Accounting Policies (Policies)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2023

Accounting Policies [Abstract]

Basis of presentation

The accompanying financial statements have been prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America (“GAAP”) and reflect the operations of the Company. The Company neither owns nor controls any subsidiary companies.

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 at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenue and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

Certain accounting principles require subjective and complex judgments to be used in the preparation of financial statements. Accordingly, a different financial presentation could result depending on the judgments, estimates, or assumptions that are used.

The Company utilizes significant estimates and assumptions in valuing its stock-based awards and accruals of research and development expenses. An additional significant estimate is that these financial statements are based on the assumption of the Company continuing as a going concern.

Concentration of credit risk

The Company’s financial instruments that are exposed to concentrations of credit risk consist entirely of cash and investments in U.S. Treasury bills. These financial instruments are held at two U.S. financial institutions. The cash accounts are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) up to regulatory limits. During the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, the Company’s cash balances exceeded the FDIC insurance limit. The investments in the U.S. Securities money market fund and U.S. Treasury bills are not FDIC insured but are backed by the U.S. government. U.S. Treasury bills are subject to market risk if they are sold prior to maturity. The Company has not experienced any losses in such accounts. Although the Company believes that the financial institutions with whom the Company does business will be able to fulfill their commitments to the Company, there is no assurance that those institutions will be able to continue to do so beyond amounts guaranteed by the FDIC.

Cash and cash equivalents

The Company considers all liquid investments acquired with a maturity of three months or less to be cash equivalents.

Marketable debt securities

Investments in U.S. Treasury bills purchased with a maturity over three months but less than twelve months are classified separately from cash and cash equivalents in current assets. Investments in U.S. Treasury bills are classified as available for sale. Under the classification of available for sale, securities are reported at fair value. Unrealized gains or losses would be included in accumulated other comprehensive income within the equity section of the Balance Sheet.

Fair value measurement

The Company reports its investments at fair value. Fair value is an estimate of the exit price, representing the amount that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants (i.e., the exit price at the measurement date). Fair value measurements are not adjusted for transaction costs. A fair value hierarchy provides for prioritizing inputs to valuation techniques used to measure fair value into three levels:

Level 1	Unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities.
Level 2	Inputs other than quoted market prices that are observable, either directly or indirectly, and reasonably available. Observable inputs reflect the assumptions market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability and are developed based on market data obtained from sources independent of the Company.
Level 3	Unobservable inputs. Unobservable inputs reflect the assumptions that the Company develops based on available information about what market participants would use in valuing the asset or liability.

An asset’s or liability’s level within the fair value hierarchy is based on the lowest level of any input that is significant to the fair value measurement. Availability of observable inputs can vary and is affected by a variety of factors. The Company uses judgment in determining fair value of assets and liabilities and Level 3 assets and liabilities involve greater judgment than Level 1 or Level 2 assets or liabilities.

As of December 31, 2023, the Company invested $6.2 million in U.S. Treasury Bills, included in marketable debt securities. U.S. Treasury bills are valued at market prices obtained from independent vendor services, which we believe to be reliable. In some cases, the pricing vendor may provide prices quoted by a single broker or market maker. U.S. Treasury Bills are categorized in Level 2 of the fair value hierarchy. As of December 31, 2022, there were no investments in U.S. Treasury Bills.

The Company’s financial instruments, including cash equivalents and current liabilities are carried at cost, which approximates fair value due to the short-term nature of these instruments.

Stock-based compensation

The Company accounts for stock-based compensation to employees and non-employees, which consists of stock option grants, through the Statements of Operations based on their fair values at the date of grant.

The Company calculates the fair value of option grants utilizing the Black-Scholes pricing model. The resulting stock-based compensation expense for both employee and non-employee awards is generally recognized on a straight-line basis over the requisite service period of the award. Forfeitures are recognized as they occur.

The Company had been a private company and lacked company-specific historical and implied volatility information for its shares. Therefore, the Company estimated its expected share price volatility based on the historical volatility of publicly traded peer companies and expects to continue to do so until such time as it has adequate historical data regarding the volatility of its own traded share price.

Research and development and patent costs

The Company is required to estimate its expenses resulting from its obligations under contracts with vendors, consultants, contract research organizations (“CRO”), and contract manufacturing organizations (“CMO”) in connection with conducting research and development activities. The financial terms of these contracts vary from contract to contract and may result in payment flows that do not match the periods over which materials or services are provided under such contracts.

Research and development costs are expensed in the period in which they are incurred. External costs consist primarily of payments to outside consultants, third-party CROs, CMOs, clinical trial sites and central laboratories in connection with the Company’s clinical manufacturing and clinical development activities. External expenses are recognized based on an evaluation of the progress to completion of specific tasks using information provided to the Company by its service providers or its estimate of the level of service that has been performed at each reporting date. The Company tracks external costs based on research and development initiative, including preclinical, individual clinical study, and manufacturing activities. Internal costs consist primarily of employee-related costs and costs related to compliance with regulatory requirements. The Company does not track internal costs by program because these costs are deployed across multiple programs and, as such, are not separately classified.

The Company makes estimates of accrued expenses as of each balance sheet date based on facts and circumstances known at that time. The Company periodically confirms the accuracy of its estimates with the service providers and makes adjustments if necessary. The significant estimates in its accrued research and development expenses include the costs incurred for services performed by vendors in connection with research and development activities for which the Company has not yet been invoiced.

In mid-2024, the Company intends on initiating a Phase 3 open-label, randomized study for certain soft tissue sarcoma subtypes. In connection with this study, the Company recorded an advance payment of $1.7 million, which will be applied to invoices at the end of the study and is included in Other Assets in the Balance Sheet as of December 31, 2023, as the Phase 3 study is expected to span several years.

Income taxes

The Company accounts for income taxes through the use of the asset-and-liability method whereby deferred tax assets and liabilities are determined based on differences between the financial reporting and tax bases of assets and liabilities and are measured using the enacted tax rates and laws that will be in effect when the differences are expected to reverse. The Company utilizes a valuation allowance to reduce deferred tax assets to their estimated realizable value.

The Company accounts for uncertain tax positions. When uncertain tax positions exist, the Company recognizes the tax benefit of tax positions to the extent that the benefit will more likely than not be realized. The determination as to whether the tax benefit will more likely than not be realized is based upon the technical merits of the tax position as well as consideration of the available facts and circumstances. As of December 31, 2023, the Company does not have any significant uncertain tax positions.

There are no estimated interest costs and penalties provided for in the Company’s financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2023. If at any time the Company should record interest and penalties in connection with income taxes, the interest and penalties will be expensed within the income tax line.

Leases

The Company determines if an arrangement contains a lease at contract inception. With the exception of short-term leases (leases with terms less than 12 months), all leases with contractual fixed costs are recorded on the balance sheet on the commencement date as a right-of-use (ROU) asset and a lease liability. Lease liabilities to be paid over the next twelve months are classified as current lease liability and all other lease obligations are classified as long-term lease liability. Lease liabilities are initially measured at the present value of the future minimum lease payments and subsequently increased to reflect the interest accrued and reduced by the lease payments made. The Company’s building leases require a pro-rata share of operating expenses and real estate taxes, which are variable in nature and excluded from the measurement of lease liabilities. ROU assets are initially measured at the present value of the future minimum lease payments adjusted for any prior lease prepayments, lease incentives and initial direct costs. Certain leases contain escalation, renewal and/or termination options that are factored into the ROU asset as appropriate. Operating leases result in a straight-line rent expense over the expected lease term.

The Company uses its estimated incremental borrowing rate, which is derived from information available at the lease commencement date, in determining the present value of future lease payments, if the rate implicit in the lease is not readily determinable. Consideration is given to publicly available data for instruments with similar characteristics when calculating incremental borrowing rates. This incremental borrowing rate estimate is based on a synthetic credit rating derived from the market capitalization of similar companies, the treasury yield curve, and corporate yield spreads.

Basic and dilutive loss per share

Basic net loss per share is determined using the weighted average number of shares of common stock outstanding during each period. Dilutive net loss per share includes the effect, if any, from the potential exercise or conversion of securities, such as convertible preferred stock, convertible notes, stock options, and stock warrants, which would result in the issuance of incremental shares of common stock. The computation of diluted net loss per share does not include the conversion of securities that would have an anti-dilutive effect. Potential shares of common stock issuable upon conversion of preferred stock, exercise of stock options, and exercise of warrants that are excluded from the computation of diluted weighted average shares outstanding listed in the table below because they are anti-dilutive. The basic and diluted computation of net loss per share for the Company are the same because the effects of the Company’s convertible securities would be anti-dilutive. All common and preferred stock participate equally in dividends and the distribution of earnings if and when declared by the Board of Directors, on the Company’s common stock for the year ended December 31, 2023. For purposes of computing earnings per share, all series of preferred stock are considered participating securities. Therefore, the Company must calculate basic and diluted earnings per share using the two-class method. Under the two-class method, net income for the period is allocated between common stockholders and participating securities according to dividends declared and participation rights in undistributed earnings. As the preferred stockholders have no obligation to fund losses, no portion of net loss was allocated to the participating securities for the year ended December 31, 2022. There were no preferred shares outstanding at December 31, 2023.

Stock issuance costs

The Company incurred costs related to the sale of its common stock in its IPO and the subsequent sale of common stock in the over-allotment. These costs included underwriter commissions and fees, legal fees, accounting fees, and printing costs. These costs were recorded as a deduction to Additional Paid in Capital.