Company: LENZ
Filing Date: 2025-03-19
Form Type: 10-K
Source: 0001815776-25-000019
Chunk: 117

Company: LENZ Therapeutics, Inc.
Filing Date: 2025-03-19
Form: 10-K
Item: Item 1
Chunk 117
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 or with their collaboration partners, have substantially greater financial resources and may have greater expertise in research and development, manufacturing, preclinical testing, conducting clinical trials, and marketing approved products than we do. Mergers and acquisitions in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and ophthalmology industries may result in even more resources being concentrated among a smaller number of our competitors. Smaller or early-stage companies may also prove to be strong competitors, particularly through collaborative arrangements with large and established companies. These companies also compete with us in recruiting and retaining qualified scientific and management personnel, as well as in acquiring technologies and intellectual property complementary to, or necessary for, our product candidates. Because of the size of the ophthalmology and vision correction markets and the high growth profile of such markets, we anticipate that companies will dedicate substantial resources to developing competing products. We believe that the principal competitive factors in these markets will include:

•improved outcomes for users and other product quality attributes;

•product innovation;

•acceptance by ECPs;

•ease of use and reliability;

•regulatory status and speed to market; and

•marketing and product price.

We expect that any such treatment options that are successfully developed could eventually be available both within and outside the United States. Consolidations and mergers and acquisitions in the pharmaceutical, medical device, and biotechnology industries may result in even more resources being concentrated among a smaller number of our competitors. Our commercial opportunity could be reduced or eliminated if our competitors develop or market products or other novel therapies that are more effective, safer, or less costly than our current or future products, or obtain regulatory approval for their products more rapidly than we may obtain approval for our products. Our success will also be based in 

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part on our ability to identify, develop and manage a portfolio of products that are safer and more effective than competing therapies.

Intellectual Property

We have developed and continue to expand our patent portfolio for the treatment of presbyopia with LNZ100. As of December 31, 2024, we hold at least 44 issued patents. 16 of these patents are in the United States, and 28 of these patents are in other countries throughout the world, with granted patents in Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, India, Japan, Korea, Mexico, and Singapore. These patents are expected to expire between 2034 and 2041. Our patents cover compositions for and methods of treating presbyopia with LNZ100. We also have at least 83 pending applications,