Shareholders' Equity

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2012

Shareholders' Equity [Abstract]

Shareholders' Equity

6. Shareholders’ Equity

Common Stock

In March 2010, the Company raised $1,654,686 (after commissions and offering expenses) from the sale of 1,740,000 shares of common stock and warrants to purchase 696,000 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $1.15 per share, to various investors in a private placement. (See “Warrants and Warrant Liabilities” below.)

In May 2010, the Company raised $2,716,308 (after commissions and offering expenses) from the sale of 2,490,910 shares of common stock and warrants to purchase 1,245,455 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $1.50 per share, to various investors in a private placement. (See “Warrants and Warrant Liabilities” below)

In February 2011, the Company raised $7,460,129 (after commissions and offering expenses) from the sale of 5,219,768 shares of common stock and warrants to purchase 2,609,898 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $2.25 per share, to various investors in a private placement. The warrants contain a provision whereby the warrant exercise price would be decreased in the event that certain future common stock issuances are made at a price less than $1.55. The January 2012 underwritten public offering (see below) provided for the issuance of shares at a price of $1.10. Accordingly, the exercise price of these warrants was adjusted to $1.90 and the number of warrants was proportionally increased to 3,337,849 (See “Warrants and Warrant Liabilities” below)

In January 2012, the Company raised approximately $9,271,370 in an underwritten public offering, net of offering expenses of approximately $1.1 million, from the sale of 9,489,436 shares of common stock and warrants to purchase 4,744,718 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $1.41 per share, to various investors in an underwritten public offering. The warrants have a term of 60 months from the date of issuance. The warrants do not contain any features (such as net cash settlement or anti-dilution features) that would preclude the Company from accounting for these warrants as equity. Accordingly, the warrants are accounted for as equity.

In October 2012, the Company raised approximately $19.3 million (after commissions and offering expenses) from the sale of 10,000,000 shares of common stock and warrants to purchase 4,500,000 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $2.65 per share, to various investors in an underwritten public offering. (See “Subsequent Events” below)

Stock Options

In February 2005, the Company adopted an Equity Incentive Plan (“Plan”). Pursuant to the Plan, a committee appointed by the Board of Directors may grant, at its discretion, qualified or nonqualified stock options, stock appreciation rights and may grant or sell restricted stock to key individuals, including employees, nonemployee directors, consultants and advisors. Option prices for qualified incentive stock options (which may only be granted to employees) issued under the plan may not be less than 100% of the fair market value of the common stock on the date the option is granted (unless the option is granted to a person who, at the time of grant, owns more than 10% of the total combined voting power of all classes of stock of the Company; in which case the option price may not be less than 110% of the fair market value of the common stock on the date the option is granted). Option prices for nonqualified stock options issued under the Plan are at the discretion of the committee and may be equal to, greater or less than fair market value of the common stock on the date the option is granted. The options vest over periods determined by the Board of Directors and are exercisable no later than ten years from date of grant (unless they are qualified incentive stock options granted to a person owning more than 10% of the total combined voting power of all classes of stock of the Company, in which case the options are exercisable no later than five years from date of grant). Initially, the Company reserved 6,000,000 shares of common stock for issuance under the Plan. On October 24, 2011, the Company’s shareholders voted to increase the number of authorized shares reserved for the Plan to 8,000,000 shares. Options to purchase 3,329,154 common shares have been granted under the Plan and are outstanding as of September 30, 2012.

The following is a summary of stock option grants issued outside the Plan:

In January 2007, the Company granted an option to purchase 1,500,000 shares of its common stock at an exercise price of $1.10 per share to the Chairman of the Company’s Scientific Advisory Board.

In November 2006, the Company granted an option to purchase 300,000 shares of its common stock at an exercise price of $1.00 per share to an affiliate of the Company’s then Chairman of the Board.

In November 2006, the Company granted an option to purchase 5,933,424 shares of its common stock at an exercise price of $1.00 per share to a Board member in connection with the Cedars-Sinai license acquisition.

The following table summarizes stock option activity for the Company during the nine months ended September 30, 2012:

	Options			Weighted Average Exercise Price		Weighted Average Contractual Term		Aggregate Intrinsic Value
Outstanding December 31, 2011		10,774,078		$	1.07
Granted		477,500			3.08
Exercised		(689,000	)		1.02
Forfeited or expired		(200,000	)		2.25
Outstanding September 30, 2012		10,362,578		$	1.15		4.3	$	17,388,999
Vested or expected to vest at September 30, 2012		9,592,648		$	1.03		4.0	$	17,102,249

As of September 30, 2012, the total unrecognized compensation cost related to unvested stock options amounted to $797,270, which will be amortized over the weighted-average remaining requisite service period of approximately 13 months.

Warrants

In connection with the March 2010 common stock private placement, the Company issued to the investors warrants to purchase 696,000 shares of the Company’s common stock at $1.15 per share. The warrants have a term of 26 months from the date of issuance. As of September 30, 2012, these warrants have been fully exercised.

In connection with the May 2010 common stock private placement, the Company issued to the investors warrants to purchase 1,245,455 shares of the Company’s common stock at $1.50 per share. The warrants have a term of 36 months from the date of issuance. As of September 30, 2012, warrants to purchase 1,207,137 shares of the Company’s common stock were outstanding related to this private placement. (see Warrant Liabilities below)

In connection with the sale of Preferred Stock in May 2010, the Company issued warrants to purchase 1,350,000 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $2.50. The warrants have a term of five-years from the date of issuance. As of September 30, 2012, warrants to purchase 1,290,996 shares of the Company’s common stock at $2.50 were outstanding related to this private placement. (See “Warrant Liability” below.)

In connection with the February 2011 common stock private placement, the Company issued to the investors warrants to purchase 2,818,675 shares of the Company’s common stock at $2.25 per share. The warrants have a five-year term from the date of issuance and contain a provision that provides for an adjustment to the exercise price in the event the Company completes an equity financing at a per share price of its common stock that is less than $1.55. Since the January 2012, underwritten public offering provided for the sale of the Company’s common stock at a price of $1.10 per share, the exercise price of the February 2011 warrants was adjusted to $1.90 and the number of warrants outstanding increased to 3,337,849. As of September 30, 2012, warrants to purchase 2,779,019 shares of the Company’s common stock were outstanding related to this private placement. (See “Warrant Liability” below.)

In connection with the January 2012 underwritten public offering, the Company issued to the investors warrants to purchase 4,744,718 shares of the Company’s common stock at $1.41 per share. The warrants have a five-year term from the date of issuance. These warrants qualify for equity treatment since they do not have any provisions that would require the Company to redeem them for cash or that would result in an adjustment to the number of warrants. As of September 30, 2012, warrants to purchase 3,595,539 shares of the Company’s common stock remain outstanding relating to this public offering.

Warrant Liability

The Company’s warrant liability is adjusted to fair value each reporting period and is influenced by several factors including the price of the Company’s common stock as of the balance sheet date. On September 30, 2012 the price per share of Company’s common stock was $2.81 per share compared to $1.36 per share at December 31, 2011 and $1.57 per share at September 30, 2011.

In connection with the March 2010 common stock private placement, the Company issued to the investors warrants to purchase 696,000 shares of the Company’s common stock at $1.15 per share. Of the total proceeds from the March 2010 common stock private placement, $257,520 was allocated to the freestanding warrants associated with the units based upon the fair value of the warrants determined under the Black Scholes option pricing model. The warrants contain a provision whereby the warrant exercise price would be decreased in the event that future common stock issuances are made at a price less than $1.00. Due to the potential variability of their exercise price, these warrants do not qualify for equity treatment, and therefore are recognized as a liability. The warrant liability was adjusted to fair value each reporting period, and any change in value is recognized in the statement of operations. Prior to 2011, the Company had concluded that Black-Scholes method of valuing the price adjustment feature does not materially differ from the valuation of such warrants using the lattice simulation model, and therefore, the use of the Black-Scholes valuation model was considered a reasonable method to value the warrants. The assumptions used in the Black Scholes model for determining the initial fair value of the warrants were as follows: (i) dividend yield of 0%; (ii) expected volatility of 102%, (iii) risk-free interest rate of 1.00%, and (iv) contractual life of 26 months. During the year ended December 31, 2011, the Company determined that it was more appropriate to value the warrants using a binomial lattice simulation model. The lattice simulation model used by the Company at September 30, 2011, assumed (i) dividend yield 0%; (ii) expected volatility of 64%; (iii) risk free rate of 0.08% and (iv) expected term of .67 years. Based upon this model, the Company recorded a credit to other income of $346,608 and $165,648 for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2011 respectively. During the six months ended June 30, 2012, the remaining warrants were fully exercised; however, the Company recognized an expense of $45,570 as the Company revalued the warrants at the date of exercised. For the three and nine months ended September 30, 2012, the Company recorded a charge to other expense of nil and $745,500, respectively.

In connection with the May 2010 common stock private placement, the Company issued to the investors warrants to purchase 1,245,455 shares of the Company’s common stock at $1.50 per share. Of the total proceeds from the May 2010 common stock private placement, $834,455 was allocated to the freestanding warrants associated with the units based upon the fair value of the warrants determined under the Black Scholes option pricing model. The warrants contain a provision whereby the warrant exercise price would be decreased in the event that future common stock issuances are made at a price less than $1.00. Due to the potential variability of their exercise price, these warrants do not qualify for equity treatment, and therefore are recognized as a liability. The warrant liability is adjusted to fair value each reporting period, and any change in value is recognized in the statement of operations. Prior to 2011, the Company concluded that the Black-Scholes method of valuing the price adjustment feature does not materially differ from the valuation of such warrants using the binomial lattice simulation models, and therefore, the use of the Black-Scholes valuation model was considered a reasonable method to value the warrants. The assumptions used in the Black Scholes model for determining the initial fair value of the warrants were as follows: (i) dividend yield of 0%; (ii) expected volatility of 102%, (iii) risk-free interest rate of 1.375%, and (iv) contractual life of 36 months. Effective January 1, 2011 the Company determined that it was more appropriate to value the warrants using a binomial lattice simulation model. The binomial lattice simulation model used by the Company at September 30, 2011, assumed (i) dividend yield of 0%; (ii) expected volatility of 75%; (iii) risk free rate of 0.21% and (iv) expected term of 1.67 years. Based upon this model, the Company recorded a credit to other income of $481,991 and $312,609 for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2011 respectively. As of September 30, 2012, the Company revalued the warrants assuming (i) dividend yield of 0%; (ii) expected volatility of 76%; (iii) risk free rate of 0.15% and (iv) expected term of 0.67 years. For the three months ended September 30, 2012, the Company recorded a credit to other income of $745,778 and for the nine months ended September 30, 2012, the company recorded a charge to other expense of $1,181,075. As of September 30, 2012, the carrying value of the warrant liability is $1,385,793.

In connection with the sale of Preferred Stock in 2010, the Company vested warrants to purchase 1,350,000 shares of the Company’s common stock at an exercise price of $2.50 per share. Of the total proceeds from the May 2010 preferred stock sale, $5,710,500 was allocated to the freestanding warrants associated with the units based upon the fair value of these warrants determined under the Black Scholes option pricing model. The warrants contain a provision whereby the warrant may be settled for cash in connection with a change of control with a private company. Due to the potential variability of their exercise price, these warrants do not qualify for equity treatment, and therefore are recognized as a liability. The warrant liability is adjusted to fair value each reporting period and any change in value is recognized in the statement of operations. Prior to 2011 the Company concluded that the Black-Scholes method of valuing the price adjustment feature does not materially differ from the valuation of such warrants using the Monte Carlo or binomial lattice simulation models, and therefore, the use of the Black-Scholes valuation model was considered a reasonable method to value the warrants. The assumptions used in the Black Scholes model for determining the initial fair value of the warrants were as follows: (i) dividend yield of 0%; (ii) expected volatility of 102%, (iii) risk-free interest rate of 2.50%, and (iv) contractual life of 60 months. Effective January 1, 2011, the Company determined that it was more appropriate to value the warrants using a binomial lattice simulation model. The lattice simulation model used by the Company at September 30, 2011, assumed (i) dividend yield of 0%; (ii) expected volatility of 79%; (iii) risk free rate of 0.60% and (iv) expected term of 3.67 years. Based upon this model, the Company recorded a credit to other income of $434,700 and $383,400 for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2011 respectively. As of September 30, 2012, the Company revalued the warrants using the binomial lattice simulation model assuming (i) dividend yield of 0%; (ii) expected volatility of 65%; (iii) risk free rate of 0.28% and (iv) expected term of 2.67 years. For the three months ended September 30, 2012, the Company recorded a credit to other income of $718,720 and for the nine months ended September 30, 2012 a charge to other expense of $732,530. As of September 30, 2012, the carrying value of the warrant liability is $1,192,880.

In connection with the February 2011 common stock private placement, the Company issued to the investors warrants to purchase 2,818,675 shares of the Company’s common stock at $2.25 per share. Of the total proceeds from the February 2011 common stock private placement, $2,476,790 was allocated to the freestanding warrants associated with the units based upon the fair value of the warrants determined under the Binomial lattice model. The warrants contain a provision whereby the warrant exercise price would be decreased in the event that certain future common stock issuances are made at a price less than $1.55. Due to the potential variability of their exercise price, these warrants do not qualify for equity treatment, and therefore are recognized as a liability. As a result of the January financing, the exercise price of these warrants was reduced to $1.90 and the number of warrants outstanding was increased by 519,174 to 3,337,849. The Company recorded a charge to financing expense of $368,524 to reflect the issuance of the additional warrants. The warrant liability is adjusted to fair value each reporting period, and any change in value is recognized in the statement of operations. The Company initially valued these warrants using a binomial lattice simulation model assuming (i) dividend yield of 0%; (ii) expected volatility of 146%; (iii) risk free rate of 1.96% and (iv) expected term of 5 years. Based upon those calculations, the Company calculated the initial valuation of the warrants to be $2,476,790. As of September 30, 2011, the Company revalued the warrants using the lattice simulation model assuming (i) dividend yield of 0%; (ii) expected volatility of 75%; (iii) risk free rate of 0.80% and (iv) expected term of 4.40 years. Based upon this model, the Company recorded a credit to other income of $1,023,179 and $655,926 for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2011, respectively. As of September 30, 2012, the Company revalued the warrants using the binomial lattice simulation model assuming (i) dividend yield of 0%; (ii) expected volatility of 66%; (iii) risk free rate of 0.37% and (iv) expected term of 3.40 years. For the three months ended September 30, 2012, the Company recorded a credit to other income of $1,313,003 and for the nine months ended September 30, 2012 a charge to other expense of $2,727,643. As of September 30, 2012, the carrying value of the warrant liability is $3,020,794.

The below table summarizes the warrant liability activity for the nine months ended September 30, 2012 and 2011. The loss included in earnings is reflective of several factors including the increase in the Company’s stock during the nine months ended September 30, 2012 and 2011.

	September 30, 2012			September 30, 2011
Beginning Balance, January 1	$	2,157,408		$	2,581,871
Issuance of warrants and effect of repricing		368,524			2,476,790
Exercise of warrants		(1,944,688	)		—
(Gain) or loss included in earnings		5,018,224			(1,517,583	)
Transfers in and/or out of Level 3		—			—
Ending Balance, September 30	$	5,599,468		$	3,541,078