Description of Business, Organization and Liquidity

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2021

Organization Consolidation And Presentation Of Financial Statements [Abstract]

Description of Business, Organization and Liquidity

1. Description of Business, Organization and Liquidity

Organization and Business

Graphite Bio, Inc. (the “Company”) is a clinical-stage, next-generation gene editing company harnessing high efficiency targeted gene integration to develop a new class of therapies to potentially cure a wide range of serious and life-threatening diseases. The Company is pioneering a precision gene editing approach to achieve one of medicine’s most elusive goals: to precisely “find & replace” any gene in the genome. The Company’s next-generation gene editing platform allows us to precisely correct mutations, replace entire disease-causing genes with normal genes, or insert new genes into predetermined, safe locations. The Company’s lead product candidate GPH101 is a highly differentiated approach with the potential to directly correct the mutation that causes sickle cell disease (SCD) and restore normal adult hemoglobin (HgbA) expression. The Company has received clearance of its IND application and intends to enroll the first patient in a Phase 1/2 clinical trial in the second half of 2021, with initial proof-of-concept data expected by the end of 2022.

From its inception in 2017, the Company’s primary activities have been to perform research and development, undertake preclinical studies and enable manufacturing activities in support of its product development efforts, organize and staff the Company, establish its intellectual property portfolio, and raise capital to support and expand such activities.

The Company was incorporated in Ontario, Canada in June 2017 as Longbow Therapeutics Inc., and was reincorporated in the State of Delaware in October 2019. In February 2020, the Company changed its name to Integral Medicines, Inc., and again in August 2020, changed the name to Graphite Bio, Inc. Research and development of the Company’s initial technology ceased at the end of 2018, and the Company did not have any significant operations or any research and development activities in 2019. In March 2020, the Company identified new gene editing technology which the Company sought to further develop, and the Company licensed the related intellectual property from The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University (“Stanford”) in December 2020 (Note 6).

Reverse Stock Split

On June 18, 2021, the Company’s board of directors approved an amendment to the Company’s amended and restated certificate of incorporation to effect a reverse stock split of the Company’s issued and outstanding common stock at a 1 for 2.432 ratio, which was effected on June 21, 2021. The par value and authorized shares of common stock and convertible preferred stock were not adjusted as a result of the reverse stock split. All issued and outstanding common stock, options to purchase common stock and per share amounts contained in the financial statements have been retroactively adjusted to reflect the reverse stock split for all periods presented. The condensed financial statements have also been retroactively adjusted to reflect a proportional adjustment to the conversion ratio for each series of preferred stock that was effected in connection with the reverse stock split.

Initial Public Offering

On June 24, 2021, the Company’s registration statement on Form S-1 relating to its initial public offering (“IPO”) was declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and the shares of its common stock began trading on the Nasdaq Global Market on June 25, 2021. The IPO closed on June 29, 2021, pursuant to which the Company issued and sold 14,000,000 shares of its common stock at a public offering price of $17.00 per share. On July 2, 2021, the Company issued 2,100,000 shares of its common stock to the underwriters of the IPO pursuant to the full exercise of their option to purchase additional shares. The Company received in June and July 2021 net proceeds of approximately $251.4 million from the IPO, after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions of $19.1 million and offering costs of approximately $3.2 million. Prior to the completion of the IPO, all shares of redeemable convertible preferred stock then outstanding were converted into 30,761,676 shares of common stock.

Liquidity

The Company has incurred significant operating losses since inception and has primarily relied on private equity and convertible debt financings to fund its operations. As of June 30, 2021, the Company had an accumulated deficit of $107.8 million. The Company expects to continue to incur substantial losses, and its transition to profitability will depend on the successful development, approval and commercialization of product candidates and on the achievement of sufficient revenues to support its cost structure. The Company may never achieve profitability, and unless and until then, the Company will need to continue to raise additional capital. Management expects that the existing cash and restricted cash of $382.1 million as of June 30, 2021, including $219.5 million cash received in June 2021 in connection with the Company’s IPO, will be sufficient to fund its current operating plan for at least the next 12 months from the date of issuance of these condensed financial statements.

Coronavirus Pandemic

In March 2020, the World Health Organization declared the global novel coronavirus disease 2019 (“COVID-19”), outbreak a pandemic. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic may continue to affect the Company’s ability to initiate and complete preclinical studies, delay the initiation of its planned clinical trials or future clinical trials or the progress or completion of its ongoing clinical trials, impede regulatory activities, disrupt the supply chain and the manufacture or shipment of drug substances and finished drug products for its product candidates for use in its clinical trials, impair testing, monitoring, data collection and analysis and other related activities or have other adverse effects on the Company’s business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects. In addition, the pandemic has caused substantial disruption in the financial markets and may adversely impact economies worldwide, both of which could result in adverse effects on the Company’s business and operations and its ability to raise additional funds to support its operations.

While certain measures have been relaxed in certain parts of the world as increasing numbers of people have received COVID-19 vaccines, others have remained in place with some areas continuing to experience renewed outbreaks and surges in infection rates. The extent to which such measures are removed or new measures are put in place will depend upon how the pandemic evolves, as well as the distribution of available vaccines, the rates at which they are administered and the emergence of new variants of the virus. The Company is following, and will continue to follow, recommendations from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as well as federal, state, and local governments regarding working-from-home practices for non-essential employees as well as return-to-work policies and procedures. The Company expects to continue to take actions as may be required or recommended by government authorities or as the Company determines are in the best interests of its employees and other business partners in light of the pandemic.

In light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Company’s partner Stanford was delayed in making an IND filing. While the Company’s operations to date have not been significantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, it cannot at this time predict the specific extent, duration, or full impact that the COVID-19 pandemic will have on its business, financial condition and operations, including planned clinical trials and clinical development timelines. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Company’s financial performance will depend on future developments, including the duration and spread of the pandemic, its impact on the Company’s clinical trial enrollment, trial sites, contract research organizations (“CROs”), contract manufacturing organizations (“CMOs”), and other third parties with whom it does business, its impact on regulatory authorities and the Company’s key scientific and management personnel, progress of vaccination and related governmental advisories and restrictions. These developments and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the financial markets and the overall economy are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted. If the financial markets or the overall economy are impacted for an extended period, the Company’s business may be materially adversely affected.