| ● | achieving desirable medicinal properties for the intended indications. |
A change in the outcome of any of these variables with respect to the development of any product candidates we develop would significantly change the costs, timing, and viability associated with the development of that product candidate.
Research and development activities are central to our business model. We expect research and development costs to increase significantly for the foreseeable future as our development programs progress, including as we continue to progress the clinical development of EDIT-101 and EDIT-301 as well as supporting preclinical studies for our other research programs.
General and Administrative Expenses
General and administrative expenses consist primarily of salaries and other related costs, including stock-based compensation for personnel in executive, finance, investor relations, business development, legal, corporate affairs, information technology, facilities and human resource functions. Other significant costs include corporate facility costs not otherwise included in research and development expenses, legal fees related to intellectual property and corporate matters, and fees for accounting and consulting services.
We anticipate that our general and administrative expenses will increase in the future to support continued research and development activities and potential commercialization of any product candidates we identify and develop. These increases will include increased costs related to the hiring of additional personnel and fees to outside consultants. We also anticipate increased expenses related to reimbursement of third-party patent-related expenses and expenses associated with operating as a public company, including costs for audit, legal, regulatory, and tax-related services, director and officer insurance premiums, and investor relations costs. With respect to reimbursement of third-party intellectual property-related expenses specifically, given the ongoing nature of the opposition and interference proceedings involving the patents licensed to us under our license agreements with The Broad Institute, Inc. (“Broad”) and the President and Fellows of Harvard College (“Harvard”), we anticipate general and administrative expenses will continue to be significant.
Other Income (Expense), Net
For the nine months ended September 30, 2021, other income (expense), net consisted primarily of interest income and accretion of discounts associated with other marketable securities.
For the nine months ended September 30, 2020, other income (expense), net consisted primarily of changes in the fair value of equity securities, interest income and accretion of discounts associated with other marketable securities.
Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates
Our management’s discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations is based on our condensed consolidated financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with United States generally accepted accounting principles. The preparation of our condensed consolidated financial statements requires us to make judgments and estimates that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues, and expenses, and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities in our condensed consolidated financial statements. We base our estimates on historical experience, known trends and events, and various other factors that we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions. On an ongoing basis, we evaluate our judgments and estimates in light of changes in circumstances, facts, and experience. The effects of material revisions in estimates, if any, will be reflected in the condensed consolidated financial statements prospectively from the date of change in estimates.
There have been no material changes to our critical accounting policies from those described in “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in our Annual Report.