Skip to main content

Tempest Therapeutics Inc

For the period ended Mar 31, 2024. Filed May 9, 2024.

View on SEC.gov

About this filing

A company's report for each of its first three quarters. The financial statements are not audited. It shows how the business has moved since the last annual report, and what management says changed.

Mar 31, 2024 · Filed May 9, 2024

TPST$0.38+1.4%Stored close · as of Nov 6, 2026

Extracted filing text, with the paragraph anchors used by the comparison.

See the whole filing, with its images and exhibits

Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements

Notes to the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements

(Amounts are in thousands, except share and per share data)

  1. ORGANIZATION AND DESCRIPTION OF THE BUSINESS

Description of Business

Tempest Therapeutics, Inc. (“Tempest” or the “Company”) is a clinical-stage oncology company advancing small molecules that combine both tumor-targeted and immune-mediated mechanisms with the potential to treat a wide range of tumors. The Company’s two novel clinical programs are TPST-1120 and TPST-1495, antagonists of PPARα and EP2/EP4, respectively. Both programs are advancing through clinical trials designed to study the agents as monotherapies and in combination with other approved agents. Tempest is also developing other product candidates currently in its Discovery Research portfolio. Tempest is headquartered in Brisbane, California.

Liquidity and Management Plans

The accompanying financial statements have been prepared assuming the Company will continue as a going concern. The Company has incurred operating losses since inception. As of March 31, 2024, the Company had cash and cash equivalents of $32.3 million. The Company has not yet generated product sales and as a result has experienced operating losses since inception. The Company expects to incur additional losses in the future to conduct research and development and will need to raise additional capital to continue operations. We intend to raise such capital through the issuance of additional debt or equity including in connection with potential merger opportunities, or through business development activities. The Company’s ability to continue as a going concern is dependent upon its ability to control its variable spend over the next 12 months, while we plan to secure sources of financing and ultimately attain profitable operations. If the Company are unable to obtain adequate capital, it could be forced to cease operations. Management believes that its existing cash and cash equivalents will be sufficient to fund the Company’s cash requirements for at least 12 months following the issuance of these financial statements.

ATM Program

On July 23, 2021, the Company entered into a sales agreement with Jefferies LLC, pursuant to which the Company may sell, from time to time at its sole discretion through Jefferies, as its sales agent, shares of its common stock having, up to an aggregate sales price of $100.0 million of its common stock through Jefferies (the “ATM Program”). Any shares of its common stock sold will be issued pursuant to the Company's shelf registration statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-257990). The Company will pay Jefferies a commission up to 3.0% of the gross sales proceeds of any shares of its common stock sold through Jefferies under the ATM Program and also has provided Jefferies with indemnification and contribution rights. As of March 31, 2024, the Company has sold an aggregate of 9,017,110 shares of its common stock for net proceeds of approximately $41.5 million, after deducting commissions and offering expenses pursuant to the ATM Program. During the three months ended March 31, 2024, we sold an aggregate of 56,288 shares of its common stock for net proceeds of approximately $0.3 million, after deducting commissions and expenses. As of March 31, 2024, approximately $57.3 million remained available for sale under the ATM Program.

PIPE Financing

On April 29, 2022, the Company completed a private investment in public equity (“PIPE”) financing from the sale of 3,149,912 shares of its common stock at a price per share of $2.36 and, and in lieu of shares of common stock, pre-funded warrants to purchase up to 3,206,020 shares of its common stock at a price per pre-funded warrant of $2.359 to EcoR1 Capital, LLC and Versant Venture Capital (the “PIPE Investors”). Net proceeds from the PIPE financings totaled approximately $14.5 million, after deducting offering expenses. The Company entered into a registration rights agreement with the PIPE Investors pursuant towhich the Company filed a registration statement with the SEC registering the resale of the 3,149,912 shares common stock and the 3,206,020 shares of common stock underlying the pre-funded warrants issued in the PIPE financing. As of March 31, 2024, all pre-funded warrants had been exercised.

  1. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Significant Accounting Policies—The Company’s significant accounting policies are described in Note 2, “Summary of Significant Accounting Policies,” in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) on March 19, 2024. There have been no material changes to the significant accounting policies during the period ended March 31, 2024.

Basis of Presentation—The unaudited interim Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements have been prepared pursuant to the rules and regulations of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Accordingly, certain information and footnote disclosures normally included in annual financial statements prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States (“GAAP”) have been omitted. These unaudited interim Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements should be read in conjunction with the Company’s audited Consolidated Financial Statements and notes included in the company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023.

The Company has prepared the accompanying Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements on the same basis as the audited financial statements, and the unaudited interim financial statements include, in the Company’s opinion, all adjustments, consisting only of normal recurring adjustments that the Company considers necessary for a fair presentation of its financial position and results of operations for these periods.

Use of Estimates—The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of expenses during the reporting period. On an ongoing basis, the Company evaluates its estimates and assumptions, including those related to research and development accruals, recoverability of long-lived assets, right-of-use assets, lease obligations, stock-based compensation and income taxes uncertainties and valuation allowances. Management bases its estimates on historical experience and on various other assumptions that are believed to be 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. Actual results may differ from those estimates.

  1. FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS

The following tables present the Company’s fair value hierarchy for assets measured at fair value on a recurring basis:

Level 1Level 2Level 3Total
Cash and cash equivalents$32,326$—$—$32,326
Total$32,326$—$—$32,326
Level 1Level 2Level 3Total
Cash and cash equivalents$39,230$—$—$39,230
Total$39,230$—$—$39,230
  1. BALANCE SHEET COMPONENTS

Prepaid expenses and other current assets consist of the following:

March 31,2024December 31,2023
Prepaid expenses$585$700
Prepaid research and development costs117337
Other current assets46996
Total$1,171$1,133

Property and equipment, net, consists of the following:

March 31,2024December 31,2023
Computer equipment and software$173$169
Furniture and fixtures328328
Lab equipment1,2971,133
Leasehold improvements235235
Property and equipment2,0331,865
Less accumulated depreciation(1,113)(1,025)
Property and equipment—net$920$840

Depreciation expense for the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023 were $88 and $125, respectively.

Accrued liabilities consist of the following:

March 31,2024December 31,2023
Accrued other liabilities$873$626
Accrued clinical trial liability6511,047
Total$1,524$1,673
  1. COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

Facilities Lease Agreements

In January 2022, the Company entered into a new 8-year office lease agreement for a 20,116 square feet facility in Brisbane, California (“Brisbane Lease”). The lease commenced in December 2022.

As of March 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, the balance of the operating lease right of use assets were $9,513 and $9,952, respectively, and the related operating lease liability were $9,773 and $10,112, respectively, as shown in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets.

Rent expense was $685 and $710 for thethree months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively.

As of March 31, 2024, future minimum lease payments under the Company's operating lease liabilities were as follows:

Year EndingTotal Commitment
2024 (excluding three months ended March 31, 2024)$1,446
20251,861
20261,926
20271,994
2028 and beyond6,410
Total minimum lease payments13,637
Less: imputed interest(3,864)
Present value of operating lease obligations9,773
Less: current portion(858)
Noncurrent operating lease obligations$8,915

Related to this Brisbane Lease agreement, the Company entered into a letter of credit with a bank to deposit $388 in a separate account that is classified as restricted cash to serve as security rent deposit. This amount is included in other noncurrent assets in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets as of March 31, 2024.

  1. LOAN PAYABLE

On January 15, 2021, the Company entered into a loan agreement with Oxford Finance LLC (the “Lender”) to borrow a term loan amount of $35,000 to be funded inthree tranches. Tranche A of $15,000 was wired to the Company on January 15, 2021. Tranche B of $10,000 expired on March 31, 2022. Tranche C of $10,000 is available at the Lender’s option.

On December 23, 2022, the Company entered into a First Amendment to the loan agreement. The amendment modified the agreement as follows: (i) each of the Company and Millendo Therapeutics US, Inc., a Delaware corporation and wholly owned subsidiary of the Company (“Millendo”), were joined as co-borrowers under the Loan Agreement; (ii)the interest-only repayment period was extended through December 31, 2023 (which interest-only period may be further extended through June 30, 2024 under certain circumstances); and (iii) a security interest in all of the assets of the Company, TempestTx and Millendo, including any intellectual property, was granted to the Lender. In addition, the Lender permitted a one-time prepayment in the amount of $5.0 million, which the Company paid on December 23, 2022.

Following the amendment to the loan agreement, the term loan matures on August 1, 2025 and has an annual floating interest rate of 7.15% which is an Index Rate plus 7.10%. Index Rate is the greater of (i) 1-Month CME Term SOFR or (ii)0.05%. In the fourth quarter of 2023, the Company achieved the circumstances necessary to extend the interest-only repayment period through June 30, 2024. Monthly principal payments of $733 are required to begin on July 1, 2024. Related to this borrowing, the Company recorded loan discounts totaling $898 and paid $95 of debt issuance costs. These amounts would be amortized as additional interest expense over the life of the loan. As of March 31, 2024, the balance of the loan payable (net of debt issuance costs) was $10.6 million. The carrying value of the loan approximates fair value (Level 2).

For the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023, total interest expense was $368 and $344, respectively.

  1. STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY

Common Stock

As of March 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, the Company was authorized to issue 100,000,000 shares of common stock and 5,000,000 shares of preferred stock, each with a par value of $0.001 per share. Of the common stock shares authorized,22,217,265 and 22,045,255 were issued and outstanding at March 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, respectively. There were no shares subject to repurchase due to remaining vesting requirements. Common stockholders are entitled to dividends as declared by the Company’s board of directors (the “Board of Directors”), subject to rights of holders of all classes of stock outstanding having priority rights as to dividends. There wasno preferred stock issued nor outstanding as of March 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023.

Common stockholders are entitled to dividends as declared by the Board of Directors, subject to rights of holders of all classes of stock outstanding having priority rights as to dividends. There have been no dividends declared to date. The holders of each share of common stock are entitled to one vote. Except for effecting or validating certain specific actions intended to protect the preferred stockholders, the holders of common stock vote together with preferred stockholders and have the right to elect one member of the Board of Directors.

Rights Plan

On October 10, 2023, the Board of Directors adopted a limited duration stockholder rights plan (the “Rights Plan”), effective immediately, and declared a dividend of one preferred share purchase right (a “Right”) for each outstanding share of the common stock, par value $0.001 per share (the “Common Shares”), of the Company. The dividend was effective as of October 23, 2023 (the “Record Date”) with respect to stockholders of record on that date. The Rights will also attach to new Common Shares issued after the Record Date. Each Right entitles the registered holder to purchase from the Company oneone-thousandth of a share of Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock, par value $0.001 per share, (the “Preferred Shares”), of the Company at a price of $25.00 per one one-thousandth of a Preferred Share, subject to adjustment. The descriptions and terms of the Rights are set forth in a Rights Agreement, dated as of October 10, 2023 (the “Rights Agreement”), between the Company and Computershare Trust Company, NA. The Rights will expire on October 10, 2024, or, if the Company’s stockholders approve the Rights Plan, on October 10, 2026, unless the Rights are earlier redeemed or exchanged by the Company.

  1. STOCK-BASED COMPENSATION

Equity Plans

The Board of Directors adopted the Amended and Restated 2023 Equity Incentive Plan (the “2023 Plan”) on April 30, 2023, subject to approval by the Company’s stockholders. On June 15, 2023, the Company’s stockholders approved the 2023 Plan, which amended and restated the A&R 2019 Plan and will be a successor to, and replacement of, the A&R 2019 Plan. The number of shares of the Company's common stock reserved for issuance under the 2023 Plan will automatically increase on January 1st of each year, for a period of 10 years, from January 1, 2024 continuing through January 1, 2033, by 4% of the total number of shares of the Company's common stock outstanding on December 31st of the preceding calendar year, or a lesser number of shares as may be determined by the Board of Directors. Accordingly, on January 1, 2024, the common stock reserved for issuance was increased by 881,810 shares. As of March 31, 2024, there were 566,620 shares available for future grant under the 2023 Plan.

The 2023 Plan allows the Company to grant stock awards to employees, directors and consultants of the Company, including incentive stock options (“ISOs”), non-qualified stock options (“NSOs”), stock appreciation rights, restricted stock awards, restricted stock unit awards and other stock awards.

The Board of Directors adopted the 2023 Inducement Plan (“2023 Inducement Plan”) on June 21, 2023, pursuant to which the Company reserved 1,150,000 shares of its common stock to be used exclusively for grants of awards to individuals who were not previously employees or directors of the Company, as an inducement material to the individual’s entry into employment with the Company within the meaning of Rule 5635(c)(4) of the Nasdaq Listing Rules. The 2023 Inducement Plan was approved by the Board of Directors without stockholder approval in accordance with such rule. As of March 31, 2024, there were 1,092,350 shares available for future grant under the 2023 Inducement Plan.

The Company measures employee and non-employee stock-based awards at grant date fair value and records compensation expense on a straight-line basis over the vesting period of the award.

Employee Stock Ownership Plan

The Millendo Board adopted the 2019 Employee Stock Purchase Plan on April 29, 2019, which became effective upon stockholder approval on June 11, 2019. On June 17, 2022, the Company’s stockholders approved the Amended and Restated 2019 Employee Stock Purchase Plan (the “2019 ESPP”). The 2019 ESPP enables employees to purchase shares of the Company's common stock through offerings of rights to purchase the Company's common stock to all eligible employees.

The 2019 ESPP provides that the number of shares of common stock reserved for issuance under the 2019 ESPP will automatically increase on January 1, 2023 and continuing through (and including) January 1, 2029, by the lesser of 1.5% of the total number of shares of Common Stock outstanding on December 31st of the preceding calendar year, (ii)500,000 shares of Common Stock, or (iii) such lesser number of shares of Common Stock as determined by the Board of Directors (which may be zero). On January 1, 2024, the common stock reserved for issuance was increased by 330,678 shares.

As of March 31, 2024,528,791 shares of common stock remained available for future issuance under the 2019 ESPP. During the three months ended March 31, 2024,34,023 shares of common stock were issued under the 2019 ESPP.

Stock Options

Options to purchase the Company’s common stock may be granted at a price not less than the fair market value in the case of both NSOs and ISOs, except for an options holder who owns more than 10% of the voting power of all classes of stock of the Company, in which case the exercise price shall be no less than 110% of the fair market value per share on the grant date. Stock options granted under the Plans generally vest over four years and expire no later than ten (10) years from the date of grant. Vested options can be exercised at any time.

The following shows the stock option activities for the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023:

TotalOptionsOutstandingWeighted-AverageExercisePrice
Balance—December 31, 20233,554,112$7.28
Granted664,7754.62
Exercised(81,699)1.91
Cancelled and forfeited(198,742)8.31
Balance—March 31, 20243,938,4466.68
Balance—December 31, 20221,553,041$6.66
Granted623,5501.23
Exercised——
Cancelled and forfeited(29,180)3.59
Balance—March 31, 20232,147,4115.13

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

SharesWeightedAverageRemainingContractualLife (In Years)WeightedAverageExercise PriceAggregateIntrinsic Value
Options outstanding3,938,4468.86$6.68$2,522,827
Vested and expected to vest3,938,4468.86$6.68$2,522,827
Exercisable1,028,5827.63$5.58$1,167,566

During the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023, the Company granted employees and non-employees stock options to purchase 664,775 and 623,550 shares of common stock, respectively, with a weighted-average grant date fair value of $3.88 and $1.03 per share, respectively. As of March 31, 2024 and 2023, total unrecognized compensation costs related to unvested employee stock options were $15,833 and $4,140, respectively. These costs are expected to be recognized over a weighted-average period of approximately 3.3 years and 2.5 years, respectively.

The Company estimated the fair value of stock options using the Black-Scholes option pricing valuation model. The fair value of employee and non-employee stock options is being amortized on the straight-line basis over the requisite service period of the awards. The fair value of employee and non-employee stock options was estimated using the following assumptions for the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023:

20242023
Expected term (in years)6.0 - 6.16.0
Expected volatility109%109%
Risk-free interest rate3.8% - 3.9%3.9%
Dividends—%—%

Expected Term—The expected term of options granted represents the period of time that the options are expected to be outstanding. Due to the lack of historical exercise history, the expected term of the Company’s employee stock options has been determined utilizing the simplified method for awards that qualify as plain-vanilla options.

Expected Volatility—The expected stock price volatility assumption was determined by examining the historical volatilities for industry peers, as the Company did not have any trading history for the Company’s common stock. The Company will continue to analyze the historical stock price volatility and expected term assumption as more historical data for the Company’s common stock becomes available.

Risk-Free Interest Rate—The risk-free interest rate assumption is based on the U.S. Treasury instruments whose term was consistent with the expected term of the Company’s stock options.

Dividends—The Company has not paid any cash dividends on common stock since inception and does not anticipate paying any dividends in the foreseeable future. Consequently, an expected dividend yield of zero was used.

Stock-Based Compensation Expense

The following table summarizes the components of stock-based compensation expense recognized in the Company’s condensed consolidated statement of operations for the three months ended March 31, 2024:

Three Months Ended March 31,
20242023
Research and development$546$146
General and administrative772300
Total$1,318$446
  1. RETIREMENT PLAN

The Company participates in a qualified 401(k) Plan sponsored by its professional service organization. The retirement plan is a defined contribution plan covering eligible employees. Participants may contribute a portion of their annual compensation limited to a maximum annual amount set by the Internal Revenue Service. During the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023, the Company contributed $51 and $57 to the 401(k) Plan, respectively.

  1. NET LOSS PER SHARE

The following table sets forth the computation of the Company’s basis in diluted net loss per share for the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023 (in thousands, except share and per share amounts):

Three Months Ended March 31,
20242023
Numerator:
Net loss$(7,904)$(7,636)
Denominator:
Weighted-average common shares outstanding22,234,22513,763,173
Weighted-average shares used in computing basic and diluted net loss per share22,234,22513,763,173
Net loss per share attributable to common stockholders—basic and diluted$(0.36)$(0.55)

As of March 31, 2024 and 2023, the Company’s potentially dilutive securities included unvested stock warrants and stock options, which have been excluded from the computation of diluted net loss per share attributable to common stockholders as the effect would be anti-dilutive. The issuance of pre-funded warrants and vested RSUs have been included in the computation of basic and diluted net loss per share attributable to common stockholders. Based on the amounts outstanding as of March 31, 2024 and 2023, the Company excluded the following potential common shares from the computation of diluted net loss per share attributable to common stockholders because including them would have had an anti-dilutive effect:

As of March 31,
20242023
Options to purchase common stock3,938,4462,147,411
Common stock warrants6,0366,036
Total3,944,4822,153,447
ContentsView on SEC.gov

The text of this filing, as the company filed it with the SEC, without its images or exhibits. This is not investment advice.