Eliem Therapeutics Inc

Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures

Disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended) are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by us in the reports that we file or submit under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms, and that such information is accumulated and communicated to our management, including our executive chair (who is our principal executive officer and principal financial officer) or persons performing similar functions, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.

Based on our evaluation, the executive chair has concluded that the Company’s disclosure controls and procedures (as such term is defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended) were not effective as of December 31, 2023 because of the material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting described below.

Notwithstanding the material weaknesses, management believes the consolidated financial statements as included in Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K present fairly, in all material respects, the Company's financial condition, results of operations and cash flows as of and for the periods presented in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States.

Management’s Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

Management of the Company is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting. The Company’s internal control over financial reporting is a process designed under the supervision of our executive chair and our chief accounting officer to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of the Company’s financial statements for external reporting purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.

As of December 31, 2023, management conducted an assessment of the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting based on the framework established in “Internal Control—Integrated Framework” (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission. Based on this assessment, management has determined that the Company’s internal control over financial reporting was not effective as of December 31, 2023, because of the unremediated material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting described below.

A material weakness is a deficiency, or combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting, such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of the annual or interim consolidated financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis. The material weaknesses are as follows:

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We did not design or maintain an effective control environment. Specifically, we lacked a sufficient number of professionals with an appropriate level of accounting knowledge, training and experience to appropriately analyze, record and disclose accounting matters commensurate with accounting and reporting requirements. The lack of personnel contributed to the following material weakness.

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We did not design and maintain formal accounting policies, procedures and controls to achieve complete, accurate and timely financial accounting, reporting and disclosures, including segregation of duties and controls over the preparation and review of journal entries, account reconciliations and consolidation.

These material weaknesses did not result in a misstatement to the consolidated financial statements. However, these material weaknesses could result in a misstatement of our account balances or disclosures that would result in a material misstatement of our annual or interim consolidated financial statements that would not be prevented or detected.

Management’s report on internal control over financial reporting was not subject to attestation by the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm pursuant to the rules of the SEC that permit the Company to provide only management’s report.

Remediation Efforts to Address Material Weaknesses

Management has concluded that the material weaknesses in internal control over financial reporting were due to the fact that we were a private company with limited resources when the material weaknesses were identified and did not have the necessary business processes and related internal controls formally designed and implemented, coupled with the appropriate resources with the appropriate level of experience and technical expertise, to oversee our business processes and controls.

We have implemented measures designed to improve internal control over financial reporting to remediate the control deficiencies that led to our material weaknesses. The remediation measures we have taken include:

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Hired qualified personnel with appropriate expertise to perform specific functions and ensure adequate segregation of key duties and responsibilities;

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Designed and implemented improved policies, processes, and internal controls, including senior management review and audit committee oversight, to achieve complete, accurate and timely financial accounting, reporting and disclosures;

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Implemented and formalized policies, processes, and internal controls to identify and assess complex accounting transactions and other technical accounting and financial reporting matters; and

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Implemented financial systems to improve segregation of duties and controls and reliability of system generated data.

We believe we have made substantial progress toward achieving the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting and disclosure controls and procedures. The actions that have been taken are subject to continued review and testing by management as well as oversight by the audit committee of our board of directors. We will not be able to conclude whether the steps we have taken will fully remediate these material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting until we have completed our remediation efforts and subsequent evaluation of their effectiveness.

Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting

There have not been any changes in our internal control over financial reporting (as such term is defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) under the Exchange Act) during the quarter ended December 31, 2023 that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect our internal control over financial reporting.