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Organization and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Policies)

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2024

Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]

Janux Therapeutics, Inc. (the “Company”) was incorporated in the State of Delaware in June 2017 and is based in San Diego, California. The Company is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing a broad pipeline of novel immunotherapies by applying its proprietary technology to its Tumor Activated T Cell Engager (“TRACTr”) and Tumor Activated Immunomodulator (“TRACIr”) platforms to better treat patients suffering from cancer.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

From its inception through September 30, 2024, the Company has devoted substantially all its efforts to organizing and staffing, business planning, raising capital and developing its TRACTr and TRACIr therapeutic platforms and assets. The Company has incurred net losses and negative cash flows from operations since inception and had an accumulated deficit of $217.5 million as of September 30, 2024. The Company has a limited operating history, has not generated any product revenue, and the sales and income potential of its business is unproven. To date the Company has funded its operations primarily with the net proceeds from the issuance of convertible promissory notes, the issuance of convertible preferred stock, the issuance of common stock in its initial public offering (“IPO”), the issuance of common stock and pre-funded common stock warrants in underwritten offerings, the exercise of common stock options, and amounts received under a collaboration agreement. The Company expects to incur substantial operating losses for the next several years and will need to obtain additional financing in order to continue its research and development activities, initiate and complete clinical trials and launch and commercialize any product candidates for which it receives regulatory approval. The Company plans to continue to fund its losses from operations and capital funding needs through public or private equity or debt financings or other sources. If the Company is not able to secure adequate additional funding, the Company may be forced to make reductions in spending, extend payment terms with suppliers, liquidate assets where possible, or suspend or curtail planned programs. Any of these actions could materially harm the Company’s business, results of operations and future prospects. There can be no assurance that such financing will be available or will be at terms acceptable to the Company, especially in light of public health crises, financial conditions within the banking industry, including the effects of failures of financial institutions and liquidity levels, as well as changes in interest rates and the inflationary macro environment. Management believes the Company has sufficient capital to fund its operations for at least 12 months from the issuance date of these unaudited condensed financial statements.

Unaudited Interim Financial Information

The unaudited condensed financial statements as of September 30, 2024, and for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2024 and 2023, have been prepared in accordance with the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), and with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (“GAAP”) applicable to interim financial statements. These unaudited condensed financial statements have been prepared on the same basis as the Company’s audited financial statements and include all adjustments, consisting of only normal recurring accruals, which in the opinion of management are necessary to present fairly the Company’s financial position as of the interim date and results of operations for the interim periods presented. Interim results are not necessarily indicative of results for a full year or future periods. The condensed balance sheet data as of December 31, 2023 was derived from the Company’s audited financial statements but does not include all disclosures required by GAAP. These unaudited condensed financial statements should be read in conjunction with the Company’s audited financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2023.

Use of Estimates

The preparation of the Company’s financial statements requires it to make estimates and assumptions that impact the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities in the Company’s financial statements and accompanying notes. The most significant estimates in the Company’s financial statements relate to estimates to complete the performance obligations and the estimated transaction price for collaboration revenue, accruals for research and development expenses, stock-based compensation and fair value measurements. These estimates and assumptions are based on current facts, historical experience and various other factors believed to be reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying values of assets and liabilities and the recording of revenues and expenses that are not readily apparent from other sources. The Company continues to use the best information available to update its accounting estimates. Actual results may differ materially and adversely from these estimates.

Fair Value Measurement

Fair Value Measurements

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

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

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

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

The carrying amounts of the Company’s financial instruments, including cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash, accounts receivable, prepaid and other current assets, accounts payable, and accrued expenses, approximate fair value due to the short-term nature of those instruments. The fair value of assets classified within Level 1 is based on quoted prices in active markets as provided by the Company’s investment managers. The fair value of short-term investments classified within Level 2 is based on standard observable inputs, including reported trades, broker/dealer quotes, and bids and/or offers. The Company validates the quoted market prices provided by its investment managers by comparing the investment managers’ assessment of the fair values of the Company’s investment portfolio balance against the fair values of the Company’s investment portfolio balance obtained from an independent source. The Company has no financial liabilities recorded at fair value on a recurring basis. None of the Company’s non-financial assets or liabilities are recorded at fair value on a non-recurring basis. No transfers between levels have occurred during the periods presented.

The following tables summarize the Company’s financial instruments measured at fair value on a recurring basis (in thousands):


			Fair Value Measurements at Reporting Date Using
	Total		Quoted Prices in Active Markets for Identical Assets (Level 1)		Significant Other Observable Inputs (Level 2)		Significant Unobservable Inputs (Level 3)
As of September 30, 2024:
Assets:
Cash equivalents:
Money market funds	$	22,221	$	22,221	$	—	$	—
Total cash equivalents		22,221		22,221		—		—
Short-term investments:
U.S. Treasury securities		114,464		114,464		—		—
U.S. agency bonds		330,158		—		330,158		—
Corporate debt securities		156,729		—		156,729		—
Commercial paper		29,926		—		29,926		—
Total short-term investments		631,277		114,464		516,813		—
Restricted cash:
Money market account		816		816		—		—
Total restricted cash		816		816		—		—
Total assets measured at fair value on a recurring basis	$	654,314	$	137,501	$	516,813	$	—


			Fair Value Measurements at Reporting Date Using
	Total		Quoted Prices in Active Markets for Identical Assets (Level 1)		Significant Other Observable Inputs (Level 2)		Significant Unobservable Inputs (Level 3)
As of December 31, 2023:
Assets:
Cash equivalents:
Money market funds	$	14,751	$	14,751	$	—	$	—
Total cash equivalents		14,751		14,751		—		—
Short-term investments:
U.S. Treasury securities		71,300		71,300		—		—
U.S. agency bonds		167,103		—		167,103		—
Asset-backed securities		5,055		—		5,055		—
Corporate debt securities		1,999		—		1,999		—
Commercial paper		79,366		—		79,366		—
Total short-term investments		324,823		71,300		253,523		—
Restricted cash:
Money market account		816		816		—		—
Total restricted cash		816		816		—		—
Total assets measured at fair value on a recurring basis	$	340,390	$	86,867	$	253,523	$	—

Cash and Cash Equivalents

The Company considers all highly liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less when purchased to be cash equivalents. Cash and cash equivalents include cash in readily available checking accounts and money market funds.

Restricted Cash

Restricted cash consists of a money market account securing a standby letter of credit issued in connection with the Company’s Torrey Plaza operating lease (as defined and described in Note 3).

The following table provides a reconciliation of cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash reported within the accompanying balance sheets that sum to the amounts shown in the condensed statements of cash flows (in thousands):


	September 30, 2024		December 31, 2023
Cash and cash equivalents	$	26,754	$	19,205
Restricted cash		816		816
Total cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash	$	27,570	$	20,021

Short-Term Investments

Short-term investments consist of U.S. Treasury securities, U.S. agency bonds, asset-backed securities, corporate debt securities and commercial paper, all of which are highly rated by Moody’s, S&P, and Fitch. The Company has classified these investments as available-for-sale, as the sale of such investments may be required prior to maturity to implement management strategies, and therefore has classified all investment securities as current assets. Those investments with maturity dates of three months or less at the date of purchase are presented as cash equivalents in the accompanying balance sheets. Short-term investments are carried at fair value with the unrealized gains and losses included in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) as a component of stockholders’ equity until realized. Any premium or discount arising at purchase is amortized or accreted to interest income as an adjustment to yield using the straight-line method over the life of the instrument. The Company records an allowance for credit losses when unrealized

losses are due to credit-related factors. Realized gains and losses are calculated using the specific identification method and recorded as interest income.

The following tables summarize short-term investments (in thousands):


	As of September 30, 2024
	Amortized		Unrealized					Estimated
	Cost		Gains		Losses			Fair Value
U.S. Treasury securities	$	113,468	$	996	$	—		$	114,464
U.S. agency bonds		325,893		4,278		(13	)		330,158
Corporate debt securities		154,195		2,534		—			156,729
Commercial paper		29,890		44		(8	)		29,926
Total	$	623,446	$	7,852	$	(21	)	$	631,277


	As of December 31, 2023
	Amortized		Unrealized					Estimated
	Cost		Gains		Losses			Fair Value
U.S. Treasury securities	$	71,072	$	242	$	(14	)	$	71,300
U.S. agency bonds		166,699		591		(187	)		167,103
Asset-backed securities		5,078		—		(23	)		5,055
Corporate debt securities		1,999		—		—			1,999
Commercial paper		79,310		56		—			79,366
Total	$	324,158	$	889	$	(224	)	$	324,823

The amortized cost and estimated fair value in the tables above exclude $4.5 million and $2.2 million of accrued interest receivable as of September 30, 2024 and December 31, 2023, respectively. Accrued interest receivable is included in prepaid expenses and other current assets in the accompanying balance sheets.

Contractual maturities of available-for-sale debt securities are as follows (in thousands):


	As of September 30, 2024
	Due in 1 Year or Less		Due Between 1 and 3 Years
U.S. Treasury securities	$	56,590	$	57,874
U.S. agency bonds		95,880		234,278
Corporate debt securities		—		156,729
Commercial paper		29,926		—
Total	$	182,396	$	448,881


	As of December 31, 2023
	Due in 1 Year or Less		Due Between 1 and 3 Years
U.S. Treasury securities	$	34,426	$	36,874
U.S. agency bonds		89,801		77,302
Asset-backed securities		5,055		—
Corporate debt securities		1,999		—
Commercial paper		79,366		—
Total	$	210,647	$	114,176

As of September 30, 2024, 3 out of 67 of our available-for-sale debt securities were in an aggregate gross unrealized loss position. The Company relies on both qualitative and quantitative factors to determine whether the unrealized loss for each available-for-sale debt security at any balance sheet date is due to a credit loss. Qualitative factors may include a credit downgrade, severity of the decline in fair value below amortized cost and other adverse conditions related specifically to the security, as well as the intent to sell

the security, or whether the Company will “more likely than not” be required to sell the security before recovery of its amortized cost basis. The Company considers the decline in market value for the securities to be primarily attributable to current economic conditions and interest rate adjustments, rather than credit-related factors and does not intend to sell any securities prior to maturity. No allowance for credit losses has been recorded as of September 30, 2024 or December 31, 2023.

The following tables summarize our available-for-sale debt securities in an aggregate gross unrealized loss position for which an allowance for credit losses has not been recorded, aggregated by major security type and length of time in a continuous unrealized loss position (in thousands):


	As of September 30, 2024
	Less Than 12 Months					12 Months or Longer					Total
	Fair Value		Unrealized Losses			Fair Value		Unrealized Losses			Fair Value		Unrealized Losses
U.S. agency bonds	$	5,002	$	(6	)	$	9,998	$	(7	)	$	15,000	$	(13	)
Commercial paper		10,650		(8	)		—		—			10,650		(8	)
Total	$	15,652	$	(14	)	$	9,998	$	(7	)	$	25,650	$	(21	)


	As of December 31, 2023
	Less Than 12 Months					12 Months or Longer					Total
	Fair Value		Unrealized Losses			Fair Value		Unrealized Losses			Fair Value		Unrealized Losses
U.S. Treasury securities	$	5,892	$	(14	)	$	—	$	—		$	5,892	$	(14	)
U.S. agency bonds		63,583		(169	)		9,970		(18	)		73,553		(187	)
Asset-backed securities		5,055		(23	)		—		—			5,055		(23	)
Total	$	74,530	$	(206	)	$	9,970	$	(18	)	$	84,500	$	(224	)

Concentrations of Credit Risk

Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to significant concentrations of credit risk consist primarily of cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments. The Company invests its cash reserves in money market funds or available-for-sale debt securities in accordance with its investment policy. The Company’s investment policy includes guidelines on acceptable investment securities, limits interest-bearing security investments to certain types of debt and money market instruments issued by the U.S. government and institutions with investment grade credit ratings and places restrictions on maturities and concentration by asset class and issuer in order to maintain appropriate diversification. In accordance with the Company’s policies, the Company monitors exposure with its counterparties. The Company also maintains deposits in federally insured financial institutions in excess of federally insured limits. The Company has not experienced any losses in such account and management believes that the Company is not exposed to significant credit risk.

The Company is also subject to credit risk from its accounts receivable. The Company generally does not perform evaluations of customers’ financial condition and generally does not require collateral. As of September 30, 2024, and December 31, 2023, all of the Company’s accounts receivable, if any, relate to a single customer. For the three and nine months ended September 30, 2024 and 2023, all of the Company’s revenue related to a single customer.

Leases

The Company determines if a contract contains a lease at the inception of the contract and evaluates each lease agreement to determine whether the lease is an operating or finance lease. For leases where the Company is the lessee, right-of-use (“ROU”) assets represent the Company’s right to use an underlying asset for the lease term and lease liabilities represent an obligation to make lease payments arising from the lease. Liabilities from operating leases are included in current portion of operating lease liabilities, and operating lease liabilities, net of current portion on the accompanying balance sheets. The Company does not have any financing leases. Short-term leases with an initial term of 12 months or less are not recorded on the balance sheet. The Company does not have material short-term lease costs.

Lease liabilities are measured at the present value of the lease payments not yet paid discounted using the discount rate for the lease established at the lease commencement date. To determine the present value, the implicit rate is used when readily determinable.

For those leases where the implicit rate is not provided, the Company determines an incremental borrowing rate (“IBR”) based on the information available at the lease commencement date in determining the present value of lease payments. The IBR is the rate of interest that a lessee would have to pay to borrow on a collateralized basis over a similar term an amount equal to the lease payments in a similar economic environment. ROU assets are measured as the present value of the lease payments and also include any prepaid lease payments made and any other indirect costs incurred and exclude any lease incentives received. Lease terms may include the impact of options to extend or terminate the lease when it is reasonably certain that the Company will exercise that option. Lease expense for operating leases is recognized on a straight-line basis over the lease term. The Company’s operating leases are subject to additional variable charges, including common area maintenance, property taxes, property insurance and other variable costs. Given the variable nature of such costs, they are recognized as expense as incurred. The Company has elected the practical expedient to account for the lease and non-lease components, such as common area maintenance charges, as a single lease component for the Company's facilities leases. The Company has elected to recognize lease incentives, such as tenant improvement allowances, at the lease commencement date as a reduction to the ROU asset and lease liabilities balance until paid to it by the lessor to the extent that the lease provides a specified fixed or maximum level of reimbursement and the Company is reasonably certain to incur reimbursable costs at least equaling such amounts.

Revenue Recognition

The Company recognizes revenue in a manner that depicts the transfer of control of a product or a service to a customer and reflects the amount of the consideration the Company is entitled to receive in exchange for such product or service. In doing so, the Company follows a five-step approach: (i) identify the contract with a customer, (ii) identify the performance obligations in the contract, (iii) determine the transaction price, (iv) allocate the transaction price to the performance obligations, and (v) recognize revenue when (or as) the customer obtains control of the product or service. The Company considers the terms of a contract and all relevant facts and circumstances when applying the revenue recognition standard.

A customer is a party that has entered into a contract with the Company, where the purpose of the contract is to obtain a product or a service that is an output of the Company’s ordinary activities in exchange for consideration. To be considered a contract, (i) the contract must be approved (in writing, orally, or in accordance with other customary business practices), (ii) each party’s rights regarding the product or the service to be transferred can be identified, (iii) the payment terms for the product or the service to be transferred can be identified, (iv) the contract must have commercial substance (that is, the risk, timing or amount of future cash flows is expected to change as a result of the contract), and (v) it is probable that the Company will collect substantially all of the consideration to which it is entitled to receive in exchange for the transfer of the product or the service.

A performance obligation is defined as a promise to transfer a product or a service to a customer. The Company identifies each promise to transfer a product or a service (or a bundle of products or services, or a series of products and services that are substantially the same and have the same pattern of transfer) that is distinct. A product or a service is distinct if both (i) the customer can benefit from the product or the service either on its own or together with other resources that are readily available to the customer and (ii) the Company’s promise to transfer the product or the service to the customer is separately identifiable from other promises in the contract. Each distinct promise to transfer a product or a service is a unit of accounting for revenue recognition. If a promise to transfer a product or a service is not separately identifiable from other promises in the contract, such promises should be combined into a single performance obligation.

The transaction price is the amount of consideration the Company is entitled to receive in exchange for the transfer of control of a product or a service to a customer. To determine the transaction price, the Company considers the existence of any significant financing component, the effects of any variable elements, noncash considerations and consideration payable to the customer. If a significant financing component exists, the transaction price is adjusted for the time value of money. If an element of variability exists, the Company must estimate the consideration it expects to receive and uses that amount as the basis for recognizing revenue as the product or the service is transferred to the customer. There are two methods for determining the amount of variable consideration: (i) the expected value method, which is the sum of probability-weighted amounts in a range of possible consideration amounts, and (ii) the mostly likely amount method, which identifies the single most likely amount in a range of possible consideration amounts.

With respect to variable consideration relating to development and regulatory milestone payments, if it is probable that a significant revenue reversal would not occur, the associated payment value is included in the transaction price. For development and regulatory milestones that are uncertain in nature and highly dependent on factors outside of our control, the aggregate consideration is determined to be fully constrained and is not included in the transaction price until the underlying events occur or the associated approvals are received. At the end of each reporting period, the Company re-evaluates the probability of achievement of each milestone and any related constraint, and if necessary, adjust our estimate of the overall transaction price. Any such adjustments are recorded on a cumulative catch-up basis, which would affect the reported amount of revenues in the period of adjustment.

For arrangements that include sales-based royalties, including milestone payments based on a level of sales, and the license is deemed to be the predominant item to which the royalties relate, the Company recognizes revenue at the later of (i) when the related sales occur or (ii) when the performance obligation to which some or all of the royalty has been allocated has been satisfied (or partially satisfied).

If a contract has multiple performance obligations, the Company allocates the transaction price to each distinct performance obligation in an amount that reflects the consideration the Company is entitled to receive in exchange for satisfying each distinct performance obligation. For each distinct performance obligation, revenue is recognized when (or as) the Company transfers control of the product or the service applicable to such performance obligation.

In those instances where the Company first receives consideration in advance of satisfying its performance obligation, the Company classifies such consideration as deferred revenue until (or as) the Company satisfies such performance obligation. In those instances where the Company first satisfies its performance obligation prior to its receipt of consideration, the consideration is recorded as accounts receivable.

The Company expenses incremental costs of obtaining and fulfilling a contract as and when incurred if the expected amortization period of the asset that would be recognized is one year or less, or if the amount of the asset is immaterial. Otherwise, such costs are capitalized as contract assets if they are incremental to the contract and amortized to expense proportionate to revenue recognition of the underlying contract.

Research and Development Expenses

All research and development costs are expensed in the period incurred. Payments for these activities are based on the terms of the individual agreements, which may differ from the pattern of costs incurred, and payments made in advance of performance are reflected in the accompanying balance sheets as prepaid expenses. The Company records accruals for estimated costs incurred for ongoing research and development activities. When evaluating the adequacy of the accrued expenses, the Company analyzes progress of the services, including the phase or completion of events, invoices received and contracted costs. Significant judgments and estimates may be made in determining the prepaid or accrued balances at the end of any reporting period. Actual results could differ from the Company’s estimates.

Stock-Based Compensation

Stock-based compensation expense represents the grant date fair value of equity awards, consisting of stock options, restricted stock units and employee stock purchase plan rights, recognized on a straight-line basis over the requisite service period for stock options and restricted stock units, and over the respective offering period for employee stock purchase plan rights. The Company estimates the fair value of stock options and employee stock purchase plan rights using the Black-Scholes option pricing model. The fair value of restricted stock units is based on the closing price of the Company’s common stock as reported on The Nasdaq Global Market on the date of grant. The Company recognizes forfeitures for all awards as they occur.

Comprehensive Loss

Comprehensive loss is defined as a change in equity during a period from transactions and other events and circumstances from non-owner sources. The only component of other comprehensive gain (loss) is unrealized gain (loss) on available-for-sale securities. Comprehensive losses have been reflected in the condensed statements of operations and comprehensive loss and as a separate component in the condensed statements of stockholders’ equity.

Net Loss Per Share

Basic net loss per share is computed by dividing the net loss by the weighted-average number of shares of common stock outstanding for the period, including pre-funded common stock warrants that were issued in underwritten offerings (Note 4), without consideration for potentially dilutive securities. The pre-funded common stock warrants are included in the calculation of basic and diluted net loss per share as the exercise price of $0.001 per share is non-substantive and the shares are issuable for little or no consideration. The Company has excluded weighted-average unvested shares of 1,895 shares, 20,274 shares, 4,618 shares and 32,132 shares from the weighted-average number of shares of common stock outstanding for the three months ended September 30, 2024 and 2023 and nine months ended September 30, 2024 and 2023, respectively. Diluted net loss per share is computed by dividing the net loss by the weighted-average number of shares of common stock and dilutive common stock equivalents outstanding for the period determined using the treasury-stock and if-converted methods. For all periods presented, there is no difference in the number of shares used to calculate basic and diluted shares outstanding as inclusion of the potentially dilutive securities would be anti-dilutive.

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


	September 30,
	2024		2023
Common stock options outstanding		9,590,050		8,495,581
Restricted stock units outstanding		80,562		—
Unvested common stock		1,523		17,003
Employee stock purchase plan shares		28,560		23,172
Total potentially dilutive shares		9,700,695		8,535,756

Recent Accounting Pronouncements and Accounting Pronouncements Pending Adoption

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

In August 2020, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update ("ASU") No. 2020-06, Debt - Debt with Conversion and Other Options (Subtopic 470-20) and Derivatives and Hedging - Contracts in Entity’s Own Equity (Subtopic 815-40) - Accounting for Convertible Instruments and Contracts in an Entity’s Own Equity, which simplifies the accounting for certain financial instruments with characteristics of liabilities and equity, including convertible instruments and contracts on an entity’s own equity. The Company adopted ASU No. 2020-06 on January 1, 2024 and the adoption of the standard had no material impact on its financial statements and related disclosures.

Accounting Pronouncements Pending Adoption

In November 2023, the FASB issued ASU 2023-07, Segment Reporting (Topic 280) - Improvements to Reportable Segment Disclosures. The new standard requires a company to disclose incremental segment information on an annual and interim basis, including significant segment expenses and measures of profit or loss that are regularly provided to the chief operating decision maker. The standard is effective for the Company beginning in fiscal year 2024 and interim periods within fiscal year 2025, with early adoption permitted. The Company does not expect to early adopt the new standard. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of ASU 2023-07 on its financial statements and related disclosures and will adopt the new standard using a retrospective approach.

In December 2023, the FASB also issued ASU 2023-09, Income Taxes (Topic 740) - Improvements to Income Tax Disclosures. The new standard requires a company to expand its existing income tax disclosures, specifically related to the rate reconciliation and income taxes paid. The standard is effective for the Company for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2024, with early adoption permitted. The Company does not expect to early adopt the new standard. The new standard is expected to be applied prospectively, but retrospective application is permitted. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of ASU 2023-09 on its financial statements and related disclosures.