4D Molecular Therapeutics, Inc. (FDMT)

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

You should read the following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations together with our financial statements and the related notes included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K (this “report”). This discussion and analysis and other parts of this report contain forward-looking statements based upon current beliefs, plans and expectations related to future events and our future financial performance that involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions, such as statements regarding our intentions, plans, objectives, expectations, forecasts and projections. Our actual results and the timing of selected events could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of several factors, including those set forth under the section titled “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this report.

Overview

We are a leading late-stage biotechnology company advancing durable and disease-targeted therapeutics with potential to transform treatment paradigms and provide unprecedented benefits to patients. Our core pipeline focus is advancing 4D-150 for the treatment of wet AMD and DME through late-stage studies and 4D-710 for treatment of cystic fibrosis through early-stage studies. We believe these product candidates are differentiated and can support meaningful near-term and long-term value generation.

In January 2025, we implemented a strategic pipeline prioritization designed to prioritize the development of 4D-150 and 4D-710. Further, we will be seeking strategic alternatives, including potential partnering, for our other clinical stage product candidates: 4D-175 for the treatment of geographic atrophy, 4D-725 for the treatment of alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency, and 4D-310 for the treatment of Fabry disease cardiomyopathy. In addition, we terminated the development of 4D-110 for the treatment of choroideremia and 4D-125 for the treatment of X-linked retinitis pigmentosa.

Our lead product candidate 4D-150 utilizes our proprietary R100 vector and a transgene cassette encoding aflibercept and inhibitory miRNA targeting vascular endothelial growth factor-C (“VEGF-C”). 4D-150 was designed to become the first backbone therapy for the treatment of retinal vascular diseases by providing multi-year sustained production of anti-VEGF from the retina with a single, safe, intravitreal injection, substantially reducing treatment burden and improving long-term patient outcomes. 4D-150 is initially being developed for the treatment of wet age-related macular degeneration (“wet AMD”) and diabetic macular edema (“DME”).

Our second priority product candidate is 4D-710, which we believe is the first known genetic medicine to demonstrate successful delivery and expression of the CFTR transgene in the lungs of people with cystic fibrosis (CF). We believe these results will translate into durable clinical improvements in people with CF, including improved lung function and quality of life.

We have funded our operations primarily through the sale and issuance of equity securities and to a lesser extent from cash received pursuant to our collaboration and license agreements.

In February 2024, we completed an underwritten public offering (the “2024 Offering” and, together with the 2023 Offering and the 2021 Offering (as defined below), the “Follow-on Offerings”) in which 6,586,015 shares of our common stock were sold at an offering price of $29.50 per share, as well as pre-funded warrants to purchase 3,583,476 shares of our common stock at an offering price of $29.4999 per underlying share pursuant to our effective registration statement on Form S-3. The net proceeds from the 2024 Offering were $281.2 million, after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and other offering expenses. We also granted the underwriters the option to purchase up to 1,525,423 additional shares of common stock in connection with the offering.

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In March 2024, the underwriters exercised their option to purchase 1,259,299 additional shares of common stock resulting in net proceeds of $34.9 million, after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions.

We have incurred significant operating losses and expect that our operating losses will increase significantly as we, among other things, continue to advance our product candidates through preclinical and clinical development, seek regulatory approval, and prepare for, and, if approved, proceed to commercialization; broaden and improve our platform; acquire, discover, validate and develop additional product candidates; maintain, protect and enforce our intellectual property portfolio; and hire additional personnel.

Our net losses were $160.9 million and $100.8 million for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively. As of December 31, 2024, we had an accumulated deficit of $576.2 million. We do not expect positive cash flows from operations in the foreseeable future. Our net losses may fluctuate significantly from quarter-to-quarter and year-to-year, depending on the timing of our clinical trials and our expenditures on other research and development activities.

We do not have any products approved for sale and have not generated any revenue from product sales since our inception. Our ability to generate product revenue will depend on the successful development, regulatory approval and eventual commercialization of one or more of our product candidates, if approved.

We will require substantial additional funding to support our continuing operations and further the development of our product candidates. Until such time as we can generate significant revenue from product sales, if ever, we expect to finance our operations through the sale of equity, debt financings, or other capital sources, which could include income from collaborations, strategic partnerships, or other strategic arrangements, for the foreseeable future. Adequate funding may not be available when needed or on terms acceptable to us, or at all. Our ability to raise additional funds may be adversely impacted by potential worsening global economic conditions and the recent disruptions to, and volatility in, the credit and financial markets in the United States and worldwide resulting from conflicts in the Middle East, the lingering impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine, rising interest rates, inflation and otherwise. If we fail to obtain necessary capital when needed on acceptable terms, or at all, it could force us to delay, limit, reduce or terminate our product development programs, commercialization efforts or other operations. Insufficient liquidity may also require us to relinquish rights to product candidates at an earlier stage of development or on less favorable terms than we would otherwise choose. We cannot assure you that we will ever be profitable or generate positive cash flow from operating activities.

Recent Changes to Management / Leadership Team

Effective as of January 2, 2024, our Board of Directors (the “Board”) appointed Noriyuki Kasahara, M.D., Ph.D., as Chief Scientific Officer. On January 1, 2024, Dr. Kasahara delivered notice of his resignation from our Board, including his role as a member and the Chair of the Science and Technology Committee of the Board, effective on January 1, 2024.

On August 5, 2024, we named Dhaval Desai, PharmD as Chief Development Officer who will oversee late-stage Product Development, Medical Affairs, Scientific Communications, Regulatory and Quality operations. Dhaval was most recently SVP & Chief Development Officer at Iveric Bio where he led development and approval of IZERVAY.

Also on August 5, 2024, we named Carlos Quezada-Ruiz, M.D., FASRS as SVP, Therapeutic Area Head, Ophthalmology who will lead the Ophthalmology franchise and oversee Early- and Late-stage Clinical Development. Dr. Quezada-Ruiz was most recently Group Medical Director, Ophthalmology at Genentech where he led clinical development and approval of VABYSMO and SUSVIMO.

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Effective September 25, 2024, Christopher Simms joined as Chief Commercial Officer and will oversee Pre-commercial and Commercial organizations, pre-launch preparations and development. Chris was most recently SVP & Chief Commercial Officer at Iveric Bio where he led commercial strategy and execution for the launch of IZERVAY.

Components of Results of Operations

Revenue

Our revenue to date has been generated through payments from our collaboration and license agreements, primarily from upfront and milestone payments and expense reimbursement. We have not generated any revenue from the sale of approved products and do not expect to do so for the foreseeable future.

In July 2023, we entered into the License Agreement with AGT where we provided our 4D vector technology to AGT to deliver AGT’s genetic payloads for the treatment of rare monogenic diseases. As partial consideration for the rights and licenses granted to AGT under License Agreement, we received an upfront payment of $20.0 million which we recognized as revenue during the third quarter of 2023.

In August 2019, we amended our agreement with uniQure and entered into a separate new collaboration and license agreement with uniQure. Neither party was required to pay monetary consideration in connection with the amendment or new agreement. We determined the incremental transaction price of the amendment and new agreement to be $5.1 million and recorded the amount as deferred revenue in August 2019. We began recognizing revenue related to uniQure in 2020 and recognized the remaining revenue under the agreement during the third quarter of 2023. We recognized immaterial revenue during the during the year ended December 31, 2023 related to this agreement. See Note 7, Research and Collaboration Agreements, to our financial statements included elsewhere in this report for further discussion regarding the accounting treatment of this agreement.

Future collaboration and license revenue is highly dependent on the successful development and commercialization of products by our collaboration partners, which is uncertain, and revenue may fluctuate significantly from period to period. Additionally, we may never receive the consideration from our license agreements that is contemplated for option fees, development and sales-based milestone payments or royalties on sales of licensed products, given the contingent nature of these payments.

Operating Expenses

Research and Development

Our research and development expenses primarily consist of costs incurred for the discovery and preclinical and clinical development of our product candidates. These expenses include salaries and personnel-related costs, including stock-based compensation of our scientific personnel performing research and development activities; laboratory supplies; research materials; fees paid to CROs to execute preclinical studies and clinical trials; fees paid to CMOs to manufacture materials for preclinical studies and clinical trials; fees related to obtaining technology licenses; consulting costs; costs related to seeking regulatory approval of our product candidates; and allocated facility-related costs, information technology costs, depreciation expense, and other overhead.

We expense all research and development costs in the periods in which they are incurred. We have entered into various agreements with CROs and CMOs. Costs of certain activities are recognized based on an evaluation of the progress to completion of specific tasks. Payments made prior to the receipt of goods or services that will be used or rendered for future research and development activities are deferred and capitalized as prepaid expenses and other current assets on our balance sheet. The capitalized amounts are recognized as expense as the goods are delivered or the related services are performed.

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We do not allocate our costs by product candidate, as a significant amount of research and development expenses includes internal costs, such as salary and other personnel-related expenses, laboratory supplies and allocated overhead, and external costs, such as fees paid to third parties to conduct research and development activities on our behalf, none of which are tracked by product candidate. In particular, with respect to internal costs, several of our departments support multiple product candidate research and development programs and, therefore, the costs cannot be allocated to a particular product candidate or development program.

At this time, we cannot reasonably estimate or know the nature, timing or estimated costs of the efforts that will be necessary to complete the development of, and obtain regulatory approval for, any of our product candidates. We expect our research and development expenses to increase for the foreseeable future as we continue to invest in research and development activities related to developing our product candidates, as our product candidates advance into later stages of development, as we begin to conduct larger clinical trials, as we seek regulatory approvals for any product candidates that successfully complete clinical trials, and incur expenses associated with hiring additional personnel to support our research and development efforts. We have strengthened our ophthalmology senior leadership team and announced formation of the Ophthalmology Advisory Board, ahead of first Phase 3 clinical trial initiation for 4D-150 in wet AMD. The process of conducting the necessary clinical research to obtain regulatory approval is costly and time-consuming, and the successful development of our product candidates is highly uncertain. See the section titled “Risk Factors” for additional risks regarding regulatory development and approval.

General and Administrative

Our general and administrative expenses consist primarily of personnel-related expenses, including salaries, employee benefit costs and stock-based compensation expense for our personnel in executive, finance and accounting, legal, human resources, business development, and other administrative functions. General and administrative expenses also include professional fees for legal, patent, consulting, accounting and tax services, allocated overhead, including rent, equipment, depreciation, information technology costs and utilities, and other general operating expenses not otherwise classified as research and development expenses.

We expect our general and administrative expenses to increase as a result of increased personnel-related costs, patent costs for our product candidates, consulting, legal and accounting services associated with maintaining compliance with stock exchange listing and requirements of the SEC, investor relations costs, director and officer insurance premiums, and other costs associated with being a public company.

Other Income, Net

Our other income, net primarily consists of interest income earned on our cash equivalents and marketable securities and adjustments for the change in the fair value of our derivative liability which must be remeasured at each reporting date.

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Results of Operations

Comparison of the Years Ended December 31, 2024 and 2023

The following table summarizes our results of operations for the periods indicated (dollars in thousands):

Revenue

Revenue for the year ended December 31, 2024 decreased by $20.7 million, or 100%, from the year ended December 31, 2023. The decrease in revenue is due to the upfront fees received from the License Agreement with Astellas in 2023.

Research and Development Expenses

The following table provides a breakout of research and development expenses for the periods indicated (dollars in thousands):

Research and development expenses for the year ended December 31, 2024 increased by $44.2 million, or 46%, from the year ended December 31, 2023. The increase was due to the following:

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a $25.2 million increase in research and development trials and consumables expense mainly due to increased clinical trial activity for our product candidates, primarily 4D-150;

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a $14.5 million increase in payroll and personnel expenses due to increased headcount of research and development personnel, including a $4.1 million increase in employee stock-based compensation; and

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a $4.5 million increase in consulting services, facilities related expenses, software expenses and other research and development related expenses.

General and Administrative Expenses

General and administrative expenses for the year ended December 31, 2024 increased by $10.1 million, or 28%, from the year ended December 31, 2023. The increase was due to:

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a $5.1 million increase in personnel costs mainly due to increased headcount of general and administrative personnel, including a $0.8 million increase in employee stock-based compensation;

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a $5.0 million increase mainly due to increased consulting and outside services, increased non-employee stock compensation expense, increased facilities related expenses, software expenses, audit and tax fees, service fees and business taxes, which was partially offset by lower business insurance.

Other Income, Net

Other income, net, increased by $15.0 million, or 124%, from the year ended December 31, 2023 to the year ended December 31, 2024. The increase is attributable to higher balances of cash equivalents and marketable securities, and higher market yields on our cash equivalents and marketable securities.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

Sources of Liquidity

We have funded our operations primarily through the sale and issuance of our equity securities, including from the sale of our common stock in our IPO, Follow-on Offerings, and “at-the-market” offerings and the sale of our Series A, Series A-1, Series B and Series C redeemable preferred stock, and to a lesser extent from cash received pursuant to our collaboration and license agreements.

In December 2020, we completed our IPO. We issued and sold 9,660,000 shares of common stock at a price to the public of $23.00 per share. The aggregate net proceeds from our IPO were $204.7 million after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and other offering costs.

In November 2021, we completed an underwritten public offering (“2021 Offering”) in which 4,750,000 shares of our common stock were sold at an offering price of $25.00 per share. The net proceeds from the 2021 Offering were $111.1 million after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and offering expenses.

In March 2022, we filed a Registration Statement on Form S-3 covering the offering of up to $300.0 million of common stock, preferred stock, debt securities, warrants and units, which was declared effective by the SEC in April 2022 (the “S-3 Registration Statement”). In March 2022, we also entered into an Open Market Sales Agreement (the “Sales Agreement”) with Jefferies LLC as sales agent to sell shares of our common stock, from time to time, with aggregate gross sales proceeds of up to $100.0 million pursuant to the S-3 Registration Statement as an “at-the-market” offering under the Securities Act (the “2022 ATM Offering Program”). 1,684,550 shares of the Company’s common stock have been sold pursuant to the Sales Agreement for net proceeds to the Company of $34.4 million, after deducting issuance costs. On May 31, 2024, we terminated the Sales Agreement and the 2022 ATM Offering Program pursuant to the terms of the Sales Agreement.

In May 2023, we completed the 2023 Offering in which 8,625,000 shares of our common stock were sold at an offering price of $16.00 per share. The net proceeds from the 2023 Offering were $129.2 million after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and offering expenses.

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In July 2023, we entered into the License Agreement with AGT where we provided our 4D vector technology to AGT to deliver AGT’s genetic payloads for the treatment of rare monogenic diseases. As partial consideration for the rights and licenses granted to AGT under the License Agreement, we received an upfront payment of $20.0 million.

In February 2024, we completed the 2024 Offering in which 6,586,015 shares of our common stock were sold at an offering price of $29.50 per share, as well as pre-funded warrants to purchase 3,583,476 shares of our common stock at an offering price of $29.4999 per underlying share. The net proceeds from the 2024 Offering were $281.2 million, after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and other offering expenses. We also granted the underwriters the option to purchase up to 1,525,423 additional shares of common stock in connection with the offering.

In March 2024, the underwriters exercised their option and purchased 1,259,299 additional shares of common stock resulting in net proceeds of $34.9 million, after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions.

In June 2024, we entered into a Sales Agreement (the “Leerink Sales Agreement”) with Leerink Partners LLC (“Leerink”) as sales agent to sell shares of our common stock, from time to time, with aggregate gross sales proceeds of up to $250.0 million pursuant to a Registration Statement on Form S-3 that we filed with the SEC in February 2024 as an “at-the-market” offering under the Securities Act (the “2024 ATM Offering Program”). For the year ended December 31, 2024, no shares had been sold pursuant to the Leerink Sales Agreement.

As of December 31, 2024, we had cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities of $505.5 million.

Future Funding Requirements

We have experienced recurring net losses and had an accumulated deficit of $576.2 million at December 31, 2024. Our transition to profitability is dependent upon the successful development, approval and commercialization of our product candidates and those of our collaboration partners and achieving a level of revenue adequate to support our cost structure. We expect to continue to incur losses for the foreseeable future.

We expect that our research and development and general and administrative expenses will continue to increase for the foreseeable future. Additionally, we expect our capital expenditures will increase significantly in the future for costs associated with building commercial manufacturing capacity. As a result, we will need significant additional capital to fund our operations, which we may obtain through one or more equity offerings, debt financings or other third-party funding, including potential strategic alliances and licensing or collaboration arrangements.

Because of the numerous risks and uncertainties associated with the development and commercialization of gene therapy product candidates, we are unable to estimate the amount of increased capital we will need to raise to support our operations and the outlays and operating expenditures necessary to complete the development of our product candidates and build additional manufacturing capacity, and we may use our available capital resources sooner than we currently expect.

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

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the progress of our current and future product candidates through preclinical and clinical development;

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potential delays in our preclinical studies and clinical trials, whether current or planned;

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expanding our manufacturing facilities and working with our contract manufacturers to scale up the manufacturing processes for our product candidates;

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continuing our research and discovery activities;

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continuing the development of our Therapeutic Vector Evolution platform;

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initiating and conducting additional preclinical, clinical or other studies for our product candidates;

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changing or adding additional contract manufacturers or suppliers;

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seeking regulatory approvals and marketing authorizations for our product candidates;

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establishing sales, marketing and distribution infrastructure to commercialize any products for which we obtain approval;

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acquiring or in-licensing product candidates, intellectual property and technologies;

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making milestone, royalty or other payments due under any current or future collaboration or license agreements;

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obtaining, maintaining, expanding, protecting and enforcing our intellectual property portfolio;

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attracting, hiring and retaining qualified personnel;

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potential delays or other issues related to our operations;

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meeting the requirements and demands of being a public company;

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defending against any product liability claims or other lawsuits related to our products; and

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the lingering impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and adverse macroeconomic conditions such as, but not limited to, higher inflation and increased interest rates, each of which may exacerbate the magnitude of the factors discussed above.

We believe that our existing cash and cash equivalents will allow us to fund our planned operations for at least one year from the date of the issuance of this report.

We have based our estimates as to how long we expect we will be able to fund our operations on assumptions that may prove to be wrong, and we could use our available capital resources sooner than we currently expect, in which case we would be required to obtain additional financing sooner than currently projected, which may not be available to us on acceptable terms, or at all. Our failure to raise capital as and when needed would have a negative impact on our financial condition and our ability to pursue our business strategy. See the section titled “Risk Factors” for additional risks associated with our substantial capital requirements.

We do not have any committed external sources of funds. Accordingly, we will be required to obtain further funding through public or private equity offerings, debt financings, collaborations and licensing arrangements or other sources to complete the clinical development for the product candidates for treatment of wet AMD, DME, GA, cystic fibrosis lung disease, alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency lung disease, Fabry disease cardiomyopathy or any other indication we may pursue. If we raise additional funds by issuing equity securities, our stockholders may experience dilution. Any future debt financing into which we enter would result in fixed payment obligations and may involve agreements that include grants of security interests on our assets and restrictive covenants that limit our ability to take specific actions, such as incurring additional debt, making capital expenditures, granting liens over our assets, redeeming stock or declaring dividends, that could adversely impact our ability to conduct our business. Any debt financing or additional equity that we raise may contain terms that could adversely affect our common stockholders. Further, additional funds may not be available when we need them, on terms that are acceptable to us, or at all. Our ability to raise additional capital may be adversely impacted by potential worsening global economic conditions and the recent disruptions to and volatility in the credit and financial markets in the United States and worldwide resulting from the war in Ukraine, conflicts in the Middle East, any expansion of these conflicts, rising interest rates and inflation, natural disasters and pandemics.

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If we are unable to obtain additional funding, we expect to delay, reduce or eliminate some or all of our research and development programs, product portfolio expansion or investment in internal manufacturing capabilities, which could adversely affect our business. If we raise additional funds through collaborations or marketing, distribution or licensing arrangements with third parties, we may have to relinquish valuable rights to future revenue streams or product candidates or grant licenses on terms that may not be favorable to us.

Summary Statement of Cash Flows

The following is a summary of cash flows for the periods indicated below (in thousands):

Net Cash Used in Operating Activities

Net cash used in operating activities was $134.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2024. This was primarily due to the net loss of $160.9 million partially offset by a change of $25.7 million in noncash charges and by a net change of $0.5 million in our operating assets and liabilities. The noncash charges primarily consisted of stock-based compensation expense of $26.1 million, depreciation and amortization of $4.7 million and amortization of operating lease right-of-use assets of $2.1 million, partially offset by accretion of discount on marketable securities of $7.2 million. The change in operating assets and liabilities was primarily due to a $6.5 million increase in accrued and other liabilities, a $0.9 million increase in accounts payable and $0.1 million increase in deferred revenue, offset by a $1.7 million decrease in operating lease liabilities, a $1.7 million increase in prepaid expenses and other current assets and a $3.6 million increase in other assets.

Net cash used in operating activities was $$75.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2023. This was primarily due to the net loss of $100.8 million partially offset by a change of $24.4 million in noncash charges and by a net change of $0.6 million in our operating assets and liabilities. The noncash charges primarily consisted of stock-based compensation expense of $19.7 million, depreciation and amortization of $4.2 million, amortization of operating lease right-of-use assets of $1.5 million and change in fair value of derivative liability of $0.2 million, partially offset by accretion of discount on marketable securities of $1.2 million. The change in operating assets and liabilities was primarily due to a $3.4 million increase in accrued and other liabilities and a $0.9 million increase in accounts payable, offset by a $0.7 million decrease in deferred revenue, $1.5 million decrease in operating lease liabilities and a $1.4 million increase in prepaid expenses and other current assets.

Net Cash Provided by (Used in) Investing Activities

Net cash used in investing activities was $302.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2024. This was due to purchases of marketable securities of $467.6 million and purchases of property and equipment of $3.8 million, offset by maturities of marketable securities of $169.0 million.

Net cash provided by investing activities was $115.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2023. This was due to maturities of marketable securities of $173.3 million offset by purchases of marketable securities of $54.8 million and purchases of property and equipment of $2.8 million.

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Net Cash Provided by Financing Activities

Net cash provided by financing activities was $337.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2024. This was due to proceeds from the issuance of common stock upon public offering, net of issuance costs, of $316.1 million, proceeds from the issuance of common stock from the 2022 ATM Offering Program of $15.3 million, proceeds from the issuance of common stock from the exercise of stock options and warrants of $4.6 million and proceeds from the issuance of common stock from purchases from the Company’s 2020 Employee Stock Purchase Plan (“ESPP”) of $1.3 million.

Net cash provided by financing activities was $156.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2023, which was due to proceeds from the issuance of common stock pursuant to public offerings of $129.2 million, proceeds from the issuance of common stock from the ATM offering program of $19.1 million, proceeds from the issuance of common stock upon exercise of stock options of $7.3 million and proceeds from ESPP purchases of $1.2 million.

Contractual Obligations, Commitments and Contingencies

Our commitments include obligations under vendor contracts to provide research services and other purchase commitments with our vendors. In the normal course of business, we enter into services agreements with contract research organizations, contract manufacturing organizations and other third parties. Generally, these agreements provide for termination upon notice, with specified amounts due upon termination based on the timing of termination and the terms of the agreement. The actual amounts and timing of payments under these agreements are uncertain and contingent upon the initiation and completion of the services to be provided. These amounts are not fixed and determinable.

As of December 31, 2024, our principal commitments consisted of obligations under our operating lease for our headquarters. Please see Note 9 to our financial statements included elsewhere in this report.

Critical Accounting Policies and Significant Judgments and Estimates

Our financial statements have been prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States. The preparation of our financial statements requires us to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of our financial statements, as well as the reported revenue and expenses during the reported periods. We evaluate these estimates and assumptions on an ongoing basis. We base our estimates on historical experience and on various other factors that we believe are reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying value of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions.

Our significant accounting policies are described in Note 2 to our financial statements included elsewhere in this report. We believe the following accounting policies are critical to the process of making significant judgments and estimates in the preparation of our financial statements and understanding and evaluating our reported financial results.

Revenue Recognition

We determine revenue recognition for arrangements within the scope of ASC 606 by performing the following five steps: (i) identification of the promised goods or services in the contract; (ii) determination of whether the promised goods or services are performance obligations including whether they are distinct in the context of the contract; (iii) measurement of the transaction price, including the constraint on variable consideration; (iv) allocation of the transaction price to the performance obligations based on estimated selling prices; and (v) recognition of revenue when (or as) we satisfy each performance obligation.

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Our revenue is primarily derived through our license, research, development and commercialization agreements. The terms of these types of agreements may include (i) licenses to our technology, (ii) research and development services, and (iii) services or obligations in connection with participation in research or steering committees. Payments to us under these arrangements typically include one or more of the following: nonrefundable upfront and license fees, research funding, milestone and other contingent payments to us for the achievement of defined collaboration objectives and certain preclinical, clinical, regulatory and sales-based events, as well as royalties on sales of any commercialized products. Arrangements that include upfront payments are recorded as deferred revenue upon receipt or when due and may require deferral of revenue recognition to a future period until performance obligations are met. The event-based milestone payments, royalties and cost reimbursements represent variable consideration, and we use the most likely amount method to estimate this variable consideration. Royalty payments are recognized when earned or as the sales occur. We record cost reimbursements as accounts receivable when right to consideration is unconditional.

A performance obligation is a promise in a contract to transfer a distinct good or service to the customer and is the unit of account in ASC 606. We allocate the total transaction price to each performance obligation based on the estimated selling price and recognize revenue when, or as, the performance obligation is satisfied. We include the unconstrained amount of estimated variable consideration in the transaction price. At the end of each reporting period, we re-evaluate the estimated variable consideration included in the transaction price and any related constraint, and if necessary, adjust our estimate of the overall transaction price.

Significant management judgment is required to determine the level of effort required under an arrangement, and the period over which the Company expects to complete its performance obligations under the arrangement. Changes in these estimates can have a material effect on revenue recognized.

Accrued Clinical Research Organization Costs

We estimate our accrued clinical research organization costs as of each balance sheet date. This process involves reviewing contracts and purchase orders with service providers, identifying services that have been performed on our behalf and estimating the level of service performed, the expected remaining period of performance and the associated expenses incurred for the service when we have not yet been invoiced or otherwise notified of actual cost. Depending on the timing of payments to the service providers and the estimated expenses incurred, we may record net prepaid or accrued clinical research organization expenses relating to these costs.

Examples of estimated accrued research and development expenses include fees paid to:

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CROs in connection with preclinical development and clinical studies; and

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other vendors related to process development and manufacturing of materials for use in preclinical development and clinical studies.

Our understanding of the status and timing of services performed relative to the actual status and timing may vary and may result in us reporting changes in estimates in any particular period. To date, there have been no material differences from our estimates to the amounts actually incurred.

Stock-Based Compensation Expense

We use a fair value-based method to account for all stock-based compensation arrangements with employees and nonemployees including stock options and stock awards. Our determination of the fair value of stock options on the date of grant utilizes the Black-Scholes option pricing model.

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The fair value of the option granted is recognized on a straight-line basis over the period during which an optionee is required to provide services in exchange for the option award, known as the requisite service period, which usually is the vesting period. Prior to January 1, 2020, the stock-based compensation expense for nonemployees was subject to remeasurement until the related vesting conditions were met. Effective January 1, 2020, the measurement date for nonemployee awards is the date of grant without changes in the fair value of the award. We account for forfeitures as they occur for both employees and nonemployees.

Estimates of the fair value of equity awards as of the grant date using valuation models such as the Black-Scholes option pricing model are affected by assumptions with a number of complex variables.

Changes in the following assumptions can materially affect the estimate of fair value and ultimately how much stock-based compensation expense is recognized; and the resulting change in fair value, if any, is recognized in our statements of operations during the period the related services are rendered. These inputs are subjective and generally require significant analysis and judgment to develop:

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Expected Term—The expected term for employee options is calculated using the simplified method as we do not have sufficient historical information to provide a basis for estimate. The simplified method is based on the average of the vesting tranches and the contractual life of each grant.

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Expected Volatility—For all stock options granted to date, the expected volatility was estimated based on a study of publicly traded industry peer companies as we did not have sufficient trading history for our common stock. We selected the peer group based on similarities in industry, stage of development, size and financial leverage with our principal business operations. For each grant, we measured historical volatility over a period equivalent to the expected term.

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Risk-Free Interest Rate—The risk-free interest rate is based on the yield available on U.S. Treasury zero-coupon issues whose term is similar in duration to the expected term of the respective stock option.

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Expected Dividend Yield—We have not paid and do not currently anticipate paying any dividends on our common stock. Accordingly, we have estimated the dividend yield to be zero.

As of December 31, 2024, the unrecognized stock-based compensation expense related to stock options was $54.5 million and is expected to be recognized as expense over a weighted-average period of approximately 2.1 years. The intrinsic value of all outstanding stock options as of December 31, 2024 was approximately $0.3 million, of which $0.3 million related to vested options and zero related to unvested options.

Income Taxes

We account for income taxes under the asset and liability method, which requires, among other things, that deferred income taxes be provided for temporary differences between the financial statement reporting and tax basis of our assets and liabilities. In addition, deferred tax assets are recorded for the future benefit of utilizing net operating losses and research and development credit carryforwards and are measured using the enacted tax rates and laws that will be in effect when such items are expected to reverse. A valuation allowance is provided against deferred tax assets unless it is more likely than not that they will be realized.

We account for uncertain tax positions by assessing all material positions taken in any assessment or challenge by relevant taxing authorities. Assessing an uncertain tax position begins with the initial determination of the position’s sustainability and is measured at the largest amount of benefit that is greater than fifty percent likely of being realized upon ultimate settlement. Our policy is to recognize interest and penalties related to the underpayment of income taxes as a component of income tax expense or benefit. To date, there have been no interest or penalties charged in relation to the unrecognized tax benefits.

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NOLs and tax credit carryforwards are subject to review and possible adjustment by the Internal Revenue Service and may become subject to an annual limitation in the event of certain cumulative changes in the ownership interest of significant stockholders over a three-year period in excess of 50% as defined under Sections 382 and 383 in the Internal Revenue Code, which could limit the amount of tax attributes that can be utilized annually to offset future taxable income or tax liabilities.

The Company has experienced ownership changes in the past, as well as in 2024. As a result of the ownership changes, approximately $21.1 million of the federal research and development credits are permanently limited and will expire unused for federal income tax purposes, and such amounts are excluded from the federal research and development credit carryforwards as of December 31, 2024. Subsequent ownership changes may result in additional limitations.

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements

Since our inception, we have not engaged in any off-balance sheet arrangements as defined in the rules and regulations of the SEC.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

See Note 2 to our financial statements included elsewhere in this report for information.

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

You should read the following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations together with our financial statements and the related notes included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K (this “report”). This discussion and analysis and other parts of this report contain forward-looking statements based upon current beliefs, plans and expectations related to future events and our future financial performance that involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions, such as statements regarding our intentions, plans, objectives, expectations, forecasts and projections. Our actual results and the timing of selected events could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of several factors, including those set forth under the section titled “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this report.

Overview

We are a leading clinical-stage biopharma company focused on unlocking the full potential of genetic medicines through proprietary customized vectors that are optimized for the specific diseases we treat. 4DMT’s proprietary invention platform, Therapeutic Vector Evolution, combines the power of the Nobel Prize-winning technology, directed evolution, with approximately one billion synthetic AAV capsid-derived sequences to invent customized and evolved vectors for use in our wholly owned and partnered product candidates. We believe key features of our targeted and evolved vectors will help us to potentially create targeted genetic medicine product candidates with improved therapeutic profiles. These profiles will allow us to treat a broad range of large market diseases, unlike most current genetic medicines that generally focus on rare or small market diseases. Our product design, development, and manufacturing engine helps us efficiently create and advance our diverse product pipeline with the goal of revolutionizing medicine with potential curative therapies for millions of patients.

We have built a deep portfolio of genetic medicine product candidates, with three novel, highly targeted next generation AAV vectors currently in the clinic. This portfolio includes five product candidates in clinical trials: 4D-150 for the treatment of wet age-related macular degeneration ("wet AMD") and diabetic macular edema (“DME”), 4D-710 for the treatment of cystic fibrosis lung disease, 4D-310 for the treatment of Fabry disease cardiomyopathy, 4D-125 for the treatment of X-linked retinitis pigmentosa ("XLRP") and 4D-110 for the treatment of choroideremia. In addition, we have two product candidates in preclinical studies: 4D-175 for geographic atrophy (“GA”) and 4D-725 for alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency lung disease.

We have funded our operations primarily through the sale and issuance of equity securities and to a lesser extent from cash received pursuant to our collaboration and license agreements.

In May 2023, we completed an underwritten public offering (the "2023 Offering") in which 8,625,000 shares of our common stock were sold at an offering price of $16.00 per share pursuant to our effective shelf registration statement on Form S-3. The net proceeds from the 2023 Offering were $129.2 million after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and offering expenses.

In July 2023, we entered into a licensing agreement (the “License Agreement”) with Astellas Gene Therapies, Inc. (“AGT”) for our intravitreal R100 vector to develop and commercialize products for genetic targets implicated in rare monogenic ophthalmic disease. AGT paid the Company an upfront amount of $20.0 million and may receive potential future option fees and milestones of up to $942.5 million including potential near-term development milestones of $15.0 million for the initial target.

In February 2024, we completed an underwritten public offering (the “2024 Offering”) in which 6,586,015 shares of our common stock were sold at an offering price of $29.50 per share, as well as pre-funded warrants to purchase 3,583,476 shares of our common stock at an offering price of $29.4999 per underlying share pursuant to our effective registration statement on Form S-3. The net proceeds from the 2024 Offering were $281.4 million, after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and other offering expenses. We also granted the underwriters the option to purchase up to 1,525,423 additional shares of common stock in connection with the offering.

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We have incurred significant operating losses and expect that our operating losses will increase significantly as we, among other things, continue to advance our product candidates through preclinical and clinical development, seek regulatory approval, and prepare for, and, if approved, proceed to commercialization; broaden and improve our platform; acquire, discover, validate and develop additional product candidates; maintain, protect and enforce our intellectual property portfolio; and hire additional personnel.

Our net losses were $100.8 million and $107.5 million for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. As of December 31, 2023, we had an accumulated deficit of $415.3 million. We do not expect positive cash flows from operations in the foreseeable future. Our net losses may fluctuate significantly from quarter-to-quarter and year-to-year, depending on the timing of our clinical trials and our expenditures on other research and development activities.

We do not have any products approved for sale and have not generated any revenue from product sales since our inception. Our ability to generate product revenue will depend on the successful development, regulatory approval and eventual commercialization of one or more of our product candidates, if approved.

We will require substantial additional funding to support our continuing operations and further the development of our product candidates. Until such time as we can generate significant revenue from product sales, if ever, we expect to finance our operations through the sale of equity, debt financings, or other capital sources, which could include income from collaborations, strategic partnerships, or other strategic arrangements, for the foreseeable future. Adequate funding may not be available when needed or on terms acceptable to us, or at all. Our ability to raise additional funds may be adversely impacted by potential worsening global economic conditions and the recent disruptions to, and volatility in, the credit and financial markets in the United States and worldwide resulting from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine, rising interest rates, inflation and otherwise. If we fail to obtain necessary capital when needed on acceptable terms, or at all, it could force us to delay, limit, reduce or terminate our product development programs, commercialization efforts or other operations. Insufficient liquidity may also require us to relinquish rights to product candidates at an earlier stage of development or on less favorable terms than we would otherwise choose. We cannot assure you that we will ever be profitable or generate positive cash flow from operating activities.

Recent Changes to Management / Leadership Team

Effective as of January 2, 2024, our Board of Directors (the “Board”) appointed Noriyuki Kasahara, M.D., Ph.D., as Chief Scientific Officer. On January 1, 2024, Dr. Kasahara delivered notice of his resignation from our Board, including his role as a member and the Chair of the Science and Technology Committee of the Board, effective on January 1, 2024.

Components of Results of Operations

Revenue

Our revenue to date has been generated through payments from our collaboration and license agreements, primarily from upfront and milestone payments and expense reimbursement. We have not generated any revenue from the sale of approved products and do not expect to do so for the foreseeable future.

In July 2023, we entered into the License Agreement with AGT where we provided our 4D vector technology to AGT to deliver AGT’s genetic payloads for the treatment of rare monogenic diseases. As partial consideration for the rights and licenses granted to AGT under License Agreement, we received an upfront payment of $20.0 million which we recognized as revenue during the third quarter of 2023.

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In August 2019, we amended our agreement with uniQure and entered into a separate new collaboration and license agreement with uniQure. Neither party was required to pay monetary consideration in connection with the amendment or new agreement. We determined the incremental transaction price of the amendment and new agreement to be $5.1 million and recorded the amount as deferred revenue in August 2019. We began recognizing revenue related to uniQure in 2020 and recognized the remaining revenue under the agreement during the third quarter of 2023. We recognized immaterial revenue during the year ended December 31, 2023, and $3.1 million during the year ended December 31, 2022 related to this agreement. See Note 7, Research and Collaboration Agreements, to our financial statements included elsewhere in this report for further discussion regarding the accounting treatment of this agreement.

Future collaboration and license revenue is highly dependent on the successful development and commercialization of products by our collaboration partners, which is uncertain, and revenue may fluctuate significantly from period to period. Additionally, we may never receive the consideration from our license agreements that is contemplated for option fees, development and sales-based milestone payments or royalties on sales of licensed products, given the contingent nature of these payments.

Operating Expenses

Research and Development

Our research and development expenses primarily consist of costs incurred for the discovery and preclinical and clinical development of our product candidates. These expenses include salaries and personnel-related costs, including stock-based compensation of our scientific personnel performing research and development activities; laboratory supplies; research materials; fees paid to CROs to execute preclinical studies and clinical trials; fees paid to CMOs to manufacture materials for preclinical studies and clinical trials; fees related to obtaining technology licenses; consulting costs; costs related to seeking regulatory approval of our product candidates; and allocated facility-related costs, information technology costs, depreciation expense, and other overhead.

We expense all research and development costs in the periods in which they are incurred. We have entered into various agreements with CROs and CMOs. Costs of certain activities are recognized based on an evaluation of the progress to completion of specific tasks. Payments made prior to the receipt of goods or services that will be used or rendered for future research and development activities are deferred and capitalized as prepaid expenses and other current assets on our balance sheet. The capitalized amounts are recognized as expense as the goods are delivered or the related services are performed.

We do not allocate our costs by product candidate, as a significant amount of research and development expenses includes internal costs, such as salary and other personnel-related expenses, laboratory supplies and allocated overhead, and external costs, such as fees paid to third parties to conduct research and development activities on our behalf, none of which are tracked by product candidate. In particular, with respect to internal costs, several of our departments support multiple product candidate research and development programs and, therefore, the costs cannot be allocated to a particular product candidate or development program.

At this time, we cannot reasonably estimate or know the nature, timing or estimated costs of the efforts that will be necessary to complete the development of, and obtain regulatory approval for, any of our product candidates. We expect our research and development expenses to increase for the foreseeable future as we continue to invest in research and development activities related to developing our product candidates, as our product candidates advance into later stages of development, as we begin to conduct larger clinical trials, as we seek regulatory approvals for any product candidates that successfully complete clinical trials, and incur expenses associated with hiring additional personnel to support our research and development efforts. The process of conducting the necessary clinical research to obtain regulatory approval is costly and time-consuming, and the successful development of our product candidates is highly uncertain. See the section titled “Risk Factors” for additional risks regarding regulatory development and approval.

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General and Administrative

Our general and administrative expenses consist primarily of personnel-related expenses, including salaries, employee benefit costs and stock-based compensation expense for our personnel in executive, finance and accounting, legal, human resources, business development, and other administrative functions. General and administrative expenses also include professional fees for legal, patent, consulting, accounting and tax services, allocated overhead, including rent, equipment, depreciation, information technology costs and utilities, and other general operating expenses not otherwise classified as research and development expenses.

We expect our general and administrative expenses to increase as a result of increased personnel-related costs, patent costs for our product candidates, consulting, legal and accounting services associated with maintaining compliance with stock exchange listing and requirements of the SEC, investor relations costs, director and officer insurance premiums, and other costs associated with being a public company.

Other Income (Expense), Net

Our other income (expense), net primarily consists of interest income earned on our cash equivalents and marketable securities and adjustments for the change in the fair value of our derivative liability which must be remeasured at each reporting date.

Results of Operations

Comparison of the Years Ended December 31, 2023 and 2022

The following table summarizes our results of operations for the periods indicated (dollars in thousands):

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Revenue

Revenue for the year ended December 31, 2023 increased by $17.6 million, or 562%, from the year ended December 31, 2022 mainly due to the upfront fees received from the License Agreement with Astellas which was partially offset by lower revenue from uniQure in 2023.

Research and Development Expenses

The following table provides a breakout of research and development expenses for the periods indicated (dollars in thousands):

Research and development expenses for the year ended December 31, 2023 increased by $16.8 million, or 21%, from the year ended December 31, 2022. The increase was due to the following:

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an $8.7 million increase in research and development trials and consumables expense primarily due to higher clinical trial costs of $6.6 million, higher selection and validation costs of $1.9 million and higher other outside service costs of $1.2 million, offset by lower consumables of $1.0 million;

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a $4.8 million increase in payroll and personnel expenses due to increased headcount of research and development personnel, including a $1.5 million increase in employee bonus and $0.5 million increase in employee stock-based compensation expense; and

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a $3.3 million increase in facilities and other research and development expenses mainly due to higher fixed assets depreciation and facility maintenance expenses.

General and Administrative Expenses

General and administrative expenses for the year ended December 31, 2023 increased by $3.6 million, or 11%, from the year ended December 31, 2022. The increase was due to:

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a $2.5 million increase in personnel costs mainly due to a $2.0 million increase in employee stock-based compensation expense and a $0.7 million increase in employee bonus, offset by a $0.8 million decrease in employee recruiting expense;

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a $1.1 million increase in outside services; and

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a $1.0 million decrease in business insurance and $0.4 million decrease in consulting services, offset by $0.7 million increase in consultant and professional fees and $0.7 million increase in facility-related expenses.

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Other Income (Expense), Net

Other income (expense), net increased by $9.5 million, or 374%, from the year ended December 31, 2022 to the year ended December 31, 2023. The increase is primarily attributable to higher market yields on our cash equivalents and marketable securities.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

Sources of Liquidity

We have funded our operations primarily through the sale and issuance of our equity securities, including from the sale of our common stock in our IPO and Follow-on Offering and the sale of our Series A, Series A-1, Series B and Series C redeemable preferred stock, and to a lesser extent from cash received pursuant to our collaboration and license agreements.

In December 2020, we completed our IPO. We issued and sold 9,660,000 shares of common stock at a price to the public of $23.00 per share. The aggregate net proceeds from our IPO were $204.7 million after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and other offering costs.

In November 2021, we completed an underwritten public offering ("2021 Offering") in which 4,750,000 shares of our common stock were sold at an offering price of $25.00 per share. The net proceeds from the 2021 Offering were $111.1 million after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and offering expenses.

In March 2022, we filed a Registration Statement on Form S-3 covering the offering of up to $300.0 million of common stock, preferred stock, debt securities, warrants and units, which was declared effective by the SEC in April 2022 (the “S-3 Registration Statement”). In March 2022, we also entered into an Open Market Sales Agreement (the "Sales Agreement") with Jefferies LLC as sales agent to sell shares of our common stock, from time to time, with aggregate gross sales proceeds of up to $100.0 million pursuant to the S-3 Registration Statement as an “at-the-market” offering under the Securities Act (the "2022 ATM Offering Program"). As of December 31, 2023, 1.1 million shares of the Company's common stock had been sold pursuant to the Sales Agreement for net proceeds to the Company of $19.1 million, after deducting issuance costs. As of December 31, 2023, $80.1 million of common stock remained available for sale under the Sales Agreement.

In May 2023, we completed the 2023 Offering in which 8,625,000 shares of our common stock were sold at an offering price of $16.00 per share. The net proceeds from the 2023 Offering were $129.2 million after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and offering expenses.

In July 2023, we entered into the License Agreement with AGT where we provided our 4D vector technology to AGT to deliver AGT’s genetic payloads for the treatment of rare monogenic diseases. As partial consideration for the rights and licenses granted to AGT under the License Agreement, we received an upfront payment of $20.0 million.

In February 2024, we completed the 2024 Offering in which 6,586,015 shares of our common stock were sold at an offering price of $29.50 per share, as well as pre-funded warrants to purchase 3,583,476 shares of our common stock at an offering price of $29.4999 per underlying share. The net proceeds from the 2024 Offering were $281.4 million, after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and other offering expenses. We also granted the underwriters the option to purchase up to 1,525,423 additional shares of common stock in connection with the offering.

As of December 31, 2023, we had cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities of $299.2 million.

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Future Funding Requirements

We have experienced recurring net losses and had an accumulated deficit of $415.3 million at December 31, 2023. Our transition to profitability is dependent upon the successful development, approval and commercialization of our product candidates and those of our collaboration partners and achieving a level of revenue adequate to support our cost structure. We expect to continue to incur losses for the foreseeable future.

We expect that our research and development and general and administrative expenses will continue to increase for the foreseeable future. Additionally, we expect our capital expenditures will increase significantly in the future for costs associated with building commercial manufacturing capacity. As a result, we will need significant additional capital to fund our operations, which we may obtain through one or more equity offerings, debt financings or other third-party funding, including potential strategic alliances and licensing or collaboration arrangements.

Because of the numerous risks and uncertainties associated with the development and commercialization of gene therapy product candidates, we are unable to estimate the amount of increased capital we will need to raise to support our operations and the outlays and operating expenditures necessary to complete the development of our product candidates and build additional manufacturing capacity, and we may use our available capital resources sooner than we currently expect.

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

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the progress of our current and future product candidates through preclinical and clinical development;

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potential delays in our preclinical studies and clinical trials, whether current or planned;

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expanding our manufacturing facilities and working with our contract manufacturers to scale up the manufacturing processes for our product candidates;

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continuing our research and discovery activities;

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continuing the development of our Therapeutic Vector Evolution platform;

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initiating and conducting additional preclinical, clinical or other studies for our product candidates;

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changing or adding additional contract manufacturers or suppliers;

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seeking regulatory approvals and marketing authorizations for our product candidates;

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establishing sales, marketing and distribution infrastructure to commercialize any products for which we obtain approval;

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acquiring or in-licensing product candidates, intellectual property and technologies;

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making milestone, royalty or other payments due under any current or future collaboration or license agreements;

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obtaining, maintaining, expanding, protecting and enforcing our intellectual property portfolio;

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attracting, hiring and retaining qualified personnel;

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potential delays or other issues related to our operations;

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meeting the requirements and demands of being a public company;

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defending against any product liability claims or other lawsuits related to our products; and

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the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and adverse macroeconomic conditions such as, but not limited to, higher inflation and increased interest rates, each of which may exacerbate the magnitude of the factors discussed above.

We believe that our existing cash and cash equivalents will allow us to fund our planned operations for at least one year from the date of the issuance of this report.

We have based our estimates as to how long we expect we will be able to fund our operations on assumptions that may prove to be wrong, and we could use our available capital resources sooner than we currently expect, in which case we would be required to obtain additional financing sooner than currently projected, which may not be available to us on acceptable terms, or at all. Our failure to raise capital as and when needed would have a negative impact on our financial condition and our ability to pursue our business strategy. See the section titled “Risk Factors” for additional risks associated with our substantial capital requirements.

We do not have any committed external sources of funds. Accordingly, we will be required to obtain further funding through public or private equity offerings, debt financings, collaborations and licensing arrangements or other sources to complete the clinical development for the product candidates for treatment of wet AMD, DME, GA, cystic fibrosis lung disease, alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency lung disease, Fabry disease cardiomyopathy, XLRP, choroideremia or any other indication we may pursue. If we raise additional funds by issuing equity securities, our stockholders may experience dilution. Any future debt financing into which we enter would result in fixed payment obligations and may involve agreements that include grants of security interests on our assets and restrictive covenants that limit our ability to take specific actions, such as incurring additional debt, making capital expenditures, granting liens over our assets, redeeming stock or declaring dividends, that could adversely impact our ability to conduct our business. Any debt financing or additional equity that we raise may contain terms that could adversely affect our common stockholders. Further, additional funds may not be available when we need them, on terms that are acceptable to us, or at all. Our ability to raise additional capital may be adversely impacted by potential worsening global economic conditions and the recent disruptions to and volatility in the credit and financial markets in the United States and worldwide resulting from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine, rising interest rates and inflation.

If we are unable to obtain additional funding, we expect to delay, reduce or eliminate some or all of our research and development programs, product portfolio expansion or investment in internal manufacturing capabilities, which could adversely affect our business. If we raise additional funds through collaborations or marketing, distribution or licensing arrangements with third parties, we may have to relinquish valuable rights to future revenue streams or product candidates or grant licenses on terms that may not be favorable to us.

Summary Statement of Cash Flows

The following is a summary of cash flows for the periods indicated below (in thousands):

Net Cash Used in Operating Activities

Net cash used in operating activities was $75.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2023. This was primarily due to the net loss of $100.8 million partially offset by a change of $24.4 million in noncash charges and by a net change of $0.6 million in our operating assets and liabilities. The noncash charges

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primarily consisted of stock-based compensation expense of $19.7 million, depreciation and amortization of $4.2 million, amortization of operating lease right-of-use assets of $1.5 million and change in fair value of derivative liability of $0.2 million, partially offset by accretion of discount on marketable securities of $1.2 million. The change in operating assets and liabilities was primarily due to a $3.4 million increase in accrued and other liabilities and a $0.9 million increase in accounts payable, offset by a $0.7 million decrease in deferred revenue, $1.5 million decrease in operating lease liabilities and a $1.4 million increase in prepaid expenses and other current assets.

Net cash used in operating activities was $86.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2022. This was primarily due to the net loss of $107.5 million partially offset by a change of $22.1 million in noncash charges and by a net change of $1.3 million in our operating assets and liabilities. The noncash charges primarily consisted of stock-based compensation expense of $17.1 million, depreciation and amortization of $2.4 million, amortization of operating lease right-of-use assets of $1.5 million and amortization/accretion of premium/discount on marketable securities of $1.1 million. The change in operating assets and liabilities was primarily due to a $3.1 million decrease in deferred revenue, $1.6 million decrease in accounts payable, $0.3 million decrease in operating lease liabilities, offset by an increase of $2.5 million in accrued and other liabilities and a $1.2 million decrease in prepaid expenses and other current assets.

Net Cash Provided by (Used in) Investing Activities

Net cash provided by investing activities was $115.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2023, consisting of maturities of marketable securities of $173.3 million offset by purchases of marketable securities of $54.8 million and purchases of property and equipment of $2.8 million.

Net cash used in investing activities was $17.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2022, consisting of purchases of marketable securities of $153.3 million, as well as purchases of property and equipment of $11.5 million, offset by the maturities of marketable securities of $147.8 million.

Net Cash Provided by Financing Activities

Net cash provided by financing activities was $156.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2023, which was due to proceeds from the issuance of common stock pursuant to public offerings of $129.2 million, proceeds from the issuance of common stock from the ATM offering program of $19.1 million, proceeds from the issuance of common stock upon exercise of stock options of $7.3 million and proceeds from ESPP purchases of $1.2 million.

Net cash provided by financing activities was $3.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2022, which was due to proceeds received from the issuance of common stock upon exercise of stock options of $2.7 million and from ESPP purchases of $0.8 million, offset by payment of offering costs of $0.5 million.

Contractual Obligations, Commitments and Contingencies

Our commitments include obligations under vendor contracts to provide research services and other purchase commitments with our vendors. In the normal course of business, we enter into services agreements with contract research organizations, contract manufacturing organizations and other third parties. Generally, these agreements provide for termination upon notice, with specified amounts due upon termination based on the timing of termination and the terms of the agreement. The actual amounts and timing of payments under these agreements are uncertain and contingent upon the initiation and completion of the services to be provided. These amounts are not fixed and determinable.

As of December 31, 2023, our principal commitments consisted of obligations under our operating lease for our headquarters. Please see Note 9 to our financial statements included elsewhere in this report.

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Critical Accounting Policies and Significant Judgments and Estimates

Our financial statements have been prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States. The preparation of our financial statements requires us to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of our financial statements, as well as the reported revenue and expenses during the reported periods. We evaluate these estimates and assumptions on an ongoing basis. We base our estimates on historical experience and on various other factors that we believe are reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying value of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions.

Our significant accounting policies are described in Note 2 to our financial statements included elsewhere in this report. We believe the following accounting policies are critical to the process of making significant judgments and estimates in the preparation of our financial statements and understanding and evaluating our reported financial results.

Revenue Recognition

We determine revenue recognition for arrangements within the scope of ASC 606 by performing the following five steps: (i) identification of the promised goods or services in the contract; (ii) determination of whether the promised goods or services are performance obligations including whether they are distinct in the context of the contract; (iii) measurement of the transaction price, including the constraint on variable consideration; (iv) allocation of the transaction price to the performance obligations based on estimated selling prices; and (v) recognition of revenue when (or as) we satisfy each performance obligation.

Our revenue is primarily derived through our license, research, development and commercialization agreements. The terms of these types of agreements may include (i) licenses to our technology, (ii) research and development services, and (iii) services or obligations in connection with participation in research or steering committees. Payments to us under these arrangements typically include one or more of the following: nonrefundable upfront and license fees, research funding, milestone and other contingent payments to us for the achievement of defined collaboration objectives and certain preclinical, clinical, regulatory and sales-based events, as well as royalties on sales of any commercialized products. Arrangements that include upfront payments are recorded as deferred revenue upon receipt or when due and may require deferral of revenue recognition to a future period until performance obligations are met. The event-based milestone payments, royalties and cost reimbursements represent variable consideration, and we use the most likely amount method to estimate this variable consideration. Royalty payments are recognized when earned or as the sales occur. We record cost reimbursements as accounts receivable when right to consideration is unconditional.

A performance obligation is a promise in a contract to transfer a distinct good or service to the customer and is the unit of account in ASC 606. We allocate the total transaction price to each performance obligation based on the estimated selling price and recognize revenue when, or as, the performance obligation is satisfied. We include the unconstrained amount of estimated variable consideration in the transaction price. At the end of each reporting period, we re-evaluate the estimated variable consideration included in the transaction price and any related constraint, and if necessary, adjust our estimate of the overall transaction price.

Significant management judgment is required to determine the level of effort required under an arrangement, and the period over which the Company expects to complete its performance obligations under the arrangement. Changes in these estimates can have a material effect on revenue recognized.

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Accrued Research and Development Expenses

We estimate our accrued research and development expenses as of each balance sheet date. This process involves reviewing contracts and purchase orders with service providers, identifying services that have been performed on our behalf and estimating the level of service performed, the expected remaining period of performance and the associated expenses incurred for the service when we have not yet been invoiced or otherwise notified of actual cost. Depending on the timing of payments to the service providers and the estimated expenses incurred, we may record net prepaid or accrued research and development expenses relating to these costs.

Examples of estimated accrued research and development expenses include fees paid to:

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CROs in connection with preclinical development and clinical studies; and

•
CMOs and other vendors related to process development and manufacturing of materials for use in preclinical development and clinical studies.

Our understanding of the status and timing of services performed relative to the actual status and timing may vary and may result in us reporting changes in estimates in any particular period. To date, there have been no material differences from our estimates to the amounts actually incurred.

Stock-Based Compensation Expense

We use a fair value-based method to account for all stock-based compensation arrangements with employees and nonemployees including stock options and stock awards. Our determination of the fair value of stock options on the date of grant utilizes the Black-Scholes option pricing model.

The fair value of the option granted is recognized on a straight-line basis over the period during which an optionee is required to provide services in exchange for the option award, known as the requisite service period, which usually is the vesting period. Prior to January 1, 2020, the stock-based compensation expense for nonemployees was subject to remeasurement until the related vesting conditions were met. Effective January 1, 2020, the measurement date for nonemployee awards is the date of grant without changes in the fair value of the award. We account for forfeitures as they occur for both employees and nonemployees.

Estimates of the fair value of equity awards as of the grant date using valuation models such as the Black-Scholes option pricing model are affected by assumptions with a number of complex variables.

Changes in the following assumptions can materially affect the estimate of fair value and ultimately how much stock-based compensation expense is recognized; and the resulting change in fair value, if any, is recognized in our statements of operations during the period the related services are rendered. These inputs are subjective and generally require significant analysis and judgment to develop:

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Expected Term—The expected term for employee options is calculated using the simplified method as we do not have sufficient historical information to provide a basis for estimate. The simplified method is based on the average of the vesting tranches and the contractual life of each grant.

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Expected Volatility—For all stock options granted to date, the expected volatility was estimated based on a study of publicly traded industry peer companies as we did not have sufficient trading history for our common stock. We selected the peer group based on similarities in industry, stage of development, size and financial leverage with our principal business operations. For each grant, we measured historical volatility over a period equivalent to the expected term.

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Risk-Free Interest Rate—The risk-free interest rate is based on the yield available on U.S. Treasury zero-coupon issues whose term is similar in duration to the expected term of the respective stock option.

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Expected Dividend Yield—We have not paid and do not currently anticipate paying any dividends on our common stock. Accordingly, we have estimated the dividend yield to be zero.

As of December 31, 2023, the unrecognized stock-based compensation expense related to stock options was $55.0 million and is expected to be recognized as expense over a weighted-average period of approximately 2.1 years. The intrinsic value of all outstanding stock options as of December 31, 2023 was approximately $46.9 million, of which approximately $19.2 million related to vested options and approximately $27.7 million related to unvested options.

Prior to our IPO in December 2020, the estimated fair value of the common stock underlying our stock options and stock awards was determined at each grant date by our board of directors, with assistance from management and external appraisers. All options to purchase shares of our common stock were intended to be exercisable at a price per share not less than the per-share fair value of our common stock underlying those options on the date of grant. The approach to estimate the fair value of our common stock was consistent with the methods outlined in the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants’ Practice Aid, Valuation of Privately-Held-Company Equity Securities Issued as Compensation. Subsequent to our IPO, the fair value of our common stock is determined based on its closing market price as reported on the Nasdaq Global Select Market.

Income Taxes

We account for income taxes under the asset and liability method, which requires, among other things, that deferred income taxes be provided for temporary differences between the financial statement reporting and tax basis of our assets and liabilities. In addition, deferred tax assets are recorded for the future benefit of utilizing net operating losses and research and development credit carryforwards and are measured using the enacted tax rates and laws that will be in effect when such items are expected to reverse. A valuation allowance is provided against deferred tax assets unless it is more likely than not that they will be realized.

We account for uncertain tax positions by assessing all material positions taken in any assessment or challenge by relevant taxing authorities. Assessing an uncertain tax position begins with the initial determination of the position’s sustainability and is measured at the largest amount of benefit that is greater than fifty percent likely of being realized upon ultimate settlement. Our policy is to recognize interest and penalties related to the underpayment of income taxes as a component of income tax expense or benefit. To date, there have been no interest or penalties charged in relation to the unrecognized tax benefits.

NOLs and tax credit carryforwards are subject to review and possible adjustment by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and may become subject to an annual limitation in the event of certain cumulative changes in the ownership interest of significant stockholders over a three-year period in excess of 50% as defined under Sections 382 and 383 in the Internal Revenue Code, which could limit the amount of tax attributes that can be utilized annually to offset future taxable income or tax liabilities.

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements

Since our inception, we have not engaged in any off-balance sheet arrangements as defined in the rules and regulations of the SEC.

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JOBS Act

We are an emerging growth company, as defined in the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012 (the “JOBS Act”). Under the JOBS Act, emerging growth companies may delay adopting new or revised accounting standards issued subsequent to the enactment of the JOBS Act until such time as those standards apply to private companies. We have elected to avail ourselves of this exemption from new or revised accounting standards and, therefore, while we are an emerging growth company, we will not be subject to new or revised accounting standards at the same time that they become applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies. As a result, our financial statements may not be comparable to companies that comply with new or revised accounting pronouncements as of public company effective dates.

We will remain an emerging growth company until the earlier of (i) December 31, 2025, (ii) the last day of the year in which we have total annual gross revenue of at least $1.235 billion, (iii) the last day of the year in which we are deemed to be a “large accelerated filer” as defined in Rule 12b-2 under the Exchange Act, which would occur if the market value of our common stock held by non-affiliates exceeded $700.0 million as of the last business day of the second fiscal quarter of such year, or (iv) the date on which we have issued more than $1.0 billion in non-convertible debt securities during the prior three-year period. An emerging growth company may take advantage of specified reduced reporting requirements and is relieved of certain other significant requirements that are otherwise generally applicable to public companies. As an emerging growth company:

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we will present only two years of audited financial statements for any interim period, and related management’s discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations;

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we will avail ourselves of the exemption from the requirement to obtain an attestation and report from our auditors on the assessment of our internal control over financial reporting pursuant to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (the “Sarbanes-Oxley Act”);

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we will provide less extensive disclosure about our executive compensation arrangements;

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we will not require stockholder non-binding advisory votes on executive compensation or golden parachute arrangements; and

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we will take advantage of extended transition periods to comply with new or revised accounting standards, delaying the adoption of these accounting standards until they would apply to private companies.

As a result, the information in this report in the future may be different from what you might receive from other public reporting companies.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

See Note 2 to our financial statements included elsewhere in this report for information.

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

You should read the following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations together with our financial statements and the related notes included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K (this “report”). This discussion and analysis and other parts of this report contain forward-looking statements based upon current beliefs, plans and expectations related to future events and our future financial performance that involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions, such as statements regarding our intentions, plans, objectives, expectations, forecasts and projections. Our actual results and the timing of selected events could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of several factors, including those set forth under the section titled “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this report.

Overview

We are a clinical-stage biotherapeutics company harnessing the power of directed evolution for targeted genetic medicines. We seek to unlock the full potential of genetic medicines using our platform, Therapeutic Vector Evolution, which combines the power of directed evolution with our approximately one billion synthetic AAV capsid-derived sequences to invent evolved vectors for use in our products. We believe key features of our targeted and evolved vectors will help us to potentially create targeted genetic medicine product candidates with improved therapeutic profiles. These profiles will allow us to treat a broad range of large market diseases, unlike most current genetic medicines that generally focus on rare or small market diseases.

We have built a deep portfolio of genetic medicine product candidates, with five product candidates in clinical trials: 4D-150 for the treatment of wet age-related macular degeneration ("wet AMD") and diabetic macular edema (“DME”), 4D-125 for the treatment of X-linked retinitis pigmentosa ("XLRP"), 4D-110 for the treatment of choroideremia, 4D-710 for the treatment of cystic fibrosis lung disease, and 4D-310 for the treatment of Fabry disease cardiomyopathy. In addition, we have two product candidates in preclinical studies: 4D-175 for geographic atrophy (“GA”) and 4D-725 for alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency lung disease.

We have funded our operations primarily through the sale and issuance of equity securities and to a lesser extent from cash received pursuant to our collaboration and license agreements.

We have incurred significant operating losses and expect that our operating losses will increase significantly as we, among other things, continue to advance our product candidates through preclinical and clinical development, seek regulatory approval, and prepare for, and, if approved, proceed to commercialization; broaden and improve our platform; acquire, discover, validate and develop additional product candidates; maintain, protect and enforce our intellectual property portfolio; and hire additional personnel.

Our net losses were $107.5 million and $71.3 million for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively. As of December 31, 2022, we had an accumulated deficit of $314.5 million. We do not expect positive cash flows from operations in the foreseeable future. Our net losses may fluctuate significantly from quarter-to-quarter and year-to-year, depending on the timing of our clinical trials and our expenditures on other research and development activities.

We do not have any products approved for sale and have not generated any revenue from product sales since our inception. Our ability to generate product revenue will depend on the successful development, regulatory approval and eventual commercialization of one or more of our product candidates, if approved.

We will require substantial additional funding to support our continuing operations and further the development of our product candidates. Until such time as we can generate significant revenue from product sales, if ever, we expect to finance our operations through the sale of equity, debt financings, or other capital sources, which could include income from collaborations, strategic partnerships, or other

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strategic arrangements, for the foreseeable future. Adequate funding may not be available when needed or on terms acceptable to us, or at all. Our ability to raise additional funds may be adversely impacted by potential worsening global economic conditions and the recent disruptions to, and volatility in, the credit and financial markets in the United States and worldwide resulting from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and otherwise. If we fail to obtain necessary capital when needed on acceptable terms, or at all, it could force us to delay, limit, reduce or terminate our product development programs, commercialization efforts or other operations. Insufficient liquidity may also require us to relinquish rights to product candidates at an earlier stage of development or on less favorable terms than we would otherwise choose. We cannot assure you that we will ever be profitable or generate positive cash flow from operating activities.

The extent of the impact of the continuing COVID-19 pandemic on our business, operations and clinical development timelines and plans remains uncertain, and will depend on certain developments, including the duration and spread of the outbreak and its impact on our clinical trial enrollment, trial sites, CROs, third-party manufacturers, and other third parties with whom we do business, as well as its impact on our key scientific and management personnel.

Components of Results of Operations

Revenue

Our revenue to date has been generated through payments from our collaboration and license agreements, primarily from upfront and milestone payments and expense reimbursement. We have not generated any revenue from the sale of approved products and do not expect to do so for the foreseeable future. The primary drivers for revenue consist of the following:

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uniQure: In August 2019, we amended our agreement with uniQure and entered into a separate new collaboration and license agreement with uniQure. Neither party was required to pay monetary consideration in connection with the amendment or new agreement. We determined the incremental transaction price of the amendment and new agreement to be $5.1 million and recorded the amount as deferred revenue in August 2019. We began recognizing revenue related to uniQure in 2020 and expect to recognize the remaining revenue under the agreement in 2023. We recognized revenue of $3.1 million during the year ended December 31, 2022 related to this agreement. See Note 7 to our financial statements included elsewhere in this report for further discussion regarding the accounting treatment of this agreement.

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Roche: In November 2017, we entered into a collaboration and license agreement with F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd and Hoffmann-La Roche Inc. (together, “Roche”). We received an upfront payment of $21.0 million in 2017, were reimbursed for our internal and third-party costs and were entitled to contingent payments, including milestone payments. In 2020, we received milestone payments totaling $10.0 million, which were comprised of a $5.0 million milestone payment upon the release of clinical trial material for our Phase 1 clinical trial for 4D-110 to treat choroideremia in the second quarter of 2020 and an additional $5.0 million milestone payment upon dosing our first patient in the trial in the third quarter of 2020. We began recognizing revenue related to this agreement in 2017. In June 2021, we received notice of termination of the collaboration and license agreement from Roche. The termination became effective on September 16, 2021. There was no revenue from Roche in 2022. See Note 7 to our financial statements included elsewhere in this report for further discussion regarding the accounting treatment of this agreement.

Future collaboration and license revenue is highly dependent on the successful development and commercialization of products by our collaboration partners, which is uncertain, and revenue may fluctuate significantly from period to period. Additionally, we may never receive the consideration from our license agreements that is contemplated for option fees, development and sales-based milestone payments or royalties on sales of licensed products, given the contingent nature of these payments. Our collaboration and license revenue in 2022 was primarily from uniQure.

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Operating Expenses

Research and Development

Our research and development expenses primarily consist of costs incurred for the discovery and preclinical and clinical development of our product candidates. These expenses include salaries and personnel-related costs, including stock-based compensation of our scientific personnel performing research and development activities; laboratory supplies; research materials; fees paid to CROs to execute preclinical studies and clinical trials; fees paid to CMOs to manufacture materials for preclinical studies and clinical trials; fees related to obtaining technology licenses; consulting costs; costs related to seeking regulatory approval of our product candidates; and allocated facility-related costs, information technology costs, depreciation expense, and other overhead.

We expense all research and development costs in the periods in which they are incurred. We have entered into various agreements with CROs and CMOs. Costs of certain activities are recognized based on an evaluation of the progress to completion of specific tasks. Payments made prior to the receipt of goods or services that will be used or rendered for future research and development activities are deferred and capitalized as prepaid expenses and other current assets on our balance sheet. The capitalized amounts are recognized as expense as the goods are delivered or the related services are performed.

We do not allocate our costs by product candidate, as a significant amount of research and development expenses includes internal costs, such as salary and other personnel-related expenses, laboratory supplies and allocated overhead, and external costs, such as fees paid to third parties to conduct research and development activities on our behalf, none of which are tracked by product candidate. In particular, with respect to internal costs, several of our departments support multiple product candidate research and development programs and, therefore, the costs cannot be allocated to a particular product candidate or development program.

At this time, we cannot reasonably estimate or know the nature, timing or estimated costs of the efforts that will be necessary to complete the development of, and obtain regulatory approval for, any of our product candidates. We expect our research and development expenses to increase for the foreseeable future as we continue to invest in research and development activities related to developing our product candidates, as our product candidates advance into later stages of development, as we begin to conduct larger clinical trials, as we seek regulatory approvals for any product candidates that successfully complete clinical trials, and incur expenses associated with hiring additional personnel to support our research and development efforts. The process of conducting the necessary clinical research to obtain regulatory approval is costly and time-consuming, and the successful development of our product candidates is highly uncertain. See the section titled “Risk Factors” for additional risks regarding regulatory development and approval.

General and Administrative

Our general and administrative expenses consist primarily of personnel-related expenses, including salaries, employee benefit costs and stock-based compensation expense for our personnel in executive, finance and accounting, human resources, business development, and other administrative functions. General and administrative expenses also include professional fees for legal, patent, consulting, accounting and tax services, allocated overhead, including rent, equipment, depreciation, information technology costs and utilities, and other general operating expenses not otherwise classified as research and development expenses.

We expect our general and administrative expenses to increase as a result of increased personnel-related costs, patent costs for our product candidates, consulting, legal and accounting services associated with maintaining compliance with stock exchange listing and requirements of the SEC, investor relations costs, director and officer insurance premiums, and other costs associated with being a public company.

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Other Income (Expense), Net

Our other income (expense) primarily consists of interest income earned on our cash equivalents, and marketable securities and adjustments for the change in the fair value of our derivative liability which must be remeasured at each reporting period.

Results of Operations

Comparison of the Years Ended December 31, 2022 and 2021

The following table summarizes our results of operations for the periods indicated (dollars in thousands):

Revenue

Revenue for the year ended December 31, 2022 decreased by $14.9 million, or 83%, from the year ended December 31, 2021 primarily as a result of a $17.2 million decrease in revenue recognized under our collaboration and license agreement with Roche due to its termination in September 2021, partially offset by a $2.3 million increase in revenue recognized under our collaboration and license agreement with uniQure.

Research and Development Expenses

The following table provides a breakout of research and development expenses for the periods indicated (dollars in thousands):

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Research and development expenses for the year ended December 31, 2022 increased $18.9 million, or 31%, from the year ended December 31, 2021. The increase was due to the following:

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a $4.6 million increase in research and development trials and consumables expense primarily due to higher clinical trial costs of $5.1 million and consumables of $4.3 million, offset by lower preclinical costs of $3.7 million and lower other outside service costs of $1.1 million;

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an $11.6 million increase in payroll and personnel expenses due to increased headcount of research and development personnel, including a $2.4 million increase in employee stock-based compensation expense; and

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a $2.7 million increase in facilities and other research and development expenses primarily for allocated overhead, including rent, equipment, depreciation, information technology costs and utilities.

General and Administrative Expenses

General and administrative expenses for the year ended December 31, 2022 increased $4.9 million, or 17%, from the year ended December 31, 2021. The increase was due to:

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a $3.0 million increase in personnel costs due to increased headcount of general and administrative personnel, including a $0.9 million increase in employee stock-based compensation expense;

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a $0.6 million increase in professional services, including legal, accounting and other advisory services; and

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a $1.3 million increase in other costs mainly consulting services and facilities-related expenses.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

Sources of Liquidity

We have funded our operations primarily through the sale and issuance of our equity securities, including from the sale of our common stock in our IPO and Follow-on Offering and the sale of our Series A, Series A-1, Series B and Series C redeemable preferred stock, and to a lesser extent from cash received pursuant to our collaboration and license agreements.

In December 2020, we completed our IPO. We issued and sold 9,660,000 shares of common stock at a price to the public of $23.00 per share. The aggregate net proceeds from our IPO were $204.7 million after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and other offering costs.

In November 2021, we completed our Follow-on Offering in which 4,750,000 shares of our common stock were sold at an offering price of $25.00 per share. The net proceeds from the Follow-on Offering were $111.1 million after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and offering expenses.

In March 2022, we filed a Registration Statement on Form S-3 covering the offering of up to $300.0 million of common stock, preferred stock, debt securities, warrants and units, which was declared effective by the SEC in April 2022 (the “S-3 Registration Statement”). In March 2022, we also entered into an Open Market Sales Agreement (the "Sales Agreement") with Jefferies LLC as sales agent to sell shares of our common stock, from time to time, with aggregate gross sales proceeds of up to $100.0 million pursuant to the S-3 Registration Statement as an “at-the-market” offering under the Securities Act (the "2022 ATM Offering Program"). As of December 31, 2022, no shares of the Company's common stock were sold pursuant to the Sales Agreement. As of March 3, 2023, $90.1 million of common stock remained available for sale under the Sales Agreement.

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As of December 31, 2022, we had cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities of $218.5 million.

Future Funding Requirements

We have experienced recurring net losses and had an accumulated deficit of $314.5 million at December 31, 2022. Our transition to profitability is dependent upon the successful development, approval and commercialization of our product candidates and those of our collaboration partners and achieving a level of revenue adequate to support our cost structure. We expect to continue to incur losses for the foreseeable future.

We expect that our research and development and general and administrative expenses will continue to increase for the foreseeable future. Additionally, we expect our capital expenditures will increase significantly in the future for costs associated with building commercial manufacturing capacity. As a result, we will need significant additional capital to fund our operations, which we may obtain through one or more equity offerings, debt financings or other third-party funding, including potential strategic alliances and licensing or collaboration arrangements.

Because of the numerous risks and uncertainties associated with the development and commercialization of gene therapy product candidates, we are unable to estimate the amount of increased capital we will need to raise to support our operations and the outlays and operating expenditures necessary to complete the development of our product candidates and build additional manufacturing capacity, and we may use our available capital resources sooner than we currently expect.

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

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the progress of our current and future product candidates through preclinical and clinical development;

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potential delays in our preclinical studies and clinical trials, whether current or planned, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, or other factors;

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expanding our manufacturing facilities and working with our contract manufacturers to scale up the manufacturing processes for our product candidates;

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continuing our research and discovery activities;

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continuing the development of our Therapeutic Vector Evolution platform;

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initiating and conducting additional preclinical, clinical or other studies for our product candidates;

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changing or adding additional contract manufacturers or suppliers;

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seeking regulatory approvals and marketing authorizations for our product candidates;

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establishing sales, marketing and distribution infrastructure to commercialize any products for which we obtain approval;

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acquiring or in-licensing product candidates, intellectual property and technologies;

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making milestone, royalty or other payments due under any current or future collaboration or license agreements;

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obtaining, maintaining, expanding, protecting and enforcing our intellectual property portfolio;

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attracting, hiring and retaining qualified personnel;

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potential delays or other issues related to our operations;

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meeting the requirements and demands of being a public company;

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defending against any product liability claims or other lawsuits related to our products; and

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the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and adverse macroeconomic conditions such as, but not limited to, higher inflation and increased interest rates, each of which may exacerbate the magnitude of the factors discussed above.

We believe that our existing cash and cash equivalents will allow us to fund our planned operations for at least one year from the date of the issuance of the financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2022.

We have based our estimates as to how long we expect we will be able to fund our operations on assumptions that may prove to be wrong, and we could use our available capital resources sooner than we currently expect, in which case we would be required to obtain additional financing sooner than currently projected, which may not be available to us on acceptable terms, or at all. Our failure to raise capital as and when needed would have a negative impact on our financial condition and our ability to pursue our business strategy. See the section titled “Risk Factors” for additional risks associated with our substantial capital requirements.

We do not have any committed external sources of funds. Accordingly, we will be required to obtain further funding through public or private equity offerings, debt financings, collaborations and licensing arrangements or other sources to complete the clinical development for the product candidates for treatment of wet AMD, DME, GA, cystic fibrosis lung disease, alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency lung disease, Fabry disease cardiomyopathy, XLRP, choroideremia or any other indication we may pursue. If we raise additional funds by issuing equity securities, our stockholders may experience dilution. Any future debt financing into which we enter would result in fixed payment obligations and may involve agreements that include grants of security interests on our assets and restrictive covenants that limit our ability to take specific actions, such as incurring additional debt, making capital expenditures, granting liens over our assets, redeeming stock or declaring dividends, that could adversely impact our ability to conduct our business. Any debt financing or additional equity that we raise may contain terms that could adversely affect our common stockholders. Further, additional funds may not be available when we need them, on terms that are acceptable to us, or at all. Our ability to raise additional capital may be adversely impacted by potential worsening global economic conditions and the recent disruptions to and volatility in the credit and financial markets in the United States and worldwide resulting from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine.

If we are unable to obtain additional funding, we expect to delay, reduce or eliminate some or all of our research and development programs, product portfolio expansion or investment in internal manufacturing capabilities, which could adversely affect our business. If we raise additional funds through collaborations or marketing, distribution or licensing arrangements with third parties, we may have to relinquish valuable rights to future revenue streams or product candidates or grant licenses on terms that may not be favorable to us.

Summary Statement of Cash Flows

The following is a summary of cash flows for the periods indicated below (in thousands):

Net Cash Used in Operating Activities

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Net cash used in operating activities was $86.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2022. This was primarily due to the net loss of $107.5 million partially offset by a change of $22.1 million in noncash charges and by a net change of $1.3 million in our operating assets and liabilities. The noncash charges primarily consisted of stock-based compensation expense of $17.1 million, depreciation and amortization of $2.4 million, amortization of operating lease right-of-use assets of $1.5 million and amortization/accretion of premium/discount on marketable securities of $1.1 million. The change in operating assets and liabilities was primarily due to a $3.1 million decrease in deferred revenue, $1.6 million decrease in accounts payable, $0.3 million decrease in operating lease liabilities, offset by an increase of $2.5 million in accrued and other liabilities and a $1.2 million decrease in prepaid expenses and other current assets.

Net cash used in operating activities was $69.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2021. This was primarily due to the net loss of $71.3 million partially offset by a change of $17.7 million in noncash charges and by a net change of $15.5 million in our operating assets and liabilities. The noncash charges primarily consisted of stock-based compensation expense of $13.8 million, depreciation and amortization of $1.5 million and the amortization of operating lease right-of-use assets of $1.5 million. The change in operating assets and liabilities was primarily due to a $14.7 million decrease in deferred revenue and a $4.2 million increase in prepaid expenses and other current assets primarily offset by a $2.3 million increase in accounts payable.

Net Cash Used in Investing Activities

Net cash used in investing activities was $17.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2022, consisting of purchases of marketable securities of $153.3 million, as well as purchases of property and equipment of $11.5 million, offset by the maturities of marketable securities of $147.8 million.

Net cash used in investing activities was $172.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2021, consisting of purchases of marketable securities of $168.6 million, as well as purchases of property and equipment of $9.1 million, offset by the maturities of marketable securities of $5.0 million.

Net Cash Provided by Financing Activities

Net cash provided by financing activities was $3.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2022, which was due to proceeds received from the issuance of common stock upon exercise of stock options of $2.7 million and from ESPP purchases of $0.8 million, offset by payment of offering costs of $0.5 million.

Net cash provided by financing activities was $118.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2021, primarily comprised of $114.3 million in net proceeds from offerings, as well as proceeds received from the issuance of common stock upon exercise of stock options and warrants of $3.4 million and from ESPP purchases of $0.4 million.

Contractual Obligations, Commitments and Contingencies

Our commitments include obligations under vendor contracts to provide research services and other purchase commitments with our vendors. In the normal course of business, we enter into services agreements with contract research organizations, contract manufacturing organizations and other third parties. Generally, these agreements provide for termination upon notice, with specified amounts due upon termination based on the timing of termination and the terms of the agreement. The actual amounts and timing of payments under these agreements are uncertain and contingent upon the initiation and completion of the services to be provided. These amounts are not fixed and determinable.

As of December 31, 2022, our principal commitments consisted of obligations under our operating lease for our headquarters. Please see Note 9 to our financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

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Critical Accounting Policies and Significant Judgments and Estimates

Our financial statements have been prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States. The preparation of our financial statements requires us to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of our financial statements, as well as the reported revenue and expenses during the reported periods. We evaluate these estimates and assumptions on an ongoing basis. We base our estimates on historical experience and on various other factors that we believe are reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying value of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions.

Our significant accounting policies are described in Note 2 to our financial statements included elsewhere in this report. We believe the following accounting policies are critical to the process of making significant judgments and estimates in the preparation of our financial statements and understanding and evaluating our reported financial results.

Revenue Recognition

We determine revenue recognition for arrangements within the scope of ASC 606 by performing the following five steps: (i) identification of the promised goods or services in the contract; (ii) determination of whether the promised goods or services are performance obligations including whether they are distinct in the context of the contract; (iii) measurement of the transaction price, including the constraint on variable consideration; (iv) allocation of the transaction price to the performance obligations based on estimated selling prices; and (v) recognition of revenue when (or as) we satisfy each performance obligation.

Our revenue is primarily derived through our license, research, development and commercialization agreements. The terms of these types of agreements may include (i) licenses to our technology, (ii) research and development services, and (iii) services or obligations in connection with participation in research or steering committees. Payments to us under these arrangements typically include one or more of the following: nonrefundable upfront and license fees, research funding, milestone and other contingent payments to us for the achievement of defined collaboration objectives and certain preclinical, clinical, regulatory and sales-based events, as well as royalties on sales of any commercialized products. Arrangements that include upfront payments are recorded as deferred revenue upon receipt or when due and may require deferral of revenue recognition to a future period until performance obligations are met. The event-based milestone payments, royalties and cost reimbursements represent variable consideration, and we use the most likely amount method to estimate this variable consideration. Royalty payments are recognized when earned or as the sales occur. We record cost reimbursements as accounts receivable when right to consideration is unconditional.

A performance obligation is a promise in a contract to transfer a distinct good or service to the customer and is the unit of account in ASC 606. We allocate the total transaction price to each performance obligation based on the estimated selling price and recognize revenue when, or as, the performance obligation is satisfied. We include the unconstrained amount of estimated variable consideration in the transaction price. At the end of each reporting period, we re-evaluate the estimated variable consideration included in the transaction price and any related constraint, and if necessary, adjust our estimate of the overall transaction price.

Significant management judgment is required to determine the level of effort required under an arrangement, and the period over which the Company expects to complete its performance obligations under the arrangement. Changes in these estimates can have a material effect on revenue recognized.

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Accrued Research and Development Expenses

We estimate our accrued research and development expenses as of each balance sheet date. This process involves reviewing contracts and purchase orders with service providers, identifying services that have been performed on our behalf and estimating the level of service performed, the expected remaining period of performance and the associated expenses incurred for the service when we have not yet been invoiced or otherwise notified of actual cost. Depending on the timing of payments to the service providers and the estimated expenses incurred, we may record net prepaid or accrued research and development expenses relating to these costs.

Examples of estimated accrued research and development expenses include fees paid to:

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CROs in connection with preclinical development and clinical studies; and

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CMOs and other vendors related to process development and manufacturing of materials for use in preclinical development and clinical studies.

Our understanding of the status and timing of services performed relative to the actual status and timing may vary and may result in us reporting changes in estimates in any particular period. To date, there have been no material differences from our estimates to the amounts actually incurred.

Stock-Based Compensation Expense

We use a fair value-based method to account for all stock-based compensation arrangements with employees and nonemployees including stock options and stock awards. Our determination of the fair value of stock options on the date of grant utilizes the Black-Scholes option pricing model.

The fair value of the option granted is recognized on a straight-line basis over the period during which an optionee is required to provide services in exchange for the option award, known as the requisite service period, which usually is the vesting period. Prior to January 1, 2020, the stock-based compensation expense for nonemployees was subject to remeasurement until the related vesting conditions were met. Effective January 1, 2020, the measurement date for nonemployee awards is the date of grant without changes in the fair value of the award. We account for forfeitures as they occur for both employees and nonemployees.

Estimates of the fair value of equity awards as of the grant date using valuation models such as the Black-Scholes option pricing model are affected by assumptions with a number of complex variables.

Changes in the following assumptions can materially affect the estimate of fair value and ultimately how much stock-based compensation expense is recognized; and the resulting change in fair value, if any, is recognized in our statements of operations during the period the related services are rendered. These inputs are subjective and generally require significant analysis and judgment to develop:

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Expected Term—The expected term for employee options is calculated using the simplified method as we do not have sufficient historical information to provide a basis for estimate. The simplified method is based on the average of the vesting tranches and the contractual life of each grant.

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Expected Volatility—For all stock options granted to date, the expected volatility was estimated based on a study of publicly traded industry peer companies as we did not have sufficient trading history for our common stock. We selected the peer group based on similarities in industry, stage of development, size and financial leverage with our principal business operations. For each grant, we measured historical volatility over a period equivalent to the expected term.

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Risk-Free Interest Rate—The risk-free interest rate is based on the yield available on U.S. Treasury zero-coupon issues whose term is similar in duration to the expected term of the respective stock option.

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Expected Dividend Yield—We have not paid and do not currently anticipate paying any dividends on our common stock. Accordingly, we have estimated the dividend yield to be zero.

As of December 31, 2022, the unrecognized stock-based compensation expense related to stock options was $37.1 million and is expected to be recognized as expense over a weighted-average period of approximately 2.2 years. The intrinsic value of all outstanding stock options as of December 31, 2022 was approximately $48.0 million, of which approximately $20.2 million related to vested options and approximately $27.8 million related to unvested options.

Common Stock Valuations

Prior to our IPO in December 2020, the estimated fair value of the common stock underlying our stock options and stock awards was determined at each grant date by our board of directors, with assistance from management and external appraisers. All options to purchase shares of our common stock were intended to be exercisable at a price per share not less than the per-share fair value of our common stock underlying those options on the date of grant. The approach to estimate the fair value of our common stock was consistent with the methods outlined in the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants’ Practice Aid, Valuation of Privately-Held-Company Equity Securities Issued as Compensation. Subsequent to our IPO, the fair value of our common stock is determined based on its closing market price as reported on the Nasdaq Global Select Market.

Income Taxes

We account for income taxes under the asset and liability method, which requires, among other things, that deferred income taxes be provided for temporary differences between the financial statement reporting and tax basis of our assets and liabilities. In addition, deferred tax assets are recorded for the future benefit of utilizing net operating losses and research and development credit carryforwards and are measured using the enacted tax rates and laws that will be in effect when such items are expected to reverse. A valuation allowance is provided against deferred tax assets unless it is more likely than not that they will be realized.

We account for uncertain tax positions by assessing all material positions taken in any assessment or challenge by relevant taxing authorities. Assessing an uncertain tax position begins with the initial determination of the position’s sustainability and is measured at the largest amount of benefit that is greater than fifty percent likely of being realized upon ultimate settlement. Our policy is to recognize interest and penalties related to the underpayment of income taxes as a component of income tax expense or benefit. To date, there have been no interest or penalties charged in relation to the unrecognized tax benefits.

NOLs and tax credit carryforwards are subject to review and possible adjustment by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and may become subject to an annual limitation in the event of certain cumulative changes in the ownership interest of significant stockholders over a three-year period in excess of 50% as defined under Sections 382 and 383 in the Internal Revenue Code, which could limit the amount of tax attributes that can be utilized annually to offset future taxable income or tax liabilities.

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements

Since our inception, we have not engaged in any off-balance sheet arrangements as defined in the rules and regulations of the SEC.

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JOBS Act

We are an emerging growth company, as defined in the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012 (the “JOBS Act”). Under the JOBS Act, emerging growth companies may delay adopting new or revised accounting standards issued subsequent to the enactment of the JOBS Act until such time as those standards apply to private companies. We have elected to avail ourselves of this exemption from new or revised accounting standards and, therefore, while we are an emerging growth company, we will not be subject to new or revised accounting standards at the same time that they become applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies. As a result, our financial statements may not be comparable to companies that comply with new or revised accounting pronouncements as of public company effective dates.

We will remain an emerging growth company until the earlier of (i) December 31, 2025, (ii) the last day of the year in which we have total annual gross revenue of at least $1.07 billion, (iii) the last day of the year in which we are deemed to be a “large accelerated filer” as defined in Rule 12b-2 under the Exchange Act, which would occur if the market value of our common stock held by non-affiliates exceeded $700.0 million as of the last business day of the second fiscal quarter of such year, or (iv) the date on which we have issued more than $1.0 billion in non-convertible debt securities during the prior three-year period. An emerging growth company may take advantage of specified reduced reporting requirements and is relieved of certain other significant requirements that are otherwise generally applicable to public companies. As an emerging growth company:

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we will present only two years of audited financial statements for any interim period, and related management’s discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations;

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we will avail ourselves of the exemption from the requirement to obtain an attestation and report from our auditors on the assessment of our internal control over financial reporting pursuant to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (the “Sarbanes-Oxley Act”);

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we will provide less extensive disclosure about our executive compensation arrangements;

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we will not require stockholder non-binding advisory votes on executive compensation or golden parachute arrangements; and

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we will take advantage of extended transition periods to comply with new or revised accounting standards, delaying the adoption of these accounting standards until they would apply to private companies.

As a result, the information in this report in the future may be different from what you might receive from other public reporting companies.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

See Note 2 to our financial statements included elsewhere in this report for information.

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

You should read the following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations together with our financial statements and the related notes included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K (this “report”). This discussion and analysis and other parts of this report contain forward-looking statements based upon current beliefs, plans and expectations related to future events and our future financial performance that involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions, such as statements regarding our intentions, plans, objectives, expectations, forecasts and projections. Our actual results and the timing of selected events could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of several factors, including those set forth under the section titled “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this report.

Overview

We are a clinical-stage gene therapy company pioneering the development of product candidates using our targeted and evolved AAV vectors. We seek to unlock the full potential of gene therapy using our platform, Therapeutic Vector Evolution, which combines the power of directed evolution with our approximately one billion synthetic capsid sequences to invent evolved vectors for use in targeted gene therapy products. Our targeted and evolved vectors are invented with the goal of being delivered through clinically routine, well-tolerated and minimally invasive routes of administration, of transducing diseased cells in target tissues efficiently, of having reduced immunogenicity and, where relevant, of having resistance to pre-existing antibodies. We believe these key design features will help us to potentially create targeted gene therapy product candidates with improved therapeutic profiles, and address a broad range of diseases from rare to large patient populations, including those that other gene therapies are unable to address. Each of our product candidates is created with our targeted and evolved AAV vectors. Our platform is designed to be modular, in that an evolved vector invented for a given set of diseases can be equipped with different transgene payloads to treat other diseases affecting the same tissue types. We believe this modularity will help inform the clinical development of subsequent product candidates using the same vector.

We have built a deep portfolio of gene therapy product candidates initially focused in three therapeutic areas: ophthalmology (intravitreal vector), cardiology (intravenous vector) and pulmonology (aerosol vector). We have four product candidates that are in clinical trials: 4D-150 for the treatment of wet AMD in a Phase 1/2 clinical trial, 4D-125 for the treatment of X-linked retinitis pigmentosa (XLRP) in a Phase 1/2 clinical trial, 4D-110 for the treatment of choroideremia in a Phase 1/2 clinical trial, and 4D-310 for the treatment of Fabry disease in a Phase 1/2 clinical trial. In addition, an IND has been cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) 4D-710 for the treatment of cystic fibrosis lung disease, and we are actively enrolling patients for such trial.

We have funded our operations primarily through the sale and issuance of equity securities and to a lesser extent from cash received pursuant to our collaboration and license agreements.

In November 2021, we completed our second underwritten public offering (the "Follow-on Offering") in which 4,750,000 shares of our common stock were sold at an offering price of $25.00 per share pursuant to an effective Registration Statement on Form S-1. The net proceeds from the Follow-on Offering were $111.1 million after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and offering expenses. As of December 31, 2021, we had cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities of $315.4 million.

We have incurred significant operating losses and expect that our operating losses will increase significantly as we, among other things, continue to advance our product candidates through preclinical and clinical development, seek regulatory approval, and prepare for, and, if approved, proceed to commercialization; broaden and improve our platform; acquire, discover, validate and develop additional product candidates; maintain, protect and enforce our intellectual property portfolio; and hire additional personnel. In addition, we expect to incur additional costs associated with operating as a public company.

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Our net losses were $71.3 million and $56.7 million for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively. As of December 31, 2021, we had an accumulated deficit of $207.0 million. We do not expect positive cash flows from operations in the foreseeable future. Our net losses may fluctuate significantly from quarter-to-quarter and year-to-year, depending on the timing of our clinical trials and our expenditures on other research and development activities.

We do not have any products approved for sale and have not generated any revenue from product sales since our inception. Our ability to generate product revenue will depend on the successful development, regulatory approval and eventual commercialization of one or more of our product candidates, if approved.

We will require substantial additional funding to support our continuing operations and further the development of our product candidates. Until such time as we can generate significant revenue from product sales, if ever, we expect to finance our operations through the sale of equity, debt financings, or other capital sources, which could include income from collaborations, strategic partnerships or other strategic arrangements, for the foreseeable future. Adequate funding may not be available when needed or on terms acceptable to us, or at all. Our ability to raise additional funds may be adversely impacted by potential worsening global economic conditions and the recent disruptions to, and volatility in, the credit and financial markets in the United States and worldwide resulting from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and otherwise. If we fail to obtain necessary capital when needed on acceptable terms, or at all, it could force us to delay, limit, reduce or terminate our product development programs, commercialization efforts or other operations. Insufficient liquidity may also require us to relinquish rights to product candidates at an earlier stage of development or on less favorable terms than we would otherwise choose. We cannot assure you that we will ever be profitable or generate positive cash flow from operating activities.

The global COVID-19 pandemic continues to rapidly evolve, and we will continue to monitor the COVID-19 situation closely. The extent of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our business, operations and clinical development timelines and plans remains uncertain, and will depend on certain developments, including the duration and spread of the outbreak and its impact on our clinical trial enrollment, trial sites, CROs, third-party manufacturers, and other third parties with whom we do business, as well as its impact on regulatory authorities and our key scientific and management personnel. To the extent possible, we are conducting business as usual, with necessary or advisable modifications to employee travel and the majority of our employees working remotely. We will continue to actively monitor the rapidly evolving situation related to the COVID-19 pandemic and may take further actions that alter our operations, including those that may be required by federal, state or local authorities, or that we determine are in the best interests of our employees and other third parties with whom we do business. At this point, the extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic may affect our business, operations and clinical development timelines and plans, including the resulting impact on our expenditures and capital needs, remains uncertain.

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Components of Results of Operations

Revenue

Our revenue to date has been generated through payments from our collaboration and license agreements, primarily from upfront and milestone payments and expense reimbursement. We have not generated any revenue from the sale of approved products and do not expect to do so for the foreseeable future. The primary drivers for revenue consist of the following:

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Roche: In November 2017, we entered into a collaboration and license agreement with F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd and Hoffmann-La Roche Inc. (together, “Roche”). We received an upfront payment of $21.0 million in 2017, are reimbursed for our internal and third-party costs and were entitled to contingent payments, including milestone payments. In 2020, we received milestone payments totaling $10.0 million, which were comprised of a $5.0 million milestone payment upon the release of clinical trial material for our Phase 1 clinical trial for 4D-110 to treat choroideremia in the second quarter of 2020 and an additional $5.0 million milestone payment upon dosing our first patient in the trial in the third quarter of 2020. We began recognizing revenue related to this agreement in 2017. In June 2021, we received notice of termination of the collaboration and license agreement from Roche. The termination became effective on September 16, 2021. We recognized $17.2 million of revenue from Roche in 2021, of which amount $2.9 million represented expense reimbursement and $14.3 million represented recognition of previously deferred revenue. See Note 7 to our financial statements included elsewhere in this report for further discussion regarding the accounting treatment of this agreement.

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uniQure: In August 2019, we amended our agreement with uniQure and entered into a separate new collaboration and license agreement with uniQure. Neither party was required to pay monetary consideration in connection with the amendment or new agreement. We determined the incremental transaction price of the amendment and new agreement to be $5.1 million and recorded the amount as deferred revenue. We began recognizing revenue related to this in 2020 and expect to recognize revenue over the next one to two years. See Note 7 to our financial statements included elsewhere in this report for further discussion regarding the accounting treatment of this transaction.

Future collaboration and license revenue is highly dependent on the successful development and commercialization of products by our collaboration partners, which is uncertain, and revenue may fluctuate significantly from period to period. Additionally, we may never receive the consideration from our license agreements that is contemplated for option fees, development and sales-based milestone payments or royalties on sales of licensed products, given the contingent nature of these payments. We expect that our collaboration and license revenue in 2022 will primarily be from uniQure.

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Operating Expenses

Research and Development

Our research and development expenses primarily consist of costs incurred for the discovery and preclinical and clinical development of our product candidates. These expenses include salaries and personnel-related costs, including stock-based compensation of our scientific personnel performing research and development activities; laboratory supplies; research materials; fees paid to CROs to execute preclinical studies and clinical trials; fees paid to CMOs to manufacture materials for preclinical studies and clinical trials; fees related to obtaining technology licenses; consulting costs; costs related to seeking regulatory approval of our product candidates; and allocated facility-related costs, information technology costs, depreciation expense and other overhead.

We expense all research and development costs in the periods in which they are incurred. We have entered into various agreements with CROs and CMOs. Costs of certain activities are recognized based on an evaluation of the progress to completion of specific tasks. Payments made prior to the receipt of goods or services that will be used or rendered for future research and development activities are deferred and capitalized as prepaid expenses and other current assets on our balance sheet. The capitalized amounts are recognized as expense as the goods are delivered or the related services are performed.

We do not allocate our costs by product candidate, as a significant amount of research and development expenses includes internal costs, such as salary and other personnel related expenses, laboratory supplies and allocated overhead, and external costs, such as fees paid to third parties to conduct research and development activities on our behalf, none of which are tracked by product candidate. In particular, with respect to internal costs, several of our departments support multiple product candidate research and development programs, and therefore the costs cannot be allocated to a particular product candidate or development program.

At this time, we cannot reasonably estimate or know the nature, timing or estimated costs of the efforts that will be necessary to complete the development of, and obtain regulatory approval for, any of our product candidates. We expect our research and development expenses to increase substantially for the foreseeable future as we continue to invest in research and development activities related to developing our product candidates, as our product candidates advance into later stages of development, as we begin to conduct larger clinical trials, as we seek regulatory approvals for any product candidates that successfully complete clinical trials, and incur expenses associated with hiring additional personnel to support our research and development efforts. The process of conducting the necessary clinical research to obtain regulatory approval is costly and time-consuming, and the successful development of our product candidates is highly uncertain. See the section titled “Risk Factors” for additional risks regarding regulatory development and approval.

General and Administrative

Our general and administrative expenses consist primarily of personnel-related expenses, including salaries, employee benefit costs and stock-based compensation expense for our personnel in executive, finance and accounting, human resources, business development and other administrative functions. General and administrative expenses also include professional fees for legal, patent, consulting, accounting and tax services, allocated overhead, including rent, equipment, depreciation, information technology costs and utilities, and other general operating expenses not otherwise classified as research and development expenses.

We expect our general and administrative expenses to increase as a result of increased personnel-related costs, patent costs for our product candidates, consulting, legal and accounting services associated with maintaining compliance with stock exchange listing and requirements of the SEC, investor relations costs, director and officer insurance premiums and other costs associated with being a public company.

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Other Income (Expense)

Our other income (expense) primarily consists of interest income earned on our cash equivalents, and marketable securities and adjustments for the change in the fair value of our derivative liability which must be remeasured at each reporting period.

Results of Operations

Comparison of the Years Ended December 31, 2021 and 2020

The following table summarizes our results of operations for the periods indicated (dollars in thousands):

Revenue

Revenue for the year ended December 31, 2021 increased $4.4 million, or 33%, from the year ended December 31, 2020 primarily attributable to a $4.3 million increase in revenue recognized under our collaboration and license agreement with Roche.

Research and Development Expenses

The following table provides a breakout of research and development expenses for the periods indicated (dollars in thousands):

Research and development expenses for the year ended December 31, 2021 increased $8.3 million, or 16%, from the year ended December 31, 2020. The increase was attributable to the following:

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a $3.1 million decrease in research and development trials and consumable expenses, which was mainly attributable to a $7.2 million decrease in development activities for 4D-310 manufacturing; offset by a $1.1 million increase in selection and validation expense attributable to 4D-710 and 4D-150 IND enabling studies in 2021 and a $2.9 million increase in clinical trial expenses primarily attributable to the start-up of 4D-710 and 4D-150 Phase 1/2 trials during the second half of 2021.

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a $10.4 million increase in payroll and personnel expenses due to an increased headcount of research and development personnel, including a $1.0 million increase in bonus expense along with a $4.2 million increase in employee stock-based compensation expense; and

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a $1.1 million increase in facilities and other research and development expenses primarily for allocated overhead, including rent, equipment, depreciation, information technology costs and utilities.

General and Administrative Expenses

General and administrative expenses for the year ended December 31, 2021 increased $10.8 million, or 62%, from the year ended December 31, 2020. The increase was primarily due to the following:

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a $4.6 million increase in employee and nonemployee stock-based compensation expense and a $1.5 million increase for other personnel costs;

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a $2.7 million increase for director and officer insurance as we went public in December 2020; and

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a $1.3 million increase for employee recruiting incurred to support the increase in hiring activity.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

Sources of Liquidity

We have funded our operations primarily through the sale and issuance of our equity securities, including from the sale of our common stock in our IPO and Follow-on Offering and the sale of our Series A, Series A-1, Series B and Series C redeemable preferred stock, and to a lesser extent from cash received pursuant to our collaboration and license agreements.

In December 2020, we completed our IPO. We issued and sold 9,660,000 shares of common stock at a price to the public of $23.00 per share. The aggregate net proceeds from our IPO were $204.7 million after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and other offering costs.

In November 2021, we completed our Follow-on Offering in which 4,750,000 shares of our common stock were sold at an offering price of $25.00 per share. The net proceeds from the Follow-on Offering were $111.1 million after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and offering expenses. As of December 31, 2021, we had cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities of $315.4 million.

Future Funding Requirements

We have experienced recurring net losses and had an accumulated deficit of $207.0 million at December 31, 2021. Our transition to profitability is dependent upon the successful development, approval and commercialization of our product candidates and those of our collaboration partners and achieving a level of revenue adequate to support our cost structure. We expect to continue to incur losses for the foreseeable future.

We expect that our research and development and general and administrative expenses will continue to increase for the foreseeable future. Additionally, we expect our capital expenditures will increase significantly in the future for costs associated with building additional manufacturing capacity. As a result, we will need significant additional capital to fund our operations, which we may obtain through one or more equity offerings, debt financings or other third-party funding, including potential strategic alliances and licensing or collaboration arrangements.

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Because of the numerous risks and uncertainties associated with the development and commercialization of gene therapy product candidates, we are unable to estimate the amount of increased capital we will need to raise to support our operations and the outlays and operating expenditures necessary to complete the development of our product candidates and build additional manufacturing capacity, and we may use our available capital resources sooner than we currently expect.

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

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the progress of our current and future product candidates through preclinical and clinical development;

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potential delays in our preclinical studies and clinical trials, whether current or planned, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, or other factors;

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expanding our manufacturing facilities and working with our contract manufacturers to scale up the manufacturing processes for our product candidates;

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continuing our research and discovery activities;

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continuing the development of our Therapeutic Vector Evolution platform;

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initiating and conducting additional preclinical, clinical or other studies for our product candidates;

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changing or adding additional contract manufacturers or suppliers;

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seeking regulatory approvals and marketing authorizations for our product candidates;

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establishing sales, marketing and distribution infrastructure to commercialize any products for which we obtain approval;

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acquiring or in-licensing product candidates, intellectual property and technologies;

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making milestone, royalty or other payments due under any current or future collaboration or license agreements;

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obtaining, maintaining, expanding, protecting and enforcing our intellectual property portfolio;

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attracting, hiring and retaining qualified personnel;

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potential delays or other issues related to our operations;

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meeting the requirements and demands of being a public company;

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defending against any product liability claims or other lawsuits related to our products; and

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the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, which may exacerbate the magnitude of the factors discussed above.

We believe that our existing cash and cash equivalents will allow us to fund our planned operations for at least one year from the date of the issuance of the financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2021.

We have based our estimates as to how long we expect we will be able to fund our operations on assumptions that may prove to be wrong, and we could use our available capital resources sooner than we currently expect, in which case we would be required to obtain additional financing sooner than currently projected, which may not be available to us on acceptable terms, or at all. Our failure to raise capital as and when needed would have a negative impact on our financial condition and our ability to pursue our business strategy. See the section titled “Risk Factors” for additional risks associated with our substantial capital requirements.

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We do not have any committed external sources of funds. Accordingly, we will be required to obtain further funding through public or private equity offerings, debt financings, collaborations and licensing arrangements or other sources to complete the clinical development for the product candidates in treatment of Fabry disease, XLRP, choroideremia, wet AMD, cystic fibrosis or any other indication we may pursue. If we raise additional funds by issuing equity securities, our stockholders may experience dilution. Any future debt financing into which we enter would result in fixed payment obligations and may involve agreements that include grants of security interests on our assets and restrictive covenants that limit our ability to take specific actions, such as incurring additional debt, making capital expenditures, granting liens over our assets, redeeming stock or declaring dividends, that could adversely impact our ability to conduct our business. Any debt financing or additional equity that we raise may contain terms that could adversely affect our common stockholders. Further, additional funds may not be available when we need them, on terms that are acceptable to us, or at all. Our ability to raise additional capital may be adversely impacted by potential worsening global economic conditions and the recent disruptions to and volatility in the credit and financial markets in the United States and worldwide resulting from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

If we are unable to obtain additional funding, we expect to delay, reduce or eliminate some or all of our research and development programs, product portfolio expansion or investment in internal manufacturing capabilities, which could adversely affect our business. If we raise additional funds through collaborations or marketing, distribution or licensing arrangements with third parties, we may have to relinquish valuable rights to future revenue streams or product candidates or grant licenses on terms that may not be favorable to us.

Summary Statement of Cash Flows

The following is a summary of cash flows for the periods indicated below (in thousands):

Net Cash Used in Operating Activities

During the year ended December 31, 2021, net cash used in operating activities of $69.1 million was attributable to a net loss of $71.3 million partially offset by a change of $17.7 million in noncash charges and by a net change of $15.5 million in our operating assets and liabilities. The noncash charges primarily consisted of stock-based compensation expense of $13.8 million, depreciation and amortization of $1.5 million and the amortization of operating lease right-of-use assets of $1.5 million. The change in operating assets and liabilities was primarily due to a $14.7 million decrease in deferred revenue and a $4.2 million increase in prepaid expenses and other current assets primarily offset by a $2.3 million increase in accounts payable.

Net cash used in operating activities was $50.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2020. This was primarily due to the net loss of $56.7 million and an increase in prepaid expenses of $2.6 million, which were partially offset by stock-based compensation expense of $5.0 million and depreciation and amortization expense of $1.4 million and an increase in accrued and other liabilities of $1.9 million.

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Net Cash Used in Investing Activities

During the year ended December 31, 2021, net cash used in investing activities was $172.7 million, consisting of purchases of marketable securities of $168.6 million, as well as purchases of property and equipment of $9.1 million, offset by the maturities of marketable securities of $5.0 million.

Net cash used in investing activities was $1.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2020, all of which was used to purchase property and equipment.

Net Cash Provided by Financing Activities

During the year ended December 31, 2021, net cash provided by financing activities of $118.1 million was primarily comprised of $114.3 million in net proceeds from offerings, as well as proceeds received from the issuance of common stock upon exercise of stock options and warrants of $3.4 million.

Net cash provided by financing activities was $279.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2020, which was primarily due to $205.7 million of proceeds from our IPO net of paid underwriting discounts and commissions and offering costs in December 2021 and $72.5 million of net proceeds received from the issuance of our Series C redeemable convertible preferred stock in April and June 2020.

Contractual Obligations, Commitments and Contingencies

Our commitments include obligations under vendor contracts to provide research services and other purchase commitments with our vendors. In the normal course of business, we enter into services agreements with contract research organizations, contract manufacturing organizations and other third parties. Generally, these agreements provide for termination upon notice, with specified amounts due upon termination based on the timing of termination and the terms of the agreement. The actual amounts and timing of payments under these agreements are uncertain and contingent upon the initiation and completion of the services to be provided. These amounts are not fixed and determinable.

As of December 31, 2021, our principal commitments consisted of obligations under our operating lease for our headquarters. Please see note 9 to our financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Critical Accounting Policies and Significant Judgments and Estimates

Our financial statements have been prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States. The preparation of our financial statements requires us to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of our financial statements, as well as the reported revenue and expenses during the reported periods. We evaluate these estimates and assumptions on an ongoing basis. We base our estimates on historical experience and on various other factors that we believe are reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying value of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions.

Our significant accounting policies are described in Note 2 to our financial statements included elsewhere in this report. We believe the following accounting policies are critical to the process of making significant judgments and estimates in the preparation of our financial statements and understanding and evaluating our reported financial results.

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Revenue Recognition

We determine revenue recognition for arrangements within the scope of ASC 606 by performing the following five steps: (i) identification of the promised goods or services in the contract; (ii) determination of whether the promised goods or services are performance obligations including whether they are distinct in the context of the contract; (iii) measurement of the transaction price, including the constraint on variable consideration; (iv) allocation of the transaction price to the performance obligations based on estimated selling prices; and (v) recognition of revenue when (or as) we satisfy each performance obligation.

Our revenue is primarily derived through our license, research, development and commercialization agreements. The terms of these types of agreements may include (i) licenses to our technology, (ii) research and development services, and (iii) services or obligations in connection with participation in research or steering committees. Payments to us under these arrangements typically include one or more of the following: nonrefundable upfront and license fees, research funding, milestone and other contingent payments to us for the achievement of defined collaboration objectives and certain preclinical, clinical, regulatory and sales-based events, as well as royalties on sales of any commercialized products. Arrangements that include upfront payments are recorded as deferred revenue upon receipt or when due and may require deferral of revenue recognition to a future period until performance obligations are met. The event-based milestone payments, royalties and cost reimbursements represent variable consideration, and we use the most likely amount method to estimate this variable consideration. Royalty payments are recognized when earned or as the sales occur. We record cost reimbursements as accounts receivable when right to consideration is unconditional.

A performance obligation is a promise in a contract to transfer a distinct good or service to the customer and is the unit of account in ASC 606. We allocate the total transaction price to each performance obligation based on the estimated selling price and recognize revenue when, or as, the performance obligation is satisfied. We include the unconstrained amount of estimated variable consideration in the transaction price. At the end of each reporting period, we re-evaluate the estimated variable consideration included in the transaction price and any related constraint, and if necessary, adjust our estimate of the overall transaction price.

Significant management judgment is required to determine the level of effort required under an arrangement, and the period over which the Company expects to complete its performance obligations under the arrangement. Changes in these estimates can have a material effect on revenue recognized.

Accrued Research and Development Expenses

We estimate our accrued research and development expenses as of each balance sheet date. This process involves reviewing contracts and purchase orders with service providers, identifying services that have been performed on our behalf and estimating the level of service performed, the expected remaining period of performance and the associated expenses incurred for the service when we have not yet been invoiced or otherwise notified of actual cost. Depending on the timing of payments to the service providers and the estimated expenses incurred, we may record net prepaid or accrued research and development expenses relating to these costs.

Examples of estimated accrued research and development expenses include fees paid to:

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CROs in connection with preclinical development and clinical studies; and

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CMOs and other vendors related to process development and manufacturing of materials for use in preclinical development and clinical studies.

Our understanding of the status and timing of services performed relative to the actual status and timing may vary and may result in us reporting changes in estimates in any particular period. To date, there have been no material differences from our estimates to the amounts actually incurred.

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Stock-Based Compensation Expense

We use a fair value-based method to account for all stock-based compensation arrangements with employees and nonemployees including stock options and stock awards. Our determination of the fair value of stock options on the date of grant utilizes the Black-Scholes option pricing model.

The fair value of the option granted is recognized on a straight-line basis over the period during which an optionee is required to provide services in exchange for the option award, known as the requisite service period, which usually is the vesting period. Prior to January 1, 2020, the stock-based compensation expense for nonemployees was subject to remeasurement until the related vesting conditions were met. Effective January 1, 2020, the measurement date for nonemployee awards is the date of grant without changes in the fair value of the award. We account for forfeitures as they occur for both employees and nonemployees.

Estimates of the fair value of equity awards as of the grant date using valuation models such as the Black-Scholes option pricing model are affected by assumptions with a number of complex variables.

Changes in the following assumptions can materially affect the estimate of fair value and ultimately how much stock-based compensation expense is recognized; and the resulting change in fair value, if any, is recognized in our statements of operations during the period the related services are rendered. These inputs are subjective and generally require significant analysis and judgment to develop:

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Expected Term—The expected term for employee options is calculated using the simplified method as we do not have sufficient historical information to provide a basis for estimate. The simplified method is based on the average of the vesting tranches and the contractual life of each grant.

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Expected Volatility—For all stock options granted to date, the expected volatility was estimated based on a study of publicly traded industry peer companies as we did not have sufficient trading history for our common stock. We selected the peer group based on similarities in industry, stage of development, size and financial leverage with our principal business operations. For each grant, we measured historical volatility over a period equivalent to the expected term.

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Risk-Free Interest Rate—The risk-free interest rate is based on the yield available on U.S. Treasury zero-coupon issues whose term is similar in duration to the expected term of the respective stock option.

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Expected Dividend Yield—We have not paid and do not currently anticipate paying any dividends on our common stock. Accordingly, we have estimated the dividend yield to be zero.

Common Stock Valuations

Prior to our IPO in December 2020, the estimated fair value of the common stock underlying our stock options and stock awards was determined at each grant date by our board of directors, with assistance from management and external appraisers. All options to purchase shares of our common stock were intended to be exercisable at a price per share not less than the per-share fair value of our common stock underlying those options on the date of grant. The approach to estimate the fair value of our common stock was consistent with the methods outlined in the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants’ Practice Aid, Valuation of Privately-Held-Company Equity Securities Issued as Compensation. Subsequent to our IPO, the fair value of our common stock is determined based on its closing market price as reported on the Nasdaq Global Select Market.

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Income Taxes

We account for income taxes under the asset and liability method, which requires, among other things, that deferred income taxes be provided for temporary differences between the financial statement reporting and tax basis of our assets and liabilities. In addition, deferred tax assets are recorded for the future benefit of utilizing net operating losses and research and development credit carryforwards and are measured using the enacted tax rates and laws that will be in effect when such items are expected to reverse. A valuation allowance is provided against deferred tax assets unless it is more likely than not that they will be realized.

We account for uncertain tax positions by assessing all material positions taken in any assessment or challenge by relevant taxing authorities. Assessing an uncertain tax position begins with the initial determination of the position’s sustainability and is measured at the largest amount of benefit that is greater than fifty percent likely of being realized upon ultimate settlement. Our policy is to recognize interest and penalties related to the underpayment of income taxes as a component of income tax expense or benefit. To date, there have been no interest or penalties charged in relation to the unrecognized tax benefits.

NOLs and tax credit carryforwards are subject to review and possible adjustment by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and may become subject to an annual limitation in the event of certain cumulative changes in the ownership interest of significant stockholders over a three-year period in excess of 50% as defined under Sections 382 and 383 in the Internal Revenue Code, which could limit the amount of tax attributes that can be utilized annually to offset future taxable income or tax liabilities.

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements

Since our inception, we have not engaged in any off-balance sheet arrangements as defined in the rules and regulations of the SEC.

JOBS Act

We are an emerging growth company, as defined in the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012 (the “JOBS Act”). Under the JOBS Act, emerging growth companies may delay adopting new or revised accounting standards issued subsequent to the enactment of the JOBS Act until such time as those standards apply to private companies. We have elected to avail ourselves of this exemption from new or revised accounting standards and, therefore, while we are an emerging growth company, we will not be subject to new or revised accounting standards at the same time that they become applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies. As a result, our financial statements may not be comparable to companies that comply with new or revised accounting pronouncements as of public company effective dates.

We will remain an emerging growth company until the earlier of (i) December 31, 2025, (ii) the last day of the year in which we have total annual gross revenue of at least $1.07 billion, (iii) the last day of the year in which we are deemed to be a “large accelerated filer” as defined in Rule 12b-2 under the Exchange Act, which would occur if the market value of our common stock held by non-affiliates exceeded $700.0 million as of the last business day of the second fiscal quarter of such year, or (iv) the date on which we have issued more than $1.0 billion in non-convertible debt securities during the prior three-year period. An emerging growth company may take advantage of specified reduced reporting requirements and is relieved of certain other significant requirements that are otherwise generally applicable to public companies. As an emerging growth company:

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we will present only two years of audited financial statements for any interim period, and related management’s discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations;

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we will avail ourselves of the exemption from the requirement to obtain an attestation and report from our auditors on the assessment of our internal control over financial reporting pursuant to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (the “Sarbanes-Oxley Act”);

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we will provide less extensive disclosure about our executive compensation arrangements;

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we will not require stockholder non-binding advisory votes on executive compensation or golden parachute arrangements; and

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we will take advantage of extended transition periods to comply with new or revised accounting standards, delaying the adoption of these accounting standards until they would apply to private companies.

As a result, the information in this report in the future may be different than what you might receive from other public reporting companies.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

See Note 2 to our financial statements included elsewhere in this report for information.