RISK FACTORS

              Investing in our common stock involves a high degree of risk. You should carefully consider the risks and uncertainties described below together with all of the other information contained in this prospectus, including our consolidated financial statements and the related notes appearing at the end of this prospectus, before deciding to invest in our common stock. The risks described below are not the only risks facing us. The occurrence of any of the following risks, or of additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to us or that we currently believe to be immaterial, could cause our business, prospects, operating results and financial condition to suffer materially. In such event, the trading price of our common stock could decline, and you might lose all or part of your investment.

Risks Related to Our Financial Position and Need for Additional Capital

We have incurred significant losses during all fiscal periods since our inception, have no products approved for commercial sale, and we expect to incur substantial losses for the foreseeable future.

              Since inception, we have incurred significant operating losses. Our net losses were $6.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2018, $25.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2019, and $10.4 million for the three months ended March 31, 2020. As of March 31, 2020, we had an accumulated deficit of $43.6 million. To date, we have financed our operations with proceeds from sales of preferred stock (including borrowings under convertible promissory notes, which converted into preferred stock in 2017). We have devoted substantially all of our financial resources and efforts to research and development, and our net losses have resulted principally from these research and development activities and from personnel expenses. We are still in the early stages of development of our product candidates, and we have not commenced or completed clinical development of any product candidates. We expect to continue to incur significant expenses and increasing operating losses over the next several years. Our operating expenses and net losses may fluctuate significantly from quarter to quarter and year to year. We anticipate that our expenses and capital expenditures will increase substantially in the foreseeable future as we:

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submit an investigational new drug application, or IND, and initiate a planned Phase 1/2 clinical trial of our lead product candidate, AK-OTOF, for the treatment of hearing loss due to mutations in the otoferlin gene, or OTOF;



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continue our current research programs and our preclinical development of product candidates from our current research programs;



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advance additional product candidates into preclinical and clinical development;



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plan and build a current good manufacturing practice, or cGMP, manufacturing facility;



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expand the capabilities of our genetic medicine platform;



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expand our facilities;



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seek marketing approvals for any product candidates that successfully complete clinical trials;



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ultimately establish a sales, marketing, and distribution infrastructure; scale up manufacturing capabilities; and commercialize any products for which we may obtain marketing approval;



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expand, maintain, and protect our intellectual property portfolio;



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hire additional clinical, regulatory, and scientific personnel; and



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add operational, legal, compliance, financial, and management information systems and personnel, including personnel to support our research, product development and future commercialization efforts and support our operations as a public company.

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              Even if we obtain regulatory approval of and are successful in commercializing one or more of our product candidates, we will continue to incur substantial research and development and other expenditures to develop and market additional product candidates. We may encounter unforeseen expenses, difficulties, complications, delays, and other unknown factors that may adversely affect our business. The size of our future net losses will depend, in part, on the rate of future growth of our expenses and our ability to generate revenue.

We have never generated revenue from product sales and may never achieve or maintain profitability.

              We have not initiated clinical development of any product candidate and expect that it will be many years, if ever, before we have a product candidate ready for commercialization. To become and remain profitable, we must succeed in developing, and eventually commercializing, a product or products that generate significant revenue. The ability to achieve this success will require us to be effective in a range of challenging activities, including completing preclinical testing, initiating and completing clinical trials of our product candidates, discovering additional product candidates, obtaining regulatory approval for these product candidates and manufacturing, marketing, and selling any products for which we may obtain regulatory approval. We are only in the preliminary stages of these activities. We may never succeed in these activities and, even if we do, may never generate revenues that are significant enough to achieve profitability. Because of the numerous risks and uncertainties associated with biopharmaceutical product development, we are unable to accurately predict the timing or amount of increased expenses or when, or if, we will be able to achieve profitability. Our expenses will increase if, among other things:

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we are required by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or the FDA, the European Medicines Agency, or the EMA, or any comparable regulatory authority in other jurisdictions to perform trials or studies in addition to, or different than, those expected;



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there are any delays in completing our clinical trials or the development of any of our product candidates; or



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there are any third-party challenges to our intellectual property or we need to defend against any intellectual property-related claim.

              Even if we do achieve profitability, we may not be able to sustain or increase profitability on a quarterly or annual basis as we expect to continue to engage in substantial research and development activities and to incur substantial expenses to develop and commercialize product candidates. In addition, we may encounter unforeseen expenses, difficulties, complications, delays and, other unknown factors that may adversely affect our revenues, expenses, and profitability.

              Our failure to achieve or sustain profitability would depress our market value and could impair our ability to raise capital, expand our business, maintain our research and development efforts, diversify our pipeline of product candidates, or even continue our operations. A decline in the value of our company could also cause you to lose all or part of your investment.

We are heavily dependent on the success of lead product candidate, AK-OTOF.

              We currently have no products that are approved for commercial sale and may never be able to develop marketable products. We expect that a substantial portion of our efforts and expenditures for the foreseeable future will be devoted to AK-OTOF. Accordingly, our business currently depends heavily on the successful development, regulatory approval, and commercialization of AK-OTOF. We cannot be certain that AK-OTOF will receive regulatory approval or be successfully commercialized even if we receive regulatory approval. If we were required to discontinue development of AK-OTOF, or if AK-OTOF does not receive regulatory approval, fails to achieve significant market acceptance, or

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fails to receive reimbursement, we would be delayed by many years in our ability to achieve profitability, if ever, and may not be able to generate sufficient revenue to continue our business.

Even after completion of the offering, we will need substantial additional capital to execute our business plan. If we are unable to raise capital when needed, we could be forced to delay, reduce, or eliminate our product development programs or commercialization efforts.

              Since inception, we have used substantial amounts of cash. The development of biopharmaceutical product candidates is capital intensive and we expect that we will continue to expend substantial resources for the foreseeable future in connection with our ongoing activities In particular, substantial resources will be required as we prepare for and initiate our planned Phase 1/2 clinical trial of AK-OTOF, advance our genetic medicine platform, and continue research and development and initiate additional clinical trials of and potentially seek marketing approval for our other product candidates. Identifying potential product candidates and conducting preclinical testing and clinical trials is a time-consuming, expensive, and uncertain process that takes years to complete, and we may never generate the necessary data or results required to obtain regulatory approval and achieve product sales. In addition, if we obtain marketing approval for any of our product candidates, we expect to incur significant commercialization expenses related to product manufacturing, marketing, sales, and distribution. Furthermore, upon the closing of this offering, we expect to incur additional costs associated with operating as a public company. Accordingly, we will need to obtain substantial additional funding in connection with our continuing operations.

              As of March 31, 2020, we had cash and cash equivalents of $120.2 million. We believe that the net proceeds from this offering, together with our existing cash and cash equivalents, will enable us to fund our operating expenses and capital expenditure requirements through                        . However, we have based this estimate on assumptions that may prove to be wrong, and our operating plan may change as a result of many factors currently unknown to us. Furthermore, because the outcome of our planned Phase 1/2 clinical trial and future clinical trials is highly uncertain, we cannot reasonably estimate the actual amounts necessary to successfully complete the development and commercialization of our product candidates. As a result, we could deplete our capital resources sooner than we currently expect.

              The timing and amount of our funding requirements will depend on many factors, including:

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the progress, costs, and results of our planned Phase 1/2 clinical trial of AK-OTOF and any future clinical development of AK-OTOF;



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the scope, progress, costs, and results of preclinical and clinical development for our other product candidates and development programs;



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the number and development requirements of other product candidates that we pursue;



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the costs, timing, and outcome of regulatory review of our product candidates;



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the cost and timing of completion of commercial-scale manufacturing activities;



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the costs and timing of future commercialization activities, including product manufacturing, marketing, sales, and distribution, for any of our product candidates for which we receive marketing approval;



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the amount and timing of revenue, if any, received from commercial sales of our product candidates for which we receive marketing approval, which in turn depends on the sales price and the availability of coverage and adequate third-party reimbursement;



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the costs of operating as a public company;

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the costs and timing of preparing, filing, and prosecuting patent applications, maintaining and enforcing our intellectual property rights, and defending any intellectual property-related claims;



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the cash requirements of any future acquisitions or discovery of product candidates;



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the extent to which we may acquire or in-license other product candidates and technologies; and



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the severity, duration, and impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, which may adversely impact our business and planned Phase 1/2 clinical trial of AK-OTOF.

              We do not have any committed external source of funds and adequate additional financing may not be available to us on acceptable terms, or at all. In addition, we may seek additional capital due to favorable market conditions or strategic considerations, even if we believe we have sufficient funds for our current or future operating plans. If adequate funds are not available to us on a timely basis or on terms acceptable to us, we would be required to delay, limit, reduce, or terminate preclinical studies, clinical trials, or other development activities for one or more product candidates or discovery stage programs or delay, limit, reduce, or terminate our establishment of sales and marketing capabilities or other activities that may be necessary to commercialize any product candidates.

Raising additional capital may cause dilution to our stockholders, including purchasers of our common stock in this offering, restrict our operations, or require us to relinquish rights to our technologies or product candidates.

              Until such time, if ever, as we can generate substantial product revenues, we expect to finance our cash needs through a combination of equity offerings, debt financings, collaborations, strategic alliances and licensing arrangements. We do not have any committed external source of funds. To the extent that we raise additional capital through the sale of equity or convertible debt securities, your ownership interest will be diluted, and the terms of these securities may include liquidation or other preferences that adversely affect your rights as a common stockholder. Debt financing and preferred equity financing, if available, may involve agreements that include covenants limiting or restricting our ability to take specific actions, such as incurring additional debt, selling or licensing our assets, making capital expenditures, declaring dividends or encumbering our assets to secure future indebtedness. Such restrictions could adversely impact our ability to conduct our operations and execute our business plan.

              If we raise additional funds through collaborations, strategic alliances or licensing arrangements with third parties, we may have to relinquish valuable rights to our technologies, future revenue streams, research programs, or product candidates or grant licenses on terms that may not be favorable to us. If we are unable to raise additional funds through equity or debt financings or other arrangements when needed or on terms acceptable to us, we would be required to delay, limit, reduce, or terminate our product development or future commercialization efforts or grant rights to develop and market product candidates that we would otherwise prefer to develop and market ourselves.

Our limited operating history may make it difficult for you to evaluate the success of our business to date and to assess our future viability.

              We commenced operations in 2016, and our operations to date have been limited to organizing and staffing our company, business planning, raising capital, conducting research and development activities, filing and prosecuting patent applications, identifying potential product candidates, soliciting input from regulators regarding development of these product candidates, and undertaking preclinical studies. All of our product candidates are still in preclinical development. We have not yet demonstrated our ability to successfully initiate or complete any clinical trials, obtain marketing approvals, manufacture a commercial scale product, or partner with contract manufacturing

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organizations, or CMOs, to do so on our behalf, or conduct sales, marketing, and distribution activities necessary for successful product commercialization. Consequently, any predictions about our future success or viability may not be as accurate as they could be if we had a longer operating history or a history of successfully developing and commercializing genetic medicine products.

              In addition, as our business grows, we may encounter unforeseen expenses, difficulties, complications, delays, and other known and unknown factors. We will need to transition at some point from a company with a research and development focus to a company capable of supporting commercial activities. We may not be successful in such a transition.

              We expect our financial condition and operating results to fluctuate significantly from quarter-to-quarter and year-to-year due to a variety of factors, many of which are beyond our control. Accordingly, you should not rely upon the results of any quarterly or annual periods as indications of future operating performance.

The COVID-19 pandemic, which began in late 2019 and has spread worldwide, may affect our ability to initiate and complete preclinical studies, delay the initiation of our planned clinical trial or future clinical trials, disrupt regulatory activities, or have other adverse effects on our business and operations. In addition, this pandemic has caused substantial disruption in the financial markets and may adversely impact economies worldwide, both of which could result in adverse effects on our business and operations.

              The COVID-19 pandemic, which began in December 2019 and has spread worldwide, has caused many governments to implement measures to slow the spread of the outbreak through quarantines, travel restrictions, heightened border scrutiny, and other measures. The outbreak and government measures taken in response have also had a significant impact, both direct and indirect, on businesses and commerce, as worker shortages have occurred; supply chains have been disrupted; facilities and production have been suspended; and demand for certain goods and services, such as medical services and supplies, has spiked, while demand for other goods and services, such as travel, has fallen. The future progression of the outbreak and its effects on our business and operations are uncertain. We and our CMOs and contract research organizations, or CROs, may face disruptions that may affect our ability to initiate and complete preclinical studies, including disruptions in procuring items that are essential for our research and development activities, such as raw materials used in the manufacture of our product candidates, laboratory supplies used in our preclinical studies, or animals that are used for preclinical testing for which there are shortages because of ongoing efforts to address the outbreak. We and our CROs and CMOs, as well as clinical trial sites, may face disruptions related to our planned clinical trial or future clinical trials arising from delays in IND-enabling studies, manufacturing disruptions, and the ability to obtain necessary institutional review board, or IRB, institutional biosafety committee, or IBC, or other necessary site approvals, as well as other delays at clinical trial sites. The response to the COVID-19 pandemic may redirect resources with respect to regulatory and intellectual property matters in a way that would adversely impact our ability to progress regulatory approvals and protect our intellectual property. In addition, we may face impediments to regulatory meetings and approvals due to measures intended to limit in-person interactions. The pandemic has already caused significant disruptions in the financial markets, and may continue to cause such disruptions, which could impact our ability to raise additional funds through public offerings and may also impact the volatility of our stock price and trading in our stock. Moreover, the pandemic has significantly impacted economies worldwide and could result in adverse effects on our business and operations. We cannot be certain what the overall impact of the COVID-19 pandemic will be on our business and it has the potential to adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects.

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Risks Related to the Development of our Product Candidates

We are very early in our development efforts. Our business is dependent on our ability to advance lead product candidate, AK-OTOF, and our other current and future product candidates through preclinical studies and clinical trials, obtain marketing approval, and ultimately commercialize them. If we are unable to complete clinical development, obtain regulatory approval for, or commercialize our product candidates, or experience significant delays in doing so, our business will be materially harmed.

              We are very early in our development efforts and all of our product candidates are still in preclinical development. We expect to submit an IND to the FDA with respect to our AK-OTOF program in 2021. Additionally, we have a portfolio of programs, including those listed in the "Business—Our Pipeline" section of this prospectus, that are in even earlier stages of preclinical development and may never advance to clinical-stage development. Our ability to generate product revenue, which we do not expect will occur for many years, if ever, will depend heavily on the successful development and eventual commercialization of our product candidates, which may never occur. We currently generate no revenue from sales of any product, and we may never be able to develop or commercialize a marketable product.

              Additionally, the research, testing, manufacturing, labeling, approval, sale, marketing, and distribution of genetic medicine products are and will remain subject to extensive regulation by the FDA and other regulatory authorities in the United States and other countries that each have differing regulations. We are not permitted to market AK-OTOF, or any of our other current or future product candidates, in the United States until it receives approval of a biologics license application, or BLA, from the FDA, or in any foreign countries until it receives the requisite approval from such countries. We have not submitted a BLA for AK-OTOF or any other product candidate to the FDA or comparable applications to other regulatory authorities and do not expect to be in a position to do so for the foreseeable future.

              The clinical and commercial success of our product candidates will depend on several factors, including the following:

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timely and successful completion of preclinical studies, including IND-enabling studies;



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effective INDs or comparable foreign applications that allow commencement of our planned clinical trial or future clinical trials for our product candidates;



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successful enrollment and completion of clinical trials, including under current Good Clinical Practices, or GCPs;



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positive results from our future clinical programs that support a finding of safety and effectiveness and an acceptable risk-benefit profile of our product candidates in the intended populations;



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receipt of marketing approvals from the FDA and other applicable regulatory authorities;



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establishment of arrangements through our own facilities or with third-party manufacturers for clinical supply and, where applicable, commercial manufacturing capabilities;



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commercial launch of our product candidates, if approved, whether alone or in collaboration with others;



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acceptance of the benefits and use of our product candidates, including method of administration, if and when approved, by patients, the medical community and third-party payors;



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effective competition with other therapies;

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establishment and maintenance of healthcare coverage and adequate reimbursement and patients' willingness to pay out-of-pocket in the absence of such coverage and adequate reimbursement;



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establishment of a physician training system and network for administration of our product candidates by surgical procedure;



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successful development of a delivery device;



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procurement of intellectual property protection and regulatory exclusivity for our product candidates, and enforcement and defense of intellectual property rights and claims; and



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maintenance of a continued acceptable safety, tolerability and efficacy profile of our product candidates following approval.

              Many of these factors are beyond our control, including clinical outcomes, the regulatory review process, potential threats to our intellectual property rights, and the manufacturing, marketing and sales efforts of any future collaborator. If we do not succeed in one or more of these factors in a timely manner or at all, we could experience significant delays or an inability to successfully commercialize our product candidates, which would materially harm our business. If we are unable to advance our product candidates to clinical development, obtain regulatory approval and ultimately commercialize our product candidates, or experience significant delays in doing so, our business will be materially harmed. As a company, we do not have any experience in clinical development and have not advanced any product candidates into clinical development. Our lack of experience in conducting clinical development activities may adversely impact the likelihood that we will be successful in advancing our programs. Further, any predictions about the future success or viability of our programs may not be as accurate as they could be if we had a history of conducting clinical trials.

              Furthermore, because our other product candidates are based in part on similar technology to AK-OTOF, our most advance product candidate, if AK-OTOF shows unexpected adverse events or a lack of efficacy in the indications we intend to treat, or if we experience other regulatory or developmental issues associated with AK-OTOF, our development plans and business could be significantly harmed. In addition, competitors may be developing product candidates with similar technology and may experience problems with their product candidates that could identify problems that would potentially negatively impact the development of our product candidates and ultimately harm our business.

We may encounter substantial delays in commencement or completion of our clinical trials, or we may fail to demonstrate safety and efficacy to the satisfaction of applicable regulatory authorities, which could prevent us from commercializing our current and future product candidates on a timely basis, if at all.

              The risk of failure for each of our product candidates is high. It is impossible to predict when or if any of our product candidates will prove effective or safe in humans or will receive regulatory approval. Before obtaining marketing approval from regulatory authorities for the sale of any product candidate, we must complete preclinical development and then conduct extensive clinical trials to demonstrate the safety and efficacy of our product candidates in humans. We have not yet initiated or completed a clinical trial of any of our product candidates. Clinical trials may fail to demonstrate that our product candidates are safe for humans and effective for indicated uses. Even if the clinical trials are successful, changes in marketing approval policies during the development period, changes in or the enactment or promulgation of additional statutes, regulations or guidance or changes in regulatory review for each submitted product application may cause delays in the approval or rejection of an application.

              Before we can commence clinical trials for a product candidate, we must complete extensive preclinical testing and studies that support our planned INDs and other regulatory filings. We cannot

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be certain of the timely completion or outcome of our preclinical testing and studies and cannot predict if the FDA will accept our proposed clinical programs or if the outcome of our preclinical testing and studies will ultimately support the further development of any product candidates. As a result, we cannot be sure that we will be able to submit INDs for our preclinical programs on the timelines we expect, if at all, and we cannot be sure that submission of INDs will result in the FDA allowing clinical trials to begin. Furthermore, product candidates are subject to continued preclinical safety studies, which may be conducted concurrent with our clinical testing. The outcomes of these safety studies may delay the launch of or enrollment in future clinical trials and could impact our ability to continue to conduct our clinical trials.

              Clinical testing is expensive, is difficult to design and implement, can take many years to complete and is uncertain as to outcome. We cannot guarantee that any clinical trials will be conducted as planned or completed on schedule, or at all. A failure of one or more clinical trials can occur at any stage of testing, which may result from a multitude of factors, including, but not limited to, flaws in trial design, dose selection issues, participant enrollment criteria and failure to demonstrate favorable safety or efficacy traits.

              Events that may prevent successful or timely completion of clinical development include:

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delays in reaching a consensus with regulatory authorities on trial design;



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delays in reaching agreement on acceptable terms with prospective CROs and clinical trial sites;



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delays related to COVID-19 disruptions at CROs, CMOs, and/or clinical trial sites;



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delays in opening clinical trial sites or obtaining required IRB or IBC approval, or the equivalent review groups for ex-U.S. sites, at each clinical trial site;



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imposition of a clinical hold by regulatory authorities, including as a result of a serious adverse event or after an inspection of our clinical trial operations or trial sites;



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failure by us, any CROs we engage, or any other third parties to adhere to clinical trial requirements;



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failure to perform in accordance with GCP;



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failure by physicians to adhere to delivery protocols leading to variable results;



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failure of our delivery approach in humans;



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delays in the testing, validation, manufacturing and delivery of our product candidates to the clinical sites, including delays by third parties with whom we have contracted to perform certain of those functions;



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delays in having enrolled participants complete their participation in a trial or return for post-administration follow-up;



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clinical trial sites or participants dropping out of a trial;



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selection of clinical endpoints that require prolonged periods of clinical observation or analysis of the resulting data;



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ambiguous or negative interim results;



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occurrence of serious adverse events associated with the product candidate or administration of the product candidate that are viewed to outweigh its potential benefits;



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occurrence of serious adverse events or other unexpected events in trials of the same class of agents conducted by other sponsors;

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•

changes in regulatory requirements and guidance that require amending or submitting new clinical trial protocols; or



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lack of adequate funding to continue the clinical trial.

              Any inability to successfully complete preclinical studies and clinical trials could result in additional costs to us or impair our ability to generate revenues from product sales, regulatory and commercialization milestones and royalties. In addition, if we make manufacturing or formulation changes to our product candidates, we may need to conduct additional studies or trials to bridge our modified product candidates to earlier versions. Clinical trial delays also could shorten any periods during which we may have the exclusive right to commercialize our product candidates or allow our competitors to bring products to market before we do, which could impair our ability to successfully commercialize our product candidates and may harm our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects.

If we experience delays or difficulties in participant enrollment for clinical trials, our research and development efforts and the receipt of necessary regulatory approvals could be significantly delayed or prevented.

              Identifying and qualifying individuals to participate in clinical trials of our product candidates is critical to our success. We may not be able to identify, recruit, and enroll a sufficient number of participants, or those with required or desired characteristics, to complete our clinical trials in a timely manner. Any delay or difficulty in participant enrollment could significantly delay or otherwise hinder our research and development efforts and delay or prevent receipt of necessary regulatory approvals.

              Participant enrollment and trial completion is affected by factors including:

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perceived risks and benefits of a small virus commonly used in gene therapy, known as adeno-associated virus, or AAV, genetic medicine-based approaches for the potential treatment of inner ear disorders;



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size of the patient population and process for identifying potential trial participants;



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design of the trial;



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inclusion and exclusion criteria;



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perceived risks and benefits of the product candidate under study;



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availability of competing therapies and clinical trials;



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severity of the disorder under investigation;



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availability of genetic testing for potential participants;



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proximity and availability of clinical trial sites for potential participants;



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ability to obtain and maintain informed consent;



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risk that enrolled participants will drop out before completion of the trial;



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the commitment of our clinical investigators to identify potential participants;



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our inability to locate and appropriately train physicians to conduct such clinical trials;



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patient referral practices of physicians;



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ability to monitor participants adequately during and after product candidate administration; and



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ability to recruit and retain trial participants due to other unforeseen circumstances.

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              Genetic medicine programs are initially targeting orphan diseases with relatively small populations, which limits the pool of potential participants subjects for our genetic medicine clinical trials. Because genetic medicine trials generally require participants who have not previously received any other genetic medicine or potentially other pharmacological therapeutics for the same indication, we will also need to compete with others who are also developing genetic medicines or pharmacologic therapeutics for these same indications for the same group of potential clinical trial participants. This competition could reduce the number and types of potential participants available to us, as some potential participants who might have opted to enroll in our clinical trials may instead opt to enroll in one being conducted by one of our competitors. In addition, individuals may also be unwilling to participate in our clinical trials because of negative publicity from adverse events in the biotechnology or biopharmaceutical industries, particularly to the extent that such negative publicity is related to genetic medicines. Challenges in recruiting and enrolling sufficient numbers of suitable participants in clinical trials could increase costs, affect the timing and outcome of our planned clinical trial or future clinical trials and result in delays to our current development plan for our product candidates. If we have difficulty enrolling a sufficient number of individuals to conduct our clinical trials as planned, we may need to delay, limit, or terminate ongoing or planned clinical trials, any of which would harm our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects.

Genetic medicine is an emerging field of drug development that poses many risks. We have only limited prior experience in genetic medicine research and no prior experience in genetic medicine clinical development. Our lack of experience and the limited patient populations for our genetic medicine programs may limit our ability to be successful or may delay our development efforts.

              Genetic medicine is an emerging field of drug development with a limited number of genetic medicines having received regulatory approval to date. Our genetic medicine research and development programs are at an early stage and there remain several areas of drug development risk, which pose particular uncertainty for our programs given the relatively limited development history of, and our limited prior experience with, genetic medicines. Translational science, manufacturing materials and processes, safety concerns, regulatory pathway and clinical trial design and execution all pose particular risk to our drug development activities. Furthermore, the medical community's understanding of the genetic causes of many diseases continues to evolve and further research may change the medical community's views on what therapies and approaches are most effective for addressing certain diseases.

              As an organization, we have not previously conducted any clinical trials. We have begun to establish our own genetic medicine technical capabilities, but we will need to continue to expand those capabilities by either hiring internally or seeking assistance from outside service providers. Genetic medicine is an area of significant investment by biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies and there may be a scarcity of talent available to us in these areas. If we are not able to expand our genetic medicine capabilities, we may not be able to develop in the way we intend or desire any promising product candidates that emerge from our program or our other collaborative genetic medicine sponsored research programs, which would limit our prospects for future growth. We may require more time and incur greater costs than our competitors and may not succeed in obtaining regulatory approvals of product candidates that we develop. Failure to commence or complete, or delays in, our planned clinical trial or future clinical trials, could prevent us from or delay us in commercializing our product candidates.

              As we prepare for the potential initiation of our first genetic medicine clinical trial, we will need to build our internal and external capabilities in designing and executing a genetic medicine clinical trial. There are many known and unknown risks involved in translating preclinical development of gene therapies to clinical development, including selecting appropriate endpoints and dosage levels for dosing humans based on preclinical data. If we are unable to initiate and conduct our genetic

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medicine clinical trials in a manner that satisfies our expectations or regulatory requirements, the value of our genetic medicine programs may be diminished.

Our proprietary AAV genetic medicine product candidates are based on a relatively novel technology, which makes it difficult to predict the time and cost of development and of subsequently obtaining regulatory approval, if at all.

              We have concentrated our therapeutic product research and development efforts on our genetic medicine platform. Our future success is almost entirely dependent on this therapeutic approach. Because our genetic medicine candidates are based on relatively novel technology, development problems we experience in the future related to our genetic medicine platform may be difficult to solve and may cause delays and unanticipated costs. We may also experience delays in developing a sustainable, reproducible and scalable manufacturing process or transferring that process to commercial partners, which may prevent us from initiating or conducting clinical trials or commercializing our products on a timely or profitable basis, if at all.

              In addition, the clinical trial requirements of the FDA, the EMA, and other regulatory agencies and the criteria these regulators use to determine the safety and efficacy of a product candidate vary substantially according to the type, complexity, novelty, and intended use and market of the potential products. The regulatory approval process for novel product candidates such as ours can be more expensive and take longer than for other, better known or extensively studied therapeutic approaches or biopharmaceutical or other product candidates.

              The first approvals of gene therapy products by the FDA only occurred in 2017. As a result, it is difficult to determine how long it will take or how much it will cost to obtain regulatory approvals for our product candidates in either the United States or the European Union, or how long it will take to commercialize any product candidate that receives marketing approval.

Our product candidates or the process for administering our product candidates may cause undesirable side effects or have other properties that could delay or prevent their regulatory approval, limit their commercial potential or result in significant negative consequences following any potential marketing approval.

              In past clinical trials that were conducted by others with non-AAV vectors, several significant side effects were caused by gene therapy product candidates, including reported cases of leukemia and death. Other potential side effects associated with both AAV and non-AAV vectors could include immunologic reactions or insertional oncogenesis, which is the process whereby the insertion of a functional gene near a gene that is important in cell growth or division results in uncontrolled cell division, which could potentially enhance the risk of malignant transformation. If our vectors demonstrate a similar adverse effect, or other adverse events, we may be required to halt or delay further clinical development of our product candidates.

              In addition to side effects caused by the product candidate itself, the administration process also can cause side effects. As part of our genetic medicine platform, we are developing a surgical delivery device to administer our product candidates to the inner ear. Although the procedure we have developed is based on a common technique for treatment to the outer ear, it requires training in order to administer. Moreover, any surgical procedure runs risks related to infection and damage to parts of the body adjacent to the treated area. In addition, until we are able to test the device and procedure on humans, we cannot be certain that our delivery mechanism will be successful. If side effects were to occur in connection with the surgical procedure during our planned clinical trial or if we fail to successfully apply our delivery approach in humans, our clinical trial could be suspended or terminated.

              If in the future we are unable to demonstrate that such side effects were not caused by our product candidates or the related procedures, the FDA could order us to cease further development of, or deny approval of, our product candidates for any or all targeted indications. Even if we are able to

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demonstrate that any future serious adverse events are not product-related, and regulatory authorities do not order us to cease further development of our product candidates, such occurrences could cause our reputation to suffer and affect patient recruitment or the ability of enrolled participants to complete the trial. Moreover, if we elect, or are required, to delay, suspend, or terminate any clinical trial of any of our product candidates, the commercial prospects of such product candidates may be harmed and our ability to generate product revenues from any of these product candidates may be delayed or eliminated. Any of these occurrences may harm our ability to develop other product candidates, and may harm our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects significantly.

              Regulatory approval of and/or demand for our potential products will depend in part on public acceptance of the use of genetic medicine for the prevention or treatment of human diseases. Public attitudes may be influenced by claims that genetic medicines are unsafe, unethical or immoral, and consequently, our products may not gain the acceptance of the public or the medical community. Adverse public attitudes may adversely impact our ability to enroll clinical trials. Moreover, our success will depend upon physicians prescribing, and their patients being willing to receive, treatments that involve the use of product candidates we may develop. In 1999, there was public backlash against the field of gene therapy following the death of a participant in a clinical trial, which utilized a different type of gene therapy product candidate vector, from an extreme type of immune response that can be life-threatening. Any of these events could prevent us from achieving or maintaining market acceptance of our product candidates and could significantly harm our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects.

The outcome of preclinical studies and earlier-stage clinical trials may not be predictive of future results or the success of later-stage clinical trials.

              The results of preclinical studies may not be predictive of the results of clinical trials, and the results of any early-stage clinical trials we commence may not be predictive of the results of the later-stage clinical trials or from clinical trials of the same product candidates in other indications. In addition, initial success in clinical trials may not be indicative of results obtained when such trials are completed. For example, even if successful, the results of our planned Phase 1/2 clinical trial of AK-OTOF may not be predictive of the results of further clinical trials of this product candidate or any of our other product candidates. Moreover, preclinical and clinical data are often susceptible to varying interpretations and analyses, and many companies that have believed their product candidates performed satisfactorily in preclinical studies and clinical trials have nonetheless failed to obtain marketing approval of their products. Our future clinical trials may not ultimately be successful or support further clinical development of any of our product candidates. There is a high failure rate for product candidates proceeding through clinical trials, and because our genetic medicine product candidates are based on a relatively novel technology the likelihood of success is harder to determine. A number of companies in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries have suffered significant setbacks in clinical development even after achieving encouraging results in earlier studies. Any such setbacks in our clinical development could materially harm our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects.

Interim top-line and preliminary results from our clinical trials that we announce or publish from time to time may change as more participant data become available and are subject to audit and verification procedures, which could result in material changes in the final data.

              From time to time, we may publish interim top-line or preliminary results from our clinical trials. Interim results from clinical trials that we may complete are subject to the risk that one or more of the clinical outcomes may materially change as participant enrollment continues and more participant data become available. We also make assumptions, estimations, calculations, and conclusions

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as part of our analyses of data, and we may not have received or had the opportunity to fully evaluate all data. Preliminary or top-line results 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. Additionally, preliminary data from clinical trials that we may complete are subject to the risk that one or more of the clinical outcomes may materially change as patient enrollment continues and more patient data become available. As a result, interim and preliminary data should be viewed with caution until the final data are available. Differences between preliminary or interim data and final data could be material and could significantly harm our business prospects and may cause the trading price of our common stock to fluctuate significantly.

We may not be successful in our efforts to identify or discover additional potential product candidates.

              A key element of our strategy is to apply our genetic medicine platform to address a broad array of targets and new therapeutic areas. The discovery activities that we are conducting may not be successful in identifying product candidates that are useful in restoring, improving, or preserving physiologic hearing. The process by which we identify product candidates may fail to yield product candidates for clinical development for a number of reasons, including those discussed in these risk factors and also:

•

we may not be able to assemble sufficient resources to acquire or discover additional product candidates;



•

competitors may develop alternatives that render our potential product candidates obsolete or less attractive;



•

potential product candidates we develop may nevertheless be covered by third parties' patents or other exclusive rights;



•

potential product candidates may, on further study, be shown to have harmful side effects, toxicities or other characteristics that indicate that they are unlikely to be products that will receive marketing approval and achieve market acceptance;



•

potential product candidates may not be effective in treating their targeted disorders;



•

the market for a potential product candidate may change so that the continued development of that product candidate is no longer reasonable;



•

a potential product candidate may not be capable of being produced in commercial quantities at an acceptable cost, or at all; or



•

the regulatory pathway for a potential product candidate is too complex and difficult to navigate successfully or economically.

              In addition, we may choose to focus our efforts and resources on a potential product candidate that ultimately proves to be unsuccessful. As a result, we may fail to capitalize on viable commercial products or profitable market opportunities, be required to forego or delay pursuit of opportunities with other product candidates or other diseases that may later prove to have greater commercial potential, or relinquish valuable rights to such product candidates through collaboration, licensing or other royalty arrangements in cases in which it would have been advantageous for us to retain sole development and commercialization rights. If we are unable to identify additional suitable product candidates for clinical development, this would adversely impact our business strategy, financial position, results of operations, prospects, and share price and could potentially cause us to cease operations.

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Clinical trial and product liability lawsuits against us could divert our resources, could cause us to incur substantial liabilities and could limit commercialization of our product candidates.

              We face an inherent risk of clinical trial and product liability exposure related to the testing of our product candidates in clinical trials, and we will face an even greater risk if we commercially sell any products that we may develop. While we currently have no products that have been approved for commercial sale, the current and future use of product candidates by us in clinical trials, and the sale of any approved products in the future, may expose us to liability claims. These claims might be made by patients that use the product, healthcare providers, pharmaceutical companies or others selling such products. If we cannot successfully defend ourselves against claims that our product candidates or products caused injuries, we will incur substantial liabilities. Regardless of merit or eventual outcome, liability claims may result in:

•

decreased demand for our product candidates;



•

injury to our reputation and significant negative media attention;



•

withdrawal of clinical trial participants;



•

significant costs to defend any related litigation;



•

substantial monetary awards to trial participants or patients;



•

loss of revenue;



•

reduced resources of our management to pursue our business strategy; and



•

the inability to commercialize our product candidates.

              We will need to increase our insurance coverage as we commence our clinical trials or if we commence commercialization of any product candidates. Insurance coverage is increasingly expensive. We may not be able to maintain insurance coverage at a reasonable cost or in an amount adequate to satisfy any liability that may arise. If a successful clinical trial or product liability claim or series of claims is brought against us for uninsured liabilities or in excess of insured liabilities, our assets may not be sufficient to cover such claims and our business operations could be impaired.

Risks Relating to Manufacturing

The manufacture of genetic medicine products is complex and difficult and is subject to a number of scientific and technical risks, some of which are common to the manufacture of drugs and biologics and others of which are unique to the manufacture of gene therapies. We could experience manufacturing problems that result in delays in our development or commercialization programs.

              Genetic medicine drug products are complex and difficult to manufacture. For our preclinical studies of AK-OTOF and our planned Phase 1/2 clinical trial of AK-OTOF, we will rely on the manufacturing facility of Lonza Houston, Inc., or Lonza, for supply of our product candidates. In addition to Lonza, we also rely upon other CROs and CMOs for providing certain materials for the manufacturing process. We plan to establish our own manufacturing facility for long-term commercial market supply.

              We believe that the high demand for clinical genetic medicine material and a scarcity of potential contract manufacturers may cause long lead times for establishing manufacturing capabilities for genetic medicine drug development activities. Even after a manufacturer is engaged, any problems that arise during manufacturing process development may result in unanticipated delays to our timelines, including delays attributable to securing additional manufacturing slots. There may also be long lead times to manufacture or procure starting materials such as plasmids and cell lines, especially for high-quality starting materials that are cGMP compliant. In particular, plasmids, cell lines and other

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starting materials for genetic medicine manufacture are usually sole sourced, as there are a limited number of qualified suppliers. The progress of our genetic medicine programs is highly dependent on these suppliers providing us or our contract manufacturer with the necessary starting materials that meet our requirements in a timely manner. A failure to procure or a shortage of necessary starting materials likely would delay our manufacturing and development timelines.

              Problems with the manufacturing process, including even minor deviations from the normal process, could result in product defects or manufacturing failures that result in lot failures, product recalls, product liability claims and insufficient inventory. If we successfully develop product candidates, we may encounter problems achieving adequate quantities and quality of clinical-grade materials that meet FDA or other applicable standards or specifications with consistent and acceptable production yields and costs.

              A number of factors common to the manufacturing of biologics and drugs could also cause production issues or interruptions for gene therapies, including raw material or starting material variability in terms of quality, cell line viability, productivity or stability issues, shortages of any kind, shipping, distribution, storage and supply chain failures, growth media contamination, equipment malfunctions, operator errors, facility contamination, labor problems, natural disasters, public health epidemics, disruption in utility services, terrorist activities, or acts of god that are beyond our or our contract manufacturer's control. It is often the case that early stage process development is conducted with materials that are not manufactured using cGMP starting materials, techniques or processes and which are not subject to the same level of analysis that would be required for clinical grade material. We may encounter difficulties in translating the manufacturing processes used to produce research grade materials to cGMP compliant processes, and any changes in the manufacturing process may affect the safety and efficacy profile of our product candidates.

              In addition, the FDA and comparable regulatory authorities in other jurisdictions may require us to submit samples of any lot of any approved product together with the protocols showing the results of applicable tests at any time. Under some circumstances, the FDA or comparable regulatory authorities in other jurisdictions may prohibit the distribution of a lot until the agency authorizes its release. Slight deviations in the manufacturing process, including those affecting quality attributes and stability, may result in unacceptable changes in the product that could result in lot failures and product recalls.

              Given the nature of biologics manufacturing, there is a risk of contamination during manufacturing. Any contamination could materially harm our ability to produce product candidates on schedule and could harm our results of operations and cause reputational damage. Some of the raw materials that we anticipate will be required in our manufacturing process are derived from biologic sources. Such raw materials are difficult to procure and may be subject to contamination or recall. A material shortage, contamination, recall, or restriction on the use of biologically derived substances in the manufacture of any product candidates we may develop could adversely impact or disrupt the commercial manufacturing or the production of clinical material, which could materially harm our development timelines and our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects.

              An important part of manufacturing drug products is performing analytical testing. Analytical testing of gene therapies involves tests that are more numerous, more complex in scope and take a longer time to develop and to conduct as compared to traditional drugs. We and our contract manufacturer need to expend considerable time and resources to develop assays and other analytical tests for our genetic medicine product candidates, including assays to assess the titer and potency of our genetic medicine product candidates. Some assays need to be outsourced to specialized testing laboratories. Even when assays are developed, they need to be further tested, or qualified, or validated depending on the nature of the assay and the stage of product candidate development, which may take substantial time and resources. Because of the lagging nature of analytical testing, we may proceed with

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additional manufacturing and other development activities without having first fully characterized our manufactured materials. If the results of the testing fail to meet our expectations, we may need to delay or repeat certain manufacturing and development activities.

Changes in methods of product candidate manufacturing or formulation may result in additional costs or delay.

              As product candidates proceed through preclinical studies to late-stage clinical trials towards potential approval and commercialization, it is common that various aspects of the development program, such as manufacturing methods and formulation, are altered along the way in an effort to optimize processes and results. Such changes carry the risk that they will not achieve these intended objectives. Any of these changes could cause our product candidates to perform differently and affect the results of our planned clinical trial or future clinical trials conducted with the materials manufactured using altered processes. Such changes may also require additional testing, FDA notification or FDA approval. This could delay completion of clinical trials, require the conduct of bridging clinical trials or the repetition of one or more clinical trials, increase clinical trial costs, delay approval of our product candidates and jeopardize our ability to commence sales and generate revenue.

We depend on third-party suppliers for materials used in the manufacture of our product candidates, and the loss of these third-party suppliers or their inability to supply us with adequate materials could harm our business.

              We rely on third-party suppliers for certain materials and components required for the production of our product candidates. Our dependence on these third-party suppliers and the challenges we may face in obtaining adequate supplies of materials involve several risks, including limited control over pricing, availability, and quality and delivery schedules. There is substantial demand and limited supply for certain of the raw materials used to manufacture genetic medicine products. As a small company, our negotiation leverage is limited, and we are likely to get lower priority than other companies that are larger than we are. We cannot be certain that our suppliers will continue to provide us with the quantities of these raw materials that we require or satisfy our anticipated specifications and quality requirements. Any supply interruption in limited or sole sourced raw materials could materially harm our ability to manufacture our product candidates until a new source of supply, if any, could be identified and qualified. We may be unable to find a sufficient alternative supply channel in a reasonable time or on commercially reasonable terms. Any performance failure on the part of our suppliers could delay the development and potential commercialization of our product candidates, including limiting supplies necessary for clinical trials and regulatory approvals, which would have a material adverse effect on our business.

Risks Related to Our Dependence on Third Parties

We rely, and expect to continue to rely, on third parties to conduct some or all aspects of our product manufacturing, protocol development, research and preclinical and clinical testing, and these third parties may not successfully perform their obligations to us.

              We do not expect to independently conduct all aspects of our product manufacturing, protocol development, research and preclinical and clinical testing. We currently rely, and expect to continue to rely, on third parties with respect to many of these items. While we are planning to build our own cGMP manufacturing facility, we cannot be sure when this facility will be available for cGMP manufacturing, if at all, and, even if it is available for cGMP manufacturing, that we will be able to manufacture at commercial scale. In addition, we currently rely, and expect to continue to rely, on a third-party CMO for the manufacture of our delivery device.

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              Any of these third parties may terminate their engagements with us at any time. If we need to enter into alternative arrangements, it could delay our product development activities. Our reliance on these third parties for research and development activities will reduce our control over these activities but will not relieve us of our responsibility to ensure compliance with all required regulations and study protocols. For example, for product candidates that we develop and commercialize on our own, we will remain responsible for ensuring that each of our IND-enabling studies and clinical trials are conducted in accordance with the study plan and protocols. We compete with many other companies for the resources of these third parties. These third parties may have contractual relationships with other entities, some of which may be our competitors, which may draw time and resources from our product candidates. The third parties with whom we contract might not be diligent, careful or timely in conducting our preclinical studies or clinical trials, resulting in the preclinical studies or clinical trials being delayed or unsuccessful.

              If these third parties do not successfully carry out their contractual duties, meet expected deadlines or conduct our studies in accordance with regulatory requirements or our stated study plans and trial protocols, we will not be able to complete, or may be delayed in completing, the preclinical studies and clinical trials required to support future IND submissions and approval of our product candidates.

              Reliance on third-party manufacturers entails risks to which we would not be subject if we manufactured the product candidates ourselves, including:

•

the inability to negotiate manufacturing agreements with third parties under commercially reasonable terms;



•

reduced control as a result of using third-party manufacturers for all aspects of manufacturing activities;



•

termination or nonrenewal of manufacturing agreements with third parties in a manner or at a time that is costly or damaging to us; and



•

disruptions to the operations of our third-party manufacturers or suppliers caused by conditions unrelated to our business or operations, including the bankruptcy of the manufacturer or supplier.

              Any of these events could lead to clinical trial delays or failure to obtain regulatory approval or impact our ability to successfully commercialize future products. Some of these events could be the basis for FDA action, including injunction, recall, seizure or total or partial suspension of production.

We and our contract manufacturer are subject to significant regulation with respect to manufacturing our products. The manufacturing facilities on which we rely may not continue to meet regulatory requirements and have limited capacity.

              All entities involved in the preparation of therapeutics for clinical trials or commercial sale, including our existing contract manufacturer for our product candidates, are subject to extensive regulation. Components of a finished therapeutic product approved for commercial sale or used in late-stage clinical trials must be manufactured in accordance with cGMP. These regulations govern manufacturing processes and procedures (including record keeping) and the implementation and operation of quality systems to control and assure the quality of investigational products and products approved for sale. Poor control of production processes can lead to the introduction of adventitious agents or other contaminants or to inadvertent changes in the properties or stability of our product candidates that may not be detectable in final product testing. We or our contract manufacturer must supply all necessary documentation in support of a BLA on a timely basis and must adhere to the FDA's good laboratory practices, or GLP, and cGMP regulations enforced by the FDA through its facilities inspection program. Our facilities and quality systems and the facilities and quality systems of

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some or all of our third-party contractors must pass a pre-approval inspection for compliance with the applicable regulations as a condition of regulatory approval of our product candidates or any of our other potential products. In addition, the regulatory authorities may, at any time, audit or inspect a manufacturing facility involved with the preparation of our product candidates or our other potential products or the associated quality systems for compliance with the regulations applicable to the activities being conducted. If these facilities do not pass a pre-approval plant inspection, FDA approval of the products will not be granted.

              The regulatory authorities also may, at any time following approval of a product for sale, audit our manufacturing facilities or those of our third-party contractors. If any such inspection or audit identifies a failure to comply with applicable regulations or if a violation of our product specifications or applicable regulations occurs independent of such an inspection or audit, we or the relevant regulatory authority may require remedial measures that may be costly and/or time-consuming for us or a third party to implement and that may include the temporary or permanent suspension of a clinical trial or commercial sales or the temporary or permanent closure of a facility. Any such remedial measures imposed upon us or third parties with whom we contract could materially harm our business.

              If we or any of our third-party manufacturers fail to maintain regulatory compliance, the FDA can impose regulatory sanctions including, among other things, refusal to approve a pending application for a new drug product or biologic product, or revocation of a pre-existing approval. As a result, our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects may be materially harmed.

              Additionally, if supply from one approved manufacturer is interrupted, there could be a significant disruption in supply. An alternative manufacturer would need to be qualified through a BLA supplement which could result in further delay. The regulatory agencies may also require additional studies or trials if a new manufacturer is relied upon for commercial production. Switching manufacturers may involve substantial costs and is likely to result in a delay in our desired clinical and commercial timelines.

              These factors could cause the delay of clinical trials, regulatory submissions, required approvals or commercialization of our product candidates, cause us to incur higher costs and prevent us from commercializing our products successfully. Furthermore, if our suppliers fail to meet contractual requirements, and we are unable to secure one or more replacement suppliers capable of production at a substantially equivalent cost, our clinical trials may be delayed, or we could lose potential revenue.

We expect to rely on third parties to conduct, supervise and monitor our clinical trials, and if these third parties perform in an unsatisfactory manner, it may harm our business.

              We expect to rely on CROs and clinical trial sites to ensure our clinical trials are conducted properly and on time and we expect to have limited influence over their actual performance. We will control only certain aspects of our CROs' activities. Nevertheless, we will be responsible for ensuring that each of our clinical trials is conducted in accordance with the applicable protocol, legal, regulatory and scientific standards, and our reliance on the CROs does not relieve us of our regulatory responsibilities.

              We and our CROs will be required to comply with GCPs for conducting, recording, and reporting the results of clinical trials to assure that the data and reported results are credible and accurate and that the rights, integrity, and confidentiality of clinical trial participants are protected. The FDA enforces these GCPs through periodic inspections of sponsors, principal investigators, and clinical sites. If we or our CROs fail to comply with applicable GCPs, the clinical data generated in our future clinical trials may be deemed unreliable and the FDA may require us to perform additional clinical trials before approving any marketing applications. Upon inspection, the FDA may determine that our clinical trials did not comply with GCPs. In addition, our future clinical trials will require a sufficient number of participants to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of our product candidates. Accordingly,

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if our CROs fail to comply with these regulations or fail to recruit a sufficient number of participants, we may be required to repeat such clinical trials, which would delay the regulatory approval process.

              Our CROs are not our employees, and we are therefore unable to directly monitor whether or not they devote sufficient time and resources to our clinical programs. These CROs may also have relationships with other commercial entities, including our competitors, for whom they may also be conducting clinical trials or other drug development activities that could harm our competitive position. If our CROs do not successfully carry out their contractual duties or obligations, fail to meet expected deadlines, or if the quality or accuracy of the clinical data they obtain is compromised due to the failure to adhere to our clinical protocols or regulatory requirements, or for any other reasons, our clinical trials may be extended, delayed or terminated, and we may not be able to obtain regulatory approval for, 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 revenues could be delayed.

              The federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, as amended by Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act of 2009, and their respective implementing regulations, impose obligations on "covered entities," including certain healthcare providers, health plans, and healthcare clearinghouses, as well as their respective "business associates" that create, receive, maintain, or transmit individually identifiable health information for or on behalf of a covered entity, with respect to safeguarding the privacy, security, and transmission of individually identifiable health information. Such obligations may require us to pass certain obligations on to our CROs or other third parties with whom we do business, including transferal of personal information or individually identifiable health information.

Risks Related to Commercialization

We face substantial competition, which may result in others discovering, developing or commercializing products before or more successfully than we do.

              The development and commercialization of new drug products is highly competitive. We face competition with respect to our current product candidates from major pharmaceutical companies, specialty pharmaceutical companies and biotechnology companies worldwide. There are a number of large pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies that currently market and sell products or are pursuing the development of products for the treatment of many of the disorders for which we are developing our product candidates. Some of these competitive products and therapies are based on scientific approaches that are the same as or similar to our approach, and others are based on entirely different approaches. Potential competitors also include academic institutions, government agencies and other public and private research organizations that conduct research, seek patent protection and establish collaborative arrangements for research, development, manufacturing and commercialization.

              While many companies focus on gene therapies targeting blood, eye, muscle, and neurologic disorders, we are aware of certain companies with active development programs in the hearing space. Decibel Therapeutics, Inc. is focused on hearing and balance disorders. Decibel's lead therapeutic candidate is being investigated for the prevention of ototoxicity associated with cisplatin chemotherapy. Decibel has announced a potential gene therapy for OTOF congenital deafness. In 2017, Decibel announced that it would include one of its product candidates in its strategic collaboration with Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. whereby Decibel retains worldwide development and commercial rights.

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              Frequency Therapeutics, Inc. is developing small-molecule therapeutics to selectively activate progenitor cells. Frequency's lead program is focused on regenerating hair cells through activation of progenitor cells for sensorineural hearing loss and is currently in Phase 2 trials. In 2019, Frequency announced a partnership with Astellas Pharma Inc. under which Astellas agreed to oversee development and commercialization of its lead program worldwide, except the United States, where Frequency will assume those responsibilities.

              Otonomy, Inc. and Applied Genetic Technologies Corporation have entered into a strategic collaboration to co-develop and co-commercialize an AAV-based gene therapy to restore hearing in individuals with sensorineural hearing loss caused by a mutation in the GJB2 gene. This program is in preclinical development.

              Sensorion SA is focused on developing potential therapies for inner ear disorders. Sensorion has announced a collaboration with Institut Pasteur in gene therapy programs targeting hearing loss. The company has two preclinical gene therapy programs targeting the Usher Syndrome Type I and OTOF-deficiency.

              See "Business—Competition" for additional information regarding competing products and product candidates.

              Our commercial opportunity could be reduced or eliminated if our competitors develop and commercialize products that are safer, more effective, have fewer or less severe side effects, are more convenient, or are less expensive than our product candidates, or that would render any product candidates that we may develop obsolete or non-competitive. Our competitors also may obtain FDA or other regulatory approval for their product candidates more rapidly than we may obtain approval for ours, or may obtain regulatory exclusivity, any of which could result in our competitors establishing a strong market position before we are able to enter the market.

              Many of the companies against which we are competing or against which we may compete in the future have significantly greater financial resources and expertise in research and development, manufacturing, preclinical testing, conducting clinical trials, obtaining regulatory approvals, and marketing approved products than we do. Furthermore, mergers and acquisitions in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries may result in even more resources being concentrated among a smaller number of our competitors.

Even if any product candidate receives marketing approval, it may fail to achieve the degree of market acceptance by physicians, patients, patient advocacy groups, third-party payors and others in the medical community necessary for commercial success.

              If any product candidate receives marketing approval, it may nonetheless fail to gain sufficient market acceptance by physicians, patients, patient advocacy groups, third-party payors, and others in the medical community. Sales of medical products depend in part on the willingness of physicians to prescribe the treatment, which is likely to be based on a determination by these physicians that the products are safe, therapeutically effective and cost-effective. In addition, the inclusion or exclusion of products from treatment guidelines established by various physician groups and the viewpoints of influential physicians can affect the willingness of other physicians to prescribe the treatment. We cannot predict whether physicians, physicians' organizations, hospitals, other healthcare providers, government agencies, or private insurers will determine that our product is safe, therapeutically effective and cost-effective as compared with competing treatments. Efforts to educate those in the hearing health community and third-party payors on the benefits of our product candidates may require significant resources and may not be successful. If our product candidates do not achieve an adequate level of acceptance, we may not generate significant product revenues and we may not become

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profitable. The degree of market acceptance of our product candidates, if approved for commercial sale, will depend on a number of factors, including:

•

the efficacy and potential advantages compared to alternative treatments;



•

the effectiveness of sales and marketing efforts;



•

the cost of treatment in relation to alternative treatments;



•

the clinical indications for which the product is approved;



•

the convenience and ease of administration compared to alternative treatments;



•

the willingness of the target patient population to try new therapies and of physicians to prescribe these therapies;



•

the strength of marketing and distribution support;



•

the timing of market introduction of competitive products;



•

the availability of third-party coverage and adequate reimbursement, and patients' willingness to pay out of pocket for required co-payments or in the absence of third-party coverage or adequate reimbursement;



•

the prevalence and severity of any side effects;



•

publication of any post-approval data on the effectiveness and safety of the product; and



•

any restrictions on the use of our products, if approved, together with other medications.

If we are unable to establish sales, marketing and distribution capabilities or enter into sales, marketing and distribution agreements with third parties, we may not be successful in commercializing our product candidates if and when they are approved.

              We currently have no sales, marketing or commercial product distribution capabilities and have no experience in commercializing products. To achieve commercial success for any product for which we have obtained marketing approval, we will need to establish a sales, marketing and distribution organization, either ourselves or through collaborations or other arrangements with third parties.

              In the future, we expect to build a sales and marketing infrastructure to market some of our product candidates in the United States and the European Union. There are costs and risks involved with establishing our own sales, marketing and distribution capabilities. For example, recruiting and training a sales force is expensive and time-consuming and could delay any product launch. If the commercial launch of a product candidate for which we recruit a sales force and establish marketing capabilities is delayed or does not occur for any reason, we would have prematurely or unnecessarily incurred these commercialization expenses. These efforts may be costly, and our investment would be lost if we cannot retain or reposition our sales and marketing personnel. We must also compete with other biotechnology and biopharmaceutical companies to recruit, hire, train and retain marketing and sales personnel.

              Factors that may inhibit our efforts to commercialize our products on our own include:

•

our inability to recruit, train and retain adequate numbers of effective sales, marketing, coverage or reimbursement, customer service, medical affairs and other support personnel;



•

the inability of sales personnel to educate adequate numbers of physicians on the benefits of any future products;



•

the inability of reimbursement professionals to negotiate arrangements for formulary access, reimbursement and other acceptance by payors;

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•

the inability to price our products at a sufficient price point to ensure an adequate and attractive level of profitability;



•

restricted or closed distribution channels that make it difficult to distribute our products to segments of the patient population;



•

the lack of complementary products to be offered by sales personnel, which may put us at a competitive disadvantage relative to companies with more extensive product lines;



•

unforeseen costs and expenses associated with creating an independent sales and marketing organization; and



•

unforeseen issues impacting supply, distribution, sales, and marketing.

              If we are unable to establish our own sales, marketing, and distribution capabilities and we enter into arrangements with third parties to perform these services, our product revenues and our profitability, if any, are likely to be lower than if we were to market, sell and distribute any products that we develop ourselves. In addition, we may not be successful in entering into arrangements with third parties to sell, market and distribute our product candidates or may be unable to do so on terms that are acceptable to us. We likely will have little control over such third parties, and any of them may fail to devote the necessary resources and attention to sell and market our products effectively. There can be no assurance that we will be able to develop in-house sales, marketing and distribution capacities or establish or maintain relationships with third parties to perform these services. As a result, we may not successfully commercialize any product in any jurisdiction.

Risks Related to Our Intellectual Property

If we are unable to obtain and maintain adequate intellectual property protection and regulatory exclusivity for our products and technology, or if the scope of the intellectual property protection and regulatory exclusivity obtained is not sufficiently broad, our competitors could develop and commercialize products and technology similar or identical to ours, and our ability to ultimately successfully commercialize our products and technology may be adversely affected.

              Our success depends, in large part, on our ability to obtain and maintain intellectual property protection in the United States and other countries with respect to our proprietary product candidates and manufacturing technology. We and our licensors have sought, and we intend to continue to seek, to protect our proprietary position by filing patent and trademark applications in the United States and abroad related to many of our novel technologies and product candidates that are important to our business.

              The patent prosecution process is expensive, time-consuming and complex, 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. For example, in some cases, the work of certain academic researchers in the genetic medicine field has entered the public domain, which may compromise our ability to obtain patent protection for certain inventions related to or building upon such prior work. Consequently, we may not be able to obtain any patents to prevent others from using such technology for, and developing and marketing competing products to treat, certain indications. It is also possible that we will fail to identify patentable aspects of our research and development output before it is too late to obtain patent protection.

              The patent position of biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies generally is highly uncertain, involves complex legal and factual questions and has, in recent years, been the subject of much litigation. As a result, 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 which protect our technology or product candidates or which effectively prevent others

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from commercializing competitive technologies and product candidates. Changes in either the patent laws or interpretation of the patent laws in the United States and other countries may diminish the value of our patents or narrow the scope of our patent protection.

              We may not be aware of all third-party intellectual property rights potentially relating to our product candidates. Publications of discoveries in the scientific literature often lag the actual discoveries, and patent applications in the United States and other jurisdictions are typically not published until 18 months after filing or, in some cases, not at all. Therefore, we cannot be certain that we were the first to make the inventions claimed in any owned or any licensed patents or pending patent applications, or that we were the first to file for patent protection of such inventions.

              Even if the patent applications we license or may own in the future do issue as patents, they may not issue in a form that will provide us with any meaningful protection, prevent competitors or other third parties from competing with us or otherwise provide us with any competitive advantage. Our competitors or other third parties may be able to circumvent our patents by developing similar or alternative technologies or products in a non-infringing manner.

              The issuance of a patent is not conclusive as to its inventorship, scope, validity or enforceability, and our patents may be challenged in the courts or patent offices in the United States and abroad. Such challenges may result in loss of exclusivity or in patent claims being narrowed, invalidated or held unenforceable, which could limit our ability to stop others from using or commercializing similar or identical technology and products, or limit the duration of the patent protection of our technology and product candidates.

              In addition, 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 intellectual property may not provide us with sufficient rights to exclude others from commercializing products similar or identical to ours. Moreover, some of our owned and in-licensed patents and patent applications are, or may in the future be, co-owned with third parties. If we are unable to obtain an exclusive license to any such third-party co-owners' interest in such patents or patent applications, such co-owners may be able to license their rights to other third parties, including our competitors, and our competitors could market competing products and technology. In addition, we or our licensors may need the cooperation of any such co-owners of our owned and in-licensed patents in order to enforce such patents against third parties, and such cooperation may not be provided to us or our licensors. Any of the foregoing could have a material adverse effect on our competitive position, business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects.

              We also rely on regulatory exclusivity for protection of our products. Implementation and enforcement of regulatory exclusivity, which may consist of regulatory data protection and market protection, varies widely from country to country. Failure to qualify for regulatory exclusivity, or failure to obtain or maintain the extent or duration of such protections that we expect in each of the markets for our products due to challenges, changes or interpretations in the law or otherwise, could ultimately adversely affect our ability to successfully commercialize any products and technology.

We may not be able to protect our intellectual property rights throughout the world.

              Filing, prosecuting and defending patents on product candidates in all countries throughout the world would be prohibitively expensive, and our intellectual property rights in some countries outside the United States could be less extensive than those in the United States. In addition, the laws of some foreign countries do not protect intellectual property rights to the same extent as federal and state laws in the United States. Consequently, we may not be able to obtain granted patents covering our product candidates in all countries outside the United States and, as a result, may not be able to prevent third parties from practicing our inventions in all countries outside the United States, or from selling or

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importing products made using our inventions in and into the United States or other jurisdictions. Competitors may use our technologies in jurisdictions where we have not obtained patent protection to develop their own products and, further, may export otherwise infringing products to territories where we have patent protection, but enforcement is not as strong as that in the United States. These products may compete with our products and our patents or other intellectual property rights may not be effective or sufficient to prevent them from competing.

              Additionally, many companies have encountered significant problems in protecting and defending intellectual property rights in foreign jurisdictions. The legal systems of certain countries, particularly certain developing countries, do not favor the enforcement of patents, trade secrets and other intellectual property protection, particularly those relating to biotechnology products, which could make it difficult for us to stop the infringement of our patents or marketing of competing products in violation of our proprietary rights generally. For example, an April 2020 report from the Office of the United States Trade Representative identified a number of countries, including China, Russia, Argentina, Chile, Saudi Arabia, Ukraine, Algeria, Indonesia, Venezuela, and India, where challenges to the procurement and enforcement of patent rights have been reported. Proceedings to enforce our patent rights in foreign jurisdictions could result in substantial costs and divert our efforts and attention from other aspects of our business, could put our patents at risk of being invalidated or interpreted narrowly and our patent applications at risk of not issuing and could provoke third parties to assert claims against us. We may not prevail in any lawsuits that we initiate, and the damages or other remedies awarded, if any, may not be commercially meaningful. Accordingly, our efforts to enforce our intellectual property rights around the world may be inadequate to obtain a significant commercial advantage from the intellectual property that we develop or license.

              Many countries have compulsory licensing laws under which a patent owner may be compelled to grant licenses to third parties. In addition, many countries limit the enforceability of patents against government agencies or government contractors. In these countries, the patent owner may have limited remedies, which could materially diminish the value of such patent. If we or any of our licensors is forced to grant a license to third parties with respect to any patents relevant to our business, our competitive position may be impaired, and our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects may be adversely affected.

If we do not obtain patent term extension for our product candidates, our business may be harmed.

              Depending upon the timing, duration, and specifics of any FDA marketing approval of our product candidates, one or more of our U.S. patents may be eligible for limited patent term extension under the Drug Price Competition and Patent Term Restoration Act of 1984, or Hatch-Waxman Amendments. The Hatch-Waxman Amendments permit a patent extension term of up to five years as compensation for patent term lost during the FDA regulatory review process. In the United States, a patent term extension cannot extend the remaining term of a patent beyond a total of 14 years from the date of product approval, only one patent may be extended and only those claims covering the approved drug, a method for using it or a method for manufacturing it may be extended. The European Union also provides for patent term extension through Supplementary Protection Certificates, or SPCs. The rules and requirements for obtaining a SPC are similar to those in the United States. An SPC may extend the term of a patent for up to five years after its originally scheduled expiration date but cannot extend the remaining term of a patent beyond a total of fifteen years from the marketing approval. Although SPCs are available throughout the European Union, sponsors must apply on a country-by-country basis. Similar patent term extension rights exist in certain other foreign jurisdictions outside the European Union. However, we may not be granted an extension because of lack of availability of extension or, for example, failing to exercise due diligence during the testing phase or regulatory review process, failing to apply within applicable deadlines, failing to apply prior to expiration of relevant patents, or otherwise failing to satisfy applicable requirements.

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Moreover, the applicable time period or the scope of patent protection afforded could be less than we request. If we are unable to obtain patent term extension or the term of any such extension is less than we request, our competitors may obtain approval of competing products following our patent expiration, and our revenue could be reduced.

Obtaining and maintaining our patent protection depends on compliance with various procedural, document submission, fee payment and other requirements imposed by government patent agencies, and our patent protection could be reduced or eliminated for non-compliance with these requirements.

              Periodic maintenance fees, renewal fees, annuity fees and various other government fees on patents and/or applications will be due to be paid to the United States Patent and Trademark Office, or USPTO, and various government patent agencies outside of the United States over the lifetime of our licensed patents and/or applications and any patent rights we may own in the future. We rely on our outside counsel and other professionals or our licensing partners to pay these fees due to the USPTO and non-U.S. government patent agencies. The USPTO and various non-U.S. government patent agencies also require compliance with several procedural, documentary, and other similar provisions during the patent application process. We rely on our outside counsel and other professionals to help us comply and we are also dependent on our licensors to take the necessary action to comply with these requirements with respect to our licensed intellectual property. In many cases, an inadvertent lapse can be cured by payment of a late fee or by other means in accordance with the applicable rules. There are situations, however, in which non-compliance can result in abandonment, loss of priority, or lapse of the patent or patent application, resulting in partial or complete loss of patent rights in the relevant jurisdiction. In such an event, potential competitors might be able to enter the market and this circumstance could harm our business.

We may not be successful in obtaining necessary rights to our product candidates through acquisitions and in-licenses.

              We currently have rights to certain intellectual property, through licenses from third parties, to develop our product candidates. Because our programs may require the use of proprietary rights held by third parties, the growth of our business likely will depend, in part, on our ability to acquire, in-license or use these proprietary rights. In addition, with respect to any patents or patent applications we co-own with third parties, we may require licenses to such co-owners' interest in such patents or patent applications. However, we may be unable to secure such licenses or otherwise acquire or in-license any compositions, methods of use, processes or other intellectual property rights from third parties that we identify as necessary for our product candidates. The licensing or acquisition of third-party intellectual property rights is a competitive area, and several more established companies may pursue strategies to license or acquire third-party intellectual property rights that we may consider attractive. These established companies may have a competitive advantage over us due to their size, capital resources and greater clinical development and commercialization capabilities. In addition, companies that perceive us to be a competitor may be unwilling to assign or license rights to us. We also may be unable to license or acquire third-party intellectual property rights on terms that would allow us to make an appropriate return on our investment.

              We sometimes collaborate with non-profit and academic institutions to accelerate our preclinical research or development under written agreements with these institutions. Typically, these institutions provide us with an option to negotiate a license to any of the institution's rights in technology resulting from the collaboration. Regardless of such option, we may be unable to negotiate a license within the specified timeframe or under terms that are acceptable to us. If we are unable to do so, the institution may offer the intellectual property rights to other parties, potentially blocking our ability to pursue our program.

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              If we are unable to successfully obtain rights to required third-party intellectual property rights or maintain the existing intellectual property rights we have, we may be required to expend significant time and resources to redesign our product candidates or the methods for manufacturing them or to develop or license replacement technology, all of which may not be feasible on a technical or commercial basis. If we are unable to do so, we may be unable to develop or commercialize the affected product candidates, which could harm our business significantly.

If we fail to comply with our obligations under our existing license agreements, or under any future intellectual property licenses, or otherwise experience disruptions to our business relationships with our current or any future licensors, we could lose intellectual property rights that are important to our business.

              We are party to license agreements with the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary and The Schepens Eye Research Institute, Inc., which we refer to collectively as MEE, and Lonza, pursuant to which we have been granted an exclusive, non-transferable, sublicensable, worldwide, royalty-bearing license to certain patent rights related to AAV ancestral technology, including a proprietary ancestral AAV, known as AAVAnc80, to research, develop, make, have made, manufacture, use, sell, offer to sell, import, export, market, promote, distribute, register and otherwise commercially exploit the licensed product in the treatment, diagnosis, prevention and palliation of balance disorders, diseases pertaining to the inner ear, and/or any and all hearing diseases or disorders. For further information regarding our exclusive license agreements, see "Business—Intellectual Property—Licensed Intellectual Property." We may enter into additional license agreements in the future. Our existing license agreements impose, and we expect that future licenses will impose, specified diligence, milestone payment, royalty, and other obligations on us. Furthermore, the licensors have the right to terminate the agreement if we materially breach the agreement and fail to cure such breach within a specified period or in the event we undergo certain bankruptcy events. In spite of our best efforts, our current or any future licensors might conclude that we have materially breached our license agreements and might therefore terminate the license agreements, thereby removing our ability to develop and commercialize product candidates and technology covered by these license agreements. If these in-licenses are terminated, or if the underlying intellectual property fails to provide the intended exclusivity, competitors could have the freedom to seek regulatory approval of, and to market, products and technologies identical to ours. This could have a material adverse effect on our competitive position, business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects.

              Disputes may arise regarding intellectual property subject to a licensing agreement, including:

•

the scope of rights granted under the license agreement and other interpretation related issues;



•

our ability to defend intellectual property and to enforce intellectual property rights against third parties;



•

the extent to which our technology and processes infringe on intellectual property of the licensor that is not subject to the licensing agreement;



•

the sublicensing of patent and other rights under our collaborative development relationships;



•

our diligence obligations under the license agreement and what activities satisfy those diligence obligations;



•

the inventorship and ownership of inventions and know-how resulting from the joint creation or use of intellectual property by our current or future licensors and us and our partners; and



•

the priority of invention of patented technology.

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              In addition, license agreements are complex, and certain provisions in such agreements may be susceptible to multiple interpretations. The resolution of any contract interpretation disagreement that may arise could narrow what we believe to be the scope of our rights to the relevant intellectual property or technology, or increase what we believe to be our financial or other obligations under the relevant agreement, either of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects. Moreover, some of our in-licensed patents and patent applications are, and may in the future be, subject to third-party interests such as co-ownership or licenses. For example, a patent application directed to certain compositions and methods for several of our product candidates is co-owned by MEE and The Children's Medical Center Corporation, or Children's. At present, we have an exclusive license to MEE's ownership interest, however, we do not have a license to Children's ownership interest. If we are unable to obtain an exclusive license to such third-party co-owners' interest in such patents or patent applications, such co-owners may be able to license their rights to other third parties, including our competitors, and our competitors could potentially market competing products and technology if our exclusive licenses from MEE and Lonza for the AAV ancestral technology terminate or expire. In addition, we may need the cooperation of any such co-owners of our patents in order to enforce such patents against third parties, and such cooperation may not be provided to us. Any of the foregoing could have a material adverse effect on our competitive position, business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects. Moreover, if disputes over intellectual property that we have licensed prevent or impair our ability to maintain our current licensing arrangements on commercially acceptable terms, we may be unable to successfully develop and commercialize the affected technology and product candidates, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects. Additionally, we do not have complete control in the preparation, filing, prosecution, maintenance, enforcement, and defense of patents and patent applications covering the technology that we license from third parties. For example, pursuant to our intellectual property licenses with MEE and Lonza, our licensors retain control of preparation, filing, prosecution, and maintenance, and, in certain circumstances, enforcement and defense of their patents and patent applications. It is possible that our licensors' enforcement of patents against infringers or defense of such patents against challenges of validity or claims of enforceability may be less vigorous than if we had conducted them ourselves or may not be conducted in accordance with our best interests. We cannot be certain that these patents and patent applications will be prepared, filed, prosecuted, maintained, enforced, and defended in a manner consistent with the best interests of our business. If our licensors fail to prosecute, maintain, enforce, and defend such patents, or lose rights to those patents or patent applications, the rights we have licensed may be reduced or eliminated, our right to develop and commercialize any of our product candidates we may develop that are the subject of such licensed rights could be adversely affected and we may not be able to prevent competitors from making, using, and selling competing products. Our licensors may have relied on third-party consultants or collaborators or on funds from third parties such that our licensors are not the sole and exclusive owners of the patents we in-licensed. If other third parties have ownership rights to our in-licensed patents, they may be able to license such patents to our competitors, and our competitors could market competing products and technology. Any of these events could have a material adverse effect on our competitive position, business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects.

              Furthermore, inventions contained within some of our in-licensed patents and patent applications may have been made using U.S. government funding. We rely on our licensors to ensure compliance with applicable obligations arising from such funding, such as timely reporting, an obligation associated with our in-licensed patents and patent applications. The failure of our licensors to meet their obligations may lead to a loss of rights or the unenforceability of relevant patents. For example, the U.S. government could have certain rights in such in-licensed patents, including a non-exclusive license authorizing the U.S. government to use the invention or to have others use the invention on its behalf. If the U.S. government decides to exercise these rights, it is not required to

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engage us as its contractor in connection with doing so. The U.S. government's rights may also permit it to disclose the funded inventions and technology to third parties and to exercise march-in rights to use or allow third parties to use the technology we have licensed that was developed using U.S. government funding. The U.S. government may also exercise its march-in rights if it determines that action is necessary because we or our licensors failed to achieve practical application of the U.S. government-funded technology, because action is necessary to alleviate health or safety needs, to meet requirements of federal regulations, or to give preference to U.S. industry. In addition, our rights in such in-licensed U.S. government-funded inventions may be subject to certain requirements to manufacture product candidates embodying such inventions in the United States. Any of the foregoing could harm our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects significantly.

Issued patents covering our product candidates could be found invalid or unenforceable if challenged. We may not be able to protect our trade secrets in court.

              If we or one of our licensors initiate legal proceedings against a third party to enforce a patent covering one of our product candidates, the defendant could counterclaim that the patent covering our product candidate is invalid or unenforceable. In patent litigation in the United States, defendant counterclaims alleging invalidity or unenforceability are commonplace. Grounds for a validity challenge could be an alleged failure to meet any of several statutory requirements, including lack of novelty, obviousness, lack of written description, or non-enablement. Grounds for an unenforceability assertion could be an allegation that someone connected with prosecution of the patent withheld information material to patentability from the USPTO, or made a misleading statement, during prosecution. Third parties also may raise similar claims before administrative bodies in the United States or abroad, even outside the context of litigation. Such mechanisms include re-examination, interference proceedings, post grant review, inter partes review and equivalent proceedings such as opposition, invalidation, and revocation proceedings in foreign jurisdictions. Such proceedings could result in the revocation or cancellation of or amendment to our patents in such a way that they no longer cover our product candidates. The outcome following legal assertions of invalidity and unenforceability is unpredictable. With respect to the validity question, for example, we cannot be certain that there is no invalidating prior art, of which the patent examiner and we or our licensing partners were unaware during prosecution. If a defendant were to prevail on a legal assertion of invalidity or unenforceability, we could lose at least part, and perhaps all, of the patent protection on one or more of our product candidates. Such a loss of patent protection could harm our business.

              In addition to the protection afforded by patents, we rely on trade secret protection and confidentiality agreements to protect proprietary know-how that is not patentable or that we elect not to patent, processes for which patents are difficult to enforce and any other elements of our product candidate discovery and development processes that involve proprietary know-how, information, or technology that is not covered by patents. However, trade secrets can be difficult to protect and some courts inside and outside the United States are less willing or unwilling to protect trade secrets. We seek to protect our proprietary technology and processes, in part, by entering into confidentiality agreements with our employees, consultants, scientific advisors and contractors. We cannot guarantee that we have entered into such agreements with each party that may have or have had access to our trade secrets or proprietary technology and processes. We also seek to preserve the integrity and confidentiality of our data and trade secrets by maintaining physical security of our premises and physical and electronic security of our information technology systems. While we have confidence in these individuals, organizations and systems, agreements or security measures may be breached, and we may not have adequate remedies for any breach. In addition, our trade secrets may otherwise become known or be independently discovered by competitors.

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Third parties may initiate legal proceedings alleging that we are infringing their intellectual property rights, the outcome of which would be uncertain and could harm our business.

              Our commercial success depends upon our ability and the ability of our collaborators to research, develop, manufacture, market, and sell our product candidates and use our proprietary technologies without infringing the proprietary rights and intellectual property of third parties. The biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries are characterized by extensive and complex litigation regarding patents and other intellectual property rights. Third parties may assert infringement claims against us based on existing patents or patents that may be granted in the future, regardless of their merit. There is a risk that third parties may choose to engage in litigation with us to enforce or to otherwise assert their patent rights against us. Even if we believe such claims are without merit, a court of competent jurisdiction could hold that these third-party patents are valid, enforceable and infringed, which could adversely affect our ability to commercialize our product candidates or any other of our product candidates or technologies covered by the asserted third-party patents. In order to successfully challenge the validity of any such U.S. patent in federal court, we would need to overcome a presumption of validity. As this burden is a high one requiring us to present clear and convincing evidence as to the invalidity of any such U.S. patent claim, there is no assurance that a court of competent jurisdiction would invalidate the claims of any such U.S. patent. If we are found to infringe a third party's valid and enforceable intellectual property rights, we could be required to obtain a license from such third party to continue developing, manufacturing and marketing our product candidates and technology. 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 and other third parties access to the same technologies licensed to us, and it could require us to make substantial licensing and royalty payments. We could be forced, including by court order, to cease developing, manufacturing and commercializing the infringing technology or product candidates. 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 or other intellectual property right. A finding of infringement could prevent us from manufacturing and commercializing our product candidates or force us to cease some of our business operations, which could 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, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects.

Intellectual property litigation or other proceedings could cause us to spend substantial resources and distract our personnel from their normal responsibilities.

              Competitors may challenge the validity and enforceability of our patents, infringe our patents or the patents of our licensing partners, or we may be required to defend against claims of infringement. To defend the validity of our patents, assert infringement or unauthorized use claims, or to defend against claims of infringement can be expensive and time-consuming. Even if resolved in our favor, litigation or other proceedings relating to intellectual property claims may cause us to incur significant expenses and could distract our technical and management personnel from their normal responsibilities. In addition, there could be public announcements of the results of hearings, motions or other interim proceedings or developments and if securities analysts or investors perceive these results to be negative, it could have a substantial adverse effect on the price of our common stock. Such litigation or proceedings could substantially increase our operating losses and reduce the resources available for development activities or any future sales, marketing, or distribution activities. We may not have sufficient financial or other resources to adequately conduct such litigation or proceedings. Some of our competitors may be able to sustain the costs of such litigation or proceedings more effectively than we can because of their greater financial resources and more mature and developed intellectual property portfolios. Uncertainties resulting from the initiation and continuation of patent litigation or other proceedings could adversely affect our ability to compete in the marketplace.

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We may be subject to claims asserting that our employees, consultants, or advisors have wrongfully used or disclosed alleged trade secrets of their current or former employers or claims asserting ownership of what we regard as our own intellectual property.

              Many of our employees, consultants, or advisors are currently, or were previously, employed at universities or other biotechnology or pharmaceutical companies, including our competitors or potential competitors. Although we try to ensure that our employees, consultants, and advisors do not use the proprietary information or know-how of others in their work for us, we may be subject to claims that these individuals or we have used or disclosed intellectual property, including trade secrets or other proprietary information, of any such individual's current or former employer. Litigation may be necessary to defend against these claims. If we fail in 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 defending against such claims, litigation could result in substantial costs and be a distraction to management.

              In addition, while it is our policy to require our employees and contractors who may be involved in the conception or 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, conceives or develops intellectual property that we regard as our own. The assignment of intellectual property rights may not be self-executing or the assignment agreements may be breached, and we may be forced to bring claims against third parties, or defend claims that they may bring against us, to determine the ownership of what we regard as our intellectual property.

Changes in patent law in the United States or worldwide could diminish the value of patents in general, thereby impairing our ability to protect our products.

              Changes in either the patent laws or interpretation of patent laws in the United States and worldwide, including patent reform legislation such as the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act, or the Leahy-Smith Act, could increase the uncertainties and costs surrounding the prosecution of our owned and in-licensed patent applications and the maintenance, enforcement or defense of our owned and in-licensed issued patents. The Leahy-Smith Act includes a number of significant changes to United States patent law. These changes include provisions that affect the way patent applications are prosecuted, redefine prior art, provide more efficient and cost-effective avenues for competitors to challenge the validity of patents, and enable third-party submission of prior art to the USPTO during patent prosecution and additional procedures to attack the validity of a patent at USPTO-administered post-grant proceedings, including post-grant review, inter partes review, and derivation proceedings. Assuming that other requirements for patentability are met, prior to March 2013, in the United States, the first to invent the claimed invention was entitled to the patent, while outside the United States, the first to file a patent application was entitled to the patent. After March 2013, under the Leahy-Smith Act, the United States transitioned to a first-to-file system in which, assuming that the other statutory requirements for patentability are met, the first inventor to file a patent application will be entitled to the patent on an invention regardless of whether a third party was the first to invent the claimed invention. As such, the Leahy-Smith Act and its implementation could increase the uncertainties and costs surrounding the prosecution of our patent applications and the enforcement or defense of our issued patents, all of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects.

              In addition, the patent positions of companies in the development and commercialization of biologics and pharmaceuticals are particularly uncertain. Recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings have narrowed the scope of patent protection available in certain circumstances and weakened the rights of patent owners in certain situations. This combination of events has created uncertainty with respect to the validity and enforceability of patents once obtained. Depending on future actions by the U.S. Congress, the federal courts, and the USPTO, the laws and regulations governing patents could change

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in unpredictable ways that could have a material adverse effect on our patent rights and our ability to protect, defend and enforce our patent rights in the future.

We may be subject to claims challenging the inventorship or ownership of our patents and other intellectual property.

              We or our licensors may be subject to claims that former employees, collaborators, or other third parties have an interest in our owned or in-licensed patents, trade secrets, or other intellectual property as an inventor or co-inventor. For example, we or our licensors may have inventorship disputes arise from conflicting obligations of employees, consultants or others who are involved in developing any product candidates. Litigation may be necessary to defend against these and other claims challenging inventorship or our or our licensors' ownership of our owned or in-licensed patents, trade secrets, or other intellectual property. If we or our licensors fail in defending any such claims, in addition to paying monetary damages, we may lose valuable intellectual property rights, such as exclusive ownership of, or right to use, intellectual property that is important to any product candidates. Even if we are successful in defending against such claims, litigation could result in substantial costs and be a distraction to management and other employees. Any of the foregoing could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects.

If our trademarks and trade names are not adequately protected, then we may not be able to build name recognition in our markets of interest and our business may be adversely affected.

              We have applied to register the "Akouos" and Akouos logo trademarks with the USPTO. Our trademarks or trade names may be challenged, infringed, circumvented, or declared generic or determined to be infringing on other marks. We may not be able to protect our rights to these trademarks and trade names, which we need to build name recognition among potential partners or customers in our markets of interest. At times, competitors may adopt trade names or trademarks similar to ours, thereby impeding our ability to build brand identity and possibly leading to market confusion. In addition, there could be potential trade name or trademark infringement claims brought by owners of other registered trademarks or trademarks that incorporate variations of our registered or unregistered trademarks or trade names. Over the long term, if we are unable to establish name recognition based on our trademarks and trade names, then we may not be able to compete effectively, and our business may be adversely affected. Our efforts to enforce or protect our proprietary rights related to trademarks, trade secrets, domain names, copyrights or other intellectual property may be ineffective and could result in substantial costs and diversion of resources and could adversely impact our financial condition or results of operations.

Intellectual property rights do not necessarily address all potential threats.

              The degree of future protection afforded by our intellectual property rights is uncertain because intellectual property rights have limitations and may not adequately protect our business or permit us to maintain our competitive advantage. For example:

•

others may be able to make genetic medicine products that are similar to our product candidates but that are not covered by the claims of the patents that we license or may own in the future;



•

we, or our license partners or current or future collaborators, might not have been the first to make the inventions covered by the issued patent or pending patent application that we license or may own in the future;



•

we, or our license partners or current or future collaborators, might not have been the first to file patent applications covering certain of our or their inventions;

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•

others may independently develop similar or alternative technologies or duplicate any of our technologies without infringing our owned or licensed intellectual property rights;



•

it is possible that our pending patent applications or those that we may own in the future will not lead to issued patents;



•

issued patents that we hold rights to may be held invalid or unenforceable, including as a result of legal challenges by our competitors;



•

our competitors might conduct research and development activities in countries where we do not have patent rights and then use the information learned from such activities to develop competitive products for sale in our major commercial markets;



•

we may not develop additional proprietary technologies that are patentable;



•

the patents of others may have an adverse effect on our business; and



•

we may choose not to file a patent for certain trade secrets or know-how, and a third party may subsequently file a patent covering such intellectual property.

              Should any of these events occur, they could significantly harm our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects.

Our reliance on third parties requires us to share our trade secrets, which increases the possibility that a competitor will discover them or that our trade secrets will be misappropriated or disclosed.

              Because we currently rely on certain third parties to manufacture all or part of our product candidates and to perform quality testing, and because we collaborate with various organizations and academic institutions for the advancement of our product engine and pipeline, we must, at times, share our proprietary technology and confidential information, including trade secrets, with them. We seek to protect our proprietary technology, in part, by entering into confidentiality agreements and, if applicable, material transfer agreements, sponsored research agreements, collaborative research agreements, consulting agreements, or other similar agreements with our collaborators, advisors, employees, and consultants prior to beginning research or disclosing proprietary information. These agreements typically limit the rights of the third parties to use or disclose our confidential information. Despite the contractual provisions employed when working with third parties, the need to share trade secrets and other confidential information increases the risk that such trade secrets become known by our competitors, are inadvertently incorporated into the technology of others or are disclosed or used in violation of these agreements. Given that our proprietary position is based, in part, on our know-how and trade secrets, a competitor's discovery of our proprietary technology and confidential information or other unauthorized use or disclosure would impair our competitive position and may harm our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects.

              Despite our efforts to protect our trade secrets, our competitors may discover our trade secrets, either through breach of these agreements, independent development or publication of information including our trade secrets by third parties. A competitor's discovery of our trade secrets would impair our competitive position and have an adverse impact on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects.

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Risks Related to Regulatory Approval and Other Legal Compliance Matters

Even if we complete the necessary preclinical studies and clinical trials, the marketing approval process is expensive, time-consuming, and uncertain and may prevent us from obtaining approvals for the commercialization of any product candidates we develop. If we are not able to obtain, or if there are delays in obtaining, required regulatory approvals, we will not be able to commercialize, or will be delayed in commercializing, product candidates we develop, and our ability to generate revenue will be materially impaired.

              Any product candidates we develop and the activities associated with their development and commercialization, including their design, testing, manufacture, safety, efficacy, recordkeeping, labeling, storage, approval, advertising, promotion, sale, and distribution, are subject to comprehensive regulation by the FDA and other regulatory authorities in the United States, and by comparable authorities in other countries. Failure to obtain marketing approval for a product candidate will prevent us from commercializing the product candidate in a given jurisdiction. We have not received approval to market any product candidates from regulatory authorities in any jurisdiction. We have only limited experience in filing and supporting the applications necessary to gain marketing approvals and expect to rely on third-party CROs to assist us in this process. Securing regulatory approval requires the submission of extensive preclinical and clinical data and supporting information to the various regulatory authorities for each therapeutic indication to establish the biologic product candidate's safety, purity, and potency. Securing regulatory approval also requires the submission of information about the product manufacturing process to, and inspection of manufacturing facilities by, the relevant regulatory authority. Any product candidates we develop may not be effective, may be only moderately effective, or may prove to have undesirable or unintended side effects, toxicities, or other characteristics that may preclude our obtaining marketing approval or prevent or limit commercial use.

              The process of obtaining marketing approvals, both in the United States and outside the United States, is expensive, may take many years if additional clinical trials are required, if approval is obtained at all, and can vary substantially based upon a variety of factors, including the type, complexity, and novelty of the product candidates involved. Changes in marketing approval policies during the development period, changes in or the enactment of additional statutes or regulations, or changes in regulatory review for each submitted product application, may cause delays in the approval or rejection of an application. The FDA and comparable authorities in other countries have substantial discretion in the approval process and may refuse to accept any application or may decide that our data is insufficient for approval and require additional preclinical, clinical, or other studies. In addition, varying interpretations of the data obtained from preclinical and clinical testing could delay, limit, or prevent marketing approval of a product candidate. Any marketing approval we ultimately obtain may be limited or subject to restrictions or post-approval commitments that render the approved medicine not commercially viable.

              If we experience delays in obtaining approval or if we fail to obtain approval of any product candidates we develop, the commercial prospects for those product candidates may be harmed, and our ability to generate revenues will be materially impaired.

Failure to obtain marketing approval in foreign jurisdictions would prevent any product candidates we develop from being marketed in such jurisdictions, which, in turn, would materially impair our ability to generate revenue.

              In order to market and sell any product candidates we develop in the European Union and many other foreign jurisdictions, we or our collaborators must obtain separate marketing approvals and comply with numerous and varying regulatory requirements. The approval procedure varies among countries and can involve additional testing. The time required to obtain approval may differ substantially from that required to obtain FDA approval. The regulatory approval process outside the

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United States generally includes all of the risks associated with obtaining FDA approval. In addition, in many countries outside the United States, it is required that the product be approved for reimbursement before the product can be approved for sale in that country. We or these third parties may not obtain approvals from regulatory authorities outside the United States on a timely basis, if at all. Approval by the FDA does not ensure approval by regulatory authorities in other countries or jurisdictions, and approval by one regulatory authority outside the United States does not ensure approval by regulatory authorities in other countries or jurisdictions or by the FDA. We may not be able to file for marketing approvals and may not receive necessary approvals to commercialize our medicines in any jurisdiction, which would materially impair our ability to generate revenue.

              Additionally, on June 23, 2016, the electorate in the United Kingdom voted in favor of leaving the European Union, commonly referred to as Brexit. Following protracted negotiations, the United Kingdom left the European Union on January 31, 2020. Under the withdrawal agreement, there is a transitional period until December 31, 2020 (extendable up to two years). Discussions between the United Kingdom and the European Union have so far mainly focused on finalizing withdrawal issues and transition agreements but have been extremely difficult to date. To date, only an outline of a trade agreement has been reached. Much remains open, but the Prime Minister has indicated that the United Kingdom will not seek to extend the transitional period beyond the end of 2020. If no trade agreement has been reached before the end of the transitional period, there may be significant market and economic disruption. The Prime Minister has also indicated that the United Kingdom will not accept high regulatory alignment with the European Union.

              Since the regulatory framework for pharmaceutical products in the United Kingdom covering quality, safety, and efficacy of pharmaceutical products, clinical trials, marketing authorization, commercial sales, and distribution of pharmaceutical products is derived from European Union directives and regulations, Brexit could materially impact the future regulatory regime that applies to products and the approval of product candidates in the United Kingdom. Any delay in obtaining, or an inability to obtain, any marketing approvals, as a result of Brexit or otherwise, may force us to restrict or delay efforts to seek regulatory approval in the United Kingdom for our product candidates, which could significantly and materially harm our business.

Regulatory requirements governing genetic medicine products are periodically updated and may continue to change in the future.

              Regulatory requirements governing gene and cell therapy products have changed frequently and may continue to change in the future. For example, the FDA has established the Office of Tissues and Advanced Therapies (formerly the Office of Cellular, Tissue and Gene Therapies) within its Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, or CBER, to consolidate the review of gene therapy and related products, and the Cellular, Tissue and Gene Therapies Advisory Committee to advise CBER on its review. Additionally, gene therapy clinical trials conducted at institutions that receive funding for recombinant DNA research from the U.S. National Institutes of Health, or the NIH, also are potentially subject to oversight by a committee within the NIH's Office of Science Policy called the Novel and Exceptional Technology and Research Advisory Committee; however, as of 2019, the charter of this review group has evolved to focus public review on clinical trials that cannot be evaluated by standard oversight bodies and pose unusual risks.

              These regulatory review committees and advisory groups and the new guidelines they promulgate may lengthen the regulatory review process, require us to perform additional studies, increase our development costs, lead to changes in regulatory positions and interpretations, delay or prevent approval and commercialization of these product candidates or lead to significant post-approval limitations or restrictions. As we advance our product candidates, we will be required to consult with these regulatory and advisory groups and comply with applicable guidelines. If we fail to do so, we may be required to delay or discontinue development of our product candidates. Delay or failure to obtain,

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or unexpected costs in obtaining, the regulatory approval necessary to bring a potential product to market could decrease our ability to generate sufficient product revenue to maintain our business.

              The FDA decides whether individual genetic medicine protocols may proceed and it can put an IND on a clinical hold. If we were to engage an NIH-funded institution to conduct a clinical trial, that institution's IRB would need to review the proposed clinical trial to assess the safety of the trial. In addition, adverse developments in clinical trials of genetic medicine products conducted by others may cause the FDA or other oversight bodies to change the requirements for approval of our product candidates. Similarly, the EMA may issue new guidelines concerning the development and marketing authorization for genetic medicine products and require that we comply with these new guidelines.

              In addition, ethical, social, and legal concerns about genetic medicine, genetic testing and genetic research could result in additional regulations or prohibiting the processes we may use. Federal and state agencies, congressional committees and foreign governments have expressed their intentions to further regulate biotechnology. More restrictive regulations or claims that our product candidates are unsafe or pose a hazard could prevent us from commercializing any products. New government requirements may be established that could delay or prevent regulatory approval of our product candidates under development. It is impossible to predict whether legislative changes will be enacted, regulations, policies or guidance changed, or interpretations by agencies or courts changed, or what the impact of such changes, if any, may be.

              As we advance our product candidates through clinical development, we will be required to consult with these regulatory and advisory groups, and comply with applicable guidelines. These regulatory review committees and advisory groups and any new guidelines they promulgate may lengthen the regulatory review process, require us to perform additional studies, increase our development costs, lead to changes in regulatory positions and interpretations, delay or prevent approval and commercialization of our product candidates or lead to significant post-approval limitations or restrictions. Delay or failure to obtain, or unexpected costs in obtaining, the regulatory approval necessary to bring a potential product to market could decrease our ability to generate sufficient product revenue.

We may seek fast track, breakthrough therapy, and/or regenerative medicine advanced therapy designations or priority review for one or more of our product candidates, but we might not receive such designation or priority review, and even if we do, such designation or priority review may not lead to a faster development or regulatory review or approval process, and does not assure FDA approval of our product candidates.

              The FDA has several designations that have the potential to accelerate the regulatory review and approval process, including the fast track, breakthrough therapy, and regenerative medicine advanced therapy designations. Each of these designations has specific requirements and, if granted, has the potential for a non-conventional FDA review process. In addition, if the FDA determines that a product candidate offers major advances in treatment or provides a treatment where no adequate therapy exists, the FDA may designate the product candidate for priority review. A priority review designation means that the goal for the FDA to review an application is six months, rather than the standard review period of ten months. Any such designation or priority review status does not ensure that the product candidate will receive marketing approval or that approval will be granted within any particular timeframe. As a result, while we may seek and receive one or more of these designation for our product candidates, we may not experience a faster development process, review, or approval compared to conventional FDA procedures. The FDA has broad discretion with respect to whether or not to grant such designations or priority review status to a product candidate, so even if we believe a particular product candidate is eligible for such designation or status, the FDA may decide not to grant it. In addition, the FDA may withdraw a designation if it believes that the designation is no longer supported by data from our clinical development program. Moreover, fast track, breakthrough therapy,

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or regenerative medicine advanced therapy designations alone do not guarantee qualification for the FDA's priority review procedures.

We may seek a rare pediatric disease designation for one or more of our product candidates. However, a BLA for one or more of our product candidates may not meet the eligibility criteria for a priority review voucher upon approval.

              With enactment of the Food and Drug Administration Safety and Innovation Act in 2012, Congress authorized the FDA to award priority review vouchers to sponsors of certain rare pediatric disease product applications that meet the criteria specified in the law. This provision is designed to encourage development of new drug and biological products for prevention and treatment of certain rare pediatric diseases. Specifically, under this program, a sponsor who receives an approval for a drug or biologic for a "rare pediatric disease" may qualify for a voucher that can be redeemed to receive a priority review of a subsequent marketing application for a different product. The sponsor of a rare pediatric disease drug product receiving a priority review voucher may transfer (including by sale) the voucher to another sponsor. The voucher may be further transferred any number of times before the voucher is used, as long as the sponsor making the transfer has not yet submitted the application.

              For the purposes of this program, a "rare pediatric disease" is a (i) serious or life-threatening disease in which the serious or life-threatening manifestations primarily affect individuals aged from birth to 18 years, including age groups often called neonates, infants, children, and adolescents; and (ii) rare disease or conditions within the meaning of the Orphan Drug Act. The FDA may determine that a BLA for one or more of our product candidates does not meet the eligibility criteria for a priority review voucher upon approval. Moreover, even if one or more of our product candidates does satisfy those criteria, the product will need to be designated as a drug for a rare pediatric disease before September 30, 2020, and licensed before September 30, 2022, in order to be granted a rare disease priority review voucher.

We may not be able to obtain orphan drug exclusivity for one or more of our product candidates, and even if we do, that exclusivity may not prevent the FDA or the EMA from approving other competing products.

              Under the Orphan Drug Act, the FDA may designate a product as an orphan drug if it is a drug or biologic intended to treat a rare disease or condition. A similar regulatory scheme governs approval of orphan products by the EMA in the European Union. Generally, if a product candidate with an orphan drug designation subsequently receives the first marketing approval for the indication for which it has such designation, the product is entitled to a period of marketing exclusivity, which precludes the FDA or the EMA from approving another marketing application for the same product for the same therapeutic indication for that time period. The applicable period is seven years in the United States and ten years in the European Union. The exclusivity period in the European Union can be reduced to six years if a product no longer meets the criteria for orphan drug designation, in particular if the product is sufficiently profitable so that market exclusivity is no longer justified.

              In order for the FDA to grant orphan drug exclusivity to one of our products, the agency must find that the product is indicated for the treatment of a condition or disease with a patient population of fewer than 200,000 individuals annually in the United States. The FDA may conclude that the condition or disease for which we seek orphan drug exclusivity does not meet this standard. Even if we obtain orphan drug exclusivity for a product, that exclusivity may not effectively protect the product from competition because different products can be approved for the same condition. In particular, the concept of what constitutes the "same drug" for purposes of orphan drug exclusivity remains in flux in the context of gene therapies, and the FDA has issued recent draft guidance suggesting that it would not consider two genetic medicine products to be different drugs solely based on minor differences in the transgenes or vectors within a given vector class. In addition, even after an orphan drug is approved, the FDA can subsequently approve the same product for the same condition if the FDA

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concludes that the later product is clinically superior in that it is shown to be safer, more effective or makes a major contribution to patient care. Orphan drug exclusivity may also be lost if the FDA or EMA determines that the request for designation was materially defective or if the manufacturer is unable to assure sufficient quantity of the product to meet the needs of the patients with the rare disease or condition.

              In 2017, the Congress passed the FDA Reauthorization Act of 2017, or FDARA. FDARA, among other things, codified the FDA's pre-existing regulatory interpretation, to require that a drug sponsor demonstrate the clinical superiority of an orphan drug that is otherwise the same as a previously approved drug for the same rare disease in order to receive orphan drug exclusivity. The new legislation reverses prior precedent holding that the Orphan Drug Act unambiguously requires that the FDA recognize the orphan exclusivity period regardless of a showing of clinical superiority. The FDA may further reevaluate the Orphan Drug Act and its regulations and policies. We do not know if, when, or how the FDA may change the orphan drug regulations and policies in the future, and it is uncertain how any changes might affect our business. Depending on what changes the FDA may make to its orphan drug regulations and policies, our business could be adversely impacted.

AK-OTOF and our other product candidates will be a biologic-device combination involving a proprietary delivery approach, which may result in additional regulatory and other risks.

              We are developing AK-OTOF and our other product candidates as a biologic-device combination for administration directly to the cochlea, or the organ in the inner ear responsible for hearing, using our delivery approach. There are currently no approved fluids, drugs, or biologics that are delivered directly into the cochlea and, as such, no delivery device is available to facilitate this route of delivery. We may experience delays in obtaining regulatory approval of AK-OTOF and our other product candidates given the increased complexity of the review process when approval of a biologic and a delivery device is sought under a single marketing application. The delivery will be subject to FDA device requirements regarding design, performance and validation as well as human factors testing, among other things. AK-OTOF may be regulated as a biologic-device combination product, which requires coordination within the FDA for review of the product candidate's device and biologic components. The determination whether a combination product requires a single marketing application or two separate marketing applications for each component is made by the FDA on a case-by-case basis. Although a single marketing application may be sufficient for the approval of a combination product, the FDA may determine that separate marketing applications are necessary. This determination could significantly increase the resources and time required to bring our combination product to market. Although the FDA has systems in place for the review and approval of combination products such as ours, we may experience delays in the development and commercialization of our product candidate due to regulatory timing constraints and uncertainties in the product development and approval process, as well as coordination between two different centers within FDA responsible for review of the different components of the combination product. Furthermore, we may elect to pursue the de novo pathway for our delivery device within the Center for Devices and Radiological Heath, or CDRH, of the FDA. The decision to seek a de novo pathway may cause us to experience regulatory delays that could adversely impact our development timelines.

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Even if we complete the necessary preclinical studies and clinical trials, we cannot predict when or if we will obtain regulatory approval to commercialize a product candidate or the approval may be for a narrower indication than we expect.

              We cannot commercialize a product until the appropriate regulatory authorities have reviewed and approved the product candidate. Even if our product candidates demonstrate safety and efficacy in clinical trials, the regulatory agencies may not complete their review processes in a timely manner, or we may not be able to obtain regulatory approval. Additional delays may result if an FDA Advisory Committee or other regulatory authority recommends non-approval or restrictions on approval. In addition, we may experience delays or rejections based upon additional government regulation from future legislation or administrative action, or changes in regulatory agency policy during the period of product development, clinical trials and the review process. Regulatory agencies also may approve a treatment candidate for fewer or more limited indications than requested or may grant approval subject to the performance of post-marketing commitments. In addition, regulatory agencies may not approve the labeling claims that are necessary or desirable for the successful commercialization of our treatment candidates. For example, the development of our product candidates for pediatric use is an important part of our current business strategy, and if we are unable to obtain regulatory approval for the desired age ranges, our business may suffer.

Even if we, or any collaborators we may have, obtain marketing approvals for any product candidates we develop, the terms of approvals and ongoing regulation of our products could require the substantial expenditure of resources and may limit how we, or they, manufacture and market our products, which could materially impair our ability to generate revenue.

              Any product candidate for which we obtain marketing approval, along with the manufacturing processes, post-approval clinical data, labeling, advertising, and promotional activities for such medicine, will be subject to continual requirements of and review by the FDA and other regulatory authorities. These requirements include submissions of safety and other post-marketing information and reports, registration and listing requirements, cGMP requirements relating to quality control, quality assurance and corresponding maintenance of records and documents, and requirements regarding the distribution of samples to physicians and recordkeeping. For example, the holder of an approved BLA is obligated to monitor and report adverse events and any failure of a product to meet the specifications in the BLA. For genetic medicines that use AAV vectors as a delivery system, the FDA typically advises that individuals receiving AAV vectors undergo follow-up observations for potential adverse events for up to a five-year period. The holder of an approved BLA must also submit new or supplemental applications and obtain FDA approval for certain changes to the approved product, product labeling, or manufacturing process. Even if marketing approval of a product candidate is granted, the approval may be subject to limitations on the indicated uses for which the medicine may be marketed or to the conditions of approval, or contain requirements for costly post-marketing testing and surveillance to monitor the safety or efficacy of the medicine.

              Accordingly, assuming we, or any collaborators we may have, receive marketing approval for one or more product candidates we develop, we, and such collaborators, and our and their contract manufacturers will continue to expend time, money, and effort in all areas of regulatory compliance, including manufacturing, production, product surveillance, and quality control. If we and such collaborators are not able to comply with post-approval regulatory requirements, we and such collaborators could have the marketing approvals for our products withdrawn by regulatory authorities and our, or such collaborators', ability to market any future products could be limited, which could adversely affect our ability to achieve or sustain profitability. Further, the cost of compliance with post-approval regulations may have a negative effect on our business, operating results, financial condition, and prospects.

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              If we fail to comply with applicable regulatory requirements following approval of any of our product candidates, a regulatory agency may:

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issue a warning letter asserting that we are in violation of the law;



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seek an injunction or impose civil or criminal penalties or monetary fines;



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suspend or withdraw regulatory approval;



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suspend any ongoing clinical trials;



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refuse to approve a pending BLA or supplements to a BLA submitted by us;



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seize product; or



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refuse to allow us to enter into supply contracts, including government contracts.

              Any government investigation of alleged violations of law could require us to expend significant time and resources in response and could generate negative publicity. The occurrence of any event or penalty described above may inhibit our ability to commercialize our product candidates and generate revenues.

Any product candidate for which we obtain marketing approval could be subject to restrictions or withdrawal from the market, and we may be subject to substantial penalties if we fail to comply with regulatory requirements or if we experience unanticipated problems with our medicines, when and if any of them are approved.

              The FDA and other regulatory agencies closely regulate the post-approval marketing and promotion of medicines to ensure that they are marketed only for the approved indications and in accordance with the provisions of the approved labeling. The FDA and other regulatory agencies impose stringent restrictions on manufacturers' communications regarding off-label use, and if we do not market our medicines for their approved indications, we may be subject to enforcement action for off-label marketing by the FDA and other federal and state enforcement agencies, including the Department of Justice. Violation of the Federal Food, Product, and Cosmetic Act and other statutes, including the False Claims Act, relating to the promotion and advertising of prescription products may also lead to investigations or allegations of violations of federal and state healthcare fraud and abuse laws and state consumer protection laws.

              In addition, later discovery of previously unknown problems with our medicines, manufacturers, or manufacturing processes, or failure to comply with regulatory requirements, may yield various results, including:

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restrictions on such medicines, manufacturers, or manufacturing processes;



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restrictions on the labeling or marketing of a medicine;



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restrictions on the distribution or use of a medicine;



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requirements to conduct post-marketing clinical trials;



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receipt of warning or untitled letters;



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withdrawal of the medicines from the market;



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refusal to approve pending applications or supplements to approved applications that we submit;



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recall of medicines;



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fines, restitution, or disgorgement of profits or revenue;

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suspension or withdrawal of marketing approvals;



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suspension of any ongoing clinical trials;



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refusal to permit the import or export of our medicines;



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product seizure; and



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injunctions or the imposition of civil or criminal penalties.

              Any government investigation of alleged violations of law could require us to expend significant time and resources in response and could generate negative publicity. The occurrence of any event or penalty described above may inhibit our ability to commercialize any product candidates we develop and adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects.

              Additionally, if any of our product candidates receives marketing approval, the FDA could require us to adopt a Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy, or REMS, to ensure that the benefits outweigh its risks, which may include, among other things, a medication guide outlining the risks of the product for distribution to patients and a communication plan to healthcare practitioners. Furthermore, if we or others later identify undesirable side effects caused by our product candidate, several potentially significant negative consequences could result, including:

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regulatory authorities may suspend or withdraw approvals of such product candidate;



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regulatory authorities may require additional warnings on the label;



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we may be required to change the way a product candidate is administered or conduct additional clinical trials;



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we could be sued and held liable for harm caused to patients; and



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our reputation may suffer.

The efforts of the current presidential administration to pursue regulatory reform may limit the FDA's ability to engage in oversight and implementation activities in the normal course, and that could negatively impact our business.

              The current presidential administration has taken several executive actions, including the issuance of a number of executive orders, that could impose significant burdens on, or otherwise materially delay, the FDA's ability to engage in routine regulatory and oversight activities such as implementing statutes through rulemaking, issuance of guidance, and review and approval of marketing applications. On January 30, 2017, the president issued an executive order, applicable to all executive agencies, including the FDA, that requires that for each notice of proposed rulemaking or final regulation to be issued in fiscal year 2017, the agency shall identify at least two existing regulations to be repealed, unless prohibited by law. These requirements are referred to as the "two-for-one" provisions. This executive order includes a budget neutrality provision that requires the total incremental cost of all new regulations in the 2017 fiscal year, including repealed regulations, to be no greater than zero, except in limited circumstances. For fiscal years 2018 and beyond, the executive order requires agencies to identify regulations to offset any incremental cost of a new regulation. In interim guidance issued by the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs within the Office of Management and on February 2, 2017, the administration indicates that the "two-for-one" provisions may apply not only to agency regulations, but also to significant agency guidance documents. It is difficult to predict how these requirements will be implemented, and the extent to which they will impact the FDA's ability to exercise its regulatory authority. If these executive actions impose constraints on FDA's ability to engage in oversight and implementation activities in the normal course, our business may be negatively impacted.

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Our relationships with healthcare providers, physicians, and third-party payors will be subject to applicable anti-kickback, fraud and abuse, and other healthcare laws and regulations, which could expose us to criminal sanctions, civil penalties, contractual damages, reputational harm, and diminished profits and future earnings.

              Healthcare providers, physicians, and third-party payors play a primary role in the recommendation and prescription of any product candidates that we develop for which we obtain marketing approval. Our future arrangements with third-party payors and customers may expose us to broadly applicable fraud and abuse and other healthcare laws and regulations that may constrain the business or financial arrangements and relationships through which we market, sell, and distribute our medicines for which we obtain marketing approval. Restrictions under applicable federal and state healthcare laws and regulations include the following:

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the federal healthcare anti-kickback statute prohibits, among other things, persons from knowingly and willfully soliciting, offering, receiving, or providing remuneration, directly or indirectly, in cash or in kind, to induce or reward either the referral of an individual for, or the purchase, order, or recommendation of, any good or service, for which payment may be made under federal and state healthcare programs such as Medicare and Medicaid;



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the federal false claims laws, including the federal False Claims Act which can be enforced through civil whistleblower or qui tam actions, impose criminal and civil penalties against individuals or entities for, among other things, knowingly presenting, or causing to be presented, to the federal government, claims for payment or approval from Medicare, Medicaid, or other government payors that are false or fraudulent or making a false statement to avoid, decrease, or conceal an obligation to pay money to the federal government;



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the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, as further amended by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act, which imposes certain requirements, including mandatory contractual terms, with respect to safeguarding the privacy, security, and transmission of individually identifiable health information without appropriate authorization by entities subject to the rule, such as health plans, healthcare clearinghouses, and certain healthcare providers as well as their respective business associates that perform services for them that involve the use or disclosure of individually identifiable health information;



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the federal false statements statute, which prohibits knowingly and willfully falsifying, concealing, or covering up a material fact or making any materially false statement in connection with the delivery of or payment for healthcare benefits, items, or services;



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the federal transparency requirements under the federal Physician Payments Sunshine Act, which requires certain manufacturers of drugs, devices, biologics, and medical supplies to report to the Department of Health and Human Services information related to payments and other transfers of value to physicians, as defined by such law, and teaching hospitals, and ownership and investment interests held by physicians and other healthcare providers and their immediate family members and applicable group purchasing organizations; and



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analogous state laws and regulations, such as state anti-kickback and false claims laws, which may apply to sales or marketing arrangements and claims involving healthcare items or services reimbursed by non-governmental third-party payors, including private insurers, and certain state laws that require pharmaceutical companies to comply with the pharmaceutical industry's voluntary compliance guidelines and the relevant compliance guidance promulgated by the federal government in addition to requiring drug manufacturers to report information related to payments to physicians and other healthcare providers or

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marketing expenditures; and state and local laws that require drug manufacturers to register pharmaceutical sales representatives.

              The provision of benefits or advantages to physicians to induce or encourage the prescription, recommendation, endorsement, purchase, supply, order, or use of medicinal products is prohibited in the European Union. The provision of benefits or advantages to physicians is also governed by the national anti-bribery laws of European Union Member States, such as the United Kingdom Bribery Act 2010. Infringement of these laws could result in substantial fines and imprisonment.

              Payments made to physicians in certain European Union Member States must be publicly disclosed. Moreover, agreements with physicians often must be the subject of prior notification and approval by the physician's employer, his or her competent professional organization, and/or the regulatory authorities of the individual European Union Member States. These requirements are provided in the national laws, industry codes, or professional codes of conduct applicable in the European Union Member States. Failure to comply with these requirements could result in reputational risk, public reprimands, administrative penalties, fines, or imprisonment.

              Efforts to ensure that our business arrangements with third parties will comply with applicable healthcare laws and regulations will involve substantial costs. It is possible that governmental authorities will conclude that our business practices may not comply with current or future statutes, regulations, or case law involving applicable fraud and abuse or other healthcare laws and regulations. If our operations are found to be in violation of any of these laws or any other governmental regulations that may apply to us, we may be subject to significant civil, criminal, and administrative penalties, damages, fines, disgorgement, exclusion from government funded healthcare programs, such as Medicare and Medicaid, integrity oversight and reporting obligations, and the curtailment or restructuring of our operations, any of which could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects. If any of the physicians or other providers or entities with whom we expect to do business are found to be not in compliance with applicable laws, they may be subject to significant criminal, civil, or administrative sanctions, including exclusions from government funded healthcare programs. Liabilities they incur pursuant to these laws could result in significant costs or an interruption in operations, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects.

Recently enacted and future legislation may increase the difficulty and cost for us and any future collaborators to obtain marketing approval of and commercialize our product candidates and affect the prices we, or they, may obtain.

              In the United States and some foreign jurisdictions, there have been a number of legislative and regulatory changes and proposed changes regarding the healthcare system that could, among other things, prevent or delay marketing approval of our product candidates, restrict or regulate post-approval activities and affect our ability, or the ability of any future collaborators, to profitably sell any products for which we, or they, obtain marketing approval. We expect that current laws, as well as other healthcare reform measures that may be adopted in the future, may result in more rigorous coverage criteria and in additional downward pressure on the price that we, or any future collaborators, may receive for any approved products.

              The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, as amended by the Health Care and Education Affordability Reconciliation Act, or the PPACA, which became law in 2010, contains provisions of importance to our business, including, without limitation, our ability to commercialize and the prices we may obtain for any of our product candidates and that are approved for sale, the following:

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an annual, non-deductible fee on any entity that manufactures or imports specified branded prescription drugs and biologic agents;

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an increase in the statutory minimum rebates a manufacturer must pay under the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program;



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expansion of federal healthcare fraud and abuse laws, including the False Claims Act and the Anti-Kickback Statute, new government investigative powers and enhanced penalties for noncompliance;



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a new Medicare Part D coverage gap discount program, in which manufacturers must now agree to offer 70% point-of-sale discounts off negotiated prices;



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extension of manufacturers' Medicaid rebate liability;



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expansion of eligibility criteria for Medicaid programs;



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expansion of the entities eligible for discounts under the Public Health Service pharmaceutical pricing program new requirements to report financial arrangements with physicians and teaching hospitals;



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a new requirement to annually report drug samples that manufacturers and distributors provide to physicians; and



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a new Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute to oversee, identify priorities in, and conduct comparative clinical effectiveness research, along with funding for such research.

              In addition, other legislative changes have been proposed and adopted since the PPACA was enacted. In August 2011, the Budget Control Act of 2011, among other things, created measures for spending reductions by Congress. A Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, tasked with recommending a targeted deficit reduction of at least $1.2 trillion for the years 2013 through 2021, was unable to reach required goals, thereby triggering the legislation's automatic reduction to several government programs. These changes included aggregate reductions to Medicare payments to providers of up to 2% per fiscal year, which went into effect in April 2013 and will remain in effect through 2029 unless additional Congressional action is taken. The American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, among other things, reduced Medicare payments to several providers and increased the statute of limitations period for the government to recover overpayments to providers from three to five years. These new laws may result in additional reductions in Medicare and other healthcare funding and otherwise affect the prices we may obtain for any of our product candidates for which we may obtain regulatory approval or the frequency with which any such product candidate is prescribed or used.

              Since enactment of the PPACA, there have been, and continue to be, numerous legal challenges and executive and Congressional actions to repeal and replace provisions of the law. For example, with enactment of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, which was signed by President Trump on December 22, 2017, Congress repealed the "individual mandate." The repeal of this provision, which requires most Americans to carry a minimal level of health insurance, became effective in 2019. Additionally, the 2020 federal spending package permanently eliminated, effective January 1, 2020, the PPACA-mandated "Cadillac" tax on high-cost employer-sponsored health coverage and medical device tax and, effective January 1, 2021, also eliminates the health insurer tax. Further, the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018, among other things, amended the PPACA, effective January 1, 2019, to increase from 50% to 70% the point-of-sale discount that is owed by pharmaceutical manufacturers who participate in Medicare Part D and to close the coverage gap in most Medicare drug plans, commonly referred to as the "donut hole."

              Further, each chamber of the Congress has put forth multiple bills designed to repeal or repeal and replace portions of the PPACA. Although none of these measures has been enacted by Congress to date, Congress may consider other legislation to repeal and replace elements of the PPACA. It is possible that repeal and replacement initiatives, if enacted into law, could ultimately result in fewer

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individuals having health insurance coverage or in individuals having insurance coverage with less generous benefits.

              In addition, the current presidential administration has also taken executive actions to undermine or delay implementation of the PPACA. For example, the president has signed executive orders designed to delay the implementation of certain provisions of the PPACA or otherwise circumvent some of the requirements for health insurance mandated by the PPACA. One executive order directed federal agencies with authorities and responsibilities under the PPACA to waive, defer, grant exemptions from, or delay the implementation of any provision of the PPACA that would impose a fiscal or regulatory burden on states, individuals, healthcare providers, health insurers, or manufacturers of pharmaceuticals or medical devices. Another executive order terminated the cost-sharing subsidies that reimburse insurers under the PPACA.

              On December 14, 2018, a Texas U.S. District Court Judge ruled that the PPACA is unconstitutional in its entirety because the "individual mandate" was repealed by Congress as part of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. Additionally, on December 18, 2019, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit upheld the District Court ruling that the individual mandate was unconstitutional and remanded the case back to the District Court to determine whether the remaining provisions of the PPACA are invalid as well. On March 2, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court granted the petitions for writs of certiorari to review this case, and has allotted one hour for oral arguments, which are expected to occur in the fall. It is unclear how such litigation and other efforts to repeal and replace the PPACA will impact the PPACA.

              The costs of prescription pharmaceuticals have also been the subject of considerable discussion in the United States, and members of Congress and the executive branch have stated that they will address such costs through new legislative and administrative measures. To date, there have been several recent U.S. congressional inquiries and proposed and enacted state and federal legislation designed to, among other things, bring more transparency to drug pricing, review the relationship between pricing and manufacturer patient programs, reduce the costs of drugs under Medicare and reform government program reimbursement methodologies for drug products. At the federal level, the current presidential administration's 2021 budget proposal includes a $135 billion allowance to support legislative proposals seeking to reduce drug prices, increase competition, lower out-of-pocket drug costs for patients, and increase patient access to lower-cost generic and biosimilar drugs. On March 10, 2020, the current presidential administration sent "principles" for drug pricing to Congress, calling for legislation that would, among other things, cap Medicare Part D beneficiary out-of-pocket pharmacy expenses, provide an option to cap Medicare Part D beneficiary monthly out-of-pocket expenses, and place limits on pharmaceutical price increases. Moreover, the administration previously released a "Blueprint" to lower drug prices and reduce out of pocket costs of drugs that contained proposals to increase manufacturer competition, increase the negotiating power of certain federal healthcare programs, incentivize manufacturers to lower the list price of their products and reduce the out of pocket costs of drug products paid by consumers. While some of these measures may require additional authorization to become effective, Congress and the current presidential administration have each indicated that it will continue to seek new legislative and/or administrative measures to control drug costs. At the state level, individual states are increasingly aggressive in passing legislation and implementing regulations designed to control pharmaceutical and biological product pricing, including price or patient reimbursement constraints, discounts, restrictions on certain product access and marketing cost disclosure and transparency measures, and, in some cases, designed to encourage importation from other countries and bulk purchasing. In addition, regional healthcare authorities and individual hospitals are increasingly using bidding procedures to determine what pharmaceutical products and which suppliers will be included in their prescription drug and other healthcare programs. These measures could reduce the ultimate demand for our products, once approved, or put pressure on our product pricing. We expect that additional state and federal healthcare reform measures will be

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adopted in the future, any of which could limit the amounts that federal and state governments will pay for healthcare products and services, which could result in reduced demand for our products or additional pricing pressures.

              We expect that these healthcare reforms, as well as other healthcare reform measures that may be adopted in the future, may result in additional reductions in Medicare and other healthcare funding, more rigorous coverage criteria, new payment methodologies and additional downward pressure on the price that we receive for any approved product and/or the level of reimbursement physicians receive for administering any approved product we might bring to market. Reductions in reimbursement levels may negatively impact the prices we receive or the frequency with which our potential products are prescribed or administered. Any reduction in reimbursement from Medicare or other government programs may result in a similar reduction in payments from private payors.

The commercial success of our products depends on the availability and sufficiency of third-party payor coverage and reimbursement.

              Our ability to commercialize any products successfully will depend in part on the extent to which coverage and adequate reimbursement for such products will be available from third-party payors. Even if we succeed in bringing one or more products to the market, these products may not be considered cost-effective, and the amount reimbursed for any products may be insufficient to allow us to sell our products on a competitive basis. Because our programs are in the early stages of development, we are unable at this time to determine their cost-effectiveness or the likely level or method of coverage and reimbursement.

              Further, no uniform policy for coverage and reimbursement exists in the United States, and coverage and reimbursement can differ significantly from payor to payor. Third-party payors often rely upon Medicare coverage policy and payment limitations in setting their own reimbursement rates, but also have their own methods and approval process apart from Medicare determinations. As such, one third-party payor's determination to provide coverage for a product does not assure that other payors will also provide coverage for the product. Additionally, we may develop companion diagnostic tests for use with our product candidates. If we do, we will be required to obtain coverage and reimbursement for these tests separate and apart from the coverage and reimbursement we seek for our product candidates, once approved. While we have not yet developed any companion diagnostic test for our product candidates, if we do, there is significant uncertainty regarding our ability to obtain coverage and adequate reimbursement for the same reasons applicable to our product candidates. Our inability to promptly obtain coverage and adequate reimbursement rates from both government-funded and private payors for our products and/or any companion diagnostics could have a material and adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects.

If we are required by the FDA to obtain approval of a companion diagnostic in connection with approval of a candidate therapeutic product, and if we do not obtain or there are delays in obtaining FDA approval of a diagnostic device, we will not be able to commercialize the product candidate and our ability to generate revenue will be materially impaired.

              In August 2014, the FDA issued final guidance clarifying the requirements that will apply to approval of therapeutic products and in vitro companion diagnostics. According to the guidance, if the FDA determines that a companion diagnostic device is essential to the safe and effective use of a novel therapeutic product or indication, the FDA generally will not approve the therapeutic product or new therapeutic product indication if the companion diagnostic is not also approved or cleared for that indication. For example, it is possible the FDA might require a companion diagnostic in the event that high pre-existing neutralizing antibody levels impede delivery to the intracochlear space, although we have not observed this in our preclinical studies in non-human primates. Under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, or FDCA, companion diagnostics are regulated as medical devices and the

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FDA has generally required companion diagnostics intended to select the patients who will respond to a product candidate to obtain premarket approval, or a PMA. The PMA process, including the gathering of clinical and preclinical data and the submission to and review by the FDA, involves a rigorous premarket review during which the applicant must prepare and provide the FDA with reasonable assurance of the device's safety and effectiveness and information about the device and its components regarding, among other things, device design, manufacturing, and labeling. PMA approval is not guaranteed and may take considerable time, and the FDA may ultimately respond to a PMA submission with a not approvable determination based on deficiencies in the application and require additional clinical trial or other data that may be expensive and time-consuming to generate and that can substantially delay approval. As a result, if we are required by the FDA to obtain approval of a companion diagnostic for a candidate therapeutic product, and we do not obtain or there are delays in obtaining FDA approval of a diagnostic device, we will not be able to commercialize the product candidate and our ability to generate revenue will be materially impaired.

Our employees, principal investigators, consultants, and commercial partners may engage in misconduct or other improper activities, including non-compliance with regulatory standards and requirements and insider trading.

              We are exposed to the risk of fraud or other misconduct by our employees, consultants, and partners, and, if we commence clinical trials, our principal investigators. Misconduct by these parties could include intentional failures to comply with FDA regulations or the regulations applicable in the European Union and other jurisdictions, provide accurate information to the FDA, the European Commission, and other regulatory authorities, comply with healthcare fraud and abuse laws and regulations in the United States and abroad, report financial information or data accurately, or disclose unauthorized activities to us. In particular, sales, marketing, and business arrangements in the healthcare industry are subject to extensive laws and regulations intended to prevent fraud, misconduct, kickbacks, self-dealing, and other abusive practices. These laws and regulations restrict or prohibit a wide range of pricing, discounting, marketing, and promotion, sales commission, customer incentive programs, and other business arrangements. Such misconduct also could involve the improper use of information obtained in the course of clinical trials or interactions with the FDA or other regulatory authorities, which could result in regulatory sanctions and cause serious harm to our reputation. We have adopted a code of conduct applicable to all of our employees, but it is not always possible to identify and deter employee misconduct, and the precautions we take to detect and prevent this activity may not be effective in controlling unknown or unmanaged risks or losses or in protecting us from government investigations or other actions or lawsuits stemming from a failure to comply with these laws or regulations. If any such actions are instituted against us, and we are not successful in defending ourselves or asserting our rights, those actions could have a significant impact on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects, including the imposition of significant fines or other sanctions.

Laws and regulations governing any international operations we may have in the future may preclude us from developing, manufacturing and selling certain product candidates outside of the United States and require us to develop and implement costly compliance programs.

              We are subject to numerous laws and regulations in each jurisdiction outside the United States in which we operate. The creation, implementation and maintenance of international business practices compliance programs is costly and such programs are difficult to enforce, particularly where reliance on third parties is required.

              The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, or FCPA, prohibits any U.S. individual or business from paying, offering, authorizing payment or offering of anything of value, directly or indirectly, to any foreign official, political party, or candidate for the purpose of influencing any act or decision of the

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foreign entity in order to assist the individual or business in obtaining or retaining business. The FCPA also obligates companies whose securities are listed in the United States to comply with certain accounting provisions requiring the company to maintain books and records that accurately and fairly reflect all transactions of the corporation, including international subsidiaries, and to devise and maintain an adequate system of internal accounting controls for international operations. The anti-bribery provisions of the FCPA are enforced primarily by the Department of Justice. The Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, is involved with enforcement of the books and records provisions of the FCPA.

              Compliance with the FCPA and other anti-corruption laws potentially applicable to our business is expensive and difficult, particularly in countries in which corruption is a recognized problem. In addition, the compliance with the FCPA and other anti-corruption laws presents particular challenges in the pharmaceutical industry, because, in many countries, hospitals are operated by the government, and doctors and other hospital employees are considered foreign officials. Certain payments to hospitals in connection with clinical trials and other work have been deemed to be improper payments to government officials and have led to FCPA enforcement actions.

              We are also subject to other laws and regulations governing our international operations, including applicable export control laws, economic sanctions on countries and persons, and customs requirements. In addition, various laws, regulations and executive orders also restrict the use and dissemination outside of the United States, or the sharing with certain non-U.S. nationals, of information classified for national security purposes, as well as certain products and technical data relating to those products. Our expansion outside of the United States has required, and will continue to require, us to dedicate additional resources to comply with these laws, and these laws may preclude us from developing, manufacturing, or selling certain drugs and drug candidates outside of the United States, which could limit our growth potential and increase our development costs.

              There is no assurance that we will be completely effective in ensuring our compliance with the FCPA and other applicable anti-corruption, export, sanctions, and customs laws. The failure to comply with laws governing international business practices may result in substantial penalties, including suspension or debarment from government contracting. Violations of these laws, including the FCPA, can result in significant civil and criminal penalties. Indictment alone under the FCPA can lead to suspension of the right to do business with the U.S. government until the pending claims are resolved. Conviction of a violation of the FCPA can result in long-term disqualification as a government contractor. The termination of a government contract or relationship as a result of our failure to satisfy any of our obligations under laws governing international business practices would have a negative impact on our operations and harm our reputation and ability to procure government contracts. The SEC also may suspend or bar issuers from trading securities on U.S. exchanges for violations of the FCPA's accounting provisions.

Risks Related to Employee Matters, Managing Growth, and General Business Operations

Our future success depends on our ability to retain key executives and to attract, retain, and motivate qualified personnel.

              We are highly dependent on the research and development, clinical, financial, operational, and other business expertise of our executive officers, as well as the other principal members of our management, scientific and clinical teams. Although we have entered into employment offer letters with our executive officers, each of them may terminate their employment with us at any time. We do not maintain "key person" insurance for any of our executives or other employees. Recruiting and retaining qualified scientific, clinical, manufacturing, accounting, legal, and sales and marketing personnel will also be critical to our success.

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              The loss of the services of our executive officers or other key employees could impede the achievement of our research, development and commercialization objectives and seriously harm our ability to successfully implement our business strategy. Furthermore, replacing executive officers and key employees may be difficult and may take an extended period of time because of the limited number of individuals in our industry with the breadth of skills and experience required to successfully develop, gain regulatory approval of and commercialize products. Competition to hire from this limited pool is intense, and we may be unable to hire, train, retain, or motivate these key personnel on acceptable terms given the competition among numerous pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies for similar personnel. We also experience competition for the hiring of scientific and clinical personnel from universities and research institutions. In addition, we rely on consultants and advisors, including scientific and clinical advisors, to assist us in formulating our research and development and commercialization strategy. Our consultants and advisors may be employed by employers other than us and may have commitments under consulting or advisory contracts with other entities that may limit their availability to us. Our success as a public company also depends on implementing and maintaining internal controls and the accuracy and timeliness of our financial reporting. If we are unable to continue to attract and retain high quality personnel, our ability to pursue our growth strategy will be limited.

We expect to expand our development and regulatory capabilities and potentially implement sales, marketing, and distribution capabilities, and as a result, we may encounter difficulties in managing our growth, which could disrupt our operations.

              As we seek to advance our product candidates through clinical trials and commercialization, we will need to expand our development, regulatory, manufacturing, marketing, and sales capabilities or contract with third parties to provide these capabilities. We expect to experience significant growth in the number of our employees and the scope of our operations, particularly in the areas of drug development, clinical, regulatory affairs, and, if any product candidate receives marketing approval, sales, marketing, and distribution. To manage our anticipated future growth, we must continue to implement and improve our managerial, operational, and financial systems, expand our facilities and continue to recruit and train additional qualified personnel. Due to our limited financial resources and the limited experience of our management team in managing a company with such anticipated growth, we may not be able to effectively manage the expansion of our operations or recruit and train additional qualified personnel. The expansion of our operations may lead to significant costs 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.

Our operations might be affected by the occurrence of a natural disaster or other catastrophic event.

              We depend on our employees, consultants, CMOs, CROs, as well as regulatory agencies and other parties, for the continued operation of our business. While we maintain disaster recovery plans, they might not adequately protect us. Despite any precautions we take for natural disasters or other catastrophic events, these events, including terrorist attack, pandemic, hurricanes, fire, floods, and ice and snowstorms, could result in significant disruptions to our research and development, preclinical studies, clinical trials, and, ultimately, commercialization of our products. Long-term disruptions in the infrastructure caused by events, such as natural disasters, the outbreak of war, the escalation of hostilities and acts of terrorism or other "acts of God," particularly involving cities in which we have offices, manufacturing or clinical trial sites, could adversely affect our businesses. Although we carry business interruption insurance policies and typically have provisions in our contracts that protect us in certain events, our coverage might not respond or be adequate to compensate us for all losses that may occur. Any natural disaster or catastrophic event affecting us, our CMOs, our CROs, regulatory agencies, or other parties with which we are engaged could have a significant negative impact on our operations and financial performance.

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Our internal computer systems, or those used by our CROs, CMOs, or other contractors or consultants, may fail or suffer security breaches.

              Despite the implementation of security measures, our internal computer systems and those of our CROs, CMOs, and other contractors and consultants are vulnerable to damage from computer viruses and unauthorized access. While we have not experienced any such material system failure or security breach to date, if such an event were to occur and cause interruptions in our operations, it could result in a material disruption of our development programs and our business operations. For example, the loss of our preclinical data and clinical trial data from preclinical studies or clinical trials could result in delays in our regulatory approval efforts and significantly increase our costs to recover or reproduce the data. Likewise, we currently rely on third parties for the manufacture of our product candidates and expect to rely on third parties to conduct clinical trials, and similar events relating to their computer systems could also have a material adverse effect on our business. To the extent that any disruption or security breach were to result in a loss of, or damage to, our data or applications, or inappropriate disclosure of confidential or proprietary information, we could incur liability and the further development and commercialization of our product candidates could be delayed.

Risks Related to this Offering, Ownership of Our Common Stock, and Our Status as a Public Company

An active trading market for our common stock may not develop.

              Prior to this offering, there has been no public market for our common stock. The initial public offering price for our common stock will be determined through negotiations with the underwriters. Although we have applied to have our common stock approved for listing on the Nasdaq Global Market, an active trading market for our shares may never develop or be sustained following this offering. If an active market for our common stock does not develop, it may be difficult for you to sell shares you purchase in this offering without depressing the market price for the shares or at all.

If you purchase shares of common stock in this offering, you will suffer immediate dilution of your investment.

              The initial public offering price of our common stock will be substantially higher than the pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value per share of our common stock after this offering. Therefore, if you purchase shares of our common stock in this offering, you will pay a price per share that substantially exceeds our pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value per share after this offering. Based on an assumed initial public offering price of $            per share, which is the midpoint of the price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, you will experience immediate dilution of $            per share, representing the difference between our pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value per share as of March 31, 2020, after giving effect to this offering, and the assumed initial public offering price. To the extent outstanding options are exercised, you will incur further dilution.

If securities analysts do not publish or cease publishing research or reports or publish misleading, inaccurate or unfavorable research about our business or if they publish negative evaluations of our stock, the price and trading volume of our stock could decline.

              The trading market for our common stock will rely, in part, on the research and reports that industry or financial analysts publish about us or our business. We do not currently have, and may never obtain, research coverage by industry or financial analysts. If no, or few, analysts commence coverage of us, the trading price of our stock would likely decrease. Even if we do obtain analyst coverage, if one or more of the analysts covering our business downgrade their evaluations of our stock or publish inaccurate or unfavorable research about our business, or provides more favorable relative

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recommendations about our competitors, the price of our stock could decline. If one or more of these analysts cease to cover our stock, we could lose visibility in the market for our stock, which in turn could cause our stock price and trading volume to decline.

The price of our common stock may be volatile and fluctuate substantially, which could result in substantial losses for purchasers of our common stock in this offering.

              Our stock price is likely to be volatile. The stock market in general and the market for smaller biopharmaceutical 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, you may not be able to sell your common stock at or above the initial public offering price. The market price for our common stock may be influenced by many factors, including:

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results of or developments in preclinical studies and clinical trials of our product candidates or those of our competitors or potential collaborators;



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timing of the results of our preclinical studies and clinical trials or those of our competitors;



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our success in commercializing any product candidates, if and when approved;



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the success of competitive products or technologies;



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regulatory or legal developments in the United States and other countries;



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developments or disputes concerning patent applications, issued patents, or other intellectual property or proprietary rights;



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the recruitment or departure of key personnel;



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the level of expenses related to our product candidates;



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the results of our efforts to discover, develop, acquire, or in-license products, product candidates, technologies, or data referencing rights, the costs of commercializing any such products, and the costs of development of any such product candidates or technologies;



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actual or anticipated changes in estimates as to financial results, development timelines, or recommendations by securities analysts;



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variations in our financial results or the financial results of companies that are perceived to be similar to us;



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sales of common stock by us, our executive officers, directors, or principal stockholders, or others;



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changes in the structure of healthcare payment systems;



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market conditions in the biopharmaceutical and biotechnology sectors;



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general economic, industry, and market conditions; and



•

the other factors described in this "Risk Factors" section.

              In the past, following periods of volatility in the market price of a company's securities, securities class-action litigation has often been instituted against that company. Any lawsuit to which we are a party, with or without merit, may result in an unfavorable judgment. We also may decide to settle lawsuits on unfavorable terms. Any such negative outcome could result in payments of substantial damages or fines, damage to our reputation, or adverse changes to our offerings or business practices. Such litigation may also cause us to incur other substantial costs to defend such claims and divert management's attention and resources.

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After this offering, our executive officers, directors, and principal stockholders, if they choose to act together, will continue to have the ability to control all matters submitted to stockholders for approval.

              Upon the closing of this offering, based on the number of shares outstanding as of May 31, 2020, our executive officers and directors and our stockholders who owned more than 5% of our outstanding common stock before this offering will, in the aggregate, beneficially own shares representing approximately        % of our common stock. As a result, if these stockholders were to choose to act together, they would be able to control all matters submitted to our stockholders for approval, as well as our management and affairs. For example, these stockholders, if they choose to act together, would control the election of directors and approval of any merger, consolidation, or sale of all or substantially all of our assets.

              This concentration of ownership control may:

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delay, defer, or prevent a change in control;



•

entrench our management and board of directors; or



•

delay or prevent a merger, consolidation, takeover, or other business combination involving us that other stockholders may desire.

We have broad discretion in the use of the net proceeds from this offering and may not use them effectively.

              Our management will have broad discretion in the application of the net proceeds from this offering and could spend the proceeds in ways that do not improve our results of operations or enhance the value of our common stock. The failure by our management to apply these funds effectively could result in financial losses that could cause the price of our common stock to decline and delay the development of our product candidates. Pending their use, we may invest the net proceeds from this offering in a manner that does not produce income or that loses value.

Because we do not anticipate paying any cash dividends on our capital stock in the foreseeable future, capital appreciation, if any, will be your sole source of gain.

              We have never declared or paid cash dividends on our capital stock. We currently intend to retain all of our future earnings, if any, to finance the growth and development of our business. As a result, capital appreciation, if any, of our common stock will be your sole source of gain for the foreseeable future.

A significant portion of our total outstanding shares are eligible to be sold into the market in the near future, which could cause the market price of our common stock to drop significantly, even if our business is doing well.

              Sales of a substantial number of shares of our common stock in the public market, or the perception in the market that the holders of a large number of shares intend to sell shares, could reduce the market price of our common stock. After this offering, we will have            shares of common stock outstanding, based on the number of shares outstanding as of                , 2020. This includes the shares that we are selling in this offering, which may be resold in the public market immediately without restriction, unless purchased by our affiliates. The remaining            shares are currently restricted as a result of securities laws or lock-up agreements but will become eligible to be sold at various times after the offering as described in the section of this prospectus titled "Shares Eligible for Future Sale." The representatives of the underwriters may release some or all of the shares of common stock subject to lock-up agreements at any time and without notice, which would allow for earlier sales of shares in the public market.

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              Moreover, beginning 180 days after the completion of this offering, holders of an aggregate of            shares of our common stock will have rights, along with holders of an additional shares of our common stock issuable upon exercise of outstanding options, subject to specified conditions, to require us to file registration statements covering their shares or to include their shares in registration statements that we may file for ourselves or other stockholders. We also intend to register all shares of common stock that we may issue under our equity compensation plans. Once we register these shares, they can be freely sold in the public market upon issuance, subject to volume limitations applicable to affiliates and the lock-up agreements described in the "Shares Eligible for Future Sale" section of this prospectus.

We are an "emerging growth company," and the reduced disclosure requirements applicable to emerging growth companies may make our common stock less attractive to investors.

              We are an "emerging growth company," or EGC, as defined in the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012, or the JOBS Act. We may remain an EGC until the end of 2025, although if the market value of our common stock that is held by non-affiliates exceeds $700.0 million as of any June 30 before that time or if we have annual gross revenues of $1.07 billion or more in any fiscal year, we would cease to be an EGC as of December 31 of the year in which such event occurs. We also would cease to be an EGC if we issue more than $1.0 billion of non-convertible debt over a three-year period. For so long as we remain an EGC, we are permitted and intend to rely on exemptions from certain disclosure requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not EGCs. These exemptions include:

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being permitted to provide only two years of audited financial statements in this prospectus, in addition to any required unaudited interim financial statements, with correspondingly reduced "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" disclosure;



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not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements in the assessment of our internal control over financial reporting;



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reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation;



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exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved; and



•

an exemption from compliance with the requirement of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board regarding the communication of critical audit matters in the auditor's report on the financial statements.

              We have taken advantage of reduced reporting obligations in this prospectus. In particular, in this prospectus, we have provided only two years of audited financial statements and have not included all of the executive compensation related information that would be required if we were not an EGC.

              In addition, the JOBS Act permits an EGC to take advantage of an extended transition period to comply with new or revised accounting standards applicable to public companies until those standards would otherwise apply to private companies. We have elected to take advantage of such extended transition period, which means that when a standard is issued or revised and it has different application dates for public or private companies, we will adopt the new or revised standard at the time private companies adopt the new or revised standard and will do so until such time that we either irrevocably elect to "opt out" of such extended transition period or no longer qualify as an EGC. We may choose to early adopt any new or revised accounting standards whenever such early adoption is permitted for private companies.

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              We cannot predict if investors will find our common stock less attractive if we rely on these exemptions. If some investors find our common stock less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our common stock and our stock price may be more volatile.

We will incur increased costs as a result of operating as a public company, and our management will be required to devote substantial time to new compliance initiatives and corporate governance practices.

              As a public company, and particularly after we are no longer an EGC, we will incur significant legal, accounting, and other expenses that we did not incur as a private company. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, the listing requirements of the Nasdaq Global Market and other applicable securities rules and regulations impose various requirements on public companies, including establishment and maintenance of effective disclosure and financial controls and corporate governance practices. Our management and other personnel will need to devote a substantial amount of time to these compliance initiatives. Moreover, these rules and regulations will increase our legal and financial compliance costs, particularly as we hire additional financial and accounting employees to meet public company internal control, and financial reporting requirements and will make some activities more time-consuming and costly. For example, we expect that these rules and regulations may make it more difficult and more expensive for us to obtain director and officer liability insurance, which in turn could make it more difficult for us to attract and retain qualified members of our board of directors.

              We are evaluating these rules and regulations and cannot predict or estimate the amount of additional costs we may incur or the timing of such costs. These rules and regulations are often subject to varying interpretations, in many cases due to their lack of specificity, and, as a result, their application in practice may evolve over time as new guidance is provided by regulatory and governing bodies. This could result in continuing uncertainty regarding compliance matters and higher costs necessitated by ongoing revisions to disclosure and governance practices.

              Pursuant to Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, or Section 404, in our second annual report due to be filed with the SEC after becoming a public company, we will be required to furnish a report by our management on our internal control over financial reporting. However, while we remain an EGC, we will not be required to include an attestation report on internal control over financial reporting issued by our independent registered public accounting firm. To achieve compliance with Section 404 within the prescribed period, we will be engaged in a process to document and evaluate our internal control over financial reporting, which is both costly and challenging. In this regard, we will need to continue to dedicate internal resources, including through hiring additional financial and accounting personnel, potentially engage outside consultants and adopt a detailed work plan to assess and document the adequacy of internal control over financial reporting, continue steps to improve control processes as appropriate, validate through testing that controls are functioning as documented and implement a continuous reporting and improvement process for internal control over financial reporting. Despite our efforts, there is a risk that we will not be able to conclude, within the prescribed timeframe or at all, that our internal control over financial reporting is effective as required by Section 404. If we identify one or more material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting, it could result in an adverse reaction in the financial markets due to a loss of confidence in the reliability of our financial statements.

If we fail to maintain an effective system of internal control over financial reporting, we may not be able to accurately report our financial results or prevent fraud. As a result, stockholders could lose confidence in our financial and other public reporting, which would harm our business and the trading price of our common stock.

              Effective internal control over financial reporting are necessary for us to provide reliable financial reports and, together with adequate disclosure controls and procedures, are designed to

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prevent fraud. Any failure to implement required new or improved controls, or difficulties encountered in their implementation could cause us to fail to meet our reporting obligations. In addition, any testing by us conducted in connection with Section 404, or any subsequent testing by our independent registered public accounting firm, may reveal deficiencies in our internal control over financial reporting that are deemed to be material weaknesses or that may require prospective or retroactive changes to our financial statements or identify other areas for further attention or improvement. Inferior internal controls could also cause investors to lose confidence in our reported financial information, which could harm our business and have a negative effect on the trading price of our stock.

              We will be required to disclose changes made in our internal controls and procedures on a quarterly basis and our management will be required to assess the effectiveness of these controls annually. However, for as long as we are an EGC under the JOBS Act, our independent registered public accounting firm will not be required to attest to the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting pursuant to Section 404. We could be an EGC for up to five years. Our assessment of internal controls and procedures may not detect material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting. Undetected material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting could lead to financial statement restatements and require us to incur the expense of remediation, which could have a negative effect on the trading price of our stock.

Our disclosure controls and procedures may not prevent or detect all errors or acts of fraud.

              Upon completion of this offering, we will become subject to certain reporting requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act. Our disclosure controls and procedures are designed to reasonably assure that information required to be disclosed by us in reports we file or submit under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to management, recorded, processed, summarized, and reported within the time periods specified in the rules and forms of the SEC. We believe that any disclosure controls and procedures or internal controls and procedures, no matter how well conceived and operated, can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the objectives of the control system are met. These inherent limitations include the realities that judgments in decision-making can be faulty, and that breakdowns can occur because of simple error or mistake. Additionally, controls can be circumvented by the individual acts of some persons, by collusion of two or more people, or by an unauthorized override of the controls. Accordingly, because of the inherent limitations in our control system, misstatements or insufficient disclosures due to error or fraud may occur and not be detected.

Changes in tax laws or in their implementation or interpretation may adversely affect our business and financial condition.

              Changes in tax laws may adversely affect our business or financial condition. On December 22, 2017, the U.S. government enacted the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, or the Tax Act, which significantly reformed the U.S. Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, or the Code. The Tax Act, among other things, contained significant changes to corporate taxation, including a reduction of the corporate tax rate from a top marginal rate of 35% to a flat rate of 21%, the limitation of the tax deduction for net interest expense to 30% of adjusted taxable income (except for certain small businesses), the limitation of the deduction for net operating losses, or NOLs, arising in taxable years beginning after December 31, 2017 to 80% of current year taxable income and elimination of NOL carrybacks for losses arising in taxable years ending after December 31, 2017 (though any such NOLs may be carried forward indefinitely), the imposition of a one-time taxation of offshore earnings at reduced rates regardless of whether they are repatriated, the elimination of U.S. tax on foreign earnings (subject to certain important exceptions), the allowance of immediate deductions for certain new investments

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instead of deductions for depreciation expense over time, and the modification or repeal of many business deductions and credits.

              As part of Congress' response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, or FFCR Act, was enacted on March 18, 2020, and the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, or CARES Act, was enacted on March 27, 2020. Both contain numerous tax provisions. In particular, the CARES Act retroactively and temporarily (for taxable years beginning before January 1, 2021) suspends application of the 80%-of-income limitation on the use of NOLs, which was enacted as part of the Tax Act. It also provides that NOLs arising in any taxable year beginning after December 31, 2017 and before January 1, 2021 are generally eligible to be carried back up to five years. The CARES Act also temporarily (for taxable years beginning in 2019 or 2020) relaxes the limitation of the tax deductibility for net interest expense by increasing the limitation from 30 to 50% of adjusted taxable income.

              Regulatory guidance under the Tax Act, the FFCR Act, and the CARES Act is and continues to be forthcoming, and such guidance could ultimately increase or lessen the impact of these laws on our business and financial condition. It is also likely that Congress will enact additional legislation in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic, some of which could have an impact on our company. In addition, it is uncertain if and to what extent various states will conform to the Tax Act, the FFCR Act, or the CARES Act.

Our ability to use our net operating loss carryforwards and certain other tax attributes may be limited.

              We have incurred substantial losses since inception and do not expect to become profitable in the near future, if ever. To the extent that we continue to generate taxable losses, unused losses will carry forward to offset future taxable income, if any. As of December 31, 2019, we had federal NOL carryforwards of $28.1 million, which may be available to offset future taxable income, of which $0.4 million begin to expire in 2036. In addition, as of December 31, 2019, we had state NOL carryforwards of $28.0 million, which may be available to offset future taxable income and expire at various dates beginning in 2036.

              In general, under Sections 382 and 383 of the Code, if a corporation undergoes an "ownership change," generally defined as a greater than 50 percentage point change (by value) in its equity ownership by certain stockholders over a rolling three-year period, the corporation's ability to use its pre-change NOLs and other pre-change tax attributes (such as research tax credits) to offset its post-change income or taxes may be limited. We have not conducted a study to assess whether any such ownership changes have occurred. We may have experienced ownership changes in the past and may experience ownership changes in the future as a result of subsequent shifts in our stock ownership (some of which shifts are outside our control). As a result, if we earn net taxable income, our ability to use our pre-change NOLs and research and development tax credit carryforwards to offset such taxable income may be subject to limitations. Similar provisions of state tax law may also apply to limit our use of accumulated state tax attributes.

              There is also a risk that due to regulatory changes, such as suspensions on the use of NOLs, or other unforeseen reasons, our existing NOLs could expire unused or otherwise become unavailable to offset future income tax liabilities. As described above in "Changes in tax laws or in their implementation or interpretation may adversely affect our business and financial condition," the Tax Act, as amended by the CARES Act, includes changes to U.S. federal tax rates and the rules governing NOL carryforwards that may significantly impact our ability to utilize our NOLs to offset taxable income in the future. In addition, state NOLs generated in one state cannot be used to offset income generated in another state. For these reasons, even if we attain profitability, we may be unable to use a material portion of our NOLs and other tax attributes.

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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 directors and members of management.

              Provisions in our certificate of incorporation and our bylaws that will become effective upon the closing of this offering 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 is 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:

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establish a classified board of directors such that only one of three classes of directors is elected each year;



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allow the authorized number of our directors to be changed only by resolution of our board of directors;



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limit the manner in which stockholders can remove directors from our board of directors;



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establish advance notice requirements for stockholder proposals that can be acted on at stockholder meetings and nominations to our board of directors;



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require that stockholder actions must be effected at a duly called stockholder meeting and prohibit actions by our stockholders by written consent;



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limit who may call stockholder meetings;



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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



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require the approval of the holders of at least 75% 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 that will become effective upon the closing of this offering.

              Moreover, because we are incorporated in Delaware, we are governed by the provisions of Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, or the DGCL, 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.

Our certificate of incorporation that will become effective upon the closing of this offering designates the state courts in the State of Delaware as the sole and exclusive forum for certain types of actions and proceedings that may be initiated by our stockholders, which could discourage lawsuits against the company and our directors, officers, and employees.

              Our certificate of incorporation that will become effective upon the closing of this offering provides that, unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware (or, if the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware does not have jurisdiction, the federal district court for the District of Delaware) will be the sole and exclusive forum for the following types of proceedings:

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any derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf;

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any action asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any of our directors, officers, employees, or stockholders to our company or our stockholders;



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any action asserting a claim arising pursuant to any provision of the DGCL or as to which the DGCL confers jurisdiction on the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware; or



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any action asserting a claim arising pursuant to any provision of our certificate of incorporation or bylaws (in each case, as they may be amended from time to time) or governed by the internal affairs doctrine.

              These choice of forum provisions will not apply to suits brought to enforce a duty or liability created by the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, the Exchange Act, or any other claim for which federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction. Furthermore, our certificate of incorporation that will become effective upon the closing of this offering provides that, unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the federal district courts of the United States of America shall, to the fullest extent permitted by law, be the sole and exclusive forum for the resolution of any claims arising under the Securities Act.

              These exclusive forum provisions may limit the ability of our stockholders to bring a claim in a judicial forum that such stockholders find favorable for disputes with us or our directors, officers, or employees, which may discourage such lawsuits against us and our directors, officers, and employees. Alternatively, if a court were to find the choice of forum provisions contained in our certificate of incorporation to be inapplicable or unenforceable in an action, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such action in other jurisdictions, which could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, and operating results.

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