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LEMAITRE VASCULAR INC (LMAT) Risk Factors

Verbatim Item 1A Risk Factors from LEMAITRE VASCULAR INC's latest 10-K. Filing date: 2026-02-26. Accession: 0001193125-26-073360.

This page reproduces the company's own Item 1A Risk Factors text from the linked SEC filing. It is filer text, not grepcent analysis, scoring, or investment advice.

Informational only - not investment advice. See Disclaimer.

Extracted from Item 1A Risk Factors to the first Item 1B/1C/2 boundary after HTML sanitization. Confidence: high. Source form: 10-K. Character span: 93915-171496.

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Item 1A. Risk Factors

Investing in our securities involves a high degree of risk. You should consider the following information about the risks described below, together with the other information contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K and in our other public filings in evaluating our business. The following factors, among others, could cause our actual operating results to differ materially from those indicated or suggested by forward-looking statements made in this Annual Report on Form 10-K or presented elsewhere by management. Investors should consider the risks described below before making an investment decision. The risks described below are not the only ones we face. Additional risks not presently known to us or that we currently believe are not material may also impair our business operations. Our business could be harmed by any of these risks. The trading price of our common stock could decline due to any of these risks, and investors may lose all or part of their investment.

Summary of Risk Factors

Our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows and the trading price of our common stock are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, the following:


We may not be able to maintain our historical profit growth rates, which have been driven by pricing increases, sales force expansion and operating leverage, and our operating income results may vary significantly from period to period.


Our ability to grow sales and maintain profitability depends in part on our ability to increase prices or avoid price concessions; competitive pressures, reimbursement changes, healthcare cost containment efforts, and customer purchasing behavior could limit pricing flexibility.


We operate in highly competitive medical device markets and face competition from companies with greater resources, broader product portfolios, more extensive distribution networks and alternative technologies, including endovascular procedures.


A significant portion of our growth has historically depended on acquisitions, and our inability to identify, complete or successfully integrate acquisitions or develop new products could adversely affect our growth strategy and operating results.


Adverse global economic conditions, trade tensions, tariffs and currency fluctuations could reduce demand for our products, increase costs and negatively affect our international operations.


We derive a substantial portion of our sales from outside the United States and are subject to risks associated with international operations, including regulatory complexity, reimbursement changes, distributor relationships, foreign exchange volatility, political instability and compliance with anti-corruption and trade laws.


Our reliance on sole-source and limited-source suppliers, including suppliers of biologic and tissue-based products, exposes us to supply disruptions that could delay production and processing, increase costs or result in lost sales.


Some of our products are sold to clinical call points outside our core vascular surgeon customer base, and our sales representatives may not be successful in expanding adoption in those markets.


Cybersecurity incidents, data breaches, failures of information technology systems, and reliance on third-party service providers could disrupt operations, compromise sensitive information, expose us to regulatory actions or litigation, and harm our reputation.


The ongoing implementation and expansion of our enterprise resource planning system presents operational and internal control risks that could disrupt business processes and financial reporting.


Our tissue processing, preservation and cryopreservation services are subject to unique operational, sourcing and regulatory risks, including donor tissue availability, accreditation requirements and compliance with complex human tissue laws.


Disruptions at our manufacturing or processing facilities due to natural disasters, accidents, equipment failures or other events could impair our ability to manufacture and distribute products.

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The use or misuse of our products or tissues may result in product liability claims, recalls or regulatory actions that could be costly, damage our reputation and adversely affect our business.


We are subject to extensive and evolving domestic and international regulatory requirements governing medical devices, human tissue, regulated substances, data privacy and healthcare compliance, and failure to obtain or maintain required approvals, certifications or compliance could limit our ability to sell products or result in enforcement actions.


Our convertible senior notes require ongoing cash payments, may constrain financial flexibility, expose us to liquidity risks, and could result in dilution of our stockholders upon conversion.


Our ability to protect and enforce our intellectual property is limited, and claims that we infringe third-party intellectual property could result in costly litigation, product redesigns or loss of market access.


The market price of our common stock may be volatile due to factors beyond our control, and our Chief Executive Officer and Chairman’s ownership position may influence matters requiring stockholder approval.


We may not be able to continue paying dividends at historical levels, or at all, depending on our financial performance, capital needs and contractual restrictions.

Risks Related to Our Business

We may not be able to maintain our historic levels of profit growth.

Our operating income grew 30% in 2025 and 42% in 2024. This growth resulted principally from the growth of our sales force, average selling price increases, and operating expense restraint. If we are unable to replicate these favorable factors (or others) in 2026 or future years, our operating income growth could slow or disappear. Other factors that may affect our profitability growth include:


the level and timing of future sales, manufacturing costs, and operating expenses;


changes to our pricing strategy;


the productivity and growth of our direct sales force;


global economic conditions and trade tensions;


fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates;


market acceptance of our new products and services;


our ability to successfully build direct sales organizations in new markets;


our ability to successfully acquire and develop products;


our ability to successfully integrate acquired businesses;


the impact on our business of competing products, technologies, and procedures;


our ability to obtain or maintain regulatory approvals;


reimbursement rates for our medical products and procedures;


the cost of litigation and other events such as cybersecurity incidents; and


changes in tax laws.

Operating income growth may also vary significantly quarter-to-quarter due to fluctuations in our business that may be driven by the timing of, among other things, acquisitions, new product introductions, product discontinuations, product recalls, regulatory approvals, sales incentive programs, litigation, changes to tax law, and changes to our sales force or other personnel.

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If we are unable to increase our selling prices to customers, or if we are required to make price concessions, our sales growth could be reduced and our operating results could suffer.

In recent years a material portion of our sales growth has been driven by higher average selling prices, particularly with respect to our valvulotome and carotid shunt products. We cannot guarantee that we will be able to continue to increase selling prices at the same pace. The following factors, among others, could inhibit our ability to increase prices, in the future:


customer tolerance for additional price increases;


competitive pressures discussed below in these Risk Factors;


product defects, failures, or recalls negatively affecting the reputation of our business or products;


reductions in healthcare spending, particularly in the United States, in response to government-enacted healthcare reform, general economic conditions, or the influence of accountable care organizations;


reductions to reimbursement rates for the medical procedures in which our products are used; and


certain marketplace changes, such as hospitals joining group purchasing organizations, integrated delivery networks, and managed care organizations.

If we are unable to raise prices in the future or unable to do so at the same pace as we have done in the recent past, we may experience a reduction in our net sales growth and our operating results could suffer. Additionally, even to the extent we are able to increase prices in the future, certain customers may respond to price increases by reducing or eliminating purchases with us, which could negate or reduce the financial benefit of those price increases.

We face competition from other medical device companies and alternative medical technologies, and we may not be able to compete effectively.

The segments in which we primarily operate are competitive, subject to change, and affected by new product, and in some cases, procedure, introductions. Our competitors vary by product line, as no company directly competes against us with respect to all our offerings. Certain competitors:


have substantially greater capital resources, larger customer bases, broader product lines, larger sales forces, and larger research and development or regulatory staffs and resources;


have stronger reputations and relationships with our target customers;


have developed more extensive distribution channels;


are or may be able to manufacture and distribute products more efficiently at lower costs and offer comparable products at lower prices;


have greater experience in developing and improving products, obtaining regulatory approvals, and manufacturing and marketing products;


may develop technologies and products that are safer, more effective, easier to use, or less expensive than ours; and


may obtain patent protection or regulatory approval or clearance, or achieve product commercialization, before us.

Our open vascular surgical products additionally compete to varying degrees with endovascular devices, and we may experience sales erosion to the extent industry trends favor endovascular procedures. We are also potentially vulnerable to companies outside of the peripheral vascular device space that may develop technologies, products, procedures, or services that may impact the demand for or use of our products and services. To the extent we experience increased competitive pressures, whether direct or indirect, we could suffer loss of sales and market share or need to undertake competitive countermeasures, such as price reductions, that could cause our operating results to decline.

If we are unable to source, acquire and integrate new businesses, product lines, or technologies, we may not achieve our growth objectives and our results of operations could suffer.

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We have limited internal research and development resources and capabilities. We have historically introduced few internally-developed new devices to market. A significant portion of our growth has been driven by acquisitions. Although we have completed 25 acquisitions since our founding, we have not completed a material acquisition since 2020. Acquisition targets in the open vascular surgery space may be limited, and even to the extent that we are able to identify acquisition opportunities, there may be reasons that we are unable to consummate acquisitions, including, without limitation, an inability to agree upon acceptable acquisition terms, the presence of competitive bids, and regulatory or antitrust challenges. We may choose to pursue acquisitions in adjacent call points, such as the cardiovascular call point, which may offer fewer synergies and may be more costly or time consuming to integrate. If we are unable to complete future potential acquisitions, our ability to grow may be inhibited.

Even to the extent we complete acquisitions, we may experience:


difficulties in integrating acquired businesses, personnel, and products into our existing business;


difficulties or delays in integrating manufacturing operations into our existing business or successfully replicating manufacturing processes at new manufacturing facilities on a cost-effective basis;


decline in our corporate gross margin due to lower margins associated with acquired devices;


reduction in volume from key customers, particularly where the acquired company had concentrated sales;


diversion of management’s time from other business concerns;


higher costs of integration than anticipated, especially in call points other than open vascular surgery;


unanticipated liabilities included as part of the acquisition;


disputes or litigation with former owners related to contingent payments, liabilities assumed, or other matters;


challenges in complying with regulatory requirements to which we were not previously subject;


increased regulatory scrutiny;


challenges in transferring, maintaining or obtaining regulatory approvals for acquired products;


difficulties in retaining key employees of the acquired business;


difficulties or delays in transitioning clinical studies or unfavorable results from such clinical studies;


loss of key suppliers or issues with the ongoing supply of the acquired product from its former owners;


charges related to the acquisition of in-process research and development; or


dilution as a result of equity financing or the incurrence of additional debt required to fund acquisition costs.

We could also discover deficiencies withheld from us due to fraud or otherwise not uncovered in our due diligence, including deficiencies in internal controls, data adequacy and integrity, product quality, and regulatory compliance, as well as undisclosed contractual or other liabilities and product liabilities, any of which could result in us becoming subject to penalties or other liabilities. Any of these difficulties could negatively impact our ability to realize the intended and anticipated benefits from acquisitions.

Adverse global economic conditions and trade tensions could have a negative effect on our business, results of operations, and financial condition and liquidity.

Sustained uncertainty about, or worsening of, global economic conditions and tariffs and escalations of tensions between the United States and its trading partners could result in a global economic slowdown and long-term changes to global trade. Such events may also cause customers to reduce, delay or forego spending on our products, which could negatively affect demand for our products and our business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, these conditions could increase the cost of our goods imported in markets outside the United States, further pressuring sales growth and margin and adversely impacting our operating performance. However, we believe our U.S. domestic business is unlikely to be materially affected by tariffs as we manufacture our products in the United States.

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The risks inherent in operating internationally and the risks of selling and shipping our products and of purchasing our components and products internationally may adversely impact our net sales, results of operations, and financial condition.

We derive a significant portion of our net sales from outside of the United States. For the year ended December 31, 2025, 43% of our net sales were international. Our international sales operations expose us and our representatives, agents, and distributors to risks inherent in operating in foreign jurisdictions. These risks include:


fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates;


the imposition of additional U.S. and foreign governmental controls or regulations, including export licensing requirements and other trade restrictions;


the imposition of duties and tariffs and, in some cases, retaliatory tariffs;


the risk of non-compliance with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act or other anti-corruption laws by our personnel, distributors, and other agents;


changing medical device regulations that may impede our ability to register our products in one or more jurisdictions;


the imposition of U.S. or international sanctions against a country or party with whom we do business;


changes in third-party reimbursement policies;


clawback of funds spent on healthcare in excess of budgeted amounts by foreign governments;


the imposition of restrictions on the activities of foreign agents, representatives, and distributors;


scrutiny of foreign tax authorities, which could result in fines, penalties, and additional taxes;


pricing pressure;


laws and business practices favoring local companies;


longer payment cycles;


difficulties in enforcing agreements and collecting receivables;


difficulties in enforcing or defending intellectual property rights;


exposure to different legal, data privacy, and political standards; and


political, economic, or social instability.

We cannot assure you that one or more of these factors will not harm our business. Any material decrease in our international sales would adversely impact the results of operations.

We may experience disruptions to our international business to the extent we transition our sales strategy in certain international jurisdictions from a distributor-based approach to a direct sales model.

We will typically enter new international markets by engaging a third-party distributor to conduct sales on our behalf. From time to time, we may choose to transition select international markets to a direct sales model. For example, in 2025, we transitioned away from a distribution model to a direct sales model in Portugal and Czechia. Local law or contractual terms may require us to compensate the distributor that is being eliminated, and we may incur new or sometimes unexpected costs associated with setting up a local entity and employing local staff. An increase in our near- and long-term costs of doing business in the relevant market may therefore occur. Additionally, we may not have adequate knowledge of or experience in the relevant market such that our sales may decline in the relevant market after going direct.

Our dependence on sole- and limited-source suppliers could hinder our ability to deliver our products and services to our customers and could harm our results of operations.

We rely on sole- and limited-source suppliers for many of our important components and certain products, including our VascuCel and CardioCel biologic patch, Artegraft biologic vascular graft and Omniflow biosynthetic vascular graft. There are relatively few, or in some cases no, alternative, validated sources of supply for our sole-sourced materials and products. We do not always have supply agreements in place with suppliers, instead placing orders on an as-needed basis. At any time, these

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suppliers could discontinue or become incapable of the manufacture or supply of these materials or products. We do not ordinarily carry a significant inventory of these materials and products. Identifying and qualifying additional or replacement suppliers, if required, may not be accomplished quickly or at all and could involve significant additional costs. Any supply interruption from our suppliers or failure to obtain replacement suppliers would interrupt our ability to manufacture our products and result in production delays and increased costs. This could lead to loss of sales and customers, and our results of operations could be harmed. In some cases, changes to raw material suppliers or use of alternative raw materials may require significant testing and subsequent regulatory approval.

With respect to our RestoreFlow allografts, we rely on tissue procurement organizations to provide donated tissue to us. While we have relationships with multiple tissue procurement organizations, we cannot be sure that a sufficient supply of suitable human tissue will be available to us, in which case our allograft preservation service revenues could be adversely affected.

Some of our devices are sold to a different call point, and we may not be successful in selling to that newer call point.

In terms of marketing and sales efforts, our primary call point focus is the vascular surgeon. Some of our products are sold to a call point that is different from this main call point. For example, historically, a significant portion of RestoreFlow and CardioCel sales have been to cardiac surgeons. Our success in selling products like RestoreFlow and CardioCel will depend, in part, on our sales representatives devoting a portion of their time and establishing relationships with cardiac surgeons. If they do not undertake these activities or are unsuccessful in doing so, then this could lead to lower RestoreFlow and CardioCel sales. Cross-selling opportunities to cardiac surgeons are limited at LeMaitre. Also, if our sales representatives spend less time focused on vascular surgeons, the sales of our vascular products could decrease.

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

In the ordinary course of business, we collect, store, and transmit business-critical and confidential information (including, but not limited to, information about our business, financial information, personal data, intellectual property, and in some very limited instances, patient data).

The secure processing, storage, maintenance, and transmission of business-critical and confidential information is vital to our operations and business strategy, and we devote significant resources to protecting such information. Although we take measures to protect sensitive information from unauthorized access or disclosure, our information technology and infrastructure may be vulnerable to attacks by threat actors or viruses, breaches, interruptions due to employee error, malfeasance, poor password management, lapses in compliance with privacy and security mandates, or other disruptions.

For example, in January 2026, we experienced a cybersecurity incident in response to which we activated our cybersecurity incident response plan and engaged third party external advisors to assist with containment and mitigation activities and to investigate the nature and scope of the incident. We securely restored our critical systems and access to those systems, and following the incident, we operated, in some cases, under alternative processes and procedures to ensure business continuity, which may affect certain of our internal controls and require mitigation. We experienced minimal to no disruption in the manufacture and release of our products and the provision of our products and services to our customers. Our investigation into, and analysis of, potentially impacted data remains ongoing, in connection with which we will evaluate any notification obligations. As of the date of this Annual Report, we believe that the incident has not had a material impact on our overall financial condition or results of operations and that the incident is not reasonably likely to have a material impact on our financial condition or results of operations. However, we remain subject to various risks due to the incident, and, as a result, cannot provide assurances that the incident will not be determined to have a material impact in the future.

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The risk of a security breach or disruption, particularly through cyber-attack or cyber intrusion, including by computer threat actors, foreign governments, and cyber terrorists, has generally increased as the number, intensity and sophistication of attempted attacks and intrusions from around the world have increased. Our information technology and telecommunications systems are essential to the operation of our business and our ability to perform day-to-day operations. Although we make efforts to maintain the security and integrity of these systems, and we have implemented various measures to manage the risk of a security breach or disruption, no security measure is infallible and there can be no assurance that our security efforts and measures will be effective or that attempted security breaches or disruptions will not be successful or damaging. Our information technology systems may have vulnerabilities, and we may not have the resources or technical sophistication to anticipate or prevent rapidly evolving types of cyberattacks, such as ransomware attacks. Although we have experienced cybersecurity incidents from time to time that we believe have not had a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, or results of operations, including one described above, there can be no assurance that a cyber-attack, security breach, or other cybersecurity incident will not have a material adverse effect on us in the future. A significant cyber incident, including system failure, security breach, disruption by malware or other damage, could interrupt or delay our operations, result in a violation of applicable cybersecurity and privacy and other laws, damage our reputation, cause a loss of customers, expose sensitive customer and employee data, or give rise to monetary fines and other penalties.

Like many companies, we engage third-party vendors and service providers to store and otherwise process some of our data, including sensitive and personal information. Our vendors and service providers may also be the targets of the risks described above, including cyberattacks, malicious software, phishing schemes, and fraud. Our ability to monitor our vendors and service providers’ data security is limited, and third parties may be able to circumvent any security measures, resulting in the unauthorized access to, misuse, disclosure, loss or destruction of our data, including sensitive and personal information, and disruption of our or third-party service providers’ systems. We and our third-party service providers may also face difficulties in identifying, or promptly responding to, potential security breaches and other instances of unauthorized access to, or disclosure or other loss of, information.

Any security breach or interruption, as well as any action by us or our employees or contractors that might be inconsistent with the rapidly evolving data privacy and security laws and regulations applicable within the United States and elsewhere where we conduct business, could result in enforcement actions by state or federal governments or foreign governments, liability or sanctions under data privacy laws that protect personally identifiable information, regulatory penalties, other legal proceedings such as but not limited to private litigation, the incurrence of significant remediation costs, diversion of management efforts and damage to our reputation. Because of the rapidly moving nature of technology and the increasing sophistication of cybersecurity threats, our measures to prevent, respond to and minimize such risks may be unsuccessful.

In addition, our insurance may be insufficient to cover our losses resulting from cyber-attacks, breaches, or other interruptions, and any incidents may result in loss of, or increased costs of, such insurance. The successful assertion of one or more large claims against us that exceed available insurance coverage, the occurrence of changes in our insurance policies, including premium increases or the imposition of large deductible or co-insurance requirements, or denials of coverage, could have a material adverse effect on our business, including our financial condition, results of operations and reputation.

We depend on our information technology and telecommunications systems, and any failure of these systems could harm our business.

We depend on a range of information technology and telecommunications systems to operate our business. For example, our software systems affect or support a broad range of business processes and functional areas, including, for example, systems handling accounting, manufacturing, inventory control, human resources, financial controls and reporting, sales administration, and other operations. We maintain preventive and detective security controls and seek to enhance such controls by, for example, augmenting the monitoring and alerting functions, network design, and automatic countermeasure operations of the systems we use. We also periodically assess the adequacy of our systems.

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Information technology and telecommunications systems are vulnerable to damage from a variety of sources, including system or network failures, malicious human acts, and natural disasters. Moreover, as demonstrated by the cybersecurity incident we experienced in January 2026 described above, despite network security and back-up measures, some of our systems are potentially vulnerable to physical or electronic break-ins, computer viruses, and similar disruptive problems that could adversely affect the operation of our business, including from significant downtime of our information technology or telecommunications systems or those used by our third-party suppliers, or a loss of data or a material delay in our access to our data. Any sustained disruption or loss of information technology or telecommunications systems on which critical aspects of our operations depend could have an adverse effect on our business.

We may experience challenges with the ongoing implementation of our new enterprise resource planning system.

While we have largely completed the implementation of a new enterprise resource planning, or ERP, system in the United States and United Kingdom, we are continuing to expand its adoption internationally. ERP system implementations are complex, time-consuming, labor intensive, and involve substantial expenditures. The new ERP system is critical to our ability to gather important information; obtain and deliver products; send invoices; fulfill contractual obligations; maintain books and records; provide accurate, timely and reliable reports on our financial and operating results; and otherwise operate our business. ERP system implementations also require transformation of internal processes. Any such implementation involves risks, including loss of information and potential disruption in operations. The implementation and maintenance of the new ERP system may be subject to delays and cost overruns.

Any disruptions, delays, or deficiencies in the implementation of the new ERP system could negatively affect our ability to process orders, ship products, send invoices, fulfill contractual obligations, accurately maintain books and records, provide accurate, timely, and reliable reports on our financial and operating results, including reports required by the SEC such as the evaluation of our internal control over financial reporting pursuant to Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, and otherwise operate our business. Additionally, if we do not complete the implementation of the new ERP system throughout our worldwide operations as planned, the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting could be adversely affected.

Our tissue processing and preservation services are subject to a variety of risks, including those related to the procurement of human tissue and regulatory requirements.

Our ability to successfully provide RestoreFlow allograft processing, preservation and distribution services may be affected by the following:


maintenance of quality standards and controls to mitigate the risk that processed tissue cannot be sterilized;


compliance with regulatory and legal requirements specific to human tissue or changes in those requirements;


maintenance of our AATB accreditation, FDA establishment registration and state and foreign country licensures;


the degree to which the tissue procurement organizations with which we work are successful in procuring the gift of tissue donation;


procurement from tissue procurement organizations of adequate amounts of human tissue of a type and quality that meets our specifications;


processing human tissue in a cost-effective manner;


controlling turnover in a workforce skilled in tissue processing and cryopreservation; and


compliance of our tissue procurement organizations to current good tissue practices.

Additionally, we intend to transfer the majority of our human tissue processing and preservation operations from our Fox River Grove facility to our Burlington headquarters by the end of 2026. This will necessitate setting up new clean rooms suitable for processing and preservation of human tissue as well as new storage facilities, training a Burlington-based workforce and obtaining new accreditations and registrations, which may take longer or be more costly than expected.

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Our failure in any one or more of these areas could adversely impact our ability to provide processing, preservation, and distribution services related to allografts and therefore our business and operations.

Any disruption in our manufacturing facilities could harm our results of operations.

Our principal worldwide executive, distribution, and manufacturing operations are located in five leased facilities in Burlington, Massachusetts. We also have a manufacturing site in North Brunswick, New Jersey as well as a tissue processing, preservation and distribution facility in Fox River Grove, Illinois. These facilities and the equipment we use to manufacture our products and services would be difficult to replace and could require substantial lead-time to repair or replace in the event of a natural or man-made disaster. In the event of a disaster, we may be required to shift production or processing to alternate manufacturing facilities, and we would be forced to rely on third-party manufacturers, if available. Although we carry insurance for damage to our property and the disruption of our business from casualties, such insurance may not be sufficient to cover all of our potential losses, including potential damage to our reputation, and may not continue to be available to us on acceptable terms, or at all.

The use or misuse of our products and the tissues we distribute may result in injuries that lead to product liability lawsuits or legal actions, which could be costly to our business.

If our products or the tissue we process are defectively designed, manufactured, processed, or labeled; contain defective components; are misused; or found to have caused or contributed to injuries or death, we may become subject to costly litigation. Although we offer training for physicians in accordance with our products' instructions for use, we do not require that physicians be trained in the use of our products, and physicians may use our products incorrectly or in procedures not contemplated by us or our products' instructions for use. Product liability claims could divert management’s attention from our core business, damage our reputation, be expensive to defend, and result in sizable damage awards against us.

We cannot assure you that our product liability insurance coverage will be sufficient to satisfy claims made against us. Further, we may not be able to maintain the same level of coverage, and we may not be able to obtain adequate coverage at a reasonable cost and on reasonable terms, if at all. Additionally, if any such product liability claim or series of claims is brought against us for uninsured liabilities or is in excess of our insurance coverage, our business could be harmed.

From time to time, we are involved in litigation where the outcome is uncertain and which could entail significant expense.

We are subject, from time to time, to legal proceedings and litigation, including, but not limited to, actions relating to product liability, employment matters, intellectual property, contract disputes, and other commercial matters. Because the outcome of litigation is inherently difficult to predict, it is possible that the outcome of litigation, or even simply the defense of litigation, could entail significant costs for us, divert management’s attention, and adversely affect our reputation. The fact that we operate in international markets also increases the risk that we may face legal exposure as we seek to comply with a large number of varying legal and regulatory requirements. If any such proceedings were to result in an unfavorable outcome, it could adversely affect our results of operations.

If we are not able to navigate executive officer transitions and retain key personnel, our business may be harmed.

The majority of our executive team, including our Chief Executive Officer, our President, and our Senior Vice President of Operations, has significant tenure with the company; is highly knowledgeable of the Company’s business, operations, budgeting, strategy, product offerings, resources, and personnel; and maintains key external relationships on behalf of the Company. We believe that these long-tenured employees have been integral to the success of the Company. The unexpected or unplanned departure of one or more of them could be disruptive to day-to-day operations. Significant resources and attention may need to be expended at the executive and Board levels to identify and onboard successors in the event of an unexpected or unplanned departure.

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The loss of key personnel could be disruptive to our operations and materially adversely affect our financial performance. We do not carry, nor do we currently intend to obtain, significant key-person life insurance on officers or other employees. Our success will depend on attracting and retaining qualified personnel and rapidly replacing and developing new management, as needed. The number of potential employees who have the extensive knowledge needed to develop, sell, and maintain our offerings is limited, and competition for their services is intense. There can be no guarantee that we will be able to attract and retain such personnel. If we are unable to do so, our business, operating results, and financial condition could be materially adversely affected. We have from time to time in the past experienced, and we expect to continue to experience in the future, difficulty in hiring and difficulty in retaining highly skilled employees with appropriate qualifications.

Risks Related to the Regulatory Environment

Our business is subject to complex, costly, and burdensome regulations. We could be subject to significant penalties if we fail to comply.

The production and marketing of our products and services and our ongoing research and development are subject to extensive regulation and review by numerous governmental authorities both in the United States and abroad. U.S. and foreign regulations applicable to medical devices and human tissue are wide-ranging and govern, among other things, the testing, marketing, and premarket clearance or approval of new medical devices and services related to human tissue, as applicable, in addition to regulating manufacturing and processing practices, reporting, promotion and advertising, importing and exporting, labeling, and record-keeping procedures.

In recent years, there has been an increase in the scope and enforcement of data privacy laws in the jurisdictions in which we do business. The European Parliament adopted the General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR, effective May 2018. The California Consumer Privacy Act, or CCPA, effective January 2020, requires covered companies to provide, among other things, new disclosure to consumers about such companies’ data collection, as well as new use and sharing practices. Following the passage of the CCPA, several other U.S. states passed similar data privacy laws. In 2023, Europe finalized the first-ever comprehensive legal framework for governance of the use of artificial intelligence, the EU Artificial Intelligence Act, with a rolling effective date that commenced in 2025. Compliance with these varying regimes has caused and will cause us to incur additional costs, including those that may result from any non-compliance or asserted non-compliance.

Our failure to comply with applicable regulatory requirements could result in governmental agencies or a court taking action, including any of the following:


issuing public warning letters to us;


imposing fines and penalties on us;


issuing an injunction preventing us from selling or distributing our products;


bringing civil or criminal charges against us;


ordering a recall of, or detaining or seizing, our products or cryopreserved human tissue; or


withdrawing or denying approvals or clearances for our products.

If any or all of the foregoing were to occur, our business, results of operations, and brand could be materially adversely affected.

If we are not successful in obtaining additional and maintaining current clearances and approvals from U.S. governmental agencies for our medical devices, we might not be able to sell our products, and our future growth might be hampered.

Each medical device that we wish to market in the United States generally must receive either 510(k) clearance or PMA approval. Either process can be lengthy and expensive. The FDA’s 510(k) clearance procedure usually takes three to twelve months. Although 510(k) clearances have been obtained for nearly all of our current products that require such

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clearances, the FDA may condition, limit or prohibit our sales of these products if safety or effectiveness problems develop with the devices. Our new products or significantly modified existing products could be denied 510(k) clearance.

The FDA may also require the more extensive PMA process for certain products. The PMA approval process is more costly, lengthy, and uncertain. It generally takes from six months to three years. Achieving initial premarket approval typically requires extensive clinical trials and may require the filing of numerous amendments. We do not have significant experience in obtaining PMA approval or conducting these studies for our products.

Our ability to market our products outside the United States is also subject to regulatory approval, including our ability to demonstrate the safety and effectiveness of our products in the clinical setting. Even if regulatory approval or clearance of a product is granted, the approval or clearance could limit the uses or the claims for which the product may be labeled and promoted, which may limit the market for our products. If we do not obtain and maintain foreign regulatory or FDA approval with respect to our products, as applicable, we will not be able to sell our products, and our future growth could be affected.

If we or some of our suppliers fail to comply with the FDA’s Quality Management System Regulation (QMSR) and other applicable requirements, our manufacturing or processing operations could be disrupted, and we may become subject to a variety of FDA enforcement actions.

We are subject to inspection and marketing surveillance by the FDA to determine our compliance with all regulatory requirements. If the FDA finds that we have failed to comply with any regulatory requirements, it can institute a wide variety of enforcement actions, including, but not limited to, warning letters, fines, and penalties, injunctions, civil or criminal charges, mandatory recalls, and withdrawal of clearances to sell products.

We and some of our suppliers must comply with the FDA’s QMSR, which governs the methods used in, and the facilities and controls used for, the design, testing, manufacture, control, quality assurance, installation, servicing, labeling, packaging, storage, and shipping of medical devices. Our Fox River Grove operations, as well as certain operations in our Burlington facility, must comply with the FDA’s current Good Tissue Practices. The FDA enforces its regulations through pre-announced and unannounced inspections. We are subject to such inspections by the FDA and other regulatory bodies. The timing of future audits is unknown, and it is possible that audits may result in one or more unsatisfactory results. If we or one of our suppliers fails an inspection, or if a corrective action plan adopted by us or one of our suppliers is not sufficient, the FDA may bring an enforcement action against us.

We participate in the Medical Device Single Audit Program (MDSAP), which allows manufacturers to undergo a universal quality system audit that is accepted in the U.S., Japan, Australia, Canada and Brazil in lieu of individual routine audits by each regulator. Maintenance of this certification is a requirement to maintain sales in certain geographies, including Canada. Failure to maintain this certification in good standing could result in suspension of our sales efforts in Canada or other geographies.

We are also subject to the FDA’s general prohibition against promoting our products for unapproved or off-label uses and to the medical device reporting regulations that require us to report to the FDA if our products may have caused or contributed to a death or serious injury, or if our device malfunctions and a recurrence of the malfunction would likely result in a death or serious injury. We must also file reports with the FDA of some device corrections and removals, and we must adhere to the FDA’s rules on labeling and promotion. If we fail to comply with these or other FDA requirements or fail to take adequate corrective action in response to any significant compliance issue raised by the FDA, the FDA can take significant enforcement actions, which could harm our business, results of operations, and our reputation.

In addition, most other countries, such as Japan and Korea, require us to comply with manufacturing and quality assurance standards for medical devices that are similar to those in the United States before marketing and selling our products in those countries.

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If we do not comply with international regulatory requirements to market our products or if we need to modify our operations or products as a result of such requirements, our business may be harmed.

Sales of medical devices outside the United States are subject to international regulatory requirements that vary from country to country. These requirements may differ from our experiences with the FDA. In some countries, we rely on our international distributors to obtain premarket approvals, complete product registrations, and comply with clinical trial requirements. Failure by us or our distributors to satisfy applicable medical device regulations would negatively impact our ability to sell our products in foreign countries and thereby negatively affect our operating results.

In order to market our medical devices in the EU we are required to obtain CE marks, which denote conformity to the essential requirements of the EU Medical Device Directive, or MDD, and the EU Medical Device Regulation, or MDR. The MDR took effect May 26, 2021, and replaces the MDD. Depending upon device classification, the deadline for compliance with the MDR with respect to our products is either December 31, 2027 or 2028, meaning we must obtain a new CE mark in accordance with the MDR by such date. Manufacturers of higher-risk devices generally must use a Notified Body, an appointed independent third party, to assess conformity. We currently use two Notified Bodies. We previously received CE marks under the MDD to sell most of our products. As of January 2026 we have received substantially all of our products' CE marks under MDR.

In connection with the UK’s exit from the EU, the UK Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency, or MHRA, announced that CE marking will continue to be recognized in the UK and certificates issued by EU-recognized Notified Bodies will continue to be valid in the UK market until the 2027 and 2028 MDR compliance deadlines. Following such dates, all devices marketed in the UK will require UK Conformity Assessed, or UKCA, marks. We have received UKCA marks for 18 of our 22 product lines so far. If we fail to timely obtain UKCA marks for our products, our sales in the UK could be negatively affected.

Our facilities are subject to periodic inspection by numerous regulatory authorities, including governmental agencies and Notified Bodies, and we must demonstrate compliance with applicable medical device regulations. Any failure by us to comply with regulatory requirements may necessitate corrective action by us, such as modification of our policies and procedures. In addition, we may be required to cease all or part of our operations for some period of time until we can demonstrate that appropriate steps have been taken. There can be no assurance that we will be found in compliance with all applicable standards in future audits.

We also pursue registrations in other jurisdictions in which we sell our devices directly, including, without limitation, Japan and China. In 2015, the China Food and Drug Administration, or NMPA, significantly increased the application fees for product registrations and imposed additional requirements for obtaining product approval, which includes requirements for conducting clinical trials to support the registration application process on newly-introduced products in China. As a result, we may not seek registration for certain products where the registration and trial costs are not justified by anticipated sales. Any delay or failure to obtain foreign product registrations could have a negative impact on our results of operations.

Oversight of the medical device industry might affect the manner in which we may sell medical devices and compete in the marketplace.

There are laws and regulations that govern how healthcare companies may market their products and services to healthcare professionals, including for example, the federal Anti-Kickback Statute, the federal False Claims Act, the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, state law equivalents to these federal laws that are meant to protect against fraud and abuse, and analogous laws in foreign countries. Violations of these laws are punishable by criminal and civil sanctions and debarment from state or federal healthcare programs. Although we strive to comply with those laws and regulations, we cannot assure you that government officials will not assert that we are in violation of those laws or regulations. Federal and state laws are also sometimes open to interpretation, and from time to time we may find ourselves at a competitive disadvantage if our interpretation differs from that of our competitors.

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Even after our products have received marketing approval or clearance, our products and the tissue we process may be subject to recall. Licenses, registrations, approvals, and clearances could be withdrawn or suspended due to failure to comply with regulatory standards or the occurrence of unforeseen problems following initial approval.

Our products, services, marketing, sales, development activities, and manufacturing processes are subject to extensive and rigorous regulation by the FDA, by comparable agencies in foreign countries, and by other regulatory agencies and governing bodies. If those regulatory bodies believe that we have failed to comply with regulatory standards, there can be no assurance that any approval, licensure, or registration will not be subsequently withdrawn, suspended or conditioned upon extensive post-market study requirements, even after having received marketing approval or clearance or licenses and registrations. Further, due to the interconnectedness of the various regulatory agencies, particularly within the EU, there is also no assurance that withdrawal or suspension of any of our approvals, licenses, or registrations by any single regulatory agency will not precipitate one or more additional regulatory agencies from also withdrawing or suspending their approval, license, or registration.

In the event that any of our products prove to be defective, we can voluntarily recall, or the FDA or foreign equivalent could require us to recall, any of our products. In the EU and UK, adverse event reporting requirements mandate that we report incidents which led or could have led to death or serious deterioration in health. Recalls, whether voluntary or required, could result in significant costs to us and significant adverse publicity. In severe instances, the FDA may also issue a warning letter, destruction of defective product, and/or order the suspension or cessation of manufacturing of defective product. Additionally, if someone is harmed by a malfunction or a product defect, we may experience product liability claims for such defects. Any corrective action, whether voluntary or involuntary, as well as defending ourselves in a lawsuit, will require the dedication of our time and capital and may harm our financial results. Future recalls or claims could also result in significant costs to us and significant adverse publicity, which could harm our ability to market our products in the future. For example, in April 2025, we voluntarily notified our regulatory bodies of an inadequate seal on the packaging of our TufTex Over-the-Wire, Pruitt Occlusion, and Pruitt Irrigation catheters, which may result in a compromised sterile barrier. Notice was provided to each of our customers of the inadequate seal, and customers were offered a product replacement for any existing inventory on hand. The financial impact of the voluntary notification is not expected to be material to our business. Additionally, in August 2025, the FDA issued us a warning letter detailing findings from an April 2025 inspection at our Artegraft facility in North Brunswick. We have responded to all the cited observations, and the FDA has indicated that they will confirm implementation in a follow-up inspection. The financial impact of this warning letter is not expected to be material to our business, and there has been no disruption to our Artegraft sales.

Certain of our products contain materials derived from animal sources and may become subject to additional regulation.

Our AlboGraft vascular grafts, Artegraft vascular graft, XenoSure biologic patch, and CardioCel and VascuCel biologic patch products contain bovine tissue or material derived from bovine sources, and our Omniflow II Biosynthetic Vascular Graft contains ovine tissue. Products that contain materials derived from animal sources are increasingly subject to scrutiny in the media and by regulatory authorities. Regulatory authorities are concerned about the potential for the transmission of disease from animals to humans. This public scrutiny has been acute in Japan and Western Europe with respect to products derived from animal sources because of concern that bovine materials infected with the agent that causes bovine spongiform encephalopathy, otherwise known as BSE or mad cow disease, may, if ingested or implanted, cause a variant of the human Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, an ultimately fatal disease with no known cure. Cases of BSE in cattle discovered in Canada and the United States have also increased awareness of the issue in North America. Certain regions or countries have issued regulations that require products to be processed from bovine tissue sourced from countries like Australia or New Zealand where no cases of BSE have occurred. Products that contain materials derived from animals, including our products, may become subject to additional regulation, or even be banned in certain countries. Significant new regulations, or a ban of our products, could impair our current business.

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We may incur additional costs or encounter supply challenges if chemicals or substances used in the manufacture, packaging, or sterilization of our products are restricted or banned as a result of environmental concerns.

Certain of our products are manufactured, packaged, or sterilized using chemicals or substances that have drawn environmental concern. To the extent that the use of such chemicals or substances is restricted or banned, options to replace such chemicals or substitutes may not be readily available to us.

Per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, are a group of chemicals that are used in a broad range of consumer and industrial products, including medical devices and related packaging. In October 2023, the Environmental Protection Agency, or EPA, released final rules requiring companies to report the manufacture or import of PFAS-containing products. Multiple states have also instituted bans on PFAS-containing products and mandated reporting on usage. These requirements collectively impose a high compliance burden, and further regulation of PFAS usage is expected. Although we have not been materially affected by PFAS regulations to date, the ultimate impact and associated cost of compliance is uncertain.

Certain of our products are sterilized using ethylene oxide, or EtO. Concerns over EtO being released into the environment at unsafe levels have led to a range of regulatory proposals and actions; various regulatory enforcement activities against EtO facilities, including closures and temporary closures; and lawsuits against EtO service providers. The U.S. has a limited number of EtO facilities. Any permanent or temporary closures or disruption to the operations of these facilities could impair our ability to sterilize certain of our products, which could negatively affect our sales.

Our human tissue cryopreservation services are subject to a wide variety of federal, state, and international regulations, and our failure to comply would impair our ability to operate in that space and negatively affect our operating results.

The FDA regulates human tissue pursuant to Section 361 of the Public Health Services Act, which in turn provides the regulatory framework for regulation of human cellular and tissue products. The FDA regulations focus on donor screening and testing to prevent the introduction, transmission, and spread of HIV-1 and -2, Hepatitis B and C, and other communicable diseases and disease agents. The regulations set minimum requirements to prevent the transmission of communicable diseases from human tissue used for transplantation. The regulations define human tissue as any tissue derived from a human body which is (a) intended for administration to another human for the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of any condition or disease and (b) recovered, preserved, stored, or distributed by methods not intended to change tissue function or characteristics. The FDA definition excludes, among other things, tissue that currently is regulated as a human drug, biological product, or medical device, and it also excludes kidney, liver, heart, lung, pancreas, or any other vascularized human organ. The current regulations applicable to human tissues include requirements for donor suitability, processing standards, establishment registration, product listing, testing, and screening for risks of communicable diseases. The FDA periodically audits our tissue preservation facilities for compliance with its requirements and has the authority to enjoin the distribution, force a recall, or require the destruction of tissues that do not meet its requirements.

Our activities in preserving and transporting human hearts and certain other organs are also subject to federal regulation under the National Organ Transplant Act, or NOTA, which makes it unlawful for any person to knowingly acquire, receive, or otherwise transfer any human organ for valuable consideration for use in human transplantation if the transfer affects interstate commerce. NOTA excludes from the definition of “valuable consideration” reasonable payments associated with the removal, transportation, implantation, processing, preservation, quality control, and storage of a human organ. The purpose of this statutory provision is to allow for compensation for legitimate services. We believe that, to the extent our activities are subject to NOTA, we meet this statutory provision relating to the reasonableness of our charges.

Some states have enacted statutes and regulations governing the preservation, transportation, and storage of human organs and tissues. The activities we engage in require us to be either licensed or registered as a clinical laboratory or tissue bank under California, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, New York, and Oregon law. We have such licenses or registrations, and we believe we are in compliance with applicable state laws and regulations relating to clinical laboratories

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and tissue banks that store, preserve, and distribute donated human tissue designed to be used for medical purposes in human beings.

The Human Tissue Act 2004, or the HT Act, covers England, Wales, and Northern Ireland and established the Human Tissue Authority, or the HT Authority, to regulate activities concerning the removal, storage, use, and disposal of human tissue. Our office in the UK is licensed by the HT Authority for the import, storage, and distribution of human tissue from our tissue banking operations in the United States. As such, we are subject to periodic inspections and required to demonstrate continued compliance with the laws promulgated under the HT Act.

In Germany, the provision of human tissue preservation services (including collection, processing, preservation, storage and distribution of human tissues and cells) is subject to a comprehensive statutory framework that merges national law with European Union requirements. The key governing laws and regulations are: Tissue Law – Gesetz über die Qualität und Sicherheit von menschlichen Geweben und Zellen (Gewebegesetz); the Medicinal Products Act – Arzneimittelgesetz (AMG); and the Transplantation Act – Transplantationsgesetz (TPG) administered by the Federal Ministry of Health, Paul-Erlich-Institut, and the local authority in Hessen. Our German office is licensed under this framework for the import, storage and distribution of human tissue in Germany. As such we are subject to periodic inspections and required to demonstrate continued compliance with the laws promulgated under these regulations.

While we believe we are in compliance with the patchwork of laws and regulations that apply to our human tissue cryopreservation services, we cannot guarantee that is the case, and any failure to comply could result in the suspension of licenses, fines, and penalties, any of which would have a negative impact on our ability to conduct our business and our operating results.

Risks Related to Our Debt

Servicing our 2.50% convertible senior notes requires a significant amount of cash, and we may not have sufficient cash flow to pay our debt.

In December 2024, we completed an offering of $172,500,000 of 2.50% convertible senior notes due 2030, or the Convertible Notes, pursuant to, and governed by, an indenture, dated as of December 19, 2024, between us, as issuer, and U.S. Bank Trust Company, National Association, as trustee. The Convertible Notes provide for ongoing interest payments and payment at maturity of the principal amount plus any accrued but unpaid interest. Our ability to make scheduled payments of the principal of, to pay interest on, or to refinance our indebtedness, including the Convertible Notes, depends on our future performance, which is subject to many factors, including economic, financial, competitive, and others, some of which are beyond our control. If our business does not generate cash flow from operations sufficient to service our debt and make necessary capital expenditures, we may be required to adopt one or more alternatives, such as selling assets, restructuring debt, or obtaining additional equity capital on terms that may be onerous or highly dilutive. Our ability to refinance the Convertible Notes, which mature in 2030, will depend on the capital markets and our financial condition at such times. We may not be able to engage in any of these activities or engage in these activities on desirable terms, which could result in a default on our debt obligations and limit our flexibility in planning for and reacting to changes in our business.

We may not have the ability to raise the funds necessary to repurchase the Convertible Notes as required upon a fundamental change, and our future debt may contain limitations on our ability to repurchase the Convertible Notes.

Holders of the Convertible Notes will have the right to require us to repurchase their Convertible Notes for cash upon the occurrence of a fundamental change at a fundamental change repurchase price equal to 100% of the principal amount of the Convertible Notes to be repurchased, plus accrued and unpaid interest, if any. A fundamental change may also constitute an event of default or prepayment under, and result in the acceleration of the maturity of, our then-existing indebtedness. We cannot guarantee that we will have sufficient financial resources, or will be able to arrange financing, to pay the fundamental change repurchase price in cash with respect to any Convertible Notes surrendered by holders for repurchase upon a

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fundamental change. In addition, restrictions under our then existing credit facilities or other indebtedness, if any, may not allow us to repurchase the Convertible Notes upon a fundamental change. Our failure to repurchase the Convertible Notes upon a fundamental change when required would result in an event of default with respect to the Convertible Notes which could, in turn, constitute a default under the terms of our other indebtedness, if any. If the repayment of the related indebtedness were to be accelerated after any applicable notice or grace periods, we may not have sufficient funds to repay the indebtedness and repurchase the Convertible Notes.

The conditional conversion feature of the Convertible Notes, if triggered, may adversely affect our liquidity.

In the event the conditional conversion feature of the Convertible Notes is triggered, holders will be entitled to convert their Convertible Notes at any time during specified periods at their option. As of December 31, 2025, the conversion rate is 8.3676 shares of common stock per each $1,000 principal amount of Notes, or approximately $119.51 per share. If one or more holders elect to convert their Convertible Notes, we will settle conversions of the Convertible Notes by paying or delivering, as applicable, cash, shares of our common stock, or a combination of cash and shares of our common stock, at our election. Full or partial cash settlement could adversely affect our liquidity. In addition, even if holders do not elect to convert their Convertible Notes, we could be required under applicable accounting rules to reclassify all or a portion of the outstanding principal of the Convertible Notes as a current, rather than long-term, liability, which would result in a material reduction of our net working capital.

Transactions relating to the Convertible Notes may affect the value of our common stock.

The conversion of some or all of the Convertible Notes would dilute the ownership interests of existing common stockholders to the extent we satisfy our conversion obligation by delivering shares of our common stock upon any conversion of such Convertible Notes. The Convertible Notes may become in the future convertible at the option of their holders under certain circumstances. If holders of the Convertible Notes elect to convert their Convertible Notes, we may settle our conversion obligation by delivering to them a significant number of shares of our common stock, which would cause dilution to our existing stockholders.

Risks Related to Intellectual Property

If we fail to adequately protect our intellectual property rights, or prevent use of our intellectual property by third parties, we could lose a significant competitive advantage and our business may suffer.

Our success depends in part on maintaining and enforcing our intellectual property rights. We take precautionary steps to protect our technological advantages and intellectual property. We rely upon patent, trade secret, copyright, know-how, and trademark laws, as well as license agreements and contractual provisions, to establish our intellectual property rights and protect our products. These measures may only provide limited protection.

We have a relatively limited registered intellectual property portfolio. Even where we do have patents, the issuance of a patent is not always conclusive as to its validity or enforceability. Our patents could be circumvented or designed around by third parties. Furthermore, patents expire after a certain duration, depending on the jurisdiction in which they are issued. To the extent any manufacturers are successful in challenging our patents or they enter the market following the expiration of our patents, this could have an adverse impact on our business.

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In the absence of patent protection, we avail ourselves of trade secret and confidentiality arrangements where appropriate. We have a policy of requiring employees and consultants and corporate partners with access to trade secrets or other confidential information to execute confidentiality agreements. Our confidentiality agreements also require our employees to assign to us all rights to any inventions made or conceived during their employment. We also generally require consultants to assign to us any inventions made during their engagement with us. There can be no assurance, however, that these arrangements will provide meaningful protection or adequate remedies for us in the event of unauthorized use, transfer, or disclosure of trade secrets, confidential information, or inventions.

If third parties claim that we infringe upon their intellectual property rights, we may incur liabilities and costs, and we may have to redesign or discontinue selling the affected product.

Companies operating in our industry often seek patent protection for their novel product designs, and many of our principal competitors have large patent portfolios. Companies in the medical device industry have used intellectual property litigation to gain a competitive advantage. We face the risk of claims that we have infringed on third parties’ intellectual property rights, and we cannot assure you that our products or methods do not infringe the patents or other intellectual property rights of third parties. Our efforts to identify and avoid infringing on third parties’ intellectual property rights may not always be successful. Any claims of patent or other intellectual property infringement, even those without merit, could:


be expensive and time consuming to defend;


result in us being required to pay significant damages;


harm our reputation;


cause us to cease making or selling products;


require us to redesign, reengineer, or rebrand our products, which may not be possible;


require us to enter into royalty or licensing agreements in order to obtain the right to use a third party’s intellectual property, which agreements may not be available on terms acceptable to us or at all;


divert the attention of our management and key personnel from other tasks important to the success of our business; or


result in our customers or potential customers deferring or limiting their purchase or use of the affected products until resolution of the litigation.

It is also possible that a third party could claim that our manufacturing methods violate an existing patent or other intellectual property rights. If we were unsuccessful in defending such a claim, we may be forced to stop or alter production at one or more of our manufacturing facilities. Any stoppage or alteration of production could impact our ability to manufacture products and meet customer demand. In addition, new patents obtained by our competitors could threaten a product’s continued life in the market even after it has already been introduced. If our business is successful, the possibility may increase that others will assert infringement claims against us.

If we believe our product is or may be the subject of a patent or other intellectual property rights of a third party, we may attempt to reach a license agreement with them to manufacture, market, and sell the product. If we fail to reach an agreement, we could be required to pay significant damages to third parties for past use of the asserted intellectual property and may be forced to cease making or selling the product that incorporates the challenged intellectual property.

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Risks Related to Our Common Stock

Our stock price may be volatile, and an investment in our common stock could suffer a decline in value.

There can be significant volatility in the market price and trading volume of equity securities that is unrelated to the financial performance of the companies issuing the securities. These broad market fluctuations may negatively affect the market price of our common stock. Some factors that may have a significant effect on our common stock market price include:


actual or anticipated fluctuations in our operating results or future prospects;


changes in our growth rates;


our announcements or our competitors’ announcements of new products;


the public’s reaction to our press releases, our other public announcements, and our filings with the SEC;


our determination whether to continue the payment of quarterly cash dividends;


our determination whether to undertake or continue a share repurchase program;


strategic actions by us or our competitors, such as acquisitions, divestitures, or restructurings;


dilutive issuances of additional securities;


new laws or regulations or new interpretations of existing laws or regulations applicable to our business;


the discontinuation of a product line or other revenue generating activity;


adverse regulatory actions, including those that involve fines, those that necessitate recalls of our products or services, or warning letters that negatively affect the markets for our products or services;


significant litigation;


sales of common stock by us or our directors, officers, or principal stockholders;


control by our affiliates and insiders of a significant percentage of our common stock;


reduced or lower volume of trading in our common stock; and


our inclusion in or removal from stock market indices, such as the S&P 600 or Russell 2000.

The stock market has experienced price and volume fluctuations that have often been unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of individual companies. The market price of our common shares may also fluctuate significantly due to a variety of factors unrelated to our financial results, including political instability, natural disasters, pandemics, war and/or events of terrorism; comments by securities analysts; and general market conditions in our industry or in the economy as a whole. Broad market and industry factors may affect the market price of companies’ stock, including ours, regardless of actual operating performance. In the past, following periods of volatility in the overall market and the market price of a particular company’s securities, securities class action litigation has often been instituted against these companies. This litigation, if instituted against us, could result in substantial costs and a diversion of our management’s attention and resources.

Our Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board has significant voting power and may take actions that may not align with the interests of our other stockholders.

Our Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board controls approximately 7.3% of our outstanding common stock as of December 31, 2025. As a result, he could have significant influence on matters requiring stockholder approval, including the election of directors and approval of significant corporate transactions. This concentration of ownership may have the effect of delaying or preventing a change in control, might adversely affect the market price of our common stock, and may not be fully aligned with the interests of other stockholders.

We have not established a minimum dividend payment level for our common stockholders and there are no assurances of our ability to pay dividends to common stockholders in the future.

In February 2011, our Board of Directors adopted a quarterly dividend program for the purpose of returning capital to our stockholders. However, we have not established a minimum dividend payment level for our common stockholders and our

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ability to pay dividends may be harmed by the risks and uncertainties described in this Annual Report on Form 10-K and in the other documents we file from time to time with the SEC. Future dividends, if any, will be authorized by our Board of Directors. In addition, financial covenants in any future credit facility may restrict our ability to pay future quarterly dividends. We can provide no assurance of our ability to pay dividends in the future.