You are very sharp to pick up on my passing comment Alan, and I would value your opinion and input on this possible intervention.

        Our success depends in large part on our ability to obtain and maintain patent protection and trade secret protection in the U.S. and other countries with respect to our proprietary product candidates. If we do not adequately protect our intellectual property rights, competitors may be able to erode, negate or preempt any competitive advantage we may have, which could harm our business and ability to achieve profitability. To protect our proprietary position, we file patent applications in the U.S. and abroad related to our product candidates that are important to our business; we also license or purchase patents and/or patent applications filed by others. The patent application and approval process is expensive and time-consuming. We may not be able to file and prosecute all necessary or desirable patent applications at a reasonable cost or in a timely manner.

Penn, J. W., Grobbelaar, A. O. & Rolfe, K. J. The role of the TGF-beta family in wound healing, burns and scarring: a review. International journal of burns and trauma. 2, 18–28 (2012).

Yohai Stenzler, our Chief Financial Officer, has served in such capacity since February 1, 2017. Mr. Stenzler joined the Company in June 2014 as the Company’s corporate controller, and later on served as the Company’s Director of Finance. Mr. Stenzler has six years of financial management experience as an accountant at the real estate department at Ernst & Young LLP, where he was involved in financing, taxes, auditing, advising and accounting of public and private companies, both domestic and international. Mr. Stenzler is a certified CPA and holds a MBA in Finance from Recanati Business School at Tel Aviv University, and a BA in Economics and Accounting from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.

Korea, New Zealand, Russia, South Africa, and Taiwan. These patents are generally expected to expire between 2018 and 2022, subject to possible patent term extensions. We paid an aggregate amount of approximately $1.4 million and approximately 123,456 shares of common stock in connection with the Cosmix acquisition that includes this fully paid-up license, though no breakdown of amounts specifically attributable to this license is available.

Ms. Yaron-Eldar, Mr. Marth and Dr. Sidransky are the current members of our nominating committee, with Dr. Sidransky serving as chairperson. Nasdaq Capital Market Listing Rule 5605(e) requires that our nominating committee be comprised solely of independent directors unless the nominating committee is comprised of at least three members and the Board determines that such non-independent director’s membership, which shall not be longer than two years, is required by the best interests of the Company and our shareholders.

Once a product candidate is identified for development, it enters the pre-clinical testing stage. Pre-clinical tests include laboratory evaluations of product chemistry, toxicity and formulation, as well as animal studies. An IND sponsor must submit the results of the pre-clinical tests, together with manufacturing information and analytical data, to the FDA as part of the IND. Some pre-clinical testing may continue after the IND is submitted. In addition to including the results of the pre-clinical studies, the IND will also include a clinical trial protocol detailing, among other things, the objectives of the clinical trial, the parameters to be used in monitoring safety and, depending on the phase of the study, the effectiveness criteria to be evaluated. The IND automatically becomes effective 30 days after receipt by the FDA, unless the FDA, within the 30-day time period, places the IND on clinical hold. In such a case, the IND sponsor and the FDA must resolve any outstanding concerns before clinical trials can begin. A clinical hold may occur at any time during the life of an IND, due to safety concerns or non-compliance, and may affect one or more specific studies or all studies conducted under the IND.

If applicable, the penny stock rules may make it difficult for investors to sell their ordinary shares. Because of the rules and restrictions applicable to a penny stock, there is less trading in penny stocks and the market price of our ordinary shares may be adversely affected. Also, many brokers choose not to participate in penny stock transactions. Accordingly, investors may not always be able to resell their ordinary shares publicly at times and prices that they feel are appropriate and the market price of our ordinary shares may be adversely affected.

        Pre-clinical studies include laboratory evaluation of the purity and stability of the manufactured drug substance or active pharmaceutical ingredient and the formulated drug or drug product, as well as in vitro and animal studies to assess the safety and activity of the drug for initial testing in humans and to establish a rationale for therapeutic use. The conduct of pre-clinical studies is subject to federal regulations and requirements, including GLP regulations. The results of the pre-clinical tests, together with manufacturing information, analytical data, any available clinical data or literature and plans for clinical trials, among other things, are submitted to the FDA as part of an IND. Some long-term pre-clinical testing, such as animal tests of reproductive adverse events and carcinogenicity, may continue after the IND is submitted.

drug product on the market. Other member states allow companies to fix their own prices for drug products, but monitor and control company profits. The downward pressure on health care costs in general, particularly prescription drugs, has become intense. As a result, increasingly high barriers are being erected to the entry of new products. In addition, in some countries, cross-border imports from low-priced markets exert competitive pressure that may reduce pricing within a country. Any country that has price controls or reimbursement limitations for drug products may not allow favorable reimbursement and pricing arrangements.

        Government authorities in the U.S., at the federal, state, and local level, and in other countries and jurisdictions, including the E.U. and Japan, extensively regulate, among other things, the research, development, testing, manufacture, quality control, approval, packaging, storage, recordkeeping, labeling, advertising, promotion, distribution, marketing, post-approval monitoring and reporting, and import and export of pharmaceutical products. The processes for obtaining regulatory approvals in the U.S. and in foreign countries and jurisdictions, along with subsequent compliance with applicable statutes and regulations and other regulatory authorities, require the expenditure of substantial time and financial resources.

Rats (n = 6) were sacrificed after MBF evaluation, and the hearts were perfused with saline and then collected. Both BW and HW were determined, and HW/BW was calculated to evaluate the hypertrophic response to pressure over-load.