Crinetics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. - Quarter Report: 2019 June (Form 10-Q)

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-Q

(Mark One)



For the quarterly period ended June 30, 2019

 

For the transition period from              to

Commission File Number: 001-38583

Crinetics Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

 

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (858) 450-6464

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports) and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes ☑     No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files).    Yes ☑     No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer”, “smaller reporting company”, and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☑ 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes ☐    No ☑

As of July 31, 2019, the registrant had 24,199,972 shares of common stock ($0.001 per share par value) outstanding.

CRINETICS PHARMACEUTICALS, INC.

QUARTERLY REPORT ON FORM 10-Q

For the Quarter Ended June 30, 2019

TABLE OF CONTENTS

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PART I — FINANCIAL INFORMATION

Crinetics Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets

(In thousands)

See the accompanying notes to these unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.

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Crinetics Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Loss

(In thousands, except per share data)

(Unaudited)

See the accompanying notes to these unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.

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Crinetics Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Convertible Preferred Stock and Stockholders’ Equity (Deficit)

(In thousands, except per share data)

(Unaudited)

See the accompanying notes to these unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.

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Crinetics Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows

(In thousands)

(Unaudited)

See the accompanying notes to these unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.

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Crinetics Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Notes to Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements

1. ORGANIZATION AND BASIS OF PRESENTATION

Description of Business

Crinetics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (the “Company”) is a clinical stage pharmaceutical company incorporated in Delaware on November 18, 2008 and based in San Diego, California. The Company is focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of novel therapeutics for rare endocrine diseases and endocrine-related tumors. In January 2017, the Company established a wholly owned Australian subsidiary, Crinetics Australia Pty Ltd (“CAPL”), in order to conduct various preclinical and clinical activities for its development candidates.

On July 6, 2018, the Company effected a 1-for-3.29 reverse stock split of its common stock. The par value and the authorized shares of the common stock were not adjusted as a result of the reverse stock split. The reverse stock split resulted in an adjustment to the conversion prices of the Company’s Series A and B preferred stock to reflect a proportional decrease in the number of shares of common stock to be issued upon conversion. The accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements and notes to the condensed consolidated financial statements give retroactive effect to the reverse stock split for all periods presented.

Unaudited Interim Financial Information

The accompanying interim condensed consolidated balance sheet as of June 30, 2019, the condensed consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss for the three and six months ended June 30, 2019 and 2018, the condensed consolidated statements of convertible preferred stock and stockholders’ equity (deficit) for the three and six months ended June 30, 2019 and 2018, and the condensed consolidated statements of cash flows for the six months ended June 30, 2019 and 2018, and the related disclosures are unaudited. In management’s opinion, the unaudited interim financial statements have been prepared on the same basis as the audited financial statements and include all adjustments, which include only normal recurring adjustments, necessary for the fair presentation of the Company’s financial position as of June 30, 2019 and the results of its operations and cash flows for the six months ended June 30, 2019 and 2018 in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“U.S. GAAP”). The results for the three and six months ended June 30, 2019 are not necessarily indicative of the results expected for the full fiscal year or any other interim period.

Principles of Consolidation and Foreign Currency Transactions

The condensed consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and CAPL. All intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation. The functional currency of both the Company and CAPL is the U.S. dollar. Assets and liabilities that are not denominated in the functional currency are remeasured into U.S. dollars at foreign currency exchange rates in effect at the balance sheet date except for nonmonetary assets, which are remeasured at historical foreign currency exchange rates in effect at the date of transaction. Net realized and unrealized gains and losses from foreign currency transactions and remeasurement are reported in other income (expense), in the condensed consolidated statements of operations and were not material for all periods presented.

Segment Reporting

Operating segments are identified as components of an enterprise about which discrete financial information is available for evaluation by the chief operating decision-maker in making decisions regarding resource allocation and assessing performance. The Company views its operations and manages its business in one operating segment.

Liquidity and Going Concern

From inception, the Company has devoted substantially all of its efforts to drug discovery and development and conducting preclinical studies and clinical trials. The Company has a limited operating history and the sales and income potential of the Company’s business and market are unproven. Successful transition to attaining profitable operations is dependent upon achieving a level of revenues adequate to support the Company’s cost structure.

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As of June 30, 2019, the Company had $145.0 million in unrestricted cash, cash equivalents and investment securities. The Company believes it has sufficient cash to meet its funding requirements for at least the next 12 months. However, the Company has experienced net losses and negative cash flows from operating activities since its inception and has an accumulated deficit of $64.8 million as of June 30, 2019. The Company expects to continue to incur net losses for the foreseeable future and believes it will need to raise substantial additional capital to accomplish its business plan over the next several years. The Company plans to continue to fund its losses from operations and capital funding needs through a combination of equity offerings, debt financings or other sources, including potential collaborations, licenses and other similar arrangements. If the Company is not able to secure adequate additional funding, the Company may be forced to make reductions in spending, extend payment terms with suppliers, liquidate assets where possible, or suspend or curtail planned programs. Any of these actions could materially harm the Company’s business, results of operations and future prospects. There can be no assurance as to the availability or terms upon which such financing and capital might be available in the future.

2. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Use of Estimates

The Company’s condensed consolidated financial statements are prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP. The preparation of the Company’s condensed consolidated financial statements requires it to make estimates and assumptions that impact the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities in the Company’s condensed consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes. The most significant estimates in the Company’s condensed consolidated financial statements relate to revenue recognition, accrued amounts receivable under the Australian research and development tax incentive program, accrued expenses and associated research and development expense, the assumptions underlying the determination of the estimated incremental borrowing rate for the determination of the operating lease right-of-use asset, and the assumptions underlying the determination of the fair value of equity awards for purposes of determining stock-based compensation. Although these estimates are based on the Company’s knowledge of current events and actions it may undertake in the future, actual results may ultimately materially differ from these estimates and assumptions.

Fair Value Measurements

The accounting guidance defines fair value, establishes a consistent framework for measuring fair value and expands disclosure for each major asset and liability category measured at fair value on either a recurring or non-recurring basis. Fair value is defined as an exit price, representing the amount that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants. As such, fair value is a market-based measurement that should be determined based on assumptions that market participants would use in pricing an asset or liability. As a basis for considering such assumptions, the accounting guidance establishes a three-tier fair value hierarchy, which prioritizes the inputs used in measuring fair value as follows:

Level 1: Observable inputs such as quoted prices in active markets.

Level 2: Inputs, other than the quoted prices in active markets, that are observable either directly or indirectly.

Level 3: Unobservable inputs in which there is little or no market data, which require the reporting entity to develop its own assumptions.

The carrying amounts of the Company’s current financial assets, restricted cash and current financial liabilities are considered to be representative of their respective fair values because of the short-term nature of those instruments.

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Cash, Cash Equivalents and Restricted Cash

The Company considers all highly liquid investments with maturities of three months or less when purchased to be cash equivalents. Cash and cash equivalents include cash in readily available checking and money market accounts. Restricted cash represents cash held as collateral for the Company’s facility lease and is reported as a long-term asset in the accompanying condensed consolidated balance sheets.

Investment Securities

All investments have been classified as “available-for-sale” and are carried at fair value as determined based upon quoted market prices or pricing models for similar securities at period end. Investments with contractual maturities less than 12 months at the balance sheet date are considered short-term investments. Investments with contractual maturities beyond one year are also classified as short-term due to the Company’s ability to liquidate the investment for use in operations within the next 12 months.

Realized gains and losses are included in earnings and are derived using the specific identification method for determining the cost of securities sold. The Company has not realized any significant gains or losses on sales of available-for-sale investment securities during any of the periods presented. Unrealized gains and losses that are determined to be temporary in nature are reported as a component of accumulated other comprehensive income (loss). A decline in the fair value of any security below cost that is deemed other than temporary results in a charge to earnings and the establishment of a new cost basis for the security. Interest income is recognized when earned and includes the amortization of purchase premiums and accretion of purchase discounts.

Concentrations of Credit Risk

Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to significant concentrations of credit risk consist primarily of cash and cash equivalents. The Company maintains deposits in federally insured financial institutions in excess of federally insured limits. The Company has not experienced any losses in such accounts and believes it is not exposed to significant risk on its cash balances due to the financial position of the depository institution in which those deposits are held. Additionally, the Company has established guidelines regarding approved investments and maturities of investments, which are designed to maintain safety and liquidity.

Leases

The Company determines if an arrangement is a lease at the inception of the arrangement. Leases with a term longer than 12 months that are determined to be operating leases are included in operating lease assets, accrued expenses and other current liabilities and noncurrent operating lease liabilities in the condensed consolidated balance sheets based on the present value of the minimum lease payments called for under the arrangement. Lease expense for minimum lease payments is recognized on a straight-line basis over the lease term.

Grant Revenue Recognition

The Company’s grant revenues are derived from Small Business Innovation Research (“SBIR”) grants from the National Institutes of Health. The Company recognizes SBIR grant revenue as reimbursable grant costs are incurred. The costs associated with these reimbursements are reflected as a component of research and development expense in the accompanying condensed consolidated statements of operations. Earnings in excess of billings are included as a component of prepaid expenses and other current assets.

Research and Development Expenses

Research and development (“R&D”) expenses consist primarily of salaries, payroll taxes, employee benefits and stock-based compensation charges for those individuals involved in R&D efforts, as well as consulting expenses, third-party R&D expenses, laboratory supplies, clinical materials and overhead, including facilities and depreciation costs, offset by the Australian Tax Incentive discussed below. R&D expenses are charged to expense as incurred. Payments made prior to the receipt of goods or services to be used in R&D are capitalized until the goods or services are received.

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Costs incurred under contracts with contract research organizations (“CROs”) that conduct and manage the Company’s clinical trials are also included in research and development expenses. The financial terms and activities of these agreements vary from contract to contract and may result in uneven expense levels. Generally, these agreements set forth activities that drive the recording of expenses such as start-up and initiation activities, enrollment and treatment of patients, or the completion of other clinical trial activities. Expenses related to clinical trials are accrued based on estimates and/or representations from service providers regarding work performed, including actual level of patient enrollment, completion of patient studies and progress of the clinical trials. Other incidental costs related to patient enrollment or treatment are accrued when reasonably certain. If the amounts that the Company is obligated to pay under its clinical trial agreements are modified (for instance, as a result of changes in the clinical trial protocol or scope of work to be performed), the Company adjusts its accruals accordingly on a prospective basis. Revisions to contractual payment obligations are charged to expense in the period in which the facts that give rise to the revision become reasonably certain.

Australian Research and Development Tax Incentive

CAPL is eligible to obtain a cash refund from the Australian Taxation Office for eligible R&D expenditures under the Australian Research and Development Tax Incentive Program (the “Australian Tax Incentive”). The Australian Tax Incentive is recognized as a reduction to R&D expense when there is reasonable assurance that the Australian Tax Incentive will be received, the relevant expenditure has been incurred, and the amount can be reliably measured. The Company recognized a reduction to R&D expense of $0.2 million and $0.6 million for the three months ended June 30, 2019 and 2018, respectively, and a reduction to R&D expense of $0.3 million and $0.9 million for the six months ended June 30, 2019 and 2018, respectively.

Stock-Based Compensation

Stock-based compensation expense represents the cost of the grant date fair value of awards over the requisite service period of the awards (usually the vesting period) on a straight-line basis. For stock awards for which vesting is subject to performance-based milestones, the expense is recorded over the remaining service period after the point when the achievement of the milestone is probable, or the performance condition has been achieved. The Company estimates the fair value of all stock option grants using the Black-Scholes option pricing model and recognizes forfeitures as they occur.

Comprehensive Loss

Comprehensive loss is comprised of the Company’s net loss for all periods presented and the unrealized gain on investment securities held as of June 30, 2019.

Net Loss Per Share

Basic net loss per share is computed by dividing the net loss by the weighted-average number of common shares outstanding for the period, without consideration for potentially dilutive securities. Diluted net loss per share is computed by dividing the net loss by the weighted-average number of shares of common stock and dilutive common stock equivalents outstanding for the period determined using the treasury-stock and if-converted methods. Dilutive common stock equivalents are comprised of convertible preferred stock, common stock subject to repurchase, and options outstanding under the Company’s stock option plan. For all periods presented, there is no difference in the number of shares used to calculate basic and diluted shares outstanding as inclusion of the potentially dilutive securities would be antidilutive.

Recently Adopted Accounting Pronouncements

ASU 2016-02

In February 2016, the Financial Accounting Standards Board issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2016-02, “Leases (Topic 842)” (“ASU 2016-02”) which requires lessees to recognize leases on the balance sheet and disclose key information about leasing arrangements. ASU 2016-02 establishes a right-of-use (ROU) model that requires a lessee to recognize a ROU asset and lease liability on the balance sheet for all leases with a term longer than 12 months. ASU 2016-02 also requires disclosures to meet the objective of enabling users of financial statements to assess the amount, timing, and uncertainty of cash flows arising from leases. On January 1, 2019, the Company adopted ASU 2016-02 using the modified retrospective transition method. Under this transition method, the Company recognized and measured leases that existed at the adoption date in the condensed consolidated balance sheet as of January 1, 2019.

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ROU assets represent the right to use an underlying asset for the lease term and lease liabilities represent the obligation to make lease payments arising from the lease. Operating lease ROU assets and operating lease liabilities are recognized at the commencement date based on the present value of lease payments over the lease term, discounted at the rate implicit in the lease. If the rate implicit in the lease cannot be determined, Topic 842 requires the use of the rate of interest that a lessee would have to pay to borrow on a collateralized basis over a similar term for a similar amount to the lease payments in a similar economic environment. The operating lease ROU asset is also adjusted for any prepaid or accrued lease payments and any lease incentives received. Operating lease terms may include options to extend or terminate the lease when it is reasonably certain that these options will be exercised. Further, the Company has elected to recognize short-term lease payments on a straight-line basis over the associated lease term and variable lease payments in the period in which the obligation for those payments is incurred. Short-term and variable lease payments were not material in the first half of 2019.

In connection with the adoption of ASU 2016-02, the Company elected the package of practical expedients requiring no reassessment of whether any expired or existing contracts contain leases, the lease classification of any expired or existing leases, or initial direct costs for any existing leases. The Company also made accounting policy elections not to apply the recognition requirements under ASU 2016-02 to any short-term leases and to account for each separate lease and associated non-lease components as a single lease component for all of the Company’s leases.

Adoption of ASU 2016-02 resulted in recognition of a ROU asset of $2.8 million and an operating lease liability of $6.2 million, related to the lease of office and laboratory space; and the derecognition of deferred rent of $3.4 million for certain lease incentives received previously. The comparative prior period information continues to be reported under the accounting standards in effect during those periods.

ASU 2018-07

In June 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-07, “Compensation-Stock Compensation (Topic 718): Improvements to Nonemployee Share-Based Payment Accounting” (“ASU 2018-07”), which expands the scope of Topic 718 to include share-based payment transactions for acquiring goods and services from nonemployees and applies to all share-based payment transactions in which a grantor acquires goods or services to be used or consumed in a grantor’s own operations by issuing share-based payment awards. ASU 2018-07 was adopted by the Company on January 1, 2019 using the modified retrospective transition method with no impact on the condensed consolidated financial statements. As a result of adopting ASU 2018-07, the estimated fair values of stock awards issued to non-employees are determined at issuance and are no longer subject to revaluation over their vesting terms.  

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

ASU 2018-13

In August 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-13, “Disclosure Framework - Changes to the Disclosure Requirements for Fair Value Measurement,” which improves the effectiveness of the disclosures required under ASC 820, “Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures” and modifies the disclosure requirements on fair value measurements, including the consideration of costs and benefits. The new standard is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019, including interim periods within those fiscal years, and early adoption is permitted. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of the pending adoption of this new standard on its consolidated financial statements.

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3. INVESTMENT SECURITIES

The Company reports its available-for-sale investment securities at their estimated fair values based on quoted market prices for identical or similar instruments. The following is a summary of the available-for-sale investment securities held by the Company as of June 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018 (in thousands):

All available-for-sale investment securities held at June 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018, had maturity dates of less than 24 months.

None of the Company’s available-for-sale investment securities were in a material unrealized loss position at June 30, 2019 or December 31, 2018. As such, the Company has not recognized any impairment in its financial statements related to its available-for-sale investment securities.

4. FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS

The Company holds investment securities that consist of highly liquid, investment grade debt securities. The Company determines the fair value of its investment securities based upon one or more valuations reported by its investment accounting and reporting service provider. The investment service provider values the securities using a hierarchical security pricing model that relies primarily on valuations provided by an industry-recognized valuation service. Such valuations may be based on trade prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities (Level 1 inputs) or valuation models using inputs that are observable either directly or indirectly (Level 2 inputs), such as quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities, yield curves, volatility factors, credit spreads, default rates, loss severity, current market and contractual prices for the underlying instruments or debt, and broker and dealer quotes, as well as other relevant economic measures.

Financial assets measured at fair value on a recurring basis as of June 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018 were as follows (in thousands):

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The Company’s policy is to recognize transfers between levels of the fair value hierarchy on the date of the event or change in circumstances that caused the transfer. There were no transfers into or out of Level 3 during the six months ended June 30, 2019.

5. BALANCE SHEET DETAILS

Prepaid expenses and other current assets consist of the following (in thousands):

Property and equipment consist of the following (in thousands):

Accrued expenses and other current liabilities consist of the following (in thousands):

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6. OPERATING LEASE

2018 Operating Lease. In February 2018, as amended in March 2018, the Company entered into a non-cancelable operating lease for a new facility in San Diego, California. The lease has an initial term of seven years which expires in August 2025, and the Company has an option to extend the term of the lease for an additional five years and has a termination option subject to early termination fees. The lease is subject to base lease payments and additional charges for common area maintenance and other costs and includes certain lease incentives and tenant improvement allowances. Rent expense is being recognized on a straight-line basis over the term of the lease. The Company’s incremental borrowing rate of 8.0% was used in its present value calculation as the facility lease does not have a stated rate, and the implicit rate was not readily determinable.

Under the terms of the lease, the Company provided the lessor with an irrevocable letter of credit in the amount of $0.5 million. The lessor is entitled to draw on the letter of credit in the event of any default by the Company under the terms of the lease.

Future Minimum Payments. As of June 30, 2019, future minimum payments under non-cancellable operating leases were as follows (in thousands):

Rent expense was $0.3 million and $0.1 million for the three months ended June 30, 2019 and 2018, respectively, and $0.5 million and $0.2 million for the six months ended June 30, 2019 and 2018, respectively. Cash paid for amounts included in the measurement of lease liabilities for operating cash flow from operating leases was $0.3 million for the six months ended June 30, 2019.

7. COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

Litigation

From time to time, the Company may be subject to various claims and suits arising in the ordinary course of business. The Company does not expect that the resolution of these matters will have a material adverse effect on its financial position or results of operations.

8. CONVERTIBLE PREFERRED STOCK

As of January 1, 2018, the Company had 28,763,179 shares of Series A convertible preferred stock outstanding. In February and March 2018, the Company issued an aggregate of 19,641,200 shares of its Series B convertible preferred stock for total proceeds of $63.5 million, net of issuance costs of $0.2 million. The holders of the Company’s Series A and B convertible preferred stock were entitled to certain customary preferences, such as dividend and liquidation priority in relationship to the common shareholders, and certain anti-dilution protection. The convertible preferred stock was classified outside of stockholders’ equity (deficit) because the shares contained certain redemption features that were not solely within the control of the Company.

In connection with the Company’s initial public offering in July 2018, all of these shares of convertible preferred stock automatically converted into 14,712,571 shares of common stock.

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9. EQUITY INCENTIVE PLANS

2018 Incentive Award Plan

In July 2018, the Company adopted the 2018 Incentive Award Plan (the “2018 Plan”). Under the 2018 Plan, which expires in July 2028, the Company may grant equity-based awards to individuals who are employees, officers, directors or consultants of the Company. Options issued under the 2018 Plan, will generally expire ten years from the date of grant and vest over a four-year period. As of June 30, 2019, 2,331,772 shares were available for future issuance under the 2018 Plan.

The 2018 Plan contains a provision that allows annual increases in the number of shares available for issuance on the first day of each calendar year through January 1, 2028 in an amount equal to the lesser of: (i) 5% of the aggregate number of shares of the Company’s common stock outstanding on December 31 of the immediately preceding calendar year, or (ii) such lesser amount determined by the Company.

2015 Stock Incentive Plan

In February 2015, the Company adopted the Crinetics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. 2015 Stock Incentive Plan (the “2015 Plan”), which provided for the issuance of equity awards to the Company’s employees, members of its board of directors and consultants. In general, options issued under this plan vest over four years and expire after 10 years. Subsequent to the adoption of the 2018 Plan, no additional equity awards can be made under the 2015 Plan.

Certain awards under the 2015 Plan allowed for exercise prior to vesting. Shares issued under such early-exercise provisions are subject to repurchase by the Company until they become fully vested. As of June 30, 2019, 49,718 unvested shares issued under early-exercise provisions were subject to repurchase by the Company. The condensed consolidated balance sheet reflects an unvested stock liability of $0.1 million as of June 30, 2019.

2018 Employee Stock Purchase Plan

In July 2018, the Company adopted the 2018 Employee Stock Purchase Plan (the “ESPP”). The ESPP permits participants to purchase common stock through payroll deductions of up to 20% of their eligible compensation. As of June 30, 2019, an aggregate of 447,061 shares of common stock were available for issuance under the ESPP.

The ESPP contains a provision that allows annual increases in the number of shares available for issuance on the first day of each calendar year through January 1, 2028 in an amount equal to the lesser of: (i) 1% of the aggregate number of shares of the Company’s common stock outstanding on December 31 of the immediately preceding calendar year, or (ii) such lesser amount determined by the Company.

Stock Options

Stock option activity during the six months ended June 30, 2019 under both of the 2015 Plan and the 2018 Plan is as follows:

The aggregate intrinsic value in the above table is calculated as the difference between the closing price of our common stock at June 30, 2018 and the exercise price of stock options that had strike prices below the closing price. The total intrinsic value of options exercised during the first six months of 2019 was $1.5 million. 

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Fair Value of Stock Option Awards

The Company utilizes the Black-Scholes option pricing model to value awards under its equity plans. The following table summarizes the weighted average assumptions used to estimate the fair value of stock options granted to employees under the Company’s stock option plans and the shares purchasable under the ESPP during the periods presented:

The key assumptions used in determining the fair value of equity awards, and the Company’s rationale, were as follows: (i) Expected term - the expected term represents the period that options are expected to be outstanding and has been estimated using the simplified method, which is an average of the contractual option term and its vesting period; (ii) Expected volatility - the expected volatility assumption is based on volatilities of a peer group of similar companies in the biotechnology industry whose share prices are publicly available; (iii) Risk-free interest rate - the risk-free interest rate is based on the U.S. Treasury yield in effect at the time of grant for zero coupon U.S. Treasury notes with maturities that approximate the expected terms of awards; and (iv) Expected dividend yield - the expected dividend yield assumption is zero as the Company has never paid cash dividends and has no present intention to do so in the near future.

The weighted-average fair value of stock options granted to employees during the first half of 2019 and 2018 was $16.95 and $4.02 per share, respectively.

Stock-Based Compensation Expense

Stock-based compensation expense for the equity awards issued by the Company to employees and non-employees for the periods presented below was as follows (in thousands):

Unrecognized stock-based compensation cost related to option awards was $20.0 million as of June 30, 2019, which is expected to be recognized over a remaining weighted-average period of approximately 2.8 years.

Unrecognized stock-based compensation cost related to the ESPP was $0.5 million as of June 30, 2019, which is expected to be recognized over a remaining weighted-average period of approximately 1.2 years.

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10. NET LOSS PER SHARE

Potentially dilutive securities not included in the calculation of diluted net loss per share because to do so would be anti-dilutive are as follows in common stock equivalent shares (in thousands):

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You should read the following discussion of our financial condition and results of operations in conjunction with the unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements and the notes thereto included elsewhere in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and with our audited financial statements and notes thereto included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018.

Forward Looking Statements

The following discussion and other parts of this quarterly report contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). All statements other than statements of historical facts contained in this quarterly report, including statements regarding our future results of operations and financial position, business strategy, prospective products, product approvals, research and development costs, timing and likelihood of success, plans and objectives of management for future operations and future results of anticipated products, are forward-looking statements. These statements are often identified by the use of words such as “may,” “will,” “expect,” “believe,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “could,” “should,” “estimate,” or “continue,” and similar expressions or variations. The forward-looking statements in this quarterly report are only predictions. We have based these forward-looking statements largely on our current expectations and projections about future events and financial trends that we believe may affect our financial condition, operating results, business strategy, short-term and long-term business operations and objectives. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this quarterly report and are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions, including those described in Part II, Item 1A, “Risk Factors.” The events and circumstances reflected in our forward-looking statements may not be achieved or occur and actual results could differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Except as required by applicable law, we do not plan to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements contained herein, whether as a result of any new information, future events, changed circumstances or otherwise.

Overview

We are a clinical stage pharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of novel therapeutics for rare endocrine diseases and endocrine-related tumors. Endocrine pathways function to maintain homeostasis and commonly use peptide hormones acting through G-protein-coupled receptors (“GPCRs”) to regulate many aspects of physiology including growth, energy, metabolism, gastrointestinal function and stress responses. We have assembled a seasoned team with extensive expertise in drug discovery and development in endocrine GPCRs and built a highly productive drug discovery organization. We have discovered a pipeline of oral nonpeptide (small molecule) new chemical entities that target peptide GPCRs to treat a variety of rare endocrine diseases where treatment options have significant efficacy, safety and/or tolerability limitations. Our lead product candidate, CRN00808, is currently in clinical development for the treatment of acromegaly. In addition, CRN01941 is in early clinical development for the treatment of neuroendocrine tumors (“NETs”), and we are advancing additional product candidates through preclinical studies in parallel. Our vision is to build the leading endocrine company which consistently pioneers new therapeutics to help patients better control their disease and improve their daily lives.

We focus on the discovery and development of oral nonpeptide therapeutics that target peptide GPCRs with well-understood biological functions, validated biomarkers and the potential to substantially improve the treatment of endocrine diseases and/or endocrine-related tumors. Our pipeline consists of the following two product candidates and preclinical programs:

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To date, we have devoted substantially all of our resources to drug discovery, conducting preclinical studies and clinical trials, obtaining and maintaining patents related to our product candidates, and the provision of general and administrative support for these operations. We recognize revenues from various research and development grants, but do not have any products approved for sale and have not generated any product sales. We have funded our operations primarily through the private placement of preferred stock, grant revenues and our initial public offering. Through June 30, 2019, we have raised gross proceeds of approximately $210.8 million to fund our operations from the issuance of common stock in our initial public offering (“IPO”) in July 2018 as well as through issuance of convertible preferred stock prior to our IPO. As of June 30, 2019, we had unrestricted cash, cash equivalents and investment securities of $145.0 million.

We have incurred cumulative net losses since our inception and, as of June 30, 2019, we had an accumulated deficit of $64.8 million. Our net losses may fluctuate significantly from quarter-to-quarter and year-to-year, depending on the timing of our clinical trials and preclinical studies and our expenditures on other research and development activities. We expect our expenses and operating losses will increase substantially as we conduct our ongoing and planned clinical trials, continue our research and development activities and conduct preclinical studies, hire additional personnel, protect our intellectual property and incur costs associated with being a public company, including audit, legal, regulatory, and tax-related services associated with maintaining compliance with exchange listing and Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) requirements, director and officer insurance premiums, and investor relations costs.

We do not expect to generate any revenues from product sales unless and until we successfully complete development and obtain regulatory approval for one or more of our product candidates, which we expect will take a number of years. If we obtain regulatory approval for any of our product candidates, we expect to incur significant commercialization expenses related to product sales, marketing, manufacturing and distribution. Accordingly, until such time as we can generate significant revenue from sales of our product candidates, if ever, we expect to finance our cash needs through equity offerings, debt financings or other capital sources, including potentially collaborations, licenses and other similar arrangements. However, we may be unable to raise additional funds or enter into such other arrangements when needed on favorable terms or at all. Our failure to raise capital or enter into such other arrangements when needed would have a negative impact on our financial condition and could force us to delay, scale back or discontinue the development of our existing product candidates or our efforts to expand our product pipeline.

Australian operations

In January 2017, we established Crinetics Australia Pty Ltd (“CAPL”), a wholly owned subsidiary which was formed to conduct various preclinical and clinical activities for our product and development candidates. We believe CAPL will be eligible for certain financial incentives made available by the Australian government for research and development expenses. Specifically, the Australian Taxation Office provides for a refundable tax credit in the form of a cash refund equal to 43.5% of qualified research and development expenditures under the Australian Research and Development Tax Incentive Program (the “Australian Tax Incentive”), to Australian companies that operate the majority of their research and development activities associated with such projects in Australia. A wholly owned Australian subsidiary of a non-Australian parent company is eligible to receive the refundable tax credit, provided that the Australian subsidiary retains the rights to the data and intellectual property generated in Australia, and provided that the total revenues of the parent company and its consolidated subsidiaries during the period for which the refundable tax credit is claimed are less than $20.0 million Australian dollars. If we lose our ability to operate CAPL in Australia, or if we are ineligible or unable to receive the research and development tax credit, or the Australian government significantly reduces or eliminates the tax credit, the actual refund amounts we receive may differ from our estimates.

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Financial operations overview

Grant revenues

To date, we have not generated any revenues from the commercial sale of approved products, and we do not expect to generate revenues from the commercial sale of our product candidates for at least the foreseeable future, if ever. Revenues for 2019 and 2018 were derived from Small Business Innovation Research Grants (“SBIR Grants”) awarded to us by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases of the National Institutes of Health. We do not currently expect future grant revenues to be a material source of funding.

Research and development

To date, our research and development expenses have related primarily to discovery efforts and preclinical and clinical development of our product candidates. Research and development expenses are recognized as incurred and payments made prior to the receipt of goods or services to be used in research and development are capitalized until the goods or services are received.

Research and development expenses include:

We recognize the Australian Tax Incentive as a reduction of research and development expense. The amounts are determined based on eligible research and development expenditures. The Australian Tax Incentive is recognized when there is reasonable assurance that the Australian Tax Incentive will be received, the relevant expenditure has been incurred, and the amount of the Australian Tax Incentive can be reliably measured.

Our direct research and development expenses consist principally of external costs, such as fees paid to CROs, investigative sites and consultants in connection with our clinical trials, preclinical and non-clinical studies, and costs related to manufacturing clinical trial materials. The majority of our third-party expenses during 2019 and 2018 related to the research and development of CRN00808. We deploy our personnel and facility related resources across all of our research and development activities.

Our clinical development costs may vary significantly based on factors such as:

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We plan to substantially increase our research and development expenses for the foreseeable future as we continue the development of our product candidates and the discovery of new product candidates. We cannot determine with certainty the timing of initiation, the duration or the completion costs of current or future preclinical studies and clinical trials of our product candidates due to the inherently unpredictable nature of preclinical and clinical development. Clinical and preclinical development timelines, the probability of success and development costs can differ materially from expectations. We anticipate that we will make determinations as to which product candidates to pursue and how much funding to direct to each product candidate on an ongoing basis in response to the results of ongoing and future preclinical studies and clinical trials, regulatory developments and our ongoing assessments as to each product candidate’s commercial potential. We will need to raise substantial additional capital in the future. In addition, we cannot forecast which product candidates may be subject to future collaborations, when such arrangements will be secured, if at all, and to what degree such arrangements would affect our development plans and capital requirements.

General and administrative

General and administrative expenses consist primarily of salaries and employee-related costs, including stock-based compensation, for personnel in executive, finance and other administrative functions. Other significant costs include facility-related costs, legal fees relating to intellectual property and corporate matters, professional fees for accounting and consulting services, insurance costs and commercial planning expenses. We anticipate that our general and administrative expenses will increase in the future to support our continued research and development activities and, if any of our product candidates receive marketing approval, commercialization activities. We also anticipate increased expenses related to audit, legal, regulatory, and tax-related services associated with maintaining compliance with exchange listing and SEC requirements, director and officer insurance premiums, and investor relations costs associated with operating as a public company.

Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates

This discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations is based on our condensed consolidated financial statements, which we have prepared in accordance with United States generally accepted accounting principles. The preparation of these condensed financial statements requires us to make estimates, judgments 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 amounts of expenses during the reporting periods. We base our estimates on historical experience and on various other factors and assumptions that we believe are reasonable under the circumstances at the time the estimates are made, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the book values of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions. We periodically evaluate our estimates and judgments, including those described in greater detail below, in light of changes in circumstances, facts and experience.

Our critical accounting policies are those accounting principles generally accepted in the United States that require us to make subjective estimates and judgments about matters that are uncertain and are likely to have a material impact on our financial condition and results of operations, as well as the specific manner in which we apply those principles. For a description of our critical accounting policies, please see the section entitled “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Critical Accounting Policies and Significant Judgments and Estimates” contained in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018. There have not been any material changes to the critical accounting policies discussed therein during the three and six months ended June 30, 2019 other than related to leases due to adoption of Topic 842 (see Note 2 of the Notes to the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements).

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Results of Operations

Comparison of the three months ended June 30, 2019 and 2018

The following table summarizes our results of operations for the three months ended June 30, 2019 and 2018:

Grant revenues.     Grant revenues relate to reimbursable expenses incurred in connection with our SBIR Grants. We exhausted the funding available under our existing SBIR grants during the first quarter of 2019, and accordingly we did not recognize any grant revenues during the three months ended June 30, 2019. During the comparable prior year period, we recorded grant revenues of $0.7 million associated with such awards. In July 2019, we received a notice of award for an additional $0.9 million grant for our ongoing CHI discovery program.

Research and development expenses.     Research and development expenses were $10.3 million and $5.2 million for the three months ended June 30, 2019 and 2018, respectively. The increase was primarily due to increased spending on manufacturing and development activities of $3.0 million associated with the clinical and nonclinical activities for CRN00808 and our other clinical and preclinical programs. Additionally, second quarter 2019 results reflect a $1.4 million increase in costs due to the hiring of additional personnel (including $0.7 million of additional stock-based compensation) and increased facility costs due to the expansion of our leased facilities.

General and administrative expenses.     General and administrative expenses were $3.1 million and $1.1 million for the three months ended June 30, 2019 and 2018, respectively. The increase was primarily due to an increase in personnel related costs of $1.2 million (including $0.6 million of additional stock-based compensation), an increase in spending on pre-commercialization activities and corporate legal services of $0.3 million, as well as expenses associated with operating as a publicly traded company.

Other income (expense).     Other income (expense), net was $0.9 million and $0.1 million for the three months ended June 30, 2019 and 2018, respectively. The increase was primarily due to interest income earned on higher cash and investment balances due to the funds raised from investors in 2018.  

Comparison of six months ended June 30, 2019 and 2018

The following table summarizes our results of operations for the six months ended June 30, 2019 and 2018:

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Grant revenues.     Grant revenues were $0.4 million and $1.1 million for the six months ended June 30, 2019 and 2018, respectively. We exhausted the funding available under our existing SBIR grants during the first quarter of 2019, and accordingly we did not recognize any grant revenues during the second quarter of 2019. During the comparable prior year period, we recorded grant revenues of $1.1 million associated with such awards.

Research and development expenses.     Research and development expenses were $17.5 million and $9.9 million for the six months ended June 30, 2019 and 2018, respectively. The increase was primarily due to increased spending on manufacturing and development activities of $4.3 million associated with our clinical and nonclinical activities for CRN00808 as well as our other clinical and preclinical programs. Additionally, our 2019 results reflect an increase in costs due to the hiring of additional personnel of $2.4 million (including $1.1 million of additional stock-based compensation) and increased facility costs due to the expansion of our leased facilities.

General and administrative expenses.     General and administrative expenses were $6.2 million and $2.4 million for the six months ended June 30, 2019 and 2018, respectively. The increase was primarily due to increases in personnel related costs of $1.7 million (including $0.8 million of additional stock-based compensation), spending on pre-commercialization activities and corporate legal services of $1.2 million, as well as expenses to operate as a publicly traded company.

Other income (expense).     Other income (expense), net was $1.9 million and $0.2 million for the six months ended June 30, 2019 and 2018, respectively. The increase was primarily due to interest income earned on higher cash and investment balances due to the funds raised from investors in 2018.  

Cash Flows

We have incurred cumulative net losses and negative cash flows from operations since our inception and anticipate we will continue to incur net losses for the foreseeable future. As of June 30, 2019, we had an accumulated deficit of $64.8 million and unrestricted cash, cash equivalents and investment securities of $145.0 million.

The following table provides information regarding our cash flows for the six months ended June 30, 2019 and 2018 (in thousands):

Operating Activities.     Net cash used in operating activities was $19.3 million and $7.8 million for the six months ended June 30, 2019 and 2018, respectively. The increase in cash used in operations was primarily attributable to development and manufacturing activities associated with CRN00808 as well as our other clinical and preclinical programs, and higher personnel costs. The net cash used in operating activities during the six months ended June 30, 2019 was primarily due to our net loss of $21.4 million, adjusted for $2.5 million of noncash charges, primarily for stock-based compensation and depreciation, and a $0.3 million change in operating assets and liabilities. Net cash used in operating activities during the six months ended June 30, 2018 was primarily due to our net loss of $11.0 million, adjusted for $0.9 million of noncash charges, primarily for stock-based compensation and depreciation expense, and a $2.4 million change in operating assets and liabilities.

Investing activities.      Investing activities consist primarily of purchases and maturities of investment securities and, to a lesser extent, the cash outflow associated with purchases of property and equipment. Such activities resulted in a net inflow of funds of approximately $34.0 million during the first half of 2019, compared to approximately $0.5 million used during the same period in 2018.

Financing activities.    Net cash provided by financing activities was $28,000 and $63.0 million for the six months ended June 30, 2019 and 2018, respectively. The net cash provided by financing activities during 2019 was the result of the exercise of stock options. The net cash provided by financing activities during 2018 was primarily due to the net proceeds of $63.3 million from the sale of Series B convertible preferred stock, and $0.4 million from the exercise of common stock options, partially offset by payments associated with our initial public offering.

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Liquidity and Capital Resources

We believe that our existing cash, cash equivalents and investment securities, together with investment income, and future payments due under our SBIR Grants, will be sufficient to satisfy our current and projected funding requirements through 2020. We expect these funds will allow us to complete our ongoing Phase 1 and 2 clinical trials for CRN00808 and our ongoing Phase 1 clinical trial for CRN01941. However, our forecast of the period of time through which our financial resources will be adequate to support our operations is a forward-looking statement that involves risks and uncertainties, and actual results could vary materially. We have based this estimate on assumptions that may prove to be wrong, and we could use our capital resources sooner than we expect. Additionally, the process of testing product candidates in clinical trials is costly, and the timing of progress and expenses in these trials is uncertain.

Our future capital requirements will depend on many factors, including: