Black Diamond Therapeutics (BDTX) 10-Q2024 Q1 Quarterly report

This Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (this Quarterly Report) contains forward-looking statements which are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions 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). All statements other than statements of historical facts contained in this Quarterly Report are forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as “may”, “will”, “could”, “should”, “expects”, “intends”, “plans”, “anticipates”, “believes”, “estimates”, “predicts”, “potential”, “continue” or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. These statements are not guarantees of future results or performance and involve substantial risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements in this Quarterly Report include, but are not limited to, statements about:

Any forward-looking statements in this Quarterly Report reflect our current views with respect to future events and with respect to our future financial performance, and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations include, among other things, those described under Part I, Item 1A, “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023 (the Annual Report) and in other Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings. Given these uncertainties, you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Except as required by law, we assume no obligation to update or revise these forward-looking statements for any reason, even if new information becomes available in the future.

All of our forward-looking statements are as of the date of this Quarterly Report only. In each case, actual results may differ materially from such forward-looking information. We can give no assurance that such expectations or forward-looking statements will prove to be correct. An occurrence of or any material adverse change in one or more of the risk factors or risks and uncertainties referred to in this Quarterly Report or included in our other public disclosures or our other periodic reports or other documents or filings filed with or furnished to the SEC, could materially and adversely affect our business, prospects, financial condition and results of operations. Some of these risks and uncertainties may in the future be amplified by global health crises, and there may be additional risks that we consider immaterial or which are unknown. It is not possible to predict or identify all such risks. Except as required by law, we do not undertake or plan to update or revise any such forward-looking statements to reflect actual results, changes in plans, assumptions, estimates or projections or other circumstances affecting such forward-looking statements occurring after the date of this Quarterly Report, even if such results, changes or circumstances make it clear that any forward-looking information will not be realized. Any public statements or disclosures by us following this Quarterly Report that modify or impact any of the forward-looking statements contained in this Quarterly Report will be deemed to modify or supersede such statements in this Quarterly Report.

This Quarterly Report contains summaries of certain provisions contained in some of the documents described herein, but reference is made to the actual documents for complete information. All of the summaries are qualified in their entirety by the actual documents. Copies of some of the documents referred to herein have been filed as exhibits to this Quarterly Report. In this Quarterly Report, the terms “Black Diamond Therapeutics”, “Black Diamond”, the “Company”, “we”, “us”, “our” and similar designations refer to Black Diamond Therapeutics, Inc. and, where appropriate, our wholly-owned subsidiary.

We may from time to time provide estimates, projections and other information concerning our industry, the general business environment, and the markets for certain diseases, including estimates regarding the potential size of those markets and the estimated incidence and prevalence of certain medical conditions. Information that is based on estimates, forecasts, projections, market research or similar methodologies is inherently subject to uncertainties, and actual events, circumstances or numbers, including actual disease prevalence rates and market size, may differ materially from the information reflected in this Quarterly Report. Unless otherwise expressly stated, we obtained this industry, business information, market data, prevalence information and other data from reports, research surveys, studies and similar data prepared by market research firms and other third parties, industry, medical and general publications, government data and similar sources, in some cases applying our own assumptions and analysis that may, in the future, prove not to have been accurate.

From time to time, we may use our website or our LinkedIn profile at www.linkedin.com/company/black-diamond-therapeutics to distribute material information. Our financial and other material information is routinely posted to and accessible on the Investors section of our website, available at www.blackdiamondtherapeutics.com. Investors are encouraged to review the Investors section of our website because we may post material information on that site that is not otherwise disseminated by us. Information that is contained in and can be accessed through our website or our LinkedIn page is not incorporated into, and does not form a part of, this Quarterly Report.

Black Diamond Therapeutics, Inc. (the Company) is a clinical-stage oncology company developing MasterKey therapies that target families of oncogenic mutations in patients with cancer. The Company was originally organized as a limited liability company in December 2014 under the name ASET Therapeutics LLC. In September 2016, the Company was converted to a corporation under the laws of the State of Delaware under the name ASET Therapeutics, Inc. The Company changed its name to Black Diamond Therapeutics, Inc. in January 2018. Since its inception, the Company has devoted substantially all of its efforts to raising capital, obtaining financing and incurring research and development costs related to the development and advancement of its product candidates identified by its Mutation-Allostery-Pharmacology (MAP) drug discovery engine.

The Company is subject to risks and uncertainties common to clinical-stage companies in the biotechnology industry. There can be no assurance that the Company’s research and development will be successfully completed, that adequate protection for the Company’s technology will be obtained, that any products developed will obtain necessary government regulatory approval or that any products, if approved, will be commercially viable. The Company operates in an environment of rapid technological innovation and substantial competition from pharmaceutical and biotechnological companies. In addition, the Company is dependent upon the services of its employees, consultants and service providers. Even if the Company’s product development efforts are successful, it is uncertain when, if ever, the Company will realize significant revenue from product sales.

On July 5, 2023, the Company completed an underwritten public offering (the Follow-on Offering) of 15,000,000 shares of the Company’s common stock at a price to the public of $5.00 per share. The aggregate net proceeds from the Follow-on Offering totaled approximately $71.9 million, after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions.

The accompanying consolidated financial statements have been prepared on the basis of continuity of operations, realization of assets, and the satisfaction of liabilities and commitments in the ordinary course of business. Historically, the Company has funded its operations primarily with proceeds from the sale of common stock and preferred stock. The Company has had recurring losses and negative cash flows from operations in all periods since inception and had an accumulated deficit of $435.7 million as of March 31, 2024. The Company expects to continue to generate operating losses for the foreseeable future.

As of May 9, 2024, the issuance date of the condensed consolidated financial statements, the Company expects that its cash, cash equivalents and investments will be sufficient to fund its currently planned operations for at least the next 12 months from the filing date of these condensed consolidated financial statements.

The Company will seek additional funding through private or public equity financings, debt financings, collaborations, strategic alliances and marketing, distribution or licensing arrangements. The Company may not be able to obtain financing on acceptable terms, or at all, and the Company may not be able to enter into collaborations or other arrangements. The terms of any financing may adversely affect the holdings or the rights of the Company's stockholders. If the Company is unable to obtain funding, the Company could be forced to delay, reduce or eliminate some or all of its research and development programs, product portfolio expansion or commercialization efforts, or reduce headcount and general and administrative costs, which could adversely affect its business prospects. Although management continues to pursue these plans, there is no assurance that the Company will be successful in obtaining sufficient funding on terms acceptable to the Company to fund continuing operations, if at all.

The following is a summary of significant accounting policies followed in the preparation of these condensed consolidated financial statements.

The accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (GAAP) and include the accounts of the Company and its wholly owned subsidiaries, Black Diamond Therapeutics Security Corporation and Black Diamond Therapeutics (Canada), Inc., after elimination of all significant intercompany accounts and transactions. On October 10, 2023, Black Diamond Therapeutics (Canada), Inc. was dissolved by way of voluntary dissolution.

The condensed consolidated financial statements of the Company included herein have been prepared, without audit, pursuant to the rules and regulations of the SEC. Certain information and footnote disclosures normally included in financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP have been condensed or omitted from this Quarterly Report, as is permitted by such rules and regulations. Accordingly, these condensed consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the financial statements and notes thereto included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023. In the opinion of the Company’s management, all adjustments (consisting of normal and recurring adjustments) considered necessary for a fair statement of the results for the interim periods presented have been included.

The preparation of the Company’s condensed consolidated financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and the reported amounts of expenses during the reporting periods. Significant estimates and assumptions reflected in these condensed consolidated financial statements include, but are not limited to, the accrual of research and development expenses and the valuation of stock-based awards. The Company bases its estimates on historical experience, known trends and other market-specific or other relevant factors that it believes to be reasonable under the circumstances. Estimates are periodically reviewed in light of changes in circumstances, facts and experience. Changes in estimates are recorded in the period in which they become known. Actual results may differ from those estimates or assumptions.

The Company continues to monitor the impact of global economic developments, political unrest, high inflation, disruptions in capital markets, changes in international trade relationships and military conflicts, and health crises, on all aspects of its business, and has considered the impact of these factors on estimates within its financial statements. The extent to which future developments may impact the Company’s business, results of operations or financial condition are uncertain and cannot be predicted with confidence and there may be changes to estimates in future periods. As of the date of issuance of these condensed consolidated financial statements, the Company has not experienced material business disruptions or incurred impairment losses in the carrying value of its assets as a result of these factors and is not aware of any specific related event or circumstance that would require it to update its estimates.

There were no transfers in or out of Level 3 categories in the periods presented.

As of March 31, 2024, all marketable securities held by the Company had remaining contractual maturities of one year or less.

As of December 31, 2023, all marketable securities held by the Company had remaining contractual maturities of one year or less.

As of March 31, 2024, the Company reviewed its investment portfolio to assess the unrealized losses on its available-for-sale investments. The Company evaluated whether it intended to sell the security and whether it was more likely than not that the Company would be required to sell the security before recovering its amortized cost basis. The Company also determined no portion of the unrealized losses relate to a credit loss. There have been no impairments of the Company’s assets measured and carried at fair value during the three months ended March 31, 2024 and the year ended December 31, 2023.

In December 2022, the Company received 9,000,000 shares of common stock in a newly formed antibody-focused precision oncology company, Launchpad Therapeutics, Inc. (Launchpad), in exchange for contributing early discovery-stage antibody programs and granting Launchpad a license to use its MAP drug discovery engine to discover, develop and commercialize large molecule therapeutics. As of the transaction date and as of March 31, 2024, the Company has a 39.1% voting interest in Launchpad and one seat on Launchpad’s Board of Directors which provide the Company with significant influence over Launchpad. The remaining voting interest in Launchpad is held by Versant Ventures and New Enterprise Associates (NEA), who are shareholders of the Company.

The Company accounted for the transaction under the equity method and recorded the carrying value of the Company’s investment in Launchpad common shares of $2,250 in equity method investments in the consolidated balance sheets. The contributed in process research and development (IPR&D) had zero basis on the Company’s books prior to the transaction, therefore the Company recognized a gain on sale of IPR&D of $2,232 in the consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss for the year ended December 31, 2022. The Company also recognized a loss from investments in equity method investee of $1,540 in the consolidated statement of operations and comprehensive loss for the year ended December 31, 2022, associated with the Company’s proportionate share of Launchpad’s losses. The assets contributed by the Company were principally IPR&D and were not deemed a business by Launchpad, therefore the Company determined its remaining basis difference of $710 was substantially related to IPR&D and immediately expensed it. As of December 31, 2022, the carrying value of the investment in Launchpad was reduced to zero. Since the Company has no obligation to provide financing support to Launchpad, the Company is not required to record further losses exceeding the carrying value of the investment. The Company also determined that its investment in Launchpad is not material or significant to its operations or financial position. As of March 31, 2024, the carrying value of the investment in Launchpad was zero.

The 2020 Stock Option and Incentive Plan (the 2020 Plan) was approved by the Company’s board of directors on December 5, 2019, and the Company’s stockholders on January 14, 2020 and became effective on the date immediately prior to the date on which the registration statement for the Company’s initial public offering (IPO) was declared effective. The 2020 Plan provides for the grant of incentive stock options, non-qualified stock options, stock appreciation rights, restricted stock units, restricted stock awards, unrestricted stock awards, cash-based awards and dividend equivalent rights to the Company’s officers, employees, directors and consultants. The 2020 Plan provides for an annual increase, to be added on the first day of each fiscal year, by up to 4% of the Company’s outstanding shares of common stock as of the last day of the prior year. On January 1, 2024, 2,065,822 shares of common stock, representing 4% of the Company’s outstanding shares of common stock as of December 31, 2023, were added to the 2020 Plan.

The Company has historically entered into lease arrangements for its facilities. As of March 31, 2024, the Company had two operating leases with required future minimum payments. The Company determined the classification of these leases to be operating leases and recorded right-of-use assets and lease liabilities as of the effective dates. The Company’s leases generally do not include termination or purchase options.

The Company enters into contracts in the normal course of business with contract research organizations (CROs), contract manufacturing organizations (CMOs) and other third parties for preclinical research studies, clinical trials and testing and manufacturing services. These contracts do not contain minimum purchase commitments and are cancelable upon prior written notice. Payments due upon cancellation consist only of payments for services provided or expenses incurred, including noncancelable obligations of service providers, up to the date of cancellation.

The Company is a party to license agreements, which include contingent payments. These payments will become payable if and when certain development, regulatory and commercial milestones are achieved. As of March 31, 2024, the satisfaction and timing of the contingent payments is uncertain and not reasonably estimable.

In the ordinary course of business, the Company may provide indemnification of varying scope and terms to vendors, lessors, business partners and other parties with respect to certain matters including, but not limited to, losses arising out of breach of such agreements or from intellectual property infringement claims made by third parties. In addition, the Company has entered into indemnification agreements with members of its board of directors and executive officers that will require the Company, among other things, to indemnify them against certain liabilities that may arise by reason of their status or service as directors or officers. The maximum potential amount of future payments the Company could be required to make under these indemnification agreements is, in many cases, unlimited. To date, the Company has not incurred any material costs as a result of such indemnifications. The Company is not aware of any indemnification arrangements that could have a material effect on its financial position, results of operations or cash flows, and it has not accrued any liabilities related to such obligations in its consolidated financial statements as of March 31, 2024 or December 31, 2023.

The Company is not currently party to and is not aware of any material legal proceedings. At each reporting date, the Company evaluates whether or not a potential loss amount or a potential range of loss is probable and reasonably estimable under the provisions of the authoritative guidance that addresses accounting for contingencies. The Company expenses as incurred the costs related to such legal proceedings.

The Company has a tax-qualified 401(k) and Profit Sharing defined contribution plan (the 401(k) Plan). Under the 401(k) Plan, the Company provides an employer safe harbor matching contribution equal to 100% of a participant’s eligible contributions of up to 6% of eligible compensation, subject to limits established by the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and any regulations promulgated thereunder (the Code). All matching contributions are fully vested when made. During the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023, the Company contributed $348 and $376, respectively, to the 401(k) Plan.

In April 2024, the Company sold 1,000,000 shares of its common stock pursuant to the ATM Program, resulting in gross proceeds to the Company of approximately $5.4 million ($5.3 million net of offering costs).

In May 2024, the Company sold 2,690,853 shares of its common stock pursuant to the ATM Program, resulting in gross proceeds to the Company of approximately $15.6 million ($15.3 million net of offering costs).

We are a clinical-stage oncology company developing MasterKey therapies that target families of oncogenic mutations in patients with cancer. The foundation of our company is built upon a deep understanding of cancer genetics, onco-protein structure and function, and medicinal chemistry. Our MasterKey therapies are designed to address a broad spectrum of genetically defined tumors, overcome resistance, minimize wild-type mediated toxicities, and be brain-penetrant to treat central nervous system (CNS) disease. Our compounds target families of oncogenic mutations in clinically validated pathways. We are advancing two clinical-stage programs: BDTX-1535, a brain-penetrant, fourth-generation epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) MasterKey inhibitor, targeting epidermal growth factor receptor mutant (EGFRm) non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and glioblastoma (GBM), and BDTX-4933, a brain-penetrant, RAF MasterKey inhibitor targeting KRAS, NRAS and BRAF alterations in solid tumors.

We believe that our lead product candidate, BDTX-1535, has the potential to treat newly diagnosed patients with EGFRm NSCLC, as well as those with recurrent disease, based upon BDTX-1535’s ability to address greater than 50 classical and non-classical oncogenic driver mutations with greater potency than other EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), as well as uniquely target the C797S resistance mutation which can be acquired after treatment with osimertinib. In our Phase 1 trial in patients with recurrent EGFRm NSCLC, BDTX-1535 was shown to be well tolerated and achieve durable clinical responses in patients whose tumors expressed a range of mutation subtypes, including the acquired C797S resistance mutation and a spectrum of non-classical mutations.

In April 2024, at the American Association of Cancer Research (AACR) annual meeting, we described real world evidence of the evolving EGFR mutation landscape in patients with NSCLC and the potential of BDTX-1535 to address a broader range of mutations compared to existing therapies. The analyses revealed a broad spectrum of non-classical mutations, as well as an increased prevalence of the acquired resistance mutation, C797S. These non-classical EGFR mutations were present in 22-30% of newly diagnosed EGFRm NSCLC patients.

We are currently evaluating BDTX-1535 in a Phase 2 clinical trial in patients with EGFRm NSCLC in the second- and third-line settings with non-classical driver mutations and acquired C797S resistance mutation, and in the first-line setting in patients with EGFRm NSCLC harboring non-classical EGFR mutations. We expect to announce results from the second- and third-line cohorts in the third quarter of 2024 and results from the first-line cohort in the first quarter of 2025. We are also assessing the potential development of BDTX-1535 for patients with EGFRm NSCLC following adjuvant treatment with osimertinib, where the broad mutation coverage of BDTX-1535 of C797S and non-classical mutations may be of benefit.

We released top-line GBM results from the BDTX-1535 Phase 1 dose escalation study in the fourth quarter of 2023, showing clinical activity in heavily pretreated patients with GBM. BDTX-1535 was shown to be generally well tolerated and no new safety signals were observed. In the fourth quarter of 2023, enrollment began in a “window of opportunity” (also known as a Phase 0/1 “Trigger”) trial sponsored by the Ivy Brain Tumor Center, in patients with recurrent high-grade glioma (HGG). We plan to present Phase 1 dose escalation data and “window of opportunity” results at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting on June 1, 2024, which will inform potential next steps in the development of BDTX-1535 in GBM.

Our second product candidate, BDTX-4933, is designed to be a potent and selective, reversible oral inhibitor that targets broad families of oncogenic BRAF, KRAS and NRAS alterations. BDTX-4933 selectively targets constitutively active RAF dimers resulting from either BRAF mutations or other upstream oncogenic MAPK pathway alterations, such as KRAS and NRAS alterations. In preclinical tumor models, we observed that BDTX-4933 demonstrated brain-penetrant activity and achieved regression of tumors carrying a broad spectrum of KRAS mutations, NRAS alterations, as well as BRAF Class I, II, and III mutations. We initiated a Phase 1 clinical trial for BDTX-4933 in the second quarter of 2023 in patients with BRAF and select KRAS and NRAS mutation-positive cancers, with an emphasis on patients with non-G12C KRAS mutant NSCLC. The trial is currently in dose escalation with an update anticipated in the fourth quarter of 2024.

Since our inception in 2014, we have devoted substantially all of our efforts and financial resources to organizing and staffing our company, business planning, raising capital, discovering product candidates and securing related intellectual property rights while conducting research and development activities for our programs. We do not have any products approved for sale and have not generated any revenue from product sales. We may never be able to develop or commercialize a marketable product. We have not yet successfully completed any pivotal clinical trials, obtained any regulatory approvals, manufactured a commercial-scale drug, or conducted sales and marketing activities.

To date, we have funded our operations with proceeds from the sale of common stock and preferred stock. Since inception, we have incurred significant operating losses. Our net losses were $18.2 million and $20.9 million for the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively. As of March 31, 2024, we had an accumulated deficit of $435.7 million. Our ability to generate product revenue sufficient to achieve profitability will depend heavily on the successful development and eventual commercialization of one or more of our current or future product candidates. We expect that our expenses and capital requirements will increase substantially in connection with our ongoing activities, particularly if and as we:

As a result, we will need substantial additional funding 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 the sale of equity, debt financings or other capital sources, which may include collaborations with other companies or other strategic transactions. We may be unable to raise additional funds or enter into such other agreements or arrangements when needed on favorable terms, or at all. If we fail to raise capital or enter into such agreements as and when needed, we may have to significantly delay, scale back or discontinue the development and commercialization of one or more of our product candidates, and reduce headcount and general and administrative costs.

Because of the numerous risks and uncertainties associated with product development, we are unable to predict the timing or amount of increased expenses or when or if we will be able to achieve or maintain profitability. Even if we are able to generate product sales, we may not become profitable. If we fail to become profitable or are unable to sustain profitability on a continuing basis, then we may be unable to continue our operations at planned levels and be forced to reduce or terminate our operations.

Additionally, we continue to actively monitor macroeconomic conditions and market volatility resulting from global economic developments, political unrest, high inflation, disruptions in capital markets, changes in international trade relationships and military conflicts, and health crises. While we believe such factors have had no significant impact on our business or financial results during the periods presented, future developments and potential impacts on our business are uncertain and cannot be predicted with confidence.

As of March 31, 2024, we had cash, cash equivalents and investments of approximately $115.2 million, which we believe will enable us to fund our operating expenses and capital expenditure requirements into the third quarter of 2025. We have based this estimate on assumptions that may prove to be wrong, and we could exhaust our available capital resources sooner than we expect. See “—Liquidity and capital resources.” To finance our operations beyond that point, we will need to raise additional capital, which cannot be assured. 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.

To date, we have not generated any revenue from any sources, including from product sales, and we do not expect to generate any revenue from the sale of products in the foreseeable future. If our development efforts for our product candidates are successful and result in regulatory approval, or license agreements with third parties, we may generate revenue in the future from product sales. However, there can be no assurance as to when we will generate such revenue, if at all.

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

We recognize external development costs based on an evaluation of the progress to completion of specific tasks using information provided to us by our service providers. This process involves reviewing open contracts and purchase orders, communicating with our personnel to identify services that have been performed on our behalf and estimating the level of service performed and the associated cost incurred for the service when we have not yet been invoiced or otherwise notified of actual costs. Any nonrefundable 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. Such amounts are expensed as the related goods are delivered or the related services are performed, or until it is no longer expected that the goods will be delivered or the services rendered.

Our direct external research and development expenses consist primarily of external costs, such as fees paid to outside consultants, CROs, CMOs and research laboratories in connection with our preclinical development, process development, manufacturing and clinical development activities. Our direct research and development expenses also include fees incurred under license, acquisition and option agreements. We do not allocate employee costs, costs associated with our discovery efforts, laboratory supplies, and facilities, including depreciation or other indirect costs, to specific programs because these costs are deployed across multiple programs and, as such, are not separately classified. We use internal resources primarily to conduct our research and discovery as well as for managing our preclinical development, process development, manufacturing and clinical development activities. These employees work across multiple programs and, therefore, we do not track their costs by program.

Development activities are central to our business model. Product candidates in later stages of clinical development generally have higher development costs than those in earlier stages of clinical development, primarily due to the increased size and duration of later-stage clinical trials. As a result, we expect that our research and development expenses will increase substantially over the next several years as we continue our clinical trials for BDTX-1535 and BDTX-4933. In addition, we may incur additional expenses related to milestone and royalty payments payable to third parties with whom we may enter into license, acquisition and option agreements to acquire the rights to future product candidates.

At this time, we cannot reasonably estimate or know the nature, timing and costs of the efforts that will be necessary to complete the clinical development of any of our product candidates or when, if ever, material net cash inflows may commence from any of our product candidates. The successful development and commercialization of our product candidates is highly uncertain. This uncertainty is due to the numerous risks and uncertainties associated with product development and commercialization, including the uncertainty of the following:

Any changes in the outcome of any of these variables with respect to the development of our product candidates could mean a significant change in the costs and timing associated with the development of these product candidates. For example, if the FDA or another regulatory authority were to delay our planned start of clinical trials or require us to conduct clinical trials or other testing beyond those that we currently expect or if we experience significant delays in enrollment in any of our planned clinical trials, we could be required to expend significant additional financial resources and time on the completion of clinical development of that product candidate.

General and administrative expenses consist primarily of salaries and benefits, travel and stock-based compensation expense for personnel in executive, business development, finance, human resources, legal, information technology, pre-commercial and support personnel functions. General and administrative expenses also include direct and allocated facility-related costs as well as insurance costs and professional fees for legal, patent, consulting, investor and public relations, accounting and audit services.

Other income (expense)

Other income (expense) consists primarily of interest income earned on our cash equivalents and investment balances, sublease income, realized and unrealized foreign currency transaction gains and losses, and gain (loss) on sale of IP related to equity method investment.

Equity in (losses) of unconsolidated entity

The decrease of $1.2 million for the three months ended March 31, 2024 was primarily due to an increase of $2.0 million related to the progression of our clinical trial for BDTX-1535, offset by decreased spend relating to other research programs and platform development of $2.2 million due to reduced spending on early discovery projects as we deepen our focus on our clinical-stage assets, compared to the three months ended March 31, 2023. In addition, personnel expenses decreased by $0.6 million as we continue to capitalize on workforce efficiencies and focus on our development programs.

General and administrative expenses were $6.7 million for the three months ended March 31, 2024 compared to $6.8 million for the three months ended March 31, 2023. This was primarily a result of a decrease in personnel-related costs, legal and other professional fees.

Other income was $2.0 million for the three months ended March 31, 2024, compared to $0.7 million for the three months ended March 31, 2023. The increase was primarily attributable to accretion on investments increasing at a higher rate in 2024 compared to 2023.

Since our inception, we have not generated any revenue from any product sales or any other sources and have incurred significant operating losses and negative cash flows from our operations. We have not yet commercialized any of our product candidates, and we do not expect to generate revenue from sales of any product candidates for several years, if at all. We have funded our operations to date primarily with proceeds from the sale of common and preferred stock.

On February 3, 2020, we completed an IPO of 12,174,263 shares of our common stock, including the exercise in full by the underwriters of their option to purchase up to 1,587,947 additional shares of common stock, for aggregate gross proceeds of $231.3 million. We received $212.1 million in net proceeds after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and other estimated offering expenses payable by us. Through March 31, 2024, we had received net cash proceeds of $200.6 million from previous sales of our preferred stock and as of March 31, 2024, we had cash, cash equivalents and investments of $115.2 million.

On July 5, 2023, we completed an underwritten public offering (the Follow-on Offering) of 15,000,000 shares of our common stock at a price to the public of $5.00 per share. The aggregate net proceeds from the Follow-on Offering totaled approximately $71.6 million after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions, as well as other offering expenses. The underwriters did not exercise any portion of their 30-day overallotment option to purchase up to an additional 2,250,000 shares of our common stock at the public offering price, which expired on July 29, 2023, and therefore no additional proceeds from the Follow-on Offering were received.

During the three months ended March 31, 2024, we used cash in operating activities of $21.2 million, primarily resulting from our net loss of $18.2 million, partially offset by the non-cash charge related to stock compensation expense of $1.7 million.

During the three months ended March 31, 2023, we used cash in operating activities of $20.0 million, primarily resulting from our net loss of $20.9 million, partially offset by the non-cash charge related to stock compensation expense of $2.7 million.

Changes in accounts payable and accrued expenses in all periods were generally due to growth in our business, the advancement of our product candidates and the timing of vendor invoicing and payments.

During the three months ended March 31, 2024, we had cash used in investing activities of $13.7 million primarily from the sales and maturities of investments, netted against our purchase of investments.

During the three months ended March 31, 2023, we had cash provided by investing activities of $24.8 million primarily from the sales and maturities of investments.

During the three months ended March 31, 2024, we had cash provided by financing activities of $4.1 million, consisting of proceeds from exercise of stock options and participation in the employee stock purchase plan as well as the sale of shares of our common stock in March 2024 pursuant to the ATM Program.

During the three months ended March 31, 2023, we had cash provided by financing activities of $0.1 million consisting of proceeds from the participation in the employee stock purchase plan.

We expect our expenses to increase substantially in connection with our ongoing activities, particularly as we advance clinical trials of our product candidates. In addition, we expect to incur additional costs associated with operating as a public company, including significant legal, accounting, investor relations and other expenses. The timing and amount of our operating expenditures will depend largely on our ability to:

As of March 31, 2024, we had cash, cash equivalents and investments of $115.2 million. We believe that our existing cash, cash equivalents and investments will enable us to fund our operating expenses and capital expenditure requirements into the third quarter of 2025. We have based this estimate on assumptions that may prove to be wrong, and we could utilize our available capital resources sooner than we expect. We anticipate that we will require additional capital as we seek regulatory approval of our product candidates and if we choose to pursue in-licenses or acquisitions of other product candidates. If we receive regulatory approval for any of our product candidates, we expect to incur significant commercialization expenses related to product manufacturing, sales, marketing and distribution, depending on where we choose to commercialize.

Because of the numerous risks and uncertainties associated with research, development and commercialization of product candidates, we are unable to predict the timing or amount of increased expenses or when or if we will be able to achieve or maintain profitability. If we fail to become profitable or are unable to sustain profitability on a continuing basis, then we may be unable to continue our operations at planned levels and be forced to further reduce or terminate our operations. Our future funding requirements will depend on and could increase significantly as a result of many factors, including:

To the extent that we raise additional capital through the sale of private or public equity or convertible debt securities, the ownership interest of our stockholders may be materially diluted, and the terms of such securities could include liquidation or other preferences and anti-dilution protections that could adversely affect the rights of our common stockholders. Debt financing and preferred equity financing, if available, may involve agreements that include restrictive covenants limiting or restricting our ability to take specific actions, such as incurring additional debt, making capital expenditures or declaring dividends, that could adversely impact our ability to conduct our business. In addition, debt financing may involve significant cash payment obligations and specific financial ratios that may restrict our ability to operate our business would result in fixed payment obligations.

If we raise additional funds through collaborations, strategic partnerships and alliances or marketing, distribution 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 grant licenses on terms that may not be favorable to us. If we are unable to raise additional funds through equity or debt financings or other arrangements when needed, we may be required to delay, limit, reduce or terminate our research, 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, obtain capital through arrangements with collaborators on terms unfavorable to us or pursue merger or acquisition strategies, all of which could adversely affect the holdings or the rights of our stockholders.

The amounts reported for property leases represent future minimum lease payments under non-cancelable operating leases in effect as of March 31, 2024. The minimum lease payments do not include common area maintenance charges or real estate taxes.

The contractual obligations table does not include any potential future milestone payments or royalty payments we may be required to make under our existing license agreements due to the uncertainty of the occurrence of the events requiring payment under those agreements.

Our condensed consolidated financial statements are prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States (GAAP). The preparation of our condensed consolidated financial statements and related disclosures requires us to make estimates and judgments that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, costs and expenses. We base our estimates on historical experience, known trends and events and various other factors that we believe are reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. We evaluate our estimates and assumptions on an ongoing basis. Our actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions.

Our critical accounting policies are described under the heading “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations— Critical Accounting Policies and Use of Estimates” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023, which was filed with the SEC on March 12, 2024. During the three months ended March 31, 2024, there were no material changes to our critical accounting policies from those previously disclosed.

A description of recently issued accounting pronouncements that may potentially impact our financial position and results of operations is disclosed in Note 2 to our condensed consolidated financial statements appearing elsewhere in this Quarterly Report.

The Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012 (the JOBS Act) permits an “emerging growth company” such as us to take advantage of an extended transition period to comply with new or revised accounting standards applicable to public companies until those standards would otherwise apply to private companies. We have elected to not “opt out” of this provision and, as a result, we will adopt new or revised accounting standards at the time private companies adopt the new or revised accounting 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.

We are also a “smaller reporting company” meaning that the market value of our stock held by non-affiliates is less than $700 million and our annual revenue was less than $100 million during the most recently completed fiscal year. We may 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 was 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 and, similar to emerging growth companies, smaller reporting companies have reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation.

We are a smaller reporting company as defined by Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act and are not required to provide the information required under this item.

Our management, with the participation of our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, evaluated the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rule 13a-15(e) of the Exchange Act) as of the end of the period covered by this Quarterly Report. Based on that evaluation, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures were effective as of March 31, 2024.

There were no changes in our internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) of the Exchange Act) that occurred during the period covered by this Quarterly Report that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

The information required with respect to this item can be found under “Legal Proceedings” in Note 11 to our condensed financial statements included elsewhere in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and is incorporated by reference into this Item 1. From time to time, we may become involved in legal proceedings arising in the ordinary course of our business, the resolution of which we do not anticipate would have, individually or in the aggregate, a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

None.

On February 3, 2020, we completed the IPO of our common stock pursuant to which we issued and sold 12,174,263 shares of our common stock, including the exercise in full by the underwriters of their option to purchase up to 1,587,947 additional shares of common stock, at a public offering price of $19.00 per share.

The offer and sale of all of the shares of our common stock in our IPO were registered under the Securities Act pursuant to a registration statement on Form S-1, as amended (File No. 333-235789), which was declared effective by the SEC on January 29, 2020. J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, Jefferies LLC, Cowen and Company, LLC and Canaccord Genuity LLC acted as joint book-running managers of the offering and as representatives of the underwriters.

We received aggregate gross proceeds from our IPO of $231.3 million, or aggregate net proceeds of $212.1 million after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and other offering costs. None of the underwriting discounts and commissions or offering expenses were incurred or paid, directly or indirectly, to any of our directors or officers or their associates or to persons owning 10% or more of our common stock or to any of our affiliates.

None.

Not applicable.

From time to time, our officers (as defined in Rule 16a–1(f)) and directors may enter into Rule 10b5-1 or non-Rule 10b5-1 trading arrangements (as each such term is defined in Item 408 of Regulation S-K). During the three months ended March 31, 2024, our officers and directors took the following actions with respect to 10b5-1 trading arrangements:

On March 28, 2024, Fang Ni, our Chief Business Officer and Chief Financial Officer, entered into a trading arrangement intended to satisfy the affirmative defense of Rule 10b5-1(c) (the Ni 10b5-1 Plan). The Ni 10b5-1 Plan is scheduled to commence on June 29, 2024, and will run through June 29, 2025. The aggregate maximum number of shares of common stock that may be sold pursuant to the Ni 10b5-1 Plan is up to 40,470 shares.

On March 27, 2024, Brent Hatzis-Schoch, our Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel, entered into a trading arrangement intended to satisfy the affirmative defense of Rule 10b5-1(c) (the Hatzis-Schoch 10b5-1 Plan). The Hatzis-Schoch 10b5-1 Plan is scheduled to commence on July 1, 2024, and will run through July 1, 2025. The aggregate maximum number of shares of common stock that may be sold pursuant to the Hatzis-Schoch 10b5-1 Plan is up to 72,400 shares.