1. Description of Business and Basis of Presentation

Nature of business

Dicerna Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and its subsidiaries, (the Company) is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of innovative treatments for rare inherited diseases involving the liver and for cancers that are genetically defined. The Company is using its proprietary RNA interference (RNAi) technology platform to build a broad pipeline in these therapeutic areas. The Company intends to discover, develop and commercialize novel therapeutics either on its own or in collaboration with pharmaceutical partners.

The Company continues to be subject to a number of risks common to companies in similar stages of development. Principal among these risks are the uncertainties of technological innovations, which are particularly high in the field of drug discovery and development, dependence on key individuals, development of the same or similar technological innovations by the Company’s competitors and protection of proprietary technology.

The Company’s ability to fund its planned preclinical and clinical operations, including completion of its clinical trials, is expected to depend on the amount and timing of cash receipts under any future collaborations, financing transactions, its existing collaboration agreement, as well as any product sales.

In February 2014, the Company completed the sale of 6,900,000 shares of common stock in an initial public offering of its common stock (the IPO) at a price to the public of $15.00 per share, resulting in net proceeds to the Company of $92.7 million after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions of approximately $7.2 million and offering expenses paid by the Company of approximately $3.5 million. In connection with the close of the IPO, all of the outstanding shares of Series A mandatorily redeemable, convertible preferred stock (Series A preferred stock), Series B mandatorily redeemable, convertible preferred stock (Series B preferred stock) and Series C mandatorily redeemable, convertible preferred stock (Series C preferred stock) were converted into shares of common stock on a one-for-one basis immediately prior to the closing of the IPO.

In May 2015, the Company completed the sale of 2,750,000 shares of common stock in a public offering of its common stock at a price to the public of $17.75 per share, resulting in proceeds to the Company of $45.4 million after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions of approximately $2.9 million and offering costs incurred by the Company of approximately $0.4 million.