Prelude Therapeutics Inc

1. Background

Prelude Therapeutics Incorporated (the “Company”) is a clinical-stage fully integrated oncology company built on a foundation of drug discovery excellence to deliver novel precision cancer medicines to underserved patients. Since beginning operations in 2016, the Company has devoted substantially all its efforts to research and development, conducting preclinical and clinical studies, recruiting management and technical staff, administration, and raising capital.

2. Risks and liquidity

The Company faces a number of risks common to early-stage companies in the biotechnology industry. Principal among these risks are the uncertainties in the development process, development of the same or similar technological innovations by competitors, protection of proprietary technology, dependence on key personnel, compliance with government regulations and approval requirements, and the need to obtain additional financing to fund operations. Product candidates currently under development will require significant additional 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 infrastructure, and extensive compliance-reporting capabilities. There can be no assurance that the Company’s research and development will be successfully completed, adequate protection for the Company’s technology will be obtained, any products developed will obtain necessary government regulatory approval, or any approved products will be commercially viable. The Company operates in an environment of rapid change in technology and substantial competition from pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.

Since its inception, the Company has incurred operating losses and had an accumulated deficit of$487.8 million at March 31, 2024. The Company has no revenue to-date and devotes its efforts to research and development. The Company anticipates incurring additional losses until such time, if ever, that it can generate significant sales of its product candidates currently in development.

The Company believes its cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities as of March 31, 2024 will be sufficient to fund its operating expenses and capital expenditure requirements for at least the next twelve months from the filing date of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q.

To fund its operating expenses and capital expenditure requirements after that date, the Company plans to seek additional funding through public or private equity offerings, debt financings, collaborations, strategic alliances and 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 strategic alliances or other arrangements on favorable terms, or at all. 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, it could be required to delay, reduce or eliminate research and development programs, product portfolio expansion or future commercialization efforts, which could adversely affect its business prospects.

3. Summary of significant accounting policies

The summary of significant accounting policies included in the Company’s financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2023 can be found in “Note 3. Summary of significant accounting policies” of the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on February 15, 2024. Those policies have not materially changed.

Basis of presentation

The accompanying unaudited interim financial statements have been prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) for interim financial information, the instructions to Form 10-Q and Article 10 of Regulation S-X. They do not include all of the information and notes required by GAAP for complete financial statements. In the opinion of management, all adjustments (consisting of normal recurring accruals) considered necessary for a fair presentation have been included. Operating results for the three months ended March 31, 2024 are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for the year ending December 31, 2024. The accompanying unaudited interim financial statements should be read in conjunction with the annual audited financial statements and related notes as of and for the year ended December 31, 2023 found in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on February 15, 2024. Any reference in these notes to applicable guidance is meant to refer to GAAP as found in the Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) and Accounting Standards Updates (“ASU”) of the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”).

Use of estimates

The preparation of the unaudited interim financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and contingent liabilities at the date of the unaudited interim financial statements and the reported amounts of expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

Estimates and assumptions are periodically reviewed, and the effects of the revisions are reflected in the accompanying unaudited interim financial statements in the period they are determined to be necessary. The most significant estimate relates to accrued clinical trial expenses.

Income taxes

Based upon the historical and anticipated future losses, management has determined that the deferred tax assets generated by net operating losses and research and development credits do not meet the more likely than not threshold for realizability. Accordingly, a full valuation allowance has been recorded against the Company’s net deferred tax assets as of March 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023.

Cash, Cash Equivalents and Restricted cash

The Company’s cash equivalents include short-term highly liquid investments with an original maturity of 90 days or less when purchased and are carried at fair value in the accompanying balance sheets.

Restricted cash consists of a letter of credit for the benefit of the landlord in connection with the Company’s Chestnut Run Lease. See Note 8 for further details.

The following table provides a reconciliation of cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash reported within the balance sheet that total to the amounts shown in the statement of cash flows:

Marketable Securities

The Company’s marketable securities consist of investments in corporate debt securities, United States (“U.S.”) government debt securities, and agency securities that are classified as available-for-sale. The securities are carried at fair value with the unrealized gains and losses, net of tax, included in accumulated other comprehensive loss, a component of stockholders’ equity. Realized gains and losses as well as credit losses, if any, on marketable securities are included in the Company’s statements of operations. The Company classifies marketable securities that are available for use in current operations as current assets on the balance sheets.

Net Loss Per Share

Basic net loss per share of common stock is computed by dividing net loss by the weighted-average number of shares of common stock outstanding during each period, including pre-funded warrants to purchase shares of common stock. The weighted-average number of shares of common stock outstanding used in the basic net loss per share calculation does not include unvested restricted stock awards as these instruments are considered contingently issuable shares until they vest. Diluted net loss per share of common stock includes the effect, if any, from the potential exercise of securities, such as stock options, and the effect from unvested restricted stock awards and restricted stock units which would result in the issuance of incremental shares of common stock. For diluted net loss per share, the weighted-average number of shares of common stock is the same for basic net loss per share due to the fact that when a net loss exists, dilutive securities are not included in the calculation as the impact is anti-dilutive. The Company’s unvested restricted stock awards entitle the holder to participate in dividends and earnings of the Company, and, if the Company were to recognize net income, it would have to use the two-class method to calculate earnings per share. The two-class method is not applicable during periods with a net loss, as the holders of the unvested restricted stock awards have no obligation to fund losses.

The following potentially dilutive securities have been excluded from the computation of diluted weighted-average shares of common stock outstanding, as they would be anti-dilutive:

Amounts in the above table reflect the common stock equivalents.

Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements

Emerging Growth Company Status

The Company is an emerging growth company, as defined in the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012 (the “JOBS Act”). Under the JOBS Act, emerging growth companies can delay adopting new or revised accounting standards issued subsequent to the enactment of the JOBS Act, until such time as those standards apply to private companies. The Company has elected to use this extended transition period for complying with new or revised accounting standards that have different effective dates for public and private companies until the earlier of the date that it (i) is no longer an emerging growth company or (ii) affirmatively and irrevocably opts out of the extended transition period provided in the JOBS Act. As a result, these unaudited interim financial statements may not be comparable to companies that comply with the new or revised accounting pronouncements as of public company effective dates.

Accounting guidance not yet adopted

In November 2023, the Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") issued Accounting Standards Update ("ASU"), 2023-07, Segment Reporting (Topic 280) – Improvements to Reportable Segment Disclosures. This ASU expands segment disclosures by requiring disclosure of significant segment expenses that are regularly provided to the chief operating decision maker and included within each reported measure of segment profit or loss, an amount for other segment items and a description of its composition, and interim disclosures of a reportable segment’s profit or loss and assets. The disclosures required under ASU 2023-07 are also required for public entities with a single reportable segment. The amendments in this ASU are effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2023 and interim periods within fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2024. Early adoption is permitted. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of this standard but does not expect that it will have a material impact on the financial statements and related disclosures.

In December 2023, the FASB issued ASU 2023-09, Income Taxes - Improvements to Income Tax Disclosures. ASU 2023-09 requires enhanced income tax disclosures related to the rate reconciliation and income taxes paid information. For public business entities, the amendments in this ASU are effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2024 with early adoption permitted. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of this standard but does not expect that it will have a material impact on the financial statements and related disclosures.

4. Marketable Securities

The following provides detail of the Company's marketable securities.

The Company’s marketable securities generally have contractual maturity dates of 22 months or less. As of March 31, 2024, the Company had 44 securities with a total fair market value of $166.3 million in an unrealized loss position. The Company believes any unrealized losses associated with the decline in value of its securities is temporary and is primarily related to market factors. Furthermore, the Company believes it is more likely than not that it will be able to hold its marketable securities to maturity. Therefore, the Company anticipates a full recovery of the amortized cost basis of its marketable securities at maturity and an allowance for credit losses was not recognized.

5. Fair Value of Financial Instruments

Fair value is the price that could be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants. Fair value determination in accordance with applicable accounting guidance requires that a number of significant judgments be made. Additionally, fair value is used on a nonrecurring basis to evaluate assets for impairment or as required for disclosure purposes by applicable accounting guidance on disclosures about fair value of financial instruments. Depending on the nature of the assets and liabilities, various valuation techniques and assumptions are used when estimating fair value. The Company follows the provisions of ASC 820, Fair Value Measurement, for financial assets and liabilities measured on a recurring basis. The guidance requires fair value measurements be classified and disclosed in one of the following three categories:

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Level 1: Unadjusted quoted prices in active markets that are accessible at the measurement date for identical, unrestricted assets or liabilities.

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Level 2: Quoted prices in markets that are not active, or inputs which are observable, either directly or indirectly, for substantially the full term of the asset or liabilities.

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Level 3: Prices or valuation techniques that require inputs that are both significant to the fair value measurement and unobservable (i.e., supported by little or no market activity).

The following fair value hierarchy table presents information about the Company’s assets and liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis:

6. Accrued Expenses and Other Current Liabilities

Accrued expenses and other current liabilities consisted of the following:

7. Common Stock

The Company has two classes of common stock: “voting common stock” and “non-voting common stock.”The holders of the voting common stock are entitled to one vote for each share of voting common stock held at all meetings of stockholders. Except as otherwise required by law, the holders of non-voting common stock shall not be entitled to vote at any meetings of stockholders (or written actions in lieu of meetings) and the shares of non-voting common stock shall not be included in determining the number of shares voting or entitled to vote on any matter. Unless required by law, there shall be no cumulative voting. Any holder of non-voting common stock may elect to convert each share of non-voting common stock into one fully paid and non-assessable share of voting common stock at any time by providing written notice to the Company; provided that as a result of such conversion, such holder, together with its affiliates and any members of a Schedule 13(d) group with such holder, would not beneficially own in excess of 9.99% of the Company’s common stock immediately prior to and following such conversion, unless otherwise as expressly provided for in the Company’s restated certificate of incorporation. However, this ownership limitation may be increased (not to exceed 19.99%) or decreased to any other percentage designated by such holder of non-voting common stock upon 61 days’ notice to the Company.

Open Market Sales Agreement

In March 2023, in connection with filing a prospectus supplement to its Shelf Registration Statement, the Company entered into an Open Market Sales Agreement (the Sales Agreement) with Jefferies LLC, as the sales agent, pursuant to which the Company may offer and sell shares of its common stock having an aggregate offering amount of up to $75.0 million. The $75.0 million of common stock that may be issued and sold pursuant to the Sales Agreement is included in the $400.0 million of securities that may be issued and sold pursuant to the Shelf Registration Statement. The Company will pay Jefferies LLC a commission rate of up to 3.0% of the aggregate gross proceeds from the sale of any shares of common stock pursuant to the Sales Agreement. At March 31, 2024, there was $75.0 million remaining under the Sales Agreement.

2023 financings

During the second quarter of 2023, the Company sold 6,761,200 shares of its common stock which comprised of (i)5,312,978 shares of its voting common stock and (ii)1,448,222 shares of its non-voting common stock at a price of $5.75 per share and to certain investors in lieu of common stock, the Company sold pre-funded warrants to purchase 12,895,256 shares of voting common stock at a price of $5.7499 per pre-funded warrant, resulting in gross proceeds to the Company of $113.0 million. Of the voting common stock issued,2,264,456 shares were purchased by the Company’s underwriters in connection with a 30-day option at a price of $5.75 per share. Offering costs of $2.6 million, of which $0.3 million were previously paid and deferred, were recorded to additional paid-in capital in the accompanying balance sheets, resulting in net proceeds of $110.4 million.

During the fourth quarter of 2023, the Company sold in a private placement pre-funded warrants to purchase 7,936,759 shares of voting common stock at a price of $3.1499 per pre-funded warrant, resulting in net proceeds of $24.8 million after deducting offering costs of $0.2 million.

The purchase price per share of each pre-funded warrant represents the per share offering price for the common stock, minus the $0.0001 per share exercise price of such pre-funded warrant. As of March 31, 2024, no pre-funded warrants had been exercised.

The pre-funded warrants were classified as a component of permanent stockholders’ equity within additional paid-in capital and were recorded at the issuance date using a relative fair value allocation method. The pre-funded warrants are equity classified because they (i) are freestanding financial instruments that are legally detachable and separately exercisable from the equity instruments, (ii) are immediately exercisable, (iii) do not embody an obligation for the Company to repurchase its shares, (iv) permit the holders to receive a fixed number of shares of common stock upon exercise, (v) are indexed to the Company’s common stock and (vi) meet the equity classification criteria. In addition, such pre-funded warrants do not provide any guarantee of value or return.

The Company did not conduct any financings during the first quarter of 2024.

8. Commitments

Leases

The Company leases office and laboratory space in Wilmington, Delaware under a noncancelable lease (the “Chestnut Run Lease”). The premises include approximately 81,000 rentable square feet and has an initial term of 162 months with 3 five-year extension options and certain expansion rights. Neither the option to extend nor the expansion rights were recognized as part of the Company's measurement of the right-of-use ("ROU") asset and operating lease liability as of March 31, 2024. Under the terms of the Chestnut Run Lease, the landlord provided an allowance towards the cost of completing tenant improvements for the premises. The Company concluded that the improvements resulting from both the landlord's build-out and the tenant improvements are the landlord's assets for accounting purposes. Costs incurred by the Company related to tenant improvements in excess of the landlord's allowance were treated as prepaid rent and increased the right-of-use asset on the commencement date. The discount rate used to account for the

Company’soperating lease under ASC 842, Leases, was the Company’s estimated incremental borrowing rate on the commencement date of 15.0%. The Company's incremental borrowing rate reflects a collateralized borrowing with a similar term and amount as the Chestnut Run Lease.

Lease cost for the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023 was $1.1 million and $0.5 million, respectively. Cash paid for amounts included in the measurement of operating lease liabilities for thethree months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023 wasnil and $0.5 million, respectively.

The remaining lease term of the Chestnut Run Lease is 13.2 years and future minimum annual lease payments at March 31, 2024 are as follows:

The Company paid a security deposit for the Chestnut Run Lease in the form of a letter of credit of $4.0 million, which is included in the accompanying balance sheet as restricted cash as of March 31, 2024. The security deposit may be reduced to $0.5 million over time in accordance with the terms of the Chestnut Run Lease.

In connection with the Company’s expansion of operations in the State of Delaware, the Company was approved for a grant from the State of Delaware in 2021 that will provide up to $5.5 million in reimbursements over three years for the development of lab space in addition to increasing jobs in Delaware to meet specific targeted levels through 2023. During the third quarter of 2022, the Company was approved for an additional grant from the State of Delaware for the development of lab space in the amount of $1.0 million. In 2022, the Company received cash of $3.4 million from the grants for the development of lab space. The Company has met the minimum requirements stated in the grant agreement in order to not be required to pay back any portion of the $3.4 million disbursed. The Company deferred the recognition of these grant funds as they relate to capitalized costs and has classified them as long-term liabilities in the accompanying balance sheet. The Company recognizes the grant funds in other income as grant income over the length of the lease term. Additionally, if the Company leaves the State of Delaware within five years of the disbursement, the Company is required to return an amount equal to the amount of grant funds disbursed on a pro-rated basis.

Employment Agreements

The Company entered into employment agreements with key personnel providing for compensation and severance in certain circumstances, as defined in the respective employment agreements.

401(k) Defined Contribution Plan

The Company sponsors a 401(k) defined‑contribution plan covering all employees. Participants are permitted to contribute up to 100% of their eligible annual pretax compensation up to an established federal limit on aggregate participant contributions. The Company provides a match of a maximum amount of 3% of the participant’s compensation. For both the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023, the Company made matching contributions of$0.2 million.

Research Collaboration Agreement

In 2023, the Company entered into a multi-year, multi-program agreement with AbCellera Biologics Incorporated ("AbCellera") to jointly discover, develop, and commercialize novel oncology medicines for up to five programs. Under the terms of the agreement, AbCellera will lead manufacturing activities and the Company will lead clinical development and global commercialization, subject to AbCellera’s option to co-promote any resulting commercial products in the United States. If, at any point one party in the collaboration opts-out of future co-development cost sharing, that party will be entitled to a royalty from commercialization of the collaboration target, dependent on the proportion of their co-development contributions compared to the total development costs of a target as defined within the agreement. The Company concluded that the agreement with AbCellera will be accounted for under the scope of ASC 808, Collaborative Arrangements, as both parties will actively participate in joint operating activities and are exposed to significant risks and rewards. Under ASC 808, certain transactions between collaborative arrangement participants should follow the accounting for revenue under ASC 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers, when the collaborative arrangement participant is a customer for a distinct good or service. The Company determined that co-development arrangement as defined in our agreement with AbCellera does not meet the definition of a customer as defined by ASC 606. As a result, these activities will be accounted for as research and development costs. Costs related to the AbCellera collaboration were not material for the three months ended March 31, 2024.

Other Research and Development Arrangements

The Company enters into agreements with clinical research organizations ("CROs") to assist in the performance of research and development activities. Expenditures to CROs represent a significant cost in clinical development for the Company.

9. Stock-Based Compensation

The Company hastwo equity incentive plans: the 2016 Equity Incentive Plan, as amended, and the 2020 Equity Incentive Plan. New awards can only be granted under the 2020 Equity Incentive Plan (the “Plan”) and as of March 31, 2024,4,904,812 shares were available for future grants. The number of shares of the Company’s common stock that may be issued pursuant to rights granted under the Plan shall automatically increase on January 1st of each year and continuing forten years beginning on January 1, 2021, in an amount equal tofive percent of the total number of shares of the Company’s common stock outstanding on December 31st of the preceding calendar year, subject to the discretion of the Company's board of directors or compensation committee to determine a lesser number of shares shall be added for such year. On January 1, 2024,2,745,712 shares were added to the Plan. The Plan provides for the granting of common stock, incentive stock options, nonqualified stock options, restricted stock awards, restricted stock units and/or stock appreciation rights to employees, directors, and other persons, as determined by the Company’s board of directors. The Company’s stock options vest based on the terms in each award agreement, generally over four-year periods with 25% of options vesting afterone year and then monthly thereafter, and have a term often years.

The Company measures stock-based awards at their grant-date fair value and records compensation expense on a straight-line basis over the vesting period of the awards. The Company recorded stock-based compensation expense in the following expense categories in its accompanying statements of operations:

Stock Options

The following table summarizes stock option activity for the periods indicated:

At March 31, 2024, the aggregate intrinsic value of outstanding options and exercisable options was $6.4 million and $5.8 million, respectively.

The following table summarizes information about stock options outstanding at March 31, 2024 under the Plan:

The weighted-average grant date fair value of options granted was $3.40 and $5.12 per option for thethree months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively. The Company recorded stock-based compensation expense of $5.3 million and $5.9 million for the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively, related to stock options. As of March 31, 2024, the total unrecognized compensation expense related to unvested stock option awards was $40.9 million, which the Company expects to recognize over a weighted-average period of 2.31 years.

The fair value of each option was estimated on the date of grant using the weighted average assumptions in the table below:

Restricted Stock Awards and Units

The Company issues restricted stock awards (“RSA”) to employees that generally vest over afour-year period with 25% of awards vesting after one year and then monthly thereafter. Any unvested shares will be forfeited upon termination of services. The fair value of an RSA is equal to the fair market value price of the Company’s common stock on the date of grant. RSA expense is recorded on a straight-line basis over the vesting period.

The following table summarizes activity related to RSA stock-based payment awards:

The Company recorded stock-based compensation expense of $0.1 million and $0.2 million for thethree months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively, related to RSAs. As of March 31, 2024, there wasno unrecognized expense related to RSAs.

The Company granted restricted stock units (“RSU”) to employees that generally vest over afour-year period with 25% of awards vesting after one year and then quarterly thereafter. Any unvested units will be forfeited upon termination of services.

The following table summarizes activity related to RSU stock-based payment awards:

The Company recorded stock-based compensation expense of $0.1 million for both thethree months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023, related to RSUs. At March 31, 2024, the total unrecognized expense related to the RSUs was $0.5 million, which the Company expects to recognize over 1.87 years.

Employee Stock Purchase Plan

The Company has an Employee Stock Purchase Plan (the “ESPP”), which, as of March 31, 2024, had 2,168,434 shares of common stock reserved for future issuance. The number of shares of the Company’s common stock that may be issued pursuant to rights granted under the ESPP shall automatically increase on January 1st of each year and continuing forten years beginning in 2021, in an amount equal toone percent of the total number of shares of all classes of the Company’s common stock outstanding on December 31st of the preceding calendar year, subject to the discretion of the Company's board of directors or compensation committee to determine a lesser number of shares shall be added for such year. On January 1, 2024,549,142 shares were added to the ESPP.

Under the ESPP, eligible employees can purchase the Company’s common stock through accumulated payroll deductions at such times as are established by the Company's compensation committee. Eligible employees may purchase the Company’s common stock at 85% of the lower of the fair market value of the Company’s common stock on the first day of the offering period or on the last day of the offering period. Eligible employees may contribute up to 15% of their eligible compensation. Under the ESPP, a participant may not accrue rights to purchase more than $25,000 worth of the Company’s common stock for each calendar year in which such right is outstanding.

The ESPP is considered compensatory under the FASB stock compensation rules. Accordingly, share-based compensation expense is determined based on the option’s grant-date fair value as estimated by applying the Black Scholes option-pricing model and is recognized over the withholding period. The Company recognized share-based compensation expense of $0.1 million for each of thethree months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023, related to the ESPP.