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Design Therapeutics, Inc. (DSGN) FY 2021 MD&A

Verbatim Item 7 Management's Discussion and Analysis from Design Therapeutics, Inc.'s 10-K for fiscal year 2021. Filing date: 2022-03-10. Report date: 2021-12-31. Accession: 0000950170-22-003369.

This page reproduces the company's own Item 7 MD&A text from the linked SEC filing. It is filer text, not grepcent analysis, scoring, or investment advice.

Extracted structurally from real Item 7 body heading to real Item 7A/8 boundary. Confidence: high.

Company profile: DSGN · All MD&A years: index · Next year: FY 2022

Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.

You should read the following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations together with our financial statements and notes thereto included in “Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data” of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. In addition to historical information, this Annual Report contains forward-looking statements that involve risks, uncertainties, and assumptions. Our actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of certain factors, including but not limited to those set forth under the caption “Item 1A. Risk Factors."

Overview

We are a preclinical-stage biopharmaceutical company pioneering GeneTACTM molecules, which are a novel class of small-molecule gene targeted chimera therapeutic candidates that are designed to be disease-modifying and target the underlying cause of inherited nucleotide repeat expansion diseases. Certain diseases caused by inherited nucleotide repeat expansion, such as Friedreich ataxia (FA), can result in reduced expression of specific mRNAs and deficiency of vital proteins; in other diseases, such as myotonic dystrophy type-1 (DM1), Fuchs endothelial corneal dystrophy (FECD), and Huntington disease, the nucleotide repeat expansions result in the generation of toxic gene products, often associated with pathological nuclear foci and broad splicing disruptions. Our GeneTACTM molecules are designed to selectively target genetic repeat sequences, modulate gene expression either by dialing up or dialing down mRNA transcription, and restoring cellular health. As a platform, we believe that GeneTACTM molecules have broad potential applicability across monogenic nucleotide repeat expansion diseases affecting millions of individuals worldwide.

In preclinical studies for our lead program, we have observed restoration of frataxin (FXN) levels in multiple cell types from FA patients and an in vivo murine model of FA using our FA GeneTACTM molecules. At doses that were observed to be well tolerated in rodents and non-human primates, FA GeneTACTM molecules achieved biodistribution to brain and heart, key organs affected by FA, at concentrations that exceeded those observed to restore FXN levels in FA patient cells. Further, and consistent with this favorable target-organ biodistribution, we observed increased endogenous FXN expression in the brain and heart in an animal model of FA after treatment with our FA GeneTACTM molecules. Investigational New Drug Application (IND)-enabling studies for our FA GeneTACTM development candidate have been completed in alignment with feedback received from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) through a pre-IND meeting and from the European Medicines Agency (EMA) through a scientific advice procedure. In late February 2022, the IND for our lead FA GeneTACTM development candidate was cleared by the FDA. We anticipate a first-in-human dosing in FA patients with our lead FA GeneTACTM development candidate in the first half of 2022, with initial topline clinical data expected in the second half of 2022.

In our second program in DM1, multiple DM1 GeneTACTM molecules elicited robust reduction of nuclear foci and correction of splicing defects in DM1 patient muscle cells. Preclinical in vivo studies demonstrated distribution of DM1 GeneTACTM molecules to key target tissues including skeletal muscle and heart, achieving tissue concentrations of intact DM1 GeneTACTM molecule that reduced pathogenic nuclear foci to normal levels in our in vitro experiments. We expect to complete IND-enabling studies and seek regulatory clearance for a first-in-human clinical trial in 2023.

In an additional research program, we conducted preclinical studies to evaluate the effects of GeneTACTM molecules in FECD. When tested in vitro in FECD patient-derived corneal endothelial cells, which contained nuclear foci, our FECD GeneTACTM molecules led to robust reductions in toxic nuclear RNA foci and also corrected key mis-spliced transcripts to levels observed in unaffected corneal endothelial cells. We believe this preclinical data support the potential of our novel GeneTACTM small molecules to correct the most common underlying genetic cause of FECD, and we plan to advance this research program through additional preclinical studies.

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To date, we have incurred net losses and negative cash flows from operations since our inception and as of December 31, 2021, had an accumulated deficit of $47.5 million. Our net losses have resulted primarily from costs incurred in connection with organizing and staffing our company, business planning, raising capital, developing and optimizing our technology platform, identifying potential product candidates, undertaking research and preclinical studies, engaging in manufacturing for our development programs, and providing general and administrative support for these operations. We do not have any products approved for sale and have not generated any revenue from product sales.

We expect our expenses and operating losses will increase substantially for the foreseeable future as we conduct preclinical studies and clinical trials for our product candidates, nominate additional product candidates from our discovery programs, and as we expand our clinical, regulatory, quality and manufacturing capabilities, incur significant commercialization expenses for marketing, sales, manufacturing and distribution, if we obtain marketing approval for any of our product candidates, and incur additional costs associated with operating as a public company.

We have funded our operations primarily through the sale of our common stock, convertible preferred stock, grant revenue and the issuance of convertible notes and debt. In March 2021, we completed our initial public offering in which we sold 13,800,000 shares of our common stock at $20.00 per share and received net proceeds, after underwriting discount and offering costs, of $254.3 million. In January 2021, we issued 19,083,979 shares of Series B convertible preferred stock at $6.55 per share for net proceeds of approximately $124.7 million. Our cash, cash equivalents and investment securities balance as of December 31, 2021, was $384.1 million.

Components of Our Results of Operations

Research and Development Expenses

To date, our research and development expenses have consisted primarily of direct and indirect costs incurred in connection with our discovery efforts, and the preclinical and formulation development of our product candidates. In the future, we expect a substantial portion of our research and development expenses will relate to the clinical development and manufacturing of our product candidates. Research and development expenses are recognized as incurred and payments made prior to the receipt of goods or services to be used in research and development are capitalized until the goods or services are received.

Direct costs include:


external research and development expenses incurred under agreements with contract research organizations, consultants and other vendors that conduct our preclinical and discovery activities;


expenses related to manufacturing our product candidates for preclinical studies;


laboratory supplies; and


license fees.

Indirect costs include:


personnel-related expenses, consisting of employee salaries, payroll taxes, bonuses, benefits and stock-based compensation charges for those individuals involved in research and development efforts; and


facilities expenses which include allocated expenses for amortization of right-of-use assets, depreciation and other overhead expenses, costs for general laboratory consumables and other indirect expenses.

A significant portion of our research and development expenses have been direct costs, which we track by stage of development, preclinical or clinical. However, we do not track our internal research and development expenses on a program specific basis, unless specific to research grants, because these costs are deployed across multiple projects and, as such, are not separately classified.

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We expect that our research and development expenses will substantially increase for the foreseeable future as we continue the development of our FA program, DM1 program and our other discovery programs, in particular as we advance our product candidates into clinical development. As of the date of this Annual Report, we cannot reasonably determine with certainty the timing of initiation, the duration or the completion costs of current or future preclinical studies and clinical programs of our product candidates due to the inherently unpredictable nature of preclinical and clinical development. Preclinical and clinical development timelines, the probability of success and development costs can differ materially from expectations. We anticipate that we will make determinations as to which product candidates to pursue and how much funding to direct to each product candidate on an ongoing basis in response to the results of ongoing and future preclinical studies and clinical trials, regulatory developments and our ongoing assessments as to each product candidate’s commercial potential. We will need to raise substantial additional capital in the future. In addition, we cannot forecast which product candidates may be subject to future collaborations, when such arrangements will be secured, if at all, and to what degree such arrangements would affect our development plans and capital requirements.

Our future research and development expenses may vary significantly based on a wide variety of factors such as:


the number and scope, rate of progress, expense and results of our discovery and preclinical development activities;


the number of trials required for approval;


the number of sites included in the trials;


the countries in which the trials are conducted;


the length of time required to enroll eligible patients;


the number of patients that participate in the trials;


the number of doses that patients receive;


the drop-out or discontinuation rates of patients;


potential additional safety monitoring requested by regulatory agencies;


the duration of patient participation in the trials and follow-up;


the phase of development of the product candidate;


the efficacy and safety profile of the product candidate;


the timing, receipt, and terms of any approvals from applicable regulatory authorities including FDA and non-U.S. regulators;


maintaining a continued acceptable safety profile of our product candidates following approval, if any, of our product candidates;


establishing clinical and commercial manufacturing capabilities or making arrangements with third-party manufacturers in order to ensure that we or our third-party manufacturers are able to make product successfully;


significant and changing government regulation and regulatory guidance;

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the impact of any business interruptions to our operations or to those of the third parties with whom we work, particularly in light of the current COVID-19 pandemic environment; and


the extent to which we establish additional strategic collaborations or other arrangements.

A change in the outcome of any of these variables with respect to the development of any of our product candidates could significantly change the costs and timing associated with the development of that product candidate.

The process of conducting the necessary preclinical and clinical research to obtain regulatory approval is costly and time-consuming. The actual probability of success for our product candidates or any future candidates may be affected by a variety of factors. We may never succeed in achieving regulatory approval for any of our product candidates or any future candidates. Further, a number of factors, including those outside of our control, could adversely impact the timing and duration of our product candidates’ or any future candidates’ development, which could increase our research and development expenses.

General and Administrative

General and administrative expenses consist primarily of personnel-related expenses, including employee salaries, bonuses, benefits, and stock-based compensation charges, for personnel in executive and administrative functions. Other significant general and administrative expenses include insurance costs, legal fees relating to intellectual property and corporate matters and professional fees for accounting, tax and consulting services.

We anticipate that our general and administrative expenses will substantially increase in the foreseeable future as we add general and administrative personnel to support our expanded research and development activities and infrastructure and, if any of our product candidates or any future candidates receive marketing approval, commercialization activities, as well as to support our operations generally, including facility-related expenses and patent-related costs. We also expect to incur increased expenses related to accounting, audit, legal, regulatory and tax-related services, director and officer insurance premiums, board of director fees, investor and public relations, and other costs associated with operating as a public company.

Results of Operations

Comparison of the Years Ended December 31, 2021 and 2020

The following table summarizes our operating expenses for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020 (in thousands):

Year Ended December 31,
20212020Change
Operating expenses:
Research and development$24,778$6,060$18,718
General and administrative11,0532,4968,557
Total operating expenses$35,831$8,556$27,275

Research and Development Expenses. The increase of $18.7 million in research and development expenses was due primarily to additional expense to support the advancement of our FA program, including chemistry and manufacturing development costs, and costs incurred on our DM1 program during the year ended December 31, 2021 which were not incurred in the same period of 2020. Further, we incurred higher personnel and related costs, including non-cash stock-based compensation, during the year ended December 31, 2021 as compared to the same period in 2020, as we expanded the number of research and development employees to support our programs.

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The following table summarizes our research and development expenses by direct and indirect costs for the year ended December 31, 2021 and 2020 (in thousands):

Year Ended December 31,
20212020Change
Direct costs(1)$14,683$4,161$10,522
Indirect costs10,0951,8998,196
Total research and development expenses$24,778$6,060$18,718

(1)
In future periods when clinical trial expenses are incurred, external costs will be broken out between our clinical programs and our preclinical programs.

General and Administrative Expenses. The increase of $8.6 million in general and administrative expenses was due primarily to additional personnel and related costs, including non-cash stock-based compensation, incurred during the year ended December 31, 2021 as compared to the same period in 2020, as we increased the number of general and administrative personnel to support our organization, including our expanded research and development team and public company operations. Further, we incurred increased insurance expense and professional fees for legal and accounting services during the year ended December 31, 2021 as compared to the same period in 2020.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

We have incurred net losses and negative cash flows from operations since our inception and anticipate we will continue to incur net losses for the foreseeable future. Since our inception, we have funded our operations primarily through the sale of our common stock, convertible preferred stock, grant income and the issuance of convertible notes and notes payable. In March 2021, we completed our initial public offering in which we sold 13,800,000 shares of our common stock at $20.00 per share and received net proceeds, after underwriting discount and offering costs, of $254.3 million. In January 2021, we issued 19,083,979 shares of Series B convertible preferred stock at $6.55 per share for net proceeds of approximately $124.7 million.

As of December 31, 2021, we had $298.6 million of cash and cash equivalents, an increase of $296.2 million from the $2.4 million of cash and cash equivalents at December 31, 2020. In addition, we had $85.5 million of available-for-sale investment securities at December 31, 2021, an increase of $51.8 million from the $33.7 million of available-for-sale investment securities held at December 31, 2020. The increase in our cash and cash equivalents balance at of December 31, 2021 was primarily due to the proceeds received from our initial public offering of common stock completed in March 2021 and Series B convertible preferred stock offering completed in January 2021. Further detail of the change in our cash and cash equivalents for the year ended December 31, 2021 and 2020 is summarized below (in thousands):

Year Ended December 31,
20212020Change
Net cash (used in) provided by:
Operating activities$(29,377)$(8,669)$(20,708)
Investing activities(53,644)(33,561)(20,083)
Financing activities379,21144,532334,679
Net increase in cash and cash equivalents$296,190$2,302$293,888

Operating Activities. Net cash used in operating activities was $29.4 million and $8.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively. The increase in our use of cash was primarily due to the $35.5 million net loss we incurred during the year ended December 31, 2021. The net loss was due primarily to the advancement of our research and development programs and higher personnel costs to support these activities and our preparations to become, and operations as, a public company. Partially offsetting the cash impact of our net loss during the 2021 period was an increase in our accounts payable and accrued expense balances and higher non-cash expenses incurred during the period, including $4.2 million of additional non-cash stock-based compensation.

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Investing Activities. Net cash used in investing activities was $53.6 million and $33.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively, due primarily to the purchase of investment securities, partially offset by net proceeds received from the maturity of investment securities during the periods presented. We have classified our investments securities as available-for-sale and all investments are made in accordance with our investment policy.

Financing Activities. Net cash provided by financing activities was $379.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2021, primarily from the $254.3 million of net proceeds received from our initial public offering in March 2021 and the $124.7 million of net proceeds received from the closing of our Series B convertible preferred stock financing in January 2021. Net cash provided by financing activities during the year ended December 31, 2020 was $44.5 million, primarily from the $44.7 million of net proceeds received from our Series A convertible preferred stock financing during the period.

Funding Requirements

Based on our current operating plan, we believe that our existing cash, cash equivalents and investments will be sufficient to fund our planned operating expenses and capital expenditure requirements for more than the next 12 months following the date of this Annual Report.

Our forecast of the period of time through which our financial resources will be adequate to support our operations is a forward-looking statement that involves risks and uncertainties, and actual results could vary materially. We have based this estimate on assumptions that may prove to be wrong, and we could expend our capital resources sooner than we expect. Additionally, the process of testing product candidates in clinical trials is costly, and the timing of progress and expenses in these trials is uncertain.

Our future capital requirements will depend on many factors, including:


the scope, rate of progress and costs of our drug discovery, preclinical development activities and clinical trials for any future product candidates;


the number and scope of clinical programs we decide to pursue;


the scope and costs of manufacturing our future product candidates and commercial manufacturing activities;


the emergence of competing therapies and other adverse market developments;


the cost, timing and outcome of seeking FDA, EMA and any other regulatory approvals for any future product candidates;


the costs of preparing, filing and prosecuting patent applications, maintaining and enforcing our intellectual property rights and defending intellectual property-related claims;


the terms and timing of establishing and maintaining strategic collaborations, licenses and other similar arrangements and the financial terms of such agreements;


our efforts to enhance operational systems and our ability to attract, hire and retain qualified personnel, including personnel to support the development of our product candidates;


the costs associated with being a public company;


the timing of any milestone and royalty payments to Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF), or other future licensors;


the extent to which we acquire or in-license other product candidates and technologies;

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our need and ability to retain key management and hire scientific, technical, business, and medical personnel;


our implementation of additional internal systems and infrastructure, including operational, financial and management information systems;


the costs associated with expanding our facilities or building out our laboratory space;


the effects of the recent disruptions to and volatility in the credit and financial markets in the United States and worldwide from the COVID-19 pandemic; and


the cost associated with commercialization activities for any of our future product candidates, if approved.

Until such time, if ever, as we can generate substantial revenues from product sales to support our cost structure, we expect to finance our cash needs through public or private equity offerings, debt financings, or other capital sources which may include strategic collaborations, licensing arrangements or other arrangements with third parties. To the extent that we raise additional capital through the sale of equity or convertible debt securities, the ownership interest of our stockholders will be or could be diluted, and the terms of these securities may include liquidation or other preferences that adversely affect the rights of our common stockholders. Equity and debt financing, if available, may involve agreements that include covenants limiting or restricting our ability to take specific actions, such as incurring additional debt, making capital expenditures or declaring dividends. If we raise funds through strategic collaborations, or other similar arrangements with third parties, we may have to relinquish valuable rights to our technologies, future revenue streams, research programs or product candidates or grant licenses on terms that may not be favorable to us and/or may reduce the value of our common stock. If we are unable to raise additional funds through equity or debt financings when needed, we may be required to delay, limit, reduce or terminate our drug development or future commercialization efforts. Our ability to raise additional funds may be adversely impacted by potential worsening global economic conditions and disruptions to and volatility in the credit and financial markets in the United States and worldwide resulting from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic or otherwise. Because of the numerous risks and uncertainties associated with product development, we cannot predict the timing or amount of increased expenses and cannot assure you that we will ever be profitable or generate positive cash flow from operating activities.

Contractual Obligations, Commitments and Material Cash Requirements

In February 2021, we entered into a lease agreement to rent approximately 12,370 square feet of lab and office space with a related party. The delivery date of the space was September 1, 2021, and the lease commenced at that time. The term of the lease is 72 months after commencement with an option to extend the lease term for a period of three years. Annual rent payments will be approximately $0.8 million per year, subject to annual increases of 3%, plus our share of operating expenses and taxes.

In February 2019, we entered into a Human Therapeutics Exclusive License Agreement (License Agreement) with the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF). Under the License Agreement, we licensed the exclusive, worldwide, royalty-bearing, sublicensable rights to certain WARF patents and the nonexclusive worldwide rights to certain know-how to develop and commercialize products for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of disease. As consideration for the license, we agreed to pay an upfront fee of $250,000, of which we paid $25,000 upon execution of the agreement and the remaining $225,000 upon the closing of our Series A financing.

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Pursuant to the License Agreement, we are required to pay $125,000 upon the acceptance of an investigation new drug (IND) application in the U.S. and will be required to make further aggregate milestone payments of up to $17.5 million upon achievement of certain other regulatory and commercial milestones. We may also be required to pay royalties based on annual net product sales in the low single digits on our or our sublicensees’ net product sales on a country-by-country and product-by-product basis, and are subject to a minimum royalty of $0.1 million per calendar year upon first commercial product sale. Further, we may be required to pay sublicense fees in the mid-single digits percentage for fees, royalties or other payments earned from the granting of sublicenses to the WARF patents and know-how. We have paid no milestone or royalty payments as of December 31, 2021. Further, we are responsible for reimbursing WARF for costs incurred in connection with prosecuting and maintaining patent rights that are specific to the License Agreement. We may terminate the License Agreement with 90 days written notice or for certain breaches of the agreement. WARF may terminate the License Agreement with 90 days written notice if first commercial sale does not occur before December 31, 2031. Unless terminated earlier by the parties, the term of the License Agreement will continue until the last licensed patent expires in all countries.

Additionally, we enter into agreements in the normal course of business with third-party vendors for preclinical studies, research supplies and other services and products for operating purposes. These contracts generally provide for termination following a certain period after notice and therefore we believe that our non-cancelable obligations under these agreements are not material.

In addition to the contractual obligations above, we also expect to have future material cash requirements related to our planned clinical trials, discovery and preclinical programs, personnel and facilities-related expenses, external research and development and product development.

Critical Accounting Policies and Significant Judgments and Estimates

Our management’s discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations are based on our financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). The preparation of these financial statements requires us to make estimates and judgments that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenue and expenses and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities in our financial statements. On an ongoing basis, we evaluate our estimates and judgments, including those related to grant revenue and research and development expenses. We base our estimates on historical experience, known trends and events, and various other factors that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions.

While our significant accounting policies and estimates are described in more detail in Note 2 to our audited financial statements appearing in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, we believe the following accounting policies and estimates to be most critical to the preparation of our financial statements.

Accrued Research and Development Expenses

As part of the process of preparing our financial statements, we are required to estimate our accrued expenses as of each balance sheet date. This process involves reviewing open contracts and purchase orders, communicating with our personnel to identify services that have been performed on our behalf and estimating the level of service performed and the associated cost incurred for the service when we have not yet been invoiced or otherwise notified of the actual cost. We make estimates of our accrued expenses as of each balance sheet date based on facts and circumstances known to us at that time. We periodically confirm the accuracy of our estimates with the service providers and make adjustments if necessary. The significant estimates in our accrued research and development expenses include the costs incurred for services performed by our vendors in connection with research and development activities for which we have not yet been invoiced. Since our inception, we have not experienced any material differences between accrued or prepaid costs and actual costs.

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We base our expenses related to research and development activities on our estimates of the services received and efforts expended pursuant to quotes and contracts with vendors that conduct research and development on our behalf. The financial terms of these agreements are subject to negotiation, vary from contract to contract and may result in uneven payment flows. There may be instances in which payments made to our vendors will exceed the level of services provided and result in a prepayment of the research and development expense. In accruing service fees, we estimate the time period over which services will be performed and the level of effort to be expended in each period. If the actual timing of the performance of services or the level of effort varies from our estimate, we adjust the accrual or prepaid expense accordingly. Advance payments for goods and services that will be used in future research and development activities are expensed when the activity has been performed or when the goods have been received rather than when the payment is made.

Stock-Based Compensation

Stock-based compensation expense represents the grant date fair value of equity awards recognized in the period using the Black-Scholes option pricing model. We recognize the expense for equity awards on a straight-line basis over the requisite service periods of the awards, which is usually the vesting period. Forfeitures are recognized as they occur.

Estimating the fair value of equity awards pursuant to the Black-Scholes option pricing model requires us to make assumptions regarding a number of variables, including the risk-free interest rate, the expected stock price volatility, the expected term of stock options, the expected dividend yield and the fair value of the underlying common stock on the date of grant. Changes in these assumptions can materially affect the fair value and ultimately how much stock-based compensation expense is recognized.

The Black-Scholes option pricing model utilizes inputs which are highly subjective assumptions and generally require significant judgment. We determine these assumptions in the following manner:


Fair Value of Common Stock. The grant date fair market value of the shares of common stock underlying stock options is determined by our board of directors. Following the closing of our IPO, the fair market value of our common stock is based on its closing price as reported on the date of grant on the primary stock exchange on which our stock is traded. Prior to our IPO, because there was no public market for our common stock, the board of directors considered, among other things, input from management and valuations of our stock prepared by unrelated third-party valuation firms.


Expected Term. The expected term of stock options represents the period of time that the awards are expected to be outstanding. Because we do not have sufficient historical exercise behavior, we determine the expected term assumption using the simplified method for our employees and board members, which calculates the expected term as the average time-to-vesting and the contractual life of the award. The expected term for non-employees is generally the contractual term.


Expected Volatility. Given our limited historical stock price volatility data, the expected volatility assumption was determined by examining the historical volatilities of a group of industry peers whose share prices are publicly available.


Risk-Free Interest Rate. The risk-free rate assumption is based on the U.S. Treasury yield in effect at the time of the grant with maturities consistent with the expected term of the awards.


Expected Dividend Yield. The expected dividend yield assumption is based on our history and expectation of dividend payouts. We have not paid and do not intend to pay dividends and, therefore, used an expected dividend yield of zero.

See Note 10 to our financial statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for more information concerning certain of the specific assumptions we used in applying the Black-Scholes option pricing model to determine the estimated fair value of our stock options. Certain of such assumptions involve inherent uncertainties and the application of significant judgment. As a result, if factors or expected outcomes change and we use significantly different assumptions or estimates, our stock-based compensation could be materially different.

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Other Information

Emerging Growth Company Status

We are an emerging growth company, as defined in the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act, as amended (JOBS Act), and we may remain an emerging growth company until as late as December 31, 2026 (the fiscal year-end following the fifth anniversary of the completion of our initial public offering). For so long as we remain an emerging growth company, we are permitted and intend to rely on certain exemptions from various public company reporting requirements, including not being required to have our internal control over financial reporting audited by our independent registered public accounting firm pursuant to Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and any golden parachute payments not previously approved.

Under the JOBS Act, emerging growth companies can delay adopting new or revised accounting standards issued subsequent to the enactment of the JOBS Act until such time as those standards apply to private companies. We have irrevocably elected not to avail ourselves of this exemption from new or revised accounting standards and, therefore, will be subject to the same new or revised accounting standards as other public companies that are not emerging growth companies.

We will remain an emerging growth company until the earliest to occur of: (i) the last day of the fiscal year in which we have at least $1.07 billion in annual revenue; (ii) the date upon which we are deemed to be a “large accelerated filer,” as defined in Rule 12b-2 under the Exchange Act, which would occur if we have been subject to the reporting requirements of the Exchange Act for at least 12 months as of December 31st and the market value of our common stock held by non-affiliates exceeded $700.0 million as of the last business day of the second fiscal quarter of such year; (iii) the date on which we have issued more than $1.0 billion in nonconvertible debt securities during the prior three-year period; and (iv) as December 31, 2026 (the last day of the fiscal year ending after the fifth anniversary of our initial public offering).

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