CELC Celcuity Inc. - 10-K
0001493152-26-012801Year-over-year tone shift - average net-tone change across Risk Factors and MD&A vs the prior 10-K. This filing is 0.10pp more bullish than last year's.
Why YoY instead of absolute: the LM lexicon has ~6.6× more negative words than positive (legal/risk-disclosure language is heavy on hedging), so every 10-K reads bearish on raw tone. Year-over-year change strips that bias and surfaces the actual shift in management's framing.
Tone shift by section
The two components the gauge averages: how Risk Factors and MD&A each shifted in net tone versus last year's 10-K. The headline above is their average, so a green needle over a soft section just means the other section carried it.
Sentence-level sentiment highlighting with category and subcategory filters is coming once the snippet-scoring pipeline lands. For now, dig into the actual section text on the Sections tab.
Language change vs prior 10-K
Risk Factors (Item 1A) - words with the biggest YoY frequency increase- adversely+5
- default+4
- adverse+3
- unable+2
- delay+2
- leadership+3
- satisfy+2
- achievement+2
- better+1
- easily+1
Risk Factors (Item 1A)
16,715 words
ITEM 1A. Risk Factors
Risk factors that could cause actual results to differ from our expectations and that could negatively impact our financial condition and results of operations are discussed below and elsewhere in this Annual Report. Additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to us or that are currently not believed to be significant to our business may also affect our actual results and could harm our business, financial condition and results of operations. If any of the risks or uncertainties described below or any additional risks and uncertainties actually occur, our business, results of operations and financial condition could be materially and adversely affected.
Risks Relating to Our Business
We have not yet commercialized a pharmaceutical product, and we may never generate revenue or profit.
We are a clinical-stage biotechnology company that commenced activities in January 2012. We have not yet commercialized a pharmaceutical product, and our commercial business plan has not been tested. Since inception, we have had no revenue and have incurred significant operating losses. We have financed our operations primarily through private placements and registered offerings of our equity securities, unsecured convertible notes, and borrowings under loan agreements. To generate revenue and become and remain profitable, we need to successfully complete our existing clinical trials and develop, obtain regulatory approval for, and commercialize gedatolisib pursuant to our license agreement with Pfizer. We must also build operational and financial infrastructure to support commercial operations, train and manage employees, and market and sell our anticipated drug product, if approved.
We may never succeed in any of these activities and, even if we do, we may never generate revenue that is sufficient to achieve profitability. We expect to continue to incur significant expenses and operating losses for the foreseeable future, and the net losses we incur may fluctuate significantly from quarter to quarter. Our failure to become and remain profitable would decrease our value and could impair our ability to raise capital, maintain or expand our research and development efforts, expand our business, or continue our operations.
Our inability to raise additional capital on acceptable terms in the future may limit our ability to develop and commercialize our drug candidate, gedatolisib.
We may require additional capital to finance operating expenses and capital expenditures in the future as we prepare to launch, and if we launch, gedatolisib, and expand our infrastructure, commercial operations and research and development activities. If we are not able to secure additional funding when needed, we may have to delay, reduce the scope of or eliminate one or more research and development programs or selling and marketing initiatives. In addition, we may have to work with a partner on one or more of our products or market development programs, which could lower the economic value of those programs to our company.
Future financing activities could dilute the percentage ownership of our stockholders and could cause our stock price to fall or could result in operating or other restrictions.
We may seek to raise additional capital through equity offerings, debt financings, collaborations or licensing arrangements. Additional funding may not be available to us on acceptable terms, or at all. If we raise funds by issuing equity securities, it will result in dilution to current stockholders. Any equity securities issued may also provide for rights, preferences or privileges senior to those of holders of our existing securities. The incurrence of additional indebtedness or the issuance of certain equity securities could result in increased fixed payment obligations and could also include restrictive covenants, such as limitations on our ability to incur additional debt or issue additional equity, limitations on our ability to acquire or license intellectual property rights, and other operating restrictions that could adversely affect our ability to conduct our business. In the event that we enter into collaborations or licensing arrangements to raise capital, we may be required to accept unfavorable terms.
We are dependent on our ability to attract and retain key personnel.
Our operations are materially dependent upon the services of our officers and key employees, including Brian F. Sullivan, our Chief Executive Officer, and Dr. Lance G. Laing, our Chief Science Officer. Successful implementation of our business plan will also require the services of other consultants and additional personnel. We cannot assure you that we will be able to attract and retain such persons as employees, independent contractors, consultants or otherwise. If we are not able to attract individuals with the skills required for our business, or if we lose the services of either Mr. Sullivan or Dr. Laing, we may be unable to successfully implement our business plan.
Product liability claims may damage our reputation and, if insurance proves inadequate, these claims may harm our business.
We may be exposed to the risk of product liability claims that is inherent in the pharmaceutical industry. A product liability claim may damage our reputation by raising questions about our product’s safety and could limit our ability to sell our product. In addition, product liability insurance for the pharmaceutical industry is generally expensive to the extent it is available at all. There can be no assurance that we will be able to obtain or maintain such insurance on acceptable terms for any product we bring to market. Further, our product liability insurance coverage may not provide coverage or may be insufficient to reimburse us for any or all expenses or losses we may suffer. A successful claim against us with respect to uninsured liabilities or in excess of insurance coverage could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We are expanding our development and regulatory capabilities and implementing sales, marketing and distribution capabilities, and as a result, we may encounter difficulties in managing our growth, which could disrupt our operations.
We are experiencing significant growth in the number of our employees and the scope of our operations, particularly in the areas of drug development, regulatory affairs and, in anticipation of our product candidate potentially receiving marketing approval, sales, marketing and distribution. To manage this growth, we must continue to implement and improve our managerial, operational and financial systems, and continue to recruit and train additional qualified personnel. Due to finite financial and human resources, we may not be able to effectively manage the expansion of our operations or recruit and train sufficient numbers of additional qualified personnel. The expansion of our operations is costly and may divert our management and business development resources. Any inability to manage growth could delay the execution of our business plans or disrupt our operations.
Changes to trade policy, including new or increased tariffs and changing import and export regulations, could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Our business, results of operations, and financial condition could be adversely affected by uncertainty and changes in U.S. or international trade policies, including tariffs, quotas, trade agreements, or other trade restrictions imposed by the U.S. or other governments. For example, the U.S. has instituted certain changes, and has proposed additional changes, in trade policies that include the negotiation or termination of trade agreements, the imposition of higher tariffs on imports into the U.S., and other government regulations affecting trade between the U.S. and other countries. New tariffs and other changes in U.S. trade policy have triggered, and may in the future trigger, retaliatory actions by affected countries, and foreign governments may institute or may consider imposing trade sanctions on U.S. goods. Several recent tariff announcements have been followed by announcements of limited exemptions, revisions, and temporary pauses, resulting in significant uncertainty.
Further increasing uncertainty related to trade policies, on February 20, 2026, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against the U.S. presidential administration’s use of tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (the “IEEPA”). However, the decision creates uncertainty related to various aspects of the tariffs previously collected under the IEEPA, and not all tariffs announced throughout 2025 were impacted by this U.S. Supreme Court decision. Additionally, in response to the U.S. Supreme Court ruling, the U.S. presidential administration imposed a new worldwide tariff effective for 150 days from February 24, 2026. The imposition of these new, worldwide tariffs, as well as the potential for further tariff actions by the U.S. presidential administration or others, represents a significant source of uncertainty. The imposition of tariffs and other trade restrictions, as well as the escalation of trade disputes and any downturns in the global economy resulting therefrom, could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. The extent and duration of the tariffs and other trade restrictions and the resulting impact on general economic conditions and on our business are uncertain and depend on various factors, such as negotiations between the U.S. and affected countries, the responses of other countries or regions, exemptions or exclusions that may be granted, and availability and cost of alternative sources of supply.
Any imposition of, or increase in, tariffs or other restrictions on imports of active pharmaceutical ingredient (“API”), finished drug product or other materials (or the components of these materials) could increase the cost for such API, finished drug product or other materials and also increase the prices for such materials available domestically or locally, if any, which in turn could increase our costs for API and our finished drug product. Such cost increases could materially and adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition. Tariffs or other trade restrictions may lead to continuing uncertainty and volatility in U.S. and global financial and economic conditions and commodity markets, declining consumer confidence, significant inflation, and diminished expectations for the economy. Such conditions could have a material adverse impact on our business, results of operations and financial position.
Our indebtedness and liabilities could limit the cash flow available for our operations, expose us to risks that could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations and impair our ability to satisfy our debt obligations.
As of December 31, 2025, we had $338.8 million aggregate principal amount of indebtedness for borrowed money, of which $130.0 million was secured indebtedness consisting of the Term Loans (as defined in Note 10 to our financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report). Included in the aggregate principal amount is $201.3 million principal amount of additional indebtedness as a result of the offering of the Company’s 2.750% Senior Notes due 2031 (the “Notes”). We may incur additional indebtedness to meet future financing needs. For example, we have an additional $220.0 million in incremental Term Loans that can be drawn under the A&R Loan Agreement (as defined in Note 10 to our financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report) upon the achievement of certain regulatory milestones and product revenue thresholds. Our indebtedness could have significant negative consequences for our security holders and our business, results of operations and financial condition by, among other things:
increasing our vulnerability to adverse economic and industry conditions;
limiting our ability to obtain additional financing on acceptable terms or at all;
requiring the dedication of a substantial portion of our cash flow from operations to service our indebtedness, which will reduce the amount of cash available for other purposes;
limiting our flexibility to plan for, or react to, changes in our business;
diluting the interests of our existing stockholders as a result of issuing shares of our common stock upon conversion of the Notes; and
placing us at a possible competitive disadvantage with competitors that are less leveraged than us or have better access to capital.
Our business may not generate sufficient funds, and we may otherwise be unable to maintain sufficient cash reserves, to pay amounts due under our indebtedness, and our cash needs may increase in the future. In addition, the A&R Loan Agreement contains, and any future indebtedness that we may incur in the future may contain, financial and other restrictive covenants that limit our ability to operate our business, raise capital or make payments under our other indebtedness. If we fail to comply with these covenants or to make payments under our indebtedness when due, then we would be in default under that indebtedness, which could, in turn, result in that and our other indebtedness becoming immediately due and payable in full.
We may be unable to raise the funds necessary to repurchase the Notes for cash following a fundamental change or to pay any cash amounts due upon maturity, and our other indebtedness may limit our ability to repurchase the Notes or to pay any cash amounts due upon their maturity.
Noteholders may, subject to a limited exception, require us to repurchase their Notes following a fundamental change at a cash repurchase price generally equal to the principal amount of the Notes to be repurchased, plus accrued and unpaid interest, if any, to, but excluding, the fundamental change repurchase date. Upon maturity of the Notes, we must pay their principal amount and accrued and unpaid interest in cash, unless they have been previously converted, redeemed or repurchased. We may not have enough available cash or be able to obtain financing at the time we are required to repurchase the Notes or pay any cash amounts due upon their maturity. In addition, applicable law, regulatory authorities and the agreements governing our other indebtedness may restrict our ability to repurchase the Notes or to pay any cash amounts due upon their maturity. Our failure to repurchase Notes or to pay any cash amounts due upon their maturity when required will constitute a default under the indenture, dated as of August 1, 2025, between the Company and U.S. Bank Trust Company, National Association, as trustee (the “Base Indenture”), as supplemented by the first supplemental indenture (the “Supplemental Indenture,” and the Base Indenture, as supplemented by the Supplemental Indenture, the “Indenture”). A default under the Indenture or the fundamental change itself could also lead to a default under agreements governing our other indebtedness, which may result in that other indebtedness becoming immediately payable in full after any applicable notice or grace periods. We may not have sufficient funds to satisfy all amounts due under our indebtedness.
Provisions in the Indenture could delay or prevent an otherwise beneficial takeover of us.
Certain provisions in the Notes and the Indenture could make a third-party attempt to acquire us more difficult or expensive. For example, if a takeover constitutes a fundamental change, then, subject to limited exceptions, Noteholders will have the right to require us to repurchase their Notes for cash. In addition, if a takeover constitutes a make-whole fundamental change, then we may be required to temporarily increase the conversion rate of the Notes. In either case, and in other cases, our obligations under the Notes and the Indenture could increase the cost of acquiring us or otherwise discourage a third party from acquiring us or removing incumbent management, including in a transaction that holders of our common stock may view as favorable.
Risks Related to Our Product Strategy
Our near-term revenue prospects depend on the success of our initial drug product, gedatolisib. If we are unable to successfully complete clinical development of, obtain regulatory approval for, or commercialize, gedatolisib, or if we experience delays in doing so, including supply chain interruptions, our business will be materially and adversely impacted.
Our future success and ability to generate revenue, if ever, is dependent on our ability to successfully develop, obtain regulatory approval for and commercialize gedatolisib for one or more intended uses. We may not have the financial resources to continue development of, or to modify existing or enter into new collaborations for, our current or future product candidates if we experience any issues that delay or prevent regulatory approval of, or our ability to commercialize, gedatolisib, including:
our inability to demonstrate to the satisfaction of the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities that gedatolisib is safe and effective;
negative or inconclusive results from our clinical trials or the clinical trials of others for drug products similar to ours, leading to a decision or requirement to conduct additional preclinical studies or clinical trials or abandon a program;
product-related adverse events experienced by subjects in our clinical trials or by individuals using drugs or therapies similar to gedatolisib;
poor effectiveness of gedatolisib or companion therapeutics during clinical trials;
better than expected performance of control arms, such as placebo groups, which could lead to negative or inconclusive results from our clinical trials;
high drop-out rates of subjects from clinical trials;
inadequate supply or quality of drug products or other materials necessary for the conduct of our clinical trials or to support commercialization;
greater than anticipated clinical trial or manufacturing costs;
unfavorable FDA or comparable regulatory authority inspection and review of a clinical trial site;
failure of our third-party contractors or investigators to comply with regulatory requirements or otherwise meet their contractual obligations in a timely manner, or at all;
delays and changes in regulatory requirements, policy and guidelines, including the imposition of additional regulatory oversight around clinical testing generally or with respect to our therapies in particular;
interruptions to our supply of API, finished drug product or other materials; or
varying interpretations of our clinical data by the FDA and comparable foreign regulatory authorities.
We were not involved in the early development of gedatolisib; therefore, we are dependent on third parties having accurately generated, collected, interpreted and reported data from certain preclinical and clinical trials of gedatolisib.
We had no involvement with or control over the initial preclinical and clinical development of gedatolisib. We are dependent on third parties having conducted their research and development in accordance with the applicable protocols and legal, regulatory and scientific standards; having accurately reported the results of all preclinical studies and clinical trials conducted with respect to such drug product; and having correctly collected and interpreted the data from these trials.
We have not yet successfully completed any registrational clinical trials, and we may be unable to do so for any drug candidates we may develop.
We will need to successfully achieve primary clinical endpoints in registrational clinical trials, in order to obtain and maintain the approval of the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities to market our drug product. Carrying out clinical trials, including later-stage registrational clinical trials, is a complicated process. As an organization, we have not previously completed any registrational clinical trials. In order to do so, we continue to build and expand our clinical development and regulatory capabilities, and there is risk that we may be unable to recruit and train qualified personnel. We also expect to continue to rely on third parties to conduct our clinical trials. If these third parties do not successfully carry out their contractual duties, meet expected deadlines or comply with regulatory requirements, we may not be able to obtain regulatory approval of or commercialize any product candidates. Consequently, we may be unable to successfully and efficiently execute and complete necessary clinical trials in a way that leads to submission, approval, and maintaining approval of our drug product. We may require more time and incur greater costs than our competitors and may not succeed in obtaining regulatory approval of any drug products that we develop. Failure to commence or complete, or delays in, our planned clinical trials, could prevent us from or delay us in commercializing our drug products.
The successful development of our products is highly uncertain.
Our business depends on the successful development of our pharmaceutical products, which is highly uncertain and is dependent on numerous factors, many of which are beyond our control. Product candidates that appear promising in the early phases of development may fail to reach the market for several reasons including, among other things, that clinical trial results may show the product candidates to be less effective than expected or to have unacceptable side effects or toxicities; we may fail to receive the necessary regulatory approvals or there may be a delay in receiving such approvals; or the proprietary rights of others and their competing products and technologies may prevent our product candidates from being commercialized.
The length of time necessary to complete clinical trials and to submit an application for marketing approval for a final decision by a regulatory authority varies significantly from one drug product to the next and from one country to the next and may be difficult to predict. We will incur significant research and development expenses before knowing whether our products are commercially viable, and may abandon development of a specific trial, or a product candidate, at any time for a variety of reasons. If we expend resources on products that are ultimately not commercially viable, our timing for becoming profitable and our ability to invest in other products in our pipeline would be adversely affected.
In addition, if gedatolisib receives marketing approval for the intended uses that we are pursuing, we will continue to be subject to significant post-approval regulatory obligations. Compliance with these requirements is costly, and any failure to comply or other issues with our drug products post-approval could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, there is always the risk that we, a regulatory authority, or a third party might identify previously unknown problems with a product post-approval, such as adverse events of unanticipated severity or frequency.
If we encounter difficulties enrolling patients in any of our clinical trials, our clinical development activities could be delayed or otherwise adversely affected.
The timely completion of clinical trials in accordance with their protocols depends, among other things, on our ability to enroll a sufficient number of patients who remain in the trial until its conclusion. We may experience difficulties in patient enrollment in our clinical trials for a variety of reasons, including:
the patient eligibility and exclusion criteria defined in the protocol;
the size of the patient population required for analysis of the clinical trial’s primary endpoints;
the proximity of patients to clinical trial sites;
the design of the clinical trial;
our ability to recruit clinical trial investigators with the appropriate competencies and experience, and the ability of these investigators to identify and enroll suitable patients;
perception of the safety profile of our drug products;
our ability to obtain and maintain patient consents; and
the risk that patients enrolled in clinical trials will drop out of the trials before completion.
Delays in patient enrollment may result in increased costs or may affect the timing or outcome of our clinical trials, which could prevent completion of these trials and adversely affect our ability to advance the development of our product candidates.
Interim, topline and preliminary data from our clinical studies that we announce or publish from time to time may change as more data become available and are subject to audit and verification procedures that could result in material changes in the final data.
From time to time, we may publicly disclose preliminary or interim data from our clinical studies, which is based on a preliminary analysis of then-available data, and the results and related findings and conclusions are subject to change following a more comprehensive review of the data related to the particular study. We also make assumptions, estimations, calculations and conclusions as part of our analyses of data, and we may not have received or had the opportunity to fully and carefully evaluate all data. As a result, the preliminary or interim results that we report may differ from future results of the same studies, or different conclusions or considerations may qualify such results once additional data have been received and fully evaluated. Preliminary or interim data also remain subject to audit and verification procedures that may result in the final data being materially different from the preliminary data we previously published. As a result, preliminary or interim data should be viewed with caution until the final data are available. Adverse differences between preliminary or interim data and final data could significantly harm our reputation and marketing efforts.
Further, others, including healthcare providers or payors, may not accept or agree with our assumptions, estimates, calculations, conclusions or analyses or may interpret or weigh the importance of data differently, which could impact the value of the particular program, the approvability or commercialization of the particular product candidate or product and our company in general. In addition, the information we choose to publicly disclose regarding a particular study is based on what is typically extensive information, you or others may not agree with what we determine is the material or otherwise appropriate information to include in our disclosure, and any information we determine not to disclose may ultimately be deemed significant with respect to future decisions, conclusions, views, activities or otherwise regarding our business. If the preliminary or interim data that we report differ from actual results, or if others, including healthcare providers or payors, disagree with the conclusions reached, our ability to commercialize our product candidate may be harmed, which could harm our business, operating results, prospects or financial condition.
Clinical development involves a lengthy and expensive process, with an uncertain outcome. We may incur additional costs or experience delays in completing, or ultimately be unable to complete, the development and commercialization of our product candidates.
To obtain the requisite regulatory approvals to commercialize any drug product, we must demonstrate through extensive preclinical studies and clinical trials that such drug product is safe and effective in humans. Clinical testing is expensive and can take many years to complete, and its outcome is inherently uncertain. We may be unable to establish clinical endpoints that applicable regulatory authorities would consider clinically meaningful, and a clinical trial can fail at any stage of testing.
Differences in trial design between early-stage clinical trials and later-stage clinical trials, which involve a greater number of patients and take years to complete, make it difficult to extrapolate the results of earlier clinical trials to later clinical trials. Moreover, clinical data are often susceptible to varying interpretations and analyses, and many companies that have believed their product candidates performed satisfactorily in clinical trials have nonetheless failed to obtain marketing approval of their products. Additionally, we are conducting and plan to conduct some open-label clinical trials, where both the patient and investigator know whether the patient is receiving the investigational product candidate or either an existing approved drug or placebo. Most typically, open-label clinical trials test only the investigational product candidate and sometimes may do so at different dose levels. Open-label clinical trials are subject to various limitations that may exaggerate any therapeutic effect as patients in those trials are aware when they are receiving treatment. Open-label clinical trials may be subject to a “patient bias” where patients perceive their symptoms to have improved merely due to their awareness of receiving an experimental treatment. In addition, open-label clinical trials may be subject to an “investigator bias” where those assessing and reviewing the outcomes of the clinical trials are aware of which patients have received treatment and may interpret the information of the treated group more favorably given this knowledge. Where a randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial is designed to allow enrolled subjects to cross-over to the treatment arm, there may be a risk of inadvertent unblinding of subjects prior to cross-over, which may limit the clinical meaningfulness of those data and may require the conduct of additional clinical trials. As such, the results from an open-label clinical trial may not be predictive of future clinical trial results with any of our product candidates for which we include an open-label clinical trial when studied in a controlled environment with a placebo or active control.
Successful completion of clinical trials, or achievement of a predefined primary endpoint, is a prerequisite to submitting an NDA, or NDA supplement, to the FDA, and similar marketing applications to comparable foreign regulatory authorities, for each drug product and, consequently, the ultimate approval and commercial marketing of any drug products. We may experience delays in initiating or completing clinical trials, or achieving event thresholds, including if it takes longer than expected to activate the targeted number of clinical sites, if the enrollment of patients is slower than anticipated or negatively affected by staffing shortages at clinical sites, or by other unanticipated factors, or if the FDA or other regulatory authorities require us to pause one or more of our clinical trials due to unexpected safety issues. We also may experience numerous unforeseen events during, or as a result of, any future clinical trials that we could conduct that could delay or prevent our ability to receive marketing approval or commercialize our current product candidates or any future product candidates.
Our costs will increase if we experience delays in clinical testing or marketing approvals. We do not know whether our clinical trials will begin or continue as planned, will need to be reassigned or will be completed on schedule, or at all. Significant clinical trial delays also could shorten any periods during which we may have the exclusive right to commercialize our product candidates and may allow our competitors to bring products to market before we do, potentially impairing our ability to successfully commercialize our product candidates and harming our business and results of operations. Any delays in our clinical development programs may harm our business, financial condition and results of operations significantly.
We face significant competition, and our operating results will suffer if we fail to compete effectively.
Our industry is characterized by intense competition and rapid innovation. Our competitors may be able to develop other compounds or drugs that are able to achieve similar or better results than our lead product candidate, gedatolisib. Our potential competitors include major multinational pharmaceutical companies, established biotechnology companies, specialty pharmaceutical companies, and universities and other research institutions. Many of our competitors have substantially greater financial, technical and other resources, such as larger research and development staff and experienced marketing and manufacturing organizations and well-established sales forces.
Smaller or early-stage companies may also prove to be significant competitors, particularly as they develop novel approaches to treating disease indications that gedatolisib is also focused on treating. Established pharmaceutical companies may also invest heavily to accelerate discovery and development of novel therapeutics or to in-license novel therapeutics that could make the product candidates that we develop obsolete. Mergers and acquisitions in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries may result in even more resources being concentrated in our competitors.
Competition may increase further as a result of advances in the commercial applicability of technologies and greater availability of capital for investment in these industries. Our competitors, either alone or with collaboration partners, may succeed in developing, acquiring or licensing on an exclusive basis products that are more effective, safer, more easily commercialized or less costly than our product candidates or may develop proprietary technologies or secure patent protection that we may need for the development of our technologies and products. We believe the key competitive factors that will affect the development and commercial success of our product candidates are efficacy, safety, tolerability, reliability, convenience of use, price, and reimbursement.
Even if we obtain regulatory approval of drug products, the availability and price of our competitors’ products could limit the demand and the price we are able to charge for our product candidates. We may not be able to implement our business plan if the acceptance of our product candidates is inhibited by price competition or the reluctance of physicians to switch from existing methods of treatment to our product candidates, or if physicians switch to other new drug or biologic products or choose to reserve our product candidates for use in limited circumstances.
If our information technology systems or data, or those of third parties upon which we rely, are or were compromised, we could face clinical trial delays; regulatory investigations or actions; litigation; fines and penalties; disruptions of our business operations; reputational harm; and other adverse consequences.
Cyberattacks, malicious internet-based activity, online and offline fraud, and other similar activities threaten the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of our sensitive information and information technology systems, and those of the third parties upon which we rely. We rely on contract research organizations, contract manufacturing organizations, distributors, supply chain resources, and other third-party service providers and technologies to operate critical business systems to process sensitive information in a variety of contexts, including, without limitation, on-site systems and cloud-based data centers, systems handling human resources, financial reporting and controls, customer relationship management, regulatory compliance, and other infrastructure operations. We also communicate sensitive data, including patient data, electronically, and through relationships with multiple third-party vendors and their subcontractors. These applications and data encompass a wide variety of sensitive information, including research and development information, patient data, commercial information, and business and financial information. Our ability to monitor these third parties’ security practices is limited, and these third parties may not have adequate security measures in place. If we or any of our third-party service providers experience a security incident or other interruption, we could experience adverse consequences. We cannot guarantee that third parties and infrastructure in our supply chain or our third-party partners’ supply chains have not been compromised or that they do not contain exploitable defects or bugs that could result in a breach of or disruption to our information technology systems or the third-party information technology systems that support us and our services.
Cybersecurity threats are becoming increasingly difficult to detect, and come from a variety of sources, including without limitation, nation-state actors and activists that create disruption for geopolitical reasons and in conjunction with military conflicts and defense activities. This risk is heightened as a result of global wars and other major conflicts. In addition, we and the third parties upon which we rely face an evolving cybersecurity threat landscape, which includes social-engineering attacks (including through deep fakes, which may be increasingly more difficult to identify as fake, and phishing attacks), malicious code (such as viruses and worms), malware (including as a result of advanced persistent threat intrusions), denial-of-service attacks, credential stuffing, credential harvesting, personnel misconduct or error, ransomware attacks, supply-chain attacks, software bugs, server malfunctions, attacks enhanced or facilitated by artificial intelligence (“AI”), software or hardware failures, loss of data or other information technology assets, adware, telecommunications failures, natural disasters, terrorism, and other similar threats.
The majority of our employees and contractors work remotely. Remote work involves risks to our information technology systems and data, as individuals utilize network connections, computers and devices outside our premises or network, including working at home, while in transit and in public locations.
Ransomware attacks also continue to increase in prevalence and severity and can lead to significant interruptions in our operations, ability to provide our services, loss of data and income, reputational harm, and diversion of funds. Extortion payments may alleviate the negative impact of a ransomware attack, but we may be unwilling or unable to make such payments due to, for example, applicable laws or regulations prohibiting such payments.
While we take steps designed to identify, prevent, assess and mitigate vulnerabilities in our information systems and to mitigate related third-party risks, there can be no assurance that we will be able to detect and remediate all such vulnerabilities, including on a timely basis. The threats and techniques used to exploit vulnerabilities change frequently and are often sophisticated in nature. Therefore, we (or third parties on whom we rely) may be unable to detect a vulnerability until after a security incident has occurred. Further, we or third parties on which we rely may face downtime as a result of adopting new information technology systems that are designed to enhance compliance or reduce vulnerabilities.
A security incident or other interruption could result in unauthorized, unlawful, or accidental acquisition, modification, destruction, loss, alteration, encryption, disclosure of, or access to our sensitive information or our information technology systems, or those of the third parties upon whom we rely. This could disrupt our clinical trials, damage our reputation, and negatively affect our ability to conduct our business in the ordinary course, including our ability to collect, process, and prepare company financial information, provide information and educational materials through our website, and manage the administrative aspects of our business.
We may expend significant resources or modify our business activities (including our clinical trial activities) to try to protect against security incidents. Additionally, certain data privacy and security obligations may require us to implement and maintain certain measures to protect our information technology systems and sensitive information and to notify relevant stakeholders, including affected individuals, regulatory authorities and our stockholders, of certain security incidents. The disclosure decisions are complex, may take time to determine, and may be subject to change as an investigation progresses. Providing disclosure may be costly, and the failure to comply with such requirements could also lead to adverse consequences. If we (or a third party upon whom we rely) experience a security incident or are perceived to have experienced a security incident, we may face government enforcement actions (for example, investigations, fines, penalties, audits, and inspections); additional reporting requirements and/or oversight; restrictions on processing sensitive information (including personal information); litigation (including class claims) and mass arbitration; indemnification obligations; negative publicity; reputational harm; monetary fund diversions; interruptions in our operations (including availability of data); financial loss; and other similar harms. Accordingly, security incidents and attendant consequences may damage our financial position and negatively impact our ability to grow and operate our business.
Further, if the information technology systems of the third parties upon which we rely become subject to security incidents, we may have insufficient recourse against such third parties, and we may have to expend significant resources to mitigate the impact of such an event, and to develop and implement protections to prevent future events of this nature from occurring. There can be no assurance that limitations of liability in our third-party contracts are sufficient to protect us from liabilities, damages, or claims related to our data privacy and security obligations. We cannot be sure that our insurance coverage will be adequate or sufficient to protect us from or to mitigate liabilities arising out of our data privacy and security practices. Additionally, we cannot be sure that such coverage will continue to be available on commercially reasonable terms or at all, or that such coverage will pay future claims.
In addition to experiencing a security incident, third parties may gather, collect, or infer sensitive information about us from public sources, data brokers, or other means that reveals competitively sensitive details about our organization and could be used to undermine our competitive advantage or market position. Additionally, our sensitive information could be leaked, disclosed, or revealed as a result of or in connection with our employees’, personnel’s, or vendors’ use of generative AI technologies.
Artificial intelligence presents risks and challenges that can impact our business including by posing security risks to our confidential information, proprietary information and personal data.
Issues in the use of artificial intelligence, combined with an uncertain regulatory environment, may result in reputational harm, liability or other adverse consequences to our business operations. As with many technological innovations, artificial intelligence presents risks and challenges that could impact our business. Our vendors may incorporate generative artificial intelligence tools into their offerings without disclosing this use to us, and the providers of these generative artificial intelligence tools may not meet existing or rapidly evolving regulatory or industry standards with respect to privacy and data protection and may inhibit our or our vendors’ ability to maintain an adequate level of service and experience. If any of our vendors experiences an actual or perceived breach or privacy or security incident because of the use of generative artificial intelligence, we may lose valuable intellectual property and confidential information and our reputation and the public perception of the effectiveness of our security measures could be harmed. Further, bad actors around the world use increasingly sophisticated methods, including the use of artificial intelligence, to engage in illegal activities involving the theft and misuse of personal information, confidential information and intellectual property. Any of these outcomes could damage our reputation, result in the loss of valuable property and information, and adversely impact our business.
Public health matters may materially and adversely impact our business, including ongoing clinical trials.
The outbreak of COVID-19 and government measures taken in response demonstrated that public health matters have a significant impact on the global economy, with healthcare systems particularly affected. Future outbreaks or variants of COVID-19, or the emergence of other pandemics or public health disruptions, could materially and adversely impact our clinical trials, business, financial condition and results of operations. Potential disruptions include but are not limited to:
delays or difficulties in enrolling patients in clinical trials and obtaining the results of completed clinical trials;
increased rates of patients withdrawing from clinical trials following enrollment as a result of quarantine or public health concerns;
diversion of healthcare resources away from the conduct of clinical trials;
delays in prospective clinical trial collaborations with pharmaceutical companies and sponsors;
interruption or delays in the operations of the FDA or other regulatory authorities, which may impact review and approval timelines;
limitations on our ability to recruit and hire key personnel due to our inability to meet with candidates because of travel restrictions; and
limitations on employee resources that would otherwise be focused on the conduct of clinical trials and research as a result of focus on health matters and loss of productivity from remote work.
Risks Related to Product Development and Product Regulation
If we are unable to obtain approval from the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities to market our products for their intended use, we will not be able to generate revenue. For a new drug to be approved for marketing, the FDA and other regulatory authorities must determine that the drug is safe and effective. Because all drugs can have adverse effects, the data from our Phase 3 clinical study must demonstrate to the satisfaction of the FDA and other health authorities that the benefits of gedatolisib in combination with fulvestrant, and with or without palbociclib, or gedatolisib in combination with fulvestrant plus a CDK4/6 inhibitor, outweigh its risks. Failure to demonstrate sufficient magnitude of benefit, even if the benefit is found to be statistically significant, may not support regulatory approval.
The marketability of our products, particularly gedatolisib, depends on securing approval from the FDA and equivalent foreign regulatory bodies. This requires rigorous pre-clinical and clinical studies, including Phase 3 clinical trials for each intended use, that the benefits of the therapy outweigh its risks. Failure to demonstrate sufficient magnitude of benefit, even if the benefit is found to be statistically significant, may not support regulatory approval. Satisfaction of the FDA’s regulatory requirements typically takes many years and requires substantial resources for research, development and testing.
If a drug meets its primary efficacy endpoint objective in a Phase 3 clinical trial, and the drug sponsor has additional nonclinical and clinical data required by the FDA or other regulatory authorities, the drug sponsor may submit an NDA seeking marketing approval. Upon submission of an NDA, these health authorities perform a benefit-risk assessment that considers the strength and quality of evidence available and takes remaining uncertainties into account. These considerations include an assessment of the strengths and limitations of clinical trials, including design, and potential implications for assessing drug efficacy, the magnitude of benefit and interpretation of clinical importance, the benefit attributed to the drug when studied in combination with other therapies, and the clinical relevance of the study endpoints. We are currently conducting a Phase 3 clinical trial, VIKTORIA-1, evaluating gedatolisib in combination with fulvestrant with or without palbociclib, in patients with HR+/HER2- ABC after progression on CDK4/6 therapy , conducting a Phase 3 clinical trial, VIKTORIA-2, evaluating gedatolisib in combination with a CDK4/6 inhibitor and fulvestrant as first-line treatment for patients with endocrine treatment resistant HR+/HER2- ABC, and conducting a Phase 1b/2 clinical trial, CELC-G-201, evaluating gedatolisib in combination with darolutamide in patients with metastatic castration resistant prostate cancer. In November 2025, we completed our NDA submission to the FDA for gedatolisib in HR+/HER2- ABC based on clinical data from the PIK3CA WT cohort of the Phase 3 VIKTORIA-1 clinical trial. On January 16, 2026, the FDA accepted our NDA, designated it for Priority Review, and identified July 17, 2026 as our PDUFA target goal date.
We have sought feedback from the FDA and other regulatory authorities on the design of gedatolisib clinical trials, with the goal of addressing these considerations in the clinical trials’ design. However, due to the complexity of clinical trials, the uncertainty of outcomes, and the uncertainty of how the FDA and other regulatory authorities may balance benefits and risks in their review of an NDA, it may not be practical or possible to address all benefit-risk assessment considerations in a clinical trial so that sufficient evidence is generated to support a marketing approval, even if the primary endpoint objective is achieved in the Phase 3 stage of the trial. The FDA or other regulatory authorities may require us to redesign or conduct additional unplanned clinical trials before granting any approval and we may not get approval at all. Regulatory approval may also be delayed by changes in government regulation, future legislation or administrative action or changes in FDA policy that occur during our regulatory review. We cannot predict whether our research and clinical approaches will result in a drug that the FDA considers safe for humans and effective for indicated uses.
If regulatory approvals are delayed or not obtained, especially with respect to gedatolisib, it will negatively impact our ability to commercialize our products and generate revenue and may diminish any competitive advantages that we may otherwise enjoy . If we are required to conduct additional clinical trials or other testing of gedatolisib beyond those that we currently contemplate, if we are unable to successfully complete clinical trials or other testing of gedatolisib, or if the results of these trials or tests are not positive or are only modestly positive or if there are safety concerns, we may:
be delayed in obtaining marketing approval, supplemental marketing approval, or not obtain marketing approval at all;
obtain approval for indications or patient populations that are not as broad as intended or desired;
obtain approval with labeling that includes significant use or distribution restrictions or safety warnings, including boxed warnings;
be subject to changes in the way our products are administered;
be required to perform additional clinical trials to support approval or be subject to additional post-marketing testing requirements;
have regulatory authorities withdraw, or suspend, their approval of the product or impose restrictions on its distribution in the form of the FDA’s REMS program or through modification to an existing REMS;
be sued; or
experience damage to our reputation.
Additionally, if the size of the FDA group dedicated to reviewing oncology-related submissions is reduced, further delays of our regulatory submissions may be encountered.
Breakthrough Therapy Designation, Fast Track Designation, NDA submission via RTOR, and being awarded Priority Review from the FDA may not actually lead to a faster development or regulatory review or approval process.
If a drug is intended for the treatment of a serious or life-threatening condition and the product demonstrates the potential to address unmet medical needs for this condition, the product sponsor may apply for Fast Track Designation. The designation offers the opportunity for frequent interactions with the FDA to discuss the drug’s development plan and to ensure collection of appropriate data needed to support drug approval, as well as eligibility for submission of an NDA.
In addition, a drug may receive Breakthrough Therapy Designation if it is intended, alone or in combination with one or more other products, to treat a serious or life-threatening disease or condition and preliminary clinical evidence indicates that the product may demonstrate substantial improvement over existing therapies on one or more clinically significant endpoints, such as substantial treatment effects observed early in clinical development. The benefits of Breakthrough Therapy Designation include more intensive guidance from the FDA on an efficient development program, access to a scientific liaison to help accelerate review time, and potential eligibility for Priority Review if relevant criteria are met. This designation can expedite the development and regulatory review of an investigational medicine that is intended to treat a serious or life-threatening condition.
Fast Track and Breakthrough Therapy Designations, as well as seeking to submit our NDA on a rolling basis pursuant to the FDA’s RTOR program, and receiving Priority Review, are within the discretion of the FDA. The FDA has granted both designations to our lead drug candidate, gedatolisib, and has accepted our NDA which was filed via RTOR and designated it for Priority Review. However, such designations and programs may not result in a faster development process, review or approval compared to products considered for approval under conventional FDA review procedures, and none of these designations and awards assures ultimate approval by the FDA. In addition, the FDA may later decide that the product no longer meets the qualification conditions and may rescind such designations or programs, or the FDA may not approve our NDA by the Priority Review PDUFA target goal date of July 17, 2026.
Obtaining and maintaining FDA approval of our product candidates in the U.S. does not mean that we will be successful in obtaining regulatory approval of our product candidates in other jurisdictions.
Obtaining and maintaining FDA approval of our product candidates in the U.S. does not guarantee that we will be able to obtain or maintain regulatory approval in any other jurisdiction, while a failure or delay in obtaining FDA approval in the U.S. may have a negative effect on the regulatory approval process in other jurisdictions. For example, even if the FDA grants marketing approval of a product candidate, a comparable foreign regulatory authority must also approve the manufacturing, marketing and promotion of the product candidate in those countries.
Approval procedures vary among jurisdictions and can involve requirements and administrative review periods different from, and greater than, those in the U.S., including additional preclinical studies or clinical trials, as clinical trials conducted in one jurisdiction may not be accepted by regulatory authorities in other jurisdictions. In many jurisdictions outside the U.S., a product candidate must be approved for reimbursement before it can be approved for sale in that jurisdiction. In some cases, the price that we intend to charge for our products is also subject to approval.
Obtaining foreign regulatory approvals and compliance with foreign regulatory requirements could result in significant delays, difficulties and costs for us and could delay or prevent the introduction of our products in certain countries. If we fail to comply with the regulatory requirements in international markets and/or receive applicable marketing approvals, our target market will be reduced and our ability to realize the full market potential of our product candidates will be harmed.
Even if we receive initial regulatory approvals, we will be subject to ongoing regulatory obligations and continued regulatory review, which may result in significant additional expense, and we may be subject to penalties if we fail to comply with regulatory requirements or experience unanticipated problems with our product candidates.
If any of our product candidates are approved, they will be subject to ongoing regulatory requirements for manufacturing, labeling, packaging, storage, distribution, advertising, promotion, sampling, record-keeping, conduct of post-marketing studies and submission of safety and other post-marketing information, including both federal and state requirements in the U.S. and requirements of comparable foreign regulatory authorities. In addition, we will be subject to continued compliance with requirements for any clinical trials that we conduct post-approval.
Manufacturers and manufacturers’ facilities are required to comply with extensive FDA and comparable foreign regulatory authority requirements. Accordingly, we and others with whom we work must continue to expend time, money and effort in all areas of regulatory compliance, including manufacturing, production and quality control.
Any regulatory approvals that we receive for our product candidates may be subject to limitations on the approved indicated uses for which the product may be marketed or to the conditions of approval, or contain requirements for potentially costly post-marketing testing, including Phase 4 clinical trials and surveillance to monitor the safety and efficacy of the product candidate. Certain endpoint data we hope to include in any approved product labeling also may not make it into such labeling, including exploratory or secondary endpoint data such as patient-reported outcome measures. The FDA may impose consent decrees or withdraw approval if compliance with regulatory requirements and standards is not maintained or if problems occur after the product reaches the market. Later discovery of previously unknown problems with our product candidates, including adverse events of unanticipated severity or frequency, or with our third-party manufacturers or manufacturing processes, or failure to comply with regulatory requirements, may result in revisions to the approved labeling to add new safety information, imposition of post-marketing studies or clinical trials to assess new safety risks or imposition of distribution restrictions or other restrictions under a REMS program. Other potential consequences include, among other things:
restrictions on the marketing or manufacturing of our products, withdrawal of the product from the market or voluntary or mandatory product recalls;
fines, warning letters or holds on clinical trials;
refusal by the FDA to approve pending applications or supplements to approved applications filed by us or suspension or revocation of license approvals;
product seizure or detention or refusal to permit the import or export of our product candidates; and
injunctions or the imposition of civil or criminal penalties.
The FDA strictly regulates marketing, labeling, advertising and promotion of products that are placed on the market. Products may be promoted only for the approved indications and in accordance with the provisions of the approved label. If we are slow or unable to adapt to changes in existing requirements or adopt new requirements or policies, or if we are not able to maintain regulatory compliance, we may lose any marketing approval that we may have obtained and we may not achieve or sustain profitability.
Risks Related to Commercializing Our Products
Even if our products achieve requisite approvals, they may fail to achieve the degree of market acceptance by physicians, patients, third-party payors and others in the medical community necessary for commercial success.
If any product we develop receives marketing approval, it may nonetheless fail to gain sufficient market acceptance by physicians, patients, third-party payors and others in the medical community. For example, existing drug therapies may be viewed as more reliable or more easily administered than gedatolisib. If the product candidates we develop do not achieve an adequate level of acceptance, we may not generate significant product revenues and we may not become profitable. The degree of market acceptance of any product candidate, if approved for commercial sale, will depend on a number of factors, including:
efficacy and potential advantages compared to alternatives;
the ability to offer our products, if approved, for sale at acceptable prices;
convenience and ease of administration compared to other treatments;
the willingness of the target patient population to try new therapies and of physicians to prescribe or initiate these therapies;
the strength of marketing and distribution support;
the ability to obtain sufficient third-party coverage, market access and adequate reimbursement; and
the prevalence and severity of any side effects.
If our products do not achieve an adequate level of acceptance, we may never generate significant product revenues and we may not become profitable.
If we commercialize any product candidates, we will be subject to U.S. and foreign governmental regulations as well as private payor policies that mandate price controls or limitations on patient access to our products or establish prices paid by government entities or programs for our products. Our business and our future results could be adversely affected by changes in such regulations.
Even if we or our partners are successful in obtaining marketing approval, commercial success of any approved products will also depend in large part on the availability of insurance coverage and adequate reimbursement from third-party payors, including government payors such as the VA, Medicare and Medicaid programs, 340B, and managed care organizations in the U.S. or country specific governmental organizations in foreign countries. Government and private payors routinely seek to manage utilization and control costs, and there is considerable public and government scrutiny of pharmaceutical pricing. Efforts by states and the federal government to regulate prices or payment for pharmaceutical products, including proposed actions to facilitate drug importation, limit reimbursement to lower international (i.e., most favored nation) reference prices, require deep discounts, and require manufacturers to report and make public price increases and sometimes provide a written justification for such price increases, could adversely affect our business if and as implemented.
Availability of reimbursement may be affected by existing and future healthcare reform measures designed to reduce the cost of healthcare, including the Inflation Reduction Act, which requires manufacturers of certain drugs to engage in price negotiations with Medicare, imposes rebates under Medicare Part B and Medicare Part D to penalize price increases that outpace inflation, and replaces the Part D coverage gap discount program with a new discounting program. Some states have implemented, and others are considering implementing, patient access constraints or cost cutting under the Medicaid program, and some are considering measures that would apply to broader segments of their populations that are not Medicaid-eligible. State legislatures also have continued to focus on addressing drug costs, generally by increasing price transparency or limiting drug price increases.
Third-party payors also could require us to conduct additional studies, including post-marketing studies related to the cost effectiveness of a product and appropriateness for specific patient populations, to qualify for reimbursement, which could be costly and divert our resources. If government and other healthcare payors do not provide coverage and adequate reimbursement for our products once approved, market acceptance and commercial success would be reduced. Even if coverage is provided, the approved reimbursement amount may not be high enough to support pricing that results in a sufficient return on our research and development investment.
We expect pricing pressures will continue globally. U.S. and foreign governmental regulations that mandate price controls or limitations on patient access to our products or establish prices paid by government entities or programs for our products could impact our business, and our future results could be adversely affected by changes in such regulations or policies.
We may encounter difficulties in scaling production of, commercializing, marketing and distributing our products, including in hiring and retaining a qualified sales force.
In order to commercialize any of our products in the U.S. and other jurisdictions, we must build production, marketing, sales, managerial and other non-technical capabilities, or make arrangements with third parties to perform these services, and we may not be successful in doing so. These activities will be expensive and time-consuming and will require significant attention of our executive officers to manage. There are risks and material costs involved in establishing our own sales and marketing capabilities, as well as with entering into arrangements with third parties to perform these services.
In particular, there is intense competition for qualified sales personnel and our inability to hire or retain an adequate number of sales representatives could limit our ability to maintain or expand our business and increase sales. Furthermore, there is no guarantee that the market opportunity for gedatolisib will be as significant as we expect or exist at all. If we are unable to successfully commercialize our products in the U.S. or other jurisdictions, or if we are delayed in doing so, including if we are unable to develop our marketing and sales networks or if our sales personnel do not perform as expected, we may never generate any revenue and our business may fail.
Our business, operational and financial goals may not be attainable if the market opportunities for our products are smaller than we expect. Our internal research and third-party estimates may not accurately reflect the market opportunities for gedatolisib today or in the future.
The total market opportunities that we believe exist are based on a variety of assumptions and estimates, including the size of the addressable patient population in applicable jurisdictions, other available drugs in these markets, payor coverage, anticipated reimbursement, and the price we will be able to charge for our products. In addition, we have relied on third-party publications, research, surveys and studies for information related to determining market opportunities, including without limitation, information on the number of addressable cancer patients and those receiving various forms of treatment, the cost of drug therapy, the amount of revenue generated from various types of drug therapy, the objective response rates of drug therapies, the number of deaths caused by cancer and the expected growth in cancer drug therapy. Our internal research and estimates on market opportunities have been verified by independent sources, but any or all of our assumptions and/or estimates may prove to be incorrect for several reasons, such as inaccurate reports or information that we have relied on, potential patients or providers not being amenable to using our products or such patients becoming difficult to identify and access, limited reimbursement for our products, pricing pressure due to availability of alternative drugs or an inability to obtain the necessary regulatory approvals for new indications. If any or all of our assumptions and estimates prove inaccurate, we may not attain our business, operational and financial goals.
Risks Related to Intellectual Property
We depend on intellectual property licensed from Pfizer for our lead product candidate, and termination of this license could result in the loss of significant rights, which would materially and adversely impact our business.
We are dependent on patents and know-how, both our own and licensed from Pfizer. Key patents covering gedatolisib and any combination therapies using our product candidates are licensed from Pfizer pursuant to the Gedatolisib License Agreement. Any termination of the product license could result in the loss of significant rights and would cause material adverse harm to our ability to commercialize our product candidates.
Disputes may also arise between us and Pfizer regarding intellectual property subject to the Gedatolisib License Agreement, including:
the scope of rights granted under the license agreement and other interpretation-related issues;
whether and the extent to which our product candidates and processes infringe on intellectual property of the licensor that is not subject to the license agreement;
our right to sublicense patent and other rights to third parties under collaborative development relationships;
our diligence obligations with respect to the use of licensed assets in relation to our development and commercialization of our product candidates and what activities satisfy those diligence obligations; and
the ownership of inventions and know-how resulting from the joint creation or use of intellectual property by our licensors and us and our partners.
If disputes over intellectual property that we have licensed prevent or impair our ability to maintain our current licensing arrangements on acceptable terms, we may be unable to successfully develop and commercialize the affected product candidates.
We are generally also subject to all of the same risks with respect to protection of intellectual property that we own, as we are for intellectual property that we license. If we or our licensors fail to adequately protect this intellectual property, our ability to commercialize products could materially suffer.
If we fail to comply with our obligations under our patent license with Pfizer, we could lose license rights that are important to our business.
We are a party to a license agreement with Pfizer pursuant to which we in-license key patents for gedatolisib. This license imposes various diligence, milestone payment, royalty, insurance and other obligations on us. If we fail to comply with these obligations, Pfizer may have the right to terminate the license, in which event we would not be able to develop or market the products covered by such licensed intellectual property. Further, we cannot be certain that the activities conducted by Pfizer, or its predecessors, were performed in compliance with applicable laws and regulations or will result in additional valid and enforceable patents and other intellectual property rights.
We may not be successful in obtaining or maintaining necessary rights to develop any future product candidates on acceptable terms.
Our clinical trials and other programs currently, and may in the future, involve additional product candidates that require the use of, or reliance on, proprietary rights held by third parties. Accordingly, the growth of our business depends in part on our ability to acquire, in-license or use these proprietary rights. We may be unable to acquire or in-license any compositions, methods of use, processes or other third-party intellectual property rights from third parties that we identify as necessary or important to our business operations. We may fail to obtain any of these licenses at a reasonable cost or on reasonable terms, if at all, which could harm our business. We may need to cease use of the compositions or methods covered by such third-party intellectual property rights, and may need to seek to develop alternative approaches that do not infringe on such intellectual property rights which may entail additional costs and development delays, even if we were able to develop such alternatives, which may not be feasible. Even if we are able to obtain a license, it may be non-exclusive, thereby giving our competitors access to the same technologies licensed to us. In that event, we may be required to expend significant time and resources to develop or license replacement technology.
The licensing and acquisition of third-party intellectual property rights is a competitive area, and companies that may be more established or have greater resources than we do may also be pursuing strategies to license or acquire third-party intellectual property rights that we may consider necessary or attractive in order to commercialize our product candidates. More established companies may have a competitive advantage over us due to their size, cash resources and greater clinical development and commercialization capabilities. There can be no assurance that we will be able to successfully complete such negotiations and ultimately acquire the rights to the intellectual property surrounding the additional product candidates that we may seek to acquire.
If we are not able to prevent disclosure of our trade secrets and other proprietary information, the value of our products could be significantly diminished.
We rely on trade secret protection to protect our interests in proprietary know-how and in processes for which patents are difficult to obtain or enforce. We may not be able to protect our trade secrets adequately. We have a policy of requiring our consultants, advisors and strategic partners to enter into confidentiality agreements and our employees to enter into invention, non-disclosure and restrictive covenant agreements. However, no assurance can be given that we have entered into appropriate agreements with all parties that have had access to our trade secrets, know-how or other proprietary information. There is also no assurance that such agreements will provide meaningful protection of our trade secrets, know-how or other proprietary information in the event of any unauthorized use or disclosure of information. Furthermore, we cannot provide assurance that any of our employees, consultants, contract personnel, or strategic partners, either accidentally or through willful misconduct, will not cause serious damage to our programs and/or our strategy, for example by disclosing important trade secrets, know-how or proprietary information to our competitors. It is also possible that our trade secrets, know-how or other proprietary information could be obtained by third parties as a result of breaches of our physical or electronic security systems. Any disclosure of confidential data into the public domain or to third parties could allow our competitors to learn our trade secrets and use the information in competition against us. In addition, others may independently discover our trade secrets and proprietary information. Any action to enforce our rights is likely to be time consuming and expensive, and may ultimately be unsuccessful, or may result in a remedy that is not commercially valuable. These risks are accentuated in foreign countries where laws or law enforcement practices may not protect proprietary rights as fully as in the United States. Any unauthorized disclosure of our trade secrets or proprietary information could harm our competitive position.
We may be subject to claims by employees claiming ownership of what we regard as our own intellectual property.
While it is our policy to require our employees and contractors who may be involved in the development of intellectual property to execute agreements assigning such intellectual property to us, we may be unsuccessful in executing such an agreement with each party who in fact develops intellectual property that we regard as our own. Our and their assignment agreements may not be self-executing or may be breached, and we may be forced to bring claims against third parties, or defend claims they may bring against us, to determine the ownership of what we regard as our intellectual property. If we fail in prosecuting or defending any such claims, in addition to paying monetary damages, we may lose valuable intellectual property rights or personnel. Even if we are successful in prosecuting or defending against such claims, litigation could result in substantial costs and be a distraction to management.
If we are unable to obtain and maintain intellectual property protection for our product candidates, or if the scope of the intellectual property protection obtained is not sufficiently broad, our competitors could develop and commercialize product candidates similar or identical to ours, and our ability to successfully commercialize our product candidates may be impaired.
We have applied for patents that protect our product candidates, and our patent portfolio for our drug candidate, gedatolisib, includes 13 issued patents in the U.S. and more than 297 patents granted in numerous foreign jurisdictions. We cannot ensure that our intellectual property position will not be challenged or that all patents for which we have applied will be granted. We cannot know with certainty whether we were the first to make the inventions claimed in our owned or licensed patents or pending patent applications, or that we were the first to file for patent protection of such inventions.
The patent prosecution process is expensive and time-consuming, and we may not be able to file, prosecute, maintain, enforce or license all necessary or desirable patent applications at a reasonable cost or in a timely manner, or in all jurisdictions. We may choose not to seek patent protection for certain innovations and may choose not to pursue patent protection in certain jurisdictions, and under the laws of certain jurisdictions, patents or other intellectual property rights may be unavailable or limited in scope. Additionally, the laws and regulations governing patents could change in unpredictable ways that would weaken our ability to obtain new patents or to enforce our existing patents and patents that we might obtain in the future. There also may be patent reforms in foreign jurisdictions that could increase the uncertainties and costs surrounding the prosecution of our patent applications and the enforcement or defense of our issued patents in those jurisdictions. It is also possible that we will fail to identify patentable aspects of our discovery and nonclinical development output before it is too late to obtain patent protection.
As a result of these factors, the issuance, scope, validity, enforceability and commercial value of our patent rights are highly uncertain. Our pending and future patent applications may not result in patents being issued that protect our product candidates, in whole or in part, or which effectively prevent others from commercializing competitive product candidates. Moreover, given the amount of time required for the development, testing and regulatory review of new product candidates, patents protecting such candidates might expire before or shortly after such candidates are commercialized. As a result, our owned patent portfolio may not provide us with sufficient rights to exclude others from commercializing products similar or identical to ours.
Third parties may initiate legal proceedings alleging that we are infringing their intellectual property rights, the outcome of which would be uncertain and could have a material adverse effect on the success of our business.
The commercial success of our products depends upon our ability to manufacture, market and sell our products without infringing the proprietary rights of third parties. There is considerable intellectual property litigation in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries. We may become party to, or threatened with, future adversarial proceedings or litigation regarding intellectual property rights with respect to our products. Additionally, because current and future employees may have been previously employed at universities or other biotechnology, diagnostic technology or pharmaceutical companies, including our competitors or potential competitors and strategic partners, third parties may assert infringement claims against us based on existing patents or patents that may be granted in the future, or they may allege that our employees or we have used or disclosed intellectual property, including trade secrets or other proprietary information, of any such employee’s former employer. Litigation may be necessary to defend against these claims.
Patent litigation could result in loss of exclusivity or freedom to operate or in patent claims being narrowed, invalidated or held unenforceable, in whole or in part, which could limit our ability to stop others from using or commercializing similar product candidates, or limit the duration of the patent protection of our products. If we are found to infringe a third party’s intellectual property rights, we could be required to obtain additional licenses from such third party to continue developing and marketing our applicable products. However, we may not be able to obtain any required license on commercially reasonable terms or at all. Even if we were able to obtain a license, it could be non-exclusive, thereby giving our competitors access to the same technologies licensed to us. We could be forced, including by court order, to cease commercializing the infringing technology or product.
In addition, we could be found liable for monetary damages, including treble damages and attorneys’ fees if we are found to have willfully infringed a patent. A finding of infringement could prevent us from commercializing our products or force us to cease some of our business operations, which could materially harm our business. Claims that we have misappropriated the confidential information or trade secrets of third parties could have a similar negative impact on our business.
Any lawsuits relating to infringement of intellectual property rights necessary to defend ourselves or enforce our rights will be costly and time consuming and could be unsuccessful.
Because competition in our industry is intense, competitors may infringe or otherwise violate our issued patents, patents of our licensors or other intellectual property. To counter infringement or unauthorized use, we may be required to file infringement claims, which can be expensive and time consuming, and could distract our technical and management personnel from their normal responsibilities. Any claims we assert against perceived infringers could provoke these parties to assert counterclaims against us alleging that we infringe their patents. In addition, in a patent infringement proceeding, a court may decide that a patent of ours is invalid or unenforceable, in whole or in part, construe the patent’s claims narrowly or refuse to stop the other party from using the technology at issue on the grounds that our patents do not cover the technology in question. An adverse result in any litigation proceeding could put one or more of our patents at risk of being invalidated or interpreted narrowly. We may also elect to enter into license agreements in order to settle patent infringement claims or to resolve disputes prior to litigation, and any such license agreements may require us to pay royalties and other fees that could be significant. Furthermore, because of the substantial amount of discovery required in connection with intellectual property litigation, there is a risk that some of our confidential information could be compromised by disclosure.
Risks Related to Our Reliance on Third Parties
We rely on third parties to conduct certain aspects of our preclinical studies and clinical trials. If these third parties do not successfully carry out their contractual duties, meet expected deadlines or comply with regulatory requirements, we may not be able to obtain regulatory approval for, or commercialize, any potential product candidates.
We depend upon third parties to execute certain aspects of our operational plans and to conduct certain aspects of our preclinical studies. Additionally, we depend on third parties, including independent investigators, to conduct our clinical trials, under agreements with universities, medical institutions, CROs, strategic partners and others. Our reliance on third parties may affect our development timelines and increase our costs.
We have limited control over third-party clinical investigators and limited visibility into their day-to-day activities, including with respect to their compliance with the approved clinical protocol. Nevertheless, we are responsible for ensuring that each of our clinical trials is conducted in accordance with the applicable protocol, legal and regulatory requirements and scientific standards. We and these third parties are required to comply with GCP requirements, which are regulations and guidelines enforced by the FDA and comparable foreign regulatory authorities for product candidates in clinical development. Regulatory authorities enforce these GCP requirements through periodic inspections of clinical trial sponsors, clinical investigators and clinical trial sites. If we or any of these third parties fail to comply with applicable GCP requirements, the clinical data generated in our clinical trials may be deemed unreliable and the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities may require us to suspend or terminate these trials or perform additional preclinical studies or clinical trials before approving our marketing applications. Moreover, our business may be adversely affected if any of these third parties violates federal or state fraud and abuse or false claims laws and regulations or healthcare privacy and security laws.
Any third parties conducting aspects of our preclinical studies or our clinical trials will not be our employees and, except for remedies that may be available to us under our agreements with such third parties, we cannot control whether or not they devote sufficient time and resources to our preclinical studies and clinical programs. These third parties may also have relationships with other commercial entities, including our competitors, for whom they may also be conducting clinical trials or other product development activities, which could affect their performance on our behalf. If these third parties do not successfully carry out their contractual duties or obligations or meet expected deadlines, if they need to be replaced or if the quality or accuracy of the preclinical or clinical data they obtain is compromised due to the failure to adhere to our protocols or regulatory requirements or for other reasons, our development timelines, including clinical development timelines, may be extended, delayed or terminated and we may not be able to complete development of, obtain regulatory approval of or successfully commercialize our product candidates. As a result, our financial results and the commercial prospects for our product candidates would be harmed, our costs could increase and our ability to generate revenue could be delayed or precluded entirely.
Our reliance on third parties to formulate, manufacture and distribute our drug product exposes us to risks that may delay the development, regulatory approval and commercialization of our drug product or result in higher product and operational costs.
We do not directly formulate, manufacture or distribute our drug product candidate and do not intend to establish our own formulation, manufacturing or distribution facilities. We have contracted with third-party contract manufacturers to formulate, manufacture and supply our drug product, and we use other third parties to package, store and distribute drug product for our clinical trials. If our drug product receives FDA approval, we will rely on one or more third-party contract manufacturers to manufacture and package our commercial drug product, and we will use a 3PL to distribute our commercial drug product.
Our reliance on a limited number of third-party manufacturers, including one primary manufacturer of the active ingredient gedatolisib, exposes us to risks that, among other things, we may be unable to identify manufacturers on acceptable terms or at all because the number of potential manufacturers is limited and the FDA must approve any replacement or additional manufacturer; our third-party manufacturers might be unable to manufacture our drugs in the volume and of the quality required to meet our clinical and/or commercial needs, if any; our contract manufacturers may not perform as agreed or may not remain in the contract manufacturing business for the time required to supply our clinical trials, or to successfully produce, store and distribute our products commercially; and our contract manufacturers may fail to comply with good manufacturing practice and other government regulations and corresponding foreign standards. Each of these risks could delay our clinical trials, the approval, if any, of our product candidates by the FDA, or the commercialization of our product candidates or result in higher costs or deprive us of potential product revenues.
Performance issues or price increases by our shipping carriers could adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition, and harm our reputation and ability to provide our products on a timely basis.
Expedited, reliable shipping is essential to our operations. Should our shipping carriers encounter delivery performance issues such as loss, damage or destruction of our API or product, such occurrences may damage our reputation and adversely affect our business. In addition, any significant increase in shipping rates could adversely affect our operating margins and results of operations. Similarly, strikes, severe weather, natural disasters or other service interruptions by delivery services we use would adversely affect our ability to receive and process product orders on a timely basis. There are only a few providers of overnight nationwide transport services, and there can be no assurance that we will be able to maintain arrangements with providers on acceptable terms, if at all.
Other Risks Related to Government Regulation for Our Business
Failure to comply with applicable U.S. data security and privacy regulations may increase our operational costs.
Generally, we are not a covered entity under HIPAA, and our clinical operations are exempt from most state and federal data protection regulations. The personal data of clinical trial subjects collected by our CROs’ U.S. clinical sites is considered protected health information, or PHI, subject to the U.S. sites’ compliance with HIPAA. We will incur significant costs to establish and maintain data privacy safeguards and, if we are required to comply with HIPAA or U.S. state regulations in the future, our costs could increase further, which would negatively affect our operating results. Furthermore, we cannot guarantee that such safeguards have been and will continue to be adequate under applicable laws.
If we receive FDA approval and launch gedatolisib in the U.S., we expect to be subject to comprehensive state privacy laws. For example, the CCPA applies to personal information of consumers, business representatives, and employees, and requires covered businesses to provide specific disclosures related to a business’s processing of personal data, new operational practices, and requirements to respond to certain requests from California residents related to their personal data. New regulations and enforcement actions related to the CCPA and similar state comprehensive privacy laws continue to impact how companies think about and establish compliance mechanisms across the U.S. U.S. privacy compliance is further complicated by inconsistent state laws that require complex operational frameworks for full compliance. Accordingly, the CCPA and other similar state laws may impact our business activities and increase our compliance costs, as well as our legal risks. The regulatory framework for the collection, use, safeguarding, transfer and other processing of information is rapidly evolving and is likely to remain uncertain for the foreseeable future.
Evolving U.S. data privacy regulations may interrupt or delay our development, regulatory and commercialization activities and increase our cost of doing business, and could lead to government enforcement actions, private litigation and significant fines and penalties against us and could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations. Even if we are not determined to have violated these laws, government investigations into these issues typically require the expenditure of significant resources and generate negative publicity, which could harm our reputation and our business.
Compliance with global privacy and data security requirements could result in additional costs and liabilities to us or inhibit our ability to collect and process data globally, and the failure to comply with such requirements could subject us to significant fines and penalties, which may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.
Our CROs and clinical investigators involved in our clinical trials may collect, receive, store, process, use, generate, transfer, disclose, make accessible, protect, secure, dispose of, transmit and share (collectively, “process”) personal data as defined in data protection laws outside the U.S. Accordingly, we are subject to numerous foreign privacy and security laws regulating the collection, use, safeguarding, transfer and other processing of personal data.
Globally, virtually every jurisdiction in which we operate has established its own data security and privacy frameworks with which we must comply. For example, the collection, use, disclosure, transfer, or other processing of personal data regarding individuals in the UK, the EU, and the EEA, is subject to the UK GDPR and EU GDPR (together, “UK/EU GDPR”), which is wide-ranging in scope and imposes numerous requirements on companies that process personal data, including requirements relating to the processing of health and other sensitive data, obtaining consent of the individuals to whom the personal data relates, providing information to individuals regarding data processing activities, implementing safeguards to protect the security and confidentiality of personal data, providing notification of data breaches, and taking certain measures when engaging third-party processors. In addition, the UK/EU GDPR also imposes strict rules on the transfer of personal data to countries outside the UK/EU/EEA, including the U.S., and, as a result, increases the scrutiny that clinical trial sites located in the UK/EU/EEA should apply to transfers of personal data from such sites to countries that are considered to lack an adequate level of data protection, such as the U.S. The UK/EU GDPR also permits data protection authorities to require destruction of improperly gathered or used personal information and/or impose substantial fines for violations of the UK/EU GDPR, which can be up to 4% of global revenue or £17 million/€20 million, whichever is greater, and it also confers a private right of action on data subjects and consumer associates to lodge complaints with supervisory authorities, seek judicial remedies, and obtain compensation for damages resulting from violations of the UK/EU GDPR. In addition, the UK/EU GDPR provides that UK/EU/EEA member states may make their own further laws and regulations limiting the processing of personal data, including genetic, biometric or health data. Given the breadth and depth of changes in data protection obligations, preparing for and complying with these requirements is rigorous and time intensive and requires significant resources and a review of our technologies, systems and practices, as well as those of any third-party collaborators, service providers, contractors or consultants that process or transfer personal data collected in the UK/EU/EEA.
Evolving data privacy regulations may interrupt or delay our development, regulatory and commercialization activities and increase our cost of doing business, and could lead to government enforcement actions, private litigation and significant fines and penalties against us and could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations. Even if we are not determined to have violated these laws, government investigations into these issues typically require the expenditure of significant resources and generate negative publicity, which could harm our reputation and our business.
We will also need to expend a considerable amount of resources complying with other federal, state and foreign laws and regulations. If we are unable to comply or have not complied with such laws, we could face substantial penalties or other adverse actions.
Our operations are subject, directly or indirectly, to other federal, state and foreign laws and regulations that are complex and their application to our specific products, services and relationships may not be clear and may be applied to our business in ways that we do not anticipate. Compliance with laws and regulations will require us to expend considerable resources implementing internal policies and procedures for compliance and ongoing monitoring and will require significant attention of our management team. This will be challenging as an early-stage company with limited financial resources and human capital. These laws include, for example:
Title XI of the Social Security Act, commonly referred to as the federal Anti-Kickback Statute, which prohibits the knowing and willful offer, payment, solicitation or receipt of remuneration, directly or indirectly, in cash or in kind, in return for or to reward the referral of patients or arranging for the referral of patients, or in return for the recommendation, arrangement, purchase, lease or order of items or services that are covered, in whole or in part, by a federal healthcare program such as Medicare or Medicaid;
The civil False Claims Act, which forbids the knowing submission or “causing the submission” of false or fraudulent information or the failure to disclose information in connection with the submission and payment of claims for reimbursement to Medicare, Medicaid, federal healthcare programs or private health plans;
The federal Physician Self-referral Law, commonly known as the Stark Law, which prohibits physicians from referring Medicare or Medicaid patients to providers of ”designated health services” with whom the physician or a member of the physician’s immediate family has an ownership interest or compensation arrangement, unless a statutory or regulatory exception applies, and similar state equivalents that may apply regardless of payor; and
The U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, as amended, or FCPA, the U.S. domestic bribery statute contained in 18 U.S.C. § 201, the U.S. Travel Act, and the USA PATRIOT Act, which among other things, prohibit companies and their employees, agents, third-party intermediaries, joint venture partners and collaborators from authorizing, promising, offering, or providing, directly or indirectly, improper payments or benefits to recipients in the public or private sector.
Many states and foreign governments have adopted similar laws and regulations. Violations of law could subject us to civil or criminal penalties, monetary fines, disgorgement, individual imprisonment, contractual damages, reputational harm, diminished profits and future earnings and curtailment of our operations. We could also be required to change or terminate some portions of operations or business or could be disqualified from providing services to healthcare providers doing business with government programs.
Disruptions at the FDA and other government agencies from funding cuts, personnel losses, leadership changes, regulatory reform, government shutdowns and other developments could hinder our ability to obtain guidance from the FDA regarding our clinical development programs and develop and secure approval of our product candidates in a timely manner, which would negatively impact our business.
The FDA and comparable regulatory agencies in foreign jurisdictions, such as the EMA, play an important role in the development of our product candidates by providing guidance on our clinical development programs and reviewing our regulatory submissions, including NDAs, INDs, requests for special designations and marketing applications. If these oversight and review activities are disrupted, then correspondingly our ability to develop and secure timely approval of our product candidates could be impacted in a negative manner.
For example, the loss of FDA leadership and personnel and new leadership at the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, the FDA and the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research could lead to disruptions and delays in FDA guidance and review and approval of our product candidate. Further, while the FDA’s review of marketing applications and other activities for new drugs is largely funded through the user fee program established under PDUFA, it remains unclear how the administration’s recent reduction in force and budget cuts will impact this program and the ability of the FDA to provide guidance and review our product candidate in a timely manner.
There is also substantial uncertainty as to how regulatory reform measures being implemented by the Trump Administration across the government will impact the FDA and other federal agencies with jurisdiction over our activities. For example, since taking office, the President has issued a number of executive orders that could have a significant impact on the manner in which the FDA conducts its operations and engages in regulatory and oversight activities.
Accordingly, if any of the foregoing developments and others impact the ability of the FDA to provide us with guidance regarding our clinical development programs or delay the agency’s review of our regulatory submissions, including the NDA we submitted in November 2025 that was accepted by the FDA in January 2026, our business would be negatively impacted.
Risks Relating to Our Common Stock
Provisions in our corporate charter documents and under Delaware law could make an acquisition of our company, which may be beneficial to our stockholders, more difficult and may prevent attempts by our stockholders to replace or remove our current management.
Provisions in our certificate of incorporation and our bylaws may discourage, delay or prevent a merger, acquisition or other change in control of our company that stockholders may consider favorable, including transactions in which you might otherwise receive a premium for your shares. These provisions could also limit the price that investors might be willing to pay in the future for shares of our common stock, thereby depressing the market price of our common stock. In addition, because our board of directors will be responsible for appointing the members of our management team, these provisions may frustrate or prevent any attempts by our stockholders to replace or remove our current management by making it more difficult for stockholders to replace members of our board of directors. Among other things, these provisions:
allow the authorized number of our directors to be changed only by resolution of our board of directors;
limit the manner in which stockholders can remove directors from our board of directors;
establish advance notice requirements for stockholder proposals that can be acted on at stockholder meetings and nominations to our board of directors;
require that stockholder actions must be effected at a duly called stockholder meeting and prohibit actions by our stockholders by written consent;
limit who may call stockholder meetings;
authorize our board of directors to issue preferred stock without stockholder approval, which could be used to institute a “poison pill” that would work to dilute the stock ownership of a potential hostile acquirer, effectively preventing acquisitions that have not been approved by our board of directors; and
require the approval of the holders of at least two-thirds of the votes that all our stockholders would be entitled to cast to amend or repeal specified provisions of our certificate of incorporation or bylaws.
Moreover, we are governed by the provisions of Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, which prohibits a person who owns in excess of 15% of our outstanding voting stock from merging or combining with us for a period of three years after the date of the transaction in which the person acquired in excess of 15% of our outstanding voting stock, unless the merger or combination is approved in a prescribed manner.
Any of these provisions of our charter documents or Delaware law could, under certain circumstances, depress the market price of our common stock.
The price of our common stock may be volatile and fluctuate substantially, which could result in substantial losses for purchasers of our common stock or could subject us to securities litigation.
Our stock price may be extremely volatile. The stock market in general and the market for smaller medical technology companies in particular have experienced extreme volatility that has often been unrelated to the operating performance of particular companies. As a result of this volatility, investors may not be able to sell our common stock at or above the price they paid for such stock. The market price for our common stock may be influenced by many factors, including:
the success of competitive products or technologies;
results of existing or future clinical trials;
regulatory or legal developments in the United States and other countries;
developments or disputes concerning patent applications, issued patents or other proprietary rights;
the recruitment or departure of key personnel;
the level of expenses related to any of our products or clinical development programs;
actual or anticipated changes in estimates as to financial results, development timelines or recommendations by securities analysts;
operating results that fail to meet expectations of securities analysts that cover our company;
variations in our financial results or those of companies that are perceived to be similar to us;
changes in the structure of healthcare payment systems;
market conditions in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical technology sectors;
sales of our stock by us, our insiders and our other stockholders;
general economic and market conditions; and
the other factors described in this “Risk Factors” section.
Additionally, companies that have experienced volatility in the market price of their stock have been subject to an increased incidence of securities class action litigation. We may be the target of this type of litigation in the future. Securities litigation against us could result in substantial costs and divert our management’s attention from other business concerns, which could seriously harm our business.
Future sales of shares of our common stock, including by us and significant stockholders, could negatively affect our stock price.
Sales of a substantial number of shares of our common stock in the public market could occur at any time. Since December 2023, we have issued 6,478,782 shares of common stock pursuant to equity financing arrangements, including pursuant to our Open Market Sale Agreement SM with Jefferies LLC (“Jefferies”), as agent, pursuant to which we may currently offer and sell, from time to time, through Jefferies, shares of our common stock having an aggregate offering price of up to $400.0 million, all of which remains available for sale. In addition, in August 2025, we issued and sold in a public offering $201.3 million aggregate principal amount of Notes, which would result in the issuance of 3,923,002 shares if the Notes were converted in full as of December 31, 2025. We may enter into additional equity or convertible debt financing arrangements in the future. The shares of common stock that we have issued pursuant to equity financings, or may issue in the future pursuant to equity or convertible debt financings, may be resold at any time in the discretion of the investors.
Under our A&R Loan Agreement, as amended by the First Amendment to the A&R Loan Agreement, the Second Amendment to A&R Loan Agreement and the Third Amendment to the A&R Loan Agreement, Innovatus Life Sciences Lending Fund I, LP, a Delaware limited partnership (“Innovatus”), has the right, at its election and until May 9, 2026, to convert up to 20% of the outstanding principal of the Term A Loan into shares of the Company’s common stock at a price per share of $10.00. In addition, Innovatus continues to have the right to exercise a previously disclosed warrant to purchase 26,042 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $14.40 per share, and Innovatus and Oxford Finance LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, and certain of its affiliates, continue to have the right to exercise previously disclosed warrants to purchase 154,413 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $14.84 per share.
Sales of substantial amounts of shares of our common stock or other securities by these investors or our other stockholders or by us under the Open Market Sale Agreement SM , or the perception in the market that the holders of a large number of shares of our common stock intend to sell their shares, could reduce the trading price of our common stock, make it more difficult for you to sell your shares at a price that you desire and impair our ability to raise capital through the sale of equity or equity-related securities.
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MD&A (Item 7) - words with the biggest YoY frequency increase- intermittent+6
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MD&A (Item 7)
7,725 words
ITEM 7. 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 in conjunction with our financial statements and the related notes included elsewhere in this Annual Report. Some of the information contained in this discussion and analysis or set forth elsewhere in this Annual Report, including information with respect to our plans and strategy for our business and expected financial results, includes forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. You should review the “Risk Factors” discussed in Item 1A of Part I of this Annual Report.
Overview
Celcuity is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on the development of targeted therapies for the treatment of multiple solid tumor indications. The Company’s lead therapeutic candidate is gedatolisib, a kinase inhibitor of the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (“PI3K”), serine/threonine-protein kinase protein kinase B (“AKT”), mechanistic target of rapamycin (“mTOR”) pathway that binds to all class I PI3K isoforms and the mTOR complexes, mTORC1 and mTORC2. By targeting all class I PI3K isoforms and mTORC1/2, gedatolisib induces comprehensive inhibition of the PI3K/AKT/mTOR (“PAM”) pathway. Its mechanism of action and pharmacokinetic properties are differentiated from other currently approved and investigational therapies that target PI3Kα, AKT, or mTORC1 alone or together. Our Phase 3 clinical trial, VIKTORIA-1, evaluating gedatolisib in combination with fulvestrant with or without palbociclib in patients with hormone receptor-positive (HR+), human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-negative (HER2-) (“HR+/HER2-”) advanced breast cancer (“ABC”) has completed enrollment and reported detailed results for cohort 1, patients with PIK3CA wild-type (“WT”) tumors, and has completed enrollment of cohort 2, patients with PIK3CA mutant-type (“MT”) tumors. Our Phase 3 clinical trial, VIKTORIA-2, evaluating gedatolisib in combination with a cyclin-dependent kinase (“CDK”) 4/6 inhibitor and fulvestrant as first-line treatment for patients with endocrine treatment resistant HR+/HER2- ABC is ongoing. A Phase 1b/2 clinical trial, CELC-G-201, evaluating gedatolisib in combination with darolutamide in patients with metastatic castration resistant prostate cancer (“mCRPC”), is ongoing.
In April 2021, we obtained exclusive global development and commercialization rights to gedatolisib under a license agreement with Pfizer. We believe gedatolisib’s unique mechanism of action, differentiated chemical structure, favorable pharmacokinetic properties, and intravenous route of administration offer distinct advantages over currently approved and investigational therapies that target PI3Kα, AKT, or mTORC1 alone or together.
Overcomes limitations of therapies that only inhibit a single class I PI3K isoform, AKT, or one mTOR kinase complex.
Gedatolisib is a pan-class I isoform PI3K inhibitor with low nanomolar potency for the p110α, p110β, p110γ, and p110δ isoforms and the mTORC1 and mTORC2 complexes. By targeting all class I PI3K isoforms and mTORC1/2, gedatolisib induces comprehensive inhibition of the PAM pathway. Each PI3K isoform and mTOR complex is known to preferentially affect different signal transduction events that involve tumor cell survival, depending upon the aberrations associated with the linked pathway. When a therapy only inhibits a single class I PI3K isoform (e.g., alpelisib, a PI3Kα inhibitor), AKT (e.g., capivasertib, an AKT inhibitor) or only one mTOR kinase complex (e.g., everolimus, an mTORC1 inhibitor), numerous feedforward and feedback loops between the PI3K isoforms and mTOR complexes cross-activate the uninhibited sub-units. This, in turn, induces compensatory resistance that reduces the efficacy of isoform specific PI3Kα, AKT, or mTORC1 kinase inhibitors. Inhibiting all four PI3K isoforms and both mTOR complexes, as gedatolisib does, thus prevents the confounding effect of isoform interaction that may occur with isoform-specific PI3K inhibitors and the confounding interaction between PI3K isoforms, AKT, and mTOR.
Better tolerated by patients than oral PI3K and mTOR drugs.
Gedatolisib is administered intravenously on a four-week cycle of three weeks-on, one week-off, in contrast to the orally administered pan-PI3K or dual PI3K/mTOR inhibitors that are no longer being clinically developed. Oral pan-PI3K or PI3K/mTOR inhibitors have repeatably been found to induce significant side effects that were not well tolerated by patients. This typically leads to a high proportion of patients requiring dose reductions or treatment discontinuation. The challenging toxicity profile of these drug candidates ultimately played a significant role in the decisions to halt their development, despite showing promising efficacy. By contrast, gedatolisib’s comprehensive inhibition of the PAM pathway at low nanomolar potency, IV route of administration, and pharmacokinetic properties enables it to achieve optimal anti-proliferative effects on tumor cells without inducing the levels of hyperglycemia, rash, and diarrhea typically associated with oral single-component inhibitors of the PAM pathway.
Isoform-specific PI3K or mTORC1 inhibitors administered orally were developed to reduce toxicities in patients. While the range of toxicities associated with single-component PAM inhibitors is narrower than oral pan-PI3K or PI3K/mTOR inhibitors, administering them orally on a continuous basis can still lead to challenging toxicities. The experience with an FDA-approved oral p110-α specific inhibitor, PIQRAY, illustrates the challenge. In its Phase 3 pivotal trial, PIQRAY was found to induce a Grade 3 or 4 adverse event (“AE”) related to hyperglycemia in 39% of patients evaluated. In addition, 26% of patients discontinued alpelisib due to treatment related AEs. By contrast, in the 103-patient dose expansion portion of the Phase 1b clinical trial with gedatolisib, only 7% of patients experienced Grade 3 or 4 hyperglycemia and less than 9% discontinued treatment.
As of December 31, 2025, 1,127 patients and healthy volunteers have received gedatolisib in 12 completed or ongoing clinical trials. Of these, 123 patients with solid tumors were treated with gedatolisib as a single agent in two clinical trials, 36 healthy volunteers were treated in two clinical trials, and the remaining 968 patients received gedatolisib in combination with other anti-cancer agents in eight clinical trials. Additional patients received gedatolisib in combination with other anti-cancer agents in 10 investigator sponsored clinical trials.
B2151009 Phase 1b Trial
A Phase 1b dose-finding trial with an expansion portion for safety and efficacy evaluated gedatolisib when added to either the standard doses of palbociclib plus letrozole or palbociclib plus fulvestrant in patients with HR+/HER2- ABC. PI3K mutation status was not used as an eligibility criterion. Patient enrollment for the trial is complete.
A total of 138 patients with HR+/HER2- ABC were dosed in the clinical trial. Four patients from this study continue to receive study treatment, as of December 31, 2025, each of whom has received study treatment for more than six years.
35 patients were enrolled in two dose escalation arms to evaluate the safety and tolerability and determine the maximum tolerable dose (“MTD”) of gedatolisib when used in combination with the standard doses of palbociclib and endocrine therapies. The MTD was determined to be 180 mg administered intravenously once weekly.
103 patients were enrolled in one of four expansion arms (A, B, C, D) to determine if the triplet combination of gedatolisib plus palbociclib and letrozole or gedatolisib plus palbociclib and fulvestrant produced a superior objective response (OR), compared to historical control data of the doublet combination (palbociclib plus endocrine therapy). All patients received gedatolisib in combination with standard doses of palbociclib and endocrine therapy (either letrozole or fulvestrant). In Arms A, B, and C, patients received an intravenous dose of 180 mg of gedatolisib once weekly. In Arm D, patients received an intravenous dose of 180 mg of gedatolisib on a four-week cycle of three-weeks-on, one-week-off. Objective response was determined using Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors v1.0, or RECIST v1.0.
Arm A : ABC with progression and no prior endocrine-based systemic therapy or a CDK4/6 inhibitor in the metastatic setting. First-line endocrine-based therapy for advanced disease (CDK4/6 treatment naive).
Arm B : ABC with progression during one or two prior endocrine-based systemic therapies in the advanced setting, with no prior therapy with any CDK inhibitor. Second- or third-line endocrine-based therapy for metastatic disease.
Arm C : ABC with progression during one or two prior endocrine-based systemic therapies in the advanced setting and following prior therapy with a CDK inhibitor. Second- or third-line endocrine-based therapy for advanced disease.
Arm D : ABC with progression during one or two prior endocrine-based systemic therapies in the advanced setting and following prior therapy with a CDK inhibitor. Second- or third-line endocrine-based therapy for advanced disease.
For the 103 patients enrolled in the expansion portion of the Phase 1b clinical trial, the ORR in aggregate among patients with evaluable tumors was 63%.
Best responses, as measured by RECIST v1.0, are shown in the following chart for Arm A (1 st line patients) and Arm D (2 nd /3 rd line patients who received the VIKTORIA-1 Phase 3 trial dosing regimen). The dotted line represents the cutoff for partial response (PR), defined as a 30% reduction from the baseline tumor assessment.
Source: Laym an
SABCS 2021
Safety analysis:
For all arms in aggregate, all patients experienced at least one Grade 1 or Grade 2 treatment-emergent adverse event. The Grade 3 and 4 treatment-emergent adverse events occurring in at least 20% of patients were neutropenia (63%), stomatitis (27%) and rash (20%). Neutropenia is a known class effect of CDK4/6 inhibitors. Stomatitis was reversible in most patients with a steroidal mouth rinse. All grades of treatment-related adverse events related to hyperglycemia were reported in 22% of patients; Grade 3 or 4 hyperglycemia was reported in 7% of patients. Gedatolisib was discontinued in less than 9% of patients.
For the patients in Arm D, who received the Phase 3 dosing schedule, Grade 3 and 4 treatment-emergent adverse events occurring in at least 20% of patients were neutropenia (67%), leukopenia (22%), and stomatitis (22%). All grades of treatment-related adverse events related to hyperglycemia were reported in 26% of patients; Grade 3 or 4 hyperglycemia were reported in 7% of patients. Gedatolisib was discontinued in 4% of patients.
Best overall response data for each arm is presented in the table below:
Total Expansion Arms
Arm A
Arm B
Arm C
Arm D
Prior Therapy
CDKi-naive
CDKi-naive
CDKi-pretreated
CDKi-pretreated
n (Full, response evaluable)
Study Treatment
Gedatolisib schedule
weekly
weekly
weekly
3 wks on/1 wk off
ORR (1) (evaluable)
mPFS (2) , mos (range)
PFS % at 12 mos (2)
PIK3CA status
ORR (evaluable)
PFS at 12 months
(1) ORR represents PR, except in Arm A, which had 1 CR = Complete response. Responses per RECIST 1.1; (2) Includes 2 unconfirmed PR
Abbreviations: 1L = first line; 2L = second line; mos = months; NR = not reached; ORR = objective response rate; PFS = progression free survival
Source: Layman R. et. al, Lancet Oncol., 2024
Additional results from the Phase 1b portion of the clinical trial were presented at the ESMO congress in October 2025. The analyses reported efficacy data from patients who were treated with the same drug regimen being evaluated in the VIKTORIA-1 study, gedatolisib combined with fulvestrant and palbociclib. This included patients from Escalation Arm B and Expansion Arms B, C and D of the Phase 1b study.
As described above, patients in Escalation Arm B and Expansion Arms B and C received a 180 mg dose of gedatolisib once weekly (“weekly dose”). Patients in Expansion Arm D received a 180 mg dose of gedatolisib on days 1, 8, and 15 of a four-week cycle (“intermittent dose”), which is the same dose regimen patients in the VIKTORIA-1 study receive. The proportion of patients who received the intermittent dose of gedatolisib was 37% for those with PIK3CA MT tumors and 25% for those with PIK3CA WT tumors. The proportion of patients who received prior treatment with a CDK4/6 inhibitor was 73% for those with PIK3CA WT tumors, and 71% for those with PIK3CA MT tumors.
Median PFS and the ORR were assessed in sub-groups of patients according to their PIK3CA status (Table 1). For all analyzed patients with PIK3CA MT tumors (n=30), median PFS was 14.6 months and the ORR in response evaluable patients was 48%. Median PFS was 19.7 months and the ORR was 64% in patients with PIK3CA MT tumors who received the intermittent dose of gedatolisib used in the VIKTORIA-1 study. For patients with PIK3CA WT tumors (n=60), median PFS was 9.0 months and the ORR in response evaluable patients was 41%. Median PFS was 9.1 months and the ORR was 53% in patients with PIK3CA WT tumors who received the intermittent dose of gedatolisib used in the VIKTORIA-1 study.
Table 1: Efficacy Analysis of Phase 1b Patients Treated with Gedatolisib Plus Palbociclib Plus Fulvestrant
PIK3CA MT
PIK3CA WT
All
Intermittent Dose
All
Intermittent dose
Median PFS (months)
ORR
VIKTORIA-1 Phase 3 Trial
We have completed enrollment of our Phase 3, open-label, randomized clinical trial, VIKTORIA-1, to evaluate the efficacy and safety of gedatolisib treatment regimens in adults with HR+/HER2- ABC whose disease has progressed after prior CDK4/6 therapy in combination with an aromatase inhibitor. Over 200 clinical sites in North America, Europe, Latin America, and Asia-Pacific are participating in the study. The first patient was dosed in this trial in December 2022.
The VIKTORA-1 Phase 3 clinical trial involves two study cohorts that enable separate evaluation of subjects according to their PIK3CA status. Subjects who met eligibility criteria and had PIK3CA WT tumors (cohort 1) were randomly assigned (1:1:1) to receive a regimen of either gedatolisib, palbociclib, and fulvestrant (Arm A), gedatolisib and fulvestrant (Arm B), or fulvestrant (Arm C). During the fourth quarter of 2024, we achieved our enrollment goal of 351 subjects for the PIK3CA WT cohort. The primary completion date for this cohort was achieved in May 2025 and the database cut-off date for this cohort was May 30, 2025. Subjects who met eligibility criteria and had PIK3CA MT tumors (cohort 2) were randomly assigned (3:3:1) to receive a regimen of either gedatolisib, palbociclib, and fulvestrant (Arm D), alpelisib and fulvestrant (Arm E), or gedatolisib and fulvestrant (Arm F). Enrollment of approximately 350 subjects who have PIK3CA MT tumors is complete. We expect topline data for cohort 2 to be available in the second quarter of 2026.
On July 28, 2025, we announced topline data from the PIK3CA WT cohort of the VIKTORIA-1 clinical trial and on October 18, 2025, at the ESMO congress, additional efficacy and safety results from this cohort were presented. The key efficacy and safety data from the PIK3CA WT cohort showed:
The gedatolisib triplet (gedatolisib, fulvestrant and palbociclib) demonstrated a statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in PFS among patients, reducing the risk of disease progression or death by 76% compared to fulvestrant (based on a hazard ratio [HR] of 0.24, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.17-0.35; p<0.0001). The median PFS, as assessed by blinded independent central review (“BICR”), was 9.3 months with the gedatolisib triplet versus 2.0 months with fulvestrant, an incremental improvement of 7.3 months.
The gedatolisib doublet (gedatolisib and fulvestrant) also demonstrated a statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in PFS among patients, reducing the risk of disease progression or death by 67% compared to fulvestrant (HR of 0.33, 95% CI 0.24-0.48; p<0.0001). The median PFS, as assessed by BICR, was 7.4 months with the gedatolisib doublet versus 2.0 months with fulvestrant, an incremental improvement of 5.4 months.
The ORR of the gedatolisib triplet was 31% compared to 1% with fulvestrant and the median DOR was 17.5 months. The ORR of the gedatolisib doublet was 28.3% and the median DOR was 12.0 months. The median DOR was not determinable for fulvestrant because there was only one objective response.
The gedatolisib triplet and doublet were generally well tolerated in the trial with mostly low-grade TRAEs. The most common Grade 3 TRAEs for the gedatolisib triplet, gedatolisib doublet, and fulvestrant groups included neutropenia (52.3%, 0%, and 0.8% of patients, respectively); stomatitis (19.2%, 12.3%, and 0% of patients, respectively) rash (4.6%, 5.4%, and 0% of patients, respectively); and hyperglycemia (2.3%, 2.3%, and 0% of patients, respectively). The primary Grade 4 TRAEs for the gedatolisib triplet and gedatolisib doublet groups were neutropenia (10.0% and 0.8%, respectively), leukopenia (0.8% in the gedatolisib triplet group) and pneumonitis (0.8% in gedatolisib doublet group). TRAEs led to the discontinuation of study treatment in 2.3% of patients in the gedatolisib triplet group, 3.1% in the gedatolisib doublet group, and 0% in the fulvestrant group.
The detailed results from cohort 1, PIK3CA WT cohort, established several new milestones in the history of drug development for HR+/HER2- ABC:
The hazard ratios for the gedatolisib triplet and doublet are more favorable than have ever been reported by any Phase 3 trial for patients with HR+/HER2- ABC.
The 7.3- and 5.4-months incremental improvements in median PFS for the gedatolisib triplet and gedatolisib doublet over fulvestrant, respectively, are higher than have ever been reported by any Phase 3 trial for patients with HR+/HER2- ABC receiving at least their second line of therapy.
Gedatolisib is the first inhibitor targeting the PAM pathway to demonstrate positive Phase 3 results in patients with HR+/HER2-/ PIK3CA WT ABC whose disease progressed on or after treatment with a CDK4/6 inhibitor.
The median DOR and incremental ORR improvement relative to control for the gedatolisib triplet and doublet are the highest reported for an endocrine therapy-based regimen in 2L HR+/HER2- ABC.
The median PFS benefit of the gedatolisib triplet and doublet compared to fulvestrant was consistent across subgroups with the gedatolisib triplet showing higher clinical benefit in nearly all subgroups compared to the gedatolisib doublet, particularly for patients who were pre/perimenopausal, endocrine therapy resistant, or had visceral metastases. For patients enrolled in the United States and Canada, median PFS was 19.3 months (HR=0.13; 90% CI: 0.07-0.29) for the gedatolisib triplet and 14.9 months (HR=0.35; 90% CI: 0.17-0.76) for the gedatolisib doublet.
In December 2025, updated efficacy and safety results from the Phase 3 VIKTORIA-1 PIK3CA WT cohort were presented at the 2025 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium including patient sub-group analyses, safety analyses and patient reported outcomes for well-being measures.
For patients enrolled in the U.S., Canada, Western Europe, and Asia Pacific, median PFS was 16.6 months with the gedatolisib triplet and 7.1 months with the gedatolisib doublet versus 1.9 months for fulvestrant (HR=0.14; 95% CI: 0.08-0.28; p<0.0001).
Both gedatolisib regimens delayed time to definitive deterioration versus fulvestrant according to patient reported outcomes for well-being measures that included mobility, self-care, usual activities, pain/discomfort, and anxiety/depression (the EQ-5D-5L score). The median time to definitive deterioration was 23.7 months (HR=0.39; 95% CI: 0.25-0.67; p = 0.0003) for patients treated with the gedatolisib triplet and not reached for the gedatolisib doublet (HR=0.37; 95% CI: 0.24-0.66; p = 0.0003) versus 4.0 months for fulvestrant. Additionally, for the first eight cycles of treatment, the patients’ assessment of their well-being remained stable relative to their assessment prior to starting treatment with gedatolisib.
With these results, the gedatolisib regimens represent a new potential standard of care for patients with HR+/HER2-, PIK3CA WT ABC whose disease progressed on or after treatment with a CDK4/6 inhibitor.
Results from cohort 2 of the VIKTORIA-1 Phase 3 clinical trial, the PIK3CA MT cohort, are expected to be available in the second quarter of 2026.
VIKTORIA-2 Phase 3 Trial
In July 2025, we dosed the first patient in VIKTORIA-2, a Phase 3, multi-center, open-label, randomized, clinical trial designed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of gedatolisib plus a CDK4/6 inhibitor and fulvestrant as first-line treatment for patients with HR+/HER2- endocrine treatment resistant ABC. For the CDK4/6 inhibitor, investigators may choose either ribociclib or palbociclib. This multi-center, international trial enrolled 35 evaluable subjects in the safety run-in portion of the study to evaluate the safety of gedatolisib when combined with ribociclib and fulvestrant. The safety run-in was completed in the first quarter of 2026. In the Phase 3 portion of the study, approximately 638 subjects are expected to be randomized and assigned to Cohort 1 ( PIK3CA WT) or Cohort 2 ( PIK3CA MT) based on their PIK3CA status. Subjects in each cohort are expected to be randomized on a 1:1 basis to either Arm A (gedatolisib with fulvestrant and ribociclib or palbociclib) or Arm B (fulvestrant and ribociclib or palbociclib). We intend to provide an update on our final Phase 3 study design in the second quarter of 2026. It is expected that approximately 200 clinical sites across North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific will participate, including many sites included in the VIKTORIA-1 clinical trial.
CELC-G-201 Phase 1b/2 Trial
We received approval from the FDA in mid-2023 to proceed with the clinical development of gedatolisib in combination with Nubeqa ® (darolutamide), an approved androgen receptor inhibitor, for the treatment of patients with mCRPC. We have since initiated a Phase 1b/2 clinical trial, CELC-G-201, that will enroll up to 54 participants with mCRPC who progressed after treatment with an androgen receptor inhibitor. The first patient was dosed in this trial in February 2024.
The primary objectives of the Phase 1b portion of the trial include assessment of the safety and tolerability of gedatolisib in combination with darolutamide and determination of the recommended Phase 2 dose (“RP2D”) of gedatolisib. The primary objective of the Phase 2 portion of the trial is to assess the radiographic PFS at six months of patients who received the RP2D.
In the Phase 1b portion of the clinical trial, 38 patients with mCRPC were randomly assigned to receive 600 mg of darolutamide twice daily combined with either 120 mg of gedatolisib in Arm 1 or 180 mg of gedatolisib in Arm 2. In both arms, gedatolisib was administered once weekly for three weeks, then one week off. Additionally, all patients received prophylactic treatment for stomatitis.
On June 30, 2025, we announced preliminary data for the CELC-G-201 Phase 1b trial, utilizing a May 30, 2025 data cut-off. Based on these data, we amended the clinical trial protocol to enable exploration of additional doses in the Phase 1b portion of this clinical trial to determine the RP2D. Once RP2D is determined, an additional 12 participants will then be enrolled in the Phase 2 portion of the study at the RP2D level to enable evaluation of 30 participants treated with the RP2D of gedatolisib.
On October 18, 2025, at the ESMO congress, we presented updated clinical results for the CELC-G-201 Phase 1b trial based on an August 15, 2025 data cut-off. Among the 38 patients enrolled, 61% had received one line of prior systemic therapy and 39% had received at least two or more lines of prior therapy. Median duration of follow-up was 9.0 months.
The six-month radiographic progression-free survival (“rPFS”) rate and median rPFS for patients from both arms combined was 67 % and 9.1 months, respectively. For patients treated with 120 mg gedatolisib, the six-month rPFS rate was 74% and median rPFS was 9.5 months. For patients treated with 180 mg gedatolisib, the six-month rPFS rate was 61% and the median rPFS was 7.4 months.
The combination of gedatolisib and darolutamide was generally well tolerated in the trial with mostly low-grade TRAEs. No dose limiting toxicities were observed in either arm. The only Grade 3 TRAEs for patients from both arms combined included rash (5.3%), stomatitis (2.6%), and pruritus (2.6%); no Grade 3 hyperglycemia was reported. Additionally, no Grade 4 or 5 TRAEs were observed, and no patients discontinued study treatment due to a TRAE.
In the amended Phase 1/1b portion of the clinical trial, up to six patients are planned to be enrolled in each of three arms and treated with different doses. Upon completion of Phase 1, up to an additional 40 patients will be randomly assigned to up to four Phase 1b cohorts to determine the RP2D. Dose levels will be selected based on the results from the Phase 1 clinical trial. In the Phase 2 dose expansion study, which will include subjects from the Phase 1/1b clinical trial, up to 18 additional subjects will be enrolled to achieve a total of approximately 30 subjects treated with the RP2D. All patients will also receive standard doses of darolutamide.
Investigator-Sponsored Trials
In an investigator-sponsored Phase 2 clinical trial, 44 patients with HER2+/ PIK3CA mutated metastatic breast cancer were treated with gedatolisib plus standard doses of trastuzumab-pkrb. No prophylaxis for stomatitis was administered. The median number of prior anti-HER2 therapies enrolled patients received in the metastatic setting was four or more; 86% of patients had received at least three prior anti-HER2 therapies. The data cut-off was February 10, 2025.
Key efficacy and safety results, as presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting in June 2025, showed:
The ORR among all patients enrolled was 43%.
Median PFS was 6.0 months (95% CI, 5.0-7.7).
Median overall survival was 24.7 months (95% CI; 17.3-NA).
No patients discontinued gedatolisib due to a treatment-related AE.
One (2.3%) patient experienced Grade 3 hyperglycemia.
An investigator sponsored trial has been initiated in collaboration with the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Massachusetts General Hospital to evaluate gedatolisib in combination with abemaciclib and letrozole in patients with endometrial cancer.
Recent Developments
In January 2026, the FDA accepted for filing our NDA for gedatolisib in HR+/HER2- PIK3CA WT ABC. The FDA granted Priority Review and assigned a PDUFA goal date of July 17, 2026.
In March 2026, efficacy and safety results from the PIK3CA WT cohort of the Phase 3 VIKTORIA-1 clinical trial of gedatolisib were published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. The cohort consisted of patients with HR+/HER2-/PIK3CA WT ABC whose disease progressed while on or after treatment with a CDK4/6 inhibitor and an aromatase inhibitor.
Results of Operations
We have not generated any revenue from product sales or other sources to date, and we continue to incur significant research and development and other expenses related to our ongoing operations. As a result, we are not and have never been profitable and have incurred losses in each period since our inception in 2012. For the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024, we reported a net loss of $177.0 million and $111.8 million, respectively. As of December 31, 2025, we had an accumulated deficit of $448.9 million. As of December 31, 2025, we had $441.5 million in cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments.
Components of Operating Results
Revenue
To date, we have not generated any revenue. Upon the execution of the Pfizer license agreement in April 2021, we acquired exclusive world-wide licensing rights to develop and commercialize gedatolisib. In 2022, we initiated VIKTORIA-1, a Phase 3 clinical trial, to support potential regulatory approval to market gedatolisib. Our Phase 3 clinical trial, VIKTORIA-2, and Phase 1b/2 clinical trial, CELC-G-201, are ongoing.
Pursuant to the FDA’s RTOR program, in September 2025 we made the first pre-submission of our NDA to the FDA and completed the final NDA submission to the FDA on November 17, 2025. The FDA formally accepted our NDA submission on January 16, 2026, designated it for Priority Review, and has assigned a PDUFA target goal date of July 17, 2026. If we obtain regulatory approvals to market gedatolisib, we expect to generate revenue from sales of the drug commencing in the second half of 2026.
Research and Development
Since our inception, we have primarily focused on research and development of gedatolisib, a PI3K/mTOR targeted therapy. Research and development expenses primarily include:
employee-related expenses related to our research and development activities, including salaries, benefits, recruiting, travel and stock-based compensation expenses;
laboratory supplies;
consulting fees paid to third parties;
clinical trial costs;
validation costs for gedatolisib; and
facilities expenses.
General and Administrative
General and administrative expenses consist primarily of salaries, benefits and stock-based compensation related to our executive, finance and support functions. Other general and administrative expenses include professional fees for auditing, tax, and legal services associated with being a public company, director and officer insurance, software costs, investor relations and travel expenses for our general and administrative personnel.
Sales and Marketing
Expenses and costs related to marketing, supply chain, distribution, market access and other commercial operations related activities are being incurred in anticipation of the commercialization of gedatolisib. These expenses consist primarily of employee-related expenses, professional and consulting fees related to these functions and operations, software costs, and the acquisition of data required to support our market analysis for gedatolisib. We expect sales and marketing expenses to increase as we get closer to a potential FDA approval date.
Interest Expense
Interest expense to date is primarily related to the A&R Loan Agreement and the Notes (each as defined below).
Interest Income
Interest income consists of interest income earned on our cash, cash equivalents, and investment balances.
Results of Operations
Comparison of the Years Ended December 31, 2025 and 2024
The following table summarizes our results of operations (in thousands):
Year Ended
December 31,
Increase (Decrease)
Statements of operations data:
Operating expenses:
Research and development
General and administrative
Total operating expenses
Loss from operations
Other (expense) income:
Interest expense
Interest income
Other (expense) income, net
Net loss before income taxes
Income taxes
Net loss
Research and Development
During the year ended December 31, 2025, our research and development expenses were $145.0 million, representing an increase of $40.8 million, or 39%, compared to 2024. The increase was primarily due to a $26.7 million increase in employee-related and consulting expenses, of which $13.1 million related to commercial headcount additions and other launch activities. The remaining increase was primarily due to a $6.0 million increase in activities supporting our ongoing clinical trials, a $5.0 million development milestone payment under the license agreement with Pfizer, and a $3.1 million increase in other costs primarily related to commercial launch activities.
Conducting research and development is central to our business model. We plan to continue to increase our research and development expenses for the foreseeable future as we seek to continue to develop gedatolisib, including conducting the VIKTORIA-1 and VIKTORIA-2 Phase 3 clinical trials, and the CELC-G-201 Phase 1b/2 clinical trial.
General and Administrative
During the year ended December 31, 2025, our general and administrative expenses were $27.2 million, representing an increase of $18.1 million, or 200%, compared to 2024. The increase was primarily due to a $14.9 million increase in employee-related and consulting expenses, of which $10.4 million related to non-cash stock-based compensation. The remaining $3.2 million increase was primarily due to an increase in professional fees, expanding infrastructure costs and other administrative expenses.
We anticipate that our general and administrative expenses will continue to increase in future periods, reflecting both increased costs in connection with the potential future commercialization of gedatolisib, an expanding infrastructure, and increased professional fees associated with public company regulatory developments and requirements, and other compliance matters.
Interest Expense
Interest expense during the year ended December 31, 2025, was $17.1 million and represents an increase of $6.9 million, or 67%, compared to 2024. Interest expense in 2025 is attributable to the Notes and the A&R Loan Agreement, and in 2024 is attributable to the A&R Loan Agreement. The increase is primarily due to the incremental $61.7 million funding of the Term Loan C in May 2024, the issuance of $201.3 million aggregate principal amount of Notes in July 2025 and the $30.0 million distribution of the Term Loan D in September 2025. The $17.1 million of interest expense includes $4.2 million of non-cash interest expense.
Interest Income
Interest income during the year ended December 31, 2025 was $12.3 million and represents an increase of $0.5 million, or 5%, compared to 2024. The increase was primarily the result of a higher invested cash balance, partially offset by lower market interest rates.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
Liquidity
Since our inception, we have incurred losses and cumulative negative cash flows from operations. Through December 31, 2025, we have funded our operations primarily through private placements, registered offerings of our equity securities, convertible notes, and borrowings under loan agreements. From inception through December 31, 2025, we raised an aggregate of $506.8 million of net proceeds through sales of our securities, $194.9 million of net proceeds through the issuance of the Notes, and $130.0 million of gross proceeds through borrowings under loan agreements, not including payable-in-kind interest. As of December 31, 2025, our cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments were $165.7 million and $275.8 million, respectively, and we had an accumulated deficit of $448.9 million.
Capital Resources
To help meet our liquidity requirements, we have entered into various equity and financing arrangements. As of December 31, 2025, our material cash requirements for the operations of our business consisted primarily of the current and long-term liabilities noted on our balance sheets, as well as other commitments, including the following notable items:
In July 2025, we issued and sold 2,172,368 Shares and Pre-Funded Warrants to purchase up to 400,000 shares of common stock pursuant to the Equity Underwriting Agreement with the Representatives of the Underwriters, resulting in net proceeds of $91.6 million (see Note 8. Stockholders’ Equity).
In August 2025, we issued $201.3 million aggregate principal amount of convertible notes, resulting in net proceeds of $194.9 million (see Note 10. Debt).
During 2025 and 2024, investors exercised 5,282,375 and 1,827,357 warrants, net of shares withheld for exercise price, respectively, which generated $42.1 million and $14.7 million in cash, respectively (see Note 8. Stockholders’ Equity).
In February 2022, we entered into an Open Market Sale Agreement with Jefferies, as agent, pursuant to which we may offer and sell, from time to time, through Jefferies, shares of our common stock having an aggregate offering price of up to $50.0 million, which amount was subsequently increased to $400.0 million on January 9, 2026. In May 2024 and April 2024, we sold 149,700 and 285,714 shares of common stock, respectively, at an average selling price of $17.55 per share, generating net proceeds of $7.3 million after deducting commissions and other offering expenses of $0.3 million (see Note 8. Stockholders’ Equity and Note 13. Subsequent Events).
In May 2024, we issued and sold 3,871,000 shares of common stock pursuant to an underwriting agreement with Leerink Partners LLC, TD Securities (USA) LLC and Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated, resulting in net proceeds of $56.3 million (see Note 8. Stockholders’ Equity).
In September 2025, we entered into the Third Amendment (the “Third Amendment”) to the Amended and Restated Loan and Security Agreement (the “A&R Loan Agreement”); in July 2025, we entered into the Second Amendment to the A&R Loan Agreement; and in May 2025, we entered into the First Amendment to the A&R Loan Agreement. In May 2024, we entered into the A&R Loan Agreement, which amended and restated, in its entirety, the Loan and Security Agreement, dated April 8, 2021, as amended, between us and Innovatus, as collateral agent, and the Lenders named therein (the “Prior Loan Agreement”).
In September 2025, we received funding of the $30.0 million Term D Loan (as defined in the Amended A&R Loan Agreement) upon achievement of the Term D Milestone (as defined in the Amended A&R Loan Agreement), resulting in net proceeds of $27.7 million. In connection with the funding of the Term D Loan, we issued warrants with an exercise price of $14.84 per share to purchase an aggregate of 50,537 shares of our common stock to Innovatus, Oxford, and certain of its affiliates. Subsequent to the Third Amendment, we may draw (i) up to $100.0 million under Term E Loan (as defined in the Amended A&R Loan Agreement) upon FDA approval of gedatolisib in second line wild-type ABC patients post CDK4/6 inhibitor therapy; (ii) up to three $40.0 million Term F Loans (as defined in the Amended A&R Loan Agreement), for a total of $120.0 million, upon achievement of certain trailing three months’ product revenue thresholds; and (iii) up to $150.0 million Term G Loan (as defined in the Amended A&R Loan Agreement), which continues to be available only in the Lenders’ sole discretion upon our request. The term loans include financial covenants related to liquidity and other financial measures and have a maturity date of November 1, 2029.
In May 2024, we received funding of the first $100 million under the A&R Loan Agreement, including tranche payments of $16.8 million (the “Term A Loan”) and $21.5 million (the “Term B Loan”) reflecting repayment of the principal amount of loans under the Prior Loan Agreement plus accrued payment-in-kind interest, in addition to $61.7 million of new borrowings (the “Term C Loan”), resulting in net proceeds of $59.2 million. In connection with the funding of the Term C Loan, we issued warrants with an exercise price of $14.84 per share to purchase an aggregate of 103,876 shares of our common stock to Innovatus and Oxford (see Note 10. Debt).
Liquidity and capital resource requirements
We expect that our research and development and general and administrative expenses will increase as we continue to develop gedatolisib, conduct the VIKTORIA-1 Phase 3 clinical trial, the CELC-G-201 Phase 1b/2 trial, and the VIKTORIA-2 Phase 3 clinical trial, conduct other studies and clinical trials, and pursue other business development activities. We would also expect to scale sales and marketing expenses as we prepare for commercial launch and then commercialize gedatolisib. We expect to use cash on hand, together with the funds received or to be received under the debt and equity financings described above, to fund our research and development expenses, clinical trial costs, capital expenditures, working capital, sales and marketing expenses, and general corporate expenses.
Based on our current business plan, we believe that our current cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments, together with available borrowings under the Amended A&R Loan Agreement, will provide sufficient cash to finance our operations through 2027.
Our expectations as to how long our current capital resources will be sufficient to fund our operations are based on assumptions that may not be accurate, and we could use our current capital resources sooner than we currently expect. In addition, we may seek to raise additional capital to finance capital expenditures and operating expenses over the next several years as we seek to obtain approval for and launch gedatolisib; expand our infrastructure, commercial operations and research and development activities; and take advantage of financing or other opportunities that we believe to be in the best interests of the Company and our stockholders. Additional capital may be raised through the sale of common or preferred equity or convertible debt securities, entry into debt facilities or other third-party funding arrangements. The sale of equity and convertible debt securities may result in dilution to our stockholders and those securities may have rights senior to those of our common stock. Agreements entered into in connection with such capital raising activities could contain covenants that would restrict our operations or require us to relinquish certain rights. Additional capital may not be available on reasonable terms, or at all.
Cash Flows
The following table summarizes the primary sources and uses of cash and cash equivalents (in thousands):
Year Ended December 31,
Net cash and cash equivalents (used in) provided by:
Operating activities
Investing activities
Financing activities
Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents
Operating Activities
Net cash used in operating activities was $153.3 million during the year ended December 31, 2025, and consisted of a net loss of $177.0 million and working capital changes of $2.7 million, partially offset by non-cash expenses of $26.4 million. The $2.7 million decrease in working capital consisted of a $15.4 million increase in accrued expenses, partially offset by a $15.1 million increase in prepaid expenses and other current and non-current assets and a $3.0 million decrease in accounts payable. The $26.4 million of non-cash expenses consisted of $21.4 million of stock-based compensation expense, net non-cash interest income and expense of $4.8 million, and depreciation expense of $0.2 million.
Net cash used in operating activities was $83.5 million during the year ended December 31, 2024, and consisted of a net loss of $111.8 million, partially offset by working capital changes of $18.3 million and non-cash expenses of $10.0 million. The $18.3 million increase in working capital consisted of a $13.2 million increase in accrued expenses, a $4.3 million increase in accounts payable, and a $0.8 million decrease in prepaid expenses and other current and non-current assets. The $10.0 million of non-cash expenses consisted of $7.0 million of stock-based compensation expense, net non-cash interest income and expense of $2.9 million, and depreciation expense of $0.1 million.
Investing Activities
Net cash used in investing activities was $64.1 million during the year ended December 31, 2025, and consisted of $63.9 million of net purchases of short-term investments in U.S. treasury securities and $0.2 million in purchases of property and equipment.
Net cash used in investing activities was $63.1 million during the year ended December 31, 2024, and consisted of $62.8 million of net purchases of short-term investments in U.S. treasury securities and $0.3 million in purchases of property and equipment.
Financing Activities
Net cash provided by financing activities was $360.6 million during the year ended December 31, 2025, and consisted primarily of net proceeds of $195.0 million from the Note Offering, $91.6 million from the Equity Offering, and $27.7 million from the Term D Loan. In addition, cash provided by financing activities consisted of proceeds of $42.1 million from the exercise of common stock warrants and $4.2 million from the exercise of employee stock options and employee stock purchases.
Net cash provided by financing activities was $138.4 million during the year ended December 31, 2024, and consisted primarily of net proceeds of $59.2 million from the Term C Loan incremental funding, $56.3 million from an equity offering, and $7.3 million from the at-the-market offering. In addition, cash provided by financing activities consisted of proceeds of $14.7 million from the exercise of common stock warrants and $1.1 million from the exercise of employee stock options and employee stock purchases, partially offset by $0.2 million of secondary registration statement costs.
RECENT ACCOUNTING PRONOUNCEMENTS
From time-to-time new accounting pronouncements are issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board or other standard setting bodies and adopted by us as of the specified effective date. Unless otherwise discussed in Note 2 to our financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report, we believe that the impact of recently issued standards that are not yet effective will not have a material impact on our financial position or results of operations upon adoption.
CRITICAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES AND USE OF ESTIMATES
Our management’s discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations is based on our financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States, or Generally Accepted Accounted Principles (“U.S. GAAP”). The preparation of these financial statements requires us to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements, as well as the reported expenses during the reporting periods. These items are monitored and analyzed by us for changes in facts and circumstances, and material changes in these estimates could occur in the future. We base our estimates on historical experience and on various other factors that we believe are reasonable under the circumstances; the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying value of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. Changes in estimates are reflected in reported results for the period in which they become known. Actual results may differ materially from these estimates.
Our significant accounting policies are more fully described in Note 2 to our financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report. Of our significant accounting policies, we believe that the following reflect the critical accounting estimates used in the preparation of our financial statements:
Stock-Based Compensation
Stock-based compensation expense represents the cost of the grant date fair value of equity awards recognized over the requisite service period of the awards (generally the vesting period) on a straight-line basis with forfeitures recognized as they occur.
We estimate the fair value of option grants using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model and the fair value of awards with market-based vesting conditions using the Monte Carlo simulation model. Estimating the fair value of equity awards using these valuation models is affected by assumptions regarding a number of variables, including the expected stock price volatility, the expected term of the award, the risk-free interest rate, expected dividends, and the price per share of our common stock on the grant date. Changes in these assumptions can materially affect the fair value and ultimately how much stock-based compensation expense is recognized. These inputs are subjective and generally require significant analysis and judgment to develop.
Clinical Trial Costs
We record prepaid or accrued clinical trial costs conducted by third-party service providers, which includes the conduct of clinical trials. These costs can be a significant component of our research and development expenses. We use progress reports from third-party service providers, including the respective invoicing, to record actual expenses, along with determining changes to prepaid or accrued clinical trial costs. With the ongoing clinical trials, our estimated expenses in future periods and actual services performed may vary from these estimates, and these estimates may become more significant. Changes in these estimates that result in material changes to our prepaid or accrued clinical trial costs could materially affect our results of operations and financial position.
- Exhibit 4.2ex4-2.htm · 47.0 KB
- Exhibit 10.40ex10-40.htm · 32.2 KB
- Exhibit 19ex19.htm · 105.8 KB
- Exhibit 23.1: Consent of Independent Auditorsex23-1.htm · 2.9 KB
- Exhibit 31.1: Rule 13a-14(a) Certification (CEO)ex31-1.htm · 11.3 KB
- Exhibit 31.2: Rule 13a-14(a) Certification (CFO)ex31-2.htm · 11.5 KB
- Exhibit 32.1: Section 1350 Certification (CEO)ex32-1.htm · 4.7 KB
- Exhibit 32.2: Section 1350 Certification (CFO)ex32-2.htm · 4.7 KB
- 0001493152-26-012801-index-headers.html0001493152-26-012801-index-headers.html
- Ticker
- CELC
- CIK
0001603454- Form Type
- 10-K
- Accession Number
0001493152-26-012801- Filed
- Mar 26, 2026
- Period
- Dec 31, 2025 (Q4 25)
- Industry
- Services-Medical Laboratories
External resources
Permalink
https://insiderdelta.com/issuers/CELC/10-k/0001493152-26-012801