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Summary of Significant Accounting Policies
9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2013
Accounting Policies [Abstract]  
Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

2. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Use of Estimates

The preparation of financial statements, in conformity with GAAP, requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in the financial statements and accompanying notes. These estimates include useful lives for property and equipment and related depreciation calculations, assumptions for valuing options and warrants, and income taxes. Actual results could differ from these estimates.

Cash and Cash Equivalents

All highly liquid investments with maturities of three months or less at the time of purchase are classified as cash equivalents.

 

Investments

Management determines the appropriate classification of the Company’s marketable securities, which consist solely of debt securities, at the time of purchase. All investments are classified as available-for-sale, carried at estimated fair value and reported in cash and cash equivalents or short-term investments. Unrealized gains and losses on available-for-sale securities are excluded from earnings and losses. Fair values of investments are based on quoted market prices where available. Investment income is recognized when earned and includes interest, dividends, amortization of purchase premiums and discounts, and realized gains and losses on sales of securities. The cost of securities sold is based on the specific identification method. The Company regularly reviews all of its investments for other-than-temporary declines in fair value. When the Company determines that the decline in fair value of an investment below the Company’s accounting basis is other-than-temporary, the Company reduces the carrying value of the securities held and records a loss equal to the amount of any such decline. No such reductions were required during any of the periods presented.

Property and Equipment

The Company records property and equipment at cost and calculates depreciation using the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of the respective assets. Machinery and equipment includes external costs incurred for validation of the equipment. The Company does not capitalize internal validation expense. Computer equipment and software includes capitalized computer software. All of the Company’s capitalized software is purchased; the Company has not internally developed computer software. Leasehold improvements are depreciated over the shorter of the term of the lease or useful life of the improvement.

Impairment of Long-Lived Assets

The Company reviews for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of property and equipment may not be recoverable. Determination of recoverability is based on an estimate of undiscounted future cash flows resulting from the use of the asset and its eventual disposition. In the event that such cash flows are not expected to be sufficient to recover the carrying amount of the assets, the assets are written down to their estimated fair values and the loss is recognized in the consolidated statements of operations.

Accounting for Costs Associated with Exit or Disposal Activities

The Company recognizes a liability for the cost associated with an exit or disposal activity that is measured initially at its fair value in the period in which the liability is incurred. The Company accounted for the partial sublease of its headquarters building as an exit activity and recorded the sublease loss in its statement of operations (see Note 5).

Costs to terminate an operating lease or other contracts are (a) costs to terminate the contract before the end of its term or (b) costs that will continue to be incurred under the contract for its remaining term without economic benefit to the entity. In periods subsequent to initial measurement, changes to the liability are measured using the credit-adjusted risk-free rate that was used to measure the liability initially.

Revenue Recognition

Contract revenues consist of revenues from grants, collaboration agreements and feasibility studies. License and collaboration revenue is primarily generated through agreements with strategic partners for the development and commercialization of our product candidates. The terms of the agreements typically include non-refundable upfront fees, funding of research and development activities, payments based upon achievement of milestones and royalties on net product sales. The Company recognizes revenue under the provisions of the SEC issued Staff Accounting Bulletin 104, Topic 13, Revenue Recognition Revised and Updated and ASC 605-25, Revenue Recognition-Multiple Elements (“ASC 605-25”). Revenue for arrangements not having multiple deliverables, as outlined in ASC 605-25, is recognized once costs are incurred and collectability is reasonably assured.

Collaborative license and development agreements that require the Company to provide multiple deliverables, such as a license, research and product steering committee service and other performance obligations, are accounted for in accordance with ASC 605-25. Under ASC 605-25, delivered items are evaluated to determine whether such items have value to the Company’s collaborators on a stand-alone basis and whether such objective reliable evidence of fair value of the undelivered item exists. The Company performs its analysis at the inception of each arrangement and as each product or service is delivered. Deliverables that meet these criteria are considered a separate unit of accounting. If a product or service is not separable, the combined deliverables are accounted for as a single unit of accounting and revenue is recognized over the performance obligation period. The appropriate revenue recognition criteria are identified and applied to each separate unit of accounting.

 

Assuming the elements meet the revenue recognition guidelines, the revenue recognition methodology prescribed for each unit of accounting is summarized below:

Upfront Fees—The Company defers recognition of non-refundable upfront fees if there are continuing performance obligations without which the technology licensed has no utility to the licensee. If the Company has continuing performance obligations through research and development services that are required because know-how and expertise related to the technology is proprietary to the Company, or can only be performed by the Company, then such up-front fees are deferred and recognized over the estimated period of the performance obligation. The Company bases the estimate of the period of performance on factors in the contract. Actual time frames could vary and could result in material changes to the results of operations. When the collaboration partners request the Company to continue performing the research and development services in collaboration beyond the initial period of performance the remaining unamortized deferred revenue and any new continuation or license fees are recognized over the extended period of performance.

Funded Research and Development—Revenue from research and development services is recognized during the period in which the services are performed and is based upon the number of full-time-equivalent personnel working on the specific project at the agreed-upon rate. The full-time equivalent amount can vary each year if the contracts allow for a percentage increase determined by relevant salary surveys, if applicable. Reimbursements from collaborative partners for agreed upon direct costs including direct materials and outsourced, or subcontracted, pre-clinical studies are classified as revenue and recognized in the period the reimbursable expenses are incurred. Payments received in advance are recorded as deferred revenue until the research and development services are performed or costs are incurred.

Milestones—Substantive milestone payments are considered to be performance bonuses that are recognized upon achievement of the milestone only if all of the following conditions are met: the milestone payments are non-refundable; achievement of the milestone involves a degree of risk and was not reasonably assured at the inception of the arrangement; substantive effort is involved in achieving the milestone; the amount of the milestone is reasonable in relation to the effort expended or the risk associated with achievement of the milestone; and a reasonable amount of time passes between the up-front license payment and the first milestone payment as well as between each subsequent milestone payment. If any of these conditions are not met, the milestone payments are deferred and recognized as revenue over the term of the arrangement as the Company completes its performance obligations.

Royalties—The Company recognizes royalty revenues from licensed products upon the sale of the related products.

Research and Development

Research and development expenses consist of costs incurred for company-sponsored, collaborative and contracted research and development activities. These costs include direct and research-related overhead expenses. The Company expenses research and development costs as such costs are incurred.

Stock-Based Compensation

The Company accounts for share-based payment arrangements in accordance with ASC 718, Compensation-Stock Compensation and ASC 505-50, Equity-Equity Based Payments to Non-Employees which requires the recognition of compensation expense, using a fair-value based method, for all costs related to share-based payments including stock options and restricted stock awards and stock issued under the Company’s employee stock purchase plan. These standards require companies to estimate the fair value of share-based payment awards on the date of grant using an option-pricing model. See Note 8 for further discussion of the Company’s stock-based compensation plans.

Income Taxes

The Company makes certain estimates and judgments in determining income tax expense for financial statement purposes. These estimates and judgments occur in the calculation of certain tax assets and liabilities, which arise from differences in the timing of recognition of revenue and expense for tax and financial statement purposes. As part of the process of preparing the financial statements, the Company is required to estimate income taxes in each of the jurisdictions in which it operates. This process involves the Company estimating its current tax exposure under the most recent tax laws and assessing temporary differences resulting from differing treatment of items for tax and accounting purposes. These differences result in deferred tax assets and liabilities, which are included in the balance sheets.

 

The Company assesses the likelihood that it will be able to recover its deferred tax assets. It considers all available evidence, both positive and negative, including the historical levels of income and losses, expectations and risks associated with estimates of future taxable income and ongoing prudent and feasible tax planning strategies in assessing the need for a valuation allowance. If the Company does not consider it more likely than not that it will recover its deferred tax assets, the Company records a valuation allowance against the deferred tax assets that it estimates will not ultimately be recoverable. At September 30, 2013 and December 31, 2012, the Company believed that the amount of its deferred income taxes would not be ultimately recovered. Accordingly, the Company recorded a full valuation allowance for deferred tax assets. However, should there be a change in the Company’s ability to recover its deferred tax assets, the Company would recognize a benefit to its tax provision in the period in which it determines that it is more likely than not that it will recover its deferred tax assets.

The Company entered into a financing transaction that will likely cause an ownership change under IRC Section 382. The precise impact of that ownership has not been calculated as of the quarter ended September 30, 2013. The Company will be calculating the impact in utilizing its net operating losses in the various taxing jurisdictions in which it files before filing tax returns.

Net Loss Per Common Share

Basic net loss per common share is computed using the weighted-average number of shares of common stock outstanding during the period less the weighted-average number of restricted shares of common stock subject to repurchase. Diluted net income/(loss) per common share is based on the weighted average number of common and common equivalent shares, such as stock options and unvested restricted stock shares outstanding during the period. Potentially dilutive securities were not included for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2013 because inclusion of such shares would have been anti-dilutive.

Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements

There have been no recent accounting pronouncements or changes in accounting pronouncements during the nine months ended September 30, 2013, as compared to the recent accounting pronouncements described in the Company’s recent 2012 Form 10-K that are of significance or potential significance to the Company.