10-K
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 10-K
(Mark One)
For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025
or
Commission File Number 001-39273
c
Lyra Therapeutics, Inc.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code)
Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (617) 420-8858
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
Title of each class TradingSymbol(s) Name of each exchange on which registered
Common Stock, $0.001 par value per share LYRA The Nasdaq Capital Market
Securities registered pursuant to section 12(g) of the Act: None
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes ☐No☒
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. Yes ☐No☒
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant: (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes☒ No ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). Yes☒ No ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
Large accelerated filer ☐ Accelerated filer ☐
Non-accelerated filer ☒ Smaller reporting company ☒
Emerging growth company ☐
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. ☐
If securities are registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act, indicate by check mark whether the financial statements of the registrant included in the filing reflect the correction of an error to previously issued financial statements. ☐
Indicate by check mark whether any of those error corrections are restatements that required a recovery analysis of incentive-based compensation received by any of the registrant’s executive officers during the relevant recovery period pursuant to §240.10D-1(b). ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act). Yes ☐ No ☒
The aggregate market value of outstanding shares of common stock held by non-affiliates of the registrant, based on the closing price of the shares of common stock on The Nasdaq Global Market on June 30, 2025, the last business day of the registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter, was $11,123,580. For purposes of this disclosure, shares of common stock held by officers and directors of the registrant and by persons who hold more than 10% of the registrant’s outstanding common shares have been excluded because such persons may be deemed to be affiliates. This determination of affiliate status is not necessarily conclusive.
The number of shares of the registrant’s Common Stock, $0.001 par value per share, outstanding as of March 27, 2026 was 1,774,882.
DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE
None.
Table of Contents
Page
PART I
Item 1. Business 1
Item 1A. Risk Factors 15
Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments 31
Item 1C. Cybersecurity 31
Item 2. Properties 32
Item 3. Legal Proceedings 32
Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures 32
PART II
Item 6. [Reserved] 33
Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk 50
Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data 50
Item 9A. Controls and Procedures 50
Item 9B. Other Information 51
Item 9C. Disclosure Regarding Foreign Jurisdictions that Prevent Inspections 51
PART III
Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance 52
Item 11. Executive Compensation 52
Item 14. Principal Accountant Fees and Services 54
PART IV
Item 15. Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules 55
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SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This Annual Report on Form 10-K contains forward-looking statements. We intend such forward-looking statements to be covered by the safe harbor provisions for forward-looking statements contained in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. All statements other than statements of historical fact contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K are forward-looking statements, including but not limited to statements regarding:
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the sufficiency of our cash and cash equivalents to fund our operations;
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our ability to raise significant additional capital to fund a third Phase 3 trial of LYR-210, if ever;
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our ability to continue as a going concern;
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our evaluation of strategic transactions, if any, to maximize shareholder value;
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our estimates and statements regarding our financial position;
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the market for our common stock after it is no longer listed on Nasdaq Capital Market;
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our intellectual property position;
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our competitive position and developments and projections relating to our competitors or our industry;
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the impact of laws and regulations;
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risks associated with international terrorism, political unrest, and wars, or other events such as the COVID-19 pandemic, which may adversely impact our business and clinical trials;
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our business strategy;
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our projected research and development costs; and
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the plans and objectives of management for future operations.
These statements are neither promises nor guarantees, but involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements.
In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terms such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “expect,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “could,” “intend,” “target,” “project,” “contemplate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “potential,” “would” or “continue” or the negative of these terms or other similar expressions, although not all forward-looking statements contain these words or expressions. The forward-looking statements in this Annual Report on Form 10-K are only predictions and are based largely on our current expectations and projections about future events and financial trends that we believe may affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this Annual Report on Form 10-K and are subject to a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and assumptions, including those described under the sections in this Annual Report on Form 10-K entitled “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Because forward-looking statements are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties, some of which cannot be predicted or quantified and some of which are beyond our control, you should not rely on these forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. The events and circumstances reflected in our forward-looking statements may not be achieved or occur and actual results could differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements.
Moreover, we operate in an evolving environment. New risk factors and uncertainties may emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for management to predict all risk factors and uncertainties. You should read this Annual Report on Form 10-K and the documents that we reference in this Annual Report on Form 10-K completely and with the understanding that our actual future results may be materially different from what we expect. We qualify all of our forward-looking statements by these cautionary statements. Except as required by applicable law, we do not plan to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements contained herein, whether as a result of any new information, future events, changed circumstances, or otherwise.
SUMMARY RISK FACTORS
Our business is subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, including those described in Part II, Item 1A. “Risk Factors” in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. You should carefully consider these risks and uncertainties when investing in our common stock.
The principal risks and uncertainties affecting our business include the following:
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on January 9, 2026, our Board of Directors approved a plan to suspend further development of LYR-210, our lead product candidate for the treatment of chronic rhinosinusitis, and to implement a cost reduction plan that includes a workforce reduction impacting substantially all of our remaining employees, effective January 12, 2026, and other cost-saving actions to preserve capital;
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any potential financial or strategic option we pursue in order to maximize shareholder value may not result in the identification of a suitable transaction, or if one is identified and pursued, may not be completed on attractive terms, or at all;
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being delisted from the Nasdaq Stock Market LLC could harm our business, the trading price of our common stock, our ability to raise additional capital and the liquidity of the market for our common stock;
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we need significant additional funding in order to complete development of, manufacture, and obtain regulatory approval for our product candidates and commercialize our products, if approved, including the funding necessary to complete a third Phase 3 trial in LYR-210;
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we are attempting to sublease or assign our three leaseholds, which represent significant operating costs, and there can be no assurance that we will accomplish this effort on favorable terms, or at all, which would adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition;
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we have incurred significant losses since inception and expect to incur significant additional losses for the foreseeable future, and we may never achieve or maintain profitability;
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our recurring losses from operations raise substantial doubt regarding our ability to continue as a going concern;
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developments by competitors may render our products or technologies obsolete or non-competitive or may reduce the size of our markets;
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our business is highly dependent on the success of our most advanced product candidate, LYR-210, which requires on-going clinical testing including another Phase 3 trial, before we can seek regulatory approval and potentially launch our product. If LYR-210 does not receive regulatory approval or is not successfully commercialized, or is significantly delayed in doing so, our business will be harmed;
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clinical trials required for our lead product candidate and any future product candidates are expensive and time-consuming, their outcome is uncertain, and if our clinical trials do not meet safety or efficacy endpoints in these evaluations, or if we experience significant delays in these trials, our ability to commercialize our product candidates and our financial position will be impaired;
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we rely on third parties to conduct our pre-clinical studies and clinical trials. Any failure by a third party to conduct the clinical trials according to good clinical practices and in a timely manner may delay or prevent our ability to seek or obtain regulatory approval for or commercialize our product candidates;
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the successful commercialization of our product candidates will depend in part on the extent to which governmental authorities and health insurers establish coverage, adequate reimbursement levels and pricing policies. Failure to obtain or maintain coverage and adequate reimbursement for our product candidates, if approved, could limit our ability to market those products and decrease our ability to generate revenue;
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if we are unable to obtain, maintain, or adequately protect our intellectual property rights, we may not be able to compete effectively in our market; and
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international terrorism, political unrest, and wars, or other events such as COVID-19 have previously and could in the future adversely impact our business and operations, including our clinical trials.
PART I
Unless the context requires otherwise, we use the terms “Lyra,” “the Company,” “we,” “us,” “our” and similar designations in this Annual Report on Form 10-K to refer to Lyra Therapeutics, Inc. and its wholly-owned subsidiary.
Overview
We have historically been a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on the development and commercialization of innovative, anti-inflammatory therapies for the localized treatment of patients with chronic rhinosinusitis, or CRS. CRS is an inflammatory disease of the paranasal sinuses which leads to debilitating symptoms and significant morbidities and affects approximately 14 million people in the United States.
In May 2024, we announced topline results from the Company’s Phase 3 ENLIGHTEN 1 trial evaluating LYR-210, a bioabsorbable nasal implant designed to be administered in a simple, in-office procedure and intended to deliver six months of continuous anti-inflammatory drug therapy to the sinonasal passages for the treatment of CRS. ENLIGHTEN 1 did not meet its primary endpoint of demonstrating statistically significant improvement compared to sham control in 3CS at 24 weeks in patients without nasal polyps. Following this announcement, we reported a reduction in force of approximately 75% of our workforce, impacting 87 employees, in addition to other cost-saving measures in order to preserve capital, including the stoppage of commercialization efforts for LYR-210 and pausing development efforts for LYR-220, which is substantially similar to LYR-210 and also directed at patients living with CRS, but employs a larger implant designed for patients whose nasal cavity is larger including those patients who have undergone ethmoid sinus surgery. The Company also paused the manufacturing of both LYR-210 and LYR-220.
On June 2, 2025, we reported positive results from the Phase 3 ENLIGHTEN 2 trial evaluating LYR-210 as a six-month treatment of CRS. ENLIGHTEN 2 met its primary endpoint of demonstrating statistically significant improvement compared to sham control in the composite score of the three cardinal symptoms (3CS) of CRS (nasal obstruction, nasal discharge, facial pain/pressure) at 24 weeks in patients without nasal polyps. The ENLIGHTEN 2 trial also met the key secondary endpoints of 3CS at 24 weeks in the full population (i.e., patients with and without nasal polyps) and in the clinically-validated SNOT-22 score at 24 weeks, with symptom improvement observed as early as week 4. Consistent with previous studies, LYR-210 was well-tolerated, with no product-related serious adverse events in the ENLIGHTEN 2 trial. An additional clinical trial was confirmed as a requirement for submission of a New Drug Application (“NDA”) for LYR-210 for the treatment of CRS without nasal polyps, based on a September 2025 meeting with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”). Any resumption of development activities would require successful completion of a strategic transaction or obtaining significant additional funding, which may not be available.
In January 2026, we announced the suspension of further development of LYR-210. We also announced a workforce reduction impacting 25 employees and other cost-saving actions to preserve capital. Maria Palasis, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer, President and Chair of the Board, and Mr. Jason Cavalier, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer, are each being retained as consultants to support the Company’s pursuit of strategic alternatives. The Company continues to evaluate potential strategic options to maximize shareholder value. There can be no assurance that the evaluation of strategic options will result in any transaction, or that any transaction, if pursued, will be completed on attractive terms, if at all. The Company has not set a timetable for the completion of this strategic review.
On March 13, 2026, Nasdaq notified us that it will commence procedures to delist us from The Nasdaq Capital Market. This occurred after we ceased our appeal efforts with respect to Nasdaq’s delisting determination, which culminated in a letter from the Nasdaq Hearings Advisor at The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC on March 13, 2026 confirming that we had withdrawn our appeal. Trading in our common stock was suspended at the open of trading on March 17, 2026. In connection with the suspension of trading, Nasdaq has indicated that it will file a Form 25 Notification of Delisting with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission after all internal procedural periods have run.
As disclosed above, in January 2026 we announced the suspension of further development of LYR-210. LYR-210 is designed to treat CRS patients who have failed previous medical management. LYR-210 has a smaller dimension and is intended for patients with and without nasal polyps.
On June 2, 2025, we reported positive results from the Phase 3 ENLIGHTEN 2 trial evaluating LYR-210 as a six-month treatment of CRS. Patients reported LYR-210 significantly improved important outcome measures on primary and key secondary endpoints:
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Statistically significant improvement compared to sham control in a composite of the 3CS of CRS at week 24 (-1.13; p=0.0078) in patients without nasal polyps.
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Statistically significant improvement in 3CS with LYR-210 compared to sham control at week 24 (-0.90; p=0.0209) in the full population (i.e., patients with and without nasal polyps).
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Statistically significant improvements in Sino-Nasal Outcome Test (SNOT-22) score with LYR-210 compared to sham control at week 24 (-8.7; p=0.0101).
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Improvements in SNOT-22 were observed as early as week 4 with LYR-210 compared to sham control (-6.4; p=0.0456).
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Improvements in SNOT-22 were sustained throughout the trial and were clinically meaningful, with more than twice the minimal clinically important difference observed at week 24 compared to baseline in the LYR-210 group (-22.4 points).
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Data evaluating computed tomography (CT) scans demonstrated numerical improvement in ethmoid sinus opacification in patients who received LYR-210, compared to sham control at week 20 (-2.15; p=0.1809). These data provide objective radiological evidence of improvement with LYR-210 treatment.
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LYR-210 patients showed no difference from sham patients in use of corticosteroid rescue medication; however, the LYR-210 patients had fewer endoscopic sinus surgeries compared to sham control.
LYR-210 was well tolerated, with no product-related serious adverse events in the ENLIGHTEN 2 trial. The most commonly reported adverse events included epistaxis, upper respiratory tract infection, chronic sinusitis, acute sinusitis, nasopharyngitis, COVID-19, and headache.
Additionally, we conducted a pooled data analysis of a total of 64 CRS patients with small nasal polyps (grade 1) from the ENLIGHTEN 1 and ENLIGHTEN 2 trials. The data demonstrated a consistent positive trend compared to sham control over 24 weeks in multiple endpoints:
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Improvement in 3CS with LYR-210 compared to sham control at week 24 (-1.13; p=0.0837), starting as early as week 4.
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Improvement in SNOT-22 score with LYR-210 compared to sham control at week 24 (-8.7; p=0.1331), starting as early as week 4.
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Improvements in percent ethmoid opacification with LYR-210 compared to sham control at week 20 (-6.07; p=0.1127).
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Improvements in nasal congestion score (NCS) with LYR-210 compared to sham control at week 24 for patients with moderate to severe NCS at baseline (-0.33; p=0.2159), starting as early as week 4.
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Improvements in nasal polyp score with LYR-210 compared to sham control at week 24 (-0.16; p=0.3494).
In May 2024, we announced topline results from the Company’s Phase 3 ENLIGHTEN 1 trial evaluating LYR-210 for the treatment of CRS. ENLIGHTEN 1 did not meet its primary endpoint of demonstrating statistically significant improvement compared to sham control in the composite score of the three cardinal symptoms (3CS) of CRS (nasal obstruction, nasal discharge, facial pain/pressure) at 24 weeks.
At 24 weeks, the ENLIGHTEN 1 trial demonstrated the following results compared to baseline, which did not achieve statistical significance:
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In the primary efficacy analysis, treatment with LYR-210 resulted in a mean (standard deviation; SD) improvement in the 3CS score of 2.13 (2.17) points, compared to 2.06 (2.14) points in sham control.
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In the intent-to-treat (ITT) population, treatment with LYR-210 resulted in a mean (SD) improvement in the 3CS score of 2.35 (2.28) points, compared to 1.89 (2.07) points in sham control.
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In the ITT population, treatment with LYR-210 resulted in a mean (SD) improvement in the Sino-Nasal Outcome Test (SNOT-22) score of 20.2 (21.38) points, compared to 15.70 (18.55) points in sham control.
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Ethmoid sinus opacification (evaluated by computed tomography (CT) scans) did not achieve statistically significant improvement after treatment with LYR-210 compared to sham control.
The data showed that LYR-210 was generally well tolerated, with no product-related serious adverse events ("AEs"). The most commonly reported AEs in the study population were epistaxis, nasal odor, upper respiratory tract infection and sinusitis. Further post-hoc analyses of the ENLIGHTEN 1 data showed that LYR-210 had a positive effect compared to sham control in 3CS, nasal congestion, and nasal polyp scores at 24 weeks in the subgroup of 35 CRS patients with nasal polyps.
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Treatment with LYR-210 resulted in least squares (LS) LS mean (SE) improvement in the 3CS score of 3.69 (0.470) points, compared to 0.75 (0.685) points in sham control for a difference of 2.94 points (p-value 0.0017).
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For patients with nasal congestion score equal to or greater than 2 (that is moderate to severe symptom) at baseline in the CRS patient subgroup with nasal polyps, treatment with LYR-210 resulted in aLS mean (SE) improvement in the 3CS score of 3.69 (0.470) points, compared to 0.75 (0.685) points in sham control for a difference of 2.94 points (p-value 0.0017).
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Treatment with LYR-210 resulted in aLS mean (SE) improvement in the nasal congestion score of 1.20 (0.159) points, compared to 0.42 (0.243) points in sham control for a difference of 0.73 points (p-value 0.0216) in the CRS patient subgroup with nasal polyps and nasal congestion score equal to or greater than 2 at baseline.
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Treatment with LYR-210 resulted in aLS mean (SE) improvement in the nasal polyp score of 0.62 (0.161) points, compared to 0.01 (0.237) points in sham control for a difference of 0.61 points (p-value 0.0471) in the CRS patient subgroup with nasal polyps.
The 52-week extension stage of the ENLIGHTEN 1 trial was completed in the fourth quarter of 2024. Safety data for LYR-210 in the extension stage was generally consistent with the 24-week primary treatment stage, including for those patients that received a repeat dosing resulting in a 12-month treatment period. In the extension stage, LYR-210 was generally well tolerated, with no product-related serious AEs. The most commonly reported extension stage AEs in the study population were chronic sinusitis, nasal odor, epistaxis, sinusitis, and nasopharyngitis.
LYR-220
In connection with the cost-saving efforts announced in May 2024, we paused development efforts for LYR-220, our second pipeline product candidate. LYR-220 is designed for use in CRS patients who have failed previous medical management and who continue to require treatment to manage CRS symptoms despite having had ethmoid sinus surgery. LYR-220 employs a larger implant designed for patients whose nasal cavity is larger including those patients who have undergone extensive ethmoid sinus surgery. We conducted a Phase 2 clinical trial of LYR-220, called BEACON. The BEACON trial was a controlled parallel-group study to evaluate safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics ("PK"), and efficacy comparing two designs of the LYR-220 (7500μg MF) matrix to control, over a 24-week period, in approximately 50 symptomatic adult CRS subjects who have had a prior bilateral sinus surgery. In September 2023, we reported positive topline results from BEACON, demonstrating statistically significant and clinically relevant improvements in the 3CS and SNOT-22 scores at 24 weeks.
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Our Technology
Our innovative and proprietary drug delivery technology is designed to locally and continuously deliver small molecule drugs to the affected tissue over a sustained period of time from a single administration. The technology is comprised of three interrelated components:
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a bioabsorbable mesh scaffold, which is designed to maximize surface area for drug release while maintaining underlying tissue function;
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an engineered elastomeric matrix composed of polymers having elastic characteristics, which has advanced physical properties resulting in implants with “shape memory” that dynamically adapt to nasal anatomy; and
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a versatile polymer-drug complex, which is designed to deliver six months of continuous local drug therapy with a single treatment.
Chronic Rhinosinusitis: A Disease with High Unmet Medical Needs
CRS is an inflammatory disease of the paranasal sinuses causing the soft, moist layer of mucus-producing tissue, or mucosa, that lines the sinuses to become swollen and inflamed, leading to significant patient morbidities. The inflammation may be caused by infections, allergies, or environmental factors, as well as structural issues such as blockages of an ostium.
CRS has been described in the literature as an “unrecognized epidemic” due to its high prevalence, its substantial impact on patient quality of life, and the significant limitations of currently available treatment options. We estimate that sinusitis, which includes both CRS and acute rhinosinusitis, impacts approximately 12% of the adult population in the United States, or approximately 30 million people, making it the fifth most common condition in people under the age of 65 and more prevalent than diabetes or heart disease. Of this population, we estimate that approximately 14 million people are affected by CRS. We estimate that approximately 8 million people are treated for CRS by physicians annually, of whom approximately 4 million fail medical management every year.
CRS is grouped into two phenotypes for regulatory purposes: CRS without nasal polyps and CRS with nasal polyps. The non-polyp form of CRS represents approximately 70% of CRS patients.
Current Treatments and Their Limitations
The goals of therapy for CRS are to reduce mucosal swelling resulting from underlying inflammation, promote sinus drainage, and eradicate infections that may be present. The treatment of CRS is progressive in nature and typically begins with medical management, primarily with topical intranasal steroids, oral steroids and monoclonal antibodies. Topical intranasal steroids typically do not reach the epicenter of the disease deep in the sinuses, have fast clearance and poor compliance. The systemic complications of oral steroids limit their use. Physicians are reluctant to use monoclonal antibodies in all but their most severe polyp patients given their systemic exposure and relatively high cost. If this treatment is unsuccessful, an ENT physician may perform sinus surgery. Sinus surgery is costly, does not address the underlying inflammation, and is invasive with significant post-operative pain.
Intellectual Property and Barriers to Entry
We own all the material intellectual property rights related to our technology and product candidate portfolio. As of December 31, 2025, our product candidate portfolio is protected by issued patents and pending applications in the U.S. and major foreign countries with claims directed to devices, systems, and method of use, which, exclusive of possible patent term adjustments or extensions or other forms of exclusivity, provide coverage through at least 2030, with many providing coverage through 2036 and some providing coverage through 2038. We recently received allowances in two countries (and await action in other countries) based on patent applications that have the potential to provide coverage through 2042.
We also rely upon know-how, continuing technological innovation, and technical barriers to entry, including manufacturing and drug delivery complexities, to develop and maintain our competitive intellectual property position.
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Competition
Our industry is highly competitive and subject to rapid and significant technological change as research provides a deeper understanding of the pathology of diseases and new technologies and treatments are developed. We believe our scientific knowledge, technology, and development capabilities provide us with substantial competitive advantages, but we face potential competition from multiple sources, including large pharmaceutical, biotechnology, specialty pharmaceutical, and, to a lesser degree, medical device companies.
Our competitors may have significantly greater financial resources, robust drug pipelines, established presence in the market, and expertise in research and development, manufacturing, pre-clinical and clinical testing, obtaining regulatory approvals and reimbursement, and marketing approved products than we do. These competitors also compete with us in recruiting and retaining qualified clinical, regulatory, scientific, sales, marketing, and management personnel, in establishing clinical trial sites and patient registration for clinical trials, as well as in acquiring technologies complementary to, or necessary for, our programs. Smaller or early-stage companies may also prove to be significant competitors, particularly through collaborative arrangements with large and established companies.
Manufacturing and Supply
Prior to the suspension of our manufacturing activities for LYR-210 and LYR-220 in May 2024, we would perform inspections and testing when specified of the components we receive from third parties before using them in our manufacturing operations. Using these components, we would manufacture, assemble, inspect, and package our implants, and send them to a third-party sterilization vendor. After sterilization, we would inspect the product and test via third-party laboratories to determine compliance with our specifications. Upon release of the lot to inventory, the product would be labeled and distributed via a third-party vendor to clinical sites.
The active pharmaceutical ingredient (“API”) and a number of the components used in our implants would be currently supplied to us from single source suppliers. We would source our supplies from manufacturers with a track record of compliance with current good manufacturing practices, or cGMP. At this stage, when engaged in manufacturing we would rely on single source suppliers for some of our polymer materials, some extrusions, and molded components, and for finished goods testing, labeling, and distribution. Our ability to supply our products and to develop our product candidates depends, in part, on our ability to obtain successfully the API and polymer materials used in these products in accordance with regulatory requirements and in sufficient quantities. We would generally acquire our single source components pursuant to purchase orders placed in the ordinary course of business.
Intellectual Property
We actively seek to protect the intellectual property and proprietary technology platform that we believe is important to our business, which includes seeking and maintaining patents covering our technology platform and products, and any other inventions that are commercially or strategically important to the development of our business. We also rely upon trademarks to build and maintain the integrity of our brand, and we seek to protect the confidentiality of trade secrets that may be important to the development of our business. For more information, please see “Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Intellectual Property.”
Patents and Patent Applications
As of December 31, 2025, we own 21 issued U.S. patents, 53 foreign issued patents, 11 U.S. pending applications, and 23 foreign pending applications, out of which 15 issued U.S. patents, 47 foreign issued patents, 9 U.S. pending applications, and 20 foreign pending applications are directed to the envisioned commercial product. There are 6 issued U.S. patents, 3 foreign issued patents, and 1 U.S. pending application directed to other embodiments of our technology. Among the pending applications, there is one U.S. application and two allowed foreign applications that in time will proceed to issuance.
All technology to our business has been developed in-house and is protected with patents and patent applications in four major lineages. The first lineage dates from 2009 and provides protection potentially until 2030, exclusive of possible patent term adjustments or extensions or other forms of exclusivity. This first lineage includes issued patents in the U.S., Europe, Japan, Canada, and Great Britain that are not limited to any particular drug, site of delivery, or patient condition, but specify features of the implant, delivery system, method, and polymers. The second lineage dates from 2015 and provides protection potentially until 2036, exclusive of possible patent term adjustments or extensions or other forms of exclusivity.
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This second lineage includes issued patents with ENT-specific method claims directed to the specific drug, site of delivery (i.e., middle meatus), and patient condition, with allowed and issued cases in the U.S., Canada, Europe, China, and Japan along with numerous pending applications in the U.S., Europe, and Great Britain. The third lineage dates from 2017 with the prospect of patent protection potentially until 2038, exclusive of possible patent term adjustments or extensions or other forms of exclusivity. This third lineage attempts to capture the products’ drug release features and patient results from a clinical trial. It includes allowed cases in Australia, Canada, the U.S., Singapore, Korea, and Great Britain, along with pending applications in the U.S., Canada, Europe, China, and Japan. The fourth lineage dates from 2021 and provides protection potentially until 2042, exclusive of possible patent term adjustments or extensions or other forms of exclusivity. The fourth lineage is directed to a higher drug load (7500 ug). The lineage stems from a patent application filed under the Patent Cooperation Treaty that entered the National Phase in September of 2023. There are allowed cases in the U.K. and Singapore. There are pending applications in this fourth lineage in the U.S., Canada, Australia, Great Britain, Europe, Korea, China, and Japan.
Trademarks and Trade Secrets
We also rely upon trade secrets, know-how, and continuing technological innovation, and may pursue licensing opportunities in the future, to develop and maintain our competitive position. We seek to protect our proprietary rights through a variety of methods, including confidentiality agreements, invention assignment agreements, and non-solicitation and non-compete agreements with suppliers, employees, consultants, and others who may have access to proprietary information.
Government Regulation and Product Approval
Government authorities in the United States, at the federal, state, and local levels, and in other countries extensively regulate, among other things, the research, development, testing, manufacturing, packaging, storage, recordkeeping, labeling, advertising, promotion, distribution, marketing, import, and export of pharmaceutical products such as those we were developing. We will be required to navigate the various preclinical, clinical, and commercial approval requirements of the governing regulatory agencies of the countries in which we wish to conduct studies or seek approval of our product candidates. The processes for obtaining regulatory approvals in the United States and other countries, as appropriate, along with subsequent compliance with appropriate federal, state, local, and foreign statutes and regulations, require the expenditure of substantial time and resources.
U.S. Government Regulation
In the United States, we are subject to extensive regulation by the FDA, which regulates drugs under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, or the FDCA, and its implementing regulations, and other federal, state, and local regulatory authorities. The process of obtaining regulatory approvals and the subsequent compliance with appropriate federal, state, local, and foreign statutes and regulations requires the expenditure of substantial time and financial resources. Failure to comply with the applicable U.S. requirements at any time during the product development process, approval process, or after approval may subject an applicant to a variety of administrative or judicial sanctions, such as the FDA’s refusal to approve pending NDAs, withdrawal of an approval, imposition of a clinical hold, issuance of warning or untitled letters, product recalls, product seizures, total or partial suspension of production or distribution, injunctions, fines, refusals of government contracts, restitution, disgorgement, or civil or criminal penalties.
The process required by the FDA before a drug may be marketed in the United States generally involves the following:
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completion of preclinical laboratory tests, animal studies, and formulation studies in compliance with the FDA’s Good Laboratory Practice regulations;
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submission to the FDA of an Investigational New Drug ("IND") Application which must become effective before human clinical trials may begin;
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approval by an independent institutional review board, or IRB, at each clinical site before each trial may be initiated;
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performance of adequate and well-controlled human clinical trials in accordance with good clinical practice, or GCP, requirements to establish the safety and efficacy of the proposed drug product for each indication;
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submission to the FDA of an NDA;
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satisfactory completion of an FDA advisory committee review, if applicable;
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satisfactory completion of an FDA inspection of the manufacturing facility or facilities at which the product is produced to assess compliance with cGMP requirements and to assure that the facilities, methods, and controls are adequate to preserve the drug’s identity, strength, quality, and purity;
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satisfactory completion of an FDA inspection of the manufacturing facility at which the drug is produced and selected clinical sites to assess compliance with current Good Manufacturing Practice, or cGMP, regulations; GCPs; and the integrity of the clinical data;
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payment of user fees; and
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FDA review and approval of the NDA.
Prior to January 2026, we were developing LYR-210 using an innovative drug delivery technology comprised of a mesh scaffold, an elastomeric matrix, and a polymer-drug complex delivered through a narrow applicator. In the United States, products composed of components that would normally be regulated by different centers at the FDA are known as combination products. Typically, the FDA’s Office of Combination Products assigns a combination product to a specific Agency Center as the lead reviewer. The FDA determines which Center will lead a product’s review based upon the product’s primary mode of action. Depending on the type of combination product, its approval, clearance, or licensure may usually be obtained through the submission of a single marketing application. We anticipate that LYR-210 will be regulated as a drug, and the FDA will permit a single regulatory submission seeking approval. However, the FDA sometimes will require separate marketing applications for individual constituent parts of the combination product which may require additional time, effort, and information. Even when a single marketing application is required for a combination product, such as an NDA for a combination pharmaceutical and device product, both the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research and the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health may participate in the review. An applicant will also need to discuss with the Agency how to apply certain premarket requirements and post-marketing regulatory requirements, including conduct of clinical trials, AE reporting, and cGMPs, to their combination product.
Preclinical Studies
Preclinical studies include laboratory evaluation of product chemistry, toxicity, and formulation, as well as animal studies to assess potential safety and efficacy. An IND sponsor must submit the results of the preclinical tests, together with manufacturing information, analytical data, and any available clinical data or literature, among other things, to the FDA as part of an IND. Some preclinical testing may continue even after the IND is submitted. An IND automatically becomes effective, and a clinical trial proposed in the IND may begin 30 days after the FDA receives the IND, unless before that time the FDA raises concerns or questions related to one or more proposed clinical trials and places the clinical trial on a clinical hold. In such a case, the IND sponsor and the FDA must resolve any outstanding concerns before the clinical trial can begin. As a result, submission of an IND may not result in the FDA allowing clinical trials to commence.
Clinical Trials
Clinical trials involve the administration of the investigational new drug to human subjects under the supervision of qualified investigators in accordance with GCP requirements, which include the requirement that all research subjects provide their informed consent in writing for their participation in any clinical trial. Clinical trials are conducted under protocols detailing, among other things, the objectives of the trial, the parameters to be used in monitoring safety, and the effectiveness criteria to be evaluated. A protocol for each clinical trial and any subsequent protocol amendments must be submitted to the FDA as part of the IND. An IRB at each institution participating in the clinical trial must review and approve the plan for any clinical trial before it commences at that institution, and the IRB must continue to oversee the clinical trial
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while it is being conducted. Information about certain clinical trials must be submitted within specific timeframes to the National Institutes of Health, or NIH, for public dissemination on their www.clinicaltrials.gov website.
Human clinical trials are typically conducted in three or four sequential phases, which may overlap or be combined:
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Phase 1: The drug is initially introduced into healthy human subjects or patients with the target disease or condition and tested for safety, dosage tolerance, absorption, metabolism, distribution, excretion, and, if possible, to gain an early indication of its effectiveness.
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Phase 2: The drug is administered to a limited patient population to identify possible adverse effects and safety risks, to preliminarily evaluate the efficacy of the product for specific targeted diseases, and to determine dosage tolerance and optimal dosage.
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Phase 3: The drug is administered to an expanded patient population, generally at geographically dispersed clinical trial sites, in well-controlled clinical trials to generate enough data to statistically evaluate the efficacy and safety of the product for approval, to establish the overall risk-benefit profile of the product, and to provide adequate information for the labeling of the product.
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Phase 4: In some cases, the FDA may conditionally approve an NDA for a product candidate on the sponsor’s agreement to conduct additional clinical trials after NDA approval. In other cases, a sponsor may voluntarily conduct additional clinical trials post approval to gain more information about the drug. Such post-approval trials are typically referred to as Phase 4 clinical trials.
Progress reports detailing the results of the clinical trials must be submitted at least annually to the FDA, and more frequently if serious AEs occur. Phase 1, Phase 2, and Phase 3 clinical trials may not be completed successfully within any specified period, or at all. Furthermore, the FDA or the sponsor may suspend or terminate a clinical trial at any time on various grounds, including a finding that the research subjects are being exposed to an unacceptable health risk. Similarly, an IRB can suspend or terminate approval of a clinical trial at its institution if the clinical trial is not being conducted in accordance with the IRB’s requirements or if the drug has been associated with unexpected serious harm to patients.
Concurrent with clinical trials, companies usually complete additional animal studies and must also develop additional information about the chemistry and physical characteristics of the product and finalize a process for manufacturing the product in commercial quantities in accordance with cGMP requirements. The manufacturing process must be capable of consistently producing quality batches of the product candidate and, among other things, the manufacturer must develop methods for testing the identity, strength, quality, and purity of the final product. Additionally, appropriate packaging must be selected and tested and stability studies must be conducted to demonstrate that the product candidate does not undergo unacceptable deterioration over its shelf life.
Marketing Approval
If development were to resume following a strategic transaction, and assuming successful completion of the required clinical testing, the results of the preclinical and clinical studies, together with detailed information relating to the product’s chemistry, manufacture, controls, and proposed labeling, among other things, are submitted to the FDA as part of an NDA requesting approval to market the product for one or more indications. In most cases, the submission of an NDA is subject to a substantial application user fee. Under the Prescription Drug User Fee Act, or PDUFA, guidelines that are currently in effect, the FDA has a goal of 10 months to review and act on a standard NDA and 6 months to review and act on a priority NDA, measured from the “filing” date for an NDA for a new molecular entity, or NME, or from the receipt date for an NDA for a non-NME product. Measuring from the “filing” date typically adds approximately two months to the timeline for review and decision because the FDA has sixty days from receipt to make a “filing” decision, as described below.
In addition, under the Pediatric Research Equity Act of 2003 as amended and reauthorized, certain NDAs or supplements to an NDA must contain data that are adequate to assess the safety and effectiveness of the drug for the claimed indications in all relevant pediatric subpopulations, and to support dosing and administration for each pediatric subpopulation for which the product is safe and effective. The FDA may, on its own initiative or at the request of the applicant, grant deferrals for submission of some or all pediatric data until after approval of the product for use in adults, or full or partial waivers from the pediatric data requirements.
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The FDA also may require submission of a risk evaluation and mitigation strategy, or REMS, plan to ensure that the benefits of the drug outweigh its risks. The REMS plan could include medication guides, physician communication plans, assessment plans, and/or elements to assure safe use, such as restricted distribution methods, patient registries, or other risk minimization tools.
The FDA conducts a preliminary review of all NDAs within the first 60 days after submission, before accepting them for filing, to determine whether they are sufficiently complete to permit substantive review. The FDA may request additional information rather than accept an NDA for filing. In this event, the application must be resubmitted with the additional information. The resubmitted application is also subject to review before the FDA accepts it for filing. Once the submission is accepted for filing, the FDA begins an in-depth substantive review. The FDA reviews an NDA to determine, among other things, whether the drug is safe and effective and whether the facility in which it is manufactured, processed, packaged, or held meets standards designed to assure the product’s continued safety, quality, and purity.
The FDA may refer an application for a novel drug to an advisory committee. An advisory committee is a panel of independent experts, including clinicians and other scientific experts, that reviews, evaluates, and provides a recommendation as to whether the application should be approved and under what conditions. The FDA is not bound by the recommendations of an advisory committee, but it considers such recommendations carefully when making decisions.
Before approving an NDA, the FDA typically will inspect the facility or facilities where the product is manufactured. The FDA will not approve an application unless it determines that the manufacturing processes and facilities are in compliance with cGMP requirements and adequate to assure consistent production of the product within required specifications. Additionally, before approving an NDA, the FDA may inspect one or more clinical trial sites to assure compliance with GCP requirements.
The FDA generally accepts data from foreign clinical trials in support of an NDA if the trials were conducted under an IND. If a foreign clinical trial is not conducted under an IND, the FDA nevertheless may accept the data in support of an NDA if the study was conducted in accordance with GCP requirements and the FDA is able to validate the data through an on-site inspection, if deemed necessary. Although the FDA generally requests that marketing applications be supported by some data from domestic clinical studies, the FDA may accept foreign data as the sole basis for marketing approval if (1) the foreign data are applicable to the U.S. population and U.S. medical practice, (2) the studies were performed by clinical investigators with recognized competence, and (3) the data may be considered valid without the need for an on-site inspection or, if the FDA considers the inspection to be necessary, the FDA is able to validate the data through an on-site inspection or other appropriate means.
The testing and approval process for an NDA requires substantial time, effort, and financial resources, and each may take several years to complete. Data obtained from preclinical and clinical testing are not always conclusive and may be susceptible to varying interpretations, which could delay, limit, or prevent regulatory approval. The FDA may not grant approval on a timely basis, or at all.
After evaluating the NDA and all related information, including the advisory committee recommendation, if any, and inspection reports regarding the manufacturing facilities and clinical trial sites, the FDA may issue an approval letter, or, in some cases, a complete response letter. A complete response letter generally contains a statement of specific conditions that must be met to secure final approval of the NDA and may require additional clinical testing, preclinical testing, manufacturing, or formulation modifications or other changes in order for the FDA to reconsider the application. Even with submission of this additional information, the FDA ultimately may decide that the application does not satisfy the regulatory criteria for approval. If and when those conditions have been met to the FDA’s satisfaction, the FDA will typically issue an approval letter. An approval letter authorizes commercial marketing of the drug with specific prescribing information for specific indications.
Even if the FDA approves a product, it may limit the approved indications for use of the product, require that contraindications, warnings, or precautions be included in the product labeling, require that post-approval studies, including Phase 4 clinical trials, be conducted to further assess a drug’s safety after approval, require testing and surveillance programs to monitor the product after commercialization, or impose other conditions, including distribution and use restrictions or other risk management mechanisms under a REMS, which can materially affect the potential market and profitability of the product. The FDA may prevent or limit further marketing of a product based on the results of post-marketing studies or surveillance programs. After approval, some types of changes to the approved product, such as adding new indications, manufacturing changes, and additional labeling claims, are subject to further testing requirements and FDA review and approval.
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The Hatch-Waxman Amendments
Prior to the January 2026 suspension, our regulatory strategy was to pursue development of LYR-210 as a Section 505(b)(2) NDA. As an alternative path to FDA approval for modifications to formulations or uses of drugs previously approved by the FDA, an applicant may submit an NDA under Section 505(b)(2) of the FDCA. Section 505(b)(2) was enacted as part of the Hatch-Waxman Amendments. A Section 505(b)(2) NDA is an application that contains full reports of investigations of safety and effectiveness, but where at least some of the information required for approval comes from studies not conducted by, or for, the applicant and for which the applicant has not obtained a right of reference or use from the person by or for whom the investigations were conducted. This type of application permits reliance for such approvals on literature or on an FDA finding of safety, effectiveness, or both for an approved drug product. As such, under Section 505(b)(2), the FDA may rely, for approval of an NDA, on data not developed by the applicant. Therefore, if we can satisfy the conditions required for a Section 505(b)(2) NDA submission, it may eliminate the need for us to conduct some of the preclinical studies or clinical trials for the new product candidate that might otherwise have been required, although the review time is not shortened. The FDA may then approve the new product candidate for the new indication sought by the 505(b)(2) applicant.
Orange Book Listing
In seeking approval for a drug through an NDA, applicants are required to list with the FDA certain patents whose claims cover the applicant’s product. Upon approval of an NDA, each of the patents listed in the application for the drug is then published in the FDA’s Approved Drug Products with Therapeutic Equivalence Evaluations, known as the Orange Book. Any applicant who files an Abbreviated New Drug Application, or ANDA, seeking approval of a generic equivalent version of a drug listed in the Orange Book or a 505(b)(2) NDA referencing a drug listed in the Orange Book must certify, for each patent listed in the Orange Book for the referenced drug, to the FDA that (1) no patent information on the drug product that is the subject of the application has been submitted to the FDA, (2) such patent has expired, (3) the date on which such patent expires, or (4) such patent is invalid or will not be infringed upon by the manufacture, use, or sale of the drug product for which the application is submitted. The fourth certification described above is known as a paragraph IV certification. A notice of the paragraph IV certification must be provided to each owner of the patent that is the subject of the certification and to the holder of the approved NDA to which the ANDA refers. The applicant may also elect to submit a “section viii” statement certifying that its proposed label does not contain (or carves out) any language regarding the patented method-of-use rather than certify to a listed method-of-use patent. This section viii statement does not require notice to the patent holder or NDA owner. There might also be no relevant patent certification.
If the reference NDA holder and patent owners assert a patent challenge directed to one of the Orange Book listed patents within 45 days of the receipt of the paragraph IV certification notice, the FDA is prohibited from approving the application until the earlier of 30 months from the receipt of the paragraph IV certification expiration of the patent, settlement of the lawsuit, or a decision in the infringement case that is favorable to the applicant. Even if the 45 days expire, a patent infringement lawsuit can be brought and could delay market entry, but it would not extend the FDA-related 30-month stay of approval.
The ANDA or 505(b)(2) application also will not be approved until any applicable non-patent exclusivity listed in the Orange Book for the branded reference drug has expired. Specifically, the holder of the NDA for the listed drug may be entitled to a period of non-patent exclusivity, during which the FDA cannot approve an ANDA or 505(b)(2) application that relies on the listed drug. For example, a pharmaceutical manufacturer may obtain five years of non-patent exclusivity upon NDA approval of an NCE, which is a drug that contains an active moiety that has not been approved by FDA in any other NDA. An “active moiety” is defined as the molecule or ion responsible for the drug substance’s physiological or pharmacologic action. During the five-year exclusivity period, the FDA cannot accept for filing any ANDA seeking approval of a generic version of that drug or any 505(b)(2) NDA for the same active moiety and that relies on the FDA’s findings regarding that drug, except that FDA may accept an application for filing after four years if the follow-on applicant makes a paragraph IV certification. This exclusivity period may be extended by an additional six months if certain requirements are met to qualify the product for pediatric exclusivity, including the receipt of a written request from the FDA that the NDA holder conduct certain pediatric studies, the submission of study reports from such studies to the FDA after receipt of the written request, and satisfaction of the conditions specified in the written request.
Expedited Review and Approval Programs
The FDA has various programs, including Fast Track Designation, accelerated approval, priority review, and breakthrough therapy designation, which are intended to expedite or simplify the process for the development and FDA
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review of drugs that are intended for the treatment of serious or life threatening diseases or conditions and demonstrate the potential to address unmet medical needs. The purpose of these programs is to provide important new drugs to patients earlier than under standard FDA review procedures.
To be eligible for a Fast Track Designation, the FDA must determine, based on the request of a sponsor, that a product is intended to treat a serious or life-threatening disease or condition and demonstrates the potential to address an unmet medical need. The FDA will determine that a product will fill an unmet medical need if it will provide a therapy where none exists or provide a therapy that may be potentially superior to existing therapy based on efficacy or safety factors. The FDA may review sections of the NDA for a fast track product on a rolling basis before the complete application is submitted if the sponsor provides a schedule for the submission of the sections of the NDA, the FDA agrees to accept sections of the NDA and determines that the schedule is acceptable, and the sponsor pays any required user fees upon submission of the first section of the NDA.
The FDA may give a priority review designation to drugs that offer major advances in treatment, or provide a treatment where no adequate therapy exists. A priority review means that the goal for the FDA to review an application is six months, rather than the standard review of ten months under current PDUFA guidelines. Under the new PDUFA agreement, these six and ten month review periods are measured from the “filing” date rather than the receipt date for NDAs for new molecular entities, which typically adds approximately two months to the timeline for review and decision from the date of submission. Most products that are eligible for Fast Track Designation are also likely to be considered appropriate to receive a priority review.
In addition, products studied for their safety and effectiveness in treating serious or life-threatening illnesses and that provide meaningful therapeutic benefit over existing treatments may be eligible for accelerated approval and may be approved on the basis of adequate and well-controlled clinical trials establishing that the drug product has an effect on a surrogate endpoint that is reasonably likely to predict clinical benefit, or on a clinical endpoint that can be measured earlier than irreversible morbidity or mortality, that is reasonably likely to predict an effect on irreversible morbidity or mortality or other clinical benefit, taking into account the severity, rarity, or prevalence of the condition and the availability or lack of alternative treatments. As a condition of approval, the FDA may require a sponsor of a drug receiving accelerated approval to perform post-marketing studies to verify and describe the predicted effect on irreversible morbidity or mortality or other clinical endpoint, and the drug may be subject to accelerated withdrawal procedures.
Moreover, under the provisions of the Food and Drug Administration Safety and Innovation Act, a sponsor can request designation of a product candidate as a “breakthrough therapy.” A breakthrough therapy is defined as a drug that is intended, alone or in combination with one or more other drugs, to treat a serious or life-threatening disease or condition, and preliminary clinical evidence indicates that the drug may demonstrate substantial improvement over existing therapies on one or more clinically significant endpoints, such as substantial treatment effects observed early in clinical development. Drugs designated as breakthrough therapies are also eligible for accelerated approval. The FDA must take certain actions, such as holding timely meetings and providing advice, intended to expedite the development and review of an application for approval of a breakthrough therapy.
Even if a product qualifies for one or more of these programs, the FDA may later decide that the product no longer meets the conditions for qualification or decide that the time period for FDA review or approval will not be shortened. If and when we have sufficient resources, we may explore some of these opportunities for our product candidates as appropriate.
Post Approval Requirements
Drugs manufactured or distributed pursuant to FDA approvals are subject to pervasive and continuing regulation by the FDA and other government authorities, including, among other things, requirements relating to recordkeeping, periodic reporting, product sampling and distribution, advertising and promotion, and reporting of adverse experiences with the product. After approval, most changes to the approved product, such as adding new indications, manufacturing changes, or other labeling claims, are subject to prior FDA review and approval. There also are continuing annual program fee requirements for any marketed products.
The FDA may impose a number of post-approval requirements as a condition of approval of an NDA. For example, the FDA may require post-marketing testing, including Phase 4 clinical trials, and surveillance to further assess and monitor the product’s safety and effectiveness after commercialization.
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In addition, drug manufacturers and other entities involved in the manufacture and distribution of approved drugs are required to register their establishments with the FDA and state authorities, and are subject to periodic unannounced inspections by the FDA and these state authorities for compliance with cGMP requirements. Changes to the manufacturing process are strictly regulated and often require prior FDA approval before being implemented. FDA regulations also require investigation and correction of any deviations from cGMP requirements and impose reporting and documentation requirements upon the sponsor and any third-party manufacturers that the sponsor may decide to use. Accordingly, manufacturers must continue to expend time, money, and effort in the area of production and quality control to maintain cGMP compliance.
Once an approval is granted, the FDA may withdraw the approval if compliance with regulatory requirements and standards is not maintained or if problems occur after the product reaches the market. Later discovery of previously unknown problems with a product, including AEs of unanticipated severity or frequency, or with manufacturing processes, or failure to comply with regulatory requirements, may result in mandatory revisions to the approved labeling to add new safety information; imposition of post-market studies or clinical trials to assess new safety risks; or imposition of distribution or other restrictions under a REMS program.
Other potential consequences include, among other things:
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restrictions on the marketing or manufacturing of the product, complete withdrawal of the product from the market, or product recalls;
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fines, warning letters, or holds on post-approval clinical trials;
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refusal of the FDA to approve pending NDAs or supplements to approved NDAs, or suspension or revocation of product license approvals;
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product seizure or detention, or refusal to permit the import or export of products; or
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injunctions or the imposition of civil or criminal penalties.
The FDA strictly regulates marketing, labeling, advertising, and promotion of products that are placed on the market. Drugs may be promoted only for the approved indications and in accordance with the provisions of the approved label, although physicians, in the practice of medicine, may prescribe approved drugs for unapproved indications. The FDA and other authorities actively enforce the laws and regulations prohibiting the promotion of off-label uses, and a company that is found to have improperly promoted off-label uses may be subject to significant liability.
In addition, the distribution of prescription pharmaceutical products is subject to the Prescription Drug Marketing Act, or PDMA, which regulates the distribution of drugs and drug samples at the federal level, and sets minimum standards for the registration and regulation of drug distributors by the states. Both the PDMA and state laws limit the distribution of prescription pharmaceutical product samples and impose requirements to ensure accountability in distribution.
Other Healthcare and Data Privacy and Security Laws
Pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers are subject to additional healthcare regulation and enforcement by the federal government and by authorities in the states and foreign jurisdictions in which they conduct their business. Such laws include, without limitation, U.S. federal anti-kickback, fraud and abuse, false claims, consumer fraud, pricing reporting, data privacy and security, and transparency laws and regulations, as well as similar foreign laws in the jurisdictions outside the U.S. Similar state and local laws and regulations may also restrict business practices in the pharmaceutical industry, such as state anti-kickback and false claims laws, which may apply to business practices, including but not limited to, research, distribution, sales, and marketing arrangements and claims involving healthcare items or services reimbursed by non-governmental third-party payors, including private insurers, or by patients themselves; state laws that require pharmaceutical companies to comply with the pharmaceutical industry’s voluntary compliance guidelines and the relevant compliance guidance promulgated by the federal government, or otherwise restrict payments that may be made to healthcare providers and other potential referral sources; state laws and regulations that require drug manufacturers to file reports relating to pricing and marketing information or which require tracking gifts and other remuneration and items of value provided to physicians, other healthcare providers, and entities; state and local laws that require the registration of pharmaceutical sales representatives; and state and local laws governing the privacy and security of health-related and other personal information. Violation of any of such laws or any other governmental regulations that apply may result in penalties,
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including, without limitation, civil and criminal penalties, damages, fines, additional reporting obligation, the curtailment or restructuring of operations, exclusion from participation in governmental healthcare programs, and individual imprisonment.
Coverage and Reimbursement
Sales of any pharmaceutical product depend, in part, on the extent to which such product will be covered by third-party payors, such as federal, state, and foreign government healthcare programs, commercial insurance, and managed healthcare organizations, and the level of reimbursement for such product by third-party payors. Significant uncertainty exists as to the coverage and reimbursement status of any newly approved product. Decisions regarding the extent of coverage and amount of reimbursement to be provided are made on a plan-by-plan basis. One third-party payor’s decision to cover a particular product does not ensure that other payors will also provide coverage for the product. As a result, the coverage determination process can require manufacturers to provide scientific and clinical support for the use of a product to each payor separately and can be a time-consuming process, with no assurance that coverage and adequate reimbursement will be applied consistently or obtained in the first instance. For products administered under the supervision of a physician, obtaining coverage and adequate reimbursement may be particularly difficult because of the higher prices often associated with such drugs. Additionally, separate reimbursement for the product itself or the treatment or procedure in which the product is used may not be available, which may impact physician utilization.
In addition, third-party payors are increasingly reducing reimbursements for pharmaceutical products and services. The U.S. government and state legislatures have continued implementing cost-containment programs, including price controls, restrictions on coverage and reimbursement, and requirements for substitution of generic products. Third-party payors are increasingly challenging the prices charged and examining the medical necessity and reviewing the cost effectiveness of pharmaceutical products, in addition to questioning their safety and efficacy. Adoption of price controls and cost-containment measures, and adoption of more restrictive policies in jurisdictions with existing controls and measures, could further limit sales of any product. Decreases in third-party reimbursement for any product or a decision by a third-party payor not to cover a product could reduce physician usage and patient demand for the product.
In international markets, reimbursement and healthcare payment systems vary significantly by country, and many countries have instituted price ceilings on specific products and therapies. For example, the European Union provides options for its member states to restrict the range of medicinal products for which their national health insurance systems provide reimbursement and to control the prices of medicinal products for human use. A member state may approve a specific price for the medicinal product or it may instead adopt a system of direct or indirect controls on the profitability of the company placing the medicinal product on the market. Pharmaceutical products may face competition from lower-priced products in foreign countries that have placed price controls on pharmaceutical products and may also compete with imported foreign products. Furthermore, there is no assurance that a product will be considered medically reasonable and necessary for a specific indication, will be considered cost-effective by third-party payors, that an adequate level of reimbursement will be established even if coverage is available, or that the third-party payors’ reimbursement policies will not adversely affect the ability for manufacturers to sell products profitably.
Healthcare Reform
In the United States and certain foreign jurisdictions, there have been, and we expect there will continue to be, a number of legislative and regulatory changes to the healthcare system. In March 2010, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, as amended by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act, or collectively the ACA, was signed into law, which substantially changed the way healthcare is financed by both governmental and private insurers in the United States. By way of example, the ACA increased the minimum level of Medicaid rebates payable by manufacturers of brand name drugs from 15.1% to 23.1%; required collection of rebates for drugs paid by Medicaid managed care organizations; imposed a non-deductible annual fee on pharmaceutical manufacturers or importers who sell certain “branded prescription drugs” to specified federal government programs; implemented a new methodology by which rebates owed by manufacturers under the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program are calculated for drugs that are inhaled, infused, instilled, implanted, or injected; expanded eligibility criteria for Medicaid programs; created a new Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute to oversee, identify priorities in, and conduct comparative clinical effectiveness research, along with funding for such research; and established a Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation at Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services ("CMS") to test innovative payment and service delivery models to lower Medicare and Medicaid spending, potentially including prescription drug spending. Since its enactment, there have been judicial and Congressional challenges to certain aspects of the ACA. On June 17, 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court dismissed the most recent judicial challenge to the ACA brought by several states without specifically ruling on the constitutionality of the ACA.
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Other legislative changes have been proposed and adopted since the ACA was enacted, including aggregate reductions of Medicare payments to providers and reduced payments to several types of Medicare providers, which will remain in effect through 2032, with the exception of a temporary suspension from May 1, 2020, through March 31, 2022, absent additional congressional action. Moreover, there has recently been heightened governmental scrutiny over the manner in which manufacturers set prices for their marketed products, which has resulted in several Congressional inquiries and proposed and enacted legislation designed, among other things, to bring more transparency to product pricing, review the relationship between pricing and manufacturer patient programs, and reform government program reimbursement methodologies for pharmaceutical products. In August 2022, the IRA was signed into law. Among other things, the IRA requires manufacturers of certain drugs to engage in price negotiations with Medicare beginning in 2026, with prices that can be negotiated subject to a cap; imposes rebates under Medicare Part B and Medicare Part D to penalize price increases that outpace inflation (first due in 2023); and replaces the Part D coverage gap discount program with a new manufacturer discounting program (which began in 2025). The IRA permits the Secretary of the HHS to implement many of these provisions through guidance, as opposed to regulation, for the initial years. CMS has published the negotiated prices for the initial ten drugs, which will first be effective in 2026, and the list of the subsequent 15 drugs that will be subject to negotiation, although the Medicare drug price negotiation program is currently subject to legal challenges. While the impact of the IRA on the pharmaceutical industry cannot yet be fully determined, it is likely to be significant. For that and other reasons, it is currently unclear how the IRA will be effectuated.
Individual states in the United States have also become increasingly active in implementing regulations designed to control pharmaceutical product pricing, including price or patient reimbursement constraints, discounts, restrictions on certain product access, and marketing cost disclosure, drug price reporting and other transparency measures and, in some cases, mechanisms to encourage importation from other countries and bulk purchasing. Some states have enacted legislation creating so-called prescription drug affordability boards, which ultimately may attempt to impose price limits on certain drugs in these states. We expect that additional U.S. federal healthcare reform measures will be adopted in the future, any of which could limit the amounts that the U.S. federal government will pay for healthcare products and services, which could result in reduced demand for our product candidates or additional pricing pressures. Furthermore, there has been increased interest by third party payors and governmental authorities in reference pricing systems and publication of discounts and list prices.
Employees
As of December 31, 2025, we had 27 full-time employees. None of our employees is represented by a labor union or covered by a collective bargaining agreement. We consider our relationship with our employees to be good. Additionally, as of December 31, 2025, we had nine consultants.
Corporate Information
We were incorporated under the laws of the state of Delaware in November 2005 under the name WMR Biomedical, Inc. In July 2018, we changed our name to Lyra Therapeutics, Inc. Our principal executive offices are located at 480 Arsenal Way, Watertown, MA 02472 and our telephone number is (617) 420-8858. Our website address is www.lyratx.com. The information contained in, or accessible through, our website does not constitute a part of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. We have included our website address in this Annual Report on Form 10-K solely as an inactive textual reference.
Available Information
Our Internet address is www.lyratx.com. Our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K, including exhibits, proxy and information statements and amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Sections 13(a), 14, and 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, are filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC, and are available through the “Investors” portion of our website free of charge as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file such material with, or furnish it to, the SEC. Information on our website is not part of this Annual Report on Form 10-K or any of our other securities filings unless specifically incorporated herein by reference. Our filings with the SEC may be accessed through the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov, which contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC. All statements made in any of our securities filings, including all forward-looking statements or information, are made as of the date of the document in which the statement is included, and we do not assume or undertake any obligation to update any of those statements or documents unless we are required to do so by law.
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Item 1A. Risk Factors.
Investing in our common stock involves a high degree of risk. You should carefully consider the risks and uncertainties described below and the other information contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K before making an investment in our common stock. Our business, financial condition, results of operations, or prospects could be materially and adversely affected if any of these risks occurs, and as a result, the market price of our common stock could decline and you could lose all or part of your investment. This Annual Report on Form 10-K also contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. See “Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements.” Our actual results could differ materially and adversely from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of certain factors, including those set forth below.
Risks Related to Our Exploration of Strategic Options
Any potential financial or strategic option we pursue in an effort to maximize shareholder value may not result in the identification of a suitable transaction, or if one is identified and pursued, may not be completed on attractive terms, or at all.
In May 2024, in connection with the Company’s announcement that we failed to meet the primary endpoint of our ENLIGHTEN 1 Phase 3 clinical trial, we announced our interest in potential strategic alternatives. At that time, we also announced a reduction in force of 87 employees and a plan to suspend further development of LYR-220, our second pipeline product candidate.
In January 2026, we announced that we engaged SSG Capital Advisors, LLC to assist with the Company’s evaluation of strategic alternatives. Such alternatives may include a merger, sale, divestiture of assets, licensing, or other strategic transaction. In addition, we reported that our Board approved a plan to suspend further development of LYR-210, the Company’s lead product candidate for the treatment of chronic rhinosinusitis, and to implement a cost reduction plan that included a workforce reduction impacting substantially all of the Company’s remaining employees, effective January 12, 2026, and other cost-saving actions to preserve capital.
The process of continuing to evaluate these strategic options may be costly, time-consuming and complex and we may incur significant costs related to this continued evaluation, such as legal, accounting and advisory fees and expenses and other related charges. Moreover, any potential financial or strategic option we pursue may not result in the identification of a suitable transaction, or if one is identified and pursued, may not be completed on attractive terms, or at all. There can be no assurance of completion of any particular course of action or a defined timeline for completion, and we can provide no assurance that any strategic alternative we pursue will have a positive impact on our results of operations or financial condition.
We are attempting to sublease or assign two of our three leaseholds, which represent significant operating costs, and there can be no assurance that we will accomplish this effort on favorable terms, or at all, which could adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
The Company has three leaseholds, including two in Waltham, Massachusetts and one in Watertown, Massachusetts. These leaseholds represent significant operating costs for the Company. The Company has retained a broker to sublease or assign our leaseholds, other than the manufacturing space in Waltham in connection with the Company’s capital preservation efforts. There can be no assurance that the Company will find third parties to enter into a sublease or assignment of these leaseholds at terms that are favorable to the Company, on a timetable that is advantageous to the Company, or at all.
The operating lease, as amended, for office and laboratory space in Watertown expires in April 2027 and comprises approximately 27,311 square feet. The lease provides for base rent of $2.0 million per year. The Company maintains a letter of credit of approximately $0.3 million securing its obligations under the Watertown operating lease.
The Company has two leases for space at 880 Winter Street in Waltham. The first lease comprises approximately 29,000 square feet of office and lab space, and the lease provides for base rent of $2.2 million per year, which will increase 3% per year over the noncancellable term ending on June 30, 2033. In connection with the lease, a security deposit was
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delivered to the landlord in the form of an irrevocable standby letter of credit collateralized by $1.1 million of deposits with the financial institution.
In December 2023, the Company executed a sublease agreement for additional laboratory and office space located at 880 Winter Street in Waltham. The subleased premises comprise approximately 24,000 square feet, and the sublease provides for base rent of $1.8 million per year, which will increase 3% per year over the noncancellable term ending on November 30, 2032. The Company provided the landlord with a security deposit in the form of a letter of credit in the amount of approximately $0.6 million.
Under all three leases, the Company is responsible for its share of real estate taxes, maintenance, and other operating expenses applicable to the respective leased premises. An inability to successfully sublease or assign the leaseholds will negatively impact our capital preservation efforts and could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and the results of operations.
In the future, we may engage in acquisitions or strategic partnerships that could disrupt our business, cause dilution to our stockholders, reduce our financial resources, cause us to incur debt or assume contingent liabilities, and subject us to other risks.
In the future, we may enter into transactions to acquire other businesses, products, or technologies or enter into strategic partnerships, including licensing. If we do identify suitable acquisition or partnership candidates, we may not be able to make such acquisitions or partnerships on favorable terms, or at all. Any acquisitions or partnerships we make may not strengthen our competitive position, and these transactions may be viewed negatively by employees, customers or investors. We may decide to incur debt in connection with an acquisition or issue our common stock or other equity securities to the stockholders of the acquired company, which would reduce the percentage ownership of our existing stockholders. We could incur losses resulting from undiscovered liabilities of the acquired business or partnership that are not covered by the indemnification we may obtain from the seller or our partner. In addition, we may not be able to successfully integrate any acquired personnel, technologies, and operations into our existing business in an effective, timely, and non-disruptive manner. Acquisitions or partnerships may also divert management attention from day-to-day responsibilities, lead to a loss of key personnel, increase our expenses, and reduce our cash available for operations and other uses. We cannot predict the number, timing, or size of future acquisitions or partnerships or the effect that any such transactions might have on our operating results.
Being delisted from the Nasdaq Stock Market LLC (“Nasdaq”) could harm our business, the trading price of our common stock, our ability to raise additional capital and the liquidity of the market for our common stock.
On March 13, 2026 Nasdaq notified us that it will commence procedures to delist us from The Nasdaq Capital Market. This occurred after we ceased our appeal efforts with respect to Nasdaq’s delisting determination, which culminated in a letter from the Nasdaq Hearings Advisor at The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC on March 13, 2026 confirming that we had withdrawn our appeal. Trading in our common stock was suspended at the open of trading on March 17, 2026. In connection with the suspension of trading, Nasdaq has indicated that it will file a Form 25 Notification of Delisting with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission after all internal procedural periods have run.
Being delisted from Nasdaq could make trading our common stock more difficult for investors, potentially leading to declines in our share price and liquidity. In addition, without a Nasdaq market listing, stockholders may have a difficult time getting a quote for the sale or purchase of our common stock, the sale or purchase of our common stock would likely be made more difficult and the trading volume and liquidity of our common stock could decline. Delisting from Nasdaq could also result in negative publicity and could also make it more difficult for us to raise additional capital. The absence of such a listing may adversely affect the acceptance of our common stock as currency or the value accorded by other parties. When our common stock is delisted by Nasdaq, our common stock may be eligible to trade on an over-the-counter quotation system, such as the OTCQB market, where an investor may find it more difficult to sell our common stock or obtain accurate quotations as to the market value of our common stock. We cannot assure you that our common stock, if delisted from Nasdaq, will be listed on another national securities exchange or quoted on an over-the counter quotation system.
On August 20, 2025, we received a letter (the “Deficiency Letter”) from Nasdaq indicating that our stockholders’ equity as reported in our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ended June 30, 2025 (the “Q2 Form 10-Q”), did not satisfy the continued listing requirement under Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(b)(1) for the Nasdaq Capital Market, which requires that a listed company’s stockholders’ equity be at least $2.5 million. As reported on our Q2 Form 10-Q, our
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stockholders’ equity as of June 30, 2025 was approximately $1.6 million. The Deficiency Letter had no immediate effect on the listing or trading of our common stock and the common stock continued to trade at that time on The Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol “LYRA.”
In accordance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5810(c)(2)(C), we were provided an initial period of 45 calendar days to submit a plan to regain compliance. Subsequent to the receipt of the Deficiency Letter, and prior to that deadline, we submitted a plan to regain compliance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(b)(1) to Nasdaq by December 31, 2025. On November 11, 2025 we received a letter from Nasdaq accepting our proposal to use December 31, 2025 as the deadline to regain compliance. On December 30, 2025 we submitted a letter to Nasdaq requesting a further compliance extension until January 30, 2026.
On February 2, 2026, we received a letter (the “Staff Determination Letter”) from the Listing Qualifications Department of Nasdaq notifying the Company that Nasdaq has determined to delist the Company's common stock from The Nasdaq Stock Market. In the Staff Determination Letter, Nasdaq stated that, pursuant to Listing Rule 5101, it believes the Company is a “public shell” and that the continued listing of its securities is no longer warranted. Nasdaq cited the Company's January 12, 2026 Form 8-K disclosure, in which the Company announced that its Board of Directors had approved a plan to suspend development of LYR-210, the Company’s lead product candidate, and a reduction in force that resulted in the termination of employment of nearly all of the Company’s employees including the conversion of both the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer from employees to consultants. Based on these factors, in Nasdaq’s view the Company no longer has an operating business and may be subject to market abuses or other conduct detrimental to the interests of the investing public.
Additionally, Nasdaq cited as a separate basis for delisting the Company's failure to comply with the minimum $2,500,000 stockholders' equity requirement for continued listing set forth in Listing Rule 5550(b). Nasdaq had previously notified the Company on August 20, 2025, that it did not comply with this requirement and had granted the Company an extension until December 31, 2025, to regain compliance. The Company subsequently requested additional time until January 30, 2026, to complete a financing transaction; however, Nasdaq determined that the Company did not meet the terms of the extension and has no basis to grant additional time given that the Company has effectively laid off its entire staff and has no current operations.
We could be deemed to be a “shell company”, including after any future asset sales, and as such, we and our stockholders could be restricted in reliance on certain rules or forms.
Nasdaq indicated that it believes we are a “public shell” company. If we are deemed to be a “shell company” as defined in Rule 12b-2 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, including after any future asset sales, then, pursuant to Rule 144(i), holders of our securities may not rely on Rule 144 for the resale of our securities, which may adversely affect the liquidity and market price of our common stock.
In such case Rule 144 will not be available to our stockholders for the resale of their securities until we are no longer a shell company, have filed current “Form 10 information” with the Securities and Exchange Commission reflecting our status as an entity that is no longer a shell company, and have been subject to the reporting requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act for a period of at least 12 months following the filing of such information.
In addition, if we are deemed a shell company, then for so long as we are, we will not be eligible to use Form S-3 for the registration of our securities. The unavailability of Rule 144 and Form S-3 may limit the ability of our stockholders to resell their securities and may impair our ability to raise capital on favorable terms, or at all.
These restrictions may adversely affect the liquidity of our common stock, result in a decline in the trading price of our securities, and make it more difficult for us to consummate a business combination or otherwise obtain additional financing.
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Risks Related to Our Financial Position and Need for Additional Capital
We have incurred significant losses since inception and expect to incur significant additional losses for the foreseeable future, and we may never achieve or maintain profitability.
We have incurred significant operating losses in each year since our inception, including operating losses of approximately $31.0 million and $96.3 million for the years ended December 30, 2025 and 2024, respectively. In addition, we have not commercialized any products and have never generated any revenue from product sales. We have devoted almost all of our financial resources to research and development, including our pre-clinical development activities.
We expect to continue to incur significant additional operating losses for the foreseeable future and we may not achieve or maintain profitability in the future. The total costs to advance any of our product candidates to marketing approval in even a single jurisdiction would be substantial. Because of the numerous risks and uncertainties associated with CRS treatment product development, we are unable to accurately predict the timing or amount of increased expenses or when, or if, we will be able to begin generating revenue from the commercialization of products or achieve or maintain profitability. If development were to resume following a strategic transaction, our expenses will also increase substantially if in the future we:
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conduct another Phase 3 trial for LYR-210 which was confirmed to be a requirement for submission of a New Drug Application for LYR-210 for the treatment of CRS without nasal polyps, based on a September 2025 meeting with the FDA;
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seek regulatory and marketing approvals for LYR-210 if it successfully completes the requisite clinical trials;
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establish a sales, marketing and distribution infrastructure to commercialize any products for which we may obtain regulatory approval in geographies in which we plan to commercialize our products ourselves;
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maintain, expand, and protect our intellectual property portfolio;
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utilize external vendors for support with respect to research, development, commercialization, regulatory, pharmacovigilance, and other functions;
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acquire or in-license other commercial products, product candidates, and technologies;
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make royalty, milestone, or other payments under any future in-license agreements;
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implement additional internal manufacturing capabilities, systems and infrastructure; and
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operate as a public company.
Furthermore, our ability to successfully develop, commercialize, and license our products and generate product revenue is subject to substantial additional risks and uncertainties. Each of our product candidates will require additional pre-clinical and/or clinical development, potential regulatory approval in multiple jurisdictions, the development of or securing of manufacturing supply, capacity, and expertise, the use of external vendors, the building of a manufacturing and commercial organization, substantial investment, and significant marketing efforts before we generate any revenue from product sales. As a result, we expect to continue to incur net losses and negative cash flows for the foreseeable future. These net losses and negative cash flows have had, and will continue to have, an adverse effect on our stockholders’ equity and working capital.
The amount of future losses and when, if ever, we will achieve profitability are uncertain. We have no products that have generated any commercial revenue, do not expect to generate revenues from the commercial sale of products in the foreseeable future, and might never generate revenues from the sale of products. Our ability to generate revenue and achieve profitability will depend on, among other things, successful completion of the clinical development of our product candidates; obtaining necessary regulatory approvals from the FDA and international regulatory agencies; establishing cost-effective manufacturing, generating sales, and achieving market acceptance of our products and marketing infrastructure to commercialize our product candidates for which we obtain approval; and raising sufficient funds to finance our activities. We
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might not succeed at any of these undertakings. If we are unsuccessful at some or all of these undertakings, our business, prospects, and results of operations may be materially adversely affected.
Our recurring losses from operations raise substantial doubt regarding our ability to continue as a going concern.
We continue to operate with limited resources. We have incurred significant losses since our inception and have never generated revenue or profit, and it is possible we will never generate revenue or profit. Based on our current operating plans, and without additional funding, there is substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern. See Part II, Item 7. “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for a discussion of our expected cash runway. This cash runway estimate is based on assumptions that may prove to be wrong, and we could use our available capital resources sooner than we currently expect. Until such time as the Company can generate significant revenue from product sales, if ever, it plans to finance its operations through a combination of equity or debt financings, collaboration agreements, strategic alliances and licensing arrangements, but there can be no assurances that such financing will be available to us on satisfactory terms, or at all.
Securing additional financing may divert our management from our day-to-day activities, which may adversely affect our ability to develop and commercialize any of our product candidates. If we are unable to obtain funding, we would be forced to delay, reduce or eliminate our research and development programs, which would adversely affect our business prospects. In addition, if we are unable to raise capital, we will also need to implement additional cost reduction measures, and any failure to effectively do so will harm our business, results of operations and future prospects. The perception that we may not be able to continue as a going concern may cause others to choose not to deal with us due to concerns about our ability to meet our contractual obligations. If we are unable to continue as a going concern, investors could lose all or part of their investment in our Company.
We need significant additional funding in order to complete development of, manufacture, and obtain regulatory approval for our product candidates and commercialize our products, if approved, including the funding necessary to complete a third Phase 3 trial in LYR-210. Moreover, the failure of our ENLIGHTEN 1 Phase 3 trial to meet its primary endpoint has made it more difficult for us to raise capital. If we are unable to raise capital when needed, we could be forced to delay, reduce, or eliminate our product development programs or commercialization efforts, and/or discontinue operations.
We continue to need additional capital, which we may raise through equity offerings, debt financings, marketing, and distribution arrangements and other collaborations, strategic alliances, and licensing arrangements or other sources. The failure to meet the primary endpoint of our ENLIGHTEN 1 Phase 3 clinical trial has made it significantly more difficult for us to raise more capital. Accordingly, we may be required to obtain further funding through public or private equity offerings, debt financings, royalty-based financing arrangements, collaborations and licensing arrangements or other sources. Adequate additional financing may not be available to us on acceptable terms, or at all. Our failure to raise capital as and when needed would have a negative impact on our financial condition and our ability to pursue our business strategy. If we do not succeed in raising additional funds on acceptable terms, we might be unable to complete planned clinical trials or obtain approval of any of our product candidates from the FDA, or any foreign regulatory authorities, and could be forced to discontinue product development or reduce our operations.
We will require substantial funds to further develop, manufacture, obtain approval for, and commercialize our product candidates, including LYR-210, for which we completed two Phase 3 clinical trials, but suspended further development in January 2026. In May 2024 we suspended further development of LYR-220. We would also require substantial additional funds to further develop, obtain approval for, and commercialize, LYR-220.
Our future funding requirements, both near and long-term, will depend on many factors, including, but not limited to:
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the scope and results of our clinical trials, including any unforeseen costs we may incur as a result of clinical trial delays;
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the timing of, and the costs involved in, obtaining regulatory approvals for LYR-210;
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the costs and timing of changes in the regulatory environment and enforcement rules;
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the costs and timing in changes in pharmaceutical pricing and reimbursement infrastructure;
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the costs involved in preparing, filing, prosecuting, maintaining, and enforcing patent claims and other patent-related costs, including any litigation costs and the results of such litigation;
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the effect of competing technological and market developments;
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the extent to which we in-license or acquire other products and technologies; and
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the cost of establishing sales, marketing, manufacturing, and distribution capabilities for our product candidates in regions where we choose to commercialize our products.
Depending on our business performance, the economic climate, and market conditions, we may be unable to raise additional funds through any sources. Market volatility could also adversely impact our ability to access capital as and when needed.
We maintain our cash and cash equivalents in accounts with major U.S. and multi-national financial institutions, and U.S. treasury bills and our deposits at these institutions exceed insured limits. Market conditions can impact the viability of these institutions. In the event of failure of any of the financial institutions where we maintain our cash and cash equivalents, there can be no assurance that we would be able to access uninsured funds in a timely manner or at all. Any inability to access or delay in accessing these funds could adversely affect our business and financial position.
Raising additional capital may cause dilution to our stockholders, restrict our operations, or require us to relinquish rights to our technologies or product candidates.
Until such time, if ever, as we can generate substantial revenue, we may finance our cash needs through a combination of equity offerings, debt financings, marketing, and distribution arrangements and other collaborations, strategic alliances, and licensing arrangements. In addition, we may seek additional capital due to favorable market conditions or strategic considerations, even if we believe that we have sufficient funds for our current or future operating plans.
To the extent that we raise additional capital through the sale of equity or convertible debt securities, the ownership interests of our shareholders 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 limiting or restricting our operations and our ability to take specific actions, such as incurring additional debt, making capital expenditures, declaring dividends, redeeming our stock, making certain investments, and engaging in certain merger, consolidation, or asset sale transactions, among other restrictions. If we raise additional funds through additional collaborations, strategic alliances, or marketing, distribution, or licensing arrangements with third parties, we may be required to relinquish valuable rights to our technologies, future revenue streams, or product candidates or grant licenses on terms that may not be favorable to us.
Risks Related to Healthcare Laws and Other Legal Compliance Matters
We are subject to extensive and costly government regulation.
Product candidates employing our technology will be subject to extensive and rigorous domestic government regulation including regulation by the FDA, the CMS, other divisions of the United States Department of Health and Human Services or HHS, the United States Department of Justice, state and local governments, and their respective equivalents outside of the United States. The FDA regulates the research, development, pre-clinical and clinical testing, manufacture, safety, effectiveness, record-keeping, reporting, labeling, packaging, storage, approval, advertising, promotion, sale, distribution, import, and export of pharmaceutical products. If products employing our technologies are marketed abroad, they will also be subject to extensive regulation by foreign governments, whether or not they have obtained FDA approval for a given product and its uses. Such foreign regulation may be equally or more demanding than corresponding United States regulation.
Government regulation substantially increases the cost and risk of researching, developing, manufacturing, and selling our products. The regulatory review and approval process, which includes pre-clinical testing and clinical trials of each product candidate, is lengthy, expensive, and uncertain. We or our collaborators must obtain and maintain regulatory authorization to conduct pre-clinical studies and clinical trials. We or our collaborators must obtain regulatory approval for each product we intend to market, and the manufacturing facilities used for the products must be inspected and meet legal
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requirements. Securing regulatory approval requires the submission of extensive pre-clinical and clinical data and other supporting information for each proposed therapeutic indication in order to establish the product’s safety and efficacy, potency, and purity, for each intended use. The development and approval process takes many years, requires substantial resources, and may never lead to the approval of a product.
Even if we are able to obtain regulatory approval for a particular product, the approval may limit the indicated medical uses for the product, may otherwise limit our ability to promote, sell, and distribute the product, may require that we conduct costly post-marketing surveillance, and/or may require that we conduct ongoing post-marketing studies. Material changes to an approved product, such as, for example, manufacturing changes or revised labeling, may require further regulatory review and approval. Once obtained, any approvals may be withdrawn, including, for example, if there is a later discovery of previously unknown problems with the product, such as a previously unknown safety issue.
If we, our collaborators, consultants, CMOs, CROs, or other vendors fail to comply with applicable regulatory requirements at any stage during the regulatory process, such noncompliance could result in, among other things, delays in the approval of applications or supplements to approved applications; refusal of a regulatory authority, including the FDA, to review pending market approval applications or supplements to approved applications; warning letters; fines; import and/or export restrictions; product recalls or seizures; injunctions; total or partial suspension of production; civil penalties; withdrawals of previously approved marketing applications or licenses; recommendations by the FDA or other regulatory authorities against governmental contracts; and/or criminal prosecutions.
Even if we receive regulatory approval of our product candidates, we will be subject to ongoing regulatory obligations and continued regulatory review, which may result in significant additional expense, and we may be subject to penalties if we fail to comply with regulatory requirements or experience unanticipated problems with our product candidates.
Any product candidate for which we obtain marketing approval, along with the manufacturing processes, post-approval clinical data, labeling, packaging, distribution, AE reporting, storage, recordkeeping, export, import, and advertising and promotional activities for such product, among other things, will be subject to extensive and ongoing requirements of and review by the FDA, the EMA, and other regulatory authorities. These requirements include submissions of safety and other post-marketing information and reports, establishment registration and drug listing requirements, continued compliance with cGMP requirements relating to manufacturing, quality control, quality assurance, and corresponding maintenance of records and documents, requirements regarding the distribution of samples to physicians, and recordkeeping and GCP requirements for any clinical trials that we conduct post-approval. In addition, the sponsor of an approved NDA is subject to periodic inspections and other FDA monitoring and reporting obligations, including obligations to monitor and report AEs and other information such as the failure of a product to meet the specifications in the NDA. NDA sponsors must submit new or supplemental applications and obtain FDA approval for certain changes to the approved product, product labeling, or manufacturing process. Application holders must also submit advertising and other promotional material to the FDA and report on ongoing clinical trials. The FDA may require changes in the labeling of already approved drug products and require that sponsors conduct post-marketing studies. Accordingly, we and others with whom we work must continue to expend time, money, and effort in all areas of regulatory compliance, including manufacturing, production, and quality.
Even if marketing approval of a product candidate is granted, the approval may be subject to limitations on the indicated uses for which the product may be marketed or to the conditions of approval, including the requirement to implement a REMS, which could include requirements for a medication guide, physician communication plans, or additional elements to ensure safe use, such as restricted distribution methods, patient registries, and other risk mitigation tools. If any of our product candidates receives marketing approval, the accompanying label may limit the approved use of our product, which could limit sales of the product.
The FDA may also impose requirements for costly post-marketing studies or clinical trials and surveillance to monitor the safety or efficacy of our approved products. In addition, advertising and promotional materials must comply with FDA rules in addition to other potentially applicable federal and state laws. The FDA closely regulates the post-approval marketing and promotion of drugs to ensure they are marketed only for the approved indications and in accordance with the provisions of the approved labeling. The FDA imposes stringent restrictions on manufacturers’ communications regarding off-label use, and if we market our products outside of their approved indications, we may be subject to enforcement action for off-label marketing. Violations of the FDA’s restrictions relating to the promotion of prescription products may also lead
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to investigations alleging violations of federal and state health care fraud and abuse laws, as well as state consumer protection laws.
The distribution of product samples to physicians must comply with the requirements of the FDCA. NDA sponsors must obtain FDA approval for product, manufacturing, and labeling changes, depending on the nature of the change. Depending on the circumstances, failure to meet these post-approval requirements can result in criminal prosecution, fines, injunctions, consent decrees of permanent injunction, recall or seizure of products, total or partial suspension of production, denial or withdrawal of pre-marketing product approvals, or refusal to allow us to enter into supply contracts, including government contracts.
In addition, later discovery of previously unknown AEs or other problems with our products, or manufacturing processes, including AEs of unanticipated severity or frequency, or manufacturing processes, or failure to comply with regulatory requirements, may yield various results, including:
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restrictions on manufacturing such products;
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restrictions on the labeling or marketing of a product;
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restrictions on product distribution or use;
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requirements to conduct post-marketing studies or clinical trials;
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warning letters or holds on clinical trials;
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withdrawal of the products from the market;
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refusal to approve pending applications or supplements to approved applications that we submit;
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recall of products;
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fines, restitution, or disgorgement of profits or revenues;
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suspension or withdrawal of marketing approvals;
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refusal to permit the import or export of our products;
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product seizure or detention; or
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injunctions or the imposition of civil or criminal penalties.
Any government investigation of alleged violations of law could require us to expend significant time and resources in response, and could generate negative publicity. Any failure to comply with ongoing regulatory requirements may significantly and adversely affect our ability to commercialize and generate revenues. If regulatory sanctions are applied or if regulatory approval is withheld or withdrawn, the value of our Company and our operating results will be adversely affected.
The FDA’s policies may change and additional government regulations may be enacted that could prevent, limit, or delay regulatory approval of LYR-210 and/or any other future product candidate. If we are slow or unable to adapt to changes in existing requirements or the adoption of new requirements or policies, or if we are not able to maintain regulatory compliance, we may lose any marketing approval that we may have obtained which would adversely affect our business, prospects, and ability to achieve or sustain profitability.
We also cannot predict the likelihood, nature or extent of government regulation that may arise from future legislation or administrative or executive action, either in the United States or abroad. Further, three decisions from the U.S. Supreme Court in July 2024 may lead to an increase in litigation against regulatory agencies that could create uncertainty and thus negatively impact our business. The first decision overturned established precedent that required courts to defer to regulatory agencies’ interpretations of ambiguous statutory language. The second decision overturned regulatory agencies’
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ability to impose civil penalties in administrative proceedings. The third decision extended the statute of limitations within which entities may challenge agency actions. These cases may result in increased litigation by industry against regulatory agencies and impact how such agencies choose to pursue enforcement and compliance actions. However, the specific, lasting effects of these decisions, which may vary within different judicial districts and circuits, is unknown. We also cannot predict the extent to which FDA and SEC regulations, policies, and decisions may become subject to increasing legal challenges, delays, and changes.
We face potential liability related to the privacy of health information we obtain from clinical trials sponsored by us.
Most healthcare providers, including research institutions from which we obtain patient health information, are subject to privacy and security regulations promulgated under HIPAA, as amended by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act, or the HITECH Act. We are not currently classified as a “covered entity” or “business associate” under HIPAA. However, any person may be prosecuted under HIPAA’s criminal provisions either directly or under aiding-and-abetting or conspiracy principles. Consequently, depending on the facts and circumstances, we could face substantial criminal penalties if we knowingly receive protected health information from a HIPAA-covered healthcare provider or research institution that has not satisfied HIPAA’s requirements for disclosure of protected health information. In addition, we may maintain sensitive Personal Information, including health information, that we receive throughout the clinical trial process, in the course of our research collaborations, and directly from individuals (or their healthcare providers) who enroll in our patient assistance programs. As such, we may be subject to state laws requiring notification of affected individuals and state regulators in the event of a breach of Personal Information, which is a broader class of information than the protected health information under HIPAA. Our clinical trial programs outside the United States may implicate international data protection laws, including the GDPR, as discussed above.
Our activities outside the United States impose additional compliance requirements and generate additional risks of enforcement for noncompliance. Failure by our CROs and other third-party contractors to comply with the strict rules on the transfer of Personal Information outside of the European Union into the United States may result in the imposition of criminal and administrative sanctions on such collaborators, which could adversely affect our business. Furthermore, certain health privacy laws, data breach notification laws, consumer protection laws, and genetic testing laws may apply directly to our operations and/or those of our collaborators and may impose restrictions on our collection, use, and dissemination of individuals’ health information. The GDPR provides that EU member states may establish their own laws and regulations limiting the processing of Personal Information, including genetic, biometric, or health data, which could limit our ability to use and share Personal Information or could cause our costs to increase. Moreover, patients about whom we or our collaborators obtain health information, as well as the providers who share this information with us, may have statutory or contractual rights that limit our ability to use and disclose the information. We may be required to expend significant capital and other resources to ensure ongoing compliance with applicable privacy and data security laws. Claims that we have violated individuals’ privacy rights or breached our contractual obligations, even if we are not found liable, could be expensive and time-consuming to defend and could result in adverse publicity that could harm our business.
If we, our CROs, or other contractors or consultants fail to comply with applicable federal, state, or local regulatory requirements, we could be subject to a range of regulatory actions that could affect our or our contractors’ ability to develop and commercialize our product candidates and could harm or prevent sales of any affected products that we are able to commercialize, or could substantially increase the costs and expenses of developing, commercializing, and marketing our products. Any threatened or actual government enforcement action could also generate adverse publicity and require that we devote substantial resources that could otherwise be used in other aspects of our business. Increasing use of social media could give rise to liability, breaches of data security, or reputational damage.
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Risks Related to Our Intellectual Property
Our proprietary rights may not adequately protect our technologies and product candidates, and do not necessarily address all potential threats to our competitive advantage.
The degree of future protection afforded by our intellectual property rights is uncertain because intellectual property rights have limitations, and may not adequately protect our business, or permit us to maintain our competitive advantage. The following examples are illustrative:
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others may be able to make products that are the same as or similar to our product candidates but that are not covered by the claims of the patents that we own;
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others, including inventors or developers of our patented technologies who may become involved with competitors, may independently develop similar technologies that function as alternatives or replacements for any of our technologies without infringing our intellectual property rights;
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we might not have been the first to file patent applications covering certain of our product candidates;
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we might not have been the first to file patent applications covering certain of our patents or patent applications;
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it is possible that our pending patent applications will not result in issued patents, or;
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that there are prior public disclosures that could invalidate our patents;
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our issued patents may not provide us with any commercially viable products or competitive advantage, or may be held invalid or unenforceable, as a result of legal challenges by our competitors;
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the Supreme Court of the United States, other U.S. federal courts, Congress, the USPTO, or similar foreign authorities may change the standards of patentability and any such changes could narrow or invalidate, or change the scope of, our or our collaboration partners’ patents;
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patent terms may be inadequate to protect our competitive position on our product candidates for an adequate amount of time;
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our competitors might conduct research and development activities in countries where we do not have patent rights, or in countries where research and development safe harbor laws exist, and then use the information learned from such activities to develop competitive products for sale in our major commercial markets;
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ownership, validity, or enforceability of our patents or patent applications may be challenged by third parties; and
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the patents of third parties or pending or future applications of third parties, if issued, may have an adverse effect on our business.
Risks Related to Our Common Stock
The market price of our common stock may be volatile and fluctuate substantially, which could result in substantial losses for purchasers of our common stock.
Our stock price may be volatile. The stock market in general and the market for smaller biotechnology companies in particular have experienced extreme volatility that has often been unrelated to the operating performance of particular companies. As a result of this volatility, you may not be able to sell your common stock at or above your purchase price. The market price for our common stock may be influenced by many factors, including:
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the success of competitive products or technologies;
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actual or expected changes in our growth rate relative to our competitors;
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results of clinical trials of our product candidates or those of our competitors;
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developments related to our existing or any future collaborations;
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regulatory actions with respect to our product candidates or our competitors’ products and product candidates;
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regulatory or legal developments in the United States and other countries;
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development of new product candidates that may address our markets and make our product candidates less attractive;
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changes in physician, hospital, or healthcare provider practices that may make our product candidates less useful or appealing;
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announcements by us, our partners, or our competitors of significant acquisitions, strategic partnerships, joint ventures, collaborations, or capital commitments;
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developments or disputes concerning patent applications, issued patents, or other proprietary rights;
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the level of expenses related to any of our product candidates or clinical development programs;
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failure to meet or exceed financial estimates and projections of the investment community or that we provide to the public;
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actual or expected changes in estimates as to financial results, development timelines, or recommendations by securities analysts;
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variations in our financial results or those of companies that are perceived to be similar to us;
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changes in the structure of healthcare payment or reimbursement systems;
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market conditions in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology sectors;
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short selling activities;
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general economic, industry, and market conditions; and
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the other factors described in this “Risk Factors” section and elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
In addition, the trading prices for common stock of other biotechnology companies may become highly volatile as a result of geopolitical events. The extent to which such events may impact our business, pre-clinical studies, and clinical trials will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted with confidence.
We are a “smaller reporting company” and the reduced disclosure requirements applicable to smaller reporting companies may make our common stock less attractive to investors.
We are considered a “smaller reporting company.” We are therefore entitled to rely on certain reduced disclosure requirements, such as an exemption from disclosing certain executive compensation information and three years of financial statements. We are also exempt from the requirement to obtain an external audit on the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting provided in Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. These exemptions and reduced disclosures in our SEC filings due to our status as a smaller reporting company may make it harder for investors to analyze our results of operations and financial prospects. We cannot predict if investors will find our common stock less attractive because we may
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rely on these exemptions. If some investors find our common stock less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our common stock and our stock prices may be more volatile.
Provisions in our restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws and under Delaware law could make an acquisition of our Company, which may be beneficial to our stockholders, more difficult and may prevent attempts by our stockholders to replace or remove our current management.
Provisions in our restated certificate of incorporation and our amended and restated bylaws may discourage, delay, or prevent a merger, acquisition, or other change in control of our Company that stockholders may consider favorable, including transactions in which you might otherwise receive a premium for your shares. These provisions could also limit the price that investors might be willing to pay in the future for shares of our common stock, thereby depressing the market price of our common stock. In addition, because our Board of Directors is responsible for appointing the members of our management team, these provisions may frustrate or prevent any attempts by our stockholders to replace or remove our current management by making it more difficult for stockholders to replace members of our Board of Directors. Among other things, these provisions include those establishing:
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a classified Board of Directors with three-year staggered terms, which may delay the ability of stockholders to change the membership of a majority of our Board of Directors;
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no cumulative voting in the election of directors, which limits the ability of minority stockholders to elect director candidates;
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the exclusive right of our Board of Directors to elect a director to fill a vacancy created by the expansion of the Board of Directors or the resignation, death, or removal of a director, which prevents stockholders from filling vacancies on our Board of Directors;
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the ability of our Board of Directors to authorize the issuance of shares of preferred stock and to determine the terms of those shares, including preferences and voting rights, without stockholder approval, which could be used to significantly dilute the ownership of a hostile acquirer;
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the ability of our Board of Directors to alter our bylaws without obtaining stockholder approval;
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the required approval of the holders of at least two-thirds of the shares entitled to vote at an election of directors to adopt, amend, or repeal our bylaws or repeal the provisions of our restated certificate of incorporation regarding the election and removal of directors;
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a prohibition on stockholder action by written consent, which forces stockholder action to be taken at an annual or special meeting of our stockholders;
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the requirement that a special meeting of stockholders may be called only by the chairman of the Board of Directors, the chief executive officer, the president, or the Board of Directors, which may delay the ability of our stockholders to force consideration of a proposal or to take action, including the removal of directors; and
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advance notice procedures that stockholders must comply with in order to nominate candidates to our Board of Directors or to propose matters to be acted upon at a stockholders’ meeting, which may discourage or deter a potential acquirer from conducting a solicitation of proxies to elect the acquirer’s own slate of directors or otherwise attempting to obtain control of us.
Moreover, because we are incorporated in Delaware, we are governed by the provisions of Section 203 of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware, which prohibits a person who owns in excess of 15% of our outstanding voting stock from merging or combining with us for a period of three years after the date of the transaction in which the person acquired in excess of 15% of our outstanding voting stock, unless the merger or combination is approved in a prescribed manner.
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Our restated certificate of incorporation designates specific courts as the exclusive forum for certain litigation that may be initiated by our stockholders, which could limit our stockholders’ ability to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with us.
Our restated certificate of incorporation specifies that, unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware will be the sole and exclusive forum for most legal actions involving claims brought against us by stockholders; provided that, the exclusive forum provision will not apply to suits brought to enforce any liability or duty created by the Securities Act, the Exchange Act, the rules and regulations thereunder, or any other claim for which the federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction; and provided further that, if and only if the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware dismisses any such action for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, such action may be brought in another state or federal court sitting in the State of Delaware. Our restated certificate of incorporation further provides that, unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the federal district courts of the United States of America shall, to the fullest extent permitted by law, be the sole and exclusive forum for the resolution of any complaint asserting a cause of action arising under the Securities Act. Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring any interest in shares of our capital stock shall be deemed to have notice of and to have consented to the provisions of our restated certificate of incorporation described above.
We believe these provisions benefit us by providing increased consistency in the application of Delaware law by chancellors particularly experienced in resolving corporate disputes and in the application of the Securities Act by federal judges, as applicable, efficient administration of cases on a more expedited schedule relative to other forums, and protection against the burdens of multi-forum litigation. However, the provision may have the effect of discouraging lawsuits against our directors, officers, employees, and agents as it may limit any stockholder’s ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that such stockholder finds favorable for disputes with us or our directors, officers, employees, or agents. The enforceability of similar choice of forum provisions in other companies’ certificates of incorporation has been challenged in legal proceedings, and it is possible that, in connection with any applicable action brought against us, a court could find the choice of forum provisions contained in our restated certificate of incorporation to be inapplicable or unenforceable in such action. If a court were to find the choice of forum provision contained in our restated certificate of incorporation to be inapplicable or unenforceable in an action, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such action in other jurisdictions, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition, or results of operations.
General Risk Factors
We have incurred and expect to continue to incur significant costs as a result of operating as a public company, and our management is required to devote substantial time to new compliance initiatives and corporate governance practices.
As a public company, we incur significant legal, accounting, and other expenses. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, the listing requirements of The Nasdaq Capital Market, and other applicable securities rules and regulations impose various requirements on public companies, including establishment and maintenance of effective disclosure and financial controls and corporate governance practices. Our management and other personnel devote a substantial amount of time to these compliance initiatives. Moreover, these rules and regulations have increased our legal and financial compliance costs and made some activities more time-consuming and costly. For example, we expect that these rules and regulations may make it more difficult and more expensive for us to obtain director and officer liability insurance, which in turn could make it more difficult for us to attract and retain qualified members of our Board of Directors.
We continue to evaluate these rules and regulations, and cannot predict or estimate the amount of additional costs we may incur or the timing of such costs. These rules and regulations are often subject to varying interpretations, in many cases due to their lack of specificity, and, as a result, their application in practice may evolve over time as new guidance is provided by regulatory and governing bodies. This could result in continuing uncertainty regarding compliance matters and higher costs necessitated by ongoing revisions to disclosure and governance practices.
Pursuant to Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, or Section 404, we are required to furnish a report by our management on our internal control over financial reporting. However, while we remain an emerging growth company, we will not be required to include an attestation report on internal control over financial reporting issued by our independent registered public accounting firm. To achieve compliance with Section 404 within the prescribed period, we are engaged in a process to document and evaluate our internal control over financial reporting, which is both costly and challenging. In this regard, we will need to continue to dedicate internal resources, engage outside consultants, adopt a detailed work plan to
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assess and document the adequacy of internal control over financial reporting, continue steps to improve control processes as appropriate, validate through testing whether such controls are functioning as documented, and implement a continuous reporting and improvement process for internal control over financial reporting. Despite our efforts, there is a risk that we will not be able to conclude, within the prescribed timeframe or at all, that our internal control over financial reporting is effective as required by Section 404. We may discover significant deficiencies or material weaknesses, which we may not successfully remediate on a timely basis or at all. Any failure to remediate any significant deficiencies or material weaknesses identified by us or to implement required new or improved controls, or difficulties encountered in their implementation, could cause us to fail to meet our reporting obligations or result in material misstatements in our consolidated financial statements. The identification of one or more material weaknesses could result in an adverse reaction in the financial markets due to a loss of confidence in the reliability of our consolidated financial statements.
Because we do not anticipate paying any cash dividends on our common shares in the foreseeable future, capital appreciation, if any, would be your sole source of gain.
On March 20, 2012, we declared and paid a special cash dividend of $13.15 per share of our common stock, par value $0.001, which we refer to as the Special Dividend, which totaled approximately $42,115 in the aggregate. Other than the Special Dividend, we have never declared or paid any cash dividends on our common shares. We currently anticipate that we will retain future earnings for the development, and operation of our business and do not anticipate declaring or paying any cash dividends for the foreseeable future. As a result, capital appreciation, if any, of our common shares would be your sole source of gain on an investment in our common shares for the foreseeable future.
Litigation could be costly and time-consuming and could result in additional liabilities.
We may from time to time be subject to legal proceedings and claims that arise in the ordinary course of business or otherwise, such as claims brought by us against vendors or collaborators, and/or claims brought by our customers in connection with commercial disputes and employment claims made by our current or former employees. Claims may also be asserted by or on behalf of a variety of other parties, including government agencies, patients, or vendors of our customers, or stockholders.
Any litigation involving us may result in substantial costs, operationally restrict our business, and may divert management’s attention and resources, which may seriously harm our business, overall financial condition, and results of operations. Insurance may not cover existing or future claims, be sufficient to fully compensate us for one or more of such claims, or continue to be available on terms acceptable to us. A claim brought against us that is uninsured or under insured could result in unanticipated costs, thereby adversely impacting our results of operations and resulting in a reduction in the trading price of our stock.
We could be subject to securities class action litigation.
In the past, securities class action litigation has often been brought against a company following a decline in the market price of its securities. This risk is especially relevant for us because biotechnology companies have experienced significant stock price volatility in recent years. If we face such litigation, it could result in substantial costs and a diversion of management’s attention and resources, which could harm our business.
Our insurance policies are expensive and protect us only from some business risks, which leaves us exposed to significant uninsured liabilities.
We do not carry insurance for all categories of risk that our business may encounter. Some of the policies we currently maintain include general liability, employment practices liability, and property, auto, workers’ compensation, umbrella, and directors’ and officers’ insurance. Any additional product liability insurance coverage we acquire in the future may not be sufficient to reimburse us for any expenses or losses we may suffer.
Moreover, insurance coverage is becoming increasingly expensive and in the future we may not be able to maintain insurance coverage at a reasonable cost or in sufficient amounts to protect us against losses. If we obtain marketing approval for LYR-210, we intend to acquire insurance coverage to include the sale of commercial products; however, we may be unable to obtain product liability insurance on commercially reasonable terms or in adequate amounts. A successful product liability claim or series of claims brought against us could cause our share price to decline and, if judgments exceed our insurance coverage, could adversely affect our results of operations and business, including preventing or limiting the development and commercialization of any product candidates we develop. We do not carry specific biological or hazardous
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waste insurance coverage, and our property, casualty, and general liability insurance policies specifically exclude coverage for damages and fines arising from biological or hazardous waste exposure or contamination. Accordingly, in the event of contamination or injury, we could be held liable for damages or be penalized with fines in an amount exceeding our resources, and our clinical trials or regulatory approvals could be suspended.
Operating as a public company has made it more difficult and more expensive for us to obtain director and officer liability insurance, and in the future we may be required to accept reduced policy limits and coverage or incur substantially higher costs to obtain the same or similar coverage. As a result, it may be more difficult for us to attract and retain qualified people to serve on our Board of Directors, our board committees, or as executive officers. We do not know, however, if we will be able to maintain existing insurance with adequate levels of coverage. Any significant uninsured liability may require us to pay substantial amounts, which would adversely affect our cash position and results of operations.
Adverse developments affecting the financial services industry, such as actual events or concerns involving liquidity, defaults or non-performance by financial institutions or transactional counterparties, could adversely affect the Company’s current and projected business operations and its financial condition and results of operations.
Actual events involving limited liquidity, defaults, non-performance or other adverse developments that affect financial institutions, transactional counterparties or other companies in the financial services industry or the financial services industry generally, or concerns or rumors about any events of these kinds or other similar risks, have in the past and may in the future lead to market-wide liquidity problems. The Company maintains the majority of its cash and cash equivalents in accounts with major U.S. institutions, and our deposits at certain of these institutions exceed insured limits. Market conditions can impact the viability of these institutions. In the event of failure of any of the financial institutions where we maintain our cash and cash equivalents, there can be no assurance that we would be able to access uninsured funds in a timely manner or at all. Any inability to access or delay in accessing these funds could adversely affect our current and projected business operations, our financial condition and results of operations.
Our ability to use our net operating losses and research and development credits to offset future taxable income may be subject to certain limitations.
As of December 31, 2025, we had net operating loss carryforwards, or NOLs, of $311.6 million for federal income tax purposes and $186.6 million for state income tax purposes, which may be available to offset our future taxable income, if any. Our federal net operating loss carryforwards begin to expire at various dates through 2037, and our state net operating loss carryforwards begin to expire at various dates through 2045. As of December 31, 2025, we also had federal research and development credit carryforwards of $6.4 million, which begin to expire at various dates through 2044, and state research and development credit carryforwards of $2.0 million, which begin to expire at various dates through 2039. In general, under Sections 382 and 383 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, or IRC, as amended, or the Code, a corporation that undergoes an “ownership change,” generally defined as a greater than 50% change by value in its equity ownership over a three-year period, is subject to limitations on its ability to utilize its pre-change NOLs and its research and development credit carryforwards to offset future taxable income. The Company had performed an IRC 382 study in 2022 which resulted in identifying three separate ownership changes that occurred on March 31, 2006, January 17, 2020, and April 13, 2022. We performed an update assessment to our IRC 382 analysis in conjunction with the May 2023 financing noting no additional ownership change. Also, as a result of the IRC 382 study performed in 2022, we wrote off $125.8 million of state net operating losses and $2.8 million of state research and development credits. We updated our IRC 382 study in 2023 given the changes to the Massachusetts apportionment to single sales resulting in a reduced amount of $125.4 million. For these reasons, in the event we experience a change of control, we may not be able to utilize a material portion of the NOLs or research and development credit carryforwards even if we attain profitability.
New tax legislation may impact our results of operations and financial condition.
We and our subsidiary are subject to tax laws and regulations in the United States. These laws and regulations are inherently complex, requiring us to make judgments about their application to our businesses. Governmental authorities may challenge our interpretations, potentially leading to administrative or judicial proceedings, penalties, or other material consequences. In addition, New income, sales use or other tax laws, statutes, rules, regulations or ordinances could be enacted at any time, or interpreted, changed, modified or applied adversely to us, any of which could adversely affect our business operations and financial performance. We are currently unable to predict whether such changes will occur and, if so, the ultimate impact on our business. To the extent that such changes have a negative impact on us, including as a result of related uncertainty, these changes may materially and adversely impact our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
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The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 introduced, among other changes, a 15% corporate minimum tax on certain United States corporations and a 1% excise tax on certain stock redemptions by United States corporations. The U.S. government may enact further significant changes to the taxation of business entities. In particular, presidential, congressional, state and local elections in the United States could result in significant changes in, and uncertainty with respect to, tax legislation, regulation and government policy directly affecting our business or indirectly affecting us because of impacts on our suppliers and vendors. The likelihood of these changes being enacted or implemented is unclear. We are currently unable to predict the ultimate impact of the OBBA (as defined below), the Inflation Reduction Act or any such further changes on our business.