Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.
Forward-Looking Information
The Risk Factors in Part I, Item 1A of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, the audited financial statements and accompanying notes, included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, and this Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations should be read together. In addition to historical information, this discussion and analysis contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act, and Section 21E of the Exchange Act. Operating results are not necessarily indicative of results that may occur for the full fiscal year or any other future period.
Overview
Business
Synlogic is a clinical-stage biotechnology company advancing a new paradigm of biotherapeutics through its unique and proprietary approach to synthetic biology. Synthetic biology leverages engineering principles to enable the design of new biological systems, genetic circuits and molecular components. Synlogic is delivering the power of synthetic biology to medicine, combining the precision of engineering with rational drug development to develop what are called Synthetic Biotics. Synthetic Biotics are a novel drug modality that that uses programmable, precision genetic engineering of well-characterized probiotics to exert localized activity for therapeutic benefit, with a focus on metabolic and immunologic diseases.
Our Drug Candidate Pipeline
Synlogic’s pipeline includes its lead program in phenylketonuria (PKU), which has demonstrated proof of concept and we plan to start a pivotal, Phase 3 study in the second half of 2022. Our pipeline also includes novel drug candidates designed to treat homocystinuria (HCU) and enteric hyperoxaluria. Synlogic is also working with Roche in a research collaboration focused on the discovery of a novel Synthetic Biotic for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and with Ginkgo Bioworks, Inc. (Ginkgo) on additional undisclosed preclinical assets, combining Synlogic’s approach to Synthetic Biotics with Ginkgo’s Codebase and Foundry services.
Metabolic Disease
There are a number of metabolic diseases involving a lack of certain enzymes that are responsible for metabolizing commonly occurring byproducts of digestion. The absence of these enzymes is caused by either a genetic mutation characterized by a dysfunctional metabolic pathway, such as PKU or HCU, or organ dysfunction, such as enteric hyperoxaluria. In patients with these diseases, the absence of certain enzymes causes metabolites to accumulate to in the gut and systemically throughout the body. In patients with PKU and HCU, these metabolites build up to toxic levels resulting in serious health consequences, including irreversible neurological dysfunction.
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PKU
Overview
Our PKU program includes two development candidates, SYNB1618 and SYNB1934. SYNB1618 and SYNB1934 are orally administered, non-systemically absorbed drug candidates being studied as potential treatments for PKU, a genetic disease caused by potentially neurotoxic levels of the amino acid Phe. Treatment options for PKU are currently limited due to efficacy and safety, with an estimated 80% of US patients remaining in need of treatment, and many of those who are treated in need of additional Phe-lowering. We designed our drug candidates to reduce levels of Phe in people with PKU using precision genetic engineering of the well-characterized probiotic E. coli Nissle. Findings to date support the potential for an efficacious, safe, convenient, and flexible treatment option for PKU and SYNB1618 has received both Orphan Drug and Fast Track designations by the FDA. Both SYNB1618 and SYNB1934 are being studied in the Phase 2 SynPheny-1 study, with data expected in the first half of 2022, and initiation of the Phase 3 program to begin in the second half of 2022.
We completed a Phase 1/2a clinical trial of an early liquid formulation of SYNB1618 and announced top-line data from healthy volunteers evaluated in this study in September 2018. In July 2019, we announced data that demonstrated that SYNB1618 was safe and well-tolerated and achieved proof-of-mechanism of strain activity in both healthy volunteers and patients with PKU. Following the study using the liquid formulation, we developed a solid oral lyophilized formulation of SYNB1618. We have evaluated this oral formulation in a bridging study in healthy volunteers. The study of this more patient- and commercialization-appropriate presentation of SYNB1618 demonstrated activity and improved tolerability over the liquid formulation.
We initiated a Phase 2 clinical trial with SYNB1618 in the third quarter of 2020, referred to as the SynPheny-1 Study. The SynPheny-1 Study is designed to evaluate safety and tolerability of a solid oral formulation of SYNB1618 as well as its potential to lower blood Phe levels in adult PKU patients. In September 2021, an interim analysis of the ongoing SynPheny-1 study found that SYNB1618 demonstrated statistically significant reductions in blood Phe levels.
Our second development candidate for PKU, SYNB1934, was evolved from SYNB1618 to potentially provide increased Phe lowering activity for patients living with PKU. In July 2021, we initiated clinical studies of a solid oral formulation of SYNB1934 following preclinical in vivo and in vitro studies demonstrating an approximately two-fold improvement in the ability of SYNB1934 to break down Phe compared to SYNB1618.
In September 2021, we announced results from the head-to-head portion of the Phase 1 study. SYNB1934 showed an approximately two-fold higher activity level than SYNB1618 in a head-to-head comparison based on biomarkers of Phe consumption. Additionally, based on this interim analysis, SYNB1934 demonstrated a safety and tolerability profile similar to other Synthetic Biotic medicines, including SYNB1618, at equivalent doses.
SYNB1934 clinical results were consistent with preclinical data and previously presented prospective biomarker-driven modeling. We believe that the increased activity of SYNB1934, relative to SYNB1618, could provide the opportunity to optimize the clinical profile based on individual patient needs. Accordingly, we added an arm evaluating SYNB1934 to the ongoing SynPheny-1 Phase 2 study.
The SynPheny-1 Phase 2 study is continuing to the final analysis with both a SYNB1618 and a SYNB1934 arm. Upon completion of the study, we intend to initiate a pivotal Phase 3 study of the preferred strain, which will be selected based on the clinical data from both programs.
Homocystinuria
Homocystinuria (HCU) is a rare inherited metabolic disorder that affects the metabolism of the amino acid methionine, a protein found in many foods including meat, fish, and dairy products. HCU is caused by a genetic defect which results in the absence of an enzyme known as cystathionine beta-synthase (CBS). When CBS is absent, homocysteine and other toxic chemicals and their byproducts, including methionine, build up in the blood and urine. Elevated homocysteine levels are associated with a multisystem disorder, including impairments of the eye (ectopia lentis and/or severe myopia), skeletal system (excessive height, long limbs, scoliosis, pectus excavatum), vascular system (thromboembolism), and CNS (development delay and intellectual disability).
In November 2021 we announced the nomination of SYNB1353, a novel, orally administered, non-systemically absorbed live biotherapeutic drug candidate engineered to consume methionine in the GI tract thereby lowering tHcy in HCU patients and potentially allowing an increase in natural protein intake. SYNB1353 was developed as part of a research collaboration with Ginkgo and is currently in IND-enabling studies. We hold worldwide development and commercialization rights to SYNB1353, which is expected to begin clinical development and report Phase 1 data in healthy volunteers in the second half of 2022.
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Enteric Hyperoxaluria
Enteric hyperoxaluria is an acquired metabolic disorder with no approved treatment options. It is caused by increased absorption of dietary oxalate, which is present in many common foods including leafy greens, nuts, and chocolate. Enteric hyperoxaluria often occurs as a result of a primary insult to the bowel, such as inflammatory bowel disease, short bowel syndrome, or surgical procedures such as Roux-en-Y bariatric weight-loss surgery. The disorder may cause dangerously high levels of urinary oxalate and progressive kidney damage. In May 2020, we announced the nomination of a clinical candidate for enteric hyperoxaluria, SYNB8802. We initiated a Phase 1 clinical trial of SYNB8802 in the fourth quarter of 2020. SYNB8802 will be assessed for safety and tolerability, strain kinetics, changes in plasma and urine biomarkers of strain activity, and the potential to reduce urinary oxalate in the Phase 1 clinical study. In 2021, Synlogic reported positive proof-of-mechanism for SYNB8802 from a Phase 1b study that demonstrated lowering of urinary and fecal oxalate levels in healthy volunteers with diet-induced hyperoxaluria. Data from a proof-of-concept study assessing the lowering of urinary oxalate in patients who have undergone Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery is expected in 2022.
Additional Pipeline Programs in Metabolic & Immunological Diseases
The Synthetic Biotic approach is particularly well-suited for addressing known disease targets that have been associated with validated biological pathways in metabolic and immunological diseases. For metabolic diseases, we are applying our learnings from PKU, HCU and enteric hyperoxaluria to new areas, including hyperuricemia and gout, and we expect to disclose additional details on these and other programs as they move through preclinical development.
IBD is a group of diseases characterized by significant local inflammation in the GI tract typically driven by T cells, activated macrophages and compromised function of the epithelial barrier. IBD pathogenesis is linked to both genetic and environmental factors and may be caused by altered interactions between gut microbes and the intestinal immune system. Compromised gut barrier function also plays a central role in autoimmune diseases pathogenesis. A single layer of epithelial cells separates the luminal contents of the gut from the host circulatory system and the immune cells in the body. Disrupting the epithelial layer can lead to pathological exposure of foreign antigens from the lumen resulting in increased susceptibility to autoimmune disorders. The interplay between the gut microbiota and the host is thought to play a key role in the maintenance of the epithelial barrier as well as homeostatic immunity. Thus, enhancing barrier function and reducing inflammation in the gastrointestinal tract are potential therapeutic mechanisms for the treatment or prevention of autoimmune disorders. Our Synthetic Biotic platform allows for the effective programming of E. coli Nissle to execute these functions, including the metabolic production of factors such as short chain fatty acids to enhance barrier function, and secreting proteins, such as immunomodulatory cytokines.
Current approaches to treat IBD are focused on therapeutics that modulate the immune system and suppress inflammation. These therapies include steroids, such as prednisone, and tumor necrosis factor inhibitors, such as Humira® (adalimumab). However, these approaches are associated with systemic immunosuppression, which includes greater susceptibility to infectious diseases and cancer. According to the CDC, in 2015 an estimated three million adults in the United States are reported as being diagnosed with IBD. In June of 2021 we entered into a research collaboration agreement with Roche for the discovery of a novel Synthetic Biotic for the treatment of IBD. In addition, we continue to advance additional, wholly-owned preclinical research efforts in IBD.
Among immune conditions, working to treat IBD allows us to leverage knowledge and expertise gained from our oral metabolic programs to develop living medicines that can act locally at the site of disease in the gut. Because our approach is based on local delivery to the site of inflammation and not on systemic administration, we anticipate that our Synthetic Biotics may offer an attractive safety profile in this therapeutic category, where safety is a particularly desirable attribute in a product profile compared to options available today.
In November 2021, we announced that we are not planning further studies for immuno-oncology, allowing us to focus on advancing a portfolio of investigational Synthetic Biotics that are orally administrated, and developed for diseases which, similar to PKU and enteric hyperoxaluria, have a toxic metabolite found in the GI tract.
In May 2020, we announced the termination of our collaboration with AbbVie S.à.r.l. (AbbVie) to develop Synthetic Biotic medicines for the treatment of types of inflammatory bowel diseases, including Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. Upon termination, we regained all rights to develop these and new IBD Synthetic Biotic medicines for all effectors targeting IBD. This allows us to fully leverage our expertise in strain engineering, quantitative biology, regulatory, and manufacturing to expand our wholly owned GI-based program portfolio to include IBD. We further regained the rights to partner these IBD programs. We may enter into additional strategic alliances in the future to maximize the value of our programs and our Synthetic Biotic platform.
We developed a portfolio of Synthetic Biotic medicines to treat certain cancers which were designed to modify the tumor microenvironment, activate the immune system and result in tumor reduction. These Synthetic Biotic medicines could be used in
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combination with other cancer therapies such as checkpoint inhibitors. Our Synthetic Biotic clinical immuno-oncology (IO) candidate is SYNB1891, an intratumorally administered Synthetic Biotic medicine engineered to act as a dual innate and adaptive immune activator. While SYNB1020 was well tolerated in Phase 1b/2a study, the study showed it did not lower blood ammonia in patients with cirrhosis. On November 10, 2021, we announced that our Phase 1 study of SYNB1891 in combination with PD-L1 checkpoint inhibitor patients with advanced solid tumors orlymphoma had completed enrollment and no further studies areplanned for SYNB1891.
We currently operate in one reportable business segment—the discovery and development of Synthetic Biotic medicines. To date, we have dedicated substantially all of our activities to the research and development of our product candidates. As of December 31, 2021, we have received approximately $426.0 million in proceeds as we financed our operations primarily through the sale of preferred stock, common stock, preferred units, warrants, payments received under the Roche Collaboration and Option agreement, the AbbVie collaboration agreement, interest earned on investments, and cash received in the Merger.
We have not generated any revenue to date from product sales and have incurred significant operating losses since our inception. We have incurred net losses of approximately $60.6 million and $59.2 million for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively. As of December 31, 2021 and 2020, we had an accumulated deficit of approximately $290.9 million and $230.3 million, respectively, and we expect to incur losses for the foreseeable future as we develop our product candidates. We expect our expenses and capital requirements will increase substantially in connection with our ongoing activities, as we:
• seek regulatory approval for our product candidates;
• maintain, expand and protect our intellectual property portfolio;
We do not expect to generate product revenue unless and until we successfully complete clinical development and obtain regulatory approvals for our product candidates, either alone or in collaboration with third parties. Additionally, we expect to utilize third-party contract research organizations (CROs) and contract manufacturing organizations (CMOs) to carry out our clinical development and manufacturing activities, and we do not yet have a commercial organization. If we obtain regulatory approval for any of our product candidates, we expect to incur significant expenses related to developing our internal commercialization capability to support product sales, marketing and distribution. Accordingly, we anticipate that we will seek to fund our operations through public or private equity or debt financings, collaborations or licenses, finance lease transactions or other available financing transactions. However, we may be unable to raise additional funds through these or other means when needed. Because of the numerous risks and uncertainties associated with product development, we are unable to predict the timing or amount of increased expenses or when or if it will be able to achieve or maintain profitability. Even if we are able to generate product revenue, we may not become profitable.
Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our business
The COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect economies and business around the world. The extent and duration of such effects remain uncertain and difficult to predict, particularly as virus variants continue to spread. We are actively monitoring and managing our response and assessing actual and potential impacts to our operating results and financial condition, as well as developments in our business, which could further impact the developments, trends and expectations described below. See the risk factor related to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, “A pandemic, epidemic, or outbreak of an infectious disease, such as COVID-19 may materially and adversely affect our business and our financial results” described in “Risk Factors” in Part I, Item 1A of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
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Financial Overview
Revenue
Revenue for the year ended December 31, 2021 was generated from our collaboration agreement with Roche. In June 2021, we announced that we entered into the Roche Collaboration and Option Agreement for the discovery of novel Synthetic Biotic medicines for the treatment of IBD. The collaboration agreement contains multiple performance obligations, including research and development services towards the achievement of milestones and an exclusive option for Roche to negotiate a definitive collaboration and license agreement for further development of a product candidate. Revenue for the year ended December 31, 2020, and previous years was from our collaboration agreement with AbbVie. In May 2020, we announced the termination of our collaboration with AbbVie, and as such, we do not expect further revenue from AbbVie. See Note 10, Collaboration Agreements:Roche Collaboration and Collaboration Agreements: AbbVie Collaboration in the notes to the consolidated financial statements appearing elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for a full discussion of these arrangements.
Research and Development Expense
Research and development expense consists of expenses incurred in connection with the discovery and development of our product candidates, including the conduct of preclinical and clinical studies and product development, which are expensed as they are incurred. These expenses consist primarily of:
• compensation, benefits and other employee related expenses;
• supplies to support our internal research and development efforts;
• research and development related facility and depreciation costs;
• leased manufacturing space; and
The lengthy process of securing regulatory approvals for new drugs requires the expenditure of substantial resources. Any delay or failure to obtain regulatory approvals would materially adversely affect our product candidate development efforts and our business overall. Given the inherent uncertainties of pharmaceutical product development, we cannot estimate with any degree of certainty the likelihood, timing or cost of obtaining regulatory approval and marketing our product candidates and thus, when, if ever, our product candidates will generate revenues and cash flows.
The successful development of our product candidates is highly uncertain and subject to a number of risks. Refer to the risk factors under the heading Risks Related to the Development of Our Product Candidates in Part II, Item 1A, found elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
When we invest in our pipeline, the commitment of funding for each subsequent stage of our development programs is dependent upon the receipt of clear, supportive data. We anticipate that we will make determinations as to which additional programs to pursue and how much funding to direct to each program on an ongoing basis in response to the scientific and clinical data of each product candidate, as well as the competitive landscape and ongoing assessments of such product candidate’s commercial potential. We expect our research and development costs will be substantial for the foreseeable future. We expect costs associated with our drug development candidates to increase as the programs progress through clinical trials and new programs progress toward IND and into development.
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We track direct research and development expenses, consisting principally of external costs, such as costs associated with contract research organizations and manufacturing of preclinical and clinical drug product and other outsourced research and development expenses, to specific product programs. Costs related to specific product candidates are tracked upon the selection of a product candidate. We do not allocate employee and consulting-related costs, costs associated with our platform and facility expenses, including depreciation or other indirect costs, to specific product candidate programs because these costs are deployed across multiple product candidate programs under research and development and, as such, are separately classified. The table below summarizes our research and development expenses by categories of costs for the periods presented (in thousands):
Year ended December 31,
Internal research and development expenses 26,795 23,839
General and Administrative Expense
General and administrative expenses consist primarily of compensation, benefits and other employee-related expenses for personnel in our administrative, finance, legal, information technology, investor relations, business development and human resource functions. Other general and administrative costs include the legal costs of pursuing patent protection of our intellectual property, facility and information technology infrastructure costs, directors’ and officers’ insurance, professional fees for accounting, tax, legal and consulting services.
We anticipate that our general and administrative expenses will increase in the future as we support our continued research and development and potential commercialization of our product candidates. Additionally, if and when we believe a regulatory approval of the first product candidate appears likely, we anticipate an increase in payroll and related expenses as a result of our preparation for commercial operations, especially as it relates to the sales and marketing of our product candidates.
Other Income (Expense)
Interest and investment income consists of income earned on investments. Interest expense consists of expense related to our finance leases. Other expense consists primarily of gains and losses on foreign currency invoices.
Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates
Our discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations is based upon our consolidated financial statements prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the U.S. (GAAP). The preparation of these financial statements requires us to make certain estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reported periods and related disclosures. These estimates and assumptions, including those related to revenue recognition and research and development expenses are monitored and analyzed by us for changes in facts and circumstances, and material changes in these estimates could occur in the future. These critical estimates and assumptions are based on our historical experience, our observance of trends in the industry, and various other factors that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances and form the basis for making judgments about the carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. Actual results may differ from our estimates under different assumptions or conditions.
We believe that the application of the following accounting policies, each of which require significant judgments and estimates on the part of management, are the most critical to aid in fully understanding and evaluating our reported financial results. Our significant accounting policies are more fully described in Note 2, Summary of Significant Accounting Policies, to our consolidated financial statements appearing elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Revenue Recognition
We evaluate collaboration agreements with respect to FASB ASC Topic 808, Collaborative Arrangements, considering the nature and contractual terms of the arrangement and the nature of our business operations to determine the classification of the transactions. When we are an active participant in the activity and exposed to significant risks and rewards dependent on the
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commercial success of the collaboration, we will record our transactions on a gross basis in the consolidated financial statements and describe the rights and obligations under the collaborative arrangement in the notes to the consolidated financial statements.
Under ASC 606, an entity recognizes revenue when its customer obtains control of promised goods or services, in an amount that reflects the consideration which the entity expects to receive in exchange for those goods or services. To determine revenue recognition for arrangements that an entity determines are within the scope of ASC 606, the entity performs the following five-step analysis: (i) identify the contract(s) with a customer; (ii) identify the performance obligations in the contract; (iii) determine the transaction price; (iv) allocate the transaction price to the performance obligations in the contract; and (v) recognize revenue when (or as) the entity satisfies a performance obligation. We only apply the five-step analysis to contracts when it is probable that we will collect the consideration we are entitled to in exchange for the goods or services we transfer to the customer. At contract inception, once the contract is determined to be within the scope of ASC 606, we assess the goods or services promised within each contract and determine those that are performance obligations and assesses whether each promised good or service is distinct. We then recognize as revenue the amount of the transaction price that is allocated to the respective performance obligation when (or as) the performance obligation is satisfied.
We may enter into collaboration agreements for research and development services, under which we may license certain rights to our product candidates to third parties. The terms of these arrangements typically include payment to us of one or more of the following: non-refundable, upfront license fees; reimbursement of certain costs; customer option exercise fees; development, regulatory and commercial milestone payments; and royalties on net sales of licensed products. Variable consideration is constrained until it is deemed to not be at a significant risk of reversal.
In determining the appropriate amount of revenue to be recognized as we fulfill our obligations under each of our agreements for which the collaboration partner is also a customer, we perform the following steps: (i) identification of the promised goods or services in the contract; (ii) determination of whether the promised goods or services are performance obligations including whether they are distinct in the context of the contract; (iii) measurement of the transaction price, including the constraint on variable consideration; (iv) allocation of the transaction price to the performance obligations; and (v) recognition of revenue when (or as) we satisfy each performance obligation. As part of the accounting for these arrangements, we must use significant judgment to determine: a) the number of performance obligations based on the determination under step (ii) above; b) the transaction price under step (iii) above; and c) the contract term and pattern of satisfaction of the performance obligations under step (v) above. We use significant judgment to determine whether milestones or other variable consideration, except for royalties, should be included in the transaction price as described further below. The transaction price is allocated to the goods and services we expect to provide. We use estimates to determine the timing of satisfaction of performance obligations, which may include the use of full-time equivalent time as a measure of satisfaction of performance obligations.
Amounts received prior to satisfying the revenue recognition criteria are recorded as deferred revenue in our consolidated balance sheets. Amounts expected to be recognized as revenue within the 12 months following the balance sheet date are classified as current deferred revenue. Amounts not expected to be recognized as revenue within the 12 months following the balance sheet date are classified as deferred revenue, net of current portion.
Licenses of Intellectual Property
In assessing whether a promise or performance obligation is distinct from the other promises, we consider factors such as the research, manufacturing and commercialization capabilities of the customer and the availability of the associated expertise in the general marketplace. In addition, we consider whether the customer can benefit from a promise for its intended purpose without the receipt of the remaining promises, whether the value of the promise is dependent on the unsatisfied promise, whether there are other vendors that could provide the remaining promise, and whether it is separately identifiable from the remaining promise. For licenses that are combined with other promises, we utilize judgment to assess the nature of the combined performance obligation to determine whether the combined performance obligation is satisfied over time or at a point in time and, if over time, the appropriate method of measuring progress for purposes of recognizing revenue. We evaluate the measure of progress each reporting period and, if necessary, adjust the measure of performance and related revenue recognition.
Research and Development Services
If an arrangement is determined to contain a promise or obligation for us to perform research and development services, we must determine whether these services are distinct from the other promises in the arrangement. In assessing whether the services are distinct from the other promises, we consider the capabilities of the customer to perform these same services. In addition, we consider whether the customer can benefit from a promise for its intended purpose without the receipt of the remaining promise, whether the value of the promise is dependent on the unsatisfied promise, whether there are other vendors that could provide the remaining promise, and whether it is separately identifiable from the remaining promise. For research and development services that are combined with other promises, we utilize judgment to assess the nature of the combined performance obligation to determine whether the combined performance obligation is satisfied over time or at a point in time and, if over time, the appropriate method of measuring
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progress for purposes of recognizing revenue. The estimates we use to record revenue relating to the combined performance obligation on an over time basis, include input methods such as full-time equivalent time incurred compared to the full-time equivalent time expected to be incurred in the future to satisfy the performance obligation, which require management judgment. We evaluate the measure of progress each reporting period and, if necessary, adjust the measure of performance and related revenue recognition.With this method, we must estimate total inputs required to satisfy a performance obligation and measure efforts expended to date to determine revenue recognition. This estimate of remaining inputs is subjective, as the research is novel, and therefore efforts to be successful may be different than the estimated efforts at the balance sheet date.
Customer Options
If an arrangement is determined to contain customer options that allow the customer to acquire additional goods or services, the goods and services underlying the customer options are not considered to be performance obligations at the outset of the arrangement, as they are contingent upon option exercise. We evaluate the customer options for material rights, that is, the option to acquire additional goods or services for free or at a discount. If the customer options are determined to represent a material right, the material right is recognized as a separate performance obligation at the outset of the arrangement. We allocate the transaction price to material rights based on an alternative approach when the goods or services are both (i) similar to the original goods and services in the contract and (ii) provided in accordance with the terms of the original contract. Under this alternative, we allocate the total amount of consideration expected to be received from the customer to the total goods or services expected to be provided to the customer. Amounts allocated to a material right are not recognized as revenue until the option is exercised and the performance obligation is satisfied.
Milestone Payments
At the inception of each arrangement that includes milestone payments, we evaluate whether a significant reversal of cumulative revenue provided in conjunction with achieving the milestones is probable and estimate the amount to be included in the transaction price using the most likely amount method. If it is probable that a significant reversal of cumulative revenue would not occur, the associated milestone value is included in the transaction price. Milestone payments that are not within our control or the licensee, such as regulatory approvals, are not considered probable of being achieved until those approvals are received. For other milestones, we evaluate factors such as the scientific, clinical, regulatory, commercial, and other risks that must be overcome to achieve the particular milestone in making this assessment. There is considerable judgment involved in determining whether it is probable that a significant reversal of cumulative revenue would not occur. At the end of each subsequent reporting period, we reevaluate the probability of achievement of all milestones subject to constraint and, if necessary, adjusts our estimate of the overall transaction price. Any such adjustments are recorded on a cumulative catch-up basis, which would affect revenues and earnings in the period of adjustment.
Royalties
For arrangements that include sales-based royalties, including milestone payments based on a level of sales, and the license is deemed to be the predominant item to which the royalties relate, we recognize revenue at the later of (i) when the related sales occur, or (ii) when the performance obligation to which some or all of the royalty has been allocated has been satisfied (or partially satisfied). To date, we have not recognized any royalty revenue resulting from any of our licensing arrangements.
Contract Costs
We recognize as an asset the incremental costs of obtaining a contract with a customer if the costs are expected to be recovered. As a practical expedient, we recognize the incremental costs of obtaining a contract as an expense when incurred if the amortization period of the asset that we otherwise would have recognized is one year or less. To date, we have not incurred any incremental costs of obtaining a contract with a customer.
Research and Development Expense
All research and development expenses are expensed as incurred. Research and development expenses comprise costs incurred in performing research and development activities, including compensation, benefits and other employee costs; equity‐based compensation expense; laboratory and clinical supplies and other direct expenses; facilities expenses; overhead expenses; fees for contractual services, including preclinical studies, clinical trials, clinical manufacturing and raw materials; and other external expenses. Nonrefundable advance payments for research and development activities are capitalized and expensed over the related service period or as goods are received and services are performed. When third-party service providers’ billing terms do not coincide with our period-end, we are required to make estimates of our obligations to those third parties, including clinical trial costs, contractual service costs and costs for supply of our drug candidates, incurred in a given accounting period and record accruals at the end of the period. We base our estimates on the completion status of the research and development programs and the associated estimate of unbilled costs.
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Results of Operations
The following discussion summarizes the key factors our management believes are necessary for an understanding of our consolidated financial results.
Year ended December 31,
(in thousands)
Operating expenses:
Other income (expense):
Interest and investment income 210 1,302
Interest expense (2 ) (6 )
Other expense (4 ) (3 )
Other income (expense), net 204 1,293
Year Ended December 31, 2021 Compared to Year Ended December 31, 2020
Revenue
Years Ended
December 31, Change
(in thousands)
Revenue was $1.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2021 compared to $0.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2020. Revenue for the year ended December 31, 2021 was related to services performed under the Roche collaboration. Revenue for the year ended December 31, 2020 was related to the recognition of deferred revenue from services performed and payments received under the AbbVie collaboration. In May 2020, we announced the termination of our collaboration with AbbVie.
Operating Expenses
Years Ended
December 31, Change
(in thousands)
Operating expenses:
Research and Development Expense
Research and development expense was $47.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2021 compared to $47.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2020. The decrease of $0.4 million was due to a decrease of $12.5 million of non-clinical costs, including a decrease in non-clinical costs of $5.4 million for SYNB1618 as it advanced into the clinic, and $2.3 million for Maple Syrup Urine Disease (MSUD), which we stopped conducting research on to prioritize other metabolic disorders. This decrease in non-clinical costs was offset by an increase of $8.1 million of clinical development costs, comprised of $4.6 million for SYNB8802, $3.0 million for SYNB1934, $0.4 million for SYNB1891 and $0.1 million for SYNB1618, as well as an increase of $0.3 million of manufacturing costs. There were additional increases of $2.7 million in compensation, benefits and other employee-related expenses, $0.8 million in professional services and $0.2 million in research and development support costs.
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General and Administrative Expense
General and administrative expense was $15.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2021 compared to $13.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2020. The increase of $1.9 million was primarily due to an increase of $1.4 million in professional services, $0.4 million in corporate fees and $0.3 million in compensation, benefits and other employee-related expenses associated with increased headcount. The increases were partially offset by a decrease of $0.2 million in support costs.
Other Income (Expense)
Years Ended
December 31, Change
(in thousands)
Other income (expense):
Interest expense (2 ) (6 ) 4 (67 )%
Other expense (4 ) (3 ) (1 ) 33 %
Other income (expense) for the year ended December 31, 2021 was $0.2 million compared to $1.3 million for the corresponding period in 2020. The decrease in other income (expense) of $1.1 million was related to a decrease in interest and investment income related to lower interest income generated by our investment account.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
We have incurred losses since our inception on March 14, 2014 and as of December 31, 2021, we had an accumulated deficit of $290.9 million. We have financed our operations to date primarily through the sale of preferred stock, common stock, preferred units and warrants, payments received under collaboration agreements, including the technology collaboration with Ginkgo, the Roche Collaboration and Option agreement, and the previous collaboration agreement with AbbVie, interest earned on investments, and cash received in the Merger. At December 31, 2021, we had $136.6 million in cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities. Our cash and cash equivalents include amounts held in money market funds, stated at cost plus unrealized gain and loss, which approximates fair market value. Our available-for-sale securities include amounts held in corporate debt securities, commercial paper and U.S. government agency securities and treasuries. We invest cash in excess of immediate requirements in accordance with our investment policy, which limits the amounts we may invest in any one type of investment and requires all investments held by us to maintain minimum ratings from Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organizations so as to primarily achieve liquidity and capital preservation.
During the year ended December 31, 2021 our cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities balance increased $36.2 million. This increase was primarily due to the sale of our common stock in underwritten public offerings in April and September 2021 and proceeds from the sale of our common stock in the at-the-market (ATM) offering program. These increases were offset by the cash used to operate our business, including payments related to, among other things, research and development and general and administrative expenses as we continue to invest in our primary drug candidates and support the development of our proprietary platform.
The following table sets forth the major sources and uses of cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash for each of the periods below:
Years ended December 31,
(in thousands)
Net cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash (used in) provided by
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Cash Flows from Operating Activities
Net cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash used in operating activities was $52.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2021. The primary use of cash was our net loss of $60.6 million, changes in our assets and liabilities of $0.2 million, partially offset by $8.2 million of non-cash items primarily including depreciation, equity-based compensation, and the right of use asset. The changes in our assets and liabilities include decreases in prepaid research and development expenses, as a result of the work being completed on the Ginkgo collaboration, decreases in prepaid expenses and other current assets, decreases in the operating lease liability, increases in accounts payable and accrued expenses, and increased deferred revenue.
Net cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash used in operating activities was $39.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2020. The primary use of cash was our net loss of $59.2 million, which was partially offset by $8.3 million of non-cash items primarily including depreciation, equity-based compensation, and the right of use asset. There was an increase in working capital of $11.4 million, primarily related to decreases in prepaid research and development expenses, as result of our June 2019 services agreement with Ginkgo, decreases in prepaid expense and other current assets, offset by decreases in accounts payable, accrued expenses, operating lease liability and deferred revenue.
Cash Flows from Investing Activities
Net cash used in investing activities for the year ended December 31, 2021 was $53.3 million and resulted primarily from the purchases of marketable securities of $167.9 million and property and equipment of $0.7 million. This was offset by the proceeds from maturity of marketable securities of $114.0 million and proceeds from redemption of marketable securities of $1.3 million.
Net cash provided by investing activities for the year ended December 31, 2020 was $32.5 million and resulted primarily from the proceeds from maturity of marketable securities of $90.8 million and proceeds from redemption of marketable securities of $28.5 million. This was offset by the purchases of marketable securities of $86.5 million and property and equipment of $0.4 million.
Cash Flows from Financing Activities
Net cash provided by financing activities for the year ended December 31, 2021 totaled $89.4 million, primarily related to net proceeds of $81.0 million from the sale of our common stock in underwritten public offerings in April and September 2021, $8.0 million from the sale of our common stock in the ATM offering program, and proceeds of $0.4 million from exercise of stock options and ESPP contributions, offset by payments of withholding taxes for employees relating to restricted stock awards.
Net cash provided by financing activities for the year ended December 31, 2020 totaled $13.4 million, primarily related to net proceeds of $13.5 million from the sale of our common stock in the ATM offering program, offset by payments on our finance leases.
Funding Requirements
To date, we have not commercialized any products and have not achieved profitability. We anticipate that we will continue to incur substantial net losses for the next several years as we further develop our product candidates, invest in our proprietary platform technology and operate as a publicly traded company.
We are currently generating revenue from our Roche collaboration and have historically generated revenue from our AbbVie collaboration (which was terminated in May 2020) but have not generated any product revenue since our inception and do not expect to generate any product revenue unless we receive regulatory approval for our product candidates, if ever. We believe that our cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities as of December 31, 2021, will be sufficient to meet our anticipated cash requirements for at least the next 12 months from the date of this filing. Our forecast of the period of time through which our financial resources will be adequate to support our operations is a forward-looking statement that involves risks and uncertainties, and actual results could vary materially and negatively as a result of a number of factors, including the factors discussed in the section entitled “Risk Factors” in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. We have based our estimates on assumptions that may prove to be wrong, and we could utilize our available capital resources sooner than we currently expect.
Due to the numerous risks and uncertainties associated with the development of our product candidates, we are unable to estimate precisely the amounts of capital outlays and operating expenditures necessary to complete the development of, and to obtain regulatory approval for, our product candidates. Our funding requirements will depend on many factors, including, but not limited to, the following:
• the success of our research and development efforts;
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• the rate of progress and cost of our commercialization activities;
• the expenses we incur in marketing and selling our product candidates;
• the revenue generated by sales of our product candidates;
• the emergence of competing or complementary technological developments;
• the acquisition of businesses, products and technologies;
• our need to implement additional infrastructure and internal systems;
Contractual Commitments and Obligations
We also have certain significant contractual obligations and commitments that require funding. Our commitments for operating leases relate to our lease of office and laboratory space at 301 Binney Street in Cambridge, Massachusetts and the cGMP clean-room space leased from the Azzur Group, LLC, in Waltham, Massachusetts.
In July 2017, we entered into an agreement to lease 41,346 square feet of laboratory and office space at 301 Binney Street in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Annual rent is $3.4 million. The ten-year lease commenced in January 2018 and contains provisions for a free-rent period, annual rent increases and an allowance for tenant improvements. Additionally, we have paid for a tenant improvement investment of $2.9 million. In conjunction with the lease, we established a letter of credit of a $1.0 million.
On December 7, 2018, Synlogic Operating Company, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company, entered into a Statement of Work (the First SOW) with Azzur Group, LLC (Azzur) pursuant to a Master Contract Services Agreement (the Master Services Agreement), dated September 8, 2018, between the Company and Azzur.
Pursuant to the First SOW, Azzur agreed to provide the Company with access to, and the use of, an approximately 700 square foot cleanroom space to be constructed in Waltham, Massachusetts (the Azzur Suite), for a period of 44 months, from May 1, 2019 to December 31, 2022 (the Initial Term). Azzur also agreed to provide the Company with storage space and personnel support at the Azzur Suite. The total estimated project cost during the Initial Term for access to, and use of, the cleanroom and storage space, and the personnel support and other services, was $4.8 million.
In April 2021, Synlogic entered into a new agreement (the Second SOW) with Azzur which replaced the First SOW. Pursuant to the Second SOW, Synlogic was granted access to, and use of, the Azzur Suite for a period of 20 months, from May 2021 to December 2022 (the Second Term).The Company determined that the agreement contained an embedded lease because the Company controls the use of the Azzur Suite. Accordingly, the fixed and in-substance fixed consideration under the agreement was used to remeasure the right-of-use (ROU) asset and lease liability at the effective date of the Second SOW.
The Company may terminate the Second SOW on three months’ prior written notice at any time during the Term. In addition, either party may terminate the Master Services Agreement (including the SOWs) due to a breach by the other party and failure to cure. The Company is reasonably certain not to exercise the termination option through March 2023.
As we are a clinical stage company, we expect our most significant clinical trial expenditures will be with CROs and CMOs. These contracts generally are cancellable, with notice, at our option and do not have cancellation penalties.
As an early-stage company, we are subject to a number of risks common to other life science companies, including, but not limited to, the ability to raise additional capital, development by our competitors of new technological innovations, risk of failure in preclinical studies, the safety and efficacy of our product candidates in clinical trials, the regulatory approval process, the ability to efficiently manufacture our products, market acceptance of our products once approved, lack of marketing and sales history, dependence on key personnel and protection of proprietary technology. Our therapeutic programs are currently pre-commercial,
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spanning discovery through early development and will require significant additional research and development efforts, including extensive preclinical and clinical testing and regulatory approval prior to commercialization of any product candidates. These efforts require significant amounts of additional capital, adequate personnel infrastructure and extensive compliance-reporting capabilities. There can be no assurance that our research and development will be successfully completed, that adequate protection for our intellectual property will be obtained, that any products developed will obtain necessary regulatory approval or that any approved products will be commercially viable. Even if our product development efforts are successful, it is uncertain when, if ever, we will generate revenue from product sales. We may never achieve profitability, and unless and until we do, we will continue to need to raise additional capital or obtain financing from other sources, such as strategic collaborations or alliances. If we cannot expand our operations or otherwise capitalize on our business opportunities because we lack sufficient capital, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially adversely affected.
Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements
We do not have any relationships with unconsolidated entities or financial partnerships, such as entities often referred to as structured finance or special purpose entities, that would have been established for the purpose of facilitating off-balance sheet arrangements or other contractually narrow or limited purposes. As such, we are not exposed to any financing, liquidity, market or credit risk that could arise if we had engaged in those types of relationships. We enter into guarantees in the ordinary course of business related to the guarantee of our performance and the performance of our subsidiaries.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
Please read Note 2, Summary of Significant Accounting Policies to the consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
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Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk.
Interest Rate Risk
We are a smaller reporting company as defined by Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act and are not required to provide this information required under this item.
Item 8. Consolidated Financial Statements and Supplementary Data.
Our consolidated financial statements, together with the independent registered public accounting firm report thereon, appear at pages F-1 through F-28 respectively, of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Item 9. Changes in and Disagreements With Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure.
None.
Item 9A. Controls and Procedures.
Definition and limitations of disclosure controls
Our disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the Exchange Act)) are controls and other procedures that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed in our reports filed under the Exchange Act, such as this report, is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms. Disclosure controls and procedures are also designed to ensure that such information is accumulated and communicated to our management, including our principal executive officer and principal financial officer, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure. Our management evaluates these controls and procedures on an ongoing basis.
There are inherent limitations to the effectiveness of any system of disclosure controls and procedures. These limitations include the possibility of human error, the circumvention or overriding of the controls and procedures and reasonable resource constraints. In addition, because we have designed our system of controls based on certain assumptions, which we believe are reasonable, about the likelihood of future events, our system of controls may not achieve its desired purpose under all possible future conditions. Accordingly, our disclosure controls and procedures provide reasonable assurance, but not absolute assurance, of achieving their objectives.
Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures
Our principal executive officer and principal financial officer, after evaluating the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) as of the end of the period covered by this Form 10-K, have concluded that, based on such evaluation, our disclosure controls and procedures were effective to ensure that information required to be disclosed by us in the reports that we file or submit under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported, within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms, and is accumulated and communicated to our management, including our principal executive and principal financial officers, or persons performing similar functions, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.In addition, our principal executive officer and principal financial officer have concluded that the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic did not impact our ability to maintain our internal controls over financial reporting and disclosure controls and procedures.
Changes in Internal Control
There have not been any changes in our internal controls over financial reporting identified in connection with the evaluation of such internal control that occurred during our fiscal year ended December 31, 2021 that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal controls over financial reporting.
Management’s Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting as defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) under the Exchange Act, as amended. Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.
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Our management assessed the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2021. In making this assessment, management used the criteria set forth by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO) in Internal Control-Integrated Framework (2013). Based on our assessment, management believes that, as of December 31, 2021, our internal control over financial reporting is effective based on those criteria.
Inherent Limitations on the Effectiveness of Controls
A control system, no matter how well conceived and operated, can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the objectives of the controls are met. Because of the inherent limitations in all control systems, no evaluation of controls can provide absolute assurance that all control issues or misstatements, if any, within a company have been detected. Accordingly, our controls and procedures are designed to provide reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the objectives of our control system are met. Projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.
Item 9B. Other Information.
None.
Item 9C. Disclosure Regarding Foreign Jurisdictions That Prevent Inspections.
Not Applicable.
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PART III
Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance.
The response to this item is incorporated by reference from the discussion responsive thereto under the captions “Management and Corporate Governance Matters,” “Section 16(a) Beneficial Ownership Reporting Compliance,” and “Code of Conduct and Ethics” in the Company’s Proxy Statement for the 2022 Annual Meeting of Stockholders.
Item 11. Executive Compensation.
The response to this item is incorporated by reference from the discussion responsive thereto under the caption “Executive Officer and Director Compensation” in the Company’s Proxy Statement for the 2022 Annual Meeting of Stockholders.
Item 12. Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters.
The response to this item is incorporated by reference from the discussion responsive thereto under the caption “Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management” in the Company’s Proxy Statement for the 2022 Annual Meeting of Stockholders.
Item 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence.
The response to this item is incorporated by reference from the discussion responsive thereto under the captions “Certain Relationships and Related Person Transactions” and “Management and Corporate Governance” in the Company’s Proxy Statement for the 2022 Annual Meeting of Stockholders.
Item 14. Principal Accounting Fees and Services.
The response to this item is incorporated by reference from the discussion responsive thereto under the caption “Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm” in the Company’s Proxy Statement for the 2022 Annual Meeting of Stockholders.
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PART IV
Item 15. Exhibits, Financial Statement Schedules.
Item 15(a).The following documents are filed as part of this Annual Report on Form 10-K:
Item 15(a)(1) and (2)See “Consolidated Financial Statements and Supplementary Data” at Item 8 to this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Other financial statement schedules have not been included because they are not applicable, or the information is included in the financial statements or notes thereto.
Item 15(a)(3)The following exhibits are filed as part of, or incorporated by reference into, this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Exhibit Index
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87
88
21.1 Subsidiaries of the registrant X
23.1 Consent of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm X
24.1 Power of Attorney (included in the signature page hereto) X
101.SCH Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema Document. X
101.CAL Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase Document. X
101.DEF Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase Document. X
101.LAB Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Label Linkbase Document. X
101.PRE Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase Document. X
# Management contract or compensatory plans or arrangements.
Item 16. Form 10-K Summary.
None.
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SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this Report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
Synlogic, Inc.
Date: March 17, 2022 By: /s/ AOIFE BRENNAN
Aoife Brennan
President and Chief Executive Officer (Principal Executive Officer)
POWER OF ATTORNEY
KNOW ALL PERSONS BY THESE PRESENTS, that each person whose signature appears below constitutes and appoints each of Aoife Brennan and Gregg Beloff his or her true and lawful attorney-in-fact and agent, with full power of substitution, for him or her and in his or her name, place and stead, in any and all capacities, to sign any and all amendments to this Annual Report on Form 10-K, and to file the same, with all exhibits thereto, and other documents in connection therewith, with the Securities and Exchange Commission, granting unto said attorney-in-fact and agent, full power and authority to do and perform each and every act and thing requisite and necessary to be done in connection therewith, as fully to all intents and purposes as he might or could do in person, hereby ratifying and confirming all that said attorney-in-fact and agent, or his or her substitutes or substitute, may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, each of the undersigned has executed this Power of Attorney as of the date indicated opposite his name.
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this Report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the registrant in the capacities indicated below and on the dates indicated.
Name Title Date
Aoife Brennan (Principal Executive Officer)
/s/ GREGG BELOFF Interim Chief Financial Officer March 17, 2022
Gregg Beloff (Principal Financial Officer and Principal Accounting Officer)
/s/ PETER BARRETT
Peter Barrett Chairman of the Board March 17, 2022
/s/ MICHAEL BURGESS
Michael Burgess Director March 17, 2022
/s/ MICHAEL HEFFERNAN
Michael Heffernan Director March 17, 2022
/s/ PATRICIA HURTER
Patricia Hurter Director March 17, 2022
/s/ LISA KELLY-CROSWELL
Lisa Kelly-Croswell Director March 17, 2022
/s/ NICK LESCHLY
Nick Leschly Director March 17, 2022
/s/ EDWARD MATHERS
Edward Mathers Director March 17, 2022
/s/ RICHARD P. SHEA
Richard P. Shea Director March 17, 2022
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Index to Consolidated Financial Statements of Synlogic, Inc.
Consolidated Balance Sheets F-4
Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Loss F-5
Consolidated Statements of Stockholders’ Equity F-6
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows F-7
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements F-8
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
To the Stockholders and Board of Directors
Synlogic, Inc.:
Opinion on the Consolidated Financial Statements
We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of Synlogic, Inc. and subsidiaries (the Company) as of December 31, 2021 and 2020, the related consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss, stockholders’ equity, and cash flows for the years then ended, and the related notes (collectively, the consolidated financial statements). In our opinion, the consolidated financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of December 31, 2021 and 2020, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the years then ended, in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.
Basis for Opinion
These consolidated financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these consolidated financial statements based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (PCAOB) and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.
We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the consolidated financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. The Company is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its internal control over financial reporting. As part of our audits, we are required to obtain an understanding of internal control over financial reporting but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion.
Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the consolidated financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the consolidated financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the consolidated financial statements. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.
Critical Audit Matter
The critical audit matter communicated below is a matter arising from the current period audit of the consolidated financial statements that was communicated or required to be communicated to the audit committee and that: (1) relates to accounts or disclosures that are material to the consolidated financial statements and (2) involved our especially challenging, subjective, or complex judgments. The communication of a critical audit matter does not alter in any way our opinion on the consolidated financial statements, taken as a whole, and we are not, by communicating the critical audit matter below, providing a separate opinion on the critical audit matter or on the accounts or disclosures to which it relates.
Evaluation of accrued expenses related to research and development activities performed by third parties
As discussed in Note 2 to the consolidated financial statements, costs incurred in research and development are expensed as incurred. When third-party service providers’ billing terms do not coincide with the Company’s period-end, the Company is required to make estimates of its obligations to those third parties, including clinical trial costs, contractual services costs, and costs for supply of its drug candidates, incurred in a given accounting period and record accruals at the end of the period. The Company bases its estimates on its knowledge of the research and development programs, services performed for the period and the expected duration of the third-party service contract, where applicable. As discussed in Note 7 to the consolidated financial statements, the accrued expenses balance related to research and development activities performed by third parties was $336 thousand at December 31, 2021.
We identified the evaluation of accrued expenses related to research and development activities performed by third parties as a critical audit matter. The estimates made by the Company in determining the accrued expenses balance are based on a number of factors that can be challenging to assess, including the completion status of the research and development programs and the associated estimate of unbilled costs.
F-2
The following are the primary procedures we performed to address this critical audit matter. We inspected contracts with third-party service providers, including any subsequent amendments, confirmed costs incurred to date with the respective third parties under the contracts, and inspected invoices to evaluate the amounts billed to date under the contracts. Furthermore, to assess that all services rendered by the third parties prior to December 31, 2021 were appropriately included in the Company’s accrued expenses balance at December 31, 2021, we (1) inquired of the individuals at the Company who are responsible for overseeing the research and development activities of the third-party service providers to understand the progress of the respective programs, (2) inspected correspondence received from the third-party service providers, including status reports, and compared them to the estimates underlying the accrued expenses balance, and (3) compared amounts ultimately invoiced by the third-party service providers subsequent to December 31, 2021 to the amounts accrued by the Company.
/s/ KPMG LLP
We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2015.
Boston, Massachusetts
March 17, 2022
F-3
SYNLOGIC, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Consolidated Balance Sheets
(In thousands, except share and per share data)
December 31, December 31,
Assets
Current assets:
Prepaid expenses and other current assets 4,721 6,402
Long-term marketable securities 8,041 —
Prepaid research and development, net of current portion 9,309 9,590
Other assets 3 4
Liabilities and Stockholders' Equity
Current liabilities:
Deferred revenue 531 —
Lease liability - operating lease 3,191 2,531
Finance lease obligations 12 2
Long-term liabilities:
Lease liability - operating lease, net of current portion 17,372 20,273
Finance lease obligations, net of current portion 18 —
Other long-term liabilities — 131
Commitments and contingencies (Note 14)
Stockholders' equity
Common stock, $0.001 par value
Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) (45 ) 14
Total liabilities and stockholders' equity $ 174,736 $ 143,840
See accompanying notes to the consolidated financial statements.
F-4
Synlogic, INC. aND SUBSIDIARIES
Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Loss
(In thousands, except share and per share amounts)
Years ended December 31,
Operating expenses:
Other income (expense):
Interest and investment income 210 1,302
Interest expense (2 ) (6 )
Other expense (4 ) (3 )
Other income (expense), net 204 1,293
Net loss per share - basic and diluted $ (1.09 ) $ (1.65 )
Comprehensive loss:
Net unrealized loss on marketable securities (59 ) (96 )
See accompanying notes to the consolidated financial statements.
F-5
Synlogic, INC. aND SUBSIDIARIES
Consolidated Statements of Stockholders’ Equity
(In thousands, except share amounts)
Common stock Additional Accumulated other
$0.001 par value paid-in comprehensive Accumulated Total
Shares Amount capital income (loss) deficit equity
Issuance of restricted stock 226,335 — — — — —
Issuance of common stock under employee stock purchase plan 29,857 — 42 — — 42
Cancellation of restricted stock (215,463 ) — — — — —
Equity-based compensation expense — — 3,907 — — 3,907
Unrealized gain (loss) on securities — — — (96 ) — (96 )
Issuance of restricted stock 242,454 — — — — —
Issuance of common stock under employee stock purchase plan 42,653 — 94 — — 94
Cancellation of restricted stock (77,794 ) — — — — —
Equity-based compensation expense — — 3,361 — — 3,361
Unrealized gain (loss) on securities — — — (59 ) — (59 )
See accompanying notes to the consolidated financial statements.
F-6
Synlogic, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
(In thousands)
Year Ended December 31, Year Ended December 31,
Cash flows from operating activities:
Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash used in operating activities:
Equity-based compensation expense 3,361 3,907
Accretion/amortization of investment securities 261 (21 )
Reduction in carrying amount of operating lease right of use asset 2,098 1,736
Changes in operating assets and liabilities:
Prepaid expenses and other current assets 1,681 7,273
Prepaid research and development, net of current portion 281 6,791
Other assets 1 60
Accounts payable and accrued expenses 538 (349 )
Operating lease liabilities (2,701 ) (2,000 )
Other long-term liabilities (131 ) 131
Net cash used in operating activities (52,198 ) (39,553 )
Cash flows from investing activities:
Proceeds from maturity of marketable securities 114,022 90,836
Proceeds from redemption of marketable securities 1,270 28,515
Purchases of property and equipment (679 ) (395 )
Net cash (used in) provided by investing activities (53,253 ) 32,482
Cash flows from financing activities:
Payments on finance lease obligations (8 ) (208 )
Proceeds from employee stock purchases and exercise of stock options 374 58
Proceeds from issuance of common stock, net of issuance costs 81,042 —
Net cash provided by financing activities 89,382 13,394
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash at beginning of period 33,604 27,281
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash at end of period $ 17,535 $ 33,604
Supplemental disclosure of non-cash investing activities:
Assets acquired under operating lease obligation $ 460 $ —
Supplemental disclosure of non-cash financing activities:
Purchase under finance lease $ 36 $ —
Issuance costs included in accounts payable and accrued expenses $ — $ 10
Cash paid for interest $ 2 $ 6
See accompanying notes to the consolidated financial statements.
F-7
SYNLOGIC, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
(1) Nature of Business
Organization
Synlogic, Inc., together with its wholly owned and consolidated subsidiaries (Synlogic or the Company), is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company applying synthetic biology to the discovery and development of Synthetic Biotic medicines. Synthetic Biotic medicines are generated from Synlogic’s proprietary platform, leveraging a reproducible, modular approach to the generation of novel drug candidates that perform or deliver critical therapeutic functions. Synthetic Biotic medicines are designed to metabolize a toxic substance, compensate for missing or damaged metabolic pathways or deliver combinations of therapeutic factors. Synlogic’s goal is to discover, develop and ultimately commercialize Synthetic Biotic medicines. Since incorporation, the Company has devoted substantially all of its efforts to the research and development of its product candidates.
Risks and Uncertainties
At December 31, 2021, the Company had approximately $136.6 million in cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities, $1.1 million of restricted cash and an accumulated deficit of approximately $290.9 million. Since its inception through December 31, 2021, the Company has primarily financed its operations through the issuance of preferred stock, units and warrants, the sale of its common stock, the Roche and AbbVie collaborations, and cash received in the Merger. In the absence of positive cash flows from operations, the Company is highly dependent on its ability to find additional sources of funding in the form of debt or equity financing. Management believes that the Company has sufficient cash to fund its operations through at least twelve months from the issuance of these financial statements.
As an early-stage company, the Company is subject to a number of risks common to other life science companies, including, but not limited to, raising additional capital, development by its competitors of new technological innovations, risk of failure in preclinical and clinical studies, safety and efficacy of its product candidates in clinical trials, the risk of relying on external parties such as contract research organizations (CROs) and contract manufacturing organizations (CMOs), the regulatory approval process, market acceptance of the Company’s products once approved, lack of marketing and sales history, dependence on key personnel and protection of proprietary technology. The Company’s therapeutic programs are currently pre-commercial, spanning discovery through early development and will require significant additional research and development efforts, including extensive preclinical and clinical testing and regulatory approval, prior to commercialization of any product candidates. These efforts require significant amounts of additional capital, adequate personnel, infrastructure, and extensive compliance-reporting capabilities. There can be no assurance that the Company’s research and development will be successfully completed, that adequate protection for the Company’s intellectual property will be obtained, that any products developed will obtain necessary regulatory approval or that any approved products will be commercially viable. Even if the Company’s product development efforts are successful, it is uncertain when, if ever, the Company will generate revenue from product sales. The Company may never achieve profitability, and unless and until it does, it will continue to need to raise additional capital or obtain financing from other sources, such as strategic collaborations or alliances.
COVID-19
While the Company is not aware of a material impact from the continuation of the COVID-19 pandemic through December 31, 2021, the full extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic will directly or indirectly impact the Company’s business, results of operations, and financial condition, including expenses and manufacturing, clinical trials, and research and development costs, depends on future developments that are highly uncertain at this time.
(2) Summary of Significant Accounting Policies
Basis of Presentation
The accompanying consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (U.S.) (U.S. GAAP or GAAP).
Principles of Consolidation
The accompanying consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Synlogic and its wholly owned subsidiaries. All intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.
Use of Estimates
The preparation of financial statements in accordance with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses, and related disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the
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SYNLOGIC, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements (continued)
date of the consolidated financial statements and the reported amounts of expenses during the reporting period. On an on-going basis, the Company’s management evaluates its estimates, including those related to revenue recognition, income taxes including the valuation allowance for deferred tax assets, research and development accruals and prepaids, accrued expenses, investments, contingencies and equity-based compensation. The Company bases its estimates on historical experience and on various other assumptions that are believed to be reasonable, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying values of assets and liabilities. Actual results could differ from those estimates. Changes in estimates are reflected in reported results in the period in which they become known.
Cash Equivalents
The Company considers all highly liquid investment instruments with a remaining maturity when purchased of three months or less to be cash equivalents. Investments qualifying as cash equivalents consist of money market funds, including money market funds held in a sweep account. Cash equivalents are stated at cost plus accrued interest, which approximates fair value. The amount of cash equivalents included in cash and cash equivalents was approximately $16.4 million and $32.5 million at December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively.
Concentration of Credit Risk
Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to concentrations of credit risk include amounts held as cash, cash equivalents, marketable securities and restricted cash. The Company uses high quality, accredited financial institutions to maintain its balances, and accordingly, such funds are subject to minimal credit risk. The Company has not experienced any losses in such accounts and management believes that the Company is not exposed to significant credit risk due to the financial position of the depository institutions in which those deposits are held. The Company has no financial instruments with off-balance sheet risk of loss.
Restricted Cash
The Company held cash of approximately $1.1 million at December 31, 2021 and 2020 in a letter of credit to secure its lease at the 301 Binney Street facility. The Company has classified this deposit as long-term restricted cash on its balance sheet.
The following table provides a reconciliation of cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash reported within the statement of financial position that sum to the total of the same such amounts shown in the statement of cash flows (in thousands).
December 31, December 31,
Fair Value
The Company is required to disclose information on all assets and liabilities reported at fair value that enables an assessment of the inputs used in determining the reported fair values. Accounting Standards Codification (ASC) Topic 820, Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures, establishes a fair value hierarchy for those instruments measured at fair value that distinguishes between assumptions based on market data (observable inputs) and the Company’s own assumptions (unobservable inputs). The hierarchy consists of three levels:
The Company evaluates transfers between levels at the end of each reporting period. There were no transfers of assets or liabilities between Level 1, Level 2 or Level 3 during the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020.
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SYNLOGIC, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements (continued)
Available-for-Sale Securities
The Company classifies all of its investments as available-for-sale based upon its intent with regard to such investments. The Company classifies investments as short-term when theirremaining contractual maturities are one year or less from the balance sheet date, and as long-term when the investment has a remaining contractual maturity of more than one year from the balance sheet date. Available-for-sale securities are carried at fair value, with the unrealized gains and losses reported in other comprehensive income (loss). The amortized cost of debt securities in this category is adjusted for amortization of premiums and accretion of discounts to maturity. Such amortization is included in interest and investment income. Realized gains and losses and declines in value judged to be other than temporary on available-for-sale securities, are included in interest and investment income.
The cost of securities sold is based on the specific identification method. Interest and dividends on securities classified as available-for-sale are included in interest and investment income. To determine whether an other-than-temporary impairment exists, the Company considers whether it has the ability and intent to hold the investment until a market price recovery, and whether evidence indicating the recoverability of the cost of the investment outweighs evidence to the contrary.
Property and Equipment
Property and equipment, including leasehold improvements, are recorded at cost and depreciated over their estimated useful lives using the straight‐line method. Repairs and maintenance costs are expensed as incurred, whereas major improvements are capitalized as additions to property and equipment.
Depreciation begins at the time the asset is placed in service. Depreciation is provided over the following estimated useful lives:
Asset classification Useful life
Computer and office equipment 3 years
Furniture and fixtures 5 years
Laboratory equipment 5 years
Leasehold improvements Lesser of useful life or remaining lease term
Impairment of Long‐Lived Assets
Long‐lived assets are reviewed for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of the asset may not be recoverable. When such events occur, the Company compares the carrying amounts of the assets to their undiscounted expected future cash flows. If this comparison indicates that there is impairment, the amount of impairment is calculated as the difference between the carrying value and fair value of the asset. To date, no such impairments have been recognized.
Leases
The Company uses judgement to assess if an arrangement is a lease at contract inception. An arrangement is a lease if the contract involves the use of a distinct identified asset, the lessor does not have substantive substitution rights and the Company obtains control of the asset throughout the period by obtaining substantially all of the economic benefit of the asset and the right to direct the use of the asset. Leases classified as operating leases are included in operating lease right-of-use (ROU) assets, current operating lease liabilities and noncurrent operating lease liabilities in our consolidated balance sheet. Finance leases are included in property and equipment and finance lease obligations in our consolidated balance sheet.
ROU assets represent the right-to-use an underlying asset for the lease term and lease liabilities represent the obligation to make lease payments arising from the lease. ROU assets and lease liabilities are recognized at the lease commencement date based on the estimated present value of lease payments over the lease term. The Company utilizes its incremental borrowing rate to determine the present value of lease payments. The incremental borrowing rate is the rate incurred to borrow similar funds, on a collateralized basis, over a comparable term in a similar economic environment.
The Company has elected to account for the lease and non-lease components for leases as a single component for classes of all underlying assets and allocate all of the contract consideration to the lease component only. Lease cost for operating leases is recognized on a straight-line basis over the lease term and is included in operating expenses on the statements of operations and comprehensive loss. Variable lease payments are included in lease operating expenses.
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SYNLOGIC, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements (continued)
The lease term includes options to extend the lease when it is reasonably certain that option will be exercised. Leases with a term of 12 months or less are not recorded on the Company’s consolidated balance sheet.
Research and Development Costs
Costs incurred in research and development are expensed as incurred. The Company defers and capitalizes nonrefundable advance payments made by the Company for research and development activities until the related goods are received or the related services are performed.
Research and development expenses are comprised of costs incurred in performing research and development activities, including salary and benefits, equity-based compensation expense, laboratory supplies and other direct expenses, facilities expenses, overhead expenses, contractual services and other outside expenses.
When third-party service providers’ billing terms do not coincide with the Company’s period-end, the Company is required to make estimates of its obligations to those third parties, including clinical trial costs, contractual services costs and costs for supply of its drug candidates, incurred in a given accounting period and record accruals at the end of the period. The Company bases its estimates on the completion status of the research and development programs and the associated estimate of unbilled costs.
Revenue recognition
The Company generates revenue through a collaboration and option agreement with Roche for the development and commercialization of product candidates.
The Company evaluates collaboration agreements with respect to FASB ASC Topic 808, Collaborative Arrangements, considering the nature and contractual terms of the arrangement and the nature of its business operations to determine the classification of the transactions. When the Company is an active participant in the activity and exposed to significant risks and rewards dependent on the commercial success of the collaboration, it will record its transactions on a gross basis in the consolidated financial statements and describe the rights and obligations under the collaborative arrangement in the notes to the consolidated financial statements.
Under ASC 606, an entity recognizes revenue when its customer obtains control of promised goods or services, in an amount that reflects the consideration which the entity expects to receive in exchange for those goods or services. To determine revenue recognition for arrangements that an entity determines are within the scope of ASC 606, the entity performs the following five-step analysis: (i) identify the contract(s) with a customer; (ii) identify the performance obligations in the contract; (iii) determine the transaction price; (iv) allocate the transaction price to the performance obligations in the contract; and (v) recognize revenue when (or as) the entity satisfies a performance obligation. The Company only applies the five-step analysis to contracts when it is probable that the entity will collect the consideration it is entitled to in exchange for the goods or services it transfers to the customer. At contract inception, once the contract is determined to be within the scope of ASC 606, the Company assesses the goods or services promised within each contract and determines those that are performance obligations and assesses whether each promised good or service is distinct. The Company then recognizes as revenue the amount of the transaction price that is allocated to the respective performance obligation when (or as) the performance obligation is satisfied.
The Company may enter into collaboration agreements for research and development services, under which the Company may license certain rights to its product candidates to third parties. The terms of these arrangements typically include payment to the Company of one or more of the following: non-refundable, upfront license fees; reimbursement of certain costs; customer option exercise fees; development, regulatory and commercial milestone payments; and royalties on net sales of licensed products. Variable consideration is constrained until it is deemed not be at significant risk of reversal.
In determining the appropriate amount of revenue to be recognized as it fulfills its obligations under each of its agreements for which the collaboration partner is also a customer, the Company performs the following steps: (i) identification of the promised goods or services in the contract; (ii) determination of whether the promised goods or services are performance obligations including whether they are distinct in the context of the contract; (iii) measurement of the transaction price, including the constraint on variable consideration; (iv) allocation of the transaction price to the performance obligations; and (v) recognition of revenue when (or as) the Company satisfies each performance obligation. As part of the accounting for these arrangements, the Company must use significant judgment to determine: a) the number of performance obligations based on the determination under step (ii) above; b) the transaction price under step (iii) above; and c) the contract term and pattern of satisfaction of the performance obligations under step (v) above. The Company uses significant judgment to determine whether milestones or other variable consideration, except for royalties, should
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SYNLOGIC, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements (continued)
be included in the transaction price as described further below. The transaction price is allocated to the goods and services the Company expects to provide. The Company uses estimates to determine the timing of satisfaction of performance obligations, which may include the use of full-time equivalent time as a measure of satisfaction of performance obligations.
Amounts received prior to satisfying the revenue recognition criteria are recorded as deferred revenue in the Company’s consolidated balance sheets. Amounts expected to be recognized as revenue within the 12 months following the balance sheet date are classified as current deferred revenue. Amounts not expected to be recognized as revenue within the 12 months following the balance sheet date are classified as deferred revenue, net of current portion.
Licenses of Intellectual Property
In assessing whether a promise or performance obligation is distinct from the other promises, we consider factors such as the research, manufacturing and commercialization capabilities of the customer and the availability of the associated expertise in the general marketplace. In addition, we consider whether the customer can benefit from a promise for its intended purpose without the receipt of the remaining promises, whether the value of the promise is dependent on the unsatisfied promise, whether there are other vendors that could provide the remaining promise, and whether it is separately identifiable from the remaining promise. For licenses that are combined with other promises, we utilize judgment to assess the nature of the combined performance obligation to determine whether the combined performance obligation is satisfied over time or at a point in time and, if over time, the appropriate method of measuring progress for purposes of recognizing revenue. We evaluate the measure of progress each reporting period and, if necessary, adjust the measure of performance and related revenue recognition.
Research and Development Services
If an arrangement is determined to contain a promise or obligation for us to perform research and development services, we must determine whether these services are distinct from the other promises in the arrangement. In assessing whether the services are distinct from the other promises, we consider the capabilities of the customer to perform these same services. In addition, we consider whether the customer can benefit from a promise for its intended purpose without the receipt of the remaining promise, whether the value of the promise is dependent on the unsatisfied promise, whether there are other vendors that could provide the remaining promise, and whether it is separately identifiable from the remaining promise. For research and development services that are combined with other promises, we utilize judgment to assess the nature of the combined performance obligation to determine whether the combined performance obligation is satisfied over time or at a point in time and, if over time, the appropriate method of measuring progress for purposes of recognizing revenue. The estimates we use to record revenue relating to the combined performance obligation on an over time basis, include input methods such as full-time equivalent time incurred compared to the full-time equivalent time expected to be incurred in the future to satisfy the performance obligation, which require management judgment. We evaluate the measure of progress each reporting period and, if necessary, adjust the measure of performance and related revenue recognition. With this method, we must estimate total inputs required to satisfy a performance obligation and measure efforts expended to date to determine revenue recognition. This estimate of remaining inputs is subjective, as the research is novel, and therefore efforts to be successful may be different than the estimated efforts at the balance sheet date.
Customer Options
If an arrangement is determined to contain customer options that allow the customer to acquire additional goods or services, the goods and services underlying the customer options are not considered to be performance obligations at the outset of the arrangement, as they are contingent upon option exercise. The Company evaluates the customer options for material rights, that is, the option to acquire additional goods or services for free or at a discount. If the customer options are determined to represent a material right, the material right is recognized as a separate performance obligation at the outset of the arrangement. The Company allocates the transaction price to material rights based on an alternative approach when the goods or services are both (i) similar to the original goods and services in the contract and (ii) provided in accordance with the terms of the original contract. Under this alternative, the Company allocates the total amount of consideration expected to be received from the customer to the total goods or services expected to be provided to the customer. Amounts allocated to a material right are not recognized as revenue until the option is exercised and the performance obligation is satisfied.
Milestone Payments
At the inception of each arrangement that includes milestone payments, the Company evaluates whether a significant reversal of cumulative revenue provided in conjunction with achieving the milestones is probable and estimates the amount to be included in the transaction price using the most likely amount method. If it is probable that a significant reversal of cumulative revenue would not occur, the associated milestone value is included in the transaction price. Milestone payments that are not within the control of the
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SYNLOGIC, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements (continued)
Company or the licensee, such as regulatory approvals, are not considered probable of being achieved until those approvals are received. For other milestones, the Company evaluates factors such as the scientific, clinical, regulatory, commercial, and other risks that must be overcome to achieve the particular milestone in making this assessment. There is considerable judgment involved in determining whether it is probable that a significant reversal of cumulative revenue would not occur. At the end of each subsequent reporting period, the Company reevaluates the probability of achievement of all milestones subject to constraint and, if necessary, adjusts its estimate of the overall transaction price. Any such adjustments are recorded on a cumulative catch-up basis, which would affect revenues and earnings in the period of adjustment.
Royalties
For arrangements that include sales-based royalties, including milestone payments based on a level of sales, and the license is deemed to be the predominant item to which the royalties relate, the Company recognizes revenue at the later of (i) when the related sales occur, or (ii) when the performance obligation to which some or all of the royalty has been allocated has been satisfied (or partially satisfied). To date, the Company has not recognized any royalty revenue resulting from any of its licensing arrangements.
Contract Costs
The Company recognizes as an asset the incremental costs of obtaining a contract with a customer if the costs are expected to be recovered. As a practical expedient, the Company recognizes the incremental costs of obtaining a contract as an expense when incurred if the amortization period of the asset that we otherwise would have recognized is one year or less. To date, the Company has not incurred any incremental costs of obtaining a contract with a customer.
Equity‐Based Compensation
The Company measures equity-based compensation to employees, non-employees and directors based on the grant date fair value of the awards and recognizes the associated expense in the financial statements over the requisite service period of the award, which is generally the vesting period. The fair value of each option and purchase rights under the employee stock purchase plan (ESPP) is estimated on the date of grant using the Black‐Scholes option‐pricing model. Expected volatility for the Company’s common stock is determined based on an average of the historical volatility of the Company and the historical volatility of a peer‐group of similar public companies. The expected term of options granted to employees is calculated using the simplified method, which represents the average of the contractual term of the option and the weighted-average vesting period of the option. The expected term of purchase rights for the ESPP is based on the duration of an offering period. The assumed dividend yield is based upon the Company’s expectation of not paying dividends in the foreseeable future. The risk‐free interest rate is based upon the U.S. Treasury yield curve commensurate with the expected term at the time of grant or remeasurement. Forfeitures are recognized as they occur.
The Company classifies equity-based compensation expense in its consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss in the same manner in which the award recipient’s payroll costs are classified or in which the award recipients’ service payments are classified.
Income Taxes
The Company accounts for income taxes using the asset and liability method, which requires the recognition of deferred tax assets and liabilities for the expected future tax consequences of events that have been recognized in the financial statements or in the Company’s tax returns. Deferred taxes are determined based on the difference between the financial reporting and tax basis of assets and liabilities using enacted tax rates in effect in the years in which the differences are expected to reverse. Changes in deferred tax assets and liabilities are recorded in the provision for income taxes. The Company assesses the likelihood that its deferred tax assets will be recovered from future taxable income and, to the extent it believes based upon the weight of available evidence, that it is more likely than not that all or a portion of deferred tax assets will not be realized, a valuation allowance is established through a charge to income tax expense. Potential for recovery of deferred tax assets is evaluated by estimating the future taxable profits expected and considering prudent and feasible tax planning strategies.
Uncertain tax positions represent tax positions for which reserves have been established. The Company accounts for uncertainty in income taxes recognized in the consolidated financial statements by applying a two-step process to determine the amount of tax benefit to be recognized. First, the tax position must be evaluated to determine the likelihood that it will be sustained upon external examination by the taxing authorities. If the tax position is deemed more likely than not to be sustained, the tax position is then assessed to determine the amount of benefit to be recognized in the financial statements. The amount of the benefit that may be recognized is the largest amount that has a greater than 50% likelihood of being realized upon ultimate settlement. The provision for
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SYNLOGIC, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements (continued)
income taxes includes the effects of any resulting tax reserves, or unrecognized tax benefits, that are considered appropriate as well as the related net interest and penalties.
Net Loss Per Share
Basic net loss per share is computed using the weighted-average number of shares of common stock outstanding during the period. Diluted net loss per share is computed using the sum of the weighted-average number of shares of common stock outstanding during the period and if dilutive, the weighted-average number of potential shares of common stock, including unvested restricted common stock, outstanding stock options and potential shares issuable under the ESPP.
Segment Information
Operating segments are defined as components of an enterprise about which separate discrete financial information is available for evaluation by the chief operating decision maker, or decision-making group, in deciding how to allocate resources and in assessing performance. The Company operates in one operating segment: discovery and development of synthetic biology therapeutics for the treatment of rare, infectious and other diseases. The Company’s chief executive officer, as chief operating decision maker, manages and allocates resources to the operations of the Company on a total company basis. All of the Company’s equipment, leasehold improvements and other fixed assets are physically located within the United States, and all agreements with its partners are denominated in U.S. dollars, except where noted.
New Accounting Pronouncements
New accounting pronouncements are issued by the FASB from time to time, and rules are issued by the SEC that the Company has or will adopt as of a specified date. Unless otherwise noted, management does not believe that any recently issued accounting pronouncements issued by the FASB or guidance issued by the SEC had, or is expected to have, a material impact on the Company’s present or future financial statements.
Recently Adopted Accounting Pronouncements
In October 2020, the FASB issued an amendment, ASU 2020-08, Codification Improvements to Subtopic 310-20, Receivables – Nonrefundable Fees and Other Costs, to the guidance in ASU 2017-08, Receivables-Nonrefundable Fees and Other Costs (Subtopic 310-20): Premium Amortization on Purchased Callable Debt Securities. The amendment requires companies to reevaluate whether a callable debt security that has multiple call dates is within the scope of paragraph 310-20-65-2. The amendment shall be effective for fiscal years, and interim periods within those fiscal years, beginning after December 15, 2020. The Company adopted the new guidance effective on January 1, 2021 which had an immaterial impact on its consolidated financial statements.
Recently IssuedAccounting Pronouncements
In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-13 - Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Statements. The new standard requires that expected credit losses relating to financial assets measured on an amortized cost basis and available-for-sale debt securities be recorded through an allowance for credit losses. It also limits the amount of credit losses to be recognized for available-for-sale debt securities to the amount by which carrying value exceeds fair value and also requires the reversal of previously recognized credit losses if fair value increases. In November 2019, the FASB issued ASU 2019-10 – Financial Instruments – Credit Losses (Topic 326), Derivatives and Hedging (Topic 815), and Leases (Topic 842): Effective Dates, which amended the effective date for certain companies. The standard is effective for public companies eligible to be smaller reporting companies for annual and interim periods beginning after December 15, 2022. Early adoption is available. The Company does not anticipate a material impact to its net financial position or disclosures as a result of adoption of ASU 2016-13.
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SYNLOGIC, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements (continued)
(3) Fair Value of Financial Instruments
The tables below present information about the Company’s assets that are measured at fair value on a recurring basis as of December 31, 2021 and 2020 and indicate the fair value hierarchy of the valuation techniques the Company utilized to determine such fair value, as described under Note 2, Summary of Significant Accounting Policies.
The Company’s investment portfolio includes many fixed income securities that do not always trade on a daily basis. As a result, the pricing services used by the Company applied other available information as applicable through processes such as benchmark yields, benchmarking of like securities, sector groupings and matrix pricing to prepare evaluations. In addition, model processes were used to assess interest rate impact and develop prepayment scenarios. These models take into consideration relevant credit information, perceived market movements, sector news and economic events. The inputs into these models may include benchmark yields, reported trades, broker-dealer quotes, issuer spreads and other relevant data.
At December 31, 2021 and 2020, the Company has classified assets measured at fair value on a recurring basis as follows (in thousands):
Fair Value Measurements at Reporting Date Using
Description 2021 (Level 1) (Level 2) (Level 3)
Corporate debt securities 5,873 — 5,873 —
U.S. government agency securities and treasuries 8,041 8,041 — —
Fair Value Measurements at Reporting Date Using
Description 2020 (Level 1) (Level 2) (Level 3)
U.S. government agency securities and treasuries 8,823 8,823 — —
Cash equivalents, prepaid expenses and other current assets, accounts payable and accrued expenses at December 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020 are carried at amounts that approximate fair value due to their short-term maturities. Finance lease obligations at December 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020 approximate fair value as they bear interest at a rate approximating a market interest rate.
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SYNLOGIC, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements (continued)
(4) Available-for-Sale Securities
The following tables summarize the available-for-sale securities held at December 31, 2021 and 2020 (in thousands):
U.S. government agency securities and treasuries 8,062 — (21 ) 8,041
U.S. government agency securities and treasuries 8,822 1 — 8,823
The contractual maturity of all securities held at December 31, 2021 was fifteen months or less. There were twenty investments in an unrealized loss position at December 31, 2021, none of which had been in an unrealized loss position for more than twelve months. The aggregate fair value of the securities in an unrealized loss position at December 31, 2021 and 2020 was $72.2 million and $20.1 million, respectively. The Company reviews its investments for other-than-temporary impairment whenever the fair value of an investment is less than amortized cost and evidence indicates that an investment’s carrying amount is not recoverable within a reasonable period of time. To determine whether an impairment is other-than-temporary, the Company considers whether it has the ability and intent to hold the investment until maturity or a market price recovery and considers whether evidence indicating the cost of the investment is recoverable outweighs evidence to the contrary. The Company did not hold any securities with an other-than-temporary impairment at December 31, 2021.
Gross realized gains and losses on the sales of investments have not been material to the Company’s consolidated statement of operations.
(5) Prepaid Expenses and Other Current Assets
Prepaid expenses and other current assets consist of the following (in thousands):
December 31, December 31,
Prepaid research and development 2,721 4,771
Total prepaid expenses and other current assets $ 4,721 $ 6,402
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SYNLOGIC, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements (continued)
(6) Property and Equipment, net
Property and equipment, net consists of the following (in thousands):
December 31, December 31,
Computer and office equipment 756 769
Construction in progress 623 528
Less accumulated depreciation (10,626 ) (8,249 )
Depreciation expense on property and equipment was $2.4 million and $2.6 million in 2021 and 2020, respectively.
(7) Accrued Expenses
Accrued expenses consist of the following (in thousands):
December 31, December 31,
Research and development 336 230
(8) Common Stock
The Company’s common stock has the following characteristics:
In June 2019, the Company issued to Ginkgo Bioworks, Inc. (Ginkgo) 6,340,771 shares of common stock and accompanying Pre-Funded Warrants (the Pre-Funded Warrants) to purchase up to an aggregate of 2,548,117 shares of common stock, at a combined purchase price per share and Pre-Funded Warrant of $9.00. The Pre-Funded Warrants have an exercise price of $9.00 per share, with $8.99 of such exercise price paid at the closing of the offering. The proceeds, net of issuance costs, were approximately $79.9 million, $57.0 million related to the proceeds from sale of the common stock and $22.9 million related to the proceeds from sale of the Pre-Funded Warrants. The Pre-Funded Warrants may be exercised at any time until all of the Pre-Funded Warrants are exercised in full to the extent that, after giving effect to such issuance after exercise, Ginkgo would not beneficially own in excess of 19.99% of the number of shares of common stock outstanding immediately after giving effect to the issuance.The Pre-Funded Warrants were classified as a component of permanent equity and were recorded at the issuance date using a relative fair value allocation method. The Pre-Funded Warrants are equity classified because they are freestanding financial instruments that are legally detachable and separately exercisable from the equity instruments, are immediately exercisable, do not embody an obligation for the Company to repurchase its shares, and permit the holders to receive a fixed number of common shares upon exercise. In addition, such warrants do not provide any guarantee of value or return. In addition, in connection with the issuance to Ginkgo of common stock and Pre-Funded Warrants, the Company expanded its existing collaboration and entered into an agreement with Ginkgo for the research and development of engineered microbial therapeutic products. None of the Pre-Funded Warrants have been exercised as of December 31, 2021. (See Note 10, Collaboration Agreements: Ginkgo Collaboration).
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SYNLOGIC, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements (continued)
On October 13, 2017, the Company entered into a sales agreement with Cowen and Company, LLC (Cowen) with respect to an at-the-market (ATM) offering program. In an ATM offering, exchange-listed companies incrementally sell newly issued shares into the secondary trading market through a designated broker-dealer at prevailing market prices. During the year ended December 31, 2021, 2,447,211 shares of common stock were sold pursuant to the ATM, resulting in net proceeds of approximately $8.0 million. There were no sales pursuant to the Cowen ATM subsequent to March 31, 2021.
In July 2021, the Company entered into a new sales agreement with Jefferies, LLC (Jefferies) with respect to an ATM, under which the Company may offer and sell, from time to time at its sole discretion, shares of its common stock having aggregate sales proceeds of up to $50.0 million. Jefferies is not required to sell any specific amount but acts as the Company’s sales agent using commercially reasonable efforts consistent with its normal trading and sales practices. During the year ended December 31, 2021, no shares of common stock were sold pursuant to the sales agreement with Jefferies.
In April 2021, the Company sold 11,500,000 shares of its common stock at a public offering price of $3.00 per share pursuant to an underwritten public offering. The net proceeds to the Company from the offering, after deducting the underwriting discounts and commissions and offering expenses payable by the Company, were approximately $32.6 million. All shares of common stock sold in the offering were sold by the Company.
In September 2021, the Company sold 17,250,000 shares of its common stock at a public offering price of $3.00 per share pursuant to an underwritten public offering. The net proceeds to the Company from the offering, after deducting the underwriting discounts and commissions and offering expenses payable by the Company, were approximately $48.4 million. All shares of common stock sold in the offering were sold by the Company.
The Company has reserved for future issuance the following shares of common stock related to the potential exercise of Pre-Funded Warrants, exercise of stock options, and the employee stock purchase plan:
Common stock issuable under pre-funded warrants 2,548,117
Options exercisable to purchase common stock 2,032,515
Employee Stock Purchase Plan 21,569
(9) Equity‐based Compensation and Equity Incentive Plans
Equity Plans
The Company currently has three active equity plans.
The 2015 Equity Incentive Award Plan (2015 Plan) functions as the primary equity plan for the Company. The 2015 Plan includes an “evergreen provision” that allows for an annual increase in the number of shares of common stock available for issuance under the 2015 Plan, which annual increase will be added on the first day of each fiscal year from 2016 through 2025, inclusive, and will be equal to the lesser of (i) five percent of the shares outstanding on the last day of the immediately preceding fiscal year and (ii) such smaller number of shares as determined by the Board of Directors. On January 1, 2021, the Company added 1,909,163 shares to the 2015 Plan pursuant to the “evergreen provision”. The 2015 Plan provides for the granting of a variety of stock‐based compensation awards, including stock options, stock appreciation rights, restricted stock awards, restricted stock unit awards, deferred stock awards, dividend equivalent awards, stock payment awards, performance awards and other stock‐based awards.
The 2017 Stock Incentive Plan (the 2017 Plan) provides for the grant of incentive stock options, non-qualified stock options, restricted and unrestricted stock awards and other stock-based awards.
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SYNLOGIC, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements (continued)
The 2015 Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP) allows eligible employees to purchase shares of the Company’s common stock at a discount through payroll deductions of up to 15% of their eligible compensation, subject to any plan limitations. The ESPP generally provides for set offering periods, and at the end of each offering period, employees are able to purchase shares at 85% of the lower of the fair market value of the Company’s common stock on the first trading day of the offering period or on the last trading day of the offering period. The Company suspended the ESPP in 2017. In December 2019, the Board reactivated the 2015 ESPP and approved an amendment to the ESPP to (i) reduce the permitted payroll deduction and number of shares of the Company’s common stock that a participant may purchase per calendar year and offering period under the ESPP and (ii) establish a period for enrollment for eligible participants. The reactivation of the 2015 ESPP was effective immediately. The Company’s executive officers are eligible to participate in the 2015 ESPP. The ESPP includes an “evergreen provision,” allowing for an annual increase in the number of shares of common stock available for issuance. On January 1, 2021, the Company added 381,832 shares to the ESPP pursuant to the “evergreen provision”. There were 42,653 shares of common stock purchased under the ESPP during the year ended December 31, 2021.
Stock Options
The weighted average assumptions used in the Black-Scholes option-pricing model for stock options issued to employees and non-employees under the 2015 Plan and the 2017 Plan, during the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020 were:
Year ended December 31,
Expected term 6.2 years 6.2 years
Weighted-average, risk-free interest rate 1.0% 0.6%
Expected volatility 84.9% 77.2%
Dividend yield — —
The following table summarizes stock option activity under the 2015 and 2017 Plans.
Stock options outstanding
Weighted
average
Weighted remaining Aggregate
average contractual intrinsic
Number of exercise term value (a)
options price (in years) (in thousands)
The weighted average grant date fair value per share of options granted during the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020 was approximately $2.42 and $1.27, respectively. The total fair value of awards that vested during the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020 was $2.8 million and $3.4 million, respectively.
As of December 31, 2021, there was approximately $5.2 million of unrecognized share-based compensation for unvested stock option grants which is expected to be recognized over a weighted average period of 2.6 years. The total unrecognized share-based compensation cost will be adjusted for actual forfeitures as they occur.
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Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements (continued)
Restricted Common Stock
During the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, 242,454 and 226,335 shares of restricted common stock were granted, respectively.
The following table shows restricted common stock activity:
Restricted stock awards
Weighted average grant date
Number of fair value
shares (per share)
The total fair value of shares that vested during the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020 was $0.8 million and $0.3 million, respectively.
As of December 31, 2021, there was approximately $0.7 million of unrecognized share-based compensation related to restricted stock awards granted, which is expected to be recognized over a weighted average period of 3.0 years. The total unrecognized share-based compensation cost will be adjusted for actual forfeitures as they occur.
Employee Stock Purchase Plan
The ESPP is considered a compensatory plan with the related compensation expense recognized over the six-month offering periods. The compensation expense for the years ended December 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020 was $58,000 and $27,000, respectively.
Equity Compensation
The Company has recorded total equity‐based compensation expense of approximately $3.4 million and $3.9 million, during the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively. Equity compensation during the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020 is derived from stock options, restricted stock awards, and the ESPP.
The following table summarizes equity‐based compensation expense within the Company’s consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020 (in thousands):
Years ended December 31,
The following table summarizes equity‐based compensation expense by type of award for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020 (in thousands):
Years ended December 31,
Restricted stock awards 334 680
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Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements (continued)
(10) Collaboration Agreements