v3.26.1
Commitments and Contingent Liabilities
6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2026
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]  
Commitments and Contingent Liabilities

7. Commitments and Contingent Liabilities

Leases

As of June 30, 2026, the Company leased office and laboratory space in Emeryville, California under operating leases (the “Emeryville Lease”). On February 27, 2026, the Company entered into a lease amendment to reduce total office and lab space and add new office space in the same building, which commenced on July 2, 2026. The term of the Emeryville Lease is through August 31, 2030. Base rent payments under the lease amendment are approximately $0.2 million per month. In addition to the base rent, which includes escalating payments over the lease term, the Company pays variable costs related to operating expenses and taxes, which are recognized as incurred.

The Company also has multiple leases for laboratory equipment with terms of 36 months that are accounted for as finance leases. Some of the Company’s office and lab space were leased under short-term lease agreements during the six months ended June 30, 2026 and 2025.

Components of the lease expense for the three and six months ended June 30, 2026 and 2025, were as follows (in thousands):

 

 

 

Three Months Ended June 30,

 

 

Six Months Ended June 30,

 

 

 

2026

 

 

2025

 

 

2026

 

 

2025

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Operating lease cost

 

$

619

 

 

$

850

 

 

$

1,383

 

 

$

1,700

 

Finance lease cost:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Amortization of right-of-use assets

 

 

41

 

 

 

237

 

 

 

193

 

 

 

475

 

Interest on lease liabilities

 

 

4

 

 

 

13

 

 

 

10

 

 

 

32

 

Variable lease cost

 

 

78

 

 

 

285

 

 

 

750

 

 

 

657

 

Total lease expense

 

$

742

 

 

$

1,385

 

 

$

2,336

 

 

$

2,864

 

Total undiscounted lease obligations under the Company’s operating and finance leases were $10.5 million and $0.1 million, respectively, as of June 30, 2026.

License Agreements

The Company entered into license agreements with the NIH, Intellia and Kite, pursuant to which the Company is required to pay certain milestone payments contingent upon the achievement of specific development and regulatory events, and royalties on sales of products developed under these agreements (See Note 6).

Contractual Obligations and Commitments

The Company enters into contracts in the normal course of business with clinical research organizations (“CROs”) for clinical trials, with clinical manufacturing organizations (“CMOs”) for clinical supplies manufacturing and with other vendors for preclinical studies, supplies and other products and services for operating purposes. These agreements generally provide for termination at the request of either party generally with less than one-year notice. The Company did not expect any of these agreements to be terminated and did not have any non-cancellable obligations under these agreements as of June 30, 2026.

Legal Contingencies

From time to time, the Company may become involved in legal proceedings arising from the ordinary course of business. The Company records a liability for such matters when it is probable that future losses will be incurred and that such losses can be reasonably estimated. Significant judgment is required to determine both probability and the estimated amount. Legal fees and other costs associated with such proceedings are expensed as incurred.

On December 9, 2024, a shareholder class action complaint was filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California against the Company, certain of its current and former officers and directors, and the underwriters of the IPO. Per a stipulated schedule, an amended complaint was filed on May 2, 2025 (the “Amended Complaint”). The Amended Complaint alleges that the registration statement on Form S-1 filed in connection with the IPO and the prospectus contained therein contained material misstatements or omissions in violation of federal securities laws. Pursuant to a stipulated order setting a response schedule, on June 26, 2025, the defendants filed a motion to dismiss all the claims in the Amended Complaint, with the plaintiff filing an opposition on August 18, 2025. The defendants filed their reply brief in support of the motion to dismiss on September 26, 2025. Following oral argument, on March 23, 2026, the court issued an order granting defendants’ motion to dismiss on all claims, with leave to amend the complaint. On April 20, 2026, plaintiff filed another amended complaint alleging the same claims under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. Defendants subsequently filed a motion to dismiss the entire second amended complaint on May 19, 2026. Plaintiff filed an opposition to the defendants’ motion to dismiss on June 17, 2026. Defendants filed a reply brief in support of the motion to dismiss on July 2, 2026. A hearing on the motion to dismiss is scheduled for September 3, 2026.

 

In addition, on May 14, 2025, a stockholder derivative complaint was filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California against certain of the Company's current and former officers and directors which was captioned Perez v. Seidenberg, et al., Case No. 3:25-cv-04163-PCP (the “Perez Action”). On May 22, 2025, another stockholder derivative complaint was filed alleging the same claims against the same individual defendants captioned McDaniel v. Seidenberg, et al., Case No. 3:25-cv-04393-PCP (the “McDaniel Action”, and together with the Perez Action, the “Derivative Actions”). The complaints filed in the Derivative Actions allege claims related to the allegations raised in the Amended Complaint. On June 2, 2025, the court entered a stipulation and order to stay the Perez Action pending the disposition of a motion to dismiss the Amended Complaint in the related securities class action. On June 25, 2025, the court entered a stipulation and order to consolidate the Derivative Actions as In re Kyverna Therapeutics Derivative Litigation, Case No. 5:25-cv-04163-PCP. Finally, on July 22, 2025, the court entered a stipulation and order staying the consolidated derivative action pending the disposition of the motion to dismiss the Amended Complaint in the related securities class action.

The Company believes it has good and substantial defenses to the claims in the Amended Complaint and the Derivative Actions, but there is no guarantee that it will be successful in these efforts. The Company is unable to determine whether any loss ultimately will occur or to estimate the range of such loss; therefore, no amount of loss has been accrued in the accompanying condensed statements of operations and comprehensive loss for the three and six months ended June 30, 2026. The Company did not have any accruals for the matters described above on its condensed balance sheets as of June 30, 2026 and December 31, 2025.

Guarantees and Indemnifications

In the normal course of business, the Company enters into agreements that contain a variety of representations and provide for general indemnification. The Company’s exposure under these agreements is unknown because it involves claims that may be made against the Company in the future. To date, the Company has not paid any claims or been required to defend any action related to its indemnification obligations. As of June 30, 2026 and December 31, 2025, the Company did not have any material indemnification claims that were probable or reasonably possible.