Zymeworks (ZA8) Risk Analysis

Raising additional funds through partnerships, collaborations, strategic alliances, or licensing arrangements with third parties, may require us to relinquish valuable rights to our technologies, product candidates, or future revenue streams, or grant licenses on terms that are not favorable to us. To the extent that we raise additional capital through the sale of equity or convertible debt securities, our stockholders' ownership interest will be diluted, and the terms of these new securities may include liquidation or other preferences that adversely affect our stockholders' rights as common stockholders. For example, in August 2024, we entered into the Cowen Sales Agreement with TD Cowen as sales agent to sell shares of our common stock from time to time through an "at-the-market" equity offering program, subject to a maximum aggregate dollar amount registered pursuant to a prospectus supplement. As part of the ongoing management of our operations and related funding needs, we evaluate various financing vehicles, including "at-the-market" equity offering programs, and may enter into similar "at-the-market" equity offering programs in the future, as well as other financing transactions. Debt financing, if available at all, may involve agreements that include covenants limiting or restricting our ability to take specific actions such as incurring additional debt, making capital expenditures, repurchasing our common stock, or declaring dividends. We cannot assure that we will be able to obtain additional funding if and when necessary. If we are unable to obtain adequate financing on a timely basis, we could be required to delay, scale back or eliminate one or more of our development programs or otherwise scale back our operations.

Investors should consider an investment in our common stock as risky and invest only if they can withstand a significant loss and wide fluctuations in the market value of their investment. Investors may be unable to sell their common stock at or above the price they paid for such stock due to fluctuations in the market price of our common stock arising from changes in our operating performance or prospects. Factors that may cause the market price of our common stock to fluctuate include: - results and timing of our or our strategic partners' clinical trials and clinical trials of our competitors' products;- failure or discontinuation of any of our or our strategic partners' development programs;- the success of our strategic partnerships and our ability to enter into future partnerships;- our ability to achieve milestones and receive associated milestone and royalty payments pursuant to the terms of our strategic partnerships;- issues in manufacturing our or our partnered product candidates or future approved products;- regulatory developments or enforcement in the United States and other countries with respect to our or our partnered product candidates or our competitors' products;- competition from existing products or new products or technologies that may emerge;- developments or disputes concerning patents or other proprietary rights;- announcements by us, our strategic partners or our competitors of significant acquisitions, strategic partnerships, joint ventures, or capital commitments;- actions taken by industry or securities analysts that cover our company or common stock, including changes in estimates or recommendations, inaccurate or unfavorable research or a decision to drop coverage;- general market fluctuations in the valuation of companies in the biotechnology industry or otherwise perceived by investors to be comparable to us;- instances of stockholder activism, including unsolicited takeover proposals or proxy contests;- public concern over our or our partnered product candidates or any future approved products;- litigation;- future sales of our common stock or the perception that such sales could occur;- stock price and volume fluctuations attributable to inconsistent trading volume levels of our common stock;- additions or departures of key personnel;- our ability to execute on our key strategic priorities, including our recently adopted business strategy and our proposed acquisition of Theravance;- changes in the structure of health care payment systems in the United States or other countries;- failure of zanidatamab or our or our partnered product candidates, if approved, to achieve commercial success;- economic and other external factors or other disasters or crises;- changes in customs laws and regulations, tariffs and trade barriers, or the perception that any of them could occur;- period-to-period fluctuations in our financial condition and results of operations, including the timing of receipt of any milestone or other payments under commercialization or licensing agreements;- our ability to effectively address environmental, social, and governance matters affecting our business that are a focus of certain investors, environmental activists, the media, and governmental and nongovernmental organizations;- purchases under our share repurchase program; and - other factors that may be unanticipated or out of our control. The stock market in general, and the stock of biopharmaceutical companies in particular, have experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations that have often been unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of the relevant companies, which has resulted in increased volatility and decreased stock prices for many companies notwithstanding the lack of a fundamental change in their underlying business models or prospects. Broad market and industry factors, including potentially worsening economic conditions and other adverse effects or developments, may negatively affect the market price of our common stock, regardless of our actual operating performance. Securities class action litigation has often been brought against companies following a decline in the market price of their securities. If we face such litigation, it could result in substantial costs and a diversion of management's attention and resources, which could materially harm our business. The realization of any of the above risks or any of a broad range of other risks, including those described in this "Risk Factors" section, could have a material adverse effect on the market price of our common stock.

If an active market for our common stock does not continue, it may be difficult for our stockholders to sell their stock without depressing the market price for the common stock or sell their common stock at or above the prices at which they acquired their common stock or sell their common stock at the time they would like to sell. Any inactive trading market for our common stock may also impair our ability to raise capital to continue to fund our operations by selling common stock and may impair our ability to acquire other companies or technologies by using our common stock as consideration. We may fail to meet the continued listing requirements of the Nasdaq Stock Market LLC ("Nasdaq"). If Nasdaq delists our shares of common stock from trading on its exchange, we could face significant material adverse consequences, including significant impairment of liquidity of our common stock, limited availability of market quotations, limited news and analyst coverage, and a loss of confidence of our strategic partners, employees and others.

Pursuant to the Redomicile Transactions, certain holders of common shares of our predecessor company exchanged their common shares for exchangeable shares ("Exchangeable Shares") in the capital of our subsidiary Zymeworks ExchangeCo Ltd. ("ExchangeCo"). Exchangeable Shares are exchangeable at the option of the holder for shares of our common stock. Exchangeable Shares are subject to additional risks, including: - The Exchangeable Shares are not and will not be listed on any stock exchange. There is no market through which the Exchangeable Shares may be sold, and holders may not be able to sell their Exchangeable Shares. - Holders of Exchangeable Shares who request an exchange may not receive shares of our common stock until a period of time after the applicable request is received. During this period, the market price of our common stock may increase or decrease. Any such increase or decrease would affect the value of the consideration to be received by such a holder of Exchangeable Shares upon a subsequent sale of shares of our common stock received in the exchange. - Exchangeable Shares may be subject to different tax consequences under Canadian law depending on whether the Exchangeable Shares are disposed of in a redemption or an acquisition by one of our subsidiaries, and such transaction may not be within the control of the holder. - The tax treatment of Exchangeable Shares for non-Canadian tax purposes, including U.S. federal income tax purposes, is uncertain.

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws contain provisions that may make the acquisition of Zymeworks more difficult or delay or prevent changes in control of its management. Among other things, these provisions: - authorize our board of directors to issue shares of preferred stock and determine the price and other terms of those shares, including preferences and voting rights, without stockholder approval;- permit only the board of directors to establish the number of directors and fill vacancies and newly created directorships on the board, provided that the board of directors' ability to increase the size of the board and fill vacancies and newly created directorships will be subject to the restrictions in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws;- establish that members of our board of directors serve in one of three staggered terms of three years each;- provide that our directors may only be removed by the affirmative vote of at least 66 2/3% of the voting power of the shares cast on such proposal;- permit stockholders to only take actions at a duly called annual or special meeting and not by written consent;- require that stockholders give advance notice to nominate directors or submit proposals for consideration at stockholder meetings;- not provide for cumulative voting rights in the election of directors;- provide that special meetings of Zymeworks' stockholders may be called only by the board of directors, the chairperson of the board of directors, Zymeworks' chief executive officer, president or the secretary upon request from holders of no less than 20% of our outstanding voting stock, subject to the limitations and requirements set forth in our amended and restated bylaws; and - require a super-majority vote of stockholders to amend some of the provisions described above. Because we are incorporated in Delaware, we are governed by the provisions of Section 203 of the DGCL, which generally prohibits a Delaware corporation from engaging in any of a broad range of business combinations with any "interested stockholder" for a period of three years following the date on which the stockholder became an "interested stockholder" unless certain conditions are met. These provisions, alone or together, could delay, discourage or prevent a transaction involving a change in control of Zymeworks. These provisions could also discourage proxy contests and make it more difficult for stockholders to elect directors of their choosing and to cause Zymeworks to take other corporate actions they desire, any of which, under certain circumstances, could limit the opportunity for our stockholders to receive a premium for their shares of common stock, and could also affect the price that some investors are willing to pay for our common stock.

Our amended and restated bylaws provide that, unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the sole and exclusive forum for (1) any derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf, (2) any action asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any of our directors, stockholders, officers or other employees to Zymeworks or our stockholders, (3) any action arising pursuant to any provision of the DGCL, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or our amended and restated bylaws or (4) any other action asserting a claim that is governed by the internal affairs doctrine shall be the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware (or, if the Court of Chancery does not have jurisdiction, another State court in Delaware or the federal district court for the District of Delaware), except for any claim as to which such court determines that there is an indispensable party not subject to the jurisdiction of such court (and the indispensable party does not consent to the personal jurisdiction of such court within ten days following such determination), which is vested in the exclusive jurisdiction of a court or forum other than such court or for which such court does not have subject matter jurisdiction. This provision does not apply to any action brought to enforce a duty or liability created by the Exchange Act and the rules and regulations thereunder. Section 22 of the Securities Act establishes concurrent jurisdiction for federal and state courts over Securities Act claims. Accordingly, both state and federal courts have jurisdiction to hear such claims. To prevent having to litigate claims in multiple jurisdictions and the threat of inconsistent or contrary rulings by different courts, among other considerations, our amended and restated bylaws provide that, unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the federal district courts of the United States will be the sole and exclusive forum for resolving any complaint asserting a cause of action arising under the Securities Act. Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring or holding or owning (or continuing to hold or own) any interest in any of our securities shall be deemed to have notice of and consented to the foregoing bylaw provisions. Although we believe these exclusive forum provisions benefit us by providing increased consistency in the application of Delaware law and federal securities laws in the types of lawsuits to which each applies, the exclusive forum provisions may limit a stockholder's ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum of its choosing for disputes with us or our current or former directors, officers, stockholders or other employees, which may discourage such lawsuits against us and our current and former directors, officers, stockholders and other employees. Our stockholders will not be deemed to have waived our compliance with the federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder as a result of our exclusive forum provisions. The enforceability of similar exclusive forum provisions in other companies' organizational documents have been challenged in legal proceedings, and, while certain courts have determined these provisions are enforceable, it is possible that a court of law could rule that these types of provisions are inapplicable or unenforceable if they are challenged in a proceeding or otherwise. If a court were to find either exclusive forum provision contained in our amended and restated bylaws to be inapplicable or unenforceable in an action, we may incur significant additional costs associated with resolving such action in other jurisdictions, which could harm our financial condition and results of operations.

In November 2025, our board of directors approved the 2025 Repurchase Program, pursuant to which we are authorized to repurchase up to $125.0 million of our common stock from time to time through open market transactions, or other means in accordance with Rule 10b5-1 and Rule 10b-18 under the Exchange Act. On May 14, 2026, the Company terminated the 2025 Repurchase Program and the board of directors of the Company authorized the 2026 Repurchase Program providing the ability to repurchase up to $125.0 million in shares of the Company's common stock. We repurchased 4,197,553 shares of our common stock under the 2025 Repurchase Program until its termination in 2026. As of June 30, 2026, we have repurchased 2,008,243 shares of our common stock under our 2026 Repurchase Program. The timing, number of shares repurchased, and prices paid for any additional shares of stock repurchased under this program will depend on general business and market conditions as well as corporate and regulatory limitations, prevailing stock prices, and other considerations. Our 2025 Repurchase Program may be suspended or discontinued at any time, and does not obligate us to acquire any additional shares of common stock. Our ability to make share repurchases will depend upon market conditions, cash balances and future capital requirements, results of operations, financial condition, compliance with applicable legal requirements and other factors that we may deem relevant and which may be beyond our control. In addition, we can provide no assurance that we will repurchase stock at favorable prices. As a result, there can be no guarantee around the timing of our share repurchases. Any failure to repurchase additional shares of stock, a reduction in the frequency of repurchases, or the completion of our 2025 Repurchase Program could have a negative effect on our reputation, investor confidence in us and our stock price. The existence of our 2025 Repurchase Program could cause our stock price to be higher than it otherwise would be and could potentially reduce the market liquidity for our stock. Although our 2025 Repurchase Program is intended to enhance long-term stockholder value, there is no assurance that it will do so because the market price of our common stock may decline below the levels at which we repurchase shares, and short-term stock price fluctuations could reduce the effectiveness of the program. Additionally, as part of our evolving business strategy, we intend to evaluate opportunities to return capital to our stockholders through additional potential share repurchases. However, there can be no assurance that implementation of our evolving business strategy will generate sufficient cash flows from royalties, milestones and other sources to enable such additional share repurchases and, as a result, our stockholders may not realize enhanced long-term stockholder value. Any use of our cash resources to repurchase our common stock will reduce the amount of cash we have available for investment in other parts of our business and we may not deploy our resources in a way that enhances stockholder value.

Our principal stockholders, being our stockholders that beneficially own 5% or more of our common stock, together with their affiliates and related persons, in aggregate, owned approximately 58.2% of our outstanding common stock as of June 30, 2026. Our directors and executive officers together with their respective affiliates owned, in the aggregate, approximately 33.4% of our outstanding common stock as of June 30, 2026. Our principal stockholders, if acting together (with or without our directors and executive officers), may have the ability to exert substantial influence over the outcome of matters submitted to our stockholders for approval, including the election and removal of directors and any merger or sale of all or substantially all of our assets. In addition, our principal stockholders, if acting together (with or without our directors and executive officers), may have the ability to exert substantial influence over the management and affairs of our company. Accordingly, this concentration of ownership could harm the market price of our common stock by: - delaying, deferring, or preventing a change in control;- entrenching our management or the board of directors;- impeding a merger, takeover, or other business combination involving us; or - discouraging a potential acquirer from making a tender offer or otherwise attempting to obtain control of us.