Significant Accounting Policies (Policies)

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2020

Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

The accompanying financial statements were prepared based on the accrual method of accounting in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP).

Unaudited Financial Statements

The accompanying balance sheet as of March 31, 2020 and the statements of operations and comprehensive loss, stockholders’ equity and cash flows, in each case for the three months ended March 31, 2020 and 2019, are unaudited. These unaudited financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the rules and regulations of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC) for interim financial information. Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and footnotes required by GAAP for complete annual financial statements. These financial statements should be read in conjunction with the audited financial statements and the accompanying notes for the year ended December 31, 2019 contained in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on February 28, 2020. The unaudited interim financial statements have been prepared on the same basis as the annual financial statements and in the opinion of management reflect all adjustments (consisting of normal recurring adjustments) necessary to state fairly the Company’s financial position as of March 31, 2020 and its results of operations, changes in its stockholders’ equity and its cash flows for the three months ended March 31, 2020 and 2019. The December 31, 2019 balance sheet included herein was derived from audited financial statements, but does not include all disclosures including notes required by GAAP for complete annual financial statements. The financial data and other information disclosed in these notes to the financial statements related to the three months ended March 31, 2020 and 2019 are unaudited. Interim results are not necessarily indicative of results for an entire year or for any future period.

Use of Estimates

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting periods. Although actual results could differ from those estimates, management does not believe that such differences would be material.

Fair Value Measurements

The Company had no assets or liabilities that were measured using quoted prices for similar assets and liabilities or significant unobservable inputs (Level 2 and Level 3 assets and liabilities, respectively) as of March 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019. The carrying value of cash held in money market funds of $152.8 million and $156.2 million as of March 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019, respectively, is included in cash and cash equivalents and approximates market values based on quoted market prices (Level 1 inputs).

Concentration of Credit Risk

Credit risk represents the risk that the Company would incur a loss if counterparties failed to perform pursuant to the terms of their agreements. Financial instruments that potentially expose the Company to concentrations of credit risk consist primarily of cash and cash equivalents. Cash and cash equivalents consist of money market funds with major financial institutions in the United States. These funds may be redeemed upon demand and, therefore, bear minimal risk. The Company does not anticipate any losses on such balances.

Research and Development Costs Including Clinical Trial Accruals/Expenses

Research and Development Costs (Including Accruals for Clinical Trial Expenses)

Except for payments made in advance of services, research and development costs are expensed as incurred. Research and development costs primarily consist of employee-related expenses, including salaries and benefits, expenses incurred under agreements with contract research organizations (CROs), investigative sites and consultants that conduct the Company's clinical trials, the cost of acquiring and manufacturing clinical trial materials, including costs incurred under agreements with contract manufacturing organizations (CMOs), and other allocated expenses, stock-based compensation expense, and costs associated with non-clinical activities and regulatory approvals.

Clinical trial expenses are a significant component of research and development expenses, and the Company outsources a significant portion of these clinical trial activities to third parties. Third-party clinical trial expenses include investigator fees, site and patient costs, CRO costs, and costs for central laboratory testing and data management. The accrual for site and patient costs includes inputs such as estimates of patient enrollment, patient cycles incurred, clinical site activations, and other pass-through costs. These inputs are required to be estimated due to a lag in receiving the actual clinical information from third parties. Payments for these activities are based on the terms of the individual arrangements, which may differ from the pattern of costs incurred, and are reflected on the balance sheets as a prepaid asset or accrued expenses. These third-party agreements are generally cancellable, and related costs are recorded as research and development expenses as incurred. Non-refundable advance clinical payments for goods or services that will be used or rendered for future research and development activities are recorded as a prepaid asset and recognized as expense as the related goods are delivered or the related services are performed. When evaluating the adequacy of the accrued expenses, management assessments include: (i) an evaluation by the project manager of the work that has been completed during the period; (ii) measurement of progress prepared internally and/or provided by the third-party service provider; (iii) analyses of data that justify the progress; and (iv) the Company’s judgment. Significant judgments and estimates may be made in determining the accrued balances at the end of any reporting period. Actual results could differ from the estimates made. The Company’s historical clinical accrual estimates have not been materially different from the actual costs. Clinical trial accruals that are due longer than one year are classified as noncurrent accrued expenses.

Stock-Based Compensation

Stock-based payments are accounted for in accordance with the provisions of ASC 718, Compensation—Stock Compensation. The fair value of stock-based payments is estimated, on the date of grant, using the Black-Scholes-Merton model. The resulting fair value is recognized ratably over the requisite service period, which is generally the vesting period of the option. The Company accounts for forfeitures as they occur and does not make an estimate of expected forfeitures at the time of grant.

The Company has elected to use the Black-Scholes-Merton option pricing model to value any options granted. The Company will reconsider use of the Black-Scholes-Merton model if additional information becomes available in the future that indicates another model would be more appropriate or if grants issued in future periods have characteristics that prevent their value from being reasonably estimated using this model.

A discussion of management’s methodology for developing some of the assumptions used in the valuation model follows:

Expected Dividend Yield—The Company has never declared or paid dividends and has no plans to do so in the foreseeable future.

Expected Volatility—Volatility is a measure of the amount by which a financial variable such as share price has fluctuated (historical volatility) or is expected to fluctuate (expected volatility) during a period. Effective January 1, 2020, the Company bases the expected volatility on the historical volatility of the Company’s publicly traded common stock. Prior to January 1, 2020, the Company utilized the historical volatilities of a peer group (e.g., several public entities of similar size, complexity, and stage of development), along with the Company’s historical volatility since its initial public offering, to determine its expected volatility.

Risk-Free Interest Rate—This is the U.S. Treasury rate for the week of each option grant during the year, having a term that most closely resembles the expected life of the option.

Expected Term—This is a period of time that the options granted are expected to remain unexercised. Options granted have a maximum term of 10 years. The Company estimates the expected life of the option term to be 6.25 years. The Company uses a simplified method to calculate the average expected term.

Net Loss Per Common Share

Basic net loss per common share is determined by dividing net loss by the weighted-average number of common shares outstanding during the period, without consideration of common stock equivalents. Diluted net loss per share is computed by dividing net loss by the weighted-average number of common stock equivalents outstanding for the period. The treasury stock method is used to determine the dilutive effect of the Company’s stock options and restricted stock units.

The following potentially dilutive securities outstanding, at March 31, have been excluded from the computation of diluted weighted-average common shares outstanding, as they would be anti-dilutive:


	2020	2019
Stock options and restricted stock units	6,291,212	4,836,170

Comprehensive Loss

Comprehensive loss comprises net loss and other changes in equity that are excluded from net loss. For the three months ended March 31, 2020 and 2019, the Company’s net loss equaled comprehensive net loss and, accordingly, no additional disclosure is presented.

Recently Issued Accounting Standards

Adopted Accounting Standards

In November 2018, the Financial Accounting Standard Board (FASB) issued Accounting Standards Update (ASU) No. 2018-18, Collaborative Arrangements (Topic 808): Clarifying the Interaction between Topic 808 and Topic 606. The Company adopted this update as of January 1, 2020. The amendment clarifies that certain transactions between collaborative arrangement participants should be accounted for as revenue under Topic 606 when the collaborative arrangement participant is a customer in the context of a unit of account. In those situations, all the guidance in Topic 606 should be applied, including recognition, measurement, presentation and disclosure requirements. The amendment also adds unit-of-account guidance in Topic 808 to align with the guidance in Topic 606 (that is, a distinct good or service) when an entity is assessing whether the collaborative arrangement or a part of the arrangement is within the scope of Topic 606. Lastly, the amendment requires that in a transaction with a collaborative arrangement participant that is not directly related to sales to third parties, presenting the transaction together with revenue recognized under Topic 606 is precluded if the collaborative arrangement participant is not a customer. The adoption of the standard had no effect on the Company’s operating results, cash flows or financial position.

Accounting Standards Not Yet Adopted

With the exception of the new standard discussed above, there have been no new accounting pronouncements that have significance, or potential significance, to the Company’s financial statements