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Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Policies)
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2023
Accounting Policies [Abstract]  
Principle of Consolidation
Principle of Consolidation
The consolidated financial statements include the financial statements of the Company and its wholly owned subsidiaries. All significant intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.
Use of Estimates
Use of Estimates
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect certain reported amounts of assets and liabilities, and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting periods. The Company bases its estimates on historical experience and various other assumptions that management believes to be reasonable under the circumstances. Changes in estimates are recorded in the period in which they become known. Actual results could differ from those estimates.
Cash and Cash Equivalents
Cash and Cash Equivalents
The Company considers all highly liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less at the date of purchase to be cash equivalents. The Company maintains its cash in bank accounts, the balance of which, at times, exceeds Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation insured limits.
The primary objective of the Company’s investment activities is to preserve its capital for the purpose of funding operations and the Company does not enter into investments for trading or speculative purposes. The Company’s cash is deposited in highly rated financial institutions in the United States. The Company invests in money market funds and high-grade, commercial paper and corporate bonds, which management believes are subject to minimal credit and market risk.
Marketable Securities
Marketable Securities
Marketable securities consist of investments in high-grade corporate obligations, and government and government agency obligations that are classified as available-for-sale. Since these securities are available to fund current operations they are classified as current assets on the consolidated balance sheets.
The Company adjusts the cost of available-for-sale debt securities for amortization of premiums and accretion of discounts to maturity. The Company includes such amortization and accretion as a component of interest income, net. Realized gains and losses and declines in value, if any, that the Company judges to be the result of impairment or as a result of recognizing an allowance for credit losses on available-for-sale securities are reported as a component of interest income. To determine whether an impairment exists, the Company considers whether it intends to sell the debt security and, if the Company does not intend to sell the debt security, it considers available evidence to assess whether it is more likely than not that it will be required to sell the security before the recovery of its amortized cost basis. During the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021, the Company determined it did not have any securities that were other-than-temporarily impaired.
Marketable securities are stated at fair value, including accrued interest, with their unrealized gains and losses included as a component of accumulated other comprehensive income or loss, which is a separate component of stockholders’ equity. The fair value of these securities is based on quoted prices and observable inputs on a recurring basis. Realized gains and losses are determined on the specific identification method.
Fair Value of Financial Instruments
Fair Value of Financial Instruments
The carrying amounts of the Company’s financial instruments, which include cash equivalents, and marketable securities, approximate their fair values. The fair value of the Company’s financial instruments reflects the amounts that would be received upon sale of an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. The fair value hierarchy has the following three levels:
Level 1—quoted prices in active markets for identical assets and liabilities.
Level 2—observable inputs other than Level 1 inputs. Examples of Level 2 inputs include quoted prices in active markets for similar assets or liabilities and quoted prices for identical assets or liabilities in markets that are not active.
Level 3—unobservable inputs that reflect the Company’s own assumptions about the assumptions market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability.
Financial assets and liabilities are classified in their entirety within the fair value hierarchy based on the lowest level of input that is significant to the fair value measurement. The Company measures the fair value of its marketable securities by taking into consideration valuations obtained from third-party pricing sources. The pricing services utilize industry standard valuation models, including both income and market-based approaches, for which all significant inputs are observable, either directly or indirectly, to estimate fair value. These inputs include reported trades of and broker-dealer quotes on the same or similar securities, issuer credit spreads, benchmark securities and other observable inputs.
Research and Development Costs
Research and Development Costs
Research and development costs are expensed as incurred. Research and development costs are comprised of costs incurred in performing research and development activities, including internal costs (including stock-based compensation), costs for consultants, milestone payments under licensing agreements, and other costs associated with the Company’s preclinical and clinical programs. In particular, the Company has conducted safety studies in animals, optimized and implemented the manufacturing of its drug, and conducted clinical trials, all of which are considered research and development expenditures. Management uses significant judgment in estimating the amount of research and development costs recognized in each reporting period. Management analyzes and estimates the progress of its clinical trials, completion of milestones events per underlying agreements, invoices received and contracted costs when estimating the research and development costs to accrue in each reporting period. Actual results could differ from the Company’s estimates.
Patents
Patents
Costs to secure and defend patents are expensed as incurred and are classified as general and administrative expense in the Company’s statements of operations.
Stock-Based Compensation
Stock-Based Compensation
The Company recognizes stock-based compensation expense based on the grant date fair value of stock options, restricted stock units, and other stock-based compensation awards granted to employees, officers, directors, and consultants. Awards that vest as the recipient provides service are expensed on a straight-line basis over the requisite service period.
The Company uses the Black-Scholes option pricing model to determine the grant date fair value of stock options as management believes it is the most appropriate valuation method for its option grants. The Black-Scholes model requires inputs for risk-free interest rate, dividend yield, volatility and expected lives of the options. The expected lives for options granted represent the period of time that options granted are expected to be outstanding. The Company uses the simplified method for determining the expected lives of options. Expected volatility is based upon an industry estimate or blended rate including the Company’s historical trading activity. The risk-free rate for periods within the expected life of the option is based on the U.S. Treasury yield curve in effect at the time of the grant. The Company estimates the forfeiture rate based on historical data. This analysis is re-evaluated at least annually and the forfeiture rate is adjusted as necessary.
For other stock-based compensation awards granted to employees and directors that vest based on market conditions, such as the trading price of the Company’s common stock achieving or exceeding certain price targets, the Company uses a Monte Carlo simulation model to estimate the grant date fair value and recognize stock compensation expense over the derived service period. The Monte Carlo simulation model requires key inputs for risk-free interest rate, dividend yield, volatility, and expected life.
The assumptions used in computing the fair value of equity awards reflect the Company’s best estimates but involve uncertainties related to market and other conditions. Changes in any of these assumptions may materially affect the fair value of awards granted and the amount of stock-based compensation recognized.
Certain of the employee stock options granted by the Company are structured to qualify as incentive stock options (ISOs). Under current tax regulations, the Company does not receive a tax deduction for the issuance, exercise or disposition of ISOs if the employee meets certain holding requirements. If the employee does not meet the holding requirements, a disqualifying disposition occurs, at which time the Company may receive a tax deduction. The Company does not record tax benefits related to ISOs unless and until a disqualifying disposition is reported. In the event of a disqualifying disposition, the entire tax benefit is recorded as a reduction of income tax expense. The Company has not recognized any income tax benefit for its share-based compensation arrangements due to the fact that the Company does not believe it is more likely than not it will realize the related deferred tax assets.
Income Taxes
Income Taxes
The Company uses the asset and liability method to account for income taxes. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are determined based on the expected future tax consequences of temporary differences between the Company’s financial statement carrying amounts and the tax basis of assets and liabilities using enacted tax rates expected to be in effect in the years in which the differences are expected to reverse. The Company currently maintains a 100% valuation allowance on its deferred tax assets.
Comprehensive Loss
Comprehensive Loss
Comprehensive loss is defined as the change in equity of a business enterprise during a period from transactions and other events and circumstances from non-owner sources. Changes in unrealized gains and losses on marketable securities represent the only difference between the Company’s net loss and comprehensive loss.
Basic and Diluted Loss Per Common Share
Basic and Diluted Loss Per Common Share
Basic net loss per share is computed using the weighted average number of common shares outstanding during the period. Diluted net loss per common share is computed using the weighted average number of common shares outstanding and the weighted average dilutive potential common shares outstanding using the treasury stock method. However, for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021, diluted net loss per share is the same as basic net loss per share because
the inclusion of weighted average shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of stock options and warrants or vesting of restricted stock units, and common stock issuable upon the conversion of preferred stock would be anti-dilutive.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements Not Yet Adopted
Recent Accounting Pronouncements Not Yet Adopted
In November 2023, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued ASU 2023-07, Segment Reporting (Topic 280): Improvements to Reportable Segment Disclosures, which enhances the disclosures required for operating segments in the Company's annual and interim consolidated financial statements. The amendments are effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2023, and interim periods beginning after December 15, 2024. Early adoption is permitted. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of ASU 2023-07 on its financial statements.
In December 2023, the FASB issued ASU 2023-09, Income Taxes (Topic 740): Improvements to Income Tax Disclosures, which enhances the disclosures required for income taxes in the Company's annual consolidated financial statements. The amendments are effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2024. Early adoption is permitted. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of ASU 2023-09 on its financial statements.