If they were running a tight ship, with options open to them,...

If they were running a tight ship, with options open to them, and not wishing to dilute existing shareholders any more than necessary, what might it look like?

"Alongside the ATM, the company continues to routinely evaluate a number of financing approaches, including equity placements and non-dilutive opportunities such as partnering and grant funding.”

"routine"
"approaches"

Now, on one hand you could say that they are trying to appear calm under pressure, but on the other you could say that they ARE calm, confident in what they have.
The new members of the SAB and the FDA appear to be comfortable with the scientific progress, so it would appear to be reasonable that the company gets approaches for financing support.