SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY |
8. SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY Authorized Unlimited common shares, without par value. Unlimited preferred shares, without par value. Omnibus incentive plans The Company has adopted an omnibus incentive plan (“Omnibus Plan”) consistent with the policies and rules of the Nasdaq. Pursuant to the Omnibus Plan, the Company may issue stock options, share appreciation rights, restricted shares, restricted share units and other share-based awards. As of June 30, 2023, the Company has not issued any instruments other than stock options under the Omnibus Plan. As of June 30, 2023, the Omnibus Plan has a maximum of 8,410,907 common shares which may be reserved for issuance. Employee Share Purchase Plan The Company has adopted an Employee Share Purchase Plan (“ESPP”) under which qualifying employees may be granted purchase rights (“Purchase Rights”) to the Company’s common shares at not less of 85% of the market price at the lesser of the date the Purchase Right is granted or exercisable. The Company currently holds offerings consisting of six month periods commencing on January 1 and July 1 of each calendar year, with a single purchase date at the end of the purchase period on June 30 and December 31 of each calendar year. Eligible employees are able to contribute up to 15% of their gross base earnings for purchases under the ESPP through regular payroll deductions. Purchase of shares under the ESPP are limited for each employee at $25,000 worth of the Company’s common shares (determined using the lesser of (i) the market price of a common share on the first day of an applicable purchase period and (ii) the market price of a common share on the purchase date) for each calendar year in which a purchase right is outstanding. As of June 30, 2023, the ESPP has a maximum of 217,300 (2022 –236,598) common shares reserved for issuance. During the nine months ended June 30, 2023, the Company issued 19,298 shares (2022 –15,820) upon the exercise of Purchase Rights. Subsequent to June 30, 2023, the Company issued 8,464 shares for the exercise of Purchase Rights for the purchase period ending on June 30, 2023. The Company recognizes compensation expense for purchase rights on a straight-line basis over the service period. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | For the three months ended | | For the nine months ended | | | June 30, | | June 30, | | | 2023 | | | 2022 | | 2023 | | | 2022 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Research and development expense | | $ | 754 | | $ | 3,650 | | $ | 2,106 | | $ | 15,783 | General and administrative | | | 42 | | | 6,152 | | | 536 | | | 13,109 | | | $ | 796 | | $ | 9,802 | | $ | 2,642 | | $ | 28,892 |
The Company measures the purchase rights based on their estimated grant date fair value using the Black-Scholes option pricing model and the estimated number of shares that can be purchased. The following weighted average assumptions were used for the valuation of purchase rights: | | | | | | | | 2023 | | 2022 | | | | | | | | Risk-free interest rate | | 3.47 | % | 0.44 | % | Expected life of share purchase rights | | 6 months | | 6 months | | Expected annualized volatility | | 119.34 | % | 93.66 | % | Dividend | | — | | — | |
Stock options Pursuant to the Omnibus Plan, options may be granted with expiry terms of up to 10 years, and vesting criteria and periods are approved by the Board of Directors at its discretion. The options issued under the Stock Option Plan are accounted for as equity-settled share-based payments. Stock option transactions are summarized as follows: | | | | | | | | | | Weighted | | | Number | | Average | | | of Options | | Exercise Price* | | | | | | | Balance, September 30, 2021 | | 6,803,230 | | $ | 5.20 | Options granted | | 1,347,500 | | | 4.55 | Options exercised | | (72,910) | | | (4.41) | Options expired/forfeited | | (175,759) | | | (3.60) | | | | | | | Balance, September 30, 2022 | | 7,902,061 | | $ | 5.13 | Options granted | | 300,000 | | | 2.97 | Options expired/forfeited | | (51,787) | | | (5.03) | | | | | | | Balance outstanding, June 30, 2023 | | 8,150,274 | | $ | 5.05 | Balance exercisable, June 30, 2023 | | 6,058,158 | | $ | 4.82 |
* | Options exercisable in Canadian dollars as of June 30, 2023 are translated at current rates to reflect the current weighted average exercise price in US dollars for all outstanding options. |
At June 30, 2023, options were outstanding enabling holders to acquire common shares as follows: | | | | | | | | | | | | Weighted average remaining | | | Exercise price | | Number of options | | contractual life (years) | | | | | | | | | $ | 2.39 | | 50,000 | | 9.21 | | $ | 2.70 | | 20,000 | | 9.84 | | $ | 2.71 | | 20,000 | | 9.82 | | $ | 2.91 | | 175,000 | | 9.58 | | $ | 2.97 | | 15,000 | | 9.90 | | $ | 3.05 | | 50,000 | | 9.94 | | $ | 3.23 | | 3,629,400 | | 6.27 | | $ | 3.59 | | 26,667 | | 6.30 | | $ | 3.60 | | 922,500 | | 9.01 | | $ | 3.75 | | 20,000 | | 9.43 | | $ | 3.81 | | 185,816 | | 5.62 | | $ | 4.00 | | 539,518 | | 4.48 | | $ | 4.67 | | 168,227 | | 6.34 | | $ | 5.99 | | 190,000 | | 8.82 | | $ | 7.00 | | 1,458,646 | | 7.45 | | $ | 8.47 | | 120,000 | | 8.29 | | $ | 9.76 | | 50,000 | | 8.64 | | $ | 13.96 | | 190,000 | | 7.54 | | $ | 29.63 | | 100,000 | | 7.83 | | $ | 31.62 | | 75,000 | | 7.92 | | C$ | 4.90 | | 124,500 | | 3.88 | | C$ | 5.06 | | 20,000 | | 5.62 | | | | | 8,150,274 | | 6.93 | |
Share-based compensation During the nine months ended June 30, 2023, the Company granted a total of 300,000 (2022 –1,297,500) stock options with a weighted average fair value of $2.82 per option (2022 - $3.25). The Company recognized share-based payments expense for options granted and vesting, net of recoveries on cancellations of unvested options, during the period ended June 30, 2023 and 2022 with allocations to its functional expense as follows: | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | For the three months ended | | For the nine months ended | | | June 30, | | June 30, | | | 2023 | | | 2022 | | 2023 | | | 2022 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Research and development expense | | $ | 598,867 | | $ | 868,881 | | $ | 2,138,866 | | $ | 3,237,958 | General and administrative | | | 561,410 | | | 712,317 | | | 2,020,267 | | | 2,687,594 | | | $ | 1,160,277 | | $ | 1,581,198 | | $ | 4,159,133 | | $ | 5,925,552 |
The following weighted average assumptions were used for the Black-Scholes option-pricing model valuation of stock options granted: | | | | | | | | 2023 | | 2022 | | | | | | | | Risk-free interest rate | | 3.78 | % | 2.72 | % | Expected life of options | | 10.00 | years | 10.00 | years | Expected annualized volatility | | 186.50 | % | 79.11 | % | Dividend | | — | | — | |
Warrants Warrant transactions are summarized as follows: | | | | | | | | | | Weighted | | | Number | | Average | | | of Warrants | | Exercise Price | | | | | | | Balance, September 30, 2021 and September 30, 2022 | | 3,234,750 | | $ | 4.84 | Warrants expired | | (307,273) | | | (49.86) | | | | | | | Balance outstanding and exercisable, June 30, 2023 | | 2,927,477 | | $ | 0.11 |
At June 30, 2023, warrants were outstanding enabling holders to acquire common shares as follows: | | | | | | | Number | | | | | | | of Warrants | | | Exercise Price | | Expiry Date | | | | | | | | 7,477 | | | $ | 42.80 | | November 18, 2023 | 2,920,000 | | | $ | 0.0001 | | August 23, 2024 | 2,927,477 | | | | | | |
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