Company: LENZ
Filing Date: 2025-11-05
Form Type: 10-Q
Source: 0001815776-25-000071
Chunk: 15

Company: LENZ Therapeutics, Inc.
Filing Date: 2025-11-05
Form: 10-Q
Item: Part I, Item 3
Chunk 15
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 in patents being issued or 

42

that issued patents will afford sufficient protection against competitors with similar technology, nor can there be any assurance that the patents issued will not be infringed, designed around or invalidated by third parties, including generics. The patent prosecution process is expensive and time-consuming, and we may not be able to file, prosecute, enforce or license all necessary or desirable patent applications at a reasonable cost or in a timely manner. Additionally, recent reforms and changes at government agencies of the United States and those of non-U.S. jurisdictions could increase the delays, uncertainties and costs surrounding the prosecution of our patent applications, and the maintenance, enforcement, or defense of our issued patents. For example, the ability of the USPTO and other applicable patent authorities to properly administer their functions is highly dependent on the levels of funding available to the agency and their ability to retain personnel and fill key leadership appointments, among various factors. Termination of employees or delays in replacing or hiring for positions could significantly impact the ability of the USPTO and other applicable patent authorities to fulfill their functions and could greatly impact our ability to timely and adequately prosecute or maintain our patent applications, and our ability to timely and adequately maintain, enforce, or defend our issued patents.

The patents and patent applications that we own may fail to result in issued patents with claims that protect VIZZ or any future product candidate in the United States or in other foreign countries. There is no assurance that all of the potentially relevant prior art relating to our patents and patent applications has been found, which can prevent a patent from issuing from a pending patent application, or be used to invalidate a patent. Even if patents do successfully issue and even if such patents cover VIZZ or any future product candidate, third parties may challenge their validity, enforceability or scope, which may result in such patents being narrowed, invalidated or held unenforceable. Any successful opposition to these patents or any other patents owned by or licensed to us could deprive us of rights necessary for the successful commercialization of VIZZ and any product candidates that we may develop. Further, the scope and coverage of such patents may be so narrow that a third party could successfully design around our patents without materially impacting the therapeutic effectiveness of the resulting drug product. Further, if we encounter delays in regulatory approvals, the period of time during which we could market a product candidate under patent protection could be reduced. 

The patent application process is subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, and there can be no assurance that we or any of our