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Absci Corp

For the period ended Dec 31, 2024. Filed Mar 18, 2025.

View on SEC.gov

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.

FY2024 · Filed Mar 18, 2025

ABSI$10.17+8.3%Stored close · as of Nov 6, 2026

What changed in Management’s Discussion and Analysis?

Read the current filing

Previous report: 10-K

Period ended 2023-12-31; filed 2024-03-21.

0001628280-24-012366

Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

Current report: 10-K

Period ended 2024-12-31; filed 2025-03-18.

0001628280-25-013464

Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

The baseline is this issuer’s latest earlier reporting period of the same form that was filed before the current report. A previous 10-Q is a different quarter, not a year-over-year comparison. Amendments are excluded.

Compared 136 previous paragraphs and 129 current paragraphs.

50 unchanged; 49 reworded; 29 added; 37 removed; 0 previous and 1 current paragraphs rearranged.

Tables are not compared: 8 previous and 6 current tables excluded. Dates, whitespace, punctuation and numbering changes are ignored; changes to financial figures remain significant.

A changed paragraph is not evidence that risk increased or decreased. An unchanged paragraph does not establish that risk stayed the same.

Added paragraphs (29)

Current report

Traditional drug discovery and preclinical development can take 4–6 years to go from discovery to clinical development. Moreover, success rates for traditional drug discovery, as defined by successfully reaching a marketed product, are estimated at less than 5%. In all, it can take as much as 12–15 years, with costs estimated to exceed more than $1 billion to bring a drug to market.

Current report

Progress in AI has been building for decades, with increasing application in drug discovery. In May 2023, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) acknowledged that AI will undoubtedly play a critical role in drug development and recognized its potential to enhance drug development in many ways, including to help bring safe and effective drugs to patients faster. A June 2023 study estimated that AI could yield time and cost savings of at least 25–50% in drug discovery up to the preclinical stage. Some analysts point specifically to generative AI as a promising approach to creating novel drugs with improved attributes, allowing drug development to move closer to drug design, speeding up the process and creating better-targeted drugs. However, generative AI depends on massive high-quality training datasets to generate quality results. For example, GPT-4, a well-known generative AI model, was trained on data at scale readily available through public sources such as the internet. This type of dataset is more limited and not as accessible for biologics drug discovery.

Current report

Our business model is focused on monetizing our Integrated Drug Creation platform by generating internally developed programs that are later partnered or out-licensed following certain value inflection points (anywhere from preclinical through clinical development) or by partnering with third parties who wish to leverage our Integrated Drug Creation platform for early discovery efforts in a variety of deal structures.

Current report

Internally Developed Programs: We believe that by developing our own pipeline, we will create optionality for enhanced monetization and validation of our Integrated Drug Creation platform. With the ability to selectively choose both novel and fast-follower targets, in addition to develop potentially best-in-class attributes, we aim to take our internally developed programs to certain value inflection points before considering partnering or out-licensing opportunities.

Current report

•Drug Creation Programs: We enter into collaborations with third parties who are seeking to leverage our platform to solve challenging problems. We work closely with our partners on single and multi-target programs to develop product candidates against targets they have selected. We aim to expand and diversify our portfolio of partnered programs through these collaborations, each of which may include up-front fees and research fees, as well as potential clinical and/or commercial milestones and royalties.

Current report

•Co-development Programs: We enter into co-development partnerships with third parties who may offer perceived synergies with our Integrated Drug Creation platform. Our co-development programs are based on a clear alignment to take these programs through to certain value inflection points before considering partnering or out-licensing opportunities. Our co-development partnerships may be directed to either single and multi-target programs and may include mutual cost-sharing and/or technology contributions. We aim to further expand and diversify our portfolio of partnered programs through these co-development partnerships. By sharing both the risks and rewards of these programs, we ensure both parties are motivated for success.

Current report

•develop our internally developed programs across diverse indications, including the advancement of these product candidates through preclinical and clinical development;

Current report

•Build out our internally developed programs: We are in the process of selectively creating our own programs and intend to advance them to certain value inflection points anywhere from preclinical validation through clinical development prior to out-licensing for further clinical advancement by a partner or other third party. We may also utilize significant resources in the design and execution of clinical trials to support our internally developed programs.

Current report

We have historically identified key business metrics to evaluate our business, measure our performance, identify trends affecting our business, formulate financial projections and make strategic decisions. Our key business metrics have changed as our business strategy has evolved and may be substituted for additional or different metrics as our business continues to develop. We have historically applied the number of Active Programs to assess the adoption of our Integrated Drug Creation platform and our ability to generate future revenues; however, as our business strategy has evolved to have a greater focus on internally developed programs, we currently do not intend to continue using or reporting on Active Programs as a key business metric. We continue to evaluate our key business metrics in light of our current strategy and determine how to accurately measure the initiation, advancement, and overall progress of our partnered and internally developed programs.

Current report

During the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, we believed the following metrics were the most important for understanding our business trajectory.

Current report

Our first development candidate, ABS-101 is in development as a potential treatment for Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD). IBD is a chronic condition characterized by inflammation within the gastrointestinal tract and encompasses two main disorders: ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn’s Disease (CD). UC primarily affects the colon and the rectum, and symptoms include bloody diarrhea, abdominal pain, bowel urgency, and frequent bowel movements. CD can affect any part of the gastrointestinal tract, from the mouth to the anus, and symptoms include abdominal pain, diarrhea, weight loss, fatigue, and complications such as strictures or fistulas. Both conditions can significantly impact patients’ quality of life in terms of physical health, emotional well-being, and the unpredictability of symptom onset.

Current report

IBD affects millions of individuals worldwide, with increasing prevalence and incidence in both developed and developing countries. In the United States, it is estimated that approximately 2.4 million individuals currently have IBD, with approximately 70,000 patients newly diagnosed every year. Based on research from the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America, the market for IBD therapeutics is expected to experience steady growth, driven by rising disease prevalence, increasing diagnosis rates, and evolving treatment paradigms.

Current report

We believe ABS-101 may present a significant market opportunity for the treatment of IBD. Current IBD treatments face limitations such as lack of response in some patients, diminishing effectiveness over time, and a therapeutic efficacy ceiling. ABS-101 has the potential to address these limitations by providing a novel mechanism of action through blocking TL1A-driven activation of immune responses and potentially fibrosis. Additionally, ABS-101 is being developed for potential longer dosing intervals and subcutaneous injections, which we believe may improve patient compliance and quality of life. Beyond IBD, ABS-101's therapeutic relevance may extend to a range of immune-related indications, further broadening its market potential.

Current report

Preclinical development of ABS-101 is ongoing in preparation for a potential regulatory filing in the first half of 2025, and an anticipated interim clinical readout in the second half of 2025.

Current report

Our second development candidate, ABS-201 is in development as a potential treatment for androgenic alopecia (AGA). AGA is an indication with a significant clinical unmet need and a potential patient population of approximately 80 million individuals in the United States alone. AGA is a genetically predetermined disorder that can affect over 50 percent of men and over 40% of women by age 50. It is characterized by progressive loss of terminal hair of the scalp any time after puberty, and follows a characteristic distribution in both males and females. Hair loss is most prominent in the vertex and frontotemporal regions in males. In women, the frontal hairline is typically spared with diffuse hair loss at the crown and top of the head, with loss often marked by a wider center part.

Current report

Current FDA-approved treatments for AGA are limited due to variable efficacy, lack of patient compliance, potential sexual and neurological side effects. Additionally, incremental limitations exist for women of reproductive age. We believe that an antibody therapeutic that is safe and efficacious with durable effects and convenient dosing has the potential to unlock a significant commercial market for hair-regrowth therapy.

Current report

Preclinical development of ABS-201 is ongoing in preparation for a potential regulatory filing in the first half of 2026.

Current report

Research and development expenses increased by $15.8 million, or 33%, for the year ended December 31, 2024 compared to the year ended December 31, 2023. The increase was primarily attributable to the advancement of our drug creation programs representing $11.8 million of this increase, which also included direct costs associated with IND-enabling studies for ABS-101, an increase in stock-based compensation of $2.8 million, and an increase in impairment expense of $0.9 million for assets.

Current report

Depreciation and amortization expense decreased by $0.6 million, or 4%, for the year ended December 31, 2024 compared to the year ended December 31, 2023, remaining relatively consistent between periods.

Current report

Interest expense was $0.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2024, compared to $1.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2023, representing a decrease of $0.4 million, or 44%, primarily attributable to decreased finance lease and long-term debt obligations.

Current report

On January 7, 2025, we closed the sale of an aggregate of 5,714,285 shares of our common stock, through a private investment in public equity (PIPE) to Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD), at an offering price of $3.50 per share. We received total net proceeds from the offering of $20.0 million.

Current report

Income tax expense for the year ended December 31, 2024 represents state income tax obligations and taxes in foreign jurisdictions for which we conduct business. Income tax expense for the year ended December 31, 2023 represents our federal and certain state income tax obligations and taxes in foreign jurisdictions for which we conduct business. As of December 31, 2024, we have recorded a full valuation allowance on our U.S. federal and state deferred tax assets.
Removed paragraphs (37)

Previous report

Absci is a data-first generative AI drug creation company that combines AI with scalable wet lab technologies to create better biologics for patients, faster. With the data to train, the AI to create, and the wet lab to validate, our Integrated Drug Creation platform aims to engineer better biologics with design-in functionality and best-in-class properties.

Previous report

Generative AI depends on massive training datasets to generate quality results. For example, GPT-4, a well-known generative AI model, was trained on data at scale readily available through public sources such as the internet. Such a data set does not exist for drug discovery. For this reason, current AI drug discovery mainly focuses on small-molecule drugs. Their simpler structure allows the synthesis and screening of million-member chemical libraries, which can then provide training data for generative AI models. In contrast, using AI models to design biologic drugs is more challenging because the existing biological datasets are much smaller, meaning there is less training data available for developing highly predictive AI models. Biologic drugs, however, are inherently more selective than small molecules and hence have in general better safety profiles in patients. Hence, building large training data sets for biologic drugs interactions offers the potential for AI models to design highly specific, safe therapeutics for a wide variety of disease targets less addressable by small molecules.

Previous report

Our AI models accelerate the design and optimization of antibody candidates with potentially novel, best-in-class attributes. We then use our proprietary wet lab assays to validate those antibody candidates at scale. This combination ofin silico modeling with wet lab testing allows us to generate immense real-world datasets that we harness to train and refine our deep learning models.

Previous report

Our business model is to use our platform for rapid creation of biologic drug candidates by:

Previous report

Establishing partnerships with stakeholders in the drug discovery and development life cycle: We create drug candidates with partners, including pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies who are responsible for preclinical and clinical testing of biologic candidates generated through our platform. Our partnerships will provide us with the opportunity to participate in the future success of the biologic candidates generated utilizing our platform, including through potential clinical, regulatory and commercial milestone payments as well as royalties on net sales of approved products. We aim to assemble economic interests in a diversified portfolio of partnered pipeline assets of biologics across multiple indications.

Previous report

Developing our own proprietary asset pipeline: We aim to create therapeutic assets comprising our own internal program pipeline. With the ability to find targets and develop potential best-in-class assets, we intend to develop promising assets to value inflection points, anywhere from preclinical validation through clinical trials, before partnering or selling them. We may enter into clinical trials and/or manufacturing partnerships to advance specific therapeutic assets to target such value inflection points. We believe that by developing our own pipeline, we will create optionality for enhanced monetization and validation of our platform.

Previous report

•develop our internal proprietary asset pipeline of lead drug candidates;

Previous report

•implement operational, financial and management information systems.

Previous report

In September 2023, we announced a plan to realign internal investments and operations to further focus on and allocate resources to our internal pipeline of drug creation programs and our Integrated Drug Creation platform. In connection with this decision, we announced a reduction in our global workforce of 15%.

Previous report

•Increase the number of programs under existing partnerships: The execution of our long-term strategy relies substantially on the value our partners believe can be recognized from our programs. Our continued growth depends on our ability to expand the scope of our existing partnerships and add new molecules for drug creation partnerships with current partners.

Previous report

•Create our proprietary asset pipeline. We are in the process of selectively creating our own lead drug candidates and intend to advance them up to value inflection points anywhere from preclinical validation through clinical trials. In some cases we may out-license or transfer drug candidates for clinical advancement by a partner, with the expectation of a greater share in the economics relative to the milestones and royalties we may secure for our core platform technology development licenses.

Previous report

We continue to identify key business metrics to evaluate our business, measure our performance, identify trends affecting our business, formulate financial projections and make strategic decisions. We believe that the following metrics are the most important for understanding our current business trajectory. These metrics may change or may be substituted for additional or different metrics as our business develops. For example, as our business matures and to the extent drug candidates generated with our technologies enter clinical development, or as we may enter partnerships addressing programs over multiple years, or as certain programs may be discontinued by partners, we anticipate updating these metrics to reflect such changes.

Previous report

(2) Programs represents the number of molecules we have addressed or are addressing with our platform. We view this metric as an indication of the robustness of our technology and the commercial success of our platform.

Previous report

Our Integrated Drug Creation platform is primarily utilized in our partnerships for drug creation across indications using AI to simultaneously optimize multiple drug characteristics that may be important to development and therapeutic benefit. One of our Active Programs with an undisclosed partner is leveraging our platform capabilities to optimize pharmacokinetic properties for a Phase II candidate and one of our Active Programs with an undisclosed partner is leveraging our platform capabilities including our antibody library. We also have three Active Programs focused on our legacy model of developing production cell lines for drug candidates that our partners are developing. Two of these legacy cell line development Active Programs are preclinical and one is in Phase 3 clinical development (PhaseBio Pharmaceuticals’ drug candidate, bentracimab, assumed by SFJ Pharmaceuticals, Inc. in January 2023).

Previous report

We have negotiated license agreements, or expected to negotiate license agreements upon completion of certain drug creation activities, with potential downstream milestone payments and royalties for all Active

Previous report

Programs. We have not negotiated terms for a sufficient number of royalty- and milestone-bearing licenses, however, to enable us to make accurate predictions regarding our potential revenue and financial performance.

Previous report

Our biologics pipeline reflects our differentiated capabilities inde novo antibody creation, multi-parameteric lead optimization, and reverse immunology. We’re developing a diversified portfolio of programs with a focus on cytokine biology as we scale our Integrated Drug Creation platform and strive to impact millions of lives.

Previous report

We are aware of clinical stage assets targeting TL1A that are being developed by Merck, Roche and Sanofi. For purposes of comparing the anticipated attributes of ABS-101 to these competitive product candidates, we generated putative clinical competitor molecules and performed a head to head comparison against several potential ABS-101 molecules. In these preclinical studies, ABS-101 potential candidates exhibited properties consistent with a potentially superior product profile by demonstrating equal or superior potency data from multiple biophysical and cellular assays, in addition to improved developability properties. We believe these attributes support the program’s potential to create an efficacious candidate conducive to subcutaneous dosing. Furthermore, in vitro and preliminary in vivo PK studies confirm the potential for extended half-life, supporting the objective for significantly improved dosing intervals. While we are encouraged by these preclinical results, we cannot assure you that similar results will be obtained in clinical studies of ABS-101. Additionally, while we endeavored to create molecules with the same attributes as those of competitive product candidates under development, we cannot assure you that the molecules we created are similar or better than those being developed by our competitors, nor can we assure you that direct comparisons of our clinical product candidate to those of our competitors will produce similar results.

Previous report

In February 2024, we initiated IND-enabling studies to further evaluate certain properties of ABS-101. Based on these IND-enabling studies, we plan to submit an IND in the first quarter of 2025 and potentially initiate a Phase 1 clinical trial in the first half of 2025.

Previous report

Our Active Programs, internal asset programs, and historical programs demonstrate our platform’s capabilities to successively address broad ranges of biologics and modalities.

Previous report

Collaboration revenue decreased by $1.2 million, or 100%, for the year ended December 31, 2023 compared to the year ended December 31, 2022. In September 2021, the JMA was amended to shorten the term to approximately three years, ending in October 2022.

Previous report

Research and development expenses decreased by $10.8 million, or 18%, for the year ended December 31, 2023 compared to the year ended December 31, 2022. The decrease was primarily attributable to a decrease in laboratory operational costs of $8.0 million and a $2.8 million decrease in personnel costs, including stock-based compensation.

Previous report

Depreciation and amortization expense increased by $1.0 million, or 7%, for the year ended December 31, 2023 compared to the year ended December 31, 2022. The increase was primarily due to a full year of depreciation for the year ended December 31, 2023 on leasehold improvement additions in 2022.

Previous report

The following table summarizes our other income (expense) for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022 (In thousands, except for percentages):

Previous report

Interest expense was $1.0 million for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, remaining consistent between periods.

Previous report

In July 2021, we completed our initial public offering (IPO) and issued 14.4 million shares of our common stock, including 1.9 million shares pursuant to the full exercise of the underwriters’ option to purchase additional shares, at a price of $16.00 per share and received net proceeds of $210.1 million from the IPO.

Previous report

We estimate an annual effective income tax rate based on projected results for the year and apply this rate to income before taxes to calculate income tax expense. When applicable, the income tax provision also includes adjustments for discrete tax items. Any refinements made due to subsequent information that affects the estimated annual effective income tax rate are reflected as adjustments in the current period.

Previous report

We tested long-lived assets for recoverability as of June 30, 2023 by comparing the estimated future cash flows (on an undiscounted basis) to be generated from the use and residual value of the entity wide asset group to its carrying value and concluded that the long-lived assets were not impaired. For details regarding the interim impairment assessment performed for long-lived assets see Note 6: Goodwill and intangibles, net.

Previous report

Goodwill is tested for impairment on an annual basis in the fourth fiscal quarter, or sooner if an indicator of impairment exists. We may elect to first assess qualitative factors to determine whether it is more-likely-than-not that the fair value of goodwill at the reporting unit level is less than the carrying amount. The qualitative assessment includes our consideration of relevant events and circumstances that would affect our single reporting unit, including macroeconomic, industry and market conditions, our overall financial performance, and trends in the market price of our common stock. We perform a qualitative assessment of goodwill at the reporting unit level by comparing the carrying amount to the estimated fair value of the reporting unit, including an estimated control premium. Assumptions are subject to change as a result of changing economic and competitive conditions.

Previous report

We performed a quantitative impairment evaluation of goodwill as of June 30, 2023 and recorded an impairment charge of $21.3 million reported as goodwill impairment on the consolidated statement of operations and comprehensive loss. For details regarding the impairment assessments performed for goodwill see Note 6: Goodwill and intangibles, net.
Reworded paragraphs (49)

Previous wording

Antibody-based therapeutics represent an extraordinary medical and economic opportunity, yet the biopharmaceutical industry faces significant challenges in bringing these life-changing medicines to patients. Our Integrated Drug Creation platform is designed to improve upon traditional biologic drug discovery by using AI to simultaneously optimize multiple drug characteristics that may be important to development and therapeutic benefit. This has the potential to significantly shorten time to clinic and increase the probability of success. Our approach expands the possibilities in biopharmaceuticals — shifting from a paradigm of drug discovery to drug creation — with the goal of bringing best-in-class and first-in-class antibody therapeutics to the patients who need them.

Current wording

We are a data-first generative AI drug creation company with the mission to design differentiated antibody therapeutics. Our Integrated Drug Creation platform comprises, in part, cutting edge generative AI models aimed at designing better antibody therapeutics, including against hard-to-drug targets. Antibody therapeutics represent a growing market and significant medical opportunity, yet the biopharmaceutical industry faces challenges in bringing these potentially life-changing medicines to patients. Leveraging our synthetic biology roots, we expect our Integrated Drug Creation platform to improve upon traditional biologic drug discovery by using AI to simultaneously optimize multiple drug characteristics that may be important to development and therapeutic benefit. Through these efforts, we aim to shorten time to clinic, while increasing the probability of success. Our approach expands the possibilities in biopharmaceuticals — shifting from a paradigm of drug discovery to drug creation — with the goal of bringing best-in-class and first-in-class antibody therapeutics to the patients who need them.

Previous wording

Through iterative AI predictions, wet lab validation, and AI training we enable a virtuous cycle that we believe will accelerate us toward fullyin silico biologic drug discovery. With the data to learn, the AI to create, and the wet lab to validate, Absci can create billions of antibody designs and screen millions of ranked antibody sequences in weeks, allowing us to go from AI-designed antibodies to wet lab-validated candidates in as little as six weeks. Our unique Integrated Drug Creation approach has the potential to significantly shorten preclinical development timelines from 5-7 years in benchmarked timelines to 18-24 months, enabling us to build a strong pipeline of both partnered and wholly-owned candidates that can expand therapeutic possibilities.

Current wording

With the data to learn, the AI to create, and the wet lab to validate, we believe we can create billions of antibody designs and screen millions of ranked antibody sequences in weeks, allowing us to go from AI-designed to wet lab-validated product candidates in as little as six weeks. Our proprietary Integrated Drug Creation platform enables us to build a strong pipeline of both internal and partnered programs that can expand therapeutic possibilities.

Previous wording

Our evolving business model is underpinned by a strategic shift towards diversifying our program portfolio through both partnered drug creation programs and internal asset development programs. Our approach is to balance the portfolio between partnered programs that broaden our reach into various indications and provide R&D and upfront funding, and internal programs for which we have more control and the potential for partnerships or asset sales that provide more significant economic returns. The cornerstone of this business model evolution lies in the diversification of risk and potential return on investment. Engaging in drug creation partnerships may enable us to reach broader indications and markets, whereas internal asset development may be more advantageous in terms of greater control over program selection, development timeline, and return on investment. Our dual-faceted model not only secures a focused set of indications but also gives us greater optionality, enhancing our ability to pivot and adapt as the programs progress. We believe we will grow and diversify our portfolio of programs through our model, ultimately driving innovation and delivering value for all stakeholders.

Current wording

Our evolving business model is underpinned by our Integrated Drug Creation platform which supports a strategic diversification of our program portfolio through internally developed programs, partnered drug creation programs and co-development programs. This strategic diversification allows us the potential to balance our program portfolio between internally developed programs for which we have more control and may provide more significant economic returns, and partnered programs which broaden our reach into therapeutic areas where our partner has established capabilities and expertise. Thus, the cornerstone of this business model evolution lies in the diversification of risk and potential return on investment. Our business model not only secures a focused set of therapeutic areas, but also gives us greater optionality, enhancing our ability to pivot and adapt as the programs progress. We believe we will grow and diversify our portfolio of programs through our model, ultimately driving innovation and delivering value for all stakeholders.

Previous wording

Total revenue was $5.7 million for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, which included an increase in technology development revenue of $1.2 million due to timing of project-based milestones achieved and the mix of ongoing programs utilizing our Integrated Drug Creation platform and a decrease in collaboration revenue of $1.2 million due to completion of our collaboration program in 2022. For the year ended December 31, 2023 we incurred a net loss of $110.6 million, which includes a non-cash goodwill impairment charge of $21.3 million. Research and development expenses decreased by $10.8 million, or 18%, for the year ended December 31, 2023 compared to the year ended December 31, 2022. As of December 31, 2023, we had an accumulated deficit of $406.5 million and cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments totaling $97.7 million.

Current wording

Total revenue was $4.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2024, compared to $5.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2023, a decrease of $1.2 million due to the number of ongoing partnered programs and respective timing of project-based milestones achieved. We incurred a net loss of $103.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2024, compared to a net loss of $110.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2023. Research and development expenses increased by $15.8 million, or 33%, for the year ended December 31, 2024 compared to the year ended December 31, 2023. The net loss for the year ended December 31, 2023 included a non-cash goodwill impairment charge in the amount of $21.3 million recorded during the quarter ended June 30, 2023.

Previous wording

•continue to engage in research and development efforts and scale our drug creation activities to meet potential demand at a reasonable cost;

Current wording

•continue to engage in discovery, research and development efforts and scale our activities to meet potential demand from both new and existing partners;

Previous wording

•implement an effective business development strategy to drive adoption of our Integrated Drug Creation platform by new and existing partners;

Current wording

•execute an effective business development strategy to drive adoption of our Integrated Drug Creation platform by new and existing partners and, as relevant, to identify partners for internally developed programs;

Previous wording

•develop, acquire, in-license or otherwise obtain technologies that enable us to expand our platform capabilities;

Current wording

•develop, acquire, in-license or otherwise obtain technologies that enable us to expand our Integrated Drug Creation platform capabilities; and

Previous wording

•attract, retain and motivate highly qualified personnel; and

Current wording

•attract, retain and motivate highly qualified personnel.

Previous wording

We believe that our future financial performance will be primarily driven by multiple factors as described below, each of which presents growth opportunities for our business. These factors also pose important challenges that we must successfully address in order to sustain our growth and improve our results of operations. Our ability to successfully address these challenges is subject to various risks and uncertainties, including those described in the section of this Annual Report titled “Risk Factors”.

Current wording

We believe that our future financial performance will be primarily driven by multiple factors as described below, each of which presents growth opportunities for our business. These factors also pose important challenges that we must successfully address in order to sustain our growth and improve our results of operations. Our ability to successfully address these challenges is subject to various risks and uncertainties, including those described in the sections of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024 titled “Risk Factors”.

Previous wording

•Establish new partnerships: Our potential to grow revenue and long-term earnings will require us to successfully identify and establish drug creation arrangements with new partners.

Current wording

•Establish new partnerships: Our potential to grow revenue and long-term earnings will require us to successfully identify, establish and maintain programs with new and existing partners.

Previous wording

•Successfully complete our drug creation activities and enter licensing arrangements with our partners: Our business model depends upon entering into licensing arrangements with our partners to advance the drug candidates which we generate through clinical development to commercialization. Both our ability to successfully complete drug creation activities to meet the needs of a partner, and the partner’s prioritization of the subject program, impact the likelihood and timing of any election by a partner to enter into a licensing arrangement. There is no assurance that a partner will elect to license.

Current wording

•Successfully complete our drug creation activities with partners and enter into licensing agreements: Our business model relies upon entering into licensing agreements with our partners to advance the product candidates we generate through preclinical validation through clinical development to commercialization. Both our ability to successfully complete drug creation activities to meet the needs of a partner, and the partner’s prioritization of the relevant program, impact the likelihood and timing of any election by a partner to enter into a follow-on licensing agreement. There is no assurance that a partner will elect to license our intellectual property for the development of any product candidates.

Previous wording

•Our partners successfully developing and commercializing the drug candidates generated with our technology: Our business model is dependent on the eventual progression of biologic drug candidates discovered or initially developed utilizing our Integrated Drug Creation platform into clinical trials and commercialization. Given the nature of our relationships with our partners, we often do not fully control the progression, clinical development, regulatory strategy, public disclosure or eventual commercialization, if approved, of our partnered product candidates. As a result, our future success and our potential eligibility to receive milestone payments and royalties are significantly dependent on our partners’ efforts over which we have no control. The timing and scope of any approval that may be required by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), or any other regulatory body, for drugs that are developed based on molecules discovered and/or manufactured using our Integrated Drug Creation platform technologies can significantly impact our results of operations and future performance

Current wording

•Developing and commercializing product candidates generated with our Integrated Drug Creation platform: Our business model is dependent on the eventual progression of product candidates discovered or initially developed utilizing our Integrated Drug Creation platform into clinical trials by us or our partners and through commercialization by our partners or other third parties. Given the nature of our relationships with our partners, we often do not fully control the progression, clinical development, regulatory strategy, public disclosure or eventual commercialization, if approved, of our partnered programs. As a result, our future success and our potential eligibility to receive milestone payments and royalties are significantly dependent on our partners’ efforts over which we have no control. The timing and scope of any approval that may be required by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), or any other regulatory body, for drugs that are developed based on molecules discovered and/or manufactured using our Integrated Drug Creation platform can significantly impact our results of operations and future performance.

Previous wording

•Continued significant investments in our research and development of new technologies and platform expansion: We are seeking to further refine and expand our platform and the scope of our capabilities, which may or may not be successful. This includes, but is not limited to, novel target identification, de novo discovery, incorporation of non-standard amino acids (Bionic protein creation), and application of artificial intelligence across our Integrated Drug Creation platform. We may also invest significantly in developing our own proprietary lead drug candidates and advancing them through preclinical, or later, validation. We expect to incur significant expenses to advance these research and development efforts or to invest in or acquire complementary technologies, but these efforts may not be successful.

Current wording

•Continued significant investments in our research and development of new technologies and expansion of our Integrated Drug Creation platform: We are seeking to further refine and expand the scope of our capabilities, which may or may not be successful. This includes, but is not limited to, novel target identification, de novo discovery, and application of artificial intelligence across our Integrated Drug Creation platform. We expect to incur significant expenses to advance our discovery, research and development efforts or to invest in and/or acquire complementary technologies, but these efforts may not be successful.

Previous wording

•Drive commercial adoption of our Integrated Drug Creation platform capabilities: Driving the adoption of our Integrated Drug Creation platform across existing and new markets will require significant investment. We plan to further invest in research and development to support the expansion of our platform capabilities including new molecules to existing partners or help deliver our platform to new markets.

Current wording

•Drive commercial adoption of our Integrated Drug Creation platform capabilities: Driving the adoption of our Integrated Drug Creation platform across existing and new markets will require significant investment. We plan to further invest in research and development to support the expansion of our capabilities, including to discover and validate new product candidates for existing partners or help expand our capabilities to support new markets.

Previous wording

(3) Active Programs represents drug creation programs that are subject to ongoing technology development activities intended to determine if the program can be pursued by our partner for future clinical development, as well as any program for which our partner obtains and maintains a license to our technology to advance the program after completion of the drug creation phase. There is no assurance, however, that our partners will advance any drug candidates that are currently the subject of Active Programs into further preclinical or clinical development or that our partners will elect to license our technologies upon completion of the drug creation phase in a timely manner, or at all. In light of the inherent risks and uncertainties associated with drug development, we anticipate that our partners may from time to time abandon or terminate the development of one or more drug candidates generated from our platform. As we are notified of such terminations, we will remove the subject programs from our Active Programs count.

Current wording

(2) Active Programs represents partnered programs that are subject to ongoing development activities intended to determine if the program can be pursued by our partner for future preclinical or clinical development, as well as any program for which our partner obtains and maintains a license to our technology to advance such program after completion of the drug creation phase. There is no assurance, however, that our partners will advance any product candidates that are currently the subject of Active Programs into further preclinical or clinical development or that our partners will elect to license our technologies upon completion of the drug creation phase in a timely manner, or at all. In light of the inherent risks and uncertainties associated with drug development, we anticipate that our partners may from time to time abandon or terminate the development of one or more product candidates generated from our Integrated Drug Creation platform. As Active Programs terminate, we have historically removed the subject programs from our Active Programs count.

Previous wording

As of December 31, 2023, our Active Programs are as follows:

Current wording

As of December 31, 2024, our Active Programs were as follows:

Previous wording

As of December 31, 2023, we have identified three wholly-owned internal asset programs focusing on cytokine biology as well as several undisclosed internal pipeline programs under evaluation.

Current wording

Our pipeline reflects internally developed programs which highlight our differentiated capabilities, including inde novo antibody design, multi-parametric lead optimization, and reverse immunology, with an initial focus on cytokine biology. As of December 31, 2024, we have identified four wholly owned, internally developed programs focusing on cytokine biology, as well as several undisclosed internal pipeline programs currently in early discovery phases

Previous wording

Our revenue currently consists primarily of fees earned from our partners in conjunction with drug creation partnership agreements utilizing our integrated drug creation platform, which are delineated as technology development revenue in our results of operations. These fees are earned and paid at various points throughout the terms of these agreements including upfront, upon the achievement of specified project-based milestones, and throughout the program.

Current wording

Our revenue currently consists primarily of fees earned from our partners in conjunction with drug creation agreements utilizing our Integrated Drug Creation platform, which are presented as partner program revenue in our results of operations. These fees are earned and paid at various points throughout the terms of these agreements including upfront, upon the achievement of specified project-based milestones, and throughout the program.

Previous wording

We expect revenue to increase over time as we enter into additional drug creation partnership agreements. We expect revenue to increase over time as we grant licenses to our partners for the clinical and commercial use of intellectual property rights to the biological assets we create, and as the partners advance product candidates into and through clinical development and commercialization. We expect that our revenue will fluctuate from period to period due to the timing of executing additional partnerships, the uncertainty of the timing of milestone achievements and our dependence on the program decisions of our partners.

Current wording

We expect that our revenue will fluctuate from period to period due to, for example, the timing of executing additional partnerships, the contractual structure of future partnerships, the uncertainty of the timing of milestone achievements and dependence on our partners’ program-related decisions. We expect revenue to increase over time as we grant licenses to our partners for the clinical and commercial use of product candidates, and as the partnered product candidates advance into and through clinical development and commercialization.

Previous wording

Research and development expenses include the cost of materials, personnel-related costs (comprised of salaries, benefits and share-based compensation) for personnel performing research and development functions, consulting fees, equipment and allocated facility costs (including occupancy and information technology). These expenses are exclusive of depreciation and amortization. Research and development activities consist of continued development of our Integrated Drug Creation platform, internal pipeline, and drug creation for partners. We derive improvements to our platform from each type of activity. Research and development efforts apply to our platform broadly and across programs.

Current wording

Research and development expenses include the personnel-related costs (comprised of salaries, benefits and share-based compensation), contract research services, contract manufacturing, consulting fees, laboratory supplies and facilities, and certain technology costs. These expenses are exclusive of depreciation and amortization. Research and development activities consist of continued development of our Integrated Drug Creation platform, internally developed programs, and partnered programs. We derive improvements to our Integrated Drug Creation platform from each type of activity. Research and development efforts apply to our Integrated Drug Creation platform broadly, as well as and across programs.

Previous wording

We expect research and development expenses to increase in absolute dollars over the long-term as we enter into additional drug creation partnerships, continue to invest in platform enhancements, and develop and advance our internal asset pipeline.

Current wording

We expect research and development expenses to increase in absolute dollars over the long term as we develop and advance our internally developed programs, enter into additional partnerships, and continue to invest in technology enhancements.

Previous wording

Selling, general, and administrative expenses include personnel-related costs (comprised of salaries, benefits and share-based compensation) for executive, business development, alliance management, legal, finance, marketing and other administrative functions. Marketing and business development expenses include costs associated with attending conferences and all promotion efforts of our Integrated Drug Creation platform. Professional service expenses such as external legal expenses, accounting and tax service expenses, and other consultants, and allocated facilities costs (including occupancy and information technology) are also included within selling, general and administrative expenses. These expenses are exclusive of depreciation and amortization.

Current wording

Selling, general, and administrative expenses include personnel-related costs (comprised of salaries, benefits and share-based compensation) for executive, business development, legal, finance, human resources, information technology and other administrative functions. Business development expenses include costs associated with attending conferences and other promotion efforts of our Integrated Drug Creation platform. General and administrative expenses include certain professional service expenses such as, external legal, accounting, and other consultants, as well as certain technology costs and allocated facility costs. These expenses are exclusive of depreciation and amortization.

Previous wording

We expect our selling costs to increase in absolute dollars as we continue to grow our business development efforts and increase marketing activities to drive awareness and adoption of our platform. We expect general and administrative expenses to continue to stabilize as we more effectively control costs associated with operating as a public company, including expenses related to legal, accounting, regulatory, maintaining compliance with exchange listing and requirements of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), director and officer insurance premiums and investor relations. Following an initial reduction due to the September 2023 realignment and resulting reduction in our global workforce, we expect these expenses to vary from period to period as a percentage of revenue in the near term, and to decrease as a percentage of revenue in the long term.

Current wording

As we grow our operations, we expect personnel-related costs to increase in absolute dollars and we expect to actively manage other general and administrative expenses. We expect these expenses to vary from period to period as a percentage of revenue in the near term, and to decrease as a percentage of revenue in the long term.

Previous wording

We have a comprehensive intellectual property portfolio directed towards the many aspects of our Integrated Drug Creation platform, including those related to our proprietary cell lines and protein expression technologies, non-standard amino acid technology, proprietary screening assays, antibody discovery methods, and generative AI models. We regularly file patent applications to protect innovations arising from our research and development. We also hold trademarks and trademark applications in the United States and foreign jurisdictions. Costs to secure and defend our intellectual property are expensed as incurred and are classified as selling, general and administrative expenses.

Current wording

We have a comprehensive intellectual property portfolio directed towards the many aspects of our Integrated Drug Creation platform, including those related to our internally developed programs, product candidates proprietary cell lines and protein expression technologies, proprietary screening assays, antibody discovery methods, and generative AI models. We regularly file patent applications to protect innovations arising from our research and development. We also hold trademarks and trademark applications in the United States and foreign jurisdictions. Costs to secure and defend our intellectual property are expensed as incurred and are classified as selling, general and administrative expenses.

Previous wording

We expect depreciation expense to stabilize following the completion of the build-out of our primary facility, though it may fluctuate in the future in line with continued growth and compute demands in absolute dollars if we purchase additional equipment.

Current wording

We expect depreciation expense to fluctuate in future periods in line with continued growth and compute demands in absolute dollars as we purchase additional equipment.

Previous wording

Other income consists primarily of interest income from our cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments.

Current wording

Other income, net consists primarily of interest income from our cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments.

Previous wording

Technology development revenue increased by $1.2 million, or 26%, for the year ended December 31, 2023 compared to the year ended December 31, 2022, driven by a combination of overall program progress, the timing of project-based milestones achieved, and the mix of ongoing programs activity.

Current wording

Partner program revenue decreased by $1.2 million, or 21%, for the year ended December 31, 2024 compared to the year ended December 31, 2023, driven by a combination of the timing of achieving project-based milestones and the mix of ongoing program activity under our drug creation agreements. For the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, two partners represented approximately 99% and 89% of partner program revenue, respectively.

Previous wording

Selling, general, and administrative expenses decreased by $2.7 million, or 7%, for the year ended December 31, 2023 compared to the year ended December 31, 2022. The decrease was primarily driven by decreased stock-based compensation of $1.1 million and decreased insurance and other administrative costs of $2.2 million.

Current wording

Selling, general, and administrative expenses decreased by $1.7 million, or 4%, for the year ended December 31, 2024 compared to the year ended December 31, 2023. The decrease was primarily attributable to a decrease in personnel costs of $4.2 million, decreased other administrative costs of $2.7 million, offset by a $5.2 million increase in stock-based compensation.

Previous wording

We performed a quantitative impairment evaluation of goodwill as of June 30, 2023 and recorded an impairment charge in the amount of $21.3 million during the second quarter. See Note 6: Goodwill and intangibles, netto our consolidated financial statements in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for further discussion.

Current wording

We performed a quantitative impairment evaluation of goodwill as of June 30, 2023 and recorded an impairment charge in the amount of$21.3 million.

Previous wording

Other income, net, was $6.1 million income for the year ended December 31, 2023 compared to $2.4 million income for the year ended December 31, 2022, representing a change of $3.7 million, or 157%, primarily attributable to increases in investment income from cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments.

Current wording

Other income, net, was $6.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2024, compared to $6.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2023, representing an increase of $0.3 million, or 6%, primarily attributable to increases in investment income from cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments due to higher balances and interest rates, offset by impairment of a non-marketable equity investment.

Previous wording

As of December 31, 2023, we had $97.7 million of cash,cash equivalents and short-term investments.

Current wording

As of December 31, 2024, we had $112.4 million of cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments.

Previous wording

We have incurred net operating losses since inception. As of December 31, 2023, our accumulated deficit was $406.5 million. To date, we have funded operations through issuances and sales of equity securities and debt, in addition to revenue generated from our drug creation agreements. We believe that our cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments will be sufficient to meet our operating expenses, working capital and capital expenditure needs over at least the next 12 months following the date of this filing.

Current wording

We have incurred net operating losses since inception. As of December 31, 2024, our accumulated deficit was $509.6 million. To date, we have funded operations through issuances and sales of equity securities and debt, in addition to revenue generated from our drug creation agreements. We believe that our cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments will be sufficient to meet our operating expenses, working capital and capital expenditure needs over at least the next 12 months following the date of this filing.

Previous wording

Our future capital requirements will depend on many factors, including, but not limited to our ability to raise additional capital through equity or debt financing, our ability to successfully secure additional partnerships under contract with new partners and increase the number of programs covered under contracts with existing partners, the successful preclinical and clinical development by our partners of product candidates generated using our Integrated Drug Creation platform, the successful commercialization by our partners of any such product candidates that are approved, and the progress of any IND-enabling studies for our internal program assets. If we are unable to execute on our business plan and adequately fund operations, or if our business plan requires a level of spending in excess of cash resources, we may be required to negotiate partnerships in which we receive greater near-term payments at the expense of potential downstream revenue. Alternatively, we may need to seek additional equity or debt financing, which may not be available on terms acceptable to us or at all. To the extent that we raise additional capital through the sale of equity or convertible debt securities, the ownership interest of our stockholders will be diluted, and the terms of these securities may include liquidation or other preferences that adversely affect the rights of our common stockholders. Debt financing and preferred equity financing, if available, may involve agreements that include covenants restricting our ability to take specific actions, such as incurring additional debt, selling or licensing our assets, making product acquisitions, making capital expenditures, or declaring dividends. If we are unable to generate sufficient revenue or raise additional capital when desired, our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects would be adversely affected.

Current wording

Our future capital requirements will depend on many factors, including, but not limited to our ability to raise additional capital through equity or debt financing, the development of our internally developed programs including the progress and strategy of any pre-clinical and clinical activities, our ability to successfully secure additional partnerships under contract with new partners and increase the number of programs covered under contracts with existing partners, the advancement of technology development activities with existing and future partners, the successful preclinical and clinical development by us and our partners of product candidates generated using our Integrated Drug Creation platform, and the successful commercialization by us and our partners of any such product candidates that are approved. If we are unable to execute on our business plan and adequately fund operations, or if our business plan requires a level of spending in excess of cash resources, we may be required to change our strategies related to pre-clinical and clinical development and our approach to negotiating partnerships. Alternatively, we may need to seek additional equity or debt financing, which may not be available on terms acceptable to us or at all. To the extent that we raise additional capital through the sale of equity or convertible debt securities, the ownership interest of our stockholders will be diluted, and the terms of these securities may include liquidation or other preferences that adversely affect the rights of our common stockholders. Debt financing and preferred equity financing, if available, may involve agreements that include covenants restricting our ability to take specific actions, such as incurring additional debt, selling or licensing our programs, making product acquisitions, making capital expenditures, or declaring dividends. If we are unable to generate sufficient revenue or raise additional capital when desired, our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects would be adversely affected.

Previous wording

In 2022, we received a total of $12.0 million of proceeds from equipment financing arrangements. Terms of the agreements require monthly payments over 42-48 month periods with imputed interest rates ranging from 8%-10%. As of December 31, 2023, the combined outstanding balance on these agreements is $7.9 million.

Current wording

In 2022, we received a total of $12.0 million of proceeds from equipment financing arrangements. Terms of the agreements require monthly payments over 42-48 month periods with imputed interest rates ranging from 8%-10%. As of December 31, 2024, the combined outstanding balance on these agreements is $4.0 million.

Previous wording

On June 16, 2023, we entered into a Sales Agreement with Cowen and Company, LLC, as Sales Agent, with respect to an “at the market offering” program under which we may offer and sell, from time to time at our sole discretion, shares of our common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, having an aggregate offering price of up to $100.0 million through the Sales Agent. We will pay the Sales Agent a commission up to 3.0% of the gross sales proceeds of any shares sold under the Sales Agreement.To date, we have not issued any securities or received any proceeds from the sale of any securities registered pursuant to the Sales Agreement. There can be no assurance that any financing will be available on terms acceptable to us.

Current wording

On June 16, 2023, we entered into a Sales Agreement with Cowen and Company, LLC, as Sales Agent, with respect to an “at the market offering” program under which we may offer and sell, from time to time at our sole discretion, shares of our common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, having an aggregate offering price of up to $100.0 million through the Sales Agent. We will pay the Sales Agent a commission up to 3.0% of the gross sales proceeds of any shares sold under the Sales Agreement. As of December 31, 2024, we have issued 377,996 shares and received $1.6 million net proceeds from the sale of securities registered pursuant to the Sales Agreement. Subsequent to December 31, 2024, the Company issued and sold 5,269,192 shares of common stock for net proceeds of$21.7 million pursuant to the Sales Agreement.

Previous wording

On March 1, 2024, the Company closed the sale of an aggregate of 19,205,000 shares of its common stock, pursuant to an underwriting agreement with Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC and Cowen and Company, LLC at a public offering price of $4.50 per share, before underwriting discounts and commissions. The total estimated net proceeds to the Company from the offering are expected to be approximately $80.8 million after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by the Company.

Current wording

On March 1, 2024, we closed the sale of an aggregate of 19,205,000 shares of our common stock, pursuant to an underwriting agreement with Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC and Cowen and Company, LLC at a public offering price of $4.50 per share, before underwriting discounts and commissions. We received total net proceeds from the offering of $80.8 million after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and offering expenses payable by us.

Previous wording

In the year ended December 31, 2022, net cash used in operating activities was $81.3 million and consisted primarily of a net loss of $104.9 million adjusted for non-cash items, including depreciation and amortization expense of $13.0 million, stock-based compensation of $12.5 million, and a net increase in operating assets and liabilities in the amount of $1.5 million.

Current wording

In the year ended December 31, 2024, net cash used in operating activities was $72.4 million and consisted primarily of a net loss of $103.1 million adjusted for non-cash items, including depreciation and amortization expense of $13.4 million, stock-based compensation of $19.5 million, and impairment of $1.4 million for assets that met the held for sale criteria during the period, partially offset by $3.7 million of accretion of discount on short-term investments. Net cash used in operations increased by $7.8 million year-over-year primarily due to increased research and development costs, including ABS-101 IND-enabling studies.

Previous wording

In the year ended December 31, 2023, net cash used in operating activities was $64.6 million and consisted primarily of a net loss of $110.6 million adjusted for non-cash items, including depreciation and amortization expense of $14.0 million, stock-based compensation of $11.4 million, goodwill impairment of $21.3 million, and a net decrease in operating assets and liabilities in the amount of $1.5 million.

Current wording

In the year ended December 31, 2023, net cash used in operating activities was $64.6 million and consisted primarily of a net loss of $110.6 million adjusted for non-cash items, including depreciation and amortization expense of $14.0 million, stock-based compensation of $11.4 million, and goodwill impairment of $21.3 million, partially offset by $2.7 million of accretion of discount on short-term investments.

Previous wording

In the year ended December 31, 2022, net cash used in investing activities was $127.0 million primarily from purchases of short-term investments of $108.6 million, purchases of lab equipment of $16.2 million as we expanded our operations and overall capacity and cash paid as part of our acquisition of Totient, Inc. of $8.0 million, partially offset by cash provided by maturities of short-term investments of $5.0 million.

Current wording

In the year ended December 31, 2024, net cash used in investing activities was $41.6 million primarily from purchases of short-term investments of $186.1 million, partially offset by cash provided by maturities of short-term investments of $144.0 million.

Previous wording

In the year ended December 31, 2023, net cash provided by investing activities was $81.9 million. The net cash provided resulted primarily from maturities of short-term investments of $229.9 million, partially offset by cash used for purchases of short-term investments of $147.3 million and purchases of lab equipment of $0.9 million.

Current wording

In the year ended December 31, 2023, net cash provided by investing activities was $81.9 million primarily from maturities of short-term investments of $229.9 million, partially offset by cash used for purchases of short-term investments of $147.3 million and purchases of lab equipment of $0.9 million.

Showing the first 40 of 49 pairs. Open the source sections for the rest.

Rearranged current paragraphs (1)

Current report — wording carried from elsewhere

As of December 31, 2024, we had an accumulated deficit of $509.6 million and cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments totaling $112.4 million.