Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Policies)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2016

Basis of Presentation and Use of Estimates

The accompanying consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“U.S. GAAP”). The preparation of the accompanying consolidated financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the consolidated financial statements, and the reported amounts of expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

The accompanying consolidated financial statements are consolidated for the year ended December 31, 2016 and December 31, 2015 and include the accounts of Versartis, Inc. and its wholly-owned subsidiaries, Versartis Cayman Holdings Company, incorporated in 2014, and Versartis GmbH, incorporated in 2015. All intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated. The U.S. dollar is the functional currency for all of the Company's subsidiaries and consolidated operations.

Since inception, the Company has incurred net losses and negative cash flows from operations. At December 31, 2016, the Company had an accumulated deficit of $289.3 million and working capital of $150.8 million. The Company expects to continue to incur losses from costs related to the continuation of research and development and administrative activities for the foreseeable future. Although management has been successful in raising capital in the past, most recently $59.1 million in October and November 2016, there can be no assurance that the Company will be successful or that any needed financing will be available in the future at terms acceptable to the Company.

Segments

The Company operates in one segment. Management uses one measurement of profitability and does not segregate its business for internal reporting. All long-lived assets are maintained in the United States of America.

Concentration of Credit Risk

Concentration of credit risk

Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to a concentration of credit risk consist of cash and cash equivalents. All of the Company’s cash and cash equivalents are held at several financial institutions that management believes are of high credit quality. Such deposits may, at times, exceed federally insured limits.

The Company enters into forward foreign currency contracts that expose it to credit risk to the extent that the counterparties may be unable to meet the terms of the agreement. The Company does, however, seek to mitigate such risks by limiting its counterparties to major financial institutions. In addition, the potential risk of loss with any one counterparty resulting from this type of credit risk is monitored. Management does not expect material losses as a result of defaults by counterparties.

Derivative Financial Instruments

The Company engages in transactions denominated in foreign currencies and, as a result, is exposed to changes in foreign currency exchange rates. To manage the volatility resulting from fluctuating foreign currency exchange rates, the Company enters into option and forward foreign currency exchange contracts.

The Company accounts for its derivative instruments as either assets or liabilities on the balance sheet and measures them at fair value. The Company assesses, both at inception and on an ongoing basis, whether the derivatives that are used in hedging transactions are highly effective in offsetting the changes in cash flows of the hedged items. If the Company determines that a forecasted transaction is no longer probable of occurring, it discontinues hedge accounting for the affected portion of the hedge instrument, and any related unrealized gain or loss on the contract is recognized in other comprehensive income (expense).

Risk and Uncertainties

The Company’s future results of operations involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Factors that could affect the Company’s future operating results and cause actual results to vary materially from expectations include, but are not limited to, uncertainty of results of clinical trials and reaching milestones, uncertainty of regulatory approval of the Company’s potential drug candidates, uncertainty of market acceptance of the Company’s products, competition from substitute products and larger companies, securing and protecting proprietary technology, strategic relationships and dependence on key individuals and sole source suppliers.

Products developed by the Company require clearances from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”), the Pharmaceuticals Medicines and Devices Agency (“PMDA”), or other international regulatory agencies prior to commercial sales. There can be no assurance that the products will receive the necessary clearances. If the Company was denied clearance, clearance was delayed or the Company was unable to maintain clearance, it could have a materially adverse impact on the Company.

The Company expects to incur substantial operating losses for the next several years and will need to obtain additional financing in order to launch and commercialize any product candidates for which it receives regulatory approval. Even though the Company expects additional proceeds if certain clinical and regulatory milestones are met under the Teijin Agreement, there can be no assurance that such additional financing will be available at all, or will be at terms acceptable by the Company.

Cash and Cash Equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents

The Company considers all highly liquid investments purchased with an original maturity of three months or less to be cash equivalents. At December 31, 2016 and December 31, 2015 the Company’s cash and cash equivalents were held in multiple institutions with the United States and Europe and included deposits in money market funds which were unrestricted as to withdrawal or use.

Property and Equipment, Net

Property and equipment, Net

Property and equipment are stated at cost and depreciated using the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of the assets, generally between three and five years. Leasehold improvements are amortized on a straight-line basis over the lesser of their useful life or the term of the lease. Maintenance and repairs are charged to expense as incurred, and improvements are capitalized. When assets are retired or otherwise disposed of, the cost and accumulated depreciation are removed from the consolidated balance sheet and any resulting gain or loss is reflected in operations in the period realized.

Impairment of Long-Lived Assets

The Company reviews property and equipment for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of an asset may not be recoverable. Recoverability is measured by the comparison of the carrying amount to the future net cash flows which the assets are expected to generate. 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 assets exceeds the fair value (i.e. determined through estimating projected discounted future net cash flows or other acceptable methods of determining fair value) arising from the asset. There have been no such impairments of long-lived assets during the years ended December 31, 2016, 2015, and 2014.

Fair Value of Financial Instruments

The carrying value of the Company’s cash and cash equivalents, prepaid expenses, accounts payable and accrued liabilities approximate fair value due to the short-term nature of these items. Convertible preferred stock call option liability and convertible preferred stock warrant liability, which were outstanding through the completion of the Company’s initial public offering during the three months ended March 31, 2014, were carried at fair value.

Fair value is defined as the exchange price that would be received for an asset or an exit price paid to transfer a liability in the principal or most advantageous market for the asset or liability in an orderly transaction between market participants on the measurement date. Valuation techniques used to measure fair value must maximize the use of observable inputs and minimize the use of unobservable inputs.

The fair value hierarchy defines a three-level valuation hierarchy for disclosure of fair value measurements as follows:

	Level I		Unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities;

	Level II		Inputs other than quoted prices included within Level I that are observable, unadjusted quoted prices in markets that are not active, or other inputs that are observable or can be corroborated by observable market data for substantially the full term of the related assets or liabilities; and

	Level III		Unobservable inputs that are supported by little or no market activity for the related assets or liabilities.

The categorization of a financial instrument within the valuation hierarchy is based upon the lowest level of input that is significant to the fair value measurement.

The Company’s financial instruments consist of Level I assets as of December 31, 2016 and consist of Level I assets as of December 31, 2015. Level I securities are comprised of highly liquid money market funds.

The Company’s foreign currency derivative contracts have maturities over a 12-month time horizon and is with a counterparty that has a minimum credit rating of A- or equivalent by Standard & Poor's, Moody's Investors Service, Inc. or Fitch, Inc. These contracts are reported as Level II assets, however there were none outstanding as of December 31, 2016 and December 31, 2015.

Preclinical and Clinical Trial Accruals

The Company’s clinical trial accruals are based on estimates of patient enrollment and related costs at clinical investigator sites as well as estimates for the services received and efforts expended pursuant to contracts with multiple research institutions and clinical research organizations (“CROs”) that conduct and manage clinical trials on the Company’s behalf.

The Company estimates preclinical and clinical trial expenses based on the services performed, pursuant to contracts with research institutions and clinical research organizations that conduct and manage preclinical studies and clinical trials on its behalf. In accruing service fees, the Company estimates the time period over which services will be performed and the level of patient enrollment and activity expended in each period. If the actual timing of the performance of services or the level of effort varies from the estimate, the Company will adjust the accrual accordingly. Payments made to third parties under these arrangements in advance of the receipt of the related services are recorded as prepaid expenses until the services are rendered.

Convertible Preferred Stock Warrants

The Company accounted for its convertible preferred stock warrants as liabilities based upon the characteristics and provisions of each instrument. Convertible preferred stock warrants classified as derivative liabilities were recorded on the Company’s consolidated balance sheet at their fair value on the date of issuance and revalued on each subsequent consolidated balance sheet, with fair value changes recognized as increases or reductions to other income (expense), net in the consolidated statements of operations.

Prior to the IPO in March 2014, the Company had outstanding warrants which were classified as a liability and remeasured to fair value each reporting period. The Company had estimated the fair value of these liabilities using an option pricing model and assumptions that were based on the individual characteristics of the warrants on the valuation date, as well as assumptions for expected volatility, expected life, dividends, and risk-free interest rate. Immediately prior to the completion of the Company’s IPO in March 2014, all of the warrants were either exercised for cash or automatically net exercised for a total issuance of 158,179 shares of common stock, pursuant to the terms of the warrants. Just prior to the exercises, all outstanding warrants, covering 173,910 shares, were remeasured using the intrinsic value of the warrant computed as the difference between the $21.00 per share IPO price and the $5.17 per share exercise price of the warrant. The remeasurement of the fair value of these warrants from December 31, 2013 through the date of the conversion to a common stock warrant and following exercise resulted in a $2.3 million expense recorded to other income (expense), net in the consolidated statement of operations and comprehensive loss. The resulting fair value of approximately $2.8 million was reclassified to additional paid in capital upon completion of the IPO.

Convertible Preferred Stock Call Option

The Company determined that the Company’s obligation to issue, and the investors’ obligation to purchase, additional shares of the Company’s convertible preferred stock represented a freestanding financial instrument. The freestanding convertible preferred stock call option liability was initially recorded at fair value, with fair value changes recognized as increases or reductions to other income (expense), net in the consolidated statement of operations and comprehensive loss. At the time of the deemed exercise of the call option, the remaining value of the option was reclassified to additional paid in capital. Immediately prior to the Series D-2 financing completed in February 2014, the Company remeasured the fair value of the preferred stock call option liability associated with the Series D convertible preferred stock financing and recorded other expense of approximately $9.6 million in the consolidated statement of operations and comprehensive loss for the year ended December 31, 2014. Fair value was computed using a discount from the Company’s public offering price less the liquidation value of the underlying Series D convertible preferred stock.

Convertible Preferred Stock

The Company classified the convertible preferred stock as temporary equity on the balance sheets due to certain change in control events that are outside the Company’s control, including liquidation, sale or transfer of the Company, as holders of the convertible preferred stock can cause redemption of the shares. Upon the IPO in March 2014, all of the outstanding shares of convertible preferred stock automatically converted into 15,876,104 shares of common stock.

Research and Development

Research and development

Research and development costs are charged to operations as incurred. Research and development costs include, but are not limited to, payroll and personnel expenses, laboratory supplies, consulting costs, external research and development expenses and allocated overhead, including rent, equipment depreciation, and utilities. Costs to acquire technologies to be used in research and development that have not reached technological feasibility and have no alternative future use are expensed to research and development costs when incurred.

Income Taxes

Income taxes

The Company accounts for income taxes under the asset and liability approach. Under this method, deferred tax assets and liabilities are determined based on the difference between the consolidated financial statement and tax bases of assets and liabilities using enacted tax rates in effect for the year in which the differences are expected to affect taxable income. Valuation allowances are established when necessary to reduce deferred tax assets to the amounts expected to be realized. The provision for income taxes includes income taxes paid or payable for the current year plus the change in deferred taxes during the year.

The Company assesses all material positions taken in any income tax return, including all significant uncertain positions, in all tax years that are still subject to assessment or challenge by relevant taxing authorities. Assessing an uncertain tax position begins with the initial determination of the position’s sustainability and is measured at the largest amount of benefit that is greater than fifty percent likely of being realized upon ultimate settlement. As of each balance sheet date, unresolved uncertain tax positions must be reassessed, and the Company will determine whether (i) the factors underlying the sustainability assertion have changed and (ii) the amount of the recognized tax benefit is still appropriate. The recognition and measurement of tax benefits requires significant judgment. Judgments concerning the recognition and measurement of a tax benefit might change as new information becomes available.

Stock-Based Compensation

Stock-Based compensation

For stock options granted to employees, the Company recognizes compensation expense for all stock-based awards based on the grant-date estimated fair value. The value of the portion of the award that is ultimately expected to vest is recognized as expense ratably over the requisite service period. The fair value of stock options is determined using the Black-Scholes option pricing model. The determination of fair value for stock-based awards on the date of grant using an option pricing model requires management to make certain assumptions regarding a number of complex and subjective variables.

Stock-based compensation expense related to stock options granted to nonemployees is recognized based on the fair value of the stock options, determined using the Black-Scholes option pricing model, as they are earned. The awards generally vest over the time period the Company expects to receive services from the nonemployee.

Consolidated Statement of Operations and Comprehensive Loss

Comprehensive loss is defined as a change in equity of a business enterprise during a period, resulting from transactions from non-owner sources. Specifically, the Company includes cumulative foreign currency translation adjustments and net unrealized gains and losses on effective cash flow hedges.

Net Loss per Share of Common Stock

Basic net loss per common share is calculated by dividing the net loss attributable to common stockholders by the weighted-average number of common shares outstanding during the period, without consideration for potentially dilutive securities. Diluted net loss per share is computed by dividing the net loss attributable to common stockholders by the weighted-average number of common shares and potentially dilutive securities outstanding for the period. For purposes of the diluted net loss per share calculation, convertible preferred stock, convertible notes payable, stock options and convertible preferred stock warrants are considered to be potentially dilutive securities. Because the Company has reported a net loss for the years ended December 31, 2016, 2015 and 2014, diluted net loss per common share is the same as basic net loss per common share for those periods.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

From time to time, new accounting pronouncements are issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board, or FASB, or other standard setting bodies and adopted by us as of the specified effective date. Unless otherwise discussed, the impact of recently issued standards that are not yet effective is not expected to have a material impact on the Company’s financial position or results of operations upon adoption.

In August 2016, the FASB issued guidance to simplify elements of cash flow classification. The guidance is intended to reduce diversity in practice in how certain transactions are classified in the statement of cash flows. The new guidance requires cash payments for debt prepayment or debt extinguishment costs to be classified as cash outflows for financing activities. It also requires cash payments made soon after an acquisition's consummation date (approximately three months or less) to be classified as cash outflows for investing activities. Payments made thereafter should be classified as cash outflows for financing activities up to the amount of the original contingent consideration liability. Payments made in excess of the amount of the original contingent consideration liability should be classified as cash outflows for operating activities. The guidance is required to be applied by the Company in the first quarter of 2018, but early adoption is permitted. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of this standard on its consolidated financial statements.

In March 2016, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) No. 2016-09, Compensation – Stock Compensation (Topic 718) (“ASU 2016-09”), which simplified certain aspects of the accounting for share-based payment transactions, including income taxes, classification of awards and classification in the statement of cash flows. ASU 2016-09 is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2016, and interim periods within those fiscal years. The Company will adopt ASU 2016-09 in the first quarter of 2017. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of the adoption of this guidance on its consolidated financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842). This ASU is a comprehensive new leases standard that amends various aspects of existing guidance for leases and requires additional disclosures about leasing arrangements. It requires that a lessee should recognize a liability to make lease payments (the lease liability) and a right-of-use asset representing its right to use the underlying asset for the lease term on the balance sheet. ASU 2016-02 is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018 (including interim periods within those periods) using a modified retrospective approach and early adoption is permitted. The Company will adopt ASU 2016-02 in the first quarter of 2019 and is currently in the process of evaluating the impact of adoption of the ASU on its consolidated financial statements.

In November 2015, the FASB issued ASU 2015-17, Income Taxes (Topic 740): Balance Sheet Classification of Deferred Taxes, which requires all deferred income tax assets and liabilities to be classified as noncurrent on the balance sheet. The new standard is effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2016 with early adoption permitted. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of adoption and will apply the guidance and disclosure provisions of the new standard upon adoption.

In August 2014, the FASB issued ASU 2014-15, Disclosure of Uncertainties about an Entity’s Ability to Continue as a Going Concern, which requires management to evaluate, for each annual and interim reporting period, whether there are conditions and events, considered in the aggregate, that raise substantial doubt about an entity’s ability to continue as a going concern within one year after the date the financial statements are issued or are available to be issued. If substantial doubt is raised, additional disclosures around management’s plan to alleviate these doubts are required. This update becomes effective for all annual periods and interim reporting periods ending after December 15, 2016. The adoption of this standard did not have any impact on the Company’s current disclosures in the financial statements.

In May 2014, the FASB issued a new accounting standard that amends the guidance for the recognition of revenue from contracts with customers to transfer goods and services. The FASB has subsequently issued additional, clarifying standards to address issues arising from implementation of the new revenue recognition standard. The new revenue recognition standard and clarifying standards are effective for interim and annual periods beginning on January 1, 2018, and may be adopted earlier, but not before January 1, 2017. The revenue standards are required to be adopted by taking either a full retrospective approach or a modified retrospective approach. The Company is currently evaluating the impact that the revenue standards will have on our consolidated financial statements and determining the transition method that we will apply.