Significant Accounting Policies (Policies)

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2022

Accounting Policies [Abstract]

Use of Estimates

Use of Estimates

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of expenses during the reported periods. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

Cash Cash Equivalents and Restricted Cash

Cash, Cash Equivalents and Restricted Cash

Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash consists of bank deposits and money market accounts with financial institutions. Cash equivalents are carried at cost which approximates fair value due to their short-term nature and which the Company believes do not have a material exposure to credit risk. The Company considers all highly liquid investments with maturities of three months or less from the date of purchase to be cash equivalents. The Company’s cash and cash equivalent accounts, at times, may exceed federally insured limits. The Company has not experienced any losses in such accounts.

As of March 31, 2022, the Company classified $182,000 as restricted cash related to a letter of credit issued as a security deposit in connection with the Company’s lease of its corporate office facilities (Note 11). Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash consists of the following (in thousands):

	December 31, 2021		March 31, 2022
Cash and cash equivalents	$	74,268	$	51,630
Restricted cash		182		182
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash	$	74,450	$	51,812

Concentration of Credit Risk

Concentration of Credit Risk

Financial instruments that subject the Company to credit risk primarily consist of cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments. The Company maintains its cash and cash equivalent balances with high-quality financial institutions and, consequently, the Company believes that such funds are subject to minimal credit risk. The Company’s short-term investments consist of United States Treasury securities, corporate debt securities and commercial paper. The Company has adopted an investment policy that limits the amounts the Company may invest in any one type of investment and requires all investments held by the Company to hold a minimum rating, thereby reducing credit risk exposure.

Investments

Investments

The Company invests excess cash balances in available-for-sale debt securities. The Company determines the appropriate classification of these securities at the time they are acquired and evaluates the appropriateness of such classifications at each balance sheet date. The Company reports available-for-sale investments at fair value at each balance sheet date and includes any unrealized gains and losses in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss), a component of stockholders’ equity. Realized gains and losses are determined using the specific identification method and are included in other income (expense). If any adjustment to fair value reflects a decline in the value of the investment, the Company considers all available evidence to evaluate the extent to which the decline is “other than temporary,” including the intention to sell and, if so, marks the investment to market through a charge to the Company’s consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss.

Leases

Leases

The Company determines if an arrangement is a lease at inception. Operating leases are included in right-of-use (“ROU”) lease assets, current portion of lease obligations, and long-term lease obligations on the Company’s balance sheets.

ROU lease assets represent the Company’s right to use an underlying asset for the lease term and lease obligations represent the Company’s obligation to make lease payments arising from the lease. Operating ROU lease assets and obligations are recognized at the commencement date based on the present value of lease payments over the lease term. As most of the Company’s leases do not provide an implicit rate, the Company uses its incremental borrowing rate based on the information available at the commencement date in determining the present value of lease payments. The ROU lease asset excludes lease incentives. The Company’s lease terms may include options to extend or terminate the lease when it is reasonably certain that the Company will exercise that option. Lease expense for lease payments is recognized on a straight-line basis over the lease term.

Income Taxes

Income Taxes

The Company accounts for income taxes in accordance with the Financial Accounting Standards Board’s (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 740, Income Taxes. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are recorded to reflect the impact of temporary differences between amounts of assets and liabilities for financial reporting purposes and such amounts as measured under enacted tax laws. A valuation allowance is required to offset any net deferred tax assets if, based upon the available evidence, it is more likely than not that some or all of the deferred tax asset will not be realized.

The Company provides reserves for potential payments of tax to various tax authorities related to uncertain tax positions. The tax benefits recorded are based on a determination of whether and how much of a tax benefit taken by the Company in its tax filings or positions is “more likely than not” to be realized following resolution of any uncertainty related to the tax benefit, assuming that the matter in question will be raised by the tax authorities. Potential interest and penalties associated with such uncertain tax positions are recorded as a component of income tax expense. At March 31, 2022, the Company had no such accruals.

As part of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA), beginning with the Company’s fiscal year ending December 31, 2022, the Company is required to capitalize research and development expenses, as defined under section 174 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended. For expenses that are incurred for research and development in the United States, the amounts will be amortized over 5 years, and expenses that are incurred for research and experimentation outside the United States will be amortized over 15 years. The Company already capitalizes its research and development expenses for income tax purposes as it is a start-up company, so there is no material impact forecasted for this change in legislation in 2022.