilt University, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, St. Josephs of Orange, St. Luke’s Cancer Center, and Georgetown University andplan to expand our collaborative relationships to include other key thought leaders at other institutions for the cancer types we target with our Target-Selector commercialized assays and our planned future assays, as well as for our current and planned future products. Such relationships help us develop andvalidate the effectiveness and utility of our products, commercialized assays and our planned future assays in specific, clinical settings and provide us accessto patient samples and data.We believe that the factors discussed in the following paragraphs have had and are expected to continue to have a material impact on our results ofoperations and financial condition.RevenuesOur revenues are generated from diagnostic services provided to physicians and billed to third-party insurance payers such as managed care organizations,Medicare and Medicaid and patients for any deductibles, coinsurance or copayments that may be due. Commencing on March 31, 2017, we recognizerevenue related to commercial assays delivered and billed to Medicare and other third-party payers on an accrual basis when amounts that will ultimately berealized can be estimated upon delivery, whereby prior to March 31, 2017, we recognized revenues for such services on a cash basis as collected because theamounts ultimately expected to be received could not be estimated upon delivery due to insufficient collection history experience.We bill third-party payers on a fee-for-service basis at our list price and third-party commercial revenue is recorded net of contractual discounts, payer-specific allowances and other reserves. Our development services revenues are supported by contractual agreements and generated from assay developmentservices provided to entities, as well as certain other diagnostic services provided to physicians. Diagnostic services are completed upon the delivery of assayresults to the prescribing physician, at which time we bill for the service.Our gross commercial revenues billed are subject to estimated deductions for such contractual discounts, payer-specific allowances and other reserves toarrive at reported net revenues, which relate to differences between amounts billed and corresponding amounts estimated to be subsequently collected. Thesethird-party payer discounts and sales allowances are estimated based on a number of assumptions and factors, including historical payment trends,seasonality associated with the annual reset of patient deductible limits on January 1 of each year, and current and estimated future payments. The estimatesof amounts that will ultimately be realized from commercial diagnostic services require significant judgment by us. Patients do not enter into directagreements with us that commit them to pay any portion of the cost of the tests in the event that they have not met their annual deductible limit under theirinsurance policy, if any, or if their insurance otherwise declines to reimburse us. Adjustments to the estimated payment amounts are recorded at the time offinal collection and settlement of each transaction as an adjustment to commercial revenue.Costs and ExpensesWe classify our costs and expenses into four categories: cost of revenues, research and development, sales and marketing, and general and administrative. Ourcosts and expenses principally consist of facility costs and overhead, personnel costs, outside services and consulting costs, laboratory consumables,development costs, and legal fees.Cost of Revenues. Our cost of revenues consists principally of facility costs and overhead, personnel costs, and laboratory and manufacturing supplies andmaterials. We are pursuing various strategies to reduce and control our cost of revenues, including automating aspects of our processes, developing moreefficient technology and methods, attempting to negotiate improved terms and volume discounts with our suppliers and exploring relocating our operationsto a lower-cost facility.69Research and Development Expenses. We incur research and development expenses principally in connection with our efforts to develop and improve ourtests. Our primary research and development expenses consist of direct personnel costs, laboratory equipment and consumables, and overhead expenses. Weanticipate that research and development expenses will remain consistent in the near-term, principally to develop and validate tests in our pipeline and toperform work associated with clinical utility studies and development collaborations. In addition, we expect that our costs related to collaborations withresearch and academic institutions will increase. All research and development expenses are charged to operations in the periods in which they are incurred.Sales and Marketing Expenses. Our sales and marketing expenses consist principally of personnel and related overhead costs for our sales team and theirsupport personnel, travel and entertainment expenses, and other selling costs including sales collaterals and trade shows.General and Administrative Expenses. General and administrative expenses consist principally of personnel-related expenses, professional fees, such as legal,accounting and business consultants, insurance costs, and other general expenses. We expect that our general and administrative expenses will increase as weexpand our business operations. We further expect that general and administrative expenses will increase significantly due to increased informationtechnology, legal, insurance, accounting and financial reporting expenses associated with expanded commercial activities.SeasonalityWe expect our test volume to decrease during vacation and holiday seasons, and also during the winter season in colder climates experiencing prolongedadverse weather conditions, when patients are less likely to visit their health care providers. We also expect relatively lower cash receipts in the first quarterof each year, as annual patient deductibles generally reset on January 1 of each year. We expect these trends in seasonality to continue for the foreseeablefuture.Critical Accounting Policies and Significant Judgments and EstimatesOur management’s discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations is based on our financial statements, which have been prepared inaccordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. The preparation of our financial statements requires us to makeestimates and judgments that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenue and expenses and related disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities.On an ongoing basis, we evaluate our estimates based on historical experience and make various assumptions, which management believes to be reasonableunder the circumstances, which form the basis for judgments about the carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from othersources. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions.The notes to our audited financial statements, which are included elsewhere in this Annual Report, contain a summary of our significant accounting policies.We consider the following accounting policies critical to the understanding of the results of our operations: •Revenue recognition; •stock-based compensation; and •going concern.Revenue Recognition and Related ReservesThrough December 31, 2017, we recognized revenue in accordance with the provision of Accounting Standards Codification, or ASC, 954-605, Health CareEntities—Revenue Recognition, which required that four basic criteria must be met prior to recognition of revenue: (1) persuasive evidence of anarrangement existed; (2) delivery had occurred and title and the risks and rewards of ownership had been transferred to the client or services had beenrendered; (3) the price was fixed or determinable; and (4) collectability was reasonably assured. Commencing on March 31, 2017, we recognize revenuerelated to billings for commercial assays delivered and billed to Medicare and other third-party payers on an accrual basis when amounts that will ultimatelybe realized can be estimated upon delivery, whereby prior to March 31, 2017, we recognized revenues for our commercial diagnostic services on a cash basisas collected because the amounts ultimately expected to be70received could not be estimated upon delivery due to insufficient collection history experience. Commencing on January 1, 2018, we recognize revenue inaccordance with ASC 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers, which requires that an entity recognize revenue when it transfers promised goods orservices to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the entity expects to be entitled to in exchange for those goods or services.Our gross commercial revenues billed are subject to estimated deductions for such contractual discounts, payer-specific allowances and other reserves toarrive at reported net revenues, which relate to differences between amounts billed and corresponding amounts estimated to be subsequently collected. Thesethird-party payer discounts and sales allowances are estimated based on a number of assumptions and factors, including historical payment trends,seasonality associated with the annual reset of patient deductible limits on January 1 of each year, and current and estimated future payments. The estimatesof amounts that will ultimately be realized from commercial diagnostic services require significant judgment by us. Patients do not enter into directagreements with us that commit them to pay any portion of the cost of the tests in the event that they have not met their annual deductible limit under theirinsurance policy, if any, or if their insurance otherwise declines to reimburse us. Adjustments to the estimated payment amounts are recorded at the time offinal collection and settlement of each transaction as an adjustment to commercial revenue. The estimation process used to determine third-party payerdiscounts and sales allowance has been applied on a consistent basis since March 31, 2017, and no significant subsequent adjustments have been necessaryto increase or decrease these discounts and allowances as a result of changes in underlying estimates.Stock-Based CompensationWe account for stock-based compensation under the provisions of ASC Topic 718, Compensation—Stock Compensation, which requires the measurementand recognition of compensation expense for all stock-based awards made to employees and directors based on estimated fair values on the grant date. Weestimate the fair value of stock option awards on the date of grant using the Black-Scholes option pricing model, or Black-Scholes valuation model. The fairvalue of RSUs is determined by the price of our common stock on the date of grant. The value of the portion of the award that is ultimately expected to vest isrecognized as expense over the requisite service periods using the straight-line method. We estimate forfeitures at the time of grant and revise our estimates insubsequent periods if actual forfeitures differ from those estimates.We account for stock-based compensation awards to non-employees in accordance with ASC Topic 505-50, Equity-Based Payments to Non-Employees.Under ASC 505-50, we determine the fair value of the warrants or stock-based compensation awards granted as either the fair value of the considerationreceived, or the fair value of the equity instruments issued, whichever is more reliably measurable. All issuances of equity instruments issued to non-employees as consideration for goods or services received by us are accounted for based on the fair value of the equity instruments issued. These awards arerecorded in expense and additional paid-in capital in stockholders’ equity over the applicable service periods based on the fair value of the options at the endof each period.Calculating the fair value of stock-based awards requires the input of highly subjective assumptions into the Black-Scholes valuation model. Stock-basedcompensation expense is calculated using our best estimate, which involves inherent uncertainties, and the application of our management’s judgment.Significant estimates include the fair value of our common stock at the date of grant for awards granted prior to our initial public offering, the expected life ofthe stock option, stock price volatility, risk-free interest rate and forfeiture rate.Going ConcernWe assess and determine our ability to continue as a going concern under the provisions of ASC Topic 205-40, Presentation of Financial Statements—GoingConcern, which requires us to evaluate whether there are conditions or events that raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concernwithin one year after the date that our annual and interim financial statements are issued. Certain additional financial statement disclosures are required ifsuch conditions or events are identified. If and when an entity’s liquidation becomes imminent, financial statements should be prepared under the liquidationbasis of accounting.Determining the extent, if any, to which conditions or events raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern, or the extent to whichmitigating plans sufficiently alleviate any such substantial doubt, as well as whether or not liquidation is imminent, requires significant judgment by us. Wehave determined that there is substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern for the one-year period following the date that our financialstatements for the year71ended December 31, 2017 were issued, which have been prepared assuming that we will continue as a going concern. We have not made any adjustments toreflect the possible future effects on the recoverability and classification of assets or the amounts and classification of liabilities that may result from thepossible inability of us to continue as a going concern.Results of OperationsYears Ended December 31, 2016 and 2017The following table sets forth certain information concerning our results of operations for the periods shown: For the year ended December 31, Change 2016 2017 $ % (dollars in thousands) Net revenues $3,223 $5,069 $1,846 57%Cost of revenues 6,920 9,345 2,425 35%Research and development expenses 2,713 3,365 652 24%General and administrative expenses 6,561 7,190 629 10%Sales and marketing expenses 5,054 6,344 1,290 26%Loss from operations (18,025) (21,175) (3,150) 17%Interest expense, net (526) (482) 44 (8%)Other income 154 51 (103) (67%)Loss before income taxes (18,397) (21,606) (3,209) 17%Income tax expense (2) (8) (6) 300%Net loss $(18,399) $(21,614) $(3,215) 17%Net RevenuesNet revenues were approximately $5,069,000 for the year ended December 31, 2017, compared with approximately $3,223,000 for the same period in 2016,an increase of $1,846,000, or 57%. Of the $5,069,000 of net revenues recognized during the year ended December 31, 2017, $3,843,000 related to revenuesrecognized on an accrual basis, while $1,226,000 related to revenues recognized upon the receipt of cash, as compared to the same period in 2016 when$240,000 of revenues were recognized on an accrual basis and $2,983,000 of revenues were recognized upon the receipt of cash. During the three monthsended March 31, 2017, we converted from cash-based revenue recognition for our commercial revenues to accrual-based revenue recognition. As a result ofthe change to accrual-based revenue recognition, we recognized total nonrecurring net revenue of $843,000 during the year ended December 31, 2017, whichrepresents the estimated value of net accounts receivable at December 31, 2016 that was recognized as revenue during the year ended December 31, 2017,and the incremental net revenue recorded as a result of the change was $1,139,000, which represents the total amount of net revenue recorded in excess of theamount of commercial cash collections.Total cash collections for commercial cases were $3,658,000 during the year ended December 31, 2017 as compared to $2,983,000 during the same period in2016, an increase of $675,000 owed primarily to improvements in billing and collection timeliness and effectiveness, as well as increases in accessionvolume and the expected value per accession received prior to and during the year ended December 31, 2017 as compared to the same period in 2016. Thenet estimated revenue per commercial accession delivered since converting from cash-based revenue recognition to accrual-based revenue recognition onMarch 31, 2017 and through December 31, 2017 was approximately $988, based on 2,880 commercial accessions delivered and approximately $2,845,000in corresponding commercial accrual-based revenues during that period. The $1,139,000 in incremental net revenue recognized was primarily related to the$843,000 of nonrecurring net revenue recognized as a result of converting to the accrual basis of revenue recognition, as well as increases in the expectedvalue per accession received prior to and during the year ended December 31, 2017 as compared to the same period in 2016 and increased commercial casevolumes received, as follows: Year ended December 31, Change 2016 2017 # / $ % # Commercial accessions received 3,676 3,768 92 3%$ Value estimated per commercial accession received$988 $1,117 $129 13%72Additionally, there was a $32,000 increase in development services revenues during the year ended December 31, 2017 as compared to the same period in2016, which was primarily related to increased development services case volumes delivered partially offset by a decrease in the estimated value perdevelopment services case delivered, as follows: Year ended December 31, Change 2016 2017 # % # Development services cases delivered 537 747 210 39%$ Value estimated per development services accession delivered$447 $365 $(82) (18%)Costs and ExpensesCost of Revenues. Cost of revenues was approximately $9,345,000 for the year ended December 31, 2017, compared with approximately $6,920,000 for theyear ended December 31, 2016, an increase of $2,425,000, or 35%. The increase was primarily attributable to an increase of $1,407,000 in personnel costsmainly related to higher assay volume as the average number of full-time laboratory and manufacturing employees increased from 28 full-time employeesduring the year ended December 31, 2016 to 39 full-time employees during the same period in 2017, as we created excess laboratory accession throughputcapacity of approximately 30% as of December 31, 2017 in advance of an anticipated increase in accession volumes resulting from our expanded sales forceand pathology partnership initiative. Additionally, there was an increase of $660,000 in depreciation expense, computer equipment, software amortization,and allocated information technology and facility charges as we implemented our pathology partnership initiative, invested in upgrading our laboratoryequipment and information system and maintaining our facility, as well as increases of $404,000 in materials, shipping and other direct costs and $135,000in third-party service provider and consulting costs associated with higher assay volume. These increases were partially offset by a decrease of $202,000resulting from greater laboratory costs charged to research and development expenses associated with increased research and development activities.Research and Development Expenses. Research and development expenses were approximately $3,365,000 for the year ended December 31, 2017, comparedwith approximately $2,713,000 for the year ended December 31, 2016, an increase of $652,000, or 24%. The increase was primarily attributable to anincrease of $264,000 in higher personnel costs as the average headcount in our research and development function increased to 12 full-time employeesduring the year ended December 31, 2017 from 10 full-time employees during the same period in 2016, as we focus on the development and deployment ofnext generation sequencing, support and implementation of data-intensive laboratory processes, and new product validations. Additionally, there was anincrease of $202,000 in laboratory costs allocated from cost of revenues and an increase of $99,000 in materials and other costs associated with increasedresearch and development activities during the year ended December 31, 2017 as compared to the same period in 2016, as well as an increase of $49,000 incomputer equipment, software and laboratory equipment preventative maintenance costs and an increase of $37,000 in allocated facilities charges.General and Administrative Expenses. General and administrative expenses were approximately $7,190,000 for the year ended December 31, 2017, comparedwith approximately $6,561,000 for the year ended December 31, 2016, an increase of $629,000, or 10%. The increase was primarily due to an increase of$705,000 in non-stock-based compensation personnel costs and travel expenses as the average headcount included in the general and administrativefunction rose from 9 full-time employees during the year ended December 31, 2016 to 13 full-time employees during the same period in 2017, primarilyresulting from bringing our billing function in-house in April 2017. Additionally, there was an increase of $247,000 in third-party service provider andconsulting fees associated with increased commercial and strategic activities and our expanded investor relations function during the year ended December31, 2017, in addition to increases of $157,000 in legal fees, $80,000 in accounting and audit fees, and $75,000 in computer equipment, office expenses, andother general and administrative costs associated with increased commercial and strategic activities. These increases were partially offset by decreases of$373,000 in stock-based compensation expense, $157,000 in directors and officers insurance costs, and $109,000 in third-party billing provider costsresulting from bringing our billing function in-house in April 2017.Sales and Marketing Expenses. Sales and marketing expenses were approximately $6,344,000 for the year ended December 31, 2017 compared withapproximately $5,054,000 for the year ended December 31, 2016, an increase of $1,290,000, or 26%. The increase was primarily attributable to an increase of$1,194,000 in personnel and travel costs as the average headcount included in the sales and marketing function rose from 15 full-time employees during theyear ended December 31, 2016 to 20 full-time employees during the same period in 2017 as we expanded our sales force, as well as increases of $114,000 in73marketing materials, trade show and conference costs and $107,000 in computer equipment, allocated information technology costs, shipping and otheroffice expenses associated with the expanded sales force and commercial activities, which were partially offset by a decrease of $126,000 in third-partyservice provider and consulting fees.Income Tax ExpenseOver the past several years we have generated operating losses in all jurisdictions in which we may be subject to income taxes. As a result, we haveaccumulated significant net operating losses and other deferred tax assets. Because of our history of losses and the uncertainty as to the realization of thosedeferred tax assets, a full valuation allowance has been recognized. We do not expect to report a provision for income taxes until we have a history ofearnings, if ever, that would support the realization of our deferred tax assets.We have not completed a study to assess whether an ownership change has occurred or whether there have been multiple ownership changes since ourformation, due to the complexity and cost associated with such a study, and the fact that there may be additional ownership changes in the future, however,we believe ownership changes likely occurred in each year from 2015 through 2018. As a result, we have estimated that the use of our net operating loss islimited and the remaining net operating loss carryforwards and research and development credits we estimate can be used in the future remain fully offset by avaluation allowance to reduce the net asset to zero.InflationWe do not believe that inflation has had a material adverse impact on our business or operating results during the periods presented.Liquidity and Capital ResourcesWe are actively working to improve our financial position and enable the growth of our business, by raising new capital and generating revenues.Equity FinancingsSubsequent to the closing of a follow-on offering of our common stock and warrants to purchase shares of our common stock on February 13, 2015, cashproceeds of approximately $9.8 million were received in 2015 from the exercise of warrants sold in that offering, while approximately $2.7 million in grosswarrant proceeds remain outstanding and available to be exercised at $4.68 per share until their expiration in February 2020.In May 2015, the SEC declared effective a shelf registration statement filed by us, which expires in May 2018. The shelf registration statement allows us toissue any combination of our common stock, preferred stock, debt securities and warrants from time to time for an aggregate initial offering price of up to$50 million, subject to certain limitations for so long as our public float is less than $75 million. Pursuant to an exclusive placement agent agreement datedApril 25, 2016 between us and H.C. Wainwright & Co., LLC, or Wainwright, and a securities purchase agreement dated April 29, 2016 between us and thepurchasers signatory thereto, we received approximately $4.3 million of net cash proceeds upon the sale of our common stock and warrants to purchase ourcommon stock. Subsequent to the closing of this offering on May 4, 2016, no warrants sold in this offering have been exercised, with approximately$4.5 million in gross warrant proceeds remaining outstanding and available to be exercised at $3.90 per share until their expiration in May 2021. Pursuant toan exclusive placement agent agreement dated March 28, 2017 between us and Roth Capital Partners, LLC as lead placement agent, and WestPark Capitaland Chardan Capital as co-placement agents, a securities purchase agreement for an offering of 4,320,000 shares of our common stock was effected under thisregistration statement at a per share price of $2.15. In a concurrent private placement, we sold unregistered warrants to purchase up to an aggregate of2,160,000 shares of our common stock that closed concurrently with the offering common stock sold pursuant to this shelf registration statement, of whichnone have been subsequently exercised. All warrants sold in this offering have a per share exercise price of $2.50 and expire on October 1, 2022. The closingof the sale of these securities to the purchasers occurred on March 31, 2017, when we received approximately $8.6 million of net cash proceeds. Pursuant toan exclusive placement agent agreement dated December 5, 2017 between us and Dawson James Securities, Inc. as lead placement agent, and WestParkCapital as co-placement agent, a securities purchase agreement for a registered direct offering of 4,925,000 shares of our common stock was effected underthis registration statement at a per share price of $0.68. The placement agent was issued a warrant to purchase 246,250 shares74of common stock at an exercise price of $0.85 per share, which is first exercisable on June 5, 2018 and expires on December 5, 2022. The closing of the saleof these securities occurred on December 8, 2017, when we received approximately $2.9 million of net cash proceeds. The specific terms of additional futureofferings, if any, under this shelf registration statement would be established at the time of such offerings.On October 19, 2016, we received net cash proceeds of approximately $9.0 million as a result of the closing of a follow-on public offering. Subsequent to theclosing of this offering on October 19, 2016, the offering’s underwriters exercised their overallotment option to purchase 627,131 option warrants for totalproceeds of $564. Subsequent to the closing of this offering, approximately $7.5 million of additional cash proceeds had been received from the exercise ofwarrants sold in this offering, with approximately $3.2 million in gross warrant proceeds remaining outstanding and available to be exercised at $1.10 pershare until their expiration in October 2021.Pursuant to a common stock and warrant purchase agreement dated August 9, 2017, we received net cash proceeds of approximately $2.0 million as a resultof the sale of our common stock and warrants. Subsequent to the closing of this offering, no additional cash proceeds had been received from the exercise ofwarrants sold in this offering, with approximately $2.2 million in gross warrant proceeds remaining outstanding and available to be exercised at $1.50 pershare until their expiration in August 2022.On January 30, 2018, we received net cash proceeds of approximately $13.3 million as a result of the closing of a follow-on public offering. Subsequent tothe closing of this offering, no additional cash proceeds have been received from the exercise of warrants sold in this offering, with approximately$16.4 million in gross warrant proceeds remaining outstanding and available to be exercised at $0.50 per share, subject to down round adjustment, until theirexpiration in January 2023.Debt FinancingOn April 30, 2014, we received net cash proceeds of approximately $4,898,000 pursuant to the execution of the April 2014 Credit Facility with OxfordFinance LLC. Upon the entry into the April 2014 Credit Facility, we were required to pay the lender a facility fee of $50,000 in conjunction with the fundingof the term loan. The April 2014 Credit Facility is secured by substantially all of our personal property other than our intellectual property. Amounts due toOxford Finance LLC under the April 2014 Credit Facility are callable before maturity by the lender under certain subjective acceleration clauses of theunderlying agreement, including changes deemed to be materially adverse by the lender. The term loan under the April 2014 Credit Facility bears interest atan annual rate of 7.95% and matures on July 1, 2018. Under the original terms of the underlying agreement, we are also required to make a final payment tothe lender equal to 5.5% of the original principal amount of the term loan funded. At our option, we may prepay the outstanding principal balance of the termloan in whole but not in part, subject to a prepayment fee of 1% of any amount prepaid.On June 30, 2016, we entered into an amendment of the April 2014 Credit Facility. This amendment required us to make interest-only payments on the termloan from July 1, 2016 through September 30, 2016, and also requires an additional final payment of $50,000 to the lender. The terms of the amendmentrequired the amortization of the outstanding amount due under the term loan to commence at the end of the applicable interest-only period, with monthlypayments of principal and interest, in arrears, being made by us to the lender in consecutive monthly installments following such interest-only period.Additionally, pursuant to the amendment the aggregate outstanding principal amount of our permitted indebtedness, consisting of capitalized leaseobligations and purchase money indebtedness outstanding at any time, was increased to $1.2 million. The June 30, 2016 amendment of the April 2014 CreditFacility was accounted for as a modification of debt under applicable accounting guidance. On June 28, 2017, we entered into an amendment of the April2014 Credit Facility whereby the aggregate outstanding principal amount of our permitted indebtedness was increased to $3.0 million.The April 2014 Credit Facility includes affirmative and negative covenants applicable to us and any subsidiaries created in the future. The affirmativecovenants include, among others, covenants requiring us to maintain our legal existence and governmental approvals, deliver certain financial reports andmaintain insurance coverage. The negative covenants include, among others, restrictions on transferring collateral, incurring additional indebtedness,engaging in mergers or acquisitions, paying dividends or making other distributions, making investments, creating liens, selling assets, and suffering achange in control, in each case subject to certain exceptions. The April 2014 Credit Facility also includes events of default, the occurrence and continuationof which provide Oxford Finance LLC, as collateral agent, with the right to exercise remedies against us and the collateral securing the term loan under theApril 2014 Credit Facility, including foreclosure against our properties securing the April 2014 Credit Facility, including our cash. These events of defaultinclude, among other things,75our failure to pay any amounts due under the April 2014 Credit Facility, a breach of covenants under the April 2014 Credit Facility, insolvency, a materialadverse change, the occurrence of any default under certain other indebtedness in an amount greater than $250,000, and a final judgment against us in anamount greater than $250,000.A warrant to purchase up to 17,655 shares of our common stock at an exercise price of $14.16 per share with a term of 10 years was issued to Oxford FinanceLLC on April 30, 2014. Issuance costs of approximately $102,000 associated with the term loan under the April 2014 Credit Facility were recorded as adiscount to outstanding debt as of the closing date, resulting in net proceeds of $4,898,000. The estimated fair value of the warrant issued of approximately$233,000 was also recorded as a discount to outstanding debt as of the closing date. The discounts and other issuance costs are amortized to interest expenseutilizing the effective interest method over the underlying term of the loan, with total unamortized discounts of approximately $78,000 and $33,000remaining at December 31, 2016 and 2017, respectively. The effective annual interest rate associated with the April 2014 Credit Facility was 13.87% at bothDecember 31, 2016 and 2017. As of December 31, 2017, total remaining principal payments of approximately $1,201,000 were due under the April 2014Credit Facility and payable during the fiscal year ending December 31, 2018.Cash FlowsOur net cash flow from operating, investing and financing activities for the periods below were as follows: For the year ended December31, 2016 2017 (dollars in thousands) Cash provided by/(used in): Operating activities $(15,697) $(19,651)Investing activities (451) (1,400)Financing activities 11,936 18,588 Net increase/(decrease) in cash $(4,212) $(2,463)Cash Used in Operating Activities. Net cash used in operating activities was $19.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2017, compared to net cash usedin operating activities of $15.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2016. The net increase of $4.0 million in cash used was primarily related to anincrease of $3.2 million in cash used to fund our net loss, as well as a decrease of $0.6 million in net cash provided by operating assets and liabilities and anet decrease of $0.2 million in non-cash expenses primarily related to stock-based compensation expense.Cash Used in Investing Activities. Net cash used in investing activities of approximately $1,400,000 and $451,000 during the years ended December 31,2017 and 2016, respectively, was related to purchases of fixed assets.Cash Provided by Financing Activities. Net cash provided by financing activities was $18.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2017, compared to netcash provided by financing activities of $11.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2016. Our primary sources of cash from financing activities during theyear ended December 31, 2017 consisted of $8.6 million, $2.0 million and $2.9 million in net proceeds from our offerings in March, August and December2017, respectively, as well as proceeds of $7.5 million from the exercise of common stock warrants sold in our offering in October 2016, which were partiallyoffset by $2.6 million of principal payments made on indebtedness. Our primary sources of cash from financing activities during the year ended December 31,2016 related to $9.0 million and $4.3 million in net proceeds from our offerings in October and May 2016, respectively, as well as $0.5 million in netproceeds received from the sale of common stock to Aspire Capital, which were partially offset by $1.8 million of principal payments made on indebtedness.Liquidity, Capital Resources and Expenditure RequirementsWe expect to continue to incur substantial operating losses in the future. It may take several years to achieve positive operational cash flow, or we may notever achieve positive operational cash flow. We expect that we will use the net proceeds from our sale of equity securities, if any, cash received from thelicensing of our technology, if any, and our revenues from operations to hire sales and marketing personnel, support increased sales and marketing activities,fund further research and development, clinical utility studies and future enhancements of our assays, acquire equipment, implement76automation and scale our capabilities to prepare for significant assay volume, for general corporate purposes and to fund ongoing operations and theexpansion of our business, including the increased costs associated with expanded commercial activities. We may also use the net proceeds from our sale ofequity securities, if any, cash received from the licensing of our technology, if any, and our revenues from operations to acquire or invest in businesses,technologies, services or products, although we do not have any current plans to do so.As of December 31, 2017, our cash totaled $2.1 million, and our outstanding net indebtedness totaled $3.1 million. While we currently are in thecommercialization stage of operations, we have not yet achieved profitability and anticipate that we will continue to incur net losses for the foreseeablefuture. We have determined that there is substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern for the one-year period following the date that ourfinancial statements for the year ended December 31, 2017 were issued, and we expect that we will need additional financing to execute on our current orfuture business strategies beyond August 2018.Subsequent to the closing of a follow-on offering of our common stock and warrants to purchase shares of our common stock on February 13, 2015, cashproceeds of approximately $9.8 million were received in 2015 from the exercise of warrants sold in that offering, while approximately $2.7 million in grosswarrant proceeds remain outstanding and available to be exercised at $4.68 per share until their expiration in February 2020.In May 2015, the SEC declared effective a shelf registration statement filed by us, which expires in May 2018. The shelf registration statement allows us toissue any combination of our common stock, preferred stock, debt securities and warrants from time to time for an aggregate initial offering price of up to$50 million, subject to certain limitations for so long as our public float is less than $75 million. Pursuant to an exclusive placement agent agreement datedApril 25, 2016 between us and H.C. Wainwright & Co., LLC, or Wainwright, and a securities purchase agreement dated April 29, 2016 between us and thepurchasers signatory thereto, we received approximately $4.3 million of net cash proceeds upon the sale of our common stock and warrants to purchase ourcommon stock. Subsequent to the closing of this offering on May 4, 2016, no warrants sold in this offering have been exercised, with approximately$4.5 million in gross warrant proceeds remaining outstanding and available to be exercised at $3.90 per share until their expiration in May 2021. Pursuant toan exclusive placement agent agreement dated March 28, 2017 between us and Roth Capital Partners, LLC as lead placement agent, and WestPark Capitaland Chardan Capital as co-placement agents, a securities purchase agreement for an offering of 4,320,000 shares of our common stock was effected under thisregistration statement at a per share price of $2.15. In a concurrent private placement, we sold unregistered warrants to purchase up to an aggregate of2,160,000 shares of our common stock that closed concurrently with the offering common stock sold pursuant to this shelf registration statement, of whichnone have been subsequently exercised. All warrants sold in this offering have a per share exercise price of $2.50 and expire on October 1, 2022. The closingof the sale of these securities to the purchasers occurred on March 31, 2017, when we received approximately $8.6 million of net cash proceeds. Pursuant toan exclusive placement agent agreement dated December 5, 2017 between us and Dawson James Securities, Inc. as lead placement agent, and WestParkCapital as co-placement agent, a securities purchase agreement for a registered direct offering of 4,925,000 shares of our common stock was effected underthis registration statement at a per share price of $0.68. The placement agent was issued a warrant to purchase 246,250 shares of common stock at an exerciseprice of $0.85 per share, which is first exercisable on June 5, 2018 and expires on December 5, 2022. The closing of the sale of these securities occurred onDecember 8, 2017, when we received approximately $2.9 million of net cash proceeds. The specific terms of additional future offerings, if any, under thisshelf registration statement would be established at the time of such offerings.On October 19, 2016, we received net cash proceeds of approximately $9.0 million as a result of the closing of a follow-on public offering. Subsequent to theclosing of this offering on October 19, 2016, the offering’s underwriters exercised their overallotment option to purchase 627,131 option warrants for totalproceeds of $564. Subsequent to the closing of this offering, approximately $7.5 million of additional cash proceeds had been received from the exercise ofwarrants sold in this offering, with approximately $3.2 million in gross warrant proceeds remaining outstanding and available to be exercised at $1.10 pershare until their expiration in October 2021.Pursuant to a common stock and warrant purchase agreement dated August 9, 2017, we received net cash proceeds of approximately $2.0 million as a resultof the sale of our common stock and warrants. Subsequent to the closing of this offering, no additional cash proceeds had been received from the exercise ofwarrants sold in this offering, with approximately $2.2 million in gross warrant proceeds remaining outstanding and available to be exercised at $1.50 pershare until their expiration in August 2022.77On January 30, 2018, we received net cash proceeds of approximately $13.3 million as a result of the closing of a follow-on public offering. Subsequent tothe closing of this offering, no additional cash proceeds have been received from the exercise of warrants sold in this offering, with approximately$16.4 million in gross warrant proceeds remaining outstanding and available to be exercised at $0.50 per share, subject to down round adjustment, until theirexpiration in January 2023.We expect that we will need additional financing to execute on our current or future business strategies. Until we can generate significant cash fromoperations, including assay revenues, we expect to continue to fund operations with the proceeds from offerings of our equity securities or debt, ortransactions involving product development, technology licensing or collaboration. For example, we have an effective shelf registration statement on filewith the SEC which allows us to issue any combination of our common stock, preferred stock, debt securities and warrants from time to time, subject tocertain restrictions that apply for so long as our public float is less than $75 million. The specific terms of additional future offerings, if any, under this shelfregistration statement would be established at the time of such offerings. We can provide no assurances that any sources of a sufficient amount of financingwill be available to us on favorable terms, if at all. If we are unable to raise a sufficient amount of financing in a timely manner, we would likely need to scaleback our general and administrative activities and certain of our research and development activities. Our forecast pertaining to our current financialresources and the costs to support our general and administrative and research and development activities are forward-looking statements and involve risksand uncertainties. Actual results could vary materially and negatively as a result of a number of factors, including: •our ability to secure financing and the amount thereof; •the costs of operating and enhancing our laboratory facilities; •the costs of developing our anticipated internal sales and marketing capabilities; •the scope, progress and results of our research and development programs, including clinical utility studies; •the scope, progress, results, costs, timing and outcomes of the clinical utility studies for our diagnostic assays; •our ability to manage the costs for manufacturing our microfluidic channels; •the costs of maintaining, expanding and protecting our intellectual property portfolio, including potential litigation costs and liabilities; •our ability to obtain adequate reimbursement from governmental and other third-party payers for our assays and services; •the costs of additional general and administrative personnel, including accounting and finance, legal and human resources, as a result ofbecoming a public company; •our ability to collect revenues; and •other risks discussed in our other filings with the SEC.We may raise additional capital to fund our current operations and to fund expansion of our business to meet our long-term business objectives throughpublic or private equity offerings, debt financings, borrowings or strategic partnerships coupled with an investment in our company or a combination thereof.If we raise additional funds through the issuance of convertible debt securities, or other debt securities, these securities could be secured and could haverights senior to those of our common stock. In addition, any new debt incurred by us could impose covenants that restrict our operations. The issuance of anynew equity securities will also dilute the interest of our current stockholders. Given the risks associated with our business, including our unprofitableoperating history and our ability or inability to develop additional assays, additional capital may not be available when needed on acceptable terms, or at all.If adequate funds are not available, we will need to curb our expansion plans or limit our research and development activities, which would have a materialadverse impact on our business prospects and results of operations.Off-Balance Sheet ArrangementsWe have not engaged in any off-balance sheet arrangements as defined in Item 303(a)(4) of Regulation S-K. 78Item 7A.Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market RiskNot applicable. 79Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary DataBiocept, Inc.Index to Financial Statements PageNo.Financial Statements: Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm 81Balance Sheets at December 31, 2017 and 2016 82Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Loss for the Years Ended December 31, 2017 and 2016 83Statements of Shareholders’ Equity for the Years Ended December 31, 2017 and 2016 84Statements of Cash Flows for the Years Ended December 31, 2017 and 2016 85Notes to Financial Statements 87 80REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRMTo the Board of Directors and Shareholders of Biocept, Inc.Opinion on the Financial StatementsWe have audited the accompanying balance sheets of Biocept, Inc. (“Company”) as of December 31, 2017 and 2016, and the related statements of operationsand comprehensive loss, shareholders' equity and cash flows for each of the two years in the period ended December 31, 2017, and the related notes(collectively referred to as the “financial statements”). In our opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position ofthe Company as of December 31, 2017 and 2016, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the two years in the period ended December31, 2017, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.Going Concern UncertaintyThe accompanying financial statements have been prepared assuming that the Company will continue as a going concern. As discussed in Note 2 to thefinancial statements, the Company has incurred recurring losses from operations and is dependent on future financings to fund operations. These conditionsraise substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern. Management’s plan regarding these matters is also described in Note 2. The financialstatements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.Basis for OpinionThese financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s financialstatements based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) ("PCAOB")and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations ofthe Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonableassurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. The Company is not required to have, norwere we engaged to perform, an audit of its internal control over financial reporting. As part of our audits we are required to obtain an understanding ofinternal control over financial reporting but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control overfinancial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion.Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, andperforming procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures inthe financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well asevaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2005./s/ Mayer Hoffman McCann P.C. San Diego, CaliforniaMarch 28, 2018 81Biocept, Inc.Balance Sheets December 31, December 31, 2016 2017 Current assets: Cash $4,609,332 $2,146,611 Accounts receivable, net 128,969 1,193,426 Inventories, net 549,045 498,702 Prepaid expenses and other current assets 484,649 416,600 Total current assets 5,771,995 4,255,339 Fixed assets, net 1,806,331 3,123,567 Total assets $7,578,326 $7,378,906 Current liabilities: Accounts payable $960,486 $1,269,953 Accrued liabilities 1,160,036 1,752,363 Supplier financings 75,691 61,226 Current portion of equipment financings 262,674 408,992 Current portion of credit facility, net 1,934,665 1,168,811 Total current liabilities 4,393,552 4,661,345 Non-current portion of equipment financings 778,643 1,150,063 Non-current portion of credit facility, net 1,123,001 — Non-current portion of interest payable 227,177 — Non-current portion of deferred rent 397,292 271,464 Total liabilities 6,919,665 6,082,872 Commitments and contingencies (see Note 16) Shareholders’ equity: Preferred stock, $0.0001 par value, 5,000,000 shares authorized; no shares issued and outstandingat December 31, 2016 and 2017. — — Common stock, $0.0001 par value, 150,000,000 shares authorized; 17,499,397 shares issued andoutstanding at December 31, 2016; 35,183,743 shares issued and outstanding at December 31,2017. 1,750 3,518 Additional paid-in capital 174,292,781 196,542,123 Accumulated deficit (173,635,870) (195,249,607)Total shareholders’ equity 658,661 1,296,034 Total liabilities and shareholders’ equity $7,578,326 $7,378,906 The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements. 82Biocept, Inc.Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Loss For the year ended December 31, 2016 2017 Net revenues $3,223,096 $5,068,663 Costs and expenses: Cost of revenues 6,920,111 9,345,122 Research and development expenses 2,713,367 3,364,747 General and administrative expenses 6,560,425 7,189,529 Sales and marketing expenses 5,054,230 6,343,971 Total costs and expenses 21,248,133 26,243,369 Loss from operations (18,025,037) (21,174,706)Other income/(expense): Interest expense, net (525,880) (482,623)Other income 153,648 51,216 Total other income/(expense): (372,232) (431,407)Loss before income taxes (18,397,269) (21,606,113)Income tax expense (2,053) (7,624)Net loss and comprehensive loss $(18,399,322) $(21,613,737)Weighted-average shares outstanding used in computing net loss per shareattributable to common shareholders: Basic 9,578,285 27,246,292 Diluted 9,578,285 27,246,292 Net loss per common share: Basic $(1.92) $(0.79)Diluted $(1.92) $(0.79) The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements. 83Biocept, Inc.Statements of Shareholders’ Equity Common Stock Additional Accumulated Shares Amount Paid-in Capital Deficit Total Balance at December 31, 2015 6,556,685 $656 $158,928,627 $(155,236,548) $3,692,735 Stock-based compensation expense — — 1,593,947 — 1,593,947 Shares issued for restricted stock units 4,449 1 (1) — — Shares and warrants issued for May 2016 public offering, net ofissuance costs 1,662,191 166 4,333,117 — 4,333,283 Shares and warrants issued for October 2016 public offering, net ofissuance costs 9,100,000 910 8,971,815 — 8,972,725 Shares issued pursuant to stock purchase agreement, net of issuancecosts 173,145 17 465,276 — 465,293 Fractional shares issued upon one-for-three reverse stock split 2,927 — — — — Net loss — — — (18,399,322) (18,399,322)Balance at December 31, 2016 17,499,397 1,750 174,292,781 (173,635,870) 658,661 Stock-based compensation expense — — 1,247,481 — 1,247,481 Shares issued for restricted stock units 155,829 16 (16) — — Shares issued upon exercise of common stock warrants 6,816,850 682 7,497,853 — 7,498,535 Shares and warrants issued for March 2017 registered direct offering,net of issuance costs 4,320,000 432 8,559,527 — 8,559,959 Shares and warrant issued for August 2017 private placement, net ofissuance costs 1,466,667 146 2,023,793 — 2,023,939 Shares issued for December 2017 registered direct offering, net ofissuance costs 4,925,000 492 2,920,704 — 2,921,196 Net loss — — — (21,613,737) (21,613,737)Balance at December 31, 2017 35,183,743 $3,518 $196,542,123 $(195,249,607) $1,296,034 The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements. 84Biocept, Inc.Statements of Cash Flows For the year ended December 31, 2016 2017 Cash Flows from Operating Activities Net loss $(18,399,322) $(21,613,737)Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash used in operating activities: Depreciation and amortization 322,029 575,717 Inventory reserve (31,659) (50,532)Stock-based compensation 1,593,947 1,247,481 Non-cash interest expense related to credit facility and other financing activities 100,005 45,788 Gain on sale of fixed assets (30,662) — Increase/(decrease) in cash resulting from changes in: Accounts receivable, net (94,769) (1,064,457)Inventory (168,115) 100,875 Prepaid expenses and other current assets 494,734 518,863 Accounts payable 332,732 349,932 Accrued liabilities 165,543 236,927 Accrued interest 55,444 78,649 Deferred rent (36,965) (76,232)Net cash used in operating activities (15,697,058) (19,650,726)Cash Flows from Investing Activities: Proceeds from sale of fixed assets 30,662 — Purchases of fixed assets (482,065) (1,400,180)Net cash used in investing activities (451,403) (1,400,180)Cash Flows from Financing Activities: Net proceeds from issuance of common stock and warrants 13,771,301 13,505,094 Proceeds from exercise of common stock warrants — 7,498,535 Net proceeds from sale-leaseback transaction — 150,848 Payments on equipment financings (86,227) (166,348)Payments on supplier and other third-party financings (510,123) (465,279)Payments on credit facility (1,238,487) (1,934,665)Net cash provided by financing activities 11,936,464 18,588,185 Net decrease in Cash (4,211,997) (2,462,721)Cash at Beginning of Period 8,821,329 4,609,332 Cash at End of Period $4,609,332 $2,146,611 Supplemental Disclosures of Cash Flow Information: Cash paid during the period for: Interest $358,632 $358,471 Income taxes $2,053 $5,273 The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements. 85Non-cash Investing and Financing Activities:During the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2017, Biocept, Inc., or the Company, financed insurance premiums of approximately $547,000 and$451,000, respectively, through third-party financings (see Note 9). During the year ended December 31, 2016, the Company received a partial refund of$3,933 related to an insurance premium previously financed.Fixed assets purchased totaling approximately $975,000 and $719,000 during the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2017, respectively, were recorded asequipment financing obligations and were excluded from cash purchases in the Company’s statements of cash flows (see Note 8). During the year endedDecember 31, 2016, fixed assets with an aggregate net book value of approximately $270,000, which had previously been recorded as equipment financingobligations with remaining outstanding balances owed totaling approximately $240,000, were effectively disposed of and replaced with upgradedequipment recorded as equipment financing obligations. During the year ended December 31, 2017, fixed assets with an aggregate net book value ofapproximately $34,000 were exchanged with a lender as partial payment on an outstanding equipment financing obligation balance.The amount of unpaid fixed asset purchases excluded from cash purchases in the Company’s statements of cash flows decreased from approximately $64,000at December 31, 2015 to $58,000 at December 31, 2016 to $31,000 at December 31, 2017.An offering of Company’s common stock and warrants to purchase its common stock closed on May 4, 2016 (see Note 4). In connection with the closing ofthis offering, warrants were issued to purchase up to an aggregate of 1,163,526 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $3.90 per share with a term offive years and an estimated grant date fair value of approximately $2.0 million, which was recorded as an offset to additional paid-in capital (see Note 5).Additionally, approximately $653,000 of fees and costs directly associated with this offering were recorded as an offset to additional paid-in capital inaccordance with applicable accounting guidance.An offering of the Company’s common stock and warrants to purchase its common stock closed on October 19, 2016 (see Note 4). In connection with theclosing of this offering, warrants to purchase up to an aggregate of 9,100,000 shares of common stock with estimated grant date fair value of approximately$0.57 per share were issued (see Note 5). Additionally, the underwriters were granted a 30-day option to purchase up to 1,365,000 additional shares ofcommon stock at a price of $1.0331 per share, net of the underwriting discount, and/or additional warrants to purchase up to 1,365,000 shares of commonstock at a price of $0.0009 per warrant to cover overallotments, if any (see Note 5). The estimated aggregate grant date fair value of the overallotment optionsand warrants of approximately $0.8 million, as well as an additional $1,037,000 million of fees and costs directly associated with this offering, were recordedas an offset to additional paid-in capital in accordance with applicable accounting guidance.An offering of the Company’s common stock and warrants to purchase its common stock occurred on March 31, 2017 (see Note 4). In the offering, warrantswere issued to purchase up to an aggregate of 2,160,000 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $2.50 per share with a term of five years and anestimated aggregate grant date fair value of approximately $2.8 million, which was recorded as an offset to additional paid-in capital (see Note 5).Additionally, approximately $728,000 of fees and costs directly associated with this offering were recorded as an offset to additional paid-in capital inaccordance with applicable accounting guidance.An offering of the Company’s common stock and a warrant to purchase its common stock occurred on August 9, 2017 (see Note 4). In the offering, a warrantwas issued to purchase up to 1,434,639 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $1.50 per share with a term of five years and an estimated grant datefair value of approximately $1.5 million, which was recorded as an offset to additional paid-in capital (see Note 5). Additionally, approximately $176,000 offees and costs directly associated with this offering were recorded as an offset to additional paid-in capital in accordance with applicable accountingguidance.An offering of the Company’s common stock and a warrant to purchase its common stock occurred on December 8, 2017 (see Note 4). In the offering, awarrant was issued to the placement agent to purchase up to 246,250 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $0.85 per share that is first exercisable onJune 5, 2018 with a term of five years expiring on December 5, 2022 and an estimated grant date fair value of approximately $0.1 million, which wasrecorded as an offset to additional paid-in capital (see Note 5). Additionally, approximately $428,000 of fees and costs directly associated with this offeringwere recorded as an offset to additional paid-in capital in accordance with applicable accounting guidance. The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements. 86BIOCEPT, INC.NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 1. The Company and Business ActivitiesThe Company was founded in California in May 1997 and is an early stage molecular oncology diagnostics company that develops and commercializesproprietary circulating tumor cell, or CTC, and circulating tumor DNA, or ctDNA, assays utilizing a standard blood sample, or liquid biopsy. The Company’scurrent and planned assays are intended to provide information to aid healthcare providers to identify specific oncogenic alterations that may qualify asubset of cancer patients for targeted therapy at diagnosis, progression or for monitoring in order to identify specific resistance mechanisms. Sometimestraditional procedures, such as surgical tissue biopsies, result in tumor tissue that is insufficient and/or unable to provide the molecular subtype informationnecessary for clinical decisions. The Company’s assays, performed on blood, have the potential to provide more contemporaneous information on thecharacteristics of a patient’s disease when compared with tissue biopsy and radiographic imaging. Additionally, commencing in October 2017, theCompany’s pathology partnership program, Empower TC, provides the unique ability for pathologists to participate in the interpretation of liquid biopsyresults and is available to pathology practices and hospital systems throughout the United States. Further, the Company’s proprietary blood collection tubes,which allow for the intact transport of liquid biopsy samples for research use only from regions around the world, are anticipated to be sold to laboratorysupply distributors commencing in 2018.The Company operates a clinical laboratory that is CLIA-certified (under the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendment of 1988) and CAP-accredited (bythe College of American Pathologists), and manufactures cell enrichment and extraction microfluidic channels, related equipment and certain reagents toperform the Company’s diagnostic assays in a facility located in San Diego, California. CLIA certification and accreditation are required before any clinicallaboratory may perform testing on human specimens for the purpose of obtaining information for the diagnosis, prevention, treatment of disease, orassessment of health. The assays the Company offers are classified as laboratory developed tests under the CLIA regulations.In July 2013, the Company effected a reincorporation to Delaware by merging itself with and into Biocept, Inc., a Delaware corporation, which had beenformed to be and was a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company since July 23, 2013. 2. Liquidity and Going Concern UncertaintyAs of December 31, 2017, cash totaled $2.1 million and the Company had an accumulated deficit of $195.2 million. For the years ended December 31, 2016and 2017, the Company incurred net losses of $18.4 million and $21.6 million, respectively. At December 31, 2017, the Company had aggregate net interest-bearing indebtedness of approximately $3.1 million, of which approximately $2.0 million was due within one year, in addition to approximately $2.7million of other non-interest bearing current liabilities. Additionally, in February 2016, the Company signed a firm, non-cancelable, and unconditionalcommitment in an aggregate amount of $1,062,500 with a vendor to purchase certain inventory items, payable in minimum quarterly amounts of $62,500through May 2020, under which approximately $611,000 remained outstanding at December 31, 2017 (see Note 16). These factors raise substantial doubtabout the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern for the one-year period following the date that these financial statements were issued. Theaccompanying financial statements and notes have been prepared assuming that the Company will continue as a going concern. The accompanying financialstatements and notes do not include any adjustments to reflect the possible future effects on the recoverability and classification of assets or the amounts andclassification of liabilities that may result from the possible inability of the Company to continue as a going concern.While the Company is currently in the commercialization stage of operations, the Company has not yet achieved profitability and anticipates that it willcontinue to incur net losses for the foreseeable future. Historically, the Company’s principal sources of cash have included proceeds from the issuance ofcommon and preferred stock, proceeds from the exercise of warrants to purchase common stock, proceeds from the issuance of debt, and revenues fromlaboratory services. The Company’s principal uses of cash have included cash used in operations, payments relating to purchases of property and equipmentand repayments of borrowings. The Company expects that the principal uses of cash in the future will be for continuing operations, hiring of sales andmarketing personnel and increased sales and marketing activities, funding of research and development, capital expenditures, and general working capitalrequirements. The Company expects that, as revenues grow, sales and marketing and research and development expenses will continue to grow, albeit at aslower rate and,87as a result, the Company will need to generate significant growth in net revenues to achieve and sustain income from operations.In May 2015, the SEC declared effective a shelf registration statement filed by the Company, which expires in May 2018. The shelf registration statementallows the Company to issue any combination of its common stock, preferred stock, debt securities and warrants from time to time for an aggregate initialoffering price of up to $50 million, subject to certain limitations for so long as its public float is less than $75 million. Pursuant to an exclusive placementagent agreement dated April 25, 2016 between the Company and H.C. Wainwright & Co., LLC, or Wainwright, and a securities purchase agreement datedApril 29, 2016 between the Company and the purchasers signatory thereto, the Company received approximately $4.3 million of net cash proceeds upon thesale of its common stock and warrants to purchase its common stock. Subsequent to the closing of this offering on May 4, 2016, no warrants sold in thisoffering have been exercised, with approximately $4.5 million in gross warrant proceeds remaining outstanding and available to be exercised at $3.90 pershare until their expiration in May 2021. Pursuant to an exclusive placement agent agreement dated March 28, 2017 between the Company and Roth CapitalPartners, LLC as lead placement agent, and WestPark Capital and Chardan Capital as co-placement agents, a securities purchase agreement for an offering of4,320,000 shares of the Company’s common stock was effected under this registration statement at a per share price of $2.15. In a concurrent privateplacement, the Company sold unregistered warrants to purchase up to an aggregate of 2,160,000 shares of its common stock that closed concurrently with theoffering common stock sold pursuant to this shelf registration statement, of which none have been subsequently exercised. All warrants sold in this offeringhave a per share exercise price of $2.50 and expire on October 1, 2022. The closing of the sale of these securities to the purchasers occurred on March 31,2017, when the Company received approximately $8.6 million of net cash proceeds. Pursuant to an exclusive placement agent agreement dated December 5,2017 between the Company and Dawson James Securities, Inc. as lead placement agent, and WestPark Capital as co-placement agent, a securities purchaseagreement for a registered direct offering of 4,925,000 shares of the Company’s common stock was effected under this registration statement at a per shareprice of $0.68. The placement agent was issued a warrant to purchase 246,250 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $0.85 per share, which is firstexercisable on June 5, 2018 and expires on December 5, 2022. The closing of the sale of these securities occurred on December 8, 2017, when the Companyreceived approximately $2.9 million of net cash proceeds. The specific terms of additional future offerings, if any, under this shelf registration statementwould be established at the time of such offerings.On October 19, 2016, the Company received net cash proceeds of approximately $9.0 million as a result of the closing of a follow-on public offering.Subsequent to the closing of this offering on October 19, 2016, the offering’s underwriters exercised their overallotment option to purchase 627,131 optionwarrants for total proceeds of $564. Subsequent to the closing of this offering, approximately $7.5 million of additional cash proceeds had been receivedfrom the exercise of warrants sold in this offering, with approximately $3.2 million in gross warrant proceeds remaining outstanding and available to beexercised at $1.10 per share until their expiration in October 2021.Pursuant to a common stock and warrant purchase agreement dated August 9, 2017, the Company received net cash proceeds of approximately $2.0 millionas a result of the sale of its common stock and warrants. Subsequent to the closing of this offering, no additional cash proceeds had been received from theexercise of warrants sold in this offering, with approximately $2.2 million in gross warrant proceeds remaining outstanding and available to be exercised at$1.50 per share until their expiration in August 2022.On January 30, 2018, the Company received net cash proceeds of approximately $13.3 million as a result of the closing of a follow-on public offering.Subsequent to the closing of this offering, no additional cash proceeds have been received from the exercise of warrants sold in this offering, withapproximately $16.4 million in gross warrant proceeds remaining outstanding and available to be exercised at $0.50 per share, subject to down roundadjustment, until their expiration in January 2023.Management’s Plan to Continue as a Going ConcernIn order to continue as a going concern, the Company will need, among other things, additional capital resources. Until the Company can generatesignificant cash from operations, including assay revenues, management’s plans to obtain such resources for the Company include proceeds from offerings ofthe Company’s equity securities or debt, or transactions involving product development, technology licensing or collaboration. Management can provide noassurances that any sources of a sufficient amount of financing will be available to the Company on favorable terms, if at all. 883. Summary of Significant Accounting PoliciesBasis of PresentationThe accompanying financial statements and notes are prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America,or U.S. GAAP, and are prepared on the basis that the Company will continue as a going concern (see Note 2). The accompanying financial statements andnotes do not include any adjustments to reflect the possible future effects on the recoverability and classification of assets or the amounts and classificationof liabilities that may result from the possible inability of the Company to continue as a going concern.On September 27, 2016, the Company’s stockholders approved, and the Company filed, an amendment to the Company’s amended and restated certificate ofincorporation to effect a one-for-three reverse stock split of the Company’s outstanding common stock, and to increase the authorized number of shares of theCompany’s common stock from 40,000,000 to 150,000,000 shares. The one-for-three reverse stock split was effected on September 29, 2016. As such, allreferences to share and per share amounts in these financial statements and accompanying notes have been retroactively restated to reflect the one-for-threereverse stock split, except for the authorized number of shares of the Company’s common stock of 150,000,000 shares, which was not affected by the one-for-three reverse stock split.Going ConcernThe Company assesses and determines its ability to continue as a going concern in accordance with the provisions of ASC Topic 205-40, Presentation ofFinancial Statements—Going Concern, which requires the Company to evaluate whether there are conditions or events that raise substantial doubt about itsability to continue as a going concern within one year after the date that its annual and interim financial statements are issued (see Note 2). Certain additionalfinancial statement disclosures are required if such conditions or events are identified. If and when an entity’s liquidation becomes imminent, financialstatements should be prepared under the liquidation basis of accounting. Determining the extent, if any, to which conditions or events raise substantial doubtabout the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern, or the extent to which mitigating plans sufficiently alleviate any such substantial doubt, as wellas whether or not liquidation is imminent, requires significant judgment by management.Use of EstimatesThe preparation of financial statements requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities anddisclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements, and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reportingperiod. On an ongoing basis, management evaluates these estimates and judgments, including those related to accounts receivable, inventories, long-livedassets, income taxes, revenues, stock-based compensation, and the determination of the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. The Companybases its estimates on various assumptions that it believes are reasonable under the circumstances. Actual results may differ from these estimates underdifferent assumptions or conditions.89Revenue Recognition and Accounts ReceivableThe Company's commercial revenues are generated from diagnostic services provided as delivered to physicians and billed to third-party insurance payerssuch as managed care organizations, Medicare and Medicaid and patients for any deductibles, coinsurance or copayments that may be due. ThroughDecember 31, 2017, the Company recognized revenue in accordance with the provision of Accounting Standards Codification, or ASC, 954-605, Health CareEntities—Revenue Recognition, which required that four basic criteria must be met prior to recognition of revenue: (1) persuasive evidence of anarrangement existed; (2) delivery had occurred and title and the risks and rewards of ownership had been transferred to the client or services had beenrendered; (3) the price was fixed or determinable; and (4) collectability was reasonably assured. Commencing on March 31, 2017, the Company recognizescommercial revenue related to billings for assays delivered and billed to Medicare and other third-party payers on an accrual basis when amounts that willultimately be realized can be estimated upon delivery, whereby prior to March 31, 2017, the Company recognized revenues for its commercial diagnosticservices on a cash basis as collected because the amounts ultimately expected to be received could not be estimated upon delivery due to insufficientcollection history experience. Commencing on January 1, 2018, the Company recognizes revenue in accordance with ASC 606, Revenue from Contracts withCustomers, which requires that an entity recognize revenue when it transfers promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects theconsideration to which the entity expects to be entitled to in exchange for those goods or services.The Company bills third-party payers on a fee-for-service basis at the Company’s list price and third-party commercial revenue is recorded net of contractualdiscounts, payer-specific allowances and other reserves. The Company’s development services revenues are supported by contractual agreements andgenerated from assay development services provided to entities, as well as certain other diagnostic services provided to physicians. Diagnostic services arecompleted upon the delivery of assay results to the prescribing physician, at which time the Company bills for the service and revenue is recognized.The Company’s gross commercial revenues billed, and corresponding gross accounts receivable are subject to estimated deductions for such allowances andreserves to arrive at reported net revenues, which relate to differences between amounts billed and corresponding amounts estimated to be subsequentlycollected. These third-party payer discounts and sales allowances are estimated based on a number of assumptions and factors, including historical paymenttrends, seasonality associated with the annual reset of patient deductible limits on January 1 of each year, and current and estimated future payments.Specifically, the Company maintains four such reserves: the reserve for contractual discounts, the reserve for aged non-patient receivables, the reserve forestimated patient receivables, and the reserve for other payer-specific sales allowances. The reserve for contractual discounts relates to discounts to grossamounts billed to Medicare and contracted third-party payers to arrive at the deemed “allowed expense” amount covered by that payer. The Company’scontracted third-party commercial sales are recorded using an actual or contracted fee schedule at the time of delivery, while estimated fee schedules aremaintained for each non-contracted payer separately as part of other payer-specific sales allowances. Contractual discounts are recorded at the transactionlevel at the time of delivery based on a fee schedule that is maintained for each contracted third-party payer. The Company periodically adjusts fee schedulesfor both contracted and non-contracted third-party payers based upon historical payment trends. The reserve for aged non-patient receivables reduces grossamounts billed to non-contracted third-party payers for amounts estimated to be collected according to the age of the outstanding balance. The reserve forestimated patient receivables reduces gross amounts billed to third-party payers for amounts estimated to be collected directly from individual patients, suchas copayments, deductibles, or amounts otherwise designated as patient responsibility. The reserve for other payer-specific sales allowances relates to theamounts billed to non-contracted third-party payers that are estimated to not be covered by that specific payer’s coverage policies, as well as estimatednecessary adjustments to gross amounts billed based on historical collection experience for a particular third-party payer unrelated to the age of outstandingbalances. Collection periods for billings on commercial revenues range from less than 30 days to several months, depending on the contracted or non-contracted nature of the payer, among other things.The estimates of amounts that will ultimately be realized from commercial diagnostic services for non-contracted payers require significant judgment bymanagement. Patients do not enter into direct agreements with the Company that commit them to pay any portion of the cost of the tests in the event thatthey have not met their annual deductible limit under their insurance policy, if any, or if their insurance otherwise declines to reimburse the Company.Adjustments to the estimated payment amounts are recorded at the time of final collection and settlement of each transaction as an adjustment to commercialrevenue. Consideration associated with non-contracted commercial revenues is considered variable and constrained until fully adjudicated, with net revenuesrecorded to the extent that it is probable that a significant reversal will not occur. The estimation process used to determine third-party payer discounts andsales allowance has been applied on a90consistent basis since March 31, 2017, and no significant subsequent adjustments have been necessary to increase or decrease these discounts and allowancesas a result of changes in underlying estimates.The composition of the Company’s gross and net revenues recognized during the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2017 is as follows: For the year ended December 31, 2016 2017 Commercial revenues recognized upon delivery$- $15,685,069 Development services revenues recognized upon delivery 240,056 272,350 Commercial revenues recognized upon cash collection 2,983,040 1,225,976 Total gross revenues 3,223,096 17,183,395 Provisions for contractual discounts — (5,805,787)Provisions for aged non-patient receivables — (735,709)Provisions for estimated patient receivables — (169,479)Provisions for other payer-specific sales allowances — (5,403,757)Net revenues$3,223,096 $5,068,663During the year ended December 31, 2017, the Company recorded approximately $843,000 in nonrecurring net revenue as a result of recognizing revenue onan accrual basis commencing on March 31, 2017 associated with cases delivered on or prior to December 31, 2016, representing a corresponding decrease innet loss per common share of $0.03. The incremental net revenue as a result of recognizing revenue on an accrual basis commencing on March 31, 2017, orthe total amount of net revenue recorded in excess of the amount of commercial cash collections, was approximately $1,139,000 during the year endedDecember 31, 2017, representing a corresponding decrease in net loss per common share of $0.04.A summary of activity in the Company’s gross and net accounts receivable balances, as well as corresponding reserves, during the year ended December 31,2017 is as follows: Balance at Amounts Settlements Balance at December 31, Recognized Upon December 31, 2016 Upon Delivery Adjudication 2017 Accounts receivable, gross$128,969 $15,957,419 $(9,149,325) $6,937,063 Reserve for contractual discounts — (5,805,787) 3,830,938 (1,974,849)Reserve for aged non-patient receivables — (735,709) 283,621 (452,088)Reserve for estimated patient receivables — (169,479) 81,359 (88,120)Reserve for other payer-specific sales allowances — (5,403,757) 2,175,177 (3,228,580)Accounts receivable, net$128,969 $3,842,687 $(2,778,230) $1,193,426 CashThe Company places its cash with reputable financial institutions that are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, or FDIC. At times, depositsheld may exceed the amount of insurance provided by the FDIC. The Company has not experienced any losses in its cash and believes they are not exposedto any significant credit risk.Fair Value MeasurementThe Company uses a three-tier fair value hierarchy to prioritize the inputs used in the Company’s fair value measurements. These tiers include: Level 1,defined as observable inputs such as quoted prices in active markets for identical assets; Level 2, defined as inputs other than quoted prices in active marketsthat are either directly or indirectly observable; and Level 3, defined as unobservable inputs in which little or no market data exists, therefore requiring anentity to develop its own assumptions. The Company believes the carrying amount of cash, accounts receivable, accounts payable and accrued expensesapproximate their estimated fair values due to the short-term maturities of these financial instruments. See Note 5 for further details about the inputs andassumptions used to determine fair value measurements.91Concentration of RiskFinancial instruments that potentially subject the Company to concentrations of credit risk consist principally of temporary cash investments.Concentrations of credit risk with respect to revenues are primarily limited to geographies to which the Company provides a significant volume of itsservices, and to specific third-party payers of the Company’s services such as Medicare, insurance companies, and other third-party payers. The Company’sclient base consists of a large number of geographically dispersed clients diversified across various customer types.The Company's third-party payers that represent more than 10% of total net revenues in any period presented, as well as their related net revenue amount as apercentage of total net revenues, during the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2017 were as follows: For the year ended December 31, 2016 2017 Medicare and Medicare Advantage 40% 39%Blue Cross Blue Shield 11% 19%United Healthcare 19% 12%The Company's third-party payers that represent more than 10% of total net accounts receivable, and their related net accounts receivable balance as apercentage of total net accounts receivable, at December 31, 2017 were as follows: Blue Cross Blue Shield 27%Medicare and Medicare Advantage 21%United Healthcare 15% The Company operates in one reportable business segment and historically has derived most revenues only from within the United States.Certain components used in the Company’s current or planned products are currently sourced from one supplier, for which alternative suppliers exist but theCompany has not validated the product(s) of such alternative supplier(s), and substitutes for these components may not be obtained easily or may requiresubstantial design or manufacturing modifications.InventoriesInventories are valued at the lower of cost or net realizable value. Cost is determined by the average cost method. The Company records adjustments to itsinventory for estimated obsolescence or diminution in net realizable value equal to the difference between the cost of the inventory and the estimated netrealizable value. At the point of loss recognition, a new cost basis for that inventory is established, and subsequent changes in facts and circumstances do notresult in the restoration or increase in that newly established cost basis. In addition, the Company records a liability for firm, non-cancelable, andunconditional purchase commitments with contract manufacturers and suppliers for quantities in excess of the Company’s future demand forecasts consistentwith its valuation of excess and obsolete inventory.Fixed AssetsFixed assets consist of machinery and equipment, furniture and fixtures, computer equipment and software, leasehold improvements, financed equipment andconstruction in-process. Fixed assets are stated at cost less accumulated depreciation and amortization. Additions, improvements, and major renewals arecapitalized. Maintenance, repairs, and minor renewals are expensed as incurred. Depreciation and amortization are recorded using the straight-line methodover the estimated useful lives of the assets, which range from three to seven years. Leasehold improvements are amortized over the life of the lease or theasset, whichever is shorter. Depreciation and amortization expense for the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2017 was approximately $322,000 and$576,000, respectively.92Upon sale or disposal of fixed assets, the accounts are relieved of the cost and the related accumulated depreciation or amortization with any gain or lossrecorded to the statement of operations and comprehensive loss.Fixed assets are reviewed for impairment whenever changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of an asset may not be recoverable. Thesecomputations utilize judgments and assumptions inherent in the estimates of future cash flows to determine recoverability of these assets. If the assumptionsabout these assets were to change as a result of events or circumstances, the Company may be required to record an impairment loss.Stock-based CompensationThe Company measures and recognizes compensation expense for all stock-based awards made to employees and directors based on their grant date fairvalues. The Company estimates the fair value of stock option awards on the date of grant using the Black-Scholes option pricing model, while the fair valueof restricted stock unit awards, or RSUs, is determined by the Company’s stock price on the date of grant. The value of the portion of the award that isultimately expected to vest is recognized as expense over the requisite service periods using the straight-line method. Upon adoption of AccountingStandards Update 2016-09, Compensation – Stock Compensation on January 1, 2017, the Company estimates forfeitures at the time of grant and revises theseestimates in subsequent periods if actual forfeitures differ from those estimates (see Note 10).The Company determines the fair value of the stock-based compensation awards granted as either the fair value of the consideration received, or the fair valueof the equity instruments issued, whichever is more reliably measurable. All issuances of equity instruments issued to non-employees as consideration forgoods or services received by the Company are accounted for based on the fair value of the equity instruments issued. These awards are recorded in expenseand additional paid-in capital in shareholders’ equity over the applicable service periods based on the fair value of the options at the end of each period.Calculating the fair value of stock-based awards requires the input of highly subjective assumptions into the Black-Scholes valuation model. Stock-basedcompensation expense is calculated using the Company’s best estimates, which involves inherent uncertainties, and the application of management’sjudgment. Significant estimates include the expected life of the stock option, stock price volatility, risk-free interest rate and forfeiture rate.Research and DevelopmentResearch and development costs are expensed as incurred. The amounts expensed in the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2017 were approximately$2,713,000 and $3,365,000, respectively, which includes salaries of research and development personnel.Income TaxesThe Company provides for income taxes utilizing the liability method. Under the liability method, current income tax expense or benefit is the amount ofincome taxes expected to be payable or refundable for the current year. A deferred income tax asset or liability is computed for the expected future impact ofdifferences between the financial reporting and tax bases of assets and liabilities and for the expected future tax benefit to be derived from tax credits. Taxrate changes are reflected in the computation of the income tax provision during the period such changes are enacted.Deferred tax assets are reduced by a valuation allowance when, in management’s opinion, it is more likely than not that some portion or all of the deferred taxassets will not be realized. The Company considers the scheduled reversal of deferred tax liabilities, projected future taxable income, and tax planningstrategies in making this assessment. The Company’s valuation allowance is based on available evidence, including its current year operating loss,evaluation of positive and negative evidence with respect to certain specific deferred tax assets including evaluation sources of future taxable income tosupport the realization of the deferred tax assets. The Company has established a full valuation allowance on the deferred tax assets as of December 31, 2016and 2017, and therefore has not recognized any income tax benefit or expense in the periods presented.93A tax benefit from uncertain tax positions may be recognized by the Company when it is more-likely-than-not that the position will be sustained uponexamination, including resolutions of any related appeals or litigation processes, based on the technical merits of the position. Income tax positions mustmeet a more-likely-than-not recognition threshold to be recognized.The Company recognizes interest and/or penalties related to income tax matters in income tax expense. There is no accrual for interest or penalties for incometaxes on the balance sheets at December 31, 2016 and 2017, and the Company has not recognized interest and/or penalties in the statements of operationsand comprehensive loss for the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2017.Recent Accounting PronouncementsIn May 2014, and as subsequently updated and amended from time to time, the Financial Accounting Standards Board, or FASB, issued authoritativeguidance that requires entities to recognize revenue when it transfers promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration towhich the entity expects to be entitled to in exchange for those goods or services. This guidance is effective for annual reporting periods beginning afterDecember 15, 2017, including interim periods within that reporting period, and may be applied retrospectively to each prior period presented orretrospectively with the cumulative effect recognized as of the date of adoption. Earlier application is permitted only as of annual reporting periodsbeginning after December 15, 2016, including interim periods within that reporting period. The Company adopted the new standard for the fiscal yearbeginning January 1, 2018 using the modified retrospective application method. The Company has substantially completed its assessment of the newstandard and the Company believes that there will not be a material impact on its financial statements or disclosures.In July 2015, the FASB issued authoritative guidance requiring entities that do not measure inventory using the retail inventory method or on a last-in, first-out basis to record inventory at the lower of cost and net realizable value. Net realizable value is the estimated selling prices in the ordinary course ofbusiness, less reasonably predictable costs of completion, disposal, and transportation. This guidance is effective on a prospective basis for fiscal yearsbeginning after December 15, 2016, including interim periods within those fiscal years. The Company adopted this guidance for the reporting periodbeginning January 1, 2017, which did not have a material impact on its financial statements or disclosures.In January 2016, the FASB issued authoritative guidance requiring, among other things, that certain equity investments be measured at fair value withchanges in fair value recognized in net income, that financial assets and financial liabilities be presented separately by measurement category and form offinancial asset on the balance sheet or the accompanying notes to the financial statements, that the prior requirement to disclose the method(s) and significantassumptions used to estimate the fair value that is required to be disclosed for financial instruments measured at amortized cost on the balance sheet beeliminated, and that a reporting organization is to present separately in other comprehensive income the portion of the total change in the fair value of aliability resulting from a change in the instrument-specific credit risk when the organization has elected to measure the liability at fair value in accordancewith the fair value option for financial instruments. This guidance is effective for fiscal years, and interim periods within those years, beginning afterDecember 15, 2017. Early adoption of the instrument-specific credit risk amendment is permitted. The Company adopted this guidance for the fiscal yearbeginning on January 1, 2018, which did not have a material impact on its financial statements or disclosures.In February 2016, the FASB issued authoritative guidance requiring, among other things, that entities recognize the assets and liabilities arising from leaseson the balance sheet under revised criteria, while the classification criteria for distinguishing between finance leases and operating leases are substantiallysimilar to the classification criteria in the previous leases guidance. In transition, lessees and lessors are required to recognize and measure leases at thebeginning of the earliest period presented using a modified retrospective approach. This guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15,2018, including interim periods within those fiscal years. Early adoption is permitted. The Company anticipates that the adoption of this guidance willmaterially affect its statement of financial position and will require changes to its processes. The Company expects to adopt this guidance for the reportingperiod beginning on January 1, 2019 and has not yet made any decision on the method of adoption with respect to the optional practical expedients butexpects to during 2018.In March 2016, the FASB issued authoritative guidance clarifying that a change in the counterparty to a derivative instrument that has been designated as thehedging instrument does not necessarily require de-designation of that hedging relationship, provided that all other applicable hedge accounting criteriacontinue to be met. This guidance is effective on either a94prospective basis or modified retrospective basis for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2016, and interim periods within those fiscal years. TheCompany adopted this guidance for the reporting period beginning January 1, 2017, which did not have a material impact on its financial statements ordisclosures.In March 2016, the FASB issued authoritative guidance requiring entities to assess whether contingent call (put) options that can accelerate the payment ofprincipal on debt instruments are clearly and closely related to their debt hosts, and clarifies what steps are required when assessing whether the economiccharacteristics and risks of call (put) options are clearly and closely related to the economic characteristics and risks of their debt hosts. This guidance iseffective on a modified retrospective basis for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2016, and interim periods within those fiscal years. Early adoption ispermitted. The Company adopted this guidance for the reporting period beginning January 1, 2017, which did not have a material impact on its financialstatements or disclosures.In March 2016, the FASB issued authoritative guidance simplifying the accounting for stock compensation. This guidance, among other things, amendsexisting accounting and classification requirements primarily around income taxes, forfeitures, and cash payments associated with share-based paymentawards to employees. This guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2016, including interim periods within those fiscal years. Earlyadoption is permitted. The Company adopted this guidance for the reporting period beginning January 1, 2017, which did not have a material impact on itsfinancial statements or disclosures.In August 2016, the FASB issued authoritative guidance clarifying the classification of certain cash receipts and cash payments in the statement of cashflows. This guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017, including interim periods within those fiscal years, on a retrospectivetransition method to each period presented. Early adoption is permitted. The Company adopted this guidance for the reporting period beginning January 1,2018, which did not have a material impact on its financial statements or disclosures.In January 2017, the FASB issued authoritative guidance clarifying the definition of a business when evaluating transactions involving acquisitions ordisposals of assets or businesses. This guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017, including interim periods within those fiscalyears. Certain applications of this guidance are permitted for early adoption. The Company adopted this guidance for the reporting period beginning January1, 2018, which did not have a material impact on its financial statements or disclosures.In January 2017, the FASB issued authoritative guidance eliminating the “Step 2” requirement for an entity to determine the fair value of its assets andliabilities for goodwill impairment testing in the same manner that would be required for those assumed in a business combination. Instead, the amendedguidance allows an entity to perform goodwill impairment testing by comparing the fair value of a reporting unit with its carrying amount. This guidance iseffective for any goodwill impairment tests in fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019, including interim periods within those fiscal years. Earlyadoption is permitted. The Company currently intends to adopt this guidance for the fiscal year beginning January 1, 2020, and does not anticipate that theadoption of this guidance will have a material impact on its financial statements or disclosures because the Company does not currently have any recordedgoodwill.In February 2017, the FASB issued authoritative guidance clarifying the definition of the term “in substance nonfinancial asset” when accounting fortransfers of financial and nonfinancial assets, and other matters concerning the transfer, sale and partial sale of nonfinancial assets to both consolidatedentities and non-consolidated counterparties. This guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017, including interim periods withinthat reporting period. Early adoption is permitted. The Company adopted this guidance for the reporting period beginning January 1, 2018, which did nothave a material impact on its financial statements or disclosures.In March 2017, the FASB issued authoritative guidance shortening the amortization period to the earliest call date for certain purchased callable debtsecurities held at a premium. This guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018, including interim periods within those fiscalyears. Early adoption is permitted. The Company currently intends to adopt this guidance for the fiscal year beginning on January 1, 2019 and does notanticipate that the adoption of this guidance will have a material impact on its financial statements or disclosures because the Company does not currentlyhold any callable debt securities.In May 2017, the FASB issued authoritative guidance clarifying what modifications to a share-based payment award may be considered substantive, andtherefore requiring the application of modification accounting. This guidance is effective for95fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017, including interim periods within those fiscal years. Early adoption is permitted. The Company adopted thisguidance for the reporting period beginning January 1, 2018, which did not have a material impact on its financial statements or disclosures.In July 2017, the FASB issued authoritative guidance changing the classification analysis of certain equity-linked financial instruments (or embeddedfeatures) with down round features, whereby a down round feature no longer precludes equity classification when assessing whether the instrument is indexedto an entity’s own stock, and also clarifying existing disclosure requirements for equity-classified instruments. This guidance is effective for fiscal yearsbeginning after December 15, 2019, and interim periods within fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2020. Early adoption is permitted. The Companyearly adopted this guidance for the fiscal year beginning on January 1, 2018, which did not have a material impact on its financial statements or disclosuresupon adoption, but did result in equity classification for the warrants issued on January 30, 2018, whereby liability classification may have occurred in theabsence of the adoption of this guidance due to the existence of a down round feature associated with the exercise price of the warrants, which would haveresulted in material impacts to the Company’s financial statements and disclosures.In August 2017, the FASB issued authoritative guidance that expands and refines hedge accounting for both nonfinancial and financial risk components andalign the recognition and presentation of the effects of the hedging instrument and the hedged item in the financial statements. This guidance is effective forfiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018, and interim periods within those fiscal years. Early application is permitted. The Company currently intendsto adopt this guidance for the fiscal year beginning on January 1, 2019 and does not anticipate that the adoption of this guidance will have a material impacton its financial statements or disclosures because the Company does not currently hold any financial instruments accounted for as a hedging activity.In February 2018, the FASB issued authoritative guidance allowing a reclassification from accumulated other comprehensive income to retained earnings forstranded tax effects resulting from a tax bill, “H.R.1, An Act to Provide for Reconciliation Pursuant to Titles II and V of the Concurrent Resolution on theBudget for Fiscal Year 2018,” or the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, enacted on December 22, 2017. These amendments eliminate the stranded tax effects resultingfrom the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. However, because these amendments only relate to the reclassification of the income tax effects of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act,the underlying guidance that requires that the effect of a change in tax laws or rates be included in income from continuing operations is not affected. Thisguidance also requires certain disclosures about stranded tax effects. This guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018, andinterim periods within those fiscal years. Early adoption is permitted. The Company currently intends to adopt this guidance for the fiscal year beginning onJanuary 1, 2019 and does not anticipate that the adoption of this guidance will have a material impact on its financial statements or disclosures because theCompany does not currently maintain any stranded tax effects in accumulated other comprehensive income. 4. Sales of Equity SecuritiesOn December 21, 2015, the Company entered into a common stock purchase agreement with Aspire Capital Fund, LLC, or Aspire Capital, which committedto purchase up to an aggregate of $15.0 million of shares of the Company’s common stock over the 30-month term of the common stock purchaseagreement. On November 4, 2016, the Company voluntarily terminated this common stock purchase agreement. Upon execution of the common stockpurchase agreement, the Company sold to Aspire Capital 208,334 shares of common stock at $4.80 per share for proceeds of $1,000,000, and concurrentlyalso entered into a registration rights agreement with Aspire Capital, pursuant to which the Company filed a registration statement registering the sale of theshares of the Company’s common stock that were issued to Aspire Capital under the common stock purchase agreement. In consideration for entering into,and concurrently with the execution of, the common stock purchase agreement, the Company issued to Aspire Capital 55,000 shares of its common stock.The proceeds received by the Company under the common stock purchase agreement were used for working capital and general corporate purposes. Duringthe year ended December 31, 2016, the Company submitted purchase notices to Aspire Capital for an aggregate of 173,145 shares of common stock for grossproceeds of approximately $544,000. Costs associated with this offering of approximately $42,000 and $79,000 during the years ended December 31, 2015and 2016, respectively, were also recorded as an offset to additional paid-in capital under applicable accounting guidance, and as such, the total net increasein capital related to these transactions was approximately $1.4 million.In May 2015, the SEC declared effective a shelf registration statement filed by the Company, which expires in May 2018. The shelf registration statementallows the Company to issue any combination of its common stock, preferred stock, debt96securities and warrants from time to time for an aggregate initial offering price of up to $50 million, subject to certain limitations for so long as theCompany’s public float is less than $75 million. Pursuant to an exclusive placement agent agreement dated April 25, 2016 between the Company and H.C.Wainwright & Co., LLC, and a securities purchase agreement dated April 29, 2016 between the Company and the purchasers signatory thereto, a publicoffering of 1,662,191 shares of the Company’s common stock and warrants to purchase up to an aggregate of 1,163,526 shares of common stock was effectedunder this registration statement at a combined offering price of $3.00. All warrants sold in this offering have a per share exercise price of $3.90, areexercisable immediately and expire five years from the date of issuance. The estimated grant date fair value of these warrants of approximately $2.0 millionwas recorded as an offset to additional paid-in capital upon the closing of this offering (see Note 5). The closing of the sale of these securities to thepurchasers occurred on May 4, 2016, pursuant to which the Company received, after deducting $0.7 million of costs directly associated with the offering thatwere recorded as an offset to additional paid-in capital under applicable accounting guidance, approximately $4.3 million of net cash proceeds. Subsequentto the closing of this offering on May 4, 2016, no warrants sold in this offering have been exercised, with approximately $4.5 million in gross warrantproceeds remaining outstanding and available to be exercised at $3.90 per share until their expiration in May 2021. Pursuant to an exclusive placementagent agreement dated March 28, 2017 between the Company and Roth Capital Partners, LLC as lead placement agent, and WestPark Capital and ChardanCapital as co-placement agents, a securities purchase agreement for a second offering of 4,320,000 shares of the Company’s common stock was effected underthis registration statement at a per share price of $2.15, which closed on March 31, 2017. In a concurrent private placement, the Company sold unregisteredwarrants to purchase up to an aggregate of 2,160,000 shares of the Company’s common stock that closed concurrently with the March 2017 offering ofcommon stock sold pursuant the shelf registration statement, of which none have been subsequently exercised. All warrants sold in this offering have a pershare exercise price of $2.50 and expire on October 1, 2022. The estimated grant date fair value of these warrants of approximately $2.8 million was recordedas an offset to additional paid-in capital upon the closing of this offering (see Note 5). At the closing of these sales on March 31, 2017, the Companyreceived, after deducting $0.7 million of costs directly associated with the offering that were recorded as an offset to additional paid-in capital underapplicable accounting guidance, approximately $8.6 million of net cash proceeds. Pursuant to an exclusive placement agent agreement dated December 5,2017 between the Company and Dawson James Securities, Inc. as lead placement agent, and WestPark Capital as co-placement agent, a securities purchaseagreement for a registered direct offering of 4,925,000 shares of the Company’s common stock was effected under this registration statement at a per shareprice of $0.68. The placement agent was issued a warrant to purchase 246,250 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $0.85 per share, which is firstexercisable on June 5, 2018 and expires on December 5, 2022. The estimated grant date fair value of this warrant of approximately $0.1 million was recordedas an offset to additional paid-in capital upon the closing of this offering (see Note 5). The closing of the sale of these securities occurred on December 8,2017, when the Company received approximately $2.9 million of net cash proceeds. The specific terms of additional future offerings, if any, under this shelfregistration statement would be established at the time of such offerings.Pursuant to a common stock and warrant purchase agreement dated August 9, 2017 between the Company and Ally Bridge LB Healthcare Master FundLimited, or Ally Bridge, an offering of 1,466,667 shares of the Company’s common stock and warrants to purchase up to an aggregate of 1,434,639 shares ofcommon stock was effected at a combined offering price of $1.50 per unit for total gross proceeds to the Company of $2.2 million. All warrants sold in thisoffering have a per share exercise price of $1.50, are exercisable immediately and expire five years from the date of issuance. The estimated grant date fairvalue of this warrant of approximately $1.5 million was recorded as an offset to additional paid-in capital upon the closing of this offering (see Note 5).Subsequent to the closing of this offering, no additional cash proceeds had been received from the exercise of warrants sold in this offering. As such, the totalincrease in capital as a result of the sale of the common stock and warrants has been approximately $2.0 million after deducting $0.2 million of associatedcosts incurred, which were offset against these proceeds under applicable accounting guidance.On January 30, 2018, the Company received net cash proceeds of approximately $13.3 million as a result of the closing of a follow-on public offering of32,854,606 shares of its common stock and warrants to purchase up to an aggregate of 32,854,606 shares of its common stock at a combined offering price of$0.45 per unit. All warrants sold in this offering have an exercise price of $0.50 per share, subject to down round adjustment, are exercisable immediately andexpire five years from the date of issuance. Subsequent to the closing of this offering, no additional cash proceeds have been received from the exercise ofwarrants sold in this offering (see Note 18). 975. Fair Value MeasurementThe estimated nonrecurring fair value measurements associated with fixed asset purchases recorded as equipment financing obligations totalingapproximately $975,000 and $719,000 during the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2017, respectively, were based on information provided by vendors,which involved the use of significant unobservable Level 3 inputs.The estimated fair value of the terms of the credit facility entered into with Oxford Finance LLC in April 2014, or the April 2014 Credit Facility, at December31, 2017 approximated its carrying value, which was determined using a discounted cash flow analysis. The analysis considered interest rates of instrumentswith similar maturity dates, which involved the use of significant unobservable Level 3 inputs.Other Fair Value MeasurementsAs of the closing of the Company’s May 2016 public offering, the estimated grant date fair value of $1.72 per share associated with the warrants to purchase1,163,526 shares of common stock issued in this offering, or a total of approximately $2.0 million, was recorded as an offset to additional paid-in capital, andwas estimated using a Black-Scholes valuation model with the following assumptions: Stock price$2.70 Exercise price$3.90 Expected dividend yield 0.00%Discount rate-bond equivalent yield 1.23%Expected life (in years) 5.00 Expected volatility 90.0%As of the closing of the Company’s October 2016 public offering, the estimated grant date fair value of $0.57 per share associated with the warrants topurchase 9,100,000 shares of common stock issued in this offering, or a total of approximately $5.2 million, was recorded as an offset to additional paid-incapital. Additionally, the underwriters were granted a 30-day option to purchase up to 1,365,000 additional shares of common stock at a price of $1.0331 pershare, net of the underwriting discount, and/or additional warrants to purchase up to 1,365,000 shares of common stock at a price of $0.0009 per warrant tocover overallotments, if any. The estimated fair value of the overallotment options of approximately $0.8 million was also recorded as an offset to additionalpaid-in capital. The fair values of these instruments were estimated using a Black-Scholes valuation model with the following assumptions: OverallotmentOptions Warrants Stock price$0.93 $0.93 Exercise price$1.0331 $1.10 Expected dividend yield 0.00% 0.00%Discount rate-bond equivalent yield 0.25% 1.24%Expected life (in years) 0.08 5.00 Expected volatility 12.9% 80.0%As of the closing of the Company’s March 31, 2017 offering, the estimated grant date fair value of $1.31 per share associated with the warrants to purchase upto 2,160,000 shares of common stock issued in this offering, or a total of approximately $2.8 million, was recorded as an offset to additional paid-in capital,and was estimated using a Black-Scholes valuation model with the following assumptions: Stock price$2.13 Exercise price$2.50 Expected dividend yield 0.00%Discount rate-bond equivalent yield 1.93%Expected life (in years) 5.00 Expected volatility 80.0%98As of the closing of the Company’s August 9, 2017 offering, the estimated grant date fair value of $1.03 per share associated with the warrant to purchase upto 1,434,639 shares of common stock issued in this offering, or a total of approximately $1.5 million, was recorded as an offset to additional paid-in capital,and was estimated using a Black-Scholes valuation model with the following assumptions: Stock price$1.39 Exercise price$1.50 Expected dividend yield 0.00%Discount rate-bond equivalent yield 1.81%Expected life (in years) 5.00 Expected volatility 100.0%As of the closing of the Company’s December 8, 2017 offering, the estimated grant date fair value of $0.52 per share associated with the warrant to purchaseup to 246,250 shares of common stock issued to the placement agent in this offering, or a total of approximately $0.1 million, was recorded as an offset toadditional paid-in capital, and was estimated using a Black-Scholes valuation model with the following assumptions: Stock price$0.7399 Exercise price$0.85 Expected dividend yield 0.00%Discount rate-bond equivalent yield 2.09%Expected life (in years) 4.50 Expected volatility 100.0% 6. Balance Sheet DetailsThe following provides certain balance sheet details: December 31, December 31, 2016 2017 Fixed Assets Machinery and equipment $2,728,468 $2,841,388 Furniture and office equipment 143,726 147,976 Computer equipment and software 620,582 1,637,034 Leasehold improvements 517,968 553,529 Financed equipment 1,559,690 2,294,762 Construction in process 169,896 2,975 5,740,330 7,477,664 Less accumulated depreciation and amortization (3,933,999) (4,354,097)Total fixed assets, net $1,806,331 $3,123,567 Accrued Liabilities Accrued interest $20,776 $326,602 Accrued payroll 168,727 224,813 Accrued vacation 364,953 474,953 Accrued bonuses 422,868 375,000 Accrued sales commissions 77,844 104,509 Current portion of deferred rent 67,085 116,681 Accrued other 37,783 129,805 Total accrued liabilities $1,160,036 $1,752,363 99During the year ended December 31, 2016, non-financed equipment fixed assets with aggregate gross book values and corresponding accumulateddepreciation amounts of approximately $77,000 were disposed of, with cash proceeds of approximately $31,000 received upon sale. 7. April 2014 Credit FacilityOn April 30, 2014, the Company received net cash proceeds of approximately $4,898,000 pursuant to the execution of the April 2014 Credit Facility. Uponthe entry into the April 2014 Credit Facility, the Company was required to pay the lender a facility fee of $50,000 in conjunction with the funding of the termloan. The April 2014 Credit Facility is secured by substantially all of the Company’s personal property other than its intellectual property. Amounts due toOxford Finance LLC under the April 2014 Credit Facility are callable before maturity by the lender under certain subjective acceleration clauses of theunderlying agreement, including changes deemed to be materially adverse by the lender. The term loan under the April 2014 Credit Facility bears interest atan annual rate of 7.95%. The Company was required to make interest-only payments on the term loan through August 1, 2015. The outstanding term loanunder the April 2014 Credit Facility began amortizing at the end of the applicable interest-only period, with monthly payments of principal and interestbeing made by the Company to the lender in consecutive monthly installments following such interest-only period. The term loan under the April 2014Credit Facility matures on July 1, 2018. Under the original terms of the underlying agreement, the Company is also required to make a final payment to thelender equal to 5.5% of the original principal amount of the term loan funded. At its option, the Company may prepay the outstanding principal balance ofthe term loan in whole but not in part, subject to a prepayment fee of 1% of any amount prepaid.On June 30, 2016, the Company entered into an amendment of the April 2014 Credit Facility. This amendment required the Company to make interest-onlypayments on the term loan from July 1, 2016 through September 30, 2016, and also requires an additional final payment of $50,000 to the lender. The termsof the amendment require the amortization of the outstanding amount due under the term loan to commence at the end of the applicable interest-only period,with monthly payments of principal and interest, in arrears, being made by the Company to the lender in consecutive monthly installments following suchinterest-only period. Additionally, pursuant to the amendment the aggregate outstanding principal amount of the Company’s permitted indebtedness,consisting of capitalized lease obligations and purchase money indebtedness outstanding at any time, was increased to $1.2 million. The June 30, 2016amendment of the April 2014 Credit Facility was accounted for as a modification of debt under applicable accounting guidance. On June 28, 2017, theCompany entered into an amendment of the April 2014 Credit Facility whereby the aggregate outstanding principal amount of the Company’s permittedindebtedness was increased to $3.0 million.The April 2014 Credit Facility includes affirmative and negative covenants applicable to the Company and any subsidiaries created in the future. Theaffirmative covenants include, among others, covenants requiring the Company to maintain its legal existence and governmental approvals, deliver certainfinancial reports and maintain insurance coverage. The negative covenants include, among others, restrictions on transferring collateral, incurring additionalindebtedness, engaging in mergers or acquisitions, paying dividends or making other distributions, making investments, creating liens, selling assets, andsuffering a change in control, in each case subject to certain exceptions. The April 2014 Credit Facility also includes events of default, the occurrence andcontinuation of which provide Oxford Finance LLC, as collateral agent, with the right to exercise remedies against the Company and the collateral securingthe term loan under the April 2014 Credit Facility, including foreclosure against the Company’s properties securing the April 2014 Credit Facility, includingits cash. These events of default include, among other things, the Company’s failure to pay any amounts due under the April 2014 Credit Facility, a breach ofcovenants under the April 2014 Credit Facility, insolvency, a material adverse change, the occurrence of any default under certain other indebtedness in anamount greater than $250,000, and a final judgment against the Company in an amount greater than $250,000.A warrant to purchase up to 17,655 shares of the Company’s common stock at an exercise price of $14.16 per share with a term of 10 years was issued toOxford Finance LLC on April 30, 2014. Issuance costs of approximately $102,000 associated with the term loan under the April 2014 Credit Facility wererecorded as a discount to outstanding debt as of the closing date, resulting in net proceeds of approximately $4,898,000. The estimated fair value of thewarrant issued of approximately $233,000 was also recorded as a discount to outstanding debt as of the closing date. The discounts and other issuance costsare amortized to interest expense utilizing the effective interest method over the underlying term of the loan, with total unamortized discounts ofapproximately $78,000 and $33,000 remaining at December 31, 2016 and 2017, respectively. The effective annual interest rate associated with the April2014 Credit Facility was 13.87% at both December 31, 2016 and 2017.100As of December 31, 2017, total remaining principal payments of approximately $1,201,000 were due under the April 2014 Credit Facility during the yearending December 31, 2018. 8. Equipment FinancingsThe Company leases certain laboratory equipment under arrangements accounted for as capital leases and classified as equipment financings. The financedequipment is depreciated on a straight-line basis over periods ranging from 5 to 7 years. The total gross value of fixed assets capitalized under such financingarrangements was approximately $1,560,000 and $2,295,000 at December 31, 2016 and 2017, respectively. Total accumulated depreciation related tofinanced equipment was approximately $525,000 and $759,000 at December 31, 2016 and 2017, respectively, and total depreciation expense wasapproximately $119,000 and $234,000, respectively. Fixed asset purchases totaling approximately $975,000 and $719,000 during the years ended December31, 2016 and 2017, respectively, were recorded as equipment financings. During the year ended December 31, 2016, fixed assets with an aggregate net bookvalue of approximately $270,000, which had previously been recorded as equipment financings with remaining outstanding balances owed totalingapproximately $240,000, were effectively disposed of and replaced with upgraded equipment recorded as equipment financings.On September 15, 2017, and as amended on October 17, 2017, the Company executed an equipment financing commitment with a third-party lender for totalproceeds to the Company of approximately $151,000, which was funded by the lender on November 2, 2017. Under the terms of the amended equipmentfinancing agreement, which was accounted for as a sale-leaseback transaction, fixed assets previously purchased by the Company with aggregate gross andnet book values of approximately $167,000 and $162,000, respectively, were granted as a security interest to the third-party lender, with the principalbalance plus interest to be repaid in 36 monthly installments of $4,884 totaling approximately $176,000 through October 2020.During the year ended December 31, 2017, certain machinery and equipment with aggregate gross, accumulated depreciation, and net book values ofapproximately $189,000, $155,000 and $34,000, respectively, were exchanged with a lender as partial payment on an outstanding equipment financingobligation balance.The following schedule sets forth the remaining future minimum lease payments outstanding under financed equipment arrangements, as well ascorresponding remaining sales tax and maintenance obligation payments that are expensed and accrued as incurred and due within each respective yearending December 31, as well as the present value of the total amount of the remaining minimum lease payments as of December 31, 2017: Maintenance Minimum and Sales Tax Lease Obligation Payments Payments 2018$438,737 $63,602 2019 460,166 67,394 2020 406,868 55,205 2021 302,229 44,281 2022 268,018 38,479 Thereafter 253,951 39,881 Total payments 2,129,969 308,842 Less amount representing interest 570,914 — Present value of payments$1,559,055 $308,842The aggregate weighted average effective annual interest rate related to the equipment financings was 13.18% and 13.51% at December 31, 2016 and 2017,respectively, and the maturity dates on such outstanding arrangements range from June 2018 to September 2024. During the years ended December 31, 2016and 2017, total interest expense related to equipment financings of $49,000 and $171,000, respectively, was recorded to the Company’s statement ofoperations and comprehensive loss. At December 31, 2017, the present value of minimum lease payments due within one year was approximately $409,000.101On January 26, 2018, the Company executed a lease agreement with a third-party lender to finance approximately $250,000 of planned fixed asset purchases.Under the terms of the lease agreement, upon lease commencement and repayment, which occurs once the Company has financed equipment purchases forthe full amount available under the lease agreement, the Company is required to make 22 payments of $11,081 per month during the initial term of theagreement, subject to adjustment in the event of an increase in three-year Treasury note rates prior to lease commencement and repayment. Until leasecommencement and repayment, the Company is required to pay pro-rated equipment rental charges of any equipment financed under this lease. TheCompany expects lease commencement and repayment to occur by June 30, 2018. Through the date that these financial statements were available to beissued, approximately $78,000 of equipment purchases had been financed under this lease agreement (see Note 18). 9. Supplier FinancingsIn 2016 and 2017, the Company obtained third-party financing for certain business insurance premiums. The 2016 and 2017 financings bear interest ratesranging from 3.75% to 5.70% per annum, and all financings are due within one year. The balances due under these annual financing arrangements wereapproximately $76,000 and $61,000 as of December 31, 2016 and 2017, respectively. 10. Stock-Based CompensationEquity Incentive PlansThe Company maintains two equity incentive plans: The Amended and Restated 2013 Equity Incentive Plan, or the 2013 Plan, and the 2007 EquityIncentive Plan, or the 2007 Plan. The 2013 Plan includes a provision that shares available for grant under the Company’s 2007 Plan become available forissuance under the 2013 Plan and are no longer available for issuance under the 2007 Plan. On July 25, 2016, the Company’s Board of Directors approved anamendment to the 2013 Plan to reserve 1,000,000 shares on a pre-reverse stock split basis, or 333,333 shares on a post-reverse stock split basis, of theCompany’s common stock exclusively for the grant of stock awards to employees who have not previously been an employee or director of the Company,except following a bona fide period of non-employment, as an inducement material to the individual’s entering into employment with the Company, asdefined under applicable Nasdaq Listing Rules. In conjunction with the one-for-three reverse split of the Company’s common stock effected on September29, 2016, the number of non-inducement shares authorized under all plans decreased from 3,068,865 to 1,022,955 shares, and the number of inducementshares authorized under the 2013 Plan decreased from 1,000,000 shares to 333,333 shares. At the Company’s annual meeting of stockholders held on May 2,2017, the Company’s stockholders approved amendments to the 2013 Plan, which included an increase in the number of non-inducement shares of commonstock authorized for issuance under the 2013 Plan by 2,500,000. As of December 31, 2017, under all plans, a total of 3,522,955 non-inducement shares wereauthorized for issuance, 2,849,466 shares had been issued with 2,677,155 non-inducement stock options and restricted stock units, or RSUs, underlyingoutstanding awards, and 673,489 non-inducement shares were available for grant. As of December 31, 2017, a total of 333,333 inducement shares wereauthorized for issuance, 158,049 inducement shares had been issued with 133,049 inducement stock options and RSUs underlying outstanding awards, and175,284 inducement shares were available for grant under the 2013 Plan.Stock OptionsNon-performance options granted under either plan vest over a maximum period of four years and expire ten years from the date of grant. Non-performanceoptions generally vest either (i) over four years, 25% on the one-year anniversary of the date of grant and monthly thereafter for the remaining three years; or(ii) over four years, monthly vesting beginning month-one after the grant and monthly thereafter.The fair value of stock options is determined on the date of grant using the Black-Scholes valuation model. For non-performance awards, such value isrecognized as expense over the requisite service period, net of estimated forfeitures, using the straight-line method. The amount and timing of compensationexpense recognized for performance awards is based on management’s estimate of the most likely outcome and when the achievement of the performanceobjectives is probable. The determination of the fair value of stock options is affected by the Company’s stock price, as well as assumptions regarding anumber of complex and subjective variables. The volatility assumption is based on a combination of the historical volatility of the Company’s commonstock and the volatilities of similar companies over a period of time equal to the expected term of102the stock options. The volatilities of similar companies are used in conjunction with the Company’s historical volatility because of the lack of sufficientrelevant history for the Company’s common stock equal to the expected term. The expected term of employee stock options represents the weighted-averageperiod the stock options are expected to remain outstanding. The expected term assumption is estimated based primarily on the options’ vesting terms andremaining contractual life and employees’ expected exercise and post-vesting employment termination behavior. The risk-free interest rate assumption isbased upon observed interest rates on the grant date appropriate for the term of the employee stock options. The dividend yield assumption is based on theexpectation of no future dividend payouts by the Company.The assumptions used in the Black-Scholes pricing model for options granted during the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2017 are as follows: 2016 2017 Stock and exercise prices $0.775 - $4.02 $0.6939 - $2.13 Expected dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% Discount rate-bond equivalent yield 0.99% – 2.11% 1.79% – 2.27% Expected life (in years) 5.13 – 6.08 5.12 – 6.09 Expected volatility 80.0% – 90.0% 70.0% – 90.0%Using the assumptions described above, with stock and exercise prices being equal on date of grant, the weighted-average estimated fair value of optionsgranted in 2016 and 2017 were approximately $1.79 and $1.02 per share, respectively.A summary of stock option activity for the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2017 is as follows: Weighted Average Weighted Remaining Number of Average Exercise Contractual Shares Price Per Share Term in Years Outstanding at December 31, 2015 713,659 $11.03 8.8 Granted 290,399 $2.51 Exercised — — Cancelled/forfeited/expired (107,396) $7.99 Outstanding at December 31, 2016 896,662 $8.80 8.5 Granted 1,755,031 $1.49 Exercised — — Cancelled/forfeited/expired (202,409) $4.77 Outstanding at December 31, 2017 2,449,284 $3.79 8.8 Vested and unvested expected to vest, December 31,2017 1,774,268 $4.67 8.6 The intrinsic values of options outstanding, options exercisable, and options vested and unvested expected to vest at December 31, 2016 and 2017 were eachzero.103On August 31, 2015, the Company’s Board of Directors approved the issuance of 33,333 performance stock options with an estimated grant date fair value of$4.40 per share and an exercise price of $6.03 per share to its Chief Executive Officer, or CEO, pursuant to the 2013 Plan. On February 29, 2016, theCompany’s Board of Directors approved the issuance of 33,333 performance stock options with an estimated grant date fair value of $2.87 per share and anexercise price of $4.02 per share to its CEO pursuant to the 2013 Plan. Vesting of these stock options was based on the Company’s achievement of specifiedobjectives by December 31, 2016 as determined by the Company’s Board of Directors or the Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors. During theyear ended December 31, 2017, 6,333 of the performance stock options granted on August 31, 2015 and 10,000 of the performance stock options granted onFebruary 29, 2016 were declared vested by the Company’s Board of Directors, and the remaining 50,333 shares underlying these awards were forfeited.On July 25, 2016, the Company entered into an employment agreement with its new Chief Financial Officer, Senior Vice President of Operations andSecretary, or CFO. Pursuant to the terms of this employment agreement, on July 29, 2016 the CFO was granted inducement stock option awards with anexercise price of $1.95 per share to purchase up to (i) 66,666 shares of the Company’s common stock with an estimated grant date fair value of $1.45 pershare, 25% of which vested on the one-year anniversary of the commencement of the CFO’s employment with the Company, and remainder of which will vestin equal monthly installments over the following three years, and (ii) 33,333 shares of the Company’s common stock with an estimated grant date fair valueof $1.26 per share, which vested upon the Company’s achievement of specified corporate goals for 2016 and the consummation of a specified financingtransaction. During the year ended December 31, 2017, 16,383 shares of the performance option award granted on July 29, 2016 were declared vested by theCompany’s Board of Directors, and the remaining 16,950 shares underlying this award were forfeited.On May 2, 2017, the Company’s Board of Directors approved the issuance of an aggregate of 550,000 performance stock options to be granted on May 31,2017 to certain of the Company’s employees and all of its executive officers pursuant to the 2013 Plan, of which 200,000 performance stock options weregranted to the Company’s CEO, 100,000 performance stock options were granted to its CFO, and 75,000 performance stock options were granted to each ofits Chief Scientific Officer and Senior Medical Director. Each performance stock option granted on May 31, 2017 has an exercise price of $1.50 per share andan estimated grant date fair value of $0.99 per share. On July 6, 2017, the Company’s Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors approved theissuance of an aggregate of 75,000 performance stock options to be granted on July 31, 2017 to certain of the Company’s employees pursuant to the 2013Plan, of which 2,500 performance stock options were forfeited by December 31, 2017. Each performance stock option granted on July 31, 2017 has anexercise price of $1.39 per share and an estimated grant date fair value of $0.83 per share. Each of the performance stock options granted during the yearended December 31, 2017 were subject to continuing service with vesting as determined by the Company’s Board of Directors or Compensation Committeeof the Board of Directors upon the Company’s achievement of specified corporate goals for 2017. Subsequent to the year ended December 31, 2017, none ofthe performance option awards granted during the year ended December 31, 2017 were declared vested by the Company’s Compensation Committee of theBoard of Directors, and the 622,500 shares underlying the remaining outstanding performance stock option awards at December 31, 2017 were forfeited.Restricted StockThe fair value of RSUs awarded under either plan is determined by the closing price of the Company’s common stock on the date of grant. For non-performance RSUs, such value is recognized as expense over the requisite service period, net of estimated forfeitures, using the straight-line method. Theamount and timing of compensation expense recognized for RSUs is based on management’s estimate of the most likely outcome and when the achievementof the performance objectives is probable.A summary of RSU activity during 2016 and 2017 is as follows: 104 Weighted Number of Average Grant Shares Date Fair Value Outstanding at December 31, 2015 25,752 $15.12 Granted 165,829 $1.96 Vested and issued (4,449) $16.05 Forfeited (12,883) $13.34 Outstanding at December 31, 2016 174,249 $2.68 Granted 350,000 $1.50 Vested and issued (155,829) $1.96 Forfeited (7,500) $2.12 Outstanding at December 31, 2017 360,920 $1.87 Vested and unvested expected to vest, December31, 2017 185,920 $2.23On June 12, 2014, the Company’s Board of Directors approved the grant of 14,832 RSUs with a grant date fair value of $16.05 per share to its CEO pursuantto the 2013 Plan. Vesting of these RSUs was based on the Company’s achievement of specified objectives by December 31, 2015 as determined by theCompany’s Board of Directors or the Compensation Committee of the Company’s Board of Directors. During the year ended December 31, 2016, a total of4,449 RSUs were declared vested by the Company’s Board of Directors and issued to its CEO in satisfaction of the June 12, 2014 RSU award, and theremaining 10,383 shares underlying this award were forfeited.The RSUs granted during the year ended December 31, 2016 vested fully on the one year anniversary of the date of grant, and was subject to continuingservice by the holders of such RSUs. At December 31, 2017, the intrinsic values of RSUs outstanding and RSUs unvested and expected to vest wereapproximately $250,000 and $129,000, respectively.On July 6, 2016, the Compensation Committee of the Company’s Board of Directors approved retention RSUs for an aggregate of 58,332 shares of commonstock to three of the Company’s executive officers pursuant to the 2013 Plan, including retention RSUs for 25,000 shares of common stock to its CEO. Eachof these retention RSUs has a grant date fair value of $1.86 per share for a grant date fair value of approximately $108,000 to all three officers, in aggregate.These retention RSUs vested fully on the one year anniversary of the date of grant, and were subject to continuing service by the holders of such RSUs.Pursuant to the terms of the Company’s employment agreement with its CFO dated July 25, 2016, the CFO was granted an inducement RSU award on July 29,2016 covering 25,000 shares of the Company’s common stock with a grant date fair value of $1.95 per share, 100% of which vested on the one-yearanniversary of the commencement of the CFO’s employment with the Company.105On May 2, 2017, the Company’s Board of Directors approved the issuance of an aggregate of 175,000 time-based RSUs and 175,000 performance RSUs to begranted on May 31, 2017 to certain of the Company’s employees and all of its executive officers pursuant to the 2013 Plan, of which 50,000 time-basedRSUs and 25,000 performance RSUs were granted to its CEO, and 25,000 time-based RSUs and 25,000 performance RSUs were granted to certain otherexecutive officers. Each RSU granted on May 31, 2017 has a grant date fair value of $1.50 per share. Vesting of the time-based RSUs granted on May 31,2017 is subject to continuing service and occurs on the one year anniversary of the vesting commencement date, or May 2, 2018, while the performanceRSUs were subject to continuous service and vesting was as determined by the Company’s Board of Directors or its Compensation Committee of the Board ofDirectors upon the achievement of specified corporate goals for 2017. Subsequent to the year ended December 31, 2017, none of the performance RSUsgranted on May 31, 2017 were declared vested by the Company’s Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors, and the 175,000 shares underlyingthese awards were forfeited.Stock-based Compensation ExpenseThe following table presents the effects of stock-based compensation related to equity awards to employees and nonemployees on the statement of operationsduring the periods presented: Years Ended December 31, 2016 2017 Stock Options Cost of revenues $115,266 $142,400 Research and development expenses 123,330 143,300 General and administrative expenses 1,071,490 575,741 Sales and marketing expenses 142,741 68,381 Total expenses related to stock options 1,452,827 929,822 RSUs Cost of revenues 32,338 48,745 Research and development expenses 30,261 55,941 General and administrative expenses 38,274 160,937 Sales and marketing expenses 40,247 52,036 Total stock-based compensation $1,593,947 $1,247,481 Stock-based compensation expense was recorded net of estimated forfeitures of 0% - 8% per annum during the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2017. Asof December 31, 2017, total unrecognized share-based compensation expense related to unvested stock options and RSUs, adjusted for estimated forfeitures,was approximately $1,586,000, and expected to be recognized over a weighted-average period of approximately 2.5 years. 11. Common Stock Warrants OutstandingA summary of equity-classified common stock warrant activity, for warrants other than those underlying unexercised overallotment option warrants, during2016 and 2017 is as follows:106 Average Weighted Remaining Number of Average Exercise Contractual Shares Price Per Share Term in Years Outstanding at December 31, 2015 784,200 $ 11.18 3.8 Issued 10,890,657 $ 1.40 Exercised — — Expired (50,900) $ 30.00 Outstanding at December 31, 2016 11,623,957 $ 1.93 4.6 Issued 3,840,889 $ 2.02 Exercised (6,816,850) $ 1.10 Expired — — Outstanding at December 31, 2017 8,647,996 $ 2.63 4.0 Further information about equity-classified common stock warrants outstanding at December 31, 2017 is as follows: Weighted Weighted Average Average Total Shares Contractual Exercise Price Outstanding Life (in years) $ 0.85 246,250 4.9 $ 1.10 2,910,281 3.8 $ 1.50 1,434,639 4.6 $ 2.50 2,160,000 4.7 $ 3.90 1,163,526 3.3 $ 4.68 581,153 2.1 $ 29.72 152,147 1.7 8,647,996 All warrants outstanding at December 31, 2017 are exercisable, except for the 246,250 warrants issued on December 8, 2017, which are first exercisable onJune 5, 2018 and expire on December 5, 2022.The intrinsic value of equity-classified common stock warrants outstanding at December 31, 2017 was zero.On January 30, 2018, the Company issued warrants to purchase up to an aggregate of 32,854,606 shares of its common stock, which have an exercise price of$0.50 per share, subject to down round adjustment, are exercisable immediately and expire five years from the date of issuance (see Note 18). 12. Net Loss per Common ShareBasic and diluted net loss per common share is determined by dividing net loss applicable to common shareholders by the weighted-average common sharesoutstanding during the period. Because there is a net loss attributable to common shareholders for the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2017, theoutstanding RSUs, warrants, and common stock options have been excluded from the calculation of diluted loss per common share because their effect wouldbe anti-dilutive. Therefore, the weighted-average shares used to calculate both basic and diluted loss per share are the same.107The following potentially dilutive securities have been excluded from the computations of diluted weighted-average shares outstanding for the periodspresented, as they would be anti-dilutive: For the year ended December 31, 2016 2017 Preferred warrants outstanding (number of commonstock equivalents) 529 529 Common warrants outstanding 11,623,957 8,647,996 RSUs outstanding 174,249 360,920 Common options outstanding 896,662 2,449,284 Total anti-dilutive common share equivalents 12,695,397 11,458,729 13. 401(k) PlanThe Company sponsors a 401(k) savings plan for all eligible employees. The Company may make discretionary matching contributions to the plan to beallocated to employee accounts based upon employee deferrals and compensation. During the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2017, the Company madezero and approximately $90,000, respectively, in matching contributions into the savings plan. 14. Income TaxesOn December 22, 2017, the President of the United States signed into law new legislation, or the Act, that significantly revises the Internal Revenue Code of1986, as amended, or the Code. The Act amends the Code to reduce tax rates and modify policies, credits, and deductions for individuals and businesses. Forbusinesses, the Act reduces the corporate tax rate from a maximum of 35% to a flat 21% rate. The rate reduction is effective on January 1, 2018. As a result ofthe rate reduction, the Company has reduced the deferred tax asset balance as of December 31, 2017 by approximately $2.6 million. Due to the Company'sfull valuation allowance position, the Company has also reduced the valuation allowance by the same amount. Due to uncertainties which currently exist inthe interpretation of the provisions of the Act regarding Code Section 162(m), the Company has not evaluated the potential impacts of Code Section 162(m)as amended by the Act on its financial statements.On December 22, 2017, Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 118, or SAB 118, was issued to address the application of U.S. GAAP when a registrant does not havethe necessary information available, prepared, or analyzed (including computations) in reasonable detail to complete the accounting for certain income taxeffects of the Act. In accordance with SAB 118, the Company has determined that there is no deferred tax benefit or expense with respect to theremeasurement of certain deferred tax assets and liabilities due to the full valuation allowance against net deferred tax assets. Additional analysis of the lawand the impact to the Company will be performed and any impact will be recorded in the respective quarter in 2018.For the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2017, the provision for income taxes was calculated as follows: For the year ended December 31, 2016 2017 Current: Federal $— $— State 2,053 7,624 Total 2,053 7,624 Deferred Federal — — State — — Total — — Provision for income tax $2,053 $7,624 108The following table reconciles income taxes computed at the federal statutory rate and the Company’s provision for income taxes: For the year ended December 31, 2016 2017 Income tax at statutory rate $(6,255,072) $(7,346,079)Change in federal tax rate — 2,621,803 State liability (260,835) (411,853)Permanent items 67,151 214,313 Stock compensation 157,250 72,696 Nondeductible interest 21,548 15,568 Expiration of net operating losses — 922,307 Research and development credit (170,950) (200,379)State rate change 44,421 (18,026)Estimated section 382 limitation 9,256,295 1,491,942 Return to provision — 365,263 Other 96,406 488,264 Valuation allowance (2,954,161) 1,791,805 Provision for income tax $2,053 $7,624Deferred income taxes are provided for temporary differences in recognizing certain income and expense items for financial and tax reporting purposes. Thedeferred tax assets consisted primarily of the income tax benefits from estimated net operating loss carryforwards, deferred rent, and estimated research anddevelopment credits. Valuation allowances have been recorded to fully offset deferred tax assets at December 31, 2016 and 2017, as it is more likely than notthat the assets will not be utilized.At December 31, 2017, the Company had estimated federal net operating loss carryforwards of approximately $13.6 million expiring beginning in 2035 andtotal estimated state net operating loss carryforwards of approximately $15.0 million expiring beginning in 2023. Additionally, at December 31, 2017, theCompany had estimated research and development credits of approximately $5,000 and $3,395,000 for federal and California purposes, respectively. Theestimated federal research and development tax credits will begin to expire in 2035. The California research and development tax credits do not expire.For the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2017, the Company has evaluated the various tax positions reflected in its income tax returns for both federaland state jurisdictions, to determine if the Company has any uncertain tax positions on the historical tax returns. The Company recognizes the impact of anuncertain tax position on an income tax return at the largest amount that the relevant taxing authority is more-likely-than not to sustain upon audit. TheCompany does not recognize uncertain income tax positions if they have less than 50 percent likelihood of being sustained. Based on this assessment, theCompany believes there are no tax positions for which a liability for unrecognized tax benefits should be recorded as of December 31, 2016 or 2017. TheCompany is subject to U.S. federal income tax as well as income tax in multiple state jurisdictions. With few exceptions, the Company is no longer subject toU.S. federal income tax examinations for 2014 and before, state and local income tax examinations 2013 and before. However, to the extent allowed by law,the tax authorities may have the right to examine prior periods where net operating losses were generated and carried forward and make adjustments up to theamount of the net operating loss carry forward amount. The Company’s policy is to recognize interest and penalties related to income tax matters in incometax expense. Due to the existence of the valuation allowance, future changes in unrecognized tax benefits will not impact the Company’s effective tax rate.The Company is currently not under examination by any taxing authorities and does not believe its unrecognized tax benefits will significantly change inthe next twelve months.109The tax effects of carryforwards and other temporary differences that give rise to deferred tax assets consist of the following: For the year ended December 31, 2016 2017 Estimated net operating loss carryforward $2,218,618 $3,355,180 Estimated research and development credits 2,244,047 2,686,666 Accruals and other 2,273,838 2,560,417 Deferred rent 164,821 90,866 6,901,324 8,693,129 Less valuation allowance (6,901,324) (8,693,129)Net deferred tax assets $— $—Utilization of the estimated domestic net operating loss and research and development credit carryforwards may be subject to a substantial annual limitationdue to ownership change limitations that may have occurred or that could occur in the future, as required by Section 382 and 383 of the Code, as well assimilar state provisions. These ownership changes may limit the amount of estimated net operating loss and research and development credit carryforwardsthat can be utilized annually to offset future taxable income and tax, respectively. In general, an “ownership change” as defined by Section 382 of the Coderesults from a transaction or series of transactions over a three-year period resulting in an ownership change of more than 50 percentage points of theoutstanding stock of a company by certain stockholders. Since the Company’s formation, the Company has raised capital through the issuance of capitalstock on several occasions which on its own or combined with the purchasing stockholders’ subsequent disposition of those shares, likely resulted in such anownership change, or could result in an ownership change in the future.Upon the occurrence of an ownership change under Section 382 of the Code as outlined above, utilization of the estimated net operating loss and researchand development credit carryforwards are subject to an annual limitation under Section 382, which is determined by first multiplying the value of theCompany’s stock at the time of the ownership change by the applicable long-term, tax-exempt rate, which could be subject to additional adjustments, asrequired. Any limitation may result in expiration of a portion of the estimated net operating loss or research and development credit carryforwards beforeutilization. The Company has not yet completed an analysis to determine whether an ownership change has occurred, however, the Company believesownership changes likely occurred in each year from 2015 through 2018. As a result, the Company has estimated that the use of its net operating loss islimited and has disclosed in the table above only the amounts it estimates could be used in the future, which remain fully offset by a valuation allowance toreduce the net asset to zero. 15. Related Party TransactionsThree members of the Company’s Board of Directors participated in its public offering in May 2016, purchasing an aggregate of 58,335 shares of theCompany’s common stock and warrants to purchase up to an aggregate of 40,832 shares of its common stock for total gross proceeds to the Company of$175,000. Additionally, a trust affiliated with Claire K.T. Reiss, who at the time was the beneficial owner of more than 10% of the Company’s outstandingcommon stock, participated in the Company’s public offering in May 2016, purchasing 204,758 shares of its common stock and warrants to purchase up to143,330 shares of its common stock for total gross proceeds to the Company of $614,273 (see Note 4).Seven members of the Company’s Board of Directors, including its CEO and all three of the Company’s other executive officers, participated in theCompany’s public offering in October 2016, purchasing an aggregate of 534,088 shares of common stock and warrants to purchase up to an aggregate of534,088 shares of common stock for total gross proceeds to the Company of approximately $587,000. Additionally, a trust affiliated with Claire K.T. Reiss,who at the time was the beneficial owner of more than 10% of the Company’s outstanding common stock, participated in the Company’s public offering inOctober 2016, purchasing 227,272 shares of its common stock and warrants to purchase up 227,272 shares of its common stock for total gross proceeds to theCompany of approximately $250,000. Further, several of the Company’s employees and one of its consultants participated in the Company’s public offeringin October 2016, purchasing an aggregate of 79,090 shares of its common stock and warrants to purchase up to an aggregate of 79,090 shares of its commonstock for total aggregate gross proceeds to the Company of approximately $87,000.A member of the Company’s management is the controlling person of Aegea Biotechnologies, Inc., or Aegea. On September 2, 2012, the Company enteredinto an Assignment and Exclusive Cross-License Agreement, or the Cross-License110Agreement, with Aegea. The Company received payments totaling approximately $19,000 and $15,000 during the years ended December 31, 2016 and2017, respectively, from Aegea as reimbursements for shared patent costs under the Cross-License Agreement.Pursuant to a sublease agreement dated March 30, 2015, the Company subleased 9,849 square feet, plus free use of an additional area, of its San Diegofacility to an entity affiliated with the Company’s non-executive Chairman for $12,804 per month, with a refundable security deposit of $12,804 receivedfrom the subtenant. The initial term of the sublease expired on July 31, 2015 and was subject to renewal on a month-to-month basis thereafter. On February 1,2017, the Company received notice from the subtenant terminating the sublease effective March 31, 2017. During the year ended December 31, 2017, thetotal amount of the $12,804 security deposit previously received from the subtenant was applied against approximately $16,000 in additional rents owed as aresult of the subtenant continuing to occupy the subleased areas beyond March 31, 2017, and the balance of approximately $3,200 due to the Company waswaived. A total of approximately $154,000 and $51,000 in rental income was recorded to other income/(expense) in the Company’s statement of operationsand comprehensive loss during the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2017, respectively. 16. Commitments and ContingenciesOperating LeasesThe Company leases office, laboratory, and warehouse space at its San Diego, California facility under a non-cancelable operating lease. The initial lease wasfor an eight-year term expiring in 2012. In November 2011, the Company extended the lease term through October 31, 2018 and expanded the originalpremises by 9,849 square feet. Under the amended lease, the landlord delivered the expanded premises in May 2013. In September 2013, the Companyextended the lease term through July 31, 2020. The Company records rent expense on a straight-line basis over the life of the lease and records the excess ofexpense over the amounts paid as deferred rent. During each of the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2017, total rent expense recorded in the Company’sstatements of operations and comprehensive loss was approximately $1,272,000.The future minimum lease payments under the amended lease agreement as December 31, 2017 are as follows: 2018 $1,388,705 2019 1,430,366 2020 855,136 Thereafter — Total $3,674,207 Purchase CommitmentIn February 2016, the Company signed a firm, non-cancelable, and unconditional commitment in an aggregate amount of $1,062,500 with a vendor topurchase certain inventory items, payable in minimum quarterly amounts of $62,500 through May 2020. At December 31, 2017, a total of approximately$611,000 remained outstanding under this purchase commitment.Financed Equipment Maintenance and Sales Tax ObligationsDuring the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2017, total expense recorded in the Company’s statement of operations and comprehensive loss for sales taxand maintenance obligations associated with equipment financing arrangements was approximately $32,000 and $79,000, respectively. At December 31,2017, approximately $46,000 of such sales tax and maintenance obligations incurred but not paid were recorded in accrued other liabilities in theCompany’s balance sheet (see Note 6). Future payments totaling approximately $309,000 for sales tax and maintenance obligations associated with financedequipment were due under equipment financing arrangements at December 31, 2017, which will be expensed as incurred (see Note 8).111Legal ProceedingsIn the normal course of business, the Company may be involved in legal proceedings or threatened legal proceedings. The Company is not party to any legalproceedings or aware of any threatened legal proceedings which are expected to have a material adverse effect on its financial condition, results of operationsor liquidity. 17. Selected Quarterly Financial Data (Unaudited)The following is selected quarterly financial data as of and for the periods ending: First Quarter Second Quarter Third Quarter Fourth Quarter December 31, 2016 Balance sheet data: Cash $4,572,750 $3,751,570 $678,855 $4,609,332 Total assets 6,780,830 6,303,153 3,282,549 7,578,326 Total non-current liabilities 3,132,372 3,134,593 2,793,258 2,526,113 Total shareholders’ equity (489,231) (419,402) (4,556,158) 658,661 Statement of operations and comprehensive loss data: Net revenues $221,369 $662,860 $1,047,280 $1,291,587 Cost of revenues 1,474,790 1,669,571 1,876,288 1,899,462 Research and development expenses 728,076 716,279 600,613 668,399 General and administrative expenses 1,487,224 1,517,664 1,918,543 1,636,994 Sales and marketing expenses 1,304,899 1,291,709 1,278,455 1,179,167 Loss from operations (4,773,620) (4,532,363) (4,626,619) (4,092,435)Net loss $(4,875,198) $(4,594,174) $(4,743,076) $(4,186,874)Net loss per common share:1 Basic $(0.74) $(0.60) $(0.57) $(0.27) Diluted $(0.74) $(0.60) $(0.57) $(0.27) Weighted-average shares outstanding used in computing net lossper share attributable to common shareholders: Basic 6,566,992 7,702,286 8,370,691 15,620,049 Diluted 6,566,992 7,702,286 8,370,691 15,620,049 1 Basic and diluted net loss per common share are computed independently for each of the components and quarters presented. Therefore, the sum ofquarterly basic and diluted per share information may not equal annual basic and diluted net loss per common share. 112 First Quarter Second Quarter Third Quarter Fourth Quarter December 31, 2017 Balance sheet data: Cash $14,042,388 $10,000,155 $5,879,025 $2,146,611 Total assets 17,933,413 14,653,193 11,120,215 7,378,906 Total non-current liabilities 2,062,544 1,561,520 1,255,939 1,421,527 Total shareholders’ equity 10,418,069 7,342,257 4,026,079 1,296,034 Statement of operations and comprehensive loss data: Net revenues $1,683,065 $1,278,961 $1,111,411 $995,226 Cost of revenues 2,129,454 2,368,705 2,487,054 2,359,909 Research and development expenses 757,258 841,991 856,698 908,800 General and administrative expenses 1,906,635 1,798,026 1,834,771 1,650,097 Sales and marketing expenses 1,278,311 1,746,867 1,675,852 1,642,941 Loss from operations (4,388,593) (5,476,628) (5,742,964) (5,566,521)Net loss $(4,432,707) $(5,693,151) $(5,821,306) $(5,666,573)Net loss per common share:1 Basic $(0.21) $(0.21) $(0.20) $(0.18) Diluted $(0.21) $(0.21) $(0.20) $(0.18) Weighted-average shares outstanding used in computing net lossper share attributable to common shareholders: Basic 20,969,131 26,778,549 29,605,953 31,489,993 Diluted 20,969,131 26,778,549 29,605,953 31,489,993 1 Basic and diluted net loss per common share are computed independently for each of the components and quarters presented. Therefore, the sum ofquarterly basic and diluted per share information may not equal annual basic and diluted net loss per common share. 18. Subsequent EventsOn January 26, 2018, the Company executed a lease agreement with a third-party lender to finance approximately $250,000 of planned fixed asset purchases.Under the terms of the lease agreement, upon lease commencement and repayment, which occurs once the Company has financed equipment purchases forthe full amount available under the lease agreement, the Company is required to make 22 payments of $11,081 per month during the initial term of theagreement, subject to adjustment in the event of an increase in three-year Treasury note rates prior to lease commencement and repayment. Until leasecommencement and repayment, the Company is required to pay pro-rated equipment rental charges of any equipment financed under this lease. TheCompany expects lease commencement and repayment to occur by June 30, 2018. Through the date that these financial statements were available to beissued, approximately $78,000 of equipment purchases had been financed under this lease agreement.On January 30, 2018, the Company received net cash proceeds of approximately $13.3 million as a result of the closing of a follow-on public offering of32,854,606 shares of its common stock and warrants to purchase up to an aggregate of 32,854,606 shares of its common stock at a combined offering price of$0.45 per unit. All warrants sold in this offering have an exercise price of $0.50 per share, subject to down round adjustment, are exercisable immediately andexpire five years from the date of issuance. Subsequent to the closing of this offering, no additional cash proceeds have been received from the exercise ofwarrants sold in this offering.113Item 9. Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure.Not applicable.Item 9A. Controls and Procedures.Disclosure Controls and ProceduresOur management, with the participation of our Chief Executive Officer and our Chief Financial Officer, has evaluated the effectiveness of our disclosurecontrols and procedures (as such term is defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the ExchangeAct) as of December 31, 2017, the end of the period covered by this report. Based on that evaluation, our Chief Executive Officer and our Chief FinancialOfficer have concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures were effective as of the end of such period.Internal Control over Financial ReportingOur management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting, as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f). Our management’s annual report on internal control over financial reporting is set forth below.Management’s Report on Internal Control over Financial ReportingOur management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting, as such term is defined in Exchange ActRules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f). Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect all misstatements.Therefore, even those systems determined to be effective can provide only reasonable assurance with respect to financial statement preparation andpresentation.We conducted an evaluation of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting based on the framework in Internal Control—IntegratedFramework (2013 Framework) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission. Based on our evaluation under theframework in Internal Control—Integrated Framework, our management concluded that our internal control over financial reporting was effective as ofDecember 31, 2017.This annual report does not include an attestation report of our independent registered public accounting firm regarding internal control over financialreporting. Our report was not subject to attestation by our independent registered public accounting firm pursuant to the rules of the Securities and ExchangeCommission that permit us to provide only management’s report in this report.Changes in Internal Control over Financial ReportingThere has been no change in our internal controls over financial reporting during our most recent fiscal quarter that has materially affected, or is reasonablylikely to materially affect, our internal controls over financial reporting.Item 9B. Other Information.Not applicable. 114PART IIIItem 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance.The information required by this item and not set forth below will be set forth in the sections entitled “Election of Directors” and “Executive Officers” in ourProxy Statement for our 2018 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, or Proxy Statement, to be filed with the SEC within 120 days after the end of the fiscal yearended December 31, 2017, and is incorporated herein by reference.We have adopted a code of ethics that applies to our Chief Executive Officer and other senior financial officers (our Chief Financial Officer, Controller andother senior financial officers performing similar functions), which we refer to as the Code of Business Conduct and Ethics. The Code of Business Conductand Ethics is available on our website at www.biocept.com under the Corporate Governance section of the Investor Relations portion of the website. OurCode of Business Conduct and Ethics is designed to meet the requirements of Section 406 of Regulation S-K and the rules promulgated thereunder. We willpromptly disclose on our website (i) the nature of any amendment to the Code of Business Conduct and Ethics that applies to any covered person, and (ii) thenature of any waiver, including an implicit waiver, from a provision of the Code of Business Conduct and Ethics that is granted to one of the covered persons.Item 11. Executive Compensation.The information required by this item will be set forth in the section entitled “Executive Compensation” in our Proxy Statement and is incorporated hereinby reference.Item 12. Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters.The information required by this item will be set forth in the sections entitled “Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management” and“Executive Compensation” in our Proxy Statement and is incorporated herein by reference.Item 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence.The information required by this item will be set forth in the section entitled “Transactions with Related Persons” in our Proxy Statement and is incorporatedherein by reference.Item 14. Principal Accounting Fees and Services.The information required by this item will be set forth in the section entitled “Ratification of Selection of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm”in our Proxy Statement and is incorporated herein by reference. 115PART IV Item 15. Exhibits, Financial Statement Schedules.(a) The following documents are filed as part of this Report:1. Financial Statements. The following documents are included in Part II, Item 8 of this Report and are incorporated by reference herein: PageNo. Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm 81Balance Sheets at December 31, 2017 and 2016 82Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Loss for the Years Ended December 31, 2017 and 2016 83Statements of Shareholders’ Equity for the Years Ended December 31, 2017 and 2016 84Statements of Cash Flows for the Years Ended December 31, 2017 and 2016 85Notes to Financial Statements 872. Financial Statement Schedules.3. Exhibits.116EXHIBITSExhibit No. Description of Exhibit3.1 Certificate of Amendment of Certificate of Incorporation (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1.4 of the Registrant’s Current Report on Form8-K, filed with the SEC on February 14, 2014).3.2 Amended and Restated Bylaws (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.2.1 of the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form S-1 (File No.333-191323), filed with the SEC on September 23, 2013).3.3 Certificate of Amendment of Certificate of Incorporation (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 of the Registrant’s Current Report on Form8-K, filed with the SEC on September 29, 2016).3.4 Amendment to Amended and Restated Bylaws (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 of the Registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K, filedwith the SEC on September 29, 2017).4.1 Reference is made to Exhibits 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, and 3.4.4.2 Specimen Common Stock certificate of Biocept, Inc. (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.3 of the Registrant’s Annual Report on Form 10-K,filed with the SEC on March 28, 2017).4.3 Form of Representative’s Warrant, dated February 10, 2014 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.2 of the Registrant’s Registration Statementon Form S-1 (File No. 333-191323), as amended, filed with the SEC on November 20, 2013).4.4 Form of Warrant issued to the lenders under the Loan and Security Agreement, dated as of April 30, 2014, by and among Biocept, Inc., OxfordFinance LLC, as collateral agent, and the lenders party thereto from time to time, including Oxford Finance LLC (incorporated by reference toExhibit 4.1 of the Registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K, filed with the SEC on May 6, 2014).4.5 Form of Warrant to Purchase Common Stock (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.5 of the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form S-1(File No. 333-201437), filed with the SEC on February 6, 2015).4.6 Warrant to Purchase Preferred Stock, dated September 10, 2012, issued by the Registrant in favor of ARE-SD Region No. 18, LLC (incorporatedby reference to Exhibit 10.11.3 of the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-191323), filed with the SEC onSeptember 23, 2013).4.7 Warrant to Purchase Common Stock, dated September 10, 2013, issued by the Registrant in favor of ARE-SD Region No. 18, LLC(incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.11.6 of the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-191323), filed with the SECon September 23, 2013).4.8 Warrant to Purchase Preferred Stock dated as of January 21, 2009, issued by the Registrant in favor of Goodman Co. Ltd. (incorporated byreference to Exhibit 10.17.1 of the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-191323), filed with the SEC onSeptember 23, 2013).4.9 Warrant to Purchase Common Stock dated as of July 31, 2013, issued by the Registrant in favor of Goodman Co. Ltd. (incorporated byreference to Exhibit 10.17.3 of the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-191323), filed with the SEC onSeptember 23, 2013).4.10 Form of Warrant to Purchase Preferred Stock, issued by the Registrant in favor of various investors under the Note and Warrant PurchaseAgreement dated as of January 13, 2012 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.19.3 of the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form S-1(File No. 333-191323), filed with the SEC on September 23, 2013).4.11 Form of Amendment of Warrant to Purchase Preferred Stock, dated as of September 13, 2013 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.19.4 ofthe Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-191323), filed with the SEC on September 23, 2013).4.12 Form of Warrant to Purchase Common Stock, issued by the Registrant in favor of various investors under the Note and Warrant PurchaseAgreement dated as of June 28, 2013 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.20.2 of the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form S-1 (FileNo. 333-191323), filed with the SEC on September 23, 2013).4.13 Form of Warrant to Purchase Common Stock, issued by the Registrant in favor of various guarantors under the Reimbursement Agreementdated as of July 11, 2013 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.21.1 of the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-191323), filed with the SEC on September 23, 2013).117Exhibit No. Description of Exhibit4.14 Form of Common Stock Purchase Warrant issued to the investors under the Securities Purchase Agreement, dated April 29, 2016, by and amongBiocept, Inc. and the purchasers signatory thereto (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.1 of the Registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K,filed with the SEC on April 29, 2016).4.15 Form of Warrant to Purchase Common Stock (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.16 of the Registrant’s Post-Effective Amendment toRegistration Statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-213111), filed with the SEC on October 14, 2016).4.16 Form of Common Stock Purchase Warrant issued to the investors under the Securities Purchase Agreement, dated March 28, 2017, by andamong Biocept, Inc. and the purchasers signatory thereto (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.1 of the Registrant’s Current Report on Form8-K, filed with the SEC on March 30, 2017).4.17 Common Stock Purchase Warrant issued by the Registrant in favor of Ally Bridge LB Healthcare Master Fund Limited under the CommonStock and Warrant Purchase Agreement dated August 9, 2017 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.1 of the Registrant’s Current Report onForm 8-K, filed with the SEC on August 10, 2017).4.18 Common Stock Purchase Warrant issued in favor of Dawson James Securities, Inc. under the Securities Purchase Agreement dated December 5,2017 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.18 of the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-221648), filed with theSEC on January 22, 2018).4.19 Form of Warrant to Purchase Common Stock issued to the investors under the Securities Purchase Agreement, dated January 26, 2018(incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.1 of the Registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K, filed with the SEC on January 30, 2018).10.1+ 2007 Equity Incentive Plan (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 of the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-191323), filed with the SEC on September 23, 2013).10.2+ Form of Stock Option Grant Notice and Option Agreement under 2007 Equity Incentive Plan (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1.1 ofthe Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-191323), filed with the SEC on September 23, 2013).10.3+ Form of Restricted Stock Unit Grant Notice and Restricted Stock Unit Agreement under 2007 Equity Incentive Plan (incorporated by referenceto Exhibit 10.1.2 of the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-191323), filed with the SEC on September 23, 2013).10.4+ Form of Indemnification Agreement between the Registrant and its officers and directors (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.3 of theRegistrant’s Registration Statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-191323), filed with the SEC on September 23, 2013).10.5+ Form of Indemnity Agreement between Biocept, Inc., a California corporation, and its officers and directors (incorporated by reference toExhibit 10.4 of the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-191323), filed with the SEC on September 23, 2013).10.6+ Employment Agreement, between the Registrant and Michael W. Nall, effective as of August 26, 2013 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit10.6 of the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-191323), filed with the SEC on September 23, 2013).10.7+ Employment Agreement, between the Registrant and Lyle J. Arnold, dated April 30, 2011(incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.7 of theRegistrant’s Registration Statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-191323), filed with the SEC on September 23, 2013).10.8 Lease, between the Registrant and Nexus Equity VIII LLC, dated March 31, 2004 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.11 of theRegistrant’s Registration Statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-191323), as amended, filed with the SEC on November 5, 2013).10.9 First Amendment to Lease, between the Registrant and ARE-SD Region No. 18, LLC, dated November 1, 2011(incorporated by reference toExhibit 10.11.1 of the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-191323), filed with the SEC on September 23, 2013).10.10 Second Amendment to Lease, between the Registrant and ARE-SD Region No. 18, LLC, dated September 10, 2012 (incorporated by referenceto Exhibit 10.11.2 of the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-191323), filed with the SEC on September 23, 2013).118Exhibit No. Description of Exhibit10.11 Third Amendment to Lease, between the Registrant and ARE-SD Region No. 18, LLC, dated as of January 31, 2013, and effective as of January1, 2013 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.11.4 of the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-191323), filed withthe SEC on September 23, 2013).10.12 Fourth Amendment to Lease, between the Registrant and ARE-SD Region No. 18, LLC, dated as of September 10, 2013, and effective as ofAugust 1, 2013 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.11.5 of the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-191323),filed with the SEC on September 23, 2013).10.13 Assignment and Exclusive Cross-License Agreement between the Registrant and Aegea Biotechnologies, Inc. dated June 2, 2012 (incorporatedby reference to Exhibit 10.22 of the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-191323), as amended, filed with the SEC onJanuary 30, 2014).10.14 Loan and Security Agreement by and among Biocept, Inc., Oxford Finance LLC, as collateral agent, and the lenders party thereto from time totime, including Oxford Finance LLC, dated as of April 30, 2014 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 of the Registrant’s Current Reporton Form 8-K, filed with the SEC on May 6, 2014).10.15+ 2014 Annual Incentive Plan (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to the Registrant’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, filed with the SECon August 8, 2014).10.16+ First Amendment to Employment Agreement by and between the Registrant and Michael W. Nall, dated November 6, 2015 (incorporated byreference to Exhibit 10.4 to the Registrant’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, filed with the SEC on November 9, 2015).10.17+ Employment Agreement between the Registrant and Timothy Kennedy, dated July 25, 2016 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 99.2 to theRegistrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K, filed with the SEC on July 27, 2016).10.18 Second Amendment to Loan and Security Agreement by and among Biocept, Inc., Oxford Finance LLC, as collateral agent, and the lendersparty thereto from time to time, including Oxford Finance LLC, dated as of June 30, 2016 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.3 to theRegistrant’s quarterly report on Form 10-Q, filed with the SEC on August 5, 2016).10.19+ Biocept, Inc. Amended and Restated 2013 Equity Incentive Plan, Form of Stock Option Grant Notice, Option Agreement, Form of RestrictedStock Unit Grant Notice and Restricted Stock Unit agreement for use thereunder (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 99.1 of the Registrant’sCurrent Report on Form 8-K, filed with the SEC on May 5, 2017).10.20 Third Amendment to Loan and Security Agreement by and among Biocept, Inc., Oxford Finance LLC, as collateral agent, and the lenders partythereto from time to time, including Oxford Finance LLC, dated as of June 28, 2017 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 of theRegistrant’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, filed with the SEC on August 14, 2017).10.21+ Second Amendment to Employment Agreement by and between the Registrant and Michael W. Nall dated November 1, 2017 (incorporated byreference to Exhibit 10.22 of the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form S-1 (File no. 333-21648), filed with the SEC on January 22,2018).31.1 Certification of Michael Nall, Chief Executive Officer, pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.31.2 Certification of Timothy Kennedy, Chief Financial Officer, pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.32.1* Certification of Michael Nall, Chief Executive Officer, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.32.2* Certification of Timothy Kennedy, Chief Financial Officer, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of theSarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.101.INS XBRL Instance Document101.SCH XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema Document101.CAL XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase Document101.DEF XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase Document101.LAB XBRL Taxonomy Extension Label Linkbase Document119Exhibit No. Description of Exhibit101.PRE XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase Document +Indicates management contract or compensatory plan.*This certification is not deemed “filed” for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act, or otherwise subject to the liability of that section.Such certification will not be deemed to be incorporated by reference into any filing under the Securities Act of 1933 or the Securities Exchange Actof 1934, except to the extent that the registrant specifically incorporates it by reference.120SIGNATURESPursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed onits behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized. BIOCEPT, INC. Date: March 28, 2018 By:/s/ Michael W. Nall Michael W. Nall Chief Executive Officer, President and DirectorPursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this report has been signed by the following persons in the capacities and on thedates indicated. Signature Title Date /s/ Michael W. Nall Chief Executive Officer, President and Director(Principal Executive Officer) March 28, 2018Michael W. Nall /s/ Timothy C. Kennedy Chief Financial Officer, Senior Vice President of Operations(Principal Financial Officer and Principal Accounting Officer) March 28, 2018Timothy C. Kennedy /s/ David F. Hale Chairman and Director March 28, 2018David F. Hale /s/ Marsha A. Chandler Director March 28, 2018Marsha A. Chandler /s/ Bruce E. Gerhardt Director March 28, 2018Bruce E. Gerhardt /s/ Bruce A. Huebner Director March 28, 2018Bruce A. Huebner /s/ Ivor Royston Director March 28, 2018Ivor Royston /s/ M. Faye Wilson Director March 28, 2018M. Faye Wilson 121 EXHIBIT 31.1CERTIFICATIONI, Michael W. Nall, certify that:1.I have reviewed this Annual Report on Form 10-K of Biocept, Inc.;2.Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make thestatements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by thisreport;3.Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information included in this report, fairly present in all material respects thefinancial condition, results of operations and cash flows of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this report;4.The registrant’s other certifying officer and I are responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined inExchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) and internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f))for the registrant and have: a.Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our supervision, toensure that material information relating to the registrant, including its consolidated subsidiary, is made known to us by others within thoseentities, particularly during the period in which this report is being prepared; b.Designed such internal control over financial reporting, or caused such internal control over financial reporting to be designed under oursupervision, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements forexternal purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles; c.Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures and presented in this report our conclusions about theeffectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of the end of the period covered by this report based on such evaluation; and d.Disclosed in this report any change in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the registrant’s most recentfiscal quarter (the registrant’s fourth fiscal quarter in the case of an report) that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materiallyaffect, the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting; and5.The registrant’s other certifying officer and I have disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation of internal control over financial reporting, to theregistrant’s auditors and the audit committee of the registrant’s board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions): a.All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal control over financial reporting which are reasonablylikely to adversely affect the registrant’s ability to record, process, summarize and report financial information; and b.Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the registrant’s internal controlover financial reporting.Date: March 28, 2018 /s/ Michael W. Nall Michael W. NallChief Executive Officer, President and Director(Principal Executive Officer)  EXHIBIT 31.2CERTIFICATIONI, Timothy C. Kennedy, certify that:1.I have reviewed this Annual Report on Form 10-K of Biocept, Inc.;2.Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make thestatements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by thisreport;3.Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information included in this report, fairly present in all material respects thefinancial condition, results of operations and cash flows of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this report;4.The registrant’s other certifying officer and I are responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined inExchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) and internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f))for the registrant and have: a.Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our supervision, toensure that material information relating to the registrant, including its consolidated subsidiary, is made known to us by others within thoseentities, particularly during the period in which this report is being prepared; b.Designed such internal control over financial reporting, or caused such internal control over financial reporting to be designed under oursupervision, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements forexternal purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles; c.Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures and presented in this report our conclusions about theeffectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of the end of the period covered by this report based on such evaluation; and d.Disclosed in this report any change in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the registrant’s most recentfiscal quarter (the registrant’s fourth fiscal quarter in the case of an report) that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materiallyaffect, the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting; and5.The registrant’s other certifying officer and I have disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation of internal control over financial reporting, to theregistrant’s auditors and the audit committee of the registrant’s board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions): a.All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal control over financial reporting which are reasonablylikely to adversely affect the registrant’s ability to record, process, summarize and report financial information; and b.Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the registrant’s internal controlover financial reporting.Date: March 28, 2018 /s/ Timothy C. Kennedy Timothy C. KennedyChief Financial Officer, Senior Vice President of Operations(Principal Financial and Accounting Officer)  EXHIBIT 32.1CERTIFICATIONI, Michael W. Nall, hereby certify pursuant to Rule 13a-14(b) or Rule 15d-14(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, that, tomy knowledge, the Annual Report on Form 10-K of Biocept, Inc. for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2017 (the “Report”) fully complies with therequirements of Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and that the information contained in the Report fairly presents, in all materialrespects, the financial condition and results of operations of Biocept, Inc. Date: March 28, 2018 /s/ Michael W. Nall Michael W. Nall Chief Executive Officer, President and Director(Principal Executive Officer)This certification accompanies the Report pursuant to Rule 13a-14(b) or Rule 15d-14(b) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and 18 U.S.C.Section 1350 and shall not be deemed filed by the Company for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.  EXHIBIT 32.2CERTIFICATIONI, Timothy C. Kennedy, hereby certify pursuant to Rule 13a-14(b) or Rule 15d-14(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, that,to my knowledge, the Annual Report on Form 10-K of Biocept, Inc. for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2017 (the “Report”) fully complies with therequirements of Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and that the information contained in the Report fairly presents, in all materialrespects, the financial condition and results of operations of Biocept, Inc. Date: March 28, 2018 /s/ Timothy C. Kennedy Timothy C. Kennedy Chief Financial Officer, Senior Vice President of Operations (Principal Financial and Accounting Officer)This certification accompanies the Report pursuant to Rule 13a-14(b) or Rule 15d-14(b) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and 18 U.S.C.Section 1350 and shall not be deemed filed by the Company for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. 

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