Note 11. Leases

 

Operating leases

 

The Company has facility leases for laboratory and office space under non-cancellable and cancellable operating leases with various expiration dates through 2032.

 

Lease costs were comprised of the following (in thousands):

 

 

Year Ended December 31,

 

 

2025

 

 

2024

 

Operating lease cost

$

7,273

 

 

$

8,020

 

Variable lease cost

 

4,223

 

 

 

3,704

 

Sublease income

 

(2,916

)

 

 

(1,288

)

Total lease cost

$

8,580

 

 

$

10,436

 

 

The Company paid $6.3 million and $7.8 million in cash for operating leases, net of cash received from subleases, that is included in the operating activities section of the consolidated statements of cash flows for the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively.

 

The weighted-average remaining lease term and the weighted-average discount rate of the Company’s operating leases were 6.39 years and 8.98%, respectively, at December 31, 2025. The weighted-average remaining lease term and the weighted-average discount rate of the Company’s operating leases were 7.33 years and 8.97%, respectively, at December 31, 2024. The weighted-average remaining lease term does not include any renewal options at the election of the Company.

 

The Company’s lease agreements do not contain any material residual value guarantees or material restrictive covenants.

Facility leases

 

In September 2020, the Company entered into a lease agreement for approximately 60,000 square feet of laboratory and office space in San Diego, California, which represented a portion of a new facility that was under construction and which was subsequently amended in March 2021 to expand the rented premises by approximately 18,000 square feet (the 2020 Lease). The construction and design of the asset was the primary responsibility of the lessor. The Company was involved in certain aspects of construction and design for certain interior features and leasehold improvements that is beneficial to the Company to better suit its business needs and intended purpose of the space. The lease is accounted for as an operating lease and commenced in August 2021. In April 2022, the 2020 Lease was modified to amend the rent commencement date from February 2022 to May 2022. The 2020 Lease, as amended, has a term of 10.75 years and includes aggregate monthly payments to the lessor of approximately $51.6 million beginning in May 2023 with a rent escalation clause, and a tenant improvement allowance of approximately $16.8 million. The Company is responsible for its share of operating expenses based on actual operating expenses incurred by the landlord. The 2020 Lease is cancellable at the Company’s request after the 84th month with 12 months written notice and a lump-sum cancellation payment of $2.5 million. The termination option has not been included in the Company's operating lease assets and liabilities. As discussed in Note 2, the Company provided a letter of credit to the lessor for $408,000, which expires July 29, 2032.

 

In December 2021, the Company entered into a lease agreement for approximately 30,000 square feet of office and laboratory space in South San Francisco, California. The lease is accounted for as an operating lease with the associated operating lease assets and liabilities recorded upon commencement, which occurred in July 2022. The non-cancellable operating lease has an initial term of 124 months with an option to extend the lease term by 5 years at the then-current market rates and includes aggregate monthly payments to the lessor of approximately $34.4 million beginning in November 2022 with a rent escalation clause and a tenant improvement allowance of approximately $8.2 million. The renewal option has not been included in the Company's operating lease assets and liabilities. The Company is responsible for its share of operating expenses based on actual operating expenses incurred by the landlord. The construction and design of the tenant improvements was the primary responsibility of the lessor. While the Company was involved in certain aspects of construction and design for certain interior features and leasehold improvements that is beneficial to the Company to better suit its business needs and intended purpose of the space, all construction was handled directly by the landlord. The Company was not deemed to be the accounting owner of the tenant improvements prior to or after the construction period. All payments made by the Company for landlord-owned tenant improvements were recorded as prepaid rent on the consolidated balance sheets prior to lease commencement and included in the operating lease asset upon lease commencement. The Company paid a security deposit of $874,000 in December 2021 that was recorded as other assets in the consolidated balance sheets. In July 2025, $656,000 of the security deposit was returned to the Company per the terms of the lease agreement. As of December 31, 2025, $218,000 remains as a security deposit included in other assets in the consolidated balance sheets.

 

In January 2024, the Company entered into an agreement to sublease the second floor of its corporate headquarters in San Diego, California (the January 2024 Sublease). Pursuant to the January 2024 Sublease, the subleased space was approximately 11,000 square feet of office space with a sublease term of three years which included an option for the subtenant to renew for an additional year and an early termination clause. In June 2025, the Company and the subtenant entered into a termination agreement that terminated the January 2024 Sublease in July 2025. In July 2024, the Company entered into an agreement to sublease the first floor of its corporate headquarters (the July 2024 Sublease). Pursuant to the July 2024 Sublease, the subleased space is approximately 18,000 square feet of office space with a sublease term of 61 months beginning in October 2024. The July 2024 Sublease includes an option for the subtenant to renew for an additional year and an early termination clause. In September 2024, the Company entered into an agreement to sublease a portion of the third floor of its corporate headquarters (the September 2024 Sublease). Pursuant to the September 2024 Sublease, the subleased space was approximately 5,000 square feet of laboratory space with a sublease term of one year, which included an option for the subtenant to renew for an additional year. In July 2025, the September 2024 Sublease was amended to: (i) add approximately 5,000 square feet of laboratory space on the third floor and approximately 11,000 square feet of office space on the second floor to the subleased space; and (ii) to extend the term of the September 2024 Sublease through December 31, 2027. The amendment to the September 2024 Sublease includes an option for the subtenant to renew for an additional year.

The Company determined the subleases to be operating leases. Therefore, the Company recognizes sublease income on a straight-line basis over the lease term in its consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss as a reduction to lease costs because the subleases are outside of the Company's normal business operations. The Company will continue to account for the operating lease assets and related liabilities of the original lease as it did prior to the commencement of the subleases. The Company recorded a reduction to lease costs of $2.9 million and $1.3 million related to income from these subleases during the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively.

In connection with committing to the plan to sublease the first floor of its corporate headquarters in June 2024, the Company reassessed its asset groups for testing long-lived assets for impairment and determined the first floor operating lease assets and related property and equipment represented an asset group separate from the entity wide asset group. As of June 30, 2024, the Company concluded that the carrying value of the first floor asset group was not recoverable as it exceeded the future net undiscounted cash flows that are expected to be generated from the use and eventual disposition of the assets within the asset group. The Company determined the fair value of the first floor asset group based on the income approach using a discounted cash flow model. The cash flows used in the model were discounted using a rate of 13.5%. Based on this analysis, the Company recognized a noncash impairment charge of $4.7 million, including $2.4 million for the operating lease assets and $2.3 million for the leasehold improvements and furniture, of which $3.0 million was recorded to research and development expense and $1.7 million was recorded to general and administrative expense, during the year ended December 31, 2024. This represented a Level 3 nonrecurring fair value measurement. Calculating the fair value of the asset group involves significant estimates and assumptions, including projected future cash flows and a discount rate. Changes in the estimates and assumptions used could materially affect the amount of impairment loss recognized in the period the asset group is considered impaired. No impairment was recorded during the year ended December 31, 2025.

 

Future minimum lease payments and sublease receipts under operating leases as of December 31, 2025 are as follows (in thousands):

 

 

Operating Lease Payments

 

 

Operating Sublease Receipts

 

Year ending December 31,

 

 

 

 

 

2026

$

9,035

 

 

$

2,884

 

2027

 

9,199

 

 

 

2,970

 

2028

 

9,277

 

 

 

1,448

 

2029

 

9,572

 

 

 

1,237

 

2030

 

9,878

 

 

 

 

Thereafter

 

15,649

 

 

 

 

Total lease payments or sublease receipts

$

62,610

 

 

$

8,539

 

Less: Amount representing interest

 

(15,471

)

 

 

 

Operating lease liabilities

$

47,139

 

 

 

 

Historical Timeline

Fiscal YearFiled
2025Mar 12, 2026Showing above
2024Mar 20, 2025
2023Mar 27, 2024
2022Mar 23, 2023
2021Mar 24, 2022

About Leases Disclosures

Lease disclosures under ASC 842 provide a comprehensive view of a company's leased asset portfolio, including the split between operating and finance leases, discount rates used to present-value future payments, and the maturity schedule of lease obligations. This section reveals a significant source of off-balance-sheet commitments that were largely hidden before the current standard.

Key signals: the weighted-average discount rate affects the size of recorded lease liabilities — a higher rate reduces the reported obligation, so compare the chosen rate against the company's incremental borrowing rate. The operating versus finance lease mix affects both EBITDA and operating income presentation. Watch the maturity table for concentration risk: large payment cliffs in specific years may create cash flow pressure. Variable lease payments excluded from the liability measurement represent real obligations that do not appear on the balance sheet. Compare total lease costs against prior-year operating lease expense to assess the true economic burden.