Prelude Therapeutics Inc.

05/12/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 05/12/2026 05:19

Quarterly Report for Quarter Ending March 31, 2026 (Form 10-Q)

Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.

You should read the following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations together with our financial statements and the related notes and other financial information included elsewhere in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q. In addition to historical financial information, this discussion contains forward-looking statements based upon current expectations that involve risks and uncertainties, such as statements of our plans, objectives, expectations, intentions and belief. Our actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including those set forth in the section titled "Risk Factors" under Part I, Item 1A of our Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on March 10, 2026, or our 2025 Annual Report on Form 10-K. These forward-looking statements may include, but are not limited to, statements regarding our future results of operations and financial position, our ability to develop our clinical candidates, inflation and interest rate risk, recessionary concerns, the effect of continued federal government shutdown, business strategy, market size, potential growth opportunities, preclinical and clinical development activities, efficacy and safety profile of our product candidates, use of net proceeds from our offerings, our ability to maintain and recognize the benefits of certain designations received by product candidates, the timing and results of preclinical studies and clinical trials, commercial collaborations with third parties and the receipt and timing of potential regulatory designations, approvals and commercialization of product candidates. The words "believes," "anticipates," "estimates," "plans," "expects," "intends," "may," "could," "should," "potential," "likely," "projects," "continue," "will," "schedule," and "would" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words.

These statements are based upon information available to us as of the date of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, and while we believe such information forms a reasonable basis for such statements, such information may be limited or incomplete, and our statements should not be read to indicate that we have conducted an exhaustive inquiry into, or review of, all potentially available relevant information. These statements are inherently uncertain, and investors are cautioned not to unduly rely upon these statements.

Overview

Prelude is a precision oncology company built on a foundation of drug discovery excellence to deliver novel precision cancer medicines to underserved patients. By leveraging our core competencies in cancer biology and medicinal chemistry, combined with our clinical development capabilities, we have built an efficient, drug discovery engine and the development expertise necessary to identify compelling biological targets and create new chemical entities, or NCEs, that we advance into clinical trials. We believe our approach could result in better targeted cancer therapies. Our discovery excellence has been supported by our steady progress in advancing a pipeline of novel precision oncology development candidates, alone and with partners. We are working with our partner AbCellera Biologics, Inc. ("AbCellera") on an early-stage discovery program involving potent degraders as payloads for novel antibodies targeting tumor specific antigens. Since our inception in 2016, we have received clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or the FDA, for multiple investigational new drug applications, or INDs, and successfully advanced several programs into clinical trials. In addition, we have other differentiated proprietary programs in various stages of preclinical development.

By focusing on developing molecules using broad mechanisms that have multiple links to oncogenic driver pathways in select patients, we have developed a diverse pipeline consisting of multiple distinct programs including kinases, targeted protein degraders, and degrader antibody conjugates ("DAC"). Our pipeline is designed to serve patients with high unmet medical need, where there are limited or no treatment options. We believe we can best address these diseases by harnessing advances in new therapeutic modalities such as targeted protein degradation to develop highly potent and specific agents against clinically validated targets in areas of high unmet need.

Myeloproliferative neoplasms ("MPN") are hematopoietic disorders arising from clonal expansion of hematopoietic stem cells ("HSC") in the bone marrow. Current treatment options for MPN patients offer symptomatic benefit but fail to eliminate disease-initiating clones leading to treatment resistance and progression to secondary acute myeloid leukemia. Therapeutic approaches that can selectively eliminate disease-initiating HSCs and induce molecular remission are an unmet medical need.

Mutations in Janus Kinase 2 ("JAK2"), calreticulin ("CALR") and MPL are phenotypic drivers of disease in over 90% of MPN cases. CALR mutations are the second most common driver alteration in MPN, accounting for 20-30% of all cases. Selective expression of mutant CALR on diseased cells but not on normal cells makes CALR a high value target for antibody-directed therapies in MPN.

JAK2V617F is the primary driver mutation responsible for disease progression in the majority of patients living with MPNs. We have discovered novel allosteric inhibitors that bind into the JAK2 JH2 "deep pocket" where the V617F mutation resides. These candidates demonstrate mutant specific inhibition in multiple preclinical models of MPNs. We believe this approach may have the potential to reduce mutant allele burden, slow or even reverse disease progression, and transform treatment outcomes for MPN patients.

PRT12396 our lead, mutant-selective JAK2V617F inhibitor received IND clearance from the U.S. FDA, as announced in February 2026, and recently we initiated and commenced enrollment into a Phase 1 study of PRT12396 in patients with polycythemia vera (PV) and myelofibrosis (MF). The Phase 1 study of PRT12396 is an open-label, multi-center, safety and efficacy study. The primary endpoints of the study include safety, efficacy and PK profile.

As previously announced on November 4, 2025, we entered into an exclusive option agreement (the "Exclusive Option Agreement") with Incyte Corporation ("Incyte") to acquire our mutative selective JAK2V617F inhibitor program (the "Program") for patients with myeloproliferative neoplasms. Under the Option Agreement, Incyte received an exclusive option to acquire our entire right, title, and interest in and to certain assets, properties, and rights related to the JAK2V617F inhibitor program, including our library of preclinical candidates (collectively, the "Transferred Assets"). We expect to advance the JAK2V617F program to pre-defined milestones. Incyte may elect to exercise its exclusive option during the option period to acquire the program and associated assets from us for $100 million. As the JAK2V617F program candidates advance in the clinic, we would be eligible to receive up to $775 million in additional clinical and regulatory milestones, and single digit royalties on global net sales. Combined, total potential cash payments from the transaction, excluding royalties, could reach up to $910 million.

We have discovered and are developing a series of selective and orally bioavailable K(lysine) acetyltransferase 6A (KAT6A) selective degraders. We believe that selectively degrading KAT6A has the potential for improved efficacy, tolerability and combinability with other agents relative to non-selective inhibitors of KAT6A/B.

We presented preclinical data from our lead development candidate, PRT13722, at the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2026 on April 20, 2026. PRT13722 is being developed for the treatment of hormone receptor positive (HR+)/human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2-) breast cancer (BC). Based on preclinical data, we believe PRT13722 is a highly differentiated, first-in-class, orally bioavailable, potent and highly selective KAT6A degrader. PRT13722 is on track for an investigational new drug (IND) filing in mid-2026, and, pending IND clearance, initiation of a Phase 1 study is anticipated in the second half of 2026.

Drawing on our expertise in targeted protein degradation, we have discovered and optimized a series of proprietary degrader payloads for use in discovering and developing DACs. We disclosed first data at the 36th EORTC-NCI-AACR Symposium describing preclinical proof-of-concept using a novel, potent SMARCA2/4 dual degrader as a degrader payload conjugated to multiple antibodies. Prelude's SMARCA2/4 dual degraders have shown picomolar potency with potential for increased efficacy, selectivity and improved therapeutic index. DACs have potential to expand the reach of SMARCA degrader technology to cancers without SMARCA4 mutations.

During the second half of 2025, we restructured aspects of our collaboration agreement with AbCellera to allow AbCellera to independently discover, develop and commercialize select undisclosed DACs by providing a non-exclusive license to the Company's degrader payloads among other changes to overall resource allocation, governance, and operational aspects of the collaboration.

In June 2025, at the European Hematology Association, we delivered an oral presentation about our mutated calreticulin ("mCALR") discovery efforts, including the first-in-class CALR-targeted DACs that selectively target mutant CALR expressing cells, with the potential to achieve responses by eliminating MPN clones. These data demonstrate that a CALRxSMARCA2/4 degrader antibody conjugate can selectively degrade SMARCA2/4 in CALR mutant cells and robustly inhibit CALR-mutant cell growth in vitro and in vivo.

Components of Results of Operations

Since inception, we have devoted substantially all of our resources to developing product and technology rights, conducting research and development, organizing and staffing our company, business planning and raising capital. We have incurred recurring losses, the majority of which are attributable to research and development activities, and negative cash flows from operations. We have funded our operations primarily through the sale of convertible preferred stock and common stock. Our net loss was $10.4 million and $32.1 million for the three months ended March 31, 2026 and 2025, respectively. As of March 31, 2026, we had an accumulated deficit of $693.4 million. Our primary use of cash is to fund operating expenses, which consist primarily of research and development expenditures, and to a lesser extent, general and administrative expenditures. Our ability to generate product revenue sufficient to achieve profitability will depend heavily on the successful development and eventual commercialization of one or more of our current or future product candidates. We expect to continue to incur significant expenses and operating losses for the foreseeable future as we advance our product candidates through all stages of development and clinical trials and, ultimately, seek regulatory approval. In addition, if we obtain marketing approval for any of our product candidates, we expect to incur significant commercialization expenses related to product manufacturing, marketing, sales and distribution. Our net losses may fluctuate

significantly from quarter-to-quarter and year-to-year, depending on the timing of our clinical trials and our expenditures on other research and development activities.

Revenue

To date, we have not recognized any revenue from product sales, and we do not expect to generate any revenue from the sale of products in the foreseeable future. During the three months ended March 31, 2026, we recognized revenue from our Exclusive Option Agreement with Incyte. If our development efforts for our product candidates are successful and result in regulatory approval, or license agreements with third parties, we may generate revenue in the future in the form of milestone payments, royalties, or product sales. However, there can be no assurance as to when we will generate such revenue, if at all.

Operating Expenses

Research and Development Expenses

Research and development expenses consist primarily of costs incurred in connection with the discovery and development of our product candidates. We expense research and development costs as incurred, including:

expenses incurred to conduct the necessary discovery-stage laboratory work, preclinical studies and clinical trials required to obtain regulatory approval;
personnel expenses, including salaries, benefits and stock-based compensation expense for our employees engaged in research and development functions;
costs of funding research performed by third parties, including pursuant to agreements with clinical research organizations, or CROs, that conduct our clinical trials, as well as investigative sites, consultants and CROs that conduct our preclinical and nonclinical studies;
expenses incurred under agreements with contract manufacturing organizations, or CMOs, including manufacturing scale-up expenses and the cost of acquiring and manufacturing preclinical study and clinical trial materials;
fees paid to consultants who assist with research and development activities;
expenses related to regulatory activities, including filing fees paid to regulatory agencies; and
allocated expenses for facility costs, including rent, utilities, depreciation and maintenance.

We track outsourced development costs and other external research and development costs to specific product candidates on a program-by-program basis, fees paid to CROs, CMOs and research laboratories in connection with our preclinical development, process development, manufacturing and clinical development activities. However, we do not track our internal research and development expenses on a program-by-program basis as they primarily relate to compensation, early research and other costs which are deployed across multiple projects under development.

Research and development activities are central to our business model. Product candidates in later stages of clinical development generally have higher development costs than those in earlier stages of clinical development, primarily due to the increased size and duration of later-stage clinical trials. We expect to continue to incur research and development expenses over the next several years related to personnel costs, including stock-based compensation, clinical trials, including later-stage clinical trials, for current and future product candidates and preparing regulatory filings for our product candidates.

General and Administrative Expenses

General and administrative expenses consist primarily of personnel expenses, including salaries, benefits and stock-based compensation expense, for employees and consultants in executive, finance and accounting, legal, operations support, information technology and human resource functions. General and administrative expense also includes corporate facility costs not otherwise included in research and development expense, including rent, utilities, depreciation and maintenance, as well as legal fees related to intellectual property and corporate matters and fees for accounting and consulting services.

We expect to continue to incur general and administrative expense in the future to support our continued research and development activities and potential commercialization efforts. These expenses will likely include costs related to personnel and fees to outside consultants and legal support, among other expenses. The costs associated with being a public company include expenses related to services associated with maintaining compliance with the requirements of Nasdaq and the Securities and Exchange

Commission ("SEC") insurance and investor relations costs. If any of our current or future product candidates obtains U.S. regulatory approval, we expect that we would incur significantly increased expenses associated with building a sales and marketing team.

Other Income, Net

Other income, net consists primarily of interest earned on our cash equivalents and marketable securities, research and development tax credits, and grant income received from the State of Delaware.

Income Taxes

Since our inception, we have not recorded any income tax benefits for the net operating losses ("NOLs") we have incurred or for our research and development tax credits, as we believe, based upon the weight of available evidence, that it is more likely than not that all of our NOLs and tax credits will not be realized.

Results of Operations

Comparison of the Three Months Ended March 31, 2026 and 2025

The following table sets forth our results of operations.

Three months ended
March 31,

Change

(in thousands)

2026

2025

Revenue

$

4,580

$

-

$

4,580

Operating expenses:

Research and development

13,601

28,816

(15,215

)

General and administrative

5,156

5,790

(634

)

Total operating expenses

18,757

34,606

(15,849

)

Loss from operations

(14,177

)

(34,606

)

20,429

Other income, net

3,792

2,521

1,271

Net loss

$

(10,385

)

$

(32,085

)

$

21,700

Revenue

Revenue for the three months ended March 31, 2026 was related to our Exclusive Option Agreement with Incyte.

Research and Development Expenses

Research and development expenses decreased from $28.8 million for the three months ended March 31, 2025 to $13.6 million for the three months ended March 31, 2026. Included in research and development expenses for the three months ended March 31, 2026, was $1.1 million of non-cash expense related to stock-based compensation expense, including employee stock options, compared to $2.3 million for the three months ended March 31, 2025. Research and development expenses decreased primarily due to a decrease in expense related to our SMARCA2 clinical trials which we paused in 2025. Research and development expenses may fluctuate from period to period depending upon the stage of certain projects and the level of preclinical and clinical trial-related activities.

Research and development expenses by program are summarized in the table below. During the fourth quarter of 2025, the Company announced that it decided to pause the clinical development of its SMARCA2 degrader program which is comprised of PRT3789 and PRT7732 and prioritize allocation of resources to advancing the JAK2 V617F and K(lysine) acetyltransferase 6A (KAT6A) selective degrader programs. The expense included in other are programs that the Company has paused or discontinued,

including the previously mentioned SMARCA2 degrader programs. Corresponding program expense for earlier periods have been recast. The following table summarizes the significant expense categories for three months ended March 31, 2026 and 2025.

Three months ended
March 31,

(in thousands)

2026

2025

JAK2 V617F

$

1,412

$

1,175

KAT6A

791

506

Discovery programs

54

787

Other

838

9,901

Internal costs, including personnel related

10,506

16,447

$

13,601

$

28,816

General and Administrative Expenses

General and administrative expenses decreased from $5.8 million for the three months ended March 31, 2025 to $5.2 million for the three months ended March 31, 2026. The decrease was primarily driven by a decrease in non-cash expense related to stock-based compensation expense. Included in general and administrative expenses for the three months ended March 31, 2026, was $0.9 million of non-cash expense related to stock-based compensation expense compared to $1.6 million for the three months ended March 31, 2025.

Other Income, net

Other income, net increased from $2.5 million for the three months ended March 31, 2025, to $3.8 million for the three months ended March 31, 2026 primarily due to the receipt and recognition of research and development tax credits.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

Overview

Since our inception, we have not recognized any product revenue and have incurred operating losses and negative cash flows from our operations. We have not yet commercialized any product and we do not expect to generate revenue from sales of any products for several years, if at all.

At March 31, 2026 the Company had cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash and marketable securities totaling $84.8 million. Subsequent to March 31, 2026, the Company sold 16,611,014 shares of its voting common stock at a price of $4.44 per share and pre-funded warrants to purchase up to 3,659,252 shares of its common stock at a price of $4.4399 per pre-funded warrant, resulting in gross proceeds of approximately $90.0 million. See Note 13 - Subsequent Events for additional information. Based on preliminary estimates, the Company believes these funds will be sufficient to fund its operating expenses and capital expenditure requirements for at least the next twelve months from the filing date of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q.

Since our inception, we have funded our operations primarily through the sale of convertible preferred stock, common stock, and pre-funded warrants. We will need to raise substantial additional capital to support our continuing operations and pursue our growth strategy. Until such time as we can generate significant revenue from product sales, if ever, we plan to finance our operations through the sale of equity, debt financings or other capital sources, which may include collaborations with other companies or other strategic transactions. There are no assurances that we will be successful in obtaining an adequate level of financing as and when needed to finance our operations on terms acceptable to us or at all. Any failure to raise capital as and when needed could have a negative impact on our financial condition and on our ability to pursue our business plans and strategies. If we are unable to secure adequate additional funding, we may have to significantly delay, scale back or discontinue the development and commercialization of one or more product candidates or delay our pursuit of potential in-licenses or acquisitions.

Funding Requirements

Our primary use of cash is to fund operating expenses, primarily research and development expenditures. Cash used to fund operating expenses is impacted by the timing of when we pay these expenses, as reflected in the change in our outstanding accounts payable, accrued expenses and prepaid expenses.

Because of the numerous risks and uncertainties associated with research, development and commercialization of pharmaceutical products, we are unable to estimate the exact amount of our operating capital requirements. Our future funding requirements will depend on many factors, including, but not limited to:

the scope, timing, progress and results of discovery, preclinical development, laboratory testing and clinical trials for our product candidates;
the costs of manufacturing our product candidates for clinical trials and in preparation for marketing approval and commercialization;
the extent to which we enter into collaborations or other arrangements with additional third parties in order to further develop our product candidates;
the costs of preparing, filing and prosecuting patent applications, maintaining and enforcing our intellectual property rights and defending intellectual property-related claims;
the costs and fees associated with the discovery, acquisition or in-license of additional product candidates or technologies;
expenses needed to attract and retain skilled personnel;
costs associated with being a public company;
the costs required to scale up our clinical, regulatory and manufacturing capabilities;
the costs of future commercialization activities, if any, including establishing sales, marketing, manufacturing and distribution capabilities, for any of our product candidates for which we receive marketing approval; and
revenue, if any, received from commercial sales of our product candidates, should any of our product candidates receive marketing approval.

We will need additional funds to meet operational needs and capital requirements for clinical trials, other research and development expenditures, and business development activities. We currently have no credit facility or committed sources of capital. Because of the numerous risks and uncertainties associated with the development and commercialization of our product candidates, we are unable to estimate the amounts of increased capital outlays and operating expenditures associated with our current and anticipated clinical studies.

In May 2024, we filed a shelf registration statement (the "2024 Shelf Registration Statement") with the Securities and Exchange Commission for the issuance of common stock, preferred stock, debt securities, warrants, subscription rights and units up to an aggregate amount of $400 million. The 2024 Shelf Registration statement was declared effective on June 10, 2024. The 2024 Shelf Registration statement expires in May 2027, and as of March 31, 2026, there was $400 million remaining under the 2024 Shelf Registration Statement. Subsequent to March 31, 2026, the Company sold 16,611,014 shares of its voting common stock at a price of $4.44 per share and pre-funded warrants to purchase up to 3,659,252 shares of its common stock at a price of $4.4399 per pre-funded warrant, resulting in gross proceeds of approximately $90.0 million under the 2024 Shelf Registration Statement.

In March 2023, we entered into an Open Market Sales Agreement (the "Sales Agreement") with Jefferies LLC, as the sales agent, pursuant to which we may offer and sell shares of our common stock. In accordance with the terms of the Sales Agreement on March 12, 2026, we filed a prospectus supplement under our 2024 Shelf Registration Statement, pursuant to which we may offer and sell shares of our common stock having an aggregate offering price of up to $25.0 million from time to time through Jefferies acting as sales agent.

Until such time, if ever, as we can generate substantial product revenue, we expect to finance our operations through a combination of equity offerings, debt financings, collaborations, strategic alliances and marketing, distribution or licensing arrangements. To the extent that we raise additional capital through the sale of equity or convertible debt securities, ownership interests will be diluted, and the terms of these securities may include liquidation or other preferences that adversely affect the rights of common stockholders. Debt financing and preferred equity financing, if available, may involve agreements that include covenants limiting or restricting our ability to take specific actions, such as incurring additional debt, making acquisitions or capital expenditures or declaring dividends. If we raise additional funds through collaborations, strategic alliances or marketing, distribution or licensing arrangements with third parties, we may have to relinquish valuable rights to our technologies, future revenue streams, research programs or product candidates, or grant licenses on terms that may not be favorable to us. If we are unable to raise additional funds through equity or debt financings or other arrangements when needed, we may be required to delay, limit, reduce or terminate our research, product development or future commercialization efforts, or grant rights to develop and market product candidates that we would otherwise prefer to develop and market ourselves.

Cash Flows

The following table shows a summary of our cash flows for the periods indicated:

Three months ended
March 31,

(in thousands)

2026

2025

Net cash used in operating activities

$

(21,685

)

$

(34,231

)

Net cash provided by investing activities

8,499

62,186

Net cash used in financing activities

(314

)

(160

)

Net (decrease) increase in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash

$

(13,500

)

$

27,795

Operating Activities

During the three months ended March 31, 2026, we used $21.7 million of cash in operating activities. Cash used in operating activities reflected our net loss of $10.4 million and a $13.7 million net decrease in our operating assets and liabilities offset by noncash charges of $2.4 million, which primarily consisted of stock-based compensation. The primary use of cash was to fund our operations related to the development of our product candidates.

During the three months ended March 31, 2025, we used $34.2 million of cash in operating activities. Cash used in operating activities reflected our net loss of $32.1 million and a $6.9 million net increase in our operating assets and liabilities offset by noncash charges of $4.7 million, which primarily consisted of stock-based compensation. The primary use of cash was to fund our operations related to the development of our product candidates.

Investing Activities

During the three months ended March 31, 2026, net cash provided by investing activities of $8.5 million consisted of proceeds from maturities of marketable securities. During the three months ended March 31, 2025, net cash used in investing activities of $62.2 million consisted primarily of $71.7 million in proceeds from maturities of marketable securities, partially offset by $9.5 million in purchases of marketable securities.

Financing Activities

During the three months ended March 31, 2026, net cash used in financing activities primarily related to payments of offering costs. During the three months ended March 31, 2025 net cash used in financing activities was primarily for principal payments on our finance lease.

Critical Accounting Estimates

During the three months ended March 31, 2026, there were no other material changes to our critical accounting policies and estimates from those described under the heading "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations-Critical Accounting Estimates" in our 2025 Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Smaller Reporting Company Status

We are a "smaller reporting company," as defined in Rule 405 under the Securities Act. We may continue to be a smaller reporting company in any given year if either (i) the market value of our stock held by non-affiliates is less than $250 million as of June 30 in the most recently completed fiscal year or (ii) our annual revenue is less than $100 million during the most recently completed fiscal year and the market value of our stock held by non-affiliates is less than $700 million as of June 30 in the most recently completed fiscal year. Specifically, as a smaller reporting company we may choose to present only the two most recent fiscal years of audited financial statements in our Annual Report on Form 10-K and smaller reporting companies have scaled disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation.

Prelude Therapeutics Inc. published this content on May 12, 2026, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via EDGAR on May 12, 2026 at 11:19 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]