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beam-10q_20200630.htm

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-Q

(Mark One)

☒	QUARTERLY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the quarterly period ended June 30, 2020

☐	TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 FOR THE TRANSITION PERIOD FROM TO

Commission File Number 001-39208

Beam Therapeutics Inc.

(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its Charter)

Delaware	81-5238376
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)	(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)

26 Landsdowne Street Cambridge, MA	02139
(Address of principal executive offices)	(Zip Code)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (857) 327-8775

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Title of each class

Trading

Symbol(s)

Name of each exchange

on which registered

Common Stock, par value $0.01 per share

BEAM

Nasdaq Global Select Market

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. YES ☒ NO ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). YES ☒ NO ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

Large accelerated filer	☐	Accelerated filer	☐

Non-accelerated filer	☒	Smaller reporting company	☒

		Emerging growth company	☒

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). YES ☐ NO ☒

The number of shares of registrant’s common stock outstanding as of August 4, 2020 was 51,732,014.

NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). Such forward-looking statements reflect, among other things, our current expectations and anticipated results of operations; the expected timing of filing IND applications and the therapeutic applications of our technology; the timing, progress and success of our collaborations with third parties; our plans to establish a manufacturing facility; the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our business, all of which are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements, market trends, or industry results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Therefore, any statements contained herein that are not statements of historical fact may be forward-looking statements and should be evaluated as such. Without limiting the foregoing, the words “anticipate,” “expect,” “suggest,” “plan,” “believe,” “intend,” “project,” “forecast,” “estimates,” “targets,” “projections,” “should,” “could,” “would,” “may,” “might,” “will,” and the negative thereof and similar words and expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions, including those described in “Risk Factors” in Part II, Item 1A of this report. Unless legally required, we assume no obligation to update any such forward-looking information to reflect actual results or changes in the factors affecting such forward-looking information.

When we use the terms “Beam,” the “Company,” “we,” “us” or “our” in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, we mean Beam Therapeutics Inc. and its subsidiaries on a consolidated basis, unless the context indicates otherwise.

Table of Contents

		Page
PART I	Financial Information
Item 1.	Financial Statements (Unaudited)	1
	Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets	1
	Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations and Other Comprehensive Loss	2
	Condensed Consolidated Statements of Redeemable Convertible Preferred Stock and Stockholders’ Equity (Deficit)	3
	Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows	5
	Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements	6
Item 2.	Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations	18
Item 3.	Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk	29
Item 4.	Controls and Procedures	30

PART II	Other Information
Item 1.	Legal Proceedings	31
Item 1A.	Risk Factors	31
Item 2.	Unregistered Sales of Equity Security and Uses of Proceeds	81
Item 6.	Exhibits	82

PART I. FINANCIAL INFORMATION

Item 1. Financial Statements (Unaudited)

Beam Therapeutics Inc.

Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets

(Unaudited)

(in thousands, except share and per share amounts)

	June 30, 2020			December 31, 2019
Assets
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents	$	125,301		$	37,221
Marketable securities		102,649			54,627
Prepaid expenses and other current assets		6,879			2,696
Total current assets		234,829			94,544
Property and equipment, net		25,739			24,290
Restricted cash		13,333			13,332
Operating lease right-of-use assets		22,856			18,957
Other assets		3,218			4,976
Total assets	$	299,975		$	156,099
Liabilities, redeemable convertible preferred stock, and stockholders’ equity (deficit)
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable	$	6,154		$	7,846
Accrued expenses and other current liabilities		7,202			7,852
Derivative liabilities		19,200			7,800
Current portion of lease liability		4,698			4,337
Current portion of equipment financing liability		1,696			1,303
Total current liabilities		38,950			29,138
Long-term lease liability		24,901			21,187
Long-term equipment financing liability		4,896			4,411
Other liabilities		406			418
Total liabilities		69,153			55,154
Commitments and contingencies (See Note 7, Leases, and Note 8, License agreements)
Redeemable convertible preferred stock		—			302,049
Stockholders’ equity (deficit):
Preferred stock, $0.01 par value; 25,000,000 and no shares authorized at June 30, 2020 and December 31, 2019, respectively, and no shares issued or outstanding at June 30, 2020 and December 31, 2019, respectively		—			—
Common stock, $0.01 par value; 250,000,000 and 205,000,000 shares authorized, 51,525,807 and 9,981,991 issued, and 49,645,737 and 7,326,185 outstanding at June 30, 2020 and December 31, 2019, respectively		496			73
Additional paid-in capital		497,873			1,851
Accumulated other comprehensive income		173			16
Accumulated deficit		(267,720	)		(203,044	)
Total stockholders’ equity (deficit)		230,822			(201,104	)
Total liabilities, redeemable convertible preferred stock, and stockholders’ equity (deficit)	$	299,975		$	156,099

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these condensed consolidated financial statements.

Beam Therapeutics Inc.

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations and Other Comprehensive Loss

(Unaudited)

(in thousands, except share and per share amounts)

	Three Months Ended June 30,						Six Months Ended June 30,
	2020			2019			2020			2019
License revenue	$	6		$	6		$	12		$	6
Operating expenses:
Research and development		19,354			12,680			40,903			21,859
General and administrative		6,937			4,977			13,749			8,906
Total operating expenses		26,291			17,657			54,652			30,765
Loss from operations		(26,285	)		(17,651	)		(54,640	)		(30,759	)
Other income (expense):
Change in fair value of derivative liabilities		(8,700	)		(1,000	)		(11,400	)		(2,000	)
Interest and other income, net		767			790			1,364			1,288
Total other expense		(7,933	)		(210	)		(10,036	)		(712	)
Net loss	$	(34,218	)	$	(17,861	)	$	(64,676	)	$	(31,471	)
Unrealized gain on marketable securities		517			83			157			83
Comprehensive loss	$	(33,701	)	$	(17,778	)	$	(64,519	)	$	(31,388	)
Reconciliation of net loss to net loss attributable to common stockholders:
Net loss	$	(34,218	)	$	(17,861	)	$	(64,676	)	$	(31,471	)
Accretion of redeemable convertible preferred stock to redemption value, including dividends on preferred stock		—			(3,226	)		(1,277	)		(6,189	)
Net loss attributable to common stockholders	$	(34,218	)	$	(21,087	)	$	(65,953	)	$	(37,660	)
Net loss per common share attributable to common stockholders, basic and diluted	$	(0.69	)	$	(3.38	)	$	(1.65	)	$	(6.26	)
Weighted-average common shares used in net loss per share attributable to common stockholders, basic and diluted		49,430,138			6,238,798			40,077,788			6,018,364

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these condensed consolidated financial statements.

Beam Therapeutics Inc.

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Redeemable Convertible Preferred Stock and Stockholders’ Equity (Deficit)

(Unaudited)

(in thousands, except share amounts)

	Redeemable Convertible Preferred Stock				Common Stock				Additional Paid-in			Accumulated Other Comprehensive		Accumulated			Total Stockholders’
	Shares		Amount		Shares		Amount		Capital			(Loss) Income		Deficit			Deficit
Balance at December 31, 2018		119,308,387	$	251,434		5,565,368	$	56	$	7,256			—	$	(124,718	)	$	(117,406	)
Issuance of Series B redeemable convertible preferred stock, net of issuance costs of $0.1 million		11,308,397		37,901		—		—		—			—		—			—
Accretion of redeemable convertible preferred stock to redemption value		—		2,963		—		—		(2,963	)		—		—			(2,963	)
Vesting of restricted common stock		—		—		388,562		4		(4	)		—		—			—
Issuance of common stock related to license agreement		—		—		16,725		—		113			—		—			113
Stock-based compensation		—		—		—		—		869			—		—			869
Exercise of common stock options		—		—		12,502		—		7			—		—			7
Net loss		—		—		—		—		—			—		(13,610	)		(13,610	)
Balance at March 31, 2019		130,616,784	$	292,298		5,983,157	$	60	$	5,278		$	—	$	(138,328	)	$	(132,990	)
Accretion of redeemable convertible preferred stock to redemption value		—		3,226		—		—		(3,226	)		—		—			(3,226	)
Vesting of restricted common stock		—		—		393,440		4		(4	)		—		—			—
Stock-based compensation		—		—		—		—		2,073			—		—			2,073
Exercise of common stock options		—		—		57,496		1		47			—		—			48
Other comprehensive income													83					83
Net loss		—		—		—		—		—			—		(17,861	)		(17,861	)
Balance at June 30, 2019		130,616,784	$	295,524		6,434,093	$	65	$	4,168		$	83	$	(156,189	)	$	(151,873	)

Beam Therapeutics Inc.

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Redeemable Convertible Preferred Stock and Stockholders’ Equity (Deficit) - Continued

(Unaudited)

(in thousands, except share amounts)

	Redeemable Convertible Preferred Stock						Common Stock				Additional Paid-in			Accumulated Other Comprehensive			Accumulated			Total Stockholders’ (Deficit)
	Shares			Amount			Shares		Amount		Capital			(Loss) Income			Deficit			Equity
Balance at December 31, 2019		130,616,784		$	302,049			7,326,185	$	73	$	1,851		$	16		$	(203,044	)	$	(201,104	)
Accretion of redeemable convertible preferred stock to redemption value		—			1,277			—		—		(1,277	)		—			—			(1,277	)
Conversion of redeemable convertible preferred stock to common stock upon closing of initial public offering		(130,616,784	)		(303,326	)		29,127,523		291		303,035			—			—			303,326
Issuance of common stock from initial public offering, net of issuance costs of $18.7 million		—			—			12,176,471		122		188,201			—			—			188,323
Vesting of restricted common stock		—			—			387,866		4		(4	)		—			—			—
Stock-based compensation		—			—			—		—		2,792			—			—			2,792
Exercise of common stock options		—			—			59,305		1		151			—			—			152
Other comprehensive loss		—			—			—		—		—			(360	)		—			(360	)
Net loss		—			—			—		—		—			—			(30,458	)		(30,458	)
Balance at March 31, 2020		—		$	—			49,077,350	$	491	$	494,749		$	(344	)	$	(233,502	)	$	261,394
Vesting of restricted common stock		—			—			387,870		4		(4	)		—			—			—
Stock-based compensation		—			—			—		—		2,769			—			—			2,769
Exercise of common stock options		—			—			180,517		1		359			—			—			360
Other comprehensive income		—			—			—		—		—			517			—			517
Net loss		—			—			—		—		—			—			(34,218	)		(34,218	)
Balance at June 30, 2020		—		$	—			49,645,737	$	496	$	497,873		$	173		$	(267,720	)	$	230,822

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these condensed consolidated financial statements.

Beam Therapeutics Inc.

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows

(Unaudited)

(in thousands)

	Six Months Ended June 30,
	2020			2019
Operating activities
Net loss	$	(64,676	)	$	(31,471	)
Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash used in operating activities:
Depreciation		2,245			1,593
Amortization of investment premiums		(104	)		(332	)
Stock-based compensation expense		5,561			2,942
Change in operating lease right-of-use assets		1,985			578
Non-cash research and development license expense		264			113
Change in fair value of derivative liabilities		11,400			2,000
Other		(517	)		—
Changes in operating assets and liabilities:
Prepaid expenses and other current assets		(4,215	)		(797	)
Other long-term assets		(68	)		(78	)
Accounts payable		(53	)		1,540
Accrued expenses and other liabilities		(239	)		1,421
Operating lease liabilities		(1,801	)		(792	)
Financing milestone liabilities		—			(13,750	)
Other long-term liabilities		(12	)		(178	)
Net cash used in operating activities		(50,230	)		(37,211	)
Investing activities
Purchases of property and equipment		(5,413	)		(8,939	)
Purchases of marketable securities		(135,959	)		(88,493	)
Maturities of marketable securities		88,198			—
Purchase of long-term investment		(750	)		—
Net cash used in investing activities		(53,924	)		(97,432	)
Financing activities
Proceeds from issuance of Series B Preferred Stock, net		—			37,901
Proceeds from initial public offering, net of underwriting discount		192,510			—
Payment of initial public offering costs		(1,665	)		(68	)
Proceeds from equipment financings		1,625			—
Repayment of equipment financings		(747	)		—
Proceeds from exercise of stock options		512			55
Net cash provided by financing activities		192,235			37,888

Net change in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash		88,081			(96,755	)
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash—beginning of period		50,553			147,936
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash—end of period	$	138,634		$	51,181

Supplemental disclosure of cash flow information:
Cash paid for interest	$	282		$	—

Supplemental disclosure of noncash investing and financing activities:
Conversion of redeemable convertible preferred stock to common stock upon closing of the initial public offering	$	303,326		$	—
Property and equipment additions in accounts payable and accrued expenses	$	747		$	884
Operating lease liabilities arising from obtaining right-of-use assets	$	5,795		$	—
Receipt of common stock in exchange for technology license	$	—		$	460
Issuance of common stock for research and development license	$	—		$	113
Equity issuance costs in accounts payable and accrued expenses	$	—		$	152
Accretion of redeemable convertible preferred stock to redemption value, including dividends on preferred stock	$	1,277		$	6,189

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these condensed consolidated financial statements.

Beam Therapeutics Inc.

Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements (Unaudited)

1. Nature of the business and basis of presentation

Organization

Beam Therapeutics Inc. (the “Company” or “Beam”) is a research stage biotechnology company committed to creating a new class of precision genetic medicines, based on the Company’s proprietary base editing technology, with a vision of providing life-long cures to patients suffering from serious diseases. The Company was incorporated in January 2017 as a Delaware corporation and began operations in July 2017. Its principal offices are in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Liquidity and capital resources

Since its inception, the Company has devoted substantially all of our resources to building our base editing platform and advancing development of our portfolio of programs, establishing and protecting our intellectual property, conducting research and development activities, organizing and staffing our company, business planning, raising capital and providing general and administrative support for these operations. The Company is subject to risks and uncertainties common to early-stage companies in the biotechnology industry including, but not limited to, technical risks associated with the successful research, development and manufacturing of product candidates, development by competitors of new technological innovations, dependence on key personnel, protection of proprietary technology, compliance with government regulations and the ability to secure additional capital to fund operations. Current and future programs will require significant research and development efforts, including extensive preclinical and clinical testing and regulatory approval prior to commercialization. These efforts require significant amounts of additional capital, adequate personnel and infrastructure. Even if the Company’s drug development efforts are successful, it is uncertain when, if ever, the Company will realize significant revenue from product sales.

In connection with the Company’s initial public offering, or IPO, the Company’s board of directors approved a one-for-4.4843 reverse stock split of its issued and outstanding common stock and stock options and a proportional adjustment to the existing conversion ratios for the Company’s redeemable convertible preferred stock effective as of January 24, 2020. Accordingly, all common stock shares, per share amounts, and additional paid in capital amounts for all periods presented in the accompanying financial statements have been retroactively adjusted, where applicable, to reflect the reverse stock split and adjustment to the preferred stock conversion ratios.

In February 2020, the Company completed its IPO in which the Company issued and sold 12,176,471 shares of its common stock, including 1,588,235 shares pursuant to the full exercise of the underwriters’ option to purchase additional shares, at a public offering price of $17.00 per share, for aggregate gross proceeds of $207.0 million. The Company received approximately $188.3 million in net proceeds after deducting underwriting discounts and estimated offering expenses payable by the Company. In connection with the IPO, all outstanding shares of redeemable convertible preferred stock converted into 29,127,523 shares of the Company’s common stock.

Since its inception, the Company has incurred substantial losses and had an accumulated deficit of $267.7 million as of June 30, 2020. The Company expects to generate operating losses and negative operating cash flows for the foreseeable future. The Company expects that its cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities as of June 30, 2020 of $228.0 million will be sufficient to fund its operations for at least the next twelve months from the date of issuance of these financial statements. The Company will need additional financing to support its continuing operations and pursue its growth strategy. Until such time as the Company can generate significant revenue from product sales, if ever, it expects to finance its operations through a combination of equity offerings, debt financings, collaborations, strategic alliances and licensing arrangements. The Company may be unable to raise additional funds or enter into such other agreements when needed on favorable terms or at all. The inability to raise capital as and when needed would have a negative impact on the Company’s financial condition and its ability to pursue its business strategy. The Company will need to generate significant revenue to achieve profitability, and it may never do so.

Basis of presentation

The accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with United States generally accepted accounting principles, or GAAP, and pursuant to the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC. Certain information and footnote disclosures normally included in financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP have been condensed or omitted pursuant to such rules and regulations. Any reference in these notes to applicable guidance is meant to refer to the authoritative GAAP as found in the Accounting Standards Codification, or ASC, and Accounting Standards Update, or ASU, of the Financial Accounting Standards Board, or FASB.

The unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared on the same basis as the audited financial statements. In the opinion of the Company’s management, the accompanying unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements contain all adjustments that are necessary to present fairly the Company’s financial position as of June 30, 2020, the results of its operations and other comprehensive loss, and redeemable convertible preferred stock and stockholders’ equity (deficit), for the three and six months ended June 30, 2020 and 2019, and cash flows for the six months ended June 30, 2020 and 2019. Such adjustments are of a normal and recurring nature. The results for the three and six months ended June 30, 2020 are not necessarily indicative of the results for the year ending December 31, 2020, or for any future period. These interim financial statements should be read in conjunction with the audited financial statements as of and for the year ended December 31, 2019, and notes thereto, which are included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K that was filed with the SEC on March 30, 2020.

Consolidation

The accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Beam Therapeutics Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiaries, Blink Therapeutics Inc., or Blink, which is a Delaware subsidiary that holds certain intellectual property related to RNA base editing, and Beam Therapeutics Securities Corporation, which is a Massachusetts subsidiary created to buy, sell and hold securities. All intercompany transactions and balances have been eliminated in consolidation.

COVID-19-related significant risks and uncertainties

With the global spread of the ongoing coronavirus disease of 2019, or COVID-19, pandemic in the first six months of 2020, the Company has implemented business continuity plans designed to address and mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on its business. In March 2020, to protect the health of its employees, and their families and communities, the Company restricted access to its offices to personnel who performed critical activities that must be completed on-site, limited the number of such personnel that could be present at its facilities at any one time, and requested that most of its employees work remotely. In May 2020, restrictions eased, and the number of remote employees were reduced. The Company expects to continue to incur additional costs to provide a safe working environment to its onsite employees.

The extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic impacts the Company’s business, its corporate development objectives, results of operations and financial condition, and the value of and market for its common stock, will continue to depend on future developments that are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted with confidence at this time, such as the ultimate duration of the pandemic, travel restrictions, quarantines, social distancing and business closure requirements, and the effectiveness of actions taken globally to contain and treat the disease. Disruptions to the global economy, disruption of global healthcare systems, and other significant impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business, financial condition, results of operations and growth prospects.

While the COVID-19 pandemic did not significantly impact the Company’s business or results of operations during the six months ended June 30, 2020, the length and extent of the pandemic, its consequences, and containment efforts will determine the future impact on the Company’s operations and financial condition.

2. Summary of significant accounting policies

The Company’s significant accounting policies are disclosed in the audited consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2019, and notes thereto, which are included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K that was filed with the SEC on March 30, 2020. Since the date of those financial statements, there have been no material changes to Beam’s significant accounting policies.

Use of estimates

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities and expenses, and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities as of and during the reporting period. The Company bases its estimates and assumptions on historical experience when available and on various factors that it believes to be reasonable under the circumstances. The Company evaluates its estimates and assumptions on an ongoing basis. Actual results could differ from these estimates.

The COVID-19 pandemic may have an impact on the development timelines of the Company’s pre-clinical programs. Estimates and assumptions about future events and their effects cannot be determined with certainty and therefore require the exercise of judgment. As of the date of issuance of these financial statements, the Company is not aware of any specific event or circumstance that would require the Company to update its estimates, assumptions and judgments or revise the carrying value of its assets or liabilities. These estimates may change as new events occur and additional information is obtained and are recognized in the consolidated financial statements as soon as they become known. Actual results could differ from those estimates and any such differences may be material to the Company’s financial statements.

Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash

Cash and cash equivalents consist of standard checking accounts, money market accounts, and all highly liquid investments with an original maturity of three months or less at the date of purchase. Restricted cash represents collateral provided for letters of credit issued as security deposits in connection with the Company’s leases of its corporate facilities.

The following table reconciles cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash reported within the Company’s condensed consolidated balance sheets to the total of the amounts shown in the condensed consolidated statements of cash flows (in thousands):

	June 30, 2020		June 30, 2019
Cash and cash equivalents	$	125,301	$	37,852
Restricted cash		13,333		13,329
Total cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash	$	138,634	$	51,181

Recent accounting pronouncements

In November 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-18, Collaborative Arrangements, or ASC 808, which clarifies certain transactions between collaborative arrangement participants should be accounted for as revenue when the collaborative arrangement participant is a customer in the context of a unit of account and precludes recognizing as revenue consideration received from a collaborative arrangement participant if the participant is not a customer. ASC 808 will be effective for the Company in the first quarter of fiscal 2021, with early adoption permitted. A retrospective adoption to the date the Company adopted ASC 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers, is required by recognizing a cumulative-effect adjustment to the opening balance or retained earnings of the earliest period presented. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of the adoption of this standard on its financial statements.

3. Property and equipment, net

Property and equipment consist of the following (in thousands):

	June 30, 2020			December 31, 2019
Lab equipment	$	14,826		$	12,029
Leasehold improvements		12,705			12,653
Furniture and fixtures		1,040			1,040
Computer equipment		547			547
Construction in process		3,030			2,185
Total property and equipment		32,148			28,454

Less accumulated depreciation		(6,409	)		(4,164	)
Property and equipment, net	$	25,739		$	24,290

The following table summarizes depreciation expense incurred (in thousands):

	Three Months Ended June 30,				Six Months Ended June 30,
	2020		2019		2020		2019
Depreciation expense	$	1,145	$	858	$	2,245	$	1,593

4. fair Value of financial instruments

The Company’s financial instruments that are measured at fair value on a recurring basis consist of cash equivalents, marketable securities, and success payment derivative liabilities pursuant to the license agreement between Harvard University, or Harvard, and the Company, or the Harvard License Agreement, and the license agreement between Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, or Broad Institute, and Blink, or the Broad License Agreement.

The Company also holds investments in privately issued corporate equity securities, which are accounted for investments in equity securities. These investments do not have readily determinable fair values and the Company values such investments based on the cost of the equity securities adjusted for observable market transactions or impairments, if any. As of June 30, 2020, the Company held $2.5 million of investments in privately issued corporate equity securities. During the three and six months ended June 30, 2020, as a result of an observable market transaction (Level 2), the Company adjusted the value of its investment and recorded unrealized gains of $0.5 million in interest and other income, net in the Company’s consolidated statements of operations and other comprehensive loss.

ASC 820, Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures, establishes a fair value hierarchy for those instruments measured at fair value that distinguishes between assumptions based on market data (observable inputs) and our own assumptions (unobservable inputs). The hierarchy consists of three levels:

•

Level 1 – Unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities.

•

Level 2 – Quoted prices for similar assets and liabilities in active markets, quoted prices in markets that are not active, or inputs which are observable, directly or indirectly, for substantially the full term of the asset or liability.

•

Level 3 – Unobservable inputs that reflect our own assumptions about the assumptions market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability in which there is little, if any, market activity for the asset or liability at the measurement date.

The following table sets forth the fair value of the Company’s financial assets and liabilities by level within the fair value hierarchy at June 30, 2020 (in thousands):

	Carrying amount		Fair value		Level 1		Level 2		Level 3
Assets
Cash equivalents:
Money market funds	$	55,653	$	55,653	$	55,653	$	—	$	—
Commercial paper		54,738		54,738		—		54,738		—
Corporate notes		2,008		2,008		—		2,008		—
U.S. Treasury securities		12,998		12,998		—		12,998		—
Marketable securities:
Commercial paper		29,735		29,735		—		29,735		—
Corporate notes		54,670		54,670		—		54,670		—
U.S. Treasury securities		18,244		18,244		—		18,244		—
Total assets	$	228,046	$	228,046	$	55,653	$	172,393	$	—

Liabilities
Success payment liability – Harvard	$	9,600	$	9,600	$	—	$	—	$	9,600
Success payment liability – Broad Institute		9,600		9,600		—		—		9,600
Total liabilities	$	19,200	$	19,200	$	—	$	—	$	19,200

The following table sets forth the fair value of the Company’s financial assets and liabilities by level within the fair value hierarchy at December 31, 2019 (in thousands):

	Carrying amount		Fair value		Level 1		Level 2		Level 3
Assets
Cash equivalents:
Money market funds	$	6,172	$	6,172	$	6,172	$	—	$	—
Commercial paper		3,986		3,986		—		3,986		—
Marketable securities:
Commercial paper		36,889		36,889		—		36,889		—
Corporate notes		17,738		17,738		—		17,738		—
Total assets	$	64,785	$	64,785	$	6,172	$	58,613	$	—

Liabilities
Success payment liability – Harvard	$	3,900	$	3,900	$	—	$	—	$	3,900
Success payment liability – Broad Institute		3,900		3,900		—		—		3,900
Total liabilities	$	7,800	$	7,800	$	—	$	—	$	7,800

Cash equivalents – Money market funds included within cash equivalents are classified within Level 1 of the fair value hierarchy because they are valued using quoted market prices in active markets. Commercial paper and corporate notes are classified within Level 2 of the fair value hierarchy because pricing inputs are other than quoted prices in active markets, which are either directly or indirectly observable as of the reporting date, and fair value is determined through the use of models or other valuation methodologies.

Marketable securities – The Company measures its marketable securities at fair value on a recurring basis and classify those instruments within Level 2 of the fair value hierarchy. Marketable securities are classified within Level 2 of the fair value hierarchy

because pricing inputs are other than quoted prices in active markets, which are either directly or indirectly observable as of the reporting date, and fair value is determined using models or other valuation methodologies.

Success Payment Liabilities – As discussed further in Note 8, License Agreements, the Company is required to make success payments determined based upon the achievement of specified multiples of the initial weighted average value of the Company’s Series A Preferred at specified valuation dates. The Company’s liability for success payments under the Harvard License Agreement and Broad License Agreement are carried at fair value. To determine the estimated fair value of the success payment liability, the Company uses a Monte Carlo simulation methodology, which models the future movement of stock prices based on several key variables.

The following variables were incorporated in the calculation of the estimated fair value of the Harvard and Broad Institute success payment liabilities:

	Harvard						Broad Institute
	June 30, 2020			December 31, 2019			June 30, 2020			December 31, 2019
Fair value of Series A Preferred (per share) (1)	$	—		$	3.60		$	—		$	3.60
Fair value of common stock (per share)		28.00			—			28.00			—
Expected volatility		74	%		72	%		73	%		72	%
Expected term (years)	0.85-9.00			0.10-8.01			0.85-9.86			0.10-8.01

(1)

The effect of the Company’s one-for-4.4843 reverse stock split in January 2020 only applied to its common stock and did not impact its redeemable convertible preferred stock. As such, the Series A Preferred fair value per share as of December 31, 2019 does not show the effect of the reverse stock split. If adjusted for the effect of the reverse stock split, the fair value per share of Series A Preferred would be $16.14 on December 31, 2019. Upon completion of the Company’s IPO, all outstanding shares of redeemable convertible preferred stock converted into shares of the Company’s common stock.

At December 31, 2019, the fair value of the Series A Preferred was determined by management with the assistance of an independent third-party specialist. At June 30, 2020, the fair value of the common stock was the market value of the Company’s common stock. The computation of expected volatility was estimated using available information about the historical volatility of stocks of similar publicly traded companies for a period matching the expected term assumption. In addition, the Company incorporated the estimated number, timing, and probability of valuation measurement dates in the calculation of the success payment liability.

The following table reconciles the change in the fair value of success payment liabilities based on Level 3 inputs (in thousands):

	Six Months Ended June 30, 2020
	Harvard		Broad Institute		Total
Balance at December 31, 2019	$	3,900	$	3,900	$	7,800
Changes in fair value		5,700		5,700		11,400
Balance at June 30, 2020	$	9,600	$	9,600	$	19,200

5. Marketable securities

The following table summarizes the Company’s marketable securities held at June 30, 2020 (in thousands):

	Amortized Cost		Gross Unrealized Gains		Gross Unrealized Losses		Fair Value
Commercial paper	$	29,689	$	46	$	—	$	29,735
Corporate notes		54,545		125		—		54,670
U.S. Treasury securities		18,242		2				18,244
Total	$	102,476	$	173	$	—	$	102,649

The following table summarizes the Company’s marketable securities held at December 31, 2019 (in thousands):

	Amortized Cost		Gross Unrealized Gains		Gross Unrealized Losses		Fair Value
Commercial paper	$	36,875	$	14	$	—	$	36,889
Corporate notes		17,736		2		—		17,738
Total	$	54,611	$	16	$	—	$	54,627

The amortized cost of marketable securities is adjusted for amortization of premiums and accretion of discounts to maturity. At June 30, 2020, the balance in accumulated other comprehensive income was comprised solely of activity related to marketable

securities. There were no realized gains or losses recognized on the sale or maturity of marketable securities for the six months ended June 30, 2020 and 2019 and, as a result, the Company did not reclassify any amounts out of accumulated other comprehensive income for the same period.

The Company did not hold any debt securities in an unrealized loss position at June 30, 2020. The Company holds debt securities of companies with high credit quality and has determined that there was no material change in the credit risk of any of its debt securities. The contractual maturity dates of all the investments are less than one year.

6. Accrued expenses and other current liabilities

Accrued expenses and other current liabilities consist of the following (in thousands):

	June 30, 2020		December 31, 2019
Research costs	$	3,317	$	1,548
Employee compensation and related benefits		2,130		3,531
Professional fees		1,512		1,541
Other		243		1,232
Total	$	7,202	$	7,852

7. Leases

Operating leases

The Company’s operating leases are as follow:

•

A February 2018 lease for 38,203 square feet of office and laboratory space, which commenced in March 2018 and terminates in September 2028. The lease is subject to fixed-rate rent escalations and provided for $6.1 million in tenant improvements and a term extension option, which was not reasonably certain of exercise.

•

An October 2018 lease for laboratory space, which commenced in April 2019 and was amended in March 2020 and April 2020. The amended lease commenced in April 2020 and terminates in December 2025. The amended lease is subject to fixed-rate rent escalations and provides an option to extend the lease for two additional two-year periods through December 31, 2029, which were not determined by the Company to be reasonably certain of being exercised. Upon commencement of the March 2020 amendment, the Company recorded an operating lease right-of-use, or ROU, asset and a lease liability of $4.2 million. Upon commencement of the April 2020 amendment, the Company recorded an operating lease right-of-use, or ROU, asset and a lease liability of $1.8 million.

•

Leases in June and July 2019 for office and laboratory space, both of which commenced in October 2019 and terminate in December 2021. The leases are subject to fixed-rate rent escalations.

The following table summarizes operating lease costs as well as sublease income (in thousands):

	Three Months Ended June 30,					Six Months Ended June 30,
	2020		2019			2020		2019
Operating lease costs	$	1,705	$	911		$	3,303	$	1,619
Variable lease costs		249		140			537		299
Short-term lease costs		—		49			—		99
Sublease income		—		(13	)		—		(22	)
Total	$	1,954	$	1,087		$	3,840	$	1,995

The following table summarizes the lease term and discount rate:

	June 30, 2020			December 31, 2019
Weighted-average remaining lease term (years)
Operating leases	6.9 years			7.4 years
Weighted-average discount rate
Operating leases		9.7	%		9.8	%

The following table summarizes the cash paid for amounts included in the measurement of lease liabilities (in thousands):

	Three Months Ended June 30,				Six Months Ended June 30,
	2020		2019		2020		2019
Operating cash flows used for operating leases	$	1,593	$	954	$	3,118	$	1,702
Operating lease liabilities arising from obtaining right-of-use assets		1,763		—		5,795		—

At June 30, 2020, the future minimum lease payments for the Company’s operating leases for each of the years ending December 31 were as follows (in thousands):

Remainder of 2020	$	3,893
2021		6,507
2022		4,745
2023		4,879
2024		5,033
2025		5,123
Thereafter		10,411
Undiscounted lease payments		40,591

Less: imputed interest		(10,992	)
Total operating lease liabilities	$	29,599

In addition to the leases discussed above, the Company is party to an April 2019 lease for office and laboratory space to be built, with the rent payments for the first phase expected to commence at the earliest in late 2021 and the rent payments for the second phase expected to commence at the earliest in the second half of 2022. The lease will terminate 12 years from the second phase commencement date. The lease is subject to fixed-rate rent escalations and provides for $23.4 million in tenant improvements and the option to extend the lease for two terms of 5 years each. Upon executing the lease, the Company made a security deposit of $11.8 million in the form of a letter of credit, which is included in restricted cash as of March 31, 2020. As the lease had not commenced, the Company has not recorded an operating lease ROU asset or lease liability for this lease in the accompanying condensed consolidated balance sheets. The minimum amount of anticipated undiscounted lease payments due under the MIT lease is $168.7 million. Further, the tabular disclosure of minimum lease payments above does not include payments due under this lease.

Financing obligations

In July 2019 and October 2019, the Company sold certain equipment to a leasing company. Contemporaneous with the closing of the sale, the Company entered into a lease agreement with the leasing company with a term of four years pursuant to which the Company leased back the equipment.

Further, in February 2020, the Company sold additional equipment to the leasing company for a total of $1.6 million and, concurrently, entered into a lease agreement with the leasing company to lease back the equipment for an annual rent of $0.5 million over a term of four years.

The equipment leases are being accounted for as financings as the lease terms are for substantially all the remaining economic life of the underlying equipment. Management concluded that control, including the significant risks and rewards of ownership, did not effectively transfer to the buyer-lessor at the inception of the sale and leaseback transactions. As a result, the transactions are accounted for as failed sale and leasebacks and result in the recognition of financing liabilities.

The future minimum payments related to the equipment financing obligations at June 30, 2020, for each of the years ending December 31 were as follows (in thousands):

Remainder of 2020	$	1,100
2021		2,200
2022		2,200
2023		1,550
2024		70
Total		7,120

Less: amounts representing interest at 8.64%		(1,064	)
Plus: residual values		536
Financing obligations	$	6,592

The following table summarizes the breakdown of the principal and interest portions of the equipment financing payments (in thousands):

	Three Months Ended June 30,				Six Months Ended June 30,
	2020		2019		2020		2019
Paydown of principal	$	403	$	—	$	747	$	—
Paydown of interest		148		—		282		—

8. License agreements

Harvard license agreement

Under the terms of the Harvard License Agreement, Harvard is entitled to receive success payments, determined based upon the achievement of specified multiples of the initial weighted average value of the Company’s Series A Preferred at specified valuation dates. The Company is required to make success payments to Harvard during a period of time, or the Harvard Success Payment Period, which has been determined to be the later of (1) the ninth anniversary of the Harvard License Agreement or (2) the earlier of (a) the 12th anniversary of the Harvard License Agreement and (b) the third anniversary of the first date on which a licensed product receives regulatory approval in the United States. During the Harvard Success Payment Period, the Company will perform a calculation on each rolling 90-day period, commencing one year after the Company’s IPO.

The following table summarizes the Company’s success payment liability for Harvard (in thousands):

June 30,

2020

December 31,

2019

Harvard success payment liability

9,600

3,900

The following table summarizes the expense resulting from the change in the fair value of the success payment liability for Harvard (in thousands):

	Three Months Ended June 30,				Six Months Ended June 30,
	2020		2019		2020		2019
Change in fair value of Harvard success payment liability	$	4,400	$	500	$	5,700	$	1,000

As of June 30, 2020, no success payments have been paid or are due to Harvard.

In addition, Harvard was entitled to receive financing milestone payments, which were paid by the Company during the six months ended June 30, 2019.

The annual maintenance fee under the Harvard License Agreement is recorded as research and development expense. Patent prosecution costs are recognized as expense in the period incurred. As of June 30, 2020, the Company determined that product development and regulatory approval milestones and royalties under the Harvard License Agreement were not probable and, as such, no amounts were recognized for the six months ended June 30, 2020.

Broad license agreement

Under the terms of the Broad License Agreement, Broad Institute is entitled to receive success payments, determined based upon the achievement of specified multiples of the initial weighted average value of the Blink Series A Preferred at specified valuation dates. The Company is required to make success payments to Broad Institute during a period of time, or the Broad Success Payment Period, which has been determined to be the earliest of (1) the twelfth anniversary of the Broad License Agreement, or (2) the third anniversary of the first date on which a licensed product receives regulatory approval in the United States. During the Broad Success Payment Period, the Company will perform a calculation on each rolling 90-day period, commencing one year after the Company’s IPO.

The following table summarizes the Company’s success payment liability for Broad (in thousands):

June 30,

2020

December 31,

2019

Broad success payment liability

9,600

3,900

The following table summarizes the expense resulting from the change in the fair value of the success payment liability for Broad (in thousands):

	Three Months Ended June 30,				Six Months Ended June 30,
	2020		2019		2020		2019
Change in fair value of Broad success payment liability	$	4,300	$	500	$	5,700	$	1,000

As of June 30, 2020, no success payments have been paid or are due to Broad Institute.

In addition, Broad Institute was entitled to receive financing milestone payments, which were paid by the Company during the year ended December 31, 2019.

The annual maintenance fee under the Broad License Agreement is recorded as research and development expense. Patent prosecution costs are recognized as expense in the period incurred. As of June 30, 2020, the Company determined that product development and regulatory approval milestones and royalties under the Broad License Agreement were not probable and, as such, no amounts were recognized for the six months ended June 30, 2020.

Editas license agreement

In May 2018, the Company entered into a license agreement, or the Editas License Agreement, with Editas Medicine, Inc., or Editas, for certain intellectual property rights owned or controlled by Editas, for specified uses. Under the Editas License Agreement, Editas granted to the Company a worldwide, exclusive, sublicensable, license (subject to certain exceptions and conditions) under certain intellectual property controlled by Editas for the use of base editing therapies for the treatment of any field of human diseases and conditions, subject to certain exceptions, or the Beam Field, and the licenses granted or to be granted under the Editas License Agreement, or the Editas Development and Commercialization License. Additionally, Editas granted to the Company a royalty-free, non-exclusive license under certain intellectual property owned or controlled by Editas to perform research activities in the Beam Field. Editas provided the Company with an exclusive option to obtain an Editas Development and Commercialization License to three additional groups of intellectual property owned or controlled by Editas, on a group by group basis, during the specified option period, subject to certain exceptions. Pursuant to the Editas License Agreement, the Company will use commercially reasonable efforts to develop a product that includes the rights licensed to the Company within a specified period of time and to commercialize any such products that have received regulatory approval in certain specified countries.

The annual maintenance fees under the Editas License Agreement are recorded as research and development expense. Annual patent costs are expensed as incurred. In addition, the Company is required to make certain development, regulatory and commercial milestone payments to Editas upon the achievement of specified milestones. The triggering of these milestone payments was not probable and, as such, no amounts were recognized for the six months ended June 30, 2020.

Bio Palette

In March 2019, the Company entered into a license agreement with Bio Palette pursuant to which Beam received an exclusive (even as to Bio Palette), sublicensable license under certain patent rights related to base editing owned or controlled by Bio Palette to exploit products for the treatment of human disease throughout the world, but excluding products in the microbiome field in Asia, or the Bio Palette License Agreement. In addition, the Company granted Bio Palette an exclusive (even as to Beam) license under certain patent rights related to base editing and gene editing owned or controlled by the Company to exploit products in the microbiome field in Asia. Each party to the agreement retains non-exclusive rights to develop and manufacture products in the microbiome field worldwide for the sole purpose of exploiting those products in its own territory. Each party agrees to certain coordination obligations in the microbiome field if either party determines not to exploit their rights in such field.

Upon the execution of the Bio Palette License Agreement, the Company paid Bio Palette an upfront fee of $0.5 million and issued to Bio Palette 16,725 shares of its common stock valued at $0.1 million, which were recorded as research and development expense for the three months ended March 31, 2019. Upon the issuance of a certain Bio Palette patent in the United States in June 2020, the Company made a milestone payment of $2.0 million and, in July 2020, issued to Bio Palette 175,000 shares of its common stock valued at $0.3 million, which were included within accrued expenses in the accompanying condensed consolidated balance sheets as of June 30, 2020. The fair value of the common stock issued to Bio Palette under the Bio Palette License Agreement was measured at the inception of arrangement and expensed when the issuance of shares became probable.

9. Collaboration and license agreements

Prime Medicine

In September 2019, the Company entered into a collaboration and license agreement with Prime Medicine, Inc., or Prime Medicine, to research and develop a novel gene editing technology developed by one of Beam’s founders. Under the terms of the agreement, the Company granted Prime Medicine a non-exclusive license to certain of its CRISPR technology (including Cas12b), delivery technology and certain other technology controlled by Beam to develop and commercialize gene editing products for the treatment of human diseases. The Company is not currently using the intellectual property licensed from Prime Medicine in any of its current programs, but it is required to use commercially reasonable effort to develop new product candidates using the intellectual property licensed from Prime Medicine. Additionally, each party granted to the other party certain exclusive and non-exclusive licenses to certain technology developed after the effective date of the agreement and controlled by the granting party or jointly owned by the parties. Each party has an obligation to assign rights in certain technology developed under the collaboration to the other party.

Beam has an obligation to issue $5.0 million in shares of its common stock to Prime Medicine, and Prime Medicine has an obligation to issue 5.0 million shares of its common stock to Beam, should Beam elect to extend the collaboration beyond one year. The

Company will record the expense and associated obligation for its share issuance if and when it elects to extend the collaboration. Beam will record the financial statement impact of the Prime Medicine shares upon the receipt of the shares from Prime Medicine.

As of June 30, 2020, the Company determined that milestones and royalties under the agreement were not probable of recognition.

Verve

In April 2019, Beam entered into a collaboration and license agreement, or the Verve Agreement, with Verve Therapeutics, Inc., or Verve, to investigate gene editing strategies to modify genes associated with an increased risk of coronary diseases. Under the terms of the Verve Agreement, the Company granted Verve an exclusive license to certain base editor technology and certain delivery technology, and improvements and Verve granted Beam a non-exclusive license under certain know-how and patents controlled by Verve, an interest in joint collaboration technology and an exclusive license (except as to Verve) under certain delivery technology.

As of June 30, 2020, the Company determined that milestones and royalties under the Verve Agreement were not probable of recognition.

10. Preferred and common stock

In January 2020, the Company authorized preferred stock issuable of 25,000,000 shares and increased its authorized common stock issuable to 250,000,000 shares, both with a $0.01 par value per share.

The Company’s board of directors approved a one-for-4.4843 reverse stock split of its common stock and stock options and a proportional adjustment to the existing conversion ratios for the Company’s redeemable convertible preferred stock effective as of January 24, 2020. Accordingly, all common stock shares, per share amounts, and additional paid-in capital amounts for all periods presented in the accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements and notes thereto have been retroactively adjusted, where applicable, to reflect the reverse stock split.

In February 2020, the Company completed its IPO in which the Company issued and sold 12,176,471 shares of its common stock, including 1,588,235 shares pursuant to the full exercise of the underwriters’ option to purchase additional shares, at a public offering price of $17.00 per share, for aggregate gross proceeds of $207.0 million. The Company received approximately $188.3 million in net proceeds after deducting underwriting discounts and estimated offering expenses payable by the Company. In connection with the IPO, all outstanding shares of Preferred Stock converted into 29,127,523 shares of the Company’s common stock.

11. Stock option and grant plan

Stock option and grant plan

The 2017 Stock Option and Grant Plan adopted by the board of directors in June 2017 and amended in February and May 2019, provides for the grant of qualified incentive stock options and nonqualified stock options, restricted stock or other awards to the Company’s employees, officers, directors, advisors, and outside consultants for the issuance or purchase of shares of the Company’s common stock.

In February 2020, the Company’s board of directors adopted the Beam Therapeutics Inc. 2019 Equity Incentive Plan, or the 2019 Plan, and, subsequent to the IPO, all equity-based awards will be granted under the 2019 Plan. The 2019 Plan provides for grant of qualified and nonqualified stock options, stock appreciation rights, restricted and unrestricted stock and stock units, performance awards, and other share-based awards to the Company’s employees, officers, directors, advisors, and outside consultants. As of June 30, 2020, the Company had 8,251,219 shares reserved and 2,605,173 shares available for future issuance under the 2019 Plan.

Stock-based compensation expense recorded as research and development and general and administrative expenses in the condensed consolidated statements of operations and other comprehensive loss is as follows (in thousands):

	Three Months Ended June 30,				Six Months Ended June 30,
	2020		2019		2020		2019
Research and development	$	1,805	$	1,468	$	3,578	$	1,975
General and administrative		964		605		1,983		967
Total stock-based compensation expense	$	2,769	$	2,073	$	5,561	$	2,942

Stock options

A summary of option activity under the Company’s equity award plans:

	Number of options			Weighted average exercise price
Outstanding at December 31, 2019		4,791,047		$	4.72
Granted		1,119,446			18.39
Exercised		(239,822	)		2.14
Forfeitures		(24,625	)		7.62
Outstanding at June 30, 2020		5,646,046			7.44
Exercisable as of June 30, 2020		1,118,376			2.22

The weighted-average grant date fair value per share of options granted in the six months ended June 30, 2020 was $12.79. As of June 30, 2020, there was $25.7 million of unrecognized compensation cost related to unvested stock options, which is expected to be recognized over a weighted-average period of approximately 2.8 years.

Restricted stock

The following summarizes the Company’s restricted stock activity:

	Shares			Weighted- average grant date fair value
Unvested as of December 31, 2019		2,655,806		$	2.73
Issued		—			—
Vested		(775,736	)		2.31
Unvested as of June 30, 2020		1,880,070		$	2.97

At June 30, 2020, there was approximately $5.6 million of unrecognized stock-based compensation expense related to restricted stock that is expected to vest. These costs are expected to be recognized over a weighted-average remaining vesting period of 0.7 years.

12. Net loss per share attributable to common stockholders

As noted above, for periods in which the Company reports a net loss attributable to common stockholders, potentially dilutive securities have been excluded from the computation of diluted net loss per share as their effects would be anti-dilutive. Therefore, the weighted average number of common shares outstanding used to calculate both basic and diluted net loss per share attributable to common stockholders is the same. The Company excluded the following potential common shares, presented based on amounts outstanding at period end, from the computation of diluted net loss per share attributable to common stockholders because including them would have had an anti-dilutive effect:

	As of June 30,
	2020		2019
Redeemable convertible preferred stock		—		29,127,523
Unvested restricted stock		1,880,070		3,432,929
Outstanding options to purchase common stock		5,646,046		4,448,502
Total		7,526,116		37,008,954

The following table summarizes the computation of basic and diluted net loss per share attributable to common stockholders of the Company (in thousands except share and per share amounts):

	Three Months Ended June 30,						Six Months Ended June 30,
	2020			2019			2020			2019
Numerator:
Net loss attributable to common stockholders	$	(34,218	)	$	(21,087	)	$	(65,953	)	$	(37,660	)
Denominator:
Weighted average number of common shares, basic and diluted		49,430,138			6,238,798			40,077,788			6,018,364
Net loss per common share attributable to common stockholders, basic and diluted	$	(0.69	)	$	(3.38	)	$	(1.65	)	$	(6.26	)

13. Income taxes

During the three and six months ended June 30, 2020 and 2019, the Company recorded a full valuation allowance on federal and state deferred tax assets since management does not forecast the Company to be in a taxable position in the near future.

14. Related party transactions

For the six months ended June 30, 2020 and 2019, the Company made payments of $0.1 million and $0.1 million, respectively, to its three founder shareholders for scientific consulting and other expenses.

The Company has entered into collaboration and license agreements with Prime Medicine and Verve. The Company and Prime Medicine have a common founder and several common board members. The Company and Verve have a common board member. During the six months ended June 30, 2020 and 2019, the Company purchased shares of Verve series A preferred stock valued at $0.8 million and $0.4 million, respectively. During the six months ended June 30, 2020, the company recognized unrealized gains of $0.5 million on its investment in Verve preferred stock.

15. Subsequent events

Manufacturing facility

In August 2020, the Company entered into a lease agreement with Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. to build a 100,000 square foot manufacturing facility in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina intended to support a broad range of clinical programs. The lease has a term of fifteen years following the commencement date and provides the Company the option to extend the lease term for two five-year terms. It is subject to fixed rate escalation increases and also provides for reimbursement of tenant improvements. The lease payments are subject to adjustment following the determination of the total project costs of the landlord. The Company expects to invest up to $83 million over a five-year period and anticipates that the facility will be operational by the first quarter of 2023. The project will be facilitated, in part, by a Job Development Investment Grant, or JDIG, approved by the North Carolina Economic Investment Committee, which authorizes potential reimbursements to Beam based on new tax revenues generated through the project. The facility will be designed to support manufacturing for our ex vivo cell therapy programs in hematology and oncology and in vivo non-viral delivery programs for liver diseases, with flexibility to support manufacturing of its viral delivery programs, and ultimately, scale-up to support potential commercial supply.

Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with our condensed consolidated financial statements and the related notes to those statements included elsewhere in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q. In addition to historical financial information, the following discussion and analysis contains forward-looking statements that involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Some of the numbers included herein have been rounded for the convenience of presentation. Our actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of many factors, including those discussed in “Risk Factors” in Part II, Item 1A. and elsewhere in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q.

Overview

We are a biotechnology company committed to creating a new class of precision genetic medicines based on our proprietary base editing technology, with a vision of providing life-long cures to patients suffering from serious diseases. Our proprietary base editing technology potentially enables an entirely new class of precision genetic medicines that targets a single base in the genome without making a double-stranded break in the DNA. This approach uses a chemical reaction designed to create precise, predictable and efficient genetic outcomes at the targeted sequence. Our novel base editors have two principal components: (i) a CRISPR protein, bound to a guide RNA, that leverages the established DNA-targeting ability of CRISPR, but modified to not cause a double-stranded break, and (ii) a base editing enzyme, such as a deaminase, which carries out the desired chemical modification of the target DNA base. We believe this design contributes to a more precise and efficient edit compared to traditional gene editing methods. The precision of our editors has the potential to increase the impact of gene editing for a broad range of therapeutic applications. By building on the significant recent advances in the field of genetic medicine, we believe we will be able to rapidly advance our portfolio of novel base editing programs.

Existing gene editing technologies operate by creating targeted double-stranded breaks in the DNA, and then rely on cellular mechanisms to complete the editing process. Such approaches can be effective in the disruption of gene expression; however, they are inefficient for precise repair or alteration of gene sequences, and can result in unwanted DNA modifications. We believe our base editing platform offers meaningful advantages over existing approaches in gene editing and gene therapy, including:

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Highly precise and predictable gene editing, designed to make only one type of base edit at the desired target location

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Highly efficient and therapeutically relevant levels of gene correction, which are generally unachievable by nuclease-based methods

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Broad applicability in a wide range of cell types, including both dividing and non-dividing cells

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Direct chemical modification of DNA with no requirement for delivery of the corrected DNA sequence

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Avoidance of unwanted DNA modifications associated with double-stranded breaks, including gene disruptions and chromosomal rearrangements such as translocations or deletions

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Permanent editing of genes, creating the potential for a life-long therapeutic outcome, including the ability to treat infants or young children since the edit will be passed on by dividing cells as the child grows

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Preservation of natural regulation and a normal number of copies of the gene in the cell by modification of genes in their native genomic setting

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Versatile and modular product engine that can target a different gene sequence with the same base editor and a different guide RNA

We are currently advancing a broad, diversified portfolio of base editing programs against distinct editing targets. To unlock the full potential of our base editing technology across a wide range of therapeutic applications, we are pursuing a comprehensive suite of clinically validated delivery modalities in parallel. For a given tissue type, we use the delivery modality with the most compelling biodistribution. Our programs are organized by delivery modality into three distinct pipelines: electroporation for efficient delivery to blood cells and immune cells ex vivo; lipid nanoparticles, or LNPs, for non-viral in vivo delivery to the liver and potentially other organs in the future; and adeno-associated viral vectors, or AAV, for viral delivery to the eye and central nervous system, or CNS.

Our base editing portfolio

The elegance and simplicity of the base editing approach provides for an efficient, precise, and highly versatile gene editing system, capable of gene correction, gene silencing/gene activation, and multiplex editing of several genes simultaneously. We believe the flexibility and versatility of our base editors may lead to broad therapeutic applicability and transformational potential for the field of precision genetic medicines.

We have achieved proof-of-concept in vivo with long-term engraftment of ex vivo base edited human CD34 cells in mice for BEAM-101, our program that reproduces single base changes seen in individuals with Hereditary Persistence of Fetal Hemoglobin, or HPFH, that protects them from the effects of mutations causing sickle cell disease or thalassemia. Additionally, in the second quarter of 2020,

we published data on BEAM-102, our program to directly correct the causative mutation in sickle cell disease by recreating a naturally-occurring human hemoglobin variant, Hb-G Makassar. The Makassar variant does not cause hemoglobin to polymerize, or red cells to sickle and, therefore, edited cells are cured through elimination of the disease-causing protein. With respect to our liver disease programs, also in the second quarter of 2020, we have shown the ability to directly correct the mutation causing alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency, providing both in vitro and in vivo proof of concept for base editing to correct this disease. We have also successfully demonstrated feasibility of base editing with each of our three delivery modalities in relevant cell types for electroporation and AAV and in vivo in mice for LNP.

Beyond the in vivo proofs-of-concept already established, we expect to achieve additional milestones in 2020, including the publication of additional in vivo base editing data and, provided the COVID-19 pandemic does not cause our timelines to slip materially, initiation of investigational new drug, or IND, enabling studies for at least one of our lead programs. We expect to submit an initial wave of IND filings from this portfolio, and we remain on track to file our first IND in 2021.

The modularity of our platform means that establishing preclinical proof-of-concept of base editing using a particular delivery modality will also potentially reduce risk and accelerate the timeline for additional product candidates that we may develop targeting the same tissue. In some cases, a new product candidate may only require changing the guide RNA. Subsequent programs using the same delivery modality can also take advantage of shared capabilities and resources of earlier programs. In this way, we view each delivery modality as its own unique pipeline, where the success of any one program may pave the way for a large number of additional programs to progress quickly to the clinic.

Ex vivo electroporation for hematologic diseases and oncology

Sickle Cell Disease and Beta-Thalassemia

Sickle cell disease, a severe inherited blood disease, is caused by a single point mutation, E6V, in the beta globin gene at the sixth amino acid. This mutation causes the mutated form of hemoglobin, or HbS, to aggregate into long, rigid molecules that bend red blood cells into a sickle shape under conditions of low oxygen. Sickled cells obstruct blood vessels and die prematurely, ultimately resulting in anemia, severe pain (crises), infections, stroke, organ failure, and early death. Sickle cell disease is the most common inherited blood disorder in the United States, affecting an estimated 100,000 individuals, of which a significant proportion are of African-American descent (1:365 births). Beta-thalassemia is another inherited blood disorder characterized by severe anemia caused by reduced production of functional hemoglobin due to insufficient expression of the beta globin protein. Transfusion-dependent beta-thalassemia, or TDBT, is the most severe form of this disease, often requiring multiple transfusions per year. Patients with TDBT suffer from failure to thrive, persistent infections, and life-threatening anemia. The incidence of symptomatic beta-thalassemia is estimated to be 1:100,000 worldwide, including 1:10,000 in Europe. In the United States, based on affected birth incidence of 0.7 in 100,000 births, and increasing survival rates, we expect the population of individuals affected by this disease to be more than 1,400 and rising. The only potentially curative therapy currently available for patients with sickle cell disease or beta-thalassemia is allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant, or HSCT; however, this procedure holds a high level of risk, particularly Graft-versus-Host Disease, or GvHD, resulting in a low number of patients opting for this treatment.

We are using base editing to pursue two complementary approaches to treating sickle cell disease and one to treat beta-thalassemia:

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a differentiated approach to activating fetal hemoglobin which could be used in treatments for both sickle cell disease and beta-thalassemia (BEAM-101); and

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a novel approach to directly correcting the sickle mutation (BEAM-102).

BEAM-101: Recreating naturally-occurring protective mutations to activate fetal hemoglobin

The beneficial effects of the fetal form of hemoglobin, or HbF, to compensate for mutations in adult hemoglobin were first identified in individuals with a condition known as HPFH. Individuals who carry mutations that would have typically caused them to be beta-thalassemia or sickle cell disease patients, but who also have HPFH, are asymptomatic or experience a much milder form of their disease. HPFH is caused by single base changes in the regulatory region of the genes, HBG1 and HBG2, which prevents binding of one or more repressor proteins and increases the expression of gamma globin, which forms part of the HbF tetramer.

Using base editing, we reproduce these specific, naturally occurring base changes in the regulatory elements of the gamma globin genes, preventing binding of repressor proteins and leading to re-activation of gamma globin expression, and thus the increase in gamma globin levels. Our in vitro and in vivo characterization of BEAM-101 using ex vivo delivery achieved precise and efficient editing of human CD34+ hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells, or HSPCs, resulting in long-term engraftment and therapeutically-relevant increases in target gene expression in mice.

In vitro characterization of BEAM-101:

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We demonstrated >90% editing in healthy donor CD34 cells in vitro.

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We demonstrated gamma globin upregulation following erythroid differentiation is highly correlated (R²=0.993) with editing rates, where at >90% editing we achieve >60% increase in gamma globin in healthy donor CD34+ cells.

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Successful editing of CD34+ cells from a homozygous sickle cell disease patient, demonstrating a greater than 60% increase in gamma globin levels with a concomitant decrease to less than 40% sickle beta globin levels in vitro after in vitro differentiation.

In vivo performance of BEAM-101:

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We demonstrated that edited CD34+ cells from a healthy human donor engraft with high chimerism and maintain >90% editing after 16 weeks in immunocompromised mice.

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We demonstrated after 16-week engraftment that base edited cells lead to successful multilineage reconstitution with >90% base editing achieved in sorted human HSPCs, myeloid, lymphoid and erythroid cells.

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We replicated these findings with cells from a second donor at 18 weeks post-engraftment.

BEAM-102: Direct correction of the sickle cell mutation

Our second base editing approach for sickle cell disease, BEAM-102, is a direct correction of the causative sickle mutation at position 6 of the beta globin gene. By making a single A-to-G edit, we have demonstrated in primary human CD34+ cells isolated from sickle cell disease patients the ability to create the naturally occurring Makassar variant of hemoglobin. This variant, which was originally identified in humans in 1970, has the same function as the wild-type variant and does not cause sickle cell disease. Distinct from other approaches, cells that are successfully edited in this way are fully corrected, no longer containing the sickle protein.

BEAM-102 uses ex vivo delivery of our adenine base editor, or ABE, to edit CD34+ HSPCs. In cells isolated from donors with sickle cell disease, we achieved greater than 80% correction of the sickle point mutation to the HbG-Makassar variant, following in vitro erythroid differentiation. As expected, we observed the simultaneous reduction of HbS to less than 20% of control levels. More than 70% of erythroid colonies derived from edited patient cells showed biallelic editing (yielding cells that no longer produce any sickle protein at all), 20% had monoallelic editing (with one sickle allele and one corrected allele, likely conferring a level of protection similar to patients with “sickle cell trait” who do not show significant symptoms of disease), and 2% were unedited. Further, the correction of the HbS protein to the HbG-Makassar variant was shown to significantly reduce the propensity of in vitro differentiated erythroid cells to sickle when subjected to hypoxia. These findings represent therapeutic levels of correction and support advancement of this program to potentially address the underlying genetic cause of sickle cell disease. Published modeling studies suggest that as little as 20% correction of HbS may be sufficient to cure the disease.

Ex vivo electroporation for multiplex editing of advanced cell therapies

CAR-T Cell Therapies in Immunology/Oncology

We believe base editing is an ideal tool to simultaneously multiplex edit many genes without unintended on-target effects, such as genomic rearrangements or activation of the p53 pathway, that can result from simultaneous editing with nucleases through the creation of double strand breaks. The ability to create a large number of multiplex edits in T cells could endow CAR-T cells and other

cell therapies with combinations of features that may dramatically enhance their therapeutic potential in treating hematological or solid tumors.

Proof-of-concept experiments have now demonstrated the ability of base editors to efficiently modify up to 8 genomic loci simultaneously in primary human T cells with efficiencies ranging from 85-95% as measured by flow cytometry of target protein knockdown. Importantly, these results are achieved without the generation of chromosomal rearrangements, as detected by a sensitive method (UDiTaS^TM) and with no loss of cell viability from editing. The proof-of-concept experiments have also demonstrated robust T cell killing of target tumor cells.

Our initial focus will be on hematologic malignancies, and we are developing allogeneic CAR-T product candidates that have four edits each. This multiplex editing will enable a high degree of engineering and functionality, including the following simultaneous edits:

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Prevent graft-vs-host. Elimination of the existing TCR to ensure that the CAR-T cell only attacks the CAR antigen on the tumor and not the patient’s healthy cells.

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Enable allogeneic cell source. Another edit to enable the use of healthy donor cells.

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Minimize interference by the tumor microenvironment. An additional edit to minimize exhaustion by the T cell and prolong efficacy for attacking the tumor.

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Prevent fratricide. Additional edits to eliminate antigens that are shared between malignant cells and CAR-T cells, to prevent fratricide (i.e., CAR-T cells attacking each other before they can attack the tumor).

The initial indications that we plan to target with these product candidates are relapsed, refractory, pediatric T-cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, or T-ALL, and pediatric Acute Myeloid Leukemia, or AML. We believe that our approach has the potential to produce higher response rates and deeper remissions than existing approaches.

Non-Viral delivery for liver diseases

Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency

Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency, or Alpha-1, is a severe inherited genetic disorder that can cause progressive lung and liver disease. The most severe form of ALPHA-1 arises when a patient has a point mutation in both copies of the SERPINA1 gene at amino acid 342 position (E342K, also known as the PiZ mutation or the “Z” allele). This point mutation causes alpha-1 antitrypsin, or AAT, to misfold, accumulating inside liver cells rather than being secreted, resulting in very low levels (10%-15%) of circulating AAT. As a consequence, the lung is left unprotected from neutrophil elastase, resulting in progressive, destructive changes in the lung, such as emphysema, which can result in the need for lung transplants. The mutant AAT protein also accumulates in the liver, causing liver inflammation and cirrhosis, which can ultimately cause liver failure or cancer and require patients to undergo a liver transplant. It is estimated that approximately 60,000 individuals in the United States have two copies of the Z allele. There are currently no curative treatments for patients with ALPHA-1.

With the high efficiency and precision of our base editors, we aim to utilize our ABEs to enable the programmable conversion of A-to-T and G-to-C base pairs and precisely correct the E342K point mutation back to the wild type sequence.

For a recent study, we engineered novel ABEs and guide RNAs capable of correcting the PiZ mutation, and then applied a proprietary non-viral lipid nanoparticle formulation to deliver the optimized reagents to the livers of a PiZ transgenic mouse model. This direct editing approach resulted in an average of 16.9% correction of beneficial alleles at 7 days and 28.8% at three months. This significant increase over the period suggests that corrected hepatocytes may have a proliferative advantage relative to uncorrected cells. In addition, treated mice demonstrate decreased alpha-1 antitrypsin, or A1AT, globule burden within the liver and a durable, significant increase in serum A1AT active protein at three months, roughly 4.9-fold higher than in controls, levels which we believe would be therapeutic if achieved in patients. These data indicate the potential for base editing as a one-time therapy to treat both lung and liver manifestations of Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency.

Glycogen Storage Disease 1a

Glycogen Storage Disease Type 1A, also known as Von Gierke disease, is an inborn disorder of glucose metabolism caused by mutations in the G6PC gene, which results in low blood glucose levels that can be fatal if patients do not adhere to a strict regimen of slow-release forms of glucose, administered every one to four hours (including overnight). There are no disease-modifying therapies available for patients with GSD1a.

Our approach to treating patients with glycogen storage disease 1a, or GSD1a, is to apply base editing via LNP delivery to repair the two most prevalent mutations that cause the disease, R83C and Q347X. It is estimated that these two-point mutations account for 900 and 500 patients, respectively, in the United States, representing approximately 59% of all GSD1a patients. Animal studies have shown that as little as 11% of normal G6Pase activity in liver cells is sufficient to restore fasting glucose; however, this level must be maintained in order to preserve glucose control and alleviate other serious, and potentially fatal, GSD1a sequelae

We have identified product candidates that can correct up to 80% of the alleles in cells harboring the Q347X point mutation and approximately 60% of the alleles in cells harboring the R83C mutation as shown in the figures below. Correction of at least 11% is expected to be clinically relevant and potentially disease modifying for GSD1a patients.

Viral delivery for ocular and CNS disorders

Stargardt Disease

Stargardt Disease is an inherited disorder of the central region of the retina, causing progressive vision loss typically beginning in adolescence and ultimately leading to central and night vision blindness. The most prevalent mutation in the ABCA4 gene that leads to Stargardt disease is the G1961E point mutation. Approximately 5,500 individuals in the United States are affected by this mutation. Our base editing approach is to repair the G1961E point mutation in the ABCA4 gene. Disease modeling using tiny spot stimuli, or light stimuli through holes that are equivalent in size to a single photoreceptor cell, suggests that only 12%-20% of these cells are sufficient to preserve vision. We anticipate, therefore, that editing percentages in the range of 12%-20% of these cells would be disease-modifying, since each edited cell will be fully corrected and protected from the biochemical defect.

Given that the base editor is larger than the packaging capacity of a single AAV, we use a split AAV system that delivers the base editor via two AAV vectors. Once inside the cell, the two halves of the editor are recombined to create a functional base editor. In a human retinal pigment epithelial cell line (ARPE-19 cells) in which we have knocked in the ABCA4 G1961E point mutation, we have demonstrated the precise correction of approximately 75% of the disease alleles at 5 weeks after dual infection with the split AAV system.

Collaborations

We believe our base editing technology has potential across a broad array of genetic diseases. To fully realize this potential, we have established and will continue to seek out innovative collaborations, licenses, and strategic alliances with pioneering companies and with leading academic and research institutions. Additionally, we have and will continue to pursue relationships that potentially allow us to accelerate our preclinical research and development efforts. These relationships will allow us to uphold our vision of maximizing the potential of base editing to provide life-long cures for patients suffering from serious diseases.

Ex vivo electroporation for hematologic diseases and oncology

Boston Children’s Hospital

In July 2020, we formed a strategic alliance with Boston Children’s Hospital. Under the terms of the agreement, we will sponsor research programs at Boston Children’s to facilitate development of disease-specific therapies using our proprietary base editing technology. Boston Children’s will also serve as a clinical site to advance bench-to-bedside translation of our pipeline across certain therapeutic areas of interest, including programs in sickle cell disease and pediatric leukemias and exploration of new programs targeting other diseases.

Magenta Therapeutics

In June 2020, we announced a non-exclusive research and clinical collaboration agreement with Magenta Therapeutics to evaluate the potential utility of MGTA-117, Magenta’s novel targeted ADC for conditioning of patients with sickle cell disease and beta-thalassemia receiving our base editing therapies. Conditioning is a critical component necessary to prepare a patient’s body to receive the edited cells, which carry the corrected gene and must engraft in the patient’s bone marrow in order to be effective. Today’s conditioning regimens rely on nonspecific chemotherapy or radiation, which are associated with significant toxicities. MGTA-117 precisely targets only hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells, sparing immune cells, and has shown high selectivity, potent efficacy, wide safety margins and broad tolerability in non-human primate models. MGTA-117 may be capable of clearing space in bone marrow to support long-term engraftment and rapid recovery in patients. Combining the precision of our base editing technology with the more targeted conditioning regimen enabled by MGTA-117 could further improve therapeutic outcomes for patients suffering from these severe diseases. We will be responsible for clinical trial costs related to development of our base editors when combined with MGTA-117, while Magenta will continue to be responsible for all other development costs of MGTA-117.

Non-Viral delivery for liver diseases

Verve Therapeutics

In April 2019, we entered into a collaboration and license agreement with Verve, a company focused on developing genetic medicines to safely edit the genome of adults to permanently lower LDL cholesterol and triglyceride levels and thereby treat coronary heart disease. This collaboration allows us to fully realize the potential of base editing in treating cardiovascular diseases, an area outside of our core focus where the Verve team has significant, world-class expertise. Under the terms of the agreement, Verve received exclusive access to our base editing technology, gene editing, and delivery technologies for human therapeutic applications against certain cardiovascular targets. In exchange, we received 2,556,322 shares of Verve common stock. Additionally, we will receive milestone payments for certain clinical and regulatory events and retains the option, after the completion of Phase 1 studies, to participate in future development and commercialization, and share 50 percent of U.S. profits and losses, for any product directed

against these targets. Verve granted to us a non-exclusive license under know-how and patents controlled by Verve, and an interest in joint collaboration technology. Either party may owe the other party other milestone payments for certain clinical and regulatory events related to the delivery technology products. Royalty payments may become due by either party to the other based on the net sales of any commercialized delivery technology products under the agreement.

In June 2020, Verve reported preclinical proof-of-concept data in non-human primates that demonstrated the successful use of adenine base editors to turn off a gene in the liver. Utilizing ABE technology licensed from us and an optimized guide RNA packaged in an engineered lipid nanoparticle, Verve evaluated in vivo liver base editing to turn off proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9), a gene whose protein product elevates blood LDL cholesterol or angiopoietin-like protein 3 (ANGPTL3), a gene whose protein product elevates blood triglyceride-rich lipoproteins. We believe these proof-of-concept data, which show we can safely edit the primate genome, represent the first successful application of the base editing technology in non-human primates

In two separate studies, seven animals were treated with the drug product targeting the PCSK9 gene and seven additional animals with the drug product targeting the ANGPTL3 gene. Whole liver editing, blood protein and lipid levels were measured at two weeks and compared to baseline. The program targeting PCSK9 showed an average of 67% whole liver PCSK9 editing, which translated into an 89% reduction in plasma PCSK9 protein and resulted in a 59% reduction in blood LDL cholesterol levels. The program targeting ANGPTL3 showed an average of 60% whole liver ANGPTL3 editing, which translated into a 95% reduction in plasma ANGPTL3 protein and resulted in a 64% reduction in blood triglyceride levels and 19% reduction in LDL cholesterol levels. In addition, in studies in primary human hepatocytes, clear evidence of on-target editing was observed with no evidence of off-target editing.

Per the terms of our agreement with Verve, we can exercise our right to participate in the future development and commercialization of any programs at the completion of Phase I studies.

Viral delivery for ophthalmology and CNS diseases

IOB

In July 2020, we announced a research collaboration with the Institute of Molecular and Clinical Ophthalmology Basel (IOB). Founded in 2018 by a consortium that includes Novartis, the University Hospital of Basel and the University of Basel, IOB is a leader in basic and translational research aimed at treating impaired vision and blindness. Clinical scientists at IOB have also helped to develop better ways to measure how vision is impacted by Stargardt disease. Additionally, researchers at IOB have developed living models of the retina, known as organoids, which can be used to test novel therapies. Under the terms of the agreement, the companies will leverage IOB’s unique expertise in the field of ophthalmology along with our novel base editing technology to advance programs directed to the treatment of certain ocular diseases, including Stargardt disease.

Manufacturing

To realize the full potential of base editors as a new class of medicines, we are building customized and integrated capabilities across discovery, manufacturing, and preclinical and clinical development. Due to the critical importance of high-quality manufacturing and control of production timing and know-how, we have taken steps toward establishing our own manufacturing facility, which will provide us the flexibility to manufacture numerous different drug product modalities. We believe this investment will maximize the value of our portfolio and capabilities, the probability of technical success of our programs, and the speed at which we can provide life-long cures to patients.

In August 2020, we entered into a lease agreement with Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. to build a 100,000 square foot current Good Manufacturing Practice, or cGMP, compliant manufacturing facility in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina intended to support a broad range of clinical programs. We will invest up to $83 million over a five-year period and anticipate that the facility will be operational by the first quarter of 2023. The project will be facilitated, in part, by a JDIG approved by the North Carolina Economic Investment Committee, which authorizes potential reimbursements based on new tax revenues generated through the project. The facility will be designed to support manufacturing for our ex vivo cell therapy programs in hematology and oncology and in vivo non-viral delivery programs for liver diseases, with flexibility to support manufacturing of our viral delivery programs, and ultimately, scale-up to support potential commercial supply.

For our initial waves of clinical programs, we will use contract manufacturing organizations, or CMOs, with relevant manufacturing experience in genetic medicines.

COVID-19

With the ongoing concern related to the COVID-19 pandemic, we have maintained and expanded the business continuity plans, implemented in the first six months of 2020, to address and mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our business. In March 2020, to protect the health of our employees, and their families and communities, we restricted access to our offices to personnel who performed critical activities that must be completed on-site, limited the number of such personnel that can be present at our facilities at any one time, and requested that most of our employees work remotely. In May 2020, as certain states eased restrictions, we established new protocols to better allow our full laboratory staff access to our facilities. These protocols included several shifts

working over a seven days week protocol. We expect to continue incurring additional costs to ensure we adhere to the guidelines instituted by the Centers for Disease Control and to provide a safe working environment to our onsite employees.

The extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic impacts our business, our corporate development objectives, results of operations and financial condition, including and the value of and market for our common stock, will depend on future developments that are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted with confidence at this time, such as the ultimate duration of the pandemic, travel restrictions, quarantines, social distancing and business closure requirements, and the effectiveness of actions taken globally to contain and treat the disease. Disruptions to the global economy, disruption of global healthcare systems, and other significant impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and growth prospects.

While the COVID-19 pandemic did not significantly impact our business or results of operations during the six months ended June 30, 2020, the length and extent of the pandemic, its consequences, and containment efforts will determine the future impact on our operations and financial condition.

Critical accounting policies and significant judgements

Our critical accounting policies are those policies which require the most significant judgments and estimates in the preparation of our condensed consolidated financial statements. We have determined that our most critical accounting policies are those relating to stock-based compensation, variable interest entities, fair value measurements, and leases. There have been no significant changes to our existing critical accounting policies discussed in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019.

Financial operations overview

General

We were incorporated on January 25, 2017 and commenced operations shortly thereafter. Since our inception, we have devoted substantially all of our resources to building our base editing platform and advancing development of our portfolio of programs, establishing and protecting our intellectual property, conducting research and development activities, organizing and staffing our company, business planning, raising capital and providing general and administrative support for these operations. To date, we have financed our operations primarily through the sales of our redeemable convertible preferred stock and proceeds from our IPO.

We are a development stage company, and all of our programs are at a preclinical stage of development. To date, we have not generated any revenue from product sales and do not expect to generate revenue from the sale of products for the foreseeable future. Since inception we have incurred significant operating losses. Our net losses for the six months ended June 30, 2020 and 2019 were $64.7 million and $31.5 million, respectively. As of June 30, 2020, we had an accumulated deficit of $267.7 million. We expect to continue to incur significant expenses and increasing operating losses in connection with ongoing development activities related to our portfolio of programs as we continue our preclinical development of product candidates; advance these product candidates toward clinical development; further develop our base editing platform; research activities as we seek to discover and develop additional product candidates; maintenance, expansion enforcement, defense, and protection of our intellectual property portfolio; and hiring research and development, clinical and commercial personnel. In addition, we expect to continue to incur additional costs associated with operating as a public company.

As a result of these anticipated expenditures, we will need additional financing to support our continuing operations and pursue our growth strategy. Until such time as we can generate significant revenue from product sales, if ever, we expect to finance our operations through a combination of equity offerings, debt financings, collaborations, strategic alliances, and licensing arrangements. We may be unable to raise additional funds or enter into such other agreements when needed on favorable terms or at all. Our inability to raise capital as and when needed would have a negative impact on our financial condition and our ability to pursue our business strategy. We can give no assurance that we will be able to secure such additional sources of funds to support our operations, or, if such funds are available to us, that such additional funding will be sufficient to meet our needs.

Research and development expenses

Research and development expenses consist of costs incurred in performing research and development activities, which include:

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the cost to obtain licenses to intellectual property, such as those with Harvard, Broad Institute, and Editas, and related future payments should certain success, development and regulatory milestones be achieved;

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personnel-related expenses, including salaries, bonuses, benefits and stock-based compensation for employees engaged in research and development functions;

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expenses incurred in connection with the discovery and preclinical development of our research programs, including under agreements with third parties, such as consultants, contractors and contract research organizations;

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the cost of developing and validating our manufacturing process for use in our preclinical studies and future clinical trials;

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laboratory supplies and research materials; and

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facilities, depreciation and other expenses which include direct and allocated expenses.

We expense research and development costs as incurred. Advance payments that we make for goods or services to be received in the future for use in research and development activities are recorded as prepaid expenses. The prepaid amounts are expensed as the benefits are consumed.

In the early phases of development, our research and development costs are often devoted to product platform and proof-of-concept studies that are not necessarily allocable to a specific target, therefore, we have not yet begun tracking our expenses on a program-by-program basis.

We expect that our research and development expenses will increase substantially in connection with our planned preclinical and future clinical development activities.

General and administrative expenses

General and administrative expenses consist primarily of salaries and other related costs, including stock-based compensation, for personnel in our executive, intellectual property, business development, finance, and administrative functions. General and administrative expenses also include legal fees relating to intellectual property and corporate matters, professional fees for accounting, auditing, tax and consulting services, insurance costs, travel, and direct and allocated facility related expenses and other operating costs.

We anticipate that our general and administrative expenses will increase in the future to support increased research and development activities. We also expect to incur increased costs associated with being a public company, including costs of accounting, audit, legal, regulatory and tax-related services associated with maintaining compliance with Nasdaq and SEC requirements, director and officer insurance costs, and investor and public relations costs.

Results of operations

Comparison of the three months ended June 30, 2020 and 2019

The following table summarizes our results of operations, together with the change in dollars (in thousands):

	Three Months Ended June 30,
	2020			2019			Change
License revenue	$	6		$	6		$	—
Operating expenses:
Research and development		19,354			12,680			6,674
General and administrative		6,937			4,977			1,960
Total operating expenses		26,291			17,657			8,634
Loss from operations		(26,285	)		(17,651	)		(8,634	)
Other income (expense):
Change in fair value of derivative liabilities		(8,700	)		(1,000	)		(7,700	)
Interest and other income, net		767			790			(23	)
Total other expense		(7,933	)		(210	)		(7,723	)
Net loss	$	(34,218	)	$	(17,861	)	$	(16,357	)

License revenue

License revenue was $6 thousand for the three months ended June 30, 2020 and 2019 representing Verve license revenue recorded under the Collaboration and License Agreement executed in April 2019.

Research and development expenses

Research and development expenses were $19.4 million and $12.7 million for the three months ended June 30, 2020 and 2019, respectively. The increase of $6.7 million was primarily due to the following:

•

Increases of $2.8 million in lab supplies and outsourced services, $1.9 million in personnel-related costs, and $1.3 million in facility-related costs, including depreciation. These increases were due to the growth in the number of research and development employees from 69 at June 30, 2019 to 127 at June 30, 2020, and their related activities, as well as the expense allocated to research and development related to our leased facilities.

•

An increase of $0.3 million in stock compensation from additional stock option awards due to the increase in the number of research and development employees as well as an increase in the value of our common stock.

Research and development expenses will continue to increase as we continue our current research programs, initiate new research programs, continue our preclinical development of product candidates, and conduct future clinical trials for any of our product candidates.

General and administrative expenses

General and administrative expenses were $6.9 million and $5.0 million for the three months ended June 30, 2020 and 2019, respectively. The increase of $2.0 million was primarily a result of a $0.8 million increase in insurance costs due to increased directors and officers insurance costs as a result of our February 2020 IPO, a $0.4 million increase in stock-based compensation due to an increase in the number of general and administrative employees from 18 employees as of June 30, 2019 to 24 employees as of June 30, 2020 as well as an increase in the value of our common stock, a $0.3 million increase in personnel related costs due to an increase in general and administrative employees, a $0.3 million increase in other administrative expenses, a $0.2 million increase in intellectual property costs, and a $0.1 million decrease in expense allocated to general and administrative expense related to our leased facilities, including depreciation.

Change in fair value of derivative liabilities

During the three months ended June 30, 2020, we recorded a $8.7 million expense related to the change in fair value of success payment liabilities as compared to a $1.0 million expense for the three months ended June 30, 2019, primarily as a result of the increase in the fair value of our common stock compared to the fair value of our Series A Preferred. The success payment obligations are still outstanding as of June 30, 2020 and will continue to be revalued at each reporting period.

Interest and other income

The decrease in interest and other income was primarily due to an increase in interest expense resulting from our equipment financing and a decrease in interest income driven by decreased market rates.

Comparison of the six months ended June 30, 2020 and 2019

The following table summarizes our results of operations, together with the change in dollars (in thousands):

	Six Months Ended June 30,
	2020			2019			Change
License revenue	$	12		$	6		$	6
Operating expenses:
Research and development		40,903			21,859			19,044
General and administrative		13,749			8,906			4,843
Total operating expenses		54,652			30,765			23,887
Loss from operations		(54,640	)		(30,759	)		(23,881	)
Other income (expense):
Change in fair value of derivative liabilities		(11,400	)		(2,000	)		(9,400	)
Interest and other income, net		1,364			1,288			76
Total other expense		(10,036	)		(712	)		(9,324	)
Net loss	$	(64,676	)	$	(31,471	)	$	(33,205	)

License revenue

License revenue was $12 thousand for the six months ended June 30, 2020 representing Verve license revenue recorded under the Collaboration and License Agreement executed in April 2019, compared to $6 thousand for six months ended June 30, 2019.

Research and development expenses

Research and development expenses were $40.9 million and $21.9 million for the six months ended June 30, 2020 and 2019, respectively. The increase of $19.0 million was primarily due to the following:

•

Increases of $8.0 million in lab supplies and outsourced services, $4.9 million in personnel-related costs, and $2.5 million in facility-related costs, including depreciation. These increases were due to the growth in the number of research and development employees from 69 at June 30, 2019 to 127 and June 30, 2020, and their related activities, as well as the expense allocated to research and development related to our leased facilities.

•

An increase of $1.6 million in stock compensation from additional stock option awards due to the increase in the number of research and development employees as well as an increase in the value of our common stock.

•

An increase of $1.9 million in milestone and license fees, primarily related to our agreement with Bio Palette. We recorded a $2.3 million milestone for the six months ended June 30, 2020 as the issuance of a certain patent in the United States became probable.

General and administrative expenses

General and administrative expenses were $13.7 million and $8.9 million for the six months ended June 30, 2020 and 2019, respectively. The increase of $4.8 million was primarily a result of a $1.3 million increase in insurance costs due to increased directors and officers insurance costs as a result of our February 2020 IPO, a $1.3 million increase in personnel related costs due to an increase in general and administrative employees from 18 employees as of June 30, 2019 to 24 employees as of June 30, 2020, a $1.0 million increase in stock-based compensation due to an increase in the number of general and administrative employees as well as an increase in the value of our common stock, a $0.7 million increase in other administrative expenses, and a $0.6 million increase in intellectual property costs.

Change in fair value of derivative liabilities

During the six months ended June 30, 2020, we recorded a $11.4 million expense related to the change in fair value of success payment liabilities as compared to a $2.0 million expense for the six months ended June 30, 2019, primarily as a result of the increase in the fair value of our common stock compared to the fair value of our Series A Preferred. The success payment obligations are still outstanding as of June 30, 2020 and will continue to be revalued at each reporting period.

Interest and other income

The increase in interest and other income was primarily due to the change in fair value of our corporate equity securities, which are accounted for as investments in equity securities, offset by an increase in interest expense resulting from our equipment financing.

Liquidity and capital resources

Since our inception in January 2017, we have incurred significant operating losses. We expect to incur significant expenses and operating losses for the foreseeable future as we advance the preclinical and, if successful, the clinical development of our programs. In February 2020, we completed our IPO in which we issued and sold 12,176,471 shares of our common stock, including 1,588,235 shares of common stock sold pursuant to the underwriters’ full exercise of their option to purchase additional shares, at a public offering price of $17.00 per share. We received net proceeds from our IPO of $188.3 million, after deducting underwriting discounts and estimated offering expenses payable by us. To date, we have funded our operations primarily with proceeds from the sales of Preferred Stock and through proceeds from our IPO. As of June 30, 2020, we had $228.0 million in cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities.

To date, we have not generated any revenue from product sales and do not expect to generate revenue from the sale of products for the foreseeable future. We anticipate the need for additional capital in order to continue to fund our research and development, including our plans for preclinical and clinical trials, and new product development, as well as to fund general operations. As and if necessary, we will seek to raise these additional funds through various potential sources, such as equity and debt financings or through corporate collaboration and license agreements. Especially in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, we can give no assurances that we will be able to secure such additional sources of funds to support our operations, or, if such funds are available to us, that such additional financing will be sufficient to meet our needs. For a more detailed discussion of risks related to COVID-19, please see Part II., Item 1A., Risk factors—Risks related to our relationships with third parties, in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q.

Cash flows

The following table summarizes our sources and uses of cash for the six months ended June 30, 2020 and 2019 (in thousands):

	Six Months Ended June 30,
	2020			2019
Net cash used in operating activities	$	(50,230	)	$	(37,211	)
Net cash used in investing activities		(53,924	)		(97,432	)
Net cash provided by financing activities		192,235			37,888
Net change in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash	$	88,081		$	(96,755	)

Operating activities

Net cash used in operating activities for the six months ended June 30, 2020 was $50.2 million, consisting primarily of our net loss of $64.7 million, an increase in prepaid expenses and other current assets of $4.2 million, and a decrease in operating lease liabilities of $1.8 million, offset by noncash charges consisting primarily of change in fair value of derivative liabilities of $11.4 million, stock-based compensation expense of $5.6 million, depreciation expense of $2.2 million, and change in operating lease ROU assets of $2.0 million.

Net cash used in operating activities for the six months ended June 30, 2019 was $37.2 million, consisting primarily of our net loss of $31.5 million, and a decrease in financing milestone liabilities of $13.8 million resulting from payment of these liabilities, offset by increases in accounts payable and accrued expenses of $3.0 million, and noncash charges consisting primarily of stock-based

compensation expense of $2.9 million, change in fair value of derivative liabilities of $2.0 million, and depreciation expense of $1.6 million.

Investing activities

For the six months ended June 30, 2020, cash used in investing activities was primarily the net purchases of marketable securities of $47.8 million, and purchases of property and equipment of $5.4 million.

For the six months ended June 30, 2019, cash used in investing activities was the net purchases of marketable securities of $88.5 million, and purchases of property and equipment of $8.9 million.

Financing activities

Net cash provided by financing activities for the six months ended June 30, 2020 consisted primarily of proceeds from our IPO of $192.5 million, net of underwriting discounts, and net proceeds of $1.6 million from equipment financing, and proceeds from the exercise of stock options of $0.5 million, offset by the payment of IPO costs of $1.7 million, and repayments of equipment financing liabilities of $0.7 million.

Net cash provided by financing activities for the six months ended June 30, 2019 consisted primarily of the net proceeds from the issuance of Series B Preferred Stock of $37.9 million.

Funding requirements

Our operating expenses are expected to increase substantially as we continue to advance our portfolio of programs.

Specifically, our expenses will increase if and as we:

•

continue our current research programs and our preclinical development of product candidates from our current research programs;

•

seek to identify additional research programs and additional product candidates;

•

initiate preclinical testing and clinical trials for any product candidates we identify and develop;

•

maintain, expand, enforce, defend, and protect our intellectual property portfolio and provide reimbursement of third-party expenses related to our patent portfolio;

•

seek marketing approvals for any of our product candidates that successfully complete clinical trials;

•

establish a sales, marketing, and distribution infrastructure to commercialize any medicines for which we may obtain marketing approval;

•

further develop our base editing platform;

•

hire additional personnel including research and development, clinical and commercial personnel;

•

add operational, financial, and management information systems and personnel, including personnel to support our product development;

•

acquire or in-license products, intellectual property, medicines and technologies;

•

build and maintain a commercial-scale current Good Manufacturing Practices manufacturing facility; and

•

continue to operate as a public company.

We expect that our cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities at June 30, 2020 will enable us to fund our current and planned operating expenses and capital expenditures for at least the next 12 months. We have based these estimates on assumptions that may prove to be imprecise, and we may exhaust our available capital resources sooner that we currently expect. Because of the numerous risks and uncertainties associated with the development our programs, we are unable to estimate the amounts of increased capital outlays and operating expenses associated with completing the research and development of our product candidates.

Our future funding requirements will depend on many factors including:

•

the cost of continuing to build our base editing platform;

•

the costs of acquiring licenses for the delivery modalities that will be used with our product candidates;

•

the scope, progress, results, and costs of discovery, preclinical development, laboratory testing, manufacturing and clinical trials for the product candidates we may develop;

•

the costs of preparing, filing, and prosecuting patent applications, maintaining and enforcing our intellectual property and proprietary rights, and defending intellectual property-related claims;

•

the costs, timing, and outcome of regulatory review of the product candidates we may develop;

•

the costs of future activities, including product sales, medical affairs, marketing, manufacturing, distribution, coverage and reimbursement for any product candidates for which we receive regulatory approval;

•

the success of our license agreements and our collaborations;

•

our ability to establish and maintain additional collaborations on favorable terms, if at all;

•

the achievement of milestones or occurrence of other developments that trigger payments under any additional collaboration agreements we obtain;

•

the extent to which we acquire or in-license products, intellectual property, and technologies; and

•

the costs of operating as a public company.

If we raise funds through additional collaborations, strategic alliances, or licensing arrangements with third parties, we may have to relinquish valuable rights to our technologies, future revenue streams, research programs, or product candidates, or we may have to grant licenses on terms that may not be favorable to us. If we are unable to raise additional 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. We can give no assurance that we will be able to secure such additional sources of funds to support our operations, or, if such funds are available to us, that such additional funding will be sufficient to meet our needs.

Contractual obligations

We enter into contracts in the normal course of business with contract research organizations and other vendors to assist in the performance of our research and development activities and other services and products for operating purposes. These contracts generally provide for termination on notice, and therefore are cancelable contracts and not included in the table of contractual obligations and commitments.

During the six months ended June 30, 2020, except for the minimum rental commitments disclosed in Note 7, Leases, to the condensed consolidated financial statements in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, there were no significant changes to our contractual obligations and commitments described under Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019.

Off-balance sheet arrangements

We did not have during the periods presented and we do not currently have any off-balance sheet arrangements, as defined under the applicable regulations of the SEC.

Item 3. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk.

We are exposed to market risk related to changes in interest rates. As of June 30, 2020, we had cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities of $228.0 million, which consisted of cash, money market funds, commercial paper and corporate notes. Our primary exposure to market risk is interest rate sensitivity, which is affected by changes in the general level of U.S. interest rates, particularly because our investments are in short-term marketable securities. Due to the short-term duration of our investment portfolio and the low risk profile of our investments, we believe an immediate 10% change in interest rates would not have a material effect on the fair market value of our investment portfolio. We have the ability to hold our investments until maturity, and therefore, we would not expect our operating results or cash flows to be affected to any significant degree by the effect of a change in market interest rates on our investment portfolio.

We are not currently exposed to significant market risk related to changes in foreign currency exchange rates; however, we do contract with vendors that are located outside of the United States and may be subject to fluctuations in foreign currency rates. We may enter into additional contracts with vendors located outside of the United States in the future, which may increase our foreign currency exchange risk.

Item 4. Controls and Procedures.

Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures

Our management, with the participation of our principal executive officer and our principal financial officer, evaluated, as of the end of the period covered by this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Exchange Act. The term “disclosure controls and procedures,” as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Exchange Act, means controls and other procedures of a company that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by a company in the reports that it files or submits under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported, within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms. Disclosure controls and procedures include, without limitation, controls and procedures designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by a company in the reports that it files or submits under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to the company’s management, including its principal executive and principal financial officers, or persons performing similar functions, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure. Management recognizes that any controls and procedures, no matter how well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable assurance of achieving their objectives and management necessarily applies its judgment in evaluating the cost-benefit relationship of possible controls and procedures.

Based on the evaluation of our disclosure controls and procedures as of June 30, 2020, our principal executive officer and principal financial officer concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures as of such date are effective at the reasonable assurance level.

Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting

We continuously seek to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of our internal controls. This results in refinements to processes throughout the company. There were no changes in our internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) under the Exchange Act) during the quarter ended June 30, 2020 that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting. We have not experienced any material impact in our internal controls over financial reporting despite our employees working remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We are continually monitoring and assessing the COVID-19 pandemic on our internal controls including changes to their design and operating effectiveness.

PART II. OTHER INFORMATION

Item 1. Legal Proceedings

We are not currently subject to any material legal proceedings.

Item 1A. Risk Factors.

You should carefully consider the risks and uncertainties described below together with all of the other information contained in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, including our condensed consolidated financial statements and related notes hereto, in evaluating our company. If any of the events or developments described below were to occur, our business, prospects, operating results and financial condition could suffer materially, the trading price of our common stock could decline. The risks and uncertainties described below are not the only ones we face. Additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to us or that we currently believe to be immaterial may also adversely affect our business.

Those risk factors below denoted with a “*” are newly added or have been materially updated from our Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC, on March 30, 2020 and our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended March 30, 2020 filed with the SEC on May 12, 2020.

Risks related to our financial position and need for additional capital

We have incurred significant losses since inception. We expect to incur losses for the foreseeable future and may never achieve or maintain profitability.

Since inception, we have incurred significant operating losses. Our net loss was $64.7 million for the six months ended June 30, 2020. As of June 30, 2020, we had an accumulated deficit of $267.7 million. We have financed our operations primarily through private placements of our preferred stock and proceeds from the sale of common stock in our IPO. We have devoted all of our efforts to research and development. We expect to continue to incur significant expenses and increasing operating losses for the foreseeable future. The net losses we incur may fluctuate significantly from quarter to quarter. We anticipate that our expenses will increase substantially if and as we:

•

continue our current research programs and our preclinical development of product candidates from our current research programs;

•

seek to identify additional research programs and additional product candidates;

•

initiate preclinical testing and clinical trials for any product candidates we identify and develop;

•

maintain, expand, enforce, defend and protect our intellectual property portfolio and provide reimbursement of third-party expenses related to our patent portfolio;

•

seek marketing approvals for any of our product candidates that successfully complete clinical trials;

•

establish a sales, marketing, and distribution infrastructure to commercialize any medicines for which we may obtain marketing approval;

•

further develop our base editing platform;

•

hire additional personnel, including research and development, clinical, and commercial personnel;

•

add operational, financial, and management information systems and personnel, including personnel to support our product development;

•

acquire or in-license products, intellectual property, medicines, and technologies;

•

build and maintain a commercial-scale cGMP manufacturing facility; and

•

continue to operate as a public company.

We have not initiated clinical development of any product candidate and expect that it will be many years, if ever, before we have a product candidate ready for commercialization. To become and remain profitable, we must develop and, either directly or through collaborators, eventually commercialize a medicine or medicines with significant market potential. This will require us to be successful in a range of challenging activities, including identifying product candidates, completing preclinical testing and clinical trials of product candidates, obtaining marketing approval for these product candidates, manufacturing, marketing, and selling those medicines for which we may obtain marketing approval, and satisfying any post-marketing requirements. We may never succeed in these activities and, even if we do, may never generate revenues that are significant or large enough to achieve profitability. We are currently only in the preclinical testing stages for all our research programs. Because of the numerous risks and uncertainties

associated with developing base editing product candidates, we are unable to predict the extent of any future losses or when we will become profitable, if at all. If we do achieve profitability, we may not be able to sustain or increase profitability on a quarterly or annual basis. Our failure to become and remain profitable would decrease the value of our company and could impair our ability to raise capital, maintain our research and development efforts, expand our business, or continue our operations.

We will need substantial additional funding. If we are unable to raise capital when needed, we would be forced to delay, reduce, or eliminate our research and product development programs or future commercialization efforts.

We expect our expenses to increase in connection with our ongoing activities, particularly as we identify, continue the research and development of, initiate clinical trials of, and seek marketing approval for, product candidates. In addition, if we obtain marketing approval for any product candidates we may develop, we expect to incur significant commercialization expenses related to product sales, marketing, manufacturing, and distribution to the extent that such sales, marketing, manufacturing, and distribution are not the responsibility of a collaborator. Furthermore, since the closing of our IPO, we have incurred and expect to continue 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 eliminate our research and product development programs or future commercialization efforts.

At June 30, 2020, our cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities were $228.0 million. We believe that our existing cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities will enable us to fund our operating expenses and capital expenditure requirements for at least the next 12 months. However, our operating plan may change as a result of factors currently unknown to us, and we may need to seek additional funding sooner than planned. Our future capital requirements will depend on many factors, including:

•

the cost of continuing to build our base editing platform;

•

the costs of acquiring licenses for the delivery modalities that will be used with our product candidates;

•

the scope, progress, results, and costs of discovery, preclinical development, laboratory testing, manufacturing, and clinical trials for the product candidates we may develop;

•

the costs of preparing, filing, and prosecuting patent applications, maintaining and enforcing our intellectual property and proprietary rights, and defending intellectual property-related claims;

•

the costs, timing, and outcome of regulatory review of the product candidates we may develop;

•

the success of our license agreements and our collaborations;

•

our ability to establish and maintain additional collaborations on favorable terms, if at all;

•

the achievement of milestones or occurrence of other developments that trigger payments under any additional collaboration agreements we obtain;

•

the extent to which we acquire or in-license products, intellectual property and technologies;

•

the costs of operating as a public company; and

•

the costs of obtaining, building and expanding manufacturing capacity.

Identifying potential product candidates and conducting preclinical testing and clinical trials is a time-consuming, expensive, and uncertain process that takes years to complete, and we may never generate the necessary data or results required to obtain marketing approval and achieve product sales. In addition, even if we successfully identify and develop product candidates and those are approved, we may not achieve commercial success. Our commercial revenues, if any, will be derived from sales of medicines that we do not expect to be commercially available for many years, if at all. Accordingly, we will need to continue to rely on additional financing to achieve our business objectives. Adequate additional financing may not be available to us on acceptable terms, or at all.

Any additional fundraising efforts may divert our management from their day-to-day activities, which may adversely affect our ability to develop and commercialize our product candidates. We cannot be certain that additional funding will be available on acceptable terms, or at all. We have no committed source of additional capital and, if we are unable to raise additional capital in sufficient amounts or on terms acceptable to us, we may have to significantly delay, scale back or discontinue the development or commercialization of our product candidates or other research and development initiatives. Our license agreements and any future collaboration agreements may also be terminated if we are unable to meet the payment or other obligations under the agreements. We could be required to seek collaborators for product candidates we may develop at an earlier stage than otherwise would be desirable or on terms that are less favorable than might otherwise be available or relinquish or license on unfavorable terms our rights to product candidates we may develop in markets where we otherwise would seek to pursue development or commercialization ourselves.

If we are unable to obtain funding on a timely basis, we may be required to significantly curtail, delay or discontinue one or more of our research or development programs or the commercialization of any product candidate, or be unable to expand our operations or otherwise capitalize on our business opportunities, as desired, which could materially affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. Any of the above events could significantly harm our business, prospects, financial condition and results of operations and cause the price of our common stock to decline.

Raising additional capital may cause dilution to our stockholders restrict our operations or require us to relinquish rights to our technologies or product candidates we may develop.

Until such time, if ever, as we can generate substantial product revenues, we expect to finance our cash needs through a combination of equity offerings, debt financings, collaborations, strategic alliances, and licensing arrangements. We do not have any committed external source of funds. To the extent that we raise additional capital through the sale of equity or convertible debt securities, your ownership interest will be diluted, and the terms of these securities may include liquidation or other preferences that adversely affect your rights as a common stockholder. Debt financing, if available, may involve agreements that include covenants limiting or restricting our ability to take specific actions, such as incurring additional debt, making capital expenditures, declaring dividends, and possibly other restrictions.

If we raise funds through additional collaborations, strategic alliances, or licensing arrangements with third parties, we may have to relinquish valuable rights to our technologies, future revenue streams, research programs, or product candidates we may develop, or we may have to 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.

Our short operating history may make it difficult for you to evaluate the success of our business to date and to assess our future viability.

We are an early-stage company. We were founded and commenced operations in January 2017. Our operations to date have been limited to organizing and staffing our company, business planning, raising capital, acquiring and developing our platform and technology, identifying potential product candidates, and undertaking preclinical studies. All of our research programs are still in the preclinical or research stage of development, and their risk of failure is high. We have not yet demonstrated an ability to initiate or successfully complete any clinical trials, including large-scale, pivotal clinical trials, obtain marketing approvals, manufacture a commercial-scale medicine, or arrange for a third party to do so on our behalf, or conduct sales and marketing activities necessary for successful commercialization. Typically, it takes about 10 to 15 years to develop a new medicine from the time it is discovered to when it is available for treating patients. Consequently, any predictions you make about our future success or viability may not be as accurate as they could be if we had a longer operating history.

Our limited operating history, particularly in light of the rapidly evolving base editing and gene editing field, may make it difficult to evaluate our technology and industry and predict our future performance. Our short history as an operating company makes any assessment of our future success or viability subject to significant uncertainty. We will encounter risks and difficulties frequently experienced by very early stage companies in rapidly evolving fields. If we do not address these risks successfully, our business will suffer.

In addition, as a new business, we may encounter other unforeseen expenses, difficulties, complications, delays, and other known and unknown factors. We will need to transition from a company with a research focus to a company capable of supporting commercial activities. We may not be successful in such a transition.

We have never generated revenue from product sales and may never become profitable.

Our ability to generate revenue from product sales and achieve profitability depends on our ability, alone or with collaborative partners, to successfully complete the development of, and obtain the regulatory approvals necessary to commercialize, product candidates we may identify for development. We do not anticipate generating revenues from product sales for the next several years, if ever. Our ability to generate future revenues from product sales depends heavily on our, or our collaborators’, ability to successfully:

•

identify product candidates and complete research and preclinical and clinical development of any product candidates we may identify;

•

seek and obtain regulatory and marketing approvals for any of our product candidates for which we complete clinical trials;

•

launch and commercialize any of our product candidates for which we obtain regulatory and marketing approval by establishing a sales force, marketing, and distribution infrastructure or, alternatively, collaborating with a commercialization partner;

•

qualify for adequate coverage and reimbursement by government and third-party payors for any of our product candidates for which we obtain regulatory and marketing approval;

•

develop, maintain, and enhance a sustainable, scalable, reproducible, and transferable manufacturing process for the product candidates we may develop;

•

manufacture materials in compliance with cGMP and establish the infrastructure necessary to support and develop large-scale manufacturing capabilities;

•

establish and maintain supply and manufacturing relationships with third parties that can provide adequate, in both amount and quality, products, and services to support clinical development and the market demand for any of our product candidates for which we obtain regulatory and marketing approval;

•

obtain market acceptance of any product candidates we may develop as viable treatment options;

•

address competing technological and market developments;

•

implement internal systems and infrastructure, as needed;

•

negotiate favorable terms in any collaboration, licensing, or other arrangements into which we may enter and performing our obligations in such collaborations;

•

maintain, protect, enforce, defend, and expand our portfolio of intellectual property rights, including patents, trade secrets, and know-how;

•

avoid and defend against third-party interference, infringement, and other intellectual property claims; and

•

attract, hire, and retain qualified personnel.

Even if one or more of the product candidates we may develop are approved for commercial sale, we anticipate incurring significant costs associated with commercializing any approved product candidate. Our expenses could increase beyond expectations if we are required by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or the FDA, the European Medicines Agency, or the EMA, or other regulatory authorities to perform clinical and other studies in addition to those that we currently anticipate. Even if we are able to generate revenues from the sale of any approved product candidates, we may not become profitable and may need to obtain additional funding to continue operations.

Even if we do achieve profitability, we may not be able to sustain or increase profitability on a quarterly or annual basis. Our failure to become and remain profitable would decrease the value of our company and could impair our ability to raise capital, maintain our research and development efforts, expand our business or continue our operations.

Our future ability to utilize our net operating loss carryforwards and certain other tax attributes may be limited.

We have incurred substantial losses during our history, and we may never achieve profitability. To the extent that we continue to generate taxable losses, unused losses will carry forward to offset a portion of future taxable income, if any, subject to expiration of such carryforwards in the case of carryforwards generated prior to 2018. Additionally, we continue to generate business tax credits, including research and development tax credits, which generally may be carried forward to offset a portion of future taxable income, if any, subject to expiration of such credit carryforwards. In addition, under Sections 382 and 383 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, or the Code, if a corporation undergoes an “ownership change,” generally defined as one or more shareholders or groups of shareholders who own at least 5% of the corporation’s equity increasing their ownership in the aggregate by a greater than 50 percentage point change (by value) in its equity ownership over a three-year period, the corporation’s ability to use its pre-change net operating loss carryforwards, or NOLs, and other pre-change tax attributes (such as research and development tax credits) to offset its post-change income or taxes may be limited. Our prior equity offerings and other changes in our stock ownership may have resulted in such ownership changes. In addition, we may experience ownership changes in the future as a result shifts in our stock ownership, some of which are outside of our control. As a result, if we earn net taxable income, our ability to use our pre-change NOLs or other pre-change tax attributes to offset U.S. federal taxable income may be subject to limitations, which could potentially result in increased future tax liability to us. Additional limitations on our ability to utilize our NOLs to offset future taxable income may arise as a result of our corporate structure whereby NOLs generated by certain of our subsidiaries or controlled entities may not be available to offset taxable income earned by our subsidiaries or other controlled entities. In addition, under legislation commonly referred to as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, or the Tax Act, the amount of post-2017 NOLs that we are permitted to deduct in any taxable year is limited to 80% of our taxable income in such year. The Tax Act generally eliminates the ability to carry back any NOLs to prior taxable years, while allowing post-2017 unused NOLs to be carried forward indefinitely. There is a risk that due to changes under the Tax Act, regulatory changes, or other unforeseen reasons, our existing NOLs or business tax credits could expire or otherwise be unavailable to offset future income tax liabilities. At the state level, there may also be periods during which the use of NOLs or business tax credits is suspended or otherwise limited, which could accelerate or permanently increase state taxes owed. For these reasons, we may not be able to realize a tax benefit from the use of our NOLs or tax credits, even if we attain profitability.

Comprehensive tax reform legislation could adversely affect our business and financial condition.

On December 22, 2017, the Tax Act was signed into law. The Tax Act, among other things, contains significant changes to corporate taxation, including (i) reduction of the corporate tax rate from a top marginal rate of 35% to a flat rate of 21%, (ii) limitation of the tax deduction for interest expense to 30% of adjusted earnings (except for certain small businesses), (iii) limitation of the deduction for NOLs to 80% of current year taxable income in respect of NOLs generated during or after 2018 and elimination of NOL carrybacks, (iv) immediate deductions for certain new investments instead of deductions for depreciation expense over time, and (v) modifying or repealing many business deductions and credits. Any federal NOL incurred in 2018 and in future years may now be carried forward indefinitely pursuant to the Tax Act. Similar rules and limitations may apply for state income tax proposes.

Risks related to discovery, development, and commercialization

Base editing is a novel technology that is not yet clinically validated for human therapeutic use. The approaches we are taking to discover and develop novel therapeutics are unproven and may never lead to marketable products.

We are focused on developing potentially curative medicines utilizing base editing technology. Although there have been significant advances in the field of gene therapy, which typically involves introducing a copy of a gene into a patient’s cell, and gene editing in recent years, base editing technologies are new and largely unproven. The technologies that we have licensed and that we intend to develop and intend to license have not yet been clinically tested, nor are we aware of any clinical trials for safety or efficacy having been completed by third parties using our base editing or similar technologies. The scientific evidence to support the feasibility of developing product candidates based on these technologies is both preliminary and limited, and base editing and delivery modalities for it are novel. Successful development of product candidates by us will require solving a number of issues, including safely delivering a therapeutic into target cells within the human body or in an ex vivo setting, optimizing the efficiency and specificity of such product candidates, and ensuring the therapeutic selectivity of such product candidates. There can be no assurance we will be successful in solving any or all of these issues.

We have concentrated our research efforts to date on preclinical work to bring therapeutics to the clinic for our initial indications, and our future success is highly dependent on the successful development of base editing technologies, cellular delivery methods and therapeutic applications of that technology. While some of the existing gene editing technologies have progressed to clinical trials, they continue to suffer from various limitations, and such limitations may affect our future success. We may decide to alter or abandon our initial programs as new data become available and we gain experience in developing base editing therapeutics. We cannot be sure that our technologies will yield satisfactory products that are safe and effective, scalable or profitable in our initial indications or any other indication we pursue.

Development activities in the field of base editing are currently subject to a number of risks related to the ownership and use of certain intellectual property rights that are subject to patent interference proceedings in the United States and opposition proceedings in Europe. For additional information regarding the risks that may apply to our and our licensors’ intellectual property rights, see the section entitled “—Risks related to our intellectual property” for more information.

We may not be successful in our efforts to identify and develop potential product candidates. If these efforts are unsuccessful, we may never become a commercial stage company or generate any revenues.

The success of our business depends primarily upon our ability to identify, develop, and commercialize product candidates based on our gene editing platform. All of our product development programs are still in the research or preclinical stage of development. Our research programs may fail to identify potential product candidates for clinical development for a number of reasons. Our research methodology may be unsuccessful in identifying potential product candidates, our potential product candidates may be shown to have harmful side effects in preclinical in vitro experiments or animal model studies, they may not show promising signals of therapeutic effect in such experiments or studies or they may have other characteristics that may make the product candidates impractical to manufacture, unmarketable, or unlikely to receive marketing approval.

In addition, although we believe base editing will position us to rapidly expand our portfolio of product candidates beyond our current product candidates we may develop after only minimal changes to the product candidate construct, we have not yet successfully developed any product candidate and our ability to expand our portfolio may never materialize.

If any of these events occur, we may be forced to abandon our research or development efforts for a program or programs, which would have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects. Research programs to identify new product candidates require substantial technical, financial, and human resources. We may focus our efforts and resources on potential programs or product candidates that ultimately prove to be unsuccessful, which would be costly and time-consuming.

The gene editing field is relatively new and is evolving rapidly. We are focusing our research and development efforts on gene editing using base editing technology, but other gene editing technologies may be discovered that provide significant advantages over base editing, which could materially harm our business.

To date, we have focused our efforts on gene editing technologies using base editing. Other companies have previously undertaken research and development of gene editing technologies using zinc finger nucleases, engineered meganucleases, and transcription

activator-like effector nucleases, or TALENs, but to date none has obtained marketing approval for a product candidate. There can be no certainty that base editing technology will lead to the development of genetic medicines or that other gene editing technologies will not be considered better or more attractive for the development of medicines. For example, Feng Zhang’s group at MIT and Broad Institute, and, separately, Samuel Sternberg’s group at Columbia University announced the discovery of the use of transposons, or jumping genes, in June 2019. Transposons can insert themselves into different places in the genome and can be programmed to carry specific DNA sequences to specific sites, without the need for making double-stranded breaks in DNA. In addition, one of our founders, David Liu, and his group at Broad Institute developed a novel gene editing technology. We have secured an exclusive license from Prime Medicine, a company founded by David Liu, to pursue this new technology in certain fields and for certain applications similar to those we are already pursuing with base editing. Our license does not cover all fields and applications of this new technology for gene editing and Prime Medicine retains broad rights to use this technology outside of the fields licensed to us. It is possible that this gene editing technology developed by David Liu’s group is competitive with our business, and it is also possible that such gene editing technology may potentially be considered more attractive than base editing. Therefore, Prime Medicine may pursue this technology in other fields and for other applications and may develop competing products using such technology. David Liu recently reported results from his lab related to base editing in mitochondria; this is accomplished by splitting the deaminase into two halves, which are reassembled at the desired regions of the mitochondrial DNA. This new technology could be used to treat mitochondrial diseases. Our current technology cannot edit within the mitochondria. In addition, Geoffrey von Maltzahn and others recently launched a company called Tessera Therapeutics, which is focused on a technology they call “Gene Writing.” This technology, which utilizes mobile genetic elements, can alter the genome by inserting genes and exons, introducing small insertions and deletions, or by changing single or multiple DNA base pairs. Similarly, another new gene editing technology that has not been discovered yet may be determined to be more attractive than base editing. Moreover, if we decide to develop gene editing technologies other than those involving base editing, we cannot be certain we will be able to obtain rights to such technologies. Although all of our founders who currently provide consulting and advisory services to us in the area of base editing technologies have assignment of inventions obligations to us with respect to the services they perform for us, these assignment of inventions obligations are subject to limitations and do not extend to their work in other fields or to the intellectual property arising from their employment with their respective academic and research institutions. To obtain intellectual property rights assigned by these founders to such institutions, we would need to enter into license agreements with such institutions, which may not be available on commercially reasonable terms or at all. Further, while our three founders have non-competition clauses in their respective consulting agreements, the non-competition obligation is limited to the field of base editing for human therapeutics, and our founders have developed and may in the future develop new technologies that are outside of the field of their non-competition obligations but may be competitive to our business. For example, as discussed above, David Liu and his group at Broad Institute have developed novel gene editing technology outside of the field of his non-competition obligations that may be used to develop products that compete with our business. Any of these factors could reduce or eliminate our commercial opportunity, and could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects.

We are very early in our development efforts. All of our product candidates are still in preclinical development or earlier stages and it will be many years before we or our collaborators commercialize a product candidate, if ever. If we are unable to advance our product candidates to clinical development, obtain regulatory approval and ultimately commercialize our product candidates, or experience significant delays in doing so, our business will be materially harmed.

We are very early in our development efforts and have focused our research and development efforts to date on base editing technology, identifying our initial targeted disease indications and our initial product candidates. We have not yet achieved preclinical proof of concept in vivo for the majority of our programs and there is no guarantee that we will achieve it for these programs. Our future success depends heavily on the successful development of our base editing product candidates. Currently, all of our product candidates are in preclinical development or in discovery. We have invested substantially all of our efforts and financial resources in building our base editing platform, and the identification and preclinical development of our current product candidates. Our ability to generate product revenue, which we do not expect will occur for many years, if ever, will depend heavily on the successful development and eventual commercialization of our product candidates, which may never occur. We currently generate no revenue from sales of any product, and we may never be able to develop or commercialize a marketable product.

Commencing clinical trials in the United States is also subject to acceptance by the FDA of our Investigational New Drug application, or IND, and finalizing the trial design based on discussions with the FDA and other regulatory authorities. In the event that the FDA requires us to complete additional preclinical studies or we are required to satisfy other FDA requests, the start of our first clinical trials may be delayed. Even after we receive and incorporate guidance from these regulatory authorities, the FDA or other regulatory authorities could disagree that we have satisfied their requirements to commence our clinical trial or change their position on the acceptability of our data, trial design or the clinical endpoints selected, which may require us to complete additional preclinical studies or clinical trials or impose stricter requirements for approval than we currently expect. There are equivalent processes and risks applicable to clinical trial applications in other countries, including in Europe.

Commercialization of our product candidates we may develop will require additional preclinical and clinical development; regulatory and marketing approval in multiple jurisdictions, including by the FDA and the EMA; obtaining manufacturing supply, capacity and

expertise; building of a commercial organization; and significant marketing efforts. The success of product candidates we may identify and develop will depend on many factors, including the following:

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sufficiency of our financial and other resources to complete the necessary preclinical studies, IND-enabling studies, and clinical trials;

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regulator acceptance of IND applications or comparable foreign applications that allow commencement of our planned clinical trials or future clinical trials for our product candidates;

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successful enrollment in, and completion of, clinical trials;

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receipt of marketing approvals from applicable regulatory authorities;

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establishment of arrangements with third-party manufacturers for clinical supply and commercial manufacturing and, where applicable, commercial manufacturing capabilities;

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successful development of our internal manufacturing processes and transfer to larger-scale facilities operated by either a CMO, or by us;

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obtaining and maintaining patent, trade secret, and other intellectual property protection and non-patent exclusivity for our medicines;

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launching commercial sales of the medicines, if and when approved, whether alone or in collaboration with others;

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acceptance of the products, if and when approved, by patients, the medical community, and third-party payors;

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effectively competing with other therapies and treatment options;

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a continued acceptable safety profile of the medicines following approval;

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enforcing and defending intellectual property and proprietary rights and claims; and

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supplying the product at a price that is acceptable to the pricing or reimbursement authorities in different countries.

If we do not successfully achieve one or more of these activities in a timely manner or at all, we could experience significant delays or an inability to successfully commercialize any product candidates we may develop, which would materially harm our business. If we do not receive regulatory approvals for our product candidates, we may not be able to continue our operations.

If any of the product candidates we may develop, or the delivery modes we rely on to administer them, cause serious adverse events, undesirable side effects, or unexpected characteristics, such events, side effects or characteristics could delay or prevent regulatory approval of the product candidates, limit the commercial potential, or result in significant negative consequences following any potential marketing approval.

We have not evaluated any product candidates in human clinical trials. Moreover, there have been only a limited number of clinical trials involving the use of gene editing technologies and none involving base editing technology similar to our technology. It is impossible to predict when or if any product candidates we may develop will prove safe in humans. In the genetic medicine field, there have been several significant adverse events from gene therapy treatments in the past, including reported cases of leukemia and death. There can be no assurance that base editing technologies will not cause undesirable side effects, as improper editing of a patient’s DNA could lead to lymphoma, leukemia, or other cancers, or other aberrantly functioning cells.

A significant risk in any base editing product candidate is that “off-target” edits may occur, which could cause serious adverse events, undesirable side effects or unexpected characteristics. For example, Erwei Zuo et al. reported that cytosine base editors generated substantial off-target edits, that is, edits in unintended locations on the DNA, when tested in mouse embryos. Such unintended edits are referred to as “spurious deamination.” We cannot be certain that off-target editing will not occur in any of our planned or future clinical studies, and the lack of observed side effects in preclinical studies does not guarantee that such side effects will not occur in human clinical studies. There is also the potential risk of delayed adverse events following exposure to base editing therapy due to the permanence of edits to DNA or due to other components of product candidates used to carry the genetic material. Further, because base editing makes a permanent change, the therapy cannot be withdrawn, even after a side effect is observed. In addition, Rees et al. and Grunewald et al. have reported that the deaminases we currently use in our C base editors and our A base editors for use in DNA base editing also cause unintended mutations in RNA for as long as the editor is present in the cell.

Although we and others have demonstrated the ability to engineer base editors to improve the specificity of their edits in a laboratory setting, we cannot be sure that our engineering efforts will be effective in any product candidates that we may develop. For example, we might not be able to engineer an editor to make the desired change or a by-stander edit could diminish the effectiveness of an edit that we make.

In certain of our programs, we plan to use lipid nanoparticles, or LNPs, to deliver our base editors. LNPs have been shown to induce oxidative stress in the liver at certain doses, as well as initiate systemic inflammatory responses that can be fatal in some cases. While we aim to continue to optimize our LNPs, there can be no assurance that our LNPs will not have undesired effects. Our LNPs could contribute, in whole or in part, to one or more of the following: immune reactions, infusion reactions, complement reactions, opsonization reactions, antibody reactions including IgA, IgM, IgE or IgG or some combination thereof, or reactions to the PEG from some lipids or PEG otherwise associated with the LNP. Certain aspects of our investigational medicines may induce immune reactions from either the mRNA or the lipid as well as adverse reactions within liver pathways or degradation of the mRNA or the LNP, any of which could lead to significant adverse events in one or more of our future clinical trials. Many of these types of side effects have been seen for legacy LNPs. There may be uncertainty as to the underlying cause of any such adverse event, which would make it difficult to accurately predict side effects in future clinical trials and would result in significant delays in our programs.

Our viral vectors including AAV or lentiviruses, which are relatively new approaches used for disease treatment, also have known side effects, and for which additional risks could develop in the future. In past clinical trials that were conducted by others with non-AAV vectors, several significant side effects were caused by gene therapy treatments, including reported cases of leukemia and death. Other potential side effects could include an immunologic reaction and insertional oncogenesis, which is the process whereby the insertion of a functional gene near a gene that is important in cell growth or division results in uncontrolled cell division, which could potentially enhance the risk of malignant transformation. If the vectors we use demonstrate a similar side effect, or other adverse events, we may be required to halt or delay further clinical development of any potential product candidates. Furthermore, the FDA has stated that lentiviral vectors possess characteristics that may pose high risks of delayed adverse events. Such delayed adverse events may occur in other viral vectors, including AAV vectors, at a lower rate.

In addition to side effects and adverse events caused by our product candidates, the conditioning administration process or related procedures which may be used in our electroporation pipeline also can cause adverse side effects and adverse events. Additionally, we have and may continue to collaborate with third parties to develop alternative conditioning regimes. We cannot predict if alternative conditioning regimes will be compatible with our product candidates. If in the future we are unable to demonstrate that such adverse events were caused by the conditioning regimens used, or administration process or related procedure, the FDA, the European Commission, EMA or other regulatory authorities could order us to cease further development of, or deny or limit approval of, our product candidates for any or all target indications. Even if we are able to demonstrate that adverse events are not related to the drug product or the administration of such drug product, such occurrences could affect patient recruitment, the ability of enrolled patients to complete the clinical trial, or the commercial viability of any product candidates that obtain regulatory approval.

If any product candidates we develop are associated with serious adverse events, undesirable side effects, or unexpected characteristics, we may need to abandon their development or limit development to certain uses or subpopulations in which the serious adverse events, undesirable side effects or other characteristics are less prevalent, less severe, or more acceptable from a risk-benefit perspective, any of which would have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects. Many product candidates that initially showed promise in early stage testing for treating cancer or other diseases have later been found to cause side effects that prevented further clinical development of the product candidates.

If in the future we are unable to demonstrate that any of the above adverse events were caused by factors other than our product candidate, the FDA, the EMA or other regulatory authorities could order us to cease further development of, or deny approval of, any product candidates we are able to develop for any or all targeted indications. Even if we are able to demonstrate that all future serious adverse events are not product-related, such occurrences could affect patient recruitment or the ability of enrolled patients to complete the trial. Moreover, if we elect, or are required, to delay, suspend or terminate any clinical trial of any product candidate we may develop, the commercial prospects of such product candidates may be harmed and our ability to generate product revenues from any of these product candidates may be delayed or eliminated. Any of these occurrences may harm our ability to identify and develop product candidates, and may harm our business, financial condition, result of operations, and prospects significantly.

Additionally, if we successfully develop a product candidate and it receives marketing approval, the FDA could require us to adopt a Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy, or REMS, to ensure that the benefits of treatment with such product candidate outweighs the risks for each potential patient, which may include, among other things, a medication guide outlining the risks of the product for distribution to patients, a communication plan to health care practitioners, extensive patient monitoring, or distribution systems and processes that are highly controlled, restrictive, and more costly than what is typical for the industry. Furthermore, if we or others later identify undesirable side effects caused by any product candidate that we develop, several potentially significant negative consequences could result, including:

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regulatory authorities may suspend or withdraw approvals of such product candidate;

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regulatory authorities may require additional warnings on the label or limit the approved use of such product candidate;

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we may be required to conduct additional clinical trials;

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we could be sued and held liable for harm caused to patients; and

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our reputation may suffer.

Any of these events could prevent us from achieving or maintaining market acceptance of any product candidates we may identify and develop and could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

We have not tested any of our proposed delivery modalities and product candidates in clinical trials and any favorable preclinical results are not predictive of results that may be observed in clinical trials.

We have not tested any of our proposed delivery modalities in clinical trials. For example, we intend to use novel split intein technology for AAV gene therapy that allows us to deliver the base editor and guide RNA construct by co-infection with two viruses, where each virus contains one half of the editor. The scientific evidence to support the feasibility of developing product candidates based on this technology is both preliminary and limited. We also intend to use LNPs to deliver some of our base editors. While LNPs have been used to deliver smaller molecules, such as RNAi, they have not been clinically proven to deliver larger RNA molecules, such as the ones we intend to use for our base editors. Furthermore, as with many AAV-mediated gene therapy approaches, certain patients’ immune systems might prohibit the successful delivery, thereby potentially limiting treatment outcomes of these patients. Even if initial clinical trials in any of our product candidates we may develop are successful, these product candidates we may develop may fail to show the desired safety and efficacy in later stages of clinical development despite having successfully advanced through preclinical studies and initial clinical trials.

There is a high failure rate for drugs and biologics proceeding through clinical trials. A number of companies in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries have suffered significant setbacks in later stage clinical trials even after achieving promising results in earlier stage clinical trials. Data obtained from preclinical and clinical activities are subject to varying interpretations, which may delay, limit, or prevent regulatory approval. In addition, regulatory delays or rejections may be encountered as a result of many factors, including changes in regulatory policy during the period of product development.

Any such adverse events may cause us to delay, limit, or terminate planned clinical trials, any of which would have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects.

In addition, the results of preclinical studies may not be predictive of the results of later-stage preclinical studies or clinical trials. To date, we have not generated preclinical or clinical trial results. If we generate preclinical results, such results will not ensure that later preclinical studies or clinical trials will demonstrate similar results. Moreover, preclinical and clinical data are often susceptible to varying interpretations and analyses, and many companies that have believed their product candidates performed satisfactorily in preclinical studies and clinical trials have nonetheless failed to obtain marketing approval of their product candidates.

We may expend our limited resources to pursue a particular product candidate or indication and fail to capitalize on product candidates or indications that may be more profitable or for which there is a greater likelihood of success.

Because we have limited financial and managerial resources, we focus on research programs and product candidates that we identify for specific indications among many potential options. As a result, we may forego or delay pursuit of opportunities with other product candidates or for other indications that later prove to have greater commercial potential. Our resource allocation decisions may cause us to fail to capitalize on viable commercial products or profitable market opportunities. Our spending on current and future research and development programs and product candidates for specific indications may not yield any commercially viable medicines. If we do not accurately evaluate the commercial potential or target market for a particular product candidate, we may relinquish valuable rights to that product candidate through collaboration, licensing, or other royalty arrangements in cases in which it would have been more advantageous for us to retain sole development and commercialization rights to such product candidate. Any such event could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects.

Even if we complete the necessary clinical trials, we cannot predict when, or if, we will obtain regulatory approval to commercialize a product candidate we may develop in the United States or any other jurisdiction, and any such approval may be for a more narrow indication than we seek.

We cannot commercialize a product candidate until the appropriate regulatory authorities have reviewed and approved the product candidate. Even if any product candidates we may develop meet their safety and efficacy endpoints in clinical trials, the regulatory authorities may not complete their review processes in a timely manner, or we may not be able to obtain regulatory approval. Additional delays may result if an FDA Advisory Committee or other regulatory authority recommends non-approval or restrictions on approval. In addition, we may experience delays or rejections based upon additional government regulation from future legislation or administrative action, or changes in regulatory authority policy during the period of product development, clinical trials, and the review process.

Regulatory authorities also may approve a product candidate for more limited indications than requested or they may impose significant limitations in the form of narrow indications, warnings or a REMS. These regulatory authorities may require labeling that includes precautions or contra-indications with respect to conditions of use, or they may grant approval subject to the performance of costly post-marketing clinical trials. In addition, regulatory authorities may not approve the labeling claims that are necessary or desirable for the successful commercialization of any product candidates we may develop. Any of the foregoing scenarios could materially harm the commercial prospects for any product candidates we may develop and materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects.

Marketing approval by the FDA in the United States, if obtained, does not ensure approval by regulatory authorities in other countries or jurisdictions. In addition, clinical trials conducted in one country may not be accepted by regulatory authorities in other countries, and regulatory approval in one country does not guarantee regulatory approval in any other country. Approval processes vary among countries and can involve additional product candidate testing and validation and additional administrative review periods. Seeking foreign regulatory approval could result in difficulties and costs for us and require additional preclinical studies or clinical trials which could be costly and time-consuming. Regulatory requirements can vary widely from country to country and could delay or prevent the introduction of our product candidates we may develop in those countries. The foreign regulatory approval process involves all of the risks associated with FDA approval. We do not have any product candidates approved for sale in any jurisdiction, including international markets, and we do not have experience in obtaining regulatory approval in international markets. If we fail to comply with regulatory requirements in international markets or to obtain and maintain required approvals, or if regulatory approvals in international markets are delayed, our target market will be reduced and our ability to realize the full market potential of our product candidates will be unrealized.

Even if any product candidates we may develop receive marketing approval, they may fail to achieve the degree of market acceptance by physicians, patients, healthcare payors, and others in the medical community necessary for commercial success.

The commercial success of any of our product candidates we may develop will depend upon its degree of market acceptance by physicians, patients, third-party payors, and others in the medical community. Ethical, social, and legal concerns about genetic medicines generally and base editing technologies specifically could result in additional regulations restricting or prohibiting the marketing of our product candidates we may develop. Even if any product candidates we may develop receive marketing approval, they may nonetheless fail to gain sufficient market acceptance by physicians, patients, healthcare payors, and others in the medical community. The degree of market acceptance of any product candidates we may develop, if approved for commercial sale, will depend on a number of factors, including:

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the efficacy and safety of such product candidates as demonstrated in clinical trials;

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the potential and perceived advantages compared to alternative treatments;

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the limitation to our targeted patient population and limitations or warnings contained in approved labeling by the FDA or other regulatory authorities;

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the ability to offer our medicines for sale at competitive prices;

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convenience and ease of administration compared to alternative treatments;

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the clinical indications for which the product candidate is approved by the FDA, the EMA, or other regulatory agencies;

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public attitudes regarding genetic medicine generally and gene editing and base editing technologies specifically;

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the willingness of the target patient population to try novel therapies and of physicians to prescribe these therapies, as well as their willingness to accept a therapeutic intervention that involves the editing of the patient’s gene;

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product labeling or product insert requirements of the FDA, the EMA, or other regulatory authorities, including any limitations or warnings contained in a product’s approved labeling;

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relative convenience and ease of administration;

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the timing of market introduction of competitive products;

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publicity concerning our products or competing products and treatments;

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the strength of marketing and distribution support;

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sufficient third-party coverage or reimbursement; and

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the prevalence and severity of any side effects.

Even if any of our product candidates we may develop are approved, such products may not achieve an adequate level of acceptance, we may not generate significant product revenues, and we may not become profitable.

If, in the future, we are unable to establish sales and marketing capabilities or enter into agreements with third parties to sell and market any product candidates we may develop, we may not be successful in commercializing those product candidates if and when they are approved.

We do not have a sales or marketing infrastructure and have limited experience in the sale, marketing, or distribution of pharmaceutical products. To achieve commercial success for any approved medicine for which we retain sales and marketing responsibilities, we must either develop a sales and marketing organization or outsource these functions to third parties. In the future,

we may choose to build a focused sales, marketing, and commercial support infrastructure to sell, or participate in sales activities with our collaborators for, some of our product candidates we may develop if and when they are approved.

There are risks involved with both establishing our own commercial capabilities and entering into arrangements with third parties to perform these services. For example, recruiting and training a sales force or reimbursement specialists is expensive and time consuming and could delay any product launch. If the commercial launch of a product candidate for which we recruit a sales force and establish marketing and other commercialization capabilities is delayed or does not occur for any reason, we would have prematurely or unnecessarily incurred these commercialization expenses. This may be costly, and our investment would be lost if we cannot retain or reposition our commercialization personnel.

Factors that may inhibit our efforts to commercialize our product candidates we may develop on our own include:

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our inability to recruit and retain adequate numbers of effective sales, marketing, reimbursement, customer service, medical affairs, and other support personnel;

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the inability of sales personnel to obtain access to physicians or persuade adequate numbers of physicians to prescribe any future medicines;

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the inability of reimbursement professionals to negotiate arrangements for formulary access, reimbursement, and other acceptance by payors;

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restricted or closed distribution channels that make it difficult to distribute our product candidates we may develop to segments of the patient population;

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the lack of complementary medicines to be offered by sales personnel, which may put us at a competitive disadvantage relative to companies with more extensive product lines; and

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unforeseen costs and expenses associated with creating an independent commercialization organization.

If we enter into arrangements with third parties to perform sales, marketing, commercial support, and distribution services, our product revenues or the profitability of these product revenues to us may be lower than if we were to market and sell any medicines we may develop ourselves. In addition, we may not be successful in entering into arrangements with third parties to commercialize our product candidates we may develop or may be unable to do so on terms that are favorable to us. We may have little control over such third parties, and any of them may fail to devote the necessary resources and attention to sell and market our medicines effectively. If we do not establish commercialization capabilities successfully, either on our own or in collaboration with third parties, we will not be successful in commercializing our product candidates we may develop.

We face significant competition in an environment of rapid technological change, and there is a possibility that our competitors may achieve regulatory approval before us or develop therapies that are safer or more advanced or effective than ours, which may harm our financial condition and our ability to successfully market or commercialize any product candidates we may develop.

The development and commercialization of new drug products is highly competitive. Moreover, the base editing field is characterized by rapidly changing technologies, significant competition, and a strong emphasis on intellectual property. We will face competition with respect to any product candidates that we may seek to develop or commercialize in the future from major pharmaceutical companies, specialty pharmaceutical companies, and biotechnology companies worldwide. Potential competitors also include academic institutions, government agencies, and other public and private research organizations that conduct research, seek patent protection, and establish collaborative arrangements for research, development, manufacturing, and commercialization.

There are a number of large pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies that currently market and sell products or are pursuing the development of products for the treatment of the disease indications for which we have research programs. Some of these competitive products and therapies are based on scientific approaches that are the same as or similar to our approach, and others are based on entirely different approaches.

There are several other companies utilizing CRISPR/Cas9 nuclease technology, including Caribou Biosciences, Editas Medicine, CRISPR Therapeutics, and Intellia Therapeutics. Several additional companies utilize other nuclease-based genome editing technologies, including Zinc Fingers, Arcuses, and TAL Nucleases, which includes Sangamo Biosciences, Precision BioSciences and bluebird bio. The Horizon Discovery Group reported that it licensed base editing technology from Rutgers. Tessera Therapeutics utilizes mobile genetic elements for gene editing. In addition, we face competition from companies utilizing gene therapy, oligonucleotides, and CAR-T therapeutic approaches.

Any product candidates that we successfully develop and commercialize will compete with existing therapies and new therapies that may become available in the future that are approved to treat the same diseases for which we may obtain approval for our product candidates we may develop. This may include other types of therapies, such as small molecule, antibody, and/or protein therapies.

Many of our current or potential competitors, either alone or with their collaboration partners, may have significantly greater financial resources and expertise in research and development, manufacturing, preclinical testing, conducting clinical trials, obtaining

regulatory approvals, and marketing approved products than we do. Mergers and acquisitions in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and gene therapy industries may result in even more resources being concentrated among a smaller number of our competitors. Smaller or early-stage companies may also prove to be significant competitors, particularly through collaborative arrangements with large and established companies. These competitors also compete with us in recruiting and retaining qualified scientific and management personnel and establishing clinical trial sites and patient registration for clinical trials, as well as in acquiring technologies complementary to, or necessary for, our programs. Our commercial opportunity could be reduced or eliminated if our competitors develop and commercialize product candidates that are safer, more effective, have fewer or less severe side effects, are more convenient, or are less expensive than any product candidates that we may develop or that would render any product candidates that we may develop obsolete or non-competitive. Our competitors also may obtain FDA or other regulatory approval for their product candidates more rapidly than we may obtain approval for ours, which could result in our competitors establishing a strong market position before we are able to enter the market. Additionally, technologies developed by our competitors may render our potential product candidates uneconomical or obsolete, and we may not be successful in marketing any product candidates we may develop against competitors.

In addition, as a result of the expiration or successful challenge of our patent rights, we could face more litigation with respect to the validity and/or scope of patents relating to our competitors’ products. The availability of our competitors’ products could limit the demand, and the price we are able to charge, for any product candidates that we may develop and commercialize.

Adverse public perception of genetic medicines, and gene editing and base editing in particular, may negatively impact regulatory approval of, and/or demand for, our potential products.

Our potential therapeutic products involve editing the human genome. The clinical and commercial success of our potential products will depend in part on public understanding and acceptance of the use of gene editing therapy for the prevention or treatment of human diseases. Public attitudes may be influenced by claims that gene editing is unsafe, unethical, or immoral, and, consequently, our product candidates may not gain the acceptance of the public or the medical community. For example, a public backlash developed against gene therapy following the death of a patient in 1999 during a gene therapy clinical trial. The death of the clinical trial subject was due to complications related to AAV vector administration. In addition, in June 2020, a patient in Audentes Therapeutics’ clinical trial investigating AT132 (a gene therapy product candidate which was being delivered via AAV administration) for X-linked myotubular myopathy (XLMTM) died. Preliminary findings indicated that the immediate cause of death was sepsis, which followed progressive liver dysfunction that occurred within the first 4-6 weeks following AT132 dosing, and which did not respond to standard treatment. Adverse public attitudes may adversely impact our ability to enroll clinical trials. Moreover, our success will depend upon physicians prescribing, and their patients being willing to receive, treatments that involve the use of product candidates we may develop in lieu of, or in addition to, existing treatments with which they are already familiar and for which greater clinical data may be available.

In addition, gene editing technology is subject to public debate and heightened regulatory scrutiny due to ethical concerns relating to the application of gene editing technology to human embryos or the human germline. For example, academic scientists in several countries, including the United States, have reported on their attempts to edit the gene of human embryos as part of basic research. In addition, in November 2018, Dr. Jiankui He, a Chinese biophysics researcher who was an associate professor in the Department of Biology of the Southern University of Science and Technology in Shenzhen, China, reportedly claimed he had created the first human genetically edited babies, twin girls. This claim, and another that Dr. He had helped create a second gene-edited pregnancy, was subsequently confirmed by Chinese authorities and was negatively received by the public, in particular those in the scientific community. News reports indicate that Dr. He was sentenced to three years in prison and fined $430,000 in December 2019 by the Chinese government for illegal medical practice in connection with such activities. In the wake of the claim, the World Health Organization established a new advisory committee to create global governance and oversight standards for human gene editing and announced plans for a new global registry to track research on human genome editing. The Alliance for Regenerative Medicine also released principles for the use of gene editing in therapeutic applications endorsed by a number of companies that use gene editing technologies.

Regulation of gene editing technology varies across jurisdictions. In the United States, germline editing for clinical application has been expressly prohibited since enactment of a December 2015 FDA ban on such activity. Prohibitions are also in place in the U.K., across most of Europe, in China, and many other countries around the world. In the United States, the National Institutes of Health, or NIH, has announced that the agency would not fund any use of gene editing technologies in human embryos, noting that there are multiple existing legislative and regulatory prohibitions against such work, including the Dickey-Wicker Amendment, which prohibits the use of appropriated funds for the creation of human embryos for research purposes or for research in which human embryos are destroyed. Laws in the U.K. prohibit genetically modified embryos from being implanted into women, except that mitochondrial replacement therapy has been permitted in the U.K. since 2016. Separately, embryos can be altered in the U.K. in research labs under license from the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority. Research on embryos is more tightly controlled in some other European countries.

Moreover, in an annual worldwide threat assessment report delivered to the U.S. Congress in February 2016, the U.S. Director of National Intelligence stated that research into gene editing that is conducted under different regulatory standards than those of Western

countries probably increases the risk of the creation of potentially harmful biological agents or products, including weapons of mass destruction. He noted that given the broad distribution, low cost, and accelerated pace of development of gene editing technology, its deliberate or unintentional misuse could have far-reaching economic and national security implications.

Although we do not use our technologies to edit human embryos or the human germline, such public debate about the use of gene editing technologies in human embryos and heightened regulatory scrutiny could prevent or delay our development of product candidates. More restrictive government regulations or negative public opinion would have a negative effect on our business or financial condition and may delay or impair our development and commercialization of product candidates or demand for any product candidates we may develop. Adverse events in our preclinical studies or clinical trials or those of our competitors or of academic researchers utilizing gene editing technologies, even if not ultimately attributable to product candidates we may identify and develop, and the gene publicity could result in increased governmental regulation, unfavorable public perception, potential regulatory delays in the testing or approval of potential product candidates we may identify and develop, stricter labeling requirements for those product candidates that are approved, and a decrease in demand for any such product candidates. Use of gene editing technology by a third party or government to develop biological agents or products that threaten U.S. national security could similarly result in such negative impacts to us.

Even if we are able to commercialize any product candidates, such products may become subject to unfavorable pricing regulations, third-party reimbursement practices, or healthcare reform initiatives, which would harm our business.

The regulations that govern marketing approvals, pricing, and reimbursement for new medicines vary widely from country to country. Some countries require approval of the sale price of a medicine before it can be marketed. In many countries, the pricing review period begins after marketing or product licensing approval is granted. In some foreign markets, prescription pharmaceutical pricing remains subject to continuing governmental control even after initial approval is granted. As a result, we might obtain marketing approval for a medicine in a particular country, but then be subject to price regulations that delay or might even prevent our commercial launch of the medicine, possibly for lengthy time periods, and negatively impact the revenues we are able to generate from the sale of the medicine in that country. Adverse pricing limitations may hinder our ability to recoup our investment in one or more product candidates we may develop, even if any product candidates we may develop obtain marketing approval.

Our ability to commercialize any medicines successfully also will depend in part on the extent to which reimbursement for these medicines and related treatments will be available from government authorities or healthcare program, private health plans, and other organizations. Government authorities and third-party payors, such as private health plans, decide which medications they will pay for and establish reimbursement levels. A primary trend in the U.S. healthcare industry and elsewhere is cost containment. Government authorities and third-party payors have attempted to control costs by limiting coverage and the amount of reimbursement for particular medications. Increasingly, third-party payors are challenging the prices charged for medical products and requiring that drug companies provide them with predetermined discounts from list prices. Novel medical products, if covered at all, may be subject to enhanced utilization management controls designed to ensure that the products are used only when medically necessary. Such utilization management controls may discourage the prescription or use of a medical product by increasing the administrative burden associated with its prescription or creating coverage uncertainties for prescribers and patients. We cannot be sure that reimbursement will be available for any medicine that we commercialize and, if reimbursement is available, that the level of reimbursement will be adequate. Reimbursement may impact the demand for, or the price of, any product candidate for which we obtain marketing approval. If reimbursement is not available or is available only to limited levels, we may not be able to successfully commercialize any product candidate for which we obtain marketing approval.

There may be significant delays in obtaining reimbursement for newly approved medicines, and coverage may be more limited than the purposes for which the medicine is approved by the FDA, the EMA or other regulatory authorities outside the United States. Moreover, eligibility for reimbursement does not imply that any medicine will be paid for in all cases or at a rate that covers our costs, including research, development, manufacture, sale, and distribution. Interim reimbursement levels for new medicines, if applicable, may also not be sufficient to cover our costs and may not be made permanent. Reimbursement rates may vary according to the use of the medicine and the clinical setting in which it is used, may be based on reimbursement levels already set for lower cost medicines and may be incorporated into existing payments for other services. Net prices for medicines may be reduced by mandatory discounts or rebates required by government healthcare programs or private payors and by any future relaxation of laws that presently restrict imports of medicines from countries where they may be sold at lower prices than in the United States. Our inability to promptly obtain coverage and profitable payment rates from both government-funded and private payors for any approved medicines we may develop could have a material adverse effect on our operating results, our ability to raise capital needed to commercialize medicines, and our overall financial condition.

Due to the novel nature of our technology and the potential for any product candidates we may develop to offer therapeutic benefit in a single administration or limited number of administrations, we face uncertainty related to pricing and reimbursement for these product candidates.

Our initial target patient populations are relatively small, as a result of which the pricing and reimbursement of any product candidates we may develop, if approved, must be adequate to support the necessary commercial infrastructure. If we are unable to obtain

adequate levels of reimbursement, our ability to successfully market and sell any such product candidates will be adversely affected. The manner and level at which reimbursement is provided for services related to any product candidates we may develop (e.g., for administration of our product candidate to patients) is also important. Inadequate reimbursement for such services may lead to physician and payor resistance and adversely affect our ability to market or sell our product candidates we may develop. In addition, we may need to develop new reimbursement models in order to realize adequate value. Payors may not be able or willing to adopt such new models, and patients may be unable to afford that portion of the cost that such models may require them to bear. If we determine such new models are necessary but we are unsuccessful in developing them, or if such models are not adopted by payors, our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects could be adversely affected.

We expect the cost of a single administration of genetic medicines, such as those we are seeking to develop, to be substantial, when and if they achieve regulatory approval. We expect that coverage and reimbursement by government and private payors will be essential for most patients to be able to afford these treatments. Accordingly, sales of any such product candidates will depend substantially, both domestically and abroad, on the extent to which the costs of any product candidates we may develop will be paid by government authorities, private health plans, and other third-party payors. Payors may not be willing to pay high prices for a single administration. Coverage and reimbursement by a third-party payor may depend upon several factors, including the third-party payor’s determination that use of a product is:

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a covered benefit under its health plan;

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safe, effective, and medically necessary;

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appropriate for the specific patient;

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cost-effective; and

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neither experimental nor investigational.

Obtaining coverage and reimbursement for a product from third-party payors is a time-consuming and costly process that could require us to provide to the payor supporting scientific, clinical, and cost-effectiveness data. There is significant uncertainty related to third-party coverage and reimbursement of newly approved products. We may not be able to provide data sufficient to gain acceptance with respect to coverage and reimbursement. If coverage and reimbursement are not available, or are available only at limited levels, we may not be able to successfully commercialize any product candidates we may develop. Even if coverage is provided, the approved reimbursement amount may not be adequate to realize a sufficient return on our investment.

Moreover, the downward pressure on healthcare costs in general, particularly prescription drugs and surgical procedures and other treatments, has become intense. As a result, increasingly high barriers are being erected to the entry of new product candidates such as ours. If we are unable to obtain adequate levels of reimbursement, our ability to successfully market and sell any product candidates we may develop will be harmed.

If the market opportunities for any product candidates we may develop are smaller than we believe they are, our potential revenues may be adversely affected, and our business may suffer. Because the target patient populations for many of the product candidates we may develop are small, we must be able to successfully identify patients and achieve a significant market share to maintain profitability and growth.

We focus our research and product development on treatments for rare genetically defined diseases. Many of our product candidates we may develop are expected to target a single mutation; as a result, the relevant patient population may therefore be small. Our projections of both the number of people who have these diseases, as well as the subset of people with these diseases who have the potential to benefit from treatment with product candidates we may develop, are based on estimates. These estimates may prove to be incorrect and new studies may change the estimated incidence or prevalence of these diseases. The number of patients in the United States, Europe, and elsewhere may turn out to be lower than expected, and patients may not be amenable to treatment with our product candidates we may develop, or may become increasingly difficult to identify or gain access to, all of which would adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects. Additionally, because of the potential that any product candidates we develop could cure a target disease, we may not receive recurring revenues from patients and may deplete the patient population prevalence through curative therapy.

Product liability lawsuits against us could cause us to incur substantial liabilities and could limit commercialization of any medicines that we may develop.

We face an inherent risk of product liability exposure related to the testing in human clinical trials of any product candidates we may develop and will face an even greater risk if we commercially sell any medicines that we may develop. If we cannot successfully defend ourselves against claims that our product candidates or medicines caused injuries, we could incur substantial liabilities. Regardless of merit or eventual outcome, liability claims may result in:

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decreased demand for any product candidates or medicines that we may develop;

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injury to our reputation and significant negative media attention;

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withdrawal of clinical trial participants;

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significant time and costs to defend the related litigation;

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substantial monetary awards to trial participants or patients;

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loss of revenue; and

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the inability to commercialize any medicines that we may develop.

Although we maintain product liability insurance coverage, it may not be adequate to cover all liabilities that we may incur. We anticipate that we will need to increase our insurance coverage when we begin clinical trials and if we successfully commercialize any medicine. Insurance coverage is increasingly expensive. We may not be able to maintain insurance coverage at a reasonable cost or in an amount adequate to satisfy any liability that may arise.

If we or any contract manufacturers and suppliers we engage fail to comply with environmental, health, and safety laws and regulations, we could become subject to fines or penalties or incur costs that could have a material adverse effect on the success of our business.

We and any contract manufacturers and suppliers we engage are subject to numerous federal, state, and local environmental, health, and safety laws, regulations, and permitting requirements, including those governing laboratory procedures; the generation, handling, use, storage, treatment, and disposal of hazardous and regulated materials and wastes; the emission and discharge of hazardous materials into the ground, air, and water; and employee health and safety. Our operations involve the use of hazardous and flammable materials, including chemicals and biological and radioactive materials. Our operations also produce hazardous waste. We generally contract with third parties for the disposal of these materials and wastes. We cannot eliminate the risk of contamination or injury from these materials. In the event of contamination or injury resulting from our use of hazardous materials, we could be held liable for any resulting damages, and any liability could exceed our resources. Under certain environmental laws, we could be held responsible for costs relating to any contamination at our current or past facilities and at third-party facilities. We also could incur significant costs associated with civil or criminal fines and penalties.

Compliance with applicable environmental laws and regulations may be expensive, and current or future environmental laws and regulations may impair our research and product development efforts. In addition, we cannot entirely eliminate the risk of accidental injury or contamination from these materials or wastes. Although we maintain workers’ compensation insurance to cover us for costs and expenses, we may incur due to injuries to our employees resulting from the use of hazardous materials, this insurance may not provide adequate coverage against potential liabilities. We do not carry specific biological or hazardous waste insurance coverage, and our property, casualty, and general liability insurance policies specifically exclude coverage for damages and fines arising from biological or hazardous waste exposure or contamination. Accordingly, in the event of contamination or injury, we could be held liable for damages or be penalized with fines in an amount exceeding our resources, and our clinical trials or regulatory approvals could be suspended, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects.

In addition, we may incur substantial costs in order to comply with current or future environmental, health, and safety laws, regulations, and permitting requirements. These current or future laws, regulations, and permitting requirements may impair our research, development, or production efforts. Failure to comply with these laws, regulations, and permitting requirements also may result in substantial fines, penalties, or other sanctions or business disruption, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects.

Any third-party contract manufacturers and suppliers we engage will also be subject to these and other environmental, health, and safety laws and regulations. Liabilities they incur pursuant to these laws and regulations could result in significant costs or an interruption in operations, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects.

Genetic medicines are novel, and any product candidates we develop may be complex and difficult to manufacture. We could experience delays in satisfying regulatory authorities or production problems that result in delays in our development or commercialization programs, limit the supply of our product candidates we may develop, or otherwise harm our business.

Any product candidates we may develop will likely require processing steps that are more complex than those required for most chemical pharmaceuticals. Moreover, unlike chemical pharmaceuticals, the physical and chemical properties of a biologic such as the product candidates we intend to develop generally cannot be fully characterized. As a result, assays of the finished product candidate may not be sufficient to ensure that the product candidate will perform in the intended manner. Problems with the manufacturing process, even minor deviations from the normal process, could result in product defects or manufacturing failures that result in lot failures, product recalls, product liability claims, insufficient inventory, or potentially delay progression of our potential IND filings. If we successfully develop product candidates, we may encounter problems achieving adequate quantities and quality of clinical-grade

materials that meet FDA, EMA or other comparable applicable foreign standards or specifications with consistent and acceptable production yields and costs. For example, the current approach of manufacturing AAV vectors may fall short of supplying required number of doses needed for advanced stages of pre-clinical studies or clinical trials, and the FDA may ask us to demonstrate that we have the appropriate manufacturing processes in place to support the higher-dose group in our future pre-clinical studies or clinical trials. In addition, our product candidates we may develop will require complicated delivery modalities, such as electroporation, LNPs, or viral vectors, each of which will introduce additional complexities in the manufacturing process.

In addition, the FDA, the EMA, and other regulatory authorities may require us to submit samples of any lot of any approved product together with the protocols showing the results of applicable tests at any time. Under some circumstances, the FDA, the EMA, or other regulatory authorities may require that we not distribute a lot until the agency authorizes its release. Slight deviations in the manufacturing process, including those affecting quality attributes and stability, may result in unacceptable changes in the product that could result in lot failures or product recalls. Lot failures or product recalls could cause us to delay clinical trials or product launches, which could be costly to us and otherwise harm our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects.

Furthermore, we intend to use novel split intein technology for any AAV gene therapy that allows us to deliver the base editor and guide RNA construct by co-infection with two viruses, where each virus contains one half of the editor. The scientific evidence to support the feasibility of developing product candidates based on this technology is both preliminary and limited.

We also may encounter problems hiring and retaining the experienced scientific, quality control, and manufacturing personnel needed to manage our manufacturing process, which could result in delays in our production or difficulties in maintaining compliance with applicable regulatory requirements.

Given the nature of biologics manufacturing, including for the lentivirus vectors and AAV vectors, there is a risk of contamination during manufacturing. Any contamination could materially harm our ability to produce product candidates on schedule and could harm our results of operations and cause reputational damage. Some of the raw materials that we anticipate will be required in our manufacturing process are derived from biologic sources. Such raw materials are difficult to procure and may be subject to contamination or recall. A material shortage, contamination, recall, or restriction on the use of biologically derived substances in the manufacture of any product candidates we may develop could adversely impact or disrupt the commercial manufacturing or the production of clinical material, which could materially harm our development timelines and our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects.

Any problems in our manufacturing process or the facilities with which we contract could make us a less attractive collaborator for potential partners, including larger pharmaceutical companies and academic research institutions, which could limit our access to additional attractive development programs. Problems in third-party manufacturing process or facilities also could restrict our ability to ensure sufficient clinical material for any clinical trials we may be conducting or are planning to conduct and meet market demand for any product candidates we develop and commercialize.

Risks related to regulatory review

Because base editing is novel and the regulatory landscape that will govern any product candidates, we may develop is uncertain and may change, we cannot predict the time and cost of obtaining regulatory approval, if we receive it at all, for any product candidates we may develop.

The regulatory requirements that will govern any novel base editing product candidates we develop are not entirely clear and may change. Within the broader genetic medicine field, we are aware of a limited number of gene therapy products that have received marketing authorization from the FDA and the EMA. Even with respect to more established products that fit into the categories of gene therapies or cell therapies, the regulatory landscape is still developing. Regulatory requirements governing gene therapy products and cell therapy products have changed frequently and will likely continue to change in the future. Moreover, there is substantial, and sometimes uncoordinated, overlap in those responsible for regulation of existing gene therapy products and cell therapy products. For example, in the United States, the FDA has established the Office of Tissues and Advanced Therapies within its Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, or CBER, to consolidate the review of gene therapy and related products, and the Cellular, Tissue and Gene Therapies Advisory Committee to advise CBER on its review. Gene therapy clinical trials are also subject to review and oversight by an institutional biosafety committee, or IBC, a local institutional committee that reviews and oversees basic and clinical research conducted at the institution participating in the clinical trial. Although the FDA decides whether individual gene therapy protocols may proceed, the review process and determinations of other reviewing bodies can impede or delay the initiation of a clinical trial, even if the FDA has reviewed the trial and approved its initiation.

The same applies in the EU. The EMA’s Committee for Advanced Therapies, or CAT, is responsible for assessing the quality, safety, and efficacy of advanced-therapy medicinal products. The role of the CAT is to prepare a draft opinion on an application for marketing authorization for a gene therapy medicinal candidate that is submitted to the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use, or CHMP, before CHMP adopts its final opinion. In the EU, the development and evaluation of a gene therapy medicinal product must be considered in the context of the relevant EU guidelines. The EMA may issue new guidelines concerning the development and marketing authorization for gene therapy medicinal products and require that we comply with these new guidelines. As a result, the

procedures and standards applied to gene therapy products and cell therapy products may be applied to any product candidates we may develop, but that remains uncertain at this point.

Adverse developments in post-marketing experience or in clinical trials conducted by others of gene therapy products, cell therapy products, or products developed through the application of a base editing or other gene editing technology may cause the FDA, the EMA, and other regulatory bodies to revise the requirements for development or approval of any product candidates we may develop or limit the use of products utilizing base editing technologies, either of which could materially harm our business. In addition, the clinical trial requirements of the FDA, the EMA, and other regulatory authorities and the criteria these regulators use to determine the safety and efficacy of a product candidate vary substantially according to the type, complexity, novelty, and intended use and market of the potential products. The regulatory approval process for novel product candidates such as the product candidates we may develop can be more expensive and take longer than for other, better known, or more extensively studied pharmaceutical or other product candidates. Regulatory agencies administering existing or future regulations or legislation may not allow production and marketing of products utilizing base editing technology in a timely manner or under technically or commercially feasible conditions. In addition, regulatory action or private litigation could result in expenses, delays, or other impediments to our research programs or the commercialization of resulting products.

The regulatory review committees and advisory groups described above and the new guidelines they promulgate may lengthen the regulatory review process, require us to perform additional studies or trials, increase our development costs, lead to changes in regulatory positions and interpretations, delay or prevent approval and commercialization of these treatment candidates, or lead to significant post-approval limitations or restrictions. As we advance our research programs and develop future product candidates, we will be required to consult with these regulatory and advisory groups and to comply with applicable guidelines. If we fail to do so, we may be required to delay or discontinue development of any product candidates we identify and develop.

Because we are developing product candidates in the field of genetic medicines, a field that includes gene therapy and gene editing, in which there is little clinical experience, there is increased risk that the FDA, the EMA, or other regulatory authorities may not consider the endpoints of our clinical trials to provide clinically meaningful results and that these results may be difficult to analyze.

During the regulatory review process, we will need to identify success criteria and endpoints such that the FDA, the EMA, or other regulatory authorities will be able to determine the clinical efficacy and safety profile of any product candidates we may develop. As we are initially seeking to identify and develop product candidates to treat diseases in which there is little clinical experience using new technologies, there is heightened risk that the FDA, the EMA, or other regulatory authorities may not consider the clinical trial endpoints that we propose to provide clinically meaningful results (reflecting a tangible benefit to patients). In addition, the resulting clinical data and results may be difficult to analyze. Even if the FDA does find our success criteria to be sufficiently validated and clinically meaningful, we may not achieve the pre-specified endpoints to a degree of statistical significance. This may be a particularly significant risk for many of the genetically defined diseases for which we plan to develop product candidates because many of these diseases, including T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia, glycogen storage disorder and Stargardt disease, have small patient populations, and designing and executing a rigorous clinical trial with appropriate statistical power is more difficult than with diseases that have larger patient populations. Further, even if we do achieve the pre-specified criteria, we may produce results that are unpredictable or inconsistent with the results of the non-primary endpoints or other relevant data. The FDA also weighs the benefits of a product against its risks, and the FDA may view the efficacy results in the context of safety as not being supportive of regulatory approval. Other regulatory authorities in the EU and other countries may make similar comments with respect to these endpoints and data. Any product candidates we may develop will be based on a novel technology that makes it difficult to predict the time and cost of development and of subsequently obtaining regulatory approval. No gene editing therapeutic product has been approved in the United States or in Europe.

If clinical trials of any product candidates we may identify and develop fail to demonstrate safety and efficacy to the satisfaction of regulatory authorities or do not otherwise produce positive results, we may incur additional costs or experience delays in completing, or ultimately be unable to complete, the development and commercialization of such product candidates.

Before obtaining marketing approval from regulatory authorities for the sale of any product candidates we identify and develop, we must complete preclinical development and then conduct extensive clinical trials to demonstrate the safety and efficacy in humans. Clinical testing is expensive, difficult to design and implement, can take many years to complete, and is uncertain as to outcome. A failure of one or more clinical trials can occur at any stage of testing. The outcome of preclinical testing and early clinical trials may not be predictive of the success of later clinical trials, and interim results of a clinical trial do not necessarily predict final results.

Moreover, preclinical and clinical data are often susceptible to varying interpretations and analyses. Many companies that have believed their product candidates performed satisfactorily in preclinical studies and clinical trials have nonetheless failed to obtain marketing approval of their product candidates.

We and our collaborators, if any, may experience numerous unforeseen events during, or as a result of, clinical trials that could delay or prevent our ability to receive marketing approval or commercialize any product candidates we may identify and develop, including:

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delays in reaching a consensus with regulators on trial design;

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regulators, institutional review boards, or IRBs, or independent ethics committees may not authorize us or our investigators to commence a clinical trial or conduct a clinical trial at a prospective trial site;

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delays in reaching or failing to reach agreement on acceptable clinical trial contracts or clinical trial protocols with prospective contract research organizations, or CROs, and clinical trial sites;

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clinical trials of any product candidates we may develop may produce negative or inconclusive results, and we may decide, or regulators may require us, to conduct additional clinical trials or abandon product development or research programs;

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difficulty in designing well-controlled clinical trials due to ethical considerations which may render it inappropriate to conduct a trial with a control arm that can be effectively compared to a treatment arm;

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difficulty in designing clinical trials and selecting endpoints for diseases that have not been well-studied and for which the natural history and course of the disease is poorly understood;

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the number of patients required for clinical trials of any product candidates we may develop may be larger than we anticipate; enrollment of suitable participants in these clinical trials, which may be particularly challenging for some of the rare genetically defined diseases we are targeting in our most advanced programs, may be delayed or slower than we anticipate; or patients may drop out of these clinical trials at a higher rate than we anticipate;

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our third-party contractors may fail to comply with regulatory requirements or meet their contractual obligations to us in a timely manner, or at all;

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regulators, IRBs, or independent ethics committees may require that we or our investigators suspend or terminate clinical research or clinical trials of any product candidates we may develop for various reasons, including noncompliance with regulatory requirements, a finding of undesirable side effects or other unexpected characteristics, or that the participants are being exposed to unacceptable health risks or after an inspection of our clinical trial operations or trial sites;

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the cost of clinical trials of any product candidates we may develop may be greater than we anticipate;

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the supply or quality of any product candidates we may develop or other materials necessary to conduct clinical trials of any product candidates we may develop may be insufficient or inadequate, including as a result of delays in the testing, validation, manufacturing, and delivery of any product candidates we may develop to the clinical sites by us or by third parties with whom we have contracted to perform certain of those functions;

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delays in having patients complete participation in a trial or return for post-treatment follow-up;

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clinical trial sites dropping out of a trial;

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selection of clinical endpoints that require prolonged periods of clinical observation or analysis of the resulting data;

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occurrence of serious adverse events associated with any product candidates we may develop that are viewed to outweigh their potential benefits;

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occurrence of serious adverse events in trials of the same class of agents conducted by other sponsors;

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disruption to the operations of the FDA; and

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changes in regulatory requirements and guidance that require amending or submitting new clinical protocols or otherwise complying with additional requirements.

If we or our collaborators are required to conduct additional clinical trials or other testing of any product candidates we may develop beyond those that we currently contemplate, if we or our collaborators are unable to successfully complete clinical trials or other testing of any product candidates we may develop, or if the results of these trials or tests are not positive or are only modestly positive or if there are safety concerns, we or our collaborators may:

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be delayed in obtaining marketing approval for any such product candidates we may develop or not obtain marketing approval at all;

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obtain approval for indications or patient populations that are not as broad as intended or desired;

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obtain approval with labeling that includes significant use or distribution restrictions or safety warnings, including boxed warnings;

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be subject to changes in the way the product is administered;

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be required to perform additional clinical trials to support approval or be subject to additional post-marketing testing requirements;

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have regulatory authorities withdraw, or suspend, their approval of the product or impose restrictions on its distribution in the form of a REMS or through modification to an existing REMS;

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be sued; or

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experience damage to our reputation.

Product development costs will also increase if we or our collaborators experience delays in clinical trials or other testing or in obtaining marketing approvals. We do not know whether any clinical trials will begin as planned, will need to be restructured, or will be completed on schedule, or at all. Significant clinical trial delays also could shorten any periods during which we may have the exclusive right to commercialize any product candidates we may develop, could allow our competitors to bring products to market before we do, and could impair our ability to successfully commercialize any product candidates we may develop, any of which may harm our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects.

If we experience delays or difficulties in the enrollment of patients in clinical trials, our receipt of necessary regulatory approvals could be delayed or prevented.

We or our collaborators may not be able to initiate or continue clinical trials for any product candidates we identify or develop if we are unable to locate and enroll a sufficient number of eligible patients to participate in these trials as required by the FDA, the EMA or other analogous regulatory authorities outside the United States, or as needed to provide appropriate statistical power for a given trial. Enrollment may be particularly challenging for some of the rare genetically defined diseases we are targeting in our most advanced programs, and delays related to the COVID-19 pandemic could exacerbate delays in enrolling for new clinical trials. In addition, if patients are unwilling to participate in our base editing trials because of negative publicity from adverse events related to the biotechnology, gene therapy, or gene editing fields, competitive clinical trials for similar patient populations, clinical trials in competing products, or for other reasons, the timeline for recruiting patients, conducting studies, and obtaining regulatory approval of any product candidates we may develop may be delayed. Moreover, some of our competitors may have ongoing clinical trials for product candidates that would treat the same indications as any product candidates we may develop, and patients who would otherwise be eligible for our clinical trials may instead enroll in clinical trials of our competitors’ product candidates.

Patient enrollment is also affected by other factors, including:

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severity of the disease under investigation;

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size of the patient population and process for identifying patients;

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design of the trial protocol;

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availability and efficacy of approved medications for the disease under investigation;

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availability of genetic testing for potential patients;

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ability to obtain and maintain patient informed consent;

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risk that enrolled patients will drop out before completion of the trial;

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eligibility and exclusion criteria for the trial in question;

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perceived risks and benefits of the product candidate under trial;

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perceived risks and benefits of base editing as a therapeutic approach;

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efforts to facilitate timely enrollment in clinical trials;

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patient referral practices of physicians;

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ability to monitor patients adequately during and after treatment; and

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proximity and availability of clinical trial sites for prospective patients, especially for those conditions which have small patient pools.

Our ability to successfully initiate, enroll, and complete a clinical trial in any foreign country is subject to numerous risks unique to conducting business in foreign countries, including:

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difficulty in establishing or managing relationships with CROs and physicians;

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different standards for the conduct of clinical trials;

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different standard-of-care for patients with a particular disease;

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difficulty in locating qualified local consultants, physicians, and partners; and

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potential burden of complying with a variety of foreign laws, medical standards, and regulatory requirements, including the regulation of pharmaceutical and biotechnology products and treatment and of gene editing technologies.

Enrollment delays in our clinical trials may result in increased development costs for any product candidates we may develop, which would cause the value of our company to decline and limit our ability to obtain additional financing. If we or our collaborators have difficulty enrolling a sufficient number of patients to conduct our clinical trials as planned, we may need to delay, limit, or terminate ongoing or planned clinical trials, any of which would have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects.

If we are unable to successfully identify patients who are likely to benefit from therapy with any product candidates we develop, or experience significant delays in doing so, we may not realize the full commercial potential of any medicines we may develop.

Our success may depend, in part, on our ability to identify patients who are likely to benefit from therapy with any medicines we may develop, which requires those potential patients to have their DNA analyzed for the presence or absence of a particular sequence. If we, or any third parties that we engage to assist us, are unable to successfully identify such patients, or experience delays in doing so, then:

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our ability to develop any product candidates may be adversely affected if we are unable to appropriately select patients for enrollment in our clinical trials; and

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we may not realize the full commercial potential of any product candidates we develop that receive marketing approval if, among other reasons, we are unable to appropriately select patients who are likely to benefit from therapy with our medicines.

Any product candidates we develop may require use of a companion diagnostic to identify patients who are likely to benefit from therapy. If safe and effective use of any of our product candidates we may develop depends on a companion diagnostic, we may not receive marketing approval, or marketing approval may be delayed, if we are unable to or are delayed in developing, identifying, or obtaining regulatory approval or clearance for the companion diagnostic product for use with our product candidate. Identifying a manufacturer of the companion diagnostic and entering into an agreement with the manufacturer could also delay the development of our product candidates.

As a result of these factors, we may be unable to successfully develop and realize the commercial potential of any product candidates we may identify and develop, and our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects would be materially adversely affected.

Risks related to our relationships with third parties

We expect to rely on third parties to manufacture components of our product candidates we may develop, conduct our clinical trials and some aspects of our research and preclinical testing, and those third parties may not perform satisfactorily, including failing to meet deadlines for the completion of such trials, research, or testing.

We expect to rely on third parties, such as CMOs, CROs, clinical data management organizations, medical institutions, and clinical investigators, to manufacture components of our product candidates we may develop and to conduct our clinical trials. We currently rely and expect to continue to rely on third parties to conduct some aspects of our research and preclinical testing. For example, we rely on a third party to conduct electroporation; we rely on a third party to supply LNPs; and we rely on third parties to manufacture viral vectors. Any of these third parties may terminate their engagements with us at any time under certain criteria. If we need to enter into alternative arrangements, it may delay our product development activities.

Our reliance on these third parties for research and development activities will reduce our control over these activities but will not relieve us of our responsibilities. For example, we will remain responsible for ensuring that each of our clinical trials is conducted in accordance with the general investigational plan and protocols for the trial. Moreover, the FDA, EMA and other regulatory authorities require us to comply with standards, commonly referred to as Good Clinical Practices, for conducting, recording, and reporting the results of clinical trials to assure that data and reported results are credible and accurate and that the rights, integrity, and confidentiality of trial participants are protected. In the United States, we also are required to register ongoing clinical trials and post the results of completed clinical trials on a government-sponsored database, ClinicalTrials.gov, within certain timeframes. Failure to do so can result in fines, adverse publicity, and civil and criminal sanctions.

Although we intend to design the clinical trials for our product candidates, CROs will conduct some or all of the clinical trials. As a result, many important aspects of our development programs, including their conduct and timing, will be outside of our direct control. Our reliance on third parties to conduct future preclinical studies and clinical trials will also result in less direct control over the

management of data developed through preclinical studies and clinical trials than would be the case if we were relying entirely upon our own staff. Communicating with outside parties can also be challenging, potentially leading to mistakes as well as difficulties in coordinating activities. Outside parties may:

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have staffing difficulties;

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fail to comply with contractual obligations;

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experience regulatory compliance issues;

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undergo changes in priorities or become financially distressed; or

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form relationships with other entities, some of which may be our competitors.

These factors may materially adversely affect the willingness or ability of third parties to conduct our preclinical studies and clinical trials and may subject us to unexpected cost increases that are beyond our control. If the CROs and other third parties do not perform preclinical studies and future clinical trials in a satisfactory manner, breach their obligations to us or fail to comply with regulatory requirements, the development, regulatory approval and commercialization of our product candidates may be delayed, we may not be able to obtain regulatory approval and commercialize our product candidates, or our development programs may be materially and irreversibly harmed. If we are unable to rely on preclinical and clinical data collected by our CROs and other third parties, we could be required to repeat, extend the duration of, or increase the size of any preclinical studies or clinical trials we conduct and this could significantly delay commercialization and require greater expenditures.

We contract with third parties for the manufacture of materials for our research programs and preclinical studies and expect to continue to do so for clinical trials and for commercialization of any product candidates that we may develop. This reliance on third parties increases the risk that we will not have sufficient quantities of such materials, product candidates, or any medicines that we may develop and commercialize, or that such supply will not be available to us at an acceptable cost, which could delay, prevent, or impair our development or commercialization efforts.

We do not have any manufacturing facilities at the present time. We currently rely on third-party manufacturers for the manufacture of our materials for preclinical studies and may continue to do so for clinical testing and for commercial supply of any product candidates that we may develop and for which we or our collaborators obtain marketing approval. We do not have a long-term supply agreement with any of the third-party manufacturers, and we purchase our required supply on a purchase order basis.

We may be unable to establish any agreements with third-party manufacturers or to do so on acceptable terms. Even if we are able to establish agreements with third-party manufacturers, reliance on third-party manufacturers entails additional risks, including:

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the possible breach of the manufacturing agreement by the third party;

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the possible termination or nonrenewal of the agreement by the third party at a time that is costly or inconvenient for us;

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reliance on the third party for regulatory compliance, quality assurance, safety, and pharmacovigilance and related reporting; and

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the possible inability of third-party suppliers to supply and/or transport materials, components and products to us in a timely manner as a result of disruptions to the global supply chain in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Third-party manufacturers may not be able to comply with cGMP regulations or similar regulatory requirements outside the United States. Our failure, or the failure of our third-party manufacturers, to comply with applicable regulations could result in sanctions being imposed on us, including fines, injunctions, civil penalties, delays, suspension or withdrawal of approvals, license revocations, seizures or recalls of product candidates or medicines, operating restrictions, and criminal prosecutions, any of which could significantly and adversely affect supplies of our medicines and harm our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects.

Any medicines that we may develop may compete with other product candidates and products for access to manufacturing facilities. There are a limited number of manufacturers that operate under cGMP regulations and that might be capable of manufacturing for us.

Any performance failure on the part of our existing or future manufacturers could delay clinical development or marketing approval. We do not currently have arrangements in place for redundant supply for bulk drug substances. If any one of our current contract manufacturers cannot perform as agreed, we may be required to replace that manufacturer. Although we believe that there are several potential alternative manufacturers who could manufacture any product candidates we may develop, we may incur added costs and delays in identifying and qualifying any such replacement.

Our current and anticipated future dependence upon others for the manufacture of any product candidates we may develop may adversely affect our future profit margins and our ability to commercialize any medicines that receive marketing approval on a timely and competitive basis.

We may enter into collaborations with third parties for the research, development, and commercialization of certain of the product candidates we may develop. If any such collaborations are not successful, we may not be able to capitalize on the market potential of those product candidates.

We may seek third-party collaborators for the research, development, and commercialization of certain of the product candidates we may develop. If we enter into any such arrangements with any third parties, we will likely have limited control over the amount and timing of resources that our collaborators dedicate to the development or commercialization of any product candidates we may seek to develop with them. Our ability to generate revenues from these arrangements will depend on our collaborators’ abilities to successfully perform the functions assigned to them in these arrangements. We cannot predict the success of any collaboration that we enter into.

Collaborations involving our research programs or any product candidates we may develop pose numerous risks to us, including the following:

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Collaborators have significant discretion in determining the efforts and resources that they will apply to these collaborations.

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Collaborators may not pursue development and commercialization of any product candidates we may develop or may elect not to continue or renew development or commercialization programs based on clinical trial results, changes in the collaborator’s strategic focus or available funding or external factors such as an acquisition that diverts resources or creates competing priorities.

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Collaborators may delay clinical trials, provide insufficient funding for a clinical trial program, stop a clinical trial or abandon a product candidate, repeat or conduct new clinical trials, or require a new formulation of a product candidate for clinical testing.

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Collaborators could independently develop, or develop with third parties, products that compete directly or indirectly with our medicines or product candidates we may develop if the collaborators believe that competitive products are more likely to be successfully developed or can be commercialized under terms that are more economically attractive than ours.

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Collaborators with marketing and distribution rights to one or more medicines may not commit sufficient resources to the marketing and distribution of such medicine or medicines.

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Collaborators may not properly obtain, maintain, enforce, or defend our intellectual property or proprietary rights or may use our proprietary information in such a way as to invite litigation that could jeopardize or invalidate our proprietary information or expose us to potential litigation.

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Disputes may arise between the collaborators and us that result in the delay or termination of the research, development, or commercialization of our medicines or product candidates or that result in costly litigation or arbitration that diverts management attention and resources.

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We may lose certain valuable rights under circumstances identified in our collaborations, including if we undergo a change of control.

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Collaborations may be terminated and, if terminated, may result in a need for additional capital to pursue further development or commercialization of the applicable product candidates we may develop.

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Collaboration agreements may not lead to development or commercialization of product candidates in the most efficient manner or at all. If a present or future collaborator of ours were to be involved in a business combination, the continued pursuit and emphasis on our product development or commercialization program under such collaboration could be delayed, diminished, or terminated.

If our collaborations do not result in the successful development and commercialization of product candidates, or if one of our collaborators terminates its agreement with us, we may not receive any future research funding or milestone or royalty payments under the collaboration. If we do not receive the funding we expect under these agreements, our development of product candidates could be delayed, and we may need additional resources to develop product candidates. In addition, if one of our collaborators terminates its agreement with us, we may find it more difficult to find a suitable replacement collaborator or attract new collaborators, and our development programs may be delayed or the perception of us in the business and financial communities could be adversely affected. All of the risks relating to product development, regulatory approval, and commercialization described in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q apply to the activities of our collaborators.

These relationships, or those like them, may require us to incur non-recurring and other charges, increase our near- and long-term expenditures, issue securities that dilute our existing stockholders, or disrupt our management and business. In addition, we could face significant competition in seeking appropriate collaborators, and the negotiation process is time-consuming and complex. Our ability to reach a definitive collaboration agreement will depend, among other things, upon our assessment of the collaborator’s resources and expertise, the terms and conditions of the proposed collaboration, and the proposed collaborator’s evaluation of several factors. If we

license rights to any product candidates, we may develop we or our collaborators may develop, we may not be able to realize the benefit of such transactions if we are unable to successfully integrate them with our existing operations and company culture.

If conflicts arise between us and our collaborators or strategic partners, these parties may act in a manner adverse to us and could limit our ability to implement our strategies.

If conflicts arise between our corporate or academic collaborators or strategic partners and us, the other party may act in a manner adverse to us and could limit our ability to implement our strategies. Some of our academic collaborators and strategic partners are conducting multiple product development efforts within each area that is the subject of the collaboration with us. Our collaborators or strategic partners, however, may develop, either alone or with others, products in related fields that are competitive with the product candidates we may develop that are the subject of these collaborations with us. Competing products, either developed by the collaborators or strategic partners or to which the collaborators or strategic partners have rights, may result in the withdrawal of partner support for our product candidates we may develop.

Some of our collaborators or strategic partners could also become our competitors in the future. Our collaborators or strategic partners could develop competing products, preclude us from entering into collaborations with their competitors, fail to obtain timely regulatory approvals, terminate their agreements with us prematurely, or fail to devote sufficient resources to the development and commercialization of products. Any of these developments could harm our product development efforts.

If we are not able to establish collaborations on commercially reasonable terms, we may have to alter our development and commercialization plans.

Our product development and research programs and the potential commercialization of any product candidates we may develop will require substantial additional cash to fund expenses. For some of the product candidates we may develop, we may decide to collaborate with other pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies for the development and potential commercialization of those product candidates.

We face significant competition in seeking appropriate collaborators. Whether we reach a definitive agreement for a collaboration will depend, among other things, upon our assessment of the collaborator’s resources and expertise, the terms and conditions of the proposed collaboration, and the proposed collaborator’s evaluation of a number of factors. Those factors may include the design or results of clinical trials, the likelihood of approval by the FDA, the EMA or similar regulatory authorities outside the United States, the potential market for the subject product candidate, the costs and complexities of manufacturing and delivering such product candidate to patients, the potential of competing products, the existence of uncertainty with respect to our ownership of technology, which can exist if there is a challenge to such ownership without regard to the merits of the challenge, and industry and market conditions generally. The collaborator may also consider alternative product candidates or technologies for similar indications that may be available to collaborate on and whether such a collaboration could be more attractive than the one with us.

We may also be restricted under existing collaboration agreements from entering into future agreements on certain terms with potential collaborators. Collaborations are complex and time-consuming to negotiate and document. In addition, there have been a significant number of recent business combinations among large pharmaceutical companies that have resulted in a reduced number of potential future collaborators.

We may not be able to negotiate collaborations on a timely basis, on acceptable terms, or at all. If we are unable to do so, we may have to curtail the development of the product candidate for which we are seeking to collaborate, reduce or delay its development program or one or more of our other development programs, delay its potential commercialization or reduce the scope of any sales or marketing activities, or increase our expenditures and undertake development or commercialization activities at our own expense. If we elect to increase our expenditures to fund development or commercialization activities on our own, we may need to obtain additional capital, which may not be available to us on acceptable terms or at all. If we do not have sufficient funds, we may not be able to develop product candidates or bring them to market and generate product revenue.

Public health epidemics or outbreaks, including COVID-19, could adversely impact our business.

Due to the evolving and uncertain global impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, we cannot precisely determine or quantify the impact this pandemic will have on our business operations for the remainder of our fiscal year ending December 31, 2020 or beyond. The extent to which COVID-19 may impact our business, results of operations and future growth prospects will depend on a variety of factors and future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted with confidence, including the ultimate geographic spread of the disease, the duration, scope and severity of the pandemic, the duration and extent of travel restrictions and social distancing in the U.S. and other countries, business closures or business disruptions and the effectiveness of actions taken in the U.S. and other countries to contain and treat COVID-19.

The rapid spread of the virus has led to the implementation of various responses, including government-imposed quarantines, including shelter-in-place mandates, sweeping restrictions on travel, and other public health safety measures, as well as reported adverse impacts on healthcare resources, facilities and providers, in Massachusetts, where our primary offices and laboratory spaces are located, across the United States, and in other countries. The extent to which COVID-19 continues to impact our operations and those of our third-party partners will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted with confidence, including the duration of the outbreak, additional or modified government actions, new information which may emerge

concerning the severity of COVID-19 and the actions taken to contain COVID-19 or treat its impact, among others. As interventions to contain the spread of the virus are lifted or reduced, new COVID-19 outbreaks may result in new or heightened restrictions.

To protect the health of our employees and their families, and our communities, in accordance with direction from state and local government authorities, we restricted access to our facilities to personnel and third parties who must perform critical activities that must be completed on-site, limited the number of such personnel that can be present at our facilities at any one time, and requested that some of our personnel work remotely. We plan to maintain these or similar restrictions until we believe employees can fully resume such activities in accordance with federal, state and local requirements. In the event that governmental authorities were to increase current restrictions, our employees conducting research and development, or manufacturing activities may not be able to access our laboratory or manufacturing space, and our core activities may be significantly limited or curtailed, possibly for an extended period of time.

The COVID-19 pandemic has also impacted, and may continue to impact, our third-party suppliers, including through the effects of facility closures, reductions in operating hours, staggered shifts and other social distancing efforts, labor shortages, decreased productivity and unavailability of materials or components. While we maintain an inventory of materials necessary to conduct our pre-clinical studies, a prolonged outbreak could lead to shortages in these materials.

Additionally, timely completion of preclinical activities is dependent upon the availability of, for example, preclinical sites, researchers and investigators, regulatory agency personnel, and materials, which may be adversely affected by global health matters, such as pandemics. We plan to conduct preclinical activities for our programs in geographies which are currently being affected by COVID-19.

Some factors from the COVID-19 pandemic that could delay or otherwise adversely affect the completion of our preclinical activities and, depending on the duration of the outbreak, the initiation of any future clinical trials, as well as our business generally, include:

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business disruptions caused by potential workplace, laboratory and office closures and an increased reliance on employees working from home, disruptions to or delays in ongoing laboratory experiments and operations, staffing shortages, travel limitations, cyber security and data accessibility, or communication or mass transit disruptions, any of which could adversely impact our business operations or delay necessary interactions with local regulators, ethics committees, manufacturing sites, research sites and other important agencies and contractors;

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limitations on our business operations by local, state, or the federal government that could impact our ability to conduct our preclinical activities, including completing our IND-enabling studies;

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limitations on travel that could hinder our timelines;

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interruption in global shipping affecting the transport of key materials; and

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interruption of, or delays in receiving, key materials from our contract manufacturing organizations due to staffing shortages, production slowdowns or stoppages and disruptions in delivery systems.

These and other factors arising from COVID-19 could worsen in countries that are already afflicted with COVID-19 or could continue to spread to additional countries, each of which could further adversely impact our ability to conduct preclinical or any future clinical trials, and, in general, our business, and could have a material adverse impact on our operations and financial condition and results.

Additionally, the extent and duration of the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on our stock price and other biopharmaceutical companies is uncertain and may make us look less attractive to investors and, as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our common stock, our stock price may be more volatile, and our ability to raise capital could be impaired.

COVID-19 outbreak continues to rapidly evolve. The extent to which the outbreak may impact our business, preclinical studies and any future clinical trials will highly depend on future developments, which are very uncertain and cannot be predicted with confidence, such as the ultimate geographic spread of the disease, the duration of the outbreak, travel restrictions and other actions to contain the outbreak or address its impact, such as social distancing and quarantines or lockdowns in the United States and other countries, business closures or business disruptions and the effectiveness of actions taken in the United States and other countries to contain and address the disease.

The COVID-19 pandemic may also have the effect of heightening many of the other risks described in this section titled “Item 1A. Risk Factors”, such as risks related to our need to raise additional funding, fluctuation of our quarterly financial results, and our ability to obtain and maintain regulatory approvals.

Risks related to our intellectual property

If we are unable to obtain and maintain patent and other intellectual property protection for any product candidates we develop and for our base editing platform technology, or if the scope of the patent and other intellectual property protection obtained is not sufficiently broad, our competitors could develop and commercialize products and technology similar or identical to ours, and our ability to successfully commercialize any product candidates we may develop, and our base editing platform technology may be adversely affected.

Our commercial success will depend in large part on our ability to obtain and maintain patent, trademark, trade secret and other intellectual property protection of our base editing platform technology, product candidates and other technology, methods used to manufacture them and methods of treatment, as well as successfully defending our patent and other intellectual property rights against third-party challenges. It is difficult and costly to protect our base editing platform technology and protect candidates, and we may not be able to ensure their protection. Our ability to stop unauthorized third parties from making, using, selling, offering to sell, importing or otherwise commercializing our product candidates we may develop is dependent upon the extent to which we have rights under valid and enforceable patents or trade secrets that cover these activities.

We seek to protect our proprietary position by in-licensing intellectual property relating to our platform technology and filing patent applications in the United States and abroad related to our base editing platform technology and product candidates that are important to our business. If we or our licensors are unable to obtain or maintain patent protection with respect to our base editing platform technology and product candidates we may develop, or if the scope of the patent protection secured is not sufficiently broad, our competitors could develop and commercialize products and technology similar or identical to ours and our ability to commercialize any product candidates we may develop may be adversely affected.

The patent prosecution process is expensive, time-consuming, and complex, and we may not be able to file, prosecute, maintain, enforce, or license all necessary or desirable patent applications at a reasonable cost or in a timely manner. In addition, we may not pursue or obtain patent protection in all relevant markets. It is also possible that we will fail to identify patentable aspects of our research and development output in time to obtain patent protection. Although we enter into non-disclosure and confidentiality agreements with parties who have access to confidential or patentable aspects of our research and development output, such as our employees, corporate collaborators, outside scientific collaborators, CROs, contract manufacturers, consultants, advisors, and other third parties, any of these parties may breach the agreements and disclose such output before a patent application is filed, thereby jeopardizing our ability to seek patent protection. In addition, our ability to obtain and maintain valid and enforceable patents depends on whether the differences between our inventions and the prior art allow our inventions to be patentable over the prior art. Furthermore, publications of discoveries in the scientific literature often lag behind the actual discoveries, and patent applications in the United States and other jurisdictions are typically not published until 18 months after filing, or in some cases not at all. Therefore, we cannot be certain that we or our licensors were the first to make the inventions claimed in our owned or any licensed patents or pending patent applications, or that we or our licensors were the first to file for patent protection of such inventions.

The patent position of biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies generally is highly uncertain, involves complex legal and factual questions, and has been the subject of much litigation in recent years. The field of genome editing, especially in the area of base editing technology, has been the subject of extensive patenting activity and litigation. As a result, the issuance, scope, validity, enforceability, and commercial value of our patent rights are highly uncertain, and we may become involved in complex and costly litigation. Our pending and future patent applications may not result in patents being issued which protect our base editing platform technology and product candidates we may develop, or which effectively prevent others from commercializing competitive technologies and product candidates.

No consistent policy regarding the scope of claims allowable in the field of genome editing, including base editing technology, has emerged in the United States. The scope of patent protection outside of the United States is also uncertain. Changes in either the patent laws or their interpretation in the United States and other countries may diminish our ability to protect our inventions, obtain, maintain, enforce and defend our intellectual property rights and, more generally, could affect the value of our intellectual property or narrow the scope of our owned and licensed patent rights. With respect to both in-licensed and owned intellectual property, we cannot predict whether the patent applications we and our licensors are currently pursuing will issue as patents in any particular jurisdiction or whether the claims of any issued patents will be valid and enforceable and provide sufficient protection from competitors.

Moreover, the coverage claimed in a patent application can be significantly reduced before the patent is issued, and its scope can be reinterpreted after issuance. Even if patent applications we license or own currently or in the future issue as patents, they may not issue in a form that will provide us with any meaningful protection, prevent competitors or other third parties from competing with us, or otherwise provide us with any competitive advantage. Any patents that we own, or in-license, may be challenged, narrowed, circumvented, or invalidated by third parties. Consequently, we do not know whether any of our platform advances and product candidates we may develop will be protectable or remain protected by valid and enforceable patents. Our competitors or other third parties may be able to circumvent our patents by developing similar or alternative technologies or products in a non-infringing manner.

In addition, given the amount of time required for the development, testing, and regulatory review of new product candidates, patents protecting such candidates might expire before or shortly after such candidates are commercialized. As a result, our intellectual property may not provide us with sufficient rights to exclude others from commercializing products similar or identical to ours. Moreover, some of our owned and in-licensed patents and patent applications are, and may in the future be, co-owned by us with third parties. For example, a patent application directed to our potential HBG1 and HBG2 product candidates is co-owned by us, the President and Fellows of Harvard College, or Harvard, and Broad Institute. At present, we do not have a license to the ownership interest of Harvard or Broad Institute. If we are unable to obtain an exclusive license to such third-party co-owners’ interest in such patents or patent applications, such co-owners may be able to license their rights to other third parties, including our competitors, and our competitors could market competing products and technology. In addition, we may need the cooperation of any such co-owners of our patents in order to enforce such patents against third parties, and such cooperation may not be provided to us. Any of the foregoing could have a material adverse effect on our competitive position, business, financial conditions, results of operations, and prospects.

Our rights to develop and commercialize our base editing platform technology and product candidates are subject, in part, to the terms and conditions of licenses granted to us by others.

We depend on intellectual property licensed from third parties, and our licensors may not always act in our best interest. If we fail to comply with our obligations under our intellectual property licenses, if the licenses are terminated, or if disputes regarding these licenses arise, we could lose significant rights that are important to our business.

We have licensed and are dependent on certain patent rights and proprietary technology from third parties that are important or necessary to the development of our base editing technology and product candidates. For example, we are a party to license agreements with the Broad Institute, Editas, Harvard, and Bio Palette, and others, pursuant to which we in-license key patents and patent applications for our base editing platform technology and product candidates (the Broad License Agreement, the Editas License Agreement, the Harvard License Agreement and the Bio Palette License Agreement, respectively). These license agreements impose various diligence, milestone payment, royalty, insurance, and other obligations on us. If we fail to comply with these obligations, our licensors may have the right to terminate our license, in which event we would not be able to develop or market our base editing platform or any other technology or product candidates covered by the intellectual property licensed under these agreements. For example, under the Harvard License Agreement, we are required to initiate a discovery program in accordance with the development plan and development milestones for the development of a licensed product covered by certain sub-categories of licensed patents. If we fail to initiate such a discovery program, our rights with respect to the sub-category of licensed patents will terminate.

These and other licenses may not provide exclusive rights to use such intellectual property and technology in all relevant fields of use and in all territories in which we may wish to develop or commercialize our base editing platform technology and product candidates in the future. Some licenses granted to us are expressly subject to certain preexisting rights held by the licensor or certain third parties. As a result, we may not be able to prevent competitors from developing and commercializing competitive products in certain territories or fields. For example, certain licensed patents developed by employees of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, or HHMI, and subsequently assigned to Harvard and licensed to us under the Harvard License Agreement remain subject to a non-exclusive license between Harvard and HHMI. The Editas License Agreement provides that our field of use excludes the treatment and prevention of ocular disease and diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of human cancers through engineered T-cells, which are licensed to other licensees, including Allergan Pharmaceuticals International Limited and Juno Therapeutics, Inc. If we determine that rights to such excluded fields are necessary to commercialize our product candidates or maintain our competitive advantage, we may need to obtain a license from such third party in order to continue developing, manufacturing or marketing our product candidates. We may not be able to obtain such a license on an exclusive basis, on commercially reasonable terms, or at all, which could prevent us from commercializing our product candidates or allow our competitors or others the chance to access technology that is important to our business.

Under the Broad License Agreement, rights granted to us include certain patent applications directed to Cas12b or Cas13 that are limited to the United States. The co-owners of these patent applications include Broad Institute, Harvard, MIT, the State University of New Jersey, or Rutgers, Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology, or Skoltech, and the NIH. At present, we do not have a license to the ownership interest of Rutgers, Skoltech, or the NIH. If we are unable to obtain an exclusive license to Rutgers, Skoltech, and the NIH’s interest in such patent applications, Rutgers, Skoltech, and the NIH may be able to license its rights to other third parties, including our competitors, and such third parties could market competing products and technology. In addition, we may need the cooperation of Rutgers, Skoltech, or the NIH in order to enforce patents issuing from these patent applications against third parties, and such cooperation may not be provided to us. Any of the foregoing could have a material adverse effect on our competitive position, business, financial conditions, results of operations, and prospects.

In addition, pursuant to our license agreement with Broad Institute and our license agreement with Harvard, under certain specific circumstances (in each case), Broad Institute or Harvard (as applicable) may grant a license to the patents that are the subject of such license agreement to a third party in the same field as such patents are licensed to us. Such third party may then have full rights that are the subject of the Broad License Agreement or the Harvard License Agreement (as applicable), which could impact our competitive position and enable a third party to commercialize products similar to our potential future product candidates and

technology. Any grant of rights to a third party in this scenario would narrow the scope of our exclusive rights to the patents and patent applications we have in-licensed from Broad Institute and/or Harvard, as applicable.

We do not have complete control in the preparation, filing, prosecution, maintenance, enforcement, and defense of patents and patent applications covering the technology that we license from third parties. For example, pursuant to each of our intellectual property licenses with Broad Institute, Harvard, Editas and Bio Palette, our licensors retain control of preparation, filing, prosecution, and maintenance, and, in certain circumstances, enforcement and defense of their patents and patent applications. It is possible that our licensors’ enforcement of patents against infringers or defense of such patents against challenges of validity or claims of enforceability may be less vigorous than if we had conducted them ourselves, or may not be conducted in accordance with our best interests. We cannot be certain that these patents and patent applications will be prepared, filed, prosecuted, maintained, enforced, and defended in a manner consistent with the best interests of our business. If our licensors fail to prosecute, maintain, enforce, and defend such patents, or lose rights to those patents or patent applications, the rights we have licensed may be reduced or eliminated, our right to develop and commercialize any of our product candidates we may develop that are the subject of such licensed rights could be adversely affected and we may not be able to prevent competitors from making, using, and selling competing products.

Our licensors may have relied on third-party consultants or collaborators or on funds from third parties such that our licensors are not the sole and exclusive owners of the patents we in-licensed. If other third parties have ownership rights to our in-licensed patents, the license granted to us in jurisdictions where the consent of a co-owner is necessary to grant such a license may not be valid and such co-owners may be able to license such patents to our competitors, and our competitors could market competing products and technology. In addition, our rights to our in-licensed patents and patent applications are dependent, in part, on inter-institutional or other operating agreements between the joint owners of such in-licensed patents and patent applications. If one or more of such joint owners breaches such inter-institutional or operating agreements, our rights to such in-licensed patents and patent applications may be adversely affected. Any of these events could have a material adverse effect on our competitive position, business, financial conditions, results of operations, and prospects.

Furthermore, inventions contained within some of our in-licensed patents and patent applications were made using U.S. government funding. We rely on our licensors to ensure compliance with applicable obligations arising from such funding, such as timely reporting, an obligation associated with our in-licensed patents and patent applications. The failure of our licensors to meet their obligations may lead to a loss of rights or the unenforceability of relevant patents. For example, the U.S. government could have certain rights in such in-licensed patents, including a non-exclusive license authorizing the U.S. government to use the invention or to have others use the invention on its behalf. If the U.S. government decides to exercise these rights, it is not required to engage us as its contractor in connection with doing so. The U.S. government’s rights may also permit it to disclose the funded inventions and technology to third parties and to exercise march-in rights to use or allow third parties to use the technology we have licensed that was developed using U.S. government funding. The U.S. government may also exercise its march-in rights if it determines that action is necessary because we or our licensors failed to achieve practical application of the U.S. government-funded technology, because action is necessary to alleviate health or safety needs, to meet requirements of federal regulations, or to give preference to U.S. industry. In addition, our rights in such in-licensed U.S. government-funded inventions may be subject to certain requirements to manufacture product candidates embodying such inventions in the United States. Any of the foregoing could harm our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects significantly.

In the event any of our third-party licensors determine that, in spite of our efforts, we have materially breached a license agreement or have failed to meet certain obligations thereunder, it may elect to terminate the applicable license agreement or, in some cases, one or more license(s) under the applicable license agreement and such termination would result in us no longer having the ability to develop and commercialize product candidates and technology covered by that license agreement or license. In the event of such termination of a third-party in-license, or if the underlying patents under a third-party in-license fail to provide the intended exclusivity, competitors would have the freedom to seek regulatory approval of, and to market, products identical to ours. Any of these events could have a material adverse effect on our competitive position, business, financial conditions, results of operations, and prospects.

Our owned and in-licensed patents and patent applications may not provide sufficient protection of our base editing platform technologies, our product candidates and our future product candidates or result in any competitive advantage.

We have in-licensed a number of issued U.S. patents and patent applications that cover base editing and gene targeting technologies. We have applied for provisional patent applications or Patent Cooperation Treaty, or PCT, applications intended to specifically cover our base editing platform technology and uses with respect to treatment of particular diseases and conditions, but do not currently own any issued U.S. patents. Each U.S. provisional patent application is not eligible to become an issued patent until, among other things, we file a non-provisional patent application within 12 months of the filing date of the applicable provisional patent application. Any failure to file a non-provisional patent application within this timeline could cause us to lose the ability to obtain patent protection for the intentions disclosed in the associated provisional patent applications. We cannot be certain that any of these patent applications will issue as patents, and if they do, that such patents will cover or adequately protect our base editing platform technologies or our product candidates, or that such patents will not be challenged, narrowed, circumvented, invalidated or held unenforceable. Any failure to obtain or maintain patent protection with respect to our base editing platform technology and product candidates could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and growth prospects.

Our owned patent applications and in-licensed patents and patent applications contain claims directed to compositions of matter on our base editing product candidates, as well as methods directed to the use of such product candidates for gene therapy treatment. Method-of-use patents do not prevent a competitor or other third party from developing or marketing an identical product for an indication that is outside the scope of the patented method. Moreover, with respect to method-of-use patents, even if competitors or other third parties

do not actively promote their product for our targeted indications or uses for which we may obtain patents, providers may recommend that patients use these products off-label, or patients may do so themselves.

The strength of patents in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical field involves complex legal and scientific questions and can be uncertain. The patent applications that we own, or in-license, may fail to result in issued patents with claims that cover our product candidates or uses thereof in the United States or in other foreign countries. For example, while our patent applications are pending, we may be subject to a third-party pre-issuance submission of prior art to the United States Patent and Trademark Office, or USPTO, or become involved in interference or derivation proceedings, or equivalent proceedings in foreign jurisdictions. Even if patents do successfully issue, third parties may challenge their inventorship, validity, enforceability or scope, including through opposition, revocation, reexamination, post-grant and inter partes review proceedings. An adverse determination in any such submission, proceeding or litigation could reduce the scope of, or invalidate or render unenforceable, our owned or in-licensed patent rights, allow third parties to commercialize our technology or product candidates and compete directly with us, without payment to us, or result in our inability to manufacture or commercialize products without infringing third-party patent rights. Moreover, we, or one of our licensors, may have to participate in interference proceedings declared by the USPTO to determine priority of invention or in post-grant challenge proceedings, such as oppositions in a foreign patent office, that challenge our or our licensor’s priority of invention or other features of patentability with respect to our owned or in-licensed patents and patent applications. Such challenges may result in loss of patent rights, loss of exclusivity, or in patent claims being narrowed, invalidated, or held unenforceable, which could limit our ability to stop others from using or commercializing similar or identical technology and products, or limit the duration of the patent protection of our technology and product candidates. Furthermore, even if they are unchallenged, our patents and patent applications may not adequately protect our intellectual property or prevent others from designing around our claims. If the breadth or strength of protection provided by the patent applications we own or the patents and patent applications we in-license with respect to our base editing platform technology and product candidates is threatened, it could dissuade companies from collaborating with us to develop, and threaten our ability to commercialize, our product candidates. Further, if we encounter delays in development, testing, and regulatory review of new product candidates, the period of time during which we could market our product candidates under patent protection would be reduced.

Given that patent applications in the United States and other countries are confidential for a period of time after filing, at any moment in time, we cannot be certain that we or our licensors were in the past or will be in the future the first to file any patent application related to our base editing technology or product candidates. In addition, some patent applications in the United States may be maintained in secrecy until the patents are issued. As a result, there may be prior art of which we or our licensors are not aware that may affect the validity or enforceability of a patent claim, and we or our licensors may be subject to priority disputes. For our in-licensed patent portfolios, we rely on our licensors to determine inventorship, and obtain and file inventor assignments of priority applications before their conversion as PCT applications. A failure to do so in a timely fashion may give rise to a challenge to entitlement of priority for foreign applications nationalized from such PCT applications. For example, the European Patent Office, or the EPO, Opposition Division, or the EPO Opposition Division, has revoked our optioned Broad Institute patent European Patent No. EP2771468 following a third-party challenge to its priority rights. The patent was revoked due to loss of priority. We or our licensors are subject to and may in the future become a party to proceedings or priority disputes in Europe or other foreign jurisdictions. The loss of priority for, or the loss of, these European patents could have a material adverse effect on the conduct of our business.

We may be required to disclaim part or all of the term of certain patents or patent applications. There may be prior art of which we are not aware that may affect the validity or enforceability of a patent claim. There also may be prior art of which we or our licensors are aware, but which we or our licensors do not believe affects the validity or enforceability of a claim, which may, nonetheless, ultimately be found to affect the validity or enforceability of a claim. No assurance can be given that, if challenged, our patents would be declared by a court, patent office or other governmental authority to be valid or enforceable or that even if found valid and enforceable, a competitor’s technology or product would be found by a court to infringe our patents. We may analyze patents or patent applications of our competitors that we believe are relevant to our activities, and consider that we are free to operate in relation to our product candidates, but our competitors may achieve issued claims, including in patents we consider to be unrelated, that block our efforts or potentially result in our product candidates or our activities infringing such claims. It is possible that our competitors may have filed, and may in the future file, patent applications covering our products or technology similar to ours. Those patent applications may have priority over our owned patent applications and in-licensed patent applications or patents, which could require us to obtain rights to issued patents covering such technologies. The possibility also exists that others will develop products that have the same effect as our product candidates on an independent basis that do not infringe our patents or other intellectual property rights, or will design around the claims of our patent applications or our in-licensed patents or patent applications that cover our product candidates.

Likewise, our currently owned patent applications, if issued as patents, and in-licensed patents and patent applications, if issued as patents, directed to our proprietary base editing technologies and our product candidates are expected to expire from 2034 through 2040, without taking into account any possible patent term adjustments or extensions. Our owned or in-licensed patents may expire before, or soon after, our first product candidate achieves marketing approval in the United States or foreign jurisdictions. Additionally, no assurance can be given that the USPTO or relevant foreign patent offices will grant any of the pending patent applications we own or in-license currently or in the future. Upon the expiration of our current in-licensed patents, we may lose the

right to exclude others from practicing these inventions. The expiration of these patents could also have a similar material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

Our owned patent applications and in-licensed patents and patent applications and other intellectual property may be subject to priority disputes or to inventorship disputes and similar proceedings. If we or our licensors are unsuccessful in any of these proceedings, we may be required to obtain licenses from third parties, which may not be available on commercially reasonable terms or at all, or to cease the development, manufacture, and commercialization of one or more of the product candidates we may develop, which could have a material adverse impact on our business.

Although we have an option to exclusively license certain patents and patent applications directed to Cas9 and Cas12a from Editas, who in turn has licensed such patents from various academic institutions including the Broad Institute, we do not currently have a license to such patents and patent applications. Certain of the U.S. patents and one U.S. patent application to which we hold an option are co-owned by the Broad Institute and MIT, and in some cases co-owned by the Broad Institute, MIT, and Harvard, which we refer to together as the Boston Licensing Parties, and were involved in U.S. interference No. 106,048 with one U.S. patent application co-owned by the University of California, the University of Vienna, and Emmanuelle Charpentier, which we refer to together as the University of California. On September 10, 2018, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, or the CAFC, affirmed the Patent Trial and Appeal Board of the USPTO’s, or PTAB’s, holding that there was no interference-in-fact. An interference is a proceeding within the USPTO to determine priority of invention of the subject matter of patent claims filed by different parties.

On June 24, 2019, the PTAB declared an interference (U.S. Interference No. 106,115) between 10 U.S. patent applications ((U.S. Serial Nos. 15/947,680; 15/947,700; 15/947,718; 15/981,807; 15/981,808; 15/981,809; 16/136,159; 16/136,165; 16/136,168; and 16/136,175) that are co-owned by the University of California, and 13 U.S. patents and one U.S. patent application ((U.S. Patent Nos. 8,697,359; 8,771,945; 8,795,965; 8,865,406; 8,871,445; 8,889,356; 8,895,308; 8,906,616; 8,932,814; 8,945,839; 8,993,233; 8,999,641; and 9,840,713, and U.S. Serial No. 14/704,551) that are co-owned by the Boston Licensing Parties, which we have an option to under the Editas License Agreement. In the declared interference, the University of California has been designated as the junior party and the Boston Licensing Parties have been designated as the senior party.

As a result of the declaration of interference, an adversarial proceeding in the USPTO before the PTAB has been initiated, which is declared to ultimately determine priority, specifically and which party was first to invent the claimed subject matter, and oral arguments commenced on May 18, 2020. An interference is typically divided into two phases. The first phase is referred to as the motions or preliminary motions phase while the second is referred to as the priority phase. In the first phase, each party may raise issues including but not limited to those relating to the patentability of a party’s claims based on prior art, written description, and enablement. A party also may seek an earlier priority benefit or may challenge whether the declaration of interference was proper in the first place. Priority, or a determination of who first invented the commonly claimed invention, is determined in the second phase of an interference. Although we cannot predict with any certainty how long each phase will actually take, each phase may take approximately a year or longer before a decision is made by the PTAB. It is possible for motions filed in the preliminary motions phase to be dispositive of the interference proceeding, such that the second priority phase is not reached. The 10 University of California patent applications and the 13 U.S. patents and one U.S. patent application co-owned by the Boston Licensing Parties involved in U.S. Interference No. 106,115 generally relate to CRISPR/Cas9 systems or eukaryotic cells comprising CRISPR/Cas9 systems having fused or covalently linked RNA and the use thereof in eukaryotic cells. There can be no assurance that the U.S. interference will be resolved in favor of the Boston Licensing Parties. If the U.S. interference resolves in favor of University of California, or if the Boston Licensing Parties’ patents and patent application are narrowed, invalidated, or held unenforceable, we will lose the ability to license the optioned patents and patent application and our ability to commercialize our product candidates may be adversely affected if we cannot obtain a license to relevant third party patents that cover our product candidates. We may not be able to obtain any required license on commercially reasonable terms or at all. Even if we were able to obtain a license, it could be nonexclusive, thereby giving our competitors and other third parties access to the same technologies licensed to us, and it could require us to make substantial licensing and royalty payments. If we are unable to obtain a necessary license to a third-party patent on commercially reasonable terms, we may be unable to commercialize our base editing platform technology or product candidates or such commercialization efforts may be significantly delayed, which could in turn significantly harm our business.

We or our licensors may also be subject to claims that former employees, collaborators, or other third parties have an interest in our owned patent applications or in-licensed patents or patent applications or other intellectual property as an inventor or co-inventor. If we are unable to obtain an exclusive license to any such third-party co-owners’ interest in such patent applications, such co-owners may be able to license their rights to other third parties, including our competitors. In addition, we may need the cooperation of any such co-owners to enforce any patents that issue from such patent applications against third parties, and such cooperation may not be provided to us.

If we or our licensors are unsuccessful in any interference proceedings or other priority, validity (including any patent oppositions), or inventorship disputes to which we or they are subject, we may lose valuable intellectual property rights through the loss of one or more of our owned, licensed, or optioned patents, or such patent claims may be narrowed, invalidated, or held unenforceable, or through loss of exclusive ownership of or the exclusive right to use our owned or in-licensed patents. In the event of loss of patent rights as a result of any of these disputes, we may be required to obtain and maintain licenses from third parties, including parties involved in any such interference proceedings or other priority or inventorship disputes. Such licenses may not be available on commercially reasonable terms or at all, or may be non-exclusive. If we are unable to obtain and maintain such licenses, we may need

to cease the development, manufacture, and commercialization of one or more of the product candidates we may develop. The loss of exclusivity or the narrowing of our patent claims could limit our ability to stop others from using or commercializing similar or identical technology and product candidates. Even if we or our licensors are successful in an interference proceeding or other similar priority or inventorship disputes, it could result in substantial costs and be a distraction to management and other employees. Any of the foregoing could result in a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, or prospects.

We have limited foreign intellectual property rights and may not be able to protect our intellectual property and proprietary rights throughout the world.

We have limited intellectual property rights outside the United States. Filing, prosecuting, and defending patents on product candidates in all countries throughout the world would be prohibitively expensive, and our intellectual property rights in some countries outside the United States can be less extensive than those in the United States. In addition, the laws of foreign countries do not protect intellectual property rights to the same extent as federal and state laws of the United States. In addition, our intellectual property license agreements may not always include worldwide rights. Consequently, we may not be able to prevent third parties from practicing our inventions in all countries outside the United States, or from selling or importing products made using our inventions in and into the United States or other jurisdictions. Competitors may use our technologies in jurisdictions where we have not obtained patent protection to develop their own products and, further, may export otherwise infringing products to territories where we have patent protection but where enforcement is not as strong as that in the United States. These products may compete with our product candidates and our patents or other intellectual property rights may not be effective or sufficient to prevent them from competing.

Many companies have encountered significant problems in protecting and defending intellectual property rights in foreign jurisdictions. The legal systems of certain countries, particularly certain developing countries, do not favor the enforcement of patents, trade secrets, and other intellectual property protection, particularly those relating to biotechnology and pharmaceutical products, which could make it difficult for us to stop the infringement of our patents or marketing of competing products against third parties in violation of our intellectual property and proprietary rights generally. Proceedings to enforce our patents and intellectual property rights in foreign jurisdictions could result in substantial costs and divert our efforts and attention from other aspects of our business, could put our patents at risk of being invalidated or interpreted narrowly and our patent applications at risk of not issuing, and could provoke third parties to assert claims against us. We may not prevail in any lawsuits that we initiate, and the damages or other remedies awarded, if any, may not be commercially meaningful. Moreover, the initiation of proceedings by third parties to challenge the scope or validity of our patent rights in foreign jurisdictions could result in substantial cost and divert our efforts and attention from other aspects of our business. Accordingly, our efforts to enforce our intellectual property and proprietary rights around the world may be inadequate to obtain a significant commercial advantage from the intellectual property that we develop or license.

Many countries have compulsory licensing laws under which a patent owner may be compelled to grant licenses to third parties. In addition, many countries limit the enforceability of patents against government agencies or government contractors. In these countries, the patent owner may have limited remedies, which could materially diminish the value of such patent. If we or any of our licensors is forced to grant a license to third parties with respect to any patents relevant to our business, our competitive position may be impaired, and our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects may be adversely affected.

If we fail to comply with our obligations in the agreements under which we license intellectual property rights from third parties or otherwise experience disruptions to our business relationships with our licensors, we could lose license rights that are important to our business.

We have entered into license agreements with third parties and may need to obtain additional licenses from our existing licensors and others to advance our research or allow commercialization of product candidates we may develop. It is possible that we may be unable to obtain any additional licenses at a reasonable cost or on reasonable terms, if at all. In either event, we may be required to expend significant time and resources to redesign our technology, product candidates, or the methods for manufacturing them or to develop or license replacement technology, all of which may not be feasible on a technical or commercial basis. If we are unable to do so, we may be unable to develop or commercialize the affected product candidates, which could harm our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects significantly. We cannot provide any assurances that third-party patents do not exist which might be enforced against our current technology, including base editing technology, manufacturing methods, product candidates, or future methods or products resulting in either an injunction prohibiting our manufacture or future sales, or, with respect to our future sales, an obligation on our part to pay royalties and/or other forms of compensation to third parties, which could be significant.

In each of our license agreements, we are generally responsible for bringing any actions against any third party for infringing on the patents we have licensed. Certain of our license agreements, also require us to meet development thresholds to maintain the license, including establishing a set timeline for developing and commercializing products. In spite of our efforts, our licensors might conclude that we have materially breached our obligations under such license agreements and might therefore terminate the license agreements, thereby removing or limiting our ability to develop and commercialize products and technology covered by these license agreements. If these in-licenses are terminated, or if the underlying patents fail to provide the intended exclusivity, competitors or other third parties would have the freedom to seek regulatory approval of, and to market, products identical to ours and we may be required to cease our development and commercialization of or base editing platform technology or product candidates. Any of the foregoing

could have a material adverse effect on our competitive position, business, financial conditions, results of operations, and growth prospects. Disputes may arise regarding intellectual property subject to a licensing agreement, including:

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the scope of rights granted under the license agreement and other interpretation-related issues;

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the extent to which our technology and processes infringe on intellectual property of the licensor that is not subject to the licensing agreement;

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the sublicensing of patent and other rights to third parties under our collaborative development relationships;

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our diligence obligations under the license agreement with respect to the use of the licensed technology in relation to our development and commercialization of our product candidates and what activities satisfy those diligence obligations;

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the inventorship and ownership of inventions and know-how resulting from the joint creation or use of intellectual property by our licensors and us and our partners; and

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the priority of invention of patented technology.

In addition, the agreements under which we currently license intellectual property or technology from third parties are complex, and certain provisions in such agreements may be susceptible to multiple interpretations. The resolution of any contract interpretation disagreement that may arise could narrow what we believe to be the scope of our rights to the relevant intellectual property or technology or broaden what we believe to be the scope of the licensor’s rights to our intellectual property and technology, or increase what we believe to be our financial or other obligations under the relevant agreement, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects. Moreover, if disputes over intellectual property that we have licensed prevent or impair our ability to maintain our current licensing arrangements on commercially acceptable terms, we may be unable to successfully develop and commercialize the affected product candidates. As a result, any termination of or disputes over our intellectual property licenses could result in the loss of our ability to develop and commercialize our base editing platform or other product candidates or we could lose other significant rights, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial conditions, results of operations, and prospects. It is also possible that a third party could be granted limited licenses to some of the same technology, in certain circumstances.

We may not be successful in acquiring or in-licensing necessary rights to key technologies or any product candidates we may develop.

We currently have rights to intellectual property, through licenses from third parties, to identify and develop product candidates, and we expect to seek to expand our product candidate pipeline in part by in-licensing the rights to key technologies. The future growth of our business will depend in part on our ability to in-license or otherwise acquire the rights to additional product candidates and technologies. Although we have succeeded in licensing technologies from third party licensees including Harvard, Broad Institute, Editas, and Bio Palette in the past, we cannot assure you that we will be able to in-license or acquire the rights to any product candidates or technologies from third parties on acceptable terms or at all.

For example, our agreements with certain of our third-party licensors provide that our filed of use excludes particular fields, for example, treatment and prevention of ocular disease, and diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of human cancers through engineered T-cells, which are licensed exclusively or non-exclusively to other third-party licensees. If we determine that rights to such fields are necessary to commercialize our drug candidates or maintain our competitive advantage, we may need to obtain a license from such third party in order to continue developing, manufacturing or marketing our drug candidates. We may not be able to obtain such a license on an exclusive basis, on commercially reasonable terms, or at all, which could prevent us from commercializing our drug candidates or allow our competitors or others the chance to access technology that is important to our business.

Furthermore, there has been extensive patenting activity in the field of genome editing, and pharmaceutical companies, biotechnology companies, and academic institutions are competing with us or are expected to compete with us in the in the field of genome editing technology and filing patent applications potentially relevant to our business and we are aware of certain third-party patent applications that, if issued, may allow the third party to circumvent our patent rights. For example, we are aware of several third-party patents, and patent applications, that if issued, may be construed to cover our base editing technology and product candidates. In order to market our product candidates, we may find it necessary or prudent to obtain licenses from such third-party intellectual property holders. However, we may be unable to secure such licenses or otherwise acquire or in-license any compositions, methods of use, processes, or other intellectual property rights from third parties that we identify as necessary for product candidates we may develop and base editing technology. We may also require licenses from third parties for certain non-base editing technologies including certain delivery methods that we are evaluating for use with product candidates we may develop. In addition, some of our owned patent applications and in-licensed patents and patent applications are co-owned with third parties. With respect to any patents co-owned with third parties, we may require licenses to such co-owners’ interest to such patents. If we are unable to obtain an exclusive license to any such third-party co-owners’ interest in such patents or patent applications, such co-owners may be able to license their rights to other third parties, including our competitors, and our competitors could market competing products and technology. In

addition, we may need the cooperation of any such co-owners of our patents in order to enforce such patents against third parties, and such cooperation may not be provided to us.

Additionally, we may collaborate with academic institutions to accelerate our preclinical research or development under written agreements with these institutions. In certain cases, these institutions provide us with an option to negotiate a license to any of the institution’s rights in technology resulting from the collaboration. Even if we hold such an option, we may be unable to negotiate a license from the institution within the specified timeframe or under terms that are acceptable to us. If we are unable to do so, the institution may offer the intellectual property rights to others, potentially blocking our ability to pursue our program.

In addition, the licensing or acquisition of third-party intellectual property rights is a highly competitive area, and a number of more established companies are also pursuing strategies to license or acquire third party intellectual property rights that we may consider attractive or necessary. These established companies may have a competitive advantage over us due to their size, capital resources and greater clinical development and commercialization capabilities. In addition, companies that perceive us to be a competitor may be unwilling to assign or license rights to us. We also may be unable to license or acquire third party intellectual property rights on terms that would allow us to make an appropriate return on our investment or at all. If we are unable to successfully obtain rights to required third party intellectual property rights or maintain the existing intellectual property rights we have, we may have to abandon development of the relevant program or product candidate, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects.

The intellectual property landscape around genome editing technology, including base editing, is highly dynamic, and third parties may initiate legal proceedings alleging that we are infringing, misappropriating, or otherwise violating their intellectual property rights, the outcome of which would be uncertain and may prevent, delay or otherwise interfere with our product discovery and development efforts.

The field of genome editing, especially in the area of base editing technology, is still in its infancy, and no such product candidates have reached the market. Due to the intense research and development that is taking place by several companies, including us and our competitors, in this field, the intellectual property landscape is evolving and in flux, and it may remain uncertain for the coming years. There may be significant intellectual property related litigation and proceedings relating to our owned and in-licensed, and other third party, intellectual property and proprietary rights in the future.

Our commercial success depends upon our ability and the ability of our collaborators and licensors to develop, manufacture, market, and sell any product candidates that we may develop and use our proprietary technologies without infringing, misappropriating, or otherwise violating the intellectual property and proprietary rights of third parties. The biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries are characterized by extensive litigation regarding patents and other intellectual property rights as well as administrative proceedings for challenging patents, including interference, derivation, inter partes review, post grant review, and reexamination proceedings before the USPTO or oppositions and other comparable proceedings in foreign jurisdictions. We may be subject to and may in the future become party to, or threatened with, adversarial proceedings or litigation regarding intellectual property rights with respect to our base editing platform technology and any product candidates we may develop, including interference proceedings, post-grant review, inter partes review, and derivation proceedings before the USPTO and similar proceedings in foreign jurisdictions such as oppositions before the EPO. Numerous U.S. and foreign issued patents and pending patent applications that are owned by third parties exist in the fields in which we are developing our product candidates and they may assert infringement claims against us based on existing patents or patents that may be granted in the future, regardless of their merit.

As the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries expand and more patents are issued, the risk increases that our base editing platform technology and product candidates may give rise to claims of infringement of the patent rights of others. Moreover, it is not always clear to industry participants, including us, which patents cover various types of therapies, products or their methods of use or manufacture. We are aware of certain third-party patent applications that, if issued, may be construed to cover our base editing technology and product candidates. There may also be third-party patents of which we are currently unaware with claims to technologies, methods of manufacture or methods for treatment related to the use or manufacture of our product candidates. Because patent applications can take many years to issue, there may be currently pending patent applications that may later result in issued patents that our product candidates may infringe. In addition, third parties may obtain patents in the future and claim that use of our technologies infringes upon these patents.

Numerous third-party U.S. and foreign issued patents and pending patent applications exist in the fields in which we are developing product candidates. Our product candidates make use of CRISPR-based technology, which is a field that is highly active for patent filings. In November 2018, it was reported that 211 patent families and 1835 patent family members worldwide referenced CRISPR or Cas in the title, abstracts or claims. The extensive patent filings related to CRISPR and Cas make it difficult for us to assess the full extent of relevant patents and pending applications that may cover our base editing platform technology and product candidates and their use or manufacture. There may be third-party patents or patent applications with claims to materials, formulations, methods of manufacture or methods for treatment related to the use or manufacture of our base editing platform technology and product candidates. For example, we are aware of a patent portfolio that is co-owned by the University of California, University of Vienna and Emmanuelle Charpentier, or the University of California Portfolio, which contains multiple patents and pending applications directed

to gene editing. The University of California portfolio includes, for example, U.S. Patent Nos. 10,266,850; 10,227,611; 10,000,772; 10,113,167; 10,301,651; 10,308,961; 10,337,029; 10,351,878; 10,407,697; 10,358,659; 10,358,658; 10,385,360; 10,400,253; 10,421,980; 10,415,061; 10,443,076; 10,487,341; 10,513,712; 10,519,467; 10,526,619, which are expected to expire around March 2033, excluding any additional term for patent term adjustment, or PTA, or patent term extension, or PTE, and any disclaimed term for terminal disclaimers. The University of California portfolio also includes U.S. pre-grant patent publications 20190264233, 20190264235, 20190264236, 20190271008, and 20190256871, which are indicated as in condition for allowance by the USPTO, as well as numerous additional pending patent applications. If these patent applications issue as patents, they are expected to expire around March 2033, excluding any PTA, PTE, and any disclaimed term for terminal disclaimers. As discussed above, certain applications in the University of California Portfolio are currently subject to U.S. Interference No. 106,115 with certain U.S. patents and one U.S. patent application that are co-owned by the Boston Licensing Parties to which we have an option under the Editas License Agreement. Although we have an option to exclusively license certain patents and patent applications directed to Cas9 and Cas12a from Editas, who in turn has licensed such patents from various academic institutions including Broad Institute, we do not currently have a license to such patents and patent applications. Certain members of the University of California Portfolio are being opposed in Europe by multiple parties. For example, the EPO Opposition Division has initiated opposition proceedings against European Patent Nos. EP3,241,902 B1 and EP2,800,811 B1, which are estimated to expire in March 2033 (excluding any patent term adjustments or extensions). In addition, notices of opposition have also been filed by several third parties against European Patent No. EP3,401,400 B1, which is estimated to expire in March 2033 (excluding any patent term adjustments or extensions). The opposition procedure before the EPO allows one or more third parties to challenge the validity of a granted European patent within nine months after grant date of the European patent. Opposition proceedings may involve issues including, but not limited to, priority, patentability of the claims involved, and procedural formalities related to the filing of the patent application. As a result of the opposition proceedings, the Opposition Division can revoke a patent, maintain the patent as granted, or maintain the patent in an amended form. It is uncertain when or in what manner the Opposition Division will act on the opposition proceedings of European patent EP3,241,902 B1 and how oppositions filed against EP3,401,400 B1 will be resolved. Most of the claims of European patent EP 2,800,811 B1 were maintained without amendment by the Opposition Division, but this decision is being appealed. If these patents are maintained by the Opposition Division with claims similar to those that are currently opposed, our ability to commercialize our product candidates may be adversely affected if we do not obtain a license to these patents. We may not be able to obtain any required license on commercially reasonable terms or at all. Even if we were able to obtain a license, it could be nonexclusive, thereby giving our competitors and other third parties access to the same technologies licensed to us, and it could require us to make substantial licensing and royalty payments. If we are unable to obtain a necessary license to a third-party patent on commercially reasonable terms, we may be unable to commercialize our base editing platform technology or product candidates or such commercialization efforts may be significantly delayed, which could in turn significantly harm our business.

Numerous other patents and patent applications have been filed by other third parties directed to gene editing, guide nucleic acids, PAM sequence variants, split inteins, Cas12b or gene editing in the context of immune therapy or chimeric antigen receptors.

Because of the large number of patents issued and patent applications filed in our field, third parties may allege they have patent rights encompassing our product candidates, technologies or methods. Third parties may assert that we are employing their proprietary technology without authorization and may file patent infringement claims or lawsuit against us, and if we are found to infringe such third-party patents, we may be required to pay damages, cease commercialization of the infringing technology, or obtain a license from such third parties, which may not be available on commercially reasonable terms or at all.

Our ability to commercialize our product candidates in the United States and abroad may be adversely affected if we cannot obtain a license on commercially reasonable terms to relevant third-party patents that cover our product candidates or base editing platform technology. Even if we believe third-party intellectual property claims are without merit, there is no assurance that a court would find in our favor on questions of infringement, validity, enforceability, or priority. A court of competent jurisdiction could hold that these third-party patents are valid, enforceable, and infringed, which could materially and adversely affect our ability to commercialize any product candidates we may develop and any other product candidates or technologies covered by the asserted third-party patents. In order to successfully challenge the validity of any such U.S. patent in federal court, we would need to overcome a presumption of validity. As this burden is a high one requiring us to present clear and convincing evidence as to the invalidity of any such U.S. patent claim, there is no assurance that a court of competent jurisdiction would invalidate the claims of any such U.S. patent. If we are found to infringe a third party’s intellectual property rights, and we are unsuccessful in demonstrating that such patents are invalid or unenforceable, we could be required to obtain a license from such third party to continue developing, manufacturing, and marketing any product candidates we may develop and our technology. However, we may not be able to obtain any required license on commercially reasonable terms or at all. Even if we were able to obtain a license, it could be non-exclusive, thereby giving our competitors and other third parties access to the same technologies licensed to us, and it could require us to make substantial licensing and royalty payments. If we are unable to obtain a necessary license to a third-party patent on commercially reasonable terms, we may be unable to commercialize our base editing platform technology or product candidates or such commercialization efforts may be significantly delayed, which could in turn significantly harm our business. We also could be forced, including by court order, to cease developing, manufacturing, and commercializing the infringing technology or product candidates. In addition, we could be found liable for significant monetary damages, including treble damages and attorneys’ fees, if we are found to have willfully infringed a

patent or other intellectual property right. Claims that we have misappropriated the confidential information or trade secrets of third parties could have a similar material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects.

Defense of third-party claims of infringement of misappropriation, or violation of intellectual property rights involves substantial litigation expense and would be a substantial diversion of management and employee time and resources from our business. Some third parties may be able to sustain the costs of complex patent litigation more effectively than we can because they have substantially greater resources. In addition, any uncertainties resulting from the initiation and continuation of any litigation could have a material adverse effect on our ability to raise the funds necessary to continue our operations or could otherwise have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects. There could also be public announcements of the results of hearings, motions, or other interim proceedings or developments, and if securities analysts or investors perceive these results to be negative, it could have a substantial adverse effect on the price of our common stock. Any of the foregoing events could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

We may become involved in lawsuits to protect or enforce our future patents or the patents of our licensors, which could be expensive, time consuming, and unsuccessful and could result in a finding that such patents are unenforceable or invalid.

Competitors may infringe our future patents or the patents of our licensing partners, or we may be required to defend against claims of infringement. In addition, our future patents or the patents of our licensing partners also are, and may in the future become, involved in inventorship, priority, validity or enforceability disputes. Countering or defending against such claims can be expensive and time consuming. In an infringement proceeding, a court may decide that a patent owned or in-licensed by us is invalid or unenforceable, or may refuse to stop the other party from using the technology at issue on the grounds that our owned and in-licensed patents do not cover the technology in question. An adverse result in any litigation proceeding could put one or more of our owned or in-licensed patents at risk of being invalidated or interpreted narrowly.

In patent litigation in the United States, defendant counterclaims alleging invalidity and/or unenforceability are commonplace, and there are numerous grounds upon which a third party can assert invalidity or unenforceability of a patent. Third parties may also raise similar claims before administrative bodies in the United States or abroad, even outside the context of litigation. These types of mechanisms include re-examination, post-grant review, inter partes review, interference proceedings, derivation proceedings, and equivalent proceedings in foreign jurisdictions (e.g., opposition proceedings). These types of proceedings could result in revocation or amendment to our patents such that they no longer cover our product candidates. The outcome for any particular patent following legal assertions of invalidity and unenforceability is unpredictable. With respect to the validity question, for example, we cannot be certain that there is no invalidating prior art, of which we, our licensors, our patent counsel and the patent examiner were unaware during prosecution. If a defendant were to prevail on a legal assertion of invalidity and/or unenforceability, or if we are otherwise unable to adequately protect our rights, we would lose at least part, and perhaps all, of the patent protection on our technology and/or product candidates. Defense of these types of claims, regardless of their merit, would involve substantial litigation expense and would be a substantial diversion of employee resources from our business.

Conversely, we may choose to challenge the patentability of claims in a third party’s U.S. patent by requesting that the USPTO review the patent claims in re-examination, post-grant review, inter partes review, interference proceedings, derivation proceedings, and equivalent proceedings in foreign jurisdictions (e.g., opposition proceedings). We are currently challenging, and in the future may choose to challenge, third party patents in patent opposition proceedings in the EPO or another foreign patent office. Even if successful, the costs of these opposition proceedings could be substantial, and may consume our time or other resources. If we fail to obtain a favorable result at the USPTO, EPO or other patent office then we may be exposed to litigation by a third party alleging that the patent may be infringed by our product candidates, base editing platform technology or other or proprietary technologies.

For example, as discussed above, elements of the University of California patent portfolio are being opposed in Europe by multiple parties and we are participating in the opposition proceedings. The EPO Opposition Division, or the Opposition Division, has initiated opposition proceedings against European patents estimated to expire in March 2033 (excluding any patent term adjustments or extensions) and co-owned by the University of California. The opposition procedure before the EPO allows one or more third parties to challenge the validity of a granted European patent within nine months after grant date of the European patent. Opposition proceedings may involve issues including, but not limited to, priority, patentability of the claims involved, and procedural formalities related to the filing of the patent application. As a result of the opposition proceedings, the Opposition Division can revoke a patent, maintain the patent as granted, or maintain the patent in an amended form. It is uncertain when or in what manner the Opposition Division will act on the opposition proceedings of these European patents. If these patents are maintained by the Opposition Division with claims similar to those that are currently opposed, our ability to commercialize our product candidates may be adversely affected if we do not obtain a license to these patents. We may not be able to obtain any required license on commercially reasonable terms or at all. Even if we were able to obtain a license, it could be nonexclusive, thereby giving our competitors and other third parties access to the same technologies licensed to us, and it could require us to make substantial licensing and royalty payments. If we are unable to obtain a necessary license to a third-party patent on commercially reasonable terms, we may be unable to commercialize our base editing platform technology or product candidates or such commercialization efforts may be significantly delayed, which could in turn significantly harm our business.

Even if resolved in our favor, litigation or other legal proceedings relating to intellectual property claims may cause us to incur significant expenses and could distract our personnel from their normal responsibilities. Furthermore, because of the substantial amount of discovery required in connection with intellectual property litigation, there is a risk that some of our confidential information could be compromised by disclosure during this type of litigation. In addition, there could be public announcements of the results of hearings, motions, or other interim proceedings or developments, and if securities analysts or investors perceive these results to be negative, it could have a substantial adverse effect on the price of our common stock. Such litigation or proceedings could substantially increase our operating losses and reduce the resources available for development activities or any future sales, marketing, or distribution activities. We may not have sufficient financial or other resources to conduct such litigation or proceedings adequately. Some of our competitors may be able to sustain the costs of such litigation or proceedings more effectively than we can because of their greater financial resources and more mature and developed intellectual property portfolios. Uncertainties resulting from the initiation and continuation of patent litigation or other proceedings could have a material adverse effect on our ability to compete in the marketplace.

Obtaining and maintaining our patent protection depends on compliance with various procedural, document submission, fee payment, and other requirements imposed by government patent agencies, and our patent protection could be reduced or eliminated for non-compliance with these requirements.

Periodic maintenance fees, renewal fees, annuity fees, and various other government fees on patents and applications are due to be paid to the USPTO and foreign patent agencies outside of the United States over the lifetime of our owned or licensed patents and applications. In certain circumstances, we rely on our licensing partners to pay these fees due to U.S. and non-U.S. patent agencies. The USPTO and foreign patent agencies require compliance with several procedural, documentary, fee payment, and other similar provisions during the patent application process. We are also dependent on our licensors to take the necessary action to comply with these requirements with respect to our licensed intellectual property. While an inadvertent lapse can be cured by payment of a late fee or by other means in accordance with the applicable rules, there are situations, however, in which non-compliance can result a partial or complete loss of patent rights in the relevant jurisdiction. Were a noncompliance event to occur, our competitors might be able to enter the market with similar or identical products or technology, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects.

Changes in patent law in the United States and in non-U.S. jurisdictions could diminish the value of patents in general, thereby impairing our ability to protect our base editing platform technology and product candidates.

As is the case with other biotech and pharmaceutical companies, our success is heavily dependent on intellectual property, particularly patents. Obtaining and enforcing patents in the biopharmaceutical industry involve both technological and legal complexity, and is therefore costly, time-consuming and inherently uncertain.

Changes in either the patent laws or interpretation of the patent laws could increase the uncertainties and costs surrounding the prosecution of patent applications and the enforcement or defense of our issued patents. For example, in March 2013, under the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act, or the America Invents Act, the United States transitioned from a “first to invent” to a “first-to-file” patent system. Under a “first-to-file” system, assuming that other requirements for patentability are met, the first inventor to file a patent application generally will be entitled to a patent on an invention regardless of whether another inventor had made the invention earlier. A third party that files a patent application in the USPTO after March 2013, but before us could therefore be awarded a patent covering an invention of ours even if we had made the invention before it was made by such third party. This will require us to be cognizant going forward of the time from invention to filing of a patent application. Since patent applications in the United States and most other countries are confidential for a period of time after filing or until issuance, we cannot be certain that we or our licensors were the first to either file any patent application related to our technology or product candidates or invent any of the inventions claimed in our or our licensor’s patents or patent applications. The America Invents Act also includes a number of other significant changes to U.S. patent law, including provisions that affect the way patent applications will be prosecuted, allowing third party submission of prior art and establish a new post-grant review system including post-grant review, inter partes review, and derivation proceedings. Because of a lower evidentiary standard in USPTO proceedings compared to the evidentiary standard in United States federal courts necessary to invalidate a patent claim, a third party could potentially provide evidence in a USPTO proceeding sufficient for the USPTO to hold a claim invalid even though the same evidence would be insufficient to invalidate the claim if first presented in a district court action. Accordingly, a third party may attempt to use the USPTO procedures to invalidate our patent claims that would not have been invalidated if first challenged by the third party as a defendant in a district court action. The effects of these changes are currently unclear as the USPTO continues to promulgate new regulations and procedures in connection with the America Invents Act and many of the substantive changes to patent law, including the “first-to-file” provisions, only became effective in March 2013. In addition, the courts have yet to address many of these provisions and the applicability of the act and new regulations on the specific patents discussed in this filing have not been determined and would need to be reviewed. However, the America Invents Act and its implementation could increase the uncertainties and costs surrounding the prosecution of our patent applications and the enforcement or defense of our issued patents.

In addition, recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings have narrowed the scope of patent protection available in certain circumstances and weakened the rights of patent owners in certain situations. In addition to increasing uncertainty with regard to our ability to obtain

patents in the future, this combination of events has created uncertainty with respect to the validity and enforceability of patents, once obtained. Depending on future actions by the U.S. Congress, the federal courts, and the USPTO, the laws and regulations governing patents could change in unpredictable ways that could weaken our ability to obtain new patents or to enforce our existing patents and patents that we might obtain in the future. For example, in the case, Assoc. for Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genetics, Inc., the U.S. Supreme Court held that certain claims to DNA molecules are not patentable. We cannot predict how this and future decisions by the courts, the U.S. Congress or the USPTO may impact the value of our patents. Any similar adverse changes in the patent laws of other jurisdictions could also have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

Patent terms may be inadequate to protect our competitive position on our product candidates for an adequate amount of time.

Patents have a limited lifespan. The terms of individual patents depend upon the legal term for patents in the countries in which they are granted. In most countries, including the United States, if all maintenance fees are timely paid, the natural expiration of a patent is generally 20 years from its earliest non-provisional filing date in the applicable country. However, the actual protection afforded by a patent varies from country to country, and depends upon many factors, including the type of patent, the scope of its coverage, the availability of regulatory-related extensions, the availability of legal remedies in a particular country and the validity and enforceability of the patent. Various extensions including PTE and PTA, may be available, but the life of a patent, and the protection it affords, is limited. Even if patents covering our product candidates are obtained, once the patent life has expired, we may be open to competition from competitive products, including generics. Given the amount of time required for the development, testing and regulatory review of new product candidates, patents protecting our product candidates might expire before or shortly after we or our partners commercialize those candidates. As a result, our owned and licensed patent portfolio may not provide us with sufficient rights to exclude others from commercializing products similar or identical to ours.

If we do not obtain PTE and data exclusivity for any product candidates we may develop, our business may be materially harmed.

Depending upon the timing, duration and specifics of any FDA marketing approval of any product candidates we may develop, one or more of our U.S. patents may be eligible for limited PTE under the Drug Price Competition and Patent Term Restoration Act of 1984, or the Hatch-Waxman Amendments. The Hatch-Waxman Amendments PTE term of up to five years as compensation for patent term lost during the FDA regulatory review process. A PTE cannot extend the remaining term of a patent beyond a total of 14 years from the date of product approval, only one patent per product may be extended and only those claims covering the approved drug, a method for using it, or a method for manufacturing it may be extended. However, even if we were to seek a PTE, it may not be granted because of, for example, the failure to exercise due diligence during the testing phase or regulatory review process, the failure to apply within applicable deadlines, the failure to apply prior to expiration of relevant patents, or any other failure to satisfy applicable requirements. Moreover, the applicable time period or the scope of patent protection afforded could be less than we request. If we are unable to obtain PTE or term of any such extension is less than we request, our competitors may obtain approval of competing products following our patent expiration, and our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects could be materially harmed.

If we are unable to protect the confidentiality of our trade secrets, our business and competitive position would be harmed.

In addition to seeking patents for our technology and product candidates, we also rely on know-how and trade secret protection, as well as confidentiality agreements, non-disclosure agreements and invention assignment agreements with our employees, consultants and third-parties, to protect our confidential and proprietary information, especially where we do not believe patent protection is appropriate or obtainable.

It is our policy to require our employees, corporate collaborators, outside scientific collaborators, CROs, contract manufacturers, consultants, advisors, and other third parties to execute confidentiality agreements upon the commencement of employment or consulting relationships with us. These agreements provide that all confidential information concerning our business or financial affairs developed by or made known to the individual or entity during the course of the party’s relationship with us is to be kept confidential and not disclosed to third parties, except in certain specified circumstances. In the case of employees, the agreements provide that all inventions conceived by the individual, and that are related to our current or planned business or research and development or made during normal working hours, on our premises or using our equipment or proprietary information, are our exclusive property. In the case of consultants and other third parties, the agreements provide that all inventions conceived in connection with the services provided are our exclusive property. However, we cannot guarantee that we have entered into such agreements with each party that may have or have had access to our trade secrets or proprietary technology and processes. Additionally, the assignment of intellectual property rights may not be self-executing, or the assignment agreements may be breached, and we may be forced to bring claims against third parties, or defend claims that they may bring against us, to determine the ownership of what we regard as our intellectual property. Any of these parties may breach the agreements and disclose our proprietary information, including our trade secrets, and we may not be able to obtain adequate remedies for such breaches. Enforcing a claim that a party illegally disclosed or misappropriated a trade secret is difficult, expensive, and time-consuming, and the outcome is unpredictable.

In addition to contractual measures, we try to protect the confidential nature of our proprietary information through other appropriate precautions, such as physical and technological security measures. However, trade secrets and know-how can be difficult to protect.

These measures may not, for example, in the case of misappropriation of a trade secret by an employee or third party with authorized access, provide adequate protection for our proprietary information. Our security measures may not prevent an employee or consultant from misappropriating our trade secrets and providing them to a competitor, and any recourse we might take against this type of misconduct may not provide an adequate remedy to protect our interests fully. In addition, trade secrets may be independently developed by others in a manner that could prevent us from receiving legal recourse. If any of our confidential or proprietary information, such as our trade secrets, were to be disclosed or misappropriated, or if any of that information was independently developed by a competitor, our competitive position could be harmed.

In addition, some courts inside and outside the United States are sometimes less willing or unwilling to protect trade secrets. If we choose to go to court to stop a third party from using any of our trade secrets, we may incur substantial costs. Even if we are successful, these types of lawsuits may consume our time and other resources. Any of the foregoing could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

Third parties may assert that our employees, consultants, or advisors have wrongfully used or disclosed confidential information or misappropriated trade secrets.

As is common in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries, we employ individuals that are currently or were previously employed at universities, research institutions or other biotechnology or pharmaceutical companies, including our competitors or potential competitors. Although we try to ensure that our employees, consultants, and advisors do not use the proprietary information or know-how of others in their work for us, we may be subject to claims that we or these individuals have inadvertently or otherwise used or disclosed intellectual property, including trade secrets or other proprietary information, of any such individual’s current or former employer. Also, we have in the past and may in the future be subject to claims that these individuals are violating non-compete agreements with their former employers. We may then have to pursue litigation to defend against these claims. If we fail in defending any such claims, in addition to paying monetary damages, we may lose valuable intellectual property rights or personnel. Even if we are successful in defending against such claims, litigation could result in substantial costs and be a distraction to our technical and management personnel from their normal responsibilities. In addition, there could be public announcements of the results of hearings, motions or other interim proceedings or developments, and, if securities analysts or investors perceive these results to be negative, that perception could have a substantial adverse effect on the price of our common stock. This type of litigation or proceeding could substantially increase our operating losses and reduce our resources available for development activities, and we may not have sufficient financial or other resources to adequately conduct this type of litigation or proceedings. For example, some of our competitors may be able to sustain the costs of this type of litigation or proceedings more effectively than we can because of their substantially greater financial resources. In any case, uncertainties resulting from the initiation and continuation of intellectual property litigation or other intellectual property related proceedings could adversely affect our ability to compete in the marketplace.

If our trademarks and trade names are not adequately protected, then we may not be able to build name recognition in our markets of interest and our business may be adversely affected.

Our registered or unregistered trademarks or trade names may be challenged, infringed, circumvented or declared generic or determined to be infringing on other marks. We may not be able to protect our rights to these trademarks and trade names, which we need to build name recognition among potential partners or customers in our markets of interest. At times, competitors or other third parties may adopt trade names or trademarks similar to ours, thereby impeding our ability to build brand identity and possibly leading to market confusion. In addition, there could be potential trade name or trademark infringement claims brought by owners of other registered trademarks or trademarks that incorporate variations of our registered or unregistered trademarks or trade names. Over the long term, if we are unable to establish name recognition based on our trademarks and trade names, then we may not be able to compete effectively, and our business may be adversely affected. Our efforts to enforce or protect our proprietary rights related to trademarks, trade secrets, domain names, copyrights or other intellectual property may be ineffective and could result in substantial costs and diversion of resources and could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and growth prospects.

Intellectual property rights do not necessarily address all potential threats.

The degree of future protection afforded by our intellectual property rights is uncertain because intellectual property rights have limitations and may not adequately protect our business or permit us to maintain our competitive advantage. For example:

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any product candidates we may develop will eventually become commercially available in generic or biosimilar product forms;

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others may be able to make gene therapy products that are similar to any product candidates we may develop or utilize similar base editing technology but that are not covered by the claims of the patents that we license or may own in the future;

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we, or our license partners or current or future collaborators, might not have been the first to make the inventions covered by the issued patent or pending patent application that we license or may own in the future;

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we, or our license partners or current or future collaborators, might not have been the first to file patent applications covering certain of our or their inventions;

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we, or our license partners or current or future collaborators, may fail to meet our obligations to the U.S. government regarding any in-licensed patents and patent applications funded by U.S. government grants, leading to the loss or unenforceability of patent rights;

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others may independently develop similar or alternative technologies or duplicate any of our technologies without infringing our owned or licensed intellectual property rights;

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it is possible that our pending, owned or licensed patent applications or those that we may own in the future will not lead to issued patents;

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it is possible that there are prior public disclosures that could invalidate our owned or in-licensed patents, or parts of our owned or in-licensed patents;

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it is possible that there are unpublished applications or patent applications maintained in secrecy that may later issue with claims covering our product candidates or technology similar to ours;

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it is possible that our owned or in-licensed patents or patent applications omit individual(s) that should be listed as inventor(s) or include individual(s) that should not be listed as inventor(s), which may cause these patents or patents issuing from these patent applications to be held invalid or unenforceable;

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issued patents that we hold rights to may be held invalid, unenforceable, or narrowed in scope, including as a result of legal challenges by our competitors;

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the claims of our owned or in-licensed issued patents or patent applications, if and when issued, may not cover our product candidates;

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the laws of foreign countries may not protect our proprietary rights or the proprietary rights of license partners or current or future collaborators to the same extent as the laws of the United States;

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the inventors of our owned or in-licensed patents or patent applications may become involved with competitors, develop products or processes that design around our patents, or become hostile to us or the patents or patent applications on which they are named as inventors;

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our competitors might conduct research and development activities in countries where we do not have patent rights and then use the information learned from such activities to develop competitive products for sale in our major commercial markets;

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we have engaged in scientific collaborations in the past and will continue to do so in the future and our collaborators may develop adjacent or competing products that are outside the scope of our patents;

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we may not develop additional proprietary technologies that are patentable;

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any product candidates we develop may be covered by third parties’ patents or other exclusive rights;

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the patents of others may harm our business; or

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we may choose not to file a patent in order to maintain certain trade secrets or know-how, and a third party may subsequently file a patent covering such intellectual property.

Should any of these events occur, they could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects.

Risks related to regulatory and other legal compliance matters

Even if we complete the necessary preclinical studies and clinical trials, the marketing approval process is expensive, time-consuming, and uncertain and may prevent us from obtaining approvals for the commercialization of any product candidates we may develop. If we are not able to obtain, or if there are delays in obtaining, required regulatory approvals, we will not be able to commercialize, or will be delayed in commercializing, product candidates we may develop, and our ability to generate revenue will be materially impaired.

Any product candidates we may develop and the activities associated with their development and commercialization, including their design, testing, manufacture, recordkeeping, labeling, storage, approval, advertising, promotion, sale, import, export, and distribution, are subject to comprehensive regulation by the FDA, the EMA and other regulatory authorities in the United States and by comparable authorities in other countries. Failure to obtain marketing approval for a product candidate will prevent us from commercializing the product candidate in a given jurisdiction. We have not received approval to market any product candidates from regulatory authorities in any jurisdiction. We have only limited experience in filing and supporting the applications necessary to gain marketing approvals

and expect to rely on third parties to assist us in this process. Securing regulatory approval requires the submission of extensive preclinical and clinical data and supporting information to the various regulatory authorities for each therapeutic indication to establish the biological product candidate’s safety, purity, and potency. Securing regulatory approval also requires the submission of extensive information about the product manufacturing process, and inspection of manufacturing facilities by, the relevant regulatory authority. Any product candidates we develop may not be effective, may be only moderately effective, or may prove to have undesirable or unintended side effects, toxicities, or other characteristics that may preclude our obtaining marketing approval or prevent or limit commercial use.

The process of obtaining marketing approvals, both in the United States and abroad, is expensive, may take many years if approval is obtained at all, and can vary substantially based upon a variety of factors, including the type, complexity, and novelty of the product candidates involved. Changes in marketing approval policies during the development period, changes in or the enactment of additional statutes or regulations, or changes in regulatory review for each submitted product application, may cause delays in the approval or rejection of an application. The FDA and comparable authorities in other countries have substantial discretion in the approval process and may refuse to accept any application or may decide that our data is insufficient for approval and require additional preclinical, clinical, or other studies. In addition, varying interpretations of the data obtained from preclinical and clinical testing could delay, limit, or prevent marketing approval of a product candidate. Any marketing approval we ultimately obtain may be limited or subject to restrictions or post-approval commitments that render the approved medicine not commercially viable.

If we experience delays in obtaining approval or if we fail to obtain approval of any product candidates we may develop, the commercial prospects for those product candidates may be harmed, and our ability to generate revenues will be materially impaired.

Failure to obtain marketing approval in foreign jurisdictions would prevent any product candidates we may develop from being marketed in such jurisdictions, which, in turn, would materially impair our ability to generate revenue.

In order to market and sell any product candidates we may develop in the EU and other foreign jurisdictions, we or our third-party collaborators must obtain separate marketing approvals (a single one for the EU) and comply with numerous and varying regulatory requirements. The approval procedure varies among countries and can involve additional testing. The time required to obtain approval may differ substantially from that required to obtain FDA approval. The regulatory approval process outside the United States generally includes all of the risks associated with obtaining FDA approval. In addition, in many countries outside the United States, it is required that the product candidate be approved for reimbursement before the product candidate can be approved for sale in that country. We or these third parties may not obtain approvals from regulatory authorities outside the United States on a timely basis, if at all. Approval by the FDA does not ensure approval by regulatory authorities in other countries or jurisdictions, and approval by one regulatory authority outside the United States does not ensure approval by regulatory authorities in other countries or jurisdictions or by the FDA. We may not be able to file for marketing approvals and may not receive necessary approvals to commercialize our medicines in any jurisdiction, which would materially impair our ability to generate revenue.

The withdrawal of the U.K. from the EU occurred on January 31, 2020, which is commonly known as “Brexit.” A “transition period” through December 31, 2020 has been established to allow the United Kingdom and EU to negotiate the terms of the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the EU.

Since the regulatory framework for pharmaceutical products in the U.K. relating to quality, safety and efficacy of pharmaceutical products, clinical trials, marketing authorization, commercial sales and distribution of pharmaceutical products is derived from EU directives and regulations, Brexit will materially impact the future regulatory regime which applies to products and the approval of product candidates in the U.K.. In the first instance, a separate U.K. authorization from any centralized authorization for the EU would need to be applied before the end of any agreed transition period. In the immediately foreseeable future, the process is likely to remain very similar to that applicable in the EU, albeit that the processes for applications will be separate. Longer term, the U.K. is likely to develop its own legislation that diverges from that in the EU.

Even if we, or any collaborators we may have, obtain marketing approvals for any product candidates we develop, the terms of approvals and ongoing regulation of our product candidates could require the substantial expenditure of resources and may limit how we, or they, manufacture and market our product candidates, which could materially impair our ability to generate revenue.

Any product candidate for which we obtain marketing approval, along with the manufacturing processes, post-approval clinical data, labeling, advertising, and promotional activities for such medicine, will be subject to continual requirements of and review by the FDA, EMA and other regulatory authorities. These requirements include submissions of safety and other post-marketing information and reports, facility registration and drug listing requirements, cGMP requirements relating to quality control, quality assurance and corresponding maintenance of records and documents, and requirements regarding the distribution of samples to physicians and recordkeeping. Even if marketing approval of a product candidate is granted, the approval may be subject to limitations on the indicated uses for which the medicine may be marketed or to the conditions of approval, or contain requirements for costly post-marketing testing and surveillance to monitor the safety or efficacy of the medicine.

Accordingly, assuming we, or any collaborators we may have, receive marketing approval for one or more product candidates we develop, we, and such collaborators, and our and their contract manufacturers will continue to expend time, money, and effort in all

areas of regulatory compliance, including manufacturing, production, product surveillance, and quality control. If we and such collaborators are not able to comply with post-approval regulatory requirements, we and such collaborators could be subject to enforcement actions or have the marketing approvals for our products withdrawn by regulatory authorities and our, or such collaborators’, ability to market any future products could be limited, which could adversely affect our ability to achieve or sustain profitability. Further, the cost of compliance with post-approval regulations may have a negative effect on our business, operating results, financial condition, and prospects.

Any product candidate for which we obtain marketing approval could be subject to restrictions or withdrawal from the market, and we may be subject to substantial penalties if we fail to comply with regulatory requirements or if we experience unanticipated problems with our medicines, when and if any of them are approved.

The FDA, the EMA, and other regulatory agencies closely regulate the post-approval marketing and promotion of medicines to ensure that they are marketed only for the approved indications and in accordance with the provisions of the approved labeling. The FDA, the EMA and other regulatory agencies impose stringent restrictions on manufacturers’ communications regarding off-label use, and if we market our medicines for off-label use, we may be subject to enforcement action for off-label marketing by the FDA and other federal and state enforcement agencies, including the Department of Justice. Violation of the Federal Food, Product, and Cosmetic Act and other statutes, including the False Claims Act, and equivalent legislation in other countries relating to the promotion and advertising of prescription products may also lead to investigations or allegations of violations of federal and state and other countries’ health care fraud and abuse laws and state consumer protection laws. Even if it is later determined we were not in violation of these laws, we may be faced with negative publicity, incur significant expenses defending our actions and have to divert significant management resources from other matters.

In addition, later discovery of previously unknown problems with our medicines, manufacturers, or manufacturing processes, or failure to comply with regulatory requirements, may yield various negative consequences, including:

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restrictions on such medicines, manufacturers, or manufacturing processes;

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restrictions on the labeling or marketing of a medicine;

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restrictions on the distribution or use of a medicine;

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requirements to conduct post-marketing clinical trials;

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receipt of warning or untitled letters;

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withdrawal of the medicines from the market;

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refusal to approve pending applications or supplements to approved applications that we submit;

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recall of medicines;

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fines, restitution, or disgorgement of profits or revenue;

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restrictions on future procurements with governmental authorities;

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suspension or withdrawal of marketing approvals;

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suspension of any ongoing clinical trials;

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refusal to permit the import or export of our medicines;

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product seizure; and

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injunctions or the imposition of civil or criminal penalties.

Any government investigation of alleged violations of law could require us to expend significant time and resources in response and could generate negative publicity. The occurrence of any event or penalty described above may inhibit our ability to commercialize any product candidates we may develop and adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects.

Our relationships with healthcare providers, physicians, and third-party payors will be subject to applicable anti-kickback, fraud and abuse, anti-bribery and other healthcare laws and regulations, which could expose us to criminal sanctions, civil penalties, contractual damages, reputational harm, and diminished profits and future earnings.

Healthcare providers, physicians, and third-party payors play a primary role in the recommendation and prescription of any product candidates that we may develop for which we obtain marketing approval. Our future arrangements with third-party payors and customers may expose us to broadly applicable fraud and abuse and other healthcare laws and regulations that may constrain the business or financial arrangements and relationships through which we market, sell, and distribute our medicines for which we obtain marketing approval. Restrictions under applicable federal and state healthcare laws and regulations, including certain laws and regulations applicable only if we have marketed products, include the following:

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federal false claims, false statements and civil monetary penalties laws prohibiting, among other things, any person from knowingly presenting, or causing to be presented, a false claim for payment of government funds or knowingly making, or causing to be made, a false statement to get a false claim paid;

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federal healthcare program anti-kickback law, which prohibits, among other things, persons from offering, soliciting, receiving or providing remuneration, directly or indirectly, to induce either the referral of an individual for, or the purchasing or ordering of a good or service, for which payment may be made under federal healthcare programs such as Medicare and Medicaid;

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the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, or HIPAA, which, in addition to privacy protections applicable to healthcare providers and other entities, prohibits executing a scheme to defraud any healthcare benefit program or making false statements relating to healthcare matters;

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the federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, or the FDCA, which among other things, strictly regulates drug marketing, prohibits manufacturers from marketing such products for off-label use and regulates the distribution of samples;

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federal laws that require pharmaceutical manufacturers to report certain calculated product prices to the government or provide certain discounts or rebates to government authorities or private entities, often as a condition of reimbursement under government healthcare programs;

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the so-called “federal sunshine” law under the Healthcare Reform Act, which requires pharmaceutical and medical device companies to monitor and report certain financial interactions with certain healthcare providers to the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for re-disclosure to the public, as well as ownership and investment interests held by physicians and their immediate family members; and

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analogous state and foreign laws and regulations, such as state anti-kickback, anti-bribery and false claims laws, which may apply to healthcare items or services that are reimbursed by non-governmental third-party payors, including private insurers.

Some state laws also require pharmaceutical companies to comply with specific compliance standards, restrict financial interactions between pharmaceutical companies and healthcare providers or require pharmaceutical companies to report information related to payments to health care providers or marketing expenditures.

Efforts to ensure that our business arrangements with third parties will comply with applicable healthcare laws and regulations will involve substantial costs. Given the breadth of the laws and regulations, limited guidance for certain laws and regulations and evolving government interpretations of the laws and regulations, governmental authorities may possibly conclude that our business practices may not comply with healthcare laws and regulations. If our operations are found to be in violation of any of the laws described above or any other government regulations that apply to us, we may be subject to penalties, including civil and criminal penalties, damages, fines, exclusion from participation in government health care programs, such as Medicare and Medicaid, imprisonment, and the curtailment or restructuring of our operations, any of which could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects.

The provision of benefits or advantages to physicians to induce or encourage the prescription, recommendation, endorsement, purchase, supply, order, or use of medicinal products is prohibited in the EU. The provision of benefits or advantages to physicians is also governed by the national anti-bribery laws of EU Member States, such as the U.K. Bribery Act 2010. Infringement of these laws could result in substantial fines and imprisonment.

Payments made to physicians in certain EU Member States must be publicly disclosed. Moreover, agreements with physicians often must be the subject of prior notification and approval by the physician’s employer, his or her competent professional organization, and/or the regulatory authorities of the individual EU Member States. These requirements are provided in the national laws, industry codes, or professional codes of conduct applicable in the EU Member States. Failure to comply with these requirements could result in reputational risk, public reprimands, administrative penalties, fines or imprisonment.

The efforts of the Trump Administration to pursue regulatory reform may limit the FDA’s ability to engage in oversight and implementation activities in the normal course, and that could negatively impact our business.

The Trump Administration has taken several executive actions, including the issuance of a number of executive orders, that could impose significant burdens on, or otherwise materially delay, the FDA’s ability to engage in routine regulatory and oversight activities such as implementing statutes through rulemaking, issuance of guidance. On January 30, 2017, President Trump issued an executive order, applicable to all executive agencies, including the FDA, that requires that for each notice of proposed rulemaking or final regulation to be issued in fiscal year 2017, the agency shall identify at least two existing regulations to be repealed, unless prohibited

by law. These requirements are referred to as the “two-for-one” provisions. This executive order includes a budget neutrality provision that requires the total incremental cost of all new regulations in the 2017 fiscal year, including repealed regulations, to be no greater than zero, except in limited circumstances. For fiscal years 2018 and beyond, the executive order requires agencies to identify regulations to offset any incremental cost of a new regulation. In interim guidance issued by the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs within the Office of Management and on February 2, 2017, the administration indicates that the “two-for-one” provisions may apply not only to agency regulations, but also to significant agency guidance documents. It is difficult to predict how these requirements will be implemented, and the extent to which they will impact the FDA’s ability to exercise its regulatory authority. If these executive actions impose constraints on FDA’s ability to engage in oversight and implementation activities in the normal course, our business may be negatively impacted.

Healthcare and other reform legislation may increase the difficulty and cost for us and any collaborators we may have to obtain marketing approval of and commercialize any product candidates we may develop and affect the prices we, or they, may obtain.

In the United States and some foreign jurisdictions, there have been and continue to be ongoing efforts to implement legislative and regulatory changes regarding the healthcare system. Such changes could prevent or delay marketing approval of any product candidates that we may develop, restrict or regulate post-approval activities, and affect our ability to profitably sell any product candidates for which we obtain marketing approval. Although we cannot predict what healthcare or other reform efforts will be successful, such efforts may result in more rigorous coverage criteria, in additional downward pressure on the price that we, or our future collaborators, may receive for any approved products or in other consequences that may adversely affect our ability to achieve or maintain profitability.

Within the United States, the federal government and individual states have aggressively pursued healthcare reform, as evidenced by the passing of the Healthcare Reform Act and the ongoing efforts to modify or repeal that legislation. The Healthcare Reform Act substantially changed the way healthcare is financed by both governmental and private insurers and contains a number of provisions that affect coverage and reimbursement of drug products and/or that could potentially reduce the demand for pharmaceutical products such as increasing drug rebates under state Medicaid programs for brand name prescription drugs and extending those rebates to Medicaid managed care and assessing a fee on manufacturers and importers of brand name prescription drugs reimbursed under certain government programs, including Medicare and Medicaid. Other aspects of healthcare reform, such as expanded government enforcement authority and heightened standards that could increase compliance-related costs, could also affect our business. Modifications have been implemented under the Trump Administration and additional modifications or repeal may occur. For example, tax reform legislation was enacted at the end of 2017 that eliminates the tax penalty established under the Healthcare Reform Act for individuals who do not maintain mandated health insurance coverage beginning in 2019. The Healthcare Reform Act has also been subject to judicial challenge. In December 2018, a federal district court, in a challenge brought by a number of state attorneys general, found the Healthcare Reform Act unconstitutional in its entirety because, once Congress repealed the individual mandate provision, there was no longer a basis to rely on Congressional taxing authority to support enactment of the law. In December 2019, a federal appeals court agreed that the individual mandate was unconstitutional but remanded the case back to the district court to assess more carefully whether any provisions of the Healthcare Reform Act were severable and could survive. In March 2020, the Supreme Court agreed to hear the case. Pending resolution of the litigation, the Healthcare Reform Act is still operational in all respects. There are, and may continue to be, judicial challenges. We cannot predict the ultimate content, timing or effect of any changes to the Healthcare Reform Act or other federal and state reform efforts. There is no assurance that federal or state health care reform will not adversely affect our future business and financial results, and we cannot predict how future federal or state legislative, judicial or administrative changes relating to healthcare reform will affect our business.

Federal and state governments have shown significant interest in implementing cost-containment programs to limit the growth of government-paid healthcare costs, including price controls, waivers from Medicaid drug rebate law requirements, restrictions on reimbursement and requirements for substitution of generic products for branded prescription drugs. The private sector has also sought to control healthcare costs by limiting coverage or reimbursement or requiring discounts and rebates on products. We are unable to predict what additional legislation, regulations or policies, if any, relating to the healthcare industry or third-party coverage and reimbursement may be enacted in the future or what effect such legislation, regulations or policies would have on our business. Any cost containment measures could significantly decrease the available coverage and the price we might establish for our potential products, which would have an adverse effect on our net revenues and operating results.

Legislative and regulatory proposals have been made to expand post-approval requirements and restrict sales and promotional activities for biotechnology products. We cannot be sure whether additional legislative changes will be enacted, or whether FDA regulations, guidance or interpretations for biological products will be changed, or what the impact of such changes on the marketing approvals of our product candidates, if any, may be. In addition, increased scrutiny by the U.S. Congress of the FDA’s approval and decision-making processes may significantly delay or prevent marketing approval, as well as subject us to more stringent product labeling and post-marketing testing and other requirements.

Fast track, breakthrough, or regenerative medicine advanced therapy designation by the FDA may not actually lead to a faster development or regulatory review or approval process and does not assure FDA approval of any product candidates we may develop.

FDA’s fast track, breakthrough, and regenerative medicine advanced therapy, or RMAT, programs are intended to expedite the development of certain qualifying products intended for the treatment of serious diseases and conditions. If a product candidate is intended for the treatment of a serious or life-threatening condition and preclinical or clinical data demonstrate the product’s potential to address an unmet medical need for this condition, the sponsor may apply for FDA fast track designation. A product candidate may be designated as a breakthrough therapy if it is intended to treat a serious or life-threatening condition and preliminary clinical evidence indicates that the product candidate may demonstrate substantial improvement over existing therapies on one or more clinically significant endpoints. A product candidate may receive RMAT designation if it is a regenerative medicine therapy that is intended to treat, modify, reverse or cure a serious or life-threatening condition, and preliminary clinical evidence indicates that the product candidate has the potential to address an unmet medical need for such condition. While we may seek fast track, breakthrough, and/or RMAT designation, there is no guarantee that we will be successful in obtaining any such designation. Even if we do obtain such designation, we may not experience a faster development process, review or approval compared to conventional FDA procedures. A fast track, breakthrough, or RMAT designation does not ensure that the product candidate will receive marketing approval or that approval will be granted within any particular timeframe. In addition, the FDA may withdraw fast track, breakthrough, or RMAT designation if it believes that the designation is no longer supported by data from our clinical development program. Fast track, breakthrough, and/or RMAT designation alone do not guarantee qualification for the FDA’s priority review procedures.

Priority review designation by the FDA may not lead to a faster regulatory review or approval process and, in any event, does not assure FDA approval of any product candidates we may develop.

If the FDA determines that a product candidate is intended to treat a serious disease or condition and, if approved, would provide a significant improvement in the safety or effectiveness of the treatment, prevention, or diagnosis of such disease or condition, the FDA may designate the product candidate for priority review. A priority review designation means that the goal for the FDA to review a marketing application is six months from filing of the application, rather than the standard review period of ten months. We may request priority review for certain of our product candidates. The FDA has broad discretion with respect to whether or not to grant priority review status to a product candidate, so even if we believe a particular product candidate is eligible for such designation or status, the FDA may disagree and decide not to grant it. Moreover, a priority review designation does not necessarily mean a faster regulatory review process or necessarily confer any advantage with respect to approval compared to conventional FDA procedures. Receiving priority review from the FDA does not guarantee approval within the six-month review cycle or thereafter.

We may not be able to obtain orphan drug exclusivity for one or more of our product candidates, and even if we do, that exclusivity may not prevent the FDA or the EMA from approving other competing products.

Under the Orphan Drug Act, the FDA may designate a product candidate as an orphan drug if it is a drug or biologic intended to treat a rare disease or condition. A similar regulatory scheme governs approval of orphan product candidates by the EMA in the EU. Generally, if a product with an orphan drug designation subsequently receives the first marketing approval for the indication for which it has such designation, the product is entitled to a period of marketing exclusivity, which precludes the FDA or the EMA from approving another marketing application for another product candidate for the same orphan therapeutic indication for that time period. The applicable period is seven years in the United States and ten years in the EU. The exclusivity period in the EU can be reduced to six years if a product no longer meets the criteria for orphan drug designation, in particular if the product is sufficiently profitable so that market exclusivity is no longer justified.

The FDA’s standards for granting orphan drug exclusivity in the gene therapy context are unclear and evolving. In order for the FDA to grant orphan drug exclusivity to one of our product candidates, the agency must find that the product candidate is indicated for the treatment of a condition or disease that affects fewer than 200,000 individuals in the United States or that affects more than 200,000 individuals in the United States and for which there is no reasonable expectation that the cost of developing and making the product candidate available for the disease or condition will be recovered from sales of the product in the United States. The FDA may conclude that the condition or disease for which we seek orphan drug exclusivity does not meet this standard. Even if we obtain orphan drug exclusivity for a product candidate, that exclusivity may not effectively protect the product candidate from competition because different product candidates can be approved for the same condition. In addition, even after an orphan drug is approved, the FDA can subsequently approve the same drug for the same condition if the FDA concludes that the later product candidate is clinically superior in that it is shown to be safer, more effective or makes a major contribution to patient care compared with the product that has orphan exclusivity. Orphan drug exclusivity may also be lost if the FDA or EMA determines that the request for designation was materially defective or if the manufacturer is unable to assure sufficient quantity of the product to meet the needs of the patients with the rare disease or condition.

On August 3, 2017, the Congress passed the FDA Reauthorization Act of 2017, or FDARA. FDARA, among other things, codified the FDA’s pre-existing regulatory interpretation, to require that a drug sponsor demonstrate the clinical superiority of an orphan drug that

is otherwise the same as a previously approved drug for the same rare disease in order to receive orphan drug exclusivity. The new legislation reverses prior precedent holding that the Orphan Drug Act unambiguously requires that the FDA recognize the orphan exclusivity period regardless of a showing of clinical superiority.

On January 28, 2020, the FDA issued a draft guidance document describing its current thinking on when a gene therapy product is the “same” as another product for purposes of orphan exclusivity. Under the Draft Guidance, if either the transgene or vector differs between two gene therapy products in a manner that does not reflect “minor” differences, the two products would be considered different drugs for orphan drug exclusivity purposes. FDA will determine whether two vectors from the same viral class are the same on a case-by-case basis and may consider additional key features in assessing sameness. There remains significant ambiguity and uncertainty under FDA’s draft guidance, and the FDA may further reevaluate the Orphan Drug Act and its regulations and policies. We do not know if, when, or how the FDA may change the orphan drug regulations and policies in the future, and it is uncertain how any changes might affect our business. Depending on what changes the FDA may make to its orphan drug regulations and policies, our business could be adversely impacted.

Our employees, principal investigators, consultants, and commercial partners may engage in misconduct or other improper activities, including non-compliance with regulatory standards and requirements and insider trading.

We are exposed to the risk of fraud or other misconduct by our employees, consultants, and commercial partners, and, if we commence clinical trials, our principal investigators. Misconduct by these parties could include intentional failures to comply with FDA regulations or the regulations applicable in the EU and other jurisdictions, provide accurate information to the FDA, the EMA, and other regulatory authorities, comply with healthcare fraud and abuse laws and regulations in the United States and abroad, report financial information or data accurately, or disclose unauthorized activities to us. In particular, sales, marketing, and business arrangements in the healthcare industry are subject to extensive laws and regulations intended to prevent fraud, misconduct, kickbacks, self-dealing and other abusive practices. These laws and regulations restrict or prohibit a wide range of pricing, discounting, marketing and promotion, sales commission, customer incentive programs, and other business arrangements. Such misconduct also could involve the improper use of information obtained in the course of clinical trials or interactions with the FDA, the EMA or other regulatory authorities, which could result in regulatory sanctions and cause serious harm to our reputation. We have adopted a code of conduct applicable to all of our employees, but it is not always possible to identify and deter employee misconduct, and the precautions we take to detect and prevent this activity may not be effective in controlling unknown or unmanaged risks or losses or in protecting us from government investigations or other actions or lawsuits stemming from a failure to comply with these laws or regulations. If any such actions are instituted against us, and we are not successful in defending ourselves or asserting our rights, those actions could have a significant impact on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects, including the imposition of significant fines or other sanctions.

Laws and regulations governing any international operations we may have in the future may preclude us from developing, manufacturing and selling certain product candidates outside of the United States and require us to develop and implement costly compliance programs.

We are subject to numerous laws and regulations in each jurisdiction outside the United States in which we operate. The creation, implementation and maintenance of international business practices compliance programs is costly and such programs are difficult to enforce, particularly where reliance on third parties is required.

The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, or FCPA, prohibits any U.S. individual or business from paying, offering, authorizing payment or offering of anything of value, directly or indirectly, to any foreign official, political party or candidate for the purpose of influencing any act or decision of the foreign entity in order to assist the individual or business in obtaining or retaining business. The FCPA also obligates companies whose securities are listed in the United States to comply with certain accounting provisions requiring us to maintain books and records that accurately and fairly reflect all transactions of the corporation, including international subsidiaries, and to devise and maintain an adequate system of internal accounting controls for international operations. The anti-bribery provisions of the FCPA are enforced primarily by the Department of Justice. The SEC is involved with enforcement of the books and records provisions of the FCPA.

Similarly, the U.K. Bribery Act 2010 has extra-territorial effect for companies and individuals having a connection with the U.K. The U.K. Bribery Act prohibits inducements both to public officials and private individuals and organizations. Compliance with the FCPA and the U.K. Bribery Act is expensive and difficult, particularly in countries in which corruption is a recognized problem. In addition, the FCPA presents particular challenges in the pharmaceutical industry, because, in many countries, hospitals are operated by the government, and doctors and other hospital employees are considered foreign officials. Certain payments to hospitals in connection with clinical trials and other work have been deemed to be improper payments to government officials and have led to FCPA enforcement actions.

Various laws, regulations and executive orders also restrict the use and dissemination outside of the United States, or the sharing with certain non-U.S. nationals, of information classified for national security purposes, as well as certain products and technical data relating to those products. Our expansion outside of the United States has required, and will continue to require, us to dedicate additional resources to comply with these laws, and these laws may preclude us from developing, manufacturing, or selling certain

drugs and drug candidates outside of the United States, which could limit our growth potential and increase our development costs. The failure to comply with laws governing international business practices may result in substantial penalties, including suspension or debarment from government contracting. Violation of the FCPA can result in significant civil and criminal penalties. Indictment alone under the FCPA can lead to suspension of the right to do business with the U.S. government until the pending claims are resolved. Conviction of a violation of the FCPA can result in long-term disqualification as a government contractor. The termination of a government contract or relationship as a result of our failure to satisfy any of our obligations under laws governing international business practices would have a negative impact on our operations and harm our reputation and ability to procure government contracts. The SEC also may suspend or bar issuers from trading securities on U.S. exchanges for violations of the FCPA’s accounting provisions.

We are subject to stringent privacy laws, information security laws, regulations, policies and contractual obligations related to data privacy and security and changes in such laws, regulations, policies and contractual obligations could adversely affect our business.

We are subject to data privacy and protection laws and regulations that apply to the collection, transmission, storage and use of personally-identifying information, which among other things, impose certain requirements relating to the privacy, security and transmission of personal information, including comprehensive regulatory systems in the U.S. and EU. The legislative and regulatory landscape for privacy and data protection continues to evolve in jurisdictions worldwide, and there has been an increasing focus on privacy and data protection issues with the potential to affect our business. Failure to comply with any of these laws and regulations could result in enforcement action against us, including fines, imprisonment of company officials and public censure, claims for damages by affected individuals, damage to our reputation and loss of goodwill, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations or prospects.

There are numerous U.S. federal and state laws and regulations related to the privacy and security of personal information. In particular, regulations promulgated pursuant to HIPAA establish privacy and security standards that limit the use and disclosure of individually identifiable health information, or protected health information, and require the implementation of administrative, physical and technological safeguards to protect the privacy of protected health information and ensure the confidentiality, integrity and availability of electronic protected health information. Determining whether protected health information has been handled in compliance with applicable privacy standards and our contractual obligations can be complex and may be subject to changing interpretation.

If we are unable to properly protect the privacy and security of protected health information, we could be found to have breached our contracts. Further, if we fail to comply with applicable privacy laws, including applicable HIPAA privacy and security standards, we could face civil and criminal penalties. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, of HHS, has the discretion to impose penalties without attempting to resolve violations through informal means. HHS enforcement activity can result in financial liability and reputational harm, and responses to such enforcement activity can consume significant internal resources. In addition, state attorneys general are authorized to bring civil actions seeking either injunctions or damages in response to violations that threaten the privacy of state residents. We cannot be sure how these regulations will be interpreted, enforced or applied to our operations. In addition to the risks associated with enforcement activities and potential contractual liabilities, our ongoing efforts to comply with evolving laws and regulations at the federal and state level may be costly and require ongoing modifications to our policies, procedures and systems.

In the EU, we are subject to the General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR, which went into effect in May 2018 and which imposes new obligations on companies that operate in our industry with respect to the processing of personal data and the cross-border transfer of such data. The GDPR imposes onerous accountability obligations requiring data controllers and processors to maintain a record of their data processing and policies. If our or our partners’ or service providers’ privacy or data security measures fail to comply with the GDPR requirements, we may be subject to litigation, regulatory investigations, enforcement notices requiring us to change the way we use personal data and/or fines of up to 20 million Euros or up to 4% of the total worldwide annual turnover of the preceding financial year, whichever is higher, as well as compensation claims by affected individuals, negative publicity, reputational harm and a potential loss of business and goodwill. The GDPR places restrictions on the cross-border transfer of personal data from the EU to countries that have not been found by the European Commission to offer adequate data protection legislation, such as the United States. In July 2020, the Court of Justice of the European Union (“CJEU”) invalidated the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield framework (“Privacy Shield”), one of the mechanisms used to legitimize the transfer of personal data from the EU to the U.S. The CJEU decision also drew into question the long-term viability of an alternative means of data transfer, the standard contractual clauses, for transfers of personal data from the EU to the U.S. While we were not self-certified under the Privacy Shield, this CJEU decision may lead to increased scrutiny on data transfers from the EU to the U.S. generally and increase our costs of compliance with data privacy legislation.

In 2018, California passed into law the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), which took effect on January 1, 2020 and imposed many requirements on businesses that process the personal information of California residents. Many of the CCPA’s requirements are similar to those found in the GDPR, including requiring businesses to provide notice to data subjects regarding the information collected about them and how such information is used and shared, and providing data subjects the right to request access to such

personal information and, in certain cases, request the erasure of such personal information. The CCPA also affords California residents the right to opt-out of “sales” of their personal information. The CCPA contains significant penalties for companies that violate its requirements. It also provides California residents a private right of action, including the ability to seek statutory damages, in the event of a breach involving their personal information. Compliance with the CCPA is a rigorous and time-intensive process that may increase the cost of doing business or require companies to change their business practices to ensure full compliance.

While we continue to address the implications of the recent changes to EU data privacy regulations, data privacy remains an evolving landscape at both the domestic and international level, with new regulations coming into effect and continued legal challenges, and our efforts to comply with the evolving data protection rules may be unsuccessful. It is possible that these laws may be interpreted and applied in a manner that is inconsistent with our practices. We must devote significant resources to understanding and complying with this changing landscape. Failure to comply with laws regarding data protection would expose us to risk of enforcement actions taken by data protection authorities in the EU and elsewhere and carries with it the potential for significant penalties if we are found to be non-compliant. Similarly, failure to comply with federal and state laws in the United States regarding privacy and security of personal information could expose us to penalties under such laws. Any such failure to comply with data protection and privacy laws could result in government-imposed fines or orders requiring that we change our practices, claims for damages or other liabilities, regulatory investigations and enforcement action, litigation and significant costs for remediation, any of which could adversely affect our business. Even if we are not determined to have violated these laws, government investigations into these issues typically require the expenditure of significant resources and generate negative publicity, which could harm our business, financial condition, results of operations or prospects.

Risks related to employee matters, managing growth and information technology

Our future success depends on our ability to retain our Chief Executive Officer, Chief Scientific Officer and other key executives and to attract, retain, and motivate qualified personnel.

We are highly dependent on John Evans, our Chief Executive Officer, and Dr. Giuseppe Ciaramella, our President and Chief Scientific Officer, as well as the other principal members of our management and scientific teams. Mr. Evans, Dr. Ciaramella and such other principal members are employed “at will,” meaning we or they may terminate the employment at any time. We do not maintain “key person” insurance for any of our executives or other employees. The loss of the services of any of these persons could impede the achievement of our research, development, and commercialization objectives.

Recruiting and retaining qualified scientific, clinical, manufacturing, and sales and marketing personnel will also be critical to our success. We may not be able to attract and retain these personnel on acceptable terms given the competition among numerous pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies for similar personnel. We also experience competition for the hiring of scientific and clinical personnel from universities and research institutions. In addition, we rely on consultants and advisors, including scientific and clinical advisors, to assist us in formulating our research and development and commercialization strategy. Our consultants and advisors, including our scientific co-founders, may be employed by employers other than us and may have commitments under consulting or advisory contracts with other entities that may limit their availability to us. The inability to recruit, or loss of services of certain executives, key employees, consultants, or advisors, may impede the progress of our research, development, and commercialization objectives and have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects.

We expect to expand our development, regulatory, and future sales and marketing capabilities, and as a result, we may encounter difficulties in managing our growth, which could disrupt our operations.

In connection with the growth and advancement of our pipeline and becoming a public company, we expect to increase the number of our employees and the scope of our operations, particularly in the areas of drug development, regulatory affairs, and sales and marketing. To manage our anticipated future growth, we must continue to implement and improve our managerial, operational, and financial systems, expand our facilities, and continue to recruit and train additional qualified personnel. Due to our limited financial resources and the limited experience of our management team in managing a company with such anticipated growth, we may not be able to effectively manage the expected expansion of our operations or recruit and train additional qualified personnel. Moreover, the expected physical expansion of our operations may lead to significant costs and may divert our management and business development resources. Any inability to manage growth could delay the execution of our business plans or disrupt our operations.

As a growing biotechnology company, we are actively pursuing new platforms and product candidates in many therapeutic areas and across a wide range of diseases. Successfully developing product candidates for and fully understanding the regulatory and manufacturing pathways to all of these therapeutic areas and disease states requires a significant depth of talent, resources and corporate processes in order to allow simultaneous execution across multiple areas. Due to our limited resources, we may not be able to effectively manage this simultaneous execution and the expansion of our operations or recruit and train additional qualified personnel. This may result in weaknesses in our infrastructure, give rise to operational mistakes, legal or regulatory compliance failures, loss of business opportunities, loss of employees and reduced productivity among remaining employees. The physical expansion of our operations may lead to significant costs and may divert financial resources from other projects, such as the development of our product candidates. Further, in connection with our collaboration and license agreement with Prime Medicine, we

are obligated to provide management services to Prime Medicine for up to one year, which could distract our management team from their responsibilities to our own company. If our management is unable to effectively manage our expected development and expansion, our expenses may increase more than expected, our ability to generate or increase our revenue could be reduced and we may not be able to implement our business strategy. Our future financial performance and our ability to compete effectively and commercialize our product candidates, if approved, will depend in part on our ability to effectively manage the future development and expansion of our company.

Our internal computer systems, or those of our third-party vendors, collaborators or other contractors or consultants, may fail or suffer security breaches, which could result in a material disruption of our product development programs, compromise sensitive information related to our business or prevent us from accessing critical information, potentially exposing us to liability or otherwise adversely affecting our business.

Our internal computer systems and those of our current and any future third-party vendors, collaborators and other contractors or consultants are vulnerable to damage or interruption from computer viruses, computer hackers, malicious code, employee theft or misuse, denial-of-service attacks, sophisticated nation-state and nation-state-supported actors, unauthorized access, natural disasters, terrorism, war and telecommunication and electrical failures. While we seek to protect our information technology systems from system failure, accident and security breach, if such an event were to occur and cause interruptions in our operations, it could result in a disruption of our development programs and our business operations, whether due to a loss of our trade secrets or other proprietary information or other disruptions. For example, the loss of clinical trial data from future clinical trials could result in delays in our regulatory approval efforts and significantly increase our costs to recover or reproduce the data. If we were to experience a significant cybersecurity breach of our information systems or data, the costs associated with the investigation, remediation and potential notification of the breach to counterparties and data subjects could be material. In addition, our remediation efforts may not be successful. If we do not allocate and effectively manage the resources necessary to build and sustain the proper technology and cybersecurity infrastructure, we could suffer significant business disruption, including transaction errors, supply chain or manufacturing interruptions, processing inefficiencies, data loss or the loss of or damage to intellectual property or other proprietary information.

To the extent that any disruption or security breach were to result in a loss of, or damage to, our or our third-party vendors’, collaborators’ or other contractors’ or consultants’ data or applications, or inappropriate disclosure of confidential or proprietary information, we could incur liability including litigation exposure, penalties and fines, we could become the subject of regulatory action or investigation, our competitive position could be harmed and the further development and commercialization of our product candidates could be delayed. Any of the above could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations or prospects.

Risks related to our common stock

The market price of our common stock may be volatile and fluctuate substantially, which could result in substantially losses for purchasers of our common stock and subject us to securities class action litigation.

The market price of our common stock is likely to be highly volatile and may fluctuate substantially due to many factors, including:

•

the success of existing or new competitive product candidates or technologies;

•

the timing and results of preclinical studies for any product candidates that we may develop;

•

failure or discontinuation of any of our product development and research programs;

•

results of preclinical studies, clinical trials, or regulatory approvals of product candidates of our competitors, or announcements about new research programs or product candidates of our competitors;

•

developments or changing views regarding the use of genetic medicines, including those that involve gene editing;

•

commencement or termination of collaborations for our product development and research programs;

•

regulatory or legal developments in the United States and other countries;

•

developments or disputes concerning patent applications, issued patents, or other proprietary rights;

•

the recruitment or departure of key personnel;

•

the level of expenses related to any of our research programs, clinical development programs, or product candidates that we may develop;

•

the results of our efforts to develop additional product candidates or products;

•

actual or anticipated changes in estimates as to financial results, development timelines, or recommendations by securities analysts;

•

announcement or expectation of additional financing efforts;

•

sales of our common stock by us, our insiders or other stockholders;

•

expiration of market stand-off or lock-up agreement;

•

variations in our financial results or those of companies that are perceived to be similar to us;

•

changes in estimates or recommendations by securities analysts, if any, that cover our stock;

•

changes in the structure of healthcare payment systems;

•

market conditions in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology sectors;

•

general economic, industry, and market conditions; and

•

the other factors described in this “Risk factors” section.

In recent years, the stock market in general, and the market for pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies in particular, has experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations that have often been unrelated or disproportionate to changes in the operating performance of the companies whose stock is experiencing those price and volume fluctuations. Broad market and industry factors may seriously affect the market price of our common stock, regardless of our actual operating performance. Following periods of such volatility in the market price of a company’s securities, securities class action litigation has often been brought against that company. Because of the potential volatility of our stock price, we may become the target of securities litigation in the future.

Securities litigation could result in substantial costs and divert management’s attention and resources from our business.

If securities analysts do not publish research or reports about our business or if they publish negative evaluations of our stock, the price of our stock could decline.

The trading market for our common stock relies in part on the research and reports that industry or financial analysts publish about us or our business. If one or more of these analysts ceases coverage of our company or fails to publish reports on us regularly, we could lose visibility in the financial markets, which in turn could cause our stock price or trading volume to decline. Moreover, if any of the analysts who cover us issue an adverse or misleading opinion regarding us, our business model or our stock performance, or if our operating results fail to meet the expectations of the investor community, one or more of the analysts who cover our company may change their recommendations regarding our company, and our stock price could decline.

Our directors, executive officers and affiliates have significant voting power and may take actions that are not in the best interests of our other stockholders.

As of June 30, 2020, our directors and executive officers and their affiliates beneficially owned shares representing approximately 31.9% of our outstanding common stock. As a result, these stockholders, if they act together, will be able to influence our management and affairs and all matters requiring stockholder approval, including the election of directors and approval of significant corporate transactions. This concentration of ownership may have the effect of delaying or preventing a change in control of our company and might affect the market price of our common stock.

If we fail to establish and maintain proper and effective internal control over financial reporting, our operating results and our ability to operate our business could be harmed.

Ensuring that we have adequate internal financial and accounting controls and procedures in place so that we can produce accurate financial statements on a timely basis is a costly and time-consuming effort that needs to be re-evaluated frequently. Our internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. To comply with the requirements of being a public company, we have undertaken certain actions, such as documenting, reviewing and improving our internal controls and procedures for compliance with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, or SOX, which will require annual management assessment of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. While we outsourced our finance and accounting personnel until the end of 2018, we have added additional finance and accounting personnel with certain skill sets that we need as a public company.

Implementing any appropriate changes to our internal controls may distract our officers and employees, entail substantial costs to modify our existing processes and take significant time to complete. These changes may not, however, be effective in maintaining the adequacy of our internal controls, and any failure to maintain that adequacy, or consequent inability to produce accurate financial statements on a timely basis, could increase our operating costs and harm our business. In addition, investors’ perceptions that our internal controls are inadequate or that we are unable to produce accurate financial statements on a timely basis may harm our common share price and make it more difficult for us to effectively market and sell our service to new and existing customers.

We are an “emerging growth company” and a “smaller reporting company,” and the reduced disclosure requirements applicable to emerging growth companies and smaller reporting companies may make our common stock less attractive to investors.

We are an “emerging growth company,” as defined in the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012, or the JOBS Act, and may remain an emerging growth company for up to five years. For so long as we remain an emerging growth company, we are permitted and plan to rely on exemptions from certain disclosure requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies. These exemptions include not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, or SOX Section 404, not being required to comply with any requirement that may be adopted by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board regarding mandatory audit firm rotation or a supplement to the auditor’s report providing additional information about the audit and the financial statements, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. As a result, the information we provide stockholders will be different than the information that is available with respect to other public companies. In our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019, we have not included all of the executive compensation related information that would be required if we were not an emerging growth company. We cannot predict whether investors will find our common stock less attractive if we rely on these exemptions. If some investors find our common stock less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our common stock, and our stock price may be more volatile.

In addition, the JOBS Act provides that an emerging growth company can take advantage of an extended transition period for complying with new or revised accounting standards. This allows an emerging growth company to delay the adoption of certain accounting standards until those standards would otherwise apply to private companies. We have elected not to “opt out” of such extended transition period, which means that when a standard is issued or revised and it has different application dates for public or private companies, we will adopt the new or revised standard at the time private companies adopt the new or revised standard and will do so until such time that we either (i) irrevocably elect to “opt out” of such extended transition period or (ii) no longer qualify as an emerging growth company. Therefore, the reported results of operations contained in our consolidated financial statements may not be directly comparable to those of other public companies.

We are also a “smaller reporting company” as defined in Regulation S-K. We will continue to be a smaller reporting company if either (i) the market value of our stock held by non-affiliates is less than $250 million or (ii) our annual revenue is less than $100 million during the most recently completed fiscal year and the market value of our stock held by non-affiliates is less than $700 million. If we are a smaller reporting company at the time we cease to be an emerging growth company, we may continue to rely on exemptions from certain disclosure requirements that are available to smaller reporting companies. Specifically, as a smaller reporting company we may choose to present only the two most recent fiscal years of audited financial statements in our Annual Report on Form 10-K and, similar to emerging growth companies, smaller reporting companies have reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation.

We have incurred and expect to continue to incur increased costs as a result of operating as a public company, and our management is required to devote substantial time to new compliance initiatives and corporate governance practices.

As a public company, and particularly after we are no longer an “emerging growth company,” we have incurred and expect to continue to incur significant legal, accounting, and other expenses. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, the listing requirements of The Nasdaq Global Market, and other applicable securities rules and regulations impose various requirements on public companies, including establishment and maintenance of effective disclosure and financial controls and corporate governance practices. We have added additional accounting, finance, and other personnel in connection with our becoming, and our efforts to comply with the requirements of being, a public company, and our management and other personnel will need to devote a substantial amount of time towards maintaining compliance with these requirements. These requirements will increase our legal and financial compliance costs and will make some activities more time-consuming and costly. For example, we expect that the rules and regulations applicable to us as a public company may make it more difficult and more expensive for us to maintain director and officer liability insurance, which could make it more difficult for us to attract and retain qualified members of our board of directors. These rules and regulations are often subject to varying interpretations, in many cases due to their lack of specificity, and, as a result, their application in practice may evolve over time as new guidance is provided by regulatory and governing bodies. This could result in continuing uncertainty regarding compliance matters and higher costs necessitated by ongoing revisions to disclosure and governance practices.

Pursuant to SOX Section 404, we will be required to furnish a report by our management on our internal control over financial reporting beginning with our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020. However, while we remain an emerging growth company, we will not be required to include an attestation report on internal control over financial reporting issued by our independent registered public accounting firm. To achieve compliance with SOX Section 404 within the prescribed period, we will be engaged in a process to document and evaluate our internal control over financial reporting, which is both costly and challenging. In this regard, we will need to continue to dedicate internal resources, potentially engage outside consultants, adopt a detailed work plan to assess and document the adequacy of internal control over financial reporting, continue steps to improve control processes as appropriate, validate through testing that controls are functioning as documented, and implement a continuous reporting

and improvement process for internal control over financial reporting. Despite our efforts, there is a risk that we will not be able to conclude, within the prescribed timeframe or at all, that our internal control over financial reporting is effective as required by SOX Section 404. If we identify one or more material weaknesses, it could result in an adverse reaction in the financial markets due to a loss of confidence in the reliability of our financial statements.

We do not expect to pay any dividends for the foreseeable future. Investors may never obtain a return on their investment unless they sell our common stock for a price higher than which they paid for it.

You should not rely on an investment in our common stock to provide dividend income. We do not anticipate that we will pay any dividends to holders of our common stock in the foreseeable future. Instead, we plan to retain any earnings to maintain and expand our existing operations. In addition, any future credit facility may contain terms prohibiting or limiting the amount of dividends that may be declared or paid on our common stock. Accordingly, investors must rely on sales of their common stock after price appreciation, which may never occur, as the only way to realize any return on their investment.

Unfavorable global economic conditions could adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.

Our results of operations could be adversely affected by general conditions in the global economy and in the global financial markets. A severe or prolonged economic downturn, or additional global financial crises, could result in a variety of risks to our business, including weakened demand for our product candidates, if approved, or our ability to raise additional capital when needed on acceptable terms, if at all. A weak or declining economy could also strain our suppliers, possibly resulting in supply disruption. Any of the foregoing could harm our business and we cannot anticipate all of the ways in which the current economic climate and financial market conditions could adversely impact our business.

Provisions in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, our amended and restated by-laws and Delaware law may have anti-takeover effects that could discourage an acquisition of us by others, even if an acquisition would be beneficial to our stockholders, and may prevent attempts by our stockholders to replace or remove our current management.

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, amended and restated by-laws and Delaware law contain provisions that may have the effect of discouraging, delaying or preventing a change in control of us or changes in our management that stockholders may consider favorable, including transactions in which you might otherwise receive a premium for your shares. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and by-laws, include provisions that:

•

authorize “blank check” preferred stock, which could be issued by our board of directors without stockholder approval and may contain voting, liquidation, dividend and other rights superior to our common stock;

•

create a classified board of directors whose members serve staggered three-year terms;

•

specify that special meetings of our stockholders can be called only by our board of directors;

•

prohibit stockholder action by written consent;

•

establish an advance notice procedure for stockholder approvals to be brought before an annual meeting of our stockholders, including proposed nominations of persons for election to our board of directors;

•

provide that vacancies on our board of directors may be filled only by a majority of directors then in office, even though less than a quorum;

•

provide that our directors may be removed only for cause;

•

specify that no stockholder is permitted to cumulate votes at any election of directors;

•

expressly authorized our board of directors to make, alter, amend or repeal our amended and restated by-laws; and

•

require supermajority votes of the holders of our common stock to amend specified provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated by-laws.

These provisions, alone or together, could delay or prevent hostile takeovers and changes in control or changes in our management. These provisions could also limit the price that investors might be willing to pay for shares of our common stock, thereby depressing the market price of our common stock.

In addition, because we are incorporated in the State of Delaware, we are governed by the provisions of Section 203 of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware, or the DGCL, which prohibits a person who owns in excess of 15% of our outstanding voting stock from merging or combining with us for a period of three years after the date of the transaction in which the person acquired in excess of 15% of our outstanding voting stock, unless the merger or combination is approved in a prescribed manner.

Any provision of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, amended and restated by-laws or Delaware law that has the effect of delaying or deterring a change in control could limit the opportunity for our stockholders to receive a premium for their shares of our common stock, and could also affect the price that some investors are willing to pay for our common stock.

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated by-laws designate the state or federal courts within the State of Delaware as the exclusive forum for certain types of actions and proceedings that may be initiated by our stockholders, which could limit our stockholders’ ability to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with us or our directors, officers or employees.

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that, subject to limited exceptions, the state or federal courts within the State of Delaware will be exclusive forums for (1) any derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf, (2) any action asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any of our directors, officers or other employees to us or our stockholders, (3) any action asserting a claim against us arising pursuant to any provision of the DGCL, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or our amended and restated by-laws, (4) any action to interpret, apply, enforce or determine the validity of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or our amended and restated by-laws or (5) any other action asserting a claim against us that is governed by the internal affairs doctrine. Furthermore, our amended and restated by-laws also provide that unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the federal district courts of the United States shall be the exclusive forum for the resolution of any complaint asserting a cause of action arising under the Securities Act. Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring any interest in shares of our capital stock shall be deemed to have notice of and to have consented to the provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated by-laws described above. These choice of forum provisions may limit a stockholder’s ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for disputes with us or our directors, officers or other employees, which may discourage such lawsuits against us and our directors, officers and employees. Alternatively, if a court were to find these provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or amended and restated by-laws inapplicable to, or unenforceable in respect of, one or more of the specified types of actions or proceedings, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such matters in other jurisdictions, which could adversely affect our business and financial condition. For example, the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware recently determined that a provision stating that federal district courts of the United States are the exclusive forum for resolving any complaint asserting a cause of action under the Securities Act is not enforceable. However, this decision may be reviewed and ultimately overturned by the Delaware Supreme Court.

Item 2. Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Uses of Proceeds

Recent sales of unregistered securities

On July 21, 2020, pursuant to the Bio Palette License Agreement, we issued 175,000 shares of our common stock to Bio Palette in satisfaction of certain milestone payment obligations pursuant to the Bio Palette License Agreement. We relied on the exemption from the registration requirements of the Securities Act under Section 4(a)(2) thereof, for a transaction by an issuer not involving any public offering.

Use of proceeds from registered securities

On February 10, 2020, we closed our IPO in which we issued and sold 12,176,471 shares of our common stock, including 1,588,235 shares of common stock sold pursuant to the underwriters’ full exercise of their option to purchase additional shares, at a public offering price of $17.00 per share, for aggregate gross proceeds of $207.0 million. All of the shares issued and sold in the IPO were registered under the Securities Act pursuant to a Registration Statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-233985), which was declared effective by the SEC on February 5, 2020, and a Registration Statement on Form S-1 MEF (File No. 333-236284) filed pursuant to Rule 462(b) of the Securities Act. J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, Jeffries LLC, and Barclays Capital Inc. acted as joint bookrunning managers of the IPO and as representatives of the underwriters. Wedbush Securities Inc. acted as the lead manager for the IPO. The offering commenced on February 5, 2020 and did not terminate until the sale of all the shares offered.

The net offering proceeds to us, after deducting underwriting discounts and estimated offering expenses payable by us of $18.7 million, were $188.3 million. No offering expenses were paid directly or indirectly to any of our directors or officers (or their associates) or persons owning 10.0% or more of any class of our equity securities or to any other affiliates. We are holding a significant portion of the balance of the net proceeds from the offering in money market funds and short-term investments. There has been no material change in our planned use of the net proceeds from our IPO described in our final prospectus, dated February 5, 2020, filed with the SEC pursuant to Rule 424(b) relating to our Registration Statement on Form S-1.

Item 6. Exhibits.

If Incorporated by Reference

Exhibit

Number

Description of Exhibit

Form

File

Number

Date of

Filing

Exhibit

Number

Filed

Herewith

3.1

Fourth Amended Certificate of Incorporation of Beam Therapeutics Inc.

8-K

001-39208

02/11/2020

3.1

3.2

Amended and Restated By-laws of Beam Therapeutics Inc.

8-K

001-39208

02/11/2020

3.2

10.1

Lease Agreement between Beam Therapeutics Inc. and ARE-NC Region No. 14, LLC

31.1

Certification of Principal Executive Officer Pursuant to Rules 13a-14(a) and 15d-14(a) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as Adopted Pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

31.2

Certification of Principal Financial Officer Pursuant to Rules 13a-14(a) and 15d-14(a) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as Adopted Pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

32.1

Certification of Principal Executive Officer Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as Adopted Pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

32.2

Certification of Principal Financial Officer Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as Adopted Pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

101.INS

XBRL Instance Document

101.SCH

XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema Document

101.CAL

XBRL Taxonomy Calculation Linkbase Document

101.DEF

XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase Document

101.LAB

XBRL Taxonomy Label Linkbase Document

101.PRE

XBRL Taxonomy Presentation Linkbase Document

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized.

	BEAM THERAPEUTICS INC.

Date: August 12, 2020	By:	/s/ John Evans
		John Evans
		Chief Executive Officer
		(Principal executive officer)

Date: August 12, 2020	By:	/s/ Terry-Ann Burrell
		Terry-Ann Burrell
		Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer
		(Principal financial and accounting officer)

beam-ex101_197.htm

Exhibit 10.1

LEASE AGREEMENT

THIS LEASE AGREEMENT (this “Lease”) is made this day of August, 2020, between ARE-NC REGION NO. 14, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (“Landlord”), and BEAM THERAPEUTICS INC., a Delaware corporation (“Tenant”).

Building:

That certain to-be-constructed 1-story building with Mezzanine Space (as defined in Section 43(u)) to be known as 10 Davis Drive, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, located on the parcel of land described on Exhibit B-1 (the “Property”).

Premises:

The entire Building, containing approximately 100,000 rentable square feet, as shown on Exhibit A, subject to adjustment pursuant to Section 5.

Project:

The real property on which the Building in which the Premises are located, as well as those other existing or to-be-constructed buildings known or to be known as 4 Davis Drive, 6 Davis Drive and 8 Davis Drive, and the land on which they are or will be located, together with all existing and future improvements thereon and appurtenances thereto, the planned configuration of which is shown on Exhibit B-2.

2582545000Base Rent:

Initially, $ per rentable square foot of the Premises per year (excluding, during the Base Term, the Mezzanine Space regardless of whether or not it has been converted to Occupiable Mezzanine Space (as defined in Section 43(u))), subject to adjustment pursuant to Sections 4 and 5 hereof.

Rentable Area of Premises and Building: 100,000 sq. ft., subject to adjustment pursuant to Section 5.

Rentable Area of Project: 349,275 sq. ft., subject to adjustment pursuant to Section 5.

Tenant’s Share of Operating Expenses of Building: 100%

Building’s Share of Operating Expenses of Project:

28.63%, subject to adjustment pursuant to Section 5 and Section 43(u).

Security Deposit: $

Target Commencement Date: August 1, 2021

Rent Adjustment Percentage:%

Base Term:

Beginning on the Commencement Date and ending 180 months from the first day of the first full month following the Rent Commencement Date. For clarity, if the Rent Commencement Date occurs on the first day of a month, the expiration of the Base Term shall be measured from that date. If the Rent Commencement Date occurs on a day other than the first day of a month, the expiration of the Base Term shall be measured from the first day of the following month.

Permitted Use: Laboratory, bio-manufacturing, related research and development functions, warehouse, office and other related uses consistent with the character of the Project and otherwise in compliance with the provisions of Section 7 hereof.

Address for Rent Payment:Landlord’s Notice Address:

Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc.26 North Euclid Avenue PO Box 896541Pasadena, CA 91101

Charlotte, NC 28289-6541Attention: Corporate Secretary

Page 2

Tenant’s Notice Address PriorTenant’s Notice Address After

to Rent Commencement Date:the Rent Commencement Date:

26 Landsdowne Street, Floor 226 Landsdowne Street, Floor 2

Cambridge, MA 02139Cambridge, MA 02139

Attention: Chief Legal OfficerAttention: Chief Legal Officer

With a copy to:

10 Davis Drive

Durham, NC 27709 Attention: Brian Riley

The following Exhibits and Addenda are attached hereto and incorporated herein by this reference:

[X] EXHIBIT A - PREMISES DESCRIPTION[X] EXHIBIT B - DESCRIPTION OF PROJECT

[X] EXHIBIT C - WORK LETTER[X] EXHIBIT D - COMMENCEMENT DATE

[X] EXHIBIT E - RULES AND REGULATIONS [X] EXHIBIT F - TENANT’S PERSONAL PROPERTY

[X] EXHIBIT G - PARKING[X] EXHIBIT H - SHARED SPACE CONSENT

[X]

EXHIBIT I - BASE RENT CALC. EXAMPLE [X] EXHIBIT J - SIGNAGE

1.Lease of Premises. Upon and subject to all of the terms and conditions hereof, Landlord hereby leases the Premises to Tenant and Tenant hereby leases the Premises from Landlord. The portions of the Project located outside the Building which are for the non-exclusive use of occupants of the Project including, without limitation, (a) the Project Amenities (as defined below) and related pathways of ingress and egress (including such pathways located within other buildings at the Project, if applicable) required for access to the Project Amenities, (b) pedestrian sidewalks, (c) landscaped areas,

(d) common driveways, parking areas and access roads, and (e) common bicycle storage, if any, are collectively referred to herein as the “Common Areas.” Appurtenant to Tenant’s lease of the Premises, Tenant shall have the non-exclusive right, in common with others having the right thereto, to use the Common Areas. Landlord reserves the right to modify Common Areas, provided that such modifications do not materially adversely affect Tenant’s use of the Premises for the Permitted Use. From and after the Commencement Date through the expiration of the Term, Tenant shall have access to the Building and the Premises 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, except in the case of emergencies, as the result of Legal Requirements, or the performance by Landlord of any installation, maintenance or repairs for which Landlord is responsible under this Lease, and otherwise subject to the terms of this Lease.

Landlord and Tenant acknowledge and agree that Landlord’s planned re-development of the Project contemplates certain common amenities serving the Project (the “Project Amenities”). The location within the Project, size, scope and, except as otherwise expressly provided in the following sentence, the type of amenities included as part of the Project Amenities shall be in Landlord’s sole and absolute discretion. The Project Amenities may include conferencing facilities and shall, subject to Force Majeure, casualty or a Taking (as defined in Section 19 below) at a minimum include a café/food amenity (the “Food Amenity”) and a fitness center (the “Fitness Center”); provided; however, that Landlord shall have the right at any time and from time to time after the Project Amenities Availability Date to reconfigure, relocate, modify and/or make repairs or improvements to any of the Project Amenities and/or to revise, expand or discontinue any of the services (if any) provided in connection with the Project Amenities; provided, however, that in no event shall Landlord have the right to permanently close the Food Amenity or the Fitness Center.

2.Delivery; Acceptance of Premises; Commencement Date. Landlord shall use reasonable efforts to deliver the Premises for Tenant’s construction of the Tenant Improvements pursuant to the Work Letter in Tenant Improvement Work Readiness Condition on or before the Target Commencement Date (“Delivery” or “Deliver”). If Landlord fails to timely Deliver the Premises, Landlord shall not be liable to Tenant for any loss or damage resulting therefrom, and this Lease shall not be void or voidable except as provided herein. If Landlord fails to timely Deliver the Premises, Landlord shall not be liable to Tenant for any loss or damage resulting therefrom, and this Lease shall not be void or

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voidable except as provided herein. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, if Landlord fails to Deliver the Premises to Tenant (i) by(as such date may be extended for Force Majeure delays (as defined in Section 34) and Tenant Delays, “Initial Abatement Date”), Base Rent shall be abated 1 day for each day after the Initial Abatement Date (as such date may be extended for Force Majeure delays and Tenant Delays) through the Second Abatement Date that Landlord fails to Deliver the Premises to Tenant, (ii) by(as such date may be extended for Force Majeure delays and Tenant Delays, “Second Abatement Date”), Base Rent shall be abated 2 days for each day after the Second Abatement Date (as such date may be extended for Force Majeure delays and Tenant Delays) through the Third Abatement Date that Landlord fails to Deliver the Premises to Tenant, and (iii) by(as such date may be extended for Force Majeure delays and Tenant Delays, “Third Abatement Date”), and Tenant does not terminate this Lease pursuant to this paragraph, Base Rent shall be abated 3 days for each day after the Third Abatement Date (as such date may be extended for Force Majeure delays and Tenant Delays) that Landlord fails to Deliver the Premises to Tenant. If Landlord has not Delivered the Premises on the Third Abatement Date for any reason other than Force Majeure delays and Tenant Delays, this Lease may be terminated by Tenant by written notice to Landlord (“Termination Notice”), and if so terminated by Tenant: (a) the Security Deposit, or any balance thereof (i.e., after deducting therefrom all amounts to which Landlord is entitled under the provisions of this Lease), shall be returned to Tenant, and (b) neither Landlord nor Tenant shall have any further rights, duties or obligations under this Lease, except with respect to provisions which expressly survive termination of this Lease. As used herein, the terms “Tenant Improvements” and “Tenant Improvement Readiness Condition” shall have the meanings set forth for such terms in the work letter attached hereto as Exhibit C (the “Work Letter”). If Tenant does not deliver a Termination Notice to Landlord on or before(as such date may be extended by Force Majeure delays and Tenant Delays), such right to void this Lease shall be waived and this Lease shall remain in full force and effect.

Landlord shall use diligent good faith efforts to obtain approval from the applicable Governmental Authority (as defined in Section 9 below) of the site plan for the Property (subject to conditions of approval reasonably acceptable to Landlord) pursuant to the schedule of milestone dates attached to the Work Letter, which has been mutually agreed to by the parties.

If Tenant delivers a Termination Notice to Landlord and Landlord, within 10 days after Landlord’s receipt of such Termination Notice, Landlord delivers written notice to Tenant (“Landlord’s Response”), along with reasonable evidence, that the Premises will be in Tenant Improvement Readiness Condition within 30 days after Tenant’s receipt of Landlord’s Response, then, notwithstanding Tenant’s Termination Notice, this Lease shall remain in full force and effect. If Landlord fails to deliver the Premises to Tenant in Tenant Improvement Work Readiness Conditions at the end of such 30-day period (as such period may be extended by Force Majeure delays and Tenant Delays) then this Lease shall automatically terminate.

The “Commencement Date” shall be the earlier of: (i) the date Landlord Delivers the Premises to Tenant in Tenant Improvement Work Readiness Conditions; and (ii) the date Landlord could have Delivered the Premises to Tenant in Tenant Improvement Work Readiness Condition but for Tenant Delays. The “Rent Commencement Date” shall be the earliest of: (x) the date that is 12 months after the Commencement Date, or (y) the date that Tenant Substantially Completes the Tenant Improvements, or (z) the date that Tenant commences operating its business in all or a portion of the Premises (for the avoidance of doubt, preparing the Premises for operations shall not constitute Tenant operating its business for the purposes of this subsection (z)); provided, however, that (A) in no event shall the Rent Commencement Date occur prior toand (B) the Rent Commencement Date shall be extended 1 day for each day of Landlord Delay (as defined in the Work Letter) that occurs following the Commencement Date. Upon request of Landlord, Tenant shall execute and deliver a written acknowledgment of the Commencement Date, the Rent Commencement Date and the expiration date of the Term when such are established in the form of the “Acknowledgement of Commencement Date” attached to this Lease as Exhibit D; provided, however, Tenant’s failure to execute and deliver such acknowledgment shall not affect Landlord’s rights hereunder. The “Term” of this Lease shall be the Base

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Term, as defined above on the first page of this Lease and any Extension Terms which Tenant may elect pursuant to Section 39 hereof.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, Landlord and Tenant agree that if, following the Commencement Date, any Governmental Authority having jurisdiction of the Project, as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak in the United States (the “COVID-19 Situation”) declares or implements any public health emergencies and/or imposes governmental guidelines or mandates concerning sheltering in place, the suspension of various services and other business activities, the imposition of limitations on public assembly and construction activities, or other restrictions concerning persons and property (each of the foregoing resulting from the COVID-19 Situation, a “Government Mandate” and collectively, “Government Mandates”), then, to the extent such Government Mandates preclude construction or permitting activities required to prepare space for the operation of laboratory/bio-manufacturing companies in the county and, as such, precludes Tenant from preparing the Premises for use by Tenant of the Premises for the Permitted Use within 12 months after the Commencement Date, then the 12 month period set forth in the immediately preceding paragraph with respect to the Rent Commencement Date shall be delayed 1 day for each day that such Government Mandates remain in effect.

Except as set forth in the Work Letter or as otherwise expressly set forth in this Lease: (i) Tenant shall accept the Premises in their condition as of the Commencement Date; (ii) Landlord shall have no obligation for any defects in the Premises; and (iii) Tenant’s taking possession of the Premises shall be conclusive evidence that Tenant accepts the Premises and that the Premises were in good condition at the time possession was taken. Any occupancy of the Premises by Tenant before the Commencement Date shall be subject to all of the terms and conditions of this Lease, excluding the obligation to pay Base Rent and Operating Expenses.

Tenant agrees and acknowledges that neither Landlord nor any agent of Landlord has made any representation or warranty with respect to the condition of all or any portion of the Premises or the Project, and/or the suitability of the Premises or the Project for the conduct of Tenant’s business, and Tenant waives any implied warranty that the Premises or the Project are suitable for the Permitted Use. This Lease constitutes the complete agreement of Landlord and Tenant with respect to the subject matter hereof and supersedes any and all prior representations, inducements, promises, agreements, understandings and negotiations which are not contained herein. Landlord in executing this Lease does so in reliance upon Tenant’s representations, warranties, acknowledgments and agreements contained herein.

Rent.

(a)Base Rent. The Security Deposit shall be due and payable concurrently with Tenant’s delivery of an executed copy of this Lease to Landlord. Base Rent for the month in which Rent Commencement Date occurs (or, if the Rent Commencement Date does not occur on the first day of a calendar month, Base Rent for the first full calendar month following the Rent Commencement Date) shall be due and payable on the date that is days prior to the Rent Commencement Date. Tenant shall pay to Landlord in advance, without demand, abatement, deduction or set-off, monthly installments of Base Rent on or before the first day of each calendar month during the Term hereof from and after the Rent Commencement Date, in lawful money of the United States of America, at the office of Landlord for payment of Rent set forth above, or to such other person or at such other place as Landlord may from time to time designate in writing, or via federally insured wire transfer (including ACH) pursuant to the wire instructions provided by Landlord. Payments of Base Rent for any fractional calendar month shall be prorated. The obligation of Tenant to pay Base Rent and other sums to Landlord and the obligations of Landlord under this Lease are independent obligations. Tenant shall have no right at any time to abate, reduce, or set-off any Rent (as defined in Section 5) due hereunder except for any abatement as may be expressly provided in this Lease.

(b)

Additional Rent. In addition to Base Rent, Tenant agrees to pay to Landlord as additional rent (“Additional Rent”): (i) commencing on the “OPEX Commencement Date”, which shall

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be the earlier of the (x) Rent Commencement Date, and (y) the date that Tenant commences operating its business in all or a portion of the Premises (for the avoidance of doubt, preparing the Premises for operations shall not constitute Tenant operating its business for the purposes of this subsection (y)), Tenant’s Share of “Operating Expenses” (as defined in Section 5), and (ii) any and all other amounts Tenant assumes or agrees to pay under the provisions of this Lease, including, without limitation, any and all other sums that may become due by reason of any default of Tenant or failure to comply with the agreements, terms, covenants and conditions of this Lease to be performed by Tenant, after any applicable notice and cure period.

Base Rent Adjustments.

(a)Initial Base Rent. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary set forth on Page 1 of this Lease, the initial rate of Base Rent payable by Tenant under this Lease during the first 12 months immediately following the Rent Commencement Date (the “Initial Base Rent”) shall be equal to the rate per rentable square foot of the Premises per year that will provide Landlord with a % annual return on Total Project Costs (as defined below) on a triple net basis (the “Annual Return Amount”). Notwithstanding the foregoing, Landlord and Tenant acknowledge and agree that (i) commencing on the Rent Commencement Date through the Base Rent Determination Date, Tenant shall pay Initial Base Rent at the rate set forth on page 1 of this Lease, which was determined based on an estimated Annual Return Amount, and (ii) the Initial Base Rent shall be subject to adjustment pursuant to this Section 4(a) following the determination of the Total Project Costs. Landlord shall, within a reasonable period following the (x) final completion of Landlord’s Work (as defined in the Work Letter), (y) the earlier of disbursement of the full amount of the TI Allowance elected to be used by Tenant under the Work Letter or the occurrence of Outside TI Allowance Date (as defined in the Work Letter), (z) the payment by Landlord of the Total Project Costs (as defined below), determine the Initial Base Rent payable on the actual Annual Return Amount (the “Actual Initial Base Rent”), which determination shall be made no later than 18 months after the Rent Commencement Date (the “Base Rent Determination Date”); provided, however, that notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, Landlord shall have the right to adjust the Actual Annual Return Amount to factor in any additional Total Project Costs incurred by Landlord following the Base Rent Determination Date including as a result of the final close-out of any construction matter that occurs after the Base Rent Determination Date, provided that Landlord shall provide Tenant with specific and detailed written notice detailing such additional costs and Tenant shall have the opportunity to verify the same. Landlord shall deliver written notice to Tenant of the actual Annual Return Amount and the Actual Initial Base Rent promptly following the Base Rent Determination Date. Tenant shall commence paying Base Rent under this Lease based on the Actual Initial Base Rent (subject to adjustment pursuant to Section 4(b)) on the first day of the calendar month following the Base Rent Determination Date (the “Base Rent Adjustment Date”). In the event that (i) the actual Annual Return Amount is less than the estimated Annual Return Amount on which the Initial Base Rent was calculated, then the amount of Initial Base Rent shall be reduced based on the actual Annual Return Amount, and (ii) the actual Annual Return Amount is more than the estimated Annual Return Amount on which the Initial Base Rent was calculated, then the amount of Initial Base Rent shall be increased based on the actual Annual Return Amount. If Tenant’s actual payments of Base Rent during the period commencing on the Rent Commencement Date through the Base Rent Adjustment Date exceed the amount of Base Rent per rentable square foot of the Premises that would have been due and payable during such period, then the excess shall be applied by Landlord to Base Rent next coming due until such overage is exhausted. If the final Annual Return Amount exceeds the Tenant’s actual payments of Base Rent during the period commencing on the Rent Commencement Date through the Base Rent Adjustment Date, the excess shall be due and payable to Landlord by Tenant within 30 days after the Base Rent Adjustment Date. For illustration purposes only, attached to this Lease as Exhibit I is an example reflecting the methodology that will be applied by Landlord to determine Base Rent based on the Total Project Costs and Annual Return Amount.

As used in this Lease, “Total Project Costs” shall mean the sum of all of the costs incurred by Landlord, whether before or after the date of this Lease through Project Close-Out in connection with the Property including, without limitation, a deemed land and infrastructure cost, the design and construction of the Core & Shell of the Building and all related improvements and including, without limitation:

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. Landlord shall make its records with respect to the Total Project Costs being incurred by Landlord available to Tenant on an “open book” basis through the design and construction of Landlord’s Work. For the avoidance of doubt, no portion of any contingency amount reflected in Landlord’s Work Budget unused as of the Project Close-Out shall be included in the calculation of Total Project Costs.

“Project Close-Out” is the first date following the Delivery of the Premises to Tenant in Tenant Improvement Work Readiness Condition that (1) all remaining Landlord’s Work has been substantially completed as evidenced by certification from the Architect (as defined in the Work Letter), (2) subject to Section 5 of the Work Letter, the full amount of the TI Allowance elected to be used by Tenant has been disbursed or the Outside TI Allowance Date has occurred such that Tenant is no longer entitled to any unrequested portion of the TI Allowance, (3) all contractors, subcontractors, suppliers, architects and others who supplied labor or materials with respect to Landlord’s Work have been paid in full; and (4) all punch list items in connection with Landlord’s Work have been completed. Notwithstanding the foregoing, in no event shall the Project Close-Out occur prior to the Rent Commencement Date.

(b)Annual Adjustments. Base Rent shall be increased on each annual anniversary of the Rent Commencement Date (provided, however, that if the Rent Commencement Date occurs on a day other than the first day of a calendar month, then Base Rent shall be increased on each annual anniversary of the first day of the first full calendar month immediately following the Rent Commencement Date) (each an “Adjustment Date”) by multiplying the Base Rent payable immediately before such Adjustment Date by the Rent Adjustment Percentage and adding the resulting amount to the Base Rent

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payable immediately before such Adjustment Date. Base Rent, as so adjusted, shall thereafter be due as provided herein. Base Rent adjustments for any fractional calendar month shall be prorated.

(c)Additional TI Allowance. In addition to the Tenant Improvement Allowance (as defined in the Work Letter), Landlord shall, subject to the terms of the Work Letter, make available to Tenant the Additional Tenant Improvement Allowance. Commencing on the Rent Commencement Date and continuing thereafter on the first day of each month during the Base Term, Tenant shall pay the amount necessary to fully amortize the portion of the Additional Tenant Improvement Allowance actually funded by Landlord, if any, in equal monthly payments with interest at a rate of % per annum over the Base Term, which interest shall begin to accrue on the date that Landlord first disburses such Additional Tenant Improvement Allowance or any portion(s) thereof (“TI Rent”). In the event that the Additional TI Allowance is disbursed in tranches, interest shall begin to accrue on the amount of each tranche on the date that such tranche is disbursed. The TI Rent shall not be subject to the annual adjustments pursuant to Section 4(a) above. If any portion of the Additional Tenant Improvement Allowance is, subject to the terms of the Work Letter, funded by Landlord after the Rent Commencement Date, the monthly amount of TI Rent payable by Tenant shall be adjustment in order to fully amortize the amounts funded after the Rent Commencement Date in equal monthly payments with interest at a rate of % per annum over the remaining Base Term. Tenant shall have the right, any time after the month after the Rent Commencement Date, to prepay in full the then outstanding and unamortized TI Rent, without penalty. Any TI Rent remaining unpaid as of the expiration or earlier termination of this Lease shall be paid to Landlord in a lump sum at the expiration or earlier termination of this Lease.

5.Operating Expense Payments. Landlord shall deliver to Tenant a written estimate of Operating Expenses for each calendar year during the Term (the “Annual Estimate”), which may be revised by Landlord from time to time during such calendar year. Commencing on the OPEX Commencement Date, and continuing thereafter on the first day of each month during the Term, Tenant shall pay Landlord an amount equal to 1/12th of Tenant’s Share of the Annual Estimate. Payments for any fractional calendar month shall be prorated.

The term “Operating Expenses” means all costs and expenses of any kind or description whatsoever incurred or accrued each calendar year by Landlord with respect to the Building (including the Building’s Share of all costs and expenses of any kind or description incurred or accrued by Landlord with respect to the Project which are not specific to the Building or any other leased premises at the Project) (including, without duplication, (v) Taxes (as defined in Section 9), (w) the cost of upgrades to the Common Areas of the Project or enhanced services provided with respect to the Common Areas of the Project which are intended to encourage social distancing, promote and protect health and physical well- being and/or intended to limit the spread of communicable diseases and/or viruses of any kind or nature (collectively, “Infectious Conditions”), (x) the cost (including, without limitation, any commercially reasonable subsidies which Landlord may provide in connection with the Project Amenities) of the Project Amenities now or hereafter located at the Project, (y) capital repairs, replacements and improvements amortized over the useful life of such capital items, as reasonably determined by Landlord taking into account 24 hours per day, 7 days per week operation of the Building (provided that those Operating Expenses incurred or accrued by Landlord with respect to any capital repairs, replacements or improvements which are for the intended purpose of promoting sustainability (for example, without limitation, by reducing energy usage at the Project) (a “Capital Sustainability Expenditure”) may be amortized over a shorter period, at Landlord’s discretion, to the extent the cost of a Capital Sustainability Expenditure is offset by a reduction in Operating Expenses), and (z) the costs of Landlord’s third party property manager (not to exceed % of base Rent) or, if there is no third party property manager, administration rent in the amount of % of Base Rent), excluding only:

(a)

the original construction costs of the Project and renovation prior to the date of this Lease and costs of correcting defects in such original construction or renovation;

(b)

capital expenditures for expansion of the Project including capital expenditures for the design or construction of additional buildings at the Project;

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(c)interest, principal payments of Mortgage (as defined in Section 27) debts of Landlord, financing costs and amortization of funds borrowed by Landlord, whether secured or unsecured and all payment of base rent (but not taxes or operating expenses) under any ground lease or other underlying lease of all or any portion of the Project;

(d)

depreciation of the Project (except for capital improvements, the cost of which are includable in Operating Expenses);

(e)

advertising, legal and space planning expenses and leasing commissions and other costs and expenses incurred in procuring and leasing space to tenants for the Project, including any leasing office maintained in the Project, free rent and construction allowances for tenants;

(f)

legal and other expenses incurred in the negotiation or enforcement of leases;

(g)

completing, fixturing, improving, renovating, painting, redecorating or other work, which Landlord pays for or performs for other tenants within their premises, and costs of correcting defects in such work;

(h)

costs to be reimbursed by other tenants of the Project or Taxes to be paid directly by Tenant or other tenants of the Project, whether or not actually paid;

(i)salaries, wages, benefits and other compensation paid to (i) personnel of Landlord or its agents or contractors above the position of the person, regardless of title, who has day-to-day management responsibility for the Project or (ii) officers and employees of Landlord or its affiliates who are not assigned in whole or in part to the operation, management, maintenance or repair of the Project; provided, however, that with respect to any such person who does not devote substantially all of his or her employed time to the Project, the salaries, wages, benefits and other compensation of such person shall be prorated to reflect time spent on matters related to operating, managing, maintaining or repairing the Project in comparison to the time spent on matters unrelated to operating, managing, maintaining or repairing the Project;

(j)

general organizational, administrative and overhead costs relating to maintaining Landlord’s existence, either as a corporation, partnership, or other entity, including general corporate, legal and accounting expenses, employee training programs, tenant relationship expenses, recruiting and/or placement fees, health or sports club dues and employee parking and transportation charges for regular commutes (but not for parking and transportation charges for meetings at locations other than the management office) and Landlord’s membership and business organization fees;

(k)

costs (including attorneys’ fees and costs of settlement, judgments and payments in lieu thereof) incurred in connection with disputes with tenants, other occupants, or prospective tenants, and costs and expenses, including legal fees, incurred in connection with negotiations or disputes with employees, consultants, management agents, leasing agents, purchasers or mortgagees of the Building or Project;

(l)

costs incurred by Landlord due to the violation by Landlord, its employees, agents or contractors or any tenant of the terms and conditions of any lease of space in the Project or any Legal Requirement (as defined in Section 7);

(m)penalties, fines or interest incurred as a result of Landlord’s inability or failure to make payment of Taxes and/or to file any tax or informational returns when due, or from Landlord’s failure to make any payment of Taxes required to be made by Landlord hereunder before delinquency;

(n)

overhead and profit increment paid to Landlord or to subsidiaries or affiliates of Landlord for goods and/or services in or to the Project to the extent the same exceeds the costs of such goods and/or services rendered by unaffiliated third parties on a competitive basis;

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(o)

costs of Landlord’s charitable or political contributions, or of fine art maintained at the

Project;

(p)

costs in connection with services (including electricity), items or other benefits of a type which are not standard for the Project and which are not available to Tenant without specific charges therefor, but which are provided to another tenant or occupant of the Project, whether or not such other tenant or occupant is specifically charged therefor by Landlord;

(q)

costs incurred in the sale or refinancing of the Property or the Project (or any portion thereof);

(r)net income taxes of Landlord or the owner of any interest in the Project, franchise, capital stock, gift, estate or inheritance taxes or any federal, state or local documentary taxes imposed against the Project or any portion thereof or interest therein;

(s)costs or expenses otherwise includable in Operating Expenses to the extent actually reimbursed under insurance policies required to be maintained by Landlord in accordance with Section 17;

(t)

Operating Expense reserves (including reserves for Taxes);

(u)

rentals of equipment ordinarily considered to be of a capital nature (such as elevators and HVAC systems) except if such equipment is reasonably and customarily leased either temporarily or permanently in the operation of comparable office and laboratory buildings in the Raleigh/Durham area;

(v)

any costs or expenses that are duplicative of maintenance and repair costs and expenses actually paid by Tenant in satisfaction of Tenant’s maintenance and repair obligations pursuant to this Lease;

(w)

costs or expenses occasioned by condemnation that are actually recovered by Landlord in any condemnation awards;

(x)

costs reimbursable to Landlord under any warranty carried by Landlord for the Building or the Project or any portion thereof;

(y)

costs arising from the gross negligence or willful misconduct of Landlord or its agents, and employees;

(z)

costs of repairs and other work occasioned by fire, windstorm, or other casualty for which Landlord is reimbursed by insurance or for which Landlord would have been reimbursed by insurance if Landlord failed to maintain the insurance which Landlord is required to maintain under this Lease;

(aa)any costs incurred to remove, study, test or remediate Hazardous Materials in or about the Premises, the Building or the Project for which Tenant is not responsible under Section 30 hereof;

(bb)the cost of signs at the Project identifying Landlord or other tenants of the Project;

(cc) any expenses otherwise includable within Operating Expenses to the extent actually reimbursed by persons other than tenants of the Project under leases for space in the Project.

Within 120 days after the end of each calendar year, Landlord shall furnish to Tenant a statement (an “Annual Statement”) showing in reasonable detail: (a) the total and Tenant’s Share of actual Operating Expenses for the previous calendar year, and (b) the total of Tenant’s payments in respect of Operating Expenses for such year. If Tenant’s Share of actual Operating Expenses for such year exceeds Tenant’s payments of Operating Expenses for such year, the excess shall be due and payable

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by Tenant as Rent within 30 days after delivery of such Annual Statement to Tenant. If Tenant’s payments of Operating Expenses for such year exceed Tenant’s Share of actual Operating Expenses for such year Landlord shall pay the excess to Tenant within 30 days after delivery of such Annual Statement, except that after the expiration, or earlier termination of the Term or if Tenant is delinquent in its obligation to pay Rent, Landlord shall pay the excess to Tenant after deducting all other amounts due Landlord. Landlord’s and Tenant’s obligations to pay any overpayments or deficiencies due pursuant to this paragraph shall survive the expiration or earlier termination of this Lease.

The Annual Statement shall be final and binding upon Tenant unless Tenant, within 120 days after Tenant’s receipt thereof, shall contest any item therein by giving written notice to Landlord, specifying each item contested and the reason therefor. If, during such 120 day period, Tenant reasonably and in good faith questions or contests the accuracy of Landlord’s statement of Tenant’s Share of Operating Expenses, Landlord will provide Tenant with access to Landlord’s books and records relating to the operation of the Project and such information as Landlord reasonably determines to be responsive to Tenant’s questions (the “Expense Information”). If after Tenant’s review of such Expense Information, Landlord and Tenant cannot agree upon the amount of Tenant’s Share of Operating Expenses, then Tenant shall have the right to have a regionally or nationally recognized independent public accounting firm or an auditing firm selected by Tenant and approved by Landlord (which approval shall not be unreasonably withheld or delayed), working pursuant to a fee arrangement other than a contingent fee (at Tenant’s sole cost and expense), audit and/or review the Expense Information for the year in question (the “Independent Review”). The results of any such Independent Review shall be binding on Landlord and Tenant. If the Independent Review shows that the payments actually made by Tenant with respect to Operating Expenses for the calendar year in question exceeded Tenant’s Share of Operating Expenses for such calendar year, Landlord shall at Landlord’s option either (i) credit the excess amount to the next succeeding installments of estimated Operating Expenses or (ii) pay the excess to Tenant within 30 days after delivery of such statement, except that after the expiration or earlier termination of this Lease or if Tenant is delinquent in its obligation to pay Rent, Landlord shall pay the excess to Tenant after deducting all other amounts due Landlord. If the Independent Review shows that Tenant’s payments with respect to Operating Expenses for such calendar year were less than Tenant’s Share of Operating Expenses for the calendar year, Tenant shall pay the deficiency to Landlord within 30 days after delivery of such statement. If the Independent Review shows that Tenant has overpaid with respect to Operating Expenses by more than then Landlord shall reimburse Tenant for all costs incurred by Tenant for the Independent Review. Operating Expenses for the calendar years in which Tenant’s obligation to share therein begins and ends shall be prorated.

Following the first full calendar year after the Rent Commencement Date, that part of Operating Expenses which is comprised of Controllable Operating Expenses (as defined below) shall be increased by no more than per year. Such limitation of per year on increases shall be cumulative year to year, so that if in any year the increase in cumulative Operating Expenses is more or less than then the difference between and the actual percentage increase in that year may be carried forward to any future year, and may be applied in such future year to increase the actual percentage increase (even if more than for such year) subject to the limitation that Controllable Operating Expenses shall not have increased by more than compounded annually since the beginning of the Term. “Controllable Operating Expenses” shall mean those Project Operating Expenses for which increases are reasonably within the control of Landlord, and shall specifically not include, without limitation, Taxes, assessments, refuse and/or trash removal, insurance, collectively bargained union wages, electricity and other utilities, and/or those costs and expenses which Landlord reasonably determines to be necessary in connection

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with the prudent management and operation of the Project. There shall be no limitation on the amount of increase from year to year on Operating Expenses which are not Controllable Operating Expenses.

“Building’s Share of Operating Expenses of Project” shall be the percentage set forth on the first page of this Lease as Building’s Share of Operating Expenses of Project as reasonably adjusted by Landlord for changes in the physical size of the Premises or the Project occurring thereafter including, without limitation, the addition to the Project of additional buildings (provided that when calculating such changes, the square footage of any Project Amenities shall not be factored into the denominator). Landlord shall, following the approval of the finalized TI Construction Drawings (as defined in the Work Letter) and prior to the Rent Commencement Date, cause the rentable square footage of the Building to be re-measured by the Architect (as defined in the Work Letter) in accordance with the Building Owners and Managers Association (ANSI/BOMA Z65.1-2017) for single-tenant Buildings. If the actual rentable square footage of the Building deviates from the amount specified in the definitions of “Premises,” “Rentable Area of Premises,” or “Rentable Area of Building” on page 1 of this Lease, then, promptly following such measurement, this Lease shall be amended so as to (i) reflect the actual rentable square footage thereof in the definitions of “Premises,” “Rentable Area of Premises,” “Rentable Area of Building” and “Rentable Area of Project,” and (ii) appropriately adjust the amount set forth in the definition of “Building’s Share of Operating Expenses of Project” which was calculated based on the rentable square footages of the Premises, Building and Project originally set forth on page 1. Landlord and Tenant acknowledge and agree that following the date that the square footage of the Project Amenities has been determined by Landlord, the rentable square footage of the Premises shall be increased to include the Premises’ pro rata share of the core factor attributable to the Project Amenities, as reasonably determined by Landlord. Base Rent, as determined pursuant to Section 4(a), shall be payable on a per rentable square foot per year basis on the full rentable square footage of the Premises calculated to reflect the results of the re-measurement and addition of the Premises’ pro rata share of the core factor attributable to the Project Amenities, up to a cap ofsquare feet of Project Amenities. For example, if (1) the then-current Base Rent payable with respect to the Premises as determined pursuant to Section 4 is $ per rentable square foot of the Premises per year, and (2) the Premises’ pro rata share of the core factor attributable to the Project Amenities is equal tosquare feet, then as of the date of such determination, Tenant shall be required to pay Base Rent in the amount of

per rentable square foot with respect torentable square feet.

Landlord may equitably increase Tenant’s Share of Operating Expenses of Project for any item of expense or cost reimbursable by Tenant that relates to a repair, replacement, or service that benefits only the Premises or only a portion of the Building or Project that includes the Premises or that varies with occupancy or use. Base Rent, Tenant’s Share of Operating Expenses and all other amounts payable by Tenant to Landlord hereunder are collectively referred to herein as “Rent.”

6.Security Deposit. Tenant shall deposit with Landlord, upon delivery of an executed copy of this Lease to Landlord, a security deposit (the “Security Deposit”) for the performance of all of Tenant’s obligations hereunder in the amount set forth on page 1 of this Lease, which Security Deposit shall be in the form of an unconditional and irrevocable letter of credit (the “Letter of Credit”): (i) in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to Landlord, (ii) naming Landlord as beneficiary, (iii) expressly allowing Landlord to draw upon it at any time from time to time by delivering to the issuer notice that Landlord is entitled to draw thereunder, (iv) issued by an FDIC-insured financial institution satisfactory to Landlord, and (v) redeemable by presentation of a sight draft in the State of North Carolina. If Tenant does not provide Landlord with a substitute Letter of Credit complying with all of the requirements hereof at least 10 days before the stated expiration date of any then current Letter of Credit, Landlord shall have the right to draw the full amount of the current Letter of Credit and hold the funds drawn in cash without obligation for interest thereon as the Security Deposit until Tenant shall have replaced the expired Letter of Credit with a new Letter of Credit consistent with the requirements herein, at which time Landlord shall refund the amount of the previously drawn Letter of Credit to Tenant less any amounts applied under this Lease. The Security Deposit shall be held by Landlord as security for the performance of Tenant’s obligations under this Lease. The Security Deposit is not an advance rental deposit or a measure of Landlord’s damages in case of Tenant’s default. Upon each occurrence of a Default (as defined in Section 20), Landlord may use all or any part of the Security Deposit to pay delinquent payments due

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under this Lease, future rent damages, and the cost of any damage, injury, expense or liability caused by such Default, without prejudice to any other remedy provided herein or provided by law. Landlord’s right to use the Security Deposit under this Section 6 includes the right to use the Security Deposit to pay future rent damages following the termination of this Lease pursuant to Section 21(c) below. If Landlord draws down on the Letter of Credit in accordance with this Section 6, then Tenant shall, within 10 business days of written demand, deliver a replacement Letter of Credit or an amendment to the existing Letter of Credit reasonably acceptable to Landlord which restores the Letter of Credit to the full amount of the Security set forth on Page 1 of this Lease. Tenant hereby waives the provisions of any law, now or hereafter in force which provide that Landlord may claim from a security deposit only those sums reasonably necessary to remedy defaults in the payment of Rent, to repair damage caused by Tenant or to clean the Premises, it being agreed that Landlord may, in addition, claim those sums reasonably necessary to compensate Landlord for any other loss or damage, foreseeable or unforeseeable, caused by the act or omission of Tenant or any officer, employee, agent or invitee of Tenant. Upon bankruptcy or other debtor-creditor proceedings against Tenant, the Security Deposit shall be deemed to be applied first to the payment of Rent and other charges due Landlord for periods prior to the filing of such proceedings. If Tenant shall fully perform every provision of this Lease to be performed by Tenant, the Security Deposit, or any balance thereof (i.e., after deducting therefrom all amounts to which Landlord is entitled under the provisions of this Lease), shall be returned to Tenant (or, at Landlord’s option, to the last assignee of Tenant’s interest hereunder) within 60 days after the expiration or earlier termination of this Lease.

Tenant has advised Landlord that Tenant requires additional time to obtain the Letter of Credit. Tenant is required to deliver an approved and effective Letter of Credit to Landlord no later than 14 days after the mutual execution and delivery of this Lease by the parties. Tenant’s failure to deliver such Letter of Credit to Landlord pursuant to the terms of this paragraph shall constitute a Default under Section 20 of the Lease.

If Landlord transfers its interest in the Project or this Lease, Landlord shall either (a) transfer any Security Deposit then held by Landlord to a person or entity assuming Landlord’s obligations under this Section 6, or (b) return to Tenant any Security Deposit then held by Landlord and remaining after the deductions permitted herein. Upon such transfer to such transferee or the return of the Security Deposit to Tenant, Landlord shall have no further obligation with respect to the Security Deposit, and Tenant’s right to the return of the Security Deposit shall apply solely against Landlord’s transferee. The Security Deposit is not an advance rental deposit or a measure of Landlord’s damages in case of Tenant’s default. Landlord’s obligation respecting the Security Deposit is that of a debtor, not a trustee, and no interest shall accrue thereon.

If, at any time during the Term of this Lease, (i) Tenant is not then in Default under this Lease, (ii) has not Defaulted under this Lease more than times, and (iii) Tenant maintains an average equity market cap in excess of

(collectively, the “Reduction Requirements” and each a “Reduction Requirement”), then, following written request from Tenant along with evidence reasonably satisfactory to Landlord reflecting that the Reduction Requirement reflected in subsection (iii) above has been satisfied, the requirement under this Section 6 for Tenant to maintain a Security Deposit shall terminate and Landlord shall, within a reasonable period thereafter, release the Letter of Credit then held by Landlord.

7.Use. The Premises shall be used solely for the Permitted Use set forth in the basic lease provisions on page 1 of this Lease, and in compliance with all laws, orders, judgments, ordinances, regulations, codes, directives, permits, licenses, covenants and restrictions now or hereafter applicable to the Premises, and to the use and occupancy thereof, including, without limitation, the Americans With Disabilities Act, 42 U.S.C. § 12101, et seq. (together with the regulations promulgated pursuant thereto, “ADA”) (collectively, “Legal Requirements” and each, a “Legal Requirement”). Tenant shall, upon 5 days’ written notice from Landlord, discontinue any use of the Premises which is declared by any Governmental Authority (as defined in Section 9) having jurisdiction to be a violation of a Legal Requirement. Tenant will not use or permit the Premises to be used for any purpose or in any manner that would void Tenant’s or Landlord’s insurance, increase the insurance risk, or cause the disallowance

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of any sprinkler or other credits. The Permitted Use as defined in this Lease will not result in the voidance of or an increased insurance risk or cause the disallowance of any sprinkler or other credits with respect to the insurance currently being maintained by Landlord. Tenant shall not permit any part of the Premises to be used as a “place of public accommodation”, as defined in the ADA or any similar legal requirement. Tenant shall reimburse Landlord promptly upon demand for any additional premium charged for any such insurance policy by reason of Tenant’s failure to comply with the provisions of this Section or otherwise caused by Tenant’s particular use and/or occupancy of the Premises. Tenant will use the Premises in a careful, safe and proper manner and will not commit or permit waste, overload the floor or structure of the Premises, subject the Premises to use that would damage the Premises or obstruct or interfere with the rights of Landlord or other tenants or occupants of the Project, including conducting or giving notice of any auction, liquidation, or going out of business sale on the Premises, or using or allowing the Premises to be used for any unlawful purpose. Tenant shall cause any equipment or machinery to be installed in the Premises so as to reasonably prevent sounds or vibrations from the Premises from extending into Common Areas. Tenant shall not place any machinery or equipment which would overload the floor in or upon the Premises or transport or move such items through the Common Areas of the Project or in the Building elevators without the prior written consent of Landlord, which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld, conditioned or delayed.

Landlord shall be responsible, at Landlord’s cost and not as part of Operating Expenses, for the compliance of the Common Areas of the Project with Legal Requirements, including the ADA, as of the Commencement Date. Following the Commencement Date, Landlord shall, as an Operating Expense (to the extent such Legal Requirement is generally applicable to similar buildings in the area in which the Project is located) or at Tenant’s expense (to the extent such Legal Requirement is triggered by reason of Tenant’s, as compared to other tenants of the Project, particular use of the Premises, the Tenant Improvements or Tenant’s Alterations) make any alterations or modifications to the Common Areas or the exterior of the Building that are required by Legal Requirements. Except as otherwise expressly provided in this paragraph, Tenant, at its sole expense, shall make any alterations or modifications to the interior of the Premises that are required by Legal Requirements (including, without limitation, compliance of the Premises with the ADA) related to Tenant’s particular use or occupancy of the Premises, the Tenant Improvements or Tenant’s Alterations. Notwithstanding any other provision herein to the contrary, Tenant shall be responsible for any and all demands, claims, liabilities, losses, costs, expenses, actions, causes of action, damages or judgments, and all reasonable expenses incurred in investigating or resisting the same (including, without limitation, reasonable attorneys’ fees, charges and disbursements and costs of suit) (collectively, “Claims”) arising out of or in connection with Legal Requirements related to Tenant’s particular use or occupancy of the Premises, the Tenant Improvements or Tenant’s Alterations, and Tenant shall indemnify, defend, hold and save Landlord harmless from and against any and all Claims arising out of or in connection with any failure of the Premises to comply with any Legal Requirements related to Tenant’s particular use or occupancy of the Premises, the Tenant Improvements or Tenant’s Alterations.

Tenant acknowledges that Landlord may, but shall not be obligated to, seek to obtain Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), WELL Building Standard, or other similar “green” certification with respect to the Project and/or the Premises, and Tenant agrees to reasonably cooperate with Landlord, at no material cost to Tenant, and to provide such information and/or documentation as Landlord may reasonably request, in connection therewith.

8.Holding Over. If, with Landlord’s express written consent, Tenant retains possession of the Premises after the termination of the Term, (i) unless otherwise agreed in such written consent, such possession shall be subject to immediate termination by Landlord at any time, (ii) all of the other terms and provisions of this Lease (including, without limitation, the adjustment of Base Rent pursuant to Section 4 hereof) shall remain in full force and effect (excluding any expansion or renewal option or other similar right or option) during such holdover period, (iii) Tenant shall continue to pay Base Rent in the amount payable upon the date of the expiration or earlier termination of this Lease or such other amount as Landlord may indicate, in Landlord’s sole and absolute discretion, in such written consent, and (iv) all

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other payments shall continue under the terms of this Lease. If Tenant remains in possession of the Premises after the expiration or earlier termination of the Term without the express written consent of Landlord, (A) Tenant shall become a tenant at sufferance upon the terms of this Lease except that the monthly rental shall be equal toof Rent in effect during the last days of the Term, and (B) if Tenant holds over in excess of days, Tenant shall be responsible for all damages suffered by Landlord resulting from or occasioned by Tenant’s holding over, including consequential damages; provided, however, that if Tenant delivers a written inquiry to Landlord within days prior to the expiration or earlier termination of the Term, Landlord will notify Tenant whether the potential exists for consequential damages. No holding over by Tenant, whether with or without consent of Landlord, shall operate to extend this Lease except as otherwise expressly provided, and this Section 8 shall not be construed as consent for Tenant to retain possession of the Premises. Acceptance by Landlord of Rent after the expiration of the Term or earlier termination of this Lease shall not result in a renewal or reinstatement of this Lease.

9.Taxes. Landlord shall pay, as part of Operating Expenses, all taxes, levies, fees, assessments and governmental charges of any kind, existing as of the Commencement Date or thereafter enacted (collectively referred to as “Taxes”), imposed by any federal, state, regional, municipal, local or other governmental authority or agency, including, without limitation, quasi-public agencies (collectively, “Governmental Authority”) during the Term, including, without limitation, all Taxes: (i) imposed on or measured by or based, in whole or in part, on rent payable to (or gross receipts received by) Landlord under this Lease and/or from the rental by Landlord of the Project or any portion thereof, or

(ii)based on the square footage, assessed value or other measure or evaluation of any kind of the Premises or the Project, or (iii) assessed or imposed by or on the operation or maintenance of any portion of the Premises or the Project, including parking, or (iv) assessed or imposed by, or at the direction of, or resulting from Legal Requirements, or interpretations thereof, promulgated by any Governmental Authority, or (v) imposed as a license or other fee, charge, tax, or assessment on Landlord’s business or occupation of leasing space in the Project. Landlord may contest by appropriate legal proceedings the amount, validity, or application of any Taxes or liens securing Taxes. If Landlord secures an abatement or refund for the Project for a period during the Term, Tenant shall receive Tenant’s Share of such abatement or refund (i.e., the net amount after paying all reasonable costs and expenses of securing the abatement or refund, including reasonable attorneys’ fees) as credit to be applied by Landlord against Operating Expenses next coming due (or, if no further Operating Expenses are due from Tenant under this Lease and Tenant is not in Default under this Lease, a cash payment to Tenant). Taxes shall not include any net income taxes or franchise, estate, inheritance, succession, gift or excess profit taxes imposed on Landlord except to the extent such taxes are in substitution for any Taxes payable hereunder, or any penalties for late payment of Taxes. If any such Tax is levied or assessed directly against Tenant, then Tenant shall be responsible for and shall pay the same at such times and in such manner as the taxing authority shall require. Tenant shall pay, prior to delinquency, any and all Taxes levied or assessed against any personal property or trade fixtures placed by Tenant in the Premises, whether levied or assessed against Landlord or Tenant. If any Taxes on Tenant’s personal property or trade fixtures are levied against Landlord or Landlord’s property, or if the assessed valuation of the Project is increased by a value attributed by the applicable taxing authority to improvements in or alterations to the Premises, whether owned by Landlord or Tenant and whether or not affixed to the real property so as to become a part thereof, Landlord shall have the right, but not the obligation, to pay such Taxes. Landlord’s reasonable determination of any excess assessed valuation shall be binding and conclusive, absent manifest error. The amount of any such payment by Landlord shall constitute Additional Rent due from Tenant to Landlord within 30 days of Landlord’s written demand.

Upon written request from Tenant, Landlord shall reasonably cooperate with Tenant, at no cost or liability to Landlord, in Tenant’s efforts to obtain municipal and state incentives available to Tenant with respect to its business conducted at the Premises.

10.

Parking. Subject to all applicable Legal Requirements, Force Majeure, a Taking and the exercise by Landlord of its rights hereunder, Tenant shall have the right, to use 3 parking spaces per 1,000 rentable square feet of the Premises, which parking spaces shall be in those locations identified on

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Exhibit G, subject in each case to Landlord’s rules and regulations. Landlord shall not be responsible for enforcing Tenant’s parking rights against any third parties, including other tenants of the Project.

11.Utilities, Services. Tenant shall contract directly with utility providers for all water, electricity, heat, light, power, sewer, and other utilities (including gas and fire sprinklers to the extent the Building is plumbed for such services), and refuse and trash collection (“Utilities”) required and/or utilized by Tenant during the Term. Tenant shall pay directly to such Utility providers prior to delinquency for all such Utilities furnished to Tenant or the Building during the Term (the “Building Utilities”) and shall pay for all maintenance charges for Building Utilities, and any storm sewer charges or other similar charges for Building Utilities imposed by any Governmental Authority or Utility provider, and any taxes, penalties, surcharges or similar charges thereon. Landlord shall pay, as part of Operating Expenses, for all Utilities to the Common Areas (“Project Utilities”), and any and all maintenance charges for Project Utilities, any storm sewer charges or other similar charges for Project Utilities imposed by any Governmental Authority or Project Utility provider, or any taxes, penalties, surcharges or similar charges thereon. Tenant shall reimburse Landlord for Tenant’s Share of the cost of such Project Utilities as part of Operating Expenses. No interruption or failure of Utilities, from any cause whatsoever other than Landlord’s willful misconduct, shall result in eviction or constructive eviction of Tenant, termination of this Lease or, except as otherwise provided in the immediately following paragraph, the abatement of Rent. For the avoidance of doubt, Tenant shall be responsible for obtaining and paying for its own janitorial services, and refuse and trash collection services for the Premises. Landlord shall contract for the Utilities for the Common Areas of the Project.

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary set forth herein, if (i) a stoppage of an Essential Service (as defined below) to the Premises shall occur and such stoppage is due solely to the gross negligence or willful misconduct of Landlord and not due in any part to any act or omission on the part of Tenant or any Tenant Party or any matter beyond Landlord’s reasonable control (any such stoppage of an Essential Service being hereinafter referred to as a “Service Interruption”), and (ii) such Service Interruption continues for more than consecutive business days after Landlord shall have received written notice thereof from Tenant, and (iii) as a result of such Service Interruption, the conduct of Tenant’s normal operations in the Premises are materially and adversely affected, then there shall be an abatement of one day’s Base Rent for each day during which such Service Interruption continues after such business day period; provided, however, that if any part of the Premises is reasonably useable for Tenant’s normal business operations or if Tenant conducts all or any part of its operations in any portion of the Premises notwithstanding such Service Interruption, then the amount of each daily abatement of Base Rent shall only be proportionate to the nature and extent of the interruption of Tenant’s normal operations or ability to use the Premises. The rights granted to Tenant under this paragraph shall be Tenant’s sole and exclusive remedy resulting from a failure of Landlord to provide services, and Landlord shall not otherwise be liable for any loss or damage suffered or sustained by Tenant resulting from any failure or cessation of services. For purposes hereof, the term “Essential Services” shall mean the following services: HVAC service, water, sewer and electricity, but in each case only to the extent that Landlord has an obligation to provide same to Tenant under this Lease.

Tenant agrees to provide Landlord with access to Tenant’s water and/or energy usage data on a monthly basis, either by providing Tenant’s applicable utility login credentials to Landlord’s Measurabl online portal, or by another delivery method reasonably agreed to by Landlord and Tenant. The costs and expenses incurred by Landlord in connection with receiving and analyzing such water and/or energy usage data (including, without limitation, as may be required pursuant to applicable Legal Requirements) shall be included as part of Operating Expenses.

12.Alterations and Tenant’s Property. Any alterations, additions, or improvements made to the Premises by or on behalf of Tenant, including additional locks or bolts of any kind or nature upon any doors or windows in the Premises, but excluding installation, removal or realignment of furniture systems (other than removal of furniture systems owned or paid for by Landlord) not involving any modifications to the structure or connections (other than by ordinary plugs or jacks) to Building Systems (as defined in Section 13) (“Alterations”) shall be subject to Landlord’s prior written consent, which may be given or withheld in Landlord’s sole discretion if any such Alteration adversely affects the structure or

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Building Systems and shall not be otherwise unreasonably withheld, conditioned or delayed. Tenant may construct cosmetic, nonstructural Alterations in the Premises without Landlord’s prior approval if the aggregate cost of all such work does not exceedper Alteration, orin any 12 month period (not including paint and floor coverings which shall not be subject to an annual cap) (a “Notice- Only Alteration”), provided Tenant notifies Landlord in writing of such intended Notice-Only Alteration, and such notice shall be accompanied by plans, specifications, work contracts and such other information concerning the nature and cost of the Notice-Only Alteration as may be reasonably requested by Landlord, which notice and accompanying materials shall be delivered to Landlord not less than 15 business days in advance of any proposed construction. If Landlord approves any Alterations, Landlord may impose such reasonable conditions on Tenant in connection with the commencement, performance and completion of such Alterations as Landlord may deem appropriate in Landlord’s reasonable discretion. Any request for approval shall be in writing, delivered not less than 15 days in advance of any proposed construction, and accompanied by plans, specifications, bid proposals, work contracts and such other information concerning the nature and cost of the alterations as may be reasonably requested by Landlord, including the identities and mailing addresses of all persons performing work or supplying materials. Landlord’s right to review plans and specifications and to monitor construction shall be solely for its own benefit, and Landlord shall have no duty to ensure that such plans and specifications or construction comply with applicable Legal Requirements. Tenant shall cause, at its sole cost and expense, all Alterations to comply with insurance requirements and with Legal Requirements and shall implement at its sole cost and expense any alteration or modification required by Legal Requirements as a result of any Alterations. Tenant shall pay to Landlord, as Additional Rent, within 30 days after written demand therefor from Landlord, an amount equal to Landlord’s reasonable third party out-of-pocket expenses for review of Tenant’s plans for each Alteration. Before Tenant begins any Alteration, Landlord may post on and about the Premises notices of non-responsibility pursuant to applicable law. Tenant shall reimburse Landlord for, and indemnify and hold Landlord harmless from, any expense incurred by Landlord by reason of faulty work done by Tenant or its contractors, delays caused by such work, or inadequate cleanup.

Tenant shall pay the cost of Tenant’s Alterations and cause all such Alterations to be completed free and clear of liens. With respect to all Alterations, Tenant shall provide (and cause each contractor or subcontractor to provide) certificates of insurance for workers’ compensation and other coverage in amounts and from an insurance company satisfactory to Landlord protecting Landlord against liability for personal injury or property damage during construction. Upon completion of any Alterations, Tenant shall deliver to Landlord: (i) sworn statements setting forth the names of all contractors and subcontractors who did the work and final lien waivers from all such contractors and subcontractors; and (ii) “as built” plans for any such Alteration.

Except for Removable Installations (as hereinafter defined), all Installations (as hereinafter defined) shall be and shall remain the property of Landlord during the Term and following the expiration or earlier termination of the Term, shall not be removed by Tenant at any time during the Term, and shall remain upon and be surrendered with the Premises as a part thereof. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if requested in writing at the time Tenant submits to Landlord its request for approval of an Installation or at the time Tenant submits notice of a Notice-Only Alteration, Landlord shall, at the time its approval of any such Installation is requested, or at the time it receives notice of a Notice-Only Alteration, notify Tenant whether Landlord requires that Tenant remove such Installation upon the expiration or earlier termination of the Term, in which event Tenant shall remove such Installation in accordance with the immediately succeeding sentence. Upon the expiration or earlier termination of the Term, Tenant shall remove (i) all wires, cables or similar equipment which Tenant has installed in the Premises or in the risers or plenums of the Building, (ii) any Installations for which Landlord has given Tenant notice of removal in accordance with the immediately preceding sentence, and (iii) all of Tenant’s Property (as hereinafter defined), and Tenant shall restore and repair any damage caused by or occasioned as a result of such removal, including, without limitation, capping off all such connections behind the walls of the Premises and repairing any holes. During any restoration period beyond the expiration or earlier termination of the Term, Tenant shall pay Rent to Landlord as provided herein as if said space were otherwise occupied by Tenant.

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For purposes of this Lease, (x) “Removable Installations” means any items listed on Exhibit F

attached hereto and any items agreed by Landlord in writing to be included on Exhibit F in the future,

(y)”Tenant’s Property” means Removable Installations and, other than Installations, any personal property or equipment of Tenant that may be removed without material damage to the Premises, and

(z)”Installations” means all property of any kind paid for with the TI Fund, all Alterations, all fixtures, and all partitions, hardware, built-in machinery, built-in casework and cabinets and other similar additions, equipment, property and improvements built into the Premises so as to become an integral part of the Premises, including, without limitation, fume hoods which penetrate the roof or plenum area, built-in cold rooms, built-in warm rooms, walk-in cold rooms, walk-in warm rooms, deionized water systems, glass washing equipment, autoclaves, chillers, built-in plumbing, electrical and mechanical equipment and systems, and any power generator and transfer switch.

For the avoidance of doubt, the design and construction of the Tenant Improvements shall be governed by the Work Letter and not this Section 12. Once the finalized TI Construction Drawings for the Tenant Improvements have been approved by Landlord, Landlord shall notify Tenant whether Landlord requires will require that Tenant remove or restore any of the Tenant Improvements at the expiration or earlier termination of the Term.

13.Landlord’s Repairs. Landlord, as an Operating Expense (except to the extent the cost thereof is excluded from Operating Expenses pursuant to Section 5 hereof), shall maintain, or cause to be maintained, the roof and all of the structural, exterior, parking and other Common Areas of the Project, in good operating condition and repair in accordance with the standard customarily maintained by institutional owners of comparable Class A facilities in Research Triangle Park, reasonable wear and tear and uninsured losses and damages caused by Tenant, or by any of Tenant’s assignees, sublessees, licensees, agents, servants, employees, invitees and contractors (or any of Tenant’s assignees, sublessees and/or licensees respective agents, servants, employees, invitees and contractors) (collectively, “Tenant Parties”) excluded. Losses and damages caused by Tenant or any Tenant Party shall be repaired by Landlord, to the extent not covered by insurance, at Tenant’s sole cost and expense. Landlord reserves the right to stop Building Systems services when necessary (i) by reason of accident or emergency, or (ii) for planned repairs, alterations or improvements, which are, in the judgment of Landlord, desirable or necessary to be made, until said repairs, alterations or improvements shall have been completed. Landlord shall have no responsibility or liability for failure to supply Building Systems services during any such period of interruption; provided, however, that Landlord shall, except in case of emergency, make a commercially reasonable effort to give Tenant 30 days advance notice of any planned stoppage of Building Systems services for routine maintenance, repairs, alterations or improvements. Landlord shall use reasonable efforts to minimize interference with Tenant’s operations in the Premises during such planned stoppages of Building Systems and shall use reasonable efforts to coordinate such planned stoppages in advance (except in the case of an emergency) with Tenant. Tenant shall promptly give Landlord written notice of any repair required for which Landlord is responsible pursuant to this Section, after which Landlord shall make a commercially reasonable effort to effect such repair. Landlord shall not be liable for any failure to make any repairs or to perform any maintenance unless such failure shall persist for an unreasonable time after Tenant’s written notice of the need for such repairs or maintenance. Tenant waives its rights under any state or local law to terminate this Lease or to make such repairs at Landlord’s expense and agrees that the parties’ respective rights with respect to such matters shall be solely as set forth herein. Repairs required as the result of fire, earthquake, flood, vandalism, war, or similar cause of damage or destruction shall be controlled by Section 18.

14.Tenant’s Repairs. Subject to Section 13 hereof, Tenant, at its expense, shall repair, replace and maintain in good operating condition and repair in accordance with the standard customarily maintained in Class A facilities in Research Triangle Park (reasonable wear and tear and damage by casualty excepted) all portions of the Premises, including, without limitation, entries, doors, ceilings, interior windows, interior walls, and the interior side of demising walls, all building systems serving the Building, including HVAC, plumbing, fire sprinklers, elevators (“Building Systems”), and any emergency generator(s) or related systems serving the Premises. Tenant’s obligations under this Section 14 with respect to Building Systems shall include the procurement and maintenance of contracts, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to Landlord, with copies to Landlord upon Landlord’s written request,

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for and with contractors reasonably acceptable to Landlord specializing and experienced in the maintenance and repair of the respective Building Systems. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, the scope of work of any such contracts entered into by Tenant pursuant to this paragraph shall, at a minimum, comply with manufacturer’s recommended maintenance procedures for the optimal performance of the applicable Building Systems and related equipment. Should Tenant fail to make any such repair or replacement or fail to maintain the Premises, Landlord shall give Tenant written notice of such failure. If Tenant fails to commence cure of such failure within 20 days of Landlord’s written notice, and thereafter diligently prosecute such cure to completion, Landlord may perform such work and shall be reimbursed by Tenant within 30 days after demand therefor (including reasonable backup outlining such cost); provided, however, that if such failure by Tenant creates or could reasonably be expected to create an emergency, Landlord may immediately commence cure of such failure and shall thereafter be entitled to recover the costs of such cure from Tenant. If Tenant consistently fails to perform its obligations under this Section 14 with respect to Building Systems, then Landlord shall have the right, but not the obligation, to provide Tenant with written notice thereof and to assume the maintenance and repair of any or all of the Building Systems if Tenant does not cure Tenant’s failure within 20 days after receipt of such notice. Landlord and Tenant acknowledge and agree that (a) the administrative rent of of Base Rent provided for in Section 5 assumes Tenant’s continued performance of its maintenance and repair obligations with respect to Building Systems pursuant to this Section 14, and (b) if at any time during the Term, Tenant is no longer performing its maintenance and repair obligations with respect to Building Systems pursuant to this Section 14, then such administrative rent shall be increased toof Base Rent. Subject to Sections 17 and 18, Tenant shall bear the full uninsured cost of any repair or replacement to any part of the Project that results from damage caused by Tenant or any Tenant Party

and any repair that benefits only the Premises.

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this Section 14, Tenant’s obligations under this Section 14 shall not include the right or obligation on the part of Tenant to make any structural and/or capital repairs or improvements to the Building or Project, and Landlord shall continue during the Term, as part of Operating Expenses, to be responsible for capital repairs and replacements required to be made to the Building and Project including, without limitation, capital repairs and replacements with respect to Building Systems.

Tenant shall cause any vendors and other service providers hired by Tenant to perform services at the Premises or the Project in connection with Tenant’s obligations under this Section 14 to maintain in effect workers’ compensation insurance as required by Legal Requirements and commercial general liability insurance with coverage amounts reasonably acceptable to Landlord. Tenant shall cause such vendors and service providers to name Landlord and Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. as additional insureds under such policies and shall provide Landlord with certificates of insurance evidencing the required coverages (and showing Landlord and Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. as additional insureds under such policies) prior to the applicable vendor or service provider providing any services to Tenant at the Project.

15.

Mechanic’s Liens. Tenant shall discharge, by bond or otherwise, any mechanic’s lien filed against the Premises or against the Project for work claimed to have been done for, or materials claimed to have been furnished to, Tenant within 10 business days after Tenant receives written notice of the filing thereof, at Tenant’s sole cost and shall otherwise keep the Premises and the Project free from any liens arising out of work performed, materials furnished or obligations incurred by Tenant. Should Tenant fail to discharge any lien described herein, Landlord shall have the right, but not the obligation, to pay such claim or post a bond or otherwise provide security to eliminate the lien as a claim against title to the Project and the cost thereof shall be immediately due from Tenant as Additional Rent within 5 days of written demand therefor. If Tenant shall lease or finance the acquisition of office equipment, furnishings, or other personal property of a removable nature utilized by Tenant in the operation of Tenant’s business, Tenant warrants that any Uniform Commercial Code Financing Statement filed as a matter of public record by any lessor or creditor of Tenant will upon its face or by exhibit thereto indicate that such Financing Statement is applicable only to removable personal property of Tenant located within the Premises. In no event shall the address of the Building or Project be furnished on the statement without

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qualifying language as to applicability of the lien only to removable personal property, located in an identified suite held by Tenant.

16.Indemnification. Subject to the penultimate paragraph of Section 17, Tenant hereby indemnifies and agrees to defend, save and hold Landlord, its officers, directors, employees, managers, agents, sub-agents, constituent entities and lease signatories (collectively, “Landlord Indemnified Parties”) harmless from and against any and all Claims for injury or death to persons or damage to property occurring within or about the Premises or the Project arising directly or indirectly out of use or occupancy of the Premises or the Project by Tenant or any Tenant Parties (including, without limitation, any act, omission or neglect by Tenant or any Tenant’s Parties in or about the Premises or at the Project) or a breach or default by Tenant in the performance of any of its obligations hereunder, except to the extent caused by the willful misconduct or negligence of Landlord Indemnified Parties. Landlord Indemnified Parties shall not be liable to Tenant for, and Tenant assumes all risk of damage to, personal property (including, without limitation, loss of records kept within the Premises). Tenant further hereby irrevocably waives any and all Claims for injury to Tenant’s business or loss of income relating to any such damage or destruction of personal property (including, without limitation, any loss of records). Landlord Indemnified Parties shall not be liable for any damages arising from any act, omission or neglect of any tenant in the Project or of any other third party or Tenant Parties.

Subject to all of the other provisions of this Lease including, without limitation, the waivers provided for in Section 17, Landlord hereby indemnifies and agrees to defend, save and hold Tenant harmless from and against any and all third party Claims for injury or death to persons or damage to property occurring at the Project to the extent caused by the willful misconduct or gross negligence of Landlord.

17.

Insurance. Landlord shall maintain all risk property and, if applicable, sprinkler damage insurance covering the full replacement cost of the Project. Landlord shall further procure and maintain commercial general liability insurance with a single loss limit of not less than $2,000,000 for bodily injury and property damage with respect to the Project. Landlord may, but is not obligated to, maintain such other insurance and additional coverages as it may deem necessary, including, but not limited to, flood, environmental hazard and earthquake, loss or failure of building equipment, errors and omissions, rental loss during the period of repair or rebuilding, workers’ compensation insurance and fidelity bonds for employees employed to perform services and insurance for any improvements installed by Tenant or which are in addition to the standard improvements customarily furnished by Landlord without regard to whether or not such are made a part of the Project. All such insurance shall be included as part of the Operating Expenses. The Building and the Project may be included in a blanket policy (in which case the cost of such insurance allocable to the Building and Project will be determined by Landlord based upon the insurer’s cost calculations). Tenant shall also reimburse Landlord for any increased premiums or additional insurance which Landlord reasonably deems necessary as a result of Tenant’s particular use of the Premises.

Tenant, at its sole cost and expense, shall maintain during the Term: all risk property insurance with business interruption and extra expense coverage, covering the full replacement cost of all property and improvements installed or placed in the Premises by Tenant at Tenant’s expense; workers’ compensation insurance with no less than the minimum limits required by law; employer’s liability insurance with employers liability limits of $1,000,000 bodily injury by accident – each accident,

$1,000,000 bodily injury by disease – policy limit, and $1,000,000 bodily injury by disease – each employee; and commercial general liability insurance, with a minimum limit of not less than $5,000,000 per occurrence for bodily injury and property damage with respect to the Premises. The required limited can be satisfied by the combination of a primary and excess or umbrella policies. The commercial general liability insurance maintained by Tenant shall name Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc., and Landlord, its officers, directors, employees, managers, agents, sub-agents, constituent entities and lease signatories (collectively, “Landlord Insured Parties”), as additional insureds; insure on an occurrence and not a claims-made basis; be issued by insurance companies which have a rating of not less than policyholder rating of A and financial category rating of at least Class X in “Best’s Insurance Guide”; not contain a hostile fire exclusion; include contractual liability coverage; and provide primary coverage to

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Landlord Insured Parties (any policy issued to Landlord Insured Parties providing duplicate or similar coverage shall be deemed excess over Tenant’s policies, regardless of limits). Tenant shall provide Landlord with 30 days advance written notice of cancellation of such commercial general liability policy. Copies of such policies (if requested by Landlord), or certificates of insurance showing the limits of coverage required hereunder and showing Landlord as an additional insured, along with reasonable evidence of the payment of premiums for the applicable period, shall be delivered to Landlord by Tenant prior to (i) the earlier to occur of (x) the Commencement Date, or (y) the date that Tenant accesses the Premises under this Lease, and (ii) each renewal of said insurance. Tenant’s policy may be a “blanket policy” with an aggregate per location endorsement which specifically provides that the amount of insurance shall not be prejudiced by other losses covered by the policy. Tenant shall, prior to the expiration of such policies, furnish Landlord with renewal certificates.

In each instance where insurance is to name Landlord as an additional insured, Tenant shall upon written request of Landlord also designate and furnish certificates so evidencing Landlord as additional insured to: (i) any lender of Landlord holding a security interest in the Project or any portion thereof, (ii) the landlord under any lease wherein Landlord is tenant of the real property on which the Project is located, if the interest of Landlord is or shall become that of a tenant under a ground or other underlying lease rather than that of a fee owner, and/or (iii) any management company retained by Landlord to manage the Project.

The property insurance obtained by Landlord and Tenant shall include a waiver of subrogation by the insurers and all rights based upon an assignment from its insured, against Landlord or Tenant, and their respective officers, directors, employees, managers, agents, invitees and contractors (“Related Parties”), in connection with any loss or damage thereby insured against. Notwithstanding anything in this Lease to the contrary, neither party nor its respective Related Parties shall be liable to the other for loss or damage caused by any risk insured against (or required to be insured against pursuant to this Lease) under property insurance required to be maintained hereunder, and each party waives any claims against the other party, and its respective Related Parties, for such loss or damage. The failure of a party to insure its property shall not void this waiver. Landlord and its respective Related Parties shall not be liable for, and Tenant hereby waives all claims against such parties for, business interruption and losses occasioned thereby sustained by Tenant or any person claiming through Tenant resulting from any accident or occurrence in or upon the Premises or the Project from any cause whatsoever. If the foregoing waivers shall contravene any law with respect to exculpatory agreements, the liability of Landlord or Tenant shall be deemed not released but shall be secondary to the other’s insurer.

Landlord may require insurance policy limits to be raised to conform with requirements of Landlord’s lender and/or to bring coverage limits to levels then being generally required of new tenants within the Project; provided, however, that the increased amount of coverage is consistent with coverage amounts then being required by institutional owners of similar projects with tenants occupying similar size premises in the geographical area in which the Project is located. Any such increases in policy limits shall consistently applied to all non-retail tenants of the Project.

18.Restoration. If, at any time during the Term, the Building or the Premises are damaged or destroyed by a fire or other insured casualty, Landlord shall notify Tenant within 60 days after discovery of such damage as to the amount of time Landlord reasonably estimates it will take to restore the Building or the Premises, as applicable (the “Restoration Period”). If the Restoration Period is estimated to exceed 12 months (the “Maximum Restoration Period”), Landlord may, in such notice, elect to terminate this Lease as of the date that is 75 days after the date of discovery of such damage or destruction; provided, however, that notwithstanding Landlord’s election to restore, Tenant may elect to terminate this Lease by written notice to Landlord delivered within 10 business days of receipt of a notice from Landlord estimating a Restoration Period for the Premises longer than the Maximum Restoration Period. Unless either Landlord or Tenant so elects to terminate this Lease, Landlord shall, subject to receipt of sufficient insurance proceeds (with any deductible to be treated as a current Operating Expense), promptly restore the Premises (excluding the improvements installed by Tenant or by Landlord and paid for by Tenant except to the extent to which Landlord receives insurance proceeds for the restoration of improvements from the insurance required to be maintained by Landlord under Section 17,

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in which case such improvements shall be included as part of Landlord’s restoration), subject to delays arising from the collection of insurance proceeds, from Force Majeure events or as needed to obtain any license, clearance or other authorization of any kind required to enter into and restore the Premises issued by any Governmental Authority having jurisdiction over the use, storage, handling, treatment, generation, release, disposal, removal or remediation of Hazardous Materials (as defined in Section 30) in, on or about the Premises (collectively referred to herein as “Hazardous Materials Clearances”); provided, however, that if repair or restoration of the Premises is not substantially complete as of the end of the Maximum Restoration Period or, if longer, the Restoration Period, Landlord may, in its sole and absolute discretion, elect not to proceed with such repair and restoration, or Tenant may by written notice to Landlord delivered within 10 business days of the expiration of the Maximum Restoration Period or, if longer, the Restoration Period, elect to terminate this Lease, in either of which events Landlord shall be relieved of its obligation to make such repairs or restoration and this Lease shall terminate as of the date that is 75 days after the later of: (i) discovery of such damage or destruction, or (ii) the date all required Hazardous Materials Clearances are obtained, but Landlord shall retain any Rent paid and the right to any Rent payable by Tenant prior to such election by Landlord or Tenant.

Tenant, at its expense, following the date that Landlord makes the Premises available to Tenant for Tenant’s repairs or restoration, shall promptly perform, subject to delays arising from the collection of insurance proceeds, from Force Majeure events or to obtain Hazardous Material Clearances, all repairs or restoration not required to be done by Landlord and shall promptly re-enter the Premises and commence doing business in accordance with this Lease. Notwithstanding the foregoing, Landlord or Tenant may terminate this Lease if the Premises are damaged during the last year of the Term and Landlord reasonably estimates that it will take more than 2 months to repair such damage; provided, however, that such notice is delivered within 10 business days after the date that Landlord delivers notice to Tenant of the estimated Restoration Period. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this Lease, Landlord shall also have the right to terminate this Lease if insurance proceeds are not available for such restoration, provided that such unavailability of insurance proceeds is not the result of Landlord’s failure to maintain the insurance policies required to be maintained by Landlord under Section 17. Rent shall be abated from the date all required Hazardous Materials Clearances are obtained until the Premises are repaired and restored, in the proportion which the area of the Premises, if any, which is not usable by Tenant bears to the total area of the Premises, unless Landlord provides Tenant with other space during the period of repair that is suitable for the temporary conduct of Tenant’s business. In the event that no Hazardous Materials Clearances are required to be obtained with respect to such fire or other casualty, the rent abatement shall commence as of the date of discovery of the damage or destruction. Such abatement shall be the sole remedy of Tenant, and except as provided in this Section 18, Tenant waives any right to terminate the Lease by reason of damage or casualty loss.

The provisions of this Lease, including this Section 18, constitute an express agreement between Landlord and Tenant with respect to any and all damage to, or destruction of, all or any part of the Premises, or any other portion of the Project, and any statute or regulation which is now or may hereafter be in effect shall have no application to this Lease or any damage or destruction to all or any part of the Premises or any other portion of the Project, the parties hereto expressly agreeing that this Section 18 sets forth their entire understanding and agreement with respect to such matters.

19.Condemnation. If the whole or any material part of the Premises or the Project is taken for any public or quasi-public use under governmental law, ordinance, or regulation, or by right of eminent domain, or by private purchase in lieu thereof (a “Taking” or “Taken”) or if there is no access to the Building (other than on a temporary basis), and the Taking would in Landlord’s reasonable judgment materially interfere with or impair Landlord’s ownership or operation of the Building or Project, or would in the reasonable judgment of Landlord and Tenant either prevent or materially interfere with Tenant’s use of the Premises (as resolved, if the parties are unable to agree, by arbitration by a single arbitrator with the qualifications and experience appropriate to resolve the matter and appointed pursuant to and acting in accordance with the rules of the American Arbitration Association), then upon written notice by Landlord or Tenant to the other this Lease shall terminate and Rent shall be apportioned as of said date. If part of the Premises shall be Taken, and this Lease is not terminated as provided above, Landlord shall promptly restore the Premises and the Project as nearly as is commercially reasonable under the

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circumstances to their condition prior to such partial Taking and the rentable square footage of the Building, the rentable square footage of the Premises, Tenant’s Share of Operating Expenses, Building’s Share of Operating Expenses of Project and the Rent payable hereunder during the unexpired Term shall be reduced to such extent as may be fair and reasonable under the circumstances. Upon any such Taking, Landlord shall be entitled to receive the entire price or award from any such Taking without any payment to Tenant, and Tenant hereby assigns to Landlord Tenant’s interest, if any, in such award. Tenant shall have the right, to the extent that same shall not diminish Landlord’s award, to make a separate claim against the condemning authority (but not Landlord) for such compensation as may be separately awarded or recoverable by Tenant for moving expenses and damage to Tenant’s trade fixtures, if a separate award for such items is made to Tenant. Tenant hereby waives any and all rights it might otherwise have pursuant to any provision of state law to terminate this Lease upon a partial Taking of the Premises or the Project.

20.

Events of Default. Each of the following events shall be a default (“Default”) by Tenant under this Lease:

(a)Payment Defaults. Tenant shall fail to pay any installment of Rent or any other payment hereunder when due; provided, however, that Landlord will give Tenant written notice and an opportunity to cure any failure to pay Rent withindays of any such written notice not more thanin any 12 month period and Tenant agrees that such written notice shall be in lieu of and not in addition to, or shall be deemed to be, any notice required by law.

(b)

Insurance. Any insurance required to be maintained by Tenant pursuant to this Lease shall be canceled or terminated or shall expire or shall be reduced or materially changed in a manner so that it does not comply with the terms of this Lease, or Landlord shall receive a notice of nonrenewal of any such insurance and Tenant shall fail to obtain replacement insurance before the expiration of the current coverage.

(c)Abandonment. Tenant shall abandon the Premises. Tenant shall not be deemed to have abandoned the Premises if Tenant provides Landlord with reasonable advance notice prior to vacating and, at the time of vacating the Premises, (i) Tenant completes Tenant’s obligations under the Decommissioning and HazMat Closure Plan in compliance with Section 28, (ii) Tenant has obtained the release of the Premises of all Hazardous Materials Clearances and the Premises are free from any residual impact from the Tenant HazMat Operations and provides reasonably detailed documentation to Landlord confirming such matters, (iii) Tenant has made reasonable arrangements with Landlord for the security of the Premises for the balance of the Term, and (iv) Tenant continues during the balance of the Term to satisfy and perform all of Tenant’s obligations under this Lease as they come due.

(d)

Improper Transfer. Tenant shall assign, sublease or otherwise transfer or attempt to transfer all or any portion of Tenant’s interest in this Lease or the Premises except as expressly permitted herein, or Tenant’s interest in this Lease shall be attached, executed upon, or otherwise judicially seized and such action is not released within 90 days of the action.

(e)Liens. Tenant shall fail to discharge or otherwise obtain the release of any lien placed upon the Premises in violation of this Lease within the time period required pursuant to Section 15 of this Lease.

(f)

Insolvency Events. Tenant or any guarantor or surety of Tenant’s obligations hereunder shall: (A) make a general assignment for the benefit of creditors; (B) commence any case, proceeding or other action seeking to have an order for relief entered on its behalf as a debtor or to adjudicate it a bankrupt or insolvent, or seeking reorganization, arrangement, adjustment, liquidation, dissolution or composition of it or its debts or seeking appointment of a receiver, trustee, custodian or other similar official for it or for all or of any substantial part of its property (collectively a “Proceeding for Relief”); (C) become the subject of any Proceeding for Relief which is not dismissed within 90 days of its filing or entry; or (D) die or suffer a legal disability (if Tenant, guarantor, or surety is an individual) or be dissolved

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or otherwise fail to maintain its legal existence (if Tenant, guarantor or surety is a corporation, partnership or other entity).

(g)Estoppel Certificate or Subordination Agreement. Tenant fails to execute any document required from Tenant under Sections 23 or 27 within 5 business days after a second written notice requesting such document.

(h)Other Defaults. Tenant shall fail to comply with any provision of this Lease other than those specifically referred to in this Section 20, and, except as otherwise expressly provided herein, such failure shall continue for a period of 30 days after written notice thereof from Landlord to Tenant.

Any notice given under Section 20(h) hereof shall: (i) specify the alleged default, (ii) demand that Tenant cure such default, (iii) be in lieu of, and not in addition to, or shall be deemed to be, any notice required under any provision of applicable law, and (iv) not be deemed a forfeiture or a termination of this Lease unless Landlord elects otherwise in such notice; provided that if the nature of Tenant’s default pursuant to Section 20(h) is such that it cannot be cured by the payment of money and reasonably requires more than 30 days to cure, then Tenant shall not be deemed to be in default if Tenant commences such cure within said 30 day period and thereafter diligently prosecutes the same to completion; provided, however, that such cure shall be completed no later than 90 days from the date of Landlord’s notice.

21.

Landlord’s Remedies.

(a)

Payment By Landlord; Interest. Upon a Default by Tenant hereunder, Landlord may, without waiving or releasing any obligation of Tenant hereunder, make such payment or perform such act. All sums so paid or incurred by Landlord, together with interest thereon, from the date such sums were paid or incurred, at the annual rate equal to 12% per annum or the highest rate permitted by law (the “Default Rate”), whichever is less, shall be payable to Landlord on demand as Additional Rent.

(b)Late Payment Rent. Late payment by Tenant to Landlord of Rent and other sums due will cause Landlord to incur costs not contemplated by this Lease, the exact amount of which will be extremely difficult and impracticable to ascertain. Such costs include, but are not limited to, processing and accounting charges and late charges which may be imposed on Landlord under any Mortgage covering the Premises. Therefore, if any installment of Rent due from Tenant is not received by Landlord within 5 days after the date such payment is due, Tenant shall pay to Landlord an additional sum equal to 6% of the overdue Rent as a late charge. Notwithstanding the foregoing, before assessing a late charge the first time in any calendar year, Landlord shall provide Tenant written notice of the delinquency and will waive the right if Tenant pays such delinquency within 5 days thereafter. The parties agree that this late charge represents a fair and reasonable estimate of the costs Landlord will incur by reason of late payment by Tenant. In addition to the late charge, Rent not paid when due shall bear interest at the Default Rate from the 5th day after the date due until paid.

(c)

Remedies. Upon the occurrence of a Default, Landlord, at its option, without further notice or demand to Tenant, shall have in addition to all other rights and remedies provided in this Lease, at law or in equity, the option to pursue any one or more of the following remedies, each and all of which shall be cumulative and nonexclusive, without any notice or demand whatsoever.

(i)

Terminate this Lease, or at Landlord’s option, Tenant’s right to possession only, in which event Tenant shall immediately surrender the Premises to Landlord, and if Tenant fails to do so, Landlord may, without prejudice to any other remedy which it may have for possession or arrearages in rent, enter upon and take possession of the Premises and expel or remove Tenant and any other person who may be occupying the Premises or any part thereof, without being liable for prosecution or any claim or damages therefor;

(ii)Upon any termination of this Lease, whether pursuant to the foregoing Section 21(c)(i) or otherwise, Landlord may recover from Tenant the following:

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(A)The amount of any unpaid rent which has been earned at the time of such termination; plus

(B)The amount of the unpaid rent for the balance of the Term, discounted to its then present value in accordance with accepted financial practice using a rate reasonably acceptable to Landlord, further discounted by the amount of rent loss that Tenant proves could have been reasonably avoided if Landlord had mitigated damages pursuant to the final sentence of the first paragraph of Section 21(d) below; plus

(C)

Any other amount necessary to compensate Landlord for all the detriment proximately caused by Tenant’s failure to perform its obligations under this Lease or which in the ordinary course of things would be likely to result therefrom, specifically including, but not limited to, brokerage commissions and advertising expenses incurred, expenses of remodeling the Premises or any portion thereof for a new tenant, whether for the same or a different use, and any special concessions made to obtain a new tenant; and

(D)

At Landlord’s election, such other amounts in addition to or in lieu of the foregoing as may be permitted from time to time by applicable law.

The term “rent” as used in this Section 21 shall be deemed to be and to mean all sums of every nature required to be paid by Tenant pursuant to the terms of this Lease, whether to Landlord or to others. As used in Section 21(c)(ii)(A) above, the “amount” shall be computed by allowing interest at the Default Rate.

(iii)Landlord may continue this Lease in effect after Tenant’s Default and recover rent as it becomes due (Landlord and Tenant hereby agreeing that Tenant has the right to sublet or assign hereunder, subject only to reasonable limitations). Accordingly, if Landlord does not elect to terminate this Lease following a Default by Tenant, Landlord may, from time to time, without terminating this Lease, enforce all of its rights and remedies hereunder, including the right to recover all Rent as it becomes due.

(iv)

In the event Landlord elects to terminate this Lease following a Default by Tenant, Landlord shall have the right to terminate any and all subleases, licenses, concessions or other consensual arrangements for possession entered into by Tenant and affecting the Premises or may, in Landlord’s sole discretion, succeed to Tenant’s interest in such subleases, licenses, concessions or arrangements. Upon Landlord’s election to succeed to Tenant’s interest in any such subleases, licenses, concessions or arrangements, Tenant shall, as of the date of notice by Landlord of such election, have no further right to or interest in the rent or other consideration receivable thereunder.

(v)

Intentionally Omitted.

(d)

Effect of Exercise. Exercise by Landlord of any remedies hereunder or otherwise available shall not be deemed to be an acceptance of surrender of the Premises and/or a termination of this Lease by Landlord, it being understood that such surrender and/or termination can be effected only by the express written agreement of Landlord and Tenant. Any law, usage, or custom to the contrary notwithstanding, Landlord shall have the right at all times to enforce the provisions of this Lease in strict accordance with the terms hereof; and the failure of Landlord at any time to enforce its rights under this Lease strictly in accordance with same shall not be construed as having created a custom in any way or manner contrary to the specific terms, provisions, and covenants of this Lease or as having modified the same and shall not be deemed a waiver of Landlord’s right to enforce one or more of its rights in connection with any subsequent default. A receipt by Landlord of Rent or other payment with knowledge of the breach of any covenant hereof shall not be deemed a waiver of such breach, and no waiver by Landlord of any provision of this Lease shall be deemed to have been made unless expressed in writing

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and signed by Landlord. To the greatest extent permitted by law, Tenant waives the service of notice of Landlord’s intention to re-enter, re-take or otherwise obtain possession of the Premises as provided in any statute, or to institute legal proceedings to that end, and also waives all right of redemption in case Tenant shall be dispossessed by a judgment or by warrant of any court or judge. Any reletting of the Premises or any portion thereof shall be on such terms and conditions as Landlord in its sole discretion may determine. Landlord shall not be liable for, nor shall Tenant’s obligations hereunder be diminished because of, Landlord’s failure to relet the Premises or collect rent due in respect of such reletting or otherwise to mitigate any damages arising by reason of Tenant’s Default. Landlord shall, however, use commercially reasonable efforts to mitigate the damages arising by reason of the termination of this Lease as a result of a Default by Tenant; provided, however, that in no event shall mitigation require Landlord to consider, among other things, (i) any tenant which does not satisfy Landlord’s then current underwriting criteria, in the exercise of Landlord’s sole and absolute discretion, for comparable size premises, (ii) subdividing the Premises unless Landlord elects in its sole and absolute discretion to do so,

(iii)any change in use of the Premises or any alterations which would lessen the value of the leasehold improvements, (iv) granting any tenant improvement allowances, free rent or other lease concessions, or

(v) accepting any tenant if Landlord would have the right to reject such tenant if such tenant were a proposed assignee or sublessee of Tenant including, without limitation, considering the factors described in Section 22(b).

Notwithstanding any contrary provision of this Lease, neither Tenant nor Landlord shall be liable to the other for any indirect, special or consequential damages; provided, however, that this sentence shall not apply to Landlord’s damages (x) as expressly provided for in Section 8, and/or (y) in connection with Tenant’s obligations as more fully set forth in Section 30. In no event shall the foregoing, limit the damages to which Landlord is entitled under this Section 21.

22.

Assignment and Subletting.

(a)General Prohibition. Without Landlord’s prior written consent (which shall be given or withheld pursuant to the terms of Section 22(b) below) subject to and on the conditions described in this Section 22, Tenant shall not, directly or indirectly, voluntarily or by operation of law, assign this Lease or sublease the Premises or any part thereof or mortgage, pledge, or hypothecate its leasehold interest or grant any concession or license within the Premises, and any attempt to do any of the foregoing shall be void and of no effect. If Tenant is a corporation, partnership or limited liability company, the shares or other ownership interests thereof which are not actively traded upon a stock exchange or in the over-the- counter market, a transfer or series of transfers whereby 50% or more of the issued and outstanding shares or other ownership interests of such corporation are, or voting control is, transferred (but excepting transfers upon deaths of individual owners) from a person or persons or entity or entities which were owners thereof at time of execution of this Lease to persons or entities who were not owners of shares or other ownership interests of the corporation, partnership or limited liability company at time of execution of this Lease, shall be deemed an assignment of this Lease requiring the consent of Landlord as provided in this Section 22. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any public offering of shares or other ownership interest in Tenant shall not be deemed an assignment.

(b)Permitted Transfers. If Tenant desires to assign, sublease, hypothecate or otherwise transfer this Lease or sublet the Premises other than pursuant to a Permitted Assignment or Shared Space Arrangement (each as defined below), then at least 15 days, but not more than 45 business days, before the date Tenant desires the assignment or sublease to be effective (the “Assignment Date”), Tenant shall give Landlord a notice (the “Assignment Notice”) containing such information about the proposed assignee or sublessee, including the proposed use of the Premises and any Hazardous Materials proposed to be used, stored handled, treated, generated in or released or disposed of from the Premises, the Assignment Date, any relationship between Tenant and the proposed assignee or sublessee, and all material terms and conditions of the proposed assignment or sublease, including a copy of any proposed assignment or sublease in its then-current form, and such other information as Landlord may deem reasonably necessary or appropriate to its consideration whether to grant its consent. Landlord may, by giving written notice to Tenant within 15 days after receipt of the Assignment Notice: (i) grant such consent (provided that Landlord shall further have the right to review and approve

Page 26

or disapprove the proposed form of sublease prior to the effective date of any such subletting), (ii) refuse such consent, in its reasonable discretion; or (iii) with respect to any proposed assignment or transfer of this Lease, or with respect to any proposed subletting for substantially the remainder of the Term of more than of the Premises, terminate this Lease with respect to the space described in the Assignment Notice as of the Assignment Date (an “Assignment Termination”). Among other reasons, it shall be reasonable for Landlord to withhold its consent in any of these instances: (1) the proposed assignee or subtenant is a governmental agency; (2) in Landlord’s reasonable judgment, the use of the Premises by the proposed assignee or subtenant would entail any alterations that would materially lessen the value of the leasehold improvements in the Premises, or would require materially increased services by Landlord;

(3)in Landlord’s reasonable judgment, the proposed assignee or subtenant is engaged in areas of scientific research or other business concerns that are controversial such that they may (i) attract or cause negative publicity for or about the Building or the Project, (ii) negatively affect the reputation of the Building, the Project or Landlord, (iii) attract protestors to the Building or the Project, or (iv) lessen the attractiveness of the Building or the Project to any tenants or prospective tenants, purchasers or lenders;

(4)in Landlord’s reasonable judgment, the proposed assignee or subtenant lacks the creditworthiness to support the financial obligations it will incur under the proposed assignment or sublease; (5) in Landlord’s reasonable judgment, the character, reputation, or business of the proposed assignee or subtenant is inconsistent with the desired tenant-mix or the quality of other tenancies in the Project; (6) Landlord has experienced previous defaults by or is in litigation with the proposed assignee or subtenant; (7) the use of the Premises by the proposed assignee or subtenant will violate any applicable Legal Requirement; (8) the proposed assignee or subtenant is an entity with whom Landlord is then-currently actively negotiating to lease space in the Project; or (9) the assignment or sublease is prohibited by Landlord’s lender. If Landlord delivers notice of its election to exercise an Assignment Termination, Tenant shall have the right to withdraw such Assignment Notice by written notice to Landlord of such election within 5 business days after Landlord’s notice electing to exercise the Assignment Termination. If Tenant withdraws such Assignment Notice, this Lease shall continue in full force and effect. If Tenant does not withdraw such Assignment Notice, this Lease, and the term and estate herein granted, shall terminate as of the Assignment Date with respect to the space described in such Assignment Notice. No failure of Landlord to exercise any such option to terminate this Lease, or to deliver a timely notice in response to the Assignment Notice, shall be deemed to be Landlord’s consent to the proposed assignment, sublease or other transfer. Tenant shall pay to Landlord a fee equal to

in connection with its consideration of any Assignment Notice and/or its preparation or review of any consent documents. Notwithstanding the foregoing, Landlord’s consent to an assignment of this Lease or a subletting of any portion of the Premises to any entity controlling, controlled by or under common control with Tenant (a “Control Permitted Assignment”) shall not be required, provided that the parties shall be required to execute Landlord’s standard form of consent to assignment in connection with such Control Permitted Assignment. In addition, Tenant shall have the right to assign this Lease, upon 15 days prior written notice to Landlord ((x) unless Tenant is prohibited from providing such notice by applicable Legal Requirements in which case Tenant shall notify Landlord promptly thereafter, and (y) if the transaction is subject to confidentiality requirements, Tenant’s advance notification shall be subject to Landlord’s execution of a non-disclosure agreement reasonably acceptable to Landlord and Tenant) but without obtaining Landlord’s prior written consent, to a corporation or other entity which is a successor-in- interest to Tenant, by way of merger, consolidation or corporate reorganization, or by the purchase of all or substantially all of the assets or the ownership interests of Tenant provided that (i) such merger or consolidation, or such acquisition or assumption, as the case may be, is for a good business purpose and not principally for the purpose of transferring this Lease, and (ii) the net worth (as determined in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”)) of the assignee is not less than the greater of the net worth (as determined in accordance with GAAP) of Tenant as of (A) the Commencement Date, or (B) as of the date of Tenant’s most current quarterly or annual financial statements, and (iii) such assignee shall agree in writing to assume all of the terms, covenants and conditions of this Lease (a “Corporate Permitted Assignment”). Control Permitted Assignments and Corporate Permitted Assignments are hereinafter referred to as “Permitted Assignments.”

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this Lease, Tenant may from time to time enter into license agreements (each, a “Shared Space Arrangement”) with agents, contractors, consultants and other third parties (each, a “Space Occupant”) to use up to of the Premises as

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“Shared Space Area” and such Share Space Arrangements shall not require Landlord’s consent under Section 22 of this Lease but Tenant shall be required to provide Landlord with a copy of each such Shared Space Arrangement and, prior to the effective date of each such Shared Space Arrangement and prior to any use of the Premises by such Space Occupant, Tenant and each licensee shall be required to execute Landlord’s consent in the form attached hereto as Exhibit H. The rights set forth in this paragraph are personal to Beam Therapeutics Inc., and any assignee of Beam Therapeutics Inc. pursuant to a Permitted Assignment and, except with respect to such assignee pursuant to a Permitted Assignment, shall not inure to the benefit of any successor, assignee or subtenant of Beam Therapeutics Inc. Tenant shall be fully responsible for the conduct of all Space Occupants and the agents, servants, employees, invitees and contractors of each Space Occupant within the Shared Space Area and the Project, and Tenant’s indemnification obligations set forth in this Lease shall apply with respect to the conduct of such parties within the Shared Space Area and Project.

(c)

Additional Conditions. As a condition to any such assignment or subletting, whether or not Landlord’s consent is required, Landlord may require:

(i)that any assignee or subtenant agree, in writing at the time of such assignment or subletting, that if Landlord gives such party notice that Tenant is in default under this Lease, such party shall thereafter make all payments otherwise due Tenant directly to Landlord, which payments will be received by Landlord without any liability except to credit such payment against those due under this Lease, and any such third party shall agree to attorn to Landlord or its successors and assigns should this Lease be terminated for any reason; provided, however, in no event shall Landlord or its successors or assigns be obligated to accept such attornment; and

(ii)A list of Hazardous Materials, certified by the proposed assignee or sublessee to be true and correct, which the proposed assignee or sublessee intends to use, store, handle, treat, generate in or release or dispose of from the Premises, together with copies of all documents relating to such use, storage, handling, treatment, generation, release or disposal of Hazardous Materials by the proposed assignee or subtenant in the Premises or on the Project, prior to the proposed assignment or subletting, including, without limitation: permits; approvals; reports and correspondence; storage and management plans; plans relating to the installation of any storage tanks to be installed in or under the Project (provided, said installation of tanks shall only be permitted after Landlord has given its written consent to do so, which consent may be withheld in Landlord’s sole and absolute discretion); and all closure plans or any other documents required by any and all federal, state and local Governmental Authorities for any storage tanks installed in, on or under the Project for the closure of any such tanks. Neither Tenant nor any such proposed assignee or subtenant is required, however, to provide Landlord with any portion(s) of the such documents containing information of a proprietary nature which, in and of themselves, do not contain a reference to any Hazardous Materials or hazardous activities.

(d)No Release of Tenant, Sharing of Excess Rents. Notwithstanding any assignment or subletting, Tenant and any guarantor or surety of Tenant’s obligations under this Lease shall at all times remain fully and primarily responsible and liable for the payment of Rent and for compliance with all of Tenant’s other obligations under this Lease. If the Rent due and payable by a sublessee or assignee (or a combination of the rental payable under such sublease or assignment plus any bonus or other consideration therefor or incident thereto in any form) exceeds the sum of the rental payable under this Lease, (excluding however, any Rent payable under this Section) and actual and reasonable brokerage fees, legal costs, free rent consistent with market terms, and any design or construction fees and tenant improvement costs directly related to and required pursuant to the terms of any such sublease (“Excess Rent”), then Tenant shall be bound and obligated to pay Landlord as Additional Rent hereunder 50% of such Excess Rent within 30 days following receipt thereof by Tenant. If Tenant shall sublet the Premises or any part thereof, Tenant hereby immediately and irrevocably assigns to Landlord, as security for Tenant’s obligations under this Lease, all rent from any such subletting, and Landlord as assignee, or a receiver for Tenant appointed on Landlord’s application, may collect such rent and apply it toward Tenant’s obligations under this Lease; except that, until the occurrence of a Default, Tenant shall have the right to collect such rent.

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(e)

No Waiver. The consent by Landlord to an assignment or subletting shall not relieve Tenant or any assignees of this Lease or any sublessees of the Premises from obtaining the consent of Landlord to any further assignment or subletting nor shall it release Tenant or any assignee or sublessee of Tenant from full and primary liability under this Lease. The acceptance of Rent hereunder, or the acceptance of performance of any other term, covenant, or condition thereof, from any other person or entity shall not be deemed to be a waiver of any of the provisions of this Lease or a consent to any subletting, assignment or other transfer of the Premises.

(f)Prior Conduct of Proposed Transferee. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Section 22, if (i) the proposed assignee or sublessee of Tenant has been required by any prior landlord, lender or Governmental Authority to take remedial action in connection with Hazardous Materials contaminating a property, where the contamination resulted from such party’s action or use of the property in question, (ii) the proposed assignee or sublessee is subject to an enforcement order issued by any Governmental Authority in connection with the use, storage, handling, treatment, generation, release or disposal of Hazardous Materials (including, without limitation, any order related to the failure to make a required reporting to any Governmental Authority), or (iii) because of the existence of a pre-existing environmental condition in the vicinity of or underlying the Project, the risk that Landlord would be targeted as a responsible party in connection with the remediation of such pre-existing environmental condition would be materially increased or exacerbated by the proposed use of Hazardous Materials by such proposed assignee or sublessee, Landlord shall have the absolute right to refuse to consent to any assignment or subletting to any such party.

23.

Estoppel Certificate. Tenant shall, within 10 business days of written notice from Landlord, execute, acknowledge and deliver a statement in writing in any form reasonably requested by a proposed lender or purchaser, (i) certifying that this Lease is unmodified and in full force and effect (or, if modified, stating the nature of such modification and certifying that this Lease as so modified is in full force and effect) and the dates to which the rental and other charges are paid in advance, if any, (ii) acknowledging, to the best of Tenant’s knowledge, that there are not any uncured defaults on the part of Landlord hereunder, or specifying such defaults if any are claimed, and (iii) setting forth such further information with respect to the status of this Lease or the Premises as may be reasonably requested thereon. Any such statement may be relied upon by any prospective purchaser or encumbrancer of all or any portion of the real property of which the Premises are a part. If Tenant does not respond within 5 days of a second written request for such statement, Tenant’s failure to deliver such statement within such time shall, at the option of Landlord, be conclusive upon Tenant that the Lease is in full force and effect and without modification except as may be represented by Landlord in any certificate prepared by Landlord and delivered to Tenant for execution.

Upon request by Tenant, Landlord will similarly execute an estoppel certificate: (i) certifying that this Lease is unmodified and in full force and effect (or, if modified, stating the nature of such modification and certifying that this Lease as so modified is in full force and effect) and the dates to which the rental and other charges are paid in advance, if any, (ii) acknowledging that there are not, to Landlord’s knowledge, any uncured defaults on the part of Tenant hereunder, or specifying such defaults if any are claimed and (iii) setting forth such further information with respect to the status of this Lease or the Premises as may be reasonably requested thereon. Landlord shall use reasonable efforts to provide such estoppel certificate to Tenant within 15 business days after Tenant’s written request therefor. Any such statement may be relied upon by any prospective assignee or lender of Tenant.

24.

Quiet Enjoyment. So long as Tenant is not in Default under this Lease, Tenant shall, subject to the terms of this Lease, at all times during the Term, have peaceful and quiet enjoyment of the Premises against any person claiming by, through or under Landlord.

25.

Prorations. All prorations required or permitted to be made hereunder shall be made on the basis of a 360 day year and 30 day months.

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26.Rules and Regulations. Tenant shall, at all times during the Term and any extension thereof, comply with all reasonable rules and regulations written notice of which has been delivered to Tenant at any time or from time to time established by Landlord covering use of the Premises and the Project. Such rules and regulations may include, without limitation, rules and regulations relating to the use of the Project Amenities and/or rules and regulations which are intended to encourage social distancing, promote and protect health and physical well-being within the Common Areas of the Project and/or intended to limit the spread of Infectious Conditions. The current rules and regulations are attached hereto as Exhibit E. If there is any conflict between said rules and regulations and other provisions of this Lease, the terms and provisions of this Lease shall control. Landlord shall not have any liability or obligation for the breach of any rules or regulations by other tenants in the Project and shall not enforce such rules and regulations in a discriminatory manner.

27.Subordination. This Lease and Tenant’s interest and rights hereunder are hereby made and shall be subject and subordinate at all times to the lien of any Mortgage now existing or hereafter created on or against the Project or the Premises, and all amendments, restatements, renewals, modifications, consolidations, refinancing, assignments and extensions thereof, without the necessity of any further instrument or act on the part of Tenant; provided, however that so long as there is no Default hereunder, Tenant’s right to possession of the Premises shall not be disturbed by the Holder of any such Mortgage. Tenant agrees, at the election of the Holder of any such Mortgage, to attorn to any such Holder. Tenant agrees upon written demand to execute, acknowledge and deliver such instruments, confirming such subordination, and such instruments of attornment as shall be requested by any such Holder, provided any such instruments contain appropriate non-disturbance provisions assuring Tenant’s quiet enjoyment of the Premises as set forth in Section 24 hereof. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any such Holder may at any time subordinate its Mortgage to this Lease, without Tenant’s consent, by notice in writing to Tenant, and thereupon this Lease shall be deemed prior to such Mortgage without regard to their respective dates of execution, delivery or recording and in that event such Holder shall have the same rights with respect to this Lease as though this Lease had been executed prior to the execution, delivery and recording of such Mortgage and had been assigned to such Holder. The term “Mortgage” whenever used in this Lease shall be deemed to include deeds of trust, security assignments and any other encumbrances, and any reference to the “Holder” of a Mortgage shall be deemed to include the beneficiary under a deed of trust. As of the date of this Lease, there is no existing Mortgage encumbering the Project.

The subordination of this Lease to a future Mortgage shall be conditioned upon the Holder of any such future Mortgage entering into a subordination, non-disturbance and attornment agreement (“SNDA”) with Tenant with respect to this Lease. The SNDA shall be on the form proscribed by the Holder and, to the extent that the execution of an SNDA is done pursuant to this paragraph (as opposed to a requirement of the Holder), then Tenant shall pay the Holder’s fees and costs in connection with obtaining such SNDA; provided, however, that Landlord shall request that Holder make any reasonable changes to the SNDA requested by Tenant.

28.Surrender. Upon the expiration of the Term or earlier termination of Tenant’s right of possession, Tenant shall surrender the Premises to Landlord in the same condition in the condition following the Substantial Completion of the Tenant Improvements, subject to any Alterations or Installations permitted by Landlord to remain in the Premises, free of Hazardous Materials brought upon, kept, used, stored, handled, treated, generated in, or released or disposed of from, the Premises by any person other than a Landlord Party (collectively, “Tenant HazMat Operations”) and released of all Hazardous Materials Clearances, broom clean, ordinary wear and tear and casualty loss and condemnation covered by Sections 18 and 19 excepted. At least 3 months prior to the surrender of the Premises or such earlier date as Tenant may elect to cease operations at the Premises, Tenant shall deliver to Landlord a narrative description of the actions proposed (or required by any Governmental Authority) to be taken by Tenant in order to surrender the Premises (including any Installations permitted by Landlord to remain in the Premises) at the expiration or earlier termination of the Term, free from any residual impact from the Tenant HazMat Operations and otherwise released for unrestricted use and occupancy (the “Decommissioning and HazMat Closure Plan”). Such Decommissioning and HazMat Closure Plan shall be accompanied by a current listing of (i) all Hazardous Materials licenses and permits

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held by or on behalf of any Tenant Party with respect to the Premises, and (ii) all Hazardous Materials used, stored, handled, treated, generated, released or disposed of from the Premises, and shall be subject to the review and approval of Landlord’s environmental consultant. In connection with the review and approval of the Decommissioning and HazMat Closure Plan, upon the request of Landlord, Tenant shall deliver to Landlord or its consultant such additional non-proprietary information concerning Tenant HazMat Operations as Landlord shall reasonably request. On or before such surrender, Tenant shall deliver to Landlord evidence that the approved Decommissioning and HazMat Closure Plan shall have been satisfactorily completed and Landlord shall have the right, subject to reimbursement at Tenant’s expense as set forth below, to cause Landlord’s environmental consultant to inspect the Premises and perform such additional procedures as may be deemed reasonably necessary to confirm that the Premises are, as of the effective date of such surrender or early termination of this Lease, free from any residual impact from Tenant HazMat Operations. Tenant shall reimburse Landlord, as Additional Rent, for the reasonable, actual out-of-pocket third party expense incurred by Landlord for Landlord’s environmental consultant to review and approve the Decommissioning and HazMat Closure Plan and to visit the Premises and verify satisfactory completion of the same, which cost shall not exceed. Landlord shall have the unrestricted right to deliver such Decommissioning and HazMat Closure Plan and any report by Landlord’s environmental consultant with respect to the surrender of the Premises to third parties.

If Tenant shall fail to prepare or submit a Decommissioning and HazMat Closure Plan approved by Landlord, or if Tenant shall fail to complete the approved Decommissioning and HazMat Closure Plan, or if such Decommissioning and HazMat Closure Plan, whether or not approved by Landlord, shall fail to adequately address any residual effect of Tenant HazMat Operations in, on or about the Premises, Landlord shall have the right to take such actions as Landlord may deem reasonable or appropriate to assure that the Premises and the Project are surrendered free from any residual impact from Tenant HazMat Operations, the actual cost of which actions shall be reimbursed by Tenant as Additional Rent, without regard to the limitation set forth in the first paragraph of this Section 28.

Upon the expiration or earlier termination of the Term, Tenant shall immediately return to Landlord all keys and/or access cards to parking, the Building and Project, restrooms or all or any portion of the Premises furnished to or otherwise procured by Tenant. If any such access card or key is lost, Tenant shall pay to Landlord, at Landlord’s election, either the cost of replacing such lost access card or key or the cost of reprogramming the access security system in which such access card was used or changing the lock or locks opened by such lost key. Any Tenant’s Property, Alterations and property not so removed by Tenant as permitted or required herein shall be deemed abandoned and may be stored, removed, and disposed of by Landlord at Tenant’s expense, and Tenant waives all claims against Landlord for any damages resulting from Landlord’s retention and/or disposition of such property. All obligations of Tenant hereunder not fully performed as of the termination of the Term, including the obligations of Tenant under Section 30 hereof, shall survive the expiration or earlier termination of the Term, including, without limitation, indemnity obligations, payment obligations with respect to Rent and obligations concerning the condition and repair of the Premises.

29.

Waiver of Jury Trial. TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, TENANT AND LANDLORD WAIVE ANY RIGHT TO TRIAL BY JURY OR TO HAVE A JURY PARTICIPATE IN RESOLVING ANY DISPUTE, WHETHER SOUNDING IN CONTRACT, TORT, OR OTHERWISE, BETWEEN LANDLORD AND TENANT ARISING OUT OF THIS LEASE OR ANY OTHER INSTRUMENT, DOCUMENT, OR AGREEMENT EXECUTED OR DELIVERED IN CONNECTION HEREWITH OR THE TRANSACTIONS RELATED HERETO.

30.

Environmental Requirements.

(a) Prohibition/Compliance/Indemnity. Tenant shall not cause or permit any Hazardous Materials (as hereinafter defined) to be brought upon, kept, used, stored, handled, treated, generated in or about, or released or disposed of from, the Premises or the Project in violation of applicable Environmental Requirements (as hereinafter defined) by Tenant or any Tenant Party. If Tenant breaches

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the obligation stated in the preceding sentence, or if the presence of Hazardous Materials in the Premises during the Term or during any holding over results in contamination of the Premises, the Project or any adjacent property or if contamination of the Premises, the Project or any adjacent property by Hazardous Materials brought into, kept, used, stored, handled, treated, generated in or about, or released or disposed of from, the Premises by anyone other than Landlord and Landlord’s employees, agents and contractors otherwise occurs during the Term or any holding over, Tenant hereby indemnifies and shall defend and hold Landlord, its officers, directors, employees, agents and contractors harmless from any and all actions (including, without limitation, remedial or enforcement actions of any kind, administrative or judicial proceedings, and orders or judgments arising out of or resulting therefrom), costs, claims, damages (including, without limitation, punitive damages and damages based upon diminution in value of the Premises or the Project, or the loss of, or restriction on, use of the Premises or any portion of the Project), expenses (including, without limitation, reasonable attorneys’, consultants’ and experts’ fees, court costs and amounts paid in settlement of any claims or actions), fines, forfeitures or other civil, administrative or criminal penalties, injunctive or other relief (whether or not based upon personal injury, property damage, or contamination of, or adverse effects upon, the environment, water tables or natural resources), liabilities or losses (collectively, “Environmental Claims”) which arise during or after the Term as a result of such contamination. This indemnification of Landlord by Tenant includes, without limitation, costs incurred in connection with any investigation of site conditions or any cleanup, treatment, remedial, removal, or restoration work required by any federal, state or local Governmental Authority because of Hazardous Materials present in the air, soil or ground water above, on, or under the Premises. Without limiting the foregoing, if the presence of any Hazardous Materials on the Premises, the Building, the Project or any adjacent property caused or permitted by Tenant or any Tenant Party results in any contamination of the Premises, the Building, the Project or any adjacent property, Tenant shall promptly take all actions at its sole expense and in accordance with applicable Environmental Requirements as are necessary to return the Premises, the Building, the Project or any adjacent property to the condition existing prior to the time of such contamination, provided that Landlord’s approval of such action shall first be obtained, which approval shall not unreasonably be withheld so long as such actions would not potentially have any material adverse long-term or short-term effect on the Premises the Building or the Project. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in Section 28 or this Section 30, Tenant shall not be responsible for, and the indemnification and hold harmless obligations set forth in this paragraph shall not apply to (i) contamination in the Premises which Tenant can prove existed in the Premises prior to the Commencement Date, (ii) the presence of any Hazardous Materials in the Premises which Tenant can prove migrated from outside the Premises into the Premises, or (iii) contamination caused by Landlord or any Landlord’s employees, agents and contractors, unless in any case, the presence of such Hazardous Materials (x) is the result of a breach by Tenant of any of its obligations under this Lease, or

(y)

was caused, contributed to or exacerbated by Tenant or any Tenant Party.

(b)Business. Landlord acknowledges that it is not the intent of this Section 30 to prohibit Tenant from using the Premises for the Permitted Use. Tenant may operate its business according to prudent industry practices so long as the use or presence of Hazardous Materials is strictly and properly monitored according to all then applicable Environmental Requirements. As a material inducement to Landlord to allow Tenant to use Hazardous Materials in connection with its business, Tenant agrees to deliver to Landlord prior to the Rent Commencement Date a list identifying each type of Hazardous Materials to be brought upon, kept, used, stored, handled, treated, generated on, or released or disposed of from, the Premises and setting forth any and all governmental approvals or permits required in connection with the presence, use, storage, handling, treatment, generation, release or disposal of such Hazardous Materials on or from the Premises (“Hazardous Materials List”). Upon Landlord’s request, or any time that Tenant is required to deliver a Hazardous Materials List to any Governmental Authority (e.g., the fire department) in connection with Tenant’s use or occupancy of the Premises, Tenant shall deliver to Landlord a copy of such Hazardous Materials List. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Hazardous Materials List shall not be required to include Hazardous Materials contained in products customarily used by tenants in de minimis quantities for ordinary cleaning and office purposes. Tenant shall deliver to Landlord true and correct copies of the following documents (the “Haz Mat Documents”) relating to the use, storage, handling, treatment, generation, release or disposal of Hazardous Materials prior to the Rent Commencement Date, or if unavailable at that time, concurrent with the receipt from or submission to a Governmental Authority: permits; approvals; reports and correspondence; storage and

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management plans, notice of violations of any Legal Requirements; plans relating to the installation of any storage tanks to be installed in or under the Project (provided, said installation of tanks shall only be permitted after Landlord has given Tenant its written consent to do so, which consent may be withheld in Landlord’s sole and absolute discretion); all closure plans or any other documents required by any and all federal, state and local Governmental Authorities for any storage tanks installed in, on or under the Project for the closure of any such tanks; and a Decommissioning and HazMat Closure Plan (to the extent surrender in accordance with Section 28 cannot be accomplished in 3 months). Tenant is not required, however, to provide Landlord with any portion(s) of the Haz Mat Documents containing information of a proprietary nature which, in and of themselves, do not contain a reference to any Hazardous Materials or hazardous activities. It is not the intent of this Section to provide Landlord with information which could be detrimental to Tenant’s business should such information become possessed by Tenant’s competitors.

(c)

Tenant Representation and Warranty. Tenant hereby represents and warrants to Landlord that (i) neither Tenant nor any of its legal predecessors has been required by any prior landlord, lender or Governmental Authority at any time to take remedial action in connection with Hazardous Materials contaminating a property which contamination was permitted by Tenant of such predecessor or resulted from Tenant’s or such predecessor’s action or use of the property in question, and (ii) Tenant is not subject to any enforcement order issued by any Governmental Authority in connection with the use, storage, handling, treatment, generation, release or disposal of Hazardous Materials (including, without limitation, any order related to the failure to make a required reporting to any Governmental Authority). If Landlord determines that this representation and warranty was not true as of the date of this lease, Landlord shall have the right to terminate this Lease in Landlord’s sole and absolute discretion.

(d)Testing. Landlord shall have the right to conduct annual tests of the Premises to determine whether any contamination of the Premises or the Project has occurred as a result of Tenant’s use. Tenant shall be required to pay the cost of such annual test of the Premises if there is violation of this Section 30 or if contamination for which Tenant is responsible under this Section 30 is identified; provided, however, that if Tenant conducts its own tests of the Premises using third party contractors and test procedures acceptable to Landlord which tests are certified to Landlord, Landlord shall accept such tests in lieu of the annual tests to be paid for by Tenant. In addition, at any time, and from time to time, prior to the expiration or earlier termination of the Term, Landlord shall have the right to conduct appropriate tests of the Premises and the Project to determine if contamination has occurred as a result of Tenant’s use of the Premises. In connection with such testing, upon the request of Landlord, Tenant shall deliver to Landlord or its consultant such reasonable non-proprietary information concerning the use of Hazardous Materials in or about the Premises by Tenant or any Tenant Party. If contamination has occurred for which Tenant is liable under this Section 30, Tenant shall pay all costs to conduct such tests. If no such contamination is found, Landlord shall pay the costs of such tests (which shall not constitute an Operating Expense). Landlord shall provide Tenant with a copy of all third party, non-confidential reports and tests of the Premises made by or on behalf of Landlord during the Term without representation or warranty and subject to a confidentiality agreement. Tenant shall, at its sole cost and expense, promptly and satisfactorily remediate any environmental conditions identified by such testing for which Tenant is responsible under this Section 30 in accordance with all Environmental Requirements. Landlord’s receipt of or satisfaction with any environmental assessment in no way waives any rights which Landlord may have against Tenant.

(e)

Intentionally Omitted.

(f)

Storage Tanks. If storage tanks storing Hazardous Materials located on the Premises or the Project are used by Tenant or are hereafter placed on the Premises or the Project by Tenant, Tenant shall install, use, monitor, operate, maintain, upgrade and manage such storage tanks, maintain appropriate records, obtain and maintain appropriate insurance, implement reporting procedures, properly close any storage tanks, and take or cause to be taken all other actions necessary or required under applicable state and federal Legal Requirements, as such now exists or may hereafter be adopted or amended in connection with the installation, use, maintenance, management, operation, upgrading and closure of such storage tanks. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, Tenant shall

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have no right to use or install any underground storage tanks at the Project. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, subject to the terms and conditions of this Lease and the Work Letter, Tenant may install and maintain fire water containment tanks at locations on the Property reasonably approved by Landlord. Landlord may require Tenant to remove such fire water containment tanks and restore such areas of the Property prior to the expiration or earlier termination of the Term.

(g)Tenant’s Obligations. Tenant’s obligations under this Section 30 shall survive the expiration or earlier termination of the Lease. During any period of time after the expiration or earlier termination of this Lease required by Tenant or Landlord to complete the removal from the Premises of any Hazardous Materials (including, without limitation, the release and termination of any licenses or permits restricting the use of the Premises and the completion of the approved Decommissioning and HazMat Closure Plan), Tenant shall continue to pay the full Rent in accordance with this Lease for any portion of the Premises not relet by Landlord in Landlord’s sole discretion, which Rent shall be prorated daily.

(h)Definitions. As used herein, the term “Environmental Requirements” means all applicable present and future statutes, regulations, ordinances, rules, codes, judgments, orders or other similar enactments of any Governmental Authority regulating or relating to health, safety, or environmental conditions on, under, or about the Premises or the Project, or the environment, including without limitation, the following: the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act; the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act; and all state and local counterparts thereto, and any regulations or policies promulgated or issued thereunder. As used herein, the term “Hazardous Materials” means and includes any substance, material, waste, pollutant, or contaminant listed or defined as hazardous or toxic, or regulated by reason of its impact or potential impact on humans, animals and/or the environment under any Environmental Requirements, asbestos and petroleum, including crude oil or any fraction thereof, natural gas liquids, liquefied natural gas, or synthetic gas usable for fuel (or mixtures of natural gas and such synthetic gas). As defined in Environmental Requirements, Tenant is and shall be deemed to be the “operator” of Tenant’s “facility” and the “owner” of all Hazardous Materials brought on the Premises by Tenant or any Tenant Party, and the wastes, by-products, or residues generated, resulting, or produced therefrom.

31.Tenant’s Remedies/Limitation of Liability. Landlord shall not be in default hereunder unless Landlord fails to perform any of its obligations hereunder within 30 days after written notice from Tenant specifying such failure (unless such performance will, due to the nature of the obligation, require a period of time in excess of 30 days, then after such period of time as is reasonably necessary). Upon any default by Landlord, Tenant shall give written notice by registered or certified mail to any Holder of a Mortgage covering the Premises and to any landlord of any lease of property in or on which the Premises are located and Tenant shall offer such Holder and/or landlord a reasonable opportunity to cure the default, including time to obtain possession of the Project by power of sale or a judicial action if such should prove necessary to effect a cure; provided Landlord shall have furnished to Tenant in writing the names and addresses of all such persons who are to receive such notices. All obligations of Landlord hereunder shall be construed as covenants, not conditions; and, except as may be otherwise expressly provided in this Lease, Tenant may not terminate this Lease for breach of Landlord’s obligations hereunder.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, if any claimed Landlord default hereunder will immediately, materially and adversely affect Tenant’s ability to conduct its business in the Premises (a “Material Landlord Default”), Tenant shall, as soon as reasonably possible, give Landlord written notice of such claim which notice shall specifically state that a Material Landlord Default exists and telephonic notice to Tenant’s principal contact with Landlord. Landlord shall then have 2 business days to commence cure of such claimed Material Landlord Default and shall diligently prosecute such cure to completion. If such claimed Material Landlord Default is not a default by Landlord hereunder, Landlord shall be entitled to recover from Tenant, as Additional Rent, any costs incurred by Landlord in connection with such cure in excess of the costs, if any, that Landlord would otherwise have been liable to pay hereunder. If Landlord fails to commence cure of any claimed Material Landlord Default as provided above, Tenant may commence and prosecute such cure to completion, and shall be entitled to recover the costs of such cure

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(but not any consequential or other damages) from Landlord by way of reimbursement from Landlord with no right to offset against Rent, to the extent of Landlord’s obligation to cure such claimed Material Landlord Default hereunder, subject to the limitations set forth in this Lease. Landlord shall have the right not to reimburse Tenant as provided for in the preceding sentence and instead dispute Tenant’s entitlement to reimbursement, Tenant’s right to perform such repairs and/or maintenance and/or the amount being requested by Tenant. If Landlord elects, in the exercise of its good faith reasonable discretion, to dispute any of the foregoing matters, Landlord shall notify Tenant in writing of the nature of such dispute within 30 days after receipt of Tenant’s written request for reimbursement. Landlord and Tenant shall meet and discuss the dispute and if Landlord and Tenant fail to reach a resolution of the dispute within 15 days after their meeting, the dispute shall be resolved by arbitration by a single arbitrator with the qualifications and experience appropriate to resolve the matter and appointed pursuant to and acting in accordance with the rules of the American Arbitration Association. If the arbitrator decides in favor of Tenant, then Landlord shall promptly pay the amount of any award to Tenant. If either party is determined by the arbitrator to be the prevailing party, then such party shall be entitled to have its reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs in connection with such arbitration paid by the other party. If Landlord has not paid to Tenant in full the amount of any such award plus any attorneys’ fees and costs awarded by the arbitrator within 30 days of the date of the arbitrator’s decision, then Tenant shall have the right to set off against the next monthly payments of Base Rent the amount of the award.

All obligations of Landlord under this Lease will be binding upon Landlord only during the period of its ownership of the Premises and not thereafter. The term “Landlord” in this Lease shall mean only the owner for the time being of the Premises. Upon the transfer by such owner of its interest in the Premises, such owner shall thereupon be released and discharged from all obligations of Landlord thereafter accruing, but such obligations shall be binding during the Term upon each new owner for the duration of such owner’s ownership.

32.Inspection and Access. Landlord and its agents, representatives, and contractors may enter the Premises at any reasonable time to inspect the Premises and to make such repairs as may be required or permitted pursuant to this Lease and for any other business purpose. Landlord and Landlord’s representatives may enter the Premises during business hours on not less than 48 hours advance written notice (except in the case of emergencies in which case no such notice shall be required and such entry may be at any time) for the purpose of effecting any such repairs, inspecting the Premises, showing the Premises to prospective purchasers and, during the last year of the Term, to prospective tenants or for any other business purpose. Landlord may erect a suitable sign on the Premises stating that the Project is available for sale, or in the last 12 months of the Term, that the Premises are available to let. Landlord shall use reasonable efforts to minimize interference with Tenant’s business operations at the Premises in connection with its entry into the Premises under this Section 32. Landlord may grant and amend easements, make public dedications, designate Common Areas and create restrictions on or about the Project (excluding the Premises), provided that no such easement, dedication, designation or restriction materially, adversely affects Tenant’s use or occupancy of the Premises for the Permitted Use, materially increases Tenant’s obligations under this Lease, or materially diminishes Tenant’s rights under the Lease. At Landlord’s request, Tenant shall execute such instruments as may be necessary for such easements, dedications or restrictions. Tenant shall at all times, except in the case of emergencies, have the right to escort Landlord or its agents, representatives, contractors or guests while the same are in the Premises, provided such escort does not materially and adversely affect Landlord’s access rights hereunder. Notwithstanding the foregoing, Tenant shall have the right to designate (on plans provided by Tenant to Landlord, which may be reasonably updated by Tenant from time to time upon notice to Landlord) certain areas of the Premises as limited access areas required to protect the health of persons or security of confidential and proprietary information, which limited access areas shall not be entered into by Landlord or Landlord’s representatives without a Tenant representative, except in the case of an emergency. Landlord shall use reasonable efforts to comply with Tenant’s reasonable security, confidentiality and safety requirements with respect to entering restricted portions of the Premises; provided, however, that Tenant has notified Landlord of such security, confidentiality and safety requirements reasonably prior to Landlord’s entry into the Premises and provided further that in no event shall Tenant bar or prohibit access by Landlord and its employees,

Page 35

agents and contractors for the performance of the obligations of Landlord or the exercise of the rights of Landlord under this Lease.

33.

Security. Tenant acknowledges and agrees that security devices and services, if any, while intended to deter crime may not in given instances prevent theft or other criminal acts and that Landlord is not providing any security services with respect to the Premises. Tenant agrees that Landlord shall not be liable to Tenant for, and Tenant waives any claim against Landlord with respect to, any loss by theft or any other damage suffered or incurred by Tenant in connection with any unauthorized entry into the Premises or any other breach of security with respect to the Premises. Tenant shall be solely responsible for the personal safety of Tenant’s officers, employees, agents, contractors, guests and invitees while any such person is in, on or about the Premises and/or the Project. Tenant shall at Tenant’s cost obtain insurance coverage to the extent Tenant desires protection against such criminal acts.

34.Force Majeure. Except for the payment of Rent and any other amounts payable under this Lease, neither Landlord nor Tenant shall be held responsible or liable for delays in the performance of its obligations hereunder when caused by, related to, or arising out of acts of God, sinkholes or subsidence, strikes, lockouts, or other labor disputes, embargoes, quarantines, extreme weather, national, regional, or local disasters, calamities, or catastrophes, inability to obtain labor or materials (or reasonable substitutes therefor) at reasonable costs or failure of, or inability to obtain, utilities necessary for performance, governmental restrictions, orders, limitations, regulations, or controls, national emergencies, local, regional or national epidemic or pandemic (including COVID-19), delay in issuance or revocation of permits, enemy or hostile governmental action, terrorism, insurrection, riots, civil disturbance or commotion, fire or other casualty, and other causes or events beyond their reasonable control (“Force Majeure”). Financial disability or hardship, regardless of the cause of the same, shall never constitute a Force Majeure event.

35.Brokers. Landlord and Tenant each represents and warrants that it has not dealt with any broker, agent or other person (collectively, “Broker”) in connection with this transaction and that no Broker brought about this transaction, other thanLandlord and Tenant each hereby agree to indemnify and hold the other harmless from and against any claims by any Broker, other than Jones Lang LaSalle, claiming a commission or other form of compensation by virtue of having dealt with Tenant or Landlord, as applicable, with regard to this leasing transaction.

36.

Limitation on Liability. NOTWITHSTANDING ANYTHING SET FORTH HEREIN OR IN ANY OTHER AGREEMENT BETWEEN LANDLORD AND TENANT TO THE CONTRARY: (A) LANDLORD SHALL NOT BE LIABLE TO TENANT OR ANY OTHER PERSON FOR (AND TENANT AND EACH SUCH OTHER PERSON ASSUME ALL RISK OF) LOSS, DAMAGE OR INJURY, WHETHER ACTUAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL TO: TENANT’S PERSONAL PROPERTY OF EVERY KIND AND DESCRIPTION, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION TRADE FIXTURES, EQUIPMENT, INVENTORY, SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH, SCIENTIFIC EXPERIMENTS, LABORATORY ANIMALS, PRODUCT, SPECIMENS, SAMPLES, AND/OR SCIENTIFIC, BUSINESS, ACCOUNTING AND OTHER RECORDS OF EVERY KIND AND DESCRIPTION KEPT AT THE PREMISES AND ANY AND ALL INCOME DERIVED OR DERIVABLE THEREFROM; (B) THERE SHALL BE NO PERSONAL RECOURSE TO LANDLORD FOR ANY ACT OR OCCURRENCE IN, ON OR ABOUT THE PREMISES OR ARISING IN ANY WAY UNDER THIS LEASE OR ANY OTHER AGREEMENT BETWEEN LANDLORD AND TENANT WITH RESPECT TO THE SUBJECT MATTER HEREOF AND ANY LIABILITY OF LANDLORD HEREUNDER SHALL BE STRICTLY LIMITED SOLELY TO LANDLORD’S INTEREST IN THE PROJECT OR ANY PROCEEDS FROM SALE OR CONDEMNATION THEREOF AND ANY INSURANCE PROCEEDS PAYABLE IN RESPECT OF LANDLORD’S INTEREST IN THE PROJECT OR IN CONNECTION WITH ANY SUCH LOSS; AND (C) IN NO EVENT SHALL ANY PERSONAL LIABILITY BE ASSERTED AGAINST LANDLORD IN CONNECTION WITH THIS LEASE NOR SHALL ANY RECOURSE BE HAD TO ANY OTHER PROPERTY OR ASSETS OF LANDLORD OR ANY OF LANDLORD’S OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS OR CONTRACTORS. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHALL LANDLORD OR ANY OF LANDLORD’S OFFICERS, DIRECTORS,

Page 36

EMPLOYEES, AGENTS OR CONTRACTORS BE LIABLE FOR INJURY TO TENANT’S BUSINESS OR FOR ANY LOSS OF INCOME OR PROFIT THEREFROM.

NOTWITHSTANDING ANYTING TO THE CONTRARY CONTAINED IN THIS LEASE, IN NO EVENT SHALL PERSONAL LIABILITY FOR TENANT’S OBLIGATIONS UNDER THIS LEASE BE ASSERTED AGAINST ANY OF TENANT’S OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES OR AGENTS.

Tenant acknowledges and agrees that measures and/or services implemented at the Project, if any, intended to encourage social distancing, promote and protect health and physical well-being and/or intended to limit the spread of Infectious Conditions, may not prevent the spread of such Infectious Conditions. Neither Landlord nor any Landlord Indemnified Parties shall have any liability and Tenant waives any claims against Landlord and the Landlord Indemnified Parties with respect to any loss, damage or injury in connection with (x) the implementation, or failure of Landlord or any Landlord Indemnified Parties to implement, any measures and/or services at the Project intended to encourage social distancing, promote and protect health and physical well-being and/or intended to limit the spread of Infectious Conditions, or (y) the failure of any measures and/or services implemented at the Project, if any, to limit the spread of any Infections Conditions.

37.

Severability. If any clause or provision of this Lease is illegal, invalid or unenforceable under present or future laws, then and in that event, it is the intention of the parties hereto that the remainder of this Lease shall not be affected thereby. It is also the intention of the parties to this Lease that in lieu of each clause or provision of this Lease that is illegal, invalid or unenforceable, there be added, as a part of this Lease, a clause or provision as similar in effect to such illegal, invalid or unenforceable clause or provision as shall be legal, valid and enforceable.

38.

Signs; Exterior Appearance. Tenant shall not, without the prior written consent of Landlord, which may be granted or withheld in Landlord’s reasonable discretion: (i) attach any awnings, exterior lights, decorations, balloons, flags, pennants, banners, painting or other projection to any outside wall of the Building, (ii) use any curtains, blinds, shades or screens other than Landlord’s standard window coverings, (iii) coat or otherwise sunscreen the interior or exterior of any windows with something other than a UV coating reasonably acceptable to Landlord, (iv) place any bottles, parcels, or other articles on the window sills, (v) place any equipment, furniture or other items of personal property on any exterior balcony, or (vi) paint, affix or exhibit on any part of the Premises or the Project any signs, notices, window or door lettering, placards, decorations, or advertising media of any type which can be viewed from the exterior of the Premises.

Tenant shall also have the exclusive right to display, at Tenant’s cost and expense, a sign bearing Tenant’s name and/or logo on the façade of the Building in a location mutually acceptable to Landlord and Tenant (the “Building Sign”). Subject to compliance with applicable Legal Requirements, Landlord hereby approves of Tenant’s signage design for the Building Sign reflected on Exhibit J. Tenant shall be responsible, at Tenant’s sole cost and expense, for the maintenance of Tenant’s signage on the Building Sign, for the removal of Tenant’s signage on the Building Sign at the expiration or earlier termination of this Lease and for the repair all damage resulting from such removal. So long as this Lease is not in the future amended such that the Premises is reduced to consist of less than of the rentable square footage of the Building, then (i) Tenant may assign its rights under this paragraph with respect to the Building Sign in connection with an assignment by Tenant of this Lease, and (ii) Landlord shall not grant any other tenant the right to place signage on the Building façade.

39.

Right to Extend Term. Tenant shall have the right to extend the Term of this Lease upon the following terms and conditions:

(a)Extension Rights. Tenant shall have 2 consecutive rights (each, an “Extension Right”) to extend the term of this Lease for 5 years each (each, an “Extension Term”) on the same terms and conditions as this Lease (other than with respect to Base Rent and the Work Letter) by giving Landlord written notice (“Exercise Notice”) of its election to exercise each Extension Right at least months prior

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(the “Exercise Date”), and no earlier thanmonths prior, to the expiration of the Base Term of this Lease or the expiration of the prior Extension Term.

Upon the commencement of the first Extension Term and on each annual anniversary of the commencement of the first Extension Term, Base Rent shall be adjusted by multiplying the Base Rent payable immediately before such adjustment by the Rent Adjustment Percentage and adding the resulting amount to the Base Rent payable immediately before such adjustment.

Tenant shall exercise the second Extension Right, if at all, as follows: (i) Tenant shall deliver written notice to Landlord (the “Interest Notice”) not more thanmonths nor less thanmonths prior to the expiration of the first Extension Term stating that Tenant may be interested in exercising its second Extension Right; (ii) Landlord shall deliver written notice (the “Option Rent Notice”) to Tenant within days after Landlord’s receipt of the Interest Notice setting forth Landlord’s good faith determination of the Market Rate during the second Extension Term; and (iii) if Tenant wishes to exercise its second Extension Right, Tenant shall, on or before the Exercise Date, exercise such second Extension Right by delivering an Exercise Notice to Landlord. Concurrently with Tenant’s delivery of an Exercise Notice to Landlord, Tenant may object, in writing (the “Objection Notice”), to Landlord’s determination of the Market Rate set forth in the Option Rent Notice, in which event such Market Rate shall be determined by arbitration pursuant to Section 39(b) below. If Tenant does not deliver an Objection Notice pursuant to the immediately preceding sentence, Tenant shall be deemed to have accepted the Market Rate set forth in the Option Rent Notice. Tenant acknowledges and agrees that, if Tenant has delivered an Exercise Notice to Landlord pursuant to this Section 39(a), Tenant shall have no right thereafter to rescind such Exercise Notice or elect not to extend the term of this Lease for the Extension Term subject to the Exercise Notice.

(b)

Arbitration.

(i)Within 10 days of Tenant’s notice to Landlord of its election (or deemed election) to arbitrate Market Rate and escalations, each party shall deliver to the other a proposal containing the Market Rate and escalations that the submitting party believes to be correct (“Extension Proposal”). If either party fails to timely submit an Extension Proposal, the other party’s submitted proposal shall determine the Base Rent and escalations for the second Extension Term. If both parties submit Extension Proposals, then Landlord and Tenant shall meet within 7 business days after delivery of the last Extension Proposal and make a good faith attempt to mutually appoint a single Arbitrator (and defined below) to determine the Market Rate

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and escalations. If Landlord and Tenant are unable to agree upon a single Arbitrator, then each shall, by written notice delivered to the other within 10 days after the meeting, select an Arbitrator. If either party fails to timely give notice of its selection for an Arbitrator, the other party’s submitted proposal shall determine the Base Rent for the second Extension Term. The 2 Arbitrators so appointed shall, within 5 business days after their appointment, appoint a third Arbitrator. If the 2 Arbitrators so selected cannot agree on the selection of the third Arbitrator within the time above specified, then either party, on behalf of both parties, may request such appointment of such third Arbitrator by application to any state court of general jurisdiction in the jurisdiction in which the Premises are located, upon 10 days prior written notice to the other party of such intent.

(ii)The decision of the Arbitrator(s) shall be made within 30 days after the appointment of a single Arbitrator or the third Arbitrator, as applicable. If there is a single Arbitrator, the decision of the single Arbitrator shall be final and binding upon the parties. If there are 3 Arbitrators, the average of the two closest Arbitrators in a three Arbitrator panel shall be final and binding upon the parties. Each party shall pay the fees and expenses of the Arbitrator appointed by or on behalf of such party and the fees and expenses of the third Arbitrator shall be borne equally by both parties. If the Market Rate and escalations are not determined by the first day of the second Extension Term, then Tenant shall pay Landlord Base Rent in an amount equal to the Base Rent in effect immediately prior to the second Extension Term and increased by the Rent Adjustment Percentage until such determination is made. After the determination of the Market Rate and escalations, the parties shall make any necessary adjustments to such payments made by Tenant. Landlord and Tenant shall then execute an amendment recognizing the Market Rate and escalations for the second Extension Term.

(iii)An “Arbitrator” shall be any person appointed by or on behalf of either party or appointed pursuant to the provisions hereof and: (i) shall be (A) a member of the American Institute of Real Estate Appraisers with not less than 10 years of experience in the appraisal of improved life sciences, high tech industrial and improved office real estate in the greater Raleigh/Durham metropolitan area, or (B) a licensed commercial real estate broker with not less than 15 years’ experience representing landlords and/or tenants in the leasing of life sciences space or high tech space in the greater Raleigh/Durham metropolitan area, (ii) devoting substantially all of their time to professional appraisal or brokerage work, as applicable, at the time of appointment and (iii) be in all respects impartial and disinterested.

(c)

Rights Personal. Extension Rights are personal to Tenant and are not assignable without Landlord’s consent, which may be granted or withheld in Landlord’s sole discretion separate and apart from any consent by Landlord to an assignment of Tenant’s interest in this Lease, except that they may be assigned in connection with any Permitted Assignment of this Lease.

(d)

Exceptions. Notwithstanding anything set forth above to the contrary, Extension Rights shall, at Landlord’s option, not be in effect and Tenant may not exercise any of the Extension Rights:

(i)

during any period of time that Tenant is in Default under any provision of this Lease; or

(ii)if Tenant has been in Default under any provision of this Lease 3 or more times, whether or not the Defaults are cured, during the 12 month period immediately prior to the date that Tenant intends to exercise an Extension Right, whether or not the Defaults are cured.

(e)

No Extensions. The period of time within which any Extension Rights may be exercised shall not be extended or enlarged by reason of Tenant’s inability to exercise the Extension Rights.

(f)

Termination. The Extension Rights shall, at Landlord’s option, terminate and be of no further force or effect even after Tenant’s due and timely exercise of an Extension Right, if, after such exercise, but prior to the commencement date of an Extension Term, (i) Tenant fails to timely cure any

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default by Tenant under this Lease beyond any applicable notice and cure periods; or (ii) Tenant has Defaulted 3 or more times during the period from the date of the exercise of an Extension Right to the date of the commencement of the Extension Term, whether or not such Defaults are cured.

40.

5/9 Laboratory Amenities.

(a)Generally. That certain project known as 5-9 Laboratory Drive, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina (the “5-9 Lab Project”) is owned by an affiliate of Landlord (the “5-9 Lab Landlord”). As of the date of this Lease, these exists a fitness center at the 5-9 Lab Project (the “5-9 Lab Fitness Center”) and, it is anticipated that as of the Rent Commencement Date, a food amenity will existing at the 5-9 Lab Project (“5-9 Lab Food Amenity”).

(b)License. So long as the 5-9 Lab Project and the Project continue to be owned by affiliates of Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc., to the extent that the Project Amenities Availability Date has not occurred with respect to the Food Amenity and Fitness Center as of the Rent Commencement then, through Project Amenities Availability Date, Tenant shall have the non-exclusive right (i) to use the then-existing 5-9 Lab Food Amenity, and (ii) subject to sufficient capacity being available, to up to 25 passes to the 5-9 Lab Fitness Center. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, Tenant shall have no further rights to use the 5-9 Lab Food Amenity or the 5-9 Lab Fitness Center following the Project Amenities Availability Date.

(c)Rules and Regulations. Tenant shall be solely responsible for paying for any and all purchases made at the 5-9 Lab Food Amenity and for any ancillary services provided in connection with Tenant’s use of the 5-9 Lab Fitness Center (i.e., personal training, fitness classes, etc.). Tenant shall use the 5-9 Lab Food Amenity or the 5-9 Lab Fitness Center in compliance with all applicable Legal Requirements and any rules and regulations imposed by the 5-9 Lab Landlord, or Landlord from time to time and in a manner that will not interfere with the rights of other users. The use of the 5-9 Lab Fitness Center by employees of Tenant shall be in accordance with the terms and conditions of the standard licenses, indemnification and waiver agreement required by the 5-9 Lab Landlord or any operator of the 5-9 Lab Fitness Center to be executed by all persons wishing to use such 5-9 Lab Fitness Center. 5 Lab Landlord shall have no any liability or obligation for the breach of any rules or regulations by other users with respect to the 5-9 Lab Food Amenity or the 5-9 Lab Fitness Center. Tenant shall not make any alterations, additions, or improvements of any kind to any of the 5-9 Lab Food Amenity, the 5-9 Lab Fitness Center or the 5-9 Lab Project.

Provided the same shall not affect Landlord’s obligations with respect to the Food Amenity and Fitness Center as set forth in Section 1 of this Lease, Tenant acknowledges and agrees that the 5-9 Lab Landlord shall have the right at any time and from time to time to reconfigure, relocate, modify or remove the 5-9 Lab Food Amenity or the 5-9 Lab Fitness Center, and/or to revise, expand or discontinue any of the services (if any) provided in connection with the 5-9 Lab Food Amenity or the 5-9 Lab Fitness Center.

(d)Waiver of Liability and Indemnification. Tenant warrants that it will use reasonable care to prevent damage to property and injury to persons while on 5-9 Laboratory Project. Tenant waives any claims it or any Tenant Parties may have against Landlord, the 5-9 Laboratory Landlord, Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc., and all affiliates of Landlord, the 5-9 Laboratory Landlord and Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. (collectively, the “ARE Parties”) relating to, arising out of or in connection with the use by Tenant and/or any Tenant Parties of the 5-9 Lab Food Amenity or the 5-9 Lab Fitness Center and any entry by Tenant and/or any Tenant Parties onto 5-9 Laboratory Project, and Tenant releases and exculpates all ARE Parties from any liability relating to, arising out of or in connection with the 5-9 Lab Food Amenity or the 5-9 Lab Fitness Center and any entry by Tenant and/or any Tenant Parties onto 5-9 Laboratory Project. Tenant hereby agrees to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless the ARE Parties from any claim of damage to property or injury to person relating to, arising out of or in connection with (i) the use of the 5-9 Lab Food Amenity or the 5-9 Lab Fitness Center by Tenant or any Tenant Parties, and (ii) any entry by Tenant and/or any Tenant Parties onto 5-9 Laboratory Project, except to the extent caused

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by the willful misconduct or negligence of any ARE Party. The provisions of this Section 40(d) shall survive the expiration or earlier termination of this Lease.

(e)Insurance. As of the Rent Commencement Date, Tenant shall cause the 5-9 Laboratory Landlord to be named as an additional insured under the commercial general liability policy of insurance that Tenant is required to maintain pursuant to Section 17 of this Lease. The requirements under this Section 40(e) shall terminate as of the date that Tenant no longer has access to the 5-9 Lab Food Amenity or the 5-9 Lab Fitness Center pursuant to Section 40(b).

41.Roof Equipment. Tenant shall have the right, at its sole cost and expense (but no obligation to pay Base Rent or additional Operating Expenses), subject to compliance with all Legal Requirements, to install, maintain, and remove on the top of the roof of the Building one or more satellite dishes, communication antennae for the transmission or reception of communication of signals as Tenant may from time to time desire, solar panels or other equipment (which other equipment may, subject to the terms and conditions of this Section 41 and the Work Letter include mechanical penthouses including, but not limited to, a chiller plan, boiler plant and/or supplemental HVAC) (all of which having a diameter and height acceptable to Landlord) (collectively, the “Roof Equipment”) on the following terms and conditions:

(a)Requirements. Tenant shall submit to Landlord (i) the plans and specifications for the installation of the Roof Equipment, (ii) copies of all required governmental and quasi-governmental permits, licenses, and authorizations that Tenant will and must obtain at its own expense, with the cooperation of Landlord, if necessary for the installation and operation of the Roof Equipment, and (iii) an insurance policy or certificate of insurance evidencing insurance coverage as required by this Lease and any other insurance as reasonably required by Landlord for the installation and operation of the Roof Equipment. Landlord shall not unreasonably withhold or delay its approval for the installation and operation of the Roof Equipment; provided, however, that Landlord may reasonably withhold its approval if the installation or operation of the Roof Equipment (A) may damage the structural integrity of the Building, (B) may void, terminate, or invalidate any applicable roof warranty, (C) may adversely interfere with any service provided by Landlord for the Building, (D) may reduce the leasable space in the Building, or (E) is not properly screened from the viewing public.

(b)

No Damage to Roof. If installation of the Roof Equipment requires Tenant to make any roof cuts or perform any other roofing work, such cuts shall only be made only in the manner designated in writing by Landlord; and any such installation work (including any roof cuts or other roofing work) shall be performed by Tenant, at Tenant’s sole cost and expense by a roofing contractor designated by Landlord. If Tenant or its agents shall otherwise cause any damage to the roof during the installation, operation, and removal of the Roof Equipment such damage shall be repaired promptly at Tenant’s expense and the roof shall be restored in the same condition it was in before the damage. Landlord shall not charge Tenant Additional Rent for the installation and use of the Roof Equipment. If, however, Landlord’s insurance premium or Tax assessment increases as a result of the Roof Equipment, Tenant shall pay such increase as Additional Rent within ten (10) days after receipt of a reasonably detailed invoice from Landlord. Tenant shall not be entitled to any abatement or reduction in the amount of Rent payable under this Lease if for any reason Tenant is unable to use the Roof Equipment. In no event whatsoever shall the installation, operation, maintenance, or removal of the Roof Equipment by Tenant or its agents void, terminate, or invalidate any applicable roof warranty.

(c)

Protection. The installation, operation, and removal of the Roof Equipment shall be at Tenant’s sole risk. Tenant shall indemnify, defend, and hold Landlord harmless from and against any and all claims, costs, damages, liabilities and expenses (including, but not limited to, attorneys’ fees) of every kind and description that may arise out of or be connected in any way with Tenant’s installation, operation, or removal of the Roof Equipment.

(d)

Removal. At the expiration or earlier termination of this Lease or the discontinuance of the use of the Roof Equipment by Tenant, Tenant shall, at its sole cost and expense, remove the Roof

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Equipment from the Building. Tenant shall leave the portion of the roof where the Roof Equipment was located in good order and repair, reasonable wear and tear excepted. If Tenant does not so remove the Roof Equipment, Tenant hereby authorizes Landlord to remove and dispose of the Roof Equipment and charge Tenant as Additional Rent for all costs and expenses incurred by Landlord in such removal and disposal. Tenant agrees that Landlord shall not be liable for any Roof Equipment or related property disposed of or removed by Landlord.

(e)

Access. Landlord grants to Tenant the right of ingress and egress on a 24 hour 7 day per week basis to install, operate, and maintain the Roof Equipment.

(f)

Appearance. If permissible by Legal Requirements, the Roof Equipment shall be painted the same color as the Building so as to render the Roof Equipment virtually invisible from ground level.

42.

No Assignment. Tenant shall not assign, convey, or otherwise transfer to any person or entity any right, title or interest in all or any portion of the Roof Equipment or the use and operation thereof other than in connection with an assignment of Tenant’s interest in this Lease, which, for the avoidance of doubt, would include subleases, licenses, and other agreements to use or occupy all or any portion of the Premises.

43.

Miscellaneous.

(a)

Notices. All notices or other communications between the parties shall be in writing and shall be deemed duly given upon delivery or refusal to accept delivery by the addressee thereof if delivered in person, or upon actual receipt if delivered by reputable overnight guaranty courier, addressed and sent to the parties at their addresses set forth above. Landlord and Tenant may from time to time by written notice to the other designate another address for receipt of future notices.

(b)Joint and Several Liability. If and when included within the term “Tenant,” as used in this instrument, there is more than one person or entity, each shall be jointly and severally liable for the obligations of Tenant.

(c)Financial Information. Upon written request from Landlord, Tenant shall furnish Landlord with true and complete copies of (i) Tenant’s most recent audited annual financial statements within 90 days of the end of each of Tenant’s fiscal years during the Term, (ii) Tenant’s most recent unaudited quarterly financial statements within 45 days of the end of each of Tenant’s first three fiscal quarters of each of Tenant’s fiscal years during the Term, (iii) at Landlord’s request from time to time, updated business plans, including cash flow projections and/or pro forma balance sheets and income statements, all of which shall be treated by Landlord as confidential information belonging to Tenant, (iv) corporate brochures and/or profiles prepared by Tenant for prospective investors, and (v) any other financial information or summaries that Tenant typically provides to its lenders or shareholders. So long as Tenant is a “public company” and its financial information is publicly available, then the foregoing delivery requirements of this Section 43(c) shall not apply.

(d)

Recordation. Neither this Lease nor a memorandum of lease shall be filed by or on behalf of Tenant in any public record. Landlord may prepare and file, and upon request by Landlord Tenant will execute, a memorandum of lease.

(e)

Interpretation. The normal rule of construction to the effect that any ambiguities are to be resolved against the drafting party shall not be employed in the interpretation of this Lease or any exhibits or amendments hereto. Words of any gender used in this Lease shall be held and construed to include any other gender, and words in the singular number shall be held to include the plural, unless the context otherwise requires. The captions inserted in this Lease are for convenience only and in no way define, limit or otherwise describe the scope or intent of this Lease, or any provision hereof, or in any way affect the interpretation of this Lease.

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(f)

Not Binding Until Executed. The submission by Landlord to Tenant of this Lease shall have no binding force or effect, shall not constitute an option for the leasing of the Premises, nor confer any right or impose any obligations upon either party until execution of this Lease by both parties.

(g)

Limitations on Interest. It is expressly the intent of Landlord and Tenant at all times to comply with applicable law governing the maximum rate or amount of any interest payable on or in connection with this Lease. If applicable law is ever judicially interpreted so as to render usurious any interest called for under this Lease, or contracted for, charged, taken, reserved, or received with respect to this Lease, then it is Landlord’s and Tenant’s express intent that all excess amounts theretofore collected by Landlord be credited on the applicable obligation (or, if the obligation has been or would thereby be paid in full, refunded to Tenant), and the provisions of this Lease immediately shall be deemed reformed and the amounts thereafter collectible hereunder reduced, without the necessity of the execution of any new document, so as to comply with the applicable law, but so as to permit the recovery of the fullest amount otherwise called for hereunder.

(h)

Choice of Law. Construction and interpretation of this Lease shall be governed by the internal laws of the State of North Carolina, excluding any principles of conflicts of laws.

(i)

Time. Time is of the essence as to the performance of Tenant’s and Landlord’s obligations under this Lease.

(j)

OFAC. Tenant and, to Tenant’s knowledge, all beneficial owners of Tenant are currently

(a)in compliance with and shall at all times during the Term of this Lease remain in compliance with the regulations of the Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) of the U.S. Department of Treasury and any statute, executive order, or regulation relating thereto (collectively, the “OFAC Rules”), (b) not listed on, and shall not during the term of this Lease be listed on, the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List, Foreign Sanctions Evaders List, or the Sectoral Sanctions Identification List, which are all maintained by OFAC and/or on any other similar list maintained by OFAC or other governmental authority pursuant to any authorizing statute, executive order, or regulation, and (c) not a person or entity with whom a U.S. person is prohibited from conducting business under the OFAC Rules.

(k)Incorporation by Reference. All exhibits and addenda attached hereto are hereby incorporated into this Lease and made a part hereof. If there is any conflict between such exhibits or addenda and the terms of this Lease, such exhibits or addenda shall control (other than the Rules and Regulations attached hereto as Exhibit E, in which case this Lease shall control).

(l)

Entire Agreement. This Lease, including the exhibits attached hereto, constitutes the entire agreement between Landlord and Tenant pertaining to the subject matter hereof and supersedes all prior and contemporaneous agreements, understandings, letters of intent, negotiations and discussions, whether oral or written, of the parties, and there are no warranties, representations or other agreements, express or implied, made to either party by the other party in connection with the subject matter hereof except as specifically set forth herein.

(m)No Accord and Satisfaction. No payment by Tenant or receipt by Landlord of a lesser amount than the monthly installment of Base Rent or any Additional Rent will be other than on account of the earliest stipulated Base Rent and Additional Rent, nor will any endorsement or statement on any check or letter accompanying a check for payment of any Base Rent or Additional Rent be an accord and satisfaction. Landlord may accept such check or payment without prejudice to Landlord’s right to recover the balance of such Rent or to pursue any other remedy provided in this Lease.

(n)

Hazardous Activities. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Lease, Landlord, for itself and its employees, agents and contractors, reserves the right to refuse to perform any repairs or services in any portion of the Premises which, pursuant to Tenant’s routine safety guidelines, practices or custom or prudent industry practices, require any form of protective clothing or equipment other than safety glasses. In any such case, Tenant shall contract with parties who are acceptable to Landlord, in

Page 43

Landlord’s reasonable discretion, for all such repairs and services, and Landlord shall, to the extent required, equitably adjust Tenant’s Share of Operating Expenses in respect of such repairs or services to reflect that Landlord is not providing such repairs or services to Tenant.

(o)

Counterparts. This Lease may be executed in 2 or more counterparts, each of which shall be deemed an original, but all of which together shall constitute one and the same instrument. Counterparts may be delivered via facsimile, electronic mail (including pdf or any electronic signature process complying with the U.S. federal ESIGN Act of 2000) or other transmission method and any counterpart so delivered shall be deemed to have been duly and validly delivered and be valid and effective for all purposes. Electronic signatures shall be deemed original signatures for purposes of this Lease and all matters related thereto, with such electronic signatures having the same legal effect as original signatures.

(p)HazMat Storage Area. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in the Lease, in connection with Tenant’s use and occupancy of the Premises, Tenant shall have the right to install a Hazardous Materials storage shed (the “HazMat Storage Shed”) for the storage of Tenant’s Hazardous Materials at the Project in a location mutually acceptable to Landlord and Tenant. Tenant shall also install, at Tenant’s cost, any related screening required by Legal Requirements and/or any related screening reasonably required by Landlord with respect to the HazMat Storage Shed. Tenant shall have all of the obligations under the Lease with respect to the HazMat Storage Shed as though the HazMat Storage Shed were part of the Premises, excluding the obligation to pay Base Rent or additional Operating Expenses. Tenant shall maintain appropriate records, obtain and maintain appropriate insurance, implement reporting procedures, and take or cause to be taken all other actions necessary or required under applicable Legal Requirements in connection with the use of the HazMat Storage Shed. If the HazMat Storage Shed is located in the parking area serving the Building, then the number of parking spaces which Tenant has the right to use pursuant to Section 10 shall be reduced by the number of parking spaces impacted by the HazMat Storage Shed. Landlord shall have no obligation to make any repairs or other improvements to the HazMat Storage Shed and Tenant shall maintain the same, at Tenant’s sole cost and expense, in substantially the same condition as received during the term as though the same were part of the Premises. Tenant shall, at Tenant’s sole cost and expense, surrender the HazMat Storage Shed at the expiration or earlier termination of the term of the Lease free of any debris and trash and free of any Hazardous Materials in accordance with the requirements of Section 28 of this Lease.

(q)Utility Pads. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this Lease, in connection with Tenant’s use and occupancy of the Premises, Tenant shall have the right to install 1 or more utility pads (the “Utility Pads”) for the placement of generators and/or other equipment serving the Building, which Utilities Pads shall be in locations mutually acceptable to Landlord and Tenant. Tenant shall also install, at Tenant’s cost, any related screening required by Legal Requirements and/or any related screening reasonably required by Landlord with respect to the Utility Pads. Tenant shall have all of the obligations under the Lease with respect to the Utility Pads as though the Utility Pads were part of the Premises, excluding the obligation to pay Base Rent or additional Operating Expenses. Tenant shall maintain appropriate records, obtain and maintain appropriate insurance, implement reporting procedures, and take or cause to be taken all other actions necessary or required under applicable Legal Requirements in connection with the use of the Utility Pads. If the Utility Pads are located in the parking area serving the Building, then the number of parking spaces which Tenant has the right to use pursuant to Section 10 shall be reduced by the number of parking spaces impacted by the Utility Pads. Landlord shall have no obligation to make any repairs or other improvements to the Utility Pads and Tenant shall maintain the same, at Tenant’s sole cost and expense, in substantially the same condition as received during the term as though the same were part of the Premises. Tenant shall, at Tenant’s sole cost and expense, surrender the Utility Pads at the expiration or earlier termination of the term of the Lease free of any debris and trash and free of any Hazardous Materials in accordance with the requirements of Section 28 of this Lease.

(r)

Outdoor Seating Area.Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this Lease, Tenant shall have the right to place outdoor furniture reasonably acceptable to Landlord (the

Page 44

“Outdoor Furniture”) in a location adjacent to the Building reasonably acceptable to Landlord and Tenant (the “Outdoor Seating Area”). Tenant shall have all of the obligations under the Lease with respect to the Outdoor Seating Area as though the Outdoor Seating Area were part of the Premises, excluding the obligation to pay Base Rent or additional Operating Expenses. Landlord shall have no obligation to make any repairs or other improvements to the Outdoor Seating Area and Tenant shall maintain the same, at Tenant’s sole cost and expense, in good repair and condition during the Term as though the same were part of the Premises. Other than placing the Outdoor Furniture in the Outdoor Seating Location, Tenant shall not make any alterations, additions, or improvements to the Outdoor Seating Area of any kind whatsoever. Tenant acknowledges and agrees that third parties will have the ability to physically access the Outdoor Seating Area. Notwithstanding the foregoing, Landlord shall not expressly grant any third party rights to use the Outdoor Area.

(s)

Walking Path. Landlord and Tenant acknowledge that the Site Improvements for the Property may include a walking path. To the extent that the Site Improvements include a walking path, Landlord shall use good faith efforts to configure the walking path in a manner that would avoid having the walking path cross over any driveway designated for the ingress and egress of trucks to and from the loading docks of the Building (the “Truck Access Way”). If the final design of the Site Improvements includes a walking path and the walking path does, notwithstanding Landlord’s good faith efforts, cross the Truck Access Way (each point of crossing, a “Pedestrian Crossway”), Landlord shall (i) appropriately mark, as reasonably determined by Landlord or as otherwise required by Legal Requirements, any such Pedestrian Crossway as a pedestrian crossing, and (ii) implement other protocols for pedestrian safety at each such Pedestrian Crossway, as determined reasonably necessary or prudent by Landlord or as required by Legal Requirements.

(t)

Future Buildings. Tenant acknowledges that the Building is part of a larger campus and that additional buildings may be constructed directly adjacent to the Building any time after the mutual execution of this Lease by the parties (any such building, a “Future Building”).

(u)Mezzanine Space. Landlord and Tenant acknowledge and agree that Tenant may not use any portion of the TI Allowance to construct Tenant Improvements in the mezzanine portion of the Building (the “Mezzanine Space”) to convert the Mezzanine Space to Occupiable Mezzanine Space and that as of date of the TI Substantial Completion under the Work Letter, the Mezzanine Space will not be built out as occupiable space. So long as the Mezzanine Space remains in unoccupiable condition and Tenant does occupy the Mezzanine Space for any business purpose, the rentable square footage of the Mezzanine Space shall not be included in the rentable square footage of the Premises. For the avoidance of doubt, Tenant shall have the right at any time during the Term, subject to the terms and conditions of this lease including, without limitation, Section 12, to construct improvements in the Mezzanine Space desired by Tenant pursuant to plans and specifications reasonably approved by Landlord to convert all or a portion of the Mezzanine Space to occupiable space. To the extent that all or any portion of the Mezzanine Space is converted to occupiable space (any such space, the “Occupiable Mezzanine Space”) then, as of the date(s) that any such Occupiable Mezzanine Space becomes occupiable (i) the rentable square footage of the Premises shall be increased by the rentable square footage of the Occupiable Mezzanine Space, and (ii) the Building’s Share of Operating of Project shall be appropriate adjusted to reflect such additional rentable square footage of the Occupiable Mezzanine Space. During the Base Term, Base Rent shall not be adjusted in connection with any increase in the rentable square footage in the Premises to include Occupiable Mezzanine Space.

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Page 46

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, Landlord and Tenant have executed this Lease as of the day and year first above written.

TENANT:

BEAM THERAPEUTICS INC.,

a Delaware corporation

By: Its:

LANDLORD:

ARE-NC REGION NO. 14, LLC,

a Delaware limited liability company

By:ALEXANDRIA REAL ESTATE EQUITIES, L.P.,

a Delaware limited partnership, managing member

By:ARE-QRS CORP.,

a Maryland corporation, general partner

By: Its:

beam-ex311_9.htm

Exhibit 31.1

CERTIFICATION PURSUANT TO

RULES 13a-14(a) AND 15d-14(a) UNDER THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934,

AS ADOPTED PURSUANT TO SECTION 302 OF THE SARBANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002

I, John Evans, certify that:

1.	I have reviewed this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q of Beam Therapeutics Inc.;

2.	Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this report;

3.	Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information included in this report, fairly present in all material respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this report;

4.	The registrant’s other certifying officer(s) and I are responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) for the registrant and have:

(a)

Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those entities, particularly during the period in which this report is being prepared;

(b)

[Omitted];

(c)

Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures and presented in this report our conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of the end of the period covered by this report based on such evaluation; and

(d)

Disclosed in this report any change in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the registrant’s most recent fiscal quarter (the registrant’s fourth fiscal quarter in the case of an annual report) that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting; and

5.	The registrant’s other certifying officer(s) and I have disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation of internal control over financial reporting, to the registrant’s auditors and the audit committee of the registrant’s board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions):

(a)

All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal control over financial reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant’s ability to record, process, summarize and report financial information; and

(b)

Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting.

Date: August 12, 2020	By:	/s/ John Evans
		John Evans
		Chief Executive Officer
		(Principal executive officer)

beam-ex312_8.htm

Exhibit 31.2

CERTIFICATION PURSUANT TO

RULES 13a-14(a) AND 15d-14(a) UNDER THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934,

AS ADOPTED PURSUANT TO SECTION 302 OF THE SARBANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002

I, Terry-Ann Burrell, certify that:

1.	I have reviewed this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q of Beam Therapeutics Inc.;

2.	Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this report;

3.	Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information included in this report, fairly present in all material respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this report;

4.	The registrant’s other certifying officer(s) and I are responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) for the registrant and have:

(a)

(b)

[Omitted];

(c)

(d)

5.	The registrant’s other certifying officer(s) and I have disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation of internal control over financial reporting, to the registrant’s auditors and the audit committee of the registrant’s board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions):

(a)

(b)

Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting.

Date: August 12, 2020	By:	/s/ Terry-Ann Burrell
		Terry-Ann Burrell
		Chief Financial Officer
		(Principal financial and accounting officer)

beam-ex321_7.htm

Exhibit 32.1

CERTIFICATION PURSUANT TO

18 U.S.C. SECTION 1350, AS ADOPTED PURSUANT TO

SECTION 906 OF THE SARBANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002

In connection with this Quarterly Report of Beam Therapeutics Inc. (the “Company”) on Form 10-Q for the period ending June 30, 2020 as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on the date hereof (the “Report”), I certify, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 1350, as adopted pursuant to § 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, that:

(1)

The Report fully complies with the requirements of section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934; and

(2)

The information contained in the Report fairly presents, in all material respects, the financial condition and results of operations of the Company.

Date: August 12, 2020	By:	/s/ John Evans
		John Evans
		Chief Executive Officer
		(Principal executive officer)

beam-ex322_6.htm

Exhibit 32.2

CERTIFICATION PURSUANT TO

18 U.S.C. SECTION 1350, AS ADOPTED PURSUANT TO

SECTION 906 OF THE SARBANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002

(1)

The Report fully complies with the requirements of section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934; and

(2)

The information contained in the Report fairly presents, in all material respects, the financial condition and results of operations of the Company.

Date: August 12, 2020	By:	/s/ Terry-Ann Burrell
		Terry-Ann Burrell
		Chief Financial Officer
		(Principal financial and accounting officer)