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Description of Business | 12 Months Ended
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Dec. 31, 2025
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract] |
Description of Business | 1. Description of Business Aura Biosciences, Inc., or the Company or Aura, is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing precision therapies to treat solid tumors designed to preserve organ function. Within these consolidated financial statements, unless the context otherwise requires, references to the Company or Aura refer to Aura Biosciences, Inc. and its subsidiaries on a consolidated basis. The Company’s proprietary platform is designed to enable the targeting of a broad range of solid tumors using Virus-Like Particles, or VLPs, that can be conjugated with drugs or loaded with nucleic acids to create Virus-Like Drug Conjugates, or VDCs. VDCs are a novel class of drugs with a dual mechanism of action that promote cancer cell death by both the delivery of the cytotoxic payload to generate acute necrosis and activation of a secondary immune mediated response. The Company’s initial focus is in ocular and urologic oncology, both areas of high unmet medical need where local targeted therapies may enable early intervention. The Company is evaluating the safety and efficacy of its lead candidate, bel-sar, as a potential vision-sparing therapy in an ongoing global Phase 3 CoMpass trial for the first-line treatment of adult patients with small choroidal melanoma and/or indeterminate lesions, or early choroidal melanoma. Bel-sar is also in clinical development in metastases to the choroid and bladder cancer and is being explored for cancers of the ocular surface. The Company envisions the potential for development of bel-sar in additional therapeutic areas. Aura’s headquarters are located in Boston, Massachusetts. The Company’s operations to date have consisted primarily of conducting research and development and raising capital. The Company is subject to risks common to companies in the biotechnology industry, including, but not limited to, the successful development and commercialization of products, fluctuations in operating results and financial risks, need for additional financing or alternative means of financial support or both to fund its current operating plan, protection of proprietary technology and patent risks, compliance with government regulations, dependence on key personnel, collaborative partners, contract development and manufacturing organizations and other third-parties, competition, customer demand, management of growth, and the effectiveness of marketing by the Company. Liquidity Through December 31, 2025, the Company has funded its operations primarily with proceeds from the initial and additional closings of its convertible preferred stock financings, and through its initial public offering, or IPO, follow-on offerings and at-the-market offerings, or ATM. On May 16, 2025, the Company issued and sold 11,735,565 shares of common stock, pre-funded warrants to purchase up to 3,571,435 shares of common stock, and accompanying warrants to purchase an aggregate of 3,826,750 shares of common stock, or the 2025 Follow-On Offering. The common stock and pre-funded warrants were sold in the 2025 Follow-On Offering in combination with an accompanying common stock warrant to purchase 0.25 of a share of common stock for each share of common stock or pre-funded warrant sold. Each such share of common stock was offered and sold together with an accompanying common stock warrant at a combined offering price of $4.90, and each such pre-funded warrant was offered and sold together with an accompanying common stock warrant at a combined offering price of $4.89999. The Company received approximately $69.9 million in net proceeds from the 2025 Follow-On Offering after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and offering expenses. On November 9, 2023, the Company issued and sold 11,000,000 shares of common stock at a price to the public of $9.00 per share for aggregate gross proceeds of $99.0 million, or the 2023 Follow-On Offering. The Company received approximately $92.6 million in net proceeds from the 2023 Follow-On Offering after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and offering expenses. On November 1, 2022, the Company filed a shelf registration statement on Form S-3, or the 2022 Shelf, with the SEC in relation to the registration of up to an aggregate offering price of $250.0 million of common stock, preferred stock, debt securities, warrants and units or any combination thereof. The Company also simultaneously entered into the Open Market Sale Agreement SM, or Sales Agreement, with Jefferies LLC, or the Sales Agent, to provide for the offering, issuance and sale by the Company of up to an aggregate of $75.0 million of common stock from time to time in the ATM under the 2022 Shelf and subject to the limitations thereof. In connection with the 2023 Follow-On Offering, on November 6, 2023, the Company delivered written notice to Jefferies that the Company was suspending and terminating the prospectus related to the shares issuable in the ATM pursuant to the terms of the Sales Agreement. On March 27, 2024, the Company filed a new shelf registration statement on Form S-3, or the 2024 Shelf, with the SEC in relation to the registration of up to an aggregate offering price of $350.0 million of common stock, preferred stock, debt securities, warrants and units or any combination thereof, which superseded the 2022 Shelf. The 2024 Shelf included a prospectus supplement to provide for offerings in the ATM under the Sales Agreement. The Company issued 1,055,362 shares of common stock at a weighted average price of $6.36 for aggregate gross proceeds of $6.7 million during the year ended December 31, 2025 under the ATM. As of December 31, 2025, the Company had cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities of $144.2 million. The Company has incurred recurring losses from operations since inception and has an accumulated deficit of $480.4 million as of December 31, 2025. For the year ended December 31, 2025, the Company incurred a net loss of $106.2 million and net cash used in operating activities was $84.7 million. In accordance with applicable accounting standards, the Company evaluated whether there are conditions and events, considered in the aggregate, that raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern within twelve months after the date of the issuance of these consolidated financial statements. The Company anticipates operating losses may continue for the foreseeable future since the Company does not yet have regulatory approval to sell any of its product candidates, and the Company continues to incur operating costs to execute its strategic plan, including costs related to research, development, and manufacture of its product candidates and commercial readiness activities. As a result of the assessment in accordance with the applicable accounting standards, there is substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern for twelve months after the date the consolidated financial statements are issued. The Company expects to finance its operations with its existing cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities, and through other strategic financing opportunities that could include, but are not limited to, collaboration agreements, future offerings of its equity, the incurrence of debt, or a combination of some or all thereof. However, given the risks associated with these potential strategic or financing opportunities, they are not deemed probable for purposes of the going concern assessment. If the Company fails to obtain additional future capital, it may be unable to complete its planned preclinical studies and clinical trials and obtain approval of certain investigational product candidates from the FDA or foreign regulatory authorities.

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- Definition The entire disclosure for the business description and basis of presentation concepts. Business description describes the nature and type of organization including but not limited to organizational structure as may be applicable to holding companies, parent and subsidiary relationships, business divisions, business units, business segments, affiliates and information about significant ownership of the reporting entity. Basis of presentation describes the underlying basis used to prepare the financial statements (for example, US Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, Other Comprehensive Basis of Accounting, IFRS). + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2009/role/commonPracticeRef -Topic 235 -SubTopic 10 -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Section 50 -Paragraph 4 -Subparagraph (a) -Publisher FASB -URI https://asc.fasb.org/1943274/2147483426/235-10-50-4 Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2009/role/commonPracticeRef -Topic 205 -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Publisher FASB -URI https://asc.fasb.org/205/tableOfContent + Details
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