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Wave Life Sciences Ltd.

For the period ended Dec 31, 2025. Filed Feb 26, 2026.

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About this filing

A company's yearly report to the SEC, with audited financial statements. It is the fullest account a company gives of its business, its finances and the risks it sees.

FY2025 · Filed Feb 26, 2026

WVE$3.48+3.4%Stored close · as of Nov 9, 2026

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

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Contents

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

  1. THE COMPANY

Organization

Wave Life Sciences Ltd. (together with its subsidiaries, “Wave” or the “Company”) is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on unlocking the broad potential of ribonucleic acid (“RNA”) medicines (also known as oligonucleotides), or those targeting RNA, to transform human health. Our RNA medicines platform, PRISM®, combines multiple modalities, chemistry innovation and deep insights into human genetics to deliver scientific breakthroughs that treat both rare and common disorders. Our toolkit of RNA-targeting modalities, including RNAi silencing (SpiNA) and RNA editing (AIMers), provides us with unmatched capabilities for designing and sustainably delivering candidates that optimally address disease biology. Our pipeline is focused on our obesity (WVE-007), alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (“AATD”) (WVE-006) and PNPLA3 I148M liver disease (WVE-008) programs, and also includes clinical programs for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (“DMD”) and Huntington’s disease (“HD”), as well as several preclinical programs utilizing our versatile RNA medicines platform.

The Company was incorporated in Singapore on July 23, 2012 and has its principal U.S. office in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The Company was incorporated with the purpose of combining two commonly held companies, Wave Life Sciences USA, Inc. (“Wave USA”), a Delaware corporation (formerly Ontorii, Inc.), and Wave Life Sciences Japan, Inc. (“Wave Japan”), a company organized under the laws of Japan (formerly Chiralgen., Ltd.), which occurred on September 13, 2012. On May 31, 2016, Wave Life Sciences Ireland Limited (“Wave Ireland”) was formed as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Wave Life Sciences Ltd. On April 3, 2017, Wave Life Sciences UK Limited (“Wave UK”) was formed as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Wave Life Sciences Ltd.

The Company’s primary activities have been developing and evolving PRISM to design, develop and commercialize RNA medicines, advancing the Company’s differentiated portfolio, building the Company’s research, development and manufacturing capabilities, advancing programs into the clinic, furthering clinical development of such clinical-stage programs, building the Company’s intellectual property, and assuring adequate capital to support these activities.

Liquidity

Since its inception, the Company has not generated any product revenue and has incurred recurring operating losses. To date, the Company has primarily funded its operations through private placements of debt and equity securities, public and other registered offerings of its equity securities and collaborations with third parties. Until the Company can generate significant revenue from product sales, if ever, the Company expects to continue to finance operations through a combination of public or private equity or debt financings or other sources, which may include upfront and milestone payments from collaborations with third parties. Adequate additional financing may not be available to the Company on acceptable terms, or at all. The inability to raise capital as and when needed would have a negative impact on the Company’s financial condition and ability to pursue its business strategy.

As of December 31, 2025, the Company had cash and cash equivalents of $602.1 million. The Company expects that its existing cash and cash equivalents will be sufficient to fund its operations for at least the next twelve months from the issuance date of these financial statements. The Company has based this expectation on the best information available, however the Company may use its available capital resources sooner than it currently expects. If the Company’s anticipated operating results are not achieved in future periods, planned expenditures may need to be further reduced in order to extend the time period over which the then-available resources would be able to fund the Company’s operations. In addition, the Company may elect to raise additional funds before it needs them if the conditions for raising capital are favorable due to market conditions or strategic considerations, even if the Company expects it has sufficient funds for its current or future operating plans.

Risks and Uncertainties

The Company is subject to risks common to companies in the biotechnology industry including, but not limited to, new technological innovations, protection of proprietary technology, maintaining internal manufacturing capabilities, dependence on key personnel, compliance with government regulations and the need to obtain additional financing. The Company’s therapeutic programs will require significant additional research and development efforts, including extensive preclinical and clinical testing and regulatory approval, prior to commercialization of any product candidates. 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 efforts will be successful, that adequate protection for the Company’s intellectual property will be obtained, that any products developed will obtain necessary government regulatory approval or that any approved products will be commercially viable. Even if the Company’s product development efforts are successful, it is uncertain when, if ever, the Company will generate significant revenue from product sales. The Company operates in an environment of rapid change in technology and substantial competition from pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.

Basis of Presentation

The Company has prepared the accompanying consolidated financial statements in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States (“U.S. GAAP”) and in U.S. dollars.

  1. SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Cash and Cash Equivalents

The Company considers all highly liquid securities with maturities of three months or less from the date of purchase to be cash equivalents. The Company's cash and cash equivalents are comprised of funds held in checking and money market accounts.

Principles of Consolidation

The Company’s consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and its wholly-owned subsidiaries. All intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.

Use of Estimates

The Company’s consolidated financial statements are prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP. The preparation of the Company’s financial statements and related disclosures requires the Company to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amount of assets, liabilities, revenue, costs and expenses and related disclosures. Management considers many factors in selecting appropriate financial accounting policies and in developing the estimates and assumptions that are used in the preparation of the financial statements. Management must apply significant judgment in this process. The Company believes that its revenue recognition policy, particularly (a) assessing the number of performance obligations; (b) determining the transaction price; (c) allocating the transaction price to the performance obligations in the contract; and (d) determining the pattern over which performance obligations are satisfied, including estimates to complete performance obligations, and the assumptions and estimates used in the Company’s analysis of contracts with contract research organizations (“CROs”) and contract manufacturing organizations (“CMOs”) to estimate the contract expense, involve a greater degree of judgment, and therefore the Company considers them to be its critical accounting policies. The Company evaluates its estimates and assumptions on an ongoing basis. The Company’s actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions and conditions.

Segment Data

The Company manages its operations as asingle reportable and operating segment for the purposes of assessing performance and making operating decisions. The Company’s focus is on developing its proprietary RNA medicines platform, PRISM, to develop and commercialize a broad pipeline of RNA medicines in a variety of therapeutic areas. This operating structure enables the Chief Executive Officer ("CEO") as chief operating decision maker ("CODM"), to allocate resources and assess business performance in order to achieve established long-term strategic goals. The determination of a single segment is consistent with the consolidated financial information regularly reviewed by the CODM for purposes of assessing performance, allocating resources and planning, monitoring budget versus actual results, and forecasting future periods. Within the single segment, there are significant expenses that are regularly considered by the CODM which are used in the review for performance and resource allocation. See Note 14 for additional disclosure of our segment information.

Going Concern

At each reporting period, the Company evaluates whether there are conditions or events that raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern within one year after the date that the financial statements are issued. The Company is required to make certain additional disclosures if the Company concludes substantial doubt exists and it is not alleviated by the Company’s plans or when the Company’s plans alleviate substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. The Company’s evaluation entails analyzing prospective operating budgets and forecasts for expectations of the Company’s cash needs and comparing those needs to the current cash and cash equivalent balance.

Foreign Currency Translation

The functional currency is the U.S. dollar for all of the Company’s entities aside from Wave Japan, which has the Japanese Yen as its functional currency. Assets and liabilities of Wave Japan are translated at period end exchange rates while revenues and expenses of Wave Japan are translated at average exchange rates for the period. Net unrealized gains and losses from foreign currency translation are reflected as other comprehensive income (loss) within the consolidated statements of Series A preferred shares and shareholders’ equity (deficit) and the consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss. Gains and losses on foreign currency transactions are included in the consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss within other income, net.

Fair Value of Financial Instruments

The Company is required to disclose information on all assets and liabilities reported at fair value that enables an assessment of the inputs used in determining the reported fair values. The fair value hierarchy is a hierarchy of inputs used in measuring fair value that maximizes the use of observable inputs and minimizes the use of unobservable inputs by requiring that the observable inputs be used when available. Observable inputs are inputs that market participants would use in pricing the financial instrument based on market data obtained from sources independent of the Company. Unobservable inputs are inputs that reflect the Company’s assumptions about the inputs that market participants would use in pricing the financial instrument and are developed based on the information available in the circumstances. The fair value hierarchy applies only to the valuation inputs used in determining the reported fair value of the investments and is not a measure of the investment credit quality. The hierarchy defines three levels of valuation inputs:

Level 1—Unadjusted quoted prices in active markets that are accessible at the measurement date of identical, unrestricted assets.

Level 2—Quoted prices for similar assets, or inputs that are observable, either directly or indirectly, for substantially the full term through corroboration with observable market data. Level 2 includes investments valued at quoted prices adjusted for legal or contractual restrictions specific to the security.

Level 3—Pricing inputs are unobservable for the asset, that is, inputs that reflect the reporting entity’s own assumptions about the assumptions market participants would use in pricing the asset. Level 3 includes private investments that are supported by little or no market activity.

Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash are Level 1 assets which are comprised of funds held in checking and money market accounts. Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash were recorded at fair value as of December 31, 2025 and 2024, totaling $605.9 million and $305.8 million, respectively. The carrying amounts of accounts payable and accrued expenses approximate their fair values due to their short-term maturities.

Concentration of Credit Risk

Cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash and short-term investments are financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to concentration of credit risk. The Company uses several financial institutions to maintain its cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash and short-term investments, all of which are high quality, accredited financial institutions and, accordingly, such funds are subject to minimal credit risk. The Company has not experienced any losses in such accounts and management believes that the Company is not exposed to significant credit risk due to the financial position of the depository institutions in which those deposits are held. The Company has no financial instruments with off-balance sheet risk of loss.

Restricted Cash

Restricted cash consists primarily of cash placed in separate restricted bank accounts as required under the terms of the Company’s lease agreements for its Cambridge, Massachusetts and Lexington, Massachusetts facilities (refer to Note 8). As of December 31, 2025 and 2024, the Company had $3.8 million of restricted cash, of which $2.8 million related to the Lexington facility, and $1.0 million related to the Cambridge facility.

Property and Equipment

Property and equipment, which consists primarily of equipment, furniture, software and leasehold improvements, are stated at cost less accumulated depreciation. Depreciation is calculated on a straight-line basis over the following estimated useful lives of the assets:

Equipment, Furniture and Software3-7 years
Leasehold ImprovementsShorter of asset life or lease term

Depreciation begins at the time the asset is placed in service. Maintenance and repairs are charged to operations as incurred. Upon retirement or sale, the cost of the disposed asset and the related accumulated depreciation are removed from the accounts and any resulting gain or loss is reflected in the consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss.

Impairment of Long-Lived Assets

Long-lived assets consist of property and equipment. Long-lived assets are reviewed for impairment whenever events or other changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount may not be recoverable. Certain factors may exist or events may occur that indicate that impairment exists including, but not limited to, the following: significant underperformance relative to historical or projected future operating results; significant changes in the manner of use of the underlying assets; and significant adverse industry or market economic trends.

When performing the impairment assessment for long-lived assets, the Company compares the carrying value of such assets to the estimated undiscounted future net cash flows expected from the use of the assets and their eventual disposition. In the event that the carrying value of the assets is determined to be unrecoverable, the Company would estimate the fair value of the assets and record an impairment charge for the excess of the carrying value over the fair value.

Revenue Recognition

The Company recognizes revenue in accordance with Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (“ASC 606”). This standard applies to all contracts with customers, except for contracts that are within the scope of other standards, such as leases, insurance, and financial instruments. Under ASC 606, an entity recognizes revenue when its customer obtains control of promised goods or services, in an amount that reflects the consideration that the entity expects to receive in exchange for those goods or services. To determine revenue recognition for arrangements that an entity determines are within the scope of ASC 606, the entity performs the following five-step analysis: (i) identify the contract(s) with a customer; (ii) identify the performance obligations in the contract; (iii) determine the transaction price; (iv) allocate the transaction price to the performance obligations in the contract; and (v) recognize revenue when (or as) the entity satisfies a performance obligation. The Company only applies the five-step analysis to contracts when it is probable that the entity will collect the consideration to which it is entitled in exchange for the goods or services it transfers to the customer. At contract inception, once the contract is determined to be within the scope of ASC 606, the Company assesses the goods or services promised within each contract, determines those that are performance obligations, and assesses whether each promised good or service is distinct. The Company then recognizes as revenue the amount of the transaction price that is allocated to the respective performance obligation when (or as) the performance obligation is satisfied.

The Company has entered into collaboration agreements for research, development, and commercial services, under which the Company licenses certain rights to its product candidates to third parties. The terms of these arrangements typically include payment to the Company of one or more of the following: non-refundable, upfront license fees; reimbursement of certain costs; customer option exercise fees; development, regulatory and commercial milestone payments; and royalties on net sales of licensed products. Any variable consideration is allocated to a performance obligation, and the cumulative revenue associated with this consideration is not recognized until it is deemed not to be at significant risk of reversal.

In determining the appropriate amount of revenue to be recognized as the Company fulfills its obligations under each of its agreements for which the collaboration partner is also a customer, the Company performs the following steps: (i) identification of the promised goods or services in the contract; (ii) determination of whether the promised goods or services are performance obligations, including whether they are distinct in the context of the contract; (iii) measurement of the transaction price, including the constraint on variable consideration; (iv) allocation of the transaction price to the performance obligations; and (v) recognition of revenue when (or as) the Company satisfies each performance obligation. As part of the accounting for these arrangements, the Company must use significant judgment to determine: (a) the number of performance obligations based on the determination under step (ii) above; (b) the transaction price under step (iii) above; and (c) the timing of satisfaction of performance obligations as a measure of progress in step (v) above. The Company uses significant judgment to determine whether milestones or other variable consideration, except for royalties, should be included in the transaction price as described further below. The transaction price is allocated to the optional goods and services the Company expects to provide. The Company uses estimates to determine the timing of satisfaction of performance obligations.

Amounts received prior to being recognized as revenue are recorded as deferred revenue. Amounts expected to be recognized as revenue within the 12 months following the balance sheet date are classified as current portion of deferred revenue in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets. Amounts not expected to be recognized as revenue within the 12 months following the balance sheet date are classified as deferred revenue, net of current portion.

Licenses of intellectual property: In assessing whether a promise or performance obligation is distinct from the other promises, the Company considers factors such as the research, development, manufacturing and commercialization capabilities of the customer and the availability of the associated expertise in the general marketplace. In addition, the Company considers whether the customer can benefit from a promise for its intended purpose without the receipt of the remaining promise, whether the value of the promise is dependent on the unsatisfied promise, whether there are other vendors that could provide the remaining promise, and whether it is separately identifiable from the remaining promise. For licenses that are combined with other promises, the Company utilizes judgment to assess the nature of the combined performance obligation to determine whether the combined performance obligation is satisfied over time or at a point in time and, if over time, the appropriate method of measuring progress for purposes of recognizing revenue. The Company evaluates the measure of progress each reporting period and, if necessary, adjusts the measure of performance and related revenue recognition.

Research and development services: If an arrangement is determined to contain a promise or obligation for the Company to perform research and development services, the Company must determine whether these services are distinct from other promises in the arrangement. In assessing whether the services are distinct from the other promises, the Company considers the capabilities of the customer to perform these same services. In addition, the Company considers whether the customer can benefit from a promise for its intended purpose without the receipt of the remaining promise, whether the value of the promise is dependent on the unsatisfied promise, whether there are other vendors that could provide the remaining promise, and whether it is separately identifiable from the remaining promise. For research and development services that are combined with other promises, the Company utilizes judgment to assess the nature of the combined performance obligation to determine whether the combined performance obligation is satisfied over time or at a point in time and, if over time, the appropriate method of measuring progress for purposes of recognizing revenue. The Company evaluates the measure of progress each reporting period and, if necessary, adjusts the measure of performance and related revenue recognition.

Customer options: If an arrangement is determined to contain customer options that allow the customer to acquire additional goods or services, the goods and services underlying the customer options are not considered to be performance obligations at the outset of the arrangement, as they are contingent upon option exercise. The Company evaluates the customer options for material rights, that is, the option to acquire additional goods or services for free or at a discount. If the customer options are determined to represent a material right, the material right is recognized as a separate performance obligation at the outset of the arrangement. The Company allocates the transaction price to material rights based on the standalone selling price. Amounts allocated to any material right are not recognized as revenue until the option is exercised and the performance obligation is satisfied.

Milestone payments: At the inception of each arrangement that includes milestone payments, the Company evaluates whether a significant reversal of cumulative revenue provided in conjunction with achieving the milestones is probable, and estimates the amount to be included in the transaction price using the most likely amount method. If it is probable that a significant reversal of cumulative revenue would not occur, the associated milestone value is included in the transaction price. Milestone payments that are not within the control of the Company or the licensee, such as regulatory approvals, are not considered probable of being achieved until those approvals are received. For other milestones, the Company evaluates factors such as the scientific, clinical, regulatory, commercial, and other risks that must be overcome to achieve the particular milestone in making this assessment. There is considerable judgment involved in determining whether it is probable that a significant reversal of cumulative revenue would not occur. At the end of each subsequent reporting period, the Company reevaluates the probability of achievement of all milestones subject to constraint and, if necessary, adjusts its estimate of the overall transaction price. Any such adjustments are recorded on a cumulative catch-up basis, which would affect revenues and earnings in the period of adjustment.

Royalties: For arrangements that include sales-based royalties, including milestone payments based on a level of sales, and the license is deemed to be the predominant item to which the royalties relate, the Company recognizes revenue at the later of (i) when the related sales occur, or (ii) when the performance obligation to which some or all of the royalty has been allocated has been satisfied (or partially satisfied). To date, the Company has not recognized any royalty revenue resulting from any of its licensing arrangements.

Contract costs: The Company recognizes as an asset theincremental costs of obtaining a contract with a customer if the costs are expected to be recovered. As a practical expedient, the Company recognizes the incremental costs of obtaining a contract as an expense when incurred if the amortization period of the asset that it otherwise would have recognized is one year or less. To date, the Company has not incurred any incremental costs of obtaining a contract with a customer.

Research and development expenses are expensed as incurred. External development costs are recognized based on an evaluation of the progress to completion of specific tasks. Payments for these activities are based on the terms of the individual agreements, which may differ from the pattern of costs incurred, and are reflected in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets as prepaid or accrued expenses.

License Agreements and Patent Costs

Costs associated with licenses of technology and patent costs are expensed as incurred and are generally included in research and development expense in the consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss.

Refundable Tax Credits

The Company is eligible for refundable tax credits with tax authorities for certain qualified operating expenses. The Company recognizes refundable tax credits when there is reasonable assurance that the Company will comply with the requirements of the refundable tax credit and that the refundable tax credit will be received. Refundable tax credits are recorded as income and classified in other income, net in the consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss.

Net Loss per Share

Basic net loss per share is computed using the weighted-average number of ordinary shares outstanding during the period. The outstanding Pre-Funded Warrants (as defined in Note 6) are included in the weighted-average number of ordinary shares outstanding used in the calculation of basic net loss per share as the exercise price is negligible and the warrants are fully vested and exercisable. Diluted net loss per share is computed using the sum of the weighted-average number of ordinary shares outstanding during the period and, if dilutive, the weighted-average number of potential ordinary shares, including the assumed exercise of share options and the assumed vesting of RSUs (as defined in Note 7). The Company’s Series A preferred shares do not entitle the holders of such shares to participate in dividends and do not contractually require the holders of such shares to participate in losses of the Company.

Share-Based Compensation

The Company measures and recognizes share-based compensation expense, for employees, consultants, and non-employee directors awards, based on the grant date fair value of the awards. The Company calculates the fair value of awards based on the grant date fair value of the underlying ordinary shares. The Company determines the fair value of share-based awards granted to non-employees as either the fair value of the consideration received or the fair value of the equity instruments issued, whichever is more reliably measurable. Equity instruments issued to consultants and non-employee directors as consideration for goods or services received by the Company have been accounted for based on the fair value of the equity instruments issued. The Company recognizes share-based compensation expense on a straight-line basis over the requisite service period of the awards, which is generally the vesting period. The Company accounts for forfeitures as they occur.

The Company classifies share-based compensation expense in its consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss in the same manner in which the award recipient’s compensation costs are classified or in which the award recipient’s service payments are classified.

The fair value of each share option grant was determined using the methods and assumptions discussed below. These inputs are generally subjective and require significant judgment and estimation by management.

Fair Value of Ordinary Shares The fair value of the ordinary shares underlying the Company’s share-based awards is based on the closing price of the Company’s ordinary shares as reported by the Nasdaq Global Market on the date of grant.

Expected Term The expected term of share options represents the weighted-average period that the share options are expected to remain outstanding. The Company estimated the expected term using the simplified method, which is an average of the contractual term of the option and the vesting period.

Expected Volatility Since there was limited historical data for the Company’s ordinary shares and limited company-specific historical volatility through the third quarter of 2021, the Company determined the share price volatility for options granted based on an analysis of the volatility used by a peer group of publicly traded companies. In evaluating similarity, the Company considers factors such as industry, stage of life cycle and size. Beginning in the fourth quarter of 2021, the Company had sufficient historical volatility data for its ordinary shares and as such no longer relies on an analysis of the volatility from a peer group to calculate expected volatility.

Risk-free Interest Rate The risk-free interest rate is based on the U.S. Treasury yield in effect at the time of the grant for zero-coupon U.S. Treasury notes with remaining terms similar to the expected term of the options.

Dividend Rate The expected dividend was assumed to bezero as the Company has never paid dividends and has no current plans to do so.

Income Taxes

The Company accounts for income taxes using an asset and liability approach, which requires recognition of deferred tax assets and liabilities for the expected future tax consequences of events that have been recognized in the consolidated financial statements but have not been reflected in taxable income. A valuation allowance is established to reduce deferred tax assets to their estimated realizable value. Therefore, the Company provides a valuation allowance to the extent that it is more likely than not that all or a portion of the deferred tax assets will not be realized in the future.

The Company accounts for uncertainty in income taxes recognized in the financial statements by applying a two-step process to determine the amount of tax benefit to be recognized. First, the tax position must be evaluated to determine the likelihood that it will be sustained upon external examination by the tax authorities. If the tax position is deemed more-likely-than-not to be sustained, the tax position is then assessed to determine the amount of benefit to recognize in the financial statements. The amount of the benefit that may be recognized is the largest amount that has a greater than 50% likelihood of being realized upon ultimate settlement. The provision for income taxes includes the effects of any resulting tax reserves, or unrecognized tax benefits, that are considered appropriate as well as the related net interest and penalties. The Company recognizes interest and penalties related to uncertain tax positions in the income tax provision on the consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss.

The Company has certain service arrangements in place between its U.S., Japan, U.K. and Singapore entities, which include transfer pricing assumptions. The determination of the appropriate level of transfer pricing requires judgment based on transfer pricing analyses of comparable companies. The Company monitors the nature of its service arrangements for changes in its operations as well as economic conditions. The Company also periodically reviews the transfer pricing analyses for changes in the composition in the pool of comparable companies as well as the related ongoing results of the comparable companies.

Leases

The Company accounts for leases in accordance with ASC Topic 842, Leases (“ASC 842”). At the inception of an arrangement, the Company determines whether the arrangement is or contains a lease based on the unique facts and circumstances present in the arrangement. Most leases with a term greater than one year are recognized on the balance sheet as right-of-use assets and short-term and long-term lease liabilities, as applicable. The Company typically only includes an initial lease term in its assessment of a lease arrangement. Options to renew a lease are not included in the Company’s assessment unless there is reasonable certainty that the Company will renew the lease. The Company monitors its plans to renew its leases on a quarterly basis.

Certain lease agreements include rental payments that are adjusted periodically for inflation or other variables. In addition to rent, the leases may require the Company to pay additional amounts for taxes, insurance, maintenance, or other expenses, which are generally referred to as non-lease components. Such adjustments to rental payments and variable non-lease components are treated as variable lease payments and recognized in the period in which the obligation for these payments are incurred. Variable lease components and variable non-lease components are not measured as part of the right-of-use asset and lease liability. Only when lease components and their associated non-lease components are fixed are they accounted for as a single lease component and are recognized as part of a right-of-use asset and lease liability. Total contract consideration is allocated to the combined fixed lease and non-lease component. This policy election applies consistently to all asset classes under lease agreements.

Operating lease liabilities and their corresponding right-of-use assets are recorded based on the present value of lease payments over the expected remaining lease term. Certain adjustments to the right-of-use asset may be required for items such as incentives received. The interest rate implicit in lease contracts is typically not readily determinable. As a result, the Company utilizes its incremental borrowing rate, which reflects the fixed rate at which the Company could borrow on a collateralized basis the amount of the lease payments in the same currency, for a similar term, in a similar economic environment.

Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements

In December 2023, the FASB finalized Accounting Standards Update No. 2023-09, Income Taxes (Topic 740): Improvements to Income Tax Disclosures (“ASU 2023-09”). ASU 2023-09 requires a company's annual financial statements to include consistent categories and greater disaggregation of information in the rate reconciliation, and income taxes paid disaggregated by jurisdiction. The Company adopted ASU 2023-09 for the Company's fiscal year 2025 annual reporting period and applied it prospectively. The adoption did not have a material impact on the Company's consolidated financial statements.

In November 2024, the FASB issued ASU 2024-03, Income Statement - Reporting Comprehensive Income - Expense Disaggregation Disclosures (Subtopic 220-40)(“ASU 2024-03”). ASU 2024-03 modifies the rules on income statement disclosures to enhance the transparency of and include more detailed information about the types of expenses, including purchases of inventory, employee compensation, depreciation, amortization, and depletion, in commonly presented expense captions such as cost of sales, research and development, and selling, general and administrative expenses. The amendments are intended to address investors’ requests for income statement expense disclosures that provide more information to help them better understand the components of an entity’s expenses, make their own judgments about the entity’s performance, and more accurately forecast expenses, and enable investors to better assess an entity’s prospects for future cash flows. It will also provide contextual information for an entity’s presentation and consideration of management’s discussion and analysis of financial position and results of operations. The guidance is effective for all entities for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2026. All entities should apply the guidance prospectively but have the option to apply it retrospectively. Early adoption is permitted. The Company is continuing to assess the timing of adoption and the potential impacts of ASU 2024-03 on the consolidated financial statements and related disclosures.

  1. PROPERTY AND EQUIPMENT, NET

Property and equipment, net, consists of the following:

December 31,
20252024
(in thousands)
Furniture and equipment$26,374$26,194
Software1,0191,029
Leasehold improvements28,93628,885
Fixed assets in progress598349
Total56,92756,457
Less accumulated depreciation(49,522)(46,329)
Property and equipment, net$7,405$10,128

Substantially all of the Company’s long-lived assets were located in the United States as of December 31, 2025 and 2024.

Depreciation expense was $3.4 million, $3.9 million, and $5.0 million for the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024, and 2023, respectively.

  1. ACCRUED EXPENSES AND OTHER CURRENT LIABILITIES

Accrued expenses and other current liabilities consist of the following:

December 31,
20252024
(in thousands)
Accrued compensation$18,080$15,358
Accrued expenses related to CROs and CMOs7,3144,551
Accrued expenses and other current liabilities1,1701,172
Total accrued expenses and other current liabilities$26,564$21,081
  1. COLLABORATION AGREEMENTS

GSK Collaboration and Equity Agreements

On December 13, 2022, Wave USA and Wave UK entered into a Collaboration and License Agreement (the “GSK Collaboration Agreement”) with GlaxoSmithKline Intellectual Property (No. 3) (“GSK”). Pursuant to the GSK Collaboration Agreement, Wave and GSK have agreed to collaborate on the research, development, and commercialization of oligonucleotide therapeutics, including an exclusive global license to WVE-006. The discovery collaboration component has an initial four-year research term and combines Wave’s proprietary discovery and drug development platform, PRISM, with GSK’s unique genetic insights and its global development and commercial capabilities. On January 27, 2023, the GSK Collaboration Agreement became effective, and GSK paid Wave an upfront payment of $120.0 million.

Simultaneously with the execution of the GSK Collaboration Agreement, Wave entered into a Share Purchase Agreement (the “SPA”) on December 13, 2022, with Glaxo Group Limited (“GGL”), an affiliate of GSK, pursuant to which Wave agreed to sell 10,683,761 of its ordinary shares to GGL at a purchase price of $4.68 per share (the “GSK Equity Investment”). The GSK Equity Investment closed on January 26, 2023, following the completion of customary closing conditions. The ordinary shares purchased by GGL in the GSK Equity Investment carry certain registration rights, customary for transactions of this kind. The Company did not incur any material costs in connection with the issuance of the ordinary shares under the SPA.

The GSK Collaboration Agreement has three components: (1) a discovery collaboration which enables the Company to advance up to three programs leveraging targets informed by GSK’s novel genetic insights (“Wave’s Collaboration Programs”); (2) a discovery collaboration which enables GSK to advance up to eight programs leveraging PRISM and the Company’s oligonucleotide expertise and discovery capabilities (the “Discovery Research Collaboration”); and (3) an exclusive global license for GSK to WVE-006, the Company’s alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (“AATD”) program, that uses the Company’s proprietary AIMer technology (the "AATD Collaboration"). The Company will be responsible for preclinical, regulatory, manufacturing, and clinical activities for WVE-006 through the initial Phase 1/2 study, at the Company’s sole cost. Thereafter, GSK will be responsible for advancing WVE-006 through pivotal studies, registration, and global commercialization at GSK’s sole cost. On February 2, 2026, the Company announced that it regained full rights to WVE-006, an investigational GalNAc-conjugated RNA editing oligonucleotide for alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency, which was originally the subject of an exclusive global license to GSK under the GSK Collaboration Agreement.

Under the GSK Collaboration Agreement, each party grants to the other party certain licenses to the collaboration products to enable the other party to perform its obligations and exercise its rights under the GSK Collaboration Agreement, including license grants to enable each party to conduct research, development and commercialization activities pursuant to the terms of the GSK Collaboration Agreement. The parties’ exclusivity obligations to each other are limited on a target-by-target basis with regard to targets in the collaboration. GSK may terminate the GSK Collaboration Agreement for convenience, in its entirety or on a target-by-target basis. Subject to certain exceptions, each party has the right to terminate the GSK Collaboration Agreement on a target-by-target basis if the other party, or a related party, challenges the patentability, enforceability or validity of any patents within the licensed technology that cover any product that is subject to the GSK Collaboration Agreement. In the event of any material breach of the GSK Collaboration Agreement by a party, subject to cure rights, the other party may terminate the GSK Collaboration Agreement in its entirety if the breach relates to all targets or on a target-by-target basis if the breach relates to a specific target. In the event that GSK and its affiliates cease development, manufacturing and commercialization activities with respect to compounds or products subject to the GSK Collaboration Agreement and directed to a particular target, the Company may terminate the GSK Collaboration Agreement with respect to such target. Either party may terminate the GSK Collaboration Agreement for the other party’s insolvency. In certain termination circumstances, the Company would receive a license from GSK to continue researching, developing and manufacturing certain products.

The GSK Collaboration Agreement, unless terminated earlier, will continue until the date on which: (i) with respect to a validation target, the date on which such validation target is not advanced into a collaboration program; or (ii) with respect to a collaboration target, the royalty term has expired for all collaboration products directed to the applicable collaboration target. The GSK Collaboration Agreement includes options to extend the research term for up to three additional years, which would increase the number of programs available to both parties. The Company will lead all preclinical research for GSK and the Company’s collaboration programs up to investigational new drug (“IND”)-enabling studies. The Company will lead IND-enabling studies, clinical development and commercialization for the Company’s collaboration programs. GSK collaboration programs will transfer to GSK for IND-enabling studies, clinical development and commercialization.

The GSK Collaboration Agreement is managed by a joint steering committee in which both parties are represented equally. In addition, the AATD Collaboration is overseen by a joint development committee, a joint patent committee advises on intellectual property activities, and the Discovery Research Collaboration is overseen by a joint research committee. Both parties are represented equally for these committees and report to the joint steering committee.

The Company assessed this arrangement in accordance with ASC 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers ("ASC 606") and concluded that the contract counterparty, GSK, is a customer for the AATD Collaboration prior to GSK exercising its option and, for the Discovery Research Collaboration programs during the target validation research term. The Company identified the following material promises under the arrangement: (1) the exclusive global license for WVE-006; (2) the research and development services for WVE-006 through the Phase 1/2 study; (3) the discovery research services under the Discovery Research Collaboration to perform target validation programs; (4) research and development license for the Discovery Research Collaboration; and (5) the research and development services for the GSK collaboration programs through completion of a candidate selection. The research and development services for WVE-006 were determined to not be distinct from the exclusive global license and should therefore be combined into a single performance obligation for the AATD Collaboration. The research and development services for the Discovery Research Collaboration were determined to not be distinct from the research and development license for the Discovery Research Collaboration and should therefore be combined into a single performance obligation. In addition, the Company determined the standalone selling price for the option to advance up to eight programs from the Discovery Research Collaboration and determined it did not provide a material right to GSK.

Based on these assessments, the Company identified two performance obligations in the GSK Collaboration Agreement: (1) AATD Collaboration consisting of the research and development services through completion of the Phase 1/2 study and research and development license for WVE-006 and (2) Discovery Research Collaboration which consists of research and development services for validating the targets and license for research and development license for targets.

At the outset of the arrangement, the transaction price included fixed consideration of the $120.0 million upfront, the $15.4 million in premium related to the GSK Equity Investment and the fixed consideration related to the additional target validation research funding. The Company allocated the estimated variable consideration relating to the target validation research to the Discovery Research Collaboration and the variable consideration relating to the development milestone to the AATD Collaboration and then allocated the fixed consideration to the performance obligations on a relative standalone selling price basis. The Company determined that the GSK Collaboration Agreement did not contain a significant financing component. The program initiation fees to advance up to eight programs from the Discovery Research Collaboration to preclinically develop the GSK collaboration programs and the additional potential milestone payments were excluded from the transaction price, as all milestone amounts were fully constrained at the inception of the GSK Collaboration Agreement. The Company will reevaluate the transaction price at the end of each reporting period, and as uncertain events are resolved or other changes in circumstances occur, the Company will adjust its estimate of the transaction price.

Under the GSK Collaboration Agreement, GSK can advance up to eight programs (GSK Collaboration Programs) leveraging the Company's PRISM platform and multiple RNA-targeting modalities (RNAi, RNA editing, splicing, and antisense) with target validation work ongoing across multiple therapy areas. The advancement to a development candidate following the achievement of target validation results in a GSK Collaboration Program performance obligation. In September 2025, GSK selected a third program to advance to a development candidate following the achievement of target validation, resulting in three programs designated as GSK Collaboration Programs as of December 31, 2025. Subsequent to December 31, 2025, GSK selected a fourth program to advance to development candidate following achievement of target validation. Under the GSK Collaboration Agreement, GSK has paid an aggregate of $32.0 million in program initiation payments related to these four programs, of which $10.0 million was received after December 31, 2025.

The following table summarizes the allocation of the total transaction price to the identified performance obligations under the GSK Collaboration Agreement, and the amount of the transaction price unsatisfied as of December 31, 2025 (in thousands):

Transaction PriceTransaction Price Unsatisfied (1)
Performance Obligations:
AATD Collaboration$166,778$35,885
Discovery Research Collaboration10,3103,509
GSK Collaboration Programs22,00013,694
Total$199,088$53,088

(1)The Unsatisfied transaction price will be recognized over the remaining applicable research or program term.

The Company developed the estimated standalone selling price for the global license for WVE-006, under the AATD Collaboration, using a discounted cash flow model. For the performance obligation associated with the research and development services under the Discovery Research Collaboration and the research and development services for WVE-006 under the AATD Collaboration, the Company determined the standalone selling price using estimates of the costs to perform the research and development services, including expected internal and external costs for services and supplies, adjusted to reflect a profit margin. The total estimated cost of the research and development services reflected the nature of the services to be performed and the Company’s best estimate of the length of time required to perform the services.

Revenue associated with the AATD Collaboration performance obligation is being recognized as the research and development services are provided using an input measure, according to the costs incurred and the total costs expected to be incurred to satisfy the performance obligation. The revenue associated with the Discovery Research Collaboration performance obligation is being recognized as the research and development services are provided using an input measure, according to the costs incurred and the total costs expected to be incurred to satisfy the performance obligation. The amounts received that have not yet been recognized as revenue are recorded in deferred revenue on the Company’s consolidated balance sheet. Additional funding related to the Company’s research activities related to Discovery Research Collaboration will be recorded as accounts receivable when contractually enforceable and recorded as deferred revenue, or as revenue as the services are provided.

During the year ended December 31, 2023, the Company achieved a developmental milestone which pertained to the initiation of dosing in healthy volunteers in the RestorAATion clinical trial program, triggering a $20.0 million milestone payment to the Company from GSK, which was collected in the first quarter of 2024. During the year ended December 31, 2025, GSK acknowledged the Company’s achievement of another development milestone for the AATD program, triggering a $10.0 million milestone payment to the Company from GSK, which was collected during the fourth quarter of 2025.

Under the GSK Collaboration Agreement, during the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024, and 2023, the Company recognized revenue of $42.7 million, $37.0 million, and $66.3 million, respectively, using the input method described above.

The aggregate amount of the transaction price allocated to the Company’s unsatisfied and partially unsatisfied performance obligations which are recorded in deferred revenue as of December 31, 2025 is approximately $52.2 million, of which approximately $44.4 million is included in current liabilities and $7.8 million is included in long-term liabilities. The aggregate amount of the transaction price allocated to the Company’s unsatisfied and partially unsatisfied performance obligations which were recorded in deferred revenue as of December 31, 2024 was approximately $72.1 million, ofwhich approximately $66.0 million was included in current liabilitiesand $6.1 million was included in long-term liabilities. The Company expects to recognize the remaining deferred revenue related to the AATD performance obligation, which was fully satisfied upon the termination of the AATD license, in the first quarter of 2026.

Takeda Collaboration and Equity Agreements

In February 2018, the Company entered into a global strategic collaboration with Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited (“Takeda”), pursuant to which the Company agreed to collaborate with Takeda on the research, development and commercialization of oligonucleotide therapeutics for disorders of the central nervous system (the “Takeda Collaboration Agreement”). On October 11, 2024, the Company was notified by Takeda that Takeda did not intend to exercise and therefore elected to terminate its option for the HD target under the collaboration. As HD was the last active collaboration target under the collaboration, the collaboration expired with immediate effect. As a result of the option termination, the Company is now free to advance WVE-003, its clinical-stage HD program, as well as any other programs targeting Huntingtin (“HTT”), independently or with other partners.

During the year ended December 31, 2025, the Company recognizedno revenue and in the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, the Company recognized $71.3 million and $47.0 million in revenue, respectively, under the Takeda Collaboration Agreement in the Company’s consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss.

  1. SHARE CAPITAL

The following represents the Company’s financing transactions during the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024, and 2023:

The Company entered into the Sales Agreement (as defined below) with Jefferies LLC ("Jefferies"). During the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024, and 2023, the Company sold 12,226,623,2,952,591, and 751,688 ordinary shares, respectively, under its "at-the-market" equity program for aggregate net proceeds of $94.6 million, $20.4 million, and $3.1 million, respectively, after deducting commissions and offering expenses.

On December 11, 2023, the Company closed an underwritten public offering (the“December 2023 Offering”) in which the Company issued and sold 20,000,000 of the Company's ordinary shares at a price of $5.00 per share. The gross proceeds to the Company from the December 2023 Offering were $100.0 million before deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and other offering expenses. The net proceeds to the Company from the December 2023 Offering during the year ended December 31, 2023, were approximately $93.6 million, after deducting underwriting discounts and offering expenses. On January 4, 2024, the Company closed on the sale of an additional 3,000,000 ordinary shares at a price of $5.00 per share after the underwriters exercised their option to purchase the additional shares in full, which increased the aggregate number of ordinary shares sold in the December 2023 Offering to 23,000,000. The Company’s aggregate gross proceeds from the December 2023 Offering were $115.0 million, before deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and offering expenses; $15.0 million of which relates to the exercise of the underwriters’ option in January 2024. Subsequent to December 31, 2023, the Company received $14.0 million in net proceeds after deducting the underwriting discounts and commissions and offering expenses related to the December 2023 Offering.

On September 27, 2024, the Company closed an underwritten public offering (the "September 2024 Offering") in which the Company issued and sold 23,125,001 of the Company’s ordinary shares at a price of $8.00 per share and pre-funded warrants (the “2024 Pre-Funded Warrants”) to purchase up to 1,875,023 of the Company’s ordinary shares at an offering price of $7.9999 per 2024 Pre-Funded Warrant, which represents the per share offering price for the ordinary shares less the $0.0001 per share exercise price for each 2024 Pre-Funded Warrant. These 2024 Pre-Funded Warrants were recorded as a component of shareholders’ equity within additional paid-in capital. The gross proceeds to the Company from the September 2024 Offering were $200.0 million before deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and other offering expenses. The net proceeds to the Company from the September 2024 Offering were approximately $187.5 million, after deducting underwriting commissions and offering expenses. The 2024 Pre-Funded Warrants are exercisable at any time after their original issuance and on or prior to the five-year anniversary of the original issuance date. A holder of the 2024 Pre-Funded Warrants may not exercise the warrant if the holder, together with its affiliates, would beneficially own more than 4.99% (or at the election of such holder,9.99% or 19.99%) of the number of the Company’s ordinary shares outstanding or more than 4.99% (or at the election of such holder,9.99% or 19.99%) of the combined voting power of the Company’s securities outstanding immediately after giving effect to such exercise, unless and until shareholder approval is obtained.

On October 1, 2024, the representatives of the underwriters in connection with the September 2024 Offering exercised their option in full to purchase an additional 3,750,000 ordinary shares, which increased the aggregate number of ordinary shares sold in the September 2024 Offering to 26,875,001. The Company’s aggregate gross proceeds from the September 2024 Offering were $230.0 million, before deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and offering expenses; $30.0 million of which relates to the exercise of the underwriters’ option in October 2024.

On November 12, 2024, the Company filed an automatic shelf registration statement on Form S-3ASR with the SEC for which the Company registered for sale an indeterminate amount of any combination of its ordinary shares, debt securities, warrants, rights and/or units from time to time and at prices and on terms that the Company may determine, which is referred to as the “2024 WKSI Shelf”. The 2024 WKSI Shelf includes a prospectus covering up to an aggregate of $250.0 million in ordinary shares that the Company is able to issue and sell from time to time, through Jefferies acting as its sales agent, pursuant to the Open Market Sale Agreement, dated May 10, 2019, as amended by Amendment No. 1, dated as of March 2, 2020, Amendment No. 2, dated as of March 3, 2022, and Amendment No. 3, dated as of November 12, 2024, (as amended, the “Sales Agreement”), for its “at-the-market” equity program.

On December 11, 2025, the Company closed an underwritten public offering (the “December 2025 Offering”) in which the Company issued and sold 18,552,632 of the Company’s ordinary shares at a price of $19.00 per share, including 2,763,157 ordinary shares issued and sold pursuant to the underwriter's exercise in full of their option to purchase additional shares, and pre-funded warrants (the “2025 Pre-Funded Warrants”) to purchase up to 2,631,578 of the Company’s ordinary shares at an offering price of $18.9999 per 2025 Pre-Funded Warrant, which represents the per share offering price for the ordinary shares less the $0.0001 per share exercise price for each 2025 Pre-Funded Warrant. These 2025 Pre-Funded Warrants were recorded as a component of shareholders’ equity within additional paid-in capital. The gross proceeds to the Company from the December 2025 Offering were approximately $402.5 million before deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and other offering expenses, and including gross proceeds from the exercise of the Underwriters’ option to purchase additional shares in full. The 2025 Pre-Funded Warrants are exercisable at any time after their original issuance and on or prior to the five-year anniversary of the original issuance date. A holder of the 2025 Pre-Funded Warrants may not exercise the warrant if the holder, together with its affiliates, would beneficially own more than 4.99% (or at the election of such holder,9.99% or 19.99%) of the number of the Company’s ordinary shares outstanding or more than 4.99% (or at the election of such holder,9.99% or 19.99%) of the combined voting power of the Company’s securities outstanding immediately after giving effect to such exercise, unless and until shareholder approval is obtained.

Features of the Series A Preferred Shares and Ordinary Shares

The Series A preferred shares and ordinary shares haveno par value and there isno concept of authorized share capital under Singapore law. The Series A preferred shares are not redeemable and have no entitlement to dividends.

Voting

The holders of Series A preferred shares are not entitled to vote on any of the matters proposed to shareholders, other than as specified in the Company's Constitution. The holders of ordinary shares are entitled toone vote for each ordinary share held at all meetings of shareholders and written actions in lieu of meetings.

Dividends

All dividends, if any, shall be declared and paid pro rata according to the number of ordinary shares held by each member entitled to receive dividends. The Company’s board of directors may deduct from any dividend all sums of money presently payable by the member to the Company on account of calls.

Liquidation

In the event of a liquidation, dissolution or winding up of, or a return of capital by the Company, the ordinary shares will rank equally with the Series A preferred shares after the payment of the liquidation preference of an aggregate of approximately $10 thousand for Series A preferred shares.

  1. SHARE-BASED COMPENSATION

The Wave Life Sciences Ltd. 2021 Equity Incentive Plan was approved by the Company’s shareholders and went into effect on August 10, 2021 and was amended effective as of August 9, 2022, August 1, 2023, August 6, 2024, and August 5, 2025 (as amended, the “2021 Plan”). The 2021 Plan serves as the successor to the Wave Life Sciences Ltd. 2014 Equity Incentive Plan, as amended (the “2014 Plan”), such that outstanding awards granted under the 2014 Plan continue to be governed by the terms of the 2014 Plan, but no awards may be made under the 2014 Plan after August 10, 2021. The aggregate number of ordinary shares authorized for issuance of awards under the 2021 Plan was originally 5,450,000 ordinary shares, and was subsequently increased to 11,450,000, 17,950,000,22,950,000, and 30,950,000 in August 2022, August 2023, August 2024, and August 2025 respectively, plus the number of ordinary shares underlying any awards under the 2014 Plan that are forfeited, cancelled or otherwise terminated (other than by exercise or withheld by the Company to satisfy any tax withholding obligation) on or after August 10, 2021.

The 2021 Plan authorizes (and the 2014 Plan previously authorized) the board of directors or a committee of the board of directors to, among other things, grant non-qualified share options, restricted awards, which include restricted shares and restricted share units (“RSUs”), and performance awards to eligible employees, consultants, and non-employee directors of the Company. The Company accounts for grants to its non-employee directors as grants to employees.

As of December 31, 2025,9,808,797 ordinary shares remained available for future grant under the 2021 Plan. In accordance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5635(c)(4), the board of directors or a committee of the board may also issue inducement grants outside of the 2021 Plan, as an inducement material to an individual's entering into employment with the Company.

Options and RSUs

Share option activity is summarized as follows:

Number ofSharesWeighted-AverageExercise PriceWeighted-AverageRemainingContractualTerm (in years)Aggregate Intrinsic Value (in thousands)(1)
Outstanding as of January 1, 202519,453,131$5.78
Granted5,030,82510.37
Exercised(3,428,883)4.34
Forfeited or cancelled(728,202)9.70
Outstanding as of December 31, 202520,326,871$7.026.93$213,257
Options exercisable as of December 31, 202510,309,498$6.705.82$116,543

(1)

The aggregate intrinsic value of options is calculated as the difference between the exercise price of the share options and the fair value of the Company’s ordinary shares for those share options that had exercise prices lower than the fair value of the ordinary shares as of the end of the period.

Options generally vest over periods ofone tofour years, and options that are forfeited or cancelled are available to be granted again. The contractual life of options is generally five orten years from the grant date.

There wereno equity grants made to consultants during the years ended December 31, 2023, 2024, andone equity grant to a consultant in 2025. The assumptions used in the Black-Scholes option pricing model to determine the fair value of share options granted to employees, consultants, and non-employee directors during the period were as follows:

For the Year Ended December 31,
202520242023
Risk-free interest rate3.71% – 4.43%3.56% – 4.64%3.46% – 4.71%
Expected term (in years)3.0 – 6.13.0 – 6.13.0 – 6.1
Expected volatility90% – 100%88% – 100%87% – 93%
Expected dividend yield0%0%0%

RSU activity for the year ended December 31, 2025 is summarized as follows:

RSUsAverage GrantDate FairValue (indollars pershare)
Outstanding as of January 1, 2025832,043$7.54
Granted1,320,51510.77
Vested(262,218)5.80
Forfeited(112,924)9.01
RSUs Outstanding at December 31, 20251,777,416$10.10

RSUs can be time-based or performance-based. Vesting of the performance-based RSUs is contingent on the occurrence of certain regulatory or commercial milestones. In March 2021, the Compensation Committee approved an amendment and restatement of the Company’s outstanding 2019 performance-based RSUs to add an additional milestone to the existing milestones. In 2021, the Company also granted performance-based RSUs with the same terms to certain employees who did not receive the 2019 performance-based RSUs. The Company did not recognize expense in 2024 related to the performance-based RSUs as the remaining milestones were not considered probable of achievement. In April 2022, the Company determined that a performance-based RSU milestone was achieved and consequently 50% of the outstanding performance-based RSUs vested, which resulted in the issuance of 384,646 ordinary shares. During the year ended December 31, 2022, the Company recorded share-based compensation expense of approximately $3.8 million related to the performance-based RSUs, which represents all of the expense related to the achievement of this performance-based RSU milestone. During the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024, and 2023, the Company recognized share-based compensation expense of $4.1 million, $0.8 million, and $1.0 million, respectively, related to RSUs.

RSUs that are forfeited are available to be granted again. During the year ended December 31, 2025,1,320,515 time-based RSUs were granted to employees and non-employee directors. Of the RSUs outstanding at December 31, 2025,1,489,849 are time-based RSUs and 287,567 are performance-based RSUs. Time-based RSUs generally vest over periods ofone tofour years.

During the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024, and 2023, the Company recognized share-based compensation expense related to options of $20.2 million, $11.9 million, and $8.5 million, respectively. The total intrinsic value of options exercisedwas $27.2 million, $4.4 million, and $0.3 million, for the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024, and 2023, respectively. As of December 31, 2025, the unrecognized compensation cost related to outstanding options was $47.1 million. The unrecognized compensation cost related to outstanding options is expected to be recognized over a weighted-average period of approximately 2.37 years. For the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024, the weighted-average grant date fair value per granted option was $8.12 and $3.38, respectively. The aggregate fair value of options that vested during the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024 was $124.1 million and $11.4 million, respectively.

The unrecognized compensation costs related to outstanding time-based RSUs was$11.9 million as of December 31, 2025, and is expected to be recognized over a weighted-average period of approximately 2.80 years. The total fair value of RSUs vested during the years ended December 31, 2025, and 2024 was $2.2 million and $0.7 million, respectively.

Employee Share Purchase Plan

The Wave Life Sciences Ltd. Employee Share Purchase Plan, as amended ("ESPP"), allows full-time and certain part-time employees to purchase the Company’s ordinary shares at a discount to fair market value. Eligible employees may enroll in a six-month offering period beginning every January 15 th and July 15 th. Shares are purchased at a price equal to 85% of the lower of the fair market value of the Company’s ordinary shares on the first business day or the last business day of an offering period. During the years ended December 31, 2025, and 2024,152,621 and 176,498 ordinary shares were issued under the ESPP, respectively. The aggregate number of ordinary shares authorized for issuance under the ESPP was originally 1,000,000 and was subsequently increased to 3,000,000 in August 2023. As of December 31, 2025, there were 2,161,381 ordinary shares available for issuance under the ESPP.

Share-Based Compensation Expense

Share-based compensation expense for the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024, and 2023 is classified as operating expenses in the consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss as follows:

For the Year Ended December 31,
202520242023
(in thousands)
Research and development expenses$11,337$6,332$4,617
General and administrative expenses13,6366,8095,178
Total share-based compensation expense$24,973$13,141$9,795
  1. LEASES

Lease Arrangements

The Company enters into lease arrangements for its facilities. A summary of the arrangements is as follows:

Operating Leases

Lexington

On September 26, 2016, and as amended on December 31, 2016, the Company entered into a 10 year and 9-month lease, which includes two successive five-year renewal options, for its facility in Lexington, Massachusetts, which the Company uses primarily for its current good manufacturing practices (“cGMP”) manufacturing, as well as for additional laboratory and office space. As there is not reasonable certainty that the renewal options will be exercised, the lease liabilities and the right-of-use assets pertaining to the Lexington Lease do not account for the two successive five-year renewal options. Throughout the term of the lease, the Company is responsible for paying certain costs and expenses, in addition to the rent, as specified in the lease, including a proportionate share of applicable taxes, operating expenses and utilities. As required under the terms of the lease agreement, the Company has placed restricted cash of approximately $2.8 million in a separate bank account as of December 31, 2025 and 2024.

Cambridge

In April 2015, the Company entered into a lease agreement for an office and laboratory facility in Cambridge, Massachusetts (the “Cambridge Lease”), which commenced in October 2015 with a term of 7.5 years with afive-year renewal option to extend the lease. Throughout the term of the lease, the Company is responsible for paying certain costs and expenses, in addition to the rent, as specified in the lease, including a proportionate share of applicable taxes, operating expenses and utilities. As required under the terms of the lease agreement, the Company has placed restricted cash of $1.0 million in a separate bank account as of December 31, 2025 and 2024.

In December 2020, the Company exercised its option under the Cambridge Lease to lease the additional office and laboratory space at the existing facility. The combined space constitutes the entire building. The lease for the additional space commenced on October 1, 2021, with a term offive years and is considered a separate lease from the Cambridge Lease. On the commencement date, the Company utilized the operating lease classification and recorded a right-of-use asset and corresponding operating lease liability of $4.5 million and began recognizing straight-line rent expense under ASC 842. Throughout the term of the lease, the Company is responsible for paying certain costs and expenses, in addition to the rent, as specified in the lease, including a proportionate share of applicable taxes, operating expenses and utilities.

In June 2022, the Company exercised thefive-year renewal option under the Cambridge Lease to extend the lease term through March 2028 (the “Cambridge Lease Extension”). Therefore, as required by ASC 842, the Company calculated an incremental borrowing rate of 10.53% and remeasured the right-of-use asset and the lease liabilities related to the Cambridge Lease Extension. As a result, an additional $12.0 million of operating right-of-use asset and corresponding operating lease liabilities were recorded relating to the Cambridge Lease Extension.

The following table contains a summary of the lease costs recognized under ASC 842 and other information pertaining to the Company’s operating leases for the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024:

For the Year Ended December 31,
202520242023
(in thousands)
Lease cost
Operating lease cost$7,365$7,365$7,365
Variable lease cost3,0832,9982,798
Total lease cost$10,448$10,363$10,163
Other information
Operating cash flows used for operating leases$9,591$9,311$8,655
Weighted average remaining lease term2 years3 years4 years
Weighted average discount rate9.3%9.2%9.2%

Future minimum lease payments under the Company’s non-cancelable operating leases as of December 31, 2025, are as follows:

(in thousands)
20269,584
20278,987
2028886
2029 and thereafter-
Total lease payments$19,457
Less: imputed interest(1,691)
Total operating lease liabilities$17,766
  1. COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

Unasserted Claims

In the ordinary course of business, the Company may be subject to legal proceedings, claims and litigation as the Company operates in an industry susceptible to patent and other legal claims. The Company accounts for estimated losses with respect to legal proceedings and claims when such losses are probable and estimable. Legal costs associated with these matters are expensed when incurred. The Company is not currently a party to any material legal proceedings.

  1. NET LOSS PER ORDINARY SHARE

In connection with the December 2025 Offering, the Company sold 2,631,578 2025 Pre-Funded Warrants, which are included in the total vested and exercisable pre-funded warrants (the Company's pre-funded warrants outstanding are collectively referred to as the “Pre-Funded Warrants”). As of December 31,2025 and 2024, there were 11,600,257 and 8,968,679, respectively, vested and exercisable Pre-Funded Warrants outstanding to purchase ordinary shares for the exercise price of $0.0001 per share, provided that, unless and until the Company obtains shareholder approval for the issuance of the shares underlying the Pre-Funded Warrants, a holder will not be entitled to exercise any portion of any Pre-Funded Warrant, which, upon giving effect to such exercise, would cause(i) the aggregate number of our ordinary shares beneficially owned by the holder (together with its affiliates) to exceed, depending on the terms of the applicable Pre-Funded Warrants and in certain cases at the election of the holder, either 4.99%,9.99% or 19.99% of the number of our ordinary shares outstanding immediately after giving effect to the exercise, or (ii) the combined voting power of our securities beneficially owned by the holder (together with its affiliates) to exceed, depending on the terms of the applicable Pre-Funded Warrants and in certain cases at the election of the holder, either 4.99%,9.99% or 19.99% of the combined voting power of all of our securities then outstanding immediately after giving effect to the exercise, as such percentage ownership is determined in accordance with the terms of the applicable Pre-Funded Warrants. The Pre-Funded Warrants are included in the weighted-average shares outstanding used in the calculation of basic net loss per share as the exercise price is negligible and the warrants are fully vested and exercisable.

Basic loss per share is computed by dividing net loss attributable to ordinary shareholders by the weighted-average number of ordinary shares outstanding.

The Company’s potentially dilutive shares, which include outstanding share options to purchase ordinary shares and RSUs, are considered to be ordinary share equivalents and are only included in the calculation of diluted net loss per share when their effect is dilutive.

The table below sets forth the computation of the Company’s basic and diluted net loss attributable to ordinary shareholders:

Year Ended December 31,
202520242023
(in thousands except share and per share data)
Numerator:
Net loss attributable to ordinary shareholders$(204,378)$(97,008)$(57,513)
Denominator:
Weighted-average ordinary shares outstanding168,649,795138,277,468106,097,268
Net loss per share, basic and diluted$(1.21)$(0.70)$(0.54)

The following potential ordinary shares, presented based on amounts outstanding at each period end, were excluded from the calculation of diluted net loss per share attributable to ordinary shareholders for the periods indicated because including them would have had an anti-dilutive effect:

As of December 31,
202520242023
Options to purchase ordinary shares20,326,87119,453,13114,107,710
RSUs1,777,416832,043637,557
  1. INCOME TAXES

The components of loss before income taxes were as follows:

Year Ended December 31,
202520242023
(in thousands)
Singapore$(6,042)$(4,202)$(7,441)
Rest of world(198,336)(92,806)(50,749)
Loss before income taxes$(204,378)$(97,008)$(58,190)

During the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024, the Company recordedno income tax benefit or provision. During the year ended December 31, 2023, the Company recorded an income tax benefit of $0.7 million. The income tax benefit for the year ended December 31, 2023 was due to a change in estimate in connection with U.S. tax guidance relating to the capitalization of research and development expenditures.

The components of the benefit for income taxes were as follows:

Year Ended December 31,
202520242023
(in thousands)
Current benefit for income taxes:
Singapore$—$—$—
Rest of world——677
Total current benefit for income taxes$—$—$677
Deferred benefit for income taxes:
Singapore$—$—$—
Rest of world———
Total deferred benefit for income taxes$—$—$—
Total benefit for income taxes$—$—$677

A reconciliation of the Singapore statutory income tax rate to the Company’s effective income tax rate is as follows:

Year Ended December 31,
AmountPercent
Singapore statutory income tax rate$(34,744)17.0%
Foreign tax effects
United States
Statutory tax rate difference between U.S. federal and Singapore(5,078)2.5
Tax Credits
Research and development tax credits(4,962)2.4
Orphan drug credit(3,675)1.8
Change in valuation allowances32,422(15.9)
Nontaxable or nondeductible items
Nondeductible executive compensation2,700(1.3)
Stock compensation(1,945)1.0
Other12,298(1.1)
UK
Statutory tax rate difference between the United Kingdom and Singapore(5,409)2.6
Research and development(1,836)0.9
Changes in valuation allowances18,742(9.2)
Other59—
Other Foreign Jurisdictions(5)—
Changes in valuation allowances2,069(1.0)
Nontaxable or nondeductible items(1,042)0.5
Changes in unrecognized tax benefits406(0.2)
Effective income tax rate—0.0%

(1) Includes United States state and local income taxes, net of federal income tax effect.

A reconciliation of the Singapore statutory income tax rate to the Company’s effective income tax rate is as follows:

Year Ended December 31,
20242023
Singapore statutory income tax rate17.0%17.0%
Federal and state tax credits9.811.5
Permanent differences(3.1)—
Changes in reserves for uncertain tax positions(6.0)(2.8)
Foreign rate differential7.27.4
Tax rate change(2.2)0.4
Return to provision0.94.4
Other(0.4)0.1
Change in deferred tax asset valuation allowance(26.0)(36.1)
Deferred tax adjustments2.8(0.7)
Effective income tax rate0.0%1.2%

The components of the Company’s deferred tax assets and liabilities as of December 31, 2025 and 2024 are as follows:

December 31,
20252024
(in thousands)
Deferred tax assets:
Net operating loss carryforwards$243,030$177,639
Federal and state tax credits24,46215,800
Share-based compensation9,7978,649
Accumulated amortization465578
Operating lease liabilities4,3546,626
Deferred revenue5,4458,836
Capitalized research and development35,25554,035
Accumulated depreciation4,1183,873
Other2,821942
Total deferred tax assets329,747276,978
Valuation allowance(326,689)(272,313)
Net deferred tax assets3,0584,665
Deferred tax liabilities:
Operating lease right-of-use assets(3,054)(4,661)
Other(4)(4)
Total deferred tax liabilities(3,058)(4,665)
Net deferred tax assets (liabilities)$—$—

A roll-forward of the valuation allowance for the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024 is as follows:

Year Ended December 31,
20252024
(in thousands)
Balance at beginning of year$272,313$247,193
Increase in valuation allowance54,37625,169
Effect of foreign currency translation—(49)
Balance at end of year$326,689$272,313

As of December 31, 2025, the Company had federal net operating loss carryforwards in the United States of $501.3 million, of which $500.5 million may be available to offset future U.S. federal taxable income indefinitely, while $0.8 million of the carryforwards may offset future U.S. federal taxable income through 2037. As of December 31, 2025, the Company had U.S. state net operating loss carryforwards of $150.1 million available to offset future U.S. state taxable income that will begin to expire in 2038. As of December 31, 2025 and 2024, the Company had U.S. federal research and development tax credit carryforwards of $15.1 million and $11.2 million, respectively, available to offset future U.S. federal income taxes and will begin to expire in 2042. As of December 31, 2025 and 2024, the Company had U.S. state research and development tax credit carryforwards of $7.0 million and $4.8 million, respectively, available to offset future U.S. state income taxes and will begin to expire in 2037. As of December 31, 2025 and 2024, the Company had a U.S. orphan drug credit carryforward of $3.7 million and $0.8 million, respectively, available to offset future U.S. federal income taxes that will begin to expire in 2042.

As of December 31, 2025 and 2024, the Company had net operating loss carryforwards in Japan of $0.1 million and $0.7 million, respectively, which may be available to offset future Japan taxable income and begin to expire in 2027.

As of December 31, 2025 and 2024, the Company had net operating loss carryforwards in Singapore of $144.8 million and $132.7 million, respectively, which may be available to offset future Singapore taxable income and can be carried forward indefinitely.

As of December 31, 2025 and 2024, the Company had net operating loss carryforwards in the United Kingdom (“UK”) of $414.7 million and $339.5 million, respectively, which may be available to offset future UK taxable income and can be carried forward indefinitely.

The Company has evaluated the positive and negative evidence bearing upon its ability to realize its deferred tax assets. As of December 31, 2025, management has considered the Company’s history of cumulative net losses incurred since inception and its lack of commercialization of any products or generation of any revenue from product sales since inception and has concluded that it is more likely than not that the Company will not realize the benefits of the deferred tax assets in all jurisdictions. Accordingly, a full valuation allowance has been established against the Company's deferred tax assets as of December 31, 2025.

The valuation allowance increased by $54.4 million in 2025. The increase in the valuation allowance for 2025 was primarily a result of operating losses generated with no corresponding financial statement benefit. The Company may release this valuation allowance when management determines that it is more-likely-than-not that the deferred tax assets will be realized. Any release of valuation allowance will be recorded as a tax benefit either increasing net income or decreasing net loss.

The Company’s reserves related to income taxes and its accounting for uncertain tax positions are based on a determination of whether and how much of a tax benefit taken by the Company in its tax filings or positions is more-likely-than-not to be realized following resolution of any potential contingencies present related to the tax benefit.

A summary of activity in the Company’s gross unrecognized tax benefits, excluding interest and penalties, is as follows:

202520242023
(in thousands)
Unrecognized tax benefit at the beginning of the year$20,798$15,790$13,945
Tax positions related to prior years(114)2,091114
Tax positions related to the current year3,2562,9171,731
Tax position releases(2,569)——
Unrecognized tax benefit at the end of the year$21,371$20,798$15,790

As of December 31, 2025 and 2024, the total amount of gross unrecognized tax benefits, which excludes interest and penalties, was $21.4 million and $20.8 million, respectively. At December 31, 2025, none of the net unrecognized tax benefits would affect the Company’s effective tax rate due to the Company's full valuation allowance.

The Company files income tax returns as prescribed by the tax laws of the jurisdictions in which it operates. In the normal course of business, the Company is subject to examination by various tax authorities in the United States, Japan, Singapore and the United Kingdom. Tax years from 2022 to the present are still open to examination in the United States, from 2020 to the present in Japan, from 2021 to the present in Singapore and from 2024 to the present in the United Kingdom. To the extent that the Company has tax attribute carryforwards, the tax years in which the attribute was generated may still be adjusted upon examination by the tax authorities to the extent utilized in a future period.

As of December 31, 2025 and 2024, $44.4 million and $37.8 million, respectively, of cash and cash equivalents were held by the Company’s subsidiaries outside of Singapore. The Company does not provide for Singapore income tax or withholding taxes on the outside basis differences, including foreign unremitted earnings of its subsidiaries as they are permanently reinvested. If the Company decides to change its indefinite reversal assertion in the future, the Company may be required to record deferred taxes. Because of the complexity of Singapore and the rest-of-the-world tax rules applicable to the method of recovery of the investment in its subsidiaries, including distribution of earnings from its subsidiaries to Singapore, the determination of the unrecognized deferred tax liability is not practicable.

Utilization of the net operating loss carryforwards and research and development tax credit carryforwards in the United States may be subject to a substantial annual limitation under Section 382 and Section 383 of the Code, due to ownership changes that have occurred previously or that could occur in the future. These ownership changes may limit the amount of carryforwards that can be utilized annually to offset future taxable income and tax. In general, an ownership change, as defined by Section 382, results from transactions increasing the ownership of certain shareholders or public groups in the shares of a corporation by more than 50% over a three-year period. The Company previously completed Section 382 studies to assess whether there have been ownership changes since its formation through 2022. The results of the studies indicated that the Company experienced ownership changes as defined by Section 382 of the Code, and, as such, the Company adjusted its net operating losses and research and development credit carryforwards to reflect the limitations as a result of such ownership changes. The Company updated its Section 382 study to assess whether there have been ownership changes since December 31, 2022 through 2024 and the Company did not experience any additional ownership changes. Should one or more ownership changes occur in the future, the Company’s ability to utilize its net operating losses and research and development credit carryforwards may be further limited.

  1. EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS

The Company has a 401(k) retirement and savings plan (the “401(k) Plan”) covering employees of Wave USA. The 401(k) Plan allows employees to make contributions up to the maximum allowable amount set by the Internal Revenue Service. Under the 401(k) Plan, the Company may make discretionary contributions as approved by the board of directors. The Company made contributions of$2.0 million and $1.7 million in the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively.

  1. RELATED PARTIES

The Company had the following related party transactions for the periods presented in the accompanying consolidated financial statements:

Pursuant to the terms of various contract research service agreements with Shin Nippon Biomedical Laboratories Ltd., a contract research organization and one of the Company’s shareholders, and its affiliates (together, “SNBL”), the Company paid SNBL $1.1 million and $0.9 million, respectively, during each of the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024. Through December 31, 2025, the Company has paid an aggregate of $3.4 million to SNBL for the aforementioned various service agreements. During each of the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024, the Company incurred expenses of approximately $4.6 million and $1.0 million, respectively, related to the aforementioned various service agreements.

  1. SEGMENT INFORMATION

Operating segments are defined as components of an entity for which separate financial information is available and that is regularly reviewed by the CODM in deciding how to allocate resources to an individual segment and in assessing performance. The Company operates as asingle reporting segment, focused on developing its proprietary RNA medicines platform, PRISM, to develop and commercialize a broad pipeline of RNA medicines in a variety of therapeutic areas. Consistent with our operational structure, our CEO, as the CODM, manages and allocates resources on a consolidated basis at the global corporate level. The results of our operations are reported on a consolidated basis for purposes of segment reporting. The CEO uses consolidated net loss that is reported on the consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss for the purposes of assessing performance, allocating resources and planning, monitoring budget versus actual results, and forecasting future periods.

The following table is representative of the significant expense categories regularly provided to the CODM when managing the Company's single reporting segment. A reconciliation to consolidated operating expenses as our single segment operating loss for the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024, and 2023 is included in the table below:

For the Year Ended December 31,
202520242023
(in thousands)
Research and development expenses:
INHBE program$15,715$9,294$229
AATD program5,71411,6668,453
DMD program19,46915,5367,808
HD program2,67811,79013,086
Other research and development expenses(1), including PNPLA3, additional preclinical programs, PRISM139,203111,396100,433
Total research and development expenses182,779159,682130,009
General and administrative expenses75,33159,02351,292
Total operating expenses$258,110$218,705$181,301

(1)Includes expenses related to other research and development programs, identification of potential drug discovery candidates, compensation-related expenses, internal manufacturing expenses, equipment repairs and maintenance expense, facility-related expenses, and other operating expenses, which are not allocated to specific programs.

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