Annual report pursuant to Section 13 and 15(d)

Financial instruments

v3.20.4
Financial instruments
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2020
Financial instruments  
Financial instruments

Note 4 — Financial instruments

The Company’s financial instruments consist primarily of cash and cash equivalents, marketable securities, restricted cash, accounts receivable, accounts payable and accrued expenses.

Assets and liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis based on Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3 fair value measurement criteria as of December 31, 2020 are as follows (in thousands):

Fair value measurements using

December 31, 

Level 1

Level 2

Level 3

     

2020

    

    

    

Assets:

Corporate debt securities

 

$

305,334

 

$

305,334

 

$

 

$

Agency bonds

6,001

6,001

 

$

311,335

 

$

305,334

 

$

6,001

 

$

Assets and liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis based on Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3 fair value measurement criteria as of December 31, 2019 are as follows (in thousands):

Fair Value Measurements Using

December 31,

Level 1

Level 2

Level 3

2019

Assets:

Marketable securities:

Corporate debt securities

$

39,130

 

$

39,130

 

$

 

$

$

39,130

 

$

39,130

 

$

 

$

The Company estimates the fair value of available-for-sale debt securities with the aid of a third party valuation service, which uses actual trade and indicative prices sourced from third-party providers on a daily basis to estimate the fair value. If observed market prices are not available (for example, securities with short maturities and infrequent secondary market trades), the securities are priced using a valuation model maximizing observable inputs, including market interest rates.

Significant concentration of credit risk

The Company held cash and cash equivalents of $56,882,000, marketable securities of $311,335,000 and restricted cash of $4,602,000 as of December 31, 2020. The cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash are held with multiple banks and the Company monitors the credit rating of those banks. The Company maintains cash balances in excess of amounts insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation in the United States and the U.K. Government Financial Services Compensation Scheme in the United Kingdom.

The Company has two customers, which are Astellas and GSK. There were trade receivables of $139,000 as of December 31, 2020 and $nil as of December 31, 2019. The Company has been transacting with Astellas since January 2020 and GSK since 2014, during which time no impairment losses have been recognized. As of December 31, 2020, there were no overdue accounts receivable.

Foreign exchange risk

The Company is exposed to foreign exchange rate risk because it operates in the United Kingdom and the United States. Expenses are generally denominated in the currency in which the Company’s operations are located,

which are the United Kingdom and the United States. However, the U.K.-based subsidiary incurs significant research and development costs in U.S. dollars and, to a lesser extent, Euros.

The results of operations and cash flows will be subject to fluctuations due to changes in foreign currency exchange rates, which could harm the Company’s business in the future. Management seeks to minimize this exposure by maintaining currency cash balances at levels appropriate to meet foreseeable expenses in U.S. dollars and pounds sterling. To date, the Company has not used forward exchange contracts or other currency hedging products to manage exchange rate exposure, although it may do so in the future. The exchange rate as of December 31, 2020, the last business day of the reporting period, was £1.00 to $1.36.

Interest rate risk

Surplus cash and cash equivalents are invested in interest-bearing savings, money market funds, corporate debt securities and commercial paper from time to time. Investments in corporate debt securities are subject to fixed interest rates. The Company’s exposure to interest rate sensitivity is impacted by changes in the underlying U.K. and U.S. bank interest rates and the fair market value of its corporate debt securities will fall in value if market interest rates increase. Management believes that an immediate one percentage point change in interest rates would not have a material effect on the fair market value of our portfolio, and therefore does not expect the operating results or cash flows to be significantly affected by changes in market interest rates.