The accompanying financial statements have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted, or GAAP, in the United States. Any reference in these notes to applicable guidance is meant to refer to GAAP as found in the Accounting Standards Codification, or ASC, and Accounting Standards Updates, or ASU, promulgated by the Financial Accounting Standards Board, or FASB.

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities and expenses. The Company bases its estimates and assumptions on historical experience when available and on various factors that it believes to be reasonable under the circumstances. Significant estimates and assumptions reflected in these financial statements include, but are not limited to, the expected volatility used to estimate fair value of stock options and accrued research and development expenses. Estimates and assumptions are periodically reviewed in light of changes in circumstances, facts and experience. Changes in estimates are recorded in the period in which they become known. Actual results could differ from these estimates.

Operating segments are defined as components of an entity about which separate discrete information is available for evaluation by the chief operating decision maker, or CODM, or decision-making group, in deciding how to allocate resources and in assessing performance. The CODM is the Company’s Chief Executive Officer. The Company views its operations as and manages its business in one operating segment operating exclusively in the United States.

Cash and cash equivalents consist of standard checking accounts and a money market account. The Company considers all highly liquid investments with an original maturity of three months or less at the date of purchase to be cash equivalents.

Restricted cash represents collateral provided for a letter of credit issued as a security deposit in connection with the Company’s lease of its corporate facilities. Cash will be released from restriction upon termination of the lease. Restricted cash was $100,000 at both December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively. The following table provides a reconciliation of the components of cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash presented in the statements of cash flows:

Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to significant concentration of credit risk consist primarily of cash and cash equivalents. As of December 31, 2022, the Company held deposits at Silicon Valley Bank (“SVB”) in excess of government insured limits. On March 10, 2023, SVB was closed by the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) was appointed as receiver. No losses were incurred by the Company on the Company’s deposits that were held at SVB. Subsequent to this event the Company’s deposits were transferred to a financial institution that management believes to be of high credit quality, therefore management believes that the Company currently is not exposed to significant credit risk.

Property and equipment are stated at cost less accumulated depreciation and amortization. Depreciation and amortization expense is recognized using the straight-line method over the estimated useful life of each asset as follows:

Expenditures for repairs and maintenance of assets are charged to expense as incurred, while major betterments are capitalized. Upon retirement or sale, the cost and related accumulated depreciation and amortization of assets disposed of are removed from the accounts and any resulting gain or loss is included in the statements of operations.

The Company evaluates its long-lived assets, which consist primarily of property and equipment, for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of such assets may not be recoverable. Recoverability of assets to be held and used is measured by a comparison of the carrying amount of an asset to the future undiscounted net cash flows expected to be generated by the asset. If such assets are considered to be impaired, the impairment to be recognized is measured by the amount by which the carrying amount of the asset exceeds the fair value of the asset. There were no impairment losses recognized during the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021.

The Company capitalized costs that were directly associated with establishing the ATM Agreement and shelf registration statement in 2021. These costs will remain capitalized until such financings are consummated, at which time such costs will be recorded against the gross proceeds from the applicable financing. If a financing is abandoned, deferred offering costs are expensed. Ongoing costs that are directly associated with the ATM Agreement are expensed as incurred.

Deferred offering costs were $0.3 million as of each of December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively, in the balance sheets.

The Company accounts for amounts received under the DoD expense reimbursement contract as contra-research and development expenses in the statements of operations. The Company accounts for the employee retention credit received under the U.S. Department of Treasury Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, or CARES Act, as contra-expense to personnel related costs within research and development and general and administrative expenses in the statements of operations.

Research and development costs are charged to expense as incurred. Research and development costs consist of costs incurred in performing research and development activities, including salaries and bonuses, share-based compensation, employee benefits, facilities costs, laboratory supplies, depreciation and amortization, preclinical and clinical development expenses, including manufacture and testing of clinical supplies, consulting and other contracted services. Additionally, under the terms of the license agreements described in Note 9, the Company is obligated to make future payments should certain development, regulatory, and sales milestones be achieved. Costs for certain research and development activities are recognized based on the terms of the individual arrangements, which may differ from the timing of receipt of invoices and payment of invoices and are reflected in the financial statements as a prepaid or accrued expense.

The Company’s share-based compensation program allows for grants of stock options and restricted stock awards. Grants are awarded to employees and non-employees, including directors.

The Company accounts for its share-based compensation awards granted to employees and non-employees based on the estimated fair value on the date of grant and recognized compensation expense of those awards over the requisite service period, which is the vesting period of the respective award. The Company accounts for forfeitures as they occur. For share-based awards with service-based vesting conditions, the Company recognized compensation expense on a straight-line basis over the service period. The Company classified share-based compensation expense in its statements of operations in the same manner in which the award recipient’s payroll costs are classified or in which the award recipient’s service payments are classified.

The Company estimates the fair value of options granted using the Black-Scholes option pricing model for stock option grants to both employees and non-employees. The Black-Scholes option pricing model requires inputs based on certain subjective assumptions, including (i) the expected stock price volatility, (ii) the expected term of the award, (iii) the risk-free interest rate and (iv) expected dividends. Due to the lack of Company-specific historical and implied volatility data, the Company has based its computation of expected volatility on the historical volatility of a representative group of public companies with similar characteristics to the Company, including stage of product development and biopharmaceutical industry focus. The historical volatility is calculated based on a period of time commensurate with the expected term assumption. The Company uses the simplified method to calculate the expected term for options granted to employees and non-employees whereby, the expected term equals the arithmetic average of the vesting term and the original contractual term of the options due to its lack of sufficient historical data. The risk-free interest rate is based on U.S. Treasury securities with a maturity date commensurate with the expected term of the associated award. The expected dividend yield is assumed to be zero as the Company has never paid dividends and has no current plans to pay any dividends on its common stock. The exercise price is the fair value of the common stock as of the measurement date.

All patent-related costs incurred in connection with filing and prosecuting patent applications are expensed as incurred due to the uncertainty about the recovery of the expenditure. Amounts incurred are classified as general and administrative expenses in the accompanying statements of operations.

Effective January 1, 2022, the Company adopted ASU No. 2016-02, Leases, or ASC 842, using the modified retrospective approach by applying the new standard to all leases existing on the adoption date. The results for reporting periods beginning after January 1, 2022 are presented in accordance with ASC 842, while prior period amounts are not adjusted and continue to be reported under the accounting standards that were in effect prior to January 1, 2022.

At the inception of an arrangement, the Company determines whether an arrangement contains a lease based on facts and circumstances present in the arrangement. An arrangement is or contains a lease if the arrangement conveys the right to control the use of an identified asset for a period of time in exchange for consideration. Typically, lessees are required to recognize leases with a term greater than one year in the balance sheets as an operating or finance lease liability and right-of-use asset. Right-of-use assets represent the Company’s right to use an underlying asset during the lease term and lease liabilities represent our obligation to make lease payments arising from the lease. The Company has elected the practical expedient to not recognize leases with a term of 12 months or less. The Company does not have any financing leases as of December 31, 2022.

Operating lease liabilities and their corresponding right-of-use assets are recorded based on their present value of lease payments over the remaining lease term. Options to extend the lease term are included in the Company’s assessment of the lease term only if there is a reasonable assessment that the Company will renew. Leases are discounted to its present value using either the interest rate implicit in the Company’s lease or its incremental borrowing rate, which reflects the fixed rate in which the Company could borrow on a collateralized basis the amount of lease payments in the same currency, for a similar term, in a similar economic environment.

The Company recognizes deferred tax assets and liabilities for the expected future tax consequences of events that have been included in the Company’s financial statements and tax returns. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are determined based upon the differences between the financial statement carrying amounts and the tax bases of existing assets and liabilities and for loss and credit carryforwards, using enacted tax rates expected to be in effect in the year in which the differences are expected to reverse. Deferred tax assets are reduced by a valuation allowance if it is more likely than not that these assets may not be realized. The Company determines whether it is more likely than not that a tax position will be sustained upon examination. If it is not more likely than not that a position will be sustained, none of the benefit attributable to the position is recognized. The tax benefit to be recognized for any tax position that meets the

more-likely-than-not recognition threshold is calculated as the largest amount that is more than 50% likely of being realized upon resolution of the contingency. The Company accounts for interest and penalties related to uncertain tax positions as part of its provision for income taxes.

ASC Topic 820, Fair Value Measurement (ASC 820), establishes a fair value hierarchy for instruments measured at fair value that distinguishes between assumptions based on market data (observable inputs) and the Company’s own assumptions (unobservable inputs). Observable inputs are inputs that market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability based on market data obtained from sources independent of the Company. Unobservable inputs are inputs that reflect the Company’s assumptions about the inputs that market participants would use in pricing the assets or liability and are developed based on the best information available in the circumstances. ASC 820 identifies fair value as the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability, in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. As a basis for considering market participant assumptions in fair value measurements, ASC 820 establishes a three-tiered value hierarchy that distinguishes between the following:

To the extent the valuation is based on models or inputs that are less observable or unobservable in the market, the determination of fair values requires more judgement. Accordingly, the degree of judgement exercised by the Company in determining fair value is greatest for instruments categorized as Level 3. A financial instrument’s level within the fair value hierarchy is based on the lowest level of any input that is significant to the fair value measurement.

Cash and cash equivalents are Level 1 assets for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021.

Net loss per share

Basic net loss per share of common stock is computed by dividing the net loss attributable to common stockholders by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding for the period. Diluted net loss per share of common stock is computed by adjusting net loss attributable to common stockholders to reallocate undistributed earnings based on the potential impact of dilutive securities. Diluted net loss per share of common stock is computed by dividing the diluted net loss by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding for the period, including potential dilutive common shares assuming the dilutive effect of common stock equivalents.

The following potentially dilutive securities outstanding as of December 31, 2022 and 2021 have been excluded from the computation of diluted weighted-average shares of common stock outstanding, as they would be anti-dilutive:


	Year ended December 31,
	2022	2021
Stock options⁽¹⁾	2,519,405	2,005,756
Common stock warrants⁽¹⁾	1,303,112	1,303,112
	3,822,517	3,308,868

(1)	Represents common stock equivalents

In periods in which the Company reports a net loss per share of common stock, diluted net loss per share of common stock is the same as basic net loss per share of common stock since dilutive common shares are not assumed to have

been issued if their effect is anti-dilutive. The Company reported a net loss per share of common stock for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021.

Recently adopted accounting standards

ASC Topic 842, Leases

On January 1, 2022, the Company adopted ASC 842 which supersedes the lease accounting guidance under ASC 840. The standard generally requires lessees to recognize operating and finance lease liabilities and corresponding right-of-use, or ROU, assets in the balance sheets and provide enhanced disclosures on the amount, timing, and uncertainty of cash flows arising from lease arrangements. The Company adopted ASC 842 using the modified retrospective approach. The Company elected the package of practical expedients available for existing contracts, which allowed the Company to carry forward its historical assessments of lease identification, lease classification, and initial direct costs. The Company also elected a policy to not apply the recognition requirements of ASC 842 for short-term leases with a term of 12 months of less. As of January 1, 2022, the effective date, the Company identified one operating lease arrangement relating to the Company’s headquarters facility and a short-term lease relating to laboratory equipment. The adoption of ASC 842 resulted in a recognition of an ROU asset and lease liability of $0.5 million in the Company’s balance sheets relating to the lease as of January 1, 2022. The adoption of the standard did not have a material effect on the Company’s statements of operations and statements of cash flows.

ASU Topic 832, Government Assistance

In November 2021, the FASB issued ASU 2021-10, Government Assistance, or Topic 832, which requires enhanced disclosures of transactions with governments that are accounted for by applying a grant or contribution model. The new pronouncement requires entities to provide information about the nature of the transaction, terms and conditions associated with the transaction and financial statement line items affected by the transaction. The Company adopted the standard for the annual period beginning January 1, 2022. The DoD expense reimbursement contract and the employee retention credit received under the CARES Act qualify as government assistance programs under Topic 832 and resulted in enhanced required disclosures, as described in Note 5.

ASU 2021-04, Earnings Per Share

In May 2021, the FASB issued ASU 2021-04 Earnings Per Share (Topic 260), Debt— Modifications and Extinguishments (Subtopic 470-50), Compensation—Stock Compensation (Topic 718), and Derivatives and Hedging— Contracts in Entity’s Own Equity (Subtopic 815-40), or ASU 2021-04, that requires the issuer to treat a modification of an equity-classified written call option (i.e., a warrant) that does not cause the option to become liability-classified as an exchange of the original option for a new option. An issuer should measure the effect of a modification or exchange as the difference between the fair value of the modified or exchanged warrant and the fair value of that warrant immediately before modification or exchange. The Company adopted the standard for interim periods beginning January 1, 2022. As described in Note 11, in September 2022, the Company modified its Series B Warrants which resulted in a reduction in exercise price from $45.00 per share to $10.00 per share. The Company recognized a deemed dividend of $0.6 million which was recorded in the Company's statement of operations as an increase to the net loss attributable to common stockholders for purposes of computing net loss per share, basic and diluted. The net impact to the statements of changes in stockholders’ equity was zero because the warrants were equity classified before and after the modification.