Cyclerion Therapeutics, Inc. 10-K

Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations. The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with our financial statements and related notes and the related Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Forward-Looking Information The following discussion of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with the audited consolidated financial statements and the corresponding notes included in this Annual Report on Form 10‑K. This discussion contains forward‑looking statements that involve significant risks and uncertainties. As a result of many factors, such as those referenced or set forth under “Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” and “Risk Factors” in Item 1A of this Annual Report on Form 10‑K, our actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in these forward‑looking statements. Overview Our strategy for Cyclerion is to build a new pipeline with therapeutics to treat certain neuropsychiatric diseases. Over the past year, Cyclerion’s diligence team which is composed of committed external experts and internal personnel in their respective fields, have been conducting asset evaluations in many therapeutic areas. Throughout this process, the team identified and assessed dozens of products and other opportunities directed at addressing patient’s needs and increasing shareholder value. The team prioritized an individualized therapy for treatment resistant depression (“TRD”) as our foundational product candidate and we have entered into a non-binding option to license agreement for the intellectual property associated with this product. With the large unmet medical need in TRD, the clinical development stage of this asset, and the strong commercial opportunity, we believe that this product is well suited to be the foundation moving forward for Cyclerion. The program team is currently developing an integrated development and commercial strategy in TRD. In addition to significantly reducing operating expenses and the potential to obtain revenues from our legacy soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC) stimulator clinical assets, we intend to raise funds to support the execution of the product plans in TRD. As such, we have developed a financing strategy plan and recently filed a registration statement on Form S-3 (the “Shelf Registration”) with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) which would allow us to sell registered shares of our common stock if we choose to do so. The Shelf Registration was declared effective by the SEC in February 2025. We continue to build our infrastructure, and Regina Graul, Ph.D. was promoted to Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Director to our Board in August of 2024 after she was hired as President in late 2023. Dr. Graul has significant experience in research and development, product search and evaluation and has extensive knowledge growing and leading integrated high-functioning teams. We also hired Chief Financial Officer, Rhonda Chicko, who has extensive experience working with early and later-stage drug development companies. To limit our operating expenses, we have used consultants rather than hiring additional full-time employees; Dr. Graul is the only current employee to date. Our goal is to hire additional C-suite executives later this year. Financial Overview Research and Development Expense. Research and development expenses are incurred in connection with the discovery and development of our product candidates. These expenses consist primarily of the following costs: compensation, benefits and other employee-related expenses, research and development-related facilities, third-party contracts relating to manufacturing, nonclinical studies, clinical trial activities. All research and development expenses are charged to operations as incurred. Praliciguat is an orally administered, once-daily systemic sGC stimulator. On June 3, 2021, we entered into a license agreement with Akebia relating to the exclusive worldwide license to Akebia of our rights to the development, manufacture, medical affairs and commercialization of pharmaceutical products containing praliciguat and other related products and forms thereof enumerated in such agreement. 53 On December 13, 2024, we announced that Cyclerion and Akebia re-negotiated a mutually beneficial amendment to Akebia's exclusive license agreement for praliciguat. Under this new license amendment, we will receive $1.75 million in amendment payments, of which $1.25 million was paid in December 2024 and an additional payment of $0.5 million is due in September 2025. In addition, Akebia is responsible for all intellectual property expenses associated with praliciguat at an earlier date than as originally agreed between the parties. We are eligible to receive additional milestone cash payments of up to approximately $558.5 million in total related to potential future development, regulatory, and commercialization milestone payments for praliciguat. In exchange for a reduction in certain development milestone payments, we are eligible to receive certain higher-tiered sales-based royalties ranging from mid-single-digits to twenty percent. In 2021, Akebia paid a $3.0 million upfront payment to us upon signing of the Akebia License Agreement, and subsequently paid us an additional $1.25 million in December 2024 and is obligated to pay us an additional $0.5 million in September 2025. Olinciguat is a Phase 2, orally administered, once-daily, vascular sGC stimulator. On July 22, 2024, we entered into an Option to License Agreement (the “Option Agreement”) with a third party (the “Optionee”), pursuant to which the Optionee has an option (the “Option”) to enter into an exclusive license to olinciguat for human therapeutics, subject to certain carveouts. Under the terms of the Option Agreement, the Optionee paid us an Option fee of $150,000 in August 2024. The Optionee may exercise the Option on or before March 20, 2025, which may be extended for an additional two-month period for an additional fee of $25,000. If the Optionee exercises the Option during the Option Period, the Parties shall promptly commence negotiations of the definitive license agreement. The terms of the license agreement will be negotiated in good faith within a period not to exceed 90 days after the date of exercise of the Option. If the parties cannot reach agreement, all rights revert to us. In addition, the Optionee has agreed to reimburse us for certain patent expenses incurred during the Option period. Zagociguat and CY3018 are orally administered CNS-penetrant sGC stimulators. On July 28, 2023, Tisento purchased zagociguat and CY3018 in exchange for $8.0 million in cash consideration, $2.4 million as reimbursement for certain operating expenses related to zagociguat and CY3018 for the period between signing and closing of the transaction, and 10% of all of Tisento Parent's outstanding equity securities at the time of closing. Research and development expenses decreased significantly after July 28, 2023, due to sale of the Transferred Assets which resulted in a reduction of research and development efforts. We continue to evaluate other activities aimed at enhancing shareholder value, which may potentially include collaborations, licenses, mergers, acquisitions, and/or other targeted investments. The following table summarizes our research and development expenses of continuing operations, employee and facility related costs allocated to research and development expense, and discovery and pre-clinical phase programs, for the year ended December 31, 2024 and 2023. The product pipeline expenses related primarily to external costs associated with nonclinical studies and clinical trial costs. Year Ended December 31, 2024 2023 (in thousands) Product pipeline external costs $ — $ 29 Personnel and related internal costs 103 581 Facilities and other 183 905 Total research and development expenses $ 286 $ 1,515 Securing regulatory approvals for new drugs is a lengthy and costly process. Any failure by us or our partners to obtain, or any delay in obtaining, regulatory approvals would materially adversely affect our product candidate development efforts and our business overall. Given the inherent uncertainties of pharmaceutical product development, we cannot estimate with any degree of certainty how our programs will evolve, and therefore the amount of time or money that would be required to obtain regulatory approval to market them. As a result of these uncertainties surrounding the timing and outcome of any approvals, we are currently unable to estimate precisely when, if ever, our discovery and development candidates will be approved. 54 The successful development of any current or potential future product candidates is highly uncertain and subject to a number of risks. Please refer to Item 1A, Risk Factors , in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. We are unable to determine the duration and costs to complete current or future nonclinical and clinical stages of any current or potential future product candidates, including as licensed to third parties, or when, or to what extent, we may generate revenues from the commercialization and sale of any current or potential future product candidates. Development timelines, probability of success and development costs vary widely. We anticipate that we will make determinations as to which additional programs to pursue and how much funding to direct to each program on an ongoing basis in response to the data from the studies of each product candidate, the competitive landscape and ongoing assessments of such product candidate’s commercial potential. General and Administrative Expense. General and administrative expenses consist primarily of compensation, benefits and other employee and non-employee related expenses for personnel in our administrative, finance, legal, information technology, business development, and human resource functions. Other costs include the legal costs of pursuing patent protection of our intellectual property, general and administrative related facility costs, insurance costs and professional fees for accounting and legal services. We record all general and administrative expenses as incurred. Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates Our discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations is based upon our consolidated financial statements prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles ("GAAP"). The preparation of these financial statements requires us to make certain estimates and assumptions that may affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the consolidated financial statements, and the amounts of expenses during the reported periods. We base our estimates on our historical experience and on various other assumptions that are believed to be reasonable, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying values of assets and liabilities. Actual results may differ materially from our estimates under different assumptions or conditions. Changes in estimates are reflected in reported results in the period in which they become known. We believe that our application of accounting policies requires significant judgments and estimates on the part of management and is the most critical to aid in fully understanding and evaluating our reported financial results. Our significant accounting policies are more fully described in Note 2, Summary of Significant Accounting Policies , of the consolidated financial statements elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. All research and development expenses are expensed as incurred. We defer and capitalize nonrefundable advance payments we make for research and development activities until the related goods are received or the related services are performed. See Note 2, Summary of Significant Accounting Policies , of the consolidated financial statements appearing elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Results of Operations The revenue and expenses reflected in the consolidated financial statements may not be indicative of revenue and expenses that will be incurred by us in the future. The following discussion summarizes the key factors we believe are necessary for an understanding of our consolidated financial statements. Revenues and Expenses 55 Year Ended December 31, Change 2024 2023 $ % (dollars in thousands) Revenues: Revenue from license agreement $ 1,750 $ — $ 1,750 100 % Option to license revenue 250 — 250 100 % Total revenues 2,000 — 2,000 100 % Cost and expenses: Research and development 286 1,515 (1,229 ) (81 )% General and administrative 5,342 8,132 (2,790 ) (34 )% Impairment loss — 3,304 (3,304 ) (100 )% Total cost and expenses 5,628 12,951 (7,323 ) (57 )% Loss from operations (3,628 ) (12,951 ) 9,323 (72 )% Other income, net Interest income 208 358 (150 ) (42 )% Gain from settlement of account payable 363 — 363 100 % Total other income, net 571 358 213 59 % Net loss from continuing operations (3,057 ) (12,593 ) 9,536 (76 )% Discontinued operations: Gain from discontinued operations — 7,330 (7,330 ) (100 )% Net loss $ (3,057 ) $ (5,263 ) $ 2,206 (42 )% Revenues . On July 22, 2024, we entered into the Option Agreement with the Optionee, which the Optionee has the Option to enter into an exclusive license to olinciguat for human therapeutics, subject to certain carveouts. We recognized revenue of $0.2 million related to the Option fee payment and expense reimbursement during the year ended December 31, 2024. On December 13, 2024, we entered into the Amendment with Akebia and an amendment providing for payments aggregating $1.75 million all of which was recognized in revenue during the year ended December 31, 2024. $1.25 million of this amount was paid in December 2024 and the remaining $0.5 million is payable in September 2025. Research and development expenses. The decrease in research and development expenses of approximately $1.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2024 compared to the year ended December 31, 2023 was driven by decreases of approximately $0.5 million in employee-related expenses primarily due to the workforce reduction in 2023, approximately $0.2 million in information technology services savings, approximately $0.1 million in research study cost savings, approximately $0.1 million in reduced outside service fees, approximately $0.2 million in lab equipment and service savings and approximately $0.1 million in lab space rent. General and administrative expenses. The decrease in general and administrative expenses of approximately $2.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2024 compared to the year ended December 31, 2023 was primarily driven by decreases of approximately $0.4 million in employee-related expenses primarily due to the workforce reduction in 2023, approximately $1.5 million in savings in legal services, approximately $0.4 million in audit and tax services, approximately $0.2 million in outside services, reductions of $0.4 million in insurance expenses and approximately $0.3 million in information technology services, which were partially offset by an increase of approximately $0.5 million in professional consulting. Impairment loss. The impairment loss consists of an impairment of an operating lease of approximately $3.3 million during the year ended December 31, 2023. There was no impairment loss recognized during the year ended December 31, 2024, as the right-of-use asset was fully impaired as of December 31, 2023. Gain from discontinued operations. The decrease in gain from discontinued operations of approximately $7.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2024 compared to the year ended December 31, 2023, was driven by the sale of Transferred Assets in July 2023. After the sale of Transferred Assets, no discontinued operation was recognized in the statement of operations and comprehensive loss. 56 Interest and other income, net. Interest and other income decreased by approximately $0.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2024 compared to the year ended December 31, 2023 primarily attributable to the decrease in our money market fund balance. Liquidity and Capital Resources To date, we have been funded primarily from sales of our equity securities, payments received in connection with the sale of assets to Tisento, milestone payments from Akebia and an option to license payment. On July 24, 2020, we filed a Registration Statement on Form S-3 (the “2020 Shelf”) with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) in relation to the registration of common stock, preferred stock, debt securities, warrants and units of any combination thereof for an aggregate initial offering price not to exceed $150.0 million. On September 3, 2020, we entered into the Sales Agreement with Jefferies with respect to the ATM Offering under the 2020 Shelf. The 2020 Shelf expired in July 2023. We did not sell any shares of our common stock under the Shelf in 2022 or 2023. On February 4, 2025, we filed a Registration Statement on Form S-3 (the “2025 Shelf”) with the securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) in relation to the registration of common stock, preferred stock, warrants and units of any combination thereof for an aggregate initial offering price not to exceed $25.0 million. The amount we can sell under the 2025 Shelf, which was declared effective in February 2025, cannot exceed one-third of the value of our public float. On May 19, 2023, we sold 225,000 shares of our common stock, pursuant to a Common Stock Purchase Agreement, and 351,037 shares of Series A Preferred Stock, to our former CEO, for total gross proceeds of approximately $5 million. There were no material fees or commissions related to the transaction. Such Series A Convertible Preferred Stock is convertible into shares of our common stock on a one-to-one basis. Our shareholders approved such convertibility on July 19, 2023. On July 28, 2023, we closed the transactions contemplated by the Asset Purchase Agreement receiving proceeds of $8.0 million as cash consideration, approximately $2.4 million as reimbursement for certain operating expenses related to zagociguat and CY3018 programs for the period between signing and closing of the transaction, and 10% of all of Tisento Parent’s outstanding equity securities. Our ability to continue to fund our operations and meet capital needs will depend on our ability to generate cash from operations and access to capital markets and other sources of capital, as further described below. We anticipate that our principal uses of cash in the future will be primarily to fund our operations, working capital needs, capital expenditures and other general corporate purposes. On December 31, 2024, we had approximately $3.2 million of unrestricted cash and cash equivalents. Our cash equivalents include amounts held in U.S. government money market funds. We invest cash in excess of immediate requirements in accordance with our investment policy, which requires all investments held by us to be at least “AAA” rated or equivalent, with a remaining final maturity when purchased of less than twelve months, so as to primarily achieve liquidity and capital preservation. Going Concern We evaluated whether there are conditions and events, considered in the aggregate, which raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern within one year after the date that these consolidated financial statements are issued. This evaluation initially does not take into consideration the potential mitigating effect of management’s plans that have not been fully implemented as of the date the financial statements are issued. When substantial doubt exists under this methodology, management evaluates whether the mitigating effect of our plans sufficiently alleviates substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern. The mitigating effect of management’s plans, however, is only considered if both (1) it is probable that the plans will be effectively implemented within one year after the date that the financial statements are issued, and (2) it is probable that the plans, when implemented, will mitigate the relevant conditions or events that raise substantial doubt about the entity’s ability to continue as a going concern within one year after the date that these consolidated financial statements are issued. In 57 performing our analysis, management excluded certain elements of our operating plan that cannot be considered probable. Under ASC 205-40, the future receipt of potential funding from future partnerships, equity or debt issuances, and the potential milestones from the Akebia agreement cannot be considered probable at this time because these plans are not entirely within our control and/or have not been approved by the Board of Directors as of the date of these consolidated financial statements. We have incurred recurring losses since our inception, including a net loss of $3.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2024. In addition, as of December 31, 2024, we had an accumulated deficit of $267.5 million. We expect that our cash and cash equivalents as of December 31, 2024, will be sufficient to fund operations through mid-2025, however we will need to obtain additional funding to sustain operations as we expect to continue to generate operating losses for the foreseeable future. Accordingly, we have concluded that substantial doubt exists about our ability to continue as a going concern. The accompanying financial statements have been prepared on a going concern basis, which contemplates the realization of assets and satisfaction of liabilities in the ordinary course of business. The financial statements do not include any adjustments relating to the recoverability and classification of recorded asset amounts or the amounts and classification of liabilities that might result from the outcome of the uncertainties described above. Reverse Stock Split On May 15, 2023, we filed Articles of Amendment to our Restated Articles of Organization with the Secretary of Commonwealth of Massachusetts to effect a 1-for-20 reverse stock split of our issued and outstanding shares of common stock. The reverse stock split was reflected on the Nasdaq Capital Market beginning with the opening of trading on May 16, 2023. All share amounts and per share amounts disclosed in this Annual Report on Form 10-K have been adjusted retroactively to reflect the reverse stock split for all periods presented. Cash Flows The following is a summary of cash flows for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023: Year Ended December 31, Change 2024 2023 $ % (dollars in thousands) Net cash used in operating activities $ (4,333 ) $ (21,245 ) $ 16,912 (80 )% Net cash provided by investing activities $ — $ 10,402 $ (10,402 ) — Net cash provided by financing activities $ — $ 5,024 $ (5,024 ) — Cash Flows from Operating Activities Net cash used in operating activities was $4.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2024 was primarily a result of our $3.1 million net loss from operations. The net loss was also adjusted by gain from settlement of accounts payable of $0.4 million, an increase in accounts receivable of $0.6 million, a decrease in accounts payable, accrued expenses and other current liabilities of $1.0 million. The net loss was offset by non-cash stock-based compensation expense of $0.6 million. Net cash used in operating activities was $21.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2023 was primarily a result of our $5.3 million net loss from operations. The net loss was adjusted by gain on disposal of discontinued operations of $15.8 million, a decrease in accounts payable of $1.8 million, a decrease in accrued research and development costs of $2.2 million and a decrease in accrued expenses and other current liabilities of $1.6 million. The net loss was also offset by impairment loss of $3.3 million, non-cash stock-based compensation expense of $1.1 million, a decrease in account receivable of $0.1 million, a decrease in prepaid expenses of $0.4 million, a decrease in other current assets of $0.2 million, a decrease in operating lease assets of $0.1 million and a decrease in other assets of $0.2 million. 58 Cash Flows from Investing Activities Net cash provided by investing activities for the year ended December 31, 2023 of $10.4 million was due to cash proceeds received from the disposal of discontinued operations of approximately $10.4 million. There was no investing activity incurred during the year ended December 31, 2024. Cash Flows from Financing Activities Net cash provided by financing activities for the year ended December 31, 2023 of $5.0 million was due to cash received from the May 2023 stock purchase agreement of $5.0 million. There was no financing activity incurred during the year ended December 31, 2024. Funding Requirements We expect our expenses to fluctuate as we continue to maintain out-license opportunities and seek to broaden our portfolio through in-licensing of complementary CNS assets. We expect that our cash and cash equivalents as of December 31, 2024, will be sufficient to fund operations through mid-2025. As a result, we will need to obtain additional funding to sustain operations as we expect to continue to generate operating losses for the foreseeable future. Failure to obtain necessary capital when needed may delay development of any current or potential future product candidates, or our operations. Because of the many risks and uncertainties associated with research, development and commercialization of product candidates, we are unable to estimate the exact amount of our working capital requirements. Our expenses will fluctuate, and our future funding requirements will depend on, and could increase or decrease significantly as a result of many factors, including the: • scope, progress, results and costs of researching and developing our current and any potential future product candidates, and any preclinical studies and clinical trials we may conduct; • costs, timing and outcome of regulatory review of any current and any potential future product candidates; • costs of future activities, including medical affairs, manufacturing and distribution, of any current or potential future product candidates for which we receive marketing approval; • cost and timing of necessary actions to support our strategic objectives; • costs of preparing, filing and prosecuting patent applications, maintaining and enforcing our intellectual property rights and defending intellectual property-related claims; and • timing, receipt and amount of sales of, or milestone payments related to or royalties on, our current or potential future product candidates, if any. A change in any of these or other variables with respect to the development of any current or potential future product candidates could significantly change the costs and timing of the development of that product candidate. Until such time, if ever, as we can generate substantial product revenue, we expect to finance our cash needs through a combination of public or private equity offerings, debt financings, collaborations, strategic alliances or licensing arrangements with third parties, of which there can be no assurance. To the extent that we raise additional capital through the sale of equity or convertible debt securities, outstanding equity ownership may be materially diluted, and the terms of securities sold in such transactions could include liquidation and other preferences and rights that adversely affect the rights of holders of common stock. Debt financing and preferred equity financing, if available, may involve agreements that include restrictive covenants that limit our ability to take specified actions, such as incurring additional debt, making capital expenditures or declaring dividends. In addition, debt financing would result in increased fixed payment obligations. If we raise funds through collaborations, strategic alliances or licensing arrangements with third parties, as to which raise there can be no assurances, we may have to relinquish rights to our technologies, future revenue streams, 59 research programs or product candidates or grant licenses on terms that may not be favorable to us. If we are unable to raise funds, we may need to cease operations. Contractual Commitments and Obligations Tax-related Obligations We exclude assets, liabilities or obligations pertaining to uncertain tax positions from our contractual commitments and obligations as we cannot make a reliable estimate of the period of cash settlement with the respective taxing authorities. As of December 31, 2024, we had no uncertain tax positions. Separation Benefits As part of the separation benefit of the former Chief Financial Officer, we paid $0.1 million each in May 2024 and August 2024, as the former Chief Financial Officer had not secured full-time employment prior to the six-month anniversary and nine-month anniversary of November 15, 2023. We have no further separation benefits obligation as of December 31, 2024. Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements We do not have any relationships with unconsolidated entities or financial partnerships, such as entities often referred to as structured finance or special purpose entities, that would have been established for the purpose of facilitating off-balance sheet arrangements (as that term is defined in Item 303(a)(4)(ii) of Regulation S-K) or other contractually narrow or limited purposes. As such, we are not exposed to any financing, liquidity, market or credit risk that could arise if we had engaged in those types of relationships. We enter into guarantees in the ordinary course of business related to the guarantee of our own performance. New Accounting Pronouncements For a discussion of new accounting pronouncements see Note 2, Summary of Significant Accounting Policies , of the consolidated financial statements appearing elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitat ive Disclosures About Market Risk. We are a smaller reporting company as defined by Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act and are not required to provide the information required under this item. Item 8. Financial Statement s and Supplementary Data. The information required by this Item 8 is set forth in our financial statements included in Part IV, Item 15 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Item 9. Changes in and Disagreements with Accou ntants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure. None.