58 greater commercial potential than those we choose to pursue, or relinquish valuable rights to such product candidates through collaboration, licensing or other royalty arrangements in cases in which it would have been advantageous for us to invest additional resources to retain sole development and commercialization rights. If we fail to obtain additional financing, we may be unable to complete the development and, if approved, commercialization of our product candidates. Our operations have required substantial amounts of cash since inception. To date, we have funded our operations primarily through the issuance of common stock and the sale of future royalties. Developing our product candidates is expensive, and we expect to continue our spending as we advance our product candidate development efforts. Even if we are successful in developing our product candidates, obtaining regulatory approvals and launching and commercializing any product candidate will require substantial additional funding. Our estimate as to how long we expect our existing cash to be available to fund our operations is based on assumptions that may prove inaccurate, and we could deplete our available capital resources sooner than we currently expect. In addition, changing circumstances may cause us to increase our spending significantly faster than we currently anticipate, and we may need to spend more money than currently expected because of circumstances beyond our control. We may need to raise additional funds sooner than we anticipate if we choose to expand more rapidly than we presently anticipate. We will require additional capital for the further development and, if approved, commercialization of our product candidates. Additional capital may not be available when we need it, on terms acceptable to us or at all. For example, geopolitical conflicts in Europe and the Middle East are expected to have further global economic consequences, including disruptions of the global supply chain. Further, inflation rates, particularly in the United States, have increased relatively recently, and the Federal Reserve has raised, and may again raise, interest rates. These conditions of economic uncertainty and market volatility could limit additional capital available to us, if and when needed, and increase its cost if available. In addition, it is possible that we may not be able to access a portion of our existing cash, cash equivalents and investments due to unforeseen market conditions. For example, on March 10, 2023, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), took control and was appointed receiver of Silicon Valley Bank. If other banks and financial institutions enter receivership or become insolvent in the future in response to financial conditions affecting the banking system and financial markets, our ability to access our existing cash, cash equivalents and investments may be threatened and could have a material adverse effect on our business and financial condition. We currently have no committed source of additional capital. If adequate capital is not available to us on a timely basis, we may be required to significantly delay, scale back or discontinue our research and development programs or the commercialization of any product candidates, if approved, or be unable to continue or expand our operations or otherwise capitalize on our business opportunities, as desired, which could materially affect our business, financial condition and results of operations and cause the price of our common stock to decline. If we engage in acquisitions, in-licensing or strategic partnerships, this may increase our capital requirements, dilute our stockholders, cause us to incur debt or assume contingent liabilities and subject us to other risks. We may engage in various acquisitions and strategic partnerships in the future, including licensing or acquiring complementary products, intellectual property rights, technologies or businesses. Any acquisition or strategic partnership may entail numerous risks, including: • increased operating expenses and cash requirements; • the assumption of indebtedness or contingent liabilities; • the issuance of our equity securities which would result in dilution to our stockholders; • assimilation of operations, intellectual property, products and product candidates of an acquired company, including difficulties associated with integrating new personnel; • the diversion of our management’s attention from our existing product candidates and initiatives in pursuing such an acquisition or strategic partnership; • retention of key employees, the loss of key personnel, and uncertainties in our ability to maintain key business relationships; • risks and uncertainties associated with the other party to such a transaction, including the prospects of that party and their existing products or product candidates and regulatory approvals; and • our inability to generate revenue from acquired intellectual property, technology and/or products sufficient to meet our objectives or even to offset the associated transaction and maintenance costs.