Aardvark Therapeutics, Inc.

We are responsible for maintaining disclosure controls and procedures, as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Exchange Act. Disclosure controls and procedures are controls and other procedures designed to ensure that the 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. Disclosure controls and procedures include, without limitation, controls and procedures designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by us in the reports that we file or submit under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to our management, including our principal executive officer and our principal financial officer, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.

Based on our management’s evaluation (with the participation of our principal executive officer and our principal financial officer) of our disclosure controls and procedures as required by Rule 13a-15 under the Exchange Act and the material weakness previously identified and further discussed below, our principal executive officer and our principal financial officer have concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures were not effective at the reasonable level of assurance as of December 31, 2024, the end of the period covered by this Annual Report.

Material Weakness in Internal Control over Financial Reporting

We identified deficiencies in our internal controls over financial reporting related to a lack of controls in the financial reporting process, including a lack of segregation of duties and the documentation and design of formalized processes and procedures, and a material weakness related to these deficiencies existed at December 31, 2024.

The material weakness in our internal controls over financial reporting relates to a lack of controls in the financial reporting process, including a lack of segregation of duties and design and documentation of formalized processes and procedures. Specifically, we lack a sufficient number of qualified resources to ensure adequate oversight and accountability over the performance of controls, including the retention of control evidence, while maintaining appropriate segregation of duties. Without such resources, we did not design and currently do not maintain effective general controls over information systems that support the financial reporting process. This material weakness could result in a misstatement of substantially all of our accounts or disclosures that would result in a material misstatement of our annual or interim consolidated financial statements that would not be prevented or detected.

Remediation Plan for the Material Weakness

To remediate the deficiencies described above and prevent similar deficiencies in the future, in late 2024, we began to take steps to address the material weakness through our remediation plan, which includes the hiring of additional experienced accounting and financial reporting personnel, formalizing the design and implementation of internal controls over the financial reporting process, including general controls over information systems, and implementing a new enterprise resource planning system.

Although we have begun the implementation of these remediation efforts, the material weakness will not be considered fully remediated until the applicable remedial controls operate for a sufficient period of time and management has concluded, through testing, that these controls are operating effectively. Any actions we have taken or may take to remediate these deficiencies are subject to continued management review supported by testing, as well as oversight by the Audit Committee of our board of directors.

We cannot assure you that the measures we have taken to date, and are continuing to implement, will be sufficient to remediate the material weaknesses we have identified or avoid potential future material weaknesses. If the steps we take do not correct the material weaknesses in a timely manner, we will be unable to conclude that we maintain effective internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, there could continue to be a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of our consolidated financial statements would not be prevented or detected on a timely basis.

Management’s Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting

This Annual Report does not include a report of management’s assessment regarding internal control over financial reporting or an attestation report of the Company’s registered public accounting firm due to a transition period established by rules of the SEC for newly public companies.

Attestation Report of the Registered Public Accounting Firm

This Annual Report does not include an attestation report of our registered public accounting firm due to an exemption provided by the JOBS Act for “emerging growth companies.”

Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting

There were no other changes to our internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the quarter ended December 31, 2024 that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.