Good afternoon. I'd like to wish everyone, or thank everyone, for joining Ventripoint's third quarter 2024 corporate update. The purpose of this meeting is to provide an update on the company's progress since the last update earlier this year. If you have not already done so, please put your microphones on mute for at least this segment of the call. Please note the Ventripoint disclaimer regarding forward-looking statements. The 2024 third quarter financial report and MD&A were completed and filed at the end of November and are available on SEDAR. The company recorded sales of CAD 64,507 and a net loss totaling CAD 1,251,079 for the three months ended September 30, 2024. This compares with sales of nil and a net loss of CAD 1,174,285 for the corresponding period in 2023.
The increase in net loss was principally because for the three months ended September 30, 2024, G&A expenses were CAD 709,886 compared to CAD 572,592 for the three months ended September 30, 2023. The increase in G&A was primarily due to increases in share-based compensation and travel costs. For the three months ended September 2024, research and development expenses were CAD 270,516 compared to CAD 408,586 for the three months ended September 30, 2023. The decrease in R&D was primarily due to decreases in salaries, consulting fees, and the rate of scrap. For the three months ended September 30, 2024, sales and marketing expenses were CAD 278,115 compared to CAD 198,877 for the corresponding period in 2023. The increase in sales and marketing expense was due to increases in share-based compensation and advisory services. For the three months ended September 30, 2024, finance costs were CAD 64,410 compared to CAD 4,062 for the corresponding period in 2023.
The increase in finance costs was primarily due to an increase in accretion expenses and a decrease in interest income. For the nine-month period ended September 30, 2024, compared with the corresponding period of 2023, the company recorded sales of CAD 95,172 and a net loss totaling CAD 3,858,523. This corresponds with sales of CAD 7,781 and a net loss of CAD 3,634,823 for the nine-month period ending September 30, 2023. The change in net loss was principally because G&A expenses were CAD 2,230,404 compared to CAD 2,116,675 for the nine months ended September 30, 2023. The decrease in G&A expense was primarily due to decreases in salaries, professional fees, travel costs, and share-based compensation. Research and development expenses were CAD 777,424 compared to CAD 872,718 for the nine months ended September 30, 2023. The decrease in research and development expenses was primarily due to decreases in salaries and consulting fees.
Sales and marketing expenses were CAD 1,065,796 compared to CAD 701,134 for the nine months ended September 30, 2023. The increase in sales and marketing expense was primarily due to increases in salaries, travel costs, and share-based compensation. Finance costs were CAD 103,929 compared to finance income of CAD 7,910 for the nine months ended September 30, 2023. Other income was nil compared to CAD 64,594 for the nine months ended September 30, 2023. The decrease in other income was due to contributions from the National Research Council of Canada (IRAP) program received in 2023. No similar amounts were received during the current year. The company recorded deferred sales for the nine months ended September 30, 2024, of CAD 76,772. This will be recorded as revenue when the clients accept the units.
Cash used in operating activities was CAD 2,665,385 for the nine months ended September 30, 2024, compared to CAD 2,812,122 for the nine months of the preceding year. Cash provided by financing activities was CAD 1,492,958 for the nine months ended September 30, 2024, compared to cash used in financing activities of CAD 72,958 for the nine months ended September 30, 2023. Insiders, employees, and contractors participated in the convertible debenture financing, as well as purchasing shares on the open market. A subsequent private offering was closed this quarter, with subscription largely comprised of insiders, employees, and contractors. We've been able to maintain team structure and continue to pursue key objectives. The company is continuing to raise capital to fund its general and administrative expenses, plus its development and commercialization activities.
Management will reassess planned expenditures based on work and capital available, the scope of work required to advance towards defined milestones, and the overall condition of financial markets. I will now turn my comments to the year to date. Some of these comments will repeat what was previously communicated. VMS+ 3.2, version 3.2, is released for sale at the end of the first quarter. A key feature of this version is a hardware redesign that eliminated the use of magnets in the sensors. The benefit of this is a streamlined calibration process that saves time and enables smoother integration into a clinical workflow. During the past two quarters, we have focused on the manufacturing process for the sensors and are now able to produce using quantities that will address sales forecasts. Our team is in the process of upgrading customer sites, and initial feedback has been very positive.
For an example of this, please visit our website and view the video clip of a customer testimonial from the Elijah Hinkle Foundation Take Heart Conference. The second system that we announced that was sold to Duke University has been installed, training is provided, and the unit is now in use. In early May, we submitted VMS version 4 to FDA for 510(k) clearance using an expedited process and were advised to resubmit under the standard process due to the novelty of certain product features. This was achieved by the end of that month, and we received a review in August. To address several of the questions from that, we elected to engage an external company to conduct cybersecurity testing and contracted a regulatory consultancy to assist with questions related to the AI.
Our written follow-up is largely complete, and we anticipate receiving the additional information from these external parties within the next two to three weeks, following which we will submit our package to the FDA. This has taken longer than originally forecast, but we believe that completeness of information is essential to the success of the submission. In May, we announced the recruitment of a senior marketing executive, Matt Dobson, to provide leadership in defining the marketing function and evolving product management towards being market and insight-driven. The underlying rationale was to begin evolving our corporate culture to address unmet medical needs and ensuring an optimal product-market fit. Since joining the team, Matt has worked extensively with both internal and external stakeholders to develop deeper insights into customer need and customer experience.
He was assisted by an MDA intern on a four-month term who focused on characterizing our market and the competitive environment. We are continuing to work on developing insights, and we're getting a better sense of how VMS+ integrates into clinical workflow and how the advancements provided by version 3.2 and version 4.4 will enable better integration. Concurrently, we're also getting clarity on accelerating the transition of the use of the product from clinical research to routine practice. As we evolve from promoting a technology push to exploiting a market pull, we are developing a stronger understanding of how to progress from raising awareness of VMS+ to actually creating excitement in clinicians and patients about the potential of our products. We're continuing to identify where the use of VMS+ has progressed to routine clinical use and adoption, both in terms of procedure volume and user experience.
In June, we announced the renewal of our agreement with Ascend Cardiovascular and the expansion of the scope of our relationship to include 2D Echo. We're now in the process of defining the 2D Echo project and commercialization plan with the intent of announcing an integrated offering in mid-2025. We anticipate sharing additional information about this relationship prior to year-end. Our assessment and update of the commercialization strategy was largely complete by early Q3, and since then, we've continued to work with our commercial team and distribution partners to develop deeper insights into the sales model and process with the objective of removing friction from the sales process. We engaged a consultancy to guide us through the implementation of the CRM, and we're now positioned to begin integrating it with those of our distributors to provide a more seamless overview of the sales funnel.
The CRM will also provide better forecasting and resource allocation. In Q3, we received a medical device license from Health Canada, which enables us to sell version 4 within Canada. Shortly afterwards, we noted receipt of a CE mark registration, which enables marketing of VMS version 4 within the E.U., the U.K., and a number of other countries. Mid-Q3, we engaged a U.K.-based sales executive to provide leadership in accelerating the pace and scale of sales in the U.K. He's working closely with our U.K. distributor, Cardiologic, and has identified alternative sources of funding, which may be available to certain of our prospective customers. We're currently working to close the sale of several units in the U.K. and had hoped to have these in hand by now. Our U.K. team understands the importance of securing these orders and is working diligently to that end.
During the past six weeks, we've identified a good number of additional prospects for 2025. Similarly, we worked with AngioPro, our German distributor, to conduct demonstrations at a number of sites in Europe, of which it is believed that two sites will commit to purchasing three units in the near future. As with the U.K. team, we're working to close these sales as soon as possible. Within the AngioPro pipeline, there are another 18 demos planned for early 2025 that will be scheduled when Ventripoint is better able to commit personnel and travel expenses. Beyond these, AngioPro has identified several dozen additional prospects in the process of being qualified and progressing to demos. Our assessment of commercial operations in the U.S. has resulted in an updated approach for 2025. This is a very important market for us.
The new program is intended to accelerate the adoption of VMS Plus solutions and will provide targeted support to healthcare providers, hospitals, and clinics across the U.S. The new program focuses on, first of all, dedicated sales support. So we're going to employ direct sales. Our direct sales team will engage directly with healthcare providers to validate our sales model and the process prior to the company engaging specialty distributors. Our team will work with customers to guide them through the implementation and integration of VMS Plus. Two, training and education. We're developing training modules and support resources for clinicians to fully leverage VMS Plus for optimal patient care. This will also reduce expense insofar as much of this will be able to be done at a distance or online versus sending people to the sites to do this in person. Number three, flexible pricing and financing options.
Upon FDA clearance of version 4, the list price will be increased to properly reflect the enhanced value of that offering. Currently, customers will be provided with a subscription option that will enable them to work within operating budgets rather than CapEx and will make VMS Plus accessible to healthcare providers of all sizes. It also benefits Ventripoint by creating a recurring revenue stream. Number four, reference center program. Ventripoint will invite one or more U.S.-based customers to become partners within the new reference center program, which is focused on addressing clinical needs with new capabilities and ensuring seamless integration of these into clinical workflows. In previous years, similar programs were announced. This one is different insofar as we are seeking collaborative and interactive relationships and not merely sponsoring service arrangements. By actively managing these relationships, they'll serve as anchors within our ecosystem.
The next one is partnership opportunities. Ventripoint will expand on its relationships or partnerships with the Elijah Hinkle Foundation and Ascend Cardiovascular to develop relationships with other foundations, technology, and service providers dedicated to advancing cardiac care. For 2025, we will remain very focused on North American and European and UK markets. We're in the process of assessing models for rest of world geographies. We're working with a member of an Asian family office to assess manufacturing, distribution, and financing opportunities in India and South Asia. We've also been approached by parties interested in distribution rights for China and the MENA region. This brings us to our outlook for 2025. As we come to the end of 2024, we're now in a position of having a significantly more capable and refined product that is better suited for routine clinical use.
We have a clearer understanding of the process of commercializing the technology and product and what is required to reduce and remove friction within the sales process. We're in the process of completing our plans and forecasts, and I'm comfortable sharing that there is a clear focus and commitment to sales with the intention of positioning for geometric growth in the coming years. The ability to execute on these plans is, of course, heavily dependent on the availability of capital. Throughout 2024, through the commitment and resolve of insiders, team members, and a number of dedicated shareholders, we've demonstrated the ability to maintain operations despite an extremely challenging financial environment.
We're currently working to raise a $1 million bridge round through a convertible debenture offering, which will position us to work with family offices and private equity firms to acquire the growth capital necessary to support achievement of our goals and milestones. Ventripoint is a pioneer in the application of AI to Echo. We're continuing to show our leadership by providing accurate, consistent, and reproducible results. Our image catalog and reconstruction techniques are unique. We can salvage poor quality images, and we're able to address the challenges related to the right ventricle, which no other vendor can do. Our development team has clearly made strides in improving the form factor and usability of the product while reducing the complexity of the hardware and cost of goods.
Our technology and product roadmap includes ambitious objectives for the next three years, and clinicians will develop a growing confidence and trust in VMS+. We've made significant strides in 2024 and will continue to do so in 2025. I wish to thank you for your interest and ongoing support and trust that a number of you will participate in the bridge round. Now begin the question and answer session. For those of you with questions, please enter them through the chat function on the chat button. For those of you who haven't already done so, please mute your microphones. In terms of questions, please go through the chat option on Zoom. That's all there is. Someone has not muted their phone. There we go. Okay. Again, for questions, please use the chat.
There's a question here from Pierre. Can you please give an update on the current debentures offering? Yes. Obviously, it's a challenge right now with the debenture priced at CAD 0.15 versus the market share price. We are in the process of addressing that, and we'll have an announcement within a day or two. Question from Thomas Liu, asking for elaboration on the recently closed sale to the Mayo Clinic. Yeah, so this is obviously a very important sale for us. We're delighted to be engaged with the Mayo. The unit was actually shipped last week, so we'll be down to install and train them in very short order. We've also followed up with a proposal for additional units and expansion of the relationship to something much more collaborative, and I hope to have the ability to report on that in the coming weeks.
From Thomas Hughes, what is the status concerning the relationship with GE Healthcare? I met with GE in early September. They reported that we were the only vendor to actually successfully integrate on the Edison platform. They, at this point, have not proceeded with doing anything with that platform, so it's somewhat on hiatus. We're now seeking opportunity to collaborate with them within their sort of general Echo business. John, are you planning to have a North American-based manufacturing and repair service provider? At this point, we're doing it directly. I think, obviously, with scale, we'll need to begin addressing this. We're quite confident of our ability to handle it internally for the next 12-18 months. From Matt, asking for some context or details on the sales team in the U.K. and North America contingent on funding in regards to their engagement and role with the reference centers.
Yes. So in terms of the U.S., we had a number of distributors in years past. When I came into this role, I assessed what was going on, and they clearly weren't aligned with our plans or processes. So discontinued those relationships. For 2025, assuming we can raise sufficient capital, I would like to expand our direct sales team. We currently have one person based in Nashville, Tennessee, so we would expand probably to three people. The intent here isn't to build up a sizable direct sales and marketing team, but rather one with critical mass that can really define the sales process, provide a certain level of customer support. And then with growing scale, they would then be managing the distribution relationships. So distributors really take sort of active management. So as the company grows, and these salespeople would evolve more into sales management positions.
Within the UK, much smaller geography, we have a very experienced person on board now. So I think he will be able to stimulate a fair amount of effort and develop some additional opportunities which our distributors should be able to exploit. I think in terms of the reference center program that I described, it's essential that we do have a very close and interactive relationship with these sites, and I think the salespeople are obviously well-positioned to be the key points of contact for that. Bill Martell, can you expand on the opportunity with Ascend? Is it to integrate VMS into their platform rather than direct sale of VMS units? Yes, that's exactly it, Bill. Earlier this year, we had announced expansion of the LOI to include 2D Echo. I think Ascend is increasingly of the mind that we have a very unique opportunity with 2D Echo.
They would like to fully integrate VMS into their technology stack, so this will evolve to being more of a licensing opportunity through them. This will be interesting. Our sales and revenue models will evolve to a mix of licensing and direct sales. Ascend will affect a number of sales themselves through the licensing model. We will be able to sell additional units ourselves to related institutions or hospitals within those networks. Rob, what are the biggest challenges we foresee when it comes to market adoption? I think, first of all, just market awareness. We are making progress on that. Now, I think the second step really is affecting this transition from what we call research. Research, in some cases, is actually clinical use. These are very challenging or complex cases.
So I think with growing confidence in the system, we begin to see procedure volumes going up, greater confidence in the system, and sort of an awareness and understanding that it'll be applicable to a larger number of patients. So that's really what we're trying to transition through. This is a current challenge, and I think it's very addressable. Bill, is GE serious, or do they want to block VMS success for reasons of cannibalizing their MRI business? Yeah. I don't really view anything nefarious happening from GE. I think they've gone through a number of things. One was its initiative, I think, was done without the full buy-in of their commercial team or with their marketing team having developed the necessary insights to underpin it. So they're in the process now, I think, of kind of reassessing how to approach this.
I don't think they're actively trying to block us, and I don't think that they are concerned about us cannibalizing their MRI business. They have a very substantial Echo business, and I believe that they would be looking for ways to enhance that. A couple of further comments on that front. Philips, as many of you are aware, acquired a company called TomTec a number of years ago and have integrated that into their offering. This appears to be evolving towards being somewhat of a closed system. So for non-Philips customers, there's a growing sort of capability gap, and I think one that VMS fills quite nicely. So I think as we go through the next year or two, that there'll be growing interest on the part of GE towards VMS and Ventripoint.
John asking, "What are some of the challenges your Canadian sales team is encountering for VMS 4.X?" Yeah. I think the challenge right now really is just that we're a very lean team. We don't have a dedicated Canadian salesperson, so it's really sort of time and effort on our part. Also, it's a reasonably new approval from Health Canada. The medical device license actually came through faster than we expected. So we're in the process now of effecting market entry. We've actually provided the first update to version four in Canada. We'll be announcing this fairly shortly. So that occurred last week. So that's a positive development, and we're looking forward actually to expanding our scope in Canada. David, thanks for the update and the call.
Can you provide more detail on how your sales process evolved as you brought Mayo Clinic on board and whether we should expect a similar approach for other large healthcare systems or a more streamlined process now that Mayo serves as a reference site? So Mayo isn't formally a reference site. We're hoping to get them into the program, so stay tuned on that front. Mayo is a fairly lengthy process. We're looking for ways to accelerate that. I think now with the number of prospects in the pipeline, that more of these will begin to come to the fore. The sales process in the past has evolved or has really required a number of site visits, multi-day demonstrations, and training. I'd like to tighten this up considerably.
Definitely in the capital equipment sales sort of functions I was employed in in previous lifetimes, we could accomplish quite a bit of the sale prior to being on site and demonstrating the product. So ideally, I think I'd like to get to the point where we're able to do more of this virtually. We can arrive at a quotation that the customer is willing to accept and one that we've negotiated through interaction between the sales rep and the customer, following which the purchase order would be contingent on successful implementation. So ideally, one on-site visit with a demo, so training, installation, and sign-off. So really, that's where we need to get this to. It'll be more efficient. It'll be faster and less expensive. Dave Simmons, do you have access to adequate funding? Line of credit has been mentioned, and there's rumor of access to 2 million.
So adequate funding, I think that's a relative term. We have ambitious goals. We have capital requirements to achieve those. I think we're fairly committed to the viability of the company. In terms of having sufficient capital to really execute fully on our plans, we're not there yet. So I think the idea here is that we raise a modest bridge round through this convertible debenture. This gets us a little better positioned. We can move faster on certain fronts, and it'll also enable us to go on a roadshow and raise substantially more from family offices and private equity groups in Q1 of 2025. Question here, insight into valves. So earlier in the update, I had mentioned that we are sort of expanding the scope of application or investigating the scope of applications for VMS+. We're very excited about the opportunities concerning valve procedures.
If we have a minimal viable proposition, this would be transformational for the company. I'm in the process now of engaging someone from the structural heart business, so someone with a multinational company, a leader in the area of valve replacements. He's going to work with us over the next three or four months in putting together a plan and a strategy around entering the valve business. We feel that there is a proposition around pre-procedure planning and patient follow-up. An advantage of this would be, if it works, that we are able to do this imaging using transthoracic echo. So in other words, doing standard echo through the chest wall rather than subjecting the patient to a transesophageal echo, which involves putting a device down the esophagus. So faster, less expensive, far less traumatic to the patient.
On a scale of 1 to 10, given the enormous difficulty in changing standard of care in any procedure, where do you think you stand? You've been engaged with numerous procedure sites at Kids for years. Yeah. I think this is obviously an evolution. On a scale of 1 to 10, it's probably a 3 or a 4 in our case. I think some of the earlier challenges were related to the form factor and the ease of use or challenges in integrating this into clinical workflow. Definitely, with the elimination of the magnets from the sensors that was made possible through version 3.2, we've been able to address some of this. And with version 4 and the automation of some of the software features, it'll be that much more efficient. So I think we'll begin to see increased traction.
I think as well, through this new reference center program, having closer, more interactive relationships with these reference sites, we'll be able to encourage more use of the product, greater procedure volumes, and that'll increase awareness and acceptance. Florin, could you share your perspective on when the company might reach a point when sales are sufficient to cover expenses? Yeah. So that's a critical question. We're in the process now of updating our plans. These will underpin the larger financing that we contemplate in Q1. So really, I think what you're asking is, when do we get to a positive cash flow? I'm pushing as hard as I can to evolve the model where we could do this, hopefully, in late 2026. I think it's important to have ambitious goals, but ones that are achievable.
So just being conservative here, we'll be able to share more on that front, I think, within a month or two. But I think as things stand now, at some point in 2026 is what we're driving towards. Question from Matt as to whether there's an update on the board seat that's open. Yes. We haven't been in a rush to fill that. We've identified a couple of very nicely, very superbly qualified people. I think in this case, we should be evolving to the point of attracting more senior industry experienced people onto the board. So that outreach is ongoing, and we hope to announce something within Q1 on that. Question from Mark. Will the FDA approval of version 4 in the U.S. unlock immediate sales, or is there still lots of work to be done before we see sales in the U.S.?
So Mark, I think it's a process, and I'm a firm believer in the fact that we need to sell what we have in hand. So certainly, we need to push ahead with version 3.2. We can provide these sites with upgrades to version 4 when it is approved. I don't anticipate a tsunami of orders the minute we have clearance from FDA. We've still got to sell the product. And definitely, we're not able to actively market version 4 before it's approved in the U.S. So I guess to recap, we need to focus on selling what is currently approved and what we have in hand. I think some of the American customers, at least, will be able to view what's happening outside of their borders and connect the dots.
I think definitely the capabilities of version 3.2 are very attractive, certainly sufficiently attractive to companies like Ascend that they feel confident in promoting it to their customers, so any additional questions? Okay. If I may, I'm sorry. I'm driving, so I wasn't able to do it on a computer. Can you hear me? Yes, I can. Okay. First of all, thank you so much for all your hard work, and it's especially nice to hear you so upbeat today because, obviously, we're exposed to a lot of gloom and doom on the internet, and it's nice to hear it from the horse's mouth that everything is flowing in the right direction. You have mentioned recently that you are listening very carefully to your clients.
I don't know if that's people that already own the machine or prospective customers, but I am curious what you're hearing and what you're able to address on that, and I may have missed it. When might the resubmission on the FDA submission, when might that happen? I'm going to mute. Okay. Thank you. Thank you.
Yeah, so in terms of the feedback from customers, certainly, we've been able to work more intensively with them. I might share that we did bring on an additional clinical application specialist in the UK, Hannah Crane, who's a very senior sonographer, so teaming her up with Christine Almeyda in Toronto has been very enabling for the company. They have a lot of credibility with the customers and can definitely speak to them on a sort of a peer-to-peer basis, at least insofar as the sonographers are concerned.
I think they're able to really get much more direct and frank feedback. There's that in terms of what I might describe as process. I think as well, the elimination of the magnets in 3.2 really eliminated kind of a roadblock both in terms of the registration or calibration sort of process or function before the patient study. Just the reliability and robustness of the new sensors is so much better than the old ones. I think this has really eliminated a source of occasional frustration to our customers. That's been quite helpful. Yeah. Really, I think those things have been quite helpful in terms of getting better feedback and actionable feedback from customers. There's a question around steps and actions needed to convince. Oh, sorry. You'd also asked about resubmission to FDA.
As I mentioned, we're taking a very cautious and conservative approach and have engaged two consultancies to assist us with this. One is doing what's called a penetration test where we've actually shipped a VMS system to them, and they're looking at being able to hack the system. We'll get their report back now within a week or two. We also engaged a regulatory consultancy just to provide some oversight on the strategy and overall application. They're going through our written submission right now. We're fairly close. I think as soon as we get the additional input for that resubmission or reply, that will go in. Question here around what steps and actions are needed to convince customers to buy in bulk. Yeah.
So I think, again, sort of demonstrating the utility and value of the system, beginning with one or two units and then expanding from there. I think if you look at somewhere like the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, they've got 40 echo rooms. Great that they've acquired their first system. And I mentioned again, we do have a proposal to them for follow-on with additional systems. But as things stand now in terms of workflow, the practicality of sharing that one unit between 40 rooms is probably not optimal. So I would think that they will see value in having multiple units. It'll sort of enable better integration into their workflow. Certainly, how patients are presenting to them is not always predictable. So they don't have total control over the ability to sort of dedicate a single room to a single type of patient. A question here about VentriSound.
That's a very timely question. We're in discussions now with them around renewal of the agreement, which expires in May. What I have expressed to them is that any new licenses we enter into have to be under commercially normal terms. We hope to have something that we can share or announce within a few weeks on that. Again, the ambition there is that we come up with a commercially sensible agreement, one that actually sees revenue streamed to Ventripoint. We would be looking for minimal revenues, minimal volumes. It will be performance-based. Question from Ron regarding the Elijah Hinkle Foundation. Yes. We're working closely with them. We sponsored their virtual conference, the Take Heart Conference, I guess, two months ago, and actually had sponsored a presentation by Dr. Brian Soriano of Seattle Children's Hospital. Dr.
Soriano prepared and delivered that presentation without really any coaching or support from the company. I'd invite you to visit our website and open the link. I think it speaks very well to the product. Again, I think this is very sincere. It was his own words. There's that. The Elijah Hinkle Foundation, I think, is really dedicated to supporting patients and families. A big part of their focus and outreach is really to do with the mental health and well-being of patients. These are young patients with disorders or defects that affect them throughout life. They need to go through numerous procedures, surgical procedures. There's a lot of anxiety. These kids have ADHD issues, anxiety issues. Much of their outreach is really focused on trying to address that and give family support.
I think part of the attractiveness of VMS+ to them is that this is a far more accessible modality than MRI, far less traumatic to patients, far more accessible in many communities. It doesn't require sedation or contrast. So yeah, I think we'll continue to work with them. I think they're continuing to recommend us to care providers in their community. Question here as to whether there's any political element involved with the extra step with FDA. I don't perceive that. I don't actually see this as an extra step. I think we're just having to go through a number of existing hoops. But again, I think we're just being very careful in terms of how we submit and making sure that we're not having to repeat steps. Question here from Dave Simmons on the $1 million bridge financing completion and questions around the difficulty.
Part of the challenge, I believe, has just been that we're in tax loss selling season. So raising capital through a convertible debenture with a declining share price has provided a high level of challenge. We're challenged like every other microcap company right now. It's been an extremely trying environment. I think people and companies in this community are expressing that they haven't seen anything like this for probably two or three decades. We feel now that the company is very attractively priced. We do have already what I would regard as a lead investor or commitments in hand. So hopefully, this gets wrapped up in fairly short order. A question here as to where we can listen to the recording after the call. Yes, I'll get on that. This is actually on my personal Zoom account. It is being recorded.
As soon as I figure out how to share the recording and get it onto our website, we will post that. Are there any other questions?
I would like to ask real quickly. It seems like the Canadian government would just benefit greatly from healthcare costs and also a thriving business in the country. Are grants an option somewhere along the line?
That is a very interesting question. So just to take a step back, philosophically, we're at the point now where I'm not really in favor of giving away product or donating product for research purposes. What I'm expressing now to investigators and prospective users is that we expect them at the very least to be subscribing to the product, if not purchasing it outright.
The other thing we're hoping to do, ideally through reference-centered partners, would be to collaborate with them on designing multicenter trials or studies and ones where the grant funding would support the acquisition of multiple units. So if you look at Canada, for many of these sort of health initiatives nationally, granting agencies would, for political reasons, I think, tend to divide the country into five regions. So in a perfect world, I think ideally these study sites or study partners would be comprised of at least one center in each of those five regions, if not more. So I think at this point, we'll conclude the Q&A session. So I'd like to thank all of you for participating on today's call.
I know some of you will have additional or ongoing questions, so please feel free to reach out either to myself or through the contact information listed on our website. Hopefully, this conveys a good sense of where we come in 2024 and the outlook for 2025. And for those of you who are interested in participating in the convertible debenture bridge financing round, again, please reach out and contact me directly. So thank you all, and have a pleasant day.