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CRISPR Therapeutics AG: Form 10-Q for the period ended Mar 31, 2025

Filed with the SEC on May 6, 2025 and accepted by EDGAR at May 6, 2025, 16:10 ET.

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Management's discussion and analysis

As filed, 40,066 characters, with its headings, lists and tables. Extracted from the main document; charts and exhibits are in the original on sec.gov.

The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with (i) our unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements and related notes appearing elsewhere in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and (ii) our audited consolidated financial statements and related notes and management’s discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC, on February 11, 2025. Some of the information contained in this discussion and analysis or set forth elsewhere in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, including information with respect to our plans and strategy for our business and impact and potential impacts on our business, includes forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. As a result of many factors, including, without limitation, those factors set forth in the “Risk Factors” section of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024 and the “Risk Factors” section of subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, our actual results or timing of certain events could differ materially from the results or timing described in, or implied by, these forward-looking statements.

Overview

Our mission is to create transformative gene-based medicines for serious human diseases. We are a leading gene editing company focused on the development of CRISPR-based therapeutics, including by using CRISPR/Cas9 technology. CRISPR/Cas9 is a revolutionary technology for gene editing, the process of precisely altering specific sequences of genomic DNA. We aim to apply this technology to disrupt, delete, correct and insert genes to treat genetic diseases and to engineer advanced cellular therapies. We have advanced this technology from discovery to an approved medicine with unparalleled speed, culminating in the landmark first approval of a CRISPR-based therapy, CASGEVY (exagamglogene autotemcel [exa-cel]), in 2023 with our collaborators at Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated, or Vertex. We have established a portfolio of therapeutic programs spanning four core franchises: hemoglobinopathies, CAR T, in vivo approaches and type 1 diabetes, or T1D. Depending on the program, we take either an ex vivo approach, in which we edit cells outside of the human body before administering them to the patient, or an in vivo editing approach, where we deliver the CRISPR-based therapeutic directly to target cells within the human body.

We continue to innovate on our platform to develop next-generation technologies that can enable new therapies. Through our efforts, we aim to unlock the full potential of CRISPR-based therapeutics to create medicines that can transform people’s lives. We believe that our innovative research, translational expertise, and clinical development experience, position us as a leader in the development of CRISPR-based therapeutics and may enable us to create an entirely new class of highly effective and potentially curative therapies for patients with both rare and common diseases for whom current biopharmaceutical approaches have had limited success.

Hemoglobinopathies

CASGEVY

CASGEVY is a non-viral, ex vivo CRISPR/Cas9 gene-edited cell therapy, in which a patient’s own hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells are edited at the erythroid specific enhancer region of the BCL11A gene through a precise double-strand break. This edit results in the production of high levels of fetal hemoglobin in red blood cells, which can compensate for the defective adult hemoglobin in patients with SCD and TDT. CASGEVY is the first therapy to emerge from our strategic partnership with Vertex and is being advanced under a joint development and commercialization agreement between us and Vertex and certain of its affiliates.

In 2023, CASGEVY became the first-ever approved CRISPR-based gene-editing therapy in the world. To date, CASGEVY has been approved in the United States, European Union, Great Britain, Canada, Switzerland, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates for the treatment of eligible patients 12 years and older with SCD or TDT. We and Vertex continue to investigate CASGEVY, including (1) three clinical trials designed to assess the safety and efficacy of a single dose of CASGEVY in patients 12 to 35 years of age with severe SCD and TDT, respectively, (2) two clinical trials in patients 5 to 11 years of age, one in severe SCD and a second in TDT, and (3) long-term follow-up clinical trials designed to follow participants for up to 15 years after CASGEVY infusion. CASGEVY safety data presented to date is generally consistent with an autologous stem cell transplant and myeloablative conditioning. Efficacy data presented to date support the profile of this therapy as a potential one-time functional cure for people with severe SCD and TDT.

Additional candidates

We continue to advance our internally developed targeted conditioning program, as well as in vivo hematopoietic stem cell, or HSC, editing approaches utilizing lipid nanoparticle-mediated delivery through preclinical studies. Both initiatives could significantly expand the addressable patient populations for SCD and TDT.

CAR T

We believe CRISPR/Cas9 has the potential to create the next generation of CAR T cell therapies that may have a superior product profile and allow broader patient access compared to current autologous therapies. We are advancing several cell therapy programs for oncology and/or autoimmune indications, including two next-generation allogeneic CAR T programs, CTX112 targeting

Cluster of Differentiation 19, or CD19, and CTX131 targeting Cluster of Differentiation 70, or CD70. These product candidates incorporate edits designed to enhance CAR T potency, reduce CAR T exhaustion and evade the immune system. An additional edit in CTX131 is designed to prevent the CAR T cells from killing other CAR T cells. In addition, these next-generation candidates exhibit increased manufacturing robustness, with a higher and more consistent number of CAR T cells produced per batch. We are producing CTX112 and CTX131 for clinical trials at our internal GMP manufacturing facility in Framingham, Massachusetts.

CD19 candidates

CTX112 is being developed for both hematologic malignancies and autoimmune indications. It is being investigated in an ongoing clinical trial designed to assess the safety and efficacy of the product candidate in adult patients with relapsed or refractory B-cell malignancies who have received at least two prior lines of therapy, as well as an ongoing clinical trial in adult patients with systemic lupus erythematosus, systemic sclerosis, and inflammatory myositis. CTX112 has been granted RMAT designation by the FDA for the treatment of relapsed or refractory follicular lymphoma and marginal zone lymphoma.

CD70 candidates

CTX131 is being developed for both solid tumors and hematologic malignancies. It is being investigated in ongoing clinical trials designed to assess the safety and efficacy of the candidate in adult patients with relapsed or refractory solid tumors and hematologic malignancies, including T cell lymphomas, or TCL.We believe allogeneic CAR T approaches for TCL may have greater potential to meet the unmet need in this patient population given the patients’ own T cells are not suitable for autologous manufacturing.

Additional candidates

Our CRISPR/Cas9 platform enables us to innovate continuously by incorporating incremental edits into next-generation products. We are advancing several additional investigational CAR T programs, including an autologous, gene-edited CAR T program targeting glypican-3 for the potential treatment of solid tumors.

In Vivo

Our in vivo gene editing strategy focuses on gene disruption and whole gene correction – the two technologies required to address the vast majority of the most prevalent severe monogenic diseases as well as many common diseases. We have established a leading platform for in vivo gene editing and are rapidly advancing a broad portfolio of in vivo programs, supported by an internal lipid nanoparticle, or LNP, team to enable liver-directed and extrahepatic programs with novel lipids, formulations and targeting moieties. Our first in vivo programs target the liver, taking advantage of validated LNP delivery technologies, and aim to treat diseases where we can produce a strong therapeutic effect by safely disrupting a gene with well-understood genetic association.

Cardiovascular disease

Our first two in vivo programs utilizing our proprietary LNP platform, CTX310 and CTX320, aim to address cardiovascular disease by disrupting the validated targets angiopoietin-like protein 3, or ANGPTL3, and lipoprotein (a), or Lp(a), respectively. CTX310 is being investigated in an ongoing clinical trial targeting ANGPTL3, a gene that encodes for key protein involved in the regulation of low-density lipoprotein and triglyceride levels, in patients with heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia, homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia, mixed dyslipidemias, or severe hypertriglyceridemia. In addition, CTX320 is being investigated in an ongoing clinical trial targeting LPA, the gene encoding apo(a), a critical component of Lp(a) in patients with elevated Lp(a), which has shown to have an independent association with major adverse cardiovascular events.

Additional candidates

Building upon CTX310 and CTX320, we are progressing CTX340, targeting angiotensinogen for refractory hypertension, as well as CTX450, targeting 5’-aminolevulinate synthase 1 for acute hepatic porphyria, through preclinical studies. In addition, we have programs focused on gene correction in the liver, including programs leveraging technologies developed by our CRISPR-X research team. Finally, we are pursuing additional delivery technologies, including LNPs, for delivery to tissues beyond the liver, including hematopoietic stem cells.

Type 1 Diabetes

We are developing gene-edited stem cell-derived therapies for the treatment of T1D. We believe our gene editing capabilities have the potential to enable a beta-cell replacement product candidate that may deliver durable benefit to patients without the need for long-term immunosuppression. We have three parallel efforts to achieve this goal: (1) CTX211, an allogeneic, gene-edited, hypoimmune, stem cell derived product candidate in a device that is implanted into patients and intended to produce insulin in a glucose-dependent manner, and which is in an ongoing clinical trial; (2) CTX213, a research stage deviceless beta cell replacement product candidate consisting of unencapsulated precursor islet cells derived from edited stem cells; and (3) we have granted a non-exclusive license to certain of our CRISPR/Cas9 intellectual property to Vertex to accelerate Vertex’s development of hypoimmune cell therapies for T1D in exchange for certain milestones and royalties.

CRISPR-X

While we have made significant progress with our current portfolio of programs, we recognize that we need to continue to innovate to unlock the full power of gene editing and bring potentially transformative therapies to even more patients. We have a dedicated early-stage research team called CRISPR-X that focuses on innovating next-generation editing modalities. CRISPR-X is developing technologies to enable whole gene correction and insertion via non-viral DNA delivery and all-RNA systems, without requiring homology-directed repair or viral delivery of DNA.

Partnerships

Given the numerous potential therapeutic applications for CRISPR/Cas9, we have partnered strategically to broaden the indications we can pursue and accelerate development of programs by accessing specific technologies and/or disease-area expertise. We maintain broad partnerships to develop gene editing-based therapeutics in specific disease areas.

Hemoglobinopathies

In 2015, we partnered with Vertex and entered into a strategic collaboration, option and license agreement, which focused on the discovery and development of gene-based treatments for hemoglobinopathies and cystic fibrosis using CRISPR/Cas9 gene-editing technology. In 2017, Vertex exercised its option to co-develop and co-commercialize the hemoglobinopathies program and we entered into a joint development and commercialization agreement with Vertex, which we amended and restated in 2021, pursuant to which, among other things, we are co-developing and co-commercializing CASGEVY for TDT and SCD.

Diabetes

Beginning in 2018, we partnered with ViaCyte, Inc., or ViaCyte (now a wholly-owned subsidiary of Vertex), to pursue the discovery, development and commercialization of gene-edited allogeneic stem cell therapies for the treatment of diabetes. In 2023, ViaCyte elected to opt-out of the collaboration with us for the co-development and co-commercialization of gene-edited stem cell therapies for the treatment of diabetes. Per the opt-out terms, the on-going collaboration assets will be wholly owned by us, subject to a royalty on future sales owed to ViaCyte. Our product candidate, CTX211, being developed for the potential treatment of T1D, resulted from this collaboration, and which we are continuing to advance in a Phase 1 clinical trial. Additionally, in 2023, we entered into a non-exclusive license agreement with Vertex for Vertex to utilize certain of our gene-editing intellectual property to exploit certain products for the diagnosis, treatment or prevention of T1D, diabetes type 2 or insulin dependent/requiring diabetes throughout the world. To date, we have recognized revenue of $205.0 million in upfront and milestone payments and remain eligible to receive additional research and development milestones and royalties on future products under the license.

Other Partnerships

We have entered into a number of additional collaborations and license agreements in other therapeutic areas, including an additional agreement with Vertex for the treatment of Duchenne muscular dystrophy, or DMD, and myotonic dystrophy type 1, or DM1, and others to support and complement our hematopoietic stem cell, CAR T, in vivo and T1D programs and platform, including agreements with: Nkarta, Inc., or Nkarta, to develop and commercialize products leveraging donor-derived, gene-edited CAR-NK cells; Capsida Biotherapeutics, Inc. to develop in vivo gene editing therapies delivered with engineered adeno-associated virus, or AAV, vectors; Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center to advance a gene-edited autologous CAR T program against a new target; MaxCyte, Inc. on ex vivo delivery for our hemoglobinopathy and CAR T programs; CureVac AG on optimized mRNA constructs and manufacturing for certain in vivo programs; and KSQ Therapeutics, Inc. on intellectual property for our allogeneic immuno-oncology programs.

Financial Overview

Since our inception in October 2013, we have devoted substantially all of our resources to our research and development efforts, identifying potential product candidates, undertaking drug discovery and preclinical development activities, building and protecting our intellectual property estate, establishing internal manufacturing capabilities, organizing and staffing our company, business planning, raising capital and providing general and administrative support for these operations. To date, we have primarily financed our operations through private placements of our preferred shares, common share issuances, convertible loans and payments related to certain of our license and collaboration agreements with strategic partners.

We have a history of recurring losses and expect to continue to incur losses for the foreseeable future; however, we have been in a net income position in certain previous years due to certain payments associated with our collaboration and license agreements with Vertex. Our net losses may fluctuate significantly from quarter to quarter and year to year. We anticipate that our expenses will increase as we continue our current research programs and development activities; seek to identify additional research programs and additional product candidates; conduct initial drug application supporting preclinical studies and initiate clinical trials for our product candidates; initiate preclinical testing and clinical trials for any other product candidates we identify and develop; seek regulatory approval for our product candidates; maintain, defend, protect and expand our intellectual property estate; further develop our gene editing platform; hire additional research, clinical and scientific personnel; incur facilities costs associated with such personnel growth; continue to develop internal manufacturing capabilities and infrastructure; and incur additional costs associated with operating as a public company.

Revenue Recognition

We have not generated any revenue to date from sales of any wholly-owned product and do not expect to do so in the near future. Revenue recognized for the three months ended March 31, 2025 and 2024 was not material. For additional information about our revenue recognition policy, see Note 2, “Summary of Significant Accounting Policies,” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024 filed with the SEC on February 11, 2025, as well as Note 6 of the notes to our unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements included in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q.

Research and Development Expenses

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

  • employee-related expenses, including salaries, benefits and equity-based compensation expense;
  • costs of services performed by third parties that conduct research and development and preclinical and clinical activities on our behalf;
  • costs of purchasing lab supplies and non-capital equipment used in our preclinical activities and in manufacturing preclinical study materials, as well as supplies and materials used to manufacture clinical drug material;
  • consultant fees;
  • facility costs, including rent, depreciation and maintenance expenses; and
  • fees and other payments related to acquiring and maintaining licenses under our third-party licensing agreements.

Our external research and development expenses support our various preclinical and clinical programs, and, as such, we do not break down external research and development expenses further. Our internal research and development expenses consist of payroll and benefits expenses, facilities expense, and other indirect research and development expenses incurred in support of overall research and development activities and, as such, are not allocated to a specific development stage or therapeutic area. Research and development costs are expensed as incurred. Nonrefundable advance payments for research and development goods or services to be received in the future are deferred and capitalized. The capitalized amounts are expensed as the related goods are delivered or the services are performed. 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 any product candidates we may identify and develop. This is due to the numerous risks and uncertainties associated with developing such product candidates, including the uncertainty of:

  • successful completion of preclinical studies and IND-enabling studies;
  • successful enrollment in, and completion of, clinical trials;
  • receipt of marketing approvals from applicable regulatory authorities;
  • establishing commercial manufacturing capabilities or making arrangements with third-party manufacturers;
  • obtaining and maintaining patent and trade secret protection and non-patent exclusivity;
  • launching commercial sales of the product, if and when approved, whether alone or in collaboration with others;
  • acceptance of the product, if and when approved, by patients, the medical community and third-party payors;
  • effectively competing with other therapies and treatment options;
  • a continued acceptable safety profile following approval;
  • enforcing and defending intellectual property and proprietary rights and claims; and
  • achieving desirable medicinal properties for the intended indications.

A change in the outcome of any of these variables with respect to the development of any product candidates or the subsequent commercialization of any product candidates we may successfully develop could significantly change the costs, timing and viability associated with the development of that product candidate.

Research and development activities are central to our business model. We expect to continue to incur research and development costs consistent with research and development at companies of our size and stage of development, which may increase in the foreseeable future as our current development programs progress, new programs are added and we continue to prepare regulatory filings. These increases will likely include the costs related to the implementation and expansion of clinical trial sites and related patient enrollment, monitoring, program management and manufacturing expenses for current and future clinical trials.

General and Administrative Expenses

General and administrative expenses consist primarily of employee-related expenses, including salaries, benefits and equity-based compensation, for personnel in executive, finance, accounting, business development, human resources and other general and administrative functions. Other significant costs include facility costs not otherwise included in research and development expenses, legal fees relating to patent and corporate matters and fees for accounting and consulting services.

We expect to continue to incur general and administrative expenses consistent with general and administrative functions at research and development companies of our size and stage of development, which may increase in the future to support continued research and development activities, and potential commercialization of our product candidates. In addition, we anticipate ongoing expenses related to the reimbursements of third-party patent related expenses in connection with certain of our in-licensed intellectual property.

Collaboration Expense, Net

Collaboration expense, net, consists of operating expense under our collaboration with Vertex for the hemoglobinopathies program.

Other Income (Expense), Net

Other income (expense), net consists primarily of interest income earned on investments, as well as the change in fair value of corporate equity securities.

Results of Operations

Comparison of three months ended March 31, 2025 and 2024 (in thousands):

Revenue: Three Months Ended March 31, 2025 2024 Period to Period Change
Collaboration revenue $— $— $—
Grant revenue 865 504 361
Total revenue 865 504 361
Operating expenses:
Research and development 72,484 76,172 (3,688)
General and administrative 19,296 17,953 1,343
Collaboration expense, net 57,509 46,966 10,543
Total operating expenses 149,289 141,091 8,198
Loss from operations (148,424) (140,587) (7,837)
Other income, net 13,537 24,720 (11,183)
Loss before income taxes (134,887) (115,867) (19,020)
Provision for income taxes (1,109) (724) (385)
Net loss $(135,996) $(116,591) $(19,405)

Collaboration Revenue

There was no collaboration revenue for the three months ended March 31, 2025 and 2024. Please refer to Note 6 of the notes to our unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements included in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for further information.

Research and Development Expenses

Research and development expenses were $72.5 million for the three months ended March 31, 2025, compared to $76.2 million for the three months ended March 31, 2024. The following table summarizes our research and development expenses for the three months ended March 31, 2025 and 2024, together with the changes in those items in dollars (in thousands):

Three Months Ended March 31, 2025 2024 Period to Period Change
External research and development expenses $17,852 $18,669 $(817)
Employee-related expenses 19,735 20,991 (1,256)
Facility expenses 23,959 22,769 1,190
Stock-based compensation expenses 9,732 11,182 (1,450)
Other expenses 408 369 39
Sublicense and license fees 798 2,192 (1,394)
Total research and development expenses $72,484 $76,172 $(3,688)

The decrease of approximately $3.7 million was primarily attributable to a decrease in employee-related expenses, including stock-based compensation expenses.

General and Administrative Expenses

General and administrative expenses were $19.3 million for the three months ended March 31, 2025, compared to general and administrative expenses of $18.0 million for the three months ended March 31, 2024. The increase of approximately $1.3 million was primarily associated with an increase in stock-based compensation expense, offset by a reduction in intellectual property costs and employee-related expenses.

Collaboration Expense, Net

Collaboration expense, net, was $57.5 million for the three months ended March 31, 2025, compared to $47.0 million for the three months ended March 31, 2024. The increase of approximately $10.5 million in collaboration expense, net, was primarily attributable to an increase in cost of goods sold and other commercial costs related to CASGEVY and collaboration expenses related to in vivo HSC editing, offset by our share of product sales.

Other Income, Net

Other income was $13.5 million for the three months ended March 31, 2025, compared to $24.7 million of income for the three months ended March 31, 2024. The decrease of approximately $11.2 million was primarily due to the change in fair value of corporate equity securities in the first quarter of 2025, as well as a decrease in interest income earned on cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities for the three months ended March 31, 2025.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

We have predominantly incurred losses and cumulative negative cash flows from operations since our inception. As of March 31, 2025, we had $1,855.3 million in cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities, of which approximately $108.7 million was held outside of the United States, and an accumulated deficit of $1,501.9 million. We anticipate that we will continue to incur losses for at least the next several years. We expect to continue to incur research and development costs and general and administrative expenses consistent with costs associated with research and development at companies of our size and stage of development, and, as a result, we will need additional capital to fund our operations, which we may raise through public or private equity or debt financings, strategic collaborations, or other sources.

At-the-Market Offerings

In August 2019, we entered into an Open Market Sale AgreementSM with Jefferies under which we were able to offer and sell, from time to time at our sole discretion through Jefferies, as our sales agent, our common shares, par value of CHF 0.03 per share, or the August 2019 Sales Agreement. In January 2021, in connection with the August 2019 Sales Agreement, we filed a prospectus supplement with the SEC to offer and sell, from time to time, common shares having aggregate gross proceeds of up to $600.0 million. In August 2024, we filed a new prospectus supplement with the SEC, which replaced the previous prospectus supplements filed in January 2021 and July 2021, respectively, to offer and sell, from time to time, the common shares remaining under the original prospectus supplement and July 2021 prospectus supplement having aggregate gross proceeds of up to $378.6 million, or, together with the January 2021 prospectus supplement and July 2021 prospectus supplement, the 2021 ATM.

For the three months ended March 31, 2025, we issued and sold an aggregate of 0.2 million common shares under the 2021 ATM at an average price of $54.33 per share for aggregate proceeds of $8.7 million. Activity under the 2021 ATM was not material for the three months ended March 31, 2024. Equity issuance costs, excluding stamp taxes, were not material for the three months ended March 31, 2025 and 2024.

As of March 31, 2025, we have common shares having aggregate gross proceeds up to $354.8 million remaining under our current prospectus supplement, and we have issued and sold an aggregate of 2.1 million common shares at an average price of $117.41 per share for aggregate proceeds of $241.9 million, which were net of equity issuance costs of $3.3 million, excluding stamp taxes.

Additional Financings

In February 2024, we entered into an investment agreement for the sale of approximately $280.0 million of our common shares to a group of institutional investors in a registered direct offering, at a price per share of $71.50. We received net proceeds of $279.0 million, excluding stamp taxes due of $2.8 million.

Funding Requirements

Our primary uses of capital are, and we expect will continue to be, research and development activities, manufacturing activities, compensation and related expenses, laboratory and related supplies, legal and other regulatory expenses, patent prosecution, filing, defense and intellectual property maintenance costs, and general overhead costs, including costs associated with operating as a public company. We expect to continue to incur operating expenses consistent with costs associated with research and development at companies of our size and stage of development, which may increase in the future to support continued research and development activities and potential commercialization of our product candidates.

Although we and our partner, Vertex, have received marketing approvals for CASGEVY in certain jurisdictions, we cannot guarantee we and Vertex will receive additional marketing approvals for CASGEVY or we will receive marketing approvals for our other product candidates in the future. Most of our programs are still in early stages of development and the outcome of our efforts is uncertain, and we cannot estimate the actual amounts necessary to successfully complete the development, manufacture and commercialization of any current or future product candidates, if approved, or whether, or when, we may achieve profitability. Until such time as we can generate substantial product revenues, if ever, we expect to finance our cash needs through a combination of equity financings, debt financings and payments received in connection with our collaboration and license agreements. We intend to consider opportunities to raise additional funds through the sale of equity or debt securities when market conditions are favorable to us to do so. However, the trading prices for our common shares and other biopharmaceutical companies have been highly volatile. As a result, we may face difficulties raising capital through sales of our common shares or such sales may be on unfavorable terms. In addition, a recession, depression or other sustained adverse market event, including resulting from the uncertain geopolitical environment, global trade policy and global economic conditions, could materially and adversely affect our business and the value of our common shares. To the extent that we raise additional capital through the future sale of equity or debt securities, the ownership interests of our shareholders will be diluted, and the terms of these securities may include liquidation or other preferences that adversely affect the rights of our existing shareholders. If we raise additional funds through license or collaboration arrangements in the future, we may have to relinquish valuable rights to our technologies, future revenue streams or product candidates or grant licenses on terms that may not be favorable to us. If we are unable to raise additional funds through equity or debt financings when needed, we may be required to delay, limit, reduce or terminate our product development or future commercialization efforts or grant rights to develop and market product candidates that we would otherwise prefer to develop and market ourselves.

Outlook

Based on our research and development plans and our timing expectations related to the progress of our programs, we expect our existing cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities will enable us to fund our operating expenses and capital expenditures for at least the next 24 months without giving effect to any additional proceeds we may receive under our license agreements and collaborations, including with Vertex, and any other capital raising transactions we may complete. We have based this estimate on assumptions that may prove to be wrong, and we could use our capital resources sooner than we expect. Given our need for additional financing to support the long-term clinical development and future commercialization of our programs, as applicable, we intend to consider additional financing opportunities when market terms are favorable to us.

Our ability to generate revenue and achieve profitability depends significantly on our success in many areas, including: developing our delivery technologies and our gene editing technology platform; selecting appropriate product candidates to develop; completing research and preclinical and clinical development of selected product candidates; obtaining regulatory approvals and marketing authorizations for product candidates for which we complete clinical trials; developing a sustainable and scalable manufacturing process for product candidates; launching and commercializing product candidates for which we obtain regulatory approvals and marketing authorizations, either directly or with a collaborator or distributor; obtaining market acceptance of our product candidates, either directly or with a collaborator or distributor, if approved, including for CASGEVY; addressing any competing technological and market developments; negotiating favorable terms in any collaboration, licensing or other arrangements into which we may enter; maintaining good relationships with our collaborators and licensors; maintaining, defending, protecting and expanding our estate of intellectual property rights, including patents, trade secrets and know-how; and attracting, hiring and retaining qualified personnel.

Cash Flows

The following table provides information regarding our cash flows for each of the periods below (in thousands):

Three Months Ended March 31, 2025 2024 Period to Period Change
Net cash (used in) provided by operating activities $(53,947) $109,752 $(163,699)
Net cash used in investing activities (19,755) (97,800) 78,045
Net cash provided by financing activities 10,588 305,934 (295,346)
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash 41 (11) 52
Net (decrease) increase in cash $(63,073) $317,875 $(380,948)

Operating Activities

Net cash used in operating activities was $53.9 million for the three months ended March 31, 2025, compared to cash provided by operating activities of $109.8 million for the three months ended March 31, 2024. The $163.7 million increase in net cash used in operating activities was primarily driven by a decrease in net changes of operating assets and liabilities of $155.6 million, primarily due to the impact of receivables from Vertex which were paid during the quarter ($200.0 million paid in the first quarter of 2024 compared to $25.0 million paid in the first quarter of 2025). Additionally, non-cash expense increased by $11.3 million, primarily driven by the change in fair value of corporate equity securities, and our net loss position increased by $19.4 million, from a net loss of $116.6 million for the first quarter of 2024 compared to a net loss of $136.0 million for the first quarter of 2025.

Investing Activities

Net cash used in investing activities for the three months ended March 31, 2025 was $19.8 million, compared to net cash used in investing activities of $97.8 million for the three months ended March 31, 2024. The decrease in net cash used in investing activities was primarily driven by a net decrease in purchases of our marketable securities.

Financing Activities

Net cash provided by financing activities for the three months ended March 31, 2025 was $10.6 million, compared with $305.9 million for the three months ended March 31, 2024. Net cash provided by financing activities for the three months ended March 31, 2025 consisted primarily of $8.7 million in net proceeds from the sale of common shares issued in connection with our 2021 ATM, as well as option exercise proceeds, net of issuance costs. Net cash provided by financing activities for the three months ended March 31, 2024 consisted of proceeds from the sale of approximately $280.0 million of our common shares to a group of institutional investors in a registered direct offering, at a price per share of $71.50. We received net proceeds of $279.0 million, excluding stamp taxes due of $2.8 million.

Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates

There have been no material changes in our critical accounting policies and estimates in the preparation of our condensed consolidated financial statements during the three months ended March 31, 2025 compared to those discussed in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024 filed with the SEC on February 11, 2025, with the exception of changes to the below policy.

Collaboration Arrangements

We record the elements of our collaboration agreements that represent joint operating activities in accordance with ASC 808. Accordingly, the elements of the collaboration agreements that represent activities in which both parties are active participants and to which both parties are exposed to the significant risks and rewards that are dependent on the commercial success of the activities, are recorded as collaborative arrangements.

We evaluate the proper presentation of the commercial activities and the profit and loss sharing associated with the collaboration agreements. ASC 808 states that when payments between parties in a collaborative arrangement are not within the scope of other authoritative accounting literature, the income statement classification should be based on the nature of the arrangement, the nature of its business operations and the contractual terms of the arrangement. To the extent that these payments are not within the scope of other authoritative accounting literature, the income statement classification for the payments shall be based on an analogy to authoritative accounting literature or if there is no appropriate analogy, a reasonable, rational and consistently applied accounting policy election.

Collaboration costs specific to the Vertex Hemoglobinopathy Agreements accounted for under ASC 808 are presented within “collaboration expense, net” in the condensed consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss. Refer to Note 6 to these condensed consolidated financial statements for further discussion on the Vertex Hemoglobinopathy Agreements.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

Refer to Note 1 of the notes to our unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements included in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for a discussion of recent accounting pronouncements.

Market risk

As filed, 1,576 characters, with its headings, lists and tables. Extracted from the main document; charts and exhibits are in the original on sec.gov.

Interest Rate Sensitivity

We are exposed to market risk related to changes in interest rates. As of March 31, 2025, we had cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities of $1,855.3 million, primarily invested in U.S. treasury securities and government agency securities, corporate bonds, commercial paper and money market accounts invested in U.S. government agency securities. Due to the conservative nature of these instruments, we do not believe that we have a material exposure to interest rate risk. If interest rates were to increase or decrease by 1%, the fair value of our investment portfolio would increase or decrease by an immaterial amount.

Foreign Currency Exchange Rate Risk

As a result of our foreign operations, we face exposure to movements in foreign currency exchange rates, primarily the Swiss Franc and British Pound, against the U.S. dollar. The current exposures arise primarily from cash, accounts payable and intercompany receivables and payables. Changes in foreign exchange rates affect our consolidated statement of operations and distort comparisons between periods. To date, foreign currency transaction gains and losses have not been material to our financial statements, and we have not engaged in any foreign currency hedging transactions.

Inflation

Inflation generally affects us by increasing our cost of labor, clinical trial and manufacturing costs. We do not believe that inflation had a material effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations during the three months ended March 31, 2025 and 2024.

Controls and procedures

As filed, 1,813 characters, with its headings, lists and tables. Extracted from the main document; charts and exhibits are in the original on sec.gov.

Management’s Evaluation of our Disclosure Controls and Procedures

We maintain disclosure controls and procedures that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed in the reports that we file or submit under the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934 is (1) recorded, processed, summarized, and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms and (2) accumulated and communicated to our management, including our principal executive officer and principal financial officer, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.

As of March 31, 2025, our management, with the participation of our principal executive officer and principal financial officer, evaluated the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934). Our management recognizes that any controls and procedures, no matter how well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable assurance of achieving their objectives, and management necessarily applies its judgment in evaluating the cost-benefit relationship of possible controls and procedures. Our principal executive officer and principal financial officer have concluded based upon the evaluation described above that, as of March 31, 2025, our disclosure controls and procedures were effective at the reasonable assurance level.

Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting

During the quarter ended March 31, 2025, there were no changes in our internal control over financial reporting, as such term is defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15(d)-15(f) promulgated under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

Risk factors

As filed, 6,704 characters, with its headings, lists and tables. Extracted from the main document; charts and exhibits are in the original on sec.gov.

We are updating and supplementing our risk factors previously disclosed in Item 1A of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024 filed with the SEC on February 11, 2025 to revise the following risk factors:

Unfavorable Global Economic Conditions and Uncertain Geopolitical Environment Could Adversely Affect Our Business, Financial Condition Or Results Of Operations.

We are a multinational company and we conduct our clinical trials domestically and internationally. Our business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected by general conditions in the global economy, disruption of global financial markets and a recession or market correction, including, for example, as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, uncertain trade policy, political unrest, including as a result of geopolitical tension such as a deterioration in the relationship between the United States and China, escalation of tensions between China and Taiwan, the ongoing military conflict between Russia and Ukraine and related sanctions imposed against Russia, or the Israel-Hamas war, and other global macroeconomic factors such as inflation, interest rate and currency rate fluctuations. Such conditions could reduce our ability to access capital and cause more frequent or acute fluctuations in our share price or that of our sector, which could in the future negatively affect our liquidity and could materially affect our business and the value of our common stock. In addition, domestic and international political uncertainty, including implementation of aggressive trade policies, could impact our ability to conduct our clinical trials. For example, on April 2, 2025, the United States imposed substantial tariffs on most countries throughout the world. The current U.S. administration has threatened to continue to broadly impose tariffs, which could lead to corresponding punitive actions by countries with which the United States trades. Tariffs levied by the United States and other countries may lead to uncertainty in our ability to run clinical trials in preferred jurisdictions, impact our ability to import drug product, as well as raw materials to manufacture drug product domestically, and lead to uncertainty in our ability to supply drug product for our clinical trials, and otherwise increase the costs for us to run our business.

Disruptions At The FDA, The SEC and Other Government Agencies Could Hinder Their Ability To Hire And Retain Key Leadership And Other Personnel, Prevent New Products And Services From Being Developed Or Commercialized In A Timely Manner, Or Otherwise Prevent Those Agencies From Performing Normal Business Functions, Which Could Negatively Impact Our Business And Our Timelines.

Currently, federal agencies in the United States are operating under a continuing resolution that is set to expire on September 30, 2025. Without appropriation of additional funding to federal agencies, our business operations related to our product development for the U.S. market could be impacted. Inadequate funding for the FDA, the SEC and other government agencies, including from government shut downs, or other disruptions to these agencies’ operations, could hinder their ability to hire and retain key leadership and other personnel, prevent new products and services from being developed or commercialized in a timely manner or otherwise prevent those agencies from performing normal business functions on which the operation of our business may rely, which could negatively impact our business. For example, the current U.S. administration has issued executive orders seeking to greatly reduce the size of the federal workforce, including through layoffs and severance packages offered to employees of federal agencies within the executive branch and independent agencies, including the FDA. Any such reduction in personnel may result in longer review times by the FDA, the SEC and other agencies.

The ability of the FDA to review and approve new products can be affected by a variety of factors, including government budget and funding levels, ability to hire and retain key personnel and accept the payment of user fees, shifting policy priorities as a result of changes in the Presidential administration and political appointees tasked to oversee the agency, and statutory, regulatory, and policy changes. Average review times at the agency have fluctuated in recent years as a result. Moreover, disruptions and personnel turnover, as a result of leadership changes, staff reductions or otherwise, at the FDA and other agencies may slow the time necessary for new drugs to be reviewed and/or approved by necessary government agencies, which could adversely affect our business. For example, changes and cuts in FDA staffing also could result in delays in the FDA’s responsiveness or in its ability to review IND submissions or applications, issue regulations or guidance, or implement or enforce regulatory requirements in a timely fashion or at all.

Over the last several years, the U.S. government has shut down several times and certain regulatory agencies, such as the FDA and the SEC, have had to furlough critical FDA, SEC and other government employees and stop critical activities. If a prolonged government shutdown occurs, or if staffing changes prevent the FDA, the SEC or other regulatory authorities from conducting their regular inspections, reviews, or other regulatory activities, including formal and informal interactions with product developers, it could significantly impact the ability of the FDA, the SEC or other regulatory authority to timely review and process our regulatory submissions, which could have a material adverse effect on our business and our timelines. In addition, government funding of the SEC, and other government agencies on which our operations may rely is subject to the impacts of political events, which are inherently fluid and unpredictable.

There have been no other material changes to the risk factors previously disclosed in Part I, Item 1A (Risk Factors) of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024. Please refer to the complete Part I, Item 1A of our Annual Report for additional risks and uncertainties we are facing that may have a material adverse effect on our business prospects, financial condition and results of operations. In addition to the risks described in our Annual Report on Form 10-K, you should carefully consider the other information set forth in this Form 10-Q and the information in our other filings with the SEC, as they could materially affect our business, financial condition or future results of operations.

Figures reported in this filing

Standardized line items from the XBRL in this filing, for the period ended 2025-03-31. Comparative periods it repeats are left out.

Figures reported in this filing
Line itemPeriodValueXBRL concept
Revenue3 months2025-01-01 to 2025-03-31$865.0kus-gaap:RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax
Research and development3 months2025-01-01 to 2025-03-31$72.5mus-gaap:ResearchAndDevelopmentExpense
Operating income3 months2025-01-01 to 2025-03-31−$148.4mus-gaap:OperatingIncomeLoss
Income tax3 months2025-01-01 to 2025-03-31$1.1mus-gaap:IncomeTaxExpenseBenefit
Net income3 months2025-01-01 to 2025-03-31−$136.0mus-gaap:NetIncomeLoss
Diluted EPS3 months2025-01-01 to 2025-03-31−$1.58us-gaap:EarningsPerShareDiluted
Basic EPS3 months2025-01-01 to 2025-03-31−$1.58us-gaap:EarningsPerShareBasic
Diluted shares (weighted)3 months2025-01-01 to 2025-03-3185,938,720 sharesus-gaap:WeightedAverageNumberOfDilutedSharesOutstanding
Operating cash flow3 months2025-01-01 to 2025-03-31−$53.9mus-gaap:NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities
Capital expenditure3 months2025-01-01 to 2025-03-31$206.0kus-gaap:PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment
Cash and equivalentsAt period end2025-03-31$235.2mus-gaap:CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue
Current assetsAt period end2025-03-31$1.87bnus-gaap:AssetsCurrent
Total assetsAt period end2025-03-31$2.17bnus-gaap:Assets
Current liabilitiesAt period end2025-03-31$119.4mus-gaap:LiabilitiesCurrent
Total liabilitiesAt period end2025-03-31$336.9mus-gaap:Liabilities
Shareholders' equityAt period end2025-03-31$1.83bnus-gaap:StockholdersEquity

Source: SEC EDGAR, the filing index for accession 0000950170-25-064468. Last ingested by Listed: Nov 2, 2026, 20:24 ET. Listed shows no prices and gives no investment advice.