Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.
The following discussion and analysis are meant to provide material information relevant to an assessment of the financial condition and results of operations of our Company, including an evaluation of the amounts and certainty of cash flows from operations and from outside sources, so as to allow investors to better view our Company from management’s perspective. You should read the following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations together with our audited consolidated financial statements and related notes appearing elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. In addition to historical information, this discussion and analysis contains forward-looking statements that involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Our actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of certain factors. We discuss factors that we believe could cause or contribute to these differences below and elsewhere in this report, including those set forth under Item 1A. “Risk Factors” in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Overview and Recent Developments
We are a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing novel therapies for the treatment of orphan pulmonary and fibrosis indications with no approved or limited effective treatments. We currently have two product candidates in clinical development, LTI-03 and LTI-01, and multiple candidates in preclinical development focused on fibrosis indications. Our pipeline includes:
• LTI-03, a peptide, for which we conducted a Phase 1b dose-ranging, placebo-controlled safety, tolerability, and pharmacodynamic biomarker activity trial in development for the treatment of Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis, or IPF, that has demonstrated the ability to protect healthy lung epithelial cells and reduce pro-fibrotic signaling;
• LTI-01, a proenzyme that completed a Phase 2a dose-ranging, placebo-controlled trial and a Phase 1b safety, tolerability and proof of mechanism trial in loculated pleural effusion, or LPE, patients, an indication that has no approved drug treatment; and
• preclinical programs targeting cystic fibrosis and a peptide program focused on the Cav1 protein for systemic fibrosis indications.
In June 2024, we decided to temporarily delay clinical development of LTI-01 in an effort to focus our resources on clinical development of LTI-03 and until additional funds are raised. In the fourth quarter of 2024, we determined that the temporary delay of further clinical development of LTI-01 may not be a short-term measure.
We have not completed the development of any of our product candidates, have not generated any revenue from product sales and have never generated an operating profit.
To date, we have financed operations primarily through $145.5 million in net proceeds from sales of common stock and warrants, $0.7 million in net proceeds from sales of common stock under our “at-the-market” offering program, $131.2 million from sales of preferred stock prior to our initial public offering, or IPO, $34.9 million from a collaboration agreement in 2010, $17.5 million in net proceeds in connection with a private placement following the Lung Acquisition (as defined below) in 2023, and $17.7 million in net proceeds in connection with the issuance and sale of shares and accompanying warrants in our public offering in May 2024.
Since our inception, we have incurred significant losses on an aggregate basis. Our net losses were $62.9 million and $15.7 million for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively. As of December 31, 2024, we had an accumulated deficit of $351.4 million. These losses have resulted primarily from costs incurred in connection with research and development activities, licensing and patent investment and general and administrative costs associated with our operations as well as the impairment loss on intangible assets identified in the fourth quarter of 2024. We expect to continue to incur operating losses for the foreseeable future.
As of December 31, 2024, we had cash and cash equivalents of $12.9 million. Based on our current operating plan, we believe that our existing cash and cash equivalents will enable us to fund our planned operating expense and capital expenditure requirements into August 2025. These funds are not sufficient to enable us to complete our planned Phase 2 clinical trial of LTI-03 and we will need to obtain additional funding prior to initiating the trial. Our future
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viability is dependent on our ability to raise additional capital to finance our operations. Our estimate as to how long we expect our existing cash and cash equivalents to be able to continue to fund our operations is based on assumptions that may prove to be wrong, and we could use our available capital resources sooner than we currently expect. In addition, our existing cash and cash equivalents will not be sufficient to fund all of the efforts that we plan to undertake or to fund the completion of development of our product candidates. Accordingly, we will be required to obtain further funding through public or private equity offerings, debt financings, collaborations and licensing arrangements or other sources. There is no assurance that we will be successful in obtaining sufficient funding on terms acceptable to us to fund continuing operations, or at all.
Exclusive Option Agreement with Advancium
On October 31, 2024, we entered into an exclusive option agreement, or the Option Agreement, with Advancium Health Network, or Advancium, for the sale of ALRN-6924, a clinical stage oncology agent that we were development prior to the Lung Acquisition (as defined below). During the option period, Advancium intends to evaluate ALRN-6924 as a potential therapy for retinoblastoma. Under the terms of the option agreement Advancium paid us a non-refundable fee of $0.1 million for the exclusive option to acquire ALRN-6924 and related assets. If Advancium exercises its option, we will receive an exercise payment with potential for additional development, regulatory and commercial milestone payments and sales royalties.
Equity Distribution Agreement
On July 26, 2024, we entered into an Equity Distribution Agreement with Citizens JMP Securities, LLC, or Citizens JMP, as agent and/or principal, under which we may offer and sell up to $50.0 million of shares of our common stock from time to time through or to Citizens JMP. Sales of common stock through or to Citizens JMP may be made by any method that is deemed an “at the market” offering as defined in Rule 415(a)(4) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, including sales made directly on or through the Nasdaq Capital Market. There have been no sales on the "at the market" offering through December 31, 2024, however, in January 2025, we issued and sold 317,772 shares of common stock for total net proceeds of $0.7 million.
Follow-on public offering
In May 2024, we completed an underwritten follow-on public offering, or the Offering, pursuant to which we issued and sold 4,273,505 shares of our common stock, or the Offering Shares, and accompanying warrants, or the Offering Warrants, to purchase 4,273,505 shares of common stock, or the Offering Warrant Shares. We sold all of the Offering Shares and Offering Warrants. Each Offering Share was offered and sold together with an accompanying Offering Warrant at a combined offering price of $4.68, and the underwriter purchased each Offering Share with an accompanying Offering Warrant at a combined price of $4.35. Net proceeds from the Offering were $17.7 million, after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and offering expenses, and excluding any proceeds that may be received from exercise of the Offering Warrants.
The Lung Acquisition
On October 31, 2023, we acquired Lung Therapeutics, Inc., or Lung, pursuant to an Agreement and Plan of Merger, or the Lung Acquisition Agreement. Following our acquisition of Lung, Lung became our wholly owned subsidiary, or the Lung Acquisition. Following the Lung Acquisition, the business conducted by Lung became the business primarily conducted by us and we shifted our operating disease focus to advancing a pipeline of first-in-class medicines to address significant unmet medical needs in orphan pulmonary and fibrosis indications.
Under the terms of the Lung Acquisition Agreement, at the closing of the Lung Acquisition, we issued to the stockholders of Lung 344,345 shares of our common stock and 19,903 shares of our newly designated Series X Preferred Stock. Each share of Series X Preferred Stock is convertible into 1,000 shares of common stock. In addition, we assumed (i) all Lung stock options and all warrants exercisable for Lung common stock immediately outstanding prior to the closing of the Lung Acquisition, each subject to adjustment pursuant to the terms of the Lung Acquisition Agreement.
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Immediately following the closing of the Lung Acquisition, we entered into the Purchase Agreement, with the Investors, led by Bio Partners, the majority stockholder of Lung prior to the closing of the Lung Acquisition, and including Nantahala Capital, as well as additional undisclosed investors, pursuant to which we issued and sold (i) an aggregate of 4,707 shares of Series X Preferred Stock, and (ii) warrants to purchase up to an aggregate of 2,353,500 shares of common stock, or the PIPE Warrant Shares, for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $18.4 million, which included the conversion of certain convertible promissory notes in the aggregate principal amount of approximately $1.6 million issued by Lung to Bios Partners prior to the closing of the Lung Acquisition at a 10% discount to the per share price of the Series X Preferred Stock, or the PIPE Financing, and collectively with the Lung Acquisition, the Transactions. The PIPE Financing closed on November 2, 2023.
On February 28, 2024, we held our 2023 annual meeting of stockholders in which our stockholders approved the issuance, in accordance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5635(a), of shares of common stock, upon conversion of our outstanding Series X Preferred Stock. Following approval of the conversion of outstanding Series X Preferred Stock, the Company had approximately 29,495,512 shares of common stock issued and outstanding on a pro forma basis, which gives effect to the full conversion of the Series X Preferred Stock as of the date of our 2023 annual meeting of stockholders, without regard to beneficial ownership limitations that may limit the ability of certain holders of Series X Preferred Stock to convert such shares to common stock as such time. On March 5, 2024, subject to then existing beneficial ownership limitations, 11,957 shares of Series X Preferred Stock were automatically converted into 11,957,000 shares of common stock.
Components of Rein’s Results of Operations
Revenue
We have not generated any revenue from product sales and we do not expect to generate any revenue from the sale of products in the foreseeable future.
Operating Expenses
Our expenses since inception have consisted solely of research and development costs, general and administrative, and restructuring costs.
Research and Development Expenses
For the periods presented in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, research and development expenses consist primarily of costs incurred for our research activities, including our discovery efforts, and the development of our product candidates, and include:
• salaries, benefits and other related costs, including stock-based compensation expense, for personnel engaged in research and development functions;
• expenses incurred in connection with the clinical development of our product candidates, including under agreements with third parties, such as consultants and contract research organizations, or CROs;
• the cost of manufacturing product candidates for use in our clinical trials and preclinical studies, including under agreements with third parties, such as consultants and contract manufacturing organizations, or CMOs;
• expenses incurred in connection with the preclinical development of our product candidates, including outsourced professional scientific development services, consulting research fees and payments made under sponsored research arrangements with third parties;
• the costs of laboratory supplies and acquiring, developing and manufacturing preclinical study and clinical trial materials;
• third-party license fees;
• costs related to compliance with regulatory requirements; and
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• facility-related expenses, which included direct depreciation costs and allocated expenses for rent and maintenance of facilities and other operating costs.
We expense research and development costs as incurred. We recognize costs for certain development activities, such as clinical trials, based on an evaluation of the progress to completion of specific tasks using data such as patient enrollment, clinical site activations or information provided to us by our vendors and our clinical investigative sites. Payments for these activities are based on the terms of the individual agreements, which may differ from the pattern of costs incurred, and are reflected in our financial statements as prepaid or accrued research and development expenses.
In addition, we typically use our employee and infrastructure resources across our development programs. We track outsourced development costs and milestone payments made under our licensing arrangements by product candidate or development program, but we do not allocate personnel costs, license payments made under our licensing arrangements or other internal costs to specific development programs or product candidates because these costs are deployed across multiple programs and, as such, are not separately classified.
Research and development activities are central to our business model. The duration, costs and timing of clinical trials and development of a product candidate will depend on a variety of factors, including:
• the scope, rate of progress, expense and results of clinical trials of the product candidates that we are developing and other research and development activities that we have conducted;
• uncertainties in clinical trial design and patient enrollment rates;
• significant and changing government regulation and regulatory guidance;
• the timing and receipt of any marketing approvals; and
• the expense of filing, prosecuting, defending and enforcing any patent claims and other intellectual property rights.
A change in the outcome of any of these variables with respect to the development of a product candidate could mean a significant change in the costs and timing associated with the development of that product candidate. For example, if the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or the FDA, or another regulatory authority were to require us to conduct clinical trials beyond those that we anticipated would be required for the completion of clinical development of a product candidate, or if we experience significant trial delays due to patient enrollment or other reasons, we could be required to expend significant additional financial resources and time on the completion of clinical development.
General and Administrative Expenses
General and administrative expenses consist primarily of salaries and other related costs, including stock-based compensation, for personnel in our executive, finance and corporate and administrative functions. General and administrative expenses are comprised of professional fees associated with being a public company including costs of accounting, auditing, legal, regulatory, tax and consulting services associated with maintaining compliance with exchange listing and SEC requirements, director and officer insurance costs; and both public and investor relations costs. General and administrative expenses also include legal fees relating to patent and corporate matters; legal and other professional fees relating to our strategic process; other insurance costs; travel expenses; and facility-related expenses, which include direct depreciation costs and allocated expenses for rent and maintenance of facilities and other operating costs.
Impairment Loss on Intangible Assets
Impairment loss on intangible assets was identified in the fourth quarter of 2024 when the carrying value of LTI-01 exceeded its fair value as of December 31, 2024.
Restructuring Costs
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Restructuring-related charges are comprised of one-time termination costs in connection with our reduction-in-workforce in 2023, including severance, benefits, and related costs.
Other Income, net
Interest and Other Income
Interest income consists of interest income earned on our cash and cash equivalents. Historically, our interest income had not been significant due to low investment balances and low interest earned on those balances. We anticipate that our interest income will fluctuate in the future in response to our cash and cash equivalents and the interest rate environment.
Other income, net consists of the income recognized under the Option Agreement with Advancium, gains or losses recognized from non-routine items such as accretion on short-term investments, and gains or losses recognized from foreign currency transactions, and the disposal of fixed assets.
We anticipate that our interest income and investment accretion will fluctuate in the future in response to our then-current cash and cash equivalents, and then-current interest rates.
Results of Operations
Comparison of the Years Ended December 31, 2024 and 2023
The following tables summarize our results of operations for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023 in thousands:
Year Ended December 31,
Increase
2024
2023
(Decrease)
(in thousands)
Operating expenses:
Research and development
14,248
3,991
10,257
General and administrative
13,864
11,357
2,507
Impairment loss on intangible assets
37,000
—
37,000
Restructuring and Other Costs
—
928
(928
)
Total operating expenses
65,112
16,276
48,836
Loss from operations
(65,112
)
(16,276
)
(48,836
)
Other income, net
685
544
141
Income tax benefit
1,544
—
1,544
Net loss
$
(62,883
)
$
(15,732
)
$
(47,151
)
Research and Development Expenses
Year Ended December 31,
Increase
2024
2023
(Decrease)
Direct research and development services
$
11,967
$
2,406
$
9,561
Employee related expenses
2,200
1,214
986
Professional fees for services
34
324
(290
)
Facilities and other expenses
47
47
—
Total research and development expenses
$
14,248
$
3,991
$
10,257
Research and development expenses for the year ended December 31, 2024 were $14.2 million, compared to $4.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2023. The increase of $10.3 million of research and development expenses was primarily a result of the termination of ALRN-6924 in 2023 and new clinical programs acquired as part of the Lung Acquisition in October 2023. During the year ended December 31, 2024, we incurred expenses of $5.9 million on clinical trials and preclinical studies, $5.5 million on manufacturing including $3.2 million write-offs due
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to the expiration of clinical materials and the temporary delay of clinical development of LTI-01, and $0.6 million on regulatory and development consulting as well as $2.2 million on employee and related expenses associated with clinical programs acquired in the Lung Acquisition. These programs and related activities were not included in our financial results for periods prior to the Lung Acquisition. There were $2.1 million on research and development expenses related to ALRN-6924 and $1.9 million on research and development expenses related to LTI-03, LTI-01 and other preclinical programs including $1.2 million on clinical trials and preclinical studies, $0.2 million on manufacturing, $0.1 million on regulatory and development consulting as well as $0.5 million on employee and related expenses during the year ended December 31, 2023.
General and Administrative Expenses
Year Ended December 31,
Increase
2024
2023
(Decrease)
Employee related expenses
$
5,465
$
2,723
$
2,742
Professional fees for services
6,257
7,053
(796
)
Facilities and other expenses
2,142
1,581
561
Total general and administrative expenses
$
13,864
$
11,357
$
2,507
General and administrative expenses were $13.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2024, compared to $11.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2023. The increase of $2.5 million in general and administrative expenses was primarily due to increased employee and related expenses of $2.7 million as a result of increased headcount associated with the Lung Acquisition and severance expense recognized due to departure of former employees, and increased facilities and other expenses of $0.6 million as a result of the Lung Acquisition, offset by a decrease of $0.8 million in professional fees as a result of no acquisition related events during the year ended December 31, 2024 as compared to the year ended December 31, 2023.
Impairment Loss on Intangible Assets
We incurred impairment loss on intangible assets of $37.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2024 in connection with the temporary delay of further clinical development of LTI-01 until additional funds are raised. In the fourth quarter of 2024, we determined that the temporary delay of further clinical development of LTI-01 may not be a short-term measure. There was no impairment loss on goodwill during the year ended December 31, 2024. There was no impairment loss on goodwill or intangible assets incurred during the year ended December 31, 2023.
Restructuring and Other Costs
There were no restructuring-related expenses incurred during the year ended December 31, 2024. We incurred restructuring-related charges of $0.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2023 in connection with our February 2023 restructuring. Restructuring-related charges were comprised of one-time termination costs in connection with the reduction-in-workforce, including severance, benefits, and related costs. All restructuring-related expenses were incurred and paid in 2023.
Other Income, net
Other income, net of $0.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2024 consisted of interest income of $0.4 million, investment accretion of $0.3 million, and other income of $0.1 million recognized from the Option Agreement with Advancium. Other income, net of $0.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2023 consisted of interest income of $0.4 million and investment accretion of $0.2 million. We anticipate that our interest income and investment accretion will fluctuate in the future in response to our then-current cash and cash equivalents, and then-current interest rates.
Income Taxes
As of December 31, 2024, we had federal and state net operating loss carryforwards of $77.3 million and $18.8 million, respectively, which begin to expire in 2036 and 2043, respectively. As of December 31, 2024, we also had
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federal research and development tax credit carryforwards of $2.4 million, which begin to expire in 2035. We also have federal orphan drug tax credit carryforwards of $5.8 million which begin to expire in 2039.
Utilization of the net operating loss carryforwards and research and development tax credit carryforwards may be subject to a substantial annual limitation under Section 382 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 due to ownership changes that have occurred previously or that could occur in the future. These ownership changes may limit the amount of carryforwards that can be utilized annually to offset future taxable income. In general, an ownership change, as defined by Section 382, results from transactions increasing the ownership of certain stockholders or public groups in the stock of a corporation by more than 50% over a three-year period. As a result of the Lung Acquisition, the tax attributes have been limited under Section 382. We have reflected the reduction of these tax attributes within the income tax footnote at December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively.
On October 31, 2023, we acquired, in accordance with the terms of the Lung Acquisition Agreement, the stock of Lung. In accordance with Accounting Standards Codification, or ASC, 805-740-25-3, recognition of deferred tax assets and liabilities is required for substantially all temporary differences and acquired tax carryforwards and credits. We have computed estimated temporary differences and acquired tax carryforwards and credits as of the transaction date. We will not have tax basis in intangible assets recorded as part of the purchase. For accounting purposes, the intangible assets will not be amortized and subject to impairment review and testing. Though the tax effects may be delayed indefinitely, ASC 740-10-55-63 states that “deferred tax liabilities may not be eliminated or reduced because a reporting entity may be able to delay the settlement of those liabilities by delaying the events that would cause taxable temporary differences to reverse.” As such, we have recorded a deferred tax liability for the portion of the liability that cannot be offset with indefinite lived deferred tax assets.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
Since inception, we have not generated any revenue from product sales and have incurred significant operating losses and negative cash flows from operations. We expect to continue to incur significant expenses and operating losses for the foreseeable future as we advance the clinical development of our lead product candidates, LTI-03 and LTI-01, or any future product candidates. We expect that our research and development and general and administrative costs will continue to increase significantly, including in connection with conducting clinical trials and manufacturing for our lead product candidates or any future product candidates to support potential future commercialization and providing general and administrative support for our operations, including the costs associated with operating as a public company.
As of December 31, 2024, we had cash and cash equivalents of $12.9 million. Based on our current operating plan, we believe that our existing cash and cash equivalents as of December 31, 2024 will be sufficient to enable us to fund our operating expenses and capital expenditure requirements into August 2025. We have based this estimate on assumptions that may prove to be wrong, and we could exhaust our available capital resources sooner than we expect. As a result, we will need additional capital to fund our operations, which we may obtain from additional equity or debt financings, strategic collaborations, licensing arrangements or other sources. See the section titled “Risk Factors” found elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for risks associated with our substantial capital requirements.
To date, we have funded our operations through sales of common stock in our initial public offering, sales of common stock and warrants in follow-on public offerings, sales of common stock and warrants in a private placement, sales of common stock in “at-the-market” offerings, sales of preferred stock prior to our initial public offering, payments received under a collaboration agreement, sales of common stock, preferred stock and warrants in connection with the Lung Acquisition and the PIPE Financing and sales of common stock upon option exercises.
In July 2024, we entered into an Equity Distribution Agreement with Citizens JMP, as agent and/or principal, under which we may offer and sell up to $50.0 million of our common stock from time to time through or to Citizens JMP. Sales of common stock through or to Citizens JMP may be made by any method that is deemed an “at the market” offering as defined in Rule 415(a)(4) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, including sales made directly on or through the Nasdaq Capital Market. Under General Instruction I.B.6 to Form S-3, or the Baby Shelf Rule, the amount of funds we can raise through primary public offerings of securities in any 12-month period using our registration statement on Form S-3 is limited to one-third of the aggregate market value of our common stock held
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by non-affiliates. As of March 27, 2025, the aggregate market value of our outstanding shares of common stock held by non-affiliates was approximately $35.2 million, which was calculated based on 19,889,930 shares held by non-affiliates on such date and a price per share of $1.77, which was the closing price of our common stock on the Nasdaq Capital Market on March 27, 2025. We therefore are limited by the Baby Shelf Rule as of the filing of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, until such time as our public float exceeds $75.0 million.
We did not sell any shares of common stock pursuant to the Equity Distribution Agreement during the year ended December 31, 2024. In January 2025, we issued and sold 317,772 shares of common stock for total net proceeds of $0.7 million. Upon entry into the Equity Distribution Agreement, we terminated our prior “at the market offering” pursuant to a Capital on Demand Sales Agreement with JonesTrading Institutional Services LLC and William Blair & Company, L.L.C. At the time of termination, we had not sold any shares under the sales agreement prospectus related to the prior sales agreement.
In May 2024, we completed the Offering as described above. We received net proceeds of $17.7 million from the Offering, after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and offering expenses, and excluding any proceeds that may be received from exercise of the Offering Warrants.
Each Offering Warrant has an exercise price per share of common stock equal to $4.68. Each Offering Warrant may be exercised until May 1, 2027. Each Offering Warrant is exercisable solely by means of a cash exercise, except that an Offering Warrant is exercisable via cashless exercise if at the time of exercise, a registration statement registering the issuance of Offering Warrant Shares is not then effective or the prospectus contained therein is not available for the issuance of such shares.
Cash Flows
The following table summarizes our sources and uses of cash for each of the periods presented:
Year Ended December 31,
2024
2023
(in thousands)
Cash used in operating activities
$
(22,291
)
$
(19,808
)
Cash provided by investing activities
—
16,196
Cash provided by financing activities
17,818
15,794
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents
—
(63
)
Net (decrease) increase in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash
$
(4,473
)
$
12,119
Operating Activities
During the year ended December 31, 2024, operating activities used $22.3 million of cash, primarily resulting from our net loss of $62.9 million partially offset by a change in operating assets and liabilities of $2.4 million and non-cash charges of $38.2 million. Non-cash charges resulted primarily from impairment loss on intangible assets of $37.0 million and stock-based compensation expense of $1.1 million. Changes in our operating assets and liabilities during the year ended December 31, 2024 consisted primarily of a decrease of $2.2 million in other assets, and an increase of $1.7 million in accrued expenses and other current liabilities, offset by a decrease of $1.6 million in deferred tax liabilities due to the reduction in the carrying value of our intangible assets.
During the year ended December 31, 2023, operating activities used $19.8 million of cash, primarily resulting from our net loss of $15.7 million and cash provided by the change in operating assets and liabilities of $5.4 million offset by non-cash charges of $1.3 million. Non-cash charges resulted primarily from stock-based compensation expense of $1.2 million. Changes in our operating assets and liabilities during the year ended December 31, 2023 consisted primarily of an increase of $5.0 million in accounts payable, and $0.4 million in accrued expenses and other current liabilities.
Investing Activities
During the year ended December 31, 2024, no cash was provided by investing activities.
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During the year ended December 31, 2023, investing activities provided $16.2 million of cash. We received $16.3 million of proceeds from the maturities of investments, offset by $0.1 million of cash and cash equivalents from the Lung Acquisition.
Financing Activities
During the year ended December 31, 2024, net cash provided by financing activities was $17.8 million primarily due to the Offering in May 2024.
During the year ended December 31, 2023, net cash provided by financing activities was $15.8 million due to the proceeds of $15.8 million from the PIPE Financing in October 2023.
Funding Requirements
Our plan of operation is to continue implementing our business strategy, continue research and development of LTI-03 and LTI-01 and any other product candidates we may acquire or develop and continue to expand our research pipeline and our internal research and development capabilities. We expect our expenses to increase substantially in connection with our ongoing activities, particularly as we advance the preclinical activities and clinical trials of our current and future product candidates. In addition, we expect to incur additional costs associated with operating as a public company. Accordingly, we will need to obtain substantial additional funding in connection with our continuing operations. If we are unable to raise capital when needed or on attractive terms, we would be forced to delay, reduce or terminate our research and development programs or future commercialization efforts. Our future capital requirements will depend on many factors, including:
• the scope, timing, progress, costs, and results of discovery, preclinical development, and clinical trials for our current and future product candidates;
• the number of clinical trials required for regulatory approval of our current and future product candidates;
• the costs, timing, and outcome of regulatory review of any of our current and future product candidates;
• the cost of manufacturing clinical and commercial supplies of our current and future product candidates;
• the costs and timing of future commercialization activities, including manufacturing, marketing, sales, and distribution, for any of our product candidates for which we receive marketing approval;
• the costs and timing of preparing, filing, and prosecuting patent applications, maintaining and enforcing our intellectual property rights, and defending any intellectual property-related claims, including any claims by third parties that we are infringing upon their intellectual property rights;
• our ability to maintain existing, and establish new, strategic collaborations, licensing, or other arrangements and the financial terms of any such agreements, including the timing and amount of any future milestone, royalty, or other payments due under any such agreement;
• the revenue, if any, received from commercial sales of our product candidates for which we receive marketing approval;
• expenses to attract, hire and retain, skilled personnel;
• the costs of operating as a public company;
• if our product candidates are approved, our ability to establish a commercially viable pricing structure and obtain approval for coverage and adequate reimbursement from third-party and government payors;
• the effect of competing technological and market developments;
• the extent to which we acquire or invest in businesses, products, and technologies; and
• unfavorable global economic conditions, which may exacerbate the magnitude of the factors discussed above.
A change in the outcome of any of these variables with respect to the development of a product candidate could mean a significant change in the costs and timing associated with the development of the product candidates.
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As of December 31, 2024, we had cash and cash equivalents of $12.9 million. Based on our current operating plan, we believe that our existing cash and cash equivalents will be sufficient to enable us to fund our operating expenses and capital expenditure requirements into August 2025. We have based this estimate on assumptions that may prove to be wrong, and we could exhaust our available capital resources sooner than we expect. Our future viability is dependent on our ability to raise additional capital to finance our operations. In addition, our existing cash and cash equivalents will not be sufficient to fund all of the efforts that we plan to undertake or to fund the completion of development of our product candidates. Accordingly, we will be required to obtain further funding through public or private equity offerings, debt financings, collaborations and licensing arrangements or other sources. Although management plans to pursue additional funding, there is no assurance that we will be successful in obtaining sufficient funding on terms acceptable to us to fund continuing operations, or at all.
Until such time as we can generate significant revenue from product sales, if ever, we expect to finance our operations from the sale of additional equity or debt financings, strategic collaborations, licensing, arrangements or other sources. In the event that additional financing is required, we may not be able to raise it on terms acceptable to us, or at all. If we raise additional funds through the issuance of equity or convertible preferred stock, it may result in dilution to our existing stockholders. Debt financing or preferred equity financing, if available, may result in increased fixed payment obligations, and the existence of securities with rights that may be senior to those of our common stock. If we incur indebtedness, we could become subject to covenants that would restrict our operations.
If we raise funds through strategic collaborations, licensing or other arrangements, we may relinquish significant rights or grant licenses on terms that are not favorable to us. 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. 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 products or product candidates that we would otherwise prefer to develop and market ourselves.
Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements
As of December 31, 2024 and 2023 and in the periods presented, we did not have any off-balance sheet arrangements, as defined in the rules and regulations of the SEC.
Critical Accounting Estimates
Our management’s discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations is based on our consolidated financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States. The preparation of our consolidated financial statements and related disclosures requires us to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, costs, and expenses and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities in our consolidated financial statements. We base our estimates on historical experience, known trends and events and various other factors that we believe are reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. We evaluate our estimates and assumptions on an ongoing basis. Our actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions.
Accrued Research and Development Expenses
As part of the process of preparing our financial statements, we are required to estimate our accrued research and development expenses. This process involves reviewing open contract and purchase orders, communicating with our personnel to identify services that have been performed on our behalf and estimating the level of service performed and the associated costs incurred for the services when we have not yet been invoiced or otherwise notified of the actual costs. Some of our service providers invoice us in arrears for services performed, on a pre-determined schedule or when contractual milestones are met; however, some require advanced payments. We make estimates of our accrued expenses as of each balance sheet date in our financial statements based on facts and circumstances known to us at that time. Examples of estimated accrued research and development expenses include fees paid to:
• vendors in connection with preclinical and clinical development activities;
• contract research organizations, or CROs, in connection with performing research activities on our behalf and conducting preclinical studies and clinical trials on our behalf;
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• investigative sites or other service providers in connection with clinical trials; and
• contract manufacturing organization, or CMOs, or other vendors in connection with the production of preclinical and clinical trial materials.
We base our expenses related to preclinical studies and clinical trials on our estimates of the services received and efforts expended pursuant to quotes and contracts with multiple CMOs and CROs that supply, conduct and manage clinical trials and preclinical studies on our behalf. The financial terms of these agreements are subject to negotiation, vary from contract to contract and may result in uneven payment flows. There may be instances in which payments made to our vendors will exceed the level of services provided and result in a prepayment of the expense. Payments under some of these contracts depend on factors such as the successful enrollment of patients and the completion of clinical trial milestones. In recording accrued or prepaid service fees, we estimate the time period over which services will be performed, enrollment of patients, number of sites activated and the level of effort to be expended in each period. If the actual timing of the performance of services or the level of effort varies from our estimate, we adjust the accrual or amount of prepaid expense accordingly.
Although we do not expect our estimates to be materially different from amounts actually incurred, our understanding of the status and timing of services performed relative to the actual status and timing of services performed may vary and may result in us reporting amounts that are too high or too low in any particular period. To date, we have not made any material adjustments to our prior estimates of accrued research and development expenses.
Stock-Based Compensation
We account for stock-based compensation awards in accordance with ASC Topic 718, Compensation—Stock Compensation , or ASC 718. ASC 718 requires all stock-based payments, including grants of stock options and restricted stock, to be recognized in the statements of operations and comprehensive loss based on their fair values. We measure stock-based awards based on their fair value on the date of grant and recognize compensation expense for those awards over the requisite service period, which is generally the vesting period of the respective award. We apply the straight-line method of expense recognition to all awards with only service-based vesting conditions and apply the graded-vesting method to all awards with performance-based vesting conditions or to awards with both service-based and performance-based vesting conditions.
We estimate the fair value of each stock option grant at the date of grant using the Black-Scholes option pricing model and the fair value of each restricted common stock award is estimated on the date of grant based on the fair value of our common stock on that same date. The Black-Scholes option-pricing model requires inputs based on certain subjective assumptions including the volatility of our common stock, the expected term of our stock options, the risk-free interest rate for a period that approximates the expected term of our stock options and our expected dividend yield. Changes to these assumptions can materially affect the fair value of stock options and ultimately the amount of stock-based compensation expense recognized in our consolidated financial statements.
We account for stock option forfeitures during the period in which they occur.
Impairment on Indefinite-lived Intangible Assets
We review our intangible assets for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of an asset may not be recoverable. Indefinite-lived intangible assets, including goodwill, are tested for impairment at least annually. The fair value of reporting unit was determined using the income approach with a reconciliation to market capitalization. The fair value of intangible assets was determined using multi-period excess earning method and using Level 3 inputs, which included estimates of forecasted cash flows for each candidate.
Impairment is assessed by comparing the carrying value of the asset to its recoverable amount, which is determined as the higher of its fair value less costs to sell and its value in use. The value in use is estimated based on discounted future cash flows derived from assumptions regarding revenue growth, operating margins, discount rates, and market conditions. These estimates require significant management judgment and are subject to inherent uncertainties.
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Key assumptions used in impairment testing include:
• Projected cash flows: Based on historical trends, market analysis, and business forecasts.
• Discount rate: Reflecting the risk-adjusted cost of capital applicable to the asset or cash-generating unit.
• Growth rate: Used for terminal value calculations, based on long-term industry outlook and economic conditions.
• Market conditions: Including competitive landscape, industry trends, and macroeconomic factors.
Changes in these assumptions, particularly in discount rates or expected future cash flows, could result in significant adjustments to the impairment calculation and may lead to impairment losses recognized in the financial statements.
During the year ended December 31, 2024, we conducted an impairment assessment and determined that an impairment loss of $37.0 million was recognized for our LTI-01 intangible asset in connection with the temporary delay of further clinical development of LTI-01 until additional funds are raised. In the fourth quarter of 2024, we determined that the temporary delay of further clinical development of LTI-01 may not be a short-term measure.
Management continues to monitor these estimates and will adjust them as necessary to reflect changing economic conditions and business performance.
Income Taxes
We account for income taxes using the asset and liability method, which requires the recognition of deferred tax assets and liabilities for the expected future tax consequences of events that have been recognized in the financial statements or in our tax returns. Deferred taxes are determined based on the difference between the financial statement and tax basis of assets and liabilities using enacted tax rates in effect in the years in which the differences are expected to reverse.
We assess the likelihood that our deferred tax assets will be recovered from future taxable income and, to the extent we believe, based upon the weight of available evidence, that it is more likely than not that all or a portion of the deferred tax assets will not be realized, a valuation allowance is established through a charge to income tax expense. Changes in valuation allowances from period to period are included in our tax provision in the period of change. Potential for recovery of deferred tax assets is evaluated by estimating the future taxable profits expected and considering prudent and feasible tax planning strategies.
We account for uncertainty in income taxes recognized in the consolidated financial statements by applying a two-step process to determine the amount of tax benefit to be recognized. First, the tax position must be evaluated to determine the likelihood that it will be sustained upon external examination by the taxing authorities. If the tax position is deemed more-likely-than-not to be sustained, the tax position is then assessed to determine the amount of benefit to recognize in the financial statements. The amount of the benefit that may be recognized is the largest amount that has a greater than 50% likelihood of being realized upon ultimate settlement. The provision for income taxes includes the effects of any resulting tax reserves, or unrecognized tax benefits, that are considered appropriate as well as the related net interest and penalties.
The recognition and measurement of tax benefits requires significant judgment, especially in assessing uncertain tax positions. Judgments concerning the recognition and measurement of our tax benefits, as well as limitations surrounding their realizability, might change as new information becomes available.
Contractual Obligations
Our wholly owned subsidiary, Lung, leased a facility containing 6,455 square feet of office space located at 3801 S. Capital of Texas Hwy, Suite 330, Austin, Texas, which expired on March 31, 2024. We did not renew the lease. Following expiration of the lease, we are operating virtually, and expect to do so for the foreseeable future.
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Our remaining contractual rent commitment under this lease was $0 million and less than $0.1 million as of December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, respectively. For a description of our lease obligations, refer to Note 14 to our consolidated financial statements appearing in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Smaller Reporting Company Status
We are a “smaller reporting company” as defined in Rule 12b-2 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act. We may continue to be a smaller reporting company if either (i) the market value of our shares held by non-affiliates is less than $250.0 million or (ii) our annual revenue was less than $100.0 million during the most recently completed fiscal year and the market value of our shares held by non-affiliates is less than $700.0 million. For so long as we continue to be a smaller reporting company, we may continue to rely on exemptions from certain disclosure requirements that are available to smaller reporting companies.
Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements
We have reviewed all recently issued standards and have determined that, other than as disclosed in Note 2 to our consolidated financial statements appearing at the end of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, such standards will not have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements or do not otherwise apply to our operations.
Text extracted from the filing as submitted to EDGAR. Formatting, tables and exhibits are simplified for reading; the original document is authoritative for anything you rely on.