BEAM 10-Q
Beam Therapeutics Inc. (BEAM)
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM
(Mark One)
QUARTERLY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 |
For the quarterly period ended
OR
TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 FOR THE TRANSITION PERIOD FROM TO |
Commission File Number
(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its Charter)
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) |
(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.) |
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(Address of principal executive offices) |
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Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
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Trading Symbol(s) |
Name of each exchange on which registered |
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files).
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
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Accelerated filer |
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Non-accelerated filer |
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Smaller reporting company |
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Emerging growth company |
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). YES ☐ NO
The number of shares of registrant’s common stock outstanding as of April 30, 2024 was
CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act. Such forward-looking statements reflect, among other things:
All of these statements are subject to known and unknown important risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements, market trends, or industry results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Therefore, any statements contained herein that are not statements of historical fact may be forward-looking statements and should be evaluated as such. Without limiting the foregoing, the words “anticipate,” “expect,” “suggest,” “plan,” “believe,” “intend,” “project,” “forecast,” “estimates,” “targets,” “projections,” “should,” “could,” “would,” “may,” “might,” “will,” and the negative thereof and similar words and expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions, including those described in “Risk Factors” in Part II, Item 1A of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and “Risk Factors Summary” and “Risk Factors” in Part I, Item 1A. of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023, or the 2023 Form 10-K. Unless legally required, we assume no obligation to update any such forward-looking information to reflect actual results or changes in the factors affecting such forward-looking information.
When we use the terms “Beam,” the “Company,” “we,” “us” or “our” in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, we mean Beam Therapeutics Inc. and its subsidiaries on a consolidated basis, unless the context indicates otherwise.
Table of Contents
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PART I |
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Item 1. |
1 |
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1 |
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Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations and Other Comprehensive Loss |
2 |
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3 |
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5 |
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7 |
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Item 2. |
Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations |
21 |
Item 3. |
32 |
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Item 4. |
33 |
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PART II |
34 |
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Item 1. |
34 |
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Item 1A. |
34 |
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Item 6. |
35 |
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36 |
PART I. FINANCIAL INFORMATION
Item 1. Financial Statements (Unaudited)
Beam Therapeutics Inc.
Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets
(Unaudited)
(in thousands, except share and per share amounts)
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March 31, |
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December 31, |
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Assets |
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Current assets: |
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Cash and cash equivalents |
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$ |
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$ |
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Marketable securities |
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Prepaid expenses and other current assets |
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Total current assets |
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Property and equipment, net |
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Restricted cash |
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Operating lease right-of-use assets |
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Other assets |
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Total assets |
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$ |
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$ |
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Liabilities and stockholders’ equity |
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Current liabilities: |
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Accounts payable |
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$ |
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$ |
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Accrued expenses and other current liabilities |
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Derivative liabilities |
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Current portion of deferred revenue |
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Current portion of lease liability |
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Total current liabilities |
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Long-term lease liability |
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Contingent consideration liabilities |
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Long-term portion of deferred revenue |
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Other liabilities |
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Total liabilities |
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(See Note 7, License agreements and Note 8, Collaboration and license agreements) |
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Stockholders’ equity: |
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Preferred stock, $ |
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Common stock, $ |
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Additional paid-in capital |
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Accumulated other comprehensive (loss) income |
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Accumulated deficit |
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Total stockholders’ equity |
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Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity |
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$ |
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$ |
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The accompanying notes are an integral part of these condensed consolidated financial statements.
1
Beam Therapeutics Inc.
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations and Other Comprehensive Loss
(Unaudited)
(in thousands, except share and per share amounts)
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Three Months Ended March 31, |
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2024 |
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2023 |
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$ |
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$ |
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Operating expenses: |
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Research and development |
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General and administrative |
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Total operating expenses |
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Loss from operations |
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Other income (expense): |
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Change in fair value of derivative liabilities |
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( |
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Change in fair value of non-controlling equity investments |
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( |
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( |
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Change in fair value of contingent consideration liabilities |
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( |
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( |
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Interest and other income (expense), net |
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Total other income (expense) |
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Net loss |
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$ |
( |
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$ |
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Unrealized gain (loss) on marketable securities |
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( |
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Comprehensive loss |
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$ |
( |
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$ |
( |
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Net loss per common share, basic and diluted |
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$ |
( |
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$ |
( |
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Weighted-average common shares outstanding, basic and diluted |
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The accompanying notes are an integral part of these condensed consolidated financial statements.
2
Beam Therapeutics Inc.
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Stockholders’ Equity
(Unaudited)
(in thousands, except share amounts)
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Common Stock |
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Additional |
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Accumulated |
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Accumulated |
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Total |
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Shares |
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Amount |
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Capital |
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Income (Loss) |
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Deficit |
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Equity |
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Balance at December 31, 2022 |
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$ |
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$ |
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$ |
( |
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$ |
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$ |
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Purchase of common stock under ESPP |
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— |
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— |
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Issuance of common stock from At-the-Market offering, net of issuance costs of $ |
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— |
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— |
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Vesting of restricted common stock |
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( |
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— |
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— |
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— |
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Stock-based compensation |
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— |
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— |
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— |
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— |
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Exercise of common stock options |
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— |
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— |
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Other comprehensive income (loss) |
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— |
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— |
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— |
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— |
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Net loss |
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— |
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— |
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— |
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— |
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( |
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( |
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Balance at March 31, 2023 |
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$ |
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$ |
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$ |
( |
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$ |
( |
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$ |
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3
Beam Therapeutics Inc.
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Stockholders’ Equity - Continued
(Unaudited)
(in thousands, except share amounts)
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Common Stock |
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Additional |
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Accumulated |
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Accumulated |
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Total |
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Shares |
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Amount |
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Capital |
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Income (Loss) |
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Deficit |
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Equity |
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Balance at December 31, 2023 |
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$ |
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$ |
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$ |
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$ |
( |
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$ |
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Purchase of common stock under ESPP |
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— |
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— |
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Vesting of restricted common stock |
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( |
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— |
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— |
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— |
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Stock-based compensation |
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— |
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— |
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— |
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— |
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Exercise of common stock options |
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— |
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— |
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Other comprehensive income (loss) |
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— |
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— |
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— |
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( |
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— |
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( |
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Net loss |
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— |
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— |
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— |
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— |
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( |
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( |
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Balance at March 31, 2024 |
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$ |
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$ |
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$ |
( |
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$ |
( |
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$ |
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The accompanying notes are an integral part of these condensed consolidated financial statements.
4
Beam Therapeutics Inc.
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
(Unaudited)
(in thousands)
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Three Months Ended March 31, |
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2024 |
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2023 |
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Operating activities |
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Net loss |
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$ |
( |
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$ |
( |
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Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash provided by (used in) operating activities: |
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Depreciation and amortization |
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Amortization of investment discount (premiums) |
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( |
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( |
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Stock-based compensation expense |
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Change in operating lease right-of-use assets |
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Change in fair value of derivative liabilities |
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( |
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Change in fair value of contingent consideration liabilities |
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Change in fair value of non-controlling equity investments |
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Changes in operating assets and liabilities: |
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Prepaid expenses and other current assets |
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( |
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( |
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Accounts payable |
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( |
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Accrued expenses and other liabilities |
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( |
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( |
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Operating lease liabilities |
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( |
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( |
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Deferred revenue |
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( |
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( |
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Other long-term liabilities |
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( |
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Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities |
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( |
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( |
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Investing activities |
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Purchases of property and equipment |
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( |
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( |
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Purchases of marketable securities |
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( |
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( |
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Maturities of marketable securities |
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Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities |
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( |
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Financing activities |
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Proceeds from issuance of common shares, net of commissions |
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— |
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Proceeds from issuances of stock under ESPP |
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Payment of equity offering costs |
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— |
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( |
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Repayment of equipment financings |
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( |
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( |
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Proceeds from exercise of stock options |
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Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities |
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Net change in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash |
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( |
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Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash—beginning of period |
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Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash—end of period |
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$ |
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$ |
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The accompanying notes are an integral part of these condensed consolidated financial statements.
5
Beam Therapeutics Inc.
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows - Continued
(Unaudited)
(in thousands)
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Three Months Ended March 31, |
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2024 |
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2023 |
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Supplemental disclosure of cash flow information: |
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Cash paid for interest |
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$ |
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$ |
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Supplemental disclosure of noncash investing and financing activities: |
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Property and equipment additions in accounts payable and accrued expenses |
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$ |
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$ |
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Operating lease liabilities arising from obtaining right-of-use assets |
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$ |
( |
) |
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$ |
— |
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Equity issuance costs in accounts payable and accrued expenses |
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$ |
— |
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$ |
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The accompanying notes are an integral part of these condensed consolidated financial statements.
6
Beam Therapeutics Inc.
Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements (Unaudited)
1. Nature of the business and basis of presentation
Organization
Beam Therapeutics Inc., which we refer to herein as the “Company” or “Beam,” is a biotechnology company committed to establishing the leading, fully integrated platform for precision genetic medicines. Beam’s vision is to provide life-long cures to patients suffering from genetic diseases. The Company was incorporated on January 25, 2017 as a Delaware corporation and began operations in July 2017. Its principal offices are in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Liquidity and capital resources
Since its inception, the Company has devoted substantially all of its resources to building its base editing platform and advancing development of its portfolio of programs, establishing and protecting its intellectual property, conducting research and development activities, making arrangements to conduct manufacturing activities with contract manufacturing organizations, organizing and staffing the Company, establishing and maintaining internal manufacturing capabilities, conducting clinical trials, maintaining its facilities and new facility build-outs, business planning, raising capital and providing general and administrative support for these operations. The Company is subject to risks and uncertainties common to early-stage companies in the biotechnology industry including, but not limited to, technical risks associated with the successful research, development and manufacturing of product candidates, development by competitors of new technological innovations, dependence on key personnel, protection of proprietary technology, compliance with government regulations and the ability to secure additional capital to fund operations. Current and future programs will require significant research and development efforts, including extensive preclinical and clinical testing and regulatory approval prior to commercialization. These efforts require significant amounts of additional capital, adequate personnel and infrastructure. Even if the Company’s product development efforts are successful, it is uncertain when, if ever, the Company will realize significant revenue from product sales.
In April 2021, the Company entered into an at the market, or ATM, sales agreement, or the Sales Agreement, with Jefferies LLC, or Jefferies, pursuant to which the Company was entitled to offer and sell, from time to time at prevailing market prices, shares of the Company’s common stock having aggregate gross proceeds of up to $
In July 2021 and May 2023, the Company and Jefferies entered into amendments to the Sales Agreement to provide for increases in the aggregate offering amount under the Sales Agreement, such that as of May 10, 2023, the Company may offer and sell shares of common stock having an aggregate offering price of up to an additional $
Since its inception, the Company has incurred substantial losses and had an accumulated deficit of $
The Company expects that its cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities as of March 31, 2024 of $
7
2. Summary of significant accounting policies
The Company’s significant accounting policies are disclosed in the audited consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2023, and notes thereto, which are included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K that was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC, on February 27, 2024, or the 2023 Form 10-K. Since the date of those financial statements, there have been no material changes to the Company's significant accounting policies.
Basis of presentation
The accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with United States generally accepted accounting principles, or GAAP. Any reference in these notes to applicable guidance is meant to refer to the authoritative GAAP as found in the Accounting Standards Codification, or ASC, and Accounting Standards Update, or ASU, of the Financial Accounting Standards Board, or FASB.
Principles of consolidation
The accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements include the results of operations of the Company and its wholly-owned subsidiaries. All intercompany transactions and balances have been eliminated in consolidation.
Use of estimates
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses, and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities as of and during the reporting period. The Company bases its estimates and assumptions on historical experience when available and on various factors that it believes to be reasonable under the circumstances. Significant estimates and assumptions reflected in these condensed consolidated financial statements include, but are not limited to, incremental borrowing rate used in the calculation of lease liabilities, research and development expenses, stock-based compensation, contingent consideration liabilities, success payments and certain judgments regarding revenue recognition. Actual results could differ from these estimates.
Recently announced accounting pronouncements
In November 2023, the FASB issued ASU 2023-07, Segment Reporting (Topic 280). The amendments in this update expand segment disclosure requirements, including new segment disclosure requirements for entities with a single reportable segment among other disclosure requirements. This update is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2023, and interim periods within fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2024. The adoption of this standard is not expected to have a material impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.
In December 2023, the FASB issued ASU 2023-09, Income Taxes (Topic 740). The amendments in this update expand income tax disclosure requirements, including additional information pertaining to the rate reconciliation, income taxes paid, and other disclosures. This update is effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2024. The adoption of this standard is not expected to have a material impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.
Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash
Cash and cash equivalents consist of standard checking accounts, money market accounts, and all highly liquid investments with a remaining maturity of three months or less at the date of purchase. Restricted cash represents collateral provided for letters of credit issued as security deposits in connection with the Company’s leases of its corporate and manufacturing facilities.
The following table reconciles cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash reported within the Company’s condensed consolidated balance sheets to the total of the amounts shown in the condensed consolidated statements of cash flows (in thousands):
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March 31, |
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March 31, |
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Cash and cash equivalents |
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$ |
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$ |
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Restricted cash |
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Total cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash |
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$ |
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$ |
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8
3. Property and equipment, net
Property and equipment consist of the following (in thousands):
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March 31, |
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December 31, |
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Leasehold improvements |
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$ |
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$ |
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Lab equipment |
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Furniture and fixtures |
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Computer equipment |
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Construction in process |
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Total property and equipment |
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Less accumulated depreciation |
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( |
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( |
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Property and equipment, net |
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$ |
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$ |
|
||
The following table summarizes depreciation expense incurred (in thousands):
|
|
Three Months Ended March 31, |
|
|||||
|
|
2024 |
|
|
2023 |
|
||
Depreciation expense |
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
||
4. fair value of financial instruments
The Company’s financial instruments that are measured at fair value on a recurring basis consist of cash equivalents, marketable securities, corporate equity securities of Verve Therapeutics, Inc., or Verve, and Prime Medicine, Inc., or Prime, contingent consideration liabilities related to the Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated February 23, 2021, between Guide Therapeutics, Inc., or Guide, and the Company, or the Guide Merger Agreement, and success payment derivative liabilities pursuant to the license agreement, or the Harvard License Agreement, between President and Fellows of Harvard University, or Harvard, and the Company, and the license agreement, or the Broad License Agreement, between The Broad Institute, Inc., or Broad Institute, and the Company.
The following tables set forth the fair value of the Company’s financial assets and liabilities by level within the fair value hierarchy at March 31, 2024 (in thousands):
|
|
Carrying |
|
|
Fair |
|
|
Level 1 |
|
|
Level 2 |
|
|
Level 3 |
|
|||||
Assets |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||
Cash equivalents: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||
Money market funds |
|
$ |
|
|
|
|
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
— |
|
|
$ |
— |
|
|||
Marketable securities: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||
Commercial paper |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
— |
|
|
|
|
|
|
— |
|
|||
Corporate notes |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
— |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||
U.S. Treasury securities |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
— |
|
|
|
|
|
|
— |
|
|||
U.S. Government securities |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
— |
|
|
|
|
|
|
— |
|
|||
Corporate equity securities |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
— |
|
|
|
— |
|
|||
Total assets |
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
— |
|
||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||
Liabilities |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||
Success payment liability – Harvard |
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
— |
|
|
$ |
— |
|
|
$ |
|
|||
Success payment liability – Broad Institute |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
— |
|
|
|
— |
|
|
|
|
|||
Contingent consideration liability – Technology |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
— |
|
|
|
— |
|
|
|
|
|||
Contingent consideration liability – Product |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
— |
|
|
|
— |
|
|
|
|
|||
Total liabilities |
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
— |
|
|
$ |
— |
|
|
$ |
|
|||
9
The following tables set forth the fair value of the Company’s financial assets and liabilities by level within the fair value hierarchy at December 31, 2023 (in thousands):
|
|
Carrying |
|
|
Fair |
|
|
Level 1 |
|
|
Level 2 |
|
|
Level 3 |
|
|||||
Assets |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||
Cash equivalents: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||
Money market funds |
|
$ |
|
|
|
|
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
— |
|
|
$ |
— |
|
|||
Marketable securities: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||
Commercial paper |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
— |
|
|
|
|
|
|
— |
|
|||
Corporate notes |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||
U.S. Treasury securities |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
— |
|
|
|
|
|
|
— |
|
|||
U.S. Government securities |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
— |
|
|
|
|
|
|
— |
|
|||
Corporate equity securities |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
— |
|
|
|
— |
|
|||
Total assets |
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
— |
|
||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||
Liabilities |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||
Success payment liability – Harvard |
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
— |
|
|
$ |
— |
|
|
$ |
|
|||
Success payment liability – Broad Institute |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
— |
|
|
|
— |
|
|
|
|
|||
Contingent consideration liability – Technology |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
— |
|
|
|
— |
|
|
|
|
|||
Contingent consideration liability – Product |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
— |
|
|
|
— |
|
|
|
|
|||
Total liabilities |
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
— |
|
|
$ |
— |
|
|
$ |
|
|||
Cash equivalents – Money market funds included within cash equivalents are classified within Level 1 of the fair value hierarchy because they are valued using quoted market prices in active markets. Commercial paper and corporate notes are classified within Level 2 of the fair value hierarchy because pricing inputs are other than quoted prices in active markets, which are either directly or indirectly observable as of the reporting date, and fair value is determined through the use of models or other valuation methodologies.
Marketable securities – Marketable securities, excluding corporate equity securities (held in Verve and Prime), are classified within Level 2 of the fair value hierarchy because pricing inputs are other than quoted prices in active markets, which are either directly or indirectly observable as of the reporting date, and fair value is determined using models or other valuation methodologies.
The Company holds an investment in Verve consisting of shares of Verve’s common stock. As of March 31, 2024, the Company owned
The Company also holds an investment in Prime consisting of
Pursuant to ASC 825, Financial instruments, the Company records changes in the fair value of its investments in equity securities to other income (expense), in the Company’s condensed consolidated statements of operations.
The following table summarizes other income (expense) recorded due to changes in the fair value of corporate equity securities held (in thousands):
|
|
Three Months Ended March 31, |
|
|||||
|
|
2024 |
|
|
2023 |
|
||
Other income (expense) |
|
$ |
( |
) |
|
$ |
( |
) |
Success payment liabilities – As discussed further in Note 7, License agreements, the Company is required to make payments to Harvard and Broad Institute based upon the achievement of specified multiples of the market value of the Company's common stock, at specified valuation dates. The Company’s liability for the share-based success payments under the Harvard License Agreement and the Broad License Agreement is carried at fair value. To determine the estimated fair value of the success payment liability, the Company uses a Monte Carlo simulation methodology, which models the future movement of stock prices based on several key variables.
10
The following variables were incorporated in the calculation of the estimated fair value of the Harvard and Broad Institute success payment liabilities:
|
|
Harvard |
|
|
Broad Institute |
|
||||||||||
|
|
March 31, |
|
|
December 31, |
|
|
March 31, |
|
|
December 31, |
|
||||
Fair value of common stock (per share) |
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
||||
Expected volatility |
|
|
% |
|
|
% |
|
|
% |
|
|
% |
||||
Expected term (years) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||
The computation of expected volatility was estimated using available information about the historical volatility of stocks of similar publicly traded companies in addition to the Company's own data for a period matching the expected term assumption. In addition, the Company incorporated the estimated number, timing, and probability of valuation measurement dates in the calculation of the success payment liability.
The following table reconciles the change in the fair value of success payment liabilities based on Level 3 inputs (in thousands):
|
|
Three Months Ended March 31, 2024 |
|
|||||||||
|
|
Harvard |
|
|
Broad Institute |
|
|
Total |
|
|||
Balance at December 31, 2023 |
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
|||
Change in fair value |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||
Balance at March 31, 2024 |
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
|||
Contingent consideration liabilities – Under the Guide Merger Agreement, Guide’s former stockholders and optionholders are eligible to receive up to an additional $
The following table reconciles the change in fair value of the contingent consideration liabilities based on level 3 inputs (in thousands):
|
|
Three Months Ended March 31, 2024 |
|
|||||||||
|
|
Technology Milestones |
|
|
Product Milestones |
|
|
Total |
|
|||
Balance at December 31, 2023 |
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
|||
Change in fair value |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||
Balance at March 31, 2024 |
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
|||
The following variables were incorporated in the calculation of the estimated fair value of the contingent consideration liabilities:
|
|
Technology Milestones |
|
|
Product Milestones |
|
|
||||||||||
|
|
March 31, |
|
|
December 31, |
|
|
March 31, |
|
|
December 31, |
|
|
||||
Discount Rate |
|
|
% |
|
|
% |
|
|
% |
|
|
% |
|
||||
Probability of Achievement |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||
Projected Year of Achievement |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||
5. Marketable securities
The following table summarizes the Company’s marketable securities held at March 31, 2024 (in thousands):
|
|
Amortized Cost |
|
|
Gross |
|
|
Gross |
|
|
Fair Value |
|
||||
Commercial paper |
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
( |
) |
|
$ |
|
|||
Corporate notes |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
( |
) |
|
|
|
|||
U.S. Treasury securities |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
( |
) |
|
|
|
|||
U.S. Government securities |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
( |
) |
|
|
|
|||
Corporate equity securities |
|
|
|
|
|
— |
|
|
|
— |
|
|
|
|
||
Total |
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
( |
) |
|
$ |
|
|||
11
The following table summarizes the Company’s marketable securities held at December 31, 2023 (in thousands):
|
|
Amortized Cost |
|
|
Gross |
|
|
Gross |
|
|
Fair Value |
|
||||
Commercial paper |
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
( |
) |
|
$ |
|
|||
Corporate notes |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
— |
|
|
|
|
|||
U.S. Treasury securities |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
( |
) |
|
|
|
|||
U.S. Government securities |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
( |
) |
|
|
|
|||
Corporate equity securities |
|
|
|
|
|
— |
|
|
|
— |
|
|
|
|
||
Total |
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
( |
) |
|
$ |
|
|||
The amortized cost of marketable securities is adjusted for amortization of premiums and accretion of discounts to maturity. At March 31, 2024, the balance in accumulated other comprehensive (loss) income was related to marketable securities. There were
The Company holds debt securities of companies with high credit quality and has determined that there was no material change in the credit risk of any of its debt securities.
6. Accrued expenses and other current liabilities
Accrued expenses and other current liabilities consist of the following (in thousands):
|
|
March 31, |
|
|
December 31, |
|
||
Accrued contingent obligation, refer to Note 7 |
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
||
Research costs |
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
Employee compensation and related benefits |
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
Professional fees |
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
Process development and manufacturing costs |
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
Other |
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
Total |
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
||
The Company received correspondence from a research institution regarding a confidentiality agreement between such institution and the Company. The confidentiality agreement related to certain technology that the Company evaluated for development in connection with certain of its programs. The correspondence alleged that the Company breached the terms of the confidentiality agreement, misappropriated trade secrets and other confidential information of such institution, engaged in unfair and deceptive trade practices, and was unjustly enriched in connection with developing its therapeutics, including BEAM-302. The research institution claimed that it is entitled to monetary damages (including damages for the apportioned value of the Company and enhanced damages for an alleged willful violation) and certain ongoing royalty and/or milestone payments related to the technology that is the subject of the alleged breaches of contract, among other possible remedies. No complaint has been filed, and the Company continues to discuss the matter with the research institution. As of March 31, 2024, no amount of loss is determinable and the Company had a liability accrued of $
12
7. License agreements
The Company has various license agreements related to technology used in its research and development activities. The license agreements may include up-front payments, option fees, ongoing maintenance fees, sublicense fees, royalty-based payments, milestone payments, success-based payments, and other payments. Option fees, when applicable, are recognized when exercised, maintenance fees, sublicense fees, and other payments are recorded as incurred based on the estimated amounts due or that will ultimately be paid. Contingent payments that are not required to be accounted for as a derivative are recognized as incurred. As the success-based payments due under the Company’s license arrangements are derivatives, the change in the fair value of the success-based payments are recognized in a separate line item in the statement of operations and comprehensive loss, as discussed further below.
The value attributable to sublicenses and the related sublicense fees due under the Company’s license agreements may require estimates and other judgments related to contractual requirements, which creates uncertainty over the ultimate amount that would be paid under these arrangements. Contractual amounts due are accrued and if a contingency exists related to the interpretation of the amounts due under the license agreement, the Company recognizes a liability for the amount that is probable and estimable. When no amount within the range of potential payments is a better estimate than any other amount, however, the minimum amount in the range is accrued. If some amount within a range of loss appears to be a better estimate than any other amount within the range, that amount is accrued. The Company’s accrued liabilities for license fees includes estimates, including approximately $
Harvard license agreement
Under the Harvard License Agreement, Harvard is entitled to receive success payments, in cash or shares of Company stock, determined based upon the achievement of specified multiples of the initial weighted average value of the Company’s Series A Preferred at specified valuation dates. The success payments range from $
In May 2021, the first success payment measurement occurred and amounts due to Harvard were calculated to be $
The following table summarizes the Company’s success payment liability for Harvard (in thousands):
|
|
March 31, |
|
|
December 31, |
|
||
Harvard success payment liability |
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
||
The following table summarizes the expense (income) resulting from the change in the fair value of the success payment liability for Harvard (in thousands):
|
|
Three Months Ended March 31, |
|
|||||
|
|
2024 |
|
|
2023 |
|
||
Change in fair value of Harvard success payment liability |
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
( |
) |
|
13
Broad license agreement
Under the Broad License Agreement, Broad Institute is entitled to receive success payments, in cash or shares of Company common stock, determined based upon the achievement of specified multiples of the initial weighted average value of the Series A Preferred at specified valuation dates. The success payments range from $
In May 2021, the first success payment measurement occurred and amounts due to Broad Institute were calculated to be $
The following table summarizes the Company’s success payment liability for Broad Institute (in thousands):
|
|
March 31, |
|
|
December 31, |
|
||
Broad Institute success payment liability |
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
||
The following table summarizes the expense (income) resulting from the change in the fair value of the success payment liability for Broad Institute (in thousands):
|
|
Three Months Ended March 31, |
|
|||||
|
|
2024 |
|
|
2023 |
|
||
Change in fair value of Broad Institute success payment liability |
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
( |
) |
|
Editas license agreement
In May 2018, the Company entered into a license agreement, or the Editas License Agreement, with Editas Medicine, Inc., or Editas. Pursuant to the Editas License Agreement, Editas granted to the Company licenses and options to acquire licenses to certain intellectual property rights owned or controlled by Editas, for specified uses.
The annual maintenance fees under the Editas License Agreement are recorded as research and development expense. Annual patent costs are expensed as incurred. In addition, the Company is required to make certain development, regulatory and commercial milestone payments to Editas upon the achievement of specified milestones.
14
8. Collaboration and license agreements
Eli Lilly and Company
In October 2023, the Company entered into a Transfer and Delegation Agreement, or the Lilly Agreement, with Eli Lilly and Company, or Lilly, pursuant to which Lilly acquired certain assets and other rights under the Company’s amended collaboration and license agreement with Verve, or the Verve Agreement, including the Company’s opt-in rights to co-develop and co-commercialize Verve’s base editing programs for cardiovascular disease (see discussion below related to the Verve Agreement). The Company granted Lilly an exclusive sublicense to the Verve technology originally licensed to the Company under the Verve Agreement. Lilly also acquired from the Company the right to receive any future milestone or royalty payments payable by Verve under the Verve Agreement and the rights and obligations to designate representatives and participate on the joint steering committee with Verve. The Company received a $
For a period of
In connection with the Lilly Agreement, the Company and Lilly entered into a Stock Purchase Agreement providing for the sale and issuance of
The Company received the consideration under the Stock Purchase Agreement of $
The Lilly Agreement and Stock Purchase Agreement were negotiated at the same time as a package and have been accounted for as one combined contract. The Company accounts for the component of the arrangement to transfer common stock to Lilly under ASC 505, Equity, and the revenue component under ASC 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers, or ASC 606, as it includes a customer-vendor relationship as defined under ASC 606 and meets the criteria to be considered a contract. The Company first applied the guidance in ASC 505 to measure the fair value of the common stock issued and allocated the remaining consideration to the ASC 606 component of the arrangement.
The overall ASC 606 transaction price as of the inception of the contract was determined to be $
The Company concluded that the collaboration rights and licenses to intellectual property have the same pattern and timing of transfer and are transferred as of the effective date of the Lilly Agreement. Lilly’s right to request research and development services represents an optional purchase in the agreement that does not constitute a material right. All other items promised to Lilly are immaterial in the context of the agreement.
The Company recognized revenue for the performance obligation at a point-in-time in October 2023 as all requirements related to the performance obligation have been completed. Any consideration received related to Lilly’s optional purchase of the Company’s research and development services will be accounted for as a separate contract if and when the option is exercised in accordance with ASC 606. During the year ended December 31, 2023, the Company recognized the full $
Orbital
In September 2022, the Company entered into a License and Research Collaboration Agreement, or the Orbital Agreement, with Orbital Therapeutics, Inc., or Orbital
15
In exchange for the licenses and services provided by the Company under the Orbital Agreement, the Company received a non-exclusive research license to certain RNA technology and nonviral delivery technology controlled by Orbital, and research and development support services as outlined in a research plan. Orbital also granted the Company an exploitation license to certain RNA technology and nonviral delivery technology controlled by Orbital. The exploitation license is exclusive in the fields of gene editing and conditioning and nonexclusive in all other fields other than vaccines and certain protein therapeutics. The Company also received
The research plan has a term of
The Company accounts for the Orbital Agreement under ASC 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers, or ASC 606, as it includes a customer-vendor relationship as defined under ASC 606 and meets the criteria to be considered a contract.
The overall transaction price as of the inception of the contract was determined to be $
The Company concluded that the research and exploitation licenses are not distinct from the other promises in the Orbital Agreement, and as such the Company has determined that the licenses combined with the research and development services, know-how transfers, committee participation and materials transfer represent a combined performance obligation. The Company recognizes revenue associated with the Orbital performance obligation over time as it is satisfied during the term of the Orbital Agreement, which is
Pfizer
At the inception of the Pfizer Agreement, the Company was entitled to receive a nonrefundable upfront payment of $
During the collaboration term, Pfizer has a one-time option to substitute a disease that is the subject of a specific program with one pre-defined substitute disease. The collaboration has an initial term of
The Company accounts for the Pfizer Agreement under ASC 606, as it includes a customer-vendor relationship as defined under ASC 606 and meets the criteria to be considered a contract.
The overall transaction price as of the inception of the contract was determined to be $
16
The Company has concluded that the licenses to its base editing technology, including the exclusive development and commercialization rights, are not capable of being distinct from the other performance obligations, and as such the Company has determined that the licenses combined with the other research and development services represent performance obligations and no up-front revenue was recognized for the licenses.
The selling price of each performance obligation was determined based on the Company’s estimated standalone selling price, or the ESSP. The Company developed the ESSP for all of the performance obligations included in the Pfizer Agreement by determining the total estimated costs to fulfill each performance obligation identified with the objective of determining the price at which it would sell such an item if it were to be sold regularly on a standalone basis. The Company allocated the stand-alone selling price to the performance obligations based on the relative standalone selling price method.
The Company recognizes revenue for each performance obligation as it is satisfied during the term of the agreement using an input method. The Company allocated the transaction price of $
Apellis Pharmaceuticals
As part of the collaboration, the Company received a total of $
The Company accounts for the Apellis Agreement under ASC 606 as it includes a customer-vendor relationship as defined under ASC 606 and meets the criteria to be considered a contract.
The overall transaction price as of the inception of the contract was determined to be $
The Company concluded that each of the six base editing programs combined with the research and development service, licenses, substitution rights and governance participation were material promises that were both capable of being distinct and were distinct within the context of the Apellis Agreement and represented separate performance obligations. The Company further concluded that the Opt-In Rights and option to extend the collaboration term did not grant Apellis a material right. The Company determined that the term of the contract is
The selling price of each performance obligation was determined based on the Company’s ESSP. The Company developed the ESSP for all of the performance obligations included in the Apellis Agreement by determining the total estimated costs to fulfill each performance obligation identified with the objective of determining the price at which it would sell such an item if it were to be sold regularly on a standalone basis. The Company allocated the stand-alone selling price to the performance obligations based on the relative standalone selling price method.
17
The Company recognizes revenue for each performance obligation as it is satisfied over the
Verve
In April 2019, the Company entered into the Verve Agreement to investigate gene editing strategies to modify genes associated with an increased risk of coronary diseases and in July 2022, the Company and Verve amended the Verve Agreement. Under the terms of the Verve Agreement, as amended, the Company granted Verve an exclusive license to certain base editor technology and improvements and Verve granted the Company a non-exclusive license under certain know-how and patents controlled by Verve, an interest in joint collaboration technology and a non-exclusive license under certain delivery technology. The Company retained the option, after the dosing of the final patient in a Phase 1 clinical trial of a licensed product, to participate in future development and commercialization, and share
In October 2023, the Company entered into the Lilly Agreement, pursuant to which Lilly acquired certain assets and other rights under the Verve Agreement, including the Company’s opt-in rights to co-develop and co-commercialize Verve’s base editing programs for cardiovascular disease, which consist of programs targeting PCSK9, ANGPTL3 and an undisclosed liver-mediated, cardiovascular target. In addition, Lilly acquired the right to receive any future milestone or royalty payments payable to the Company under the Verve Agreement.
During the year ended December 31, 2023, the Company recognized all remaining license revenue related to the Verve Agreement and has
9. Common stock
In April 2021, the Company entered into the Sales Agreement with Jefferies, pursuant to which the Company was entitled to offer and sell, from time to time at prevailing market prices, shares of the Company’s common stock having aggregate gross proceeds of up to $
In July 2021 and May 2023, the Company and Jefferies entered into amendments to the Sales Agreement to provide for increases in the aggregate offering amount under the Sales Agreement, such that as of May 10, 2023, the Company may offer and sell shares of common stock having an aggregate offering price of up to an additional $
10. Stock option and grant plan
2019 equity incentive plan
As of March 31, 2024, the Company had
Stock-based compensation expense recorded as research and development and general and administrative expenses in the condensed consolidated statements of operations and other comprehensive loss is as follows (in thousands):
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2024 |
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2023 |
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Research and development |
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General and administrative |
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Total stock-based compensation expense |
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$ |
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Stock options
The following table provides a summary of stock option activity under the Company’s equity award plans:
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Outstanding at December 31, 2023 |
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Granted |
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Exercised |
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Forfeited |
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Outstanding at March 31, 2024 |
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Exercisable as of March 31, 2024 |
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$ |
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The weighted-average grant date fair value per share of stock options granted in the three months ended March 31, 2024 was $
Restricted stock
The Company issues shares of restricted common stock, including both restricted stock units and restricted stock awards. Restricted common stock issued generally vests over a period of to
The following table summarizes the Company’s restricted stock activity:
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Shares |
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Weighted- |
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Unvested as of December 31, 2023 |
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$ |
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Issued |
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Vested |
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Forfeited |
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( |
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Unvested as of March 31, 2024 |
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$ |
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At March 31, 2024, there was approximately $
2019 employee stock purchase plan
The Company issued
Stock-based compensation recognized under the ESPP for the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023 was $
11. Net loss per share
For periods in which the Company reports a net loss, potentially dilutive securities have been excluded from the computation of diluted net loss per share as their effects would be anti-dilutive. Therefore, the weighted average number of common shares outstanding used to calculate both basic and diluted net loss per share is the same.
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As of March 31, |
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2024 |
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2023 |
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Unvested restricted stock |
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Outstanding options to purchase common stock |
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Total |
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19
The following table summarizes the computation of basic and diluted net loss per share of the Company (in thousands, except share and per share amounts):
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Three Months Ended March 31, |
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2024 |
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2023 |
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Numerator: |
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Net loss |
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Denominator: |
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Weighted average common shares outstanding, basic and diluted |
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Net loss per common share, basic and diluted |
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$ |
( |
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12. Income taxes
During the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023, the Company recorded a full valuation allowance on federal and state deferred tax assets since there is insufficient evidence that the deferred tax assets are more likely than not realizable. The Company did
13. Related party transactions
Orbital
The Company has significant influence over, but does not control, Orbital through its noncontrolling representation on Orbital's board of directors and the Company’s equity interest in Orbital. The Company and Orbital are also parties to a collaboration and license agreement and have multiple common board members.
Founders
The Company made payments of $
20
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 condensed consolidated financial statements and the related notes to those statements included elsewhere in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q. In addition to historical financial information, the following discussion and analysis contains forward-looking statements that involve important risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Our actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of many factors, including those discussed in “Risk Factors” in Part II, Item 1A. and elsewhere in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, and in the “Risk Factors Summary” and Part I “Item 1A. Risk Factors” section of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023, or the 2023 Form 10-K. Some of the numbers included herein have been rounded for the convenience of presentation.
Overview
We are a biotechnology company committed to establishing the leading, fully integrated platform for precision genetic medicines. Our vision is to provide life-long cures to patients suffering from serious diseases. To achieve this vision, we have assembled a platform that includes a suite of gene editing and delivery technologies as well as internal manufacturing capabilities.
Our suite of gene editing technologies is anchored by our proprietary base editing technology, which potentially enables a differentiated class of precision genetic medicines that target a single base in the genome without making a double-stranded break in the DNA. This approach uses a chemical reaction designed to create precise, predictable and efficient genetic outcomes at the targeted sequence. Our proprietary base editors have two principal components: (i) a clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats, or CRISPR, protein, bound to a guide RNA, that leverages the established DNA-targeting ability of CRISPR, but is modified to not cause a double-stranded break, and (ii) a base editing enzyme, such as a deaminase, which carries out the desired chemical modification of the target DNA base. We believe this design contributes to a more precise and efficient edit compared to traditional gene editing methods, with the potential to dramatically increase the impact of gene editing. We are also pursuing a suite of both delivery modalities, including both ex vivo and in vivo approaches, depending on tissue type. The elegance of the base editing approach, combined with a tissue specific delivery modality, provides the basis for a targeted, efficient, precise, and highly versatile gene editing system that is designed to be capable of gene correction, gene silencing or gene activation, gene modification, and/or multiplex editing of several genes simultaneously.
Our goal is to advance a broad, diversified portfolio of base editing programs against distinct, genetically validated editing targets, as well as an innovative, platform business model that will expand the reach of our programs to more patients. Overall, we are seeking to build the leading integrated platform for precision genetic medicine, which may have broad therapeutic applicability and the potential to transform the field of precision genetic medicines
Hematology
We are advancing hematology base editing programs in which hematopoietic stem cells, or HSCs, are collected from a patient, edited using electroporation, and then infused back into the patient following a myeloablative conditioning regimen, such as treatment with busulfan, the standard of care in HSC transplantation, or HSCT, today. Once reinfused, the HSCs begin repopulating a portion of the bone marrow in a process known as engraftment. The engrafted, edited HSCs give rise to progenitor cell types with the corrected gene sequences. We are deploying this ex vivo approach in our BEAM-101 and ESCAPE base editing programs.
We are pursuing a long-term, staged development strategy for our base editing approach to treat hematological diseases that consists of advancing our lead ex vivo program, BEAM-101, in Wave 1, improving patient conditioning regimens in Wave 2, and enabling in vivo base editing with delivery directly into HSCs of patients via lipid nanoparticles, or LNPs, in Wave 3. We believe this suite of technologies – base editing, improved conditioning and in vivo delivery for editing HSCs – can maximize the potential applicability of our sickle cell disease programs to patients as well as create a platform for the treatment of many other severe genetic blood disorders.
Wave 1: Ex Vivo Base Editing via Autologous Transplant with BEAM-101
We are using base editing to pursue the development of BEAM-101 for the treatment of sickle cell disease and beta-thalassemia. BEAM-101 is a patient-specific, autologous HSC investigational therapy designed to offer a potentially best-in-class profile, incorporating base edits that are intended to mimic single nucleotide polymorphisms seen in individuals with hereditary persistence of fetal hemoglobin, or HbF. BEAM-101 aims to alleviate the effects of sickle cell disease or beta-thalassemia by increasing HbF, which is expected to increase functional hemoglobin production and, in the case of sickle cell disease, inhibit hemoglobin S, or HbS, polymerization.
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We are conducting a Phase 1/2 clinical trial designed to assess the safety and efficacy of BEAM-101 for the treatment of sickle cell disease, which we refer to as our BEACON trial. The BEACON trial includes an initial “sentinel” cohort of three patients, treated one at a time to confirm successful engraftment, followed by dosing in up to a total of 45 patients. The clinical trial initially includes patients ages 18 to 35 with severe sickle cell disease who have received prior treatment with at least one disease-modifying agent with inadequate response or intolerance. Following mobilization, conditioning and treatment with BEAM-101, patients are assessed for safety and tolerability, with safety endpoints including neutrophil and platelet engraftment. Patients are also assessed for efficacy, with efficacy endpoints including the change from baseline in severe vaso-occlusive events, transfusion requirements, HbF levels, and quality of life assessments.
In May 2024, we announced that the three patients in the sentinel cohort of the BEACON trial have each been dosed and successfully achieved engraftment. Following engraftment of the third patient, we initiated the expansion phase of the trial. We believe that dosing of the first patient in the expansion cohort is imminent. We expect to report data on multiple patients treated with BEAM-101 in the second half of 2024.
Wave 2: Non-genotoxic Conditioning
In parallel with Wave 1 development, we also aim to improve the transplant conditioning regimen for patients undergoing HSCT, thereby reducing toxicity challenges associated with HSCT. Conditioning is a critical component necessary to prepare a patient’s body to receive the ex vivo edited cells that must engraft in the patient’s bone marrow in order to be effective. However, today’s conditioning regimens rely on nonspecific chemotherapy or radiation, which are associated with significant toxicities. As a potential alternative to genotoxic conditioning regimens in HSCT, we are advancing our ESCAPE program. ESCAPE aims to avoid toxicity challenges associated with currently available conditioning regimens for patients with sickle cell disease and beta-thalassemia ahead of autologous HSCT, by combining antibody-based conditioning with multiplex gene edited HSCs. ESCAPE may also have applications in other diseases of the blood and immune system where HSCT could deliver potential benefits but has been limited by toxicities associated with current standard of care conditioning regimens. We anticipate initiating Phase 1-enabling preclinical studies for the ESCAPE sickle cell disease program in 2024.
Wave 3: In Vivo Base Editing via HSC-targeted LNPs
We are also exploring the potential for in vivo base editing programs for sickle cell disease, in which base editors would be delivered to the patient through an infusion of LNPs targeted to HSCs, eliminating the need for transplantation altogether. This approach could provide a more accessible option for patients, particularly in regions where ex vivo treatment is challenging. In preclinical studies, we achieved in vivo validation of our most potent HSC-directed LNP, demonstrating:
Genetic Diseases
BEAM-302: In Vivo LNP liver-targeting for AATD
BEAM-302 is a liver-targeting LNP formulation of base editing reagents designed to offer a one-time treatment to correct the E342K point mutation (PiZZ genotype) predominantly responsible for the severe form of alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency, or AATD. AATD is an inherited genetic disorder that can cause early onset emphysema and liver disease. The most severe form of AATD arises when a patient has a point mutation in both copies of the SERPINA1 gene at amino acid 342 position (E342K, also known as the PiZ mutation or the “Z” allele). This point mutation causes Alpha-1 antitrypsin, or AAT, to misfold, accumulating inside liver cells rather than being secreted, resulting in very low levels (10%-15%) of circulating AAT. In addition to resulting in lower levels, the PiZ AAT protein variant is also less enzymatically effective compared to wildtype AAT protein. As a consequence, the lung is left unprotected from neutrophil elastase, resulting in progressive, destructive changes in the lung, such as emphysema, which can result in the need for lung transplants. The mutant AAT protein also accumulates in the liver, causing liver inflammation and cirrhosis, which can ultimately cause liver failure or cancer requiring patients to undergo a liver transplant. It is estimated that approximately 100,000 individuals in the United States have two copies of the Z allele. There are currently no curative treatments for patients with AATD.
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With the high efficiency and precision of our base editors, we aim to utilize our adenine base editors, or ABEs, to precisely correct the E342K point mutation and restore the production of functional AAT protein. In 2020, we demonstrated the ability of base editors to directly correct the mutation causing AATD, providing both in vitro and in vivo preclinical proof-of-concept for base editing to correct this disease. In March 2024, we announced the clearance of our clinical trial authorisation application, or CTA, for BEAM-302 for the treatment of AATD by the United Kingdom Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency. Following CTA clearance, we began enrolling patients in a Phase 1/2 open label, dose escalation study of BEAM-302 at trial sites located in the United Kingdom. The trial will evaluate the safety, pharmacodynamics, pharmacokinetics and efficacy of BEAM-302 initially in patients with AATD-associated lung disease. The study design includes a dose exploration portion followed by a dose expansion portion to identify the optimal dose to take forward in a pivotal study. We expect to initiate the Phase 1/2 trial of BEAM-302 in the first half of 2024.
BEAM-301: In Vivo LNP liver-targeting for GSD1a
BEAM-301 is a liver-targeting LNP formulation of base editing reagents designed to correct the R83C mutation, the most prevalent disease-causing mutation for, and the mutation which results in the most severe form of, glycogen storage disease 1a, or GSD1a. GSD1a is an autosomal recessive disorder caused by mutations in the G6PC gene that disrupts a key enzyme, G6Pase, critical for maintaining glucose homeostasis. Inhibition of G6Pase activity results in low fasting blood glucose levels that can result in seizures and be fatal. Patients with this mutation typically require ongoing corn starch administration, without which they may enter into hypoglycemic shock within one to three hours.
Our approach to treating patients with GSD1a is to apply base editing via LNP delivery to repair the two most prevalent mutations that cause the disease, R83C and Q347X. It is estimated that these two point mutations account for 300 and 500 patients, respectively, in the United States.
In October 2023, we presented new preclinical data demonstrating the ability of BEAM-301 to directly correct the R83C mutation. These data showed that a single dose of BEAM-301 restored clinically meaningful endpoints in in vivo rodent disease models out to at least one year. In the first half of 2024, we plan to submit an investigational new drug, or IND, application to evaluate BEAM-301 for the treatment of GSD1a at a select number of trial sites in the United States.
Immunology/Oncology
BEAM-201: Universal CD7-targeting CAR-T cells
BEAM-201 is a development candidate comprised of T cells derived from healthy donors that are simultaneously edited at TRAC, CD7, CD52 and PDCD1 and then transduced with a lentivirus encoding for an anti-CD7 chimeric antigen receptor, or CAR, that is designed to create allogeneic CD7 targeting CAR-T cells, resistant to both fratricide and immunosuppression. We have dosed the first patient in a first-in-human Phase 1/2 clinical trial designed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of BEAM-201 in patients with relapsed/refractory T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia/T-cell lymphoblastic lymphoma, or T-ALL/T-LL. Key safety endpoints for the trial include treatment-emergent and treatment-related adverse events, and key efficacy endpoints include proportion of patients with complete or partial responses, proportion eligible for HSC transplant and proportion achieving minimal residual disease negative status. We are continuing enrollment in the Phase 1/2 clinical trial and expect to report an initial clinical dataset for BEAM-201 in the second half of 2024 and to seek potential partnership for this and other potential ex vivo CAR-T programs, including our ongoing research into creating next-generation allogeneic cell therapies with multiplex base editing.
Manufacturing
Due to the critical importance of high-quality manufacturing and control of production timing and know-how, we have established a 100,000 square foot manufacturing facility in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina intended to support a broad range of clinical programs. The facility, which initiated current Good Manufacturing Practice, or cGMP operations in late 2023, is designed to support manufacturing for our ex vivo cell therapy programs in hematology and in vivo non-viral delivery programs for liver and liver-mediated diseases, with the capability to scale-up to support potential commercial supply. For our initial clinical trials, we expect to rely primarily on our internal manufacturing capabilities, along with CMOs with relevant manufacturing experience in genetic medicines. We believe this investment will maximize the value of our portfolio and capabilities, the probability of technical success of our programs, and the speed at which we can provide potentially life-long cures to patients.
23
Collaborations
We believe our collection of base editing, gene editing and delivery technologies has significant potential across a broad array of genetic diseases. To fully realize this potential, we have established and plan to continue to seek out innovative collaborations, licenses, and strategic alliances with pioneering companies and with leading academic and research institutions. Additionally, we have and intend to continue to pursue relationships that potentially allow us to accelerate our preclinical research and development efforts. We believe these relationships will allow us to aggressively pursue our vision of maximizing the potential of base editing to provide life-long cures for patients suffering from serious diseases.
Pfizer
In December 2021, we entered into a four-year research collaboration agreement with Pfizer Inc., or Pfizer, focused on in vivo base editing programs for three targets for rare genetic diseases of the liver, muscle and central nervous system. Under the terms of the agreement, we will conduct all research activities through development candidate selection for three pre-specified, undisclosed targets, which are not included in our existing programs. Pfizer may opt in to exclusive, worldwide licenses to each development candidate, after which it will be responsible for all development activities, as well as potential regulatory approvals and commercialization, for each such development candidate. We have a right to opt in, at the end of Phase 1/2 clinical trials, upon the payment of an option exercise fee, to a global co-development and co-commercialization agreement with respect to one program licensed under the collaboration pursuant to which we and Pfizer would share net profits as well as development and commercialization costs in a 35%/65% ratio (Beam/Pfizer).
Apellis Pharmaceuticals
In June 2021, we entered into a research collaboration agreement, or the Apellis Agreement, with Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc., or Apellis, focused on the use of our base editing technology to discover new treatments for complement system-driven diseases. Under the terms of the Apellis Agreement, we will conduct preclinical research on six base editing programs that target specific genes within the complement system in various organs, including the eye, liver, and brain. Apellis has an exclusive option to license any or all of the six programs and will assume responsibility for subsequent development. We may elect to enter into a 50-50 U.S. co-development and co-commercialization agreement with Apellis with respect to one program licensed under the collaboration.
Verve Therapeutics and Eli Lilly and Company
In April 2019, we entered into a collaboration and license agreement, or the Verve Agreement, with Verve Therapeutics, Inc., or Verve, a company focused on gene editing for cardiovascular disease treatments, and in July 2022, we and Verve amended the Verve Agreement. Under the terms of the Verve Agreement, as amended, we granted Verve exclusive worldwide licenses under certain of our editing technologies for human therapeutic applications against a total of three liver-mediated, cardiovascular disease targets, including use of our base editing technology for each of these targets and use of certain of our gene editing technology for two of such targets. In exchange, we received shares of Verve common stock. In October 2023, we entered into a transfer and delegation agreement, or the Lilly Agreement, with Eli Lilly and Company, or Lilly, pursuant to which Lilly acquired certain assets and other rights under the Verve Agreement, including our opt-in rights to co-develop and co-commercialize each of Verve’s base editing programs for cardiovascular disease, which consist of programs targeting PCSK9, ANGPTL3 and an undisclosed liver-mediated, cardiovascular target. In addition, Lilly acquired the right to receive any future milestone or royalty payments payable to us under the Verve Agreement. Under the terms of the Lilly Agreement, we received a $200.0 million payment and are eligible to receive up to $350.0 million in potential future development-stage payments upon the completion of certain clinical, regulatory and alliance events. In October 2023, we also entered into a Stock Purchase Agreement, or the Purchase Agreement, with Lilly providing for the sale and issuance of 2,004,811 shares, of our common stock to Lilly at a price of $24.94 per share, which was equal to a 15% premium to the volume-weighted average share price of our common stock over the 30 trading days prior to the date of the Purchase Agreement, for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $50 million. The Purchase Agreement contains customary representations, warranties and covenants of each party.
24
Sana Biotechnology
In October 2021, we entered into an option and license agreement, or the Sana Agreement, with Sana Biotechnology, Inc., or Sana, pursuant to which we granted Sana non-exclusive research and development and commercial rights to our CRISPR Cas12b technology to perform nuclease editing for certain ex vivo engineered cell therapy programs. Under the terms of the Sana Agreement, licensed products include certain specified allogeneic T cell and stem cell-derived products directed at specified genetic targets, with certain limited rights for Sana to add and substitute such products and targets. The Sana Agreement excludes the grant of any Beam-controlled rights to perform base editing. In January 2023, Sana announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA cleared its IND application to initiate a first-in-human study of SC291, its CD19-targeted allogeneic CAR-T cell therapy, in patients with various B-cell malignancies. In November 2023, Sana announced that the FDA cleared its IND application to initiate a first-in-human trial of SC291, in patients with various B-cell mediated autoimmune diseases. In January 2024, Sana announced that the FDA cleared its IND application to initiate a first-in-human trial of SC262, its CD22-directed allogeneic CAR-T cell therapy, in patients with relapsed or refractory B-cell malignancies. In connection with each of the foregoing events, Sana made immaterial milestone payments to us under the Sana Agreement.
Orbital Therapeutics
In September 2022, we entered into a license and research collaboration agreement, or the Orbital Agreement, with Orbital, pursuant to which each of us granted the other licenses to certain technology controlled during the three years after entry into the Orbital Agreement that are necessary or reasonably useful for the non-viral delivery or the design or manufacture of RNA for the prevention, treatment or diagnosis of human disease. Our license to Orbital is for all fields other than our exclusive field and also excludes the targets and substantially all of the indications that are the subject of our existing programs. Our exclusive field consists of all products and biologics that function in the process of gene editing or conditioning for use in cell transplantation, or that act in combination with any such products or biologics. Orbital’s license to us is for all fields other than Orbital’s exclusive field. Orbital’s exclusive field consists of products and biologics that function as vaccines and also of therapeutic proteins, other than therapeutic proteins (i) that use gene editing, (ii) for use in conditioning, (iii) for use in regenerative medicine, (iv) for use as a CAR immune therapy, including CAR-T, CAR-NK and CAR-macrophage compositions, (v) for use as a T-cell receptor therapy or (vi) that modulate certain immune responses. The licenses are exclusive in each party’s exclusive field for three years and non-exclusive in those fields thereafter. We and Orbital agreed that for a period of three years after entry into the Orbital Agreement, subject to limited exceptions, we would not research, develop and commercialize, or grant licenses to research, develop and commercialize, products or biologics within the other party’s exclusive field.
Critical accounting policies and significant judgments and estimates
Our management’s discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations is based on our consolidated financial statements, which we have prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles. The preparation of our financial statements requires us to make estimates, judgments and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, and expenses and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities in our financial statements. We base our estimates on historical experience, known trends and events and various other factors that we believe are 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. We evaluate our estimates and assumptions on an ongoing basis. Our actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions.
Our critical accounting policies are those policies which require the most significant judgments and estimates in the preparation of our condensed consolidated financial statements. We have determined that our most critical accounting policies are those relating to stock-based compensation, variable interest entities, fair value measurements, and leases. There have been no significant changes to our existing critical accounting policies and significant judgments and estimates discussed in the 2023 Form 10-K.
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Financial operations overview
General
We were founded in January 2017 and began operations in July 2017. Since our inception, we have devoted substantially all of our resources to building our base editing platform and advancing development of our portfolio of programs, establishing and protecting our intellectual property, conducting research and development activities, organizing and staffing our company, conducting clinical trials, business planning, raising capital and providing general and administrative support for these operations. To date, we have financed our operations primarily through the sales of our redeemable convertible preferred stock, proceeds from offerings of our common stock and payments received under collaboration and license agreements.
We are an early-stage company, and the majority of our programs are at a preclinical or early clinical stage of development. To date, we have not generated any revenue from product sales and do not expect to generate revenue from the sale of products for the foreseeable future. Our revenue to date has been primarily derived from license and collaboration agreements with partners. Since inception we have incurred significant operating losses. Our net losses for the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023 were $98.7 million and $96.5 million, respectively. As of March 31, 2024, we had an accumulated deficit of $1.3 billion. We expect to continue to incur significant expenses and increasing operating losses in connection with ongoing development activities related to our internal programs and collaborations as we continue our preclinical and clinical development of product candidates; advance additional product candidates toward clinical development; operate our cGMP facility in North Carolina; further develop our base editing platform; continue to make investments in delivery technology for our base editors; conduct research activities as we seek to discover and develop additional product candidates; maintain, expand, enforce, defend and protect our intellectual property portfolio; and continue to hire research and development, clinical, technical operations and commercial personnel. In addition, we expect to continue to incur the costs associated with operating as a public company.
As a result of these anticipated expenditures, we will need to raise additional capital to support our continuing operations and pursue our growth strategy. Until such time as we can generate significant revenue from product sales, if ever, we expect to finance our operations through a combination of equity offerings, debt financings, collaborations, strategic alliances, and licensing arrangements. We may be unable to raise additional funds or enter into such other agreements when needed on favorable terms or at all. Our inability to raise capital as and when needed would have a negative impact on our financial condition and our ability to pursue our business strategy. We can give no assurance that we will be able to secure such additional sources of capital to support our operations, or, if such capital is available to us, that such additional capital will be sufficient to meet our needs for the short or long term.
Revenue Recognition
In April 2019, we entered into a collaboration and license agreement, or the Verve Agreement, with Verve Therapeutics, Inc., or Verve, a company focused on gene editing for cardiovascular disease treatments. In June 2021, we entered into a research collaboration agreement, or the Apellis Agreement, with Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc., or Apellis, focused on the use of our base editing technology to discover new treatments for complement system-driven diseases. In October 2021, we entered into an option and license agreement, or the Sana Agreement, with Sana Biotechnology, Inc., or Sana, pursuant to which we granted Sana non-exclusive research and development and commercial rights to our CRISPR Cas12b technology to perform nuclease editing for certain ex vivo engineered cell therapy programs. In December 2021, we entered into a four-year research collaboration agreement, or the Pfizer Agreement, with Pfizer Inc., or Pfizer, focused on in vivo base editing programs for three targets for rare genetic diseases of the liver, muscle and central nervous system. In September 2022, we entered into a License and Research Collaboration Agreement, or the Orbital Agreement, with Orbital Therapeutics, Inc., or Orbital, a newly formed entity focused on advancing non-viral delivery and RNA technologies. In October 2023, we entered into a Transfer and Delegation Agreement, or the Lilly Agreement, with Eli Lilly and Company, or Lilly, pursuant to which Lilly acquired certain assets and other rights under the Verve Agreement, including our opt-in rights to co-develop and co-commercialize Verve’s base editing programs for cardiovascular disease.
We have not generated any revenue to date from product sales and do not expect to do so in the near future. During the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023, we recognized $7.4 million and $24.2 million of license and collaboration revenue, respectively.
Research and development expenses
Research and development expenses consist of costs incurred in performing research and development activities, which include:
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Our external research and development expenses support our various preclinical and clinical programs. Our internal research and development expenses consist of employee-related expenses, facility-related expenses, and other indirect research and development expenses incurred in support of overall research and development. We expense research and development costs as incurred. Advance payments that we make for goods or services to be received in the future for use in research and development activities are recorded as prepaid expenses. The prepaid amounts are expensed as the benefits are consumed.
In the early phases of development, our research and development costs are often devoted to product platform and proof-of-concept preclinical studies that are not necessarily allocable to a specific target.
We expect that our research and development expenses will increase substantially as we advance our programs through their planned preclinical and clinical development.
General and administrative expenses
General and administrative expenses consist primarily of salaries and other related costs, including stock-based compensation, for personnel in our executive, intellectual property, business development and administrative functions. General and administrative expenses also include legal fees relating to intellectual property and corporate matters, professional fees for accounting, auditing, tax and consulting services, insurance costs, travel, and direct and allocated facility related expenses and other operating costs.
We anticipate that our general and administrative expenses will increase in the future to support our increased research and development activities. We also expect to continue to incur costs associated with being a public company and maintaining controls over financial reporting, including costs of accounting, audit, legal, regulatory and tax-related services associated with maintaining compliance with Nasdaq and SEC requirements, director and officer insurance costs, and investor and public relations costs.
Other income and expenses
Other income and expenses consist of the following items:
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Results of operations
Comparison of the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023
The following table summarizes our results of operations (in thousands):
|
|
Three Months Ended March 31, |
|
|
|
|
||||||
|
|
2024 |
|
|
2023 |
|
|
Change |
|
|||
License and collaboration revenue |
|
$ |
7,410 |
|
|
$ |
24,208 |
|
|
$ |
(16,798 |
) |
Operating expenses: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||
Research and development |
|
|
84,818 |
|
|
|
99,646 |
|
|
|
(14,828 |
) |
General and administrative |
|
|
26,724 |
|
|
|
23,490 |
|
|
|
3,234 |
|
Total operating expenses |
|
|
111,542 |
|
|
|
123,136 |
|
|
|
(11,594 |
) |
Loss from operations |
|
|
(104,132 |
) |
|
|
(98,928 |
) |
|
|
(5,204 |
) |
Other income (expense): |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||
Change in fair value of derivative liabilities |
|
|
(2,900 |
) |
|
|
5,600 |
|
|
|
(8,500 |
) |
Change in fair value of non-controlling equity investments |
|
|
(3,353 |
) |
|
|
(12,797 |
) |
|
|
9,444 |
|
Change in fair value of contingent consideration liabilities |
|
|
(133 |
) |
|
|
(296 |
) |
|
|
163 |
|
Interest and other income (expense), net |
|
|
11,849 |
|
|
|
9,961 |
|
|
|
1,888 |
|
Total other income (expense) |
|
|
5,463 |
|
|
|
2,468 |
|
|
|
2,995 |
|
Net loss |
|
$ |
(98,669 |
) |
|
$ |
(96,460 |
) |
|
$ |
(2,209 |
) |
License and collaboration revenue
License and collaboration revenue was $7.4 million and $24.2 million for the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively. The decline in revenue of $16.8 million is due to the timing of research activities on our license and collaboration programs. License and collaboration revenue represents revenue recorded under each of the Pfizer, Apellis, Verve, and Orbital Agreements.
Research and development expenses
Research and development expenses were $84.8 million and $99.6 million for the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively. The following table summarizes our research and development expenses for the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023 (in thousands):
|
|
Three Months Ended March 31, |
|
|
|
|
||||||
|
|
2024 |
|
|
2023 |
|
|
Change |
|
|||
External research and development expenses |
|
$ |
24,718 |
|
|
$ |
40,886 |
|
|
$ |
(16,168 |
) |
Employee related expenses |
|
|
24,570 |
|
|
|
27,360 |
|
|
|
(2,790 |
) |
Facility and IT related expenses |
|
|
17,669 |
|
|
|
16,695 |
|
|
|
974 |
|
Stock-based compensation expense |
|
|
17,645 |
|
|
|
14,221 |
|
|
|
3,424 |
|
Other expenses |
|
|
216 |
|
|
|
484 |
|
|
|
(268 |
) |
Total research and development expenses |
|
$ |
84,818 |
|
|
$ |
99,646 |
|
|
$ |
(14,828 |
) |
The decrease of $14.8 million was primarily due to the following:
28
General and administrative expenses
General and administrative expenses were $26.7 million and $23.5 million for the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively. The increase of $3.2 million was primarily due to the following:
Change in fair value of derivative liabilities
During the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023, we recorded $2.9 million of expense and $5.6 million of other income, respectively, related to the change in fair value of success payment liabilities due to changes in the price of our common stock over the related periods. A portion of the success payment obligations were paid in June 2021; the remaining success payment obligations are still outstanding as of March 31, 2024 and will continue to be revalued at each reporting period.
Change in fair value of non-controlling equity investments
During the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023, we recorded $3.4 million and $12.8 million of other expense, respectively, as a result of changes in the fair value of our investment in Verve and Prime common stock.
Change in fair value of contingent consideration liabilities
During the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023, we recorded $0.1 million and $0.3 million of other expense, respectively, related to the change in fair value of the Guide technology and product contingent consideration liabilities.
Interest and other income (expense), net
Interest and other income (expense), net was $11.8 million and $10.0 million of net income for the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively. The change was primarily due to increases in interest income driven by increased market rates.
Liquidity and capital resources
Since our inception in January 2017, we have not generated any revenue from product sales, have generated only limited revenue from our license and collaboration agreements, and have incurred significant operating losses and negative cash flows from our operations. We expect to incur significant expenses and operating losses for the foreseeable future as we advance the preclinical and clinical development of our product candidates.
In February 2024, we filed a universal automatic shelf registration statement on Form S-3 with the SEC, to register for sale an indeterminate amount of our common stock, preferred stock, debt securities, warrants and/or units in one or more offerings, which became effective upon filing with the SEC (File No. 333-277427).
In April 2021, we entered into an at the market, or ATM, sales agreement, or the Sales Agreement, with Jefferies LLC, or Jefferies, pursuant to which we were entitled to offer and sell, from time to time at prevailing market prices, shares of our common stock having aggregate gross proceeds of up to $300.0 million. We agreed to pay Jefferies a commission of up to 3.0% of the aggregate gross sale proceeds of any shares sold by Jefferies under the Sales Agreement. Between April 2021 and July 2021, we sold 2,908,009 shares of our common stock under the Sales Agreement at an average price of $103.16 per share for aggregate gross proceeds of $300.0 million, before deducting commissions and offering expenses payable by us.
In July 2021 and May 2023, we and Jefferies entered into amendments to the Sales Agreement to provide for increases in the aggregate offering amount under the Sales Agreement, such that as of May 10, 2023, we may offer and sell shares of common stock having an aggregate offering price of up to an additional $800.0 million. As of March 31, 2024, we have sold 10,860,992 additional shares of our common stock under the amended Sales Agreement at an average price of $51.93 per share for aggregate gross proceeds of $564.0 million, before deducting commissions and offering expenses payable by us.
In October 2023, we entered into the Lilly Agreement, pursuant to which Lilly acquired certain assets and other rights under the Verve Agreement, including our opt-in rights to co-develop and co-commercialize Verve’s base editing programs for cardiovascular disease. We received a $200.0 million upfront payment and are eligible to receive up to $350.0 million in potential future development-stage payments upon the completion of certain clinical, regulatory and alliance events. In connection with the Lilly Agreement, we and Lilly entered into a Stock Purchase Agreement providing for the sale and issuance of 2,004,811 shares of our common stock to Lilly for an aggregate purchase price of $50.0 million. We received the consideration under the Stock Purchase Agreement in October 2023 and the upfront payment in November 2023. We have accrued approximately $42.3 million of contingent obligations that may be due associated with payments received under the Lilly Agreement for which discussions are continuing related to the potential applicability to such payments of the terms of license agreements.
As of March 31, 2024, we had $1.1 billion in cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities.
29
We are required to make success payments to Harvard and Broad Institute based on increases in the per share fair market value of our common stock. The amounts due may be settled in cash or shares of our common stock, at our discretion. We may owe Harvard and Broad Institute future success payments of up to $90.0 million each.
We have not yet commercialized any of our product candidates, and we do not expect to generate revenue from the sale of our product candidates for the foreseeable future. We anticipate that we may need to raise additional capital in order to continue to fund our research and development, including our planned preclinical studies and clinical trials, maintaining and operating our commercial-scale cGMP manufacturing facility, and new product development, as well as to fund our general operations. As necessary, we will seek to raise additional capital through various potential sources, such as equity and debt financings or through corporate collaboration and license agreements. We can give no assurances that we will be able to secure such additional sources of capital to support our operations, or, if such funds are available to us, that such additional financing will be sufficient to meet our needs.
Cash flows
The following table summarizes our sources and uses of cash (in thousands):
|
|
Three Months Ended March 31, |
|
|||||
|
|
2024 |
|
|
2023 |
|
||
Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities |
|
$ |
(99,747 |
) |
|
$ |
(109,815 |
) |
Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities |
|
|
(53,464 |
) |
|
|
25,451 |
|
Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities |
|
|
2,897 |
|
|
|
98,416 |
|
Net change in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash |
|
$ |
(150,314 |
) |
|
$ |
14,052 |
|
Operating activities
Net cash used in operating activities for the three months ended March 31, 2024 was $99.7 million, consisting of our net loss of $98.7 million, decreases of accrued expenses and other liabilities of $24.3 million, a decrease in deferred revenue of $6.9 million, a decrease in operating lease liabilities totaling $3.1 million and increases of prepaid expenses and other current assets of $5.5 million. In addition, a noncash item, the amortization of investment premiums of $6.6 million, also contributed to net cash used in operating activities.
These uses of cash were partially offset by an increase in accounts payable of $1.3 million and an increase of other long-term liabilities of $0.6 million. In addition, we recorded noncash items consisting of stock-based compensation expense of $29.3 million, depreciation and amortization expense of $5.4 million, decreases in the fair value of non-controlling equity investments of $3.4 million, increases in the fair value of derivative liabilities of $2.9 million, changes in operating lease right-of-use, or ROU, assets of $2.4 million, and a $0.1 million increase in fair value of our contingent consideration liabilities.
Net cash used in operating activities for the three months ended March 31, 2023 was $109.8 million, consisting of our net loss of $96.5 million, a decrease in deferred revenue of $23.7 million, decreases in accrued expenses and other liabilities of $9.9 million, increases in prepaid expenses and other current assets of $8.4 million, and a decrease in operating lease liabilities totaling $2.6 million. In addition, we recorded noncash items consisting of amortization of investment premiums of $6.9 million and a decrease in the fair value of derivative liabilities of $5.6 million.
These uses of cash were partially offset by noncash items consisting of stock-based compensation expense of $23.9 million, decreases in the fair value of non-controlling equity investments of $12.8 million, depreciation and amortization expense of $4.6 million, changes in operating lease ROU assets of $2.4 million, and an increase in the fair value of contingent consideration liabilities of $0.3 million.
Investing activities
For the three months ended March 31, 2024, cash used in investing activities consisted of net purchases of marketable securities of $51.0 million and purchases of property and equipment of $2.4 million.
For the three months ended March 31, 2023, cash provided by investing activities consisted of the net maturities of marketable securities of $31.5 million, offset in part by purchases of property and equipment of $6.0 million.
Financing activities
Net cash provided by financing activities for the three months ended March 31, 2024 consisted of $1.7 million of proceeds from the exercise of stock options and $1.4 million of proceeds from the issuance of common stock under our Employee Stock Purchase Plan, offset in part by repayments of equipment financing liabilities of $0.2 million.
Net cash provided by financing activities for the three months ended March 31, 2023 consisted of net proceeds from equity offerings of $94.0 million, $3.4 million of proceeds from the exercise of stock options and $1.7 million of proceeds from the issuance of common stock under our Employee Stock Purchase Plan, offset in part by repayments of equipment financing liabilities of $0.6 million and payment of equity offering costs of $0.1 million.
30
Funding requirements
We expect our operating expenses to remain primarily unchanged over the next twelve months as a result of our portfolio prioritization and strategic restructuring, as we expect increasing costs related to continued and expected clinical-stage development of our lead product candidates to be offset by decreases in costs related to our preclinical research and development.
Our future operating expenses depend on a number of factors, including the extent to which we undertake the following activities:
We expect that our cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities at March 31, 2024 will enable us to fund our current and planned operating expenses and capital expenditures for at least the next 12 months from the date of issuance of our accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements. We have based these estimates on assumptions that may prove to be imprecise, and we may exhaust our available capital resources sooner that we currently expect. Because of the numerous risks and uncertainties associated with the development our programs, we are unable to estimate the amounts of increased capital outlays and operating expenses associated with completing the research and development of our product candidates.
Our future funding requirements will depend on many factors including:
31
A change in the outcome of any of these or other 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. Further, our operating plans may change in the future, and we may need additional funds to meet operational needs and capital requirements associated with such operating plans.
Until such time, if ever, as we can generate substantial product revenues, we expect to finance our cash needs through a combination of equity offerings, debt financings, collaborations, strategic alliances, and licensing arrangements. We do not have any committed external source of capital. We have historically relied on equity issuances to fund our capital needs and will likely rely on equity issuances in the future. 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 capital through additional collaborations, strategic alliances, or licensing arrangements with third parties, we may have to relinquish valuable rights to our technologies, future revenue streams, research programs, or product candidates, or we may have to grant licenses on terms that may not be favorable to us. If we are unable to raise additional capital through equity or debt financings when needed, we may be required to delay, limit, reduce, or terminate our product development or, if approved, future commercialization efforts or grant rights to develop and market product candidates that we would otherwise prefer to develop and market ourselves. We can give no assurance that we will be able to secure such additional sources of funds to support our operations, or, if such funds are available to us, that such additional funding will be sufficient to meet our needs.
Contractual obligations
We enter into contracts in the normal course of business with contract research organizations and other vendors to assist in the performance of our research and development activities and other services and products for operating purposes. These contracts generally provide for termination on notice, and therefore are cancelable contracts and not included in our calculations of contractual obligations and commitments.
We lease certain assets under noncancelable operating and finance leases. The leases relate primarily to office space and laboratory space in addition to equipment. As of March 31, 2024, aggregate future minimum commitments under these office and laboratory leases and equipment leases are $243.8 million, of which $18.1 million will be payable in 2024. These minimum lease payments exclude our share of the facility operating expenses, real-estate taxes and other costs that are reimbursable to the landlord under the leases.
During the three months ended March 31, 2024, there were no material changes to our contractual obligations and commitments described under Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations in the 2023 Form 10-K.
Item 3. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk.
We are exposed to market risk related to changes in interest rates. As of March 31, 2024, we had cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities of $1.1 billion, which consisted of cash, money market funds, commercial paper and corporate and government securities. Our cash and cash equivalents are primarily maintained in accounts with multiple financial institutions in the United States. At times, we may maintain cash and cash equivalent balances in excess of Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation limits. We do not believe that we are subject to unusual credit risk beyond the normal credit risk associated with commercial banking relationships. Our primary exposure to market risk is interest rate sensitivity, which is affected by changes in the general level of U.S. interest rates, particularly because our investments are in short-term marketable securities. Due to the short-term duration of our investment portfolio and the low risk profile of our investments, we believe an immediate 10% change in interest rates would not have a material effect on the fair market value of our investment portfolio. We have the ability to hold our investments until maturity, and therefore, we would not expect our operating results or cash flows to be affected to any significant degree by the effect of a change in market interest rates on our investment portfolio.
We are not currently exposed to significant market risk related to changes in foreign currency exchange rates; however, we do contract with vendors that are located outside of the United States and may be subject to fluctuations in foreign currency rates. We may enter into additional contracts with vendors located outside of the United States in the future, which may increase our foreign currency exchange risk.
Inflation generally affects us by increasing our cost of labor and research, manufacturing and development costs. We believe that inflation has not had a material effect on our financial statements included elsewhere in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q. However, our operations may be adversely affected by inflation in the future.
32
Item 4. Controls and Procedures.
Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures
Our management, with the participation of our principal executive officer and our principal financial officer, evaluated, as of the end of the period covered by this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Exchange Act. The term “disclosure controls and procedures,” as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Exchange Act, means controls and other procedures of a company that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by a company in the reports that it files or submits under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported, within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms. Disclosure controls and procedures include, without limitation, controls and procedures designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by a company in the reports that it files or submits under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to a company’s management, including its principal executive and principal financial officers, or persons performing similar functions, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure. Management recognizes that any controls and procedures, no matter how well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable assurance of achieving their objectives and management necessarily applies its judgment in evaluating the cost-benefit relationship of possible controls and procedures.
Based on the evaluation of our disclosure controls and procedures as of March 31, 2024, our principal executive officer and principal financial officer concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures as of such date are effective at the reasonable assurance level.
Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting
We continuously seek to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of our internal controls. This results in refinements to processes throughout our company. There were no changes in our internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) under the Exchange Act) during the quarter ended March 31, 2024 that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.
33
PART II. OTHER INFORMATION
Item 1. Legal Proceedings
We are not currently subject to any material legal proceedings.
Item 1A. Risk Factors.
In addition to the other information set forth in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, you should carefully consider the factors discussed in the sections titled sections titled “Risk Factors Summary” and “Item 1A. Risk Factors” in the 2023 Form 10-K, which could materially affect our business, financial condition or future results. The risk factors disclosure in the 2023 Form 10-K is qualified by the information in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q. The risks described in the 2023 Form 10–K are not our only risks. Additional risks and uncertainties not currently known to us or that we currently deem to be immaterial also may materially adversely affect our business, financial condition or future results.
34
Item 6. Exhibits.
|
|
|
|
Incorporated by Reference |
|
|
||||||
Exhibit Number |
|
Description of Exhibit |
|
Form |
|
File Number |
|
Date of Filing |
|
Exhibit Number |
|
Filed Herewith |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
3.1 |
|
Fourth Amended Certificate of Incorporation of Beam Therapeutics Inc. |
|
8-K |
|
001-39208 |
|
02/11/2020 |
|
3.1 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
3.2 |
|
Second Amended and Restated Bylaws of Beam Therapeutics Inc. |
|
10-K |
|
001-39208 |
|
02/28/2023 |
|
3.2 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
10.1 |
|
Amended and Restated Beam Therapeutics Inc. Non-Employee Director Compensation Policy |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
X |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
10.2+ |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
X |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
31.1 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
X |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
31.2 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
X |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
32.1 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
X |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
32.2 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
X |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
101.INS |
|
XBRL Instance Document - the instance document does not appear in the Interactive Data File because its XBRL tags are embedded within the Inline XBRL document |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
X |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
101.SCH |
|
Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema Document |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
X |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
101.CAL |
|
Inline XBRL Taxonomy Calculation Linkbase Document |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
X |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
101.DEF |
|
Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase Document |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
X |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
101.LAB |
|
Inline XBRL Taxonomy Label Linkbase Document |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
X |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
101.PRE |
|
Inline XBRL Taxonomy Presentation Linkbase Document |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
X |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
104 |
|
Cover Page Interactive Data File (embedded within the Inline XBRL document) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
X |
+ Indicates management contract or compensatory plan.
35
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized.
|
|
BEAM THERAPEUTICS INC. |
|
|
|
|
|
Date: May 7, 2024 |
|
By: |
/s/ John Evans |
|
|
|
John Evans |
|
|
|
Chief Executive Officer |
|
|
|
(Principal executive officer) |
Date: May 7, 2024 |
|
By: |
/s/ Terry-Ann Burrell |
|
|
|
Terry-Ann Burrell |
|
|
|
Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer |
|
|
|
(Principal financial and accounting officer) |
36