Stock Options

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2021

Share-based Payment Arrangement [Abstract]

Stock Options

Note 5. Stock Options

On June 20, 2013, the Company’s Board adopted the 2013 Long-Term Incentive Plan and on November 15, 2013, a stockholder owning a majority of the Company’s issued and outstanding stock approved adoption to the 2013 Plan. Pursuant to the terms of the 2013 Plan, an aggregate of 20,000,000 shares of the Company’s common stock have been reserved for issuance to the Company’s officers, directors, employees and consultants in order to attract and hire key technical personnel and management. Options granted to employees under the 2013 Plan, including directors and officers who are employees, may be incentive stock options or non-qualified stock options; options granted to others under the 2013 Plan are limited to non-qualified stock options. As of March 31, 2021, there were 16,593,266 shares available for future grants.

The 2013 Plan is administered by the Board or a committee designated by the Board. Subject to the provisions of the 2013 Plan, the Board has the authority to determine the officers, employees and consultants to whom options will be granted, the number of shares covered by each option, vesting rights and the terms and conditions of each option that is granted to them; however, no person may be granted options to purchase more than 2,000,000 shares in any one fiscal year under the 2013 Plan, and the aggregate fair market value (determined at the time the option is granted) of the shares with respect to which incentive stock options are exercisable for the first time by an optionee during any calendar year cannot exceed $100,000. Options granted pursuant to the 2013 Plan are exercisable no later than ten years after the date of grant.

The exercise price per share of common stock for options granted under the 2013 Plan is the fair market value of the Company's common stock on the date of grant, using the closing price of the Company's common stock on the last trading day prior to the date of grant, except for incentive stock options granted to a holder of ten percent or more of the Company's common stock, for whom the exercise price per share will not be less than 110% of the fair market value. No option can be granted under the 2013 Plan after June 20, 2023.

The following table summarizes stock option activity for the three months ended March 31, 2021:

	Number of Options			Weighted Average Exercise Price ($)		Weighted Average Remaining Contractual Term (years)		Aggregate Intrinsic Value ($)
Outstanding at December 31, 2020		5,895,570			3.41		5.68		1,460,507
Forfeited		(2,730,571	)		2.75
Outstanding at March 31, 2021		3,164,999			2.18		5.22		2,350,775
Vested and exercisable at March 31, 2021		1,352,499			1.98		5.17		1,251,775

The valuation methodology used to determine the fair value of stock options is the Black-Scholes Model. The Black Scholes Model requires the use of a number of assumptions including volatility of the stock price, the risk-free interest rate, and the expected term of the stock options. The ranges of assumptions used in the Black-Scholes Model during the three months ended March 31, 2020 is set forth in the table below:

	Three Months Ended
	March 31, 2020
Risk-free interest rate		1.67	%
Expected term in years		4.27
Weighted Avg. Expected Volatility		107.73	%
Expected dividend yield		0	%

The risk-free interest rate assumption is based upon observed interest rates on zero coupon U.S. Treasury bonds whose maturity period is appropriate for the expected term. Estimated volatility is a measure of the amount by which the stock price is expected to fluctuate each year during the term of an award. Our calculation of estimated volatility is based on historical stock prices over a period equal to the term of the awards. The average expected life is based on the contractual terms of the stock option using the simplified method. We utilize a dividend yield of zero based on the fact that we have never paid cash dividends and have no current intention to pay cash dividends. Future stock-based compensation may significantly differ based on changes in the fair value of our Common Stock and our estimates of expected volatility and the other relevant assumptions.

The following table sets forth the share-based compensation cost resulting from stock option grants, including those previously granted and vesting over time, that were recorded in the Company’s Statements of Operations for the three months ended March 31, 2021 and 2020:

	Three Months Ended March 31,
	2021			2020
Research and development	$	278,815		$	-
General and administrative		(1,153,575	)		465,763
Total	$	(874,760	)	$	465,763

Three Months Ended March 31, 2021

During our first quarter 2021, certain individuals resigned from the Company resulting in the forfeiture and cancellation of 2,730,571 options. Compensation expense was recorded on these options prior to their full vesting. As a result, the Company recognized a $1,248,575 reversal of the prior recognized compensation expense related to the cancelled options. The expensed recognized for options still in their vesting period totaled $373,815 ($278,815 in R&D expense and $95,000 in G&A expense).