| Summary of Significant Accounting Policies and Basis of Presentation | 2. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies and Basis of Presentation Basis of Presentation and Use of Estimates The accompanying consolidated financial statements have been prepared in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America, or GAAP, and include the accounts of the Company and its wholly-owned subsidiaries as of December 31, 2022. All intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated. Any reference in these notes to applicable guidance is meant to refer to the authoritative United States generally accepted accounting principles as found in the Accounting Standards Codification, or ASC, and Accounting Standards Updates, or ASUs, of the Financial Accounting Standards Board. Beginning in 2022, collaboration costs under the Vertex Agreements accounted for under ASC 808, Collaborative Agreements , or ASC 808, are presented within “collaboration expense, net” in the consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive (loss) income. As a result, collaboration costs under the Vertex Agreements accounted for under ASC 808 for years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020 have been reclassified to conform to the current presentation. No subtotals in the prior period’s consolidated financial statements were impacted. Refer to Note 8 to these consolidated financial statements for further discussion on the Vertex Agreements. The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in the financial statements and accompanying notes. On an ongoing basis, the Company’s management evaluates its estimates, which include, but are not limited to, revenue recognition, equity-based compensation expense and reported amounts of research and development expenses during the period. Significant estimates in these consolidated financial statements have been made in connection with revenue recognition and equity-based compensation expense. The Company bases its estimates on historical experience and other market-specific or other relevant assumptions that it believes to be reasonable under the circumstances. Actual results may differ from those estimates or assumptions. Segment Information The Company and the Company’s chief operating decision maker, namely, the chief executive officer, view the Company’s operations and manage its business as one operating segment, which is the business of discovering, developing and commercializing therapies derived from or incorporating genome-editing technology. Foreign Currency Translation and Transactions The majority of the Company’s operations occur in entities that have the U.S. dollar as their functional currency. Non-U.S. dollar denominated functional currency subsidiaries have assets and liabilities translated into U.S. dollars at rates of exchange in effect at the end of the year. Revenue and expense amounts are translated using the average exchange rates for the period. Net unrealized gains and losses resulting from foreign currency translation are included in “Accumulated other comprehensive (loss) income.” Net foreign currency exchange transaction gains or losses are included in “Other income, net” on the Company’s consolidated statement of operations, the impact of which is not significant. Cash and Cash Equivalents The Company considers all highly liquid investments with maturities of three months or less from the purchase date to be cash equivalents. As of December 31, 2022 and 2021, the Company had $ 211.9 million and $ 923.0 million in cash and cash equivalents, respectively. Restricted Cash As of December 31, 2022 and 2021, the Company had $ 12.2 million and $ 16.9 million, respectively, in restricted cash representing letters of credit securing the Company’s obligations under certain leased facilities, as well as certain credit card arrangements. The letters of credit are secured by cash held in a restricted depository account, with $ 0.5 million and $ 0.0 million, respectively, included in prepaid expenses and other current assets in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets as of December 31, 2022 and 2021, and $ 11.6 million and $ 16.9 million, respectively, included in restricted cash in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets as of December 31, 2022 and 2021 . Marketable Securities As of December 31, 2022 and 2021, the Company had $ 1,656.6 million and $ 1,456.1 million, respectively in marketable securities. The Company’s investment strategy is focused on capital preservation. The Company invests in instruments that meet the credit quality standards outlined in the Company’s investment policy. The Company classifies marketable securities with a remaining maturity, when purchased, of greater than three months as available-for-sale. Marketable securities are classified as current assets on the consolidated balance sheets if the marketable securities are available to be converted into cash to fund current operations. Marketable securities in an unrealized loss position for greater than one year with a remaining maturity date greater than one year are classified as non-current assets. Marketable securities classified as Level 2 within the valuation hierarchy generally consist of U.S. treasury securities and government agency securities, corporate bonds, and commercial paper. Debt securities are carried at fair value with the unrealized gains and losses included in other comprehensive (loss) income as a component of stockholders’ equity until realized. Any premium arising at purchase is amortized to interest expense over the period of the earliest call date, and any discount arising at purchase is accreted to interest income over the life of the instrument. Realized gains and losses on debt securities are determined using the specific identification method and are included in other income, net. The Company assesses its available-for-sale debt securities under the available-for-sale debt security impairment model in ASU 2016-13, Financial Instruments – Credit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Statements , or ASC 326, as of each reporting date in order to determine if a portion of any decline in fair value below carrying value recognized on its available-for-sale debt securities is the result of a credit loss. The Company records credit losses in the consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss as credit loss expense within other expense, net, which is limited to the difference between the fair value and the amortized cost of the security. To date, the Company has not recorded any credit losses on its available-for-sale debt securities. Other Receivables Amounts due from collaboration partners where an arrangement is accounted for under ASC 808 are considered other receivables and are included within prepaid and other current assets in the consolidated balance sheets. Other receivables consisted of $ 11.2 million and $ 8.4 million as of December 31, 2022 and 2021 , respectively and are due from Vertex. Other receivables are recorded at invoiced amounts due under the Vertex collaboration agreement, as described further in Note 8. Vertex is a creditworthy entity that maintains an ongoing relationship with the Company and as such, the Company does not have an allowance for estimated credit losses recorded related to these other receivables. Concentrations of Credit Risk and Off-balance Sheet Risk Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to concentrations of credit risk are primarily cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities. The Company’s cash is held in accounts with financial institutions that management believes are creditworthy. The Company has not experienced any credit losses in such accounts and does not believe it is exposed to any significant credit risk on these funds. The Company has no financial instruments with off-balance sheet risk of loss. Fair Value of Financial Instruments The Company has certain financial assets and liabilities recorded at fair value which have been classified as Level 1, 2 or 3 within the fair value hierarchy as described in the accounting standards for fair value measurements: Level 1 — Quoted prices in active markets that are accessible at the market date for identical unrestricted assets or liabilities. Level 2 — Inputs other than Level 1 that are observable, either directly or indirectly, such as quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities; quoted prices in markets that are not active; or other inputs for which all significant inputs are observable or can be corroborated by observable market data for substantially the full term of the assets or liabilities. Level 3 — Unobservable inputs that are supported by little or no market activity and that are significant to the fair value of the assets or liabilities. To the extent that valuation is based on models or inputs that are less observable or unobservable in the market, the determination of fair value requires more judgment. Accordingly, the degree of judgment exercised by the Company in determining fair value is greatest for instruments categorized in Level 3. A financial instrument’s level within the fair value hierarchy is based on the lowest level of any input that is significant to the fair value measurement. Items measured at fair value on a recurring basis include marketable securities (see Note 3, Marketable Securities , and Note 4, Fair Value Measurement ). The carrying amount of accounts receivable, other receivables, accounts payable and accrued expenses as reported on the consolidated balance sheets as of December 31, 2022 and 2021 , approximate fair value, due to the short-term duration of these instruments. Property and Equipment Property and equipment are recorded at cost, less accumulated depreciation. Maintenance and repairs that do not improve or extend the lives of the respective assets are expensed to operations as incurred. Upon disposal, the related cost and accumulated depreciation is removed from the accounts and any resulting gain or loss is included in the results of operations. Depreciation is recorded using the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of the respective assets, which are as follows:
Asset Estimated useful life
Computer equipment 3 years
Furniture, fixtures and other 5 years
Laboratory equipment 5 years
Leasehold improvements Shorter of useful life or remaining lease term Impairment of Long-lived Assets The Company reviews long-lived assets when events or changes in circumstances indicate the carrying value of the assets may not be recoverable. Recoverability is measured by comparison of the book values of the assets to future net undiscounted cash flows that the assets are expected to generate. If such assets are considered to be impaired, the impairment to be recognized is measured by the amount by which the book value of the assets exceed their fair value, which is measured based on the projected discounted future net cash flows arising from the assets. Revenue Recognition The Company records revenue in accordance with ASC Topic 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers , or ASC 606. ASC 606 applies to all contracts with customers, except for contracts that are within the scope of other standards, such as leases and collaboration arrangements. To determine revenue recognition for arrangements that an entity determines are within the scope of ASC 606, the entity performs the following five steps: 1) Identify the contract with the customer A contract with a customer exists when (i) the Company enters into an enforceable contract with a customer that defines each party’s rights regarding the goods or services to be transferred and identifies the related payment terms, (ii) the contract has commercial substance and (iii) the Company determines that collection of substantially all consideration for goods and services that are transferred is probable based on the customer’s intent and ability to pay the promised consideration. 2) Identify the performance obligations in the contract Performance obligations promised in a contract are identified based on the goods and services that will be transferred to the customer that are both capable of being distinct, whereby the customer can benefit from the good or service either on its own or together with other available resources, and are distinct in the context of the contract, whereby the transfer of the good or service is separately identifiable from other promises in the contract. To the extent a contract includes multiple promised goods and services, the Company must apply judgment to determine whether promised goods and services are capable of being distinct and distinct in the context of the contract. If these criteria are not met, the promised goods and services are accounted for as a combined performance obligation. 3) Determine the transaction price The transaction price is determined based on the consideration to which the Company will be entitled in exchange for transferring goods and services to the customer. To the extent the transaction price includes variable consideration such as research, development, regulatory and commercial milestones, the Company determines if it is probable that it will receive such amounts and there is no risk of a significant revenue reversal. When the Company cannot conclude that receipt of such amounts is probable, the Company constrains the related variable consideration resulting in its exclusion from transaction consideration. In determining the portion of the transaction consideration to be constrained, the Company considers the probability and uncertainty that the related research, developmental, regulatory and commercial milestones will be achieved given the nature of research and clinical development and the stage of the underlying programs. This assessment is performed at each reporting period. In making this evaluation, the Company considers both internal and external information available, including information from industry publications and other relevant factors. Changes to the constraint of variable consideration can have a material effect on the amount of revenue recognized in the period. 4) Allocate the transaction consideration to performance obligations in the contract If the contract contains a single performance obligation, the entire transaction consideration is allocated to the single performance obligation. Contracts that contain multiple performance obligations require an allocation of the transaction consideration to each performance obligation on a relative standalone selling price basis unless the transaction consideration is variable and meets the criteria to be allocated entirely to a performance obligation or to a distinct service that forms part of a single performance obligation. The consideration to be received is allocated among the separate performance obligations based on relative standalone selling prices. In determining these estimated standalone selling prices, the Company makes a number of significant judgements including, for licenses, management’s assumptions regarding probability weighted projected discounted cash flows for each of the collaboration development programs. The estimated standalone selling prices are sensitive to changes in assumptions, such as probabilities of scientific success, discount rate and certain assumptions that form the basis of forecasted cash flows. In developing these assumptions, management considers both internal and external information available, including information from other guideline companies within the same industry and other relevant factors. Changes to these assumptions can have a material effect on the allocation of the transaction consideration to performance obligations, as well as the amount and timing of revenue recognized. 5) Recognize revenue when or as the Company satisfies a performance obligation The Company satisfies performance obligations over time or at a point in time, depending on the nature of the performance obligation. Revenue is recognized over time if the customer simultaneously receives and consumes the benefits provided by the entity’s performance, the entity’s performance creates or enhances an asset that the customer controls as the asset is created or enhanced, or the entity’s performance does not create an asset with an alternative use to the entity and the entity has an enforceable right to payment for performance completed to date. If the entity does not satisfy a performance obligation over time, the related performance obligation is satisfied at a point in time by transferring the control of a promised good or service to a customer. Contract Balances The Company recognizes a contract asset when the Company transfers goods or services to a customer before the customer pays consideration or before payment is due, excluding any amounts presented as an account or other receivable. A contract asset is an entity’s right to consideration in exchange for goods or services that the entity has transferred to a customer. The contract liabilities, or deferred revenue, primarily relate to contracts where we have received payment, but we have not yet satisfied the related performance obligations. Contract assets are not significant as of December 31, 2022 and 2021. Contract liabilities recorded as deferred revenue as of December 31, 2022 are $ 12.3 million, which was unchanged from December 31, 2021 . The contract liability recorded as deferred revenue is related to the collaboration agreement with Vertex described in Note 8. Collaboration Arrangements The Company records the elements of its collaboration agreements that represent joint operating activities in accordance with ASC 808. Accordingly, the elements of the collaboration agreements that represent activities in which both parties are active participants and to which both parties are exposed to the significant risks and rewards that are dependent on the commercial success of the activities, are recorded as collaborative arrangements. The Company evaluates the proper presentation of the commercial activities and the profit and loss sharing associated with the collaboration agreements. ASC 808 states that when payments between parties in a collaborative arrangement are not within the scope of other authoritative accounting literature, the income statement classification should be based on the nature of the arrangement, the nature of its business operations and the contractual terms of the arrangement. To the extent that these payments are not within the scope of other authoritative accounting literature, the income statement classification for the payments shall be based on an analogy to authoritative accounting literature or if there is no appropriate analogy, a reasonable, rational and consistently applied accounting policy election. Collaboration costs under the Vertex Agreements accounted for under ASC 808 are presented within “collaboration expense, net” in the consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive (loss) income. Refer to Note 8 to these consolidated financial statements for further discussion on the Vertex Agreements. Research and Development Expenses Research and development costs are charged to expense as costs are incurred in performing research and development activities, including salaries and benefits, facilities costs, overhead costs, clinical study and related clinical manufacturing costs, license and milestone fees, contract services and other related costs. Research and development costs, including up-front fees and milestones paid to collaborators, are also expensed as incurred. In circumstances where amounts have been paid in excess of costs incurred, the Company records a prepaid expense. The Company accrues costs for clinical trial activities based upon estimates of the services received and related expenses incurred that have yet to be invoiced by the contract research organizations, clinical study sites, laboratories, consultants or other clinical trial vendors that perform the activities. The Company recognizes the reimbursement associated with collaborative activities to its collaborative partners, excluding collaboration costs under the Vertex Agreements accounted for under ASC 808, as a reduction to research and development expense in the period the services are provided. Costs associated with collaborative activities to collaborative partners accounted for under ASC 808 and included in research and development expense was not significant for the years ended December 31, 2022, 2021 and 2020 Leases The Company accounts for its leases in accordance with ASC 842, Leases , or ASC 842. At the inception of an arrangement, the Company determines whether the arrangement is or contains a lease based on the unique facts and circumstances present in the arrangement. Leases with a term greater than one year are recognized on the balance sheet as right-of-use assets and short-term and long-term lease liabilities, as applicable. The Company does not have financing leases. Operating lease liabilities and their corresponding right-of-use assets are initially recorded based on the present value of lease payments over the expected remaining lease term. Certain adjustments to the right-of-use asset may be required for items such as incentives received. The interest rate implicit in lease contracts is typically not readily determinable. As a result, the Company utilizes its incremental borrowing rate to discount lease payments, which reflects the fixed rate at which the Company could borrow on a collateralized basis the amount of the lease payments in the same currency, for a similar term, in a similar economic environment. Prospectively, the Company will adjust the right-of-use assets for straight-line rent expense or any incentives received and remeasure the lease liability at the net present value using the same incremental borrowing rate that was in effect as of the lease commencement or transition date. The Company has elected not to recognize leases with an original term of one year or less on the balance sheet. The Company typically only includes an initial lease term in its assessment of a lease arrangement. Options to renew a lease are not included in the Company’s assessment unless there is reasonable certainty of renewal. Assumptions made by the Company at the commencement date are re-evaluated upon occurrence of certain events, including a lease modification. A lease modification results in a separate contract when the modification grants the lessee an additional right of use not included in the original lease and when lease payments increase commensurate with the standalone price for the additional right of use. When a lease modification results in a separate contract, it is accounted for in the same manner as a new lease. Equity Based Compensation Expense The Company’s share-based compensation programs grant awards that have included stock options, restricted stock units and restricted stock awards. Grants are awarded to employees and non-employees, including directors. The Company accounts for its stock-based compensation awards in accordance with ASC Topic 718, Compensation—Stock Compensation , or ASC 718. ASC 718 requires all stock-based payments to employees and non-employee directors, including grants of employee stock options and restricted stock units and modifications to existing stock options, to be recognized in the consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive (loss) income based on their fair values. The Company uses the Black-Scholes option pricing model to determine the fair value of options granted. The Company accounts for forfeitures as they occur instead of estimating forfeitures at the time of grant and revising those estimates in subsequent periods if actual forfeitures differ from its estimates. Stock-based compensation expense recognized in the financial statements is based on awards for which performance or service conditions are expected to be satisfied. The Company’s stock-based awards are subject to service or performance-based vesting conditions. Compensation expense related to awards to employees, directors and non-employees with service-based vesting conditions is recognized on a straight-line basis based on the grant date fair value over the associated service period of the award, which is generally the vesting term. Compensation expense related to awards to employees with performance-based vesting conditions is recognized based on the grant date fair value over the requisite service period using the accelerated attribution method to the extent achievement of the performance condition is probable. The Company expenses restricted stock unit awards to employees based on the fair value of the award on a straight-line basis over the associated service period of the award. The Company estimates the fair value of its option awards to employees, directors and non-employees using the Black-Scholes option pricing model, which requires the input of subjective assumptions, including (i) the expected stock price volatility, (ii) the calculation of expected term of the award, (iii) the risk-free interest rate and (iv) expected dividends. Due to the lack of complete company-specific historical and implied volatility data for the full expected term of the stock-based awards, the Company bases its estimate of expected volatility on a representative group of publicly traded companies in addition to its own volatility data. For these analyses, the Company selected companies with comparable characteristics to its own, including enterprise value, risk profiles, position within the industry, and with historical share price information sufficient to meet the expected life of the stock-based awards. The Company computes historical volatility data using the daily closing prices for the selected companies’ shares during the equivalent period of the calculated expected term of the stock-based awards. The Company will continue to apply this process until a sufficient amount of historical information regarding the volatility of its own stock price becomes available. The Company has estimated the expected term of its employee stock options using the “simplified” method, whereby the expected term equals the arithmetic average of the vesting term and the original contractual term of the option, due to its lack of sufficient historical data. The risk-free interest rates for periods within the expected term of the option are based on the U.S. Treasury securities with a maturity date commensurate with the expected term of the associated award. The Company has never paid, and does not expect to pay, dividends in the foreseeable future. Patent Costs Costs to secure and prosecute patent applications and other legal costs related to the protection of the Company’s intellectual property are expensed as incurred and are classified as general and administrative expenses in the Company’s consolidated statements of operations. Income Taxes Income taxes are recorded in accordance with ASC Topic 740, Income Taxes , or ASC 740, which provides for deferred taxes using an asset and liability approach. Under this method, deferred tax assets and liabilities are determined based on the difference between the financial reporting and tax reporting basis of assets and liabilities and are measured using enacted tax rates and laws that are expected to be in effect when the differences are expected to reverse. Valuation allowances are provided if, based upon the weight of available evidence, it is more likely than not that some or all of the deferred tax assets will not be realized. The Company has evaluated available evidence and concluded that the Company may not realize all the benefit of its deferred tax assets; therefore, a valuation allowance has been established for the amount of the deferred tax assets that the Company does not believe is more likely than not to be realized. The Company accounts for uncertain tax positions in accordance with the provisions of ASC 740. When uncertain tax positions exist, the Company recognizes the tax benefit of tax positions to the extent that the benefit will more likely than not be realized. The determination as to whether the tax benefit will more likely than not be realized is based upon the technical merits of the tax position as well as consideration of the available facts and circumstances. As of December 31, 2022 and 2021 , the Company does no t have any significant uncertain tax positions. The Company’s practice is to recognize interest and/or penalties related to income tax matters in income tax expense. See Note 14 for further details. Comprehensive (Loss) Income Comprehensive (loss) income consists of net income or loss and other comprehensive (loss) income. Other comprehensive (loss) income consists of foreign currency translation adjustments and unrealized losses on marketable securities. Net (Loss) Income Per Share Attributable to Common Shareholders Basic net (loss) income per share is calculated by dividing net (loss) income attributable to common shareholders by the weighted-average number of common shares outstanding during the period. Diluted net (loss) income per share is calculated by dividing the net (loss) income attributable to common shareholders by the weighted-average number of common equivalent shares outstanding for the period, including any dilutive effect from outstanding stock options and restricted stock units using the treasury stock method. See Note 12 for further details. New Accounting Pronouncements From time to time, new accounting pronouncements are issued by the FASB or other standard setting bodies that the Company adopts as of the specified effective date. The Company does not believe that the adoption of recently issued standards have or may have a material impact on its consolidated financial statements and disclosures. |
