Wave Life Sciences Ltd. (WVE)

Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with our financial statements and related notes appearing elsewhere in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) on February 26, 2026, as amended (the “2025 Annual Report on Form 10-K”). Some of the information contained in this discussion and analysis or set forth elsewhere in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, including information with respect to our plans and strategy for our business, includes forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. As a result of many factors, including those factors set forth in the “Risk Factors” section of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and the “Risk Factors” section of our 2025 Annual Report on Form 10-K, our actual results could differ materially from the results described in, or implied by, these forward-looking statements.

Overview

We are a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on unlocking the broad potential of ribonucleic acid (“RNA”) medicines (also known as oligonucleotides), or those targeting RNA, to transform human health. Our RNA medicines platform, PRISM®, combines multiple RNA medicine modalities, chemistry innovation, and deep insights in human genetics to deliver scientific breakthroughs that treat both rare and common disorders. Our toolkit of RNA-targeting modalities, including RNA interference (“RNAi”) (SpiNA) and RNA editing (AIMers), provides us with unmatched capabilities for designing and sustainably delivering candidates that optimally address disease biology. Our pipeline is focused on our obesity (WVE-007), alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (“AATD”) (WVE-006) and PNPLA3 I148M liver disease (WVE-008) programs, and also includes clinical programs for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (“DMD”) and Huntington’s disease (“HD”), as well as several preclinical programs utilizing our versatile RNA medicines platform.

We were founded on the recognition that there was a significant, untapped opportunity to use chemistry innovation to tune the pharmacological properties of oligonucleotides. We have more than a decade of experience challenging convention related to oligonucleotide design and pioneering novel chemistry modifications to optimize the pharmacological properties of our molecules. We have seen in clinical trials that these chemistry modifications enhance potency, distribution, and durability of effect of our molecules. Our novel chemistry also allows us to avoid using complex delivery vehicles, such as lipid nanoparticles and viruses, and instead use clinically proven conjugates (e.g., N-acetylgalactosamine or (“GalNAc”)) or free uptake for delivery to a variety of cell and tissue types. We maintain strong and broad intellectual property, including for our novel chemistry modifications.

Our best-in-class chemistry capabilities have also unlocked new areas of biology, such as harnessing adenosine deaminases acting on RNA (“ADAR”) enzymes for messenger RNA (“mRNA”) correction and upregulation, selectively silencing a mutant allele, and more. By opening up new areas of biology, we have also opened up new opportunities to slow, stop, or reverse disease and have expanded the possibilities offered through our platform.

The inspiration for our multimodal platform is based on the recognition that the biological machinery (i.e., enzymes) needed to address human disease already exists within our cells and can be harnessed for therapeutic purposes with the right tools. We believe that we have built the most versatile toolkit of RNA-targeting modalities in the industry, with multiple means of repairing, restoring, or reducing proteins and designing best-fit solutions based on the unique biology of a given disease target. We are actively advancing programs across modalities, including RNAi (silencing), RNA editing, which uses novel A-to-I RNA editing oligonucleotides (“AIMers”), antisense silencing, and splicing. We have also advanced novel bifunctional modalities designed to silence multiple targets or silence one target while simultaneously editing or upregulating another unique target.

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We intentionally focus on targeting the transcriptome using oligonucleotides rather than other nucleic acid modalities such as gene therapy and DNA editing. This focus enables us to:

•
Leverage diversity of expression across cell types by modulating the many regulatory pathways that impact gene expression, including transcription, endogenous RNAi pathways, splicing, and translation;

•
Address diseases that have historically been difficult to treat with small molecules or biologics;

•
Access a variety of tissue types or cell types throughout the body and modulate the frequency of dosing for broad distribution in tissues over time;

•
Avoid the risk of permanent off-target genetic changes and other challenges associated with DNA editing or gene therapy approaches; and

•
Leverage well-established industry manufacturing processes and regulatory, access, and reimbursement pathways.

We are currently prioritizing lead programs that use GalNAc delivery for hepatic and metabolic diseases, each of which has potential to translate powerful human genetic insights into potentially transformational RNA medicines:

•
WVE-007 is a GalNAc-conjugated siRNA (SpiNA design) targeting inhibin βE (“INHBE”) for obesity;

•
WVE-006 is a GalNAc-conjugated RNA editing oligonucleotide (AIMer) for AATD;

•
WVE-008 is a GalNAc-conjugated RNA editing oligonucleotide (AIMer) for PNPLA3 I148M liver disease.

Our clinical-stage portfolio also includes WVE-N531, an exon 53 splicing oligonucleotide for DMD, and WVE-003, an allele-selective oligonucleotide designed to lower mutant huntingtin (“mHTT”) protein and preserve healthy, wild-type huntingtin (“wtHTT”) protein. We are also advancing several emerging siRNA and RNA editing programs targeting both hepatic and extra-hepatic tissues.

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Our Current Programs

Additional details regarding our lead therapeutic programs are set forth below.

Obesity

WVE-007 is a GalNAc-siRNA that utilizes our proprietary design (“SpiNA”). WVE-007 is designed to silence INHBE mRNA to induce fat loss by stimulating lipolysis (fat breakdown) while preserving muscle mass to promote and maintain a healthy metabolic profile. There are approximately 175 million people in the United States and Europe, and over one billion people globally, living with obesity, and therapeutic options beyond GLP-1 receptor agonists are needed. GLP-1 receptor agonists lead to weight loss at the expense of muscle, suppress the general reward system, and are associated with a poor tolerability profile and high discontinuation rates. Heterozygous INHBE loss-of-function (“LoF”) human carriers exhibit a healthy metabolic profile, including reduced waist-to-hip ratio and reduced odds of developing type 2 diabetes or coronary artery disease, and reduction of INHBE by 50% or more is expected to promote a healthy metabolic profile.

In preclinical diet-induced obesity (“DIO”) mouse models, a single dose of our INHBE GalNAc-siRNA has demonstrated highly potent and durable INHBE silencing (and 70% Activin E reductions), supporting once or twice a year subcutaneous dosing in humans. Weight loss was driven by visceral fat loss, and muscle mass was preserved in the mice, which is consistent with the profile of human INHBE LoF carriers. In DIO mice studies, a single dose of our INHBE GalNAc-siRNA led to a weight loss effect that was similar to daily subcutaneous injections of semaglutide for 28 days. We also observed a decrease in high fat diet-induced expansion of visceral adipose mass. This reduction of visceral fat mass was associated with significant shrinkage of adipocyte enlargement induced by a high fat diet compared with phosphate-buffered saline (“PBS”) treatment. Collectively, these results support the promotion of healthy adipose tissue with this mechanism of action, while muscle mass was preserved. In a head-to-head study in DIO mice, treatment with our INHBE GalNAc-siRNA prior to cessation of semaglutide treatment curtailed expected rebound weight gain. When administered as an add-on to semaglutide, a single dose of our INHBE GalNAc-siRNA doubled the weight loss observed with semaglutide alone, and this effect was sustained throughout the duration of the preclinical study.

In preclinical studies, we have also observed that infiltration of macrophages into visceral adipose was significantly decreased by a single dose of INHBE GalNAc-siRNA compared with PBS controls. INHBE GalNAc-siRNA also significantly reduced proinflammatory M1 macrophage (CD11c positive) while sustaining levels of anti-inflammatory M2 macrophages in visceral fat, indicating an overall shift away from a pro-inflammatory state. Further, RNA sequencing data from subcutaneous adipose tissue indicates that INHBE GalNAc-siRNA leads to the upregulation of genes promoting insulin sensitivity, fatty acid utilization and beiging of white adipose, while downregulating adipose inflammation and fibrosis pathways. RNA sequencing data from visceral adipose tissue demonstrate that our INHBE GalNAc-siRNA increased glucose and fatty acid utilization, and reduced inflammation and fibrosis in adipose tissue.

The INLIGHT™ trial is our first-in-human clinical study of WVE-007 in individuals living with obesity. The Phase 1 single ascending dose (“SAD”) portion of the INLIGHT trial includes otherwise healthy adults living with overweight or obesity to assess safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics (“PK”), Activin E, body weight, biomarkers and body composition as measured by Dual-Energy X-ray Absorptiometry (“DEXA”).

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In December 2025, we announced positive interim data from the ongoing Phase 1, SAD portion of the INLIGHT trial, including three-month follow-up from the single subcutaneous 240 mg dose cohort in 32 individuals. These data demonstrated improvements in body composition including reduction in visceral fat, reduction in total fat mass, and preservation of muscle as measured by DEXA. Additionally, we shared that we observed consistent and durable serum Activin E reductions across participants, which support WVE-007’s potential for once or twice-yearly dosing. WVE-007 was generally safe and well tolerated across all dose levels (75 mg, 240 mg, 400 mg, and 600 mg).

In March 2026, we announced additional interim data from the Phase 1, SAD portion of the INLIGHT trial. Participants had an average BMI of 32 kg/m², a population with less fat and lower BMI than those in Phase 2 and 3 obesity studies. Key highlights from the update in March 2026 include:

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At six-month follow-up, a single 240 mg dose of WVE-007 demonstrated significant placebo-adjusted reductions in visceral fat (-14%; p0.05) and total fat (-5%), stabilization of lean mass (+2%), and reductions in waist circumference (-3%) and body weight (-1%).

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The 400 mg cohort had a leaner baseline body composition, with lower BMI and more participants (10 out of 24 individuals) with healthy levels of visceral fat (≤500 g). A post-hoc analysis of the three-month 400 mg cohort results demonstrated robust and statistically significant average reduction in visceral fat (-7.8%, p0.05) in individuals with higher baseline visceral fat (500g), emphasizing the impact of baseline body composition on therapeutic effect.

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Consistent, durable, and dose-dependent serum Activin E reductions sustained through at least seven months continue to support WVE-007’s potential for once or twice-yearly dosing, with a mean maximum reduction of up to 88%.

-
WVE-007 was generally safe and well tolerated across all dose levels (75 mg, 240 mg, 400 mg, and 600 mg).

The INLIGHT clinical trial is currently ongoing w

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Overview

We are a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on unlocking the broad potential of ribonucleic acid (“RNA”) medicines (also known as oligonucleotides), or those targeting RNA, to transform human health. Our RNA medicines platform, PRISM®, combines multiple modalities, chemistry innovation and deep insights into human genetics to deliver scientific breakthroughs that treat both rare and common disorders. Our toolkit of RNA-targeting modalities, including RNAi (SpiNA) and RNA editing (AIMers), provides us with unmatched capabilities for designing and sustainably delivering candidates that optimally address disease biology. Our pipeline is focused on our obesity (WVE-007), alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (“AATD”) (WVE-006) and PNPLA3 I148M liver disease (WVE-008) programs, and also includes clinical programs for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (“DMD”) and Huntington’s disease (“HD”), as well as several preclinical programs utilizing our versatile RNA medicines platform.

We were founded on the recognition that there was a significant, untapped opportunity to use chemistry innovation to tune the pharmacological properties of oligonucleotides. We have more than a decade of experience challenging convention related to oligonucleotide design and pioneering novel chemistry modifications to optimize the pharmacological properties of our molecules. We have seen in clinical trials that these chemistry modifications enhance potency, distribution, and durability of effect of our molecules. Our novel chemistry also allows us to avoid using complex delivery vehicles, such as lipid nanoparticles and viruses, and instead use clinically proven conjugates (e.g., N-acetylgalactosamine or (“GalNAc”)) or free uptake for delivery to a variety of cell and tissue types. We maintain strong and broad intellectual property, including for our novel chemistry modifications.

Our best-in-class chemistry capabilities have also unlocked new areas of biology, such as harnessing adenosine deaminases acting on RNA (“ADAR”) enzymes for messenger RNA (“mRNA”) correction and upregulation, selectively silencing a mutant allele, and more. By opening up new areas of biology, we have also opened up new opportunities to slow, stop, or reverse disease and have expanded the possibilities offered through our platform.

The inspiration for our multimodal platform is based on the recognition that the biological machinery (i.e., enzymes) needed to address human disease already exists within our cells and can be harnessed for therapeutic purposes with the right tools. We believe that we have built the most versatile toolkit of RNA-targeting modalities in the industry, with multiple means of repairing, restoring, or reducing proteins and designing best-fit solutions based on the unique biology of a given disease target. We are actively advancing programs across modalities, including RNA interference (“RNAi”) (silencing), RNA editing, which uses novel A-to-I RNA editing oligonucleotides (“AIMers”), antisense silencing, and splicing. We have also advanced novel bifunctional modalities designed to silence multiple targets or silence one target while simultaneously editing or upregulating another unique target.

We intentionally focus on targeting the transcriptome using oligonucleotides rather than other nucleic acid modalities such as gene therapy and DNA editing. This focus enables us to:

•
Leverage diversity of expression across cell types by modulating the many regulatory pathways that impact gene expression, including transcription, endogenous RNAi pathways, splicing, and translation;

•
Address diseases that have historically been difficult to treat with small molecules or biologics;

•
Access a variety of tissue types or cell types throughout the body and modulate the frequency of dosing for broad distribution in tissues over time;

•
Avoid the risk of permanent off-target genetic changes and other challenges associated with DNA editing or gene therapy approaches; and

•
Leverage well-established industry manufacturing processes and regulatory, access, and reimbursement pathways.

We are currently prioritizing lead programs that use GalNAc delivery for hepatic and metabolic diseases, each of which have potential to translate powerful human genetic insights into potentially transformational RNA medicines:

•
WVE-007 is a GalNAc-conjugated siRNA (SpiNA design) targeting inhibin βE (“INHBE”) for obesity;

•
WVE-006 is a GalNAc-conjugated RNA editing oligonucleotide (AIMer) for AATD;

•
WVE-008 is a GalNAc-conjugated RNA editing oligonucleotide (AIMer) for PNPLA3 I148M liver disease.

Our clinical-stage portfolio also includes WVE-N531, an exon 53 splicing oligonucleotide for DMD, and WVE-003, an allele-selective oligonucleotide designed to lower mutant huntingtin (“mHTT”) protein and preserve healthy, wild-type huntingtin (“wtHTT”) protein. We are also advancing several emerging siRNA and RNA editing programs targeting both hepatic and extra-hepatic tissues.

Financial Operations Overview

We have never been profitable, and since our inception, we have incurred significant operating losses. Our net loss was $204.4 million in 2025, $97.0 million in 2024, and $57.5 million in 2023. As of December 31, 2025 and 2024, we had an accumulated deficit of $1,326.2 million and $1,121.9 million, respectively. We expect to incur significant expenses and operating losses for the foreseeable future.

Revenue

We recognize collaboration revenue under the GSK Collaboration Agreement, which became effective in January 2023, and the Takeda Collaboration Agreement, which became effective in April 2018 and expired in the fourth quarter of 2024, (both of which are defined in Note 5 in the notes to the consolidated financial statements appearing elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K). We have not generated any product revenue since our inception and do not expect to generate any revenue from the sale of products for the foreseeable future.

Operating Expenses

Our operating expenses since inception have consisted primarily of research and development expenses and general and administrative expenses.

Research and Development Expenses

Research and development expenses consist primarily of costs incurred for our research activities, including development of our RNA medicines platform, our discovery efforts, and the development of our product candidates, which include:

•
compensation-related expenses, including employee salaries, bonuses, share-based compensation expense and other related benefits expenses for personnel in our research and development organization;

•
expenses incurred under agreements with third parties, including CROs that conduct research, preclinical and clinical activities on our behalf, as well as CMOs that manufacture drug product for use in our preclinical studies and clinical trials;

•
expenses incurred related to our internal manufacturing of drug substance for use in our preclinical studies and clinical trials;

•
expenses related to compliance with regulatory requirements;

•
expenses related to third-party consultants;

•
research and development supplies and services expenses; and

•
facility-related expenses, including rent, maintenance and other general operating expenses.

We recognize research and development costs as incurred. We recognize external development costs based on an evaluation of the progress to completion of specific tasks using information provided to us by our vendors. Payments for these activities are based on the terms of the individual agreements, which may differ from the pattern of costs incurred, and are reflected in our financial statements as prepaid or accrued expenses.

Our primary research and development focus has been the development of our RNA medicines platform, PRISM. We are using PRISM, which combines multiple modalities, chemistry innovation and deep insights in human genetics, to deliver scientific breakthroughs that treat both rare and common disorders, and advance our pipeline of RNA medicines.

Our research and development expenses consist primarily of expenses related to our CROs, CMOs, consultants, other external vendors and fees paid to global regulatory agencies to conduct our clinical trials, in addition to compensation-related expenses, internal manufacturing expenses, facility-related expenses and other general operating expenses. These expenses are incurred in connection with research and development efforts and our preclinical studies and clinical trials. We track certain external expenses on a program-by-program basis. However, we do not allocate compensation-related expenses, internal manufacturing expenses, equipment repairs and maintenance expense, facility-related expenses or other operating expenses to specific programs. These expenses, which are not allocated on a program-by-program basis, are included in the “Other research and development expenses(1), including PNPLA3, additional preclinical programs, PRISM” category along with other external expenses related to our discovery and development programs, as well as platform development and identification of potential drug discovery candidates.

Product candidates in later stages of clinical development generally have higher development costs than those in earlier stages of clinical development, primarily due to the increased size and duration of later-stage clinical trials. We expect to continue to incur significant research and development expenses in the foreseeable future as we continue to manage our existing clinical trials, initiate additional clinical trials for certain product candidates, pursue later stages of clinical development for certain product candidates, maintain our manufacturing capabilities and continue to discover and develop additional product candidates in multiple therapeutic areas.

General and Administrative Expenses

General and administrative expenses consist primarily of compensation-related expenses, including salaries, bonuses, share-based compensation and other related benefits costs for personnel in our executive, finance, corporate, legal and administrative functions, as well as compensation-related expenses for our Board. General and administrative expenses also include legal fees; expenses associated with being a public company; professional fees for accounting, auditing, tax and consulting services; insurance costs; travel expenses; other operating costs; and facility-related expenses.

Other Income, Net

Other income, net is comprised primarily of interest income on cash and cash equivalents and refundable tax credits from tax authorities. We recognize refundable tax credits when there is reasonable assurance that we will comply with the requirements of the refundable tax credit and that the refundable tax credit will be received.

Income Taxes

We are a Singapore multi-national company subject to taxation in the United States and various other jurisdictions.

As of December 31, 2025 and 2024, we have recorded a full valuation allowance against our net operating loss carryforwards and federal and state tax credits in all jurisdictions due to uncertainty regarding future taxable income.

Results of Operations

In this section, we discuss the results of our operations for the year ended December 31, 2025 compared to the year ended December 31, 2024 and for the year ended December 31, 2024 compared to the year ended December 31, 2023.

Comparison of the Year Ended December 31, 2025 to the Year Ended December 31, 2024

The following table summarizes our results of operations for 2025 and 2024:

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